As I have stated many times this season it sure is a great time to be a Phillies Phan!  With the team capturing thier second consecutive National League pennant and now set to participate in the MLB “World” Series against the most storied franchise agrueably in all of sports it is time to predict the outcome.

The Yankees have won 26 “world” series titles and the Phillies have won all of two!  Facts tell us that one of the 26 titles came at the hands of the Fightins in 1950 against a team led by Richie Ashburn. However, this Phillies team is far from the 1950 version, this crew is a dominant one and in fact many think they are on the verge of a dynasty of winning prowess.  Great time to be a Phillies Phan!

I think that C.C. Sabbathia is the biggest obstacle, both figuratively and physically!, that the Fightins face in this series.  Sabbathia will throw three times if the series goes seven games and he has dominated our hottest hitter Ryan Howard in past matchups.  If the Fightins are to beat him then the right handed bats have to step up big time, we know that the can as Jayson Werth, Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Pedro Feliz, and Carlos Ruiz have been able to do so repeatedly.  I think the key to game one will be an unsung hero Ben Francisco who will start in left field with Raul Ibanez shifting to the DH role.   I think Francisco will have a big game and the Fightins will sneak a win behind Cliff Lee.

Pedro Martinez takes the hill in game two against A.J. Burnett.  Burnett has been hot and cold in his past endeavors against the Fightins but he has never faced a lineup of Phillies like the present one.  I think the Phillies smoke Burnett and surprise New York by also winning game two behind a ramped up Pedro.   Game three is Cole Hamels turn to step it up again as he goes against Andy Petite.  I am picking the Fightins to prevail in this one also and silence the New York faithful with a dominating 3 games to zero lead in the series.

Game four will force the return of Sabbathia to the hill and I think he will prevail with a win but in Game Five behind Cliff Lee again I think the Phillies bring home a second straight world series title!  It will set the stage for this team to be compared to those in history who have strung sustained success and titles……………… Great time indeed to be a Phillies Phan!

Chatter

I know it is far from time to be looking into next season but what if the Phillies somehow made another run at Doc Halladay in the offseason……….how sweet would this team be with Lee, Halladay, Hamels, Blanton and Martinez as a 2010 rotation!  Would we see a threepeat ?

With 14 games left to play the Fightins have reduced the magic number to clinch their third straight N.L. Eastern Division title to six.  Any combination of Phillies wins or the second place team in the division losses adding to six will result in the championship!

The Fightins just won two of three in Atlanta to basically leave the Braves for dead in the race and now go on to Miami to attempt to do the same with the young Marlins.  Here are some thoughts regarding the remaining two weeks of the season :

Kudos

Raul Ibanez appears to have found a semblance of his batting stroke as he battles thru the tail end of a tough second half of the season for him.  Ibanez has reached the 30 home run plateau and has come up with big hits lately in games.   Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels appear poised to lead the rotation into the post season, Hamels has thrown really well in his last four outings and Lee is coming off of two strong outings himself.  Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins appear to have the playoff game face on as each has come to life offensively during the stretch drive,  both also continue to play very well defensively.  Pedro Feliz and Carlos Ruiz have also quietly went about thier business both with the bat and the gloves to hold down the fort in the lower part of the order as well as providing defensive stability.   Tyler Walker deserves recognition for having a very good year out of the pen which has gone relatively unnoticed.

Concerns

Unlike last season the injury bug continues to bite!  Brett Myers, J.C. Romero, Scott Eyre, J.A. Happ, Chan Ho Park and Pedro Martinez  are all pitchers with different forms of injury that have placed doubt in regards to thier availability and roles for post season.   Shane Victorino, Carlos Ruiz  and Greg Dobbs all are battling “minor” injuries and probably could use some rest before the playoffs begin.   

Not liking at all when Brad Lidge pitches and the Phillies give up second base on “defensive indifference” when a runner is on, more times than not the runner has scored when if held on they would not have.   I realize that Mr. Lidge is struggling and his focus is being directed at getting the hitter out but not holding runners on make closer games than needed in my opinion, also inflates the E.R.A. !

Shane Victorino got tossed in the first inning of today’s game vs the Braves for argueing a play at second base where he thought his steal attempt resulted in a swiped bag, the umpire saw differently.  Victorino argued to a point where he got thrown out, come on Shane, gotta stay in the game in that situation whether the call was bad or not, can’t lose his head as the team needed him for defense and his bat against a tough right hander !

