Phillies Ready For Playoffs?

This past series was filled with frustration and relief. The Phillies managed to earn two wins versus the Houston Astros, who took the season series 6-2, and see Atlanta lose to Florida to lock up the NL East for the third straight year. The Phillies host Florida for three and get set for October baseball on Wednesday.

The hitting and pitching were again not in sync and the bull pen showed flashes of the brilliance it had last October but then showed the mediocrity and defeated look it had almost all year.

Injuries have killed this unit and it can hurt them in the playoffs. JC Romero's season is likely done and Jamie Moyer's is already finished. Chan Ho Park, who is rehabbing, just had another set back which could be season threatening as well. From Todd Zolecki's article:

Park left Thursday's instructional league game in Clearwater, Fla., after facing five hitters. Park had been instructed to notify the team's athletic trainers if he felt anything in his strained right hamstring and he did.

The Phillies announced after Thursday's 5-3 loss to the Astros that Romero still has symptoms in his strained left forearm. He will seek a second opinion from Dr. David Altchek in New York.

Charlie Manuel said he is leaning on bringing 12 pitchers to the first round of the playoffs with him. That means likely four starters and eight relievers. The relievers should include Clay Condrey, Brett Myers, Scott Eyre, Brad Lidge, Ryan Madson, Pedro Martinez/JA Happ, and one more if Romero and/or Park are finished. Chad Durbin and Tyler Walker will stand on in case they are needed.

12 pitchers means 13 hitters: Carlos Ruiz, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Pedro Feliz, Jimmy Rollins, Raul Ibanez, Shane Victorino, Jayson Werth and the bench featuring Ben Francisco, Matt Stairs, Greg Dobbs, Paul Bako, and Eric Bruntlett.

Next Series: Florida Marlins (85-74; 42-36 on road) @ Philadelphia Phillies (92-67; 44-34 at home)

Pitching Probables:

Friday: FLA: VandenHurk (2-2, 4.44), PHI: Blanton (12-7, 3.95)

Saturday: FLA: Sanchez, A (3-8, 4.10), PHI: Hamels (10-10, 4.25)

Sunday: TBA

The probables are likely going to change because the Phillies might not want Cole Hamels pitching Saturday. The Marlins are playing for pride and the Phillies are only one game behind the Dodgers for the top seed and are on the verge of locking up at least the second seed.

Phillies Clinch 3rd Straight Division

I decided to take a break from typing my paper due tomorrow. With the Phillies win over the Houston Astros, they clinched their third straight division title. This is the most consecutive division titles since the teams managed by the late Danny Ozark in 1976-78.

The Phillies offense exploded for 10 runs and Pedro Martinez, Kyle Kendrick, Chad Durbin, Scott Eyre, and Brad Lidge combined for the winning effort at pitcher. In the top of the 9th, Eyre retired the first two batters and then in a very classy and symbolic move by Charlie Manuel, Lidge was brought in and retired Lance Berkman to lock up the division.

Raul Ibanez hit his 34th home run of the season and Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, and Pedro Feliz had a pair of hits each.

The Phillies magic number to clinch at least second place is at three versus the Cardinals and currently sit two game behind the Dodgers, who are playing now, for the top seed in the NL.

It was a night Harry Kalas would again been proud of. I bet he smiled down on Citizen's Bank Park tonight as the crowd sang "High Hopes," Chase Utley and Jayson Werth smoked cigars, and the team paid tribute to the "HK" banner in left field.

Let's win it for Harry and the City of Brotherly Love!


*I will post some video and pictures collected from the media and Youtube from the clinching game some time tomorrow or Friday.

Phils Earn Split; Eliminate Fish

It was another rough series for the Phillies. It showed that they still have problems in the bull pen with Tyler Walker surrendering a walk off homer and Ryan Madson almost blowing a save today. The Phillies are still trying to find a reliable arm to finish off games.

One big problem has been pitching all together. The offense is providing enough pop for them to win (averaged six runs a game during the series) but the starting and relief pitching has given up the leads provided by the offense.

Thursday - Philles won 9-4: The Phillies offense exploded for six runs in the 5th inning, backing up JA Happ who went 5.2 innings and allowed two runs on two walks, six hits, and seven strike outs. Jimmy Rollins hit a three run homer and Ryan Howard and Pedro Feliz drove in a pair each.

