Phillies: Let's Go!

[spymoose]

Note: Back with a Phillies dynasty. The NYM one didn't work out because I didn't feel like doing a dynasty about a team with multiple dynasties already being updated. So here's my go with the Phillies. I've played four games and they will be uploaded right now. After these games I will begin putting in the in-game screenshots and more statistics in each post-game wrapup. Hope you follow along and enjoy!

Phillies: Let's Go!

2005-2006 Season

The Philles take the field with a season opening 3-game set against the newly located Washington Nationals. The Phillies will look to contain Washington and avoid being the first win for the organization, but it should be a tough battle. Philadelphia will want to get off to a great start in this series as following Washington the Phillies will fly into St. Louis to battle the powerful Cardinals!

Posted below is the starting lineup for the Philadelphia Philles; stay tuned for the action.

Next Game: @ CIN

Washington Nationals 3 @ Philadelphia Phillies 7

April 4th, 2005 - WAS (0-0) @ PHI (0-0)

Philadelphia, PA - What a way to open the season! The Phillies battled through a tough game and found a hero in Bobby Abreu to pull past the Nationals, handing them their first loss in franchise history.

Washington and Philadelphia traded runs for most of the game, seeing Abreu and Rollins both knock in runs in the 3rd inning, responding to 2 knocked in by Vidro in the 2nd. After Utley rocked a ball to center, driving in Lofton from 2nd, the game was all tied up, 3-3, heading into the 8th inning; then Bobby Abreu walked to the plate!

GRAND SLAM! After falling behind 0-2 with 2 outs, Abreu kept his head up and as a hanging curve dropped in Abreu launched the ball into deep right field, clearing the bases and giving the Phillies a 7-3 lead. The Nationals threatened in the 9th as Urbina had control problems but Wagner stepped in for the final out and the Phillies notched win number one!

Statistics

Abreu 2/5 - HR 5RBI SB

Rollins 4/4 - RBI SB

Utley 1/4 - RBI

Pitchers

Lieber - W (1-0) 7.0IP 8H 3R 3ER 6K 3.86ERA

Urbina - 1.2IP 2H 0R 0ER 3K 0.00ERA

Wagner - 0.1IP 0H 0R 0ER 0K 0.00ERA

	  R  H   E


WAS   3  10  1


PHI   7  9   0

Next Game: vs. WAS Washington Nationals 7 @ Philadelphia Phillies 5 April 6th, 2005 - WAS (0-1) @ PHI (1-0) Philadelphia, PA - Another high-octane game in Philadelphia as game 2 of the series played into the hands of the Nationals; their first win as a franchise. The Phillies were quite happy with their offensive production, but their failure to contain threats and hold a lead concerned many fans. Guillen got the scoring started with a 3-run homer in the 3rd inning. The Phillies attempted to respond, loading the bases in the 5th, but came away with only one run. Abreu stole 2nd in the 6th which set it up for Burrell; facing an 3-0 count it was easy pickings looking for his pitch and boy did he hammer it! That 2-run bomb brought the game back to a 3-3 tie, but that didn't last long at all. Wilson, Wilkerson and Castilla became the heros for Washington after Rollins and Thome knocked in runs for the Phillies. Down 5-3, Wilkerson brought 2 runs in setting up a tied game going into the 8th inning. Wolf left, Urbina stepped in and off his only hit he was taken for left to a 1-run shot. After the Phillies failed to convert in the 8th, Fultz took the mound and like Urbina, his only hit was a deep fly back to left for a 1-run homer. Failing again to rebound the Phillies saw this game slip away and will look to take the series tomorrow night in Philly. Statistics Burrell 1/4 - HR 2RBI Abreu 1/5 - RBI SB Rollins 2/5 - RBI Thome 2/4 - RBI Pitchers Wolf - 7.0IP 8H 3R 3ER 6K 3.86ERA Urbina - L (0-1) 1.0IP 1H 1R 1ER 1K 3.38ERA Fultz - 1.0IP 1H 1R 1ER 1K 9.00ERA

