Rookie J.A. Happ took the starting assignment on the hilll for the Fightins and his teammates staked him to a four run lead before he even threw a pitch!  Ryan Howard continued his torrid hitting as he singled to knock in a run, Jayson Werth and Carlos Ruiz also singled to collect RBI’s, Ruiz had a key two out two run stroke.

Happ pitched six solid shutout innings for the Fightins allowing only three hits.  Geoff Jenkins pinch hit for him in the seventh.  Happ’s performance was much more than expected as the young lefty came up big to fill the fifth starter’s hole, it most likely will earn him another shot next week!

The Phillies added a run in the eighth as Braves second basemen Kelly Johnson had a brain cramp on a dead double play ball with runners on first and third as he forgot the outs, looked home and was then forced to go to first.  He was obviously very embarrassed afterwards! 

Chad Durbin pitched a scoreless seventh with little trouble but after getting two outs in the eighth ran into some trouble as two runners reached base.  Skipper Manuel went to the pen once more bringing lefty J.C. Romero in and he got Brian McCann on a pop out to end the inning with no damage done.    Matt Stairs hit a pinch hit home run in the ninth inning, his first as a Phillie, to lead off the inning.   Clay Condrey pitched the ninth to close out the game and gave up a run.  Final count: Phillies 6, Braves 1

 Chatter

Right, wrong or indifferent it is undeniable that skipper Charlie Manuel has been the calm throughout all occassions this season.  When the Fightins were down by four earlier in August Charlie remained confident that his team would prevail, in fact was almost “chatty” during his after game press conference which is a task he does not seem to enjoy.  He displays the kind of confidence that makes guys want to play for him,  talk shows and fans can question all they want in game moves but this guy is a proven winner and in my mind is a keeper.  He is very much like Coach Andy Reid of the Eagles in his calm and somewhat “in your face” media nature of display that it is his way or the highway!   If the Phillies make the playoffs he deserves alot of credit and it is not despite of him as some might say!   Bobby Cox has managed forever in Atlanta with that positive attitude approach and as we know has been very successful.

The Mets lost my favorite hot dog Fernando Tatis for the season when he dislocated his shoulder diving for a ball in the outfield.  I do not wish injury or hurt to anyone so hope that he recovers quickly and is back to “skipping” on the plate when he scores next season!

Shane Victorino must truly love playing in Atlanta.  He had three hits last night and followed that up with another three hits tonight.  In the previous six games at Atlanta Victorino has had multi hit games in four of them!  He gave us a scare in his third at bat when the ball hit his thumb while attempting to bunt, he did not come out of the game but did seem to favor it in his swing in the fourth at bat.

The Phillies have fared relatively well whenever they have been featured on Fox TV’s regional telecasts as today’s game was. Jimmy Rollins started the game off right for the Fightins as he led off with a single and scored on a double to right by Chase Utley. Jayson Werth scored Utley with a single and then scored himself as Shane Victorino knocked him in with a single. The Phillies added two more in the second as Ryan Howard plated both Rollins and Utley with a single. Both Rollins and Utley had collected thier second hits of the game to lead off the inning.

The Brewers scored two runs in the fourth as Jason Kendall was credited with a two out two RBI double that Pat Burrell misplayed. Cole Hamels was upset with the misplay and put his arm up in disgust, the young fella has to learn it is not a smart thing to show up a teammate on a mistake ! Just an inning before Burrell made an excellent play on a ball hit off the wall by Prince Fielder holding Fielder to a single, this allowed for Fielder to be doubled up when the next batter grounded into a double play. Hamels needed to pick up his mate the way Burrell had done for him on that play. It comes with experience.

Jimmy Rollins got the two runs back for Hamels with a two run home run in the Phillies sixth. Hamels pitched 6 and 1/3 innings of strong baseball to earn his 13th win of the season. The closing firm of Chad Durbin, J.C. Romero and Brad Lidge finished the game for the Phillies to put the team within 2 games of a tie for the wild card playoff spot!

J-Roll had three hits in this one, when he is on base and Mr. Howard is hot like he is this team is very tough. Why anyone would want to trade Ryan Howard is beyond me, especially when he gets in streaks like he is in now. Even what some perceive to be a subpar season for him he is still leading the league in home runs and RBI’s !!

