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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.
Down goes Moyer
Maybe Kyle Kendrick’s trip to the minors won’t be so permanent after all.
Phillies Starting pitcher Jamie Moyer strained his left elbow and was removed after one inning of Wednesday night’s game against St. Louis.
The 47-year-old Moyer threw 18 pitches in the first inning Tuesday night. When I hear the words “elbow strain” I don’t think short-term injury. Ye another trip for a Phillies player to the DL looks imminent.
Newly recalled Andrew Carpenter replaced Moyer in the second inning. He went on to pitch three unimpressive innings, allowing three runs.
So now the Phillies really need an arm. Halladay, Hamels and pray for rain just won’t cut it.
And I don’t see fans clamoring for Nelson Figueroa to be back in the rotation.
So who will the Phillies go after? I don’t think Oswalt is a realistic option and the picking after that are not great. You hear names like Jake Westbrook Kevin Millwood and Ted Lilly floated around all the time in trade speculation, but could any of these guys really change the fortunes of this team?
Likely not, which means the Phillies may have to move an asset such as Jayson Werth if they want to get any real pitching help.Of coarse, the way Werth’s stock has been declining you may not be able to get a Pirates castoff.
Or the team can sit back an let Joe Blanton, Kyle Kendrick and Andrew Carpenter lead the way. If that isn’t a blueprint to getting back to the World Series, I don’t know what is.
Five keys for Phillies to survive injuries
As reported yesterday, the Phillies will be without Chase Utley and Placido Polanco for at least the next 15 days, and in all likelihood a little longer. The timing of the news is not great as the team had broken out of its hitting slump and looked poised to regain the lead in the NL East. Now with these injuries that becomes a lot more difficult. I still think the Phillies can hang right with the Braves and Mets over the next few weeks, but it will take a variety of factors coming together to do so.
Bellow are five keys for the Phillies to stay in the race despite these injuries.
1. Rollins must regain form: When a player is out for as long as Rollins was it is expected that the player will need a few weeks to find his swing. The Phillies can not afford Rollins that time, however. With their No. 2 and No. 3 hitters on the bench, the importance of Rollins setting the table becomes even more important. I’m not saying he needs to hit .350 the next month, but the team will need Rollins to at least maintain his .400 an-base percentage.
2. The Big Man must get on a tear: Over the past four seasons we have seen Ryan Howard get incredibly hot in August and September and at times single handily carry the team to victories. This time Howard can not wait until August. The team needs one of those power surges right now. Howard’s .295 average has caught everyone off guard and he is having a season that should put him back in the top five of the MVP voting. There is no reason to think he can’t catch fire over the next few weeks and lift his team once more.
3. Pitching: If you lose a little offense than the pitching must do its part to keep the opposition off the board. The Phillies staff has been hot and cold this season and needs to get hot again in a hurry. Roy Halladay is the only member of the starting staff that has an ERA under 4.00 and that simply won’t cut it over the next month. This team may need to win a couple of games by 3-2, or 2-1 scores and for that to happen the starters must show more than they have so far this season. Joe Blanton and Kyle Kendrick have the most room to improve and one may be pushed by a returning J.A. Happ.
4. A surprise candidate must emerge: This could come from anywhere. Maybe somehow Greg Dobbs will remember to hit again? Maybe Ibanez will go on a tear like he did the first half of last year? Maybe one of the team’s backup catchers has the best two weeks of his career? Maybe the Phillies reacquire Cliff Lee and none of this will matter? No matter where it comes from the team will need unexpected productions to keep moving forward in July.
5. The Braves and Mets slump: Most believe that the Braves and Mets have overachieved the last two months. If that is indeed the case it is fair to suggest that a downward swing is coming. The Braves (5-5) and Mets (4-6) may already be in the process of doing so as their last 10 games have not gone well. Consider that the Mets are just 15-22 on the road and have an 11-game West Coast trip coming in the second part of July and its not hard to see them falling off. As for the Braves, the Phillies can help themselves from July 5-7 when they host Atlanta for a big series.
So there you have five ways that the team can keep winning despite the recent injuries. If a few of these factors take place there is no reason that the Phillies can’t be right at the top of the pack when Utley and Polanco return.
Welcome back Jimmy Rollins
Through his first 17 innings back with the team Jimmy Rollins hadn’t exactly announced his return. He was hitless in eight at-bats and had made a costly throwing error that helped the Cleveland Indians close in on a victory Wednesday night.
Then with one mighty swing in the bottom of the 9th Rollins reminded the city of Philadelphia just how valuable he is.
