Phillies Upgrade

Phillies improve rotation with addition of Joe Blanton



With yesterday's acquisition of A's pitcher Joe Blanton, the Phillies have immediately upgraded their rotation. If you don't believe it, then I'll illustrate why.

A. The trickle-down effect as I call it. Eaton is out of the rotation. Now, Hamels will be the top gun, followed by Blanton, Moyer, Kendrick, and Happ/Myers.

B. They gave up virtually nothing. Outman projects as a middle reliever in the majors and Cardenas plays at a position that the Phillies have occupied by Utley and Rollins-who aren't going anywhere anytime soon. And, Matt Spencer was a throw-in.

C. Blanton is the one pitcher remaining on the market who didn't have injury concerns. And, he has a career ERA in the lower 4's and had two seasons with a sub 4.00 ERA and a WHIP of 1.20.

He's nothing spectacular but a solid major league starter that will be their #2 starter. I personally would have liked to see them go after Roy Oswalt, but perhaps they along with many other teams are scared off by the lingering hip injury. And, Erik Bedard is a headcase and DL visit waiting to happen.

All in all, I give the Phils a B+ for this move.

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Swap of agents

So one day Lito Sheppard fires his agent to hire Eagles nemesis Drew Rosenhell. And, the next day Brian Westbrook dumps his agent for Lito's former agent.

Say what?!

What in the world is Westbrook thinking by hiring an agent who couldn't make any progress with the Eagles on a contract?

It's obvious that both players are disgruntled with their contracts, but then again who isn't in the NFL aside from the 5-10% top paid players? Asante Samuel comes in on an $8 million annual salary and Lito is still making $4 million per season on average. That's the way it goes. If you sign your name to that contract it's a one-way street. As a player you're obligated to stand by that agreement, but the team may cut you at any time.

This is both the curse and gift of the NFL. It gives teams financial flexibility by cutting player who are no longer cut out for the game, but it also pisses players off who see other players making much more than them.

What does this mean for the Eagles? Hard to say, but I'm willing to guess that Westbrook and the Eagles will find some middle ground because he wants a contract similar to what L.T. received in 2004, but L.T. was a lot younger at that point then Westbrook is now. L.T. was in just his 4th season and about 25 years old, while Westbrook is entering his 7th season and ready to turn 29 years old.

If I were the Eagles I'd give Westbrook a 4-year extension with a $15 million bonus. I don't care what Howard Eskin says, the Eagles can tear up that contract and give him a new one.

Veterans report to camp next Thursday.

He's Back

Drew Rosenhaus is Lito Sheppard's new agent



Ok people, get your popcorn ready and gear up for a showdown once again between the Eagles' front office and one of their disgruntled players.

Well....maybe that's a bit premature. However, the parallel is apparent. You have a disgruntled player who thinks he's worth more than he actually is in Lito Sheppard. He fires his agents and as of yesterday retains the services of the Scott Bor-ASS of the NFL in Drew Rosenhaus.

Rosenhaus informed the Eagles yesterday that he will be Lito's new agent and he will be in camp when veterans are to report next Thursday.

Right now things seem to be ok with the Lito situation, but I'm not expecting this to continue. We can expect a nasty degeneration of events unfolding like a tsunami on a beach. After all, when you're a player on the Eagles who's unhappy with his contract and when you let the Eagles know that, it's worse than a redneck walking into a militant Arab neighborhood in the Middle East with "Nuke Arabs" written on his T-shirt.

My first prediction for the Eagles' season is that Lito fakes an injury by mid-season.

I could be wrong though; heck I'm the same guy who said the Eagles would go 14-2 before the season began last year.

12 Game Streak

AL wins All-Star game, making it 12 straight wins



Yours truly had just graduated high school when the NL had last won the All-Star game. I had a feeling the NL would choke again last night after dozing off only to see their 2-0 lead evaporate to a 3-2 deficit. The NL is to All-star games what Philadelphia teams are to the later rounds of the playoffs. They're just bound to blow it.

The game was still tied at 3 a-piece when I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer.

When I turned on WIP this morning to hear what happened I expected to hear that the NL lost in extra innings. What I didn't expect to hear was that this game, which started too damn late in the evening to begin with had lasted 15 innings! A game that didn't start until almost 9 o' friggin' clock had gone on well past 1:30 in the morning.

How ridiculous is it that not only did MLB have a parade at 7:00, but they start the festivities at 8:00 and milk it until near 9:00 before the first pitch? It was great to see all of those Hall of Famers on the field at the same time. MLB did a wonderful job with that as they paid homage to Yankees stadium. However, why didn't they do that at 7:00?!

There seems to be an emphasis on appeasing West coast audiences by having late start times. Not to sound coastal-centric but most of the big cities in this country are within the Eastern and Central time zones. It's these two time zones that should be catered to.

This problem also occurs in the playoffs when they foolishly put the prime-time games on at 9:00. The NBA is guilty of it to and no wonder why people don't watch the NBA playoffs. Most of the viewers who would watch are on the East coast and we're going to sleep before these games are halfway over, so why bother watching to begin with?

