Phillies pound Dodgers to take 2-1 series lead

Monday October 19, 2009 • 1 Comment 

Now that was an absolute-LEE beautiful beating!

Led by the pitching of Cliff Lee and the hitting of – well – everyone, the Philadelphia Phillies put an old fashioned beat-down on the Los Angeles Dodgers Sunday night to take a 2-1 lead in the NLCS.

Lee was again amazing, allowing just three hits, while walking none in eight profound innings.

The Dodger hitters looked clueless at the plat all night.

Meanwhile the Phillies offense went to work early and often, scoring four runs in the first inning on a two run double by Ryan Howard and a two-run bomb to dead center by Jayson Werth.

At that point it was already over.

Citizen’s Bank Park was rocking from the very first pitch as “Beat L.A.” and “You took steroids” chants rang down on Manny Ramirez and the Dodgers.

Joe Torre looked helpless in the dugout, surely wishing he was back with the Yankees, a team that actually has a chance of getting to the World Series.

While it may be too early to say this series is over, it is not too soon to say emphatically that the Dodgers are in big trouble. They aren’t pitching, aren’t hitting and would be down 3-0 if Pedro got to finish his gem on Friday.

Tonight the Phillies see an old friend in Randy Wolf. I don’t know if we will see the return of “The Wolf Pack” but I do know Randy will see plenty of hungry wolves in the form of Phillies hitters.

Philadelphia cut Los Angeles deep last night and can smell the blood. These Dodgers want no part of the cold weather. They looked miserable and they played miserable.

In the past the Phillies have struggled in games after they score a lot of runs. It has been a running joke after the Phillies blow an opponent out to say “We’ll I guess we’re getting shutout tomorrow.”

But not this team, not now.

The Phillies learned all about closing last year and today they will take the next step towards advancing to their second-straight World Series.

And by the looks of last night’s game, there is little the Dodgers can do about it.



Phillies beat Rockies, advance to NLCS

Tuesday October 13, 2009 • 1 Comment 

It was everything that October baseball is supposed to be.

The Philadelphia Phillies showed once again why they are “Must See TV” pulling out a dramatic victory that sent them back to the NLCS and put them one step closer to repeating as World Champions.

After giving up three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning and facing the prospect of coming home for a Game 5, the Phillies staged one of the greatest ninth innings in team history, coming back to defeat the Colorado Rockies, 5-4 at a chilly Coors Field. With two outs and two on Ryan Howard sent a Houston Street offering to the right field wall, scoring Shane Victorino and Chase Utley with the tying runs. Jayson Werth followed with a bloop single to right center, which plated Howard and gave the Phillies a lead that seemed so improbable just minutes earlier.

All that was left was the save, and as is always the case, it wasn’t easy. Scott Eyre record two outs, but allowed two base runners, prompting Charlie Manuel to go to Brad Lidge for the 27th out.

Lidge got the dangerous Troy Tulowitzki swinging and yet another celebration was on.

Monday’s contest was a game that showed everything that is great about baseball and great about the Phillies. Even after Ryan Madson wasted a great performance by starter Cliff Lee by allowing three runs to score in the eighth, the Phils refused to go down.

Ryan Howard told his teammates to get him a chance to hit in the ninth because he would deliver. Then he came out and did it.

Lee again showed that h is capable of delivering in the postseason, throwing 7 1/3 innings, allowing three runs, though just one scored while he was on the mound. His stuff kept Rockies hitters off-balanced all game. If Lee continues to pitch this well and the Phils continue to win, Ruben Amaro Jr. may bring home an Executive of the Year award for landing Lee instead of giving up the farm for Blue Jays’ ace Roy Halladay.

Of course the job is not finished yet. As great as Monday night’s win was, its historical impact will only be great if the Phillies can get back to the World Series and compete for another ring.

That brings us to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Phillies opponent starting on Thursday. The Dodgers thought they were destined to win a title last year, but the Phillies got in the way. Now they will be looking for revenge.

They won’t have to look far, though. The Phillies are a team that will not be intimidated. They provided evidence of that last night by winning on the road when trailing in the ninth inning.

This series has all the makings of a classic and Phillysportsblogs will be here to break it down for you over the next few days.

Monday marked the second time this month the Phillies got to celebrate in grand fashion.

Let’s hope for two more.



Much needed win + Braves loss = magic #1

Tuesday September 29, 2009 • 1 Comment 

The Phillies closed out a game at Citizens Bank Park for a much needed 7-4 win over the Astros on a night when the Braves finally faltered in their headlong rush toward postseason.  Braves fans saw a glimmer of hope for the first time in 5 years as the perennial NL East champions made a valiant attempt but simply had too much ground to make up and too little time. 

It is all but done now.  The Phillies have 5 games to play with a 5 game lead.  Happ continued to lay claim to a spot in the postseason rotation with 5+ strong innings .  He allowed three earned runs and ran his record to 12-4, the best rookie record for a Phillie in 50 years.   Moyer and Madsen came in with a one two punch from the bullpen, and in a rare effort from the relief staff did not allow a single run ! 

