Tag Archives: Offense

Phillies Take Series

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Phillies win 3-2 and win the series on Mothers Day.

Cole Hamels took the hill this afternoon for the first time since being suspended for admitting he hit Bryce Harper on purpose. Hamels did not look like he was his sharpest today but he was able to get through the day and only allow one run.

Hamels went seven innings strong today and allowed one run off of five hits. The offense was able to back him up with three runs this afternoon.

Jimmy Rollins started the day off of with a bang as he was able to hit his first home run of the season to leadoff the bottom of the first. Jimmy Rollins has been in pretty horrible slump so far this season and hopefully this will spark something with him. The home run was kind of a cheap line drive down the right field line but a home run is a home run no matter the distance. 38th career leadoff home run for Rollins.

Rollins’ first home run of the year came in his 34th game and 136th at bat. Only year it took longer for him to get his first big fly was 2004 (Game 40, AB 156

Brian Schneider gave the Phillies a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning with an RBI single that scored Ty Wigginton from second. So once again the Phillies were able to push across early runs.

Phillies tallied another run in the bottom of the fifth inning off of the bat of all-star Juan Pierre. It’s sad when Brain Schneider and Juan Pierre are your offensive production for the day.

The Phillies had to go to the bullpen in the top of the eighth inning and when they go to the bullpen it is always worrisome.

Jose Contreras came out to pitch the eighth inning and he allowed one run, the Phillies then brought in lefty Antonio Bastardo to finish the eighth inning. The Phillies were able to get out of inning with a one run lead thankfully.

Jonathan Papelbon came in to shut the door in the ninth and picked up his tenth save on the season.

Phillies next game is tomorrow night against the Houston Astros, this game will start around 7:05 Pm EST and is the start of a two game series. After this series the Phillies head to Chicago to play the Cubs in a two game series and then return back home. Whoever created this schedule must be drunk or something.

 

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Gameday Preview: Game 32 Phillies vs Mets, Still Sane

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Happy Wednesday, everybody have a good evening.

After last nights blunder of a loss where the Phillies blew a 4-0 lead and could not push across any runs late in the game are right back at it tonight against the Mets, this is the series finale and first pitch is around 7:05 Pm EST. The Phillies are about to get swept by the Mets, just ponder that for a second.

I really don’t have the actually stats sitting in front of me but the Phillies bullpen has blown at least eight games this year, the pitcher I thought that would never blow game blew a game on monday and that was Jonathan Papelbon. I never thought the billion dollar closer would give up a home run to a guy that has never even had a hit in the major leagues. It’s like just pick your poison out there in the bullpen. The poison last night was Chad Qualls,  the first batter he faced the Mets tied it up after the worst rundown I have ever seen in my life.

Cliff Lee will toe the rubber for the Phillies tonight, the first time since April 18th.  In that game Cliff Lee pitched ten scoreless innings and the Phillies still lost the game, just nauseating. That has been the story of the season, nauseating.

To make room to activate Cliff Lee the Phillies sent Michael Schwimer down to triple A this afternoon. Schwimer had an 8.53 ERA in five appearances with the Phillies.

Guys you need to drink to watch the Phillies this season.

Dillon Gee will pitch for the Mets tonight, Gee is 2-2 on the season. He received a no decision his last time out against Arizona.

So if the Phillies get out to the early lead tonight I fully expect them to blow the game late, I know I sound negative but how could you be positive right now. My head is slowly exploding.

We just need Ryan Howard and Chase Utley back on this team.

Go Phillies!

Phillies Lineup (14-17)

1. Rollins SS

2. Pierre LF

3. Victorino CF

4. Pence RF

5. Polanco 3B

6. Mayberry 1B

7. Schneider C

8. Galvis 2B

9. Lee P

Mets Lineup (17-13)

1. Torres CF

2. Murphy 2B

3. Wright 3B

4. Hairston RF

5. Rottino LF

6. Turner SS

7. Davis 1B

8. Johnson C

9. Gee P

Month In Review

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The first month of the regular season for the Phillies could have been worse, it actuallycould have been really bad but as we flip the calendars to May the Phillies finish the month with a 11-12 record and are only 3.5 games out of first place.

It wasn’t the best month ever but we did get through it and somehow come out of it with only one game under .500. Some of the game were really hard to watch and really frustrated the living hell out of me but some games were actually pretty enjoyable if that’s possible. The Phillies really did a lot better than I thought through the first month of play, especially after the Phillies dropped two games to the pathetic San Diego Padres. That west coast trip really looked like it was going to go really horrible but the Phillies pulled some offense out of their ass or somewhere and won the games with their offense in the final two games of that road trip in Arizona against the Diamondbacks.

