Labels: baseball, family, Phillies, Red Sox

At the beginning of this series I was embroiled in an inner conflict. Red Sox? Phillies? How do I play this and not come out of it looking like wither a nut or a turd?

I'm not sure if I know the answer to that, even now. But these three days have not been lived without knowledge gained. The Philadelphia took the first game 8 - 2, then the Sox took game two, 3 - 2, and now today with the Red Sox up 7 - 4 in the bottom of the 7th, I'm seeing a pattern that seems to indicate something really positive for the Red Sox.

Here's the results of some recent games for Boston.

Ok. So the Red Sox swept the Rays (complete with a brawl). They then go to Seattle and drop the first game, winning the second two. Same in Baltimore. Same in Cincinnati. If the score holds out (now in the top of the ninth, same score), they will have done the same thing to the Phils. So, although they are dropping that frist game to teams that they haven't seen in awhile, Francona or Varitek or someone is evidently taking notes. They seem to be applying the info they gain in game one and applying it in games two and three.

This bodes well for the rest of their season, should they find themselves able to continue this process. That works out to just shy of .670 baseball. Not to mention it would make them the favorite in the post-season.

Labels: baseball, Phillies, Red Sox

Remember when that nasty stomach flu ran through the Red Sox clubhouse awhile back. Well it ran through my house over the last two weeks, slapping every one of us on the way. I spent a lot of time holding a bucket for one sick child or another, wahcing my hands 20 times and hour in the hopes that I could escape getting it myself. I failed.

Labels: All-Star, baseball, Orioles, Phillies, Red Sox

Yeah, yeah! I know. I'm a slacker. No excuses. But I've been paying attention to both the Phils and the Sox over the last few days, and what a few days they've been, huh?

As for the Phillies, they played a 4 game series with San Francisco. Each game was decided by the winning team's last at bat. This included 3 walk-offs by the Phillies. Chase Utley continues to have a good portion of the time on talk radio with early predictions of NL MVP. Ryan Howard, on the other hand, continues to suck. As of today, he's got a .168 batting average, and 47 K's in 119 ABs.

Over in Detroit, the Red Sox have taken the the first two in a four game series against the offensively anemic Tigers. This is following a three game sweep of the Rays at Fenway. The Orioles have slowed down a bit, getting closer to what they really are. And the Yankers appear to be dealing with a start similar to last year's, without the talk of firing Torre, of course.

Papi and Manny went back-to-back last night, which puts Manny at 497! I think I have 5/19 in the pool.

Labels: Giants, Orioles, Phillies, Rays, Red Sox, standings, Tigers, Yankers

Weekends are busy times for me, and as such, I find myself needing to catchup a bit here after a weekend packed with stuff to blog about.

Red Sox Sweep!

Most important of the weekend events was yesterday's completion of a sweep against the hapless Rangers. Boston came back from early deficits in the first three of those games, making for comebacks in 9 of their 14 wins so far! Timely hitting, some clutch jack action from Tek and Manny, plus surges from Lugo and Pedroia, and solid play from fill-ins Casey and Lowrie, were the stories with in the story. Most importantly, the unearthing of the Ortiz jersey from Yanker Stadium II has unearthed Papi's bat, as well. Ortiz had 10 RBI over the series, including 5 on Friday when he had a grand slam. His batting average was at .077 when the garment was recovered. Since then he is batting .322!

Manny Hits #496

One of those comeback wins was courtesy of Manny Ramirez who cranked a 2 run shot in the 8th inning of Saturday's game. The score was tied at the time and the lead held. Manny was ejected from Sunday's game in the 2nd for arguing a called third strike. He was scheduled to have a day off Monday and, even though he had most of Sunday off anyway, he did indeed ride the pine yesterday.

Hello, Kettle? This is Pot...

