Saturday, September 02, 2006
PHILLIES NEWS
Before we talk about what happened today, let me just clear up something I said yesterday. I mentioned that Phils were rained out yesterday and that it had not been determined yet when it would be made up. Well it's been determined now. The Phils played a doubleheader today, because of previous game that had to be made up and tomorrow they are going to play another doubleheader to make up yesterday's game. Anyway back to today and doubleheader number 1. It took a while but the Phils and Braves got the 1st game of the doubleheader underway after a rain delay. Now, sometimes sitting around in a rain delay before you even start a game can throw you off your game, but through 8 innings in game 1 it didn't seem to effect the Phils at all. Jon Lieber tossed 8 solid innings allowing just 2 runs on 8 hits, and Chase Utley homered twice knocking in 3 runs, as the Phils led 3-2 heading into the top of the 9th. Unfortunately, for the 2nd game in a row the Phils bullpen couldn't close it out as Arthur Rhodes served up a 2 run homer to Adam Laroche which wounded up winning it for the braves 4-3. Obviously that was not the way the Phils wanted to start today, but perhaps it motivated them to do better in the night cap, because they did in a big way. Despite losing starter Scott Mathieson to a sprained elbow just 6 pitches into the game, the night belong to the Phils. Eude Brito, replaced Mathieson admirably for the first 4 innings, allowing just 2 runs on 4 hits, and the Phils offense pounded the Braves for 20 hits and 16 runs, as the Phils took the 2nd game of the doubleheader easily 16-4. Obviously with 16 runs to work with there was no way that even the bullpen could screw this one up. Anyway just to summarize, that's 1 up and 1 down for the Phils on the day and at the moment that leaves them .5 games behind the Padres in the Wild Card race. Well, happy trails everyone.
EAGLES NEWS
There are a couple things to mention today. First, center Hank Fraley was traded to the Cleveland Browns and fullback Josh Parry was traded to the Seattle Seahawks. The Eagles then recieved undisclosed draft picks from both Seatle and Cleveland. Obviously with Fraley and Parry gone, this means that without a doubt Thomas Tapeh will start at fullback for the Eagles and Jamal Jackson will start at center. Now when we talked last there were a few questions we left unanswered. Well, I am going to answer them now. First we asked would the Eagles keep 10 defensive lineman or 9. Well, today as they were making their final cuts the Eagles decided to keep 10 defensive lineman, which brings us to our last question. Would the Eagles keep 6 wide recievers and if so who would be number 6, Jabar Gaffney or Darnerien Mccants. Well, since they decided to keep 10 d-lineman, there wasn't room for 6 receivers so both Gaffney and Mccants were cut. Other notable cuts among the 17 made today were safety J.R Reed, and linbacker Dedrick Roper, whom I mentioned was the Eagles top performer last night.
Friday, September 01, 2006
EAGLES NEWS
The Eagles played their last preseason game tonight, and that only means one thing, nothing but reserves all night and lots guys fighting for the remaining spots on the Eagles roster. Not that it matters but the Eagles lost to the Jets 20-17. Anyway, lets get to what does. So who played well on the night and locked up a roster spot and who didn't. First of all we'll talk about the offense. If he hadn't already A.J Feeley locked up his spot as the Eagles 3rd QB completing 9-12 passes for 131 yards. WRs Darnerien Mccants (4 catches, 69 yds), Jabar Gaffney(3 catches, 28 yds) and Jason Avant(3 catches 55 yds) all looked impressive. Avant really already had a roster spot locked up, so it's between Gaffney and Mccants for the last WR spot, and at this point it's unclear as to which one is going to get the boot. Now We'll talk about the defense a little. Safety J.R Reed did well returning kickoffs all night long, and should be able to make the team. The Eagles top performer on the night was Linebacker Dedrick Roper, who with 3 tackles, a sack, and QB hurry, should have cemented his spot as the Eagles last Linebacker. The only other question on defense is whether the Eagles will keep 9 or 10 Defensive Lineman, and right now no one seems to know which one it will be. Well, that's all for tonight, tune in next time for the start of the regular season.
