The Phillies will be sending three players to the 2009 All Star Game. Second baseman Chase Utley and outfielder Raul Ibanez have been named starters to the 2009 National League All-Star team. First baseman Ryan Howard was named as a reserve by manager Charlie Manuel.

This will be the fifth All Star selection for Utley, but only the first for Ibanez. Howard was an All-Star in 2006.

Rounding out the starting lineup for the National League is catcher Yadier Molina and first baseman Albert Pujols, both from the St. Louis Cardinals; Hanley Ramirez of the Florida Marlins at shortstop; Mets’ David Wright at third base and Carlos Beltran in the outfield; and Ryan Braun of the Brewers rounding out the final outfield spot.

The National League reserves are Braves’ catcher Brian McCann, first basemen Prince Fielder of the Brewers, Adrian Gonzalez of the Padres and Howard, second basemen Orlando Hudson of the Dodgers and Freddy Sanchez of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Houston Astros’ shortstop Miguel Tejada, Washington Nationals’ third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, and …

I was preparing to do a piece on how the best thing that has happened to the Phillies this season is that the Mets are even worse then they have been, and the rest of the division has been even worse still.

The Phillies were 3-7 in their last 10 games coming into tonight’s game against the Atlanta Braves. The Mets have an equally as bad record in the same period. The only team with a winning record in the previous 10 games is the Florida Marlins with a record of 6-4.

However, I came across a great piece on this very subject a little while ago by our good friend Carson over at We Should Be GMs, and so I thought I’d give him his due credit for beating me to the punch.

You can check our his analysis here.

The Phillies’ announced Monday that they have placed rookie pitcher Antonio Bastardo on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left posterior shoulder.

The move generated serious speculation over who the Phillies would call up to pitch Bastardo’s spot in the rotation (Thursday). Many thought Carlos Carrasco might get his chance to make his major league debut. Or perhaps Andrew Carpenter or Rodrigo Lopez would get the call.

Instead, the Phillies announced that J.A. Happ would move up a day and start Thursday, and called up Sergio Escalona, for the fifth time this season. Escalona has only made five appearances so far this year, and has quite literally spent more time traveling to and from the big league club then he has on the mound for the Phillies. Hopefully someone has given this kid a nice set of luggage and he is allowed to keep his frequent flyer miles.

While this answers the question of who will pitch Thursday, it simply shifts the …

The St. Petersburg Police Department has delivered a complaint against Phillies’ reliever J.C. Romero following an incident last week with a fan. It is now up to the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney’s office to determine whether or not to charge Romero with batery.

The complaint stems from an incident between Romero and a fan following last Thursday night’s Phillies – Rays game at Tropicana FIeld. The fan, Robert Eaton, and Romero exchanged words after Romero allegedly declined to sign an autograph. Eaton allegedly made disparaging remarks to Romero concerning his 50 game suspension for banned substances. Romero then allegedly grabbed Eaton by the neck and struck him.

“Remember, this is a simple battery,” St. Petersburg Police spokesman George Kajtsa said. “No weapon was used. There were no injuries to the victim whatsoever, except as he says in the report he was embarrassed because it happened in front of other fans and his family. … This is a very minor incident so the state’s attorney will probably concentrate on more serious matters, …

After one of the worst homestands in team history (1-8), the Phillies were quite happy to get out of the recently unfriendly confines of Citizens Bank park Tuesday with a 10-1 walloping of the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Phillies beat the Rays with timely hitting, homeruns, good defense, smart baserunning, and quality pitching from both the starter and the bullpen, all things they were lacking in their nine game homestand.

The Fightins went up early over their 2008 World Series opponents by tacking on six runs in the second inning. Chase Utley drove in a couple with a double and rookie John Mayberry Jr., up from Triple-A Lehigh to replace the injured Raul Ibanez, hit his third homerun of the season, a three run blast to left.

“That’s huge for us, to score those runs,” said manager Charlie Manuel. “That’s the most runs we’ve scored in a while. Seems like seven or eight don’t get it done, so our guys figured they’d get 10 or 12.”

The Phillies would add another four runs in the fourth to give starter …

Phillies’ second baseman Chase Utley is now the top vote getter in NL All Star team voting with 2,273,355 votes, 115,319 votes more than Cardinals’ first baseman Albert Pujols.

The feat is particularly impressive as the All Star Game will be held in Pujols’ own backyard in St. Louis.

Utley is in a league all his own amongst his fellow second basemen. In second place is the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Orlando Hudson with just 904,648 votes.

Pujols still leads all NL first baseman, with the Phillies’ Ryan Howard in second place with 1,147,227 votes, over 1 million votes behind Pujols despite hailing from St. Louis.

Raul Ibanez continues to lead all NL outfielders in voting with 1,897,905, mor ethan 330,000 votes than the Brewers’ Ryan Braun. Shane Victorino has surpassed Manny Ramirez for fifth in outfielder voting with 1,116,524 votes and Jason Werth is eighth with 834,910 votes.

Despite having a below average season, Jimmy Rollins leads all NL shortstop with 1,216,007 votes. Hanley Ramirez of the Florida Marlins trails with …

The impact that blogs have on sports and the greater media landscape was brought into sharp focus over the past couple days after an article written by Jerod Morris of the blog Midwest Sports Fans speculated about whether or not Phillies’ outfielder Raul Ibanez was using performance enhancing drugs.

