Tonight's Lineup:
Rollins, ss
Victorino, cf
Utley, 2b
Howard, 1b
Burrell, lf
Jenkins, rf
Feliz, 3b
Ruiz, c
Hamels, p

Brett's Back
A shaky first inning, three runs on three hits, didn't bode well for Brett Myers.  But, he regrouped and turned in an outstanding performance.  He rode Charlie Manuel's V-8 Machine to an impressive win and first place in the East.  Over the next seven innings, he gave up three hits and no runs while fanning 11. 

Hopefully, Brett's early-season troubles are in the rear view mirror.  He pitches like last night, look out.

What can you say about Chase Utley?  The best offensive player in the game? As has been said here, he had a great April, cooled off a bit but has returned to lead this offense (4 HR, 15 RBI, last 5 games).
 
A V-8 engine is very powerful when all cylinders are working.   Miss a few cylinders and the engine will sputter.  For a while there, Manuel's V-8 Machine was sputtering.  Not lately as eight of the eight starting players seem to contribute.  Big innings have become the norm (5 or more runs in an inning, 10 times).  At some point, Manuel's V-8 Machine will slow down but it awesome to watch right now.

Countdown to the Draft
5 more days to baseball's First-Year Player Draft.

Dykstra, Gordon, Weeks, Roenicke. 

All are available in the draft.  Actually, there are two Dykstras, Cutter, a high school second baseman turned centerfielder and Allan, a college first baseman.  Guess which one is Lenny's son?  If you guessed the centerfielder, you are correct.

Tom Gordon's son, Devaris Strange-Gordon, is an infielder who hasn't been played much baseball but he's really caught the eyes of baseball scouts with his multiple tools.

Weeks is Jemile, a high school second baseman whose brother, Rickie, is the Brewers' second baseman.  Gary Roenicke is the nephew of Ron, who played for the Phillies in 1986-87.

There are two other prospects with familiar names.  Kyle Long is a high school first baseman-pitcher, the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Howie.  Kyle's brother was the first player taken in the NFL draft last month.  Some kind of athletes in that family!

Then there is a LHP, Daniel Schlereth, out of the University of Arizona.  His dad is Mark, a former NFL offensive lineman and current ESPN Commentator.

This Date
In Phillies history......
1994 Phillies rally for 87 win at Wrigley Field, ending the month with a 1513 record despite losing three starting pitchers (Curt Schilling, Tommy Greene, Ben Rivera) and three regulars (1B John Kruk, SS Kevin Stocker, 3B Dave Hollins) to the disabled list during the month.

 

Tonight's Lineup, the first game of a big weekend series:
Rollins, ss
Victorino, cf
Utley, 2b
Howard, 1b
Burrell, lf
Feliz, 3b
Coste, c
Taguchi, rf
Myers, p

Draft Countdown
6 more days until the First-Year Player Draft.

Marti Wolever and his crew worked until 10:30 last night.  Concentration was on ranking more high school pitchers and starting the same process with high school position players.  Three of the eight magnetic boards are now starting to fill up with names in blue (college players) and red (high school).

Speaking of colors, there are three colored dots that may appear on a player's name plate: red
(medical alert), green (signability issues) and orange (college senior).

Area scouts have players fill out questionnaires that includes reports on present and past injuries. ("A" indicates minimal concerns; "B", more serious and "C" very serious).  Part of scouting is also being aware of injuries.  The medical reports are passed on to Dr. Michael Ciccotti, who reviews each and every report.  Former head athletic trainer, Jeff Cooper, also sees all the medical reports.  "Coop" serves as an advisor because of his knowledge and experience of dealing with the various types of injuries.  He's one of the best when it comes to rehabbing injured players.

What's Happening
Chris Coste will be signing his book from 12 noon to 1:30 p.m. tomorrow at the Majestic Clubhouse Store, Citizens Bank Park . . . Mike Lieberthal will throw out the first ball on Sunday and officially retire from baseball as a member of the Phillies organization . . . WTBS will nationally televise the next two Sunday games. 

This Date
In Phillies history........
1935 LF Babe Ruth, playing for the Boston Braves, was hitless in one at-bat against the Phillies, the last major league game for "The Bambino".  Phillies win, 11-6, in first game of a doubleheader at Baker Bowl.
1981 LHP Steve Carlton defeats St. Louis, 6-1, at the Vet to lift the Phillies into first place.  Carlton is 40-9, including the 1980 postseason, after Dallas Green took over as manager in August 1979.  
1982 LHP Steve Carlton wins 191st game with Phillies, moving into second place on the club's alltime list ahead of Grover Cleveland Alexander.

 

No, it isn't a trip but Citizens Bank Park baseball shifts from the Rockies to the Marlins.

Adam Eaton had his second straight solid start last night and the offense delivered again giving the Phillies a sweep of the Rockies.  Glad we are finished with the hurting Rockies (LF, SS, 2B, RF starters on the DL) for the season. When they get healthy, Rockies will put a hurting on teams and it won't be us.

Chase Utley had a great April, cooled a bit and is red hot again with the bat.  In the last four games: 6 hits (3 homers), 13 RBI.  He leads all NL players in voting for the All-Star team and it should be that way.  Phillies fans need to make sure he continues to garner the most votes.

Hard to believe that the season is nearly two months old and the Phillies are facing the Marlins for the first time.    Being a team in the same division, the two meet 18 times this season, starting tomorrow night.  Attendance should be over 40,000 for each of the weekend games.

The Marlins are on a tough division trip, three in New York, three here and four in Atlanta.

Draft Countdown
Seven more days to the First-Year Player Draft.

Yesterday, Marti Wolever (Director, Scouting) and his crew gathered around a large rectangular table, the first of day-long meetings.  Each person is equipped with his own lap top computer.  All scouting reports are computerized compared to 20 years ago when huge and heavy three-ring binders contained hard-copy reports.

