Five games into the season and the Phillies found themselves in desperate need of a starting pitcher to give them extended innings.  Brett Myers stepped up and did just that against the Colorado Rockies as he pitched seven innings giving up only four hits albeit they were all dingers!  Myers, who has never lost to the Rockies or at Coors Field,  was pulled for a pinch hitter in the top of the eighth holding a 6 to 4 lead.   Good Job Brett!

Shane Victorino and Pedro Feliz each had three hit games for the Phillies.  Ryan Howard delivered a key blow in the third inning as he belted a bases clearing double.  Jayson Werth slugged a two run triple in the fifth inning and Raul Ibanez smoked a solo home run in the seventh frame.  Chase Utley had two hits in the game including a RBI single in the eighth.

Ryan Madson pitched a perfect eighth inning and has been very impressive in the early going, Madson has faced six batters and retired them all!  He is throwing serious gas as the heater is rushing up there in the 95-96 range which makes his changeup a devastating pitch when he uses it.  Excellent job so far Mr. Madson!

Brad Lidge pitched the ninth even though it was a non save situation, ( Phillies led by 4), to close out the win.   Lidge also heated up the fastball in the 95-96 range and worked a perfect inning.  If Madson and Lidge continue to throw like that then the Fightin’s are gonna be tough to beat as long as the starter’s can get a lead to them!

Chatter

As reported after last evening’s game Carlos Ruiz was put on the fifteen day disabled list with a strained oblique muscle and Lou Marson was called up from Triple A to back up Chris Coste who will assume the starting catcher roll till Ruiz is healthy again.   The Phillies go at the Rockies again tommorrow with Chan Ho Park making his Phillies debut as a starter.

Cole Hamels took the ball as the starting pitcher in the Fightin’s fourth game of the season and continued the trend of poor outings by the starting staff.  Hamels was touched for seven runs on eleven hits and lasted only 3 and 2/3 innings before being lifted.  Hamels gave up multiple extra base hits including a two run tater to Garrett Atkins.   He was far from sharp, poor pitch location and had no velocity whatsoever as his fastball was consistently in the 85-86 range and only a few times reached 90.  That led to little distinction between the heater and his meal ticket pitch, the changeup, and  therefore allowed the Rockies to tee off.

Meanwhile the Phillies bats were relatively silent other than Jayson Werth who had four  hits  including a dinger and Chase Utley who posted two hits, Werth scored all three Phillie runs.   Ryan Howard had a really bad day as he grounded into three double plays !    Give the Rockies starter Jason Marquis credit though as he tossed seven innings only allowing five hits.  J.A. Happ and Clay Condrey threw scoreless innings in relief for the Phillies but Chad Durbin got hit around a bit in the eighth giving up three runs.

  Back at ‘em tommorrow with Brett Myers making his second start this year for the Phillies.

The Rockies home field has an enourmous outfield playing area by design due to the high altitude, outfielders sure have to be on their horse to play on that field !  What seem like routine fly balls drift forever and end up on the warning track, this on a field where the foul poles are some 350 feet away down each line !

Chatter

Carlos Ruiz left the game early with what was reported as a strained right oblique.  The thing the team avoided last season was injuries for signficant periods,  I have my doubts that Mr. Hamels is entirely healthy right now and if Ruiz missses any signficant time we may see young Lou Marson in the show sooner than one would have thought.  Not a good sign albeit early yet.

The Phillies signed ex San Francisco Giant pitcher Tyler Walker to a minor league contract, he reported to Lehigh Valley in Triple A.  Walker had been released by the Seattle Mariners at the end of spring training, he may be called upon later in the season for bullpen assistance…….. if our starting pitching keeps up the pace they are at we will need alot of relievers !

Ok so now I am starting to get annoyed a bit.  Joe Blanton started things well enough by striking out the first two hitters in the game but then got tagged for a double followed by a two run bomb by Bryan McCann.  For the third straight game in 2009 the FIghtins trailed in a home game before ever swinging a bat !   Is it a sign that our starting staff may be an achilles heel or do we stay with the standard theme that it is early and no worries yet, a bit of both but these games do count so it is time to wake up boys else we dig a hole too deep!

