April Month In Review

April is always one of the best months in sports simply for what's going on. Baseball season is beginning, the NBA and NHL playoffs are just getting going, March Madness rolls over into April; for those of you in college towns, spring football holds their first practices and of course the NFL Draft.

With that said, a lot has gone in CuseAdelphia during the month of April. Six CuseAdelphia teams are in action and winning. Now this post comes in May, the day of the 76ers elimination from the playoffs, but the Sixers reached the playoffs for the first time in several years.

The 76ers, the Flyers, and Syracuse Lacrosse are all having tremendous bounce back years after terrible 2007s for those teams.

The 76ers completed only a five game turnaround, but their late season surge through March and April put them in the playoffs for the first time since 2005. The youthful bunch of players created some lasting memories with Andre Iguodala's thunderous slams down the lane and Thaddeus Young's emergence.

The Sixers under new GM Ed Stefanski reached the playoffs looking to pull off an absolute shocker by taking down the two seeded Detroit Pistons. Things looked good early for the 76ers after Game One. A frenetic comeback in the Motor City meant Philly would head into Game Two with a 1-0 lead.

Game Two ugly. Sixers lose badly.

Game Three. Things are much different. Mo Cheeks' crew figures out what they did in the second half of Game One and blow the Pistons out of the gym.

Then things got ugly. Really ugly again. For the next three games it would be terribly ugly.

The Pistons outscored the Sixers by 19 points in the second half of their Game Four win. Game Five was domination all game; Pistons by 17.

Game Six was the worst of all. The 76ers season was officially declared dead at 8:12 PM EST. A 10-0 lead for the Pistons was essentially as close as Philly would get the rest of the game, Pistons win by 23.

Syracuse Lacrosse has also made a very solid turnaround. After a 5-8 season in 2007, the Orange rebounded in 2008 in impressive fashion. SU finished April undefeated, beating their opponents on average 14-6.

The Orange have dominated behind the likes of Tewaaraton Trophy nominees Mike Leveille and Steven Brooks. Leveille has a team leading 61 points while Brooks has anchored the midfield all year. In goal, John Galloway has played increasingly well as the year has gone on.

The 'Cuse capped off the perfect April with an absolute handling of recent pain in the UMASS 16-3. The Orange scored the first nine goals of the game and scored more goals in each quarter than UMASS had the entire game.

Philadelphia's team in orange- the Flyers - also completed the best turnaround in the NHL this year. The Fly Guys were last, dead last in the entire NHL in 2007, but managed to reach the playoffs as the sixth seed in the East.

Being the sixth seed is one of the best seeds you can be in the playoffs. Often the third division winner is always barely worthy of the playoffs, and this year was pretty much no different. The Capitals needed a long winning streak at the end of the year to reach the playoffs, but that streak ended at the hands of the Flyers.

Seven games, several blown leads, one Alexander Ovechkin explosion, and one Daniel Briere goal scoring binge later the Flyers were moving onto the next round.

Now throw in four more games, three of which are Philly wins, lots of angry Canadians, some more blown leads, no Briere scoring binge, but rather one by R.J. Umberger and you get a 3-1 series lead against the Montreal Canadiens.

One CuseAdelphia team already has won a title. The Syracuse women's Lax team took home a Big East Championship in South Bend in dominating fashion. A 22-7 blow out followed by a 12-6 victory over rival Georegtown and the women have an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament.

Basically every scoring record you think of, Tewaaraton trophy nominee Katie Rowan broke it.

Two CuseAdelphia teams used April to get off to extremely solid starts.

The Phillies finished out April 15-13. Now that doesn't seem too impressive, but when you look at their past four Aprils, it's rather impressive. 11-14 in 2007, 10-14 in 2006, 10-14 in 2005, 10-11 in 2004. You get the picture.

The Phillies did it in probably the most improbably way: great pitching from both the starters and bullpen. The entire staff has posted a combined ERA of 3.79, the lowest its been in years.

The relievers have been much better; the Phillies' pen ranks first in the National League in ERA. J.C. Romero, Brad Lidge, Chad Durbin, Rudy Seanez, and Tom Gordon (minus the first week) have been lights out.

Cole Hamels is throwing his name in the hat for Cy Young during the early season with his 2.70 ERA and 36 strike outs in April.

Chase Utley and Pat Burrell have provided MVP moments throughout the entire month as the two are near the top of practically every offensive category. Utley ends the month with a major league leading 11 home runs.

The team that plays across the parking lot, the Philadelphia Soul of the AFL has been blistering hot. Two QB's Tony Graziani and Matt D'Orazio have combined for astronomical numbers in leading the Soul to an undefeated record through April.

Bon Jovi's team finished off the month with a 57-28 romping over the previously undefeated Dallas Desperados. Philly held Dallas scoreless in the first quarter, a monumental task in of itself.

The other football team in Philadelphia just completed the 2008 NFL draft with some disputed success. The Eagles set themselves up for a monster 2009 draft with the acquisition of the Panthers 2009 first round pick. The Iggles also got another second round pick in the same deal when trading away their first round pick to Carolina.

Now the Eagles only got one player that will have an immediate impact this year with DeSean Jackson, but it's still a major accomplishment to get one of the most explosive players in the draft half way through the second round.

The Birds also grabbed DT Trevor Laws who's a workhorse on the defensive line.

The later round picks weren't anything special, but the Eagles overall had a solid draft.

No matter how good all of CuseAdelphia's teams did, there's going to be a few bad notes that cannot go unmentioned.

In the same NFL draft, no members of the Orange heard their names called for the first time since 1975. Taj Smith, Jameel McClain, DoWayne Davis, and several others eventually found a home, but it wasn't for NFL draft level money.

Orange fans also learned they might hear the name of one of the fabulous freshmen from the 2007-2008 seasons. Donte' Greene declared he's making himself eligible for the 2008 NBA draft, but he left some hope for Orange fans when he didn't sign an agent.

