| Related sites for http://www.blogging-baseball.com/ |
| Nate_Adams_Freestyle_Motocross Providing biography, photos, sponsors, news and contact details. | | Fun_\'n_Stuff Located in Macedonia, Ohio with indoor and outdoor facilities for miniature golf, roller skating, video arcades, bumper boats and racing cars. | | Alpha_Netball_Club Competitive and fun netball club in South London. Provides information and training on local umpiring and coaching courses for members who wish to develop these skills and become qualified. | | Brown_University Schedule, results and roster for this team from Providence, Rhode Island. | | Hidden_Behind_Innocence Fan site containing information and multimedia. | | Good_Ol\'_Time_Racing_Association Vintage dirt track stock car racing, 1928 through 1948 stock cars, racing on dirt tracks in the midwest. | | ClaretFlag_com News, match reports, player profiles, ground guide, links, and a message board. | | Michigan_Paint_Horse_Association Regional American Paint Horse Association Club. Includes contacts, membership application, rules, calendar of events, high point results, and futurity information. | | Southern_Oregon_University_Men\'s_Basketball Raiders [2] - official web site. | | Onlineshrine_com_-_Jose_Contreras Daily news, biography and statistics. | | World_Cup_Blog Visit World Cup Blog for news, previews, gossip and football betting for the Germany 2006 World Cup. | | Cincinnati_State_Technical_and_Community_College_Men\'s_Basketball [1] - official web site - schedule. | | NewsNow__Carlisle_United News headlines from the UK and around the world, updated every five minutes. | | Baseball_Almanac Historical research concerning the organization that includes a record book, rosters, uniform numbers and award winners. | | Yorkshire_Dales_Trekking_Center Offers several Dales and Shetland Pony trekking tours through the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Skipton, North Yorkshire, England. | | Hendrix_College_Women\'s_Basketball Warriors - official basketball web site with women's hoops news, schedule, roster. | | A_Tribute_to_Trevor_Ettinger A memorial Site for the late Syracuse Crunch enforcer. | | Yahoo!_Sports__UNO_Basketball Standings, schedule, team log, team statistics, roster and news. | | D10-Kent_Little_League News and information for players, coaches and parents, including schedule, field locations, coaching tips, lost and found, and links. | | Excite_Sports___Boston_Celtics Team news, analysis, statistics, rosters, scores, and photos. |
|
| Blogging-Baseball.com /* To accomodate differing install paths of WordPress, images are referred only here, and not in the wp-layout.css file. If you prefer to use only CSS for colors and what not, then go right ahead and delete the following lines, and the image files. */ body { background: url("http://www.blogging-baseball.com/wp-content/themes/default/images/kubrickbgcolor.jpg"); } #page { background: url("http://www.blogging-baseball.com/wp-content/themes/default/images/kubrickbg.jpg") repeat-y top; border: none; } #header { background: url("http://www.blogging-baseball.com/wp-content/themes/default/images/kubrickheader.jpg") no-repeat bottom center; } #footer { background: url("http://www.blogging-baseball.com/wp-content/themes/default/images/kubrickfooter.jpg") no-repeat bottom; border: none;}/* Because the template is slightly different, size-wise, with images, this needs to be set here If you don't want to use the template's images, you can also delete the following two lines. */ #header { margin: 0 !important; margin: 0 0 0 1px; padding: 1px; height: 198px; width: 758px; } #headerimg { margin: 7px 9px 0; height: 192px; width: 740px; } /* To ease the insertion of a personal header image, I have done it in such a way, that you simply drop in an image called 'personalheader.jpg' into your /images/ directory. Dimensions should be at least 760px x 200px. Anything above that will get cropped off of the image. */ /* #headerimg { background: url('http://www.blogging-baseball.com/wp-content/themes/default/images/personalheader.jpg') no-repeat top;} */
