Results tagged ‘ Cubs ’
An Ugly Win; But Still A Win
Before the Phillies – Cubs game today, Placido Polanco returned from the DL. Juan Castro, who has not contributed too much lately, was released to make room. It is good to have Polly back! But instead of giving the team a spark, they kept playing like they were in a coma.
By the 9th inning, down 0-1, it looked like the sleeping Phils were about to lose their 3rd straight to the Cubs. But then a miracle occurred; the Cubs bullpen took pity on them and walked two batters. Then with two outs, Polly came through with a base hit and Brian Schneider tried to score. He should have been out by a mile, but the very kind Cubbies took pity again; an off-line throw home kept Schneider safe.
However, the Cubs bullpen was not fully satisfied with their charity. Pitcher Carlos Marmol tossed a wild pitch and Ross Gload scored. Then Marmol intentionally walked Ryan Howard and not-so-intentionally walked Jayson Werth to score another run for the Phillies.
Pitcher James Russell wanted in on this charitable action! So he gave up a single to Raul Ibanez, which scored the 4th run of the inning. Ok, maybe Ibanez had a little to do with the hit…
Actually, Ibanez had two hits in the game, as did Werth and Shane Victorino. But they left many, many men on base through 8 innings and could not score a run. Of course, the Phillies will take a win anyway they can get it, even if it is handed to them on a silver platter.
So they went on to win by a score of 4-1. However, something still seems to be very wrong with the Phillies. Is it a lack of enthusiasm? Or perhaps it is just another slump? No, I think not. Based on the evidence, I am going to have to say it must be brain damage. Take a look at the facts from today’s game:
- Victorino got thrown out at second base…twice. Once, he was stealing and once he was trying to stretch a single into a double. Conclusion: brain damage.
- Ibanez stole second base and then somehow, with his super-slow motion running abilities, thought, hey, I’ll steal third! Nope…he was out. Conclusion: brain damage.
- Wilson Valdez forgot to cover first base on a Cubs bunt and allowed the runner to get safely to first while a run scored. And later in the game, Valdez dropped a pop-up. Conclusion: brain damage.
- Cole Hamels pitched an AMAZING game, allowing only 1 run in 7 innings. Yet, the offense did NOTHING to help him out. He got a no decision. Conclusion: brain damage.
- The Phillies lost the first two games of this series to a team that sucks. Sorry Cubs fans, no disrespect, but this team is not good and is now 10 games under .500. Conclusion: You guessed it, brain damage.
So the question now remains, will this 9th inning comeback today be the cure for their brain damage? They swept the Reds going into the All-Star break, with 3 of the 4 wins coming in extra innings. They returned from the break and dropped two to the Cubs. So the Reds series did not have a huge impact. Will today’s game propel them forward? We shall see…
Roy Halladay will be the next Phillies pitcher to pray for some runs. Game time tomorrow is 8:05pm.
Howard & Pinella photos by Jenn Zambri Photography
*Read more about the Phillies at my other home page, Phightin’ Phils Phorum in the My Team Rivals network*
Cubs Slaughter The Phillies…Twice
In the first game of the Phillies – Cubs series last night, it started well for the Phils with a two-run homer from Ryan Howard in the first inning. But right away, pitcher Jamie Moyer gave those runs back. By the end of 3 innings, Moyer gave up 6 runs on 5 hits and had to be pulled from the game.
The Phillies wound up using 7 different pitchers in the game. The worst of those were Jose Contreras, allowing 5 more runs and Danys Baez adding one more to the thumping. The offense did nothing after the Howard homer until the 9th inning.
By that time, the Phils were down 12-2 so the 4 runs they scored in the 9th made little difference. Although, Howard hit bookend homers in the game; the 2-run shot in the 1st and another 2-run shot in the 9th.
Coming into today’s game having lost the first, Howard tried again to spark his team. After Shane Victorino homered in the 4th, Howard hit another 2-run bomb in the 6th, giving the Phils a 3-1 lead. But as was the case the day before, the starting pitcher gave those 2 runs right back again.
Joe Blanton looked like he might have a good outing until in the 5th, with the bases loaded, he walked the opposing pitcher. And then in the 6th after the Howard homer, Blanton gave up a 2-run homer to former Phillie Marlon Byrd to tie the game. And to make matters worse, all 3 of those runs scored with 2 outs in the inning.
Ryan Madson ran into the same 2-out trouble in the 8th inning. Aramis Ramirez hit a solo homer, giving the Cubs a 4-3 lead. The Phillies did nothing to help themselves in the 9th. Jayson Werth struck out looking for the 3rd time in one game and he has no hits in the series so far. Ben Francisco also struck out looking 3 times. As a team, the Phillies struck out fourteen times! Disgusting.
