After Tough Road Trip, Phils Are Ready For Homestand

I am a pretty optimistic guy. I like to look on the bright side and always think good thoughts even when the situation looks pretty bad. But yesterday, as Tim Lincecum took to the mound in the 9th inning with a 3 run lead, I thought the game was over. Can you blame me? Lincecum, aside from giving up a solo homerun to Ryan Howard in the 5th, had been lights out all day. He had pitched 8 complete innings, and struck out 11 and it just seemed that the chances of the Phillies offense doing any damage against Lincecum were not too good. Greg Dobbs started out the top of the 9th by grounding out and it really looked like the Phils were dead. The negative thoughts began to creep into my mind: they would get swept by the Giants and end their road trip with a 3-6 record. Victorino was up next, and Lincecum, for the first time all day walked a batter, on 4 pitches no less. This was enough for the Giants manager. With Lincecum's pitch count at 106, and an all-star closer Brian Wilson warming up in the bullpen, Bruce "The Genius" Bochey, waddled out to the mound, and took out 2 time Cy Young Award Winner Tim Lincecum. A ray of hope for the Phillies. After getting Placido Polanco to line out for the 2nd out of the inning, the Phillies were down to their final out. Up next was Chase Utley who smacked a single, his 1000th career hit. Ryan Howard worked a walk, and suddenly the Phillies had the bases loaded and they were very much alive in the game. Jayson Werth, a true gamer in every sense, stepped to the plate, a look of shere determination on his face. I have seen many incredible at-bats during my time as a Phillies fan, and Jayson's at-bat vs Brian Wilson had to be one of the best I've ever seen. He fouled off pitches, took pitches and ultimately was able to hit an unbelievable bases clearing double that JUST dropped in fair territory. It was so close it hit the chalk on the foul line in right field. The Phillies had tied the game and wiped away all of Tim Lincecum's hard work in a matter of minutes. The Phillies were unable to do any more damage in the 9th, but eventually were able to scrap out the win in 11 innings by a final score of 7-6. The extra innings included an incredible play at the plate by catcher Brian Schneider. The win on Wednesday prevented the Phillies from being swept and also turned a bad road trip into an OK one as the Phillies finished their trip with a record of 4-5. Not bad considering they played terrible virtually the entire road trip. The Phillies didn't play well at all in San Francisco. Roy Halladay didn't pitch well on Monday and neither did Jamie on Teusday. The offense was asleep for virtually the whole series. To be able to finish 4-5 on the trip is positive indeed for the Phils. Now the Phillies enter a vital 10 game homestand in which they will face the Mets, Cardinals, and the Braves. This homestand is crucial for the Phillies who after a hot start have just been coasting especially in their last 10 games. Now the Phillies have to buckle down and really do some damage in their next 10 games, and re secure their spot at the top of the N.L. East.

Ryan Howard Is Here To Stay

When I received the news today that Ryan Howard had signed a contract extension, I was ecstatic and overjoyed. Ryan Howard is a key member of this Phillies nucleus, and he is the driving force in this Phillies offense. Howard was currently signed through 2011, but with the contract extension he is now signed all the way through 2016. This year Ryan will make 19 million, and next year he will make 20 million. With the new 5 year 125 million contract extension, Howard will make 20 million in 2012 and 2013, and he will make 25 million in 2014, 2015, and 2016. The contract also includes an option for 2017 in which Howard could make 23 million. So what does this all mean? Basically it means that the Phillies have locked in one of the best power hitters in baseball for a very long time. And although Howard is scheduled to make a lot of money, I like this deal in every way because Ryan Howard is an outstanding player. Forget about the strike-outs and defensive trouble, and look at Howards numbers. They are unbelievable. His rbi's and hr's are always close to the league leaders, and what he has done already in his career is unheard of. He won rookie of the year, MVP, and he already has 225 career home runs and 656 rbis. Ryan Howard helps this team win, and without him, I don't see them winning a world series in 2008 or anytime in the near future. Ryan Howard is a key member of this team and I am elated that he is here to stay. I think now the Phillies have to look to sign other guys like Werth and Rollins. The longer they can keep this nucleus together the better. I have grown up with Ryan Howard, I watched him come up through the minors and blossom into one of the best players in baseball. Now that he is signed long-term it will be extremely fun to watch what Ryan Howard and this Phillies team will be able to accomplish.

