The Phils continued their series with the Mets tonight. J.A Happ got the start and produced yet another stellar performance, working out of jams to keep New York to 1 run on 8 hits through 7 innings. Meanwhile, Chase Utley slammed a 2 run homer and Pedro Feliz smashed an RBI double in the top of the 6th, and Carlo Ruiz lined a sac fly in the top of the 7th to help the Phils build a 4-1 lead through 7 and 1/2 innings. From there Ryan Madson pitched a perfect 8th inning and Brad Lidge was perfect in the 9th inning, sealing the 4-1 win while registering the 700th strikeout of his career. It was encouraging to see Lidge pitch so well and you can only hope he'll be able to pitch like that in every situation from now on. I remain impressed with Happ and his uncanny ability to get out of jams. It just seems as if nothing fazes him. Tomorrow afternoon's game will be particularly intriguiging as Pedro Martinez returns to New York for the first time since the Mets released him. I think this will be the day we find out what we really have in Pedro. Anyway so with the win the Phils move to 70-50 overall and back up to 6.5 games up in the NL East.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils traveled to New York tonight to begin a 4 game series with the Mets. Cole Hamels got the start and struggled a bit allowing 4 runs on 10 hits in just 5 innings of work. Meanwhile, while they collected 10 hits, the Phils could only come up with 2 runs, an RBI single by Ryan Howard in the top of the 1st and an RBI single by Pedro Feliz in the top of the 6th. Thanks to the bullpen the game stayed 4-2 right up until the end, but despite getting a runner on base in every inning, from the 6th on, the Phils just couldn't put together enough of a rally to steal this one from New York. They came close in the top of the 9th, as Jimmy Rollins doubled and Shane Victorino singled to put runners on 1st and 3rd with 1 out for Chase Utley, but he struck out. Ryan Howard followed with another strikeout and that was it ,4-2 Mets. As well as the Phils had been playing, that they could only tally 2 runs on 10 hits, is a little disheartening. More disheartening is the play of Cole Hamels right now. He just has never really gotten it together completely this season. There's still time for him to turn it around, and considering there have been times this season when he has looked like the old Cole, I would say it is still conceivable that he could turn things around in time to contribute this season. I am just not sure if he still has enough left in the tank to do so. Anyway so the Phils drop to 69-50 overall and now just 5.5 games up in the NL East.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils finished their series with the Diamondbacks tonight, looking to complete the sweep and boy did they. Joe Blanton got the start and went 8 innings, allowing just 3 runs on 10 hits. Meanwhile, the Phils exploded for 12 runs on 12 hits for an easy 12-3 win. In the bottom of the 1st, Ryan Howard slapped an RBI double, and Ben Francisco(Raul Ibanez got the night off) lined a 2 run single for a 3-0 lead. In the bottom of the 4th, a fielder's choice allowed the Phils to push across a 4th run for a 4-3 lead. In the bottom of the 5th Jayson Werth slammed a 2 run homer to dead center for a 6-3 lead. In the bottom of the 6th, Carlos Ruiz slugged a solo homer, Chase Utley lined an RBI single, and Howard just obliterated a 3 run homer to right center into the visitors bullpen to push the lead to 11-3. Finally in the bottom of the 7th another fielder's choice allowed the Phils to score another run to push the lead to 12-3. It was just yet another dominating performance by the Phils in every way possible. Not only did Blanton pitch 8 good innings, he also collected 2 hits, just like Lee last night and Moyer the night before. So it's been 3 nights in a row now that a Phils pitcher has at least 2 hits and I don't know if that has ever happened before. Who needs a bullpen when your starters never leave the game? Maybe that will be the key for the Phils to repeat this season, long outings from the starters and lots of runs. Yeah that's the ticket! Anyway so the Phils move to 69-49 overall, that's 20 games over .500, and now back to 6.5 games up in the NL East.
EAGLES NEWS
The Eagles played their 2nd preseason game tonight in Indianapolis against Peyton Manning and the Colts. The Eagles ultimately dropped to 0-2 in the preseason, falling 23-15 after failing to recover an onsides kick with about 30 seconds to play, but that really doesn't mean much. As he always has, Manning picked apart the Eagles starting secondary completing 10 of 14 passes for 167 yards and 2 TDs. Donovan Mcnabb played well too completing 5 of 7 passes for 77 yards and a 39 yd td pass to Desean Jackson, but that was about the only positive for the Birds tonight in a mistake filled game. All told the Birds committed 12 penalties, or at least 12 that were accepted, there were probably 12 more that weren't, for a total of 87 yards. The Eagles also fumbled 4 times, and lost 2 of them, leading to 6 Colts' points. Honestly it seemed like every time it looked like the Eagles were about to do something positive, a penalty or a turnover got in the way. The fact that they were even able to pull within a score at the end show how well coached the Eagles are. The Eagles o-line, now without 4 of 5 starters really struggled all night and committed most of the penalties, but you just have to hope they'll be healthy by the time the season starts. While the first string defense struggled for the Birds, the backups actually looked just fine and there is still plenty of time for Sean Mcdermott to get things figured out on D. Ultimately the team has plenty of time to fix the mistakes they made tonight, and it's probably good they happened now and not in the regular season. One other interesting thing to see in this game was the play of QB Adam Dimichele, former starting QB at Temple. With Kevin Kolb still out with an injury and Vick not eligible to play tonight, Dimichele stepped in as the Birds 3rd string QB and actually looked pretty good completing 14 of 22 passes for 130 Yds and a TD plus a 2 point conversion. This will probably be the only time he'll get to play for the Eagles at all, with Vick debuting on Thursday, but hopefully what he did on the field tonight will be enough for another team to take a chance on him. If not then I feel fortunate to have seen his only NFL TD pass. Go Owls!
