The Phillies hot streak at home continued as Joe Blanton had another strong outing, dominating the Pirate lineup and outpitching Zach Duke as the Phillies triumphed 3-2.
The Good:
- Blanton went seven and a third innings allowing one run on four hits while striking out six. His lone run allowed came in the first inning when Garrett Jones hit one of the longest home runs at Citizens Bank Park, hitting the Wall of Fame and bouncing onto Ashburn Alley. In two July starts Blanton is 2-0 with a 0.61 ERA.
- Newly minted All-Star Jayson Werth kept up his hot bat. While he was held homerless for the first time in five games, Werth’s two-RBI double in the third inning put the Phillies ahead for good. Werth will get strong consideration for National League Player of the Week Honors. This week Werth has hit .389 with 4 home runs and 11 RBI’s.
- Shane Victorino continues to rake. The …
The New York Mets dove into the trading pool yesterday shipping outfielder Ryan Church to the Atlanta Braves for outfielder Jeff Francour. While normally you don’t see trades within the division (especially during the season), this is a classic change of scenery trade, but not a real upgrade for either team.
The Braves get an outfielder with a decent bat who is all hustle. He give’s 110% on the field, covering a lot of ground in outfield and baserunning aggressiveness. But over the past couple seasons has been unable to stay healthy. In 2008 he missed half the season with concussion related injuries. He collided with then teammate Marlon Anderson during a spring training game resulting in a Grade 2 concussion. Then upon his return, he suffered a second concussion when his head met now teammate Yunel Escobar’s knee while sliding into second base. This year, Church spent part of May & June on the DL (but what Mets regular hasn’t), with a hamstring injury.
The …
Phillies brass watched Pedro Martinez for the second time this week and while there’s no reports on the speed of his fastball, the outing sounded encouraging. Pedro pitched three innings of shutout ball, allowing three hits, while striking out three (all three came in the second when he struck out the side).
An early report from ESPN’s Enrique Rojas had Ruben Amaro Jr. in the Dominican Republic watching the simulated game, but that was false, as Ruben is currently at Citizens Bank Park.
Whether Pedro is in Philadelphia on Monday remains to be seen. All we know is that Amaro continues to be very tight lipped on the subject.
More to come…
New information on Pedro Martinez:
Pedro will have a second workout for the Phillies today at 1:00 at the Phillies Complex in the Dominican Republic. Should this workout go well Pedro will be in Philadelphia on Monday to sign his contract.
Also noted was should the Phils sign Pedro it will not prohibit their pursuit of Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay.
More to come…
It’s looking more and more like future Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez will be wearing red pinstripes. Earlier today, Dominican paper Candela Deportiva reported the Phillies had signed the three-time American League Cy Young Award winner to a one-year $4 million contract. This spurred all sorts of speculation from all media outlets, but was later debunked by GM Ruben Amaro Jr. when he said:
“He has not been signed. We’ve seen him pitch. He’s not in town.”
But when asked if the Phillies have reached an agreement with Pedro, all Amaro could say was:
“No comment.”
Based on that comment it seems an announcement can come in the next day or so.
When I first heard the news the Phillies were scouting Pedro I wasn’t really into it. I was never a fan of his and he pretty much did squat in final three seasons with the Mets (17-15). Plus a month ago he worked out for scouts for 10 teams and there was little interest. Reports …
The verdict is in on Brett Myers hip, and the news isn’t good for Phillies fans. Myers will join Chase Utley and Alex Rodriguez and have surgery to replace a torn labrum.
Brett flew to New York yesterday to meet with Dr. Brian T. Kelly and he gave Myers two options. Surgery now or an anti-inflammatory shot and surgery at the end of the season. If Myers did get the shot he’d risk doing further damage to his hip, or even possibly hurting his arm. Myers (who you can’t blame), opted for surgery now.
Myers, a free agent at seasons end, could have possibly pitched his last game as a Phillie when he walked off the mound in pain during Wednesday’s 6-2 loss against the Marlins. The recovery from the surgery is about three months, but then Myers will need to get back in game shape, which could take anywhere from 3-6 weeks, meaning the chances of Myers returning to the Phillies before the end of the season are remote.
This loss is a big blow to the …
St. Louis native Ryan Howard thrives any time he returns to the Gateway City. Last night was no different as strong pitching and a Howard-led offense gave the Phillies a 6-1 victory.
