Could the Mets be the cure for the bad baseball bug that has bitten the Phillies lately?  Today's 7-2 win that rocked Citizens Bank Park was definitely a good start.  Another good start today was that of new Phillies pitcher, Rodrigo Lopez, who stunned Philadelphia fans with his excellent ball control and ability to throw strikes.  Throwing strikes does seem to be the object of the game, but not many Phillies pitchers have given that a try recently.  So Lopez's emergence from AAA after his recovering from Tommy-John surgery is a welcome surprise.

But is Lopez that good or are the Mets just that bad right now?  It may be a little of both, but Lopez certainly did show promise.  And this guy is no stranger to the big leagues; Lopez pitched 5 years with the Baltimore Orioles and part of 2007 with the Rockies before his injury.  The experience showed tonight as he was very poised on the mound and unshaken by the large, raucous crowd.  Lopez pitched 6 1/3 innings of 2 run ball and walked only 1 batter.  If he can repeat this a few more times, the Phillies will be more than happy to keep him around.

The Phillies offense finally found a groove tonight as well.  The top of the line-up led the charge, with Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino and Chase Utley each collecting at least 2 hits each.  Utley & Rollins had 2 RBI a piece as well.  Maybe Charlie Manuel finally grabbed these guys by the throat and shook them around until some offense fell out, like coins from a piggy bank?  Whatever the case, everyone hopes he did not break the bank in one night.

Ryan Madson, who was sorely in need of a clean inning after a horrific few weeks, pitched the 9th with a 5 run lead.  John Mayberry Jr. lent a hand by making a diving grab in the outfield.  That out helped get Madson through it and he nailed down a scoreless, hitless inning.  Madson can now exhale and hopefully, get things back on track.

With two more games coming up against the rival Mets, there may still be a light at the end of the tunnel for the Phillies if they can continue to play with the same intensity they did today.  Jamie Moyer will kick things off tomorrow at 4:05pm on the 4th of July!  With any luck, the offense will provide the fireworks.

For a change, the Phillies got a great outing from a starting pitcher; JA Happ went 7 innings and only allowed 2 runs.  However, Ryan Madson, who has been nothing short of awful lately, was still sent out to pitch the 8th inning, despite his troubles.  Madson gave up 3 runs and threw away any possibility of a win for the Phillies.  Madson has made a habit out of blowing games in the past month and manager Charlie Manuel is doing him no favors by continuing to put him on the mound.   Clearly, Madson has issues to straighten out and during tight games is not the time for him to "work" on his pitches.  Manuel cannot keep putting the same guys out there and expect different results; especially when the team is on the verge of being swept and coming off a horrible road trip.

Well, they got swept alright, and it was ugly.  Not only that, but as I predicted, they are now nearly out of 1st place (tied with Marlins) and quickly plummeting down the ranks of the NL East.  Manuel needs to deal with the players that are not producing and dealing with them should not include putting blind faith in players when things have gotten this bad.

Jimmy Rollins did attempt to turn his season around tonight; he went 2 for 4, but it was all for nothing.  The entire game, the entire road trip, has been an exercise in futility as the Phillies cannot seem to win a game.  The only real entertainment tonight was watching Chase Utley impersonate a charging bull, as he slammed into the Braves catcher, Brian McCann, to score the first of only 2 runs for the team on the day.  Greg Dobbs had a nice day as well, but again, it did not matter.

The Phillies struggled in the first half of last season, and they still won the World Series.  However, the struggles this year are a completely different animal.  Mental errors, lapses in judgment and very bad pitching have thrown 2009 into a much different level of awful.  It is officially time to be worried, Phillies fans.  This team has let a potentially big lead in the division wander on by and now, nothing is going right.

Injury Update

Raul Ibanez was supposed to play in a rehab game yesterday in Reading, but the start was pushed back to today.  Then, today's appearance was pushed back as well...  Is this reason for concern or are the Phillies just playing it really safe?  Ibanez has been sorely missed in the line-up and everyone is anxious to get him back.  Of course, the Phillies need him back healthy.  And so we wait...

One Last Time - Vote!

Only a few hours left!  Please ignore how bad this team has gotten and keep VOTING for your Phillies All-Stars!  (I need something to look forward to) VOTE up to 25 times.  Voting ends at 11:59 PM ET tonight!  Utley & Ibanez should be locks for a spot, but Howard, Victorino and Rollins are still teetering on the brink...so, keep on voting!

