There's a piece by Phil Mushnick of the NY Post today about how MLB won't call games off due to the weather, because team owners are out to "soak the fans."

I can't believe I'm saying this, but good luck to you guys tonight against the Nats!

Another gem pitched by Cole Hamels almost went to waste, but Greg Dobbs drove in a run in the ninth to salvage a win for the Phils. It's hard to believe this team went 17 straight scoreless innings, but for some reason the Phillies have fits with Nationals pitching.

The Phils were 3-3 going into the final game of their road trip yesterday, and Cole Hamels struggled and fell behind 3-0 and 6-4 until the Phils exploded, batting around in both the 5th and 6th innings. The Phils bullpen shut out the Astros while the Astros bullpen gave up 11 runs in those two innings. The Phils offense did themselves one better, batting around THREE times in a 20-5 rout of the Rockies. (Where was that offense last October? )

The Phils are still 2.5 games behind Florida, who continues to surprise, but the Marlins come to town this weekend.

And it's now official: the 6th Annual Gay Community Night at the Phillies is Tuesday, August 19th vs. Washington. Will the sixth time be the charm?

And by the way, Gay Community Night is also a Dollar Hot Dog Night!!!

Meanwhile, the Phils continue their hot ways in finishing a sweep of the Rockies. Adam Eaton gets a win! He's probably feeling the pressure since Kris Benson is said to finally be pitching a minor league game. He's had only some extended spring training work so far. If Benson keeps progressing, he could easily take Eaton's place in the rotation, so Eaton needs to keep it up.

Bring on the Marlins!

I'll be at tomorrow night's game, testing my 3-0 record. A Phils win puts them in first place.

After Brett Myers spotted the Marlins a 3-0 first-inning lead the Phils smoked them 12-3 to move into first place.

I'm now 4-0, and 6 wins in a row going back to last September -- I am en fuego!!!!

Chase Utley was named NL Player of the Week. Yesterday he hit his 20th HR in his 58th game of the year. No second baseman in baseball history had hit 20 homers in fewer than 61 games. Rogers Hornsby hit his 20th in his 61st game in 1928.

Back in 2004 a game between the Phils and Reds was rained out, and they rescheduled it for an off-day in June. As it turned out, when that day arrived not only did I have a ticket for the game but Jim Thome was sitting at 399 homers and Ken Griffey had 499. Thome hit his 400th but Griffey didn't play.

Now the Reds are here and Griffey is at 599. But he's not going to start tonight due to "general soreness." Since this is a 4-game series we'll have to see when he returns to the lineup.

Chase continues to be hot as he homers for the fifth straight game, the second time he has done that this season. He now has 21 homeruns. Meanwhile the Phillies continue to get just enough offense to win, and the longball has been the mainstay all season as the team leads the majors in homeruns.

Speaking of hot, Jay Bruce of the Reds is hitting .577 with 3 HRs in his first seven games of the season.

The Braves' Kelly Johnson drops a popup with two outs in the ninth to allow the tying run to score. Shane Victorino hits his 2nd triple of the game to put the Phils up 3-2 in the 10th, scores to make it 4-2 on an Utley hit, then the Braves get runners at 2nd and 3rd with two out in the 10th off Brad Lidge. Yunel Escobar singles to center, one runner scores but the other is nailed at the plate on a laser by Victorino.

It looked like a sure loss to start a tough stretch -- 18 of the next 24 are on the road. Of the 34 games leading to the All-Star break, all but 3 are against teams with winning records (3 games in Texas, which is one under.500). There are 12 games against the teams chasing them in the NL East plus series against 3 other division leaders.

Instead it turned into an amazing win, the type that makes you wonder if fate is truly smiling upon this team.

Well, the Phillies are certifiably hot for now. They just swept the Atlanta on the road. The Braves had the best home record and didn't lose three in a row at home all year..

The key to the recent success has to be solid starting pitching and a good bullpen. Adam Eaton and Kyle Kendrick look like they have settled down just enough to keep the game close. That recipe gives this team a chance to score on the opposing bullpen, even after solid performances by the opposition's starters.

