Selig Considering Rose's Reinstatement

Bud Selig is "seriously considering" reinstating Pete Rose to baseball so he would be eligible for a Hall of Fame nomination. Rose was banned after being accused of betting on baseball. If Rose is allowed back into baseball, he would make his first appearance on the ballot. 65 members of the Hall's selection committee can mull over whether or not he should be inducted and Rose will be allowed on the ballot for 15 years. If he isn't inducted in 15 years, Rose will be permanently left out.

Rose is considered to be one of the greatest hitters in the history of the game. He played from 1963-1986, mostly with the Cincinnati Reds and partial for the Philadelphia Phillies and Montreal Expos. During his career, he batted .303 with 4256 hits, the most in the history of the game. Rose has also been selected to the All Star game 17 times, won three World Series rings (two with the Reds and one with the Phillies), and earned the ROY award (1963) and NL MVP (1973).

Rose should never have been banned from baseball in the first place. Even though he bet on baseball during his time as a manager and probably a player, that should never have hindered his accolades on the field. As a player and manager, Rose is one of the greatest ever. Selig should reinstate him, the first good thing he has done for baseball in his tenure as commissioner.

Next step: Reinstating Shoeless Joe Jackson.

EDIT! : Selig denied any claim that he was considering reinstating Rose. The link above was updated by ESPN. Here is what was originally written:

MLB commissioner Bud Selig appears to be "seriously considering" reinstatement for Pete Rose nearly 20 years after the hit king was banned from baseball for gambling on the sport, according to a report in the New York Daily News.

Phils Plunder Pirates

The Phillies earned a huge sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates to cap an incredible 9-1 home stand, erasing the memories of that 1-8 home stand in June. They started the stand with a sweep of the Mets and then won three of four versus Cincinnati. Pending today's games for the Marlins, Braves, and Mets the Phillies are currently 4.5, 5.5, and 7 games in first place respectively.

The Pirates came into this series on a cold spell and the Phillies were hot, playing teams they should and did beat up. The Pirates became the next victim of that Philly Butt Whuppin'. I said a few weeks ago that I am not worried about the Phillies because they heat up in July and they proceeded to make me look good. With the All Star break finally here, I will look back at the first half of the season probably Monday or Tuesday.

Friday - Phillies won 3-2: Shane Victorino provided the spark with three hits and a pair of doubles. The Pirates got their only two runs on solo homers off Joe Blanton and Brad Lidge. Blanton 7.1 innings, giving up a run on four hits, one walk, and striking out six. Lidge pitched .2 innings to earn his 18th save.

Saturday - Phillies won 8-7: Cole Hamels got roughed up in his outing, lasting six innings and giving up five runs on seven hits. The Pirates managed to hit three homers off the struggling ace. After falling early 5-0, the Phillies fought back to make it 5-3. Chad Durbin surrendered two runs in his very short outing as the Pirates made it 7-3.

In the bottom of the ninth, Matt Stairs hit a pinch hit homer to start things off. Then with one out and two men on, Ryan Howard hit a three-run bomb to left center to tie it up at seven. Ibanez hit the next pitch over the center field wall on a bounce for a ground-rule double, Jayson Werth walked, and Pedro Feliz hit an infield single off Mat Capps rear. Paul Bako stepped in and hit a walk off single to win the game.

Sunday - Phillies won 5-1: After scoring five runs in the ninth the night before, the Phillies got five quick runs thanks to a Howard sac fly and Feliz grand slam in the first inning. JA Happ pitched tremendous ball, going seven strong and giving up a run on four hits and two walks, striking our four.

Series MVP's:

Ryan Howard (PHI): 3-7, HR, 4 RBI's

JA Happ (PHI): 7 IP, ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 4 K

Next Up: The All Star Break. I will go into more detail about the first half and the ASG tomorrow and Monday. Have a good few days and don't forget to watch the dingers by Howard on Monday in the derby and our five all stars on Tuesday.

News 7/10/09

Ibanez to play today: article

Phillies Nation:

Comcast Sportsnet reports that Raul Ibanez went 1-for-3 (doubled) in a rehab start with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Ibanez drove in two runs and walked twice. Ibanez plans on playing tomorrow against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Martinez to pitch infront of Phillies: article

While Pedro Martinez throws a simulated outing for the Philadelphia Phillies, his agent and the club are negotiating a contract.

