Flyers take series!

Turns out the Flyers goalie roulette was better than Sabres goalie Ryan Miller.

In a do-or-die game seven, Miller found himself in a similar situation all of the Flyers have been this series - being pulled in the middle of a game.

Brian Boucher was sharp for the Flyers, allowing two meaningless goals in a 5-2 dominating win (side note - that is the exact score I predicted).

Miller looked every bit as good as he did when he posted shut outs in games one and four for much of the first period.  The Flyers peppered him with chance after chance.  But it was not until a Braydon Coburn shot he flicked at the net squeeked by Miller with 19 seconds remaining in the period that the flood gates opened.

Goals by Danny Briere and James Van Riemsdyk in the second period quickly put the game well in favor of the Flyers.

Ville Leino ripped a shot over the shoulder of Miller early in the third to send the Sabres goalie to the bench.

See ya Ryan Miller.  And take your trash talk and whining with you.

After game six, Miller said that Flyers captain Mike Richards "got away with mass murder" on a check he received a two minute minor penalty.

The only mass murdering done this game was on whichever goal Miller was guarding.  Or should I say, trying to guard.

Backup goalie Jhonas Enroth did not fare much better.

Flyers agitator Dan Carcillo scored a goal on him.

Even though Miller had two shut outs in the series, turns out the Flyers actually ended up with better goaltending. 

Most importantly, Boucher had four wins to Miller's three.

And with that, goodbye Buffalo.  Time to move on Philadelphia.

Here we go - game 7 upon us

It's here.  Game 7, Sabres and Flyers. 

Winner moves on, loser goes home.

I am pretty much experiencing every possible wave of motions already, and the game has not even started. 

I'm excited.  There is nothing more thrilling than a game 7 in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

I'm nervous.  There is nothing more nervewracking than a game 7 in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

I'm hopeful for a Flyers win.

I'm fearful that they will lose.

One minute I have a bad feeling about this game.  The next I have a good feeling about the game.

I cannot wait to scream SCORE!  I can't wait to chant Booooooosh!

If you were not already pumped enough, we onlt have to go back to last year to remember what a game 7 is like.

Let's go Flyers!  Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap!

Flyers show heart to force game 7

Relax Flyer fans. You can grow your playoff beard for at least another two days.

The Flyers erased two goal deficits twice and Ville Leino scored on a rebound in overtime Sunday, forcing a deciding game seven on Tuesday in Philadelphia.

Goalie roulette continued as Michael Leighton started, but was later replaced by Brian Boucher.

In case you are counting at home, that's three times a Flyers goalie has been pulled in six games.

But here we are - game seven, one of the most exciting things in all of sports.

The Flyers showed a ton of heart on Sunday. They looked dead in the water multiple times and with their season on the brink, Scott Hartnell tied the game with 9:17 left in the third period.

Danny Briere scored twice, giving him five goals in the series.

And now, it all comes down to one game. If you thought today was nerve wracking, wait until game seven starts.

It will be exciting, excruciating, and I can't wait!

Howard makes most of key situation

It's not about what you do over the course of a game.  What matters most is what you do in key situations.

All night, Ryan Howard was terrible, striking out in his first four at bats.

But in the top of the 11th inning, Howard hit a rocket to left field, scoring two on a double, and giving the Phillies a 4-2 lead over the San Diego Padres.

The win is the Phillies tenth in a row in Petco Park.

The Padres actually intentionally walked Jimmy Rollins to get to Howard. 

It backfired.

Ryan Madson came on to record his second consecutive save in as many nights.

The Phillies had a few bright spots on the mound tonight.  Joe Blanton pitched seven solid innings, only allowing two runs.  Denny Baez, Antonio Bastardo, and Kyle Kendrick all pitched scoreless innings. 

Yes, you heard that correctly - Baez and Kendrick pitched scoreless innings.  I know - amazing.

New baseball playoff format will add excitement

Major League baseball is on the verge of making a tremendous change.

There is a strong chance that one extra team from each league will make the playoffs beginning with the 2012 season.