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils continued their series with the Diamondbacks tonight. Cliff Lee got the start and was incredible again, taking a no-hitter into the 6th inning, while going the distance and allowing just 1 run on 2 hits. Meanwhile, the Phils pounded out 8 runs on 13 hits, with a 2 run homer by Chase Utley in the bottom of the 3rd inning, a 3 run homer by Ryan Howard and a solo homer by Jayson Werth in the bottom of the 5th inning, an RBI double by "the Flyin Hawaiian", Shane Victorino, in the bottom of the 6th inning, and finally a solo homer by Werth in the bottom of the 7th inning. In short it was a dominating performance by the Phils and their 3rd straight win. I still cannot get over how well Cliff Lee has performed since coming to the Phils. He is now 4-0 with a 0.82 ERA and 2 Complete games in a phillies uniform. He has even batted .385 since coming to the Phils and he collected 2 more hits tonight and scored a run. Is there anything this guy can't do. It is just amazing. I am running out of superlatives to associate with him. The only issue I can see with the Phils right now is that Raul Ibanez really seems to have slowed down. He's just not hitting with the same power he was before and he's not drving in runs like he was before. Eventuallly the Phils will need him to return to form if they hope to do anything in October this year. Anyway so the Phils move to 68-49 overall now and back to 5.5 games up in the NL East.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils returned to the Bank tonight to begin a 3 game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Pedro Martinez took the mound for his 1st start in front of the home crowd, but it was spoiled by a rain delay after 3 innings, with Martinez having allowed just 1 run on 2 hits. After the rain delay ended, Jamie Moyer stole the show with 6 scoreless innings in relief, while allowing just 2 hits, and striking out 5. Meanwhile, the Phils scratched out 5 runs, thanks to Diamondback errors, and timely hitting, with an RBI double and a solo homer by Jayson Werth, an RBI single by Pedro Feliz, and an RBI single and a solo homer by Carlos Ruiz. All together it came to be an easy 5-1 win for the Phils, as it should have been against the lowly Diamondbacks. Moyer's performance was truly special, and while not totally unexpected against the young free swinging DBacks, it was probably his best game of the year thus far and it was his 11th win. Moyer also collected 2 hits in the effort and ran the bases effectively, although unfortunately no one could score him either time. It was also good to see Werth come through after struggling again for a bit. The same goes for Ruiz because it just seems like good things happen whenever he is hitting. So anyway the Phils move to 67-49 overall and still 4.5 games up in the NL East.
Monday, August 17, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils are off today so it is time to continue our countdown of the Phils top 25 most memorable player nicknames, No.s 20-16.
20. "The Dude" aka CF Lenny Dykstra.
When the stakes were at their highest was there ever a more cool calm and collected character than Dykstra. 3 times in his career he received MVP votes, despite never hitting more than 19 hrs in a season. No, instead he set the table for others as well as anyone ever has. For the Phils he had 2 great seasons and and then back injuries limited his career from there. In 1990 he nearly won the NL batting title with a .325 average. It was 1993 though that stands out as his best. He batted .305 with 194 hits, 143 runs scored, 129 walks, a .420 on base percentage, 37 stolen bases, 307 total bases, a.902 OPS, 19 HRs and 66 RBIs. It was arguably the greatest season any leadoff hitter has ever had, and yet he was left off the all-star team and finished 2nd in the mvp voting to some guy named Bonds. Still perhaps the most indelible mark of his cool under pressure was left that season, in game 4 of the world series, in which he delivered a performance that may never be forgotten, with 2 HRs, 4 RBIs, and 4 runs scored for unfortunately the losing team. Yes he simply was a cool "Dude" under pressure.
19. "Mr. Stats" aka RF Bobby Abreu.
