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It's the rematch! Both the Phillies (32-29) and the Yankees (40-23) will have their aces going in the series opener when Roy Halladay and C.C. Sabathia meet up in the collission of last year's World Series opponents. The Yankees won the best-of-seven series in six games. The Yankees enter the series tied for first place in the American League East with the team the Phillies faced in the World Series two seasons ago, the Tampa Bay Rays. The Phillies, however, are struggling to climb back atop the National League East, as they are in third place, 3 1/2 games behind the first place Braves and 1 1/2 games behind the second place Metropolitans. Read ahead for details on the pitching match ups for this series as well as loads more information. Tuesday, 7:05pm. Roy Halladay (8-4, 1.96 ERA) vs CC Sabathia (6-3, 4.01 ERA). In 37 games against the Yankees, Halladay has an 18-6 record with a 2.84 ERA. In 6 road starts this season, Halladay is 4-1 with a 1.52 ERA. Curtis Granderson is 5-f...

Perhaps you've seen Chan Ho Park's naive declaration about his very own bathroom related issues. If you haven't, click here to view his comments about that. Things work out for the best sometimes, as Park's recent explosive ailment has swiftly resulted in a brand new endorsement deal for the former Phillie and current Yankee. Hoping to reach the Korean and Asian-American demographic, Imodium has brought on the veteran pitcher to market their product. What? It's funny?! --------------------------------- Follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter HERE . Share on Facebook

This week, the media asked new Yankee Chan Ho Park how he improved to pitch 3 scoreless innings against the Red Sox following his poor season debut in the Sunday night opener, when he allowed 3 runs (2 earned) in 2/3 of an inning. Chan Ho blamed it on a health issue. Here is his discription of the problem thanks to SI's Jimmy Traina. I guess with Park, his own runs lead to runs for the other team. ------------------------------------- You can follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter HERE . Share on Facebook

Have a look over these following descriptions of two pitching rotations and see which is preferable. Option A- #1 starter- 25-year-old lefty who is fresh off one of the best postseason runs in baseball history and won the MVP award for both the League Championship Series and the World Series. #2 starter- 7 year veteran former top draft pick, with 3 winning seasons as a starter and a 21 save season as a reliever. #3 starter- A 28-year-old 5 year veteran right-hander with a career .525 winning percentage and a 4.24 ERA. #4 starter- A veteran 46-year-old who should win his 250th game during the season and just signed a 2 year contract. #5 starter- A 35-year-old journeyman who hasn't seen success as a starter in any of his previous six seasons. Option B- #1 starter- 6 time all-star, Cy Young Award winner, 11 year veteran regarded as one of the top pitchers in the sport with a career win percentage over .660. #2 starter- 26-year-old lefty pitcher who is one year removed from being the d...

If you missed Charlie Manuel's press conference, on Tuesday, that was referred to as his State of the Phillies Address, you can view some of it by clicking here . In the latter portion of that clip, Manuel speaks about the dependable relievers that the Phillies have acquired this offseason...Jose Contreras and Danys Baez, stating, "Let me tell you something. We got two guys, if they're sore, or stiff, or got a headache, or they don't feel good, they'll pitch. And I know they'll pitch. And both of these guys are mentally tough guys. And that makes me feel good and I know both of 'em can pitch at least two innings. And I know they'll take the ball every time I want to give it to them. I know Baez will not turn the ball down." There's no question that Charlie Manuel is pleased with the acquisitions of each of these pitchers. The question remains, who was Manuel so sour toward that he feels like the Phillies have had pitchers who didn't truly w...

Aside from the reported 3-team blockbuster involving the Yankees, D-Backs and Tigers that moved Curtis Granderson, Edwin Jackson and Max Scherzer, the biggest deal of the meetings thus far has been the impending move of reporter Peter Gammons from ESPN to MLB media and NESN. MLB.com's Mike Siano and other sources report the deal is done and the crossover will coincide with the new year. The Phillies added more reserve depth by signing OF/1B Ross Gload on Tuesday night. Such a move enhances what became a weak spot for the Phils in 2009, their bench. More on Gload's signing from PhoulBallz here . Regarding the Phillies interest in Brandon Lyon, it is not confirmed that the Phillies have made an offer, but GM Ruben Amaro confirmed the team has offered contracts to players, although he did not believe a deal was close with anyone, prior to the Gload announcement. That could mean any offer to Lyon was possibly a low-ball gesture and the team & player are likely not in the same ...