The Phils now have the best road record in the NL. Things are going well right now. I just hope it keeps going.

Well, it had to happen eventually, Tom Gordon reverting to his old self by having a meltdown in the ninth. I figured he was pitching with smoke and mirrors the last couple of months. Too bad the Phillies only tied the game in the ninth, otherwise Lidge would have provided a better choice over Gordon. It's a shame that a good game by Hamels went to waste, he gave up two solo homeruns in eight innings but that was it.

On opening day Gordon gave up 5 runs in 1/3 inning, and 4 runs last night in 1/3 inning. In between in 27 games his ERA was 2.13. So it remains to be seen what happens with him from here on. It's a shame because winning 2 of 3 or sweeping the Marlins would've really opened up a lead in the division. Now, they have to win tonight or the lead's down to 1 game.

Of course, it's still June. I'm just pleased that they didn't bury themselves early as in other seasons. It's nice that they're right in the mix instead of desperately clawing from behind.

Phils got a tremendous 8-inning performance from Jamie Moyer last night. Tonight they're going nuts offensively -- Utley, Howard and Burrell homered consecutively in the first. It's the 7th time the Phils have done it, and Burrell has been part of the last three occurrences (the others being two weeks apart in 2004, with Abreu and Thome). And they just sent 15 batters to the plate in a 9-run fourth. And Florida is losing 7-3 in the 8th, so if things hold up their lead is back to 4 games.

And all of this success without any real impact by Howard.

Wow. They just cracked the 20-run mark for the second time this year.

What a strange game baseball can be. The Phillies had a hard time scratching out 9 runs in 3 games against the Marlins, then they hit a 20 spot in one game against the Cardinals. I hope they saved some runs for Kyle Lohse tommorow. You know it's bad for the Cards when they bring in a position player to pitch the ninth, naturally he got out of the inning without giving up a hit.

aaron miles pitching was cool.

second time the phils scored 20 runs.

no wonder, the NL leads AL in runs scored and most offensive categories.

Aaron Miles' pitches were slower than Jamie Moyer's.

The last team to score 20 twice in a season was (if I recall correctly what was said last night) Oakland in 2000.
The last time the Phils did it was in...1900.

I don't know if I should be more annoyed with Brett Myers or Tom Gordon. Both have not performed well, with Myers giving up six runs today and Gordon losing the game on a ball he should have caught.

But the more I think about it, Myers is the one who deserves my wrath. This is because much more was expected from him this year than from Tom Gordon, who we know can be shaky. I am starting to think that Myers is just not suited to be a starter after getting a taste of closing last year. He can show periods of dominance but can rarely sustain it for 6 or more innings.

Going into the season we were all fretting over Adam Eaton, but he has bounced back. Where Adam has given up 10 homeruns this season Myers has given up 20. If Myers continues on this pace he could come close to the NL record of 48 set by Jose Lima.

As I said before, Myers needs to grow up. He's pitched well as a starter before. There's no reason he shouldn't be doing it again.

Not having a dependable #2 starter on this team is starting to show the weakness in starting pitching against the elite teams. While the bullpen is great, the starting pitching might be enough to get you to the postseason, but not much further.

Kyle Kendrick, while able to get by most teams with his average stuff did not fool the Red Sox as they scored 4 runs off of him before I even sat down. Down 7-1 the Phillies did mount a bit of a comback scoring three more, but the offense mostly sputtered. Chase Utley is in his worst slump since he came up to the majors going 0-20. You know he will snap out of it, but the question is when. If Rollins, Utley and Howard would get hot all at the same time, the pitching problems would be masked, but that is simply pie in the sky.

There was talk that Utley should've been rested last night, but he wants to play so Manuel let him. I guess I should say C. Manuel since the Mets also have a Manuel managing them now. Anyway, Utley says tomorrow is fine as his day off. Let's hope so. Monday is also a day off but they're traveling to Oakland, so that isn't quite the same.

