Wednesday, May 16, 2007
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils continued to roll tonight with a masterful performance by Cole Hamels. Despite a 1:32 rain delay at the onset The Bank was rocking all night long as Hamels pitched six perfect innings to open the night. Meanwhile, Aaron Rowand hit a 3 run homer in the 2nd inning and the Phils coasted to an early 5-0 lead. After they tacked on another run in the 6th for a 6-0 lead, Hamels came out for the 7th and walked Rickie Weeks to start the inning and there went the perfect game. The next batter J.J Hardy then homered and there went the no-hitter. Still, Hamels remained resolute, retiring the side in the 7th and the 8th. In all, Hamels went 8 innings allowing 2 runs on 2 hits while striking out 11. Incredibly Hamels himself had 2 hits to equal the Brewer output on the night. Brett Myers then stepped in a non-save situation in the 9th and closed it out with another 1-2-3 inning. Hamels improved to 6-1 on the season, and the Phils finally got back to .500 for the first time since the season began, as they are now 20-20. Unfortunately they still trail the Mets and the Braves by 5 games for 1st in the NL East. Life is still beautiful though.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils are officially on a roll now. Even Adam Eaton, yes Adam Eaton, the biggest question mark in the Phils rotation, had a heck of a game today. Eaton went 7 and 2/3rds innings, allowing just 2 runs on 4 hits, while striking out 5. The Only Mistake Eaton made on the night, was his last pitch to Prince Fielder which ended up deep in the seats in right field and cut the Phils lead at the time to 1. Meanwhile, the Brewers Claudio Vargas didn't fare to badly himself, going 6 innings while allowing only 3 runs on 7 hits, including a homer by Greg Dobbs. Jimmy Rollins and Pat Burrell knocked in the other two runs, and the Phils led 3-1 after 7 innings and seemed on their way to a win. Then in the 8th inning everything changed just like last night. Eaton made his one mistake and suddenly the lead was down to 3-2. Then after finishing off the 8th, Brett Myers opened the 9th by serving up a homerun ball to Johhny Estrada, and suddenly it was tied 3-3. Fortunately for the Phils ,Derrick Turnbow, touched up last night for 4 runs on 4 hits, was waiting in the wings again to pitch the bottom of the 9th and with two outs up-stepped Carlos Ruiz to face him. A few pitches later Ruiz went down and got a Turnbow sinker and watched it fly through air into the seats for a Phils victory. Mobbed by his teammates at home plate Ruiz would later receive the greatest of compliments, as he was pied in the face by Shane Victorino. So again the Phils used some late heroics to defeat Milwaukee and are 19-20, once again just one game under .500. Life is still beautiful.
FLYERS NEWS
The Flyers have recently re-signed youngsters Ben Eager and Scottie Upshall to two year deals. Translation: we like what we've seen from you and we're willing to give you a chance, show us you deserve it.
Monday, May 14, 2007
PHILLIES NEWS
Up against the Brewers, holders of the major league's best record coming in tonight, the Phils seemed destined to turn yesterday's loss into a long losing streak. Fortunately someone forgot to tell the players that they weren't supposed to win. Early on it was all Brewers as Jamie Moyer was touched up for 5 runs on 9 hits, including 2 homers, in only 6 and 1/3rd innings of work. The Phils meanwhile, continued to struggle with only 2 runs on 6 hits through 7 innings, and with both runs coming on a two run homer by Pat Burrell, his only hit of the night. So entering the 8th inning the Phils trailed 6-2 and with the Brewer's bullpen owning one of the top ERAs in the league, things didn't look so good. However, the Brewer bullpen looked more like the Phils bullpen tonight, imploding to the tune of 6 runs and 6 hits, all in the 8th inning and mostly off of Derrick Turnbow who showed why he is no longer the Brewer's closer, allowing 4 runs on 2 hits, as the Phillies rallied all the way back to take an 8-6 lead going into the 9th inning. Brett Myers then came in and closed it out in the 9th for his 4th save of the year. So the Phils came from behind for a big win to improve to 18-20. Life is beautiful again.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
PHILLIES NEWS
Yesterday's game was one of the most exciting you'll ever see, but today's on Mother's day of all days, was one of the least exciting. The Phils fell behind early 2-0 on shotty fielding including 2 errors and Cubs starter Ted Lilly made sure that it would stay that way. Lilly cruised through 8 innings, allowing just 1 run on 3 hits, while striking out six. So futile was the Phil's offense that the only run they scored came on a throwing error in the 8th, and they did not record a single RBI on the day and overall only 4 hits. The Cubs, meanwhile tacked on a couple runs in the 9th inning at that was about all she wrote. The Cubs won 4-1 and the Phils lost a tough one, to drop to 17-20 on the year. Life Sucks again
