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.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
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.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils continued their series with the Brewers tonight. Kyle Kendrick got the start and was pretty good allowing just 3 runs on 6 hits in 4 innings. Jamie Moyer took over for Kendrick in the 5th and he too pitched 4 adequately good innings, allowing just 2 runs on 3 hits. Meanwhile, the Phils were able to match those 5 runs, with a 2 run homer by Paul Bako in the 2nd inning, a sac fly by Jason Werth and an RBI single by Pedro Feliz in the 3rd inning, and a solo homer by Ryan Howard in the 5th inning. Thus, it was all tied up at 5 heading into the 9th inning. The Phils got the first crack at breaking the tie in the top of inning, but they couldn't come up with anything against always tough Trevor Hoffman, the major league' s all-time saves leader. In the bottom of the 9th it was Milwaukee's turn and they did not dissapoint as Ryan Braun lifted a 2 run homer into the seats to send the Brewers away with a 5-2 win. So another day, another problem with the Phils bullpen. This time it was Tyler Walker who got pasted in 9th inning, allowing 2 runs on 2 hits while failing to register an out. Still, even with the loss and all the bullpen troubles the Phils remain 5 games up in the NL East with only 8 games to play, so they are basically a lock to make the playoffs. It doesn't seem like they'll get very far once they get there though, if they can't figure out a way to get the bullpen healthy again. Anyway with the loss the Phils drop to 89-65 overall, but their magic number remains 4.
Friday, September 25, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils continued their series in Milwaukee tonight. Cliff Lee got the start and was roughed up again for about the 3rd time in his last 4 starts. This one may have been the worst of the 3 as Lee allowed 7 runs on 9 hits, including 3 run homers by Prince Fielder and Mike Cameron, in only 6 innings. The Phils meanwhile, against a guy in Manny Parra whom they had owned thus far in his career, could only come up with 2 runs on 4 hits in 7 innings, both on a 2 run single by Ryan Howard in the 4th inning. So after 7 innings the Phils found themselves in a 7-2 hole from which they could not climb out although they tried to gamely. Brad Lidge came on in relief in the 7th and allowed the Brewers to push the lead to 8-2. Then the Phils finally woke up in the 8th , as an RBI single by Howard and a fielder's choice cut the lead to 8-4. Then in the 9th inning they put 2 on with nobody out, but it was to no avail. From there Matt Staris popped up, Jimmy Rollins fouled out, and Shane Victorino grounded out to end the 8-4 Brewer win. Thus, the Phils magic number stays at 4. I cannot believe this keeps happening to Lee, but hopefully it is just a fluke and he'll pitch well when it really matters. It was interesting to Lidge pitch the 7th inning tonight and apparently that may be his role from now on. He looked half way decent tonight so maybe that is for the best. I am surprised the Phils performed so poorly against Parra tonight. They were batting .521 as a team against him coming in. I am not sure what Parra really did to turn that round. Perhaps they just got a little fatigued out there. The Phils got some more bad news on the injury front today as they were forced to scratch Pedro Martinez from his next start as he recuperates from that neck injury he suffered in his last start. While the injury does appear to be serious the Phils and Pedro decided to be cautious and sit him out for a start. So hopefully this will be the only start he misses. Kyle Kendrick will get the start in place of Pedro and hopefully he'll continue to pitch as well as he has been. Anyway so the Phils drop to 89-64 overall and down to 6 games up in the NL East.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
PHILLIES NEWS
The Phils traveled to Milwaukee tonight to begin a series with the Brewers. J.A Happ got the start and he actually looked healthy for a change allowing just 2 runs on 6 hits while striking out 7 in 5 and 2/3rd's innings. Meanwhile, the Phils pounded the Brew Crew into submission with 8 runs on 12 hits off Jeff Suppan in just 4 innings. Ryan Howard slapped an RBI single in the 1st inning, Pedro Feliz lined an RBI double in the 4th inning and the Phils racked up 4 straight singles and a 2 run homer by Jimmy Rollins in the 5th inning, to forge ahead 8-0. Milwaukee made some middling attempts to rally back, but realistically after 6 innings the game was already pretty much over. Just for good measure JRoll added another run to the Phils total in the 7th inning, by scoring on an error. From there thanks to some shaky bullpen play Milwaukee almost came back or just got themselves back in the game a few times, but each time a Phils reliever managed to hold them off just enough. First it was Chad Durbin in the 7th inning then Tyler Walker getting out of a bases loaded jam in the 8th inning and finally Clay Condrey closing the door in the 9th inning after allowing a couple of runs to close out the 9-3 win. It was really an impressive night for the Phils to be able to go into Milwaukee and get a win like this. They scored 9 runs and only hit 1 homer. That bodes well for them going forward, because the long ball can only get you so far come playoff time. The Phils really are thin in the back of the bullpen right now. Even Condrey couldn't get outs tonight. The day that J.C Romero and Brett Myers return action again can't come soon enough. So anyway with the win the Phils move to 89-63 overall and still 7 games up in the NL East. Also their magic number drops down to 4 now.
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