Putting The Phillies TradeSSSS in Perspective

Yes, they were trades. Plural. It wasn't a three team deal as the Phillies made it out to be. The Phightins' traded Cliff Lee to Seattle for a load of prospects, and then traded Kyle Drabek and Michael Taylor to Toronto for Roy Halladay. The Mariners and Blue Jays had no transactions between each other.

Now, I understand why Ruben Amaro Jr. did this deal–Halladay was "his guy." Amaro wanted Halladay since July and when this opportunity came up again to possibly acquire him, you knew he was going to jump all over that, especially when Toronto was going to throw in some money to pay Doc right now.

On the other deal, with getting rid of Drabek and Taylor, it makes sense to re-booster the farm system by getting these prospects from Seattle. Yet we all know the real reason for getting rid of Lee was because the Phillies didn't want to pay him now, or "big market" money when his contract is up at the end of the season.

Therefore, it was a load of bologna when Amaro explained the Lee deal as a "baseball move" because even though there was an importance to re-fueling the minor league teams for the future, the main goal when it comes to this current day is WINNING NOW.

If they would've kept Lee for at least one year, which they could've, it would've made this rotation DOMINANT and practically a lock to definitely go back to the World Series, if not win the whole thing.

I love that we have Halladay because he is definitely the best pitcher in the game. But isn't it incredible that at the same time we brought this great pitcher in, a lot of fans, including myself, are frustrated the Lee is no longer a Phillie. The guy went 4-0 with an ERA below two in the post-season. He was sensational. It is so weird that he just got here at the end of July, and now in the middle of December he's gone.

Thanks to Lee for the amazing run in the postseason last year.



On that same note-"Doc" Halladay, welcome to Philadelphia. Not that you can't do it, but you have big shoes to fill.

Phillies Bolster Bench

During the offseason, it has been clear that Ruben Amaro Jr. has set out a number of goals in which he wanted to accomplish by opening day 2010. Two of these goals include improving the bullpen and bench players. The solution for the bullpen has yet to be seen largely in part due to the unclear status of Scott Eyre and Chan Ho Park. Chan Ho seems more and more unlikely to return to red pinstripes this year. He believes many teams see him as a starter, although he was a very effective reliever for the Phillies in 2009.

The bench has been improved greatly in my opinion. Ruben has cut the dead weight which held this team down in late game pinch hit situations. For the most of the 2009, Matt Stairs and Eric Bruntlett were unreliable. Their averages proved this fact. The first signing came in the form of Juan Castro. He is a utility infielder who assumes the role previously held by Eric Bruntlett. Although his career average is below .250, he is going to be an upgrade defensively and will be used as a late game defensive substitution. He will be an upgrade in my opinion over Eric Bruntlett. The second signing brought the phillies a solid backup catcher, Brian Schneider. He is a very good defensive catcher and is an upgrade over the Chris Coste/Paul Bako connection of 2009. The third and most recent signing was that of Ross Gload. He led the majors in pinch hits last season. How else could you find a better bench player. He also brings some pop from the left side of the plate. He fills the role of Matt Stairs, but with a better average. This will mark the third straight season in which the phillies have the leading pinch hitter from the previous season on their opening day roster the following year. In 2008, it was So Taguchi. In 2009, it was Greg Dobbs. In 2010, it will be Ross Gload. Lets hope Gload works out better than Taguchi did.

So to sum up the Phillies projected opening day bench players their will most likely be 5 players. From the right side, it will be Ben Francisco, Juan Castro, and Brian Schneider. From the left side, it will be Greg Dobbs and Ross Gload. This group may be one of the most balanced in the league. The only thing that they lack is a switch hitter, but I believe that they will be just fine with this current group.

IT'S OFFICIAL! "DOC" A PHILLIE!

The deal is confirmed according to espn.com. Cliff Lee is out, Roy Halladay is in.

This obviously splits up the lefties and righties in the Phillies rotation by having an even balance between the two. I think it can be a move with positive effects because of that reason.

Your thoughts?

One Lasting Note: Thanks to Cliff Lee for a tremendous three months in Philly, especially the playoffs and World Series.

UPDATE: Not quite yet. I told Michael Stubel to not jump the gun like Asante Samuel and now I will tell myself that. Nothing is official, but it looks imminent.

