Cole Hamels was the only bright spot in a terrible series this weekend against the Boston Red Sox. After getting blown out of the water in the first 2 games of the series, the Phils got an extremely strong pitching performance from Cole on Sunday who pitched 7 strong innings only giving up 1. Placido Polanco had a strong day at the plate with 2 hits and Raul Ibanez had a key 2 run shot in the 4th inning. Jayson Werth even got in on the action as he knocked in a run. The final was 5-3 in favor of the Phillies and they were able to salvage what looked like a definite sweep. Unfortunately for the Phils the schedule does not get any easier as they head to New York on Tuesday to take on the Yankees. The pitching matchup on Tuesday night will be a good one as the Phils send ace Roy Halladay to the mound and the Yanks counter with C.C. Sabathia. This upcoming series is vital for this Phillies team and their confidence. If they go into New York and get swept or only come away with 1 win, it is definitely going to hurt their confidence and they are going to struggle greatly through the rest of this extremely tough stretch in the schedule. If however the Phils can go in there and take care of business and play the way they are capable of playing, they can maybe get some swagger and start playing better overall. If the Phils can sweep or even take 2 out of 3, they can say hey we just beat one of the best teams in baseball so let's go; let's stop messing around and play the way we know we can play. More than anything I hope that this series against New York is a wake up call, because if they keep playing like this, they are going to fall further and further out of first place.
Is the title code for your thinking they may trade him to the Rays??
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