3 Wins from 100.

So far, a few guarantees have held true. First, Rollins restated that the Phillies were the team to beat and he predicted 100 wins. Well, the Phillies are 3 wins away from at least 100 wins in 2008. They were the champions in the NL East and now they're 2 wins away from winning the National League pennant.

Next, you have the guarantees made by Brett Myers. Myers guaranteed there would be no 3 and out this year if he had anything to do with it. Myers has been part of the turning point of each game he's pitched in. First, he worked that memorable 10 pitch walk against C.C. Sabathia prior to Shane Victorino's grand slam in game 2 of the NLDS. Then you have last night. Just wow. It's not very often that a pitcher's offensive performance outweighs his pitching numbers, but Myers was just ridiculous last night. 3-3 with 3 RBIs and 2 runs scored. Just unreal.

Shane Victorino is without a doubt the leading candidate to win the NLCS MVP. He has been in the middle of just about everything for the Phillies this October. Last night he knocked in 4 runs and he leads all players with 9 RBIs this postseason.

2 wins away and we can smell it, but it's just not close enough to be a guarantee. We're so close Philly. I went into this series saying whatever happens, happens. We've gone so far to even consider to be disappointed. Now, my feelings have changed a little because I will be disappointed if we don't clinch a berth in the World Series, but I'll still be proud.

Go Fightin' Phils!

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The Flyin' Hawaiian Hits in Grand Style!

The Fightins' provided the video.

Brett Myers' remarkable 9 pitch walk off C.C. Sabathia set up one of the biggest moments in Phillies' playoff history. With 2 strikes and 2 outs, Shane Victorino hit a grand slam in to the left field seats. 5 runs crossed the plate in the bottom of the second and that is all Myers would need. The Phillies won 5-2 to secure a 2-0 lead in the NLDS series.

Even with Victorino's grand slam, Myers was far and away the player of the game. If it were not for that at-bat that forced a 2-out walk, Victorino would have never come up with the bases loaded.

Pitching wise, Myers escaped an early bases loaded jam by getting Corey Hart to ground out to Myers to set up a double play. From the 1st inning on, Myers allowed only 1 run and 1 hit as he completed 7 innings of great work. Ryan Madson got into some trouble in the 8th after a Rollins error, but Romero ended the inning with a 1 pitch ground out to Prince Fielder. Brad Lidge closed out the game with an easy 1-2-3 9th.

2 down, 9 to go. The Phillies are one away from advancing to the NLCS.

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Fish End Phils Streak

Brett Myers was due for a poor outing and the hot Marlins were the ones to hand it to him. Myers (10-12) lasted only 4+ innings, giving up 10 runs on 9 hits as the Marlins beat Philadelphia 14-8. Kyle Kendrick also pitched in relief in the 8th, giving up a home run.

The Marlins exploded in the first inning with 5 runs and then scored 5 runs in the 5th before Myers could even record an out.

On the offensive side of the ball, Ryan Howard hit his 46th home run of the season, going 1-4 with 3 RBIs. Greg Dobbs and Shane Victorino also had homers, both solo shots.

The Mets won yesterday, moving to half a game ahead of the Phillies. The Phils have 8 to play and the Mets have 9. In the Wild Card, the Phillies are still 2 games ahead of Milwaukee, who also have 8 games to play.

Probables today are:
J. Blanton (7-12, 4.82), A. Sanchez (2-4, 5.87)

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Phils Blank Mets; 2 Games Back

Brett Myers was on a mission. With the Phillies coming into a crucial series versus New York, they were able to take game 1 of the 3 game series, winning 3-0. Myers (10-9) pitched excellent again, going 8 innings and giving up 3 hits and walking 2. He also struck out 10 batters. Brad Lidge came in the 9th and scared us but got his 34th save of the year.

The Phillies got the offense going early in the 1st on a Chase Utley ground out, scoring in Shane Victorino. Later in the 7th, Greg Dobbs hit a 2 run homer to cap off the scoring for the Fightin's.

Pitching tomorrow night will be 2 old guys in Jamie Moyer (12-7, 3.80) and Pedro Martinez (5-3, 5.07).

Let's Go Phillies!

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Fightin' Phils!

