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 ?

Sunday nights game lasted till 2:30 AM EDT and it was a tense game throughout played in below freezing tempatures!   I, like many other faithful Phillie Phans watched every pitch and once again was amazed at the resiliency of this crew as big Ryan Howard drove in Jimmy Rollins with the game winner in the top of the ninth and the Mr. Lidge did his thing to end the contest.

Game Four saw Cliff Lee throw again like an ace should as he held the Rockies at bay thru seven and one third innings.  The young Rockies showed thier moxie as they scored three times in the home eigth to take a 4-2 lead.  I would be lieing if I said I had faith the Fightins could come back but this team doesn’t understand how to give up and J-Roll got them started with a one out single off of Huston Street, his third hit off of Street in three at bats in the series!  After Shane VIctorino forced Rollins at second for the second out of the inning one had to wonder if the series was indeed going back to Philly.   Chase Utley worked a truly professional at bat and walked on a 3-2 count to set the stage for Mr. Howard.   The big man did not disapoint and belted a two run double to score both runners and tie the game.  Jayson Werth then hit a clutch single to score Howard with the go ahead.

Scott Eyre started the ninth to get the lefties out and recored two outs but did give up two hits and then Mr. Manuel went to Lidge.  Brad Lidge threw some nasty sliders to Troy Tuliwitzki and as Harry the K would say “struck him out!”.    Series over and on to L.A. for the second tier of the playoffs, don’t count these boys out……… the Fightins are for freakin real!

Chatter

Shane Victorino actually overran the bag when he scored on the double by Howard and had to come back to get it before proceeding to score!  I think he thought it might leave the yard and he was watching the ball instead of the basepath.    After the game Charlie had the best quote of the season…… “Don’t be scared” is what he tells his team when they are in the pressure spots, Charlie is the man! 

Beat L.A. !!!!

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 !

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 ! 

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.

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.

The offense continues to excel for the team as different hitters step up when others are in slow spells.  Jimmy Rollins has gotten into a groove again and Shane Victorino is on pace to collect 200 hits this season, as long as those offensive catalysts continue to set the table this team will score runs.  Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez each have hit over 20 home runs already this season giving the team a real chance at four guys with 30 or more.  Pedro Feliz has had a very consistent season and has made the bottom of the order a tough task to face as well.

Bottom line is the pitching will make or break the team, the starters have been very good during the last month and the bullpen albeit banged up with recurring injuries, Clay Condrey, J.C. Romero and Chad Durbin are all presently on the disabled list has more than held their own thus far inclusive of being TV stars of their own  shown on MLB TV…….. “The Bullpen”.   We can use reinforcements on the pitching staff and Roy Halladay would be a sweet addition to say the least.   I think that Pedro Martinez will be a surprise as well and be more help than some may think, perhaps even out of the Pen!

Chatter

Pennants are won or lost in the last months of the season and as August and September rapidly approach we will see what this year’s version is made of, personally I would like to see a closer race for the N.L. East as I think that teams that win big have tougher times ramping up in the playoffs, witness last season and the Chicago Cubs for example.   As we go thru this week and a trade is either realized or not for another pitcher the end goal is the same, another “freakin title”!   I am a bit concerned that our second baseman may have tweaked that hip injury, our announcers noticed some doubtful movements this past weekend during his play…….. hope not but the man is tough as nails so he will play thru it one way or another it would seem.

Yes indeed Phillie Phans all those things are true which we know reflects the success of the season thus far and hope, I say hope, leads to future success this season……. but …………  I personally do not think it is enough, we need a bit more.

Rumblings are that the Fightin’s are the frontrunners to trade for one Roy “Doc” Halladay from the Toronto Blue Jays.   Those same rumors state that the price is steep which might include a package of one J.A. Happ and additional selections from a mix of  Kyle Drabek, Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald, Michael Taylor, Lou Marson, Jason Knapp, etc.    I say so be it, go get him Mr. Amaro for the following reasons.

1.  Pitching wins in the playoffs, period.  It would appear that the San Francisco Giants could be a first round opponent in the abbreviated five game series, they throw at you LInceum, Cain and Johnson.  Would you not be more comfortable matching that with Halladay, Hamels and Moyer/Blanton/Martinez or the rookie Happ in one of the top 2 spots?  Pretty easy answer in my opinion.

