Philadelphia Phillies Lose to New York Mets: What Was Jimmy Rollins Thinking?

Jimmy Rollins is the Phillies longest tenured player and, at times, he has been both the face of the franchise and its best player. 

In 2007, he put his credibility on the line by declaring the Phillies were “the team to beat” in the NL East—and then backed it up by winning MVP and leading the Phillies to a final day division title over the rival New York Mets. 

But Rollins’ time in Philadelphia has not been without controversy nor boneheaded plays. He’s been benched more than once for failure to give his all on a play.

In Sunday’s series finale against the Mets, Rollins’ boneheadedness struck once again, or to be accurate, it struck a few times during the course of the game, but only truly cost the Phillies once. 

But when it did, it cost them big.  

Rollins’ first two boneheaded plays were stealing bases. Anyone who has seen Jimmy Rollins play baseball for the past decade knows that running is as big a part of his game as anything else.  However, there are times and places to run.

Down by seven runs with two outs in the fifth inning is no time to try to steal a base, especially not third base. Rollins was already in scoring position and a base hit to the outfield most certainly would have scored him. Maybe the fact that Rollins made it easily—after attempting to go on the previous pitch when Placido Polanco fouled a pitch off—could alleviate him of responsibility, but it doesn’t. 

There’s an unwritten rule in baseball that you do not make the first or last out of an inning at third base. It could kill a rally or stop one before it ever starts.  

The second time Rollins ran was with two outs in the seventh inning, and the Phillies were down 9-1 at that time. He stole second with Polanco up.  He may have gotten himself into scoring position, but at what use? A base hit makes it a seven-run game again with him on second base, while it puts two runners on with two outs in the seventh with the heart of the Phillies lineup due up. 

Not really a big enough difference to risk getting thrown out and ending the inning.

Rollins’ finale gaffe on the day, and perhaps the one that cost the Phillies a chance to come back, happened in the eighth inning.

The Phillies began the inning down 9-1 and had mounted a slight rally. Raul Ibanez led off with a home run to right, and by the time Rollins came up six batters later, the Phillies had tacked on two more runs and were within five of the Mets at 9-4. The previous two games, the Phillies came back in the eighth inning against New York, but had a larger, more difficult deficit to overcome on Sunday. 

With two outs and Dominic Brown on first, Rollins laced a base hit down the right-field line. It didn’t make it to the corner, but was far enough away from Jason Pridie for Brown to reach third. Jimmy Rollins should have stopped at first—that was probably apparent to everyone in Citi Field or watching on TV at home. 

Instead, Rollins rounded first and headed for second, where Pridie easily threw him out to end the inning and the Phillies biggest rally of the day, still down by five runs.

Five runs might still be too large a deficit for a team to overcome, but with two runners on base, a bullpen on its heels and the Phillies two biggest bats—Ryan Howard and Chase Utley—on the bench, one swing could have changed everything. A five run deficit becoming a two-run deficit drastically changes things, especially heading into the ninth inning. 

Unfortunately, because of Jimmy Rollins’ boneheadedness, we will never know what might have happened in New York on Sunday.

It begs the question: What was Rollins thinking? 

Was he thinking that if he didn’t play as aggressively as he possibly could and take whatever extra base he could, it would be the difference between winning and losing? Did he weigh the risks in the game versus the benefit to his statistical pile at the end of the year? 

If Rollins steals 35 bases or belts 40 doubles, no one is going to remember when they came or if Rollins put his team at risk to achieve them at the winter meetings; they’re only going to see that he did steal 35 bases—that he’s still got it.  

Rollins is a free agent at the end of the season, and this may be his last chance at a big time payday.  Since his MVP season, Rollins has been going downhill.  HIs numbers have decreased and the injury bug has bitten him. 

There’s no way he hasn’t heard the whispers, the insinuations that he’s lost a step, that he’s done and won’t be the same player ever again. Could Jimmy Rollins, once the man who stood up and was willing to take anything anyone threw at him because he believed the Phillies were the best team in the division, now be more concerned with padding his personal statistics rather than the Phillies win/loss record?  

