Phillies Sweep Nationals; Magic Number at 10

It's time to start the countdown. The Phillies magic number is now 10 after their sweeping of the worst team in baseball, Washington. The starting pitching all series was ridiculous, going 23 innings, and allowing only one run on 16 hits, 8 walks, and 26 strikeouts. The bull pen was just as good, only needing to pitch four innings, and surrendering only two runs. Brad Lidge even notched a save in Thursday's game.

Tuesday - Phillies won 5-0: Cliff Lee came in dealing as he notched a complete game shut out, striking out 10 and allowing six hits and a walk. The Phillies got all five of their runs in the first two innings. Carlos Ruiz had two doubles and three RBI's and Jayson Werth had three hits.

Wednesday - Phillies won 6-1: It was a low scoring, tight pitcher's duel until Washington decided to yank Livan Hernandez. Versus the third pitcher of the sixth inning and with the bases loaded, Jayson Werth blew the game wide open with a grand slam.

Thursday - Phillies won 4-2: Cole Hamels kept the trend of great pitching going with his eight-inning, one run effort and striking out ten. Hamels even had an RBI single in the sixth inning. Brad Lidge came on for his 30th save, allowing a run.

Series MVP's:

Cliff Lee: CG, SHO, 6 H, 1 BB, 10 K

Jayson Werth: 6-11, run, homer, 4 RBI's,

Cole Hamels: 8 IP, 1 R/ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 10 K

Next Series: Philadelphia Phillies (85-60, 43-28 on road) @ Atlanta Braves (78-68, 38-33 at home)

Pitching Probables:

Friday: PHI: Happ (10-4, 2.77), ATL: Hudson, T (1-0, 3.63)

Saturday: PHI: Martinez, P (5-0, 2.87), ATL: Vazquez, J (13-9, 3.01)

Sunday: PHI: Lee, Cl (14-11, 3.00), ATL: Hanson (10-3, 2.65)

Key Game: Friday's game will be pivitol for both teams. For the Braves, it will be a way to end the Phillies win streak and gain an early advantage in the series. For the Phillies, JA Happ is making his first start since September 2.

Braves lead the season series 9-6 but the Phillies have taken two of the last three. The Phillies are also red hot, winners of five straight and six of their last seven. The Braves are going to want to use the advantage they had on the Phillies all season to gain some ground in the division. This is their last series against the Phillies this year and they want to make it count.

The Braves will be putting up three of their better pitchers on the mound but so will the Phillies. Every game is expected to be low scoring and a pitcher's duel even though the Phillies do have one of the scariest offenses in the league and that is supported with them being first in runs scored in the NL and tenth in average. The Braves are sixth and fourth in those respective categories. The pitching has drastically improved for the Phillies as they are sixth in ERA while the Braves are third.

This is a huge series for both teams. This is a different Phillies team though. This is a team who knows what it's like to be the best and they won't let it up to the Braves. The Braves have nothing to lose so expect a very tough series for them. Phillies win two.

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.

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.

Losing Streak Finally Over

The Phillies used their version of small ball, five solo homers, to beat the Nationals 5-3. Raul Ibanez had two homers, and Chase Utley, Jayson Werth, and Carlos Ruiz had one. Even more interestingly is that with Ibanez's two and Utley's one, they gave the Phillies four 30-home run hitters, the 12th time in MLB history it has been done and the first time since the 2006 White Sox.

Also, Brad Lidge loaded the bases with one out with the 5-3 lead in the bottom of the ninth. Charlie Manuel, who stated the other day that "Lidge is out closer," walked out and yanked Lidge, putting in Ryan Madson. Mad Dog struck out Ryan Zimmerman and got Adam Dunn to ground out to end the game. I wonder if Madson or Brett Myers will close in the future or if Lidge will remain the closer.

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.

Independance Day Massacre

This was the perfect weekend for a Phillies fan. In the midst of the barbecuing, drinking, partying, and spending time with the family and friends on America's birthday, the Phillies invited the Mets to the Bank for a home-cooked butt-whupping.

The Phillies swept the Mets, their first sweep since June 1-3 and first home series win since they swept the Nationals on May 29-31. It was complete pitching dominance as they held the Mets to a total of three runs all series. The offense came alive when needed and the pitching was absolutely incredible. It was the exact opposite of the series prior in Atlanta where the pitching sucked, the offense disappeared and the bull pen couldn't keep games close.

Friday - Phillies won 7-2: Rodrigo Lopez made his season debut, going 6 1/2 innings and surrendering his two runs in the seventh. He allowed six hits and a walk and struck out four. Jimmy Rollins sparked the offense with a pair of doubles and two RBI's. Chase Utley also had two hits and two RBI's and Jayson Werth provided the fireworks with a solo homer.

Saturday - Phillies won 4-1: It was a very happy 4th of July as Jamie Moyer dominated the Mets AAA offense in his 600th career start. Moyer went 6 1/3 as he gave up a run on five hits and a walk. He also sat down one batter en route to his team high seventh win of the season. Rollins again helped provide some offense with a two-run double in the fourth. Brad Lidge notched the save.

