Silva: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for NFC teams.
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Getty ImagesNow that lefthander David Price is out of the box, there might be no stopping the Rays.
"An ace we've been holding in the back pocket," Maddon said.
Tampa Bay selected Price out of Vanderbilt with the first overall pick in the 2007 draft. His long-term future is as a front-end starter; in the World Series, though, he gives the Rays the lefthanded power arm their bullpen needs.
Price got the final four outs in Game 7 of the ALCS against Boston. He topped that Thursday night in Game 2 of the World Series, working the final 2-1/3 innings of the Rays' 4-2 victory over the Phillies at Tropicana Field.
Price wasn't perfect. He allowed a homer when pinch hitter Eric Bruntlett clubbed a 97-mph fastball to left field.
"I thought Carl Crawford should have caught it," Price deadpanned.
However, Price more than offset that mistake with his work against Philadelphia's dangerous lefthanded hitters.
Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, the Nos. 3-4 hitters, combined for three hitless at-bats, all with runners in scoring position, against Price. With Howard representing the tying run in the top of the ninth, Price induced a game-ending groundout on an 86-mph slider.
If Utley and Howard are neutralized in the late innings, the Phillies face major difficulties. That puts pressure on the offense to score early, and the Phillies have been wildly inconsistent at the plate during the postseason.
"I was nervous, very," Price said. "I usually don't sweat out there, and my hats looks like I went swimming with it. It's definitely different."
Price started the season in the Class A Florida State League and didn't make his major league debut until Sept. 14, at Yankee Stadium. Maddon wanted Price for the bullpen to face the threatening lefthanded hitters in the postseason. So far, so good.
Lefthanded hitters are 0-for-7 with five strikeouts against Price in the playoffs. The Phillies, heavy on lefthanded hitters, can expect to see much more of Price in this series.
"He's been a starter, and he's been stretched out," Maddon said. "That's the difference with him and other relief pitchers. You feel comfortable with him going 40 pitches and not even blinking an eye."
Maddon has seen this work before.
He was a coach with Anaheim in 2002. In September, the Angels promoted a powerful righthanded reliever from the Class AAA Pacific Coast League and put him on the postseason roster. Francisco Rodriguez had five wins in 18-2/3 innings during the Angels' run to a World Series title.
Maddon cautions against the Rodriguez comparison. Rodriguez had trained as a reliever; Price still is learning the nuances, such as how to warm up in a hurry and handle pressure from the outset. Price entered Game 2 with a runner on base and walked Utley. That cannot happen too many times without the Rays being hurt.
"It's a great weapon to have," Maddon said. "But it's putting way too much on David to say that he'll be all that Frankie was."
Price and every other Rays pitcher has the advantage of what appears to be a superb scouting report. In addition to going 1-for-28 with runners in scoring position, the Phillies have scored only once in seven chances with a runner at third base and fewer than two outs. They have struck out five times in those chances.
"Unfortunately, we've been through this before," said leadoff hitter Jimmy Rollins, who has consecutive 0-for-5 games in the series. "But we know what to do to make it change."
The Phillies must make that change soon. They're down to a five-game season, and the Rays have a hard-throwing lefthander waiting for them in the late innings. That is not a comfortable place for this team to be.
As Maddon said, the Rays' staff is in the state of "making good pitches, having an idea what you want to do and being pretty talented."
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
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Wesseling: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for AFC teams.
