Phillies 2006: March to.....

Honestly, it'll be like every other season they've been sort of in contention: they'll get people's hopes up, and then destroy them like sandcastles in a tropical storm. Happens every time.

That said, Utley, Howard, and Rowand make the team worth watching. Especially Utley. If his streak continues, he's going to have to start resorting to even more bizarre answers to reporters' questions about it.
Reporter: "So how do you feel about the streak today?"
Utley: "Our pitchers did a good job today, and Delluci's homerun really picked us up."
Reporter: "Yes, but how long do you think you can continue this streak?"
Utley: "My cats breath smells like catfood."

i'm not getting my hopes up, but i have to say that sweeping the cardinals was pretty sweet. i think that they're headed for a record that's worse than last years. the wild card is going to go to either the Reds or arizona (or the padres). which is sad, since the reds are really the only team that has played well out of all of them.

i like rowand alot. Gillick needs to get rid of burrell and lieberthal and then the clubhouse atmosphere will completely change. oh, and brett myers. the three of them are poison. burrell is miserable this year (in the clubhouse and at the plate). leiberthal does no prep work. he just shows up to catch. i was hoping the phillies would grab javy lopez for a year while they shop around for a younger catcher. at least lopez works with pitchers. and brett myers -- well, i don't care that he's been the team's ace this year. he's a dirtbag.

i have to disagree with the initial comment about abreu. I think he produced. pat burrell is way worse with runners in scoring position. i guess people wantned abreu to hit more homers this year. not sure why there was the big drop-off (i've read a bunch of theories and they all sound plausible). I think Ryan Howard, Utley, Rowand, Burrell should be the ones driving in runs.

the problem is that he wasn't hitting 1 or 2. while i don't believe that batting order makes much of a difference after the first 3 innings, he would have been a bigger spark than rollins. Rollins doesn't deserve to get the most at-bats with his inability to get on base.

anyway. that's my 15 cents.

I like Manuel, actually. He's better than Bowa, at any rate.

And yeah, Burrell's a douchebag. I wanted them to get rid of him and go with a Victorino/Rowand/Dellucci outfield. But whatever... This is Lieberthal's last year on this contract, and he recently said he wants to stay with the team, even if its with a paycut and in a backup role. I could take or leave him, really.

The team needs, more than anything, steady starting pitching. Hamels has been doing better lately (especially his last start against the Cardinals), and Myers, as much of a dick as he is, is a pretty good starter. But Lieber is shit, and they've got very little else. Maybe Randy Wolf will pick it up a little too, now that he's back, but I wouldn't count on it.

I want to see the kids play. Get Victorino in the lineup. Keep pitching Mathieson and bring up Floyd in September. Get Bourn some at bats in September. Sign Dellucci if possible to replace a possibly departing Burrell.

If they make a run at the playoffs, then that is great. I would think it is better to get this kids a chance to play and get a jumpstart on Spring Training.

I want a World Series. I don't want Contention every year for the Wild Card.

I believe in Gillick, but he has a lot to prove this offseason.

i was at the game on the 12th as well. it was great, expect for the fact that the phillies could have won it a couple of times. but still a nice win. i still don't get why manual went with Randy Wolf as a pinch hitter instead of leaving Madsen in to hit. He's got a 182 avg with a bunch of RBI. how is Wolf, who's been out of the game for over a year, a better hitter?

i think manual was a lame choice. he was clearly the opposite temperment of bowa, so wade thought he'd be a good choice. but the problem was not bowa, it was burrell, lieberthal, myers, michaels, and a bunch of the other malcontents (including that bench player that got cut back in 04 who was best buds with burrell). anyway. it's all about attitude and it wasn't gonna change with manual.

of course, losing on sat and sunday, two games they could have won, is death to the wild card hopes. it's gonna haunt them, if they are even still in the race come sept. Tom Gordon was a bad signing. he's too old to hold up all season. maybe they'll trade him in the off-season.

i would love to see victorino, rowand, and dellucci in the outfield next year. i would actually buy season tix if they had the guts/brains to do that! honestly, i don't think next year will be a bust (though I know Gillick said 08 would be the next year of contention). with utley, howard, rollins, roawnd, dellucci, victorino, and hamels, there'll be plenty to watch. of course, rollins would have to give up his leadoff spot, but i'm fantasizing here...

here's hoping they can pull off a miracle 4 game sweep of the mets!!!!

