Greg Dobbs and the Phillies’ bullpen ruin my birthday

Greg Dobbs had two hits and three RBI in 9-2 Miami Marlins win as the Phillies’ couldn’t pick up the sweep. Roy Halladay didn’t pitch all that badly, making one big mistake to Dobbs, which he hit out of the ballpark in the seventh inning.

Doc was done after being lifted for a pinch-hitter in the top of 8th inning after going 7 innings, allowing three earned runs and striking out seven. The combination of BJ Rosenberg, Raul Valdez and Michael Schwimer struggled, giving up six runs in the 8th inning which put the game out of reach.  For the Phillies’ offense,  you knew things were going to be rough when Ty Wiggington, 4 for his last 35, was hitting cleanup.  Interestingly enough, Wiggington had two hits including a home run and two RBIs in a spot start for Howard against the left-handed Mark Buerhle.  Buerhle won his 10th game of the year which gives him ten wins for the 12th straight year.

Halladay To DL

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay has been placed on the DL with a strained right shoulder. He is expected to be out of the rotation for at least 6-8 weeks. Halladay was pulled from Sunday’s start against the New York Mets after just two innings.

Humber Is Perfect

Philip Humber became the 21st pitcher to thrown a perfect game in major league history. Humber baffled the Mariners all afternoon, striking out 9 batters on only 96 pitches. He is the third White Sox and first player since Roy Halladay to complete the perfect game. This was third time the Mariners have been on the wrong end of a perfect game, the last being Dwight Gooden with the Yankees in 1996. Prior to pitching his way into the history books, Humber’s biggest claim to fame was his inclusion in the 2008 trade that sent Johan Santana from Minnesota to the New York Mets.  Humber pitched in 5 games with the Mets in 2006-2007 prior to being dealt.  The line of former Mets to toss no-hitters has climbed by one as the organization continues to look for their first.

A look inside Humber’s masterpiece:

Boxscore

Recap

Philip Humber career profile & statistics

Humber was the 21st pitcher to be perfect.

4/16 Running Thoughts

Hey guys,

9:52: It’s been a while since I’ve posted because I’ve been super busy with school. Tonight I thought why not give my running thoughts on the Phillies game, but other games that I’m watching. It’ll be mostly Phillies talk, with a little of MLB Network,  NBA TV and NHL talk springled in.

9:54: Rangers win 1-0 to take a 2-1 series lead. Lundquist with a shut out. I didn’t get a chance to watch most of this game because of class, but I imagine he was awesome as usual.

9:58: The Caps get a power play because Dennis Seidenberg is an idiot.  Does that mean we have to hear that stupid horn?

10:04- Lebron scored the final 17 points for the Heat in their comeback against Nets.  That Bulls, Heat Eastern Conference Final is going to be fun.

10:05- Laich ties it up, 3-3 in DC.  As Pierre says “A blown coverage.”  You think?

10:11: Whenever I see Dale Hunter, I think of the the700level blog. It always had a commenter who ripped Philadelphia teams. The commenter’s screenname….DaleHunter

10:14- I’m pretty sure Lincecum is going to throw a shut out tonight. Him and his ERA over 10 of course.

10:16- Wheels goes…He (Halladay) hasn’t blinked in a hour. haha oh Wheels.

10:18- First pitch.

10:19 HAHA that girl in the Phanatic hat.

1o:20- What were Pagan and Cabrera doing????

10:23- Rollins walks? What’s going on? his second walk of the year.

10:25- Hunter looks bad on two swings, comes back with a RBI rope to center.  Pagan bobbles it probably helps Polanco score.

10:26- Victorino RBI single to make it 2-0.  Wheels can’t get over how deep Pagan is playing in center.

10:28- LOL Laynce Nix 2 run double.

10:31- Those New York Life promos when a runner gets to a base has to stop. It makes my ears bleed.

10:32- 30 pitch inning for Lincecum as he strikes out Galvis to end the inning. Boy, he got no help from his defense.

