Written by Mike Mariano | 09 July 2010

Well would you look at that, the Phillies took a close one!  They survived not one, but TWO blown saves!  BRIAN SCHNEIDER!  Okay, enough excitement, but finally winning a close game makes me so happy.  Shout-outs to Jose Contreras and Nelson Figueroa for actually getting outs when coming in from the bullpen.  That seems to be a rarity these days, it's fantastic to see.

Ryan Howard repaid me for the kind words yesterday with a crisp 0-5 (only one strikeout though), but Sugar Shane Victorino and Brian Schneider took the power into their own hands.  Shane provided offense in the first inning and Brian in the last.  Walk-off wins are great morale boosters and we need a few these days.  The has been picked back up!  Time to rip off ten straight!  Or maybe we'll drop the other two and I'll just have to retype that sentence in a few days...

Written by Mike Mariano | 08 July 2010

Winning game one is great and all, but when you go out and drop the next two... well, that hurts a little.  Especially in a series where the Phillies could've gained serious ground on the division leading Braves.  Now the Phils are 6 games back and the struggling contiunes.

First we can't hit for a month and lose a ton of games, now the hitting is back and the pitchers can't get outs anymore.  Somethings got to give.  I like Charlie shuffling the lineup around, but let's get real it's time to start throwing chairs in the clubhouse and flipping the post-game food table. 

Ryan Howard has awaken and has begun an onslaught on all this spherical with red stitching, however he might be the only one.  Roy Halladay is doing his thing as well, but again is anybody else on the staff?  No team can win with one hitter and one pitcher.  Not even a combo like a hot Ryan Howard and Doc Halladay.

The Reds come to town next and again we hope and pray that things will get back on track.

Written by Mike Mariano | 06 July 2010

I'd like to find some silver linings from losing 3 out of 4 to the Pirates, but I can't bring myself to do it.  Anytime you squander a chance to rise up the division ladder against perennially one of the worst teams around, you're doing something wrong.  The Pirates aren't as hapless as they've been in recent years, however they're hardly a team that's a near sweep better than the Phillies.

It may take some getting used to, but the Phillies are likely to be in this dog fight for the rest of the summer.  Not only that, they're likely to be fighting an uphill battle for most of it as well.  We all know the Mets will fade when the going gets tough because they're a team full of sissies.  The Braves on the other hand are too consistent on the mound for the Phillies to handle right now.  The Phillies are unquestionably the better team when firing on all cylinders, but how many times this season can you say that's happened?  That's the kind of stuff that'll cost you a shot at the playoffs.

In happy news, Roy Halladay did exactly what he's expected to do last night -- got the win, complete game, only 93 pitches, only 5 hits allowed.  3-1 Phillies win and moved to within 4 games of the divisional lead.  Greg Dobbs got off the snide with a nice 2 run home run and the whole middle of the order knocked some hits.  Winning this series against Braves would do wonders for a team that's aimlessly floating around right now like the Phils.  Cole Hamels needs to be big tonight, I'd really hate to have to complain about him tomorrow.

Written by Mike Mariano | 02 July 2010

Up until today, I haven't really worried much about the Phillies.  Slumping? Losing?  Who cares.  This team is good, check that great, and they'll turn it around.  Veterans all around the field.  A team that always plays hard and always plays the game right.  Sooner or later the cream will rise to the top and everything will be fine.  That may be wishful thinking, but it's not far fetched to expect a good team to find its way -- it is only July 2nd after all.  However, losing Chase Utley for two months changes things.

Today, when I heard the news of surgery and the eight week layoff and talk of a September return... I felt a shred of doubt.  What if the Phillies aren't that good?  What if they don't turn it around and miss the playoffs entirely?  Well the more I think about it, I think Utley's injury undoubtedly hurts this team -- he's the leader and the class of the organization.  However, after the initial shock of it all, I'm not that worried.  Losing Chase hurts big time, but there's more than enough talent to win the division on this team.  Win it handily, I'm not so sure about that -- but win it nonetheless.

This shifts a lot of responsibility onto the shoulders of Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth and Shane Victorino... it'll be interesting to see how they handle it.

Written by Mike Mariano | 30 June 2010

It took three separate three run innings and Brad Lidge almost cost the Phils the win, but in the end they took home the W in a 9-6 extra inning affair.  Somehow Brian Schneider and Wilson Valdez both hit homers and just about everybody on the team had a hit or two.  Joe Blanton's ERA is 6, so we'll call it a victory that he only gave up 3 in his near 8 innings of work.  On the other side, Mike Leake was no match for the Phillies lineup and it was a rare poor outing for the great young rookie pitcher.  To win the game, Raul stepped up with a big double to win the game for the Philthies.

