Philadelphia Phillies manager Charlie Manuel had not called a team meeting before a game all season. But in a 10-minute sitdown with his struggling team last night he set things to rights."The mountain didn't come to Muhammad, did it?" Manuel asked. "What happened? He had to go to the mountain and take it. That's what we have to do. We have to take the mountain."
And so the defending World Champions of Major League Baseball did, defeating the Houston Astros 10-3 before yet another sellout home crowd to take their third consecutive National League East title.
The Phils breezed through the 2008 post-season, but this year is likely to be different. They are injury riddled, have fought slumps, have a decimated bullpen and not a whole lot of momentum.
Manuel, a master strategic and psychologist, brought in closer Brad Lidge to get the last out. Liege was nearly perfect last season but has struggled for no apparent reason and had an 0-8 record out of the bullpen. The crowd roared. Lidge sweated. And ended the game with one pitch.
Photograph by Tim Shaffer/Reuters
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