Friday - Brewers won 8-4: Cliff Lee is starting to scare me. He's starting to look like the Cliff Lee in the beginning of the season. He got roughed up again, this time by Milwaukee. Howard was the only bright spot for the Phillies, driving in three runs.

Saturday - Brewers won 7-5: Kyle Kendrick and Jamie Moyer combined for eight innings and five runs. In the bottom of the ninth, Tyler Walker coughed up a two-run walk off homer to Ryan Braun. Howard and Paul Bako both homered for the Phils.

Sunday - Phillies won 6-5: Joe Blanton looked so good until the 6th where he surrendered four runs. He still earned the victory because the bull pen bailed him out (surprisingly). Ryan Madson earned his ninth save of the season in a nail biter.

Series MVP's:

Ryan Howard: 8-18, 3 runs, 2 doubles, HR, 7 RBI's

Jimmy Rollins: 6-19, 5 runs, double, 2 HR, 4 RBI's

Ryan Braun: 7-19, 3 runs, walk-off HR, 4 RBI's

Next Series: Houston Astros (72-83, 28-46 on road) @ Philadelphia Phillies (90-65, 42-32 at home)

Pitching Probables:

Monday: HOU: Bazardo (0-2, 9.55), PHI: Hamels (10-9, 4.11)
Tuesday: HOU: Lopez, W (0-0, 8.44), PHI: Happ (11-4, 2.79)

Wednesday: HOU: Moehler (8-11, 5.21), PHI: Lee, Cl (14-12, 3.19)

Thursday: HOU: Paulino, F (2-11, 6.51), PHI: Martinez, P (5-1, 3.32)

The Astros lead the series 4-0, surprisingly. We all remember that awful sweep that could have easily sealed the fate on the Phillies season but it didn't. Now it's the Phillies turn to earn some retribution and finish off the Braves. The Phillies magic number is now at three (the Braves are the only team left).

The Phillies are entering their final home stand with four versus Houston and then three versus Florida. They can clinch the division at home, a fitting end to the season. This will be the third straight year the Phillies won the division (the only other time it was done was from 1976-78).

The Phillies will win (I hope) and they will be crowned division champions in fron of the home crowd on Wednesday.

Ass-tro Kicking

This was one of the saddest displays I have ever seen by the Phillies, not including 1997-2002 only because expectations weren't that high. The Phillies are the road warriors! They killed teams on the road. The Astros are pitiful and can't win a stretch of games. So how does one of the best teams in baseball get swept by one of the worst?

The Phillies still can't do a thing with runners in scoring position and the bull pen doesn't know how to hold leads, especially blown save specialist Brad Lidge. I already wrote my rant on Brad Lidge so I don't feel like beating a dead horse.

The only bright spots in this series have been starting pitchers, Ryan Howard, and Brett Myers. The things to worry about include Cliff Lee's second bad start, RISP problems, and Brad Lidge.

Friday - Astros won 7-0: This was such a pathetic display. Lee got shelled for the second straight game and the offense just went blank. Carlos Ruiz managed to get three hits in the game.

Saturday - Astros won 5-4: Ryan Howard continues to play hard for this team as we had a triple and an RBI. Joe Blanton pitched well enough for the win but Brad Lidge thought that game would be a good time to blow his 10th save. With the bases loaded, Kaz Matsui hit a two run single in the bottom of the ninth to win.

Sunday - Astros won 4-3: Oh Cole Hamels, you were pitching so well until the 5th inning. Hamels got whacked around in the 5th and the Phillies couldn't recover. They got runs on three solo homers by Jimmy Rollins, Ben Francisco, and Jayson Werth.

Monday - Astros won 4-3: Another lead given up by the bull pen as Chan Ho Park was the next culprit. JA Happ was scratched with an oblique strain so Jamie Moyer got the start. Moyer pitched well in his first start in about a month but Park lost the lead in the 7th. Howard and Raul Ibanez went back-to-back in the fourth to originally give the Phillies the 3-2 lead.

Series MVP's: despite the sweep, only two Phillies deserved recognition for their good play.

Ryan Howard - 5-15, 2 R, triple, homer, 3 RBI

Jamie Moyer - 2 appearances, one start, 9 IP, 4 H, 3 R/ER, 2 BB, 6 K

Next Series: Philadelphia Phillies (77-58, 41-27 on road) @ Washington Nationals (47-90, 28-41 at home)

Pitching Probables:

Tuesday - PHI: Martinez, P (3-0, 3.52), WSH: Lannan (8-10, 4.09)

Wednesday - PHI: Lee, Cl (12-11, 3.06), WSH: Mock (3-7, 5.63)

Thursday - PHI: Blanton (9-6, 3.80), WSH: Hernandez (7-10, 5.44)

Phillies lead the series 10-2. The Nationals are the worst team in baseball and anything similar to what happened in Houston would be absolutely pathetic. There really is no key game to this series as they are all key. The Phillies need to get out of this four-game skid, especially versus the lowly Nats.

Washington has actually had a higher team batting average than the Phillies, sitting in 6th place in the NL while the Phillies are 11th. As far as runs scored, the Phillies terrible display of offense has dropped them well behind Colorado in the NL as the Nats sit in 8th.

The Phillies are the better team but with their recent skid of losing five of their last six and only scoring 23 runs in their last 11 games. I hope they sweep the Nationals to get them out of this offensive funk. We shall see.

Happ Scratched, Moyer Starting

Todd Zolecki via Twitter:

LHP J.A. Happ has been scratched from today's start with a mild strain of his right oblique. Jamie Moyer gets the nod.

This is wonderful news. I guess being swept by Houston is the only thing the Phillies fans can count on.

Moyer has looked impressive though in his three relief stints. He's tossed 13.1 innings and allowed only two runs, striking out 12.

Bad Lidge

Brad Lidge has been awful and we all know this. I've called about a month ago that Lidge should be replaced by not only a healthy Brett Myers but in the middle to late September, a few weeks after Myers was scheduled to return.

Well with no set backs in his rehab where Myers actually impressed and looked sharp, he returned with the Phillies, joining them in Houston on Friday. He pitched his first inning in relief since 2007 on Saturday and made his first appearance since May.

Myers walked his first batter, got the next to fly out, got help from Carlos Ruiz as he threw out a base stealer, and then got another fly out. His fastball hit 94 MPH and his breaking ball was starting to find it's place. He earned a hold as Lidge came in the ninth to blow the game and lose.

After a few more appearances, Myers should be fully capable to take Lidge's spot as closer if he blows a couple more saves or struggles in relief. This will both help the Phillies win games, send a message to Lidge to straighten up, and also give Myers the opportunity to petition to be re-signed in the offseason.

I am in no way hoping Lidge to struggle so Myers gets a chance. I just Myers to be given a chance with the big lead they still have so they aren't screwing up what they have in a tight race. I say give Lidge another week or a few appearances and go from there. He's on a very short leash in my eyes and needs to either figure himself out or let someone else help this team. Jamie Moyer swallowed his pride so Lidge should too.

Pitchers Dominate Series

The bats of the Phillies came alive at very precise moments to provide a very low-scoring series win. In fact, the Phillies won the series 2-1 despite being outscored 5-3 by the Giants. It was a quick series too as the games lasted 2:20, 2:36, and 2:08 respectively.

Tuesday - Phillies won 1-0: The Phillies got all the offense it needed from Ryan Howard's RBI double in the 4th as Cole Hamels pitched a complete game shut out. In nine innings, Hamels struck out nine, allowing only two hits and a walk.

Wednesday - Giants won 4-0: JA Happ got whacked around a bit and the Phillies offense made Brad Penny look like an ace. Happ gave up all four runs on eight hits and a walk, striking out seven in six innings. Penny threw eight shut out innings, surrendering five hits and a walk.

Thursday - Phillies won 2-1: Pedro Martinez looked ten years younger as he threw seven innings of one-run ball after giving up a first pitch homer to start the game. He struck out nine batters and only threw 87 pitches. He got support from Jayson Werth's monster blast in the second and then from Howard's RBI double in the sixth.