3 out of 4 from the Mets is great. I was there on Wed nite and Lieber was great. I can't believe how out of shape he is. every time he had to cover first we cringed.

not sure i'm convinced that they are gonna keep up the pace of winning. i definitely don't think they'll make the playoffs.

jamie moyer? not sure about the two prospects they gave up, but one of them seemed to be a decent relief pitcher. moyer might be finished -- it's hard to tell. plus, will he be able to adapt to citizens park? with hamels & wolf pitching well, this could be an interesting september. but i still don't think they'll make it. they are 60-62 today. probably 61-62 after today's game (it's already 7-1 in the 3rd inning).

with 39 games remaining after today, they would have to go 24-15 just to get to 85 wins. the lowest win total for a wild card since 2002 was 89 wins, and that was last year. however, the NL seems worse this year, so let's say that maybe they could get the wild card with 87 wins. they'd have to go 26-13 the rest of the way.

Possible? anything is, especially since Cin, AZ, SD have 63, 62, and 61 wins as of today.

Probable? I'm not convinced. The Phils still have 6 games against Houston who, despite their shitty record, will be a challenge. plus the Cubs have been playing decent recently, and we're going there on Tuesday.

it's fun to hope though!

one step forward, 18 back. 3 of 4 from the mets. 2 of 3 from the nationals. 2 from the Cubs so far. and now rowand's out four weeks, gordon's out til the end of the month. utley may have some lingering effects (and he has been swinging at SHITTY pitches since his streak ended).

and yet, I can't turn away!!!

i did a little analysis, though. They need to win EVERY series here on out to get 88 wins. That includes winning 3 of 4 from Atlanta and from Florida in september. Not that either team is great this year, but leave it to the phillies to put themselves in a horrible position. (okay, they don't really need to win every series -- they could sweep a couple and lose a couple. but essentially, their task is difficult).

At least Rollins, Lieberthal, and Nunez are heating up.

If Utley is out for too long, I think they're screwed. They can get by without Rowand, especially with the way Delucci's been hitting. If Cincinnati falters at all, and the Phils keep up their current pace, I think they'll win the wild card. But I'm not getting too optimistic.

a 2-out double for rollins in the top of the ninth to bail out Myers (who otherwise pitched amazing ball, PUNCHING OUT 9 batters - ha!) and the phils have yet another win and can sweep the Dusty Baker's injured army tomorrow. how sweet it is when the phils actually win games instead of throwing htem away.

however, i jinxed lieberthal & nunez -- they were 0-7 combined with an all important run scored.

hmmmmm -- phils drop 2 to the mets. that means they have to sweep a three game set to get to 88 wins. Although, looking at the wild card standings, 88 might be more than enough. Fl & Houston are close. Even Ariz & SF are still there. Those pesky Padres won't go away.

i'm a little pessimistic. of course, i'm a phillies fan, so that's to be expected.

i like Howard's chances of MVP if the Phils get to the playoffs. plus, he's got a shot at breaking 50 homers, easy. if only utley were hitting better lately, things would be chugging along. Aug has still been a great month for the team. I'd like to see a sweep of the nationals, though. no reason they can't do it.

Man, they're really missing Gordon right about now, I bet.

I hope so, but with masking agents, HGH, and all other sorts of undetectables that can give players unfair advantages, who really knows for sure?

The way I see it, the guy has never even been under suspicion of doing anything. Its not like the current single season homerun leaders, who have ither admitted to using, or failed tests, or are Barry Bonds. The Maris family (of Roger/*61 fame) have said they'd consider him the homerun king if he hit 62 or more. And he's been pretty consistent in his hitting, to the point where his average has gone above .300.

Imagine how good he'll be next year, especially if he continues on the pace he's at. Triple crown would not be out of the realm of possibility.

I'm sorry the Phillies had to pin their hopes on the Giants showing some life against the Dodgers this weekend. What a sad display they put on, at their own home turf no less.

Yep... so, the Flyers start in 5 days, right?