PhoulBallz.com

LAKEWOOD, NJ- With Phillies' left-handed reliever JC Romero on hand, the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws locked down a win to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Mets affiliate, the Savannah Sand Gnats, on Tuesday night. Romero was on a rehab assignment after being placed on the disabled list on April 19th with a right calf strain. Set to throw one inning, the first batter that Romero faced put up quite a fight and refused to be retired by the left-hander's best off-speed stuff. Savannah left fielder Cory Vaughn, son of former Major League player Greg Vaughn, worked a full count and fouled off many of Romero's toughest offerings until he worked a walk. "Right from the get go I had a great battle with (Cory) Vaughn. I faced his dad and I guess I got his daddy out, but I couldn't get the son," Romero said. Romero faced Greg Vaughn three times in regular season MLB action, and retired him all three times. Good memory by JC. Unable to retire the younger Vaughn at the pla...

Stephen Batts, a 19th round draft selection in 2009, is currently playing with the Class A level Lakewood BlueClaws. A versatile fielder, Batts can play all over the diamond and often slips into the lineup as a designated hitter. In high school, Batts was an all-state soccer goalie in North Carolina. He later attended East Carolina University to play both soccer and baseball. With Lakewood this season, Batts has posted a .281 batting average, 5 homers and 30 RBI in 71 games, becoming a key contributor for Mark Parent's BlueClaws team. Batts recently strung together a 12 game hitting streak for the playoff bound BlueClaws. Last week I spoke with Stephen about his offensive production, his choice between soccer and baseball, looking forward to the post-season and more. Check out the media player below to listen to the full interview. __________________________________________________ Follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter HERE . Share on Facebook

Plenty of noteworthy happenings are going on all around the Phillies organization. The Phillies are the leaders for the National League wild card after defeating the Giants in the first two games of their series in Philadelphia. Something I've pondered regarding this...should the Phillies enter the playoffs for the first time in team history as the league's wild card entrant and advance no further, would they fly a flag to honor it like they do for their other post-season achievements and, if so, what color would it be? The Phillies currently fly red flags for World Championships, blue flags for League Pennants and white flags for division titles. Expect "Bet your sweet ass" to be this season's quote of the year, a la " Get me to the plate, boys !" If you missed Jayson Werth's remarks about what Charlie Manuel had to say recently about Jimmy Rollins' ability to hit, check out the media player below. Ryan Howard (sprained ankle) is targeting a Mon...

Friday night, rehabbing Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz posted a 2-for-4 night and helped the A-Level Lakewood BlueClaws win against the Orioles affiliate Delmarva Shorebirds. Starting pitcher Brody Colvin, who had been excellent over his last 9 starts (1.90 ERA) pitched 5 innings without allowing an earned run, but earned a no decision in the match up. Colvin nearly worked out of a bases loaded jam in the 5th inning, when Delmarva first baseman Tyler Townsend dribbled what should have been an easy ground out back to Colvin, but the right-handed hurler failed to make an accurate throw to "The Boss" Jonathan Singleton and sent a throw sailing high over the first baseman's head. Two runners scored on the play. Colvin struck out the next batter Kieron Pope to escape without further damage. Catcher Sebastian Valle drove home designated hitter Ruiz with a single in the 6th inning to cut the deficit in half. The BlueClaws tied things up in the 7th when Jonathan Villar tripled home...