The Phils continued their series with the Braves this afternoon. Cole Hamels got the start and again he wasn't very sharp, but he managed to get through 6 innings, allowing just 2 runs on 3 hits. The Phils meanwhile touched up Kenshin Kawakami for 3 runs on 7 hits, notably a triple by "the Flyin Hawaiian", Shane Victorino in the top of the 4th inning, a double by Raul Ibanez and a triple by Pedro Feliz, in the top of the 5th inning, and finally a solo homer by Jayson Werth in the top of the 7th inning to give the Phils a 3-2 lead. Thanks to good bullpen work by Scott Eyre and Ryan Madson the Phils took that lead into the bottom of the 9th and in came Brad Lidge to get the save again. This time he wasn't so lucky, but it wasn't totally his fault either. Chase Utley misplayed a groundball to leadoff the inning and put one on with nobody out. Next Matt Diaz bunted to move the runner over and Lidge failed to field it cleanly and then threw it away trying to get Diaz at 1st. Thus, allowing the runner on first, Garrett Anderson, to score the game tying run. Accordingly he went on to load the bases from there and the infield came in to try to get a couple forceouts. He did get strikeout but the next batter Omar Infante grounded the first pitch he saw just past a diving Jimmy Rollins to score the winning run. I am not to sure what to say about Lidge at this point. Although this wasn't totally his fault it wasn't pretty either. Unfortunately, there just isn't anyone in the Phils bullpen who can do any better right now so I think for now we're stuck with Lidge until, as Pedro Martinez would say "the cavalry arrives", and J.C Romero, Clay Condrey, and Brett Myers return from DL. Therefore I truly hope he figures it out again at least for a while, because we're going to need him for a little bit longer. The Phils lineup can also be blamed somewhat for this loss as they left 11 runners on base and 3 times failed to score with a runner in scoring position and 1 out or less. Considering how well the lineup had been performing you have to hope this was just the result of another superb pitching performance and not the beginning of another slump. Anyway so the Phils drop to 65-49 overall, and now 4 games up in the NL East.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
Fresh off a sweep of the Cubs the Phils traveled down to Atlanta to begin an important weekend series with Braves, who came into tonight 3rd in the NL East, 5 games behind the Phils. With Jair Jurrjens ,who nearly no-hit the Phils in his last outing against them, on the mound against Joe Blanton, the game was billed as a pitcher's duel and it did not dissapoint. Jurrjens held the Phils to 2 runs on 5 hits, both on a 2 run homer by Chase Utley, while Blanton held Atlanta to just 2 runs on 7 hits, thanks to a spectacular play by "the Flyin Hawaiian", Shane Victorino, robbing Brian Mcann of a sure RBI double with a leaping catch against the wall in the bottom of the 5th inning. In the 8th inning Ryan Madson quickly retired Atlanta in order to push the game to the 9th with the score still tied. There Ryan Howard slammed a solo homer to center field to put the Phils up 3-2. Then in the bottom of the 9th, in came Brad Lidge to close it out as usual, with the dreaded 1 run lead. First he allowed a 1 out single to Adam Laroche. Then he struck out Ryan Church for out number 2, walked Greg Norton to put 2 on with 2 out for Nate Mclouth. Mclouth took a pitches and then crushed a ball to deep right field, but it died just in front of the warning track, landing safely in Raul Ibanez glove for the final out. Thus, dropping the Braves to 6 games behind the Phils. While it was far from pretty it was nice to Brad Lidge to get through a save like this for once. Perhaps the karma that allowed him to stay perfect all last season, has finally returned just in the nick of time, or maybe he's still a liability. At any rate it's probably still a good idea to put Brett Myers in the back of the bullpen when he comes back just in case. It also seems that Ryan Howard has rediscovered stroke and that can only mean good things for the Phils going forward. I just hope tomorrow's game is so nerve racking because I am not sure my heart can take it. Anyway so the Phils move to 65-48 overall now and still 4.5 games up in the NL East.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils finished their series with the Cubs this afternoon. Cliff Lee got the start and was electric once again, allowing just 1 run on 6 hits while striking out 8 in 8 innings. NL hitters just don't know what to do against him and he just makes it look so effortless it's ridiculous. He doesn't even ice his arm down after games. He got another hit in the game as well. He's really a freak of nature I think. Anyway while Lee was mowing them down, the Phils bats continued to be hot. Ryan Howard slammed a 3 run homer, his 1st of August, and Pedro Feliz followed a couple batters later with a solo homer for a 4-0 lead in the top of the 4th. Ryan Howard walked, stole second and scored on a single by Pedro Feliz for a 5-1 lead in the top of the 6th. Finally in the top of the 7th "the Flyin Hawaiian", Shane Victorino doubled and scored on a single by Chase Utley for a 6-1 lead and that's the way it ended with Ryan Madson closing it out in the 9th. Just as I thought the positives from yesterday did carry over. Ryan Howard got another hit, this time a homer, and walk, Pedro Feliz racked up a couple more hits and Utley had a couple hits as well. It also good to see Madson pitching well again, even if it is with a 5 run lead. The truth is he looked just as good on Tuesday when he came in with the Phils leading by 1. Hopefully he has returned to form and can makeup for Brad Lidge's struggles. So anyway the Phils are now 64-48 overall and still 4.5 games up in the NL East.
