Image courtesy of: limecandy.onsugar.com

I was going to write this post up after last night’s game ended, but wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to say. And to be honest, I’m still not sure.

The game definitely did not end the way I had hoped or wanted it to.  But it is what it is.  The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Phillies 1-0, eliminating them from the playoffs.

Complete Box Score Phillies/Cardinals – Game5 NLDS 10/7/11

Sure Roy Halladay gave up a run in the first inning, but that run was all he gave up.  What he needed was assistance from his offense which clearly he did not get.  A one run lead shouldn’t have been enough for the Cards to advance but sadly it was.  Even with 102 wins in the regular season the offense wasn’t always there and last night it was their undoing.

Third baseman Placido Polanco and first baseman Ryan Howard both had .105 batting averages in the NLDS series.  Catcher Carlos Ruiz had a .057 batting average while right fielder Hunter Pence had .211.  After Games 1 and 2, the offense just faded.  And no matter how great a team’s pitching is, got to have a strong offense to back it up.

Watching Howard walk up to the plate in the bottom of the ninth, with two outs and nobody on, was eerily reminiscent of last year’s NLCS against the San Francisco Giants.  That’s when Howard struck out looking to end that series.  Well last night,  the entire series once again laid on Howard’s big shoulders and he failed to deliver yet again.  Though he did manage to make contact with the ball, it was playable and Howard was thrown out at first.  But he never even made it to first base, he somehow tripped up exiting the box and injured his achilles (left ankle).

“I was trying to run and I just felt this pop, and the whole thing went numb like it was on fire,” Howard said. “I tried to keep going and went down. It literally felt like I was on a flat tire. I tried to get up, [but I] just couldn’t go.”

Howard said he may have hit his Achilles with his bat during his final swing of the 2011 season. Howard had been dealing with bursitis and an assortment of other foot injuries for the latter part of the summer, but he never was told continued pressure on those joints and ligaments would increase the risk of a serious injury. – Phillies.com

Howard who had to be helped off the field while the Cards were celebrating no less, is scheduled to have an MRI on Saturday to see what if any damage was done.

So the offense was a bust as a whole, but I must tip my hat to St. Louis’ Chris Carpenter, who was very impressive.  Going up against Doc for the first time must have been both exciting and intimidating at the same time.  But Carpenter prevailed and helped his team advance to the NLCS to face the Milwaukee Brewers.

As a Philadelphia sports fan, I am used to the disappointment.  Because other than the Phillies World Series win in 2008, I have watched the Philadelphia Eagles (NFL) and Philadelphia Flyers (NHL) choke year after year.  Doesn’t make it any easier but I’ve come to expect it.  The moment Cliff Lee re-signed with the team back in December 2010, this Phillies team was predicted to go all the way .  With the 4 Aces and then the acquisition of Pence, this team was built to win.  But sometimes it just doesn’t work out that way.

Jimmy Rollins who stepped it up in the playoff series, is in the final year of his contract.  So his future with the Phillies is unknown at this time.  Raul Ibanez and closer Ryan Madson are also at the end of their contracts.

Overall the Phillies had a great year, but sadly because they didn’t make it past the NLDS, some will feel it was a bust and having the best record in all of baseball didn’t mean squat.

Not sure what the future holds for this team but guess we will find out as their off season begins.  SADLY!!!

I want to congratulate the St. Louis Cardinals, their Aerys Site Aaron Miles’ Fastball and its lead writer Christine Coleman!  Good luck in the National League Championship Series.

Ben Francisco - Photo credit: Steve Trapani

Phillies won Game 3 but it wasn’t easy.  The Cardinals put up a fight and Ryan Theriot‘s bat was hot tonight.  In fact, he is now referred to on twitter as ‘Cody Ross Theriot‘ thanks to last year’s playoffs where San Francisco Giant Cody Ross was a major thorn in the Phillies’ side.

And to make matters worse, Cole Hamels threw WAY too many pitches early on.  I won’t say he did poorly, because he didn’t, its just the Cardinals’ offense made him work.  He pitched six innings, gave up five hits, no runs, walked three, and struck out eight.  And though he didn’t go as deep into the game as he would have liked (his pitch count was at 117) he still got the win.