	  R   H   E


WAS   7  13   1


PHI   5  11   1

Next Game: vs. WAS Washington Nationals 2 @ Philadelphia Phillies 3 April 7th, 2005 - WAS (1-1) @ PHI (1-1) Philadelphia, PA - Lidle pitched a fantastic game but missed out on the win in this game. Burrell got things going in the 1st bringing home Abreu and Bell responded to a Wilson homer with a shot to center, scoring Thome in the 3rd. The Nationals tied the game in the top of the 9th and it was all up to the Phillies to avoid extra innings when they took bat in the bottom of the inning. It wasn't offense that provided though, it was patience. In this inning the Nationals went through 3 pitchers, beginning as a result of a walk to Bell. Then Lieberthal stepped up and 4 straight balls put in on base. Chavez stepped in for Wagner but popped up foul for an out. Rollins walked in, seeing the 2nd pitcher, and as easy as 5 pitches he is on base. The last pitcher of the night comes onto the mount to try and calm things down but Kenny Lofton outwaits him! After a 3-2 count the final pitch was just low and the winning run, in an inning filled with horrific pitching, walked home giving the Phillies the series win! Statistics Bell 1/3 - RBI Burrell 2/4 - RBI Pitchers Lidle - 6.0IP 8H 2R 2ER 4K 3.00ERA Madson - W (1-0) 2.0IP 3H 0R 0ER 1K 0.00ERA Wagner - S (1) 1.0IP 1H 0R 0ER 1K 0.00ERA

	  R  H   E


WAS   2  9   1


PHI   3  8   0

Next Game: @ STL Philadelphia Phillies 4 @ St.Louis Cardinals 5 (13th) April 8th, 2005 - PHI (2-1) @ STL (0-2) St. Louis, MO - A surprising start for the Cards, at 0-2, but we all knew it wouldn't last long. The Phillies came in looking to secure another win but fell victim to the Cards' big bats; it's a good thing Philly had their bats swinging too! In the 3rd Pujols knocked a ball down the right line with the bases loaded, scoring 2. Molina got into the act in the 6th with a 2-run homer, putting the Phillies in a deep 4-0 hole. They began to climb out in the 8th with a solo homerun from Thome, following by Bell being brought home on a Lieberthal smash to left field. Down by 2, Lofton and Abreu played a double steal, moving into 2nd and 3rd. Thome and Burrell both went down swinging but Utley did not disappoint, crushing a fastball just over the centerfield wall to tie this game at 4. Extra innings carried into the 13th when Madson misplaced a fastball to Walker and we all know what that means; that HR sealed the fate of the Phillies who drop to 2-2. Statistics Utley 2/4 - HR 2RBI Thome 1/6 - HR RBI Lieberthal 2/5 - RBI Abreu 1/6 - SB Lofton 1/6 - SB Pitchers Padilla - 6.2IP 5H 4R 3ER 4K 4.05ERA Cormier - 2.2IP 2H 0R 0ER 2K 0.00ERA Geary - 1.2IP 1H 0R 0ER 0K 0.00ERA Madson - L (1-1) 1.0IP 3H 1R 1ER 0K 3.00ERA

	  R   H   E


PHI   4  13   1


STL   5  11   0

Next Game: @ STL

[movietitan]

so did you play the cardinals or the reds?

[jdoe899]

so did you play the cardinals or the reds?

Good Question....

[spymoose]

haha woops, sorry, I had 2 peices of paper beside me from the 2 different dynasties. Fixed it up.

[spymoose]

Philadelphia Phillies 2 @ St. Louis Cardinals 3 (11th)

April 9th, 2005 - PHI (2-2) @ STL (1-2)

Left: Walker knocks in the winning run in the 11th. Right: Edmonds slides into 3rd, later thrown out at home.