"I would say we're moving to expanding the playoffs, but there's a myriad of details to work out," commissioner Bud Selig said on Thursday.  "Ten is a fair number."

You got this one right Mr. Commish.

Imagine the excitement this will create.

First off, this brings more validity to the regular season. 

Coming down the stretch last season, both the Yankees and Rays worked harder at being able to set up their playoff rotation rather than go all out to win the division, knowing both would be in the playoffs.

This would eliminate that as the reward for winning the division would be far greater than it has been.

Right now, the division winner is awarded home field advantage.  But that's it.  The team the are playing can set up their rotation the same as the higher seeded team.

In the new playoff format, both wild card teams would have to play each other just to get to the next round.  This would give a well deserved advantage to the non wild card teams.

Imagine this - the Giants are fighting the Rockies for the NL West title.  They are tied for first place on the last day of the regular season.  The loser of the division is guaranteed to be the wild card team.

The Phillies are lurking, waiting to play the loser of the NL West division race, with Roy Halladay ready to go.

As it is right now, the Giants could choose to rest Tim Lincecum with the thought of setting up their rotation to have him throw game 1 of the first round. 

The only advantage the division winning Phillies would have is home field advantage.  They would still have to face Lincecum in game 1.

Now, let's jump to the same scenario in the new playoff format.

Giants and Dodgers are tied for first place on the last day of the regular season.  The Giants, wanting to not have to play a one game playoff or best of three (more to come on that), have Lincecum take the mound.  The Rockies, with the same strategy, throw their ace, Ubaldo Jiminez.

The Giants end up losing the division and playing the Phillies in the first round.

However, they now have to pitch Matt Cain in game 1 vs Roy Halladay.

The division winner should have an advantage in the first round, and this gives it to them.

Now, on to the big decision that will be made.

Much of the talk has been around whether or not the play in game/series would be a one game tilt to advance into the divisional round or if it would be best of three.

This is a huge decision with a split on which is better.

A one game playoff would be wildly exciting.  All hands on deck, winner take all.  It would not get much better than that. 

At the same time, after playing 162 games, should it come down to one game?

A best of three series would set up the better team with a better chance.  Should a 90 win team only have to beat a 94 win team once to advance to the division round?  A best of three would be more realistic in the better team winning.  Then again, anything can always happen.

There is also the question of season length and not wanting to go into November.

Here are my thoughts.

Go with the one game playoff. 

If you don't want to play in that game, then go out and win your division.  It's that simple.  Think it's not fair?  Fine, play out the regular season and win your division.

The excitement for this game would be awesome, no matter who is playing.

Recent seasons that have had a 163rd playoff game have been awesome.  Now we would get this every year.

Let's look at what 2010 would have looked like.

American League:
Yankees vs Red Sox to get to the divisional round.  Winner plays Tampa Bay and loser goes home.  Minnesota and Texas play in the other game.

National League:
Braves vs Padres to get to the divisional round.  Winner plays Philadelphia and loser goes home.  Cincinnati and San Francisco play in the other game.

Who would not want to see the Yankees and Red Sox play one game with winner take all?  How awesome would that be!

This change is going to be a great thing for baseball and it will change a lot.

More teams will be involved in the race to make the playoffs.  This means more teams will be shopping for players to better their team at the trade deadline.  More fans will be into the end of the season.  The division winners get an advantage they deserve but have not had.

Baseball is just one year away from getting better than it already is, and I cannot wait.

Flyers in similar position

Here we are again - the Flyers are one game away from elimination from the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The difference is that the Flyers were expected to win this year, yet they are on the verge of losing their first round series against a team they were 10 points better than during the regular season.

Once again, the Flyers are playing goalie roulette.  This time, Brian Boucher was pulled in the first period.  Enter Michal Leighton, who had played only one game with the club this season.

The Flyers dramatically came back from a 3-0 deficit, but came up short as Tyle Ennis scored an overtime goal on a juicy rebound a little more than five minutes into overtime.

Philadelphia must now win the next two games.

With Ryan Miller standing on his head every other game, this is not going to be an easy task.

