Tag Archives: PhilaPhans

Off Night for Hamels Costs Phils

28 Jul

The Phillies came up pretty short in a series that is said to have serious implications for their season.

The series with the Brewers, and their terrible bullpen is over, and once the Braves went up 5-1 it was hard to believe that the Phillies could come back.  The Phils were 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position, and left nine on base.

Defensively they committed two costly errors.

The $144 million dollar man didn’t quite have it either.   Cole Hamels threw more balls than strikes when throwing 100 or more pitches for first time in his career.  It was also the shortest outing of the season for Hamels, who only went five innings. Hamels surrounded a career high six walks to the Braves.

“Obviously, I didn’t do my job,” Hamels said. “We’ll find it. We hit some rough patches. With the caliber of players we have, I know we’ll be able to find it. I know it’s a little more urgent to do right now, but I have the confidence all five of us will work hard and get the job done.”

Some were saying that the humidity was having an effect on Cole’s grip.  Hamels didn’t deny it, but said it was no excuse despite having to change his undershirt and jersey, twice.

“It’s not going to be the last time it’s ever going to be humid” Hamels said.

Yep, six homers, in six games. The story of the night might just be Brian McCann, who just KILLS the Philles. McCann is 9 for 25, with six homeruns, and 16 RBI against the Phillies this season.  He’s homered in every game he’s played against the Phillies this season.

This series might just decide if the Phillies are buyers, or sellers for the season.  Ruben Amaro Jr. and several of his front office cronies got to witness the defeat in person, as they are traveling with the team.

“These three games are important, yeah,” Ruben said before the game. “How determinant they are about how we go about our business from here on in, I don’t know yet. Again, it’s kind of a fluid situation. If we get swept here, it’s going to make things very daunting for us. We take two out of three, that’s good. We happen to sweep them, even better.”

Well, the sweep is out, but two of three is still a possibility.

If the Phillies are going to make up any ground in the race to the playoffs, it’s going to have to happen in their division.   The Phils are 11-23 against NL East and 29-22 against the rest of the National League.

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Another Walk Off!

24 Jul

A little bit of timely hitting can go a long way.  Just ask a team like the Phillies, that hadn’t had 9th inning comeback all year.

That is, until last night when they tagged Francisco Rodriguez for four runs in the bottom of the 9th.  K-Rod had no control, and the Phillies took advantage.

They had previously been 0-42 in those situations.

Ryan Howard had a big night at the plate, going with a homer, double, and a 2-run single. Chase Utley reached base four times and scored two runs. He and Howard had back-to-back homers in the first inning.

Roy Halladay wasn’t exactly the Halladay that we’ve grown accustomed to over the last few seasons, but he thinks he’s on the right track, and insists that he feels healthy.

“I understand I haven’t had a lot of time back on the mound,” Halladay said. “But I expect more. I feel like I should be getting better results. I expect to be better than that.  As good as I feel, I believe I can compete,” he said. “Sure, there’s some rust. But ultimately, I feel I can compete.”
What does it all mean?
I’m not really sure.  Probably nothing, but if anything is going to change the Phillies fortunes, Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay need to get hot.  Scorching hot  But until this team is mathematically eliminated, expect them to keep trying.
Cliff Lee takes to the mound Tuesday night as the Phillies try for a third straight win. He faces another former American League Cy Young winner in Zack Greinke.

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Latest: Cole Hamels Talks and Trade Rumors

15 Jul

Photo: US Presswire

Here’s the latest chatter on Cole Hamels from around the web:

According to multiple reports the Angels, Dodgers, and Rangers had scouts in attendance to watch Cole Hamels’ start against the Rockies this afternoon.  The lefty didn’t disappoint, dealing eight innings of one-run ball at Coors Field.

Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com tweeted that The Rangers sent Don Welke, the senior special assistant to GM Jon Daniels, to Denver to watch Hamels pitch, and he hinted that Texas wants Hamels bad. Salisbury says that a source told him The Phillies are still “trying like heck” to sign the left-hander.

I hope he’s right.

The Phillies’ offer to Hamels is “expected to be in the ballpark that they know the left-hander will want, this close to free agency,” tweets ESPN’s Buster Olney.

Brian Coulter from PhilaPhans  tweeted ”My only guess on the offer to Hamels: 6 years for $150 Million. 7th year is a vesting option at $30M. Buyout at $15M. Final total: 6/$165M.” 

I think he’s pretty spot on.