The game was scoreless until the seventh inning.  That’s when Shane Victorino lead the inning off with a single then stole second base.  With two outs, St. Louis lefty Jaime Garcia intentionally walked Carlos Ruiz then had to face pinch hitter Ben Francisco.  That’s when I said to myself, “It’d be a great time to hit one out Ben!”  He must have heard me because he delivered a 3-run shot to left-center field, putting the Phillies up 3-0.

Reliever Vance Worley replaced Hamels in the seventh and gave up three hits and one run.  Antonio Bastardo threw in the eighth and gave up a hit to Theriot, then Brad Lidge replaced Bastardo and gave up singles to both Matt Holliday and Rafael Furcal.  Ryan Madson was brought in to get the Phillies out of the eighth and he accomplished that by getting Allen Craig to ground into a double play.

In the top of the ninth, the Phillies had a chance to add to their lead.  With Placido Polanco on first, Carlos Ruiz hit a shot to center where center-fielder Skip Schumaker made a slide and catch.  His glove was on the ground and the ball did in fact land inside of the glove, even though initially Ruiz was called safe at first.  Schumaker argued and the umps converged.  They unanimously agreed that Schumaker caught it, therefore Ruiz was out and the Phillies momentum was quickly snuffed.

Bottom of the ninth brought nervousness and almost panic to the millions of Phillies fans watching as Madson gave up a lead-off double to Albert Pujols.  Madson did retire the next two batters but then allowed an RBI-single by Yadier Molina.  The Phillies lead was cut to just one run and who was up at the plate?  Well you know it had to be none other than ‘Cody Ross’ Theriot.  And would he go 5-for-5???  HELL NO…he grounded out (thank goodness)!  Game over, final score 3-2.

Madson got his first save of the postseason.  And the Phillies now lead the series 2-1.  Game 4 tomorrow night.

Complete Box Score Phillies/Cardinals – Game 3 of NLDS (10/4/11)

Photo courtesy of Steve Trapani – Flickr Follow him on twitter: @Trap_33

Charlie Manuel - Photo courtesy of: MyPHL17.com

It took 13 innings to do it but the Phillies left Atlanta not only sweeping the Braves but also collecting their 102nd win of the season (franchise record), claiming the best record in all of the Majors, and making Charlie Manuel the most winning manager in Phillies history with 646 (2005-2011)!

After the game, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Ryan Madson stood in front of the team in the winning clubhouse and presented Manuel with a large bottle of champagne. The bottle was neatly emblazoned with a label that featured Manuel’s picture and 646. – CSNPhilly.com

The Phillies also killed the Braves’ playoff hopes, but let’s be honest here, the Braves pretty much blew it themselves.  They had a pretty substantial lead in the Wild Card race heading down the stretch but they just seem to fall apart.  And their implosion allowed the St. Louis Cardinals to squeak in.

Last night’s game reminded me of my son’s recreational baseball league, where all the kids get to play no matter how good or how bad they are.  With going so many innings, both the Phillies and Braves used just about every player each had on their respective benches.

As far as the pitchers went, righty Joe Blanton started for the Phils and threw two innings.  Manuel wanted Cole Hamels to get some work, so Hamels pitched three innings.  Then a total of seven relievers came into the game, four of which were rookies and none gave up a single run.  In fact the Braves’ three runs were scored off of Blanton and Hamels.

Hitting wise, the Phillies had four batters with an RBI each, Chase Utley, Hunter Pence, Ryan Howard, and Carlos Ruiz.

The final score was 4-3 and the Phillies ended the regular season on a high note.

Complete Box Score Phillies/Braves – 9/28/11 Game

The 2011 National League Division Series will begin on Saturday, October 1st, time to be determined.  Here is the schedule:

2011 NLDS Schedule - MLB.com

Roy Halladay (19-6 ERA 2.35) will be the starter for the Phillies in Game 1.  Its unknown at this time who the Cardinals are going with.

