For nearly 8 innings the Phillies had this game in the bag last night. They were about to steal a game they should not have won going into it.
Santana vs. Kendrick-looks like an easy win for the Mutts you say. Right?
Well, the Phils actually carried a 3-2 lead into the 8th inning, but saw that lead vanish and turn into a 6-3 defeat within the matter of a few pitches. Brad Lidge, who has been amazing this season came into the game in the 8th in a non-save situation, which is anathema to a reliever. And, he promptly blew the lead by giving up 2 runs on the heels of Rudy Seanez's clunker of a relief appearance (blowing the lead in giving up 2 runs).
The bullpen has been a stalwart for the Phillies this year, but last night they did their best Mets imitation and gave the Mets a 1/2 game lead over the Phils for first place.
And, I keep asking myself why in the hell was Delgado pitched to? Why? He's a Phillies killer and should've been walked on that at-bat when he belted it out of the park.
This will be a dogfight, but with the Mets' issues it will keep the Phillies in it until the end.
I hate to sound like a pessimist after the Phillies' just rang off 5 wins in a row and won 8 of 9 games, but with last night's disastrous performance in the clutch and a 4-game series with the best team in baseball looming it could get ugly this weekend.
Figure this, the Cubs have a .721 winning percentage at home, good for the best home record in baseball at 49-19. The Phillies have a 34-31 record on the road.
The Cubs have their four best pitchers going up against the Phillies' 1-4, but with how the offense has played lately the Phils could get swept this weekend.
It will be a brutal series and four-game series' at this stage of the season are very hard to win, especially on the road.
Cole Hamels takes the hill tonight against Ryan Dempster at 8:05.
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Dr. Z is on crack
In his annual NFL preview, Dr. Z is picking the Eagles to go to the Super Bowl.
Either he's high or he's desperate to stir people up so they talk about his prognostications.
Nobody in their right mind would pick this Eagles team to even make it to the NFC Championship. I'm stick of hearing about the Giants analogy. They got lucky, plain and simple.
Teams in Philadelphia never get lucky. And, we've seen this script play itself out before. Do you really think Andy Reid and McNabb are going to get it done together? I can see the end of this regime coming.
9 years and nothing to show for and their team is worse than it was in 2000 before they made the climb up.
Who will rush the passer besides Trent Cole?
Who will catch the ball aside from DeSean Jackson and Westbrook?
These are legit questions and why the Eagles aren't a Super Bowl team. Hell, they don't have a Super Bowl defense to cover up for their dearth of playmakers on offense.
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