Blanton Brings Phils to the Brink

Joe Blanton, take your place in Philadelphia Sports folklore.

Joe Blanton pitched 6 innings of 2-run ball and hit a solo homerun in the bottom of the 5th inning to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 10-2 win in Game 4 of the World Series. The win gives the Phils a commanding 3 games to 1 lead in the best-of-7 series that continues tonight.

The Phils scratched out a run early as Rays' starter Andy Sonnanstine pitched like a deer in the headlights. A control pitcher, Sonnanstine gave up a double to Jimmy Rollins and two walks to hand the Phillies a 1 - 0 lead. The Phils increased their lead in the 3rd inning to 2 - 0, on an RBI single from Pedro Feliz, scoring Chase Utley, who had reached base on an Akinori Iwamura error.

After a Carl Crawford solo homer in the top of the 4th to cut the lead to 1, the Phils took the game (and the Series) by the horns. After another Iwamura error and a Jayson Werth walk, Ryan Howard launched a 3-run shot to left field to send the home crowd into a frenzy and gave the Phils a 5 - 1 lead.

The Rays' Eric Hinke went on to tack on another solo shot to bring the Rays back to within 3 runs, but that run was erased when Joe Blanton hit what might be the most improbable home run in World Series history.

Blanton, who had 2 hits in 33 ABs all year, deposited an Edwin Jackson offering well over the left field wall to rip out the Rays' hearts and extend the Phillies lead to 6 - 2. The Phillies then proceeded to beat up on the Rays bullpen in the 8th inning, with a pair of 2-run homers from Jayson Werth and Ryan Howard (his 2nd) respectively.

The Series will continue this evening, with Cole Hamels facing Scott Kazmir.

Notes:

- Jimmy Rollins....3 for 5 with 3 runs scored. That the Phillies won wasn't an accident when Rollins gets on base 3 times.

- I wonder how the game would have turned out had Pedro Feliz NOT gotten that basehit to drive home Utley in the 3rd inning. The Phils had runners at 1st and 3rd with no outs and to not get at least 1 run out of that siutation again might have hurt the team's confidence a bit. They had Sonnanstine on the ropes in the 1st inning, loading the bases with 1 out and let the young pitcher off the hook.

- Rough night for Akinori Iwamura with 2 errors.

- I'll have a report later today on my trip to Game 3 last Saturday. LONG day, last Saturday.....

Phils Thumped by Dodgers

The Phils dropped Game 3 to a highly motivated Dodgers team by a score of 7 - 2. Even with the loss, the Phillies are still up in the NLCS 2 games to 1, with Game 4 this evening.

Phils starter Jamie Moyer did not come out and have the kind of 1st inning the Phillies were looking for. Moyer gave up 5 runs on 5 hits and generally did not look sharp. Even as semi-interested in sports as an LA crowd can be, even that crowd was cheering pretty wildly and giving the Dodgers the boost they needed.

The Phils were able to respond in the top of the 2nd, with Pedro Feliz delivering an RBI single, scoring Ryan Howard, who had doubled and advanced on a Jayson Werth fly out.

Moyer was pulled, however, in the 2nd inning after giving up a home run to Rafael Furcal. He was relieved by Clay Condrey, who, while pitching to Russell Martin, threw one high and tight during an at-bat that Martin ultimately grounded into a double play on. Martin, furious because he had been hit (weakly) by Jamie Moyer in the first inning, threw a hissy fit in the dugout.

Upsetting the catcher virtually guarenteed a Phillie would be thrown at the next inning and sure enough, Dodger starter Hiroki Kuroda threw over Shane Victorino's head in the next inning. Victorino eventually grounded out during the at-bat, but after Victorino exchanged words with Kuroda, the benches emptied. Most of the pointing and shouting was done by the coaching staffs, but it was funny to watch Manny Ramirez attempt to push through a crowd to get at a Phillie.

After the "gathering" in the middle of the field, the game settled in, with the Phillies batters seemingly doing everything possible to make Hiroki Kuroda's life much easier by swinging at bad pitches and not working the count. When Kuroda departed in the 7th inning, it was after throwing only 84 pitches.

The Dodgers, meanwhile, managed to tack on a 7th run off of JA Happ in the 4th inning, who came on and pitched pretty well in 3 innings of relief, all things considered.

The Phils did manage to scratch out a second run in the 7th inning, when Chase Utley led off with a double and was eventually chased home on a single from Pat Burrell to make the score 7 - 2.

The series continues tonight with Derek Lowe pitching on short rest against Joe Blanton.

Notes:

- The entire notion that the Dodgers somehow needed to get "revenge" against the Phillies by throwing at Victorino's head was just ridiculous on every level. Even if Myers was throwing at Ramirez in Game 2, did anyone associated with the Dodgers stop to think that it was maybe because Ramirez sat there and preened after he hit that long double against Hamels in game 1? Most players actually do get thrown at for that sort of thing, but Ramirez is consistently allowed to get away with it.

And I don't care what anyone says or how they couch it; Russell Martin embarassed himself with his behavior last night. He got hit on the knee by a guy who was obviously wild in Jamie Moyer. Furthermore, Moyer hit him with a breaking ball and Moyer couldn't break a pane of glass with his stuff even in his younger days. For Martin to pout like he did after getting pitched up and in was a joke.

The fact that the Dodgers seem to think that every inside pitch is an attempt to hit them is in the Phillies favor as it is obviously in the Dodgers' heads. The Phils need to keep pounding the inner half of the plate.

- Could someone let Jimmy Rollins know the NLCS has begun?

