Philadelphia Phillies

He’s not mentally tough. He stinks. He’s a prima donna. Those were just a few of things some Philadelphia fans were saying after Cole Hamels’ poor first outing against the New York Mets. The criticism is nothing new for Cole in Philly.

The Phillies are rolling to start the season. Dominant pitching and an offense that has hit more singles than any other team in baseball. Clearly their series against the Braves meant more to their hated rivals than it did to them, but it's always nice to let the few fans Atlanta has (and the national media) that their "sexy" pick for NL East champion was wrong.

For the first six innings of today's game, it looked like it would come down to the last frame. Roy Oswalt and Brandon Beachy were plugging away, maneuvering in out of trouble through the early going.

However, in the top of the seventh the Philadelphia Phillies' offense finally cracked the code. 

I'm not one to get too excited or upset seven games into a 162-game season. So I'm about as ready to jump off the Ben Franklin Bridge after Friday night's 6-3 loss to the Braves, as I was ready to march down Broad Street after their 11-0 win over the Mets Thursday afternoon.

Phillies: 5-1, first in NL East

Braves: 3-4, fourth in NL East (2.5 games behind Phillies)

Phillies preview: The Phillies come into this early-season showdown with the Braves having won five of six to begin the season. The offense leads the National League with a .353 average and a .407 on base percentage.

As the Philadelphia Phillies roll into Atlanta for a three-game set against the Braves, they are set to see Tim Hudson on Friday night.  This is the Tim Hudson whose competitive advantage these days seems to rely on hitting the other team's players and attempting to shorten their season. 

He is especially prone to doing this when playing teams that compete in his division.  And since the Phillies have owned this division for the past four years, their players have the biggest bulls-eye for Hudson.

The Phillies did what many "experts" well, expected Thursday by taking two out of three from the Mets. The Phillies showed great character and poise by rebounding from a dismal series opener in which one of their four aces, Cole Hamels threw a dud.Their offense was pretty offensive (not a good thing here) as well as they were shellacked seven to one.

The time for questions is over. Throughout the offseason, that's all we did. Can this team do this? Will that team be able to do that? With each team having completed its opening series, we can get a pretty good idea of what the season will hold for each major league team. Of course, there will always be questions. Can the Philadelphia Phillies continue putting runs on the board, sans Chase Utley and Jayson Werth? Will the Boston Red Sox pitching staff rebound?

When you look at today’s game, being able to play multiple positions is important.  Look at a guy like Ben Zobrist of the Tampa Bay Rays.  He can play seven positions.

With versatility, it makes it easier for the manager to shake things up, and make in-game substitutions.  When someone gets hurt, these are guys that you can plug in.

A red-hot cleanup hitter and a clutch bullpen performance led the host Phillies past the feisty New York Mets 10-7. With the victory, the home team held onto first place in the very early stages of the 2011 pennant race.

With the temperature holding around 50 degrees, both the climate and the final score more resembled a defensive battle in the National Football League. Of course, it was a cool evening for baseball and an unexpected April slugfest.