Philadelphia Phillies Blogs

After the way Cliff Lee pitched against the Yankees in the World Series six weeks ago, I would have been surprised to hear that the Phillies were even listening to offers for their ace.  But when the chance to acquire Roy Halladay comes around, I suppose any team would be crazy not to listen.  Before I knew it, Halladay was a Phillie and Lee was heading to Seattle, where he’ll join his third club in the span of four and a half months.  How often does that happen to the defending Cy Young Award winner?

Continue reading "Phillies take a Halladay"

 Just sheer domination that didn't necessarily show up in the win column! Fifteen victories equals a Cy Young?  Let's look at ALL of the numbers to really appreciate how great Tim Lincecum has been through his first two-full seasons with the Giants (he did throw 146-plus innings in 24 starts in 2007). Back-to-back Cy Young Awards do not come around very often (see: N.L. stand-outs RJ and Maddux, each with four straight, and Sandy Koufax with three of four; Clemens, Palmer, McClain, and Pedro each went back-to-back in the A.L. ([Clemens did it twice; ten years apart]). The difference? Lincecum has done it twice in two full years by the age of 25! So how do you follow up a CY YOUNG AWARD WINNING SEASON??? You work even harder to improve (by perfecting a third pitch), and that's exactly what Lincecum did after winning his first CY in 2008 with an 18-and-5 record, and 265 strikeouts in 227 innings. Lincecum worked 225 and one-third innings this year, and went 15-and-7 with 261 strikeouts. No, that doesn't sound any better until we delve deeper. Check this out - in roughly the same number of innings pitched, Lincecum allowed fourteen

Continue reading ""Tim Lincecum Captures Second Cy Young""

Chase Utley and Ryan Howard put themselves in the record books in back-to-back at-bats in the seventh inning of Game 5 of the World Series in Philadelphia.  Each tied an offensive mark originally set before Phil Coke, the Yankee pitcher who faced the duo, was born.  Utley matched Reggie Jackson, who hit five home runs in the 1977 Fall Classic.  Jackson, incidentally, was in his first year in Yankee pinstripes.  Howard tied Willie Wilson, whose 12 strikeouts in the 1980 World Series were at the hands of none other than the Phillies.  (Howard went on to set a new record in Game 6.)

Continue reading "A game for the record books"

The Yankees, Not the Red Sox, Were the Team of this Decade

The New York Yankees defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 7-3 Wednesday night in the Bronx to win their record 27th World Series championship in team history.

Continue reading "Mike Tyson, Ricky Hatton, UFC, Tom ..."

The New York Yankees defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 7-3 Wednesday night in the Bronx to win their record 27th World Series championship in team history.

The Yankees, who went 103-59 to establish the best mark in Major League Baseball in the 2009 season, simply outclassed the Phillies over the course of six games.

Continue reading "The Yankees, Not the Red Sox, Were ..."

It's been a while since I've written anything. It has certainly been a tough month. The Blues started their season by picking up a couple of huge wins over the Red Wings in Sweden, but now they've began to be plagued with injuries again. They've gone just 2-4-1 since returning to the United States and have lost Barret Jackman, T.J. Oshie, D.J. King, and Alex Steen to injuries. They were already without captain Eric Brewer. The only benefit to Jackman being out is that it's giving Alex Pietrangelo a chance to get some playing time. He recorded his first NHL goal on Saturday against Dallas. Unfortunately, nobody else scored in a 4-1 loss. The team admitted that they became unfocused after Dallas forward Steve Ott laid a cheap shot on Carlo Colaiacovo. That's fine if I'm playing a video game. If one of my guys gets hurt in playstation hockey, I spend the majority of the game afterwards trying to injure the other team, especially the player that got my guy hurt (Oh yeah, I go back in instant replay, find the guy, and place a personal vendetta against him for the rest of the contest).

Continue reading "St. Louis' Awful October and World Series Preview"

Lefthander Andy Pettitte and the New York Yankees defeated the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 5-2 Sunday night in the Bronx to capture their 40th American League Pennant.

 

Pettitte, 37, a two-time All-Star selection who has accumulated the most victories of any MLB pitcher since 1995, allowed only seven hits and one earned run in 6 1/3 innings.

Continue reading "Andy Pettitte is a Hall of Fame Pitcher"

In the National League Championship Series, fans of both teams saw familiar faces wearing the opponent’s uniform.  Dodgers Jim Thome, Vicente Padilla, and Randy Wolf used to play their home games in the City of Brotherly Love, while Phillies Jayson Werth, Pedro Martinez, Chan Ho Park, and Paul Bako once upon a time bled Dodger Blue.

Continue reading "Did you say you played for the Dodgers? ..."