The Phillies have over 800 names in the computer.  The process is to rate the players from top to bottom in four categories: college pitchers, college position players and the same for high school players.  Every player eligible for the draft is assigned a number.  When draft day comes, the team's announce: "We select # 167, Larry Shenk, a burly right-hander from Myerstown, PA, high school."

The perimeter of the room contains eight large magnetic boards.  Each player has a magnetic name plate, complete with name, height and weight and school.  As they started discussing college pitchers yesterday, the magnetic name plates got shifted around into a top-to-bottom order.

With the Phillies at home through the first day of the draft, Marti and his crew get to watch some major league baseball, compared to the hundreds of high school and college games they've been watching since February.

Minor League Review
Lehigh Valley's DH-1B-3B-OF Mike Cervenak and LH reliever R. J. Swindle are this week's player and pitcher of the week winners in the Phillies minor league system:
http://mlb.com/phi/downloads/y2008/052708.pdf

Every major league team signs minor league free agents in the off-season.  Idea is to look everywhere for possible big leaguers and to help stock AAA and AA rosters.  Both Cervenak and Swindle fit that mold, although the Phillies actually signed R. J. last season out of the independent Atlantic League.

Cervenak, a former 3-time Big Ten selection at Michigan, started his pro career in 1999 in the independent league.  The following year, he was signed by the Yankees to a Class A contract.  He's never made it to the majors and spent 40 games two years ago in Korea.

Swindle doesn't have over-powering stuff (fast ball: 79-81; slider: 69-72; curve ball: 52-54; yes, a slow curve) but he keeps tossing zeroes.  He's allowed 2 runs this season between Reading and LV.  His control is spectacular, 2 walks (1 intentional).  In four minor league seasons, he's walked just 19.

Why sign players who have been in the independent leagues?  See Chris Coste.  His first five pro seasons were in those leagues.

This Date
In Phillies history
1965 With a blast that carries far over the Coca-Cola sign atop the left-center field roof at Connie Mack Stadium, 3B Dick Allen smashed one of the longest home runs ever, an estimated 529 feet.  It came off the Cubs' RHP Larry Jackson who lost to the Phillies, 4-2.
1985 Mike Schmidt switches to first base, rookie Rick Schu comes up from Portland to play third base.
1986 Greg Gross gets 100th career pinch hit as Phillies edge Giants, 54.
1989 Mike Schmidt announces retirement from baseball in tearful press conference in San Diego. Returns to Philadelphia for press conference next evening with Philadelphia media.
1993 Terry Mulholland pitches first NL shutout in Mile High Stadium, 60, over the Rockies.

Tonight's lineup
Rollins, ss; Victorino, cf; Utley, 2b; Howard, 1b; Burrell, lf; Jenkins, rf; Feliz, 3b; Ruiz, c; Eaton, p.

Prepping for draft
The Draft Room is a meeting room on the Hall of Fame Club level, right around the corner from GM Pat Gillick's office.
Pat, Ruben Amaro Jr., Mike Arbuckle, Mike Ondo, Rob Holiday and Dallas Green will be part of meetings between now and June 5 when the First-Year Player Draft takes place (2 p.m. start).
They will join Marti Wolever (Scouting Director) who will oversee the draft.  Surrounding Marti will be Jim Fregosi Jr. and Mike Ledna (Scouting Coordinators); regional supervisors John Castleberry (East), Brian Kohlscheen (Central) and Bill Moore (West); Paul Murphy (Area Supervisor for DE, KY, MD, VA, DC, WV) and Chuck LaMar (Director of Professional Scouting).
The first meeting began today and will continue daily until the draft.  More on the draft prep will come later.

Sorry
While signing autographs last night in the Hall of Fame Club, Tommy Herr was approached by a fan and kidded: "Tommy, you look in great shape.  You could still play second base for us (Phillies).  Oh, I forgot, we have Chase (Utley)."

This Date
In Phillies history....
1983 In a bizarre performance, 3B Mike Schmidt strikes out first four times on 12 pitches and then his 2-run homer in last of ninth to beat Montreal's Jeff Reardon, 5-3.
1989 3B Mike Schmidt walks with one out in the ninth inning against LHP Terry Mulholland at Candlestick Park in what turns out to be his final at-bat of his brilliant career.

 

Tonight's Lineup
Rollins, ss
Victorino, cf
Utley, 2b
Howard, 1b
Burrell, lf
Jenkins, rf
Feliz, 3b
Ruiz, c
Kendrick, p

Century High
Hard to believe that at the start of last week, the Phillies offense was as quiet as a mouse.  Blanked in Washington, 4-0, on the 19th and 1-0 winners the next night.

In their last two games, our offense has exploded for 35 runs.  The 20 runs last night are the most the Phillies have ever scored against the Rockies.  Previous high: 18-1 romp at Mile High Stadium, May 30, 1993.

It is also the highest-scoring game this century for the Phillies. 

Back on July 2-3-4,1999, the Phillies swept the Cubs at Veterans Stadium:
 14-1  Wolf/Mulholland
21-8  Byrd/Farnsworth
 6-2  Schilling/Tapani

Scott Rolen drove in 10 runs in the series and Doug Glanville had 7 hits and 7 RBI. 

It all ended on July 5: Milwaukee 5, Phillies 0.

Enough history.  There's another game tonight and Charlie Manuel put it in perspective in Ken Mandel's story on this site: "When we score runs, I'm definitely happy.  At the same time, we keep things in perspective.  We'll celebrate this now, but when we leave here tonight, we'll think about the next game."

What's Happening
Chase Utley will receive his NL Player of the Month Award for April pre-game tonight . . . Jimmy Rollins is hosting Frederick Douglass School students pre-game as part of his reading program, J-Roll's Aces . . . Greg Dobbs visited a Baseball Skills Challenge Day for special needs children this afternoon in Haddonfield, NJ . . . Phillies Alumni Tommy Herr (1989-90) will sign autographs in the Hall of Fame Club pre-game.

