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.

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!!!

Game Log: Phillies vs. Brewers, May 14

So, I just get finished writing a little ditty for my US History blog... my true passion. I had checked in on the score a few minutes earlier and was disappointed to see our Phils down 6-2 in the 8th.


I click on the GameDay link, and voila... men at 2nd and 3rd with nobody out and Rollins is up... So here we go... its situations like this where we need to capitalize, change momentum and win some games we had no business winning.

I check in just in time to see see/hear Rollins walk, and then the wild pitch which brings in a run... 6-3 Phils... So I figured I would stop everything, and enjoy the pure sport of baseball, and give an in-game blog (a Glog if you will) for the remainder of the game.

The Phils are 1-15 when trailing after 7 innings... and the Brewers are 21-0 when leading after 7... We have a tough field to plow.



Base hit Chase Utley!!! Utley delivers a single scoring 2 runs, making it a 6-5 game. (Chase has 26 RBIs in his last 23 games.) He's doing his job.

Burrell, seems to be coming around again.. he's always been a streaky hitter, so you might expect something here... He puts a charge into it but flies out to right.

Greg Dobbs is up... he singles to right to continue the rally. Momentum is now wearing grey... let's get this one guys... get it now...

Nunez, who is surprisingly hitting well is up... another hit to right? Two hard hit balls in a row to right field... both were hit hard enough NOT to allow Chase to take an extra base. Bases loaded for Ruiz. Tying run is at 3rd. Go ahead run at 2nd. WE NEED TO CAPITALIZE HERE!!!

Ruiz just has to put the ball in play for a chance to tie the game... he bounces one to first, and Prince Fielder makes the wrong decision and throws home late... the Run Scores... aaahhh... a sigh of relief...


One more run, and the Brewers will lay down... A sac fly from Helms would be ideal. His homerun numbers are low... he has zero... but a deep fly is what we need. C'mon Wes!!!


I can't believe it... a Pat Burrell single off the wall for Wes. He's come up big... and I can't believe this pitcher is still in there... 7-6 Phillies.

Rowand skies one to center, which allows ALL THREE runners to tag up... 8-6 Phillies. The pitcher is finally lifted, but the damage is done. THE PHILS HAVE CAPITALIZED.



Shut 'em down in the 9th and go home happy.

Bretty Myers, who has not allowed a run in 9 straight appearances and is 3 for 3 in Save opportunities is coming in to do just that. I think we've found our closer. Brett Myers seems to have adapted to this change quite well. 1 earned run in 14.1 innings in relief for an ERA less than one... It's not as easy as it looks. These are pressure situations and can be difficult for many.


I'm expecting a 1-2-3, inning... let's see how it turns out.

Fly ball right field. One down.



Nice Play by Nunez. 2 Down.



Ground out to the Pitcher... 3 down.

An improbable come-from-behind victory. Great Win. Enough said.

That's More Like it...

I think we can all release a sigh of relief. The Phillies know how to win. They've proven they can win two in a row. In fact, in their last 10 games the Phillies are starting to be respectable...

5-5 in their last 10... 3-1 in their last 4.... and 2-0 in their last two... they've finally won 2 in a row.

Tucked within the nuances of these latest games, the Phillies have begun to show signs of life...

Cole Hamels has proven that he's a stud... 15 Ks is impressive...at any time. (He leads the Majors in Strikeouts)

Garcia got one of those things we've been waiting for him to get... a win.

Ryan Howard is finally starting to produce... he had 3 RBIs today. And Utley appears to have found his stroke, as his average is slowly rising... and he has quietly produced 10 doubles.

We're not that bad after all...

Phillies Lose Again... What's Next?

The good news is, the Phillies don't have to play the Mets tomorrow. The bad news is the Phillies play the Nationals on Wednesday.

They have an undeserved day off. If Charlie Manuel does what he's supposed to do, he does not give this unmotivated team the day off, but instead chews them out for putting him on the hot seat.

It's too early to blame Gillick (his maneuvers still may work out), and even though we know it's the players' lack of performance that is causing this demise, we also know that it is the demeanor and the attitude of the manager that can make or break a ball club.

