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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...

Scott Eyre has decided to call it a career...for now. Don't rule out a return, but, right now, Eyre is retired. Originally drafted in the 9th round by the Rangers in 1991, Eyre became the Phillies lefty specialist out of the bullpen in 2009, while another left handed reliever, JC Romero, was serving a suspension for banned substances. Acquired in 2008, prior to the trading deadline for minor league pitcher Brian Schlitter, Eyre helped complete a top level bullpen that would play a major role in the Phillies' World Series title. In 61 games as a Phillie, Eyre had a 5-1 record with a 1.62 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. PhoulBallz.com simply wishes to offer a tip of the proverbial cap to Scott Eyre for his time spent with, and his excellent efforts for, the Philadelphia Phillies. -------------------------- Follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter HERE for Phillies info, stats, trivia and more!

Right-hander Danys Baez is officially a member of the National League champion Phillies today, as he was introduced to the media, and the public, at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon. Baez's deal is for 2 years, $5.25 million. The contract pays Baez $2.5 million in 2010 and $2.75 million in 2011, and he is said to have opportunities to earn performance based incentive bonuses. Baez is expected to be used in a set up role out of the bullpen, but could easily slide into closer duties if Brad Lidge struggles again or has a delay in recovering from offseason elbow surgery. In 2009 with Baltimore, Baez was 4-6 with a 4.02 ERA in 59 games. In his career against the other 4 NL East team, Baez has a 2-1 record with a 2.90 ERA in 27 games. In other team news, GM Ruben Amaro Jr. stated that the Phillies are likely finished negotiating with lefty reliever Scott Eyre. Eyre reportedly had been offered a minor league and did not accept. That leaves the Phillies a left hander short. With y...

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...

With the Phillies leading the National League Championship Series 3-1, they have one chance to clinch a World Series berth at home. Philadelphia is wildly anticipating game 5 tonight. Read on for details on the pitching match ups and other key information from this game. Wednesday, 8:07pm. Vicente Padilla (12-6, 4.46 ERA in the regular season. 1-0, 0.62 ERA in the '09 post season) vs. Cole Hamels (10-11, 4.32 ERA in regular season. 1-1, 6.97 ERA in the '09 post season). Padilla is 10-11 with a 4.98 ERA in 26 career starts at Citizens Bank Park. Padilla is still undefeated as a Dodger in 10 games. Opponents are batting .160 against Padilla in 2 post season games. Colbert's ERA in his last 5 starts is 7.00. Cole is 5-2 with a 3.18 ERA in 8 career post season starts. In 3 LCS games against Los Angeles, Hamels is 3-1 with a 3.26 ERA. Casey Blake and Matt Kemp are a combined 11-for-56 (.196 avg) this post season. Jim Thome is a career .222 hitter in 64 post season games with 17...

It's a quote to go down in Phillies history. Spoken to his team mates, with the utmost confidence, by one of the biggest offensive threats in the league. Spat with the swagger of twenty rappers. Stated like he knew exactly what would happen. Delivered like a true World Champion. Ryan Howard has been using a song called "Forever" by hip hop sensation Drake as his walk up music since the home stand that began on September 28th. The snippet of the song that plays begins with Drake's first words of the opening verse of the track... "Last name Ever, first name Greatest." Could be true...for Howard, not for Drake. Drake is brand new to hip hop...a rookie. Howard, however, is experienced...an all star, a league most valuable player and is already widely considered the best first baseman in Phillies team history and he could go down as one of the best offensive players the game has ever seen by the time he is done playing. On Monday night, Howard's attitude in ...

This evening, the Phillies will make an attempt to eliminate the Rockies from the 2009 postseason. It would be the Phillies' second win of the day, as sometime after 2am Eastern, Brad Lidge locked down a save following a Ryan Howard RBI sac fly in the 9th inning, to put Philadelphia ahead 2-1 in the series. Read ahead for notes on the pitching match up and some additional details from this game. Monday, 6:07pm. Cliff Lee (14-13, 3.22 ERA in regular season...1-0, 1.29 ERA in postseason)vs. Ubaldo Jiminez (15-12, 3.47 ERA in the regular season...0-1 with a 9.00 ERA this postseason). Lee nearly shut out the Rockies in game one of this series, but surrendered a single run in the 9th inning last Wednesday. Lee has never pitched at Coors Field before. Lee is 3-1 with a 2.64 ERA in 4 career starts in October. Jimenez was 6-3 with a 3.06 ERA in his last 10 regular season starts. In 15 starts at Coors Field this season, Jimenez was 8-5 with a 3.34 ERA and a .234 batting avg. against. Chase...

It will be too late for many people's liking, but it's really about time to NEVER USE BRAD LIDGE IN A SAVE SITUATION ON THE ROAD AGAIN. Lidge in 2009 road games- 0-6, 8.10 ERA, 15 saves, 10 blown saves. One of my favorite statistics that I regularly update here on PhoulBallz is the percentage of games that Brad Lidge has allowed earned runs in this season, compared to the 18% he allowed in 2008. This year, Lidge has allowed earned runs in 43% of his outings. And, as a reminder, in 2007 Brett Myers allowed earned runs in just 21% of his relief appearances. Considering Lidge's season-long struggles, what is the solution when Brett Myers is ailing with a back muscle/shoulder injury, when Chan Ho Park has an injured hamstring, when Ryan Madson looks just as inept in the 9th inning as Brad Lidge seems and when JC Romero is still unavailable to pitch due to a forearm injury? Well, on Wednesday night, with Hanley Ramirez batting with two outs and the tying run on 3rd base, your an...

