Saturday, October 31, 2009

Dobbs Has Cooties

OK all kidding aside, Greg Dobbs has the flu or stomach virus and the Charlie Manuel had him send home so he doesn't infect the rest of the team. He won't be allowed back until he is completely healthy Ruben Amaro Jr. said. Tyler Walker, who wasn't on the 25-man roster but with the team, was also sent home because of sickness and Pedro Martinez complained of feeling ill before his start on Tuesday but is still with the team.

One player on the Phillies decided to board up Dobbs' locker with cardboard, masking, tape, and yellow "Caution" tape with a sign that read:

Greg Dobbs Update
Thomas Jefferson Hospital
Room #---
Visiting hours for family and friends from 6-8 p.m.

Please be advised to wear a mask!!

Gotta love the togetherness this team has. Hopefully Dobbs' gets well in time to be with the team before this series is over.

UPDATE: Dobbs is feeling better and is cleared to play tonight via Susan Lulgjuraj of the AC Press.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Timely Hitting Sparks Phils

Nothing like some manufactured runs and solid pitching. Now if the Phillies can get that every game, who knows how far it will take them. I saw some things last night that worried me but at the same time saw some things that worked and I liked.


JA Happ and Joe Blanton combined for 5.2 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits and two walks with Happ striking out four in the Phillies 6-5 win over Colorado to take the 2-1 series lead. Chad Durbin got the win as he pitched a flawless 8th and Brad Lidge came on in the 9th after the Phillies go ahead run to close out the game.

Chase Utley had a solo home run in the first but the Phillies saw that lead quickly diminish with a pair of Rockies runs in the bottom. Colorado tacked on another runs in the third inning and the Phillies exploded in the 4th for three runs to take the 4-3 lead. That lead was quickly vanished after Carlos Gonzalez's solo homer in the fourth.

With the game tied at five in the top of the ninth, Jimmy Rollins got on with a single and Shane Victorino bumped him to second on a sacrifice bunt. Utley then reached base on a check-swing infield single. With runners on 1st and 3rd and Ryan Howard at the plate, the league leader in RBI's could do only 1 thing: hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Rollins for the go ahead and game winning score.

Some of the bad things I saw included Happ's performance. He was bad all night, struggling to find the strike zone, getting worked into deep counts, and then getting hit hard by the Rockies. The other bad thing I saw was pinch hitting. Matt Stairs and Greg Dobbs have not been getting the job done. Use Miguel Cairo or if you want you use Ben Francisco, work out a double switch so he can play the field.

Eyre injured his ankle in the 7th inning but appeared to be fine. "I'll be fine, but I sure would love Cliff Lee to throw a seven or eight innings in Game 4 to give me a couple days to rest it." - Eyre. Ruben Amaro Jr. would have to hold me down and tie me up and that's not going to happen because I'm bigger than he is." - Courtesy of Macho Row's Twitter

Some of the good things I saw included Blanton's pitching out of the bull pen. Durbin also looked real nice and Lidge got a huge confidence booster by being given the opportunity to close out a 1-run playoff game.

Next Game: Today at 6:07 EST in Colorado
Weather: 51 degrees at game time
Probables: PHI: Lee, Cl (1-0, 1.00), COL: Jimenez, U (0-1, 9.00)

The Phillies will want to close out this series so they can rest up and get prepared for the NLCS. The Rockies can't afford to lose or else they will have to book their ski trips at Vail. The pitching match ups are going to be the repeat of game 1.

The Phillies offense was consistent throughout the game, getting support from all parts of the line up. The can definitely do that again tonight facing Ubaldo Jimenez, who got beat up in game 1. Lee will look to have a performance similar to his in game 1. If those two things happen, bring on the Dodgers.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Roster Moves

A day after the Phillies purchased injured pitcher John Ennis, the Phillies called up Jack Taschner to the bull pen. He's 1-1 with a 5.20 ERA in 21 appearances before he was previously designated for assignment two months ago. He went 0-2 with two saves and a 2.08 ERA and a .213 OBA with Triple A Lehigh Valley.

Ennis is recovering from Tommy John surgery. After the Phillies bought him, they placed him on the 15 day DL because any player on the 25 man roster or DL by August 31 can be eligible for the playoffs. They're hoping Ennis can pitch by then if they want. The Phillies have 31 players eligible which include the six on the DL: Brett Myers, J.C. Romero, Clay Condrey, Greg Dobbs, Antonio Bastardo and Ennis.

