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 National League’s Final Vote winner (with over 15 million votes), went 3 for 4 raising his average to .314.  Victorino is all over the National League leaderboard ranking second in runs (62), second in hits (107), fifth in doubles (24), and ninth in stolen bases (15).

The Bad:
- Jimmy Rollins finished 0 for 4 snapping an eight-game hitting streak.  Rollins average now sits at .224.

- Brad Lidge recorded a two-out save (his 18th of the season), but not before giving up a solo home run to Brandon Moss.  Lidge has now given up runs in 16 of his 35 appearances.

The Ugly:
- Duke had the bottom half of the order completely fooled.  Batters 6-9 (Pedro Feliz, John Mayberry Jr., Paul Bako, & Joe Blanton), went a combine 0 for 12.

The Phils are now 7-1 on their current homestand, and with the Marlins losing to the Diamondbacks they now maintain a three game lead in the NL East.  Cole Hamels (5-5, 4.70 ERA) will take the mound tonight as the Phillies look to continue their July dominance.  Hamels is coming off one of his most dominating outing where he held the Reds to one run on three hits over seven innings.  Opposing Hamels will be Ross Ohlendorf (7-7, 4.63).  Ohlendorf struggles in his last outing allowing five run over five innings against the Marlins.

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 Mets get a player who many thought would be a perennial all-star, until pitchers realized he’s unable to make adjustments during the game.  After back to back seasons where he smacked a total of 48 home runs and drove in 208, Francour “lost his swagger” (yeah, I’m borrowing a phrase from Brett Myers).  Last season he hit a meager .238 while hitting 11 home runs and driving in 71.  He hasn’t faired much better this season as he has only 5 home runs and 35 RBI’s in 82 games.  Not all is bad.  Should he get the right pitch, he possesses tremendous power and he stays healthy (he’s never been on the disabled list – which could change once he encounters the Mets training staff).  He also has a good arm.  Sorry, not just an good arm, but the best right field arm in the National League (ever since Shane Victorino moved to center field).  So while he doesn’t have the range to collide with a second baseman, runners trying to score from second on a single to right field will be more hesitant.

How does this affect the Phillies?  It really doesn’t, except the Phillies won’t be able to take advantage of Gary Sheffield’s spaghetti arm when playing the Mets.  On the plus side, the speed of the Phillies won’t have to worry about taking an extra base on a gapper to right in Atlanta.

So who wins?  Push

There are pros and cons for each side.  Francour was in Bobby Cox’s dog house, and if not traded he was probably in line for a demotion to Gwinnett County (the Braves Triple A affiliate).  At 25 (yeah, it does seem like he’s been in the league forever), this gives Francour a fresh start and a new hitting coach (30/30 club member Howard Johnson), who hopefully turn his swing around.

Church now gains some stability knowing he’s the every day right fielder, not riding an outfield carousel based on who is injured.  Also moving to Atlanta might improve his power numbers some and defensively there’s less ground to cover at Turner Field then Citi Field.

In my opinion both outfielders aren’t quality everyday starters and would be better suited in a platoon-type role.  But who knows, change of scenery’s can work wonders.  Look what it did for Brad Lidge last year.  Both teams took a gamble (with the Mets taking the bigger one, but also with the potential for bigger results), and it certainly may pay off.

For the Mets fans who were hoping the front office was going to make a bigger splash (you’re not getting Roy Halladay), Omar Minaya has already sold you a bill of goods.

“This is a trade that’s not only for now, but for next year and beyond, because of the youth of the player and that what he does fits the ballpark.  This ballpark plays better for Francoeur because, even though Ryan Church is a good defensive player, Francoeur covers a lot of ground.  Base hits to right field — you just don’t run [on Francoeur].”

This is true Omar, but if your Gold Glove in right field can’t read an off-speed pitch, what good is a cannon of an arm?

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…

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 were his fastball couldn’t get above 85 mph.  After hearing more recent reports that in his Tuesday workout for the Phillies he hit 93 mph and was consistantly between 88-91, it sounded a little more encourageing.  I can get over a personal dislike if he could be an asset to the Phillies pitching staff.

