No Offense, No Win

Okay, okay, so we scored 5 runs. Big deal. Four of those runs came from the NL MVP Jimmy Rollins.

Yesterday's problem was the top 4... and I give them all the credit in the world for stepping up today.

Rollins was 2 for 5, with a run and 4 RBIs.
Utley got 2 late inning hits, though I would trade both for a more timely one.
And Howard had 2 hits including a homerun, though he did leave 3 men on base.
Finally, Victorino came through in a PH role and produced a run with a single and a SB/E-2. He was eventually knocked in by a Rollins ground out.

So the "superstars" kind of answered the call today. But the offense stopped there.

Nobody Hits, woohoo!

If you combine the totals from the rest of the team you'll see the numbers are pathetic. Excluding the aforementioned Rollins, Utley, Howard and Victorino, the team was 2 for 20. Burrell, Helms, Werth and Iguchi all managed walks, but that was it.

I'm not saying the offense is the only thing to blame for this loss. Our bullpen is exposed, though they've been exposed all year. But I am saying that our offense is not clicking on all cylinders which can lead to a laugher like this one.

The decision to pull Kendrick in the 4th with the bases loaded is easy to criticize because Lohse was beat deep by Matsui who is not a homerun hitter. Had he gotten him out, it would be a different ball game. Now I'm not a genius, but Matsui, being a contact hitter enjoys balls low and probably can't catch up to the high fastballs, otherwise he'd have more homers. So instead of pitching him up, Lohse gives him a low strike to hit. I'm just sayin'...

And then there's Mesa. Enough said... the ball game was over when Mesa came in and starting walking guys and giving up doubles, that's never a good sign.

We've a tough road ahead having to pull off 3 in a row... It's not impossible, but it sure is daunting.

I'll leave you wall with a song. Sung to the tune Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry", hopefully this will bring back some recollection of what we used to have and bring us some good karma from this regular season.

"No, Offense, No Win"

Said - said - said: I remember when we used to score
At Citizen's Bank Park in Philly,
Ob - observing the hot sticks
As they would mesh with the good defense we'd play.
Good games we won, oh, good games we've lost
Along the way.
In this great game, you cant forget your bats;
So dry your tears, I say.

No, offense, no win;
No, offense, no win.
Oh, little Phils fan, don't shed no tears:
No, offense, no win.

PS - I like our chances with Jaime Moyer. It takes a crafty, veteran with off-speed stuff to slow down hot bats. We'll just need to sacrifice a chicken to get our going.

Phils Superstars are Superduds in Game 1

When the top 4 players in your lineup go a combined 0 for 15 with 9 strikeouts, you're not going to win many games.

The bottom line is, that the triumvirate of Rollins, Utley and Howard, who make up arguably the best infield in the league, did not perform. We'll let Victorino off the hook for now, because he has been out for some time, and let's face it...he's not on the same level as the other three.

There is no doubt that Rollins, Utley and Howard were the 3 biggest reasons we made the playoffs in the first place, but when you get there they have to perform. I'm not mad at them, I'm just analyzing the game and their failure this afternoon is the biggest reason for the loss.

Consider these numbers:

Rollins: 0 for 3, 1K

Victorino: 0 for 4, 1K

Utley: 0 for 4, 4Ks (ouch!)

Howard: 0 for 4, 3Ks

Total: 0 for 15, 9 Ks

If you have any other reason for losing that game... you're wrong!

On the pitching side, thanks to his long sleeve shirt, Hamels had one bad inning and then was lights out, retiring 15 of the last 16 batters he faced. He pitched well enough to win. Too often it seems like Hamels falters for an inning early in the game and then settles down, only to have that early inning haunt him. Maybe he doesn't warm-up enough in the pen before the game. Maybe he needs some of the pressure of pitching perfectly taken off his shoulder. I don't know. He pitches well enough in all the other innings to warrant his praise. He's pretty damn good.

It's not a good thing when you lose a game at home in a shortened series. Now we have to win 3 out of 4... for some reason, even with the Phillies late season push, it seems daunting. It will seem a lot easier if we can get the first one under our belt. It won't be as hard as Uncle Charlie trying to get all his fat under his belt...

Tomorrow's match up brings together two rookies. Kyle Kendrick vs. Franklin Morales. Of the 2 Kendrick has a lot more experience. Morales has only pitched in 8 games this year for a combined 39.1 innings of major league experience. Another stat in our favor is that Kendrick is 7-1 at home with a 3.76 ERA. It will be a contest of who will blink first, my guess is Morales. Kendrick is consistently credited with being calm and even-keeled regardless of the situation, and after a few first inning playoff jitters, I've no reason to believe that tomorrow will be any different. We'll jump on Morales early, wake up our superstars and win one handily.

We're In! - The Wait is Over, the Phillies Make the Playoffs

After 14 grueling seasons, the 2007 Phillies have done what no other Phillies team since 1993 has done... they've made the playoffs. They sealed the deal to day with a 7-1 win over the Washington Nationals.

When playoff time comes there are some intangibles that make up for a lack of talent. In our case, that lack is on the pitching side, but the intangible additions are momentum and heart. The never say die attitude exemplified by this team, personifies the Philadelphia fan and enables the 10th man to be a difference maker in close games.

And as a proud member of that 10th man, I want to say thank you to all of the Phillies' players who have made this roller coaster season an exciting ride.

As the 10th man filed in, I got a sense of nostalgia. This is why we complain, this is why we cheer, this is why why we are fans. I then noticed that our Suite was sandwiched between the banners of Jimmy Rollins and Jaime Moyer. Not a bad place to be. Moyer and Rollins were two of the biggest reasons we were able to win this game and move into the playoffs.

From the beginning the place was electric. Even before the national anthem the crowd was put into a frenzy when it was announced that the Florida Marlins had scored 4 runs on the Mets in the first inning. The Marlins ended up scoring 7 runs before the inning was over making for a very loose crowd, knowing that the worst case scenario would be a one game playoff.

But a gutsy outing by Jaime Moyer, another MVP caliber performance by Jimmy Rollins and an exclamation point homerun by Ryan Howard, made sure that the NL East would be ours today.
I had kept a lot of notes to discuss in the blog on a scorecard, but I have misplaced it. I'm a little upset for nostalgic reasons, because I have a feeling I dropped it on the way out of the stadium hauling all of the leftover food out of the Suite.

But staying late and enjoying the celebration was worth it. The party inside the locker room was showed on the Phanavision which gave an excellent look into the personality of the players. We stayed after for another hour. Eventually the players came back out and thanked the fans, took a trip around the field and doused the fans with beer, champagne, jerseys and water from the field hose.

The celebration continued driving back home via Broad Street where the fans flocked to the streets join in the festivities. With my rally towel in one hand and my car horn in the other I was a very happy man soaking in the Philadelphia passion. The entire experience was priceless. To me, this is more rewarding than the '93 team because of the excitement at the end. As opposed to waiting for the playoffs to begin, this team had to fight until the final game to get in. And this momentum is what will make them "the team to beat" in the playoffs.

"We're the Team to Beat!"

Congratulations to the 2007 National League East Champion Philadelphia Phillies!

If there is anything in sports that can help a team win besides talent, it's momentum and heart. And this team has both.

I'm too busy enjoying this victory and preparing for the Eagles game to concentrate on writing anything now... but I have a lot of notes from the game. I was there and it was electric from the beginning.