Monday, August 24, 2009

News 8/24

Dobbs on DL: article

The Phillies had placed Greg Dobbs on the 15-day DL yesterday with a right calf injury. He will be replaced by Miguel Cairo. Cairo is back on the Phillies since being optioned back in May.

I was going to post this yesterday but was busy all day.

Myers to Rehab Today: article

Brett Myers will make his first rehab start today with Lakewood. He was originally scheduled to pitch yesterday but the game was rained out. He made one appearance with Clearwater, striking out the side and allowing two hits.

Monday, July 13, 2009

First Half Recap

It has been an up-and-down first half for the Phillies, ending on a real positive note. After showing clear struggles at home, the Phillies capped off their first half with a 9-1 home stand that included sweeps of the Mets and Pirates. In this post, I will go into detail of their numbers and the grades of the offense, defense, and pitching.

NL East Standings:
PHI 48-38
FLA 46-44 (4 GB)
ATL 43-45 (6 GB)
NYM 42-45 (6.5 GB)
WAS 26-62 (22.5 GB)

Phillies by the numbers:
Record: 48-38 (1st in NL East)
Home Record: 22-23
Road Record: 26-15
Interleague Record: 6-12
Runs: 461 (5th in MLB; 1st in NL)
RBI: 443 (3rd; 1st)
Hits: 774 (t18th; t8th)
HR: 122 (3rd; 1st)
Total Bases: 1343 (6th; 1st)
BA: .261 (t14th; t6th)
ERA: 4.61 (25th; 14th)
K: 612 (14th; 10th)
Fielding %: .990 (2nd; 1st)

Infield: The hitting is drastically inconsistent for them to be a first place team but the runs and home runs have been what helped win games. A prime example is Saturday's dramatic victory.

The Phillies, when on, have one of the best infields in the game. They have gotten a lot of offense from this group, especially from all stars Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. Utley is leading the team in batting with a .313 average. But only Raul Ibanez (.309) and Shane Victorino (.309) have averages above .300, which is a result to the team's .261 average. Howard is tied for the team lead with 22 homers and leads the team in RBI's (67).

To go with the two offensive catalysts are two players that have really stepped up offensively for this team. Pedro Feliz is a career .255 hitter but he's fourth on the team in batting (.293). His power numbers have been slightly down again this year but he's getting on base and driving in runs, putting him on pace for the best season of his solid career. The other surprise was Carlos Ruiz but he has been so terrible at the plate as of late that his average dropped from .309 after May 31 all the way down to a .235, the results of only 15 hits since then in 87 AB's.

The big disappointment has been Jimmy Rollins, even though he has been seeing the ball tremendously well in July with an average of .378 and a .500 OBP so far this month. Since July 1, his average climbed from a .205 to a .229 and is still climbing. If he goes on another tear like he usually does at the end of the season, he should be seeing a batting average in the .270's and an OBP in the .330 range. He leads the team with 16 SB but that number is really down from what he is capable of doing, a result of not being on base. When Rollins is on base, the Phillies will score and score often which will turn into wins. Shane Victorino struggles in the lead off spot and no one else can hit there. It's up to Rollins to keep this win train rolling.

Grade: B+

Outfield: How good has the Phillies outfield been? Well when you have all three of them representing the team in the ASG, that says a lot for the production they have given them. That is the first time since the 1995 Indians that a team has gotten three outfielders to the mid summer classic and the first NL squad since the Pirates in the 70's.

Up until his injury, Ibanez has been the MVP of the team. He is still one of the main offensive weapons as he had two hits, including a double, in his return on Saturday. For the year he is tied for team lead in homers and tied for second in average. He is also third in average and a contender still for the Phillies triple crown with Utley. His slugging percentage is .649, third in the league and tops on the Phillies. He got voted into his first all star game ever as a starter.

Jayson Werth has been very good again all year in the power category, especially as of late. His 20 homers are tied for third on the team and his 56 RBI's are fourth. He is also batting .263. and slugging .513. He was chosen by Charlie Manuel to replace Carlos Beltran.