Sunday - Phillies won 2-0: There was no hang over for the Phillies as Joe Blanton took the mound and pitched 7 1/3 shut out ball. He allowed four hits and three walks with five strike outs. The two solo homers by Rollins and Utley were all Blanton needed. Lidge came in the ninth and struck out the side to record his 16th save.

It's a proven fact that when Rollins is hitting and getting on base, the offense will follow suit. He is the spark plug this team needs him to be. He's a risk/reward kind of player which can be extremely frustrating or extremely pleasing. I will admit that I was quick to jump on Rollins but he is not out of the hole yet. I still think that when he is not producing, he needs to be dropped. Hopefully he continues to tear up offenses and sets himself up for another magical second half much like his MVP season in 2007.

Series MVP's:

Jimmy Rollins (PHI): 5-11; 2 runs; 3 doubles; homer; 3 walks; .571 OBP

Brad Lidge (PHI): 2 innings; 0 hits; 5 K's; 2 saves

Starting Pitching (PHI): 20 innings; 3 runs; 15 hits; 11 K's

Next Series: Cincinnatti Reds (40-40; 20-20 on road) @ Philadelphia Phillies (42-37; 16-22 at home)

Phillies lead series 2-1. The Reds are a weird team. They may be playing .500 ball but that doesn't necessarily make them a good baseball team. Phillies should not lose this series, especially after the series they played versus the Mets. I expect three wins coming out of this series to go into the final series of the first half. A sweep would be fantastic and should hopefully give them a cushion in the division standings.

Currently the Marlins are still breathing down the Phillies necks, only a game out of first. The sweep of the Mets put them four games ahead. As the temperature heats up, so should the Phillies.

Pitching Probables:

7/6: Cueto (8-4, 2.69), Hamels (4-5, 4.98)

7/7: Harang (5-8, 3.86), Happ (5-0, 2.96)

7/8: Bailey, H (1-0, 5.94), Lopez, Ro (1-0, 2.84)

7/9: Owings (6-8, 4.48), Moyer (7-6, 5.72)

Non-Phillies: Congratulations Randy Johnson

I just wanted to congratulate Randy Johnson for earning his 300th win yesterday against the franchise he started it all with (sort of). Johnson won his first game with the Montreal Expos in 1989, who later became the Washington Nationals only a few years ago. Johnson pitched six scoreless innings and struck out two as the Giants won 5-1.

Phillies Sweep Nationals

It was a good weekend for the Phillies as they pulled off a feat as easy as tying your shoes: sweeping the Nationals. They out pitched and out slugged them, taking advantage of their poor fielding all weekend to improve their record to 28-20. Brad Lidge saved every game, showing signs of his 2008 form.

They opened the series Friday with JA Happ on the mound. He earned his first win as a starter for the 2009 season. Happ (3-0) went 5 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on as many hits. He got plenty of help with 16 hits even though the offense could only cross the plate five runs. Shane Victorino had four hits and Jimmy Rollins and Carlos Ruiz added a pair of doubles each.

Saturday's game featured some fire works from Ryan Howard. After trailing early 3-0, Howard stepped up and belted a solo homer to the 2nd level in right field in the second. He then came up in the 3rd with the bases loaded. He jacked a shot over the "Powerade" sign on the 3rd porch 475 feet) for his 3rd grand slam of the season and 8th in his career, a new Phillies record. Cole Hamels (3-2) got the win despite giving up six runs in six innings as the Phillies won 9-6.

Jamie Moyer (4-5) finally got win #250 in his 6th try, pitching six strong innings, giving up one run on three hits as the Phillies won 4-2. He got help from Chase Utley when he drove in Victorino in the first and from Chris Coste's solo shot in the 2nd. He gave up a home run to Josh Willingham in the 4th. Willingham added another in the 7th off of Clay Condrey. Howard hit an RBI triple in the 8th for insurance.

Series MVP: Howard (4 for 13 with 2 homers, double, triple, 6 RBI's)

Next Series: @ San Diego Padres

6/1 - Blanton (3-3, 6.14), Correia (1-3, 5.11)

6/2 - Bastardo (0-0, -.--), Peavy* (5-5, 3.67)

6/3 - Happ (3-0, 3.00), Young (4-3, 4.45)

*Would love to see him in a Phillies uniform.

FIM #9: Harry and Whitey

One dazzled people with his play on the field. The other dazzled them with his amazing voice. But what made them so special was their friendship and team work in the broadcast booth years after the former retired. Richie Ashburn and Harry Kalas were two of the greatest broadcasting duos in all of sports and captured so many hearts in Philadelphia. Moment #9 will be when they died at their respective ages.

Ashburn was as smooth in the box as he was in center field when he played in the 40's and 50's. When I look back at baseball history, there are a few players who I would love to have seen play. Sure I want to see Babe Ruth, Micky Mantle, Willie Mays or Joe DiMaggio but when it comes to watching a Phillie play, Ashburn is the type of player I want to see. He could hit, play defense, steal bases, and just simply hustle.