Go Phillies!

Cole Hamels Pitches Phils to First Place... Alone

Jimmy Rollins draws first blood again. It wasn't in the first inning this time, but boy was it timely.

Being there in person makes it very vivid. Let me set the scene.

Top of the 4th. Cole Hamels had just settled in after struggling a bit in the second inning giving up 3 hits but being bailed out by forcing a double play to end the inning. The 3rd inning Cole began to find his groove with 2 strikeouts, but really hit stride by striking out the side in the top of 4th, priming the fans for what was coming in the bottom of the 5th.

Greg Dobbs singled to lead off the 5th. Ruiz followed him by being beaned in the hand. 1st and 2nd, nobody out, Cole Hamels is up.

Hamels lays down a perfect bunt moving the runners to 2nd and 3rd. This is where it gets fun. Amidst twirling rally towels and "M-V-P" chants, Rollins confidently stepped up to the plate and lived up to his new moniker by smacking the first pitch up the middle scoring both Dobbs and Ruiz. Proving once again why he is so important to this ball club. He scores 'em and drives 'em in. How many other lead off men do you know with 93 RBIs?

Rollins, however can not over shadow the superb pitching performance of Cole Hamels. Hamels' only trouble came in the second inning (mentioned above). After the second inning, Cole Hamels recorded 13 Ks through the next 6 innings. In other words of the 18 outs recorded from the 3rd inning through the 8th, only 5 were not Strikeouts. That is impressive. Hamels struck ou the side in the 4th and 6th, including 5 in a row from the 3rd through the 5th. Cole Hamels was doing his best Cole Hamels impression tonight. And despite a Ryan Howard homerun a Chase Utley RBI double, an excellent catch by Aaron Rowand and a two run single by Rollins, he is without a doubt the MVP of this game.

8 inning pitched, 6 hits, 0 Runs, 13 Ks, 1 BB - and 1 bullpen pitcher used. Meaning , our pen will be well rested for the weekend games, and more importantly for tomorrow's game when Adam Eaton is scheduled to pitch. So Manuel should have a short leash tomorrow with Eaton and all the bullpen stooges.

Oh, and in case you live in a box and only have access to the Phillies game through a transistor radio, the Mets lost.

Phils lead the East by 1 game with 2 to play. That sounds pretty good doesn't it? I have tickets to Sunday's game as well, here's to happy times.

Pic below is my wife and I at tonight's game. (Isn't she beautiful?) She made me take this same picture 6 or 7 times until she was satisfied with the results. I'd be happy to post all them by request.

PS - He said it not me...

"It's embarrassing. It's pretty pathetic." - David Wright on the Mets' "Colossal Collapse"

"Do we smell it? Yeah, of course we smell it." - Charlie Manuel

First Blood Leads to First Place

Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino helped the Phils draw First Blood to set the tone for the rest of tonight's contest.

Rollins continued his MVP caliber play leading off the game with a single. Dejavu, considering he led off last night's game with a triple and joined the 30/30 club the night before by leading off that game with homerun. That kind of spark, speaks volumes.

Drawing First Blood is what makes Jimmy Rollins the National League MVP.

What might be overlooked tonight is the kool, kalm and kollected play of Kyle Kendrick. K2 earned his 10th win of the season, pitching 6 solid innings, the first 5 of which were scoreless.

And after 2 homeruns by Howard and Burrell, 6 runs scored (1 each by the first 6 batters), and over 40,000 rally towels, the dust settled and the Phillies ended up in first place. Thanks in large part to our continuous winning and the Mets continuous losing.

The Phillies are in first place. I will sleep well tonight.

PS - I have tickets to tomorrow night's game and Sunday's game. It should be a fun weekend.

Die Another Day: Lohse and Rollins Spark Phils

With the result of the Mets' game still in the balance, the Figtin' Phils have done their part in staying in the hunt, and getting back on the winning track.

Once again, Jimmy Rollins started things off with a bang. Not since Lenny Dykstra has someone at the top of the Phillies' lineup meant so much to the success of this club.

Yesterday, Rollins led off with a homerun. Today, it was a triple. We'd score several more times in subsequent innings on a Chipper Jones miscue and again on a clutch pinch hit homerun by Shane Victorino.

"But the big story tonight..." to borrow a line from Philly's own Jim Gardner, was the pitching prowess of Kyle Lohse. Lohse was nothing short of solid pitching 7 full and giving up only a 2-run homerun in the 4th. Since acquiring him several months ago, the Phils are 6-0 behind Lohse. I think he's pitched well enough to warrant a contract for next year. But we'll worry about that later.

7 innings, 6 hits, 5 Ks, 0 BB and 2 ER.

Today was as close to a must win as we've had this season. This was undoubtedly the most important game of the season and the Phils responded. Even the bullpen played well.

As I write this Nats have a 7-6 lead over the Mets in the 7th, meaning the Phils may wake up tomorrow down 1 game in the East. The Padres play later, but will definitely be feeling the pressure from the Phils' victory.

Great match-up tomorrow: Smoltz, 9-4, 2.96 vs. Kyle Kendrick, 9-4, 3.83.

Stay tuned Phils fans, there is more to come.

Die another Day.

This Is It! - Phillies Phate is in their the Phinal Games

These are kind of games you want to have. These are the games that turn young boys into fans for life and turn old men into young boys.

Baseball teams play 162 games with the hopes that many of them will be meaningful. The better you play, the more meaningful games you have.

The Phillies have played well enough for their last 6 games to be meaningful. They enter the last 6 game tied for the Wild Card lead with the San Diego Padres, who, by the way just lost one of their star players Milton Bradley when he injured himself in an argument with the ump. Believe it. It's true.

Fortunately for the Phillies these games are at home, where it will undoubtedly be a near packed house with a playoff atmosphere. I could sense the excitement on my drive home on 76 East, as there was more traffic than normal and plenty of Phillies red in the bumper to bumper to traffic.

So if you drove to the game from Warminster or Wilmington. Or your watching at home in Newtown or Old City, rest assured that these Phillies will give you a fight. They've scratched and clawed the entire year. They've put up numbers and brought down the house. And whether you're a rabid fan, or simply dressed like a rabbit, you have 6 more meaningful games.

So sit back, or sit on the edge of your seat. No matter how you watch it, if you're a Phillies fan, you can't ask for anything better.

Go Phils!

The Fightin' Phils Live Up to there Name

While most Philadelphia sports fans were busy yelling at the television, wondering why Brian Westbrook was not being used more often, the Phillies were busy creating some telle-yellers of their own.

Had you been watching the Phillies instead of the Eagles, you too were probably yelling at the television wondering how on earth the Philles could blow an 11-run lead.

I was the former. I did however hear about the disaster and tuned in with the Fightin's leading 12-11.

And now, down the stretch the Phillies are ready to strike. Fresh off another sweep of the Mets, the re-rejuvinated Phils are again clawing and scratching their way back. They're fighters.

And they'll be in this thing until the end.

They hit St. Louis at the right time, where it seems like the Cards can't even buy a win.

Currently the Phils are in the 13th inning fighting out another with the Cards. A win tonight would move the Phils within 1.5 games of the Mets. Surpisingly the Phils' offense is dormant today, while their bullpen has been stellar. I will stay up and watch the end of this one, but I do want to close this blog.

