Pedro Feliz = Slow!

(AP Photo/Bob Levey)

With the bases loaded and one out and the Phillies down a run, Shane Victorino popped the ball up to Astros leftfielder Darin Erstad. The Phillies sent Pedro Feliz home on the play and he promptly got gunned down to end the game:

I have two problems with the play. First of all, Feliz is painfully slow and Victorino's hit was not very deep. Erstad isn't known for having a great arm but you don't have to throw a bullet to beat Feliz to the plate. The other problem I have with sending Feliz is that Chase Utley is left standing in the on-deck circle. By sending Feliz you take away an opportunity for your best hitter to win the game. I know that hindsight is 20/20 and you have to go for the win when you get a chance but you also have to give your best players a shot to win the game for you. It's also pretty pathetic that the Phils couldn't score at all in the 9th considering they had runners at 2nd and 3rd with nobody out.

Brett Myers also had another bad outing to help the Phils lose 4-3 for the second day in a row. Myers is just brutal right now.

On a positive note, Ryan Howard hit another homer, his fourth in the last four games. He appears to slowly be pulling himself out of his season-long funk:

Werth to the DL, Bohn called up

Jayson Werth took a big swing in Thursday's game against the Astros and now he finds himself on the 15 day disabled list. Werth swung hard and missed and in the process strained his right abdominal muscle:

Werth has been held hitless in 13 at-bats since his huge 3 homer game on May 16th so the time off might do him good.

Non-prospect T.J. Bohn was called up from Triple A Lehigh Valley to take Werth's place. Bohn was up earlier in the year when Shane Victorino went down and hit a mere .143 although he did hit a homer in 14 at-bats. I would expect So Taguchi to get more playing time until Werth comes back.

Penguins vs. Red Wings: Stanley Cup Finals Prediction

The Stanley Cup Finals will kick off Saturday so it's time for me to weigh in on who I think will take home the Cup. So far in this playoff season, I am 11 for 14 in picking the teams that will advance in each round. Of course, I have rarely been right as to how many games each series will take so I won't be calling myself a hockey genius any time soon. Read on to see who I think will win the Cup.

Stanley Cup Finals
Pittsburgh vs. Detroit
Detroit in 6
As much as it pains me that the Flyers are no longer playing, this should be a very entertaining series between two evenly matched teams. You have the Penguins with all their young guns and stellar team defense going against the Red Wings and all their older guns and stellar team defense. You have two goalies who aren't spectacular but they manage to make all the necessary saves. You also have a ton of superstars on both teams that have won numerous individual awards but are looking to take home the one trophy that matters the most.

Pittsburgh proved they were better than the Flyers in all aspects of the game. Their offense is loaded with Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby getting all the attention from the other team, opening things up for studs like Marian Hossa and Ryan Malone. Their defense lacks one true standout but they benefit from an entire team approach to shutting down the opposition. Marc-Andre Fleury also appears to have overcome his playoff demons and elevated his game to be just good enough to always be in the right place at the right time. The Pens will not look as fast against a team like Detroit because the Red Wings can match them stride for stride, but they are still a very dangerous team with a ton of weapons.

The same can be said of the Red Wings. Even without Johan Franzen, the star of the first two rounds of the playoffs who is still out with concussion symptoms, Detroit has a bevy of players who can light up the scoreboard. Most of the Wings offensive punch is found on their first line in Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Holmstrom, but they have plenty of role players who find ways to score when the team really needs it. If Franzen comes back at some point in the series, the Red Wings would have a big advantage offensively, but for now, the Penguins depth makes them the slightly better group of forwards.

Where the Red Wings have an advantage is all the star power along the backline, starting with multiple-time defensive player of the year Nicklas Lidstrom. Lidstrom will be the best player on the ice and it will be up to him to shut down one of the Penguins dynamic forwards, Crosby or Malkin. Fortunately for Detroit, they have several other defenseman who will also be up to the task of shutting down the Pens, including Brian Rafalski, Niklas Kronwall and the ancient Chris Chelios (when he is healthy enough to play). Where the Flyers lacked the defensive depth to keep up with the Penguins' horses, the Red Wings have an abundance of blueliners who can shadow and disrupt the Pens attack.