Greene's team also found themselves sitting at home from the NCAA Tournament and NIT Tournament finals which both took place in April.

Finally on a sad note, we remember John Marzano who was found dead in South Philly home. The cause of his death hasn't been revealed yet.

Ryan Howard Beats Up the Dads

Ryan Howard breaks his slump at least for a day thanks to one very awful Joe Thatcher cutter.

He put the eighth inning pitch into the right field seats to break up a 2-2 tie. Howard also knocked home the Phillies first run of the game.

Howard doubled off former Phillie Randy Wolf in his return to Philadelphia. Wolf left the Phillies after the 2006 to head to his home state California.

Wolf pitched well against the Phillies potent lineup. He worked his fastball all game, finishing off seven Phillies for strikeouts using his deceptively good fastball. Wolf left the game after six innings allowing only two runs and striking out nine.

His counterpart Adam Eaton who started his career with San Diego, pitched just as well. Eaton started off shaky as five of the seven batters that reached based against him were in the first three innings.

The righty looked like his old self early in the game. He couldn't find the strike zone and when he did it was up in the zone.

Tadahito Iguchi looped a pitch up in the strike zone for a base hit. Adrian Gonzalez followed with a home run on another pitch up in the strike zone.

Despite his first inning blip, it seems like Eaton is finally getting the concept of high pitcher in Citizen's Bank Ballpark equals lots of home runs. He's only allowed three home runs in six starts this year as opposed to 30 in 30 starts last year.

Besides Eaton pitching phenomenally, the bullpen went three no hit innings to secure the Phillies win after Howard's homer.

Flash Gordon already has five decisions after he picked up the win to move to 3-2 on the season.

Adam Eaton has six starts and still no decision.

Brad Lidge threw the perfect ninth for the save.

Part of the reason the bullpen has been so good is because they aren't overworked. The Phillies starting pitching has gone six innings consistently. The bullpen has routinely only had to throw two or three innings a game which helps a lot.

It looked like Adam Eaton was going to make the pen work early because he had around 80 pitchers through four innings. Entering the fifth it looked like he was going to finish that inning around 95 and probably would have been done for the night.

Instead he went one-two-three and could give the Phillies a sixth inning.

I'll leave you with what my good friend Tony texted me after the game, "Phils are in 1st place!"

Philadelphia's Ageless Wonder Gets His Turn Tonight

Last night San Diego's 42 year-old Greg Maddux took the mound for the Padres, but tonight it's 45 year-old Jamie Moyer.

Moyer will try to get better results than Maddux who went six plus innings, allowed three runs, and came away with a loss.

The slow throwing south paw will attempt to win the Phillies eighth game out ten and put Philadelphia at 16-12 which would be their best record in April since 2003. Considering the Phillies ended up around 88 wins the last four Aprils, it's a good sign the Phillies are off to even better start because of their tendency to get hot after the All-Star break.

Opposing Moyers is 6'10'' Chris Young who in starts has shut the Phillies down. He's 1-1, but has 1.46 ERA, .89 WHIP and 12 strike outs in almost as many innings.

Shane Victorino should be back in the lineup tonight. He came off the bench last night to pinch hit.

Tonight's projected starting lineup and career numbers vs. Chris Young:
1. Shane Victorino 0-3
2. Jason Werth never faced Young
3. Chase Utley 2-5
4. Ryan Howard 0-0 with three walks
5. Pat Burrell 2-6
6. Pedro Feliz 1-12
7. Chris Coste never faced Young
8. Eric Bruntlett 0-1

CuseAdelphia Prediction: Phillies 6 Padres 5. Chris Young has been awful since coming back from an injury last year. He's just 1-7 with 5.20 ERA in 15 starts since returning from a strained left oblique. The Phillies will make that number 1-8 after tonight.

Phillies Eighth Inning Explosion Downs Padres 7-4

The Phillies nearly blow an eighth inning lead, but instead blow up open the game in the bottom half of the frame.

Cole Hamels went seven very strong innings, but for the second straight game, he ran into trouble in the eighth. Against Milwaukee he surrendered a two run home run to Prince Fielder which cost Philadelphia the game.

Tonight, Hamels allowed a first and third situation with one out in the eighth with a 3-1 lead when skipper Charlie Manuel pulled him in favor of lefty specialist J.C. Romero. He walked the first batter he faced and was lifted in favor of Flash Gordon. He worked the outside of the plate against Tadahito Iguchi and Kevin Kouzmanoff to get both to ground out. One run scored, but the Phillies still held a 3-2 lead.

That's when the fun began. Three doubles, a single, and a walk later and the Phillies had four more runs on the board. Of course who better to start the rally off than Chase Utley who doubled on a fastball that hung out over the middle of the plate. He continued his MVP campaign with a 2-4 effort to raise his average to .364.

Cole Hamels put the Phillies in a position to win this game through his absolute stellar pitching. He allowed just two extra base hits, both to Scott Hairston Jr. who had a monster game with two home runs and a double. The Camel struck out six and walked just two. King Cole moves to 3-3 on the season.

Ryan Madson made things a bit interesting at the end allowing Hairston's second home run on the day.

It was nice to see the Phillies get a little production out of the bottom of the lineup. Pedro Feliz and Carlos Ruiz both came through in the eighth inning with hits and were both 2-4 on the day.

After Jason Werth, Pat Burrell and Chase Utley, the Phillies lineup has been severely lacking. Check out Phillies Flow to see how bad the rest of the lineup has been.

Tomorrow night will feature Jamie Moyer vs. Chris Young.

Maddux Goes for Milestone Win Tonight

The former Braves Cy Young hog Greg Maddux will try to pick up win number 350 tonight against the Phillies.Maddux set himself up to bring home the historic win during his last outing, but closer Trevor Hoffman blew the save. Tonight, the Phillies will try to prevent the game from even being Hoffman's hands.