Here’s the rest of the chatter courtesy of MLBTraderumors.com -

  • The Dodgers and Phillies have had discussions about Hamels, but the Phillies aren’t thrilled with the players they would receive in return, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. The Dodgers could become more aggressive in their pursuit with news that Chad Billingsley is suffering from elbow issues.
  • The Phillies have a scout attending the Angels-Yankees game fueling speculation the Halos could be in on Hamels, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. Heyman lists 10 teams that could be interested in Hamels, as well as the Brewers‘ Zack Greinke.
  • In the same piece, Heyman quotes one official who says there’s a 30% chance the Phillies sign Hamels to a long-term extension.
  • Outside executives believe the Phillies will work feverishly to extend Hamels rather than trade him, writes Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Sherman provides three reasons for such a theory, including that it’s harder than ever to land a commensurate package for a star in his walk year given the rule changes in the new collective bargaining agreement.

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Bullpen Stinks it up in Utley’s Return

28 Jun

Chase Utley made a triumphant return to the Phillies lineup on Wednesday night, and did not disappoint.

It could not have been scripted better for Utley, who silenced his doubters with a big home run to the deepest part of right field in his first at bat (Carlos Ruiz followed that at bat with a homer, too). Chase followed that homer with a single in the sixth, and seventh inning, as the Phillies fought their way back into the game.

Chase looked fantastic in the field, and ran the bases hard.

However, it wasn’t much fun after that.

The Phillies had no pitcher as a result of the day/night doubleheader they played on Sunday, so it was upto the bullpen to stretch out and go the distance.

No surprises here.  They were terrible.

The Pen coughed up 11 runs to a sad Pirates offense that hasn’t scored that many runs since  Sept 22, 2010 vs. St. Louis.

The worst performance to me was Chad Qualls.  To be quite honest with you I don’t know how this guy is still hanging around.  Qualls ERA is now 4.63. (31.1 IP, 16 ER). His home ERA is 5.82 (17 IP, 11 ER).  I saw all the references to Danys Baez, and  Adam Eaton last night on Twitter, and think the comparison is pretty spot on.

Joe Savery was pretty awful as well, and after the game was optioned back to AAA making way for  to righty Brian Sanches who had his contract selected from Lehigh Valley.  Savery had pitched in 17 games this season with the Phillies, they won zero of those games.

Rumor has it that lefty Jeremy Horst is with the Phillies this morning too, but  no word on what that’s about.   You may remember that Jeremy Horst was the pitcher the Phillies received in exchange for Wilson Valdez.

Today’s game is at 1:05 with Kyle Kendric 2-7, 5.24 ERA facing A.J. Burnett 8-2, 3.24 ERA.  Burnett has really shined with the Pirates, and has enjoyed his new life out of the spotlight of New York City.

“It was a good first step,” Utley said after his long awaited return. “Obviously, winning could have been more ideal, but we’ll come back at ‘em tomorrow.”

Here is hoping for a series win, and not a split.

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Until They Get Back…

2 Jun

You’ve probably heard this phrase close to a million times this Spring.

“If we can just stay afloat until Howard and Utley come back…”

Gosh, I think I’ve even said it a few times myself.  Unfortunatly we had to add another big name to that list.

Roy Halladay. 

To say that Roy Halladay is important to this team is really understating it.  In his first two years in Philadelphia Halladay has won 40 games, and pitched more then 200 innings each time.  However, Halladay and the Phillies have been bounced from the playoffs each season before reaching the ultimate goal.

Why do I mention that last part? …  Because it could be worse.

Don’t get me wrong here.  Losing Halladay is really going to be tough for the Phillies, but at the same time his injury could have been far worse then it was.  He doesnt need surgury.  He didn’t tear his labrum, he didn’t tear his rotator cuff.  He’ll be stronger at the end of the season, and won’t have that wear and tear of a 200 inning pitchers come august and September.  I’d love to have Roy out there today, but a healthy Roy is going to be huge in the stretch run.

They need to win as many division games as possible, as all the teams in the NL East are above .500.

The Phillies have been a second half team these last few years.  Let’s hope that trend continues, because if the Phillies want to have any chance of making it to the Postseason, it’s really gonna have to.

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And That’s Why He’s the Vanimal…

20 Apr

Well it was a familiar story on Thursday night for the Phillies.

The game was nice and tight all the way through, and again the Phillies pitching was brilliant.  Vance Worley threw 7 scoreless innings, and a career high 11 strikeouts.  Vance, like Lee the night before had to pitch at the top of his game when runs are coming at a minimum.

Again the Phillies offense was bleak.  After loading the bases in the first and only walking away with one run, it wasn’t until the 9th that they would score again on a passed ball.

But alas, A win is a win.

It’s pretty nice to be at Petco Park. The Phillies have won 12 straight games here, dating to 2008, so it’s nice to have a 4 game series here when the offense is struggling so much.

Side Notes -

John Mayberry Jr.  - Oh my.  This kid needs a few days off, or to be sent down to AAA to figure it out.