PHILLIES NEWS
Tonight's game with the Braves was postponed due to the imminent threat of Ernesto, and so far there is no word on when and if it will be made up. In other news the Phillies acquired 1st baseman Randall Simon from the Rangers for cash. Simon, hasn't appeared in a major league game since September of 2004, but so far this year he has been hitting consistently during stints in both the Mexican league and the Rangers AAA affiliate. Obviously, the Phillies hope that Randall can continue that and add more hitting to their blench and he probably can, but only during the remainder of the regular season, as he is not eligible to be a part of the Phils playoff roster, should they get to the playoffs.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
PHILLIES NEWS
Tonight's game was truly one for the record books, and unfortunately for the Phils it was also one to forget. The Phils trailed 2-0 early but, behind good pitching, and a double by Pat Burrell, a triple by David Dellucci, and a homer by Ryan Howard(yes that's right number 49 baby, the record breaker, and unfortunately by the end of night it was forgotten), they scored 4 unanswered runs and took a 4-2 lead. Speaking of the good pitching, it included 5 solid innings from Randy Wolf, who allowed just those 2 runs on 5 hits, and 2 innings from reliever Ryan Madson, who thanks to some nifty defense, kept the Nats scoreless in the 6th and 7th innings. Geoff Geary kept the good times rolling, with a scoreless 8th but sadly Arthur Rhodes wasn't so lucky. Attempting to protect the Phils 4-2 lead in the bottom of the 9th, he was roughed up for 2 runs on 3 hits, and allowed the Nats to push the game into extra innings with the score at 4-4. The Phils did take a 5-4 lead in the top of the 10th, as Abraham Nunez scored on a passed ball, but like Rhodes, Aaron Fultz wasn't too lucky either. He came in to close it out for the Phils in the bottom of the 10th and did anything but. I won't burden you with all of the forgettable details. I'll just say that when Fultz' day was done, the Nats had not only tied the game, but they had come all the way back to win 6-5 and obviously since the Nats were the home team, that was all she wrote. Not to throw dirt on an open wound, but as for the Wild Card situation, the Phils are now 1 game behind the Padres, who were idle today. It pains me to say this, but it's true that if the Phils had won today they would have moved into a tie for the lead in the Wild Card along with Padres. I know, this was all a bit disheartening, but it's just a part of the healing process, you have to go through after every Phillies loss, or not. Well, happy trails everyone.
EAGLES NEWS
If you read the blog yesterday, then you should have known that what I am about to say was coming. Today the Eagles and punter Dirk Johnson agreed to a 6 year contract extension. Obviously they are going to need him to be David Akers' holder for a while so this is smart move on their part.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phillies just kept on rolling against the Nationals today. No they didn't crush them for 10+ runs again, but they were cooly efficient in defeating them 5-1. In his last start Cole Hamels was at his worst, allowing 6 runs ,yes 6 runs and failing to retire a batter in the 2nd inning. Today however, he was at his best tossing 8 solid innings and allowing just 1 run on 4 hits. Obviously the Nats offense was stifled for most of the night, so the Phils offense didn't have to do too much to get the win, but what they did do was more than enough. When your pitcher gives you a start like this, all your offense really needs to do is spread a few runs around here and there, and that is exactly what the Phils offense did. They got off to a good start with 3 runs in the 3rd inning on an RBI single by Chase Utley and a 2 RBI double by Ryan Howard( no he didn't hit number 49 yet). Abraham Nunez followed with an RBI single in the 6th inning and David Dellucci put the nail in the Nats coffin with a pinch RBI single in the top of the 9th inning. Now you are probably saying, that's great, good win for the Phils, but what is going on with the wild card, well as promised I will tell you. The Reds lost last night but the Padres won, meaning the Phils came into today's game trailing the Padres by .5 games. Today as you know the Phils won, and well so did the Padres, so the Phils remain .5 games back in the wild card race, but hey they're getting closer. Well, happy trails everyone.
