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Tuesday Update 2/10/09

A few things worth reporting in this. Again I appologize on behalf of Justin and myself for our lack of posts. I'll start off talking about Ryan howard and the Phillies avoiding arbitration with his 3 year, $54 million deal the Philly Inquirer reported on Monday. This is a great signing and personally I feel it's a steal. They aren't locking him up for too long and I personally feel he's worth more than just $18 million a year. Howard is 29 and if his production stays the same it has been in his tenure as a Phillie, you will definitely see his asking price increase. That's the only problem with the short term deal. Howard led the league last year with 48 home runs and 146 RBI's.

The Eagles free agaent right tackle Jon Runyan had surgery on his knee last week. He will be out 4-6 months but should be fine for next season said the Philly Inquirer. His only problem is that he is 35 years old. If the Eagles don't sign him back, he may have a hard time going somewhere else, especially because he'll be on crutches when the FA period starts.

The Flyers are heating up after they beat Boston on the road on Saturday in overtime on Rnady Jones lucky toss at the net. They then beat Atlanta on Sunday on the road for 14th straight time (hahaha). What also is laughable is that Antero Nittymaki is the better option than Marty Biron at this point. Biron has failed to catch fire this year and Nittymaki has. Make it happen coach. The Flyer will next play on Thursday at home versus Ottawa. They are now in 2nd place, only 6 points behind the Devils with 2 games in hand.

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Ryan Asks for $18M, See you in Court!

Ryan Howard has asked the Phillies for $18 million. The Phillies offered him $14 million.

Shane Victorino and Joe Blanton each signed one-year deals to avoid arbitration for $3.125 and $5.475 million respectively.

The moves to take care of Victorino and Blanton were great moves. Both guys will get more when they're time comes, but even like Cole Hamels, they understand their time and money will come.

Ryan Howard, you are ridiculous. Sure you hit home runs, BUT your biggest argument is your RBIs. RBIs happen because of the people in front of you. When you're hitting behind Rollins, Victorino, and Utley you should have a lot of RBIs. His OBP, SLG, OPS, and walks are all trending down along with his batting average. You know he'll hit 45-50 home runs and knock in 130-150 RBIs, but a lot of it has to do with his opportunities.

Actually, the reality of it is, you cannot blame him for asking. With the Phillies offering a more respectable $14 million this time, I do not see Ryan Howard winning arbitration. He might get $15 million, but he's getting in to an area where no one is going to be able to afford to pay him. Not even the Yankees unless they sign an aging, weight-gaining Ryan Howard to be their DH. The smartest thing for the Phillies to do would be to offer Howard a 4 year, $80 million deal and be done with him once the contract was up.

We know he produces well with our lineup, so for both parties, that may be the best move. Expensive now, but cheaper later.

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From the News Room

Barry Bloom from MLB.com feels that Ryan Howard will indeed see another giant raise.

Flyers to pursue a Happy Valley Winter Classic next year. [Daily News]

Shawn Andrews may be available if the Eagles advance deep in the postseason. [CSN Philly]

How pathetic? The Vikings are still falling short of a sell out. Same goes for the Cardinals. Blackouts may apply. If either home team wins and no one is there to see it, does it count? [New York Times]

The Perfect Season DVD will appear on CSN tomorrow @ 7pm. [Phillies Zone]

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Big Brown Finishes 2nd in MVP Race; Likes Tits

Ryan Howard finished 2nd behind the more deserving Albert Pujols in the MVP race. How received 12 first-place votes to Pujols 18 and finished 61 points behind Pujols overall. Brad Lidge finished 8th and Chase Utley finished 15th.

Listen, I know we all want our guys to win individual awards, but across the board, Pujols was more deserving. Yes, Howard is a better hitter, but Pujols also hits 450 foot line drives. Without a doubt, he is the best hitter in baseball, which was demonstrated by his .653 slugging percentage.

We received the award that matters most.

In other Ryan Howard news, he was seen getting a fair amount of private dances at the Lou Turk's strip club in Essington. Dan Gross of the Daily News reported,

A LOYAL FRIEND kept people from taking cell phone pictures of Ryan Howard as he hung out Wednesday night at Lou Turk's (500 Pawhatton), a strip club in Essington. Not surprisingly, Howard attracted lots of attention from the topless dancers. Sources say the Phillies slugger spent a fair amount of time in a private dance area with one of the ladies.