The Flyers will need to show the same fight they did in their comeback bid tonight.  However, they will need to display a killer instinct.  Game five is in Buffalo on Sunday.

Just get to game seven and anything can happen.

More reasons to hate the Sabres

As if I didn't already have enough reasons to hate the Buffalo Sabres.

Here are more...

Sabres coach Lindy Ruff made the following comments on Thursday.

"I just feel they're doing a lot of whining," he said.  "They're really doing a lot of whining.  I didn't hear any whining when they had 10 power plays in Philly, and I didn't hear any whining when the power plays in the first game were lopsided.  But all of the sudden there's all this whining about, 'We're getting away with murder.'"

He must be watching a different game, because the Sabres are getting away with murder.

Since when is throwing a player to the ice not a penalty?  Since when is cross checking a guy in the back multiple times when he is on all fours not a penalty?

The Sabres have constantly been drilling the Flyers after the whistle.

"Some things happen after the whistle and I usually don't get mad, but once things get out of control, hitting behind, hitting to the hands, hitting after the whistle to your calves, those are things I can't take," Flyers defenseman Kimmo Timonen said.

Added Ruff on what he sees as whining.  "That's a bunch of crap," added Ruff on what he sees as whining.  "That's for the media.  That's for the officials to read.  That's, 'here, let's get the next call.'  That's a bunch of crap.  Let's just play."

Anything else Mr. Ruff?

"We're just playing.  There hasn't been one word about the officiating out of us.  If they want to cry about the officiating or whine about different calls, go ahead.  Go ahead."

Well, let's just see is the Sabres are "just playing" or if they have been dirty.

Exhibit A: Patrick Kaleta opens the bench door so that Nik Zherdev would fall in.

Exhibit B: Dan Carcillo gets punched in the face by the glove of goalie Ryan Miller.  He then gets thrown to the ground by a Buffalo defender.  Carcillo gets up and skates towards Miller but does not get a hand on him.  Miller and Carcillo get penalties, but nothing on the defender.

And here is what the Flyers have an issue with - an absolutely terrible five minute major elbowing penalty.  What?!  Kaketa was taking a run at Richards.  Yes, he got an elbow up.  But five minutes?  He was protecting himself.  Absolutely ridiculous.  There was no intent to injure.

And I'll leave you with this.  This is getting to be a nasty series.

 

Refs out to get Flyers

I hate the Sabres.

This is what happens the further you get into an NHL playoff series.

I'm a homer, I know that.

But in these eyes, it is the world against the Flyers.

The Sabres got away with all kinds of stuff in tonight's 1-0 win that tied the series at two.

But the biggest controversy of the night rests in the hands of an unbelievable call in the second period.

With three seconds remaining in the period, Buffalo's Patrick Kaleta took a run at Mike Richards, who was against the boards.

Richards, trying to protect himself, got his elbow up a little high and hit Kaleta in the face.

A five minute major was called.

It was one of the most ridiculous calls I have ever seen.

Richards was standing still.  He was not taking a run at Kaleta.

Did he get his elbow up?  Yes. 

Fine, call two minutes.

But it was not a vicious hit.  Definitely not a five minute major.

Amazingly, the Flyers only allowed two shots on the ensuing power play and held the game at 1-0.

For the second time this series, they could not solve Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller.  He reminded me of Martin Brodeur in his prime - no matter what the Flyers did they could not solve him.

Frustrating to say the least.

Anything football is not as thrilling as normal

In a typical year, the day the NFL schedule is released is like a national holiday.

It has always been something I have counted down the days to, waiting to analyze each part of the season, where I thought the Eagles would win, where their tough stretches were.

But this year is different.

Currently in a lock out, everything NFL related is a little less exciting.

There is no guarantee any of this will even matter - there is still the possibility there will be no season.

Look, when the NFL comes back, I am going to be thrilled. I love football and always will. I love the Eagles and always will.

But until the day the lockout ends, I just cannot get as excited as I usually am at this point in the year.

Three words sum up Phillies loss

Kyle Kendrick stinks.

That's the end of my story.

Flyers seize control

Maybe the end of the year slump won't hurt the Flyers after all.

