Phils season lost after one day

It's over.  The Phillies season is lost.

One day of the season has passed and the Phillies are already a game behind the Braves.

Why bother playing the rest of the season?  There's no point.

Of course, I am kidding.

However, the so called baseball experts are not kidding when the consensus is now that the Braves are the team to beat in the NL East.

Just a few months ago - shoot, just a month ago - the Phillies were prohibitive favorties to win the World Series.

A Chase Utley and Brad Lidge injury later, and now many cannot even see them winning the division.

Yes, having Utley out for an extended period of time hurts.  It hurts a lot. 

But, did the experts forget that the Phillies still have a dominating pitching staff?

Did they forget that the Phillies suffered a ton of injuries last season?  Utley missed much of the summer with a broken finger, Ryan Howard missed August, Placido Polanco played with an injured elbow, and Jimmy Rollins only played 88 games.

Oh yeah, the led the majors with 97 wins.

Of 45 experts on espn.com, 16 picked the Braves to win the division.

That's 35%, but likely 35% higher than just a month ago.

And the World Series - forget it - 33 have the Red Sox winning.  The Phillies got 7 votes, the Braves 2, and the White Sox, Rockies, and Giants all got one.

The Phillies will be fine.  Pitching will carry them.

Phils roster set

The roster is set and the start of the regular season is almost here.

The Phillies announced their final opening day roster for the 2011 season today.

No major surprises.  Here is the breakdown:

Starters: Carlos Ruiz, Ryan Howard, Wilson Valdez, Jimmy Rollins, Placido Polanco, Raul Ibanez, Shane Victorino, Ben Francisco.

Bench: Brian Schneider, Michael Martinez, Pete Orr, Ross Gload, John Mayberry Jr.

Starting pitchers: Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton.

Relievers: Jose Contreras, Danys Baez, David Herndon, Kyle Kendrick, Ryan Madson, Antonio Bastardo, J.C. Romero.

The starting lineup is missing two key players from last years lineup - Chase Utley, who will begin the season on the DL and Jayson Werth, who signed with the Washington Nationals.

Wilson Valdez will see the bulk of the time at second base.  He did an admirable job filling in for Jimmy Rollins last year.

The Phillies lineup will look much different and certainly be a lot less intimidating. 

Rollins will be the key.  If he can get on and wreak havoc, the Phils will be ok.

Ben Francisco won the rightfield job with a good spring.  Domonic Brown was in the mix before a hand inury ended his spring.

Surprisingly, the talk about the Phillies has not centered around their starting pitching staff.  This is mainly due to injuries, none of which are to their starters - thank goodness.

On paper, the Phillies staff rivals some of the best staffs all time.  It's a good thing because they are going to have to carry this team.  The Phillies will be in a lot of close games and will need their starters to go 7-8 innings on a consistent basis, especially while the await the return of Utley.

The bench looks solid.  John Mayberry Jr. had a nice spring and will provide pop off the bench as a right handed batter.  Ross Gload is an excellent pinch hitter.  Michael Martinez and Pete Orr were not expected to make the team, but both had good springs and add nice depth to the Phillies infield.

Brad Lidge is missing from the bullpen, as he is out 3-6 weeks.  Jose Contreras will take over as the closer, but don't be surprised if Ryan Madson gets a few opportunities.

Kyle Kendrick moves from a starting role to a long man out of the pen and David Herndon had a good spring.

Surprisingly, Mike Stutes, who was outstanding, did not make the team.  He will see time with the big league club at some point this season.

We are only two games away from games counting.

The roster is set and the hopes are high.

Phillies jersey's tops in sales

The Phillies did not win the World Series in 2010.

However, last year saw them win off the field.

Major League baseball and the Major League Baseball Players association announced its 20 most popular jersey sales in 2010.

The Phillies had three players in the top five - Roy Halladay ranked third, Chase Utley fourth, and Cliff Lee fifth.

That is pretty impressive.

Rounding out the top 20, in which the Phillies had the most of any team, Ryan Howard ranked 18th.