I don’t know, but I don’t want to have to think about it again. I don’t want to watch Jimmy Rollins play over-aggressively and have to wonder if he’s doing it for the team or his future contract. 

And I didn’t even mention the error he made in the first inning that cost the Phillies three runs and put them in that situation to begin with.

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Jose Contreras and the Kids: The Philadelphia Phillies Bullpen through 50 Games

This is the second article in a series of four that will detail the performances of the Philadelphia Phillies at certain points throughout the season.  The articles will be published at the 50-game, 100-game and 150-game mark.  The subjects covered will be the following:

1. Starting Rotation (You can find that article here: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/712443-roy-halladay-and-the-aces-evaluating-their-performances-through-48-games)

2. Bullpen

3. Infield

4. Outfield

So let’s take a look at how the Phillies bullpen have performed so far this season.

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Philadelphia Phillies: The Resurgence of Raul Ibanez

Recently voted by his peers as one of the nicest players in baseball in a Sports Illustrated poll, Raul Ibanez is the type of guy that people want to see succeed.  And he is type of player that the Philadelphia Phillies need to succeed.

But 2011 did not start out the way that either the Phillies or Ibanez had hoped.  In the month of April, Ibanez hit only .161 with 10 RBI and one home run.  His on-base percentage was .247, well below his .345 career average.

Things got so bad for Ibanez at the plate that he even endured a near record setting 0-for-35 slump.  That streak tied the second worst hitless streak for a Phillie; Joe Morgan went 0-35 in 1983 and Desi Relaford still holds the number one spot with his 0-36 in 1998.

Ibanez finally broke the streak on May 3 and has been on a tear ever since.  He is hitting .323 in May with five home runs and 15 RBI.  And the month is not over yet.

Ibanez’s resurgence is likely due to a combination of things.  According to Mandy Housenick of “The Morning Call,” he started a brand new routine this offseason with a new trainer and even a new diet.  After discovering that he had severe food allergies back in the 2009 offseason, Ibanez sought the help of a nutritionist to adjust his diet.

It turns out that the dairy and gluten allergies were causing Ibanez muscle soreness and exhaustion. Once he eliminated the allergens from his diet, Ibanez began to feel healthy again.

This discovery led Ibanez to completely change his offseason training routine after the 2010 season.  The change in both diet and exercise plans seem to be major contributing factors to his turnaround at the plate this year.

The slump in April, therefore, could be the result of Ibanez adjusting to his new routine.  If that is the case, the Phillies can look forward to a lot more production from their left fielder.

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Philadelphia Phillies Notes: The Offense, Chase Utley, Brad Lidge and More

The Philadelphia Phillies‘ offense have been a puzzling bunch for most of the 2011 season. For a while, on Opening Day as the team struggled making contact with Houston Astros‘ starter Brett Myers, it looked like the lineup picked right up where it left off following the 2010 National League Championship Series—standing at the plate looking at strike three.

On that day though, John Mayberry Jr. delivered a clutch base hit off of the bench, where he sat next to Greg Gross, one of the greatest pinch-hitters of all time, Greg Gross, now Phillies’ hitting coach, for most of the game. From that at-bat onward, it seemed as though the offense was going to reach down inside and deliver some of that potential we had been waiting for.

A few weeks later, Phillies’ fans were demanding a trade for a legitimate offensive superstar as Chase Utley sat out with Patellar Tendinitis and the rest of the lineup sputtered through a rough patch, headlined by tremendous offensive struggles like Raul Ibanez’s 0-for-35 slump. At that moment, it became painfully clear that this offense may not live up to its potential and was going to be a very streaky team throughout the season.

So for those reasons alone, I took to Citizens’ Bank Park last week to try and get to the bottom of the Phils’ offensive struggles and how they planned on breaking free of those streaky shackles. Needless to say, from one hitter to the next, from coach to coach, the Phillies’ clubhouse echoed like a  cavernous hall about staying consistent and not trying to change their approach at the plate. (I summarized my findings in this piece earlier in the week.)

