Phils get Cy Young winner Cliff Lee in trade

Ruben Amaro didn't make the Roy Halladay trade with Toronto. The asking price from Toronto was too much, and now the Blue Jays GM may be getting nothing as the trade deadline looms near. Instead the Phillies went for whats behind door #2 and got last years AL Cy Young winner Cliff Lee and OF Ben Francisco for 4 minor league prospects: Carlos Carrasco, Jason Knapp, Lou Marsen, and Jason Donald. Lee is certainly one of the top pitchers in all of baseball and gives the Phillies another stud in the starting rotation and a solid 1-2 punch in the playoffs with Lee & Hamels. We here at Rooftop Bleachers have to give a tip of the hat to Amaro for getting Lee and also keeping all of our top prospects in Drabek, Taylor, Brown and starter J.A. Happ. Also in the deal Ruben aquires another right handed bat off the bench(please give Eric Bruntlett his outright release) which the Phillies could use in certain situations. Francisco is batting .250 with 10 hrs, 33 ribbies, 21 doubles, and 13 stolen bases this season so far and will definitely help out this offensive machine that is the Fightin Phils when he is called upon. By adding Cliff Lee the Phillies do put another lefty in the starting 5 but an ace is an ace. Lee is 7-9 with a 3.14 era so far this season with the awful Cleveland Indians, those stats are about to change for the better now that he is pitching for the defending World Champs. Over the past few weeks Phillies fans have been drooling over the possibility of getting Roy Halladay, but I am here to say that Cliff Lee is just a good a move. All the teams that were up for getting Halladay realize that the Blue Jays GM is insane and an idiot. His days as being GM are numbered because he could not make a deal happen(although he still has until Friday 4Pm). So fellow Rooftop Bleacher Fans, I propose the question to you, are you happy that we got Cliff Lee and kept some of our top prospects or do you think we should have pulled the trigger and made the deal for Halladay? Also, technically we could still get Roy Halladay because the prospects that the Jays were asking for are still in our farm system. If that happens, print the World Series Champion Shirts up now, map out the parade route down Broad Street again and lets look forward to another month full of October Baseball with the Phillies hoisting the trophy up at the end.

Hamels beats Haren in NL showdown, Phils win 4-3. Get brooms ready...

Two of the best pitchers in the National League faced off last night in the Arizona heat but our lefty Cole Hamels proved to be the better man and defeated Dan Haren and the rest of the Arizona Diamondbacks. King Cole went 8 innings only allowing one run on a solo shot in the first inning to Ryan Roberts. After that one mistake he decided to mow down the Arizona hitters while only letting up 4 hits and striking out 9. Dan Haren gave up 3 runs, 2 earned on 4 hits before being yanked in the 5th inning. Brad Lidge made things exciting again letting up a 2 run homer in the 9th to make it a 4-3 game but then decided it was close enough and closed out the game for his 2oth save of the season. Shane Victorino led the Fightins in the offensive side with a solo homer in the 3rd and a rbi double in the 5th. Shane is now batting .319 for the season. The Phillies have now won 4 in row and are 19-5 in the month of July. They hold a 7 game lead still on the Marlins in the NL East and are 18 games over .500. The Champs look to sweep Arizona tonight with J.A.Happ(7-1) pitching against Yusmeiro Petit(0-5) at 9:40pm this evening.

