It’s been said in this space repeatedly that the Philadelphia Phillies have “99 Problems but a Pitch Ain’t One.” And it’s true, their pitching has been outstanding, despite the fact that Roy Oswalt has been on the DL since late June with bulging discs in his back. That doesn’t mean that Oswalt wouldn’t help out [...]
The Atlanta Braves have been on absolute fire as of late. The division-leading Philadelphia Phillies have been playing really well also, but not well enough that their lead hasn’t slowly evaporated. The Phillies now have a 2.5-game lead on Atlanta, with the Braves coming to town for an important (but not crucial…c’mon it’s July) weekend [...]
The Philadelphia Phillies got quite a scare on Sunday when Shane Victorino fielded a ball in center field, then tripped and fell to the ground as he tried to hurl it to the infield. It looked like he rolled his ankle pretty good in the turf up in Toronto. Turns out, his thumb is the [...]
Philadelphia Phillies SS Jimmy Rollins was the DH on Friday as the Phils came back to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-6. He’s been dealing with some shoulder soreness, but manager Charlie Manuel said that’s not why he started Wilson Valdez at short. “I’m just getting Jimmy off his feet,” Manuel said. “It’s something I’ve [...]
It was about a year ago that I sat in OTR’s very own, Micah Warren’s German luxury car (Volkswagen Jetta). We were headed to the range to hit some golf balls when I suggested an interesting, yet unlikely scenario. “The Eagles should make a move for Albert Haynesworth.” It was evident that this guy was [...]
This isn’t good. The Philadelphia Phillies have had enough issues this season with their bats (they have 99 Problems but a Pitch Ain’t One?). They’ve urinated away great start after great start by their pitching staff and can’t afford to be losing any productivity on offense. That’s what makes Jimmy Rollins’ injury so concerning. He [...]
By now, you have heard that the Philadelphia Phillies will be getting their stud 2B Chase Utley back from the DL. He’s scheduled to join the team on Monday after rehabbing his bothersome knee down in Florida. But, is Utley coming back too soon? By all accounts, they have been very patient with his knee. [...]
The Philadelphia Phillies have a miserable outfield. So much so that the 610 WIP mid-day crew of Glen Macnow and Anthony Gargano were discussing the worst Phillies outfields of all time. You only do that when the current one is so awful. So, it doesn’t help them that the one good outfielder that they do [...]
The Colorado Rockies learned tonight that they would be without the services of all-world first baseman Todd Helton against the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday night. He was scratched with a bad back that he tore up sliding into 2nd base Wednesday. And then, another stud, Carlos Gonzalez was lifted from tonight’s game due to a groin [...]
Philadelphia Phillies righthander Roy Oswalt has been on the DL with a sore back that he presumably injured while running out a bunt. But, according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer, he’s still on pace to make his Tuesday start. “Oswalt will throw a bullpen Sunday and is still expected to start Tuesday,” Gelb [...]
At one point last year, Domonic Brown was rated the No. 1 prospect in all of baseball. When the Philadelphia Phillies finally called him up, he had a stellar debut and the fan base was energized. But, after that first game, things started to go downhill. Brown was pinch hitting because that’s what the team [...]
So far this season, the Philadelphia Phillies have been as good as advertised. They are 21-9 and have a two-game lead in the division. The Phour Aces – Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels – have been brilliant. Hell, even Joe Blanton has been very good after a rough first couple of [...]
The Philadelphia Phillies are batting Jimmy Rollins in the leadoff spot tonight against the Washington Nationals, mainly because his production as the No. 3 hitter has been poor when it comes to driving in runs. They have a great No. 3 on the roster, but he’s been pretty useless since he’s been hurt all year. [...]
Former Philadelphia Phillie and current Phillies television color man, Gary Matthews, is now a bonified music star. We’ve pasted below his first hit, “Jerk off the Ball (featuring DJ Tom McCarthy)” Matthews, aka Sarge, has made some great one liners in his day, but they probably didn’t come out as expected. So, someone got bored [...]
It may have gotten a wee bit tougher for us to sell our brilliant “99 Problems but a Pitch Ain’t One” t-shirts. While the Philadelphia Phillies’ starting pitching has lived up to all the hype, their bullpen is starting to break down a bit. With closer Brad Lidge already on the DL, we learned today [...]
Numerous media outlets are reporting that the Philadelphia Phillies have decided move on from 2B Luis Castillo. The 35-year old was brought in this spring to try to fill the void left by the mind-boggling Chase Utley knee injury, but the Mets apparently released him for a reason. This means that the Phillies will stick [...]
It’s nice to have four studs in your pitching rotation, and the Philadelphia Phillies certainly have that. However, their lineup has taken quite a beating since the end of last year, and it isn’t looking good, at least not for Chase Utley. For a while, it seemed like a little bit of rest would help [...]
Hit Me! The Philadelphia Phillies have pitching out the wazzou and everyone knows it. However, this is not a flawless team. They have problems. 99 problems? Jay-Z might think so, but probably not that many. Then again….it’s early. In 2008, it was the young Cole Hamels that fooled batter after batter, team after team as [...]
The New York Mets finally severed ties with Luis Castillo this week. He was due $6 million this year, is 35-years old, hit .235 last year and supposedly has no range whatsoever left. But that doesn’t mean that there is no interest in him. According to ESPNNewYork.com, Castillo is generating interest from the Philadelphia Phillies, [...]
When the Philadelphia Phillies signed Cliff Lee late in 2010, there was joy across the entire tri-state area. With Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, Cole Hamels and now Lee, there was no way the Phillies could not win the 2011 World Series. Well this is the kind of crap that could derail them. 2B Chase Utley [...]
Every year, people cheat when it comes time to come up with their fantasy team names. Whether it’s football with names like “Forsett Down Her Throat” or “Somewhere Over Dwayne Bowe,” someone in your league will find these names on a website and use them. OTR thinks this is criminal because you should be responsible [...]
Despite what many of their fans say, the New York Yankees could really use more starting pitching. For a team with World Series aspirations, having four out of the five starting spots filled with question marks is a tenuous situation at best. And the Yankees seem to be aware of this. They have been linked [...]
Philadelphia Phillies former prospect Dominic Brown fractured his hamate bone in his right hand on Saturday and is likely to miss three to six weeks. Don’t let the ‘former’ reference fool you. He is still on the Phillies, but his horrible play has downgraded his ‘prospect’ status to being Ben Francisco’s prospective backup. PHOTO CAPTION: [...]
So many people in the baseball world had pretty much penciled in the Phillies as one of the two teams playing in this year’s World Series after they added Cliff Lee to their already powerful rotation. With four aces that also include Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt, the Phils were a lock, right? [...]
There were many people who were concerned with the health of Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee. He had a bit of a strain in his abdomen that was giving him some discomfort in the past month or so. Still, he and GM Ruben Amaro insisted at the start of spring training that he was perfectly [...]