St. Louis, MO - More heartbreak in extra innings for the Phillies. Once again Philadelphia was able to pull ahead early but later blew the lead.

With 2 men on Burrell came to the plate and went for 10 pitches before finally knocking a ball into deep right field, bringing both Lofton and Thome home for a 2-0 lead in the 3rd inning.

Myers worked a strong game up until the 6th inning when Pujols walked to the plate with a man on. Myers tried to work the corners but eventually got burned down the middle for a 2-run shot.

The game stayed tied and went to extras again where Cormier had 2 strong innings before surrendering the winning run. After blowing through the 9th and 10th innings with ease Cormier was rocked to centerfield by Larry Walker as more extra inning disappointment set in for the Phillies.

Statistics

Burrell 1/5 - 2RBI 2B

Lieberthal 1/4 - 2B

Pitchers

Myers - 6.0IP 4H 2R 2ER 5K 1HR 3.00ERA

Fultz - 2.0IP 0H 0R 0ER 0K 0HR 3.00ERA

Cormier - L (0-1) 2.1IP 1H 1R 1ER 1K 1HR 1.80ERA

STL SP: Marquis - 6.2IP 7H 2R 2ER 4K 0HR 2.70ERA

	  R  H   E


PHI   2  7   0


STL   3  7   0

Current Series: @ STL (2/3 0-2) Next Game: @ STL Pitching Next: Lieber Philadelphia Phillies 9 @ St. Louis Cardinals 5 April 10th, 2005 - PHI (2-3) @ STL (2-2) Left: Abreu trots across the plate off a Rollins 3RBI hit. Right: Rollins rocks a deep shot to center, scoring 3. St. Louis, MO - Wow, what a strange game this one was! Going into the 4th inning neither team was able to create any offense; this was due to outstanding pitching from the Phillies and killers defense from the Cards. But, in the 4th things broke open! First Loften and Abreu were knocked home by Burrell's double right up the middle. Burrell was then knocked in by Lieberthal, who was later knocked in by Lofton! The Cards finally got out of the inning but the Phillies had a 4-0 lead; it would soon be gone. After Eckstein got on base Walker hit a 2B to put runners on 2nd and 3rd. Pujols eventually hit the plate and drove a long ball to center where Abreu totally misplayed it and had to run back to the wall to retrieve it from the ground. He came up throwing, trying to hold Pujols at third. As Pujols had moved off the base just enough a throw went to 3rd on the relay but it was overthrown and Pujols came in for yet another run! 4-3. The game soon became a 5-5 affair after Edmonds drove in 2 and looked as if the game may head to extras again...not this time. In the 8th Rollins found himself on with 1 out and the baseloaded. He knocked a perfectly placed linedrive down the right side, scoring all but himself; Abreu added Rollins on a sac fly and just like that the Philles took a 9-5 lead - one they would not give up. Statistics Rollins 2/5 - 3RBI 2B Abreu 2/5 - 2RBI SB Burrell 1/4 - 2RBI Lofton 3/5 - RBI Lieberthal 1/4 - RBI Pitchers Lieber - W (2-0) 7.0IP 8H 5R 3ER 8K 1HR 3.86ERA Geary - 1.0IP 1H 0R 0ER 0K 0HR 0.00ERA Urbina - 1.0IP 0H 0R 0ER 2K 0HR 2.46ERA STL SP: Morris - 4.2IP 7H 4R 4ER 2K 0HR 7.71ERA

	  R  H   E


PHI   9  14  2


STL   5  9   0

Current Series: @ STL (3/3 1-2)

Next Game: @ FLA

Pitching Next: Wolf

[cb]

Shiny pictures! :eek: This looks interesting, I'll definatly follow.

[jdoe899]

SpyMoose, any plans for shaking up the roster?