Maddux has revived himself a bit during the early going in 2008. He's given up three earned runs or less in every start but one. Unfortunately for Maddux, that one start was a career high nine earned runs in his first attempt at win 350.

One reason for Maddux's resurgence is it seems like he's retuned two-seam fastball which was always one of his best pitches in the 90s. Every time he pitches, it seems like his two-seam fastball shows up on Baseball Tonight during the "That's Nasty" segment.

His pinpoint control is as good as its almost ever been. Maddux issued a mere 25 walks in about 200 innings in 2007, and is off the same strong start in 2008. The former Cy Young winner has just six walks in 2008. The Phillies have typically been very good at working pitchers and creating base runners so tonight the Phillies might need to manufacture an extra run or two because Maddux is going to keep base runners to a minimum.

Shane Victorino will most likely be back in the lineup tonight to face Maddux giving the Phillies another solid left handed bat.

Here's the projected lineup and how they've fared against Maddux.
1. Shane Victorino (1-3)
2. Jason Werth (0-3)
3. Chase Utley (1-4 with a home run)
4. Ryan Howard (1-3)
5. Pat Burrell (15-41 with two home runs)
6. Pedro Feliz (5-22)
7. Chris Coste never faced Maddux
8. Eric Bruntlett (1-7)

Cole Hamels throws tonight for the Phillies. He's been a hard luck loser twice this year which makes his 2-3 record not representative of how he's pitched this year. Manager Charlie Manuel left Hamels in the eighth inning to pitch to the heart of the Brewers lineup last time out and got burned.

Hamels's overall numbers are still very strong. He's got 30 strike outs in 36 innings and a phenomenal WHIP and ERA of 1.08 and .275. He's basically two bad breaks from opening the season 4-1 and in the early season Cy Young talks.

The Camel has pitched well against his hometown team in the past. He lost a tough start last year when Chris Young out dueled him 1-0 in San Diego.

CuseAdelphia Prediction: Phillies 5 Padres 3. The Phillies really like to bash pitchers who don't have a pitch with a ton of extreme movement. Ryan Howard hits another home run tonight (last time I predicted it, I nailed it right on the head).

The Battle of Pennsylvania

Now that the Pennsylvania Primaries are over, the Pirates and Phillies can duke it out for best team in the state.

This shouldn't be too much of a battle. The Phillies enter the game winners of four of five games while the Pirate's pitching cannot get anyone out.

Feast away Pat Burrell and Chase Utley. I wrote yesterday about the absolutely ridonkulous numbers the due are putting up. Zack Duke hasn't really been getting anyone out this year or last year or the year before that. It's been a rough three years for him since having a great rookie season (8-2, 1.81 ERA in 2005).

In 2008, Duke has pitched a little better than 2006 and 2007, but has still struggled. He's 0-1 with a 4.37 ERA and very high WHIP at 1.76. Hitters are smacking him around at a clip of .347. Duke's ERA is still respectable despite the BAA because he still hasn't allowed a home run in 2008.

Here's what tonight's projected lineup has done against Duke:
Jason Werth: Never faced Duke
So Taguchi: 5-17
Chase Utley: 2-7
Pat Burrell: 2-6
Greg Dobbs: Never faced Duke
Pedro Feliz: 1-5
Carlos Ruiz: Never faced Duke
Eric Bruntlett: 1-3.

Ryan Howard is not expected to be in the lineup again. Look for Greg Dobbs to fill in at first. If Charlie Manuel doesn't want Dobbs in the lineup for the lefty-lefty, Utley might move to first. Brad Harman would play second base.

Adam Eaton pitches for the Phillies. He was cruising in his last start against the Mets until the sixth inning when he got hit around quite a bit. Overall, Eaton has kept the Phillies in every start, allowing no more than four runs in any start. He's allowed just one home run all year which is the biggest reason he's had much more success in 2008.

CuseAdelphia Prediction: Phillies 7 Pirates 5.

Chase Utley and Pat Burrell are Officially Ridonkulous

Chase Utley and Pat Burrell have opened the 2008 season hotter than probably any duo has in the last decade.

The two have combined for 18 home runs, 46 RBI, 15 doubles, two steals, 35 runs, a .371 BA in just 23 games. They've out homered 12 teams in the Major Leagues. Kansas City has scored 64 runs all season. Utley and Burrell are responsible for almost that many.

Against the Brewers today, Burrell doubled home Utley and Greg Dobbs for the go ahead runs in eighth inning to give the Phillies a 3-1 lead. A Jason Werth sixth inning homer run accounted for the Phillies first run.

Burrell and Utley were responsible for basically the rest of the Phillies offense. They reached base six times on four hits and two walks. Utley raised his batting average to .385 with his 3 for 4 day.

One of the biggest things responsible for their hot start is their ability to put the ball in play. They've combined for just 29 strike outs in over 160 at bats. That's less than one K per five at bats.

That's a lot different than in the past. Burrell had been striking out almost 25% of the time and Utley just over 20%.

The three runs Werth, Burrell and Utley produced was more than enough for soon to be AARP member Jamie Moyer. He threw six stud innings working in and out of jams all game. He allowed 11 base runners, but only one made it home. Moyer's last solid start against the Mets went without reward as the Phillies couldn't give him the run support. He surrendered just two runs in six innings against New York.

The 45 year old handed the ball over to 41 year old Flash Gordon who handed the ball over to 32 year old J.C. Romero, who handed the ball over to 28 year old Ryan Madson who handed the ball over to....not someone younger. 32 year old Brad Lidge threw a solid ninth inning for the save.

Lidge's fifth save extended his scoreless streak to open the year to ten innings.

