Philadelphia Phillies

Ruben Amaro, Jr. has stated time and time again that the Phillies are looking to add a pitcher. A quality top end of the rotation pitcher. While thoughts of Peavy and Halladay and Bedard have dance

Continue reading "Where will the Phillies be when the smoke clears?"

Todd Zolecki of MLB.com is reporting that the Phillies have been scouting Red Sox pitcher Brad Penny. The Red Sox supposedly asking for infield prospect Jason Donald. Brad Penny is not the power pitch

Continue reading "Is Donald only worth a Penny?"

After starting sixth in all star votes, Phillies fans stepped up the in park and online voting to jump Raul Ibanez all the way to second place behind Ryan Braun. The usuals are occupying their places in voting with Utley, Howard, and Rollins all within the top 3. Third baseman Pedro Feliz is quietly putting together an All Star quality season. He currently is 5th in the voting.

Continue reading "Ibanez early favorite for All Star Game."

The starting pitching was very good over the weekend in the bronx. It all seemed to be on Brad "Lit Up" Lidge as he blew the save and lost the game on Sat. and just blew the save Sun. B

Continue reading "Phils take two of three from Yanks."

Joe Blanton cruised thru the first four inning and hit the wall in the fifth. He gave up 5 runs in the fifth, but only cut the deficit to one run. The Phillies offense cruised, scoring atleast one run

Continue reading "Blanton Struggles, Pen scoreless ..."

Even before the game started we had a little action. Charlie Manuel demoted Chan Ho Park from the rotation to the bullpen and promoted JA Happ to the rotation. Happ will get his first opportunity Saturday at the on fire as of late New York Yankees.

Continue reading "Two Aces in the Queen City: Phillies ..."

Slow day as the Phillies had an off day Monday. The Phillies signed Bako to a minor league deal and shipped him off to extended Spring Training. Bako had signed on with Cubs in January with an invite

Continue reading "Phillies sign C Paul Bako to minor league deal"

Where do I begin. Its very hard to gauge a team based on their performance against the Nats.  The Phillies could have blown that game WIDE open. On the night, the Phillies had twenty, yes TWENTY, runners in scoring position and only managed to get 8 home. Blanton struggled with command again walking 6 over five innings. Which further proves my point that the umpires have a league wide squeeze on the strike zone this year. I really can't put that much blame on Lidge for blowing the save Friday nights debacle of a game. The first hit barely made it passed the pitchers mound and the one Dunn hit, Feliz did the right thing at getting the lead runner. Yeah Utley through a slider to Ruiz and could have had Dunn out to end the ball game, but oh well. I was actually really looking forward to seeing Happ pitch Saturday night, but it obviously wasn't meant to be. I really do feel for Manny Acta. Does he have anyone in the pen with an ERA under 4? It seems like either the pitching or the defense or a combination of both let him down all weekend long.

Continue reading "Weekend Series Update: Philadelphia ..."

May 8th, 2009- As I sat in my seat in the bottom of the 6th inning at Citizens Bank Park, I see a pinch hitter walk up to the plate for Cole Hamels. I, along with others around me, instantly try to guess the hitter’s identity. “Dobbs, it’s gotta be!”, “Stairs all the way!” Not this time. The name called by Dan Baker was none other than #9 Miguel Cairo. Already a good month into the season, I hear call-outs from my seat all asking the same question, “Who is Miguel Cairo?”

Continue reading "Philadelphia Phillies: WHO IS Miguel Cairo?"

This will probably be my last post of the week barring any trade or situation which may arise. I wanted to encompass not only the Phillies but the farm system as well. Let's start from the bottom and work our way up. The Venezuelan and Dominican Summer Leagues, the Gulf Coast League, and the New York Penn League have yet to start up. The next couple of wrap ups will probably be short until then. On to Class A Lakewood.

Continue reading "Studs and Duds: Philadelphia Phillies ..."

Cole Hamels pitched gem this afternoon. Nine strikeouts, one walk, and one earned run (HR) over seven innings. The Phils took the lead for Hamels in the bottom of the first with a lead off double from Jimmy Rollins, a sac bunt from Victorino, and a sac fly from Howard. That was all the runs the Phightless Phils had for the young lefty. The Phillies did make a game of it scoring 2 runs with 2 outs in the bottom of the ninth off of Jonathan Broxton. On the verge of a 1,2,3 top of the 10th Chad Durbin went two up two down and seemingly melted down after a payoff pitch failed to go his way. Durbin gave up two runs to give away the lead. Rookie Ramon Troncoso came in to save the game for Broxton setting down the Phillies on 13 pitches. It would have been less than 10 if Troncoso didn't hit Utley with two strikes and two outs.

