The Sixers are still motoring along, posting a win over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night (101-89), and fueling… playoff fever? We’ve felt this before, haven’t we Philly? Breathe through it. It’s not worth the morning after remorse. They’re not home again until March 7; hopefully they’ll keep up the winning away against Golden State (tonight 10:30PM), Phoenix (tomorrow 9PM), and the LA Clippers (Monday at 10:30PM); you can catch all on SportsNet. The Flyers......

by Ryan Dougherty Editor's note: In celebration of the Phillies' opener that's going on right about... well, now, here's a preview from a reader who'll soon be a writer. Enjoy! It’s Opening Day in Philadelphia, and the forecasts for the weather and the Phillies are bright. Which means a plurality of Delaware Valleyians is thinking one thing: “How are they gonna [foul] it up this time?” It’s hard-boiled and reasonable skepticism. As has been the......

What long, strange game it was at RFK last night. What matters most is the results: after 14 innings, the Phillies topped the Washington Nationals, 8-7 in 14 innings. It wasn’t a pretty game, either. The Phils gave up the lead twice late in the game, and left a gaggle of base runners stranded, going 5 for 22 with runners in scoring position. The Phils are still one game behind the Los Angeles Dodgers......

Another not so hot night for the Phils. They failed to capitalize on those little things called “base runners,” and fell to the Washington Nationals, 4-3. Normally, we wouldn’t think much about two losses in a row, but that’s a big step back in a now ultra tight wild card race – only five games are left. The Phils and Nats square off again tonight at 7:05 p.m. Catch the game on Comcast Sports......

If the Phillies manage to hold on to this half game lead in the wild card race until the season runs out (pleasepleaseplease), the third inning of yesterday’s 10-7 win over the Florida Marlins will encompass the long strange trip this has been. The Phils were down 4-0 in the third inning – not good in a to-the-wire pennant race where there is no room for error. But they didn’t roll over and die.......

How did they do it? Go from holding a blow out Fire Sale to being tied for the wild card? A lot of good pitching, a home run champion and a good dose of luck. Yes, the Phillies have finally caught up with the leader of the Wild Card race and are now tied with the Dodges with nine games to go. They’re beyond having to win every series. The must win every game......

So the dust has settled. The two biggest moves made by yesterday’s trade deadline were the Phillies sending Bobby Abreu and Cory Lidle to the Yankees, and the Cubs trading out Cy Young Winner Greg Maddux to the Dodgers. The Phils made one more move before the deadline, sending Rheal Cormier to the Reds for yet another prospect. So how did the Phillies do in the massive sell off? We’ll give them a C......

They’re up, they’re down, they’re all around. The Phillies halted a five-game losing streak and a possible sweep by the Boston Red Sox, on Sunday afternoon. But they blew it in an up and down, 16-inning marathon 9-8 loss last night to the New York Mets. Ryan Madson might as well have been the starter – he came into the game in the ninth inning and pitched seven innings of relief, his longest outing......

It wasn’t a pretty win. Far from it. Tom “Flash” Gordon blew his first save. The Phils managed to load the bases in the bottom of the ninth with Bobby Abreu up to bat. Last year, this was never a good sign – Abreu could never hit in clutch situations. And what he did last night wasn’t really a hit. It was a squeaker, really, but he bolted to first base, and when New......

A three-game winning streak? Could it be? We think so. The Phils took one out of three from the terrible Pittsburg Pirates and then won both in a set with the Florida Marlins. The Phils are coming home after a slightly better road trip than their last home stand. That's not saying much – they looked like dead men walking when they last took up residence at Citizens Bank Park. So how many fans......

The most interesting facet about the Phillies' just-concluded search for a new general manager isn't that they hired a proven winner who had built three other franchises into playoff teams and was the architect of the fantastic Blue Jays squads of the early '90s, squads that won a pair of World Series. No, the really interesting thing has been the collective reaction among Phillies fans to Wednesday's announcement of Pat Gillick's hiring. Despite Gillick's impressive......

The Phillies played in front of the smallest crowd in Citizens Bank Park history last night, but the lack of attention suited them just fine: the Phils, behind winless rookie pitcher Eude Brito, topped the Braves and ace starter Tim Hudson 4-1. The Phils only needed a 2-RBI, bases loaded single from Pat Burrell to jump out to a lead. Brito took the team the rest of the way, baffling Braves hitters who knew next-to-nothing......