Phils Drop Game 3 to Brewers

The Phils dropped a choppy, strange Game 3 to the Brewers in Milwaukee by a score of 4 - 1. They still lead the best-of-5 series 2 games to 1.

Starter Jamie Moyer did not fare well in this game, going only 4 innings before being lifted for a pinch hitter in the top of the 5th inning. Moyer had a hard time getting a handle on his control, as he walked two in the first inning and threw a wild pitch, before giving up a sacrifice fly to Prince Fielder and an RBI single to JJ Hardy. While the Brewer lead was only 2 - 0, it could have been much more. Moyer continued to struggle, putting runners on base in the 2nd and 3rd inning. He had a quiet 4th inning, but at this point, he had thrown 90 pitches and seemed unable to pinpoint home plate umpire Brian Runge's strikezone.

By contrast, Brewer starter Dave Bush had Phillies batters flailing away at his sharp curveball. Bush gave up only 1 run over 5 1/3 innings and could have pitched deeper, but Brewer manager Dale Sveum smartly pulled Bush in favor of his bullpen, whom the Phillies had not had much success with the series so far.

The Phillies looked to finally break through in the 9th inning against Brewer closer Salomon Torres. The Phils had the bases loaded and no one out, for Pedro Feliz, who turned over on a ball that squirted to the third baseman for a double play. That play was not enough to score the run from 3rd, however, as Ryan Howard was ordered to go back to third base as Shane Victorino was called for interfering with second baseman Craig Counsell, whom Victorino clipped as he was trying to turn a double play.

The series continues today at 1pm, with Joe Blanton facing Jeff Suppan.

Notes:

- The umpiring was abysmal in this game for both side. Home plate umpire Brian Runge's strike zone was inconsistent at best.

- Ryan Howard was absolutely safe on that ground ball he hit to third that drove in the Phils' only run of the game. Television replays proved that he was safe. Just the fecal icing on the crap cake that was baked for the Phils by the umps last night.

- Strange game....it didn't flow well and the Brewers could not really deliver the knock out punch. Don't think this flows over into Game 4.

Hamels Hurls Gem; Phils Win Game 1

The Phillies, behind the dominant pitching of Cole Hamels, took game one of the 2008 NLDS by a score of 3 - 1. They lead the best-of-5 series 1 -0 and the victory marked the first post-season victory by the Phillies franchise since the 1993 World Series.

On a windy and rainy day in South Philly, Cole Hamels was positively dominant. In his second ever post-season start, Hamels did not give up a basehit or a baserunner until the 5th inning. He only gave up two hits in all during his 8 innings of work and also struck out 9.

The Phils scored their only runs of the game during a weird 3rd inning that started with a Carlos Ruiz single. Cole Hamels successfully attempted a sacrifice to move Ruiz over, but the Brewer covering 1st base (Ricky Weeks) failed to secure the ball to force Hamels, giving the Phils two men on and no one out. After Rollins flew out and Werth struck out, Chase Utley hit a ball in the left centerfield gap that Mike Cameron appeared to get leather on, but could not control. The ball fell on the outfield grass as two Phils scored and Utley stood on second base. Brewers starter Yovanni Gollardo then proceeded to intentionally walk Ryan Howard, and then walked two more batters to give the Phils their 3rd run.

Hamels was lifted after the 8th inning and Brad Lidge provided yet another eventful save, giving up a run on two hits, but he also struck out the side to preserve the victory.

The series continues today at 6pm, with Brett Myers facing CC Sabathia.

Notes:

- When did Brad Lidge turn into Mitch Williams? Did I miss the memo? And since he threw 35 pitches, is there anyway that Lidge is available today? I can't see it.

- If Utley had kept his feet when receiving the relay throw from Jayson Werth in the 9th inning, Ray Durham either stays at 3rd or gets cut down at the plate. As it was, when Utley did lose his feet and Durham broke for 3rd, a decent throw might have gotten Durham.

- Speaking of Utley, he made a great play on Tony Gwynn Jr's attempted bunt in the 8th inning.

- Pedro Feliz left 6 men on base in going 0 for 4. He'll probably play again today, with lefty Sabathia on the mound.

- The Brewers practically emptied their bullpen yesterday after Gallardo could only go 4 innings; they better hope Sabathia eats some innings today.

Photo: Yahoo.com ((Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images))

Phils Drop Series to Braves; Mets Lose too

This Phillies team does not want to make it easy on themselves or their fans.

The Phils dropped the rubber match of their final 3 game set with their personal whipping boys, the Atlanta Braves, by a score of 10 - 4. But because the Mets lost to the Cubs last night, the Phils' magic number managed to get down to 3.

It was obvious from the first inning that starter Brett Myers did not have his best stuff. He gave up 2 early runs and struggled with the location of his fastball through his entire time on the mound. He did not make it through the 5th inning, and ultimately, he was charged with 6 runs, 2 of which were not earned because of a throwing error by....wait for it.....Ryan Howard.

The bullpen was not of much help last night either. Chad Durbin was only able to get one out last night and Scott Eyre came in and gave up a 3-run bomb to Chipper Jones.

Offensively, the Phils hung in the ballgame until that fateful fifth inning. They got on the board after being down 2 - 0 on a Pedro Feliz RBI single. Down 3 - 1, the Phils got solo homers from Chase Utley in the 3rd inning and Ryan Howard in the 4th inning to even the score at 3. The Phils got an excuse-me run late in the game, when Pat Burrell scored from 3rd on a passed ball.

The Phils have an off day today to think about how they are driving the entire Delaware Valley to drink and start with their last series of the year against the Washington Nationals.

