Christmas Break Blogging Part 2

As promised, here is part 2 of my Christmas break blogging spree!

So...
Dan Haren to the Nationals: Cool, Now the Nationals have the best rotation in the majors! And that's literally all I thought about that!

John Lannan to the Phillies: I was really surprised by this move, but overall, I think it will help the team. I attribute Lannan's struggles at Citizens Bank Park to the lineup he was facing when he pitched there! It should be interesting seeing Lannan on our side of that rivalry, but at least I don't have to put up with a whole year of Tyler Cloyd, who I think would be extremly aggrivating!

Mike Adams to the Phillies: Oh great, let's go sign another former Padres reliever who can give up 3 runs for each 1/3 inning! LOL, I think (pray) that this will go better than the disaster that was Chad Qualls last year and that he's still here by the end of the year, preferably with an ERA under 3!

And then there's Michael Young...

Honestly, I may not be able to blog again until spring training (yes, I have that much school!) ONly 46 days until pitchers and catchers report!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ciao for now (read, probably a really long time!)

~TBC

Christmas Break Blog Post :P

So... Much has happened since I last blogged! In fact, much has happened with the teams I cover, so let's jump right in!

Denard Span to the Nationals: I guess its good that the Nationals finally have their "center fielder", though I just don't see why this had to happen. I think Bryce Harper could have definitely played center field like he did for a good part of last season, and Jayson Werth showed he could hit leadoff just fine when he came back from injury last season. My least favorite part of this is that is fills all three outfield spots for next year and forces the team to choose either Adam LaRoche or Michael Morse. LaRoche is a free agent and may or may not sign with the team (That's a whole other story).
If he does resign, then it is very likely that Morse will be traded. You can see my dilemma. I really really really like Morse, so I selfishly hope he stays with the team. Except, wait a second...The Nationals need a lefty reliever, the Phillies need a right handed power bat...How about Antonio Bastartdo and a couple of prospects for Morse????? Extremly unlikely, I know, but let me dream!

Another problem about this trade is it blocks a bunch of young talent, namely Tyler Moore, Roger Bernadina, and even Steve Lombardozzi. Now, while none of these guys are exactly Albert Pujols or Mike Trout, they could all probably handle a starting job, and now they are all reglegated to the bench for another season. Also, none of them cost a top pitching prospect!

Ben Revere to the Phillies: I really liked this move! I mean, I'm sad about losing the Vanimal, but we really needed a center fielder and we didn't overpay for Josh Hamilton, BJ Upton or Michael Bourn! I really don't care about the prospect lost, 'cuz I really pay much attention to prospects. The best non-intended consequence of this deal is that Kyle Kendrick is now absolutely guaranteed a rotation spot. I have always said that given the opportunity he will shine and now he has that opportunity!

I will try to post about the pitching side of things tomorrow or sometime before I go back to school!

Ciao for now!
~TBC

 

My Thoughts On The AL MVP

Because Seriously, who hasn't spoke their mind about this?!?!?!
 So... my pick would have to be Mike Trout! Sorry, to Mr. Cabrera ,  but I think that most of the evidence clearly points to Trout.

Trout's Wins Above Replacment (a stat that measures total value) was historically high. I don't know the exact number but there aren't many people who have had a 10.0 WAR season. WAR is not the be all and end all of stats. but when there is a difference of almost 4 wins between player's (Trout's 10.7 to Cabrera's 6.9) respective WARs that should be a red flag as to which player is more valuable...

Some popular myths on why Miguel Cabrera was the MVP debunked:

1. The Tigers made the postseason...Yeah, but the Angels had more wins and played in a harder division...SO THERE!

2. Cabrera won the triple crown...And your point is what? Batting average and RBIs are far from telling stats...SO THERE!

3. Trout has many more years to win MVP...Seriously?!?!?!?!? What kind of crazy argument is this....WHATEVER!

Um... so that's what I had on my mind...Not gonna write about the postseason, it's old news by now! Not gonna write about that insane Marlins-Blue Jays deal... Don't really fell like it!

So HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!! and I'll check in again soon!
~TBC

Oh..Wow!

I can't believe this crazy, frustrating, intense, exhilarating, heart-breaking, jubilant, and overall (to pick just one word) INCREDIBLE season has come to an end! Well, not everything ends here (for 10 teams, this is the best part of the season). There is only one thing I can say: IGNITE YOUR POSTSEASON NATITUDE PEEPS!

So, the format of this article will be using the adjectives I used above to recap random moments of the season, Let's get this started!

Crazy:
... Is the playoff teams! From the expected (Yankees), to the expected teams who got in in unexpected ways (Detroit, Texas), slightly unexpected (Reds, Giants), not-so-expected (Nationals), and completely out of the blue (A's, Orioles), I absolutley can't wait for these teams to play in October!!!!!

