I’m writing this while watching the 2nd game of the doubleheader, so I’ll probably interject some random stuff about it while I’m going.
- This type of late season surge is both exciting and frustrating for Phillies fans. It’s obviously exciting because every game matters and has a playoff atmosphere, and the Phillies are winning. However, it’s extremely frustrating because it shows us just how good this team can be, which makes the last 3 months of mediocre baseball even more annoying. As always, us Philadelphians find the pain and suffering in even good things. Just once, it would be nice to have a season like the Angels are having this year. Have a big lead throughout the year and just enjoy the whole summer. No stress, no therapy, no fetal positions. Ahhhh, to dream.
- The incomparable Jamie Moyer. I think the most surprising thing about his season is that a man could drop his ERA from 5.01 to 3.68 in between his 44th and 45th birthdays. He hasn’t done anything different this year, hasn’t improved velocity (obviously), hasn’t added a pitch. It shows me 2 things. First, it shows that you can have the best (or worst) stuff in the world, but if you can’t locate, it doesn’t matter. Keep that in mind when reading up on prospects. Second, it shows how much luck can come into play in pitching. Jamie was the same pitcher last year as this year, but you’d never know it from the numbers.
- In the first 2 innings, the Phillies have hit into 2 double plays with 2 men on and 0 out. The result? 1 run. Not going to keep winning games doing that. (While writing this, Brett Myers just got his first RBI of the year, followed by J-Roll’s 2-run single, making the previous sentence completely wrong. Gotta love baseball.)
- Good Jamie Moyer stat. He is one of two pitchers ever to have 175+ innings and a sub-4 ERA at age 45 or older. The other was Phil Niekro, a knuckleballer, in 1984.
- Another one, which I mentioned months and months ago, but it’s worth mentioning again. If Moyer gets 6 more wins, he will be the 9th left hander in history to have 250 wins and 2,000 K’s for a career. The other 8 are Tom Glavine, Jim Kaat, Tommy John, Randy Johnson, Steve Carlton, Warren Spahn, Lefty Grove and Eddie Plank. 6 of 8 are in (or will be in) the HOF.
- Who has been the Phillies’ best offensive player this year? It would certainly seem that it’s been Ryan Howard, but he was hitting .200 or worse for so much of the year, people who watch the team every day might not feel that way. One stat I like to look at for this argument is Runs Produced. It’s quite simple, you win by scoring the most runs, and you either generate runs by scoring them (i.e. getting on base, good baserunning etc…) or hitting them in. The runs produced formula is R+RBI-HR (so HR’s don’t count twice). By this formula, here are the best run producers for the Phillies this season with their NL rank in parentheses.
- Ryan Howard, 182 (4th)
- Chase Utley, 164 (9th)
- Shane Victorino, 138 (28th)
- Jimmy Rollins, 115 (53rd)
- Pat Burrell, 115 (53rd)
- Jayson Werth, 101 (71st)
- Pedro Feliz, 81 (92nd)
- Carlos Ruiz, 67 (116th)
- Greg Dobbs, 58 (135th)
- Chris Coste, 53 (143rd)
Certainly is interesting that Victorino is far and away 3rd on this list (higher than Prince Fielder and Chipper Jones, by the way). Combine this with his defense, and he’s more valuable to this team than I thought. Another note, Jimmy Rollins’ 203 Runs Produced last year was the highest for a Phillie player since 1932.
- Brett Myers: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER on 67 pitches and 3 days rest. His ERA is almost under 4 now. I’ll tell you what, IF we were to make the playoffs, Hamels/Myers/Moyer is looking pretty formidable in the first round.
- I feel for the Brewers fans right now. They’ve put EVERYTHING into this season. They traded away the farm for CC Sabathia. They know they won’t re-sign him or Ben Sheets in the off-season. Prince Fielder is more unhappy than Ryan Howard. If it doesn’t happen this season for them, they might only have Ryan Braun to cheer for for the next 10 years. In a perfect world, we pass the Mets, and the Brew-crew takes the wild card.
- Two Oakland A’s pitchers of interest:
- Gio Gonzalez, 1-4, 8.70 ERA, 30.0 IP
- Josh Outman, 1-0, 3.86 ERA, 9.1 IP
- Gavin Floyd: 15-7, 3.77 ERA, 181.1 IP, still only 25-years-old. Give me a break.