This Date
In Phillies history
1923 OF Cy Williams hits 15th home run of the month in New York to set a club record for May. The homer was his 18th of the season, a National League record for HRs by the end of May.
1986 Steve Carlton makes 666th start to break Warren Spahn's National League record for a left-handed pitcher.  Carlton beat the Giants, 6-2, at Veterans Stadium. Last night, Jamie Moyer made his 615th start.

 

Tonight's Lineup

Rollins, ss; Victorino, cf; Utley, 2b; Howard, 1b; Burrell, lf; Feliz, 3b; Coste, c; Taguchi, rf; Moyer, p.

Big Bat Explosion
What's more rare, Cole Hamels striking out zero in a game or the Phillies scoring 15 runs?

Well, both happened yesterday, Cole failing to record a strikeout for the second time in his big league career and the Phillies scoring that many runs since a year ago.

Cole got off the hook for a loss when the Phillies bats exploded.  Certainly made for a happy flight home where they begin a 10-game stand starting tonight against the crippled Rockies.  For the season, the Phillies lead the NL with wins on the road (15-13).  At Citizens Bank Park, they are 13-11.

Despite the defending National League champion Rockies resembling a M*A*S*H unit with injuries to so many key players, they are not to be taken lightly.  They beat the Mets yesterday.

Memorial Day
As part of Memorial Day, the Phillies are saluting United States Air Force Week with pre-game festivities.  Check out the details at http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20080523&content_id=2754482&vkey=pr_phi&fext=.jsp&c_id=phi

When Veterans Stadium was imploded, the Phillies built a Veterans Memorial near the site of stadium as an everlasting tribute to the members of our military forces.  The Phillies proudly flag the flags 365 days a year.

 This Date
In Phjillies history......
1933 RF Chuck Klein Hits for the cycle in a 5-4, 14-inning loss to the Cardinals in St. Louis.
1990 Phillies retire Mike Schmidt's # 20 in pregame ceremonies before 56,789 at Veterans Stadium.

 

B and B came through last night.

Pat Burrell came off the bench with his second career pinch-hit home run to give us the lead. 

But, the win really goes to the bullpen of Ryan Madson, J. C. Romero, Chad Durbin, Tom Gordon and Brad Lidge.  Combined they pitched scoreless baseball for four innings, allowing just three hits. 

Not to be overlooked were the three hits by Ryan Howard, who is getting in a groove.  The big guy can carry this team on his shoulders when he gets hot.

Answering a comment
"No lineups?" was a comment posted yesterday.  Since I don't travel with the team, it is more cumbersome to post the starting lineups on the road. 

We did try on one trip last year but, for a variety of reasons, it really didn't work out too well. 

Glad to know the lineups are meaningful to you. Wish there were a simple solution.

This Date
In Phillies history.....

Golly, how time flies.  In 1991, Tommy Greene pitched a 20 nohitter at Montreal, walking 7 and striking out 10, before 8,833.  It just seems as if it was yesterday.

Greene, now 41 and a resident of Glen Allen, VA, has never forgotten the ninth inning.  "I backed off the mound before the last pitch [to Tim Wallach] and thought about Leo [Mazzone].  He was my pitching coach in the minors with the Braves.  Three times under him, I lost a no-hitter with two out in the ninth.  I remembered him saying, 'When are you going to finish off one?'"

Montreal third baseman Tim Wallach grounded back to Greene, who raised both arms in the air, trotted toward first and flipped the ball to Jordan for the final out.  Before he knew it, Greene was surrounded by his jubilant teammates.

Tommy, a very talkative chap, still dabbles in the game because his son, Seth, is a junior in high school.  But away from baseball, he and a buddy are involved in rehabbing homes.  Tommy's also close to getting his real estate license.  Once that has been accomplished, he will team with his wife, Lori, who has been a realtor for a number of years. 

 

 

Last night, with the big guy leading the way, was an offensive epidemic.  Ryan Howard certainly put a charge in his two homers. 

Biggest thing was winning two of three.

Now, on to Houston for four games against the red-hot Astros.  When they limped out of Philadelphia on April 17, they were in last place in the NL Central, 6-10.  They are 21-11 since and in the hunt.

Where's Waldo?
Well, this is really where's Wolever, as in Marti, our director of scouting who will oversee the First-Year Player Draft which starts two weeks from today.

"Since last Thursday, I have been in St. Louis, Atlanta, Dallas, Oklahoma City and now on to Tucson, Seattle, Minneapolis and then home for a day or two before coming into Philadelphia to begin draft meetings that start on Wednesday," e-mailed Marti.. "The draft should be very deep in talent and we are looking forward to a Phillie first, 6 picks in the top 110."

Minor League Notes
RHP J. D. Durbin struggled at Lehigh Valley and has been assigned to Reading where he lost this morning, 5-2, to Trenton.  All 4 runs off J.D. were unearned . . . Lakewood 1B Michael Durante, who leads our minor leagues with 10 homers, went on the DL today with a sprained left ankle . . . Lakewood RHP Drew Naylor leads all minor league pitchers with 71 strikeouts . . . Lehigh Valley LHP J. A. Happ leads the International League with 66 strikeouts . . . Reading RHP Carlos Carrasco is tied for the Eastern League lead with 59 . . . There were 357 pitches thrown in last night's Trenton-Reading game, 195 by the Phillies, 162 by the Thunder, who romped, 15-5.

This Date
In Phillies history......
1983 Phillies pulled off two trades in the same day, getting  LHP Sid Monge from San Diego for OF Joe Lefebvre and LHP Willie Hernandez from the Cubs for RHP Dick Ruthven and RHP Bill Johnson.

 

Well, it wasn't exactly an offensive epidemic, but a win is a win.  Now, we need a win tonight to make it two out of three, the formula needed to wind up on top at the end of the season.

