PhoulBallz.com

From time to time, this guy right here known as Jay Ballz is happy to give himself a little pat on the back. Since my last post, where I suggested that Jimmy Rollins was just about to turn it on for the big playoff push, the reigning league MVP has performed like his old self. In the last 14 games, Rollins is 24 for 60 (.400 batting avg.) with 2 homers, 12 RBI, 8 runs scored and 10 steals. Oh, pat on the back #2...my Brett Myers prediction seems to be holding true also. Tom Gordon not returning from the disabled list, did surprise me, however. A big welcome back shout out goes out to every Phillies phan's phavorite Asian born player..."The Gooch" Tadihito Iguchi. Iguchi batted .304 in 42 games for the NL East Champion Phillies last season. Iguchi was released last week by the Padres, and won't be eligible for the Phillies' post season roster, should they clinch a post season berth. Konichiwa, Gooch. Kyle Kendrick has been making a good case for his own remo...

Can I get a show of hands....who is tired of Jimmy Rollins right now? In a room full of me, I see everyone's hands raised. The MVP, who last year won all of our hearts by being outspoken with his desire to win the National League east title, has turned many people off with his same big mouth. On Wednesday, August 13th, prior to the Phillies' game in Los Angeles, Rollins appeared on The Best Damn Sports Show Period and came down on the phans, when a host asked if the phans were as bad as they seem. Rollins called us "front runners". Well if we are phront runners, I suppose Rollins is not surprised that the crowds at CBP are not currently running with him. In 11 games since that statement, Rollins is 4-for-46 (that's a .087 batting avg) with 0 RBI and just 3 runs scored. This month, Rollins is batting .191. Is that poor? Of course, it is. But let's not forget the month of August that Jim-Roll had in 2005. Remember 2005, when Rollins finished the seaso...

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. ...

Folks, your Phillies team is loaded with beasts. That is not a difficult statement to make, based on the all star level talent that is on this Phillies baseball club, but let's exclude those all stars. No Chase, no Ryan, no Jimmy, no Brad, and no Colbert. Think you've still got a team loaded with beasts? You may doubt it, but Jay Ballz is here to assure you that you do. Beast #1...Jamie Moyer. The last time this 45 year old stallwart gave up more than 3 runs in a start was June 1st. Jamie has pitched more than 5 innings in all but 2 of his starts this year. And Moyer has a 2.84 ERA over his last 10 starts, since that June 1st game where he gave up 5 runs in 7 innings. Beast #2...Jayson Werth (vs. left handed pitchers). Tonight, Jay-Dubya tied Chase Utley for the major league lead in homeruns hit against lefties, at 11. He also raised his OPS against lefties over 1.000. Werth has hit exactly half his career homers against left handers, in far less than half the at bats. Beast #3...

Welcome to Philadelphia, Joe Blanton. Blanton is definitely a guy who is primed to come around. While he's not Ben Sheets, and he's not CC Sabathia, Blanton is a needed addition to the Phillies' staff. At the very least, this is addition by subtraction ....take away Adam Eaton from the starting rotation and the Phils take a step in the right direction. Blanton makes his Phillies debut against the Mets on Tuesday, the 22nd. Mets batters David Wright, Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran are a combined 3-for-20 (.150 avg.) against Blanton. 2 of those hits belong to Beltran. Statement to ponder...The catchers suck. Everyone's favorite 35 yr old sophomore, Chris Coste, hasn't been able to shake himself out of a slump this month. Carlos Ruiz has been slumping for almost a couple months now. Since seeing his batting average reach a season high of .246 on May 25th, Ruiz has had only 1 multi-hit game and his avg. has dipped just about every week, to where...