Yunell Escobar got benched by Braves Manager Bobby Cox in game one of the series and deservingly so, Escobar failed to run out a ground out to shortstop in his first at bat and the crusty old skipper immediately gave the young stud a seat on the bench for his “lapse in judgement”.  Cox was absolutely correct in doing so and it is why he continues to be one of the games best managers! 

Chatter

The team moves on to Miami for a three game set including a rare Tuesday night doubleheader, the DH is a result of the Miami Dolphins needing the stadium for a Monday Night Footbal game.  The last regular season road trip of the year ends with a four game set in Milwaukee.   Kyle Kendrick has pitched very well for the Fightins this September, one as a starter where he went 8 very strong innings and most recently in relief of J.A. Happ in Atlanta where he came out of the pen to throw three scoreless innings!  His sinker has been very effective and he has shown an ability to change speeds effectively, something he did not do during his last stint with the team.

Go Phillies!  Clinch that division and then on to the playoffs, great time indeed to be a Phillies Phan !

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.

Chatter

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.

What perhaps could have been a series sweep turned into a series split as the Fightins won 2 of 4 in Tinseltown.  Closer Brad Lidge had his difficulties in finishing two of the games albeit hindered by an error committed by usually reliable third sacker Pedro Feliz in one of them.   The starting pitching continued to excel, both young arms and old which is a positive from early season woes.  Mr. Lidge will come around, have faith Phillie fans, not time to panic just yet!   Did I mention we are in first place in NL East ?  Here is a recap of the Dodger series.

Thursday, June 4 – Phillies 3 Dodgers 0

Cole Hamels was the story as he threw a complete game shutout limiting LA to only five hits while striking out five and issueing zero free passes!   Hamels had excellent command, great velocity and super movement……all those ingredients equate to a shutout!  Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez each had an RBI and Carlos Ruiz and Werth had two hits in the game.  Hamels was the bottom line to the win though.

Friday, June 5 – Dodgers 4 Phillies 3

The Phillies were within one out of the win when Russell Martin hit a ground ball to third basemen Pedro Feliz in what would normally be a routine out but Pedro kicked it allowing Andre Ethier to come to the plate with the bases juiced and the Dodgers trailing by one.  Ethier smoked Brad Lidge’s first offering to him for a double over right fielder Eric Bruntlett’s head to plate two mates and produce the walk off Dodger win.  What was lost in the equation was a tremendous performance by Phillies starter Jamie Moyer who went seven strong innings giving up only four hits and two runs.  J.C. Romero pitched a scoreless eighth to earn his first 2009 hold but in the end Mr. Lidge got blown save number 5 on the season.  Bruntlett, Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, Chase Utley and Feliz had two hits each to lead the Phillie offense.

Saturday, June 6 – Dodgers 3 Phillies 2

Once again the FIghtins took a one run lead into the ninth with closer Brad Lidge on the hill and once again the Dodgers tagged Mr. Lidge with a blown save.  Rafael Furcal hit a solo pinch hit home run to send the game to extra innings where Andre Ethier would eventually win it with a home run off of Chad Durbin in the 12th inning.   Joe Blanton gave the Phillies another strong start by going five innings limiting the Dodgers to one run on five hits.  Clay Condrey, J.C. Romero and Ryan Madson all earned holds in setting it up for closer Brad Lidge but Mr. Lights Out was lit up instead for his sixth blown save of the year.  The Phillies only had six hits in the whole 12 innings led by Pedro Feliz with two.

Sunday, June 7th – Phillies 7 Dodgers 2

The Fightins exacted revenge in the Sunday Night nationally televised contest on Fox Sports.  Rookie Antonio Bastardo pitched five innings in his second big league start to earn win number 2.  Bastardo struck out four while giving up two runs on seven hits.   Chan Ho Park was booed by the Dodger faithful when he came onto the field in relief of Bastardo but Chan Ho pitched three scoreless innings to earn his first hold of the season, Ryan Madson finished the contest in the ninth.  Home runs were hit by Ryan Howard, Carlos Ruiz and Shane Victorino.   Victorino, Ruiz and Jimmy Rollins, ( hitting out of the six hole for first time since 2006), had two hits each to account for two thirds of the Phillies total of nine for the game. 