On that trip Cliff Lee was put on the disabled list, this upcoming friday there was a chance Cliff Lee might come off of the disabled list to pitch against the Nationals in Washington but that will not happen. Lee is getting better but he must throw two bullpen session before he can go out there and start a ball game, so far the first bullpen session has not been scheduled quite yet.

The Flyers hockey offense out scores the Phillies offense on a regular basis but at least we are pulling out some victories and we are not six games back already, the Phillies are in the hunt and I know its way too early to say this kind of garbage but hey I’m just giddy and thrilled we are keeping pace and getting these much-needed victories with Ryan Howard and Chase Utley out of the lineup.

Speaking of Chase Utley we had a glimpse of Utley when the Phillies were in Arizona, he was with the team that three game series against the Diamondbacks and he even shagged some fly balls and hit a little in batting practice before those games. Once the team left Arizona Chase remained there to continue to rehab and sip margaritas throughout the day.

Ryan Howard began his rehab in Clearwater today.

So lets hope as the months roll by the Phillies keep getting better and more importantly the Phillies keep getting healthier.

Here are some pictures from when the Phillies were out west, and thanks to everybody that has stopped by this site through the first month of the regular season. It really means a lot to me and I thank each and every one of you.

Phillies vs Padres, Thursday April 19th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Phillies vs Padres, Friday April 20th

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Phillies vs Padres, Saturday April 21st

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Phillies vs Padres, Sunday April 22nd

Gameday Preview: Game 23 Phillies vs Cubs

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The Philadelphia Phillies play the final game of this home stand tonight at 7:05 Pm EST against the Chicago Cubs, the Phillies will look to take two games from this four game series.

Hopefully the Phillies can muster up more than two hits this evening and not frustrate the living hell out of me like they did yesterday.

If you’re going to watch this game you might as well drink a little bit, no not just a little bit you might want to drink a lot because this offense is pretty feeble. The more drinks in you the better. The strategy is that you get so drunk you forget to watch the game and you just pass out, if you try to watch this offense without a drink you might break a remote or something valuable so I suggest the first option.

Would you rather be drunk or sober watching this Phillies offense wale away at pitches out of the strike zone?

The Phillies send Vance Worley out to pitch tonight, Worley has a 2-1 record this season and has an ERA of 2.16.

The Phillies will face Cubs righty Chris Volstad, he is searching for his first win on the campaign.

This game will be televised on CSN, 1210 WPHT for radio.

60 degrees at game time tonight with a 10 percent chance of rain.

Go Phillies!

Phillies Lineup (10-12)

1. Rollins SS

2. Polanco 3B

3. Victorino CF

4. Pence RF

5. Wigginton 1B

6. Nix LF

7. Ruiz C

8. Orr 2B

9. Worley P

Cubs Lineup (8-14)

1. DeJesus RF

2.  Campana CF

3. Castro SS

4. LaHair 1B

5. Soriano LF

6. Stewart 3B

7. DeWitt 2B

8.  Soto C

9. Volstad P

I Want Bobby

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On Friday the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim released Outfielder Bobby Abreu and called up Mike Trout.

If I was the Phillies general manager I would give him a contract to play for this team right now because at least he has some power unlike the little winky dink Pierre we have playing out there in left field most of the time. Juan Pierre has absolutely no power, if the Phillies played their home games on a little league field I would bet you money he could not even hit a home run out there, but he might be the same height as some of the little leaguers.

We have way too many singles hitters on this ball club, it takes three to four hits to even chalk home a run, most of the time the Phillies can’t even get those runners home and strand them home on the bases.

I know 38-year-old Bobby Abreu is no Babe Ruth but he could add an improvement to our team, he can at least pop a ball out of the ballpark and he is one of the most patient hitters I have ever seen. I have rarely ever seen Bobby chase a ball out of the zone, the Phillies lineup as of late swings at every possible pitch the opposing pitchers sling up there, the ball could be in the dirt and these hitters will wale away and miss at it while I scream at the tv in a rage of frustration.

Now to sign Abreu the Phillies would have to get rid of a player on the 25 man roster, if I was running the show which would be a really scary thing I would get rid of Juan Pierre and just give the left field job to Bobby Abreu but I would be shocked to see the Phillies do that. The Phillies could get rid of John Mayberry Jr. but I really think that would be a huge mistake, Mayberry is not having a great start to the year but the Phillies really have not given him a lot of chances at playing. Mayberry has that power threat that Pierre never has had and even if he was juiced up on roids he still would not have, It’s beyond me that Pierre starts more than John Mayberry Jr. out there in left field.The Phillies could also get rid of Jim Thome to open up room on the 25 man roster but that seems very unlikely because Thome is a fan favorite, he is struggling but he is a fan favorite and if the Phillies got rid of him I think you might see some fan rage from the Philly faithful.