MLB should start their All-star and playoff games at 7:00. Who gives a damn if the West Coast cities can't see them. How do they think we feel when we're asleep and can't watch our favorite teams? Or, how do they think we feel when in the case of the Phillies last year they put the damn playoff games on in the middle of the afternoon while most of us working-stiffs are slaving away.

Last night's 15-inning, nearly 5-hour marathon affair is proof enough that events like the All-star game and playoff games should be aired at a time conducive to more people being able to watch. And, that my friends is viewers in the Eastern and Central time zones. Do the math-we do most of the watching.

Droppin' The F Bomb

Chase Utley drops the F bomb during the Homerun Derby



Seems that a lot of people are up in a tizzy over Chase Utley's F bomb last night. Even people are trying to interpret just who he was saying "F**k you" to.

I'll tell you who he was saying, "F**k you" too-the Mets fans. Before the announcer got a chance to announce Utley's name the hoard of New Yorkers reacted quicker than a swarm of enraged bees who just had their hive knocked down by a hoard of kids and booed him mercilessly. I'm all for booing-hell Kobe had the living daylights booed out of him by us when the All-star game was in Philly several years back. However, if you boo, you have to expect a player to react. And, Utley told the scumbag Mets fans to bleep off.

For those of you who have been clamoring for Utley to show some emotion, you got a taste of it last night. I have no problem with it. After all, he's shown about as much emotion in his career here as John Stevens at a funeral.

So, here's to you Mets fans!

Hanging On

Phillies get the best of the Dbacks' bullpen and get a 6-3 win



The offense hung in there against Brandon Webb yesterday and Burrell made all the difference in the 8th inning, hitting his 23rd dinger of the year.

Burrell is certainly doing his best to convince the Phillies' brass that they need to re-sign him. I have a suspicion they're going to hang onto Greg Golson, hoping that he can be the answer in left field. Then they'll put Werth in center next year and move Victorino to right.

I think it's a mistake to do that because Victorino is the outfielder I see as not being an everyday player. Werth on the other hand, is Aaron Rowand reincarnated. He plays tough like him, gets clutch hits, and has a certain swagger about him that's infectious in a positive way.

It would behoove the Phillies to re-sign Burrell, whom is every bit the All-Star outfielder that guys like Alfonso Soriano are.

Chalk yesterday's win up to great pitching though. Cole Hamels and Brad Lidge, the co-MVP's of this squad carried the team to their 2nd straight winning series and they head into the break on a great note.

They better be burning up the phone lines for Erik Bedard though. Adam Eaton hopefully will never pitch another game again as a Phillie.

Now, the Phillies are just 1/2 game ahead of the Mets who despite losing Pedro Martinez again, have a better pitching staff. You can't spin it anyway, no how. Santana, Maine, and Perez are better than Hamels, Moyer, Kendrick, Happ, and who knows what.

One can only hope the Phillies see this and they act fast.

Captain Clutch

Jayson Werth notches game-winning hit in Phillies' 6-5 win over Dbacks

Cards Fold

Phillies win series against the Cardinals led by Howard's two homeruns



I heard a brilliant analysis of Ryan Howard's statistics by 610 WIP's Keith Jones on The Morning Show this morning. Certainly many in the blogosphere will lift his theory and say they came up with it, but I'm here to give the man his due.

He broke down just why Howard is hitting so many homers and getting so many RBI's and why the strikeouts are actually a good thing. He stated that pitchers will go after Howard continuously hoping to strike him out; the opposite of what they did with Barry Bonds, whom was intentionally walked more than any player in modern MLB history. Therefore, by seeing a regular diet of strikes and pitches, Howard will of course hit lots of homeruns and drive in tons of runs.

In other words, the strikeouts are a necessary evil. If he didn't strike out so much, he'd be getting intentionally walked every game.

While he makes a brilliant case for Howard's success, I am still of the opinion that a player like Albert Pujols is a much better overall hitter and someone I'd take in a heartbeat. Look at Pujols' power and strikeout numbers and you'll be shocked. There is no modern hitter like him. In 2006, when he hit 49 homeruns he had just 50 strikeouts. And, in his career he has 300 homeruns in 7-plus seasons over 1170 games. Guess how many strikeouts he has? 481. That's an average of just 66.6 per season! Ryan Howard on the other hand has played 503 games (less than half of Pujols) and while he has 156 homers, he has a whopping 618 strikeouts, good for an average of 1.22 K's per game.

Give me a player that puts a ball in play anytime, versus a player who doesn't. The odds of players making errors by missing a groundball or flyball outweigh the times a player strikes out.

But, the Cardinals won't trade Albert Pujols for anybody and certainly not for Howard who will certainly command a heftier salary than Pujols currently makes.

With that said, Howard for all of his defensive woes and strikeouts has carried the Phillies on his back the past two games. He's capable of such feats. The consistency is what the Phillies need from him.

On the move?

A.J. Burnett and Erik Bedard are two pitchers the Phillies are said to be interested in.

Toronto recently sent a scout to check out some of the Phils' prospects, namely shortstop Jason Donald, Lou Marson, and Greg Golson.