EAGLES NEWS
After a long injury filled training camp the Eagles opened their preseason schedule tonight with a 27-25 loss to Tom Brady and the Patriots, after David Akers missed a 43 yd field goal with a minute to play .Admittedly it wasn't really his fault though, as the backup players blocking for him didn't do a very good job, and forced him to rush the kick. Of course the outcome doesn't really matter when it comes to the preseason, still for a preseason game it was pretty enertaining and there were several positives to take away from it. 2nd round pick Lesean "Shady" Mccoy was impressive with 10 carries for 55 yds and 2 catches for 12 yds. 1st round pick Jeremy Maclin looked primed to be an explosive weapon both in the return game and as a receiver. He had 2 catches for 44 yards, and returned 4 kicks for 100 yards and 2 punts for 21 yards. New starting fullback Leonard Weaver looks likes he'll be a keeper with 2 carries for 8 yards , 1 catch for 10 yards and some very good run blocking. Perhaps the most impressive offensive performer on the night was 4th string running back Eldra Buckley who had 6 catches for 56 yards and 8 rushes for 23 yards. In fact Buckley might even find himself a little higher on the depth chart after that performance, as 3rd string running back Lorenzo Booker did little that was impressive aside from one 25 yard reception. Ultimately the offense appears to be loaded with weapons, and that's without even having a healthy Brian Westbrook, who should be ready for the regular season if nothing else. The only real question for the Eagles offense on the night was the offensive line, but that's no surprise considering, starters Todd Heremans, Stacy Andrews, and Shawn Andrews all sat out with injuries. The only real concern with the line is that Shawn Andrews may not be ready to begin the season, but with Jon Runyan now apparently on the mend and available as a free agent the Eagles could always sign him back if need be. Ultimately, the line was fine run blocking, they just struggled a bit in pass protection, but Stacy and Heremans usually excel in that area so that shouldn't be a problem for long. Okay as for the defense there's not much to talk about. Trent Cole sat out with an injury so they couldn't really get pressure on Brady at all, but Cole is another guy who will be back before the season starts so there's nothing to worry about. Backup Jason Babin was pretty impressive with 3 tackles and a sack, Sheldon Brown had an acrobatic interception early in the game, and rookie CB Victor "Macho" Harris had a tackle and a sack and looks he could be kind of a Brian Dawkins type player in the future. Okay now for the big news. The Eagles have decided to give Micheal Vick. recently cleared to join a team, a 2nd chance at an NFL career, signing him to a 1 year 1.6 million contract with an option for a 2nd year. Obviously the Eagles already have 3 good quarterbacks and they are still Donovan Mcnabb's team, so Vick isn't going to replace anybody. Instead he'll mostly lineup in Wildcat formations and run the ball on trick plays 4 or 5 times a game. He won't be able to do so until November as he isn't permitted to participate in any games until then. Ultimately he is just another weapon for an offense that was already loaded with them. I will say I am excited to see what he will be able do for us and I believe he has served his time and everyone deserves a second chance. I don't pretend to know or understand what happened with those dogs or how much Vick knew about it and I won't say what he did was right. I tend look at it as just another example of young man with a lot of money getting involved with the wrong kind of people who were really more interested in his money than in him and that much at least was not totally his fault. Also a lot of very respectful people, particularly Tony Dungy have said that Vick has cleaned up and is ready to start to over again so I hope for the Eagles' sake Dungy knows what he is talking about.