Victorino has been incredible as well, tied with Ibanez for second in team batting. He leads the team with 24 doubles to go with his team high 108 hits. Combines with his glove, Victorino is the most complete outfielder of the group and has gotten him plenty of recognition through out the league as he earned his all star spot winning the Final Vote and could possibly start with Beltran's injury.

Grade: A

Bench: The bench has been pretty inconsistent all year. Though there have been some late inning magic, it was still frustrating to have guys strike out in the place of the pitcher.

Even though he has torn it up as a starter in place of Ibanez, Greg Dobbs was a complete mystery until he started to get more reps. His average climbed up to a .269 and has five homers and 16 RBI's. He's back on the bench and his numbers could easily drop again. Matt Stairs has been their best bat off the bench, batting .283 with four homers and 13 RBI's. The biggest mystery has been Eric Bruntlett and his .139 average. To be blunt, he sucks.

Two notable call ups have been John Mayberry Jr. (.184; 4; 8), who has been really inconsistent, and Paul Bako (.214; 0; 3), who has been so solid as of late that the Phillies DFA'ed Chris Coste (now in Houston).

Grade: C

Starting Pitching: Who would have thought that the worst starter this year so far was the team's ace? Who would have thought that the team leader in wins was 47 years old. Who also would have thought that the team's best pitcher is a prospect that could be a trade piece for a Cy Young winner? With the injury to Brett Myers for pretty much the remainder of the season, everyone else has had to work harder.

Cole Hamels has been terrible. He's 5-5 with a 4.87 ERA, as the team's ace! He only has one win in his last seven starts and has only gone past seven innings once. I hate to say this but after he got payed, he has gotten worse and worse as if he doesn't care anymore. His change up is not workin for him and he needs to work on his curveball to have another pitch to fall back on.

Enough with the depressing stuff, let's talk about the other three main starters who have pitched well... kinda. Jamie Moyer is giving up a lot of runs and not going the distance but his offense has been bailing him out. He's 8-6 with a 5.55 ERA and is only averaging under 5 2/3 IP. Joe Blanton has really gotten into form now. He's averaging 6 innings of work which is solid for a number 3/4 pitcher. He's also 6-4 with a 4.44 ERA.

The MVP of this corps is easily JA Happ. Happ has been incredible since his promotion to the rotations back on May 23 versus the Yankees. He's 6-0 with a 2.90 ERA and has lasted about seven innings a start.

Other starters to fill in include Antonio Bastardo, who was pretty solid until his injury, Rodrigo Lopez, who dominated the Reds most recently, and Andrew Carpenter who was solid in his appearance.

Grade: C+

Bull Pen: Not much I can say here as this unit has been pretty bad. The lone bright spot is Chan Ho Park in his role, who is going multiple innings and pitched well when Moyer and Hamels fail to get past six. He obviously has embraced his new role after his demotion from starter in place of Happ.

Brad Lidge (0-4) has been such a complete mystery, blowing six saves and battling a knee injury. His ERA is a 7.03. Ryan Madson has also been terrible as he blew a few saves in place of Lidge and is 3-4 with a 3.02 ERA that has re-settled with the return of Lidge.

Other notable players have been Scott Eyre (1-1; 2.16), Clay Condrey (4-2; 3.71), and Chad Durbin (1-2; 4.47). Eyre has been the best reliever of the bunch despite missing about 25 games and only making a pair of appearances in July. He seems to be back to form and could really help the pen in the second half. Durbin has been flat out awful recently and probably needs a wake up call.

Grade: C-

This has been a wacky first half but that has always been that way in the past. The Phillies will heat up coming out of the break and into August until they coast a bit. The late September push will also follow as the Phillies can very well easily win 95 games and take the NL East. The Marlins and Braves are not a deep teams, the Mets are a complete joke, and the Nationals just flat out suck.

Offensive MVP: Chase Utley
Pitching MVP: JA Happ

Phillies overall grade: B

Thursday, July 9, 2009

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)

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Manuel's Odd Lineup

Charlie Manuel did a little bit of a line up shake up but not the one I was hoping for. As I stated in my other post, I wanted to see Jimmy Rollins drop down to sixth. After Todd Zolecki posted today's line up versus Tampa Bay, I was left a bit confused. Here are his Tweets within the past hour:

Tonight's lineup in TB: Rollins SS, Victorino CF, Utley 2B, Howard 1B, Werth RF, Feliz 3B, Mayberry LF, Coste DH, Ruiz C.