Continuing with their streaky ways, as soon as I posted that article about breaking out of the well documented slump, the Phillies’ offense caught fire. The date I posted my piece coincided with the date that the team activated its All-Star second baseman and catalyst, and even though he didn’t do much to support the cause, the Phils’ pounded Bronson Arroyo and the Cincinnati Reds for 10 runs.

As much as I would like to believe that my fingertips hold some sort of voodoo like magic and I propelled the Phillies to a big offensive night by putting a jinx on their offensive struggles, I think it’s much more likely that Utley’s return provided some sort of spark—or maybe not. Be it Utley’s return or a return to consistency, the Phils’ have certainly played better baseball since.

The Phillies as a team have scored 34 runs in five games since Utley’s return last Monday. Prior to his return, it took the Phils’ 14 games to score a total of 34 runs. There are critics out there that won’t be keen on giving Utley credit for providing a spark to a slumping offense, but the results are undeniable—with Chase Utley playing second base, the Phillies are scoring runs at a rapid pace, and that bodes well.

Heading into the season, we knew that if they could put runs on the board, they’d win games behind this rotation, and that’s been exactly the case.

After shutting things down in spring training, there is finally good news coming out of Florida in regards to Phillies’ reliever Brad Lidge. After missing close to two months of the regular season with a partial tear in his rotator cuff, Lidge is scheduled to pitch an inning in an extended spring training game. It’s a big first step for the Phils’ right-hander.

Pitching in an extended spring training game may not seem like a big deal for a major league reliever, but for Lidge, this marks the official restart of his spring training. Barring any setbacks, Lidge will probably make 10 to 12 appearances, including an official rehab assignment. If all goes well, he could rejoin the Phillies sometime in June.

Though he won’t be closing games initially upon his return, he gives the Phils’ impressive depth at the back end of the bullpen. Along with Jose Contreras and Ryan Madson, whom opponents are hitting a combined .179 against and have allowed just five earned runs, Lidge will join breakout relievers Mike Stutes and Antoino Bastardo, who’ve been better than advertised through the end of May.

With the way those four have been pitching, the rest of the bullpen is on notice upon Lidge’s return. In his role as a long reliever, Kyle Kendrick has pitched well, inspiring Charlie Manuel to use him in a couple of spot starts (one of which didn’t go very well, thanks to Jason Giambi).

He seems to be safe. Danys Baez’s stellar outing in that 19-inning marathon seems to have garnered him some respect amongst the organization, so it may very well be JC Romero, who has the worst K:BB rate of all relievers over the last three seasons, who is on the way out.

With Chase Utley’s return to the lineup, the Phillies regulars are almost, well, regular. With the infield intact in its entirety, only Shane Victorino is missing from the starting lineup and not for long. The speedy center fielder will begin his rehab assignment this weekend, and the plan is to have him test his legs in the minor leagues for about a week.

He’ll play for the Lakewood BlueClaws on Saturday and Sunday, followed by an off day on Monday. If that goes according to plan, Victorino will join the Reading Phillies on Tuesday and play there through Thursday, rejoining the big league Phillies by Friday.

With a full lineup finally intact, I’m somewhat curious as to what Charlie Manuel plans on doing with his lineup. He seems to be comfortable with the duo of Chase Utley and Placido Polanco anchoring the 2- and 3-spots in his order, and Raul Ibanez is hot enough to hit fifth.

The real question may be who becomes the right fielder when Victorino is activated. Team officials seem to be infatuated with Michael Martinez’s skill set, though he hasn’t contributed much to the team yet, and Domonic Brown, Ben Francisco and John Mayberry Jr. all have at least one minor league option.

From a baseball perspective, cutting ties with Martinez may be most beneficial for a team that is trying to win now, but from a gut feeling, we may be seeing the last of Mayberry for a while.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

How Much Did the Phillies’ Offense Miss Chase Utley?

It took only four games for Chase Utley to do what the combination of Wilson Valdez, Pete Orr and Michael Martinez could not do in over 40 games—hit a home run.

