With all the criticism hurled at Carlos Beltran(notes) for taking a called third strike to end the 2006 NLCS for the New York Mets, isn't Ryan Howard(notes) equally at fault for watching the Philadelphia Phillies' 2010 season go right by him and into Buster Posey's(notes) glove?
Howard didn't lift his bat as Brian Wilson's(notes) slider caught the lower outside corner of the zone for strike three, sending the San Francisco Giants to the World Series.
On replay, Wilson's pitch looked a bit low and pitch trackers had it at the very edge of the strike zone. But with the Phillies' season on the line, and two runners on base waiting to be driven in, it was simply too close a pitch to take. Just like Beltran in 2006, Howard had to put the ball in play, but instead froze in place.
It was one of several missed opportunities that the Phillies will dwell on as they pack up for the winter and the Giants head back to AT&T Park to host the Texas Rangers for Game 1 of the World Series on Wednesday night.
Get comfortable before you begin reading further, because rehashing all of these blown chances creates enough material to write a novel that wouldn't sell very well in Philly.
• First inning: The Phillies scored two runs off of a wild Jonathan Sanchez(notes) to take an early lead. But with two outs in the inning, Philadelphia still had two runners on base. Raul Ibanez(notes) popped up a high fastball to second base, however, letting Sanchez somewhat off the hook and stranding the first two of 11 runners on the night for the Phillies.
• Third inning: After the Giants tied the game at 2-2 in the top half of the inning, Sanchez put the first two Phillies' hitters on base, walking Placido Polanco(notes) and hitting Chase Utley(notes) in the back. Sanchez and Utley then started jawing at each other, which provoked both teams out of the dugout.
But Sanchez's inability to control his pitches and emotions may have actually worked out in the Giants' favor. Manager Bruce Bochy was already thinking of pulling Sanchez from the game, and the delay caused by the benches clearing gave Jeremy Affeldt(notes) enough time to warm up and retire the heart of the Phillies' order
• Fifth inning: With Jimmy Rollins(notes) on first and two out, Howard crushed a double to deep left-center field. A player with Rollins' speed may well have scored or at least made a close play at home plate. But third base coach Sam Perlozzo put up the stop sign and held Rollins at third. Madison Bumgarner(notes) then intentionally walked Werth to face Victorino, who was batting .181 to that point in the series. The strategy paid off as Victorino hit a ground ball back to the pitcher.
• Sixth inning: Philadelphia had a runner on third with just one out, after an Ibanez double and Carlos Ruiz(notes) sacrifice bunt. But pinch-hitter Ben Francisco(notes) struck out looking (though Bumgarner's curveball looked high and outside) and Rollins flew out to center to squander yet another threat.
• Eighth inning: After the Giants took the lead on a solo Juan Uribe(notes) homer, Bochy looked to put the Phillies away by bringing Tim Lincecum(notes) in as a reliever. But the decision appeared to backfire when Lincecum gave up back-to-back singles to Victorino and Ibanez.
With just a one-run lead, Bochy didn't wait to see if Lincecum could work out of his jam. He brought in his closer. And befitting his job description, Wilson got Ruiz to hit a ball right at Aubrey Huff(notes), who then doubled Victorino off at second.
• Ninth inning: The defending National League champs had one more shot to tie the game, but that just gave them a final opportunity to squander. Walks to Rollins and Utley gave Philadelphia two baserunners with two outs in the inning.
But with one last chance to drive in his first run of the postseason, Howard stood there like a house by the side of the road, as Ernie Harwell would say, and Wilson and Posey jumped into each other's arms to celebrate.
After the game, all Phillies manager Charlie Manuel could do was state the obvious.
From MLB.com:
"We had chances, we just couldn't cash in on them, we couldn't get the big hit."
Manuel then went on to say that he knows his players can hit better than that and score more runs. It's something he wants his team to improve on next season.
They'll have five long months to figure out ways to work on those issues — not to mention five long months to think about all the opportunities they let pass them by on Saturday night.
Follow Big League Stew all through the postseason on Twitter and on Facebook.Related: Chase Utley, Jeremy Affeldt, Plácido Polanco, Brian Wilson, Ryan Howard, Raúl Ibañez, Juan Uribe, Aubrey Huff, Jimmy Rollins, Carlos Beltrán, Madison Bumgarner, Buster Posey, Tim Lincecum, Jonathan Sánchez, Ben Francisco, Carlos Ruiz, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers, 2010 Postseason, 2010 NLCS on The Stew
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How the NLCS ended Saturday night reminds Sports Illustrated baseball writer Joe Lemire about how the Mets fell to the Cardinals in 2006. 
2. Domonic Brown(notes) is not a sure thing — yet. If Werth goes, simply hoping the 23-year-old Brown has a good rookie season isn't enough to cover the loss. Brown (hoodie) is a terrific prospect and probably will be a great player — but it doesn't always happen right away. What if he gets demoted to the minors after a slow start? Ben Francisco(notes) every day in right?