July 2008
I’d just discovered the rankings for last week, and I’d discovered that the blog is now ranked three positions higher.
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July 24-30 page views within the MLBlogs Network:
Most Visited FAN BLOGS
1. The Rumor Mill – MLB Rumors
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3. Heading Around First
4. Flair For The Dramatic
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30. I Was Born in October of 1986
Big movers include THE BOSTON RED SOX BLOG (Steve soars from #14 to #2), Heading Around First (upstate NY 16-year-old debuts at #3), Flair For The Dramatic (Vanessa familiar as commenter on many MLBlogs, rockets from #21 to #4), 15th Street Reds (brought comment friends, debuts at #9), Bruce Markusen (blogs live from Cooperstown, inducted this week at #10), The ‘Burgh Blues (JB asks here last week in comments and ye shall be rewarded); and, of course…BABY PAUL! (H/T MLBlogs.com)
Earlier today I’d took a look at MLBlogs.com and I’d discovered that this blog has gone up three spots to 22nd place among the now top 30 MLB fan blogs. I think I’m more surprised by the fact that I’d gone up on the list right now, than I am about still being on it. Man, I really must be doing something right with my posts to be able to go up that high in the rankings, although I think that there are a few blogs on the list that appears to me to be a bit more interesting than mine is. I guess I should just keep up the good work, eh? 
Non-waiver trading deadline passes and all the Phillies are able to get is Blanton.
No players headed to Philadelphia, as Thursday’s 4 p.m. ET non-waiver Trade Deadline passed without the Phillies making an acquisition. Though it wasn’t for a lack of trying, the team didn’t acquire a left-handed reliever it had sought.
The Phillies had been linked to nearly every lefty reliever on the market, including Rhodes, who went 0-5 with a 5.32 ERA for Philadelphia in 2006. The Giants’ Jack Taschner, the Reds’ Jeremy Affeldt and the Royals’ Ron Mahay had all been speculated to join the Phils at some point.
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Earlier this month, a rumor of a blockbuster with the Rockies surfaced, with Colorado dealing outfielder Matt Holliday and lefty reliever Brian Fuentes for outfielder Shane Victorino, lefty pitcher J.A. Happ, Double-A catcher Lou Marson and Double-A pitcher Carlos Carrasco. Victorino had been monitoring rumors since then.
Despite Thursday’s inactivity, the Phillies didn’t miss out of deal-making. On July 17, they acquired right-handed starter Joe Blanton from Oakland for a trio of prospects, lefty Josh Outman, infielder Adrian Cardenas and outfielder Matthew Spencer. (H/T Phillies.com)
Another trade deadline has come and gone, and the Phillies weren’t able to get anyone other than Joe Blanton. Okay, I’m just going to go out and say it: Thanks a lot you bunch of cheapskate morons. Nice going with your blasted buying on the cheap thinking. I am so praying that this will not come back to haunt our team at some point between now and October. I know, I know, trading will still be going on, but that now have the added danger of a traded player being placed on the waiver line, with the possibilty of a third team playing ******* and wanting to make a claim on one of the players involved in the trade, just so they can quash the deal. I’m sure no team want to face that possibility. But, with the owners of this club, I wouldn’t put it pass them they’re hoping to do that themselves. If so, jerks. Sigh, unless something comes up, I guess the team will have to get to the post-season dance with what they already got. BLEAH!!! At least there’s one small piece of comfort: The Marlins aren’t getting Manny. I’d figured that would never happen.
The Phillies will conclude their visit to D.C. thinking of a sweep of the Nats.
The first place Phillies (58-49) will end their three games series with the woeful Nationals (38-69) tonight. Tonight’s game will be played in Nationals Park and will start at 7:10 pm Eastern. The Phillies’ starter will be Kyle Kendrick (8-5, 4.70), who is coming off pitching a quality start that would end up being a lost against the Braves on July 25, going six innings, giving up only an earned run on seven hits, in the Phillies’ 8-2 lost. He will be trying for his ninth win of the season while trying to pitch another quality start so that he can help increase the Phillies’ present lead in the National League East. The Nationals’ will counter with John Lannan (6-10, 3.33), who is coming off a lost to the Dodgers also on July 25, as he went seven innings, while giving up three earned runs on six hits, in the Nationals’ 3-2 lost. He will be trying to improve his record while trying to put a stop to the Nationals’ present losing streak.
