Phillies Trade for Roy Oswalt

For the 2nd straight year, the Phillies have acquired a top pitcher at the trade deadline. Today, the Phillies traded with their old friend Ed Wade, and got pitcher Roy Oswalt in a deal. In the trade, the Phillies gave up J.A. Happ, and minor leaguers Anthony Gose and Jonathan Villar.

All things considered, this seems like a really good trade for the Phillies. While maybe a little overrated, Roy Oswalt is still an elite pitcher in this league, and Ruben Amaro really got the best of this trade. The Phillies do not have to pick up the club option in the 3rd year of Oswalt's deal, which means his deal will only go through next season, and the Astros are paying $11 million of Oswalt's $23 million that he is owed through the next 2 seasons.

Oswalt initially seemed hesitant to want to come play in Philly for the next couple years because he is from the south, but I guess when some other teams, mainly the Cardinals, backed off the deal, Oswalt seemed like he would rather have a chance at contending with the Phillies than staying in Houston.

The Phillies not only now have 3 very good pitchers, they also didn't have to give up on their best hitting prospect, Jonathan Singleton, who is in Single A. J.A. Happ is a good pitcher, but he isn't anything special.

Ruben Amaro seems like he actually got this deal right. Unfortunately, it wouldn't even have needed to be done if Amaro got rid of Cliff Lee in the offseason for a few crappy prospects. Without Amaro saying it, this deal kind of admits that he made a mistake getting rid of Cliff Lee, which the fans have been saying since that deal was done. It still hurts not having Cliff Lee on the team, but Roy Oswalt should slide into the #3 spot in the rotation nicely. Oswalt is 6-12 with a 3.42 ERA this season.

Unfortunately, this probably means that the Phillies can't re-sign Jayson Werth unless they greatly increase their payroll next season, or they are able to trade Raul Ibanez or Shane Victorino. Getting a trade done for Raul Ibanez would be optimal, but it probably won't be able to be done. Another horrible move by Amaro was giving Ibanez a 3 year deal. I would have no problem trading Victorino this offseason if it means keeping Werth and sliding him to center field, and playing Domonic Brown in right field.

Either way, this was a very good trade, and it definitely makes the Phillies a much better team than before the trade, and they didn't seem like they had to give up much to do it.

Domonic Brown to Make Phillies Debut

Domonic Brown will make his Phillies debut tonight as the Phillies ride their 6 game winning streak into another matchup against the Diamondbacks.

Brown's arrival is sort of overdue, and the only reason he was called up now is due to an injury to Shane Victorino. Victorino was placed on the 15 day DL today with a strained oblique, and it opens the door for Domonic Brown to make his debut. Jayson Werth will slide over to center field, and Domonic Brown will play his familiar position of right field. Domonic Brown is due to bat 6th in the order tonight.

As much as I rip Victorino, it is never good when both Victorino and Jimmy Rollins are not in the lineup. J. Roll is only expected to miss tonight's game and maybe tomorrows, but is still is tough without the 2 fastest players on the team, especially when you are already missing Chase Utley.

It will be exciting to check out Domonic Brown tonight, and hopefully he has a solid debut. Tonight's matchup is also a matchup of 2 pitchers who have thrown no hitters this season. Roy Halladay threw a perfect game earlier in the year, and Diamondbacks pitcher Edwin Jackson threw a no hitter against the Rays.

The Phillies need to keep this winning streak going, especially being at home, and playing against a bad Diamondbacks team. They are still 3.5 games back in the NL East of the first place Braves.

Phillies Need a Wake Up Call - Badly

The Phillies are in much need of a wake up call. The 2nd half of the season has gotten underway, and the Phillies have not yet started to play. They are a very easy Geovany Soto mishandled hop away from starting out the 2nd half 0-5.

The Phillies need someone on the team or on the coaching staff to get in the players faces, throw some chairs around, and start benching players. The Phillies are flat out a bad team right now, and since no one on the team is man enough to get in the other players faces, I will do my best to do it here.

Shane Victorino - You are playing like complete shit. In the top of the 7th tonight, with 2 on and 2 out, Shane Victorino came up and popped up the first pitch to the catcher. Sadly, we have seen Victorino and his stupid uppercut swing do this way too many times. Victorino is one of the dumbest baseball players I have ever seen, and actually had the audacity to sort of blame the fans for some of the Phillies struggles for not picking the Phillies up. You're right Shane, I forgot. It is our job as fans to pay money to come see you, and even though you make millions, it is our job to pick you up and cheer you on, and say go get 'em next time as you pop up first pitches. What is this, freakin little league? Should we have cheered, and said "nice try" as Shane jogged back to the dugout? Maybe Victorino should stay in St. Louis, where fans actually might do that. Just as an aside, Shane Victorino has 69 at bats this month, and has walked a grand total of 1 time. 1 time he took a walk.

