Yankee manager Joe Girardi’s three-man rotation may prove to be his downfall, and the Phillies finally seemed to overcome his childish stall tactics last night, but he’s still out-managing Charlie Manuel in the games. Or rather, Manuel is out-managing Manuel and handing the Yankees free runs with curious decisions like pulling Shane Victorino from the game in the top of the eighth for Ben Francisco instead of having Francisco replace Raul Ibanez.

With a six-run lead, does it matter if Victorino can’t throw very well from his finger injury in the first inning? If it was that bad, what was he doing in there from innings two through seven? And if it only became an issue to start the eighth, why not move Victorino to left field where throwing doesn’t matter as much? After all, you’re trying to collect six outs the old-fashioned way if possible. Either Francisco or Victorino could have camped under that ball Ibanez dove for and missed, and it cost the Phillies two runs.

It was almost Black Friday all over again.

Fortunately, Chase Utley is absolutely on fire. His two home runs not only tied Reggie Jackson’s single World Series record, they provided the spark and the cushion the Phillies needed to stay alive on a night when Cliff Lee gutted out a tough seven-plus innings in which he did not have his best stuff.

So the Phillies live to fight another day, and they’ve more than a puncher’s chance of seeing game seven. The Yankees send Old Man Pettite to the hill on three days’ rest and the Phils counter with Old Man Martinez on normal rest. Believe it or not, I think game six could hinge on the home plate umpire. A consistently liberal strike zone could mean a pitcher’s duel; a tight strike zone could spell Pettite’s doom. But if the ump feels pressure from the Yankee Stadium crowd and gives Pettite more slack than Martinez, he’ll hang the Phillies with it.

Now that the Yankees finally finished off the Angels, we’ll find out if beating the almighty men in navy pinstripes is the only way this Phillies ball club will get some respect as a great team. If they do, they could go down as one of the best National League teams in 50 years (and even better than that depending on how they perform in the next couple of seasons).

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, because the Phillies definitely won’t. The task at hand is back-to-back world championships, and their opponent this year is certainly more formidable. But could they actually match up better against the Yankees than the Rays?

As unlikely as that may seem, the answer is yes.

Catcher
The regular season stats may not show it, and he may not have his own Sportscenter commercial, but the Phillies actually have a better catcher than the Yankees. For the second straight season, Carlos Ruiz has swung a hot bat in the postseason, while his work behind the plate remains exemplary. Defensively and as a signal-caller, he’s head-and-shoulders above Jorge Posada, who won’t even start every game in the series because he can’t get along with starter A.J. Burnett. Edge: Phillies

First Base
This is easily the most evenly matched position in the series. Ryan Howard’s defense is vastly improved from a year ago, but he still isn’t fit to spit shine Mark Teixeira’s Gold Gloves. On the other hand, he has more power than Teixeira and has driven in more runs this postseason than anyone except Alex Rodriguez. Teixeira is a better overall hitter, except for the postseason, when he has absolutely wilted, even while hitting in front of A-Rod. If Teixeira’s bat wakes up, he get’s the edge; if not, Howard does because he can change the face of any game with one swing. Edge: Even

Second Base
Robinson Cano is a former batting champion who recovered from a dismal 2008 campaign to put up good numbers again this year. A better pure hitter than Chase Utley, Cano doesn’t have the raw power, defense, hustle, intangibles and all-around moxie to compete with Utley—the best second sacker in the game. Edge: Phillies

Third Base
The only area this position even comes close to competitive is defense: Pedro Feliz is really good with the glove, but even he doesn’t match up to Alex Rodriguez, who isn’t even playing the right position (see below). A-Rod will probably finish his career with more home runs than anyone who ever played. The only people who will remember Feliz are Phillies fans. Of course, A-Rod had to pick this year to break out of his playoff funk. Edge: Yankees

Shortstop
This is another fairly even match up. Derek Jeter is a first-ballot Hall of Famer and a better hitter than Jimmy Rollins. J-Roll is a human vacuum cleaner at short, while Jeter should have swallowed his pride two years ago and moved to third base. Both players thrive in the clutch, though Jeter has a lot more experience in that area. Yankees fans idolize Jeter, and well they should, but he’s past his prime at shortstop; and if you offered me a straight-up trade of 2009 Jeter for 2009 Rollins—I’d pass without having to think about it. Edge: Phillies

Left Field
Raul Ibanez was one of the best free-agent signings anywhere in baseball this year, and he picked a good time to come back to life after strug-ga-ling mightily the last few months of the season. Refreshed, he’s a far more dangerous hitter than the almost-as-old Johnny Damon. Neither one of them is exactly Gold Glove material anymore, though Ibanez may have a slightly better throwing arm There’s a good chance Ibanez could DH in New York, putting the better-fielding Ben Francisco in left. Edge: Phillies