The Phillies offense, except for Howard, looks pathetic right now and the pitching has not been good. While we are only 2 games out of the All-Star break, this is very concerning. The good news is, Cole Hamels pitches tomorrow and Roy Halladay on Sunday. But as far as the good news goes, that is it.
So let us have a little fun for a moment. Is it just me, or did anyone else think that the Cubs catching gear looks a bit like R2D2?
Maybe this is Cubs secret pitching weapon? It sure would explain a lot about the last 2 games. *SIGH*
Phillies 2010 First Half Review
Here is a summary of the Phillies 2010 first half, according to Jenn:
Best Off-Season Move – Acquiring Roy Halladay
Worst Off-Season Move – Trading Cliff Lee (duh!)
Biggest Win – 7/9/10: The Phillies overcame a 7-1 deficit in the 9th inning against the Reds to win the game in the 10th; it was the second walk-off homer win in a row, giving the Phillies a huge confidence boost.
Biggest Loss – When the bullpen blew a 5 run lead; Phillies lose to the Twins by a score of 10-13 on 6/19/10
Best Series Win – The 4-game sweep of the NL Central 1st place team, the Reds, 7/8-7/11
Worst Series Loss – Losing 3 out of 4 to the worst team in the National League, the Pirates, 7/1-7/4
Biggest Surprise – Jamie Moyer: At 47-year old, the combination of Moyer’s age and 3 off-season surgeries left many doubting he could be an effective pitcher. But Moyer has performed beyond anyone’s expectations. But at the half, Moyer has 9 wins and 2 complete games, one of which was a shut-out.
Biggest Disappointment – Raul Ibanez: Batting only .243 with 7 homers at the half, Ibanez is on pace to hit only 14 homers, which would be his worst power outage since 2001. He has also only driven in 39 runs, and is therefore on pace for 78 RBI, which would be his worst since 2004. Ibanez gave his all in the first half of 2009, but since then, it has been mostly downhill and his age is starting to show. With another entire year left on his contract, this is looking like another bad move by the Phillies.
Biggest Question Mark – Brad Lidge: Sometimes Lidge looks like Mr. Perfect from 2008 and sometimes he looks like a little leaguer. The Jekyll and Hyde routine is getting old. Lidge needs to step up his game if the Phillies are to have success.
Best Moment of the First Half – Roy Halladay’s Perfect Game, 5/29/10 (again, duh!)
Worst Moment of the First Half – Chase Utley’s thumb injury. Noooooo! Not Utley!! Then there are the rest of the major injuries that have plagued this team: Placido Polanco, Jimmy Rollins, JA Happ, Ryan Madson, Chad Durbin, etc… The combined impact of these star players going down have combined for the Worst Moments of the year so far.
Jenn’s Crystal Ball
- Will Jayson Werth be with the Phillies next year? – No. Sorry, ladies. He may even be gone sooner than that…
- Will the Phillies make a trade before the deadline? – Yes.
- Which position will they upgrade? – Pitching
- Will Jenn continue to let her sanity slip slowly away as each day without Chase Utley passes? – Sadly, yes. Please come back soon, Chase!
- And finally, will the Phillies win the NL East again? – My crystal ball broke due to being overworked when I asked this question. But I will step out on a limb here and say, yes. I mean, YES! Let’s be positive people ;o)
Jamie Moyer will take the mound tonight in Chicago against the Cubs to kick off the 2rd half. Game time is 8:05pm. Go Phillies!
Photos by Jenn Zambri Photography; except Crystal Ball by http://www.dailymail.co.uk/
*Read more about the Phillies at my other home page, Phightin’ Phils Phorum in the My Team Rivals network*
The Bats Return
After the sluggish bats the last few games, seeing the Phillies score 5 runs today was a huge relief. And seeing Jimmy Rollins, still fresh off the DL, smack a huge 3-run homer was an even bigger relief. It is good to have J-Roll back!
Joe Blanton looked very good through 6 innings, although he started to get beat up in the 7th inning where he loaded the bases and allowed 2 runs. Blanton allowed a total of 3 runs on 5 hits and a walk. Overall, he did a very good job.
But Blanton still did not get the win as the Cubs tied the game up when Antonio Bastardo gave up a homer in the 8th to Kosuke Fukudome. The 4-4 tie was broken up by Raul Ibanez in the bottom of the 8th. Chase Utley used his speed to score from 2nd on the Ibanez single.