[spymoose]

Yeh, I could. I don't know the Phillies all that well in real life, so I'm just gonna see how things go. Unless there's something obvious I overlook, in which case I'll listen for sure :)

[jdoe899]

well, you've got Gavin floyd in AAA, and then the Howard/Thome Debacle.... Plus, i'll be honest here in saying I hate Mike Lieberthal...any chance you get to dump his salary take it...

[movietitan]

the phillies farm system is putrid, speaking from a philly fan...i would say if you aren't winning, dump salaries and trade for prospects...i mean pitching wise your future is in the hands of Myers/Floyd/Madson/Hamels/Condrey. I would only put my money on Madson and Myers. And jdoe is right, dump Liebrathal if you can - maybe for Estrada. The Braves are always looking to dump him in the game. I traded Sosa for him straight up once.

[jdoe899]

And with Thome, I usually traded him for another high-salary player who will agree to a new deal for 1 year... because thome never lets you sign him to a 1- year deal, you need to trade him for someone who will, that way the next offseason you'll have lots of budget space...

[spymoose]

Ah I see. Well to be honest I like to play a bit before making moves, depending on who's doing what. But if people don't play up to my standards or aren't worth their bucks, etc. I won't be afraid to move them.

Hope you enjoy guys.

[spymoose]

Update coming later today. I just played two amazing games, but I forgot to turn off AIM and my retarded nVidia drivers freeze my PC if I get switched out of the game =

I get messaged JUST as the second game ended, ugh...I'll replay them later, thanks for reading.

[spymoose]

Philadelphia Phillies 4 @ Florida Marlins 7

April 11th, 2005 - PHI (3-3) @ FLA (2-4)

Left: Thome makes a great catch to save an error. Right: The Marlins bench reacts as they rally to beat the Phillies.

Miami, FL - Brutal outing by the Phillies pitching staff! A nice hitting performance is followed up by two truly horrid innings of pitching resulting in a loss in Philly's opener with the Marlins.

After Easley singled, bringing in a run, the Phillies went to work in the 4th. Abreu singled, bringing in Rollins (who continues to keep his average about .400!) and Lofton to give Philadelphia a 2-1 lead. Next up, after Abreu is caught stealing, Burrell hammers a shot over the left field wall for a solo homer.

The Marlins added a run but it was soon countered by Utley who drove in Thome with a sacrifice fly. Now, in the 8th, things started to go all wrong for Philly. Wolf walked the leadoff and so his night was over. Geary came in to try and fix up this game but instead surrendered 3 straight singles, loading the bases (Wolf's hit was caugh stealing). This brought in Urbina who, on his first pitch, was rocked by Cabrera for a Grand Slam! Next batter, home run - and Urbina's night is done. Cormier walked in and finished off the disgusting inning but it was just too late.

Philly mustered nothing in the top of the 9th and drop below .500 once again heading into Game 2.

Statistics

Abreu 1/4 -2RBI

Burrell 2/4 - HR RBI

Utley 1/4 - RBI

Rollins 2/4 - 2B

Pitchers

Wolf - 7.0IP 6H 2R 2ER 2K 1HR 4.50ERA

Geary - L (0-1) 0.0IP 3H 3R 3ER 0K 0HR 10.13ERA

Urbina - 0.1IP 2H 2R 2ER 0K 2HR 6.75ERA

Cormier - 0.2IP 1H 0R 0ER 0K 0HR 1.59ERA

FLA SP: Burnett - 7.0IP 6H 2R 2ER 2K 1HR 1.20ERA

	  R  H   E


PHI   4  10  0


FLA   7  12  0

Current Series: @ FLA (1/3 0-1)

Next Game: @ FLA

Pitching Next: Lidle (0-0 3.00ERA)

[spymoose]

Philadelphia Phillies 1 @ Florida Marlins 5

April 12th, 2005 - PHI (3-4) @ FLA (3-4)

Left: Bell slides in but is called out in the 5th. Right: Cormier grabs a strikeout in the 8th.

