Fresh off an impressive win in their season opener, the Flyers traveled to New Jersey for a showdown with the Devils. Once again they were impressive . Ray Emery had another strong night, outplaying Marty Brodeur , to the tune of 24 saves in 26 opportunities, while helping the Orange and Black kill off another3 power plays. The defense was again outstanding as well, killing off 3 out of 5 power plays and limiting New Jersey to just those 26 shots on goal. Finally the scoring was fantastic tonight. James Van Reimsdyk posted 2 assists on the night, but the rest of the scoring was pretty spread out. Late in the 1st period Jeff Carter scored with an assist from Scott Hartnell to put the Orange and Black up 1-0. Late in the 2nd period Ian Laperrierre stunned everyone with his 1st score of the season, and Mike Richards followed some time later with his 2nd goal of the season, with an assist from Chris Pronger, to put the Flyers up 3-0. Half way through the 3rd period Daroll Powe made it 4-0. The Devils finally got on the board a couple minutes later with a power play goal to cut the lead to 4-1, but it was too little too late. Matt Carle added a 5th goal, with another assist from Chris Pronger, and the Flyers eventually skated to an easy 5-2 win. Pronger truly is in a class of his own. He already has a plus minus of +3 and has done more for the Flyers than I could ever have imagined thus far. JVR looks like the real deal for the Orange and Black at this point. If he can just score as well as he has passed thus far, then he's going to be a star. I have to say I really thought opening the season on road at Carolina and at New Jersey would be a real challenge for the Flyers, and I am just so impressed that it's really been no problem at all. Go Flyers!.
Saturday, October 03, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils continued their series with the Marlins tonight. Cole Hamels got the start and pitched okay, allowing 3 runs on 3 hits, but apparently he was on a short leash, as he was pulled after only 3 innings of work. The bullpen performed admirably from there allowing just 1 run in the final 6 innings, capped off by a great 1-2-3 inning by Brad Lidge. Unfortunately even with their full comment of starters in the lineup the Phils couldn't come up with much offense. They racked up just 6 hits on the night, and up until the 8th inning, only 1 run on another titanic solo blast by Ryan Howard. Coming into the 8th inning the Phils trailed 4-1 and looked down and out for another night. Then Jayson Werth lined out a 2 run homer to cut it to 4-3 and restore hope of a Phils win. However, the Phils never managed to get another baserunner from there and the rare good performance by Brad Lidge went for naught in a 4-3 loss. Lidge usually struggles in non save situations so it was great to see him pitch so well. I don't know if this means he's on the right track again, but I hope it does, because a sharp Lidge would be a big help for the Phils in the playoffs. Charlie does really want more than a couple lefties on his playoff roster as the Phils activated Antonio Bastardo, who had been on the DL since mid summer, to pitch an inning in relief today. He actually looked pretty good so who knows maybe he'll somehow wind up on the playoff roster. I don't know why the Marlins' pitching staff has given the Phils so much trouble lately , but I wish it would stop because they can't afford to go into the playoffs with the bats struggling so much. Anyway so the Phils drop to 92-69 overall, but clinch homefield for their NLDS, as the Cardinals lost again today as well. The Dodgers won, which means they have clinched the NL West finally, and homefield advantage throughout the NL playoffs. They will play the Cardinals in the NLDS, while the Phils draw the wild card winning Rockies with a chance to avenge that 2007 series.
Friday, October 02, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils welcomed the Marlins to the Bank tonight for the final series of the 2009 regular season. Joe Blanton got the start and was decidely not Joe Blanton like, allowing 5 runs on 9 hits in 7 innings. Incredibly the Phils bullpen was even worse allowing a further 2 runs and 5 hits. Only Chad Durbin managed to get by unscathed but that was in the 9th inning when it was already to late. With Raul Ibanez, Jimmy Rollins, and Pedro Feliz all taking the night off the Phils lineup again struggled. They could only manage 7 hits on the night and only a massive 2 run blast by Ryan Howard in the 1st inning, averted a shutout. I am not sure what happened to the Phils tonight. For whatever reason they just came out flat and never recovered. Perhaps they're still dazed from celebrating their NL East title, or maybe they're all just a little tired. Whatever, it is they better get over it quickly or they're going to end up going on the road throughout the playoffs instead of getting the homefield. On an even more somber note, it was revealed today that both Chan Ho Park and J.C Romero will not be able to pitch in at least the NLDS for the Phils. This means that J.A Happ pretty much has to go to the bullpen for the playoffs, otherwise the only left hander in there would be Scott Eyre who has a bone spur in his elbow and can only pitch to a couple batters at a time. Currently the only lefthander in the pen besides Eyre is AAA call up Sergio Escalona, who looked horrible tonight and probably isn't an option, although Charlie always says he likes to have 3 lefties in the pen. At any rate Charlie is going to have a lot of tough decisions to make when he puts together the playoff roster. For now the Phils are 92-68 overall and thanks to losses by the Cardinals and the Dodgers, they remain the 2nd best team in the NL, just 1 behind the Dodgers for numero uno.