That being said, if the possible addition of Pedro is at the back of the rotation to replace Rodrigo Lopez or Antonio Bastardo, or to replace J.A. Happ (should he be dealt in a trade), I’m into it.  He’s a veteran arm with World Series experience, who is able to anchor the back of the rotation.

Should this move be in-lieu of acquiring a frontline starter like Roy Halladay, it’s nothing less than terrible.  An addition of another stater who you can only hope to squeeze out five innings is not what you need when you’re going for another championship run.

What happens next remains to be scene…

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 Phils.  As frustrating as Myers can be, he’s the most consistent starter who’s not named Cole Hamels, in a rotation that has the leagues worst ERA.  While GM Ruben Amaro Jr. looks to make a trade to replace Myers, the Phillies will call up someone from Lehigh Valley in the interim.

Myers is a career 73-63 with a 4.39 ERA and 21 saves in 232 career appearances.

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 giving the Phillies a 6-1 lead.  Just how good is Howard in St. Louis?  In 16 career games he has 28 RBI’s.

The Bad:
- Shane Victorino finished 1 for 5 with three strikeouts.

The Ugly:
- In the top of the eighth inning Pedro Feliz hit a smash to deep center field that was caught by a running Rick Ankiel.  After the catch Ankiel lost his footing and crashed head first into the wall.  Ankiel lied on the ground motionless for a couple minutes, before his neck being secured and carted off the field.  While Ankiel was being tended to the entire St. Louis crowd held their breath fearing the worst.  Things appear to be okay though, as Ankiel was being carted off the field, he gave the fans a thumbs up.  Not word as of yet on the extent of his injuries, but the fact he can move his arms is definitely a good sign.

Brett Myers (1-2, 4.83 ERA) takes the mound for the Phils.  Myers has gone at least six innings in all five of his starts this season, and hasn’t allowed more then three runs in each of his last three.  Myers has had his struggled against the Cardinals going 3-2 with a 5.19 ERA, including 1-1 with a 6.97 ERA at Busch Stadium.  Facing Myers will be Adam Wainwright.  Wainwright (3-0, 2.76), has only allowed more than three runs once this season and is 2-0 with a 1.17 ERA in his career against the Phillies.

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 on February 22, 2007).  This is the reason after being released by the Senators in June 2008 that no team wanted to take a gamble on him this past season.

Emery ended up playing in Russia, where he was stellar going 22-8 with a 1.86 GAA.  Unfortunately this past January he attacked the trainer of Atlant Moscow (his Russian team), by punching in him the face after his refusal to wear a team cap after getting pulled from a game.  Emery claims he was being taunted by the trainer.

At twenty-six, some of his best hockey is still ahead of him.  Should he lose his frat boy ways, he would be a solid addition to the Flyers.  The question is are the Flyers willing to take a gamble on a talented goalie that at times prefers fast cars and loose women to stopping 95 miles per hour slapshots?

This remains to be seen.

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 is losing if you have situations like that.

[The lack of that] has bothered me, and I’ve told them it’s bothered me, that it’s something you’ve got to deal with.

When you see the lack of effort, the lack of concentration, the lack of being able to get things done, and to stick with the same thing, to me you’re just trying to play guys, and I don’t feel good about it.”

Thanks Theo, no one really cares how you feel.  Maybe as a 14-year veteran of the NBA, you should have tried to take a leadership role, and get into the faces of some players, not rip your coach after being ousted from the playoffs.

The biggest knock on the Sixers this year was their age (being so young), and inexperience.  A guy like Ratliff had the opportunity to teach some of the young players like Thad Young and Lou Williams, but instead he chose whine like a little girl.

The selfishness of Ratliff went further on Friday, when he was a no-show (along with point guard Andre Miller), for the team’s final meeting.

Hey Theo, grow up.  Don’t be surprised when the Sixers don’t give you a phone call looking to bring you back for another season.

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 mentions:  Chase Utley (.462 avg, 3 HR, 5 RBI’s), Shane Victorino (.348 avg, 1 HE, 3 RBI’s, 6 R).