On Sunday I witnessed, along with many other fans, a true rarity in Major League Baseball.  Eric Bruntlett pulled off an unassisted triple play to end the game and give the FIghtin’s a 9 to 7 win over the Mets in New York !  It was only the 15th time in major league history that an unassisted triple play has occured and the second time in history that it has occured to end a ballgame!  The last and only other time in major league history that an unassisted triple play occured to end a game was May of 1927!   The feat is so extraordinary that the Baseball Hall of Fame asked Bruntlett to provide a piece of memorabilia to be added as part of the Hall of Fame collection,  Eric the Great donated his jersey to the hall as a momento.

Prior to the trip the New York the Fightins completed a three game sweep of Arizona as Joe Blanton tossed eight innings in a 12 to 3 win.  Blanton could have went nine but Phillies skipper Charlie Manuel chose to give Chad Durbin an inning of work to close the game.  Jayson Werth, Carlos Ruiz and Ryan Howard each homered in the game as the Fightins pounded 12 hits.

The four game series in New York began on Friday night with a loss as the Metropolitans beat the Phillies 4 to 2 behind Mike Pelfrey.  Cole Hamels continued to struggle as he was able to only go five innings giving up ten hits, Chan Ho Park and Ryan Madson pitched scoreless relief behind Hamels.  The Phillies had ten hits in the game but left 11 runners on base.  Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard had six of the hits, each with two hits apiece.

On Saturday the Phillies bounced back with a 4 to 1 win over the Mets as J.A. Happ went seven innings to earn his 10th win of the season.   Madson earned hold number 21 on the season and Brad Lidge tossed a perfect ninth to earn save number 24.  Chase Utley belted a two run home run to provide the game winner in the sixth inning.  Old nemesis Tim Redding started for the Mets and once again held the Fightins at bay by only giving up one hit thru five frames, Redding was on a pitch count and was taken out after five else this may have been a loss!

On Sunday Pedro Martinez made his Citi Field debut and was given a six run cushion before he even took the hill as Jayson Werth and Carlos Ruiz each belted three run home runs in the first inning to chase Mets starter Oliver Perez.  Perez was so bad that his own manager showed him up by pulling him with a 3-0 count to batter Martinez rather than let him finish out the at bat!   Martinez earned his second Phillies win of the season as he tossed six frames and was relieved by Durbin and Madson before Lidge closed to earn his 25th save on the Bruntlett triple play!  It must be noted that if Bruntlett had not committed two errors prior to the Triple play it would not have been needed!  Strange game is baseball sometimes.

In the series Finale on Monday staff ace Cliff Lee tossed seven strong innings and Ryan Howard belted two home runs to lead the Phillies to a 6 to 2 win.  Chan Ho Park earned his 8th hold in relief of Lee who is 5 and 0 as a Phillie and 12-9 overall as he won his ninth consecutive start!  Sweet!

Chatter

Greg Dobbs was put on the disabled list on monday and  Miguel Cairo was brought back up from Triple A.  Clay Condrey and J.C. Romero made rehab appearances in Clearwater and may rejoin the team in early September.  Brett Myers made a rehab start at single A Lakewood and is also on target to join the team in September.  It will be interesting to see whom the team recalls when rosters expand on September 1, e.g. will folks like Michael Taylor and Kyle Drabek be given major league service time ?  It may depend on how close or far the race is at that time.    With the win on Monday and prior to other results the team heads to Pittsburgh with a seven game lead in the division and two games in hand.  Great time to be a Phillies Fan!

With Howard’s homers on Monday he once again eclipsed 100 RBI in a season, the big guy has hit at least 30 bombs and driven in 100 or more for four consecutive seasons ! 

The Phillies beat the Arizona Diamondbacks last evening by a count of 8 to 1 as Cliff Lee tossed his second complete game for the FIghtins since joining the team.   Back in the day when “Lefty” Steve Carlton used to pitch for the Phillies whenever his turn would come in the rotation his teammates would call the day “Win Day”.   I think that Mr. Lee has earned that same regard as he is 4-0 for the Phillies, 7-0 in his last seven starts and has four complete games in that stretch !   He is a true throwback pitcher in a day when complete games are very rare, he makes the Fightins a prohibitive favorite, in my opinion, to return to the World Series!  

Lee was supported by home runs by Chase Utley, Ryan Howard  and two by Jayson Werth.  Lee had two hits himself.   The previous night Jamie Moyer showed why he has now won 257 career games as he came in relief of Pedro Martinez in the fourth frame and pitched two hit baseball in leading the Phillies to a 5 to 1 win over Arizona.  Phillies skipper Charlie Manuel brought Moyer into the game after a 56 minute rain delay rather than push Pedro back onto the mound after the delay.  Martinez, himself pitched a very effective first three frames and looked as is he was also gonna deal a good one until Mother Nature cut short his night.  Jayson Werth and Carlos Ruiz each hit bombs in the game.

