Phillies Phrustration

After a full week of watching the Phillies lose every game to AL teams, I have to admit I’m getting frustrated.  Yes, we’re still in 1st place with a slim lead over the Mets.  Yes, we sucked this badly last year against AL teams and still won the division, then the World Series.  And I know it’s still early, so why panic?

A Tragic End For The Sixers

Well, it’s one and done again this year for the Sixers. This time, it was the Magic, minus Dwight Howard, who ended their season in 6 games. They showed promise at times, but not enough to win a series. To win in the playoffs, you need a a cohesive team, a well-executed game plan, and oh yeah, players who are good enough.

How the Magic will beat the Sixers

Ed Stafanski supposedly likes the Sixers’ first (and probably only) round match-up against the Orlando Magic, even though Kevin Garnett will not play for the Celtics (who the Sixers would have played if they had lost their last game of the season). Never mind the fact that they lost all three games to the Magic this season, or that they are limping into the playoffs without Brand and a 100% healthy Thaddeus Young.

That leaves Dalembert, Ratliff, and Evans to try to guard Dwight Howard (key word there is try). All he has to do if/when (believe me they will try) they double him in the paint is to kick it out to Turkoglu and Lewis who will inevitably knock down a ton of 3’s.

The Sixers have no answer = No shooters + No defense.

Outcome: Magic in 5.

4 Reasons why the Eagles will NOT trade for Boldin

1. Draft Picks – The Cards are asking a steep price for any player to be traded in the NFL. A first and third rounder, really? They will probably be willing to negotiate if a team is very interested, but the Eagles usually aren’t that friendly with that sort of thing.
   

Gone but never forgotten

Harry Kalas died today, the voice of a generation gone with him.  He suffered right along with us as we waited and ached for a Phillies championship.  But you could also feel the excitement in his voice every time he called a home run.  He exemplified true passion for this city and team, and listening to Phillies games will never be the same.  We will miss you, Harry.

Phillies win or Braves lose?

The Phillies finished out their first series of the new season as we are typically used to – more losses than wins.  But, they managed to erase an enormous deficit thanks to some wild pitching by the Braves’ relievers and earned enough walks to tally up an 8 run inning late in the game.  Then, in true form, our hero Brad Lidge saved the day – I mean game.

The Phillies were undefeated against the Rockies last year, so let’s hope the streak can continue.  That would be great news for Hamels, who didn’t exactly impress me during Spring Training.  Hopefully, he can get his fastball back up into the low 90’s.

I think the Phils will be fine this year; I’m not running around screaming that the sky is falling just quite yet.  The Braves seem to be improved, but other than that I think the division is not very competitive.  I fully expect the Mets to continually collapse until they prove they are capable of winning when it counts.  Sure, they added a few good pieces where they needed to improve, but it’s all talk until September.

This season might not be quite as magical as last year, but I’m still going to enjoy the ride.

In the neighborhoold again

Another AWESOME Philly Sports blog is Phinally Philly. They are constantly rolling out great articles on everything going on in Philly Sports. I’m following them on Twitter (@Phinally) and recently responded to them asking for questions. My question was, “Which Phillies starter will win the most games this year?”.

Here is their response to my question. They picked Hamels – here’s my comment on their site:

Thanks for answering my question, that’s awesome! My pick is Brett Myers, mostly because we NEED him to be consistent and hopefully he won’t get sent down to the minors this year if he can keep his head on straight!! Not Hamels just because of injury questions, although he would be my second pick assuming he gets and stays healthy. I also have questions about Moyer’s age, but I think the main reason he won so many games last year was great run support. Blanton should fit in nicely in the 4th spot, and who knows if Park will even remain the 5th starter all year? I’d love to see Happ back in that role at some point. Here’s my breakdown (completely random guess):

Wins by starters:

Myers: 16
Hamels: 14
Blanton: 11
Moyer: 10
Park: 7

And hey if you want another question, How likely is it that Lidge will be perfect again this year? Looks good so far.

Make sure you leave a comment and let them know what you think about your team!

Myers struggles as Phillies lose opener

Braves: 4 – Phillies: 1

Well, the Phillies lost their first game of the season as defending World Series Champs. It’s really getting old at this point, having lost 8 of their last 9 season openers, so we’re kind of used to it. No one is panicking, although every commentator in the country talking about the Phillies today will say, “It’s only 1 game, there are still 161 games to play”, as if we are really worried. Really, guys? I wish you could offer me more, but then again, I no longer expect anything better.

I promise I’m really not in a bad mood today. Got the NCAA championship tonight, which should be exciting. I think the Spartans can make any game exciting, and they definitely play like they want it the most. They’ll need everything they have though, going against a great NC team. It’s scary because they haven’t really struggled, including against Villanova, but clearly have not played their best yet. So, if they are really on tonight, watch out Michigan State. But I think/hope it will be a close game. Is anyone going to play a drinking game for how many times they cut to Magic Johnson in the crowd? Seriously, we get it.

Somewhat lost in the excitement of the Phillies starting a new season was the Sixers getting blown out by the Nets, a pitiful team that always gives us trouble (except when they don’t). But, it was the second game of a back to back, so I’m not worried. I think they’ll roll into the playoffs and probably get Orlando, which would be a good series if both teams were completely healthy. I don’t think we have anyone to match Howard (most teams don’t), but if Young isn’t back, it might not even be close. As we like to say, there’s always next year.