According to Howard Eskin, he feels the Phillies aren't so high on Bedard though as one person in the organization referred to him as a "weird bird."

Of course, teams put out information all the time to throw other teams off their trail. Pat Gillick according to sources is very much interested in acquiring the left-hander from Seattle.

They will need to move quickly because we saw how fast Sabathia and Harden went to the Mid-West.

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Close, but no cigar...

So much for the four fans who were trying to get in 100,000 votes by themself at Citizen's Bank Park. Pat Burrell came third in voting for the final all-star spot.

This is fueled by the fact that any fan can vote up to 25 times for a player.

I think it's about time MLB go old school and just let people fill out All-star ballots when they go to the games. The internet age has made All-Star voting a complete joke. There is no reason in hell that Cole Hamels, Pat Burrell, or even Ryan Howard shouldn't be All-Stars.

I'll bitch about Howard's strikeouts, but he's leading the majors in homers and RBI. That alone should get you into the summer classic.

MLB should give fans a 33% overall vote, and the other 66% should be divvied up amongst players, managers, and the media.

A Sign of Life

Phillies offense comes alive at the end to win 4-2



For seven innings the Phillies looked dead in the water once again. J.A. Happ brought his A-game, but the offense brought their F-game.

With just 5 hits in the first innings and a rookie pitcher doing the unthinkable-dare I say it shutting a team out for 6-plus innings, this game had heartbreak written all over it.

Utlimately, J.A. Happ came out of the game in the 7th after putting some runners on base only to see two of his base runners score.

Happ's statline reads like this from last night: 6 1/3 innings, 2 earned runs, and 5 strikeouts. He now has 8 strikeouts in 11 innings over his two starts and a respectable 3.27 ERA.

My only criticism with Happ is his strikes to ball ratio. He was nearly at 1:1 last night and it's important for a young pitcher to get ahead in the counts particularly in the beginning of games. Lack of control in games has doomed many a young pitching prospect in the majors.

So it goes, the Phillies finally got off the schnide and ended their 4-game losing streak. They are staring down the barrel of losing their 9th series in 10 series' so it's imperative they win this one today.

And, like they said during the game last night it's amazing that the Phillies are still in first place. No need to hammer that one home again. The NL East is atrocious and ripe for the taking.

A pitcher and a bat are just the remedy for the Phillies. But, they better get moving because the Brewers and Cubs already snagged two arms off the market.

And, a bat as I've been saying for the past few weeks is a close #2 to their top priority. I'm not saying they should go out and get Matt Holliday, but a utility guy who has a great approach to hitting should certainly be in order.

The Phils take on the Cards at 1:05 in the rubber match today. Jamie Moyer takes the hill against Braden Looper.

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Sixers make it official with Brand

Elton Brand was quite impressive in his press conference yesterday. The thing I was most impressed with is that he took less money ($10 million to be exact) to come to the Sixers because he appreciated how aggressive they were in trying to woo him over.

He was impressed with the fact that they cleared all sorts of cap space and were willing to go the extra mile and move a few players for a trade exception to get $15 million under.

Sure, he came here for money too, but the guy is a class act and perfect for the team and the city.

Branded

Elton Brand and Sixers verbally agree on deal



People leaving the awful Phillies loss last night got a pretty damn good consolation prize in the form of the first dominant power forward to enter Philly since Charles Barkley left in the early 90's.

Elton Brand has verbally agreed to sign with the Sixers for 5 years and 80 million big ones.

Word is that Brand was dining with the Sixers' brass last night in Center City, and they'll make it official today.

What can I say that hasn't been said already? He fills several needs for the Sixers and also gives fans a real reason to come to the games again-to see a superstar surrounded by quality players.

And, now the Sixers instantly become contenders in the East. This move alone makes them a 50-win team, which makes them the 2nd or 3rd best team in the East behind Boston.

Next up, acquiring a shooter. Could this mean that Iguodala gets shipped in a sign and trade deal? Don't be shocked to see him go to the West coast. The Sixers reportedly contacted Corey Maggette and I'm sure the Clippers will want to pair somebody with Baron Davis now just to give fans some reason for hope. I'm all for an Iguodala for Maggette swap.

Let's be real here. Iguodala is a small forward in a shooting guard's body. He's an athlete and the Sixers have plenty of those. They need a pure shooting guard. If they acquire one then look out, they'll be competing with Boston.

As far as Brand's healed achilles goes; don't sweat it too much. His doctor said all systems are a go.

The cynic in me says this is Chris Webber all over again. But, the optimist in me says you can't go anywhere in sports without taking a certain amount of risk.

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Phillies offense silenced again

This is getting old at this point. Mitch Williams thinks they're in a funk. I think it's more like a coma with brief interupptions of motion.

Cole Hamels did his best Jim Abbott (circa 1992) impression by pitching his ass off and getting nothing to show for it.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/a/abbotji01.shtml

He gave up a couple of solo shots, but other than those two mistakes pitched brilliantly. And, the offense looked as lost as a toddler in the King of Prussia mall during Christmas Eve.