Go Phils!

PS - Cole Hamels only went 3 inning in his first gamem back from the DL. In those 3 innings Cole gave up 3 runs and 5 hits.

Brett Myers Has Dug Himself A Hole

First it was the stadium's fault that he was giving up homeruns, er uh, "pop-ups". And he was so frustrated by his inadequacies on the mound he took it out on a reporter.

http://www.kyw1060.com/play_window.php?audioType=Episode&audioId=968148

Now he's blaming his fielders or just bad luck, I can't tell which. He was saying something about how he was making good pitches. If they were bad pitches they would have been hit harder. Sure, there is something to be said for texas leaguers, dying quails, flares and seeing-eye-singles, the bottom line is you gave up 4 runs in 1 1/3 innings. That's not good. Take the blame, swallow your pride and pitch better next timie.

Never has it crossed his mind that perhaps he has a 5.09 ERA is because he's not making good pitches.

Bretty Myers needs to learn that sometimes it might be his fault. I don't think this fan base is going to embrace him like they once did. It all started with the incident with his wife, and since then he's continued to dig himself deeper and deeper.

The Phillies Bizarro World

The Phillies 4-game sweep of the Mets has virtually been erased with 3 straight losses to the Marlins and Braves. All of last week's hype is once again old news to the Philadelphia fairweather fan.

On the present Phillies front there is nothing new to report, which brings me to the Phillies past.
Let's take a step back in-time to 1993, (Darren Daulton can actually do this through astral travel, but we'll get to the bottom of this shortly).

The 1993 Phillies were a motley crew to say the least. That team definitely had its share of characters. Dave Hollins with his dual personalities. John Kruk and his legendary sense of humor. Danny Jackson, Mitch Williams, Curt Schilling, Pete Incaviglia, Jim Eisenreich and of course Lenny Dykstra and his Holding down the fort of all these characters was Darren Daulton. To many of us, Dutch was the sane leader of all of these lunatics.

Now the tides have changed. Dutch is now the lunatic. And in another ironic twist, Lenny Dykstra, who was arguably the King of the Idiots is now giving stock advice next to Jim Kramer on TheStreet.com. And I do say this with all due respect to The Dudes' superb effort on the field. He was, is, and always will be my favorite Phillie.

Dykstra giving stock advice and Darren Daulton being off his rocker seems like a paradox.

Dykstra believes the Microsoft (MSFT) is a good bye.
Daulton believes he can talk to lizards.

To be fair, I'll allow Daulton to explain himself.

"I started experiencing these different realms, these different planes of
existence ... I know exactly what I'm capable of doing. ... People talk about
speaking with lizards and stuff. You can communicate with anyone, with nature,
that's all that happened there. To me, that's not a big deal now. I like to
astal travel, teleport, travel through time ... December 24, 2012, by the way,
that's the number. As seven billion people, the world will rise to another level
of consciousness. I don't have all the answers."

Daulton has gotten away with a lot. He was a marginal player for nearly 10 years, and somehow managed to stick around long enough, to earn himself a whopper of a contract. He did have several years where he was the best catcher in the national league, but as players go, he is grossly overrated.

And now that Dykstra is giving stock advice to high-income investors, perhaps his cognitive capacity was grossly under-rated.

If nothing else, The Dude and Dutch are full of surprises.

If they're really smart, Daulton and Dykstra team up and astral travel back in time to purchase pre-IPO stocks and make millions.

For more about Daulton's view on other dimension, go to DarrenDaulton.com and buy his book "If they Only Knew".

For more on Dykstra's investment advice, go to TheStreet.com.

Phils Sweep the Mets

When something is described on the radio as being the most exciting game in Citizen's Bank Park history, then it must have been good.

If you're like me and you work for a living, chances are you didn't catch any of this game. And you were probably just as pleased as I was commuting home to learn that the Fightin' Phils continued their fight and swept the Mets to come within 2 games of the division lead.

Once again Pat Burrell has come up big. I think he just has the confidence to do whatever he wants. This is the Pat Burrell that warranted the $13 million/year. And what can you say about Chase Utley except, MVP.

To see all the highlights you missed while working for a living, click this link.

Time to Fry the Fish!

Jaime Moyer Pitches and Runs Phillies to Victory

We'll skip the game ending interference call against Marlon Anderson and just leave it as a good call... and it was. If the runner is that far from second base, there is no question of his intentions. Phils win on the call.

But I'd like to comment on Jaime Moyer.

In the beginning of the year he was Mr. Reliable. He'd trot out there every 5th day and give us a solid outing. But the baseball season is long, and Jaime Moyer is old. Moyer's solid outings happened less frequently and Old Man Moyer suffered a slump. Despite this, the loss of Hamels, Victorino, Utley, Bourne, Gordon, Lieber, Garcia... the list goes on... the Phillies are still in it. And now, more than ever, we need Mr. Reliable. And we got him.

We needed some solid outings from our pitchers to deal with the Mets and we've been getting that. Adam Eaton surprised us last night... and Moyer returned to form tonight. Both when we needed them most.

Moyer's line of 6 inn., 8 h, 2 ER, 4 SO, 2 BB, is a more than solid effort. Moyer most surprised me however when he scored from 3rd base on Pat Burrell's Sacrifice Fly. Burrell's ball was hit pretty deep, but Moyer still had to hustle to make it there. There was not play at the plate, but I'm not sure that too many 44 year olds would be sent in that situation. Surely, Moises Alou in left field is no schlep, but he too is up there in years. I wonder if there is a record for oldest combination of outfield assist + man being thrown out. If it had happened tonight, with Moyer at 44 and Alou at 41 would be a pretty tough one to beat.

That SAC Fly by Pat Burrell was an excellent at bat. After nearly hitting a grandslam and having 40,000 plus on their feet, you'd think it would be very difficult to regain your composure and put together a solid at bat. Burrell did that. He waved at the next pitch down the middle, but then took two balls off the plate and launched the 3-2 pitch high and deep to left field to send Moyer to the races.

Which brings me to the second point I'd like to make tonight, and that is the impressive play of Pat Burrell in the second half. Though I'm still not sold that this is the real Pat Burrell, his stellar second half is a big reason why the Phillies are still in this hunt. He's been hitting at close to a .360 clip since the all star break with 11 homeruns and 36 RBIs. His numbers to date this season are 22 HRs and 72 RBIs, which are very, very respectable considering where he was earlier. I'm still not a Pat Burrell fan, but I'm pulling for him to continue this hot streak right through September and into the playoffs. Rowand, Rollins and Utley have performed all year. Burrell is now helping out more and we're winning more games. And now we're just 3 back of the Mets. A sweep tomorrow would be a huge confidence booster going on the road where, we're going to need to play much more than .500 ball.

Sweep the Mets. Sweep the Mets. Come on out and Sweep the Mets.

PS - I'm still holding out hope that the Phillies keep Rowand. He'll demand a lot, but I think he's worth it.

Phils Start Homestand with "messy" win

The Phillies' destiny is in their hands. Tonight they started an all important 10 game homestand, where they hold a 34-25 record. That's a winning percentage of .735, or about 74%. If the law of averages holds true, the Phillies should win 7 of the next 10 games.

Currently we're tied with the Padres for the Wild Card lead...but that's not good enough. There is still a lot of baseball left to play and I want the East. I want the Mets to come to town and leave with their tail between their legs.

