Washington used timely hitting to score their runs and coupled it with good pitching to hold the Phillie offense in check to earn a win in the final game of the three game series.   Anderson Hernandez had three hits for the Nationals and Elijah Dukes contributed two.   Hernandez drove in two of the four National runs.

Brett Myers threw six innings in this start for the Fightins and gave up three runs on eight hits.  Jack Taschner gave up the fourth run in his one inning of relief.    The Phillies were limited to six hits, one a solo home run by Shane Victorino.  Ryan Howard had two hits in the game. 

Julian Tavares earned his first save since 2006 for the Nationals as he pitched a scoreless ninth.  He used a little Luis Tiant type of pitching motion during the appearance !  Tavares is another of those very excitable latin players who wears his emotions loudly on his sleeves for all to see, not a bad thing if they are on your team but annoying otherwise!

The team is off tommorrow before starting a three game series at home vs those New York Mets.

Chatter

Brad Lidge was unavailable again due to knee inflamation.  He will have it reexamined tommorrow and a determination will be made if he needs to go on the disabled list.  Carlos Ruiz will report back to Lehigh Valley to resume his rehab stint.  Ruiz will catch the next Iron Pigs game.  

I have a book signing this Saturday at Batley’s Grille in West Chester, (formerly Stadium Grille), from 3 pm to 8 pm.  The Phillies/Mets game starts at 3:40 pm and will be on display on the multiple TV monitors at the restuarant.  Come out and buy an autographed copy of ” 2008 Philadelphia Phillies – A Poetic Season” and let’s chat a little baseball while hopefully the Fightin’s smack those Mets around!

Ryan Freel is apparently unhappy in Baltimore, what do you think about the Fightin’s picking him up as a bench player ?  I have always liked his game and versatility.

Early hitting season continued as the Fightin’s smashed four home runs enroute to a 7 to 1 victory in the second game of this home series against the Washington Nationals.   Chase Utley smoked two long balls driving in three runs.  Utley now has seven home runs on the young season.  Raul Ibanez continued to impress as he stroked two more hits including his seventh home run of the season, a solo shot in the eighth inning.   Phillie fans have adopted a new chant of RAUUULL when Ibanez comes to the plate.  He has added alot to the team makeup both on and off the diamond, class act indeed !

Pedro Feliz also belted a home run, his second of the season.  Feliz had a two hit ballgame as well.  Shane Victorino had a two hit offensive effort also.   The only downer of the night was when starting pitcher Cole Hamels turned his ankle in the fifth inning while fielding a ground ball.  Hamels had to leave the contest and was in obvious pain.   We will have to wait and see how severe the injury is.  Chad Durbin threw three and two thirds innings of stellar relief behind Hamels and iron man pitcher Clay Condrey threw the ninth frame to close out the game.  With the win the Phillies record improved to 11 and 8, pending the outcome of the Marlins/Mets game they could wake up in first place in the N.L.  East in the morning.

Chattter

When Ibanez hit his grand slam home run last night it was the 26th grand slam in the majors this April !  That seems like an unreal number, maybe we need to launch an investigation into juiced baseballs again………. or bad pitching !   Carlos Ruiz suffered a setback in his rehab assignment at Triple A affiliate Lehigh Valley and was shut down again, Ruiz was back in Philly for medical review.  Brad Lidge has inflamation of the knee and according to the skipper is day to day.  The Hamels injury is concerning, last season the team went relatively injury free over the season’s course, J-Roll was hurt in the early part of the season and Utley played with a bad hip in the second half but for the most part the team avoided long term breaks in service.   The season is a marathon so the depth the team has built up in the minors will indeed be tested a bit it seems.  

It was Charlie Manuel bobblehead night at the park and the game was a sellout, look on e-bay for folks looking to sell ‘em!

Raul Ibanez hammered a walk off home run on Sunday afternoon scoring Ryan Howard in front of him to give the Phillies a come from behind 5 to 4 win.  The Padres had built up a 4 to 0 lead but home runs by Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins, ( a pinch hit for J-Roll, his first pinch hit bomb in his career), brought the Fightins back to within one.