Frustrating:
... Is the Phillies bullpen! Really, was there any doubt that this was the most frustrating! These guys drove me absolutley crazy during the first half, and right now the guys I would rely on would probably be Papelbon and Horst and nobody else!

Intense:
... Is the perfect way to describe the only 19-year-old in the big leagues! I mean, who else plays the game with as much intensity as Bryce Harper!

Exhilarating:
... Is the many walk-offs by the Nationals and Phillies this year! There were so many great one that i cannot pick just one!

Heart-Breaking:
... Is the last 5 days for the Texas Rangers. Coming into the finals series two games up, they just needed one win to clinch the division. So, in perfect choke form, they lost all three games, slipped to a wild card spot, and then proceeded to lose the play-in game to the Orioles. Dreams of a third consecutive worldseries appearance were shattered. I know how that feels, I went through it last year!

Jubilant:
... Is the Oakland A's! They were on the opposite side of the Texas debacle and boy, let me tell you I was lovin' it! I really like underdog teams and was so happy when they won Wednesday to clinch the division!


So, there you have it! Hope y'all have enjoyed this as much as I did and havr fun watching October baseball!

~TBC

NO-HITTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats to Homer Bailey of the Cincinnati Reds for no-hitting the Pittsburgh Pirates 1-0!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The run was scored in inning number one so I'm guessing it was pretty "boring" (At least for non-baseball fans!) game! I actually caught a live look-in on MLB.com, so that makes the second end of a no-hitter I've seen this year live (Along with Phil Humber's perfecto!)

Quick Takes Part 1

Oh, that awkward feeling when your two favorite teams are playing and it's more advantageous for your second favorite team to win... so you're kind of rooting for them and against your favorite team! I know that was a long sentence but that's how I felt the past three days! It's really tough when your two favorite teams are in the same division! Anyway, I guess I'm OK with the Nats taking two out of three because their magic number is three and they could clinch this weekend before they play the Phillies again!
(Right now the first inning is falling apart for E-Jax so we'll see how that goes!)

~TBC

I Know This Is Random But...

Guess who just gave three runs while only getting one out???????? It's our old friend Chad Qualls who has re-surfaced with the Pirates (how he got there is anyone's guess). He STILL makes me sick! Just a random thought of the day! I am going to really try to put something substantial up over the weekend (10th grade has taken its toll...UGH!)!

~TBC

Not Fun!

Michael Morse left the game after his first at-bat after being hit by a pitch on the hand! Just hope everything is OK with Mike and he'll be back tomorrow or Sunday (Actually, maybe not until Monday!)

Showdown Part 2 (And The Rays)

Quick Recap: Phillies spilt the series with the Reds, Nats win series from Braves, good games all around!

So now that brings us to act two of this head-to-head showdown between my two favorite teams (At least while I've been running this blog!) So... now I'm conflicted. I always root for the Phillies, but if the Nats lose the division lead can shrink. I guess I wouldn't be super super angry with a Nats sweep, I would probably  be ecsatic if the Phillies sweep! (Again, all this is pending results of the Braves-Giants series in San Fran)
(GO GIANTS!)

Elsewhere in baseball:

The Big East: About 6 weeks ago, the consensus in baseball was that the Yankees would run away with this division. Even I grudingly conceded them the division title and started thinking about the Wild Card chances for the Rays. Once I really got back into the swing of baseball after my vacation, I realized that this race wasn't over. I'm so psyched that the Rays are now only 2.5 games back!!!!!!!! They probably feel that they can conquer anything after being about 10 out at this point last year! Anyway, Longoria is huge for this team and as long as he reamins healthy I think the Rays have really good shot at at least a Wild Card and even a chance at the division (And if they win, HA YANKEES!) GO RAYS!!!!!!

Ciao!

~TBC

The Week in Review

Phillies-Marlins:

Good series victory! Great pitching by Cole and Kyle, enough offense (Though sometimes just barely) to win! Not much else to say but on Wednesday the bullpen showed its real self again! :P

Nationals-Giants:

Nice series for the Nats! Scoring more than a dozen runs is always real cool, especially when 8 come against the NL ERA leader :) I guess you were making sure that Jordan could still lead the league even after his mini meltdown Tuesday!

Phillies-Brewers:

I guess Thursday is the first time the bullpen and only the bullpen has cost us a game in a while! Oh, and maybe Vanimal shouldn't be pitching with the bone chips or whateve is in his elbow! And then more great pitching from Cole and Kyle!!!! Wow, whatever Charlie said to Kyle is most certainly working!

Nationals-Mets:

These guys were literally one mistake away from a sweep! Whatever, they still picked up a game on the Braves!

Ciao!

~TBC

What to do about Lee?