Hey Pedro, I guess the Phillies are your daddy. After trailing 7-0 in the 4th, the Phillies were able to beat the Mets 8-7 in a 13 inning thriller.

After the poor start by Jamie Moyer, the Phillies started their slow climb. In the bottom of the 4th, Pedro Feliz hit a sac fly to score in Shane Victorino. They then tacked on 4 runs in the 5th with 2 run homers by Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard.

In the 8th, Carlos Ruiz scored on a J-Roll single and in the 9th, Eric Bruntlett came through with the clutch pinch hit double that drove in Jayson Werth from 1st. The bull pen did amazing all night to keep the Mets from taking the game back.

After scoreless innings through the extra frames, Shane Victorino led off the 13th with a triple. New York immediately walked both Werth and Bruntlett to get to pinch hitter Brett Myers. It was obvious the Phillies didn't want him swinging to chance hitting into a double play so he struck out looking with a full count.

With one out and the bases loaded, Chris Coste comes up after pinch hitting in the 8th to stay in. He was 3-3 at the time coming in and he made it 4-4 with the game winning base hit that sailed way over Carlos Beltran's head.

With that win, the Phillies leap frogged the Mets to take a .5 division lead. They play tonight as Kyle Kendrick and Johan Santana face eachother. I'll be at the game tonight cheering hard for the Fightins'.

Game note: Rollins continued his hot bat going 5-7 with 3 RBIs, a double and home run.

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Payback's A Bitch

After going to LA and getting swept by the Dodgers last week in 4 games, the fans in Philly feared a repeat or another dismal performance versus LA. Well the outcome was much different. The Phillies capped a 4 game sweep at home of the Dodgers with a 5-0 win Monday night.

Taking the mound for the Phillies was Brett Myers, who followed up his shut out win versus Washington with 7 scoreless innings against LA. He went 7, giving up 9 hits and 3 walks. He also struck out 8. His curve ball has truly become nasty again and the velocity on his fastball is back. He is now freezing and fooling hitters with both pitches, something Phillies fans are happy to see again.

Jimmy Rollins, who entered the game batting .087 (4-for-46) since calling Philadelphia fans "front-runners", had a single, double and triple, and drove in two runs. He showed a lot of hustle scoring on a double play and on an infield grounder from 2nd.

Jayson Werth also had a great game as he drove in a run himself. But that was over shadowed by his great plays in the field, including him running down a line drive hit by Manny Ramirez in the 7th with bases loaded and the Phillies only up 3-0. He basically saved the game.

The Phillies open tonight's 2 game series with the Mets. The Phillies can come out of this series either 1.5 up or .5 and 2.5 games back. I would love to see the first out come. But it won't be easy as tonight the Phillies be facing Pedro Martinez (4-3; 4.97) tonight and Johan Santana (12-7; 2.64) tomorrow. The will be putting Jamie Moyer (11-7; 3.54) and Kyle Kendrick (11-7; 4.87) on the mounds for both nights.

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Brett Will Be Back

According to ESPN text alert, the Philadelphia Inquirer is reporting that the Phillies plan to return Brett Myers to the rotation for the July 23rd game vs the Mets.

In 3 minor league starts, Brett Myers went 1-2 with a 3.10 ERA and a WHIP of 1.13. He had a decent K/BB ratio of 22/6 and he only allowed 1 home run in 20.1 innnings. Myers is set to make one more start Friday, but I'd assume it'd be a shortened start just to get some work in. In his last start for the Reading Phillies, he through 8 innings of 5 hit ball and struck out 10.

If the Phillies really want to stay in the now close division race, they'll need good outings from Myers, especially in his first start as he'll face the Mets. So as of right now, the Phillies will start the break with Moyer-Kendrick-Hamels against the Marlins. They are not sure about who will pitch July 22nd against the Mets, but I think it is safe to assume that it'll be Adam Eaton. We'll see. He does at least have a decent track record against the Mets in Shea. But we'll see.

I think everything would like JA Happ to get another opportunity and it is possible he will replace Eaton in the rotation after he is eligible to return because of league rules regarding moving a player up and down -- they have to wait 15 days before they can return unless a player is put on the disabled list. There is a shot that Happ will get the start on July 24th (the day he is eligible to return) and the Phillies will give both Moyer and Hamels a much needed extra day of rest.

