Oh yeah -- the Phillies lost the most pivotal game of the season

Before Tuesday's series opener against the Braves, I called it the Phillies' "make or break" game. I stand by that. I think that loss was a killer for a lot of reasons. A win would have created an aura of destiny for the final week; a loss created a sense of impending doom. A win would have put the Braves in the grave; a loss gave them life and ensured that Tim Hudson and John Smoltz will take the mound with their team holding onto a sliver of postseason hope. A win would have put major heat on the Padres, not to mention the Mets, who were getting whupped by the Nats; the loss gave San Diego a chance to relax and mount a comeback against the Giants, and the Mets damn near erased a seven-run, ninth-inning deficit once the Phillies' game became a final.

The players can pretend that the successes and failures of their competitors have no impact on their mentality ... but that's a load of bunk (I would have used "load of crap," but I don't know whether that's "in bounds" on a blog. Maybe I should start a poll ...)

Breaking news! Pat Gillick's old!

Yes, Pat Gillick most probably will retire when his three-year contract as G.M. expires. I'm a bit surprised that so much is being made out of something that I figured fit under the "conventional wisdom" column. I can remember shooting the breeze with Gillick on a bench in Clearwater two spring trainings ago and having him mention that he considered this his last job, so I didn't really think that the septegenerian ever had any intention of doing this gig beyond 2008. Maybe that's a shortcoming of mine - I tend to think that revealing the obvious is a waste of time and space in the paper. I don't begrudge Marcus Hayes for writing the story ... I just think it was overplayed as breaking news goes.

In lieu of Gillick's announcement comes this: According to a source, Dennis Deitch will not succeed Pat Gillick as general manager. (I can't reveal my source. Sorry.)

Problem solved ....

The blog was on the fritz for a couple of days. I think Rob Neyer might have put a call out to his tech geeks to throw an eWrench into the works, but I can't confirm that. The Monday morning QB post was written Monday ... it just took until Wednesday to make it to the screen. Let's just pretend it's snail mail, and that I meticulously hand-wrote that post to you, slapped a stamp on it and stuck it in one of those blue boxes on the corner.

As if that ever happens.

Monday Morning QB

I'm going to take a stab at a few of the burning questions from Sunday's game.

Should they have kept Hamels in for one more inning? In my opinion, yes. I know he was just about at his pitch limit, but I have three reasons to consider pitching the sixth not a big concern:
1) His injury was tendinitis, plain and simple. They took an MRI and said there was no structural issues. He took the anti-inflammatory DosePak and the problem went away. Based on those facts, I feel that it comes down to stamina, and the guy showed no signs of tiring.
2) Hamels wanted to go back out there. I'm not putting him out there if his "body language" tells me he isn't sure about it. But if my ace says he wants to go one more inning in the final week of a pennant race, his butt is going back out there.
3) He was gaining momentum. Hamels got better as the game progressed. The team was gaining momentum, taking the lead. If Hamels mows through the Nats in the sixth, it gives the offense a chance to go in for the kill in the seventh. Instead, the only thing the Phils got from the bottom of the sixth was a little taste of vomit in the back of its throat after watching Alfonseca blow it.

Should Kyle Lohse have pitched the sixth and seventh if he was going to come into the game in relief? No. Lohse was throwing one inning, and one inning only. That represented his "bullpen" workout, and normally they are throwing 35-45 pitches in the 'pen between starts. However, in order to get ready for his inning Lohse had to throw at least 15 full-bore warmup pitches. He only had one inning if you want him to make Wednesday's start ... or you could have this guy on the right and his 1-2, 11.20 ERA vs. Braves stay on his day. How does that sound?

Why was Kane Davis pitching in the eighth inning of a one-run game? Beats the heck out of me. Charlie likes hard throwers, so when Scott Mathieson's comeback from Tommy John surgery was railroaded by a nerve problem in his elbow, the hard-thrower became Kane Davis. The problem is that he has been pretty lousy lately; in fact --and I can't believe I'm saying this because I think this guy's a nightmare -- Francisco Rosario has been much better of late when it comes to a hard-throwing reliever.