- Baseball is a weird sport. A couple days ago, I write a post about whether or not the Phillies are done, and most people think that it’s going to take a miracle. 4 days, and a 4-game sweep later, we are tied for the Wild Card lead, 1 game out of the Mets, have 2 aces and are in the midst of a Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins hot streak. As always, it looks like it will come down to the last day.
- One last, non-Phillies note. If Tim Lincecum was on the Yankees, Red Sox or Mets, there would already be statues erected for him, they would probably re-name the Cy Young award after him, and ESPN would stop all programming whenever he pitched. Unfortunately for most of the country, ESPN has 10 more Brett Farve and TO stories to run, so we get to hear about how the Cy Young is up for debate. Please… watch this kid pitch once. 17-3, 2.43 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 237 K’s in 207 IP. He’s 24.
Pete, I know how you feel!! The Phils need to win a playoff series if they make it and I’m sure they will!!
you just have to understand that that’s just the phillies’ personality. just like the games. they have a penchant for drama. will NEVER be front runners. just like their games, they blow leads and always have to mount a last minute rally all the time, and they CAN do that, so just enjoy the ride and wherever it ends….what the hell.
great point bout lincecum, i need to see one of his games soon.
Tough to be a front runner when your organization!s philosophy is to NEVER pay a long term deal to a stud #1 starter. Add Santana to what we have and WE would be way ahead.
Phils settin’ fans up for the fall, as opposed to the Fall. When out of CBP comfort/desperation zone and push comes to shove, do you really believe in this band of hot-doggin’ knuckleheads?
Storied General Ed Wade and troops (2 from WC) are ready to storm the hill. And Mets aren’t goin’ away despite recent fritter. Even Marlins (5 1/2 from WC) are jumping majestically from water in insouciant defiance of long odds. Lastly, if someone anesthetizes manager Ned Yost, Brewers still in it.
Hold onto your seats. Until Sept. 28th. Dirty dozen, straight ahead.
Wouldn’t it be great if ALL four Philly teams make the playoffs in the same season?
Rob, Cart before the horse, by 3 lengths.
The key to this team having success over the next 2 weeks and beyond is becoming apparent. Jimmy Rollins needs to get on base and Ryan Howard needs to knock him in. If those 2 elements are happening, the Phillies win games. The good part about that is now more than any other time this year, those 2 variables are clicking. We’ll see if they can keep up this hot streak and hopefully get me to a parade. And in case you didn’t know……Dallas Sucks!!!
What’s sad is that management/ownership couldn’t care less about what’s going on. This month, they are having their end of season meeting to discuss the profits from ticket sales and how to increase the costs next year.
The construction of a ”canopy” deck over Ashburn Alley to increase seating capacity/profits may be pitched by silent owners.
james -
i don’t think that management doesn’t care about winning. i think they do, just not as much as us.
i’ve said this many times here before. I firmly believe (having worked for the Phillies for 2 years) that they do care about winning, they just aren’t very good at running a baseball team, and aren’t very open minded when it comes to new ideas (like signing an ace to a long-term deal)
did anyone else see the story on Phillies.com that the Phils might consider signing CC Sabathia in the offseason? wasn’t much substance to it.
For now, the Cubs will be the Phillies’ best friend, they have a game with the Astros this afternoon, 6 games with the Brewers, 4 games with the Mets, and 3 games with the Cardinals for extra measure. Da Cubs!!! Something has to give for Philly, now they have to do their part. I think the Cubs will do theirs!!!
Yea for real we need them to get hot now. Hopefully Big Z’s no-no last night will give the Cubs a swift kick in the arse.
The only hope of us getting CC is if we pay alot because LA , Boston, and the Yanks are in the running. Also, Uncle Charlie really needs to turn up that southern charm of his to bring him in. This quote makes me optomistic…
“He gave me a shot,” Sabathia said. “He told me if I came in and played well, he’d put me on the team, and kept his word despite what a lot of people in the Indians’ organization thought. He means a lot to me.”
I hope the Phillies go balls to the wall in the offseason. Send Uncle Charlie to go out and pick up CC, and Manny (who thinks of Charlie in the same light as CC) . Trade Howard (eventhough he is killing it right now and alot of people may disagree) for a pitcher and center fielder (Jacoby Ellsbury and Hideki Okjima or some package like that). Move Victorino back to right (utilize that cannon arm). Sign Burrell and move him to first.
That was some series. Tough to see a sweep going in. Having two guys pitching on short rest and playing a double header, I didn’t like our chances at pulling it off.