Jayson Werth hit another home run and Feliz nailed a grand slam in the 4th inning to provide the firepower, Rollins and Howard also contributed with key hits.  Rollins is near the league lead in doubles and Howard is among the leaders in RBI and homeruns.  The Phillies still may become the first team to finish with 6 players scoring 100 runs, with 5 players already over 95 runs scored. 

This team remains even and capable as they approach the post season, but they have made it look a lot harder then it needed to be considering the firepower and starting pitching present on this team.  It only makes the relief pitching all the more glaring as an area that needs improvement.  It should be perfectly clear what will consume most of the upper brasses time and energy during the off season. Many of the key players here are locked into contracts for the next several years and I believe the Phillies are one good closer, or the reemergence of the old Brad Lidge, from running the table for the next two or three years.  I also believe, without addressing this need, this will be a heartbreaker of a team for some time to come. 

Here is hoping there is a saviour hidden among the stable of pitchers who will step up in the eleventh hour and save 5 or 6 key games down the stretch when the Phitens need it the most !



Phillies close another close game

Friday September 4, 2009 • Leave a Comment 

The Phillies are back at it again.  On a night dominated by the presence of a certain someone playing for another Philadelphia sports team, it is refreshing to note the World Champion Phillies won again.  Not only did they win, but they did it without any controversy, or dissent.  They did it in much the same way they have won many games of late, with good pitching, solid fielding and a persistent presence at the plate that simply refuses to allow an opposing pitcher to shut them out.

Werth hit his 30th home run, the second Phillie to do so in 2009, and Howard continued his red hot streak and drove in another run.  Pedro finally got to pitch deep into a game where the rain didn’t disrupt his rhythm and Lidge pitched the ninth, got a save, and seems to finally have gotten his ERA below 7.  This series is all about paying attention to details.  It is low scoring and well coached, not allowing for many mistakes.  Philadelphia won another series at an important time of year, where the games are magnified in importance.  They did this against a San Francisco team that is valiantly fighting for a playoff berth, and at a time when they could probably call in a couple games and not sweat the small stuff.  Because this team does indeed sweat the small stuff is precisely why I expect them to repeat as World Series champions.

The Phillies now stand at 77-54.  They are 23 games above .500, their best mark of the year, and extended their NL East lead to 8 games.  They have the fewest losses in the National League and trail only the Yankees in total losses,  The ball is in their court.  With the divisional races all but over, it is now a matter of waiting to see who will get the wild card and how the postseason is going to play out.  I believe the Phillies have as good a chance as any team in either league to take it all the way this year.

Manuel deserves quite a lot of credit for holding it all together and working with his staff of not quite superstars all season long to get the optimum performance out of them.  I mentioned before, the Phillies have no one player that is superlative this year, but 6 starters and 3 or 4 pitchers that all could be considered to be in the top ten or fifteen in the league.  I know one thing for sure, I would not want to be the team facing the squad as September rolls to October and things heat up, because it appears the Phillies are hitting their stride at exactly the right time, and they are going to be a force to contend with.



Is this guy for real ?

Wednesday August 19, 2009 • Leave a Comment 

I believe.  After his last start I commented on how fortuitous it was that Phillies acquired Cliff Lee, rather than Roy Halladay right before the trade deadline.  I commented on how good Cliff had been in his first three starts.  I thought I was glowing in my praise.  I tend to be emotional about these things; like most Philadelphia fans I wear my heart on my sleeve.

But, man, I think I may have understated this guys value to the team.  I mean really, the only thing left for him to do to one up himself would be throw a no hitter or perfect game.  There, let’s see him make that an understatement !  That’s right, the Phillies won again.  This time, there was no need for offense.  Lee pitched a complete game, his second in four starts since the trade, and had 11 strikeouts and allowed 2 hits and 1 unearned run.  He needed only 106 pitches.  He threw  81 strikes and faced 2 batters over the minimum.

WOW

WOW

Had to wow him twice, can you believe some other team let him go !  He is now 4-0 with a .82 ERA, 2 complete games, and 5 hits for a .385 average.  Why was this guy in the American League ?  Lee is a bona fide staff ace.   And his batting average is better than most DH’s. It’s a shame he hasn’t hit a home run yet, though, you know what every other sports writer is saying about the Phillies, weak on closers and rely on the long ball too much to contend into October.  Really ?  Don’t need a closer with a pitcher like this.  Don’t need much of anything really.  If he is good for 9 near perfect innings and gets on base twice to boot, he should win ALL his games.

Oh, by the way, the Phitens banged four more out of there, I don’t know about you, but I love home runs.  I still have one I caught off the bat of my favorite Phillie, Mike Schmidt, when they went all the way in 1980.  I got it signed and everything.  I have since moved six times, and still have that ball.   Howard is insane in September and October.   I mentioned in a previous blog, the Phillies could become the first team in history to have 5 guys with 30, they are almost a lock to have 4 guys with40 at their current pace.  It is crunch time now and the Phillies seem to be hitting their stride beautifully.   It is going to be a fun fall.

I, for one, plan on watching every game.  And here is hoping I get out to the park and catch another dinger.  I will proudly display it right next to Schmitty’s and maybe, just maybe, the name on it will read Cliff Lee !