Saturday, May 12, 2007
PHILLIES NEWS
With Ryan Howard now on the DL the Phils needed someone else to step up fill the void left by his absence. Yesterday, that someone was Pat Burrell with two homers. Today, that someone was Greg "Roy Hobbs" Dobbs in a rare start at 1st base in place of Howard. Dobbs went 4-4 on the day racking up 4 hits and 2 RBIs including the eventual game winning RBI. Initially, it didn't look like Dobbs would need to be such a hero. Freddy Garcia went 6 innings allowing just 3 runs on 8 hits, while Chase Utley homered and the Phils took a 5-1 lead into the 7th inning. Then, all hell broke lose. The Cubs suddenly came to life in the top of the 7th, quickly scoring 4 runs to tie it at 5. Then with one out and 2 on the game went into a 1 hour and 5 minute rain delay. When the game returned from delay, the Cubs scored 2 more runs and nearly added a 3rd but Shane Victorino gunned down Jacque Jones at the plate to end the inning. The Cubs had thus taken a 7-5 lead. It would not last long. After two quick outs in the bottom of the inning, Aaron Rowand laced a single in rightfield. Then Chase Utley doubled to score Rowand but only after a bad relay throw from the pitcher. After a Pat Burrell walk, Dobbs already with 3 hits on the day, stepped back into the batter's box and delivered a triple, scoring both Utley and Burrell after another bad relay throw. Abraham Nunez then doubled to score Dobbs, Carlos Ruiz homered and suddenly the Phils led again 11-7. With the help of Brett Myers, who pitched a scoreless 8th and 9th inning , and the rain which returned in the 9th, the Phils hung on for the win, improving their record to 17-19 and moving back into 3rd place in the NL East, but still 7 games behind Atlanta for first. Life is still beautiful.
Friday, May 11, 2007
PHILLIES NEWS
Last year, everything and I mean everything that went wrong for the Phils last year was blamed on Pat Burrell. The truth is though, that his numbers weren't really as bad as everyone seems to think they were. I mean he hit 20+ homers and and knocked close to 100 runs, which on most teams doesn't look too bad, but on a Phils team featuring Ryan Howard with 58 homers and 150 RBIs, and Chase Utley with 30 homers and 100+ RBIs, those numbers do tend to lack a bit of luster. Tonight, however Burrell began to atone for his only okay 2006. On a night when the new "lefty" Cole Hamels went 7 innings and allowed only 2 runs on 7 hits and the bullpen pitched near perfect 2 hit ball, all the Phils really needed was a couple of big blasts. A couple of big blasts was exactly what Pat Burrell gave them. In the 4th inning with 2 on and and nobody out and the Phils trailing 2-0, Burrell hit his first homer of the day off Cubs starter Rich Hill, to put the Phils up 3-2. Then in the 6th inning he did it again only this time with only one on and nobody out to increase the Phils lead to 5-2. Although that would be all the Phils would need, Chase Utley kept the momentum going anyway, knocking in a couple runs in the 7th inning with 2 outs, to put the Cubs away for good by the eventual final score of 7-2. Life is still Beautiful.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
PHILLIES NEWS
The got the day off today finally, but tomorrow the return to action back home in Philly at Citizens Bank Park against the Cubs, in the team's first meeting of the season.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
PHILLIES NEWS
Things didn't look so good for the Phils at the onset of tonight's game. After 6 innings Jamie Moyer had been touched up for 3 runs and 6 hits and the Phils offense was continuing to struggle as Randy Johnson shut them out through 6 innings. In the seventh inning though everything changed in a big way. Johnson began the 7th by loading the bases with nobody out. As he was lifted in a favor of reliever Brandon Medders, the Phils sent in a pinch hitter to take the place of Wes Helms, and he was none other than supposedly hobbled Phil Ryan Howard. In a scene reminiscent of Kirk Gibson against the A's, Howard deposited Medders first pitch into the seats, turning a 3-0 deficit into a 4-3 Phils lead. Meanwhile, Moyer pitched a scoreless frame in the bottom of the inning to end his day on a high note. An error by Conor Jackson allowed the Phils to push the lead to 6-3 in the 8th and Shane Victorino Homer helped the Phils up it to 9-3 in the 9th inning. Two scoreless frames from Brett Myers later, the Phils had won 9-3 to push their record back up to 15-19. Hopefully, this will not only pump Howard out of the funk that caused him to get this entire series off , but pump the Phils out of their recent funk, after a 4-6 road trip, as well. Life is Beautiful, and in the immortal words of Jack Buck "I don't believe what I saw".