You’re right, Pete. It’s very frustrating to know how we can play and not see it for months. That’s got to be in the back of all our minds. Is this just another burst of solid play that the Phils have flashed intermittently this season, or has the realization that it’s now or never truly sunk in and sharpened their focus?
Can’t say enough about Moyer. He truly is a leader by example. What he is doing is amazing and it seems as though we are going to give him a chance to keep doing it next year. I love to see the other pitchers seek him out him in the dugout, like Hamels did on Saturday (Fox caught a good shot of that).
Ryan Howard is some piece of work. It’s hard to come up with the exact mix of emotions he evokes in me. I guess it’s some combination of jaw-dropping exasperation, or awe-inspired frustration, or maddening amazement. His numbers are eye-popping, not because they are stratospherically way beyond anyone else in the league, but because I have followed him for the entire season and I can’t figure out how he has amassed them. I can’t decide which confounds me more, the numbers he puts up or how he goes about it. I lost track of the stat, but a few weeks ago he was hitting something like .360 when he puts the ball in play, which is why I go crazy when he doesn’t. For now, I’m very glad that he is doing it a lot more.
This Brett Myers situation is too much for me to take in. I mean, to pitch a complete game, 95 pitches, 65 for strikes, 2 hits, 1 walk, 1 run, all on short rest? It just isn’t done very often. (If I heard correctly, Andy Pettite was the last one to throw a CG on 3 days rest…back in 2000) To see him do it, after what has gone on with him this year, is almost incomprehensible to me. He has been locked in for a while now and there are no signs that he will come out of it for the rest of the season. Obviously, I would love to see our season continue through October. One reason for that is to see how long we could ride Myers.
This has got to be the end of the line for Ned Yost in Milwaukee. Not following the Brewers, I don’t know how much of their mess he has created, but certainly doesn’t appear to be helping much. They are going to pull the big fade and drop out of the playoffs for the second consecutive year. This would make you believe that there is something to the whole idea of being “battle tested” or dealing with the pressure. The Phils’ final 17 games last year were basically all playoff games. They had to perform well to get in and they did. Meanwhile the Brewers faded. This year the Phils find themselves in a similar situation and, so far, they have responded just like last year….and so have the Brewers. You have to hope this bodes well for us the rest of the way and also for the playoffs, should we make it that far.
Geez, a couple things I forgot to mention:
After the first inning of game 1 yesterday I was concerned that Blanton was going to struggle again and set us up for a tough day, but he really settled in. I’m hoping that the biceps tendinitis from which he has been suffering explains his last few poor starts. Also, that he is over it and we can count on him for a couple more good starts.
Blanton going 7 was a big deal. Couple that with Myers going all 9 and we only used the bullpen for 2 innings in the double header. Add in the rain out Friday and the off day today and our bullpen arms should be rested and ready.
Where this might come into play is Wednesday. The rainout and subsequent double header goofed up our rotation again. Moyer will pitch tomorrow on regular rest, but we don’t have anybody for Wednesday. Hamels is the next one in line but starting him on 3 days rest seems highly unlikely. That leaves Kendrick, Eaton, Happ, or a bullpen start as the possibilities. I’m sure they will wait to see how Tuesday’s game plays out before making any decisions. Hopefully Moyer can give us 7 and we can be up by 6 runs or something. That way we can use someone like Condrey to get us 2 innings and save everyone else for Wednesday, as a bullpen start would be my preference at this point. If the opposite happens, Wednesday could be very interesting. We are not out of the pitching woods just yet kids.
Maybe not bski. Any day now Moyers or Myers or Lidge – scions of millions - could be rocked. Law of averages, past being prologue. And, your boy, Hamels (ML arm, Williamsport mentality) - warm up his milk.
The Brewers will not win the Wild Card. Howard’s homer in Game One to tie it up killed their season. That may sound like a ridiculous statement, but the Brewers keeled over after that. The players’ facial expressions were like the ’07 Mets. I just don’t know if a young team like this can recover. Throwing Sabathia and Sheets at the Cubs this week could certainly help though…
Pete, I don’t feel bad for Brewers fans at all. I’m one of those 23 year old Philly sports fans who’s devoted hours to the local teams without sniffing a title. My 23 year old Brewer-fan counterpart enjoyed a Super Bowl in the mid-nineties with the Pack. Hate to be insensitive, but I got no sympathy for him.
