PhoulBallz.com

Yes, I am still the happiest boy in B-town. My team won the WORLD SERIES! A few news notes from Phillies-land... NL Gold Glove Awards were announced today. Shane Victorino and Jimmy Rollins won at their respective positions. Third base coach Steve Smith will not return to the team next season. So Taguchi will also not be back next year, as he was officially released today.

Cowbells, mohawks, bad math equations...these things all await the Phillies in St. Petersburg. The Rays' fan base is mostly Johnny Come-Lately's. Their stadium is a mess. But the team has made history. The Rays have 37 more wins this year than they had last year. That is the biggest increase, from one year to the next, in modern baseball history. World Series note of the day #1- Phillies 25th man So Taguchi is the only player on either team to record a base hit in the World Series. Both teams are not required to set their rosters till Wednesday morning. There has been some speculation that catcher Lou Marson would make the World Series roster for the Phils, so that back up catcher Chris Coste could be used as a designated hitter against lefties, and that would cut the risk of leaving the Phillies in a stuck position if starting catcher Carlos Ruiz were to become injured during a game. MLB rules state if your DH plays the field, the team loses their DH, and the pitcher ...

It's a week later and the Phillies have a 1.5 games lead in the NL eastern division. The Fightin' Phillies control their own fate. It's not 2007, where the good guys were trailing. It's 2008 and the bad guys have fallen behind. According to the TBS web site, the first two days of the playoffs will include both National League games. Wednesday October 1st and Thursday October 2nd would be the first two games of the Phillies' post season. The NL wild card winner and the NL east division champ will determine who plays when and where. Should the Phillies win the east, and the Mets win the wild card, the Phillies would play the 2nd of three scheduled TV times for TBS's national broadcasts, against the west division winner. The game times would be 5pm or 6:30pm both days. If the Brewers win the wild card, the Cubs would not be able to play them in the first round, due to the rule of "wild card winners do not face the champ of their own division in the first round...

Your statement of the week is not really to ponder. It's an assertion that should just be printed out and shoved in the face of Charlie Manual. The Phillies' right handed bats off the bench are lacking, and the team needs help. Eric Bruntlett, who somehow gets starts at 3rd base, for the injured Pedro Feliz, against right handed pitchers instead of Greg Dobbs, is hitting a juicy .218 (41 for 188) this year. Bruntlett has 7 doubles, 2 homers and 13 RBI this season with a .601 OPS. Bruntlett has only 1 RBI since May 8th. Yes, ONE run batted in, in more than 3 months. Bruntlett has a .205 batting average vs. righties. By comparison, Dobbs, a lefty, has already set the Phillies' single season record for pinch hits in a season, with 21. Dobbs against righties is hitting .311. Another righty off the bench is So Taguchi. In 73 games, this year, So is batting .221 (17 for 77) with 5 doubles, no homers, 6 RBI and a .571 OPS. Taguchi has 1 extra base hit since May 26th. ...

It's been a long time...I shouldn't have left you without a strong blog to step to. Think of how many weak blogs you slept through. Time's up. Sorry I kept you.... So, those Phillies are still clinging onto first place after one of the most sucktastic weeks in recent memory. 5 straight losses to the two best teams in the American League. 9 total runs scored in those 5 losses. .166 batting avg. during that streak. And 4 straight series losses to top it all off. Slumps R Us. The much talked about Chase Utley slump (0-for-24) was broken on Sunday with a double. The Philadelphia phaithful responded by offering the all star second baseman a standing ovation for hanging tough and getting back into the proverbial swing of things. Utley's sad stretch now stands at a 1-for-27 (.037 avg) skid. Silently creeping up to match Utley's recent ineptitude, is Pat Burrell. Pat the bat is currently stuck in a 1-for-19 (.053 avg) slump. The season long pinch hitting slump continues fo...

Who’s the furthest away from setting the green grass at CBP on fire? Brett Myers , “the #1 starter”, has a 7.71 ERA in 3 May starts this season. Myers’ career ERA in May is 3.34, which is actually his best month. After scorching every bit of turf he stepped on during April, with a 1.136 OPS and only striking out 15 times in 27 games, Pat Burrell is hitting .231 in May with 15 strike outs in 12 games played. Burrell’s career OPS in May is .933, which is his best month aside from the small sample size of October games he has played. Ryan Howard has a 6-game hitting streak going, which has raised his batting average to .182 for the season. Howard’s career splits improve each month of the season. His batting avg in May is .017 higher than April, June is .033 higher than May, July is .014 higher than June and so on. So, with typical improvement in production expected from these 3 home grown talents not happening, should the Phillies be worried? I’d have to say no. There is too much talent...