MLB also announced sales of its licensed merchandise - the Phillies ranked fourth, behind the Yankees, Red Sox, and Dodgers.

Maybe Philadelphia really is becoming a Phillies town.

Roller coaster Flyers game

Frustrating. Exciting. Disappointing.

That about sums up the night of this Flyers fan.

After falling behind 3-0 early in the second period and changing goalies, the Flyers came roaring back, tying the game midway through the third period and taking the lead with a little over five minutes remaining in the game.

The Flyers were in complete control. That is, until Washington tied it with less than four minutes remaining.

The Flyers eventually lost in the shootout.

Washington is now one point behind the Flyers for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

After a thrilling comeback, what a deflating loss.

Castillo signed by Phils, but not for reasons you think

The Phillies have signed former Mets second baseman Luis Castillo to a minor league deal.

Oh goodie!

Castillo was terrible last year, batting .235 with an on base percentage of .337.

Not exactly Chase Utley numbers.

On a postivie note, this is a low risk move for the Phillies as the Mets will still be picking up just about all of the $6 million owed to Castillo.

Castillo, a three-time All-Star and Gold Glove winner, will compete for a job on the major league roster.

My thought it that Castillo was brought in for insurance for Placido Polanco, not Chase Utley.

Wilson Valdez is a better defender than Castillo, who has lost a step.  He did an admirable job filling in for Jimmy Rollins last year and in my opinion, remains Utley's replacement.

Polanco, who has already gone down with a hyper-extended elbow, has not played in a game since being injured.

It has been reported that Polanco is fine, but what if he goes down again?

That is where Castillo comes into play.

The Phillies could then move Valdez to third and play Castillo at second.

Either way, the Phillies offense looks a lot less intimidating without Utley, so here's hoping he is back sooner rather than later.

Philly fans criticized yet again

Philadelphia sports fans are the worst.

Blah, blah, blah.

Citing the same old reason, GQ Magazine has labeled the Eagles and Phillies as the worst fans in all of sports.

Here is what the article said:

Over the years, Philadelphia fans have booed Santa Claus, their own star players, and most absurdly, the recipient of America's very first hand transplant, whose crime was dribbling in a ceremonial first pitch—thrown with his freshly transplanted hand. Boooo! Admittedly, there are some things fans have cheered. Like Michael Irvin's career-ending neck injury and a fan being tased on the outfield grass. Things reached their nadir last season, when Citizens Bank Park played host to arguably the most heinous incident in the history of sports: A drunken fan intentionally vomited on an 11-year-old girl. The truth is this: All told, Philadelphia stadiums house the most monstrous collection of humanity outside of the federal penal system. "Some of these people would boo the crack in the Liberty Bell," baseball legend Pete Rose once said. More likely, these savages would have thrown the battery that cracked it.


Whatever.

Do any national media goofs know the true story about Philly fans booing Santa Clause?  Do they realize the Eagles were terrible that season and the hired Santa could not make it to the game because of the snow?  Do they realize that that a drunk fan played Santa on that day?

Yeah, like Eagles fans knew Irvin's career was over as he got hit.  No, they were cheering because someone from the hated Cowboys got clocked coming across the middle.

So the fans cheered when a fan was tased.  Who cares?  He was interupting the game.  No harm in cheering for Philly's finest in taking down the criminal.

Yeah, a fan throwing up on an 11-year old is disgusting.  But that is one goofball.

Name me a city that does not have some people who act like idiots.

Philly fans are among the most knowledgable and passionate.  They care. 

At least they show up. 

Maybe Marlins fans would  be the worste if more than seven people showed up.

Injuries cause for concern for Phils

There is only one thing that can derail the Phillies from making another trip to the World Series.
Unfortunately, that one thing is unfolding right before our very eyes.

Injuries.

Already down three players, third baseman Placido Polanco left today's spring training game with a hyper-extended elbow.  Both the Phillies and Polanco said it was nothing major.  They said the same thing about Chase Utley's knee.  We all know how that has gone.

Clearly, Utley is the biggest concern.  There seems to be no definite answer on when Utley might return and if he will need surgery.  He is a cog in the middle of a Phillies lineup that struggled greatly at times last year.

