Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • Page 2-3

By Dave van Dyck TRIBUNE REPORTER LOS ANGELES Maybe they waited as long as the Cubs for a World Series championship, but the Philadelphia Phillies have their own bones rattling around in the closet. They now have their first chance since 1993 to let the ghosts out and win only their second championship after beating the Dodgers 5-1 Wednesday night to win the best-of-seven National League Championship Series four games to one. The Cubs have two titles, though their last came in 1908. The only championship came in 1980. They lost in six games to Toronto in 1993.

Never mind that Philadelphia has to wait until Wednesday night to meet the winner of the Boston-Tampa Bay AL series. The Phillies might take that long to recover after they flooded the visiting clubhouse at Dodger Stadium with champagne. is the third step, and we have one said manager Charlie Manuel, who left on a private jet after the game to attend his funeral in Virginia. going to take the grand The grand marshal might be left-hander Cole Hamels, named the NLCS most valuable player after winning his second game against the Dodgers. Hamels has allowed only three runs in 22 postseason innings.

He worked seven innings Wednesday and allowed only Manny sixth-inning homer, which gave Ramirez 30 career playoff RBIs. battled from the very Hamels said. made my job a lot easier when we put up Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley allowed three runs in less than three innings. He had not lost a game at Dodger Stadium since July 8, going 6-0. But he started the game with a 3-and-2 pitch to Jimmy Rollins that cleared the right-field fence and then gave up two hits, two unintentional walks and a wild pitch before leaving in the third.

Rollins also hit a homer to lead off the deciding game against the Brewers in the NL Division Series. he smiled. was able to put a good piece of wood on The game also featured two innings of relief from Greg Maddux in what might have been the final appearance of his Hall of Fame career. he said of the future. going to go home and Maddux allowed two runs in the fifth as the Phillies extended their lead to 5-0, but the runs were unearned because of shortstop Rafael three errors.

He made two on one play when he booted a grounder and then threw wildly to home. lot of people expect us to hit home runs, but we found a way to manufacture said Ryan Howard, who had three hits and drove in only his second run of the NLCS. Still, the Phillies scored 18 of their first 36 playoff runs on homers, counting shot. Dodgers manager Joe Torre was asked the difference between sweeping the Cubs in three games and losing in five to the Phillies. live by the home run and die by the home run, and they got us this Torre said.

they pitched real well out of the bullpen. We get where we needed to Hamels was followed by a scoreless inning each from Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge. The Philadelphia bullpen has allowed only two runs in its last 19 2 3 innings of work. what all about, everybody stepping said Shane Victorino. And now the Phillies are going back to the World Series to erase their own ghosts.

been hearing about the team over and over, and we finally get to make our own Rollins said. Outfielder Jayson Werth is doused with champagne in the clubhouse after the Phillies defeated the Dodgers to win the National League championship Wednesday night. DAVID J. NLCS PHILLIES 5, DODGERS 1 Next up: Series Hamels keys Phils, who seek 2nd title 3 TRIBUNE THE PLAYOFFS but the bullpen is well rested because of sterling efforts from Matt Garza and Andy Sonnanstine in Games 3 and 4 that helped silence a usually raucous Fenway Park crowd. After scoring three runs in the fifth inning of Game 2 against Kazmir, the Red Sox score multiple runs in an inning until the eighth inning of 13-4 loss.

have to keep piling on those runs and keep the crowd out of said Rays rookie slugger Evan Longoria, who has homered in three consecutive games. when we were ahead 11-1 they scored that second run and the crowd is back in it. crazy how loud they can get in a short amount of Maddon said he and his staff considered the switch before the series because of the days off after Games 2 and 5. Kazmir pitched seven innings since July 21. Shields was brought to the interview room Tuesday to discuss his Game 5 start, so the switch surprised the principals as well.

and I were just talking about going on, what are we going to do, and then next thing you know, we get the word that it was going to be Kazmir said. it really anything that was going on, it was something that we were just waiting for the By Mark Gonzales TRIBUNE REPORTER BOSTON Instead of sticking with a knockout punch, Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon hopes his pitching staff lands enough jabs to win the American League Championship Series over defending World Series champion Boston. With the Rays one victory away from their first World Series berth, Maddon took a calculated gamble by shifting gears and naming mercurial left-hander Scott Kazmir to start Thursday Game 5 of the ALCS ahead of James Shields. The Rays hold a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. not looking to give them any kind of Maddon said Wednesday during a news conference.