If the Phillies come out of this homestand with anything less than 7 wins, then I'd be disappointed. It's bad enough we lost 2 games to the Pirates. It would be even worst to follow that up with a poor showing at home.

The good news is we secured a much needed win tonight, in a game that could have easily slipped away. Kyle Kendrick did his job again, and kept the Fightins' in the game, and gave them a chance to win. Our bullpen did their job tonight and we came out victorious. The game was a sloppy rain-soaked bore fest, but to quote former Phils' announcer Scott Graham, it's "in the win column for the Fightin' Phils".

But... bad news is afoot. Tomorrow's scheduled starter, our consistent Cole Hamels has soreness in his elbow and will miss the start tomorrow. JD Durbin, who has been pitching well with a 5-2 record is slotted to take his spot. This means that the Ancient One, Jaime Moyer is now the only Phillies starter not to miss his spot in the rotation.

Durbin has the stuff to be a good starter. He's proved that with a complete game shutout earlier this season. I've also watched him strike out the first two batters in a game at the Cit where he seemed untouchable for the first inning. He just needs to make the right decisions. His 5+ ERA is not encouraging, but his 5-2 record proves that he's a battler.

But... good news is also afoot. Chase Utley has been given permission to begin hitting off of a tee and increase his workouts. Some sources say he could be in the lineup as early as Monday. Before we get ahead of ourselves, let's concentrate on beating the Dodgers tomorrow, where the Phils will face Derek Lowe and his 11 losses. He does however have a 3.45 ERA.

And another thing... I was the first to say that Carlos Ruiz deserved to start over Rod Barajas, and I'm glad Barajas and his faux injury are out of the picture, I'll even support Ruiz and say that I think he is the catcher of the future for this team. But at this point in the game it's time to go with the hot hand, and the catcher of the present and in this case, it's Chris Coste. Coste had better start at least 6 of these upcoming home games.


One win at a time boys.

Placido Polanco is "Like an Old Shoe"

Maybe Barry Bonds' record has overshadowed it. Maybe A-Rod hitting 500 homeruns or Sosa's 600 is more important.

I think we're all aware of Brandon Webb and his 42 straight scoreless innings, but did you know that an American League second baseman just broke the Major League record for most consecutive errorless games at his position?

You do now. My boy Placido Polanco is now the Major League record holder for most errorless games from the 4 position.

For those that read my blog regularly, you know that I have always been a Placido Polanco supporter. I praised him here, here, here and here. He is up there amongst the list of my all-time favorite Phillies with Schmidt, Dykstra, Rolen, Schilling and Utley. Guys that play the game the way it should be played.

I'm singing his praise once again... not only is the reigning ALCS MVP hitting .344 (3rd in the Majors) but he's yet to commit an error this year. He's gone errorless in 150 straight games. You can't ask for much more from your 2nd baseman, unless your 2nd baseman is Chase Utley.

I think Jim Leyland describes Polanco best... "He's like an old shoe — not the prettiest, but real comfortable." Now that's a quote.

Luis Castillo held the previous mark for second basemen with 143 errorless games from May 30, 2006, to June 5, 2007, while playing for the Minnesota Twins. (remember when Castillo and Juan Pierre were the 1, 2 punch for the Marlins?? That's good baseball.)

The major league record for consecutive errorless games by any infielder is 193, set by Steve Garvey... Garvey's giant Popeye like forearms and abnormally large game-show host head still haunt me to this day.

Thanks to my dad for bringing this to my attention, where he too knows where he could be playing... (see email text below)

Hi Kev;

Thought this might interest you -In this weeks Sports Illustrated in the
"Go Figure" Column"144 Consecutive errorless games at 2nd base by the Tiger's
Placido Polanco breaking the major league record set by the Twins' Luis Castillo
last year."

He could play 3rd just as well.

Love Dad

You're definitely on to something Dad... he sure could. He even played some outfield for us. Might a Gold Glove be in his future? Maybe he's not flashy enough... we all know the Gold Glove has nothing to do with percentages...it's all a popularity contest... just ask Ozzie Smith.

Games Worth Watching

It is refreshing to me to know that every 5th game is a game worth watching. Every 5th game we have a shot. Every 5th game we could see a gem. Every 5th game, we have the privilege of watching Cole Hamels.

As a kid I was too young to really remember Steve Carlton. I saw him on the back-end of his career. He was a name, but I didn't know why. I'm 30 years old and really didn't start paying attention to the Phillies or baseball until the 1986, when I was 10. In that year, Carlton was 9-14 with a 5.10 ERA, while playing for 3 different teams. Not quite the Steve Carlton some of my elders would remember.

But lucky for me, the Phillies have another pitcher with the ability to put up numbers similar to Lefty's in Cole Hamels.

When Schilling was pitching with us, it was a game worth watching every 5th day. Cole Hamels brings that same feeling.

Tonight Cole Hamels enters the game with a 13-5 record, 3.46 ERA and 150 strikeouts. With some luck, he'll hit 200 Ks in his first "full" season in the bigs.

I look forward to many years of games worth watching, every 5th day.

It's also yet another year where the Phillies will be playing "games worth watching" through September. Sure that's nice to continuously be in the hunt, but let's make the playoffs. Let's not accept mediocrity anymore. This might be the team that has enough passion to overcome the inept management.

PS - Chase Utley began light tossing. And Shane Victorino exited a rehab game with tightness in his calf. The Phils are holding steady, 4 games behing the Mets in the East, and 1 game behind the Padres for the wild card. Hang in there guys. You have Cole Hamels every 5th day.

#756

There isn't anything to write here that hasn't been written before. We're all familiar with stigma that will forever cloud the number 756. There are many, I'm sure, who will refuse to acknowledge this accomplishment. Many who say they don't care. There are plenty who believe that #756 should come with a caveat, an asterisk or a footnote.

Say what you will. Believe what you'd like. But trust that Barry Bonds is indeed one of the greatest ball players you have ever seen. Period. In an era where every time you turn around Bonds' contemporaries are joining him in the ranks of baseball's elite. Sosa with 600 homeruns. Griffey Jr., Frank Thomas and A-Rod with 500. Thome, Ramirez and Sheffield right behind them.... Bonds, despite the controversy has outshined all of them.

My hat goes off to Barry Bonds. Congratulations.

That said....

Taking nothing away from Hank Aaron and all that he has accomplished, I can't help but think that a part of him has just died. A part of baseball lore has just been overshadowed by a new kind of story. A story filled with controversy, conflict, "clear" cream, and complaints.

The story of the good guy, overcoming adversity and fear to dethrone a not-soon-forgotten and beloved hero is no longer at the fore front. Instead, it is the story of the villain stealing the kingdom from the beloved King. A new King who will live in infamy as someone to be feared, admired and revered all in the same breath.

Despite all of this, there is one thing that can be said about the character of Barry Bonds, and that is his ability to persevere. Yes, Aaron's homerun chase came at a time when a black man was less accepted in society. A time when race riots were still common place. A time when men like Martin Luther King were needed to inform the ignorant people of the world that blacks were just as capable. A time where in some places in the country, it was dangerous just to black. So I continuously applaud Hank Aaron for his bravery, perseverance and longevity. His legacy has not died in my mind. Unfortunately, his legacy will not be the same for our posterity. There is a part of Hank Aaron's legacy that has died tonight.