Howard will DH. Coste will play 1B. Manuel changed his mind.

I like the nine hitters we put in but I still don't want Rollins, who is sporting a .261 OBP, to get things started. I am officially starting the "Lead Off Shane Campaign." I also think Manuel's choice of putting Chris Coste at first was interesting but smart. David Price is pitching tonight and as a lefty that throws some serious heat, Greg Dobbs would be more ineffective than Jamie Moyer. Coste can play the corners and catcher. Having Paul Bako also allows the Phils to use both Coste and Carlos Ruiz in the line up.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Phils Swept; Go 1-8 on Home Stand

On th 45th anniversary of Jim Bunning's perfect game, you would expect a special game from Cole Hamels. Well he did indeed deliver, going eight innings, striking out 10 and surrendering two runs on seven hits. Surely one of the best offenses can give Hamels the support. Wrong. After Greg Dobbs solo home run in the second, the Phillies offense could only manage two hits as they lost 2-1 to the Baltimore Orioles, capping another sweep and a 1-8 home stand.

Hamels was just fantastic despite giving up the two runs. His change up was deadly and his fastball was hitting all the spots. Just shows how good a pitcher does when the game is being caught by Carlos Ruiz. He also showed more promise at the plate than most of the Phillies offense as he almost doubled down the line during one at bat and almost hustled out a grounder in another.

I don't like to play the "if card" but seriously, if the umpire made the right call in the eighth when Jimmy Rollins was "tagged," Shane Victorino's double would have driven him in. Rollins hit a slow grounder to first basemen Ty Wigginton who then flipped the ball to the pitcher who clearly missed the tag. The umpire called Rollins out, forcing Charlie Manuel to argue the call and get ejected. Victorino doubles and then Chase Utley grounded out to waste the opportunity.

Unfortunately for Jimmy, that does not excuse him for the ripping he's about to get. He sucks, plain and simple. Ever since his MVP year, he has tried to be better than the player he truly is. He's a great fielder and a 6-8 spot hitter and nothing more. A lead off hitter should not have a .260 OBP. Once Raul Ibanez is back, Victorino should be the lead off guy with Utley and Jayson Werth flopping in the two-spot depending on the opposing pitcher. Rollins should sit in the six or seven spot, swapping with Pedro Feliz now and then. I understand he's trying to draw more walks but he's hitting fly balls and not getting on base.

Friday: The pitching got knocked around en route to a 7-2 butt kicking to the lowly Orioles.

Saturday: It was a very exciting game. Down 3-0, the Phillies got two runs in and had two men on. The sick Ryan Howard pinch hit, and drove a ball deep into the bull pen to give the Phillies a 5-3 lead. In the top of the ninth, Ryan Madson surrendered a solo home run, allowed a base runner, and then Brian Roberts took his two-out, 1-2 fast ball deep to right to give the Orioles the 6-5 lead. They held on and won.

Series MVP's:
Shane Victorino (PHI): 5-9; 2 runs; 3 doubles; stolen base
Brian Roberts (BAL): 5-13; 3 runs; double; game winning HR; 5 RBI's; SB

Nex Series: Philadelphia Phillies (36-31; 23-9 on the road) at Tampa Bay Rays (37-34; 21-12 at home)

This is the World Series rematch MLB has been waiting for except for both teams aren't as hot as they were when they last met in the fall classic. For the Phillies, this will be the first real rematch versus Pat Burrell. We also will have to listen to those damn cowbells all series.

This is a huge series for the Phillies, who are currently on a six game losing streak. The Rays took two of three from the Mets, helping the Phillies. The Phillies are 3-9 versus the AL while the Rays 8-4 versus the NL.

I expect to see some shaking up of the line up during this series. I don't know if Manuel will stick with Rollins at lead off but I certainly wouldn't. If I could chose the line up, it would look like this:

Victorino CF/Utley 2B/Feliz 3B/Howard 1B/Werth LF/Rollins SS/Stairs DH/Ruiz C/Dobbs RF

Rollins will not be swinging out of his slump so I want to drop him to six. As for my 3-4-5 pitch, Feliz has done a great job at getting on base. Howard could use the RBI opportunities with Victorino, Utley, and Feliz in front of him while Werth can protect Howard. This line up will also force the Rays to dig into their bull pen in late innings.

