Go Here!

Here is my new site.

Red Pinstripes Are Cooler

go there

Continuing reading...

Jayson Werth and Chad Durbin next in line to play ball

The Phillies and Jayson Werth have agreed to a 2-year deal worth $10 million. It was reported last night that Jayson Werth had asked for $4 million, but the Phillies offered $3 million. Well, with the new deal, Werth will make $3 million in 2009 and $7 million in 2010.

Jayson Werth played very well in only 418 at-bats with 24 home runs, 67 RBIs, and 20 stolen bases. Oh, he also hit .273, and had an OPS of .861. Werth is developing into a nice corner outfielder who plays defense, but also adds a great bat and speed to the lineup. His only true downfall was his OPS against right-handed hitters, but you'd have to expect that with more practice, he'd improve. Werth will be looked upon by the Phillies to replace the right-handed power out of the 5-hole that the Phillies lost with Burrell gone.

Ruben Amaro, Jr. didn't exactly make a splash in free agency, but his in house moves are starting to prove that he actually knows what he's doing.

Jayson Werth is a valuable commodity because he can play every position in the outfield well, and he can even be an emergency catcher if need be. Good move Rube! Now sign Howard to that 4 year, $80 million contract and lets be done with hearing about his arbitration hearings.

(Update: Chad Durbin has signed a 1-year deal worth $1.635 million)

The two parties were a little apart with arbitration and made it easy and went right for the middle. Maybe Howard is really looking for $16 million. Anyway, Chad Durbin will have to be a vital member of the bullpen again this year for the team to make a run in the postseason.

Continuing reading...

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.

Continuing reading...

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.

Continuing reading...

Will the Phillies Make a Move?

Prepare yourself, with the desire to acquire a left-handed reliever the Phillies might do something to make the entire fan base jump off the Walt Whitman.

According to Jayson Stark the Phillies have an interest in former Phillies reliever, Arthur Rhodes. I don't even know to go into the stats he compiled during his one-year tenure with the team. The Phillies have also called about John Grabow, Will Ohman, and Jack Taschner. The Phillies would love to acquire Brian Fuentes or George Sherrill, but it seems that both players are off the market. They've also been mentioned in the Ron Mahay sweepstakes, but it appears that Jason Donald would not be enough.

John Grabow - 53.2 IP, 5-3, 3.19 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 45/23 K/BB ratio, 0.88 GB/FB, 29 years old. Lefties hitting .240 off him

Arthur Rhodes - 21.1 IP, 2-0, 2.53 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 26/10 K/BB ratio, 0.55 GB/FB ratio, 38 years old. Lefties hitting .200 off him.

Will Ohman - 44.1 IP, 3-0, 2.84 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 41/18 K/BB ratio, 1.12 GB/FB ratio, 30 years old, great Harry Caray impression. Lefties hitting .160 off him.

Jack Taschner - 36.2 IP, 2-1, 2.95 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 29/16 K/BB ratio, 0.98 GB/FB ratio, 30 years old. Lefties hitting .179 off him.

The best two for the Phillies to look for are Jack Taschner or Will Ohman. Lefties are hitting relatively poorly off them and that is what the Phillies need the most. Ohman would be the most appealing as he is just outright better, but it would also cost more to acquire him. Also, the Braves would also look for more from the Phillies because they'd be trading inside the division. Taschner would be an acquistion I'd approve of. I'd like him to get a few more ground balls with that lower K-rate, but you take what you can get right now. The market is pretty weak.

Some other deadline rumors:

Rays are scouting Jayson Werth and feel he could be availble for the right price. [MLB Trade Rumors] If the Phillies look to trade Werth or Victorino, I prefer that it'd be Werth. I like Victorino's speed and ability to switch hit in the lineup. I also like his range and arm more than Werth's in centerfield. If the Phillies were to trade Werth for some pitching, I would have a problem with Geoff Jenkins starting every day.

Also, looks like Manny is coming to the NL East, just not the Phillies. According to reports, Manny Ramirez is likely to be traded to the Florida Marlins. [Baseball Prospectus]

Multiple baseball sources say the Red Sox are on the verge of sending disgruntled left fielder Manny Ramirez to the Marlins in a trade for a package of three players that included low Class A Greensboro outfielder Mike Stanton, an 18-year-old who is hitting .275/.351/.569 with 26 home runs in 96 games.

Continuing reading...

Victorino Ties, Werth Delivers!

Jayson Werth is clutch once again. A week after Werth hit a game tying home run versus the Mets, he hits a game winning single tonight, scoring in So Taguchi, as the Phillies beat the Diamondbacks in 12 innings.