Jim Johnson, Defensive Genius Passes Away. 1941-2009

On July 28th 2009 Jim Johnson, lost his battle with cancer and passed away. Just a few days ago the Eagles announced that Sean McDermott would be Johnson's replacement as Defensive Coordinator while Johnson was getting treatment for his cancer. Training camp just opened up a few days ago and it was the first without JJ in over a decade. Johnson served as one of the best coordinators in the league since his arrival in Philly back in 1999 and turned down some head coaching positions in the NFL to stay in Philadelphia. Many outsiders may look at the success of the Philadelphia Eagles over the past 10 years and say it was Andy Reid who brought the winning pedigree to Philadelphia but most know that it was Jim Johnson and his blitz happy defensive schemes. Johnson was quoted as saying "It was around 1994 or '95, when I was with the Colts, and we were playing against San Francisco with Steve Young running the West Coast offense, releasing receivers all the time, guys getting by you. The idea was don't let these people dictate to you. You have to put more pressure [on the quarterback], and every year we tried to figure out how to do that." From then on Johnson's plan was to attack the quarterback from everywhere on the field. He blitzed more then any other coach in the league. Players who played for him loved him and loved playing for him. In his tenure as an Eagles coach players have been selected to 26 Pro Bowls, Brian Dawkins led the way with 7. Others to go to the Pro Bowl while under Johnson in an Eagles uniform are, Troy Vincent(5), Jeremiah Trotter(4), Hugh Douglas(3), Lito Sheppard(2) and Trent Cole, Michael Lewis, Asante Samuel, Corey Simon, and Bobby Taylor each with one. Quarterbacks in the NFC East and around the league feared everytime they stepped onto the field against a Jim Johnson Eagles defense. Jim Johnson will be missed and in the word's of Jake Taylor in Major League, "I guess there is only one thing left to do......win the whole fucking thing" Eagles, lets win a Super Bowl for the man who created one of the best defenses in the league with the players he coached himself.

Phils beat Triple A Diamondbacks 6-2 behind Old Man Moyer

The Phillies started out there west coast trip this week on the right foot and beat the defense-less Diamondbacks 6-2. Jamie Moyer pitched 6 2/3 innings not allowing a run and striking out 5. Watching the game last night it seemed like every inning Moyer had runners on base or even the bases loaded but the crafty lefty did what he always does and got the job done. Ryan Howard got things going in the 4th inning with a 2 run blast(26th of the year) and the Phillies piled on a few more runs in the 6th inning with a little help from the D-backs infield who are still working on the fundamentals of fielding a baseball. The Phils now hold a 7 game lead on the Braves and Marlins in the NL East and are 57-40 on the year. Tonight lefty Cole Hamels(6-5) battles the D-backs ace Dan Haren(10-5). Another late night summer game for all of us Phillies fans....doesn't get much better.

South Philly Sluggers take series against Cardinals, Win 9-2

Joe Blanton pitched great on Sunday afternoon down at Citizens Bank Park, going eight solid innings only allowing 2 runs, while striking out 6. Blanton improves to 7-4 on the season and has pitched well his past couple of starts. The story of the day was the big bats came out with the heart of the line-up doing the major damage. J-Roll, Utley, Howard and Ibanez all hit 2 run bombs at some point in the game to put the Fightins ahead all day. So after a loss on Friday night, the Phillies showed the Cards that they are the defending Champs and won't be pushed around in their house. The win keeps the Phillies 6 1/2 games ahead of the Braves & Marlins in the NL East and they are pretty much cruising right now atop the standings. The Phillies head out west this week with 3 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, then 4 against the San Francisco Giants. Which means everyone in the area will be a little tired every morning because all games start either at 9:40pm or 10:15 pm on the west coast. Tonight at 9:40pm Jamie Moyer (9-7) takes on Jon Garland (5-9).

Halladay update: Apparently the Blue Jays have rejected the Phillies counter offer for Roy Halladay which included giving up J.A. Happ, Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald, and Michael Taylor. The Jays say the deal must include both Happ & Drabek and more players like Dominic Brown. The Blue Jays GM Ricciardi says a deal that Halladay is traded before the deadline with any team is looking very slim. The Phillies are starting to look at other potential options such as former Cy Young winner Cliff Lee of the Indians, and I heard rumors of Zach Duke of the Pirates being shopped as well.

Phils Win Streak at 1, Everybody Hits...WOOOHOOO

Cole Hamels looked good pitching 7 innings only allowing 3 runs while striking out 6. The bats awoke again last night as everyone in the starting lineup(minus Cole) got in on the action and in put some numbers up in the boxscore. The best of the night were Jayson Werth going 3 for 5 with 2 doubles and Pedro Feliz 3 for 5 as well. The scary part about this team is on any night someone in the lineup can get some big hits for you. It's tough for opposing teams to intentionally walk one guy knowing the hitter behind him can hurt you as well. The Phils have now won 15 out of 17 and are the hottest team in baseball this past month. The St. Louis Cardinals come into town tonight for a 3 game set with J.A. Happ(7-0) against Joel Pineiro(8-9). This should be a nice test for the Fightins as the Cardinals are looking good and should be on there way to the playoffs.