We're told Howard was friendly to those patrons who could get past his hulking friend to say hello to the World Series champion.

On Friday, a co-owner of the club emphatically denied that Howard was there, which is not surprising, as many strip clubs keep their clients' identities quiet.

A nice little way to celebrate a World Series trophy.

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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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Mr. September?

Dare we dub Ryan Howard as, "Mr. September?" Yesterday, Howard stated his case by taking Ben Sheets deep twice, once for a homer and once off the very top of the wall in center field. In ten games this month, Howard is hitting .368, reaching base at a 41.5% clip, and slugging 1.000. Twelve of his 14 hits this month have been extra base hits (6 home runs, 6 doubles). He's also knocked in 15 runs this month, soon to surpass his August total of 19. He's homering in every 6.5 at-bats. He's well, the September Superman.

Has he posted similar production in the past? You better believe it. In his short career, Ryan Howard has absolutely murdered the ball in September. In 463 plate appearances, Howard has posted a line of .314/.436/.712. He's also homered 39 times and knocked in 96 runs. He's homered every 9.7 at bats. He an OPS of 1.149, Unreal. He's been everything we could ask from a clean-up hitter, in September, in the clutch.

Earlier this year, many of us, including myself, felt that teams have figured Ryan Howard out. We have been impatient with his impatience, but I think it is about time to accept who Ryan Howard is. Ryan Howard will strike out. An out is an out and Ryan Howard will make outs about 70-75% of the time. It happens and it comes with the player. To ask Ryan Howard to hit .300 would be asking the same from Mike Schmidt. Your average power hitter will hit between .250-.275 and generally the swing in average will be due to Ks and sometimes in Howard's case, the shift.

The year Ryan Howard hit over .300, very few teams played the shift on Howard because they respected his ability to homer opposite way. Now teams have come to understand that just about everything Howard hits on the ground will goto right field. It's a usual problem with power-hitting lefties. Howard's bat speed is so fast that he just about naturally pulls the ball. Now he will hit for power the opposite way and just about every single time he waits back a little bit more and goes with the pitch to left. However, Howard is what he is and you should accept that.

Ryan Howard is going to knock in plenty of runs for this team. He would have likely had more RBI opportunities if the men in front of him didn't slump in July when Howard was hot. Philly, we have one of the best power hitters ever, is he really worth trading? Even his glove has picked up of late. He has always been known to be able to move and flash his leather. He does have some problems with balls right at him, but most of his errors come from his throws. Someone needs to teach him how to throw. Lately, you can tell he has gone for the safer out instead of making a throw because I think he is hesitant about his own throw.

Honestly, I don't know what the Phillies are going to do with Howard. If the past speaks about the future, the Phillies will probably trade him to a team willing to pay Howard and receive prospects that offer little to the team. So, keep him. Pay him not only for his ability on the field, but his marketability off the field. You need a masher in the lineup and Howard is just that. Get over his average. Average is a good stat, but probably one of the last stats you want to look at on a player, especially a player similar to Howard. Howard's home runs are generally game-changers, not stat fillers.

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An LA Ass Kicking

This is a picture of Ryan Howard's home run swing. I know I'm good.

The Phillies beat the Dodgers 8-1 last night. Kyle Kendrick woke up finally. Yes his pitch count was high and he only lasted 5.2 innings but he pitched well. He kept the Dodgers off the bases, and the only run he gave up was an early solo shot from Andre Ethier.

I was at the game and yes I enjoyed watching the offense heat up and manufacture runs. Also the 3 long balls were nice to see as well. The first came from Ryan Howard, a 2 run bomb in the 4th, Chris Coste capped a 4 run 6th with a 3 run show, and Chase Utley lined a shot to dead center in the 7th. Howard's homer was his 34th of the year and he now has 106 RBIs for the season. Utley is at 31 and 85.

Greg Maddux, known as a Phillie killer in the prime of his career, was looking just as that until he started getting whacked around. After 3 innings, he only threw a little over 20 pitches. He left in the 6th after Coste's shot.

The game today is at 4 EST on FOX. Pitching for the Phillies is Cole Hamels (10-8; 3.22). He is facing Clayton Kershaw (2-3; 2.39).