Chatter

After an off day on Monday J.A. Happ will take the mound in New York against the Mets on Tuesday to kick off a 3 game series and end the 10 game road swing.  The Phillies are 5 and 2 thus far on the trip, the three game series may mean more for the Mets than the Phillies as the New Yorkers are severely banged up but to their credit are still only 3 games out of first place behind the Philies.  A series win by the Phillies could be a demoralizer to the New Yorkers but it is far too early in the season I think.  Should at the least be an entertaining series, usually is when these two teams get it on.

Seems like the Phillies are always playing the Nationals this season!  In fact the two teams have met for four series already and 11 games, considering that the Phillies have played 47 games overall the Nationals have been the opponent for a little under one quarter of the contests!   It has been good for the Phillies thus far as they won nine of the contests!  Here is a recap of the two most recent games.

Friday, May 29th :  Phillies 5 Nationals 4

J.A. Happ had another good outing as a starter as he went five and one thirds innings to gain his third win of the season.   Happ goes right at the hitters and has above average stuff in his reportiore of fastball, changeup and curve.  Phillies post game analyst Ricky Bottalico actually stated after the game that he thinks Happ could eventually be a number one type starter!  Pretty high praise but if true that would be sweet indeed.    Shane Victorino led the Fightin’s offense with four hits while Jimmy Rollins, Raul Ibanez, Pedro Feliz, Jayson Werth and Carlos Ruiz each had two hit games.  The Phillies collected sixteen hits in the game but left 13 runners on base and did not score after the fourth inning.   Chad Durbin, Scott Eyre and Ryan Madson all earned holds out of the bullpen and Brad Lidge earned his 10th save of the season with a perfect ninth inning in which he struck out two hitters.  

Saturday, May 30th :  Phillies 9 Nationals 6

Ryan Howard had a big game offensively beliting two home runs including a 475 foot grand slam!  Howard was all over Nationals starter Shairon Martis as he tagged him for both blasts.  The Nationals defense was as shaky as usual as errors led to two unearned runs in the mix.  Cole Hamels was the benefactor of the offensive explosion as he went six innings to earn the win.  Clay Condrey was again excellent as he pitched out of a seventh inning jam by striking out two batters.  Condrey is super steady and is a key cog to the bullpen’s success.  Ryan Madson pitched a perfect ninth striking out two hitters.  Brad Lidge earned his 11th save by finishing the game aided by a spectacular double play pulled off the J-Roll and Chase Utley.  Lidge faced only three hitters to get it done.

Chatter

Brett Myers will have surgery on his hip this coming week to repair what could be season ending damage.  Myers is a warrior and most certainly pitched thru the pain last season as well, we always were in a quandry why he had velocity some games and not others, now we know the reason.  It is why I don’t like when fans boo ballplayers, we never truly know if their performance is hindered by injury and perception of what we see as failure is skewed due to that reason, I don’t know alot of folks who would work thru injury but these guys do, yes they make alot of money but I still admire the effort given by most.

Sergio Escalona was recalled from Lehigh Valley and added to the bullpen to temporarily take Myers roster spot, the Phillies will need a starter to take Myers spot on Tuesday so Escalona’s stint could be short.   Candidates to replace Myers at least on an interim basis include Kyle Kendrick, Andrew Carpenter, Vance Worley or Antonio Bastardo.  The safe bet would be Kendrick but I have a feeling that it could be either Bastardo or Worley who gets the call.  Both are up and coming studs and have thrown very well thus far this season.   If it is Bastardo the Phillies would have four lefties in the rotation, since I am a southpaw myself I see nothing wrong with that at all!  

Keep in mind that J.C. Romero comes off the inactive list on Thursday so another roster move is pending.   Reports are that the Phillies are in the market to trade for a starter, even before Myers got hurt that was the rumblings.   Jake Peavey of the Padres is now being bandied about as a name they would at least inquire about but my opinion is that they will target either Jason Marquies of the Rockies or Roy Oswalt of the Astros.   Erik Bedard is another name being bandied about but the Mariners might wait it out till the end of July to see if they can drive up the price to get him.   All of those guys will require a bounty of talent to be given back, don’t be shocked if teams target Kyle Drabek in any return package as the young righthander is tossing very well at Clearwater this year.   If you could get Peavey or Oswalt giving up Drabek might indeed be worth it!   I think that Jason Donald or Lou Marson would also have to be included in any deal to get that type of pitcher back.  I don’t know if they would be willing to give up Michael Taylor who is tearing it up at Reading though but young outfielder Dominick Brown from the Clearwater roster might offer some intrique.

