Archive for July, 2009

Happ Is Human: Phillies Lose to Cardinals

July 25th, 2009 BroadStreetHero

Yesterday was a busy day for me so I didn’t have time to express my views on the game last night.  Our air conditioner broke at the Jersey shore so I’ve been sweating profusely in 85 degree heat.  Anyway, back to baseball.  Overall, J.A. Happ didn’t pitch poorly, he was just a victim of good hitting.  I don’t know what it was about that 6th inning, but every hit that the Cardinals had was a bloop single that somehow found a way to fall.  It reminded me of that game Cole Hamels had earlier in the season where he allowed 10 hits, all of which were singles.  Happ suffered his first loss last night as the Phillies lost to the Cardinals 8-1.  He had good composure and control on his pitches, but in the 6th inning things fell apart.  Going into the game I felt like Happ would have a mediocre game due to all of the pressure that has been on him lately as a rookie pitcher in the spotlight, but he pitched admirably for the most part.

Who didn’t show up last night?  The Phillies lineup.  The Phillies had three or four innings where they stranded a man on 3rd base, showing that they couldn’t hit in the clutch at all.  It was a weird night.

I was in shock that Matt Holliday played in the game not even 24 hours after he was traded to the Cardinals.  That team is scary now.  Holliday and Pujols is a good 1-2 punch.  I wasn’t surprised that Holliday had 4 hits in the game.  The guy kills us, and he is one of my most hated players in the league.  I am one of the firm believers that he was out at home in that game against the Padres that got them into the playoffs in 2007.

The one thing about the Cardinals this year is that they have been unable to score runs and have relied on Pujols to carry them to 1st place in the NL Central.  Joel Piniero improved to just 9-9 on the season when he has an ERA under 3.00.  He could have 14 wins this season if the Cardinals provided him with more than 3.9 runs per start on average.  Anyway, now that they have added people like Matt Holliday, Mark DeRosa, and Julio Lugo, the Cards have a chance to ramp up the offense and be a real threat to the Phillies and Dodgers in the race for best team in the National League.

Posted in Phillies Tags: , , , , , , 4,693 Comments »

Who Says Nobody’s Perfect: Buehrle Tosses Perfect Game

July 23rd, 2009 BroadStreetHero

Less than two weeks after Jonathan Sanchez pitched a no hitter for the Giants, Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox was perfect. That’s correct, 27 men came to the plate to face Buehrle, and 27 men left with unhappy looks on their faces. Buehrle, already the proud owner of a no hitter, can now say he has thrown one of the 18 perfect games in MLB history. Mark is now 11-3 on the season while lowering his ERA to 3.28. As always, a perfect game isn’t purely on the pitcher. Gabe Kapler tried to play spoiler by hitting a towering drive to center field in the 9th inning, but DeWayne Wise made an amazing grab to preserve the perfect game, along with the no hitter and shutout.  I just had the pleasure of viewing that play and I couldn’t believe what I saw.  Truly incredible catch by Wise in center field, reaching his glove over the center field fence to save the perfect game for Buehrle.

It is truly an amazing feat to pitch a perfect game. I remember the last one that was thrown, when Randy Johnson mowed down the Atlanta Braves about five years ago. Mark Buehrle can now add this to his laundry list of accolades in the majors. He already has a World Series ring as part of the 2005 White Sox, he threw a no hitter in 2007, and now has a perfect game under his belt. Where is the love for this guy? He has a career 132-90 record as a starter and gets barely any recognition as one of the best pitchers in the game. With everyone talking about Roy Halladay, it’s about time that another pitcher stepped up. What’s even more impressive? He just pitched a perfect game against the defending AL Champion Rays. What a performance!

Posted in The Rest Tags: , , , , , , , 2,100 Comments »

The Emery Reign Begins: Biron to Islanders

July 22nd, 2009 BroadStreetHero
Emery and Biron have met before

Emery and Biron have met before

The Martin Biron Era (can you call his time here that?) has come to a close in Philadelphia.  Biron signed a one year deal with the New York Islanders today, joining Rick DiPietro and Dwayne Roloson in the battle for starting goaltender on the NHL’s worst team.  Earlier in free agency Flyers backup goaltender Antero Nittymaki also left the team, opting to play in Tampa Bay next season.

With the departure of these two goalies, the Flyers have put the pressure on recently signed goalie Ray Emery.  Emery, who signed with the Flyers earlier this summer, has been known to be a very skilled goaltender, but his off the ice antics has many people concerned.  Emery led the Ottawa Senators to the Stanley Cup Finals only two years ago, but last season he played for a team in the Russian Hockey League because nobody wanted to deal with his issues.  He left his Moscow based club after getting into a fight with an equipment manager, which was the latest of his off ice crimes (this happened on the bench though).

