Yesterday's loss is over. Don't dwell on it. Today offers a new chance at victory.

Ah, but this is February, and Manuel is sitting in his living room wearing a pair of jeans.

It's OK to look back, especially at the greatest year of his Baseball life - the Phillies' World Series championship season of 2008.

"There were a lot of keys to our season," Manuel says. "But for me, the biggest was how we handled ourselves in big situations.

"For a few years, we had trouble in big spots. Trouble handling the ball. Trouble throwing strikes, especially in middle relief. Trouble handling bunts.

"We got tight. We'd get in a good position, but it was hard for us to take advantage of because we got tight.

"I call it fear of failing. When you have never been through it before, fear of failing enters your mind. The fact of the matter was we had never been there before."

Manuel says he saw that tightness in his first three seasons as Phils manager, even in 2007. The Phillies used a 13-4 finish to win the National League East that season but were overwhelmed in the playoffs by the Colorado Rockies.

Manuel says that he saw some tightness in his team a few times last season but that it did not last long and that that was a big reason the team completed its championship journey.

Manuel recalls several games in which the team did not handle pressure well.

He points to a four-game series in Los Angeles against the Dodgers in August. The Phils were swept. Their hitters were just 5 for 30 with runners in scoring position in the series.

Manuel also mentions an Aug. 28 loss to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Cole Hamels left with a 4-1 lead after seven innings, and relievers Ryan Madson and Chad Durbin quickly lost it.

The next night, the bullpen failed to protect a 2-1 lead in the sixth inning en route to a 3-2 loss to the Cubs as the Phils fell two games behind in the division race and 51/2 back in the wild-card chase.

It was gut-check time for the Phillies, and Manuel let them know it without singling out any one player.

"I'd say [stuff] in the clubhouse after those games," he says. "I'd just walk through and say, 'Loosen up, damn it. Be yourselves. We're going to win.' "

The team responded. After opening that series with two losses in Chicago, the Phils earned a split of the series by winning the next two games. That was part of a 19-8 finish that helped the Phils win the division.

"We were really struggling, then all of a sudden, it seemed like we got ticked off and became more determined and relaxed," Manuel says. "We loosened up. We believed in ourselves. We handled the moment."

The Phils' surge coincided with Madson's emergence as a shutdown eighth-inning arm. From Aug. 31 to the end of the regular season, the righthander allowed just one earned run over 141/3 innings in 14 appearances.

"Our bullpen got really good," Manuel says.

The Phils indeed had the best bullpen in the NL last season. Brad Lidge, Manuel's closer, was 41 for 41 in regular-season save chances, then 7 for 7 in the postseason. After two inconsistent seasons in Houston, Lidge was a huge reason for the Phillies' success in 2008.

"I thought he could be that good when we traded for him," Manuel says.

"I thought he could be dominant. When we were talking about getting him, I went overboard in explaining how much I wanted him. I thought we were a team he could excel on. I thought he needed to get on a team that would stick with him and show confidence in him. That would let his talent come out."

In addition to Lidge, Manuel mentions a number of other keys to the season: Hamels' dazzling work, Brett Myers' second-half turnaround, Jamie Moyer's work on the mound and in the clubhouse, the courage Chase Utley showed playing the entire season with a hip injury.

Manuel also mentions how Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard each had a big September.

Howard hit .352 with 11 homers and 32 RBIs in September. Rollins, who sputtered at the plate much of the season, came alive and hit .313 with two homers, 10 RBIs and a .411 on-base percentage in the final month.

Earlier in the season, Manuel sat Rollins twice, once for not running out a ball, once for being late before a game.

Sometimes benching a player can backfire on a manager, but Manuel was not afraid of losing Rollins.

"There's no way I want to take Jimmy Rollins out of a game," Manuel says. "He's a tremendous player. But we needed to get going and play better. And rules are rules.

"I wasn't concerned about losing Jimmy. He knows who I am. I know who he is. I know his character. It's a long season, and sometimes you need a push. Jimmy needs that now and then. A lot of guys do. Probably every guy on our team does."

The 2008 Phillies showed the importance of staying in contention all season, then getting hot down the stretch and in the postseason. They went 13-3 in their final 16 games to take over the wild-card lead, then the division lead. They went 11-3 in the crucible that is the postseason.

Now that's handling pressure situations.

And that, Charlie Manuel says, is a big reason that the Phils won it all in 2008.

Read part one of Jim Salisbury's three-part series at http://go.philly.com/charliemanuel.

Read part three in tomorrow's Inquirer.

Inside

The Phils are looking at former Brave Will Ohman as a lefty reliever in J.C. Romero's absence. E6.

Contact staff writer Jim Salisbury at 215-854-4983 or jsalisbury@phillynews.com.