Philly Sports Chat

Posts Tagged ‘Jamie Moyer’

A few days ago the Phillies announced that the Jamie Moyer beat out Kyle Kendrick for the 5 starter spot and Kendrick would start the year in the bullpen. It was Moyer’s job to lose and he would hold onto it unless he showed that he couldn’t get the job done. He had to be relieved to hear that.

Now that Blanton will miss 3-6 weeks with a strained oblique, the battle for that 5th spot will continue into the regular season. Read the rest of this entry »

The Phillies have been to the World Series two years in a row.  They won it all in 2008 and last year they came up short against the infamous New York Yankees.  This off season was long and a lot of things went on as far as rehab, acquisitions, and releases.  With Spring training coming to an end and opening day right around the corner, here is a look at the 2010 Philadelphia Phillies roster as of now.

The infield will look relatively the same except at the third base position.  Pedro Feliz was not resigned and instead, Placido Polanco returns for his second stay with the Phillies.  Last year he batted above .280 and hit ten home runs.  He also drove in 72 runs and stole seven bases.  During spring training Polanco Read the rest of this entry »

Brad Lidge was our savior last year.  Without question he played one of the biggest roles on the team winning us games and helping the Phillies finish the year with a World Series title.  He was undefeated and the best closer hands down in the league last year.  Key words… last year.  I’m not the type of guy to just abandon players, throw them under the bus, and leave them for dead.  I support Brad Lidge.  He’s not losing us games on purpose.  However… he is losing us games.  He is blowing save opportunities left and right and is now in serious trouble.  His spot as the closer is in question.

In the beginning of the year when he was playing poorly, people wanted him out.  I said, “Hey, give him a chance.  He was amazing last year and to just bash him this early in the season is wrong.”  At the allstar break, fans wanted him gone, but not me.  I said, “Hey, he’ll come out of this slump.  You can’t go from being amazing to just pitiful in one year.”  Now, people are calling for his head.  They want him out of the closer spot and Myers (or someone else) in.  I’m sorry to say that I must now agree.  I love Lidge, and I hope that this doesn’t effect his future with the team.  However, enough is enough and the Phillies can’t lose games that they Read the rest of this entry »

The Phillies have won all 3 games that Pedro Martinez has pitched in. His record is 2-0 and he just beat the Mets in New York. Looks great right? Not so fast… he has an era of 5.14 in those 3 starts and in the two starts that should really be counted (first and third) he only pitched 11 innings. He is also getting a lot more run support than the usual Phillies pitcher gets. In his 3 games, the Phillies have supported him with 26 runs.

I’m not saying he hasn’t earned his wins but he hasn’t been a huge improvement from Moyer so far. It’s still too early to tell but one or two more starts should give us a better comparison of Moyer and Pedro.  So far it seems like the move hasn’t made much of a difference. But hey, they are winning his games so I can’t complain.

One player that everyone knows deserves a spot in the line up is Jason Werth. It seems like he has been on fire all season long. I was happy with his numbers last year and was expecting more of the same this season but he has really impressed everyone by getting even better. He’s been one of the most surpisingly reliable players on the team with nearly everyone going through slumps but him. Keep it up Werth we need you to play like this to win another championship.

2 more things… the Phillies should win tomorrow with Lee on the mound against the Mets. He will shut them down. Also, just becasue I loved the fight, I have to mention how I enjoy seeing the passionate Phillies fans fighting in New York.

So the Phillies are playing well and I know I’m not the only fan that is looking for the team to make another W.S. run and defend the title.  I don’t like to talk to far ahead, but I thought it would be cool to narrow down a list of things that the team needs to do in order to keep the title of World “Bleepin” Champs.  So here is what I see as the vital signs of a repeat:

1. Brad Lidge needs to return to his “perfect” self.
2. Jimmy Rollins continues to play like the leader of the team making plays both offensively and defensively.
3. Ryan Howard needs to stop stiking out… just kidding
4. JA Happ needs go into the playoffs and pitch like hes been there before.
5. Chan Ho must stay settled in as a great bullpen pitcher
6. The bench players and situational starters need to be clutch down the stretch (Stairs, Bruntlett, Dobbs, etc.)
7. Jamie Moyer needs to pitch like hes 45 years old.
8. Offense needs to hit other teams Ace’s…cough cough Tim Lincicum
9. The new additions need to contribute and do what the orginaztion brought them in to do…especially Lee.
10. Finally, the fans need to act like we are the best fans in the MLB… cuz we are.