/* CAPTCHA-Styles */
p.captcha_1,
p.captcha_2,
p.captcha_notvalid
{
margin-left: 30px;
margin-right: 20px;
font-size: 12px;
font-style: normal;
font-weight: normal;
font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
background: transparent;
}
p.captcha_2
{
vertical-align: middle;
font-style: italic;
font-weight: normal;
}
p.captcha_notvalid
{
font-weight: bold;
color: #FFAAAA;
}
.captchapict
{
margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
/* border-style: solid;*/
border-style: solid;
border-width: 1px;
border-color: #C0C0C0;
}
Myers, Victorino Lead Phillies Past Dodgers in Game 2
October 11th, 2008
  Brett Myers was shakey on the mound in his 5 inning outing, but found some hitting skills going 3 for 3 with 3 RBIs. Centerfielder Shane Victorino drove in 4 other runs with a single and triple as the Phillies parlayed 4 runs each in the 2nd and 3rd innings pummelling Chad Billingsley enroute to an 8-5 win over the Dodgers in the NLCS game 2 on Friday.Meanwhile, in the other league, Boston’s Daisuke Matsuzaka, off an 18-3 - 2.90 ERA regular season, shut out the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on 4 hits by a 2-0 score in Friday’s opener of the ALCS. Dice-K walked 4 but struck out 9 over seven innings. 2 relievers bridged the Red Sox over the eighth inning to get to closer Jon Papelbon who closed out the ‘Rays on 12 pitches in the ninth striking out 2.In a game where manager Charlie Manuel found out that his Mother passed away, and where Shane Victorino was told after the game that his grandmother died, Myers quickly put the Dodgers down in the first inning striking out 2. Billingsley followed suit retiring the Phils in their half of the first, including 2 strikeouts. 2nd baseman Chase Utley was walked on 5 pitches, the 1st of 4 times in the game that he was walked.L.A. was first to hit the scoreboard in the second on a single, double and a sacrifice fly. The Phils responded with 4 runs in their half. The Dodgers notched a 2nd run on 2 walks and a single after which the Phils responded with 4 more runs in their 3rd to take an 8-2 lead.In the fourth, the game appeared to be taking a wild turn as a 3rd strike wild pitch with 2 outs gave the Dodgers new life. With two men on, leftfielder Manny Ramirez nailed Myers’ 1-1 pitch to the seats in leftfield to draw the Dodgers to within 8-5. But the Phils held on with some gritty relief pitching.AP Sports writer Rob Maaddi describes the game for Yahoo sports;Myers unnerved some of the Dodgers’ hitters [early]. He threw some high-and-tight fastballs in the first inning and the one really wild pitch that sailed behind Ramirez.Myers knocked down Russell Martin with a fastball right before he struck out on a slow curve. That brought up Ramirez with two outs and nobody on.Myers’ first pitch was in and the next one, a 94 mph fastball, was several feet behind the Ramirez. Never shy to tell a pitcher he doesn’t appreciate getting brushed back, Ramirez didn’t say a word and ended up striking out on a 3-2 slider.Dodgers starter Chad Billingsley allowed eight runs—seven earned—and eight hits in 2 1-3 innings. The 24-year-old right-hander pitched 6 2-3 strong innings in a win over the Cubs in Game 2 of the division series.Myers had a go-ahead RBI single with two outs in a four-run second inning, and his two-run single chased Billingsley in the third. Myers was 4-for-58 in the regular season and is a lifetime .116 hitter.