Only an idiot would have a guy with a 100 MPH fastball as a middle reliever. That was the latest bit of "wisdom" from Son-of-a-Steinbrenner, commonly known as Hank. Well, not really the latest, because he back peddled considerably the next day. Still, who exactly is the idiot he was referring to? Cashman, the guy who got Joba Chamberlain in the first place. Joe Torre who managed him last year, the year of the "Joba Rule"? Surely not Joe Girardi?

Can you identify the true idiot in this group?

Phils Majors and Minors

So, the Phillies managed to avoid the sweep from the Mets and, last night, finally figured out how to outscore the Rockies. The biggest story from the weekend though, the Iron Pigs game that I attended on Friday night. Boy, does the Phillies AAA team suck, or what? They got beaten 8 - 3, but that score makes the game seem a little less like the one-sided affair that it was. Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, Pennsylvania is a great place to watch a ball game and both I and my step-daughter enjoyed the beautiful weather and post-game fireworks immensely. I have a little bit of post-game eye strain, however, from trying to identify the young prospects that the Phils are honing in Lehigh Valley. I couldn't see him.

Labels: baseball, Iron Pigs, Mets, Phillies, Rangers, Red Sox, Rockies, Yankers

Home runs by Utley, Burrell, Howard, and Coste were the prime examples of what the Phillies thought about Huston's pitching in yesterday's rout.

This sums it up well:








Looking forward to this Met's series.

Labels: Astros, baseball, Mets, Phillies

First, as everyone seems to know, this blog is dedicated to the Phillies out of loyalty and nostalgia and to the Red Sox out of love, passion, and obsession. While the majority of my posts deal with the Sox, I'd be crazy to not add something about the late game magic that the Phillies conjured up last night!

Even with the Red Sox two 9th inning homers in as many days, last night's Phils take the cake. They entered the last frame down 3 zip. Jose Valverde comes in to try for a save for the Astros. First batter is Chris Snelling. He jacks one, making it 4-1. The next batter, Chase Utely, gets plunked. Next, Ryan Howard K's. This brings up Pat Burrell, who promtly homers. It's now tied at three. Geoff Jenkins strikes out, but takes first on a passed ball. This brings Pedro Feliz, who doubles. Jenkins doesn't see (uh, ignores) the stop sign and scores in a super close play at the plate. Jenkins was either safe or the recipient of some cosmic karma after the bogus game ending slide last week that gave the Mets a win over Philly.

Labels: Astros, baseball, Phillies, Red Sox

Nothing plain about the extra inning win those Phils got yesterday. After trailing 6-0, a 6th inning small-ball clinic rendered 7 consecutive singles and they left the inning leading 7-1. Jump ahead to the 10th, tied at 7 and Jimmy Rollins scores the winning run through a walk-0ff walk by Jason Werth with the bases loaded!

Rollins went from first to third on a sac bunt by Victorino. The Nats chose to intentionally walk both Utley and Howard, which brought up Werth.

Labels: baseball, Phillies

Oh brother! That about sums it up. What else can you say when the Phillies manage to bring the game tied into the ninth and the Tom Gordon gives up 5 runs?

Labels: baseball, Nationals, Phillies

What does this mean?

“If you've got any mirrors in your house, go look at them,”

Charlie Manuel, Phillies Manager, said this to the press recently about the teams abysmal spring training performance. (Read here.)

I'm upset, too. But someone clue me in on just what the heck that line means. Please!

xxx

Labels: baseball, Phillies

The latest player who has forgotten what a lucky stiff he is: Cole Hamels of the Phillies. Cole doesn't have enough time in to qualify for arbitration, so he had to settle for the $500k the Phillies are giving him instead of the $700k that he wanted. While no one would have been upset if the Phils had given him the dough, I can't help but think how happy I'd be if I were in his shoes!

Top Three Reason Cole Hamels Should Be Happy:

3. This is his wife, Heidi*...



2. $500,000 is a good deal of money. When you complain about $500k, it isn't because you "need" more, it's because you believe you're worth more. Yes, Hamels had 15 wins in 28 starts last season. The year before he was 9 and 8 in 23 starts. He has some history of injuries. Is it so much to ask that the 24 year old put in a little more time before we assume he's the next Nolan Ryan?