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers opened the season tonight in Carolina against the Hurricanes. Carolina is a tough veteran laden team that many thought would contend for a cup this season so it was hard to know what to expect from the Orange and Black tonight. There were also a lot of questions to answer going in this one. Would the Flyer's defense really be that improved?, Would Ray Emery still be the Emery that got Ottawa to the stanley cup finals a few years ago, or just a washed up version of that Emery?, and with a defensive minded team would the Flyers still be able to generate enough offense, particularly on special teams, to win even against the stiffest competition? The answer to all 3 tonight at least was yes. Emery was dazzling with 28 saves and a shutout and with the Flyers taking a normally lethal 11 penalties(8 resulted in a power play), they needed every one of those saves. The Flyer's defense, especially the newest addition, big, bad, Chris Pronger was outstanding. I mean the guy already has 2 hits and 3 blocked shots, which is more then most of the Flyer's defense had or seemed to have all last season. Anyway on whole, the D was a perfect 8 for 8 on the penalty kill and limited the Canes to just those 28 shots on goal. Finally the power play really bailed out the Orange and Black on this night. They couldn't score at all at even strength, but on the power play they made the most of their 5 opportunities with 2 scores, both early in the 2nd period, that is very early in the 2nd period. Just 25 seconds into period, on a power play that carried over from the 1st period, Jeff Carter scored the first goal of the night, with an assist from Danny Briere. About 20 seconds later, on another power play, James Van Riemsdyk lasered a pass to Mike Richards for goal number 2. That's an impressive beginning for JVR, scoring his 1st NHL point in his 1st NHL game, Sidney who? just kidding. Anyway so the Flyers got the win 2-0 on opening night and it looks like this could be the beginning of a good season for them.
Thursday, October 01, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils completed their series with the Astros tonight. Cliff Lee got the start as he looked to get back on track following a rash of rough outings. This one came perilously close to being another rough outing, but in the end he actually pitched fairly well, allowing just 4 runs, only 3 of them earned, on 7 hits in 5 and 2/3rd's innings. Unfortunately for Lee, the emotionally drained and slightly shorthanded Phils, with Chase Utley and Shane Victorino taking the night off, couldn't come up come with any offense. So Lee left in the 6th inning with the team behind 4-1. Houston then added another run in the 7th, to make it 5-1. It was still 5-1 as the Phils came to the plate in the bottom of the 9th. There they almost came up with a miracle comeback. Back to back 2 out hits, a single by Jayson Werth, and a double by Pedro Feliz, cut the lead to 5-3 and brought the tying run to the plate in the person of Andy Tracy. After working the count in his favor, Tracy ripped a single to get the winning run on base for Miguel Cairo. Cairo got a fastball right down the middle, that he could hammer, but he didn't quite get it right and instead lined out to Micheal Bourn to finish off the 5-3 loss. Brett Myers returned to action tonight finally, and pitched well, allowing 1 run on 3 hits in 1 inning of work. It's hard to tell if he's quite ready to go for the playoffs just yet, but it would seem that if Charlie allows him to pitch a few more times between now and the end of the season he should be ready to go. The Phils racked up 13 hits on the night, but they also left 12 men on base. They'll have to clean that up if they want to succeed in the postseason. Apparently J.C Romero isn't quite healthy yet after all. He felt sore after his last appearance, about a week ago and the Phils just aren't sure if he's ready to pitch every other day again as they might need him to in the playoffs. Anyway so the Phils drop to 92-67 overall and at this point sit 1 game behind the Dodgers for best record in the NL.
