On to the World Series!

(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Wow. It's still hard to believe. Your Philadelphia Phillies are the 2008 National League Champions! For the first time in 15 years, the Phillies are heading back to the World Series. The Phils are now 4 wins away from winning it all and ending the long championship drought in this city. They are 4 wins away from having the biggest parade Philadelphia has ever seen.

The Phillies clinched the series with a dominating 5-1 win over the Dodgers in Game 5 to win the series 4 games to 1. Jimmy Rollins led off the game with a homer and the Phillies, aided by a few Dodgers miscues in the field, added 2 runs in both the 3rd and 5th innings to coast to a comfortable lead. Cole Hamels and the bullpen took care of the rest, with King Cole giving up only one run in 7 innings and the bullpen doing it's usual shutdown job.

The Phillies proved to be the much better team than the Dodgers for this series. They had different heroes nearly every night, from Shane Victorino to Matt Stairs to Jimmy Rollins. They had great pitching performances nearly every time out as well and their bullpen continued it's domination. The Dodgers, on the other hand, were a one man team. Manny Ramirez was amazing throughout the series, hitting over .500 and getting a big hit whenever the team needed one. Fortunately for the Phils, Manny can't pitch and he could only come to the plate once every 9 batters and the rest of the Dodgers failed to come through at the plate or on the mound.

Now the Phillies wait to see who their next opponent will be. The Rays have a big 3-1 series lead over the Red Sox but that series is far from over. Boston won't go down without a fight and they might make it a series yet. No matter who the Phils play, the American League team has home field advantage because of their All-Star Game win.

Here is the tentative schedule for the World Series:

Game One: Wednesday, October 22nd: NL @ AL
Game Two: Thursday, October 23rd: NL @ AL
Game Three: Saturday, October 25th: AL @ NL
Game Four: Sunday, October 26th: AL @ NL
Game Five: Monday, October 27th: AL @ NL
Game Six: Wednesday, October 29th: NL @ AL
Game Seven: Thursday, October 30th: NL @ AL

We'll worry about who the opponent is later. For now, we all need to celebrate the Phillies and all they have accomplished this season. Not only have they continued to win, they have been one of the most fun teams to follow and are really a likable group of guys.

Let's hope they have four more wins in them.

How Manny to the Dodgers affects the Phillies

Manny Ramirez has been traded and it could negatively affect the Phillies in their stretch run. After all the rumors that Manny was going to be traded to their NL East rival the Florida Marlins, instead he was sent to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Unfortunately for the Phillies, they will play the Dodgers 8 times in August, meaning Manny can have a significant role as the Phillies chase the playoffs. You can believe that Manny will be on a mission to prove the Red Sox were foolish to trade him.

Here are the details of the trade:
Dodgers get: Manny Ramirez
Red Sox get: Jason Bay
Pirates get: Craig Hansen, Andy LaRoche, Bryan Morris and Brandon Moss

2 hours left until the deadline and the Phillies are quiet

With the MLB trade deadline looming at 4 pm Eastern, the Phillies have been very quiet. There have been plenty of deals and rumors going on throughout the league, but the Phillies have not been in the middle of anything. Speculation is that they will make some sort of deal for left handed bullpen help, but they could very well do nothing and wait until the August waiver deadline to get something done. GM Pat Gillick is known for making deals in August so he could be betting that the available talent then will be just as good as what is out there now.

In the rest of the NL East, only one team seems intent on making deals. The Marlins, right in the thick of the Manny Ramirez talks, have already made one deal today, for reliever Arthur Rhodes. Thank goodness the Marlins got him so Gillick didn't try to get him. The Manny deal, which has been off again and on again for the last 24 hours, appears to be off again. The Mets, on the other hand, have been just as quiet as the Phillies, with MLB Trade Rumors speculating that they won't be making any deals today. For as desperate as they are for outfield help, I am surprised the Mets won't try to get something done.

There are 2 hours left for the Phillies to get something done. Forget about Manny or Maddux or any other big name coming to Philly. Expect a decent lefty pitcher to be coming here for some mid-level prospects. I'll keep you posted if anything happens.

Phillies back atop the NL East

(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Rumors of a Chase Utley injury are greatly exaggerated. Utley hit a homer for the second day in a row and the Phillies got a strong outing from Jamie Moyer to lead them to a 8-5 victory over the Nationals. It was their fourth straight win, and with the Marlins beating the Mets today, it moves the Phillies back into first place in the NL East by a half game.

Utley hit a two run homer in the 5th inning as part of a 5 run inning that lead the Phillies to the win. Shane Victorino also had a great game, getting 3 hits, scoring 3 times and even driving in 3 runs. Brad Lidge also got his 26th save in as many chances this year. I am stating the obvious here, but Lidge has been awesome this year. It's nice to have someone that reliable in the back of the bullpen. He did have that rough outing last week against the Braves, and at some point he will probably blow a save, but that doesn't take away from the amazing stability he has provided to the back of the pen.