Last night seemed like many other nights this year, Cliff Lee lost a tight game for the Phillies. This makes me think what his place is with next year's team. Some may say he has no place on the team at all! I guess there are two options, trade him or keep him.
I'm pretty sure the Phillies will probably keep him, and that's probably what I would do in their place. After all, he is Cliff Lee and he will probably be better than most replacements they may have. If they trade him, they have to replace him!

Anyway, that's what was on my mind!

~TBC

The Highlight Reel

Hello,

It's been forever since I've posted anything really meaningful here! Sooooooo much has happened I really can't recap it all, so here are my highlights!

1. Cole Hamels Megadeal!!!!!!!! When this happened, I remeber being glad that all the crazy trade speculation was over (Well, not all over)! I am happy with this, Cole has really been our only ace this season and we need him to contend going forward!

2. Trade Deadline :| You know, I'm really dealing with this "No Shane or Hunter" thing pretty well. Neither if them were exactly superstars this year, so I gues I'm moving on and that's that! I'm glad we don't play LA or San Fran again this year or I may not be able to deal with it! I was actually kinda excited that Nate Schierholtz was coming over. I guess I was expecting relievers or prospects, and I actually got an everyday player I can root for! Oh, and he won the first game he played in! Which brings we to...

3. SHOWDOWN!!!!! This was the first time since I started blogging that my two favorite teams have faced off and I should probably let you  know that these are the only 18 games a year that I am really rooting against the Nationals! Philly girl at heart :) These games usually get me really annoyed because (a) my family are very much Nationals fans, (b) I have to listen to the Nationals broadcast and (c) the Phillies can't seem to beat the Nationals! So, as you can guess I was absolutely delighted by the Phillies taking two out of three! First series win against the Nationals since last May!!!!!!!!! :) :) :) J-Roll really carried the team! The only loss was a shutout, but it was started by Ross Detwiler (I REALLY like him!)

So I guess those were the top three! But the Nationals were the first to 70 wins last night and The Beast himself is really hot right now, so GO NATS! Doc was amazing last night as well, so good job Doc! I think we are finally seeing the Roy Halladay we are used to!

BYE!

~TBC

I'm Back!

Hi Y'all,
 I am back from vacation, but I am doing an all-day science camp/internship that goes until Thursday so I most likely won't post until then!

~TBC

On Vacation

I'm going to be on vacation for the next two weeks, so I won't blog. I'll be back the 4th of August!

Happy Trade Deadline!

~TBC

Series Recap: A breath of fresh air

Monday (3-2 Phillies):

Apparently we got the Good Joe Blanton Monday! I guess I'm pretty happy about that because we kinda would have lost if he had been any worse! Bonus: Ryan Howard home run!

Tuesday (3-2 Phillies):

Deja Vu! LOL I know same score, very different game. I'm sure this way more important to the vast majority of Phillies fans (It was to me) because it was the return of Roy Halladay! The good guys (Dodgers fans will kill me for this) rallied late on Hunter Pence's clutch two-run single! Halladay: 5IP, 2ER, 5H, 0 BB. Solid!

Wednesday (5-3 Dodgers, F/12):

This was a really tough loss for the team because they were on a roll. Lee was good, Chooch tied the game at 1........... (Long break)...........And then Papelbon blew the save (Actually it wasn't lost then, but I like Jake Diekman, and really Pap shouldn't have blown a two-run lead) ! Whatever, ya know at least it was Matt Kemp who beat us and not like Juan Rivera or Mark Ellis!

Ciao!
~TBC

Weekend Recap: Something Good

So, that was a fun two days!!!! Win-Win-YAY!
Highlights:
~OK, It was Coors Field, but the Phillies did score 8 runs Saturday night! The bullpen only gave up 3 :) Jonathan Papelbon had to bailed out Brian Sanches (Why is this guy in the majors?)
~Chooch was being Chooch-ish! 4 Ribbies!
~Pence may be breaking out (please?!?!)
~Vanimal is good, he is normaly Mr. Reliable, as long as you score at least 4 runs, he should get you the win. He is kinda underrated. I like him at least a little bit more than Lee.
~Cole is good too :D PLEASE ONLY TRADE HIM IF YOU CAN'T GET A MAJOR LEAGUE READY PROSPECT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MIKE OLT IS THE ONLY THING I WILL TAKE! THEN TRADE POLY FOR A RELIEVER! NOT TWO PROSPECTS THAT WON'T MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR YEARS!

Yay! I'm optimistic today! I guess I can deal with Joe tonight because tomorrow night is...

The Return of DOC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WAHOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

Ciao!
~TBC

ALERT!

CHOOCH HOMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PHILLIES UP 4-0 STILL BATTING TOP 1ST!

First Half Recap

Hey Y'all! I'm back!
So last night wasn't worth recapping (Yet Again). Now I present the first half recap!

