Phil Sheridan: Phillies at home and holding advantage

As the sting wears off from the hellish eighth inning of Game 2, the Phillies find themselves in an enviable position. Certainly they are better off than when they last walked off the field after a game at Citizens Bank Park.

At that point, they were tied, one game apiece, in the National League division series with the Rockies. They had just lost Game 2 and were headed to Denver with a chance to be eliminated without ever getting home again.

They didn't know at the time, but they were embarking on an epic, weeklong odyssey that took them from Philadelphia to Denver, back to Philadelphia for just long enough to pack some fresh undies, then on to Los Angeles and finally back to Philly. Along the way, they saw all four seasons, and played baseball after midnight in subfreezing temperatures and midday under a scorching California sun.

They endured a meltdown inning in Denver, then came back to win the division series clincher with a ninth-inning rally.

They went through another meltdown inning in L.A. and couldn't undo the damage.

So where do the Phillies find themselves today? With Game 1 of a new best-of-five NL Championship Series set for tonight, and with a home-field advantage more commanding than the one they had in the NLDS. After being on the road for more than a week and crisscrossing the country, the Phillies get five nights in their own beds.

This time, with Games 3, 4 and 5 at the Bank, it is the Dodgers who could be eliminated without getting home again. That is the price they paid for losing Game 1 at Dodger Stadium. For blowing Game 2, the Phillies lost only the chance to make this a sweep - an unlikely scenario at the start of the series, anyway.

The Dodgers would swap places with the Phillies faster than you could say Cliff Lee. In fact, they would swap any of their starting pitchers for the lefthander they will face tonight in Game 3.

Lee, acquired in a lopsided trade in July, is playing the role of postseason money pitcher for the Phillies this year in place of the enigmatic Cole Hamels. There are no sure things in baseball - witness the Dodgers' crazy two-run "rally" to win Game 2 - but Lee will do nicely until a sure thing comes along.

The Phillies can feel pretty good about the rest of their starting rotation as well. Pedro Martinez, a mystery going into all this, showed that he can be the October magician of old with his stellar performance Friday afternoon. In J.A. Happ and Joe Blanton, manager Charlie Manuel has a couple of guys who could start or pitch in long relief, as needed. Game 4 starter Blanton is an underutilized resource who pitched very well last postseason.

And then there is Hamels. Though he has not been the ace who won MVP awards last October, you get the feeling he is motivated and a little angry about how things have gone so far this year. It wouldn't be a surprise if Hamels' next outing was a statement game.

It is not all good news and sunshine, of course. Last year, the Phillies' bullpen was the Terminator. This year, it's more like Where the Wild Things Are. The 'pen won both games in L.A.: Game 1 for the Phillies and Game 2 for the Dodgers.

And the Phillies will not be cashing in on the opportunity presented them by this series if they can't shake the uncharacteristic sloppiness that has seeped into their play of late. They gave the Rockies extra outs in Game 4 in Denver, and it took a stunning ninth-inning comeback to undo the damage. The Dodgers didn't let them off so easily.

It is a bit disturbing that second baseman Chase Utley has found himself in the middle of the mayhem. Such mistakes by a guy you suspect has red stitching under the hair on his head beg the question of whether Utley is hurt or simply worn down. He played the 2008 postseason without complaint on a hip that required major surgery. He's no more likely to cop to any excuses or explanations now, either.

Unless he has to be carried off the field, Utley will be playing second base and batting third. Same with Jimmy Rollins at short and in the leadoff spot. At this point in the proceedings, the Phillies have to go with their best players and hope they can reach down and find one more hot streak in their tired bodies.

Get the top of the order hitting, let Ryan Howard continue to produce, and the Phillies have the stronger lineup. They have enough starting pitching. They have the final at-bat for the next three games.

Oh, and they are the defending world champions. Not a bad situation to be in.