What else do you call a guy who is his teams active leader in virtually every statistical offensive category and he was just a couple years ago. Even now He is still near the top in several categories. Unfortunately, for the all stats he put up he could never lift the team into the playoffs. He also seemed to always be simply trying to get on base, even in situations in which he could drive in runs. Also his defense, which should have been great, considering his strong arm and ability to cover a lot of ground, always it seemed a bit too lackadaisical. Thus the fans gave him an unfair rap as choker and labeled him as Mr.Stats as if to say he cared more about bolstering his stats then helping the team win. The truth is the game just came so easily to him that he didn't need to exert much effort at times and in fact he did come through in several clutch situations. If you look at his numbers they rank him as one of the Phils all-time greats, with a .304 average, 195 hrs, 814 RBIs, and 1474 hits. Sadly today though, most Philly fans don't see him that way.
18. "Dutch" aka C Darren Daulton.
The unquestioned leader of the 1993 Phils, Daulton was a triple threat. He could handle pitchers better than any Phils Catcher ever has, he could hit with a league best 109 RBIs in 1992, and he could the make the ladies swoon even though they knew he was married. As a 25th round pick of the Phillies in 1980, that he made it to the big leagues at all is a testiment to his work ethic. He instilled that in his 1993 teammates and would except no less than their best. Sure Jim Fregosi was the manager of the 1993 Phils, but it was Daulton who really managed his teammate's egos. If anyone stepped out of line, they were sure to hear from an angry Daulton. Dutch, which is slang for anger or temper, thus fits him perfectly because that's what he used to lead his teammates to the brink of a world title. Unfortunately, chronic sore knees ruined his career after 1994, and prevented him from building a longer, greater career. Still he is regarded by many as one of all-time great catchers and perhaps the best leader the Phils ever had.
17. "Sarge" aka OF Gary Matthews.
There is one reason and one reason only that Matthews earns this nickname, his big mouth. You can still hear it now every night during Phillies game telecasts and like the energizer bunny it just keeps going and going and just when you think it is going to stop it starts again. Like a sargeant addressing his men, you can always hear his voice above everyone else's. On other hand, Matthews liked to hit almost as much as he liked to talk, and his overall numbers are pretty good, with 234 HRs, 978 RBIs, and 2011 hits. So good and so clutch was his hitting at times that 4 times in his career he recieved MVP votes, finishing as high as 5th in 1984. He was also the Phils 1983 NLCS MVP, batting .429 and bashing 3 HRs in the series including the homers that sealed victory in games 3 and 4. Yet, he is mostly forgotten among Phils fans and baseball fans. So many players are mentioned as guys who should be in the hall of fame, but never Matthews although his numbers should receive some consideration. Of course as much as he talks someone will surely hear him someday.
16. "Bedrock" aka P Steve Bedrosian.
Solid as a rock in the back of the bullpen, Bedrosian goes down as one of the most beloved closers in Phils history, despite never having played for a winning team. He put together 3 of the best seasons from 1986-1988 that any Phils closer ever has, with at least 28 saves, an ERA under 4 and 5 wins every year, impressive numbers for teams that weren't very good. The best of those 3 seasons was 1987 in which he compiled 40 saves, a 2.83 ERA, 5 wins, and 74 strikeouts, and became one of only a handful of relievers to win a CY Young award. That same year he made his 1st and only all-star game appearance. Unfortunately, the last place Phils were forced to ship him away in 1989 to the Giants and he was never quite as good again. In fact he was only an okay pitcher before he came to the Phils and just so after leaving the Phils, which makes him one of the few players to have actually played better while with the Phillies than after leaving them. Maybe that's why the fans loved him so much, because he loved them too.
15-11
20. "The Dude" aka CF Lenny Dykstra.
When the stakes were at their highest was there ever a more cool calm and collected character than Dykstra. 3 times in his career he received MVP votes, despite never hitting more than 19 hrs in a season. No, instead he set the table for others as well as anyone ever has. For the Phils he had 2 great seasons and and then back injuries limited his career from there. In 1990 he nearly won the NL batting title with a .325 average. It was 1993 though that stands out as his best. He batted .305 with 194 hits, 143 runs scored, 129 walks, a .420 on base percentage, 37 stolen bases, 307 total bases, a.902 OPS, 19 HRs and 66 RBIs. It was arguably the greatest season any leadoff hitter has ever had, and yet he was left off the all-star team and finished 2nd in the mvp voting to some guy named Bonds. Still perhaps the most indelible mark of his cool under pressure was left that season, in game 4 of the world series, in which he delivered a performance that may never be forgotten, with 2 HRs, 4 RBIs, and 4 runs scored for unfortunately the losing team. Yes he simply was a cool "Dude" under pressure.
19. "Mr. Stats" aka RF Bobby Abreu.