Probables:
6/23: Moyer (4-6, 6.35 ERA); Price (1-1, 3.46 ERA)
6/24: Blanton (4-3, 5.28 ERA); Garza (4-5, 3.83 ERA)
6/25: Bastardo (2-2, 5.21 ERA): Sonnanstine (5-7, 6.60 ERA)

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Howard Hospitalized; Line Up Skake Up

Andy Martino of the Philly Inquirer reported that Ryan Howard was hospitalized today with flu-like symptoms. Charlie Manuel had a fever clocking in at 104 degrees. The line up will also see a bit of shaking up as the birthday boy Paul Bako will start at catcher, Matt Stairs in left field, and Greg Dobbs will replace Howard at first base. Howard is at the field but it isn't know whether or not he can or will pinch hit tonight.

Line up:
Rollins SS
Victorino CF
Utley 2b
Stairs LF
Werth RF
Dobbs 1b
Feliz 3b
Bako C
Happ LHP

Saturday, June 13, 2009

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.

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Summary: April

As usual, the Phillies got off to a slow start in April but finished winning 5 of 6, including a sweep of the Marlins in Florida. On a positive note, they are going into May with a record of 11-9 and are only 1.5 games out of first to the Marlins. In this post, I will go into detail of the positives and negatives of the first month in baseball.


POSITIVES
-Utley's hip: He's fine everyone! He has been absolutely electric in his first month of play. Utley only played about 10 games of spring ball, a major concern for his effectiveness early in the season. Well worry no more. Utley is batting .342 with 7 homers and 20 RBI's, making him an early MVP candidate. Will he keep this up? Well barring a phantom hip injury like last year, he should keep up this pace and be in the MVP talks throughout the season.

-Pat who?: Just kidding, we still miss you Pat but all kidding aside, Raul Ibanez is no joke. If there were any doubts that the older and slower Ibanez would fill the hole left by Burrell, they are all gone now. He has been clutch all month, including his go ahead grand slam Friday night versus Washington in Philadelphia's 13-11 win. His numbers going into May: .379, 7 homers, 17 RBI's.
*side note: Burrell is currently batting .254 with 1 home run and 8 RBI's.

-Mad-dog: Ryan Madson has started out the season pitching really well. He even put some velocity on his fast ball as it has topped out at 97 a few times. He isn't doing anything spectacular but he is reliable and is filling the void left with Brad Lidge's injury.

-Ryno: Ryan Howard is batting much better to start the season than he has in the past. he's sitting at .288 with 4 homers and 15 RBI's. He usually heats up in May and is on fire in June-on. A good start will only mean a ridiculous ending.

-Matt Stairs: He's batting .308 with 2 pinch hit home runs in 13 AB's. He may very well be the Greg Dobbs of this year.

NEGATIVES
-Injury bug: Brad Lidge, Carlos Ruiz, and Cole Hamels have been battling injuries to start off the year. They aren't anything long term but it's frustrating.

-Cold Hamels: No it isn't a typo. Only Alex Rodriguez is unluckier than him right now. He's been hit by batted balls, sprained his ankle, and has pitched the exact opposite of his World Series MVP performance. Look at the bright side, he could have been embarrassed in a book, uncovered in steroid talks, and had embarrassing pictures of him leaked to the public. Way to go A-Rod.

-Home run champions: I'm talking about the starting pitching. They have given up at least one home run in 19 out of 20 games to start the season. Brett Myers is the champion here with 8 home runs in 5 starts (31.2 innings). The team? 40 homers in 20 games. Wow.

-Distractions: Ring ceremonies, rain outs, injuries, and the loss of the greatest broadcaster in Philadelphia history, Harry Kalas. Keep your heads up boys. The season will only get better.

OTHER STUFF
-Series won/lost/split: 3/3/1
-Sweeps: Marlins April 25-27
-Best offensive game: Ibanez 4/27 - 3-5, double, grand slam, 4 RBI's, 2 runs
-Best pitching start: Jamie Moyer 4/26 - 6 innings, 7 hits, 1 run, 6 k's, 
-Three stars: Utley, Ibanez, Madson