Carlos Ruin once again took a dump, this time in the 2nd inning when he grounded into an inning-ending double play. Angelo Cataldi and Rhea Hughes couldn't say it any better with regards to Ruiz, by calling him a "Rally Serial Killer." I was glad to see Charlie Manuel listen to my advice and bench Ruiz in the 7th and replace him with Coste though. Great move.

Too bad the offense couldn't mount any sort of attack.

In terms of improvements they can make, Rich Harden just got shipped to the Cubs for a bunch of garbage. Sean Gallagher is the only borderline prospect that Oakland got in return and he's mediocre at best.

That leaves the Phillies with Option's C and D, A.J. Burnett or Roy Oswalt. There's no doubt Burnett has had his injury woes, but he's better than anybody on their staff not named Cole Hamels and a quality #2 starter.

And, Oswalt has a lingering hip issue, but you're not going to find any pitchers on the market without some issue. Sabathia was the only one who is healthy, but at almost 300 pounds he's bound to have health problems. And, Harden hasn't pitched a complete season in...forever.

While we're all clamoring for a new pitcher to plug in this rotation let's not forget that this lineup needs a kick in the ass. And, a trade is necessary. So Taguchi should be sent packing. Carlos Ruiz should be sent to single A ball. And, Geoff Jenkins should be traded for anything-hell I bet they couldn't even get a rosin bag with bird dropping stains on it for him.

Just when we thought the Phillies were out of their funk they have reeled us back in to the maddening nightly world of test your patience as much as possible without shooting out your TV set.



Now that Hamels' start has been wasted, there's no telling what to expect out of the Phils for the rest of this series. The Cardinals, despite missing their top two starters are a damn good team.

Brand To Philly?

Reports are the Sixers are in talks with Elton Brand to bring him back East



According to ESPN.com there's a new player in the Elton Brand sweepstakes and that team is your Philadelphia 76ers.

What they'll need to do and have to happen won't be easy though and might not be possible, so be forewarned.

First, they'll need to clear more cap space and according to ESPN.com they'll need to move Rodney Carney and Calvin Booth to the T'Wolves for a trade exception of $3.5 million. They'll then be about $15 million under and they can then offer him a contract with $15 million in the first year.

There's one problem though; the Clips and Warriors are in a bidding war to offer him in excess of $80-$90 million over 5 years so the Sixers are going to have to offer a 5-year $100 million deal most likely and the cap numbers will be enormous if they offer him just $15 million in the first year.

Looks like they won't get Josh Smith after all because that will be just too much of a task to either outbid the Hawks or get them to agree to some sort of deal.

Originally I was against the Sixers going after Brand for one reason; the achilles injury he had over the summer last year. Sure, he came back last year, but only played in 8 games at the end of the year. This is a move that could backfire on them and have Chris Webber written all over it. Then again, the Sixers have to do something and you can't get anywhere without taking risks. Otherwise, if they miss out on Brand or Smith they're looking at taking on a 34 year-old Rasheed Wallace who maybe has a few more good years left in the tank.

Things are heating up so it's going to be interesting.

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And, in other news the Phillies lost again in heartbreaking fashion. Who do you blame for this? Charlie Manuel? Adam Eaton? Eric Bruntlett? The Baseball Gods?

Well a pitcher should never give up 5 runs in the first inning. And, he sure as hell shouldn't be in there after surrendering a 6th run in less than 3 innings. And, the Phillies were getting blown out 8-2 and looked as dead as a piece of chicken laying in the hot sun so I can't fault Manuel too much for yanking Utley. Utley has been overused this season and was burned out before we got halfway through June.

You could argue this either way, but I'll give Manuel the benefit of the doubt on this one. The Mets had some serious momentum and beat the Phils two straight and appeared on their way to beating them like the Phils did to the Cardinals a month ago in that 20-run game. Remember that game? It seemed like eons ago.

It was nearly a comeback for the ages though and they ripped out the hearts of us all.

Let's hope they bounce back tonight against the Cards. Cole Hamels is on the hill against Joel Pineiro.

Stormy Ending

Phillies' bid to come back against Mets after epic rain delay spoiled



I was down at this game yesterday with my girlfriend my buddy and a friend of his. Nothing like 12th row seats behind the Phils' dugout. Quite a view.

It was muggier than a swamp down there yesterday and then the storm clouds rolled in, but it looked like it was going to be a quick shower. But, alas it was something more than that.

Some 45 minutes later the rain subsided and people made their way back to their seats like a procession at a high school graduation. And, once they got the tarp off the field, the skies opened up again in buckets. That was it for us. We bolted and some 2 hours after that play resumed. The word from Gary Matthews and Jim Jackson on the radio was that this storm cell just hovered above that area and kept circling for an hour and a half resulting in a hellacious downpour. I've almost never seen it rain that hard in my life when we were stuck in the stadium before we could leave during the brief slowdown in the monsoon.

This game was as much about the epic rain delay (2 hours and 50 minutes) as the crushing defeat itself. The game that started at 1:35, ended at 9:00-when we usually are deep into a 7:00 game!