What else do you call a guy who is his teams active leader in virtually every statistical offensive category and he was just a couple years ago. Even now He is still near the top in several categories. Unfortunately, for the all stats he put up he could never lift the team into the playoffs. He also seemed to always be simply trying to get on base, even in situations in which he could drive in runs. Also his defense, which should have been great, considering his strong arm and ability to cover a lot of ground, always it seemed a bit too lackadaisical. Thus the fans gave him an unfair rap as choker and labeled him as Mr.Stats as if to say he cared more about bolstering his stats then helping the team win. The truth is the game just came so easily to him that he didn't need to exert much effort at times and in fact he did come through in several clutch situations. If you look at his numbers they rank him as one of the Phils all-time greats, with a .304 average, 195 hrs, 814 RBIs, and 1474 hits. Sadly today though, most Philly fans don't see him that way.
18. "Dutch" aka C Darren Daulton.
The unquestioned leader of the 1993 Phils, Daulton was a triple threat. He could handle pitchers better than any Phils Catcher ever has, he could hit with a league best 109 RBIs in 1992, and he could the make the ladies swoon even though they knew he was married. As a 25th round pick of the Phillies in 1980, that he made it to the big leagues at all is a testiment to his work ethic. He instilled that in his 1993 teammates and would except no less than their best. Sure Jim Fregosi was the manager of the 1993 Phils, but it was Daulton who really managed his teammate's egos. If anyone stepped out of line, they were sure to hear from an angry Daulton. Dutch, which is slang for anger or temper, thus fits him perfectly because that's what he used to lead his teammates to the brink of a world title. Unfortunately, chronic sore knees ruined his career after 1994, and prevented him from building a longer, greater career. Still he is regarded by many as one of all-time great catchers and perhaps the best leader the Phils ever had.
17. "Sarge" aka OF Gary Matthews.
There is one reason and one reason only that Matthews earns this nickname, his big mouth. You can still hear it now every night during Phillies game telecasts and like the energizer bunny it just keeps going and going and just when you think it is going to stop it starts again. Like a sargeant addressing his men, you can always hear his voice above everyone else's. On other hand, Matthews liked to hit almost as much as he liked to talk, and his overall numbers are pretty good, with 234 HRs, 978 RBIs, and 2011 hits. So good and so clutch was his hitting at times that 4 times in his career he recieved MVP votes, finishing as high as 5th in 1984. He was also the Phils 1983 NLCS MVP, batting .429 and bashing 3 HRs in the series including the homers that sealed victory in games 3 and 4. Yet, he is mostly forgotten among Phils fans and baseball fans. So many players are mentioned as guys who should be in the hall of fame, but never Matthews although his numbers should receive some consideration. Of course as much as he talks someone will surely hear him someday.
16. "Bedrock" aka P Steve Bedrosian.
Solid as a rock in the back of the bullpen, Bedrosian goes down as one of the most beloved closers in Phils history, despite never having played for a winning team. He put together 3 of the best seasons from 1986-1988 that any Phils closer ever has, with at least 28 saves, an ERA under 4 and 5 wins every year, impressive numbers for teams that weren't very good. The best of those 3 seasons was 1987 in which he compiled 40 saves, a 2.83 ERA, 5 wins, and 74 strikeouts, and became one of only a handful of relievers to win a CY Young award. That same year he made his 1st and only all-star game appearance. Unfortunately, the last place Phils were forced to ship him away in 1989 to the Giants and he was never quite as good again. In fact he was only an okay pitcher before he came to the Phils and just so after leaving the Phils, which makes him one of the few players to have actually played better while with the Phillies than after leaving them. Maybe that's why the fans loved him so much, because he loved them too.
15-11
Sunday, August 16, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils completed their series with the Braves tonight, looking to rebound from yesterday's heartbreaking loss. J.A Happ got the start and he like Cole Hamels was not at his sharpest, but he kept his poise and toughed out 7 and 2/3rd innings, while allowing just 1 run on 3 hits. Meanwhile, Ryan Howard singlehandedly powered the Phils to the win, with a solo homer in the 2nd inning and a 3 run homer in the 6th inning to give the Phils a 4-1 lead. Ryan Madson then took the baton from Happ and finished off the 8th inning by striking out Matt Diaz. From there Scott Eyre retired the 1st 2 batters in the bottom of the 9th inning and walked the 3rd, Greg Norton, prompting Charlie Manuel to call for Brad Lidge to get the final out. Thankfully this time it was no problem as he got Omar Infante to pop up to shallow right-center field, right into the glove of Chase Utley. So tonight at least Lidge was okay, as he always is when the Phils are leading by more than 1. August is turning out to be Ryan Howard's month as he has now homered 4 times in the last 3 games. Known for his 2nd half hot streaks, it seems Howard is picking it up at just the right time. It would have been nice though to see some of his teammates help him out, but hopefully they will join him again before long. So anyway the Phils move to 66-49 overall and now back to 4.5 games up in the NL East.
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