Off Season News 11/10/09

According to Todd Zolecki via Twitter:

Pedro Feliz, Chan Ho Park, Matt Stairs and Paul Bako officially filed for free agency today.

This is very interesting for the Phillie seeing that they have interest in Park and said they will not give up on Feliz. As for Stairs and Bako, I think Bako would be important in bringing back. The back-up catcher market is pretty thin and Bako proved to be a solid back-up for Carlos Ruiz this past season. In 44 games, Bako hit .224 (26-116) with three homers and nine RBI's.

And in other news, here is the schedule for the National League award announcements:

Gold Glove: 11/12
Silver Slugger: 11/13
NL Rookie of the Year: 11/16
NL Manager of the Year: 11/18
NL Cy Young: 11/19
NL Most Valuable Player: 11/24

More On Eligible Phillies

Our friendly Phillies writer for MLB.com, Todd Zolecki, has tweeted a few more updates on a few more players that are free agents. The Phillies have contacted Chan Ho Park's agent about being re-signed. He was one of their best relievers this year and I fully support this move.

Scott Eyre also verbally commented that he enjoyed the guys on the team so much that he is having surgery and will not retire. If his surgery goes well, he will be back in red pinstripes. And the Phillies are interested in re-signing Matt Stairs to a minor-league contract. That doesn't mean he will be in the minors, just that they aren't going to give him a lot of money to be a left-handed power bat off the bench.

Bats Falter, Series Tied

Runners on first and second for Chase Utley. The swing and a ground ball to Robinson Cano who flips to Derek Jeter and retires Utley to end the inning. The Phillies situational hitting from the regular season returned as they squandered numerous opportunities much like that one as they allow the Yankees to tie the series up, losing 3-1.

Pedro Martinez pitched a quality outing but was not supported at all by the offense, who went 1/5 with runners in scoring position. Martinez lasted 6+, allowing three runs on six hits, two walks, and striking out eight. Two of the runs he allowed were solo homers by Mark Teixeira and Hideki Matsui.

AJ Burnett looked like a stud in his outing, going seven strong innings and allowing a run on four hits and two walks, striking out nine. His only blemish came off of Matt Stairs' RBI single scoring in Raul Ibanez. Mariano Rivera pitched the 8th and 9th to get the save.

Those struggles are something that really has to disappear. In a series where both teams should be hitting, struggles at the plate should not be there. Looking at the third strike is also something bad teams do. The Phillies are not a bad team and should not be staring at pitches that close to the plate.

Stars of the Game:
Game 1: Cliff Lee
Game 2: AJ Burnett

Next Game: Saturday in Philadelphia, 7:57 EST
Series: Tied 1-1
Pitching Probables: Andy Pettitte vs. Cole Hamels
Gameday Discussion: Liberty Bell Sports

Hamels needs to show up this game. The Phillies do not want to be trailing at all to the Yankees this series. They are one of those teams that can get on a roll if the momentum swings their way. Pettitte has been great for the Yankees in the post season.

The Phillies bats need to come back alive. It's as simple as that. There really is nothing else to write. The Yankees are good and the Phillies are good. Pettitte his clutch and Hamels is nothing like his 2008 form. Hopefully the roles get reversed and Hamels is back to being the World Series MVP he once was.

The Phillies Are J-Roll-in'

This team is incredible. They keep you on the edge of your seat for 26 outs while you bite your nails all the way to your elbow. Then with one mighty swing, they win the game and rip the hearts out of their opponent, sending the Phillie Phaithful into a euphoria.

The Phillies overcame a rocky start by Joe Blanton and a good start by Randy Wolf to win game four in dramatic fashion and take a commanding 3-1 series lead. Jimmy Rollins' walk-off two-run double off of Jonathon Broxton tied and won the game. Brad Lidge pitched the 9th and earned the win. It was game four last NLCS when Matt Stairs hit the game winning two-run homer in the top of the 9th off Broxton.

Blanton came out firing, retiring the first ten batters but then hit a snag in the 4th inning. He finished six innings, allowing four runs, three earned on six hits, two walks, and two strike outs. He allowed a solo home run to Matt Kemp in the 5th inning to give the Dodgers the 3-2 lead. They then added another off Blanton in the 6th.

The Phillies quickly got a run back in the bottom of the 6th off of a Shane Victorino triple and a Chase Utley RBI single. The bull pen was rock solid from the 6th inning on, only allowing two hits, two walks, and striking out five.

In the bottom of the 9th, Raul Ibanez led off with a ground out. Matt Stairs then pinch hit and walked on four pitches. Eric Bruntlett came in to pinch run and Carlos Ruiz was hit by a pitch to put two on. Greg Dobbs then pinch hit and hit a weak line drive for out number two. With two men on and two outs, Rollins took Broxton's 99 MPH fastball to right-center for to score Bruntlett and Ruiz to win the game.

Ryan Howard got the game going in the first inning with his two-run homer. That homer tied him up with Lou Gherig for most consecutive games with an RBI in multiple post seasons with eight games.

Of course I saw some bad things but I really don't give a damn. This team never gives up and never will and that is the formula a World Series team has.