Fortunately, times have changed. Barry Bonds did not have the weight of an entire race on his back. Barry Bonds was not fearful of his life at visiting stadiums. (Well...maybe he was considering the receptions he would receive) Though Barry Bonds still persevered through all of the naysayers, the disbelievers, the unrelenting media, and the under-appreciative jury of public opinion. He had to deal with a stubborn commissioner, an indictment, and the cold shoulder of baseball fans and historians everywhere. But he has persevered.

In light of the controversy, his longevity in the game of baseball is incredible. He has played the game for 21 seasons. He has performed at a high level well after his 43rd birthday. He has consistently put up impressive numbers, year after year. In his 20 completed seasons to date he has averaged 41 homeruns, 108 RBIs, 121 runs and 28 stolen bases. All this while compiling a .299 career average.

You can't hit 756 homeruns, win 7 MVPs, 8 Gold Gloves, appear in 14 All-Star games, win 2 batting titles, steal 500 bases, collect nearly 3,000 hits, and win Rookie of the Year on performance enhancing drugs alone. Barry Bonds is an excellent baseball player. Period.

Did the White Sox Do Us a Favor?: Welcome "Gooch"

I'm impressed in the quick turnaround in finding a replacement for the injured Chase Utley. I'm impressed that it is a legitimate major league starter and not a glorified minor leaguer. We have, Tadahito Iguchi, who is suitable. Obviously, you can't replace Chase Utley. Unless ofcourse, we get Rogers Hornsby, Joe Morgan or Jeff Kent in his prime.

But I can't help but think that the Whitesox were doing us a favor.

The story goes that the Sox were looking to give a young rook more playing time and looking to dump salary. But I don't buy it. I really think the Sox felt a little guilty about the Freddy Garcia deal. They knowingly pulled a fast one on us in dealing a less-than-perfect Garcia, not to mention the lopsided deal we gave them in the Thome deal when we needed to make room for Howard. Granted we did get Aaron Rowan in the deal, but lets face it... Thome for a bunch of guys was like trading Charles Barkley for Jeff Hornacek, some scrubs and guy named West.

The bottom line is the Phillies proved that they don't want to die. They replaced Utley with someone who could help us. We're still going to give it a shot. That says something. Though I have a feeling this is the biggest deal we'll see as the deadline approaches.

UTLEY UPDATE - The Utley injury doesn't seem as gruesome as it once did. What was once 6-8 weeks has now turned into a possilbe 4 week stint. All the doctors on the radio are saying that a bone takes about 3 weeks to heal. From there, you have to take into account grip strenth, pain tolerance, and how well the bone has healed. Utley had surgery yesterday. Given his good health and his high tolerance for pain, he might just pull a Terrell Owens and be ready weeks before the Average Joe. I think we all know Utley is not the Average Joe. So send your get well cards to the Philliies c/o Chase Utley, and hope that Kendrick and Durbin are man enough to step up and perform.

PS - Last year Iguchi hit .281 with 18 homers and 67 RBIs, in 138 games. They are not Utley numbers, but serviceable nonetheless.

Phillies Lose Utley; Playoff Hopes are Dim

Is it just coincidence that a day after the virtual ending of the Phillies season, marked by the loss of Chase Utley to a broken hand, starts the beginning of the Eagles' season?

We can now take our focus away from the guys in red and concentrate on our men in green. Sure we can still check the box score, or watch Comcast sports night to see how far Howard's latest bomb went, or even tune in for the entire game when "The Man" Cole Hamels is pitching... but we won't have to allocate 100% of our passion on the Phils anymore. Their season is done. They've lost their most consistent player in Chase Utley who was putting up MVP type of numbers.

We can now turn our attention the Eagles training camp which starts tomorrow. Tune into my Eagles Blog, to see all of my thoughts on the Birds.

One thing that is going to upset me about Chase Utley's injury... is not the fact that I'm thinking about what could have been. Or not that Chase could have set a record for RBI's as a second basemen, or was on pace for an amazing 60 doubles. But what will upset me the most is now, when the Phillies don't make the playoffs, the Phillies management will use the Chase Utley injury as an excuse. Another excuse as to why the team failed and that our team was good enough. But let's face it. As well as we've been playing lately, and as much as we know in recent years that this is a second half team, we realists can understand the Phillies are a tease and were not going to make the playoffs.

This will now serve as another excuse to leave Charlie Manuel around. Another excuse for Dave Montgomery to use when he's asked about not spending money. And another excuse that Pat Gillick will use about not having the tools to work with.

PS - I don't know what you've heard... and I didn't see the game. But I don't think the kid Hannan was intentionally trying to hit Utley or Howard. He had Utley down 0-2, and was still in a winnable ball game making his major league debut. Howard was hit on the first pitch. But immediately after hitting Utley, why would you then throw at Howard? I can't imagine Ryan Howard showboating after a homerun, or doing anything that would warrant a bean ball. And I can't blame the Nats manager for getting tossed for defending his pitcher. Good work.

Chico and The Man

It is only fitting that Cole Hamels pitches on Cole Hamels Bobble Head night. The last time the Phillies gave away a bobble head, it wasn't a bobble head but rather a hula dancing Shane Victorino. On that night, Shane Victorino hit the game winning walk off homerun in the 9th.

If Cole Hamels hits the game winning homerun in the 9th tonight, then it will be a game for the ages. But we're not expecting Cole to do that. We're hoping he's not hitting in the 9th.

Tonight's starters were Matt Chico and The Man, Cole Hamels. Chico is 0-5 on the road this year, while The Man is 10-2 at home in his career (6-2 this year). Things look good for The Man.

After pitching a gem and losing 1-0 in his last outing, I think Hamels needs to come out and just pitch well. Our offense is working on all cylinders right now, and we'll only need to score a few to give Hamels (The Man) some room to work with.

It's nice to see the Phillies put another streak together. This team is too good not to make a run. We have too much offense to continue to lose. Many think we're a few pitchers away from being a legitimate contender.... and with the trade deadline, coming the Phils still haven't made a move, and we're still not sure whether they are going to be buyers or sellers.

My thoughts, are that we do nothing (i know... that stinks doesn't it)... do nothing... offer Rowand the money he deserves, take the money we'll save by getting rid of Lieber, Garcia and Burrell and sign every top tier pitcher we can get our hands on. We won't fold the season right now, but we can play the odds and keep this nucleus and use the offseason to build on it.

Pessimist vs. Optimist: Phillies Mid-Season Report

At 44-44 the Phillies have done a fine job of staying even. Depending on whether you are a half-empty or half-full kind of person, will influence your feelings on how this season has turned out thus far.


The Optimist would say that the Phillies lead the National League in runs scored with 456 (26 in front of the second place Brewers).


The pessimist would say our 4.91 ERA, which is last in the national league would even that out... and it does.


The optimist would say, our pitchers are hurt, and the slop we're throwing on the field is expected to have close to a 5 ERA.


The pessimist would say, the organization knew the bullpen was "exposed" and any injury would set them back.


The optimist would say that a 44-44 record is good considering the injuries to Freddy Garcia, Jon Lieber, Tom Gordon, Brett Myers and Ryan Howard.


The pessimist would say that the Phillies are much better than 44-44 on paper and are under performing.

The optimist would say that the Phillies are a second half team and are bound to make the playoffs one of these years.

