Sure, Vicente Padilla was lights out for he Dodgers since he joined the team after being cut from the Texas Rangers.

Sure, he shut down the Phillies in Game 2 of the series.

You just knew, however, that the Padilla Philadelphians were subjected for five years would show up this postseason. Tonight, Mr. Inconsistency was back in South Philly.

Padilla surrendered six runs on four hits, walked two and struck out two in three innings. The Dodgers best pitcher down the stretch just got yanked in the fourth inning with the Phils holding a 6-2 lead.

The Phillies are now in the Dodgers bullpen, which has logged some serious innings the last two games.

Frankford and Torresdale should be a crazy seen within the next two hours!

Thanks to Daily News columnist Dan Gross for pointing this out to us….

Kobe Bryant might be a Mets fan, but the Goodfellas‘ Henry Hill is a Phillies fan.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuLb0Tnr3Ls&feature=player_embedded]

Ryan Howard has three RBI in the first two innings on Sunday.

After a perfect first inning from pitcher Cliff Lee, Ryan Howard and Jason Werth gave him a lead to work with.

Howard just smashed a two-run triple down the right field line, knocking in Shane Victorino and Chase Utley who both reached on singles. Werth followed with a two-run shot to deep center field.

Carlos Ruiz started the second inning with a double. After Lee bunted Ruiz to third, Jimmy Rollins then drove him in to give the Phillies a commanding 5-0 lead.

Scott Elbert then walked Victorino and Utley to load the bases. Ryan Howard then grounded out to first, driving in Rollins to give the Phils a 6-0 lead.

Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda, in his first start back since missing time with a nerve injury, did not look sharp and lasted just 1.1 innings.

The Dodgers are currently on their third pitcher — Chad Billingsly — and it’s still the second inning.

Howard, with his  three RBI so far tonight, has driven in a run in each postseason game so far this October.

Before the Phillies and Dodgers started the 2009 NLCS, tension was in the air. The Philadelphia Daily News‘ Stu Bykofsky reported that the series was a gang war between the Bloods and Crips.

After witnessing the Dodgers fans behavior the first two games of the series, Philly fans are laughing at the people who patronize the Dodgers.

Los Angeles and the phrase “sports fans” create a huge oxymoron. They just don’t go together.

Dodgers fans proved they are frauds during the first two games of the NLCS.

“Fan” is short for “fanatic.” Based on what the Dodgers “fans” showed the nation during the first two games of the 2009 NLCS, they didn’t dismiss the stereotype that they arrive in the third inning and leave shortly after the seventh-inning stretch.

In Game 1 with their team trailing by just two runs in the ninth inning, Dodgers fans had vacated the high priced seats behind home plate. You saw the batter, catcher, umpire and a bunch of empty seats on TBS as Brad Lidge closed the game.

With Kemp, Manny and others on the Dodgers, a two-run lead was not insurmountable. Yet, the Dodgers “faithful” decided to beat the traffic. They apparently had to rush to make sure they were seen at the A-list parties for that night.

You would never find that in a city like Philadelphia, Boston, New York, Denver, or any other real sports town.

Leaving when your team is getting blown out during he regular season? Maybe. (In the interest of full disclosure, Your Daily Philadelphian was once known as “three quarters” for leaving a Monday Night Football game after the third quarter because the Eagles were getting spanked.)

But, leave during a close playoff game? Never.

Then, with their team trailing by one run in the seventh inning, the dopes sitting in the outfield decide to do “The Wave,” the single dumbest thing in the history of professional sports fan behavior.

They did ‘The Wave” during a playoff game. Did it late in a close playoff game. A playoff game that could very well have saved their team’s season.

All the Dodgers dorks were missing was a beach ball to hit around. Then, everything would have been complete.

I guess there really was a reason NLCS tickets that are going for $200-plus in Philly sold for $50 or less in LA. The fans don’t have the passion or intuitive knowledge about being a true sports fans that Philadelphians possess within their souls at childbirth.

Charlie Manuel misused his bullpen on Friday.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel has seemingly pulled all the right strings during the postseason. Yesterday, he caused a critical mis-Happ with the way he used his pitching staff, specifically JA Happ.

Happ was one of the team’s most consistent starting pitchers all year long. The rookie-of-the-year candidate posted a 12-3 record and 2.93 ERA in 35 games, including 23 starts. He also had experience as a reliever, and Manuel mistakenly leaned on “Happ the reliever” yesterday.