1. He's playing baseball! His job is to play a game. In the end, this is the reason why I hat to hear any of these guys complain.

xx
*Yes. That is ex-Survivor star (season 6), ex-Playboy pin-up, Heidi Strobel!

Labels: baseball, Phillies, salaries

These also are from a combination of sources.

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Labels: baseball, Phillies, predictions

Fun with SimMatch Baseball

Let your mind rush back to your childhood. It's a cool October. In a month our parents will collectively elect Ronald Reagan to his first term. The Phillies have taken the NL pennant from the Astros in typical "Cardiac Kid" fashion. But here's the switch. The Royals haven't beaten the Yanks 3-0 for the AL Championship. Instead, the Yankees prevail and now, with home field advantage, they take on the the Phils in the 1980 World Series!

Game 1 - Yankee Stadium






With two outs in the first, Michael jack Schmidt stepped to the plate. With a 1-1 count, Schmidt cranks a Tommy John fastball toward left field. The frozen rope shot barely clears the wall, giving Schmidt his first World Series homer and the Phillies a 1 run lead.

The lead was to be short lived, however. Will Randolph's double coupled with Reggie Jackson's walk gave the Bombers 1st and 2nd with one out. Oscar Gamble's lined one to left center for a single that scores Randolf and moves Jackson to 3rd. Bob Watson lines his own to center, scoring Jackson. Then, with runners at 1st and 2nd again, Graig Nettles launches a towering shot over the right field wall, clearing the bases and giving the Yankees a 5-1 lead at the end of the first, Bobby Brown having been caught stealing for the final out.

The bottom of the second sees Greg Luzinski score from third on a line drive single by Maddox. 5-2 Yanks, after 1 1/2.

Things settled down considerably for awhile. With the score still 5-2, the fifth inning saw Schmidt get to first on what could have been called a throwing error by Randolph after a slow roller. Schmidt was safe at first, but more importantly, Pete Rose scored from second, beating an excellent throw by Brown who charged in after the errant throw. Later in the frame, Schmidt scored from second on a left field shot by Lonnie Smith. McBride, on 2nd after a single of his own, ended up on 3rd after Smith's hit. A Luzinski sac-fly brought McBride home. The game was all tied after a 1-2-3 Yankee at bat that featured Jackson's second K of the game.

Several more 1-2-3 at bats brought both Phils and Yanks to the bottom of the 9th still tied at 5. With two outs, Rose found himself on second after his second double of the game. McBride, looking at a full count, lined a Ron Davis offering to left center. Rose was already eying home plate as soon as he left the 2nd base bag. Bobby Murcer made as good a throw from center as any Yankee fan could have hoped for, but in the end, Rose was too quick. He slid under the tag for the go-ahead run!

Tug McGraw came in to relieve Carlton for the bottom of the ninth. Things looked hopeful when he walked Cerone, but Brown grounded out to Manny Trillo on the first pitch of his at bat. The Phillies took game one with a score of 6-5.









Check back soon for Game 2 recaps!

Labels: baseball, Fake Flashback, Phillies, World Series, Yankers

Between Opening Day and the trophy ceremony after the final Word Series game (and probably even a few weeks afterward, I log onto MLB.com at least once a day. Sometimes I'm there five of six times a day. But as the months of the Hot Stove begin and drag on, I visit less and less. This year, once the NFL playoffs began, I stopped almost totally. Today however, I went back looking for one particular piece of news. I found two, although one I knew anyway. The first tidbit, right on the main page reminded me that pitcher ans catchers report to Spring Training on Thursday. The other, the one I'd been waiting for, told me that MLB.tv now had its 2008 package ready for purchase.

These two small items have brought me more joy than I ever expect any Monday to hold, particularly a dreary and cold February Monday. My mind immediately transported away from thoughts of wind chill and snow forecasts to palm trees and Spring Training jerseys. The off season has whisked by in some ways and drug on in others. But the end is near. Spring is on the horizon and before we know it, opening day will be upon us.