Next Game: Wednesday in Philadelphia, 8:07 EST

Series: Phillies lead 3-1

Pitching Probables: LAD: Padilla (1-0, 0.63), PHI: Hamels (1-1, 6.97)

Game Day Discussion: Liberty Bell Sports

The Phillies have the Dodgers where they want them. For LA, it's win or go home. The only thing the Dodgers have going for them is the day off on Tuesday to maybe shake off the heart breaking loss. The Phillies are 2-0 in game five's under Charlie Manuel.

Cole Hamels may not have been the same pitcher he was in the 2008 post season but he is still one of the best pitchers in the league and can close this series out. If the Phillies bats can rock Vicente Padilla early, this game and series will be in the bag. The faster the Phillies win this series, the more rest they will have going into the World Series so they can have a fully rested rotation ready for the Yankees/Angels.

Simp-Lee Amazing

The weather was cold but the bats were on fire. The Phillies battered and beat the Dodgers 11-0 in game three to take a 2-1 series lead in the NLCS. From the start of the game with a 1-2-3 top and a four-run bottom first inning to the 1-2-3 9th pitched by Chad Durbin that ended with a great snag by Carlos Ruiz, the Phillies dominated this game for 27 outs.

Ryan Howard drove in three runs tonight. With his two-run triple in the first, he has driven in a batter in all seven games this post season, a new MLB record, and is now one game shy of tying Lou Gherig's eight-game streak that spanned over multiple post seasons. Pedro Feliz also added a triple and Jayson Werth and Shane Victorino hit home runs to spark a potent Phillies offense that only managed a run on four hits during game two on Friday.

Cliff Lee was fantastic in his third start of the post season. He went eight shut out innings, allowing three hits and striking out 10. He tied Curt Schilling (1993) and Steve Carlton (1980) for the Phillies record with strikeouts in a single post season game. He also went 1-3 at the plate with a single and a run scored.

The offense got rolling early with Howard's two-run triple. Werth followed that up with a two-run home run that got the Phillies on the board early. Victorino capped off the fire works with his three-run homer in the eighth.

Manny Ramirez managed two hits out of Lee and Ronnie Belliard got the third.

Next Game: Monday in Philadelphia, 8:07 EST

Series: Phillies lead 2-1

Probables: LAD: Randy Wolf (0-0, 4.91); PHI: Joe Blanton (0-0, 4.91)

Game Day Discussion: Liberty Bell Sports

The Phillies have the momentum back in their favor and will look to go for the kill. Joe Blanton will be making his first post season start this year after pitching 3.2 innings of relief. Randy Wolf will look to get the Dodgers evened up versus his former team. Expect no love from the Wolf Pack in this one.

The Phillies are 4-0 in game four since Charlie Manuel took over. The last game four the Phillies played versus LA: Victorino hit a two-run homer to tie the game at five and then Matt Stairs hit a two-run homer later in the same inning to put the Phillies up for good, 7-5.

This game means a lot to both teams. It will either put the Phillies closer to going back to the World Series and the Dodgers on the brink of elimination or it will tie the series up for the Dodgers.

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.

Nats Recap, Mets Preview

I am extremely busy this weekend and therefor can't put my normal effort into this post. I will just recap the Nats series in brief, give out my awards, and then preview the Mets series in brief. Sorry people.

Tuesday - Phillies won 5-3: Raul Ibanez hit two solo homers and Chase Utley, Jayson Werth, and Carlos Ruiz each had one.

Wednesday - Phillies won 6-5: Werth's two run homer in the eighth earned Cliff Lee his 13th win of the season.

Thursday - Phillies lost 8-7: Down 8-2 in the ninth, Matt Stairs snapped his 0-30 streak with a grand slam. With one out, the Phillies managed another run and had runners on first and third for Ryan Howard but he hit into a game ending double play.

Series MVP's:
Raul Ibanez: 5-13, 3 runs, 2 doubles, 2 homers, 3 RBI's
Jayson Werth: 4-12, 4 runs, 2 homers, 3 RBI's
Shane Victorino: 5-14, run, 2 doubles, RBI

Next Series: New York Mets (62-78, 26-42 on road) @ Philadelphia Phillies (79-59, 36-31 at home)

Pitching Probables:
Friday: NYM: Figueroa, N (2-4, 4.74), PHI: Hamels (8-9, 4.32)
Saturday: NYM: Pelfrey (10-10, 4.83), PHI: Moyer (12-9, 4.98)
Sunday #1: NYM: Maine (5-4, 4.52), PHI: Kendrick, K (0-1, 5.06)
Sunday #2: NYM: Redding (2-5, 5.78), PHI: Martinez, P (4-0, 3.64)

Four-Game Series. Phillies lead series 9-5.

Werth Player of Week

Jayson Werth was recently named the NL Player of the Week for his outstanding play.

Werth led the Majors with five home runs and 29 total bases. He hit .440 (11-for-25) and led the NL with a 1.160 slugging percentage. He also tied for the league lead with nine RBIs while scoring seven runs and collecting three doubles to go along with a .481 on-base percentage.

