Posted: March 31, 2010 | Author: Phillies Outside | Filed under: Dailies | Tags: Atlanta, babes, ball girls, Braves, chicks, Florida, girls, Homer, hooters, hot chicks, Marlins, mascots, Mermaids, Mets, Mr Met, Nationals, Nats, New York, Phanatic, Philadelphia, phillies, pimp, Tomahawks, Washington |
As the National League East is the division the Phillies are in, I have decided to review the NL East a little differently than I did the other divisions, but not much differently.
Anyone with any sort of technical savvy should be aware, that all major league websites are controlled and sourced through a centralized system, which is why they basically have the same layout and the same MLB news items, there are areas which are specific to the actual clubs feeds, but still the look and feel of each website is similar to the extent that if you find something on one about that club, you should be able to find the same thing on another clubs site about that particular club. Well if you’re still following this thought then the rest should make some sense.
I decided to review specific things that may be of interest to one fan or another and I looked at the same on each website, this is how it turned out.
The Washington Nationals will without question be at the bottom of the division again this year, even though they have a player that if utilized could be a contender for the 2010 ROY award, that would be Ian Desmond. Anyway I digress, the Nats website…
.
…is headlined “Get Your RED On” What the hell does that mean? I looked RED up on google, bing even yahoo, but couldn’t find anything that remotely related to visiting the Washington Nationals and cheering them on, is this just more inaccurate promotional work coming out of Washington. I hunted for the Nats mascot and any ballgirls or cheerleaders or similar and found this, a mascot called ‘Screech‘ which looked a lot like ‘Swoop’ in a Nats uniform, which was kind of ironic since they were also advertising the Eagles this summer, just in case anyone is confused, that’s the band Eagles not the NFL team they are promoting. I couldn’t find any ball girls, softball team, cheerleaders or anything like that on the Nationals website which probably means they are all working as interns somewhere in DC.
The Florida Marlins, will try very hard this year, but will only manage to be good enough to finish 4th in this division, the Marlins website however…
…claimed ‘Serious Fun’ and invited people to ‘Get In On It’, okay I have to ask, “get in on what?”, then I found the Mermaids and realized what the fun was and what they wanted you to get in on, so no need to google, bing or yahoo anything. I did try to find out what the entry requirements were to be a Mermaid, cause it looked at first glance that they had just got together a group of Hooters employees, but I found that you can actually hire these Mermaids for private functions, and there’s me thinking that would be classed as pimping and be illegal, but I guess Miami-Dade anything goes especially when you have trouble voting on issues.
The Atlanta Braves have an excellent pitching rotation, if all are healthy and pitching to form, but they lack some other factors which will be needed to make a run at this division, they should finish 3rd again this year thanks mostly to the pitching staff. The Braves website…
…continues to tell everyone how wonderful Turner Field is, even though it hasn’t been that way for a number of years now. There was some good news though I found out that the Braves have a mascot called ‘Homer’ so i looked around for the big yellow headed dude with the pot belly eating donuts, but alas all I found was what looked like a poorly cloned ‘Mr Met’. The good news was they actually appear to have some hot chicks still living in Atlanta, I am not sure being a member of something called the ‘Tomahawk Team’ is going to inspire a future mate to actually close their eyes and fall asleep with one of them in the same building never mind room.
The New York Mets if everyone is healthy, especially Reyes who needs to stays off the sauce, or whatever he’s been on, should make a vast change from last year, still it won’t be enough to win the division. The Mets website though maybe even worse than the Nats…
….there is lots of invites for you to spend money, they promote a belief in comebacks, obviously they have Mr. Met, but he was hard to find and I had to surf via pages telling me I can join this or that for a nominal fee. It seems to be all about Citi Field, which is fine since they spent a bundle of money on it, but it seems there are no hot chicks left in New York that like the Mets, or at least I couldn’t find anything on the website.
