Howard Powers Phillies Past Braves

Saturday August 29, 2009 • Leave a Comment 

After a disappointing three days in Pittsburgh that saw the Phillies drop two of three to the Pirates, the Phillies returned home Friday night and Ryan Howard blasted two homers (36 and 37) in between the rain drops to push the Phillies to a 4-2 win against the Braves.

Howards display was just another day at the office for the big man who certainly knows what its like to have big games this time of year.   Howard certainly knows what its like to have success this time of year, hitting .339 with 11 homers and 29 rbi in his last 15 games.  This streak could just be a preview of things to come.   After August 26th the past two seasons, “Rynomite” has a combined .317 average with 25 homers and 54 runs batted in.

Howard gave the Phils an early 1-0 lead in the second inning before rain halted play for 64 minutes.   Pedro Martinez, who had allowed just one hit and a walk in two innings, was set to come back after the first delay and was the on deck batter when play was stopped again after just 7 minutes.  After another 45 minute delay, Pedro was finished for the night.  Jamie Moyer came on and pitched effectively for 4 1/3 innings, allowing a run on four hits with no walks while striking out five.  It was the second time Moyer has relieved Pedro after a rain shortened outing, the first came back on August 18th against Arizona.   Both times Moyer (12-9) has gotten the win.

Howard gave the Phillies more offense in the 4th inning as his second homer of the night, this time a two-run shot, cleared the center field wall and gave the Phillies a 3-0 lead.   The Braves got a run in the 5th on a Matt Diaz double, and the Phillies got their 4th run on an rbi single by Pedro Feliz in the 7th.  The Braves threatened in the 8th as they loaded the bases but only got one run on a fielder’s choice ground out by Chipper Jones.   Brad Lidge, sporting a new hairdo and pitching on two days rest, got the Braves in order in the 9th for his 26th save of the year.

After dropping two of three to the lowly Pirates beating the Braves had to feel good for the Phillies.

“It was definitely a good game to try and right the ship because it’s a game where, for both teams, it was a mental game,” Howard said. “You’re playing the waiting game with the rain, starting and stopping and trying to stay loose. We didn’t know it was going to be up in the air. We were able to play through some things and get it done.”

Anything can happen down the stretch, but this win combined with the Marlins loss gives the Phillies an 8 game lead on both the Braves and Marlins as we get set to enter the seasons final month.  Strange things tend to happen in September, but the Marlins and Braves don’t seem as though they have the ability to put together the kind of streak that the Phillies put together in 2007 to over take the Mets down the stretch.

With Captain Ryan at the helm, its hard to imagine this ship not coming in to port on top of the National League East when its all said and done.



MVP Cole Hamels takes back seat to Cliff Lee

Thursday August 20, 2009 • 5 Comments 

Phillies fans may never forget the playoff and World Series performances put together by Cole Hamels last postseason.

In five starts Hamels went 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA. The Phillies won both of Hamels starts in the Fall Classic, earning the young left-hander the World Series MVP award.

However, even with that data on his resume, there is little arguing that Hamels should not get the ball if – and when – the Phillies 2009 postseason begins.

The reason is simple: Cliff Lee.

Since arriving in Philadelphia by way of trade last month, Lee has been the definition of a staff ace. He as gone 4-0 with a minuscule 0.83 ERA, with his best performance coming Wednesday night when he hurled a complete game, two hit, seven strikeout performance.

Lee as a No. 1 also has an extra bonus – he is not afraid to pitch on three days rest. Lee has done it in the past and almost certainly would do it again if the situation called for it. Hamels has been reluctant to change his pitching schedule in the past, something that has irked Phillies fans (well at least it did before he helped the city finally see a major title).

With Lee and Hamels planted as the top two pitchers in the postseason staff and Joe Blanton (a right hander) almost certain to take the No. 3 spot, the only battle that remains is the fight for No. 4.

On paper, the front-runner is J.A. Happ, who prior to the arrival of Lee, was the Phillies top pitcher. However, as it was discussed on Daily News Live on Wednesday, managers are reluctant to start young pitchers in the postseason. The other candidates to fill the final starting job are Jamie Moyer and Pedro Martinez. The organization has already yanked Moyer from the rotation so it seems highly unlikely they would use him there in the playoffs.

The Phillies brought in Pedro with hopes of him finding his old form and becoming a bit of an “X” factor in the playoffs.

The next month will determine how much, if any, time Pedro sees in the rotation came October.

Barring Pedro finding a gear he hasn’t shown since 2005, when he won 15 games with the Mets, the edge has to go to Happ. Young or not, Happ has five wins this season and an outstanding 2.66 ERA. He has earned his shot.

Of course, in the ever-fickle game of baseball, all of this could change over the next month. Injuries and performances could change the pecking order. For now, the Phils look to have a solid postseason rotation.

It’s a good sign when the reigning World Series MVP can’t even be considered your ace.



The wait is over for Pedro Martinez

Wednesday August 12, 2009 • 2 Comments 

Pedro s back!

And for one night so was the Phillies offense.

On a night where every Phillies fan tuned in to see what the 2009 version of Pedro Martinez would look like, they got a taste of an old-fashioned tail-whipping, courtesy of the Phillies offense, in a 12-5 win over the Chicago Cubs. The Phils scored eight runs in the fourth inning, taking any stress off of the aging right-hander’s arm. And while the offense was a welcome sign, Wednesday was still all about Pedro, who was hardly spectacular, but more than serviceable.

Let’s start with the good

- Martinez’s fastball was clocked as high as 93. Now trusting a ball park’s radar gun is like trusting Bernie Madoff with your savings, but it was clear that Martinez was able to dial it up much more than last year, when he struggled at times to reach the high 80’s with the Mets. Time will tell if he can do it consistently.

-  The movement is still there. Pedro’s slider still as enough bite to it to get right-hand hitters to chase. He will need that pitch as the last few seasons have provided evidence that his fastball is not his out pitch.

-  Pedro didn’t get hurt. With his recent medical history, this is an accomplishment. Last year, Martinez left his first start last season with an injury and was never regained his form.

The Not-so good

-  Pedro fell behind to a lot of hitters. While he was able to avoid trouble for the most part, falling behind hitters leads to a high pitch count, which then leads to relievers coming in before the seventh inning. On Wednesday, the bullpen answered the call in the sixth inning, but for different reason The Phils had put the game away and there was no need to over-extend the 37-year old.

-  Pedro gave up seven hits in five innings. Not bad, not great.

Overall, a decent opening performance from a pitcher making his first start in the majors in almost a year.  For the record, after one start Pedro’s ERA stands at 5.40. After 22 starts Jamie Moyer’s ERA is 5.47. Any takers on who finishes with a lower ERA?