 |
NLDS Capsules |
.273 AVG. .253 162 HRs 153 57 SBs 96 3.74 ERA 3.02 1,098 Ks 1,299 CARDINALS 2011 Record: 92-72. NL East Division winner Post-season record: 99-85. Team payroll: $105.4 million (11th) Octobers: 10 World Series, 17 pennants, 23 playoff appearances. Phillies hitters they hate to face: Carlos Ruiz .333 (8-for-24) one homer, three RBIs vs. Cards; Chase Utley .321 (9-for-28) two RBIs; Ryan Howard .263 (5-for-19) one homer, four RBIs. Stud Hosses: Switch hitter Lance Berkman .301, with 31 homers and 94 RBIs and Albert Pujols .299 with 37 homers, 99 RBIs. Manager: Tony LaRussa, 66. Theme: We can win it without Colby Rasmus. Looking up: Yadier Molina can put a running game on hold. The Phillies stole 96 bases with Jimmy Rollins leading with 30 and Shane Victorino 19. Looking down: Since Chris Carpenter had to win Game 162, Kyle Lohse starts the opener. Retired numbers: Ken Boyer, Lou Brock, Dizzy Dean, Bob Gibson, Rogers Hornsby, Stan Musial, Red Schoendienst, Enos (Country) Slaughter, Ozzie Smith, Bruce Sutter, Jack Buck, August Busch, Jr. and Jackie Robinson. Jays factor: Carpenter who won a Cy Young Award, relievers Octavio Dotel (three wins and two saves) and Marc Rzepczynski, plus Corey Patterson. Ranking as Canada’s Team: Sixth. PHILLIES 2011 record: 102-60. NL East Division winner Post-season record: 48-50. Team payroll: $173 million (2nd) Octobers: Two World Series, seven pennants, 13 playoff appearances. Cards hitter they hate to face: Lance Berkman .467 (14-for-30) .467 against the Phillies, Rafael Furcal .467 (7-for-17) one RBI, Albert Pujols .385 (10-for-26), one homer, three RBIs. Home-field advantage: Not as decisive as either Yankee Stadium or Fenway, but fans at Citizen’s Ban Park can bother umps and players. Stud Hosses: Roy Halladay was 19-6 in 34 starts with a 2.35 ERA working 233 2/3 innings, while Cliff Lee was 17-8, at 2.40 pitching 232 2/3 innings. Manager: Charlie Manuel 67. Theme: Unfinished business after being outplayed by the Giants a year ago in the NLCS. Looking up: Phillies starting pitching. Looking down: Position players are old and they looked really, really old after clinching, becoming the first time to drop eight straight before winning the final four to eliminate the Braves creating the match up with the Cards. Retired numbers: Grover Cleveland Alexander, Chuck Klein, Richie Ashburn, Jim Bunning, Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton, Robin Roberts, Jackie Robinson and Harry Kalas. Jays factor: Halladay, Hall of Famer Pat Gillick, assistant to president and scout Gordon Lakey. Ranking as Canada’s Team: No. 3. Most Jays fans want to see Halladay win a World Series, plus Phillies have fans in Richmond Hill home of Peter Orr and Langley, B.C. where Scott Mathieson is from. ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS vs. MILWAUKEE BREWERS Arizona won season series 4-3 STATS SHEET D-BACKS BREWERS 731 RUNS 721 .250 AVG. .261 172 HRs 185 133 SBs 94 3.80 ERA 3.63 1,058 Ks 1,257 DIAMONDBACKS 2011 Record: 94-68. NL West Division winner Post-season record: 15-15. Team payroll: $53.6 million (25th). Octobers: One World Series, one pennant, and four playoff appearances. Brewers hitters they hate to face: Ryan Braun .417 (5-for-120, two homers, four RBIs against the Diamondbacks, Jonathan Lucroy .368 (7-for-20) one RBI, Nyjer Morgan .333 (8-for-24) two RBIs. Home-field advantage: The Diamondbacks know the currents of the pool in right field. Stud Hoss: Justin Upton. You think B.J. Upton of the Rays can run, hit and throw? This is a great chance to check out his little brother who hit .289 with 31 homers, 88 RBIs and 21 steals. Manager: Kirk Gibson, 54. Theme: From worst (65 wins a year ago) to 94 to the World Series? Looking up: 1B Miguel Montero hit .282 with 18 homers and 82 RBIs. Looking down: People made fun of the SkyDome for having a Hard Rock Cafe in right. Chase Field has a TGI Fridays. Retired numbers: Luis Gonzalez and Jackie Robinson. Jays factor: Some nights they start an all ex-Jays infield of 1B Lyle Overbay, 2B Aaron Hill, 3B Ryan Roberts and SS John McDonald. Ranking as Canada’s Team: No. 1, thanks to McDonald and Hill. BREWERS 2011 Record: 92-72. NL Central Division winner Post-season record: 9-12. Team payroll: $85.5 million (17th). Octobers: One pennant and three playoff appearances. Diamondbacks hitters they hate to face: Gerardo Parra .318 (7-for-22) one homer, three RBIs vs. the Brewers, Justin Upton .286 (8-for-28), two homers, three RBIs; Willie Bloomquist .278 (5-for-18) two RBIs. Home-field advantage: Brewers have inside info on whether the Brat, Polish, Italian, Hot Dog and Chorizo will win the Sausage race. And Bernie only slides for Brewer home runs. Stud Hoss: Soon-to-be free agent Prince Fielder hit .299 with 38 homers and 120 RBIs. Manager: Ron Roenicke, 55. Theme: Win now or else … owner Mark