*The Phils had to place J.C. Romero(strained left forearm) and Chad Durbin(strained muscle in back) on the 15 day DL. Tyler Walker and Andrew Carpenter got the call up from Lehigh Valley to fill in the roster spots and help out the bullpen.

Editors note: I will be down at the game tonight in my usual section 145. If anyone is going see you down there or let me know. Go Phils.

Phillies Legend of the Day

Kevin Jordan.

The end came on Feb. 9 1994. That was the date Terry Mulholland was traded to the Yankees and the dismantling of Macho row had begun. Even though he had started the 93 All Star Game and was only 31 years old the Phillies knew that approaching free agency Terry Mulholland was a little to rich for their blood. So in a bid to get younger while still putting a contender on the field the Phils traded Terry to the bronx bombers for prospects Bobby Munoz, Ryan Karp and future Rooftop Bleacher Legend Kevin Jordan.

Over the next six years Jordan would dazzle the empty blue vet seats with his .258 batting average and career total of 23 homeruns (BTW he played 1b) all the while graciously correcting strangers that he was not fellow player Juan Gonzalez but only looked like the future MVP and thanking them for the compliment anyway...

Kevin Jordan is a real life example that one man's trash is indeed another man's treasure and for that Rooftop Bleachers Salutes you..

Philly Live! Cool or Uncool?

Here are some of the proposed ideas and pictures of what PhillyLive! could look like when they tear down the Spectrum at the end of this year. The700level had a post on this as well. I bring this question to my fellow Philadelphians, Will this be cool or no? It's always nice to have new restaurants, bars, live music/ entertainment down at the sports complexes in South Philly to go to before games or just to hang out at. People will still pay $7 plus for a beer & $9 cheesesteaks are going to be expected, but some of the joys of going to the games is tailgating out in the parking lots. A tradition that will not change, but the new facility will have some impact on parking & traffic. Which leads me to my most negative point about the sports complexes in general....traffic blows down there. Is it so hard to manage a steady flow of cars leaving that area? Why not start by opening up all the gates to a parking lot so people can get out instead of sitting idle waiting for their turn to move up 10 feet. Maybe it's just me and I have had some really bad experiences leaving the parking lots down there but please do something about the traffic. I am rambling here and getting off topic, but what do you think of the proposed, PhillyLive!? For starters....change the name.


http://www.cordish.com/sub.cfm?section=newdev

Win Streak ends at 10, Phils can't complete sweep of Cubs

As the saying goes "All good things must come to an end" thats exactly what happened to the Phillies Wednesday afternoon as Jamie Moyer got beat up by the Cubs with Carlos Zambrono on the mound. The Cubs put up 4 in the 4th and added another in the 5th to stay ahead of the Phils the rest of the game as the final score was 10-5 and halted the Phils chance at sweeping the Cubs. The Phillies still have won 14 out of there last 16. Tonight is a makeup game against the San Diego Padres with lefty Cole Hamels(5-5) on the mound against Kevin Correia(6-7). The Phils hold a 5 1/2 game lead over the Braves in the NL East.

Phillies Legend of The Day

Danny Tartabull...

In 1995 as his Yankee tenure was ending Danny Tartabull compared leaving New York as "Getting released from Jail".Truer words have never been spoken.

But more importantly in 1997 the Phillies paid Tartabull 2 million dollars to play right field...for 3 games!!!

2 million dollars to show up for 3 baseball games and strikeout 4 times in eleven plate appearances. We'll take that deal!!

And for that... Mr. Tartabull Rooftop Bleachers Salutes you!!!

The video Lebron and Nike does not want you to see.....

I know its not Philadelphia sports but this footage was just released on ebaumnation.com. At a summer camp recently guard Jordan Crawford from Xavier dunked on Lebron James and apparently Nike tried to hide the video of King James being dunked on. It doesn't look that bad....

Old School Eagles

With Eagles training camp starting up next week, I would like to remind all the Eagles heading to camp that.....Buddy's watching you.

Some updates on Halladay & Cliff Lee from MLBTradeRumors.com

Looks like the Phillies may be holding off on the Halladay trade because of the Blue Jays asking for too much. Former Cy Young winner Cliff Lee is now a option they could be quietly pursuing.

