Since joining the Phils beat in December of '07, I've covered six playoff games that have involved lockers adorned with plastic wrapping and the possibility of alcoholic beverages in orbit.


Here's the interesting tidbit: none of those potential, series-clinching games ever had the team opposite the Phillies in control of the champagne splash.

That will change later on tonight, when the Yankees take Citizens Bank Park with a 3-1 lead in the World Series after taking a gut-punching, 7-4 win in Game 4 Sunday night.

Surely you saw how it happened: the Phils rallied back early to tie it against CC Sabathia (Pedro Feliz got the clutch two-out hit), and then cut the deficit late off CC with one homer (courtesy of CC-killer Chase Utley), and then got an enormous, game-tying homer off Joba Chamberlain (Feliz again).

But then Brad Lidge picked a very bad time to revert to 2009 regular season-form.


Lidge actually looked great in the beginning, punching out Derek Jeter with a 3-2 slider to send down the first two batters of the inning.

But Johnny Damon put together a great at-bat, finishing it with a single, to keep the inning alive. But Lidge plunked Mark Teixeira.

But Alex Rodriguez, who was hit by a pitch for the third time in two days earlier in the night, rifled a fastball into left field to score the go-ahead run.

If there was a moment that could act as the polar opposite of Lidge embracing Carlos Ruiz at the conclusion of the 2008 World Series, A-Rod's hit was it.

The Yanks scored twice more in the inning when Jorge Posada followed A-Rod with a two-run hit.


Not much else to say. Here's a little of what they said in the clubhouse:


BRAD LIDGE, on the latest nightmarish ninth in his '09 season: "It's frustrating. The inning was frustrating. (Damon) had a great at-bat and sometimes he can do that. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get the job done after that. It's frustrating. You make good pitches and you hope to get the result. But they did a good job."



ALEX RODRIGUEZ, who is one win away from his first championship: "There’s no question I’ve never had a bigger hit... It feels good, but we have to stay focused... those guys are the World Champs. We just have to stay in the moment."




CHARLIE MANUEL, on the task his team faces: "I think we take a lot of pride on being resilient and the way we bounce back. I know that we're going to come out and play tomorrow to win. I know that. I've seen us go through it before. We've blown 22 games from the seventh inning on or something this year. That's got to tell you something about the resilience of our team.
Tonight is tough. We're in the World Series now. But at the same time, we're down, but you know what, we're still breathing."



PEDRO FELIZ, on the Phils 3-1 deficit: "It’s not over yet. We just have to go out and take them one at a time."