Philadelphia Phillies – Offensive Death

I could not bring myself to write about last night’s game.  So, I’ve taken this opportunity to channel my feelings into teaching others.  Below I have posted Merriam-Webster’s online version of the definition of offense in hopes that some of the members from the Phillies will read and learn.  I will just sit back the rest of the day and think about the rally towels from last year and Pat Gillick’s failure to re-sign Kyle Lohse and Aaron Rowand . . . . .  Oh, yeah and Jimmy Rollins whiner baby comments yesterday about the awesome Phillies Phans that he can no longer handle.  He just doesn’t like having to work for his millions!  Don’t worry Jimmy I feel the same way about you.  Maybe this is a wake-up call and a time for a change in the short stop position?

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/offense

Offense

Main Entry: of·fense   Variant(s): or of·fence   \ə-ˈfen(t)s, especially for 3 ˈä-ˌfen(t)s, ˈȯ-\ Function: noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin offensa, from feminine of offensus, past participle of offendere Date: 14th century 1 aobsolete : an act of stumbling barchaic : a cause or occasion of sin : stumbling block2: something that outrages the moral or physical senses3 a: the act of attacking : assault b: the means or method of attacking or of attempting to score c: the offensive team or members of a team playing offensive positions d: scoring ability4 a: the act of displeasing or affronting b: the state of being insulted or morally outraged <takes offense at the slightest criticism>5 a: a breach of a moral or social code : sin, misdeed b: an infraction of law; especially : misdemeanor — of·fense·less  \-ləs\ adjective synonyms offense, resentment, umbrage, pique, dudgeon, huff mean an emotional response to or an emotional state resulting from a slight or indignity. offense implies hurt displeasure <takes deep offense at racial slurs>. resentment suggests lasting indignation or ill will <harbored a lifelong resentment of his brother>. umbrage may suggest hurt pride, resentment, or suspicion of another’s motives <took umbrage at the offer of advice>. pique applies to a transient feeling of wounded vanity <in a pique I foolishly declined the invitation>. dudgeon suggests an angry fit of indignation <stormed out of the meeting in high dudgeon>. huff implies a peevish short-lived spell of anger usually at a petty cause <in a huff he slammed the door>. synonyms offense, sin, vice, crime, scandal mean a transgression of law. offense applies to the infraction of any law, rule, or code <at that school no offense went unpunished>. sin implies an offense against moral or religious law <the sin of blasphemy>. vice applies to a habit or practice that degrades or corrupts <regarded gambling as a vice>. crime implies a serious offense punishable by the law of the state <the crime of murder>. scandal applies to an offense that outrages the public conscience <a career ruined by a sex scandal>.

Philadelphia Phillies – Cleaning House In The East

The Philadelphia Phillies won last night completing their sweep of the Washington Nationals.  In addition to their victory the Phightins pushed the New York Mets of of their perch that they held temporarily for the Phillies.  Kyle Kendrick pitched 6 2/3 innings while allowing only 7 hits and 2 runs while striking out 4 on his 9th win of the season.  Kendrick also hit 2 batsmen which in turn had the opposition hit Victorino and Utley.  Both benches were warned by the homeplate umpire after Colome struck Chase Utley and began to approach homeplate as though to get into an altercation with Utley.  Lannan who was the starter for the Nationals tonight was responsible for Chase Utley’s broken hand last year at Citizen Bank Park.

The Phillies offense has remained strong through the series accrueing 31 hits over 3 games.  They were once again vibrant last night with 11 hits bringing the final score to 8-4.  The longball was administered last night by Jayson Werth and Jimmy “The MVP” Rollins.  Rollins was able to take advantge of a foul tip that was not contolled by the Nationals catcher and allow Kendrick to make his way onto base due to a throwing error.  This set-up Rollins for a 2 run blast out into the left field seats.  The Phillies’ Fans were out in droves through the series cheering on their team including the bunch known as the “Flying Hawaiians” on the day Victorino hit a homerun.

The Phils are headed off to St. Louis to face off the Cardinals and add to their current 5 game win streak.  Cole “The Ace” Hamels is looking to rebound from last games 9 run disaster inning against the Braves.  Hamels (3.27 ERA) takes the mound in search of his 10 win against the former Philly Kyle Lohse (3.68 ERA).