Emery did make the All Star team in Russia and posted very good numbers in goal, which is one of the factors that went into the reasons for the Flyers signing him.  Throughout his career, Emery has been involved in many incidents, including fighting former Flyer Martin Biron.  He also has been accused of threatening to kill a man while driving in Ottawa, and he earned numerous tickets when driving his Hummer around the city.

Even though there are all of these questions surrounding Ray Emery, I think that he will be a great addition to this Flyers team.  One thing he has is that fire to play, and to play well.  He stated that the reason he gets so mad is because he wants to win, and if he doesn’t win then it upsets him.  Isn’t that the attitude we want in a goalie?  He also knows that playing for the Flyers is his last chance to play in the NHL, and if he messes up again then he is done.  I hope that he makes the most of this opportunity because if he can be a solid #1 goalie, then the odds of the Flyers bringing the Stanley Cup back to Philly get stronger and stronger by the day.

Posted in Flyers Tags: , , , , , , 4,452 Comments »

Phillies Crash Back to Reality in Loss

July 22nd, 2009 BroadStreetHero
It was that kind of day for the Phillies

It was that kind of day for the Phillies

The last 10 games have been a showcase for the World Champion Phillies. They played great defense, had outstanding pitching from their starters and bullpen, and everybody in the lineup was hitting. I think playing a day game today threw them off. The Phillies took 2 of 3 from the Cubs, but couldn’t finish off the sweep, losing by a score of 10-5. Jamie Moyer lost his control in the 4th inning and for parts of the 5th, allowing 5 runs in that span, including 4 runs off of 5 hits in the 4th inning. Down 5-0, the Phillies rallied back, scoring three runs in the next two innings to make it a close game, but the bullpen was not there for the Phils today. Bad Durbin (Chad’s unfortunate cousin) allowed three runs in the 7th inning, stretching the lead to 8-3 Cubs. The Phils struck back with two runs of their own in the bottom of the 7th, but Brad Lidge sealed the game for the Cubs by pitching terribly in the 9th, allowing them to jump out to another 5 run lead, which they ultimately kept. Poor pitching, unproductive hitting, and shoddy bullpen work combined for the Phillies first loss in a fortnight.

Hey, they’re still 14-4 in July and are 14 games above .500.  Two bright spots in the game were Greg Dobbs and Pedro Feliz, who each went 2-5 with 2 RBIs.  Raul Ibanez start today, and in my opinion his stellar play has earned him a day off.  He should be rested and ready to play more All Star quality ball at home against the Padres and Cardinals before the Phillies head to the west coast for a date with the Diamondbacks and Giants.

Tomorrow the Phillies play a make up game against the hapless Padres. I expect the winning ways to start up again.  Cole Hamels is on the mound tomorrow for the Phils.  He has been shaky this season and is currently 5-5.  The bullpen got a lot of work this week, so look for Cole to try to go 7+ innings to save some tired arms.

Posted in Phillies Tags: , , , , , , , , 5,082 Comments »

Lucky Number 13: Jayson Werth Walkoff HR Wins It

July 21st, 2009 BroadStreetHero
Jayson Werth picked a good time for his first walk off HR.

Jayson Werth picked a good time for his first walk off HR.

What a time to hit your first walk off home run! After walks to Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez, Jayson Werth stepped up to the plate against hard throwing former Notre Dame tight end Jeff Samardzija, and he responded by crushing a fastball into the seats in left field. The Phillies win 4-1, their 10th straight win, and stay 6.5 games in front of the Braves in the NL East.

Hitting was not the story tonight. The Phillies pitching staff was brilliant tonight. Joe Blanton pitched 7 excellent innings. The bullpen pitched a 6 inning no hitter, highlighted by Chan Ho Park who pitched a perfect 3 innings of relief with 5 strikeouts, showing how dominant he has become.  I think his spectacular beard is intimidating hitters. Clay Condrey pitched for the first time since I don’t remember when and got his career high 6th win of the season. Madson and Lidge also pitched perfect innings in the game.

The Phillies have their longest winning streak (10 games) since 1991, and are now 53-38 on the season. This team is red hot and so much fun to watch right now. With the way we are playing the Blue Jays will be begging us to trade them something for Halladay.

Share your thoughts on tonight’s great pitcher’s duel, capped off by a 3 run shot by Jayson Werth!

Posted in Phillies Tags: , , , , , , , , 2,295 Comments »
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