SIXERS NEWS
The Sixers have signed veteran forward/center Primoz Brezec who last played for the Raptors in 2008. This past season Brezec played in Italy so this is sort of a 2nd chance at an NBA career for him. He's has been a 20 and 10 guy at times in the past but for his career he is only averaging 7.6 points and 4.1 rebounds a game. I suppose he could be a valuable backup, but I am not really sure where he fits in with this team. For one thing the Sixers let Theo Ratliff sign with Spurs as a free agent so I guess Brezec fills his spot. Also Brezec is a 50% shooter for his career and considering Eddie Jordan's offensive requires good shooters I suppose he helps in that respect as well.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils continued their series with the Cubs tonight as Pedro Martinez made his long awaited Phils debut. Ultimately for Pedro the night was only a partial success. He did get the win, but mostly because his teammates gave him a lot of run support. In fact his numbers on the night weren't all that great, but they were good enough, as he allowed 3 runs on 7 hits in just 5 innings. So in essence the jury is still out on whether or not he'll stay in the rotation, and we'll probably know more after his next start. As for the lineup it returned to its explosive form tonight in a big way. Right off the bat in the top of the 1st inning, "the Flyin Hawaiian" Shane Victorino slammed a 1 out triple, Chase Utley followed with an RBI double and then Ryan Howard surprisingly legged out an RBI triple for a quick 2-0 lead. In the top of the 3rd Victorino crushed a 2 run homer for a 4-1 lead. In the top of the 4th Jayson Werth, Pedro Feliz, and Carlos Ruiz collected 3 straight singles to start the inning and push the lead to 5-1. Jimmy Rollins followed a couple batters with a 3 run jack to up the lead to 8-1. Utley followed with a single, Howard worked a walk, and Raul Ibanez stepped up and golfed out his 1st homer of August for an 11-1 lead. Werth followed with a double and Pedro Feliz slapped a single back up the middle for yet another run and a 12-1 lead. Finally Martinez struck out to end the inning and the massacre. From there the Phils pretty much cruised and eventually put away an easy 12-5 win. I am impressed with how quickly the Phils lineup was able to turn things around. I guess sometimes all it takes is an extra inning win that never should have been, to get a team going again. Only time will tell whether or not the Phils are really totally out of their slump now, but there were just so many positives tonight, that it is hard to not believe that at least some of tonight's positives will carry over into tomorrow and the next few games. Sure part of it was getting a chance to face Jeff Samardzija in his first major league start on a night when he couldn't get anything across the plate except a fastball, but the Phils racked up 14 hits on the night, 11 more than last night, so some of it had to be their own doing. Anyway so the Phils are 63-48 overall now and back to 4.5 games up in the NL East.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils traveled to Chicago tonight to begin a series with the Cubs. J.A Happ got the start and wasn't quite as sharp as he had been, but he did enough holding Chicago to just 2 runs on 7 hits through 6 innings, while stranding a myriad of runners a long the way. Despite Happ's performance the Phils were still down 2-0 heading into the 6th inning. That is, until Jimmy Rollins slugged a 2 run homer to knot it up. Then in the top of the 8th Ryan Howard worked a bases loaded walk for a 3-2 Phils lead. Thanks to Ryan Madson that lead held up into the bottom of the 9th inning. Unfortunately Brad Lidge blew another save as Milton Bradley slapped a 1 out game tying single. So it came down to an extra inning battle of the bullpens and as has happened so many times on the road this season the Phils bullpen came through. Tyler Walker and Scott Eyre got through the 10th and 11th innings. Then in the top of the 12th Ben Francisco slugged a solo homer to put the Phils ahead 4-3. From there Chad Durbin closed it out in the bottom of the inning for the win, snapping the mini 3 game losing streak the Phils had been on. I can't figure out what is wrong with Brad Lidge this season. He was money in these situations last year and I don't understand what has changed since then. He looked fine in his last few save opportunities, but those came with the Phils leading by a few runs. He just seems to have this mental block now every time he comes into a game with the Phils only ahead by 1. It is incredible the Phils even won this game, considering they had just 3 hits all night, as Raul Ibanez, Chase Utley, and Pedro Feliz all went hitless. The only bright spot in the middle of the order was Ryan Howard who worked that walk and collected one of the 3 hits. I am not sure why the Phils lineup did so poorly tonight, but I would say for the most part it was good pitching by the Cubs, particularly Rich Harden who allowed just 2 runs on 2 hits in 7 innings, that did in the Phils lineup. Tomorrow should be an interesting night as Pedro Martinez makes his first start for the Phils. We'll what he has left in the tank soon enough. To make room for Pedro, Jamie Moyer was moved to the bullpen at least for now. You can bet though that if Pedro doesn't perform Moyer will be back in the rotation. Anyway so the Phils move to 62-48 overall and remain 3.5 games up in the NL East.
Monday, August 10, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils are off today so it is time to start a new top 25 list. This time we'll do the top 25 most memorable individual player nicknames. No other sport boasts as many guys with nicknames as Baseball. Some are funny, some invoke the greatest degree of respect for a player, and some are just plain stupid. There are also those monikers that fit a player so perfectly, or become so indelibly attached to a player that you never forget them. Here now are those phillies nicknames that best fit that mold, No's 25-21.
