The Phils continued their series with the Cardinals this afternoon and what a difference a day makes. After scoring just 1 run last night the Phils racked up 14 runs today on 14 hits, and if not for a couple of spectacular catches by Rick Ankiel they might have had even more. The Cardinals on the other hand racked up 15 hits, but Rodrigo Lopez withstood the barage to hold St. Louis to only 4 runs through 6 innings and pick up yet another win. Still, although the Phils scored 14 runs, in this game it was actually close for a few innings. The Phils got going right off the bat with 3 runs in the first inning on singles by Raul Ibanez and Pedro Feliz. By the bottom of the 6th inning though, the Cardinals were ahead 4-3, but it was at that point that the Phils broke it open with a grand slam by Jimmy Rollins and a solo homer by "the Flyin Hawaiian", Shane Victorino, for an 8-4 lead. Obviously they weren't finished yet and they put it away for good in the bottom of the 7th with another 6 runs on a single by Carlos Ruiz, a double by JRoll, a 2 run single by Victorino and a 2 run double by Ryan Howard for a 14-5 lead. That of course was all she wrote as the rookie Stephen Register(Apparently the Phils weren't happy Andrew Carpenter's performance the last 2 nights, as he was sent back down AAA) closed out the final 2 innings. So score one for the bats on this day and that leaves tomorrow to decide if it is better to have good hitting or good pitching. As for today it was good to see Lopez fight through all those innings and perhaps that maybe the Phils rotation is okay after all, with or without any marquis additions. Perhaps more encouraging is that the Phils have kept Albert Pujols pretty much in check in this series, except for one bloop hit back on Friday, and anytime you can keep him in the ballpark for a couple days it's quite an accomplishment. So anyway the Phils are now 55-40 overall and back to 6.5 games up in the NL East.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
Well all good things come to an end eventually. Tuesday it was the Phils' win streak that came to an end, tonight against the Cardinals and newly acquired outfielder Matt Holliday, it was J.A Happ's win streak that came to an abrupt halt. Happ pitched well as usual ,allowing just 1 run through the first 5 innings, but got unlucky in the 6th inning as St.Louis used 4 bloop hits to bleed out 4 runs and a 5-0 advantage. Most of the damage was done by Holliday with 4 hits, 1 RBI, and 1 run scored. The Phils, meanwhile did very little damage. In fact they didn't even score a run until the bottom of the 7th inning when Jayson Werth singled and scored on a wild pitch to cut the lead at the time to 7-1, after Tyler Walker allowed a couple runs in the top of the inning. Later Andrew Carpenter allowed another run in the 8th inning for an 8-1 lead. The Phils on the other hand never managed to score another run. Thus, it's hard to put this loss on Happ, becuase it's not his fault he got no run support. The Phils had plenty of opportunities to score runs with 8 hits and 10 baserunners, but for first time in a long time they weren't able to take advantage of those opportunities at all. So thus far it's 1 game for the pitching, 0 for the hitting. I woudn't expect the Phils bats to be dormant like this for the rest of the series though so no worries. Anyway so the Phils are now 54-40 overall and down to 5.5 games up in the NL East.
SIXERS NEWS
Well it's official, Andre Miller won't be back with the Sixers next season as he signed a 3 year $21 million deal with Trail Blazers. That leaves the Sixers with 3 options at point guard next season, Lou Williams, the rookie Jrue Holiday, or a free agent signee. Unless Holiday dramatically increases his stock between now and november, he probably won't be the guy. Most likely Lou Williams will start the season at point guard unless the Sixers can sign a free agent.