Missing Utley for any extended period of time will make a huge difference.

Although his offensive skills are nowhere near that of Utley, Wilson Valdez is a formidable backup who plays good defense.  He did an admirable job filling in for Jimmy Rollins last year.

And although Valdez is versatle, what happens if both Utley and Polanco are out?  Valdez can't play two positions at once.

To top things off, Phillies closer Brad Lidge has had pain in his bicep.  The Phllies need Lidge to be good this year.  With the staff they have, they are going to be in a lot of close games.

Ryan Madson is a good pitcher, but he has struggled when given the opportunity to close games out.

Oh yeah, Dominic Brown, who was supposed to compete for the RF job, broke his hand and is out for 3-4 week.

Should any more injuries occur, the Phils could be in big trouble.

And with the injury bug going around, I wouldn't be surprised.

I've gone from having sky high hopes for the Phillies season to quite a bit of worry.

After signing Cliff Lee this offseason to form the best rotation in all of baseball, there was not a doubt in my mind that the Phillies would win the World Series this year.

Now, doubt is starting to creep in.

Hamels gets sent to detention

Cole Hamels is in big trouble.

After allowing a home run to Carlos Lee, Hamels attempted to throw a quick pitch to Bill Hall. Hall, however, stepped out of the batters box, thus not allowing Hamels to throw the pitch.

Hamels, one of the Phillies four aces, responded by throwing the next pitch high and inside.

And with that, Hamels has become a marked man.

"He's definitely a marked man for me now, so when I do some damage off him, I'm going to let him know I did some damage off him," Hall said. "I can guarantee that."

Hmmm...

Hamels is a former World Series MVP and a bonafied ace. He has a career record of 60-45 and ERA of 3.53 and has spent his entire career with the Phillies.

Hall, meanwhile, is a journeyman who has played for four teams in the last four seasons. He has a career batting average of .250 and his best year was 5 years ago.

Hamels should be shaking in his boots.

Even if Hall does something, anything off of Hamels, what is he going to do? Instead of running to first base is he going to run to the mound and say, "in your face, I just hit a single off of you."

Or maybe if he reaches on an infield single he can go brag about how much his Astros team is so much better than the Phillies - oh wait. Nevermind.

Hall is 3 for 22 off of Hamels in his career, so him doing anything to Hamels is slim to none.

"I don't feel like I do a lot of things to have pitchers mad at me for doing things on the field," Hall continued. "I feel like I play the game the right way. But if you disrespect me, I'm going to do my best to disrespect you back. Obviously not in a way to disrespect the game, but obviously I'm going to let him know when I face him."

Now there's a guy I would like to have on my team.

Not!

Relax dude - it's a part of the game.

Would surgery put Utley out for the season?

As fans get more and more nervous by the day, the Chase Utley saga continues with very little insight as to what is going to happen to the Phillies second baseman.

Utley, who has been diagnosed with chondromalacia and bone inflamation in addition to the patellar tendinites that was previously found in his right knee, has not played in a spring training game and is in jeapordy of missing at least some of the regular season.

The question is, how much?

The Phillies are looking at every angle possible to avoid surgery.

Does that mean surgery would put him out for the year?

Common sense would say that if surgery would only knock him out for a few months, why not get it done now and be back in time for the summer and stretch run.

I believe there is a strong possibility surgery would put him out for longer and that is why the Phillies are trying to avoid that path.

In an article on philly.com today (, Tigers infield Brandon Inge, who had a similar injury in 2009, mentioned that Utley's only options were to have season ending surgery or playing through intense pain.

The last thing the Phillies want is for Utley to miss the season. They are built to win now and losing one of their best players would be a big blow to their championship aspirations.

Here are some of Inge's quotes:
"The pain that is associated with it is not fun. It’s a tough thing to play through."
"I played an entire year with it, then had the surgery and then an entire year last year recovering from it and it’s not fun. This is the first time I’ve felt comfortable. There is not much you can do about it."
"They don't just do arthroscopic surgery -- they open you up. Surgery was frustrating...because the recovery is slow. In the beginning part, it’s painful."
"It's patellar tendinitis. Even if he does have the surgery, it's never going to be the same. I wish I had better news and I hope the best for him."

