FanHouse Davey Lopes

Carl Crawford ranks 69th in the American League in home runs, 45th in slugging percentage and 57th in walks.

And he was an All-Star this year.

"It's just good to see that a guy like me has value in the league," Crawford told FanHouse.

Crawford, tied for the AL lead in stolen bases with 55, has value because people are starting to once again appreciate the steal.

Four years ago, the Athletics stole 31 bases. For the season.

It wasn't hard to see that the Phillies were getting giant jumps on Scott Kazmir in Game 1 last night. Guys like Jayson Werth, Shane Victorino, and Chase Utley were giving Kazmir fits all night, forcing throws to first and second. Maybe it didn't help the Phillies score, since they went without a hit with a runner in scoring position, but the destraction likely caused Kazmir to throw more pitches and limited him to six innings, getting the Rays already taxed pen into the game for three innings.

The aggressiveness on the bases seemed kind of out of place during the game last night, but Yahoo's Tim Brown sheds some light on things and says it was all due to Kazmir tipping his pickoff move. The Phillies aren't denying that:

"We saw some things," Phillies third base coach Davey Lopes said. "We can put some pressure on teams if they give us something to key off of."

[...]

"I don't want to say too much because we have games left," Werth said. "I will say with Davey, we're an aggressive baserunning team."

The Phillies don't go in to further detail, but Brown does a very nice job breaking down how Kazmir looks too first and where he places his chin during his delivery. Lopes clearly did the same thing before the game and gave the Phillies a big edge on the bases in Game 1. It's definitely something to look for in Game 5 (assuming we get that far) when Kazmir starts again.

You're not going to see benches clear in the playoffs very often. So when you do, you should appreciate it and enjoy it ... as long as nobody gets hurt. And nobody got hurt in tonight's bench-clearer during Game 3 of the NLCS. But some people did get nasty after Shane Victorino found a pitch come close to his head courtesy of Hiroki Kuroda, seemingly in retaliation for some brushbacks in Game 2 and earlier in Game 3 against Manny Ramirez and Russell Martin.

"Someone was bound to get hit. The situation called for it. Just don't throw at my head," Victorino explained after the game.

Dodgers third base coach Larry Bowa and Phillies first base coach Davey Lopes appeared to be two of the angriest participants in the near-scuffle, yelling at each other before the teams cleared the field. Ramirez also came in from left field and had to be restrained by teammates, manager Joe Torre and an umpire.

"It wasn't at his head, it was over his head," Martin said. "We're just trying to make a statement. It's part of the game. Manny looked a little more steamed than I was."

In the Playoff Pulse series, our MLB editor takes on a hot topic.

Leave it to Mannywood -- ahem -- Hollywood to drum up some much-needed October drama. There's nothing like postseason baseball, but let's face it, the nailbiting, heart-stopping tension that makes it so great has been in short supply this month.

In fact, in the 25 completed playoff series since 2005, only three of them have gone the full five or seven games. Conversely, 12 of the series have been sweeps.

The Rays did their part Saturday night to ensure the ALCS wouldn't be a short one, pulling out a see-saw five-hour, 27-minute marathon to pull even with the Red Sox. But playing in a city where every busboy and gas station attendant has a script, the Dodgers and Phillies weren't about to be outdone.

Los Angeles had had just about enough of pitches up and in, high and behind and low and on the kneecap to Manny Ramirez and Russell Martin when, in obvious retaliation, Hiroki Kuroda buzzed Shane Victorino in the third inning of Game 3.

Like a good actor, the fiery Victorino played his role perfectly, gesturing vividly to his head and his ribs repeatedly. Moments later, the benches cleared. Ramirez had to be held back by Martin and Joe Torre. The Phillie-turned-Dodger Larry Bowa and the Dodger-turned-Phillie Davey Lopes were screaming at each other. And the FOX cameras caught it all.

Davey Lopes, who was part of that Dodgers' infield from the 70's which stayed together for close to a decade, was diagnosed with prostate cancer, but is expected to make a full recovery.

After losing coach John Vukovich to a brain tumor at this time last season, the Phillies know too much about losing members of their organization to illness. So we're happy to hear that the prognosis is good for Lopes. For those too young to remember, Lopes was not only a solid hitter and fielder for those Dodger teams of the 70's and 80's, but also one of the fastest men in baseball. Lopes stole 44 bases for the Cubs in 1985, during a season when he turned 40 years old! And to prove it was no fluke, he stole another 35 the following season for the Cubs and the Astros.

Thankfully, advances in treatment and early detection have made big strides in the treatment of prostrate cancer, so we here have high hopes for Lopes, and wish him a speedy and full recovery.

If you had April 10th in your Charlie Manuel Rumor Pool, you just won a bunch of money. Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated's website begins the speculation after a 1-6 start by the Phillies:

Baseball people are already starting to wonder whether Manuel could take a quick hit for the Phillies' abominable start, providing it lasts a little while longer (he isn't working for George Steinbrenner in the '80s, after all).

We didn't need Jimmy Rollins to point out that this is one talented team. The Phillies, who seem historically hampered by slow starts, certainly don't want this season to get away from them.

I dare say that no manager needed a quick start more than Manuel ... certainly no manager in the N.L. East, where Willie Randolph has helped guide the Mets to a complete 180 degree turn in two seasons, Fredi Gonzalez took over a young team in need of stability, Manny Acta takes over an impossible roster to win with, and Bobby Cox isn't going anywhere unless he decides to.

But are the Phillies to blame as much as Manuel? Heyman goes on to point out that the team hired experienced bench coaches such as Jimy Williams, Davey Lopes, and Art Howe who joined Ron Washington in Texas before ever wearing a Phillies uniform. Whether it was a way to cover themselves in the instance of a bad start, or a thinly veiled message towards Manuel, it's easy to conclude that the players have picked up on that. And while it's silly to think that the Phillies have quit on their manager after seven games, how easy would it be for them to do so, when the hirings of Williams and Lopes sends a message that the front office already has?