Chatter

Since the game friday night was rained out there will be a doubleheader tommorow to make it up. It will be the same setup as last week with a day/night format. Joe Blanton will take the ball in the first game and Brett Myers will go in the second. Myers will be working on three days rest for the first time this year and like teammate Jamie Moyer did not hesitate to accept the assignment. He was even spotted in the bullpen during thursday nights game after pitching on Wednesday and stated he could go a inning then! Gotta love the guys desire to help the team in whatever way he can! The Brewers could have opted to play on Monday, an off day for both teams but given choice decided they would rather face Myers on short rest. Geoff Jenkins is off the disabled list and eligible to play but not sure what his status is in regards to effectiveness.

Sometimes when you lose a game it is due to just being beat and you have to acknowledge the other teams efforts. That being said if you wish to become a playoff club you cannott afford to have games like that happen late in the season. Brett Myers took the hill for the Fightins with his usual gunslinger demeanor and battled the Fish thru 7 and 1/3 innings. He did not have his best stuff but left the game with the score tied at three and two runners on base.

The inability of the Front Office to add a set up man once again burnt the team and very possibly ended their playoff hopes. The trio of Chad Durbin, J.C. Romero and Clay Condrey could not hold the Marlins as they plated four runs in the eighth and ninth innings. Set, Game and Match!

Final Score Marlins 7 Phillies 3

The loss put the Phillies four down in the loss column to the Division leading Mets and four down in the wild card. Phat Lady is close to singing boys! This party is breaking up and is very very close to being over!

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Chatter

Ryan Howard hit his 42nd home run in the game but the Phillie offense could only produce seven hits total. J.C. Romero seemed to be giving catcher Chris Coste grief after getting ripped for a double that let in two runs in the ninth………… here is a clue J.C. , the catcher may call the pitch but he sure as hell does not throw it! If there was a problem with the pitch call then very simply shake him off and oh by the way any pitch down the middle will get ripped most of the time !

Sorry, not much of a narrative in this recap but as a lifelong Philly fan I am just very disgusted once again! Took the afternoon off to watch this and not obviously up to expectations of what transpired !

Skipper Charlie Manuel stacked the lineup with left handed bats against Florida starter Anibal Sanchez as the young Marlins starter has struggled big time against lefties but has held opposing right hand hitters to a batting average under .200.   The Phillies jumped out early as Jimmy Rollins led off the game with a single, stole second, went to third on an errant throw by the catcher and scored on a single by Chase Utley.  Ryan Howard then plated Utley with a screaming double to the right center field wall.  Phillies starter Joe Blanton gave the lead right back though in the second as he issued two consecutive walks and paid for it as the Marlins used a sacrifice fly and ground out to tie the game!

The Fightins bounced Sanchez from the game in the second as Matt Stairs walked, went to third on a double by Carlos Ruiz and scored on a sacrifice fly by Blanton.  Ruiz scored on a single by Jimmy Rollins.  Sanchez then walked Utley and his night was over!  Ryan Howard greeted lefty reliever Mark Hendrickson with a single up the middle to score Rollins to put the Phillies up by three.  Once again Blanton gave it right back as he walked the leadoff hitter again and Mike Jacobs took him way deep to right field to make the count 5 to 4 after only 2 and 1/2 innings of play.  It only took 1 and 1/4 hours to record the first 15 outs ! 

 That score held thru five frames albeit Blanton struggled with control throughout.  He was replaced by Chad Durbin in the sixth inning.  Durbin pitched two scoreless innings.  In the Phillies seventh Shane Victorino and Chase Utley reached base on a walk and Hit by Pitch after Rollins had grounded out.  Ryan Howard then hit a ground ball to second that could have been an inning ending double play had Utley not went hard into the bag preventing Marlin shortstop Hanley Ramirez from making a throw…………… big little thing that produces wins!  Jayson Werth then blasted a three run home run to center field to put the Phils up by four!  He would not have even batted if not for the all out hustle and slide of Mr. Utley !