It’s been no secret the Phillies offense has struggled this season. Replacing one of baseball’s best second basemen with a trio of replacement-level players is a tall order.

But exactly how much did they miss Utley?

As a group, Valdez, Orr and Martinez combined for a .226/.272/.277 line in 168 plate appearances. Compared to every other team’s second-base production, the Phillies were 28th in OPS, 24th in OBP and one of only two teams without a home run.

Anyone with a little baseball knowledge can tell those are atrocious numbers.

Altogether, they produced a .248 weighted on-base average (wOBA). In their 168 plate appearances, this equates to almost 10 runs, about one full win, below an average player.

However, Chase Utley is certainly not an average player. Even though he was not fully himself last year, his .373 wOBA was fourth-best among second basemen.

If Utley had produced the same as last year in those 168 plate appearances he missed, he would have been worth just over seven runs above average. Taking it a step further, if he produced at his career mark of .387, he would have been worth nine runs above average.

Doing simple math, going from at least seven to nine runs above average to about 10 runs below average is a difference of 17 to 19 additional runs, or almost two full wins, the Phillies missed while Utley was injured.

Instead of seventh in the league in runs scored, they would be sitting at either third or fourth.

With the return of a healthy Utley, the Phillies are certainly capable of returning to one of the league’s best offenses.

They still probably are not as good as the Cardinals‘ or Reds‘ offenses, but certainly better than the one we seen so far in 2011.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Chase Utley’s Return Finally Gives Spark to Phils Offense

Chase Utley made his much anticipated 2011 debut this week in the Phillies series against the Cincinnati Reds.

Utley finished his first night back going 0-for-five, but his presence on the field and in the lineup became immediately noticeable.

The Philadelphia Phillies, who for the past few seasons have had one of the best offenses in the league, have been struggling mightily to remain consistent throughout the current season.

Last year, the Phils averaged 4.8 runs per game in a season where six regulars hit over .275 for the year.

This year has been a struggle to say the least. The Fightin’ Phils are only averaging four runs per game this year, and in baseball terms, that is a big difference. Only two everyday players are hitting even over .265.

Where did this offense suddenly disappear to?

I will give you two words: Chase Utley.

Utley has not played a single game this season until this week and the Phillies offense has been a wreck. Utley’s return has seemed to spark not only the rest of the lineup, but also the incredible atmosphere at Citizens Bank Park. How many standing ovations has he gotten since he returned four games ago?

They say hitting is contagious, but even if Utley is not hitting .300, he still provides the spark to the Phillies lineup that they desperately need.

Jimmy Rollins used to be that guy, but it is now clear it all lies with Utley. He is the type of player every manager wants on his team. He will do anything and everything to win ball games.

Since Utley’s return, the Phillies have gone 3-1 against a very good Reds team and are averaging seven runs a game. Now I know that seven run average will not last, but do you see my point?

Chase Utley’s return has sparked the Phillies lineup and it makes them an even more dangerous team than they already are. The Phillies certainly still have questions in their lineup, but they are sure glad to have their franchise player back at second base.

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Philadelphia Phillies: 5 Reasons Why They Will Win the NL East

After 50 games, the Philadelphia Phillies own a National League-best record of 31-19. The unbelievable part is they have yet to play in a single game with their preseason opening day lineup. 

What has saved them? Their pitching. The Phillies starting rotation owns a Major League-best with 36 quality starts. The bullpen has also done well. Ryan Madson is a perfect 9-for-9 in save opportunities. While surprises like Michael Stutes and Antonio Bastardo have made the Phillies bullpens one of the most balanced in the National League.

With the Mets and Nationals still struggling to right their ship, the quest for the NL crown is a three-team race. The Marlins have came out firing, but a recent DL trip for ace Josh Johnson has the fish searching for answers. The Braves are doomed for a midseason crop off. Can elders Chipper Jones, Tim Hudson, and Derek Lowe keep up with the rest of the pack? Lowe and Jones have both missed time with minor injuries. By the end of July those three players will be a combined 112 years old. 