The Philadelphia Phillies this year will go back to the big stage, after winning the division and the repeating for the 3rd time as N L Champs. Of course like any other prediction it’s based on the players being healthy, except for the Phillies where it’s based on Lidge being on the DL all season long. The Phillies website…
…Okay so I am more comfortable with the Phillies website and can find things easily, there is no tacky slogan, although the Phillies do use a couple in commercials, the mascot is easily found, which as you can see, I caught him making sure there was space for the 2010 trophy. Anyone that’s seen a game in Philadelphia at the Bank or even prior at the Vet, will know the Phillies have ball girls, who are on hand for every home game and I understand are all fairly well accomplished softball players, sit near one if you can they are also at times very good conversationalists. So to sum
up the NL East without a biased view, the Phillies have the best looking ball girls, best looking website and the best chance to win the division again.
any sarcasm is not meant to offend,
unless it does, then consider the possibilities of more during the
season.
trademarks,
trade names,
copyrights and patents are the property of their respective owners.
Posted: March 5, 2010 | Author: Phillies Outside | Filed under: Dailies | Tags: Astros, Blue Jays, brainless, Braves, Cards, friday, fun, Hamels, Marlins, Mets, Mets suck, Moyer, Nats, phillies, Rays, Reyes, roids, Tampa Bay, Tiger fans, Tigers, Yankees |
The Phillies played the Blue Jays in two games today. A morning game saw the first outing of Jamie Moyer and a afternoon game saw the first outing of Cole Hamels.
In the morning game Jamie Moyer 
showed he still has a little something left, after enduring an off-season of operations and hospital visits, Moyer took to the mound Friday morning in a ‘B’ game against the Blue Jays and threw three scoreless innings. Moyer gave up 3 hits and picked up 3 strikeouts in his 3 innings. The Phillies ended up losing this one 3-2, this game doesn’t affect preseason standings.
The afternoon game started by giving the Philadelphia fans a moment of anguish as Hamels second pitch was hit long by Bautista for a home run, then 
Hamels managed to walk the second batter, Hill, after which Hamels seemed to settle down for the remainder of his 2 innings work, striking out 2 batters. He did manage to mix in some of his newer pitches, which for Hamels is good for his first outing in preseason games. The pitching staff following Hamels didn’t fair quite so well as the 4th inning saw Toronto put 8 runs on the board, Bastardo was the only Phillies pitcher to come away with a clean slate on the day. The Phillies also managed to knock in a few runs as they ended up losing this game 14-9, needless to say both teams had pitchers and players working on the revolving door process, good luck if you kept a full score card on this one.
Around Baseball
The Tampa Bay Rays almost threw away a 7 run lead to the Yankees, but ended up holding on to win the game 12-7. For awhile in the middle innings it was touch and go as to whether the Yankees/Rays game or the Phillies/Jays game would have more runs.
The Nats and the Braves were also trying to have the highest scoring game of the day as the Braves beat the Nats 11-8, however the honor of highest score went to the Astros and Tigers as the Tigers beat the Astros 17-7. I am sure the Tigers fans will savor this achievement, since it could be the last this year.
The Mets were playing split squad games today against the Cards and the Marlins. They managed a win against the Cards, but lost to the Fish.
Of course Jose Reyes found a reason not to play in either of the Mets games, but instead flew back to New York with a possible ‘thyroid imbalance’. Speculatively speaking, the blood in his brain could just be dizzy from all the spinning, this claim could be squashed if they prove he’s not brainless, but then who knows, now a ‘roid‘ has been attached to his name the possible outcomes are almost endless.
any sarcasm is not meant to offend, unless it does, then consider the possibilities of more during the season.
Posted: March 3, 2010 | Author: Phillies Outside | Filed under: Dailies | Tags: Arizona, Atlanta, Boras, Braves, Diamondbacks, hanson, Heyward, Mets, New York, ramirez, Reyes, upton |
Finally we saw some interactive baseball yesterday, the shame of it all was that it rained early in the day.
The Mets living in fear of a 2009 repeat didn’t play any of the regular squad players. I wonder what will happen should it rain everyday during spring
training, will we not see the likes of Reyes and the other injury recovered players from 2009 till opening day. Yes, it is sometimes safer to play on the side of caution, but if you have to worry about multi-million dollar players getting hurt because the ground is a little wet, then all I can say to Mets fans is: “your in for a long season, which may not be like 2009, but will surely end up with the same season ending result”.
