Rocky Mountain Low – Five More Reasons to Hate Playing the Rockies

1. Snow in October.
2. Purple dinosaur mascot.
3. Playing Venga Boys to celebrate a homerun.
4. Big field with limited oxygen.
5. Stadium named for horrible banquet beer.

Special bonus reason: 10 pm start time.

Phillies vs. Rockies: Game 1 notes

Great start to the series with Cliff Lee reverting to Cy Young form and shutting down the Rockies. Here are my game 1 thoughts:

• The Phillies have one of the best defenses in baseball and today it made a big difference. While the Rockies had troubles dealing with the wind, making critical mistakes on the Ruiz hit that drove in a run and the Ryan Howard double, the Phillies made a couple of great plays, and never let the conditions bother them.
• I love Cliff Lee’s performance – at the plate. Getting his first sacrifice bunt when it matters shows what this guy is all about
• I hate the fact that we’re stuck with TBS for the playoffs, but it’s better than having to listen to Joe Buck and Tim McCarver
• Nice to see the Phils get some runs without the long ball. (Although on any other day both Werth and Howard have home runs)
• Apparently the stadium announcer asked fans to waver their rally towels when the game was starting for the TV cameras. FRAUD!
• This was one of the worst umpired games I’ve seen in awhile. I counted at least 4 blown calls. At least each team was screwed evenly and home ump Gerry Davis had a good and consistent strike zone
• If Ryan Howard doesn’t hesitate on his steal, he’s safe easily. That said, the Phillies ran the basepaths well, asides from Howard and Carlos Ruiz having a brain cramp at second base. Chase Utley scoring from second and Jayson Werth scoring from first. The cherry on top is the Lee steal.
• Too bad TBS couldn’t show us some of the Bacon Brothers doing the National anthem
• The look on Ubaldo Jiminez’ face after the Werth double was priceless
• Can we stop double guessing Charlie Manuel? The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Bob Ford owes Manuel an apology for suggesting the Phillies were playing scared. This is why we get the rep of Negadelphia. Just shut up and enjoy the ride.

I’ll be going to my first playoff game since seeing the Sixers in 1990 and my first Phillies playoff game since seeing the Phillies lose in game 5 of the 1983 World Series to the Orioles (I was 15 at the time). Hoping for a better outcome.

2009 MLB Playoff Scheduling Screws Phillies and Rockies Fans Again

In scheduling the Phillies vs. Rockies Division Series games to start with two 2:37 PM games only to be followed by a 9:30 PM night game that won’t end until around 1 AM EDT, Major League Baseball has told us fans don’t matter. When Major League Baseball, Fox, and TBS signed the last television contract, they essentially decided that for money, the MLB will do whatever the networks want regardless of the concerns of the paying fan. We’re that annoying gum on the sole of the MLBs shoe.

At some point someone needs to represent the paying fan. 3.6 million fans supported the Phillies fans this year by buying tickets for this team. This is despite a recession, escalating unemployment rates, and an economy that doesn’t look to get better for some time. The Phillies sold more tickets that at any point in their history even though though Veterans Stadium held 17,000 more fans per game. Someone needs to represent us.

It’s never a good idea for businesses to entirely disregard the wishes of their customers. When times get tough, businesses rely on loyal customers to get them through. All it would have taken is just one evening game to satisfy most fans – but the fact that both games come during the work day on the east coast is a slap in the face.

Hopefully the MLB will hear their customers/fans on this and make changes going forward.

Done with Brad Lidge

I’m a reasonable and patient fan but I’ve given Brad Lidge as much as I can give. September is around the corner and the Brad Lidge that’s running out there every day is more like the 2005 Lidge not the 2008 Lidge. This Brad Lidge is doomed to failure.

I keep hearing how the Phillies have to keep him as closer because they don’t have a better option. Wrong. Right now Lidge is the worst option. It’s time for the bullpen by committee. Maybe Ryan Madson can’t do it day in day out – but one day at a time Charlie Manuel and Rich Dubee can select a pitcher based on the situation. When Romero and Myers are back – forget the “Bridge to Lidge” – that bridge goes nowhere. Here’s another crazy idea – how about Chan Ho Park?

The Phillies are too close to another World Series to let it slide away because of misplaced loyalty. We have enough time to figure something out and at least patch things together for the playoffs – but sticking our heads in the sand isn’t going to work. The worst thing we can do is nothing.

Happ to the bullpen? Are you kidding me?

How do you take J.A. Happ out of the rotation? He hasn’t pitched poorly all year and tonight was just lights out. Charlie Manuel said the only way he could have done better was the throw a no-hitter. Let me state this right now – J.A. Happ needs to stay in the rotation. How do you take Happ who is 8-2 out of the rotation with an ERA of 2.74 and a WHIP of 1.12 and keep in Jamie Moyer (10-8, 5.55, 1.47)?

Add to the mix that Pedro Martinez struck out 11 in 6 innings and while he gave up 3 runs, looked like a guy that could help this team now. I don’t know how you do it, but if there is a 5 man rotation, it should be Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton, J.A. Happ, and Pedro Martinez.

Another thing – I really think if the Blue Jays had said they’d take either Happ or Kyle Drabek instead of both, that deal could have been made. They must be kicking themselves.

I don’t envy Charlie Manuel, Ruben Amaro Jr., and Rich Dubee – but they better get this right.

Take a deep breath Phillies fans

I want to point Phillies fans back to last August 11-14 when the Fightens visited Los Angeles to play the Dodgers. They were swept in four heart breaking games; Jimmy Rollins gave an interview criticizing Philly fans and we were headed to New York to face the Mets. We all know what happened afterwards. It’s a long season and over the course of the season a team is going to lose a series like that, even eventual World Series Champs.

This past weekend’s games with Giants were demoralizing for many, not for me. The Giants played well in San Francisco, in a series that at the end of the day, doesn’t mean a whole hell of a lot. The Giants are a good team, but what they’re not is playoff tested, and they can’t hit their way out of a wet paper bag. The other thing to remember is that unless the Phillies falter over the next month, their road will be easier than the one the Giants face to get to the playoffs. The Phils need to play strong down the stretch to make sure that they can set up their rotation going into the playoffs.

Folks – the season only just beginning. You won’t remember what happened prior to today, you’ll remember what happens between now and October 4th.

Take deep breaths, buckle your seat belts – it’s going to be  a bumpy ride.