All summer long, my general feeling regarding the Phillies’ playoff chances were that we didn’t have the starting pitching to win a short series. I figured that we would either draw Webb/Haren, Sheets/Sabathia, or Zambrano/Harden in a five game series. Now it’s looking like we may not have to worry about those first two pairs. Even more promising, our top three of Hamels, Myers and Moyer look to be extremely formidable.
Which begs the question: Am I crazy to think that our trio could outduel Zambrano, Harden and Dempster?
Note: Moyer is a singular pitcher of indubitable distinction.
Decade 1/20s – run of mill. Decade 2/30s – pretty good. Decade 3/40s – impressive. HOF? – nah, hardly
“…they just aren’t very good at running a baseball team, and aren’t very open minded when it comes to new ideas (like signing an ace to a long-term deal…”
I can agree with this.
But it’s insulting to even float a story about maybe singing Sabathia just to drive up ticket sales.
jjg –
wasn’t inferring moyer should go to the HOF. just pointing out his impressive company.
james -
might interest you to check out this post I wrote a couple months ago about whether or not the Phillies are cheap. It’s really just one way to look at it, and trust me, I think they can spend more, but it was some interesting info.
http://www.reclinergm.com/are-the-phillies-really-cheap/
Pete: My HOF comment wasn’t in reply to yours.
Lew Krausse (Chester), Jon Matlock (West Chester), Joe Kerrigan (Father Judge), Rawly Eastwick (Haddenfield), Orel Hershiser (Cherry Hill), Mark Gubicza (Penn Charter), Jamie Moyer (Souderton) - some pretty good local arms that got away through the years from the Phillies, for whatever the particular reasons, with Kerrigan (as coach), Eastwick and Moyer eventually finding the green, green grass of home.
Whoa just seen my mention in that old post.. I am honored. That being said I agree that they are not cheap just “turrble” at running a baseball team. Thats why I think our new GM has to come from another organization. I think “Ruben Arbuckle Jr.” will be a pair of company men and not do what is needed. Cashman is going to want out of New York because Hank Stein is bringing in all kinds of outsiders to make some decisions. I also have been hearing about the guy from the Rays, Gerry Hunsicker.
Hunsicker made the Astros a solid team for the years he was there (1995-2004) and you might have heard the Tampa Bay Rays are pretty good this year. He is currently running the show for them and seems to be doing well for that team. Also, he is a local guy and you see how that worked out for one of our other pro sports teams when we bring a local guy home. He goes right to work to tries and help his team become a winner.
Ned Yost just got fired. Ha!
I don’t know how to do statistics in baseball really. Its not my sport and runs produced is a term I have heard of only a handful of times before reading this. Why not just use OPS? Isn’t OPS generally accepted as a solid measure of productivity by the “stat geeks” in baseball? I am honestly asking.
Players by OPS
1. Utley – .913
2. Burrell – .881
3. Werth – .881
4. Howard – .858
5. Rollins – .790
6. Dobbs – .791
7. Victorino – .772
8. Coste – .764
9. Feliz – .708
10.Jenkins – .698
Players by RunProd/PA
1. Howard – .280
2. Dobbs – .258
3. Utley – .250
4. Victorino – .239
5. Werth – .236
6. Taguchi – .235 **pinch running a lot
7. Rollins – .206
8. Bruntlett – .203
9. Ruiz – .200
10. Burrell – .197
It seems like burrell is getting unfairly punished somehow here. I would guess because of pinch running, but that couldn’t do THAT much right? If you just look at runs produced a guy like Werth, because of less abs, is getting killed. He has been tremendous this year. I guess its like going by totals in basketball or going by per minute stats. Advantages either way. I like per minute.
Much to do about nothing I guess. Howard’s stats are absurd to me as well. At least he might hit .250 to restore some of what I thought I knew about baseball.
Joe-
There are many different ways people judge players. The crazy stat people enjoy Runs Created or Runs Created / 27 and VORP (Value over Replacement Player). I think runs created is a good stats, VORP i’m not completely sold on.
then you have 2nd level with newer stats like OPS, Runs produced etc…
then you have the 3rd, most simple level, where the records are: BA, RBI, HR.
EVERYBODY…Please help me out. I am going to lay out my thinking on Brett Myers. I would like to know if it is a little skewed.
1) I did not want the Phils to put Myers back in the rotation after last year.
2) I thought that his early season struggles showed that I was right about #1.
3) I thought that going down to the minors was the beginning of the end for him, especially considering the results he had down there.