We've known for sometime that Charlie Manuel is not the best man for the job. That man is coaching 3rd base for the evil pinstriped team in the American League. Knowing that we can't get Larry back, I'd like to scour the planet for other possible candidates... real quickly here are some guys I'd like to bring in... just for a few days, to light a fire under this team...

I think Sgt. Slaughter might be just the guy to hold this team accountable. If you miss a sign, 10o pushups. If you make an error, 100 pushups. If you strikeout with men on base, 200 pushups.

Secondly, in taking an entirely different route, I think it might be interesting to try to motivate this team. Tony Robbins, the motivational guru with giant "banana fingers" is just the guy to convince this team that they can do anything. Tony Robbins helps fat people get skinny. He helps stupid people become rich. He helps smokers quit smoking. He can do anything. I challenge him to motivate this team to do well.

And a 3rd candidate is the legendary inventor of "Shaw Ball", Mr. Robert "Buzz" Shaw. Buzzy was my travel team coach from age 11 until 17. He is the best baseball mind I know and he has motivated kids of all kinds to play to the best of their potential. We had some prima-donnas, tough guys, guys who had just come out of reform school, just plain stupid kids and kids who would rather be somewhere else.

But somehow, Buzzy would get as all to play together and we were successful. I know we won at least 2 championships in the 6 years we played and I know we competed for at least 2 more. We were undefeated one year in the Montco Travel league. (we tied Roslyn, but we won't mention that on our resumes... we were still not defeated, right?)

Long live Warminster. We'll take on Southampton any day... name the place.

Pete Incaviglia In the Hall of Fame?

In the midst of yet another disappointing Phillies loss, I've once again found something we Phillies fans can smile about. How about a reference to our favorite faction of Phightin' Phils, the crude and crass crew of 1993?

Our very own Pete Incaviglia, "Inky" to most, has been elected to the College Baseball Hall of Fame, and rightfully so...

Incaviglia was perhaps the most imposing power hitter in college baseball
history, setting the NCAA career records for home runs (100) and slugging
percentage (.915) from 1983-85. In 1985, he set NCAA single-season records for
home runs (48), RBIs (143), total bases (285) and slugging percentage (1.140) _
marks that still stand. (courtesy of the AP and www.SI.com)

These numbers were good enough for Inky to make the jump from college directly to the majors, hitting 206 homers in 12 seasons. Here's a link to his career stats.

The only line we really care about is this one...

.274, 24 HRs 89 RBIs, .530 Slugging %, in 368 ABs.

Pretty good considering he split time... The platoon in left field that year with Papa Milt Thompson was awesome. Not to mention the platoon in right with Eisenreich and Wes Chamberlain. Heck.. that whole team was awesome.

Other former major leaguers amongst the class of 2007 include Jim Abbott (Michigan), Fredd Lynn (Southern Cal) and John Olerud (Washington State).

Here's the article where I found this tidbit... it's mostly about Jim Abbott.

Congratulations Inky... Thanks for the 93 Season...

Game Log: Phillies Win Over Mets, April 11

In Game Thoughts

First inning, uneventful.. Victorino stung the ball but to no avail, he was robbed of a hit.

Top of the 2nd Inning

7:36 - After two walks in a row to Burrell and Helms, somehow Aaron Rowand managed to strike out. Putz.

7:39 - Rod Barajas just drew a walk to load the bases and more importantly turn over the lineup to try and get the top of our order an opportunity to bat with men in scoring position. This makes Rowands walk look even more suspicious.

7:40 - Eaton Strikes out, to end the inning. Phillies Leave 'em loaded. First threat is dead.

I'm disappointed Rowand couldn't put his bat on the ball to move the runners... how about a bunt in that situation, to put men at 2nd and 3rd? Does Elmer understand how to use the bunt?

Bottom of the 2nd
Momentum is going our way. After loading the bases, a quick inning by Eaton is a good sign for the momentum of this game. 1-2-3 inning. Without scoring any runs, we won that inning.