The Phillies are also still in the market for a right handed bat off the bench, how about that Marlon Byrd returning to the FIghtin’s ?  Could happen and he might be a good fit.

Baseball is indeed a team sport but it also avails opportunity for individuals to shine in the things that they do.  In Sunday’s series finale against the Yankees the Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz indeed shined! Ruiz doubled in the 11th inning to score Chase Utley with the game winning run as the Fightin’s outlasted the Bronx Bombers 4-3 to take the series two game to one.

Cole Hamels matched super expensive Yankees ace C.C. Sabbathia thru six frames, in fact left leading the contest 3-2.    Hamels struck out five and walked none in a very impressive outing.  The Fightin’s had jumped to an early two run lead in the first inning and added another run in the sixth. Shane Victorino had a three hit game against Sabbathia and Ryan Howard and Superman Raul Ibanez each had two hits………..but the offensive and defensive story and star of the game was Carlos Ruiz.  

Ruiz had a three hit game as he battled thru each at bat and produced the game winner.  He also had a stellar game catching as he threw out two Yankee attempted base stealers at second base with laser perfect tosses !   Ruiz also made a huge play at the plate as left fielder Jayson Werth threw out Johny Damon at the plate,  Ruiz set up a roadblock and actually knocked Damon back a bit to record the out!  Excellent performance by the Phillies catcher!

Now the bad news, Brad Lidge could not hold the 3-2 lead in the ninth and recorded his fourth blown save of the season.  He did persevere to keep the game tied and turn it to extra innings.  Lidge gave up two singles up the middle in the game and then the Yankees stole bases on him like nobody’s business, he does not hold runners well at all, like old closer Billy Wagner!  Guess those boys don’t have to hold ‘em if they can strike out the hitters.   Lidge seems to be suffering from very informed scouting reports, hitters are attacking him early in the count as he pitches to get ahead so he can use his devastator, the slider in the dirt…….that approach has worked in the last few games, Charlie will stick with him I believe and I also believe that he will come back to form.

Now the good news out of the pen, Chad Durbin, Ryan Madson, Scott Eyre and Clay Condrey all pitched very very well…….. Condrey picked up the win with two scoreless extra innings of work, he wiggled out of a two on nobody out jam by getting super expensive Mark Texeria to ground into a double play and then coaxing a fly ball to end the inning.  Condrey is often unnoticed on this club but he is an invaluable commodity as he eats up alot of bullpen innings and does it very well!

Chatter

Kudo’s to the Phillies defense thus far this season, while pitching and offense has struggled at time the gloves have been super consistent.  Pedro Feliz is a gold glover at third base and the big man at first Ryan Howard is surely playing like one, it is night and day from last season when he had little or no confidence.    A team that can throw leather out there consistently will definitely keep itself in games and these boys sure can “pick it”.  

The Phillies ended this road trip with and 8 and 2 record by winning all three series, they are now at home for the next six against the Marlins and Nationals before heading out to the west coast.  They need to improve on the 8 and 12 home record and now is as good a time as any!   The Fightin’s are now 24 and 18 on the season and lead the National League East by a game and a half over second place Atlanta.

How ’bout that Trevor Hoffman of the Brewers, perfect in save chances so far this year, is he the 2009 version of 2008 Brad Lidge ?

Been away in Clearwater, FLA for a week celebrating my daughter’s wedding and have not updated the old blog since I left……….thanks Bernalda for the nice comment, see us Phillie and Mets fans can get along!  In any regards here is a summary of the week I missed while down in rainy florida……yes rained everday I was there!  The one week I show up happens to be the week they get a steady stream of much needed agua across the whole bloody state, oh well……. at least the Fighthin’s didn’t play soggy for the week.  Here is the recap.

