The Next Philly Sports Champ? I called it! Well, sort of. Back in January of 2008, I weighed in on which Philadelphia sports team had the best shot at winning a title. I gave the Phillies the edge, which turned out to be right on the money!
All the Phillies needed to do to get Brett Myers a win was put up 12 runs. Myers, who hadn't won a game since April 17th, looked like he was on his way to another shaky start when he gave up three runs in the first inning in Friday nights game against the Florida Marlins. Fortunately, Myers settled down, striking out 11 batters and shutting the Fish out in innings 2 through 8 to earn the victory that pushes the Phillies back to the top of the National League East.
Of course the offense was the story of the night. The Phillies, fresh off scoring 48 runs in their last 4 games, put 12 runs on the board tonight with the help of three homers. Homers by Chris Coste and Chase Utley helped the Phillies score 7 runs in the second inning and Ryan Howard added another blast in the 4th inning. For Utley, it was his major league leading 18th homer and it gave him 4 home runs in his last 5 games. We can also officially call Ryan Howard's slump officially over now that he has hit 10 home runs and driven in 29 runs in the month of May. Let's call April a blip and enjoy watching him mash his way to another 40 homer, 100 RBI season.
Tonight's victory was a statement win for the Phils. They needed to come out and show the upstart Marlins who really owns the NL East and they did just that by blowing them out of the water. The offense has been unbelievable lately, shooting all the way up to second in the majors in runs scored behind the Cubs. The bats will cool off eventually and then the pitching staff will be counted on to make their mark. For now, it doesn't matter what the pitchers do because the Phillies are tearing up the opposition.
The Phils look to win their sixth straight game and hold on to the division lead tomorrow when Cole Hamels takes the mound against the Marlins. I think we are due for another Hamels classic after the way he was roughed up by the Astros last time out. Of course, the way the offense is going, the Phils could spot the Marlins 10 runs and still win the game.
Apparently Lito Sheppard might be lining up at wide receiver next season. That's right, according to Brian Seltzer of 950 ESPN, instead of trying to trade Sheppard for a receiver they might simply convert him into one for certain packages next season. As odd as it sounds, apparently Sheppard has been wanting to play receiver ever since he started playing for the Eagles, so this could be part of an effort to keep him happy. While Lito has never played receiver in the NFL, he apparently experimented with it when he was at Florida.
This news definitely comes at a shock. The Eagles must not feel like they aren't being offered enough from other teams for Lito so they want to appease him so he will stick around. How much of a threat he could really be is unknown, but I haven't seen anything in his game that indicates he would make a good wideout, although he seems to have decent hands.
This certainly isn't the wide receiver that we hoped the Eagles would be adding, but this now has become a very interesting story.
Hear Brian Seltzer discuss the situation with Mike Missanelli here.
Last October, the Colorado Rockies swept past the Phillies en route to a World Series appearance. This season the Phillies have turned the tables on the Rockies, beating them all five times they have played, including Wednesday's 6-1 win in Philadelphia that earned the Phillies their first 3 game sweep of the season.
The Phillies offense once again supplied a big inning, scorching Rockies starter Greg Reynolds for five runs in the 5th. Three of those runs came on Chase Utley's league leading 17th homer of the season:
The homer was the 3rd for Utley in his last 4 games as he is returning to his MVP pace of earlier in the season. Utley's 17 homers is also the most by any second baseman in major league history through the end of May, although Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla is nipping at his heels with 16 homers this year. The all-time record for most homers in a full season for a second baseman is 42, a record that Utley is on pace to blow past by the end of the year.
Geoff Jenkins also homered for the Phils to drive in two more runs in the 5th inning.
Adam Eaton was surprisingly sharp on the mound tonight, going 6 innings and giving up only 4 hits that lead to one run. Eaton has had some quality outings on the season, but none where better than this performance that gave him his first win of the season.
The Phillies have an off day tomorrow and then the first place Florida Marlins come to Philly for a three game set. The Marlins have been slowly losing their grip on the top spot in the NL East, so the Phillies have a great chance to make their move this weekend. If they can keep putting up the 5 and 6 run innings, it's only a matter of time before they re-gain the division lead.
The Phillies offense, which broke out for 35 combined runs on Sunday and Monday, picked right up were they left off, at least in the first two innings. The Phils tagged Rockies starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez for 4 runs in the first and 3 more in the second but were held off the scoreboard for the rest of the game. Philly did manage to win, holding off a late, rain-soaked comeback by the Rockies to win 7-4.
The Phils got a solid outing from starter Kyle Kendrick who gave up only 2 runs in 7 1/3 innings. That kind of effort coupled with the way the Phillies offense can put numbers on the board will get you a win every time.
Offensively, the Phils played without Pat Burrell who was scratched from the lineup due to stiffness in his neck. Greg Dobbs filled in admirably for Burrell, going 2 for 4 with 2 RBIs on a single in the 1st inning. Pedro Feliz also picked up a pair of RBIs in the first on a double.
The Phillies offense is on a tear for the last three games, totaling 42 runs (15+20+7). That is a ton of runs, but according to Todd Zolecki, it doesn't even come close to the all-time franchise record of 60 runs scored in 3 games back in 1894. The Phils won three consecutive games by scores of 14-4, 17-3 and 29-4 over the Louisville Colonels. Their current total of 42 runs ties the modern-day franchise record of 42 runs in three games, something they did in 1932 and 1999.
One reason why the Phils have been lighting up the scoreboard has a lot to do with the guys at the top of the order, Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino. Both are healthy and finding ways to get on base and use their speed once they get there, which sets the table for the big bats to drive them home. Each got two hits and a steal tonight and Rollins scored twice and Victorino scored once.
Tomorrow the Phillies will look for their first series sweep of the season since the last time they played the Rockies in a 2 game set back in late April. Adam Eaton and his 5.37 ERA and 0-3 record will take on Greg Reynolds (0-1, 4.08) of the Rockies tomorrow night. Let's hope the Phils were saving some runs for tomorrow because they are going to need them.
Highlights of their third straight win via Baseball Tonight:
Here we go again! Through 2 innings the Phillies have already managed 7 runs against the Rockies. Every starter has gotten a hit already except for Carlos Ruiz. This offense is firing on all cylinders now. What's the record for the most runs in a three game stretch?
As the weather starts to heat up, we knew that the Phillies offense would start lighting up the scoreboard, but no one expected this. On Sunday the Phillies scored 15 against the Astros, today they managed to out-do themselves and beat the Rockies 20-5.
For the second day in a row, the offense more than made up for a slow start by a starting pitcher. Jamie Moyer gave up a 3-run homer in the first inning to Ryan Spilborghs but settled down from there, fanning a season-high seven batters in seven innings.
Chase Utley belted a 3-run homer of his own in the bottom of the first to tie the game but the Phils didn't really get going until the 4th inning when they put up 6 runs. They took an inning off and then put up 6 more in the 6th, followed by 4 more in the 8th just for good measure. Here is the Phillies box score for the game:
Hitters
AB
R
H
RBI
BB
SO
LOB
AVG
Rollins SS
4
2
1
1
1
1
3
.319
--Bruntlett SS
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
.241
Victorino CF
2
4
1
0
2
0
2
.273
Utley 2B
6
2
3
6
0
0
3
.309
Howard 1B
2
3
1
3
3
0
0
.207
Burrell LF
4
0
0
0
1
1
4
.276
--Bohn LF
1
0
1
1
0
0
0
.400
Feliz 3B
6
2
4
4
0
1
0
.271
Coste C
6
2
3
4
0
1
2
.341
Taguchi RF
5
2
3
1
0
1
0
.204
--Condrey P
1
0
0
0
0
1
3
.000
Moyer P
1
1
0
0
1
1
0
.158
--Dobbs RF
2
1
1
0
0
1
3
.358
Totals
41
20
19
20
8
8
20
As you can tell, every Phillie starter got in on the action except for Pat Burrell who went 0 for 4. Utley managed a career-high 6 RBIs and Chris Coste also homered on the night.
The 20 runs put up by the Phillies was their most since July 3, 1999 when they beat the Cubs 21-8. I guess this gives the Phils some measure of revenge to do this to the team that swept them in the playoffs last year, but the Rockies are hardly the same team that made it to the World Series. They have a slew of injuries, including one that has shelved slugger Matt Holliday, and they are currently 11 games under .500.
So that's 35 runs in two games. I don't care how bad the pitching is, even the Phillies will keep winning if they keep posting ridiculous numbers like that.
Highlights of all the carnage via Baseball Tonight:
Cole Hamels didn't have his best stuff but the offense did more than enough to carry the day for the Phillies in their 15-6 win over the Astros on Sunday. Hamels only lasted 4 innings and gave up 6 runs, including a 3-run shot by Carlos Lee moments after he hit Umpire Jerry Crawford in the head with his bat:
Crawford was taken to the hospital for tests but proved to be fine. Hamels gave up the homer to Lee two pitches after the game was delayed for almost 15 minutes due to the injury.
Fortunately, the Phillies offense, which has been stifled the last two days by the Astros, exploded in the 6th and 7th innings. In the 6th, the Phils batted around and picked up 5 runs and in the 7th the Phils added 6 more runs, punctuated by Chase Utley's 15th homer of the season:
Utley finished the night with 3 RBIs as did Shane Victorino. Pat Burrell and Geoff Jenkins also hit homers on a day where nearly everyone got in on the action. In fact, every Phillie starter got a hit on the night except for Ryan Howard who went 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts.
It's nice to see the Phils offense pick up the slack when their ace is unable to give his usual dominating performance. The Phillies finish up their road trip with a respectable 4-3 record and will now come home to face the Colorado Rockies to start a 10-game homestand that also includes 3 games against the Marlins and 4 against the Reds. It will be the first time the Phils face the first place Marlins this season so it will be a good chance to gain some ground on the pesky Fish.
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:
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.
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......
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
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.
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:
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.
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.
After the news came out last week that he owed $400,000 to a Vegas casino, Charles Barkley has decided to quit gambling, at least for now. During the pregame show for the TNT broadcast of Monday's game between the Spurs and Hornets, Barkley announced that he was "not going to gamble anymore. For right now, the next year or two, I'm not going to gamble." Barkley said that he doesn't have any money problems and that he has payed back the debt he owes, but he wants to take a break from gambling.
Sounds like a smart plan to me, considering how many millions of dollars Barkley has likely lost over the years. The man definitely has a gambling problem, so I wonder how long he can really stay away. He's a rich man so he probably isn't going to face any financial hardships, but as Barkley himself said, "Just because I can afford to lose money doesn't mean I should do it."
I'll set the over/under at 1 month before Barkley is going to gamble again. Wanna take the under, Charles?
So much for a miracle comeback. The Penguins dominated the Flyers in every facet of play, beating them 6-0 in Game 5 to win the Eastern Conference Finals 4 games to 1. The Flyers season ends on a sour note but we shouldn't forget how far they have come since last season. From the worst team in hockey to a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals is an amazing turnaround, it was just too bad it had to end the way it did today.