just trying to look at the big picture. Again, something we had talked about before coming in. And it just happened to play out that To advance to the World Series, Tampa Bay needs one win over a Boston team that has overcome three 3-1 deficits in ALCS play, the most recent last year against Cleveland. The Rays have rebounded from 10 consecutive losing seasons and made a 31-game improvement from 2007. But switching the rotation with an AL title at stake would seem like a major gamble because of inconsistency and dependability in important games.

Maddon is counting on Kazmir to fare better than Shields has at Fenway Park. Shields was 0-2 with a 21.21 ERA in two starts at Boston this season, compared with his 2-0 record and 1.17 ERA in two regular-season starts against the Red Sox at Tropicana Field. Kazmir is 4-4 with a 3.02 ERA in 11 career starts at Fenway. Maddon acknowledged that part of his reasoning is the Rays would be better equipped to use their bullpen and still recover if the Red Sox force a Game 6, which Shields would start. Kazmir threw 37 pitches in the first inning of Game 2 of the AL Division Series against the White Sox on Oct.

3, and he threw 38 pitches and allowed two runs in the first inning against Boston in Game 2 of the ALCS Saturday, lasting only 4 1 3 innings. The Rays had to employ six relievers after the latter start, ALCS GAME 5 RAYS AT RED SOX Maddon calls on Kazmir Lefty has pitched better at Fenway than Shields has Tampa Scott Kazmir is 4-4 with a 3.02 ERA in 11 career starts at Fenway Park. PIERRE VIA AP much on a Japanese pinch- hitter. A team that has won 742 games. While the Cubs have won 10,082.

How many MVPs have the Rays had? None. Batting champs? None. Cy Young Award winners? None. No- hitters? None. How many uniform numbers have the Rays retired? Two.

One belonged to Wade Boggs, who played there when he was 40 and 41 after playing for other teams from age 24. The other is Jackie Robinson. A great man, but the most colorful memory of his time in Florida was not being permitted to use a restroom. Tampa leading home This would beat that like a drum. This is superbad.

This could be enough to turn Ernie Banks into a Cardinals fan. You stick with your team through thick and thin, yes. But the thick? This is as thin as it gets. This is Wheat Thins thin. This is Olsen Twin thin.

The tacky Tampa Bay park, worst team, worst eBay memora- bilia, worst a victory from winning a pennant. You remember what a pennant is. that triangular patch of fabric that Project Wrigley run up a pole for 63 years. I thought the 2008 World Series might end up being Boston vs. L.A.

(Or, as I liked to think of it, BoSox vs. Bo- tox.) And if the Phillies made it instead, OK. I would be pleased for faithful fans, even if a lot of them are so mean they would boo a fireman at a fire. I could see a Cubs fan coming to grips with any of those teams preventing the end of the Hundred-Year Horror. But please, not the Rays.

a fan of Rays, as a rule. I like Ray Romano and Ray Lewis and Ray Bradbury and Ray Nitschke and Rachael Ray. I once drove a Sting Ray and went to a fight to see Sugar Ray. I dug that movie with Jamie Foxx. As ballclubs go, though, the Rays represent everything a Cubs fan stand: A team that is 10 years old.

Ron Santo owns hairpieces that are more than 10 years old. Wrigley Field has rats that are more than 10 years old. A team that in 2007 had an average attendance of 17,148 a night. Wrigley could draw 18,000 for a pie-eating contest. A team with a payroll below $48million.

My friends, the Cubs spent that run hitter of all time is the immortal (cough) Aubrey Huff. Do you know who is No. 10 on that list? Jose Canseco with 43. career homers in a Rays uniform. I never have met a Tampa Bay baseball fan in 49 of our 50 states.