Pitching Matchups:

Friday: Joe Blanton vs. John Lannan
Saturday: Jamie Moyer vs. Odalis Perez
Sunday: Cole Hamels vs. Shairon Martis (hopefully, they don't need to win this game and they can rest Hamels)

Notes:

- Anyone hear that in-game interview with Davey Lopes? Tom McCarthy, Sarge, and Davey Lopes were talking about Shane Victorino's outfield defense and Lopes intimated that the Phils would bring in a centerfielder in the offseason and move Victorino to right field and Jayson Werth to left field. You might recall that Pat Burrell is the current left fielder and a free agent at year's end. Did Lopes just tip the Phillies hand for this offseason last night or was he just speculating?

- There was a gathering of players late in the ballgame in the 8th inning, when Shane Victorino was leading off of 3rd and, because of a defensive shift, no one was holding Victorino on. Braves reliever Julian Tavarez, obviously not bright, decided with a 6 run lead, to chase Victorino back to third base himself. Victorino said something to Taverez (probably questioning his intelligence in that situation) and the benches cleared and players milled about for a few minutes before order was restored. Despite his diminutive stature, doesn't Victorino strike you as one of those little guys you just wouldn't really want to eff with?

Photo: Yahoo.com....(Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)

Phils Chug Brew; Gain Ground

The Phillies jumped on the Brewers early and captured a 7 - 3 win in front of 45,000 folks at Citizens Bank Ballpark. The win, coupled with a Mets loss to the Braves, puts the Phils 2 1/2 games behind the Mets in NL East and only 2 games behind the Brewers in the Wild Card race.

The Phils wasted little time in this one, sprinting out to a 3 - 0 lead in the first inning on the strength of run-scoring hits by Chase Utley, Jayson Werth, and Shane Victorino. They struck again in the 2nd inning on a Ryan Howard 2-run single, giving Cole Hamels an early 5 - 0 lead.

Cole Hamels, while not dominant, pitched more than well enough. He had baserunners on in every inning but the 2nd and the 6th, but managed to strand most of the men he put on base. The 2 runs he did give were ultimately preventable, in that the ball that Jason Kendall hit to left to score the first 2 Brewer runs should have been caught by Pat Burrell. Burrell misjudged the fly ball, took a bad angle, and allowed the ball to get over his head.

Hamels ultimately gave way to the bullpen in the 7th inning.

Offensively, the Phillies were led by their catalyst, Jimmy Rollins. Rollins, in addition to getting on base and scoring in both the 1st and 2nd inning, hit a 2-run homer to put the game out of reach in the 6th inning, when it looked like Hamels was tiring a little and the Brewers seemed to be getting a little frisky. Chase Utley also went 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored.

As a result of Friday's rainout, the Phils and Brewers will play a day-night doubleheader. For the Phils, it's their second Sunday in a row playing a doubleheader and for a Philly fan, it's just as well as the Eagles don't play till tomorrow night anyway.

Pitching matchups:

Day game: Joe Blanton vs. Dave Bush
Night game: Brett Myers vs. Jeff Suppan

Notes:

- I was critical of Cole Hamels when he lost that game against the Mets on 3 days rest; this game is probably the biggest game that Hamels has won in his young career. Contrary to what I read in some outlets describing Hamels as "sharp", I would contend that Hamels can pitch much better. All in all, though, the outing was a positive step in Hamels' development as a big game pitcher.

- With Pat Burrell's struggles, there is no way he should be batting 5th as he did yesterday. Right now, I'd put him no higher than 6th. I'd even rather see Pedro Feliz or Victorino batting 5th right now. Burrell and Ruiz were the only starters to not get basehits yesterday.

Photo from Yahoo.com....REUTERS/Tim Shaffer (UNITED STATES)

Phils Stun Mets; Back in First

There was a feeling that the Phils HAD to have this game, given that Santana is pitching tomorrow night and has generally pitched well against the Phillies. Who knew the lengths they had to go to in order to accomplish that feat.

The Phils beat the Mets by a score of 8 - 7 in 13 innings, but had to do it by coming from behind and overcoming a 7 - 0 deficit in order to do so. The win catapaults the team a half game into first place in NL East.

The Mets jumped out to a 6 - 0 lead off of Phils starter Jamie Moyer, who had his shortest outing as a Phil. Moyer gave up 2 homeruns; one to 2B Damion Easley, and a more controversial one to Fernando Tatis. Tatis, a few pitches before he hit the homer, hit a fair ball off of his own man, Carlos Beltran, who was leading off of 3B and was in fair territory. By rule, he should have been out and Tatis awarded first. Instead, Moyer continued to work to Tatis, who eventually took him deep to make the score 6 - 0.

From that point, the Phils bullpen put a stopper on things, giving up just 1 run in 10 innings of work.

Offensively, the Phils finally woke up a bit in the 4th, scratching out a run on a Pedro Feliz sacrifice fly. The 5th inning saw the Phils get a lead off double from pitcher Clay Condrey, followed by a 2-run homerun by Jimmy Rollins. After a Chase Utley walk and a Pat Burrell strikeout, Ryan Howard took Pedro Martinez to the opposite field to pull the Phils within 2 runs and Citizen's Bank Ballpark seemed to coming alive.

After threatening in the 6th inning, the Phils scraped together another run via a Jimmy Rollins single that scored Carlos Ruiz to draw them within a run.