Today, Doc Halladay throws and the game started at 12:30 so you've all got a nice good distraction during work today, so make it a point to not be very productive.  2.5 games out and charging back.

Written by Mike Mariano | 29 June 2010

Keith Law just updated his top 25 MLB Prospects list and our boy Domonic Brown sits atop it.  A bunch of the top prospects were recently called up leaving DoBro as the top dog.  Oh! and there's a new Phillies super prospect who found his way on the list, Jarred Cosart.  A former Phillies prospect -- Michael Taylor -- finds himself a mention as well.  I always loved that guy.

One last note, the Mets came up just short with Wilmer Flores getting an honorable mention -- coming up short seems to be a Mets theme over the past couple years...

Written by Mike Mariano | 29 June 2010

Last time he came to town, Johnny Cueto only got two batters out and the Phillies ended up winning 22-1.  Talk about what have you done for me lately, because Cueto went 8 strong, scattering 6 hits and only allowing one run.  The Phillies got two more in the ninth, but were already up against it losing 7-3.  Kyle Kendrick was the schmuck we all secretly (or loudly..) all say he is (except for when he goes 7 strong, then he's a good young starter again).  6 runs is not going to win ballgames.  To make matters worse, that fat head Scott Rolen hit his 300th career home run.

Bright spots:

• Ryan Howard had two hits, both extra bases, a double and a triple.
• Werth and Ibanez both also had two hits, Raul knocked in 3 RBIs as well.

• Chase Utley needs an MRI on his thumb.  Not too much to worry about because he'll definitely play hurt.  But worry because he'll definitely play hurt.
• Orlando Cabrera was 3-4, while somehow only seeing 6 pitches the whole day.
• Only one Red starter (other than Cueto) didn't have a hit (Gomes).

Written by Mike Mariano | 27 June 2010

Tonight's 11-2 victory marks Jamie Moyer's third straight win for a Phillies team that looks to be righting the ship.  The brightest silver lining about the Phillies recent slide down the standings is how good the pitching has often been.  The staff was hardly throwing shut-outs day in and day out, however they've been much better than you'd expect from a team struggling as hard as they were.  This win for Moyer combined with the previous two has lowered his ERA 0.42 after his worst outing ever (? I don't remember how epically bad it was).

This game was a beat down from the start.  Jayson Werth went 0-5 (christ.), but basically everyone else went to town.  13 hits, 11 runs, 0 home runs -- an offensive tour de force without the long ball .. who would've thunk it?  Not this guy.  Rollins, Victorino, and Francisco all had 3 hits each and were creating problems every time at the plate.

I don't want to declare the team wide slump over, because that is some bad karma that we just don't need right now.  However, it looks good.  The Phillies played the worst baseball they've played in years for nearly a month and we're only 2.5 games out, basically through June.  That leaves July, August, and September to light the NL East on fire.

Written by Mike Mariano | 25 June 2010

The Phillies won 12-3... blah, blah, Blanton, blah, swept the Indians, blah, blah, Polanco dominating, blah:

Chase Utley: 3-3 | Jayson Werth 3-4

God damnit it is fun watching those guys produce -- we sure could use a little more of it.

Added by Benny B.

Just one small addition:

Written by Mike Mariano | 23 June 2010

Well good for him.  Not only did Jamie Moyer go out and get the win for a struggling Phillies team, but he set a record!  Not just any record, but he tied Robin Roberts for the all-time home run record in MLB history.  Personally, I think it's great -- anytime you can set an all-time MLB record and put your name out there, you've got to do it. If you've got to give up 505 home runs to do so, so be it.

The Indians are terrible, but we're not in the business of complaining about wins these days.  Lidge got a save (amen) and Rollins made his debut (0-4...).  Would've been nice to see Jimmy make some excitement on the bases, however he's probably rusty -- we can save that for tonight.

Ryan Howard is heating up and god damnit it's about time.  He hasn't been slumping this season by any means, however we need someone to drag the team out of the dumps (a la Landon Donovan for Team USA in the World Cup) and get them back on track.  If he gets red-hot that will be the only thing the team needs to wake back up because he transform the lineup from strong to unstoppable when he's rolling.

In other news, Chuuch hit the DL and Dobbs got demoted.  Neither are particularly exciting, but both important.  Dobbs has never been a MLB quality starter, but I've always like having him on the bench, I hope he makes his way back up soon.  Chuuch is sneakily one of the more important players on the team because the pitching staff is so comfortable working with him and he's a solid defensive backstop.  Okay, he's not that important, but it hurts losing him for any amount of time.