Walk Off Werth in Pitchers Duel that lasts 13. 10 in a row for the WFC

It was a pitchers duel in South Philly last night between two former teammates that pitched beautifully and neither one got the win. Country Joe Blanton pitched 7 solid innings only giving up 1 run on 5 hits while striking out 5. Rich Harden was not to be showed up as he also pitched 7 solid innings with his only run allowed was a solo shot from Jimmy Rollins(circa 2007)in the 3rd. The Cubs and Phillies bullpens both shut down the hitters for the next few innings forcing overtime. The Phils bullpen combined for 6 shutout no hit innings led by the man, Chan Ho Park who struck out 5 and looked awesome doing so. Madson shut down the 8th, Lidge the 9th and Clay Condrey shut down the 13th. The Cubs bullpen also shut down the South Philly Sluggers for a little over 5 innings but fell 1 out short. Up to the plate stepped Jayson Werth with 2 outs and 2 on. Werth saw a pitch right down the middle and parked one about 15 rows deep in left field for his first ever walk off home run. Phils win 4-1 in a pitchers duel battle deep into the game for their 10th win in a row. Today the brooms are in the room but not out yet as the Fightins have a afternoon delight at 1:05 on Broad Street with old timer Jamie Moyer(9-6) vs Carlos Zambrano (6-4).

Report: Phils Refuse to Deal Drabek

Jon Heyman from CNNSI is reporting that the Phillies have decided not to include Kyle Drabek in any offers forRoy Halladay.

He also says the Phillies are a contender for Cleveland's Cliff Lee. Link Below:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/jon_heyman/07/21/daily.scoop/index.html

Phillies Legend Of The Day

Greg Jefferies

It's not his 3 top ten finishes in batting, nor is it his two All Star Game appreances. But what makes Greg Jefferies a legend today is his ability to bring a crowd of strangers and rival fans together to jointly say " yea I remember him playing for my team....man I hated that guy".

Was it the curly hair?? The California approach?? The look that screamed "I deserve to be here so treat me that way"?? Who Knows.

After a tough stretch in 1996 Jefferies told a group of Philadelphia Reporters "I just suck right now"

Well you might 364 days of the year but not today my friend because Rooftop Bleachers Salutes You!

Phils keep rolling, Win streak up to 9 in a row

The Phils whooped on Ted Lily early and often as they beat the Cubbies 10-1 to win their 9th game in a row and 13 out of their last 14. Rodrigo Lopez got the win for the Fightins as he pitched 6 innings giving up only 1 run on 5 hits, 3 walks and striking out 5. Lopez earned his 2nd win of the season pitching well and shutting down the Cubs who were coming off a 4 game win streak(Against the Nationals though). The bats were alive in last nights game as Raul Ibanez set things off with a 3 run bomb and the Phils never looked back. Chooch had a great night going 2-4 with a homer, double and knocking in 3. Ryan Howard hit a solo shot later in the game going opposite field which usually means one thing....Howard is dialed in. The Phils know face the 1-2 punch the next 2 games of Rich Harden and Carlos Zambrono and hope to keep the momentum going with Country Joe and Jamie Moyer as they continue to pull away in the NL East.

Myers Could Return to Pen in August

Todd Zolecki from MLB.com reports that righty Brett Myers is "way ahead of schedule" from hip surgery that was thought to end his season. Myers is set to throw a bullpen session this Saturday at CBP, and if all goes well he will report to Clearwater that same weekend. Myers said he will not be able to go more then four innings a game but could be helpful in the backend of the bullpen as a long reliever/innings eater type of guy. This could be good news for the Phils if Myers can return this season and help in the bullpen.

Cubbies vs. Phils Probables

Tonight : Lopez (1 -0) vs. Lilly (9-6)
Tuesday: Country Joe (6-4) vs. Harden (6-6)
Wednesday: Moyer (9-6) vs. Zambrano (6-4)

Phillies Legend of the Day

Even though he only batted a career .210 and had 5 home runs over the course of 8 years. Larry Steven Jeltz was able to accomplish the near impossible:


1. Hit a homerun from both sides of the plate within one game....after coming off the bench



2. Rock a superfine Jheri Curl



3. Play Baseball as a frenchman



For those reasons Mr. Jeltz Rootop Bleachers Salutes You.

