Kuzul

As great as it was to see Roy Halladay beat his former team, the Toronto Blue Jays, for his ninth win of the season, it was even better to see the offense put up nine runs and finally give Halladay the run support he deserves—even if he didn’t actually need it.

Ross Gload, playing first base for Ryan Howard, led the way with four RBI, including a base-clearing double in the fifth inning, which counted for half of the runs the Phillies would go on to score in that inning.

Chase Utley and Shane Victorino also contributed with two RBI each. Victorino got one of his RBI on his 12th home run of the season to put the icing on the cake in the top of the eighth.

Howard, who became the first DH ever used at Citizen’s Bank Park due to the odd arrangement in this series, also contributed with an RBI of his own—his 54th of the season.

Jayson Werth also hit his first triple of the season and crossed the plate three times.

But even more astounding than all of that (expect perhaps Gload’s four-RBI performance) is the amount of walks Jimmy Rollins was able to draw. Rollins was walked on four—yes, four—separate occasions and only recorded one official at-bat because of it.

That’s showing a lot of respect to Rollins, a guy who is by no means a power hitter. The way the offense has performed over the past three games with Rollins in the lineup might give a slight glimpse into why the Phils were struggling without him.

His presence has clearly had a major effect on this team positively over the past few days, and it might be time to admit that the lack of his presence could have had a whole lot more to do with the Phillies’ funk than anyone was willing to acknowledge.

Cole Hamels takes the mound for the Phils in game two and gives them a great chance to finally get on a respectable role as they look to make it five in a row.

There’s no word as to who Charlie Manuel will peg as the designated hitter, but it’s likely Howard resumes his role at first base and Gload simply becomes the DH.

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The Phillies announced on Thursday that they have reached an agreement with their third-round pick in the First-Year Player Draft: catcher Cameron Rupp.

Rupp, who played his college ball at the University of Texas, has the potential to turn into a legitimate hitter in the majors if his numbers in college are any indication.

This past season, Rupp hit .304 with 10 home runs and 54 RBIs in 63 games. He also had a .390 on-base percentage and and .483 slugging percentage. If he can keep that going in the next step of his career, he could fly through the Phillies’ organization.

The Phils currently have some talent in the majors with Carlos Ruiz, Brian Schneider and Dane Sardinha (who hit his first career home run against the Cleveland Indians Thursday night). However, Ruiz is going to be 32 years-old next year, Schneider is playing on borrowed time and Sardinha isn’t getting any younger either. 

Grooming a catcher is clearly a need for this organization and Rupp could find himself shooting through the ranks, as the starters age and the prospects before him continue their careers elsewhere.

Lou Marson and Travis D’Arnaud were being groomed to take over for Ruiz, but were traded away in deals for Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay, respectively.

Rupp is now officially a Philly and will immediately become a guy the organization pays close attention to as he makes his way through the minors. Hopefully, they can simply hold onto him and groom him to take over in a few years; but it’s also just as likely that he’s eventually trade bait.

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Chad Durbin left the Phillies’ 7-6 victory over the Cleveland Indians in the ninth inning due to an apparent hamstring injury.

It didn’t look too terribly serious, but Charlie Manuel killed any optimism immediately after the game.

“He blew out a hammy,” Manuel told the media after Jimmy Rollins’ walk-off home run. “I would say it’s pretty serious. He definitely popped it.”

Great. Another pitcher down for an extended period of time, leaving it to guys who will either be incredibly overworked or leaving them with no choice other than to call someone up or look to a rather shallow free agent pool.

But then the optimism came back as Durbin seemed to shoot down Manuel’s bleak diagnosis.

“It’s a little better than what Charlie said,” Durbin said. “That scared me. He was just in the dramatic mood because of the home run.”

Durbin said he’s expecting a stint on the DL but that it’s only a Grade 1 sprain and should only take between 10 to 14 days to heal. It could, however, take up to three weeks.