The Phillies’ offense will try to continue their present surge, trying to give Kendrick the runs support that they were unable to give him last Friday night, which shouldn’t be too hard to do against a Nationals team which, in spite of the five runs that they’d scored last night, has been having a hard time scoring runs for their pitchers. With Shane Victorino and Ryan Howard being hot, Pat Burrell remaining a steady bat and Chase Utley appearing to have gotten his stroke back, if Jimmy Rollins can continue getting on base, then the offense will be a problem for the other teams in the National League. The starters will just need to continue throwing quailty starts, while eyes are turned on Brett Myers to see if he will continue to show improvement when he faces the Cardinals this Sunday afternoon. As for the bullpen, a second leftie is still needed to go along with J.C. Romero. Will one be gotten by the 4 pm trade deadline? Your guess is as good as mine.
The Phillies have a half game lead over the Mets as they take the day off. The third place Marlins trails the Phillies by a game and a half as they prepare to face the Rockies for the first of four games in Miami. The fourth place Braves trails the Phils by nine games as they get ready to host the Cardinals for the final game in their four games set. The Phillies will be looking to sweep the Nationals for their first series sweep of the second half, while increasing their lead over the Mets to a full game.
Jamie Moyer records his 240th career win, leads Phillies back into first place.
Jamie Moyer records his tenth win of the year and the 240th victory in his long career, while leading the Phillies back into first place over the Mets as the Phillies defeat the woeful Nationals, 8-5. The Phillies would finally score some runs off of their nemesis Tim Redding as Pat Burrell would hit a two-run single, knocking in both Shane Victorino and Chase Utley, who have both singled earlier, to give the Phillies a quick 2-0 lead. In the Nationals’ half of the first, they would take the lead. Willie Harris would score the Nats’ first run as he hit Moyer’s first pitch out of the park for his eighth home run of the year, to cut the Phillies’ lead to 2-1. Three batters later, wirh a runner on second, and with one out, Jesus Flores would hit a two-run home run, his seventh home run of the year, scoring Austin Kearns, who has doubled earlier, to give the Nationals a 3-2 lead. The next three innings would see a pitchers’ duel between the veteran and the youngster, that would keep the score at 3-2 until the top of the fifth when the Phillies would get to Redding again. Carlos Ruiz would start the inning off with a single. Ruiz would then go to second on a walk to Moyer, as Redding would be unable to throw a strike as Moyer has originally gone up to the plate to put down a sacrifice bunt. Jimmy Rollins would follow with a double, scoring Ruiz to tie the game at three all, while sending Moyer over to third. The Phils would then retake the lead as Victorino would hit a two-run RBI single, scoring both Moyer and Rollins to make it 5-3 Phillies. Utley would then end the scoring as he would hit a two-run shot, for his twenty-seventh home run of the year, to make it 7-3 Phillies. After the home run, Redding would be taken out of the ballgame. The Phillies would add one more run in the seventh, as Victorino would hit a solo shot for his ninth home run of the year, to make it an 8-3 Phillies’ lead. In the bottom of the seventh, with runners on second and third and one man out, Lastings Milledge, would hit a RBI ground out, short to first, for the second out of the inning, scoring Pete Orr, who has gotten on base earlier via a force out, to make it an 8-4 Phillies’ lead. Roy Zimmerman would then follow with a RBI ground rule double that was misplayed by Jayson Werth, who would fall down when trying to make the play, scoring Harris, who has earlier doubled, to give the Phillies an 8-5 lead. That would be how the game would end as Brad Lidge would come into his fifth straight game (in six days) and records his twenty-sixth save of the years in as many tries.