Even though the Eagles are starting their season tonight, we're going to annoy you for a moment with some Phillies news. After some heartbreaking losses to the Astros, the Phillies came roaring back by taking 2 games out of 3 from the Florida Marlins over the weekend. The wins pulled the Phils to a game and a half behind the wild card leading Astros and a game behind the second place Marlins. Tonight, the Phillies......

If we were old school, we'd believe in baseball gods and Skip Bayless. If were nu skool, we'd believe in Stephen A. Smith and Moneyball. But we sit comfortably in between, so we believe in heartbreaking baseball and anyone but Charlie Manuel. The Phils lost their fourth straight game tonight, and their second straight to Houston, 2-1 at Citizens Bank Park. Things were actually going quite smoothly for the Phils as Jon Lieber cruised through......

Chris Mustazza and Phil Sandick, our resident Phillies writers, return this week with talk of one-game wonder Eude Brito, Jim Thome and the Phils' playoff chances heading into September. 1. Does Brito deserve another start for the Phils? Chris:I thought that Brito’s first start was great. He only gave up one earned run in five innings and left the Phils in pretty good shape. Unfortunately for him, he ended up getting a no decision instead......

Bobby Abreu’s first inning grand slam off of Mark Prior in the 92 degree heat at CBB gave Brett Myers a four run lead, enough room to pitch with a good amount of sloppiness. Myers flirted with disaster, giving up 10 hits to the 30 batters he faced. But luckily for Myers, and for the Phillies, Myers held off the Cubs without giving up one home run, although he did allow five doubles. The Phillies......

It’s difficult to begin writing this post because there are so many emotions that this game has caused in us. So, let’s pick one and get started. The saddest thing about this game is that the Phillies have screwed Jon Lieber again. It’s the second in a row of Lieber’s starts where the he had pitched an excellent game and the team could not score a few runs to get him the win. In his......

When you take a closer look at the Phillies' starting lineup from Sunday afternoon’s game against first-place Washington, and you compare it to the Nationals' starting gang, you might get the crazy feeling that the teams are not that different from each other. On paper there are many similarities: a talented, all-star caliber middle infielder (Jimmy Rollins and Jose Vidro), a power-hitting, speedy outfielder (Bobby Abreu and Jose Guillen), and a solid hitting but prone......

In their usual inconsistent style, the Phillies showed us a glimpse of promise as they shutout the Nationals last night. Usually, it would not be wise to count on the Phils winning a tight game against the first-place Nats, but they were able come out on top. If they could only play like that every night, they would be the ones in first place. The game was a stalemate until the bottom of the......

Sometimes there is a dramatic difference between a first and a last place team - just look what happened when the Phillies played the Red Sox. Other times, there are subtle differences that differentiate the two. Last night’s game was a perfect illustration of the latter. The game was not a blowout, but the Washington Nationals displayed the well-tuned playing style that keeps them in first place. The Phils showed the sloppy playing style......

Look at the box score of this game; just look at it. How can you have 9 hits and just one run? In last night’s game versus the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Phillies could not find their way if home they Mapquested it. The story of the night was “stranded runners.” Even with their ace pitcher, Brett Myers, on the mound, the Phils could not pull out the win. Brett Myers pitched a very good......

I’ve always been a person of extremes. I believe you should jump in head-first or don’t even bother putting on your bathing suit – and by that I mean, “Don’t swim,” not “Swim naked.” And that is why it’s infuriating to me to see the Phillies be a perpetually mediocre team. If they win a game, they lose the next. I wish that they would either win or just concede the season and become the......

As jaded as I can usually be when it comes to the Phillies, I have to admit that I loved every minute of yesterday’s game against the Pirates. It was very heartening to see the Phils bat around the lineup in the fifth, to see that they can play small-ball and not have to rely on the brute force strategy that they are so accustomed to at Citizens Bank Park. When Pittsburgh went up......

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......

Today, all of us suffering from the heartbreak of watching the Phillies come off of a 12-1 homestand in early June only to plummet to last place in the NL East were dealt a very small dose of relief as Brett Myers and the Phils shut down the Altanta Braves to escape last place. Could this be the beginning of the next great Philadelphia winning streak? Probably not. The Phils really needed a win today......

As reported on Phillies.com, Jim Thome has been placed on the disabled list due to an elbow problem. Thome has been struggling at the plate this season. He has had well-known back issues this year. There's no word right now whether or not this elbow problem is a nagging injury, or a new problem. Hopefully Phils fans aren't sick enough to be celebrating an injury (although Dallas Cowboy fans think otherwise), but this injury does......