Cole Hamels dominated again.  Can't pitch much better.  The enemy hasn't scored against him in 17 innings now.

Greg Dobbs came through as a pinch-hitter....again.  Hitting is difficult.  Pinch-hitting is even more difficult but Dobbs has the knack to do it consistently.  He's become the Roy Hobbs of pinch-hitters.

It is only May 21 and he already has 10 pinch-hits and 9 pinch-RBI.  He's halfway to his club record for pinch-RBI he set a year ago.  Phillies records on pinch-RBI date back to 1950.  So, if anybody out there has pinch-RBI info beyond 1950, send it to me. 

We do have club records on pinch-hitting dating back to 1862.  The record for the most pinch-hits is 20 by Roy (Doc) Miller in 1913.  The left-handed hitting Canadian only had 10 other hits that year.  Dobbs will do better.

Coste Meets Senator
Chris met Senator Kent Conrad the senior Senator from his home state of North Dakota earlier today. 

Senator Conrad had contacted the Phillies to arrange a personal meeting the next time the Phillies were in the nation's capital.  Chris talked baseball and signed some of his books for the staff.

The visit included a tour of the Capital building and lunch in the Senate Dining Room.

It turns out that the Senator's senior aid, Chris Thome, is a Phillies fan from Philadelphia. Another aid is Jayme Fugelsten, a member of the original Knothole Gang of the Fargo Red Wings where Coste once played.

This Date
In Phillies history......
1936 OF Ethan Allen and P Curt Davis traded to Chicago Cubs for OF Chuck Klein, P Fabian Kowalik and $50,000.
1967 Phillies used only two pitchers in a 2-1, 18-inning win over the Cincinnati Reds at Connie Mack Stadium.  LHP Chris Short worked the first 12 innings and RHP Dick Hall the last 6.  Guess they didn't pay attention to pitch counts back then.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three-game losing streak.  It happens.  On the bright side, last night was just one loss.  On the dim side, we need to regroup and end this.

Offense is scuffling right now with runners on base.  Sunday, it was 3-for-13 with runners on base; last night, zero for 12.  Why?  Don't know.  Again, it just happens.  Hitting can be contagious as can non-hitting.  We need to get a hitting epidemic. 

Charlie Manuel said it best in the papers today, "We have to play better.  We can't play .500 baseball and win nothing."

First-year Player Draft
15 days remain until this year's draft.  For the second straight year, Major League Baseball will televise (ESPN) the first round  and compensation rounds starting at 2 p.m. on June 5.  The telecast will take place at the Milk House which is part of Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, FL. 

Each team will have representatives in the Milk House for the telecast.  If you haven't seen Ken Mandel's story on this site, just click on:
http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080519&content_id=2730889&vkey=news_phi&fext=.jsp&c_id=phi

This Date
In Phillies history...........
1983 Steve Carlton strikes out San Diego's Garry Templeton in 2nd inning for # 3,509, passing Walter Johnson for second place on the alltime list. Lefty is 10 strikeouts behind Nolan Ryan.
1984 74 win in San Francisco gives Phillies a sweep of the west coast, 90; first NL team to do so.
1988 Mike Schmidt hits 535th home run off Andy Hawkins in San Diego to move into 8th place on the alltime list ahead of Jimmie Foxx.
2004 RHP Brett Myers threw the first complete game shutout at Citizens Bank Park, 4-0, over the Dodgers.

 

 

 

Ups and downs, peaks and valleys.

That's part of a marathon called a baseball season.  Pat Burrell and Chase Utley came out of the shoot swinging a hot bat last month.  Jimmy Rollins went down.  Ryan Howard started slowly as did some other players.

Burrell and Utley have cooled off, Rollins came back and is hot, Howard is getting warmer and Jayson Werth had a career game on Friday.  Pedro Feliz. Carlos Ruiz and Geoff Jenkins haven't gotten it going offensively and Shane Victorino missed time.  Chris Coste has been swinign a hot bat lately.

As the Phillies begin a seven-game road trip, will the all the bats get hot at one time?  Pat and Chase will get it going again.  Rollins had 12 hits in the just-concluded 6-game homestand.  So, he's hot, real hot.  Howard showed signs of coming out of it.   Others will get it coing.

Over the course of a season, players are going to have extremes at times.  But, it is a matter of working hard and battling.  Offensive valleys are part of the game and its' long season.  The best hitters fail seven out of 10 times..

Williamsport Journey
Played the role of a deliveryman today with a car trunk full of Phillies memorabilia, including a 4-foot tall Phillie Phanatic.  Sorry, the stuffed green doll was in the trunk.  Didn't want it sitting in the car and having nosey people gawking. 

Destination was the Peter J. McGovern Little League Baseball Museum in South Williamsport.  The museum will be setting up a Phillies display on the lower level of the two-level building.  The display will run from June 2 through the end of the baseball season.

We'll have more about this later in the season.  For more information about the museum, visit the website at museum@LittleLeague.org.  Over 35,000 annually stop in the museum located on the grounds of the Little League headquarters and park where the LL World Series is played every August.

Answering a question
With the double rain delays yesterday, what happened to the Phillies transportation plans?  Benefit of traveling on a charter (airplane or train) is that it waits for the team.  Taking commercial transportation would create tons of problems on days such as yesterday.  It would be a nightmare for Frank Coppenbarger, who has enough gray hair.

 

Today's Lineup
Rollins, ss
Werth, cf
Utley, 2b
Howard, 1b
Burrell, lf
Jenkins, rf
Feliz, 3b
Ruiz, c
Kendriick, p

Series Finale
Strictly a pull hitter who is 0-for-10 lifetime against Adam Eaton and what happens?  Rod Barajas hits an opposite field grand slam starting the Blue Jays on their way to a win last night.

A. J. Burnett was sharp as he beat the Phillies for the first time since April 29, 2005. 

Which team wins the series comes down to this afternoon's series finale, a day in which the ageless Phillie Phanatic celebrates another birthday.

