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.

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.

Chatter

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!

GM Ruben Amaro today pulled off his first major blockbuster deal as he acquired Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco from the Cleveland Indians for minor leaguers Jason Knapp, Carlos Carrasco, Lou Marson and Jason Donald. 

Lee, the 2008 A.L. Cy Young Award winner gives the Phillies a true 1-2 punch when coupled with Cole Hamels that should rival any top of the rotation competion they will face.  While the team had seemed focused on acquiring Toronto ace Roy Halladay  terms could not be reached with the Canadians as they insisted on the Phillies inclusion of top prospect Kyle Drabek in any deal for Halladay. 

I think that Amaro has pulled a coup in getting Lee instead and from what I have read about Francisco is that he may indeed be the right handed bat off the bench that the team is lacking.  He has 10 home runs thus far this season and hit 15 last year.   Skipper Charlie Manuel is familiar with both Lee and Francisco from his days in the Cleveland organization and seems very pleased with the deal! 

Good going Mr. Amaro, shows this team is for real about winning now !  Good time to be a Fightin Phillies fan!

Chatter

Amaro was interviewed on Comcast Sportsnet after the trade became official and indicated that the team may indeed be more open for further moves.  The Phillies have sevenMajor League starters  in tow now with Pedro Martinez tuning up in Triple A and believed targeted as soon to join the big club.  Rodrigo Lopez is undefeated as a starter,  J.A. Happ is 7-1 and Jamie Moyer has won 10 games!  Joe Blanton has pitched distinctively well over the last two months and Cole Hamels had an excellent outing this week by outdueling Arizona’s Dan Haren. 

Could be that Happ may still be dangled as bait for another bullpen arm………. Heath Bell, Chad Qualls or George Sherrill come to mind as potential Phillies before the deadline passes! 

In any regards we are loaded for Bear, watch out ………… maybe we have another parade forthcoming!