Continue reading "Philadelphia Phillies versus Los ..."

In yet another attempt to achieve career win number 250, Jamie Moyer ran into a team with a vengeance. After being embarassed the night before, the Dodgers were out for blood against Moyer and the Phightin Phils. Moyer was cruising along go three scoreless innings before the jugular was sliced and the bloodbath ensued. He gave up 5 runs in the fourth, all earned, including a three run shot given up to James Loney. Moyer was pulled from the game with one out in the fifth after runners reached first and third. JA Happ came in and could not strand the runners, bring Moyer's final line to 4.1 IP, 7ER on 8 hits and 1 walk and strinking out 1. Happ pitched the final two outs of the fifth inning and was done for the night. That led me to believe before any announcement that Happ would indeed pitch one of the two games Saturday in Washington.

Continue reading "Ageless Wonder left wondering what ..."

With the release of a new book reconfirming everyone suspicions about Roger Clemens' use of steroids, I thought it would be a nice change of pace to give it a go. Clemens gave an interview to ESPN's radio show "Mike & Mike" to state his case. Highlights of the interview were that he still denies using steroids or any other PEDs, that he still friends (casuals ones at best from how he spoke of Petitte) with Andy Petitte, and that he feels that the Hall of Fame IS important to him now. The point of the interview that I found to be the most entertaining was the Clemens threw out the statement that he would not ever consider steroids or any other PED because his family has a history of heart disease. He followed that up with his STEP father died of a heart attack and that his brother had a heart attack in his 40s. My question would be then is the brother you are referring to your real brother or your step brother? It makes a monumental difference in his reasoning. How could YOU specifically have a history of heart disease if you aren't even a part of that blood stream. It's like the episode of the Simpsons when Mr. Burns is shot. Marge says she didn't have Bouvier DNA anymore only Simpson DNA.

Continue reading "A steroid users dilemma. To admit or not to admit."

Jayson Werth was the star of the game last night, capping off a superb performance by stealing 3 bases in the bottom of the 7th inning. To make the feat even better, all three swipes were with two outs. Not one person saw it coming. Not the pitcher, the catcher, the batter, the third base coach, or even the manager. Werth said to reporters after the game that he would rather see them win by the long ball. I would definitely say that manufacturing runs never hurt anyone. Werth was the first Phillie since Carlos Ruiz to steal home and the first Phillies since Gary Maddox to steal four in one game.

Continue reading "Werth helps Phillies steal win, Dodgers hearts."

With Monday being an off day for the Phightins, I thought I would take a look at our up and comers. So here we go down on the farm.

Lehigh Valley (AAA): Kyle Kendrick got rocked by Toledo yesterday in a rare mid day game. He gave up 6 earned runs over five innings. He did manage to strikeout 4 and only walked one. The part that impresses me the most about Kyle Kendrick so far is his ERA. The six earned runs brought his ERA up to 3.75. I would say that is pretty respectable compared to what we saw from him the bigs last season. Hopefully this means he is turning it around. You can never have enough sinkerballers at the Bank. Right now Kendrick needs to focus making batters miss the ball. His WHIP and his groundball rate are both hovering right around 1.50. So to get back to the bigs with the Phils or anyone else, he will need to improve both of those.

Continue reading "Down on the farm. A look at the minors."

So far this season, the Phillies' pitching has been down right horrible. Worst team ERA in all the National League. The only teams worse than the Phightins are the Yankees and Indians. The Phillies are tied for last in saves. Yes, I know that saves are a stat of opportunity, but to be tied with the Pirates and Nationals, the NL perenial basement dwellers. On to the positive. The Phillies are in first, yes lead the national league in homeruns allowed. Oh wait, that isn't good news either. Do we chalk it up to a World Series hangover? We did pitch an extra month last year.  Do we chalk it up to really missing JC Romero? Everyone besides Madson and Lidge had their role redefined because of one blunder.

Continue reading "Is the pitching staff leaking oil?"

First off, just a little information about myself. My name is Justin and I have been an Philadelphia Sports fan since I was a kid some 15 years old when I was watching the 1993 Phillies blow a 6-5 lead in the bottom of the ninth only to lose to a Joe Carter Home Run. That was one of my first memories with Philly Sports. 

Continue reading "Jglove's first Blog, so take a look ..."

I had planned on discussing the Phillies’ bullpen situation for this off-season today, but the organization just announced a deal that may have a profound affect on the way things will play out with Pat Burrell in left field.  An agreement has been made with the Texas Rangers to trade Phillies former first round pick Greg Golson (Drafted 21st overall in 2004) for Rangers prospect and former first round pick John Mayberry (19th overall in 2005). 