Train Travel
After the game, the Phillies head for a seven-game road trip that starts in Washington, DC, and ends up in Texas, Houston to be specific.  We get our first look at Nationals Park the next three nights and then wrap-up the trip against the hot Astros in Minute Maid Park.

Getting to D. C. this evening will be via a train.  Normally, the Phillies fly charter aircrafts but this time it will be an AMTRAK four-car charter train.  Charlie Manuel, his coaches and the GM sit in first class on airplanes.  This time, the first car behind the engine will be reserved for the same traveling party.

Departure is scheduled for 5:30 from 30th Street Station with arrival at Washington-Union Station around 7:15 p.m.  Cost for the charter train: $17,716.

Posted throughout the clubhouse area is the train dress code: slacks and collard shirts; no jeans.

Personal luggage for the traveling party will leave during the game and await everyone at the hotel.  Equipment luggage will be on a second truck, leaving after the game and going directly to Nationals Park.

This Date
In Phillies history:
1981 Phillies, despite getting only 3 hits, hand Fernando Valenzuela his first loss in the majors, 4-0, in Los Angeles after 100 start (80 this season).
2000 1b Mark McGwire hits 3 HR in 7-2 win at Veterans Stadium..
2004 RF Bobby Abreu, LF Pat Burrell, 1B Jim Thome hit consecutive home runs in the 8th inning for the second time at Citizens Bank Park this month.  Phillies beat Dodgers, 8-7.

 

 

Tonight's Lineup
3 homers, 8 RBI, 2 curtain calls.  Jayson Werth said he will never forget it last night.  So will the 36,000-plus fans.

That performance earned him a spot in tonight's lineup as the Phillies face a right-handed starter for the first time in week:

Rollins, ss
Werth, cf
Utley, 2b
Howard, 1b
Burrell, lf
Jenkins, rf
Dobbs, 3b
Coste, c
Eaton, p

"Werthy" Offense
Quite a show Jayson put on last night, a three-run homer, grand slam and solo blast.  All he needed was a two-run homer for the "home run cycle", something that has never been done in baseball history.

His night was historical when it comes to the Phillies record book. 

He's the fifth Phillies player to drive in 8 runs in a game: Kitty Bransfield (1910), Gavvy Cravath (1915), Willie Jones (1958) and Mike Schmidt (1976).  And, he became the 18th player in our history to hit three dingers in a game.

My roaming territory is usually the Press Box area on the Hall of Fame Club level.  Was there for the first home run and seeing a ball heading toward the outfield is the norm. I decided to visit Greg Luzinski in his Bull's BBQ.  On the way out of the park, I stopped in right-center and stood behind the last row.

Jayson's second at-bat...bases loaded, swing and a long drive.....  This time, the ball was heading toward me.  It clanked off the Chrysler/Jeep sign in the section to my right and fell into scrambling hands.  When Jayson came to bat, one fan stood up and cheered, raising both arms in the air.  A few pitches later, everybody in the park was on their feet.  Cheering in the press box is strictly prohibited so it was kind of cool to be able to join the cheering throng.

Third homer...heard on my car radio.  Fourth at-bat came...saw on my TV set in the kitchen. 

Trio at the Park
Since Citizens Bank Park opened, there have been seven players who hit three home runs in a game:
4/21/04  Mike Lowell, Marlins
7/30/04  Aramis Ramirez, Cubs
8/13/04  J. T. Snow, Giants
8/15/06  Jose Reyes, Mets
9/3/06, 1st ga. RYAN HOWARD, vs. Braves
4/13/07  Carlos Lee, Astros
5/16/08  JAYSON WERTH, vs. Blue Jays

This Date
In Phillies history......
1979 A 10inning classic in Wrigley Field: Phillies 23, Cubs 22.  11 homers hit, three by Dave Kingman, two by Mike Schmidt, including gamewinner with two out in top of 10th off Bruce Sutter.
1991 Phillies blank Cubs, 10, in 16 innings, the longest 10 victory in Phillies history and the longest shutout game in Veterans Staduim history.
1993 John Kruk ties club record with five hits (6 AB) in 103 win at Florida, first game for Phillies against expansion Marlins.
2002 SS Jimmy Rollins hit a lead off homer to start the game for the second straight game in Arizona; Randy Johnson on the 16th and Miguel Batista today.

 

 

Tonight's lineup
The Blue Jays have called up Dave Purcey, extending the string of left-handed starters against the Phillies to the last five games. 
Rollins, ss
Victorino, rf
Utley, 2b
Howard, 1b
Burrell, lf
Werth, cf
Feliz, 3b
Coste, c
Moyer, p

Play ball
Gates will open as scheduled for tonight's 7:05 game. Ashburn Alley will open at 4:35 p.m. via the Left Field Gate.  All other gates will open at 5:35 p.m.

Forecasts from the weather services are calling for the rain to taper off this evening.  Batting practice most likely will not take place on the field.

Tickets are available for tonight as well as the 7:05 game tomorrow night and 1:35 p.m. on Sunday. 

Cole Clinic
Hamels turned in a clinic on pitching last night: 120 pitches, 85 for strikes.  Of the 32 hitters he faced, 22 got a first-pitch strike.  When a pitcher does that the results are usually very productive.

The complete game shutout was the first for a Phillies lefty since April 24, 2004 at Montreal when Randy Wolf blanked the Expos, 7-zip.

Long balls took care of the offense.

Interlegdue play
Tonight is the first game of interleague play, the 12th season.  The Phillies very first game was June 13, 1997, a 4-3 win over the Blue Jays at Veterans Stadium.  Wayne Gomes was the winner in his major league debut.  Ricky Bottalico recorded a save. LF Gregg Jefferies had a pair of singles and drove in three runs.

Phillies are 86-98 in interleague play with the most home runs among National League clubs, 212. 

