Phils Win Big Today (Recap); Lose Series

I just got home from the Phillies/Red Sox game today. What a thrilling win as I got to see the Phillies beat the Sox for the first time in three games I've gone to. The Phillies looked so lost until they exploded for four run in the fifth inning and then poured on six more in the seventh enroute to a 11-6 win to avoid being swept by the Sox.

JA Happ got the start versus Josh Beckett. He overcame a bad first three innings where he threw 85 pitches, giving up four runs on six hits and five walks. He settled down in the fourth and fifth, pitching 1-2-3 innings. He then got yanked in the sixth after allowing a solo homer to Beckett, waling Julio Lugo, and forcing Jacoby Ellsbury into a double play. He finished going 5 2/3 innings, surrendering five runs on seven hits and six walks, striking out three.

The Phillies bats were practically dead up until the fifth. Pedro Feliz and Chris Coste hit singles and Happ bunted them over. Jimmy Rollins then grounded out, scoring in Feliz. Shane Victorino hit an RBI single and Chase Utley followed that up with a single. Ryan Howard then cranked a two-run double to give the Phillies a 5-4 lead.

After Beckett tied it up with his solo homer, it came around to the seventh inning. Rollins led off with a solo homer and Victorino followed with a single. Beckett got yanked by Terry Francona but that didn't stop the bleeding. Utley walked and Howard hit into a fielder's choice that scored Victorino after a throwing error. Jayson Werth ripped a double and Feliz drove him and Howard in with a double. Four walks later, including two runs, and the Phillies were at a commanding 11-5 lead. The Sox added a run in the eighth but couldn't come back and the Phillies dominated the series finale.

Friday night: Phillies lost 5-2 in 13 innings after Kyle Kendrick's poor outing in the top of the 13th.

Saturday night: Phillies lost 11-6 after trailing 5-0 after the first inning's rain delay. They would bring the game in close but the Sox would pull away.

Series MVP:
Boston: Ellsbury (5-13; 2 runs; HR; 4 RBI's; 2 SB's)
Philadelphia: Feliz (5-12; 3 runs; double; HR; 5 RBI's)

Next Series: Toronto Blue Jays (34-31; 13-18 on road) @ Philadelphia Phillies (36-25; 13-16 at home)

The Blue Jays have cooled down tremendously. They have lost four straight and seven of their last 11. I can't see the Phillies losing this series at all and I expect a sweep, especially with the pitching coming up.

Probables:
6/16: Ricky Romero (3-3, 3.71), Cole Hamels (4-2, 4.62)
6/17*: TBA, Jamie Moyer (4-5, 6.11 ERA)
6/18: Casey Janssen (2-3, 6.23 ERA), Joe Blanton (4-3, 5.17 ERA)
*attending

MLB News 6/13/09

Peavy out for month:

Well this could hurt the Phillies chances at trading for Jake Peavy. He will be out for a month with a strained tendon in his right ankle he sustained on June 8th. His injury occurred while he ran the bases.

The Phillies were seriously considering trading for Peavy, who originally refused to wave his no-trade clause due to Citizen's Bank Park not being pitcher-friendly. Not only does this hinder his value for the season for the Phillies but could also hinder his confidence. If he was fully healthy, he would have considered a trade to Philadelphia but with a possible return to pitching before the trade deadline, he may not have the confidence in his ankle if he were to move to a hitter's park in Philly. Peavy is a fly ball pitcher and could get shelled here as opposed to the spacious Petco Field.

Peavy is 6-6 with a 3.97 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 13 starts.

Castillo gets sympathy:

Boo hoo. Louis Castillo dropped a pop fly that would have ended the game for the Mets. Instead, the Yankees, who were trailing by one, scored two runners to earn the walk-off win. I laughed while reading this. Players were giving him sympathy and he lost sleep over it. Grow up, man. You made a mistake, life goes on.

Kendrick sent down, Escalona up:

This is what the Phillies should have originally done as Kyle Kendrick was sent back down to AAA (via Todd Zolecki's Twitter). In return, the Phillies brought up Sergio Escalona. Kendrick gave up three runs in his season debut in the 13th inning, costing the Phillies the game versus the Red Sox.

No Updates Today

Just like every Saturday, I'll be working all day from 12-10. If anything big occurs, I'll post about it later tonight when I get home. In the mean time, I want to talk about a few things from last night's loss to the Red Sox.

First I just want to know why Sergio Escalona wasn't called up when Scott Eyre went down. I don't care how well Kyle Kendrick was doing in the AAA. He is not a strike out pitcher and there is nothing special about his stuff. He should really have been sent to Japan.

