Comments on: Blastoff! Howard’s Two Bombs Fuel Phils In Rout

By: chris

chris — Thu, 22 May 2008 21:25:51 +0000

victorino continues to tear it up since returning from injury. like i said the other day- charlie better have put to rest any ideas about platooning him. i’d like to see burrell get a game or two off this series, but knowing manuel he probably won’t sit him until he slumps even harder.

the astros have one of the best offenses in baseball but aside from oswalt they don’t have much in the way of pitching. that goes for starters and their pen. kendrick will have a tough matchup tonight, if they can get a win in that one i’ll feel much better about the series. i think the phils could realistically take 3 but i’d be happy with a split.

By: kattapilla

kattapilla — Thu, 22 May 2008 21:18:54 +0000

Hell, Burrell gets walked so much it doesn’t matter if he’s hitting. He’s still getting on base!

By: Brooks

Brooks — Thu, 22 May 2008 17:12:01 +0000

Here is what I see; a team that played at least 15 games without last years MVP; without the services of a rising start in Shane Victorino for almost the same amount of time and without the full services of one of the premier players in this francise’s history in Ryan Howard – and they are playing good ball. Keep mentioning Myers, Eaton, Condrey – whoa, how about Romero, Lidge, Seanez. Durbin & what Gordon has done for us all in but 1 game (the opening day disaster):
Combined ERA for these 5 pitchers is 1.90 topped off by the hottest closer in the NL today in Brad Lidge. Lidge has given up 1 run in 20 innings!
Realisticaly speaking, Seanez has been around a while (he’s 39) and his lifetime ERA is over 4; Gordon will be taking some time off unfortunately soon as he is quite older; Durbin currently has more innings off the bench than anyone with 29 and a third, his ERA is at 2.15 – point being, our pitching staff woes pale in comparison to this splendid wave we have been riding with the middle relief and closing power..
Can I just say, saddle up gents – it’s time to get back on the Ryno express and enjoy the ride

By: Tim Malcolm

Tim Malcolm — Thu, 22 May 2008 16:43:06 +0000

Yes, Bruce, I said overachieving. Yes they have Berkman, Lee and Tejada, but they also start Geoff Blum, Kaz Matsui (who I refuse to call a top-15 2B), JR Towles and Michael Bourn. They have a pretty bad pitching staff â€” worse than the Phils. at 27-21 they are overachieving.

By: chrism

chrism — Thu, 22 May 2008 16:32:04 +0000

why am I hearing some1 say as long as howard stay on the upswing charlie said? its one game…he needs to do this for a week before we should start putting in an upswing category…its 1 game! lets not get excited yet

By: Greg

Greg — Thu, 22 May 2008 16:22:49 +0000

F the Asstros. Take it to them! I’m not scared. Well, still scared of Eaton and Myers. Pleeeeeeaaaaase, Howard, plleeeeeeeeaaaaasee say that you’ve left your slump behind.

If the offense comes out to play we’ll get 3. If not… well, this team ain’t built on pitching.

By: Bruce

Bruce — Thu, 22 May 2008 15:52:26 +0000

What have you to say Mike T? Anything besides “we are not a good team”? :-)

By: Bruce

Bruce — Thu, 22 May 2008 15:49:02 +0000

“…Next up: the overachieving Astros.”…. says Tim Malcolm

Overachieving?? With that line-up? Berkman is a genuine All-Star who may be having the best year of his illustrious career. Tejada who hit over .300 three of four years with Baltimore is now doing the same for the Astros (.340 BA). Bourn (league leading 20 SBs) and Matsui (11 SBs and .294 BA) complement each other at the top of the line-up. Matsui who was an integral part of Colorado’s line-up last year is not a surprise or overachieving. Pence who some felt should have won the Rookie of the Year award last year is coming around after a slow start and hitting .288. Lee as usual is the big RBI producer (10 HRs, 35 RBIs).
If there is a weakness, it’s probably in the rotation. However, keep in mind, Oswalt is their premier ace. And having Valverde as closer (14 saves) waiting in the wings to bail out a starter is a hugh plus. The Astros (27-21) are indeed a serious contender in their division.