He will be getting a well deserved day off tonight as the Phillies take on the Pirates. Matt Stairs will play in his place and bat seventh.

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.

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

Sosa Joins A-Rod in Not So Elite Club

The New York Times reported that Sammy Sosa was on the list of players who tested positive for steroids in 2003. 2003 was the first year that steroid tests were conducted. The list of players was supposed to be anonymous. New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez was also on that list. At that time, Rodriguez was with the Texas Rangers.

Sosa's main concern: being inducted into the Hall of Fame. The only club you'll be joining is the one Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, and Rafael Palmeiro are in.

"I will calmly wait for my induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Don't I have the numbers to be inducted?"

Sosa played a majority of his career for the Chicago Cubs. He famously raced with McGwire in 1998 when McGwire shattered Roger Maris' home run record at the time of 61. McGwire hit 70 while Sosa hit 66. Sosa would go on to hit over 60 home runs two more times in his career, a feat only done by Babe Ruth, Maris, and Barry Bonds once. McGwire did it twice.

Was I shocked? Not one bit. He was a decent player who did a little bit of juicing to turn into a super star. He's fallen off the face of the earth and no one really cares. As Matt Stairs said about Manny Ramirez: "Another on bites the dust."

Todd Zolecki Revisits the Top 10 Moments of the NLCS

I gave this a read and thought it was very cool. Todd Zolecki made a list of his top 10 moments of the Phillies 4-1 series win over the Dodgers in the NLCS. Here is his Top 10:

10. Rollins's lead off homer in Game 5

9. Victorino honors his grandmother.

8. Myers goes 3-for-3 with three RBIs.

7. Hamels in Game 1.

6. Pitchers brushing back batters.

5. Hamels is the MVP.

4. Utley and Burrell homer in Game 1.

3. Victorino ties game 5.

2. The final out.

1. The Shot.

Phillies Speak Out About Manny

This was posted on Phillies Nation and I wanted to reiterate it here as well. I really sympathize with Charlie Manuel the most because he was close to Manny Ramirez and was probably one of the most hurt:

Brad Lidge
”It makes you wonder, was he doing it last year? Every time something like this happens, you feel cheated a bit. Was he on the substance when I had to pitch against him in the postseason? Naturally, it makes you feel upset."

Matt Stairs
“Another one bites the dust... If you know the stuff isn’t on the list, why take it? I know I’m not very smart, but I know I can figure that one out. There are a bunch of guys who are going to have to stop taking all this health [stuff] and go back to being chubby and having fun.”

Shane Victorino
“It’s sad. I feel bad for him, but I guess he brought it on himself.”

Charlie Manuel
“I used to do a lot of work with him as a hitter. I knew how good he was. He’s a great hitter. I know his talent. I’m sad. I don’t know what to say. I’m just sad.”

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

Phillies win first game of 2009

It was a series that absolutely blew for the first 24 1/2 innings. Then with the help of some timely hitting, patience, and a bull pen that couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, the Phillies erupted to end the series on a high note. Going into Wednesday's game, the Phillies lost their first two games to the Atlanta Braves by a combined score of 8-1 and the starting pitching surrendered all 8 runs and a total of 5 home runs, the trend continued into the first 6 1/2 innings of Wednesday afternoon.

Joe Blanton got shelled, giving up 2 homers and 7 runs total and the bull pen surrendered 3 more to give the Braves a 10-3 lead. Now I am not going to make a habit of doing game stories but the story of the bottom of the 7th must me told in the eyes of someone who was there to witness it: me.

It was the 7th inning stretch and me and brother had to leave early so we walked downstairs to watch the Phillies bat one more time. They had the heart of the order coming up so I wanted to see them take one more stab at the Braves pitching. Shane Victorino led off with a ground out. Chase Utley then singled and Ryan Howard got hit high in the shoulder by a pitch. The crowd was absolutely livid at that pitch, especially for it hit one of the hometown heros. Jayson Werth drew a walk to load the bases and this is where the fun begins:

Braves 10 - Phillies 3 - bases are loaded with 1 out for Raul Ibanez.

10-4 - Ibanez hits an RBI single to score in Utley. Bases still loaded.

10-5 - Pedro Feliz hits another RBI single to drive in Howard. Bases still loaded.

10-6 - Matt Stairs pinch hits and walks in a run. Still loaded.

10-7 - Chris Coste pinch hits and walks in a run. Still loaded.

10-8 - Jimmy Rollins walks in a run. still loaded.

10-9 - Victorino singles to score Stairs. Still loaded.

10-10 - Utley walks to score in a run. Still loaded.

10-11 - Howard grounds out but drives in Rollins. Second and third with 2 outs and then Werth flew out to right to end the inning with the Phillies on top 11-10.

Yes people. that was an 8-run inning to come back from being down 10-3. Ryan Madson, also known as "The Bridge to Lidge," pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the 8th. They added another run to go up 12-10 in the bottom half on a sacrifice fly by Eric Bruntlett. The Braves hit a solo home run off Brad Lidge to make it 12-11 in the top of the 9th. Mr. Perfect then held on to earn his first save of the year, striking out Garrett Anderson.

Pictures from the game will be posted later today.