Saturday, August 19, 2006
PHILLIES NEWS
Over the last few weeks it has become increasingly evident, what the key to Phillies season is right now, Pitching. Ever since they got on this second half hot streak, it is their pitching that has determined their fate night after night. Whenever they get good pitching, whether it be from a starter, or from their bullpen, they win, and whenever they don't get good pitching, they lose. Now, in their last 2 games they suffered through bad starts by Scott Mathieson, and Brett Myers, and obviously lost badly in both games. Today, however Cole Hamels cooked up a good one going 6 innings, and giving up just 2 runs on 5 hits. Needless to say the Phils won easily, pounding out 13 hits and 11 runs, including 8 runs alone in the 2nd inning, en route to an 11 -2 victory over the Nationals. Jimmy Rollins went 3 for 5 on the night with an RBI double, Shane Victorino also went 3 for 5 with a double and 3 RBIs, Ryan Howard hit a 3 run homer (that's 43 now), and heck even Hamels had a hit and 2 RBIs. As you can see it was truly a team effort, with 5 guys combining to knock in the 11 runs (Chase Utley was the 5th), and 3 pitchers combining to hold the Nationals to 2 runs (the other 2 were relievers Geoff Geary and Fabio Castro, who pitched 3 scoreless innings to finish the game). Simply put, it was a good win for the Phils, and you can only hope that they can continue playing the way they did today. Of course, in order to do that they will need to get more good pitching, and with Jon Lieber who pitched a shutout in his last start, on the mound tomorrow they could very well get it. In other pitching related news, the Phillies made a huge deal with the Mariners (Gm Pat Gillick's old team) today. If you look at the Phillies rotation, you immediately notice that with exceedingly raw rookie Scott Mathieson 5th in the rotation, they only have 4 reliable starters. In fact if you look at the Phillies roster they only thing missing is a 5th starter. I mean, the Bullpen has the NL's 3rd best ERA, and the offense is near the top of the NL in runs scored. Really, the Only thing lacking on the team up to this point is consistent starting pitching. With today's deal they might just have that now and then some. They sent single A minor league pitchers, Andrew Baldwin and Andrew Barb to the Mariners for veteran left-handed starter Jamie Moyer. On the year Moyer is only 6-12, but his ERA is a respectable 4.39 and so far this season he has recieved less run support than any other pitcher in the American League. Now obviously run support is something the Phils can give him, thus he should be able to help the Phils win some games. Also he brings a lot of experience and he's been in the playoffs before, so he knows what it takes to get there. Basically ,with Moyer aboard the Phillies now have that 5th starter they've been lacking and are serious playoff contenders. Oh and about the playoffs, the Reds won today so the Phils remain 2.5 games back of the Wild Card. Well, happy trails everyone.
Friday, August 18, 2006
PHILLIES NEWS
Generally, when your are in a pennant race, and you are playing the team that is in last place in your division, you are supposed to just take care of business, but tonight the Phils did anything but against the last-place Nationals. Budding ace, Brett Myers, like Scott Mathieson yesterday, just got off to a terrible start on the night. In fact, you could almost say he never got started at all, as he lasted just 3 and 1/3rd innings and allowed 6 runs on 9 hits. Needless to say not his best stuff, which begs the question is there something wrong with Brett Myers? I mean he was seemingly cruising along, racking up strikeouts and pitching deep into games night after night, but now out of the blue he's been hit around unmercifully in his last 2 starts. Maybe he's injured or maybe he's just tired, but whatever is going on with him ,the Phils better figure it out fast, because they are not going to make the playoffs with Myers getting roughed up every night. Anyway, getting back to the game, with Myers off his game, the Phillies found themselves in 6-0 hole after only 4 innings. Though they battled valiantly, it proved to be to big a hole to dig out of. Largely due in part to the hot night by new phillies record holder, Mike Lieberthal (tonight gave him a record -tying 1,124 games caught in his Phillies career), the phils were able to battle back late, and if nothing else make things interesting. They scored 3 runs in the 6th inning, on doubles by Pat Burrell, and the aforementioned Lieberthal, then tacked on a 4th run on a solo homer by Lieberthal. In all on his record tying night Lieberthal went 3 for 4, with a single, double, homer, and 3 RBIs, not bad for an old guy. Ultimately though, Lieberthal's heroics, would not be enough as the Phils lost to the Nationals 6-4. However, by the shear grace of God, the Reds also lost tonight, so the Phillies remain 2.5 games back of the wild card. Well, happy trails everyone.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