Quick Hits:

• Ryan Howard didn't start, but came into the game as a pinch hitter. He stayed in the game and replaced Greg Dobbs at first base. The former MVP is three for his last 28 after going 0 for 2 this afternoon with two strikeouts. He started off slow last year partly because of his injury. Hopefully this is just a funk and there's not something wrong with his knee again.
• I mentioned above Jason Werth hit his fourth home run of the year. He's 14 for 44 with four home runs since moving into the everyday lineup after Shane Victorino went down.
• The National League's best bullpen gave up just two base runners in three scoreless innings tonight.
  

Hamels Labors Into 8th Inning, Brewers Win

You would never know sometimes that Charlie Manuel managed in the American League before moving to the Phillies. Usually AL skippers can manage pitchers better than hitters because of the lack of the double switch and pitching spot in the lineup.

That's just not the case for Manuel. The Good Phight reported that the Phillies were first in the league in both bullpen ERA and pinch hitting in 2008. Manuel's worked his bench to absolute perfection. He's great at double switches and making the necessary fielding and hitting substitutions.

What he doesn't do well is manage the pitching staff. He's not terrible at managing the staff, but he makes a lot of bonehead decisions. The worst of the year so far, tonight against the Brewers.

Cole Hamels went into the eighth inning with around 110 pitches and had given up three runs in the game. Granted he'd given up none since the first inning, but he was going to face the meat of the Brewers lineup in the eighth with a 4-3 lead.

The Phillies bullpen is relatively rested. Ryan Madson would be the only guy I would stray away from tonight. That leaves Tom Gordon, J.C. Romero, Chad Durbin, and Brad Lidge in the pen ready to go.

Charlie, you need two innings from the pen! Just go to it. It's early in the season, no reason to put extra strain on a fragile body.

The Brewers threw their ace Ben Sheets a few extra innings late in games earlier this year and he was scratched from today's start with shoulder soreness.

There's no reason to risk Hamels in this situation.

With all this said, Hamels surrendered a double to Rookie of the Year Ryan Braun and then served up a fat home run to Prince Fielder (pun intended). The game went from 4-3 to 5-4 in an instant.

It ruined a superb outing for Hamels. His final line: seven innings, two walks, three runs, and 11 Ks. He gave up three first inning runs and then settled down until the eighth.

The Phillies got another MVP performance from Pat Burrell and Chase Utley. The two combined for two more home runs and went 3-7 on the day. Burrell now has eight homers and 23 RBI while Utley is 10 and 21.

After the two of them, the rest of the lineup essentially did nothing except for Greg Dobbs. He hit a two run home run to tie the game at three in the fifth inning.

Ryan Howard took an oh-fer with two more strikeouts and Geoff Jenkins went hitless in his return to Milwaukee.

The Phillies also blew a chance in the ninth to score off of Derrick Turnbow who was filling in for Eric Gagne. Gagne had pitched very poorly in several consecutive games and got a much needed day off.

So Taguchi reached third with one out. He walked, stole second, and went to third on an error on the throw by Jason Kendall.

Jason Werth struck out on the seventh pitch of his at-bat. He swung at a pitcher that according to MLB's Gameday was a 93MPH fastball that looked right of the middle of the plate at the knees. He had to get the ball in play and bring Taguchi home.

Pedro Feliz was the Phillies last chance. He swung at the second pitch that was out of the strike zone and grounded out to J.J. Hardy. Game over, Brewers win.

Brew Crew Preview

Cole Hamels takes the mound tonight looking to extend the Phillies win streak to four games against the Brewers.

Hamels is coming off a loss against the Mets in which Johan Santana out-pitched the Phillies ace. The Cole Train still enters this game with very solid numbers; 1.86 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 19 strike outs.

Hamels has a high ERA against the Brewers, but overall has solid numbers against Milwaukee. His ERA, 4.22, isn't quite indicative of how he's pitched against Milwaukee. He's got three starts against the Brewers, a 1-0 record, 21 strike outs in as many innings, and a 0.89 WHIP.

Tonight's projected Brewers lineup is a mere 7-39 against Hamels with three home runs and 16 strikeouts.

For Milwaukee, David Bush will toe the rubber. To put it lightly, Bush has been awful this year. He's got a healthy 7.02 ERA and an 0-3 record to boot.

He hasn't fared well against the Phillies in his career either. He's also thrown 21 innings against the Phillies like Hamels against the Brewers, but with much different results.

His 6.23 ERA and 1.57 WHIP say it all. The projected lineup's success means Bush could and should be in for a very short outing.

1. Jason Werth (never faced Bush)
2. Geoff Jenkins (never face Bush, but was his teammates for several years)
3. Chase Utley (2-5 with two walks)
4. Ryan Howard (3-8 with a home run)
5. Pat Burrell (3-7 with two home runs)
6. Pedro Feliz (3-12 with two home runs) or Greg Dobbs (3-7 with a homer)
7. Carlos Ruiz (2-4)
8. Eric Bruntlett (0-1)
9. Cole Hamels (0-2)

CuseAdelphia Prediction: Phillies 8 Brewers 2. The meat of the Phillies lineup has blown Bush up in three starts. Look for more of that. I think Howard will homer tonight and break out of his funk for at least one night. Cole Hamels goes seven innings and strikes out five.

Fightin' Phils Win Again!

Pat Burrell and Chase Utley continued their hot hitting to send the Phillies to their sixth comeback win in just 21 games.

The dynamic duo combined for five RBI in the Phillies 8-6 win over the Rockies. Utley knocked home two runs in the third to gives the Phils an early 2-0 lead. Burrell did it when it mattered in the ninth. Pat the Bat drilled a bases clearly double to left-center to give Philly an 8-6 lead.

The Phillies need the offense after Brett Myers looked as hittable as I can ever remember. He lasted seven innings, but surrendered 11 hits and two walks. Myers kept the ball over the middle of the plate all game and the Rockies made him pay. Luckily he mostly scattered the 11 hits to only give up the six runs, but it could have been much, much more.

