I guess it only took one appearance by Les Walrond and J.A. Happ out of the bullpen for the front office to realize they need another left-handed reliever.  Today Scott Eyre is a Phillie.

The newest Phillie has struggled this season with the Cubs this season going 2-0 with a 7.15 ERA (although all but one of his nine earned runs came in a total of one inning).  A fan favorite in Chicago, Eyre “fell out of favor” with Cubs manager, Lou Pinella, and was designated for assignment (with those numbers, you’ll fall out of favor with any big league manager).

Eyre is happy to be moving on and getting new new opportunity in Philadelphia.  Expect to see him in uniform tomorrow when the Phillies take on the Pirates.

“I’m excited,” Eyre said. “They have a good team and they’re in a pennant race. It couldn’t have turned out any better for me.”

Now most people will look at this as a typical move the Phillies would …

Kyle Kendrick became the second Phillies pitcher this season to reach the double digit mark in wins, and Ryan Howard hit his 32nd home run of the season as the Phillies beat the Marlins 5-0.

Kendrick (10-5, 4.37), pitched six shutout innings allowing four hits and an uncharacteristic four walks.  Although it would appear this wasn’t Kendrick’s strongest performance of the season, I would disagree.  Despite the fact he had trouble locating his sinker, he beared down and pitched though every jam like a ten-year veteran; not a pitcher only making his 43rd career start.  When he did allow runners to reach base (every inning but the fifth), he refused to give in to the Marlins hitters, squashing any hope of a Marlins rally.  Most notably in the 4th.

After retiring the first two batters, Kendrick walked John Baker and Anibel Sanchez. Hanley Ramirez followed with an infield single. Jeremy Hermida stepped to the plate with the bases loaded.  Only to hit and inning-ending line …

This afternoon, the Chicago Cubs designated relief pitcher Scott Eyre for assignment.  Eyre struggled this season going 2-0 with a 7.15 ERA in 19 relief appearances.  With Kerry Wood returning from the disabled list, the underachieving Eyre was the odd man out.  The Cubs now have seven days to trade him, or he will be a free agent (if he doesn’t accept an assignment to Triple-A).

So what does this mean for the Phillies?

Let’s see…  A left-handed reliever who is available and can be had for next to nothing?  Pat Gillick’s mouth is already watering.  This is the kind of player Gillick is known for getting to give his team a lift near the end of the regular season.  If worked last season with J.C. Romero, why wouldn’t it work with a guy like Eyre?

As ugly as Eyre’s numbers are, there is a chance that could happen.  Eyre’s ugly ERA was inflated by allowing eight earned runs over his last three appearances (one inning pitched).  In …

The Philadelphia 76ers have signed restricted-free agent guard Lou Williams to a five-year contract.  Williams, 21, was the Sixers six-man last season  and contributed in a big way off the bench posting career highs in points (11.5), assists (3.2), rebounds (2.1), and steals (1.0).  He was also a main contributor in the playoffs, averaging 12 points in 22 minutes.

“We are very excited that we have reached an agreement with Lou Williams,” said Sixers general manager Ed Stefanski. “He is not only a very talented player who exemplifies our up-tempo style of play, but he is also a young man who exhibits great character and qualities off the court as well. We look forward to having him in a Sixers uniform for many years to come.”

Williams joined the Sixers fresh out of high school when they nabbed him with their second round pick (45th overall), in 2005.

With “Sweet Lou” under contract, the only remaining Sixer not signed is guard Andre Iguodala.  Iguodala, who started …

Back from it’s summer vacation, On the Farm has returned with a weekly look at some of the Phillies top prospects, and their maturation as the work their way to the big leagues.

Triple A:
Top prospect Carlos Carrasco was promoted to Triple A on Saturday, and made his debut yesterday against the Rochester Red Wings. Facing another top prospect Kevin Mulvey (a key piece in the Johan Santana trade).  Carrasco out-dueled the Twins prospect, going six-and-two-thirds innings, allowing six hits, and two runs (neither of them were earned).  This is the biggest test to date for Carrasco.  While I still think he has a minimal chance of getting a September call-up, the front office will be paying close attention to Carrasco, looking ahead to next season and see if he’s ready for a shot in the rotation.

Double A:
Top prospects Jason Donald and Lou Marson remained Phillies after Thursday’s trading deadline and are both in Beijing representing the United States in the Olympics. Marson, the …

When pitcher J.A. Happ was pulled from his Triple-A start last Sunday, I assumed he had been traded.  Happ, a starter, really had really had no position with the Phillies.  With the addition of Joe Blanton and the return of Brett Myers, the rotation seemed to be set for the remainder of the season.

The skeptic in me then figured that Happ would start Tuesday’s game against the Nationals as possibly one last audition for opposing teams prior to Thursday’s trade deadline.  That didn’t happen either.

So it seemed for the time being that Happ would remain in the bullpen as a second left-hander pitcher, opposite J.C. Romero.  That was until the Phillies recalled Les Walrond, another lefty, to take Rudy Seanez’s place on the roster.