Lots of talk, no moves at all for the Phillies on day 1 of the 2009 Winter Meetings in Indianapolis. Relief pitching should be the priority. The Phillies are in the market to retain some of their own, as well as add some players who have become free agents from other team. Near the top of the list seem to be Chan Ho Park returning and perhaps Brandon Lyon, the former Tiger and D-Back. The Phillies met with Park's agent Jeff Borris on Monday, and talks remain ongoing. In 374 career games, the 30 year old Lyon has a 4.20 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. Trade rumors mainly surrounded only one current Phillie...Joe Blanton. ESPN's Jayson Stark reported that the Phils quietly let other teams know they'd listen to offers for Blanton. Ideally, they do not wish to trade him, but if the deal could improve the club and/or offer enough salary relief, it could interest the National League champs. Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. told reporters that re-signing Pedro Martinez is something that cou...

It's been a brief offseason so far. But in the two short days since the Phillies' race to repeat ended, there have been a lot of happenings with the team. It was a sure thing that after the Yankees recorded the final out to win their 27th World Series Championship that the 25 men representing the Phillies at that time would never play together again, but as the days pass, the truth in that statement is increasingly clear. Brett Myers was informed on Friday that he will not return to the Phillies. Myers' was not surprised by the news, and looked forward to returning to Philadelphia as an opponent. Myers filed for free agency after being notified. Myers, a former first round draft pick, should draw plenty of interest around baseball. His future is most likely as a reliever. Also filing for free agency on Friday were Miguel Cairo and Pedro Martinez. The official free agency period begins 15 days after the end of the World Series. Two players had contracts who were finished unl...

Raul A-Bomb?-Yes! The Phillies won the 2009 NLCS opener on Thursday to take a 1-0 lead in the final four round to determine the contestants for the World Series. The Phillies were led by two key three-run homeruns by Carlos Ruiz and Raul Ibanez and got solid relief pitching from Chan Ho Park and Brad Lidge. Ruiz is making a bid to add to his own nickname collection. The man already known as "Chooch", who TBS renamed "Cooch" by accident last year, has made a bid for a brand new name, "Senor Octubre". I'll simply go with my adjusted alias, THE Chooch. Ruiz in 6 career NLCS games has a .368 batting avg. THE Chooch's 3 run homer in the 5th inning gave the Phillies a lead they would not relinquish. In the bottom of the 7th inning, lefty Antonio Bastardo entered the game to face left handed batting Andre Ethier, who smashed a lead off double. Chan Ho Park then entered the game and tossed a sparkling inning, retiring Manny Ramirez, Matt Kemp and Casey ...

This was to be a day when the Phillies began a three game series in Florida against the Marlins. Months ago it was announced that today's scheduled game would be moved and instead be played to open the second half, and shorten the Phillies' all star break by one day, in order to accommodate the NFL and Monday Night Football. Some of you may have long forgotten that, and there may be others who still have their original schedules and think the Phillies have a game today against the Marlins. Well, no...they are off. Instead they will begin a three game series at Florida with a double header on Tuesday. The Phillies' injury problems continue to grow, with Chan Ho Park damaging his hamstring recently, and news popping up over the weekend that Brett Myers has a sore shoulder, then Carlos Ruiz spraining his wrist, and even rookie "Jay" Happ pulled an oblique during his start on Friday. Oh, and Pedro Martinez, who left his latest start early, could miss his next start wi...

Yeah, they do. Jayson Werth, Chan Ho Park and Ryan Madson led the Phillies to victory on Wednesday night. Werth had two hits, one was a leadoff homerun in the 8th inning to give the Phillies a lead. He also drove in two and scored two. It was Werth's 33rd homer of the season and his 4th in the past 7 games. Chan Ho Park got out of a jam in the bottom of the same frame, after an error and a double off starter Cliff Lee left the Nationals with 2 runners in scoring position, down by two runs. Park entered the game with no outs and shut down three straight batters after a walk to the Elijah Dukes, allowing just one of the inherited runners to score on a sacrifice fly. Ryan Madson then entered the game with a 1 run lead, in place of struggling closer Brad Lidge. A leadoff single to Justin Maxwell was followed by Maxwell's steal of second. It seemed like an all-too-familiar road save situation by the Phillies' bullpen. The threat of the tying run was quickly erased w...