The 9th inning called for desperate measures with 2 outs. Jayson Werth kept the game going with a single up the middle that was off of the end of his bat. The next batter, Eric Bruntlett, was the last position player off of the bench and he responded with a double, scoring Werth and tying the game. Werth appeared to almost run over the plate without actually touching it the first time (fortunately, he had time to double back and touch the plate).

In extra innings, the Phils threatened in both the 10th and 11th inning, but to no avail. The Phils bullpen, led in extra innings by Ryan Madson, JC Romero, and Rudy Seanez held down the fort allowing scant opportunities for the Mets outside of a stray walk or basehit, which was left stranded.

In the 13th inning, the game was over for all practical purposes when Shane Victorino led off, shearing a triple to right field. From that point, the Mets loaded the bases by walking Bruntlett and Werth intentionally in order to trigger a double play. After an "interesting" strikeout by PH Brett Myers, Chris Coste sent a 1-0 Scott Schoeneweis offering over CF Carlos Beltran's head to score Victorino and send the Phils into first place.

The 2-game series ends tonite with Johan Santana possibly facing Kyle Kendrick. I say "possibly", because, in this bizarre game, Kendrick was warming up in the bullpen to possibly enter the game. You wonder if the Phils still intend to pitch Kendrick today.

NOTES:

- Jimmy Rollins' offensive numbers: 5 for 7, a double, a homer, 3 RBI, and 3 SBs. This is the type of performance that earned the MVP and it's what's been missing from the Phils offense for most of this season.

- Bruntlett and Coste, entering the game late, ended up going a combined 6 for 6 with 2 RBI, in hitting the game tying and game winning hits respectively.

- Unforgivable slip by Tom McCarthy in the bottom of the 12th, continually referring to CBP as "Shea". Tom, please just head back up the turnpike and tell Scott Graham to please come back.

- Not sure it was possible for Pat Burrell to have a more feeble night at the plate in striking out 4 times in 7 ABs and leaving 10 men on base.

- The home plate umpire, Mike Everitt, had a tough night. By the 12th inning, I had no idea what a strike was and the way he blew that call in the 3rd inning, where Tatis hit a fair ball off of Carlos Beltran, leading off of 3rd base in fair territory, was unconscionable.

- Carlos Ruiz played 3B last night; the first time he has done so in the Majors.

- Can you imagine trying to keep score of this game?

- Big outfield assist from Jayson Werth in the 11th inning on a hit by David Wright. The ball kicked off the stands just right, Werth was in the right spot to pick up the ball, and gunned out Wright, who appeared to injure his hand on the play. It'll be interesting to see if Wright, who earlier fouled a ball off of his foot, will play tonite.

- Myers' AB in the 13th inning was comical. He did a bunch of posturing, as if he was going to take his hacks, when in reality, it seems he was just sent to stand there and maybe draw a walk with no outs and the bases loaded. The strategy almost worked. Myers went to 3 - 2, before he struck out looking.

Pic from Yahoo.com ((AP Photo/Tom Mihalek))

Phils Complete Sweep of Dodgers

Brett Myers' star crossed rollar coaster ride of a season continued last night and Jimmy Rollins awoke from a long offensive slumber to lead the Phillies to a 5 - 0 shutout win over the Dodgers last night. The victory completed a 4-game sweep of the Dodgers and allowed the Phillies to remain within a half-game of the Mets, who also won last night.

The offense last night was paced by Jimmy Rollins, who went 3 for 3, including a 2-run single that opened the scoring for the Phillies. Also providing a crucial offensive spark was Jayson Werth, who not only drove in Ryan Howard (lead-off double) in the 7th inning, but scored from 2nd base on a Chris Coste ground-out. Werth was actually running on the play, which was a high bounding ball to the 2nd baseman who had to wait for the ball to come down. Werth was able to get a good read on the ball and went hard around 3rd to score the 5th and final run of the ballgame.

Brett Myers' return to form continued last night, as Myers did pitch with men on base (12 baserunners on 9 hits and 3 walks), but he managed to keep the Dodgers from scoring. He also struck out 8 and lowered his season ERA to 4.49, which is impressive, considering his ERA was approaching 6 when the Texas Rangers knocked him around back on June 27th.

The Phils open up a crucial 2 game series against their archrival New York Mets this evening at Citizen's Bank Ballpark. The pitching matchups:

Tonite: Jamie Moyer vs. Pedro Martinez

Tomorrow: Kyle Kendrick vs. Johan Santana

Notes:

- Pat Burrell left 6 runners on base last night. As for the Dodgers, between Jeff Kent and Manny Ramirez, they left 13 men on base.

- You won't see a smoother doubleplay started by a 3rd baseman than the one Pedro Feliz started in the 6th inning, when he went to his left, calmly scooped up the Casey Blake grounder and fired to Utley, who turned the doubleplay. Feliz made it look easy. His aggressive bat wasn't the only thing the Phils missed during his stint on the DL.

Photo from yahoo.com: (AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)

Myers, Phils Beat Nats

Brett Myers pitched 7 of the strongest innings he's pitched all year and Chase Utley hit his first home run since July 7th to beat the Washington Nationals by a score of 2 - 1.

This was, far and away, Myers' best outing of the year. He pitched into the 8th inning and probably could have gotten through the inning, if not for a Chase Utley error on a ball that was a dead double play ball. He only struck out 2, but was consistently ahead in the count against most of the hitters he faced. His slider to right handed hitters seemed particular effective last night.

After Utley's error in the 8th inning left the Nats with runners at 1st and 2nd with nobody out, Manuel brought in a combination of JC Romero and Chad Durbin to limit the damage to only 1 run. Brad Lidge came on in the 9th inning to notch his 25th save on the year.