Saturday, May 16th – Day/Night Double Header in Washington

Game 1 : Phillies 8 Nationals 5

Brett Myers had a really nice game going seven innings allowing only three hits and two runs to earn his third win of the season.  Ryan Madson got hit around a bit in the eighth giving up three runs which created a save situation in the ninth which Brad Lidge converted for his sixth of the year.  Raul Ibanez continued his all-star pace by blasting two home runs in the game and Jayson Werth also hit a dinger.  The Phillies pounded 14 hits in total including three from Ibanez and Werth and two each from Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino and Chris Coste.

Game 2 : Phillies 7 Nationals 5

Rookie Drew Carpenter was recalled from Triple A Lehigh Valley and made his major league starting debut in this one which was shortened by rain.  The game was stopped in the top of the sixth inning and play never resumed.  Carpenter only pitched 4 and 1/3 innings but was credited with the win due to the shortened game.   Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez each blasted home runs in the game to lead the Phillie offense.  The Phillies accumulated nine hits in the five full innings of play,  Chase Utley was 3 for 3 and Jimmy Rollins, Ibanez and Howard each had two hit games.  No coincedence that when J-Roll gets multi hit games the Fightins’ score alot of runs!

Sunday May 17th : Phillies 8 Nationals 6 – Washington, D.C.

Chan Ho Park pitched himself out of the rotation in this one as he only lasted 1 and 1/3 innings giving up 5 runs on 5 hits and 4 walks.  Park was terrible in this one and dug the Phillies a early hole after they had even spotted him a three run lead in the first inning!  Five Phillies relievers limited the Nationals to only one run and four hits the rest of the way and rookie Sergio Escalona picked up his first major league win, he replaced Drew Carpenter on the roster who was optioned back to Lehigh Valley prior to the game.   Scott Eyre earned his sixth hold of the season and Brad Lidge pitched in the ninth to gain his 7th save.   Jimmy Rollins, Pedro Feliz and Jayson Werth led the offense with two hits each as the Fightin’s swept the four game series from Washington.

Tuesday, May 19th : Phillies 4 Reds 3 – Cincinatti, Ohio

Cole Hamels pitched six strong innings to earn his second win of the season and Ryan Howard belted his ninth home run of the year as the Phillies defeated the Reds in the series opener.  Clay Condrey and Ryan Madson each earned holds and Brad Lidge notched his eighth save of the season.

Wednesday, May 20th :  Reds 5 Phillies 1 – Cincinatti, Ohio

Jamie Moyer pitched better in this one but still suffered his fourth loss of the year.  Moyer went six innnings giving up three runs on nine hits.  It was all Reds starter Aaron Harrang needed as he tossed seven frames striking out nine while stopping a hot Phillie offense.  Raul Ibanez did hit his major league leading 14th home run in the game to account for the Phillies lone run.  Ibanez is making Phillie faithful state “Pat who ?”

Thursday, May 21st :  Phillies 12 Reds 5 – still in Ohio!

Joe Blanton was the happy recipient of the strong Phillie offensive showing as he went only five innings to earn his second win of the season.  Blanton gave up five runs in the fifth frame as he had shut the Reds out to that point.  Clay Condrey, Scott Eyre, Chan Ho Park and Sergio Escalona finished the game and held the Reds scoreless.   Chase Utley, Greg Dobbs, Ryan Howard and superman Raul Ibanez each belted home runs in the game for the Phillies.  Jimmy Rollins had a four hit game and continues to raise his average.

Friday, May 22 : Phillies 7 Yankees 3 – Yankee Stadium, NYC

Brett Myers threw his best game of the season going eight strong innings against the Bronx Bombers limiting them to three runs on eight hits.  Ryan Madson tossed a scoreless ninth to finish the game.  Jimmy Rollins belted a home run in his first at bat in the new Yankee stadium to get things started for the Phillies.  Jayson Werth also homered and Raul Ibanez hit his 16th home run of the season as well.  Carlos Ruiz had a three hit game batting out of the nine hole for the Phillies. Matt Stairs served as the DH in the first interleague game of the season for the FIghtins.