At least this day off will allow the Romero-Gordon-Myers triumverate to be available for any and all of the last six games.

In-Game Blog, Phils-Nats, 9/23

Hey everyone. Well, the Phillies have a chance to have the best three-city road trip in team history at about the best possible time in history if they can sweep the Nats today.
At the moment I'm putting together a graphic box that will appear in Monday's paper chronicling all of the records J-Roll has either set or is pursuing when it comes to N.L. shortstops. It's a pretty impressive list - one that has a whole lot of Ernie Banks records being threatened or broken. That's pretty heady company.
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I wanted to offer a belated congratulations to Jim Thome, who picked up his 500th career HR in style by making it a walk-off job on his Bobblehead Figurine day at Comiskey. Big Jim is one of the all-time class acts. In many ways he reminds me of Delco's own Mickey Vernon - modest, unassuming, but intense and fervent when it comes to playing the game with dignity and a team-first attitude.
Speaking of Big Jim, I can't remember where I read this, but some chucklehead somewhere on the Internets actually said he didn't consider Thome Hall-of-Fame material, with one of his main gripes being that Thome "doesn't even have 2,000 career hits yet."
I can't stress enough the level of stupidity of that comment. First of all, Thome's hits are lower than some other power hitters because he is one of the all-time best at drawing walks (he's 19th all-time with 1,450-plus walks). Thome's .281 career average is 10-25 points higher than 500-HR and HoF members Schmidt, Reggie Jackson, McCovey, Mathews ... he even has a higher BA than Banks (.274).
Bucks Co. super backup Kevin Cooney informs me that ESPN uberdork Rob Neyer was the guy who claims that Thome needs 600 HRs to get in the Hall. Typical. This is the same toolbag who went onto Amazon.com a few years ago and used a pseudonym to rip apart some guy's book on Fenway Park ... when coincidentally he had written a Fenway book a few years earlier that I think sold 14 copies. And the big irony of this is that Neyer is a big SABR head, which would lead you to believe that he would embrace Thome's penchant for walks and consider him an underrated guy who deserved more All-Star and MVP consideration than he has received.
There are people in this line of work that make you wish you weren't in this line of work. Rob Neyer is one of those people.

Almost Counts In Horseshoes, Grenades ... and Sports Writing

Donovan McNabb might not scramble any longer, but my scrambling skills were put to the test Monday night. Just when you thought an 11-0 lead made it safe to write a winning game story about the Phils, the Kerosene Kids (a.k.a., those not named Myers, Gordon or Romero in the bullpen) nearly allowed the Cardinals to make the biggest comeback in the N.L. in 30 years. For a writer, that means a lot of re-writing, paragraph hacking and, well, pensive staring as you wait to find out whether you are writing about baseball's version of Three Mile Island or Chernobyl (as my game story states, this was TMI).

Here are a few observations from Monday night's 13-11 win:

Kendrick should have remained in the game: Well, duh. But this isn't Tuesday Morning Managing. We had this discussion with Charlie Manuel before the game and he spoke like a guy who was committed to pitching Kendrick at least seven innings, since Myers, Gordon and Romero were all unavailable after pitching in every game in New York. Instead, Manuel let Kendrick's temporary struggle in the sixth inning (I say temporary because after Ryan Ludwick hit a two-run HR, Kendrick did get the last two batters he faced to ground out) to talk him out of keeping the rookie on the mound for one more inning.
I don't know why Manuel and Rich Dubee have such little patience with Kendrick. I mean, he's the definition of a pitcher who deserves benefit of the doubt - he walks no one, he pitches down in the zone, and I don't think the kid has shown the slightest fracture in confidence all season. He's a coach's dream, for cryin' out loud. LET THE KID PITCH.

Clay Condrey needs a talking to: I like Clay Condrey. I actually think he can be an integral part of a bullpen. However, the guy seems to have trouble pitching when the team is far ahead in games. When he's been called into tight spots, he has been terrific.
Here's my theory on this: I think Clay gets it in his head when he enters a game like Monday's that throwing strikes is top priority - and on the surface that sounds like sound advice. You don't want a reliever coming into a nine-run game and walking guys. However, Condrey doesn't have a problem with wildness (only 11 unintentional walks in 46 IP). But instead of just pitching like he always does, Condrey comes into a lopsided game and thinks he should throw every pitch over the plate when, really, he can just pitch the way he always does. Condrey needs to be a location pitcher and he's effective when he's a location pitcher. When he's a throw-it-down-the-middle pitcher, he can get smacked around - like Monday night.

