Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz ripped a two-out double in the 11th inning yesterday to score Chase Utley to secure the both the win and the series against the baseball royalty, the New York Yankees.
This win also capped an 8-2 road trip record that went through Cincinnati, Washington, and culminated in New York yesterday with a 4-3 11-inning victory.
“We earned it,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said.
Charlie isn’t lying when he says that. Brad Lidge continuing his day-to-day horror show for the fans did it again in the ninth yesterday. After giving up the tying run, Lidge settled down and gave the Phils a chance to go ahead and win.
“I’ve got a lot of confidence,” Manuel said. “He’s got a lot of talent. He’s got a big fastball and a good slider. You know what he needs? Just to get ’em out one more time. That’s what he needs. He’s fine.”
‘Today was totally different than yesterday. I felt great. I was throwing the ball where I wanted to,” Lidge said.
“They got two ground balls that weren’t necessarily hit that well, and a stolen base in there and that was a recipe for a run. The things I was in control of today I feel real good about.”
Carlos Ruiz came up in the 11th inning with the game on the line basically for the Phillies. But, Manuel said after the game that he thought about pinch-hitting for Ruiz. Thank goodness he didnt follow through.
Chase Utley walked to get on base with two outs. Utley stole second base to get in scoring position. Ruiz had a great at-bat, fouling off three pitches before driving in Utley for the winning run with a double to left-field.
“Once he (Utley) stole second base, I knew it was a big at-bat for me,” Ruiz said. “I got a good pitch to hit, and I made good contact.”
Clay Condrey came back to the mound in the bottom of the 11th to secure the win in his second inning of relief work.
Ruiz fininshed the day going 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI, and a walk. He is .438 with five doubles, one home run, eight RBIs, eight walks, a .550 on-base percentage and .688 slugging percentage in his past nine games.
Cole Hamels was solid on the mound once again and the Phils every chance to push the lead even further. The troubling fact of his start was that he threw 109 pitches though six innings. While Yankees ace CC Sabathia went eight innings barely going over the century mark.
“They’re a tough team and they definitely make you pitch,” Hamels said. “You really have to be more effective earlier in the count because they make you work a lot harder than you should.”
Hamels was surprised with the Mark Teixeira homer in the sixth. The pitch shattered his bat, but Teixeira powered his way to a home run five rows over the left-field wall to bring the Phillies lead to only one, 3-2.
“Most of the time when you hear a broken bat you’re like, ‘OK, that’s a popup,'” Hamels said. “Unfortunately, he’s a strong a guy and he got the barrel on the ball and it just took off. I looked up and saw Jayson Werth run in and I was like, ‘it’s definitely an out,’ but there’s a first for everything. That’s definitely the first broken-bat home run.”
Hamels is 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA over his last five starts, thats great news for Phillies fans and the team as a whole.
It was an emotional win for the Phils, their first series in the brand-new palace that is Yankee Stadium.
Jamie Moyer will look for his second consecutive quality start at Citizens Bank Park tonight as Philadelphia begins a three-game set with the Florida Marlins. The Phillies are 24-18 and are a game and a half over the Mets for tops in the NL East.
Note
Shane Victorino continued his dominance over CC Sabathia, going 3-for-5 yesterday against the powerful lefty.
If the 2-1 series win is any indication of the prediction Jimmy Rollins made (Phils vs. NYY in the World Series), this could be another banner year.
One thing I love about the Bleacher Report is my strong feelings for Carlos Ruiz are well documented. I like being right as much as I like winning. And today I won a double-header.
That brings us to my tribute.
Ode to Carlos
The guy behind home plate
Hails from another place
Van Halen praised it in a song
Our hero’s home’s in Panama
How many clichés can we create?
The kid from Panama caused some Panam-onium.
Carlos KO’ed the Bronx bombers and gave the City of Brotherly Love a Rocky moment.
Carlos hurt the Yankee hurlers and sent them for their barf bags.
I’m on a roll—and so was he.