Offensively, the team was, again, somewhat dormant. Chase Utley finally got off the schneid with respect to hitting the long ball and he even got an "excuse me" basehit on a half-hearted swing in the eighth inning. Pat Burrell also chipped in with 2 base hits.

The series continues tonite with Old Man Moyer facing Tim Redding at 7:10pm.

Notes

- The Braves traded Mark Teixera to the Anaheim Angels for Casey Kotchman and a prospect. That effectively ends the Braves' thoughts of contention this year. Now, it's just the Mets and Marlins to worry about.

- Brett Myers managed to hit 2 batters during the game, but fortunately, he was able to force the next batter to hit into a DP both times.

- What a stupid, dumb, ridiculous base running mistake by Ryan Zimmerman in the 7th inning after Milledge pounded the ball off of Eric Bruntlett's glove. After the ball hopped away from Bruntlett, Rollins picked the ball up, noticing Zimmerman had taken too wide of a turn off of 2nd. The ball was quickly thrown to Utley at 2nd, who tagged out Zimmerman out. Just. Dumb.

- Before the game, Pedro Feliz was put on the 15 day DL for back issues. Bruntlett and Dobbs will reportedly split time at third base in the meantime.

- Apparently, Greg Maddux has no interest in pitching for Philly, according to CBS sportsline's Scott Miller.

Photo: Yahoo.com (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Phils End First Half in First

The Phillies, on the strength of a Pat Burrell 3 run homer, beat the D-backs by a score of 6 - 3 and in doing so, ended the first half of the season in first place.

For 7 innings, Brandon Webb and Cole Hamels dueled, giving up only 2 runs apiece. One of the runs scratched out by the Phils against Webb was courtesy of a Cole Hamels double in the 5th inning. Hamels almost cracked in the 7th inning, when he gave up 2 lead-off singles, only to wriggle off the hook on a botched sacrifice, a horrible baserunning play by Orlando Hudson, and a Mark Reynolds strikeout.

Hamels' high-wire act in the 7th gave way to the Phillies' heroics in the 8th, when Chad Qualls, in relief of Brandon Webb, gave up hits to Utley, Howard, and ultimately, the kill shot courtesy of Pat Burrell. Pedro Feliz followed two batters later, with a line drive home run right into the left field flower box.

Notes:

- No matter the outcome of the Mets game tonite (still in progress as I write this....they are up 7 - 0), the Phils will end the first half in 1st place.

- Jimmy Rollins: 2 steals today, giving him 24 on the year.

- Victorino and Utley combined to leave 8 men on base. Utley is hitting a less-than-robust .247 with runners in scoring position.

Picture: Yahoo.com ((AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)

Rollins, Phils Best Braves

Jimmy Rollins had 3 hits and scored 2 runs and Ryan Howard hit a 3-run bomb in the 3rd inning as the Phils beat the Atlanta Braves by a score of 7 - 3. The win gives the Phillies their first series win in a month, when they last played the Atlanta Braves.

Adam Eaton started, and went into the 6th inning before loading the bases with no one out and giving way to Chad Durbin, who promptly threw a double-play ball to Jeff Francoeur and got Mark Kotsay looking to clean up Eaton's mess.

Rollins not only made his presence felt with the bat, but also in the field. In the 5th inning, Rollins made a diving stop on ball going up the middle, which should have been a basehit. Instead, Rollins made the acrobatic play, flipped the ball to Utley at second, and Utley made the turn to Howard to complete a very pretty doubleplay that kept the Braves at bay.

Pat Burrell also tacked on his 21st home run of the year and Utley, Pedro Feliz, and Chris Coste all had 2 hits each.

The series concludes tonite at 7pm in a pretty good matchup between Cole Hamels (8 - 5) vs. Jair Jurrjens (8 - 3) that will be on CSN-TV.

Notes/Observations

- I could have done without all of the excitement in the 9th inning, with Ryan Howard botching 2 ground balls and Brad Lidge giving up a very long, very dangerous foul ball to Mark Teixeira that came within a few feet of tying the game in the 9th inning.

- By the way: Howard now has 9 errors at first base. I'm sorry, but that is unacceptable. He is a DH waiting to happen.

- Also: They probably shouldn't have had Lidge in the game two nights in a row in non-save situations, but it's just as well they did with Howard kicking the ball all over the infield. Fortunately, the Phils have Hamels going today, so hopefully, the Phils won't need Lidge's services today.

- Solid work by Chad Durbin last night; 2 innings of hitless, runless relief. Last night's appearance guarentees he's not the starter on Saturday, right?

- Brett Myers started for the IronPigs last night. Meh. He took the loss after working 5 innings and throwing 100 pitches.

Picture: yahoo.com (REUTERS/Tami Chappell (UNITED STATES))

Phils Fall Again

The Phils dropped their 6th straight last night, losing to the Oakland A's by a score of 5 - 2. The loss wasted a pretty good effort by starting pitcher Jamie Moyer, who gave up 3 earned runs over 6-2/3 innings and struck out 9.

This game mirrored other Phillies games recently, where the team was simply unable to string hits together. They seem especially unable to string clutch hits together. The fact that they were baffled by a guy like Joe Blanton, who was 3 - 10 coming into the game with an ERA approaching 5, speaks volumes about the hitting drought the team is currently experiencing. The Phils got only one run off of Blanton, courtesy of Pat Burrell's 19th home run of the year. The rest of the offense was supplied by a Ryan Howard RBI single that drove home Shane Victorino.