I know Ryan Howard tied the game in the bottom of the ninth with a home run but there is no excuse to strike out four times in a game.

Jimmy Rollins is starting look a little more comfortable at the plate. As the lead off, you have to make pitchers throw strikes. He is not known for that and isn't a true lead off hitter but when he's on, he sparks the team. He almost had a game winning shot last night that fell a few feet short.

Now this is where I will go off. How the hell do the umpires NOT review the home run hit by Greg Dobbs that was called foul in extra innings. That ball appeared to be fair and the umpires didn't even budge to give it a look. I think if a manager wants a review, it should be mandatory that the umpires look it over. That is complete bull sh*t and the league should do something about it.

News 6/12/09

Eyre DL'ed, Kendrick Called Up:

Todd Zolecki reported that Scott Eyre was placed on the 15-day DL with a strained right calf. In his place the Phillies called up Kyle Kendrick, the former starter. Eyre was hurt last night versus the Mets. Kendrick will be available for tonight's game versus the Red Sox.

Bullpen to Be Featured:

Starting Sunday, the Phillies bull pen will be featured on the MLB Network in a show called "The Pen." The six-episode series, which debuts at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday on MLB Network, follows the Phillies bullpen on and off the field, with microphones recording everything along the way. Cameras are everywhere, too, including one attached to the catcher's mask in the bullpen. Read more details from the link provided.

Too bad we won't be seeing Eyre building sand castles in the pen.

Mets Choke Away Series

It's like a reoccurring theme for the Mets. They have the Phillies right where they want them and then they fall flat on their face while the Phillies walk away laughing. From the 2007 collapse to last year's World Series run, the Mets could have easily taken a three-game sweep from the Phillies but instead, lost the series. It was an odd series as only one starter got the decision.

The Phillies starting pitching is still on it's dominating tear (despite Cole Hamels getting hit hard in the second game). The bull pen really picked itself up as the Mets' faltered once again versus Phillies. The offense struggled for the first six innings of each game and then exploded to over come the early deficit.

In the first game, JA Happ took the mound versus Johan Santana and both pitchers got whacked around. The Phillies were able to hit four homers off of Santana (three of them lefties) and Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez became the first pair of lefties to go back-to-back versus Santana.

After the Phillies took the 4-3 lead, the Mets put up two runs in the sixth, and added one in the seventh. Despite the Phillies getting one back in the eighth from Chase Utley's solo homer, the Mets held on to win 6-5 with Santana earning the win.

On Wednesday, Utley used his bat and Jayson Werth used his glove to beat the Mets. Utley tied the game up at one with his solo shot in the fourth but the Mets got a three-run inning in the bottom half off of Happ, his only hiccup of the game to take a 4-1 lead.

The Phillies then exploded with three runs to tie the game up. Both teams were scoreless all the way to the bottom of the 10th with the Mets threatening. With a runner on, David Wright hit a ball that looked like it would clear the gap in right center but instead was robbed with a diving catch by Werth to end the inning and save the game. Utley lead off the inning with another solo homer, his second of the night, to put the Phillies ahead for good. Ryan Madson pitched a clean 11th to earn his second save of the year, replacing the injured Brad Lidge.

Thursday's game had a similar scenario with a similar result. After the Phillies tied the game at three in the seventh, the game found itself going into extra innings once again. With runners on first and second in the top of the 10th, Ibanez ripped a homer into the Mets bullpen to take a commanding 6-3 lead that Ryan Madson closed out for his third save.

Series MVP: Utley (5-13, 4 runs, 5 hits, double, 2 homers, 5 RBI's)

Next Series: Red Sox (36-24; 15-16 on the road) vs. Phillies (35-23; 12-14 at home)

The Phillies are coming home for an American League East home stand (I'll be attending one game in each series and I'll post pictures from each) that is starting tonight versus the hot Boston Red Sox. They are riding a series sweep versus the Yankees and have had the Phillies number the past few years.

Probables:

6/12: Joe Blanton (4-3, 5.46) vs. Jon Lester (5-5, 5.09)

6/13: Antonio Bastardo (2-0, 2.45) vs. Daisuke Matsuzaka (1-4, 7.33)

6/14*: J.A. Happ (4-0, 2.98) vs. Josh Beckett (7-2, 3.77)

*attending

News 6/11/09

I just got home from playing softball and I quickly checked the Phillies headlines and I saw a couple of noteworthy things:

Dugan Agrees Financially:

Kelly Dugan, the Phillies first pick in the draft (#75) agreed financially to sign with the Phillies. An amount hasn't been determined yet but that's good news as they locked him up right away.