Miami, FL - Yet another loss, yet another ugly showing by Phillies' relief. Lidle didn't have a strong game but he threw pretty well through just over 5 innings, trailing 2-1. Madson then took over and was destroyed in his short time on the mound.

His first pitch was a homer and then came 2 men on for Delgado, a man no one likes to face. Madson wasn't smiling at all as Delgado pounded a double to right, bringing in the 2 runners for a 5-1 lead.

Madson and Cormier finished the game well from there, but yet again a game within reach became a lost cause due to unexcusable mistakes. With many players underachieving, such as Thome, management may be looking at some moves. The team will look to avoid the sweep and get back to .500 to close out their series with Florida.

Bobby Abreu continued to produce (though like the rest of the team is struggling getting the ball out of the park) scoring Lofton in the 4th inning on a sac fly.

Statistics

Abreu 1/3 - RBI SB

Pitchers

Lidle - L (0-1) 5.2IP 7H 2R 2ER 0K 1HR 3.09ERA

Madson - 1.1IP 3H 3R 3ER 1K 1HR 8.31ERA

Cormier - 1.0IP 1H 0R 0ER 2K 0HR 1.35ERA

FLA SP: Willis - 8.0IP 7H 1R 1ER 5K 0HR 1.06ERA

	  R  H   E


PHI   1  7   1


FLA   5  11  0

Current Series: @ FLA (2/3 0-2)

Next Game: @ FLA

Pitching Next: Padilla (0-0 4.05ERA)

[jdoe899]

Philadelphia Phillies 1 @ Florida Marlins 5

April 12th, 2005 - PHI (3-4) @ FLA (3-4)

With many players underachieving, such as Thome, management may be looking at some moves. The team will look to avoid the sweep and get back to .500 to close out their series with Florida.

Excellent, can't wait to see what you'll do.

[spymoose]

Roster Situation: With both Lieberthal and Thome playing under expectations management has decided to sit both men in hopes of avoiding a sweep to the Marlins. Lieberthal noted that he was slightly fatigued and could use the rest while Thome's situation looks bleek. Howard will fill in for Thome at first base while Pratt will catch for Padilla.

Philadelphia Phillies 3 @ Florida Marlins 5

April 13th, 2005 - PHI (3-5) @ FLA (4-4)

Left: Howard catches a sleeping Marlin after a great catch by Utley. Right: Abreu makes an amazing catch that saved at least 2 runs in the 6th.

Miami, FL - Can this team ever stop driving itself into the ground? This time it wasn't the relief pitching that cost the Phillies the game, it was the starter.

Padilla came in and went to work quickly, giving off the impression that it was going to be a very long night for Marlins' fans. That all ended in the 6th, just after Pratt drove in Bell on a single to left. Padilla had a horrible, ugly inning and it cost Philly the game.

The 6th inning saw Padilla surrender 8 hits and 5 runs, they just came so quickly the bullpen didn't even have time to warm up. With 0 outs Florida got a single, then another single, and another. With 2 out Florida hit 8 singles, scoring 5 runs before Cabrera finally ended the inning; Abreu made an amazing outfield catch with runners on 2nd and 3rd to end the inning.

With that the Phillies once again let a winnable game slip away and a crushed homer from Chase Utley in the 8th just wasn't enough.

The Phillies are swept for the first time this season!

Roster Situation: Pratt looked good in his first appearance this season going 1/3 and driving in a run. Lieberthal is expected to return next game but if his play does not pick up, look for Pratt to see more action. Howard had a great game as well, though no RBIs he did get on base twice, and was Utley's man on for his HR. Thome has been brutal in recent games and Howard could easily find a permanent place on the starting roster if Thome does not shape up soon. More updates to come.

