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Halladay no-hits Reds in postseason debut
Roy Halladay was happy to get to the postseason.
The Phillies go to guy on the mound this year should receive serious consideration in the Cy Young balloting. He didn’t hurt his cause with a masterful performance tonight, including a 2nd inning run scoring two out single.
But time to talk about his pitching folks.
Halladay was near perfect with a no hitter, only one walk, 104 pitches.
The Phillies main offensive weapons didn’t have much impact after Volquez got chased after allowing 4 runs and 4 hits in 1 and 2/3 innings to start the game. Utley started 0-2, Howard 0-3 and Werth 0-3 with 1 RBI and no runs between them.
The Phillies offense didn’t need to do a whole lot as Halladay made his postseason debut with an exclamation point by throwing a no hitter.
The Reds hardly looked like the majors best offensive ball club. The Phillies DID look like the team to beat. They began their 4th straight postseason with the win. Over the last 4 years, they have now won 5 of 7 postseason series, and lead this one 1-0.
They have improved the last 5 years, going from 85 to 89 to 92 to 92 to 97 wins, winning the NL twice and the World Series once. Halladay became the fifth pitcher in history to record 2 no hitters in the same season, and the only one to do it with such flair, recording his second one in the opening game of the post season. Tonight was only the second no hitter in postseason history.
ten wins and counting
The Phillies are certainly hitting the stretch run at a full sprint. They extended their winning streak to ten by sweeping the Braves in a pitchers duel, 1-0. They are now 31 games over .500, their best winning percentage since 1993.
Hamels dropped his ERA below 3.0 with a 3-1 6 hitter win on Monday, then Halladay followed with win #20 on Tuesday and Oswalt completed the trifecta today with a 7 inning one hit effort to drop his ERA to 2.8 and then Madsen and Lidge pitched the 8th and 9th to earn the 1-0 win and save for the sweep.
With Halladay at 2.53, Oswalt at 2.80. and Hamels at 2.93, the Phillies have three pitchers with double digit victories and ERA’s below 3.0 for the first time since 1980.
The offense with 8 hitters batting between .255 and .300 only produced 4 hits and a single run on Raul Ibanez’s 2 out hit in the 8th that plated the only run of the contest.
The Braves have self destructed as the Phillies reasserted control on the NL East, not looking back or losing more than a half game since gaining the lead last week.
The Braves remain the favorite for the wild csrd, but they now must prepare for the Phillies arrival in Atlanta late next week.
The Phillies are now tied for wins with the Yankees and the Twins in all of baseball, and easily have the best record in the National League. The Braves will have to sweep them in return to even have a shot at a race, so they will probably try to position themselves for the post season. Meanwhile, the Phillies offense and pitching and relief staffs all seem to be hitting the peak and supporting each other at the same time.
This is the mark of a dynasty. We have discussed on this blog before the making and characteristics of a sports dynasty, and I believe, in the modern era, if you are able to dominate a sport over ten years, say with 6 World Series or Superbowl appearances, with a winning record and a couple additional league championships or titles, then you can call yourself a dynasty. Pennsylvania has not had one of those since the NFL’s Steel Curtain and it is about time a Philadelphia team asserted itself and declared itself to be a contender for the next 4-6 years, no matter what.
Even though the Phillies look to lose Werth, and potentially another key piece or two, unlike their fellow franchise in the NFL, the Phillies seem able to lose a player or two and recover quickly to contend again. I am sure the powers that be in the front office are already actively at work since the news of the Boras signing broke earlier this week.
No matter what other distractions may occur, at this point, the Phillies seem to me to be the odds on favorite to take it all. I can not recall in recent history another team riding a winning streak of this magnitude against largely teams from their own division right before clinching a title and continuing to the postseason, so this streak will give the Phillies a much needed boost in reaching the postseason on a roll.
This team is two championships away from calling itself a dynasty, and I believe this year, the Phillies will win it all again. They are statistically better than they were in 2008 with more post season experience and weaker challengers than before.
No one wants to face Halladay, Hamels, Oswalt, 1-2-3. No one can consistantly shut the Phillies diverse offensive lineup down. So I look forward to the final weeks and will report on the Phillies progress as they win the division and return to the World Series for the third time in a row.
