Results tagged “mikepiazza”

Friday night, Ryan Howard came to the plate representing the winning run in a 9-7 game in the bottom of the ninth inning against Florida closer Todd Jones, and Howard struck out looking. Todd Jones collected his 200th save, and finished off the Phils on a night when it looked like it would be hard to come back, but Philadelphia fought back from a 8-3 deficit in the sixth inning to make it competitive again for their home crowd by the bottom of the ninth. Can’t blame Ryan Howard for this one; he merely struck out against a rejuvenated closer. He will have other chances. And Phillies fans, take that energy that you were ready to use to cheer Howard’s game tying home run, and remember these tough times when Howard does put one into the seats in the ninth inning. It won’t be long from now.

Un-freaking-believable. That’s all that can be said about tonight’s heartbreaking loss to the Atlanta Braves. Never before were the Phillies’ relief pitching needs as apparent as they were tonight. Robinson Tejeda had another sterling start, as he led the Phils through 6 shutout innings with only two hits surrendered. This kid is on fire. He hasn’t allowed a run in three of his five starts. No one expected Tejeda to come up this big when he filled the void left by the injured Randy Wolf. It really looked like the Phils were going to take this one. It actually took more effort to lose this game than it would have to win it. The loss can be chalked up to horrific relief pitching. The blame can be divided amongst Rheal Cormier, Ryan Madson, Ugueth Urbina, and Billy Wagner. All of them contributed to the Braves coming back from a 3-0 deficit in the final innings to win 4-3. The Phils’ runs were scored by a 3-run homer from young prospect Ryan Howard. Howard will continue to play for the Phils while Jim Thome is on the DL. So what do the Phils do now? Do thet need to make some trades by the deadline and pick up better starting and relief pitching? Do we really want Ed Wade to pull the trigger on such a decision? Who would the Phils trade – Howard, Wagner, Burrell, Utley? These are all questions that will need to be answered in the near future. Here’s what I think they should do: in true Philadelphia tradition, the Phils need to trade some of their most valuable prospects for a washed-up player who used to be good. The Phils need to offer this player a big-money deal for a long time-period. Also, whoever the Phils trade should promptly become a spectacular player – ala Scott Rolen. Might I suggest Ryan Howard for Mike Piazza at 10 million a year for 7 years?