Image source MyPHL17.com

Congratulations to the Philadelphia Phillies for clinching their 5th consecutive National League East Title!

And let me start by saying what a great job Roy Oswalt did tonight. He threw seven innings, allowed five hits, no runs, no walks, and struck out seven.  And that seventh one was Oswalt’s 1,751 career strikeout.  Kudos to Roy!

Jimmy Rollins lead off the game with a single in the first and scored after Hunter Pence hit an RBI-double.  Phillies were up 1-0.

In the fourth, St. Louis’ righty Jake Westbrook had bases loaded and ended up walking in a run.  Shane Victorino received the RBI on that, then added another RBI in the sixth, when he hit a solo shot to center field.  That was Victorino’s 17th home run of the season.  The Phillies were up 3-0.

Rookie Michael Stutes took over for Oswalt in the eighth and quickly worked two outs.  But then gave up hits to both Jon Jay and Albert Pujols.  Next up was Lance Berkman who hit an RBI-single and put the Cardinals on the board.  And then David Freese hit an RBI-single, pulling the Cards within one.

Stutes was yanked and Brad Lidge was brought in to clean up the mess Stutes had gotten the Phillies into.  And thankfully Lidge did his job and got the third out.  The Phillies were still leading but the score was now 3-2.

Carlos Ruiz started the bottom of the eighth with a lead off double.  Rollins then singled, and Victorino got his third RBI of the night with a single.  Phillies were up 4-2 when Chase Utley was hit by a pitch.  The bases were then loaded with one out.  After Ryan Howard struck out, Pence hit an infield RBI-single to shortstop Rafael Furcal, but thanks to Pence’s quick running and Utley’s hauling ass to second, Furcal had no play there and didn’t make the throw to first in time. The Phillies were up 5-2, but it was the next batter that pretty much solidified the Phillies victory.

Raul Ibanez hit a grand slam….SWEET!  Phillies were up 9-2 heading into the top of the ninth.  Ryan Madson closed it out.  GAME OVER!!!

 Complete Box Score Phillies/Cardinals – 9/17/11 Game

Magic Number is 1

I knew the St. Louis Cardinals were going to be tough.  They have no choice not to be, as their postseason appearance is not guaranteed.  So the Phillies not winning last night though disappointing, wasn’t entirely surprising.

Vance Worley threw six innings, allowed six hits, one run, walked three, and struck out five.  The one run that Worley gave up, came when the bases were loaded.  He actually walked in the run which is never a good thing.

But the Phillies got on the board in the second courtesy of an RBI-double by John Mayberry, Jr.

Reliever David Herndon replaced Worley in the seventh with the score tied 1-1.  And it looked dicey to say the least when Herndon had bases loaded, but the Phillies got out of that inning unscathed.

Antonio Bastardo took over in the eighth and gave a up a solo home run to Yadier Molina, giving the Cardinals a 2-1 lead.

Bottom of the eighth, Shane Victorino walked then advanced to second on a wild pitch while Chase Utley was at-bat. Utley hit a dinker to the pitcher and was out at first.  Then Hunter Pence slammed a shot to right-field…but it was foul and he ultimately struck out.

Brad Lidge pitched the top of the ninth and at one point had two men on.  Thankfully he was able to get the third out before the Cards tacked on any more runs.  The Phillies were still down 2-1 heading into the bottom of the ninth where they would be facing St. Louis closer Jason Motte.  Placido Polanco lined out to right field, then Mayberry, Jr. struck out.  Next up was Ryan Howard* in the pinch hitting role and he delivered a hit to right field, that turned into a double by Howard’s aggressive base running. He was promptly pulled in favor of a pinch runner, Michael Martinez.

Carlos Ruiz then hit to right field, and St. Louis right-fielder Corey Patterson almost had it but couldn’t quite get hold onto to the ball.  Martinez scored as Ruiz ended up with an RBI-double.  The Phillies tied it 2-2. The Cardinals took out Motte and put in Arthur Rhodes, who struck out pinch hitter Ross Gload.

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