Series MVP's:

Cole Hamels: CG, 0 R/ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 9 K

Ryan Howard: 4-11, 3 doubles, 2 RBI's, 2 GW hits

Pedro Martinez: 7 IP, 1 R/ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 9 K

Next Series: Philadelphia Phillies (77-54, 41-23 on road) @ Houston Astros (63-70, 35-30 at home)

Pitching Probables:

Friday: PHI: Lee, Cl (12-10, 2.83), HOU: Rodriguez, W (12-9, 2.93)

Saturday: PHI: Blanton (9-6, 3.77), HOU: Oswalt (8-5, 3.80)

Sunday: PHI: Hamels (8-8, 4.26), HOU: Norris (3-3, 6.61)

Monday: PHI: Happ (10-4, 2.77), HOU: Moehler (8-10, 5.11)

Key Game:

The Phillies need to establish their dominance in this series early. Friday's game is key because it is Cliff Lee's first start since getting burned against the Braves. He will look to feast on a weak Astros offense.

This is the first match ups between the two teams. It will be a four-game series which is actually good for the Phillies since they are road warriors. The Astros are pretty much out of this season so the Phillies can easily kick this team while they are down.

The Astros are a poor team all around. Offensively they are 5th in average and 12th in scoring in the NL while the Phillies are 11th and 2nd. The drop from 1st to 2nd is due to the Phillies lack of scoring their past 7 games. Pitching has really stepped up for the Phillies as they are 7th in ERA while Houston is 12th.

This should be a series win for the Phillies as they see their magic number drop fast. They have their four best pitchers going versus Houston as they get set for a good September heading into the playoffs. Phillies take three and score big in atleast two games.

Myers Is Back!

Great news brought to us by Todd Zolecki via Twitter:

Brett Myers will be activated tomorrow in Houston. Expected to start pitching in the 6th and 7th innings.

This is great for the Phillies bull pen who get a huge boost from a good pitcher. Myers has pitched in relief in 2007 while going 5-5 with a 2.87 ERA and saving 21/24 games.

In six appearances and eight innings of minor league work, Myers has a 1.12 ERA and 14 strike outs, allowing a run on four hits and two walks.

Pending on how well Myers pitches well and if Brad Lidge continues to belly flop will determine who the play off closer will be. Whoever it is, he sure as hell better not blow a game.

It's All in the Cards

The red birds were left feeling blue after their little visit to Philly. After being swept by the Astros, the Cardinals came into this big series a little hungry. They even gained a big bat in Matt Holliday in a trade prior to the series. They also took command of game one, beating up JA Happ en route to an 8-1 victory. But that was it. The Cardinals awoke the angry beast known as the Phillies' offense and they completely dominated the Cards to win the next two games.

Friday - Cardinals won 8-1: The Cardinals finally solved the young phenom, JA Happ. He was pitching well until the sixth inning, where he saw his last action, giving up five runs in six innings pitched. Holliday made his presence known with a four-hit night.

Saturday - Phillies won 14-6: When Jimmy Rollins hits, everyone hits. J-Roll went 2-5 with a grand slam and Shane Victorino had a four-hit night as Rodrigo Lopez pitched a solid outing to give the Phillies the boost they needed to right the ship that sunk the previous night.

Sunday - Phillies won 9-2: The Phillies powered their way to a big win with four homers coming from Rollins, Victorino, Ryan Howard, and Raul Ibanez. Joe Blanton pitched a brilliant gem, going eight strong innings and allowing two runs on seven hits and a walk.

Series MVP's:

Shane Victorino: 8-13, 5 runs, double, homer, 3 RBI's

Joe Blanton: 8 IP, 7 H, BB, 2 ER, 6 K

Ryan Howard: 6-12, 2 runs, 2 doubles, homer, 5 RBI's

Next Series: Philadelphia Phillies (56-40, 29-15 on road) @ Arizona Diamondbacks (43-56, 23-31 at home)

This should be a cake series as the Diamondbacks pretty much stink. This is the first meeting of the season for the two teams. Much like San Diego, the D'Backs have only one real bright spot in Josh Upton, who's batting .296 with 18 homers. Mark Reynolds leads the team in homers with 26.

The Phillies are the best team on the road. The D'Backs are 14th in batting in the NL while the Phillies are 5th. As far as scoring, the Phillies own the top spot with Arizona at 6. Phillies are easily the better team. They should and will sweep.

