Philly Boy

Chase Utley Will NOT Start on Opening Day

2011-03-15T23:25:55Z

If things do not get better for the all-star second baseman, Chase Utley will find himself starting off the 2011 season on the disabled list.

The Phillies organization has been keeping quiet about Utley. He has recieved cortizone shots and has not played a single game this month.

He took batting practice Tuesday at Bright House Field, but remains unable to run or take fielding practice.

He has patellar tendinitis, chondromalacia and bone inflammation in his right knee. Nothing short of a miracle would get Utley heathy enough in the next 17 days to start opening day.

This means that Wilson Valdez will most likely be starting at the second base position.

Valdez has played in 15 games during spring training. He is batting an amazing .483, more than 200 points higher than he had in his 111 games last season with the Phillies.

Eagles

2010-12-13T16:15:39Z

Eagles Soar Over Texans

2010-12-13T03:08:10Z

Ryne Sandberg to Coach in Phillies Organization

2010-11-29T04:42:53Z

Ryne Sandberg is a name that is synonymous with the Chicago Cubs; however after the organization went with Mike Quade to fill the open manager position, Sandberg left the Cubs and has joined the Phillies organization as a coach for the Lehigh Valley Ironpigs (AAA).

After being drafted by the Phillies with the 20^th pick of the 1978 draft, Sandberg was traded to the Chicago Cubs where he played from 1982-1997. In this time he became one of the best second baseman in baseball history earning him an induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005.

The 10-time all-star will return to where he got his roots this spring as manager of the Ironpigs, taking over for Dave Huppert.

Sandberg is not new to coaching though. Last season with Class AAA Iowa, Sandberg accumulated an 82-62 record and was named Pacific Coast League manager of the year.

This reporter sees this as only a positive for young Phillies' prospects like Dominic Brown (top-rated prospect in baseball) and John Mayberry Jr.

The nine time Gold Glove Award winner and seven time Silver Slugger Award winner can certainly teach them to be well-rounded ball players

Bears Claw Away at the Eagles Defense

2010-11-29T04:41:10Z

In a 31-26 loss, it should be said that the Eagles were simply out-played.

"We did not play to the best of our ability," said Eagles wide receiver Jeremy Maclin in a post-game interview.

This proved true of both the offense and the defense. While Michael Vick threw his first interception of the year, which the Bears greatly capitalized on, the defense seemed to miss many tackles and leave receivers wide open.

In a game with as much hype as this one produced, one would think that while playing another playoff contending team that you would want to make a statement. The Eagles seemed flat, with the exception of a few plays

With a minute and 48 seconds remaining in the game, Michael Vick threw a perfectly treaded ball to tight end Brent Celek for a 30-yard touchdown. This gave the Eagles some light but it was soon taken away.

The Eagles tried to make it more interesting with an onside-kick attempt by David Akers from the Philadelphia 30. Bears wide receiver Johnny Knox leaped and recovered the kick at the Eagles' 43 and came down to the turf before appearing to place the ball on the ground. An Eagles player then scooped up the loose ball.

The referee ruled that Knox had given himself up on the play by going to the ground and, with less than two minutes remaining, Andy Reid was unable to challenge.

The game was a real eye-opener. Things will definitely have to be changed for Thursday's game against the Houston Texans. We will see how the Eagles will respond with a short week to prepare.

Vick vs McNabb Part II

2010-11-22T03:13:39Z

In a huge division rivalry, the main focus of this game was Michael Vick vs. Donavan McNabb. In the first meeting this season, neither quarterback preformed well; however McNabb did walk away victorious.

Vick made it clear that he and the rest of the Eagles team had come to play on Monday night. Vick was in true form throwing for 333 yards and four touchdowns. He was 20 for 28 passing in the game and also ran the ball eight times for 80 yards and two more touchdowns.

Vick did have plenty of help as he spread the ball around a lot. The four of the touchdowns that Vick threw went to four different receivers and seven Eagles' players made at least one reception.

On the other side of the field, McNabb and the Redskins seemed to struggle the entire game. McNabb went 17 for 31, throwing for almost 300 yards. He also threw for two touchdowns and three interceptions.

The game seemed as if it was going to be record-setting as the Eagles scored a remarkable 28 points in the first quarter. It was a complete devouring of division rival.

	1	2	3	4	Tot
Eagles	28	17	14	0	59
Redskins	0	14	7	7	28

Vick's passer rating of 150.1 was the second straight perfect passer rating for the quarterback and it seemed to highlight the day. It also placed the Eagles back atop the National Football Conference East Division standings.

Doc Halladay Wins Cy Young

2010-11-22T03:11:30Z

Roy Halladay added to his already impressive season this week as it was announced that he is the recipient of the 2010 Cy Young Award. As if this season's performances were not enough, Halladay capped off the season by winning the award in unanimous fashion, only the 13^th time in the awards history.

Though Halladay won the award unanimously, it is not as if there was competition.

St. Louis Cardinals' pitcher Adam Wainwright finished in second with 28 of 32 second-place votes.