Chan Ho Park pitched better in this game, his second start of the season, but still gave up four runs on eight hits in five innings of work.  J.A. Happ threw three scoreless innings in relief and Clay Condrey picked up the mound win with a scoreless ninth inning of work.

Ryan Howard had three hits in the game and Ibanez had two.  Howard is hitting .386 in the early going.

Chatter

Monday’s game was postponed due to rain, it will be made up later in the season.. San Diego thus will have to make another trip to Philadelphia as they were only scheduled to be here this one time this season.  Carlos Ruiz is eligible to come off the disabled list next week and will probably begin his rehab assignment this coming  weekend in the minor leagues.  Jamie Moyer will take the hill tommorrow night at Citizen’s Bank Park against the Milwaukee Brewers.

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 !

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 !!!!!

The Fightins are eleven exhibition games into the spring season and the record stands at 4 wins and 7 losses.  This following the most recent 12 to 10 loss to the Atlanta Braves.  Kyle Kendrick was hit around pretty good by the Braves and if the “competition” has truly started for the fifth starter spot one would certainly think he is behind in the race.  Comments I have read from pitching coach Rich Dubee do not indicate that Kendrick is in dire straights yet though as Dubee points out that he still has three more spring starts and is working on locating a new pitch, his change up.  Kendrick has been basically a one pitch pony thus far relying on his sinkerball to gain his 21 big league wins. 

Notes

Add Jason Donald to the mix as to potential right hand bats off the bench.  The 24 year old is tearing it up this spring thus far offensively after going 3 for 4 against the Braves.  His spring average to this point is a very robust .379!  Donald may be targeted for Lehigh though to groom as the 2010 third baseman.    Ryan Howard continues to impress offensively as well and leads the Grapefuit circuit in home runs.   Gary Majewski is making a strong bid thus far to gain a bullpen spot as he has impressed in each outing, looks like his velocity is back up according to published reports.

Chatter

The World Baseball Classic has been fun to watch thus far, too bad for the Domican Republic team being eliminated so early but one has to root for the underdog team from the Netherlands as they move into the second round.  I think that the Puerto Rico team may be one to watch along with our U.S. boys to potentially take the crown away from Japan.  I don’t think the tourney is doing so well with attendance or TV viewership but it is a nice twist to spring training in that the games are competitive, the rules sort of remind me of the Little League World Series what with pitch count and all but I am enjoying watching games thus far.   Both Carlos Ruiz and Matt Stairs are back in camp with the Phis as their respective teams Panama and Canada were eliminated in the first round.

Kyle Kendrick had a shaky outing early in the week which opened the door for the other three competitors in the “Fifth Starter Sweepstakes” to overtake the frontrunner Kendrick.  Rich Dubee, the Phillies pitching coach had proclaimed Kendrick as the one to beat early on in spring training.  Chan Ho Park threw friday night against the Blue Jays and pitched four effective innings with four K’s allowing one run.  J.A. Happ threw saturday against the Tigers and pitched very well by tossing three shutout innings and accumulating seven strikeouts !   Happ used a good heater to mow down the Tigers.  Carlos Carrasco  goes on Sunday against the Braves in his first chance since coach Dubee announced earlier this week that the competition is now on in earnst.

The Phillies beat the Tigers 8 to 1 but lost to the Jays 4 to 3 to put the spring mark at 4 and 4.

Chatter

John Mayberry Jr. continues to impress as he belted a three run homer against the Tigers.  Mayberry is hitting close to .300 in spring games thus far and has shown good athleticism and ability to play the two corner outfield spots.  He may indeed make the squad.   Ryan Howard belted yet another homer against the Tigers, his third of the spring.  The big man is swinging the bat well thus far, hopefully it pays off in a better start to the regular season as well.

Jamie Moyer threw very well against the Tigers going four innings and tallying five k’s.   I watched some of the World Baseball Classic and saw the Netherlands team upset Team Dominican Republic.  I don’t quite understand what the qualifications are to be on the teams,  ex phil Randall Simon is on the Netherlands team and I was not aware that he was from that region ?  

Carlos Ruiz seemed to get shaken up a bit playing for Panama against Puerto Rico and left the game early, hopefully not anything of issue.

