From 1976 to 1980 they won 4 NL East titles, 1 National League Pennant and 1 World Series.

 From 2005 to present they have won 3 National League East titles, 2 National league Pennants and 1 World Series.

The first team included the group known as the Whiz Kids, with nearly every member of the team either in the hall of fame, or close to it, and known nationally as household names due to the exposure they recieved during their dominance.  The second team is still playing so does not have the advantage of securing a historical place in our minds and memories as of yet, but may equal or exceed the ability and statistics of the first group of Phillies superstars. 

This [...]

Consider this step one.

Phillies closer Brad Lidge threw off the mound for the first time this spring today, and did so with the eyes of his teammates all over him.

It’s no secret that a bounce-back year from Lidge is considered one of the biggest shorelines of the upcoming season. After a perfect 2008, Lidge had a disastrous 2009, setting a team-record for blown saves.  Expect to hear nothing but good things this spring as the public relations department will do their best to fill Lidge’s head with positive thoughts.

Whether or not that will help his pitching is another issue. If Lidge returns to form the team seems to be a lock to win the NL East and a heavy favorite [...]

After starting last year against the perennial rival Atlanta Braves, the Phillies will have a chance to start off strong an immediately separate from the rest of the National League East.  Their first 9 games come against 2 teams that went a combined 133-191 in 2009.  With the addition of staff ace Roy Halladay and 5 of their first 8 series coming against sub .500 teams from 2009, the Phillies may have a real shot at the best start in team history.   Halladay may have 3 starts against National League bottom feeders before he is put to his first true test.

It is funny though, from all the reports I have read, and out of all the quotes attributed to Halladay, [...]

Thank God, baseball is back ! 

Pitchers and Catchers reported a day early as the Phillies get geared up to try to make it 4 in a row.  The role that used to belong to the Atlanta Braves as the perennial team to beat seems to have been handed over to our Phitens.   The Braves and Marlins both made off season moves that indicate the team in their sights is in fact the Phillies.  The Mets also signed Jason Bay for 66 million for four years to improve their chances at being competative.  They may finish 15 games out instead of 24, but will never seriously challenge.

I believe this year the race is a two team one.  The Braves and the [...]

With Pitchers and catchers having reported to Clearwater, Fla., Spring Training is officially underway.

The Phillies, who are coming off of consecutive trips to the World Series, return much of the same core from the previous two years with newcomers, Roy Halladay, Placido Polanco and Danys Baez now on as additional reinforcements. There will be plenty of debate about how the team’s offseason will affect the team this season. The biggest question is did the team improve?

The Philadelphia Daily News’ Paul Hagen took a stab at answering that question today and the result was a mild yes. Hagen points to the rotation, bench and catcher position as upgrades, with the bullpen a downgraded and the infield and outfield remaining the same.

In regards [...]

Roy Halladay is there.So is Cole Hamels.

J.A. Happ? Check

Brad Lidge? Check.

The pitchers and catchers have arrived at Clearwater, Fla., one day earlier than tomorrow’s mandatory date.

According to philly.com every pitcher has reported except for Jamie Moyer and Jose Contreras. (There’s an old persons joke just begging to be inserted with that).

So good news baseball fans; despite the snow that appeared outside our windows today, baseball is ready to get going again.

The only real news of the day is that J.C Romero said he expects to break camp with the team, implying that he will be completely recovered from his elbow surgery and ready to pitch at full strength by Opening Day.

That’s good news for the Phillies, as Romero is the [...]

In his three seasons with the Eagles Garry “G” Cobb made his presence felt on the Eagles defensive line. Teamed with Reggie White, Seth Joyner and Jerome Brown, Cobb was a productive player on the field.

I wish I could say the same about his radio career.

As a member of 610 WIP, Cobb brings his insights to the late night listeners. Cobb doesn’t lack in experience - he was a CBS sports anchor for eight years, runs his own web site gcobb.com and is a columnist for the Philadelphia Bulleton.

What he lacks is range.

When it comes to talking about the Eagles, few on the station do it better than Cobb. As a former player he knows the ins and outs of the [...]

The offseason signing of Danys Baez is looking better already.

Mlb.com is reporting that Phillies closer Brad Lidge had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Wednesday, making his status for Opening Day cloudy.

His surgery consisted of “the removal of loose bodies and meniscal debridement,” accoding to the release.

