Maybe Not

So I clearly have been out of it since my return, seeing as I only posted once. In the meantime I've been to 3 games yet still have lacked any updates.

The problem is that I went so long without even seeing a Phillies game that I feel slightly detached from the team. I have yet to get back into any type of rhythm, and I feel that with such a big absense I barely know anything about the team anymore. Although I'm sure that isn't true, I am still in somewhat of a funk. I am watching the games and everything, but it just seems like something is missing.

So I am updating just to tell you that I more than likely will not be updating this very much more at all. It's something that I thoroughly enjoyed doing for the first half of the season, but I am just finding it more and more difficult now. If there is any type of serious backlash to me not updating and I feel like people really really want me to keep doing this, then I will rethink it. But for now I'm gonna say it's been fun and hopefully I'll be back for the playoffs or something. And I definitely hope to be back next season if nothing else. Thanks for your loyalty.

I'm Back!

After one of the longest 4 week stretches of my life things may or may not be returning to "normal" now. Although it was a long 4 weeks, it was a great 4 weeks and the only way I could've been happier was if I had been able to watch the Phils.

The last game I saw before my job started was a loss to the Braves right before we swept the Mets. The next game I was able to watch was last Friday night against the Cardinals... a loss. In between these 2 games the Phillies played 17 others and won 15 of them. After watching bits and pieces of 2 losses on Wednesday and Thursday night I started to get worried that this was my fault. But after last night I'm not so worried.

First, my thoughts on the trade before seeing Clifton Phifer Lee strut his stuff last night:

Fantastic. Carlos Carrasco and Jason Donald were 2 players I was ready to get rid of. I hadn't heard really anything too good about either one of them this year specifically in terms of their attitude about playing baseball. Although I know both of them should be solid players, I didn't feel the need to keep them at all if there was an opportunity for a big trade like this one. Jason Knapp is supposed to be the real deal, but he's also only playing in Single A right now and who knows what can happen over the next 3 years or so. Lou Marson is the only person I am truly upset about losing. Many of you know that I liked Lou, and I'm sure everyone hates Paul Bako. I just wish we could've traded someone else instead of him. Maybe Brad Harman or someone. From what I've read the Indians did not really need a catching prospect, and from what I observe we do. Carlos Ruiz is great but not getting any younger at the age of 30. We just lost Coste who wasn't getting any younger either, and please don't make me comment on Paul Bako.

Overall a great trade because Cliff Lee is an amazing pitcher. On a team that was 81-81 last season, he was 22-3. I don't understand Ben Francisco being thrown in there. Do we not have enough outfielders in Triple A that could hit .250 and play shaky defense? No big deal I guess, I just prefer to see more of John Mayberry and possibly Michael Taylor.

Some would say we should have gone for broke and gotten Roy Halladay. I almost cried just looking at the offer we turned down from the Blue Jays. Happ, Kyle Drabek, Taylor, and Dominic Brown. Arguably our 3 best prospects as well as arguably our best current starting pitcher. As much as Roy Halladay would've been unbelievable to have, no one is worth that price. I welcome Cliff Lee with open arms and look forward to some serious success over the next year and a half.

Of course after last night it's easy to say that it was a great trade because he completely dominated in his Phillies debut. He pitched a complete game and gave up just 4 hits. Lee himself had 2 hits for us. Over the past week I feel like we've been losing some games, and I keep looking at the standings expecting our lead to be down to 3 or 4 games. But no, it is still at 6 games over the Marlins and 8 over the Braves. And I think with Lee joining the team and showing what he could do last night, this should spark the team in a way that I wasn't even sure we needed until last night.

If you weren't thinking World Series before, look at our top 4 pitchers right now (people who will be pitching in the playoffs). From where we sit today, our 4th best pitcher is Cole Hamels. Let that one sink in.

Pitchers

Pedro Martinez has officially signed a 1 year $1 million contract with the Phillies. As Pickering said in a comment on the last post, that is exciting to some and not so exciting to others. I, personally, am not a big Pedro fan simply because he has not stayed healthy for the past 4 years or so. I guess that is fine considering we will only need him for a few months, and having a solid pitcher who gets hurt after a few starts is better than having a crappy pitcher for them. I assume he will be taking Lopez's place in the rotation, so whenever he is ready to pitch I would think that would be an upgrade. Not saying anything bad about Lopez, just saying that Pedro is probably better than him (fingers crossed).