Raul Ibanez tied the game in the Phillies second with his own two run dinger scoring Ryan Howard in front of him but Blanton could not hold the score as Atlanta exploded for five runs in the third.  Blanton was done after four frames being tagged for seven runs on nine hits !  J.A. Happ got tagged for two runs in his stint, one a bomb by rookie Jordan Schafer, his second of the young season already!    Chad Durbin could not find the plate in the seventh and actually walked in a run before being replaced.   Not good indeed!  Down 10 to 3 after six and one half  of play not something to brag about !

And then…… we woke up, sort of.  Bobby Cox had to use four relievers in the home seventh including his normal fifth starter as the Fightins batted around plus four to score 8 runs while only collecting four hits!  The Atltanta pen walked in four runs with the bases juiced and collectively walked five batters and hit another!   Key singles were delivered by Ibanez, Shane Victorino and Pedro Feliz. Phillie batters showed alot of patience in their at bats en route to gaining the team’s first lead of the season.

Ryan Madson pitched a perfect eighth to set up his bullpen buddy Brad Lidge.   Raul Ibanez led off the home eighth with yet another walk!  Pedro Feliz was giving himself up attempting to bunt Ibanez over but Jorge Campillo (Atlanta’s fifth starter) could not throw him a strike and the count went to 3-0 and Charlie gave Pedro a green light, he promptly doubled to left to knock Campillo out of the game !  Jeff Bennett came in for Atlanta and gave up a sacrifice fly RBI to pinch hitter Eric Bruntlett before working out of the inning. 

Lidge worked the ninth to earn his first save of the season, he was tagged by Mike Diaz for a solo bomb but struck out two to close it!  FInal Count :  Phillies 12 Braves 11……. my wife said in the sixth that alot of game was left and to not count our boys out!  She is quite the prophet eh!

Javier Vazquez pitched six effective innings for the Braves and should have earned the win.  The statement of the series still was that Atltanta starters did what was expected and ours did not,  the Phillies had many poor at bats in the series which were a combination of good Atlanta starting  pitching and poor approach by the Fightin’s.   The seventh inning comeback erased some of that especially the at bat by Ibanez who showed his hitting prowess by taking an outside pitch to left for a single rather than attempting to pull it.  Now the team goes on the road and must do more of what they showed in the later stages of this game.  The Atlanta pen could be their issue this year in light of what we saw in this series in games one and three.

Chatter

Pat Gillick was clearly overcome with emotion during the pre-game ring ceremony as he greeted each player, coach and clubhouse staff member to give them their rings.  Gillick’s tears symbolized heart felt emotions in conclusion of a great feat.  It was great to watch !  GIllick and team president David Montgomery will personally deliver the rings to each coach or player who could not attend the event, a real touch of class.  Speaking of a class act, So Taguchi did not attend the ceremony out of respect for his teammates this season on the Triple A Iowa Cubs, he felt that he should honor his committment to this year’s team instead, that is a team player truly defined ! 

Philly fans showed both sides of our colors by booing Adam Eaton and roundly cheering Pat Burrell.  Sometimes I just shake my head.   Cole Hamels takes the ball on Thursday in Colorado, perhaps the young ace can find our first starter’s win!  Stay tuned, still 159 to play.

Last season the Phillies started the season 0 and 2 against a division rival.   This season has started the same as the Fightins went down for the second time this young season against the Atlanta Braves.

Jamie Moyer started on the hill for the Phillies but was tagged for four runs in five innings as he yielded eight hits including a first inning solo home run to Kelly Johnson on the game’s first pitch and a fifth inning solo blast to Chipper Jones.  Moyer was far from sharp but you can’t win if you can’t score and the Fightin’s offense is scuffling right now.  

The Phillies left 11 runners on base and were limited to six hits, two each for Ryan Howard and Chase Utley.  Raul Ibanez had the only extra base hit for the Phillies, a double.   The only bright spots on the night for the Phillies was the work of the bullpen.  Chan Ho Park, Jack Taschner and Clay Condrey combined to pitch four scoreless innings.

Jair Jurrjens threw five and two thirds innings for Atlanta and was supported by four Brave relievers to earn the combined shutout.