After the Los Angeles Angel's escape act in Fenway Park the other night, didn't figure to see almost a replica of Philadelphia's big rally in the 9th with two outs versus Colorado.  As Yogi said, "It ain't over till it's over."  And, that is the truth.  That is the magic of baseball.  You can be one strike from going home, but manage to put a man on base, and another, then someone comes up with a big hit, like Ryan Howard of the Phillies did a few days ago.  And Jason Werth drove him home with a neatly placed single to right field. That was some hitting.  That rally silenced the white flag fans in chilly Denver. But the Rockies' ride is over and the Phils try for a repeat over the stubborn Los Angeles Dodgers, who refuse to lose. 

Continue reading "9th Inning Heroics Highlight MLB Playoffs"

   It's hard to believe only 10 games remain in the regular season for the Giants, trailing Colorado by four games in the N.L. Wild Card race.  Although it's still mathematic

Continue reading ""Giants Begin Final Home Stand of the Season""

As if the 2009 season couldn't get any worse for the Metropolitans, Pedro Martinez had to go and embarrass them on national television last night. While Tim Redding (who I can't stand) pitched his ass off for the Mets, their anemic offense couldn't help him out. The Phillies' famously potent lineup was held to just one run...

Continue reading "Pedro sticks it to his old mates"

  Eugenio Velez drilled the first pitch of the game of Pedro Martinez for a home run and a 1-0 Giants' lead.  Too bad that was the end of the scoring for the rest of the game in a 2-1 loss to the Phillies Thursday.  Martinez looked really good with 9 strike outs over seven innings. No, his fastball is not what it once was, but he knows how to pitch, and still features a deceptive delivery with his arm angle. Philadelphia is hoping THIS will be the same Pedro they can take with them into the post season. Giants' fans may remember when Pedro came off the DL in May of '08 as a New York Met, and beat San Francisco at A.T.& T. Park. He also had two hits in that game, and Barry Zito was awful - I remember because I was there!  Now Zito has regained his form, and apparently, so has Pedro, because he was Way better today then he was at anytime last year with the Mets.

Continue reading ""Giants Can't Score Off Pedro Martinez; ..."

  I don't think anyone expected that!  How about 8 shutout innings in a small ball park against the defending World Series Champion Phillies!  And it was the real line-up too:  Rollins, Victorino, Utley, Howard, Werth, Ibanez.  How many all-stars and/or MVP's are in that batting order?  Penny looked comfortable, and was surprisingly NOT rusty at all, throwing an easy 94 MPH as late as the 8th-inning.  His last start for Boston was August 21st when he allowed 8 earned runs to the Yankees in just four innings of work.  Wednesday, it was some timely double plays, good defense, and plenty of composure from a 10-year vet.  This was A BIT of an upgrade over Joe Martinez and Ryan Sadowski.  (By the way, sorry to see the team designate the "Big Sadowski" for assignment - we barely knew you.

Continue reading ""Digging Brad Penny in the Orange and Black""

  Hopefully for Giants' fans, Brad Penny can find his groove back in the National League.  In his three inter-league starts against national league teams this year, Penny posted a

Continue reading ""Brad Penny on the Bump for the Giants""

Cliff Lee was meant to pitch for the Phillies.  How else do you explain his ridiculous string of starts since joining the team last month?  In five games, Lee has a 5-0 record, a 0.75 WHIP, and a 0.68 E.R.A.  In 40 innings, he has struck out 39 batters and walked just six, surrendered a grand total of zero home runs, and looked like a true ace while averaging eight innings per start.  As if he weren’t contributing enough already, Lee is hitting .313, which, if it were over enough at-bats to qualify, would lead the team.  The southpaw has truly made the most of his time in the City of Brotherly Love.

Continue reading "Cliff Lee: Philly Fave"

In the last week, baseball fans have been exposed to a number of unfortunate incidents that involved big-name, All-Star players.  My thoughts on each of them follow.

Kevin Youkilis charging the mound: Youk let his emotions get the best of him on Tuesday night after getting plunked in the back for the second consecutive night.  The Red Sox need Youk’s bat in the lineup and his glove in the field.  Now they have neither for five games.

Continue reading "Poor behavior on and off the field is Bad for Ball"

The MLB trade deadline came and went without the biggest name on the market being moved. Often times Mid-July festers numerous rumors within the Majors. The largest topic of discussion this year was Toronto ace Roy Halladay. Other notable players moved (most of them left Cleveland), but Halladay stayed.