Abreu has dropped off this year but I’m willing to take the shot on him. Abreu  has.208/.259/.333 statline this year but he could probably steal more bases than Mr. speedy Pierre.

So should the Phillies stick to the high powered singles offense we have or try to get Abreu?

 

Gameday Preview: Game 21 Phillies vs Cubs

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The Philadelphia Phillies play game two of this four game series against the Cubs tonight 7:05 Pm EST at Citizens Bank Park.

The Phillies hopefully will find some sort of offensive miracle today and pull out the victory, we can only hope. The Phillies had many opportunities last night to get some runs on the board early for Roy Halladay but no one could get a clutch hit if there life depended on it. The Phillies had the runners on the corners with no outs in the bottom of the first inning, guess what happened? No one could get those runners home and thus giving me a stressful headache.

Phillies send big Joe Blanton out to start today, in his last start last Sunday in San Diego he got crushed by the Padres hitters.

The Cubs will send out righty Randy Wells.

This game will be televised on TCN and the MLB Network, 1210 WPHT for radio.

50 percent chance of rain at game time tonight.

Go Phillies!

Phillies lineup (9-11)

1. Rollins SS

2. Polanco 3B

3. Pence RF

4. Thome 1B

5. Victorino CF

6. Nix LF

7. Ruiz C

8. Orr 2B

9. Blanton

Cubs Lineup (7-13)

1. DeJesus RF

2. Barney 2B

3. Castro SS

4. LaHair 1B

5. Soriano LF

6. Stewart 3B

7.  Johnson CF

8. Soto C

9. Wells P

What We Learned Out West

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Good morning everyone, everybody have a great day.

The Phillies arrived back home last night after going .500 on the West Coast swing, a few games before that it was almost a miracle for them to even do that pleasent during this road trip because of the offensive struggles that occurred in San Diego. The Phillies pulled a rabbit out of somewhere or someone and won the final two games of this road trip in Arizona. Those wins were not pitching duels wins, these wins were offensive scoring wins and seeing these type of wins makes me all happy inside, okay that sounded weird but you Phillies fans get the point.

The first part of this trip was out in the lovely Bay Area for a three game series, the Phillies only won one game out of the three but really should have won two but the offense just could not chalk up even one run for Cliff Lee. Lee pitched one of the best games of his career but did not get the win ): After that great game a few days later Cliff Lee went onto the 15 day disabled list, he has been throwing since then and said his shoulder is getting better.

The Phillies lost this series and it renewed the hate I have towards the Giants once again.

The Phillies then went to beautiful San Diego where yours truly went to all four games, it’s pretty sad to See Petco Park so empty for all four games as it was. The only game where there was a decent crowd was Saturday night but all of the other games the crowds were very marginal, lots of Phillies fans and a whole ton of Phillies chants. That’s what you get when you put a horrible product out there on the field.

The first two games of that San Diego series went wonderful, the next two games were very frustrating to be at. They were shut out Saturday night and only could muster up one run on Sunday. I was really disappointed and worried when we lost to San Diego because they are basically a Triple A team, I really think a high school baseball team could be able to beat this suckfest of a team.

Then the Phillies went to the scorching desert to play a three game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, they basically got blown out the first game but the final score did not show that because the Phillies went on a little rampage in the top of the ninth inning in that game by scoring five runs, at that point in time I really did not think it was even possible to score five runs in one game let alone an inning. I think most of the Phillies fans were shocked at that time and then I had that thought like the Phillies could come back and win this game like the New York Yankees did to beat the Boston Red Sox when they were down by eight runs, but my hopes and dreams were crushed real quick when Freddy Galvis grounded out into a double play and the Phillies would lose the first game of the series.

After that game I was deeply depressed and if I was able to drink I definitely would have.

The Phillies would come back with an offensive punch in the next two games and leave the west coast trip feeling a little better with themselves, Phillies went .500 on the trip.

Both Michael Stutes and Cliff Lee went on the 15 day disabled list when the team was out west, Stutes was pitching with shoulder issues throughout the early part of this season and sometimes that is not such a great idea. Cliff Lee landed himself on the disabled list with a strained left oblique.

Michael Schwimer was called up to replace Stutes in the bullpen.

Hunter Pence did not play in Monday nights game because of a sore left shoulder that he hurt the day before in San Diego, the last thing I wanted to hear and the Phillies wanted to hear is Hunter Pence with an injury that would sideline him. Tuesday afternoon Hunter Pence went and got an MRI on that shoulder, everything must have been okay with it because that night his name was pencilled in the lineup and he blasted a two run home run to right field to top it all off.

We also were able for the first time this regular season to see Chase Utley in the Phillies dugout, he joined the team out in Arizona and was with the team the whole three game series. Chase Utley is however going to stay in Arizona still but he did look pretty good shagging and hitting in batting practice. Please come back Chase.