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Philadelphia Phillies: Ranking the Phillies’ Injuries in Order of Importance

Although the Phillies have one of the best records in the MLB, they have been in a hitting slump lately and have been missing some key players due to injury.

Fortunately, Chase Utley has made his way back, but it would be impossible not to put him on this list. However, he is certainly not the only one.

The players on this list are the current players on the disabled list and not the ones from earlier in the season. 

It can definitely be said that the start of the season has been injury plagued and unlucky even though the Phillies have found success. 

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Philadelphia Phillies: Still World Series Favorite for Good Reason

This letter is a follow up to an article I wrote before the season began. This letter is again intended for all players, coaches, trainers and fans of the National League, but most importantly for the Phillies Phaithful:

Dear National League,

The Phillies currently have the best record in your league at 29-19, and they have done so without a myriad of injuries to some of their top players.

Chase Utley (until now) Brad Lidge, Shane Victorino, Joe Blanton (not a bad thing), Roy Oswalt and Carlos Ruiz have all missed significant time due to injuries thus far. While some of these players may be more important than others to this team’s world title hopes, all of their time inactive can obviously play a role on a team’s W-L record.

National League, Phillies Nation still finds your tireless efforts to spark fear into the most anticipated sports season in Philadelphia history comical. The Phillies have already gone through an entire month of baseball without scoring more than three runs, but they still have played front-runners in the “extremely tough” NL East.

I still find it hard to believe that people are hating on the Phillies for not resigning Jayson Werth. Sorry National League, but we have enough corner outfielders hitting .240 for us right now.

Ruben Amaro realizes that teams are just as strong as their starting pitching, and he has built the best starting rotation in Major League Baseball.

All journalists out there, save your time and efforts. You will not stop 45,000 of the most passionate fans in sports from cramming Citizens Bank Park every game. Philadelphia fans have sold out over 145 straight games, and don’t expect that streak to stop any time soon.

Also, if you are a bit skeptical about Phillies fans being the best fans in sports, be your own judge as they will be taking over your team’s stadium when the “Phightins” are in town.

National League, I can understand why you have dedicated so much of your time into proclaiming why the Phillies will not win the World Series. If I had to face the rotation they had, I would be worried as well.

“Your pitching is already showing signs of breaking down and that will only continue over the grind of a 162-game season.”

National League, excuse me if I disagree with your sentiments. The team has three pitchers who have consistently logged over 200 innings and another who is in the best shape of his life and has done so twice already.

Even with Joe Blanton being injured and Vance Worley and Kyle Kendrick making spot starts, they have combined for a record of 22-14 with a 3.16 ERA. They have averaged 6.5 innings per start.

They have only given up 285 hits in 310 innings pitched. Chew on this National League: Phillies starters have only allowed 109 earned runs in over 300 innings. I will go into battle with that in a shortened series any day, National League.

The Phillies starting five have an incredible K/9 ratio of 8.62 and a WHIP of 1.15.

Halladay, Hamels, Oswalt and Lee have warrior-type mentalities and they realize that this team may be their best chance to win (another in Hamels’ case) a World Series. The Phillies were smart to build their team around four of the top 15 starting pitchers in the game.

“Your starting pitching will break down.” Sorry National League, but I’m not buying what your selling and neither is Phillies Nation.

How should Phillies fans feel right now?

• Confident that they are the team to beat

  65.3%

• Worried about the injuries

  19.1%

• Scared by other teams in the NL

  10.8%

• Scared by other teams in the AL

  4.7%

Total votes: 277

“Your lineup obviously misses Werth and Utley is not the same player, so your offense will struggle all year long.”

National League, I would again like to point out that Mr. Werth is currently batting in the .240 range and our most valued prospect in Domonic Brown is gaining invaluable on the job training as we speak at the Major League level.

The Phillies are in the bottom eight in scoring in MLB, but their lineup has a different look it to now. Utley, Brown and a healthy Shane Victorino will provide the much needed help and balance Placido Polanco and Ryan Howard need to produce runs.