Jose Contreras earned the save, although it was an interesting 9th inning for him. After throwing 10 pitches to Alfonso Soriano who kept fouling them off, Contreras finally hit him with pitch #11. The next batter singled, putting Contreras in a 1st and 3rd no out jam. But he struck out the next two batters and popped up the third to seal the 5-4 win for the Phillies.
So now the real fun begins: Interleague play. And while the 3-game series with the Red Sox is really just a short interlude to the full interleague schedule that will go full force on June 11th for the Phils, this weekend will still be very interesting. The Sox have struggled this year and are lingering down in 4th place in the AL East. And the Phillies have been very, very bad in Interleague play over the last several years. So will the curse of Phillies Interleague play endure or are the struggling Sox the spell breaker? Game 1 starts tomorrow at 7:05pm.
Photo by Jenn Zambri Photography
*Read more about the Phillies at my other home page, Phightin’ Phils Phorum in the My Team Rivals network*
Phillies Get Mauled By Cubs
For the second consecutive day, the Phillies bats took a vacation. After pounding out 12 runs on Saturday, the Phils offense has since scored only 1 run in each of the last two games. The real victims of this offensive offense have been starting pitchers Roy Halladay and Jamie Moyer. Both pitched great games, allowing only 2 runs to the opponents but got not support from the batters.
Last night against the Cubs, Moyer was very sharp and worked the strike zone in all directions. With 7 strike outs in 7 innings and only 1 walk allowed, Moyer deserved a win, as did Halladay the day before. Chad Durbin did not help matters when he loaded the bases in the 9th. His pitches were so wild and so far out of the strike zone, I began to wonder if someone had spiked his Gatorade between innings. When JC Romero took over for Durbin, he almost held it down but with 2 outs, a ground ball found a hole and 2 runs scored.
The score was 1-4 and that is how it ended as the Phillies could not muster a rally in the 9th. Cubs pitching smacked them around and made Phillies hitters look like they were defending themselves against a bear attack. Jayson Werth went hitless and with each swing, he nearly screwed himself into the ground. Shane Victorino has suddenly cooled off in the lead-off spot with no hits last night and only 1 the game before that. All together, the Phillies had 5 hits in the game, 3 walks and left 9 men on base.
The final game against the Cubs will be this afternoon at 1:05pm. Joe Blanton will be the third pitcher this week to pray for some offense. Best of luck to him!
Player photo by Jenn Zambri Photography
*Read more about the Phillies at my other home page, Phightin’ Phils Phorum in the My Team Rivals network*
Spring Drags On
Mid-March is about the time when I begin to find Spring Training dull and get anxious for the real games to begin. Ok yes, Joe Blanton had a good outing against the Tigers today after a shaky spring start. Cole Hamels looks like he is in good shape with two solid performances so far. The bats are jumping and as a team, the Phillies are hitting at an average of .301 with 7 homers and 36 RBI. And still, I am a bit sleepy about the whole thing.
In my boredom today, I decided to scan through this week’s MLB headlines to see what was going on around the league. Here are a few fun tidbits I came across in my search:
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Yankees shortstop and baseball God, Derek Jeter, sat out of a Spring Training game with flu symptoms. And then an Angel lost its wings :O(
Come on Opening Day! Get here….quick! if (WIDGETBOX) WIDGETBOX.renderWidget(’23806c5d-27e5-4f04-a300-94a868417e13′);
Reyes photo by Jenn Garciaparra photo by Al Bello/Getty Images *Read more about the Phillies at my other home page, Phightin’ Phils Phorum in the My Team Rivals network*
The Mets Jose Reyes may not be ready to play on Opening Day. His thyroid hormone blood levels are elevated and he is not supposed to do anything that could raise his heart rate. You know, things like showboating on the base paths or talking to Federal agents about his Canadian doctor’s link to performance-enhancing drugs…stuff like that.
Red Sox Nomar Garciaparra also retired this week. He now has plenty of free time to write a memoir about the many baseball adventures of his gigantic nose. Did it provide shade when trying to catch a pop fly in the sun? How many times did the nose save his life by blocking a high, inside pitch? It will be a must-read.
Happ-Y Howard Hits Hard
…Now say that five times fast ;O) JA Happ and Ryan Howard combined for a 1-2 punch last night that sent the Braves away with a 6-game deficit in the NL East as the Phillies took home the 4-1 win. Early on, it looked like rain might put a damper on the evening, but after a 1 hour and 37 minute delay, the game finally got underway.