The pessimist would say that the playoffs won't happen under this organization, because they settle more mediocrity.

The optimist would say that we'll dump the salary of Lieber, Garcia and Burrell in the off-season, freeing up money to sign some pitching.

The pessimist would say we've never signed a decent pitcher.

The optimist would say there's a lot of baseball left to play.

The pessimist would say, 15 days until Eagles training camp.

I'm on the fence..... E-A-G-L-E-S.... EAGLES!!!

Ricky Jordan

I don't know why but Ricky Jordan will always have a place in my heart. He is just one of those Phillies players I took a liking to as a kid.

We mimicked his unmistakable, unorthodox batting stance when playing wiffle ball. His stance was a little open, with his arms in the air, waving the bat ever so slightly. (kind of like Kruk) You might think a stance like this would be easy to find a weakness, considering the distance the bat head would have to travel to make contact.... but he, like Kruk was always known for having a good bat. Unfortunately Jordan was often hurt and never truly had a shot to be the Phils everyday first baseman for more than one season. In that season he batted .285 with 12 HRs and 75 RBIs... that's pretty good production... that's Rico Brogna production.

Aaaahh.. there was a short time when all Phillies fans let out a sigh of relief and thought that Ricky Jordan and Ron Jones would lead us to the promised land... but it was not meant to be.

I can also recall Jordan always chewing bubble gum and would often do so open mouthed. When in the field this gum chewing would cause his temples to move unlike any other ballplayer.

I think we all remember the homerun in his first official at bat followed by his excellent rookie season. To this day, I still think he should have won rookie of the year over Chris Sabo. Consider these numbers.

Sabo - 538 ABs, 11 HRs, 44 RBIs, .271 avg., 46 SBs

Jordan - 273 ABs, 11 HR, 43 RBIs, .308 avg, 41 Runs

Granted, Ricky Jordan didn't have 46 stolen bases, but he did have the same amount of homeruns and RBIs with half as many at bats... that has to count for something.

Cheers to Ricky Jordan who seems to be happy and healthy living with his family in California. The Phillies website posted a good story about him....

Congratulations to our Phillies' All-Stars!

The 2007 season was one that started with a lot of optimism. Not since the signing of Jim Thome has the city been so excited about the boys in red and white. And for good reason.

The end of the 2006 season brought many positives to the franchise. The Bobby Abreu trade seemed to bring new life to the Phillies as they nearly played their way into a playoff spot.

The offensive prowess of the middle infielders (Utley and Jimmy Rollins), and the amazing play of the National League MVP Ryan Howard was enough to give you goosebumps... but wait... there's more.

The off season brought in 17 game winner Freddy Garcia... we resigned veteran Jaime Moyer who helped lead us in August and September. The Phils added proven starter Adam Eaton and seem to have a logjam in the starting rotation... so much that many were calling to trade some of the excess.

Cole Hamels' rookie performance was good enough to impress even the most fair weather of all Phillies fans.

We were "the team to beat" in the National League... or so Jimmy Rollins would have us believe.

Unfortunately, things happen. Injuries happen. Slumps happen. Bad trades happen. Barajas happens. And when things happen, it throws plans out of whack... this is the story of the 2007 Philadelphia Phillies...

But... let's look at the bright side. We have 3 All-Stars. Congratulations to Chase Utley, Aaron Rowand and Cole Hamels. With a nod to Jimmy Rollins, you all deserve to be there. I have no doubt that Utley, Howard and Hamels, will not be making All-Star break vacation plans for years to come. And Jimmy will make his appearances now and then....we're privileged to have all for of these guys on our side...

3 All-Stars is a good showing.... 4 would have been nice... but 3 is great.

Remember the days when the Phillies would have the obligatory, All-Star players? You know, because every team must be represented? That is when we had something to complain about.... when Kevin Gross and his efus pitch was our All-Star.

To make us feel a little better about our recent slide... let's remember some of those obligatory All-Stars... at least from my generation.... because I have no idea who Ken Raffensberger is!

1996 - Ricky Botallico

1990 - Lenny Dykstra

2003 - Randy Wolf

1997 - 1998 - and although well deserving.. Schilling was our lone representative.

1991 - John Kruk

2000 - Mike Lieberthal

Let's be thankful that we have a handful of perennial all-stars on our team and hope that the front office will surround this core with solid role players to do something with....

Congratulations to Cole Hamels, Chase Utley and Aaron Rowand.

Phils Low on Pitching Options: Need to Trade

With 29 days until the trading deadline, an unfortunate series versus the Mets and an ailing pitching staff the Phillies need to make a trade if they intend to contend until the end.

The Phillies have had 6 pitchers make their major league debuts this year. Here is the list of newcomers; J.A. Happ, Kyle Kendrick, Joe Bisenius, Zack Segovia, Michael Zagurski and Yoel Hernandez, all made their big-league debuts this season,

Additionally, the pitchers have just called up one Anderson Garcia, who will be the 7th big league debut on the mound this year for the Phillies. He will also be the 25th pitcher to pitch this year inching closer to the record of 27 different pitchers from the 2002 season.

The bottom line is... we need pitching help.

Rumors are circulating that some teams are interested in Pat Burrell. Undoubtedly, to deal Burrell the Phillies will have to pay part of his salary. Considering he makes $14 million, I would gladly deal him and pay up to $7 million this year and next to open up the roster spot. That $7 million could be used to bolster next year's starting rotation. Burrell could be dealt for pitching.

The recent play of Micheal Bourn will make this transition easier, not to mention add even more speed to the Phillies lineup. Rollins and Victorino at the top and Bourn at the bottom. Very nice.

Another option I would not put past the Phillies is the trading of Aaron Rowand. I was an advocate of keeping him on the team when the Phillies faithful were shouting for him to be traded. I pleaded with Gillick to give this club house leader and ultimate gamer a chance to prove his worth... and he has. He's even been selected to the NL All-Star team. He'll accompany the well deserved Chase Utley and Cole Hamels. But, with Rowand's recent success, it begs the question do we trade him for the future? If we were take advice from an old investment maxim of buy low and sell high, it would be the perfect time to put him on the block... and I wouldn't put it past Gillick... though as a guy who enjoys his play, I hope he sticks around and Gillick finds other options...

The recent call up of Chris Coste makes Rod Barajas expendable. And Coste's homerun on Friday makes you wonder what he's been doing in the minor leagues all this time, while Barajas flirts with Mendoza. The Cubs could use a catcher...

Given Pat Gillicks history, something will be done.

Its Official: Carlos Ruiz Has Earned It!!!

Carlos Ruiz has proven time and time again that he is not the future catcher of this ball club. He is the catcher of this ball club... NOW!

Carlos Ruiz's bases clearing double in the 4th inning of tonight's ballgame was enough to make me stop preparing for my wife's birthday and run to my computer to announce this news.

I have no idea why Rod Barajas still gets playing time. Every time Carlos Ruiz starts, he performs. He stole home tonight... that's the first time in 10 seasons a Phillie has stole home. (Scott Rolen was the last to do it in 1997).

Currently Ruiz is hitting, .273 with 6 HRs and 36 RBIs. And this has been done with Barajas stealing about 80 of his ABs... getting about 15 starts too many.

To Manuel's credit it appears as if he's getting it. It does seem like Ruiz has been playing more and resting less. Next year I expect Ruiz to play in 140 plus games. None of this 110/50 game split. Ruiz is our starter, Ruiz is a gamer...