So while it’s not nearly as bad as Manuel made it sound, it’s still not good news.

The bullpen has been an Achilles’ heel of this team as of late, and it can’t afford to get any thinner. Ryan Madson and Antonio Bastardo are already on the DL, Brad Lidge still might be working through some things, and the other guys in the ‘pen aren’t going to be able to handle a huge workload.

Durbin landing on the DL does open up a spot, however, and it could mean the return of Scott Mathieson to the active roster. Whether or not he gets used outside of a pinch situation has yet to be seen, but it’s possible he’s the guy they turn to for depth.

Greg Dobbs Accepts Assignment to Triple-A Lehigh Valley

In some semi-good news, Greg Dobbs has decided he’s going to stay in the Phillies’ system and head down to Triple-A rather than becoming a free agent after passing through waivers.

With some consistent at-bats and some time in the field, Dobbs might be able to find his stride once again and find his way back on the active roster before the season is over.

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Everyone, including Rollins, knew his ball was gone.

Jimmy Rollins had a slow start, coming off the DL Tuesday going 0-for-4 and not really contributing to the Phillies’ 2-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians.

Wednesday, however, was a different story—kind of.

Rollins was more of a liability than anything through the first eight and a half innings. He was once again 0-for-4 at the plate, and even had a throwing error to his credit (rare for Rollins) that allowed the Tribe to take a 6-5 lead in the top of the ninth inning.

But when Jimmy messes something like that up, he usually comes back and makes up for it in a big way—which is exactly what he did in the bottom of the final inning.

With a 1-1 count, one out, and a man on second, Rollins blasted a pitch right down the middle, just this side of fair, down the right field line, for his very first walk-off homerun of his career.

That’s right, for all the years Rollins has been around, that’s the first time he’s ever hit a walk-off homerun.

Brian Schneider and Jayson Werth both had key homeruns to keep the Phillies in the game as Kyle Kendrick got knocked around early and couldn’t even make it through five innings. He’s been a pleasant surprise this season, but he’s got to make sure he rebounds in his next start or Ruben Amaro, Jr. might have to put Pedro Martinez on speed dial.

Either that or pray J.A. Happ ever comes off the Mark Prior list.

For weeks, we’ve been looking for something to get this team jump-started. They’ve been playing on auto-pilot for so long and, unless something wakes them up very soon, it’s going to start getting very, very ugly.

I’m not sure if this walk-off shot will be enough to get the team energized, rally around one another, and start putting a stretch together, but it’s certainly nice to enjoy it for the time-being.

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The Phillies offense needs to find its rhythm quickly.

A game like the one the Phillies played in the series finale against the Twins is exactly why we can never be too quick to proclaim a funk over.

After only one run on a measly four hits, the Phillies offense looked as bad in that game as it has over the past few weeks. Carl Pavano completely shut down the entire lineup (sans Wilson Valdez) as he went the distance to give the Twins their second win in a best-of-three series.

On the mound, Roy Halladay continues to get bitten by the long ball as he allowed two home runs in eight innings. He also allowed 11 total hits, four total runs, and struck out eight.

Right now, this season is looking exactly like 2008 as far as how the offense performs based on who is on the mound that day. Back in ’08, it seemed like anytime Cole Hamels was on the mound the offense was strapping on a blindfold on their walk to the plate.

But when it was Jamie Moyer’s turn from the hill, they came out swinging and smacking anything even close to the strike zone.

This year, we’re seeing the same thing. When Halladay is pitching, they seem to take it for granted and aren’t pressing at the plate. They’re letting good pitches go by, are always watching the first pitch, and can’t seem to get themselves into favorable counts.

When you’re down 1-2, it’s incredibly difficult to guess what a pitcher is going to throw because he can really go anywhere. Because of that, they’re left either looking at a strike as they get back-doored or reaching the buffoons and popping the ball into the shallow part of the outfield.