Defensively, he foiled two steals, sold a bad call to the umpire to send Derek Jeter to the dugout with a K and an attitude, then tagged Johnny Damon out at home—again. I’m sure Chooch’s face is portrayed on Johnny’s bulls eye after denying him a run for the second time.
Offensively, Chooch had the first base hit of the day—and the first walk—and added another single and a double to go 3-for-5. This included the hit that drove in the game winning RBI.
The $400,000 man took on the $207 million dollar team—and won.
The Yanks are saying, “Who was that masked man?”
Carlos was sub-200 only a few weeks ago. He’s raised his average over 100 points in that time. Jimmy Rollins did almost the same.
But since Jimmy got it going, the Phils have more hits and runs than any team in baseball. Having that impact on a team can be one hell of a cross to bear, but it can also be a torch. It’s all in your perception. Whatever Jimmy’s carrying now, he has it lit.
Let’s gaze at the rest of the stars.
They said Raul was the first lefty to get a hit off CC Sabathia for the first time in 37 games. If that’s true, it simply adds another stat to an amazing season so far. I’d be way over on my word count if I even tried to go into how much Phillie fans ooooo Raul.
Let’s not diminish what Cole Hamels accomplished. Even though foul balls ate up his pitch count and held him to six innings, he had five Ks, no walks, and only two earned runs.
And let’s not let overlook the effort of Chad Durbin.
Or Scott Eyre.
Or Ryan Madson.
Or Clay Condrey.
My son thinks there are scary monsters in his closet but he wasn’t around today to see the ones in the Yankee’s lineup. They make Monsters Inc. look like American Girls.
But Brad Lidge failed to close the deal—again.
Yesterday Melky Cabrera knocked the win right out of Brad’s sails, but today Lidge only cried over a spilt save. That’s a step in the right direction.
But the big thing to understand about Brad’s plight in Game Three is, he faced the last five guys in their lineup. Now, if you’re facing the bottom five of the Phil’s, that’s a negligible statement, but with NYY it’s something to consider.
So the Phillies won a nail-biter 4-3 in 11 innings, and Carlos Ruiz had the WB Mason Deliveries of the Game with his Damon denial and two foiled steals, and also won Player of the Game for being just plain awesome.
That’ll get him in the calendar.
His performance even overshadowed the fact that the 2008 World Champs foiled another win by CC Sabathia. After a slow start, the Phil’s managed three runs off nine hits along with three stolen bases.
If CC has a target, the whole team’s the bulls eye. But his arch enemy is the unimposing guy with the tiny letters on his chest: Ruiz.
That’s so cool.
Now the Phils come home for a three-game series with the Marlins.
Noted sabermetrics guru Bill James popularized the concept a while back that a player often peaks at age 27, hits his prime when he’s 27-30, and then gradually declines.
Nobody told Raul Ibanez of the Philadelphia Phillies though.
Ibanez is hitting .353 through 42 games with 17 homers and 43 RBI.
These are eye-opening numbers for any major leaguer. They’re phenomenal for a guy who will turn 37 on June 2. It seems to be part and parcel of the contrarian career of the former Seattle Mariner.
Here are Ibanez’s numbers during his “peak” years.
In 2006, at an age (34) when all players’ talents have considerably eroded (according to James), Ibanez posted career highs in homers (33) and RBI (123) while batting .280.
His home run output plummeted in both 2007 (21) and 2008 (23), while his RBI totals dipped slightly (2007: 105, and 2008: 110) and his batting average remained more or less constant (2007: .291, and 2008: .293).
One could reasonably expect that Ibanez wouldn’t be threatening to shatter personal career milestones in homers, RBI and batting average this season.
The $64,0000 question, of course, is this: Will Ibanez, barring injury, be able to maintain his current pace?
Ibanez’s past career profile, before 2009, shows that he’s neither a slow or fast starter. In April/May he averaged .273 with 59 long balls and 244 RBI.
