Phils win in a big comeback, no thanks to Blanton

The Phils could hardly muster but 2 runs against Mets staff ace Johan Santana tonight. Blanton didn't pitch all that well (surprise, surprise) in his debut for the Phillies as he let up 5 runs in 6innings. Although I still contend that we will regret this trade for years, it was great to see a magnificent comeback 9th inning win.

Down by 5-2 and no Billy Wagner available for the Mets to close out the game, the Phillies had the following players go on base without making an out-

Werth
Dobbs
Victorino
Ruiz
Taguchi
Rollins

Not the players you'd expect to mount a huge comeback as there wasn't any real power hitters in there. The biggest hit was a bases loaded double that came off the bat of Mr. Awful this year himself, So Taguchi.

When the inning finally ended they were up by 8-5. Lidge successfully closed it out and the Phils won 8-6.

This was one of those games that you look back on as one the top 3 or 4 games of the year that make you look back and smile big. Whenever you beat your divisional rival in an unlikely come from behind win to take sole possession of 1st place, I think it becomes one of those moments where you're overcome with wonderful feelings of being a baseball fan.

Thanks So, I'm sorry I bad mouthed you so many times this year. I'm sure come the next game I'll be bad mouthing you again, but you were key tonight. Let's pull for 2 more big wins!!!

Fuck you Pat Gillick

Joe Blanton sucks donkey balls, he is NOT an upgrade. Yes we need pitching, yes we should trade away premium prospects like Cardenas to get said pitching. BUT NOT FOR BLANTON WHO SUCKS THIS YEAR JUST AS MUCH AS ADAM FUCKING EATON.

You make it hard to be a Phillies fan today.

Vote for Pat

Pat "the Bat" Burrell got snubbed for the all-star game this year. If you look at the starting outfield for the National League you would laugh. The names are all recognizable but they're all having rather mediocre years. Pat is having one of his best years and I will contend that he plays very well and ranks among the top left fielders year in and year out. Sure he's a touch slow in the field but he has a good arm and knows how to take a pitch and most importantly, get on base.

So, if you have a few spare moments, go here and vote as many times as you wish for Pat. It might be his last year as a Phillie, so let's see him leave in style.

Slow ball offerings

Shortly after the announcement that the Phillies announced Myers assignment to the minors they announced the promotion of left handed relief pitcher, RJ Swindle.

I can hear most of you now-


"Who?"


Well for starters- he's not Myers replacement in the rotation. He's filling in the bullpen for Clay Condrey who is on paternity leave. Secondly, he's a guy who isn't considered by many professional baseball scouts to be a good prospect or even a major leaguer.

"Why?" You ask?

He's a tad old as he's turning age 25 this Monday (Happy Birthday RJ!!) and his best pitch is a curve ball that travels at the speed of 51 mph. Yes, you read that right; that's not a typo. He throws a ball at a speed that you and I can throw without much effort. His fastball can reach speeds up to a Jamie Moyeresue 84 mph.

"He sounds like he sucks, are the Phillies' minor league system that bad that they have to call up this guy?!"

Well, while the upper tiers of the system don't exactly inpire confidence, RJ's performance has forced the Phillies' hand to make this move. His numbers are very, very good despite having what you would might consider an unimpressive repetoire of pitches. He's struck out 48 batters in 40 innings for the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs and has an ERA around 2. If you didn't know what he throws you might think we have another Lidge waiting in the wings. Funny thing is- if you look at his stats throughout his career he has very similar numbers. Yet he keeps getting dropped by teams like the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.

I highly recommend that you read this interview that was conducted at The Good Phight about a month ago when his stats started to receive some attention. I guess scouts and talent evaluators don't know everything and I truly hope that he has a chance to show his stuff and has success at the major league level with the Phillies. Pitching is often about changing speeds and location and pure speed isn't everything. Greg Maddux and Jamie Moyer are proof of this.

Congrats RJ!

Excuse me while I pick up my jaw off from the floor....

Just when you think you have the Phillies pegged...

Brett Myers has been awful this year, but you figured the Phillies had too much money invested in him to do much about it.

NOPE

Wow, just wow.

Things that are hot

1) The weather here in PA is just below 100 degrees

2) The Phillies are 12-2 in their last 14 games

3) I heard thru a source of mine (sorry can't give names, but he/she is someone with access) that Phish is indeed reuniting and are currently negotiating their next tour dates and how much each member will get paid.

4) Jessica Alba in 6 months, now that she gave birth.

People are strange

Somehow I've pulled it off.

I've convinced 27 strangers to come together for a ballgame tomorrow night and meet each other and sit together.

Perhaps "strangers" is an unkind word for me to use. (but strange may be perfectly apt) Although I haven't met most of the people before, I do have a fairly good grip on what type of personality each person has. And then there's the common thread amongst us all- we're all Phillies fans.