Everyone, except Placido Polanco, is swinging for the fences and, most of the time this year, are either missing wildly or simply flying out to the warning track as they did against the Twins in the finale.

I’m continuing to look forward to the Cleveland series as it should give their bats a chance to get going, especially with Jimmy Rollins set to return to the lineup. Carlos Ruiz should be back as well, and will give a much-needed boost offensively and defensively.

Wth those guys back, Shane Victorino can go back to the seven hole where he belongs.  Brian Schneider is then available as a pinch-hitter behind Ruiz, who seems to be getting on base every game he plays.

I don’t think many in Philly are panicking yet, but we only have so much time left of the “it’s still early” mantra. The season is going to hit the mid-way point before we know it, and then it’s going to take one hell of a performance on the back nine to get things rolling.

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The Phillies lost one of the most up-and-down games I’ve ever seen to the Minnesota Twins by a score of 13-10, but there were a lot of positives to take from the game.

For starters, the Phils scored 10 runs — something they haven’t been doing a whole lot of recently as they fight to fully escape their offensive funk. It’s still too soon to proclaim it over, but with 14 hits and a double-digit run total, they’re certainly making strides.

They also did all that without Jimmy Rollins and Carlos Ruiz — both of whom are expected back in the lineup sometime in the middle of next week.

And to keep with the recent trend, the starting pitcher looked very good for the most part. Cole Hamels had a difficult start to the game, allowing three runs in the first inning, but he turned it around and allowed only one more run in the next six innings he pitched.

Overall, Hamels finished with seven innings pitched, five hits, four runs, three earned, walked two, struck out seven, allowed one homerun, and had one error.

Chase Utley was the star of the game on offense going 3-5 with three RBIs and a couple extra-base hits. Utley, like the rest of the offense, appears set to pull out his funk once and for all and make a push in the latter portion of the season.

Any negatives there were to find with this team came from the bullpen.

The Phillies were leading 9-4 heading into the ninth inning after seven very good innings from Hamels and a great eighth inning by J.C. Romero, but a combination of Jose Contreras and Brad Lidge gave the game away.

Contreras walked a man, allowed a base hit which turned into a run, and then gave up a pinch-hit homerun to Jim Thome to make the game 9-7. With no outs, he was replaced by Lidge who, after getting two outs, gave up a homerun to Joe Mauer with a man on base to tie the game at nine heading into the bottom of the ninth.

The wheels fell off from there as Chad Durbin and Danny Baez took their turns messing things and eventually losing the game, even after Ross Gload brought the Phillies back with a pinch-hit homerun in the 10th to tie the game at 10.

So, for once this season, it wasn’t the offense getting knocked around. But the play of the bullpen is more than alarming. If they don’t pick it up tomorrow, we could see a bit of a shake-up from Charlie Manuel in that ‘pen.

Losing a game they should have won is certainly going to hurt, but if they can rebound and beat the Twins in the finale to take the series, they should be able to get on a roll as they’ll have six more consecutive home games, three of which come against the cupcake Cleveland Indians.

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For the same reasons I’m not going to declare a four-game stretch a slump, I’m not going to declare a pretty decent stretch of the same length as enough to bust out of a slump.

There is hope, however, now that the Phillies have taken three of their last four — the finale against the Red Sox and two out of three against the Yankees — and are finally starting to show glimpses of the back-to-back NL champions that they are.

The bats look like they’re starting to get going again, guys are coming through in clutch situations, and the starting pitching even seems to be correcting itself on the fly after two superb outings in consecutive games by Jamie Moyer and Kyle Kendrick.

But now the hard part comes.

The Phils can’t just be satisfied with beating the Yankees and then fall into their old ways. They have to use this series to gain some momentum and some confidence in themselves .

The talent is clearly there. Unlike even the past two seasons, the Phillies have everything they need in place to make a serious run. All they have to do is quit getting in their own way and finally start making things happen.