10:35- Haha lefties are hitting .080 against Doc. He’s been great this year in his two starts.  He just won his 190th game.  Hall of Famer?  A few more years like the last two years, I say yes.

10:38- Of course after my glowing post on Halladay, he gives up a hit and a walk to start the game.  Luckily Sandoval hits a bullet right to Galvis for Out #1.

10:40- Posey’s infield single loads the bases for the Giants.  No chance for Rollins to get the runner at second.

10:41- Sac Fly for Aubrey Huff. I really dislike him. Need a reason? 2010 NLCS.

10:44- Belt walks, sets up a bases loaded situation for Brandon Crawford, who’s not a good hitter.

10:45- Halladay makes Crawford look really bad.  4-1 after 1.

10:49- Sharks and Blues tied at 1. Hitchcock did a great job turning around the Blues. I dislike Niemi for the Stanley Cup win against the Flyers. Niemi was bad, Leighton was worse.

10:51- So this is the point where Lincecum and Halladay settle down and this game ends at 12:30 right?

10:52- So Ike Davis homered for the second straight night.  Looks he’s finally going to turn it around.
10:53- Verlander throws 100 MPH on pitch 122 in the 9th. Wow. The only one better than Doc at this point.

10:55- looks like I was right. Halladay has a 7 pitch inning, Lincecum had a 1,2,3 inning.

10:56- Kendry Morales hit his first home run since he messed up his ankle during a walk off celebration. Morales was an excellent player before the injury.

10:57- Filthy changeup by Lincecum to strike out Rollins. 

11:00- Lincecum loses control of a fastball that makes Pence fall to the ground. Hunter was not a happy camper.

11:07- Halladay allows a single to Buster Posey, who’s a monster, but retires the side. Doc has retired six of the last seven hitters since the first inning.

11:11- Oh now. Sarge time. Any guess what my wish at 11:11 was?

111:13- First Tom McCarthy “How about that?” of the game comes after Halladay knocks in Galvis to make 5-1.

11:15- Speaking of Galvis, He’s 7 for his last 18.  I don’t have high expectations for his hitting ability, but job well done sir.

11:21- Halladay gives up a lead off bloop hit and then a double. Strikes out Burriss with Lincecum coming up…

11:22- Lincecum hits a roller to third that scores a run. Damn.  5-2.

11:25- Pagan hits a rocket to the wall, but Pence makes a great catch to end the inning.

11:29- Phillies getting awful swings on Lincecum’s changeup as Polanco is his 5th strikeout victim. Such a great out pitch.

11:34- Sarges says you need three center fielders to play the outfield at AT and T Park, guess he doesn’t remember that Pat Burrell won a title with them?

11:37- Thunder up 8 over the Clippers.  The Clippers broadcast brought up that Chris Paul was booed at the Dodgers game.  Seems odd, but I guess Dodgers fans are mostly Lakers fans?

11:39- I like Gregg Murphy, but the sideline reporter needs to go. Too many voices. It’s almost like the Phillies feel that more voices are better.  The reason that Harry was so great was because he didn’t talk all the time.

11:40- Sandoval hits a ball that hits the first base bag, Doc’s gotten a little unlucky tonight.

11:44- Doc is not a fan of home plate umpire Marty Foster.

11:46- Illinois’ Spring Game is on the Big Ten Network in case you were interested. You weren’t? Thought so.

11:46- Geraldo Parra hits a ball into the Hot Tub in Arizona.  Luckily no one was in  it at the time.

11:52- Everything is at a commerical. First time all night.

11:52- Spurs up 21 over the Warriors. The Warriors sure know how to tank since Monta left.

11:56- Nate Schierholtz pinch hits for Lincecum and flies out to end the 6th inning.  Halladay’s 9 pitch inning puts him at 94 and likely gives him one more inning.

11:59- Dan Otero in the game for the Giants.  No relation to Phillie great, Ricky Otero.

12:01- Polanco gets hit in the elbow. Let injury filled season begin.

