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June 17 -The Phillies lost the last game of their series with the Detroit Tigers, 7-4. Not only did the Phillies lose the series, but gave away yet another game that they should have won. Phillies pitcher Adam Eaton continued his string of quality starts, and pitched and hit well enough to win, leaving the game with a 3-1 lead, and coming up with two hits on the day. Yet, it’s the same story on a different day with different relievers. Geoff Geary was unable to retire any of the batters he had faced, and Yoel Hernandez gave up 3 more runs, adding up to a five-run inning for the Tigers.
For consolation’s sake, and the sanity of die-hard fans, the Tigers are one of the best teams in baseball, and the Phillies competed with them in every game of the series. The Phillies had a very solid homestand at the plate, scoring 6, 8, and 3, with the last coming against Justin Verlander, who threw a no-hitter his last time out. They could have easily taken two out of three from them, but the losses are cushioned by the Mets' and Braves' inability to move beyond a breath of the Phillies in the standings.
June 18 – The Flyers continue to lull Phillyist into actually being interested in hockey. The Flyers traded their 23rd pick, which came from the Peter Forsberg trade to Nashville, back to Nashville for Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell. The trade continues the Flyers’ trend of acquiring younger, highly-drafted players, in hopes that their potential will turn into productivity a few years down the road.
Timonen is a versatile veteran defenseman who can help out on both sides of the ice. He racked up 55 points last year, which would have been second best for the Flyers last year. Hartnell was drafted sixth overall in the 2000 draft, and had 39 points and 22 goals last season for the Predators. More thoughts for optimism: The Flyers still hold the 2nd overall pick in the 2007 draft.
June 18 -You know how we were just talking about how losing to the Tigers shouldn't make us feel that bad? We spoke too soon. The Mets and Braves won tonight, while the Phillies lost 10-1 to the Cleveland Indians – another solid AL team. We wish there was some positive way to spin this, but essentially, the Phillies got manhandled by a great lineup, and failed to knock in runners in scoring positions. The Phillies had one run on nine hits and the Indians 10 runs on 11 hits. This is your classic throwaway game.
Cole Hamels was out of rhythm from the start. Grady Sizemore bunted his way on with the first pitch, stole second base, and scored on a fielder’s choice. Although Hamels gave up six earned runs in only five innings, the bullpen wasn’t much better. Geoff Geary continuously fails to keep the ball down, giving up his fourth, fifth, and sixth earned runs in the past four games. Triple-A call-up Brian Sanches pitched two innings and gave up one run.
Hamels will pitch much better, and is allowed to look human from time to time, but we at least hope that the bullpen will start to look average – and that’s looking pretty bleak right now. Essentially, the Phillies relievers are comprised of Antonio Alfonseca, Ryan Madson, Mike Zagurski, and a bunch of other guys. Other guys like Yoel Hernandez, Clay Condrey, Jose Mesa, and the newest member of the gang, Geoff Geary. After reading that bunch, you’re either thinking “who?” or “ugh.” Could we ever use Tom Gordon and Brett Myers right now.
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