The Good:
- Starter Joe Blanton went six innings allowing one run on four hits. Blanton cruised through five innings, only to run into a jam in the sixth. After retiring Chris Duncan, Blanton loaded the bases on a walk, hit batter, and a misplay in the infield. Faced with the bases full of Cardinals and one out, Blanton stayed focused, striking out Tyler Greene and getting Brian Barden to hit into an inning ending ground out.
- Jayson Werth went 2 for 4. His two-run home run in the fourth inning gave the Phillies a 2-1 lead.
- Howard hit his second grand slam in a week (the first coming last Tuesday against the Nationals), the seventh of his career (tying Mike Schmidt for #1 all-time), off Kyle Lohse in the fifth inning …
With both Marty Biron and Antero Niittymaki free agents, the talk around Philadelphia water coolers is which goalie will the Flyers resign and lead them on the ice in 2009-2010. Well it appears there might be another player in the mix. Word is the Flyers are interested in former Senators net minder Ray Emery.
Emery led the Senators to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2007-2008, when he went 12-3 in the first three rounds of the playoffs before eventually losing to the Anaheim Ducks.
Emery holds a career 71-40 record with a 2.71 GAA and has the talent to take the Flyers to the next level.
All isn’t good with Emery. While he has the talent to win a Viezna Trophy, he’s also marginally insane.
Emery is known for his hard partying lifestyle, driving fast (he’s been pulled over for speeding 30 times in the past year), and short temper (his locker room fights while with the senators was well publicized, as well as a center ice fight with Biron …
It’s bad enough the Sixers ended their 2008-2009 on a low note, after getting blown out but the Orlando Magic 114-89, but was it necessary for their backup center/11th man on the bench to come out and rip the coach after the loss?
Theo Ratliff was the last player to leave the locker room after Thursday night’s loss, mainly becasue he couldn’t keep his mouth shut.
“It’s distasting to go out like that, to be on the bench watching. It’s not a good feeling.
The coaches are responsible for guys [being] prepared and playing. They have to hold guys accountable. It’s been that way all year, so you couldn’t expect anything different.
You have to step up and get into guys. If [as the coach] you don’t have that type of personality, to be able to go at guys.
At the same time, it’s your position. You’ve seen the mistakes and all that going on. Was anybody getting talked to about that? To me, this …
While it might be somewhat overkill, giving outfielder Raul Ibanez both HSP Player of the Month and Stud of the Week in the same week, the way Ibanez has performed the past week, there’s no one more deserving.
Ibanez went 9 for 18 (.500), with three home runs and nine RBI’s. It wasn’t that he hit three home runs, it’s that the timing of two of them put the Phillies in position to win.
Tuesday against the Nationals, Ibanez hit a grand slam in the bottom of the eighth to give the Phillies a 13-11 lead (which was the eventual final score). Saturday, with the Mets up 5-4 in the sixth, Ibanez tied the game, launching a solo shot, tying the game at five. The Phillies won the game 6-5 in ten innings.
Five of Raul’s nine hits went for extra bases and he finished the weeks with a 1.657 OPS.
To borrower a line from the late Harry Kalas, “Raul Ibanez, you are the man.”
Honorable …
Yesterday’s rain out was a blessing in disguise. With Cole Hamels status up in the air while recovering from an ankle sprain, the odds of him making his scheduled start on Tuesday in St. Louis was remote.
That was until yesterday’s rainout.
Due to the rainout, Joe Blanton’s start was moved back to today while Brett Myers, Monday’s scheduled starter, will take the hill on Tuesday. As a result, Hamels will have some extra time to rest his ankle as he’ll take the mound at home Friday night against the Braves.
First pitch on Friday 7:05 pm.
Cole Hamels did complete his scheduled bullpen session yesterday, but whether or not he will make his next start is still unknown. Reports are the session went “okay”. Hamels felt no pain when throwing the ball, but did experience some discomfort when he dragged his back foot.
“He could probably pitch if he just stood on the mound and didn’t do anything but pitch, but that’s not how it works,” [Ruben] Amaro added. “We’ve got to make sure we see some other things, whether it’s coming off the mound and fielding and those sorts of things. Those are the things we’re still pretty concerned about. We don’t want t put him in a position to re-injure it.”
Hamels is scheduled to pitch tomorrow in St. Louis, but the odds of the seem remote. If Hamels doesn’t miss a start, he’ll take the ball on Tuesday, with Brett Myers opening the two game series with the Cardinals.
Hot Stove Perspective: Unless Hamels ankle miraculously …
