Managers to play chess with the subs
You probably have questions about how the suspended Game 5 of the World Series will unfold when it resumes tonight with the Phillies coming to bat in the sixth with the score 2-2.
One thing we know is that it will be a matchup of the bullpens. All the relievers on both teams will have at least two days of rest except for Tampa Bay right-hander Grant Balfour, who got the three outs in the Phillies' fifth Monday night.
Tampa Bay needs to win this game, and it doesn't have the defined bullpen roles that Philadelphia does. So don't be surprised if manager Joe Maddon mixes and matches like crazy with his relievers, as when he made four pitching changes in the eighth inning of Game 7 of the championship series.
In conference-call interviews Tuesday, Maddon and Phillies manager Charlie Manuel each downplayed any possibility he'd use a starting pitcher in relief tonight. After all, there could be two more games after tonight.
? Will Balfour continue pitching for Tampa Bay when play resumes?
Maddon wouldn't commit to that.
? Who will be the first batter when play resumes?
It will be a pinch-hitter for Hamels, and Manuel declined to say Tuesday who it would be. He has a choice of three left-handed pinch-hitters against the right-handed Balfour: Greg Dobbs (the top pinch-hitter in the NL this season), Geoff Jenkins and home-run threat Matt Stairs. Maddon could have his bullpen busy before the game resumes to have a lefty ready for one of those left-handed Phillies. If Maddon brings in a lefty, Manuel can switch to a right-handed pinch-hitter (Eric Bruntlett or So Taguchi).
? What are Tampa Bay's advantages as the game resumes?
The Rays have the newly dominant David Price to pitch several innings if the game goes extra innings. Hamels, the Phillies' ace who's 4-0 in the postseason, is gone and Maddon said: "Getting him out is important." Manuel said Hamels could have probably pitched eight innings Monday if the game hadn't been stopped.
? What are the Phillies' advantages?
First, as Manuel said Tuesday, "We've got a good bullpen." His relievers have allowed two hits and one run in the series, and B.J. Upton generated the run with two steals.
Then, as Manuel said: "We've got three and half innings of baseball -- we get to bat four times, they get to bat three. We get 12 outs, they get nine."
And the Phillies will have their home crowd, which has seen them go 6-0 this postseason at Citizens Bank Park.
? How do the managers think their players will react to resuming play in a big game after an interruption of a few days?
Maddon: "I really believe we're going to react well. We're pretty jacked up about it."
Manuel: "We're going to be ready. I'll go around (before play resumes) and I'll get a feel for what they're thinking. I'll look them eye-to-eye and we'll make sure we're ready to go. But we've been resilient for the last few years. We know exactly where we're going and what we want to do."
? Phillies' relief ace Brad Lidge hasn't pitched since last Wednesday, a layoff of six days that equals his season high. Could it adversely affect him?
Both times Lidge has pitched with that much rest this season, he has thrown a scoreless ninth for a save, including in Game 1 of the World Series.
? Could Hamels start Game 7, if there is one?
He'd have to do so on three days' rest, one fewer than normal. But if tonight's resumption is postponed, then Hamels could pitch Game 7 on full rest.
You probably have questions about how the suspended Game 5 of the World Series will unfold when it resumes tonight with the Phillies coming to bat in the sixth with the score 2-2.
One thing we know is that it will be a matchup of the bullpens. All the relievers on both teams will have at least two days of rest except for Tampa Bay right-hander Grant Balfour, who got the three outs in the Phillies' fifth Monday night.
Tampa Bay needs to win this game, and it doesn't have the defined bullpen roles that Philadelphia does. So don't be surprised if manager Joe Maddon mixes and matches like crazy with his relievers, as when he made four pitching changes in the eighth inning of Game 7 of the championship series.
In conference-call interviews Tuesday, Maddon and Phillies manager Charlie Manuel each downplayed any possibility he'd use a starting pitcher in relief tonight. After all, there could be two more games after tonight.
? Will Balfour continue pitching for Tampa Bay when play resumes?
Maddon wouldn't commit to that.
? Who will be the first batter when play resumes?
It will be a pinch-hitter for Hamels, and Manuel declined to say Tuesday who it would be. He has a choice of three left-handed pinch-hitters against the right-handed Balfour: Greg Dobbs (the top pinch-hitter in the NL this season), Geoff Jenkins and home-run threat Matt Stairs. Maddon could have his bullpen busy before the game resumes to have a lefty ready for one of those left-handed Phillies. If Maddon brings in a lefty, Manuel can switch to a right-handed pinch-hitter (Eric Bruntlett or So Taguchi).
? What are Tampa Bay's advantages as the game resumes?
The Rays have the newly dominant David Price to pitch several innings if the game goes extra innings. Hamels, the Phillies' ace who's 4-0 in the postseason, is gone and Maddon said: "Getting him out is important." Manuel said Hamels could have probably pitched eight innings Monday if the game hadn't been stopped.
? What are the Phillies' advantages?
First, as Manuel said Tuesday, "We've got a good bullpen." His relievers have allowed two hits and one run in the series, and B.J. Upton generated the run with two steals.
Then, as Manuel said: "We've got three and half innings of baseball -- we get to bat four times, they get to bat three. We get 12 outs, they get nine."
And the Phillies will have their home crowd, which has seen them go 6-0 this postseason at Citizens Bank Park.
? How do the managers think their players will react to resuming play in a big game after an interruption of a few days?
Maddon: "I really believe we're going to react well. We're pretty jacked up about it."
Manuel: "We're going to be ready. I'll go around (before play resumes) and I'll get a feel for what they're thinking. I'll look them eye-to-eye and we'll make sure we're ready to go. But we've been resilient for the last few years. We know exactly where we're going and what we want to do."
? Phillies' relief ace Brad Lidge hasn't pitched since last Wednesday, a layoff of six days that equals his season high. Could it adversely affect him?
Both times Lidge has pitched with that much rest this season, he has thrown a scoreless ninth for a save, including in Game 1 of the World Series.
? Could Hamels start Game 7, if there is one?
He'd have to do so on three days' rest, one fewer than normal. But if tonight's resumption is postponed, then Hamels could pitch Game 7 on full rest.