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Phillies Win a Series!!!

In what may seem comparable to the shot heard around the world in Philly, the Fightin' Phillies have finally won a series after losing six in a row. Tonight, the Phillies beat the Braves 7-3 after a bottom of the ninth inning scare aided by not one, but two Ryan Howard errors. The Phillies improved to 5-0 in Atlanta and 7-1 in the season series.

Tonight's offense came from an impressive home run by "Big Brown" as he hit a 68 mph breaking ball deep out of the park into left center for a 3-run home run. Pat Burrell also added a solo home run. Pedro Feliz, Chris Coste, and Chase Utley each had two hits, while Jimmy Rollins went 3-4 with a triple. Shane Victorino was the only starter (including Eaton) not to reach base with a hit.

Eaton pitched well enough to earn the win, but he did struggle a little in the 6th inning. In 5 innings of work, he gave up 2 earned on 5 hits and 5 walks. He did get squeezed on a few pitches, but overall he pitched well and helped the Phils maintain their lead. Eaton improves to 3-6 on the year.

Up north in Allentown, PA, Brett Myers threw 5 innings of work for the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs. He threw 100 pitches with a 60/40 strike-to-ball ratio. He was cruising through the first four innings, but he allowed 3 earned runs on 3 hits in the 5th inning. He finished the game with 6 strike outs. He will make another start likely next Monday.
And here is the rest of it.

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Breaking News: Myers Sent to AAA

Brett Myers has been sent to Triple A-Lehigh Valley.

"I can't say enough about Brett's willingness to accept this assignment," Gillick said. "He understood and is eager to get back on track again. He's struggling right now, but he is a quality Major League pitcher who we are going to need in the second half of the season."

Myers accepted the assignment, and because he has five-plus years in the Majors, he had the option to reject the demotion. Myers will start on Wednesday night against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the Triple-A affiliate of the Yankees.

"How many starts he will make there is something we'll monitor," Gillick said.
Phillies.com

Finally, something has been done, but there is no word on who will pitch in his spot. With yesterday's day off, the Phillies can slide their rotation forward and have their call-up pitch on Monday against the Mets. I think something should be said about Myers. For a guy that often looks out of shape, he has always seemed more than willing to do whatever was best for the team. He's had quite the down year, but you do have to respect that.

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Dear Brett Myers

Dear Brett Myers,

Please. No, seriously, pretty please make up a fake injury so the the front office will be forced to put you on the DL - 15-day, 60-day, even the Eagles' PUP list for all I care. You make $8 million a year, so we all know they're going to "wait it out" rather than pay someone else to pitch in your spot of the rotation. You owe it to us. We watched you beat your wife up and down the streets of Boston. We have stood behind your attempt to patch things up there, so you definitely half to stand by our stance that you really suck right now. I mean, you're really, really bad. Adam Eaton is somehow outperforming you. Adam Eaton. I'm sorry that I had to go there, but you've left me no choice.

Why should we have to sit through your terrible starts on every fifth night? We're coming to the stadium at a franchise record-breaking pace this year and you're making us want to gouge our eyes out. You're 1-9 in your last 10 decisions. I'm going there again, even Adam Eaton didn't get that bad.

You've allowed 24 home runs this year. 24! Who comes in second? Paul Byrd with 20. So now Brett, you're in the class of an Eaton and a Byrd. Are you proud of that? Opposing batters have a .551 slugging percentage off of you. A .907 OPS! You're making shitty batters look like Chase Utleys or Ryan Howards.

So what's the deal? We all know you're a head case: see wife beating/dragging by the hair incident. Is it because your mechanics are poor and you're out of shape or is it something deeper? Do you need to see professional help again? After you spent a month in counseling with the wife, you were a phenomenal pitcher down the stretch in 2006. Absolutely phenomenal. Where did all of that go? Man the fuck up. No one is going to pity you anymore.

A continually heart-broken Philadelphia fan,
Justin Evans

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Signs of Something Positive

The Phillies pitchers have put together three straight, very good outings. First on Sunday, Brett Myers continued his great spring when he threw 7 innings and only gave up 2 earned. His line for the day was : 7 ip, 5 h, 2 er, 3ks. The best news was the fact that Myers did not allow one walk.

