Making Their Own Breaks
The Phillies continue to have everything go right for them, including last night's 6-2 victory over the Braves.
Making Their Own Breaks
Todd Zolecki
Brian McCann ripped a double just underneath the left-field foul pole in the ninth inning last night at Citizens Bank Park.
The Braves thought it might have been a home run.
Scott Eyre wouldn't have been surprised had it been ruled foul.
Things have been going that good for the Phillies lately. They have won 10 of their last 11 games to take a 2 1/2 game lead over the Mets in the National League East with just five games to play. In last night's 6-2 victory over the Braves at Citizens Bank Park, they continued to make breaks for themselves. That fact hasn't been lost on Eyre. Ryan Madson worked out of a killer eighth-inning jam in Saturday's 3-2 victory over the Florida Marlins.
"Unbelievable," Eyre said.
Greg Dobbs left the game Sunday because of cramp in his right calf. Pedro Feliz took his place and ripped a two-run homer to help beat the Marlins, 5-2.
"We had that planned," Eyre said. "Didn't we tell you?"
J.A. Happ pitched well again last night. Rudy Seanez worked out of a jam in the eighth, thanks to a nice play at the plate involving Jimmy Rollins and Carlos Ruiz. Greg Golson's legs gave the Phillies a one-run lead in the eighth before Pat Burrell hit a three-run homer to put it away. So if the umpires had ruled McCann's double a foul ball? No, Eyre wouldn't have been surprised at all.
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Bob Ford tells us about Golson's memorable moment. Here's a question, if the Phillies make the postseason who is on the 25-man roster? Does Golson make it because of his speed? Or does Charlie Manuel need another bat off the bench?
Update: I thought I had a brain cramp and that Golson might not be eligible for the postseason roster. But I've been told that "any player who was on the disabled list at the time the Phillies submitted their rosters on August 31 can be replaced by any player in their organization on that date." Therefore, Golson would be eligible.
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Here are the latest Baseball Prospectus Postseason Odds:
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The Phillies have a 95.52 percent chance to win the division, 4.10 percent chance to win the wild card and a 99.62 percent chance to make the playoffs overall.
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The Mets have a 4.48 percent chance to win the division, 60.85 percent chance to win the wild card and a 65.33 percent chance to make the playoffs overall.
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The Brewers have a 34.03 percent chance to win the wild card.
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In the Phillies Notebook: Geoff Jenkins ranks fourth on the list of active of players with the most games played without a postseason appearance. It appears that streak is about to end. Ryan Madson also has been pitching well. He pitched the ninth inning last night. Even if Pat Burrell had not hit a three-run homer to give the Phillies a four-run lead in the eighth, Brad Lidge was not going to pitch. He was unavailable because he had thrown so many pitches Saturday and Sunday.
OK, I've pretty much had it with this blog. How many times do you have to post before it shows up? Things to do in the off-season: find another.— bobby
And so much for Ruiz and the bench being weaknesses. Both came through big time for us last night. Dobbs started the rally with a pinch hit and Ruiz was great blocking the plate and balls in the dirt. I agree with the Wild thing, there is nobody better at that than Ruiz. You saw the difference with the Braves catcher on the Golson play? And have you seen how many times he goes to the mound to talk to the pitcher? He looks like he’s in control to me.— EL Zorro- Isn't it amazing how in one week we can go about talking about IF they make it and the next we are talking about post season rosters?? Man..I love this game!! I think we can win again tonight but I also see the Mets winning too, since the Cubs are going with a no-name dude against Santana.— Deb in Dixie
- Well lets see the pitchers - Hamels, Myers, Moyer, Blanton, Lidge, Madson, Romero, Eyre, Condrey, Durbin, Rudy (that's 11). Do we bring along Happ or Kendrick? If so, that's 12.— Gary Varsho
- I will go for Happ, if they decide to carry that many arms. Personally, I don't think they need that many pitchers.— EL Zorro
- Actually, the need only 3 starters for the first series, if they want to go that way. It's a best of five, right? Loshe was the long man last year.— EL Zorro
- Zorro - I don't know if they do either, but who do you leave out, Rudy? If you leave out Rudy, and bring Happ, that leaves room for Golson.— Gary Varsho
- Great play by Rollins last night, going home without hesitation to get the runner. But just as key was Carlos Ruiz blocking the plate so the runner could not slide in under the tag. If you look closely, you can see the runner's foot slide directly into the wall put up by Ruiz. Contrast that to the play where Golson scored. The Braves catcher had only about half the plate covered, leaving room for Golson to slide right past and under the tag. I've been hard on Ruiz for his poor hitting earlier in the season, but defensively, the guy knows his position!— bobby
- The post season roster is prety straight forward. You take 11 pitchers (4 starters, 7 relievers) your starting 8, and Dobbs, Junkins, Coste, Brunlett, stairs, and either Golson or Taguchi. I prefer Golson, though since he was with the team all year, Taguchi will probably be the one. As for pitchers, "E" won't be on the roster, but Kendrick will be.— jeff gross
- I'm going to keep submitting this until it's posted... (How hard is it?) Great play by Rollins last night, going home without hesitation to get the runner. But just as key was Carlos Ruiz blocking the plate so the runner could not slide in under the tag. If you look closely, you can see the runner's foot slide directly into the wall put up by Ruiz. Contrast that to the play where Golson scored. The Braves catcher had only about half the plate covered, leaving room for Golson to slide right past and under the tag. I've been tough on Ruiz for his poor hitting earlier in the season, but defensively, the guy knows his position!— bobby
- I don't take Rudy, as good as he's been. I thnk that Kendrick deserves the spot due to his pithing the first half. Remember, you will only realistically use 4 starters (cole, Myers, Moyer, Blanton) and Lindge, Madson, Romero, Eyre, and Durbin. If somehow there is a blow out, you can use Kendrick or Condrey— jeff gross
- Why are we all assuming that Jenkins is an automatic spot on the roster over Golson?....Golson's speed on the bases and his defense in the OF is far superior to Jenkins and we now have Stairs for his bat...so it seems to me we don't need Taguchi or Jenkins....dead weight.— Mark1npt
- Jeff: If the choice comes down to Kendrick or Seanez, how can you seriously take Kendrick? It's nto about what they "deserve" based on their performance in the first half, it's about who helps your team in the playoffs. Much as I like Kyle Kendrick personally, right now I would have to put his value to the team at next to nil. His most recent performances have been terrible and his confidence is shot. Seanez, on the other hand, is a seasoned veteran who knows how to handle pressure situations, and has performed well of late. Let's get real.— bobby
- If the Phils take Happ over Kendrick they are announcing that Kendrick is not part of this teams's future plans, which at this point, despite his problems the past two months, I'm not sure we should be willing to do— jeff gross
- While I agree Jenkins hasn't been as good as we hoped, I think a veteran bat is worth more than a youngster's speed. You may use Golson's speed once, maybe twice?— Gary Varsho