Continue reading "Phillies Prospect Greg Golson Traded ..."

    The Phillies lineup just took a major hit as it has been determined that Chase Utley will need to go under the knife to assess and repair any damage to his injured hip.  The injury plaqued the second baseman for a significant part of the second half of the season and undoubtedly hurt his production.  The timetable for his return is a bit sketchy.  If all goes well he should be able to get on the field sometime around Spring Training.  But returning to feel health and shaking off the rust is expected to leave him out until April at the earliest.  It would not be surprising if his hip took until June to recover fully enough for him to hit the field.

Continue reading "Chase Utley will Need Surgery and ..."

In yesterday’s entry I emphasized that this off-season is a perilous one for the Phillies organization.  Over the course of my entry I gave some valid reasons for this, but managed not to express just how serious the situation is.  Think of it this way, last season the Phils won the NL East by three games.  They would have only won the wild card by two games if they had not taken the division.  In 2007 the division was won by one game, and they would not have made the playoffs if they did not defeat the Mets.  That means that over those two seasons (approximately 244 games) the Phillies made the playoffs by a whopping margin of four games.  With only a slight shift in fortune the Fightins could have very easily been on the outside looking in.  I’m not, by any means trying to be a doomsayer.  They definitely earned those titles.  But the National League East is going to be even more competitive next year than it was this past season.  The Mets are likely to land at least one major free agent, the Marlins will be fiercely competitive with their slew of young talent , and the Braves are not going to quietly ride into the sunset.  They will dog the Phillies steps all season.  If we want to win next year, we need to improve just as much as the other teams improve.  That does not mean we need any major changes, but we do have important holes to fill.

Continue reading "The Outlook of the Phillies Rotation ..."

Believe it or not, the Phillies are in something of a tough spot this offseason.  The jubilation of the World Series victory was short-lived for the organization because of Pat Gillick's well deserved retirement.  This situation has rarely occurred over the history of Major League Baseball, and leaves Ruben Amaro Jr. (Gillick's replacement) in a very challenging pickle.  First of all, he has lost Mike Arbuckle from the scouting staff.  Arbuckle deserves significant credit for the drafts that brought the Phils Pat Burrel, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels and many more.  He was in competition with Amaro for the GM job and lost out.  Naturally, he chose to move on and is now working in the Royals organization.  Will Amaro be able to set things in motion for this team to repeat?  Many pundits are concerned that Amaro will behave similarly to former Phillies GM Ed Wade (Now with the Astros).  The concern here is that Amaro will work too hard at pleasing the ownership, and not hard enough at winning a championship.  Only time will tell what we can actually expect from Amaro, but my guess will be more of Gillick than Wade.  As a player Amaro was tenacious and aggressive.  Over the course of his career he had stints in the Bigs in eight seasons.  His time was spent playing for the then California Angels, Phillies, Indians, Blue Jays, and then back with the Phillies again.  The MLB journeyman knows the league well and undoubtedly has been around Philadelphia baseball for long enough to have a good sense of the organization's pulse (He has been a member of the front office since his playing career ended in 1998).  For all intensive purposes, he was groomed for the job.  He knows the city and the fans well, and should represent our passion.  The question now is how he will go about making this team better for next season. 

Continue reading "How Will the Phillies Off-season ..."

 

           Each week, on Friday, I will look into my (never wrong, just misinformed) crystal ball and give my predictions for that weekend games.  I will always prognosticate on the Eagles and Cowboys games and then pick two more games of interest (to me, that is, not necessarily to you).  Keep in mind, that this is for entertainment purposes only, and that I do not endorse any sort of legal or illegal gambling.  That being said…let’s see what’s in my crystal ball!  

Continue reading "Predictions Week 9"

  

Last night, the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 to win the World Series in five games (4-1).  This is the second World Championship for the Phils…they previously won in 1980…28 years ago.  This will be remembered as one of the weirdest finishes in a Series with an unprecedented suspension of a game due to inclement weather.  The game was concluded 48 hours later…in hindsight…it was worth the wait! 

Continue reading "Finally"

  

The newly acquired crystal ball went 3-1 in its debut week, which leaves me 4 games under .500…we’re getting there!  That’s an impressive start for a young and naïve crystal ball.  It performed well in its new role…many people are relying on it…that’s a lot of pressure!  It clearly has better prognosticating skills than its predecessor.  Maybe the new mahogany base it sits on, gave it a sense of prestige.  Well, for whatever reason…I’ll take it!  Now let’s review what happened this past week:  

Continue reading "Week 8 Review"

ip;there are no style points in the NFL!   