That does not sound good. No wonder the Phillies are trying to avoid surgery.

Phillies GM Ruben Amaro has said the team has not considered surgery to this point.

"This is definitely not something we're talking about," he said.

Utley said that having surgery was not as simple as having surgery when asked why he just did not have it now.

"What you said would make sense," he answered, "but it's not that cut-and-dry."

So what does all of this mean?

I believe that the Phillies need Utley in their lineup to win a World Series. They know this and I believe they know that if Utley has surgery he will miss the season.

That is my best guess.

What I am positive of is that this just does not sound good for Utley or the Phillies.

Valentine, Kruk crazy in their Phils prediction

ESPN Analysts Bobby Valentine and John Kruk are nuts.

On today's edition of Baseball Tonight, both predeicted the Phillies would win between 90-92 games this season.

Are you kidding me?

Did they forget that a team without Cliff Lee, a rash of injuries, almost every ofensive player having a down year, and only a few months of having Roy Oswalt led the majors with 97 wins last season?

I'm not saying the Phillies don't have question marks this season.  They do.

But they still run out the best rotation in all of baseball and potentially one of the most dominating rotations in baseball history.

Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton.

Between the five, they have three Cy Youngs, 10 other top-five Cy Young finishes, a World Series MVP award, two LCS MVP awards, 18 opening day starts, six 20-win seasons and 13 trips to the All-Star game.  Oh yeah, Blanton is not included in those numbers.

That is pretty impressive.

Doesn't the saying go that "pitching win championships?"  Valentine and Kruk seem to have forgotten that. 

No, they are not questioning the rotation but did speak of potential bullpen and offensive production as to why they did not predict the Phillies to win as many games as most think they will win.

Sure, injuries can be a concern, but that is the same with anyone and cannot be predicted. 

So for arguments sake, we have to assume each pitcher will make it through the season with no major injuries.

The Phillies lost a major cog in the middle of their lineup, and right-handed hitting Jayson Werth signed with the Washington Nationals.  The Phillies will likely not be able to replace his full production.

However, consider that Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Shane Victorino, and Raul Ibanez had down years last year.  Also consider that Rollins, Howard, and Utley spent a great deal of time on the DL. 

And they still win 97 games.

Barring major injuries, there is no way that this team will only win 90-92 games.

Their pitching is better and one would have to assume that some of their big offensive guns would return more to normal form than they were last year.

At only 90 wins, the potential is there that the Phillies would not even win the NL East.  The Braves are capable of that many wins.

So they are saying that there is the possibility the Phillies don't win their own division.

C'mon.

The Phillies have the potential to win 100 games.  Valentine and Kruk have it all wrong.

Doc's work out causes delay in commercial release

In the midst of a recent filming of a commercial for MLB 2K11, Roy Halladay halted the production.

He needed to work out.

Halladay, a freak of nature when it comes to working out, extended the expected time of 1 1/2 hours to complete the commercial, to an astonishing 1 year.

"The filming interrupted my workout routine," the Phillies ace said.  "I had to prepare for the 2010 season.  They tried to convince me to film between starts but I just could not find any time.  I was so busy working out, eating, and sleeping."

The crew phoned Halladay in early January of 2011 to see if they could complete the commercial.

Halladay, despite needing to get in another workout, obliged. 

"It came down to the Chooch doll," he said.  They told me if I did not finish the commerical I could not keep the doll.  Chooch means everything to me."

It was later found out that Chooch phoned Halladay, demanding he finish the commercial so that Chooch could become an internet sensation. 

"I was so cute in that commercial," the Phillies catcher said.  "It was my chance to reach stardom.  There is no way I was going to let Doc ruin that for me."

It is believed Chooch threatened to not catch any pitch Halladay threw in the 2011 season if he did not return to film the remainder of the commercial.

"Well, I did need to exercise my fingers, so I agreed to do the final scene where I was playing PS3."