Here is usually where I’d insert some semi-insightful analysis as to what they can do to keep the momentum going and break from the slump, but it’s too easy. All they’ve got to do is keep playing the way they know they can play, stop pressing, and do what they do best.

This season isn’t going to hinge upon a trade-deadline move for a pitcher or a big bat. If anything, the only moves the Phillies have to worry about making is when they finally start taking guys off the DL and back into the lineup — or rotation in the case of J.A. Happ.

And that has been the most agonizing part of this slide: the talent is there from the very top to the very bottom. The pitching, from the ace to the fifth spot is more than solid. The lineup, from leadoff to the eighth man, is more than capable of getting things done and scoring some runs.

Yes, even with Jimmy Rollins out for most of the season as well as the few times they’ve been without Placido Polanco and Carlos Ruiz.

The Phils can usually afford to wait until after the All-Star break to get something going, but they won’t be afforded that same opportunity this season. The NL East is far too good and if they wait until July to start getting things in place, it could be too late.

Only eight games separate the team at the top (Atlanta Braves, 39-28), and the team at the bottom (Washington Nationals, 31-36). When the Nationals are just barely under .500, it’s clear the baseball gods are not going to make this an easy season for anyone in the NL East.

Joe Blanton (1-5, 7.28 ERA) is set to take on Nick Blackburn (6-3, 4.96 ERA) Friday, so that could put the rally off at least one game as Blanton has been putrid all season long. After that, however, things start to look up as Cole Hamels and Roy Halladay take the mound.

I’m not saying they’re going to go undefeated the rest of the season, but the Phils are going to start a tear right now. In fact, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see them sitting atop the NL East heading into the All-Star break.

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While it was nice to see the Phillies leave Boston on a positive note with a 5-3 win against the Red Sox, it’s difficult not to look ahead and dread the Phils’ three-game series in New York against the red-hot Yankees.

The two teams have been on two completely different paths this season, as the Yankees have seemingly breezed their way to an impressive 40-23 record, while the Phillies are struggling for every single run—much less a win.

There is, however, some hope for the Phillies and their fans that they can pull out a couple wins during this stretch and use it as momentum to get their season rolling.

First of all, the Phillies seem to always do this. At some point between June and August, they start looking like a bunch of scrubs and drop games to teams with no business being on the same field. But they pull out of it just in time to get things rolling and suck us all back in.

But during their stretch of incompetence, it’s clear they play to the level of their competition; good or bad. So when they open up their series against the Yankees this Tuesday, it’s likely they’ll come out and look like the team everyone expected to represent the NL in the World Series, and not the team barely hanging in the middle of the pack in the NL East.

If they can get their bats moving and play well against a team like the Yankees, it could go a long way toward repairing their damaged psyche and hopefully translate into a run that can get them back on top of their game, and the NL East.

Secondly, Roy Halladay will be pitching on Tuesday. Halladay is 8-4 on the season with a 1.96 ERA and a few complete games, including MLB’s 20th perfect game all-time.

His win-loss record isn’t bad, but it’s very misleading. There’s only been one game all season long that he truly lost. The other three have been a complete lack of run support. So even though he only allows one or two runs, it’s going to be difficult to win when his offense can’t even get him that.

Halladay will duel C.C. Sabathia (6-3, 4.01 ERA), who has been a bit inconsistent this season when not playing the Baltimore Orioles. In fact, it’s been almost a month since he’s beaten a team other than the Orioles, and is a mediocre 2-3 against the other teams he’s faced.

The Phils are really going to have to get the bats going on Wednesday and Thursday to help support Kyle Kendrick and Jamie Moyer respectively, but if they can score even three or four runs on Tuesday, it should be enough to get the opening win and, hopefully, some momentum.

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It just doesn’t seem like the Phillies are ever going to get back on track, does it?

Even earlier this season, it wasn’t a big deal if the Phillies fell behind because we all knew the bats would get going and they’d find a way to pull it out.

They used to thrive when they were down, but now it seems to do nothing but take the wind right out of their sails.

