Hawaii's Shane Victorino went volcanic on the Los Angeles Dodgers and Canada's Matt Stairs hit a ball to the North Pole in a four-run eighth inning, driving the Philadelphia Phillies to a stunning 7-5 victory in the NLCS.

As a result, the Phillies lead 3-1 in the best-of-seven series and can clinch their first World Series appearance since 1993 with another victory in L.A. on Wednesday. Day off Tuesday.

Here are a few thoughts on the game, which probably cleared a little angst out of the veins of Phillies fans fearful of the Dodgers tying the series — and they were five outs from doing so:

Poi, poised: Victorino (right) is the poster child for the Phillies postseason so far, hitting the grand slam against CC Sabathia in the NLDS and then stroking a pea just over the fence in right against Cory Wade to tie the score at 5 in the fateful eighth. Makes little sense that he was bunting runners into scoring position earlier in the game for the likes of Pedro Feliz and Carlos Ruiz.

Fame

Behold, the powerful right arm of Matt Garza! The wiry shoulders of B.J. Upton! The medical miracle that is Rocco Baldelli! The juggernaut that is the Tampa Bay Rays!

The Boston Red Sox got an up-close look Monday night, and the Rays got something even better, a 9-1 victory in Game 3 of the ALCS that put them two wins from the World Series. Here are a few thoughts regarding the biggest event in Tampa Bay-St. Petersburg baseball history at least until Tuesday:

Garza strips: The spunky right-hander was pure domination for six innings (which is the "new" complete game these days) before appearing to run out of petrol in the seventh. Famous earlier in his career for losing control of his emotions, even with his own catcher, Garza doesn't do that anymore. He just gets outs, which can be tough to do in Fenway Pahhhk against a top-notch lineup. The Red Sox never mounted even a semblance of a comeback until the seventh, and that was neutralized by the Rays bullpen. This shot of Garza, giving

When appropriate, Big League Stew will take a look at the key points of postseason games to see if the right decision was made.

The Turning Point: Phillies manager Charlie Manuel taps elderly left-hander Jamie Moyer to start Game 3 of the NLCS on Sunday night. The Dodgers knock around Moyer, listed as 45 years old, for six earned runs over 1 1/3 innings on the way to a 7-2 victory, their first in the best-of-seven series.

The Question: Should the Phillies skipper have started twenty-something right-hander Joe Blanton, who went undefeated in the regular season and the first round of the playoffs with the Phillies, and with whom Philadelphia has gone 10-4 overall in his starts?

Yeah, baby: Up 2-0 in the series and in a position to virtually put away the Dodgers with another victory, Manuel defers to age and experience instead of "stuff" and probability. Players currently on the Dodgers roster came in batting .307 with a .642 slugging percentage against Moyer in 192 career plate

When appropriate, Big League Stew will take a look at the key points of postseason games to see if the right decision was made.

The Turning Point: Joe Maddon greenlighted Evan Longoria in the sixth against Dice-K, only to see his third baseman foul out on the fourth pitch.

Later in the game, he did the same for Carlos Pena who was facing a 3-0 count against lefthander Hideki Okajima. Pena's at-bat came with the Rays down 2-0, but also after they put the first two men aboard in the eighth. He flied out to shallow right, and Longoria followed with an inning-ending double play (a lousy at-bat that had started 2-0) against righty Justin Masterson.

The Question: Should the Rays manager, especially in Pena's case, have rolled the dice and green-lighted 3-0 swings?

No way: Conventional wisdom says for a batter to take a 3-0 pitch because he stands a good chance to reach base via a walk. In the 14,040 plate appearances that started 3-0 in 2008, 29.9 percent ended with a ball on the next pitch.

The Tampa Bay Rays enjoyed a 10-8 edge against the Red Sox during the regular season, including a 8-1 clip at Tropicana Field.

But as the Red Sox showed against the Los Anaheim Angels in the first round, the regular season don't necessarily mean squawwwt come playoff time.

The Bostons took back home-field advantage in the ALCS thanks to a 2-0 victory in Game 1 at the Trop, with the Rays appearing to show some jitters for the first time in a long time. Here's a few thoughts from the game:

Rolling: Dice-K put up phat numbers (18-3, 2.90 ERA) in the regular season and had 200 Ks in '07, but this was the first time I ever remember him doing anything worth a darn in a game that mattered this much. After he walked the bases loaded in the first, Matsuzaka was spectacular, taking a no-no into the seventh, and finishing with 9 Ks over seven IP. Hideki Okajima was shaky in the eighth, but Jonathan Papelbon went an easy 1-2-3 in the ninth.

Flailing: The game had the look of a neo-classic Rays

Sadly, what you first thought was a joke post is apparently rooted in reality. According to a report in Variety Al Pacino really is considering the role of Tommy Lasorda in an upcoming biopic about the Dodgers former skipper. Michelle Pfeiffer will reportedly play Mrs. Lasorda.

Again, this is not a joke.

The unintentional comedy will surely follow, but before Pacino simply starts rehashing his lines from Any Given Sunday — a stunning number of them would carry over — he might want to review his fine body of work for other famous lines that might also apply in a Lasorda portrayal.

Actually, let's give him a head start with some lines — either doctored or in their original form — we'd like to see him recite while preparing for his role by sippin' Slimfast and wearing a Dodger uniform-clad fatsuit. For maximum effect, say these lines aloud in your best impression of Al Pacino. Feel free to add your suggestions in the comments below.

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Pacino Lasorda doing Tony Montana from Scarface:

Andrew Friedman and Theo Epstein, the men who respectively run the Rays and Red Sox, seem to be cut from the same cloth of superficialities. In addition to their relative youth and shared ethnic/religious heritage, neither played pro baseball, nor did they bird-dog many prospects in the sticks, nor did they spend a significant amount of time being groomed as a GM's top assistant (though Epstein did log some good time with the Padres).

And yet none of those "shortcomings" have prevented either from joining the ranks of the most successful GMs in baseball. So here, at the dawn of the ALCS, Big League Stew presents this handy comparison after so that the baseball faithful outside of New England and Florida can tell Theo from Andrew — and vice-versa.

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Name: Theo Epstein

Team: Boston Red Sox

Age: 34

GM since: Nov. 2002

World Series titles: 2

AL East titles: 1

2008 payroll: $133 million

Height: 6-foot-2

Hometown: Brookline, Mass.

Athletic apex: Rode the bench for Brookline High

As the rugged life within the "Highlander" realm taught us, there can be only one team strong enough to hoist the Commissioner's Trophy after the World Series ends. Everyone else?Thanks for playing, but you go home empty handed and, perhaps, without your head, too.

Or do you?

What kind of a team can find solace or a sense of accomplishment even if they're not the ultimate king of the hill?

For the Cubs in '08, it was World Series champs or bust. Now they're busted again, for the 100th time in a row and some fans aren't very happy.

The Red Sox, despite two recent titles, don't call any season a success unless they finish No. 1.

So which major league team — if any — can walk away "a winner" this season despite having no chance of being the last one standing?

The Milwaukee Brewers, that's who.

In order to secure the team's first playoff bid since 1982, general manager Doug Melvin traded one of its top prospects (though not its best, Mat Gamel) to land CC Sabathia. The deal helped the