In 1963, Ashburn worked along side By Saam in the broadcast booth. In 1971, Kalas joined the duo and when Saam retired in 1976, "Harry and Whitey" would broadcast together for 21 more years. Ashburn had the honor of being inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in 1995 for his service to baseball on and off the field. Ashburn planned on retiring after the 1997 season but suddenly died of a heart attack after a Mets/Phillies game. In honor of Ashburn, the center field pavillion in the new Citizens Bank Park was named "Ashburn Alley."

Kalas had to move on but could never stop grieving the death of his best friend. When he took over, he was joined by many guys including former pitcher and member of the 1993 team, Larry Anderson, Tom McCarthy, and Chris Wheeler. In 2008, Kalas was sideline for a few games due to a detached retina. Kalas was named to the baseball Hall of Fame in 2002.

Then on April 8, 2009, Kalas partook in the opening ceremonies in which the Phillies were handed their championship rings. It was his last home game. On April 13, he collapsed in the broadcast booth in Washington hours before the Phillies played the Nationals. He died 90 minutes later.

The city was hit so hard when Ashburn died and was hit even harder after Kalas passed. The city, not even through the 1964 collapse or Joe Carter's home run or anything the other 3 professional teams did hit the city like the deaths of our greatest voices. They were the voice of the Phillies and the voice of the city of Philadelphia. Now they're calling the Phillies games from the heavens.

A few notes

I'll start this off with saying that Andrew Carpenter, the 24-year old called up to make his first career start last night versus the Nationals, wound up getting the win. He originally wouldn't have recorded the win because he didn't go 5 innings but the MLB said because the game was ended in the top of the 6th, Carpenter pitched enough to earn the win. He went 4 1/3 innings, giving up 5 runs on 8 hits and striking out 4. Clay Condrey picked up the save.

In other news, the Phillies sent Carpenter to the minors, calling up Sergio Escalona from AA Reading. He had a 2.08 ERA with 10 saves in 17 1/3 innings. He pitched today, going 1 inning and giving a hit and striking out 1. Ryan Howard flipped him the ball after the inning, giving Escalona a souvenir.

With the call ups/downs of the pitches, Miguel Cairo became the odd man out. He got optioned to AAA Lehigh for assignment, which will lead to the Phillies either trading or releasing him, if he isn't signed by another team first.

Weekly Recap: 5/10-5/16

Standings:
Mets 21-15 --
Phillies 19-16; -1.5
Marlins 18-18; -3
Braves 18-19; -3.5
Nationals 11-24; -9.5

Week record: 4-3

POSITIVES:
- Brett Myers has been a lot better since his terrible start. In his 2 starts this past week, he went 6 innings, giving up 1 run on Sunday and went 7 innings, giving up 2 and striking out 8.

-Raul Ibanez has been absolutely phenomenal! He went 11-24 with 4 homers and 12 RBI's.

-The offense has heated up versus the Nationals, hitting plenty of dingers in the pitcher-friendly park. They hope to continue it despite being in a current rain delay in the 2nd half of the double header.

NEGATIVES:
-Only a 3-3 record as they lost their series versus Los Angeles. They don’t have Manny Ramirez and the Phillies still failed to at least win the series. The offense was absolutely pitiful in that series

-Brad Lidge blew another save versus the Nationals but fortunately for him, the team scored 4 runs in the top of the 12th Friday night.

-Rollins is still batting terrible. As I said, he vowed to bat .400 for the month of May and is only batting .206 for the month despite being on a current 5 game hit streak.

Upcoming schedule:
5/17 – @WAS
5/19-21 – @ CIN
5/22-23 - @ NYY

FIM #14: The 2007 Run

This moment in Phillies history will be one of the few I will never forget. Mainly because I was at the last game (the above photo was taken by me) which I luckily got Standing Room Only tickets to.

With just 17 games to go, the Mets were 7 games ahead of the 2nd place Phillies. The Phillies finished the season 13-4 while the Mets went 5-12. The momentum shifted when the Phillies swept the Mets in New York.

It was the last series of the season for both teams. The Phillies were up a game on New York. The Mets played and beat the Florida Marlins in their first 2 games. The Phillies were playing the Washington Nationals and split the first 2 games. The division was tied going into the last game of the season.

I get to the stadium and the Marlins/Mets game started a half hour earlier than the Phillies. Everyone is following the out of town score board and on their phones and after the first inning of that game, the Marlins were winning 7-1. Florida added a run in the 5th and the Phillies rolled over the Nationals 6-1.

Jimmy Rollins got that game going right away with a lead off triple, his 20th of the season. That hit was just a small piece of the kind of finish he had for the season, leading to his MVP honors. No one picked up a team like he did and he was able to beat out Matt Holiday of the Rockies, who played a similar role for the Rockies, who made the Wild Card.

The Phillies made the playoffs for the first time in 14 years, winning the division for the first time in 14 years as well. They lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Rockies in 3 games. We know what happened next year.

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

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