PHILLIES:

Overall Grade: OK, This is hard. They were with out Howard and Utley for most of the season and their recent standing is mostly due is due to a nightmare (so far) July. They had a good May, a fair April and only slightly bad June. So... C.

Rotation: Cole: A. Vanimal: A-. Cliff: B-. Kyle: um.. he's a replacement...so.... C, I guess?, Joe: Well, A until May 15, D since then so C-. Doc: He was hurt, and he awesome, B. Overall: B-.

Bullpen: Papelbon: A-. Everyone Else: Um.. I really don't want to go there! Let's just say that all starters must go 8 innings to get a win :( I don't keep track but I think that they cost us at least 8 games this year! Overall: D-.

Lineup: I really don't feel like giving all of these peeps grades but, Overall: B+, Chooch: A+++++++++!

So, it was definitely a dissapointing first half, I'm not sure much better the second half is actually going to be. I guess there's still a slim chance of them making the playoffs as the second wild card but I really am having my doubts. At this point. I'm not sure they shouldn't just trade Victorino, Polanco and possibly Hamels (Only if they can get Mike Olt from Texas).

Wow, I think that's the most pessimistic I've been in my life :) HEHE! Still LOVE this team!
Now on to the postive..

NATIONALS:

Overall Grade: A! This team has been my saving gracce because I would be seriously depressed if the Braves were winning the division! They are sooooooo much fun to listen to!

Rotation: Stras: A, Gio: A, J-Zimm: A+ (This guy reminds me of Roy Halladay, definitely a future ace!),
 E-Jax: A, Ross: B, Wang: C, Overall: Solid A.

Bullpen: A+. Boy, I am JEALOUS!

Line-up: B+. These guys play with so much ENERGY! It's crazy!!! Shout out to Lombo, Harper, Z-Man, Beast, LaRoche, Desi (My current fav... DESI LOVE!), Espi and Flores!


So, opposite of the Phillies this was an amazing half for the team in DC! I really think that they have all pieces they need, and with Jayson and Storen comin' back soon it will only get better!


Oh, and by the way...YOUK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GO WHITE SOX! ;) Them and the Nats in the WS would be soooooo cool!

~TBC

The Big Piece is Back!

Wasn't going to post today but I just heard that Ryan Howard was activated and will be hitting cleanup tonight!!!

~ TBC

Daily Recap: Phina-LEE!

So... It takes until the 4th of July to get your number two pitcher a win. Yeah, good job guys! Why did it take so long?

OK Bryce. Guess you don't like that!

Anyway, Yesterday was a pretty good day! Baseball available all day and pretty much all of my teams (Primary--Nationals, Phillies, and Secondary--Giants, Rays, White Sox, Rangers) Yes, I like the White Sox! Go Pauly K. and the Big Donkey (Adam Dunn)! YOUK!!!!

WOW, NATIONALS!!!!!!! HOW IN THE WORLD DO YOU GUYS HIT THIS MUCH?????????

OK OK Bryce, We get it! You guys are good! You were good the whole time and now you exploded! And I love it! Beast and Z-Man and Bryce and Desi (I love him now!) and the rest of them! The Giants shouldn't even try today! We WILL light up Matt Cain and you can't stop us!

And... now the main event, the Phillies. The game started like it usually did, dig a hole early, although it was a small hole, only 2-0. I was not happy. Then Chase and Chooch did their stuff and the Phillies were winning! Those two are the best and I really hope ryan comes back soon and Pence can hit in his normal fifth spot and get lots and lots of pitches to hit!

Anyway, that was longer than I thought I would write, but you know, gotta recap a Phillies win!

Ciao!

~TBC

VOTE FOR BRYCE!

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/all_star/y2012/fv/ballot.jsp

BRYCE HARPER FOR THE ALL STAR GAME!

YAY YAY YAY YAY!!!!!!!

CLIFF LEE GOT A WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) :) :) :)

Maybe I will do a recap tomorrow!

Update

This six game losing streak is NOT fun! I think I may take a little bit more of a break and then do a big first half recap during the all star break.
Anyway, Choooooooch now has 12 HRs and is in the All-Star Game along with Hamels and Pap!
So are Gio, Desi, and Stras!
If you read this before 4 pm on Thursday July 5th, please go to MLB.com and vote as many times as possible for Bryce Harper to make the All-Star team as the winner of the final vote! Right now he trails David "Mr. Postseason Legend and RBI Record Setter" Freese. Bryce in '12!

~TBC

I will be away this weekend

So I will not blog until Monday!

~ TBC

ANNND...... He's Back!

Who's back, you say?? Why the one and only Chase Utley! And he homered in his first at bat! Chooch homered right after him! 11 for Carlos!!
What does it matter that the Phillies are losing 8-2? For the first time this year, I really don't care! I mean, what do you expect when you decide to let the bullpen pitch the whole game??