On the downside, the Chase Utley "mix up" continues. Dating back to June 14th, Utley is now 1 for his last 29. Utley is my favorite player on this team, but to paraphrase Larry Bowa, our 3-hole hitter is "killing this team" right now. This team needs Utley to figure out his issues and start raking again.

The series with the A's continues with Kyle Kendrick facing the A's Greg Smith. The game starts at 10:05pm and will be on CSN-TV.

Did you notice?

- Look, I understand that maybe you can make an argument that Charlie Manuel should have pulled Jamie Moyer in the 7th inning, when it was apparent he was missing his spots. But I thought Moyer deserved the benefit of the doubt and frankly, I wouldn't kill Manuel for leaving him in. If Moyer is getting into the 7th inning, the Phillies HAVE to win that game. Pitching is not the problem in this losing streak and I would hate for some Charlie Manuel nit-picking to take the focus off of the broken offense.

- Ruiz's double play in the bottom of the 7th was a killer. The Phillies should have gotten at least one run out of that baseloaded situation. If you want to second guess a Manuel decision, how about questioning the leaving of Pat Burrell on the base paths in the 7th inning after taking a walk? Would Taguchi have scored on the Pedro Feliz single, which occurred just prior to the Ruiz DP? It's not like Manuel has never pulled Burrell in that situation before.

- Geoff Jenkins. 3 strikeouts in 4 ABs as the DH. Thanks for that.

The Phils Can't Stop Scoring

Wasn't it just last week that we were all complaining that the Phils' bats were held silent by the Washington Nationals?

In the last two games, opposing pitchers have been just battered by Phils hitters to the tune of 35 runs in two games. In the last game of the Houston series, the Phils tacked up 15 runs on the Astros (4 ER on 0 innings of work on Fernando Nieve alone).

Then last night, the Phils hung a 20-spot on the Colorado Rockies, in the first game of a 10 game homestand. The Phils managed 7 runs off of starter Jorge De La Rosa and another 6 off of reliever Josh Newman. It was more than enough run support for Jamie Moyer, who gave up 4 runs in 7 innings of work before giving way to mop-up guy Clay Condrey.

Chase Utley was the main offensive hero for the Phils last night as he homered in his 2nd straight game, giving him 16 homers on the season. Utley added two more hits, in addition to the homer, in chasing home 6 runs. Pedro Feliz and Chris Coste both chipped in with 4 RBI apiece.

The win keeps the Phils tied with Atlanta for 2nd place. Both Atlanta and Philadelphia are 2.5 games behind the division leading Marlins in NL East.

The series with the Rockies resumes today, as Kyle Kendrick faces Ubaldo Jimenez at 7:05pm (CSN-TV).

Cole Hamels Brilliant (again); Phils win.....

Cole Hamels doesn't seem like the type to lack in confidence under ordinary circumstances. How confident must Hamels be now after the game he pitched last night, where he went 7 shutout innings last night after pitching a complete game shutout against the Braves last Friday?

Hamels pretty much mowed through the Washington Nationals last night for a 1 - 0 win as the Phils finally figured out a way to score a run in the Nationals' new ballpark. CMH only gave up 4 runs, walking 2, and struck out 11, and amazingly, he didn't even get the win. The reason for that is that the Phillies offense was flummoxed by the pitching prowess of Jason Bergmann for the Nats. Bergmann matched Hamels as he tossed 7 innings of shutout ball.

The Phils got their run off of substitute closer Jon Rauch in the 9th inning. Pedro Feliz laced a lead off double (then lifted for PR Eric Bruntlett), was sacrificed to third by Carlos Ruiz, and was knocked in by a timely pinch hit single from the bat of Greg "The Natural" Dobbs. If not for a tremendous block of the plate by Nats catcher Jesus Flores, the Phils could have gotten the insurance run (as Dobbs eventually came around on a Shane Victorino hit), but Brad Lidge came in and pitched a scoreless 9th inning to save it for 8th inning pitcher Tom Gordon.

The series against Washington concludes tonite at 7:10, with Jamie Moyer going up against Matt Chico. The game should be on locally on CSN.

Did you notice?

- Ryan Howard; 0 for 4 with 3 strikeouts. Sigh.....

- This is only the 2nd win against 4 losses against the Nats for the Phils this season and the run they scored broke a 17 inning scoreless streak in Washington.

- Further supporting the Phils' ineptitude against the Nationals, the Phils have a team OPS of .673 against the Nationals. The Phils, against the rest of the league, hold a .765 OPS. Clearly, someone is doing a good job of scouting for Washington (as announcer Chris Wheeler appropriately observed last night).

Programming Note: Flyers post-mortem tomorrow (barring a Jamie Moyer no-hitter).

The Phils: A productive weekend

Unlike me, the Phils actually had a rather productive weekend. The Phils took 2 of 3 games from the visiting Cubs last weekend, which currently puts them in second place in the NL East. They did this without the services of Jimmy Rollins, who is still out with a sore ankle.

Brett Myers looks like he is close to righting his ship on Friday, as he held the Cubs to 3 runs over 8 innings in what was his best outing to date in a 5 - 3 Phils win. Pat Burrell continued his hot start, with a homer and 3 RBI.

Saturday saw CMH keep the fuzzy Cubbies at bay with 7 innings of 1-hit ball. According to the game recap on the Phillies' official site, Hamels wasn't impressed with himself:

"It's a scary feeling, especially in this ballpark," Hamels said. "In the summer, those things will be five rows deep. I felt better after the third inning. It's part of the game. I lucked out. They hit a lot of balls hard that I left over the plate -- right at guys. I wasn't hitting my usual location. It's one of those things where I'm thanking our defense."

