If someone asked, why should I root for the Philadelphia Phillies?  I’d have to think for a moment. Not because I don’t think the Phillies are root worthy, oh quite the contrary.  But for me I was born to be a Phillies fan and don’t know any different. So its almost implausible that there are people out there who don’t like them.  But I’m a realist and certainly not delusional.  Though I don’t feel the Phillies are loathed as much as maybe say the Yankees, I do think some might be tired of seeing them make the postseason…five years in a row to be exact. And advancing to the World Series twice in that time frame, once winning it all.

And though I could probably name a 1,000 reasons why someone SHOULD root for the Phillies, here are just a few:

The Aces

Cliff Lee:   Here’s a guy who turned down the Yankees to come play for the city of Brotherly Love.  A pitcher as dominating as Lee WANTED to be a Phillie again…that speaks volumes.  He was voted the NL pitcher for the month of August and with six shutouts this season along with hitting two homeruns, Lee is the real deal.  Can’t dispute the facts.  He might come off as smug but once you see and hear him speak, he’s just a regular guy who happens to be one of the best pitchers too.

Roy ‘Doc’ Halladay:   The reigning NL Cy Young winner is the starter for Game 1 of the NLDS against the St. Louis Cardinals and deservedly so.  With a 19-6 record and 2.35 ERA, Halladay had another Cy Young caliber season. And if you haven’t ever seen the MLB2K11 commercial with Halladay hanging with his ‘Chooch’ pillow, its a must-see.  Many think Halladay is so serious all the time, this commercial proves otherwise.

Halladay MLB2K11 - click photo to view commercial

Cole Hamels:  “Mr. Hollywood” had a decent season with a 14-7 record and 2.79 ERA.  At times he struggled with giving up the long ball and like last year, had to deal with his offense not showing up for him.  But overall Cole’s maturity on the mound showed through and the once petulant guy took the losses in stride.

Pence showing some skin at Phillies charity fashion show - MyPHIL17.com

“Good game, Lets Go Eat”:  At the end of July, the Phillies smartly acquired right-fielder Hunter Pence from the Houston Astros.  I had previously referred to Pence as a “Phillies Killer” because he always stepped up his game when he versed them.  But now he IS a Phillie and at first I wasn’t sure it was a good signing.  Well what the hell do I know, the guy is all kinds of awesome.  From his athletic ability to the immense amount of energy he exudes, the guy has been a substantial spark that the Phillies batting line up truly needed. And his now infamous, “Lets Go Eat” quote just endeared him more to the legions of Philly fans (along with his stripping at a charity fashion show SEE PHOTO).  Gotta love his no nonsense approach to everything.  View’s writer Karilee Jeantet* did a terrific piece on Pence’s quotes, you can read it here:  Fun With Hunter Pence Quotes

For the Fan Girls out there:

There are a couple of young rookies for you to enjoy.  One sports an awesome mohawk (best in baseball in my book), red specs and a pair of dimples that are hard to ignore.  His name is Vance Worley and he moved up from Triple-A to the majors will such ease that many find it hard to believe he is just a mere 24 years-old.  Then there’s reliever Michael Stutes who is just downright cute and for most of the season being the newest rookie, he had to carry a pink Hello Kitty backpack (filled with goodies and treats for the bullpen guys) and wear a pink boa around his neck.  He wore both proudly and to be honest, looked good doing it.  And by the way, both Worley and Stutes are damn good pitchers, so aside from looks and fun personalities, they have definitely been key assets to the team’s success.

» Continue reading “Welcome to the Bandwagon: The Fightins”

For the third time in Phillies franchise history and not since 1977, the Phillies got their 100th win of the season.  A couple weeks ago I would have thought 100 wins would be no problem, but the way things had transpired over the last week, I was starting to think 100 wasn’t going to happen. But they did it.

And now they are on a 2-game winning streak, and are back on track.

Cliff Lee threw six innings, gave up five hits, two runs, and struck out six.  He also collected his 17th win of the season.  The offense also contributed thanks to a Jimmy Rollins solo shot in the fifth, 2-RBI’s by Raul Ibanez and one by Placido Polanco.

Rookie relievers Joe Savery and Michael Stutes, both pitched in the seventh inning without giving up any hits or runs.  Brad Lidge threw in the eighth, gave up a hit but also kept the Braves from scoring.

Closer Ryan Madson got his 32nd save of the season and the Phillies won 4-2.

Complete Box Score Phillies/Braves – 9/26/11 Game

Check out Tuesday night’s game preview after the jump….