In-Game Blog, 9/15, Phils vs. Mets

Before the game Cole Hamels threw 45 pitches in the bullpen and from all accounts felt and threw superbly. He's ready to take over for J.D. Durbin in the rotation by starting Tuesday against the Cardinals. The thinking is that he could go five innings if he can get hitters to put the ball in play for outs.
As for the game ... the Mets have definitely applied a policy where they are going to challenge Chris Coste's arm. They've stolen four bases, and Coste cut down Jose Reyes on a pitch out. The four steals came in the third inning when the Mets scored two runs to take a 3-1 lead.
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Wow, huge home run by Rowand ties the game in the eighth. One question: What the heck was Feliciano, a left-hander, doing in there pitching to a right-handed hitter? That was plain silly, Willie Randolph.
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I'm going to give away the lead to my story Sunday because it's so obvious:
"Do the Mets want the Phillies to make the playoffs?!?"
Beltran flat-out misplays a line drive by Rollins into a two-run triple to put the Phils up 5-3. Unbelievable.

How not to spend a day off ....

As some of you might know, I'm an avid poker player - and in case you didn't know, "avid" isn't a synonym for "good."
I don't have to cover tonight's series finale, so I took the opportunity to head to the Borgata to play in Event #10 of the Borgata Open and do some legwork for a Weekend section story for the paper on the continued popularity of poker.
Well, I have plenty of time for the legwork. In fact, I have so much legwork time that I should leave here with calves like Lou Ferrigno. This was one of those days where I couldn't get anything going - no cards. The best hands I saw were a handful of Ace-Junk - that's Junk, not Jack. A-2, A-3, A-4 ... and I didn't really have it in very good position, either. The most I accomplished was to use the fact that I mucked hand after hand preflop to bluff my way to a couple of modest wins to keep my head over water.
So, as we got about 100 minutes into the tournament, I picked up A-3 suited in good position. A guy who had won some pots and was getting a little loose in splashing around limped for $100 in from early position. I raised it to $350, and he called.
Flop came A-K-8, which I liked since 1) I did have an Ace, and 2) my raise certainly could represent A-K. After my opponent checked, I bet $600. My opponent check-raises for another $900.
Now I'm thinking, "OK, he's representing his Ace, and I've come across as a pretty tight player. I know he doesn't have A-K. Frankly, I don't think he has anything better than A-10. So he's raising me to find out where I stand." My response to this was to re-raise him another $1300, which leaves me with $1600 remaining (we started with $5000 in chips).
He thinks it over briefly, then calls. At this point I know there's big trouble. He has A-8, and I'm sure about it. If he has A-K or a set of Eights, he is just pushing the rest of his chips into the pot after my re-raise. By calling he announced his hand to me, because it shows that he has this slightly sick feeling that I might have top two pairs to his first and third pairs. The turn comes and he checks. I know he'll call if I try to throw in the rest of my chips, so I'm putting up the white flag. We checked it down and he turns over the A-8.
I hung around for a little while with my short stack, but I couldn't get a hand for the life of me. Finally, with $1100 remaining I got K-10 on the button with a limper to my right. I put all of my chips in, and then one of my all-time favorite things happens. The guy on the big blind, who has about $3800 remaining - certainly not a panic amount - decides to call me and announces, "You definitely have me," as he turns over A-2.
Huh? First of all, if you think I have you, why would you put in $1000 more chips with A-2? If you think I have you, then it means you think I have either A-x, or a wired pair, both of which would leave you with three outs.
It's not so much that the guy called me, but his thinking that baffled me. If he said, "I'm hoping you have K-Q or K-J," and flipped over those cards, I get it. But I doubt that a player is going to announce "hey, I'm a big dummy and just called 11-times the big blind with a hand I think is a severe underdog" with an ulterior motive in mind. I think he's just saying, "I'm a dummy."
OK, I think I cleared out all the frustration with that rant. Time to talk to do some interviews.