SI.com Is Confirming The Trade, But The Only Media Outlet To Do So

Jon Heyman Reports

Reports Looming: "Doc" Has Been Called On

It has been reported that Roy "Doc" Halladay is in Philadelphia and in talks with the Phillies front office about a possible extension. There is no official word on whether the Phillies have traded for the dominant right-handed pitcher, but there is high speculation that a deal went down.

If a trade did happen, it would be a three-team deal with the Blue Jays and Mariners. The general nature of it would be the Phillies ship Cliff Lee to Seattle and Toronto gets the Mariner's prospects.

Obviously, more on this to come later when everything is cleared up.

Hear This: Phillies Front Runners For Halladay...Again

I'm going to go with the "don't get your hopes up" approach this time, opposite of what I did during the season. The reason? Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com is reporting that the Phillies and Angels are the front runners to trade for Blue Jays ace Roy "Doc" Halladay.

Is Rosenthal and respectable journalist? Yes.

Am I going to get my hopes up? No.

Why? Because I don't want to be disappointed when the Phillies don't get him.

Why did I say "when?" The reason is Rosenthal is reporting that the Phillies would have to trade J.A. Happ and either Michael Taylor or Dominic Brown. I'm pretty sure they won't want to do that. But hey, if it happens, that would be phenomenal.

This Team Is Something Special

We're not done. By no means are we as Phillies fans and the team as the ones competing are we finished. There is one more step to accomplishing the goal for this season. That is to take it one game at a time and win a World Series for the second year in a row.

However, two days after the euphoria of winning back to back National League titles, it is much easier to put into perspective how special this team really is.

Think about it–only two of our current teams have won back to back world championships–the 1948 and 1949 Eagles and the 1974 and 1975 Flyers. Connie Mack's Athletics won back to back World Series in 1910 and 1911. Then they won another one two years later in 1913 (not to mention they were AL Champs in 1914).

This Phillies team is the only team in club history to win back to back NL Pennants. They are only the second team in club history to win three division championships in a row. They are one of only about a handful of teams to sport five All-Stars in one year.

Without question, regardless of what happens over the next two weeks (hopefully something great), this team is one that will go down in history as one of the best.

UNBELIEGABLE

What a homestand! Winning nine out of 10 games is not too shabby, although this screams for 10 out of 10. We won't touch on that though. What we will touch on is that this team is going into the All-Star break hot and playing better. Are they where they exactly need to be? No, not quite yet. However, you don't want them to be at their top in July.

It's "hittin' season" so the bats are fine. The problem is the pitching is a bit inconsistent. Joe Blanton and J.A. Happ are bringing electric stuff to the mound. Jamie Moyer is pitching very steady. Rodrigo Lopez was pitching well, but who knows how is elbow inflamation is. As far as the other starter goes, let's just leave that conversation for another day. The fact is, we know Big H is one of the best in the game. He will turn it around and I'm not just trying to be optimistic to be optimistic.

Now that "South Broad Street" is back, I want to start something new with a lot of my posts. That something new is lists, lists and more lists. I want to rank things on various different levels. On this post, I am going to rank the top five players from this past homestand, starting from five to one.

5-Jayson Werth
-The guy is having a great season and picking it up especially at this point. Why else do you think Charlie named him to the NL squad?

4-Shane Victorino
-The Flyin' Hawaiin is making every game exciting. Batting over .300, he has shown this past homestand why he collected the most "Final Spot Votes" in MLB history. His hustle and defense is spectacular.

3-J.A. Happ
-As I mentioned earlier, Happ is bringing top notch stuff to the mound. Will he be traded?

2-Joe Blanton
-Same thing as Happ. Technically, these two guys should be tied.

1-Jimmy Rollins
-As Jimmy goes, the team goes. If Jimmy isn't hitting, the team isn't winning. If Jimmy isn't scoring, the team literally doesn't win. They're winning percentage is mid-day afternoon sun to middle of the late night hours when he scores and doesn't score. It's obvious.

Is getting Halladay the smart move?

This is related to this week's poll. I'm not going to give my opinion because it doesn't matter. It's yours that counts. Should the Phillies make a big splash for Roy Halladay? You know, it's funny. This is very similar to last season-the Phils were in first place, but they're pitching staff was dubbed to having problems. Everyone thought they needed another pitcher. Thus, people were SCREAMING for C.C. Sabathia. They were saying the window is open and it may never be open again, so the Phils should send their prospects to Cleveland for the big southpaw.