He still has game
All right. I am going to come right out and say it. He can still play. MV. Vick’s got game.
For those of you who know, I am a 40 year die hard Eagles fan and not a Vick supporter by any means.
I don’t neccessarily agree with the team’s decision to bring him on, nor did I agree with the team’s decision to let McNabb go.
But it is what it is and with the injury to Kolb, there was nowhere else to turn.
He showed he can still put up numbers, albeit against the Lions, hardly a true test for the leader of a NFC East team.
He had a 108 QB rating on 21-34 passing for 284 yards with 2 touchdowns. The Eagles won the game 35-32. I think this was more due to McCoy’s 120 yards and 3 touchdowns on 16 carries, and Hills’ two interceptions. Detriots QB actually had more yards passing than Vick had passing and rushing combined, but Vick took care of the ball better with no picks and 2 fumbles, both of which were recovered.
Not a bad days work for any NFL quarterback, let alone one with the personal baggage Vick has to carry the rest of his career.
McCoy is coming into his own quickly. Many fans were upset with the decision to let Westbrook go, but I said then, and repeat now, it was a good decision for the team.
So far, Vick looks pretty good. McCoy looks outstanding.
It will be interesting to see, as the season progresses, how much more significant the replacement of one of those stars becomes then the other. If McCoy is on pace to rush for 2,000 yards, the pressure is on Vick to pass for 4,000. and the opposite is true, if Vick runs off 5-6 wins in a row then McCoy will be pushed to score 2 or 3 times a game to even it out.
I am unsure if Vick will be any better than McNabb was at leading this team. Both pass quickly and efficiently, both can scramble and move laterally (Vick is the quicker of the two by far) and both seemed to get a good response from the linemen and receiving corps as far as leading the offense up the field. Big question is; What about Kolb ?
I think Kolb can throw the ball farther, but I think Vick displayed good timing and a strong enough arm yesterday to get the job done.
So now the team is 1-1 and so far, not challenged by a GOOD NFL franchise.
For me, I am waiting for 10/3/10. The day the Redskins descend on the Linc and the way the Eagles, and in particular Michael Vick, handle the event is going to speak volumes regarding the remainder of the season.
Until then, I will enjoy watching the Phillies spank the Braves as many times as possible as MLB goes into the stretch.
Power is in the pitching.
The Phillies completed their second straight sweep to maintain their three game lead over the Atlanta Braves in dramatic fashion today.
This team has been so good in September and October in recent years, fans have come to expect this kind of result, but what the Phillies accomplished tonight was truly remarkable.
They entered the bottom of the ninth inning trailing the Nationals by three runs. Washington brought in a new pitcher for the final three outs and he got none of them. The four Phillies that came to the plate singled, doubled, singled and homered and it was all over.
Jaysen Werth was the star of the show with a walk off 2 run homerun, but Ryan Howard started the comeback with a two run single. Werth fouled off 4 pitches before finally finding one he really liked and hammering it 425 feet to center to the delight of the local crowd, officially the 117th consecutive sellout.
Joe Blanton started off rough, then settled down until he was chased in the sixth inning.
Although the Philadelphia team and individual offensive production has been lower than last year, the Phillies improved to 28 games over .500 for the first time since 1993. The major reason for this, I believe, has been the pitching.
If you look at the team overall you will notice several significant things.
The team ERA is 3.74.
The starting 5 combined for 79 quality starts. Throw in Oswalt with his arrival mid season with his 10 starts, 8 quality starts and 7-1 record, and you have the best group of pitchers on this club since 1983.
Halladay should earn the Cy Young. He ranks third in ERA at 2.49. He is second in strikeouts. He is tied for 1st in victories with 19. He has 28 walks yet leads the league in innings pitched. When he garners win 20, which he should, with three more starts minimum including two against the Braves, he should be looked at seriously as the man to beat for the award.
The relief corps has 35 saves to 10 losses and has been improved, although perhaps not championship caliber. It appears with 6 of their next 9 games against the second place Braves, also holders of the second best winning percentage in the National League, they will be tested. If they win 4 they should lock up the division and if they win 5 or double sweep the Braves with the title on the line I feel that makes them serious favorites to take it all the way.
