Philadelphia Phillies All-Decade Team

The Phillies all-decade team was not too hard to come up with to be honest, especially since the team has been solid most of the decade, especially recently, and has a team with great offensive players, and full of all-stars and MVP’s. Jim Thome deserves mention, but Howard still easily gets the nod at 1st base. Even though Scott Rolen is not much a Philly guy, we went with Rolen at 3rd base. The only other discussion we had was Victorino or University of Pennsylvania's own Doug Glanville in CF. We went with Victorino. Team MVP was a tough choice considered there are 2 actual league MVP’s on this team, and that doesn’t include Chase Utley. We went with Rollins for the MVP because he has been with the team since before we became one of the best in the league.

Here is our Philadelphia Phillies all-decade team--

1B- Ryan Howard
2B- Chase Utley
SS- Jimmy Rollins
3B- Scott Rolen

LF- Pat Burrell

CF- Shane Victorino

RF- Bobby Abreu

Catcher- Mike Lieberthal

Starter: Cole Hamels
Closer: Brad Lidge

Lineup

1. Rollins
2. Abreu
3. Utley
4. Howard
5. Rolen
6. Burrell
7. Victorino
8. Lieberthal
9. Hamels

Manager: Charlie Manuel

MVP: Jimmy Rollins

Close Calls: Jim Thome, Doug Glanville

Pat Burrell- Before and After

My friend Joel sent this picture my way and I had to put it up here. He wrote, "The most depressing before and after photo ever. The Broad Street parade or the Welcome to Charlotte County parade? Take your pick, Pat."

Phillies DH Situation for Game 2

The Phillies should play Pat Burrell at DH for tonight’s game in Tampa Bay…… not because he is a defensive liability in left field, because I don’t believe he is, but because we need his bat in the late stages of these important games.

Let’s look back at Game 1. The Phillies have a 3-2 lead in the top of the ninth inning, trying to get some insurance runs. Jayson Werth in on 2nd base, and Chase Utley is on 1st. They pull off a double steal to put them each at 3rd and 2nd base. Unfortunately, Eric Bruntlett is at the plate in this big situation, as he came in the game in the 7th inning for Pat Burrell, for defensive purposes. The whole point of the DH is to have an offensive lineup with minimal defensive liabilities. If the Phillies feel as if Burrell is a defensive liability in the latter stages of a game, then put him at DH. This will allow him to stay in the entire game, focus on hitting, and we don’t have to worry about having Bruntlett at the plate in a big situation, like Game 1. We need all the Burrell at-bat’s we can get in this series, and we don’t want a close game, or an extra inning game where Burrell is on the bench because he was taken out. If anybody deserves to be in the game the entire game, it is Burrell, who has come up big this season, and is the longest tenured Phillie.

Greg Dobbs is an able left-fielder, and has started games in left field, so he is no more a liability than Eric Bruntlett out there. Let's be honest here, if you can run and throw, you can play left field. I'm not trying to say it is easy to play the position, but Dobbs can do the job. Dobbs should be in left field, with Burrell as the DH in Game 2 if the Phillies want to maximize their offensive lineup the entire game.

The DH should be.....

The Tampa Bay Rays are our opponent in the World Series. Now that Charlie has picked our 4-man rotation, he will keep it the same as the Dodgers series. The one thing left to decide is the DH, as 4 games out of 7, we will need to use a DH. The Rays only have one left-handed starter, in Scott Kazmir. He will definitely pitch Game 1 or 2. How this hurts the Phils, is that we really do not have a solid right-handed bat off the bench. Chris Coste is the best player at the plate, however, needs to stay on the bench in case of injury to Ruiz. Due to this fact, we believe that Charlie should make Pat Burrell the DH for all games in Tampa, and play Dobbs out in left. Greg Dobbs has started in left field 3 times this season, and 4 times in right field, so he has the outfield experience. Dobbs has to be a defensive upgrade, not a huge upgrade, but we will no longer have to put Bruntlett out there in the bottom of the 7th/8th inning and possibly lose Burrell's bat in extra inning. Also, with Dobbs pinch hitting every day, it allows for Bruntlett to pinch hit when you need a right handed bat, and you would still have Jenkins and Stairs from the left side. There are a couple other scenarios the Phillies could choose to go with, such as Ryan Howard at DH, and Dobbs playing 1st base. However, we fell as if Dobbs playing left field, with Pat Burrell at DH gives the Phillies the optimal offensive and defensive lineup. The Phils lineup would look like this:

1. Rollins- SS
2. Victorino- CF
3. Utley- 2B
4. Howard- 1B
5. Burrell- DH
6. Werth- RF
7. Dobbs- LF
8. Feliz- 3B
9. Ruiz- C

Phillies Going to the World Series

picture by: Yong Kim (philly.com)


The Philadelphia Phillies are going to the World Series.

I will repeat since it sounds so surreal….. THE PHILLIES ARE GOING TO THE WORLD SERIES!!!!! The Phillies beat the Dodgers 4 games to 1 in the NLCS to advance to the Fall Classic for the first time since 1993.

