Cliff Lee is my Father

The Phillies took Game 1 against the Yankees 6-1 to take a 1-0 series lead in the World Series. Cliff Lee was amazing. Lee outdueled the person he calls his best friend in baseball, and got the victory. Lee kept the Yankees hitters off balance all night long. The only run was unearned and came in the 9th inning when Jimmy Rollins threw a potential double play ball into the Yankee dugout. The Phillies have been pretty good this postseason at air mailing double play balls, recording their 3rd of the postseason thus far. Lee's final line was 9 IP, 6 hits allowed, only 1 extra base hit, 0 ER, 10 K, 0 walks. 10 strikeouts and 0 walks is real solid. Lee's curveball was on point all game long and clearly had Yankee hitters off balance all night.

The offense consisted of 2 Utley solo home runs to take a 2-0 lead into the 8th inning, before putting the game away with 2 runs each in the 8th and 9th innings. Every Phillies player had a hit besides Pedro Feliz and Ben Francisco, who was playing in left field, with Raul Ibanez as the DH.

Obviously, it goes without saying to talk about how winning Game 1 is huge. The winner of Game 1 has won the World Series for the last 6 consecutive years, including last year when the Phillies took Game 1. Not only does winning Game 1 give the Phillies the 1-0 series lead, it allows them to take the home field advantage.

The Phillies have the opportunity to really take command of the series if they can win tomorrow night's game in New York. Pedro Martinez will take the mound for the Phillies and will oppose A.J. Burnett. It will be interesting to see how Pedro responds to this huge game. Obviously Pedro is no stranger to this situation or facing the Yankees in Yankee Stadium in big games.

Successful Debut for Pedro

Pedro Martinez looked good in his first professional outing in almost a year Wednesday night, and picked up his first major league victory since August 31, 2008. Martinez went 5 innings, allowed 7 hits, and 3 earned runs, struck out 5, and walked 3. He threw 99 pitches, and said he felt good after the game. Martinez threw his fastball in the upper 80s, low 90s, and even hit 93 on the radar gun. He looked comfortable on the mound, and commanded his breaking pitches well. The Cubs were not hitting his off-speed pitches at all, and Pedro was throwing them for strikes, which is a good sign. Pedro should only improve from this point on, as his arm stretches out, and he gets more comfortable with the Phillies, and more comfortable throwing to Ruiz.

As well as Pedro pitched, the offense made it very easy for him in his debut. The Phillies smashed former Notre Dame wide receiver, Jeff Samardzija, for 12 runs in the first 4 innings alone. Shane Victorino, Jimmy Rollins, and Raul Ibanez all homered, and every starter had at least 1 hit, including 3 hits from Utley. The Phillies had 3 home runs, 2 triples, one from Howard, and 3 doubles last night. Not only was it a successful debut for Pedro’s first start, it is a very good sign to see the offense finally start to hit. This could mean good things for the offense going forward. I should also mention that Chan Ho Park has been unhittable in the bullpen since he has been there, and that continued last night. It’s amazing how comfortable Chan Ho looks coming out of the pen, as opposed to earlier in the season when he struggled as a starter.

There was an incident in the 5th inning, on a deep sacrifice fly to center, just as Victorino was about to catch the ball, he was doused with a beer thrown from the bleachers. In my opinion, Victorino should have thrown the ball at the punk who did that, but that wouldn’t have solved anything. Not much has been made of this, however, if it were a Phillies fan who did this, it would be getting national attention on how horrible the Philadelphia fans are. But when it is another city’s team, it’s not that big a deal, yet people still bring up things that happened involving us Philly fans from decades past. And yes…. I cheered when Michael Irvin was on the ground injured.

Thank You, Jamie Moyer

Instead of taking the time to rip Jamie Moyer, which I could do, or talk about how poorly he has been this season, which he has, I will instead extend a thank you to Jamie Moyer for his service these past 4 seasons. Moyer was just sent to the pen to make room for Pedro Martinez to make his first start as a Phillie. Moyer joined the team after the trade deadline in 2006. In both 2007, and 2008, Jamie Moyer pitched the NL East clinching game to get the Phillies into the playoffs. Moyer led the Phillies in wins last season, and had a 3.71 ERA. Also, even though he struggled in the playoffs last season, he did pitch well in Game 3 of the World Series, which turned out to be a very crucial game of the series. Moyer took the mound after the Phillies won the World Series, and he deserved it. He was born and raised in this area, and understands us Philadelphia fans. He is a likeable guy, who everyone wants to root for.

Moyer may have started his last game as a Phillie. It all depends on how Martinez and possibly Happ pitch down the stretch this season to see if Moyer can break back into the starting rotation. Also, Moyer is signed through 2010, so he very well could start next season in the starting rotation. Right now, I'm pretty sure I don't want to see Moyer make another start for the Phillies ever again. The Phillies need to do what is best for the team, and what is best to get back to the World Series this season, and their plans to do that do not include Jamie Moyer at this moment. Moyer has been bad, but instead of rip the guy, like I have been doing at my television every Moyer start recently, I figured I would celebrate what he has done here in Philadelphia, especially if he never makes a start again.

THE PEDRO PICKLE

As Pedro Martinez continues his personal tour around the Phillies minor league system, the question still remains: Where does baseball’s winningest pitcher fit in with the big club when he’s ready?
Most experts believe that JA Happ would be relegated to the bullpen and Martinez would take his spot every fifth day. But here’s the problem with that idea: It doesn’t make the Phillies a better team. Happ may never win any Cy Young Awards or put up the career numbers that Martinez has. But in 2009, Happ definitely gives the Phillies a better chance to win. Does that mean Martinez should head to the bullpen? Not exactly.
Martinez should still take the ball on a regular basis. But its not Happ’s spot that he should be taking, but rather the spot of Jamie Moyer. Sure the ageless wonder leads the Phils with 10 wins, but he 5.55 ERA is almost a run higher than any of the other four. That is what happens when the team scores in droves when he takes the hill. It’s the same reason Rodrigo Lopez picked 3 wins in his first 4 starts. Even I could notch a few wins if I was provided as much run support as Moyer.
Moyer is the only hurler in the rotation that scares the entire fan base when he takes the hill. If the umpire doesn’t give him the corners, then open up another beer because its gonna be a long night. Not to discredit everything the Souderton product has accomplished over his career—as I am a fan from nearby North Penn myself—but right now, he is the weakest link in the chain.
But Moyer doesn’t exactly fit in the bullpen, you say? I know. That’s why the Phillies should cut ties with him altogether. He had a nice run and from everything I know, he’s one hell of a guy. But he doesn’t figure to get a start in the postseason, so let’s just cut it off now.
Is Pedro better than Moyer? That question is yet to be answered. Is Pedro better than Happ? That answer is clear: no. Not in 2009, anyway.