Saturday, May 23rd :  Yankees 5 Phillies 4 – NYC

J.A. Happ pitched really well in his first start of the season since replacing Chan Ho Park in the rotation but came up with a no decision as the Yankees mounted a ninth inning comeback to win.  Happ threw six innings only giving up 2 runs and 4 hits.  Chad Durbin and Ryan Madson each earned holds but Brad Lidge could not hold the Yankees in the ninth and was credited with both his second loss of the season and third blown save.   John Mayberry, Jr. belted a three run home run in his first major league at bat !  Mayberry was recalled from Triple A to add a right handed bat for interleague play, Sergio Escalona was optioned back to Lehigh.  Raul Ibanez blasted his 17th home run of the season in this one as well………… the man is on fire!

Chatter

While in Florida we took in a Rays game as they played Oakland in an afternoon game on Thursday, the 21st.   We got soaked trying to get into the stadium as it was raining like crazy, so soaked that I had to buy a Ray’s T-shirt to wear and take off my World Champion Phillies T-shirt I had worn to the game!    Only a security guard politely chided me about the Phillies shirt,   they announced 13,000 as the attendance but I think it was far more sparse than that.  The stadium is not horrible but is still a  far cry  from the newer parks like CBP in Philly.   The fans jumped on reliever Troy Percival in earnst and booed the hell out of him when he could not throw strikes, turns out he was hurt and was put on the DL the next day……… never will understand what booing does for folks!  The Rays bid for a new stadium by the waterfront in St. Pete was rejected so I am not sure what the next move is for the franchise, the core Rays fans seem loyal but I don’t know if there are enough of them!   In any regards the Rays have a good young team and should be supported, if not in Tampa then I am sure some other city will welcome them.  By the by the Rays won the game 5-4 with a ninth inning rally sparked by a Carl Crawford single, like him as a player but his buddy in center, B.J. Upton is a dawg in my opinion, doesn’t run out ground balls and half assed a fly ball to center field that he could of caught with a bit of effort,  Charlie would have eaten him alive if he were one of his players and did that!

The Phillies dropped the last two games of the three game home series against the Dodgers, it deflated the team record to 8 and 12 at home but they rebounded with a road win against the Nationals to improve the season record to 18 and 17. 

May 13, 2009 – Dodgers 9 Phillies 2 :  

Jamie Moyer got roughed up again in this one as he was able to only pitch four and one thirds innings while getting tagged for eight hits and seven runs, all earned.   Moyer was hit hard and once again had difficulty locating his pitches effectively.  If he cannott be precise in pitch location then he will not succeed, he knows that and had bouts where it happened last year but in order to stay in the rotation must turn it around.   Jimmy Rollins and Raul Ibanez homered in the game, Carlos Ruiz led the offensive attack with two hits but it was a faint offensive attack at best as the team could only muster five hits in total.  Ex Phil Randy Wolf pitched a very effective game for the Dodgers and claimed his second win of the season by going six frames. 

May 14, 2009 – Dodgers 5 Phillies 3 :

In an afternoon game to wrap up the series Cole Hamels pitched his most effective game of the 2009 season.  Hamels went seven strong frames allowing only one earned run, two total, while striking out nine.  Hamels left the game trailing as once again the Phillie offense struggled against Dodger pitching.  Chad Billingsley went seven innings also for the Dodgers limiting the Fightin’s to only one run on three hits.   The Phillies could only muster five hits total once again and two players accounted for four of them!  Carlos Ruiz and Raul Ibanez had two hits each in this one.   Ruiz tied the game in the bottom of the ninth with a clutch two base knock but the game was eventually lost in extra innings as Chad Durbin gave up two runs in the Dodger tenth and the Phillies succumbed.  The loss dropped the Phillies record to .500 overall as the home game struggles continued.

May 15, 2009 – Phillies 10 Nationals 6 : ( in Washington)

It was far from easy as once again the team was forced to come from behind to win a game.  Joe Blanton gave up four runs in five innings of work as the starter, he could not find the strike zone as he walked six batters in addition to giving up five hits.   The Phillies offense battled back however and held a two run lead going into the National’s last at bat.  Ryan Howard blasted a three run home run in the seventh frame to put the team ahead but Brad Lidge continued his struggles in the closer role as he was tagged for two runs with two outs in the ninth  and the Nationals tied the game forcing extra innings.  Skipper Charlie Manuel’s hand was forced as he had to use expected Saturday night starter J.A. Happ in relief for the extra frames.  Happ responded with two scoreless innings and actually ended up earning the win,  Raul Ibanez knocked in the game winning run as he slapped a bases loaded single in the top of the 12th to score two.  The Phillie offense broke out in this one as they tallied 16 hits including four hit games for Ibanez and Pedro Feliz.  Carlos Ruiz continued his hot hitting as he tallied three hits in the game.  Shane Victorino had a two hit game.    The Phillies away record improved to 9 and 4 with the victory.