Pittsburgh scored early and often in the rout. Despite the return of Kimmo Timonen, the Flyers defense looked slow and couldn't keep up with the Penguins forwards. The Pens were allowed to build up a head of steam heading into the Flyers zone and they used it to set up a ton of scoring chances.
Martin Biron also picked a bad time to play his worst game of the playoffs. Biron made a couple of head-scratching plays that led to goals and let in a few softies. Things got so bad for him in the second period I expected him to get pulled, but John Stevens allowed Biron to finish out the game. He managed just 19 saves on 25 shots.
The Penguins played a complete game of hockey. They got strong defensive play, great goaltending and solid offensive contributions from their forwards. They were the better team throughout this series and deserve to be representing the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup Finals. They will be a tough team to beat for whichever team makes it out of the West.
So the Flyers season ends with them playing poorly. It was a bad way to go out, but it certainly didn't represent how they played all season. The Flyers showed a ton of grit and determination to get as far as they did, especially considering they were the 6th seed in the East. This team was not expected to get as far as it did this year, they are built to be a contender down the road. They have a ton of young talent in Mike Richards, Jeff Carter and R.J. Umberger who got great playoff experience this year and they still have Claude Giroux and first round pick John vanRiemsdyk coming down the road. This team is still a few years away from hitting its peak, so we should have plenty of deep Stanley Cup runs in our future.
I will have much more to say about the Flyers and what they need to do this off-season in the coming weeks, but for now we should celebrate how far they came this season. We can be pissed off with the way it ended, but every Flyer fan needs to look at the big picture and understand how good this team will be. It's the worst saying for fans of Philadelphia sports, but it's true: There's always next year. Of course, there is always the Phillies this year, too.
The Live Blog is back! After changing things up for Game Four, the Live Blog is back to it's original form for Game Five. Come discuss the game with fellow Flyer fans as we see if the Flyers can stave off elimination again. Check back right here at 3:00 to participate in the Live Blog!
Rod Barajas hit two home runs, one of them a grand slam, for the Blue Jays to lead them to a 6-3 victory over the Phillies. No, that's not a typo, that's the same Rod Barajas who stunk it up as a catcher for the Phillies last season. He finished with 5 RBIs on the game, just three shy of what Jayson Werth did on Friday. I guess Barajas didn't like getting booed by the Philly crowd.
Highlights of Barajas' ridiculous game via Comcast SportsNet:
A little over a year ago myself and most of Philadelphia had a nickname for Jayson Werth: Werthless. After his effort Friday night in the Phils 10-3 win over the Blue Jays, I will never call him that name again.
Werth had a record breaking night, hitting a home run in each of his first three at-bats in the game. He hit a 3-run homer in the 2nd, a grand slam in the 3rd and a solo shot in the 5th to give him 8 RBIs on the night, a number that ties the Phillie franchise record for RBI in a game. Werth missed a chance to add a fourth homer in the 7th inning when he fouled out. It was an absolutely amazing effort, just look at his stat line for the game:
Four Phillies have had 8 RBI games in their history: Kitty Bransfeld (1910), Gavvy Cravath (1915), Willie Jones (1958) and most recently Mike Schmidt (1976). While I have never heard of the other three, Werth has to feel pretty special to share a record with Schmidt.
The night belonged to Werth offensively and Jamie Moyer put together a decent start on the mound. Moyer had just one bad inning in the 4th but otherwise he gave up several hits that led to little damage on the scoreboard.
The future looks bright for the Philadelphia Flyers. Not only do they have several young stars on their final four NHL team but they have a bunch of young prospects who will be joining the big club in the next few years.
One of their top forward prospects, Claude Giroux, who you might remember from a brief stint with the Flyers earlier in the year, absolutely tore up the QMJHL (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League) this season. Giroux was just named the MVP of the QMJHL Playoffs after his Gatineau Olympiques team won the championship. Giroux dominated the league, setting an Olympiques franchise record with 51 points in 19 games. The next closest player in scoring in the entire playoffs was his teammate, Paul Byron, who finished with 32 points.
With players like Giroux still in the pipeline, the Flyers are set up to be a contending team for the next decade. The final four finish this season is just the beginning of what should be a long and promising run for the Flyers.
All of the sudden, things are looking a whole lot better for the Flyers. Fresh off their Game Four win last night the Flyers announced that they might have their top two defensemen back in the line-up on Sunday for Game Five.
Braydon Coburn, who missed the last two games after he took a puck to the face, was already likely to return once the swelling around his left eye subsided. As long as he continues to progress you can bet he will be back Sunday.
The surprising news is that Kimmo Timonen might also be available to play in Game Five. Timonen has missed the entire series with the Penguins with a blood clot in his ankle but will attempt to skate on it today. If the ankle feels well enough he could find his way back to the ice on Sunday. This is great news for a Flyers team that thought they had lost Timonen for the entire playoffs but now it appears that the blood clots have improved enough that he can make a comeback attempt.
If the Flyers get their top two defensemen back and can play with the same passion and intensity they showed last night, this series is going to get interesting. It's amazing what a little good news and a win can do for the confidence of a team, there's a chance they could build on it and pull off the unlikely.
The Flyers of the first two rounds showed up tonight when they absolutely had to. Down 3-0 in the series and facing elimination at the hands of their cross-state rivals the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Flyers played inspired hockey and pulled out a 4-2 win to keep their slim Stanley Cup hopes alive.
The Flyers jumped out in the first period and absolutely dominated the Penguins. Feeding off the booming home crowd, the Flyers scored three goals in the first period. Joffrey Lupul started off the scoring and Danny Briere and Jeff Carter both added power play goals as the Flyers offense showed more energy and intensity than it had all series. Philly looked like they were going to steamroll the Penguins as Pittsburgh could do little else but sit back and withstand the onslaught of the Flyers.
The second period featured no goals and very few penalties but the Flyers continued to control the play. The Penguins got a fair number of shots on Martin Biron who made some of the great stops we saw from him in the Capitals and Canadiens series.
Pittsburgh made their comeback in the third period. Jordan Staal played like a man possessed as he tallied two goals and was all over the ice making plays. His second goal came with just under 6 minutes left to play and things got interesting from there. With some timely saves by Biron, the Flyers managed to hold off the Pens attack until Joffrey Lupul scored an empty net goal with 30 seconds left to play to seal the victory.
The fireworks really began after the empty net goal. The Flyers and Penguins tangled up twice in the final seconds as both teams showed just how much they hate one another. First, Derian Hatcher and Ryan Malone met up for a fight, then Mike Richards and Sidney Crosby shared slashes and a few shoves. The Penguins showed their frustration in getting whipped for most of the night and the Flyers were doing what they do best: getting under the oppositions' skin.
With the way the Flyers played tonight and all the bad blood at the end of the game, Game 5 is setting up to be a great battle. The Flyers remain alive and see the door open a little bit to the possibility of pulling off a miracle. If Philly can play the way they did tonight, full of energy and toughness, then we may yet see a few more games from this team.
The Flyers showed an effort tonight that they lacked in Games 1-3. They have proven that when they play at the top of their game, they can beat anyone. The only question now is which team will show up in Game 5? Things could get interesting if they play anything like they did tonight.
Cole Hamels showed Brett Myers how it's done. Hamels pitched his first career shutout to lead the Phillies to a 5-0 win over the Braves. King Cole went 9 innings, gave up only 4 hits and struck out 6 batters in a 120-pitch complete game shutout. He was simply dominant from the beginning, turning aside 15 straight batters at one point. At a time when Phillies fans are questioning their starting pitching, it's nice to have a guarantee like Hamels. We know that every time he goes out there, the Phillies will have an excellent chance of winning.
Offensively, the Phillies relied on the homer, belting three in the game. Pedro Feliz, Ryan Howard and Shane Victorino each hit one out of the park. Howard has hit 3 homers in his last 5 games, can we finally say his slump is over? The batting average still sits at .185 but at least he is driving in some runs.
Interleague play begins tomorrow as the Phils' World Series nemesis Toronto Blue Jays come to town for a three game set. Call me bitter but I still want revenge for what Joe Carter did!
Unfortunately, I won't be able to do the usual live blog tonight for Game Four. Let's hope the Flyers find a way to continue their season so I can have a Game Five Live Blog on Sunday! Go Flyers!
I will post some updates here as the game goes on for those of you following the game. Feel free to add your thoughts in the comment section below!
Refresh your browser to see the latest updates. 10:14 pm GAME OVER: FLYERS WIN 4-2, PENGUINS LEAD SERIES 3-1 Check back soon for my postgame blog post!
10:12 pmANOTHER BRAWL!! Richards and Crosby go at it and then everyone bunches up again! This is Flyers hockey!
10:09 pm BRAWL!! Hatcher and Malone are fighting, everyone on the ice is pushing each other....Penguins are frustrated, love it!
10:08 pm FLYERS 4, PENGUINS 2 GOAL: Lupul Joffrey Lupul punches in an empty netter to seal the victory for the Flyers!
10:06 pm (1 min left) Fleury to the bench! Here come the Penguins!
10:04 pm (1:22 left) Penguins call a timeout. Expect Fleury to go to the bench soon for a 6 on 5.
10:03 pm Staal is playing well, if the Flyers don't slow him down he's gonna tie this up! (1:30 left)
10:01 pm Still 3-2, the Penguins have all the momentum now. The Flyers have gone back into a shell and are just hoping to withstand the rush. (3:20 left)
9:56 pm FLYERS 3, PENGUINS 2 GOAL: Staal Penguins cut the gap to one..... we're in for a frantic finish here! (Under 6 mins left)
9:36 pm FLYERS 3, PENGUINS 1 GOAL: Staal Good hustle goal there for Staal cuts the lead down to 2. No shutout for Biron!
9:31 pm THIRD PERIOD UNDER WAY You can bet the game is going to get chippy now with the way these two teams feel about each other.
9:14 pm SECOND PERIOD OVER, Flyers still lead 3-0. Philly is 20 minutes away from forcing a return trip to Pittsburgh for Game Five! 9:11 pm Briere is slashed by Sykora. Another PEEEEECOOOOO Power play!
9:06 pm This is the Biron we saw in rounds 1 and 2. He is piling up the saves and making it look easy.
9:02 pm Penguins go on the power play now with Carter going to the box for tripping.Gotta keep the Penguins off the board, there is still plenty of time for them to come back.
8:59 pm Crowd is really having an impact tonight. Flyers feeding off it and continuing to make big hits. Wonder if this can continue back in Pittsburgh in Game Five.
8:52 pm Prospal looks like a new man tonight. He makes a few great plays from the seat of his pants. These new lines have certainly lit a fire under the Flyers. (10 minutes left in the 2nd)
8:45 pm Fleury ROBS Briere. Love Briere's jump tonight.
8:44 pm Upshall looks PISSED. He goes after Sykora with a vengeance after Sykora gives him a cheap shot to the head. 4 on 4 for two minutes.