It was nice to see a serious come from behind win, where the starting pitcher had an average start, followed by some scoring off the relief corps, with the offense, which has slumbered for large parts of this season, roaring up at the last moment and erasing any doubt this team is ready for the post season.
Bring on them Yankees !
Phillies half game back !
Amidst all the Labor Day Sales, trips to the beach, ramping up of the NFL and other late summer activities, the Phillies are in the midst of an unrelenting grind of playing a game nearly every day, rain or shine, home or away, and having to at least win every time the Braves do.
And in the past 2 weeks, despite missing out on several opportunities as the Braves mosey into September, the Phillies HAVE inched closer. Before tonight’s games, the margin for the NL East stood at 1 game. Now, after the Phillies split a pair with the Marlins and the Braves loss to the Pirates, it is half a game.
The Phillies lineup seemed perfectly in sync for the stretch run in the game tonight putting forth a solid consistant effort to back up Roy Oswalt, perhaps 2010’s winner of the “pitcher with the worst run support in the bigs” award.
By the sixth inning, Victorino, Polanco, Utley and Ibanez had all collected at least 2 hits, driven in a run, and scored a run. The Phillies lead after five innings was 7-4 and they won by that score after falling 7-1 to the Fish in the day game. Oswalt is now 5-1 since being traded in a Cliff Lee dejavue kind of way, and the team is 7-1 in games that he started.
In the NL, they now trail only the Braves, by virtue of an extra loss, and the Reds, by virtue of two additional losses. With the Padres unraveling, the Braves faltering, and the Reds with no one pushing them in the Central, the Phillies are now tied for most wins in the National League and looking good. Charlie Manuel has stated this team needs to be judged by how it finishes, and maybe he knew what he was talking about. The Phillies always seem to play somewhat to the level of their competition, and recently, have stepped it up in big games, and season changing games so the stretch is looking pretty interesting indeed.
And with all the Eagles fervor, maybe the Phillies will win some football fans over when they threepeat the NL East and return to the World series for the third time in as many years.
After all, when was the last time the Eagles won three NFC East titles in a row and went to three Superbowls ?
Oh, right !
The Phillies inch closer to NL lead.
Tonight the Phillies did something they haven’t done for a while. They won a game while the Braves lost and therefore gained a whole game in the National League East race.
They did this, beating Colorado 12-11, mostly by virtue of a 9 run 7th inning where the team had a serious bataround. Polanco doubled, Ultey singled, Howard homered, Werth homered, Ibanez flied out, Victorino singled, Schneider singled, Francisco pinch hit and singled, Rollins singled, Polanco (in his second at bat) struck out, Utley (in his second at bat of the inning) crushed a grand slam and then Howard (in his second at bat) lined out. It could have gone on for a bit with slightly better luck, but 12 batters, 3 homeruns, a double and 5 singles is about the best inning we have seen out of the Phillies in quite some time.
Utley’s grand slam put the score at 12-8 as the Phillies charged back from a 4 run deficit 2 times, once after Blanton gave the Rockies 4 runs in the second, and then again when the score was 7-3 after 6.
It is a good thing the Phillies got all those runs as Durbin had a rough inning of relief and gave 3 of them right back to Colorado. Every Phillie starter had a hit and every starter except Ibanez scored a run or more.
Howard’s home run was his 25th, and his second of the week, prompting many to hope the big guy has regained his stroke. He had other nice cuts at the ball and looked like he was moving around more naturally and that may mean a lot to the Phillies who are in a division race fighting for their life with 28 games to go.
They end the night 2 games back of the Braves for the division and 2 games up on the Giants for the wild card so they have a solid shot at the postseason. It would be nice to enter the post season as the division champs rather then having the wild card underdog status throughout.
The pitching remains confusing and hard to define. Hamels at 8-10 with 17 quality starts, an ERA of 3.31, and a 3.5 K/BB ratio just puzzles the crap out of me. Oswalt is 4-1 with an ERA under 2 since joining the club mid season, but ranks 5th in the majors in losses overall when you add in his starts from Houston. Halladay should be a 20 game winner who didn’t get a single break this season as he sits at 16-10 on paper even after pitching 22 quality starts with nearly a strikeout per inning and a 2.27 ERA, and Blanton is now just a huge question mark to me after his last handful of starts.