The Phillies head back on the road to visit CitiField and the Metropolitans to start a four game series this weekend. The Phillies (69-49) lead the Metropolitans (56-65) by 14.5 games in the NL East. The Phillies won't face Johan Santana in this series. Read on for pitching match ups and more notes on this upcoming clash. Friday, 7:10pm. Cole Hamels (7-7, 4.69 ERA) vs. Mike Pelfrey (4.75 ERA). Colbert on the road this season is 3-4 with a 5.34 ERA in 11 starts. In 8 starts vs. the NL East this year, Hamels is 2-2 with a 5.62 ERA in 41 2/3 innings. Pelfrey, the 2005 1st round draft pick, is 3-2 with a 4.02 ERA in 7 career starts against the Phillies. Greg Dobbs is 6-for-11 (.545 avg) in his career vs. Pelfrey with a homer and 3 RBI. Pelfrey is 1-4 with a 5.50 ERA in 6 starts since the all star break. Saturday, 7:10pm. "Jay" Happ (9-2, 2.66 ERA) vs. Tim Redding (1-4, 6.53 ERA). The Metropolitans are hitting .195 against Happ this year, over 11 innings. Happ, in 16 career ...

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 ...

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...

So, if you missed it last time , the initials on his cap stand for The Bat. He's back. He brought his new team along for a visit. Our Phillies beat them (again) tonight, on a Jason Donald walk-off hit, 3-2. The Bat's new team will play at Citizens Bank Park again tomorrow also. Then, on Sunday, it will be on, for real, as the champions of THE WORLD defend their title! The Metropolitans signed Gary Sheffield. I didn't think he'd be fit well with the Phils. Although, he surely would have plenty to play for and prove, after being released this week. The Phillies will open the season with three lefty relievers. "Jay" Happ and new acquisition Jack Taschner have made the opening day roster. Scott Eyre is, of course, the third left hander. Sorry, Koplove and Majewski...your spring ERA's (0.96 and 2.56 respectively) apparently weren't good enough. Macho Row has the full agenda for the opening night schedule, minute by minute. We'll see you all on Saturday...

To follow up on the Scott Eyre/frozen assets story, the Phillies have offered to advance Eyre some of his 2009 salary, so that he can pay his bills. Read all about it here . Pedro Feliz has still not begun swinging a bat, despite telling reporters that he feels good this week. Mickey Morandini is in Phillies camp for the first time, this spring, as a guest instructor. His time spent with the team will include a few days at Carpenter Field with the minor leaguers next week. Morandini told The Sporting News recently that he really likes the signing of Chan Ho Park and the contract given to Ryan Madson. He added, "We all know how important the bullpen is, and to have Madson, Park, Scott Eyre and Chad Durbin to get you to Brad Lidge is very important." John Mayberry Jr. and Raul Ibanez, the Phillies' left fielders in the Grapefruit League opener, each drove in a run in the team's loss . Mayberry Jr. could be the righty bench bat that the team was hoping to find. Don'...

Graefruit League baseball games won't start till tomorrow. However, there are a few Phillies who have already found ways to compete and have fun, after growing tired of drills and practice. Raul Ibanez vs. Pat Gillick- Staring Contest! They are stiilllll going. Stay tuned to your PhoulBallz network to see who blinks first. Over the weekend, the Phillies played dress up. Here, Scott Eyre is seen helping Colbert Hamels with his attire and reminding everyone that the Phillies are #1. ******************** News update- MLB.com reports that Phils reliever Scott Eyre is suffering great financial setbacks because he invested money with scammer Robert Allen Stanford . Federal regulators have frozen assets tied to Stanford, and this includes accounts belonging to Eyre, and other MLB players, while the investigation is ongoing. Happy Baseball Games Eve! Scott Lauber, of The News Journal , reports tomorrow's Grapefruit League opening day starting lineup for our Phillies is as follows.....

Adam Eaton is still owed $9 million by the Phillies. Yeah, NINE MILLION DOLLARS. His salary for 2009 is $8.5 million, and there is a buy-out option for 2010 at $500,000. GM Ruben Amaro Jr. has made it clear that Eaton is not in the running for the 5th spot in the Phillies' pitching rotation. Eaton has accepted his own current status, as he's aware of the terribleness that is himself. Eaton, a former first round draft pick of the Phillies, is 14-18 with an ERA of 6.10 over the past two season for the Phillies. Just to provide a quick example of how significant $9 million is on the Phillies' payroll, Jayson Werth, Carlos Ruiz, Chris Coste, Eric Bruntlett, Matt Stairs, Scott Eyre and Chad Durbin combined will not make $9 million this season. When asked about the possibility of accepting another minor league assignment, Eaton had this to say, "If we get to that point, I'll be released. And I don't think that's the end of the world by any means. It would be ki...