Chatter

Joe Blanton will take the pill tommorrow afternoon in attempting to avoid the sweep and lead the team to the first 2009 win.  Championship rings will be distributed prior to the game, Pat Burrell will be on hand as the Rays are playing in Boston and the Phillies have paid the tab to bring him here for the ceremony and then get him back in time to Fenway to play the game there.  Classy move.

Opening games always include alot of pre-game ceremony but especially when you are the defending champs.  The World Series Trophy was on prominent display as the team came onto the field from the stands amidst high fives from the fans!  Skipper Charlie Manuel helped raised the 2008 championship flag and player introductions were conducted for both teams.  It is time to play ball again and we as Phillies fans are more than ready!

Brett Myers toed the rubber for the opener for the Fightins vs Derek Lowe for the visiting Atlanta Braves.  Myers got juiced on a hanging changeup by Bryan McCann in the first inning for a two run homer scoring Chipper Jones in front of him.  Jeff Francour drilled a fastball over the left field wall to lead off the second and give Atlanta a three run lead, rookie Jordan Schafer then belted a solo home run as well in his first major league at bat!   Carlos Ruiz got the first 2009 Phillie hit as he doubled down the left field line in the bottom of the third.   At end of three though the count was 4-0 Braves.

Myers pitched six innings before being pulled for a pinch hitter.  He settled down after the second and held the Braves scoreless innings three thru six.   His curveball had that familiar bite in those innings as he went more to it and laid off the straight change which hurt him earlier.    Jack Taschner made his Phillies pitching debut in the 7th  and pitched a perfect inning striking out Chipper Jones to end the frame.    Scott Eyre and Chad Durbin combined to pitch a perfect eighth for the Fightins.  Lowe held the Phillies to only two hits thru eight frames as he excelled at being a ground ball machine by keeping the ball down in the zone whether it be sinkers or sliders.   He was excellent, would have looked nice in red pinstripes!   Brad Lidge pitched a perfect ninth for the Phillies.  

 Mike Gonzales came on for the ninth for Atlanta and was greeted by an Eric Bruntlett pinch double, after a flyout  he then scored on a Jayson Werth single.  Gonzales then made it interesting by walking Chase Utley but struck out Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez to end the game.

  Final score Braves 4 Phillies 1, there goes the undefeated season !

Chatter

Jordan Schaffer became the 99th man in history to hit a home run in his first major league at bat.  Ryan Madson changed his uniform number to 46 instead of number 63 he has wore last season.  Jamie Moyer makes his 2009 debut on Tuesday night in game two going against Jair Jurrjens for the Braves. 

Tonight is opening night for the 2009 baseball season so it is time to make the old preseason picks as to how I expect the season to go.   It is great to be a fan of the defending champs but it will be just as great if the boys can do it again !   That being said here goes the picks for the season.

National League East

The Phillies have a tremendous nucleas, all of whom are in prime years of play.   The ability to run Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins out there everyday will result in alot of wins.  Supplement that with folks like Shane Victorino, Jayson Werth, Raul Ibanez, Carlos Ruiz and Pedro Feliz and you have a very strong starting eight.  I think Werth is going to have a big year and also believe that Feliz will hit much better this year.  Ibanez is a pro and I think will be the “professional hitter” in the lineup that we missed at times last season. 

The key is pitching.  The starters were very good during the stretch run last season but that will need to be replicated and the pen has to be strong once again.  Brad Lidge most likely will not be perfect this year but he and Ryan Madson have to anchor the back end of games again for the team to win.

The Mets will be in the mix again, they also have two top notch players in David Wright and Jose Reyes.  Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran are also very good hitters in the core of the lineup.  They beefed up the pen with J.J. Putz and Francisco Rodriquez which was the achilles heal last season.  I don’t like their starting pitching so much and even with the addition of Gary Sheffield I don’t think the corner outfield spots are so strong.   In my opinion they are not as good as the Fightin’s and and I do not see them overtaking the Phillies.

Atlanta added Derek Lowe who I lobbied hard as a fan for the Phillies to pick up, he is a legit number one and will definitely help the Braves.  Beyond him I am not so sure they have alot of depth, the pen is anchored by Mike Gonzalez but I am not in love with the starting staff and middle pen, I think they could struggle there.  Brian McCann, Yunell Escobar and Chipper Jones present a very good offensive nucleas and Jeff Francour, Casey Kotchman and Kelly Johnson are all good players but I just don’t think this team is good enough to win the division.  Bobby Cox  is a very good manager so he will keep the team up and they will win games, just don’t think enough to make playoffs.