“It’s crazy,” he said.Billingsley struck out four of the first six batters he faced, but quickly ran into trouble after fanning Pat Burrell and Jayson Werth in the second.Greg Dobbs hit a soft single up the middle and scored when Carlos Ruiz hit a double to left-center. Myers lined the next pitch to right-center to drive in Ruiz and give the Phillies a 2-1 lead.Jimmy Rollins bounced a single up the middle and Myers chugged toward third. [Matt] Kemp misplayed the ball in center field or he could’ve thrown Myers out to end the inning. Rollins hustled into second on the play.Victorino followed with a two-run single to left-center to make it 4-1. The Flyin’ Hawaiian slapped his hands after rounding first and the fans went wild.Loney’s two-out RBI single to center cut it to 4-2 in the third. The Dodgers loaded the bases when Kemp reached on third baseman Dobbs’ fielding error, but Myers escaped the jam by striking out Blake DeWitt on a slow curve.Pumped up by his pitching, Myers came through at the plate again. The Phillies loaded the bases with no outs. After Ruiz’s grounder forced Burrell at home, Myers slapped a liner past first baseman [James] Loney down the right-field line to give the Phillies a 6-2 lead.Chan Ho Park came in and struck out Rollins, but Victorino tripled to right-center to make it 8-2. Los Angeles used two more pitchers to get out of the inning.Victorino made a leaping catch of Casey Blake’s drive at the center-field fence to end the seventh.“He hit it well,” Victorino said. “I just told myself, try to get back.”Myers had thrown 102 pitches after five innings and replaced by reliever Chad Durbin who gave up a sixth inning hit but retired the Dodgers on 10 pitches. J.C. Romero retired 2 in the seventh and Ryan Madson finished out the the inning and retired the Dodgers in the eighth. Closer Brad Lidge finished the Dodgers off in the ninth by striking out the side for his 2nd save of the series. Billingsley, who gave up 8 runs in 2 1/3 innings, was charged with the loss.For the scores, boxscores and recaps on Friday’s games, click here. The teams have a travel day on Saturday before 45 year old veteran lefthander Jamie Moyer opposes rookie Hiroki Kuroda in Los Angeles on Sunday. On Monday, Joe Blanton is listed to start for the Phils while the Dodgers have not yet determined their starter.For the scores, boxscores and recaps on Saturday’s and Sunday’s games, click here and here.Add to:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.|  del.icio.us |  digg |  Furl |  Reddit |  YahooMyWeb |
Posted in Real-Time Baseball News and Commentary, Phillies and NL East, Analysis, Predictions, etc, 2008 Phillies Highlights | No Comments »
Hamels, Utley, Burrell Lead Phillies Past Dodgers in NLCS Game 1
October 10th, 2008
   Well-rested ace lefthander Cole Hamels tossed seven fine innings, 2nd baseman Chase Utley and leftfielder Pat Burrell hit homers off of Derek Lowe in a 3 run sixth inning and Ryan Madson and closer Brad Lidge easily shut the door in the eighth and ninth innings as the Phillies edged the Dodgers by a 3-2 score in game one of the NLCS.But amidst all of the media hype about Hamels’ pitching performance and the 2 homer, 3 run Phillies’s sixth inning, there were two factors in this game that spelled victory for the Phillies.One was Hamels’ stickwork in the fifth inning following catcher Carlos Ruiz’s 2 out single to rightfield with one of his own right centerfield as Lowe needed 18 pitches to retire the Phils, 13 pitches just to get the final out. After 15 more Lowe pitches in the sixth inning, the Phils had a 3-2 lead. He obviously seemed rattled by Hamels’ single, only the 4th hit he gave up. It apparently led to Lowe’s demise.The 2nd factor was the absence of Manny Ramirez in impacting on the Dodger offense, despite his 2 for 4 game. While Manny’s first inning double, which was just short of being a 2 run homer, drove in rightfielder Andre Ethier who preceded him with a double, the inability of leadoff hitter shortstop Rafael Furcal and Ethier set up Ramirez through the remainder of the game, as well as his own pop out with a runner on and 1 out in the fourth were testament to Hamels’ mound performance in containing the main cog of the Dodger offense to earn his 2nd career post-season win.As noted, the Dodgers notched their first run in the first and added another in the fourth as centerfielder Matt Kemp led off with a ground-rule double, advanced to 3rd on 3rd baseman Casey Blake’s ground out to shortstop. Kemp then scored on 2nd baseman Blake DeWitt’s fly out to centerfield.Lowe held the Phils in near total