Well, they didn't. They ended up getting "steady" Joe Blanton. The Brewers traded Matt LaPorta for Sabathia. Who won the World Series?

The Phillies. And what are you going to have to give up to get Halladay? Most likely it is highly noted prospect Kyle Drabek and other young guns, or maybe even decent third or fourth starter in J.A. Happ. I also heard people talking about the Phillies might have to trade an everyday position player. Do you want to give up a Jayson Werth or Shane Victorino. Doesn't this team have excellent chemistry? And one more thing-Halladay has NEVER pitched in a big game. Since he debuted in the majors in 1998 with Toronto, the Blue Jays have NEVER been in a pennant race or a playoff game. Also, in regards to 2008, Sabathia never really has had or did have success in the playoffs/big game. Obviously, Halladay and Sabathia are two different pitchers. But it just goes to show that getting the A-List doesn't always work.

That's one side.

The other side is you did it one year, but can you do it a second year with the B-List pitchers? Halladay is arguably the best pitcher in baseball. If Cole Hamels pitches like he did in October last year along with Halladay...oh my. You without question have the best one-two punch in terms of starting pitchers on paper. Also, your starting rotation, which has taken some bruises, is much stronger.

It's a win-win either way (Knock on Wood), with hopefully the more successul one with the choie you pick.

So, do you risk the future and make the deal or continue the "Pat Gillick Way" of getting that B-List guy.

The State Of Philly Sports...Holy S*** Are We Behind

OK, no more screwing around. This post will hopefully catch us up on the state of our teams.

Eagles:
-They had a very good draft, getting wide receiver Jeremy Maclin and running back LeSean McCoy in the first round. Even though he is not in the link, tight end Cornelius Ingram was a good pick too.
-During the draft, they traded for corner back Ellis Hobbs. This was pretty much to get Sheldon Brown, who was upset with his contract and overall state with the Eagles, to shutup. Even though Andy Reid wouldn't admit it, you knew that was the case.
-Apparently, the Eagles tried to trade Sheldon and a third-round draft pick for Anquan Boldin, but obviously it didn't work out.
-L.J. Smith is a Baltimore Raven—YES!
-Lito Sheppard is opening his trap again, talking bad about the Eagles and saying the Sheldon situation won't work out.
-And the worst news of them all, not just for football purposes, but MOST IMPORTANTLY for his sake as a human being, defensive coordinator Jim Jackson is taking a leave of absence from the team for more chemotherapy treatment on the tumor in his spine. It crushes me to know that this great man is suffering like he is. I only hope the best for him, not just as a coach, but as a human being most importantly because that is the most important thing.

Flyers:
-Captain Mike Richards had surgery on his shoulder and will need ten weeks after it to recover.
-Defensman Randy Jones had surgery regarding his hip. It was successful. Will he play better now?

76ers:
-Tony DiLeo decided the not be in the candidate list for 76ers head coach next year. He is returning to his previous position as assistant general manager. Now, Ed Stefanski has the difficult of finding a new head coach. I say they should get Avery Johnson. But, Stef met with Eddie Jordan this past Friday and I have a feeling he has a good chance of being the guy because Stef and him worked together in New Jersey when Jordan was an assistant there. Who knows though? There were orginally big talks about Doug Collins, but now those allegations are denied.
-The 76ers didn't renew color analyst Bob Salmi's contract for next season. Do people agree with me when I say bring back Steve Mix?

Phillies:
-Here is a list of the Phillies scores that weren't posted on this site
May 10: 4-2 Loss vs. Braves
May 12: 5-3 Win vs. Dodgers
May 13: 9-2 Loss vs. Dodgers
May 14: 5-3 Loss vs. Dodgers
May 15: 10-6 Win at Nationals
May 16 Game 1: 8-5 Win at Nationals
May 16 Game 2: 7-5 Win at Nationals
May 17: 8-6 Win at Nationals

Yeah, the Nationals stink and they couldn't have come at a better time on the Phillies schedule. Now, the team is 20-16 and a half game behind the first place Mets in the division.

