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

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.

Plundered By Pirates

After exploding versus the Mets, the offense basically died down minus a few spurts versus Pittsburgh. Another problem that needs to be corrected before the season ends is the bull pen. Brad Lidge blew another save in the first game and Ryan Madson even followed that up with one the next game, erasing a great start by Cole Hamels.

Tuesday - Pirates won 6-4: After being down 3-2, the Phillies offense exploded to take a 4-3 lead. All Lidge has to do is get three outs, right? Should be an easy task. Not for him as he gave up a hit, an error by Jayson Werth that allowed the tying run to score and then a two-run walk off home run by Andrew McCutchen to end it.

Wednesday - Phillies won 4-1: Hamels went eight shut out innings, allowing seven hits and a pair of walks, striking out seven. Madson came in for the save and gave up a home run. Ryan Howard saved the game with a three run blast. Chase Utley had a homer in the first.

Thursday - Pirates won 3-2: JA Happ pitched a rare complete game loss as he went eight innings. He had the lead all the way until the eighth when he surrendered a two run homer to Garret Jones. He still pitched well, allowing three runs on seven hits and two walks. He also struck out four. Paul Bako hit his second homer of the year.

Next Series: Atlanta Braves (67-60, 32-30 on road) @ Philadelphia Phillies (73-52, 33-29 at home)

Braves lead the series 8-4. The Braves are still seven games back from the Phillies and they know they need to sweep to get back in this. The Phillies are streaky and want to avoid that scenario as much as possible. They will have Cliff Lee on the mound during the series and he has shown no signs of being beatable yet.

On the offensive side, the Braves have a tendency to get guys on base but not get them home. They are third in the NL in batting average but only seventh in runs scored. The Phillies have the opposite problem as they lead the league in scoring. Atlanta is fourth in pitching ERA while the Phillies are improving, moving up to sixth.

The match ups at pitcher favor the Phillies despite the first game. Pedro Martinez has shown some bright spots but he isn't much of a difference than Jamie Moyer. Both teams need to win this series but the Braves need a sweep more, a much more difficult task. Phillies will bounce back to win the series.

Pitching Probables:

Friday: ATL: Hanson (9-2, 3.12), PHI: Martinez, P (2-0, 5.14)

Saturday: ATL: Lowe, D (12-8, 4.48), PHI: Lee, Cl (12-9, 2.63)

Sunday: ATL: Jurrjens (10-8, 2.91), PHI: Blanton (8-6, 3.88)

Back On Track

The Phillies got back to work, especially after losing five of their last six. They had two of their best pitchers this year throwing during the series. Jamie Moyer was the same old and JA Happ and Cliff Lee both dominated the Rockies as the Phillies took two of three in the series. The rookie and former Cy Young winner combined for 16 innings of work, allowing one run and striking out 19. Winning this series helped the Phillies maintain a comfortable seven-game lead on both Florida and Atlanta.

Moyer hasn't been doing much to keep himself in the rotation. Happ's performance Wednesday really helped him solidify a permanent spot in the rotation. Lee has been dominant in his introduction to the NL, going 16 innings and allowing two runs in his two starts as a Phillie.

Tuesday - Rockies won 10-3: I was at this debacle of a game as Moyer only lasted five plus innings, giving up six runs on six hits and four walks. Garrett Atkins started the scoring with a two-run shot in the second and Colorado started to pour it on in the fourth and sixth innings. Jimmy Rollins continued his hot tear as he homered and singled.

Wednesday - Phillies won 7-0: JA Happ pitched probably the best outing a Phillies pitcher has thrown this year, shutting out the Rockies. He allowed four hits and two walks and struck out ten. Rollins hit a two-run shot while Pedro Feliz added a solo homer and Jayson Werth hit a three-run bomb.

Thursday - Phillies won 3-1: Cliff Lee made his debut in Philadelphia, going seven strong innings and allowing a run on six hits and a walk. He also struck out nine. Rollins fell a home run short of the cycle Paul Bako hit his first home run in since June 19, 2008.

Series MVP's:

Jimmy Rollins: 6-14, 4 runs, double, triple, 2 HR, 4 RBI

JA Happ: CG, SO, 4 H, 2 BB, 10 K

Cliff Lee: 7 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 10 K

Next Series: Florida Marlins (55-53, 26-27 on road) @ Philadelphia Phillies (61-45, 29-26 at home)

The Phillies are 7-2 versus the Marlins and have won three straight. The Marlins have also been pretty cold and are losers of their last three games. The Phillies were struggling out west but woke up in the middle of the Rockies series. The Phillies will have Moyer pitching this series, who kills the Marlins (thank God he has a team he can beat).

Offensively, the Marlins have some guys that can hit, including Hanley Ramirez, the best short stop in the National League. He's batting a sizzling .344 and has 16 homers and 70 RBI's. The team is 8th in the NL in average, one spot behind the Phillies and are 6th in runs scored (the Phillies are 1st).

The Phillies have the Marlins number and that is no surprise. Like all year, they shouldn't have any problem sweeping the Marlins, let alone just beating them. I'm going to predict another series sweep and a ten-game advantage after the series.

