The Genius Of Charlie Manuel

After two improbable comeback victories in the NLDS, my defending World Champion Phillies are poised to play Joe Torre's L.A. Dodgers tomorrow night for the NL Championship.

As it is, Torre and the Phils' Charlie Manuel are my two favorite big league skippers. They are loved by their players and respected by the competition and you can practically hear the wheels in their brains turning as they watch the game from their dugouts.

Manuel especially has an increasingly rare commodity in the majors these days: Balls. That helps explain why the Phils posted an extraordinary 41 come-from-behind regular season victories on top of the two this week.