Geez, I can't wait to hear what he's got to say after a bad outing. Also, Ryan Howard and Peter Happy both went yard.

Yesterday was the only Phils loss of the weekend, but it was the second time in a week that they got jobbed by the umpires. This time, it was Adrian Johnson, who called fair, what everyone in the ballpark knew to be a foul ball. This comes on the heels of last Thursday debacle when Jose Reyes was called safe when he was very obviously out, giving the Mets the win last week. With any luck, we'll be collecting those make up calls sometime in September when we really need them. In a weird set of circumstance (which I'll elaborate on shortly), Geoff Jenkins batted lead off yesterday. He didn't do so bad, in going 2 for 6, while the most recent two hole hitter, Jayson Werth, had two steals to go with a home run.

Shane Victorino: Everyday Player?

I like Shane Victorino. I really do. He runs hard. He hustles. He does the neat little shaving pie stunts to this teammates. Seems like a good guy.

So, why can't I shake the sneaky suspicion that Victorino will never be anything more than a platoon player? Shane just cannot stay on the field as he is now on the 15 day DL with a strained right calf and a slight tear of his meniscus in his right knee. This comes after he was limited by a calf injury last year. It also occurs just as he was beginning to pick up the pace with the bat, going 4 for his last 7.

I'd love to be proven wrong in this assessment.

Did You Notice?

- Former Phil Gavin Floyd almost had a no-hitter on Saturday, in shutting out the Tigers 7 - 0. He lost it in the 8th inning and was lifted shortly thereafter.

- Karma is most certainly a woman, because it can be a real bitch. Don't believe me? Ask a Mets fan. If any of them were happy to see JRoll get hurt last week, they've got something else to worry about. Jose Reyes has been out with a sore hamstring. No word if a DL stint is in his future.

- I can't think of anything dumber than that story of the idiot who buried a shirt under the new Yankee stadium. Honestly, enough of the Red Sox and Yankee bullshit. It's completely played out.

Hamels Loses Despite Tossing Gem

Cole Hamels (CMH) did not disappoint last night. He went 8 innings on a night when the wind was blowing in at Citizen Bank ballpark (CBP) and gave up only 5 hits and 1 run.

Unfortunately, the Phillies couldn't do anything with Washington's Tim Redding, who tossed a 1 hitter en route to a 1 - 0 victory.

It's tough to really pick things apart in a ballgame such as this one that was played rather tautly. The Phils did hit some balls hard, but always right at people it seemed.

But on a night where the wind was blowing in and the weather was on the nippy side, you would think one of the more fleet footed Phils (Shane Victorino, I'm looking at you) would have tried to work a walk or bunted to get on base and maybe get the running game going on a cold night. This would have given Tim Redding something to think about rather than having him simply mow the lineup down like he did last night.

Notes:

-Pedro Feliz got the only hit last night, his first as a Phil.
-Another sellout last night at CBP: 44, 986.

2008 Phillies - Preview

With both of the Philly winter sports teams still vying for playoff berths, can it get any better than your NL East Champion Phillies getting ready to defend their title? Thousands of people across the Delaware Valley will be making up bullshit reasons to leave work or avoid responsibility in some way in order to catch the opener today. Will you be one of them?

And honestly, how could you NOT be one of them? This Phillies team is terribly difficult to dislike.

Afterall, last year's Phils overtook the choking New York Mets for the NL East title and did so with style and panache. NL MVP Jimmy Rollins, the shortstop and spiritual leader of the Phils, called the Phillies "the team to beat" and he made it happen. Former NL MVP and first baseman Ryan Howard had 47 homers and 137 RBI in what some folks considered to be an off year. Chase Utley, MVP-in-waiting on the Phils, hit a lusty .332 and proved himself to be good in the clutch, hitting .304 with runners in scoring position. Cole Hamels emerged as the staff ace, going 15 - 5, with 177 strikeouts. I could go on and on.....the ceiling on this team is incredibly high.

The real question for this year's edition of the Phils is the following: Can the Phillies repeat, given the improvements made by both the Mets and Braves in NL East?

To attempt to answer this question, I will use the format I used for last year's preview and give 5 reasons, for and against, the Phillies being able to repeat.

5 Reasons that the Phillies will absolutely repeat as NL East Champs:

1.) A full year of Brett Myers in the rotation: Moving Brett Myers back to the rotation makes sense in every way, and to be honest, he should have never been moved out of the rotation last year to begin with. The Phillies were incredibly lucky that the move of Myers to the bullpen did not blow up in their faces last year, when their rotation became a shambles with injuries to Freddy Garcia, Jon Lieber, Cole Hamels, etc. Myers has high-end pitching talent and that talent is best leveraged once every 5 days. He has the ability to be an ace on just about any staff.

2.) Expect big things from Pedro Feliz this year: The move in the offseason to add Pedro Feliz has made a very good infield even better. Over the course of his career, spent exclusively in hitter unfriendly San Francisco, Feliz never posted fewer than 20 homers and 70 RBIs. In Philadelphia, with the calibre of hitters in this lineup and the dimensions of the home park, I would not be shocked if Feliz hit 30 homers and approached 90 RBI. Despite the fact he strikes out a great deal and doesn't get on base very much, he has never slugged below .418. He is also very good defensively. This is a far cry from the Wes Helms/Abe Nunez/Greg Dobbs trifecta that we all lived with last year.

3.) Pat Burrell WILL hit consistently this year: This is Pat Burrell's free agent year; any thoughts of him not hitting should be abandoned. However distracted Burrell was in the past with "off-field" hobbies, baseball should have Burrell's full attention this year. A 40 home run year should not be ruled out.