Well, the good news is that Chase Utley got a hit yesterday. The bad news is that the Phils have lost 5 in a row, 7 of 8 since they scored 20 runs in St. Louis, and 9 of 12 since their sweep in Atlanta. The hitting needs to get back in gear, and they need to be able to manufacture runs when they're not getting the home runs.

I was at the game yesterday and a strange thing happened. After Chase got his hit to break out of that 0 -24 slump he got a standing ovation. Even some of his teamates in the dugout got into the act. Unfortunately it was his only hit in the game.

The other good news is that while the Phils have struggled, the other NL East teams haven't played that much better. Last night, for example, Johan Santana gave up a grand slam homer to a pitcher who was batting for the first time this year and was 1 for 8 lifetime before that. (DH...bah! )

Finally, the Phils break the losing streak at 6 and Chase Utley gets 4 hits. Two in a row to win the series over Oakland would be nice...

...so much for that idea. Win a series? Ridiculous. The Phils have now lost 11 of 15. They're 3-9 in interleague play as they go to Texas for the final interleague series. Yet they're still up 2 in the NL East.

This is really getting ridiculous now.

The Phils had 6 runs on just 4 hits in the top of the 4th. Actually, the 6th run scored on their 2nd hit of the game, a solo HR by Coste. Walks and an error led to their first hit, a Feliz grand slam. Anyway, in the fourth they had two men on and one out when Texas replaced their starting pitcher. The Phils didn't get another hit until the 9th. Meanwhile, Brett Myers sucked again. If the police are smart, they'll put some surveillance on Mrs. Myers, because she might be targeted for another round of spousal abuse.

I am out of the country so I get to miss the ¨joy of losing¨

Based on the box scores, it appears the hitting is as much on and off as the pitching. It amazes me that even with the atrocious record over the last 2 weeks, they still manage to be at the top of the division

Brett Myers has been demoted to triple-A! With his approval, actually, because he has over 5 years' service in the majors he could have refused to go. Still, it's surprising because they don't seem to have anyone really ready to step in. They'll move Cole Hamels up to Thursday but they'll have to come up with someone for Friday. They hope Myers will make 3 or so starts in the minors and regain his form -- though I'm skeptical. If he has a physical problem with his delivery, it seems to me their pitching coach should've caught it.

So Brett Myers is a pig. Well, a Lehigh Valley IronPig, to be exact.

Two wins in a row at Atlanta. Ah, being back in the National League part of the schedule is like a refreshing drink of cold water on a hot summer day. But Ryan Howard made two errors in the ninth to help the Braves load the bases with Mark Teixeira batting. I said it before -- he's got to do better in the field.

Myers' IronPigs debut: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K. Here's a behind-the-scenes report on how the Myers demotion happened.

Brad Lidge has been signed to a 3-year extension worth $37.5 million, with a club option for a fourth year. Now, if he keeps pitching the way he has all year, great.

Meanwhile, ESPN's Buster Olney says that if the Brewers can't work out a deal with the Indians for C.C. Sabathia, the Phillies might sneak into the picture:

I wasted eight hours today seeing the good the bad and the ugly. The only good was Jason Werth's 9 inning homerun off of Wagner to tie the game. The bad was a 3 hour rain delay on top of extra innings. The ugly were the the final runs scored off of Chad Durbin in the 12th via a Tatis 2 run homer. The Phillies bullpen which has been their strong suit all year has thrown away two straight very winable games. Let's hope they can salvage a split.

Apparently you inspired the Daily News headline writer today. Referring to Utley's being voted an All-Star starter, Lidge's contract extension and All-Star selection, and the game: "The Good, The Brad And The Ugly"



In my neighborhood there was almost no rain whatsoever. That storm sat over South Philly.

In an effort to get things turned around once and for all, I've bought a ticket through StubHub for tonight's game (and post-game fireworks show). My 6-game winning streak is on the line.

I'll keep my fingers crossed .

The Phillies finally pull one out and you were there to see it. Perhaps it's time to invest in the 81 game plan.