The Braves came out to play, the players looked relaxed as though it was a relief to finally play some ball against another club. The 2 key points for Atlanta had to be Tommy Hanson got through 2 scoreless innings and looked pretty good for day 1 and the other was the role of the emerging Jason Heyward, who it seems is being hyped up by the media to be something extra special, there is no doubt he has the talent to be a excellent player, but give the kid a break, the last thing he needs is extra pressure starting off a career. After all when the regular season starts he could be shown up to be just another mediocre outfielder.
The Arizona Diamondbacks look as
though they have managed to secure a bargain deal, should all go right they will have secured a six year deal with Justin Upton, which is expected to be worth around $50 million. This may not make the D’Backs contenders this year, but the beauty of baseball is you never know till it happens.
The Dodgers say that Manny Ramirez will make the trip to Taiwan later this month, it seems they were advised by Scott Boras that Manny would be going, mostly so Boras can make money off the endorsements he has lined up for Manny out there. So I am just curious, if Boras decides he can’t make any money in Boston this June, will Manny stay at home, or have a 3 day injury.
any sarcasm is not meant to offend, unless it does, then consider the possibilities of more during the season.
Posted: December 2, 2009 | Author: Phillies Outside | Filed under: Dailies | Tags: ammunition, bambi, bidding, Braves, Brian Schneider, Carlos Ruiz, deer hunting, guns, Halladay, Hot Stove, killing, phillies, Red Sox, shooting, war, Yankees, you tube |
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NO, I didn’t completely lose
my mind, I haven’t forgotten where I live or anything like that, but
this week, where I am means I can see children
from anywhere around 5 years old an up carrying guns, rifles to be
exact, I can also see teenagers and adults, both male and female
carrying rifles. I can see these people trying to hide and keep there
gun toting youngsters quite so as not to be heard or seen.
Where am
I?… Afghanistan… Iran…
Iraq…. NO, NO and NO…. I am in fact in the good
old United States of America. If you haven’t already figured it
out, it’s hunting season and this week is gun season, well
here in Ohio anyway. I am told the deer population is high, so it helps
keep them from over running the farmers land and destroying the crops.
Okay I guess I can live with that, here in Tuscarawas County, (pronounced
TUSK-A-RAR-WUS, I think) I am told that the deer population is one
of the highest in Ohio, if not the highest, to the point some land
owners had hired guns out all summer long reducing the deer population.
We get people from all
around, out of state, city dwellers, etc, etc, all coming to try their
luck at shooting a deer. Now I guess it shouldn’t matter where you come from,
when guns are involved you would think time is taken to know the law and
abide by it, plus you would also think that those who choose to go out
into the woods and try to kill a poor innocent little bambi would know
the friggin difference between a deer and other animals or know a live
one from a stuffed one, but alas some tend to arrive completely
oblivious to the fact that there are other people in the world and that they
don’t just shoot at the first thing that moves.
I really don’t care nowadays whether
people hunt or not, as long as they don’t interfere with me, and by that
I mean stay off my land and don’t shoot at me when I drive down the
road. Since most all roads are country roads around here, so they nearly
all pass through the woods and areas that hunters frequent, it’s not
unusual to catch a glimpse of a hunter aiming in your direction as you
drive, even though it is not permitted and completely stupid.
I am however not the only
person who thinks people should learn the rules of hunting before going
out with your brood armed up to the teeth with ammunition and shooting
at everything, while on my daily trek, out and about I saw this hunter
who was cornered by a rather large buck, and the buck was
explaining some facts to this hunter.
This is how it went…..
WARNING…(this
video contains strong language and may not be suitable for minors, even
if they can carry a gun and shoot at things with real bullets)
..and in baseball, it seems
the Yankees and the Red Sox are going to get into a
bidding war over Halladay, although I still think he will stay in Toronto
till July, everything else seems fairly luke warm with no giant
movements, lots of minor league stuff going on and a few options being
had, but as I said nothing major, Billy Wagner went from the Red Sox to
the Braves on a 1 year deal with options, good luck with that
Atlanta…
Phillies News:
Brian Schneider signed a 2
year deal with the Phillies as back-up catcher to Carlos Ruiz, Brian is
a Phillie boy from Allentown, PA. and says he’s happy to be on the team that
his family and friends have been die hard supporters of for many years.