The Phillies will finish up their series with the crappy Nationals tomorrow and then they will play the Cardinals this weekend, a much tougher opponent. More importantly, the trade deadline is tomorrow, and with the Marlins rumored to be pulling off a huge deal for Manny Ramirez, the Phillies better do more than simply getting a left handed reliever if they want to stay on top of the division.

Phillie rumor round-up: Maddux won't come to Philly, Werth on the block?

With the trade deadline about 24 hours away, two new Phillie rumors have surfaced, both come via MLB Trade Rumors:

Maddux won't come East The Phillies are still searching for pitching and asked the Padres about Greg Maddux, who has the right to refuse any trade. Maddux has repeatedly said he will only accept a trade to a West Coast team, so he has declined to go to Philadelphia. This rumor won't amount to anything, but it does show the Phils are still interested in bringing in a starting pitcher.

Werth being scouted Here's a new one that seems odd. The Tampa Bay Rays are scouting Jayson Werth, who apparently could be had in the right deal. Trading Werth would be a curious move for the Phillies, unless they plan on bringing in another outfielder. And, no, this isn't a sign that Manny Ramirez is coming to Philly. After speculation picked up again that the Phillies were his likely destination, most "in the know" once again think Manny isn't going anywhere.

Manny to Phillies update: Gillick says no

Rumors flew around the internet yesterday about the Red Sox wanting to part with Manny Ramirez and how the Phillies were his personal number one option. There has been plenty of speculation that the Phils have at least discussed going after him and that the Red Sox have inquired, but, according to The New York Times (article found via MLB Trade Rumors) GM Pat Gillick was quick to shoot down the possibility, saying "at this point, there’s no interest on our part, we have no place to play the guy."

Gillick is right, with Pat Burrell manning left field, the Phillies have no room for Manny. They can't move one of the two to right field and make the worst defensive outfield in major league history. So, despite FoxSports.com's Ken Rosenthal's rumor of the Phillies swapping Geoff Jenkins and prospect Lou Marson for Manny (which I would do in a heart beat), it looks like the Phils won't go after Ramirez. They will likely re-visit pursuing him in the off-season to replace Burrell, who will likely bolt via free agency.

Just for fun, here's what the Phillie line-up could look like if they got Manny:

Rollins
Utley
Ramirez
Howard
Burrell
Feliz
Victorino
Ruiz
Pitcher

That's scary.

Manny being shopped, possibly to Phillies?

The Red Sox seem to finally be fed up with Manny Ramirez's antics and rumors are spreading that they are willing to trade him before the July 31st trade deadline. It's a tricky situation, though, because Manny can refuse any trade to a team he doesn't want to go to because of his 10 and 5 rights (10 years of service, the last 5 with the same team). The number one team on Manny's list that he would accept a trade to, according to The New York Post? The Phillies, who "have the best chance to trade for Ramirez because Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel has perhaps the strongest relationship with him of anyone in the majors." If he goes anywhere, Manny wants to be re-united with his old hitting coach from when he was with the Cleveland Indians.

So, Manny wants to come to Philly. Do the Phillies actually want Manny? It would take a lot, probably Carlos Carrasco, Lou Marson and someone significant from the major league roster. The Phillies would also want him to sign a long term deal that would keep him in Philly if they gave up that much to get him. Plus, where does Manny play? Ramirez is a left fielder and the Phillies already have Pat Burrell in left, unless they ship Burrell to the Red Sox in the deal. You can't move Manny to right and have an outfield with both him and Burrell because that would the worst defensive outfield in the majors. Manny would be a good replacement for Burrell if Pat leaves at the end of the season as a free agent, which looks likely, so maybe the Phillies should wait and try to sign Manny after he becomes a free agent this off-season.

The final thing to consider in this situation is whether the Phillies want to put up with "Manny being Manny". There is a reason the Red Sox want to trade him: he's a pain in the ass. He's a phenomenal hitter, still one of the best in the game, but he comes with so much baggage, he would completely disrupt the Phillie clubhouse. Plus, he's 36 years old and definitely on the tail end of his career. If the Phillies sign him to a three year deal, by the end of it he would simply be a shell of his former self.

It's an interesting situation to follow because if the Phillies don't acquire him you can bet the Mets will make a strong push for Manny. The Mets are in desperate need of a corner outfield bat and Manny can supply that. If the Phillies can find a way to keep Manny under control, which seems like an impossible task, they should pull the trigger on a deal. Manny has been linked with the Phillies before, so there seems to be some interest from the team, but let's see if they are willing to risk everything to get the eccentric superstar.

Click here for an update on the rumors, including Pat Gillick's thoughts.