Philadelphia Phillies 2011 NLDS: Still No Reason to Panic in Philly

It might be shocking for some to look at the record and see that the Philadelphia Phillies are tied at 1-1 for the NLDS. That is in fact the case however, as now with the series all tied up, the possible final two games will be played in St Louis. Is your panic meter starting to rise yet? Mine isn't.

One postseason loss isn't going to define the Phillies entire season and one loss isn't going to send them packing. I was actually quite optimistic after last night's loss. Despite losing the game, the Phillies showed a lot of positive signs that they aren't going to fold. Besides, like I said, it is only 1-1. It is not as if the Phillies are down 1-0 or that game three will make or break the postseason. It isn't that at all.

Game three is certainly going to be important but it will not be the do all end all. The Phillies are still a long way away from being upset in the first round of the playoffs, and in my estimation this is an upset that is still not going to happen.

There is no need to be scared in Philly. It is just one game, and it was the game that St. Louis had the best shot of winning. Chris Carpenter, game two's starting pitcher, was originally slated to pitch game three.

After the Cards were downed by Roy Halladay in game one however, Manager Tony LaRussa switched up his rotation and took the hottest Cardinal pitcher and put him in what the Cardinals considered a "must win" game two. 

The worse part for the Phillies is that they had their chances. They got to Carpenter early and knocked him out of the game when they secured a 4-0 lead.

At that point many people were giving the game to the Phillies and with Cliff Lee on the mound who could blame them? Unfortunately the Phillies ace didn't have his greatest of games and he managed to give up the lead late in the 6th and 7th innings.

Lee not being on his game—is this a reason to panic? No. It was one start and according to the wonderful world of baseball statistics, it really is better to be lucky than good. Lee's BABIP (Batting Average on Balls in Play) was high, a mark that goes to prove the old baseball adage that as long as you put the ball into play, good things can happen.

He still managed to have nine strikeouts however and gave up no home runs. The hits he gave up were really perfectly threaded into the holes of the defense.

People are talking about Lee faltering in the postseason but given his track record it would really have been more difficult for him to pitch better. In Lee's first eight postseason starts he was 7-0 with a 1.26 ERA.

Sure, in his last three he is 0-3 with an ERA over seven but what people are failing to realize is he is pitching normally. His first numbers were incredibly improbable even for a pitcher as good as Lee. It was only natural that he would have to come down to earth at some point.

Another reason why there is no need to panic in Philly is because Cole Hamels, the Phillies own postseason wonder child is on the mound in game three. Hamels matches up against Jaime Garcia of the Cards.

The pitching matchup clearly favors Hamels and given his postseason successes, I would not be surprised for the 'California Kid" to pitch seven or eight one-run innings. Garcia is a solid pitcher but Hamels is an playoff proven ace and the difference will be reflected on the mound in game three.

The Phillies offense looked great in the first two innings last night, then they faded. Inconsistencies have plagued Philadelphia all season, but despite this I still took a lot of positives from last night's and the night before's performances.

Chase Utley who some said was in a decline, has really been a factor this postseason. He has scored two runs and added two RBIs. From the second spot in the lineup, he really is doing his job as a catalyst for the rest of the offense.

Then there is Ryan Howard. Howard, who in the 2010 postseason was basically nonexistent, has come back with a vengeance here in 2011. He has already gifted the Phillies with six RBIs and a three run HR.

He has been hitting the ball well, and on several occasions has only been footsteps away from blasting another HR. Howard recorded his first postseason strikeout of 2011 in game two after a host of at-bats. He looks like the Ryan Howard of old and the Phillies should be glad because they need him to win.

Besides the stats so far, Howard is a beast in his home town of St. Louis where the series is headed. It really is home field advantage for him there too and he has proven that throughout his career as most of his best stats and numbers came in the Cardinals ballpark.

Jimmy Rollins is as hot as postseason hitters come including going 3-4 with two doubles that were inches away from being HR in game two. He has been a bright spot for the Phillies so far in both games and there is no reason to believe that his hot bat will slow down anytime soon.

So fear not Philly, because there is really no need to hit the panic button. Tied at 1-1 with the series headed to St. Louis might sound frightening but it isn't.

Baseball is set up so that one team does not have to sweep their way through four playoff games in order to win like football is. Teams are bound to lose at least one game a series and this is no different for the Phillies.

In fact in 2008, the Phillies also lost exactly one game each series and ended up winning the World Series. It could be quite possibly that 2011 is on the exact same blueprint to success.