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.

No Updates Today

Another Saturday where I'll be gone all day and what else is new... it's raining here in Atlantic City (or the entire east coast so the Phillies game has a shot at being in danger). I'll be working from 12-5 then hitting up the Jimmy Buffett concert in Camden (at least my seats are in the covered area).

So the Phillies are currently on a four game losing streak and with a Mets win, are now only two games up. This is f*cking sad. 3-7 versus the AL and 13-20 at home. At HOME! How is a first place team seven games under .500 at home? Luckily they are 23-9 on the road. I mean the Phillies are pretty healthy compared to the Mets, who are putting up a AAA baseball team at the moment, but are barely holding them off.

The Phils just got swept by the Blue Jays and got dominated 7-2 last night versus Baltimore. Granted he gave up four runs, Antonio Bastardo's seven-inning effort was the lone bright spot. Bastardo only gave up five hits and struck out five. Jack Taschner pitched the last two innings and gave up three runs to end any chance at a comeback for the Phillies. At least the cream of the bull pen was preserved.

The Phillies should hold a promotion at home: "Boo the Phillies Night." If we can convince the Phillies they're playing on the road, maybe they'll play better. This incompetence at home is really bugging me and the rest of the fans out there. If this doesn't right itself, the Mets will only get healthier and we'll be seeing a Philadelphia wild card race.

If the weather holds, the Phillies will play tonight at 7:05 ET.

Phillies Visit Obama

The Phillies made their visit to the White House today before their game against the Nationals. They were scheduled to meet President Barack Obama last month but after the unfortunate death of Harry Kalas, they had to cancel.

They presented the president with a #44 jersey with the gold trim from Opening Night, signifying him being the 44th president of the United States and a signed ball. Reading Obama's lips, he asked Jimmy Rollins if he could have the World Series ring as well.

Raul Ibanez, Jack Taschner, Chan Ho Park, and Miguel Cairo were not invited because they were not a part of the championship team.

The full speech by President Obama can be read at the bottom of this blog post in the Philadelphia Inquirer

Ronny Paulino traded

The Phillies acquired pitcher Jack Taschner for catcher Ronny Paulino from the San Francisco Giants. Taschner is an experienced lefty and the move was done to bolster the bull pen with lefty arms. I had Paulino making the Phillies 25-man roster so I will replace his name with Chris Coste. I won't add Taschner to the 25 man roster unless he might replace Gary Majewski in the pen.

Read Todd Zolecki's story in the link above.