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
PHILLIES NEWS
The dark days continue for the Phils. Once again The phils got a start out of Adam Eaton who went 7 innings while allowing just 3 runs on 7 hits, but once again the Diamondbacks got a good start too out of young Micah Owings who also went 7 innings while allowing just 2 runs on 5 hits. In end Owings performance was good enough for the win, Eaton's was not. The Diamondbacks led early 1-0, but Greg "Roy Hobbs" Dobbs, starting his first game if the season in place of the struggling Ryan Howard, hit his first major league homer in the 5th inning to tie it. The Diamondbacks came back with a run in the 6th inning to go up 2-1, but again the Phils had answer in the bottom of the inning as Chase Utley homered to tie it at 2. The Diamondbacks once again came back with one more run off Eaton as Tony Clark homered to put Arizona up 3-2. This time there be no answer from the Phils, as the two bullpens combined for 3 scoreless innings(one for the Phils by Geoff Geary, and 2 for Arizona) to end the game. So the Phils lost 3-2 and their record now stumbles to 14-19 on the season thus far. Life still sucks.
Monday, May 07, 2007
PHILLIES NEWS
Although hobbled, Freddy Garcia turned in his best start of the season thus far, going 6 innings and allowing just 2 runs on 5 hits. Unfortunately, Garcia's effort was not enough on this night in Arizona. The Phils were dazzled themselves by Diamondbacks starter Doug Davis who also went 6 innings while allowing only 2 runs on 5 hits. Then of course when the Phils had finally tied at 2 in the 6th. Antonio Alfonseca came in to pitch the 7th inning and promptly allowed the Diamondbacks to go back ahead 3-2. The Phils battled back again and tied it in the top of 8th at 3, but did so the hard by beating out consecutive double play attempts. Then of course in the bottom of the 8th inning in came Francisco Rosario who once again promptly allowed Arizona to go back ahead 4-3 and that was all they would need. The Phils only baserunner in the 9th was Jimmy Rollins who was hit by pitch and never advanced off 1st base. Thus, the Phils fell short again. It's pretty clear now that the Phils just can't win close games with the bullpen they have right now, especially not with the way they performed tonight. At any rate though the Phils dropped to 14-18, somehow by the grace of God, the Braves, Marlins, and Mets all lost tonight as well, so the Phils didn't lose any ground in the NL, they just didn't gain any either. Life sucks again.
Sunday, May 06, 2007
PHILLIES NEWS
Coming off consecutive losses the Phils needed to win tonight's game to earn a split of their series with the Giants, and to right their suddenly sinking ship. Once again just like the last two games the phils got off to a quick start with Shane Victorino hitting a 2 run homer in the first inning. This time, however, Cole Hamels made sure that there would be no Giants comeback. Hamels went 7 strong innings, striking out 9, while allowing only 5 runs on 8 hits. Meanwhile, the Phils pounded out 6 more runs on 6 hits, including another 2 run homer by Ryan Howard, a doubles by Chase Utley and a triple by Jimmy Rollins. Heck, even Hamels doubled and scored what turned out to be the winning run in the 6th inning. Even more impressive though, was the almost unassisted insurance run scored by Micheal Bourn in the 7th inning, as he stole second and third base, and then somehow scored on a hard hit ground ball right to SS Omar Vizquel, as he somehow slid through the plate block of Bengie Molina. For the second time in as many Phils wins Brett Myers entered in the 9th and got the save for an 8-5 Phils win, improving their record to 14-17. Life is somewhat beautiful again.