Tough Times In The Desert

As good as the Phillies are, they are not going to win every series they play. So far this season, the Phillies have done an outstanding job of winning 2 out of 3games in their series, and this series loss against the Diamondbacks is only the second series they have lost all season. On Saturday, the Phillies did a nice job rebounding from Friday night's disaster and battled hard to earn a 3-2 victory. Nelson Figueroa did a very solid job of filling in for J.A. Happ. He pitched 5 innings and gave up only 2 earned runs. As good as Figueroa was, Jayson Werth was the hero of the night who hit 2 homers including the game winner in the top of the ninth. Rauuuuuuul also had a home run that tied the game in the 7th. There was not much offense on Saturday night, but the defense really held strong. The starting pitching and the bullpen both did their part to help solidify the win for the Phils. It was especially nice to see Raul Ibanez finally hit the ball. If he can get hot, he can really help energize this offense and help the Phillies score more runs. On Sunday afternoon, the Phillies lost a high scoring game by a score of 8-6. Kyle Kendrick got the start and was looking to repeat his strong performance last week against the Braves. He started the game strong by pitching 4 scoreless innings, but he ran into trouble in the 5th in which he gave up 5 earned runs. I think Kyle has the Cole Hamels bug, the inconsistency bug. He needs to string together some strong starts and start gaining confidence. On the offensive side on Sunday, Dobbs looked strong again by starting out the game with a 2 run home run in the top of the first. Wilson Valdez who is filling in for Juan Castro also had a strong offensive day with 2 hits. The Phillies offense battled hard in a back and forth game, but the bullpen just couldn't hold. For the Phillies, this is just their second series loss of the season. Looking ahead, the Phillies will face the San Francisco Giants this week and will send Roy Halladay to the mound on Tuesday. This will be a good early season test for the Phillies, and it will be interesting to see how they fare against a very good Giants team.

Halladay Leads The Phils To Victory

After Ryan Madson blew a 3 run lead in the bottom of the 9th innning, in a game the Braves eventually went on to win in the 10th, the Phillies quickly found themselves in the midst of a 3 game losing streak. The Phillies offense struggled greatly against the Marlins, and after dropping the first game of the series in Atlanta, the Phillies really needed someone to stop the bleeding. Roy Halladay was just that guy. On Wednesday night, Doc Halladay took the ball and did what an ace is supposed to do. He came up big when his team needed him the most. He pitched 9 complete innings and gave up 0 runs. He fooled hitters and was in control throughout the whole night. Not only did Roy Halladay help the Phillies win 2-0, he also gave the bullpen some much needed rest, and lightening the load on this bullpen is especially huge. On Thursday night, Jamie Moyer followed Halladay's performance by pitching 6 strong innings, giving up 0 earned runs. The Phillies went on to win by a final of 8-3. The Phillies got strong offensive performances from guys like Juan Castro, Greg Dobbs, and Carlos Ruiz. And Jamie Moyer finally did what I have been saying all season long, he avoided that one really bad inning. Jamie is a great pitcher, and when you give him a little run suppport he is going to win games for you. As much as I don't want to talk about Friday night, I am going to write about it anyway. Cole Hamels pitched 6 innings and gave up 6 earned runs. Seriously Cole, you go from an extremely strong pitching performance against the Marlins to this? Cole was really hurt by a 5 run 4th winning in which he surrendered 3 home runs. No Im not making this stuff up. It is still early but I am beginning to grow tired of the Cole Hamels show, its getting real old fast. Regardless, the Phillies have to forget about Friday night and focus on winning the series. The Phillies will send Nelson Figueroa to the mound tonight, who is filling in for an injured J.A. Happ. The Phillies need to continue playing hard, and keep scratching out wins anyway they can.

Lidge And Romero, Where Are You?

On tuesday night as Madson gave up homers to Troy Glaus and Jason Heyward, all that kept going through my mind is where are Brad Lidge and J.C. Romero? After Kyle Kendrick pitched an absolute gem, and the Phillies offense scrapped out 3 runs against a very good Braves team, Madson proceeded to blow the game in the course of 5 minutes. This article is in no way shape or form a hatchet job against Ryan Madson or the bullpen. It is simply an article stressing the importance of Lidge and Romero and what they mean to this Phillies bullpen. So far this season, the offense has been so good that the bullpen problem has gone virtually unnoticed. But now as the offense cools off, the Phillies are turning to their bullpen to help them win tight games and they are not responding. Let's face the facts, the bullpen without Lidge and Romero is nothing. Romero and Lidge anchor this bullpen, and I personally do not feel that Madson is ready to handle the role of the closer. So until Romero and Lidge return, the offense really needs to stay hot. Also the starters have to continue to go deep into games to lighten the load on the bullpen. Everyone needs to step up as we await the return of Romero and Lidge. Lets just hope that both Brad and J.C. are ready to throw smoke and do their part in contributing to this team.