I never have seen anybody in a cap, which could have something to do with not wishing to advertise a deadly infectious disease. Do you know what Tampa team colors are? Neither do I. If the team has a theme song, no one farther away than Orlando can hum it. It probably is called: 17,000 of Us Out to the Ball Hardest thing of all for Tampa Bay to do is to find a celebrity to throw out a first pitch. I think someone in the marketing department opened a Greater St.

Petersburg phone book to a random page, pointed and said, about Most humiliating of all, if I had to find a famous Tampa Bay native to toss out a first ball, I probably would pick Lou Piniella. Leave it to the Cubs not only to louse up their 100- year comeback, but to have the World Series won by the losingest bunch of losers in the whole wide world. Not everybody loves the Cubs the way everybody loved Raymond, but almost nobody loves the Rays. Rays raze any pride on N. Side Continuedfrom Page1 BOSTON The Red season quite up in flames, but a small fire at a landmark near Fenway Park be a good omen.

The fire Wednesday melted and blackened some of the plastic panels on the red, white and blue Citgo sign over Green Monster in left field. No one was injured. Steve MacDonald, a spokesman for the Boston Fire Department, said the flames and smoke, first spotted by bystanders and drivers about noon, were quickly put out and the blaze was likely caused by an electrical short circuit. Damage was estimated at $5,000. Web site says the 60- foot-by-60-foot sign which has been on top of a building by the ballpark since 1940 includes more than 5 miles of neon tubes, lit by 250 high- voltage transformers.

In 2005 the company renovated the sign and switched to LEDs. Press Red Sox sign of trouble? RAYS LEAD SERIES 3-1 (Best of 7) if necessary ALCS PITCHING MATCHUP LINE20082008TM PITCHER TIMEW-LERAREC TB Scott Bos Daisuke PITCHER 2008 VS. OPP.PLAYOFFS Kazmir Mtsuzaka Saturday: at Tampa Bay, Sunday: at Tampa Bay, Game 1: Boston 2-0 Game 2: TAMPA BAY 9-8 (11) Game 3: Tampa Bay 9-1 Game 4: Tampa Bay 13-4 PHILLIES WIN SERIES 4-1 (Best of 7) necessary Wednesday: Philadelphia 5-1 Game 1: PHILADELPHIA 3-2 Game 2: PHILADELPHIA 8-5 Game 3: LOS ANGELES 7-2 Game 4: Philadelphia 7-5 Home team in CAPS WORLD SERIES SCHEDULE Oct. 22: at T.B./Boston Thursday, Oct. 23: at T.B./Boston Saturday, Oct.

25: at Philadelphia Sunday, Oct. 26: at Philadelphia Monday, Oct. 27: at Wednesday, Oct. 29: at T.B./Boston* Thursday, Oct. 30: a T.B./Boston* LOS ANGELES That dugout runway pipe burst by one of the Cubs after Game 3 of the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium has cost an estimated $4,000, according to a Dodgers source.

As requested, the bill has been sent to the Cubs. The long runway goes from the dugout up a set of stairs to the clubhouse. Near the ceiling of the runway are several large water pipes, which a Cub broke, apparently with a bat. The runway flooded. No more Stevie: Now that he is with the Phillies, Scott Eyre has retired his glove that had stitched on it, a reference to Cubs manager Lou Pi- niella calling him used it only the one time, more or less to make (announcers Len Kasper and Bob Brenly) laugh a little Eyre said.

at home, sitting on my Eyre said he took no satisfaction from still playing while his former teammates are home after losing to the Dodgers. at he said. would be either them here or the Dodgers, and be hoping either way be I have a good bunch of friends over there. called me, left me a text message, even called my kids, how good a guy he is. Kerry Wood left me a message, and Geovany Soto left me a congratulations.

nice to be The Cubs placed the left- hander on waivers late in the season. Eventually he was traded to Philadelphia, where he is happy. was better than where I he said, for no other reason than I just getting to pitch on a regular basis. Pitching every six or seven days in a 10-1 game my idea of Extra innings: Phillies manager Charlie Manuel flew to Virginia after game to attend his funeral. With Manny Ramirez on fire, it brings to mind that the NLCS record for batting average belongs to Dusty Baker, who hit .467 against Philadelphia in 1978.