8:43 pm Flyers piling up the shots today, already accumulating 18 shots. This is a completely different team than the one that looked defeated in Game Three.
8:38 pm SECOND PERIOD UNDER WAY As NJFlyer says in the comment section, it's time to step on the throats of the Penguins! 8:20 pm END OF THE FIRST PERIOD By far the best period the Flyers have had against the Penguins. Tons of jump and hustle has led to a dominant effort over the Penguins so far. Where was this in Games 1-3? 8:17 pm FLYERS 3, PENGUINS 0 GOAL: Carter Flyers capitalize with another power play goal. Carter get the puck past Fleury after a rebound. Looks like the Penguins decided not to show up tonight.
8:14 pm Thoreson back in the line-up tonight, thankfully Downie is out. Players going at it again after the whistle. Flyers back on the power play AGAIN! (Under 3 minutes left)
8:05 pm Flyers get a TON of chances, nothing doing yet on this power play. Tons of hitting and pushing after the whistle, looks like the Penguins are getting frustrated. This is exactly the type of game the Flyers wanted. 8:04 pm Flyers back on the power play. They're gonna bury the Pens at this rate!
7:59 pm: FLYERS 2, PENGUINS 0 GOAL: Briere Flyers take a 2 goal lead on Briere's power play goal. The offense is clicking tonight!
7:56 pm: Flyers get their own powerplay. They look like a completely different team right now, much more like the team that dominated the Canadiens.
7:53 pm: FLYERS 1, PENGUINS 0 GOAL: Lupul Joffrey Lupul scores after the Flyers keep the pressure on. The shot deflected past Fleury to give the Flyers an early lead. This is the best the offense has looked all series. (11 mins left in the first) 7:51 pm: Best chance on the power play is a Mike Richards shorthanded breakaway, unfortunately he didn't score. Richards is such an opportunist on when on the penalty kill.
7:49 pm: Penguins get the first power play of the night. Briere goes off for tripping. It looked to me that he was just playing the puck.
7:46 pm: Biron is on early making big stops on Malkin and Crosby.
7:42 pm: Briere with a great early chance... love the new line of Richards/Briere/Hartnell
The Flyers may be playing their last game of the season tonight. In an effort to shake things up and get a spark, Coach John Stevens has rearranged the Flyers forward lines to look like this:
Basically Mike Richards has moved up to the wing on the top line and Vaclav Prospal has moved down to center the second line. Prospal has been MIA for the entire series against the Penguins so maybe this is a move to get him going. All the great chemistry we had seen between him and Danny Briere seems to have disappeared so it makes sense to split them up.
Coburn Out: Braydon Coburn will not play tonight. He practiced yesterday and felt like he could play if the swelling on his left eye subsided, but the decision was made today to sit him down for Game Four. As I said yesterday, this is the right decision. There is no need to rush Coburn back and risk injury with the very real possibility that the season will be over today anyway.
Brett Myers dug the Phillies a hole they couldn't quite find their way out of. Myers pitched one of his worst games in recent memory, allowing 8 runs in just 4 and 1/3 innings. Things started off terrible for Myers, who gave up a lead-off home run to Yunel Escobar and then let up another homer to Chipper Jones two batters later. In all, the Braves tagged Myers for 9 hits and 3 home runs en route to an 8-6 win over the Phillies.
Once Myers left the game, the Phillies bullpen did what it does best: shut the opposition down. Ryan Madsen, Clay Condrey and Rudy Seanez combined to shut out the Braves the rest of the way and opened the door to a Phillies comeback.
Tom Glavine started for the Braves and put forth a vintage Glavine effort until the Phils offense woke up in the 6th inning. Led by Chase Utley's 14th homer of the season, the Phillies cut the Braves lead in half down to 8-4 in the 6th. From there, a Ryan Howard homer in the 8th pulled Philadelphia within 3 runs and then things got interesting in the 9th. The Phillies managed to get two guys on base for Jimmy Rollins, who hit one run in to cut the lead down to two. Shane Victorino then had a chance at glory and hit a long out to right field to end the game.
Brett Myers needs to shape up. He took the loss tonight, dropping his record to 2-4 and raising his ERA to 5.91. For a guy who is supposedly the Phillies second best starter, he has yet to put together two solid starts in a row. His struggles bring the entire rotation down and make it so the only guy the Phils can rely on is Cole Hamels. Perhaps Myers is having problems adjusting back into the starting role. Whatever the issue is, he better figure things out quickly.
The Phillies wrap up their series with the Braves tomorrow night when Cole Hamels takes the mound against Chuck James. After that, interleague play begins with the Phillies taking on the Blue Jays in a three game set this weekend. I am getting sick of seeing the Florida Marlins sitting atop the NL East. The Phillies have everything in place offensively and in the bullpen and it's up to the starting pitchers to pull themselves together so the Phils can reclaim their spot at the top of the division.
Braydon Coburn returned to practice today for the Flyers in hopes of taking the ice for Game 4 tomorrow night. Coburn missed Game 3 because his eye was swollen shut following the puck to the face he took in Game 2. Coburn will wear a visor to protect his eye, which, as you can see above, looks better but still has a ways to go to fully open back up.
While it would be a great story and a true test of toughness if Coburn returns for Game 4, there is really no point in rushing him back to the ice. With the Flyers on the brink of elimination, if his vision is impaired in any way and there is any chance he could hurt himself worse, he should sit out. Even if he plays well and the Flyers win the game, they have a huge uphill battle ahead of them if they are going to win the series. It is likely there is a greater chance of Braydon Coburn getting injured worse than the Flyers have of winning four straight against the Penguins.
The Eagles signed three more free agent rookies to contracts today and, no, Adarius Bowman was not one of them. The Eagles added a quarterback, Casey Hansen from Norfolk State, and two linebackers, Gary Butler from California (Pa) and Mark Staffieri from BYU. All three are longshots to make the team.
Hansen is an interesting prospect given his 6 foot 5 size and his decent passing numbers at Norfolk State. Hansen was a two year starter who led the entire MEAC in passing in 2006, throwing for 2166 yards and amassing a QB rating of 116.9. In 2007, Hansen saw a slight dip in those numbers, passing for 2111 yards and finishing with a QB rating of 114.5. Despite those numbers, I see little chance of him overtaking A.J. Feeley for the third string role, although he could be a practice squad player.
Butler put up big numbers at California (Pa) last season, notching 12 sacks and forcing four fumbles. He was also named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Defensive Player of the Year. Staffieri finished his college career with 2 total sacks and 132 tackles.
The Keystone Clash crossed the state to Philadelphia on Tuesday night, but the game looked very similar to the previous two. The Penguins looked better in nearly every facet of the game, dominating the Flyers 4-1 in Game 3 to take a commanding 3-0 series lead.
The Flyers were over-matched from the beginning when the Penguins got two quick goals in the first 8 minutes. The goals were a bit fluky with the first going in off a Jason Smith's foot and the second coming when Martin Biron was screened, but the Penguins managed to take the Flyers right out of the game. Philly responded with a goal by R.J. Umberger, but from there on they barely challenged Marc-Andre Fleury, finishing with a mere 18 shots. The Penguins sealed the victory with a goal halfway through the third period and an empty netter at the end of regulation.
It was a strange game that lacked any flow. The first period was a penalty-fest, with the refs calling four hooking penalties and handing out powerplays left and right. From then on, the refs swallowed the whistle, only choosing to call the Flyers for one more penalty for the rest of the game. The Flyers couldn't get anything going 5 on 5 and seemed to be waiting for another powerplay chance to get their offense going. That chance never came and by the time the Flyers tried to get anything going, it was too late.
Steve Downie will take much of the blame for making another terrible play tonight that led to the Penguins third goal. Downie made an ill-advised pass that was picked off by the Pens and they took it the other way for the back-breaking goal. Downie made a poor play in Game 2 that led to a Penguins goal but he can't totally be blamed for this loss. Granted, Downie screwed up, but it was a total team effort in losing tonight. Downie should find a seat in the stands for the next game, though, because there is no way he suits up.
Game Four is Thursday in Philadelphia. Teams have very rarely come back when down 0-3 in a series and there is nothing the Flyers are showing me that makes me think they will pull off the miracle. Losing Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn was simply too much for this team. Let's just hope they can avoid a sweep by winning the next one.
We can stick a fork in the Flyers and set our sights on the Phillies chances. The Flyers made a valiant effort this season which I will talk more about later, but they simply don't have the horses to compete with the Penguins.
Video highlights of the game, plus reactions from John Stevens and Mike Richards:
I spent most of the night watching the Flyers, but there were some interesting things to come out of the Phillies 5-4 win over the Braves:
*Jayson Werth leads the offense Werth had been struggling for the last few weeks, but he busted out tonight with a 3 hit, 4 RBI night. All 3 of his hits were singles with runners in scoring position. Werth should continue to have a big role in this series with Atlanta as the Braves are starting lefties in each of the remaining games.
*Kyle Kendrick bounces back After giving up 3 runs in the first inning it looked like a typical Kyle Kendrick start, but he rebounded to have a solid outing. Kendrick didn't allow another run after his first inning shakiness, going 6 innings in all. Kendrick allowed 6 hits in the game and walked 4 batters. It was the type of good but not great effort that earned him ten wins last year.
*Brad Lidge is human Brad Lidge finally gave up an earned run this season, sending his ERA soaring all the way to 0.50. Lidge came into the ninth inning with a two run lead and ran into a bunch of trouble, walking a pair of batters and giving up a double that scored a run. Jayson Werth was playing center and made a bad jump on the double so really even this earned run wasn't Lidge's fault. If Shane Victorino was out there the game would have been over. Despite the bad defense, Lidge settled down and got his 10th save of the season. He's not perfect anymore, but he still manages to get the job done.
*Ryan Howard slump watch Ryan Howard had a so-so effort tonight, going 2 for 4 with an RBI, 2 runs scored and 2 strikeouts. The Phillies will take the strikeouts if he can get on base more often. Howard's batting average has now soared up to .181.
After another tough loss for the Flyers, the Live Blog will be back on tonight at 7:15 for Game Three in the Battle of Pennsylvania. Come and discuss the game as it happens with fellow Flyer fans as Philly looks to get back into the series.
It's mid-May, so obviously it's time for NFL Power Rankings! Both ESPN.com and SI.com have released their incredibly early preseason power rankings, and both of them have the Eagles just outside the top ten. Here are their rankings and their thoughts on the Eagles:
ESPN: Rank: 13 Comments: Last season, they hit their stride when it was too late. With a fully healed Donovan McNabb and an improved secondary, the Eagles could be dangerous.
Sports Illustrated: Rank: 11 Comments: The story's the same as ever in Reid-land: Donovan McNabb has to stay upright for 16 games for this team to have a chance to play deep into January. He's missed two, four and seven starts in the last three years. That's partly why the Eagles have fallen considerably short of their second Super Bowl appearance in the McNabb era.
