In the short term, there are some decisions that can be picked at like the carcass of a Thanksgiving turkey along about midnight. Sure, Manuel stayed with Pedro Martinez too long. Martinez was out there on guts and garbage from the first pitch.
But in all probability, the Phillies were either going to get a great start from Martinez or they were going to lose. Anything less than great and Manuel would have to start using his bullpen, and eventually he'd find the wrong guy.
Putting that weight of responsibility on Martinez was one of the postseason decisions that finally caught up with Manuel. He took rookie J.A. Happ from the rotation to bolster the floundering bullpen. Maybe it was the right move, but Happ turned out to be underused in that role and not terribly effective when he was used.
Martinez started two games of the World Series and lost both. He expended so much emotional energy on the first start - back in the World Series, matched up against the Yankees once again - that he seemed to have none left last night.
There's not much else to pick at. The hitters fell asleep with runners on base against CC Sabathia in Game 4, which looks now like the pivotal game in the series. Cole Hamels wasn't very good in his one outing. Ryan Howard set a World Series record with 13 strikeouts.
That's about it. The Yankees did win 103 games in the regular season, and they didn't do it with mirrors. If it is any consolation, the Phillies lost to a very good team. With a little better luck and a little better pitching, they might have won, but that was last year.
Beyond the short term, this Phillies team has another few years with its current core of players, but not much more than that. Ryan Howard turns 30 this month, and both Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins turn 31 during the off-season. Jayson Werth turns 31 in May.