Silent Bats

You knew it was coming. You knew the Phillies hot bats, averaging 7.7 runs a game in their first 10 games couldn't last the whole year. The Phillies hot offensive streak had to come to an end, we all knew that. Still it didn't make watching their hot streak come to a crashing halt any easier. It was very difficult to watch the Phillies drop 2 out of 3 to the Marlins, and it was especially difficult to see them score 1 run over 2 games. That's not to say the whole series was bad, on Friday Roy Halladay pitched 8 strong innings and only gave up 2 as the Phillies won 8-6. The Phillies bullpen looked shaky but held on to secure Roy Halladay's 3rd win of the year. On Saturday things started to go down hill. The Phillies sent Moyer to the mound who, as simply as I can put it, blew up in the first giving up 5 runs to the Marlins. The Phillies offense didn't fare much better who were only saved from the embarassment of a shutout by a 2 out home run by Jayson Werth in the 9th. Other than that, the Phillies offense did absolutely nothing and made Ricky Nolasco look like a cy young winner. It was not total disaster for Moyer who pitched 5 scorless innings to follow his nightmare first, but once again Jamie was unable to avoid that one really bad inning and that hurt him. On Sunday the Phillies lost again by a final score of 2-0. The Phillies managed 0 runs, I know it's hard to believe. One positive that can be taken from this game is the magnificent performance of Cole Hamels. Hamels pitched 8 and only gave up 2, a very strong performance and confidence builder for Cole. Hamels must be very confused, he doesnt pitch very strongly in his first 2 starts but gets the win in both, and when he has his best performance he gets the loss, but thats baseball. I expect Cole to build on this start and use it as a spring board for future starts. As for the Phillies offense I really have nothing bad to say. Pretty much this weekend, they sucked. But in a baseball season your offense is going to have its ups and downs. The one critique I have of the Phillies offense is that when one person is cold it seems to affect the whole lineup and everyone goes cold. What the Phillies need todo is coordinate and have only one or two people go cold at a time, not the whole offense. Or the Phillies could stay hot all year, that works too. Never the less, I expect the Phillies offense to rebound strongly and perform strongly against the Braves. I expect a strong performance from Kyle tonight who has a lot to prove, both to his team mates and coaches and to himself. And as for Jayson Heyward, its time to stop with the comparisons to Hank Aaron. Seriously people were still in the first month of the season and this guy is already headed to Cooperstown. Just wait until you face Halladay Jason, then we will see if your ready for Cooperstown.

Caution: Hot Bats (And Roy Halladay)

If I said to you back in early spring training that the Phillies would be 6-1 after the first week of the seaon, you probably would have laughed at me. Since 2004, the Phillies have had a lot of trouble getting out of the gate. In 2004, 2006, and 2007, the Phillies went 1-6 in their first week of baseball. Slow starts have been always nagged this team. So for the 2010 Phillies, with a sparkling record of 6-1, have erased the past and are off to their hottest start in years. The Phillies can attribute much of their early season success to their high powered offense, averaging over 7 runs a game. Roy Halladay, who pitched a complete game one run game for the Phils on Sunday to seal the sweep of the Houston Astros, is also contributing greatly to the Phillies hot start. Let's take a closer look at the Phillies 6-1 record by discussig the Houston series and also the Phillies win in their home opener against the Nationals. Last Friday, the Phillies took their 2-1 record to Houston to face off against Ed Wade and the Houston Astros. On Friday, J.A. Happ took to the hill, pitching 5 innings and giving up 0 runs. The Phillies offense also had a huge night, scoring 8 runs and getting contributions from just about everyone. Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Jayson Werth all went 2for 4. Placido Polanco also had another huge game going 4 for 5 but the biggest story line of the game was Raul Ibanez breaking out of his slump. In the series against the Nationals, Ibanez had just 1 hit and it was clear that he was struggling at the plate. On Friday night, Ibanez went 3 for 4 with 2 doubles and a single. It was nice to see Raul finally hit the ball hard. The Phillies won the game by a final of 8-0. On Saturday, Jamie Moyer got the start and he had his struggles. The beginning of the game went fine, 6 up and 6 down for the crafty veteran, but the 3rd inning was a disaster. Jamie gave up 5 runs in the 3rd, by giving up 7 hits, 2 of whcih were home runs. Luckily, Jamie settled down after that and went on to pitch 3 consecutive scoreless innings. I think the biggest thing for Moyer this season, is avoding that one really bad inning. Usually for Jamie, that inning comes in either the first or second inning when Moyer will give up 3 or 4 runs. For Moyer, if he can limit those bad innings to 1 or 2 run inngings or avoid them all together, it will help him and the Phillies out greatly down the road. On Sunday, for the first time all year, the Phillies bats were silent. No that is not a typo, the Phillies offense struggled greatly against Roy Oswalt only managing to score 2 runs. Luckily for the Phillies, it would be enough because Roy Halladay was on the hill and he proved just how valuable he is to this ball club by pitching a complete game 1 run game. With a just a 1 run lead to work with, Halladay worked his way out of tight jams throughout the game en route to his second win of the season. On Monday, the Phillies faced the Nationals once again in their home opener. Hamels got the start, and once again Cole didnt do great but he didnt do all that terrible either. He gave up 4 runs in 5+ innings of work, and once again had tremendous run support as he got his second win of the season. The Phillies offense provided Cole with all the runs he needed with a huge 5 run 5th. The Phillies won the game by a final of 7-4. I know that Cole Hamels early on does not look too good, but hey hes 2-0, undefeated, and until he starts losing games, Im not gonna get on his case. For the Phillies, they are rivaling the '93 team with their hot start. This team is extremely exciting to watch, and with a favorable early season schedule, the sky is the limit.