A year ago, they were 8-7.  Adam Eaton had the lowest ERA (1.40) among all NL pitchers.  Ryan Howard had 6 homers against the A.L.

This date in Phillies history:
1984 Steve Carlton hits a grand slam in beating Dodgers, 72, for Phillies first sweep in Los Angeles since 1963.

This date in baseball history:
1939   The first American League night game is played at Shibe Park, with Cleveland beating the host Philadelphia Athletics, 8-3, in ten innings.

 

 

Tonight's lineup
Chris Coste's 4-hit game last night has earned him a return to the starting lineup:

Rollins, ss
Victorino, rf
Utley, 2b
Howard, 1b
Burrell, lf
Werth, cf
Feliz, 3b
Coste, c
Hamels, p

Almost
For a moment it looked as if Shane Victorino's fly ball was going to reach the right-center field gap and tie the game but Jeff Francoeur tracked it down and a comeback victory fell two runs short last night.

Atlanta jumped all over Brett Myers for eight runs in five innings.  Myers struggles as a starter continues.  He's as puzzled about it as anyone and is determined to iron things out.  One thing about Brett, he's a stand-up guy after games.  Win or lose, he faces the media music. 

Pitching coach Rich Dubee spent time in the video room this morning going over the last night's tape.  Myers will do likewise.  Searching and searching for a solution.

Hitters have slumps as so do pitchers.  Just check out Justin Verlander in Detroit.  He dropped to 1-7 with a 6.05 ERA after last night's loss. In the previous two seasons, he was 35-15.

Offense has shown some consistency lately.  Ryan Howard has hit in six in a row, not major but a step in the right direction.  So was his opposite field home run.  When he is driving the ball to left field, that is a good sign.

It is no secret the Phillies and most other clubs are constantly searching for pitching.  Ruben Amaro and Dallas Green spent last night in Allentown checking out the IronPigs. 

'93 Reunion
Jim Fregosi (Braves scout), John Kruk (ESPN TV), Mitch Williams (WPHT pre-game talk show), Milt Thompson (Phillies coach) and Larry Andersen (Phillies broadcaster) were in the park last night, sort of a mini-1993 reunion. 

This Date
On this date in Phillies history:
1984 Mike Schmidt homers to right field in 5th off Bob Welch in Los Angeles for his 400th homer.

 

 

Tonight's Lineup.  No change from Tuesday, except behind the plate and on the mound:
Rollins, ss
Victorino, rf
Utley, 2b
Howard, 1b
Burrell, lf
Werth, cf
Feliz, 3b
Coste, c
Myers, p

Textbook win.
Kyle Kendrick gave up 3 first-inning runs and then shut the door until Charlie Manuel's bullpen committee took over.  Romero to Gordon before the bridge to Lidge.

Offense produced the runs on nine singles and four doubles.  No homers.  All eight starters had at lest one hit.  Got to win games without the long ball and everyone contributing.

Brad gave up his first run of the season, which was OK because of the two-run lead.  Mariano Ramirez gave up his first run of '08 and it was a game-loser in Tampa last night.

Jayson Werth had a big night at bat, getting key hits.  Yes, he misjudged a ninth-inning fly ball but in the end it didn't cost us the game.

Dollar Dog Night produced the ninth sell out in 19 home games this season.   We should thank the 62,361 hot dogs who contributed to the big attendance number. 

A reader yesterday predicted "two out of three from Atlanta and Ryan Howard will break out."  You are off to a good start.

Player Journal
LHP Joe Savery, last year's number one selection for the Phillies, does an occasional journal for MilB.com, the minor league website.  Check out his latest effort that was posted on Tuesday:
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080513&content_id=398201&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp

Minors News
Two Reading Phillies, left fielder Javon Moran and RH closer Pat Overholt are the Phillies minor league player and pitcher of the week for last week:
http://mlb.com/phi/downloads/y2008/051308.pdf

National TV
Phillies fans living outside the Philadelphia market can watch tonight's game on ESPN TV.

 

As players walk into the clubhouse, there's an eraser board mounted on the left wall.  Once Jimy Williams gets the lineup from Charlie Manuel, the batting order is printed in blue on this board. Tonight's lineup:

Rollins, ss
Victorino, rf
Utley, 2b
Howard, 1b
Burrell, lf
Werth, cf
Feliz, 3b
Ruiz, c
Kendrick, p

With the Phillies getting a diet of lefty starters the next three nights, this is the lineup that will be posted daily.  Chris Coste will catch one of these games, which will probably be the lone change. 

At 2 o'clock in the afternoon, what is going on in the clubhouse?

Clay Condrey, So Taguchi and Eric Bruntlett are getting dressed in their uniforms.  Shane Victorino is in the whirlpool.  Geoff Jenkins and Chase Utley are getting a bite to eat.  More players will be filing through the clubhouse door minute-by-minute.

Out on the field, the ground crew is prepping everything for batting practice.  Sometimes there is extra hitting at this time of the day, many times the visiting team.  But, the Braves played two in Pittsburgh yesterday.

Out in the bullpen area, Tina Urban, Director, Creative Services, and Miles Kennedy, Phillies photographer, are getting set for a photo shoot with Brad Lidge for the next edition of Phillies Magazine.

Someone where, thousands of hot dogs are awaiting to be cooked as it is Dollar Dog Night.

 

The boys of Manuel are back home and good there is no game scheduled today because the weather is cold and rainy. 

Trip (3-4) ended yesterday with back-to-back losses, the first since April 18-19.  Dropped the first series in the last six. 

Time to regroup as the Braves come to town tomorrow night, the first of three night games.  First, Atlanta has two games in Pittsburgh tonight.

Going into that twinbill, Atlanta is 4-13 on the road, last in the majors.  At home they are 14-4, best in the majors. 

Atlanta is scheduled to parade out three lefties, Jo-Jo Reyes, Tom Glavine and Chuck James.  Prior to the same rotation on May 8-9-10, the last time they did that (started three consecutive lefties) was June 4-5-6, 1997, Glavine, Denny Neagle and Terrell Wade.  Eleven years later, Glavine is still going and going and going. 

