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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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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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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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.

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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 Win in Luau

With 2 outs in the Top of the ninth and Eric Bruntlet on second and Pedro Feliz on first, Chris Coste popped up what looked like the final out. All second baseman Kelly Johnson had to do was get under the ball and squeeze it with 2 hands. But his little league mistake allowed him to drop the ball, scoring Bruntlett. Feliz was thrown out at the plate by a mile but the Phillies tied the game at 2.

Chris Snelling lead off the 10th with a double into the gap. Rollins bunted him to third and Shane Victorino followed by driving in the go ahead run on a 1 out triple in the top of the 10th to give the Phils a 3-2 lead. Chase Utley added a RBI double to cushion the lead as the Phillies went on to win 4-3.

The bottom of the 10th wasn't a pushover either. Brad Lidge got into early trouble and was bailed out by the best arm in the outfield. With 2 outs and runners on 2nd and 3rd, Yunel Escobar had what looked like the game tying hit. With 1 runner in, Gregor Blanco followed suit. Victorino, who was playing shallow, scooped up the ball and in one motion threw out Blanco with Coste applying the tag a split second before Blanco's foot crossed the plate. A furious Bobby Cox yelled and screamed but to no avail.

Victorino finished the night 2-3 with 2 runs scored and an RBI. Both hits were triples. Chase Utley went 1-5 with 2 RBIs, one off the tenth inning double and another in the 1st inning when the Phillies took the 1-0 lead. Geoff Jenkins and Chris Snelling also doubled.

Tim Hudson got the start for the Braves and pitched very well enough to win. Unfortunately for him, Johnson's blunder ruined the outing. Hudson 7.2 innings, allowing 1 run on 5 hits and 4 walks. He also struck out 3. For the Phillies, Jamie Moyer started, pitching 5.1 innings. He gave up 2 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks, striking out 4. He gave up a long ball to Brian McCann. Brad Lidge earned his 16th save.

The Phillies have been red hot as of late, winning 8 of their last 10 games. The Phillies also extend their lead in the NL East by 3.5 games on the Marlins and 4.5 on Atlanta. Tomorrow, Kyle Kendrick (5-2; 5.00) will look to earn his 6th win as he faces Jo Jo Reyes (2-3; 4.78).

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Shane Victorino placed on the 15-day DL

Phillies center-fielder Shane Victorino strained his right calf yesterday during the Phillies 7-1 victory over the Cubs, when he slipped out of the batter's box. The injury is the same injury he had last year that dampered the end of his 2007 season. Victorino, however, said he injured the calf when he scored on a wild pitch in the fifth inning.

With Victorino moving to the 15-day DL, the Phillies called up outfielder Chris Snelling. If Victorino is out for an extended period of time, the Phillies will consider bringing up Greg Golson, who is off to a hot start in Double-A Reading.
[Phillies.com]

With Victorino and Rollins, both out, manager Charlie Manuel will have to do some juggling to the line-up. I'd expect Jayson Werth to possibly become the center-fielder in Victorino's absence and because of his ability to reach first-base at a 53% clip thus far in 2008.

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Phillies only have about 10-15 million to spend.

Todd Zolecki reports that the Phillies only have around 10-15 million to spend.

The Phillies have committed more than $68.5 million next season to Pat Burrell ($14 million), Brett Myers ($8.5 million), Jimmy Rollins ($8 million), Adam Eaton ($7.6 million), Chase Utley ($7.5 million), Jamie Moyer ($5.5 million), Tom Gordon ($5.5 million), J.C. Romero ($3.75 million), and Wes Helms ($2.1 million). That number includes $6 million still owed to long-departed Jim Thome.

The Phillies have six players eligible for salary arbitration: Ryan Howard, Brad Lidge, Ryan Madson, Jayson Werth, Julio Mateo and Eric Bruntlett. Those six could push the payroll to more than $88 million.

Then there are the salaries for Shane Victorino, Cole Hamels, Kyle Kendrick, Greg Dobbs, Carlos Ruiz and Chris Coste. Figure their salaries plus other players with little service time and the payroll jumps into the mid-$90 million range. Give or take a couple million.

So unless the Phillies ownership gives Amaro, Jr. and Gillick the green light to go over budget, we should only expect a few more moves and it looks like they'll be in the forms of pitching. Such forms may be guys like Bartolo Colon and Randy Wolf where they can offer them incentive laden deals, generally low risk, high reward type deals.

Also, it is reported that the Phillies plan to look into Japanese free agents: Starter Hiroki Kuroda and relievers Masahide Kobayashi and Kazou Fukumori.

Do not expect anymore trades for pitching as the only guy left valuable to move is Shane Victorino and the Phillies should not come close to considering moving any of their minor league players, .ie Carrasco, Outman, Mathieson, Savery and so forth.

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