Top of the 3rd
7:50 - Victorino grounds out to short. Victorino has hit the ball hard twice... good sign that he's progressing. He'll get a hit today.

This pitch progression thing with MLB Gameday is pretty cool. You can go to past at bats and watch the pitch progression.

7:54 - Perez's 4th walk in two innings. 26 balls, 26 strikes after 52 pitches. Another scoring opportunity with a runner in scoring position and our best hitter, Burrell is up. (please don't strike out with that long, slow swing...)

7:56 - Burrell works the count to the 3-0. Takes a strike on the outer half of the plate. Burrell is a Met killer, remember all those homeruns he used to hit against this team... let's repeat history Pat?

7:58 - The 3-2 pitch to Burrell... High. Ball 4. Bases loaded again... Momentum is definitely wearing a grey and red jersey.

7:59 - Ball one to Helms. He should take 2. He does. Two balls, no strikes. Low, ball 3. Take all the way. Let's draw first blood... The 3-0 pitch... is low, ball 4.

The Phils take a 1-0 lead. Great discipline by Helms and Burrell not to swing at ball out of the zone.

8:00 - After walking 3 in a row... what is Aaron Rowand doing swinging at the first pitch... somebody tell this guy how to bat... and now he's down in the count 2-2 because he swung at another pitch out of the zone... Does he watch the game?

8:03 - Rowand walks and brings in another run. 2-0 Phillies. Lucky, what a stupid at bat. To follow his other stupid at bat.

Aaron Sele is warming up for the Mets.

8:05 - Rod Barajas is hit by a pitch to bring in another run. Pitching change. How often do you see a pitching change right before the pitcher's spot in the batting order.

3-0 Phillies. Eaton has some breathing room.

Bottom 3 - Eaton walks a guy but puts down the Mets easily. Phils lead 3-0, after 3.

Top 4
8:23 -- Victorino is robbed again... he can't buy a hit today. He's hit the ball hard 3 times with nothing to show for it.

Bottom 4
Beltran leads off with a double. Let's see how Eaton battles through adversity here with Delgado, Wright and Alou due to bat.

After a good battle, with a few 3-2 foul balls, Eaton loses Delgado. The Mets have men at 1st and 2nd. Now's a good time for a double play. Eaton gets ahead 0-2. Don't get beat here... (see Brett Myers, 8th inning game one...) Damn! Eaton hits Wright to load the bases...

Nice... Alou hits into a 4-6-3 double play... Beltran score on the play but now we've got 2 down and the damage will be minimized. Green flies out to left to retire the side.

That double play is bigger than most think... to get out of a bases loaded, nobody out jam with allowing only 1 run is a good thing.

After five, the Phillies hold a 3-1 advantage.

Top 5
8:39 - Two balls no strikes to Howard, a hitter's pitch.. good time to look fastball... Howard gets a fastball but flies out to center.

8:41 - Infield single for Helms. Good to stay away from the 1-2-3 innings.
8:42 - Rowand gets an infield hit too....
8:43 - Barajas flies out, ending the threat.

I'm satisfied with that inning because it brings the top of our order up again. Even though we didn't capitalize on the back to back hits, and Eaton is leading off, we'll get to our big guns sooner.

Bottom 5
8-9-1 due up for the Mets. Should be an easy inning.

8:47 - 8:51 - Infield hit for Valentin. Sele bunts him over to second, and Reyes singles to bring in the run. Mets cut the lead to 1.

1 out, man on first, not a good time to lose the lead. Reyes is a burner and might be looking to run. Phillies are keeping Reyes close with snap throws from Barajas and Eaton. Good baseball.

Phillies pitch out and nail Reyes at 2nd. Great call. Good execution. Elmer Fudd did something right. Good job. I wonder if Elmer called that one?

8:54 - LoDuca flies out to center and the threat is stopped.

After 5, the Phillies hold on to a 3-2 lead.

Top 6
8:59 - Triple by Rollins. Larry Anderson is so unexciting on the radio... I saw the triple on the Game Day feature before the delayed audio, and I expected to hear some exciting commentary, but it wasn't... it was uneventful slop. He sure doesn't give me goosebumps.