And , one more point, before the game on Friday, the Phillies had their re-scheduled visit to the White House to meet President Barack Obama. The previous one was postponed due to the sad and unexpected passing of the great Harry Kalas one day prior to the originally planned visit.
OK...caught up. Hopefully, there is no more slacking.

Happy Mother's Day To All MOMMA'S

I took my mother to the game today and even though the Phils lost, it was a nice mother/son time together. Our boys dropped the game 4-2 because Jack Taschner gave up two runs after Brett Myers left with a 2-1 lead and then Brad Lidge in ANOTHER non save situation gave up a run. Today's game was the exact opposite of this year's trend. Myers did well but the bullpen had some problems. Usually, the starting pitching has difficulties and the bullpen keeps the team afloat while they try to come back with the bats. But, I still believe the best baseball from this squad is still yet to come. I'm serious. The starting rotation has the potential to do better and the team has the potential to click on all cylinders. Let's hope that it happens (Knock On Wood).

Series Is Tied One-One...Mother's Day Rubber Match Is Set

To get this out of the way, did anyone get a chance to see that kid run on the field Friday night like I did? Haha! It was soooooo funny. I know that there is a danger risk and the kid is an idiot, but man I have never laughed at someone running on the field like that before. First off, he shaked Pedro Feliz's hand, which was a hoot and even more so since Pedro was smiling. Then, the kid shook like three security guards while ten were chasing him. Unbelievable.

Now, to the game.

Man did that feel good watching Big H pitch Friday night. He was awesome. The Phils won 10-6 and it was that close because Brad Lidge gave up a three run homer in the ninth in a non-save situation. I'm not worried about that because Lidge is usually shakey in non-save situations. And I'm not worried about his numbers either because he hasn't really pitched in save situations this year. He has come into 12 games and only five were save opportunities. It is because the Phils are usually coming from behind in their wins. He needs to get in there for save opportunities. But anyway, the bats were good Friday night and Cole Hamels was solid. Good win.

Today, not so good. Javier Vazquez dominated the Phils potent lineup and Joe Blanton, while pitching eight innigns and for the most part doing OK, had a bad stretch of three batters in a row in the middle of the game and another bad couple of batters late in the game. The Phils lost 6-2, making Sunday's Mother's Day Game a rubber match between Brett Myers and Kenshini Kawakami. I'm not concerned about the Phils hitting Kawakami. What I am going to focus on with this game is how Myers pitches. I expect him to have a good outing because I just got a feeling about it.

"The Wizard of Oze"

It has been a tough time for the Phillies family. A month ago Harry Kalas passed away and yesterday former manager Danny Ozark left this earth as well.

Ozark managed the Phils from 1973 to 1979 and amassed a record of 594-510. He is the third winningest manager in the history of the franchise, only behind Gene Mauch's 645 and Harry Wright's 636. Yet, both Mauch and Wright managed a couple hundred or so more games than Ozark and they are the only two who managed more Phillies games than him.

Oze was the manager for the most successful era in Phillies history as he led the team to division titles in 1976, 1977 and 1978, after the team was absolutely putrid in the early-70s. No other manager did that. Charlie Manuel has the chance to do that this year (Knock On Wood). In 1976 and 1977, the Phillies won 101 games, a feat that no other team in franchise history has done before. Also, the '77 is considered to be the best out of any other year.

But, there is a dark clowd that overshadows Ozark's success as manager. Back in those days, only two teams from each league (NL Western Division and Eastern Division winner) made the playoffs. So, there were no division series. Not to mention, the league championship series back then were only best of five. During the three years the Phillies made the playoffs under Ozark, they failed to advance to the World Series. In '76, they got swept by "The Big Red Machine" a.k.a. the Cincinnatti Reds and then in '77 and '78, they fell to the hated Dodgers.

The '77 series is rememberd more than any other. With the series tied at one game a piece and the final three games in Philadelphia, the Phils had a 5-3 lead with two outs in the top of the ninth inning. One Dodger got on base by a bunt and then a player by the name of Manny Mota stepped up. He hit a fly ball deep to left field, where troubled defensive player Greg Luzinski was standing. Usually, "The Bull" was replaced by defensive specialist Jerry Martin in those types of situations. But, Ozark left him in. Luzinski dropped the easy fly ball against the wall, leaving the tieing runs on base.