J.C. Romero came into the eighth, got one out but then gave two right back as he issued a walk and then saw Cody Ross slam a fast ball into the left field seats.  Charlie then went to Ryan Madson and he got one out before getting slammed for a double by Josh Willingham.  Charlie came out once again and brought in Scott Eyre who threw one pitch to end the inning.  Whatever the cost of getting Kyle Farnsworth from the Tigers was in my opinion would have been worth it as I do not know how long Charlie can piece together the eighth inning hold situations !

Brad Lidge pitched the ninth inning and earned his 35th save in 35 tries despite some heart thumping as Florida put two runners on, Lidge struck out the last two batters to end it.  The Phillies are now 65 and 0 when leading after eight.  Jimmy Rollins scored three runs and had three stolen bases in this one as he collected three hits, another of the key little things, J-Roll set the table and put the pressure on the Fish throughout.

Chatter

The one and two thirds outing was the shortest of the 24 year old Anibal Sanchez’s career.  He is coming off shoulder surgery and obviously is still not right with his mechanics.  Kyle Kendrick gets a shot at redemption tommorrow night as he gets the start against the Fish.  Kendrick usually pitches well at home, his struggles have been all on the road thus far,  I expect the young man to step up as he is an 11 game winner so far this year therefore has the ability……….. just has to keep the sinker down as these Marlins swing from the heels and are definitely all or nothing hitters.   Third base coach Steve Smith was back in the box after serving a two game suspension for being run from a game in Washington last week,  Lehigh Valley triple A manager Dave Humpert had filled in for Smith in New York for the first two games of that series.   Ryan Howard had another mental block on a throwing play in this game in the second inning when he had a play at home but did not make the throw opting instead to let a run score and tag the runner coming to first, don’t know what it is but he has to cut it loose !

The way Pedro Martinez throws the ball nowadays certainly does not strike fear in the heart of any opposing batter.  Martinez relies on savy and location and is far removed from the power pitcher he was some five years ago.   The same can be said of Phillies starter Jamie Moyer so this matchup was going to be won by whichever veteran had the most command of their control.   The Phillies jumped on Martinez in the second inning as Jayson Werth reached base on a walk and then went to third on a double by Greg Dobbs that was badly misplayed by Met right fielder Fernando Tatis.  Guess if you play a hot dog out of position every now and again you will get some mustard on your face!  Matt Stairs then produced a very professional at bat as he waited for a pitch that he could drive and hit a long sacrifice fly to right field to drive in Werth.  Carlos Ruiz then hit a clutch single to drive home Dobbs who had advanced to third on the sac fly. 

In the Phillies fourth Ryan Howard led off with a double to center field followed by Jayson Werth with a single to put runners on first and third.  Greg Dobbs then belted his second big hit of the game as he took a rare Martinez fast ball over the right field wall for a three run home run!  Carlos Ruiz then doubled down the right field line, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Moyer and scored on a misplayed fly ball by Met left fielder Evans, another guy playing out of position,  that fell in for a double for Jimmy Rollins.

Martinez was done after four innings and left trailing the contest 6 to 0.  Meanwhile Jamie Moyer was brilliant in this one as he pitched seven shutout innings limiting the Mets to only two hits, his location was excellent and had the Met hitters lunging and popping up throughout his stint.  He recorded 12 fly outs and 8 ground outs while striking out one and the Mets only had one runner reach scoring position !  Scott Eyre came on to pitch the eighth and gave up three consecutive doubles after recording two outs that plated two Met runs.  Eyre came up big to end the inning as he struck out Carlos Delgado after going 3 and 1 on the count to him!  Ryan Madson got the first out in the ninth as he struck out Tatis but then gave up a baltimore chop single to Damien Easley and Charlie went to J.C. Romero who came in to get a double play ground ball to end the game! 

Chatter

Charlie Manuel played a hunch again at third base as he started Greg Dobbs again instead of Pedro Feliz.  Dobbs came thru big time and even played an excellent defensive game at third which is not his strong suit.   Ryan Howard made a tremendous defensive play at first base on a scorched ground ball by Carlos Delgado in the third inning.  Pat Burrell got the start off as Charlie chose to go with Matt Stairs in his starting outfield, that paid off for the Fightins as well.  All those moves are what makes Charlie a very good manager to me, anyone can second guess game moves but this guy gets his personell and knows how to use it!  Big game still left for the Fightins in the nightcap of the day/night doubleheader but to me a win there is gravy, Santana will be tough, lets see if our young “ace” Hamels learned from Myers and Moyer !  They got into the Mets heads already with these first two games, can really produce some doubts if it becomes a sweep !  Carlos Ruiz deserves some props in this one as he had three hits in the game.