 

Philadelphia	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Rollins, SS	4	2	2	3	1	0	1	.272
Victorino, CF	4	1	2	0	0	0	1	.289
Utley, 2B	3	1	1	0	1	1	2	.293
Howard, 1B	5	0	2	1	0	2	4	.239
Burrell, LF	3	0	1	1	2	0	2	.279
Seanez, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Durbin, C, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.167
Werth, RF-LF	5	1	1	1	0	3	4	.271
Bruntlett, 3B	5	1	1	0	0	1	2	.232
Ruiz, C	4	1	1	0	0	1	1	.217
Kendrick, P	3	1	0	0	0	2	0	.125
Condrey, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Jenkins, RF	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.242
Totals	36	8	11	6	4	10

image from phillies.com

Philadelphia Phillies – If I Was Pat Gillick For A Day

1.  My starting rotation would look like the following:

1. Cole Hamels
2. Brett Myers
3. Jamie Moyer
4. Kyle Kendrick
5. J.A. Happ

     Trade Adam Eaton or make him another righty in the bullpen to replace Tom Gordon.  Tom Gordon should no longer be in the Phillies future.  He is no Jamie Moyer . . . . .

2.  I would either trade off Carlos Ruiz or reassign him to AA or AAA.  Then bring up Lou Marson as a replacement.  If he is not ready bring up Jason Jaramillo from the Iron Pigs.

3.  Geoff Jenkins needs to be traded off for another lefty to platoon with Jayson Werth in right field.

4.  So Taguchi is an absolute waste and needs to be outright released and can be replaced by Snelling or someone else from the Iron Pigs. (Not T.J. Bohn) !! 

    None of this is rocket science, but all I hear about is getting another starter.  Why?  Okay we do need another lefty in the bullpen, but do not sacrifice our future for it by trading Carrasco or Marson.  If they focus on fixing our current issues like Jenkins, Taguchi, and Ruiz we will be solid enough to go in the post season.  If the front office would not be so proud we could have come back and counter offered Kyle Lohse before he was picked up by the Cardinals.  We would be in excellent shape since we acquired Chad Durbin.  With all of this being taken into consideration I’m sure they will most likely do the exact opposite of everything that I’ve stated.  I’m glad that this is Pat Gillick’s last year with the organization . . . . .

Philadelphia Phillies – Shuffled By The Cards

The Philadelphia Phillies have lost 2 out of the last 3 games to the St. Louis Cardinals.  This Friday’s game was a complete romping of the Cardinals with the Phils winning it by a score of 20-2.  Then Saturday’s game Kyle Lohse stopped the bleeding of the Cardinals long enough for a win of 3-2 despite Pat Burrell’s 2 run homerun.  Finally tonight’s game at Busch Stadium was rittled with poor pitching by Myers and shabby fielding with a costly 3 errors associated with the Phillies.  Brett Myers pitch 6 innings and allowing 6 runs with 3 of those runs due to the longball issued by the struggling righty.  There was also a throwing error by Chase Utley and a fielding error by Tom Gordon covering 1st base in the 10th inning that cost the Phillies the game.  Unfortunately these losses seem to over shadow Ryan Howard’s 9 RBI’s in the 3 game series.  Monday Cole Hamels (3.27 ERA) takes the mound in search of his 7th win against Bartolo Colon (3.41 ERA) and the the World Series Champion’s Boston Red Sox at Citizen Bank Park.  This will be the start of a 6 game homestand for the Phillies until they go back on the road to continue the interleague play.

Philadelphia Phillies – Moyer Chummed The Marlins

Tonight the ageless Jamie Moyer pitched 8 innings allowing only 2 hits and 1 walk while bedazzling the Marlins into a Phillies victory.  Moyer was able to clinch his 7th win of the season improving his record to 7-3 which ties him for 8th place with the likes of Johan Santana and Kyle Lohse in the N.L. for wins in 2008.  The Phillies offense tonight started to show signs of life once again with 11 hits, but they left 10 runners on base (L.O.B.).  The Phils were able to capitalize 2 runs on a pitch thrown in the dirt in the 6th inning by the Marlin’s starter Scott Olsen with the final score being a shutout 3-0.  Brad Lidge was able to record his 18th save with a scoreless 9th inning while improving his ERA to 0.93.  I would also like to thank the Marlin’s fans on brightorangeseats.com , waxheaven.com , and fortheloveofbaseball.com for dealing with my banter over the past several days.  The Phillies are now headed off to St. Louis to play the Cardinals in a 3 game series with Kyle Kendrick (4.87 ERA) taking the mound against Todd Wellemeyer (2.93 ERA).

Don’t forget to vote for Pat “The Bat” Burrell at MLB.com or Phillies.com.  Let’s not forget to also talk up Jamie Moyer for the All Star game remember he is 45 yrs old with a lot of heart . . . . . .