"The Phillies saw me this past Tuesday in a simulated game and I felt very good with my fastball and all my pitches," Martinez said Thursday.

Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. denied reports a deal was done, but confirmed the team's interest in the three-time AL Cy Young Award winner.

"He has not been signed," Amaro said before the NL East-leading Phillies played Cincinnati on Thursday night. "We've seen him pitch. He's not in town."

Phils Take Three From Reds

Despite losing a heart breaker on Tuesday, the Phillies welcomed a lowly team into the Bank and did the job. Winning three of four versus the Reds, the Phils kept some distance on the Marlins, Braves, and Mets. The offense lit up, didn't show up, then showed up, and then out swung the Reds. Jimmy Rollins, Jayson Werth, and Chase Utley had incredible series's.

Monday - Phillies won 22-1: 22 runs. That's all I really need to say but I'll throw in a few stats. Cole Hamels pitched well and got the offensive support he needed, even from himself. Rollins, Utley, and Werth all homered. Rollins went 3-4 with a few runs and an RBI, Utley had a pair of hits with four RBI's, Werth went 2-5 with five RBI's and Greg Dobbs had four hits. Hamels 2-4 with a two-run double.

Tuesday - Reds won 4-3: After going up 3-0, JA Happ got beaten by Brandon Phillips, who had two homers and three RBI's. The losing blow came at the expense of Brad Lidge as he coughed up the winning hits in the top of the tenth. Utley had three hits in the losing effort.

Wednesday - Phillies won 3-2: The Flyin' Hawaiian got over the hump in his All Star bid as his walk-off single scored in Pedro Feliz in the bottom of the ninth. Shane Victorino and Dobbs had two hits and Werth hit a solo homer.

Thursday - Phillies won 9-6: The Reds took the early lead 3-0 and later broke a 4-4 tie with a two-run fifth. The Phillies answered in the bottom half with four runs and did not look back. Utley and Werth both had a pair of hits and homered, Utley's being a stand-up inside-the-parker that caromed off the left-centerfield wall. Feliz and Rollins also added a pair of hits. Lidge notched his 17th save.

Series MVP's:

Jimmy Rollins (PHI): 7-17; 6 runs; double; 2RBI's; .524 OBP

Chase Utley (PHI): 7-17; 2 runs; 2 doubles; 2 homers; 6 RBI's

Jayson Werth (PHI): 6-15; 5 runs; 4 homers; 9 RBI's

Next Series: Pittsburgh Pirates (38-47; 12-29 on road) @ Philadelphia Phillies (44-38; 18-23 at home)

This is the first meeting of the season between the two teams. The next will be at the end of August.The Phillies are playing good baseball going into their final series before the break, winning six of their last seven games. They are 6-1 on this current home stand despite the season-long struggles at the Bank.

The Pirates are just a lowly baseball team and are thankful every year that the Washington Nationals exist. They have lost seven of their last 10 and don't seem to be anywhere near catching fire going into the break. I expect a series sweep by the Phillies and I will not tolerate a loss of any sorts.

Everything has been going right for the Phillies. Starting pitching has been good and will hopefully get better if the Phillies add some arms in Pedro Martinez and Roy Halladay at the expense of maybe losing Happ. Happ will most likely be a part of a trade with Halladay if they can pry Doc from Toronto so his last start as a Phillie could be nearing.

The offense has been good. Sure they had back to back games of only scoring three runs but they were book ended by 22 and nine-run efforts. The bull pen has been very rock solid despite Lidge's inconsistency but he re-established that in Thursdays win with a save.

Pitching Probables:

7/11: Duke (8-7, 3.28), Blanton (5-4, 4.69)

7/12: Ohlendorf (7-7, 4.63), Hamels (5-5, 4.70)

7/13: Vasquez, V (1-2, 4.50), Happ (5-0, 3.04)

Independance Day Massacre

This was the perfect weekend for a Phillies fan. In the midst of the barbecuing, drinking, partying, and spending time with the family and friends on America's birthday, the Phillies invited the Mets to the Bank for a home-cooked butt-whupping.

The Phillies swept the Mets, their first sweep since June 1-3 and first home series win since they swept the Nationals on May 29-31. It was complete pitching dominance as they held the Mets to a total of three runs all series. The offense came alive when needed and the pitching was absolutely incredible. It was the exact opposite of the series prior in Atlanta where the pitching sucked, the offense disappeared and the bull pen couldn't keep games close.