In-Game Blog, 9/12 Phils vs. Rockies

Well, that first inning was interesting. After Pat Burrell and Aaron Rowand let a routine fly ball drop between them for a leadoff "hit" and Troy Tulowitzki drops a bunt for a hit, Greg Dobbs catches a low liner by Matt Holliday and turns it into the Phils' second triple play of the season. It's the second straight year a team has turned two triple plays in a season. The White Sox had two last season.
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Gee, I can't believe the guy with the 19.06 ERA has loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the first. Seriously, there wasn't anyone out there better than Denny Bautista for Clint Hurdle to start? I mean, pick up someone from the Mexican League, for cryin' out loud. Valerio de los Santos went 6-0, 3.48 South of the Border this year and has 233 big-league appearances ... could he be less effective than this dude?
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Let's talk baseball IQ here. OK, Denny Bautista throws four straight balls to Jimmy Rollins and is all over the joint as Utley gets an infield hit and Burrell walks. Then why did every strike against Ryan Howard and Aaron Rowand come on a swing? The guy is ALL OVER THE PLACE. Why would you help him? Howard (whiff) and Rowand (weak pop out) fail to get a run across, then Greg Dobbs does what they should have done - taken pitches until Bautista finds the plate. Dobbs works a 3-0 count, takes one strike down the middle before swinging at the next pitch and flying out to left to end the inning.
It isn't that Howard and Rowand needed to be better than that, they need to be smarter than that.
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Just when you thought you had seen every possible injury ...
OK, apparently Kendrick's injury isn't as bad as his writhing looked. I'll find out for sure after the game, but I believe Garrett Atkins' line drive hit him on the knee's version of the "funny bone," which actually isn't funny because it's painful, and isn't really a bone that causes the pain, but the nerve that causes your leg to kick when you have reflexes tested with that rubber hammer.
Still, he was scorched and has a bruised knee, and that could delay his next start by a few days - although it's probably better that it happened to his right (push-off) knee as opposed to his left (planting) knee.
Kendrick's knee might be sore, but this loss is killing the Phillies. This wasn't a series they could afford to split, and they certainly can't survive losing three of four games. No one has run away with the wildcard, but this isn't some charity event.
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Kendrick was moving around OK after the game ... the rest of the team needs to be checked for rigor mortis.

Pills 1, Homeopathy 0

So, after spending the first two weeks of his down time with a sore elbow chewing on Asian roots or something, Cole Hamels finally realized that "glucosomine, conjointin and fish oil" (yes, he actually was taking that crap Larry King hocks on the radio - because, you know, we all aspire to age like Larry King) wasn't getting the inflammation out. So he relented and went on the "dosepak" that is typically prescribed to solve tendinitis.

Lo and behold, it worked! Hamels threw 30 pitches from the mound Wednesday, had no problems, felt great and hopes to make three regular-season starts, including one of the final two games in St. Louis next week.

In-Game Blog, Phils vs. Rockies, 9/11

Well, it doesn't look like the Phils are going to get another sweep in a four-game home series. Adam Eaton was his usual self - he left a lot of pitches up and over the plate, and three of them were smoked for home runs. Todd Helton's solo mash in the fourth gives him six career HRs off Eaton - the most he has against any pitcher.
Eaton will start Sunday's series finale at New York. It should be his last start of the season since Hamels should be able to replace him in the rotation the next time Eaton's turn comes around (9/21 vs. Washington).
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In-Game Blog, 9/9, Phils-Marlins

John Ennis has done a pretty nice job since a rough first inning. However, it's doubtful that he'll be able to pitch beyond the fifth inning, and the bullpen had extra duty Friday night when J.D. Durbin was knocked out early.
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Ennis' line: 4+ IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K ... pretty nice job, especially since it was a walk-free outing. I've noticed that when Coste catches the starting pitchers tend to walk fewer guys. I think Coste sets up on the plate for the most part, while Ruiz seems give the pitchers a target off the plate when he wants the pitcher to throw for a corner. Just a theory.
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Great job by Clay Condrey. He needed 11 pitches to get the first six batters he faced. I know he has had a few rough outings this year, but all in all I like him as a long reliever. He can stay in that role for 2008 in my book.
Flash had a shaky eighth, but worked out of it. The biggest factor today is the offense, especially at the bottom of the order. Greg Dobbs and Chris Coste got the Phils runs early, and the O has manufactured insurance runs since then.

