And Then There Was One...

My Fellow Phans,


Great news! The Reds beat the Padres tonight and that officially clinched a playoff spot for the Phillies!

Now for the not-so-good...

Let's face it. The last two games of this series against the Muts were not pretty. A few plays here and there and we walk away with a sweep sending the fans at the Bank into joyous celebration over our division title.

However, the one positive that came over these last two days is that the Braves couldn't seem to take advantage of our recent troubles losing 2 of 3 to the Nationals this weekend. Their loss on Sunday limits the Phillies magic number to just 1. It seems just ages ago that we had swept Atl to cut the number to 4, although its been just 3 games ago...

So we enter Washington looking to clinch the NL East season with the same way they started it; with Doc Halladay on the mound. 

As I said, the Phils already clinched a playoff spot with the Padres loss today to the Reds which is a plus, but there still is a higher goal to aim for. As I said our magic number to win the East is just 1; on top of that, our magic number to win the division is just 2. That's just 2 wins to clinch home-field throughout the playoffs.

I say we go in and win the first two games in Washington and put an end to all this chasing. Clinch early and give our regulars a well needed day off since the playoffs wouldn't start until a week from that Wednesday.

Of course, that will not be an easy task. The Nationals always play the Phillies well and it will be an uphill climb. The Phillies will have extra firepower on Monday as well with Jimmy Rollins set to return. 

So without further adieu, here are the pitching matchups for the upcoming series. 

Monday:
Roy Halladay (20-10 2.53 overall; 2-0 0.64  vs. Nats)
vs.
John Lannan (8-7 4.58 overall; 0-1 7.27 vs. Phi)
Tuesday:
Roy Oswalt (13-13 2.80 overall; 2-2 3.80 vs. Nats)
vs.
Jason Marquis (2-9 7.18 overall; 0-4 12.51 vs. Phi)
Wednesday:
Joe Blanton (8-6 4.94 overall; 0-0 6.00 vs. Nats)
vs.
Ross Detwiler (1-2 2.52 overall; 0-0 1.23 vs. Phi)


Let's face it. You know Doc Halladay wants to put an end to this race. If the Phillies want to win these two games, then they have their best on the mound. Hopefully they can produce.

I won't make any predictions this series. Let's just watch and see how it unfolds....

Until we meet again Phillies fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!

With Finish in Sights, The Muts Come Calling to Philadelphia....

My Fellow Phans, 

Technically, the Braves aren't going back to Atlanta just yet as they are heading for a series in Washington, but you get the point of my title. 

The much anticipated series with the Braves came and went, as some Philly supporters had predicted, as a crippling sweep of the Braves as Atlanta's chances in the NL East took a mega blow.

The Phillies’ Big-3, H2O as they have become to be known, shut down the Braves allowing just 4 runs in 22 innings. That’s a 1.63 ERA. The Phillies only had to use 5 pitchers total in this series; The Big 3 plus Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge held the Bravos to just those 4 runs in all 3 games for a grand total of a 1.33 era.

The sweep sent the Phillies to a Magic Number of 4. Their magic number to clinch home field advantage is also 4. The Phillies begin Operation win 4 Games tonight when the muts come to down. New York did us no help when they last faced the Braves, getting handily swept in 3 games. I say we thank them graciously for their efforts this series.

Don’t expect this series to be easy. We are facing a pair of pitchers who always seem to pitch well against us.  Having said this, here are the upcoming pitching matchups for this series in Philadelphia against the Muts:

Friday – 7:05 @ Citizens Bank Park

R.A. Dickey (11-7 2.92 overall; 2-1 2.00 vs. Phillies in 2010)

Vs.

Joe Blanton (7-6 5.04 overall; 0-1 5.11 vs. Muts in 2010)

Saturday – 7:05 @ Citizens Bank Park

Dillon Gee (1-1 1.80 overall – just 3^rd Major League Start)

Vs.

Kyle Kendrick (10-9 4.78 overall; 1-2 3.78 vs. Muts in 2010)

Sunday – 1:35 @ Citizens Bank Park

Mike Pelfrey (15-9 3.75 overall; 2-2 3.91 vs. Phillies in 2010)

Vs.

Cole Hamels (12-10 2.93 overall; 0-3 1.69 vs. Muts in 2010)

The Phillies have to make sure they don’t let their guard down against the muts this series. They will have some quality pitching to deal with along with a pitcher they haven’t seen before, something that seems to frequently dictate offensive struggles.