» Continue reading “Phillies Reach 100 Wins!”

2011 NL East T-shirt - shop.mlb.com

After the Phillies slipped on their new 2011 NL East Division Champions t-shirts and MLB Playoffs baseball hats, they retreated to the locker room where the bubbly awaited.  But while the players donned swim goggles (to protect their eyes from flying champagne) or in Ryan Howard‘s case, chose the much larger ski goggles, which seemed fitting for the big guy, the Phillies waited for one player to get into the locker room.

That would be Hunter Pence who for the first time was about to get a taste of what a Division title celebration felt like.  And even more apropos was the fact that his former team the Houston Astros had just reached their hundredth loss of the season.  Pence was definitely in a much different position.

So when Pence finally made his way into the plastic lined locker room (more protection from bubbly), he was handed a bottle of champagne and he quickly popped the cork. To say he was enthusiastic would have been an understatement as he couldn’t contain his excitement, almost like a child who had just received the best gift ever!

 Watch Pence’s celebration from WPVI.com

And for the young rookies such as Vance Worley and Michael Stutes, who both have been a huge contributing factor to the Phillies 2011 regular season success, one can only imagine just how unbelievable last night was for them.  I pictured them and guys like Pence who have never experienced the postseason, having the 90′s band Jesus Jones‘ song playing in their heads, “Right here, right now, there is no other place I wanna be.”

This is just the beginning for the new guys and for those who have never won the World Series.  And for the Phillies’ veterans its another chance to once again bring the World Series trophy back to Philadelphia!

But there is still baseball to play and now the Phillies can work to claim home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

The Phillies have one more magic number remaining: two. A combination of two Phillies victories or Brewers losses will clinch home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. So while they might be resting a few players and pitchers in the final 12 games of the regular season, they still have some work to do before the National League Division Series begins Oct. 1. – Phillies.com

The Phillies/Cardinals are the national game on ESPN tonight, check out the game preview after the jump….

» Continue reading ““Right Here, Right Now, There is No Other Place I Wanna Be””

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

Kyle Kendrick - Photo credit: Steve Trapani

The Phillies took Game One in the day/night doubleheader with the Florida Marlins.  Final score was 3-1.

Kyle Kendrick got his first start in three weeks and looked good.  He went five innings, only gave up two hits, one run, no walks, and struck out six.  He gave up the Marlins’ lone run in the fifth, courtesy of a Logan Morrison solo shot to right field.  Kendrick was pulled after 78 pitches but not because he was bad, more likely due to the fact he hadn’t pitched for a few weeks.

Michael Stutes replaced Kendrick in the sixth and seventh innings.  He allowed two hits, one walk, and struck out one.  But didn’t give up any runs.  Nor did Antonio Bastardo and Brad Lidge who worked tandem in the eighth.  Combined they gave up two hits and walked two, Lidge did strikeout one.  Ryan Madson came into the ninth to attempt to close it and when he gave up two quick singles, I got a tad bit concerned.  But no worries, in the end Madson got the save, his 31st of the season.  And the Phillies have reached 96 wins!

The Phillies offense set the tone early after Placido Polanco singled in the first. Hunter Pence then hit an RBI-double, which was his 36th double of the season.  Couple batters later, Raul Ibanez hit an RBI-double.

A recap wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t mention that there was a John Bowker sighting in the game and guess what he did???  He struck out of course. I’m going to keep dissing Bowker until he gets a hit.  That strategy seemed to work for Ibanez when he was slumping.  To be honest though, I have no clue if this is a ‘slump’ for Bowker as I don’t know much about him, except for the fact that he’s yet to get a hit as a Phillie.

Thankfully in the seventh, with Brian Schneider on second and Michael Martinez at first, Chase Utley pinched for Stutes and singled a line drive to center field.  Seeing Utley walk up to the plate was a sight for sore eyes and I don’t care if he was voted 2nd most mean player in baseball (more on that coming soon), Utley getting into the game was a very good thing.  And he’s slated to play in the second game of this doubleheader, even better.  With the bases loaded, Florida reliever Ryan Webb walked Polanco in the seventh, which also walked in a Phillies run.

So the Phillies are 4 wins away from claiming the best record in the National League and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.  The magic number to reign supreme in the NL East is now 3!

Complete Box Score Phillies/Marlins – 9/15/11 Game One

Check out tonight’s game preview after the jump…

» Continue reading “Kendrick Sharp in Game 1 of DBL-Header”