Solo Home Runs help Pedro, Phils win 5-3

For the first time in Phillies franchise history the team has 4 players that have at least 30 home runs in the same season. Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Raul Ibanez and Jayson Werth are all members of the 30 homer club this year. Last night Ibanez went deep twice and hit 3 for 4 last night. Hopefully the left fielder who has been struggling at the plate since the All Star break is getting hot at the right time. With the Phillies down 2-1 to the Nationals in the 7th inning and pitcher John Lannan throwing well so far, Jayson Werth went deep to tie the game at 2 a piece. Next batter Raul Ibanez went deep for back to back home runs and the Phils took the lead. But in the same inning Carlos Ruiz didn't want to miss out on the home run parade and went deep to make it 4-2. Charlie Manuel kept Pedro Martinez in the game who ended up throwing 119 pitches in 6 2/3 innings. Pedro let up 3 runs on 7 hits and struck out 4 last night to improve to 4-0 on the season since joining the Phillies. In the 8th inning Chase Utley decided it was time to reach the 30 homer club and made it 5-3 heading into the bottom of the 8th. Brett Myers came in to relieve Pedro for the last out of the 7th with a strike out and then shut down the Nats in the 8th to preserve the lead. Then the night took on a uneasy feel as most games this season has heading into the 9th. Manuel called on closer Brad Lidge to close out the game with a 2 run lead. What happened next was Lidge only recorded 1 out and loaded the bases. Lidge was about to blow yet another save and this would make the Phils lose 5 in a row in a time when they need to just play .500 ball to close out the division in a few weeks. Charlie took the walk out to the mound and called in Ryan Madson. Lidge got no love from anyone in the dugout and could only watch. Madson did his job striking out Ryan Zimmerman the Nats best hitter and getting home run hitter Adam Dunn to ground out to record his 5th save of the season. The question which thousands of Phillies fans are asking this morning, Is Brad Lidge still our closer? Charlie had some tough questions to answer about Lidge and the closer situation after the game. "Let me tell you something," Manuel said. "When I tell you he's my closer, I don't tell lies. I don't like to go back on nothing. But the team and the game is bigger than my heart, and it's bigger than anything else, if you want to know the truth. Winning a game is what it's all about. It's baseball and why I manage and it's what comes first."
He could definitely be [the guy]," Manuel said about Lidge. "I'm definitely not going to get away from him. Let me tell you something: We're going to work with him and we're going to get him back to where he can get consistent and save games. That's how I look at it. I'm not saying that he'll closer tomorrow or the next day or whatever, but I look at him as a closer."
Well it looks like September is going to be very interesting for the Fightins. Tonight Cliff Lee(5-2) takes on Garrett Mock(3-7) down in Washington.

Phillies Legend of The Day

Lance "Big Wheel" Parrish

Remember "Lance Us a Pennant"?? It was the Phillies slogan after signing the 10 time

All Star catcher in 1987. He was supposed to be the leader of the new generation of Phils, the guy who would lead this franchise back to the World Series and reclaim the glory from just 8 years earlier....He did none of that

Instead he was able to get the media and fans to turn on him in less then 24 months...which is easy when you bat .215 and you are the biggest name on a 65win team...the worst seson since 1972.

So in some ways Lance was successful in bringing this city together to celebrate in 1988...but only because he was leaving it..even though you flopped horribly and kicked off a run that saw our franchise finish with a losing record 13 out of the next 14 years we still love you Lance... Today we can let bygones be bygones and welcome you to the hall but tomorrow don;tlet us see that craptastic mustace again.

Oregon Running Back Legarrette Blount knocks out Boise State player after game

Haha

Vintage Pedro beats Lincecum, Phils take series from Giants

When the Phillies game started last night I was waiting to pick up a huge order of wings for my fantasy football draft. The Phils game was on and Pedro throws his first pitch and Eugenio Velez agreed with it and sent it over the wall. 1-0 Giants after 1 pitch. People at the bar were started to bad mouth Pedro and it wasn't looking good for the former Cy Young winner. Pedro answered and he answered in a big way. That would be the only run he let up all night in a 7 inning gem. Martinez struck out 9, didn't walk any batters and only allowed 5 hits for the game and got his 3rd win to improve to 3-0. Pedro's fastball was hitting the low 90's on the radar gun and was mixing up his pitches nicely with the changeup. Tim Lincecum the ace and possibly the best pitcher in the National League had his ace game last night as well. Lincecum struck out 11 batters in 7 innings and only allowed 4 hits, 2 earned. One of those runs was a solo home run by Jayson Werth in the 2nd inning who now has 30 homers on the year. Later on Ryan Howard doubled to knock in the go ahead run during the 6th inning to put the Fightins up 2-1. Chase Utley was the one that scored after he was hit in the back by Lincecum's fastball. Ryan Madson closed out the 8th inning and Brad Lidge did his job and got the save for the Phils. It was a pitching duel last night in South Philly and had that playoff atmosphere feel just like it did the past 2 nights as the Phillies could possibly be lined up to face either San Fran or Colorado in the 1st round of the playoffs. The Phillies still hold a 7.5 game lead in the NL East as the season keeps winding down with a record of 76-54 and 32 games left to play. Our World Series Champs head to Houston for a 4 game series with the Astros and Cliff Lee(5-1) will take the mound against Wandy Rodriguez(12-9) tonight.

Phils lose to Penny, Giants 4-0

Last night in South Philly, newly acquired Brad Penny showed he still has the stuff that made him an All Star not long ago. He quieted the bats of the Philadelphia offense for 8 shut out innings en route to a 4-0 Giants win over the Phils. Penny only allowed 5 hits and walked 1 batter. On the mound for the Phillies J.A. Happ let up 4 runs on 8 hits while striking out 7. Most of the damage came in the 6th which he let up 2 home runs to Juan Uribe and former Phillie Aaron Rowand and the Phils couldn't come back from the deficit. With the Phillies loss they still hold a 7.5 game lead in the NL East over the Braves who lost to the Marlins last night. The Giants are still battling for the wildcard spot with Colorado and are only 1 game back from them. Tonight is an interesting matchup as CY Young winner and hopeful this year Tim Linecum(13-4) goes against Pedro Martinez(2-0) to wrap up the series at 7:05.