Next up—believe or not it was current Phillies first base coach Davey Lopes. A speedster, Lopes hit a hard ground ball to Mike Schmidt. The ball carommed off of Schmidt and took an interesting bounce to shortstop Larry Bowa (now the Dodgers third base coach...how ironic), who made an OUTSTANDING intstictive bare handed grab and toss to first baseman Richie Hebner. Lopes was clearly out, but the umpire called him safe. The two runs scored and the Phils eventually loss 6-5 and then fell in Game 4 on a poor outing by Steve Carlton to lose the series. Here is a link to footage of the play. It's in this kid's video and unfortunately I can't embedd it to the post becasue an embedd link is disabled by him. When you watch, just go to the 3:15 mark to see the play.


But, back to Game 3 and the play. To this day, that game is referred to as "Black Friday." It was definitely one of the more sour moments in Phillies history and Ozark, even though Lopes was CLEARLY out, was blamed for that. In 1979, the Phils fell to fourth place and on August 31 of that season, Ozark was let go. He was replaced by Dallas Green who led the Phils to a World Championship the very next season.

Oze was a lot like Charlie Manuel. He had an easy, relaxed approach to the game, but if needed, would lay down the law. His fueds with "Lefty" are well documented and he wasn't afraid to let his voice be heard if need be. He also had his fair share of funny quotes that are always fun to make a crack about in a non-demeaning way.

Sadly though, his tenure as Phillies manager is always going to be clouded by the debacle of '77. Yet, in all fairness, we should look at what Ozark really was. "The Wizard of Oze" helped develop that great team of the '70s and 1980. He was key in young players like Mike Schmidt developing. Without him, the Phillies might not have grown like they did and the 1980 World Championship may have never happen. It's a shame that he didn't get to bring it home because 1980 was as much as his team as it was Dallas's becuase he made those players into what they were due to his managing the previous years.

Me personally, I'm always going to remember and look back on Danny Ozark as the manager of the great '70s teams. These teams, barring that the current team does not surpass them, provided the best era in Phillies baseball. Rest in peace Danny. You are well respected and will surely be missed.

All of the photos above are from philly.com.

Phirst 6 Games In May For The Phils

Here are the results for the first six games for the Phils in May:

-May 1: 7-4 Loss vs. Mets
-May 2: 6-5 10th Inning Walk-Off Win Due To Walk vs. Mets
-May 3: Postponed vs. Mets
-May 4: 6-1 Win @ Cardinals
-May 5: 10-7 Win @ Cardinals
-May 6: 1-0 Loss @ Mets
-May 7: 7-5 Loss @ Mets

A key issue in the Phillies play so far this season is the starting rotation. They are having a little trouble getting good outings in. There is some discussion that J.A. Happ should move to the rotation. But, what really needs to happen is Cole Hamels has to step it up. It is not that he is pitching poorly because he is not. He's had some bad breaks in terms of freak injuries, but he is the ace of this staff. The ace is supposed to be the leader. But to solve this problem, Big H can't speak it, he has to pitch it. I honestly feel a good eight/maybe even nine inning outing by Hamels tonight can send a message to the starting rotation that it is time to turn it around. I think they can get it done.

The Current State Of The Philadelphia Phillies

OK, so this blog has been doing a real crappy job on updating what's going on with Philly sports lately. I will take the blame for that. It's run by a bunch of college kids and we all have finals right now. And if teams like the Flyers, 76ers or Eagles were just playing, it would be a lot easier to make up missed dates. But not with the Phillies who play almost everyday. So, this post is going to be about the state of Phillies since our last post, which was the 7-3 ninth inning comeback in Florida.

After that game, the Phillies won four in a row, beating the Marlins 6-4 and 13-2. The 6-4 game was another come from behind victory in the ninth inning and the Phils won it in the tenth. The 13-2 game was nice because it was a relaxing way to enjoy a Phillies game since most of them have been exciting come from behind victories. Jamie Moyer also continued his dominance over Florida in that blowout win.

After the weekend series in Florida, the Phils had a three game set at home against the Nationals. On Monday, they won 13-11. It was a game in which the Phillies hit two grand slams. One was by Ryan Howard and the other by Rauuuuuuuullllll Ibanez (more on this guy later). Howard's tied the game at 6-6 and Ibanez's gave the Phils a 13-11 lead in the eighth inning. Something to take note of is Brad Lidge didn't save this game. Ryan Madson did. Lidge apparently has problems with the knee he had surgery on before last year. He is going to throw a bullpen soon and see how he goes from there on whether or not he is going to the DL. 