Unlike Myers's last start against Houston, he didn't go after each hitter with fastballs. He started many hitters off with sliders and his cutter. This change in approach could be due to the catching change. Chris Coste caught Myers's last start and went with a fastball heavy approach. I remember noticing other games Coste caught, he tried to get his pitchers to go with the fastball first.

Carlos Ruiz caught Myers tonight and called a game heavy on the breaking pitches. I'm going to try to keep track of this and see if it's a trend that Coste calls for fastballs and Ruiz for the breaking pitches.

Chase Utley did it all for the Phils tonight. He had the RBI double mentioned before, but his biggest hit of the game came in the ninth. With one out and So Taguchi on first, Utley singled, but made the hustle play to get to second on the throw to third base. This set up an intentional walk to Ryan Howard and then the bases clearing double for Burrell.

Plus, Utley made another defensive gem which made top plays on SportsCenter. It's always nice to see his defense get recognized after he struggled a bit earlier this year with the glove.

Side note, did anyone notice on the Burrell double that Ryan Howard was literally ten feet behind Utley? He must have gotten one heck of a jump on the ball and Utley must have been holding at second in case Willy Taveras caught the ball in left-center. Even if this was the case, I would have thought Utley could out run Howard from second to home by more than ten feet.

Just thought I would point that out.

So far so good in the Brad Lidge experiment.

Lidge pitched a perfect ninth for the save. He struck out two Rockies in the process. He's now thrown eight scoreless innings to open the year with eight strike outs. The six walks are a little worrisome, but he's only surrendered four hits.

Quick Hits:

• Pedro Feliz notched three hits. He's starting to look more comfortable in this lineup.
• Jason Werth homered for the second straight game. He cleared the fence tonight, instead of going the inside the park fashion like last night.
• Ryan Madson pitched a scoreless eighth.
• Both Garret Atkins and Matt Holliday homered and doubled for Colorado.

Rocktoberfest Revenge Part Two

The Phillies look to finish enacting their Rocktoberfest Revenge tonight behind Brett Myers's arm and Chase Utley's bat.

Brett Myers looks to continue his strong pitching in Coors Field. The right hander has toyed with the Rockies in eight career appearances against Colorado. Myers has never lost to the Rockies and has a very low 2.21 ERA against them.

The former closer opened the year with two straight disappointing starts suggesting he may not have finished the transition of moving back to the starting rotation. That changed quickly during his last two starts.

Myers was flawless against Cincinnati and Houston throwing 15 innings and the only runs he surrendered were four solo home runs. Myers has kept the walks down the last two starts which has helped keep those four home runs as solo blasts.

The Rockies will send Jeff Francis to the mound. Francis hasn't fared to well against the Phillies historically, but pitched well when it counted. In Game 1 of the NLDS last year, he gave up just two runs in six innings in the Rockies 4-2 win.

Overall against the Phillies, Francis is 2-1 with a 7.08 ERA in four starts.

Here's how the projected line up has done against Francis:
1. So Taguchi, 4-13 with a home run
2. Jason Werth 3-10 with three doubles
3. Chase Utley 2-8 with a home run
4. Ryan Howard 2-5
5. Pat Burrell 3-8
6. Pedro Feliz 8-38 with a home run
7. Chris Coste 1-3
8. Eric Bruntlett 0-1
9. Brett Myers never faced Francis.

Quick Hits: Chase Utley hit his ninth home run of the year last night. He's hit six in five games, and homered in five consecutive games. Pat Burrell also jacked his seventh home run and team leading 19th RBI. Burrell and Utley are going to be fighting for the Triple Crown at this rate.

Last night Kyle Kendrick wasn't keeping his pitches down and it cost him dearly. He's going to put his spot in the rotation in jeopardy pretty soon if he doesn't return to his 2007 form. Kendrick has struck out eight batters in four starts. That's awful. More hitters putting the ball in play naturally means they are going to get more hits. Kendrick has got to find a way to start k'ing his opponents up.

Rocktoberfest Revenge

Rocktoberfest swept the nation last year and a playoff series against the Phillies. The Rockies entered the playoffs winning 14 of 15 games and made it three more in a row in the NLDS against the 'Fightin's.

Tonight the (9-9, 2nd place NL West) Rockies host the Phillies (9-10). Left hander Mark Redman takes the mound for the Rockies. He's 2-1 with a 4.60 ERA. He's got two straight solid starts (not quality, only went five innings in each).

Redman isn't going to strike out a lot of batters which plays into the Phillies hands. Ryan Howard and his 26 strike outs in 19 games might actually make some solid contact tonight. Add in the Coors Field effect and the Phillies could tee off tonight.

The Phillies as a whole have struggled however against Redman.

Here's the projected lineup and how each has fared against Redman:
1. Jason Werth (1-3 vs Redman)
2. So Taguchi (3-9 and 2RBI)
3. Chase Utley (2-7 and 3BB)
4. Ryan Howard (0-5)
5. Pat Burrell (4-19 and one home run)
6. Pedro Feliz (1-12)
7. Chris Coste (1-2)
8. Eric Bruntlett (1-3, triple and 3 RBI)
9. Kyle Kendrick (never faced Redman)

Mark Redman was an all-star for the 2006 Royals. Yes, the Royals were that bad in 2006 that he was the "best" player on that team.

CuseAdelphia Prediction: Phillies 9, Rockies 7.
Be prepared for lots of runs, early and often from both teams. Scoring in Colorado has been down the last few years, but this will have an old time feel for it. Chad Durbin picks up the win in relief.

Typically Good Hitters Going Bonkers Early

Every year numerous hitters across baseball get off to incredible starts in April. Most years its a group of guys not typically known for their bat or are unknowns in general. See Chris Shelton or Dmitri Young.

This year is a little different. While there are some fairly unknowns like Mark Reynolds and Nate McClouth off to phenomenal starts, many of the league stars are coming out of the gate already in mid-season form. Here's 10 all-star caliber players starting out the 2008 campaign right.