PHILLIES NEWS
Winning 3 games in a row against the same team is hard enough, but trying to make it 4 in a row, as the Phillies were today against the Mets is harder still, so it's no surprise that the Phillies lost today 7-2. Why did the Phillies lose today you ask? simple the Mets supposed super offense finally woke up today and the Phils offense which had been out of this world, came back down to earth. While Scott Mathieson was unable to continue the Phillies excellent pitching ,as he was roughed up for 6 runs on 8 hits, the Phils offense ran into a buzzsaw in Mets pitcher John Maine, who held them to 2 runs on 8 hits. Through the 1st 3 innings it was 4-0 Mets, and you just knew it was going to be a long day for the Phils. Even when Ryan Howard (that's 42 now) hit a 2 run homer in the 4th inning, there was still no real feeling that the Phils had a comeback in them. I mean when you've been playing ahead 3 straight days, it's kinda of hard to suddenly be playing from behind all day and so it was for the Phillies today. Following Howard's homer it was all Mets for the rest of the night. They scored 2 runs off Mathieson in the 5th inning to end his night, and eventually tacked on another run off reliever Aaron Fultz in the 7th inning to effectively end the Phillies hopes. Yeah so the Phillies had a bad day, but did you really expect them to get a 4 game sweep of the Mets. I mean as great as that would have been, I really wasn't expecting it and you shouldn't have either. Anyway there's no need to worry because the Reds lost too so the Phils are still just 2.5 games back. Well, happy trails everyone, and keep those heads held high, the season is not over yet baby!
EAGLES NEWS
Final score Ravens 20 Eagles 10, bad night right, well I am not so sure about that. I know I have already said this, but you have to remember, the outcome is not important during the preseason, so we'll talk about what is. Tonight the Eagles 1st stringers played for the entire 1st half and once again they looked sharp, staking the Eagles to a 10 -3 lead at the half. Donovan Mcnabb had another solid night going 6-10 for 97 yards and touchdown. Although he only rushed for 8 yards on 5 carries in his first night back in 3 years, Correll Buckhalter made a lasting impression, when he took a shovel pass, and rambled 48 yards to the 1 yard line, setting Mcnabb's touchdown pass to Reno Mahe. They struggled a little against the run, but the Eagles 1st string defense still looked pretty solid, as they kept Steve Mcnair and the Ravens 1st string offense out of the endzone in the 1st half. As for the Eagles backups, there is not much to say. They made a plethora of mistakes, as they have all pre-season long and nobody really stood out as a performer. Omar Gaither had another good night with a couple key tackles, and WR Jabar Gaffney looked pretty good catching passes from both Koy Detmer and Timmy Chang, but other than that there is really nothing to talk about. However, on the whole there were more positives than negatives for the Eagles on the night, so there is plenty for the Eagles to be happy about and not to much to be worried about just yet.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
PHILLIES NEWS
Well the Phillies just kept on rolling today with their 3rd straight win over the Mets. However, the Mets were actually able to make a game out of it this time as they only lost by a final score 0f 3-0. The keys to victory on the night for the Phillies, were the same as they have been the last 2 nights, good pitching, timely hitting, and solid defense. First let's talk about the good pitching, or should I say pitcher, as in Jon Lieber who pitched a complete game shutout of the Mets on just 5 hits. This is the pitching the Phillies have been waiting to get from Lieber, and now he is finally delivering it at just the right time. If he and the rest of the Phillies staff can continue pitching like this there's a pretty good chance we could be talking baseball in October. Anyway, enough about the pitching, time to talk hitting. While the Phils offense wasn't as good tonight as it has been that last couple nights, it was more than adequate. I mean they scored 3 runs off Tom Glavine, so you could make the argument that doing that is just as good as scoring 11 runs off El Duque. Anyway the big contributors on the night, were Chris Coste who hit a 2 run homer in the 2nd inning, and Abraham Nunez, who helped the Phillies tack on an extra run in the 6th inning with a sac fly. Well, that's about all there is to say about the offense, so lets finish up with some talk about the defense. Now, when Jon Lieber is pitching well he is a ground ball pitcher, so it is important for the Phillies to back him up with good defense every time he is on the mound. Needless to say that is what the Phillies did tonight, so I really have nothing else to talk about. Anyway, for those of you wondering about the wild card standings, the Reds won tonight, so the Phillies are still 2.5 games back. Well happy trails everyone.