Where has the NLCS and the World Series MVP gone?  Certainly, he is not the same pitcher who is currently 4-5 with a 4.98 ERA?  Oh heck, make it an even 5.00.  And tonight, his problems were more magnified than ever; Cole Hamels pitched only 4+ innings and allowed 7 earned runs as the Phillies went down 1-11.  Seven runs against an Atlanta team that everyone said had NO offense; well, I guess they were just waiting for the Phillies to come to town.

But what is the problem with Hamels?  First, he is leaving way too many pitches up in the zone.  This is not his typical style, but suddenly, it has become a real issue.  Second, he is pitching frustrated.  In recent days, the previously cool and confident Hamels has become a whiny crybaby with the umpires and has a general look of dissatisfaction on his face all the time.  But why?  For a guy who has had this much success at a young age, he has no reason to pout...with the exception maybe of his last several outings.  He was the 2008 World Series MVP...he bought a brand new luxury condo in Philly...his wife is expecting their first child...everyone worships him.  So, what is the issue?  Where did the smile go?

Then again, this entire team has seemingly lost their Mojo over the past month.  Just ask Jimmy Rollins; in fact, the only guy who's Mojo appears untouchable is Chase Utley who is still batting .301 despite his team's struggles.  And where has Ryan Howard's big bat disappeared to?  He has not hit a home run since June 20th (that is 32 at-bats) and is hitting .240 overall this past month.  The most feared offensive team in the league has turned into a welcome relief to opposing pitchers who are now anxious to mow the Phillies down.

This is where Charlie Manuel's short comings will come to light.  Don't get me wrong, I love Charlie.  He has been the manager that this team has needed and he performed THE miracle by bringing the World Series Championship home.  And Charlie is a super nice guy; but that is exactly the issue.  He is too nice sometimes.  Sorry Charlie, but it is time to start banging heads together in that clubhouse.  The "nice" approach worked for two games, and now, they are right back in a funk. 

Not only that, but he should manage without worrying about making everyone happy.  When asked why he started Paul Bako at catcher tonight, a career bench guy, Manuel said he felt that because Bako was there with the team, he needed to play sometime.  I hate to disagree, but as the manager, Manuel does not owe anyone anything.  It is not Manuel's job to soothe ego's; it is his job to win games.  And no offense to Bako, but he is hardly the spark plug this team needs right now.  Forget about getting guys their playing time; play the guys who will produce.  And if Rollins cannot hit, move him down in the line-up.  There is no sense in him getting 5 at-bats a game when other players are hitting better.  No one cares how unhappy it makes Rollins, and neither should Charlie.  Get him out of the funk, then move him back.  Jimmy should be willing to do what is best for the team, and he knows that.  A little tough love is in order here.  The rest of the NL East is creeping right up on top of the Phillies and they will be out of first place this week if nothing changes.

The New Starter?

Rodrigo Lopez will, at least for now, occupy the hole left in the line-up by Brett Myers who is down for the season after hip surgery.  Lopez pitched for the Rockies in 2007, then had Tommy-John surgery.  Coming back from his injury, he signed a minor league deal with the Phils in March and has gone 5-4 with a 3.91 ERA in 13 starts this season with the AAA Iron Pigs.

Most expected to see Carlos Carassco in this spot, but that is not the way it will pan out.  However, this move may be a sign that GM Ruben Amaro Jr. has a trade in the works and did not want to bring up a young gun for a spot start.  If you are going to bring in a guy like Carassco, you are probably thinking that he will be in long term.  Since they did not do that, it leads me to think there may be something cooking.  Let us hope so...

Last Day To Vote

One day left; please keep VOTING for your Phillies All-Stars.  VOTE up to 25 times per day, per email address!  Voting ends at 11:59 PM ET tomorrow, Thursday, July 2, 2009.

Both literally and figuratively, the Phillies dropped the ball tonight.  After an off-day yesterday, the team sauntered into Atlanta and looked a bit sluggish, instead of rejuvenated.  Batting against Derek Lowe is generally no picnic, but they had some opportunities.  Chase Utley did his part, going 2 for 5 with a solo home run; and Pedro Feliz had a good night at the plate, playing outstanding defense in the field as well.  Joe Blanton had a so-so start; he went 5 innings and allowed 3 runs.  But most of the game was tight, without much action.

In fact, up until the 8th inning, the most entertaining part of the game was watching Braves pitcher, Mike Gonzalez swoon back and forth on the mound like a weeble-wobble.  No one was sure whether he was going to pitch or break dance.  That is one confused dude.  But his antics on the mound translated into back-to-back solo homers for the Phillies to give them a 4-3 lead.  John Mayberry and Feliz joined forces to knock the silliness right out of the Braves pitcher.

