Four of a Kind

Well, I meant to write this when it was relatively breaking news, but since it has been out almost all day, I guess I kind of missed it. Something about final exams is messing with my blog writing. Anyway, how about Cliff Lee being a Phillie again? We now have the undisputed best rotation in baseball. With Roy squared, the Cole Train, and now General Lee, who can compete with that? Not only that, but two of them are left-handers and two of them are right-handers. With this type of rotation, the opponent will see a different side of the plate every night except for when whoever the number five starter turns up being because he will have a left-hander before or after him and a right-hander on the other side. When you couple this with one of the most prolific offenses in baseball, we have a wrecking machine being assembled. Although we lost Jayson Werth to Washington, I think our offense still has plenty of pop to support this pitching staff which I quite honestly think will not need much run support. The off-season still is not over, so let's see what other teams have in store to improve and try to fight with the Phillies!

Do or Die

Okay, it is official. The Phillies are choking. There is no way we should have lost that game last night. Honestly, I was shocked that Roy Oswalt pitched the ninth. He is a great pitcher, and I will not argue with that. However, my question is why Brad Lidge wasn't pitching. I figure that Charlie Manuel was probably saving him for when the Phillies got the lead later in the game. I appreciate this, but as was obviously shown, you can't get the lead later if the game ends in the ninth. Don't get me wrong, I think Roy Oswalt is an excellent pitcher, but Brad Lidge is trained by the ninth inning; he is a closer for that reason. Again, I appreciate the idea of saving Brad Lidge for the final three outs, but unless you're ahead, there'll be no final three outs. So, tonight is do or die time. Luckily, we have Halladay, Oswalt, and Hamels for our final stand. There is not any staff I would rather have to hold onto this series. All of them have made big starts in the playoffs before (Halladay's no-hitter a few weeks ago, Oswalt's gem in game two, and Hamels' in previous World Series), so I know that they are capable of it. We can make it, but it is definitely an uphill battle.

Add a Win!

For any Phillies fans who are reading my blog, you must have been excited about Roy Oswalt last night. He was in top form and outdueled Jonathan Sanchez which was impressive. I will say though I was slightly confused when I saw the lineup card. It seemed so weird to see Chase Utley batting second and Placido Polanco batting third. Of course, it does make sense because of Sanchez being a left-handed pitcher and this lineup split up the left-handed bats of Utley and Ryan Howard. I guess that is why Charlie Manuel is manager and not me. When he leads us to another National League Championship, we will be only the fifth team in National League history to win three in a row. How awesome would that be? Not only would we have one of the only two no-hitters in postseason history, but we would also be seen as one of the best teams over a period of three years in National League history. Of course, we have a ways to go before we finish off this series. We still have to get through at least Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum again everyone to finish off this. However, I know we can do it!

Moving On!

So anyone who watched the Phillies last night should be impressed. How many times do you have two shutouts in a three game series? Well, I'm not really sure, but at least once! I cannot believe how sloppy the series was though. There were so many errors by both teams, but I'm happy that we came out on top of course. The best part is that our rotation stays intact though. Because we were able to win in three, Roy Halladay was able to only throw in game one which is important because now he is able to start game one of the NLCS. Oswalt will be able to go game two, and Hamels will pick up game three. I'm not sure who will take game four, but I would bet on Joe Blanton. We haven't seen him for a while, and he is more than adequate to beat the Braves or the Giants. Of course, I never want to guarantee anything because I have a bad track record on guaranteeing, but I know that the Phillies will have a really great chance to win this series. If they don't, there are none to blame but themselves.

Preview

So now it is official, but I would go even farther to say that it is Facebook official because I have seen it on Facebook. The Phillies are playing the Reds starting on Wednesday at 5:07. You know, I wouldn't have believed ESPN when they said it, but when I saw that on Facebook I knew it had to be true. The question now changes to who will win? Well, my totally biased opinion is that the Phillies will win simply on the strength of our pitching. I know that Roy Oswalt had a tough day yesterday, but I'm not too worried about him because it is always different for a starting pitcher to come out of the bullpen. Hamels, Oswalt, and Halladay can match anyone the Reds will throw. Then, you have to look at the offense where the Phillies have power throughout the lineup. Personally, I'm hoping that Placido Polanco and Carlos Ruiz can get their elbows straightened out. So, I definitely feel like the Phillies have the upper hand in this matchup, but you have to remember my bias. I always encourage everyone to look at the primary source, so go look at the stats so that you can make your own position.