25. "The Phillie" aka 1B Willie Montanez.
Hey it's easy to give a guy a nickname when his name rhymes with the team's name. Mostly overshadowed in Phils history by the guy he replaced at 1B, Dick Allen, Montanez slugged 30 homers and 99 RBIs in his first full season as the Phils 1B in 1971 and was an instant fan favorite. Unfortunately the comparisons to Allen stopped there, as he never duplicated that 71 season. Like any good Phillie though, after leaving the team in 1975, he came back in 1982 and fittingly "the Phillie"retired as well a Phillie.
24. "Mitchy Poo" aka P Mitch Williams
Just one of many Harry Kalas creations over the years, forever immortalized on that late summer night, er early morning as Williams slapped the game winning single againt the Padres. Make no mistake though, Williams was no cuddly poo bear, with a 90+ mph fastball that Williams admittedly threw as hard as he could without knowing where it was going. It worked for one glorious year in 1993 as Williams saved 43 games, 2nd best in Phils history, and the pennant in game 6 of the NLCS.
23. "Shake and Bake" aka OF Bake Mcbride.
Okay so Bake isn't even his real name. In fact he was born Arnold Ray Mcbride, but Bake sounds better, because that's what opposing teams were when he got on base, Baked. In 246 career attempts he was thrown out stealing just 63 times, for a career stolen base percentage just a shade under 75 . All told for the Phils in the late 70s and early 80s he stole 25 or more bases three times and legged out 10 triples or more twice. Simply put, when he got on base he was going to score it was just a question of how. By the way no one ever called him Shake and Bake, that was just my father's idea of a clever nickname. It's too bad it never caught on though, because that would have been one heck of a TV ad.
22."The Krucker" aka 1B John Kruk.
Yet another Harry Kalas creation. Okay so really it is just his last name with an er at the end, but it's so simple it's perfect. There were no ifs, ands or buts about Kruk, he just played the game the way he thought it should be played. There was nothing flashy about it. Even his career stats are the picture of simplicity, exactly 100 career homers, and a career batting average at exactly .300. Pretty cut and dry just like the Krucker. Of course Philly fans also remember this nickname because it rhymes with a much more vulgar word, but that's another story.
21."Head" aka 3B/1B Dave Hollins
So named because well, it, his talent, heart, desire, was all in his head. He was a great player for the Phils only because the desire in his head urged him onto to be. Plus he also had the biggest head on the team. Seriously you have never seen a guy with a bigger forehead. Anyway the nickname really stemmed from the fact that he was always not quite right up there. In fact "Head" was just one of his alter egos, along with "Mikey" and well Dave of course. Also he had an extraordinary propensity for getting into the head of other players, even his own teammates. It's been said that if he thought you weren't playing the game right he would intimidate you into doing so. In fact you can thank him for game 6 of the 1993 NLCS, for throwing off Greg Maddox's rythm late in the game. Apparently Maddox had thrown at him during a game in 1992 and the two met up at some point before the series, with Hollins threatening to literally charge the mound and kill Maddox if he ever threw at him again. Maddox didn't and Hollins wound up slamming a solo homer off him in the game 6 victory.
20-16
25. "The Phillie" aka 1B Willie Montanez.
Hey it's easy to give a guy a nickname when his name rhymes with the team's name. Mostly overshadowed in Phils history by the guy he replaced at 1B, Dick Allen, Montanez slugged 30 homers and 99 RBIs in his first full season as the Phils 1B in 1971 and was an instant fan favorite. Unfortunately the comparisons to Allen stopped there, as he never duplicated that 71 season. Like any good Phillie though, after leaving the team in 1975, he came back in 1982 and fittingly "the Phillie"retired as well a Phillie.
24. "Mitchy Poo" aka P Mitch Williams
Just one of many Harry Kalas creations over the years, forever immortalized on that late summer night, er early morning as Williams slapped the game winning single againt the Padres. Make no mistake though, Williams was no cuddly poo bear, with a 90+ mph fastball that Williams admittedly threw as hard as he could without knowing where it was going. It worked for one glorious year in 1993 as Williams saved 43 games, 2nd best in Phils history, and the pennant in game 6 of the NLCS.
23. "Shake and Bake" aka OF Bake Mcbride.