Ozuna Suspended 50 Games:

The Phillies got their second player suspended for 50 games this year. Pablo Ozuna was caught with an "elevated testosterone/epitesterone ratio," according to a statement from Major League Baseball. He was the starting 2nd baseman for AAA Lehigh. He's batting .294 with no home runs and 15 RBIs in 187 at-bats this season for the IronPigs.

Ibanez Angry at Accusations

Raul Ibanez is not happy at all right now.

I saw this today on ESPN and it just really got to me. There was a column in the Philly Inquirer about a blogger who claimed Ibanez could be using some sort of performance enhancing drug.

"I'll come after people who defame or slander me."

"Unfortunately, I understand the environment we're in and the events that have led us to this era of speculation," he said. "At the same time, you can't just walk down the street and accuse somebody of being a thief because they didn't have a nice car yesterday and they do today. You can't say that guy is a thief."

"You can have my urine, my hair, my blood, my stool - anything you can test," Ibanez said. "I'll give you back every dime I've ever made."

"I'll put that up against the jobs of anyone who writes this stuff," he said. "Make them accountable. There should be more credibility than some 42-year-old blogger typing in his mother's basement. It demeans everything you've done with one stroke of the pen."

Are you kidding me? First I just want to say that Ibanez is playing half of his games in the hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia as opposed to the spacious SafeCo Field. Before coming to Philadelphia, Ibanez has been a 20 home run guy who bats in the .290's and has averaged 85 RBI's. He has had one year where he hit 33 homers and has topped 100 RBI's 5 times.

Yea we're in an era where players are getting caught using performance enhancers such as Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, and the Mitchell Report list but that still doesn't justify speculating every single player who has a good season. Should Ibanez be pissed? I think yes. But all you have to do is just show up every day and play the game hard and just say that "If I'm clean, then screw the critics."

Introducing the Phillies Draft Picks

The Phillies took two outfielders in this year's draft.

With the 75th pick in the MLB draft, the Phillies took switch-hitting power hitter Kelly Dugan. The 6'3" 18-year old out of California has decent speed on the bases and a decent arm in the field but features some pop from both sides of the plate. The Phillies lost their first round pick to the Mariners when they signed Raul Ibanez to his three year deal.

In the third round (#106), the Phillies took Washington native Kyrell Hudson, 18, another outfielder. The 6'2" Hudson is more of an athletic type who has a good presence in the field and dangerous speed on the base paths. He also has power potential but scouts say he needs to develop more consistency at the plate. Sounds like another Michael Bourn in the field and Jimmy Rollins at the plate.

In local news, Mike Trout from Millville, NJ was drafted 25th to the Los Angeles Angels. I wish him the best of luck in his road to the bigs.

Lidge Put On 15-Day DL

Tom Singer of MLB.com reported the details of the Brad Lidge injury. Lidge was placed on the 15-day DL today with a right knee sprain. In his place, the Phillies recalled catcher Paul Bako and he is expected to dress tonight versus the Mets. Bako is batting .357, with 10 RBIs in 42 at-bats.

Lidge (0-3) has been the exact opposite of his perfect regular and post season form a year ago as he is sporting an ugly six blown saves. He has 13 saves and an ERA of 7.27 in 28 appearances.This move will likely make set-up man Ryan Madson the closer until Lidge's return.

I have to ask one quick question before I talk about the recalling of Bako: why him? I know we want to have another bat on the bench since there are only four bench players but of all people why not bring back John Mayberry Jr. or try out another hitter to take advantage of the opportunity. But maybe Bako has something to prove. Another logical reason for this is so that Chris Coste will get more pinch hit AB's and the Phillies will still have a reserve catcher in Bako.

Now I'm glad they gave Lidge a 15-day rest. He hasn't been himself at all this year. It's not known whether or not his knee really is bothering him or if he is just getting a reality check so he can get his head on straight. If the knee is the case, that's at least a bit of a relief knowing that it's a physical problem and not a mental problem. Remember, this is the same guy that got abused by Albert Pujols in the 2006 NLCS.

Whatever the reason is, good luck Lidge in getting back on track and I'm confident Madson will hold down the fort nicely.

BREAKING NEWS: Lidge Put on DL

Dave Murphey's Twitter:

Lidge placed on DL with sprained right knee

I'll post more as I find out....