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Posted: September 28, 2009 | Author: Phillies Outside | Filed under: Dailies | Tags: AL Central, AL East, AL West, Angels, Braves, Cardinals, Championship, CWS, Dodgers, Holliday, Marlins, NL Central, NL East, NL West, phillies, Pirates, postseason, Pujols, Rangers, Red Sox, Rockies, RSBS, Tigers, Twins, Yankees |
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Since my last post some
things happened that should have happened and some things happened that
were unlikely to happen. They are almost irrelevant since they all would
have happened eventually.
If you understood that psycho
babble then you need read no further, alternatively, just for the hell
of it you could keep on reading just to find out if you analyzed and
decoded my psychotic ramblings about the weeks changes in the divisions.
AL East
As much as it pains me to
read the constant joyous writings of my preferred Yankee
bloggers, I have to admit, I have all week continued to torture
myself by reading the constant jubilations of such bloggers who have
shown their humor, while proving a contagious sickness exists among Yankee
fans, blogging of their unambiguous support during a week which has seen
the Yankees clinching a playoff berth, to actually winning
the AL east division, while enjoying a 5 game winning streak.
When less than a week ago the Yankees magic number was 9
and it looked as though it may take them into the middle of this week to
finalize the division, they did it all in 6 days and I am sure that
there are some Yankee fans who will become even more
delusional about 6 days of work and a day of rest.
AL Central
The Detroit Tigers
are probably the only divisional leading team that while reducing the
magic number have also managed to reduced the division lead and
with a series starting against the second place Twins, the
Tigers are in jeopardy of losing that slim lead and being
classified as the American League’s choke artist’s much the same as the New
York Mets are in the National League. The Tigers are
just a .500 team at home this year when facing the Twins
which could mean they will stay as is, in the division, unless the Twins
have a little more desire and fight than the Tigers.
This is definitely going to go down to the last couple of games of the
season. With the Tigers being 5-5 over their last 10
games and the Twins being 8-2 over their last 10
games, I have to say the edge goes to the Twins.
AL West
Although the Angels
haven’t clinched yet their magic number is down to 2 and like Detroit
they start a 4 games series against the second place team. This series
is a little different though, the Angels only need to take
1 out of 4 to win the division, in fact they only need to take 2 out of
their last 7 games. Now you wouldn’t think that would be too much of a
challenge, however some Angels fans must be biting their
nails this week, since the Angels lost the mid month make
up game to the Yankees they have been on a somewhat
downward spiral. Still I think 2 games out of the next 7 is a comfortable
task for the Angels and will become division
champions before the end of the week.
NL
East
The Phillies
having completed a 10 game road trip going just 5-5, due to more bullpen
woes, they have managed to reduce their magic number to 3 and
eliminated the Marlins from the divisional race, however
the Braves are still hanging around. The Phillies
have their final 7 games at home and although they close out the season
hosting the Marlins who are sure to be looking to extract
revenge, I believe the Phillies will have clinched the
division before that series gets underway.
NL
Central
The Cardinals
had the least amount of work to do last week to clinch the division and
although they only went 5-5 during their last 10 games managed to seal
the division championship, however one noticeable thing has come to
light during the celebrations the Cardinals enjoyed…
…this picture of Holliday
and Pujols, who else thinks this makes the pride and joy of at
least half of RSBS
look gay, it must raise the question "What is Albert’s right hand
gripping or fondling?". If you didn’t know they were in the clubhouse
celebrating then you would think they were just exiting a club somewhere
in San Francisco, maybe. Okay, as unlikely as this maybe,
since he’s married with 3 kids and a devout Christian,
he certainly has that look.
AL
West
The Dodgers
having clinched a post season place are still looking to win the division
this week. In fact they should be able to seal the deal with the
breakfast meeting against the Pirates today.
AL
Wild Card
The BoSox have
all but taken this, with the few games they have left the Rangers
will find it very hard to make a run now even with the Red Sox at
the start of a losing streak, they themselves are doing no better. The Red
Sox should have this clinched by the end of the week.
NL
Wild Card
Like the AL Central
race this is a close one, and will probably go down to the final weekend
of play. The Rockies may have the upper hand, but are only
2 1/2 games up on the HOT Braves at the moment.
While the Rockies play host to the Brewers,
which will be tough, especially as the Brewers just
completed a good series against the Phillies, the Braves
are hosting the Marlins, who have just been ousted from
the division race by the Mets. Look for the late charge
from the Braves to come through and clinch this Wild
Card.