With Lidge status up in the air the Phillies may have to start the season with Biaz or Ryan Madson as their closer. Each has closed in the past, though Biaz has much more experience.

You can read the full release here: http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100114&content_id=7915416&vkey=news_phi&fext=.jsp&c_id=phi

He isn’t Placido Palonco and he certainly isn’t Roy Halladay. Maybe that’s why the Philadelphia Phillies signing of Danys Baez has gone so under the radar. We’ll that and the whole “Eagles-Cowboys thing.”

Despite the lack of recognition of the move, it was just what the Phillies needed.

While he is not coming off one of his best years – a 4-6 record with a 4.02 ERA with the Orioles – Baez comes with a truck-load of closing experience.

The Phillies found out just how valuable that can be last year when Brad Lidge struggled and Charlie Manuel could not find anyone else to do the job. Ryan Madson had his moments, while Chan Ho Park and Scott Eyre failed in limited samplings [...]

If the Phillies want to become a dynasty, I offer 5 suggestions to send them on their way. They have a good balanced ball club, one that has won the National League east three times in a row, been to 2 World Series and won one. That is a good 500 or so games for the team. But to truly become a dynasty, they need to sustain this level of play for 1000 or so more games.

That is tough in an arbitration filled, salary capped, league unless they plan on spending half a billion dollars each and every off season like the Yankees seem to do. Frankly, as much support as the Phillies get, I still  [...]

Wherever he has gone Pedro Martinez has elicited a lot of emotions from his team’s fan base and the fan base of the opposition. Some view Pedro as a fun, wacky guy who brings energy to a team and a stadium every time he takes the mound.

Others view him as a cocky, arrogant pitcher whose history of hitting batters makes him an intimidator.

But how will his two-month stay in Philadelphia be remembered?

The Phillies signed Pedro Martinez on July 5 to a modest 1-year/$1 million contract. The former Red Six and Mets pitcher had been out of baseball to that point, as his asking price of $5 million to start the season garnered little attention.

Shortly after the signing of Pedro, the [...]

It wasn’t a blown save, it was something much worse.

Bard Lidge allowed three runs in the ninth inning and the New York Yankees beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 7-4, to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the World Series, Sunday night.

Pedro Feliz hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 8th off Joba Chamberlain to tie the game at 4-4 and give the Phillies the momentum heading in to the ninth. Lidge came in and got the first two hitters out, as it appeared his postseason reconciliation was going to continue.

Then it all fell to pieces.

Johnny Damon hit the blooper of all bloopers to keep the inning alive. Damon, not the fastest runner these days, stole second and third [...]

It wasn’t so long ago that Charlie Manuel was looked at as a laughing stock in this area.

Manuel, the Phillies skipper, seemed to know nothing about National League baseball after spending his entire career in the American League as the manager of the Cleveland Indians.

Two years into his term with the Phillies it looked as though Manuel still didn’t understand how to properly execute a double switch – something Little League managers could figure out.

Manuel’s speech was Southern and slurred he had trouble putting two sentences together and hardly seemed like a motivator.

It got so bad that 610 jockey Howard Eskin nearly got in a fight with “Uncle Charlie” during a press conference halfway through [...]

In Game One of the NLCS it was Chan Ho Park that got the big outs, not George Sherrill.

And as a result, the Phillies have a 1-0 series lead.

Carlos Ruiz and Raul Ibanez each hit a three-run bomb to help lead the Phillies past the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-6, in a slugfest, Thursday night.

The much-maligned Phillies bullpen was good enough as it allowed two runs over four innings to hold the win for an OK Cole Hamels.

The biggest performance was turned in by Park, who entered the game with Adam Either on second an no outs in the seventh and the Phillies protecting a 5-4 lead.

Park proceeded to get Manny Ramirez to ground out, struck out Matt Kemp and finished [...]

Tonight begins the next step in the Philadelphia Phillies quest to repeat as World Series champions. The Phils take on the Los Angeles Dodgers tonight at 8:07 p.m. in the first game of a best-of-seven NLCS series. Last year the Phillies beat the Dodgers in five games in the NLCS, but how will they fair this year?

 He is a breakdown of how the match up:

 Phillies Pitching:

Game 1: Cole Hamels: The lefty has had his ups and downs this season and was less than stellar in his outing against the Rockies. Against the Dodgers, however, he has been dominant. In his two starts against them this season, Hamels posted a 1-0 mark with a 0.56 ERA. He also struck out 14 [...]