Hamels returns to World Series MVP form, dominates Giants

Last night down at the ballpark had the feel of a playoff game as the Giants came into town for the first of a 3 game series. If the playoffs would start today we would potentially play San Francisco in the Divisional Series. The Giants have great starting pitching with Tim Linecum and Matt Cain, and even last night lefty Jonathan Sanchez pitched a quietly good game. But it was nothing compared to what ace Cole Hamels threw. Cole pitched a complete game shut out only allowing 2 hits while striking out 9 and only walking 1. The weather was a little cooler in South Philly for September 1st and maybe that helped King Cole return to the form he had in last years playoffs where he was so dominate. The Phils offense was a little quiet but in the 4th inning Ryan Howard drove in the lone run of the game to take the lead at 1-0. That was all that Hamels needed as he blanked the Giants offense all night. Hamels retired 24 in a row after the first hit he gave up to Ryan Garko and now has a streak of 19 scoreless innings tied for his career best. Hamels also showed off his speed on the bases as he took off and stole 2nd in the 5th inning, the first pitcher to steal a base for the Phillies since Curt Schilling in 1997. The Phillies have now won 15 of 20 and still hold a 7.5 game lead in the NL East over the Braves who beat the Marlins last night and they are now 9.5 games out. Tonight at CBP J.A. Happ(10-3) faces newly acquired starter Brad Penny(7-8) for the Giants. Game 2 tonight....

Blanton, Ruiz shine as Phils take series from Braves

After a weekend series with the Braves the Phillies now hold a 8 game lead in the NL East over the Braves and Marlins. They will go into September with a 75-53 record so far on the season and our cruising to another division title. Last night in South Philadelphia the Phillies needed starter Joe Blanton to pitch well and rebound after ace Cliff Lee got beaten up the night before. And pitch well he did. Country Joe went 7 solid innings only allowing 1 run on 3 hits and striking out 7. This was the 12th straight start where Blanton has allowed 3 earned runs or less. The only mistake was a first inning home run but other then that he was great and now boasts a 9-6 record for the year. Behind the plate Carlos Ruiz is best known for calling games but decided to get in on the offensive side and went 3 for 3 with 2 doubles and 2 rbis to provide the winning runs for the Fightins. When it was the bullpens turn in the 8th and 9th to hold the lead Ryan Madson came in but surrendered 1 run and left 2 on with no outs. In came specialty pitcher Scott Eyre who has been unbelievable this year at helping the Phils get out of jams late in game. Jimmy Rollins had a great night defensively and in the 8th Chase Utley stopped a tough 1 hopper and flippped it to 2nd where Rollins went for the unconventional double play and threw to 3rd and Feliz ran down the runner for the tag. After a groundout it was on the 9th and after a few days off our closer Brad Lidge came in to pitch a perfect ninth inning and save the game. Ruiz called some great pitches and Lidge answered and looked like the closer of 2008.

The Phillies have another Monday off and will stay in Philadelphia to host the now tied for the NL wildcard San Fransisco Giants. Cole Hamels (7-8) goes against Jonathan Sanchez(6-10).

Vick doesn't really excite but doesn't make mistakes in debut

Michael Vick got a standing ovation when he came into the game. Why? I'm not really sure. I know as Philadelphians we like to welcome any new player to town but lets what until this guy actually does something before we start giving him the standing O. Vick only got in on 6 plays, which was not as many as the 12-15 plays that the Eagles staff had originally planned but he did go 4-4 on passing attempts, threw a shovel pass, and lined up at wide receiver. I would have liked to see more of Vick even if it was in the 4th quarter with the 2nd & 3rd team out on the field to see what he can do now. On a separate note, Kevin Kolb sucks. I don't like anything about this guy, and I hope the Eagles don't think this guy is the quarterback of the team after McNabb's career here is over. One major problem with getting Vick into the game for some plays was that it interupted the flow of the offense. McNabb in his own words basically said the same thing but it is preseason and now is the time to tinker with Vick in the offense and try the Wildcat formation. The Eagles still have one more preseason game against the New Yawk Jets next Thursday, maybe Vick will get a little more playing time then because the NFL commisioner looks to suspend Vick for the first 6 games of the season but rumor has it that the suspension will be reduced to 3 games. Till next time.....

Phils offense quiet and lose 3-2, head home to face the Bravos

J.A. Happ pitched 8 solid innings last night but gave up a 2 run homer to Garrett Jones in the bottom of the 8th, which would cost the Phils the win and taking the series against the other Pennsylvania baseball team. Happ let up a lead off home run against a impressive rookie Andrew McCutchen which tied the game at 1 after the first. He then settled down and pitched great until the 8th, he struck out 4 and let up 7 hits. But it wasn't enough as the bats were quiet for the Fightins and could only muster up 2 runs, Rollins scoring in the 1st and a solo shot by catcher Paul Bako in the 2nd. The Pirates end up winning the series 2-1 and now the Phillies head back to Philly for a big series with the Braves. The Phils still hold a 7 game lead in the NL East over the Braves and Marlins but would still like to distance themselves from the pack early on and get rested for the postseason. Tonight Pedro Martinez(2-0) makes his 4th start in a Phillies uniform and goes up against talented youngster Tommy Hanson(9-2). Saturday Cliff "the General" Lee will face off against Derek Lowe and Sunday night on ESPN Country Joe Blanton takes on JarJar Binx, I mean Jair Jurrjens. Go Phils.

Madson pulls a Lidge, Howard to the Rescue

Brad Lidge had the night off. He pitched in 4 consecutive games so he was not available to close the game in the ninth. The Phillies then turned to their 8th inning guy with the 97 mph fastball Ryan Madson. In true closer form this year for the Phils Madson let up a home run to tie the game at 1 and take it to extra innings. Cole Hamels who has not won a game since July 28th pitched a gem last night, going 8 strong innings without letting up a run, only walking 2 and striking out 7 in 123 pitches. The only run support Hamels got was a solo homer by Chase Utley in the 1st inning. The Phils had runners in scoring position a few times but failed to score any more runs. Madson came in and threw some heat reaching 99 on the radar gun but he put a fastball right in the wheelhouse of Brandon Moss who turned on the pitch and tied it 1-1. In the 10th inning Pittsburgh reliever Steven "I'm Sorry Miss" Jackson came in and walked J-Roll and let up a single to Victorino and the Phils had runners on the corner. Up stepped Ryan Howard to crush one over the right field wall and put the Phils on top 4-1. It was Howards 35th of the year and he now has 107 rbis for the year. If Albert Pujols wasn't having a monster year, then Howard would be right up there in talks for the NL MVP. And this is the time of the year when historically the big man starts getting hot.
With the lead now at 4-1 Madson came back out in the 10th to try and salvage his 1 run hiccup that cost Hamels the win and shut down the young Pirates team. Luckily he got the job done and collected the win for the Phils. The Phillies are now 73-51, 22 games over .500 and have won 13 out of their last 15. They still hold a 7 game lead over the Marlins in the NL East. Tonight J.A. Happ(10-2) can help the Phillies win another series when he goes against Charlie Morton(3-6). The Phillies need to continue to win series in the final weeks of the season and they should easily cruise to another NL East title.