Kotite’s Corner would like to extend a congratulations to all the players,and managers of the 2008 Phillies, and to us, the fans, for helping this team all year, and being the best fans of any city in the world.

The Phillies are a true team, and are getting contributions from everyone on the team. The players really seem to like each other, and are excited to see someone come through and get the big hit, no matter who it is.

Jimmy Rollins got the team going with a lead-off home run in Game 5, the same way he hit a lead-off home run in Game 4 of the Milwaukee series. He really is a great catalyst when he is playing well. Shane Victorino has been great in this postseason, making every play in the outfield, and coming up with clutch hits. Victorino already has the Phillies record for RBI’s in a postseason, and he still has more games to play. Chase Utley has been solid all-around, especially against the Dodgers. A lot of questions surrounded Utley, as he struggled in the playoffs last season,and against the Brewers. However, he has come through against the Dodgers,and made two unbelievable diving plays in the field in Games 4 and 5. Ryan Howard, who really struggled in the first three games against the Dodgers,came on big in Games 4 and 5, and had five hits in those two games, and drive in a couple big runs. Pat Burrell has also been solid, with three home runs this postseason, and a very good batting average in both series’thus far. Jayson Werth has played well, and had a big homer in the clinching game against Milwaukee. He is a threat whether he is batting 2nd or 6th. Pedro Feliz has been solid at 3rd base, and made a big play to retire Manny Ramirez in Game 5. Carlos Ruiz is always solid behind the plate, but really picked up his offense against the Dodgers. Ruiz calls great game, and Lidge loves pitching to him in the 9th.

The pitching staff has been amazing and really gotten the Phils here. NLCS MVP Cole Hamels is 3-0 this postseason and has looked like a true ace.Brett Myers is 2-0 and has done a great job in the 2nd spot in the rotation this postseason. He has even shown the ability at the plate. Jamie Moyer has struggled, but most certainly will be counted on in the World Series,and being the veteran that he is, I am confident he will be able to bounce back and contribute however he is asked. Joe Blanton has been solid as the#4 starter, and has still yet to lose as a Phillie, in the regular season,or playoffs.

Just like the starting pitching, the bullpen has been great. Ryan Madson has looked better than he ever has in this postseason, hitting 97 MPH on the radar gun. J.C. Romero, Chad Durbin, and Scott Eyre have also done a good job proving a “bridge to Lidge.” Once Brad Lidge enters the game in the 9th (or 8th) it has been Lights Out. Lidge has yet to blow a save all season, and has continued that in the postseason. He even got his first 4out save of the season in Game 4 against the Dodgers.

The bench has been a solid part of this team, and will need to come up in the World Series if asked upon. Greg Dobbs, who gets a lot of starts at3rd, is the best pinch hitter in the game. He is a great asset to have offensively whether he starts at 3rd, or comes off the bench. We all know what Matt Stairs did in Game 4 against the Dodgers, a huge home run, the first postseason home run of his career could not have come at a bettertime. Eric Bruntlett has come in to replace Pat Burrell defensively, and always does well in left field when asked. Geoff Jenkins is a true teammate, always one of the first to congratulate everybody else, and is a veteran who deserves every moment of this. He will be asked to come through in the World Series with some pinch hits.

The managing has been solid. Charlie Manuel continues to keep the players loose, and the players seem to love playing for Manuel. You may argue that it doesn’t take too much to manage a baseball team, but give credit where credit is due. Manuel has made all the right moves in this postseason whether it be pinch hitting, or relief pitching or double switching.

Lots of credit again goes to the Phillies players, managers, and the fans.We are all in this together, enjoying every moment of it. We, as fans,want a championship so badly, and the fans around my age, who have never seen one, are championship starved. This Phillies team is a very likeable team, and extremely fun to watch. The World Series should be exciting.

Congratulations to the 2008 NL Champion Philadelphia Phillies!!!!!

The World Series will start Wednesday, October 22, against either the Rays or the Red Sox.

Phillies Advance to NLCS

The Phillies beat the Brewers in Game 4 on Sunday to advance to the National League Championship Series. The Phillies got another solid pitching contribution, this time from mid-season acquisition Joe Blanton. Blanton got the win, going 6 innings, and allowing only 1 earned run.

The Phils offense also finally contributed, really for the first time this series. Jimmy Rollins led the game off with a home run, exactly what the Phillies needed to do, getting out to the early lead. The Phillies led the entire game. In the 3rd inning, the Phillies had a man aboard with 2 outs and Ryan Howard coming to the plate. The Brewers walked Howard to get to Pat Burrell. Burrell had been struggling all series....... until this at-bat, when he destroyed a 3-run home run over the left field fence. Jayson Werth followed with a home run of his own to deep center. Burrell also homered in the 8th inning. The Phillies won the game 6-2, and will play the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS.

It was extremely exciting to watch this game, as the Phillies have not advanced this far in the playoffs since 1993. The celebration ensued after the game with the champagne flowing, however, every Phillies player who spoke said there was still a lot of work to be done. Joe Blanton was dealing all game long, and it is a great sign to see the Phillies pitching staff going 4 deep in the playoffs. On offense, Rollins and Burrell starred. Burrell ended the game 3-4 with two home runs, and four RBI's.