Colorado Rockies' phenom Ubaldo Jimenez finished third in voting despite having a no-hitter early in the season. Jimenez was also named the starting pitcher for the National League in this years' All-Star game.

Florida Marlins' pitcher and National League earned run average leader Josh Johnson finished fifth in voting.

The complete voting results are shown below, courtesy of the BBWAA:


	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	Points
Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies	32					224
Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals		28	3		1	122
Ubaldo Jimenez, Colorado Rockies		4	19	8	1	90
Tim Hudson, Atlanta Braves			3	13	4	39
Josh Johnson, Florida Marlins			5	5	9	34
Roy Oswalt, Houston Astros/Philadelphia Phillies			1	3	5	14
Brian Wilson, San Francisco Giants				1	5	7
Heath Bell, San Diego Padres			1		1	4
Mat Latos, San Diego Padres				1	2	4
Brett Myers, Houston Astros				1		2
Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants					2	2
Bronson Arroyo, Cincinnati Reds					1	1
Matt Cain, San Francisco Giants					1	1

The reasoning behind the Halladay pick is clear. Not Only did Halladay throw a perfect game in the regular season, but he also pitched a no-hitter in the playoffs, a feat never done by a pitcher before. Halladay led the National League in innings, with 250.2. Because he threw more innings, Halladay was able to make up for the fact that he didn't lead the league in ERA. At 2.44, Halladay finished behind Johnson (2.30) and Wainwright (2.42), but he threw a more innings than both of them.

It's also worth noting that Halladay spent half his games in Citizen's Bank Park, a hitter-friendly ballpark, whereas Johnson and Wainwright spent half his games in a pitcher-friendly ballpark. Despite this disadvantage, Halladay still managed to win a league-leading 21 games.

It's the second Cy Young Award of Halladay's career, as he also won in 2003 with the Blue Jays. This means that Halladay joins another exclusive club, pitchers who win Cy Young Awards in both the American and National leagues. Others on this list are: Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, and Gaylord Perry.

Giants Stand Tall Against the Phillies in Game 1

2010-10-18T00:22:13Z

If I could punch one person in the face everyday, there would be no doubt who would recieve today's hit: San Fransisco Giants' outfielder Cody Ross.

This is not for any peronal reason. I have never met the man. This would be just because of his preformance during the first game of the 2010 National League Championship Series that took place Saturday night.

In a game that was being forshadowed as a pitching duel between two previous Cy Young Award winners (Tim Lincecum and Roy Halladay), Ross stole the spotlight.

With one swing of the bat, not only did Ross snap Halladay's 34-at-bat streak of not allowing a hit, he put an end to the hitless game that Halladay was throwing. But mainly, it gave the Giants a 1-0 lead on the road in a crucial opening game of the series.

He retuned to the plate in his second at-bat for a repeat preformance. With a 3-2 count, after a called ball that appeared to be the third strike, Ross hit another homerun to the same section of the stadium.

"Yeah, I did [think it was a strike]," Halladay said to reporters after the game. "But that's part of it. There were obviously calls that they wanted, too. It's part of the game. If you don't get a pitch, you have to make a pitch on the next one."

The 4-3 loss has now put the Phillies in uncharted waters. They are now losing a playoff series for the first time since the 2007 National League Divisional Series. Before Saturday, the Phillies had won the previous seven consecutive postseason Game 1s.

Despit that, the Phillies look to tie the series as Game 2 is scheduled for Sunday at 8:03 at Philadelphia's Citizen's Bank Park.

NLDS: Phillies vs Reds

2010-10-11T03:22:27Z

Does good pitching beat good hitting? That has been the qustion asked of this series.

As the Philidelphia Phillies three remarkable starting pitchers (Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, and Cole Hamels) took on this year's best hitting team in the majors, it is clear that great pitching is unbeatable.

The Cincinnati Reds, who led the league in multiple batting catagories, were help to only eleven hits in the three game series. The eleven hits is the fewest allowed in a division playoff series ever

PHILLY'S PHANTASTIC PITCHING

Fewest hits allowed in a Division Series:
H	Year	Team	Opp.	AB	AVG	R
11	2010	Phillies	Reds	89	.124	4
13	1998	Yankees	Rangers	92	.141	1
14	1996	Braves	Dodgers	95	.147	5
14	1999	Yankees	Rangers	92	.152	1
15	2009	Angels	Red Sox	95	.158	7

The no-hitter that was thrown by Halladay on Wednesday night was only the second postseason no-hitter in MLB history. It was also the second no-hitter of the season for Doc Halladay.

He always says, "Lead by example." This was definately the way to do it. After seeing this tremendous preformance the other starting pitchers knew what they had to do.

In game three, Cole Hamels tossed a complete game shutout allowing only 6 hits and not allowing a single run to score.

Oswalt did struggle in his start though but the bullpen stepped up and cmae through to get the win. although the Reds did score 5 runs, only three of which were earned.

The Phils will have to wait a few days to see who they will face in the next National League Championship but they seem to remain cool and collected.