2.   We are fans of the Phillies, we have won 2……count ‘em 2 world series in our entire over 100 year history!  We are fans of the losingest franchise in professional sports, we have a nucleaus of a team right now that is in the prime or close to it of their collective careers……… long story short our future is now !   Times past have proven that when the Phillies plan for the future we don’t get it right!  Lets win now folks while we have a realistic chance, I would much rather bank another series title in 2009 than worry about planning for “potential” titles in the future!

3.   The quality of Mr. Halladay when compared to young Mr. Happ and others is not even close at this point, he is proven, he goes long into games, he wins.   Yes, Mr. Happ has won consistently this season and I do believe will continue to win big league games but he is not of the same ilk as Mr. Halladay.

4.   Mr. Halladay is a bulldog in approach, comparable to the approach that Chase Utley has shown us.  He wants to win, he is very attentive to detail of preparing for his opposition,  he is upper echelon talent…..perhaps the best in the game, he delivers.   If you can get him and put him on a team with folks akin to this approach I think that you cannott help but win!

Go get him Mr. Amaro, don’t get complacent in the thinking, remember it is only July and there will be a lull somewhere in the season.  The key is to have a team that can survive the marathon of the summer season and be enabled to win the mini battles of playoff series in the fall…….. Mr. Halladay positions this very good team to do that.  It is a no brainer.

Chatter

Pedro Martinez threw a good bullpen session in Miami when the team was there for the Marlins series, he will make his first rehab start for Clearwater and then either move up to Reading or Lehigh to pitch another game, if  all goes well he would be in a position to pitch against the Giants at month end.  Rodrigo Lopez will have a couple of starts during that period, he has pitched very well tonight against the Cubs so he could make it interesting as to where Pedro fits in.   Time will tell.

Mets Series

The Mets are banged up, have been for awhile so it is to thier credit that they have stayed in the race.  In this series we saw Joe Blanton outduel the game’s best pitcher Johan Santana for a 2-0 win, the return of Brad Lidge to saving form and Jimmy Rollins starting to hit like J-Roll!   All good things which the optimist in me says is great but the pessimist in me says what comes next, a downward slope of the roller coaster!   Here is hoping that we are on the incline for awhile.

All Stars

Chase Utley and Raul Ibanez got voted into the All Star game as starters and Ryan Howard has been named by skipper Charlie Manuel as a reserve.  Shane Victorino is up for vote as the fan’s choice as reserve, knowing the Philly faithful I think Shane is headed to St. Lous also!

Starting Pitching

Rodrigo Lopez made his Phillies debut as he was recalled from Triple A to replace an ailing Antonio Bastardo in the rotation.  Lopez at one time was a coveted trade prospect of the Fightins when he was a member of the Orioles, I remember rumblings that Pat Burrell was dangled in exchange for Lopez a few years ago.  Lopez beat the Mets in his debut and showed a Greg Maddux like pitching savvy,  he will apparently be given every chance to prove he belongs.

Rumors

Carlos Carrasco, Kyle Kendrick, Drew Carpenter and Sergio Escalona are all names that the Phillies consider to be either big league ready or close to it.  Add folks like Kyle Drabek, Joe Savery and others and the Fightin’s have some surplus to offer up in trade, rumors are they are still looking for a big name starter and have interest in Roy Oswalt and Erik Bedard still………. as the July 31 deadline gets closer we will see what shakes loose.

Chatter

Sorry for the infrequent posts, my day job got in the way a bit!  I am on vacation now traveling the east coast of the U.S. , presently in the Outer Banks.   Still keeping up with my Fightin Phillies though and will post comments when I have them…….. Scott Eyre is back from the D.L. and perhaps Clay Condrey is soon to follow.   Looks like Chris Coste has been designated solely a pinch hitter by Charlie lately as Paul Bako has logged all the backup catcher innings, with Carlos Ruiz mired in another slump Bako has caught very often in the latest stretch of games.

The Phillies squandered a very effective pitching performance by Joe Blanton in the Tampa series as he struck out 10 Rays in seven innings on Wednesday night.  The Phillies could not solve Matt Garza of the Rays however and the bullpen got tagged for five runs in the eighth inning to make the game a blowout.   In Thursday’s game  the Fightins spotted rookie Antonio Bastardo with a four run first inning lead but the young lefty could not hold it and ended up departing after only 3 and 2/3 innings after giving up six runs.  He actually left with a shoulder strain as well and will miss at least his next start, another injured warrior to add perhaps to the D.L. list. 