Chatter

The team was honored with a visit to the White House Friday afternoon to meet our 44th president, the honorable Mr. Obama.   Jimmy Rollins presented our commander in chief with a Phillie jersey with number 44 and his name on it.   President Obama, albeit a White Sox fan, acknowledged the team as just that, a team and stated that they were proof of what can happen when folks work together. 

Andrew Carpenter will be recalled today to pitch the second game of a day night doubleheader against the Nationals.   J.A. Happ was to start the game but had to be used in relief on Friday night.  Miguel Cairo will be designated for assignment to make temporary room on the roster for Carpenter. Carpenter is a 23 year old who had a spot appearance in the show with the team last season.  He is a control pitcher who relies on contact to get batters out……….. can’t do much worse than the collective starting staff has performed thus far!

My daughter gets married this coming Monday in the spring training home of the Phillies, Clearwater, FLA!   When she was a little girl I used to take her to Clearwater for baseball tournaments I would play in and also for Phillies spring training, she always said that when she got married that Clearwater was where she wanted it to be…….. so trying to be a good Dad I am accomodating!  Maybe I will run into Pat Burrell while I am down in the Tampa area!

Chan Ho Park continued his early season struggle as a starter on Friday night as he gave up seven runs and eight hits in only four and 2/3 innings of work.  Park, once again, had poor location and paid for it early as he gave up a first inning two run bomb to Dan Murphy.   The Mets scored in four of the first five frames of the game in building a lead they would never relinquish.  Chad Durbin, J.A. Happ and Clay Condrey pitched scoreless baseball in relief of Park but the hole was too deep for the Fightin’s to climb out of in this one.   

The Phillies did fight back by scoring four runs including a solo home run by Chase Utley in the seventh frame.  Pedro Feliz continued to swing a hot bat as he collected two hits, Raul Ibanez knocked in two of the four runs bringing his season RBI total to 19.    The Mets bullpen pitched as advertised in this one as Pedro Feliciano, J.J. Putz and Francisco Rodriquez held the lead,  Putz was particularly impressive as he worked a perfect eighth inning.

On Saturday afternoon the two rivals were back at it as each team sent lefties to the mound.  Jamie Moyer took the hill for the Phils against the egnimatic Oliver Perez.   The Phils took an early 4 to 2 lead and knocked Perez out of the game after two and 1/3 innings, Perez has struggled mightily for the Mets thus far this season and may be on his way to Adam Eaton type affection by Met fans! Moyer lasted into the sixth inning but found trouble in that frame as he gave up three runs to relinquish the lead.    The Phillie bullpen was perfect in relief as Scott Eyre, Clay Condrey, Ryan Madson, Brad Lidge and Jack Taschner each were unscored upon.   Raul Ibanez hit his eighth home run of the season in the bottom of the sixth inning to retie the game.

The Phillies won the game in the bottom of the tenth on a bases loaded walk issued by Sean Green to Shane Victorino that scored Pedro Feliz.  Green was his own worst enemy as he issued two walks and a hit batter in the inning.   Feliz, Victorino and Ibanez each had two hit ballgames for the Fightins.

Chatter

Cole Hamels threw a bullpen session early Saturday and felt soreness around his ankle which may prohibit him from starting Tuesday against St. Louis.   If Hamels cannott start then J.A. Happ will take the turn.  Carlos Ruiz was activated off the D.L. on Saturday and started as the catcher.  Lou Marson was optioned back to Triple A Lehigh Valley to make room on the roster for Ruiz.   Chan Ho Park will most likely stay in the rotation at least for now.  Albeit Park has been inconsistent the injury to Hamels virtually  insures that he will get one more start, he needs to pitch like he did in spring training when he earned the spot in order to keep it.  Kyle Kendrick is 2-1 at Triple A in five starts with a 2.77 ERA so help may only be a short drive away!  Also keep an eye on Michael Stutes at Double A Reading along with Vance Worley.   The Phillies have built up some depth in the system which makes the boys on the big team a bit more accountable.