Limping into the playoffs, many people (myself included) had written off the Flyers, picking the seventh seeded Buffalo Sabres to upset the second seeded Flyers.

After a 1-0 game one loss, the doubt only grew more.

Not so fast.

After an exciting 5-4 win on Saturday to tie up the series, the Flyers took game three tonight, 4-2, go up 2-1 in the first round series.

Could the magic from last season be back?

Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves.

But, I must say that my confidence is a bit higher, especially with Brian Boucher in goal.

Boucher made 35 saves and was cool, calm, and collected.

The Flyers are 18-3 when they have a 2-1 series lead in their history.

I like the odds of them winning this series.

Let the growth of playoff beards continue.

Flyers and stomach knots

Playoff hockey is the most intense of all sports.

Every trip down the ice for the Flyers creates a sense of hope.

Every trip down the ice for the other team puts my stomach in knots.

Thus was the case tonight when the Sabres were all over the Flyers during the third period, trying to cut a two goal lead.

In the end, the Flyers held on for a huge 5-4 win.

Every time Buffalo had the puck I feared the worse - a tie game.

I could hardly eat my dinner. In fact, I stopped for about the last eight minutes of the game.

The only sense of relief from the tension was my son pretending his french fry was a hockey stick.

A quick laugh and then right back to my stomach being in knots.

But that is what is great about playoff hockey.

It's back and forth, with the possibility of a game changing in an instant.

As stressful as it is, I sure would like to experience this feeling into June.

The Flyers moved one game closer to that desire tonight.

Back-to-back complete games - just how I imagined it

This is exactly how I imagined it the morning I woke up to the news that the Phillies had signed Cliff Lee.

Wins, complete games, shutouts, lots of strikeouts.

Boy is it nice having multiple aces.

Not to be outdone after a complete game win from Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee was actually better.

The Phillies second ace pitched a complete game shutout, allowing only three hits and striking out 12.

Not a bad way to end a series, eh?

Lee was not perfect though. He did allow an uncharacteristic walk.

"I regret the walk," he said after the game.

And I appreciate the desire for perfection.

The Phillies took two out of three games from the Nats and now they play a three game series against Florida, where they will have two more aces going.

Yep, this is exactly how I imagined it.

Halladay with a gutsy performance

Roy Halladay lumbered through the last inning, but there was no way he was coming out of the game.

Not even a mound visit by Charlie Manual was going to prevent Halladay from throwing another complete game.

With the tying run at second base, Halladay struck out Matt Stairs and Ivan Rodriguez to end the game - a 124 pitch, nine strikeout 3-2 win.

Halladay took a shut out into the ninth. After a double and single to start the inning, Halladay struck out Adam LaRoche. Two hits followed to put the tying run on second before Halladay closed the door.

Phillies closer Jose Contreras was ready to go, but Manuel decided to leave his ace in after talking it over with Halladay.

It was a gutsy performance. He was tired. But Halladay is a competitor.

And this my friends, is why he is our ace.

As usual, Blanton stinks

Good thing we only have to put up with this once every five days.

Not that the other four Phillies starting pitchers are perfect, but you can almost guarantee that you have to score at least 5-6 runs to win a game when Joe Blanton pitches.

Right on cue, Blanton allowed five earned runs in six innings on Monday in a 7-4 loss to the Nationals.

Even worse, Jayson Werth and his $126 million had two hits, including a solo home run.

I have to admit, I did get a good laugh from hearing more boo's than cheers when Werth came up in the first inning and then when he caught a fly ball in the second.

As usual, Philly fans infiltrate the Nationals home stadium.  Hope Werth has a lot of fun over the next seven years playing in front of no one instead of a packed house every night.

The Phillies had a great chance to mount a comeback in the seventh inning.  However, both John Mayberry Jr. and Shane Victorino struck out with the bases loaded to end the threat.

Washington entered the game with the worst batting average in the National League at .217.  Nothing a little Joe Blanton won't solve.

Missing three key players, the Nats still pounded Big Joe for seven hits.

Thankfully we go back to our regularly scheduled aces tomorrow.