But the Braves tied the game back up in the bottom of the 8th, thanks to a dropped ball by Ryan Howard (bad feed from Madson), which allowed a runner to advance, and then Jayson Werth juggled another ball in the outfield.  Poor Ryan Madson just cannot catch a break lately when he is on the mound.  And these defensive mishaps would cost the Phillies the game.  Chan Ho Park got into trouble in the 10th inning with runners on 1st & 3rd and 1 out; the next batter hit a long fly ball to left field, which sealed the deal.

In addition to the loss, what also rings a few alarm bells around Philadelphia is the performance of Jimmy Rollins.  After being given a 4-game "mental" break / benching, Rollins came back today to resume his leadoff spot.  But frankly, it appears that nothing has changed.  Rollins still swung at bad pitches, very early in his at-bats and he had one shaky play in the field as well, missing a fairly routine ground ball that he normally would have snagged.  J-Roll ended the game without a hit in 5 at-bats and looks no closer to waking up than he did a week ago.  Has someone chained him down with Kryptonite?  Or is this just a phase?  A long, drawn-out, ridiculously bad phase...  Only time will tell.  However, the Phillies are nearing the half-way point of the season and time is a luxury they will not soon have.

Anyway, please keep VOTING for your Phillies All-Stars.  VOTE up to 25 times per day, per email address!  Voting ends at 11:59 PM ET on Thursday, July 2, 2009.

The Phillies wrapped up the series with the Blue Jays today and also ended interleague play for the year...finally!  As usual, interleague play was not kind to the Phillies and most are happy it is over. However, there were a few highlights, including JA Happ's first career complete game shut-out yesterday.  Happ allowed only 5 hits in the game and gave the bullpen a much needed rest.  The Phillies offense found their bats after a spanking from manager Charlie Manuel in a closed door meeting, and the team racked up ten runs in the game for Happ.  The very Happ-Y pitcher is now 5-0 on the season with a 3.00 ERA.

Today, the Phillies sent Jamie Moyer to the mound and he allowed 4 runs in 5 innings, including 3 home runs.  After the 5th, Manuel decided to take advantage of his rested pen and sent Chan Ho Park in who pitched 2 scoreless, hitless innings.  It is nice to see Park finally settling into his role and feeling good after getting hit with a batted ball two days ago.       

With the Phillies up 5-4 in the 8th, Ryan Madson was set up to have an easy inning; he got the first out, Scott Rolen hit a single, but then a routine double play ball to Eric Bruntlett turned into a disaster.  Bruntlett, filling in for Jimmy Rollins the last 3 days, dropped the ball leaving 2 runners on with only 1 out.  Poor Madson was sweating by the time he got to the 3rd out, but he got there and Pedro Feliz snagged a pop-up to end the threat.

Brad Lidge came in to get the save and, as usual, it was an adventure.  A bunt single, then a walk and hearts were racing again.  But Lidge got a pop-out, another out on a run down and finally capped it off with Bruntlett snagging a grounder and tossing to Ryan Howard for the final out.  Whew!  Finally...a series win.  Time to exhale...

Iron Pigs (AAA)

Yesterday, I attended an Iron Pigs game and saw Drew Carpenter pitch.  Carpenter has been a highly touted player in the minors and he did pitch a shut-out through 8 innings.  However, his fastball tops out at around 80mph (or at least it did last night).  Solid pitcher, but I am not sure the Phillies need another Jamie Moyer in the rotation.  Carlos Carassco and Kyle Drabek (AA) may still be possibilities to fill the hole left by Brett Myers.  Going outside the organization to get an experienced arm would be much better, but there are still very few pitchers available.  We shall see...

Mike Cervenak (photo) is doing very well after suffering a broken wrist last month; he was 2 for 5 in the game and is batting .313.  Mike Spidale (OF) led the pack with 3 hits and is batting .353; and Lou Marson (C) has been doing better of late - he had 2 hits and 2 RBI last night. 

Here is a PHOTO ALBUM from the Iron Pigs game, including shots from the fireworks show afterwards and even a 3-D fireworks shot!  I held the camera up to the 3-D glasses and it actually worked...check it out!

Up Next

The Phillies have the day off tomorrow to travel to Atlanta for a 3 game series before returning home on July 3rd to face the Mets.  Joe Blanton will pitch on Tuesday; game time is 7:00pm.

VOTE

The clock is ticking...please keep VOTING for your Phillies All-Stars!  VOTE up to 25 times per day, per email address!  Voting ends at 11:59 PM ET on Thursday, July 2, 2009.

The Phillies season is slowly, but surely, circling the drain.  With 11 losses in 13 games, injuries piling up and even the steady Cole Hamels beginning to lose his cool, this season is quickly working its way into the crapper.