On Friday night the Fightins invaded Canada to take on the Jays in hopes that a letter change in the first character of the opposition’s name would make a difference!  Cole Hamels toed the rubber for the Phillies but did not pitch very effectively,  Hamels was bounced after four and 2/3rds giving up four runs enroute to a 6-1 loss.  Hamels was also tossed by the home plate umpire as he argued called balls and strikes on his way to the dugout, he became the first Phillie player to earn ejection this season.   

After the game the skipper held a 20 minute closed door team meeting and refused to speak to the press afterwards, seems Ol’ Charlie had finally reached the break point.  No one likes to get reamed but doing it in private and not in front of those outside the team is indeed the proper way, I watched an amatuer coach at a local game  try to motivate his team in front of all in attendance on Friday night and indeed it was amatuerish in how it came off and in it’s effect………Charlie Manuel is a very good manager and knows how to get to his players, I am sure that his words were not pointed at individual failure but more at getting the collective heads out of the collective tails and playing smart and good baseball, that is how this team has succeeded the past two years.   Recent struggles have been due to poor defense, bad baserunning, swinging at pitcher’s pitches and our pitchers not making said type pitches!  Those things are correctable if heads are screwed on straight and the team has talent.  This team has talent and will move forward, I still don’t believe anyone in the division is good enough to beat them, in fact even with all the recent struggles they were still in first place by 1/2 game !

Saturday perhaps was the game that shed some light at the end of the tunnell.  Jayson Werth had a huge offensive game going four for four with two home runs.  J.A. Happ threw a complete game shutout as the Fightins rebounded to win 10-0 over the Jays in the afternoon contest.  Ryan Howard had three hits also and a couple were bloops in front of outfielders which may be a gift from the baseball gods for all the “hits” he outs on by hitting hard shots into the right side shift that most teams put on him!  In any regards when the Fightins wake up on Sunday Morning they will still be in first and perhaps the meeting has restored the proper approach, we will see.

Chatter

Jimmy Rollins has sat out three consecutive games and in fact late inning defensive moves saw third sacker Pedro Feliz play shortstop for the last two innings on Saturday.  Skipper Manual is hell bent to rest Rollins until he gets that swagger back and becomes the J-Roll we have come to love.  It will happen but it may not take place till the Atlanta series as the skipper has indicated he may sit J-Roll again tommorrow.     Outfielder Raul Ibanez is eligible to come off the D.L. this coming week as is lefty reliever Scott Eyre.  Both would be welcomed additions back to the roster albeit John Mayberry Jr. has done a nice job filling in for Raul when he has played.  Mayberry is a very athletic player who is much better defensively than one might expect in the outfield.   He could be used as a trade chip perhaps as the July 31st trade deadline looms.   The Phillies have two young very gifted outfielders in the minors behind Mayberry in Dominick Browne and Michael Taylor.   Rumblings are that Browne is considered untouchable but Taylor or Mayberry could be had for the right return. 

if Bastardo has to be disabled the call to the minors this time may go to 21 year old top prospect Carlos Carrasco.  Carrasco started the season struggling but has won four of his last five decisions and appears to be back on track.  Andrew Carpenter is also apparently throwing the ball very well and could be the choice………… fans like me are salivating over when we get to see Kyle Drabek in the red pinstripes as word is he is the next real deal, a right handed stud offset to our young ace Cole Hamels.  Drabek has been clocked in the 95 to 97 range and couples it with a nasty change and curve ball apparently of the 12 to 6 variety.  He is tearing up double A ball so hopes are he is not far away!

Apparently not many teams willing to talk trade just yet but that will change as the deadline gets nearer.  The Cardinals are rumored to be in hot pursuit of Matt Holliday again which would give them bat protection for Mr. Albert P.     The Indians are apparently unwilling to trade starter Cliff Lee but this is the same franchise that traded C.C. Sabbathia last season and most feel a good package of prospects will wedge Mr. Lee loose, the Phillies are one of the teams that are deep in minor league talent and some sort of combination offer of the likes of Jason Donald, Michael Taylor, J.A. Happ, John Mayberry, Andrew Carpenter, Sergio Escalona, etc.  may indeed get it done.  Time will indeed tell.