If the starting 3 (Halladay, Hamels, Oswalt) pitch as well as their statistics for the final month, and the Phillies bats stay hot, they still have a chance to threepeat and hit the postseason strong. Even though Hamels and Oswalt have 10 and 13 losses respectively, I don’t think there is a single team in the NL that wants to try a three game series against those three back to back to back. You may win one but not two and never three especially in crunch time. The Phillies may be the sleeper team of the year as ESPN has them ranked at the bottom of the top ten for the past few months and I think they have as good a chance as anybody to go to the show and win it again.
Every game has more meaning this late in the year, and now is when Charlie Manuel should have his chance to shine as the small adjustments and timing of substitutions will make a bigger difference in the outcomes of the games, and the teams position heading into October. The games this month will show us just how potentially strong a dynasty we have built here, and for how many years we should compete at the highest level.
Another extra inning affair.
What next for the Phillies ?
Much has been made of Ryan Howard’s performance since his return from the disabled list, and now sources are saying there may still be something wrong with the big man preventing him from playing at 100%.
Last night, the first 6 innings were relatively uneventful as the teams played to a 1-1 draw. The Phillies looked lifeless after being swept by the Astros in a 4 game series that included losses to former Phillies pitchers J A Happ and Brett Myers as well as a 16 inning heartbreaker that saw some offensive players go 0-7. Happ, two years ago the team’s ace of the future, outlasted Halladay in the third game to really rub it in. Of course, for the Astros, this series against last years NL champion and 2008 World Series champion was their post season. At 12 games below 500 and 16 games out with less than a month to go, the Astros are not playoff bound.
The Phillies probably are, which makes the 4 game sweep so confusing and upsetting. They have more to play for but seem to be manuevering into position to win the wild card, instead of pushing the Braves to take the National League East for the third year in a row. At least we aren’t trailing the Mets, that would be TOO much to bear !
Rollins had a good night, going 3-5 with a double, a walk and a run scored.
Ryan Howard did provide a single in the 7th, sandwiched by walks to Utley and Werth, that may have been the catalyst behind the Phillies go ahead score. If Howard’s single was the catalyst, Raaauuul Ibanez came through with the clutch hit, a one out single to right that scored the run. Gregerson came in in relief and got Victorino into a double play fielders choice then struck out Ruiz to end the threat.
Oswalt pitched a masterful game, with 6 strikeouts versus five hits allowed through the first 8 innings. He was pulled for a pinch hitter in the ninth as the Phillies looked to build on that scant one run lead. The Phillies however went down one, two, three, and Lidge came in for the bottom of the ninth with a one run lead.
He pitched a typically ugly half inning, with a single, sacrifice, groundout, intentional walk, hit batsman, than the piece de resistance, the balk to push the tying score across the plate.
Oswalt can’t win a game, no matter how well he pitches !
Maybe Charlie will consider letting him keep pitching next start if he has the same stuff.
Rollins doubled to lead off the 12th inning. Polanco singled to center to score Jimmy and put the Phillies up 3-2. The Phillies FINALLY took advantage of an Atlanta loss and picked up a game on the NL East lead.
A wasted opportunity
The Phillies blew a perfect chance to make up some ground on the division leading Atlanta Braves today.
The Braves looked awful, losing 6-2 to the basement dwelling Nationals.
Cole Hamels was shaky at best, giving up 5 runs in his first 4 innings, allowing 7 hits, striking out 5 and walking 1 while San Francisco’s Sanchez pitched a 1 hitter through the first 4.
Victorino was the only batter to get a hit early, continuing his torrid pace since returning from the DL.
With Victorino and Utley back in the lineup, Ryan Howard is the main offensive piece of the puzzle still missing in action, but expect his return any day now.
Last night’s victory put the Phillies a game up in the National League wild card race but we have gotten spoiled here in Philly, and want nothing less than another NL East title.
Herndon and Baez came in to pitch 4 innings of shutout relief and the Phillies scored a pair in the 9th off a Sweeny double but they were never in this one.