Attanasio fIred Ned Yost with 12 games remaining in 2008 Looking up: The toughest out in the lineup according to scouts is not Fielder, but Braun who hit .332 with 33 homers and 111 RBIs. Looking down: Hopefully, Francisco Rodriguez does not warm up to pitch the eighth and stage a sit down strike because he’s not closing. Retired numbers: Hank Aaron, Rollie Fingers, Paul Molitor, Robin Yount and Jackie Robinson. Jays factor: Shaun Marcum, who went 13-7 in 33 starts, though the Jays are pretty happy with that Lawrie kid they got in return. Ranking as Canada’s Team: No. 2. Port Dover’s John Axford saved 46 games, Markham’s George Kottaras, GM Doug Melvin from Chatham, Ont. and assistand GM Gord Ash, infielder Taylor Green of Comox, B.C. who played 20 games, Nyger Morgan played junior hockey while living in Enderby, B.C. There is the quick update of the day. Posted in phillies-news | Comments Off
|
|
|
MLB: It’s all-or-nothing for Phillies this… |
[unable to retrieve full-text content]PHILADELPHIA (AP) — No team enters this postseason under more pressure than the Philadelphia Phillies. Leave any suggestions in the comment box. Posted in phillies-news | Comments Off
|
|
|
Yankees, Phillies hold MLB playoffs edge |
Two of Major League Baseball’s most successful teams, the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees, own a home-field edge in the playoff fight that begins on Friday and ends with the 107th World Series. The Yankees beat Philadelphia in the best-of-seven championship showdown two years ago and captured their record 27th World Series title by dethroning the defending champion Phillies. But a possible rematch has plenty of obstacles, starting with the best-of-five first round playoff matchups. Advertisement: Story continues below In the American League, the Yankees start at home Friday against Detroit while the Texas Rangers, who dropped their World Series debut last year to San Francisco, will play host to Tampa Bay in the other first-round series opener. Philadelphia, who led the major leagues with 102 victories, will open the National League playoffs on Saturday at home against St Louis while Arizona will visit Milwaukee in the other NL first-round series. The Yankees and Tigers meet in the playoffs for the first time since 2006, when New York won the opener at home before dropping the next three games and the series as Detroit reached the World Series, losing to St Louis. “We did all right that year,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. “It’s not like everybody’s lining up to play the Tigers.” The Yankees, who have not played Detroit since May 5, boast a powerhouse batting lineup that helped win 97 games, including ex-Tiger Curtis Granderson, Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano, Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez. The Tigers, coming off their first division title since 1987, boast sluggers Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez and a solid leadoff man in Austin Jackson. On the mound, the Yankees will open with CC Sabathia, who went 19-8 with a 3.00 earned-run average, while the Tigers counter with Justin Verlander, who was 24-5 with a 2.40 earned-run average, in a showdown of ace pitchers. The key might be game two, where Detroit’s Doug Fister, unbeaten in the final six weeks of the season, faces 16-game winner Ivan Nova, a rookie. St Louis charged into the playoffs by closing the season 23-9 to book a first-round date with the Philles, whom they went 6-3 against this season. But Philadelphia offers the deadliest pitching lineup in baseball with Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels and the Phillies bring plenty of confidence they can reach the World Series for the third time in four years. “You can’t be scared and you can’t look to dodge nobody,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. “Bring ‘em on. Let’s get ‘em. Champions can beat anybody.” If anybody needs tickets to games, remember to click the tickets link at the top. Posted in phillies-news | Comments Off
|
|
|
Powerhouse Phils and Yankees top playoff seeds |
[ [ [['Conrad Murray', 15]], [ [['she-devil', 12]], [ [['diana nyad', 13]], [ [['Joshua Komisarjevsky', 10]], [ [['CASCO Signal', 13], ['Yu Yuan station', 13]], [ [['It is difficult to assess how many birds are affected', 7]], [ [['Andy Rooney', 9]], [ [['villages where people are trapped under collapsed houses', 8]], [ [['The absence of Borders is going to be felt across the industry', 6]], [ [['Anders Behring Breivik', 8]], [ [['like there is no way out', 9]], [ [['including snipers picking off protesters from rooftops', 5], ['Violence has flared anew in Yemen in frustration', 6]], [ [['Dolores Hope', 7]], If anybody needs tickets to games, remember to click the tickets link at the top. Posted in phillies-news | Comments Off
|
|
|