Two assists for him this year. Lorenzo Booker's a better alter-ego to Brian Westbrook than Correll Buckhalter has been. And DeSean Jackson, even at 170 pounds soaking wet, should be a bit more of a stretch-the-defense third or fourth receiver than McNabb has had. If Jackson does nothing else, at least he'll spice up the blah return game (8.1 yards per punt return and 21.7 on kickoffs is no way to win ball games). Oh, and it would be nice if McNabb's tackles could block the Giants.
My thoughts: Those rankings seem about right for the Eagles, although I was very surprised to see the Minnesota Vikings ranked higher than the Eagles in both rankings, they don't even have a quarterback. Both ESPN and SI make the obvious statement that McNabb has to stay healthy if the Eagles want to make any noise this year. SI thinks McNabb has plenty of new weapons to keep him happy, although most Eagle fans would still prefer a true number one receiver. I am excited to see some offensive plays with both Booker and Westbrook in the backfield; they will make a dangerous combination.
I like the make-up of this Eagles team, they should be very competitive in a difficult NFC East. It's way to early to tell, but a return to the playoffs looks likely. Their defense appears to be above average again so it may simply come down to how effective McNabb and the offense can be. Of course, we are still about 4 months away from the season, so no one really knows anything yet.
The Flyers playoff hopes continue to dim today. After losing to the Penguins yesterday to fall into a 2-0 hole in the series, the Flyers learned today that they will play Game 3 without defenseman Braydon Coburn. Coburn took a puck to the face in the first period of Game 2 and had to leave the game. He got 50 stitches on his face around his left eye and lost a lot of blood, making him feel lightheaded. The Flyers have already ruled him out for Game 3, although there is a chance he could return for Game 4 on Thursday. Ryan Parent will suit up in Coburn's place.
The Flyers were already playing without their best defenseman Kimmo Timonen, and now they lose their second best d-man in Coburn. It's another big loss, one that might be too much to overcome. Derian Hatcher, who played well in Game 2, will have to continue to play a huge role for the Flyers. The Flyers lack depth on the blue line, so guys like Lasse Kukkonen and Jaroslav Modry will have to step up and play key roles.
The Penguins offense would be tough enough to stop even if the Flyers were at full strength. The mounting injuries might make beating their cross-state rivals nearly impossible.
The Flyers lost Game Two by the same score as they lost Game One, 4-2, but Sunday's contest was a completely different story in terms of effort. In Game One, the Flyers looked flat-footed and played most of the game back on their heels, while in Game Two they showed more of the effort and intensity that we have grown accustomed to seeing in this playoff run. The Flyers simply took too many penalties that allowed the Penguins to get their offense going and couldn't generate enough offense of their own.
The night started off terrible for the Flyers when Braydon Coburn took a puck to the nose and collapsed to the ice. Coburn was bleeding badly and was taken to the locker room to get stitches and he was unable to return to the game. The Flyers, who were already without Kimmo Timonen, were then forced to play the rest of the game without their best two defensemen, something that spells certain doom against the Penguins attack. Philly did not back down defensively, however, with Derian Hatcher playing an amazing game, logging nearly 30 minutes of ice time and making big hit after big hit. If it wasn't for Hatcher, the Flyers would have been blown out in the game.
There were several questionable calls made by the refs throughout the game that went against both teams. The Penguins had a goal that didn't count because replays didn't show a clear shot of the puck going in. Sidney Crosby shut a puck that appeared to inch past the line and into the goal, but in every camera angle Martin Biron's glove was in the way so it was difficult to tell if it went in. By the laws of physics, the puck probably had to be past the line, but with no good video proof, it was no goal. The Flyers were on the short end of several bad calls, including one that directly set up a powerplay goal by the Penguins. Derian Hatcher made a play on Evgeni Malkin to slow him down and the refs called him for hooking. Replays showed that Hatcher's stick was between Malkin's legs, but the call was questionable at best. Nine seconds after Hatcher goes in the box, the Penguins scored a goal to give them a 2-1 lead. Danny Briere was also called for goalie interference later in the game when he was clearly pushed into Penguins netminder Marc-Andre Fleury by a Pens player. Luckily that call did not result in a goal.
Tonight's contest was a close game throughout. The Penguins scored first on a power play goal by Sidney Crosby in the first period. The Flyers responded with a power play goal of their own early in the second period. Joffrey Lupul fed Jeff Carter for a nice shot to tie the game. The Penguins pulled ahead 2-1 on a goal by Marian Hossa during the Hatcher phantom penalty call, and then the Flyers evened things right back up at the end of the second period on a short handed goal by Mike Richards. Malkin tried to be too fancy with the puck on the power play and Richards took it from him, skated in all alone, and fired the puck past Fleury. The Penguins later added the game winning goal when Max Talbot was fed a nice pass by Gary Roberts and shot the puck past Martin Biron. It was a nice goal by the Penguins fourth line. Pittsburgh later added an empty net goal to make it a 4-2 win.
The effort was better tonight for the Flyers. They played a more physical game, got better goaltending from Martin Biron and managed to get more shots on net. Unfortunately the Penguins proved to be too good and the loss of Coburn proved to be too much to overcome.
Game Three is back in Philadelphia on Tuesday. The Wachovia Center will be rocking so expect the Flyers to come out and play their best hockey. There is a saying in the NBA playoffs that a series doesn't start until someone loses a home game. Home ice isn't quite as important in hockey, but I think it still has some merit. All the Flyers have to do is protect their home ice and they can get right back in this series. However, if they lose either one of the next two at home it will probably end their season. It will be tough, especially if the Flyers lose Coburn for another game, but this team has overcome so many difficult obstacles that I am not ready to write them off yet. There is still a lot of hockey left to be played and you can bet the Flyers won't simply sit back and let the Penguins coast into the Stanley Cup Finals. As the Keystone Clash moves across the state, expect the Flyers and their fans to have a lot more to say about this series.
The Live Blog is back! After missing Game One, a tough loss for the Flyers, the Live Blog will be back on tonight at 7:15 for Game Two. Come and discuss the game as it happens with fellow Flyer fans as Philly looks to even up the series before heading home.
The usually reliable bullpen came up short today for the Phillies, failing to protect a one run lead in the later innings. Adam Eaton started the game and had major control issues, walking 5 batters in 5 innings, but he managed to keep most of the damage off the scoreboard, holding the Giants to just two runs. With the Phillies up 3-2 in the sixth inning, the game was turned over to the bullpen that has been lights out all season. It wasn't the case tonight. Chad Durbin pitched a scoreless sixth but J.C. Romero, who entered the game with a 0.60 ERA, gave up a two-run home run to Giants rookie Steve Holm (who??). That was all the runs the Giants needed and they went on to win the game 4-3.
Offensively the Phillies were unable to capitalize on the wildness of Giants starter Jonathan Sanchez, who walked five batters. Their first run came in the 4th inning when Sanchez walked Adam Eaton with the bases loaded. It was a little redemption for Eaton who walked Randy Johnson with the bases loaded on four straight pitches last week. Ryan Howard then hit a rare triple, the fourth of his career, to drive in another run before coming home on a Pat Burrell sacrifice fly.
Losing two out of three to the Giants gives them an overall record of 3-4 on the West Coast swing. After earning a split with the Diamondbacks, it's disappointing to not be able to win a series with the lowly Giants who might sport the worst lineup in baseball. The loss also drops the Phillies back into a tie for second place with the Mets. The Phillies will now head back home, and after an off day tomorrow they will face the Braves for the first time this season.
If no one watched it, did the Phillies really lose? In a game that was blacked out across the country, the Phillies fell to the Giants 8-2. It was the first time since June 2006 that the Phillies game wasn't on, and it wasn't a bad game to have missed.
The Giants young ace Tim Lincecum shut down the Phillies lineup, going 8 innings and giving up only four hits. He did give up two runs on solo homers by Ryan Howard and Chris Coste, but other than that the Phillies never really challenged Lincecum, who also struck out 8 batters. The only other Phillie hits were singles by Greg Dobbs and Geoff Jenkins.
Jamie Moyer started the game for the Phillies and was out-dueled by a pitcher nearly half his age. Moyer went 4 innings and was shelled for 9 hits and 6 runs. The weak Giants lineup managed two home runs off Moyer, including one by former Phillie Aaron Rowand.
Besides Howard hitting a home run, there wasn't much to see here for Phillies fans. Howard also didn't strike out today, so maybe the game that no one saw ends up being the game that turns his season around.
Highlights of the game you couldn't watch via ESPN:
The Flyers simply don't like to win the first game of a series. For the third time in a row, the Flyers lost a Game One, this time in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-2. Philly had previously dropped the first games in the Captials and Canadiens series and we all know how those turned out, so there is no reason to think the season is over.
But, if the Flyers let the Penguins play the way they did yesterday, this series could be over quickly. The Penguins stars, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby, both scored goals and flashed their speed and ability throughout the game. Malkin was easily the best player on the ice, finishing with two backbreaking goals, one with 7 seconds left in the first period to give the Penguins a lead and the other coming 5 minutes later while shorthanded. If Kimmo Timonen was able to play, his assignment would have been to shadow Malkin and try to slow him down. With the way Malkin played tonight there might not have been much he could have done.
The Flyers didn't play the type of game we have come to expect from them in the playoffs so far. Mike Richards scored both of the teams goals in the first period on garbage-style goals, one being a shot off Pens netminder Marc-Andre Fleury and the other a rebound goal after a huge scrum in front of the net. The rest of the Flyers failed to get anything going offensively, and they even got out-hit by the Penguins throughout the game. Perhaps the long lay-off hindered them, but they simply didn't look like the same team that dominated the Canadiens.
Martin Biron even looked human in net. He has played his least inspiring hockey in the first game of every series and tonight was no exception. While none of the goals were bad goals, he still didn't make many of the amazing saves we have grown accustomed to. If the Flyers go on to win this series, Biron simply has to be dominating in net.
As we know from the previous two series', just because the Flyers lost the first game doesn't mean it's time to panic. They now must make the necessary adjustments to slow down the Penguins attack and try to generate more offense on the other end. If they come out with the same game plan and the same effort, the Flyers will be quickly swept aside by the Penguins. As anyone who has watched the Flyers in the playoffs knows, they aren't going to let that happen. Expect a much different Flyers team to take the ice for Game Two on Sunday.
Highlights of Game One via ESPN, plus commentary from Barry Melrose:
The MVP is back! Jimmy Rollins made a successful return to the top of the Phillies lineup tonight against the San Francisco Giants. Rollins started off the game looking a little shaky in the field but finished off strong at the plate, going 3 for 5, including a 2 run homer in the 5th inning. Rollins cut the Giants early lead down from 3 runs to 1 run and gave the Phillies offense a spark when it was struggling to get anything going off Giants starter Pat Misch. The MVP later added another RBI in the 8th inning on a double and the Phillies went on to beat the Giants 7-4. It's great to have another big threat at the top of the lineup, the Phillies finally feel like a complete team again.