~ TBC

Daily Recap

Yay! Win!!!!!!! Fun!!!!
Joe Blanton was pretty decent, I think it was a quality start! And Chooch was like 3-for-4! But he still needs your all star votes! Voting ends Thursday so please please please vote for Chooch! I did!!!!! Oh, and write in Bryce Harper! He is pretty good too, I guess :)

But the Nationals lost, and they have lost 3 of 4 :( It's not all that sad though because the Phillies gain a game on them!

I'm really tired right now so that's all I have to say (34 first and second graders can do that too you :D )!

~ TBC

Really don't feel like recapping the weekend...

But there was 1 win!!! Congrats to Jim Thome, all-time walk off home run king!!!!!!!! In fact, here is the email I sent to my aunt in Tampa after the game:

Well... I guess Papelbon was having flashbacks from last season :). You just got Thome-d (I made up that word) and you also got chooch-ed! And you realize James shields gave up a home run to a singles hitter :D

But yesterday was painful and I guess I spoke to soon. I am getting really tired of this Bullpen! I thought Antonio Bastardo was reliable but then he has those stretches and he walks a ton of people and gives up game-tying home runs to Ian Desmond (I will never forget that!)

Why do the weekends always stink? :(

~ TBC

Won't blog for a while

I have family visiting until Sunday so I can't blog. I'll post on Monday!

Recap: Getting Lucky

THE PHILLIES WON!!!!!!! TWICE!!!!!!!!
The National won one and lost one.
 Phillies Tuesday:
Cole Hamels was solid, Chooch was Chooch (2-for-4, HR, 3RBI) and the Phillies offense scored 7 runs (Surprisingly, the Phillies offense has been very good, the pitching hasn't been that good.) 7-2 Philly.

Nationals Tuesday:

The Beast is back! First home run of the season. Pretty sweet, and Desi had one too! That's it thought. 5-4 Tampa.

Phillies Wednesday:

Baseball is truly a game of inches. If Todd Helton's foot had been a couple inches backwards, the game would have gone into extras. It didn't. PHILLIES WIN! 7-6 Philly.

Nationals Wednesday:

OK, I may have sort of been expecting this. Stras with a lot  (10, to be exact) of K's. Nats score all their runs in the first inning (and had all their hits in the first inning too) 3-2 Washington.

Ciao!
~TBC

Oh Freddy!

OK this is interesting, not in a good way that is. So, here we go....
(from MLB.com)

Phillies infielder Freddy Galvis has been suspended 50 games after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug, the Office of the Commissioner announced on Tuesday. The ban facing Galvis, who tested positive for a metabolite of Clostebol, is effective immediately.

"I'd like to apologize to my all my fans, especially here in Philadelphia and back home in Venezuela, to my teammates and to the Phillies organization," Galvis said. "I am looking forward to putting this behind me, rehabilitating my back and returning to the Phillies as soon as possible to try to help them win another World Series."

Galvis released another statement on Twitter in Spanish that translates to English as follows:

"Sometimes life isn't fair... But that's the way it is... You have to keep moving forward and turn the page."

The loss of Galvis, whose return this season was already in jeopardy due to a fractured vertebra he sustained on June 6, is another blow to a Phillies infield that has endured various injuries, most notably to sluggers Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. Galvis had mostly served as Utley's replacement while the All-Star second baseman rehabs from knee injuries. The suspension can be served while Galvis is on the disabled list.

"A trace amount of a banned substance -- 80 parts in a trillion -- was detected in my urine sample," Gavlis said. "I am extremely disappointed in what has transpired. I cannot understand how even this tiny particle of a banned substance got into my body.

"I have not and never would knowingly use anything illegal to enhance my performance. I have always tried to follow the team's strength and conditioning methods, listen to the trainers, work out hard and eat right. Unfortunately, the rules are the rules and I will be suspended."

The Phillies released a statement of their own.

"The Phillies continue to believe in and endorse Major League Baseball's drug policy. We also support Freddy Galvis in his determination to put this matter behind him and we look forward to his return as a productive member of the Phillies as soon as possible."

Galvis, a 22-year-old rookie, has hit .226 with three home runs, 24 RBIs, 15 doubles and 14 runs scored in 58 games this season.

So....

My initial reaction was "What the heck Freddy! What were you thinking?!?!?" After letting it settle a bit, this is my opinion:

We don't even know if this is intentional. I know most probably believe it is but Freddy is denying any knowledge of the substance. I really don't know what to think. But I really want the best for Freddy. I'm really worried that this will affect his reputation and the way his career is viewed, which is a shame because he had a chance to be a very good player and he still does, but like Ryan Braun and others who have been nailed for supposedly using PEDs, some people will always put an asterix next all of his accomplishments.
Overall, I'm really hoping that Freddy can bounce back from this. He seems like a really good kid and I was getting really excited about his future. I'm most definitely going to be praying for Freddy that he can overcome this and come back strong in September. Only the best to him :)

Go Phillies! :D

~ TBC

Weekend Recap

Not a fun weekend... But as promised, I will recap Thursday first.

