Philadelphia Phillies

(6/24/10)

Philadelphia, PA - The Philadelphia Phillies took advantage of a shoddy defense and a strong outing from Joe Blanton to dismantle the Cleveland Indians 12-3 and sweep their three-game set at Citizens Bank Park.

Joe Blanton (3-5) went 7 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on six hits and striking out eight. Blanton was given plenty of run support as the Philles went 15-37 from the plate.

What is the value of a double play?

It seems like a simple question at first, but underneath the surface, incalculable defensive factors muddle up the idea that a double play is anything but a complex and intricate pattern of moving parts.

For those who believe glove conquers all, the middle infield is the most important part of a baseball team. How these two perform defensively can directly affect the number of games a team wins. So which dynamic duo was most valuable defensively this past decade?

Philadelphia, PA—Coming back form the DL is a tough thing to do, especially if you've spent all but 14 games of the season away from your team.

Chad Durbin left the Phillies' 7-6 victory over the Cleveland Indians in the ninth inning due to an apparent hamstring injury.

Everyone, including Rollins, knew his ball was gone.


Jimmy Rollins had a slow start, coming off the DL Tuesday going 0-for-4 and not really contributing to the Phillies' 2-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians.

Wednesday, however, was a different story—kind of.

Philadelphia Phillies General Manager Ruben Amaro has a decision to make, and Phillies fans can only hope he makes the right one despite recent history.

The Philadelphia Phillies need to get Cliff Lee back.

In seeking to acquire a certain pitcher at the trading deadline whom he also acquired last season at the trade deadline, Amaro has only negative history in the recent past to guide him.

(6/22/10)

(Philadelphia, PA) - Jamie Moyer went eight innings and only allowed one run on two hits to clinch his eighth win of the season as the Phillies topped the Cleveland Indians 2-1 in game one of their three-game set at Citizens Bank Park.

Moyer (8-6) did break a non-flattering record in the process as Russell Branyan sent a two-out solo home run in the top of the second to put Moyer of the top off the all time home runs allowed list in the MLB.

Asher Chancey and I are both Featured Columnists covering the Philadelphia Phillies for Bleacher Report.

As we quickly learned upon meeting one another and becoming acquainted with each other's perspectives on the Phillies and sports in general, there is very little we agree on.

From Ryan Howard to the Phillie Phanatic, to Mike Schmidt to Richie Ashburn, ask these two guys a question, and chances are we'll disagree.

In honor of our bipolar views on the world of sports, we present the second installment of The Philadelphia Feud, a weekly feature in which we face off to debate hot topics fro

With Jimmy Rollins set to come off the DL and return to the lineup on Tuesday, the Phillies will face a decision on which of their backup shortstops they want to keep on the bench, and which one they want to send down to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

For me, the decision would appear to be an easy one.

Over the past few games Wilson Valdez has been clutch. Whether it's coming up with a key hit to get a rally started—or keep a rally going—or being a wall in the infield, Valdez has shown more than enough to warrant a spot on the bench.

The Phillies offense needs to find its rhythm quickly.

A game like the one the Phillies played in the series finale against the Twins is exactly why we can never be too quick to proclaim a funk over.