Cole Hamels looked dominant early on but the Giants eventually got to him, picking up 4 runs in the 7 innings he pitched. Hamels left the game with a 3 run lead and the bullpen locked things down from there. Tom Gordon got through the 8th despite struggling with his command and Brad Lidge mowed down the Giants in the 9th to pick up his ninth save of the season.
Former Giant Pedro Feliz also had a good game in his first return to San Francisco since playing eight years with the Giants. Feliz made several solid plays in the field and tied the game up at 4 in the 6th inning on a double.
The Phillies are back at it with the Giants on Saturday at 4:05 when Old Man Moyer takes on Giants phenom Tim Lincecum.
Unfortunately I will be unavailable to do a Live Blog for tonight's game between the Flyers and the Penguins. I apologize to all of you who have been coming here to follow/discuss the game, but I assure you there will be a Live Blog for Game Two!
The Flyers have a tough challenge tonight without their top defenseman but they have proven that they can battle through adversity. Game One will be critical in setting the tempo for the series. Expect the Flyers to hit Sidney Crosby early and often so he gets the message that every inch of space he gets will have to be earned.
While there will be no Live Blog, feel free to discuss tonight's game as it happens in the comments section of this post. Go Flyers!
With Kimmo Timonen likely out for the remainder of the playoffs, the Flyers have to face the reality of playing an offensive juggernaut like the Penguins without their best defensive player. In Timonen's absence, the Flyers have completely re-shuffled their defensive pairs. Derian Hatcher, who has played well recently, will move up to the top pairing with Braydon Coburn, causing every pairing to be altered. Jason Smith will now be paired with Randy Jones and Jaroslav Modry is back in the lineup in the third pairing with Lasse Kukkonen. On the powerplay, Randy Jones expects to get most of the time in Timonen's spot on the top grouping.
Completely changing all of your defensive pairings at this time of the year is usually not a good thing, but in this case it was necessary. There is no getting around the huge void that Timonen leaves on this team. He was the one player that was irreplaceable in an already thin defensive unit. If any one forward goes down, the Flyers have several options that can step right in, but there is no one with the all-around skill level of Timonen that can step into the back six. It will make the series with the Penguins that much harder. It will now be up to the lesser defensemen like Jones and Kukkonen to raise their level of play or the Flyers will find themselves on the golf course very soon.
The Phillies were dominated by the best pitcher in baseball, Brandon Webb, in Thursday's 8-3 loss to the Diamondbacks. Webb pitched a complete game, giving up six hits, to improve his record to 8-0 on the season. The Phillies were shut down most of the way but managed to scrape out two runs in the ninth to make the game seem a little closer than it was.
There is no shame in getting stymied by a pitcher like Webb. He needed 104 pitches to complete the game, and although he only registered 4 strikeouts, he was in control the entire way. Webb is on pace for 37 wins this season, a ridiculous pace, but it is also ridiculous that he nearly has double digits wins at this point of the season.
The Phillies will get a boost on their road trip with the return of NL MVP Jimmy Rollins. Rollins will rejoin the team in San Francisco on Friday, although the Phils are unsure as to when he will actually play. He needs to test out his ankle with the team trainers, but if everything checks out, we will see him thrust back to the top of the line-up ASAP. As Charlie Manuel so eloquently put it: "He's the MVP. He's the shortstop. He helps us, man." Well said, Charlie.
As Rollins returns, Eric Bruntlett will go back to his role as a bench player. While Bruntlett had a shaky start to his time as a starter, he has bounced back to be one of the more reliable all-around players the Phillies have. His defensive play has been solid and his bat has been better than advertised: he picked up 8 RBI's in the 4 game series with the Diamondbacks. Like Tadahito Iguchi last year, Bruntlett provided only a small drop-off in talent when a star player went down with an injury. He will be a valuable asset off the bench for the Phillies in the coming months. How lopsided does the off-season trade of Michael Bourn and Geoff Geary for Bruntlett and Brad Lidge look now?
The Phillies begin their three game series with the San Francisco Giants on Friday night. We were in line to see a re-match between the two young phenoms, Cole Hamels and Tim Lincecum, but the Giants moved their rotation around when they pulled Barry Zito back out of the bullpen and into a starting role again. That means that Hamels will pitch against Pat Misch on Friday and Lincecum will face Jamie Moyer on Saturday. The Phillies will unfortunately not get the opportunity to tee off on Zito in this series.
The Flyers hopes to get past the Penguins and into the Stanley Cup Finals took a huge blow today when their best defenseman, Kimmo Timonen, was diagnosed with a blood clot in his ankle, effectively ending his season. Timonen's ankle felt sore ever since he was hit by a shot during the series with the Canadiens, so he went in for an exam today and the blood clot was discovered.
This is a big setback for the Flyers. Timonen and Braydon Coburn have done an excellent job neutralizing their oppositions best offensive players throughout the playoffs. It's the worst timing possible with the Flyers preparing to play a team with the offensive firepower that the Penguins feature. Expect more playing time for Randy Jones and Derian Hatcher and for Jaroslav Modry to get back on the ice after missing most of the last series.
Unfortunately, my prediction of the Penguins getting past the Flyers looks even better now. The Flyers are a resilient team and they will fight through this, but losing their top defenseman at this time of the year is a massive blow that will be difficult to overcome. You also have to feel for Timonen, who worked so hard to get the team to this point and now he will be forced to watch helplessly from the sidelines.
The Phillies made a move today to get another left handed reliever, acquiring Stephen Randolph from the Houston Astros for a player to be named later. The Phillies have been searching for a second southpaw to compliment J.C. Romero since the season began, but I am not sure Randolph is the answer. Randolph has been putting up good numbers for Houston's Triple A club in Round Rock, posting a 1.23 ERA, but he is 34 years old and has not been very successful at the major league level. Randolph has spent parts of three seasons with the Astros and Diamondbacks and has a career ERA of 5.52 in 109 major league appearances. He has had some major problems walking guys in the past so unless he can get control of his pitches, he won't be very useful in the bullpen.
My guess is that Randolph will be going to Lehigh Valley and will battle with Steve Kline, who has been a disappointment since he was signed in April, to be the second lefty in the bullpen down the road. This is a typical Pat Gillick move, acquiring a relatively unknown veteran player who could have a minor role with the club down the stretch. Stephen Randolph's career statistics via Baseball-Reference.com
The Phillies were out-hit 13 to 7 by the Diamondbacks but they were able to make their hits count in a 5-4 win in Arizona. Pedro Feliz hit a two-run shot in the 7th inning and Chase Utley drove in the game winning run on a single in the 8th inning. On the pitching side, Kyle Kendrick gave up 10 hits in six innings but managed to only give up 3 runs. The bullpen was the story again tonight with J.C. Romero, Tom Gordon and Brad Lidge combining for 2 and 2/3rds innings of shutout ball after Ryan Madsen allowed a run in the 7th. Lidge picked up his 8th save and has still yet to allow an earned run on the season in 16 innings of work.
Those of you worried about Ryan Howard won't like his line tonight: 0 for 4 with 3 strikeouts. He is now on pace for 231 strikeouts. Howard also made some boneheaded plays in the field, including a ball he dropped on a double play attempt. Maybe Howard needs a 15 day vacation to get his mind off baseball for a while. His confidence has to be shot right now.
There was a scary moment in tonight's game. In the 8th inning, Shane Victorino struck out and Arizona catcher Chris Snyder dropped the ball, so Victorino took off for first. Snyder made a throw that D-backs first baseman Conor Jackson had to lunge forward for, forcing him to collide head to head with Victorino. Jackson took the worst of the hit and had to leave the game while Victorino shook it off and continued playing.
Here are "highlights" of the scary collision between Victorino and Jackson:
The wait is killing me. After only a day between the first and second rounds of the playoffs, the Flyers will end up going a full six days between games when they finally start their series with the Penguins. The Pens will have also been off for five days, so neither team will be carrying much momentum with them into Game One. I understand why the NHL wants to wait until the weekend to start the series, but they are really ruining the flow of the playoffs. Flyers fans have been salivating about a match-up with the team that ducked them at the onset of the playoffs for almost a month now and they are ready to get it started. We are still two days away from the start of the series, but it's time to take a closer look at what we are going to see when they finally drop the puck on Friday.
Offense: Depth is the name of the game here. The Penguins are deep, with two amazing scoring lines, but the Flyers are deeper. Just looking at the Flyers depth at the center position shows just how strong they are no matter which line is on the ice. The Flyers have tremendous depth down the middle with Danny Briere, Mike Richards and Jeff Carter lining up at center on the top three lines. Carter would likely be a second line center on most teams. Fourth line center Jim Dowd is no pushover either, playing a key penalty killing role. The point is, the Flyers get good shifts from all four of their lines, and you never know where they are going to get their scoring from. Against the Capitals, Danny Briere and Vaclav Prospal did most of the goal scoring. When those two cooled off against the Canadiens, R.J. Umberger picked up the slack. Mike Knuble and Jeff Carter have also chipped in some big goals and you can never underestimate the skill and speed of Scottie Upshall. My point is, the Flyers have a balanced scoring attack with 8 players scoring 3 or more goals in the playoffs so far, and you can't key in on one line and hope to contain their offense. They simply have too many ways to beat you.
The Penguins have good depth as well but they are more top heavy and they don't roll four lines as well as the Flyers. Everything offensively starts with Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby who will give the Flyers fits trying to slow them down. The Flyers have a shutdown pair of defenders in Braydon Coburn and Kimmo Timonen who will try to slow down one of the superstars, but the rest of the Flyer defense will have big problems trying to contain the secondary scoring attack. The Penguins have also gotten some timely goals from Petr Sykora and Marian Hossa and they have the always dangerous Ryan Malone and Jordan Staal, but from there they have a big drop-off in talent. The top groupings are more skilled than anything the Flyers can put out there, so I will give the Penguins a slight edge. The Penguins have a better top end, the Flyers have better depth.
Defense: Both teams have their big bruisers and their puck-moving defensemen. Pittsburgh has arguably the best offensive defenseman in the league in Sergei Gonchar and Hal Gill is a massive specimen on the back end. They don't have anyone else who will wow you with their talent, but they play disciplined, sound hockey. As a group, the Penguins defense is very underrated.
The Flyers have their great first pairing of Coburn and Timonen and Derian Hatcher has been steady, but the rest of the defense has done little to impress. Randy Jones has his moments and Lasse Kukkonen has played as well as can be expected, but Jason Smith is a turnover machine. Smith did better against the Canadiens than he did with the Capitals, but he still has puck control and positional issues. This group will be tested by a speedy Penguins attack, but after keeping up with the lightning quick Canadiens forwards they have proven they can skate with just about anyone. I still give the Penguins defense a slight edge over the Flyers because they seem to have a more complete group of defenders.
Goaltending: These are the two hottest goaltenders in the playoffs. Marc-Andre Fleury has bounced back from a shaky playoff performance last year to post some great numbers and Martin Biron has single-handedly carried the Flyers through many a defensive breakdown. Picking which goaltender is better is nearly impossible, but I will give the slight edge to Martin Biron because he seems less likely to get rattled. I still think the Fleury is yound and is still susceptible to losing confidence if he gives up a bad goal while Biron has been unshakable this entire playoff run. Obvious statement: Whichever goaltender plays better in this series will be going to the Stanley Cup Finals.