The Phillies are now back home and ready to embark on a four game home stand before they on the road to face the Atlanta Braves and the Washington Nationals, the Nationals are still trying to take back their ballpark.

The Phillies begin a four game series with the Chicago Cubs tomorrow night at Citizens Bank Park at 7:05 Pm EST. I always like playing the Cubs because they are a pretty pathetically bad team so that means wins for the home team.

I’m going to go sleep for 20 hours now, goodnight folks.

Phillies Lose in the Desert 9-5

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The last three Phillies games have been very hard to watch, I even left the stadium tonight before the game was over. I rarely ever leave games but tonight it was just to hard to watch.

When Kyle Kendrick gave up four runs in the first inning you almost knew this game was probably over, then the Diamondbacks would add two more in the bottom of the second to basically seal the victory. The Phillies offense was defiantly not going to pull a New York Yankees and come back from a 8 run deficit.

There was a lot of Phillies fan in Phoenix Arizona tonight and they sure showed Kyle Kendrick some brotherly love after his atrocious innings. Loud boos rained in from the stands at Chase Field as Kendrick exited the game.

When a sinker ball pitcher is not getting ground ball outs you know there is something wrong, Kendrick was not getting those ground ball outs, instead the Diamondback hitters were hitting those balls into the stands.

Phillies pitching allowed a season high 16 hits tonight.

I know this is very shocking to you but guess what? The Phillies offense again could not get anything and I mean anything going tonight, they were just hacking away up there at the plate and it really didn’t work for them tonight. The Phillies are really making these rookie hack pitchers look good this season, dang you would think these pitchers the Phillies are facing are cy young winners but they are the complete opposite of that.

The Phillies made the game a little interesting in the ninth with a five run inning, Shane Victorino hit a three run home run and Carlos Ruiz backed that up with a Solo shot. The Victorino home run was the first home run of the year with runners on base. It felt like a ream in the ninth inning with all of those runs, but Freddy Galvis woke me up from the dream when he grounded into a double play to end the Phillies rally.

Phillies are now 3-5 on this west coast trip and have two games left before they head back to Philadelphia.

Phillies have now lost the last three games and are now three games under the five hunderd mark 17 games into the season.

The Phillies next game is tomorrow night at 9:40 Pm EST, Vance Worley will take the hill and he will basically have to pitch a shutout for the Phillies to have a chance at the win, so no pressure Vanimal.

Some Other Notes From Arizona

Chase Utley was back with the team today, shagged some balls in batting practice and even hit a little. Utley looked good out there and lively. Chase Utley will stay in Arizona and will not travel back to Philadelphia after Wednesdays game.

Hunter Pence was not in the lineup tonight because of a bruised left arm he suffered yesterday in the 6-1 loss to the San Diego Padres, he is day-to-day but he will be going to see some doctors to see the extent of the injury, so more to come on that.

Pence and His Arm

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The only power hitter in the Phillies lineup Hunter Pence will not be in the lineup tonight because of an injury to his left arm he sustained yesterday in the 6-1 loss to the San Diego Padres.

Pence doesn’t know the severity of the injury but would like to visit the doctors first.

John Mayberry Jr. will start in right field tonight for the Phillies instead.

 

 

Gameday Preview: Game 17 Phillies vs Diamondbacks

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The Philadelphia Phillies look to end there two game losing streak tonight at 9:40 Pm EST in Phoenix Arizona at Chase Field against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Skipper Charlie Manuel again pencils in a different looking lineup tonight in Phoenix.

The slumping Hunter Pence will sit tonight, Pence is in a 0-for-15 funk. Skipper Charlie Manuel also said Pence is dealing with an arm injury, Pence hurt it last week when he ran into the fence in San Francisco.

Cliff Lee was the scheduled starting pitcher for tonight a week ago but since he went the DL Kyle Kendrick the long man out of the bullpen will take the hill for the Phillies tonight.

Wade Miley will pitch for the Diamondbacks tonight, he has only started seven game in his short career thus far, in those seven games he had a record of 5-2 and an ERA of 4.25.

Some good news today at the ballpark was Chase Utley was shagging some balls and hitting in batting practice.

Can the Phillies have an offensive miracle tonight and score more than one run?

Go Phillies!

Phillies Lineup (7-9)

1. Pierre LF

2. Polanco 3B

3. Rollins SS

4. Wigginton 1B

5. Victorino CF

6. Ruiz C

7. Mayberry Jr. LF

8. Galvis 2B

9. Kyle Kendrick P

Arizona Diamondbacks (8-8)

1. Parra CF

2. Hill 2B

3. Upton RF

4. Montero C

5. Kubel LF

6.  Ransom 3B

7. Overbay 1B

8. McDonald SS

9. Miley P