Happ collected his 9th win of the season as he pitched 7 2/3 innings and allowed just 3 hits and 1 solo home run. His command was off and on all game and he did wind up walking 6 batters, but got outs when he needed to. Never rattled by tight situations, Happ continues to be a consistent starter that the Phillies can count on.
Add to that consistency a little Howard power and the result is a win. Howard has struggled in the second half, but these last few days, he looks like he is hitting balls into another solar system. 
Howard has 4 home runs in his last 4 games, with 2 of them rocketing out of the park last night for the 20th multi-home run game of his career. In fact, Howard did everything last night to win the game, except steal a base. His defense was stellar and he turned two very impressive double plays; at the plate, he notched the two home runs plus a single and a walk. All four Phillies runs in the game were credited to Howard.
In relief, Ryan Madson and Scott Eyre combined to record 3 of the last four outs in the game. Eyre almost had his first save since 2005, but after he walked a batter, Charlie Manuel decided to go to Brad Lidge, perhaps thinking that a one out save might boost his confidence. Lidge did record the save on three pitches, but after a horrible season so far, most still have their doubts about Lidge. It would seem to be time for the Phillies to find a back-up plan, but Manuel still insists Brad is his man. However, the Phillies cannot expect to thrive in the post-season while carrying the worst closer in all of major league baseball; his 8 blown saves and 7.21 ERA are officially the bottom of the barrel for all closers.
Today the Phillies will have a much needed day of rest and I will need to find something else besides baseball to occupy my evening. Suggestions are welcome :O)
And then Tuesday night, Philadelphia will get their first look up close and in person with Pedro Martinez. After a road win against the Cubs last week, the home crowd is anxious to see his progress. Game time is 7:05pm against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Go Phillies!
Howard photo by Jenn
*Read more about the Phillies at my other home page, Phightin’ Phils Phorum in the My Team Rivals network*
Heavenly Sweep Of The Cubs
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Then God said, Let there be Lee: and so Lee was deposited into the lap of the Phillies. And God saw Lee, and it was good. Then on the seventh day, he created a sweep of the Cubs; and it was also good. He then rested and boarded a flight to Atlanta…
A little Biblical humor for you; however, I am sure the Cubs saw nothing funny about the 3-game sweep at the hands of the Phillies. Cliff Lee, who may indeed be a gift from the heavens, pitched 8 full innings of 1 run ball in the finale this afternoon. And just to put an exclamation point on the win, he struck out 8 batters and went 1 for 3 at the plate with a double; it was Lee’s 2nd double as a Phillie. In fact, Lee now has 3 hits as a Phillie and has given up a total of only 3 runs in 24 innings pitched. Stick a halo on the man’s head – he is officially an angel.
The bats continued their bid for sainthood today as well; even Ryan Howard has been resurrected and is beginning to hit again. Today, Howard went 2 for 3 with 3 RBI on a home run in the 4th inning. And after showing off his new speedy moves yesterday when he hit a triple, today he continued to amaze as he stole a base. Howard’s 5th stolen base of the year is a career high for him, and an impressive sight to behold from such a large and cumbersome looking man.
Pedro Feliz looked like he had his bat blessed by a higher power as well; Feliz had 3 hits in the game and 2 RBI, including a solo homer. Chase Utley and Shane Victorino had 2 hits each and are now hitting .299 and .311 respectively.
Can the Phillies offense continue to perform like they are playing on hallowed ground? A trip to Atlanta will give us the answer. Tomorrow night Joe Blanton will face the man named after a lotion, Jair Jurrjens (or is it Jergens?), who is a slippery opponent and generally, the Phillies hate facing him. The weekend series begins at 7:30pm. Go Phillies!
Lee photo by Jenn
*Read more about the Phillies at my other home page, Phightin’ Phils Phorum in the My Team Rivals network*
Pedro Wins, Offense Explodes & Beer Is Wasted
While many of us are more offended by the waste of a good beer than anything Pedro Martinez might have done last night against the Cubs, the main story was still pitching. 
Martinez put forth the effort that many expected; he had 4 very strong innings in his Phillies debut and began to tire in the 5th inning. But even though he loaded the bases with no outs, Martinez did manage to work out of the jam with only 2 runs scoring.
Overall, Martinez’s fastball velocity was very good, ranging from 88-93mph and he had good movement on the ball. With a variety of pitches working as well, it looks like Pedro is here to stay. The more he pitches, the stronger his arm will get and that means he may be able to go further into games, which is the ultimate goal. The final line was 5 IP, 7 hits, 3 runs, 5 strikeout’s and 1 walk, which was in the 5th and to the opposing pitcher. And the final score was 12-5 after Chad Durbin gave up a few runs in the 9th.