1. Chipper Jones. One of the few remaining members of the dominant Braves teams of the 1990s, Chipper has been injury free to begin the year and he's absolutely raking the ball. Now Jones typically isn't a slow starter as he's got a career .323 average and .967 OPS in April. But this year, the Braves 3B is off to the best start in baseball. He's leading the majors in hits (30) and average (.455). He's also tied for the league lead in home runs (6) and RBIs (18). Jones says, "This is one of those crazy streaks you get in once every couple of years."

2. Manny Ramirez. Remember that "disappointing" 2007 season? The one where Man-Ram only hit 20 home runs and .296. Well Manny is doing everything he can in April to help Boston fans forget about it. Ramirez has 13 extra base hits already including seven doubles and five dingers. His OPS is almost .150 higher than his 2007 OPS. Manny is keeping a first place team running while slugger David Ortiz has struggled.

3. Derek Lee. The Cubs 1B suffered through a power outage during the first half of 2007, but after he returned from his broken hand, Lee has 22 home runs in 83 games. Six of those have already come in 2008. He's tied with Chipper Jones for the league lead in home runs and has a cool .357 average. Lee's a solid hitter in April with a .282 career average, but this great start has to have Cubs fans excited for dawg days of August.

4. Chase Utley. The trendy pick to be the Phillies' third straight MVP is off to a roaring start. He's showing the best power of his young career, belting six homers already. His compact stroke is allowing him to rip inside pitches out to right field. Utley is also batting a solid .332 just like he did in all of 2007.

5. David Wright. Gold Glove defense, speed, and power. Wright encompasses it all. It's quickly looking like his fourth full season in the bigs will without a doubt be his best. He's batting a slick .333 with an OPS well over 1.100. Throw in an improved eye, 13 BB to 8 k's, and Wright is battering opposing pitches early on. He's picking up the slack for his teammates who aren't exactly hitting the ball all too well right now.

6. Pat Burrell. Alright so Pat the Bat isn't a year in and year out all-star, but Burrell has been one of the best hitters in baseball since July 1st last year. He's got 28 homeruns since then which is near the top of the league. He's continued that success in 2008 with six dingers and a .364 batting average. Burrell is showing early in 2008 he can be the protection the Phillies need for Ryan Howard to see some pitches to hit.

7. Matt Holliday. His numbers are slightly off his 2007 pace, but Holliday is still turning in all-star quality numbers. He's batting an impressive .333 with an OPS just below 1.000. Holliday only has three home runs in the early going, but he's running the base paths very well. He's already swiped four bags in April.

8. Chone Figgins. Who remembers the start to his 2007 season? He missed almost the first month due to injury. Angels fans wish he would have sat out the next month after he tallied just 15 hits in 94 at bats. The ultimate utilityman followed his 2007 May up by batting .461 in June. Figgins has been on fire ever since. He's batting almost .400 and already has seven steals. The Angel's spark plug is firing on all cylinders.

9. Tori Hunter. A change of scenery certainly hasn't slowed Hunter down. The Twin's former Spiderman found a place in Angel's fans hearts early in 2008 with a walk-off grandslam in the 7th game of the year. Hunter's overall numbers remain strong. He's got a .323 BA and four homeruns. His gold glove defense is always a plus too.

10. Lance Berkman. Rounding out this top ten, Big Puma himself. The last member of Houston's deadly killer Bees is stinging pitchers and catchers early in 2008. A smooth .995 OPS and three steals means Berkman is off to another great start. He's got a long way to go if he wants to top his 2006 April when he belted 10 home runs and .728 slugging percentage.

Honorable Mention: Vernon Wells, Nick Markakis, Hanley Ramirez, and Brian McCann.

This originally appeared on Bleacher Report.

Does it Get Any Better: Hamels vs Santana

This is baseball.

Two teams in a renewed rivalry fueled by an NL East title race and spring training predictions.

It may be April 18th, but every Phillies and Mets player, personnel, and fan knows these games mean something.

It's a chance for the Phillies to rebound from losing two of three last week to the Mets to get back into the psyche of the Metropolitans.

It's also a chance for New York to show last year's epic collapse is a thing of the past.

Tonight's battle in this long 18 game war features two of the best changeups in all of baseball. Johan Santana, the majors most dominating lefty squares off with Cole Hamels whose quickly becoming one of the league's best southpaws.

New York is pretty much getting everything they could ever want Santana so far despite what his 1-2 record says. He's given New York two very superb starts; the second allowing just one run in seven innings but was saddled with a loss after receiving no run support.

Cole Hamels has been even better. Only Jake Peavy and Brandon Webb in the National League have gotten off to better starts than the Camel.

The Cole Train is picking up speed. His last start came against Chicago and was one of the best of his short career. Seven innings, one hit, and no runs against one of the best offensives in the league.

Through three starts, Hamels is showing he's ready to be without question, the ace of the Phillies staff.

The Mets might have the upperhand tonight since the Phillies essentially have never faced Santana. The projected lineup tonight (no Geoff Jenkins most likely due to the lefty-lefty matchup) is just 1-5 with two strikeouts against Santana.

CuseAdelphia prediction: Mets 6, Phillies 4. I have this gut feeling that both pitchers are going to be hit around a little bit tonight.

Phillies Batter Backe's Changeup

The Phillies teed off on Houston's Brandon Backe this afternoon in a 10-2 Philadelphia win.

Brandon Backe went after the Phillies with constant changeups, but the Phils' potent lineup punished his off speed pitches to score six runs in the first four innings.

Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell hammered changeups in the first inning for RBI singles in the first inning. Chase Utley's fourth inning homerun came on a changeup, belt high on the outer half of the plate. Utley drove it over the right-centerfield fence for the two run blast.

Backe also struggled to locate his fastball which led to several hits and two walks in three plus innings. He departed the game after the long ball he surrendered to Utley.

