Phillies aren't satisfied yet

I’m not satisfied. Neither are the Phillies.

Last year, after going more than half my life without playoff baseball, I was content with the Phillies winning the National League East, and helping to erase the 1964 Phillies from the record books as the biggest choke-job in baseball history.

Don’t get me wrong. I was disappointed that our playoff stay only lasted three games, but I was quite happy to see a meaningful baseball game in October.

This year, I expected the Phillies to win the division, so at this point, I’m not ready to call this season a success. Based on the subdued celebration on Saturday, my guess is that the Phillies’ players aren’t ready either.

Now that the Mets have officially finished off Shea Stadium with back-to-back September collapses, we can turn our attention to the Milwaukee Brewers and the National League Division Series.

Much is going to be made of the Phillies four-game sweep of the Brewers in September, and how the Phillies’ season was saved by those four wins, but I don’t think those games really matter anymore.First, the Phillies didn’t face C.C. Sabathia in that series, and second, the regular season doesn’t matter once the calendar turns to October, as the St. Louis Cardinals proved in 2006, going from an 83-win team to world champions.

Despite the Brewers’ recent hot streak, I am pretty confident heading into the playoffs.I know that with guys like Ryan Howard, Prince Fielder, Chase Utley, Ryan Braun, and Jimmy Rollins, the Phillies and the Brewers can certainly rake, but this series, like so many in October, will come down to pitching.

Other than C.C. Sabathia, the Phillies have a much stronger starting rotation for the playoffs, with Cole Hamels, Jamie Moyer, Brett Myers and Joe Blanton prepared to go deep into games against the Brew Crew. In addition, the Phillies bullpen, with a 3.19 ERA, has been the best in the National League this year, while like the Mets, the Brewers have seen their share of struggles, despite a respectable 3.83 ERA from their relievers.

More important than statistics are the potential pitching matchups. Manny Parra, who the Phillies knocked out after recording just four outs a few weeks ago, is the only left-handed starter that the Brewers can throw at Chase Utley and Ryan Howard.

Out of the bullpen, the Brew Crew can only send Brian Shouse to the hill for late inning left-left situations. Also, if Ben Sheets isn’t healthy enough to start (he didn’t make it out of the third inning Saturday), the Brewers will be forced to use Yovani Gallardo, who made his first start in five months last week, and some combination of Dave Bush, Jeff Suppan and Manny Parra.

My only real concern in the playoffs is with Hamels. I know that he is supposed to be our ace, but he is the one that worries me the most. After seeing Sabathia take the ball three straight turns on short rest, and seeing Johan Santana toss a 2-hitter on short rest for the Mets, I wonder how Hamels would perform in those situations.

Santana’s coach, Jerry Manuel, called his 2-hitter “gangsta.” Early in September, Hamels whined that he wasn’t getting an extra day off, and struggled through a 6-3 loss to the Mets on regular rest. That certainly wasn’t “gangsta” at all.

I really believe that Hamels will do very well this postseason, but if game seven of the World Series falls on a day that Hamels isn’t scheduled to pitch, will he answer the bell and deliver a “gangsta” performance?

I know that I’m just nitpicking, but my biggest fear is Charlie Manuel having to beg Hamels to pitch on short rest at some point this month. Hopefully, with Moyer, Myers and Blanton behind him, the Phillies won’t be that desperate.

Prediction: Phillies in four.

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Like the “On the Edge” column? Hear more of my opinions about Philadelphia sports every Friday at 3:30 p.m. on WBCB 1490 AM during the Coffee with Kahuna show, where, this week, we will talk about the Eagles/Redskins upcoming battle, and the first two games of the Phillies’ NLDS series with the Milwaukee Brewers.