Tampa Brings With It Sweet Memories, But No Time For That

            The moment will live forever in Philadelphia Phillies lore.

            Phillies fans everywhere can almost assuredly replay and describe the memory at the drop of a red and white hat.

            The Phillies’ Brad Lidge stands in the stretch and delivers an 0-2 pitch to Tampa Bay’s Eric Hinske.  Hinske swings over Lidge’s deadly slider, which had worked beautifully so many times throughout the year, to get strike three and clinch the 2008 World Series.

            Lidge jumps and falls to his knees with his arms extended toward to sky.  Catcher Carlos Ruiz throws his mask aside, sprints out to his pitcher and falls into his lap.  The two embrace as the rest of the team piles on in celebration.

            As a 29-year-old Phillies fan, it was the first and only World Series winning moment that I have gotten to see.  I can remember standing in front of my television literally shaking in anticipation of Lidge’s third strike.  The feeling was much better than the one I had in 1993.  Lord knows that isn’t a memory I like having embedded in my brain as the Phils’ previous shot at greatness.

            This weekend, Tampa Bay and Philadelphia’s paths will cross once again as the Rays come to town for a three-game set.  It will mark the first time Tampa has returned to South Philly since it had to watch the Phils celebrate their world championship.

            Tampa’s roster has changed quite a bit since 2008.  Only six of the 17 players that played in Game 5 are still on the team (B.J. Upton, Carlos Pena, David Price, Evan Longoria, Ben Zobrist and J.P. Howell).  Four others that were on the roster remain today (Elliot Johnson, Reid Brignac, James Shields and Jeff Niemann).

At the time, it was the Rays’ starting rotation that was credited with getting the team to the Fall Classic.  Now, only two of their five starters remain (Price and Shields) as Matt Garza, Edwin Jackson and Scott Kazmir all wear different uniforms.

            Tampa hasn’t had a return to glory since.  After going to the World Series, the Rays finished third in the AL East the next year and missed the playoffs altogether.  They then finished first and second respectively in 2010 and 2011, but fell in the ALDS both times.

            The story has been eerily the same for the Phillies.  While they did get back to the World Series in 2009, they have lost in the NLCS and the NLDS each of the last two seasons.  That is certainly something not to be expected of a 90-win team.

            Philadelphia has had a lot of turnover on its roster as well.  In fact, it has fewer players from the 2008 season still on its team than Tampa does.  Only Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton, Kyle Kendrick and Ruiz walk around the Phillies’ clubhouse with 2008 championship rings in their possession.  Though the team has still been one of the best in baseball over the last three years, not many can say they were a part of the title run roughly 1,200 days ago.

            I am sure there will be a lot of reminiscing going on this weekend by most of the Phillies’ fans and commentators, but the Phillies themselves can’t afford to get caught up in all of the memories.  Coming into Friday, the Phils are a full nine games back of the NL East leading Washington Nationals and five-and-a-half games behind the Giants and the Mets in the wild card.

            Sure, there is a lot of time left in the season and when healthy the Phils’ roster is good enough to make a run.  However, no one knows for sure if or when they will ever be fully healthy.  Considering the way things have gone so far, Philadelphia should not be taking anything for granted.  The Phils should start playing with a sense of urgency as soon as possible, because before they know it – there won’t be much time left.

Phillies' Chase Utley To Begin Rehab Assignment

            The time is finally here.

            After playing in two extended spring training games last week, Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley will begin his rehab assignment Tuesday in High-A Clearwater.  So far Utley has missed the team’s first 62 games.  With some hope, and a pair of pain-free knees, he may be able to make it back for the last 80.

            Utley is expected to start out as the designated hitter before testing his chronic knees in the field.  He can play as many as 20 games while on assignment and it looks as if the Phils are going to try and get him as many at-bats as possible.

            When asked last week about his feelings on the positive reports of Utley’s progression, manager Charlie Manuel was quick to point out that he hadn’t even really played yet.

            “I think (the return of Ryan Howard and Utley) is going to help us,” said Manuel.  “But I also feel like we have to have all of those guys back (including Roy Halladay, Michael Stutes and Laynce Nix).

            “Those guys got in the game, but they didn’t play.  They just hit.  There is a big difference in that.”

            Hitting hasn’t been the problem for Utley.  He recorded five hits, including two homeruns, in his two extended games.  The trouble has come in the field with the acts of squatting and making quick, lateral movements.  There have been talks about Utley playing at first base upon his return to hopefully lessen the load on his knees, but the injury status of Freddy Galvis will probably play a big role in that.