check until centerfielder Shane Victorino took 2nd on a two-base throwing error by shortstop Furcal. Utley wasted no time in blasting Lowe’s very next pitch way out to rightfield. After 1st baseman Ryan Howard grounded out, Burrell took Lowe to a 3-1 count before blistering a solo shot to the leftfield stands to give the Phils the lead which held as Hamels, Madson and Lidge shut the Dodgers down totally in the seventh, eighth and ninth.AP Sports Writer Rob Maaddi notes for Yahoo sports;;Burrell is in the final season of a $50 million, six-year contract and it’s uncertain whether the Phillies will bring him back. The way he’s swinging now, he won’t have a hard time finding a home.Despite Burrell’s cold spells during the season, he with Utley were big factors in the Phillies’ early season run, was a factor in their late-season surge and has been big thus far in the playoffs with 5 for 15 including 3 homers and 5 RBIs. And next to Ramirez, Burrell seems a bargain.To his credit, Lowe pitched well in a losing cause but had no margin for error thanks to an offense shut down by Phils’ pitching.Friday marks Pat Burrell’s 32nd birthday. Here’s hoping that “The Bat” has a Birthday blast (or two, or more) on Chad Billingsley on the way to a commanding 2-0 lead in this NLCS. The last time these teams met in post-season play in 1983, the Phils won by a 3-1 margin in games in what was then a best of 5 series. The Phils had previously lost to the Dodgers in NLCS by identical 3-1 margins in 1977 and 1978.Game 2 pits Brett Myers against Chad Billingsley in another BiG Money game for Myers. The teams have a travel day on Saturday before 45 year old veteran lefthander Jamie Moyer opposes rookie Hiroki Kuroda in game 3 in Los Angeles on Sunday.For all of the scores, boxscores and recaps on Friday’s and Saturday’s games, click here and here. Add to:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.| del.icio.us | digg | Furl | Reddit | YahooMyWeb |
Posted in Real-Time Baseball News and Commentary, Phillies and NL East, Analysis, Predictions, etc, 2008 Phillies Highlights | No Comments »
Blanton, 4 Homers Push Phillies Past Brewers to NLCS
October 5th, 2008
   Shortstop Jimmy Rollins took matters right to Milwaukee’s Jeff Suppan launching a lead-off homer. Leftfielder Pat Burrell and rightfielder Jayson Werth clubbed back-to-back homers accounting for 4 third inning Phillie runs with Burrell going yard for good measure in the eighth. Mid-season acquisition Joe Blanton tossed a six inning gem with reliever Ryan Madson and closer Brad Lidge nailed down a 6-2 win clinching the Phils’ spot in the NLCS against the Dodgers.Burrell was unquestionably the offensive star of this show, going 3 for 4 with 2 homers and driving in 4 runs in a performance that recalled memories of the red-hot Burrell who sizzled through April and through most of May. With 1st baseman Ryan Howard having gone 2 for 11 in the series while walking 5 times and striking out 5 times, and with 2nd baseman Chase Utley faring even worse at 2 for 15, Burrell was almost single-handedly THE run producer. Against the Dodgers, the trio will have to come to life and the pitching will have to keep Manny Ramirez out of the offense. Also advisable to hit plenty in Manny’s direction; one could say that he’s been known to be defensively nonchalant.MLB.com’s Ken Mandel recaps the game;the Phillies’ dormant offense awoke with a clap, pounding playoff-tested Jeff Suppan and the Brewers, 6-2, in Game 4 of the National League Division Series…Scoring all six runs via the long ball — the first ripple came on Jimmy Rollins’ second career postseason leadoff homer — the Phillies took control by the third, providing a nice cushion for Joe Blanton, who was making his first playoff start.Pitching for the first time since Sept. 26, the right-hander dismantled the Brewers easily and efficiently. He retired 11 of the first 12 batters and didn’t allow a runner beyond first base until Prince Fielder erased his shutout with a leadoff homer in the seventh. He left after