Elizabethtown College Homecoming 2008

This is part of the Elizabethtown College Homecoming Parade

right there

Coming into tonight's matchup the Phillies are only 1/2 game out of first place as the Mets start possibily another late season collapse. Clearly the Phillies need a few more players to really become a force but the Mets aren't really any better, they have an aging Carlos Delgato, punk short stop Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, David Wright, a revived Fernando Tatis, injury prone closer Billy Wagner, and one of the best starting pitchers in the game Johan Santana. The Mets have a good fantasy team, but the Phillies have a manager and the entire team that wants desperately to win. The question is can the Phillies hold on? They've done everything they needed to do to put them in position to make the post season, now it's all on them. I know I might sound like you're typical Philadelphia fan who can love and hate my teams seamingly at the same time, but I do believe that I am an educated fan who is knowledgable in not only Philadelphia sports but with other teams outside Philadelphia. There is nothing better then a baseball pennant race and we get to experience this trill of a ride for a second consecutative year.

Not Done Just Yet!

Just when you think the Phillies have played their way out of the playoffs they come up with a clean 4 game sweep of the Brewers. The Brewers came into the series holding a 4 game lead over the Phillies, and the Phillies still having trouble filling out their rotation due to the double header last Sunday have had to use pitchers on short rest all week. The Phillies did what they needed win the first 3 games, game 4 was going to be a toss up because pitcher Brett Myers was making the start on only 3 days rest. 80% of day/night double headers are split between both teams, factor that in with Myers starting on short rest and the final game looked to be a very intense game. Myers has all the tools along with the mindset of a true ace and a big game pitcher.

Brett Myers somehow threw a 2 hit complete game only throwing 95 pitches and 65 were strikes. Besides the amazing strike to ball ratio, Myers threw first pitch strikes to 17 of the 29 batters he faced. The only flaw in this flawless performance was the solo home run allowed to Prince Fielder but even so it did not matter. Myers said in his post game interview that the Brewers were being very aggressive and so he used that to his advantage and did not try to strike everyone out, just get outs. Now that is a sign of a mature pitcher.

Who knows what happened in the minors when Myers got sent down but it did him wonders. The Phillies will continue to need big starts out of Brett Myers and Cole Hamels, if the Phillies make the playoffs Ryan Howard will certainly deserve a second look for his second MVP award to make it 3 Phillies in a row who have won the award (Howard did it in the 2006 season, Rollins in 2007.)

picture courtesy of espn.com

So close

The Phillies could be one of the most frustrating teams in professional sports. For the last few seasons they have been good, but have only remained one or two players away from really solid team that could pose a legitimate threat to get to the World Series. Seemily every off season fans hope for a major acquisition and it just never comes. This core group of players (Hamels,Howard, Rollins, Utley, and Victorino) will not be around forever and you need to capitalize while all are either in or entering their primes. There is a window of opportunity for every team in professional sports and that window does not last long, the Phillies currently have a window of opportunity however I do not feel they will take it. Here is what the Phillies have done over the last 4 seasons:
*2007 won NL East by 1 game-won on last day of regular season; Jimmy Rolllins wins MVP award
2006 finished 3 games out of the wild card; Ryan Howard wins MVP award
2005 finished 2 games out of first place in the division, 1 game out of the wild card
2004 finished 6 games out of the wild card
They need to have the ability to get good players, not mediocre players who just get the job done. Finally they have an ace in Cole Hamels and solid number 2 in Brett Myers, the bullpen has been outstanding this season, and closer Brad Lidge has lived up to his nickname of Brad "Lights Out" Lidge not blowing a single save this season.

Pitching can only get you so far, you need to be able to score runs as well. Scoring runs has not been a problem for the Phillies over a course of a season but it's been consistent scoring and scoring in crucial times that has haunted the Phillies. Here you can see how the Phillies have done since the 2004 season:
*2007 lead NL in runs scored (892)
2006 lead NL in runs scored (865)
2005 2nd in NL in runs scored (820)
2004 3rd in NL in runs scored (840)

Clearly you can see the Phillies have no problem scoring runs, but that stat does not show you the true numbers. The Phillies have been known for putting up big scores, scoring 10 + runs in a single game, followed by scoring 2 runs the following game.