Short Shots:   

The Philadelphia Phillies smoked the Tampa Bay Rays 10-2 last night to take a commanding lead in the World Series.  The Phils lead the Series 3-1.  If they can win tonight, the Phillies will close out the Series at home and the celebrations can begin!  Philadelphia has been craving a championship for decades and the Phils are on the verge of delivering!  Let’s go Phillies!  The parade down Broad Street is within reach! 

Continue reading "There Are No Style Points In The NFL"

refuse…win!  Miami 23, Buffalo 17.   

Short Shots:  

The Philadelphia Phillies lost Game 2 of the World Series last night.  The Series is tied at 1-1.  The Rays will now travel to Philadelphia for Games 3-5.  Let’s not head back to Tampa…let’s win it at home!  Let’s go Phils!  Parade down Broad Street to follow!  

Continue reading "Predictions Week 8"

I want to apologize in advance to the seven loyal Rays fans that were out there before this playoff run.  You guys/gals like myself (Royals fan) are long suffering fans of a moribund franchise until this season.  God bless you and I hope your team does well.

Continue reading "Needs More Cowbell"

Winslow isn’t just a “piece of meat” and lift his suspension! 

The Philadelphia Phillies won Game 1 of the World Series…way to go Phils!  Got Parade?

Continue reading "Mr. Fix-it"

in cut-off sweatshirts on the sideline (and yes, that was a shot at Beli-cheat)!  

The Philadelphia Phillies play in Game 1 of the World Series tonight in Tampa tonight.  Let&

Continue reading "Week 7 Review"

 

           Each week, on Friday, I will look into my (never wrong, just misinformed) crystal ball and give my predictions for that weekend games.  I will always prognosticate on the Eagles and Cowboys games and then pick two more games of interest (to me, that is, not necessarily to you).  Keep in mind, that this is for entertainment purposes only, and that I do not endorse any sort of legal or illegal gambling.  That being said…let’s see what’s in my crystal ball!  

Continue reading "Predictions Week 7"

r…because now we will all be able to see…the real Roy Williams!

Short Shots:

*The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Dodgers to win the National League Pennant and are headed to the World Series!  Congratulations to the Phils…and let’s start making plans for that parade!

Continue reading "The Real Roy Williams"

their bid to get Tony Gonzales from the Chiefs…anyway, at least they tried?  Not!

The Philadelphia Phillies can clinch the National League Pennant tonight against the Dodgers...Go

Continue reading "Holier Than Thou"

     The crystal ball was two up and two down for the 2nd week in a row.  That puts me 4 games under .500 for the season…not good!  The crystal ball will be on a short leash…it better start looking over its shoulder!  Let’s take a look back and see what happened: 

Continue reading "Week 6 Review"

 

           Yesterday, the Cowboys went to the University of Phoenix Stadium to take on the Cardinals.  The ‘Boys got lassoed by the Cards 30-24 in over-time.  It was a great finish to a rather lackluster game.  Sure Romo had 321 yards passing; Barber had 178 total yards from scrimmage, and even Patrick Crayton got in on the action with a 55-yard TD catch.  Owens had a humble 4 receptions for 36 yards and Witten contributed 4 catches for 55 yards.  But until the last 3 minutes and 17 seconds it was a boring game…but that’s why they play the full 60 minutes! 

Continue reading "Not So Special"

Now get me wrong, I am still very happy and very excited about the Philiies taking care of the Brew Crew and moving on to play LA in the NLCS.  However, I am weary about their offense.  Utley and Howard are both hitting under .200 and I don't even want to count how many men left on base there were this series.  I have never been a big believer that the Phils rely on the long ball to score runs.  These past four games, though, are starting to prove those critics correct.  And just by looking at this season we know what happens when those long balls turn into long outs.  The Marlins were a young, strong, talented team but could not string the hits together.  They relied far too much on home runs and ultimately was their demise.  Also, the Brewers are a powerful young team known to hit a lot of home runs.   Luckily for the Phils, they lacked in the power department.  The Phillies need to play small ball when they can.  They can't always rely on the two out HRs.  

Continue reading "Offense still sputtering..."

Game 1 is tonight.  Can the Phillies come in too confident?  Can Cole Hamels inability to pitch in the day time and big games be a factor?

What do you think?  I am guessing no.  He is a stud and will lead us to the promise land!  Too cliche?  Oh well, it is too early for sensibility.

Continue reading "Game 1 tonight"

With the MLB playoffs set to begin, there is a subtle difference in the air compared to start of any other postseason. In the NHL, fans can potentially look forward to a great Canadians/Bruins series that is not only exciting, but has a historical kick to it. Likewise basketball fans always have the chance to see if the Suns can finally get past the Spurs and football fans love seeing the rivalry of the Eagles Vs the City of Philadelphia when the Eagles so much as get tackled for a loss.