Florida is an interesting team and perhaps has the best starting pitching staff in the division.  Young arms like Ricky Nolasco, Chris Volstad and Josh Johnson are very formidable.  Matt Lindstrom throws bullets out of the pen but we will see if he can be consistent.  Hanley Ramirez is as good as anybody at shortstop and is capable of a MVP season.   I think they fall short in the outfield and not so sure that other than Dan Uggla and Jorge Cantu that anyone else offensively scares me too much.  I think they will surprise early and will ride the pitching but just don’t see them strong enough to win the division.

The Nationals added Adam Dunn to the offense and he will hit alot of bombs for Washington, he will also strike out alot as well!  They too have some young arms that could shine starting with John Lannan and the addition of  Scott Olsen from Florida.  Ryan Zimmerman may be the best third sacker in the league and Christian Guzman, Ronnie Belliard are good hitters.  The key to this team may be young outfielders Elijah Dukes and Lastings Milledge, if they play to potential then this team could move up in the division.

That all being said here is how I think it plays out :

1.  Phillies  2. Braves  3.  Mets  4.  Nationals  5.  Marlins

I think the Fightins have too much for the others in comparison, the key will be staying healthy as to how far they stretch ahead of the rest and/or if the divsion race is close. 

GO FIGHTINS !!!!!

As the season opener rapidly approaches the Fightin’s have made a few shuffles in the roster to finalize the opening 25 man crew.   Outfielder Geoff Jenkins was given his unconditional release, the Phillies still owe Jenkins $8 million for the second year of his contract and will eat that amount.  Jenkins was a good team man and I am sorry to see him go but do realize that with Jayson Werth established as the everyday right fielder that Matt Stairs is better suited than Jenkins as a left handed bat off the bench.  Jenkins should catch on somewhere as I believe he still has good baseball left in him.

The team also designated John Mayberry Jr. to minor league camp as well as Carlos Carrasco. Both are young players and will most likely be future big leaguers.  Chan Ho Park was told that he has won the fifth starter’s job over J.A. Happ.  I have a good feeling that Park is going to have a decent year and am glad to see him win the starting job.  I hope that Happ can adjust to a bullpen role as I don’t think another minor league assignment is in his best interest mentally.  If the team does assign him to Triple A I think they are doing so with the intent of eventually moving him in trade. 

Robert Mosebach was reclaimed by the Angels.  He was a rule 5 draft choice of the Phillies this winter and had to remain on the big league roster or be offered back to the Angels.  Reports are that the Fightin’s are attempting to work out a trade to keep him, he has very good velocity and would be a good insurance policy at Triple A.   Recently acquired Jack Taschner will most likely make the roster but if indeed Happ does as well that will give the team 3 lefties in the pen!  Last season they went almost the entire season with only one before acquiring Scott Eyre.  It would appear that Gary Majewski might be optioned to Triple A but that hinges on the team’s opinion of Happ and whether they want to play with his psyche and send him to Lehigh.

Chatter

Gary Sheffield was released by Detroit, he officially clears waivers at 1 pm tommorrow and apparently the Phillies have interest in signing him as a right handed pinch hitter and part time outfielder.  I think Sheffield is a very good player but do have concerns on his locker room impact, this is a good crew of men that gets along well, not sure we need a Kenny Lofton like influence.  I only know what I read of Sheffield and perhaps the negative reports in this regard are inaccurate.  If the team signs him then Miguel Cairo would presumably be out of a roster spot.  It has also been rumored that the Fightin’s have interest in Andruw Jones but it seems that he will indeed make the Texas Ranger’s opening day roster.   Lastly Marcus Giles was given his outright release, it would appear that his baseball days are over at the major league level but one never knows, perhaps he catches on elsewhere.   Brett Myers will start the season opener as Cole Hamels slight elbow injury will push his first start back to later in the season against Colorado.

Can’t wait for opening day!  Thanks to the folks at Nuemann College for affording me the chance to do a book signing yesterday, did very well with sales and met alot of interesting folks!