This article was supposed to destroy a lot of players on the team, but I can't see to get past how bad Shane Victorino is. Let's try to move on. Jimmy Rollins is batting like .140 since he came back from the DL for good, which clearly isn't good from the leadoff spot. Since Rollins also never walks, the Phillies are getting from the leadoff spot. Jayson Werth is completely lost right now, and strikes out way too much. Werth actually has as many strikeouts as Ryan Howard does this year, and in about 50 fewer at bats. Not good.

Raul Ibanez is actually playing a little better the past month, but is well past his prime overall. I guess Ruben Amaro should be blamed for that more so than Ibanez, but he needs to step up his game also. I'm not going to blame Wilson Valdez, who shouldn't really be in a any position to be the man to try to jump start this pathetic offense.

Ryan Howard, Placido Polanco, and Carlos Ruiz have been solid all season. You can usually say that about Chase Utley, and even though he is on the injured list, he was not playing very well before he was on the injured list. If he continues to struggle down the stretch when he comes off the DL, Utley needs to be blamed as much as anyone for the Phillies season.

As for the pitching, the Phillies really only have 2 good starters, and everyone knew this coming into the season. Halladay has done everything he can do, and Cole Hamels has been better than most people actually thought he would be, including myself. Joe Blanton, Kyle Kendrick, and Jaime Moyer are jokes, and below average pitchers, and that is 60% of our starting staff. Cliff Lee would look real good right now, huh?

Also, Ruben Amaro deserves some of the blame as well. I don't need to re-hash the worst trade in Philadelphia sports that he pulled off, and the fact that Domonic Brown is still in the minors, destroying every level, as Raul Ibanez bats .250 in left field. You need to do everything you can to trade Ibanez. If not, I have been on record that you shouldn't trade Jayson Werth, but I wasn't expecting the Phillies to possibly be sellers at the deadline, and if the Phillies continue this free fall, they should try to trade Werth I think to get what they can, as he definitely will not be back next season.

Either way, the Phillies need some type of wake up call. I really hope one of the players steps up to the plate - not on the field - but instead in the locker room, to rustle a few feathers, and get in some players faces, to hopefully turn this season around.

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

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.

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.

PHILLLLLLLLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEES FEVER

The Phillies beat the Dodgers on a cold Los Angeles night Monday, to push the Dodgers to the brink of playoff elimination, and move us closer to the World Series.

Sorry MLB, and sorry Fox, our Phillies are not cooperating with your obvious hopes of the Dodgers getting to the World Series. When the Phillies tied the game and then took the lead in the 8th inning, Joe Buck, and Tim McCarver sounded like they were going to cry.

The Phillies and Dodgers had played 11 times so far this season, and the home team was 11-0….. and then came Game 12. The Phillies looked good coming out of the gates going up 2-0 in the 1st inning off of Derek Lowe, pitching on three days rest. The Dodgers eventually took a 3-2 lead, and then when the Phillies tied it at 3, the Dodgers took the lead again, this time at 5-3. Then came the 8th inning.

Ryan Howard led off with a single off of Dodgers reliever Kuo, who was throwing nasty stuff. This led to the Dodgers bringing in another relief pitcher, who faced Shane Victorino. Victorino hit a line drive to right field, which just cleared the fence into the Phillies bullpen to tie the game at 5. After an out, and a Carlos Ruiz single, 40-year old pinch hitter Matt Stairs came into the game to hit. The Dodgers made another pitching change and brought in their closer, Broxton. Broxton hadn’t allowed a home run in Dodger stadium since 2006. After working a 3-1 count, Matt Stairs destroyed the ball deep into the right field seats. This ball would have been in the upper deck at Citizens Bank Park. Brad “Lights Out” Lidge came in the game in the 8th inning, the first time he has done so this season, and recorded a 4 out save.

The Dodgers have spent more time this series complaining about balls and strikes, and inside pitches from the Phillies than they have worrying about actually winning the games. Led by Russell Martin, the biggest baby on the team, the Dodgers think the Phillies are throwing at them when they throw on the inside corner of the plate. Also, every single ball that is close and could go either way, if called a strike, the Dodgers seem to get very flustered by that, and worry about complaining about a pitch more than they worry about an at-bat.

All that talk about after Game 3, now the Phillies got the Dodgers fired up, and that’s not what we want. Give me a freakin break. The Dodgers are punks. How about you don’t want to make the Phillies and Shane Victorino mad. After Victorino’s homer, he should have rounded the bases with both middle fingers up in the air to the fair weather L.A. fans.