Rollins blasted a walk-off two-run home run down the right field line that gave the Phillies an inspiring 7-6 win. Though it is hard to believe, Wednesday was the first time in his career that Rollins hit a home run to an end a game.
Not everything went the Phillies way on this night. Kyle Kendrick was awful, allowing five runs in 4-plus innings, the Phillies made a pair of errors, and Chad Durbin strained his hamstring.
Yet by night’s end it was Rollins who had the final say. The Phils still have a long way to go to get back atop the NL East with both the Braves and Mets surging, but having Rollins back and healthy is a big step towards doing just that.
Happ back soon, so who goes?
A forgotten man in the Phillies’ rotation is working his way back.
J.A. Happ, on the DL for almost the entire season, is set to make his fourth rehab start on Wednesday. After that he may be heading back to Philadelphia. Bellow is a report from philly.com:
Lefthander J.A. Happ (strained left elbow) said he will make his fourth rehab start Wednesday at double-A Reading.
Happ, who threw 71 pitches in his last start, said he is aiming for 90 to 95 pitches this time around. He said Phillies officials who charted his last outing for Reading told him he averaged 88 m.p.h. with his fastball, an improvement from before.
Happ has been on the disabled list since April 16.
In three rehab outings, Happ has allowed 10 earned runs in 101/3 innings. Opponents are hitting .304 off him.
“Just looking for a little more crispness to the arm,” Happ said.
The issue at hand when Happ does return will be which starter gets sent to the bullpen. Baring any injury, the decision will come down to Joe Blanton, Jamie Moyer and Kyle Kendrick.
Of that group the smart money would be on Kendrick, but would that be the right move?
Kendrick has pitched moderately well, going 4-2 with a 4.48 ERA, and is coming off his finest start of the season, throwing seven innings of one-run ball in a win over the Yankees.
Meanwhile Joe Blanton has continued to struggle. The Phillies most reliable pitcher last season, Blanton has yet to find a groove. He is currently 2-5 with a 6.96 ERA.
Jamie Moyer is the third choice, but I wouldn’t expect the Phillies to do the same thing to Moyer that they did last year when the team acquired Pedro Martinez.Jamie wasn’t too happy about that move the first time.
Plus Moyer’s seven wins and 4.76 ERA are well ahead of Blanton’s numbers.
I still believe Kendrick will be the one shuffled to the ‘pen as his contract is much lighter than Blanton’s, even though he deserves to stay in the rotation. Sadly money usually talks in these situations.
If you were Phillies management, what would you do?
Philly Offense Wins Battle of Pennsylvania
Kyle Kendrick took the mound Monday in Philadelphia’s match up with the Pittsburgh Pirates, looking for his second win of the season. The right hander went 8.0 innings (105 pitches) allowing only two runs, striking out four, and leading the Phillies to a 12-2 victory. The win moved Philadelphia to 24-13 on the season. Read more
Mets Take Game 1
309 pitches and 2 hours and 54 minutes later, the first of 18 meetings this season is out of the way. The top of the NL East went head to head Friday when the Mets traveled to Citizens Bank Park for a weekend series. The game featured a great deal of offense, but unfortunately, it was not on by the Phillies. New York knocked out four home run, and was able to score 9 runs on 10 hits, for a 9-1 victory. Read more
Phillies offense on a tear
The Phillies put an exclamation point on their quick start this season by loading up early and often on the Nationals in their fifth meeting and winning 14-7.
Amid concerns that with the loss of Jimmy Rollins and Jaysen Werth, the team may struggle on offense; the rest of the team turned in another winning performance. Werth made a late performance as a pinch hitter so it seems obvious his absence from the starting lineup will be brief. Rollins calf injury may be more serious then was at first thought, which is a shame given his extremely fast start.
If there is ANY early question about the Phillies this year, it would have to be their starting pitching. Halladay is a lock, and Hamels is 2-0 but has been shaky. Happ looks as good as he did last year and Moyer just keeps throwing up W’s. But tonight, Kendrick, subbing for the injured Joe Blanton, lasted a mere 1 and 2/3 innings after giving up 6 runs and saw his ERA shoot above 17. We need Blanton back. Hey, where was the last Martinez sighting anyway ?
Three middle relievers combined to hold the Nationals to 1 run from the 3rd inning on.
The bottom line, no matter the injury, the focus is on offense. When one Phillie is out of commission, another simply steps it up a notch and fills the gap. There are many teams that struggle to score 14 runs at all in a game, and I have the feeling we may see this another dozen or more times this year, when the team gets in sync and everyone has a couple hits and a couple RBI.