Overall, this series should be a lot like the Braves series; pitching domination and timely hitting will result in a team coming out victorious.  Don’t forget to do your daily dose of scoreboard watching as well while cheering for the Nationals (playing the Braves), Padres (facing Cincinnati), and the Rockies (battling San Fran). The Braves, Giants, and Reds all have the same record which makes our magic number against all of them to be 4.

In short, don’t fool around Phillies. Let’s get these 4 wins and get this clinched!

Until we meet again Phillies fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!

Bring on the Bravos!

My Fellow Phans,

We are through 150 games and it is starting to come down to the wire. The Phillies sit at 89-61 with a slight 3 game lead on the 2^nd place Braves. The Phillies are coming off of an incredible comeback, 9^th inning victory of the Nationals that was capped off by a Jayson Werth BOMB to centerfield.

So, after the dust of this weekend has settled, the Phillies still have their 3 game lead and sit with a magic number of just 10.

Now the real test begins as the Phillies open up a 3-game series with Wild-Card leading Atlanta Braves. The division is not on the line, but a good series by the Phillies could put the Braves in a deep hole in the division. 

On the other hand, with a strong series, the Braves could find themselves at the top of the National League East once again. This series could go a long way determining who will be the champions of the East in the Senior Circuit.

So without any more of my ramblings, here are the pitching matchups for the biggest series of the year in the National League East.

Monday: Jair Jurrjens (7-6  4.64) vs. Cole Hamels (11-10 3.01)

Tuesday: Mike Minor (3-1 5.84) vs. Roy Halladay ( 19-10 2.49)

Wednesday: Tommy Hanson (10-11 3.62) vs. Roy Oswalt (13-13 2.90)

The Phillies arranged their rotation just for this exact series. They will throw their “Big 3” as they have been known to be called (or H2O to the more scientific sort) at the Braves this week. The Phillies will have the luck of missing the Braves’ ace Tim Hudson.

However, the Phillies will face a pair of pitchers who have given them fits at times this season. In his only start against the Phillies, Jurrjens allowed just 3 runs in 6 solid innings of work.  Hanson has fared a little better than Jurrjens this season posting a 2.38 ERA against the Phightins in two starts this season.

This will not be an easy series. For those of you who think that we will totally shut down these feisty Braves, think otherwise. I know some people are assuming that the Phillies will handle this series easily and it could happen, but the more likely scenario is that this will be a knock-em-down, drag-em-out fight between two of the best teams in the National League.

I will not make any predictions for this upcoming series. Look for games dominated by the starting pitchers and very low scoring, tight ballgames. Expect the bullpens to play a deep role in deciding the overall outcome. 

These teams know each other so well by now that there are no real surprises. They know what each team brings to the table and this is the heavyweight fight. These two teams are the best in the league, record wise, and this series is going to be a delight to watch.

Both teams have momentum and we shall see who has the divisional momentum come Friday. Hopefully the Phillies can keep their perfect home stand going. 

Until we meet again Phillies fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!

Here Come the Fish!

My Fellow Phans,

So it has come down to this. With just 21 games left, the Phillies sit a game ahead of the Braves for the lead in the National League East. With nothing but divisional games left, it is critical time for our Phillies.

With only 7 series left, the Phillies open their final 3 games with the pesky Florida Marlins tonight. There was good news for the Phillies today when the Marlins announced that they will shut down ace Josh Johnson for the rest of the season. I am not actually sure if we were going to face Josh Johnson this series, but either way, Johnson is an elite pitcher and I don't want to face him. So, here are the pitching matchups for this series:

Monday: Andrew Miller vs. Joe Blanton
Tuesday: Adalberto Mendez vs. Cole Hamels
Wednesday: Alex Sanabia vs. Roy Halladay

Overall, it would like a strong chance that the Phillies should win this series. However, the Marlins are never an easy opponent. They have nothing to play for and they always seem to play the Phillies tough. The Phillies cannot look ahead of this club. They are young, talented and a dangerous team. The Phillies should win this series, but what the Phillies should do and actually do seem to different quite often.

Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies! again P

Back In First!.... At Least for Now....

My Fellow Phans,

So it took them awhile, but the Phillies finally reached a place that they have not been in some time and that is first place in the National League East.