If everything goes right for Utley and he experiences no setbacks, he could be activated as late as July 2.  Regardless, it is nice to know that something is at least going in the right direction for the Phillies.

Dodgers Get Revenge On Phils At Worst Time

            The Los Angeles Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies have made a lot of history together over the last few years, with the Phils being the sole beneficiary of the past.

            Four years ago, Philadelphia defeated Los Angeles four-games-to-one in the National League Championship Series and went on to the World Series.  The Phils eventually won the Fall Classic for the first time since 1980.

            A year later the Phils would deal the Dodgers a case of déjà vu, as they again knocked off the west-coasters four-games-to-one en route to their second straight World Series appearance.

            Since then the Phillies have had the Dodgers’ number.  Coming into this week’s four-game series, the Phils had won nine of the last 12 contests between the two teams over the last two years.

            However, just when a struggling, injury-plagued Philadelphia team needed some wins the most, Los Angeles came to town and decided that now was the best time to reverse the trend.

            The Dodgers finished up their four-game sweep of the Phillies on Thursday and in turn extended the Phils’ season-worst losing streak to six games.  Four of those losses have come by one run, including the first three games of the series.  The Phils ended up 1-6 on their seven-game homestand – a homestand manager Charlie Manuel hoped would have turned out a lot better.

            “I think the fact that we have had trouble playing at home, I felt like it didn’t matter who was coming into town,” said Manuel following Wednesday’s loss.  “We had to have a good homestand.  Right now, we aren’t getting it done.  It has gotten bad right now, but we have to come right back out and play (Thursday).

“Everything about our team is whacked up right now.  Our offense, our pitching.  Sometimes we don’t play very good defense.  We actually aren’t playing good enough to win right now.  That’s basically what it is.”

Adding to a laundry-list of problems, Philadelphia has not shown the ability to rally late in games.  Whereas in years past the Phils always believed they could come back from any deficit thanks to their potent lineup, Thursday’s loss drops them to 0-23 when trailing after seven innings and 0-25 when trailing after eight.

To make matters worse, second baseman Freddy Galvis was placed on the 15-day disabled list after straining his lower back on a swing in Wednesday’s game.  He will join eight other Phillies who are currently on the DL.

            “It’s just another one of our guys going down,” said Manuel.  “I mean, what more can I say?  Nobody is going to feel sorry for us.  They definitely aren’t going to postpone the games or quit playing.  We have to come out and play.  That’s how I look at it.  When you get knocked down what do you do?  You get up.  That’s what we have to do.”

            It is hard to expect a team to compete for a division title, let alone a playoff berth, when it has had players such as Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Vance Worley, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard out for an extended period of time.  All-in-all, 13 different players are on or have been on the DL at some point this season.

It is starting to get to a point where anything that can go wrong, will go wrong with the Phillies.  Manuel addressed that theory Wednesday night.

“I can say this, don’t expect us to be in first place right now,” Manuel said.  “That’s kind of how I look at it.  I mean we are definitely trying our best.  I can’t get upset at that because I know our guys are giving us everything they have.  We’re just not getting it done.

            “I feel like everything that is going wrong, sooner or later it is going to be like the stock market and bottom out somewhere.  Then we will start working from there.  Hopefully that was (Wednesday).”

            Things have kind of flip-flopped for Philadelphia over the last month and a half.  While the Phillies’ offense has looked much better and the team has raised its batting average from .239 on April 21^st (22^nd in MLB) to .266 through June 6^th (T-4^th), the pitching staff’s ERA has risen from 2.41 (2^nd) to 3.82 (12^th) over the same time period.  Having to rely on sub-par starters like Kyle Kendrick (4.44 ERA, .289 BBA) and Joe Blanton (5.27 ERA, .293 BBA), along with a handful of shaky middle-relief pitchers, will do that.

            The rollercoaster that is the Philadelphia Phillies’ 2012 season continues in Baltimore on Friday.

Red Sox vs. Phillies - A Year Of Perceptive Change

            This past Sunday, the Boston Red Sox and the Philadelphia Phillies wrapped up their three-game inter-league set in the City of Brotherly Love. 

            The setting was a little out of the ordinary to say the least.  Not because it was an inter-league series, which will become far less out of the ordinary next season when inter-league games take place every day.  But whereas last year the Red Sox (46-34, 2^nd place) and the Phillies (51-31, 1^st place) were both multiple games over .500 and atop their respective divisions at the end of the series, this year both teams are at or below .500 and in the basements of the AL and NL East.

            It's funny how much can change in a year.  Coming out of spring training last March, both the Sox and the Phils were the runaway favorites to represent each league in the 2011 World Series.  This year, after falling way short of their expectations last September/October, both teams are struggling just to find an identity.

