Skip to main content

Phinal Phour!


Congratulations to the Fightin' Phillies and all you Phans on advancing to the National League Championship Series. A best of seven series begins at 8pm on Thursday, in Philadelphia, against the Dodgers. Game 2, is scheduled for 4pm on Friday, also at home. All NLCS games will be broadcast on FOX.

The Dodgers have 3 coaches that are phormer Phillies. Dodgers 3rd base coach, Larry Bowa played as a Phillie and managed the team, of course. Bullpen coach Ken Howell was a Phillies pitcher in 1989 and 1990. And Dodgers first base coach, Mariano Duncan played with the Phils in the early 90's.

And on that note, here are some Phillies who used to be Dodgers...Phillies first base coach Davey Lopes is a former Dodger. Jayson Werth was with LA, before he signed with Philadelphia. And Shane Victorino is a product of the Dodgers' minor league system.

The Phillies are expecting Chase Utley to improve his performance at the plate in order to stand a chance at making it to the World Series. Combined for the 2007 and 2008 division series, Utley is 4-for-26 (.154 batting avg.) with 4 RBI, 4 walks, and only 1 extra base hit (a double in game 1 of 2008, that Mike Cameron should have caught).

The previous meetings of the Dodgers and Phillies this season have been duely noted. The Dodgers won all 4 games in Los Angeles, and the Phillies won all 4 games in Philadelphia. In the 4 games in Los Angeles, the Phillies lost two games by 2 runs, and lost two games by 1 run. In the games in Philadelphia, the Phillies outscored the Dodgers 27-5.

If Pat Burrell displays some more hotness in the post season, phans will surely be all over the Phillies' powers that be to get Burrell signed to a new contract. Burrell is a free agent after this season. The payroll is expected to really jump next year, with guys like Howard and Blanton eligible for arbitration. Burrell wants to stay, but will there be enough money left to pay him? One great day at the plate doesn't prove his worth though, so if Pat wants to be shown the money, he's got another series ahead to show his value.

Stats to ponder...Phillies' hitters are rather cold over their careers against the Dodgers.
Ryan Howard- .214 batting avg in 27 games. Jimmy Rollins- .239 avg in 53 games. Pedro Feliz- .217 avg in 99 games. Shane Victorino- .246 avg in 24 games. So Taguchi- .163 avg in 29 games. Chris Coste- .179 avg in 11 games. Greg Dobbs- .200 avg in 10 games. Eric Bruntlett- .160 avg in 18 games.

There's one Phillies offensive player who would absolutely qualify as HOT against the Dodgers. He's the man who needs to get on a roll, Chase Utley. Utley's got a .339 avg in 29 games against the Dodgers. Another Phil with solid success against LA is former Dodger, Jayson Werth- .323 avg in 11 games.

Other than Werth and Utley, the next highest career Phillie batting average against the Dodgers is Geoff Jenkins' .270 clip.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Caption This....

Jayson Werth was hit by a pitch thrown by Jeff Bennett on Friday. This picture shows where the ball made contact with Werth. Drop YOUR caption in the comments area.

Who is Your Favorite Willie 'Mays' Hayes?

PhoulBallz.com is wondering which individual who has portrayed Willie "Mays" Hayes is the favorite of the public. Hayes, of course, is the character made famous in the Major League motion picture series. In Major League , Willie "Mays" Hayes was portrayed by budding Hollywood actor Wesley Snipes, who would go on to action movie superstardom. Snipes has starred in major motion pictures like the Blade trilogy, Passenger 57 , Undisputed and many more. Snipes remains an impact Hollywood actor, despite legal troubles related to income tax evasion. Snipes was replaced for the sequel, Major League II when his busy career, and possibly the film's budget, would not allow him to return, by Omar Epps. Another budding actor, Epps had previously worked with director David S. Ward, on the film The Program , and landed the role of Hayes, who had become a Hollywood action star over the off-season that occured between the two films. Epps' career portraying athletes rolle

Harry Kalas Phorever...

Legendary broadcaster Harry Kalas passed away today. Harry collapsed while preparing to call today's game against the Washington Nationals. So many phans will feel as though we've lost a member of our own families. I feel as though I've lost a part of myself, but Harry enhanced my love of the great sport we call baseball and I will always carry that love, and Harry, in my heart. I've stated on this page before that I consider Harry more of a Phillie than anyone who wears the uniform as an active member of the roster. Harry Kalas was a Phillie. Moreso, Harry Kalas was the Phillies. Please share your thoughts and memories of Harry in the comments section, or send them to PhoulBallz (at) verizon (dot) net.