The Phillies at 68-52 remain 2 1/2 behind the Braves and can pick up a half game with a win tomorrow to finish the San Francisco series as the Braves are idle. The good news, Atlanta goes to Chicago to play the Cubs while the Phillies host the Nationals so there is a good chance they can close the gap by early next week.
Halladay gains 15th win.
Halladay threw another strong game today pitching 8 innings, striking out 7, allowing 4 hits and no runs. Madsen mopped up the ninth and maintained the shutout, but with a 4-0 lead, did not earn a save.
Maybe he should have. As easily as the Phillies at times seem to score runs in bunches, they are equally prone to have their pitching staff do likewise. The starting pitchers have actually shone for the most part of late, with Hamels getting an undeserved loss in a 5 hit 1 run 8 inning outing Friday night and Roy Oswalt throwing 7 innings of 5 hit shutout ball in a 2-0 victory over the Dodgers. Of course, in between these pitching gems was the 10-9 come from behind unbelievable game which just goes to show how versatile these guys are when it comes to scoring runs, and in a hurry !
Offensively nearly everyone seems to contribute. The combination is enough to keep the Phillies in the NL East race as they try to inch closer to the Atlanta Braves.
Rollins, Polanco, Werth and Victorino all had hits, as well as Halladay who scored the first run in the third off a Polanco Texas Leaguer.
The Phillies, at 65-51 remain 2 games back with 46 to go.
The team is anxiously waiting for word on slugger Ryan Howard, and his status down the stretch will probably figure in the race as we hit September. Even after missing 10 games this season, he still leads the team in home runs by 7 and RBI by 21.
As intense as the competition is, he still ranks second in the league in RBI.
Victorino seems to have hit the ground running, going 2 for 4 with a run scored today in his second full game back.
It seems there is a good feeling in the dugout; this team that went 14-3 to get back in the race, in the dog days of summer, is not about to give up now, with their eyes so close to the prize. Philly fans are tough, they got a World Series, but now they want a threepeat for the NL and a return to the World Series and to fall short will be unsatisfying for everyone.
I, for one, think they are going to give it one heck of a shot.
Another ninth inning comeback miracle
The Phillies beat the Dodgers tonight by a final score of 10-9.
That tells very little of the whole story.
The whole story is that the Phillies rallied from 8 runs down in the 8th inning, and managed to score 4 runs in the ninth while only collecting 1 hit. Here is how it played out. Polanco was hit by a pitch, then Sweeney walked to put runners on 1st and 2nd. Werth became the second walk of the inning followed by Francisco hitting in to a fielders choice, but the Dodgers Blake committed an error on the play allowing Polanco and Sweeney to score to pull the Phillies to 9-8. Then Ruiz stepped in and nailed the first hit of the inning, a double deep to left center scoring Werth and Francisco.
So, HBP, BB, BB, FC, E, double = 4 runs and another late inning Phillies win.
I seem to recall Lidge having some days like Broxton did tonight. Check out his final boxscore line. 0 innings pitched, 1 hit, 4 runs, 3 earned, 2 BB, 1 HBP and the loss.
In tonight’s game, Sweeney and Valdez produced more than expected, Polanco remains on a tear, Ibanez finally lost his hitting streak, Werth stayed on fire as he has been since the trade rumors with a 2-4 night with 3 runs scored and 2 RBI’s.
All these things combined for an exciting 10-9 bottom of the ninth victory.
Blanton pitched ok through 5 after a shaky first inning, but his 5.69 ERA is still an issue.
All in all I would say August has been a month of surprises for the Phillies. Brown is a pleasant surprise, and Oswalt is looking like he is finally remembering he was the staff ace down in Houston for the better part of a decade.
With about 6 weeks to go, the Phillies pulled back to within 2 games of the Braves but it appears the momentum may be turning their way. If Polanco continues to hit, Howard and Victorino come off the DL and resume where they left off, and the combination of starting pitching and Lidge hold up, these Phillies have a good chance to threepeat as NL champions.
I can’t wait for tomorrow.
We go back to play the Mets and the Braves get to face the Dodgers in Atlanta.
Phillies win and pick up Sweeny.
The Phillies beat the Florida Marlins for their third straight game 7-2.