Even in his career year in 2006, Ibanez was only hitting .267 with eight homers and 36 RBI by the end of May.
Ibanez traditionally heats up in June (.308 BA, 32 HR, 137 RBI) and then really sizzles in August (.300, 44 HR, 177 RBI).
Ibanez’s offensive output is even more remarkable since he’s making the transition to a new league. Oftentimes, it takes a hitter, no matter how accomplished, a half-season or longer to make an adequate adjustment to his new surroundings, not to mention new pitchers.
Ibanez is undoubtedly benefiting from having the likes of Ryan Howard and Chase Utley in the lineup. However, this can’t entirely explain Ibanez’s emergence as one of the most productive sluggers in 2009.
Whatever mysterious confluence of forces are at work, the Phillies’ acquisition of Ibanez in December for $30 million over three years is shaping up as one of the shrewdest deals in recent years.
The Phillies finish a great interleague series with the New York Yankees on a very positive note, winning the game in the extra innings. Clay Condrey the reliever came up big, getting out of a big jam in the 10th inning.
Carlos Ruiz had six hits in the only two games he played this series. The Phillies however, got it done with pitching and defense, Carlos Ruiz threw out a man at second late in the game, blocked Johnny Damon at the plate and tagged him out again, as he did in game one of the series, and he came through in the clutch when he hit a double near the third base line right past Alex Rodriguez allowing Chase Utley to score—the potential game winner.
Clay Condrey pitched very well after Brad Lidge blew the lead in the bottom of the ninth. Lidge’s struggles continue, giving him four blown saves. Condrey however, pitched great in relief of Lidge, getting out of a big jam in which Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon both hit singles to start the 10th. He later got Teixeira to ground out into a double play, allowing Jeter to advance to third base.
Alex Rodriguez came up with two outs and Jeter on third, Condrey walked him and got Ramiro Pena to fly out to Shane Victorino in center. Later in the 11th with two outs, Chase Utley walked and stole second and Ruiz, in a long at bat, doubled allowing Utley to score.
With the Mets losing to the Red Sox, the Phillies now hold a game and a half lead over the Atlanta Braves for first place. They will come back home to take on the Florida Marlins tomorrow—Memorial Day.
Back in 2002, the M’s spent the 28th overall pick on a high school first baseman named John Mayberry, Jr. A lanky 6′6″, Mayberry resembled a bigger version of his father, John Mayberry, Sr., a two-time All-Star who himself had a been a first-round pick in 1967.
Based on his pedigree, his size, and his limitless potential, the Mariners’ selection of Mayberry was by no means a bad one.
What the Mariners didn’t realize (or, perhaps did realize, but were too stubborn to care) was that Mayberry had no intention of signing with a professional baseball team. No, Mayberry had every intention of attending Stanford University, and not even first-round money could sway him on that.
But the M’s drafted Mayberry anyways, carried out a long negotiation process, and eventually watched their investment don the Cardinal red by the time Autumn came around. It was a metaphorical swing and a miss.
Seven years later, many Mariners fans are probably wondering whatever happened to that Mayberry kid.
As it turns out, the Stanford product is now an outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies and yesterday he made his major league debut at the age of 25.
In his second career at-bat, Mayberry connected on an Andy Pettitte fastball and turned it around for a three-run home run. Not a bad start.
By day’s end, Mayberry had added a double to his stat line and finished with an impressive box score: 2-3, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, R. Not a bad debut.
Mayberry came to Philadelphia in a November, 2008 trade with Texas, who had made Mayberry a first-round pick (for the second time) in 2005. After three years in the Rangers’ organization, Texas sent the two-time first-rounder to Philadelphia for outfielder Greg Golson, a first-round pick by the Phillies organization in 2004.
Interestingly enough, the man who was primarily responsible for drafting John Mayberry, Jr. with the Mariners — ex-Seattle GM Pat Gillick — ended up acquiring the first baseman/outfielder in the final days of his tenure with Philadelphia.