It's amazing that as bad as Ryan Howard's average has been, he has set a Phillies reccord for most RBI before the All Star game with 80. He is also tied for the league lead in homeruns with 25.

I'd be happy to go to many more games, but I'd need some financial support for that.

phillyrunner, RBI is essentially a team stat, dependent largely on the hitters ahead of you in the lineup. For evaluating individual performance, it's basically a junk stat. Slugging percentage measures what people think RBI does.

I'm just back from the BPS this afternoon. Jamie M. is amazing. I don't think he pitched anything faster than 81 mph, there were base runners in every inning, but 7 innings and only 1 earned run. And Ryan H is 3 for 4 off Looper, and all three are home runs (two of them today). FWIW, Ryan H even looks more slender in the cream colored alternate home uniform. Maybe its the pin stripes. :-)

Now that we're out of the American League, maybe we can get back on track.

Moyer is the oldest player in the majors now, which makes me sad because it means every single major leaguer is now younger than me. The problem is he's been their second-best starter, and he's really a third or fourth starter. I don't think anyone's available via trade who will do any better. They desperately need Myers to do his job whenever he returns from the minors.

Tripp, it's nice to have another Phillies fan on the board. But...Ryan Howard? Slender?

RBI is a team stat, but what you do in RISP situations is an individual stat.

Santana57 you are correct. While Ryan is only hitting .234 overall, he is hitting .330 with RISP. For the record the players in front of him are not exactly smoking the ball. The first 3 hitters in the lineup are hitting .268, .268 and .294 respectively. Bill while you and your saberheads may call these junk stats, they have a large bearing on what the player's salary will be. Tell the major league clubs these stats are junk and see if they ignore them next time they bid on a player.

"... looks more slender ..." is what I said ... and appearances aren't always reality. BUT when he first came up to bat, I did a double take ... and got out the field glasses just to make sure. It was in fact Ryan H. Maybe it was that his shirt tails actually stayed tucked in. I don't know .. he just looked significantly skinnier. I saw an interview with him after the game .. he wasn't skinnier .. he just looked skinnier in the cream colored uniform.

That was quite a game last night...I missed most of it since I went to a movie at the gay film festival. But I have a sorta related gripe.

Stations in other cities (the Yankees' YES network, for one) tout replays of their games in which they condense the games into an hour or two and show all the highlights of the game in that span. Here, they just replay the game to fit into their timeslot, but if the game's longer than the timeslot they just jump in at whatever point they need to, because God knows at 4 am they MUST show their infomercials. So the 1:30 am replay on Comcast of last night's game started with...the top of the 7th inning. With all the money they have, can't they hire one or two people to edit it down and show the important plays of the entire game, instead of just half a game?

lol starting the game in 7th inning is ridiculous.

YES airs an encore after midnight but it's not condensed. SNY airs a 1 hour condensed mets games twice (always with a pre-game and starts in the first inning) and the entire game once or twice.

Maybe I got SNY and YES mixed up. The Red Sox have replays on NESN, though I don't know if they're condensed but I think they call it "Breakfast with the Sox."

To be slightly fair, the game last night went 12 innings and it was only 3-1 at that point, and the final was 6-5. Still, they don't need to show all the one-two-three innings, do they? Just do what ESPN does, have someone in the studio saying "this is a replay, we're now moving ahead to further action."

After two horrendous starts, Adam Eaton officially reverted back to his circa 2007 days. Time to look for a replacement via a trade. Unfortunately that ship may have already sailed given that the two best pitchers that were available are gone.

They're talking up A.J. Burnett but there's no way I want his contract. He can opt out of it after this year, and if he doesn't he's owed $12 million a year for two more years. So if he does well, he opts out and leaves. If he blows, he keeps the deal as is. Either way a team that gets him is screwed. He's another Adam Eaton waiting to happen as far as I'm concerned.

I don't know who else will be available who would be any better than Brett Myers and J.A. Happ. My guess is both come back after the All-Star break and Eaton will leave the rotation.