Eagles fan wearing Vick jersey rides dog

Posted on the700level.com. I'm not even going to comment.

Phils come back late, only to have Lidge blow it AGAIN

Remember that game last Wednesday. Cliff Lee was on the mound and pitched a great game, home runs were flying out of the park for the Phillies and it was Brad Lidge bobblehead night. I was at that game and decided to keep my Lidge bobblehead at my office sitting on my desk. I came into work this morning to find the Lidge bobblehead in the trash can, because my co-worker couldn't stand to look at. It is still sitting in the trash can because I can't stand to look at it. NINE blown saves this year. What happened to the closer that was perfect last year? Charlie Manuel has a decision to make soon with less then 40 games left in the season as we move towards October baseball.

The first pitch of the game last night Jimmy Rollins sent it over the wall to give the Phils a 1-0 lead and things looked all good, business as usual, fly out to Pittsburgh for the first game and continue winning baseball games. Blanton had another servicable start going 6 innings stiking out 7, but let up a 2 run homer in the 6th to give the Pirates a 3-2 lead. I wasn't even worried because this team can put up multiple runs in any inning to come back and win. And come back they did. In the top of the ninth, the Phils got doubles by Carlos Ruiz & Ben Franscisco then followed up with a Shane Victorino triple that was misplayed by centerfielder Andrew McCutchen. Come from behind in the ninth, now its Brad Lidge time. A time that has been shaky all season and has given Phillies fans worries all year. Lidge let up 2 singles and Werth dropped a ball he was trying to pick up and throw that made his throw home off line. Game tied, blown save #9 for the year. Now its 4-4, and up steps McCutchen the speedy rookie who lost the lead for the Pirates just a half an inning earlier, and bang. 2 run walk off homer to win the game 6-4 and the Pirates took game 1 of the series.

Charlie Manuel was quoted after the game, "We just keep going. We just keep playing," Manuel said. "That's where we're at. That's our closer. That's the guy we give the ball to in the ninth inning." Well Charlie the guy you keep giving the ball to keeps blowing games for you. We are coming into the final stretch of the season and this cannot keep happening. Only positive out of this situation I can see, its not the playoffs yet and we could have other options out of the bullpen that may help.

The Phils still hold a 7 game lead in the NL East over both the Marlins and Braves who are both battling for a wild card spot so they will continue to try to win games down the stretch. Tonight the not so great lately Cole Hamels(7-8) faces off against Paul Maholm(7-7). Here's to hoping the Phils get up early and often and we don't have to discuss our closer situation tomorrow morning. The bobblehead is still sitting in the trash can........

Phillies Legend of the Day

Rico Brogna

It is kind of funny.In researching good ole Rico I did not know he admitted to using steroids specifically andro for the 1997 season. Yep Rico was a cheater and a liar and all of those 64 home runs he hit over 3 years (um...) and the career high .278 batting average he hit in 1998 (seriously?? Are you sure they weren't nerds you were taking) should be wiped from the record books. ...

You know really Rico should go from school to school talking about steriods and their lack of success not some shrivield up no nad dude with dried up bacne. Cause when you think about it steroids did not help him at all. He didn't get the big contract...he did not break any records...nor was he indicated in any Jose Canseco authored book.

So Rico Bronga tried to play his way into our hearts....then tried to cheat...then gave up duetoan inability to be a successful cheater. Well Rico all is forgiven here Legends Hall on the Rooftop not because we like you or due to your honesty. No weforgive you because weareall suckers waiting for the next false baseball god to come along and take us allon another hollow ride.

BTW. Here is an interesting link that lists a ton of players who admitted to using some sort of drug to help them play better and in turn take more of our money.

http://www.baseballssteroidera.com/bse-list-steroid-hgh-users-baseball.html#rico-brogna

Phils win 3 of 4 against Mets behind Howard's power and Lee's arm

In his 5th start since being traded to the Phillies Cliff Lee is 5-0 with a mind boggling era of 0.67. Yesterday he took the mound and let up 2 UNearned runs while pitching 7 innings, striking out 5 and not walking anyone. It was a sunny day at Citi Field which made for some unusual errors by both Mets & Phillies players but the Phils all star first baseman wasn't bothered at the plate going deep twice. The first homer by Howard was a 3 run shot to the opposite field, while his 2nd home run of the day was a upper deck bomb to right to knock in 2 more. Howard finished the day going 2 for 5 with 2 homers, and 5 rbi's to lift the first place Phils over the Mets 6-2. The Phillies now hold a 7 game lead in the NL East over the Braves. Now they cross over the western side of Pennsylvania to face the Pirates in a 3 game series. Joe Blanton(8-6) takes the mound for the Phils against Ross Ohlendorf(11-8) tonight at 7:05.

Phillies Legend of the Day

Billy "whiplash"Wagner...






Funny how things turn out isn't it??

Mr. Wagner welcome to eternity..........