On Monday, the Phillies got a decent outing from possible 5th man in the rotation, Chad Durbin. Durbin's line was : 5 ip, 4 h, 3 er, 2 bb, 1 so, 1 hr allowed. If Durbin can somehow manage to build some form of consistency around these numbers, Phils' fan might be able to take a sigh of relief. Also, the Phillies turned 4 double plays. The only bad news on the day was Tom Gordon gave up another home run.

Yesterday, Cole Hamels returned to regular season form as he went perfect through 4 2/3 innings before giving up a home run to Evan Longoria. He only allowed one more hit on the day and struck out 7 on 74 pitches in 6 innings of work. His line: 6 ip, 2 h, 1 er, 7 ks, 1 hr allowed. Ryan Madson also continued his great spring training and it'll be huge for the Phillies if he could continue the success he had last year and continue to work towards replicating his 2004 numbers.

Today, Jamie Moyer will get the start against Tampa Bay. Let's hope he can continue the success.

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Myers Looks Impressive

From Phillies.com,

Myers went seven innings and allowed two runs on five hits. He did not walk anyone and struck out three to lower his spring ERA to 1.64.

Chris Snelling was 1-for-1 with two RBIs, Jason Jaramillo went 1-for-3 with one RBI and Ray Olmedo chipped in a hit and one RBI. National League Most Valuable Player Jimmy Rollins went 0-for-3 with a strikeout. Ryan Howard and Shane Victorino each finished the day 1-for-3.

Brett Myers and Ryan Howard have been about the only bright spots for the Phillies this spring. Myers looks like he is now comfortable in his return to the rotation. This will be huge for the Phillies if he can become that "1a or 1b" pitcher that the Phillies will really need to compete in the National League East this season. The pressure is definitely on Hamels and Myers who will likely need to win at least 16 decisions each to really give the Phillies a shot at defending their division title.

In a 11 Spring training innings, Myers has allowed only 8 hits, 2 earned runs, 0 walks, and has had 4 strikeouts.

We all know how someone looks in the spring can be the exact opposite of how they look during the regular season, but all eyes were on Myers' return to the rotation and he has pitched well. Let's hope that he can maintain this throughout the year.

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Myers Opening Day Starter/ Hamels Okay With It/Phillies Open with Win

Brett Myers has been named the Phillies opening day starter and Cole Hamels is perfectly okay with it. Charlie Manuel and Rich Dubee selected Brett Myers as the opening day starter, not only to get Myers focused on becoming a starter again, but also to set the rotation up with a righty and a lefty.

"We wanted to set our rotation up with a righty and lefty," Manuel said. "We lined the rotation up the way we wanted to go. I talked to Hamels and he seemed like OK with it. I told him he was our No. 1 starter last year and had a big year. That's the way we wanted to set our rotation up."

It appears that Kyle Kendrick will be third in the rotation followed by Jamie Moyer and Adam Eaton.

"The only thing that played into it was how we wanted to go," Manuel said. "To me, we have two guys who are pretty equal and we can go either way. Both of them to me are No. 1."

And get this, Hamels actually prefers to be second in the rotation right now.

"It's not a big deal to me," Hamels said. "It just gives me two days off. My understanding going into Spring Training was to go out and play. I wasn't [sure if] I was going to be the No. 1 guy because Brett was coming back, and I like the fact that he is coming back. He and I can work off one another."

"There's a lot of hype that goes with Opening Day, and for myself, it's not a big deal," Hamels said. "I have plenty of years; I'm trying to chase after Jamie Moyer. Eventually I'll get one of those. I haven't really been involved in Major League Baseball for too many years. It'll be my third year, and second year going into the season for Opening Day. It's all new to me still."

The way it is setting up, Hamels will likely match-up against Santana and the other aces in the National League during the first month anyway. I don't mind it, and maybe it will boost Myers confidence and preparation for the 2008 season. We all know what we're going to get out of Hamels, but Myers return to the rotation is somewhat of a question. Once you get into the schedule of pitching every 5 days, it doesn't even matter anyway.

Jamie Moyer looked sharp as the Phillies opened Spring Training with a blow-out win over the Reds.

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