Top 25 Hottest Sportscastors

Did you guys hear anything about Erin Andrews this past weekend? Something about a video of her walking around her hotel room naked from a guy video taping it from the peephole? Yeah, we all heard about it. With many websites holding back showing the video because of fear of getting sued by ESPN. I came across this list of the 25 sexiest sportscastors and decided to share it here.

http://coedmagazine.com/2008/09/11/coed-presents-the-top-25-sexiest-sportscasters/

Check out these hotties who we don't mind looking at while watching sports. One of my personal favorites is #5 Ines Sainz, I really like her backside reporting. Who is your favorite?

Cink wins 1st Major, Ruins Greatest Golf Story Ever

Everybody on the planet was rooting for Tom Watson to do the unthinkable and win a major championship at 59 years old this past Sunday. Watson had a par putt on the 72nd hole to win his 6th British Open but he made a poor attempt and left it short. I don't care who you are or where you are playing golf, but if you have a putt on the last hole to win....don't hit it like a girl and leave it short. After missing the putt it forced a 4 hole playoff with Stewart Cink who sank a 15 foot birdie putt on 18. Cink and Watson had to play the 5th, 6th, 17th and 18th holes and Cink played good consistent golf and shot a 2 under in the playoffs while Watson fell apart and shot 4 over. Once Watson missed that putt on 18 you had the feeling that he wasn't gonna win. Congrats to Stewart Cink, a solid team player on the US Ryder Cup team, and thanks for ruining the greatest golf story of the year, possibly ever. Next major this year is the PGA Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota held on August 13th-16th. Will the real Tiger Woods please stand up?

Marlins kiss the rings... admire the brooms on Sunday

Just 3 weeks ago the wheels were coming off the Wagon. The fightns were swept out of Atlanta and their lead was down to percentage points over the Marlins. Fast forward to the end of this weekend and it appears the Phils have laced up the Ole Sh*tkickers.

Led by another strong performance by imaginary trade bait JA Happ and Jimmy Rollins circa 2007 the Phils jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. The Phils have now won 8 straight their longest such streak in three years and improved to a major league best 29-15 on the road.

Looking ahead the Phils start a seven game homestand on Monday against the Cubs (3), Padres (1) and Cardinals (3). If all goes well the Phils could be playing the roll of "the gimp" while the rest of the NL East portrays "Marsellus Wallace" (picture to explicit to post but you get the idea...)

Phillies Legend of the Day

The Man....The Myth...The Tank....Todd Pratt

Few man can pull off being revered by both Phillies and Mets fans but Todd Pratt was one of them. Whether it was hitting game winning homeruns or making strikeouts a thing of beauty Todd Pratt had it all. The once and forever "best sunday catcher in baseball"could do that and more. So today Mr. Pratt Rooftop Bleachers Salutes you.

5 hour game? No problem for the Fightins

The Phils took the 2nd game in a row with the Marlins in the first series since the all star break with a rain delayed game that lasted a little over 5 hours. Our WFC's won in the 12th inning 6-5 when Brad Lidge closed it down after a little shaky final few outs. Cole Hamels looked good only allowing 1 run in 5 innings that was cut short due to some Miami rain. The bullpen came in and let the Marlins get back in it but in the 12th the Phils got a couple of runs to pull ahead and eventually win the game. Tonight Joe Blanton battles against Josh Johnson for 3 in a row.
One additional note I want to add...Is Chase Utley the man or what?!?!

Ryan Howard on Baseball Tonight

Here is Ryan Howard talking on Baseball Tonight after the game last night about hitting #200 for his career.

Clip originally post on the700level.com

Since Tiger may not be playing this weekend please enjoy past highlights

A little Megan Fox Friday

Taylor Promoted to Triple A Lehigh Valley

Michael Taylor is listed at 6'6 260 pds. He has 18 steals this season. Thats a Ryan Howard size man....with speed. In 86 games he is batting .333 with 106 hits, 15 hrs, 65 rbi's, only 51 k's. Did I mention he has 18 steals? Do you give up this guy in a package for Roy Halladay? I'm not so sure. Check out this link about him being promoted to Triple A.