Tuesday was a thrashing of the lowly Nationals 7-1. It was also Charlie Manuel Bobble Head night, which looked like a sweet give away and in a more serious story, Cole Hamels left another game early. This time it was a sprained ankle. He said it was mild though and that he should be alright. Poor Big H. He can't get a consistent outing this year so far. His last two outings he was doing well until he got hit by a line drive and then turned his ankle. 

So, after five wins in a row, the Phillies can't win every game. Last night after a first inning homer by Shane Victorino, Brett Myers gave up three runs and Jack Taschner gave up one as the Phillies lost to the "Natinals" 4-1. 

Last night's game ended the month of April as the team is off today. They start a three game home set with the hated Mets tomorrow. 

Some Thoughts On The Recent Play Of The Phillies:

-I am really liking the way this team is playing right now, minus last night. They are showing resiliency by coming from behind and their hitting is picking up for their pitching. Once this staff gets back into normal form, I feel we are going to be very good. And the past couple of games, the Phillies have been scoring runs throughout rather than in the latter innings like they did in some of their wins last week. 

One of the brightest spots so far about this season is Raul Ibanez. The guy can just flat out play baseball. He is such a ball player. He has given us more than anyone expected. We thought he would hit and he's hit better than we thought and we thought he was an "iffy" fielder and he has turned out to be a very good fielder. Quickly Ibanez is becoming a fan favorite, especially after replacing a huge fan favorite in Pat Burrell. 

"The Comeback Kids"

This is what the Phillies should dub themselves for this first part of 2009. This is getting to be unbelievable.

Last night, the Phillies were down 3-0 in the top of the ninth inning down in Florida. Well, they get two runners on base for Matt Stairs, who singles in a run. Then, they get in a bases loaded situation and the Florida closer walks in a run. Next, Shane Victorino hits a grand slam to put the Phillies up 6-3 (he's making a habit of these [Knock On Wood]). Chase Utley caps it off with a homer of his own following The Flyin' Hawaiin's heroics. The Phils ended up winning 7-3.

Then, tonight the Phillies took an early 2-0 lead (including a Chan Ho Park home run), but then Park gave up four runs in the fourth to put the Marlins up 4-2. That was the score until the top of the ninth inning once again. The Phillies tied it in that inning and forced extras for the first time this season. In the top of the 10th, the Fightins' put two runs on the board to go up 6-4. Subsequently came "Scary" a.k.a. Brad Lidge a.k.a. Mitch Williams Jr. in the bottom of the tenth. Well, after two strikeouts to start the bottom of the ninth off, Lidge allows the Marlins to load the bases with a double by Jorge Cantu and two walks. As all Phillies fans hearts were poudning, up stepped Cody Ross to the plate. Lidge had Ross on a 2-2 count, but left a pitch way up in the zone. After it made contact with Ross's bat, it looked like it was going to be a walk off salami. Fortunately, it went foul left. Following, Lidge struck out Ross and thus the game was over. Phillies won 6-4 in comeback fashion AGAIN!

Every single one of the Phillies eight wins this year have been come from behind wins. I'm not joking. The team is currently 8-8 and those eight W's had the Phillies down at one point. Unbelievable. But hey, it doesn't matter how they win. As long as they win, it's all good.

Reminiscing "The Streak"

Brad Lidge had not blown a save since September of 2007. He went I believe 47 straight regular season games and seven post season games without one. Some were impressive one-two-three innings. Others were nail biters that left you covering your eyes hoping that something bad wouldn't happen. And since this streak is so impressive, it's tough to remember every single save. However, there are some that definitely come to mind.

1. His save at Houston last year 5/22—It was the first time he pitched against his old team and the Astros fans gave him a less than friendly greeting when he came in for the save. Lidge was a little antsy in this appearence and thus had trouble finding the strike zone. Yet, he only let up one hit and when he got the final out, Wheels said: "Man is he pumped! Haha!"