Now, I'm going to brag about the Phillies and start cheering like we have actually clinched anything, yet. There is still a long way to play, but boy it does feel great to be back in first place, at least for today.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves, I have seen a lot of statuses and comments in favor of the Phillies being back in first place. Now I am just excited as the next guy, but let's remember that this season still has considerable time left in it.

Now, last night's victory that propelled us into first place with the Braves' 5-0 loss to the Pirates, was not the best game that the Phillies have played all year. There was incredibly sloppy defense at times including a boneheaded play that Jayson Werth made in the 8th inning that helped the Marlins tie the game . Justifiably, Werth was pulled in a double switch later that inning. Is Manuel trying to send a message? I really hope so. We cannot play shitty defense and expect to win as much as we did last year.

I will say that last night was one of the best offensive games that I have seen the Phillies play all year. Nearly everyone in the lineup had a hit and that is a very, very good sight to see. Rollins, Victorino and Ibanez all play particularly well and it is good to see all three starting to healthily produce once again.

I don't have much else to say on this right now. Congrats to the Phillies on moving back in first place. But, as we all know, this race will go down to the wire.

Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies! 

Nyjer Morgan; Bad for the Nationals and Bad for Baseball...

My Fellow Phans,

Although this story at first may seem that it does not relate to the Phillies directly, but there is a small tie to the city of Philadelphia; either way, I do want to comment on the current situation involving everyone's favorite National, Mr. Nyjer Morgan.

Yesterday Nyjer Morgan initiated a brawl down in Florida. Morgan was hit by a pitch, with the Nationals down by 11 runs, and then proceeded to steal second base and than third base as well. When a team is trailing by such a large total, it is unusual to see a player conduct such an activity and honestly, it is just a cheap way to pad your status. It is basically an unwritten rule that stealing bases with your team down by so many is a huge no-no. Morgan eventually scored on a sac fly to center.

The next at-bat Marlins' pitcher Chris Volstad, who I give Kudos to, throws behind the speedy Nationals centerfielder. At that point, Morgan drops the bat and darts out towards the mound. Now, Morgan had every right to be mad, he didn't do anything wrong, that is if we excuse him cheaply bowling over Marlins' catcher Brett Hayes seperating the catcher's shoulder and ending his season or stealing those bases with his team get hammered.

And that was just incidents with the Marlins, Morgan, just a few days earlier, made contact with Cardinals catcher Bryan Anderson when no play at the plate was occuring. Of course the least discussed incident on his resume, took place right here in Philadelphia when he drilled a fan with a baseball for no apparent reason. He is currently appealing the 7 game suspension that he was issued for that stunt.

But back to Florida, Morgan charged the mound taking a weak and off-target swing at Volstad who had dropped his glove and was ready to parlay. The best shot of the night was when Marlins' first baseman Gaby Sanchez came charging in from firstbase and clotheslined the swinging Morgan. See the video here. I think its safe I am officially a Gaby Sanchez fan from now on. What a shot.

So now that the facts have been laid down, now comes the opinion.

Nyjer Morgan is a thug; a punk, idiot, or any other words you can make for a man whose Ego is bigger than his thick head. I am not a Nationals fan nor am I a Marlins fan, but from a baseball fan's standpoint, this guy is really pissing me off. He is bad for baseball.

Teams with troublemakers like Morgan only hurt themselves in keeping the players around. Look at Carlos Zambrano and the Cubs; the Cubs are once again in a season shot to hell and once again, Zambrano had his seasonly outburst, this time against his first-baseman, who interestingly was traded this season, just like Michael Barrett after Zambrano had his little temper tantrum with the catcher, but that's another story.

The Muts picked up fiesty closer, Fransisco Rodriguez. What did they get from their all-star closer? Well, the guy is currently out for the season after assaulting his father-in-law after a game. He did it in the Stadium, the stadium! with all the other players around and their families. He was arrested, released and is now out for the year.

Players like this bring nothing but problems to the game. Whether, it is Zambrano, Rodriguez, Milton Bradley or Morgan, these players need serious consequences dealt against them. Rodriguez sits on the "disqualifed list", a list that not even I knew existed, for the time being and I hope the league deals Morgan a serious punishment for his ways. I wouldn't mind kicking his ass out of the league for at least the remainder of the season. He is a stupid, cocky player, who needs to be dealt with so he can stop hurting others.

It is time for Major League Baseball to take control of these looney tunes before they go too far, although some may argue that they already have.

Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!