Pat Burrell's homerun gives him 28 homeruns during his last 98 games. That's about a 45 homerun pace when extrapolated over an entire season.

Add in the fact Burrell has drawn a tremendous amount of walks during that streak, throw in a batting average near .300 over that same span, and you can make a case he's been one of the best hitters in the Major Leagues since July 1st.

It's a little early, but a Pat Burrell for MVP campaign could be coming.

Brett Myers also put together his second straight quality start. He seems to be re-acclimated to his role as a starting pitcher after two very shaky starts to open the year.

Myers came out throwing absolute gas. Every pitch in the first inning, either a two seam or four seam fastball.

First ten pitches of the second inning? You guessed it ten more fastballs.

It's a very good sign for Myers that he is going back to his fastball after having trouble locating it in his first two starts.

The second time through the lineup, Myers really stayed away from his heater. Instead, he got his outs through the use off his off-speed pitches.

Myers left the game after the 7th inning, with a final line of five hits, a walk, an earned run, and eight strikeouts.

So Yeah...Roy Oswalt not in Decline Wednesday Night

Roy Oswalt proving me absolutely wrong, well for at least tonight.

Oswalt's performance during the last year or so has suggested he's already peaked which isn't too surprising since he's 31. I wrote that there were some startling trends over the last few years with his strikeouts decreasing and hits allowed increasing. Here's the full breakdown of my thoughts on Oswalt.

But back to what actually happened tonight. Oswalt went seven strong innings tonight, only giving up a handful of hits in Houston's 2-1 win.

In the past, Oswalt has always shown the ability to go late into games. To do that, a pitcher must have the ability to use multiple pitches effectively during different at-bats.

The first time through the lineup, Oswalt pounded the first couple batters of each inning with fastballs and curveballs. Towards the end of each inning, he strayed away from those pitches, unleashing his repertoire of sliders, sinkers, and changeups.

The second time through the lineup he reversed his approach. He stayed away from first pitch fastballs and attacked with changeups and sliders.

In the fifth and six innings, Oswalt goes back to the curveball and complements it with fastballs and sliders.

When you can go through a lineup with three distinct approaches effectively, you are going to be very tough to beat.

Oswalt did prove me right when he lacked the ability to strike Phillies out. He recorded just four strikeouts and two came against the pitcher Kyle Kendrick.

Most pitchers who only record two strikeouts against the legitimate part of the lineup are going to have a lot of trouble. This includes Roy Oswalt on most nights. Oswalt's stuff is very nasty to say the least, but when 24 of 26 hitters are putting the ball in the play, odds are on most nights those balls are going to consistently fall for basehits.

What's disheartening for the Phillies is they wasted a superb start from Kyle Kendrick. The young righty actually outpitched Oswalt in pretty much every way, but the scoreboard.

Kendrick was one middle-in sinker to Michael Bourn away from throwing an absolute gem. Bourn took the pitch in his wheelhouse down the right field line, clearing the outfield fence by A LOT. Who thought Bourn could hit a ball that far, but then again, Kendrick couldn't have put that pitch in a better spot for Bourn to go deep. Click the link for video of the homer.

Phillies fans got to know Houston reliever Wesley Wright very quickly. The rookie left hander came in to face the 2-3-4 hitters of the Phillies lineup.

He retired them before those watching at home could figure out where this guy came from. He struck out Pedro Feliz, Chase Utley, and Ryan Howard to quell the Phillies best opportunity in the late innings to score.

Here's something you probably didn't know about Wesley Wright. His real name is Dequam LaWesley Wright. I think shortening his name to Wesley was probably a good PR move.

Quick hits: Utley went 1-4 with a double. Howard finally got a hit, but he's still in Kevin Stocker territory with his .189 batting average. J.C. Romero and Ryan Madson threw scoreless innings in relief. Doug Brocail picked up the save. Yes, Doug Brocail picked up the save. I'll repeat it again. 41 year old Doug Brocail picked up the save. Jimmy Rollins pinch hit for Carlos Ruiz and singled in his only at-bat in the ninth inning. So Taguchi pinch ran for Rollins.

Phillies Preview: Roy Oswalt isn't What He Used to Be

The Phillies will look to win the first two games of a series for the second series in a row tonight against the Astros. The Phillies took the first two games against the Cubs and will try to do the same tonight against the Astros.

Roy Oswalt throws tonight for Houston which used to stir fear in hitters across the National League, but that's just not the case this year.

Oswalt has become more and more hittable during the last few years. During the last three years his strike outs are down and the number of hits and walks he's allowed has increased. In 2004, he struck out 206 batters in 237 innings. The next year, he struck out 22 fewer batters in four more innings. That trend has continued through 2007.

Oswalt also used to be a control freak. His walks issued used to be astronomically low, but in 2007, he walked 22 more batters in eight less innings than 2006.

His WHIP typically averaged around 1.15, in 2007, his WHIP was 1.33.

When a pitcher begins striking out fewer players, batters are going to put the ball in play more often which naturally means more base hits.

One reason for Oswalt's slow demise comes from his very small stature. Oswalt is considered a power pitcher, but he's a mere 6'0'' 195. His windup allows him to generate a lot of speed, but it can be very tiring over the long haul of a season. His quirky delivery puts strain on different parts of his body. Oswalt battled through a 2003 injury plagued season which limited him to 21 starts. Last year, Oswalt began feeling significant pain on the left side of his body. The Astros shut him down in the September as a precaution since they were out of the playoff race.

Roy Oswalt will come at you with a deceptively quick fastball and two awesome curveballs. His 12-6 curveball is one of the best in the game. He complements those pitches with a pretty hard slider and a changeup that on a good day will have a 10-15 MPH difference from his fastball.

Last year, Roy Oswalt struggled against the Phillies. In two starts, he pitched 12 innings, gave up 17 hits, 6 walks, and 10 runs. His third start of the year came against the Phillies where he gave up six runs and six walks in five innings.