Tonight, Victorino broke out of his mild slump with a 4-5 day with a triple, homerun, and 5 RBI’s. He was listed on ESPN’s MLB top performers of the day board. Utley went 2-4 with 2 home runs and 4 RBI. He also appeared on the top performers board. Polanco maintained his torrid pace going 2-4 to keep his average in the .480’s
Overall the first four in the lineup were a combined 10-18 with 12 RBI.
It seems clear to me now that the team is off to a 7-1 start that they may be substantially better than they were in 2008. If the pitching solidifies, this offense is lethal. And every new addition to the sluggers row has stepped up and over performed, as in Ibanez, and Francisco and now Polanco. With six guys in the lineup that are each capable of a clutch hit, homerun or other run producing play, it is extremely difficult for a pitcher to work his way through this lineup.
Oh, and by the way, our pitchers can hit too !
Looks like it is going to be a long, enjoyable summer ahead with the Phillies setting the pace the whole way !
Blanton has problem ab problem
Big Joe Blanton may have a big problem on his hands. Or just a minor one.
Either way with the regular season less than a week away this is not the time for injuries to start popping up.
It is being reported that Blanton injured an abdominal muscle during a bullpen session today. He will be examined by a team doctor on Thursday. Even if the injury is deemed minor it is unlikely Blanton would make his scheduled exhibition start against the Pirates on Saturday.
If Blanton needs to go on the DL the team will at least be comfortable with his replacement as Kyle Kendrick would be the obvious choice to fill the void.
As we wait for the results, and hope for the best, cue the irony of the heaviest pitcher on the staff having a problem in his abdominal region.
After all, they say laughter is the best medicine.
Phillies name Jamie Moyer #5 starter
The old man gets the nod.
The Phillies officially named Jamie Moyer the team’s fifth starter today.
Bellow is an excerpt from philly.com
“We think it’s the right way to go,” (pitching coach Rich) Dubee said. “Jamie proved that he’s healthy. That was the biggest question coming into spring training, how he’d come back from the surgeries. He’s throwing the ball well. He’s functioning well. And again, this guy has a tremendous track record of being a winning pitcher.”
Dubee looked at the situation in a different perspective for Kendrick.
“He won a job,” Dubee said. “He didn’t lose the starting job. In my mind, it was going to be a tough thing to do if Jamie was healthy to win that job from Jamie Moyer. Kyle won a job on our roster.”
Given the fact that Brad Lidge and J.C. Romero will begin the season on the disabled list and the way Jose Contreras and Antonio Bastardo have struggled this spring, Kendrick’s role in the bullpen could be significant. Moyer, 47, isn’t able to bounce back as quickly as Kendrick can after a relief outing.
You can read the whole article here.
This is not surprising news to Phillies fans. When the Phillies gave Moyer a 2-year deal at the end of the 2008 season, it was viewed as a reward for helping the team win the World Series. A man of his word, Charlie Manuel will give Moyer a chance to finish his career in the starting lineup.
Now it’s time for the veteran to make his coach look good.
Pleading the fifth: Moyer of Kendrick?
Having won three straight NL East titles and appearing in the World Series the last two years, few questions surround the Phillies as they embark on the 2010 season next month.
And the questions that do exist — bounce back seasons from Brad Lidge and Cole Hamels — don’t pertain to the first week of the season so much as they do the season as a whole.
The team’s starting eight are assured. Ryan Howard and Chase Utley don’t exactly have their jobs on the line.
But there is one bit of competition that has the interest of the team’s followers.
The old soft throwing lefty vs. The promising, yet inconsistent young buck.
Jamie Moyer vs. Kyle Kendrick.
On one end you have a 47-year old who’s fastball is looks like a changup, but has always found a way to get the job done. Since being acquired by the Phillies in a deal with Seattle, Moyer has been a great presence in the locker room. His work on the mound has been equally as impressive. He is 47-31 in three seasons and has given his team a chance to win the vast majority of the time. With the Phillies offense, they usually have.
He tied for the team lead with 12 wins last year, though his ERA bloomed to 4.94.
On the other hand you have Kendrick who pitched well in 2007 — surprising the organization with a 10-4 record and a 3.87 ERA — but struggled in 2008, finishing with a 5.49 ERA. Kendrick doesn’t overpower hitters and doesn’t have amazing stuff, but he is a Major League pitcher and does appear ready.
This Spring, Kendrick has put forth a strong audition, posting a 1.29 ERA. In 14 innings he has allowed just seven hits and two runs, while striking out 6. Moyer made his first official start of the Spring on Sunday and he to had success, allowing one run on five hits in five innings against the Blue Jays. Moyer previously made three starts in “B” games, and currently has a 3.86 ERA.