throwing 107 pitches.The starting pitcher delivered a huge performance, the bats found their home run groove, and the Brewers and their fans were promptly taken out of the equation by the reigning NL MVP’s opening first swing.AP National Writer Nancy Armour adds to the recap of the game for Yahoo sports;The Brewers had their own offensive worries, though Blanton can take credit for most of those. The burly right-hander, acquired in July from Oakland, hadn’t pitched since Sept. 26 and was making only his second career postseason appearance. But he was in a groove from the minute he took the mound, thanks partly to Rollins’ leadoff homer.“From the first batter, it really set the tone. It allowed me to get comfortable,” Blanton said.After a first-inning single by [Ryan] Braun, Blanton retired his next 10 hitters, with only four balls leaving the infield. He finally wore out in the seventh, giving up a leadoff homer to Prince Fielder, who had been 0-for-12 in his first postseason. After J.J. Hardy followed with a single, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel replaced Blanton with Ryan Madson.Hardy advanced to third on two groundouts, but Madson retired Jason Kendall on a popout to end the threat.The Brewers added another run in the eighth on Braun’s two-out RBI single, and the Milwaukee fans—including the blue-collar truck driver in Miller ads who’s made it his mission to “take back the High Life”—stood and began clapping their Thunder Stix, sensing a change in momentum.But Utley made a gorgeous, leaping catch of Fielder’s liner to second to end the inning.For all of the scores, boxscores and recaps on Sunday’s games, click here.The Phillies, who will now have 3 days of rest and will open the NLCS with the L.A. Dodgers on Thursday at Citizen’s Bank Park, seemingly have their starting rotation right where they want it. Pitchers have not been announced yet, but I strongly suspect that a well-rested lefthander4 Cole Hamels will get the nod in the opener and Brett Myers will go in game 2.The Phils and Dodgers have met 3 times in NLCS play with the Dodgers winning in 1977 and 1978 while the Phils turned the tables on the Dodgers and winning the 1983 NLCS.Add to:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.| del.icio.us | digg | Furl | Reddit | YahooMyWeb |
Posted in Real-Time Baseball News and Commentary, All Time Team Highlights, 2008 Phillies Highlights | No Comments »
Brewers Beat Phillies, Avoid Elimination
October 5th, 2008
The Brewers put 2 quick first inning runs on the board Saturday when veteran lefthander Jamie Moyer walked the 1st 2 hitters, threw a wild pitch and saw a run score on a sacrifice and another on a single. The Brewers scored single runs in the fifth and seventh innings and the Phillies scored their only run off of Dave Bush in the sixth. They attempted a ninth inning rally loading the bases with none out. But closer Salomon Torres and the Brewers benefited by interference on centerfielder Shane Victorino on a doubleplay to top the Phils by a 4-1 score and to live to play game 4 on Sunday. Meanwhile, the L.A. Dodgers got by the
  Ace lefthander Cole Hamels pitched a gem as the Phillies offense capitalized on a 3rd inning fielding error by 2nd baseman Rickie Weeks to score 3 runs and Hamels made the lead stand up holding the Brewers scoreless through eight innings. Things got a bit dicey for closer Brad Lidge in ninth as the Brewers score a run on 2 hits, a walk, an error and wild pitch but the Phils held on for a 3-1 win.Meanwhile, the L.A. Dodgers shocked the Chicago Cubs by winning their Division series opener by a 7-2 score as 17 game winner Ryan Dempster was pounded for a 1 out grand slam homer by 1st baseman James Loney after walking the bases loaded in the fifth inning. The Cubs had taken an early 2-0 lead on 2nd baseman Mike DeRosa’s 2nd inning 1 out 2 run homer off of winning pitcher Derek Lowe. Dempster was very wild throughout walking 7 in 4 2/3 innings while giving up 4 hits. 3 other Cub relievers were smacked for 3 runs, including 2 solo