Saturday, May 05, 2007
PHILLIES NEWS
Just like yesterday the Phils scored first and just like yesterday they still lost. Jon Lieber was ineffective in 6 innings of work as he allowed 4 runs on 7 hits including Barry Bond's 744th career homer. The Phils meanwhile managed only 2 runs in through innings and although they tacked on a couple late runs it was too late. The Giants countered with 5 late runs including homers by Eliezer Alfonzo and Pedro Feliz, to win again 9-4. Once again a tough loss for the Phils as they fall to just 13-17 on the year. Life Still sucks.
Friday, May 04, 2007
PHILLIES NEWS
With Jamie Moyer on the mound for tonight's game if seemed like there was a good chance that the Phils would win their second in a row over the Giants but it wasn't to be. The Phils went up early 2-0 in the first inning and Moyer coasted through 6 scoreless innings to open the game. However, in the 7th inning the wheels came off. Moyer walked Barry Bonds to start the inning then allowed singles to Bengie Molina and Pedro Feliz, loading the bases with 2 outs for pinch hitter Eliezer Alfonzo who of course cleared the bases with a double, to put the Giants up 3-2 and well they never looked back, and wound up winning 6-2. Tough loss for the Phils, and tough luck for Jamie Moyer. Life sucks again.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
PHILLIES NEWS
Wet, wacky and wild that's what tonight's game in San Fransisco was. The Wet was annoying intermittent rain showers that kept slowing down the game and reeking havoc on pitcher's throwing motions and hitter's swings. The Wild was 9 runs scored by the Phils through the first 4 innings on two triples by Jimmy Rollins, doubles by Chase Utley and Pat Burrell, 3 singles by Shane Victorino and even a bloop single by Carlos Ruiz. The Wild was also 5 runs scored by the Giants in the 8th inning, cutting a 9-2 Phillies lead all the way down to 9-7. The Wacky was 300+, yes 300+ combined pitches thrown by the two teams, as neither got much out of their starters, with the Giant's Matt Cain lasting 3 innings, and the Phils Adam Eaton lasting just 5 innings. Neither got too much out of their bullpens either, particularly San Fransisco whose bullpen allowed 2 runs on 5 hits. Still, the most significant of those 300+ pitches were the final 16 thrown by Brett Myers who came in to close it in the 9th, replacing Tom Gordon at least for the moment, as Gordon remains back in Philly getting x-rays and treatment on his arm which is once again tightening up like it did during spring training. Anyway, those 16 pitches, produced 0 hits , 0 runs, 0 walks, 1 strikeout, and the 1st save of Brett Myer's career. Not bad for a first timer and further evidence that he and not Tom Gordon, should be the Phils closer. So there you have it, wet, wild, wacky, and a big 9-7 win for the Phils improving their record to 13-15. Life is beautiful.
EAGLES NEWS
The Eagles signed free agent defensive tackle Luke Scott today to a 1 year deal. Scott spent last season with the Chicago Bears and should compete for playing time on the Eagles along with Broderick Bunkley, Monte Reagor, and Sam Rayburn among others.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
PHILLIES NEWS
One word describes tonight's game, frustration. Freddy Garcia hasn't exactly been at his best thus far this season, as he has yet to get past the 6th inning in any of his starts, and tonight was no exception. Garcia lasted only 5 innings, but he battled pretty well and managed to hold the Braves to 3 runs through those 5 innings. Meanwhile, Ryan Howard crushed a 3-run homer in the top of the 6th inning to knot at 3. You'd think that would give Garcia even more resolve to come out strong in the bottom of 6th, but he wasn't even able to record an out in the inning, instead loading the bases with one out, before being replaced by Geoff Geary. Geary managed to get out of the inning but not before giving up a run, for a 4-3 Braves lead. Still, only trailing by a run with 3 innings to play, you'd think the Phils would still be able to make a run at it, think again. In the final 3 innings the Phils had exactly one baserunner, and the that was Greg Dobbs after a single in the 9th inning with two outs. Of course, Rod Barajas, followed the single by swinging at the first pitch he saw and flying out to end the game. Yeah, it doesn't get much more frustrating than that, as the Phils are now 1-5 against the Braves this season and just 12-15 overall. Life Sucks.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
PHILLIES NEWS
It started out as a shaky night but once Cole Hamels got settled it was all she wrote. Hamels began the night by allowing 3 runs in the first inning including a two run homer by Chipper Jones. The Phils picked Hamels up though and came right back in the 2nd inning with 4 runs of their own. A passed ball scored one run, a ground out by Jimmy Rollins scored another, a single by Aaron Rowand scored a third and a bases loaded walk by Pat Burrell capped it off by scoring a 4th run. Aaron Rowand made it 5-3 with an RBI single in the 3rd inning that scored Jayson Werth and Rod Barajas slammed a homer in the 7th to make it 6-3 and that's all Hamels would need. Following the first inning Hamels then went 6 scoreless innings in a row, until Chipper Jones homered again in the 8th to cut the lead to 6-4. Brett Myers then replaced Hamels and finished off the 8th, turning it over to Flash Gordon in the 9th who actually got a 1-2-3 save in the 9th, clinching a 6-4 Phils victory to improve their record to 12-14. Like I said, there's always tomorrow.