The Red Wings are my pick to win the Stanley Cup because while these teams are pretty even across the board, I give Detroit the advantage on defense. The way these two teams play, it won't be the goaltenders that will win the games, it will be whichever team plays better defensively. Because the Red Wings have the experience, skill and depth to slow down the Penguins attack, the will be the ones bringing home the Stanley Cup this year. Now if only they could find a way to fill all of those empty seats in Hockeytown......

Howard's heating up!

(AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

Can we officially call Ryan Howard's slump over? Howard went 3 for 5 with a double, a monster homer, 2 RBIs and 3 runs scored to lead the Phillies over the Astros, 7-5. Howard did strike out two more times, but he hit his 3rd homer in his last two games and rose his batting average above .200 for the first time since April 21st. He now has 37 hits on the season to go with his 71 strikeouts. Howard may never cut down the strikeout totals but if he can keep killing the ball like he did tonight, then we will still be able to put up some massive numbers.

Brad Lidge also pitched well in his return to Houston, earning his 12th save on the season. Lidge will forever be remembered for giving up a towering shot to Albert Pujols in the 2005 NLCS that supposedly killed his confidence, but he didn't appear rattled at all tonight as he lowered his season ERA to 0.43

Ryan Howard's opposite field blast:

Flyers rumors: Carter set to sign, Umberger trade?

A few interesting rumors as the Flyers offseason has begun:

*Carter to sign long term deal According to Hockeybuzz.com, the Flyers are ready to sign restricted free agent Jeff Carter to a long-term deal. The deal could happen as soon as this weekend. Carter has expressed that he wants to remain with the Flyers, so it makes sense that he would want to sign early so he can focus on preparing for next season. If the Flyers fail to sign him now, they risk letting another team sign him to a huge contract that they couldn't match. I would expect the Flyers to give him a really long deal in the 6 to 8 year range that might be for slightly less than he could make with another team over a shorter period. Hopefully Carter will enjoy the security of knowing he will be with a solid, up-and-coming team for the prime of his career instead of trying to take the big bucks on a lesser team.

*Umberger could be traded? When/if the Flyers sign Carter, their next order of business will be to figure out what they will do with another restricted free agent, R.J. Umberger. Umberger could get a big contract offer from a team that watched him be a superstar against the Canadiens in the second round and that could price him out of Philly. The Flyers likely aren't going to shell out huge dollars to retain Umberger because he figures to be a third liner at best next season. Umberger may opt to go to another team where he can have a scoring role, so there is a chance he won't be back next season. Hockeybuzz.com proposes that a trade of Umberger to Nashville for Ryan Suter would make sense for both teams. The Flyers get the puck moving defenseman they need badly and the Predators get a winger who can score.

While that deal is highly speculative, it makes sense on a few levels. The Flyers and Predators have made plenty of deals over the last few years, so there is certainly a relationship there. The Predators also have plenty of young defensemen so losing Suter might not be a big hindrance. Finally, the Flyers would be able to avoid overpaying for Umberger who is certainly not worth the money his playoff goal scoring spree might get him.

Both of those rumors are from Hockeybuzz.com which isn't always a reliable source, but both make sense for the Flyers. Whatever happens with this team in the offseason, it's nice to have a GM like Paul Holmgren in charge. Holmgren has proven he will do what it takes to make the Flyers a better team even if he has to be creative to get it done. The Flyers are in good hands with Homer at the helm.

Phillies offense awakens with 8-run inning

(AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)

Save some runs for the next game! After tallying only one total run in their previous two games, the Phillies offense arose from their slumber in a huge 8-run 6th inning and went on to demolish the Washington Nationals 12-2.

The man everyone in Philadelphia has been worried about, Ryan Howard, led the resurgence. Howard got three hits on the night, including two homers, and drove in four runs. He also managed to strike out only one time and rose his batting average to .195, the highest it has been since April 21st.