Knockout at Citi Field

Phils win strange one in NY 9-7, Bruntlett ends 9th inning himself

Driving home from the shore on Sunday I was fortunate enough to listen to the first few innings of the game on the radio. It's always nice to hear the Phils hit two 3 run homers in the 1st and have Oliver Perez not even finish the inning. Pedro came out and did a decent job although he allowed 4 runs on 7 hits in 6 innings of work. Citi Field you heard some cheers and some boos as Pedro returned to face his former team but most of the cheers were from the thousands of Phillies fans that showed up in New York to support the defending champs. Pedro was a little shaky the first 3 innings but the final 3 innings he pitched he shut down the Mets to hold the Phils lead at 8-4. Jayson Werth continues to swing the bat as he belted his 29th homer of the season. The Mets tried to slowly creep back into the game in the 9th with the score 9-6 and Brad Lidge entering the game. Lidge didn't pitch bad but an error by Howard, then an error by Bruntlett(possibly 2 errors by Easy E) they had men on base and scored a run making it 9-7. With runners on 1st and 2nd and nobody out, up stepped Jeff Francoeur and on a 2-2 count the runners took off for a double steal. Francoeur hit a line drive up the middle that looked like a single and possible game tying hit. Bruntlett was in the perfect spot to snare the line drive, step on 2nd base and tag a back peddling Daniel Murphy for the unassisted triple play to end the game. It was only the 2nd one in MLB history to end the game and only the 15th in MLB history. The crowd, players, and announcers were all stunned at what just occurred and it happened so quickly. Bruntlett got a Sunday start to give All-Star 2nd baseman Chase Utley some rest and also got 3 hits on the day to raise his average to a stunning .154. Triple Play or not, please cut him. He stinks. With the win the Phils moved to 21 games over .500 with a 71-50 record. They now hold a 6.5 game lead over the Braves and 7.5 over the Marlins in the NL East. Tonight the General Cliff Lee(4-0) looks to end the series against Bobby Parnell(3-5) at Citi Field.

Bruntletts Unassisted Triple Play

Heading to the Shore for the Weekend, F*ck the Mets

To all of those Philly faithful that are taking the trip up to New York this weekend, have fun, drink up and support the defending World Champs. Usually there would be fights breaking out in the nose bleed seats and lots of trash talking going on, but the Mets suck this year and they have no hope left. The franchise, team, fan base, everything is a mess. So when you go to the game, enjoy watching the World F*cking Champions play excellent baseball and if a Mets fan gives you any shit, just show em the ring. I will be watching the games down at numerous watering holes at the Jersey Shore....vacation baby.

Go Phils.

Phils Sweep Arizona, Werth & Howard continue Home Run Derby Contest

Jayson Werth hit his 4th home run in 3 games and Ryan Howard once again homered as the Phillies completed a 3 game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks with a 12-3 win last night in South Philly. Country Joe Blanton pitched 8 solid innings to earn the win improving to 8-6 on the year. Blanton did allow 10 hits and 3 runs but he got the outs when he needed them. Chad Durbin came into the game for the 9th with the game and series pretty much already done with. For the third straight night a Phillies pitcher also got 2 hits at the plate proving that this offensive machine is not just limited for the 1 thru 8 hitters, everyone gets in on the action. The win was the Phillies 4th in a row, eighth of nine. They now hold a 6.5 game lead over the Braves and Marlins.

Up next for the Phils is a ride up north against our rivals the New York Mets for a 4 game set. On the mound for game 1 is Cole Hamels(7-7) and Mike Pelfrey(8-8).

Lee dominates D-Backs, takes no hitter into 6th. Phils win 8-1

Last night was one of those great summer nights down at the ballpark. Sell-out crowd, Brad Lidge bobblehead give away, home runs by the heart of the line up and a Cy Young performance by Phillies ace Cliff Lee. Lee took the mound last night for his 4th start in red pinstripes and once again he proved that Ruben Amaro Jr made one of the best trades in recent franchise history. Remember a few short weeks ago everyone in the Delaware Valley wanted a certain Toronto Blue Jays pitcher? Not anymore. Last night Lee improved his NL record to 4-0, pitching a no hitter into the 6th inning and only allowing 2 hits for the complete game victory. The only run scored for Arizona was unearned on a Pedro Feliz error in the 4th. "The General" tied a career high for strikeouts, fanning 11 and now has an era of only 0.82 and got his 2nd complete game in 4 starts. He is the reigning AL Cy Young Winner for a reason and he keeps proving it each time he takes the mound. He also went 2-4 at the plate. The long ball was in effect at CBP last night for our South Philly Bombers as Jayson Werth hit 2 solo shots with Ryan Howard connecting for a 3 run homer and Chase Utley joining in on the fun and putting one over the centerfield wall to pile up some runs. The Fightins have won 7 of 8 and improved to 68-49, 19 games over .500. They now have a 5 1/2 game lead over the Marlins and 6 1/2 lead over the Braves in the NL East.

The Phillies look to continue their winning ways and hope to get the brooms out for the sweep on the D-Backs tonight with Joe Blanton (7-6, 3.88) for the Phils and Doug Davis(7-10, 3.59) for Arizona.

Tonight is Brad Lidge Bobblehead night at the park and the game has been a sell-out for months now. Little did all of the people who have tickets know that two aces were going to be on the mound tonight with Dan Haren for the D-backs and "the General" Cliff Lee throwing heat for the Fightin Phils. I will be observing live from the game in section 145, left centerfield if anyone else is going to be down at the park. WFC

"Two Old Goats" get it done. Phils rattle D-Backs 5-1

Last night at CBP was the coming out party for Pedro. Jamie Moyer decided to come and crash it, showing up fashionably late. Martinez had his 2nd start for the Phillies and his first home start at CBP, pitching 3 innings before a hour and 6 minute rain delay sidelined him for the rest of the evening. Pedro gave up a long ball on the first batter he faced but then settled down striking out 3 and only giving up 2 hits. He was throwing some great pitches and located them confusing the batters in the early evening. Then the skies lit up, with rain, lightning and wind causing the delay. Not wanting to risk injury and knowing that they have a pair of long relievers in the pen now, the Phils turned to old faithful, Pop-Pop Jamie Moyer. Moyer came in and shut down the Diamondbacks for 6 innings, striking out 5 and only allowing 2 hits to get the win in the long relief outing. Jamie stepped up to the plate also with 2 hits himself for the night. Jayson Werth continued his career year with his 25th homer of the season going 2-4 on the night with 2 ribbies. One of the questions in the offseason was can Werth handle a full season as a everyday starter. That question has been answered and forgotten months ago as he continues to be the power right handed everyday bat the Phils need in this heavy left handed lineup. Chooch also had a stellar evening going 3-3 at the plate and hitting a dinger into the stands in left field and tallying 2 rbi's in the game. But the big story was Jamie Moyer coming in the game and shutting down the opposition for 6 innings. This is why Moyer coming out of the bullpen is gonna work. He was fresh, can come into the game and throw multiple innings not just a few outs and get the job done. This will work for games when our starter gets lit up early, rain delays and especially those games that go several extra innings. I don't think this will rattle the management into sitting Pedro and starting Moyer but it is nice to know that they have a viable option to throw several innings out of the pen along with Chan Ho Park.