The Phillies have been in need of a offensive catcher since Darren Daulton was here in the mid 1990s. A strong offensive team is strong up the middle: catcher, 2nd base, short stop, and center field. 3rd base and 1st base are also power positions. Here is what the Phillies need in my opinion. A power hitting 3rd baseman (.280/30/100), a catcher who can call a good game with decent offensive numbers (.270/18/90), a power hitting outfielder (.280/25/110). I could live with Pedro Feliz if he would hit to his potential and hit about 20 home runs a year, the Phillies haven't had any power out of 3rd base since Scott Rolen was in town. Right before the trading deadline this year the Boston Red Sox traded All-Star left fielder Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers. That was the move the Phillies needed to make, Manny is a beast. He would easily put the Phillies deep into the playoffs, he is a first ballot hall of famer. If the Phillies would have gotten him for the rest of the year he would have given Ryan Howard instant protection and he is a winner. He has won 2 World Series titles in Boston since 2004.

*Before winning the division in 2007 the Phillies last playoff appearance was in 1993 when they went to the World Series and lost to the Toronto Blue Jays in 6 games on a walk-off home run.

13 innings to beat the Mets??

What can I say, Charlie Manuel looked like a genius last night. In a game that started out with Jamie Moyer only lasting 3 innings while allowing 6 runs the Mets somehow blew a 7-0 lead. Every button Charlie Manuel, the Phillies manager, pushed worked. Now you have to understand that I think good old Charlie is a country hick who somehow as a major league manager, but with the way he managed last night you would think he's a hall of fame manager. Pinch hitting Carlos Ruiz for Pedro Feliz saving Eric Bruntlett for later was just extraordinary. I don't know how he thought of it, but I'm very glad he did. The game ended with all the drama you could ask for, the Phillies were out of position players and pitchers while the Mets only had 1 position player left on the bench. Shane Victorino laced a lead off triple down the right field line to start the 13th and the Mets elected to walk the next 2 batters to get to the pitcher's spot in the lineup. The Phillies already used Cole Hamels who is their best hitting pitcher (has a .266 ba) so they had to send fellow starting pitcher Brett Myers to the plate with the game on the line.

Myers has had a very up and down year in Philadelphia as he was the Opening Day starter then got demoted to the minor leagues making a start in every level possible Class A Clearwater, Double A Reading, and Triple A Lehigh Valley. To his credit Myers finally got his game back and since returning to the Phillies right after the All-Star Break has only lost 1 decision. So let me set up the scenerio for you. Bottom of the 13th inning bases are loaded and a starting pitcher is coming up to pinch hit! Myers worked the count full (3-2) trying to distract the Mets' pitcher but had no such luck and ended up striking out looking. Charlie Manuel instructed Myers NOT to swing, who tells a hitter not to swing the bat?? With no outs Manuel did not want Myers to hurt the club by hitting a ground ball double play and that would essentually kill any chance of a rally the Phillies were working on.

If you can recall last season the Mets had a 7 game lead with 17 games left in the season and blew that lead, they blew the largest lead ever. And going into last night's game had a 1/2 game lead on the Phillies. Now the Mets are back in 2nd place and the Phillies are hoping for another first place finish this season.

Just a few interesting notes on the Mets have blown 22 saves this year alone, including 10 in the 9th inning. Before joining the Mets Billy Wagner was the Phillies closer and has 7 blown saves. For whatever reason the Mets bullpen cannot seem to hold onto a lead. I can't help but laugh because the Mets are built to win now and they just can't. With David Wright, Jose Reyes, and Carlos Beltran all on the same team you would think they would be a World Series contender every year, but they are not. I guess there is still only 1 team in New York that matters...the Yankees. As for the Phillies they are just coming back from a trip to the west coast that included the Reigning NL MVP Jimmy Rollins calling Philadelphia fans "frontrunners." Rollins did not have good timing as he was in the mist of a 4-46 slump but before tonight's game was 9 for his last 10. Rollins understandibly so got booed by his hometown fans but when the game was on the line in the 8th inning he received a very warm and welcoming standing ovation.

Philadelphia fans are in a class all by themselves and while can come off as being pompus are extremely passionate. And that is a topic for a later time