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.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
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.
Saturday, August 08, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils continued their series with the Marlins tonight. Cole Hamels got the start and delivered yet another subpar performance, allowing 4 runs on 5 hits in just 5 and 1/3rd innings. Meanwhile, Ryan Howard's bat finally woke up again with 4 hits and a run scored on the night, but unfortunately his teammates didn't give him much help. Chase Utley and Jayson Werth both went hitless and Howard had 3 of Phils only 5 hits after the 3rd inning. Still early on after allowing a leadoff homerun to Chris Coghlan it looked like Cole was going to cruise the rest of the way. At the same time the Phils came up with a couple of runs in the 2nd inning on an infield single and a fielder's choice for a 2-1 lead. Even after Cole got into a jam in the top of 3rd inning and allowed Florida to tie it at 2, it stilled seemed that he would be okay, as an error by Nick Johnson allowed the Phils to go back ahead 3-2 in the bottom of the inning. Then Cody Ross slammed a 2 run homer in the 6th to put the fish ahead 4-3 and that was it for Hamels and the Phils who couldn't take advantage of their opportunities the rest of the way. Both in the 7th and 8th innings the Phils had a runner on 2nd with less than 2 outs, and both times they failed to get him in. Finally in the 9th inning after Florida had pushed it to 6-3, Shane Victorino tripled and scored on a fielder's choice. It was too little too late though for the Phils. Ryan Howard did get aboard with an infield single to bring the tying run to the plate, but both Werth and Raul Ibanez flied out to end it. Utley is now just 6 for his last 32, Jayson Werth is now hitless in his last 3 games and the whole team is struggling right now to hit with runners in scoring position. I just can't understand it. There just seems to be some sort of mental block for the guys right now when they step up to the plate with a chance to knock in runs, kind of like last year in the world series. Hopefully they're just getting that out of the way now so they'll be hot if they make it into the world series this time around. Seriously though this can't go on too much longer and or they're going to make it very difficult for themselves to clinch the division. Anyway so the Phils drop to 61-47 now and just 5 games up in the NL East.
EAGLES NEWS
There's more bad news from Eagles training camp today. 5th round pick Cornelius Ingram, who had missed most of his senior season at Florida last year with a torn ACL, has apparently torn the ACL again and could be done for the season. So the Eagles are now pretty thin at tight end behind starter Brent Celek. The veteran Matt Schobel, although not used much last season, should be an able backup, but after Schobel there's nothing but questions with undrafted rookies Eugene Bright and Rob Myers battling it out for 3rd string tight end. On the other hand the Eagles still have a wealth of depth at WR, with Desean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, Kevin Curtis, Jason Avant, Hank Baskett, Brandon Gibson, and yes even Reggie Brown is still on the Birds roster. So perhaps that depth will compensate for the lack there of at tight end.
Friday, August 07, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils welcomed the Florida Marlins to the bank tonight to begin a weekend series on an especially emotionally night as Harry Kalas was inducted into the Phillies wall of fame. It was really a fitting ceremony for the now silenced voice of the Phillies, complete with speeches by Micheal Jack himself, Todd Kalas, and a video tribute with some of Harry's most memorable calls. You can still see it I think on Phillies.com(Just click on the link to left that says Phillies and you'll go right to Phillies.com). Anyway it seems the emotion got to the Phils or rather took it out of them. They just came out flat in the beginning of the game and weren't quite able to pick it up in time for the win. Joe Blanton got the start and pitched well, but a made a few mistakes early in the game and as a result wound up allowing 3 runs on 8 hits in 6 and 2/3rd's innings, with 2 of the runs coming on solo homers by Nick Johnson and Cody Ross. It looked like Florida would make it 4-0 in the top of the 7th but Ben Francisco(playing because Shane Victorino sat out with a sore hip), gunned down Chris Coghlan at the plate off a single by Hanley Ramirez to keep it at 3-0. Then in the bottom of the 7th Francisco lined a 2 run homer just over the fence in left to cut it to 3-2. Next the Phils put 2 on with one out in the bottom of the 8th but both Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez failed to get the runs in. Finally in the bottom of the 9th the Phils went down in order with Matt Stairs grounding out to end it. If the Phils hadn't started out their last series just like this I might be concerned right now, but there is just no reason to be. I am still confident the Phils can fry some fish the rest of the weekend and bury Florida in the standings. The lineup just has to refocus again like it did against Colorado.
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