Monday, April 30, 2007
PHILLIES NEWS
If you blinked , you might have missed tonight's game in Atlanta which lasted just over 2 hours as fast working pitchers Jon Lieber and Tim Hudson got locked in a pitcher's duel. Lieber went 7 innings, allowing just 2 runs on 7 hits, while striking out 2. Hudson was just a bit better going 8 innings, while allowing just 2 runs on 4 hits. The two teams scratched a couple runs in the 5th and 6th innings and thus found themselves tied going into the 9th inning. The Phils went down in order in the top of the inning at the hands of interim closer, Mike Gonzalez, in place of veteran Bob Wickman who was recently placed on the DL. For the Phils Antonio Alfonseca came in to pitch the 9th after Brett Myers survived the 8th inning without incident. Alfonseca got one out but then walked the next batter and allowed Chipper Jones to single, putting two on with only one out for slugger Andrew Jones. After getting one strike on Jones, Alfonseca fired a high fastball right down the middle and Jones didn't miss it. You probably know what happened next, the ball landed in the seats about 5 rows back and that was it, game over , 5-2, thrilling victory for the Braves ,and agonizing loss for the Phils.
EAGLES NEWS
Well, they did it, Dhani Jones is gone. With the free agent signing of Takeo Spikes it was just a matter of time before this happened. Basically, the Eagles released Dhani Jones today, and have now penned in Chris Gocong whom they drafted last year as his replacement on the strong side. Spikes will start on the weak side and Jeremiah Trotter will likely start in the middle, although Omar Gaither who filled in on the weak side at the end of last season is likely to compete with him for the spot.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
PHILLIES NEWS
With the 3rd largest crowd in the history of Citizen's Bank Park on hand for today's game, the always popular Phanatic's birthday game, they needed to have something good to watch and Jamie Moyer gave it to them. For 6 and 2/3rd innings Moyer no-hit the Marlins, who had pounded Phillies pitching for 2 days. Unfortunately, just 7 agonizing outs from history, Moyer gave up a double to Miguel Cabrera which just barely flew over the outstretched glove of 3rd baseman Abraham Nunez. Moyer stayed positive though and wound up going 7 and 2/3rds scoreless innings while striking out 5 and allowing just 2 hits. For their part the Phils lineup did just enough to win. Chase Utley had an RBI single on the 1st inning, Jayson Werth starting in place of Pat Burrell, had a 2 RBI single in the 6th inning with the bases loaded, and Greg "Roy Hobbs" Dobbs had a pinch hit bases clearing double in the 8th inning, which scored 3 runs. In all the Phils scratched out 6 runs, enough to win easily 6-1 and improve their record to 11-13. So, once again when the Phils really needed it, they got a gem out of Jamie Moyer to recover from yesterday's embarrassment.
