Comments

[Jonesman]

Nice banner, first thing that popped in to my head: Jose Cruz and his crazy batting stance.

[Bonehead]

Jones-
...and Terry Puhl hitting .400 against the Phils.

[RSB]

Funny, the first thing that popped into my mind was the old seats at Veterans Stadium...

[Bonehead]

...Multi-colored seats in the 70s and 80s. Replaced with all blue seats in 90s.

[clout]

Fo me, it's the incredible 1980 NL playoffs, 4 games going extra innings and Greg Gross and Del Unser repeatedly coming off the bench in the late innings to get clutch pinch hits. Oh, and being down by 3 runs to Nolan Ryan in the 8th inning of the final game -- and winning.

[Bonehead]

How about Manny Trillo's head first slide triple down the left field line. I still don't know he got to third base so fast. You never see left field triples.

[RSB]

If Harry Kalas only broadcast one half-inning in his life - the top of the eighth of Game 5 - he should be in the Hall of Fame for that alone. The call he made on Trillo's hit gives me chills, no matter how many times I hear it.

[bay_area_phan]

For some reason the line that has always stuck with me from that 1980 series was Howard Cosell, in his melodramatic way, uttering, "Whoever imagined that the entire National League championship might come down to two guys named LaCorte and Vukovich?"

[brother]

Some audio clips of the 1980 Phils (including the Trillo triple) here:

http://www.geocities.com/1980phillies/sounds.html

[CJ]

Hey bap... any predictions for tonight?

And shouldn't Beerleaguer have ganged up on someone to encourage a slump busting performance.

Pat Burrell is a no-hitting bum who will never earn his contract. Can't we trade him for some middle-relief help?

[PB]

The old school Astros logo made me think of Biggio, one of the best ballers to come out of Jersey. Thanks J! Awesome graphic

[NEPhilliesPhan]

Yeah, Burrell's a bum and should be cut immediately.

[CJ]

NEP: Cutting him would be too kind. The bum ain't worth the newsprint a DFA would generate. He should be reduced to pinch-running for pitchers in extra-innings only.

[bay_area_phan]

CJ: Well, as Jason said about Rollins' 100-win prediction, the sequel is never as good as the original (except for maybe "Empire Strikes Back" and "Godfather: Part Two"). Still, I'm feeling pretty cocky after last night's success, so I'm definitely planning another outlandish prediction for tonight. I just haven't thought of what it is yet.

[The Theory]

Here's a prediction... Kendrick strikes out 8, but takes the loss.

[bay_area_phan]

Save the Burrell tirades for another day, when they can be of more use. He's not in the lineup tonight. Dobbs in in LF.

[Bill]

Love the old school banner! Will Manny Trillo have a big hit tonight?

The Phillies need 3 out of 4 in this series and get on top of the Braves in the division.

http://myteamrivals.typepad.com/phightin_phils_phorum

http://myteamrivals.typepad.com/turnpike_series

[CJ]

Hmmmm... good spot for a day off for PtB, I think. Although he's primed for a game-winning pinch-hit home run since he's the most talentless player in Phillies history and couldn't get a clutch hit off a tee with no opposing fielders.

[clout]

This can't be right. The posted lineups say that Cholly has Feliz batting 5th, behind Howard. Against Roy Oswalt. That's gotta be a misprint, right? Does Cholly think Oswalt is a lefty?

[NEPhilliesPhan]

Feliz 5th ?!? Are you kidding me?

[Tray]

Feliz probably shouldn't be starting today, but if you must start him with Kendrick on the mound and want to give Burrell a break, why bat him over Jenkins and Dobbs? That's crazy. Also, what happened to the whole Werth is the everyday starter thing? He hasn't started in center once since the announcement was made - right?

[bay_area_phan]

Well, you guys are just feeding me my wacky prediction of the day. Pedro Feliz with 3 RBIs.

[Ribbies]

I thought the same thing when I saw Feliz, but then I checked and saw that he has hit .429 against Oswalt (with 2 homers in 28 abs). That will most likely be irrelevant once the game starts, but I'm sure thats all it took for Charlie to put him 5th.

[Jeff]

Tonight's Prediction: 5-3 Phillies, with Adam Eaton being the hero.

That's right, Adam Eaton.

[Dave X]

Not that this SHOULD be a reason, but it is THE reasoning Charlie used. Same as the last time Phils played Oswalt - Feliz has owned Oswalt (1.269 OPS) throughout his career. Of course, this is due to small sample sizes, but I don't really doubt it was Charlie's reasoning.

[NEPhilliesPhan]

Gotta love Cholly and his hunches...

[Josh M]

Stick Oswalt in center field!

[duder- WA]

This must be the reason for the lineup today:
Both Feliz and Jenkins have hit Oswalt well in the past... Feliz hitting .379 in 29 ABs, Jenkins hitting .319 in 47 ABs. Each with 2 HRs.

[NEPhilliesPhan]

great start to the game...

[NEPhilliesPhan]

Who would have thought that M. Bourn would have a higher average than Howard this season?

[Steve Jeltz]

Feliz is batting 5th? Cholly might literally make my head explode.

[JD]

Feliz has been hitting these days...

[RSB]

Does Howard realize you have to actually tag the runner on a pickoff play?

[Steve Jeltz]

JD: True, but so have Jenkins and Dobbs. And Dobbs has been hitting all season.

[JD]

Nice throw there, Jimmy!

[JD]

I would have no problems batting Dobbs 5th, but I guess we'll see what happens

[bay_area_phan]

Glad to see the Phillies brought their A game on defense tonight.

[JD]

Burrell would have caught that !! (j/k)

[redbeard]

pat woulda caught that ball and jimmy shoulda have made a better toss for the double play.