Prior to the two games at home against Arizona the Phillies beat Atlanta two games to one in a three game set in HotLanta.   Joe Blanton threw seven strong innings against the Braves in game one but pitched to a no decision as he left the game in a tie with Braves starter Jair Jurrjens.  Jurrjens threw a gem at the Phillies but his bullpen took the loss when Ryan Howard belted a solo home run in the top of the ninth to put the Fightins ahead.  Brad Lidge saved game number 22 and Ryan Madson was credited with the win.   Lidge blew a save in game two of the series in relief of Cole Hamels who went six innings and yielded only three hits and two runs to the Braves.  Lidge’s bullpen mates Scott Eyre, Chad Durbin and Madson held the Braves at bay in relief of Hamels  but Lidge gave up two runs in the ninth to suffer the loss.

The Phillies bounced back in the series finale to claim the series with a 4 to 1 win.  Ryan Howard belted two home runs to supply all the runs rookie J.A. Happ would need as Happ went 7 and 2/3 innings to earn win number 9 on the season.  Brad Lidge notched save number 23 behind holds by Ryan Madson and Scott Eyre.

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When Pedro Martinez and Jamie Moyer pitched in the same game it marked the first time that two pitchers with over 200 career wins each both pitched in the same game for the Phillies.   The last time it happened in Major League Baseball was when Minnesota Twins teammates Bert Blyleven and Steve Carlton both appeared in a contest.  The Phillies duo fared much better as they won while the Twins duo suffered a lop sided loss!   Big Ryan Howard has once again reached the 30 home run threshold and appears to be heating up in the later part of the season as has been his pattern in his brief career thus far.  Howard tied and then surpassed my favorite all-time Phillie Dick Allen on the team all time home run list.   If Howard stays according to past pattern he can single handedly carry the team on his broad shoulders offensively. 

Brett Myers admittedly lied about how he suffered a black eye recently, at first he said he got it while playing with his son who inadvertenly hit his daddy, he later changed his story to say that he suffered it stumbling out of his truck.   As it turns out he was at a bar with his wife and buddies of his, some of his buddies got into an altercation but all accounts say Myers was not part of the scuffle and in fact left to avoid the issue.   Mind boggling to me that folks even put themselves in those positions!  Will never understand that.

The Fightins have a 5 and 1/2 game lead over second place Florida as of this writing and are only 2 games behind the Dodgers for best record in the National League.  After tonights game against Arizona the team hits the road again for three games against the Mets and then three more against Pittsburgh before concluding the month with a home series against the Braves.

For he first time since 1984 the Phillies went into Chicago and swept a series away from the hometown Cubbies.  After winning the first game in extra innings on Tuesday  the Fightins came out of their recent offensive slumber to score 12 runs Wednesday evening enroute to claiming a victory behind starter Pedro Martinez and then rode ace Cliff Lee on Thursday afternoon to the winners circle.

Martinez tossed a very effective five innings and was clocked as high as 93 on the radar to earn career win number 215.  Chan Ho Park tossed three perfect innings behind Martinez and Chad Durbin finished out the game.  Home runs were clubbed by Jimmy Rollins, Raul Ibanez and Shane Victorino.  All tolled the Fightins pounded 14 hits in the game.  An idiot fan tossed a full cup of beer on Victorino as he made a catch in centerfield on the warning track.  Originally security ejected the wrong guy but then came back and tossed the entire row as the dumbass fan didn’t fess up to his stupidity.  Some fans actually cheered the idiot as he left which makes one wonder……… maybe there is a reason for the curse on the cubbies, stupid fans like these!  I am sure that there are plenty of good fans in Chicago also but this dumbass sure is not one of them!  Charges have been filed by both Victorino and the Chicago Cubs, let’s see how proud the dummy is going to be about that!

On Thursday afternoon Cliff Lee continued to prove he was worth trading for as he led the Phillies to a 6 to 1 victory.   Ryan Howard belted a three run home run to give Lee all the runs he would need and Pedro Feliz also belted a dinger.   Both Howard and Feliz had three hit games.   Cliff Lee tossed eight innings in the contest and is now 3 and 0 as a Phillie, he even belted a double as a hitter !

Chatter

Depending on the outcome of tonight’s games involving the Braves and Marlins the Phillies will head to Atlanta with either a 4 and 1/2 game lead in the division or one game more.   Last season the Phillies were perfect in Atlanta but this year has been a struggle.  Big Joe Blanton will take the hill in the opener followed by Cole Hamels and J.A. Happ.   

Word is that Brett Myers had another very effective simulated game session and  is on track to be back pitching at month end or early September.  Clay Condrey and J.C. Romero are not close to returning though as both have had setbacks in the injury recovery process. 

