I believe it is foolish to get wrapped up in Spring Training statistics, particularly when they come from players who have already secured roster spots.

When a player goes through an 0-for 10 stretch at the plate, it’s not something that gets me worked up, and likewise if a young player goes through a 7-for-10 stretch I don’t jump to the conclusion that the Phillies have the next great thing on their hands.

But once in awhile I see something in Spring Training that holds my attention. Today Cole Hamels did exactly that.

The notion that the Phillies chances of winning  a second World Series in three years hinges on Hamels being the pitcher of 2008 and not the sub-.500 one of 2009 [...]

Are you are having a tough time getting pumped up for the Phillies first Spring Training contest tomorrow?

Well, lets fix that.

Sure we might not see Ryan Howard hit any bombs or Roy Halladay throw a few flame balls, but there is still enough going on to keep the attention of hardecore baseball fans.

Philly.com Phillies beat writer Andy Martino points out several things of interest heading into Philadelphia’s clash with Florida State. Bellow are his thoughts:

Points of interest for the exhibition include J.A. Happ’s new two-seam fastball.  The lefty is playing with the sinker to augment his four-seam fastball, cutter, change-up and curveball. As with all spring training pitch additions, he will work it in for a while before deciding whether [...]

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

We are still five weeks away from Spring Training and already the New York Mets have a case of the injury blues.

On Wednesday it was reported that Carlos Beltran underwent knee surgery and will be unable to resume baseball activities for 8-12 weeks.

If the timing of the surgery strikes you as odd, it appears the Mets feel the same way. There are varying reports on whether or not the team gave Beltran permission to have the surgery and it has been confirmed that the procedure was done by Beltran’s personal doctor. More details on the story will become available today as a conference call is scheduled between the Mets’ brass and the media.

Regardless of who approved the surgery, this is [...]

Man the Phillies are moving fast!

The Phillies filled their primary offseason need today signing Placido Polanco to a 3-year deal worth 18 million. Polanco’s primary position is second base, but he will shift over to third full time.

Palonco is the type of player the Phillies desperately needed – a .300 hitter, who takes pitches and doesn’t strike out.

With third base now taken care of we turn our focus to rounding out the bench. As we mentioned on Tuesday, the Phillies have four parts of the bench in place with Greg Dobbs, Brian Schneider, Juan Castro and Ben Fransisco under contract. The Phillies will likely us their final bench spot on a player that can give them depth in the outfield [...]

 I am currently writing from my brand new Arc located right smack dab In the middle of the East Coast. Any more rain and we will be gathering animals 2 by 2.

Does anyone else think that they should get rid of the DH and Pitcher award slot for the Silver Slugger award? Instead, just create a utility position and give it to the next best hitter at any position in the league. Since the National League does not have the DH it seems like a reasonable idea to me. Let’s face it; giving this award to a pitcher with an average of .217 is kind of watering down the award, just a thought.

The American and National League announced its 2009 [...]

I happened to be visiting Philly this past weekend for the first time in a while. I decided before I left that it was extremely important for me to take what I call the Pats vs. Gino’s Challenge. So, a buddy and I went into South Philly and first stopped by Pats. After following the directions printed on the building, we ordered our “Philly Wiz Wit” and of course cheese fries. I was very pleased. Not wasting anytime we walked across the street to Gino’s and after the fifteen-minute wait, we ordered two more “Philly Wiz Wits.” Although, I thought it was good, in my eyes it did not match up to Pat’s. Maybe the difference was Pats pouring on [...]

Is it safe to come out yet? Now that most of you phanatics have had a chance to calm down and have a nice cry, it’s time to take a look forward. For my first blog, I would like to look towards the off-season and our wish lists. What do you want the front office to bring you for Christmas? What’s the biggest need? Would you add to the rotation by jumping into the Lackey sweepstakes? Would you make a splash by luring Pettite to Philly? Or would you go low risk high reward after a Rich Harden? Maybe your wish list includes fixing the pitiful bench. Do you want Marco Scutaro or maybe a Coco Crisp? How about Eric [...]

For the third straight year, the Phillies have claimed the NL East title. The Phillies defeated the Houston Astros, 10-3, Wednesday night to make official what we all knew for months: The Phils are heading back to the playoffs to attempt a World Series repeat.

Check back for a detailed report on how the Phillies finished off their division foes and what lies ahead.

And remember, PhillySportsBlogs will have you covered for what will hopefully be another a long postseason run.

Congratulations Phillies!

When I began this countdown of the biggest threats to the Phillies returning to the World Series a couple of days ago, I liked the San Francisco Giants as the second-biggest threat because of their pitching.
And that was before newly acquired starter Bard Penny went out and tossed eight shutout innings against the Phillies Wednesday night.
Needless to say, I still like the Giants.
Prior to the season there was a lot of buzz about the Giants being a surprise team, and maybe even a playoff-caliber bunch. It seemed a bit of a stretch for a team that had won just 72 games in 2008, but the pundits liked San Francisco ’s pitching. The one knock on the team was a big [...]

A look at the four teams who are looking to finish this season where the Phillies did last.

Never before has Brett Myers been so popular.

Myers, who went on the disabled list May 28 with a right hip strain, is set to have a rehab start for the Redding Phillies today. However, it’s not the prospect of Myers starting that has Phillies fans clamoring for his return; it’s the notion of Myers closing. Nine blown saves by Brad Lidge will do that.

Lidge’s latest blunder came Tuesday night when he allowed three runs without getting an out in a disheartening 6-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Phillies had erased a 3-2 Pirates lead by scoring two runs in the top of the ninth off Pittsburgh closer Matt Capps.

Then without hesitation Charlie Manuel summoned Lidge for the fourth time in [...]

Just four short years ago, the Eagles were considered the class of the four major sports organizations in Philadelphia. They had a way of getting rid of players at the right time and bringing in the kind of players that quickly made fans forget those who had departed.
Around the same time, the Phillies organization was driving its fans base crazy. The team always seemed to start slow and meddle slightly around .500 for much of the year. They never made the type of move that got the fans excited.
Fast forward to today and suddenly many of those same pundits who placed the Eagles so far ahead of the rest now feel that it is the Phillies organization that is miles [...]

There was nothing ordinary about Sunday’s Phillies-Mets game.

Facing a Mets lineup that resembles a minor league team, the Phillies have a great opportunity to continue their winning ways.