By the way National League, I remember the Phillies having a pretty poor offense last season as well. That didn’t stop the Phil’s O from having the best team batting average in the NL East (fourth in NL), the most runs scored in the NL East (second in NL) and the most home runs in the NL East (fifth in NL).

Sorry, National League, I still fail to see your point on why Phillies fans should be panicking.

“Lidge is still out until who knows, the bullpen is shaky, and your starters can’t pitch complete games every time out.”

National League, seriously? Ryan Madson is perfect in save opportunities this season thus far, and Jose Contreras was as well before he went on the Disabled List. Consequently, the Phillies are unbeaten when leading after eight innings this season. 

Halladay, Hamels, Lee and Oswalt have shown throughout their careers that they can pitch deep into games, and the Phillies bullpen has gone from a question mark to a team strength.

Antonio Bastardo, Mike Stutes and Ryan Madson have been as reliable as it gets from the back-end. Between those two and a shortened season for Brad Lidge and Jose Contreras, Philadelphia should be very confident that they five guys that can get the job done out of the ‘pen.

“The Braves and Marlins both have starting rotations that can match up in a playoff series with Philadelphia’s.”

Again National League, I fail to see your logic on that one either. None of those other rotations can boast a resume that includes 10 top-five finishes in Cy Young award voting, three actual Cy Young awards, 13 All-Star selections, six 20-win seasons, three postseason MVP awards and a 20-8 postseason record.

The Braves starting rotation has combined for a 19-15 record with a with a 3.22 ERA, pretty solid numbers (not as solid as Philadelphia). There K/9 ratio is less than the Phillies as well at 6.92.

How would the Braves match up with the Phillies in a playoff series? We know who would be pitching the first couple of games for the Phillies, as Halladay, Lee, Oswalt and Hamels have all been dominant in their respective playoff careers.

I can see the questions being raised by the few fans Atlanta does have right now. Jair Jurrjens, Tommy Hanson and Brandon Beachy all have better ERAs than Derek Lowe and Tim Hudson, the guys you would expect to be pitching the first two games of a playoff series.

They can debate all season long who will start the first two games of a playoff series, but they better make the playoffs first. The Phillies have won four straight NL East titles and have the core group of players in their clubhouse that do whatever it takes to win. 

National League, the Phillies are the best team in the NL East. The rest of the year will be a race for second.

All of this talk about Atlanta has not died down even with the Phillies having the best record n the NL. Atlanta, let’s worry about catching the Florida Marlins first.

“The Giants beat you guys in the NLCS and they will do it again with a comparable rotation and a better lineup.”

At least the Atlanta Braves being a factor in the 2011 playoffs is not being argued anymore. Onto the Giants…

The Giants play in arguably the worst division in baseball, the NL West. If you think Phillies offense has been dreadful this season, the Giants would love to have the Phillies lineup.

The Giants are 29th overall in runs scored, 24th in batting average, 25th in on-base percentage, and 23rd in slugging percentage.

Comparing those same statistics to the Phillies would look like this: 20th, 17th, 20th, 22nd. National League, those numbers seem to indicate that the Phillies have the better lineup don’t they?

Those numbers were compiled without Chase Utley and Domonic Brown—still feeling confident, San Fran?

With last year’s playoff series in mind, I’d still rather have the Phillies lineup than the Giants. Rollins, Polanco, Utley, Howard, Ibanez, Victorino, Brown and Ruiz are more potent than Torres, Sanchez, Huff, Posey, Burrell, Sandoval, Tejada and Ross, are they not?

The Giants deserve a lot of credit for winning it all last season, but they did beat the Phillies with Cody Ross and Pat Burrell playing out of their minds down the stretch. The two have come back down to earth this season. Do we really expect these two players to duplicate 2010?

National League, I still feel pretty confident with the Halladay vs. Burrell or Ross matchup. The Lee vs. Burrell or Ross ain’t too shabby either. Oswalt, Hamels vs…well you get the picture.

“The Phillies are not the team they used to be, and this is the year they miss the playoffs.”

National League, something needs to be said about the character and chemistry of this team. The city of Philadelphia has fallen in love with this core group of players for many reasons, but I will only mention three.