Yankees, Phillies have an edge as playoffs open |
[ [ [['Conrad Murray', 15]], [ [['she-devil', 12]], [ [['diana nyad', 13]], [ [['Joshua Komisarjevsky', 10]], [ [['CASCO Signal', 13], ['Yu Yuan station', 13]], [ [['It is difficult to assess how many birds are affected', 7]], [ [['Andy Rooney', 9]], [ [['villages where people are trapped under collapsed houses', 8]], [ [['The absence of Borders is going to be felt across the industry', 6]], [ [['Anders Behring Breivik', 8]], [ [['like there is no way out', 9]], [ [['including snipers picking off protesters from rooftops', 5], ['Violence has flared anew in Yemen in frustration', 6]], [ [['Dolores Hope', 7]], Leave your comments on the news below. Posted in phillies-news | Comments Off
|
|
|
Lowe pounded again, Braves routed by Phillies 7-1 |
The Atlanta Braves are doing their best to give away what looked like a certain playoff berth just a few weeks ago. Derek Lowe had another miserable outing, surrendering five runs in four-plus innings, and the Philadelphia Phillies romped to a 7-1 victory Tuesday night that left the Braves on the brink going to the final day of the regular season. Chase Utley, Hunter Pence and Jimmy Rollins homered to back a three-hit outing by Roy Oswalt (9-10), who tuned up for the playoffs with a strong performance in a largely disappointing season. The Braves lost their fourth in a row and eighth in 11 games, sending them to the final day of the regular season assured of no more than a one-game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals, who were at Houston. Atlanta had an 8½-game lead just three weeks ago, but it will be no more than one going to the final game — unless a one-game playoff against the Cardinals is needed. That would be Thursday night in St. Louis. Lowe (9-17) has been a $15 million bust for the Braves, losing all five of his September starts and drawing the ire of Atlanta fans. They cheered lustily when manager Fredi Gonzalez popped out of the dugout to make a pitching change after Lowe gave up a leadoff single in the fifth, then showered boos on the high-priced right-hander as he trudged to the dugout — and straight to the showers without so much as a pause. The NL East champion Phillies, winning their 101st game of the season, jumped ahead on the eighth pitch of the game. Lowe served up one to Utley, who drove it into center-field seats for his 11th homer. An uneasy feeling settled over Turner Field. It would only get worse. The Phillies extended the lead to 3-0 in the third on Rollins’ run-scoring and Pence’s sacrifice fly, the inning helped along by Lowe’s ill-advised decision to try to get the lead runner at third on Oswalt’s sacrifice. Carlos Ruiz beat the throw and everyone was safe. The advantage grew to 4-0 in the fourth when two singles set up another sacrifice fly, this one by Placido Polanco. Philadelphia finished off Lowe in the fifth. When Rollins led off with a single, rookie Arodys Vizcaino was summoned from the bullpen. But the youngster gave up a towering two-run homer to Pence, his 22nd, that turned the game into a full-fledged rout. The Braves fans stopped booing long enough to cheer on the last-place Astros from afar, breaking into periodic chants of “Let’s Go Houston!” Rollins added his 16th homer in the seventh off another Braves rookie, Julio Teheran. The top three hitters in the Phillies’ lineup — Rollins, Utley and Pence — combined to go 6 for 12 with three homers, five RBIs and four runs scored. Rollins had three hits and Pence drove in three runs. No one in the Atlanta lineup did anything until Martin Prado hit a meaningless homer off Kyle Kendrick in the ninth to keep the Braves from their second shutout in four games. They’ve scored only four runs in that span. Staked to a comfortable lead, Oswalt went on cruise control. The right-hander went six innings and allowed just two runners to get as far as second base. His only real trouble came in the third when Michael Bourn singled, stole second and Prado reached as Rollins bobbled a grounder at shortstop for an error. But Chipper Jones, who had an MRI on his ailing right knee before the game, grounded into a double play. NOTES: The Phillies won their third in a row and improved to 11-6 against the Braves in the season series. … RHP Jair Jurrjens is scheduled to pitch Thursday in the Florida instructional league in what the Braves are hoping will be a tuneup for the playoffs. He’s been out with a bone bruise in his right knee. … The Braves had hoped to save Tim Hudson (16-10) for the playoffs, but their No. 1 starter will have to go Wednesday with the season on the line. Joe Blanton (1-2) gets the nod for the Phillies, who are likely to rely mostly on little-used relievers in their regular-season finale. If anybody needs tickets to games, remember to click the tickets link at the top. Posted in phillies-news | Comments Off
|
|