Statistics

Utley 1/4 - HR 2RBI

Pratt 1/3 - RBI

Abreu 1/4 - SB

Pitchers

Padilla - L (0-1) 6.1IP 13H 5R 5ER 5K 0HR 5.54ERA

Madson - 1.2IP 0H 0R 0ER 0K 0HR 6.00ERA

FLA SP: Valdez - 7.1IP 5H 1R 1ER 3K 0HR 3.56ERA

	  R  H   E


PHI   3  7   1


FLA   5  13  0

Current Series: @ FLA (3/3 0-3)

Next Game: vs. ATL

Pitching Next: Myers (0-0 3.00ERA)

[spymoose]

Roster Situation: Lieberthal returns to the lineup with Pratt taking the bench. As the Phillies meet a left-hander against the Braves, Thome steps in with Howard on the bench.

Atlanta Braves 3 @ Philadelphia Phillies 5

April 15th, 2005 - ATL (2-7) @ PHI (3-6)

Left: Burrell pulls back the bat, smashing a single to center. Right: Rollins counts on Abreu's double, which turned ouit to be the game-winning play.

Philadelphia, PA - The losing streak ends at 3 games as the Phillies take game 1 of their series with Atlanta. Brett Myers showed why he has a great future in this league as he pitched 5 amazing innings, having his outfield let him down. In the 2nd a ball hit deep was badly misjudged by Lofton and the badly timed leap had the ball drop behind him and resulted in a rare in-the-park Home Run. Myers was sure to give Lofton a glare on the bench as there were 2 outs and the ball was very catchable.

Myers then went on to retire batter after batter until it struck; the injury bug. Myers went down after a pitch in the 6th inning and was replaced by Fultz who took over and pitched a fantastic 3 innings.

The Philly run support finally came in the 4th after peppering Ramirez with hits but finding difficulty in finishing. The first run came from Bell, knocking in Utley while it was he, Utley, who then tied the game in the 4th. Utley, with a man on Utley destroyed a Ramirez offering over the centerfield wall.

The winning run came after Lieberthal got on base, Fultz struck out, and Rollins singled to right. Abreu hit a double off the wall in right bringing ome Lieberthal and Rollins all the way from 1st.

The 5-3 win marks the end of a losing streak and sparks hope in the locker room. This Philadelphia team needs to get in track, breaks their slumps and move back to .500 baseball.

Roster Situation: Both Lieberthal and Thome were back in the lineup but only Lieberthal proved the rest help. Though he didn't contribute offensively he did go 2/4 and counted a run. However, Thome went 0/3 before Howard stepped in for the 8th (going 1/1). Thome is very close to losing his starting spot; and potentially his place in a Phillies uniform.

Injury Situation: To open the 6th inning Brett Myers let a pitch go and winced in pain as he gripped his leg. The team's worries were put to rest though as the team has learned he will only be sidelined for about 2 days. He'll be ready for his next start.

Statistics

Rollins 3/4 - HR 2RBI SB

Abreu 2/4 - 2RBI 2B

Bell 1/4 - RBI

Lofton 1/4 - CS

Thome 0/3 - K

Pitchers

Myers - W (1-0) 5.0IP 5H 3R 3ER 3K 1HR 4.05ERA

Fultz - 3.0IP 0H 0R 0ER 2K 0HR 1.50ERA

Wagner - S (2) 1.0IP 1H 0R 0ER 1K 0HR 0.00ERA

ATL SP: Ramirez - 7.0IP 14H 5R 5ER 3K 1HR 3.55ERA

	  R  H   E


ATL   3  6   0


PHI   5  14  0

Current Series: vs ATL (1/3 1-0)

Next Game: vs. ATL

Pitching Next: Lieber (0-0 4.ERA)

[rolliefingers08]

i think you should let up a bit on the picture effects.

this is one of the better dynasties though, nice job.

[spymoose]

Ah okay, sorry. Just wanted to add something to the pics that makes them stand out. But if you guys aren't for them it's no big deal. Thanks for reading, hope you're enjoying.

[rolliefingers08]

i like a litte effect, but it just looks too much for me.