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers have completed training camp and preseason play. They get the regular season under way tomorrow night in Carolina against the Hurricanes. As for the preseason the Orange and Black went 2-3-2 overall, but played a lot better than their record would indicate. All in all they appear to headed in the right direction as the season begins. There are a few important things to note from the preseason. First backup goalie Brian Boucher was injured during the preseason, and so the Flyer's backup goalie is currently the rookie Jonas Backlund. Apparently Backlund didn't look so good in the preseason and he's also nicked up so Ray Emery better be worth his weight in gold. Of the players to make the Flyers final roster, some notable additions are 1st round draft pick from 2 years ago, James Van Reimsdyk, a 20 year old winger who was participating in his 1st NHL training camp, and veteran center Blair Betts, late of the Rangers, who was just signed to a 1 year contract today. Van Reimsdyk has a lot to live up to. After his exploits at New Hampshire university and as a member of team USA at the junior world cup, he has been touted as the best U.S prospect to come along in some time. It is no surprise to see him join the Flyers this season, it's just surprising to see him start the season with them. Hopefully it won't be too much for him to handle. As for Betts he'll likely center the Flyer's 4th line, filling the one hole the team really had, after all those additions they made on defense this offseason. He is supposed to be very good on faceoffs and on the penalty kill and that's pretty much all you can ask for from a guy on the 4th line.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils continued their series with the Astros tonight, looking for the win that would clinch them the division. In the end the Phils ultimatelly didn't need the win, as Atlanta lost again to the Marlins, but it was going to feel a lot better celebrating the division title after a win then after a loss. Thanks to solid bullpen pitching and yet another torrid night with the bats they were able to do the latter. Pedro Martinez got the start, but the Phils did not want to push his sore kneck and so he left after only 4 innings of work, having allowed just 3 runs on 6 hits. Meanwhile, the Phils put up 5 runs in that time, with a fielder's choice in the 1st inning, and a pair of RBI singles, an error, and an RBI double in the 4th innning, to build up a 5-3 lead. Kyle Kendrick took from it there, tossing 3 scoreless innings. At the same time, back to back Triples by Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino, and a sac fly by Raul Ibanez in the 5th, an RBI double by Carlos Ruiz in the 6th, and a 2 run homer by Ibanez in the 7th lead, helped the Phils jump out to a 10-3 lead through 7 innings. At this point you could just feel the electricity in the stadium and you knew the Phils were about to get it done. Chad Durbin tossed a scoreless 8th inning and then Scott Eyre got the first 2 outs in the 9th. The Fish finished off the Braves right at about this point to officially clinch the division for the Phils, but there was still some business left to attend to at the Bank. To take of that business, in came Brad Lidge in a sort of symbolic reminder of what happened just a year ago. Like he had all last year Brad easily got Lance Berkman to ground to Ryan Howard at first for the final out and the celebration was on. It was a little muted as the Phils know this is only the first step in their quest to repeat as World Champions, but there was still plenty of champagne and beer-filled moments to go around, all capped off by a special tribute to Harry Kalas, as the players all gathered in outfield at his memorial poster board, to touch it and of course spray it with beer and champagne. It was a fitting ending to a season full of ups and downs, that hopefully still has a ways to go. It was great to see the Phils clinch the division and I can't wait to root them on in the playoffs. The only bad news for the Phils on the night, was the announcement that Jamie Moyer is finished for the season, with 3 torn tendons, 1 in his abdomen and 2 in his groin, that will require surgery. There was a strong possibility, even if he did make the playoff roster, that Jamie wasn't going to pitch much in this year's postseason, other than in long relief at this point. It is just unfortunate that the injury had to take that decision out of the Phils hands. This probably means now that Kendrick could very well be on the playoff roster, and that, assuming the Phils lefty relievers are ready to go finally(J.C Romero, and Scott Eyre are both healthy and active again), Pedro Martinez will be the long man come playoff time, with J.A Happ the 4th starter. Jamie should be healthy again by spring training next year and it will be interesting to see where he fits in by then. So anyay the Phils move to 92-66 overall now and with 4 games to play they can still finish with the best record in the National League.