In 2008, the little right-hander has struggled once again. He's been hammered in all three of his outings, but his walks are down and strike outs up. He's 0-3 and has given up as many earned runs as innings pitched.

Since the Phillies are a fairly free swinging offense, Oswalt definitely has a solid chance to rebound tonight if he can get the Phillies chasing pitchers. If the Fightin's can work Oswalt, it could be a very short outing once again for Roy Oswalt, especially since the game is in Citizen's Bank Ball Park.

Roy Oswalt is still a very good pitcher, but definitely is on the backside of his career at the age of 31. If I had to guess what his overall numbers will end up, he'll probably have an ERA around 3.75 and a WHIP of 1.35.

Phillies Win in Dramatic Fashion

This should just be accepted at this point. Does this team know how to jump on a pitcher and hold a lead the entire game? Looking at the last two seasons that answer has to be no. The Phillies won 48 of their 89 games by coming from behind at some point in the game. 2008: no different. The Phillies moved back to .500 tonight and now have four comeback wins out of seven total.

The Phillies have the perfect recipe for come from behind success.

First: You must have okay to subpar starting pitching. Your starters must be prone to giving up early runs and overall three to five runs per start. Check.

Second: You must relief pitching that's going to blow games and put you a run down late in the game. Double Check.

Third: You have to have the best or a premier offense in the league. That offense must be able to work pitchers. Even if the offense doesn't get to the pitcher early in the game, they beat him up late. The offense must create match up problems for bullpens. Triple Check.

Fourth: The team has to have a desire to fight and never give up. For the Phillies, it's obvious they have the confidence and the never say die attitude. Quadruple Check.

Fifth: Versatility and good players off the bench. The last two years the Phillies have gotten timely hitting from guys like Greg Dobbs, Michael Bourn, Jason Werth, Chris Coste, Chris Snelling, and Wes Helms. Quintiple Check.

The Phillies are never out of game because of the offense. Look at the Phillies' first win. Down 6-1 going into the sixth inning, the Phillies manufactured six runs during their third time through the lineup against Jason Bergmann.

But back to tonight, tonight's hero: Pedro Feliz. The man has been offensively challenged in 2008 until tonight. Chalk up three hits for the second 30+ Giants third basemen to play for the Phillies in the last handful of years. Feliz was the only Phillie to hit Shawn Chacon for awhile.

Adam Eaton's line looks pretty good, but it's a little deceptive. He went six innings, gave up seven hits, two walks, three runs, and three strikeouts. I couldn't watch this game, but I hate the MLB gameday up and I was tracking his location. When he was giving up base runners the ball was staying up in the zone. Houston hit a lot of flyballs early, but Eaton started to get the ball on the ground as the game went on. When he got the ball up in the zone last year, hitters victimized him with a lot of home runs. This year, Eaton has kept the ball down, minus early in tonight's game, and he's only given up one long ball all year.

This will be Eaton's key all year, if he keeps the ball down, he's tough to beat. He's got some really nasty stuff that he has to continue to control. When he starts hanging his stuff, its some of the most hittable pitches in all of baseball.

Through three starts for Eaton, so far so good. If I'm Charlie Manuel, I'll take three straight quality starts and a 4.12 ERA any day from the guy who essentially had to win his starting job out of spring training.

Interesting note: All three of Adam Eaton's starts have been 4-3 finals with the Phillies only winning one of those games.

Pence and Ausmus in Lineup Against the Phillies

Hunter Pence returns to the lineup for the Astros after being given a day off to "clear his head." Pence is hitting just .180 this year without a homerun. Pence was widely considered the leading rookie of the year candidate last year until Ryan Braun of the Brewers went off.



Brad Ausmus will catch Shawn Chacon tonight. JR Towles had been doing most of the catching, but Ausmus will return to the lineup tonight. Ausmus is hitting just .200 this year. The 'Stros catcher is just 1-8 against Adam Eaton all time.



One last note, ESPN's accu-score has the Philies as 60% favorites. Take that for what it's worth. Thought I would mention it.

Phillies Host Houston Tonight

The Phillies will meet Houston for the first time in 2008 after the Phillies and the 'Stros split their six meetings in 2007.

Adam Eaton will pitch for the third time this season. Eaton is looking to string together his third consecutive quality start. Charlie Manuel has switched Eaton and Kyle Kendrick's spot in the rotation. Kendrick will pitch tomorrow. Eaton will throw today because it is his normal day to pitch which is probably a good move with Eaton's durability. You want him to get into a consistent routine to feel comfortable in the rotation.

Adam Eaton's first two starts have been two of his better starts he's had as a Phillie. One of the reasons: he's keeping the ball on the ground. 18 of the 41 outs he's gotten have come via the ground ball. A groundball rate over 40% is solid, especially since he's pitching in hitter friendly Citizen's Bank Ballpark tonight. The only homerun he's allow came when he was laboring through his final inning against the Reds.

The Astro's are currently without the services of super utilityman Ty Wigginton who's out with a broken thumb. Houston's lineup will most likely look like this:

1) Former Phillie speedster Michael Bourn.
2) Close to being the ageless Mark Loretta.
3) He's got three steals already Lance Berkman
4) Carlos "The horse in Spanish" Lee
5) He's got the same birthday as me, Miguel Tejada.
6) He's still got a spot in a starting lineup? Geoff Blum.
7) See batter number 6, Darin Erstad.
8) He's an awesome rookie, J.R. Towles.

Pitching will be Shawn Chacon. Chacon has bounced around the majors pitching for Colorado, the New York Yankees, and the Pirates. Chacon has been tough against two subpar hitting teams in St. Louis and San Diego. The current Phillies on the roster are a combined 17-61 against Chacon. Pedro Feliz has faced him the most, going 5-20 against Chacon with two homeruns.