The Mets sure must be counting on Santana tonight as they used relievers Feliciano, Heilmann, Figueroa and Sanchez in this one albeit none for more than an inning.  Will see if that has any effect on the night game.  The Phils used Eyre, Madson and Romero as well so at the least neither team used their closers.

Prior to the beginning of the game the Fightins already knew that the “streakin” Mets had won their game played earlier in the day and had swept the Brewers series so once again the importance of winning the game at hand was magnified.   Ryan Howard got the team started on the right track as he blasted a two run home run to center field in the first inning.  Chase Utley scored in front of Howard, Utley was drilled by a pitch in his at bat which prompted plate umpire Brian Gorman to immediately issue a warning to Nats pitcher Odalis Perez and both benches.  Inferred was that the HBP was for the play at the plate the night before where Utley slammed into the Nats catcher. 

Phils starter Joe Blanton gave the lead right back though in the bottom of the first as Washington scored two runs of their own.   In the Phillies third Jimmy Rollins singled and was plated by a triple to center field by Chase Utley to put the Phillies back ahead by one.  That lead held up till the Nationals fifth……… when

Blanton continued to show us nothing in regards to proving he can step up as a winner when he walked the bases loaded to start the fifth and a very angry  Charlie Manuel came and got him in favor of Ryan Madson.  A  ”lack of guts” was shown by two of our starters in this series and Charlie’s body language clearly showed his displeasure with the approach taken by the big right hander in this one!   The Nationals then took the lead on fielding blunders by the Phils; first a ground ball hit to first baseman Howard where he double clutched on the throw and instead of coming home immediately to cut off the tieing run he soft tossed the ball to second base which also took away any chance of a double play !  Elijah Dukes then hit a sure fire double play to third base but  Chase Utley took the throw in front of the bag and was taken out of the DP turn by the sliding Lastings Milledge.  The Nationals scored two runs on just one base hit!  Sorry, sorry,sorry  half inning of play by the good guys!

Jayson Werth led off the Fightin’s sixth inning with a single and scored ahead of Ryan Howard’s 39th home run of the season as Howard blasted the ball over the right center field wall.  Howard, like the Mets 1st sacker Carlos Delgado, can be a butcher in the field but can erase mistakes with the way he swings the bat!  Washington changed pitchers and the Phillies allowed reliever Jesus Colome to get out of the inning on three pitches, one each to the next three batters!   Ryan Madson showed some moxy by striking out the side in the Nationals sixth inning. 

Ryan Zimmerman tied the game in the Nats seventh with a solo home run hit off of Chad Durbin.  Durbin got hammered in the eighth inning as he gave up three hard singles, the key blow delivered by pinch hitter Ronnie Belliard that put the Nationals ahead.  J.C. Romero came in and walked the first hitter he faced, the immortal Emilio Bonifacio, to load the bases.  Christian Guzman then belted a bases clearing double to put the game away.  Washington batted around in the inning.   The Phillies scored two in the ninth but it was not enough……..FInal count 9 to 7 Washington.

The loss left the Phillies on the outside looking in regards to the playoff chase as they now trail the New York Mets by three full games in the division race and are four and 1/2 behind Milwaukee in the Wild Card chase.  This series loss was a major blow and puts the team in a corner that they will either battle out of or go down for the count from.  They head to New York with their tail between their legs, time to see what the boys are made of.