Hamels throws, arm stays attached

Cole Hamels is back ... ok, not really. But he actually held a baseball in his hand Saturday. He even threw it softly 45 times at a stepped-off distance of 60 feet.
The good news is that the southpaw didn't feel the discomfort that has sidelined him for three weeks. Pitching coach Rich Dubee also said he liked Hamels' "body language," for what that's worth. Of course, Dubee's the guy who thought pushing back Kyle Kendrick another day and starting John Ennis was a bright idea. And that starting Ennis instead of Fabio Castro was smart, since "the Marlins are better against left-handed pitchers."

Does that mean that Hanley Ramirez would have figured out a way to hit a leadoff two-run homer off Castro, because he just started this game with a solo jack.

The Day After, uh, The Day After

The survivors arrived at the ballpark ... a surprising amount, but noticeably less that a usual game. They came to watch the Phillies, despite the fact that Chris Roberson tripped over a blade of grass in Atlanta and accidentally hit Ted Turner's long-forgotten launch button and sent an arsenal of frustration raining upon Philadelphia.



There was fallout ... yet another Ryan Howard throw to no one in particular helped three unearned runs cross the plate in the second inning against the Marlins. Pat Burrell tried making like Mad Max with a three-run blast, but the Phils are losing, 5-3 in the fourth.

Hanging in there, survivors.

Well ....

Phils-Braves, 9/5, Getaway Day

Charlie Manuel didn't waste time in getting Kyle Kendrick in the sixth inning. It worked out, as J.C. Romero and Kane Davis got the Phils out of a jam. Now they have to find pitchers to get the last nine outs.
We're wondering who will pitch the seventh. It's like trying to choose between executioners.
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So much for that issue ... show me JohClaSisco Enndreysario!
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Pete LaForest welcomes himself to the team with an RBI pinch single ... Rod Barajas is now a $3 million fourth-string catcher.
LaForest needed to make a splash as the left-handed bopper off the bench, since what made him a need was the trade that sent Russ Branyan to the Cardinals. Big Russ started Tuesday and hit a long ball for St. Louis.
Remember, the Phils still have three games at St. Louis ... so aren't we all ready for Branyan to hit five homers that series?
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Wow, I combined three names and none of them is the big seventh-inning winner ... it's Geoff Geary, who has regained his nickname "The White Flag" with his '07 meltdown.
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In Bullpen We Don't Trust: Flash Gordon is pitching the eighth with the Phils up six runs. Apparently a save situation for the Phils is any game where the lead is 3x2 runs or fewer.
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Mets lose, 7-0 to the Reds, so the Phils should whittle the lead to four games with 23 to go. The Phils need a 5-2 (or better) homestand and a series win against the Mets in New York to have a reasonable opportunity to win the N.L. East.

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Well, thanks to three straight bloop singles (two of which fell in front of Chris Roberson, who is supposed to be fast enough to chase those puppies down) it really is a save situation. It's 8-3, sacks full, and Brett Myers is trying to get the five-out save .... oops, 8-4, wild pitch. Nice.
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I can't ever remember a team getting this many chintzy hits in such a short span ... someone order a six-pack of Tums.
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I know there has been a little uproar over Cole Hamels' comments Tuesday, in particular one where he said that if the Phils were out of the playoff race in the season's final days, he wouldn't expect to pitch. My opinion is that Hamels was speaking from a position where he still isn't sure his elbow is going to feel good enough to pitch, period, and he is well aware that the team won't pitch him in meaningless games at this point. That said, it would take a pretty significant collapse over the next two weeks for the Phils to fall out of contention in the final week. I think everyone is bellyaching over something that isn't going to happen - and what the hell is the point of that?