The Philadelphia Phillies are movin' on up. Since losing the first two games of July, the Phillies are 12-1 this month and have improved to a season best 13 games over .500. The Phillies are the only team in the NL east above .500 and have a 6 1/2 game lead over the second place Braves. Let the Rookie of the Year talk prevail this week. The Blue Jays trade talk is stale at this point. If it happens, great...but if not, "Jay" Happ has been excellent! After Sunday's win over the Marlins, Happ is now 7-0 with a 2.68 ERA and 1.15 WHIP this season. Over his last 5 starts, Happ is 2-0 with a 2.00 ERA. By comparison, other ROY contenders likely don't match up. St. Louis's Colby Rasmus has posted a .270 batting avg. with 11 HR and 34 RBI in 85 games this season. Washington's Jordan Zimmermann and Atlanta's Kenshin Kawakami aren't close at all. However, the Braves' Tommy Hanson, who is 4-0 with a 2.85 ERA over 7 starts thus far might be Happ's bes...

Huge victory by our Phillies on Saturday night!! The Phillies hammered Pirates closer Matt Capps for 5 runs in the bottom of the 9th inning to win the game 8-7. The Phillies are now 7-1 on their current homestand. The team trailed 7-3 entering the final frame, before Matt Stairs hit his 4th pinch hit homer of the season. Four batters later, with Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley on base, Ryan Howard tied the game with a deep drive into the left-center field seats. The Phillies then loaded the bases and Paul Bako won the game with a single that drove in Raul Ibanez to give Tyler Walker his first win as a Phillie. The series and the first half of the season wraps up Sunday at 1:35pm, when "Jay" Happ (5-0, 3.04 ERA) faces (1-2, 4.50 ERA). The Phillies now enjoy a 4 game lead over the 2nd place Marlins in the NL East. -------- After batting .309 with a .970 OPS in May, Carlos Ruiz is batting .179 in 27 games since then. Historically, July is Ruiz's worst month for batting average...

Phillies management finally decided to make adjustments with the pitching staff after Chan Ho Park's latest outing, where he allowed 5 earned runs in 1 1/3 innings. Statistically, that was the worst start by a Phillie this year. On Tuesday, manager Charlie Manuel and pitching coach Rich Dubee decided that it was time for "Jay" Happ and Chan Ho Park to switch places. Park will fill a role in the bullpen, while Happ will enter the starting rotation, and start against Andy Pettitte at Yankee Stadium on Saturday. Park's season ERA stands at 7.08 in 34 1/3 innings pitched while his opponents batting avg. is .304. Happ's ERA is 2.49 in 21 2/3 innings pitched and his opponents batting avg. is .184. Here's to Happ. And as a tribute, Cheech Marin says "Waass HAPPeneen?" --------------------------------

It's a rematch of last year's National League Championship Series! The Phillies won the series and all the games in Philadelphia. This season, the Dodgers are 8-8 on the road and the Phillies are 7-10 at home. Pitching match ups for the 3 game series are listed below with other notes. Tuesday, 7:05pm. Clayton Kershaw (1-2, 4.91 ERA) vs. Chan Ho Park (0-1, 6.67 ERA). Kershaw in 2 starts against the Phils is 0-1, with am 8.10 ERA in 10 innings pitched. Kershaw on the road this season has 10.29 ERA in 3 starts. Park has 5 career appearances against the Dodgers. In those games he is 2-1 with a 4.74 ERA. Also, for his career, May is Park's best month in batting average against at .236 and WHIP at 1.33. Juan Pierre is a .480 career hitter against Park (12-for-25). Also, the game is a sell out- Dollar Dog Night. Wednesday, 7:05pm. Randy Wolf (1-1, 2.95 ERA) vs. Jamie Moyer (3-2, 7.26 ERA). In 26 career starts at Citizens Bank Park, Wolfy is 8-7 with a 4.41 ERA. This will be Wolf...