First let me give my full endorsement to MLB.tv Premium. This will be my second season watching Red Sox games via the Internet, my first full one. While living in central PA gets me almost every Phillies game, it has historically offered me nothing much in terms of a way to follow my beloved Red Sox. Now, with MLB.tv, I can see every Sox game except those against the Yankers (which are every often on Fox or ESPN, anyway) and those where they might happen to play the Mets or the Pirates. You see, MLB.tv is subject to blackout restrictions and my house sits in an overlapping sector of Pittsburgh, Philly, and New York markets.

In the interest of fairness, let me outline the weak points of MLB.tv (as I see them) first. There's the blackout thing, of course. Now that upsets me much less since my lovely wife got me an XM Radio for Christmas. I'll get to hear the games that are blacked out. And honestly, how much does it suck to miss the Yanker games! The Sox play Philly this summer, and assuming I can't score tickets to one of those, they'll most likely be televised on the usual Phillies Comcast channel. Another drawback is the video quality. Don't get me wrong, with high speed Internet access and a decent monitor, the games on the PC or laptop are great. The video issue becomes a problem when I connect my laptop to the TV. You need to have an S-VIdeo jack to do this, but the games are no where near as clear as they are on broadcast or cable games.

Now on to the advantages! First and foremost is cost. With MLB.tv PRemium, I can watch every single Major League game. Using their Mosaic function, I can watch six at once if I want! It costs me $119 dollars for all the Spring Training games and every regular season games (minus the blackouts). Strangely enough, I couldn't find the exact price for MLB Extra Innings, the cable/satellite program that get you similar games, but if memory serves, it was about $250 last season from my cable provider. Extra Innings is also subject to the blackouts, plus I can't watch multiple games (that I know of). I get no Spring Training games with Extra Innings (again, that I am aware of) and it costs me more than double. What's more, with Extra Innings, I can only watch games at home. With MLB.tv, I can watch anywhere there is an Internet connection. In my home, with my laptop and wireless network, that means I can watch from the living room, bed room, or even out on my patio! The games that are blacked out I listen to on XM or on MLB Game Day, which gives me Internet access to the radio broadcast of either team! Hell, I can even sneak an afternoon game in at work on occasion. Let's see the Extra Innings guys pull that one off! When I do miss a game -- whether due to blackout, work, life, whatever -- I can watch the game, in its entirety later via MLB.tv! I can also watch highlights, condensed games (that show the all six outs and any scores within each inning), for every single game, whether or not it was blacked out! One more thing I can stack on top of all that? The MLB.com Baseball's Best. I can watch entire games like Game 5 of the 1980 NLCS (just finished that one!) I got to relive the 5 run 8th and Ruthven in shutting down the Astros in the 10th to send the Schmidt, Rose, and the rest of those Phils to the Worlds Series!

I know that these days everyone has a thing for HD. Games on MLB.tv, whether on the monitor or on the television, are definitely not HD. For me, nothing is HD, so I don't miss it. Plus, the $130 dollars that I save makes up for the diminished quality. Not to mention the fact that I have a wife and three kids and for some reason that TV in the living room is seldom free.

So I sit, raring to go. Waiting first for some spring training games to whet my whistle. The for opening day and the beginning of another season.

GO PHILS! GO SOX!

Labels: baseball, MLB, Phillies, Red Sox, Spring Training

The current buzz seems to indicate that Johan Santana will be traded before Spring Training and that the current front runner is the Mets. The Yankers and Red Sox are still in the picture, but aside from not wanting the Sox to lay out too much for the Cy Young winner, I find myself torn. It appears my choices (not that they are rally mine to make) are either the Sox get him and lose Ellsbury, the Yankees get him and the Sox face him, or the Mets get him and the Phillies have to face him.

No really great option there.