            September’s events in Boston were well documented to say the least.  On September 3, 2011 the Sox were 84-54, held a nine-game lead in the wild card standings, and had a 99.6 percent chance of making the playoffs.  Twenty-seven games and a 7-20 record later, Boston found itself out of the playoffs and the owners of one of – if not the – worst collapses in baseball history.

            The collapse cost manager Terry Francona his job and had him publicly slandered in the media for his usage of pain medication on the way out.  General Manager Theo Epstein bounced.  Closer Jonathan Papelbon left.  Outfielder Carl Crawford was and still is hurt.  And nothing has seemed to go right since.

            Philadelphia’s story was the complete opposite.  The Phils ran away with the division, as they posted the most wins in baseball (102) and set a new club record in the process.  They also boasted one of the best starting rotations in history with Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt.  Despite all of that, they were beaten in five games in the NLDS by the red hot St. Louis Cardinals – who eventually went on to win the World Series – and were left with nothing to show for their historic season.

            Now, just 13 months after being anointed the future AL and NL champs, Boston and Philadelphia are fighting to stay afloat.

            “Sure, it can be very close,” said Phillies’ manager Charlie Manuel on peoples’ perceptions and the line between winning and losing.  “There is definitely a fine line.  That’s why you play the games.

“It gets down to who plays the best and how much you want it.  I think Boston is going to be okay and I think we are too.”

With the win, Boston moves to 20-21 and has won eight of its last ten.  However, the Sox are still 6.5 games back of first-place Baltimore.  The two teams begin a big three series on Monday.

Meanwhile, the loss drops Philadelphia to 21-21 and five games back of Atlanta.  Interestingly enough every team in the NL East has a winning record.  Still, five games is far from insurmountable considering it is only the end of May.

A good sign for the Phillies is that their offense has seemed to wake up as of late.  They are 7-3 in their last ten games and have scored at least four runs in six of those contests.  Philly will host second-place Washington for three games starting on Monday.

“I think our offense is getting better,” said Manuel.  “I think we are hitting some balls good.  We only scored one run (Sunday) of course, but I think that in the last two weeks our offense is definitely getting better.”

The next month will prove to be a key stretch for the Phils.  They will play ten teams over the next 30 days, eight of which currently have a .500 record or better (Washington, St. Louis, New York Mets, Miami, Los Angeles, Baltimore, Toronto and Tampa Bay).  Manuel acknowledged that it is going to be a make-or-break month for his team, but that he thinks they are ready for it.

“I think it is going to be a test for us,” admitted Manuel.  “I think we can handle it.  We have to play good and I think we can.  Of course we have to be more consistent.  That’s what we talk about every day.”

The Hamels Debate: Why He Should Re-Sign With Philadelphia

            A lot has been made of Cole Hamels and his current contract situation with the Philadelphia Phillies.

            Hamels’ current deal will end following the 2012 baseball season and will ultimately set him free onto the open market.  Since training camp, and even hopefully now as the season progresses, working out a contract with the left-hander has been the Phillies’ No. 1 goal.

            While the contract talks have seemed to subside with the grind of the early season, the thought that Hamels could potentially leave Philadelphia is still in the front of everyone’s minds.  Yes, the only ‘ace’ to bring the city its first baseball championship since 1980 four years ago, could be wearing another uniform come next spring.

            Just the thought alone makes every Phillies fan cringe.  However, trying to be as optimistic as I can, here are some reasons why I feel Hamels should stay in the red, white and blue.  Let’s all hope he reads this.

            First off, we have to realize that there is no loyalty in sports anymore.  So while I would like to think that because the Phils drafted him, groomed him, and had him become a NLCS and World Series MVP under their watch would have an impact on his decision – I’m not going to count on it.  You can’t really blame him either.  Nowadays a team will cut or trade a player the instant he stops producing at his expected level regardless of what he has done in the past.  It’s only right for the player to look out for himself.

            As always, the main sticking point seems to be the money.  As of the end of March there were reports floating around that Hamels was seeking a six-year, $137M deal.  The Phils were only looking to go four years since Hamels would be 34 by the end of his proposed deal.  Still, I don’t think that should matter.

            For the past few years the Phillies have been adamant about not going over into the luxury tax.  Nevertheless, they still went out and signed Cliff Lee before last year when all the while they were saying it wouldn’t be economically possible.  I assume they signed Lee with the intent of winning now.  Well if they are so intent on winning now, and only have a window of two-to-four years with this current group, then why not sacrifice some tax dollars to keep one of the best pitchers in the league.  I am sure they will make their money back with the way Citizen’s Bank has been filling up.

