Recap: Phillies Top Cats, Nation USA Today Top Blog

The Phils topped the Tigers today 4-3, ending with a 6.2 innings of dominant bullpen effort. The clock may have struck midnight for Phils’ starter Scott Elarton who allowed 3 ER in 2.1 IP, including a HR to Brennan Boesch in the 3rd. But the resilient Phils clawed back, plating 4 in the fifth, including two on a Freddy Galvis triple. Lefties Raul Valdes, Joe Savery, Jake Diekman, and David Purcey were all sharp as their efforts turn toward being the second lefty out of the ‘pen. The Phillies are in an enviable position of having a surplus of lefty bullpen firepower.

As exciting as the game was to watch today, the events leading up to the game were, for better or worse, more exciting. Pat wrote a piece on how Jim Thome‘s body may hold up after playing the field and then the flood gates opened. In short order, the Phillies released possible emergency starter/staff ace of the Iron Pigs Joel Pineiro, made it clear to the media that Chase Utley would not be ready for Opening Day and that Freddy Galvis is your 2012 Phillies Opening Day second baseman. The news did not phase Galvis, who went 1-3 with a 2-run triple, but it did get a lot of Phillies Nation talking. Head over to that thread for some great discussion; lot of unique takes on the situation.

ESPN’s Buster Olney tweeted some interesting tidbits today as the Phils fine-tune their roster: “Phillies are looking for a backup catcher — an upgrade over the other backup C candidates they have in their camp,” as well as “Amaro indicates (Galvis) will be the second baseman and he isn’t seeking an alternative.” The news shocked some Phils fans, presumably not because they are huge Tuffy Gosewisch

fans (whose chances of making the roster we dissected here), but because it would be assumed the Phils would be kicking the tires on 2B help. Olney said rival scouts anticipated the Phillies to target Blake DeWitt, Macier Izturis, Chris Getz, and Alberto Callaspo. It is unlikely, however, that the Phillies will make a trade.

And finally, Phillies Nation was named by USA Today as the Best Phillies Fan Blog. More details to come, but from Pat, Corey, Brian, Kieran, Amanda, Robert, Jonathan, Jay, and the rest of the Phillies Nation team, we are thankful and humble: we could not have done this without you and we thank you for making Phillies Nation the best destination for Phillies’ fans on the net.