The Penguins seem to be the slightly better team on paper, but so has every Flyer opponent so far. Where the Flyers have a big advantage over everyone is in the intangibles like leadership and determination, and that will make this an extremely entertaining and long series. I still think that the Penguins will win in seven games, but the Flyers are going to make it very difficult along the way. They will hit Crosby and Malkin every chance they get to slow them down and neutralize their speed, but the Flyers will come up just short. Believe me, I will be rooting for the Flyers every step of the way, unfortunately the Penguins will be able to expose the Flyers back end too easily. Pittsburgh will move on, but the Flyers will be happy to know they will wear them down so much that the Detroit Red Wings will wipe out the Penguins in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Eagles rookie DeSean Jackson has been selected for the cover of NCAA Football 09 for the Playstation 2. Apparently EA picked a different cover athlete for each version of the game. Darren McFadden will be on the cover of the XBox 360 version, Matt Ryan will be on the Playstation 3 box. It's an honor for Jackson for sure, but too bad he was chosen for the Playstation 2. No one plays that anymore!
The Phillies lost to the Diamondbacks 6-4 tonight thanks to a bad pitching performance by Adam Eaton. Eaton gave up six runs in four innings, but no run was worse than the one he gave up when he walked Randy Johnson on four straight pitches with the bases loaded in the fourth inning. Johnson's lifetime batting average: .167. Watch the embarrassing sequence if you dare:
The best part of the clip is watching Charlie Manuel's disgusted reaction to Eaton's crappiness and then seeing D-backs manager Bob Melvin cracking a smile in the opposing dugout.
Maybe I'm not as hockey-smart as I thought I was. After going 7 for 8 with my first round predictions (although I didn't get any of the series lengths correct), I took a nosedive with my second round predictions, going 2 for 4. Of course, since I picked against the Flyers in the second round, it's a 2 for 4 that I can live with. Still, after failing to correctly predict the length of any playoff series so far, I am not sure how much credibility I really have, but here are my predictions for the next round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs:
Western Conference Finals (1) Detroit vs. (5) Dallas Detroit in 6 First of all, Johan Franzen is amazing. For how good R.J. Umberger of the Flyers played against the Canadiens (8 goals in 5 games), Franzen has been even better. He simply went off against the Avalanche, scoring 9 goals in 4 games, including two hat tricks. Pretty good for a guy who scored only 27 regular season goals.
I have picked against the Stars in every round so far, so obviously I failed to see what was so good about them. They remind me a lot of the Flyers, except they don't hit as much. They have great leaders, tough goaltending and they do just enough to win. They can withstand whatever the other team throws at them and they score back-breaking, timely goals. The Stars made the Sharks, arguably the most talented team in hockey, look average, and while some of that was San Jose's fault, the Stars have to be credited with slowing down one of the hottest teams in the NHL. Still, I just can't see them keeping up with a Detroit team that has seemingly been resting up since March. The Red Wings have the best combination of flashy scorers and heady defensemen in the league, and all they will need is adequate goaltending from Chris Osgood to move on to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Eastern Conference Finals Pittsburgh (2) vs. Philadelphia (6) Pittsburgh in Seven Believe me, I want the Flyers to win, and part of me really wants to pick them. The series will be a classic match-up between two rivals who clearly can't stand each other. The problem is, the Penguins are just too deep. They have their two big guns, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Since they play on different lines, it will be up to Flyers coach John Stevens to figure out which one will play against the Flyers shut down unit of Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn. The problem is, the Penguins go so much deeper than that. They have Petr Sykora, who scored 28 goals this season. Ryan Malone added another 27. Then, you have Marian Hossa and Jordan Staal to worry about. Does anyone really think Jason Smith or Randy Jones is going to be able to slow down Hossa or Malone? Couple all that scoring with a goaltender who has been just as good as Martin Biron, and the Flyers have a big challenge ahead of them.
Of course, the Flyers will do something to the Penguins that no one has done yet this postseason: hit them. Hard. The Senators and Rangers are not teams that are known for their physical play, so the Penguins will be forced to play a totally different type of hockey game against the rugged Flyers. The Penguins also have yet to be really challenged this entire postseason. They are a young team, what's going to happen if they fall behind by two goals in one of the early games? Will they have the moxie and determination to fight back, or will they lose their confidence in the face of adversity?
Another thing the Flyers have going for them is their depth. Especially with the way R.J. Umberger is playing, the Flyers' three top lines have nearly as much scoring ability as the Penguins'. Add into the mix a determined Martin Biron, and you have a series that has all the makings of a seven game war.
So why am I picking against the Flyers? Their biggest weakness is their defense, they are two defensemen short of a solid back six. Jason Smith and Lasse Kukkonen, while they have flashes of competency, really don't belong on a team trying to win a Cup. The Penguins deep scoring attack is going to expose those two for the mediocre players they really are. So, with much regret, I will be picking the Penguins, but my heart will 100% be behind the Flyers. I do think they have a great chance to get to the Finals, but it's going to take another level of defensive play we just haven't seen yet. Of course, if Martin Biron keeps standing on his head, he can erase many of the mistakes the back end creates.
I hope I am wrong about the Flyers once again and they surprise everyone who is picking against them. Have predictions of your own or a problem with mine? Put your thoughts in the comments section!
Former Phillie pitching prospect Gavin Floyd was always known as a guy full of potential and great stuff, but he was never able to put it all together on the mound. After suffering through a terrible 2006 season where he started 11 games for the Phillies and posted an ERA of 7.29, Floyd was shipped to the White Sox in the deal that brought Freddy Garcia to the Phils. Floyd looked like his usual terrible self for most of last season, but he looks like he may have finally harnessed his ability in 2008.
Floyd entered tonight's game against the Minnesota Twins with a 2-1 record and an ERA of 2.61 and proceeded to flash the potential we all waited for in Philadelphia. He pitched the best game of his career, no-hitting the Twins through 8 1/3 innings. He didn't exactly dominate the game as he walked three batters and even allowed a run in the 4th inning on a sacrifice fly, but he still looked quite impressive. Floyd left the game in the ninth inning after giving up his first hit of the game to Joe Mauer, but the White Sox held on to beat the Twins 7-1.
Gavin Floyd might be a guy the Phillies want back especially given the way Freddy Garcia's Phillies career went. Of course, he could just as easily slip back into the bad habits and mind-numbingly frustrating performances he displayed as a Phillie.
When will ESPN learn? For the third series in a row, Scott Burnside of ESPN has picked against the Philadelphia Flyers. In the first round, Burnside selected the Capitals in six games, in the second he picked the Canadiens in five. This time, Burnside predicts that the Penguins will beat the Flyers in six games to move on to the Stanley Cup Final. He sites the Penguins ability to capitalize on the Flyers penalties and the solid goaltending of Marc-Andre Fleury as the reasons the Pens will get past their cross-state rivals.
Burnside's prediction should give Flyers' fans confidence. He has underestimated the Flyers in every series and couldn't be futher from an expert on the NHL. Yes, the Penguins are the better team on paper, but the Flyers have all the intangibles that winning teams need: grit, leadership and good goaltending.
In the Western Conference match-up, Burnside picks the Red Wings in seven.
I will post more "expert" predictions in the next few days as well as my own thoughts on the series later in the week.
Max Scherzer of the Arizona Diamondbacks was two years old when Jamie Moyer made his major league debut back in 1986. Scherzer made his first career start tonight and Moyer, with his 21 years of experience, showed the rookie how it's done, leading the Phillies to a 11-4 win over the D-backs.
Moyer put together one of his better performances of the season, going 7 innings and scattering 6 hits. He struck out 5 D-backs and gave up only 2 runs. At one point, he sent down 10 hitters down in a row. Moyer also showed some prowess with the bat, going 2 for 3 with a double and an RBI. He even dropped down a good bunt to advance the runners in the 7th inning.
Scherzer didn't have a terrible debut on the mound. He gave up 5 runs, but only two of them were earned, in four innings of work. The Phillies simply overmatched him, and the rest of the D-backs bullpen.
With Pat Burrell going 0 for 5 tonight, the rest of the Phils offense picked up the slack. Eric Bruntlett had a bases loaded triple that drove in three runs, and both Carlos Ruiz and Geoff Jenkins added three hits. The most amazing thing about the big offensive output tonight was the fact that they scored 11 runs without hitting a single home run. Ryan Howard even looked a little better at the plate, going 1 for 4, picking up 2 RBI and striking out only once.
The road trip got off to a good start tonight, but the Phillies still have 3 more games against the Major League best Diamondbacks to go. The Phils have to face a man only slightly younger than Moyer tomorrow night in Randy Johnson, and they will send Adam Eaton to the mound.
Jimmy Who? Eric Bruntlett's bases-clearing triple in the 7th:
The Phillies have had one of their best starts to a season in recent memory, and most of it has been done without the reigning NL MVP, Jimmy Rollins. Rollins has been on the disabled list for most of the first-place Phils' season, but he is set to return this week. In preparation for his return, Rollins played in an extended spring training game today and went 4 for 4 with two RBI. Rollins said he felt "a bit of a twinge" while running the bases, but he thinks he is just about ready to return.
Rollins believes he will be ready to play in Thursday's game in Arizona. He is eligible to come off the 15 day disabled list today but he will take the next few days getting himself in game shape.
The Phillies, given their recent April history, had a great start to the season. They are a first place team even without Rollins and without Ryan Howard doing much of anything. Chase Utley and Pat Burrell have been carrying this team offensively but eventually they will come back down to earth. At that point, having a healthy Rollins at the top of the order will go a long way to continuing to produce runs. Now all they need is Howard to start hitting. A .351 slugging percentage just won't cut it.
Over a month ago, I discussed the possibility that Simon Gagne, who has been out since February with concussion symptoms, might return to the ice if the Flyers make the Stanley Cup Finals. Well, with the Flyers a mere four wins away from the Stanley Cup Finals, it now seems there is little hope that Gagne will be suiting up any time soon.
When asked about Gagne's possible return to the ice, Flyers GM Paul Holmgren believes he's "not an option no matter how long this thing goes". Gagne was with the team in Montreal, but he hasn't done anything on skates yet and is still far from being able to return. Holmgren feels that it would be best for Gagne to wait until next season and not try to rush back.
As I watch the Flyers this postseason, every now and then I wonder about how good this team would be with Simon Gagne in the lineup. He is a two-time 40 goal scorer and an offensive force. He would look really good on the top line, paired up with Danny Briere and Vinny Prospal. Imagine how much better this team would be if you add one more sniper to the mix. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Gagne will be coming back any time soon, but it might be for the best. After all, anyone who has been following the Flyers for the last decade knows what happened the last time a superstar player tried to come back too soon. It was painful watching Eric Lindros get crushed by Scott Stevens, and a hit like that on Gagne would likely end his career.
