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End of an era, Moyer to the bullpen, Pedro in the rotation

Written by Mike Mariano | 10 August 2009

Well for now that is.  Pedro Martinez is taking Jamie Moyer’s spot in the rotation for the time being.  Jamie has been struggling for a time now and Pedro is fresh off some solid rehab starts.  If anyone had any doubt, Moyer handled it well (from ESPN):

Manuel said. "Jamie was a total professional and team player when we let him know of the decision to move him to the bullpen. He has been and will continue to be a very important part of this team."

Also, Chad Durbin has be reactivated and Rodrigo Lopez is gone to AAA.  Moyer’s time in the starting rotation led to his 10-9 record with a 5.47 ERA thus far.  I imagine that Jamie will be making some spot starts and still get plenty of big spots for the Phillies.

Victorino gets tossed arguing balls and strikes…from centerfield

Written by Mike Mariano | 10 August 2009

The Phillies dropped another.  They’re 3 for their last 11, things are not good.  An example of how things are going:  Shane Victorino got himself tossed for flailing his arms in disbelief after a few balls and strikes.  Shane was tossed on the spot and justifiably went insane after he was throw out.  That’s just the protocol.  Once you get the hook, you lose your mind and get your money’s worth.  This only gives Mets fans more fuel for the Victorino hate bon fire and it only gives Phillies fans more reason to love him.  The team has been playing poorly again and Shane isn’t sitting around and loathing in it.  He’s pissed off and you’ve got to respect that.  This isn’t a team that should lose 8 out of 11 games and Shane’s letting people know that that’s not okay with him.  I like it.  Things I don’t like:  Kyle Kendrick.

Not a good series for the Phillies, losing 3 straight to the Fish.  We still hold a 4 game lead in the division but it is shrinking as of late and not looking very strong right now.  Can Cliff Lee pitch every day?

Phillies lose last night, need Hamels in a big way today

Written by Mike Mariano | 08 August 2009

All you need to know about this game comes from one stat.  The Phillies top four hitters were 1 for 14 with eight K’s.  Ryan Howard had 3 K’s himself.  Not fun.  The Marlins took a 3-0 in the first two innings and it stayed that way until a two-run homer from Ben Francisco got the Phillies on the board and back into the game.  The bullpen snuck through a few scoreless innings and out of some big jams.

Today Cole Hamels throws for the Phillies and he needs to have a strong outing.  It’s been such an up and down season for Ol’ King Cole and he needs to get on track.  I feel like I write this every time he pitches and I guess it’s just been that sort of year for the “ace”.  Truth be told, as long as the Phillies end up in the playoffs at the end of the year and Cole does work, then his regular season woes won’t matter.

Phil-Lee impressive again in win

Written by Mike Mariano | 07 August 2009

Ehh that title is pretty weak.  Don’t think I’m proud of that one.  Anyway Cliff Lee was superb again for the Phillies in his second start with the team.  Cliff went 7 strong on 1 hit, 6 hits, and 7 K’s.  Cliff is pitching exactly like the kind of guy we thought we were getting and is doing a great job as the current Ace of the staff while Cole Hamels is trying to figure it out again.

Paul Bako was the hero offensively with a game-tying home run that was the difference in the game.  J-Roll is still hot and tearing it up offensively.  3-4 last night with a double and a triple, scoring 2 of the 3 team runs and pushing that average north to .245 which is impressive when you think of where that came from.  The team had 7 hits total and Jimmy and Bako combined for 5 so it wasn’t a banner night offensively which makes it even better that we got the win.

The bullpen made a great showing after Cliff left the game and shut down the Rockies in the eighth and ninth to preserve the victory.  Ryan Madson got the hold with a solid eighth and Brad Lidge shut it down in the ninth for the save with 2 strike-outs.  Those are two guys that the Phillies really need to step up again if they’re going to go deep into the playoffs once more.

Jimmy Rollins & Ryan Howard video fun – hilarious

Written by Mike Mariano | 06 August 2009

Found this on It’s about the Money, Stupid.  It’s definitely worth the two minutes to watch it:

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