Mildly interesting pickup ...

The Phils snagged left-handed-hitting catcher Pete LaForest off waivers from the Padres today. He'll join the big club for the rest of the season. However, I think this is a move that will settle the 2008 catching situation. Ruiz and Coste will be the catchers, and LaForest will be that capable Triple-A guy who will be able to fill in if someone gets hurt. LaForest is high-power/low-average guy who hit .230 with 29 dongs in Triple-A and went 9-for-25 in limited duty for the Pads.

THAT'S the type of catcher the Phils should have gotten this offseason, instead of burning nearly $3 million on Rod Barajas.

In-Game Blog, 9/3 Phils vs. Braves

Well, I'll kick this off with a little sample from tomorrow's Phillies Scoop. I talked to some of the Braves about the Mets-Phillies sign-stealing controversy. A few things from my conversations: 1) the Braves had NO clue the Mets had accused the Phils of using that new-fangled technology known as "live video feed" to steal signs and had Bob Watson investigate; 2) Bobby Cox thinks that "anything is possible," but seriously doubts the Phillies would do that, since the fact that players switch teams constantly these days would make it impossible to keep it a secret; 3) Tim Hudson said that IF the Phillies are doing it, it steps way over the line. He also implied that if he caught someone crossing the line in that way, he'd probably introduce the baseball to said player's earhole.

So, take from that what you will. I'll get into it more in Tuesday's paper.
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OK, so when you're the lineup that makes Lance Cormier seem better than Rheal Cormier ...
Carlos Ruiz just led off the third inning with a beautifully executed drag bunt - a perfect bunt. Oh yeah: Chipper Jones still threw him out by a hair at first base.
No more attempting to bunt for a base hit, Carlos. If you didn't beat that one out, you aren't beating any out.
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As I mentioned above, I chatted with Tim Hudson before the game. Between innings at Turner Field they have a contest where they show two fans singing in the karaoke booth and the crowd votes for the better of the two. Well, during Sunday's game against the Mets, Hudson and Jeff Francoeur were the contestants. Apparantly Hudson's "La Bamba" performance was one for the ages, and he proudly noted that he nailed the song, "with one take - and six Red Bulls."
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When you've spent more than two months of your life in a town as I have in Atlanta over the past decade, you develop a knack for finding that town's finest eateries and watering holes. And it seems that a blog is the best place to share some of these joints with you, so as we bop around the country I'll try to share some of my favorite hangouts.
In Atlanta, it's an easy choice - Vortex. There are two locations, but we go to the Midtown locale, which is on one of the 397 Peachtree Streets in this town. It has BY FAR the best burgers I have had. It isn't close. They have lot of combinations and you have the option for Tater Tots as a side. They also have bison burgers which are 1) tasty, and 2) a less fatty alternative than beef - and if you've seen some of the baseball beat writers, our massive guts need all the help they can get.
Just so you're warned, this is a quirky place. If you're looking for some Southern charm, go somewhere else. Most of the waitresses have serious ink and have piercings just about every place you can imagine. The jukebox is incredible, provided you are an old-school punk-rock fan (Cramps, Buzzcocks, Bad Religion,etc.). They even have burlesque shows on certain nights. But if you're looking for a tasty burger, make a point of stopping by. Feel free to take a sip of my Sprite to wash it down.
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Phils are down 3-1 in the fifth and are making Lance Cormier look like ... well, someone not named Lance. The name Lance should have been retired once Lance Armstrong moved into prominence. What he did with the name Lance is about all you can do with it. That's maxing out Lance. For the most part, I want Lance doing my taxes. I'm not selecting anyone named Lance with my first choice in flag football, or any sports endeavor, really. Sorry to all the Lances out there. I just don't think it screams "athlete."
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Flash, however, screams "I'm about to let this game get out of hand."
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The Mets are cruising past the Reds, 8-3. That was Aaron Harang starting for Cincy, so this would have been the Reds' best shot at a win. Pedro Martinez was good enough, it seems, in his first start of the season. Barring a miracle ninth, the Phils will be five out with 25 to play, three head-to-head.
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Some people like to think that the Billy Penn statue is the Philadelphia championship jinx. I like to think that it's idiots who do E-A-G-L-E-S chants at Phillies games. There's one in every ballpark ...