Okay so Bake isn't even his real name. In fact he was born Arnold Ray Mcbride, but Bake sounds better, because that's what opposing teams were when he got on base, Baked. In 246 career attempts he was thrown out stealing just 63 times, for a career stolen base percentage just a shade under 75 . All told for the Phils in the late 70s and early 80s he stole 25 or more bases three times and legged out 10 triples or more twice. Simply put, when he got on base he was going to score it was just a question of how. By the way no one ever called him Shake and Bake, that was just my father's idea of a clever nickname. It's too bad it never caught on though, because that would have been one heck of a TV ad.
22."The Krucker" aka 1B John Kruk.
Yet another Harry Kalas creation. Okay so really it is just his last name with an er at the end, but it's so simple it's perfect. There were no ifs, ands or buts about Kruk, he just played the game the way he thought it should be played. There was nothing flashy about it. Even his career stats are the picture of simplicity, exactly 100 career homers, and a career batting average at exactly .300. Pretty cut and dry just like the Krucker. Of course Philly fans also remember this nickname because it rhymes with a much more vulgar word, but that's another story.
21."Head" aka 3B/1B Dave Hollins
So named because well, it, his talent, heart, desire, was all in his head. He was a great player for the Phils only because the desire in his head urged him onto to be. Plus he also had the biggest head on the team. Seriously you have never seen a guy with a bigger forehead. Anyway the nickname really stemmed from the fact that he was always not quite right up there. In fact "Head" was just one of his alter egos, along with "Mikey" and well Dave of course. Also he had an extraordinary propensity for getting into the head of other players, even his own teammates. It's been said that if he thought you weren't playing the game right he would intimidate you into doing so. In fact you can thank him for game 6 of the 1993 NLCS, for throwing off Greg Maddox's rythm late in the game. Apparently Maddox had thrown at him during a game in 1992 and the two met up at some point before the series, with Hollins threatening to literally charge the mound and kill Maddox if he ever threw at him again. Maddox didn't and Hollins wound up slamming a solo homer off him in the game 6 victory.
20-16
Sunday, August 09, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils finished their series with the Marlins with still more frustration. Jamie Moyer got the start and was actually fairly good pitching 4 scoreless innings before allowing a rash of bloop singles in the 5th inning that Florida used to take a 3-1 lead. Moyer did get out of the 5th inning, but opened the 6th inning with a couple of walks on close pitches and his day was over. Still Moyer ultimately did his job pitching into the 6th inning, and keeping the Phils in it up to then. The Phils just couldn't score runs once again and played poorly defensively, for about the first time all season. In fact it was an error by Paul Bako that opened the door to the Marlins 3 run 5th. With 1 out and nobody on Emil Bonifacio bunted just in front of the of plate, but Bako rushed too much and failed to field the ball, allowing Bonifacio to reach base safely. So instead of their being 2 out with nobody on , there was 1 on with 1 out, effectively ruining Moyer's chances to go 5 scoreless. Instead the Marlins followed with 4 straight blooped and looping singles and 3 runs. Things only got worse from there. Still down 3-1 in the bottom of the 6th the Phils put 2 on with 2 out for Ryan Howard. Howard worked the count to 3-2 but got rung up on a slider that appeared to be clearly out of the strike zone to end the scoring threat. Next in the top of the 7th, Shane Victorino was ejected by the homeplate umpire for reacting 300 feet a way in centerfield to a pitch thrown by Rodrigo Lopez which was called a ball, that he thought was a strike, to which Chris Wheeler scoffed "I don't think I have ever seen anything like that happen before". Apparently neither had the fans who loudly booed the ump, Ed Rapuano, for the remainder of the game, each time he made call that didn't favor the home team. Amidst the chorus of boos Lopez and Phils lost focus and 4 hits , 6 runs ,and a lazy error by Jayson Werth( who didn't start the game,but replaced Victorino in center) later, and the Marlins were laughing all the way to the bank with a 9-1 lead. Pedro Feliz finally gave the fans something to cheer about with a 2 run homer in the bottom of the inning, but it made little difference. Florida later added another 3 runs in the top of the 9th and walked away with a laughable 12-3 win to complete a sweep and pull within 4 games of the Phils who are now 61-47 overall. It's hard to know what to say after a loss like this. It was just so eerily similar to what happened between the Phils and the Mets at about this time of the season in 2007, when the Mets came into the Bank leading the Phils by 7 games, and were swept by the Phils in a 4 game series. It turned out to be a peek into the future as the Phils eventually chased down the Mets to win the NL East. I just hope this isn't a carbon copy of that, but just the thought of that happening to Phils leaves me speechless. All I can say is that the middle of the Phils lineup, Howard, Utley, Ibanez, and Werth, has got to get going again and fast or we're going to be in trouble.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)