Friday - Phillies won 7-2: Rodrigo Lopez made his season debut, going 6 1/2 innings and surrendering his two runs in the seventh. He allowed six hits and a walk and struck out four. Jimmy Rollins sparked the offense with a pair of doubles and two RBI's. Chase Utley also had two hits and two RBI's and Jayson Werth provided the fireworks with a solo homer.

Saturday - Phillies won 4-1: It was a very happy 4th of July as Jamie Moyer dominated the Mets AAA offense in his 600th career start. Moyer went 6 1/3 as he gave up a run on five hits and a walk. He also sat down one batter en route to his team high seventh win of the season. Rollins again helped provide some offense with a two-run double in the fourth. Brad Lidge notched the save.

Sunday - Phillies won 2-0: There was no hang over for the Phillies as Joe Blanton took the mound and pitched 7 1/3 shut out ball. He allowed four hits and three walks with five strike outs. The two solo homers by Rollins and Utley were all Blanton needed. Lidge came in the ninth and struck out the side to record his 16th save.

It's a proven fact that when Rollins is hitting and getting on base, the offense will follow suit. He is the spark plug this team needs him to be. He's a risk/reward kind of player which can be extremely frustrating or extremely pleasing. I will admit that I was quick to jump on Rollins but he is not out of the hole yet. I still think that when he is not producing, he needs to be dropped. Hopefully he continues to tear up offenses and sets himself up for another magical second half much like his MVP season in 2007.

Series MVP's:

Jimmy Rollins (PHI): 5-11; 2 runs; 3 doubles; homer; 3 walks; .571 OBP

Brad Lidge (PHI): 2 innings; 0 hits; 5 K's; 2 saves

Starting Pitching (PHI): 20 innings; 3 runs; 15 hits; 11 K's

Next Series: Cincinnatti Reds (40-40; 20-20 on road) @ Philadelphia Phillies (42-37; 16-22 at home)

Phillies lead series 2-1. The Reds are a weird team. They may be playing .500 ball but that doesn't necessarily make them a good baseball team. Phillies should not lose this series, especially after the series they played versus the Mets. I expect three wins coming out of this series to go into the final series of the first half. A sweep would be fantastic and should hopefully give them a cushion in the division standings.

Currently the Marlins are still breathing down the Phillies necks, only a game out of first. The sweep of the Mets put them four games ahead. As the temperature heats up, so should the Phillies.

Pitching Probables:

7/6: Cueto (8-4, 2.69), Hamels (4-5, 4.98)

7/7: Harang (5-8, 3.86), Happ (5-0, 2.96)

7/8: Bailey, H (1-0, 5.94), Lopez, Ro (1-0, 2.84)

7/9: Owings (6-8, 4.48), Moyer (7-6, 5.72)

FIM #7: The Phold

The Reds' Chico Ruiz steals home

1964 was supposed to be a great year for the Phillies. They already saw a no hitter from Jim Bunning and they were in the clear to take the division. Well with a 6 1/2 game lead, they blew the last 12 games to miss the playoffs. Known as the "Phold," this was originally the worst collapse until 2007 when the Mets choked worse than this team.

They couldn't ask for a better season from Bunning, who went 19-8 with a 2.63 ERA that year. Chris Short also helped Bunning support the pitching. They even got some help from third baseman Dick Allen, who had an excellent rookie season. Manager Gene Mauch knew this team was going to win it's first world championship.

Starting on September 21, the Phillies went on a ten game losing streak, and the Cincinnati Reds went on to win nine in a row. The turning point in that September 21 game was when Chico Ruiz stole home in the bottom of the 6th inning. The game ended with a Reds victory of 1-0. This began the Phillies 10 game slide.

The crucial series came when Phillies were in 2nd place. They traveled to St. Louis to play the Cardinals after their losing home stand. They dropped the first game of the series to Bob Gibson by a 5-1 score, their eighth loss in a row, dropping them to third place. The Cardinals would sweep the three-game set and assume first place for good. The Reds would catch up and tie the Phillies for second, winning thanks to a tie breaker.

In an interview with the NY Post back in 2007 about the Mets collapse, Bunning talked about his collapse: "The one thing we never got in '64," Bunning said, "was the one performance, the one big hit, the one huge pitching performance that could have stopped the bleeding."

It's an image that only a few still remember. Like many of the other bad moments in Phillies history, this wiped out by the 2 world championships won in 1980 and 2008.