1. They play the game the right way. For example, people are telling Chase Utley that he needs to change the way he plays. Chase Utley only knows one speed (even to a fault)—100 mph.

2. They give 110 percent every game. Blue-collared Philadelphia loves that their baseball team plays so hard for 162 games.

3. Their best players have legendary work ethics. Enough said.

The Philadelphia Phillies are still the favorites to win the World Series, and for good reason.

Phillies fans can still remember where they were the night the Phillies beat the Rays in 2008  They can still picture what they were doing when they woke up on that Tuesday morning of Dec. 14 and heard that Cliff Lee spurned the Yankees to rejoin our beloved ballclub and give us the greatest Christmas present we ever could have dreamed of.

National League, these are the things that the Philadelphia Phillies have given their city. There is a reason why Vegas picked Philadelphia as the team to beat this season.

There is a reason why ESPN has had the Phillies in the top three in their power rankings all season (no other team can say that). They have the best pitching from top-to-bottom in Major League Baseball and a lineup filled with players that play their best when the lights shine the brightest.  

Philadelphia is still being told that their team is filled with flaws. “Their offense is inadequate, their bullpen is young and inexperienced and their manager makes horrible decisions.”

One more time Philadelphia, I say to hell with that. Let us continue to enjoy the fact that we have the team that has won the NL East four straight seasons, and has one of the greatest starting rotations (on paper) in MLB history.

A rotation where three of those four pitchers CHOSE to play in Philadelphia in front of you.

The Phillies have had the best record in the National League almost the entire season thus far. Enjoy this season Philadelphia, and don’t worry too much about all of the “haters.”

The Phillies will shut them up in October.

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Philadelphia Phillies Beat Reds in 19-Inning Marathon, Wildest Game of the Year

It was supposed to be a game between a good pitcher and a great pitcher, a game that might be done in just over two hours. Six hours and 11 minutes later, we were treated to one of the wildest, most unpredictable games in recent memory.

It looked innocent enough, with Roy Halladay having a three-run lead after two innings. Any baseball fan would assume that they could turn off the TV because this game is over!

But Halladay, who last faced the Reds during the postseason when he pitched a no-hitter, gave up 3 runs and 11 hits. Who knew that was the start of the wackiness?

The Phillies had men on second and third with one out in the ninth and Charlie Manuel decided to pull Ben Francisco, who had already homered in the game for Domonic Brown, who promptly popped out.

Polanco then hit a sharp ground ball to short to end the threat. When Jay Bruce hit a home run in the 10th, it looked like it was going to be another game that the Phillies offense went cold and that they would lose. Who knew we still had nine more innings of baseball to go?

Ryan Howard proceeded to homer in the bottom of the 10th and JC Romero picked off Brandon Phillips from second base in the 11th. This is a 11th inning where the Reds had 4 people on base yet didn’t get any runs across.

Danys Baez proceeds to pitch five innings of shutout ball which is a far cry from the guy in  early April that Charlie Manuel seemed to be so reluctant to call on to come to the mound.

And Jimmy Rollins made three amazing plays at shortstop in the 17th and 18th innings to keep the game scoreless. But the best was yet to come.

Wilson Valdez, a journeyman infielder, who has never pitched in a professional baseball game, headed to the mound to pitch the 19th inning. The only thing more shocking then to see him on the mound was to see his first pitch clock in at 88 miles per hour!

He retired Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, and the Reds pitcher, Carlos Fisher. Who would think you’d see Wilson Valdez pitching to Carlos Fisher when the night started?

Finally, Raul Ibanez hit a walk-off sacrifice fly that brought Jimmy Rollins home in the bottom of the 19th inning to give Wilson Valdez his first (and most likely last) big league win.

One of my fondest memories as a kid was watching the Phillies-Padres game on July 4, 1993, that went 20 innings and ended at 4:40 a.m. I knew that then that that 1993 season was going to be something special.

Watching this 19-inning game, seeing the Phillies battle to get the win, gave me the same type of feeling. Let’s hope this time around, we don’t see Joe Carter in the World Series.

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