Jamie Moyer would get the win, as he pitches another quality start, as he goes six inning, giving up only three earned runs, all in the first inning, on six hits. His record is now 10-6 with an ERA of 3.79. Ryan Madson would pitch an inning, giving up two earned runs on three hits. Chad Durbin would pitch a scoreless inning, giving up no hits. Brad Lidge would pitch the ninth, recording his twenty-sixth straight save, as he pitched a scoreless inning, while giving up just one hit. Tim Redding would take the lost as he would go only four innings plus five batters as he would get hammered for seven earned runs on ten hits. His record is now 7-6 with a 4.34 ERA. Steven Shell would pitch three innings, giving up an earned run on one hit. Luis Ayala would pitch a scoreless inning, giving up one hit. Jesus Colome would also pitch a scoreless inning, giving up no hits.
The Phillies’ offense would finally unload on Tim Redding, knocking in seven runs on ten hits, with only two of them being for extra-bases, a double and a home run, before they finally knocked him out of the box in the fifth. For the fourth time in as many games, the Phils would score five or more runs in an inning. It would seem that the offense is finally back, and if it is, I feel sorry for the rest of the league. Now, if they would just become more consistent with their runs production. Meanwhile, with the win, Jamie Moyer become the Phillies’ first ten games winner for 2008. He has also won his 240th career victory, while needing just ten more wins to reach 250. He has also pitched another quality start, giving up no runs for five innings after giving up three runs on a pair of home runs in the first, being helped by a couple of double play balls.
The once more first place Phillies (58-49) will conclude their three games series with the woeful Nationals (38-69) later tonight. The game will be played in Nationals Park and will start at 7:10 pm Eastern. The Phillies will send to the mound Kyle Kendrick (8-5, 4.70), who would pitch a quality start in a game that would end up being a lost against the Braves on July 25, as he would go six innings, giving up only an earned run on seven hits, in the Phillies’ 8-2 lost. He will be trying for his ninth win while trying to increase the Phillies’ lead in the East. The Nationals’ starter will be John Lannan (6-10, 3.33), who is coming off a lost to the Dodgers on July 25, going seven innings as he gives up three earned runs on six hits, in the Nationals’ 3-2 lost. He will be trying to improve his record while trying to stop the Nationals’ present losing streak.
The Phillies now lead the Mets by a half game and the Marlins by one and a half games as the Mets lost their game to the Marlins. The Braves now trails the Phils by nine games as they’d lose again to the Cardinals, their fifth lost in a row. As the Phillies try for their fifth straight win, the Mets will take the day off, the Marlins will face the Rockies for the first of four games in Miami and the Braves will end their four game series with the redbirds. The Phillies will be going for their fifth straight victory and their first sweep of the second half, while also trying to increase the lead on the Mets.
The Phillies will continue their trip to Washington, trying to win their second series in a row.
The Phillies (57-49) three games series with the last place Nationals (38-68) will continue tonight with a night game from Nationals Park. The game will began at 7:10 pm Eastern. The Phillies’ starter will be Jamie Moyer (9-6, 3.76), who is coming off a well pitched game that ended up as a no-decision against the Mets on July 24, as he pitched his ninth straight quality start, going seven inning, giving up only one earned run on two hits, in the Phillies’ 2-1 lost. He will be trying once again for his tenth win of the year while also going for his tenth straight quality start. Moyer has faced the Nationals already twice this year, with a 1-0 record, and a no-decision that the Phillies would win in extra-innings, as he pitch a combined total of nine and two-thirds innings, giving up six runs, three of which were earned, on sixteen hits. The Nationals will counter by sending to the mound Tim Redding (7-5, 3.98), who is coming off a lost against the Giants on July 24, where he went eight innings, giving up an earned run on seven hits, in the Nationals’ 1-0 lost. He has already faced the Phillies twice this year, with a 2-0 record, keeping the Phils scoreless in thirteen and a third innings on eight hits. He will be aiming for his third win against the Phillies this season, while trying to keep them scoreless.