This will not be an easy decision by any means.
Although he pitched in relief at the end of last season Moyer does not want to be a reliever. Kendrick could be used in relief but may be better served getting starting experience in the minors if he isn’t chosen as the fifth starter. The team already has Jose Contreras in the bullpen so the need for a long-man is not there.
The Phillies could also try to trade Moyer, but as Philly.com writer Paul Hagen points out, the team would be best served to keep both as there is a lack of starting depth in the minors and injuries are inevitable during a season.
I think that Kendrick’s time has arrived and he should get the nod. I also think he won’t.
If we have learned anything about Charlie Manuel in his time in Philadelphia it’s that he is loyal to his guys. Sometimes for the right reasons and sometimes to a fault.
The Phillies can survive with Moyer in the No. 5 spot and they know it. Kendrick will get his chance, just not during the early part of the season.
And if your rooting for one guy or the other and it doesn’t work out in your favor don’t let it bother you. When a team’s only dilemma is at the No. 5 spot in the rotation, your team is in really good shape.
How will Pedro’s time in Philadelphia be remembered
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 Phillies traded for Cliff Lee, reducing the expected impact of Martinez. However, with Jamie Moyer struggling, the Phils gave Pedro is first start on August 12 against the Cubs.
A little over a month later, he finished his regular season with a 5-1 record with an ERA of 3.63, good enough to earn himself a spot in the postseason rotation.
After not pitching in the NLDS, Pedro pitched a 7-inning gem against the Dodgers in Game 2 of the NLCS. The bullpen would blow an inherited 1-0 lead, leaving him without a win.
However, the World Series was not kind to Pedro. Against his nemesis, the New York Yankees, Pedro went 0-2, including the deciding Game 6 loss in which he allowed four runs in just four innings.
It is unlikely Pedro will be resigned for next season. The Phillies are set in the rotation 1-through-4 and have Jamie Moyer under contract. There is also the chance that Kyle Kendrick earns his way back to the majors or that highly-touted prospect Kyle Drabek makes the roster.
So how will the future Hall of Famer’s short stint in Philly be remembered?
My guess is that fans will look at Pedro’s time with the team fondly. He gave the team more than anyone could have expected given the way things ended for him in New York the previous season. Sure he didn’t execute well enough in the World Series, but Brad Lidge and Cole Hamels’ shortcomings will be talked about much more going forward.
Pedro wasn’t great, but his two month stint at in Philadelphia did more good, than harm.
No relief in sight for defending WS champions
The Phillies took another game to the wire tonight. With their magic number down to three, they tried to fight for the victory. Moyer pitched 4 in relief of Kendrick, and seems to be becoming the Phillies specialist in long relief. Now all we need is a closer.
The Phillies continue to be an offensive juggernaut. Howard hit his 43rd homerun, Baku chipped in with his 3rd and the Phillies scored 5 runs in the loss to Milwaukee. Walker came in and proved no pitcher can seem to close effectively for these Phillies by allowing 2 runs and getting nobody out in the ninth inning. If Philadelphia had a closer they could be challenging for the best record in the cities baseball history that goes back over 100 years.
This team had the potential to win 110 games this year but they have blown 18 games now with the closers allowing 8th or 9th inning runs. Lidge is responsible for 11 of these, but Madsen has had 6 blown saves and now Walker was initiated with a blown save of his own this evening. It is a shame that this team with such sound fundamentals, offense and starting pitching gets repeatedly let down by the bullpen. Charlie Manuel needs to address this, and he has about two weeks left to do it or I don’t expect the Phillies to get to the second round of the postseason.
It goes down in the books as a 7-5 loss late in a season where the Phillies have essentially secured a playoff spot, but it all but ensures they will not have best NL record for home field advantage and it strikes a blow on this team’s momentum and confidence with little time left in the season to compensate for another loss that should have been a win.
209 Home Runs for 2009 and counting
The Phillies won again. Hit 4 homeruns. Ho hum. We Phanatics are getting spoiled. This is a really good team, with a lot of depth.
Example 1. Pitching : Happ left in the third with a mystery injury, probably reinjured his oblique muscle, and with all the talk about the bullpen, Kendrick comes in and pitches 4 innings of shut out 2 hit relief. The Phillies bullpen for all it’s late inning woes has been notorious this year for clutch long middle inning relief, between Happ early in the year, Madsen all year long, Moyer late in the year and Kendrick tonight, all 4 pitched 4 innings or longer in relief of starters for various reasons.