Streaks…
Win
streaks – Braves with 6 games and the Yankees
with 5 games. Losing streaks – Baltimore with 10
games.
Spoilers…
the Mets have killed what was left of the Marlins hopes…
the CWS have prevented the Tigers
from getting any kind of lead built up…
Race… the
tightest race is still the AL Central, with the Tigers
poised to crumble against the Twins. The NL Wild
Card should see the Braves over take the Rockies
and clinch this coming weekend.
My message to the Phillies:
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Posted: September 19, 2009 | Author: Phillies Outside | Filed under: Dailies | Tags: American League, Angels, Atlanta, BoSox, Boston, Braves, Cards, Chicago, Colorado, Cubs, Detroit, Dodgers, Florida, Giants, Halos, Los Angeles, Marlins, Minnesota, mountain dew, National League, New York, Philadelphia, phillies, race, Rangers, Red Sox, Rockies, San Francisco, Sox, spoilers, St. Louis, Texans, Texas, Tigers, Twins, wild card, Wite Sox, Yankees |
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A million dollar hole in one
(Golf), a $25,000 message on shoes (NFL), mountains to climb (MLB)…
American
League Mountains…
Yankees – without
question lead the AL east 6 games up on the BoSox with
just 14 games left to play, at the extreme they have to play better than
.500 ball for the rest of the season. The last week of the regular
season is going to be the easiest week for the Yankees and should have
no problems winning this division.
Detroit – are
currently the AL central leaders, I say currently, because
they are the team most likely to blow their post season chances, having
just a 3 game lead and still 6 games left against the Twins. Detroit
has a 4-8 record against the Twins this season, which puts
the odds in the favor of the Twins to clinch the division.
Angels – are
favorites for the AL west, holding a 7 1/2 game lead,
although they have 6 games left against the Rangers and are only
4-9 against them this season, they should be able to hold a lead in the
division based on the other teams they play. Still with 15 games left
they have to play better than .500 ball through the end of the season.
Boston – look set to
clinch the AL wild card, with 16 games left they have what
should be the easiest schedule left in the season of AL
teams, still they will have to play better than .500 ball to get a post
season spot.
National
League Mountains…
Phillies – sitting on
an 8 game lead in the NL east have 8 games left against
division rivals, with 16 games left to play just 1 game better then .500
ball will give them a third division title in a row.
Cardinals – with the
largest divisional lead in MLB currently at 10 games, they
are odds on favorites for the NL central. A fairly safe
schedule left for the Cards, they are now fighting for
home field advantage and of course pride against the Cubs.
Dodgers – still have
the hardest challenge in the NL to clinch their division,
they are in a much better place now than they were a week ago and so are
now looking like favorites for the NL west, especially
since they probably have the easiest schedule left of all the NL
division leaders.
Colorado – sit on top
of the NL wild card at the moment, but with just 4 1/2
games covering the top 4 teams this is the race that should be where the
excitement is right down to the last couple of days of the regular
season. The 4 teams in the hunt for the NL wild card
probably have similar schedule strengths, with maybe Florida
having the hardest and the Giants having the easiest.
More…
Streaks… I
have decided that 5 or more games in a row are the only ones worth a
mention under streaks, so the current streaks. Win streaks – Phillies
with 6 games and the Twins and Oakland
with 5 games. Losing streaks – Indians and Mets
with 6 games and the Astros and Rangers with
5 games.
Spoilers…
the Royals have killed what was left of the CWS hopes… the
Mariners are currently trying to do as much harm as they can to
the Yankees… the Reds are trying to end the hopes of the
Marlins… the D’Backs are beating up on the Rockies…
Race… the
tightest race is now the AL central, with the Tigers
looking as though they are about to crumble under the pressure, when
your website’s slogan is: "The Pennant Race Is On"
you know you have problems. The NL wild card has the most
teams locked in a battle. This will heat up next week and I believe we
will see the Giants and the Braves emerge as
the two fighting for the winning spot.
My choices at this time
still put the Angels and the Yankees in the ALCS and
the Cards and the Phillies in the NLCS.
It is September ball and we
all know that can change in a matter of a week….
For the
Phillies and Charlie this week Thanksgiving comes early…
…being
thankful for what you’ve got … Got Phillies !!!