The Phillies’ offense tonight will be trying to figure out how they can best defeat Tim Redding, who has so far this year have shut them out in over thirteen innings of work, especially after yesterday’s performance in which they did almost nothing against the rookie hurler, Collin Balester. The Phillies have better figure him out quickly, since it would appear that with the way the Nationals are playing right now, the veteran Jamie Moyer should have almost no problem dominating them tonight, unless he throws up a real harmful mistake or two. The offense, if it have a game plan to defeat Redding tonight, I would highly recommend that they follow it and try not to improvise. Otherwise, they are going to be in for a long and frustrating night tonight. After all, Redding is beatable, else he would not have had five loses this year. So, just figure out what Redding has done wrong in those five loses and use that knowledge against him. But remember, above all, one very important thing: He’s not Cy Young, he’s not Walter Johnson, he’s not Carl Hubbell, he’s not Dizzy Dean, he’s not Whitey Ford, he’s not Bob Gibson, he’s not Steve Carlton and he certainly is not Tom Glavine. Now get in there and beat the pants off of him.
The Phillies go into tonight’s game trailing the Mets by half a game and ahead of the Marlins by a game and a half, as the two teams prepare for the final game of their three games series in Miami. The fourth place Braves trail the Phillies by seven and a half games as they prepare to face St. Louis for the third game of their four games set. The Phillies will be hoping that the pesky fish will defeat the Mets tonight while they try to regain first place in the National League East, while at the same time hoping that the Braves, especially after their trade of Mark Teixeira to the Angels, will start fading from the pennant picture.
Edit: Looking at Beerleaguer.com, I’d just learned that against the Phillies, Tim Redding is 4-2 with a 2.34 ERA in eight career starts. Which shows that the Phillies has been able to beat him in the past. The offense will need to remember how they have done it in the past if they want to continue today and in the future.
Brett Myers pitches seven shut out innings as the Phillies defeat the Nationals, 2-1.
Brett Myers would pitch seven strong scoreless innings before being lifted in the eighth inning, while Utley would hit his first home run since July 7, as the Phillies defeated the luckless Nationals, 2-1. In the third, Utley would knock in the only Phillies’ runs of the game as he would hit his twenty-sixth home run of the year, knocking in Jimmy Rollins, who has earlier singled, to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead. They would turn out to be the only runs that the Phillies would need as Myers dominated the Nationals for seven scoreless innings, giving up only three hits in those seven innings, although he would hit two batters, both of whom would later be wiped out by double plays. Then in the eighth, the Nationals would score their first run in twenty-six innings, since Friday night. The inning would start with Paul Lo Duca getting on base with a single. Felipe Lopez would follow by hitting a sharp grounder to Utley, a double play ball that Utley would be unable to catch, committing an error, putting runners on first and second. Charlie Manuel would then come out and replace Myers with J.C. Romero. He would then get the first out as pinch hitter Ryan Langerhans move over both pinch runner Cristian Guzman, running for Lo Duca, and Lopez, to third and second, although Langerhans almost beat the throw to Utley at first. Willie Harris would then hit a RBI ground out, third to first, scoring Guzman, cutting the Phillies’ lead to 2-1, while Lopez would move over to third base on the throw. Romero would then be replaced by Chad Durbin, who would get Ronnie Belliard to ground out, second to first, for the final out of the inning. That would turn out to be the final score as Brad Lidge would come in to pitch the ninth and record his twenty-fifth save in twenty-five tries with a 1-2-3 inning.
Brett Myers would get the win, his first since May 30, by pitching a surprisingly strong seven innings plus two batters, giving up only an unearned run on four hits, with two hit batters, a walk and two strikeouts. His record is now 4-9 with a 5.46 ERA. J.C. Romero would pitch two-thirds of an inning, giving up no runs on no hits. Chad Durbin would pitch a third of an inning, giving up no runs on no hits. Brad Lidge would record his twenty-fifth save of the year as he pitched a scoreless 1-2-3 inning. Collin Balester would get the lost as he gives up two earned runs on six hits, while striking out five. His record is now 1-3 with an ERA of 5.13. Garrett Mock, would pitch a scoreless inning, giving up no hits. Charlie Manning and Joel Hanrahan would each pitch a scoreless inning, with both giving up a hit.
