Phillies/Rockies Only Undecided Series

No magic. No dramatic come backs. Well for the Red Sox I mean. They were up 5-1 going into the 6th when the Angels were able to get a run there and then two in the 8th to make it a 5-4 game. Boston got Jonathan Papelbon some breathing room by tacking on a run in the bottom of the 8th. With two outs and a man on base, the Angels strung together some key hits to get three runs in the top of the 9th to take a 7-6 lead. Brian Fuentes secured the game and the Angels swept the Sox to move onto the ALCS to face the Yankees, who swept the Twins tonight.

NLCS: Dodgers versus Phillies/Rockies (series tied at 1)
ALCS: Angels versus Yankees

UPDATE: Game 4 will be tomorrow at 6:07 EST. Game 5 still TBA.

Photos: 6/14/09

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.

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

FIM #8: The Worst Trade In the History of the Phillies

The Red Sox may have their Babe Ruth, who was traded to the dreaded New York Yankees for cash in the worst trade ever in baseball. But the Phillies will always remember what happened in 1982 as the worst trade in their history.

I found this article in the Baltimore Sun archives as reference and I was crying while reading this the entire time. What jumped out at me? Dallas Green, the manager of their 1980 championship team, was the new general manager of the Cubs. He robbed his former team blind.

A quote from Green in the article: "I know some people have criticized us because we've made so many deals with the Phillies. They've called us the Phillies West. That doesn't bother me. It so happens I know the Phillies' organization best. And I'll tell you this, the players that we've got all have good heart and they'll be bringing that to Chicago."

The Phillies had their eyes set on a young short stop from the Chicago Cubs, Ivan DeJesus. The Phillies wanted to offer Larry Bowa up but the Cubs would not budge unless the Phillies added a prospect they coveted, Ryne Sandberg. Sandberg was a 22 year old untested middle infielder.

It was your typical deal of two bottom teams trying to rebuild. The Cubs wanted to give up a proven starter for two players. In order for the deal to have panned out, Sandberg needed to win a starting spot by next season.

Here is a look at what DeJesus and Sandberg did after the trade:

DeJesus: Lasted 3 years with the Phillies. He batted .228 for the Phillies, totaling 7 homers and 134 RBI's. He then played 4 more seasons with 4 different teams, playing a total of 80 games.

Sandberg: He played the rest of his career in Chicago, 16 total seasons. He had a career batting average of .285 with 282 homers, 2386 hits, 1318 runs scored, and 1061 RBI's. He led the league in runs scored 3 times, and in triples and home runs 1 time. He was a 10 time all star, 9 time gold glover, 7 time silver slugger, 1984 NL MVP and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005.

I don't need to say any more after what I typed about Sandberg. He was the real deal and DeJesus was one of the biggest jokes in Phillies history. Congrats Phillies. You got hustled.

American League Preview

So this will also be posted in the Whit, Rowan University's paper. I will be doing both the AL and NL previews and when the season starts, I will be doing weekly recap/previews. Here is the uncut version of my post. A link will be posted when the article comes out:

The AL East used to be a two team division until the Tampa Bay Rays finally showed up and won the division and the A.L. pennant last season. But the New York Yankees are back in business with an unbelievable offseason and the Boston Red Sox revamped to still be competitive. The Central should feature the Detroit Tigers while the Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox try to keep up. In the West it should just be the Los Angeles Angels. Here’s a look at the key teams in the A.L.

In the East, the Rays are bringing back some major parts to their A.L. championship team such as Rookie of the Year winner Evan Longoria, Carl Crawford, and Dioner Navarro. Their rotation features James Shields, Scott Kazmir, and Matt Garza. The Rays like to play small ball but a power hitter is what Tampa Bay needed. They got that in Pat Burrell, their big offseason signing who will become their DH, a fitting role for him due to his lack of skill in the outfield. This balances out the team, making them more dangerous offensively.