While all this has been going on, both manager Charlie Manuel, and GM Pat Gillick have commented how they want to fit Happ into the rotation.  While Happ would be a good addition to the rotation, whose spot would he …

Relief pitcher Rudy Seanez has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with an injured right shoulder.  Seanez hurt his should diving to tag out Lastings Milledge Thursday night in Washington. 

Seanez, who has also been bothered by a sore back, has struggled as of late, allowing five runs, seven hits, and six walks in his last three innings, while only striking out one.

Replacing Seanez will be 31-year old Les Walrond.  Walrond, a minor league journeyman, is 5-7 with a 2.67 ERA for Lehigh Valley this season, and has heated up as of late, only allowing two runs in his last 39 innings. 

As good as Walrond has been as of late, I’m not sure if he was the right call up.  Walrond has been a starter his entire career, expect for 15 of his 17 career major league appearances (0-3, 7.46 ERA), and at 31, you’d figure he really doesn’t have a future with the organization.  Lehigh Valley’s closer, Matt Childers, or Joe Bisenius would have been better options.

While Adam Eaton is struggling in the South Atlantic League, Kris Benson is starting to find a groove in the International League.  The 33-year-old righthander had another strong outing last night against the Norfolk Tide.  Although the Iron Pigs lost, it wasn’t because of Benson.  Benson pitched seven strong innings, allowing five hits and only one run.  He only walked one batter, and his fastball consistently was in the low-90’s.

It was the biggest test for Benson to date as he threw 96 pitches.

A week ago Phillies GM Pat Gillick said it was doubtful that Benson will pitch for the Phillies this season.  Originally hoped to join the Phillies by June, it’s taken longer for Benson to recover from rotator cuff surgery, and the Phillies have made other plans.  Most notably the acquisition of Joe Blanton and the emergence of J.A. Happ.  It’s not stopping Benson from going out, and showing the Phillies what he can do.  In his last three starts, Benson is 1-1 with a …

Struggling pitcher Adam Eaton made his minor league debut last night.  Eaton took the mound for the Lakewood BlueClaws, the Phillies Low-A minor league affiliated, and like he’s done all season for the Phils, he got hammered.  Eaton allowed four runs and five hits in three and two-thirds of an inning.  He also was unable to establish a fastball, topping out at 89 MPH.

Surprisingly Eaton was encouraged by the outing. 

“I felt good. The ball was coming out pretty nice. I was very happy with the way I threw.”

He was finished praising himself. 

“It seemed like a double or a home run on every hit,” Eaton said. “But for the most part, things went well. I had good command.”

Besides losing the ability to pitch, has Eaton also lost his mind?  It’s bad enough he was forced to accept an assignment to the minor leagues for struggling against major league batters, but not to be able to get out players from the South Atlantic League?  That’s completely ridiculous.  I’m not trying to …

Was what I witnessed tonight the “swagger” Brett Myers spoke of when he said he found it in Lehigh-Valley?  If so it needs to be bottled.

If you missed the game you missed a dominant performance by Myers (something no one has seen this season).  Myers went seven-plus innings, allowing four hits and one run.  The lone run allowed was a direct result of a Chase Utley error.

I know he dominated the last place Nats, but pitching a game how Myers did tonight builds confidence, which is exactly what he needs.

I’ve hammered Myers most of this season, and going into tonight I was hoping J.A. Happ would get a last minute start, but I have to give Myers a lot of credit tonight.  He didn’t keep the Phillies in the game, he won the game for the Phillies.  If he can put a string of starts like tonight together, the Phillies will be in good shape down the stretch.

The Phillies have placed third baseman Pedro Feliz on the 15-day disabled list with a sore back.  Feliz missed the entire series with the Braves with his back woes, but hoped to return to the lineup in Washington.  Unfortunately it hasn’t improved.

“Pete Happy”, as the fans refer to him, is doing exactly what the Phillies expected this season, batting .256 with 12 home runs and 46 RBI’s (right in line with his career averages), while playing stellar defense.

In Feliz’s absense, Greg Dobbs will get a majority of starts at third base, with Eric Brunlett getting the nod against left-handers.

The Phillies have recalled Mike Cervenak to take Feliz’s place on the roster.  Cervanak, a utility guy, had a brief stop in Philly before the All-Star break, when J.A. Happ was sent down.  He’s 0 for 1 on the season.

With just under three days until baseball’s trading deadline, all appears quiet on the Phillies front.  Aside from some little rumbles here and there, there’s real no big news when it comes to the Phillies It’s quite possible the acquisition of Joe Blanton will probably be the only trade the Phillies will have made when the deadline passes.

It doesn’t have to be, and it shouldn’t.

While I don’t advocate making a deal just to give your fanbase the impression you’re doing all you can to improve your club, I believe if a reasonable deal can be made, management needs to explore it.

If you look at the Phillies, most think they need to go out and get an outfield bat.  Geoff Jenkins has struggled in right field and Jayson Werth is much more valuable playing against left-handed pitching.  The only real available options are Seattle’s Raul Ibanez, and the Pirates Jason Bay.  Ibanez isn’t a good fit for the Phillies.  He bats left-handed, and the Phils have plenty of bats form …