I've never sat down and thought about how many hours I've wasted reading and posting my opinions and crazy ideas over at www.Backshegoes.com and it's a good thing too, because I would then realize how pathetically socially needy I am. Nonetheless, these people who are all coming together tomorrow night are people who in some strange fashion my friends. Yes, I am admitting that I am friends with people with names like Woody, Vox Orion, Houshphandzadeh, LongDrive, PhightOn! and Tenured Vulture. What's stranger is that they know me not as Brian but as The Red Tornado.

Despite the fact that I expect some akward pauses tomorrow night, I fully think we'll somehow find our usual common ground of being a Phillies fan and the conversation will flow just fine. Thus I'm excited about going to the game tomorrow as I will be joined by my fellow sufferers who haven't seen a championship since 1980 (heck, half off them weren't even born yet!).

If you're at the game, look for our name in lights.

Your 1st place Phillies (or Utley is a God)

It sure is nice to see our Phils in 1st place at the beginning of June instead being tortured until the last day of the season like last year. Chase Utley is on fire and currently leads the National league in home runs and all-star votes- Rogers Hornsby, eat your heart out. Our 2nd baseman is looking like he could get the 3rd MVP trophy in as many years for the Phils if he continues his play throughout the year.

Now wouldn't a World Series ring be a nice thing to pair with the MVP awards?

Rooting for a rout

As I write this the Phillies are beating the Rockies 16 to 4 in the 8th inning. Last night they beat the Astros 15-6. Some may say that a rout like that gets boring. Not me- I relish a good old fashioned ass-whoopin. No heart attacks as you worry that they may blow a 1 run lead or need to pick up some runs to win. Just pure unadultered fun. The Phillies offense again is starting look like it has in recent years and hopefully we'll see even more games like the last 2 nights.


EDIT: Now it's 20-4 and bases loaded for the Phils!! BAHAHAHAHA!!

The Phantom Five

Today I read an article/opinion piece that profiled the ownership group of the Phillies. It's a long article and somewhat poorly written in some parts, but the overall view of why the Phillies is run the way it's run makes it worth reading.

Essentially, we may luck into a World Series title in the next 5 years with this incredible core of players like Howard, JRoll, Utley and Hamels but unless the current ownership group is replaced I doubt we'll ever have an organization that holds its upper level employees responsible for wins and losses. Here's hoping for dumb luck.

What the heck is up with Myers?!

As I write this the Phils are losing badly to the Braves because our starting day opener, Brett Myers, has let up another big lead.

I've heard reports that he doesn't have the velocity once had. Maybe he's a basket case and isn't pitching with his head. Maybe he was screwed up by being in the pen last year.

Whatever the case may be, I hope he gets it straightened out, because the Phils need him if we wish to contend. Eaton is falling back to suckitude again, Moyer can't last forever, and Kendrick is spotty at best this year.

Cross your fingers that Happ continues his success in the minors and Kris Benson can make a come back.

What a great day for baseball

Yesterday afternoon I was able to go to the Phillies business person special. There wasn't much that could've been done to make it a better experience. For starters, they won in a blow out 10-2. Seven of the Phillies starters got 2 hits (you suck Bruntlett!!) and four hit home runs. Myers pitched a gem and allowed only one run in 7 innings.

The other thing you couldn't beat was the weather. It was a gorgeous day. The high temperature was about 75 degrees, it was sunny without any clouds, and there was the gentlest of breezes wisping it's way thru the park. I could've just sat there and watched a cricket match and not cared since the weather was so nice.

I also partook of one of my favorite ballpark treats, the Schmitter. It's basically a cheesesteak sandwich served on a Kaiser roll, with tomato, onions, a slice of salami and special sauce. A tasty sandwich named after my favorite childhood ball player. I also bought a 7 dollar cup of Blue Moon wheat beer to wash it down. Later Dan and I wandered over to the Turkey Hill stand and got a pint of Ice Cream. It was just one of those days that everything was relaxing, enjoyable and fun.

I even laughed when Carlos Lee, the Astros portly left fielder, decided to tease the crowd. At the end of the 7th inning he caught the last out. As some players do, he whisked around towards the crowd as if he were to throw the ball into the stands for a souvenir. He made the throwing motion but held onto the ball and quickly ran back into the dugout, laughing to himself the whole way as the crowd jeered him loudly. What a dick!

The Iron Pigs are already rusty

The Phillies new triple A affiliate in Allentown, the Iron Pigs, have started their season at 0-9. Usually, I don't care too much about the wins and losses of a minor league team because the minors is all about player development. I guess you can argue that winning breeds winners, but even the 1985-90 University of Maryland football team, which was awful, produced some quality NFL quarterbacks, including Boomer Esiason, Neil O'Donnell, and Frank Reich.

It really does speak to the quality of the upper level prospects that the Phillies have currently. They have some really nice prospects that are just entering the Reading club in double A like Carlos Carrasco. But the best prospects at Allentown are guys who project to be a 5th starter or long relief like J.A. Happ or are destined to be a backup catcher like Jason Jamarillo. The rest of the team is filled with career minor leaguers, rehabbing players, and guys who just can't seem to make the jump to the majors.