Rushing Gagne would make little sense in the long run so it looks like we can only wonder how good this team would be with its best pure goal scorer on the ice. With how intense every shift of playoff hockey is, he would be foolish to try to come back in this environment. It would be better for him to try things out again next September when there is no pressure and there aren't five guys trying to crush him every time he touches the puck. The Flyers don't necessarily need Gagne, but it would sure be nice to see #12 back on the ice next season.
Between the first and second rounds, the Flyers only had one day of rest. Now, after knocking off the Canadiens on Saturday, the Flyers will have nearly a week to prepare for their cross-state rivals:
Game 1: Friday, May 9, Philadelphia at Pittsburgh, 7:30 pm Game 2: Sunday, May 11, Philadelphia at Pittsburgh, 7:30 pm Game 3: Tuesday, May 13, Pittsburgh at Philadelphia, 7:30 pm Game 4: Thursday, May 15, Pittsburgh at Philadelphia, 7:30 pm Game 5: Sunday, May 18, Philadelphia at Pittsburgh, 3:00 pm Game 6: Tuesday, May 20, Pittsburgh at Philadelphia, 7:30 pm Game 7: Thursday, May 22, Philadelphia at Pittsburgh, 7:30 pm
With the Penguins finishing off the Rangers on Sunday, both teams will enter the series with plenty of rest. There will be no momentum carried over from the previous round with this much time off; hopefully this won't affect the players who have been hot for the Flyers, like Martin Biron and R.J. Umberger. Check back later for much more on this all-Pennsylvania battle.
There is no avoiding the Flyers this time, Penguins!
The Penguins defeated the New York Rangers today, 3-2 in overtime, winning the series 4-1 to set up an all-Pennsylvania Eastern Conference Final between the Flyers and Penguins. You will recall the last time the Penguins played the Flyers at the end of the regular season, they purposely sat Sidney Crosby and tanked the game, ensuring that they wouldn't have to play the Flyers in the first round of the playoffs. They knew that playing the Flyers in the first round would wear them down and hinder their chances at making a deep run in the playoffs. This time they can't avoid the Flyers and you can bet that Crosby is going to get hit from all sides every time he touches the puck.
Expect plenty of bad blood between these two teams when the series gets under way later this week. These teams do not like each other and have had several fights already this season. The Flyers won the season series against the Penguins this year 5-3, but we know none of that means anything now.
Bring on Pittsburgh and lets show them how playoff hockey is really played. They have played two teams that aren't exactly known for their toughness in the Senators and Rangers, so expect the Flyers to really rough them up and slow them down. With a trip to the Stanley Cup on the line, this series has all the makings of a classic battle. Expect the NHL to bill this as Good vs. Evil, Sidney Crosby vs. a bunch of thugs, and that is just fine with the Flyers, who relish in the underdog role.
For a team that was supposed to be terrible this season, the San Francisco Giants proved to be tough to beat for the Phillies. On Friday night, the Phils needed a Pat Burrell bomb in the 10th inning to win. On Saturday, the Giants were able to edge out a win of their own in the 10th inning. Today's game looked like it was going to go into extra innings as well until Geoff Jenkins drove in Ryan Howard in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the Phils a 6-5 win.
With runners on first and second in the bottom of the 9th, Jenkins hit a roller to Giants second baseman Eugenio Velez who couldn't come up with the ball and it allowed Howard to score all the way from second. It wasn't the prettiest way to end the game, but the Phillies will take the W and remain atop the National League East for another day.
The game started out as a pitching duel between two young stars, Cole Hamels and Tim Lincecum. Each pitcher looked dominant in stretches but also gave up too many big hits. Their stat lines ended up looking nearly identical, with both pitchers going 6 innings, striking out 5 and giving up 4 runs, although Lincecum didn't have any earned runs due to poor Giants defense.
Pat Burrell continued his hot hitting, picking up 2 doubles and walking twice. Ryan Howard didn't strike out at all in the game, an amazing feat for him, and drew three walks, including a key one in the 9th that led to him scoring the winning run.
It wasn't a series the Phillies dominated, but they still took 2 out of 3 against a scrappy Giants team. The Phils will have to step up their game as they go on the road to play the best team in baseball, the Arizona Diamondbacks, in a four game series that starts tomorrow. Jimmy Rollins is supposed to be coming back at some point this week against Arizona which should help make it a great series between two first place teams.
Bring on the Penguins! Or maybe the Rangers if they pull off a miracle.
After falling behind by 2 goals in the third period, the Flyers pulled off an incredible comeback to knock off the Canadiens 6-4 and win their series against Montreal 4 games to 1. It was another total team effort in the comeback, with several players stepping up, making plays and scoring goals to lead the Flyers to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Scottie Upshall was the big hero of the night as he scored the game winning goal when he deflected in a Jeff Carter shot with 3 minutes left in the third. R.J. Umberger also continued his incredible goal scoring streak with two goals tonight, scoring for the 5th game in a row to give him 9 total goals in the playoffs. Umberger has been just incredible lately, scoring timely goals on some amazing plays.
Before the game, the Canadiens decided to start Carey Price, a decision that they probably regret now. Price was shaky all night, continually giving up huge rebounds and allowing the puck to play him instead of the other way around. He made a few solid stops during the game, but more often then not he misplayed the puck and failed to contain his rebounds. He was a big reason why the Flyers were able to win this series, especially when you compare his performance to that of Martin Biron. Biron was a rock in the Flyers goal and Price was completely flustered and lacked confidence.
The game didn't start out great for the Flyers as the Canadiens struck first for the first time all series. Tomas Plekanec scored a power play goal off a deflection that Biron had no chance on 4 1/2 minutes into the game. Umberger then tied the score with his first goal of the night when he broke in on Price, fired a backhand shot that ricocheted off Price and then pumped the rebound home as he was falling down. Those are the types of goals hot players score.
The Canadiens then scored the next two goals to build a 3-1 lead. Biron had no chance on the first goal that deflected off Alexei Kovalev's stick, but he looked human later as Chris Higgins beat him with a shot in the second period. From there, the Flyers rallied to score three unanswered goals in the second period, getting tallies from Mike Richards, R.J. Umberger and Scott Hartnell to take a 4-3 lead into the third period. Richards' goal was fluky as he tried to bat the puck down and it appeared to deflect off his glove and into the net. Hartnell simply fired a shot on Price that he couldn't handle to give the Flyers the lead.
The Canadiens struck early in the third to tie the game up on another goal that made Marty Biron look human. Then, after a ton of chances both ways and lots of plays up and down the ice, Scottie Upshall deflected Jeff Carter's shot past Price to give the Flyers a 5-4 lead. Mike Knuble later finished things off with an empty netter to ensure the victory.
Tonight's win had a lot to do with lucky bounces, but they were set up by the Flyers hustling to the puck and getting in the right place to make things happen. They showed tremendous fortitude in fighting back from a 2 goal deficit, something they watched their opponents do far too often in the playoffs. This team has the look of a team of destiny; they will not give up no matter how far down they are or how badly they are being outplayed. The Flyers have the ability to absorb the best chances their opponent has and turn them around into back-breaking goals. Timely scoring and amazing goaltending is the recipe for success in the playoffs, and the Flyers have both working for them right now.
The Flyers move on to the Eastern Conference Finals now, and they await the winner of the Penguins/Rangers series. With the Penguins holding a 3-1 lead, it looks like we are heading for a battle for Pennsylvania with our cross-state rivals. With a trip to the Stanley Cup on the line, it's going to be an amazing series.
This is a special Flyers team. They have gone from the worst team in the NHL to one of the four best teams in the league. While so much credit is given to GM Paul Holmgren for re-shaping this team, plenty should be given to Coach John Stevens for getting them to play the game the right way. The Flyers work hard, hit hard, and don't let anything come easy for their opponents. How Stevens isn't a finalist for the NHL Coach of the Year award is beyond me; he certainly has been pushing all the right buttons and making all the right decisions for the last month.
The Canadiens, the number one seed in the Eastern Conference, are the next team to fall to the Flyers. With so much at stake now, the competition will really step up and the Flyers will have to raise their game even more. We are going to see if this team has been overachieving this whole time or if they are truly a team that is destined to win it all. After a few days of solid rest, hopefully they can get right back out there and continue to play with the intensity and aggression that no team has been able to match so far.
Oh, and if they do end up playing the Penguins, I wonder what injury Sidney Crosby will make up this time to avoid playing the Flyers?
Video highlights of the Flyers series clincher against the Canadiens via Comcast SportsNet:
Check back right here tonight at 7:00 for the Flyers vs. Canadiens Game Five Live Blog. Discuss the game action with fellow Flyer fans as it happens. The Flyers will be looking to close out the Canadiens and move on to the Eastern Conference Finals!
Uh oh, here we go again. Donovan McNabb was interviewed at minicamp by Paul Domowitch, and this was his response to the question of whether he was happy with the Eagles offeason moves:
"It wasn't to my liking. It's hard to put pressure on these young guys coming in. You wouldn't throw them into the fire like that. I think it's good that we have the (other) guys back healthy and we all can get out there, and those young guys can kind of contribute where they can. But for the veterans, it's an important season for us."
McNabb isn't happy that the Eagles didn't go out and do more to improve on both sides of the ball. Later in the interview, McNabb says that he doesn't necessarily think they need more receivers, but you know that is what he wanted all along when he made a call for more playmakers. He is happy that the Birds brought in Asante Samuel for the defensive side of the ball, but apparently DeSean Jackson and Lorenzo Booker aren't enough for him to work with on offense.
Also in the interview with Domowitch, McNabb says he is feeling healthy and he still feels that this team can win a Super Bowl, it will just be on the veterans to make it happen.
I am sure these latest comments will create quite a buzz around Philly and in the national media.
UPDATE: Domowitch believes that McNabb didn't express himself properly and that the exchange doesn't reflect displeasure with the team's moves. Here is the exchange as Domowitch believes it happened: Question: Are the offseason changes to your liking? McNabb: It wasn't (about) my liking (the changes). It's about the team.
Not sure if that really clarifies anything, but the rest of McNabb's statements don't really show much negativity towards the offseason moves.
Much to the joy of the Philadelphia Flyers, Carey Price will be returning to the net for the Montreal Canadiens for Game Five tonight. As they face elimination, Montreal coach Guy Carbonneau has chosen to play to 20 year old rookie, who has been extremely shaky against the Flyers, rather than Jaroslav Halak, who was in net for Game Four after Price was benched. The Canadiens are hoping that Price's confidence isn't destroyed by his terrible play and subsequent benching while the Flyers hope he keeps misplaying the puck and giving them extra scoring chances.
The Canadiens are in full-on desperation mode for tonight's game. Not only will they be putting a broken goaltender in net, they will also be shuffling their lines around, trying to find a combination that will work. With their backs against the wall, expect Montreal to come out with a bunch of fire and intensity and try to jump on the Flyers early. It will be up to the Flyers to hold their ground and try to counter-punch to calm down the rabid Montreal fans.