            If the Phils do sign Hamels to his $25M-a-year contract then they will almost assuredly have to say goodbye to Shane Victorino.  Victorino ($9.5M) is also a free agent at the end of this year, along with Joe Blanton ($8.5M) and Jim Thome ($1.5M).  Hunter Pence, who is currently making $10.4M, will be eligible for arbitration.  There are a bunch of other players on the team that are making under $1M who will be arbitration eligible, but the only one likely to see a substantial raise is Vance Worley.  But if the aforementioned three walk and free up $19.25M, and perhaps Roy Halladay and Ryan Howard restructure their $20M contracts for the good of the team, the money will be there to get a deal done.  It’s a lot to ask, but it is possible.

            Now I am sure the newly-owned Los Angeles Dodgers can and will offer more money than the Phillies.  It doesn’t help that the San Francisco Giants just gave Matt Cain $112M for five years.  And to make matters worse, there were reports in mid-April that suggested Hamels’ next contract could fetch between $150-175M on the open market.  The Phils definitely can’t do that, but they could give him close to what he wants ($25M-year) for the next three years.  Which leads me to my next point…

            The reverse of only being concerned about the money is wanting to win now.  If Hamels truly wants to win now, and assuming the Phillies are healthy for the next few years, there is no other place outside of Arlington, Texas that offers him a better chance of winning another World Series title.

            While Texas’ lineup may be the best in baseball, the Rangers don’t possess the starting staff or the closer that the Phillies do.  And everyone knows pitching usually wins in the playoffs.  If Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Howard and Pence can stay healthy for the majority of the time in the next three years, the Phils’ lineup will still be able to compete with the best in baseball.  Throw in Halladay, Lee, Worley and closer Jonathan Papelbon and the team’s staff is one of the best.  This group of players is enough to have the Phillies contending for the next three years.  Not many teams can say that.

            That’s why if I were Hamels’ agent, I would suggest signing a three-year deal with Philadelphia.  Not only will he get to contend for a World Series title every single year (something the LA Dodgers can’t say for sure as of right now), but he will still be young enough at the end of the run to get another big deal.  Hamels will be 31 in three years, and if he wanted to, he could then leave for LA and link up with Matt Kemp and Clayton Kershaw while they are still in their prime.  It’s not out of the realm of possibility for a 31-year-old left-hander to still get a $100M deal.  Just look at Cliff Lee.

            Will any of these things play a factor or be on Hamels’ mind once the 2012 season ends?  Who knows.  But they are at least a few ideas he should consider before signing on the dotted line with any team for that matter.

Heartache for Hope

Over the last couple of years, concussions have been pushed to the front of the sports world.  Concussion awareness has risen dramatically mainly due to the rapid growth of head injuries in football and hockey.  Whereas years ago players would be able to talk themselves back into the game just minutes after taking a serious blow, now a plethora of tests must be done by a team’s training staff before the player can even think about going back out and competing.

Nowadays many studies are being done on both the short-term and long-term effects of head injuries.  Even high schools have started a new IMPACT test to gauge the ‘baseline’ of an athlete’s mental capacity.  Unfortunately, computer tests can only show a doctor so much.  It is only when they actually get to examine the physical brain that doctors can see the real damage taking place.

Sadly, the medical world will have yet another brain to study after Wednesday’s events.

Ex-NFL linebacker Junior Seau, who is mostly known for his time in San Diego along with his short stints in Miami and New England, shot himself in the chest at his San Diego home two days ago.  He was 43-years-young.

Seau is the second former NFL player to commit suicide in the last two weeks.  Ray Easterling, a safety for the Atlanta Falcons in the 1970s and a plaintiff in a largely-known lawsuit against the NFL for its mishandling of concussions, also shot himself back on April 19.  While it is impossible to immediately know if concussions and head trauma contributed to Seau’s death, it isn’t that hard to draw a connection.

The thing that leads me to believe that concussions definitely played a major role in Seau’s death is the fact that he knowingly shot himself in the chest to preserve his brain.  Chris Duerson, who also played safety in the 80s and 90s, was found dead last year from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest.  Prior to killing himself he had sent a text message to his family saying that he wanted his brain to be used for research at the Boston University School of Medicine.  The University just happened to be studying chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a neurological degenerative disease, caused by playing professional football.  Less than two months later it was confirmed that he had suffered from a neurodegenerative disease linked to concussions.  Although Seau did not leave a note or send any other texts besides “I love you” to his ex-wife and three children before committing the act, it is too eerily similar to Duerson’s actions to believe it was merely a coincidence.