As for Roy Halladay trade rumors, I don't really know what to think. I would love to have Roy Halladay. He is easily one of the best pitchers in baseball without a doubt. But I am not willing to give up JA Happ or Kyle Drabek for him. Michael Taylor and Dominic Brown are also 2 of my favorite minor leaguers, but I think one of them would definitely have to go to get Halladay here. Depending on the deal, I may or may not be very pleased with having Halladay (if it's even a real possibility). I would be willing to give up Carrasco and Donald for sure from our list of big name prospects. It's a tough call because he is definitely worth a lot, but how much exactly is a lot?

Thank You Dorm Duty

So I had what is known as Dorm Duty today at camp where I got to do some laundry and follow the Phillies game in my room for the most part. I "saw" Feliz hit the first inning grand slam and it seems like right now all the Phils need is a lead in any game and they're good. I'm writing this as the top of the 9th is about to start and we are up 5-1. Assuming we can hold on, I love the way we are going into the All-Star Break. We've now won 9 out of our last 10 and have a very nice lead in the East. Talks of Pedro Martinez and Roy Halladay don't seem to really matter to me right now. Everyone is getting the job done. Today we had a normal lineup for what seems like the first time in a very long time. Without Raul in there everything was out of whack, and I still don't know what to think about Paul Bako. I know he had the game-winning RBI last night, but I haven't actually seen him play other than maybe 2 games while I was still home.
JA Happ is still fantastic. He cannot be ignored right now as a legitimate Rookie of the Year contender. At this point in the season it looks like it is between him and Colby Rasmus of the Cardinals. There are some good guys that have just come up in the past few weeks, but if Happ keeps there's no doubt he'll be tough to beat.
Ok so Romero just gave up a home run to make it 5-2. I wonder if we'll bring Lidge in now that it's a save situation.

One thing that's cool about this camp is that there are not many kids from the Philly area, so I get a lot of crap for being a Phillies fan. I love getting crap for being a Phillies fan because there's really nothing people can say. We're World Champions and currently in first place and one of the hottest teams in baseball.

Congrats to Werth for getting picked to go to the All-Star Game. Not saying he didn't deserve it, but if Charlie weren't managing I am sure there are a few names that may have gone in before him. I'm fine with that. You win the World Series, you earn the right to be a little selfish.

2 outs now, I'm going to assume Romero closes this one out and we head into the break on a nice little streak. Good to be able to update, I hope all is going well.

Vote for Shane!

Shane Victorino is a part of the Final Vote in the NL for the All-Star Game. Last year we were almost able to vote Pat in but fell just short. This year, there are no players from freak Milwaukee in the running so we don't have to worry about the City That Never Stops Voting for Baseball Players. But that doesn't mean we don't have to worry. It would be so sweet to vote Shane in and it really would show the loyalty and passion of the Philadelphia faithful. It's very easy to do. And there is no limit to how many times you can vote in the Final Vote I don't think. I know there wasn't last year because I voted an estimated 1,000 times. Seriously. Go to the website below and pick Shane. Once you vote once, all you have to do is type in the 5-number code each time you vote again. It's really simple to do, I've already done it 10 times today and I've only been on my computer for a total of about 15 minutes. Try to keep track of how many times you vote and maybe we'll have some cool prize for whoever says they voted the most times. Just don't lie, that's not that cool. Vote for Shane!
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/all_star/y2009/fv/ballot.html

Great win tonight. Although I didn't get to see the game and won't get to for another 3 weeks, it was great to be getting updates on a 22-run performance.

Happy 4th

Good win last night against the Mets. It's nice to see our leadoff hitter actually hitting. I did not get to watch the game because I was on the road for most of it. Hopefully we can get some momentum going into the All-Star break. All-Star rosters are announced tomorrow which I guess is exciting. It will be interesting to see how many we get.

I hope everyone has a good 4th of July. I probably will not get to update this for a while because my job starts tomorrow. I definitely won't get to watch games but I will do my best to keep up to date with what is going on and at least getting something short in here every few days.

I Don't Get It

James Calvin Rollins just grounded out to first on the first pitch of the game to make him 0 for his last 28. And he laughed his ass off about it. Thomas McCarthy then wouldn't shut up about how hard he hit the ball as if that makes a difference. Let me know how the rest of the game goes. I don't think I can watch that crap