There is simply nothing like this time of year if you are a diehard fan of any playoff baseball team. The butterflies that invade your stomach begin before the first pitch is thrown, and are replaced after the last out is made by either abject despondency or euphoria depending on who you were rooting for.

You rearrange your entire life for a few weeks; ensuring that nothing pressing is going to stand in your way of watching every pitch, and reading every word written about the Phillies.

Last year’s World Series win definitely changes the way I am viewing this year’s playoff run. I’m not quite as stressed as I was last year, and the knowledge that the Phillies won it all last year does provide me some comfort during the losses and the blown saves. That said, the Phillies playoff hopes still feel so fragile, because it is still difficult to comprehend that our team is one of the best; a favorite in more series than not. Watching Scott Eyre crumple to the ground, with little in the way of left-handed bullpen options, underscores how delicate the Phillies playoff life is this year.

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Jason Weitzel of Beerleaguer wrote a great article about something I wanted to post about as well: how this year’s playoff run is already much more about Charlie Manuel’s in-game management than it was last year. Credit Charlie for strapping on an enormous set of balls so far in this series. While we may all not have agreed with his use of the bullpen in Game 2, no one can accuse Charlie of being passive and not attempting to take the series by the throat. Bad weather on Saturday negated the use of Happ and Blanton on Thursday, as both were available and pitched in Game 3.

David Murphy has a good write up on his blog this morning lauding Manuel’s managing of last night’s game.

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When I strolled out to my driveway this morning to retrieve the morning edition of the Inquirer, my expectation was an Eagles-heavy sports section due to the 2:15 end time of the Phillies game. There was no way the Inqy could push the deadline that far and still press the papers and get them in the trucks and to our homes, right? Wrong. Not only was the final score covered in the Inquirer, but it was covered as extensively as you would have expected a game that ended at 10:00 est.

Despite all of the troubles that plague print media these days, for my money there is simply no better local sports coverage than what we get from the Philadelphia Inquirer.

In the other hand, shame on Paul Hagen for this atrociously written and poorly proofread column in today’s Daily News. Paul has a handful of mistakes in recapping aspects of the game. Pretty embarrassing for a guy with (typically) a lot of talent.

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Congrats to Brad Lidge for a big save in last night’s game. I must admit that, while I stayed up for the entire game, I did not see every pitch, as I pulled the covers over my head a couple of times when Lidge was pitching in the 9th. He got very lucky on the pitch that Tulowitzki popped up.

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Shibe Times superfan Brian pointed out Scott Eyre’s blog on phillies.com where he opined today on his ankle injury last night as well as he thoughts on Brad Lidge’s save last night.

How can you not like Scott Eyre? Here’s a guy who found new life last year after the Phillies traded with the Cubs for him in August of last year.

Eyre is a gamer, and has done a great job of taking on even more responsibility in the absence of J.C. Romero. He’s the kind of guy that Phillies fans love to root for. Here’s hoping that he puts off his retirement for one more year in 2010.

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Lastly, how annoying was the idiot in the white Rockies jersey and Elmer Fudd hat behind home plate last night? He was over the top with his pitch by pitch gesturing nabout any pitch that didn’t go the Rockies way. Even a Rockies fan had to be annoyed, and I was mildly disappointed that he wasn’t sucker punched by anyone.