2. A save at Atlanta last year 6/6—The game went to extra innings and the Phils took a two run lead in the tenth. In the bottom half of the inning, the Braves threatened and actually cut the lead to one. But, when the tieing run attempted to score for the Braves, Shane Victorino rocketed a bullet to the plate and Chris Coste made the tag. Lidge's save was in tact and he was once again PUMPED. He also gave Victorino his thanks. Take note, this is when Lidge was still relatively new to the team. So it's not like a blown save would have been anything reallly to get depressed over. Not like it was the other night when he actually blew one.

3. A save at St. Louis on a Sunday night game last year 8/3—This was one of Lidge's "load the bases in the ninth and scare the shit out of everyone saves." Well, he had a two run lead heading into the bottom of the ninth, let up a run, loaded the bases as mentioned, but struck out two with them loaded to get the save. I was hiding behind my couch for this one. There was one other game I did that for and you'll read about that one shortly.

4. Another save at Atlanta last year 9/16—Alright, this is when the division is really on the line. The Phils need wins badly because it's crunch time in September. Well, in this game at Atlanta the Phils are up 8-7 in the bottom of the ninth and Lidge walks the bases loaded. I don't know exactly how the outs went because I don't really remember. But, he somehow got the save and did it well enough so our pants stayed dry and we didn't piss ourselves. It also helped that the Phillies took the lead for first place after winning this game.

5. A save at home versus Washington last year 9/27—This was the crescendo of saves for the regular season. The Phils had a 4-2 lead going into the top of the ninth and a win would clinch them the division. Lidge came in 40 out of 40 so far in save opportunities. If I recall, he got the first out easily. But then, he started to slip a little bit. I guess it was a mixture of adrenaline and nerves. He let up one run to make it 4-3, then loaded the bases with just that one out. This is where I was hiding behind my couch again. Well, with the bases loaded, one out and a 1-1 pitch to Ryan Zimmerman, a ground was hit up the middle, Jimmy Rollins made a great defensive stop, flipped it to Chase Utley for out number two and then Utley rocketed it to Ryan Howard for the third out. I remember distinctly seeing the play develop and thinking "Oh my God."

Now, as it happened (and take note everything happened so fast, like in a couple of seconds) and after it happened I started to run over to my recently late father who I was watching the game with. I was thinking to myself, "I'm going to jump on his back." I knew I would probably be in for it because my dad didn't really like me being physical with him because he thought he would get hurt and it would prevent him from working. But I thought, "The hell with it. I'm going to jump on his back." So after it happened I ran over to him screaming and jumped on his back. Well...he wasn't too happy...haha. He gave me one of his growling looks and then asked what I was doing. I said, "DAD THE PHILS WON THE DIVISION. THE PHILS WON THE DIVISION!" very happily. Well, he turned around, smiled and then said "Oh...I thought that was only the second out." HAHAHAHA. Ah... great father/son moment. I knew I would be in for it, but not for that. Haha. It's a great story though.

6. Save at home verus Milwaukee last year 10/1—So Cole Hamels was cruising in Game 1 of the NLDS with a 3-0 lead after eight innings. Well in the ninth Charlie Manuel brings in Lidge to close it out. Lidge's last playoff appearence was the debacle he had in 2005 with the Astros. Nobody knew where his head would be, especially after his scary late September. True to everybodys' fears, Lidge was shakey, let up a run and let runners on base with a chance to tie the game or go ahead. But, staying true to his season form, he found a way to get out of it and struck out the third out for the save.

7. Save at home versus Tampa Bay last year 10/29—This was the save of all saves. If you look at it from just a baseball standpoint, it doesn't add up to the "scariness" of some of the other ones. But, this was the save fans were waiting for. It was the save 28 years and 25 years in the making. Relevant to Philadelphia's nature, Lidge got the first batter out, but then let up a single to Dioner Navarro. Then, Fernando Perez came in to pinch run and stole second. So, with the score at 4-3 Phillies, the tieing run was on second with one out. Fortunately, Lidge got the next batter Ben Zobrist to line out to Jayson Werth in right. It was scary line out because it looked like it was going to be a base hit, which would have scored Perez. Can you imagine if Lidge's first blown save in his streak would have been the one he was trying to get to win the World Series? That would have sucked. Anyway, with two outs up stepped pinch hitter Eric Hinske. The first pitch Lidge threw was fouled down the first base line. The second pitch he threw Hinske tried to check swing but was called for a swinging strike. It was close and there was a possiblity he didn't go. But who cares because we got it our way and that's all that matters. Then, the third pitch to Hinske was one of Lidge's nasty sliders. Hinske struck out swining and the Phillies were World Champs. It was the ultimate save for a great season—"The Perfect Season."