[JD]

Nice to see Ryno still hitting

[Steve Jeltz]

I suggested Monday afternoon that Burrell get a rest one night this week to give Dobbs a start in left and everyone reacted like I said we should skip Hamels turn in the rotation.

Since then he's 0-11 (with a few walks mixed in to be fair). But now that Cholly agrees with me, I'm starting to question my entire thought process.

[redbeard]

dobbs is a butcher in the outfield

[JD]

There you go, Pete!

[NEPhilliesPhan]

Howard and Feliz back to back hits...Isnt that a sign of Endtimes?

[attytood will]

LOL, back-to-back singles by Howard and Feliz in the 4-5 hole! The wisdom of Charlie, which surpasses all understanding...

[Tray]

6 for Feliz's last 10. He's batting .304 in the month of May. Not trying to say he's a good hitter or anything, but maybe we could enjoy this while it lasts.

[JD]

NE, it's how it should be, but so rarely is!

[Josh M]

Bases loaded. You know what that means.

[Dave X]

Howard, Feliz, Jenkins load the bases; Beerleaguer explodes

[NEPhilliesPhan]

clearly clutch hitter Dobbs will hit into a triple play to make up for itr

[JD]

Nice hit,Chooch

[JD]

Nice hit,Chooch

[Dave X]

Ruiz 1st-pitch RBI after Dobbs grounds out. Bizzaro Phillies playing tonight

Next... Howard makes a great defensive play? Stay tuned.

[JD]

Rollins should be traded right now.

[NEPhilliesPhan]

So much for that rally...did Rollins and Feliz switch uniforms?

[bay_area_phan]

Here we go again with the squandered opportunities. When the pitching matchup is Kendrick against Oswalt, you've got to take better advantage of your scoring chances.

[NEPhilliesPhan]

Ironically Kendrick's got the better ERA...clearly that means he's the superior pitcher.

[NEPhilliesPhan]

I just realized that Howard's finally batting .200 on the season. He hasn't been that high since like Apr 19.

[Tray]

If only Ty Wigginton were putting up a .623 OPS for us... just one of the many superior third basemen we passed up on in the offseason.

[NEPhilliesPhan]

nice situational hitting by offensive juggernaut Brad Ausmus...

[JD]

Way to hustle, Vic

[NEPhilliesPhan]

Good job Vic!

[NEPhilliesPhan]

Time to earn that 10 million Ryno!

[JD]

Oswalt looks like crap.
Nice piece of hitting again, Ryno

[JD]

Mr. Happy does it again!

[NEPhilliesPhan]

Ryan Howard=Clutch Hitter

[Josh M]

Opposite field. No one there.

[vicki]

Pete Happy!

[TK]

Pe-ter Hap-py

[bay_area_phan]

There's 1 RBI. I need 2 more.

[NEPhilliesPhan]

Charlie is clearly a genius with the lineup!!!

[RSB]

Feels like I'm watching Brett Myers pitch against the Phillies here. I can't ever remember the Phillies hitting Oswalt this hard.

[NEPhilliesPhan]

Oswalt hasn't been the same this year...he's been pretty erratic all season.

[Josh M]

Nice throw Bourn.

[NEPhilliesPhan]

Now that was a nice offensive inning...moved runners over, good situational hitting, etc etc.

[Dukes]

These announcers are no Harry but they sure beat that Nats guys. Refreshing.

[michael smith]

don't look now, but ryno is finally above .200 (.205).

[michael smith]

RYNO!

[UC4PREZ]

howard oppo popppo!!

[JMARR]

I have been watching MLB for over 35 years, and I can never remember a hitter that can simply go from clueless at the plate to completely locked in, in a matter of AB's like Howard has done the last two seasons.

[TK]

Meanwhile, in Atlanta, the New York Mets are officially below .500. Remember all the trolls who came in here after they signed Santana? Must have forgotten the rest of their team is the same collection of gutless pukes that had the biggest collapse in MLB history. The Mets are irrelevant this season until further notice.

[JMARR]

Mets simply were relying on WAY too many aging/aged position players.

Maybe we can trade for Santana at the deadline.

[timr]

Howard for the cycle next time!

[Josh]

We've got about 23 hrs to bash Burrell like we've never bashed before. It sure woke Howard up.

[attytood will]

So if Howard can just hit it onto that hill, he can get the triple, no? Piece of cake.

Or he could hit it out of the park and miss home plate on purpose, but I think they'll need a bigger lead for that.

[brother]

NICE to get Berkman with a man stranded in scoring position. Go KK!

[JMARR]

Man, everything hit off of Oswalt is a shot, even the outs .... something is not right with him for sure, he's been getting hit around all season.

[JD]

You want to hear bad announcers? Listen to the Astros radio play by play guy. Ouch!

[curt]

Roy keeps trying to walk these guys, & they refuse to allow it.

[joe]

Alright, here's a hypothetical trade:

Oswalt for Myers+Low Level prospect.

Do you do it?

[JD]

Fish win again? What happened to the Snakes?

[brother]

KK could use a DP here, KK-style.

[Hugh Mulcahy]

That outing came apart in a hurry.

[curt]

All the firepower in this lineup, & it's Ty Wigginton.

[curt]

Why Madson? A tie is pretty much guaranteed.

[JD]

Let's see if JC can shut it down

[lekh tizdayen]

joe: the only way the astros would take that trade was if ed wade was there gm...

[JD]

Oh, well. So much for that.

[Knight]

Does anyone have numbers on how bad Romero is with inherited runners? I feel like he always lets them score, but I couldn't find anything.

[redbeard]

PAT THE BAT!