Hamels shows why he is an ace

It was ace number four's turn to pitch a gem.

Cole Hamels, who struggled in his first outing, threw seven shut out innings in a 3-0 Phillies win over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday.

Ryan Madson pitched a solid eighth inning and Jose Contreras came on to get his second save.

This series was a big as an early season series can be.

Because of multiple injuries to the Phillies, the Braves had become a trendy pick to win the NL East.


After losing the first game of the series, the Phillies won the next two.

The Phils are now 7-2 while the Braves fell to 4-6.

Hamels was masterful, striking out eight and allowing only four hits.

The Phillies head to Washington starting a three game series that begins Tuesday.

Joe Blanton will start the first game and then the Phillies will get back to their aces pitching. Roy Halladay will pitch game two and Cliff Lee will pitch game three.

Maybe Jayson Werth and Lee can continue their conversation...

Flyers clinch division, stumble into playoffs

It would not have been a big surprise to see the Flyers blow another game Saturday.

This one would have had a bigger impact though.

The Flyers needed a win against the lowly New York Islanders Saturday to clinch the Atlantic Division. 

After blowing leads of 2-0 and 3-2, the Flyers held on for a 7-4 win and their first division title since 2003-04.

It did not come easy though.

The Flyers went from an 88 percent chance of winning the Eastern Conference on March 30th to blowing it and giving the conference title to the Washington Capitals.

It took them over a week in which the magic number was three points, to clinch the division over the Penguins.

The Flyers have stumbled mightily heading into the playoffs, losing 13 of their last 20 games.

A first round match up with the Buffalo Sabres will not be an easy one. 

The Sabres have a proven starter in Ryan Miller.  The Flyers will start Sergei Bobrovsky, who was pulled from Saturday's game.

If they continue to lack a sense of urgency and sleep walk through games like they have for the past month, it is going to be a long summer for the Flyers.

I never will understand how every season the Flyers go through stretches where they are not aggressive and have no sense of urgency.

Whatever it is, they are not playing well right now and are a prime candidate for an early exit from the playoffs.

The Flyers have the talent and depth - let's just hope they wake up.

Chooch Ruiz sets tone for incredible bench

Carlos Ruiz had a career high five RBI in a 10-2 win over the Braves today.

Not bad for only playing three innings.

Ruiz came off the bench in the seventh inning and connected a grand slam.

The Phillies bench has been unbelievable this season.

Consider this for a minute - the Phillies have 10 pinch hits in eight games. It took them until June 6th to get 10 pinch hits last season.  That's almost two months less.

The Phillies are 10-for-16 (.625) off the bench.

That's incredible.

The Phils were terrible last season, hitting .188 (45 for 240), the worst in the National League.

Depth is a great thing to have, and the Phillies have it.

They have power (John Mayberry Jr), versatility (Michael Martinez), speed (Pete Orr), a quality backup catcher (Brian Schneider), and one of the better pinch hitters in the game (Ross Gload).

Oh yeah, that does not include Wilson Valdez, who is starting for the injured Chase Utley, and is hitting .375.

But the big story today was Ruiz, normally a starter.  His grand slam was his first ever grand slam and first ever pinch-hit home run.

That leaves me with just one thing to say - Choooooooooch!

Not a good night in Philly

The night could not have been much worse for the Phillies and Flyers.

With fate still in their own hands, the Flyers slept through yet another game, losing to the lowly Ottawa Senators.

The Flyers now trail the surging Washington Capitals by two points with two games remaining.  With another Penguins win, the Flyers division lead was trimmed to one point.

Fall behind Pittsburgh and the Flyers would drop to fourth in the conference and they would play the Tampa Bay Lighting in the first round of the playoffs.

That is not a good proposition.

Luckily for the Phillies, they still control their own fate with 157 games still remaining.

But, they did not fare any better than the Flyers, getting thumped by the New York Mets, 7-1.

Cole Hamels looked terrible.

He could not even get Mets pitcher Chris Young out, who had two hits himself in a six run third inning.

Yeah, he was not so much an ace tonight.

I'm not concerned about the Phillies.  It was one game, and there is a long way to go.