Start With Atlanta

After the Phillies won on the walkoff homerun last night, I feel like they are in pretty good shape. The only problem is that we play Atlanta tonight for a three-game series. With only a three-game lead, we better not get swept or else the lead is gone. However, we will not get swept because we have the best threesome in baseball coming in the series. For those of you who don't know, that would mean Cole Hamels, Roy Oswalt, and the doctor Roy Halladay. That triumvirate can knock out any three Atlanta might throw, but what I'm really concerned about is the offense. The Phillies offense has been far too inconsistent this year for me to bet on them on any given night. However, I also know that we have one of the most dynamic offenses when they are being productive. Very few lineups can match up with the power that Philadelphia can bring. Incidentally, how about Jayson Werth becoming a Scott Boras client? He's going to finish well hopefully, and then he will make a monster paycheck. I just hope that the Phillies can hold on to him, but I guess if we can't, Dominic Brown will have to take over in the future and become a consistent contributor.
Photo by Bess Sadler on Flickr

Sayonara Ducks

It is with great remorse that I announce the final loss of the Ducks. We have officially been knocked out of the playoffs, so I must now part ways with so many big performers this year. For one, Evan Longoria has come up huge at the hot corner and Casey McGehee gave me enough flexibility at second to be able to deal Ian Kinsler midway through the season for Roy Oswalt when I heard rumors that he would be traded. Fortunately, my team as well as the Phillies benefited from this pickup. While talking about my pitching staff, it wouldn't be complete without the outstanding work of Mr. Ubaldo Jimenez. The guy is an absolute stud on the mound, and he single-handedly carried my team on many occasions. Of course, there was some nice supplemental work by Joakim Soria and Scott Baker. For much of the year, I had too many good outfielders, but Alex Rios and Adam Dunn led the pack for my boys as we had a good year but not ideal. Hopefully, we will come back stronger in the future. Instead of Remember the Titans, now we all have to Remember the Ducks!
Sorry I don't have the URL for that image

Potentially Champs

So, the Phillies are closing in on Atlanta as they are now only two games behind in the race for the NL East. However, the Phillies are still two games ahead in the wild card, so if the playoffs started today, I would still be relatively happy because I know we can beat anyone on any given day when the offense is clicking. Honestly, I do not think there is any team that can even approach the Phillies offensively. The only problem is that the offense has been incredibly unreliable this season. However, I know that if we dropped down to the shorter rotation headlined by Ray Halladay and Ray Oswalt alongside former World Series MVP Cole Hamels and the somewhat sporadic Joe Blanton we could definitely score plenty of runs to support these guys as well as our less-than-perfect bullpen. It seems as if we haven't quite lived up our whole potential throughout the full season, but we are definitely looking better now. I definitely do not think that a third consecutive National League crown is unbelievable. It is online to be an issue of potential. If we play as good as we can, I do not believe there is anyone who can stop the Phils.
Photo by micholitzii on Flickr

Baseball Trade Rumors Revealed!

Since the trade deadline is rapidly approaching, I wonder if there will be any major moves. Certainly, Cliff Lee being traded for the second year in a row at the deadline is significant as well as Dan Haren moving to the Angels. I have heard about a few other rumors as well. There has been talk about Prince Fielder, but I do not think that he would move midseason if ever. He is a franchise player, so I would be surprised anyway if he moved. Adam Dunn has also been rumored to leave the Nationals, and I wouldn't be surprised if the Nationals indeed trade him away to build a younger core that will complement Stephen Strasburg in the future. Another rumor that I am particularly excited about is Roy Oswalt leaving the Astros. Why am I excited? Because according to what I read on MLBtraderumors.com, several media sources say that Oswalt is headed to the Phillies. Of course, making this trade would mean parting ways with most likely JA Happ, but I think that Oswalt could be a major part of our rotation for the rest of the season and has options in his contract so we can keep him for longer if we want to. All in all, I don't think that this year will get much busier on the trade deadline, but I have been known to be wrong, so we will see.
Photo by Aidan Jones on Flickr

Houston, We Have a Problem

Right now, I am desperately hoping that Roy Oswalt gets traded very soon. When a guy has had almost every start be a quality start, it has a way of getting people's attention. Mainly, he grabbed my attention; he grabbed my attention enough that I was willing to trade away Ian Kinsler for him. That may not seem like a great move because good hitting second baseman are so scarce, but I also have Casey McGehee who's been even hotter than Ian. That way as well will allow me to reenter Alex Rios into my lineup, and he had been having better production than Ian anyway over the last month.

Just because Oswalt has been pitching in Houston and has a 3-7 record, you never hear about his other awesome numbers. For example, he has struck out over a batter per inning (72 strikeouts in 71 1/3 innings), his WHIP is down at 1.079 which basically means he only allows one base runner per inning on average, and his ERA is at 2.77 which is definitely better than most. So, I need him to be put any team that would give him some runs since he has been receiving one of the lowest run supports in baseball to get me some wins and make this trade worthwhile.
Photo by Rich Anderson on Flickr