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Blanton, Homers, beat Cardinals; Wagner Blows Again

Joe Blanton pitched very well to earn his first win as a Phillie. The Phillies won 2-1 as Blanton out dueled Braden Looper. He was supported by solo home runs from Greg Dobbs and Ryan Howard (31). Brad Lidge came in the 9th to earn his 27th save in as many chances.

The Mets had a 4-0 lead on Houston last night but saw the lead diminish to 4-2 going into the 9th. Ex-Phillie and current loud-mouth Billy Wagner loaded the bases and surrendered a 2 run single to Geoff Blum, blowing his 7th save of the year. He got out of the inning. In the tenth, Pedro Feliciano gave up a sacrifice fly to Daren Erstad and the Astros came from behind to win 5-4.

With those 2 games, the Phillies now hold a 1.5 game lead on the Marlins and a 2 game lead on New York. Pitching today is Brett Myers ((4-9, 5.46) for the Phillies and Todd Wellemeyer (8-4, 4.13) for St. Louis. Myers will look to follow up his 8 inning performance with another steller start tonight at 8 PM EST.

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Moyer Filets Fish

Jamie Moyer went 6 fantastic innings as he he gave up 2 runs on 4 hits and 1 walk, striking out 3, to beat the Marlins 4-2. His record no improves to 9-6 on the year. He was backed up by longballs from Ryan Howard and Geoff Jenkins, thier 29th and 8th respectively.

The Phillies now move into sole posession of first place when the Reds ended the Mets 10 game win steeak with a 5-2 victory. Kyle Kendrick (8-3, 4.47) will take the mound for the Phillies today as he faces Scott Olsen (5-4, 3.77) of the Marlins.

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How Does He Do It?

Jamie Moyer has now allowed 3 runs or less in his last 7 starts. After today's 7-innings of one-earned work in a 4-1 win, Moyer has seen his ERA dip down to 3.95. Moyer improved to 8-6 on the season. I'm not sure anyone can explain how the old man continues to do it, but whatever it is -- I hope it continues.

Ryan Howard provided most off the offense today with 2 HRs(26,27) and 3 RBIs (83). Chase Utley provided the other run with an RBI double. The Phillies offense did manage 10 hits and 2 walks, while only striking out 3 times. They hit the ball hard most of the day, but a few them went right at the Cardinals.

The Phillies earned their 50th win of the year and their first series team over a team not named the Atlanta Braves since early June. The Phillies will have Arizona coming into town before the All-Star break and the pitching matchups are as follows:

Doug Davis (LHP) 3-4, 3.74 ERA vs Kyle Kendrick 8-3, 4.39 ERA
Randy Johnson (LHP) 5-7, 5.18 ERA vs Adam Eaton 3-7, 5.20 ERA
Brandon Webb (RHP)13-4, 3.27 ERA vs Cole Hamels 9-6, 3.18 ERA

The pitching match-ups do not exactly fair up great for the Phillies as they will face two left-handers and then one of the top pitched in the game in Brandon Webb. Also, the Phillies have not necessarily faired well in their careers against Doug Davis or Randy Johnson.

In other news, J.A. Happ has been optioned back to Triple A-Lehigh Valley. Why? Well the Phillies will likely not use a 5th starter until July 23rd against the New York Mets and the Phillies rather him pitch for someone during that long break rather than just sit around.

"We don't want him sitting 15 days without throwing in any games," Manuel said.

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Hail the RBI King!

Tonight, Ryan Howard became the first Phillies' player ever to have 80 RBIs before the all-star break. His 80th rbi was tonight's go-ahead run against the Cardinals in the 8th inning. Howard hit is 13th solo home run of the year (25th total) and he also added an RBI single.

Howard doesn't have as many home runs as he did in 2006 at the all-star break (28), but he does have 9 more RBIs (80-71) and we still have four games left. Also, Howard has always been substantially better after the all-star break in his career. The biggest knock to Howard's average has been his poor performance with no one on. Before tonight's solo home run, Howard came in to the game hitting 29-174 (.167) with 67 strikeouts and only 16 walks. He did have 12 solo home runs.

Howard just needs runners on to produce:
Runners On: 50-169 (.295) 12 home runs, 67 RBIs.
Scoring Position: 38-112 (.339) 9 home runs, 58 RBIs.
Scoring Position, 2 outs: 20-58 (.345) 3 home runs, 25 RBIs.