Jonathan Papelbon - Pap is now a perfect 4 for 4 in save opportunities. He’s likely going to be a discussion point all season as he was the Phillies biggest offseason move, when offense really needed to be addressed.

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Lee Vs Cain to Settle Series

18 Apr

The Phillies flat out stunk against the Giants last night.

They went and abismal 1 for 11 with runners in scoring position despite getting their lead-off hitter on base in six of nine innings.

John Mayberry Jr., and Placido Polanco both went hitless in the game, and Jim Thome, who came in as a pinch hitter, is an .091 hitter so far in his return to Philadelphia.

Polanco is the player that I think I worry about the most after he went 0-4 again last night, and he’s batting an embarrassing .179.  His bat is most definitely slowed, and his strikeout numbers are climbing.

He hasn’t seemed to have lost anything in the field (despite a missed tag last night) and still looks like the Gold Glove fielder that we thought we were getting when he signed.

I’m just not sure how much longer the Phillies can have this many players batting sub .230.

For tonight…

Cliff Lee will face off against San Francisco’s Matt Cain.

Cain is 1-4, 4.17 ERA vs Philadelphia, but is coming off the best pitching performance of his life where he was one single shy of a perfect game. This is Cain’s first start at At&t Park since signing his new  $127.5 million, six-year contract.

Lee is searching for his first win of the season, and hopefully he can continue his magic at At&t Park where he is undefeated as a Phillie, with two complete games.

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Roy vs. Boy

16 Apr

Might I suggest a nap after work today?

The Phillies are out in San Francisco and play tonight at 10:15.  I hate these games out west, but this one I’m kinda excited about because of the pitching matchup.

Tim Lincecum is 4-1, with a 2.61 ERA and 65 K’s in his last 10 starts against the Phillies, but has been hammered in his first two outings this season (0-1, 12.91 ERA). Here’s hoping that the Phillies can tag him as well.

Lincecum has not looked good this season at all, with his last outing being the shortest start of his career. (2 1/3 innings, allowing six runs).  I’m not sure if it’s a physical thing, or a mental thing because his fastball is topping out at 89-91 where it used to be in the 93-97 range, and he can’t be too pleased that the Giants have locked up Matt Cain to a long-term extension, and have not had discussions with his agent in regards to one.

Roy Halladay hasn’t faired very well against the Giants in the past, going 0-2 with a 7.23 ERA, but as you know is 2-0 this season with a 0.60 ERA.

This will be the first time that the two pitchers have faced each other in the regular season.  They did face each other in the 2010 NL Championship Series, where Lincecum bested Halladay in Game 1, but Roy defeated him in game 5.

This should be a good one.

Extra innings…

I’m pretty glad we won’t have to see that bearded idiot at all this season.  I feel bad that he’s injured, but just the sight of him…

Also, keep an eye on Pablo Sandoval who has a hit in all 9 games the Giants have played this season.

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Don’t Forget… Game Today!

3 Mar

The first real Spring Training game is today!

The Phillies behind lefty Cole Hamels will take on the New York Yankees at Bright House Field. In addition to Hamels, Mike Stutes, Dave Bush, Jonathan Papelbon, Dontrelle Willis, Raul Valdes and Chad Qualls are all scheduled to pitch.

The game is at 1:05 P.M. and will be broadcasted on Comcast Sportsnet in Philadelphia, as well as on 94.1 FM in Philadelphia.

As mentioned earlier this week, Chase Utley and Placido Polanco will not play in today’s game.  The Phillies are going to do their best to keep Utley’s and Polanco’s work load to a minimum, which will have them sitting out of games throughout Spring Training, and the season.  I wouldn’t expect much of Hamels in this game either, as he’ll likely face a maximum of six batters.

The Yankees will counter with right-hander Ivan Nova, who is coming off of an impressive 16 win season.

I’m on vacation for a few more days, so this is all you get :-)

Enjoy the game!

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Day One Isn’t Just for Pitchers and Catchers

20 Feb

Photo: Miles Kennedy/Phillies

You’ll be pleased to know that the Phillies motto of “Unfinished Business” still stands.

That being said this first day of camp is usually reserved just for pitchers and catchers, but there were a good collection of position players, and bench players out on the field at the Carpenter Complex on Sunday.  Hunter Pence, Jim Thome, Scott Podsednik, Juan Pierre, and Ty Wigginton have all taken their first hacks of the Spring in the cage.

Thome looks to be in fantastic shape.  Probably the best he’s been in years which leads one to think that he plans to take the field on Opening Day at first base.  With the questions surrounding the return of Ryan Howard it’s nice to know that the bench like this is backing him up.

The same goes for Juan Pierre.  This guy is one of the hardest workers in baseball.  It’s early, but I have almost no doubt that he makes the team out of Spring Training.

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