Morris’ article garnered serious national attention when it was discussed in an article by Philadelphia Inquirer Page 2 columnist John Gonzalez. In reaction to Gonzalez’s article, the Inquirer’s Phil Sheridan pressed Ibanez for a reaction to the speculation over whether he was using steroids or not. As most people have read or heard by now, Ibanez was livid and went off on the then undisclosed blogger.

“I’ll come after people who defame or slander me,” he said before last night’s game against the New York Mets. “It’s pathetic and disgusting. There should be some accountability for people who put that out there.”

Ibanez’s reaction then brought the article to the attention of the national “main stream media.” It …

Following a blog report that was brought to the attention of the Philadelphia area by the Philadelphia Inquirer’s John Gonzalez in a column yesterday that speculated whether or not Raul Ibanez was on some kind of performance enhacing substance, the Phillies’ outfielder fired back before Tuesday night’s game in New York.

“I’ll come after people who defame or slander me,” he said. “It’s pathetic and disgusting. There should be some accountability for people who put that out there.”

Early yesterday a blog called Midwest Sports Fans posted an article titled “The Curious Case of Raul Ibanez: Steroid Speculation Perhaps Unfair, but Great Start in 2009 Raising Eyebrows.”

The post speculated about whether Ibanez’s hot start to the season was a result of performance enhancing substances. The unnamed blogger presented both sides of the issue and actually presented a pretty objective, down the middle piece.

Not long after it was posted, the national baseball blog Hugging Harold Reynolds made reference to it, and that is when several readers …

The Phillies have placed embattled closer Brad Lidge on the disabled list.

Here is the statement from the team:

Righthander Brad Lidge was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained right knee, retroactive to June 7, the Phillies announced today. To take his spot on the 25-man roster, the Phillies selected the contract of catcher Paul Bako from double-A Reading.

Lidge, 32, is 0-3 this season with 13 saves and a 7.27 ERA in 28 relief appearances. Opponents have hit .306 against him. In his last seven games, Lidge was 5-for-7 in save opportunities with a 1.42 ERA and a .182 opponents’ batting average.

Last year, Lidge finished fourth in National League Cy Young Award voting after going 2-0 with a 1.95 ERA and 41 saves in 41 opportunities. He began the 2008 season on the 15-day disabled list recovering from right knee surgery.

Bako, 36, signed a minor league contract with the Phillies on May 18 after going to spring training with the Chicago Cubs. In 10 games …

Three Phillies currently lead in their respective position categories in this year’s All Star balloting.

Chase Utley has led all National League second basemen for the entire voting period. He currently has 1,749,457 total votes, more than one million more than the Dodgers’ Orlando Hudson, who has just 735,973. Utley is second in total votes amongst all NL players to Cardinals’ first baseman Albert Pujols, who has 1,751,945 total votes.

Jimmy Rollins recently passed the Marlins’ Hanley Ramirez as the top vote getter amongst NL shortstops. The former MVP currently has 936,377 votes, 64,460 more than his NL East counterpart.

The most impressive story, however, is the meteoric rise of outfielder Raul Ibanez. Just a couple weeks ago, Ibanez was sixth in total votes amongst NL outfielders, despite leading the league in most offensive categories. Then last week Ibanez vaulted up to second place, surpassing Manny Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano, and Carlos Beltran, among others. Then this week Ibanez moved passed Brewers’ outfielder Ryan Braun with 1415,493 total votes.

Other notable …

Eddie Jordan was formally introduced as the new head coach of the 76ers as a news conference in the Wachovia Center Monday.

“It’s very exciting to accept this responsibility and this challenge,” Jordan said in his opening remarks. “I’m a coach, I love to coach. It’s the richest tradition in basketball – Philadelphia basketball, whether playground to the Sixers. It’s the challenge at the top of the ladder when you talk about pure basketball. I’m very excited and humbled and giving it 100 percent to restore the tradition and the brand of basketball that the fans, the organization will be proud of.”

Jordan, when asked about how he thinks the current roster will perform in his system, said, “There’s a formula for each team to win and we’re going to find that formula.”

General Manager Ed Stefanski added, “Eddie’s system fits us perfectly with the talent we have in this organization.”

When pressed further, Jordan elaborated that his system was about “interchangeable parts.”

“It’s team basketball, enhances players that are not great scorers and makes great scorers …

The top pitchcing prospect in the Phillies’ farm system got a promotion Monday, as Kyle Drabek was sent to the team’s Double-A affiliate in Reading.

Drabek, the Phillies’ first round pick in the 2006 draft, is 4-1 in 10 appearances (nine starts) for Single-A Clearwater with a 2.48 ERA. In 61 2/3 innings, he allowed 49 hits, 17 earned runs, 19 walks and 74 strikeouts.

In his last start on Friday, Drabek threw a complete game shutout, striking out nine while allowing just five hits and one walk. He takes the mound for the Reading Phillies on Thursday at home against Akron at 7:05 PM.

Drabek, just 21 years old, came into this season as the fifth highest rated prospect in the Phillies’ farm system by Baseball America.