4) I thought that he didn’t seem all that different in his first couple starts after coming back up. I thought he was pressing. Everything was forced, like he was trying to bull his way into becoming a top of the rotation starter.
5) Even though he was putting up one very good start after another, I still couldn’t accept that he had totally remade himself.
6) I still don’t know that I want to trust him for 35 starts next year.
Now, as I have said several times, I am thrilled that Myers has been able to turn himself around and I give him all the credit in the world for it. That said, I still have difficulty accepting that Myers has grown/matured/progressed/developed/transformed into the pitcher he will be from here on out for the rest of his career. Does anybody else feel this way?
If Myers gives us 2 or 3 more good starts, his 2008 season numbers will fall right in line with those from 2005 and 2006. That’s what is eating at me. He is having a Cy Young second half, but it is only balancing out his sub-par first half. What’s to say he won’t have a dominant first half next year and follow it up with a lousy second half?
Myers has been who he is over the past 6 years with us. I can’t shake the feeling that he will continue to be what he has been. He may have stretches of dominance, but nothing sustained. Something in the back of my brain tells me that the winter provides a long time for things to be unlearned or forgotten and, as we know, Myers doesn’t have the greatest track record there. I just think the odds are that he will revert back to who he was–which is possibly who he really is.
I guess I’m wondering how many of you believe that it just took him this long to finally put it all together, that he truly has transformed himself into a top of the rotation starter, and that he will remain the pitcher he is now? I’m not totally discounting it. I mean, it took Schilling several years to get his head straight and become the dominant starter he was for a good chunk of his career, so it certainly is possible that Myers has taken a major step on that road.
I’m guessing we will all find out next year. Myers has 1 year remaining on his contract. They have stuck with him through this year, so I expect them to keep him at least through next year. It’s just weird to watch him give us one good start after another and still think that his turnaround can’t be for real. Let me know if I am way off, if I’m seeing something that isn’t there, or if I’m not seeing something that is. Thanks.
bski, On Myers: He’s showed me something in getting up off the canvas. A lesser competitor would’ve been counted out. After such a fall, it’s not easy to climb back over the psychological hurdles of fans, media, teammates, coaches and self. Has he turned the corner for good? I’m not sure either.
But he’s got more stomach than a lot of pitchers, figuratively and (fluctuatingly so) literally. As genial Dave Montgomery
might say, he’s a wild card, but he’s OUR wild card. A little over .500 and a 4.00 ERA seems to be a reasonable expectation for future. After strong second half and value spike, would consider moving him, but return would have to be a solidly contributing pitcher or an everyday player in an area of weakness, plus minor league potential.
JJG…Thanks for your view. I think it’s time for me to come around on Myers. There are a lot of things I like about him: 1) He accepted a reassignment to the bullpen last year. 2) He accepted a re-reassignment to the rotation this year, even though he would have preferred to remain in the pen. 3) He accepted a minor league assignment this year because he knew he had to do something to straighten himself out. 4) He volunteered to pitch on 3 days rest. All of these things were done for the good of the team.
I have never doubted that Myers has the stuff to be a dominant pitcher. My concerns have always been about his head (and to a lesser extent his mechanics). I love his attitude from the standpoint that he wants the ball, wants to finish what he starts, is a fierce competitor, and wants to win. I’ve always felt that his problems have stemmed from not being able to control his emotions, to focus his intensity, and to channel his aggressiveness and make it work for him instead of against him.
One reason why I’ve questioned keeping Myers going forward is that this half season we’re getting from him put me in mind of Randy Wolf. There were several years where he gave us a very good half season (usually the second half if I remember). Many times I remember thinking, “Man, if he could come out of the chute next year pitching like this, we could be in pretty good shape”, but he never did it. I’m just hoping we’re not in for the same thing from Myers, but I guess I’m trying to read into it too much. The only thing you can really go on is what a guy does and half a season is a decent enough body of work to give you a pretty good idea.
Another reason is that Myers is scheduled to make $12 million next year and I have wondered if we could do better for that money. For example, what if we could package Myers with something else and get Halladay? He is under contract for $14.25 million next year and $15.75 million in 2010. For a couple million per year we could get a significant upgrade.
I’m not looking for Myers to be this pitcher for the rest of his career, or even for all of next season. It’s a bit unrealistic to expect him to continue what he has been doing lately from here on out. I’m just looking for him to be a dependable, quality starter. By all appearances, he can be that for us.