It seems like behind the solid pitching and great hitting, The phillies could earn two more champaign baths this year on the way to winning another World Series

Eagles Week Four: Vick vs. McNabb

2010-10-04T03:47:44Z

Phils Go Four in a Row

2010-09-29T01:40:20Z

For the fourth consecutive year the Philadelphia Phillies have clinched the National League East pennant. This comes after trailing by seven games earlier in the season.

In a season plagued with injuries where every starting position player went on the disabled list, it seemed improbable that the Phillies were a championship-contending team; however, the mid-season call-ups and bech players stepped up and filled the roles nearly to perfection.

Wilson Valdez stepped up nicely while both Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins were injured this season. Not only did Valdez deliver a solid defense but he also brought the lumber. While batting .257, Valdez gained 84 hits bringing in 33 runs.

Greg Dobbs, Ben Fransisco, Cody Ransom, Brian Schneider, Paul Hoover, and Mike Sweeney. These are all names that you would think of first when thinking of Phillies players. Nonetheless, all of these players contributed to the team's success by coming off of the bench or filling in for an injured starter.,

Another contributor to the late success of the Phillies is Dominic Brown, Once named the top prospect in all of baseball, Brown finally got his call to the big leagues due to an injury to centerfielder, Shane Victorino. In Brown's 31 games he racked up an average of .211 while belting two monsterous home runs.

But despite having the number one prospect in all of baseball playing in the organization, the big story for the Phils this year was pitching. The offseason addition of pitcher Roy Halladay was the greatest acquisiton in baseball.

Not only did Halladay toss a complete game shutout to clinch the division, but he also became the first Phillies pitcher to win 20 games in a season since Steve Carlton accomplished the feat 24 years ago. To top off this amazing season, the southpaw also threw nine complete games, three of which were shutouts, as well as a no-hitter.

It would seem that behind solid pitching of Halladay, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt that the Phillies could be an unstopable force in the playoffs. As long as everyone stays heathy and continues playing the way they have been lately, there could be a repeat trip to the World Series.

Vick Leads Eagles to Week 3 Triumph

2010-09-27T01:32:28Z

When it was announced on Tuesday that Michael Vick was going to be starting quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, most fans were ecstatic to say the least. It came as a huge suprise though, as head coach Andy Reid had announced the day before that Kevin Kolb would have the start.

http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/multimedia/index.asp?mm_file_id=9339&play_clip=y

"I think his play has even exceeded expectations over the last two weeks," said Reid.

That could not be more true. Vick has gone 37/58 emassing 459 yards and four touchdowns in his first 6 quarters of play this season. He has also racked up 140 yards on 18 rushes.

Vick's passer rating of 105.5, which is fourth best in the NFL, is nearly double that of Kevin Kolb (56.3 passer rating).

So when gametime came around on Sunday, all eyes were following Michael Vick. That would be enough to make anybody nervous, let alone a new starting QB. Despite that, Vick remained cool and collected.

When asked if he was jittery about having the starting role again, Vick calmly replied, " When you first start, it's a different feel, a different atmosphere. You're on the road. Haven't started in four years, so it's all a part of the process you have to go through. And I think it's good to have butterflies in the beginning of the game, but once that ball is snapped and the game is on, then it's on for 60 minutes."

Well Vick showed he can talk the talk and walk the walk. In the 28-3 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, Vick threw the ball for 291 yards and three touchdowns. Vick also ran for 30 yards and another touchdown.

http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/multimedia/index.asp?mm_file_id=9339&play_clip=y

For the first time in his career, Vick does not have to worry about the entire team being carried on his back. He has many passing targets such as DeSean Jackson, who had five receptions for 153 yards and a touchdown; Jeremy Maclin, who had four receptions for 83 yards and two touchdowns; and Brent Celek, who had four receptions for 42 yards.

Vick also had two 40+ yard passes in a game for the first time in his career. While we are on career firsts, another one for Michael Vick occurred today. He has now had a passer rating of over 100 in three consecutive games.

This seems to be the begining of a new era. Michael Vick 2.0. He reamins comfortable on the field and is quickly taking this team, who many said would end the season with an 8-8 record, and turning them into serious playoff contenders.

Pros and Cons of Being a Philly Fan

2010-09-17T17:37:58Z

This blog will be about sports with a concentration on philadelphia and the city's teams. I will be covering games, trades, and just news about the teams in general. It will focus on the Phillies, Eagles, Flyers, and 76ers. I do attend many games and when I cannot I do tend to watch a lot of coverage on television as well as online.

I am currently a Junior attending Indiana University of Pennsylvaina. I am majoring in journalism. I am from Philadelphia and currently reside in Norristown, Pa., about 30 minutes outside of the city. I have been a fan of Philly's teams for as long as I can remember.

This is relevant to Indiana, Pa. becasue roughly 2000 of the 14000 Indiana University of Pennsylvania students are from Philadelphia and the surrounding three counties. In addition, a recent survey of 100 IUP students showed that 38 percent said that the Philadelphia Eagles were their favorite team.