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils continued their series with the Astros tonight, desperate for the win that would cut their magic number to 2. Thanks to a solid 5 and 2/3rd's innings out of J.A Happ, in which he allowed just 4 runs on 9 hits, and a grand slam by Pedro Feliz in the 4th inning, they were able to get the win they needed. Jayson Werth also chipped in with a 2 run shot in the 5th inning, to put the Phils ahead seemingly for good 7-2. From there Jamie Moyer finished the 5th inning and worked his way through a scoreless 6th inning, but unfortunately not before he apparently strained his groin on the final pitch of the inning. Hopefully he's all right because they would really like to have him out of the bullpen come playoff time. He's just been invaluable ever since they put him in there. Anyway, Ryan Madson took it from there toughing out a big time 2 inning save to give the Phils their 91st win of the season and reduce their magic number to 2. Later the Braves fell to the Marlins to drop the magic number to 1, which means the Phils have now clinched at least a share of the division, no matter what happens the rest of the way. This game was essentially just what the doctor ordered for the Phils, particularly the explosive offense, which ripped off 7 runs on 8 hits, and energized the crowd at the Bank and team. You actually feel like there is some momentum behind this team for the first time in a while and they're going to need to carry that momentum into the playoffs if they hope to repeat. I was impressed with the performance of Ryan Madson tonight. He got through the 8th inning only about 7 pitches and although he allowed the tying run to come to the plate in the 9th inning, he remained calm, cool, and collected, as he struck out the side. There's still no word on whether or not he'll be the guy to close games come playoff time, but I can't see why he wouldn't be at this point. Feliz's grand slam was the 11th of the season for the Phils and that's a new franchise record. Anyway so the Phils move to 91-66 overall and now 5 games up in the NL East with 5 to play. Man that feels good to say.
EAGLES NEWS
Well, as I predicted Jeff Garcia' s return to the Eagles was short lived. The Eagles released him today, as Donovan Mcnabb will be ready to play again after the Birds upcoming bye week. Also the Eagles needed to make room on the roster for their latest surprise signing, "the Axman", MLB Jeremiah Trotter. That's right folks he's back. Trotter last played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers back in 2007 after being released by the Eagles. Following that season he had to have knee surgery and missed all of 2008 because of it. Now the Eagles ,who are thin at LB, apparently liked what they saw of him in a few workouts and have decided to bring him back, presumably to bolster the run defense. At this point, although he claims he can play another 3 years, Trotter is only under contract for the rest of the season, but for however long he stays here, if he is anything like the 4 time pro bowl player he used to be it will be worth it. Realistically at 32 years of age, even with a healthy knee, he no longer has the speed to be effective on passing downs, but from all accounts he can still blow up the holes in the in opponent's running game and that's really all the Birds need him to do. Also he'll be an unparalleled leader for a young defense. So he'll be a solid addition to an Eagles' defense that has already looked pretty good at times.
Monday, September 28, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils returned to the Bank tonight to begin a series with the Houston Astros. Cole Hamels got the start and for a night the Hamels September mystique wore off a bit, as Houston touched him up for 6 runs on 9 hits in 6 and 2/3rd's innings. The Phils actually had the early 1-0 lead on a sac fly by Chase Utley in the 1st but Houston was ahead 3-1 by the 6th inning. The Phils made a final charge there, as "the Flyin Hawaiian", Shane Victorino, doubled and scored on a balk to cut the lead to 3-2. Ryan Howard then worked a walk and stole 2nd, to put the tying run in scoring position for Jayson Werth. Werth worked the count to 3-1 but could only produce an inning ending flyout. Houston then put up 5 runs in the 7th inning and that was about all she wrote. Even though the bullpen managed to keep it at 8-2 the rest of the way, the Phils just couldn't come up with anything in the last few innings. Victorino did triple in the 8th, but a Ryan Howard strikeout ended that threat. The Phils also managed to put 2 on with just 1 out, in the 9th, but Greg Dobbs grounded into a double play to end that threat. The bullpen performed admirably on this night, allowing just 2 runs in the final 2 innings. It was simply an off night for the Cole Hamels that did the Phils in tonight. They also left another 8 men on base, which didn't help much either. Tonight was just a down night for the Phils in more ways than one. Anyway so the Phils drop to 90-66 overall and now just 4 games in the NL East as the magic number remains 3.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