Chatter

Shane Victorino was given the start off as Jayson Werth started in center field and Eric Bruntlett got the start in right field.  VIctorino has been scuffling a bit lately so Charlie gave him a rest at the beginning albeit Victorino did get in later as a pinch hitter and defensive replacement.  Cole Hamels will start Sunday in the series finale against the Mets as Kyle Kendrick will be skipped this turn in the rotation.    The Phillies must take it to the Mets this weekend in New York, winnng the series is an absolute and a series loss would be devasting in regards to any playoff hopes.  I personally do not think the Mets are that good a ballclub but somehow they continue to win games and show no signs of letting up, if the Fightins are to make the playoffs they must take care of business themselves in these last three head to head contests.  It is make or break time !  Just a note of comparison…….. last year in September  the Mets were coming off a sweep and an offday when they faced the Phillies in a series at Shea and were swept by the Fightins!  As Yogi would say I sure hope it is “dejavu all over again”  this go round.

Question

How many of you value watching the opening day game for the Eagles on Sunday higher than the Mets Phillies contest ? 

With 24 games remaining on the schedule and trailing by two games in the Division race one could surmise that every game is a “must win”!   That being said the Fightins sent their ace Cole Hamels to the hill to attempt halting the Nationals seven game winning streak and win this one for the Phils.

The Phillies drew first blood as consecutive singles by Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley plated two runs in the third inning.  The inning ended however on a sad note as National catcher Jesus Flores was carted off the field on a stretcher after a bang bang play resulted in a collision between him and Utley. Utley had broken for the plate on a pickoff attempt at first base and was attempting to jar the ball loose from Flores as Nat first basemen Ron Belliard’s throw beat him by plenty at the plate.  It appeared Flores suffered an injury to his ankle.

Pedro Feliz and Carlos Ruiz led off the Phillie seventh with singles, both were sacrificed to scoring position by Cole Hamels.   Jimmy Rollins plated Feliz with a single to right field and Ruiz scored on a groundout by Chase Utley to make the score 4 to 0. 

Cole Hamels pitched 7 and 1/3 innings, once again a quality start.  He ran out of gas in the eighth inning as Washington put two runners on with a walk and a single.  Charlie went to his pen and brought in J.C. Romero.  Romero struck out left handed hitter Willie Harris and then Manuel called in Chad Durbin.  Durbin did his job in the inning as well as he got Ryan ZImmerman to ground out to short and end the inning.  Brad Lidge pitched the ninth inning to close the game.

Chatter

Three additional roster additions were made as Mike Cervenak, Andy Tracy and Les Walrond were all recalled from Triple A Lehigh Valley.  All three have been on the roster for various stints this season.  Jason Donald from Double A Reading is also likely to be recalled as well as soon as the Reading season concludes.   The extra players give skipper Manuel more flexibility with his bench and bullpen.   Chase Utley was visibly upset when Flores was carted off, Utley plays as hard as any player in the bigs but he is not dirty nor does he want to hurt anyone.  His only play to be safe at the plate was to jar the ball loose and he made the right play…………. hope that Flores is ok.  National fans booed Utley in his plate appearances after the play, no class, no clue.

Question

How big do you believe it is that Cole Hamels takes the ball Sunday against New York rather than get an extra day off between starts and face Florida on Monday ?   Pitching on Sunday would give Hamels four days rest and would be his regular rest, Kyle Kendrick would get skipped over to accomplish this.

Carlos Zambrano was scheduled to pitch the series finale for Chicago against the Phillies Jamie Moyer but he was scratched due to a “dead arm”.   Zambrano will wait till the next series against Houston to take his next turn.    In his place lefthander Sean Marshall toook the mound for the Cubbies.  The Phillies jumped on Marshall early as they scored three runs in the very first inning.  Chase Utley singled and scored on a base knock by Ryan Howard.  Shane Victorino followed Howard with a single and then Jayson Werth continued his hot hitting as he belted a hanging curve ball for a double down the left field line to plate both Howard and Victorino!

The Cubs scored two on Moyer in the second inning as some loose defense helped Chicago along.  No errors were attributed but both Victorino and Howard misplayed balls that could have gotten the Phillies out of the inning unscathed.  Howard botched a throw to second base on a ground ball that would have yielded a double play and instead placed runners on first and third.  Victorino lost a fly ball to center field hit by Ronny Cedeno which hit him in the leg and allowed a run to score.  Marshall then helped his own cause with a single to center to plate the second run.

Jayson Werth hammered his 21st home run of the season in the fifth, a solo shot to the left field seats.   In the sixth Carlos Ruiz led off with a double over center fielder Reed Johnson’s head after which Moyer bunted him over to third.  The Cubs went to their pen at that point and brought in Jeff Samardzija and Jimmy Rollins was able to hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score the run.