Happ started the season in the bullpen, before replacing Chan Ho Park in the rotation. That move benefited both players, as Park thrived when pitching in relief. He was a disaster as a starter.

Although Happ pitched virtually lights out as a starter, Manuel was forced to make him available in the bullpen because the Phillies relievers have been ravished by injury.

In the eighth inning of Friday’s game, Uncle Charlie trudged his way to the mound to hand the ball to Happ with the score knotted at 1 and the bases juiced more than Barry Bonds in a BALCO lab. The problem is, Happ has not come into games in pressure-filled situations much this year, and definitely not in the last four months.

Bringing a young pitcher into a pressure-cooker when he’s generally been starting innings with nobody on base was asking for trouble.

Happ can bail himself out of jams he creates. He doesn’t have a large frame-of-reference for bailing the team out of situations other people create. He’s not a Scott Eyre or JC Romero. He’s not a Brad Lidge circa 2008.

Uncle Charlie put Happ in a situation for which he was ill prepared. Doing that in a postseason game with a commanding 2-0 series lead on the line was not one of the manager’s finest moves.

Phillies pitcher JA Happ, seen here earlier this year, walked in the winning run on Friday.

With no margin for error, Happ proceeded to walk in the winning run.

The fact is, Happ has not been able to get settled into a role this postseason. Obviously, he needs to be available as a reliever because he is the best option of the Phillies five starters. However, Manuel can’t decide what to do with his young gun.

Against Colorado, Happ pitched in relief in Game 2, then started Game 3. This series, he’s now had to come in as a reliever in each of the first two games. He needs to know his role because preparing as a reliever and starter are very different.

He’s not as finicky as Cole Hamels. However, he’s also not able to go with the flow like a Randy Johnson either.

Manuel has pushed the right buttons for most of the postseason. Yesterday, however, was a huge mis-Happ that cost the Phillies the game and sent both teams back to Philadelphia with the NLCS tied at one game each.

Manuel, Happ and the Phillies will look to rebound in Game 3 on Sunday night.

The bullpen has been the Phillies Achilles heal for most of August and September. On Friday, the heel completely ruptured and cost the Phillies a potential 2-0 lead in the NLCS.

The usually reliable Chan Ho Park, JA Happ and Chase Utley all combined to waste an impressive performance by starter Pedro Martinez, as the Dodgers staged an eighth inning comeback to win the game, 2-1.

Martinez, who had thrown just 84 pitches in one start since Sept. 19, tossed seven strong innings in Friday’s heartbreaking loss. He allowed just two hits and struck out three before leaving with a 1-0 lead.

The 37-year-old matched Dodgers starter Vicente Padilla pitch-for-pitch. Padilla went 7.1 innings, surrendering four hits and striking out six batters. Padilla’s only mistake was sent over the outfield wall by Ryan Howard.

Then, Chan Ho park entered the game for Pedro in the eighth. Fresh off of a hamstring injury, Park did not look nearly as effective as he did in Thursday’s game, although the loss was far from his fault alone.

Chase Utley threw the ball away for the second time in as many days as the Phillies fell to the Dodgers, 2-1, on Friday.

Pedro Feliz, who is usually a vacuum at third base, botched a ground ball to start the inning. Ronnie Belliard then bunted, but neither Park nor Howard could field it, leaving runners on first and second with no outs.

Russell Martin then grounded to Feliz, who threw to Utely for a force at second. Utley then airmailed a ball past Ryan Howard, allowing Juan Pierre to tie game at 1. Jim Thome then singled off of Scott Eyre, moving Martin to third. Ryan Madson later struck out Matt Kemp with bases loaded.

Then, JA Happ entered the game and walked Andre Ethier with the bases loaded to force in Martin with the winning run.

Happ and Park have been two of the most consistent pitchers all year. Utley had just four throwing errors all season. They all came up small on Friday.

For Utley, the error marked his second in as many days, and that play likely cost the Phils the game. Park was responsible for both runners and ended up taking the loss.

In all, Uncle Charlie had to use five pitchers in the eighth inning with neither Scott Eyre nor Happ recording an out, as each faced just one batter.

Instead of coming back to Philly with a 2-0 series lead, the teams are now knotted at one game each.

Cliff Lee will look to continue his impressive postseason when the teams play again in Game 3 on Sunday night at Citizens Bank Park.

Kobe Bryant never was a Philadelphian. Born and raised near the City of Brotherly Love, Bryant never really drank the Philly water, nor did he adopt our blue-collar persona.