It’s a shame to think that someone was in that bad of mental shape, whether he was suffering from dementia or deep depression, and still had the wherewithal to know to preserve his brain in hopes of helping the future.  Seau had decided that he didn’t want to deal with his issues any more.  Regardless of one’s view on suicide, either religiously or politically, they can’t say he did it selfishly.  He may have hurt his family members in the process, but obviously he was hurting just as much.  At least he knowingly left the part of him that could perhaps save future athletes from a similar fate.

This latest incident will only add to the ongoing media attention being given to head injuries.  The NFL currently has a large number of lawsuits being brought against it for its previous lack of concussion safety and prevention.

The NFL now finds itself between a rock and a hard place.  I would bet in the coming years that it will almost certainly be forced to change its rules even further.  Sooner or later I would expect that any player who is forced from a game with any kind of head injury will absolutely not be allowed back that day.  And if a concussion is suspected, he will be ruled out for at least a month.

Furthermore, the NFL will probably have to make even stricter rule changes.  This is where the problem comes in.  Regardless of any precaution that can be taken, football is a violent sport.  So does the NFL not change its rules and perhaps take on the perception of not taking action on the subject, or does it make more hits illegal and remove kickoffs at the expense of being called ‘soft’ by its players and fans?

I find it kind of funny that while almost every football player says they willingly played through concussions and would still do the same if they had to do it over again, they are awfully quick to sue the league once their playing days are over.  Tell me how that works.  If you knew the consequences at the time, don’t act like you didn’t know them afterward.  Instead of suing the league, how about letting them put that money toward more medical research.

Times are changing when it comes to head injuries in the world of sports, especially football.  Hopefully all of the heartache now will lead to a better understanding in the future.

RIP Junior Seau.

Phillies Battle Back To .500

            It has been an April full of questions and criticism for the Philadelphia Phillies.

            Without their No. 3 and No. 4 hitters in Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, the Phils have had a tough go over the first 24 games of the 2012 baseball season. There have already been times when the offense looked so abysmal that writers and fans were ready to throw away any championship aspirations.

            Yet, after Tuesday’s 4-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves, the Phillies find themselves just 2.5 games back of the first-place Washington Nationals in the NL East.

            Through all of Philadelphia’s so-called problems and deficiencies, the team has won five of its last seven games and now sits at 12-12 on May 1. The good vibes should be increased by the fact that the Phils have scored at least five runs in four of those wins.

            As one would expect, the Phillies’ recent run has improved their offensive numbers.  In just nine days the Phils have doubled their homerun total (seven to 14) and have nearly doubled their RBI total (40 to 75). In that time they have also risen in the rankings in batting average (22^nd to 15^th), runs scored (29^th to 25^th), hits (19^th to 12^th), on-base percentage (27^th to 25^th) and slugging percentage (29^th to 25^th). Although some of the improvements have been minimal, at least they aren’t going in the other direction.

            One main reason for Philadelphia hanging tough is closer Jonathan Papelbon. Papelbon locked down his ninth save Tuesday night and has yet to blow a lead this season. He boasts an outstanding 0.82 ERA and WHIP and has a batting-average against south of .170. The only earned run he has allowed all year was a solo homerun to Miami’s Austin Kearns. That came in his second appearance of the year on April 9 and was in a non-save situation. On top of that, the right-hander has not allowed a hit in his last six appearances.

            Still, the Phillies’ playoff hopes will rely on their offense producing at a much more consistent clip. Things are starting to look up even without a timetable for Utley or Howard’s return. Jimmy Rollins currently has a four-game hitting streak in which he has raised his average from .216 to .247. Placido Polanco has risen his average over 70 points in the last two weeks. Catcher Carlos Ruiz (.309), left fielder Juan Pierre (.313) and utility man Ty Wiggington (.317) are all hitting over .300. That’s nice considering Pierre and Wiggington weren’t considered to be every-day starters entering the year. Lastly, Laynce Nix has even made the most of his recent opportunities and is hitting a respectable .281.

            The only Phillie that has gone in the opposite direction as of late has been Shane Victorino. Victorino has been in quite a slump, as he is just seven for his last 45. His average has fallen from .315 to .229 since April 20.

            Now is not the time for Phillies fans to put their heads down. Despite all of Philadelphia’s supposed ‘problems,’ it currently sits just a few games out of first place in the division. Sure it may be the Phils’ roughest start since 2009, but keep in mind they still went to the World Series that year.

If Utley and Howard can return sometime in early-to-mid June with the team still within striking distance, and even though that is a big ‘if,’ they will be in great shape for the stretch run. All the Phillies have to do is keep themselves afloat until that time.