The Phillies took advantage of another troublesome outing by Oliver Perez, only to see themselves behind after a disastrous sixth inning.  Like the Phillies have done all season, late inning heroics fueled an extra inning win, off a foe the Phillies are used to beating; the Mets’ bullpen.  Reliever Sean Green’s bases-loaded walk in the 10th inning handed the Phillies the victory as they topped the Mets 6-5.

The Good:
- Raul Ibanez (a name being seen a lot this season), finished 2 for 4 with two RBI’s.  His solo home run in the sixth inning (8th of the year), off Pedro Feliciano tied the game at five.  He also made two stellar late inning catches, preventing the Mets from adding more runs.

- Pedro Feliz went two for five.  Both of his hits didn’t pass third base.  His Baltimore Chop single to lead off the tenth inning, put him in position to be the eventual winning run.  Feliz also shined defensively.  In the top …

While the news was good for Brad Lidge, the status of Cole Hamels’ sprained ankle is still up in the air.

Yesterday, Hamels was scheduled to throw a 30-pitch bullpen session but it was  canceled.   The Phillies wanted to give Hamels an extra day to rest his ankle and they didn’t want him throwing in the rain.

Hamels twisted his ankle Tuesday night against the Nationals.  He slipped fielding a sacrifice bunt, and was immediately removed from the game.

Hamels was originally scheduled to pitch Monday in St. Louis (if all went well), but with his bullpen session moved back, the earliest he will take the mound will be Tuesday.

The odds of that happening also might be in question.  With it currently raining in Philadelphia, and a forecast for rain showers the remainder of the weekend, it’s unknown if Hamels will be able to throw outdoors.

Closer Brad Lidge, who has been sidelined for a week with an inflamed right knee, had a successful bullpen session Friday.  Lidge threw 30 pitches, and walked off the mound pain free, meaning he will not be headed to the disabled list.

This is the same knee he had two surgeries on prior to the 2008 season, so it was thought all problems were corrected.  That is until Lidge developed mechanical flaws.

“The amount of pitches I threw didn’t bother me,” Lidge said. “There’s no question that if I kind of revert back to some bad mechanics that I’ll probably aggravate it. That being said, the way I threw today was real encouraging. I’ll be ready to go now. I’ll be able to avoid the DL.  By and large, this isn’t a big mechanical adjustment,” Lidge said. “But if I fall down too much on my back side on any particular pitch, that’s when it pinches. It’s going to tell me right away if I’m not throwing …

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Pat who???

That’s exactly what Phillies leftfielder Raul Ibanez is making Philadelphians say as he is Hot Stove Philly’s first Player of the Month.

Ibanez had a strong first month in his debut with the Phillies.  He finished the month leading the Phillies in batting (.359), home runs (7, tied with Chase Utley), and slugging percentage (.718).  He was also second in RBI’s (17), and on-base percentage (.433).

Ibanez’s offensive production helped overcome the Phillies’ dreadful pitching, and is a big reason the team finished April over .500 with a 11-9 record.

When the Phillies signed Ibanez there was concern among the fans.  It would be another left-handed batter, in an already lefty dominated lineup, and it meant the loss of lifelong Phillie and fan favorite Pat Burrell.  While Burrell is still adapting to life as a designated hitter in Tampa (.268/1/9), Ibanez has quickly taken his place and become a fan favorite.  His jersey and tee shirt are now top-sellers at the Majestic Clubhouse Store at Citizens Bank Park …

Flyers’ captain, Mike Richards, underwent successful surgery yesterday to repair a right labrum tear.

It was revealed after the Flyers’ loss to the Penguins in the first round of the playoffs that Richards had been playing with torn labrums in each of his arms.  With the first one now successfully repaired, Richards will wait two weeks, then go under the knife again to repair his left labrum.

The total revcovery time expected is 12 weeks, and providing there are no setbacks, Richards will be ready for training camp come September.

As excited as I was for the first game of 2009 between Phillies and the Mets, by the time the Phillies stepped to the plate in the bottom of the third inning, I was praying for rain.  Starter Chan Ho Park struggled out of the gate, allowing a two-run home run to Danny Murphy in the first inning, and it didn’t get much better as the Phillies fell to the Metropolitans, 7-4.

The Good:
-  Chase Utley continued to tear the cover off the ball, finishing 1 for 2 with two walks.  His lone hit was a solo home run in the seventh inning (his eighth on the season), cutting the Mets lead to 7-4.

- Raul Ibanez only had one hit in four at-bats, but his lone hit was a two-run single.  Ibanez leads the Phillies in batting with a .354 average, and is second in the club in RBI’s (to Utley), with 19.