The Phils are 67-49 on the season and are still ahead of the Marlins by 4 1/2 games in the East. The Marlins refuse to sit down and die and continue to win games, which could make the 2 series against them in late September more interesting then the Phillies would like. Still alot of baseball to be played in the season with around 40 games to go.

Phillies Legend of The Day

You Remember Travis Lee.....Don't you?? He came to Philadelphia as part of that GAAAWWDDD AWWWFUUULL trade the sent schill to the Diamondbacks. Heralded as our first baseman of the future this slick hitting surehanded prospect was going to be the compliment to Scotty Rolen's power and midwestern grit.

Well things don't always go as planned. Lee's time in Philly was anything but spectacular. During his 3 year tenure as a Phil Lee posted highs of .265-20-90......and we won't even begin about the lack of slick!

Well Travis we didn't like you and hope you never come back.....ButI'll never tell that to those handsome eyebrows...Welcome to our Hall Of Legends!!

PhillIes Legend Of the Day

The Machine....Matt Beech.

How does a professional pitcher start 42 games over the course of two season and only win 7 of them?? That my friend is a good question and one that Matt Beech should have an answer for. Because of your dubious achievment...your "legendary" status will always live on.

Ryan Howard...King of the Long Ball

Sorry for the delay on some of the posts this weekend but I was away on vacation down in North Carolina. I was wearing a new Eagles hat I recently purchased and some of the hicks...I mean sons of the soil tried to yell at me for the Eagles signing Michael Vick. In true Philly fashion I gave them the middle finger and told them to shut the F*ck up before I throw my beer at their head. Anyway it was a very newsworthy couple of days in the city of brotherly love but lets talk about last nights rain delayed Phils game. J.A. Happ took the mound and proved once again that he is a legit major league starter and will continue to help the champs in their quest to repeat this year. Happ threw plenty of junk at the Braves and went 7.2 innings allowing 3 hits and only 1 run. The Phillies realized that you don't need to put Brad Lidge in the game until he only needs one out, so he recorded an easy save(Thank God). The lone run producer for the Fightins was none other then #6 Ryan Howard as he hit 2 bombs last night, a solo shot in the 2nd and then a 3 run blast in the 6th to go 3 for 3 on the night with 4 ribbies. Throughout his entire professional career the big guy always seems to get hot in August & September and whips up home runs like a diner whips up pancakes. Howard now has 30 homers, 91 rbi's and is batting .269 for the year. Keep it up big man.
The Phillies have a off day Monday but they return home for a 3 game set with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Making his CBP debut is none other then Pedro Martinez(1-0) against Jon Garland(6-10) Tuesday night. Wednesday night should be a doozie with 2 aces on the mound Dan Haren & Cliff Lee battling it out. The series ends on Thursday evening with Country Joe Blanton(7-6) facing off against Doug Davis(7-10). Then its off to shiti field for a 4 game series with the Mets that should have meant something but the Metroplitans just aren't that good this year.

Phils come into the tepee take game 1

The last time the Phils came through Atlanta they were swept back home licking their wounds. Well don't count on that for this series cause the Phightns have taken game 1 in the tepee.

Relying on the home run and super center fielder Shane Victorino the Phils won tonight 3-2.

The Phils have now won 4 straight and look to rattle the Braves with another win tomorrow at 4.

Phillies Legend Of the Day

"Pinky".......Nough Said....

The General Lee Storms through Chi Town...Phils Sweep

Another Cliff Lee outing...Another 8 strong innings...

Cliff Lee and the boys just finished a three game sweep of the Cubbies with an impressive 6-1 Beatdown. Ryno and Pedro hit four baggers in the top ofthe 4th off of Ryan Dempster and the Phils cruised.

The most impressive thing with Lee so far is not that he has been able to go 8 strong in all of his apperances but the fact that they have been against three of the best teams in the NL (Giants, Rockies,Cubs).

The Phillies now head to Atlanta for a VERY important series. The last time they visited the Bravos they were swept and outscored 21-7 over the course of three games. So trying to avoid a repeat of that would be nice....

Nobody ever said that repeating would be easy.

Eagles - Pats Rooftop View

So just like every other douche outlet we will be providing what to look for in tonight's scrimmage...err....preseason game.

But if you want the obvious "keep a look out for Joe Mays" line then take your eyes elsewhere cause this is for readers who truly have no lives. So onto the list:

D-Jax speed within his speed.
All Summer long we have heard about Desean Jackson's second year being explosive. Andy Reid says last year Jackson was playing on pure ability and was trying to fully grasp the system and thus did not know how to fully utilze his speed within the game (parapharsing).

The big story this year is that Jackson is well versed in the ways of the west coast offense and ready to be unleashed. Andy Reid says he is going to be huge, Brian Baldinger picked him to be the NFC's breakout receiver this year and Ray Didinger thinks he is ready to take it to th next level. Will we start to see flashes of that tonight??

Winston Justice at right tackle
Don't groan like some dumbass fan when you read this name. Of course you will think of the Giants game and of course you will say "this guy is a bum" but somthing is different in Justice. I was watching him on Sunday at camp and he was more then holding his own.Some people need time to mature mentally (Cough* Vince Young * Cough) before they can be the person others expect them to be.

Sean Jones play in the secondary
This guy can hit plain and simple. I watched half of Clevelands season last year and he was always around the ball and involved in turnovers. That was for a defense that was beyond dreadful and quit on its coach 20 minutes into the season. This is the perfect system for him and he is going to be making plays.

Special Teams returners
Pay no attention to the coverage units because most of them are just bodies. But who will be returning punts and kicks tonight?? Would you want to sacrifice Jackson to the special teams if he is going to be as good as people say or would you want Maclin back there to see what he has to offer in terms of being a weapon and performing in this league. Also will Demps be returning kickoffs tonight if he is going to start?? If he is viewed as a starter would they risk an injury for a position that right now is in a little bit of transition??