I think Joe Blanton has let his good twin out again!!!!! Jim Thome homered again :) Good win.

And then the weekend... Not fun!!!!!! Not a single win for the teams I like :(

Sorry this isn't very long, Not much happened and this isn't much longer than my post yesterday.

Ciao!
 ~TBC

Quick Recap

Just FYI that the Phillies just got swept and the Nationals appear to be on the way to the same fate so tomorrow will not be very positive. I'll probably go into the most detail about Thursday's Phils win since I couldn't post Friday. Anyway, congrats to Jim Thome for hitting his 100th home run as a Phillie and Yayberry appears to be getting into a good groove!! Chooch was injured Friday but was in the lineup today!!! :)

-TBC

OOPS...

I forgot this...

Congrats to Matt Cain on his perfect game and my Second favorite backstop Buster Posey on catching perfection. Gio or Vanimal (one or both!) no-no's friday, please???? (Not going to happen tonight, sorry Joe)

Daily Recap: We Want Moore (and Thome)

The Phillies won!!!
ANNNNND..... THE NATIONALS WON! :)  I know... broken record.

And.... Jim Thome can DH! Boy, he has power! I rate this win about a 5.5, the offense was pretty good, Pap was good, Hamels not so good.
Just so you know, Here are the Phillies nicknames I use a lot:
J-Roll: Jimmy Rollins
Chooch: Carlos Ruiz
Yayberry or JMJ: John Mayberry Jr.
Vanimal: Vance Worley
Pap: Jonathan Papelbon

That's all I can think of for now. Maybe tommorow I'll do the Nats (Got a lot of those)

Good Luck with Joe Blanton tonight, Phillies Phans.

Ciao!

~TBC

EDIT: Tyler Moore good. Tyler Moore very good. 2 HR's, 5 RBI's.
Strasburg good too!!!

Daily Recap: Broken Record

ANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNND......................... THE NATIONALS WON!!!!!!!!
Ok, time to stop sounding like a broken record. Good Job last night, EJax!!! And WOW!!!!! That's all I can say about Bryce Harper!

Chase Utley is going to start his rehab stint today, I think. That's good! And now Galvis is down so no more Glavis Dilemma. Hopefully, Utley presence will jump start the line-up right around the break.

That's pretty much all for today!

Ciao!
~ TBC

Weekend Recap

Not the best weekend... Here we go!

LOL!!!!! Thanks to MLB Fan Cave Dweller Gordon Mack for this!!!
I <3 Klondike Bars!

Friday:

Jake Arietta is worse than Joe Blanton :) :D :P Apparently Jim Thome can DH and DH well. So... Why not trade him to an AL team that needs a power-hitting DH for say... a reliever or a third baseman, after interleague play, of course. 

ANNNNND... THE NATIONALS WON!

Saturday:

I definitley  DO NOT LIKE Adam Jones!!!!!!!!

Jim Thome can DH...

ANNNNNND... THE NATIONALS WON!

Sunday:

I most definitely CAN'T STAND  Adam Jones.

Hunter Pence CAN be clutch!

OH... And Cliff Lee didn't win!

ANNNNND... THE NATIONALS WON!!! They swept the Red Sox... who can be described one way...
PATHETIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Well all besides Pedroia... Hey Pedey, wanna play on the Phillies, we need a second baseman.)

That's pretty much it...

Ciao!
~TBC

Sorry :(

Sorry I haven't not had a chance to blog lately, I've been really busy... Not that I've wanted to blog. That's what a 6-game losing streak does to you. So... I will do a weekend preview instead of a recapping of past torture.
Phillies Vs. Orioles:
Finally Joe Blanton may have a chance tonight. Jake Arietta (the oppostion) has like a 5 ERA. And then Vanimal and Cliff "I-Want-a Win" Lee against whatever scrubs that O's start.
Nats vs Red Sox:
FUN FUN FUN!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE Fenway and can't wait to see the beast flick a couple over the Monster.

ALL STAR GAME UPDATE:

Chooch needs your votes!!!!!!!!!!! Here are the ranking for NL Catchers
CATCHERS
Yadier Molina, Cardinals: 1,100,048
Buster Posey, Giants: 1,072,464
Brian McCann, Braves: 707,508
Carlos Ruiz, Phillies: 562,021
Jonathan Lucroy, Brewers: 457,590

So vote for Carlos Ruiz (25 times)
http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/mlb/events/all_star/y2012/ballot.jsp?tcid=hpMW-asgballot-2012

And if you have twitter (I don't) use the hashtag #votechooch and spread the word!!!!!!!!!