Ruiz has earned it!

No ifs, ands or Barajas....

Larry Bowa Loses His Cool

Warning: This video contains fowl language and ridiculous gestures.

Am I the only one who thinks this the kind of attitude we need in the clubhouse? Now I'm the first to say that every player is different and every player should be treated differently. Some respond to criticism, while others need to be coddled. Regardless, Larry Bowa bleeds baseball. And what's even better is that I'm convinced to this day, he still bleeds Phillies' red.

Sometimes a good manager is effective with a certain group of players. I think this current team is the perfect fit for someone like Bowa.

Chase Utley, Aaron Rowand, Brett Myers... a match made in heaven.

I'm hoping the Phillies don't make the playoffs this year just to get Fuqua Manuel out of here.

What do Jon Lieber, Robin Roberts and John Denny all have in common?

Answer: They will never pitch for the Phillies again.

It appears as if the Phillies' pitching woes have just gotten that much worse. Is it too early to start thinking about Eagles' training camp... which by the way begins in 34 days.

Jon Leiber has hurt himself in a freak accident taking a mis-step after surrendering a single, which incidentally scored a run, bringing his June ERA to 6.66. That's not good karma. Let's burn his uniform, sacrifice a chicken, and hire clairvoyant to rid the Phillies of this awful curse.

It is quite possible that Jon Lieber will have season ending surgery and not pitch again this year. Here's a full report on Lieber's injury. With Freddy Garcia and Tom Gordon already on the DL, the Phillies' already thinning staff has just gotten that much thinner, kind of like Brett Myers' hairline. (see pic to the left)

Speaking of Brett Myers... will the Phillies ask him to return to the starting rotation? If that's the case, who is our closer?

Jamie Moyer has already volunteered to be part of a 4 man rotation. Which will allow Myers to stay in the pen. Moyer is a true gamer and is tough as nails. Jamie Moyer is 44 years old and he's still pitching deep into games and has arguably been our most consistent starter. (Hamels is his only competition, unfortunately)

So what are the Phillies to do? They've listed a whole lot of names from AA Reading, AAA Ottawa and haven't ruled out a trade. The Good Phight has a few of those suggestions. And even though Lieber was the most likely candidate to be traded... it was me, the prognosticator of all prognosticators that said something like this was bound to happen and it was a good thing to have 6 'quality' starters. (Please note, quality is used very loosely here.)

I've always thought the Phillies should have kept all 6 starters and used one in the bullpen. I had no idea it would turn out to be Myers, in a closer's role. Regardless. Our 6 starters has now dwindled down to 3.

I also pleaded with Pat Gillick on numerous occasions to keep Aaron Rowand. I think we're all glad he did.

But now, with the Phillies realistically in a position to make a move towards first place and make the playoffs. What doe Gillick do?

Is it time to try and get something for Pat Burrell? Do we now trade our beloved Aaron Rowand? Should we package a few of our young outfielders? I don't know. I'm not paid the big bucks to make these decisions. I'm a little worried that I'll be disappointed with what goes on... all we can do is wait and see.

Phillies Diary: Ben Rivera 1993

Before they imploded the Vet, the Phillies staff were giving away a big box of things left by the players who were too busy or ashamed to come and clean out their lockers.... I was fortunate enough to get my hands on some diaries... and lucky for you, I will share them with you from time to time...

October 13, 1993

Dear Diary it's me Big Ben,

We just beat the Braves to go to the World Series!!!

I can't believe what's happening here. Our team has capitalized on our amazing April record and held on to make it to the playoffs. That's great news. It's the first time the Phillies have made the playoffs in 10 years. That's a long time.

And winning the NLCS was no picnic... but we showed the Braves who was boss. I think there run of making the playoffs 3 years in a row now is over.... no way they can reload again.... Pendleton, McGriff, Blauser, Lemke... they're all over the hill... and those pitchers they have, Glavine, Smoltz and Maddux...they're overrated... i was on their team at the beginning of last year....they'll be out of baseball in a few years.

Let's face it... it's the Phillies time to reign!!!

What's better is that even if we don't win this year... I have confidence we can be there again shortly... we have a pretty good hitting SS in Kevin Stocker... his move from AA Reading has been seamless. Mickey Morandini seems to have entrenched himself as an All-Star second baseman. That could be a good Double play combination for the next few years.

And don't even get me started with Kim Batiste... talk about a clutch hitter. Did you see that hit in Game 1 to beat the Braves? Amazing... we're grooming him to be the best pinch hitter in the game.

Our outfield has Wes Chaimberlain... who is still kind of young at 27 years old, man he has a gun and he has glimpses of power and when Eisenreich decides to retire, he'll fill his shoes nicely. Tony Longmire is primed to be a super-star and I think Pete Incaviglia appears to be back to his old form... we can expect 35 homers from him next year, no problem.

And Lenny Dykstra.. what can I say about Lenny Dykstra. The man is a machine. He takes such good care of his body. Have you see that animal in the weight room? Actually, I've never seen him in the weight room... he must have a gym at home... anyway... he takes such good care of himself, He'll play until he's 40. He led the league in walks, hits and runs....And that's nice to have at the top of the order.

Ricky Jordan will have a long career as a pinch hitter, and he's good insurance behind John Kruk, and he too will be weened to take over the starting job soon.

And though our pitching staff is kind of old with Mulholland and Jackson.... me and Schilling and Tommy Greene should hold down the fort for a few years. I won 13 games this year. There's a lot to be said about that... never mind my 5.02 ERA, this team will always put up runs to support me.

I here we have a pretty good 3rd base prospect playing down in Rookie Ball with Martinsville. The organization is really high on him, has a glove like Schmidt.... his name is Scott something... he probably won't pan out... but we won't need him. Dave Hollins will do just fine. His 24 homers this year, are just the beginning of what this guy can do... his intensity alone is responsible for 4 homeruns a year.

We're going to win the series this year and be in contention for the next few years, at least to win another. And I'm confident our farm team will continue to produce superstars like Ruben Amaro Jr. and Kevin Stocker...

Mitch Williams is looking better than ever he had 2 saves and 2 wins in the NLCS...Can't wait to beat the Blue Jays!

signed,

Big Ben Rivera

Cole Hamels is in good Company... Literally....

Cole Hamels had a Jon Lieber like outing tonight. Let's hope Jon Lieber has a Cole Hamels like outing in his next start.

Hamels did not look like himself, he looked like Hole Camels again... but again...he's only human. I'll take 9 wins to 3 losses from any pitcher, any time... He'll be back.

Hamels does have some problems. He gives up the long ball. Currently, he leads the league with 17 homers surrendered in 103.2 innings, which translates to approximately 1 homerun every 6 innings, or 1.5/9 innings.

Surely this is a bad sign, but consider the following statistics.

Pitchers Who Have Surrendered the Most Homeruns in their career... I have asterisks, next to the names of the Hall of Famers. He's got a lot of innings to pitch to get there, but he would definitely be in good company... Nice to see another Phillie who is the career leader in this category.