12:05- Wheeler steals my Rickey Otero line.  Interesting fact- He was the first batter ever at Waterfront Park in Trenton, NJ.

12:06- I know, way too much Rickey Otero talk.

12:11- Triple overtime for Dallas and Utah.

12:11- Serge Ibaka barely hits the rim on a free throw.  Hits the back rim on the second foul shot. Stick to blocking shots bro.

12:14- Because Aubrey Huff stinks as an outfielder, Crawford drops a pop up.

12:15- Wheels all sorts of the confused on what’s a hit and an error.

12:16- Doc bats in the 8th inning, so he’ll likely pitch the 8th inning with 100 pitches.

12:21- Huff pops out for the first out of the 8th inning, crowd boos. He’s been brutal since the 2010 season.

12:23- After Posey reaches, Halladay makes Huff, Belt and Crawford look silly.  He’s done after 8, 109 pitches and 76 strikes.  Wow.

12:27- According to Matt Gelb, Halladay threw 24 pitches from 6th-8th inning. Dominant indeed. Meanwhile, John Mayberry Jr. takes a called third strike, brutal start of the season for him.

12:31- Papelbon for the save….

12:36- Gregor Blanco batting for the Giants. Former Brave who wasn’t very good.  I remember going to a Phillies/Braves game a few years ago and he was egging on some fans. He’s a clown.

12:42- Victory! Phillies win 5-2. Halladay the winner, Lincecum the loser, Papelbon the save.  If you like what you read, I’ll be doing tomorrow.  I’d stay up for the Thunder, Clippers game, but I got to get up to do some homework.  Night folks!

State of the 2012 Phillies

            Last season the Phillies won a franchise record 102 games with an average offense and great pitching staff. Expectations were high heading into the season with Cliff Lee joining the fold and those expectations didn’t change as the season went along.  On September 17^th,Philadelphia defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 9-2 and clinched their fifth consecutive NL East title.  Following the win, the team went on an eight game losing streak that scared a lot of the fan base, however others mention that they had nothing to play for as a big factor.  The Phillies finished the season on a four game winning streak, sweeping the Atlanta Braves and actually knocked them out of the playoffs on the final day.  This allowed the St. Louis Cardinals to win the NL Wildcard and set up a first round matchup against the Phillies.  The Cardinals finished up 16-5 to conclude the season en-route to passing the Braves.

The Phillies won their 5th consecutive division title

Philly Spotlight Q&A with Marc Farzetta

Marc Farzetta, Host/Update Anchor at Sportsradio 94WIP in Philadelphia, was kind enough to join the Sports With Balls team for a quick Q&A session.

The Phillies are down in Clearwater preparing for another season, the Flyers and Sixers  are inching closer to the postseason, and the Eagles are getting ready for a big off-season.

Marc provides some insight into the current events in Philly sports.

Sports with Balls question in italics.

Marc’s response in bold.

Do you believe DeSean Jackson will be back with the Eagles next season?
Yes, he will be back. This is a Super Bowl or Bust year (to use an overused phrase!). No
Super Bowl Appearance and Andy Reid will not return for a 15th Season as the Eagles Head
Coach. DeSean and Michael Vick already have the chemistry built. DeSean will be tagged
and kept because Reid won’t want to risk someone coming in and being a bust. I would love
to see the Eagles sign him to a 3-year 27 Million dollar deal, but doubt that would happen.

DeSean Jackson - back for 2012?

Who is the top team in Philadelphia right now? Eagles? Phillies? Flyers? Sixers?
No question about it: Phillies. They have given the fans the parade and not acted the least bit arrogant about it. The Eagles? No parade, but still a healthy helping of arrogance. Flyers and Sixers need some major changes to compete with either.

Phillies won the hearts of Philadelphia with the '08 parade

Phils look to halt skid, avoid sweep from Astros

Who would’ve thought two days ago that we would be sitting here at work Wednesday morning discussing the Astros attempting to sweep the Phillies. Given, I would much rather lose to the Astros than get swept by Milwaukee or Atlanta. In the long run, this series means nothing but it would be nice to see the Phillies perhaps try. Former Phillies Brett Myers and JA Happ did their jobs, combining to throw 14 innings and giving up just two runs.