Baker also had eight RBIs that series. Tommy Lasorda, who guided the Dodgers to four NL championships in 20 years as manager, threw out ceremonial first pitch. Twenty years ago Wednesday, Lasorda was managing when Kirk Gibson hit his dramatic homer off Dennis Eckersley in Game 1 of the World Series. In a 1995 poll, it was the voted the greatest moment in Los Angeles sports history. NLCS BITS BY DAVE VAN DYCK Tab for broken pipe is $4,000 Dodgers bill Cubs for dugout damage PHILADELPHIA ABRHBIAVG.

Rollins ss4211.143 Werth rf4010.190 Utley 2b4200.353 Howard 1b4131.300 Burrell lf4011.333 Bruntlett lf1000.000 Victorino cf2010.222 Feliz 3b4010.154 Ruiz c4000.313 Hamels p3000.200 d-Taguchi ph1000.000 Madson Lidge TOTALS35583 LOS ANGELES ABRHBIAVG. Furcal ss4000.211 Ethier rf4000.227 MRamirez lf3121.533 Martin c4000.118 Loney 1b4020.438 Blake Kemp cf3020.333 Dewitt 2b2000.077 Mcdonald p0000.000 c-Garciaparra Billingsley p0000.000 Park a-Ozuna ph1000.000 Maddux b-Kent Beimel Wade Kuo TOTALS32171 Los a -was out bunting for Park in the 3rd. -struck out for Maddux in the 5th. -walked for McDonald in the 7th. -grounded out for Hamels in the 8th.

Furcal 3 (4). LOB: Philadelphia 9, Los Angeles 7. HR: MRamirez (2), off Hamels; Rollins (1), off Billingsley. RBIs: Rollins (1), Howard (2), Burrell (3), MRamirez (7). SB: Rollins (2).

GIDP: Utley, Bruntlett, Dewitt 2. Runners left in scoring position: Philadelphia 5 (Feliz 2, Ruiz, Hamels 2); Los Angeles 4 (Martin, Garciaparra, Kent 2). DP: Philadelphia 2 (Utley, Rollins and Howard), (Utley, Rollins and Howard); Los Angeles 2 (Loney and Furcal), (Blake, Furcal and Loney). PHILADELPHIA IPHRERBBSOERA Hamels Madson1100000.00 Lidge1100000.00 LOS ANGELES IPHRERBBSOERA Billingsley 2 3 4334418.00 Park 1 3 000000.00 Maddux2220130.00 Mcdonald2100120.00 Beimel 1 3 000000.00 Wade 2 3 000004.91 Kuo1100013.00 Inherited runners-scored: Park 3-0. IBB: off Maddux (Victorino) 1, off Billingsley (Victorino) 1.

WP: Billingsley. Umpires: Home, Mike Winters; 1B, Gary Cederstrom; 2B, Mike Reilly; 3B, Jerry Meals; LF, Mike Everitt; RF, Ted Barrett. 3:14. 56,800. HOW THEY SCORED PHILLIES FIRST: Rollins homered.

Werth walked. Utley grounded into double play, Werth out. Howard grounded out. One run. Phillies 1-0.

PHILLIES THIRD: Hamels struck out. Rollins walked. Rollins stole second. Werth struck out. Utley walked.

Howard singled, scoring Rollins, Utley to third. Burrell singled, scoring Utley, Howard to third. On wild pitch, Burrell to second. Victorino intentionally walked. Park pitching.

Feliz grounded out. Two runs. Phillies 3-0. PHILLIES FIFTH: Werth singled. Utley grounded into choice, Werth out.

Howard singled, Utley to second. Burrell safe on error, scoring Utley, Howard to second. On error, Howard to third, Burrell to second. Victorino intentionally walked. Feliz struck out.

Ruiz safe on error, scoring Howard, Burrell to third, Victorino to second. Hamels grounded out. Two runs. Phillies 5-0. DODGERS SIXTH: Furcal grounded out.

Ethier flied out. Ramirez homered. Martin struck out. One run. Phillies 5-1.

Product: CTSPTS PubDate: 10-16-2008 Zone: ALL Edition: HD Page: 2-3 User: kkomisarek Time: Color:.