For the first 7 innings the Phillies looked lost. They were stranding runners on base and aside from a little small ball in the first inning they looked as inept as they did against the AL during their June swoon.

After play resumed at around 7:00 it was a different game. Jayson Werth was clutch once again, sending a pitch into the left center stands to knot the game up at two apiece.

And, then it went into extra innings and wouldn't you know it, Carlos RUIN gets up to bat once again (it seems like once a night this happens) with the bases loaded and two outs. You knew before the first pitch how this would end up.

In the 12th inning Chad Durbin, who has been Mr. Reliable this year, allowed a 2-run shot to Fernando Tatis, who I can't believe is still in the league. Remember that name? As a rookie he was unbelievable. He hit 34 homers and became the only player in MLB history to hit a pair of grandslams in one inning. As a matter of fact, I can't believe Marlon Anderson is still in the league. Both of these guys are on the Mets.

Aside from Reyes, Wright, and Beltran, the Mets are fielding schleps out there. And, their pitching staff isn't all that either, but they have made the Phillies look like a bush league team the past two nights.

Saturday night it was Tom Gordon and yesterday Carlos Ruiz. I'm not one of those people who says Chris Coste should play every day, but he should start 55-60% of the games. And, Charlie Manuel needs to start replacing Ruiz with Coste in the 7th inning every night like he does with Burrell. If anybody should be benched in the later innings it's Ruiz. He has killed this team far too many times. He's amazing at one thing and that's killing rallies.

So, my advice for Charlie Manuel in this edition of the Monday Morning Manager is that Charlie Manuel start replacing Coste with Ruiz in the later innings whenever Ruiz starts.

Adam Eaton is on the hill tonight against Pedro Martinez at 7:05.

Extended

Phillies to announce contract extension for Brad Lidge



Great move for the Phils on a few levels. One, Brad Lidge will end up being a Cy Young candidate by season's end and one of the top (if not the top) free agents this offseason. Two, it will erase the Brett Myers contingency plan.

The Phillies have the most dominant closer in baseball right now and somebody who is a rarity in Philadelphia; a player who comes here after success somewhere else and is actually better than he was before.

Lidge is the most important and successful acquisition by a Philadelphia team since Terrell Owens. His stat sheet reads like one of Dennis Eckersley's dominant seasons. He is 2-0 with 19 saves, 47 K's, and a 0.77 ERA in 35 innings this season.

One could argue that Lidge is the Phillies' MVP this season. In fact, I'll be one to argue that he is. Whenever he's in a game, it's pretty much a mortal lock that they'll win. He's saved 19 games and bailed himself and the team out of countless jams. I'd say he's worth every penny he receives in this extension.

Great move by the Phils.

Flying High

Shane Victorino comes through with game-winning hit in the 9th to lead Phils to 3-2 victory



It was hardly a conventional victory. J.A. Happ pitched well through four innings, giving up zero runs, but then was yanked after 4 2/3, and credited for allowing two runs.

Overall, Happ pitched ok, but the main problem was he wasn't ahead in his counts. But, the Phillies found a way to come back against the Mets' struggling ace Johan Santana, who hasn't won a game in a month, and who has a 7-7 record.

In a league where so much emphasis is placed on wins, Santana sports a .500 record, because he just doesn't get run support. The same goes for Cole Hamels who has 8 wins, but if he had just a little more support he'd be on his way to 12 or 13 wins and he'd be in Cy Young consideration.

The Phils began their 10-game homestand with a huge win and this could mark the beginning of the end for the Mets if the Phillies take 3 out of 4 or sweep them. Shane Victorino ended the night with some real fireworks by hitting the game-winning single to score Pedro Feliz, taking game one in this 4-game series.

Another star on the night was Chad Durbin, who had 6 strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings worth of work. He now sports a 1.50 ERA. The good thing with Durbin is he hasn't had to pitch a whole lot in the past month. He's had just 11 appearances and logged 14 innings since June 2nd.

The Phillies are now 3 1/2 games up on the Marlins, who lost to the Rockies in a game for the ages. The Rockies came back to beat the Marlins 18-17. Yes, you read that right, this was a football score people. It was the first time in Coors Field history that two teams scored 16 runs or more.

Jamie Moyer takes the hill tonight against John Maine.

King Of The Hill

Cole Hamels comes within an out of a shutout



The Phillies offense nearly didn't have to show up last night as Hamels came within an out of recording his third shutout of the season. He already has two shutouts on the season. I'm ready to say he's their most dominant pitcher since Steve Carlton. He's already right there with Curt Schilling.

Hamels is their franchise pitcher and in a little over two years he's elevated himself to the top 3 of pitchers in the majors and may be the best. He is to the Phillies what Dwight Gooden was to the Mets in the 80's, Clemens was to the Sox in the 80's and early 90's, and Randy Johnson to the M's and Dbacks.