The Phillies have now lost three consecutive games for the first time since dropping four from May 31-June 4. Here’s a fun stat I found on Phillies.com…since 2000, the Astros are the only team in the National League with a winning record against the Phillies. They are now 45-33 over that span.

Today’s game is a matinee to finish the series as Doc will try to help the Phils salvage a win from the Astros. First pitch is set for 2:05pm at Minute Maid Park. 

Roy Halladay: 17-5, 2.44 ERA

Halladay pitched brilliantly again in his last start against Milwaukee, pitching eight innings of one-run ball while striking out nine. The Phils are 6-4 in Halladay’s last ten starts, where Doc has lowered his ERA from 2.57 to the current 2.44. Recently, Roy is 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA over his last three starts and is 1-1 with a 1.64 ERA in his career against the Astros. Doc faced Houston on Opening Day this season, a 5-4 Phils win. He went six innings and gave up one run while striking out six. Doc is 9-3 with a 2.55 ERA on the road this year, where opponents are hitting .251 against him. The Astros are hitting just .212 as a team against Halladay with Carlos Lee having the most at-bats at 29. He is hitting .249 over those plate appearances with three homers and four RBI’s. He has also struck out six times against the Phils number one.

Bud Norris: 6-9, 3.78 ERA

Bud pitched well in his last start but it wasn’t good enough for the Astros. He went seven innings against the Nationals and gave up three runs (two earned) while striking out four. The ‘Stros are 4-6 in his last ten starts and Norris has gotten wins in just one of those four. He was on the losing side of a 7-3 game against the Phillies back in April. The Phils scored five runs against him in four innings. Despite chasing him away early in the start, Norris still managed to strike out seven. Bud is 4-5 with a 3.90 ERA at home this season, where opponents are hitting .254 against him. The Phils are hitting .309 as a team against Norris. Ryan Howard leads the team in plate appearances against the Astros righty with ten. In those at-bats, he has four hits including a homer and five RBI’s. Ben Francisco has two homers against Norris in five at-bats while J-Roll has four hits in nine at-bats with a homer. Bud Norris is 1-2 with a 5.32 ERA lifetime against the Phils over 18 2/3 innings.

Halladay says hold on a second, Howard stays hot in the win.

 Roy Halladay told NL Cy Young award voters not to forget about him as he threw eight innings of one run ball as the Phillies defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 5-3 last night. Ryan Howard’s three run home run in the first inning led the way offensively as he now has 111 RBIs. Doc gave up just four hits and struck out nine in the win.  Ryan Madson cleaned up the ninth inning to pick up his 29th save of the year.  Every Phillies hitter except for Wilson Valdez had at least one hit.  Shaun Marcum gave up five runs in the loss. Yuniesky Betancourt had two RBIs for the Brewers as they managed to bring the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning before Madson got George Kottaras to ground out to end the game.

With a pitching matchup as good as Halladay, Marcum, one mistake could be all the difference.  That one mistake was by Marcum as he gave up a long three run home run to Ryan Howard in the first inning. The Phillies would load the bases in the third inning, but Wilson Valdez grounded out to end the inning. The Brewers started to get something going in the bottom of the fourth inning. With the bases loaded and one out, Yuniesky Betancourt hit a sharp ground ball to Valdez, who flipped to Pete Orr, who finished the double play by throwing to Howard. Raul Ibanez continued his hot month with an RBI single in the 7th inning. Carlos Ruiz also threw in a RBI single in the same inning. Betancourt gave the Brewers’ the first run in the bottom of that inning.  Antonio Bastard tried to finish up the game for Halladay, but struggled.  In the ninth inning, he allowed Prince Fielder to single and then walked Casey McGehee.  Charlie Manuel pulled Bastardo for Madson.  After a Jerry Hairston ground out, Betancourt singled home Fielder and Jonathan Lucroy had a sac fly.  George Kottaras grounded out to end the game.