So Far, Pretty Good

So far in this young season, the Phillies have proven just how capable they are of winning ball games. Taking 2 out of 3 from the Washington Nationals, and scoring a total of 24 runs in the series, is a positive early season sign for the Fightin Phils. Lets break down each game individually. Opening Day on Monday was a game that Phillies players and fans had been dreaming about all winter long. Ace Roy Halladay took to the mound and pitched a gem going 7 innings and giving up only 1 run, and the Phillies bats were very much alive. Everybody got in on the action, as the Phils piled up 13 hits and 11 runs. Newcomer Placido Polanco smacked a grand slam as he put together a career high 6 rbis. Howard had a bomb, and Jimmy Rollins had a leadoff single and a rbi triple. The Phillies crushed the Nationals with a final score of 11-1. I actually went to the game with my good-lucking uncle, and being there, in Washington, with so many other Phillies fans was really an awesome experience. I felt a sense of extreme pride in my team, and lets just say the Nationals are lucky that they have the same color as the Phillies, or else it would have been really embarassing. On Wednesday, in the second game of the series, things didn't go quite as smoothly. Hamels looked mediocre in his first start of 2010, but got alot of help from the Phillies offense as they piled up 11 hits and 8 runs to give the Phillies their second win of the season. Although Hamels did get the win, there is no hiding the fact that he struggled. The young lefty went 5 innings giving up 3 runs and walking 4. It was Howard's colossal 2 run bomb that really put the Phillies over the top and helped secure the second win of the season. On Thursday, the series ended for the Phillies on a low note, as Kendrick struggled and the Phils lost 6-5. Kendrick, who gave up 3 runs in the first, and 2 in the 4th clearly was not the same Kyle Kendrick that we saw in spring training. Kyle, who has been reportedly following Roy Halladay around like a "lost puppy" pitched 4 innings and gave up 5. Thats not to say his whole outing was a disaster. There were times when Kyle seemed to settle in and it showed in the 2nd and 3rd inning in which Kyle didn't allow any runs. Unfortunately, the Phillies who continued to chip away at the lead through out the game, were unable to get it done in the 9th as Werth, Ibanez and Victorino flied out, stranding the baserunner Chase Utley. Oh well, 2 out 3 is solid, especially for the Phillies who have a long history of slow starts. There are alot of positives that can be taken away from this series, namely individual performances. Rollins is tearing the cover off the ball, and he energizes this entire Phillies lineup. Polanco, looks to be settling into his role as both 3rd baseman and 2 hole hitter perfectly as he too is hitting the ball hard. Howard already with 2 hrs on the season, is also getting hits and having good at bats which is a very positive sign. Utley, Werth and Victorino all seem to be doing great offesnively. As for pitching, Halladay looked awesome, and I expect him to go deeper into games as the season progresses. The Phillies as a whole unit, are doing everything they need todo to win. They are getting walks and having good at bats, and they are also playing fundamental baseball, and not relying to heavily on the longball. Now as the Phillies head to Houston for their second series of the season, they will turn the ball over to J.A. Happ, who will look to give the Phillies their 3rd win of the season. After the first series of the season, this team played as advertised, and if your a Phillies fan, you have to be excited.