Also hitting homers for the Phils were Pedro Feliz and Shane Victorino. The Phillies got their 8 runs in the sixth inning on 8 hits and 2 walks. The only two starters that didn't get in on the action were Pat Burrell, who went 0 for 4 and struck out twice, and Jayson Werth who also went 0 for 4 and left six runners stranded.

Jamie Moyer gave the Phils a solid game on the mound, shutting out the Nationals in six innings of work. Moyer was his usual self, nibbling the corners and pitching himself out of jams. Clay Condrey pitched the last three innings of the game to earn an unconventional save.

Highlights of the offensive outburst and a postgame interview with Ryan Howard:

No offense, no problem for Hamels

(AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)

Leave it to Cole Hamels to lead the Phillies to a win even when the offense doesn't show up. One day after being shut-out by Tim Redding and the Nationals, the struggling Phillies offense was once again shut down by Washington for 8 innings. Luckily, the Phils got another monster performance from Hamels and a timely hit by Greg Dobbs to salvage a 1-0 win.

Hamels dominated the Nationals for 7 innings, striking out 11 batters and giving up only 4 hits. This is the second brilliant performance in a row for Hamels who earned the first shutout of his career last week when he beat the Braves 4-0. Today's outing lowered his ERA to 2.61, and while he didn't earn the win, he still has to be in the early discussion for the NL Cy Young. With the way every other starting pitcher is struggling for the Phils, Hamels will need to make games like tonight the routine if the team wants to stay competitive.

The offense came up small tonight, managing only one run when they absolutely needed it. After being shut down by Redding yesterday, a pitcher with a career ERA of 4.74, the Phils made Jason Bergmann, who had an ERA over 7 this season entering the game, look like an All-Star. They scored their only run when Greg Dobbs singled off Jon Rauch to bring in Eric Bruntlett in the 9th inning.

The Ryan Howard strikeout watch hit 68 for the season after he struck out 3 more times tonight, lowering his batting average to .183. Howard had been swinging a hot bat lately so I will let him pass for now, but he may be falling back into another slump. I have said all along that we can live with his strikeouts if he still gets a hit a game, but the longer his average hovers below the Mendoza Line, the more worried I get.

Highlights of the Cole Hamels gem:

100 seasons of losing

Just a few links to pass along regarding all this 100 seasons of Philadelphia sports without a champion:

*SI.com shares a countdown of the Top 100 heartbreaks in the last 100 seasons.
I definitely agree with their number one choice:

1. 2002 NFC Championship Game | Jan. 19, 2003

The blindside factor makes the NFC title game between the Eagles and the Bucs the choice as the definitive Philly sports tragedy of the drought era. The idea of losing to Tampa Bay in the final game in Veterans Stadium history was unthinkable. Consider these facts:

- In the three most recent meetings between the teams -- including wild-card showdowns in 2000 and 2001 -- the Eagles had outscored the Bucs by a 72-22 margin.

- The Bucs entered the game 1-21 all-time when the temperature was under 40 degrees (with the lone win coming in Week 17 against the hapless Bears). The gametime temperature in South Philadelphia: 22 degrees and windy.

-Tampa Bay had never won a road playoff game in franchise history.

When Brian Mitchell returned the opening kickoff 70 yards -- followed by Duce Staley's touchdown in the first minute -- victory seemed a foregone conclusion. Alas, the Eagles lost the game, 27-10. After sucking the energy out of the Vet with two lengthy touchdown drives during the first half, Bucs cornerback Ronde Barber's sealed the outcome with a 92-yard interception with 3:12 left. It sent 66,713 salty fans to the aisles, an appropriate tribute to a building which provided the stage for 33 years of disappointment and heartbreak.

*Technically, it's only been 98 seasons of losing As Philly.com shares, all this talk about 100 seasons of losing is a little premature. There was no World Series champion in 1994 and there was no Stanley Cup awarded in 2004 due to strikes. I guess we will have to wait until after the Phillies and Eagles seasons this year for all this "100 seasons" talk.

*Who will finally break the streak? Back when I first started this blog, I wrote about who I thought would be the next Philly sports champion. I still agree with everything I have written there.