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/20090717_Taylor_makes_debut_with_Triple_A_Lehigh_Valley.html

Phillies dominate fish behind Moyer, Ibanez & Howard

Jamie Moyer helped the Phillies start the second half of the season off right and pitched 7 shutout innings and only allowing one hit. Moyer has owned the Marlins at Landshark Stadium never losing there and he got his 255 career win. The bullpen finished the game for him not allowing any hits in the final 2 innings. Rauuuuuul Ibanez continued his great season with 2 home runs bringing his season total to 24. But the night belonged to the big guy Ryan Howard as he became the fastest player in Major League Baseball to reach 200 home runs with a solo shot in the sixth inning to finish off the Marlins with a 4-0 win. It took Howard 658 games to reach the 200 milestone, Ralph Kiner held the record previously with reaching 200 in 706 games. Which leads to the question or thought, Imagine if Ryan Howard was playing first base those few years he was being blocked by Jim Thome. Thome was unbelievable and a great player when he was here, and loved by all the Philly fans but Howards career home run totals could be much higher then it is now. Has there ever been a better power hitter in red pinstripes then #6?? Maybe years ago before my time, but in my mind Ryan is the best home run hitter to ever put on a Phillies uniform.

The Fightins now hold a 5 game lead over Florida and can continue to add to that lead all weekend. In game two of the series, Cole Hamels (5-5, 4.87) takes the mound opposite Ricky Nolasco (6-7, 5.76).

Painful Leg Break

Sixers Dance auditions 09

Watson fires up a 65 at British Open, 1 behind leader

59 year old Tom Watson shot a 65 this morning at Turnberry and is one shot off the lead behind Spains Miguel Angel Jimenez. The 5-time Open champion had a bogey free round and kept it simple on the course today as weather conditions were very favorable along the Scottish coast. The worlds #1 golfer Tiger Woods didn't fair so well and shot a 1 over par 71 with a handful of bogeys coming down the stretch. Local golfer Sean O'Hair shot a 2 under 68 to stay near the top of the leader board.

Pedro is a Phillie

Pedro Martinez is a Philadelphia Phillie. The 37 year old signed for $1 million base salary and the potential for $1.5 million more with incentives. He was also put on the 15 day DL with a mild shoulder sprain so he can rehab in the minors before making his way to the big leagues.

"I'm really pleased and really happy to be here and I'm looking forward to making this happen and seeing how much help I can to this organization," said Martinez, who admitted he narrowed his potential employers to National league clubs because he wants to win a World Series in the National League to go with his 2004 World Series ring in the American League with Boston Red Sox.

The three-time Cy Young Award winner last pitched in the majors last season for the New York Mets where he finished the season an un-Pedro-like 5-6 with a 5.61 ERA.
"It hasn't been easy for me, I don't like to make excuses, I gave it up the last few years. I wasn't the same Pedro Martinez that you are accustomed to seeing," said Martinez, who pointed out that he had surgery and was dealing with his ailing father and his death last season. "I think I was too brave sometimes, I was stupid sometimes for pitching and not in the regular health I should've been in."

For his career, one that has spanned 17 years and includes stops with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Montreal Expos, Red Sox, and Mets, the Dominican right-hander is 214-99 with a 2.91 ERA.

Here is a link to Pedros career stats.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/martipe02.shtml?redir

The Start of Rooftop Bleachers

Welcome Philly sports fans. I started this site because I love all things Philadelphia sports, just like many of you out there. This blog is set up to have fun discussing our local teams with the most passionate fans in the world. It may take me a while to get used to writing blogs on a daily basis but I guarantee we will be talking about the hottest subjects in Philly sports at the time. The latest on the Phillies, Eagles, Flyers, 76ers and other local Philly sports will be heard right here on the Rooftop Bleachers. Some may ask, Why call it Rooftop Bleachers? If you ever sat up above Ashburns Alley drinking a cold beer watching the Phils then you would understand. So I invite you to check in daily and see what is going on in Philadelphia sports and let your voice be heard. Sports won't always be the main topic, and I promise we will make it fun and interesting everyday with links to other websites, pictures of hot girls, and random goofy stuff that you see all over the internet. So welcome to Rooftop Bleachers.