It's a damn shame that the rest of the Phillies rotation has more question marks than Pat's cheesesteaks has bottles of whiz. I like Kyle Kendrick as a number three and when his sinker is on, he's nearly unhittable. Jamie Moyer keeps them in games, but don't expect more than 6 innings or 100 pitches (whichever comes first). Adam Eaton is a number five and in that role he's doing fine, but don't expect a whole lot. And, Brett Myers is a trainwreck. He could be done in Philly. The next 18 days (the rest of his scheduled stint in the minors) will decide if he comes back to the rotation, bullpen, or he's shipped out of town.

Word is, the Phillies are hot after the Mariners' Erik Bedard. While he's certainly a front-line pitcher, one disturbing thing about him is that he puts himself on a pitch count and takes himself out of games. Even with that baggage I'll take him over an ineffective Brett Myers.

At this point I'm not opposed to moving Ryan Howard for a top-notch starting pitcher. I'd be on the phones with the Giants and see if a Howard for Lincecum swap would do it. Or, talk to the braves about trading him for Texeira and Jair Jurrjens-who pitched last night. Jurrjens has ace potential and while he didn't have his best game last night, he entered the game with a better ERA than Hamels and more wins. And, his strikeouts/inning ratio is superb. Texeira would give the Phillies an excellent replacement for Howard who doesn't strike out nearly as much, hits for power, and hits for a high average. And, he won't kill you with errors either.

I know I'm being harsh on Howard, but it's either homer or strikeout for him and a few doubles. He's not half the hitter he was two years ago when he was hitting the ball to different parts of the field and hitting over .300. He's now become the equivalent of Dave Kingman and playing poor defense. I'll take his power numbers and RBI numbers anyday, but is that really worth close to $20 million of a year over the long-run, which is what he'll command?

What would you rather have; a player like Howard or a stud starting pitcher to go along with Hamels and a stud first basemen like Texeria. The only problem is my scenario has them dealing with a division rival so they may have to trade Howard in another deal (i.e. to the Giants for Lincecum) and sign Texeria when he becomes a free agent.

J.A. Happ takes the hill tonight against Johan Santana. I think it was a dumb move starting Hamels last night. They should have brought Happ up last night to start because they already had the series in the bag. Now, you're putting Happ in a pressure situation against the Mets' ace in a big series. That's a lot to throw on a pitcher's shoulders, who has just one major league career start on his resume.

Back on Track

Phillies win first series since...well-their sweep against the Braves last month



With last night's 7-3 win over the Braves, the Phillies have now made it 6 straight wins over their counterparts in Atlanta.

Despite winning by 4 runs, this game was far from easy. Adam Eaton had to bail himself out of a few jams and even walked 5 batters. And, J.C. Romero gave us some scary moments. As if that wasn't enough Brad Lidge loaded up the bases in the ninth and barely hung on for a save.

The reason for last night's win is rather simple. Just like in the previous night, they got enormous production out of their 1-5 hitters. Thus, Ryan Howard and Burrell lit up the skies with some pre-July 4th fireworks, as each hit their 21st homers of the season.

We've seen this so many times with the Phillies. When they're hitting homeruns in the hot weather and getting quality starting pitching to hand it over to their bullpen they are virtually unbeatable.

J.D. Durbin, who many speculate as the pitcher to fill in for Myers should not be taken out of the bullpen. He's perfect for middle relief. Again, last night he pitched a pair of innings and allowed just one hit. There's nothing more that I can't stand then a team screwing with the chemistry of a team by yanking a pitcher (in this case one who's been lights out) out of their role and throwing them into a fill-in role. Not only could that screw up Durbin's conditioning, but it could ruin his confidence if he has a few bad starts.

Looks like Hamels will take Myers' spot for now as he goes on the hill tonight. But, they will need to come up with somebody in the next 5 days.

They will look to make it a clean sweep tonight, same time, same place down in Hotlanta as Hamels goes up against Jair Jurrjens.

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Red Carpet Treatment

Yesterday the Sixers put on the full court press for restricted free agent Josh Smith, by giving him a hero's welcome to Philadelphia.

He even got to meet with Mayor Nutter.

It was an impressive move by the Sixers as they had to come up with their A-game in hopes to woo the restricted free agent.

Now, it's another thing if they can pull this off. Looks like the only way they can do is by front-loading the contract and thereby forcing the Hawks into a position where they can't match because of reaching the luxury tax threshold.

I have a bad feeling though that the Sixers are going to come out of this empty-handed and they'll be saying to us, "we tried everything, but couldn't land anybody." Doesn't that sound like a few teams we know of?

We've been burned too many times in Philly by getting our hopes up, so I'm going to believe it when I see it.

NL Sweet NL

Phillies return to NL play and whoop the Braves



The Phillies made their return to the NL and Hotlanta last night where they last enjoyed a winning series. Seems so long ago doesn't it?

Aside from the Phillies being back, Chipper Jones made his return as well.

And, wouldn't you know that the first game back in the NL the Phillies won a ballgame? Hell, they didn't just win the game, they whooped the Braves 8-3. Things got a little dicey in the 7th when Kendrick got knocked out of the game, but it was 5-3 at the time.

During his last seven starts, Kendrick boasts a 5-1 record and a 3.86 ERA. Not bad for a number three starter, which he is after Brett Myers got sent down to the Iron Pigs.

