Calm before the storm at Citizens Bank Park

FROM KEITH GROLLER

It's a little after 9 p.m. on Friday as I survey the scene at Citizens Bank Park. It's quiet, not a soul in sight. The jumbotron board in the upper deck in left presents the only sign of life in the place as it flashes the variety of Phillies playoff merchandise that's for sale.

It's a little like Christmas Eve after all the kids have been put to bed and all of the presents are placed under the tree.

Lots of anticipation in the crisp air for what should be a special Saturday, and possibly, Sunday, of baseball.

More magical moments could be in store for a place that has seen so many over the past 3-4 years.

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Neither team seemed bothered by the fact that the start time for Game 6 would be determined by whether or not the Yankees extended the Rangers to a Game 7. If the Yanks won, they'd get the prime time slot and the NLCS would go about four hours earlier at 4 p.m.

I can tell you that the media -- at least the print people -- were hoping for a Yankees win so we'd have a deadline-friendly 4 p.m. start for Game 6 rather than an 8 p.m. start which would mean a post-11 p.m. finish and a nightmare in terms of making deadline.

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Neither team worked out on Friday. Both seemed bleary-eyed as their five-hour flights.

The Phillies returned home in the morning. The Giants didn't arrive until about 6:30 Friday night and only manager Bruce Bochy and Game 6 starter Jonathan Sanchez came to Citizens Bank Park from the airport to fulfill media obligations.

It was an easy-going day, not one that generated much news. Standard chatter.

Charlie Manuel thinks Roy Halladay will be fine. Bruce Bochy said Juan Uribe and Sergio Romo will be good to go.

Both managers expressed confidence in their teams and their starting pitchers -- Oswalt for the Phillies, Sanchez for San Fran.

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As the series has gone on, you could sense the tension building between the teams. You saw Roy Halladay and Pat Burrell snarl at one another early on Thursday night and Tim Lincecum shout "You stay there!" to Jimmy Rollins after he was stranded at third in the seventh inning of Game 5.

There is the potential for more outbursts Saturday, and if there's a Game 7 on Sunday.

"As a matter of fact, I like that in games," Manuel said. "But I also expect our guys to respond.

"When I first came to the big leagues, you weren't allowed to talk to players on the other side. Billy Martin used to get on us if we did it. He would really get on you. He would say: 'Why don't you take them out to dinner or see them later; this is not the place where you go over to talk to your buddies. You're out there to beat them.' Things like that. I'm still that same kind of guy."

Manuel added: "I like to see my players stand up. That's being competitive. And that shows how much they want to win and get after it."

One more element that could cause fireworks is the fact that six Phillies have been hit by pitches.

Sanchez was asked if he thought the Phillies were trying to get hit.

"No, they're just too close to the plate, I guess," he said.

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If you're expecting the Giants to just roll over for what should be a raucous Philly crowd that will back its team like never before, Bochy said you might be waiting for awhile.

"They have the experience of playing on the road or in hostile situations like here or Atlanta," he said. "It's loud and it's intense out there. But when you've done it for a while, you get used to it.

"It's like [Sanchez said] he has already pitched in big games, but it's part of the growing process that these players have to go through and we've been through it. I think we're battle-tested, maybe not to the extent of the Phillies because they've been doing it three, four years, here. But it's something you get used to."

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The last time the Giants had a 3-2 lead entering Game 6 of an NLCS, things didn't go well. They were up 3-2 going back to St. Louis in 1987 and lost the last two games without scoring a run.

Twice have teams come back from 3-1 series deficits to win NLCS.

The Braves rallied to beat St. Louis in 1996, winning Game 5 in St. Louis and the last two in Atlanta.

Even more amazing was Florida rallying from 3-1 down to beat the Cubs in 2003. They won Game 5 in Florida to keep the series alive, but trailed 3-0 in Game 6 at Wrigley Field entering the eighth inning. That's the Steve Bartman game when the Marlins scored eight in the top of the eighth to win 8-3 and then beat Chicago 9-6 in Game 7 the next night.

In 2004, the Cardinals trailed the Astros 3-2 coming back home for the last two and won those last two games.

In all, since the NLCS began a best-of-seven format in 1985, there have been eight Game 7s and the home team has won five of the eight.

The last road team to win a Game 7 was St. Louis at Shea Stadium in 2006 and the Mets have never been the same since.

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