The baseball axiom is to at least achieve a split on the road (against good teams like the Astros) and of course win the series at home.

Let’s go Phillies!

By: Mike T.

Mike T. — Thu, 22 May 2008 15:23:40 +0000

Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuce

By: Bruce

Bruce — Thu, 22 May 2008 15:17:59 +0000

“Hopefully Moyerâ€™s performance is sign of consistency to come.” … says Mark.

Here’s something for you to mull over Mark. Moyer (4.37 ERA) has allowed 3 earned runs or less in seven out of ten starts.

By: erik

erik — Thu, 22 May 2008 14:39:53 +0000

one quick point on ryan howard. jason werth got enormous amounts of credit for his 8 rbis on friday as it was well deserved. if you look at the average of men on base for those rbi, werth had a possible 5 of 9. Howard had a possible 1 0f 6. Imagine the rbis howard would have had last night, with more men on base. OH and somewhere I read he was only 3 for his last 12 and something about dont say anything good about him yet. umm .250 is a lot better than the .180 he has been sporting all year and that seems like a step in the right direction to me.

By: Don M

Don M — Thu, 22 May 2008 14:03:05 +0000

Mike T… don’t we need to win like 6 out of the 4 games in Houston to be considered a good team??? The Astros are 27-21, have the hottest hitter in baseball with Berkmann… if we split that series, thats a good thing… same scenario as when we went to Arizona… if you split on the road, against a good team, that is a successful road trip

Howard has 5 HR in his last 8 games.. 9 RBIs… and has seen his average jump almost .025 …still crappy, but at least he’s getting better.

He’s getting better by attempting to go the opposite way… same thing Burrell was doing in the beginning of the year, but isn’t doing much of anymore.

By: Gavin

Gavin — Thu, 22 May 2008 13:51:36 +0000

The fact that we are ahead of or tied with the Mets and Braves at this point is encouraging. I think the Braves deserve to be more feared than the Mutts. Tex hasnt even hit much yet.

We need a new 5th starter. Give Carrasco a shot!!!

By: Charlie

Charlie — Thu, 22 May 2008 13:26:38 +0000

Burrell always seems to hit better after the all-star break anyway. As long as Howard continues on an upward trend, our offense should be solid. Lets just hope that Myers finds his velocity, Kendrick does the same thing he did last year, and we can find a way to control the damage that is Adam Eaton.

By: Mike T.

Mike T. — Thu, 22 May 2008 13:23:31 +0000

I can’t believe everyone is going crazy over last nights win. We’re lucky we even won that series. This four game series in Houston will determine whether or now we have improved as a team. Need to take 3 of 4.

Being the terrible and negative fan that I am, I will be down in Houston for this series. Anyone else going?

By: Greg V.

Greg V. — Thu, 22 May 2008 13:04:51 +0000

Well one thing Burrell never was is consistant. It seems like after that 10th inning homer against the Giants, nothing has really lived up to that and he has been kind of weak at the plate. That being said, I think he’ll come around. There is a whole new strategy of pitching to him now it seems and he has to adjust to it.

By: Geoff A.

Geoff A. — Thu, 22 May 2008 12:43:36 +0000

Let’s just remember that we are still in May and only 1.5 games out. This is an improvement over the past decade plus! This recent team heats up during summer. So as long as that trend continues we should see 90+ wins and another post season. The phils are working towards the level of team we are expecting to see everyday. As Howard is taking it one at bat at a time, we should take it one game at a time with this team. Two wins in DC and off to Houston to face Oswalt. Time to step it up against a very good pitcher!

By: Gnomicide

Gnomicide — Thu, 22 May 2008 11:48:52 +0000

Winning a great pitched 1-run game and blowing out the Nationals the next day.

“We are just not a good team right now.”

By: Lewisauce

Lewisauce — Thu, 22 May 2008 09:08:15 +0000

I don’t see Burrell heating up again for a month or two at least. Howard needs to do so, because one of those two needs to provide power at any given time.

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 22 May 2008 07:06:53 +0000

Its feast or famine with the Phillies offense. Good to see Howard bang a couple of dingers out. Hopefully Moyer’s performance is sign of consistency to come.