Continue reading "Championship: Make It Happen"

  Clearly Brian Sabean had something else up his sleeve when he traded for Pittsburgh Second Basemen Freddy Sanchez Wednesday. Following San Francisco's extra-inning 1-0 win and a series sweep of the Pirates, the Giants then proceeded to swipe Sanchez, who has was one of the last remaining faces of a rudderless franchise.  The 31-year-old Sanchez, the National League's Batting Champion in 2006, is currently hitting .296 with six home runs, 34 RBI's, 45 runs scored, and 28 doubles this season.  Unfortunately, Giant fans may not see the immediate return of the deal as Sanchez is nursing a mild knee sprain, and has not played for several days.  However, before the trade was completed, Giant team doctors checked out the knee twice and gave the "all clear."

Continue reading ""Are The Giants Done Dealing Before the Deadline""

Philadelphia Sports Fans Are Scumbags

A man was beaten to death in a savage and needless fracas that occurred outside of Citizen’s Bank Park in the final innings of the Philadelphia Phillies 14-6 home win versus the St. Louis Cardinals Saturday night.  

Continue reading "Philadelphia Sports Fans Are Scumbags, ..."

A man was beaten to death in a savage and needless fracas that occurred outside of Citizen’s Bank Park in the final innings of the Philadelphia Phillies 14-6 home win versus the St. Louis Cardinals Saturday night. 

Continue reading "Philadelphia Sports Fans Are Scumbags"

Continue reading "What We've Seen of the Chicago Cubs; ..."

Whoa, Whoa, Whoa! I know what you're thinking. Here are the Chicago Cubs we've been waiting for. They just needed a four-day break to rediscover themselves. Their bullpen's coming around! There's Soriano! They have the best starting pitching in baseball! Now, we have to step out of our "Cubs fan suit" for a second and remind ourselves what we really saw this past weekend.

Continue reading "Perfect Cubs transition: Nationals to Phillies"

With Atlanta's three game sweep of the division leading Philadelphia Phillies, the Braves find themselves only two games out of first place in the National League East.

I just got back home from Turner Field, and was fortunate enough to see the Braves break out the brooms against the first place Phills. To say Atlanta needed those three games, would be a huge understatement. After losing 6 out of 9 against the Yankees and Red Sox, the Braves were desperate to turn things around and at least give themselves a shot in the race for the N.L. East. There was no better time to get three wins than against a Philly ball club that beat them every time the two teams met at Turner Field in 2008.

Continue reading "The Braves are Back..... Maybe."

A day after the Rays do seemingly everything wrong, they come back and do nearly everything right in a 7-1 victory over the Phillies. The second game of the World Series rematch was much more eventful than the previous, with Garza throwing a gem, Burrell homering and Bartlett extending his hit streak to 18 games (ties a franchise record held by the long time Devil Ray great Quinton McCracken).

Continue reading "Burrell goes deep against his former ..."

Pat Burrell had hit 251 home runs up to this year, and obviously hadn't hit any against a team with "Philadelphia" tagged in front of its team name, since drafted 1st overall by the team in 1998. Up until now.

Continue reading "Mistakes Made and Pitching Counts; ..."

This isn't the way Jerry Manuel and Omar Minaya drew things up in the offseason.

The Mets put yet another star on the disabled list, this time center fielder Carlos Beltran. He joins Carlos Delgado and Jose Reyes on the DL, and that's just in the lineup.

Continue reading "The 2009 New York Mets are Finally the Underdogs"

Boston Red Sox; Inter-league Play Begins with the Red Sox heading to Philly to play World Champion Philadelphia Phillies!

With last years champs in town facing what I believe to be this year's champs (the Red Sox) I think we should have a good series and a good game and last night we had a battle. Even though the Sox are 11-2 versus the Philly’s since 2005!

Continue reading "Lester Strikes Out 11 and Doesn't ..."

These 5 deals need to be done by July 31st.

With the Nate McLouth trade still fresh on our minds, what other deals appear to be necessary, if not imminent? Atlanta was able to fill perhaps the single biggest hole of any team, in its lack of outfield production. Here are the five trades that need to be made sooner than later.

Continue reading "5 Trades that Need to Happen in Major ..."

Brad Lidge needs a lil rest, and some more rest between outings. The lat weekend of May, Charlie Manuel ran him out there on 4 consecutive nites, and then had him warm up two days later, and pitch in

Continue reading "Phillies Brad Lidge"

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 danced in our heads, what will be the reality of it all come July 31st at 4 PM? With the current state of the economy, I don't believe that the Phillies will be looking to add a number one or number one-a contract to the salary. Maybe a two or three but definitely not anything above. And just to be clear Dan Haren is a one-a. Where he would definitely be a number one on most legitimate teams. This is pure speculation, but I don't expect more than a Doug Davis or Jason Marquis type of pitcher. If Bastardo can go deeper into games, Happ stays steady, and Moyer continues to improve, or atleast not decline, I believe the Phillies will stand pat with their rotation. They will say that they made the best effort possible for another top flight pitcher but no one would budge on their asking price. Also not to worry because Hamels, Blanton, Happ, and Moyer won it for us last year so they all have the playoff experience to make the team float. So where do the Phillies stand once the smoke clears? I think they look remarkably like they do now, And as far as the smoke goes, I think it is just being blown up our asses.