After dropping 2 in a row in Milwaukee the Phils needed a win today to salvage at least a split of the series with the Brewers. They got the win the hard way. Joe Blanton got the start, but he wasn't quite as sharp as usual and the umpire didn't give him a lot of the strikes he normally gets each game. Still, disagreeable strikezone not withstanding, Blanton managed to tough out 5 and 2/3rd innings, while allowing 5 runs on 7 hits. Meanwhile, the Phils exploded early with 6 runs through 5 innings, on a solo homer by Jimmy Rollins, and an RBI double by Ryan Howard in the 1st inning, a 2 run double by "the Flyin Hawaiian", Shane Victorino in the 2nd inning, and a 2 run single by Pedro Feliz in the 5th inning. They actually had a 6-1 lead heading into the 6th inning, before Blanton nearly gave it all back. Fortunately, Charlie pulled him just in time, as Clay Condrey closed out the inning. Chad Durbin got through the 7th inning, and put away the 1st 2 outs in the 8th inning, before giving way to Ryan Madson for the 4 out save. After getting the last out in the 8th and 1st out in the 9th without issue, Madson served up a double to Prince Fielder, putting the tying run in scoring position and suddenly it looked like Milwaukee would break the Phil's hearts all over again. Fortunately, Madson had another ideas. He got Felipe Lopez to ground out and then struck out Mike Cameron on a called 3rd strike. So at last someone closed out a game for the Phils, Hallelujah! Now does this mean Madson is the guy from here on out. I guess only time will tell but this was a pretty good audition. While the Phils did score 6 runs in the game, they also left 11 men on base, including some in scoring position. They'll have to clear that up if they want to close out the division in the next few days. Anyway so the Phils move to 90-65 overall, their next 2nd straight 90 win season for the 1st time since 1978 and just the 2nd time ever, and the magic number drops to 3.
EAGLES NEWS
After an embarrassing loss to the Saints in their home opener, the Birds returned to the Linc this afternoon looking to get back on track against the Kansas City Chiefs. They did so and more. With Brian Westbrook, Donovan Mcnabb, and Kevin Curtis all missing from the Eagles' offense, no one was expecting a whole lot from them today, even against a very bad Chief's defense. That makes the fact that they amassed 420 yards of offense on the day all the more impressive. That also shows the ridiculous depth this team has on offense. Kevin Kolb picked up the slack at QB with yet another 300 yd effort, this time completing 24 of 34 passes for 327 yards and 2 TDs, including a 64 yd TD pass to Desean Jackson. Even without Curtis, the Eagles' receiving was superb. Jackson hauled in 6 balls for 149 yards and a TD, Brent Celek caught 8 balls for 104 yds and a TD, and the rookie Jeremy Maclin chipped in nicely with 4 catches for 33 yards. The rookie Lesean Mccoy was dazzling in place of Brian Westbrook, rushing 20 times for 84 yards and a TD. Oh and lest it be forgotten Micheal Vick made his long awaited debut with the Birds today as well. He didn't do a whole lot, rushing once for 7 yards, firing 2 incomplete passes, and acting as a decoy on some effective plays, but this 1st game was really more about him shaking off the rust of a 2 year layoff then really getting all that involved in the Bird's offense. So anyway it was simply a very impressive afternoon for the Eagles offense. Of course it really wasn't the offense that was problematic last week, it was the defense that really let the team down. This week the defense did an about face, overwhelming the Chief offensive line, to the tune of 3 sacks and 5 hits on QB Matt Cassel. The Birds also limited Kansas City to just 196 yards of offense, 99 rushing, and 97 passing. Essentially they once again looked like the dominant defense that picked apart the Panthers in week 1. Just like in that game they blitzed constantly and were on the attack all game long. Blitzing is exactly what they didn't do against the Saints and it's what they should do a good amount of in every game from here on out. They're just too strong and too fast to waste time dropping back into prevent defenses. Now as for the game it really was never all that close. The Birds scored on their first 2 drives, on a 5 yard run by Mccoy and a 1 yard scramble by Kolb. Kansas City made it close with Cassel and Micheal Bradley hooking up for a 13 yd TD pass to cut the lead to 14-7. It was just about all Eagles from there. Kolb answered the Cassell TD pass on the Bird's next drive with the 64 yd pass to Jackson. After a couple of David Aker's field goals, late in the 2nd quarter and early in the 3rd, pushed the lead to 27-7, Kolb led another long drive early in the 4th quarter capped off by a 35 yard TD pass to Celek to put Kansas City away for good with the lead 34-7. Jeff Garcia came in off the bench to finish off the game from there and promptly fumbled the ball away to set up a Chief TD, but it was too little too late and eventually Garcia came back in to run out the clock and finish the 34-14 Eagles win.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)