CAREEN HOME RUNS

Pitcher HR

Robin Roberts 505*
Ferguson Jenkins 484*
Phil Niekro 482*
Don Sutton 473*
Frank Tanana 448
Warren Spahn 434*
Bert Blyleven 430
Steve Carlton 414*
Gaylord Perry 399*
Jim Kaat 394
Jack Morris 389
Charlie Hough 383
Tom Seaver 380
Jim Hunter 374*
Jim Bunning 372*
Dennis Martinez 372
Dennis Eckersley 347*
Mickey Lolich 347
Luis Tiant 346

SEASON HOME RUNS

Pitcher Year HR

Bert Blyleven 1986 50
Jose Lima 2000 48
Robin Roberts 1956 46
Bert Blyleven 1987 46
Pedro Ramos 1957 43
Denny McLain 1966 42
Robin Roberts 1955 41
Phil Niekro 1979 41
Rick Helling 1999 41
Bill Gullickson 1987 40
Robin Roberts 1957 40
Ralph Terry 1962 40
Orlando Pena 1964 40
Phil Niekro 1970 40
Ferguson Jenkins 1979 40
Jack Morris 1986 40
Shawn Boskie 1996 40
Brad Radke 1996 40
Ramon Gritz 2002 40
COPYRIGHT 2004 Century Publishing
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group


So what does this tell you? I'm not sure, but if Hamels is being compared to Left and Left and is 8th all time in most homeruns allowed, than Hamel's Achilles heal is alright by me.

And doesn't it also seem like Cole Hamels gives up a lot of first inning runs? I would pull the stats on runs per inning, but I'm pretty tired and am fending off sleep.

PS - Say hello to Cole Hamels' wife... Heidi, she was on the Survivor. I told you he was in good company....

B-B-B-B-Boyz II Men...

Boys to men... this appears to be the mantra of the most recent Phillies surge... Come Friday, we'll really be able to separate the men from the boys when the Phillies square off against a very strong Detroit Tigers team.

Incidentally, Friday night Philly's own Boyz II Men will be honored at the 4th Annual Sound of Philadelphia/Black Music Month, for their work in the community during a pre-game tribute. I'll be sure to show up early, grab a Schmitter and a Lager and watch the awards ceremony.

I will actually be in attendance Friday night... but not because Motown Philly is back again, (go...go...) doin' a little east coast swing. But because of the one and only Placido Polanco, and I'm taking my mother-in-laws husband, kind of my second step-dad to the ballpark for father's day. I convinced my wife it was a good idea for the four of us... and I'm happy because I get to see Polanco play.

Placido Polanco plays the game the way the game should be played. He's batting .344 this year and I've always said that he will win a batting title before his career is up. If he stays healthy. The biggest reason I'd say that is because he always puts the ball in play. He rarely strikes out... here are his statistics to date.

.343 BA, 15 doubles, 2 triples, 44 runs, 33 RBI, and he's only struck out 13 times in 251 ABs.

He's been known to get hurt a lot, which doesn't bode well for staying in a groove and staying consistent. If Polanco can stay healthy I see no reason why he wouldn't keep up his current pace.

I remember being at the Phils game, when my sister and I used to have the Sunday plan and Polanco had just hit a double... then he did something that I teach my ballplayers (I was a high school coach in Atlanta, and played in college, so I know what I"m talking about)... What he did was stand on second base, and look to see where all the outfielders were standing. What this does is gives him the ability to get a better jump on the ball based on his knowledge of the outfielder's placement. If he knows they're playing a right handed hitter to pull, and the center fielder is shading to left, then a ball hit in the gap in right center, will most likely get through and it allows him to score, as opposed to stopping at third if the ball is cut off. It seems simple, but you won't find anyone else doing that. I'm sure Dave Lopes teaches that...but it was refreshing to see.

If you're at the game... look for me.. .i'll be wearing a Phillies' hat, and rooting for Polanco... (and the Phils of course)

I'll keep you updated on Polanco's stats as the season progresses.

Come Friday... will the Phillies officially turn from boys to men, and take hold of this wacky NL East? Things are looking good... and all of a sudden the radio talk show hosts will jump back on the bandwagon and take back everything they've said about Gillick and Montgomery... they sure are fickle.

Open up and say aaaahhhh!!!

aaahhhhh....

Relax for a day. The Phillies have done their job and handily taken 3 games from an underperforming White Sox club.

We can relax for at least a few hours knowing that the Phillies have helped themselves stay within 3 games of the division lead... 2 games if the Mets lose to the Dodgers tonight...

The rook looked decent in his debut. He kept them in the ball game and gave the offense a chance to win... and that is really all you need your pitcher to do.

I'm heading to the game on Friday night vs. the Tigers. Can't wait to see Placido again... what a player that guy is. It was a shame we couldn't find a place for him at 3rd base. I can't believe we opted for David Bell over Polanco.

That's More Like it... Eaton shuts down White Sox

That's more like it... an easy, uneventful Phillies victory.

The delay in postings was because of our move to Philadelphia. We are now officially settled, and can re-start our lives in our beloved hometown....

Tonight was my first opportunity to watch a Phillies game front to back on Comcast. And boy, The Sarge is terrible... When reading about his boringness on other blogs, I didn't think it would be that bad... but it is... He has got to go. And they team him up with Chris Wheeler, who I think is in love with every major league baseball player.

Adam Eaton pitched very well. He pitched 7 strong innings, and it may have been 8, had he not been taken out for a pinch hitter in the bottom of the 7th.

Eaton has managed 7 wins despite his 5.42 ERA. To me, someone with a lot of decisions, usually pitches well enough to stay in ball games and be carted out there every 5th day. Remember when Schilling used to win 15 and lose 13.... you have to be good lose 13 games. (And weren't we all rooting for Schill last week with his no hit bid... tough luck!!! It would have been neat to see Curt get a no-no.)

The Phils only managed 4 hits, though 3 of them were homers. Pat Burrell started things off with a long-slow-methodical swing which just so happen to make contact with an outside fastball... it left the park.

Ryan Howard hit a "second decker" to add some insurance. And finally Jimmy Rollins added his 11th homerun of the year, once again showing his power surprising power.

PS - Brett Meyers was throwing a little bit today (with his left hand). The good news is he's out and about and probably ready to start rehabbing. Where will Uncle Charlie put him? Alfonseca seems to be doing okay... and now that the Phils have Joe Table, do we still put Meyers in the closing role, or does he take Garcia's spot. One more time through the rotation before that decision is made, as the Phils have called up Kyle Kendrick, from Reading to pitch the last game agains Chicago. How fitting is it that he's a pitcher with 3 Ks ini his name. I'm a KK also, but I don't have that third K... and I'm not a major league pitcher.

PSS - The acquisition of Joe Table (aka Jose Mesa) begs the question... Is Ricky Botallico available?

The Phillies' Fab Four

When you think of the Philadelphia Phillies, the first names that pop into your head are probably Howard, Utley and Rollins. Add to that, the best pitcher in the National League Cole Hamels.. and you've got yourself a pretty good core of great young players.

Today, The Fab Four forged forward flattening San Francisco, 5-2.

Hamels contributed greatly with a 5 hit, complete game posting his NL leading 8th victory. Rollins respectfully scored a run and recorded an RBI. Utley scored twice, and Howard hit in the clutch driving in 2.

Previously I mentioned that we would be saying the words Howard and Hamels an awful lot in the coming years. Today was no exception. Howard and Hamels helped hand homerun boy and his hackless teammates a big L.

But, Howard and Hamels.... need some help.