The offense did their best to impress Mr. Martinez with their bats. After a LONG hitting drought, the bats finally exploded last night to the tune of 12 runs on 14 hits including home runs by Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino and Rauuuuuuul Ibanez! Every staring position player had at least one hit in the game, with Chase Utley leading the pack with 3 hits, 2 runs scored and 1 RBI. Rollins & Ibanez each picked up 3 RBI on their homers.
The other star of the game was Chan Ho Park; coming in to relieve Martinez, Park pitched a mini-no hitter of 3 innings in length :O) As bad as Park was at the beginning of the season as a starter, he has been the polar opposite in the bullpen. Kudos to Park for continuing to thrive in his bullpen role!
And then the moment you have all been waiting for – the beer. It always makes me laugh when people criticize Phillies fans and then I see something like this; check out the VIDEO.
Yes, a retarded Cubs fans threw a full beer in the face of Shane Victorino right as he was catching a fly ball in deep centerfield. To the idiot’s credit, he had perfect aim and timing. But what an awful, unsportsmanlike and just plain stupid thing to do; I think the man should be thrown in jail, tied to a chair and forced to watch Cirque de Soleil videos all night long while also having buckets of ice water thrown down his pants by a large, hairy man named Gus. Cubs – feel free to use that idea. You have my full permission.
Phillies will go for the sweep of the Cubs this afternoon at 2:20pm – hopefully, beer free.
Photo by Jenn
*Read more about the Phillies at my other home page, Phightin’ Phils Phorum in the My Team Rivals network*
Lidge Blows Another, Phillies Win Anyway
This week in Phillies-land has been anything but dull. After getting swept by the Marlins, a trip to Chicago was in order. Coming off his second complete game shut-out with 127 pitches thrown, JA Happ looked a bit tired on the mound last night, but he got the job done. 
His composure and inability to lose his cool makes him extremely effective. In 6 innings, Happ only allowed two runs despite a plethora of base runners, as he worked in and out of trouble all night. It was another great job from the rookie who continues to show why he belongs in the starting rotation.
Even with the Phillies offense still in a coma, they entered the 9th inning with a 3-2 lead thanks mostly to a Jimmy Rollins 2-run homer in the 6th. Ryan Madson did his job to shut the Cubs down in the 8th and then Brad Lidge stepped to the mound in the 9th for the save. Adding more fuel to the fire of Phillies fans everywhere, Lidge blew another save; his 7th blown save of the year. And when you look at his ERA, which is a disgusting 7.29, I know many people are praying for Brett Myers to return.
Here is what I think: Stick a fork in Lidge; he is done.
Last night was the final straw for me. The Phillies kicked and scratched to stay in that game and then Lidge came in and demoralized the team. Earlier that day, Lidge threw a bullpen session to work on his fastball command. Sorry, but it is the middle of August. If he needs to work on his fastball command, he needs to do that in the minors – just like Myers did last year. And boy do we wish Myers was healthy right about now.
We all appreciate and admire the job Lidge did last year, but this is 2009 and he is not the same pitcher, for whatever reason.
He needs to get his act together, screw his head back on straight and learn how to pitch again. It is either that, or fans are going to take the Lidge bobblehead doll that will be distributed at the game on Wednesday the 19th and use it for target practice. As much as I would hate to see the poor, innocent Lidge doll decapitated, maybe that is the jolt he needs to wake up? Honestly, I love Brad and it pains me to see him struggle like this, but he cannot be allowed to continue to hurt the team when the division is clearly not in the bag, by any means.
But even with the blown save, the Phillies kept at it and tried to pull out the win. With a 3-3 tie in the 12th inning, Ben Francisco threw the team up on his shoulders and hit a game-winning home run. Chad Durbin nailed down the save and all is well in the world again. By the way, could someone please tell Mr. Francisco to use two hands when catching fly balls in the outfield? As pleased as we all are with his bat skills right now, he is making me very, very nervous out there with the glove. A bit of foreshadowing? I hope not.
So the circus continues…Pedro Martinez will make his Phillies debut tonight! Jamie Moyer has a Pedro voodoo doll ready to go so he can get his job back, but still hoping for a win ;o) Of course, I am joking…Jamie is a true professional and will always root on his team, even if he is unhappy with the situation. I am still voting for my split game, 5 1/2-man rotation idea to keep Jamie in the game, but MLB just hates creativity ;O) Well, let’s see how Pedro does! Go Phillies!
Happ Photo by Jenn
*Read more about the Phillies at my other home page, Phightin’ Phils Phorum in the My Team Rivals network*
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