Yet, that was last year and this is this year. It's great to remember, but we can't live in the past. It's time to get another one and for that to happen (Knock On Wood) Lidge needs to be in the same form he was last year—an almost unbeatable closer. Will he blow another save? Maybe, even possibly. But let's hope it doesn't deter the Phillies from doing what they have to do. Although the streak is over, Lidge is still the man in my eye.

Phillies Drop Two Straight To The Brewers

Unfortunately, the Phillies bats just didn't click the past two days after scoring 11 runs Tuesday night. Last night, the Phillies lost 3-1, even though Joe Blanton pitched well and today, they lost 6-1.

But, the storyline on today's game was Philly native and Conestoga High School product Dave Bush almost throwing a no hitter for the Brewers. But, who was the one who faltered the no hit bid?

The man, the myth, the legend—Matt Flippin' Stairs! Haha. This guy rules. Opposing teams should just stick a golf tee in the dirt at home plate, put a baseball there and see if he hits one out. The reason—when Matt Stairs hits a homer it is like he is teeing up on a golf ball. Unbelievalbe. He hit one way out off of the foul pole today in the eighth inning, which as mentioned ended Bush's no hitter.

Another storyline on today's game is Cole Hamels left early in the fourth inning. This is the more seroius storyline because he got hit by a screaming line drive from Prince Fielder on his throwing shoulder. In the previous at bat, he gave up a two run homer to Ryan Braun, but other than that he was crusing with six strikeouts through the first three innings. The early diagnosis on Hamels is a shoulder contusion, also known as a bruise. So, it sounds like it should be alright, but don't be too sure. You never know what can happen.

The Phillies are in Florida this weekend to take on the first place Marlins. I am really looking forward to this series.

A Game We Somehow Skipped Posting About

Oddly enough, it was the game Brad Lidge's save streak ended this past Saturday night. Yeah, the man is not invincible (unfortunately).

Everybody, including himself, kept saying it's bound to happen sometime. I just don't think any of us knew it was come in April for his fourth save opportunity of the season. With a 5-4 lead in the ninth, he gave up four runs and the Phils loss 8-5 to the Padres.

To start off the top of the ninth inning, Lidge gave up a lead-off double on a hit that in my opinion should have stayed a single. Shane Victorino somehow kicked the ball or he did something to the ball and allowed the runner to reach second. Oddly, I think Victorino was not charge with an error. Then, Lidge got his first out of the inning, but the runner advanced to third.

That is when the team decided to play the defense back and concede a run, especially with contact hitter Brian Giles at the plate. Lidge almost struck Giles out, but the veteran outfielder hit one down the first base line to Ryan Howard and was out as Howard tossed it to Lidge who covered the bag. The game was tied and there's Lidge's first blown save since September 2007. Then, the crowd gave him a nice little ovation.

At this point you would figure Lidge would get out of the inning and the Phils would win it in the ninth (hopefully), but two more runners got on base and then he gave up a three run home run. Charlie Manuel came out to get Lidge and then he got any even bigger standing ovation. Usually in moments like that, the reliever gets booed. But, it was nice to see the fans commenmorate Lidge for his impressive streak.

Hopefully, this won't get to his head and he will be able to be the Lidge he was last season.

Hey Brad, everybody is human and messes up once and a while. It's OK buddy.

More to come on the incredible streak later on.

Phils Rout The Brewers Behind A Good Pitching Performance From Moyer

Finally, a starting pitcher did a decent job. The Phils brought out the bats and the starting pitcher showed in the 11-4 win at home over Milwaukee last night.

The game was flowing rather smoothly until Mother Nature decided to take a lengthy piss. So, the 7 p.m. game didn't end until after 11. Still, it was a fun night to watch baseball and a rather bright spot to a freaking annoying evening of Flyers hockey.

There is not really any analysis that needs to be done for this game. The team played well and hopefully can get a good streak going of wins so they can catch the Marlins in the division. Currently, the Philies are 6-6, in second place and four games behind the Fish.