4.) The Geoff Jenkins/Jayson Werth Platoon: The Phillies could not get Jayson Werth out of the lineup towards the end of the 2007 season, where he hit .298 in part-time duty. This includes the month of August last year, where Werth hit .414. Geoff Jenkins has 212 homeruns in 10 major league seasons and is a well-respected veteran. The on-field and off-field contributions of these two men should be more than enough to make up for the loss of Aaron Rowand (who perhaps played over his head last year in his walk year).

5.) Confidence is everything: Going into last year, the questions around the Phillies centered around whether the team would ever have success. Going into this year, success seems a foregone conclusion, but rather, how successful will they be? The players, in spring training, have exuded the confidence of a team on the rise. It seems they had a taste of winning last year and are thirsty for more. Don't underestimate the after effects of winning last year.

5 Reasons the Phillies will NOT make the playoffs this year:

1.) Adam Eaton: Actually not so much Eaton himself (we know he sucks) as much as he represents the hole we currently have at 5th starter. Kris Benson is waiting in the wings, but as he is still rehabbing, he may not be available to sometime in June. And even if Benson is the answer, how good can he be coming off of surgery? The 5th starter spot will require watching all year.

2.) Missing Aaron Rowand: Aaron Rowand was a Philadelphia sort of player. He hustled out everything, he played with reckless abandon, and famously face planted out against the center field wall in trying to make a catch. There is no type of player we like more than the player who will risk life and limb to catch a baseball. Not only did the fans seems to respond to Rowand, but it was obvious even to an outsider that Rowand was fairly popular amongst his teammates for his style of play and leadership. He also hit a cool .309 with 27 homers and provided a level headed consistency to the lineup that the Werth/Jenkins platoon may struggle to replicate.

3.) Jimmy Rollins....Back to Earth?: Jimmy Rollins will never be a reason that the Phillies lose. But can Rollins put up numbers similar to, or surpassing last year's performance? Almost every offensive category from last year, from his batting average to his slugging percentage, was far beyond his 162 game average over the course of his career. The thinking with the inclusion of Jimmy Rollins on this list isn't so much that I think Rollins will have a bad year; it's more an acknowledgement of just how special of a year that Rollins had last year and how difficult it will be for JRoll to repeat it.

4.) Cole Hamels' Wonky Back: That Cole Hamels is an elite pitcher is no longer in doubt; his 15 - 5 year last year as well as 177 strikeouts bear that out. What is not clear about Hamels, is his ability to stay healthy. His wiry frame seems especially conducive to injury. There was even some controversy last year about Hamels' complaints that the Phillies did not have a chiropractor last year (which have since been addressed). If the Phillies can keep Hamels healthy for a full year, there is no telling how much Hamels can acheive. But Hamels has never gone through a full year without injury, so the next time he does it will be the first time. How it will affect the team remains to be seen.

5.) Can Kyle Kendrick Repeat his success?: Last year, around the time Freddy Garcia went into the toilet, Kyle Kendrick was called up to the Major Leagues. Kendrick was largely considered a middling prospect by most scouting reports. Who knew this guy would come along and stabilize the rotation by going 10 - 4 with a 3.87 ERA? Unfortunately, this is a new year and Kendrick will not be sneaking up on anyone. To further scare the hell out of Phillies fans, Kendrick got smacked around pretty much all spring long. And don't give me that business of Kendrick "just getting his work in". Guys that have been established vets "just get their work in" during spring training. Guys that come out of nowhere, like Kendrick did last year, have heightened expectations and need to dominate Spring hitters. Which Kyle Kendrick will come out this year? The one that calmly stabilized the rotation or the one that got smacked around in spring training?

This year's Phillies prediction? Sure the Mets added Santana, and the Braves got better, with a full year of Mark Teixeira. But this Phillies team has too much talent to be kept out of the postseason. I can see 92 wins for this team and another NL East crown.

Other baseball predictions. Like last year, I do not have to justify these predictions with actual facts:
1.) Johan Santana will not get 20 wins nor will he be as dominant as advertised. He'll still be good, winning 17 games and will not pitch the number of innings he pitched in the AL.

2.) The Yankees will overthrow Boston for the AL East crown this year. New manager Joe Girardi will put some life back into what had become a comfortable existence for some of the players in Yankee pinstripes.

3.) Tony LaRussa will be fired by July.

4.) New Twins GM, after his horrible Johan Santana trade, will try to trade Joe Mauer to the Blue Jays for P Dave Stieb, OF Joe Carter, and C Rod Barajas. The Blue Jays will turn down these overtures, however, when GM Bill Smith refuses to throw in Ottawa Senator playoff tickets.

5.) The Houston Astros will fire GM Ed Wade when they finally realized they hired ED FUCKING WADE! UGH! How does this guy have a job in baseball still?

6.) White Sox Manager Ozzie Guillen will finally implode this year and mercilessly beat up a reporter. Don't know when. Don't know how. It will just.....happen.

7.) The Detroit Tigers will be so good this year, Jim Leyland will give up smoking.

8.) NL MVP: David Wright. The entire national media has such a man-crush on David Wright, it's inevitable that he'll win the award. David Wright is to the baseball media as Brett Favre is to the football media. AL MVP: Magglio Ordonez.

9.) NL Cy Young: Dan Haren; AL Cy Young: Jered Weaver (yeah, I know I picked Weaver last year....this time, I'll be right)

10.) 2008 World Series: Detroit over Arizona