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?"

There's a lot of media out there stressing how the balls are flying out of Yankee stadium. Good! As long as the majority of the homers are off Yankee bats, I'm not worried. Our pitchers can handle it as long as the offense gives them plenty of run support and the relievers don't mess up. Granted, there have been more home runs at the new stadium than in any other ball park, but that's also been the case at Citizen's Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia, the home of the Phillies. They've made adjustments: removed a few seats here and pushed the wall back there. Balls are still flying out and who are the defending World Champions? The Philadelphia Phillies. Why? Because their many of their sluggers like Matt Stairs and Ryan Howard took advantage of it. I believe the Yankees can follow suit and do the same this year. Already their home run total is among tops in the American League. They've been swapping the team home run lead with the Texas Rangers the past week and a half now. Are you ready for a homerun derby between the Yankees and the Rangers the next 3 days? I sure am. I love home runs. The longer the homers, the better. Keep them coming A-Rod. Keep them coming Tex (Mark Teixiera). Oh what the heck! Keep them coming Josh Hamilton. We love 'em!

Continue reading "Balls flying out of Yankee Stadium. ..."

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."

Go Yanks! The Bronx Bombers continue their winning ways sporting the best away record in the AL. Only the Phillies and the Dodgers have better away records. Check out the standings. Tomorrow's pitching matchup is very interesting. Phil Hughes, who's been pitching really well lately, will go against Carl Pavano. Let me park on these 2 players for a second.

Continue reading "Yankees win & Red Sox lose yet again. ..."

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?"

The Cardinals managed to right the shift mid-way through their brief homestand. After allowing The Phillies to score 16 runs against them in just two games, they shut the Pirates down, limiting them to just four runs. The bullpen was responsible for 6.2 innings of work over those two contests, but didn’t allow any runs. They picked up a win in Mitchell Boggs’ start, which was earned by Kyle McClellan and also recorded two saves, both by default closer Ryan Franklin. The bullpen was a liability earlier in the season, but now that it’s managed to take shape around Franklin, it’s becoming a real asset for the club in the late innings.

Continue reading "Cards notes before their road trip"

First off, I'd like to welcome myself and viewers to my first post in this blog...It's truly a priviledge to be able to do this. 

With that out of the way, Chan Ho Park took the mound tonight for the Phils- in an attempt to earn his first win with his new ballclub, since signing with them in the off-season.  Park, in his first inning of work tonight, gave up a homerun to deep right to Mets utility player David Murphy and was down 2-0 before Philadelphia even had a chance to come back or take a lead themselves.  Park's ERA didn't skyrocket because he's had a rough first 3 starts; leaving tonight's game at Citizen's Bank Park with an Earned Run Average of 8.57, after 4.2 innings of work.  

Continue reading "Chan Ho "It's Outta The" Park Gives ..."

People can jump up and down and scream their admiration for the first day of the NCAA Tournament, Sunday of the Masters or the NFL Draft, but Opening Day of the Major League Baseball season has been and forever will be my favorite day of the year. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain why. You either get it or you don’t. I’ll spare you the clichés. After months of hot stove talk, six weeks of spring training, the World Baseball Classic and hours of blog writing previewing each team in every division ( which you can read here), the regular season has finally arrived, and I couldn’t be happier.

Continue reading "The Sports Don's Sunday Musings: ..."

The National League has four legitimate contenders for the World Series, and two of those clubs reside in the NL East. Along with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs, the New York Mets and incumbent champion Philadelphia Phillies are the league’s elite. The Florida Marlins and Atlanta Braves should have respectable seasons while the Washington Nationals battle with the San Diego Padres and Pittsburgh Pirates for the label of most horrendous team in the league.

Continue reading "The Sports Don's 2009 NL East Preview"

In this chapter, one focused on the bullpens, things are a little on the hazy side. What I mean by that is, evaluating a bullpen isn't an exact science like evaluating an infield, where the positions are first base, second base, third base, shortstop, and catcher. With a bullpen there are long men, middle relievers, setup men, and closers, but those roles are utilized and defined differently by each major league club, with the sole exception being closer.

Continue reading "MLB's Top Five Bullpens"

Before I get to the actual list, I must say when I posted this on FanNation, readers were complaining about the omission of the New York Mets' star-studded infield.

The funny thing is, I'm a Mets fan. And yet I ranked both the Braves and Phillies' infields ahead of the Metropolitans. Talk about reserving one's biases...