I've spent over an hour this afternoon trying to think of something worth posting that wasn't Chan Ho Park vs. Johan Santana related. I couldn't do it. There's really not anyone around the baseball world that thinks the Phillies will win the first of a two game series in NYC tonight, when the Phillies ' worst possible option faces the best pitcher in the National League. Park, who is 0-1 with an 8.57 ERA, will start for our Phillies and will face off against Johan Santana, who was just named NL pitcher of the month for April. Johan Santana has never suffered a loss to the Phillies . Santana's career stats against Philadelphia- 6 starts, 2-0, 2.85 ERA, .201 batting average against. Some Phillies struggle against Johan (Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino , Pedro Feliz and Chase Utley combine for a .121 career avg. against him...8-for-66), while others are not very troubled by the ace starter (Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez and Jayson Werth combine for a .359 avg. a...

Long before my idea of a Chan Ho's Banjos fan group could take the region by storm, like I once thought it might, Chan Ho Park guy continues to struggle. Park allowed 7 earned runs and walked 6 batters, in 4 2/3 innings pitched on Friday in game 1 against the Metropolitans. Park's season ERA stands at 8.57, over 5 starts. Park seems to be pitching himself out of the Phillies' rotation. But, who might be the answer to fill his spot? Prospect Carlos Carrasco is still winless at triple A Lehigh Valley, and has had rough times in his last two outings. He has a 4.50 ERA and 31 strike outs and a 1.23 WHIP in 26 innings, over 5 starts. Reliever "Jay" Happ has a 3.52 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP in 9 appearances this season. Kyle Kendrick is earning himself consideration with a 2-1 record and a 2.77 ERA over 5 starts for Lehigh Valley. Time will tell what the team will do with the 5th spot in the rotation. ************** Links from around my bloggerhood- Swing and a Long Drive...

The New York Metro's are in town for a three game weekend series. Let's take a look at the match ups. Friday, 7:05pm...Mike Pelfrey (2-0, 6.32 ERA) vs. Chan Ho Park (0-0, 7.16 ERA). Pelfrey in his career is 1-2 against the Phillies in 4 starts, with a 4.09 ERA. He has gone exactly 5 innings in all 3 of his starts this season. In 2 career starts at CBP, Pelfrey is 0-1, with a 5.40 ERA. Gregg Dobbs is 4-for-8 in his career vs. Pelfrey with a homer and 3 RBI. In 15 career games against the Mets, Park has a 2.44 ERA and a 5-3 record in 73 2/3 innings pitched. In May 2008, Park appeared in 8 games (1 start) and had a 1-1 record with a 1.93 ERA in 18 2/3 innings. David Wright, Fernando Tatis and Carlos Delgado are a combined 10-for-20 off Park in their careers. Tatis' success against Park was detailed on this site just last week. Saturday, 3:40pm...Oliver Perez (1-2, 9.31 ERA) vs. Jamie Moyer (3-1, 5.09 ERA). In 12 career starts vs. the Phils, Perez is 2-3 with a 3.15 ERA and 8...

Ten years ago today, a feat never before completed in Major League Baseball was achieved. Current Phillie Chan Ho Park, a Dodger at the time, served up two grand slams in the very same inning to Cardinals third baseman Fernando Tatis. Tatis was just the second player to hit two grand slams in the same game . Tony Cloninger of the Braves did it. And Chan Ho was the second pitcher in MLB history to give up 2 grand slams in the same inning. Bill Phillips of the Pirates did that way back in 1890, to different batters. Park went on to become a Phillie, and thus we like him. Tatis went on to become a repulsive hand-jiving Metropolitan, and thus we wish for him to be voted off the planet.

Plenty going on in Phillies world today. Chan Ho Park was annointed the 5th starter. Park is extremely pleased, of course. "Jay" Happ's role is not yet known, as the Phillies could use him in the bullpen or keep him in a starting role at Triple A. Geoff Jenkins was released. Jenkins is owed $8 million ($6.75 million for this season, then a $1.25 million buyout for next season). The over abundance of lefties on the bench (Greg Dobbs, Matt Stairs and Jenkins) made Jenkins expendable. Add Jenkins' $8 million to Adam Eaton's $9 million and Jim Thome's $3 million and our Phillies are spending $20 million on players they've parted ways with. The Phillies have reportedly contacted Gary Sheffield, who was released by the Tigers on Tuesday, also. Sheffield is a right handed hitter. Sheff is likely a stretch as an option for the Phillies' bench, as he is best suited as a designated hitter. John Mayberry Jr. or Miguel Cairo should be the righty batter that makes ...