So these are questions you really should be looking at on top of the fairly obvious for tonight.

ENJOY!

Phillis Legend of the day Returns!!!

Apologies for not posting over the past two weeks...traveling for work. But excuses aside we are back and ready to roll. So without further ado here is today's legend:

"The Wonder Dog" Rex Hudler....

In 1998 the Philadelphia Phillies were the team that washed up veterans signed with in order to stay in the bigs...only to eventually realize that their careers were really over. Rex Hudler was one of those players.

His two year stay in Philadelphia covered 75 games and a final season batting average 0f .122 (ouch). So for not realizing your time was finished and trying to stick it out as long as possible today "WonderDog" let Rooftop Bleachers be your fire hydrant and Salute You!!

Why waste a beer? Stupid Cubs fan

Pedro Gets The Job Done, Bats Wake Up in 12-5 beating of the Cubs

The much anticipated start of Pedro Martinez turned out well for the Fightin Phils as they rolled to a 12-5 victory over the Cubs last night. Pedro struck out 5 in 5 innings of work and had some good velocity on his pitches and his location was better then expected. It is a little to soon to completely evaluate what Pedro will do for this team but it is nice to have another right handed pitcher in the rotation who is a big game pitcher. What I liked about Pedro's start last night was he threw strikes. In the early going Pedro ended a few innings with strike outs and gained confidence early on. This is still only his first start in over a year and he will only get better and more comfortable. The offense got going last night in a big way, "Everybody Hits.....WoooHooo!!!" type of night. Victorino tripled in the first, followed up with a double by Utley and then Big Brown, Mr. Howard trucked around the bases with a head first sliding triple to put the Phils up 2-0 before Martinez even stood on the mound. Then in the third Victorino sent a 2 run blast deep to right field to put the Phils up 4-1. The 4th inning the South Philly Bombers put up a snowman on the Cubbies in one of the more exciting offensive innings all year. The Phils batted around plus 2 with 2 of the outs coming from the pitcher in that inning. Rollins and Ibanez both hit 3 run homers that inning and Werth had a single and a double and Feliz reached base twice with a pair of singles. With a 12-1 lead now all Pedro had to do was not implode and he successfully did that. I got argued with during the game for saying that it would have been a lot closer if Moyer was on the mound but I don't care what others was saying. Pedro is gonna do a much better job then what Moyer has been doing lately and he gives the Phillies a better chance of winning.

Later on in the game with the bases loaded and 1 out, a deep fly ball was hit to center where Victorino went under it to catch it. Some idiot Cubs fans decides to throw a plastic cup of beer at Victorino right as the ball was going into his glove. Of course since this is in Chicago the national media seems to ignore such bad behavior by the lovable cubby fans. If this was in Philly, we would be hearing it over and over again. More on this topic later.

Today the Phillies go for the sweep in a Thursday afternoon matinee with the General Cliff Lee on the mound against Ryan Dempster.

Ray Emery gets the idea.....

When the Flyers signed goalie Ray Emery this offseason, everyone knew about his past troubles. Maybe what they didn't know is that Emery knows what Philadelphia fans love, and that is our own hometown hero's. Emery revealed his new goalie mask for the 2009-2010 season and painted on there is 3 of Philly's boxing legends including Bernard "the Executioner" Hopkins, Smokin Joe Frazier and the most famous fictional character in Philadelphia history Rocky holding the American flag after defeating Ivan Drago in Rocky IV. In the upcoming season there will be some ups and downs for the new goalie but Razor Ray Emery could bring back the style of play as one of the most beloved Flyers in franchise history....Ron Hextall. I am posting the over/under for fights that Razor gets in this year at 4. And yes I am praying for the over, along with him getting a ton of wins and leading this team deep into the playoffs and hoisting the Stanley Cup in the air at the very end. Welcome to Philadelphia Ray Emery, you definitely just gained some points with the Flyers faithful and you haven't even played 1 game yet.

Francisco hits GW Homer in 12th, Phils win 4-3

The Phils went to Wrigley this week needing to get back on track and keep ahead of the now surging Florida Marlins. It wouldn't be an easy task with Cubs ace Rich Harden on the mound last night and especially with the sudden offense-less Phillies struggling with runners in scoring position. Harden had a no hitter going into the 6th inning and was holding a 2-0 lead over J.A Happ, who didn't pitch great but didn't pitch bad either. Chooch got on base with a walk and up stepped the captain of the defending world champs Jimmy Rollins. Rollins ripped one through the wind and into the seats in right field to tie the game at 2. With the no-no, no more and the game tied at 2, things were looking better for the WFC. Carlos Marmol helped the Phils out in the 8th by walking Ruiz, hitting Victorino with a pitch, then walking Utley and Howard to give the Phils a 3-2 lead. Why did Piniella keep Marmol in? I don't know, and I don't care. With the lead now, the Phils went to the bullpen to help close things out. Chan Ho Park has been excellent since being in the pen and struck out 2(should have been 3, the umps strike zone was non existent last night) to close the 7th. Madson came in and struck out 2 in the 8th to shut the Cubs down again. Now into the bottom of the 9th and in comes Brad Lidge. I almost wanted to change the channel and not watch hoping that when I flipped back to the game it would be the post game show talking about the Phils win, but no... I like the rest of Phillies nation watched in fear as our closer came into the game. Lidge decides that in order to snap a losing streak you must blow the save in an opposing teams ballpark and go extra innings. Lidge now has an era of 7.29 and whenever I see him on the mound now he just doesn't look right. Where is that look, the look that says I am gonna stike you out and make you look stupid stare? He doesn't have it right now. He hasn't had it since last October. This is worrying me more then the 5th starter mix up, the quiet bats the past week, or the Florida Marlins. Is this guy gonna blow it in the playoffs for us this year? Time will tell and Uncle Charlie will have to decide what to do. The rest of the bullpen after Lidge did a good job with Tyler Walker, Scott Eyre, and Chad Durbin closing it out for the save. But the hero of the night was newly aquired OF Ben Francisco. Francisco was the "extra piece" in the Cliff Lee trade and has helped out more then anyone has expected wearing the red pinstripes. In the 12th Francisco hit a 1-1 pitch into the basket that hangs over the left field wall to pull the Phils ahead 4-3. "Playing winning baseball this late in the season, that's what we all play for," said Francisco, who had been toiling for AL also-ran Cleveland before coming to Philadelphia on July 29. The Phillies are glad to have him as we head to the last few weeks of the season.