Continue reading "MLB's Top Five Infields"

The competition for the Phillies 5th Starter has taken another turn.  With the demotion of Kyle Kendrick to the minor leagues, and the continued growing pains of Carlos Carrasco, the Phillies have turned their attention to Chan Ho Park and JA Happ.  Now, in my opinion this is an easy call.  While Chan Ho has had an impressive spring this isn't simply just about this season.  JA Happ has the makings and tools to be a solid starter in the major leagues for many years to come.  It also makes sense to have Happ the 5th starter because it allows the team to put Park into the bullpen where he was successful last season with the Dodgers.  Alot of points have been made that Happ could be put into the bullpen to be the second lefty until JC Romero comes back and that Park would continue to be solid as a starter.  Both of those things are true, but are you content with having JA Happ pitch in a few games as the SECOND left handed reliever only to pitch even less after Romero comes back?? Look, Park has had a fabulous spring and has been a solid starter in the pros, but you know what you are going to get out of him and none of it is too impressive.  Happ though, has the stuff of a number 2 or 3 starter potentially.  Hes a tall left handed guy who pitches downhill, can get right handed batters out, and has impressive strikeout numbers.  Not to mention Happ has little experience out of the bullpen to begin with.  With Happ at the end of the rotation it gives the phillies their best line of arms and also a few insurance policies that are there if need be.  By putting Park into the bullpen you help strenghten an area that will be hurting while Romero serves his 50 game suspension, and have him in case there is an injury to another starter, or if there is a need to have someone throw in a spot start.  The Phiiles have options though and they seem content to let this race go to the wire. 

Continue reading "So One Down, One Not Ready and Two to Tango"

Dykstra's "Fucking Out!" 

A former editor of Players Club poorly portrayed the periodicals founder, Lenny Dykstra, a 4-time All-Star on the baseball diamond, in this month’s edition of

Continue reading "Imus will "Be Fine," Lane Kiffin ..."

      The start of the 2009 MLB season is only two months away, and it will be a record breaking one for the Pirates in 09. The Pirates will set the new record for most consecutive losing seasons in MLB history. The Pirates will break the Philadephia Phillies most consecutive losing seasons record. The Phillies and Pirates are tied with 16 consecutive losing seasons. The Phillies started the streak back in 1933 and didn't end it until 1948. The Pirates started their streak back in 1993 and there's no end in sight! The Pirates were 67-95 in 2008 and finished last in the NL Central division. I hate to tell Pirates fans this, but it's not going to get much better anytime soon. The reason I say that is because there pitching is just awful! Paul Maholm led the Pirates in wins with 9. There's some pitchers out there that didn't even lose 9 games last year. I think the Pirates will lose 90-95 games in 09 just because I think the pitching staff is so bad. You know you have a bad pitching staff when Paul Maholm is considered your ace by some. Maholm would be a number 3 or 4 on most teams out there. Pirates fans get ready for some history in 09!

Continue reading "A season for the record book."

Yes, it's great for the Atlanta Braves that Derek Lowe is their rotation's new ace. He's better than what they have now — with the exception possibly being Jair Jurrjens, who might be really, really good one day but is still just 22 years old — and there aren't too many other options out there. Randy Wolf isn't that great, neither is Oliver Perez, and Ben Sheets is exactly what the Braves don't need, another starter who will spend more time on the DL then he will off of it.

Continue reading "Braves overbid for Lowe - but they had no choice"

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 ..."

Congratulations to Pat Gillick.  The man sure knows how to retire.  I had the pleasure of meeting the now former General Manager of the Phillies this past summer, though at the time I did not expect his team to win the World Series.  He’s got an awful lot to be proud of.

Continue reading "GM of Phillies goes out with a bang"

In the past week, we have ended the 2008 Major League Baseball Season, begun the 2008/2009 NBA Season, ended a 33 year streak of Bowl Appearances by Michigan, ended the Calaveras Redskins string of MLL Championships and started the second half of the NFL Season. 

Continue reading "Hot Stove 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"

I am the last person on earth to say that the world series should have been decided by a rain-shortened game, but the turn of events that have lead to a 3.5 inning shootout to determine the winner of game five on Wednesday night is a bit weird to say the least.

Continue reading "World Series Game 5.5: Just Plain Weird"

Not sure whats going on with Manning. He is not releasing the ball with same zip or accuracy. I am shocked that he is suffering this bad from a knee aliment. I always enjoyed watching the colt play in the past. Yesterday I believe I spent more time focusing on the Phils then the Colts. I am not sure the deal but besides the Ravens game Peyton has not been the same QB.

Continue reading "Colts go down in a blaze of ???????"