[spymoose]

I'll agree the last one with Rollins came out badly. I didn't even notice til you posted. If I continue with effects I'll tone it down or pay attention to the quality

BTW, I added a new logo for the dynasty. Nothing special, spent about 5min on it. Will prob make something better when I have some time, but it's better than nothing for now.

[spymoose]

Atlanta Braves 2 @ Philadelphia Phillies 3

April 16th, 2005 - ATL (2- @ PHI (4-6)

Left: Giles tags up and scores in the top of the 7th. Right: The Phillies celebrate their second straight win and look to sweep the Braves.

Philadelphia, PA - The Phillies escape a close on as Billy Wagner continues to pitch amazingly to close out games. The game was tough in the early going with defense prevailing over the bats until the 5th inning when the Braves finally got to Lieber. With a man on Francoeur hit a fastball to centerfield scoring the runner but put himself out trying to make the hit a triple.

The Phillies responded with a lobbed Burrell single dropping behind 1B, driving in Abreu. The Braves scored once again in the 7th after Giles hit a triple; a deep fly ball, caught, was far enough to bring home Giles from 3rd. Again Philly desponded as Lieberthal singled with 2 on, but stupidly wasn't paying attention and ended the inning by coming off the base for the tag.

After Burrell knocked in Abreu, once again, Wagner took over in the 9th and continued to look superb! He's still running an ERA of 0.00 and that kind of play is exactly what the Phillies need considering their recent problems.

Philadelphia looks to sweep their first season series against Atlanta tomorrow night.

Injury Situation: Thankfully, Myers has recovered from his slight hamstring pull and will miss no action; he's preparing for his next start.

Statistics

Burrel 3/3 - 2RBI

Lieberthal 1/2 - RBI

Bell 1/3 - 2B

Abreu 1/5 - 2B

Lofton 1/5 - SB

Pitchers

Lieber - 6.0IP 5H 1R 1ER 4K 1HR 3.15ERA

Cormier - W (1-1) 1.2IP 3H 1R 1ER 0K 0HR 2.10ERA

Urbina - 0.1IP 0H 0R 0ER 0K 0HR 6.23ERA

Wagner - S (3) 1.0IP 0H 0R 0ER 1K 0HR 0.00ERA

ATL SP: Hudson - 6.0IP 6H 2R 2ER 2K 0HR 1.66ERA

	  R  H   E


ATL   2  8   0


PHI   3  10  0

Current Series: vs ATL (2/3 2-0)

Next Game: vs. ATL

Pitching Next: Wolf (0-0 4.50ERA)

[spymoose]

Phillies and A's Make a Deal!

April 16th, 2005 - Following tonight's 3-2 over Atlanta, the Phillies announce they have struck a deal with Oakland.

Philadelphia, PA - After working at moving players for a few days the Philadelphia Phillies have finally made something happen. It has been discovered that there were talks between Philly and Atlanta over Estrada as well as Philly and Minnesota about Joe Mauer; as said, all talks fell through.

However, a deal finally came through tonight and the Phillies are pleased to welcome Jason Kendall as the newest addition to their line-up. Kendall is hitting .283 this season with 3 HRs and 6 RBIs. The trade sees Mike Lieberthal (.206, 0HR, 3RBI), who was publicly marked as underperforming/overpaid/tradable, and Jason Michaels (.166, 0HR, 0RBI) move out of Philly's lockeroom.

The Phillies feel this is a good move in that Lieberthal has been playing awful this season and they felt Michaels was expendable for a quality catcher. The team has also expressed desire to pick up more youth in that position. Kendall has 3 years remaining on his contract, paying him just over $9 million per season. Also included in the trade was youngster Danny Outnam who will move into AAA to play LF.

The Philly's realize that extra money has been spent and have increased efforts to move Jim Thome. After discussing possible movements over the past few days no deal could be reach and Thome has been placed on the Trading Block. The team is looking to bring in youth, prospects and perhaps some averagly paid skill to fill Thome's gap; the team does not feel they must grab another slugger.