Brett Myers has done what very few people, including myself, were expecting him to do after coming back from his minor league stint, put together several scoreless innings, never mnd seven innings, as he used his pitches effectively, especially his fast ball. Of course, he did it against the woeful Nationals, who had not scored a run since last Friday. The next question is will he be able to continue his sudden effectiveness against his next opponent? We’ll find out in five-six days. Maybe having J.A. Happ now waiting in the wings have gotten Myers to put his head on straight. Maybe, maybe not. As I’d said, we’ll know soon.
The Phillies (57-49) three games series with the last place Nationals (38-68) continues tomorrow night at Nationals Park. The game will began at 7:10 pm Eastern. The Phillies’ starter will be Jamie Moyer (9-6, 3.76), who is coming off a no-decision against the Mets on July 24, as he pitched his ninth straight quality start, going seven inning, giving up only one earned runs on two hits, in the Phillies’ 2-1 lost. He will be trying once again for his tenth victory of the year while trying for his tenth straight quality start. Moyer has met the Nationals already twice this year, with a 1-0 record and a no-decision that the Phillies would win in extra-innings, as he would pitch nine and two-thirds innings, giving up six runs, three of which were earned, on sixteen hits. The Nationals will send to the mound Tim Redding (7-5, 3.98), who is coming off a lost against the Giants on July 24, where he went eight innings, giving up an earned run on seven hits, in the Nationals’ 1-0 lost. He has faced the Phillies already twice this year, with a 2-0 record, as he has kept the Phils scoreless in thirteen and a third innings on eight hits. He will be aiming for his third win against the Phillies, trying to keep them scoreless.
The Phillies still trail the Mets by half a games as they have defedted the Marlins. They now lead the Marlins by a game. The Braves are now seven and a half games behind the Phillies, as they’d lost to the Cardinals. The Phillies will be trying for their fourth straight win and their second straight series win of the second half, while trying to light up Tim Redding for the first time this year.
Phillies visit the Nation’s capitol to play the worst team in the Majors, with first place directly in their sights.
The second place Phillies (56-49) go down to Washington, D.C. to play the last place Nationals (38-67), presently the worst team in the Major Leagues. The game will be played in Nationals Park and will begin at 7:10 pm Eastern. The Phillies will send out to the mound Brett Myers (3-9, 5.82), who is coming off a so-so start against the Mets on July 23, after coming back from a short stint in the minors to regain both his fast ball and his confidence. In that start, he would record a no-decision, going five innings as he gave up three earned runs on three hits, in the Phillies’ 6-3 lost. He has faced the Nationals twice already this year, with a record of 0-1, and a no-decision in a game that the Phillies would win. In those two starts, he would go a total of eleven innings, giving up seven runs, six of which were earned, on thirteen hits. He will be trying to prove that he has improved since his recent stint in the minors, while trying to set things up for the Phillies in this series as they try to regain first place in the East. The lowly Nationals will counter with Collin Balester (1-2, 5.75), who is coming off a no-decision against the Giants on July 23, his fourth major league start, in the Nationals’ 6-4 lost. He would go five innings, giving up three earned runs on six hits. In his four starts, he would go a total of twenty and a third innings, giving up fifteen runs, thirteen of which were earned, on twenty-two hits. He will be trying to even his record while hoping to baffle the Phillies’ batters, since this will be the first that they will have faced him, and the Phillies tend to have a nasty habit of losing to newbies who they are facing for the first time in their careers.
The Phillies’ offense will be trying to continue where they have left off on Sunday, starting to score runs and doing most of it via situational hitting. They have here an opportunity to win their first road series of the second half, as they face the worst team in the majors. Although the team should not over look the Nationals before they continue on to St. Louis to face the Cardinals, it would be very embarrassing if they loss the series to the present door mat of the National League. Here is a major chance for this team to prove that they can defeat their divisional rivals, other than the Braves, whom they presently own. Although the Nationals have played them tough in the past, in their last series back in May, they won the series, with the rout in the two teams’ last meeting leading to the Phils’ major run of victories in May-early June, and the Phillies will hopefully be able to defeat the Nationals to continue their present run.