EAGLES NEWS
The Eagles finished their draft today with two picks in the 5th round, one in the 6th, and one in the 7th. With the 159th pick of the 5th round the Eagles finally got a safety, C.J Gaddis, from Clemson, the same school from which the Eagles drafted perennial pro-bowl safety Brian Dawkins. Gaddis proved to be a very versatile while at Clemson playing at both safety positions, cornerback, kick-returner, and even quarterback for their scout team. Basically, he's the kind of guy that the Eagles can plug in anywhere and get good production out of, and obviously that's what they're looking for out of him. Three picks later the Eagles took Cincinnati TE Matt Celek with the 162nd pick in the 5th round. In his career Celek had 91 career receptions for 1,135 yards and 14 touchdowns, numbers good enough for him to be the Eagles 3rd tight end behind L.J Smith and Matt Schobel. In the 6th round with the 201st pick the Eagles took CB Rashad Barksdale out of division 1-AA Albany. Barksdale is a physical specimen at 6-2 210 Lbs and with a time of 4.38 in the 40 yard dash. Hopefully, he'll give the Eagles the depth at CB that they didn't have last season. Finally, with their last pick, the 236th pick in the 7th round, the Eagles took Hawaii FB Nate Ilaoa. In 37 career games Ilaoa rushed 1,689 yards and 20 touchdowns on 222 carries, while taking in 151 receptions for 1,694 yards and 9 touchdowns. Those are pretty good numbers for a fullback and although the Eagles already have capable Thomas Tapeh at FB, Ilaoa could fit in with the Eagles somewhere and just give them one more weapon on offense.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
PHILLIES NEWS
All I can say is thank God I had the draft to distract me from having to watch too much of this game. Yeah, it was that ugly and you could tell it was going to be from the start. Phils starter Adam Eaton got roughed up in the first inning allowing the Marlins to take an early 3-0 lead, not good when the starting pitcher in the visitor's dugout is Dontrelle Willis. Even worse when your big bopper, Ryan Howard, has the night off because "uncle Charlie" doesn't want to start him against the nasty lefty. At any rate despite Eaton's struggles, he gave up 7 runs on 10 hits in just 4 and 1/3rds innings, the Phils managed to hang around, as Aaron Rowand singled and scored in the 1st inning and Rod Barajas hit a solo shot in the second inning, his first homer as a Phil. Incredibly, thanks to those RBIs and two RBIs from Chase Utley, the phils managed to enter the 6th inning only trailing the by 3 with the score at 7-4. After reliever Fransisco Rosario quickly got two outs it seemed like it would at least stay that way into the 7th inning, but then the wheels came lose. Rosario allowed consecutive singles to Miguel Cabrera and Mike Jacobs, then Josh Willingham stepped up and crushed a 3 run homer and suddenly the Phils were down 10-4. Unfortunately, they never recovered from the shock of Willingham's homer, as Miguel Cabrera added a solo homer in the 8th inning and the Marlins won going away 11-5, dropping the Phils record to 10-13. Oh well, better luck next time guys.
EAGLES NEWS
Well, it finally here, draft day, so let's see which safety did the Eagles draft in the first round, oh wait they traded out the first round. Okay, so which safety did they draft in the second round with their first pick of the draft, oh wait they didn't draft a safety, they drafted..... a quarterback? okay, well there were still plenty of good ones left, maybe it's Trent Edwards, or John Beck, or maybe even Pennsylvania's own Drew Stanton. No? its not one of them then who is it?, Kevin Kolb out of Houston, who the H*** is he? and why the H*** did they draft him? say the Eagles fans as they boo the pick. Well, according to the Andy Reid the Eagles didn't having any pressing needs to address in this draft(yeah, tell that to Brian Dawkins when he looks at the depth chart this summer, and realizes there's no one behind him, at least not until tomorrow anyway), and thus rather then fill a need they simply selected the best player available, which was apparently Kolb. Now in fairness Reid also said that this pick had nothing to do with the Eagles being worried about Donovan Mcnabb's return from his knee injury at the beginning the upcoming season. Still, until I get a chance to see Kolb play, I can't say whether this was a bad pick or not. Going strictly by his college numbers, Kolb sounds like he might not be half bad. All told, in his career at Houston, Kolb passed for 12, 964 yards and 85 touchdowns and was conference USA player of the year last season with 3,809 yards and 30 touchdowns and just 4 interceptions. He is also the only player in the history of Houston university to pass for 3,000 yards in 3 straight seasons, pretty impressive when you consider that they once harbored Heisman trophy winning QB Andre Ware, and the 12,964 yards rank 4th all time in division 1-A, behind former Eagles Timmy Chang of Hawaii and Ty Detmer of BYU, and N.C state's Philip Rivers now of course with the Chargers. Oh and by the way, Kolb his 6-3 218 Lbs, pretty good size for a QB. So while none of us have heard of him, Kolb has put some pretty good numbers, so I think we should cut Andy Reid some lack before we call this draft a waste. Anyway, as a consolation for trading out of the first round, the Eagles had 3 more picks on the first day of the draft. With the 57th pick of the 2nd they selected Notre Dame's DE Victor Abiamiri to sure up their depth at that position, not that they didn't already have crap load of DEs on their roster, but it never hurts to have another. The Eagles followed that in the third round by taking Nebraska Linebacker Stewart Bradley with the 87th pick in the 3rd round. I know, what kind of football name is Stewart, but hey he lead Nebraska last year with 76 tackles, and he's 6-5 254Lbs so he should provide nice depth for their linebacking core. Finally the Eagles finished the day 3 picks later by taking Penn State RB Tony Hunt with the 90th pick in the 3rd round. At 6-1 233 Lbs Hunt could be the bruising short yardage back the Eagles have been looking for since losing Duce Staley to free agency, or he could just be another in a long line of Penn state RB busts, you know like Blair Thomas, Curtis Enis, and Ki-jana Carter. Yeah I know I don't remember them either, but let's hope that Hunt turns out to be the former.