EAGLES NEWS
There is nothing new to report, but I would like to mention that the Lehigh unversity portion of Eagles training camp is over, and from now until the beggining of the season they will be back in Philly at their practice facility, so start getting ready for some football, in about a month. Also the Eagles play their 3rd of 5 preseason games tomorrow, so come back tomorrow to read about that.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
PHILLIES NEWS
Well, apparently I was wrong the Phillies can play at their very best for 2 nights in a row. I mean it's just been incredible how good the Phillies have been so far during this series against the Mets . I don't know if the Phillies are that good right now or if the Mets are just that bad right now. Either the way the Phillies are winning right now and I am happy. For the 2nd night in a row the Phillies offense pounded the Mets into submission, this time with 11 runs and 13 hits, including a homer ,triple, and 3 RBIs by Shane Victorino, and a homer and 3 RBIs by David Dellucci. Heck, even the pitcher Randy Wolf had an RBI double. Incredibly all 11 of the Phillies runs on the night came off Mets starter Orlando Hernandez, a career high for him. Conversely as Hernandez was giving up runs and hits, Randy Wolf was holding the Mets at bay just as Cole Hamels had done yesteday. All told Wolf pitched 7 solid innings giving up just 2 runs on 4 hits, and earning his 1st win since July of last year. Now that little factoid may not mean much to you, but it's a huge thing for Wolf, and hopefully it will give him the confidence to keep winning games for the rest of the season. Anyway, not to beat a dead horse, but the Phils did win again tonight by the final score of 11-4, and oddly all 4 Mets runs came on homers by Jose Reyes. Well, I would love to talk more, but blowouts like these don't give you much to talk about, so that's about all I have for tonight. Just a quick note before I go, the Reds lossed to the Cardinals tonight so the Phillies are now back to within 2.5 games of the wild card. Well, happy trails everyone.
Monday, August 14, 2006
PHILLIES NEWS
Baseball Games don't get more one sided then tonight's was. Usually when you play a team that is 14 games ahead of you in the standings you don't beat them so easily, especially when their ace is on the mound as Pedro Martinez was for the Mets tonight. However, the Phils were not intimidated by Pedro at all and touched him up for 6 runs on 4 hits in just 1 inning, yes that's right 1 inning of work. Never before has Pedro been as ineffective as he was tonight. However following the 1st inning it became clear why he was so ineffective, as he left the game with a strained right calf. Darren Oliver came on in the 2nd inning to replace Pedro and he didn't do much better, allowing 7 runs on 8 hits in 3 and 2/3rd innings. In all the Phillies scored 13 runs on 12 hits in just the 1st 4 innings of the night, including homeruns by Shane Victorino, Jimmy Rollins who hit his record 18th homer(no other Phillies shortstop has ever hit more homers in a season), and David Dellucci. Oddly enough the Phillies would not even get another hit for the rest of the night. Of course, the Mets didn't get another hit either, as Cole Hamels and Fabio Castro combined to shut them out on 4 hits. Hamels alone pitched 8 scoreless innings, allowing just those 4 hits and recording 9 strikeouts. I mean I don't know if the Phillies can play any better than they did tonight and that actually could be a problem for the Phillies tomorrow. When you have already play as good you can, you can only play worse the next day. hopefully for the Phillies that will mean scoring 9 runs tomorrow instead of 13 and winning 9-3 instead of 13-0. At any rate I am going to try to not think about tomorrow just yet, so I can savor this sweet victory as long as possible. Oh and by the way the Phils are now within 3.5 games of the wild card leading Reds so don't count them out just yet. Well, happy trails everyone.