Hamels had a very bad 5th inning against the Jays, but the umpire did him no favors with the inconsistent strike zone.  Still, after giving up 3 runs in the 5th and 1 prior to that in the 4th, Hamels was at the end of his rope.  Charlie Manuel pulled him from the game and as he walked off the mound, he gave an earful to the home plate ump who tossed him from the game.  It was the 1st player ejection for the Phillies of the season, although technically, he was out of the game already.

But the frustration from Hamels was just a microcosm of how the past several weeks have panned out for this team.  Bad breaks, bad hitting and even worse mental mistakes have led the Phillies down a dark and treacherous path.  Fans everywhere are waiting for a tornado to tear down the stadium; that is simply how bad it has been.

The Phillies offense did not record a hit until the 7th inning when Chase Utley singled.  Right before that, they saw yet another pitcher run out of the game early with an injury.  Chan Ho Park appeared to get hit by a batted ball in the knee and went down screaming in pain.  It was not pretty: With Clay Condrey and Scott Eyre still on the DL; Brett Myers lost for the season and Brad Lidge just returning, Park going down is a serious kick in the gut.  Not to mention, still no Raul Ibanez and Jimmy Rollins continues sit on the  bench for a "mental" break.

Well, speaking of Lidge, Manuel decided to get him some work today, despite being down 0-4.  Lidge, in the non-save situation, did not fare well.  He gave up 2 runs on 2 hits and 2 walks in only 1/3 of an inning. Welcome back, Brad??  Ugh.  Just one more bummer in an already disastrous situation.

And the road to hell continues in Canada again tomorrow.  JA Happ will take the mound at 1:07pm and pray for a miracle...

Reminder:  Despite the disgusting play of late, please keep VOTING for your Phillies All-Stars!  VOTE up to 25 times per day, per email address! 

The past few days have left Phillies fans wondering who turned the lights out.  The mental mistakes, lack of concentration and outright wackiness of this team begs the question, where have the Phillies head's gone?  Did they drink too many Slurpee's in the hot weather and are suffering from severe brain freeze?  Or, are they day dreaming of midget clowns, fire eaters and candy?  Hmmmm....

At the plate, they appear to be asleep; weak swings at bad balls, staring like a deer in headlights at strikes down the middle of the plate and base running that brings back memories of their little league days.  Tonight, Pedro Feliz killed an inning that had real potential by forgetting how many outs there were.  1 out in the 6th, Pedro on 1st and Matt Stairs on 3rd, Eric Bruntlett did his job and hit a sac fly to center.  Feliz, however, thinking there were two outs, ran all the way to second and got doubled up at 1st before Stairs could score.  The run did not count and the threat was over.

But this is only one of several examples of spontaneous stupidity displayed by the team this week.  It has made most fans wish they really were living in la-la-land, as the Phillies appear to be.  At least in la-la-land, the rest of the NL East catching up to the Phils may not factor in.  However, in the real world, the Phillies have run themselves into big trouble.

And trouble rolls downhill, starting with the starters.  Antonio Bastardo was given a 4 run lead to start the game and immediately gave 3 runs right back to the Rays in the bottom of the 1st inning.  And as expected, it all went downhill from there.  Maybe if Bastardo more closely resembled another Antonio, I would be able to cope with his lack of control: Put Banderas on the mound and I don't care if he walks in 12 runs...at least he would look good doing it ;O)  But Bastardo still needs work before he is major league ready.  And he may have taken that decision out of the manager's hands anyway tonight, as he left the game early with a left shoulder strain.  The Phillies need a starting pitcher - real bad.  The hole in the rotation left by Brett Myers continues to haunt the team, with no answer yet in sight.  And even worse, because the Phillies have let so many teams in the NL catch up to them over these last few weeks, most teams are not ready to give up and start unloading talent.  They all still have a shot at the Wildcard, thanks to the Phillies bad play.  And therefore, the pickings are slim for starting pitchers.  Talk about shooting themselves in the foot...ouch!

Hey, maybe Antonio Banderas IS available?  I have no idea if he has ever picked up a baseball, but I am willing to give him a shot.  Hey Tony...call me ;O)

Reminder:  Despite the brain freezes of the week, please keep VOTING for your Phillies All-Stars!  VOTE up to 25 times per day, per email address! 

The losing streak, 6 long, depressing games, is finally over!  And the cure to what ails the Phillies?  You guessed it - Road Trip!  Landing in Tampa to play their 2008 World Series foes, the Phillies rolled right over the Tampa Bay Rays tonight.  Notching 6 runs in the first half of the 1st inning set the tone for the game.  Some good pitching, lots of hitting, a few home runs and a trio of Rays errors got the job done.