Sources tell me that my boy Ryan Freel was released by the Royals, have always liked him as a player so hope the Phillies give him a shot.   How bout that Milwaukee Brewer housecleaning of late, I think that Bill Hall is still a player and was surprised the Brew Crew designated him for assignment.  He is another guy I would like to see in Phillies red pinstripes.

The Phillies opened a three game set in Chicago with a 4 to 3 extra innings win over the Cubbies.  Phillies starter J.A. Happ went six innings giving up two runs on seven hits.  Cubs starter Rich Harden was tossing a no hitter till Jimmy Rollins tagged him for a two run bomb in the top of the sixth.   The Fightin’s took the lead in the eighth inning on a bases loaded walk issued to Ryan Howard.

Brad Lidge attempted to record his 23rd save in the ninth inning but gave up the tieing run instead for his seventh blown save of the season.   The game advanced to extra innings and was settled when Ben Francisco belted a solo home run in the top of the 12th.  Chad Durbin pitched a scoreless bottom half of the inning to record a save, lefty Scott Eyre was credited with the win as he recorded four outs in relief prior to Durbin.

Chatter

Pedro Martinez makes his Phillies debut tonight at Wrigley.  Kyle Kendrick was sent back to Triple A Lehigh Valley to make roster room for Martinez.    Jamie Moyer was pushed from the starting rotation in favor of Pedro and is not so happy about it.  Moyer feels “disheartened” and “misled” by management, particulary GM Ruben Amaro and team managing general partner Dave Montgomery.   He has incentive clauses in his contract based upon innings and wins which are virtually unachievable as a reliever.  According to Moyer during contract negotiations this winter he was given management’s word that if he hit a lull in the season he would not be removed from the rotation, the GM states that was not exactly the case.   The bottom line is that while I truly admire Mr. Moyer the profession of baseball is to win and put your team in the best position to do so, he has struggled to get past the fifth inning, no guarantee that Pedro will do that either but at this time a change is probably wise……… Martinez was signed prior to the Cliff Lee acquisition so while  I don’t think the Moyer move to the pen was planned it is now something that circumstances have led to.   Jamie will prepare for the role like the professional he is and I hope it works itself out, there are two doubleheaders on the schedule in September so at a minimum he should get at least two more starts.

Coming into this weekend’s series with the Florida Marlins the Phillies held a seven game lead over the second place Fish and had an opportunity to perhaps bury them early this summer by sweeping and/or winning the series.   The young Marlins had other designs however as they climbed back into the race by turning the table on the Fightins and sweeping them!   As of this writing the Phillies still hold first place but the lead is now down to four games.

Friday night Florida’s Ricky Nolasco tossed a gem and beat the Phillies 3 to 2.  Joe Blanton pitched pretty well himself by going into the seventh but Florida got him for three runs in the first and second frames which turned out to be the difference.   The Phillies were limited to only four hits in the game, two by Raul Ibanez as the offense has stalled a bit lately, guess “hitting season” is in a lull right now!

Saturday’s game was a 6 to 4 loss as Cole Hamels continued to struggle.  Hamels could only go into the sixth frame before being lifted, he gave up four earned runs on five hits and also issued four walks.  The command he displays when he is going good has been sporadic at best this season as the young ace took his seventh loss of the season to go against seven wins.  Ryan Howard awoke from his offensive slumber as he went a perfect four for four at the plate and Shane Victorino got two hits before going accross the street with a few teammates to the Wachovia Center to watch Ultimate Fighting’s debut in the Philadelphia area.   Perhaps that experience was in hopes that it would stir the troops a bit for the Sunday Matinee to close the series!

Jamie Moyer took the hill sunday and battled thru five innings but left trailing the game 3 to 1 as the young Marlin hitters showed good patience with the pitch doctor and produced “soft” hits off the end of the bats to take the lead.   Rodrigo Lopez came on in relief of Moyer and all but punched his ticket back to the Minors by getting blasted for six runs in two thirds of an inning!  Victorino got thrown out of the game by the homeplate umpire  during the inning by questioning balls and strikes from his defensive perch in centerfield !   I have never seen an outfielder get tossed by the home umpire for balls and strikes!  Victorino came roaring into the plate area after being tossed and had to be restrained by teammates.   This reaction was prompted by a poor call the prior half inning where the homeplate blue rang Ryan Howard up on a 3-2 pitch which looked to be low.   Josh Johnson got the win for the Marlins in the finale.  The Phillies ended up with an old fashioned butt whippin put on them in a lopsided 12 to 3 loss.

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Florida has something special in Chris Coghlan.  The 24 year old had eight hits in the three game series and truly sparked the Marlin offense, he is no defensive wiz in left field where they have him playing, ( he came up thru minors as a second baseman), but he is not near as bad as the Mets Mr. Murphy out there either !

