Eric B Needs to be Cut (and My Name is Rakim)

While the Phillies are on a hot streak this month, one player on the team is not. Eric Bruntlett is 1-for-12 in July. Since the start of May, Bruntlett's apex in batting average has been .167 on June 14th. Bruntlett's ineptitude can be tolerated no longer. Get rid of this guy NOW!

Eric B. is the 2009 Endy Chavez. Remember Endy...the guy who in 2005 managed just 2 hits in his final 42 games played as a Phillie? That is about the sort of output the Phillies are getting from Bruntlett, and it's time to fix this void.

Julio Lugo was designated for assignment last week by the Red Sox and is expected to become a free agent. The Metropolitans are rumored to be interested. Why wouldn't the Phillies be interested in a guy who could surely outhit Bruntlett? Lugo was hitting .284 through 37 games played this season with Boston.

Suspended Lehigh Valley IronPig Pablo Ozuna is eligible to return next Wednesday. Ozuna is batting .294 through 51 games at triple A. Miguel Cairo is also still hanging around with the IronPigs and is batting .300 through 55 games played there. Perhaps either player could outperform Bruntlett, at this stage.

Another option in the system is the Reading Phillies' all star third baseman Neil Sellers. Might the ML Phils be doubtful in Cairo, because he had a shot already, and be hesitant to promote Ozuna after his drug suspension, and possibly get beaten to the punch on Lugo? Well, Reading manager Steve Roadcap thinks Neil Sellers could perform at higher levels. The righty hitting 27-year-old Sellers is batting .316 over 93 games played this season at double A.

More ideas to replace Eric B. are welcome. Please forward them to the Phillies' front office.

The fact that this guy, who is batting .128 through 50 games played, got to score key runs in the post season last year bothers me to no end. Imagine if Endy Chavez was immortalized in Phillies history by scoring game winning runs in the World Series. Yeah, that's Eric Bruntlett.

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Other notes...

Today marks the one year anniversary of Joe Blanton's Phillies debut against the Metropolitans.

Zach Collier made his season debut with Class A short season Williamsport on Tuesday, after being sent down this week, and went 0-for-4 in his journey to finally slug his first professional homerun.

Lakewood catcher Travis D'Arnaud is hitting .400 (18-for-45) in his last 10 games with 7 doubles, a homer, 7 RBI and 12 runs scored.

Wednesdays are always PhoulBallz Phillies days on Fox Sports 1310's The Shore Sports Report. The show is on daily from 3-6pm and you should be checking it out. I'll be on at 3:30pm today.

Division Lead Back to 3 Games

Six shut out innings by the bullpen, a diving catch by Jayson Werth and two homeruns by Chase Utley won the game for the Phillies and got their lead in the NL East back to 3 games over the Metropolitans. It was a surprising effort from the bullpen as Scott Eyre, JC Romero, Jack Taschner, Chad Durbin, Ryan Madson and even Chan Ho Park shut down the Mets lineup in the extra inning victory. It was a risky play by Werth, who could have allowed the winning run to score if he hadn't made the catch on the ball batted by David Wright. It was clutch hitting by Utley, who, with his second homerun of the game, gave the Phillies an 11th inning lead that they would not let up. Huge win for the Phillies! ------------------------- Stats to ponder- Jimmy Rollins in the lead off spot this season- 49 games, .208 avg (47-for-226), .244 OBP, 1 HR, 29 runs. Jimmy Rollins batting any place else in the lineup this season- 7 games, .409 avg (9-for-22), .440 OBP, 3 HR, 6 runs. Carlos Ruiz against the Mets ...

All I Want For "the Holidays" is the MLB Network

Ladies and gentlemen, there are 5 days left till Hannukah, 9 days left till Christmas and 16 days left till the premiere of the MLB Network. It's about time. Those of you that enjoy MLB.com's original programming, it may be a while till your favorite hosts appear on The MLB Network. The announced TV schedule is not similar to MLB.com's online schedule. MLB.com's studios are in NYC, and the MLB Network's studios will be in Secaucus NJ...so that's another bump in the road. Cross overs, while possible, might be less likely. The great internet programming on MLB.com includes morning and afternoon talk shows, a midday fantasy advice call-in show, a lunch time talk show and variety half hour formatted show, and of course the nightly wrap up, as well as other original programming that focuses more on the history of the game. MLB.com's programming started as streaming radio shows, then upgraded to a visual medium when video feeds were provided for the same sho...

Hockey Taking Over CBP

The takeover has begun. As the holiday season approaches and winter becomes more imminent, January 2nd, the date of this season's NHL Winter Classic draws nearer. In 2012, Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park will play host to the annual regular season hockey contest that is broadcast on national television. The ballpark is otherwise home to Major League Baseball's Phillies. In the upcoming game, the Flyers will take on New York Rangers. It will be New York's first Winter Classic appearance, while the Flyers, who lost at Boston in 2010, will be seeing action in the annual event for the second time. This will mark the fifth year for the NHL's premiere regular season contest, which first took place in 2008 at Buffalo's Ralph Wilson Stadium, home of the NFL's Bills. The process to convert the baseball playing field into an ice rink, in time for the week of hockey events set to take place at CBP, began this week. In addition to the January 2nd regular season...

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