Pitching Probables:

Friday: FLA: Nolasco (7-7, 5.00), PHI: Blanton (7-5, 4.02)

Saturday: FLA: West (3-4, 4.91), PHI: Hamels (7-6, 4.68)

Sunday: FLA: Johnson, J (10-2, 2.98), PHI: Moyer (10-8, 5.55)

Another Series Win in the Books

The Phillies are red hot despite having their 10-game winning streak busted today by Chicago. They seemed a bit fatigued after playing a three hour and forty minute game last night that went 13 innings. The Phillies have still won 14 of their last 16 and are running away in the NL East.

Monday - Phillies won 10-1: I went to this game but didn't write a recap. Pictures are posted on my Face Book page. It was a total slug fest as Raul Ibanez, Carlos Ruiz, and Ryan Howard all hit bombs and Shane Victorino added two hits. Rodrigo Lopez went six strong innings, giving up five hits, three walks, and a run while striking out five. Chad Durbin earned a three-inning save, allowing only one hit and sitting down two.

Tuesday - Phillies won 4-1: This game was a lot closer as Joe Blanton looked sharp, allowing a run in seven innings of work. The bull pen was even better, throwing six clean innings with Chan Ho Park going three innings. In the bottom of the 13th, Jayson Werth hit a three-run walk off homer to send the Phillies to their tenth straight win.

Wednesday - Cubs won 10-5: It was just a bad game today as Jamie Moyer got wacked around pretty hard, allowing five runs on eight hits in only five innings. Charlie Manuel got run after a pretty crappy call where Paul Bako fouled off a pitch that hit the ground before being caught by Cubs' catcher Koyie Hill. Not like it would have helped much anyway.

Overall, the Phillies offense still looked good despite leaving runners stranded on base again. They didn't have that problem in Monday night's game but Tuesday and Wednesday were frustrating to watch as they left on nine and 11 respectively.

The pitching was boat loads better the first two games. Moyer has not been pitching well at all this year. His win totals are skewed as he has gotten lucky in getting help from the offense to earn him a victory. Unfortunately for him, the Phillies offense couldn't keep up with Chicago's as he lost. If his poor play continues as Pedro Martinez gets ready, Rodrigo Lopez may be the guy to stay.

Series MVP's:

Joe Blanton: 7 IP, 5 H, R, 5 K

Jayson Werth: 4-10, HR, 3 RBI

Chan Ho Park: 3 IP, 0 R, 5 K

Next Game: San Diego Padres (37-57) @ Philadelphia Philles (53-39)

Pitchers: SD: Correia (6-7, 4.34), PHI: Hamels (5-5, 4.72)

This is a make up game from April 20. The Phillies are leading the series 4-2 and have won 4 straight versus the Padres. The Padres are playing pretty crappy, losers of three straight and well out of the division and wild card race.

The only thing San Diego really has is Adrian Gonzalez who is a lefty and will not match up with Cole Hamels too well as he hits .196 versus lefties. The entire offense, as a matter of fact, can't hit their way out of a wet paper bag as they are last in the league in average and runs scored. I obviously expect a win and nothing more.

I will do a full game story tomorrow after the game and then set up the Cardinals series. I will be in Hershey all day Friday for a Dave Matthews Band cocnert and coming back Saturday to go straight to work.

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.

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.

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

Lidge Put On 15-Day DL

Tom Singer of MLB.com reported the details of the Brad Lidge injury. Lidge was placed on the 15-day DL today with a right knee sprain. In his place, the Phillies recalled catcher Paul Bako and he is expected to dress tonight versus the Mets. Bako is batting .357, with 10 RBIs in 42 at-bats.

Lidge (0-3) has been the exact opposite of his perfect regular and post season form a year ago as he is sporting an ugly six blown saves. He has 13 saves and an ERA of 7.27 in 28 appearances.This move will likely make set-up man Ryan Madson the closer until Lidge's return.

I have to ask one quick question before I talk about the recalling of Bako: why him? I know we want to have another bat on the bench since there are only four bench players but of all people why not bring back John Mayberry Jr. or try out another hitter to take advantage of the opportunity. But maybe Bako has something to prove. Another logical reason for this is so that Chris Coste will get more pinch hit AB's and the Phillies will still have a reserve catcher in Bako.

Now I'm glad they gave Lidge a 15-day rest. He hasn't been himself at all this year. It's not known whether or not his knee really is bothering him or if he is just getting a reality check so he can get his head on straight. If the knee is the case, that's at least a bit of a relief knowing that it's a physical problem and not a mental problem. Remember, this is the same guy that got abused by Albert Pujols in the 2006 NLCS.

Whatever the reason is, good luck Lidge in getting back on track and I'm confident Madson will hold down the fort nicely.

Bako Signed/Ibanez Honored/Romero Ready

The Phillies signed veteran catcher Paul Bako to a minor league contract where he will be assigned to an extended spring training. He will then have to go through the minor league system. I really don't care about this signing at all. He's 36 and not that good. He's batting .231 with 21 homers and 186 RBI's in 745 games for his career.

In other positive news, Raul Ibanez won the NL Player of the Week honors. He tied for the league lead with 12 RBIs and nine runs scored, and tied for second in the league with four home runs and 13 hits. He hit .481 (13 for 27) with a .963 slugging percentage and a .576 on-base percentage. Pat who?

And the best news I have, JC Romero is only 16 games away from helping this bull pen tremendously. He was suspended 50 days for using a banned substance. He will be able to take the late innings role from Scott Eyre and will take a lot of the load off of Clay Condrey and Chad Durbin. His return should get the bull pen back on track.