Definitely a weird situation bski. Before passing judgment on Myers, I want to see how he performs in the postseason (knock on wood). If he continues to deliver like this… why would you let him go? The Phillies track record of bringing in pitchers via trade or free agency… not so great. I’ll take the good with the bad (Ryan Howard is another example of this) if it gets us to the postseason and beyond.
Raro…It is a weird situation. That’s why I’m looking for other points of view. Thanks for responding.
You’ve got to figure it’s a virtual certainty that Myers will be in the rotation next year. He is under contract (the last year–which should give him extra incentive to remain focused). Also, the Phils have stuck with him this long and I’m sure they would like to receive the benefit for doing so. Finally, we have enough question marks in our 2009 rotation already.
Let’s hope that Myers gives us more good than bad from here on out.
bski, I’ve never seen Myers in a stretch like this. I fell right in line with your opinion prior to the last couple of weeks but he finally seems to have a thoughtful approach to pitching. I think Moyer is having an impact on the entire staff. Also, the guy we got from the A’s has similar but less effective stuff then Myers. Maybe he also is providing some helpful feedback to him. Hopefully, he has finally gotten it!
sfw-
SFW...Thanks for your input. Good to know I wasn’t the only one thinking that way. Myers really does seem to be “pitching” more lately, rather than trying to throw it by everyone. I guess we’ll find out next year if he has indeed actually gotten it.
I see that Happ is getting the start tomorrow. The reason: “Probably Kyle’s struggles,” pitching coach Rich Dubee said, when asked what pushed Happ to the top. “They really haven’t seen Happ. He’s lefthanded. We thought it was just a little better match up.”
Not exactly a ringing endorsement, huh? Kind of reminds me of that old joke about asking for a volunteer to step forward. Happ gets the assignment because his two main competitors have taken a major step back, leaving him alone in front. Obviously, Kendrick has pitched himself to the fringes for the rest of this season (and possibly beyond). Meanwhile, Eaton isn’t even a part of the conversation and rightly so.
I hope Happ pitches well for two reasons. First, because we will need a 5th starter next Monday, also against the Braves. If he pitches well tomorrow, you’ve got to figure Happ gets the nod again. Second, the element of unfamiliarity may work in his favor tomorrow, but I doubt it will continue for him next Monday, so he will need to pitch well in order to help us.
If he does not pitch well tomorrow…I don’t really want to think about that now.
Pete, I’m hoping he’s better than what we’ve seen. I like his makeup. Good old kentucky boy. Woody Fryman!!!!
Bski, I don’t see them going with Kendrick again this year. I’d also like to see Happ get a shot.
SFW…It sure looks like Happ will get two shots as long as he gives us a decent effort tomorrow. Kendrick simply must be damaged goods at this point, so I agree that we probably won’t see him start again this year.
Great comeback win tonight. Howard is still in “beast mode”. 4-5 with a 2-run homerun, a triple, 2 runs, 3 rbi, and we needed all of it.
This was one of those games you need from your offense from time to time and we had a few guys (Werth, Victorino, and the aforementioned Howard) step up. Burrell really had a rough night. 0-5 with 5 strikeouts…Yikes! Thankfully, the rest of the bats picked him up.
I think making his last start on short rest caught up to Moyer tonight.
Lidge had himself another tightrope walk on his way to recording his 37th save in 37 chances. I think this was the closest call he has had. He really wasn’t sharp at all. 3 walks, 33 pitches, 18 balls, 15 strikes is not so hot. This has been happening more frequently, but he is still getting the job done. He’s got to be unavailable tomorrow after that.
Playoff drive update:
The Cards lost to the Reds 7-2. They have now lost 6 in a row and are basically out of it.
The Astros lost one of the two extra games they had over us yesterday and they went on to lose to the Marlins 5-1 tonight.
The Mets lost one of their extra games yesterday and they also dropped another one tonight to the Nationals 1-0.
The Brewers are losing to the Cubs 4-3 in the bottom of the 8th. A loss for them in a game Sabathia pitches would be sweet. It would also be his first loss with them.
Let’s keep this roll going as long as we can.
The Cubs did win!!! So we are also 1 game ahead of the Brewers as a safety net!! To the Phillies, keep up the momentum, including that series with the Marlins!!!
I was just checking out the Mets’ schedule and they finish the season with a three game series against the Cubs. That can only be a good thing, no? And what do you guys think of all this Howard for MVP talk?