That seven-year itch for Mayberry has now come to benefit the Phillies after two franchises missed on the youngster. Not a bad situation. Unless you’re the Mariners, that is.
OK… after reflecting on what would have been a great win for both J.A Happ and the Phillies, I’ve thought about it some more and now lay only part of the blame on Brad Lidge.
Yet again, Chris Coste shows me another reason why he doesn’t belong in the big leagues. Calling for a 3-2 fastball to Alex Rodriguez was a horrendous error in judgment to say the least. Throw another slider.
If you throw a good one and he still hits it, more power to him. If you miss in the dirt and walk him, so be it. That just means you face Robinson Cano with a possible double play in order.
You may think I’m just second guessing, but when is the last time you’ve ever seen any closer challenge Ryan Howard with a 3-2 fastball with the game on the line? Never.
You know why… because only Coste is stupid enough to think A-Rod is not going to crush the ball if it’s anywhere near the strike zone. Honestly, can anyone who was watching the game not see that home run coming?
Now back to Lidge. I don’t care how many times the Phillies management say there is nothing wrong with his health, I just don’t believe them. We’re nearly two months into the season and Lidge still can not locate his fastball.
If he’s not hurt, then something is seriously wrong with either his mechanics or psyche because he just can’t seem to throw a fastball for a strike, or throw one away when needed to get someone to chase.
I would not be surprised at all if Lidge goes on the 15-day disabled list to rest his ailing knee once J.C Romero returns. Madson is more than capable of closing in place of Lidge if he is truly scuffling due to his knee.
There were some positives in spite of the loss.
Both Ryan Madson and Chad Durbin were extremely sharp. The movement on Durbin’s pitches reminded me of the Durbin of early last season. Let’s hope he continues to pound the strike zone with movement.
J.A Happ didn’t disappoint. I truly expect this kid to win 10 games this year as a starter, and will be a primary reason why the Phillies will win the NL East, despite all of their holes.
John Mayberry Jr. homering in just his second major league at-bat would have been a great story had it not been for the ninth inning collapse. I don’t know how many at-bats this kid will see (other than inter-league games in AL parks) until September, but the 25-year old definitely has a bright future whether it’s with the Phils or someone else.
The last time the Phillies faced CC Sabathia, outside of spring training, Brett Myers was starting the defining moment of the 2008 National League Division Series, the first time that I thought to myself, “This is the year.”
Myers put together the best at-bat of the post-season, drawing a two out walk in the second inning against the ace of the Milwaukee Brewers, Sabathia. After Myers rattled the hefty lefty with his walk, Jimmy Rollins walked on four pitches. Up to the plate came Shane Victorino, with the bases loaded….
We all know how it turned out.
Victorino hits the improbable grand slam and the Phillies roll their way to a World Series championship.
Today’s encounter with Sabathia, now with the Yankees, carries much less importance. We can remember the moment like it happened yesterday, but today is a new day. While a game may be on the line and it will be important for the regular season record, it means little else.
Cherish the memory, but don’t expect it to happen again.
No one really expected to Brad Lidge to be perfect again in 2009. In fact, I heard some fans say they hope he blows his first save opportunity to put the streak behind him and concentrate more on helping the team repeat as World Champions.
Lidge broke the streak and now has blown three saves. What is more concerning is that he seems to have no command on his pitches and the question of his knee keeps arising.
When Lidge gave up that homerun to Alex Rodriguez in the ninth inning yesterday, I thought of all of the closers in my lifetime that have struggled after having stellar seasons in Philadelphia.
I started with Tug McGraw who never put it all together again after 1980 because of injuries. Tug would only save 15 more games in his career.
Then there was Al Holland. The man they called Mr T. Holland bragged about coming in with the high heat. After winning the Rolaids Relief man award in 1983, hitters feasted on his high heat as he gave up 14 home runs in 1984.
1985 found him being bounced around to three teams before going to the Yankees in 1986 where he would end his career after a poor showing in both ’86 and 1987.