Up next for the Phillies is the much anticipated start for Pedro Martinez against Jeff Samardzija(1-1). I wonder why the game is on ESPN tonight??? I know I am not missing this start.

Lets forget about being swept by the Marlins and move ahead to the Cubs.

I apologize for not posting any updates this weekend but I was busy and apparently I am less motivated to post when there isn't much good news. So the Phillies got swept by the 2nd place Marlins and the NL East lead of 7 games is now at 4. So what. All this means is that the past month of baseball has basically evened itself out. Up next for the Fightins is those lovable losers the Chicago Cubs who are 2 games back from the Cardinals in the NL Central. But the Phillies get a day off Monday and fly out to Wrigley Field to face Rich Harden at 8:05 Tuesday night. So for now, everyone relax, admire the Championship Rings and lets get back to our winning ways on Tuesday.

Lee Wins Home Debut as Phils Win Rubber Match Against Rockies 3-1

Welcome to Philly Cliff Lee. On a cloudy Thursday afternoon down in South Philadelphia the Phillies beat the Rockies 3-1 to take the series advantage and head into weekend series against the Fish. Newly aquired ace Cliff Lee made his CBP debut lasting 7 strong innings and striking out 9 and only allowing 1 run. Jimmy Rollins continued his hot streak and fell a home run short of hitting for the cycle with 2 runs and 3 hits. Catcher Paul Bako hit a solo home run as well to put the Phillies up 3-1 in the 5th and that was all the "General Lee" needed to put away the Rockies. With his pitch count getting high and due up to bat in the 8th, Ryan Madson stepped in to close down the 8th inning and closer Brad Lidge entered in the 9th(everyone was a little nervous) but he got the job done and got his 21st save of the season with 2 strikeouts that inning. The Phillies now have a 7 game lead over the Marlins and Braves and the Fish come into town for a weekend series, where the Fightins can really put some distance between them and the rest of the NL East. Friday night at CBP is Country Joe Blanton (7-5) vs Ricky Nolasco(7-7).

Welcome to Philly Cliff Lee.

Pedro strikes out 11 in 6 innings of work at Double A- reading in Rehab start

On a night when J.A. Happ threw an absolute gem, Pedro Martinez was possibly making his final rehab start at Double A-Reading. He didn't dissapoint striking out 11 batters he faced in 6 innings of work. He allowed 3 runs and 5 hits and didn't walk any batters he faced. Nine of his first 12 outs were by strikeout as he threw 82 pitches in the game. Pedro looked good and it looks like the Phillies management is gonna have some decisions to make on who gets to pitch in the starting rotation or they could go to a 6 man rotation. No matter what happens it should be an exciting 2nd half of the season as we push towards the playoffs.

Happ-y Days are Here. Phils shut out Rockies 7-0 on Happs gem

There has been questions on who goes to the bullpen and who stays in the starting rotation now that Pedro Martinez is almost healthy enough to join the team. Some say since J.A. Happ is the youngest and has done a stint in the bullpen before so he could be the best option. I say those people are crazy. Happ threw a 4 hit complete game shutout to improve to 8-2 on the year with a 2.74 ERA. It's his 2nd complete game shutout of the year. He also got 10 k's and threw 127 pitches. The battle for the 5th starting spot is between Moyer and Pedro, not Happ. He has proven this year that he belongs in the starting 5 but more importantly he is going to be the #4 starter in a playoff series when only 4 starters will be needed. Do you here that Charlie? J.A. made your decision a whole lot easier last night.

The Phillies also started hitting the long ball again last night and scored some runs the best way they know how. After getting a run in the first to pull ahead 1-0, Pedro Feliz hit a solo bomb in the 2nd followed up with J-Roll blasting a 2 run shot to go ahead 4-0. Then in the 5th inning Jayson Werth hit a 3 run opposite field shot to right that landed in the first row to put the Fightins up 7-0. That would plenty of run support for Happ as he finished the complete game.

The Phillies now hold a 6 game lead over the Florida Marlins in the NL East. Today is going to be the home debut of the newly acquired pitcher Cliff Lee. A business person special at 1:05pm and hopefully the rain can cooperate and we can see the Cy Young winner for the first time in red pinstripes. Cliff Lee(8-9) battles Aaron Cook(10-3) at CBP this afternoon.

Philadelphia Flyers Legend of the Day

Jeremy Roenick is about to retire this Thursday in San Jose, and we here at Rooftop Bleachers wanted to remember JR and his years as a Flyer. On July 2nd 2001 Jeremy Roenick signed with the Philadelphia Flyers as a free agent and played with the orange & black until 2005. Simply known as JR, he was one of the most exciting and vocal players to ever put on the Flyers crest and he was loved by all the Flyers faithful during and after his time here. He played in the NHL for 20 seasons for the Chicago Blackhawks, Phoenix Coyotes, Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, and the San Jose Sharks. During his career he finished up with 1216 points, 3rd most among American born NHL players, 513 goals, 703 assists, 9 All Star appearances, and was also a 2 time Olympian for the US. His press conference when he signed with the Flyers was memorable, bear hugging Ed Snider and telling all Flyers fans "Come on! I want to Win!" He was immediately a fan favorite and he backed it up on the ice. Roenick won the Bobby Clarke Award(Team MVP) and Yanick Dupre Memorial(Class Guy) in his first year. We remember the goal he scored in overtime against Toronto in the 2nd round of the playoffs to clinch the series. We remember on Halloween night he dressed up as Bobby Clarke with a wig & jersey during the pre game skate. We remember the interviews, the comments to reporters, the puck to the face and he still played in the playoffs in 2004. During a game in Air Canada Centre he gave Mark Recchi a big kiss when they were both on the kiss cam, also in a interview he sang Reunited to Tony Amonte and Amonte had to leave because he was laughing so hard. Even when he returned to Philly for the first time since being traded he was cheered by the Flyers fans(Something that rarely happens). JR you were one in a million, there is so many great moments you had in your career elsewhere and as a Flyer. I cannot begin to write enough about all of those accomplishments and memories, so enjoy some of the video clips below and think back as Jeremy Roenick, a great Philadelphia Flyer. Today we here at Rooftop Bleachers salute you Jeremy Roenick.