EAGLES NEWS
The Eagles had a busy day today. First they released Wide Reciever Todd Pinkston and 3rd string QB Koy Detmer. Then following their release they filled their newly vacant roster spot at QB by signing A.J Feeley, yes that A.J Feeley the QB they drafted in the 5th round of the 2001 draft. Pinkston had pretty much worn out his welcome in Philly, so its no surprise that Eagles released him. I mean just yesterday the Eagles reported that they had given Pinkston permission to go into free agency so I guess they kept their word. As for Detmer, his release should not come as much of surprise either. The only reason Detmer has been with the Eagles for so long is because he was David Akers personal holder on field goals. However, throughout the preseason it has become increasingly evident that punter Dirk Johnson can adequately fill that role, thus Detmer became expendable. Besides, he hadn't really been looking too sharp during the preseason anyway so it's probably for the best that the Eagles cut him loose and brought back Feeley.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
PHILLIES NEWS
I am reporting this a little earlier than usual as the game just ended a few minutes ago, so I will not go in to much detail. Tonight the Phillies began a long run of games against teams with losing records with a night cap against the Washington Nationals. This is a very important stretch for the Phils, because obviously if you are the Phillies you have to go out get wins against teams with losing records throughout the remainder of the season. As for the game, let's just say mission accomplished. Brett Myers pitched 6 solid innings, giving up just 3 runs on 8 hits, and recording 7 strikeouts. Although the Nats managed to score 3 more runs after Myers left game he still received the win on the night, as the Phils offense crushed the Nationals for 10 runs on 15 hits, including a solo homer by Mike Lieberthal and 3 run homer by Ryan Howard(yes that's right number 48 to tie Mike Schmidt's team record for a single season) . Now, if you read the box score you would see that the phils bullpen had a little trouble closing it out, but the Phils hung on and got the win anyway 10-6. As for their current place in the wild card I couldn't really tell you at this moment. As I write this the Padres lead the Diamondbacks 2-1 in the 5th inning, and the Reds trail the Dodgers 3-1 in 3rd inning. Now if both lose the Phils can move into the lead in the wild card, so tune into tomorrow to see what happened with the 2, because I will update the wild card situation then. Well, happy trails everyone.
Monday, August 28, 2006
PHILLIES NEWS
Bad news Phils fans. Well let's just say to those of you who probably didn't watch the game today because it started so early, be glad you didn't. In his 1st start with the Phillies Jamie Moyer had electric stuff and went 6 solid innings for his 1st phils win. Today, he didn't quite do so well. Yes he still managed 6 innings, as before, but in those 6 innings he was roughed up for 7 runs on 9 hits, including 6 alone in the 3rd inning, and that was pretty much all she wrote for the Phils. I mean, the game started and faster than you could blink it was 6-0 Mets through 3 innings. The Phillies themselves managed only 3 runs, on a 2 run homer by Pat Burrell and a solo shot by Ryan Howard(that's 47 now), and took the loss 8-3. Funny thing is, if not for some bad luck things might have been closer, as 3 Mets hits flukishly rolled through the infield during their 6 run 3rd inning, and a 4th( an RBI double by Paul Lo Duca), somehow stayed fair, despite being initially ruled foul. Basically, the Phils just had some bad luck tonight and it cost them the game. Fortunately, the Phils remain just 1.5 games back in the wildcard despite the loss. Well, happy trails everyone.
EAGLES NEWS
Big news today Eagles fans. Today the Eagles acquired wide reciever Donte Stallworth from the New Orleans Saints for Mark Simoneau and a conditional 4th round draft pick. They had been looking to get a big name receiver, for most the off-season, and now in Stallworth they finally got their guy. Last season Stallworth had a career year with 70 receptions for 945 yards and 7 touchdowns, not extraordinary numbers, but pretty damn good. With the way the Eagles recieving corps was shaping out for the coming season, Stallworth is a welcome addition to to the team. He might not put up T.O numbers, but he will produce enough to keep the Eagles offense flying in high gear.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
PHILLIES NEWS
Today's game with the Mets was rained out, but it will be made up tomorrow at 12:10 in the afternoon, which means you probably won't be able to watch, but you can read about it here. Anyway, despite the rain out the Phils still made some news on the day. First they acquired veteran outfielder Jeff Conine from the Orioles for cash and a player to be named later. The hope here is that Conine can bolster the Phillies bench a little better than Jose Hernandez has so far ( if you watched the game yesterday you know what I mean). The only other news for phils today, is that Reds once again lost to the Giants today, so the Phils are now within 1 game of the wildcard, and can close to within .5 games with a win tomorrow, a Reds loss, and a Padres win. They can also gain a share of the wild card lead, with a win , a Reds loss , and a Padres loss (the Padres are currently 2nd in the wild card standings, .5 games ahead of the Phils, and .5 games behind the Reds). Well that's all I have for today, so happy trails everyone.
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