We moved on to Steve Bedrosian. Bedrock came in and was the last relief pitcher in the National League to win the Cy Young Award with his strong performance in 1987.
Bedrock’s ERA went up nearly a point in 1988 and his saves dropped from 40 to 28 respectively. He moved on in 1988 and had an up and down career that ended in 1995 in Atlanta.
Mitch Williams kept our hearts in our throats with some of the most colorful saves in Phillies history. After setting what was then the saves record for the Phils in 1993, he gave up one of the most infamous home runs in World Series history (as least infamous from a Phillies fan’s perspective).
Wild Thing was shipped to Houston where he posted a 7.65 ERA. He never pitched effective again.
Jose Mesa. I still don’t think I can stomach discussing Joe Table. I take credit for the booing of his son at Veteran’s Stadium when he would talk on Phanavision. This guy holds the Phillies single season save record and the the record for the most times a relief pitcher has kept his team out of the playoffs.
I made the second stat up but it must be true! After his 45 save season of 2002, his ERA ballooned to 6.52 and he only saved 24 games while losing his closer job followed by his roster spot on the team. Joe Table would come back to haunt us once more in 2007 where he posted an 81.00 ERA in the playoffs.
Do I think Brad Lidge will head down this road? I certainly hope not. The point though is that many relief pitchers are anything but consistent. Lidge’s problems stem from his mechanics and ailing knee.
But don’t discount that some of it is in his head as well. What Lidge needs most is the get back into a game today and have a one, two, three inning. From there he can regain his form and confidence and again dominate the ninth inning.
The Philadelphia Phillies are a quarter of the way through their defense of their World Series championship. Thus far, through the accolades and mourning, this Phillies team has proven to be as strong as the team that brought home the title in 2008.
Offensively, an already strong offense has become even more deadly to opposing pitchers with the acquistion of left fielder Raul Ibanez. There were many questions about Ibanez’s age and fielding ability.
However, whatever questions there were about Ibanez have been silenced up to this point as Ibanez leads the majors with 17 home runs and 43 RBI; numbers no one expected from the 36 year old.
Being as big of a Pat Burrell fan as anybody, it was sad to see him leave, but gratifying that he went out on top as a Phillie. However, I have to admit that Ibanez has made me go Pat who? Ibanez has clearly shown why the Phillies took the calculated risk of signing an outfielder of advanced age to a very lucrative contract; he’s worth every cent.
Shortstop Jimmy Rollins has been slow out of the gate offensively. As of late, Rollins has picked it up at the plate. For this offense to continue to run on all cylinders, Rollins needs to get innings started at the top of the order. Based on his track record, its only a matter of time.
The pitching staff which carried this team through the month of October has been hit or miss. The starting staff’s troubles have been a season long experience, however, there appears to be light at the end of the tunnel.
The Chan Ho Park experiment has finally come to an end; giving J.A. Happ a deserved spot in the starting rotation. Based on yesterday’s appearance against the New York Yankees, Happ is a capable number five starter who is more like a two or a three in this current rotation.
Cole Hamels has finally gotten over his rash of early season bad luck and become himself again on the mound. Hamels is the stabilizing factor in this rotation. The NLCS and World Series MVP is returning to form after a lack of innings pitched from late spring training into April. This team can count on a solid outing at least every fifth day out of Hamels.
Brett Myers has been slowly coming along as the new workhorse of the starting rotation. Of his nine starts in 2009, eight have lasted six innings or more. Maybe its because its a contract year or Myers has started to come into his own.
The ageless Jamie Moyer is beginning to show his age. The 46 year old has struggled in the early going with an ERA of 7.63. This organization won’t give up on someone like Moyer who has given them so much, but if his struggles last any longer the front office’s patience may no longer be on Moyer’s side.
Joe Blanton is a bit of an enigma in 2009. His last start against the Reds was impressive until he got to the fifth inning; turning a 6-0 lead into a 6-5 lead. Blanton is supposed to be an innings eater, but has proven anything but in the early part of the season.