Center Field
Shane Victorino is as fast as they come, has a cannon for an arm, and his instincts on line drives and fly balls of all variety are matched by few major league centerfielders. They certainly aren’t matched by Melky Cabrera, the second of New York’s trio of left fielders. Victorino is also a much better hitter who steals bases with the best of them. Frankly, this isn’t much of a contest. Edge: Phillies

Right Field
One minute Jayson Werth looks terrible at the plate and the next he’s delivering a big two-strike hit to right. Regardless, his offensive numbers are much better than Nick Swisher, whose main claim to fame is loosening up the Yankees clubhouse. Werth also possesses a rocket arm and great speed, while Swisher shouldn’t even be playing right field. Again, not much of a contest. Edge: Phillies

Designated Hitter
The edge here depends on who is actually DH for the Phillies. If it’s Ibanez, he’s a superior hitter to Hideki Matsui, whose bad knees have robbed him of power and make him a liability on the bases. If the Phillies decide to mix and match at DH and leave Ibanez in left field, then Matsui gets the edge over whoever the Phillies bring in from the bench. Edge: Even

Starting Pitching
1) Day one is the mother of all pitching duels: CC Sabathia versus Cliff Lee. The two ex-Cleveland lefties have both been unhittable this postseason, and there’s no reason to think they won’t keep throwing zeroes. Of course, the Phillies did beat Sabathia in the playoffs last year when he was with Milwaukee. 2) Another great dual sets up for game two when Pedro Martinez returns to the big stage of Yankee stadium, where he loves the pressure and spotlight; A.J. Burnett used to be a semi-regular punching bag for the Phillies when he pitched for Florida. 3) The way Cole Hamels has pitched most of this year (without an out pitch), it’s hard not to give the edge to veteran Yankee southpaw Andy Pettite, though the Phillies could easily light up his stuff as well. 4) It’s almost a given that the Yankees will go with Sabathia on three days rest because the rest of their rotation… well, they don’t really have one. The Phillies will most likely turn to Joe Blanton, who hasn’t been real good in the playoffs. The good news is, that means Lee matches up against an inferior opponent in game five. Edge: Even

Bullpen
The Phillies bullpen has been much maligned this season, and with good reason; but they seem to have turned it around in the playoffs, with a few hiccups. The Yankees have the opposite problem. What was supposed to be a strength (middle relief) has become a crapshoot in the postseason. But whether or not Brad Lidge has hit the reset button since the playoffs started, there’s a reason Mariano Rivera is nicknamed the Hammer of God. Even the Phillies, with their propensity for late-inning heroics, cannot afford to give Rivera the ball with a lead. Edge: Yankees

Bench
Last year this would’ve been no contest in favor of the Phillies, but Greg Dobbs, Matt Stairs & Co. haven’t been anywhere near as good as last season. Having Matsui on the bench in the Philadelphia games could prove advantageous to the Yankees. Edge: Yankees

Manager
Charlie Manuel has 45 years of professional baseball experience and manages by instinct. Joe Girardi has three years of managerial experience and manages with a three-ring binder that looks like it holds the New York State tax code. Edge: Phillies

Summary
I mark it 7-3-3 in favor of the Phillies. Last year I had the Phillies with a 7-4-2 advantage over the Rays, and that worked out well. Hopefully, my amateur scouting skills haven’t worn off. But it seems clear to me that the Phillies have better team speed, play better defense and their lineup can go toe-to-toe with the Bronx Bombers. Even their pitching staffs are fairly even.

The Yankees are the best team money can buy, but not as many people are ready to hand them their 27th World Series title as you might think. Though the fact that so many are just because they are the Yankees, regardless of which team is actually the defending champion, tells you something about the lack of recognition the Phillies get for being a great team. Well, there’s one way to fix that…

Last year I wrote: “I feel good about this. Much more calm than I should be, really.”

I never would have thought I’d be sitting here at the same time again the following year feeling exactly the same way.

The Phillies may or may not win this World Series. Despite my dominant scouting edge in favor of the Phightins, I don’t share J-Roll’s confidence about a five-game victory. If they do win, I think it will probably take more than that. But I absolutely, 100 percent believe they can beat the Yankees; and so do they.

Not too many seasons ago, beating the Yankees in a World Series would have been unthinkable to both Philadelphia player and fan.

My how times have changed.

What was that I said this morning about silent strokes? I should be dead by now.

The Phillies couldn’t have picked a more stressful fashion in which to win game four and move on to the National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Stressful for us fans at least, because the team sure looked calm after home plate umpire Ron “Squeeze” Kulpa and Ryan Madson ruined a gem by Cliff Lee in the bottom of the eighth inning.

The game was entirely too close for comfort the whole way through to that point, but it felt like Lee had things in hand before Kulpa, for the second time in the game, walked a batter to whom Lee had thrown three clear strikes. Then that same batter should have been called out on the next play when he lept over Chase Utley while fielding Todd Helton’s ground ball, but instead ended up safe at second when Jimmy Rollins dropped Utley’s toss.