The Cubs got two runners on with one out in the sixth and Charlie Manuel came and got Moyer in favor of Chad Durbin.  A rested Durbin did the job in the sixth as he recorded a strike out and a pop up to end the inning and also worked a perfect seventh inning striking out two.  Durbin started the eighth inning and recorded one out before yielding a single.  Charlie came and got him at that point and brought in J.C. Romero.  Romero threw a wild pitch that allowed the runner to move up to second, he then got Fukodome to ground out to second but pinch hitter Henry Blanco singled to left to plate a run.  Ryan Madson was then brought into the game and immediately gave up a hit to pinch hitter Darryl Ward.  Madson, to his credit, did strike out Alfonso Soriano to end the inning and escape the eighth inning minefield! 

Brad Lidge pitched a perfect ninth inning striking out Aramis Ramirez to end the game!  It was Lidge’s 33rd save in as many attempts.  The Phillies upped that perfect record when leading after eight to 62 and 0!  Jamie Moyer earned his 12th win of the season and leads the staff in that category….. not bad at all for a 45 year old!

Chatter

Pat Gillick was interviewed on the TV pregame show and stated that the team has a couple things in the works to add to the roster before the end of the day however that nothing was imminent.  He stated there was about an 80% chance of getting something done and inferred it might involve a player who cleared waivers at the end of July.  The Tigers Kyle Farnsworth is one such player who indeed cleared waivers at that time.   The Mets defeated the Marlins today 6 to 2 and now travel to Milwaukee to face a very good Brewers team for three.  That is a pivotal series in the East Division race for New York as it leads into the home series with the Fightins. The Mets will throw Johan Santana in the first one at Milwaukee which means the Phillies will also see him against them in the series in New York.   Phillies are in Washington next and cannott get beat by the last place club that is playing loose and pretty well right now, in fact they have won six in a row!  Keep fightin boys!

Third game of the series in Chicago was a day game carried as a regional telecast by Fox Sports.  Brett Myers took the hill for the Fightins against Ted Lilly of the Cubs.  Chicago jumped out to the initial lead as cub catcher Geovany Soto scored Mark Derosa with a single in the second inning.  Lilly wiggled out of first inning trouble then proceeded to retire twelve straight hitters till Jayson Werth led off the Phillies fifth inning with his 19th home run to tie the game at one.

The Phillies loaded the bases in the sixth on singles by Chase Utley and Ryan Howard and a hit by pitch by Shane Victorino.  Jayson Werth then came thru with a huge two out hit as he singled to right field to score both Utley and Howard!   Howard made a beautiful slide at home to avoid the tag on a very close play!   Myers threw shutdown innings in both the sixth and seventh and Ryan Howard gave him an additional run as he smoked a solo home run to center field in the Phillies eighth.  Jayson Werth had an even bigger day in the eighth as he blasted his 20th home run to left field to put the Phils up 5 to 1!  Werth’s homer gave him four RBI’s in the game.

The Cubbies do not quit though and jumped on Myers in the home eighth with three consecutive singles scoring one and knocking Brett out of the game.  J.C. Romero came on to strike out the side and shut down the threat!  Huge effort by the lefty!  Did not like the chest thumping he did afterwards but the latin players do show their emotions!  I have criticized “hot dogging” many many times in regards to Met players like Tatis and Reyes so can’t be blind to our guys doing it. 

Brad Lidge pitched a perfect ninth inning including two strikeouts to close the game.  Lidge earned save number 32 in 32 tries!  The Phillies improved to 61 and 0 when leading after eight innings.