Howard does have only 10 hits in 60 at-bats, with 30 strike outs in close and late situations, I think those situations have been magnified, but he definitely was "clutch" tonight. J.A. Happ pitched well for the Phillies as he earned his first career quality start. He likely should have been pulled before the seventh inning for the "best" bullpen in baseball, but Manuel watched his starter get in a little bit of trouble before he yanked him.

Happ did not earn his first career win tonight, but the Phillies did beat the Cardinals 4-2 with late inning heroics by Ryan Howard and Pedro Feliz. Also, it should be noted that tonight's winning pitcher, Clay Condrey, pitched a remarkable 8th inning as he struck out the side.

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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.

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Phillies Earn 2nd Straight Sweep in Atlanta

As Justin would say: "Cole Hamels will win a Cy Young this year and 10 Cole Hamels in his career."

Hamels (9-5) was filthy in his outing versus Atlanta, pitching 8.2 innings, giving up 1 run in the 9th, a double by Brian McCann that scored Chipper Jones. He allowed 5 hits total and 1 walk, a .81 WHIP. He also struck out 7. King Cole's ERA improved to 3.22. Tom Gordon pitched the last out, earning his 2nd save.

Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Pedro Feliz all had solo home runs. Utley leads the league with 24 and Howard has 22 on the season. Those were the only hits for Utley and Howard. Pat Burrell went 2-4 with a double. Feliz went 3-4 with a homer and 2 RBIs, driving in Burrell and himself. Jimmy Rollins had a triple in the 3rd.

The offense got an early run in the first with Utley's solo shot. In the fourth, Feliz singled to drive in Burrell. In the 6th, Howard homered and in the 7th, Feliz had his shot.

The Phillies (47-39) have won 3 straight since their dry spell in June. They start a 4 game series tomorrow night versus the Mets (41-43). They face 4 pitchers capable of shutting down this offense. Being back in the comfort of their own park should settle the offense back in. No Hamels in the series could be huge. Probables for the series are:

7/4: J. Santana (7-7, 3.01), J. Happ (0-0, -.--)
7/5: J. Maine (8-6, 3.86), J. Moyer (7-6, 4.13)
7/6: O. Perez (6-5, 4.98), K. Kendrick (8-3, 4.58)
7/7: P. Martinez (2-2, 7.39), A. Eaton (3-6, 4.79)

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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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Phillies Rip the Sox

The Phillies sent Red Sox nation home upset tonight after blew out the Red Sox 8-2 at The Bank. The big man, Ryan Howard, had a great game, going 3-5 with 2 home runs, a triple, and 4 RBIs. Jimmy Rollins also went 3-5 with 3 RBIs and a lead-off home run. Pat Burrell even added a triple himself.

Cole Hamels pitched well for 7+ innings allowing 7 hits, 2 earned runs (back-to-back solo home runs), and struck out 5. Chad Durbin pitched allowed only 1 hit over the final two innings and struck out 2.

Ryan Howard is starting to creep closer and closer to a respectable overall batting average, but his production has been insanely underrated, even by myself. Howard now has 19 home runs on the year and 62 RBIs, tying him with Chase Utley. They are both now tied for the National League lead. He still struggles against left-handed pitching as he continues to pull his front hip and shoulder out, but he starting to hit balls consistently hard off of right-handed pitching. Another positive sign is that both of home runs tonight happened because he went with the outside pitch and drove the ball to left field. His triple was a blast to dead center on another outside pitch.

Cole Hamels is becoming everything you could ask for in an ace. In his last 26 innings pitches, he's allowed only 4 earned runs and all of those runs came off solo home runs. He is now 7-4 on the season and gives the ball to 7-3 Jamie Moyer tomorrow.

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Red Hot Phils Burn Cardinals

The Cardinals got burned after the Phillies put up 20 runs on 21 hits to beat St. Louis 20-2. Kyle Kendrick pitched strong and the offense produced. The Phillies matched their season high in runs and set a new high in hits (previous was 19). Ironically, Aaron Miles, a 2nd baseman, pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning, the first of the night for the Phils.

Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Pat Burrell went back-to-back-to-back in the top of the first to give the Phillies a quick 3-0 lead. The 4th inning was filled with the most excitement with 9 runs and the Phillies batting around. Shane Victorino had 2 hits in the inning.