The Phillies are now trailing the first place Mets by a half game, while leading the third place Marlins by a half game, after the fish’s defeat of the Mets in Miami last night. The fourth place Braves still trail the Phillies by seven games as they got crushed by the Cardinals last night at home. The Phillies will be trying to regain first place, hoping to do it tonight via a combination of a win and a Mets’ lost to the Marlins.
Happ has been recalled to the big team. Will be used out of the bullpen…Wait a minute…
The left-hander was pulled from his Sunday start for Triple-A Lehigh Valley after 2 2/3 scoreless innings and 41 pitches, then was seen accepting congratulations from teammates in the dugout. The shorter stint signals that the Phillies likely will use him as a lefty reliever.
Happ compiled a 3.27 ERA with no decisions in two starts for this Phillies this season. After being optioned back to Triple-A, he allowed six hits in 15 2/3 innings, with three walks and 23 strikeout in three outings.
Eaton accepted a Minor League assignment on Monday, and will return to a starter’s role. Losing his rotation spot after the acquisition of Joe Blanton, Eaton had made two relief appearances since being moved to the bullpen on July 18.
The team had been non-committal in naming Happ as the roster addition, fueling talk that a trade was imminent. The Phillies might still make a move by Thursday’s 4 p.m. non-waiver Trade Deadline. (H/T Phillies.com)
Palmslap to the head!!! No, no, for god sakes NO!!!! This has got to be a dream. Happ to the pen, Eaton possibly coming back as a starter? Okay, sounds like the brain trust doesn’t have any brains after all. I might be able to live with Happ as a reliever if he’s there as an insurance policy just in case Myers continues with his implosion, but I’d thought that the powers that be have finally come to their senses with Eaton. Guys, eat his blasted contract and release him. That’s it. Stop acting like…oh god, what am I thinking. This is Phillies management. They haven’t really thought about anything since the days when the Carpenter family was in charge. Grumble grumble grumble. Where’s the Alka-Selzter?????
Eaton has been sent back to the Minor Leagues for reassignment. Is his career as a Phil over?
The Phillies didn’t specify where Eaton was being sent in a Monday morning statement, saying that Eaton’s schedule was being worked out. Like Brett Myers in June, Eaton’s outings might be determined according to which of the minor-league affiliates are home.
A corresponding roster move to fill Eaton’s spot on the 25-man roster wasn’t announced, though left-hander J.A. Happ was pulled from his Sunday start for Triple-A Lehigh Valley after 2 2/3 scoreless innings. He was seen accepting congratulations from teammates in the dugout, which often means a promotion. The team can make an official move in time for their Tuesday game against the Nationals.
Eaton, 31, went 4-8 with a 5.80 ERA in 21 games this season. He had started 19 games before the acquisition of Joe Blanton pushed him to the bullpen, and he made two relief appearances over the weekend. (H/T Phillies.com)
Eaton has been sent down to the Minors. Please let it mean that it’ll lead to the Phillies eating up the rest of his three years contract and releasing him. I know he was given a lot of chances to improve over last year, but quite frankly, he blew it. Sure the offense didn’t help him in several games, but truth be told, he certainly didn’t help himself by not giving up runs when he didn’t need to. Yesterday’s game was, honestly, the nail in his coffin. The best the Phillies can do now is to take their medicine, admit that they had screwed up with signing him to that three years contract, and eat up what’s left of it and let him go. End of story. Hopefully, this will also mean a promotion back to the bigs for J.A. Happ, especially after hearing what he’d done after being sent back to the Iron Pigs. If he continue to go after the hitters in the majors as he did during his two-games stint before the All-Star break, the Phillies will have found themselves yet another stud in the rotation to go along with Cole Hamels and Kyle Kendrick (Say what you will about him, he at least keeps the Phillies in most of the games he has so far pitched. Kendrick just needs to find himself another good pitch or two that will help him get into the seventh/eighth inning.). Please, let it be so. Pretty please???
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