The top of the order woke up and it certainly helped they were facing some guy named Craig Morton, going a combined 10 for 23 with 6 runs knocked in.

Weren't we all saying how the Phillies have had trouble against pitchers they don't know-hence the struggles against the AL. You have to call a spade a spade and they destroyed a pitcher they don't know-hell I'm not even sure his name is Craig. Just kidding.

The Phillies are 13 games above .500 (41-28) against the NL. And, they're just 4-11 against the AL.

You'll have the naysayers like a friend of mine who are swearing off the season because the Phillies couldn't beat the AL teams. I say not so fast. Here are a couple "ifs" and let's face it, most of sports is about "if's."

If, they trade for Roy Oswalt they'll greatly improve their chances. And, if they get an offensive player in that lineup on a regular basis who doesn't strike out a ton-they don't even have to play everyday, just a change of pace player like a Chris Coste-it will improve the lineup. And, if Jimmy Rollins can become the Jimmy Rollins of old then they'll be a serious team to deal with in the second half.

Remember, the Cardinals won it all in 2006 against the vaunted Detroit Tigers' pitching staff. The Phillies have to make moves. And, if they get hot at the right time they can beat anybody.

Let's Go Shopping

Free Agency opens today in the NBA



Today is the long-awaited day for Sixers fans. It's been seven long years since this team was a contender. And, it's been five years of cap hell for this team. Dikembe Mutombo's contract (around $15 million annually) with 3 years left was exchanged for Keith Van Horn's salary. And, then Van Horn was traded for Glenn Robinson. And, Glenn Robinson was traded (in what might be the worst trade in Sixers history) for Rodney Rodgers and Jamal Mashburn's supposedly expiring contract-if he chose to retire, which he didn't. Therefore, they were on the books for two more years after Mashburn exercised his option even though he couldn't play anymore!

And, this was just one element to it. The Sixers were buried due to bad contracts handed to Aaron McKie, Kenny Thomas and Brian Skinner (who were later traded to Sacramento in the Webber deal) and Todd McCullough who retired, but continued collecting a salary.

Gotta love the NBA. The league were bottom feeders are paid to sit on their asses and retired players keep teams in salary cap hell.

But, the Sixers are finally out from underneath this mess and have 11 million big ones to spend. So, who will they spend it on?

Word out of Atlanta is they will make a huge push for forward Josh Smith starting today. The Sixers may front-load their contract offer to him, which will prohibit the Hawks from being able to sign him. Smith is due to be in Philly later on this week.

He is said to be one of the top free agents on the market and NBA people say he has the skills to be a top notch power forward in this league-just what the Sixers need to become a contender again. Charles Barkley disagrees though. When he was on Sports Final on Sunday night with John Clarke and Anthony Gargano he thinks the Sixers would be wasting their money on Smith and he would do little to make them a contender.

Another player they may go after is Elton Brand, who just opted out of his contract to become an unrestricted free agent.

Clearly the Sixers have to do something to start winning the fans back in this town. During the latter part of the Iverson years they were a habitually average team and before opening night last year it had to be the quietest introduction to a season for any team in this town in quite some time. But, in two years there will be some huge names available on the open market, when Chris Bosh, Dywane Wade, and Lebron James all become free agents.

But, they can't wait until then to spend their money. Five years of mediocre basketball is long enough.

Goodbye June

Phillies conclude interleague play with loss to Rangers



If you're a player or coach on the Phillies, probably the only thing you're more grateful about interleague play being over with is the fact that they have no more games to play in the month of June.

In a month that started with so much promise, following a 3-game sweep of the Braves on June 8th the Phillies have been the equivalent of an oil tanker crashing into a burning volcano since then. They are beyond a train wreck or a plane crash, but a complete atrocity.

They have gone 5-13 since June 8th and have won just two of their past eleven games and despite having offensive deficiencies, their pitching hasn't gotten the job done either.

And, there's a common theme in regards to who they've been losing to and it's not just AL teams, but winning teams. In all six straight losing series' they have lost to winning teams. The Marlins, Cardinals, Red Sox, Angels, A's, and Rangers all have winning records.

That's not only alarming, but disturbing. Sure, you can chalk this up to one of those mid-season slumps and rationalize things by saying how the Cardinals won just 83 games in 2006 and went on to win the World Series despite having two 8-game losing streaks, but the Phillies can't beat good teams right now.

The entire team is providing viewers with a blueprint on how you can lose games on a nightly basis. When they get a good start out of a starting pitcher, the bullpen coughs up homeruns. When the offense finally wakes up like it did on Friday night then Brett Myers buries the team in less than 3 innings. When they are engaged in a pitching duel, then the offense chokes like Mama Cass on a sandwich.

The solution for this team isn't just trading for Roy Oswalt (who is the pitcher I'd like to see them get). They have to get new blood in this lineup through a trade. Does that mean trading Pat Burrell to al AL team for a Chone Figgins type (someone who can do different things offensively that doesn't strike out a lot). That would certainly improve the lineup. I know Pat Burrell puts up the numbers every year and goes on hot streaks, but if this team isn't going to re-sign him and if they can get strikeouts out of that lineup and get a player in exchange for him who can steal bases, move runners, and not strike out then it could be a remedy for this lineup.