This really has all the makings of a team that is coming together at the right time, and has what it takes to win the whole thing. They are a fun team to watch, and they all really seem to care about each other and have each others backs. That starts with Charlie Manuel, who all the players greatly respect. A great team gets contributions from every player on their team at this time of the year, and every player on the Phillies has stepped up. It doesn’t matter if one of our all-stars gets the game winning hit, or the last player down on the bench. This Phillies team just keeps finding ways to win. The Phillies are 1 win away from the World Series, and can secure a berth in the World Series by beating the Dodgers in Game 5.

The Phillies need to show that fighter mentality in Game 5, by not allowing the Dodgers to even think that they are back in this series at all. It sets up well as we have our ace, Cole Hamels set to close out the series in Game 5.

Game 5 is Wendesday night, 8:22 EDT, Hamels vs. Billingsley. Phillies lead the series 3 games to 1.

Phillies Win, Up 2-0 in Series

Game 2 Recap

The Phillies won Game 2 of the NLDS to take a 2-0 series lead against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Phillies pulled out an 8-5 victory, in a game that featured some strange, and interesting storylines.

The Dodgers scored first for the 2nd straight game, taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the 2nd. The Phillies offense then busted out in bottom of the 2nd inning, with a two-out rally. With two outs and nobody on base, Greg Dobbs, obviously in there for his offensive ability, singled up the middle. Carlos Ruiz then doubled to the gap scoring Dobbs. Brett Myers, who would go on to be the offensive MVP this game, then singled to center scoring Ruiz. Rollins then singled to center, and on an error advanced to 2nd, as Myers advanced to 3rd. Shane Victorino, who has been the catalyst throughout the playoffs so far this year singled in Myers and Rollins to take a 4-1 lead. The Dodgers got a run across in the top of the 3rd, but the Phillies would answer again in the bottom of the inning.

Pat Burrell led off with a single in the bottom of the 3rd, followed by a Jayson Werth double. Dobbs was intentionally walked, loading the bases with 0 out. Ruiz grounded into a fielder's choice and Burrell was retired at home. It was up to Myers to get the job done. Myers was up to the task, and hit a 2-RBI single down the right field line. Two batters later, Victorino tripled scoring two more runs. This is all the run support that the pitching would need. Myers gave up a home run to Ramirez in the 4th inning, making the score 8-5, and it would stay there the rest of the game, as the Phillies bullpen came in and did what it has done all year long; shut down the opposing team. Shane Victorino made the defensive play of the game in the top of the 7th, with two outs. The Dodgers had two men on base, and Casey Blake ripped a ball to the deepest part of the park. Victorino trailed back, felt for the wall, and made a jumping catch right against the wall, to preserve the lead, and the game.

Brett Myers ended the game 3-3 at the plate with 3 RBI's and 2 runs scored. Myers said that he told Charlie Manuel before the game that he was going to go out and win one for Manuel's mother, who passed away earlier in the day. Shane Victorino also lost someone close to him, as he found out after the game that his grandmother had passed away also.

Game 3 Preview

The Phillies march on, 2 games away from advancing to the World Series. It seems like whatever this team does, they find a way to win. The Phillies are hot right now, and are doing almost everything right. The offense is doing enough to win, even without Ryan Howard hitting the ball hard. Guys like Shane Victorino are really coming up large in this postseason. Also, the bottom of the lineup, which got ridiculed most season long as they struggled, has really started playing well, and generating runs. When is the last time you can remember the Phillies putting up 8 runs on the board without a single home run. The Phillies led the league in home runs this season during the regular season, and usually live or die by the home run.

The starting pitching has really been another key, and has been really solid. Both Cole Hamels and Brett Myers have gotten the Phillies a 2-0 lead in both series' so far. Hamels has shown what a true ace of the staff is supposed to do. The bullpen has been amazing, and has an ERA of roughly 2.30 so far in the playoffs. The guys who did it all season are still going strong, in Durbin, Madson, and Romero. They have been able to keep the lead to get to "Lights Out" Lidge, who has kept his amazing saves streak alive.

I am looking forward to Rollins, and Howard just taking over this series at some point. I do feel like Howard will start hitting shortly. Right now, it doesn't matter, as long as the Phillies continue to find ways to win games.

Game 3 is Sunday night, 8:22 EDT. Moyers vs. Kuroda. Phillies lead series 2-0.

Phillies Up 1-0, Ready For Game 2

Game 1 Recap

The Phillies are now only three wins shy of getting to the World Series, as they won Game 1 against the Dodgers 3-2. You never want to lose home field in Game 1 of the series, especially with Hamels on the mound, and the Phillies took care of business.