Also LaRoche is in the race for NL first base (hashtag: #LaRocheIn12) so vote for him too!!!!!!!!

Ciao!
~TBC

Daily Recap: The Return of the Vanimal

The Phillies lost... Again. Better last night though. Vance was OK, 3 runs in 4 innings, 80 pitches. Jonathan Papelbon got the loss. Have you noticed how he always gives up a run in a non-save situation, even if its a tie game. He has a strange reverse "Can't Close Disease." (Which I don't believe in anyway. so...) He can ONLY close. LOL... Now that's funny!

Sorry this is so short. It was a pretty boring game last night!

Ciao!
~TBC

Weekend Recap: Looking For The Postitive

After Philly's 0-2 weekend, I've had a hard time locating positve things about the past two days. 
OK, Here we go!

Positive Things About the Phillies weekend:

1. Giancarlo Stanton was only 2-for-12 with 6 Ks tonight. However, Hanley Ramirez had 3 HR's.

2. Joe Blanton only gave up FIVE runs! LOL! That's not really positive, but I think it is a start, I guess???

3. Rollins was 2-for-5 Saturday.

And... That's all I can think of. So, Vance Worley is back from the DL against reigning Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw tonight. Dear Vanimal and Chooch, please give us positive things to thing about!

From the first inning Saturday to the fourth inning Sunday, it was a very good weekend to be a Nats fan. Congrats to Lombo (Steve Lombardozzi) and Bryce Harper for doing what no two rookies have never done before. I heard it live and boy it was fun!!!! And it pretty much ended there. Gio Gonzalez earned the nicknamed I gave him (Sir-Walks-A-Lot) and the Nationals failed with runners in scoring position.
I was ready to kill the Nationals Saturday after the Phillies lost and after they went behind Sunday, I was kinda rooting for them to lose ( I know, I'm a mean person :D)

Ciao!
~ TBC

Daily Recap: 5-Out Save

The Phillies won!!!!!!
The Nationals were rained out.

More details...

Charlie Manuel wins the Good Move of the Day award for putting Jonathan Papelbon into the game in the eighth inning tonight. Jake Deikman was not pitching well and who do you bring in, Raul Valdes??? Seriously, you have to get the next out, because after that is Hanley Ramirez and the definiton of hot himself, Giancarlo Stanton (Although he was only 1-for-3 tonight, good job!) So Manuel brings in Papelbon. I was slightly surprised, but glad our best reliever was on the mound. I wondered whether he would come out again for the ninth. He did, and picked-up his first 5-out save since 2009.
Chooch is back. Yup, in the starting line-up for the first time simce Sunday! And BOOM! 3-for-4! Now he's hitting .381 and that's first in the majors! GO CHOOCH!!!!!!!!

Outside of Philly:
Johan Santana threw the first no-hitter in New York Mets history. Congrats to Johan and the Mets! Happy to get the Phils out of town, were you?

Ciao!
~TBC

The Return of The BEAST! :)

ANNNNNNNND... HE'S BACK!

The Nationals have activated Michael Morse from the DL!!!!! He is expected to be in his usual clean-up spot tonight vs. the Braves!

WELCOME BACK BEAST! Looking forward to many more home-runs, complete with head thumps :), and curtain calls like the on I saw LIVE last year. (Just not against the Phillies)

GO NATS! Show those braves what your made of!!!!!

Ciao!
~ TBC

Vote for LaRoche

My sister made this movie and since Ryan Howard does not deserve All-Star ( at least this year :), I decided to post it and endorse Washington Nationals 1st Baseman Adam LaRoche

Ciao!
~TBC

The Galvis Dilemma



 Ah... Freddy Galvis. Quite the enigma. Bring on the Glavis Dilemma.

Let's start at the very beginning, which is Spring Training. Coming into camp, Galvis had a very slim chance of making team as a back-up. Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins had the starting middle infield jobs locked up, as they have for years. Then the unpredictable (or was it) happened. Spring Training games started, and day after day Utley was not in the line-up. Then Galvis, naturally a shortstop, started playing at second base. As the days went by, and Utley's status grew more and more questionable. Glavis, meanwhile, was having good spring.
So, on Opening Day, when Utley wasn't ready to go, Glavis won the starting second baseman role. Early on in the season, he dazzeld with his glove, but he looked over-matched at the plate. Lately, however, his bat has started to come around and although he has been hitless in his last three games, he is hitting .255 over the past 30 days, good enough if he continues to play defense like he has.
The question: What do you do when Utley comes back? Rollins hasn't exactly played like himself lately, hitting  only .232 in his past 30 games. Utley hit .259 all of last year and appears to be on the decline. Galvis is an excellent defensive player, more than capable of playing second or shortstop.

Galvis

OR

Rollins

OR

Utley

What Do You Do?????????