New Yorkers must not read the Phoul Ballz Phillies blog. Perhaps the 1260AM Yankees blogger, Charod, can pass the message along to Yankees fans that Chase Utley is ABOVE THE BOO. I get the whole rivalry thing. Jeter gets booed in Boston, and that whole deal…White Sox and Cubs are booed at one another’s parks also, but certain guys are above the boo. Utley, not used to hearing jeers, due to his saint-like, Cal Junior-esque status, reacted in a manner that was out of character, during introductions at the MLB all star homerun derby, last night. He quickly forgot about the microphone on his jersey & the camera in his face and jokingly said an expletive directed right back at the NYC crowd. I am here to set the record straight. The national reports of Utley swearing on the live broadcast are incorrect. Sure, it sounded like the F-word. However, Chase Utley has a different style… you should recognize it . When Chase Utley uses that word, it starts with a “Ph”. Don’t get it twisted. The ...

Question to ponder...Is there anything blog worthy with this Phillies team lately? Oh wait...here's what's good- Chase Utley and Brad Lidge are all stars. More all star news- Vote Pat Burrell in as the 32nd man (or whatever the final roster spot is these days, since we used to vote in the 30th man when this option began several years back). Pat's statistical rankings among NL outfielders are outstanding (2nd in OBP, 1st in slg %, tied for 1st in homers), so you must vote for him. The Majestic store at CBP already has 2008 Utley all star jersey for sale at a lovely price of $139. Chase Utley plans to appear in the MLB homerun derby during the all star break. And in one more bit of all star news...only one Met on the NL team so far. Is there anything else worthy of writing about with this team? Oh trade rumors? Yeah, well CC Sabathia is off the market. Would Roy Oswalt or Greg Maddux waive their no-trade clauses for the Phillies? Would the M's give up on Erik Bedard so fa...

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...

Harry Kalas' famous quote is being used an awful lot these days. Even Kalas, himself, is saying it. Utley continues to make a serious bid for himself to become the Phillies' 3rd straight National League Most Valuable Player. For the second time this season, Chase has hit homers in five consecutive games. That feat has only been accomplished by three other major leaguers in the history of the game. Statement to ponder: Chase Utley could very well hurt his chances at being a league MVP by acting like a humble shy guy. While Utley's outstanding talent increases his popularity each day (Utley leads all ML'ers in votes for All Star voting), I can't help but feel he could be far more adored. Is it too much to ask for Utley to pump a fist, or tell the guys on Daily News Live that he's excited about this team's chances and how he's been playing? I want personality and I know I am not alone. I don't need a "hot dog" the likes of Manny Ramirez, I jus...

Philadelphia Magazine published an article this week all about our Phantom Phive...the ownership group of the Phillies. The author, Richard Rys, even compared the ownership group's popularity in Philadelphia to that of Mumia Abu-Jamal at a police function. He also claimed that the famous ball field saying, "play ball", has been replaced in the front office with "play it safe." Comedic zings and punchlines aside, while stories like this are a good read, all they do is put me in a Phoul mood. With the Flyers' loss in the 2008 playoffs, Philadelphia has just completed its 100th consecutive major pro sports season (counting the big 4 teams) without winning a championship. Yes, 25 years times 4 teams= one hundred seasons without a championship . Quotes from the face of the Phillies ownership group, Dave Montgomery, like, "I just believe the organization needs an image that’s not directly tied to wins and losses", completely makes me want to violate that...

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...

Welcome to the Phillies baseball blog brought to you by Fox Sports 1260. Some entries here might be thoroughly organized, and based on one topic. Others, today’s for example, will feature details on various Phillies related matters. To kick things off on the best note possible, don’t expect the Phillies to make the post season this year. In case you missed it, last week the Phillies announced that they were bringing Mike Lieberthal back for one day, so he can retire as a Phillie. Many of you are aware that every season since 1992 that the Phillies did not have Mike Lieberthal on their roster, that won the division title. Sure, it was only 2 years out of 14, but obviously it’s a certainty that Liebey is a jynx. June 1st, the day Lieberthal returns, will be D-Day for the Phightin’ Phils. Gavin Floyd: Ace Starter?! Twice in under a month, the phormer Phillies top draft pick has flirted with a no hitter for the Chicago White Sox. His strike out to walk ratio (19:18) is not gleaming at all,...