EAGLES NEWS
Well it's official, Sean Mcdermott has been named the Eagles new defensive coordinator in place of Jim Johnson whom remains on indefinite leave while he battles cancer. An assistant under Johnson since 2001, Mcdermott should be well equiped to take over for Johnson and there is every reason to believe he can the same success as other Johnson disciples, such as revered Giants Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuola. It is just question of whether or not the players will trust him as much as they trusted Johnson.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils played a makeup game with the San Diego Padres tonight, which was originally the 4th game of the team's series back in April. While, that series went mostly the way of San Diego it was a different story tonight. Cole Hamels was solid allowing just 3 runs on 4 hits in 7 innings. Meanwhile, the Phils roughed up Padre's starter Kevin Correia for 8 runs on 9 hits in just 3 and 1/3rd innings. So it really wasn't much of a contest. Jayson Werth got it all started in the bottom of the 2nd with a leadoff double and run scored on a single by Pedro Feliz. Later a double by Jimmy Rollins and a single by Chase Utley produced 2 more runs and a 3-0 lead. In the bottom of the 3rd Werth doubled again and scored on an error for a 4-0 lead. The wheels came loose ever so slightly for Hamels in the top of the 4th as Chase Headley doubled in one run and Kyle Banks slammed a 2 run homer to suddenly cut the lead to 4-3. The Phils came right back in the bottom of the inning though, with an RBI single by Ryan Howard, a 2 run double by Raul Ibanez, and RBI single by Werth for a quick 8-3 lead. Safely ahead again, Hamels really bared down from there and cruised through the 7th inning where Carlos Ruiz added a solo shot in the bottom half for a 9-3 lead. Later in the 8th inning the Padres added a run off the rookie Andrew Carpenter(J.C Romero and Chad Durbin are now on the DL for a couple weeks and hopefully no longer, so Carpenter and Tyler Walker were called up to replace them) to cut it to 9-4 but from there Chan Ho Park came in and put the Padres away. Considering this game wasn't even supposed to be tonight, it was nice to see the Phils take care of business against an inferior team. Albert Pujols and the St.Louis Cardinals are coming to town for a weekend series starting tomorrrow and it should be pretty entertaining to watch as it pits arguably the best lineup in the NL against the one of the top 5 pitching staffs in the NL. So it will be interesting to see what wins the day, good pitching or good hitting. Anyway so the Phils move to 54-39 overall now and back to 6.5 games up in the NL East.
FLYERS NEWS
Apparently the Flyers have signed 5 free agents to technically minor league contracts, with wingers/centerman Lukas Kaspar, Krys Kolanos, Mika Pyorala and Jason Ward, and defenseman Joey Mormina. Apparently Pyrala is a Elite European league vet capable playing at every forward position so he could be pickup. Also the defenseman Mormina is supposed to be very skilled as well and capable of contributing to the Flyers this upcoming season. As for the rest apparently they have all spent some time in the NHL at one point or another but never long enough for anyway significant success. Hopefully they'll just provide some good organizational depth.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils completed their series with the Cubs this afternoon looking to win their 11th in a row. Unfortunately all good things must eventually come to an end and so the Phils finally lost a game today and boy did they lose. I mean everything went wrong today. Jamie Moyer was touched for 5 runs, the bullpen which had tossed 12 consecutive scoreless innings was touched up for 5 runs, the Phils defense, arguably the best in the NL up to this point, committed 2 errors, and out of 16 base runners only 5 managed to cross the plate. Even against the currently gutless Cubs that's good enough to win. Still on the bright side the Phils did at least win the series and with Cole Hamels on the mound tomorrow they can quickly begin a new winning streak. Getting back to today for a bit, Things looked fin for the Phils early on as Moyer matched Zambrano with 3 scoreless innings to open the game. Then like lightning in the top of the 4th, Chicago raced out to a 4-0 lead on a single by Alphonso Soriano, a double by Baker, and an error by Chase Utley. In the top of the 5th Chicago made it 5-0 on a single by Milton Bradley. The Phils made a decent comeback attempt, with 1 run in the bottom of the inning on a fielder's choice, 2 runs in the 6th on a 2 run single by Pedro Feliz to cut it to 5-3. Then Chad Durbin allowed 3 runs in the 7th on a double by Aramis Ramirez and a sac fly by Fox. Still the Phils fought back again with 2 runs in the bottom of the 7th on a 2 run single by Greg Dobbs to cut it to 8-5. All hopes of a Phils rally went out the window though a couple innings later as Brad Lidge allowed 2 runs in the top of the 9th on a single by Reed Johnson and bases loaded walk to Derek Lee to increase the lead to an insurmountable 10-5. I guess when you lose so a little, every loss has to be a bit of a doozy. Anyway so the Phils drop to 53-39 overall and now 5.5 games up in the NL East.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phillies continued their series with Cubs tonight. This time there was no blowout as ex A's teammates Joe Blanton and Rich Harden squared off in a rare pitcher's duel at the Bank. Jimmy Rollins slammed a solo homer in the bottom of the 3rd and Kosuke Fukudome slapped an RBI double in the bottom of the 4th but that was it for 9 innings, as Blanton went 7 innings allowing 1 run on 5 hits and Harden matched him with 7 innings while allowing 1 run on 4 hits. So it came down to a battle of the bullpens and the Phils bullpen was thankfully just a little bit better, thanks to some luck and a sterling performance by Chan Ho Park. In the top of the 9th Brad Lidge got the luck perfectly blocking a ball off the bottom of his foot and right to Jimmy Rollins just as he tagged the bag at second and gunned to first for an inning an ending double play. Park on the other hand simply pitched lights out with scoreless frames in the 10th, 11th, and 12th innings. Of course Park also got a little luck in the 10th inning as Raul Ibanez made an incredible diving catch to end the inning. Anyway in the bottom of the 13th inning Jayson Werth finally ended the marathon, crushing a walkoff 3 run homer for a 4-1 win. All told the Phils bullpen tossed 6 scoreless innings, and I don't think I have ever seen them look better, particularly Park. It was huge for him to go 3 innings like that, because other than him the Phils didn't really have to use up their bullpen and everyone except Park can probably still pitch tomorrow. The Cubs on the other hand literally used up everyone in their bullpen except the closer Kevin Gregg. So if tomorrow's game is close like this one which it could be with Carlos Zambrano and Jamie Moyer on the mound the Cubbies will be screwed. With the win tonight the Phils have now won 10 in a row, which makes them the first defending world champion to post a 10 game winning streak in over 30 years. That doesn't mean they're a lock to repeat, but it does say something about their talent level and commitment. Anyway so the Phils are now 53-38 overall and still 6.5 games up in the NL East.