Notes:

-Magic number to clinch a playoff spot is 3. That’s crazy.

-Halladay really struggled against the Brewers in his last few starts, nice rebound indeed.

-Wilson Valdez left 10 men on base, haha

-Worried about Bastardo? I’m not there yet, but I think he might have hit a wall.

 -I understand it’s only September 10th, but Howard is hitting .346 with a 1.259 OPS in September.

Stud.

Phils Aim for Fifth Straight as Doc Toes the Rubber

The Phils were impressive last night. Winning the game by a score of 7-2 without Utley, Howard and Rollins in the lineup. Hunter Pence had a great night at the plate, going to 2-for-5 with three RBI’s and Cole Hamels continued his succesful season with a complete game effort, yielding two runs on four hits while striking out two. He lowered his ERA to 2.60. Wilson Valdez, John Mayberry Jr. and Ben Francisco all had two hit games and tallied an RBI each.

Chase Utley will not be with the team on the road trip due to his concussion symptoms.

Here is what tonight’s pitching matchup looks like. First pitch is slated for 8:10pm at Miller Park…

Roy Halladay: 16-5, 2.49 ERA

Surprisingly, the Phillies have lost three out of the last four Halladay starts, the most recent one this past weekend in Florida. Doc had a rare “off” start, going just six innings. He gave up three runs (two earned) and struck out four. Halladay is 1-2 with a 6.41 ERA against the Brewers in his career but is 8-3 with a 2.66 this season on the road. He went 3-1 with a 2.62 ERA in August over five starts. The Brewers collectively have a .223 average against Halladay. Prince Fielder has just 10 at-bats against Doc, but has gotten six hits including a homer and two RBI’s.  Yuniesky Betancourt is hitting .333 with two doubles and three RBI’s. Jerry Hairston has the most plate appearances against Halladay but is hitting just .097 with eight strikeouts

Shaun Marcum: 12-5, 3.11 ERA

No Shaun Marcum bobblehead? WHAT?! Bummer. Marcum is coming off of a dominant start against the Astros, giving up just one hit over seven shutout innings. It was just his second win since July 28th. Shaun is 2-0 with a 2.37 ERA lifetime against the Phils but the Brewers are just 15-14 in his starts, despite hit relatively low earned run average. Marcum has a 3.95 ERA at Miller Park this season, which is a lot higher than the 2.31 ERA he carries on the road. Ryan Howard has two homers and four RBI’s in just six at-bats against Marcum while Raul Ibanez and Hunter Pence have a homer each. Polanco has a .556 average in nine-at bats against the Brewers righty but has not registered an RBI. As a team, the Phils are hitting .271 against Marcum.

Herndon plays with fire, finally gets burned.

 The Florida Marlins defeated the Phillies 5-4 in the 14th inning on the walkoff walk by Mike Cameron. David Herndon pitched 3 1/3 innings, gave up four hits, and walked seven (5 intentional) in the loss. The Phillies’ offense slept walked through most of the game as they only had two hits after the seventh inning. The game was played in protest, in case you didn’t hear TMac enough, because of the overturned play in the sixth inning off the bat of Hunter Pence.  The Phils head home to take on the Atlanta Braves. Anything less than a sweep from the Braves will all but wrap up the division. The Marlins welcome the Mets to Sun Life Stadium, which is down to its final 9 games as a baseball park.  Baseball beat writers everywhere will be rejoicing.