homers, one run each in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings.The story in Wednesday’s opener was almost all Cole Hamels. In eight innings, he totally shut down the Brewers on but 2 hits while walking only 1 and striking out 9. He retired the 1st 14 Brewers he faced before rightfielder Corey Hart singled to rightfield with 2 outs in the fifth. After replacement 2nd baseman Craig Counsell singled and centerfielder Mike Cameron walked with 1 out in the sixth, Hamels retired the final 8 Brewers he faced.Meanwhile, the Phils scored their 3 runs in the third inning as a miscue on Hamels’ grounder brought the Phillies offense to life against youngster Yovani Gallardo. AP sports writer Rob Maaddi describes the inning for Yahoo sport;The 22-year-old righty allowed three unearned runs and three hits in four innings, walking five. Gallardo became the second pitcher in major league history to start a postseason game without recording a win that year. He pitched in three games before he injured his right knee on May 1 and had a 1.88 ERA to go with four no-decisions.“Things like that are going to happen,” Gallardo said about the defensive lapses. “There’s no excuse for you to come in and let your guard down. You still have to go out there and make pitches and get out of situations like that.”Carlos Ruiz started Philadelphia’s third inning with a single. Hamels then bunted hard to third baseman Bill Hall, who bobbled the ball, costing him a chance to get Ruiz at second. Second baseman Rickie Weeks dropped Hall’s throw to first for an error.Gallardo almost worked out of the jam, though. He retired Jimmy Rollins on a shallow fly and struck out Jayson Werth. But [Chase] Utley ripped a liner through a swirling wind to center. Cameron took a poor route, raced back and reached up for a backhanded catch only to have the ball bounce out of his glove.Both runners scored on Utley’s double for a 2-0 lead. A three-time Gold Glove winner, Cameron usually makes that play look routine.“If he doesn’t make that catch, nobody can,” Sveum said.Gallardo intentionally walked Ryan Howard and then walked Pat Burrell to load the bases. Gallardo walked Shane Victorino to force in another run, before retiring Pedro Feliz on a fly to center.AP’s Rob Maaddi adds this comment and quote from the Brewer’s manager regarding Hamels;Cole Hamels was so dominant the Milwaukee Brewers were glad to see Brad Lidge come in. “Not too many times you can say you’re happy to see Lidge, but we didn’t hit the ball hard off Hamels all day,” Brewers manager Dale Sveum said.Hamels baffled the fastball-hitting Brewers with his dazzling changeup, helping the Phillies earn their first postseason win since the 1993 World Series… Philadelphia’s previous postseason win was a 2-0 victory over Toronto on Curt Schilling’s five-hitter Oct. 21, 1993. The Blue Jays clinched the series on Joe Carter’s homer off of Mitch Williams in Game 6. The Phils, through the regular season, were perfect when holding a lead after eight innings and extended that perfection into the playoffs. Lidge was a perfect 41 saves for 41 chances and extended his perfection into the Division series game 1 as well, but it wasn’t easy.AP’s Maaddi recaps the ninth inning;Manager Charlie Manuel considered sending Hamels out to start the ninth, but decided to go with Lidge. The Brewers got the tying run to the plate, but Prince Fielder fanned for the second out. After J.J. Hardy walked to put two runners on, they advanced on a wild pitch. Then Hart struck out swinging to end it.For all of the scores, boxscores and recaps on Wednesday’s games, click here.Pitching assignments appear to line up like this so far for the 2nd and 3rd game of the series; C.C. Sabathia goes on Thursday against Brett Myers and in Saturday’s game 3 at Milwaukee, 45 year old lefthander Jamie Moyer, who now has clinched NL East division titles in the last 2 seasons for the Phillies, is opposed by Jeff Suppan.For all of the scores, boxscores and recaps on Thursday’s, Friday’s and Saturday’s games, |
|