Continue reading "The Ups and Downs of the MLB Playoffs"

Another great start from the young lefty Cole Hamels tonight against the red hot Nationals.  That puts the Phils only a game and a half back of the Mets.  Any glancing at the scores, Milw

Continue reading "Down the Stretch..."

Chris Coste gave the Phillies offense just what they hoped for with a 2-4 4 RBI effort Friday Night in a win over the Los Angeles Dodgers and Citizens Bank Park.

 Kendrick redeemed himself after getting pummeled by the Dodgers last week by pitching 5 2/3 strong given up just 3 hits and one earned run. Kendrick booked win no. 11 on the season, tied with Jamie Moyer for the team lead.

Continue reading "Phils Coste Past Dodgers"

The Phillies had a miserable road trip on the west coast as they went 2-5 against the Dodgers and Padres. They could not hold 2 leads against the Dodgers and they lost in the ninth inning both games. Against the Padres though, they did a little better conserving leads. The offense is still sluggish and there is cause for concern in Philly with only 39 games left in the season and a rough schedule upcoming after the Nationals visit Citizens Bank Park. The Mets are playing great baseball and their schedule is pretty easy from here on out so the Phillies will definitely have to play solid baseball if they want to win the division or even the wild card for that matter.

Continue reading "Phis take 2 of 3 from Padres"

We all wanted the Phillies to break out of their hitting slump and start pounding the ball well this weekend we definitely got our wish.  Twice the Braves took five run leads in both games and tw

Continue reading "Now That Is Some Offense!!"

So the Phillies had a chance to come in and get back on track against a team they have dominated all year long in the Braves and what happens? The Phils get dominated in the ninth inning to put what w

Continue reading "Another Abysmal Performace!!"

You would think the Phillies would have built momentum off of their stunning comeback of the Mets in the first game of the series right? Well instead the Phillies made the Mets starters look like aces

Continue reading "Phillies In Trouble??"

It’s the annual midpoint of the baseball season, and for the brief span that is the All-Star break, all eyes are upon the Bronx. As everyone is well aware of, this campaign is the last go around for the world’s most famous, largest, and most prominent ballpark, Yankee Stadium. It seems hard to believe, and even more sacrilegious that this living legend’s days are numbered. Built in 1923 and christened by the greatest ballplayer to ever live, Babe Ruth, the cathedral of baseball will never truly be replaced. Although the Bombers will move a block to Yankee Stadium’s heir, the Mecca of America’s Pastime will still live on in our hearts. Whether you’re a diehard Yankee fan, or Yankee-hater, you still can respect the history and awe that the stadium brings. So when the All-Stars take the field Tuesday night, sit back on your couch, crack open a cold one and soak up the history of Yankee Stadium, as its final chapter is unveiled to all of us.

Continue reading "National League Looks to End Rut"

One of the All-Star Break traditions: Reassessing our predictions from the first half of the season. Some of mine have changed, some have stayed the same—and some were just damn wrong. Living in the West, I will take the contrarian position and roll from west to east in my choices.

Continue reading "Second Half Predictions"

On the other site I write for, I got into it with a Phillies fan over the way Phils fans ride players right out of town. After defending Dick Allen, the irascible 60s slugger who earned nothing but scorn from Philly fans in spite of his powerful numbers, I offered some more modern examples of guys who have earned the scorn of Phillies fans. First was Abreu, a nice enough guy with a good eye and little pop and whose biggest flaw seems to be his tendency to take a walk, rather than swing at a pitch outside the zone. Phillies fans ran him out of town on a rail.

Continue reading "Pat Burrell vs. Bobby Abreu"

dly need to acquire more pitching in season if they expect to redeem their collapse of last year.

Philadelphia Phillies

Can Brad Lidge nail down the closer’s role?

The first thing is getting Lidge healthy. He had offseason surgery on his knee but looks to be back in the bullpen early in April. His struggles since giving up that monstrous home run to Albert Pujols in the playoffs has been well documented and he even lost his job as the closer with the Astros last season. He did regain the role in June and went on to rack up all 19 of the saves he had last season after the All-Star break. With Lidge in the closers role, the Phillies bullpen stacks up fairly well led by Tom Gordon in the setup role. Gordon is an excellent second option to close games however that greatly affects the bullpen depth unless Philadelphia wants to return Brett Myers to closer, but that leaves a gaping hole in the starting rotation.

Continue reading "MLB 2008 Season Preview: National League East"