Ryan Howard impressed in his home coming, getting 3 hits. He had a solo bomb in the first and added a 3 run shot in the sixth. He finished with 5 RBIs and scoring 4 times. Reigning NL MVP Jimmy Rollins was the only starter to not record a hit tonight.

Kendrick (6-2) pitched 7 innings and gave up 2 runs and 1 earned on 8 hits and 1 walk, striking out 1. Rudy Seanez gave up 2 hits in the eighth and Condrey pitched the ninth.

The Phils expand their lead in the NL East to 3.5 games on the Marlins. The Phillies have also won 2 straight. Adam Eaton ((2-3, 4.62) will take the mound as he faces former Phillie Kyle Lohse (7-2, 3.92).

Notable Phils:
Victorino: 3-7; 2 runs; 1 RBI
Utley: 2-3; 2 runs; 3 RBIs; HR (22)
Howard: 3-5; 4 runs; 5 RBIs; 2 HR (17)
Feliz: 3-5; 2 runs; 1 RBI; double
Ruiz: 4-6; 1 run; 4 RBIs; 2 doubles (7)
Kendrick: 7 innings; 8 hits; 1 BB; 1 K; 1 HR

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In 2005, Ryan Howard lost a bet...

And Barry Petchesky and others from the media had to stand face to face with Howard and his Louisville Slugger. [Deadspin]

Do some of you out there still want to be sports journalists? I'll stick to my shitty blogging.

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Howard, Moyer Star in Phillies Win

After how this year has been going so far, no one expected tonight's stars to be Ryan Howard and Jamie Moyer. Both led the Phillies to a 12-2 win over the Nationals, bolstered by an 8-run 6th inning.

The seasoned Moyer pitched 6 shut out innings, striking out 3, walking 1, and giving up 7 hits. He got himself out of a couple jams in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th innings as his pitch count rose but he kept the runners from crossing the plate. Clay Condrey pitched 3 innings for his first save, a rare situational save in fact.

At the plate, the cold slugger in Howard woke up as he went 3-5 with 2 HRs and a double, driving in 4 runs. Howard got his average up to .195, still below the Mendoza line.

Howard wasn't the only Phillie to go deep as both Shane Victorino and Pedro Feliz belted homers. Victorino also added a double and single as he went 3-5, driving in 2 runs as well as scoring 3 times. Jimmy Rollins went 2-6 with a double, run, and RBI.

Moyer has been shaky all season as his age looks like it finally caught up to him. It was nice seeing him go 6 innings. It was also nice seeing the offense support a quality start. This offense tends to be very streaky. They are dangerous when hot and a cancer when cold.

The Phillies are now a game and a half behind the Marlins and are tied with the Braves. They will enter the next series in Houston to face the Astros (27-21). The match ups are:

Kendrick (3-2) vs Oswalt (4-4)
Eaton (0-2) vs Backe (3-5)
Myers (2-5) vs Moehler (1-1)

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Hamels is All Pissy

King Cole has been known to have the attitude of a diva, and he has shown it once again. The Phillies recently renewed his contract for $500,000 and Hamels deemed it to be a "low blow."

From the Daily News:

"You just want to be treated fairly, equally, and if you're not, then you're going to remember it," Hamels said after pitching two innings in his spring-training debut against the Yankees at Legends Field.

"They do want to keep you happy . . . you can't just all of a sudden throw everything out at [a player] at the last second and think that's really going to make him happy, because he's still got check marks for what they didn't do in the years before," said Hamels, who could be eligible for arbitration as a "Super Two" after this season. That status would mean he is ranked among the top 17 percent of players who have at least 2 years of service and less than 3.

Cole Hamels is not the only one upset. Milwaukee Brewers Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun are also crying about their contracts. These young kids have to understand that this is the way the system works. They'll get a bigger pay day in the future if they follow the system up properly. When the players sign the CBA, they agree to this system. When compared to Chien-Ming Wang, Hamels got similar pay after his first full season in the big leagues. Hamels asked for $750,000 and he is getting around $500,000. Hamels continued to come off as a drama queen who always complains when he doesn't get his way. I love his ability, but he and the rest of the league need to understand how the system works. From now on, we'll call this the Ryan Howard Effect. Ryan Howard's record-smashing contract will likely start the new inflation in baseball contracts and the crying of young players who feel they're undervalued. News flash, if the players don't like it, don't sign the CBA.

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