And so we wait for mothernature to allow the conclusion of Game 5. We now know it wont be tonight, maybe tomorrow will be the night. The forecast still doenst look good as snow is on the way for Philly. (Umm I thought this was supposed to be Global Warming) The city of Philadelphia is on the verge of winning their first championship and they have to wait until an undefined date to celebrate. Kind of fitting for a city that has no championships in almost 100 sport years.

Continue reading "Bud Got It Right"

  

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"

The tune of “Rain Drops Keep Falling on My Head” must have been going through Cole Hamels mind in the top of the sixth inning of game five of the World Series on Monday night.

 

Continue reading "World Series Game Five Rainout Is a Bit Strange"

To My faithful blog readers, You all ready know I was 3-1. I had another great weekend. I had 6 games I was looking at and Jags where only one to let me down. I am also giving out my Monday Night Specail. I Like the Colts and the Over. Peyton Manning and Monday Night football, how can you go against him. I like a close game so thinking final 27-20. Colts open up the Titans D.

Continue reading "Winner Winner Chicken Dinner"

 

           Yesterday, the Cowboys defeated Tampa Bay 13-9.  The Cowboys were under a lot of pressure the past few weeks.  On and off the field issues fueled the fire.  Every news media outlet is looking through a microscope to see if and when the Cowboys will combust!  Sorry…ESPN…not this week!  We all know that you need the ratings and the material.  How else would you fill your pre and post-game shows?  Look elsewhere; there are 31 other teams with storylines.

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

After another scary roller coaster ride on Wall Street last week, we at least have the weekend and sports to bring back some sanity to our life. Unless of course your motto is "Go Blue" and you hail from the great state of Northern Ohio or as most of you know it, Michigan.  Who says there's no such thing as karma?

Continue reading "Another Sunday Morning"

A big thanks to everyone who participated in the "Inbound Link Contest".  We have a winner!  A big congratulations go out to Marija.  Thank you for all your hard work on this.  While we had a lot of people participate, Marija was able to win with only 4 links!  So it wouldn't have taken a lot to win this contest!  We'll be having another contest soon so stay tuned.

Continue reading "Inbound link contest winner announced!"

    Well, it's become quite obvious that the Mets desperately need to find someone else to close in Billy Wagner's absence.  When Wagner had to miss a game against the Phillies three weeks ago with forearm stiffness, Duaner Sanchez dropped the ball.  Since Wagner was placed on the DL last week, Heilman has been awful in two of his four ninth inning chances.  In order to put an end to the bullpen's pattern of implosion, Jerry Manuel offered two other options after yesterday's game:  Eddie Kunz and John Maine.

Continue reading "Mets' Season May Depend on Kunz"

    When Pedro Martinez allowed a home run to Jody Gerut on the first pitch of the game, it already didn't look good.  Then, when he allowed another one just two batters later, it looked like it was definitely going to be a long day for Pedro and the Mets.  But Pedro settled down beautifully and allowed just two hits the rest of the way in his 6.1 innings pitched Wednesday night.  His curveball and change-up were both working well, forcing San Diego hitters to hit ground balls or pop up, as they were regularly off balance.

Continue reading "Wright's Lapses Contribute to Mets' ..."

Theory of the Week:  Relief Spending

    Every winter the free agent frenzy escalates as contracts rise to astronomical amounts and lengths.  Some MLB executives balk at the dearth of talent and exhorbitant contracts, while others jump at the opportunity to sign what they think are the missing pieces, for whatever the market demands.  Swarming the headlines this past off-season were some of the questionable contracts signed by relief pitchers.

Continue reading "Are Relief Pitchers Worth Their Contracts?"

I figured I’d turn on Sunday night baseball to see who was playing, and I was very excited to see that the Phillies were playing the Cardinals.  I enjoy watching the Phils play.  I’ve been to many Phillies games, and although I can’t call myself a real Phillies fan because I don’t follow them enough, I’d rank the Phillies second among my favorite baseball teams. 

Continue reading "This time, we're the ones sweeping"

    For the third time in a week, the Mets showed some moxie last night in winning convincingly the day after a disconcerting loss.  First, it was John Maine's solid performance against the Phillies the day after the bullpen blew Johan Santana's eight-inning gem.  Then, it was Santana going the distance to conserve the worn out bullpen the day after the five-hour, 14-inning loss to St. Louis.  And last night Oliver Perez fought through six innings, allowing just the one first-inning run, after the bullpen blew an eighth-inning lead on Monday.  David Wright gave the Mets an early lead with an RBI double in the first and Carlos Beltran put New York ahead with a rare two-out RBI single in the sixth.  Carlos Delgado jacked a two-run homer in the eighth for insurance, and Heilman pitched two scoreless innings for the hold, before Billy Wagner tossed a perfect ninth for his 27th save.