Chatter

Matt Stairs officially joined the Phillies and will wear number 12.   The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Todd Zolecki reported that Kyle Farnsworth of the Tigers may be a target for the Fightins to acquire as bullpen help for the eighth inning.  Farnsworth has peformed the setup and closer role in his career and would indeed be a great pickup for the team’s bullpen.  My youngest son made a very profound statement regarding management’s approach, does the team want to linger around a playoff spot season after season and hope to get in, if so they should not trade away prospects, go after select free agents in the winter and hope the pre built roster catches fire,  ……..  or do they want to really make a run for it like the Marlins do periodically by building a formidable roster for a season, adding to it accordingly by trade during the season and then dismantling it in a rebuild afterwards via trades for other teams prospects before the rostered players get too old. Florida has a formulated  and budgeted plan to to regroup for targeted runs and albeit there is a lack of consistency in that regards there is indeed a higher reward.   The FIsh approach has been more successful winning two world series within the past ten years, we have one some 28 years ago!  I prefer that the Fightins pull the trigger now on deals and go for it!  We consistently watch our pro football team take that “linger at the top” approach and yes they win plenty of games but we have no titles!

Talk shows and fans jumped all over Skipper Charlie Manuel for pulling Cole Hamels after seven innings on Thursday night.   As it turns out Hamels had told pitching coach Rich Dubee he was gassed and could not go in the eighth!  So much for the geniuses that criticize before getting the entire story!  Brett Myers would never volunteer to come out of a game and that is much more admirable to me than what Hamels did even though in this one Myers was obviously gassed !

In a somewhat surprising move the Philles released Kris Benson from Triple A Lehigh Valley today, Benson was signed in the offseason and was coming back from major injury.  He had been making slow progress but had advanced to Triple A.  Not sure why the sudden release.

Visiting teams in Chicago have not had much success so far this season and with the next four including this game being played there the Phillies have a tall order indeed.  In game one the Fightins sent their ace Cole Hamels to the hill versus the Cubs Ryan Dempster.   The Phillies scored the games first run in their very first at bat as Chase Utley doubled down the right field line and was plated by a  Shane Victorino single up the middle.

 The Cubs tied the game in the fifth inning as Mark Derosa tripled down the right field line to bring home Kosuke Fukodome who had singled.   The Fightins bounced right back though in the  top of the sixth as Jayson Werth lined his second double of the game off the ivy in right center.  Pedro Feliz then drew a walk and Carlos Ruiz followed with a single to left field to score Werth.  Cole Hamels laid down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners up to scoring position.  Jimmy Rollins lofted a sacrifice fly to left field to score Feliz and Ruiz also smartly moved up on the play to third base.  Chase Utley  then grounded a single to left field to score Ruiz.  What was huge about this inning was the Phillies ability to come thru with “situational hitting” along with smart base running to manufacture runs against a very good pitcher and team!  Hamels then came out and shut down the Cubs in the bottom of the inning to make the count after six 4 to 1 Phils.

Ryan Madson relieved Hamels in the eighth inning and was greeted by a solo home run by pinch hitter Mike Fontenot.  He then gave up a double to Alfonso Soriano and a single to Ryan Theriot before Charlie finally came and got him and brought in Chad Durbin.  I have zero confidence in Mr. Madson in critical spots of the game !  The game blew up for the Phillies when Aramis Ramirez blasted a grand slam to put the Cubs up 6 to 4.  J.C. Romero became the third pitcher used in the inning and got out of it with no further damage.  

Kerry Wood closed out the game for the Cubs.  The Phillies squandered a major chance for a win and another great effort by Cole Hamels.  As good as the bullpen has been this year the absence of Tom Gordon in the eighth inning has been the achilles heel as Madson is not suited for the role and both Romero and Durbin are needed too often in “situational pitching” to be delegated to the setup spot.  Disapointing at best is the way to describe this one! 

Chatter

Jason Stark of ESPN stated in his most recent online article that the Phillies do indeed have interest in Mike Lamb of the Minnesota Twins.  Lamb has been designated for assignment by the Twins and Stark suggests that a trade may be in the works so that Lamb could be on the roster before the end of the month thus eligible for post season play.  The Phillies sent Andrew Carpenter back to Reading after last nights game and promoted left hander Fabio Castro to the big league roster.  Castro has been with the big club before as he was a rule 5 selection a few years back, he is only 23 years old, has a live arm and needs to find a niche as to whether he is a starter or reliever.  Not sure how long he will stick this time as once again the Phillies have 13 pitchers on the roster, may be just a safeguard for the Wrigley field confines where often teams use alot of pitchers on the hill.  With September looming on the horizon the rosters can expand so it really only applies thru the weekend.