Rookie Domonic Brown has been excellent in his first week of work. The Phillies are 5-2 since calling him up and he is played in 6 of those games. He drove in 3 more runs in last night’s victory and is now batting .273 with 5 singles, a double, and a total of 6 RBI.
Ibanez extended his hitting streak to 12 as he drove in 2.
It all started with a 58 minute rain delay, but once the game started Kendrick pitched effectively enough for the win.
The Phillies have now won 11 of their last 13 and are only 2 games back in the NL East race.
They just acquired Mike Sweeny to fill in for Ryan Howard at first base so it appears that with 55 games to go, the Phillies plan on remaining a contender, playing through their injuries and trying for a threepeat as NL champions.
If they suffer no more injuries, and Howard and Utley return shortly from the DL to add thier talents to the stretch run, I believe this team can do it.
Tomorrow we wll find out if they made another strong mid season move as Oswalt returns to the mound, no more first game after the trade jitters, to finish off the series with the Marlins.
If he performs strong, than we have an effective 1-2-3 rotation that will get us through the first round of the playoffs.
If he looks like he did in his first outing as a Phillie, we atill have some holes to plug.
Vick Officially Cleared ?
Today it was reported that Eagles owner Jeff Lurie cleared Michael Vick, stating that he made an error in judgement being there in an effort to appease certain members of his family and people from his old neighborhood-meaning, his dogfighting ring cronys-but that he was not DIRECTLY involved with any wrongdoing personally in regards to the shooting.
Huh ?
I responded to this interview much in the same way I responded to the Eagles acquisition of the historically troubled quarterback in the first place.
Any time I post in opposition to Vick, I get comments about the man having served his time and giving him another chance. I responded then as I do now; If any of us were to repeatedly be involved in legal troubles of any nature, the world would not respond so kindly to our re-introduction as is any athlete or celebrity accustomed.
The Eagles have a strong young quarterback with limited experience in Kerry Kolb. He can carry the franchise the next 5-10 years and possibly do great things, especially if the recieving corps is reinforced. They need a proven veteran who is an asset to the team, in both action and attitude. They need someone who can step in if things get out of control, or Kolb were to get injured (always a possibility for starting quarterbacks in the NFL)
They don’t need Vick. They don’t need the drama.
They can do without his 68 yards passing, his 95 yards rushing, his 3 touchdowns, all at a bargain NFL ticket of 1.6 million. This year he is making 5.2 million. That we know of. That’s more than $1,700,000 per touchdown. Or $31,901 per yard. Or $4 more a ticket you and me and everyone has to pay to see him play. And he is hardly ever a factor, even when on the field.
I don’t see him as ever being a factor and, based on his first year’s performance in Philly, I don’t see why Lurie relaxed his zero tolerance policy, which would of course NOT include looking the other way at any player being present at the scene of a shooting, to make an exception for Vick of all people.
It is sad. The NFL allowed him to return to play after his incarceration. Tony Dungy stood up for him. McNabb and Reid lobbied to get him on the roster. Now Lurie is standing up for him. What more does our young superstar desire ? Why is it he can’t stay away from people who break laws and cause trouble ? He knows he is a celebrity so I would think he would be ultra careful.
I will be rooting for Kolb to be strong out of training camp and eliminate any need to have further Vick discussion. Let’s have him “star” in 50 snaps that gain a total of 200 yards for the season and pay him 3 times as much this year.
Allegations regarding Michael Vick since he was drafted in 2001:
Trade more than just a rumour now.
It is looking more and more like the Phillies will acquire a new pitcher.
With Victorino, Rollins and Utley on the DL, and Moyer apparently done forever, the Phillies are trying to shore up a roster that looked a lot deeper and stronger at the beginning of the year then it does now.
Roy Oswalt may be the missing piece. Oswalt has not yet waived his no trade clause but appears very unhappy with his standing as the staff ace for the Houston Astros, who, at 42-59 look to have no chance at the post season for 2010. Oswalt, a very capable pitcher has seen his numbers drop to match the team, with a 6-12 record and a 3.42 ERA so far this season.
Since breaking into the big leagues in 2001, Roy Oswalt has 143 victories — 28 more than any other NL pitcher. And his 1,593 strikeouts are the most for any NL pitcher with 100 starts since 2001. The combination of Oswalt and Halladay would give the Phillies their first authentic 1-2 punch in a generation.