Jamie Moyer put forth a great effort tonight and allowed just one run in 6 innings of work; he struck out 4, walked 3 and allowed 5 hits.  Former Phillie, Pat Burrell, was mystified by his old teammate, going 0-2 with a walk against Moyer.  Sorry Pat - and yes, we still miss your presence :O(

As for the offense, Chase Utley was on fire tonight!  He went 3 for 5 with a single, double and a home run, driving in 4 runs.  Shane Victorino joined the Utley-Show with 2 hits, 2 walks and an RBI.  The rookie, John Mayberry, stood out tonight as well with a 3-run homer.  Yesterday at the Phillies Phestival, Mayberry was told by a fan, "I am glad to see you here in the big leagues!"; Mayberry responded with, "So am I."  He showed his gratitude tonight.  Mayberry is now batting .292 with 3 homers and 7 RBI in 24 at-bats.

A few more rookies / new Phillies were given the opportunity to shine tonight, as more players are down with injuries (Condrey put on DL today; Lidge & Eyre still out; Ibanez still out with groin strain).  Tyler Walker pitched 2 scoreless innings  and then Sergio Escalona handled the 9th; Escalona nailed down the final 3 outs and the Phillies went on to win, 10-1.

In other injury / illness news, Ryan Howard did join the team today after an infection that sidelined him for a few days.  Howard served as the DH and went 1 for 4 with a double and an RBI.  Great to see Ryan feeling better!

Be sure to check out my PHOTO ALBUM from yesterday's Phillies Phestival in case you missed it earlier today.

And then, make sure you keep VOTING for your Phillies All-Stars!  VOTE up to 25 times per day, per email address!

The Phillies held their annual Phestival yesterday to raise money for the search in finding a cure for ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.  Players, their wives, broadcasters and Phillies staff were on hand to sign autographs, play games for prizes with the fans and auction off items for the charity.  The Phillies Wives sold grab bags for $20 each which contained a variety of goodies; I wound up with a PILE of fun stuff including a Chase Utley signed hat, given out by Mrs. Utley herself, a Phanatic bobblehead, a few signed balls, a yearbook and other cool items.  In addition, I had some of my photos signed by the players to add to my collection.

Cole Hamels wins my Photo of The Day award.  He was gracious enough to pose for me, as were many others.  Check out my PHOTO ALBUM from the day to see more! 

The player in highest demand yesterday was none other than RAUUUUUUL Ibanez!  And Ryan Howard was absent from the event due to his recent illness, which has been termed "acute sinusitis."  While some fans were disappointed to miss out on a rare Howard autograph, most were more concerned for his health and wished him well.  Howard did not travel with the team last night to Florida, but he may fly in before the game tonight.  It will depend on how he is feeling.

Overall, the Phestival was a huge success.  The money raised surpassed any previous year's total with $867,670 going to the ALS cause.  And as you may imagine, with a World Championship last year, more and more fans were interested in attending.  It was crowded as usual, but ran very smoothly, in slight contrast to the previous year, which was a little more hectic.  The only real criticism I have is that the Phillies need to put a limit on the number of tickets each person can buy.  I saw several people in line to exchange autograph tickets before the gates opened who had stacks of tickets 3 inches high.  2 people told me they had bought 75 tickets and 80 tickets, respectively!  So, it is no wonder that many fans this week were complaining about not being able to get autograph tickets...a few greedy people bought them all!

What really burns me up about this is not only that they took away opportunities for more fans to support the charity, but that these people who hoard the autograph tickets are only doing so to make money.  They get bunches of autographs and then sell them on E-bay, depriving REAL fans of their chance to meet a few players and get some souvenirs.  This year, The Phillies did finally limit the number of tickets you could exchange at the ticket window to 1 per player signing station, which helped.  But, they really need to limit the number of tickets sold to one person when they go on sale.  5,500 people showed up, but how many more would have if the tickets were spread out amongst more people?  More people = more money for the charity.  Maybe next year, they will rethink that part of it.

In other news, Clay Condrey has been placed on the 15-day DL to punch another hole in our already beleaguered bullpen.  Condrey has an oblique strain, which may account for his recent struggles.  Sergio Escalona will be called up again to take his spot.  Condrey was at the Phestival though, signing for the fans, even though he appeared to be just a little bummed out.  I wish him a speedy recovery!

So, be sure to check out my PHOTO ALBUM from the Phestival and, in case you missed it yesterday, here is the PHOTO ALBUM from Sunday's game against the O's.

Your daily reminder:  Be sure to elect the Phillies to the All-Star game!  VOTE up to 25 times per day, per email address!