Nobody was really surprised when Kobe said he’d “rip the hearts out” of Philly fans when the Sixers faced the Lakers in the 2001 NBA Finals.

OK, he played for the Lakers. What was he supposed to say? He’d like for Philly to have a parade?

Kobe Bryant grew up a Mets fan while living in Philadelphia.

During Friday’s NLCS Game 2 in Los Angeles, TBS reporter Craig “GQ” Sager  approached Kobe during the game to ask him how he felt habing the Dodgers and his hometown Phillies facing each other.

According to Sager, Kobe said, “It’s not weird. I’ve lived in Los Angeles for 14 years now.”

Then, he revealed this nugget: “Kobe said he grew up a New York Mets fan; he wanted me to tell Ron (Darling) that he still has your baseball card.”

Kobe was a Mets fan? While growing up in Philly? Seriously, that’s horrible parenting by Joe Bryant. You can’t raise a New York fan no matter where you live.

Pedro Martinez and Vicente Padilla both arrived at the ballpark ready to show up their former teams on Friday.

Through seven innings, both pitchers have combined to give up just six hits and no walks. The Phillies lead the game, 1-0.

Padilla has struck out six batters, but surrendered a fourth inning home run to Ryan Howard. He’s thrown 83 pitches in the first seven innings.

Martinez, who has pitched just one since Sept. 19, is locating his pitches and has been impressive thus far. He has given up two hits and struck out three batters. He did, however, hit Russell Martin with a pitch in the sixth inning. That was huge because, instead of pinch-hitting for Padilla, the Dodgers starter sacrificed Martin to second and remained in the game.

Pedro has tossed 87 pitches, and will likely make it to the seventh inning unless the Phils get a rally going and his spot in the order comes up. In any event, Pedro has pitched more than anyone could have anticipated, and saved some wear on the bullpen in the process. That is vitally important after six relievers had to take the mound in Thursday’s 8-6 win.

Neither pitcher has walked a batter, and this has the makings of a pitchers’ duel.

As we enter the eighth inning, time is starting to run out for the Dodgers. The Phillies are six outs away from escaping Los Angeles with an incredible 2-0 series lead.

Chan Ho Park could be the key to Game 2 of the NLCS on Friday.

With Pedro Martinez set to face the Dodgers in Game 2 of the NLCS, the Phillies know they’ll need their bullpen to come up big and keep the Dodgers from crossing home plate.

Martinez doesn’t throw more than one hundred pitches per start, and likely won’t go more than five innings.

After getting just 5.1 innings from starter Cole Hamels in Thursday’s 8-6 win, the Phillies need to get a few innings from a long reliever today. They can’t risk overusuing the bullpen early in the series.

Chan Ho Park will likely pitch two or three innings today, and based on what he showed Thursday, he is back in peak form following a stint on the DL with a hamstring injury.

That is likely why Uncle Charlie pulled him after only one inning. He knew he’d need Park on Friday.

Whether or not Pedro pitches well on Friday, Park will enter the game and need to keep Manny and the Dodgers in check.

A strong performance by Park could be the key to giving the defending World Champs a 2-0 edge heading back home to Philadelphia.

EDITED at 6:54 P.M. EST: Park was a key to the game, just not the way we envisioned. He came into the eighth inning with a 1-0 lead, but gave up the tying run in .1 innings. He had trouble fielding  a lead-off bunt, which started a boatload of trouble for the Phils.

Cole Hamels lasted just 5.1 innings in Thursday's NLCS playoff game.

A return to Southern California as a newly minted father of a healthy baby boy was supposed to help Cole Hamels return to his 2008 playoff form.

Mission failed.

Hamels lasted just 5.1 innings, giving up four runs on eight hits in Game 1 of the NLCS on Thursday. Hamels left with a 5-4 lead and may ultimately get the win. However, the Phillies then needed to go to the bullpen.

Forcing your relievers to pitch nearly four innings in the first game of the series is not the best way to start. That’s especially true for a team that has a weak bullpen to start with. That’s especially true for a team that is starting Pedro Martinez in Game 2.

Martinez has shown flashes of brilliance since joining the Phillies staff in August. However, he has also been injured and had some shaky stats.

Add to that the fact that Pedro can’t go more than 100 pitches, and Uncle Charlie will likely need to go to his bullpen by the 6th inning again on Friday.

Using your bullpen that much so early in the series could come back to bite the Phillies where it counts later.

If only Cole could find his playoff MVP form. For now, hope Cliff Lee continues his dominance and can go the distance on Sunday.