The Phillies are 8-6 against lefties but hitting only .235.  Ken Mandel has documented their offense struggles versus LHP in a separate story on this site.

Wednesday night's game will be on national TV, ESPN. 

Crowds are expected to be in the mid-to upper 30s.

Minor League Notes
Phillies pitching prospects are among the top strikeout pitchers in all of the minor leagues.

Going into tonight's minor league games:
1. RHP Drew Naylor, Lakewood   62
2. LHP Antonio Bastardo, Clearwater-Reading 58
4. LHP J. A. Happ, Lehigh Valley   56

June Draft
The annual first-year player draft is 23 days away.  The Phillies have three picks in the top 50 and six in the first 107.

 

 

Weekend in San Francisco.  Need two of three to make it a winning road trip.

Brandon Webb is the best pitcher in baseball right now and he showed it yesterday.  Dominating pitchers usually count on heat but Webb is different.  His sinker recorded 17 ground ball outs.

Of course the big news this weekend is the potential return of Jimmy Rollins from the disabled list.  He last played on April 9.  Decision probably won't be made until close to game time. 

Ground Work
While the team is on the road, Mike Boekholder and his merry ground crew of eight worked daily on the Citizens Bank Park field.

Aerating the entire playing field was Monday's project.  Then, top dressing the grass with some sand to help drainage, re-seeding and fertilizing.  Rain today allowed the crew to gear down.

Tomorrow, there's a wedding on the field which could create an issue with the amount of rain today.  Sunday is Mother's Day but Mike and his crew will be in early for mowing.

For Tuesday's 7:05 night game, Mike and his staff will arrive around 10:00 a.m. and won't leave until sometime after 11:30 p.m.  His staff increases to 22 on game days, with the extras arriving at 5:30 p.m.

Blank TV
Tomorrow afternoon's 4:05 (EDT) game will not be on television in Philly or SF because FOX has exclusive rights for that time slot.

MLB.TV will have the game.

Radio broadcasts are not affected.

 

 

 

Shane Victorino is nicknamed the "Flyin' Hawaiian".  Perhaps we can add "Body Bruiser".  Just glad he was able to get up from that collision last night.  Hope Conor Jackson is OK, too.

Shane doesn't back away from contact because that's the way he plays the game.  Still, it makes you hold your breath when he barrels someone over.  At 5-foot-9, 180-pounds, he isn't built to be a body bruiser.

Bullpen did a job again in the come-from-behind win.  Sometimes charting that stat (comeback wins) can be misleading.  You call fall behind 3-0 after three and win 11-3 for a comeback win.  But, last night truly was a legit come-from-behind win.

Numbers
**Since April 11, the Phillies are 16-9, best record in the NL.
**3.84 ERA is 5th best in the league.
**2.69 bullpen ERA is lowest among the NL teams.
**Utley and Burrell have combined for as many or more HR (22) than 5 of the other 30 major league clubs.
**Phillies pinch hitters lead the league in homers (3), slugging percentage (.467) and are tied for the most RBI (11).

Minor Leagues
RHP Drew Naylor and C Lou Marson are the Phillies minor league pitcher and player of the week for April 27-May 4.  For information on that a weekly review of the minor league system check out http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/phi/downloads/y2008/050608.pdf.

 

 

 

Last night's story line was billed as a 23-year-old flame thrower making his first major league start against a 45-year-old making his 558th start.

It ended up being no contest as the Phillies bats came alive in the series opener as Jamie Moyer picked up the win over Max Scherzer.

Arizona manager Bob Melvin said it best in Ken Mandel's story: "He (Moyer) rope-a-dopes you to death. I know first hand.  He throws a 74-mhp change and backs it up with a 71-mph change and cuts it to both sides of the plate.  He reads hitter's swings and he'll go slower than slow.  He's been doing it for a while."

Scherzer can register 98 mph on the radar.  The gun practically falls asleep when Moyer pitches.  The only time the lefty uses a gun is spring training.  He wants to make sure his change lacks enough speed.

Moyer chipped in two of the Phillies 17 hits.  When he cam to bat the third time, Phillies radio voice Scott Franzke reported: "Jamie has a single and a double.  He's half-way to hitting for the cycle." 

Good to see the Phillies mix in some base hits and winning a game without a home run.  Going into the game, the Phillies had scored 70 of their 150 runs via the long ball.  During the Giants series, it was either home runs or SF errors that led to Phillies runs.

Moyer won the only game for the Phillies against the Diamondbacks a year ago.  Let's hope history doesn't repeat.

Jinx?
Appreciate the enthusiastic responses to yesterday's Insider urging fans to vote for Pat Burrell during the All-Star balloting process.

Pat went 0-for-5 and snapped his streak of reaching base safely in 30 consecutive games. Did we jinx him?

On the one response that ballots weren't distributed in Section 133 on Sunday, will check on that.  But, keep in mind there are displays throughout Citizens Bank Park that contain ballots.

So we can't vote more than 25 times online.  Still the most convenient way to vote.

 

 

The best of the east meets the best of the west in a four-game series starting tonight in Phoenix's Chase Field, once known as Bank One Ballpark.

The Diamondbacks have the best record in the majors.  They are coming off a weekend in which they dropped two of three to the Mets.

The Phillies are 14-20 in Phoenix.  A year ago, they dropped two of three there and lost the season series, 5-1, which means the Diamondbacks swept a three-game set at Citizens Bank Park.

Their lone visit to Philly is a July weekend, 11-12-13.  The Saturday game (12th) has been moved from 7:05 p.m. to 3:55 p.m. for a FOX game of the week telecast.

All-Star Voting
Balloting is underway online at phillies.com and home games at Citizens Bank Park.