Word is that Brett Myers could be sent down or benched as early as today. And, the guy who might get called up is J.A. Happ who has been red hot in the minors. That means Tom Gordon will be the one to be DL'd while Happ is up here. Carrasco has been getting knocked around lately so it's unlikely he has a vote of confidence from the Phillies' braintrust at this point.

There are serious changes needed and this team is more than one trade away from being a serious contender.

Texas Shoot-out

Phillies come up one run shy in shoot-out with Texas



If you watched last night's duel between the Phillies and Rangers you were exposed to The Good, The Bad, The Ugly. It was a back and forth shoot-out akin to the classic movie (one of my personal favorites) with the same title.



The Good: The Phillies offense woke up from it's two-week long slumber. Sure, they had just one hit after scoring their first five runs and four of them came on Pedro Feliz's grand slam, but they managed to score seven runs overall in last night's shoot-out.

The Bad: Brett Myers looks lost, dazed, confused, dejected, and broken. It's time to move him to the set-up role.

Sure, he made the declaration before the season that he didn't want to be yanked back and forth, but it's clear that he's just not cut out as a starter at this point.

The Ugly: The Phillies found a way to lose their 8th in 9 games. After being 13 games above .500 a few weeks ago, they are now five games above .500 and on pace for 86 wins.

This team that once looked like a World Series contender looks just like the same old Phillies from years past, from the Larry Bowa years. Yep, that same old team that couldn't get over the hump because of pitching or strikeouts in the lineup, or Bobby Abreu's unwillingness to lay it on the line.

The story with Philadelphia teams is a broken record. The Eagles can't make it over the hump. The Flyers always seem to run out of gas in the playoffs. The Sixers are stuck in mediocrity. And, the Phillies always have issues with their starting pitching.

The answer to this problem is simple; their talent evaluation on pitchers isn't good enough. There's a reason why teams like the Red Sox, Angels, and now the Devil Rays come up with a bevy of young studs on the mound. They put the money into their minor league systems and they have plenty of top-notch scouts who bring in the best talent they can find.

The Phillies on the other hand skimp on their farm system budget because this ownership group is habitually locked into a budget. And, we the fans are left screaming at our TV sets or if you're me-cursing up a storm in a way that would rival Tommy Lasorda's post game meltdowns.



It's beyond time for this team to make a major move. But, can we expect them to ante up with Carlos Carrasco and to take on extra salary? More importantly, is it in their best interests to get a rent a pitcher? I'm not sure C.C. Sabathia is the answer. I'd prefer they go out and get Roy Oswalt, who still has a few years left on his contract. And, I'd love nothing more than for the Phillies to get over on Ed Wade again. Just like they did in the Brad Lidge deal. Or, maybe Carrasco is the answer and they should call him up.

Pat Gillick has come up with some good moves during the season. Jamie Moyer was an excellent in-season acquisition. Let's see what he has for an encore...if the owners let him.

Shake Up

Charlie Manuel shakes up the lineup and Kyle Kendrick dominates in 4-0 win over the A's



Looks like Charlie Manuel listened to my advice (read yesterday's blog) and shook up the lineup in a major way. I suggested building this lineup more around Werth and Coste to give it a kick-start and it worked.

Chase Utley came out of the witness protection program yesterday and came up a homerun shy of hitting for the cycle on his way to 4 hits.

Kendrick was absolutely lights out last night and in this case great pitching trumped everything, but it was nice to see the offense come back to life.

Word is that the A's players headed back to the dugout and said they couldn't even see the ball. Kendrick was in the zone. He certainly could've thrown a no-hitter last night with the way he was pitching. He held them hitless for 4 1/3 innings and allowed just one hit through 7 innings.

Even though it was an impressive win there was one disturbing number that once again stood out; runners left on base. The Phillies had 26 of them.

With the win, the Phils moved to two games ahead of the Marlins in the division.

Tonight Adam Eaton takes the hill against Rich Harden. This looks like a total mismatch on paper, but then again it looked like the Phillies had a mismatch last night as well.

That's why you play the games.

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Ed Wade gets a beat-down

If you haven't heard yet, you sure will now. Ed Wade got his ass kicked by pitcher Shawn Chacon yesterday.

Apparently Chacon was enjoying his dinner a few hours before the game when Wade walked in on him and told him to go see his manager. Chacon told him to wait til he was done eating and then Wade escalated the situation and started cursing and screaming at him.

And, then Chacon did Wade like Adebesi did to one of his enemies in Oz.



He promptly threw Wade down on the floor and jumped on top of him.

"So at that point I lost my cool and I grabbed him by the neck and threw him to the ground. I jumped on top of him," he said. "Words were exchanged."

And, Chacon went on to say, "I wanted to beat his ass."

Wade suspended Chacon indefinitely and that means he'll be traded or released.

I would pay top dollar for footage of that ass beating. And, in the words of Nelson from the Simpsons, here's to you Ed Wade.