And these starters are pretty dang good ! Lee, Hamels, Blanton, Martinez, Happ. put those five on any other ball club and at least three would make the starting rotation. Two of the three could be staff aces just about anywhere in the league as well.
Example 2. Fielding : Jimmy Rollins is playing spectacular at shortstop, turning difficult plays into routine, fielding the short hop like the ball is on a string, throwing with incredible accuracy. But Rollins is a horrible offensive weapon right? 1st in at bats, 4th in stolen bases, 7th in doubles, 13th in hits, 13th in runs scored, Hmmmm, low average around .250 for Jimmy, but overall, not really too bad. He just appears to be worse than he is because the rest of the team is batting so well. His 3 run jack in the ninth inning to stretch a 2 run lead into a rout didn’t hurt his playing stock.
Example 3. Power : Ryan Howard hit his 40th home run for the 4th straight year. And he did it naturally. Another day at the ball park.
I mentioned before it is hard to pick out a Phillies as MVP because they are so well balanced and they all contribute. Much has been made of Albert Puhols numbers, Howard is 7 home runs behind him, 6 RBI’s behind him, and raised his average to a quite respectable .272 in tonights game. If he can eliminate 70 or 80 strikeouts he can potentially threaten for the elusive triple crown. He tied Chuck Klein for the second place spot for most multi homerun games as a Phillie in team history.
Example 4. Confidence : The Phillies actually have a better road record than home record, and in the last 7 years they have won 44 games on the road four times. Only a team with a lot of depth can manage to win away from home consistently. It takes a team dynamic, and a real focus to getting the little things done to overcome the inherent home field advantage that frequently.
Example 5. Scoring : The Phillies very well could have 4 30 home run 100 RBI guys on the squad by the end of the year. And 6 players scoring 100 runs. I don’t think that has ever been done. If it has, I couldn’t find an example of it.
Bottom line, on any given day, any given player might display his talents and assist the team to a victory. As they head to the playoffs to defend the championship, on a night when the starting pitcher and starting catcher both left the game early, no one on the Phillies bench looked especially worried, after all, they have depth, and plenty of backup and role players just waiting to come out and show what they can do.
By the way, Howard hit 2, Rollins hit 1, Fransisco hit 1, and the Phillies won going away again 9-4 over the “better luck next year Braves”
We Phillies fans are getting spoiled, and I for one, love it!
Save committee may work in Philly
In the first game of a rainout makeup double header with an odd 4 hour delay between games, Kyle Kendrick got his first win of the year and Manuel did as promised and sent Brad Lidge out to get the save, albeit a shaky, scary one.
Lidge gave up two runs, keeping his ERA above 7 but finished the game without losing it. Barely. Manuel is now switching back and forth between Lidge and Madsen, with neither selection appearing to be that good a choice, but no other immediate solution at hand.
The Phillies hit two more homeruns, now having 332 of their 714 runs scored via the round tripper, or 46%. The Phillies ran their season matchup against the once worrysome Mets to 11-6 with the night cap game in hand.
Kendrick looked glad to be back in winning form, and Lidge looked grateful to record his 29th save. With the win, the Phillies guaranteed at least a .500 season. The Phillies have 4 players with 30 home runs, 84 or more RBI’s, and 88 runs scored. Chase Utley got his 100th run scored for the third straight year.
The Phitens trotted out Cy Young winner Pedro Martinez for the nightcap. Pedro displayed command of 4 different pitches with good speed and control, pitching 130 pitches over 8 shutout innings as the Phillies clung to a 1-0 lead. Pedro dropped his ERA under 3 and ran his record this year to 5-0. Pedro is one of the few pitchers to play in both leagues and record 100+ wins on both American and National League teams.
Game two was a pitching dual, with Redding leaving the game in the 7th after giving up one run on three hits and carrying the loss. The only thing left to see was if the Phillies could hold on and win the game with their closing pitching.
Green hit the first batter he faced then recorded three outs on his next two pitches to get out of the 7th inning with the one run lead unchanged. The Phillies arrived at the 9th still holding a one run lead, and 6-0 record in Pedro’s starts. Madsen came in, finished off the largely ineffective Mets and earned the save to secure Pedro’s win. The Phillies took a largely needed doubleheader sweep with two saves on a night when the bullpen sorely needed to prove itself.
The closing issues aren’t resolved, but at least for one night at least, a closer didn’t cost the team a sure victory and we can all sleep well tonight knowing the Phillies have all but clinched the National League East.
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