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Posted: September 14, 2009 | Author: Phillies Outside | Filed under: Dailies | Tags: ALCS, Angels, Baltimore, Braves, Cards, Derek Jeter, Dodgers, Eagles, Giants, Ian Desmond, Jays, Marlins, Martinez, Mets, Nats, NFL, NLCS, O's, Padres, phillies, Rays, Red Sox, Rockies, Ruiz, Tampa Bay, Tigers, World Series, Yankees |
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In a week when individual
sports showed how easy it is to lose just because of a temper tantrum
and the NFL got underway with the first week of games. Well done to the
Eagles.
Cap
Tip…
Pedro Martinez has
put in 2 very good performances back to back, I for one am very
surprised. He has come close to self destructing each outing in the
first few innings, but he has got through it and gone on to pitch well,
Sunday night against the Mets especially. Pedro went 8
innings, at least 6 of them were showing a slight resemblance of the 29
year old Martinez, throwing 130 pitches on the night he
struck out 7 and walked 2, he only gave up 6 hits… so well done Pedro…
Double
Take…
The Phillies played
the Nats last week and the Nats played the spoiler
in 1 game, but the double take was when the Nats
played one of the emerging stars to be from the Washington organization,
a little known short stop named ‘Ian Desmond‘, who has some
pretty big shoes to fill, not because he’s destined to replace a great Nats
player, but because he is being highlighted in likeness, actions and mannerisms
to another short stop in the majors….the player they are a likening
him too reached his own milestone this week…. if you didn’t guess this
one then where have you been this weekend, cause lets face it sports
media has really only talked of one short stop…now you’ve got it…Derek
Jeter…Who became the new Yankees most hits record
holder… well done Jeter, the Yankees
actually kept a player long enough to achieve this, so well done Yankees
too…but I digress, the look-a-like, act-a-like Nats
upcoming short stop Ian Desmond and Derek Jeter, you
decide….
The
Spotlight…
The Phillies
starting pitchers do well, they get the glory and the win, the pitchers
from the pen get a hold or a save they get the glory, but what of the
guy behind the plate calling the pitches, or blocking that one in the
dirt, giving the pitchers a target to throw at, or saving a stolen base
with a throw. The catcher, where’s his glory, okay so a catcher has
stats like all players, but mostly if the pitcher throws the ball where
the catcher sets up he doesn’t get smacked around, and in the case of
the Phillies the man behind the mask is Carlos Ruiz. Obviously
not all catchers are equal, some are hitters, but cant throw very well,
some aren’t that good at calling a game and get the signs from the dug
out, some just cant throw very well, and some cant block a really good
slider in the dirt. Ruiz I think is good at all the roles
a catcher plays and yet is in the shadow of the starting rotation or pen
most of the time. So here’s my way of putting the spotlight on one of
the best unsung hero’s the Phillies have on the team and without
question one of the best catchers in the NL…
and
More…
Streaks… the
only real streak going on this week is that of the Tampa Bay Rays
and unfortunately it’s a losing streak, so my hopes of a repeat of the
2008 World Series clash has been dashed, even if they win every last
game the hopes that the other teams in the Wild Card race would lose
enough to enable them to make it are slim to none.
Spoilers…
the O’s have taken a couple from the Yankees… the
Nats took a couple from the Marlins… the Jays
took a couple from the Tigers… the Braves took 3 from
the Cards… the Padres took a couple from the Rockies…
most of the other teams destined for the playoffs only gave up 1 loss to
non-contenders.
Race… the
tightest race is still the NL West, although the Dodgers don’t
seem to be giving any ground and maybe the Rockies peaked
to soon, with the Giants and Rockies getting ready
to play each other, the Dodgers get a chance to extend the
lead by hosting the Pirates…
My choices at this time
will put the Angels and the Yankees in the ALCS and
the Cards and the Phillies in the NLCS.
It is September ball and we
all know that can change in a matter of a week….
For the
Phillies it remains the same for this guy…
…make the right choices and
the Phillies can be in the post season shooting for a repeat, the
wrong choices and the season ends October 4th.