However, rest easy as his career numbers are significantly better in the second half than the first half.
The bullpen has been solid with one exception as of late. Closer Brad Lidge, who is suffering with a sore right knee, has blown three saves after going 48 for 48 in save opportunities in the 2008 regular season and playoffs combined.
The cockeyed optimist in me believes Lidge will turn it around, but a stint on the DL may be the best place for him recover for when the game become even more crucial. Ryan Madson has closer type stuff and is more than capable of taking over Lidge’s role.
In a perfect world, Lidge would agree to get his knee scoped soon after JC Romero’s return on June 3; moving Romero to the set up role and Madson to closer.
All in all, this team has got the make-up to make a run at defending their title. Perhaps with the addition of a starting pitcher along the way, this team could become even more of a force to be reckoned with in the National League.
The 1950 Phillies, affectionately nicknamed the Whiz Kids due to their youthful age, clinched the National League pennant on the final day of the regular season. Lead by the likes of Robin Roberts and Richie Ashburn the Phillies would make their second trip to the World Series.
Their opponents would be the defending world champion New York Yankees, who were looking to add their 13th title to their historic franchise history. The experienced Yankees would sweep the Whiz Kids, although all but one was a one run game.
This is part four of the four part series and focuses on game four of the 1950 World Series.
1950 World Series New York Yankees (98-56) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (91-63) Game Four: Yankees Win 5-2, Win World Series 4-0
Facing elimination the young Phillies were desperate for a win. To do that they would have to overcome a young up and coming pitcher named “Whitey” Ford in the process.
Yankees skipper Casey Stengal must have felt confident sending a rookie out for a possible clinching game four and why not? Not only was his team up three games to none on the Phillies but Ford went 9-1 in the regular season since he was called up form the minor leagues.
The Phillies looked to one of their young pitchers, Bob Miller. While the Phillies failed to score on Ford in the first inning, the Yankees wasted little time getting to Ford.
Yogi Berra and Joe DiMaggio each had RBI base hits in the first inning, giving the home team a quick 2-0 lead. It was the first time in the 1950 World Series that a team scored more than once in an inning. Surely this was not a good sign for the Phillies.
Manager Eddie Sawyer wasted no time with Miller though and replaced him with Jim Konstanty with one out in the first inning, already down 2-0. Konstanty stopped the bleeding and shut the Yankees down until the sixth inning.
Berra lead off the sixth inning with a solo home run to extend the lead to three runs. In that same inning the Yankees tacked on two more runs to build a 5-0 lead late in the game. Konstanty remained in the game despite allowing three runs to score.
The Phillies offense meanwhile struggled against Ford. The rookie pitcher went 8.2 innings and allowed seven hits. After Robin Roberts pitched for the Phillies in the eighth inning they came to bat in the ninth inning, down 5-0 and facing elimination.
Willie Jones lead the ninth inning off with a base hit off Ford (pictured). After Ford hit Del Ennis he got Dick Sisler to ground out and struck out Granny Hamner. Andy Seminick then hit a fly ball to left fielder Gene Woodling to end the World Series, but Woodling dropped the ball.
Two runs scored to cut the deficit to 5-2. Yankees manager Stengal took no chances and pulled Ford from the game, one out away from clinching the World Series. Allie Reynolds took over on the mound and struck out pinch hitter Stan Lopata to end the season.
The Yankees clinched their thirteenth World Series title with a sweep of the Whiz Kids. They did it with timely hitting and masterful pitching. Despite the sweep by the Yankees, the Phillies represented themselves well. They hung in there every game and came up short due to a lack of experience.
Sadly this Phillies team would not return to the World Series despite having players like Roberts and Richie Ashburn.
There should be no shame in losing to this Yankees squad, who featured the likes of DiMaggio and Berra and had pitching from guys like Ford, who would go on to hold the World Series all-time records for most wins (ten) and strike outs (94).