Pitching Probables:

7/27: PHI: Moyer (9-7, 5.65), ARI: Garland (5-9, 4.41)

7/28: PHI: Hamels (6-5, 4.66), ARI: Haren (10-5, 2.14)

7/29: PHI: Happ (7-1, 2.97, ARI: Petit (0-5, 7.68)

Ibanez Back; Coste to 'Stros; Werth an All Star

Well with the return of Raul Ibanez, Chris Coste got DFA'ed and picked up by the Houston Astros via Todd Zolecki's twitter:

Chris Coste claimed off waivers by Houston to make room for Ibanez.

In All Star news, Jayson Werth replaced Carlos Beltran in the NL outfield. The Phillies became the 13th team to field all three outfielders in the same All Star game. The last time it was done was the 1995 Indians who fielded Kenny Lofton, Manny Ramirez, and Albert Belle.

Werth has a .268 average with 20 homers, 54 RBI's, 59 runs scored and 12 stolen bases. It is Werth's first trip.

FIM #3: 1980 World Champions

It only took 95 years for it to happen. Hell even Cubs fans wish it would have only taken 95 years but they're still working on 100 right now. It took three Hall of Famers and a great supporting cast of great players to finally get the Phillies over the top. Before then, they had only reached the World Series two times: losing in 1915 and 1950. The year was 1980 and it will be the year that Phillies fans would never forget.

The Phillies won their division. They finished the year 91-71, just a game ahead of Montreal. The would play and beat the Houston Astros in the NLCS and then take out the Kansas City Royals in 6 games to win the World Series.

This team was perfect in the eyes of the fans. They had an experienced skipper in Dallas Green to go along with their veteran-filled team. They were led by MVP Mike Schmidt (.286, 48 homers, and 121 RBI's) and Cy Young winner Steve Carlton (24-9, 2.34 ERA, 286 strike outs). Pete Rose led the team with 185 hits and 42 doubles as well. They also got plenty of stolen bases from Gary Maddox in centerfield. Carlton was supported by Dick Ruthven's 17-10 record and 3.55 ERA. In the pen, Tug McGraw tallied 20 saves and held a 1.46 ERA in 92.1 innings of work.

Other key offensive members included Manny Trillo, who batted .292, Bake McBride with his .309 average and 87 RBI's, and Greg Luzinski's 19 home runs. Larry Bowa, Maddox, and Bob Boone were all big contributers defensivley.

In game one of the World Series, the Phillieswere down 4-0 going into the bottom of the third. They got a lot of support from McBride's 3-run homer that set up the 5-run innings that put the Phillies ahead for good. The added on a run in the 4th and 5th to make it 7-4 and then surrendered two in the 9th but held on to win game 1.

In game two, the Phillies were down 4-2 going into the 8th inning where timely hitting scored them four runs to permanently go ahead 6-4 and win.

Game three was won in extra innings by the Royals 4-3, halting the Phillies come-from-behind magic temperarily. The Phillies tied it up on Schmidt's solo shot in the 8th but the Royals scored on an RBI single in the 10th to win game three.

Game four didn't look good for the Phillies as they trailed all day. The Royals scored four runs in the 1st and added a run in the second to own a 5-1 lead on the Phillies. The Phillies would add 2 runs in the game but lose 5-3.

Game five was scoreless until when in the 4th, Schmidt jacked a 2-run shot. The Royals would then add a run in the 5th and two in the 6th to go up 4-3. In the top of the 9th, the Phillies magic woke back up as Schmidt led off with a single and Del Unser drove him home on a double to tie it up. Trillo then stepped in and drove in Unser for the go ahead and potential game winner as the Phillies took game five by a score of 4-3.

Game six was the first game the Phillies never trailed. The got two runs from a single by Schmidt in the 3rd and tacked on 2 more runs later in the game. Carlton pitched until McGraw came in to close it out. With the bases loaded and Willie Wilson at the plate, I hand it over to the late Harry Kalas:

65,000 plus on their feet here at Veterans Stadium. The Tugger needs one
more...Swing and a miss! Yes, he struck him out! Yes, they did it! The Phillies
are world champions! World champions of baseball! It's pandemonium at Veterans
Stadium! All of the fans are on their feet. This city has come together behind a
baseball team!...Phillies are world champions! This city knows it! This city
loves it!

Schmidt won the series MVP and McGraw won the Babe Ruth Award (best performance).