And now things have gotten so bad that even with an early two-run lead, the Phils can’t seem to get out of their own way long enough to actually make something happen or sustain a run.

The one and only bright spot of this dreadful run for the Phillies was the fact that their starting pitchers were at least keeping them in the game. Even the rightfully oft-criticized bullpen wasn’t allowing a whole lot of scoring.

But now, after two of the worst outings I’ve seen in back-to-back days by starting pitchers, there isn’t a bright spot left for the Phillies.

Jamie Moyer had his worst start in his 84-year career and was only able to last a little over one inning as he gave up nine runs on nine hits and the Phils lost 12-2 to the Red Sox on Friday.

And then, on Saturday, Joe Blanton decided to keep it up as he gave up nine runs of his own on 13 hits over four pathetic innings.

But that’s not even the most embarrassing part. The most embarrassing part is when a kid making his first major league plate appearance comes up with the bases loaded and I’m not surprised in the least when he hits a grand slam.

That’s right. For those of you who had the good fortune to miss the game, Daniel Nava, a kid who went undrafted and played in an independent league, nailed a grand slam off Blanton in his very first plate appearance.

Not only that, but he did it on the very first pitch.

That should be a surprising feat. The guys in the booth were surprised as they yammered on and on and on and on about it all game long, but I wasn’t shocked in the least.

I stood in front of my TV, said “Here comes the salami” out-loud to myself and simply shook my head and walked away as soon as he took the swing. No doubt about it, that ball was gone.

But that wasn’t the end of the woeful day as the Phils were victimized for 10 runs and 16 hits while they were held scoreless for the final seven innings and only mustered seven hits for the day and continued their horrendous interleague play.

Cole Hamels is slated to get the start on Sunday as the Phillies look to avoid being swept by the Red Sox, but that doesn’t appear likely with the knuckleballer Tim Wakefield on the mound for Boston.

The Phillies have a tough time with knuckleball pitchers and with any team playing out of the AL, so don’t expect much of anything on Sunday, either.

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If it’s not one thing with these Phillies over the past two weeks or so, then it’s another. If the pitching is spot on, then you can be sure the offense will struggle to muster a single run.

Then once the hitting finally gets going, the pitching and defense begin to struggle, and you’re stuck with that Padres game from Sunday.

The Phillies had no business losing that game the way they did, especially since the offense lit it up in the first two innings. Granted, the Padres quickly pulled Kevin Correia, their starter, after the second inning, but there’s no reason for San Diego’s bullpen to be as shutdown as it was.

They’ve turned themselves into a pretty decent team, and the bullpen isn’t anything to scoff at, but this Phillies lineup should be able to hit any bullpen in the league—especially when they’re forced to eat up eight innings.

Then again, perhaps I’m being too optimistic by thinking the hitting is coming back. Perhaps Correia was simply that bad. Maybe if the Phillies had actually been on, they could have tagged him for 15 runs and not five.

I’m just not sure. Right about now, you’re basically reading the thoughts of a man who has absolutely no idea anymore. First I thought it was just a funk they’d get out of, then I thought it was about complacency, and now I’m telling you I have no idea—and I’m not sure anyone in the organization does either.

The players, the coaches, and the front office seem truly stumped. The only thing they can tell us is that they’re sick of talking about it, as Shane Victorino recently told the media.

Well, Vicky, I’m about as anti-Philly media as they come, but if even one of the eight of you would start connecting with the ball like we all know you can, there would be no questions about why in the world the most talented lineup in the National League is struggling.

Then as far as the pitching goes, there doesn’t seem to be much of an answer there either.

One thing I do know, however, is that when every aspect of a team is beginning to fall apart, it’s time to look at the coaches. No, I’m not going to start a “Fire Charlie Manuel” campaign, but it’s on him to get this team headed back in the right direction.

Given his track record, I believe he will, but he’s certainly taking his sweet time about it.

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