PRC: Sergio Escalona

Player: Sergio Escalona
Number: 53
Position: RP
Bats/Throws: L/L

Consistency: Escalona only saw action in 14 games. He was mainly used as a fill-in when players like Scott Eyre and Brad Lidge went down with injuries. He also replaced Kyle Kendrick when he proved to be useless in the beginning of the season. In his short stints up, he was hit or miss. He would either pitch shutout ball or give up 2-3 runs an outing.

He did not make the post season roster but was a part of the late-season 40-man roster and got work.

Regular Season Stats: 1-0, 13.2 IP, 12 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 0 HR, 5 BB, 10 K, 4.61 ERA, 1.29 WHIP

Post Season Stats: none

Health: Rather than being on the DL, he replaced those who were bit by the injury bug. No injuries.

Intangibles: He was solid as a replacement for the Phillies. He’s young (only 25) and got plenty of valuable experience in relief. Though he will likely never start in a Phillies uniform, he may see some more brief action during the season as a reliever. He will be sitting behind Antonio Bastardo on the list of lefty relievers.

Overall Grade: C. He was okay. He didn’t pitch a lot and didn’t show anything worth getting excited about. He filled in on numerous occasions and did his job.

Pitching Probables; Myers, Kendrick Off Roster

Unlike in the NLDS, we are pretty sure who the Phillies and Dodgers will throw at each other for the NLCS. Cole Hamels and Clayton Kershaw were already definates for game 1 and the Phillies are leaning for Pedro Martinez in game 2. Cliff Lee was guaranteed game 3 so he could have five days of rest. Here are the probables for games 1-4:

Thursday: Cole Hamels vs. Clayton Kershaw
Friday: Pedro Martinez vs. Vicente Padilla
Sunday: Cliff Lee vs. Hiroki Kuroda
Monday: Joe Blanton/JA Happ vs. Randy Wolf

With the match ups like this, it could set up Lee for game 7.

In other news, Kyle Kendrick and Brett Myers were left off of the roster. Eric Bruntlett and Chan Ho Park were added. Here is Todd Zolecki's tweet:

Pedro will start Game 2. Myers, Kendrick off NLCS roster. Park, Bruntlett are on. Myers is not happy about being left off, either.

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.

Sore Neck Scratches Pedro

Pedro Martinez will not pitch tonight due to more stiffness in his neck. Kyle Kendrick (2-1, 2.70 ERA) will pitch in his place versus the Brewers.

Martinez pulled a muscle in his neck while swinging at a pitch in his last start versus the Braves. He threw Friday off flat ground, but felt he couldn't pitch today. He did say he would go if he had to but the Phillies aren't pressured by the Marlins and Braves so they opted to scratch him.

BlueClaws Win SAL

Your Lakewood BlueClaws are the 2009 South Atlantic League champions. This is their second championship in four years as they beat the Greenville Drive (Red Sox). Korey Noles was the winning pitcher in the clinching game as he went seven strong innings to bring the John H. Moss Cup back to Lakewood, NJ.

Lakewood held Kannapolis Intimidators (White Sox), which owned the league's best overall regular-season record, to two runs in a two-game sweep of the Northern Division finals, then limited Greenville to six runs over four games in the Championship Series.

The Single A team is led by one of the Phillies' other top OF prospects, Anthony Gose. He is their lead off man and spark for offense. In the first inning, he led off the game with a single, took second on a sacrifice, stole third, and then scored on a ground out. That sounds a lot like Jimmy Rollins.

There are quite a bit of notable Phillies who are alumni to this team. They include Cole Hamels, JA Happ, Ryan Howard, Kyle Kendrick, Carlos Ruiz, and Shane Victorino.

Phils Take Three In Final Mets Series

This was the last series the Phillies would play versus the Mets and they made the most of it, winning three of four. Ryan Madson blew Saturday's game to prevent the sweep. Overall, the Phillies taking three from a poor team allowed them to keep pace in the NL East as the Marlins and Braves have not given up their fight. The magic number sits at 14.

Friday - Phillies won 4-2: Cole Hamels continued his dominant run as he went 6.2 innings, allowing a run on seven hits and a walk, striking out six. Shane Victorino had three doubles.

Saturday - Mets won 10-9: The Mets jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead but the Phillies scored big, being up 9-5 up to the eighth inning. Brett Myers surrendered three runs in that inning and then Madson gave up a two-out single and then a two-run homer to David Wright to blow the lead and eventually the game.

Sunday #1 - Phillies won 5-4: Ben Francisco and Victorino had home runs each and Kyle Kendrick pitched excellent in his first start since last year, going 7.1 innings and allowing two runs on seven hits and a walk, striking out three. Brad Lidge came in with a three run lead and allowed two, barely getting his 29th save.

Sunday #2 - Phillies won 1-0: Pedro Martinez pitched his finest outing as a Phillie, going eight innings for the first time in about three years. He allowed no runs, six hits, two walks, and struck out seven. The Phillies got the only run in the first when Jimmy Rollins scored off a Chase Utley single. Madson got the save.

Series MVP's:

Shane Victorino: 6-15, 2 runs, 3 doubles, HR, 2 RBI

Chase Utley: 5-13, 3 runs, 2 doubles, HR, 3 RBI

Pedro Martinez: 8 IP, 0 ER/R, 6 H, 2 BB, 7 K

Next Series: Washington Nationals (50-93, 21-50 on road) @ Philadelphia Phillies (82-60, 39-32 at home)

Pitching Probables:

Tuesday: WSH: Mock (3-7, 5.75), PHI: Lee, Cl (13-11, 3.13)

Wednesday: WSH: Hernandez, L (8-10, 5.30), PHI: Blanton (9-7, 4.11)
Thursday: WSH: Martin, J (4-4, 4.29), PHI: Hamels (9-9, 4.21)

Phillies lead the series 12-3 and this is the final match up between the two teams. The Nationals are the worst team in baseball and the Phillies have to use this series to pull away further in the division. There really is no key game to this series. Just beat the Nationals is all they need to focus on.

Washington has actually had a higher team batting average than the Phillies, sitting in 4th place in the NL while the Phillies are 10th. In the runs scored department, the Phillies have climbed to being only two runs shy of retaking their NL lead and the Nats are 7th. The Phillies pitching has been much better, resting at 7th in ERA while the Nats are last in the NL in ERA .

This should be a sweep and it will be a sweep. This is the time where the Phillies should not be worrying about their closer problems and just put teams away.

Pitching Moves

Clay Condrey was put back on the 15-day DL and Andrew Carpenter was dropped back to AAA. In there places comes Steve Register (who pitched last night) and, sit down before reading this,.... Kyle Kendrick.

This should really inspire our rotation to pitch well enough to go seven innings every start.

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.

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.

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.