The Yankees re-tooled dramatically in the offseason. Their key signings included pitchers C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, and the resigning of Andy Pettitte. They also signed first basemen Mark Teixeira who will instantly boost an offense that was 10th in runs scored last season. Those are just the signings though. The offense still features Alex Rodriguez, who despite the steroid saga and hip injury is still one of the best in the game. They also have captain Derek Jeter and Hideki Matsui at the DH. The five-man rotation is filled out with Chien-Ming Wang and Joba Chamberlain, giving the Yankees the most dangerous rotation in baseball. With five pitchers like that, they should win on pitching alone. Mariano Rivera is still one of the best closers in baseball. They simply have the best team in baseball again.

The Red Sox are still one of the best teams in baseball. Tampa Bay and New York have improved and Boston wasn’t going to sit around and let them have all the fun. The signings of John Smoltz and Brad Penny give them six good starting pitchers. Smoltz will probably see bull pen action which isn’t a bad thing for Boston since he is an ex-closer. Speaking of the pen, it’s anchored by closer Jonathon Papelbon and set-up man Hideki Okajima. The offense is nothing short of amazing either. It features reigning A.L. MVP Dustin Pedroia. He is supported by an excellent offensive cast of Kevin Youkillis, Mike Lowell, and David Ortiz. The outfield also features young centerfielder Jacoby Ellsbury and Jason Bay and JD Drew.

In the Central, the Detroit Tigers look to be the strongest team. They moved Miguel Cabrera to first base due to a lack of glove but he is still a fine hitter. The outfield is very good with Carlos Guillen, Curtis Granderson, and Maglio Ordonez. Marcus Thames is a great bat off the bench and can play the outfield in the late innings. The rotation features great pitching in Justin Verlander, Armondo Galaragga, Jeremy Bonderman, and Dontrelle Willis. They should be good enough to win the division but Chicago and Minnesota are always in the mix.

The White Sox are a shell of the 2005 World Champion team. They lost Joe Crede, Orlando Cabrera and Ken Griffey Jr. in the offseason and didn’t make any vast improvements. They do still have Jim Thome and Jermaine Dye, their two best bats. Gavin Floyd and Mark Buehrle emerged as their two best pitchers and will have to post better numbers to keep Chicago in the mix. The Twins missed the playoffs by a game last year. They added Crede from the White Sox to go with the young stars in Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. Pitching isn’t all that awesome this year and could be a problem for them. The Cleveland Indians and Kansas City Royals should not factor into the race too much this year.

In the West, the only team that truly stands out is the Angels. They lost record-breaking closer, Francisco Rodriguez to the New York Mets but won’t have to worry about him blowing saves this year. Instead they added a steady Brian Fuentes who will not blow games. They also a great bat in the outfield in Bobby Abreau to go along with Vladimir Guerrero and Torii Hunter. Pitching is also a strength for the Angels with John Lackey, Ervin Santana, Joe Saunders, and Jered Weaver as the main guys in the starting rotation. The Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics don’t really impress and the Seattle Mariners brought Griffey Jr. back but still won’t see much of an improvement.

The Yankees will take the East, the Tigers will win the Central, and the Angels will again run away with the West. The Wild Card will be very interesting as the Red Sox and Rays will battle it all year for the final playoff spot. Next week we will have the National League preview.

A season to remember - slideshow

Throughout the 2008 season, I went to a total of 6 regular season games, 1 preseason game, and 0 play off games (the latter was a huge bummer). I brought my camera with me to 4 games: 6/17 vs Boston; 6/22 vs the LA Angels; 7/4 vs the Mets; and 8/22 vs
the LA Dodgers. I also saw them play the Mets and Blue Jays in the regular season and the Blue Jays in the preseason.

In the Red Sox game, the Phillies lost 3-0 as John Lester earned the win for Boston. In the Angels game, the Phillies lost 3-2 as Cole Hamels pitched great minus his terrible 2nd inning. In the Mets game, the Phillies rallied in the 6th after being down 2-0 to tie it up and Shane Victorino hit the game winning single. Finally, in the Dodgers game, the Phillies plowed the Dodgers 8-1 with Ryan Howard's 4th inning 2 run home run off Greg Maddux to put the Phillies up 2-1 and ahead for good.

The pictures in this slide show weren't any true key parts of the season but they showed the players doing what they did best. They also show how the players contributed to this season leading to a World Championship. So enjoy the slide show of pictures I took (yes I know some of them are pretty good) and take the time to read the captions for more information on how these players did.