Continue reading "Heilman Holds Perez's Lead, Delgado Puts it Away"

Recently, I also did a rundown of a few of the teams that could be the busiest come deadline day. Now, a look at the specific players that could be moving:

Catcher

Bengie Molina, Giants:

Continue reading "The Trading Post: Player Edition"

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!!"

    When the bullpen blew the game after Santana's eight stellar innings on Tuesday, fans and media types alike griped that the ace should have finished the game.  Saturday night's 14-inning marathon necessitated a long outing from Santana, and he answered the call, this time by pitching a complete game six-hitter, to put the exclamation point on the Mets' 9-1 win in the rubber game of the series against St. Louis.  The lone blemish on his masterful performance was Albert Pujols' seventh inning solo home run, but as Aaron Heilman learned early Sunday morning, you sometimes just tip your cap when that man hits one out.

Continue reading "Santana Goes the Distance, Mets Stay Hot"

    Neither the good nor the bad version of Oliver Perez showed up on Thursday at Shea--the spectacular version came to play against the Phillies.  Perez struck out 12 batters over 7.2 innings, including six whiffs of Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, as he out-dueled Jamie Moyer, who pitched a gem of his own.  Carlos Delgado came through with the big hit, a two-run double off the previously unhittable J.C. Romero, in the eighth, and Billy Wagner nailed down the win in the ninth with his 26th save.  Fittingly, Jimmy Rollins, who did not start because he arrived an hour late to the ballpark, made the final out of the game.  After Tuesday night's ninth inning meltdown, the bullpen tossed 4.1 scoreless innings, including back-to-back saves by Wagner, and the Mets took two of three from Philadelphia, despite losing the first game of the series.  New York is now 9-4 against the Phillies this season.

Continue reading "Mets Continue to Roll Behind Delgado, ..."

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??"

    A day after the Mets' bullpen acted out a microcosm of the final 17 games of 2007, Billy Wagner was back on the mound with a three-run lead in the ninth inning on Wednesday, and Mets fans could not be happier.  Wagner's save in the 6-3 victory not only sealed the win and moved the Mets back into a first place tie with the Phillies, but it also put the minds of many a Mets fan at ease, knowing that the true closer is once again available to pitch.  After the game Wagner said he looked better than he felt, but hopefully he continues to feel well enough to pitch 1-2-3 ninth innings.

Continue reading "Billy Wagner Never Looked So Good"

    When the Mets traded for and signed Johan Santana in January, tonight's game was exactly what they had in mind.  The ace will take the mound tonight at Shea to face the Phillies, who are tied with the Mets atop the National League East.  Tonight would be a perfect situation for the type of start Mets fans are itching for out of Santana.  Overall, despite his 3.10 ERA, Santana's season has been a disappointment to this point.  His 8-7 record is mediocre, his strikeout rate is down, his batting average against is up, and his solid ERA is also misleading in that it does not reflect the grand slam he allowed to pitcher Felix Hernandez of the Mariners.  Santana has only pitched into the eighth inning once this season, and Duaner Sanchez ultimately blew that game in the ninth.  Tonight is an opportunity for Santana to turn his sub-par season around, and show Mets fans that he is worth his exhorbitant contract

Continue reading "Johan Santana Takes the Hill With ..."

   After splitting the four-game series in Cincinnati, the Mets are back in a first-place tie with the Phillies for the lead in the NL East.  Lately it hasn't only been Jose Reyes, David Wright and Carlos Beltran leading the offense; Carlos Delgado has been on fire recently and came through with the clutch, game-tying hit in the seventh inning on Sunday, and the Mets' bench players have been carrying the torch as well.  The "irregulars," (as Mets television broadcaster Gary Cohen puts it) such as Fernando Tatis, Endy Chavez, Damion Easley and Ramon Castro, have been igniting the Mets' offense for the past three weeks.  But two new players with anything but household names were just as instrumental to the Mets' success in Cincy as anyone getting paid upwards of $12 million per year:  Argenis Reyes and Robinson Cancel.

Continue reading "Makeshift Mets Back In First, But ..."

To try and motivate our bloggers to get inbound links we're going to have a contest to see which blogger can get the most inbound links to their blog. The contest begins now and ends July 31st, 2008. To be entered in to the contest all you have to do is go out and get as many websites to link to your blog as you can and at the end of the month send us an email listing all those links. All links must be active from August 1st through August 7th when we'll be judging the entries - a winner will be announced on August 7th. All entry emails must be received by Midnight on July 31st, 2008. You can email them to sportsfan@nbabasketballonline.com

Continue reading "Inbound link contest - Win $100!"

Yes, I know I'm being a terrible sports fan, but I didn't watch the all-star game. We don't get Fox very well from our house, but even if we did, I'm not sure I would've watched. Besides, the game has become a popularity contest, one that just doesn't interest me. The only thing exciting about it now is that the winner will get homefield advantage in the World Series.