I suppose that if I were asked to rank them, I'd put losing Ellsbury over letting the Mets get him, but I'd rather the Mets get him than the Yankers. All I need is to have to listen to the already annoying Yanker fans preen over their newest star acquisition. In both cases where Santana ends up not with the Sox, my real fear is not what he'll do when he pitches against my teams, but what his presence on either the Mets or Yankers would do for their overall record as the 2008 season progresses.

Of course, I can't expect the Sox to go the extra mile to keep him from the Mets. I do hope that the idea of keeping him from the Yankers is on Theo's mind. Maybe I'm daft, but in the end I still think I'd be happier seeing Ellsbury in center that I would seeing Johan on the mound in Boston.

Labels: baseball, Ellsbury, Mets, Phillies, Red Sox, Santana, Yankers

Let's see...

The Phillies. They got swept. I truly believe that this has to be chalked up to the momentum of the Colorado Rockies. This momentum thing, should it last, will probably take them clear to the WS. The Philles bats took a major dump in this series. At one point, Chase Utely struck out four times on 13 pitches!

The Yankers? Gone! They lose their divisional series to Cleveland 3-1. For the most part, this makes me very happy. My first wish, as always, is for the Phils and Sox to play in the series. Since that won't happen, we go to my next wish, which is a resounding victory by the Sox in the WS over whoever they would end up with. If that cannot be, if the Indians are destined to go to the big show, at least I'll be able to live through the hot stove season with two facts: A) The Sox did not get knocked out by the Yankers. B) The Sox got one step farther than the Yankers.

All I can say is thank the Lord for Canadian Soldiers!

This loss by the Yankers could also bode well for next season. It looks as though Steinbrenner is going to fire Torre. While everyone who has a half of a brain knows that firing the manager that has taken you to the post season every season he's held the job is a stupid move. Not to mention the fact that even with the ALDS loss, this season can arguably be considered Torre's greatest managerial year. Has Georgie Boy forgotten the HUGE mountain that the team had to overcome to get into the playoffs? The Yankers without Torre are worse than the Yankers with him, at least in 2008. This is a good thing for Red Sox Nation. Also, if Torre is fired, I believe that the move will significantly reduce the chances of resigning Posada, Rivera, and A-Rod. More good news.

My beloved Sox! They begin the ALCS against those Indians on Friday. Now, while rooting for Cleveland over the last week, it occurred to me that they share the best record in MLB with the Sox for a reason. Perhaps the Yankers were not the strongest team. Perhaps we have more to worry about facing the Indians than we would have with NY? In the end, though, reasons A and B above far outweigh the advantage. This will not be a sweep by the Sox, but I still have faith that we'll be watching them facing the NL Champ.

Labels: ALCS, ALDS, baseball, Indians, Phillies, Red Sox, Rockies, World Series, Yankers

For the second time in the last month and the third time this season, the Phillies swept the Mets. This most recent drubbing of the NL East leading team by its close runner up was highlighted by some outstanding play, some horrid play, and some foul play.

The outstanding play was, of course, the Phillies. In all three games, the Phils came from behind to win out on the strength of their offense. The horrid play, at least in game three, came from the Mets middle infield, who recorded 5 error. The foul play cam in the stands at Shea, where during game two, wearing a Phillies gear landed numerous fans in fist throwing brawls with the disgruntled supporters of New York's second best baseball club.

While I can certainly not surprised by the acrimony that the visiting teams supporters experienced (New Yorkers are only known for their brotherly love immediately after tragedies), it still seems very out of place. The Mets have no true rivalry with the Phillies. This is the closest that the Phils have been to passing the Mets in years. And even with the sweep, the Phils are still 3 1/2 games behind the Mets. Rather than the emotions of the Met fans being based in any true fear of being overtaken, I believe that the reaction of those idiots who resorted to violence is instead the byproduct of the culture that surrounds New York sports fans. They simply don't know any better.