The Marlins had a quick 1-0 lead two batters into the first inning. Emilio Bonifacio tripled and was singled home by Omar Infante.  The Phillies quickly countered in the next half inning. With one out, Carlos Ruiz and Wilson Valdez each singled.  Roy Halladay tried to sacrifice, but Marlins third baseman Greg Dobbs threw the ball away, allowing Ruiz to score. Two batters later, Michael Martinez laced a RBI single to score Valdez.  The Marlins would tie it up in the third inning when Roy Halladay dropped a feed from Ryan Howard that scored Gaby Sanchez with two out.  Things were very quiet until all hell broke loose in the sixth inning.  After Ryan Howard walked, Hunter Pence hit a long fly to right field. Marlins right fielder Bryan Petersen jumped up to make a catch, but it appeared a fan grabbed his glove while another fan’s hat touched the ball.  The ball got away from Petersen which gave Pence a double.  Marlins’ manager Jack McKeon asked the umpires to look at the play for interference. (Debatable if that’s allowed based on the rule books) Umpires reviewed it, ruled Pence out and Howard back to first. Charlie Manuel went nuts, got ejected, and then told Joe West he sucked and that the Phillies were issuing a protest.  With that, MLB will review the play and say whether Joe West was right or not.  Don’t hold your breath.  The next batter, Raul Ibanez would of course double to set up second and third with one out for Carlos Ruiz. Ruiz was intentionally walked with Mr. GIDP on deck.  What would Mr. GIDP do with bases loaded and one out?  Obviously hit a routine double play ball to Omar Infante that kills a rally.  (In case you’re not with it, that’s Wilson Valdez.)  Pinch-hitter Jose Lopez gave the Marlins the lead in the bottom of the 6th inning on a RBI single.  With two outs in the seventh inning, Ryan Howard gave the Phillies the lead again with a two run single off of Marlins’ lefty Mike Dunn. Michael Schwimer replaced Halladay in the bottom half of the seventh inning and blew the lead on a Gaby Sanchez RBI fielders’ choice.  Antonio Bastardo was not available in case you were wondering why Schwimer was used in a big spot. 

In the 11th inning, with only Ryan Madson and David Herndon left, Herndon was brought in less than 24 hours after giving up three gopher balls.   Mike Cameron had first and second with two out in the 11th, but flew out to center to end the first Marlins extra inning threat.  Michael Martinez led off the 12th inning with a double, but after Chase Utley couldn’t advance the runner, Hunter Pence flew out and Raul Ibanez grounded out to end the inning.  The Marlins would load the bases against Herndon in the 12th inning with one out. Omar Infante fouled out to Ruiz though and Greg Dobbs flew out to left to end the second Marlins threat in extra innings.  After the Phillies went quietly in the top half of the 13th, the Marlins got right to work.  Gaby Sanchez was hit by a pitch and Logan Morrison followed with a single.  With everyone moved up for the Phillies, Mike Cameron ripped a line drive to Raul that wasn’t deep enough to send Sanchez from third. Petersen was intentionally walked to load the bases for John Buck. Buck would then hit a line drive to Hunter Pence that again wasn’t deep enough to score Sanchez.  With the Marlins out of position players, reliever Clay Hensley grounded out to end the third Marlins threat in extra innings.  The Marlins loaded the bases one more time in the 14th inning and finally got a run across on when David Herndon walked Mike Cameron with two outs to give the Phillies consecutive road losses for the first time in 36 games.

Notes:

-Chase Utley has been brutal. 0-7 today, 4-33 on the road trip.

-Hunter Pence was equally brutal, taking a 0-6*

-I understand that the umpires got the call right, but how they got it was backwards.

-Dear fans who sit in the first row, stop and I mean please stop reaching over the fence and interfering with play. If you want a ball that bad, go to the team store and buy one.  By the way, you’re clown and cost your team.

-I know this purely coincidental, but I absolutely despise Joe West.  Apparently he didn’t get the memo that the fans pay to see the players play and not the umpires.

-Not going to rip David Herndon on this one because I know that he won’t be pitching in any big spots in the playoffs.

-Might be time to call up some Iron Pigs for the bullpen.

-I will always remember Sun Life stadium for Roy Halladay’s perfect game. However, I have more bad memories than good ones.  Too many visions of Juan Pierre, Luis Castillo, Dontrelle Willis, and that clown Jeff Conine crushing mediocre Phillies teams’ playoff dreams.

I'm the only person in the world to continue to be terrible at my job and keep it over 25 years. Isn't that great?