Greetings from Atlanzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Ah, nothing like playing a day game for the first game of a series during a road trip. The wakeup call in Ft. Lauderdale arrived at 4:30 a.m. Thankfully, the flight to Atlanta was not with US Airways, which meant that 1) my bag arrived!; 2) my flight arrived!; and 3) the interior of the plane didn't look as if Pigpen from the "Peanuts" cartoons had tracked through it.

But enough about the travel. We're at Turner Field and there's a game to be played. Lance Cormier is starting for the Braves. He's allowed 13 homers in 32 innings. Some of you might know a Lance Cormier start as "batting practice." If the Phils can't get something going against this guy, God help them. When you're the Cormier who makes Rheal Cormier seem like a better option, that's sad.

Phils vs. Marlins, In-Game Blog 9/2

Well, the Phils are in the rubber game of their three-game series with the Marlins. It's sunny and hot at Dolphin Stadium, and a getaway game in these conditions (both teams are heading on the road to play 1:05 games Monday) tends to involve a lot of free swinging by both teams. The Phillies can't let the subconscious desire to get out of town and into Atlanta mess with the substance of this game. The Phils need this win after losing a game in the standings to the Mets Saturday. Through two innings they made Scott Olsen throw 38 pitches, so that's a good sign.
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Rollins gets his 16th triple of the season and keeps his average above .300. If Jimmy can keep that average at .3xx through the end of the season, he is going to get serious MVP consideration. It wouldn't hurt to get to 30 HR, 30 SB and 20 3B, either. He he gets to 20 triples, he'll almost certainly join George Brett as the only players in history to have 20+ 2Bs, 3Bs, HRs, SBs AND 200 hits in a season.
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Howard gives the Phils a 1-0 lead with a ground single to right. It came on a 3-2 pitch that he has been taking for called third strikes constantly over the last several days - a fastball on the outside corner at the knees. He had been doing a lot of complaining about some of those calls, but it seems today he figured out that he needs to do something with that pitch - and the bottom line is that 1) it's too close to take, and 2) he is capable of driving that pitch.
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Jayson Werth smokes a two-run double to left .... Shane Victorino, Wally Pipp. Pipp, Victorino.
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Adam Eaton is having his best start in ... well, who knows when? And now he just went yard on Scott Olsen. And now it's raining vodka! What the heck is going on here?
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After watching Mike Jacobs get thrown out at third base by Chase Utley on a grounder to second Saturday night, it has thrown a new name on my All-Station-to-Station list. In fact, Jacobs might be the slowest non-catcher I've seen since, 1) Utley actually took his time in making the throw to third, and 2) Utley doesn't exactly have a cannon for an arm. (His arm was why the experiment of moving him to third base five years ago was quashed.)
When Jacobs and Pat Burrell ran past each other on Burrell's fourth-inning pop out, it was like watching two giant tortoises cross paths on the Galapagos.
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Oh, I'm sorry. Those aren't drops of vodka falling from the sky. They are 390-foot rockets from the Marlins. My bad.
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So much for Kane Davis, bullpen saviour. Back-to-back homers by Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla give the Marlins a 7-5 lead. The Marlins have five homers, which ties a franchise record. And the Mets are three outs away from sweeping the Braves.

If Whining Were a Sport ...

... then the Mets would be a shoo-in for the World Series. Ken Rosenthal today shared this interesting tidbit before the start of the Mets-Braves game: The Mets thought the Phillies were using center-field cameras to steal signs in last week's sweep. They complained to Bob Watson, who discreetly attended Thursday's game and found no evidence of funny business.

That's the kind of reaction you see from a team that has allowed a rival to get between its ears. The series at Shea Stadium in two weeks will be very interesting. Even if Cole Hamels isn't able to pitch against the Mets that weekend, it's hard to imagine the Phils not holding a psychological advantage entering the series. The Mets have bounced back this weekend to bury the Braves, but they seem genuinely flummoxed by the Phils.