Friday, April 27, 2007
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils didn't play their best tonight by any means. Starter Freddy Garcia lasted just 4 and 2/3rds innings while allowing 4 runs on 7 hits, the Phils as a team left 14 men on base, and Tom Gordon blew another save. In the end on this wild friday night, none of that mattered. Aaron Rowand homered to extend his hitting streak to 16 games and the Phils scored 3 runs in the 2nd inning to go up early 3-1. However, for the next 4 innings it was all Marlins, as the Phils went scoreless and the Marlins put up 3 runs to grab a 4-3 lead heading into the 8th inning. The Phils refused to go down though, and staged a dramatic rally in the bottom of the 8th. Jimmy Rollins homered with one out to tie at 4, and Chase Utley homered with 2 outs to put the phils ahead 5-4. Unfortunately, as noted Tom Gordon blew the save in the top of the 9th, and Phils found themselves tied with Marlins again at 5 , heading into the bottom of the 9th inning. Once again, they refused to give up and loaded the bases with no outs in the 9th. Carlos Ruiz then hit a hard ground ball that Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez couldn't handle, allowing the winning run to score, as the Phils finally defeated the marlins 6-5, to improve to 10-12.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
PHILLIES NEWS
Sometimes good pitching trumps good hitting and that's what happened to the Phils today. The Phils lineup had been red hot, pounding to 5 wins out of their last 6 games, today however, none of that mattered. Cole Hamels was also on the mound for the Phils today, and he had been there best starting pitcher thus far this season, striking out 15 in his last start, but again none of that mattered as he allowed 4 runs on 8 hits in only 5 and 1/3rd innings of work. In the end, nothing the Phils did today was any match for the mastery of Nationals starter Shawn Hill. Hill is by no means the ace of the Nationals staff, but today he pitched like he was. Through 8 strong innings of work he allowed the red hot Phils to score only 2 runs on 4 hits, one of which was a solo homer by Aaron Rowand which his extended his now league best hitting streak to 14 games, funny how that sort of thing keeps happening to Phillies players. Anyway, no matter what the Phils did today, they simply couldn't figure out Hill, and succumbed to the Nationals, after a furious 9th inning rally against closer Chad Cordero, by a score of 4-2. So, for one day at least the streaking Phils got a little side-tracked, as their record dropped back to 9-12. Still, if they keep playing like this, and consistently win 2 games out of 3, there's no reason they won't be able to get back to the top of the standings sometime soon.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
PHILLIES NEWS
One name, Chase Utley, that's all you need to hear about tonight's game for the Phils. All told Utley had 5 hits(2 doubles, 3 singles) and knocked in 3 runs. Even without his teammates that would have been enough tie the Nationals, who as a team scored just 3 runs on 7 hits on night. The Phils meanwhile with Utley's help pounded out 9 runs on 12 hits, including two, two run homers from Ryan Howard in the 3rd inning and Jimmy Rollins in the 8th inning. The Pitching was also well in the Phils favor. For the nationals starter John Patterson lasted just 5 and 1/3rd innings allowing 6 runs on 8 hits. Meanwhile for the Phils Jon Lieber went 6 innings allowing just 2 runs on 5 hits for his first win of the season in two starts. Finally, the bullpen was again far better for the Phils. For the Nationals the bullpen combined for 4 and 2/3rd innings, but in those innings allowed 3 runs on 2 hits. Meanwhile for the Phils, Matt Smith, Geoff Geary, Brett Myers, and Francisco Rosario combined for 3 strong innings, while allowing just one run, on 2 hits. So, once again tonight's win was a team win just like it should have been, and it was the Phils 5th in a row, meaning they have now improved to 9-11. Not too shabby if you ask me.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
PHILLIES NEWS
