Sweeping a team is always nice, but sweeping the Mets always feels just a little bit better.  Especially when that sweep happens under the bright lights in New York City (though only one of the games was actually under the lights.)

Photo Credit: BJ WIlson

The Phillies sent Kyle Kendrick to the mound.  Now my distaste for Kendrick is well, strong.  If you would like to read about my dislike, you can find it here, and here (in poem form!!!) and here, oh and here.  So yeah, Kyle Kendrick is not, umm, liked by me.

Which is why the Mets should be completely embarrassed that he somehow held them only 3 hits, while pitching a Complete Game Shut Out.  For some reason, he pitched very well.  I posted on Facebook the following message:

I currently live in a world where Kyle Kendrick just pitched a 3-hit CGSO against the Mets and has the lowest ERA on the Phillies staff.

It was good knowing you guys enjoy the apocalypse.

And I truly believe it.  The Phillies have a staff of Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay and, as of right now, Kyle Kendrick has the best ERA.  That’s just wrong.

» Continue reading “Phillies SWEEP Mets. That Always Feels Good.”

Last night, the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Pittsburg Pirates in one of my most underserving wins of the year.  They scored 2 of their 3 runs with a lot of help from Pirates.

Jonathan Pettibone, however, should be proud of how he pitched.  His major league debut really could not have gone much better.  Pettibone pitched 5 1/3 innings, gave up 6 hits, walked none, while striking out 6.  Two of those hits however, went into the stands.  Luckily, they were both solo shots and they were the only runs that the Pirates scored all night.

Photo Credit: BJ Wilson

The part that impressed me the most was how Pettibone was able to keep his composure after giving up the homeruns.  He seemed to take a deep breath, accept it as part of the game, and continue on pitching.  That is a good sign.

Now here’s the crazy part, Pettibone  had the audacity to walk in his first Major League Plate appearance.  Can you believe the nerve of him?  Doesn’t he know that walks do not equal production?  How could he have come through the Phillies farm system and  missed that important piece of information?

Oh, and he scored the first run for the Phillies on a Wild Pitch by AJ Burnett.  So, clearly, walks cannot turn into runs.  Oh wait…

That was the first time that the Pirates helped the Phillies to score.  In the fourth inning, Jimmy Rollins is hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded and scores Michael Young.  (Domonic Brown had the nerve to walk in this sequence.)  Oh yeah, the Phillies had the bases loaded with no outs, and are only able to score on Rollins being hit.  Umm, yeah, You’re 2013 Phillies!

Rollins does actually hit the ball in the bottom of the 6th to score Erik Kratz, in what would become the winning run.

In good news, the Bullpen pitched 3 and 2/3 innings of 2 hit ball and allowing no runs.

Anyway, Pettibone was impressive and the Phillies offense somehow did just enough to win the game.  Let’s see if he can do that again (assuming he gets the chance.)

In 2011, the Philadelphia Phillies assembled a rotation for the ages.  The Four Aces were spinning a historic season on the way to 102 wins.  While Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels were pitching their way into baseball lore and the record books, the rotation in High-A Clearwater was dubbed the “Baby Aces.”  

The Threshers boasted of 4 starters with high-ceilings and electric stuff.  (The fifth of these Baby Aces were in Low-A Lakewood.)  They terrorized the poor batters of the Florida State League.

The title of “Baby Aces” was given without much thought; especially considering their level at the time and that  two years is a lifetime in the baseball world.

Jarred Cosart was traded to the Houston Astros in the Hunter Pence deal.  Trevor May was traded to the Minnesota Twins for Ben Revere.  Brody Colvin stock has fallen every year.  And the youngest of them all, Jesse Biddle, has risen to the top.

The first of these kids will be making his Major League Debut tonight: Jonathan Pettibone.  At the age of 22, he will be the youngest Phillies starter since 2007 and the first player born in the 1990′s (makes you feel old, right?)

Pettibone development has come a long way.  He has consistently carried an ERA in the low to mid 3′s.  He can be a little wild, and may walk batters here and there because of it.  However, he does have the ability to turn around and strike the next guy out.

Unfortunately, he is off to a really slow start this year.  In his first 2 games at Lehigh Valley, he is 0-1 with a 9.64 ERA.  I do not know if he typically has rough Aprils and then settles down, but tonight he is going to be center stage for all to see.

Good luck tonight Jon!  Enjoy your first start and hopefully your first win.

It seems that Roy Halladay is at the center of every conversation that involves the Philadelphia Phillies, and with good  reason.  No one is quite sure what to expect from him this year, and the future Hall-of-Famer showed just why he will be a first rounder.

Photo Credit: BJ Wilson

Doc will get credit for a complete game, though he only pitched 7 innings.  He made two mistakes all night, and those two mistakes landed into the stands.  That’s ok, I’ll take those mistakes to get the rest of his pitching performance any day of the week.

It helped that he had 5 runs to work with after the first inning.  Those 5 runs started with Chase Utley drawing a 2-out walk, 4 games after their Phillies last walk.   Incidentally, the was after Ruben Amaro Jr went off about how he doesn’t care about walks, but about production.  Clearly he doesn’t understand how walks can be beneficial.

Ty Wigginton really helped the Phillies tonight.  It took for him to be on another team to do that.  On what should have been an easy grounder to third and ending the inning, turned into 2 runs for the Phillies as he overthrew first base.  Ben Revere followed with an RBI triple, his first multi-base hit of the year, and I would love to see more of it.

Domonic Brown is still sitting after straining a muscle, so of course Freddy Galvis is playing Left Field.  I mean, of course he is.  I have to hand it to the kid, he can flat out play defense, but, well, his offense…  Also, so one should probably teach him how to make sliding catches in the outfield.  I’m kind of surprised that he didn’t break his wrist here:

The Phillies would win the game 8-2 and it was a beautiful victory.  I want a lot more of them.  Now, let’s hope that they saved some runs for Cliff Lee tomorrow…

Hey!  That rhymed!

Anyway, early in Monday night’s game against the Cincinnati Reds, Ben Revere made what just might be the catch of the year.  I don’t care if this is just the second week of the season, this catch wins the award.  That’s just it.   It wins.  Even the people that run the MLB account agree:

It’s early, but @benrevere9 may have made the catch of the year tonight: atmlb.com/YqUT9b

— MLB (@MLB) April 15, 2013

Oh, the catch:

Oh and if that catch doesn’t make you love him, then this message on his glove will: