Phillies no strangers to waiting

Last night the Angels held off elimination by winning a wild game five in the ALCS. With the come from behind victory over the Yankees the Phillies find themselves still playing a waiting game before learning who they will play in the World Series, and perhaps more importantly where they will play.

No big deal. It is not as though the World Series could start any sooner. The World Series is locked in to start on Wednedsay at the site of the American League champions. Last year the Phillies were in a similar position. After dispatching of the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games last year the Phillies could do nothing but sit at home and watch the Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays battle it out in a seven game series for the AL championship. Of course the Rays eventually won the series and the Phillies packed their bags for game one in Tampa.

It does not really matter when the American League champion is crowned as I am sure Charlie Manuel already has his projected rosters set up in his head for each possible opponent. So here are the questions that we will have to wait and see how Manuel goes about determing the World Seies roster:

• Cliff Lee has to be the game one starter, but who is next? Does Manuel not risk letting Cole Hamels pitch the second game? If it is not Hamels, who would it be? Personally I would love the story line of Pedro Martinez facing the Yankees given the history there.
• What do you do with JA Happ? Start him or use him as a reliever?
• Who is your DH? The immediate response by many is Matt Stairs, but I like the idea of using Ben Francisco or Raul Ibanez, with the other playing left field. Francisco may be a better option in the field defensively and his bat may be worth more than all-or-nothing Stairs. Greg Dobbs has played his way out of contention in my eyes. And you are not going to take Ibanez's bat out of the lineup.
• Eleven pitchers or twelve? With the DH in effect for the first two games (at least) you might see Manuel stick with 11 pitchers. The need to make double switches is almost eliminated and you do not need to worry about pinch hitters as much in the World Series. The Phillies used eleven pitchers in the NLCS after using 12 in the NLDS.