It appears the Phillies will not make any more free agent signings, they did pick up Rodrigo Lopez off waivers from the Braves but it is expected that he will be a starter in Lehigh Valley.  G.M. Ruben Amaro said the team most likely will not sign lefty Will Ohman, the way that J.A. Happ pitched against the Tigers might avail him to the second lefty in the pen spot if indeed he does not earn the fifth starter spot.

All players reported on time for the Fightins as they prepare for thier title defense.  There has been alot of trash talk already between the Phils and the rivals from New York, the Mets…… probably a good thing the Mets train on the other coast of Florida in Port St. Lucie ! 

Jamie Moyer offered opinion on the A-Rod steroid story stating that A-Rod’s accomplishments are now tainted and hall of fame consideration should be as well.  I agree with the wise left-hander in that regard but regardless the time frame known as “The Steroid Era” is tainted in general and I think when A-Rod is considered for the Hall of Fame it should be based on his entire career and that specific time period should not be the only consideration.  The same holds true for Barry Bonds, etc. that were noted “cheaters” during the period. 

Chase Utley took ground balls at second base this week and seems to be progressing nicely after off season hip surgery.  Pedro Feliz  does not seem as far along as does Mr. Utley in the recovery of his own surgery on his back.  The Phillies have alot of veteran infielders in camp as a safeguard that either man is unable to go north on time.

Skipper Charlie Manuel stated that if the season were to start right now he would carry three catchers on the team, this makes sense in that all three are right handed hitters and the team is in need of a right hand bat off the bench.  He did not say which two would be the backups to starter Carlos Ruiz, only that Chris Coste, Ronny Paulino and Lou Marson would all be given alot of playing time this spring.  Ruiz is set to participate in the World Baseball Classic so indeed the three other catchers will have plenty of spring opportunity.

Chatter

Rumblings are that the Phils have put out an open offer to each of the three left handed relievers still left on the market and that whomever accepts first can join the team.  Will Ohman, Joe Biemel and Dennys Reyes are the three targets.  The offer is suspected to be for one year only and around $1 million.    Single game tickets went on sale today for the regular season and the “ring ceremony” game where the team will receive the championship rings immediately sold out!  Phillies fans continue to support their team!

Jimmy Rollins started game three in a different way, he stroked a single to center! Rollins advanced to second on a walk to Jayson Werth, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a ground out by Chase Utley to put the Fightins up by one. The Rays tied the score in the top of the second as Carl Crawford scored.

Carlos Ruiz hit a solo home run in the Phillies second to put the home team back ahead. That score held till the bottom of the sixth when Chase Utley and Ryan Howard hit back to back home runs to make the count 4 to 1.

The Rays scored two in the seventh to chase Phililes starter Jamie Moyer. Moyer was outstanding and gave the young Rays a schooling by hitting spots consistently. He actually made a great play on a bunt by Carl Crawford in the seventh but the first base umpire blew the call. Crawford would score one of the runs.

Ryan Madson was touched for one run in the eighth as the speed of B.J. Upton scored the tieing run. Upton beat out an infield hit, stole second and third and scored on a errant throw to third by Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz.

The Phillies won the game in the bottom of the ninth as Eric Bruntlett was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Shane Victorino was attempting to bunt Bruntlett to second but a wild pitch did it for him as Bruntlett went to second and even advanced to third as the Rays catcher threw the ball into center field! Rays skipper Joe Maddon then elected to walk both Victorino and pinch hitter Greg Dobbs to load the bases. He brought his right fielder in behind second base and dared hitter Carlos Ruiz to be able to hit a fly ball! Ruiz hit a squibber down the third base line and Bruntlett scored the winning run!

Chatter

Jamie Moyer was outstanding in this game and showed how a true professional plays the game. The game did not start till after 10 pm EDT due to heavy rains in the Philadelphia area all day and early evening Saturday. The game concluded around 1:30 AM!! Philly fans stayed thru the whole thing though and showed their faith in the Fightins! Joe Blanton will go for the Fightins on the mound Sunday night. Give the Rays credit, they are a very good team and have alot of fight in them………sounds like our Phililes! All three games thus far could have went either way, these two teams are matched very well!