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Posted: September 8, 2009 | Author: Phillies Outside | Filed under: Dailies | Tags: Atlanta, Braves, bull pen, CBP, Charlie Manuel, Fish, Florida, Ibanez, Marlins, Mets, Nationals, Nats, New York, NL Central, NL East, NL West, october, offense, Philadelphia, phillies, post season, Raul, September, Washington, World Series, Yankees |
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Race for the N.L. East Division Title…
Looking at how the Phillies have been playing of late, I thought this division was going to be the closest run contest, but having seen how the Rockies and Dodgers are playing, the N.L. West could produce the biggest upset in September.
The teams in the N.L. East will all play a major role in the way this division unfolds during September, everybody plays everybody, so I am going to do a brief review of each team and the role they could play.
The Washington Nationals (47-90) in my opinion will have the biggest impact on the outcome of this division race. There current strategy seems to be reviewing players and setting up the team to go into the off season, so they can best decide who to trade and who to keep, plus they are looking at what areas they will need to fill during the off-season so as to not end up with the worst record in baseball in the 2010 season.
The Nats play everyone in the division which means they will be a spoiler and a helper, who they will help and who’s hope’s they will spoil is yet to be seen. They could even have a hand in the N.L. West with (2) 3 games still scheduled against the Dodgers. They host 3 games against the Phillies starting today (Tuesday, Sept 8th) and with the way the Phillies have been playing of late anything could happen.
The New York Mets (62-75) currently are in an ‘argumentum ad misericordiam’ state. They cannot decide if self-pity or pity from the fans right, considering the new stadium, the pre-season hype then the injuries, the ball park not very player friendly and of course the cross town Yankees doing so well, they are desperately seeking a ‘It’s NOT our fault’ acceptance from the not so fair weather fans.
Although they do play everyone in the division, the role of the Mets is more likely to be a deciding factor in where and how the Marlins and Braves finish.
The Atlanta Braves (70-67) are fighting to hold onto a winning record and at the same time desperately trying to stay in the wild card race. They are only 8 games back in the division race, but with Florida and the Phillies ahead of them, they would have to sweep both team during games this month and they only have 3 against the division leading Phillies. the wild card has it’s own challenges, currently 7 1/2 games out they have to hope the 3 teams ahead of them completely collapse.
They will probably be more inclined to spoil the chances of the Marlins while maintaining a winning record this year.
The Florida Marlins (72-65) are the FISH with a WISH. It’s tough to decide which is the hardest task for them, the wild card or division, both are very hard mountains to climb. Currently standing 6 games back in the division and 5 1/2 games back in the wild card it’s a 50/50 chance to make either one. They do have 6 games left against the Phillies and they did sweep the Phillies at CBP and the Phillies have been struggling of late, so there has to be hope in the hearts of the Marlins fans.
The Philadelphia Phillies (77-58) have a hard schedule ahead, with just 2 days off, but 2 double headers to play. They will play 6 games outside of the division, tough games against central division teams, but more importantly the in division games are critical. With Florida and Atlanta hoping for a shot the Phillies will have to bring the best of the season together to finish out on top.
A team in turmoil at the moment, with the starting pitching being the only element of the team delivering a winning performance, the offence needs to step up and the bull pen needs to refocus. the offense it’s all about the players, Raul Ibanez seems to be on a slow climb from his slump, the rest of them have to become more consistent, the bull pen is solid except for 2 or 3 players, who Charlie seems to favor.
It’s all about choices and this man has some to make…
Make the right choices and the Phillies can be in the post season shooting for a repeat, the wrong choices and the season ends October 4th.
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Posted: August 29, 2009 | Author: Phillies Outside | Filed under: Dailies | Tags: Atlanta, Braves, hanson, Howard, Ibanez, Martinez, Moyer, Philadelphia, phillies, rain delay, Rain Man |
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Rain Man, Jamie Moyer
came to the rescue again, following another Pedro Martinez
start. He’s had 4 starts now, 2 of which he never got past the 3 inning
due to rain the other 2 he manage a combined 11 innings giving up 7
runs, that’s an investment any team should be proud to have made.
Martinez, praying
for more rain, or just that he doesn’t have to go back out there?
I felt sorry for the Braves
pitcher, Hanson, who is Atlanta’s version of the Phillies JA
Happ. An excellent young pitcher who would have probably gone
deep into the game, I am sure this kid has a lot of good years ahead of
him.