Over the last 10 seasons, the Phillies have had just two outfielders on the NL All-Star squad,  Bobby Abreu (2004-05) and Aaron Rowand (2007). 

No doubt Chase Utley is going to be an All-Star again (he may wind up with the most votes) but another Phillies bat that is deserving is Pat Burrell. 

He's been consistent since day one of this season and led the NL in RBI for many days until yesterday. 

Pat's reached base safely in 30 straight games and 31 of his 32 games this season.  His longest streak of getting on base is 34 games in 2002. 

So, vote.

 

 

Another road trip following this afternoon's game against the Giants.  Last trip was seven games in three cities in three different time zones and the Phillies went 5-2.

This time: seven games in two cities in one time zone (Pacific).  Starts tomorrow night in Phoenix, the first of four games against the Diamondbacks who have the best record in baseball. Then, three games in San Francisco next weekend.

How Many?
Ever wonder how many bats, balls, caps and uniforms are taken on a road trip?  Glad you asked

Frank Coppenbarger, the veteran Director of Team Travel and Clubhouse Services, answered that question with a friendly e-mail:

"Each position player takes his own personal bag with 8-10 bats in it.  Additionally we take 1 or 2 extra bags with pitchers and other miscellaneous bats.

"We receive 6 dozen new baseballs from the home club for batting practice for each game played on the road.  This is a reciprocal agreement with all the clubs and helps in not having to carry so many more ball bags on the trip.  We do however carry about 60 dozen additional balls for early hitting and bullpen use.

"We generally carry about 50-60 (usually 6 of each size) extra caps in case a player needs a new one, roster changes, gifts, etc.

"Each player has 2 sets of jerseys (starting pitchers & catchers in some cases may have 3).  We also carry extra blank jerseys and BP tops (2 per size) in case we get a new player.  We also have a complete kit of lettering and numbers to make jerseys in case we get a new player.  Each Visiting Clubhouse Manager will handle getting it sewn.

"Additionally, we have a bags full (25 pair or so) of custom made pants for each active position player in case of rips, tears etc.  We also carry a similar bag of misc. sized extra pants for any new player that we might acquire.  This will get him in uniform until his custom made stuff arrives."

There you have it, another Baseball 101 lesson.

 

Tonight's Lineup
Victorino, cf
Werth, rf
Utley, 2b
Howard, 1b
Burrell, lf
Feliz, 3b
Coste, c
Bruntlett, ss
Kendrick, p

Warming Up
Ryan Howard is coming around with his bat.  Great news for the Phillies; not so good news for enemy pitchers.

His game-winning homer last night was a typical bomb.  Once his bat gets smoking, and it will, we can ride the big shoulders of the big guy.

Bullpen did a job again last night in shutting the door.  Adam Eaton overcame a 2-run first inning and kept us in the game. 

Two out of three.  That's the needed formula.

Mike's Wine
Mike Schmidt was at Citizens Bank Park this afternoon promoting his new wine, Mike Schmidt 548 Zinfandel.

He, Ernie Banks and Eddie Murray, are members of the exclusive 500 Home Run Club who have come up with their own wine from Eos Estate Winery of Paso Robles, CA. Proceeds from the sale of Mike's wine will support Cystic Fibrosis.

More than 30 professional athletes have charity wines.

Minor League notes
Lehigh Valley has released INF Chris Woodward and LHP Vic Darensbourg . . . INF Oscar Robles and LHP Les Walrond have been added to the IronPigs roster . . . LHP Antonio Bastardo, 2-0, at Clearwater with 47 strikeouts (tops in all the minors) has been promoted to Reading; he'll make his first start tomorrow night in Harrisburg . . . Looking for lefthanders in the bullpen, Reading starters Joshua Outman and Fabio Castro are being moved to the bullpen . . . RHP Tyson Brummett (3-0, 1.95) was promoted to Clearwater . . . Threshers RHP Carlos Monasterios was put on the DL with a right shoulder inflammation.

 

 

Yep, Shane Victorino is back in the lineup tonight:

Victorino, cf
Werth, rf
Utley, 2b
Howard, lb
Burrell, lf
Feliz, 3b
Bruntlett, ss
Ruiz, c
Eaton, p

New Month
A new month is here.  Last night's loss kept the Phillies from taking over first place.  Last time the Phillies were atop the division on this date was 2001.

The end of April means it is time for the player and pitcher of the month in the American and National Leagues.  Chase Utley and Pat Burrell should be among the NL candidates. 

Chase leads the league with 11 homers, along "only" 10 came in April. 

When checking the league leaders in the world of offense, you will find Chase's name in average, runs, doubles, hits, total bases, on-base percentage, extra base hits and slugging percentage.  That's pretty heavy.

How are the winners chosen?  Glad you asked.

Each home team today will receive 10 ballots for the player and pitcher.  The home team PR person will distribute five ballots to the home team media (writers/broadcasters) and five to the visiting team.  Results are e-mailed to MLB in New York.

Two Phillies have won April honors: Mike Schmidt in 1976 and Von Hayes in 1989.

Joyful Philly Fans
Last fall, the Phillies were in the playoffs.  Now, the 76ers and Flyers are in the playoffs again.  Philly fans are buzzing with excitement. 

The entire park cheered last night when the Flyers' final score was posted on the Citizens Bank Park scoreboard.  Many of the park's 700 television sets were tuned in to the hockey playoff game.  Same thing will occur tonight with the 76ers playing across the street.

I remember a humorous incident back in 1976. Tommy Underwood was pitching at Veterans Stadium when the Flyers won a playoff game.  The Vet erupted, causing Tommy to jump and back off the mound. 

First ball
Tonight is the 125th anniversary of the Phillies first game.  To commemorate the occasion the longest-tenured Phillies employee will throw out the first ball.  He first joined the Phillies as a batting practice pitcher in 1947.  He's been a coach (including 1950 Phillies), scout and goodwill ambassador ever since.  Say hello to Maje McDonanell.