9:00 - SAC Fly by Victorino. Phils take a 4-2 lead. Just desserts for Victorino getting an RBI there after hitting the ball hard 3 times.

Bottom 6
Eaton enters this inning with 79 pitches. If he can get a quick inning, no reason he doesn't pitch the 7th too. (47 strikes, 34 balls)

Eaton strikes out Beltran. And gets Delgado on a lazy fly. Two quick outs. If anything, this start is very encouraging as to what we can expect from Adam Eaton. He's not overpowering but he seems to be smart and makes good pitches.

A big, 13 pitch 1-2-3 inning for Adam Eaton. He's got 92 pitches, there
s a slight chance we'll see him start the 7th. If Eaton doesn't bat this inning, I'm betting we'll see him go one more.

Top 7
Sele's done a pretty good job of keeping the Phils in check. Let's see how he does with our 4-5-6 hitters.

David Wright is playing a good 3rd base. Though I can't see it down here in Atlanta, I can hear it, and this is at least the 3rd time he's gone to his right, backhanded a ball and made a play. He just robbed Burrell of a hit... though Howard, who walked, did advance to second. Burrell's 7 game hitting streak might be in jeopardy.

9:18 - Madson is warming up.

Aaron Rowand has justified his two stupid at bats with a big 2 out double to score Howard. With first base open, the Mets intentionally walk Barajas to get to the pitcher's spot. Manuel decides to stick with Eaton and allow him to bat with a 5-2 lead. Interesting choice. Considering all the trouble the Phillies have had with their bullpen this is a good decision. Eaton subsequently pops out to end the inning.

Bottom 7
This is where Adam Eaton, with 92 pitches, needs to bear down and keep that bullpen off the field as long as possible. He needs to finish this inning. Madson is 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA. Gordon has a 9.00 ERA also...

Eaton gets Shawn green to fly out for the second out on his 99th pitch. Eaton then proceeds to walk Valentin on 4 pitches. But he comes back to get pinch hitter Newhan.

That should do it for Eaton.
7 IP, 2 ER, 5 Ks, 3 BBs

A solid outing by Eaton. He's put us in a position to win the game. My fingers are crossed that our bullpen can hold 'em in check.

Top 8
9:32 - Alfonseco is now loosening up in the bullpen. Alfonseco has a 2.70 ERA... whew!

Rollins finally gets to Wright. E-5, Rollins on at first. It would be great to manufacture a run here. I'd expect a bunt from Victorino. He squared on the first pitch.. but not on the second. Maybe he was bunting on his own... How about a hit and run... Victorino's been hitting the ball solidly... and it can't hurt to be agressive. I wonder if Elmer is even thinking right now. Does he know what a hit and run is?

9:36 - Wow... A hit and run. Rollins was running and Victorino fouled it back. Elmer is thinking!!
9:39 - A balk by Feliciano has put Rollins in scoring position. Let's take advantage of this gentlemen!

9:42 - Utley is hit by a Phantom pitch... Utley had a check swing and got back in the box... the home plate umpire awarded Utley first base saying he got hit. Clearly, Utley thought he fouled it because he got back in the box...

Two men on for Ryan Howard, who has homered in 5 straight games vs. the Mets. Nope. Strike out. The slump continues. The Phils are 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position tonight.

Bourn, a defensive replacement for Burrell is having a pretty good at bat. He was agressive early in the count, fouled off a pitch. And then took 3 balls to fight back to 3-2. He's fouled off 2 straight 3-2 pitches. He's putting himself in a good position to succeed. Another fould ball. Outside ball 4... an 11 pitch walk. Great job by Bourn. That at bat impressed me. Good discipline and good protection. He loaded the bases and the Mets go to the pen to bring in pitcher #5.

The Mets bring in RHP Joe Smith. Manuel decides to stay with Helms and the righty vs. righty matchup. He has the lefthanded bat of Dobbs on the bench, who also happens to play 3rd base. If he's not confident with Dobbs' glove, we've still got Nunez. Plus we'd still have Werth and Carlos Ruiz to pat for the pitchers later. Let's use our resources Elmer. Helms pops out.