I am concerned about the Flyers.  They have lost four straight and have been losing to teams they should be beating.

This is not a good time to get cold, and the Flyers have been as cold as Hamels' arm when he ices it after a game.

Family guy takes to making fun of Mets

The New York Mets come to town for a three game series starting on Tuesday.

Luckily for them, they will only have to face two aces - Cole Hamels and Roy Halladay. Joe Blanton, the other guy, will pitch the middle game.

The past few years have provided many opportunities to make fun of the Mets.

I'm glad to report that Family Guy has taken to joining the party.

Phillies on an early roll

Well, that was a pretty exciting weekend of Phillies baseball.

An opening day thriller, the return of Cliff Lee, and another offensive outburst.

Yep, the weekend had it all.

Best of all, the Phillies are off to a 3-0 start.

Oh yeah, their ace takes the mound in Tuesday's series opener against the New York Mets.

Their fourth ace that is.

Through three games, Roy Halladay, Lee, and Roy Oswalt have thrown 19 innings, striking out 23 while walking only one. Their ERA is 2.37.

Now it is time for Cole Hamels to take the mound.

Welcome to Phillies baseball, where the starters are going to dominate.

But don't forget about the offense.

A day after scoring nine runs, Ryan Howard led the way with a first inning three-run shot and later connecting on an RBI double.

The Phillies took out the brooms today, completing a three game sweep of the Houston Astros.

Five of the Phillies eight regular players finished the series batting over .300.

Jimmy Rollins and Howard, arguably the most important parts of the lineup, are hitting .444 and .500, respectively.

Ben Francisco, who took over for the departed Jayson Werth, hit his first home run today, and is batting .375.

Bring on the Mets.

Cliff Lee: like he never left

He's baaaaaack!

Cliff Lee began his second stint with the Phillies tonight, dominating the Houston Astros on the way to a 9-4 win.

Lee, a fan favorite, was absolutely adored by Phillies fans during his few months here in 2009. Those same fans were extremely disappointed when he was traded away following that season.

Lee started the night by receiving a standing ovation from the Phillies faithful.

Then he went out and pitched just like Phillies fans remembered he could.

Lee was looking solid into the sixth, when he had only allowed one run. The Astros got two in the inning on a two run shot by Carlos Lee. He also had an RBI triple 4th inning.

Must be in the last name.

Lee ended up throwing seven innings, allowing only four hits and three runs, while striking out 11.

His night ended just like it started, with a standing ovation.

A night after Roy Halladay pitched well in the opener, Lee did not disappoint and was a great reminder to how good this Phillies rotation can be.

Most teams would be happy to have Lee be their number one.

The Phillies have him sloted as their number two, with Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels still yet to pitch.

During the Phillies telecast tonight, they put a graphic up that said, "Dear MLB: Good luck." It had some of the accomplishments of the Phillies four aces.

But for one night, it was all about the guy who "never wanted to leave Philadelphia in the first place."

Ah yes, Cliff Lee is back.

Timely hitting carries Phils to thrilling win

If we learned anything from the San Francisco Giants march to a World Championship last year, it is that solid pitching and key hits wins.

The Phillies lineup was quiet for much of the afternoon on opening day.  That is, until the ninth inning.

Trailing by two runs, the Phillies pieced together six singles and three runs in a thrilling ninth inning.

John Mayberry Jr. won it for the Phils on a line drive hit to center field, which scored Ben Francisco and sent home another sold out crowd ecstatic.

Before the ninth, Astros starter Brett Myers had half as many hits (two) as the entire Phillies lineup had (four).

Phillies ace Roy Halladay pitched a strong game, striking out five of the first eight batters he faced, and only allowing one run. 

Yet he was outpitching by Myers, a former Phillie, who threw seven innings while giving up only three hits.

The Phillies scored two runs in the seventh on productlive outs to cut the lead in half, 4-2.

Then the bats came to life in the ninth.

Who needs home runs when you can single a team to death in one inning?

Small ball - no problem.

As long as the Phillies get good pitching and key hits, they'll win plenty of games.