- The bullpen had another strong night.  The combination …

Although we are four months away from training camp, the NFL released it’s schedule last night.  Here is the 2009 Philadelphia Eagles Schedule:

Sept. 13 at Carolina, 1 p.m., Fox29

Sept. 20 vs. New Orleans, 1 p.m., Fox29

Sept. 27 vs. Kansas City, 1 p.m. CBS 3

Oct. 4, Bye

Oct. 11 vs. Tampa Bay, 1 p.m. Fox29

Oct. 18 at Oakland, 4:05 p.m. Fox29

Oct. 26 at Washington, 8:30 p.m. ESPN

Nov. 1 vs. N.Y. Giants, 4:15 p.m. Fox29

Nov. 8 vs. Dallas, 8:20 p.m. NBC 10

Nov. 15 at San Diego, 4:15 p.m. Fox29

Nov. 22 at Chicago 8:20 p.m. NBC 10

Nov. 29 vs. Washington, 1 p.m. Fox29

Dec. 6 at Atlanta, 1 p.m. Fox29

Dec. 13 at N.Y. Giants, 8:20 p.m., NBC 10

Dec. 20 vs. San Francisco, 1 p.m. Fox29

Dec. 27 vs. Denver, 1 p.m. CBS 3

Jan. 3 at Dallas, 1 p.m., Fox29

As you can see the schedulers in the league office did the Eagles no favors, as they have one of the toughest road schedules.  Outside of division rivals the Eagles will also travel …

Chan Ho Park continued the Phillies starting pitching woes with a four-run, 48 pitch first inning, but the Phillies battled back and thanks to a two-run pinch hit home run by Matt Stairs in the top of the ninth, the Phillies topped the Rockies 7-5.

The Good:

- For the second consecutive game the offense was led the Chase Utley and Jayson Werth.  Utley went 2 for 3 with two RBI’s and three runs scored.  Both of Utley’s RBI’s came in the 8th inning via the long ball (his first of the season), off Manny Corpas.  Werth went 2 for 4 with 2 RBI’s.  Werth now leads the Phillies with six RBI’s.

- Ryan Howard had another strong game going 3 for 4.  Howard’s lone out, came via strikeout.  This wasn’t a classic Howard strikeout though.  This was an 11 pitch strikeout, where Howard battled.  Howard isn’t chasing the low and away slider he has the past couple years.  Howard can keep that …

Brett Myers was good enough to keep the Phillies in the game, and the offense finally came to life as all eight position players registered at least one hit, as the Phillies moved to 2-3, topping the Rockies 8-4.

The Good:

- Ryan Howard had his first breakout game of the season going 2 for 4 with three RBI’s.  Howard’s third inning double with the bases gave the Phillies a 3-2 lead.

- Shane Victorino and Pedro Feliz led the Phillies with three hits (both went 3 for 5).  Victorino had a double and scored twice, while Feliz picked up an RBI.

- Chase Utley and Raul Ibanez each picked up two hits and an RBI.  Ibanez’s came on a seventh inning home run (his second of the season), while Utley’s came on a single in the eighth.

- The Phillies lineup showed it could get the hits in the big situation.  Seven of their eight runs came with two outs.  Since it’s the first time we’ve …

Cole Hamels made his season debut against the Rockies yesterday, and did what every Phillies starter has done this season, struggle.  Hamels couldn’t make it out of the fourth inning and the Phillies offense was unable to figure out Rockies starter Jason Marquis, as the Rockies topped the Phillies 10-3.

The Good:

- Jayson Werth was one of the few Phillies who was able to punish Rockies pitching.  Werth had an outstanding game, going 4 for 4 with a home run and two doubles.

- Chase Utley continued his hot start, going 2 for 3.

- J.A. Happ, who relieved Hamels in the fourth pitched two-and-a-third innings of shutout baseball and only allowed one hit.

The Bad:

- The Phillies offense looked lackadaisical at times and lacked the intensity it had much of last season.  Outside of Utley and Werth, the only other Phillies who had a base hit was Jimmy Rollins.  While the trio of Rollin, Utley, and Werth went a combine 7 for 11, …

Carlos Ruiz exited yesterday’s 10-3 loss to the Rockies in the seventh inning with a right oblique strain.  Ruiz injured his oblique in the third inning when catching a pop fly in foul territory.

Ruiz is listed as day-to-day, but the Phillies did have top catching prospect Lou Marson, leave Lehigh Valley to meet the Phillies in Denver in case Ruiz should go on the disabled list.  If needed, Marson will be able to play tonight.

Oblique injuries are tricky and can linger for  most of the season if severe enough.  Given it’s only four games into the season, and Marson is already with the team, expect the Phillies to take the cautious approach and place Ruiz on the disabled list so he’s healthy the remainder of the season.  Should this happen, expect Marson and backup catcher Chris Coste to equally share the catching duties.  In saying that, should Marson start off hot, it’s possible he’ll get a majority of the playing time until Ruiz returns.

While not known …

Well when the game started it didn’t look good.  After getting in an early hole and trailing by seven late in the game, it appeared the Phillies were well on their way to starting the season 0-3 for the second time in three years.  That was until the Phillies sent 12 men to the plate in the 7th inning, scoring eight runs, giving the Phillies an 11-10 lead. An insurance run in the eighth gave enough cushion for Brad Lidge (who despite giving up a home run to Matt Diaz), to remain perfect and save his first game of 2009.

The Good:

- Raul Ibanez had his first big game in a Phillies uniform.  The left fielder west 2 for 3 with three RBI’s.  Ibanez hit his first home run of the season in the second inning, tying the game at two.

- Chase Utley is showing no lingering effects of off season surgery.  Utley went 2 for 4, with a double and two RBI’s.

- …