Trade Round-Up

To Oakland: Mike Lieberthal, Jason Michaels

To Philadelphia: Jason Kendall, Danny Putnam

Following the trades the team announced that Howard would now take over Thome's position full-time while Thome will play the DH and pinch-hit against lefties. Gavin Floyd has also been called up to the MLB club and will see some work as MRP; the bullpen has been sloppy and added youth may be just what the doctor ordered.

Phillies' Addition, Jason Kendall: "I was quite surprised to hear I was traded. It's sunken in now and I'm glad I went to a team like Philly. They've got great talent and I hope we can put together a great season."

A's Addition, Mike Lieberthal: "I'm disappointed with how things turned out but now I'm just looking forward to performing in Oakland."

Phillies' Player, David Bell: "He's an amazing player. I'm sad to see Mike go but I'm very excited to play with Jason."

Phillies' Manager, Charlie Manuel: "We're ecstatic we were able to grab Jason, he's a

fantastic player. We really wanted to make a move soon to get rid of the talks and we've done that. Now, though Jim has been a great addition to this team for a while now, we'd like to move Thome and that's the end of it. We have a great core here and don't want to mess with it beyond these moves."

[spymoose]

Atlanta Braves 5 @ Philadelphia Phillies 2

April 17th, 2005 - ATL (2-9) @ PHI (5-6)

Left: Andruw Jones takes off as he drives in 2 with a double. Right: Jim Thome comes into the game with the bases loaded; strikes out.

Philadelphia, PA - Jason Kendall makes his Phillies debut and has a pretty nice outing; Thome blew a chance set up by Kendall. With 2 on in the 8th, down 5-2, Kendall took the 0-2 pitch just through the hole in left field for a base hit. Burrell could have scored from 2nd but held up bringing up Floyd. Thome came in to pinch-hit with the bases loaded, 2 outs and in 3 pitches he goes down swinging; will this guy ever make a bid to stay in Philly?

The Phillies got down 5-0 very quickly as Wolf had a rough start. In the 2nd his pitches were just off and he couldn't locate, having 4 runs scored. Chipper Jones knocked in a run before Andruw Jones drove in Chipper and another for the 3-0 lead. Next batter, home run.

At 5-0 the Phillies finally scored as they loaded the bases in the 5th with 2 out. Utely started it off with a single and was followed up by Bell with a single. Kendall hit a rocket deep but was robbed at the wall by Jones.

The Philles went down without a hit in the 9th and miss out on the sweep and fail to reach .500. An upcoming series with the Mets will be tough and the team needed to capitalize on the struggles of Atlanta.

Statistics

Utley 1/3 - RBI

Bell 3/4 - RBI

Abreu 0/2 - SB CS

Rollins 1/5 - CS

Kendall 2/4

Pitchers

Wolf - L (0-1) 5.0IP 7H 5R 5ER 1K 1HR 5.68ERA

Madson - 1.0IP 1H 0R 0ER 0K 0HR 5.44ERA

Floyd - 1.0IP 0H 0R 0ER 1K 0HR 0.00ERA

Geary- 1.0IP 2H 0R 0ER 1K 0HR 7.36ERA

Fultz - 1.0IP 0H 0R 0ER 0K 0HR 1.29ERA

ATL SP: Smoltz - 6.0IP 7H 2R 2ER 4K 0HR 4.00ERA

	  R  H   E


ATL   5  10  1


PHI   2  10  0

Current Series: vs ATL (3/3 2-1)

Next Game: vs. NYM

Pitching Next: Lidle (0-1 3.09ERA)

Standings

-GB 9W 3L Washington

1GB 8W 4L NY Mets

3GB 6W 6L Florida

4GB 5W 7L Philadelphia

6GB 3W 9L Atlanta