Werth's hit came with 2 outs with Taguchi and Jimmy Rollins on base. His clutch hit capped a 3 hit game.

Getting the start for Philadelphia was Kyle Kendrick who pitched well until he hit trouble in the 7th, giving up 3 runs in that innings. He gave up 4 runs total on 9 hits, walking none, and striking out 4. His counterpart, Dough Davis, went 6 innings, giving up 3 runs.

Getting the win for Philadelphia was Rudy Seanez, who pitched a quick 12th. The losing pitcher was Connor Robertson, who failed to hold the Phillies.

So Taguchi led off the 12th with a single and then moved to 2nd on a Chris Coste sacrifice bunt. Robertson the walked Jimmy Rollins to try and force Werth into a double play. Werth sent a 2-2 pitch into right center and the throw wasn't even close as Taguchi hustled in to win the game.

Earlier in the 8th, with Arizona up 5-3, Ryan Howard led off with a walk and Pat Burrell singled. Eric Bruntlett pinch ran for Burrell and Feliz moved the runners over with a sacrifice bunt. With one out, Shane Victorino hit a bases clearing triple to tie the game but was stranded on 3rd.

The Phillies played a little small ball in the 6th, With Victorino on 3rd and Carlos Ruiz on 1st, Ruiz attempted to steal 2nd but got into a run down. Before they could tag our Ruiz for the third out, Victorino stole home and scored, a play you see in little league.

The Phillies will pitch Adam Eaton tomorrow. He is 3-7 with a 5.20 ERA. The Philles will need plenty of offense to support his poor pitching. Eaton will face future Hall of Famer and #2 on the strike out list, Randy Johnson.

The 6'10'' lefty fireballer is 5-7 with a 5.18 ERA. He may be nearing retirement but he can still screw up our lefties. Expect to see a batting line up of Werth, Utley, Rollins, Howard, Burrell to split up the lefties. The following 4 will be whoever.

Continuing reading...

Phillies Win Despite Santana's Dominant Performance

It was a wet and wild game at Citizens Bank Park. No offense and a lot of pitching. On a night where we, as a nation, honor the birth of our great country, the nation's first capitol overcame Johan Santana to win 3-2.

Shane Victorino provided the heroics with his RBI single in the 9th, driving in Pedro Feliz with 2 outs. Pitcher Duaner Sanchez struck out both Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell in the bottom of the 9th before Feliz doubled. Victorino hit a line drive to right to score in Feliz to win the game.

It was a very patriotic evening at CBP, with the 23rd sell out crowd of the year. Before the game, a small tribute was payed to the men of service, current and veterans. God Bless America was also sung during the 7th inning stretch.


I almost feel bad for Santana. He went 8 innings, giving up 2 runs on 6 hits, striking out 6. His only hiccup came in the 6th where he allowed 4 singles that scored both Jayson Werth and Chase Utley. They were driven in by Howard and Burrell respectively.

J.A. Happ took the mound for Philly and was sub par. He threw 90+ pitches in only 4.2 innings of work. He was taken out with the bases loaded and after 2 runs came in. Chad Durbin relieved him and struck out Carlos Beltran to stop the bleeding. Happ finished with 2 runs allowed on 3 hits, 4 walks, and 3 strike outs.

Durbin's time of relief was amazing. He saw 7 batters and struck out 6 in his 2.1 innings pitched. Ryan Madson pitched the 8th giving up a hit and Brad Lidge threw 4 pitches to earn the win in the 9th.

Jayson Werth was the lead off hitter for the Phillies and had 2 hits. Howard also had 2 hits and Feliz had the only extra base hit for Philadelphia.

Continuing reading...

Jayson Werth Dominates!

Jayson Werth tied the Phillies single-game record for most rbi's with 8 tonight, while also hitting three home runs (3-run, grand slam, and solo) in his first three at-bats. Werth got another at-bat in the bottom of the seventh, but he popped out. Including Werth, the top of the lineup batted 9-20 with 10 R and 10 RBI. Ryan Howard was able to extend his hitting streak to 8 games with an rbi-single, despite striking out twice and walking once.

Jamie Moyer pitched well for the Phillies surrendering 3 earned on 7 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 5 in 6 2/3 innings. Moyer had great control through tonight's mist and was able to hit his spots. Chad Durbin pitched in relief and continued his great performances out of the bullpen allowing no runs or hits in 1 1/3 innings. Clay Condrey pitched a scoreless ninth to close out the game. Jamie Moyer improved to 3-3 on the year.

3-run home run

Grand Slam

Solo Home Run

Continuing reading...