Phils lose 3rd straight, Moyer Struggles

The Phils lost to the wild card chasing Colorado Rockies Tuesday night 8-3, on a night the Phils bats continued to stay quiet with runners in scoring position. Jamie Moyer(10-8) struggled on the mound and gave up 6 earned runs in 5 innings of work. After getting out the Rockies in the first with ease, Moyer then let up a 2 run dinger to Garrett Atkins. The Phils had a chance to do some damage in the 3rd with the bases loaded but Ryan Howard struck out to end the inning. I believe I speak for many Phillies fans when I say it is really hard to watch Jamie Moyer pitch. Everytime he is on the mound he seems to let up a lot of hits which results in some big innings for the opposing batters. If he is not getting certain pitches on the corners called then he is pretty much going to have a bad game. Moyer leads the team in wins this season so far and I have no idea how that is. He is obviously the weak link in this starting rotation but is the type of pitcher who can't throw out of the bullpen because he is labeled as a "starter". Does this mean that we have to pull J.A. Happ out of the rotation and put him in the bullpen? Dumb idea. Happ has been a solid pitcher in this rotation and deserves to be starting games because he has been getting the job done. Now that there is a certain former 3 time Cy Young winner almost ready to make his Phillies debut, I say you skip Moyer's next start and put Martinez in there to see how he does. Can't be as bad as Moyer right? If Martinez stinks the place up, then put Lopez in the rotation for a start. Make these 3 guys fight for that 5th spot in the rotation for the remainder of the season. Get on it Charlie.

In South Philadelphia tonight lefty J.A. Happ(7-2) is on the mound against Rockies pitcher Jorge De La Rosa(9-7) as the Phillies look to snap out of this little losing streak they are on now. Good news is the Marlins blew a lead last night and the Phils still hold a 5 game lead in the NL East.

Will the Real Cole Hamels Please Stand Up??

Colbert Richard Hamels, is this really you? Is the regular season just an extended spring training stint for our young lefty until he dominates once again in the fall? I sure hope so. We know he is gonna be a multiple 20 game winner. We know he is gonna win a few Cy Young awards. Right? Almost 4 years in the bigs for Hamels and he has compiled a 45-29 record as a starter. This season he has had some great performances and then their are games like Sunday where he gets knocked around and makes an early exit. Are we expecting too much from our "Ace"? Is there an injury we are not aware of from our fragile Hollywood Hamels? Or is he saving the best for last? So I ask the question to you fellow fans of the Fightin Phils, Is this what Cole Hamels career is going to be like here in Philadelphia? Average to above average regular season, and a then a MVP caliber postseason. Is that even a bad thing? No. Maybe Little Lefty justs needs the spotlights shining down on him while he is on the big stage to show us that magical change up and that dissapearing curveball. So maybe this is the real Cole Hamels. As long as we get to see more moments like the picture above here in Philadelphia....thats fine with me.

Eagles sign 1st Rounder Maclin, Time to Show up to Camp Kid

The Eagles locked up there speedy 1st rounder Jeremy Maclin for 5 years and 15.5 million. 9.5 million of that money is guaranteed. Maclin hopefully can step right in with 2nd year starter DeSean Jackson and the two can cause havoc all over the grid iron for opposing secondaries. Will the nine days he missed of camp hurt the rookie? Donovan McNabb thinks not, "He's a rookie," McNabb said. "You all act like he's been in the league for five or six years. You don't know what he's going to do anyway. All we ask of him is to catch the ball and get up field and score. That's all we ask. I think for him, at this point, it's a business aspect of things that we've all been through. It's not like he's the only one who's holding out. He'll be here. We'll be able to get some work and be able to see what we can get out of him this year."
So now it's time for the kid to get to work and hopefully this will be the start of a great career in Eagles green.

Stewart Bradley suffers torn ACL....could be out for season

According to reports on 610 and ESPN 950 middle linebacker Stewart Bradley has suffered a torn ACL and could miss all of the 2009 season. Bradley started every game last year including the playoffs and was one of the young players on this Eagles team that contributed in big ways. Bradley was the lone defensive player that had a headset in his helmet for calling the plays. Omar Gaither could be the player to step in a fill the spot at middle linebacker.

Tiger wins 3rd Buick Open gets 69th career PGA Tour Win

Tiger Woods shot a 3 under 69 to win his 3rd Buick Open which was his 4th win of the year in only 11 starts. Oh yeah, that is twice as many as any other player on tour. Overall he was 20 under par at Warwick Hills, with the next best at 17 under for the week. This will be the last time General Motors will be hosting a tournament because they are ending their partnership with the PGA due to financial reasons. Tiger showed a little more emotion then usual towards the crowd tossing his ball into the gallery at 17 and then after 18 launching his ball back down the fairway towards the fans.(Something he rarely does) With this win Tiger moves into first place in the FedEx Cup standings and since the 2006 British Open Tiger has won 21 of 39 starts(54%). Stay tuned for more.

Phils come home after 3-4 West Coast Trip

It wasn't the Phillies pitching that was a problem this past week on the West Coast trip in Arizona & San Fran, it was knocking runners across home plate. The Phillies have a day off before they start a 6 game home stand with 2 teams that are fighting for a spot in the playoffs. First up they face the Colorado Rockies who are battling for that last wild card spot with the Giants. Then we face our division foes the Florida Marlins who we currently hold a 5 game lead on. Over the weekend newly aquired pitcher Cliff "General" Lee looked untouchable throwing a no-no through 5 1/3 innings and only allowing 1 run during his complete game. Cole Hamels didn't look so good yesterday getting roughed up and pulled in the 5th. This was Hamels first bad outing in over a month so hopefully this was just a little bump in the road to October. Joe Blanton has been pitching like an ace as of late and went head to head with pitching phenom Tim Linecum. Blanton pitched well but the Phils couldn't knock in any runs against the Cy Young pitcher even after succesfully hitting the ball against him. Well the Phils fly back to the east coast and head home to CBP with Jamie Moyer(10-7) on the mound against Jason Hammel(5-6) Tuesday night in South Philadelphia.

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.