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers signed 1st round pick Jrue Holiday to a contract today. In 5 games in the Sixers Orlando summer league a little over a week ago Holiday averaged 8.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, and a team high 3 assists. So maybe he will contribute this year after all.
Monday, July 20, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils returned home tonight to begin a series with the Chicago Cubs. The Phils had won 8 in a row coming in and Cubs had 4 in a row, allbeit against the Nationals, so something had to give. That something turned out to be the left arm of Ted Lilly whom the Phils knocked around for 9 runs on 8 hits in just 4 innings. Meanwhile, Rodrigo Lopez turned in another solid outing for the Phils, allowing just 1 run on 5 hits in 6 innings for his 2nd win in 3 starts. As for the how the Phils scored all of those runs, lets run them down shall we? With 2 out in the bottom of the 1st Raul Ibanez slammed a 3 run homer to dead center for a 3-0 lead. In the bottom of the 2nd Carlos Ruiz crushed a 2 run homer for a 5-0 lead. In the bottom of the 4th Ruiz slapped an RBI double, Jimmy Rollins hit a sac fly, Alphonso Soriano blew an easy catch to allow Ruiz to score and finally Chase Utley slapped an RBI single for a 9-0 lead. Last but not least in the bottom of the 8th Ryan Howard destroyed a solo homer to left field for a 10-1 lead. Oh and lest we forget Chad Durbin pitched the last 3 innings in relief, keeping Chicago scoreless in all 3. So it was total team effort for the Phils tonight, but really Chicago beat themselves in this one and here's hoping they continue to do so for the rest of the series. I am impressed with the way Lopez has performed for the Phils so far. Years ago he was twice a 15 game winner for the Orioles and it sure seems like he has rediscovered that form. All of which begs the question, what will the Phils do with him once Pedro is ready. I would think they have to at least keep him in the bullpen for the time being, which just means the Phils would have send Tyler Walker back down to AAA where he probably belongs for now anyway. Pedro will definitely have to come out with his best stuff right off the bat or he'll be quickly replaced by Lopez. So anyway the Phils are now 52-38 overall and still 6.5 games up in the NL East.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils completed their series with the Marlins this afternoon. J.A Happ got the start and was unfathomably good yet again, tossing 7 scoreless innings, while allowing just 5 hits. From there Ryan Madson, J.C Romero, Scott Eyre, and Brad Lidge ultimately combined to complete the Phils 2nd shutout of the Marlins in 3 games, pretty impressive if I may say so myself. Meanwhile, the Phils continued their theme in this series of scoring run in the first 3 innings or so and hoping they would stand up the rest of the night. This time of course, thanks to Happ they did stand up. It all got started in the top of the 2nd. With 2 out and nobody on in the inning, Happ himself beat out an infield single. Then Jimmy Rollins singled, the Flyin Hawaiian, Shane Victorino beat out another infield single, Chase Utley was hit by a pitch to force in a run and finally Raul Ibanez doubled for 2 more runs and a 3-0 lead. In the top of the 3rd JRoll collected his 2nd hit of the day, doubling in Carlos Ruiz for a 4-0 lead. Finally in the top of the 9th, Chase Utley scored on a wild pitch to cap off the 5-0 Phils win. It's interesting the way the Phils are using their bullpen right now. Essentially they're going by committee, and bringing in relievers to face a batter or two based on the matchup. That's very similar to what the Tampa Rays did with their pen last year and it worked for them. So far it's working for the Phils too, and with all the games they have to play for the rest of the season, it's a good way to limit the workload for their key relievers. There have been round rumors going around for weeks now that Phils are considering trading Happ and some prospects to the Toronto Blue Jays for all-star pitcher Roy "Doc" Halladay. At this point I don't see anyway they can possibly let Happ go. Anyway so the Phils are now 51-38 overall and 6.5 games up in the NL East.
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