The Phillies came out sluggish on offense, struggling with Derek Lowe’s sinker. The Dodgers got an RBI double from Manny Ramirez in the 1st inning, in what had to be the longest hit ball that wasn’t a home run in Citizens Bank Park history. A sac fly gave the Dodgers a 2-0 lead, and the Dodgers were in control, as Lowe was dealing. Then came the play of the game in the bottom of the 6th inning. Shane Victorino was leading off, and hit a routine grounder to short. Due to Victorino’s speed, Rafael Furcal hurried the throw, and threw wide of the base, allowing Victorino to end up on 2nd, and an error charged to Furcal. The very next pitch, Chase Utley put into the ball into the seats in right field, tying the game at two. After Ryan Howard grounded out, Pat The Bat crushed a line drive home run to left field. Burrell has three home runs in his last two games now, all of which have been clutch. The three runs would be all the Phillies pitchers would need.

Hamels pitched another gem, and ended up with 7 innings pitched, only allowing 2 runs, striking out 8. Hamels got more and more comfortable as the game went on. He cruised through the 6th and 7th innings, which was important as the Phillies had just taken the lead. Madson got out of the 8th, retiring Manny on a line drive to 3rd. Lidge came in to record the save, and got it done with a 1-2-3 inning on only 13 pitches to give the Phillies the 1-0 series lead.

Game 2 Preview

Game 2 will feature a matchup between the Dodgers strikeout machine, Chad Billingsley, and the Phillies Brett Myers. We all know about Brett Myers up-and-down season. Myers pitched well in his start against the Brewers in the NLDS, but will be facing a tougher lineup this time. The Phillies need to get off to a good start this game, take the lead, and force the Dodgers to come from behind to win this game. The Dodgers have a lot of young players on their team, and if you get them into a situation where they start pressing, they are likely to struggle. Just as Game 1 was, this is another important game to win for the Phillies, as the next three games are in Los Angeles.

On offense, Chase Utley was called out coming into this series, and really delivered in Game 1. We need to get our big man, Ryan Howard going now. The Phillies were fortunate as Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, and Ryan Howard all went 0-4 in Game 1, and the Phillies still won the game. The Phillies will need those guys to hit if they want to win this series. Rollins, and Victorino really need to set the table for Utley, Howard, and Burrell to drive them in. When Jimmy Rollins is hitting, this team is very hard to beat.

Game 2 is Friday, 4:30 EDT, Myers vs. Billingsley. Series: 1-0 Phillies

In breaking news, Kotite's Corner has learned that Charlie Manuel's mother has passed away. The Kotite's Corner family sends our condolences to the whole Manuel family. No word yet on what Manuel's managing status will be for Game 2. Either way, let's come together as fans, and hope the team comes together to win this whole thing for Charlie.

Phillies Take 2-0 Series Lead

The Phillies took a 2-0 series lead against the Brewers with a 5-2 victory Thursday night. Kotite's Corner threw back some beers, watched the game, and enjoyed every minute of it. The Flyin' Hawaiian, Shane Victorino, and Brett Myers get the players of the game in Game 2. Victorino, back in the 2-hole in the order, went 3-4 with 2 doubles, and the game winning grand slam in the bottom of the 2nd off of C.C. Sabathia.

The game started off a little shaky as Myers walked in a run in the top of the first. He settled down with a double play on the next batter. Sabathia looked dominant in the 1st, especially against lefties Utley and Howard. However, the 2nd inning was a different story. With one out, Jayson Werth and Pedro Feliz hit back to back doubles, scoring a run and tying the game at 1 a piece. After Carlos Ruiz grounded out advancing the runner to 3rd, Brett Myers had the at-bat of the game, and maybe the season. Brett Myers, one of the worst hitting pitchers in the league, worked a full count against the best pitcher in the league. He fouled off good pitches, and stayed alive at the plate. The crowd was fantastic, and showed why Philadelphia fans are the most knowledgeable and passionate in the world, knowing how important the at-bat was, and cheering Myers like it was the biggest moment of the season (which is basically was). Myers finally drew a walk, and Rollins walked right after him loading the bases. Shane Victorino then came up, and jacked a grand slam off of Sabathia. Game over. Without Myers 9-pitch at bat, the grand slam never would have happened.

The Brewers added a meaningless run in the 7th, and the Phillies ended up with a 5-2 win, and more importantly, a 2-0 series lead. Brett Myers followed up Cole Hamels great pitching performance with one of his own, going 7 innings, and allowing 2 earned runs. Brad Lidge got another save, and this time actually made it look easy with a 1-2-3 inning, only throwing 12 pitches.

The Phillies travel to Milwaukee to play Game 3 of the series on Saturday. Projected starters for that game are the ageless Jaime Moyer, and Dave Bush for the Brewers.