Sunday, August 13, 2006
WEEKLY POLL QUESTION
What do you think of the Phillies chances after today?
a. they will still win the wild card
b. they are finished
c. not sure
last week's results:
50% b. some but not all
50% c. not at all
0% a. all of them always
a. they will still win the wild card
b. they are finished
c. not sure
last week's results:
50% b. some but not all
50% c. not at all
0% a. all of them always
PHILLIES NEWS
Today's game was a tough pill to swallow both for the fans and the players hungry for a playoff berth. Yes, that's right the Phillies lost again, this time 7-5, in front of another raucous Citizens Bank Park crowd hoping for a win. I don't want to have to give all the sickening details, but I have nothing else to talk about tonight, so here goes nothing. The Phils started off on the wrong foot, falling behind early 2-0 and never really got back on the right track. Phils starter Brett Myers had a rare tough outing, allowing 5 runs on 7 hits in 5 and 2/3rd innings of work, including back to back to back homeruns by Edwin Encarnacion, Adam Dunn, and Rich Aurilia in the 6th inning. Following the homers, Myers was pulled from the game, forcing the Phillies tired bullpen to embark on another long night, and this time behind 5-1. Still despite being behind by 4 through 6 innings, as they had the last 2 nights the Phils were able to mount a rally. Ryan Howard hit a 2 run homer in the bottom of the inning to cut the lead to 5-3. Then with 2 outs in the bottom of the ninth following a pinch RBI single by Chris Coste, Howard singled to plate Jimmy Rollins with the tying run and put runners on 1st and 3rd for Pat Burrell. If Burrell had been able to get a hit the Phils would have won dramatically 6-5, but instead he struck out to end the inning and send the game into extras. There, after squandering another opportunity when Mike Lieberthal hit a 1 out double, but was subsequently doubled off after straying to far off the base on a line drive, the Phils bullpen let it get away. Ryan Madson came in to pitch in the top of the 11th inning and was roughed up for 2 runs on 3 hits, putting the Reds up by the eventual final score 0f 7-5. The Phillies did actually mount another rally in the bottom of the inning, but it felt short when Chase Utley grounded out to end the game, stranding Howard in the on deck circle just before he could get another chance to extend the game with a hit. Once again sorry to remind you of all those horrible things but I had to. Anyway the Phils are now 4 games behind the Reds in the Wild Card race, but that is still well within striking distance for the Phils ,so I wouldn't count them out just yet. Well, happy trails everyone.
WEEKLY TRIVIA QUESTION
On Saturday night Jimmy Rollins homered from both sides of the plate, Only 2 other Phillies players have ever homered from both sides of plate in the same game who are they?
last weeks answer:
Luis Castillo - 35
Ty Cobb - 35
Fred Clarke - 35
Jimmy Rollins - 36(38 over 2 seasons)
Tommy Holmes - 37
Paul Molitor - 39
Ty Cobb - 40
George Sisler - 41
Bill Dahlen - 42
Pete Rose - 44
Willie Keeler - 44
Joe Dimaggio - 56
last weeks answer:
Luis Castillo - 35
Ty Cobb - 35
Fred Clarke - 35
Jimmy Rollins - 36(38 over 2 seasons)
Tommy Holmes - 37
Paul Molitor - 39
Ty Cobb - 40
George Sisler - 41
Bill Dahlen - 42
Pete Rose - 44
Willie Keeler - 44
Joe Dimaggio - 56
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