Hopefully the Flyers have learned from their first round series with the Capitals that you need to close out a team when you get the chance. With the Pittsburgh Penguins poised to knock off the Rangers tomorrow, the Flyers need to finish off the Canadiens so they can rest up for a potential Keystone state battle.
More evidence for the affect a contract year has on a player's performance: Pat Burrell's 2008 season. Burrell, who has been putting up consistent numbers year in and year out for the Phillies, continues to crush the ball this season better than he has in his entire career. In tonight's game against the Giants, he continued his torrid streak with a home run at the most dramatic moment. With Chase Utley standing on first and the Phillies trailing 5-4 in the bottom of the 10th inning, and a count of 3 balls and 2 strikes, Burrell hit his 9th home run of the season to win the game for the Phillies, 6-5.
Burrell's hot start has helped to mask Ryan Howard's struggles (0 for 5 with 3 strikeouts tonight) and Jimmy Rollins' injury (20+ games missed and counting). Burrell is now hitting .33o on the season and is on pace to hit 49 homers and drive in 151 runs, numbers that would shatter his career highs. Between Burrell and Utley, who hit another home run tonight to stretch his league-leading total to 12, the Phillies have two guys who are in the Top 15 in the National League in batting average, homers and RBI's. If the big guy hitting in between them ever heats up, this team will be unstoppable.
As for the rest of tonight's game, the Phillies bullpen finally showed they were human tonight. Ryan Madson gave up the runs in the 7th to allow the Giants to tie the game up and J.C. Romero gave up his first earned run of the season in the 10th that allowed the Giants to take a lead. Kyle Kendrick pitched adequately, although two of the runs that Madson gave up in the 7th were runners he allowed on base.
Tonight also marked the return of fan favorite Aaron Rowand to Philadelphia. Rowand got a nice standing ovation for his first at-bat of the night and the Phillie Phanatic had some fun re-enacting his infamous crash into the wall. Rowand had a great night, going 2 for 5 and hitting what could have been the game-winning home run in the top of the 10th, but Phils fans should remember that the reason Rowand left town was to chase the money. For all the praise he gets as a clubhouse guy, he sold out to go to the crappy Giants instead of staying with a team he could have won a championship with. The Phillies made him an offer that was pretty substantial but the Giants offer was much more, so Rowand took the money and left town.
The Phillies play two more against the Giants this weekend, including a must-see pitching match-up between Cole Hamels and Tim Lincecum on Sunday afternoon. Whoever actually scores a run off those two will win the game.
Video of Pat Burrell's walk-off homer via Comcast SportsNet:
Football season is still a long way off, but with minicamps starting up this weekend it's hard to not start looking forward to the coming season. The Eagles will begin their minicamp today and there are a few intriguing stories that are already developing as we look to the new season.
*Lito Sheppard He's still on the roster, so Lito will be coming to minicamp. There is some discussion that if the Eagles are still trying to trade him, they are taking a risk in having him participate in minicamp. An injury right now would kill his trade value, so let's hope he stays healthy.
*New faces By my count, the Eagles are bringing in 26 new players to minicamp. This includes free agents, players acquired through trades, drafted rookies and free agent rookies. Here is a complete list of new players by position:
Running backs: Lorenzo Booker
Fullbacks: Jed Collins Dan Klecko
Wide Receviers: Bam Childress Terrell Golden Frantz Hardy DeSean Jackson Jamal Jones Shaheer McBride
Tight Ends: Kris Wilson
Offensive Tackles: Franklin Dunbar King Dunlap Mike Gibson
Guards: Mike McGlynn
Defensive Tackles: Trevor Laws
Defensive Ends: Chris Clemons A.J. Schable Bryan Smith
Linebackers: Rocky Boiman Joe Mays Justin Roland Andy Studebaker
Cornerbacks: Kyle Arrington Asante Samuel
Safety: Quintin Demps
Punter: Richmond McGee
It's interesting to look at the positions where they only got a few players, like safety and defensive tackle. Clearly the Eagles feel comfortable with the players they have returning from last years squad at those positions. The one position not represented in the list above: QB.
*Position battles Yes, it's early, but position battles start now. Dan Klecko is being brought in to battle with Jason Davis for the starting fullback spot. L.J. Smith will still be the starting tight end, but there are three players vying for playing time behind him: Brent Celek, Kris Wilson and Matt Schobel. My guess is the signing of Wilson will mark the end of Schobel's Eagle career. There will also be an interesting battle at running back where the acquisition of Lorenzo Booker will likely push out either Tony Hunt or Ryan Moats.
There is a lot going on already, and we still have four months until the season starts!
(Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
I posted earlier that it was do or die for the Sixers tonight, and they got killed. The Pistons won Game Six tonight in dominating fashion, 100-77, and ended the Sixers' season. Detroit wins the series 4-2, and the Sixers now go into the off-season looking for more parts to help them build for a championship down the road.
The Pistons commanded the game from the outset, building an 18 point lead after the first quarter and they simply coasted from there. They made nearly everything they shot on the night, finishing with a 67% shooting percentage, and forced the Sixers into taking bad shots themselves. Philly finished the night shooting an abysmal 33% and looked completely lost as to how to do anything against the Pistons offensively or defensively.
This was an awful way for an otherwise impressive Sixers season to end. They were completely over-matched and out-worked by the Pistons, and the game ended up being an embarrassing scrub-fest in the fourth quarter as both teams emptied their benches and gave everyone some run. The Philly crowd didn't have much to cheer about and left the Wachovia Center feeling ripped off by the terrible game they had to watch.
The Pistons move on to play the Orlando Magic while the Sixers hit the golf course. The series turned out to be a learning experience for the Sixers. They learned that they aren't good enough to play with the NBA's elite, but they can surprise teams that aren't going to play their best basketball. The Pistons stepped up their game in the final three games of the series, and the Sixers simply didn't have the firepower to match what Detroit was doing.
Next year, the Sixers will look to make a repeat trip to the Eastern Conference playoffs. Their main goal should be to finish the season over .500 and then try to get a top five seed in the East. Once they get into the playoffs again, they can use the experience they had this year to help them as they try to play their way into the second round.
All of that can happen if the Sixers add a post presence to the team in the off-season, a piece that will help them be a complete team with a bright future. Unfortunately, at the present, they went down in an ugly fashion, but we all have to remember to look at the big picture with this team that really had no business even making it to the playoffs this year. Fortunately, with the right moves by GM Ed Stefanski this offseason, the Sixers will be a force to be reckoned with down the road.
Maybe May will be a better month for Ryan Howard. With the game tied 2-2 in the bottom of the 8th, Howard hit a game winning home run to give the Phillies a 3-2 victory over the San Diego Padres. Howard also had a double earlier in the game that drove in a run. His two hits on the night rose his batting average to a robust .184 and also gives him 20 hits to go with his 40 strikeouts on the season. A 2 to 1 strikeout to hit ratio would be impressive for pitching statistics, but for a hitter that is downright embarrassing. Hopefully tonight was the start of a something better for Howard.
Tonight's win, coupled with a Marlins loss to the Dodgers, moves the Phillies into first place in the NL East. They sit a mere 1/2 game above the Marlins and Mets, but seeing as how it's only May, we should all be impressed that the usually slow starting Phils were able to shake their bad April habits and fight there way to the top of the division. Plus, being in first place without the NL MVP in the line-up is no small feat.
The pitching was the other story of the game. Adam Eaton, who continues to be better than everyone thought, threw 6 innings and gave up 2 runs. That kind of performance will earn him a win every time. The bullpen came in for the final three innings and shut things down just like they have all season. Ryan Madson, J.C. Romero, Tom Gordon and Brad Lidge didn't allow a hit and struck out four batters to shut down the Padres. Lidge earned his 7th save on the season and continues to sport a triple-zero ERA.
The surprisingly-not-that-terrible San Francisco Giants come to Philly tomorrow to start a three game weekend series with the Phillies. The Giants look like an awful team on paper, but they have gotten some good pitching from their youthful rotation. They have removed Barry Zito and his 7.53 ERA from the rotation so the Phils won't be able to tee off on him, but they should have no problem winning 2 of 3 from this team regardless.
Highlights of the win, including Ryan Howard's blast, via Comcast SportsNet:
The Philly faithful are salivating so badly for a receiver, they'll jump on any rumor that involves bringing one to the Eagles. Rumors about Adarius Bowman, a wide receiver from Oklahoma State who went undrafted last weekend, signing with the Eagles have been flying for the last 24 hours but today it appears that it won't happen. It was first reported by NFLDraftBible.com and then by KFFL.com that Bowman signed with the Eagles, but according to the latest report from ProFootballTalk.com, the Eagles have not signed him and have no interest in bringing him to Philadelphia.
Bowman has immense talent, and would have been picked in the first three rounds if it wasn't for a litany of off-field issues. Bowman, a 6 foot 4 receiver who would fit the Eagles need for a big red zone threat, faces up to a year in jail after pleading guilty to possession of marijuana. The Eagles have had their fill of receivers with off-field issues, so don't count on Bowman coming to Philly any time soon.
Bowman had a productive career at Oklahoma State and may yet have a great pro career but it won't be in an Eagle uniform. The Eagles have plenty of receivers coming to camp anyway given the recent influx of DeSean Jackson at the draft and the three other undrafted wide receivers they picked up earlier in the week. They'll have plenty of bodies, but there is no telling if that will be enough talent. Right now it looks like they have a couple of guys who are really complementary receivers, trading for a true number one would make everything look a whole lot better.
The Sixers season could come to an end tonight. With the team down 3-2 to the Detroit Pistons and Game 6 coming tonight in Philadelphia, the Sixers will need to play their best game of the season if they want to stave off elimination. They have surprised even the biggest Sixer fan out there with how they have forced the Pistons to play at their highest level to get past them, but if the last two games have been any indication, the Sixers might simply not be able to keep up with the Pistons when they are at their best.
Since halftime of Game 5, when the Sixers held a 10 point lead, the Pistons seem to have risen their game to another level that the Sixers have had no answer for. The Pistons have made fewer turnovers which hasn't allowed the Sixers to get out and run. Detroit's defense has also locked things down even when the Sixers got out in transition. They have also exposed the fact that the Sixers are simply one scorer short of being a contending team. Andre Iguodala can't do everything himself, no matter how hard he tries and how many bad shots he forces up.
Even if their season ends tonight, the Sixers should still look at this season as a success. They fought hard to get into the playoffs and their young guys have gotten a taste of playoff basketball against an elite opponent. Now it will be up to Ed Stefanski to make the big move he has promised us since he unloaded Kyle Korver. It will be up to him to fill in the missing pieces that will make this a complete team. It will also be up to Stefanski to try to convince Andre Miller to stick around for a while.
But, we can look to the offseason later. Let's enjoy tonight's game in Philly because it might be the last time we get to watch this exciting, young Sixers team in a while.
(AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)