The Phillies hit the road next with a six game trip thru Chicago and Atlanta, they play 13 of the next 19 on the road.   Pedro Martinez is ready to go as a starter and will get a chance according to the skipper to do so on multiple occassion, my guess is that Mr. Moyer may be headed to the pen. 

How bout that Ryan Freel as a potential bench bat for the Phillies, I see that he was demoted once again to the minor leagues, I always liked him and perhaps he could be a spark for the Fightin’s off the bench.

Brad Lidge got tuned up in the ninth inning on Sunday by giving up three runs including a bomb to ex teammate Wes Helms.   In my opinion he is hurt despite what the team says, no bite on the slider and the fastball seems real straight, it is what happens when the knee can’t bend.

It is only August and the Fightin’s are still up four games so no time for us Phans to panic but rather sit back and cheer our boys on as indeed the race is still on !

J.A. Happ tossed his second complete game shutout of the season on Wednesday night as he beat the Colorado Rockies 7-0.  That effort secured his spot in the starting rotation for the rest of the season and was annouced as such by General Manager Ruben Amaro on Thursday.   Pedro Martinez tossed a gem of his own on Wednesday as he struck out 11 Double A minor leaguers in Reading while walking none.  Martinez hit 93 on the radar gun consistently in the outing.   Cliff Lee tossed his first home win on Thursday afternoon as he went seven innings to beat the Colorado Rockies 3-1.   Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge closed the game with Lidge earning his 21st save of the season.

Now……. Joe Blanton has been pitching superbly this season so his spot in the rotation is also secure, Cole Hamels has struggled a bit lately but he is the reigning World Series MVP and is definitely needed in the rotation if the Fightin’s have any chance of repeating.   Veteran Jamie Moyer albeit having won 10 games this season has struggled as well and has a high E.R.A. to boot.  The decision point thus comes down to which veteran goes to the pen, Jamie or Pedro or……… a six man rotation is envoked.

Debate

1.  A six man rotation on the surface may not seem so bad, last season Hamels actually seemed to perform better when given an extra day’s rest so there could be upside there as innings could be saved for the playoffs themselves.    The downside is that the team would not be running out Lee,Hamels, Blanton and Happ on the most frequent basis and thus would be altering routine as well as deferring their best chance at winning games.     Tough call on this one but would not be shocked that this is the route they take.

2.  Moyer or Martinez in the Pen -  Moyer would probably not be effective in relief as his game is pitching to spots and using hitters aggression against them, most relief spots are short stints requiring “stuff” to get folks out and/or key pinch hitters so the agrgression angle may not be as predominantly in play as when he is used as a starter and hitters see him more than once per game.  Martinez, while having excelled before in a relievers role has been programmed to start and is expecting as much, not sure if asked to be a pen member how it might work.   He is the better of the two choices between the pitchers for the bullpen role as his stuff is more dynamic.   I think though that he is been given the word that he is a starter and thus he will be.   My guess is that Mr. Moyer will end up in the pen if the six man rotation is not deemed viable.

Cliff Lee’s first start as a Phillie was pretty damn awesome!  He threw a complete game against the San Francisco Giants winning by a count of 4 to 1 and even had two hits as a batter!  Lee was dominant in the outing using all four pitches in his reportoire and literally cruised to the victory.  He had a no-hitter thru six and 1/3 innings before giving up a bloop double down the right field line for the first hit.   Jayson Werth provided the offense for Lee as he knocked in three of the four runs including a solo home run in the second inning to give Lee a lead he would never relinquish.

The other newcomer from Cleveland to the team, Ben Francisco, also has been impressive thus far.  Francisco has been thrown into the fire immediately in center field as starter Shane Victorino rests a sore and swollen knee that he injured in the Arizona series.  Francisco has shown a short compact swing albeit he jerks everything to left field and might be suspect to the outside strike…….. time will tell.   Francisco has collected three hits in the two games he has started in center and has displayed a good outfield presence as well with good range.  So far so good for the two new additions.

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John Mayberry Jr. and Steve Register were optioned back to Triple A Lehigh Valley to make room for Lee and Francisco on the active roster.  The trade also impacted others throughout the minor league system as Joe Savery was promoted to Triple A from Double A Reading to take the rotation spot vacated by Carlos Carrasco.    Catcher Kevin Nelson was also promoted to Lehigh Valley to take the roster spot vacated by Lou Marson.  Dominick Brown was moved up to Double A Reading from Single A Clearwater.   Pedro Martinez threw about 90 pitches in his start last night at Lehigh Valley and thinks he is ready to join the big club,  it remains to be seen when the Fightin’s decide to make that move.

Joe Blanton takes on the Giants tonight in San Francisco, Blanton has been throwing extremely well, here is hoping that trend continues…………. good time to be a Phillies Phan!