Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies have an early three game series against the rival Mets starting tonight (Tuesday). The Phillies have gotten off to a scorching hot start (albeit against the lowly Astros) and they look to keep the good times rolling.

The Mets won their first series as well, taking two of three from the Marlins.

This series most definitely means a lot more to Mets fragile psyche than the proven Phillies, but it is still always fun to kick a New York team while they are down right?

If you ask me, the Philadelphia Phillies got off to a pretty good start this weekend at home. Three games. Three wins.

That good start went way beyond simply getting three wins, however, as the team answered several imposing questions that people around the game held against them heading into the season. As Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt toed the hill, people questioned whether or not they would be able to live up to the hype. They responded by walking just one hitter, striking out 23 more and allowing just six earned runs in 19 innings pitched.

With the conclusion of the first weekend, Phillies fans have already learned a lot about the upcoming season. Already the rotation was known to be a sure thing. 19 innings were pitched by Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt while only allowing a collective 14 hits, six runs, one walk and 23 strikeouts.

The 2011 MLB season is back and so are ‘Dem Phightin Phils’. Philadelphia’s finest are ready to make yet another push toward—what will be—their fifth straight appearance in the postseason. But along the way there will be some inevitable bumps in the road that the Phillies will have to endure, and it begins with five players who are notoriously slow starters.

The first three games of the season are now in the books, and the Phillies—thanks to three fine pitching performances, a terrific Opening Day comeback victory and other timely hitting this weekend—are 3-0 for the first time since Abe Lincoln manned the White House.

Okay, that was a slight exaggeration (Grant Administration?), but to Phillies Nation, the regular season could not have come soon enough or started much better.

I had the pleasure and privilege of attending all three games this weekend for the Phillies. The atmosphere was absolutely electric and the weather did not stop more than 45,000 "phanatical" fans from showing up at each game and proving once again that the stigma of the Philadelphia fan that booed Santa more than 50 years ago is indeed history.

Ever since the Phillies signed Cliff Lee back in December, fans immediately began to come up with nicknames: "R2C2," "The Phab Phour," "The Four Aces," you name it.

As fans reflected on this signing more, many began to wonder whether it was worth utilizing the bullpen often, aside from the closer (Brad Lidge) and the setup men (Ryan Madson and Jose Contreras).

Originally, the question leaned towards the answer "no."

Having assembled this amazing pitching staff with Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, Cole Hamels and Joe Blanton, the only remaining question for the Phillies is whether or not they could they muster any offense. The simple answer is yes.

After the unbelievable Opening Day ninth-inning comeback rally on Friday, the Phils offense picked up on Saturday where they left off.

If the Philadelphia Phillies' first game of the 2011 was a microcosm of how we expect the 2011 season to play out—shut-down starting pitching, clumsy bullpen and just enough offense to win the day—then the second game of the season was a true demonstration of this team's potential.  

Welcome to BoxPlus, where I give you just a little more than the box score does.

Phillies 9, Astros 4

Game 2 of the Phillies' young season saw a bit more of an offensive attack to back ace No. 2, Cliff Lee.