At this point Charlie Manuel made the right move by summoning Madson to face Troy Tulowitski, and all went according to plan when Ben Francisco retired Tulowitski on a fantastic catch in left field. But then Jason Giambi and his porn-stache singled to left to score the tying run and Yorvit Torrealba (whose antics behind the plate were getting tiresome) doubled in Helton and Giambi to take a 4-2 lead.

By the way, is it just me or does Helton look like Theodore Roosevelt’s inbred cousin with that dumbass grin?

Anyway, raise your hand if you thought the Phillies would get those three runs back in the top of the ninth? Once again Rollins got the rally going, singling up the middle. Shane Victorino traded places with him on a fielder’s choice, and then Rockies closer Huston Street (a fellow Texas Longhorn) inexplicably nibbled on Utley with Ryan Howard on deck. The walk would cost him dearly when Howard doubled home both runs (once Victorino figured out where third base was) to tie the game and Jayson Werth followed that up with what would prove to be the game-winning RBI single.

Now with a one-run lead again, it was back to the shaky bullpen and Scott Eyre, who got two outs before putting two men on and forcing another Lidge-Tulowitski showdown. Fortunately, Brad Lidge had one more knee-buckling slider in him and got the strikeout to send Philadelphia to Los Angeles for an NLCS rematch and lower the collective hearts of all Phillies fans from their throats.

I’ll be back in a few days with an NLCS preview. I don’t know about you, but after this series, I need the rest.

Looks like any questions about whether the Phillies could flip the postseason switch on have been answered. Every aspect of their game which had been missing over the last four weeks suddenly showed up today: the hitting, the pitching, the professional demeanor.

They scored five runs with good at bats, good situational hitting and without a home run. Cliff Lee, who had struggled somewhat of late, was outstanding. He pummeled the Rockies with first-pitch strikes and had them on their heels the whole game. That was the Cliff Lee who wowed us all after his arrival from Cleveland. It’s always nice when your starter goes the distance; it’s especially nice when it means not having to use the weakest part of the team: the bullpen.

Perhaps as important as what showed up was what didn’t go away. The Phillies exceptional defense dealt well with a howling wind, in particular Jimmy Rollins, who made two fantastic plays on popups. The Rockies, on the other hand, misplayed a couple of well-hit balls in the outfield which would’ve been home runs on normal days, but ended up just RBI doubles and triples by Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth, respectively.

About the only thing the Phillies didn’t do well in game one was base running. Carlos Ruiz got caught off second on a groundout to the pitcher, which cost them a run later in the inning, and Shane Victorino got doubled off third from all the way across the diamond.

Still, if you were to script up game one of the playoffs as a Phillies fan, this was about as good a start as you could ask for: solid defense, clutch hitting and a six-hit, one-run complete game from Lee. This one builds confidence and determination for the Phillies, reminding them that they’ve done this before and they can do it again.

I’m excited for game two. I think the Rockies will flail at Cole Hamels’ changeup, a pitch they didn’t see very often from Lee. I can’t wait to see if I’m right.

That was the most uncanny display of lucky bounces for one team and unlucky shots for the other that I’ve seen in a long time. Cliff Lee made a bunch of good pitches early on that turned into gorks and dying quails, which always seems to lead to a frustrated pitcher giving up a solid hit to follow. Wandy Rodriguez’ epic at bat in the second inning hardly helped either.

Probably how Cliff Lee felt during his short night on the mound.

Meanwhile, all night long, anytime the Phillies actually got guys on base they followed that up with a smash hit right at somebody. The line drive double play to end the game was only fitting. I guess there are glass-half-full and half-empty ways to look at that: They still aren’t scoring runs lately, but at least they were hitting the ball hard. Often that’s the sign of a team about to break free of a funk.

The Phillies also somehow managed to wreck the only feel-good story tonight. Aaron Boone made his home debut here in Houston after returning from open heart surgery and took a fastball in the ribs for his trouble when pinch-hitting in the eighth inning. To add insult to injury, Shane Victorino threw him out at home to end another Astros scoring threat. Welcome back, Aaron.

C’mon man, I already had my chest busted open once this year!

Tomorrow night, and the rest of the series for that matter, I’ll be behind home plate in some fantastic seats provided by my brother’s friend, Vince, to whom I am much obliged. That should make for some better pics, but of course it’s a better result for the Phils we’re really after.

Ryan Howard welcomes Aaron Boone back to the big leagues after taking one to the ribs.

It should be a good match up: Joe Blanton vs. Roy Oswalt, two right-handed bulldogs with equal temperaments and stuff. But there was a time not so long ago when Blanton couldn’t even be mentioned in the same breath. I used to watch Oswalt take the hill every chance I got when he pitched at Double-A Round Rock (an Austin suburb, now Houston’s triple-A team) because I knew I was watching someone special. Now in his ninth season, Oswalt seems to have taken a step back this year and is giving up a lot more home runs than he used to. That could be just what the Phillies need.