Isn't it funny how the Mets fans feel threatened while holding a 3 1/2 game lead, while the Yanker fans insist that their 4 1/2 game deficit is not at all insurmountable. I, for one, don't think Mets have any more chance of losing the NL East than the Yankers have of winning the AL East.

Labels: baseball, fan, Mets, Phillies, photoshop, stupid, Yankers

I root for the Sox and the Phils on baseball. In football, I'm a Notre Dame fan for college and like the Eagles on Sundays. (None of this, by the way, makes me insanely popular among my friends.) With both those gridiron teams starting their respective seasons with losses (N.D. has lost to Gerogia Tech and Penn State, the Eagles lost on a last second field goal to Green Bay) you'd think I'd be in a funk. The truth is, I have barely noticed because I am so focused on MLB. I'm sort of putting my eggs in one basket, but it's not really a choice. As I've mentioned earlier, I'm obsessed.

Now that I paid for MLB.tv for the month of September, I'm able to watch the Sox on-line and the Phils on Comcast. I can see the Sox unless they are playing the Yankers, as I am considered within the Yanker market and those games are blacked out, as are Phillies, Mets, and Pirates games. Now, I can listen to the Sox/Yanker games on Gameday Live, and I get a choice of the home or away teams radio feed (like I'd listen to the Yanker hacks do play-by-play!). This won't be an issue this weekend, as it appears all three games are getting televised on either FOX or ESPN (but they get blacked out sometimes, too.

Someone asked me what I'm going to do if the Yankers sweep the Sox again. I didn't know how to reply. First, until that moment, I had not even considered it. Having that happen in two consecutive series is so unlikely as to be ludicrous. NY has no Clemens this round. The Sox (had better be) should be riled up after that decimation they endured the last go round. Plus, this one is at the Fens. But in the end, I really don't think that the Yankers will be within three games when the series begins. In any event, to answer the original question... I'd dive on my sword!

The bottom line is that I don't envision myself watching NFL action this Sunday when (if) the Sox and Yankers are on TV.

Labels: baseball, football, Phillies, Red Sox, Yankers

Great googly-moogly! What a week for the Phillies, huh? Four wins over the division leading Mets have pulled the Phils within 2 in the the NL East! Two games, my friends!

And what a set of games! Especially games two, three and four. On Tuesday, Ryan Howard clubbed a tenth inning two-run, walk-off homer in the tenth. Yesterday's game ended on an interference call against Marlon Anderson that not only kept the tying run from counting, but garnished the game ending out. Today, after losing a 5 run lead and finding themselves down 10 to 8, the Phils scored 1 in the eighth and 2 in the ninth, including a walk-off hit by Chase Utley to finish the broom job.

The star studded Mets could simply not deal with the red-hot offense of the Phils. Outscoring New York 27 to 26 in the series, the Phils have placed them selves on the brink of a division lead as they head to Florida to face the cellar dwelling Marlins while the Mets move on to the always dangerous Atlanta Braves.

Could it be that my dream of a Sox/Phils Series isn't quite dashed like I'd thought? I know my Red Sox looked like crappola this week, getting swept themselves by the Yankers. But they still have a 5 game lead in the AL East and I'm hoping they are not capable of the titanic slump they'd need to screw themselves out of both the division and the wild card. (They are the Red Sox, though.)

Nonetheless, I must be positive. I cannot let myself be pessimistic. Sure, the possibility of my two favorite teams facing each other in the World Series is still ridiculously slim. But the sheer madness of the thought is too much to ignore. The feeling of looking at all those folks (mostly Yanker fans with a spattering of Met fans, too) and being able to say; "Hey, whose two-favorite teams are in the big show?" Or possibly, "Who's got taste? Oh, yeah! IT'S ME!!!!"

To dream a dream!

Labels: Atlanta, baseball, Marlins, Mets, Phillies, Yankers

Is it just me or does Aaron Rowand have one of the weirdest looking batting stances in the history of the game? He looks sort of like he's trying to hold in a big fart.

Labels: Aaron Rowand, baseball, Phillies