It was 70’s night at CBP
and to add to the flavor of the night they posted images of the players
on the big screen in a 70’s theme, Ryan Howard who managed
to hit 2 "Howard Homers" picking up another 3
RBI’s to help the Phillies on their way to the 4-2 win, was somehow
given the image of what could only be described as a 70’s ‘Pimp
Daddy’ I am sure the guys had plenty of laughs at all the images
shown…
Rain Man,
pitched a solid 4 plus innings allowing only 1 run on a fielding
misjudgment by Victorino, which really couldn’t behelped
with the weather conditions…
Just in case some people were starting
to think Raul Ibanez was showing his age, he hit a rocket
into center field and raced around the bags for a triple, which is
normally only reserved for the young super fast players at CBP…
The double rain delay put a
damper on seeing how Martinez would perform against a hot rival team,
but the good news was the Phillies got the win and increased there lead
in the NL East to 8 games.
Tonight the Phillies
continue there hosting at CBP against the Braves, with the unbeaten Lee
in a Phillies uniform going against the Braves, Lowe, this is destined
to be a pitchers duel at its best, if both guys bring there top game
tonight…
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Posted: August 28, 2009 | Author: Phillies Outside | Filed under: Dailies | Tags: All Star, Braves, HOF, Howard, Jones, Martinez, McCutchen, Mets, Muts, MVP, phillies, Pirates |
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This last week, was a trip
across the state for a match-up with the recently revamped Pirates.
On paper this should have been nothing more than a formality, a quick
trip along the Pennsylvania Turnpike, from Philadelphia
to Pittsburgh, an interesting three days and a quick trip
back to Philly with a least 2 wins from a 3 game series. Instead the
Phillies experienced 3 close ball games which were not decided
until the last 2 innings, the biggest disappointment, wasn’t so much the
2 loses that Philadelphia took from the series, it was more that the
interstate rivalry between these two teams is nothing more than a mere whisper,
instead of a big boom. Since the two teams are no longer division rivals
the once interstate rivalry is just a few games a year, Philly fans
probably outnumbered the Pirates fans at all 3 games, probably due to
the fact the Pirates no longer have hope of a post season run this year.
A city that was once a
dominant force in the steel industry, a city that named a bridge after
one of its most famous baseball players, is a city rebuilding it’s
baseball team.
The view….
…the Roberto
Clemente bridge.
All 3 games were closely
contested right to the end of each game.
Game 1 was
the walk off from McCutchen, with the now famous celebratory NBA type
dunk into his fellow team mates…
Game 2, gave
us extra innings and a towering ‘Howard Homer’ to break
the deadlock in the 10th inning.
Game 3 was just as close,
until the 8th inning, another long ball, this time by the Pirates
outfielder Jones, the Pirates went on to hold that lead and take 2 out
of 3 from Philadelphia.
These weren’t the only things I saw
during this 3 game series, I also got to see what could be the early
days of the career of a future Hall of Famer, okay so it’s way to early
to tell that and I only saw him in 3 games, but I looked at a few others
and the kid has a lot of talent that can only be improved upon. This kid
has the power to become an All Star next year and an MVP in the next 5
years. He obviously needs to keep his head on his shoulders, not get
carried away in the big picture, and definitely not be mislead by any
unscrupulous people found within the world of professional baseball, it
would also help if he stayed away from injuries. Pittsburgh fans should
know all this already and those who have kept a watch on young talent
that has emerged on to the seen in the last couple of months, I say this
kid is worth remembering…..
He looks like he should be
a wide receiver for the Steelers instead of centerfield for the Pirates.
Initially he doesn’t appear cocky or arrogant like some other
young talent that in the past has shot on to the baseball scene, (i.e.
Reyes… yep I here Muts fans booing,) This kid should be a center
piece during the rebuilding of the Pirates team. If McCutchen
wants to continue to build, what should be a huge career, he needs to
stay away from New York, remember your beginnings.
Tonight the Phillies are
back at CBP for the weekend, playing host the visiting Atlanta Braves.
Tonight Pedro Martinez goes for the Phillies, we’ll see if he can
produce a quality start for the Phillies. The scoreboard is running, I
said he would not produce 6 good starts of 6 innings
before he is crucified by a team. So far he has 3 starts and 1 of those
contained 6 innings.
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