Halladay held similar records in the AL prior to the trade to Philadelphia and despite a lack of run support in all his starts, he still is second in the league in ERA and 3rd in victories, and in both these categories he leads the Phillies.
The Astros, in turn, are looking to acquire Happ and Singleton as well as a prospect to be named later from the Phillies. While Happ has not yet lived into his potential, Oswalt is a proven commodity. And Singleton IS a hot prospect for the Phillies at a farm league level, but right now, if the Phillies are going to stay in it for the rest of the year and make a run at the Braves, they need pitching.
Wow. It seems like every time we evaluate this team, it needs pitching.
Fielding is covered; the hitting; comes and goes, that is the nature of the game. Pitching, has long been the area in which the Phillies have lacked world championship caliber players. Consider 2008, their World Series winning season. They had 4 pitchers with 10 or more victories.
Moyer led the team with 16, then came Hamels with 14, Kendrick with 11 and Myers with 10. The team ERA was 3.88 and the lowest ERA by a starting pitcher was Hamels at 3.09. So when the possibility exists the Phillies may end up with 2 pitchers who can record 20 wins with an ERA in the 2’s, fans can sense the excitement. If we can win the world series with the above rotation, imagine how much better we can be with a starting group including Halladay, Oswalt, Hamels, and Kendrick
Missing man is Joe Blanton who had several strong years but is posting a 4-6 record with a 5.86 ERA after 16 starts this year. If we can’t trade back for Lee, I say let Happ go and acquire the veteran that has proven he can fill the staff ace role. Let the 2 Roys, Halladay and Oswalt fight it out to determine who will be ace #1, and who will be ace #2.
OK, I am impressed.
Domonic Brown made his first start with the Phillies in right field tonight and immediately made an impact. With the ball. In his first at bat he nailed a ball to deep right scoring Jayson Werth and getting his first hit and RBI in the same at bat.
He didn’t miss becoming another major leaguer to enter the big leagues with a homerun by much, but his double was impressive enough given the Phillies recent offensive ups and downs. Having another .300 hitting contact hitter with the potential to go deep at any time certainly wont hurt the team ! He later hit a sacrifice fly for a 2nd RBI in his first game.
Halladay threw a quality start, the big guy has worked really hard so far this year to be the owner of a 12-8 record with a paltry 2.21 ERA. He ended up with the win in a complete game 114 pitch effort that saw the Phillies win 7-1.
Werth went 3-4 with 3 runs scored, perhaps making a statement to the Phillies front office right before the trade deadline.
Ruiz remained hot with 3 hits and 3 RBI of his own.
Overall a great effort by a team that still has a chance to make a run at the NL East. And a great first game by a much touted farm league player in Brown.
Phillies win a close one
Even though I work and don’t get to watch much of the action, I still try to keep an eye on those Phitens.
They beat the Rockies 5-4 with Lidge on the mound to earn the save. Yes I know, he gave up a two run dinger and made a 5-2 game a closer contest than it needed to be, but after all, we Philly fans are actually getting used to clutching our hearts in the ninth inning and hoping for the best.
Polanco remains hot, and 6 Phillies got hits in today’s game.
Blanton pitched well enough for the win, only allowing 2 runs through 6 innings.
The Phillies retain their hold on second place in the NL East trailing the Braves by 4 1/2 games as of this moment and leading the Mets now by 3 full games until tonight’s contests.
The streaking team has won 5 straight but one wonders which team will show up at the ball park for the next contest, the clutch hitting, base running, no holds barred Phillies, or the lackluster wild swinging offense with baserunning blunders and questionable substitutions in late inning situations.
Either way, I wish I was not at work, but in the stadium, cold beer in hand, soft pretzel in my belly and 40,000 other screaming idiots cheering on the home team Phillies. Since I have not yet perfected living life for free, I will now return to work, and dream of days when the above scenario may be possible.
For today at least, I can be content with a mild winning streak, and a team that seems to be pushing it’s way back to the top of the NL standings, instead of heading the other way.
Now excuse me, after watching Lidge for that brief moment, I need to go locate some TUMS.
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