Results tagged “uguethurbina”

John Street is talking down men from ledges. Al Gore is visiting the city and people aren't making a billion Al Gore/Internet jokes. There were no posts on the Sixers/Knicks preseason tilt. It's been a bizarre week for Philadelphia and the blogosphere. And yet, we're still doing our weekly round-up. Comforting? No. Worth a few lines for a rushed intro? Definitely.

A 2+ hour rain delay didn't deter many fans at last nights Phillies/Mets game at Citizens Bank Park. It didn't deter Jimmy Rollins, either. The red-hot shortstop extended his hitting streak to 31 games - tying the Phillies' all-time record - with a first pitch lead-off homerun. The hit put the Phillies in the lead, which they'd hold until the eighth inning when Ugueth Urbina gave up four runs - three of them earned - en route to a crushing 6 - 5 loss to the New York Mets.

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.

Chris and Phil are back again this week to talk about Citizens Bank Park, Jim Thome, and Ugueth Urbina, among other things. This will be Phil's last post for a while, as he's on something he likes to call "vacation." Personally, we just think he doesn't like staying up late for the Phils' west coast swing.

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?