Being that Allentown is only about a 45 minute drive, I thought sometime this summer I'd take the family to see some cheap baseball with guys who could be future stars, but I fear the only future stars I'll catch will be on the opposing team. I guess that 2008 won't be a stellar debut for Allentown, but I hold out hope that next year we will finally have some quality prospects playing there and looking thru the window to the majors.

UPDATE 4/13- Now 0-11!!!

UPDATE 4/14- They won!! 1-11!!

Opening day blahs (or Tom Gordon sucks donkey balls)

Yet again our fine baseball team, the Philles, had trouble beating their opponent on opening day. Despite a nice comeback to tie the score at 6-6, our fill in closer Flash Gordon started off his seaon with a 135.00 era and blew the game.

And it was rainy/drizzly and somewhat chilly.

You'd have thought that I had a bad time.


Not so, for starters, I was watching baseball and that's usually never a bad thing despite the outcome. Especially considering it's the 1st meaningful baseball I've watched since the playoffs. I also met a bunch of people that I've been having conversations with over the internet for up to the last 3 years. I met people who go by the names, Uncle Milty, meatball, Ramon Gris, and Drugs Delaney. I also met up with another guy who I play poker with but he also is known as seke2. Of course, they all knew me as The Red Tornado. We all post about our shared love for the Phillies on a message board called Backshegoes.com.

It's nice to put faces to the names and opinions that I have gotten to know so well these last few years. The internet makes our world smaller and I met some people that I never would have without it. That's a good thing.

One more week!!

I don't have much time today as it's been somewhat busy at work today.

BUT

Just to brag- In a week at this time I'll be watching the Phillies open their season against the Washington Nationals at the park.


I can taste the beer now. I can't wait!

The Phillies are just plain tapped out....

I'm just imagining that the Phillies are like a hobo with his pockets turned inside out and his shoulders shrugged, all the while a violin plays some whiny and sad music.

Apparently, despite all of the pitching woes that they are experiencing during spring training, the Phils just can't afford another 4 million dollars for another starter that's readily available. (Kyle Lohse)

"We don't have any interest in him," assistant general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said of the free agent, a former Phillie. "The fact of the matter is we may not have the dollars and cents to do something like that at this time."

The Phillies have a payroll that could exceed $106 million on opening day, which would be a franchise record. So even if Lohse is seeking a one-year, $4 million deal, they are not interested.

So I guess they'll be trotting out some really bad pitching this year. The Durbin boys, Travis Blackley and Rosario are our best options for the 5th spot (and Kendrick may be falling back down to earth, cross your fingers he rebounds later this spring) since Eaton is a lemon and I'm glad he'll end up on the DL anyways.

Here's hoping we score 12 runs a game....

I've arrived!

There are moments when you come to the realization that you've really accomplished something.

An hour ago I typed the following into the Google search engine:

"Poker Phillies Bipolar"


The very 1st result was this blog.

(strangely enough my friend Chris is number 2 and even though he's nuts he isn't bipolar)


A tear came strolling down my cheek after I saw that.

3 relatively common words and I'm the number one on the interwebs. My kids will be so proud.


I'm number 1!! I'm number 1!!!

Should we be scared of the boogey man?

The Mets acquisition of Johan Satana is a big blow, but will it spell doom for the Phillies?

The bad news-

He's the best pitcher currently in the majors and it will create at least an additional 5-6 wins for the Mets.

If Pedro is healthy, then the Mets have the best rotation in baseball.

The good news-

The Phillies still have the best offense in the National league.

Despite the anemic off-season, we still pick up some wins by moving Myers to the rotation.

The Mets will eventually regret the contract as Johan will decline or get injured.



The Mets and Phils are pretty evenly matched this year- it will be a classic battle of offense vs defense. Should be fun. Here's hoping for a repeat division title and more!

Kris Benson signs with Phillies

Kris Benson, trying to make a comeback from shoulder injury, just signed a minor league deal with the Phillies. While not exciting in of itself because even if Kris is as good pre-injury, he ain't all that great. Nonetheless, it's a cheap move and low risk, worst case is that you dump him, best case is that he is a serviceable back end of the rotation guy.

And then there's some "other" perks to this deal....

Kris is married to Anna Benson (pictured right) and we may be hearing and seeing more of her if Kris makes the team. I've heard she's nutty, but that just means she's full of passion.

BTW- Here's an open letter to Michael Moore that Anna has posted on the web back in 2005- hahaha, I may learn to love her.

Santana to the Mets would suck

According to the Star Tribune the Mets are close to a deal with the Twins to get Johan Santana. Basically, they would trade their 2 best prospects and a few B grade prospects and then sign Santana to a 6 year 120 million dollar deal. If I were the Mets I'd do the deal in a heart beat. Unfortunately, I don't think the Phils could match the deal, let alone pay Santana that kind of scratch. It would really, really suck if this deal were to come to fruition. It really makes the Mets a much better team on paper than it is currently and probably makes them better than the Phillies. Currently the Mets pitching is better than the Phils, but the Phils' better offense compensates for it, Santana would be too much of a pitching upgrade to overcome.

Cross your fingers Phillies phaithful!