My solution: Use Galvis as a super-sub utility player, spelling both the aging Rollins and Utley, who has a history of knee problems. Galvis can play at least four times a week and would be invalubale in situations such as day games after night games.

Phillies fans want Utley and Rollins in the line-up everyday, but that might not be the best thing for this team. So what do you think is the best thing to do?????

Ciao!
~ TBC

Daily Recap: My Hero! :)

The Phillies won!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Nationals lost.

More Details...

Who is my hero you say? Well, since I just started this blog you might not know. One word: CHOOOOOCH! Love him! The return of Carlos Ruiz tonight was a good as planned, even though he was not in the starting line-up. When I checked my iPod and the Phillies were losing 3-1, at first I thought, "Oh darn!", then I saw the situation. Runner on second, two outs, nothing big to be hopeful for. Then I saw the batter: Chooch. A glitter of hope! I check back five minutes later and the game is tied and I went crazy. Chooch is now officially my hero. If he wasn't before, which he kinda was!
Jimmy Rollins had a good night tonight, but he's still hitting only .239. The final score was 10-6, that's good. Raul Valdes finally gave up runs, but pitched so many innings before his ERA is only 3.00. That's pretty much all that happened.

Nationals didn't do much again, besides get swept by the red-hot Marlins (who play in Philly this weekend, UGH!) Roger Bernadina and Danny Espinosa were all over the scoring report, the only other one involved was Adam LaRoche.
If you look in the dictionary under ON FIRE, PURE POWER and probably a few other things, you'll probably see this picture:

                                            This is Giancarlo Stanton. He may not be human :)
All I can say is I hope Kyle Kendrick intentionally walks him every AB and then Cole Hamels cools him down.
As today is an off day for both teams, I have more time to work on somting other than daily recaps. I think I'll explore something I like to call the Glavis Dilemma. You'll see what I mean.
Ciao!
~TBC

VOTE 4 CHOOCH!

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/all_star/y2012/ballot.jsp?tcid=nav_asb

Follow the link to vote for Carlos Ruiz today!

made with iMovie

~ TBC

Daily Recap: Oh No Joe!

The Phillies lost.
The Nationals lost.

More details...

Oh Joe!!!!! What happened to you?!?!? Where is the Joe Blanton we saw until mid-May? Did you kidnap your 88-pitch shutout throwing identical twin and where did you stuff him in a closet? Can he come out for the pennant race?
So Joe Banton comes out of the gate and gives up 2 runs in the first inning and I'm like, "Oh great! Here we go again." Now he has given up 19 runs in his past 13 2/3 innings since starting the season 4-2 with a 2.81 ERA.
Carlos Ruiz was not in the starting line-up again today and his replacement, Brian Schneider homered. Schneider has been pretty good offensively this season but its not Chooch, so I hope everything is okay with Chooch and hopefully he'll be back in the line-up tomorrow. Nothing much happened offensively besides that 3 runs were scored by the Phillies and the Mets pitcher hit a home-run.

Another night, Another triple :) Is there any thing Bryce Harper can't do? His three-bagger (which would have been a home run in almost any other ball park) and Corey Brown's suicide squeeze for his first big league RBI were the highlights in an otherwise un-exciting game. Edwin Jackson was solid, but got only one run of support because the Nationals cannot, and I repeat CANNOT!, seem to win a game started by Anibal Sanchez. Today Chein-Ming Wang makes his first start of the season for the Nats, who still lead the NL east by 1 and 1/2 games.

Ciao!
~ TBC

The Longest 6-8 weeks of My LIFE!

UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Why did this have to happen! :(  I'm SOOOOO Mad!

Now that I've gotten that out of my system, let me explain. All day I've been anxiously awaiting the results of Roy Halladay's doctor visit after exiting his start on Sunday after two innings with shoulder soreness.  Turns out that I could have waited all day, all week, all month, or preferably, all season! Halladay, commonly known as Doc, has strained his right lat muscle and will miss 6-8 weeks.

Naturally, I was devastated by this news! Doc has been my favorite player since I started following the Phillies last season. I wear a Halladay shirt the day of his starts and I had become slightly depressed with the decline in performance this season. At least I now know the reason for the sudden slump, he has been pitching through pain all season.

You know what's strange, Mike Morse is recovering from a lat injury as well! Two of my favorite players taken down by lats! Morse was shut down for six weeks after his injury and I think that the Phils should be patient with Doc and do the same. They need a healthy Doc for a pennant race.

Well that's all I can say about that. Anyway, Get Well Soon Doc! All of your phans still think your the best!

Ciao!
~ TBC

Welcome

Hey!

This blog is about the Phillies and the Nationals (but mostly the Phillies!) I mostly will be posting daily recaps and things that have been on my mind. Starting with tomorrow, I will try to post at least daily.

~ The Teenaged Baseball Chick (TBC)