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Manuel Defends Moves

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By TONY FABRIZIO

afabrizio@tampatrib.com

Published: October 26, 2008

PHILADELPHIA - Phillies manager Charlie Manuel defended his decision not to draw his infield in during the first inning of Game 2, when the Rays scored two runs on groundouts.

The subject came up during Manuel's pregame media briefing Saturday. The manager was asked about his philosophy on infield placement when there are runners in scoring position.

"Early in the game I usually will play back because I've got faith in our offense," he said. "That's basically the way I was taught. I've seen it happen deployed both ways."

About why he kept the infield back when the Rays had Carlos Pena coming to bat with Akinori Iwamura at third and B.J. Upton at second and none out in the first, Manuel said he was willing to concede a run rather than risk a big inning.

"They had the middle of their lineup coming up - guys that hit the ball real hard - and they definitely can hit ground balls right by you," he said. "There's no way I'm going to bring the infield in in the first inning like that."

Manuel said he has only drawn his infield in early in a game once in four years, and that was in a game against Arizona when a "light-hitting" catcher was due up.

"He hit a single to right field, a dribbler, and they scored five runs in the inning," Manuel said. "I haven't done it since."

Pena hit a ground ball to SS Jimmy Rollins, who was playing at regular depth and only had a play at first, and Iwamura scored. The next batter, Evan Longoria, sent another groundout to Rollins, scoring Upton.

STATUS QUO LINEUP

After considering a lineup that would separate sluggers Chase Utley and Ryan Howard in the order, Manuel kept Utley at No. 3 and Howard at No. 4.

Manuel said he couldn't see any clear reason why separating Utley and Howard - both left-handed hitters - might shake the Phillies from their offensive doldrums. So his lineup for Game 3 was the same as it was in the first two games, other than the pitcher batting ninth instead of a DH in the seventh or eighth spot.

Jayson Werth remained No. 2 and Shane Victorino No. 6. Werth was batting .333 and Victorino .500 entering Saturday's game. Utley was 1-for-7 since hitting a two-run homer off Scott Kazmir in his first at-bat in Game 1, and Howard, the NL home-run and RBI champion, was hitting .222 with one extra-base hit.

Leadoff man Jimmy Rollins entered Saturday's game 0-for-10 in the series but singled his first two times up.

WEAPON SILENCED?

Since pitchers will only bat in the three games set for Citizens Bank Park, the Rays should avoid having to pitch to, uh, dangerous Brett Myers.

Myers has been a light-hitting pitcher most of his career - he has an average of .116, including .069 this season - but he has gone 3-for-5 (.600) in the playoffs.

He had a particularly good game in Philly's 8-5 NLCS Game 2 victory against the Dodgers, going 3-for-3 with three RBIs. No pitcher had driven in three runs in an NLCS since Atlanta's Tom Glavine in 1996.

Manuel joked in St. Petersburg that he considered using Myers as his DH.

The Phils' best-hitting starting pitcher for the World Series is Cole Hamels, who is scheduled to start Game 5. Hamels batted .224 with three RBIs in the regular season and was 1-for-7 (.143) in the playoffs.

FAITH IN BLANTON

C Chris Coste says that if the Rays underestimate Game 4 starter Joe Blanton because he's fourth in the rotation, they'll be making a mistake.

"He's kind of that mystery guy that gets people on the other team or other team's fans thinking, 'Oh, we'll get to that guy,'" Coste said. "And before you know it, it's the seventh inning and we're winning 5-1."

The Phillies acquired Blanton from Oakland in July, and he went 4-0 for them, albeit with a 4.20 ERA. He's 1-0 with a 3.27 ERA in the postseason.

If the Rays underestimate Blanton it will be because of how he has pitched against them in the past. He's 2-3 with a 6.05 ERA, including 0-0 with a 6.00 ERA (one start) this year.

Tony Fabrizio

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