Continue reading "Post All-Star game thoughts"

    This time last week the Mets were 4.5 games behind Philadelphia entering their pivotal four-game series with the division leaders.  After Johan Santana gave up a 2-0 lead and Duaner Sanchez allowed the winning run in the ninth, the horizon looked bleak for the orange and blue.  However, since that devastating defeat, New York has racked up six straight wins and the Mets now find themselves just 1.5 games back of the Phillies in the NL East.  During the winning streak the Mets have scored an average of seven runs per game while yielding only three per contest, including back-to-back shutouts of the Giants on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Continue reading "Mets Go For Seven Straight Tonight at Shea"

    Another day brought another win for the Mets this afternoon, as they ran their season-high winning streak to six straight.  Fernando Tatis snapped a 3-3 tie in the seventh inning with his fourth home run of the year, and his second go-ahead shot in the last five days.  The bullpen was lights out for the third straight day and hasn't allowed a run since almost giving back a 10-1 lead on Monday in Philadelphia.  The sweep of the Giants was the Mets' first such feat since they took three straight from Washington from April 15-17, unless you count the three-game series at Yankee Stadium that was started in May and finished in June.  The Phillies rebounded from a 2-0 loss in St. Louis on Tuesday to beat the Cardinals in two straight, so the Mets are currently 1.5 games out of first place heading into a three-game series against Colorado this weekend.

Continue reading "Dust Off Your Brooms, Tatis Comes Through Again"

    Well, my biggest gripe yesterday was that the Mets never win or lose a game that isn't in question until the final out.  I guess they realized I'm almost out of Pepto and gave me the break I was looking for.  Carlos Beltran belted a three-run home run off Giants ace Tim Lincecum in the first inning and Carlos Delagado and Fernando Tatis each homered later in the game to lead the Mets to their fourth straight win.

Continue reading "Pelfrey and the Mets Finally Make It Easy"

Let the Curt Schilling Hall of Fame debate begin.
That's what we do when players like Schilling look like they've hit the end of the road, and his chances of rebounding from the right shoulder surgery that he will undergo on Monday are very slim at best. Schilling is a 42-year-old man with 20 years in the big leagues staring back at him when he peeks in the rearview mirror, a million miles on his arm in terms of baseball travel. Coming back at his age might be a bridge too far even for someone with Schilling's single-minded focus and stubbornness.

Continue reading "Schilling worthy of Hall call"

When I say Ol' Roy, of course, I'm not referring to the Wal-Mart brand of dogfood named after the late Sam Walton's late hunting dog Ol' Roy. Rather, the old version of Astros ace Roy Oswalt. You know, the guy who could get guys out and make it look easy.

Continue reading "Ol' Roy O shows up, Astros beat Brewers 6-1"

Well, things seemed to be going really great at first. Until the Astros bullpen came in to pitch batting practice.

During the middle of the game, no less.

Carlos Lee's first-inning three-run homerun went for nought as the Phillies scored a combined 11 runs in the fifth and sixth innings to win 15-6. Astros starter Chris Sampson gave up four runs in five innings, but compared to the relievers, he looked like Cy Young. Fernando Nieve, pitching in the big leagues for the first time since 2006, didn't get anybody out as he gave up four runs. He picked up the loss and has a hefty ERA of 18.00. Lefty Wesley Wright gave up one run in an inning and Dave Borkowski gave up six runnings in one inning.

Continue reading "Astros brought down to earth by Phillies"

In one corner we have Brandon Backe, who pitched a gem of a game last night in the Astros' 4-3 win over the Phillies--giving up six hits and only one earned run in 7.1 innings pitched. He walked a hitter and struck out six.

Continue reading "Who's the man? Brandon Backe? Hunter ..."

The Philadelphia Phillies' 7-5 win Thursday night over the Houston Astros reminded me so much of Alanis Morrisette's song Ironic. You remember, don't you? Back in 2005, Brad Lidge steps to the mound to close out Game 5 of the NLCS and give Houston its first-ever visit to the World Series. Up steps Albert Pujols, who promptly launches Lidge's fastball somewhere near...well, its landing has never been officially confirmed. Lidge's "Lights Out" nickname promptly faded as he struggled. Houston felt a change in scenery was needed, so Lidge was sent off to the Phillies.

Continue reading "Former Astro gets his revenge"

Craig Byer:

           Only two years removed from a National League Championship Series loss in seven games to the Cardinals, the New York Mets looked promising entering the 2007 campaign. Flash-forward to September 2007, the Mets successfully completed one of the worst collapses in baseball history.

Continue reading "Are the Mets the favorite to win the NL East?"