The Phils go to the bottom of the 8th leading 5-2.

Bottom 8
6 Fingered Alfonseca is on the mound. He makes a statement with a 9 pitch, 1-2-3 inning.

Top 9
Rowand walks to lead off the 9th. The Phillies have walked 11 times tonight and two batters have been hit by pitches. That is 13 extra baserunners. It goes without saying that the Phils have left 13 men on base.

The Phils lead the league with 51 walks thus far. We just can't seem to bring them home.

10:07 - The Phils go down quietly in the 9th, leaving Rowand stranded and increasing men left on base to 14.

Bottom 9
Flash Gordon, is on in relief in the 9th. Gordon is looking for the save. I'm of the school that always believes the first batter is the most important in these situations. Get him out and you've got 'em.

Gordon K's Delgado for out #1. That should do it. The Mets' fans our heading to the exits.

10:14 - Mets have some life. David Wright singles to center. "Hey Sal, c'mon back, Wright just got on." Some of the Metropolitan faithful are once again interested and borrow some seats closer to the exits. But not for long...

Gordon strikes out Alous and the Mets fans once again file out of Schea.

10:16 - Shawn Green grounds to Howard for the final out.

The Phils snap a 3 game losing streak and get a much needed win. A strong outing by Eaton will be the big story. And the Phils will be criticized for leaving 14 guys on base. Also, I'd like to highlight the two stupid at bats by Aaron Rowand. And kudos to the bullpen for doing their job... no wait.. that's what you're supposed to do...nevermind.

Phils win 5-2, with 5 hits and no errors. Player of the Game Adam Eaton.

What is the reason for the Phillies Slow Start?

Wouldn't it be nice to have Larry Bowa right now? Is this not a time when some of the Phillies need a kick in the pants or a good chewing out? Is our starting pitching not what we thought? Are our relievers to blame? Is it Utley and Howard?

What do you think is the biggest reason for the Phillies' 1-4 start?

You decide... Please cast your vote on the right side.

Is this really the Phillies?

I can't believe this is happening. I can't believe we're actually starting a Phillies season with some optimism. I'm 30 years old and I can't remember the last time this happened? The team of '93 was a complete surprise. I guess we had some buzz for the '94 season, which was a total bust, but I honestly can't think of a time when the Phillies were the talk of the town, this early in the season.

The Thome signing got a lot of buzz, but I don't think the team was touted as a favorite quite like this.

Where are the players who's name brings a wince to even the most loyal of fans? Do we have any guys like that? Pat Burrell comes to mind, but we've given him 4 seasons of amnesty, so what's one more?

Where's the dead weight? Where are the Doug Glanvilles? The Travis Lee's? The Alex Arias'? The Joe Boever's? We're missing guys like Rob Butler, Ricky Otero and Dickie Thon. Remember Kevin Sefcik, Rob Ducey, Marlon Anderson and Ricky Ledee? What about Brian Hunter (Brian R. or Brian L. take your pick)?

We don't have the dead weight!

I think we've got some gamers. We have a team of players who can perform.

Rollins says we're "the team to beat", and we have the NL MVP on our team, and a talented mix of youngsters and veterans. Is this really the Phillies? What happened the the ho-hum signings like, Danny Tartabull, Ron Gant, Todd Zeile and Gregg Jefferries? I guess we picked up some mediocre meat, but we've also added some GradeA prime choice. When was the last time we picked up this much talent in one offseason? When was the last time we had a QUALITY starter who was expendable? Are the Phillies really this good? Should history tell us not to get our hopes up?

Living in Atlanta, I'm a little far away from WIP and Comcast SportsNet, but perusing the Phillies blogosphere I can get a sense of what's going on in the town. I think we like this team.

I think Pat Gillick knows what he's doing. Unfortunately I'm still not convinced our manager does, but at least we've got some cylinders working.

So sit back, relax and wait for spring training. This might be a fun season.