4, that's how many games in a row that the Phils have won now. Tonight's win just like the others was a team victory. The Phils trailed 3-1 until the 6th inning, but it would have been more if not for 6 strong innings by Jamie Moyer, striking out 5, while allowing just 3 runs on 6 hits. Meanwhile, the Phils suddenly came to life in the bottom of the 6th, as Pat Burrell doubled in a run to cut the lead to 2-1. In the bottom of the 7th Aaron Rowand homered to tie it at 3, then the wheels fell off for the Nationals in the 8th. Chase Utley led off by getting hit by a pitch, then after Ryan Howard struck out, Pat Burrell worked a walk, and Wes Helms singled scoring Utley and Burrell after a Ryan Church throwing error. Then with the Phils up 5-3 Carlos Ruiz singled to score Helms, who had advanced to second on the throwing error, and that was all she wrote. Flash Gordon came in for the 9th, and actually closed the door for once, giving the Phils the 6-3 win. In all, it was as I said a team win. The Phils got a good start from Moyer, the timely hitting they needed, and 3 more scoreless innings out of their bullpen. I don't why, but for some reason everything is just clicking for the Phils right now, and its fun to watch. I just hope it continues for a long while, so the Phils can continue to improve on their now 8-11 record.
Monday, April 23, 2007
PHILLIES NEWS
Delayed from last Monday, the Phils finally had their Jackie Robinson night and they made it count. Early on it didn't look it would be a good night for the Phils, as Craig Biggio led off the night by sending Adam Eaton's first pitch into the seats for a 1-0 Astros lead. Fortunately for the Phils, Jimmy Rollins was ready to answer. Rollins answered by leading off the bottom of the 1st inning with a homer of his own, en route to a 4 hit, 2 RBI, 4 runs scored night, that saw him come a double shy of becoming the first Phil to hit for the cycle since David Bell back in 2004. Although he would be all the Phils would need on the night, Rollins wouldn't be alone. In all, the Phils pounded out 11 runs and 20 hits, including a 3 run homer by Chase Utley that went 460 feet, and 3 hits, 3 RBIs, and 2 runs scored by Shane Victorino. Pat Burrell and Wes Helms also chipped in with 3 hits and an RBI each. For his part, starter Adam Eaton wasn't too shabby either, going 6 innings, and striking out 7 while allowing only 4 runs on 7 hits. The Phils bullpen also chipped in with 3 scoreless innings to finish off the game. Still, as well they played the Phils needed a 3 run 4th inning that gave them a 7-4 lead after having traded the lead back in forth through the first 3 innings, to finally put Houston away. All in all, it was a team win for the Phils, and their 3rd in a row. All of which means that we can officially say that the Phils are now on a roll, as they have now improved to 7-11.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
PHILLIES NEWS
He struggled in his first start, but today Freddy Garcia was everything advertised. He only lasted 5 innings, but they were all good ones, as he allowed just 2 runs on 4 hits. Also for once the Bullpen closed the deal for him, as they allowed just one run the rest of way and issued only two walks. Of course, they had plenty of breathing room to work with as Ryan Howard returned to the lineup early and homered and knocked in 3 runs, Wes Helms had 3 hits, and Chase Utley collected 2 more hits and scored 3 runs. In all, although 4 came in the top of the 9th inning when they were no longer needed, the Phils put up 9 runs ,their best output of the season, and won going away 9-3. Thus, the Phils have successfully won back to back games for the first time this season, and 3 out of there last 4 and have now improved to 6-11. Of course, they are still only in 4th place, in the NL East, but that's better than last place, and who knows maybe after today, the Howard can finally get going and the Phils can continue this roll that they are currently on. Well, that's all I have for today, I guess I ma just too excited for words today, for some reason, oh well.
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