Phillies Acquire Bullpen Help, Get Brad Lidge

The Phillies appear to have addressed their need for bullpen help by acquiring closer Brad Lidge from the Houston Astros in a five-player trade. In addition to Lidge the Phillies also get utility infielder Eric Bruntlett. The Phillies gave up outfielder Michael Bourn, reliever Geoff Geary and Minor League third baseman Mike Costanzo.

This move now allows the Phillies to move Brett Myers out of the bullpen and into the #2 starters role. A role I believe he will be much more comfortable in. No longer will Myers have the pressure on his shoulders to be the number one guy.

The 24-year old Bourn, a Houston native, hit .277 in his first full season as a Phillies reserve. This proves to me beyond a reasonable doubt that the Phillies will be re-signing Aaron Rowand and are comfortable with Burrell and Victorino as their 2008 starters. Costanzo was once considered one of the organization's top prospects before a down year in 2006. He hit 27 home runs while playing for the Phillies AA affiliate, the Reading Phillies.

Do Or Die For MLB Teams

The Cubs, the Phillies, the Yankees, and the Angels are all now trying to stave off elimination. All of these teams are currently in 0-2 holes and beginning tonight, the Phillies and Cubs begin their attempt to win 3 in a row.

Saturday Games

Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Chicago Cubs

A 3 run home run by Chris Young sparked the Diamondbacks to a 8-4 win and a step closer to challenging for the NL Pennant. Doug Davis won his first career postseason game while allowing four runs in 5 2/3 innings and striking out eight. Chicago's Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez and Derrek Lee have combined to go 4-for-27 through two games in the series. The young and upstart Babybacks could shut the door again on the Cubs who are still looking for their first World Series title since 1908.

Diamondbacks lead 2-0


Philadelphia Phillies vs. Colorado Rockies

A decision to take Kyle Kendrick out of the game after loading the bases proved to a be a costly mistake by Charlie Manuel. Reliever Kyle Lohse came in and served up a grand slam to Kaz Matsui putting the Rockies up for good. The Rockies won the game 10-5 thanks to a great performance from the bullpen (gave up only 1 earned run in 6IP). With the series shifting to Colorado, the Phillies have quite a task ahead of them. The Rockies batted .298 at home, including a staggering .376 BA by Matt Holliday.

Rockies lead 2-0

Sunday Games

Boston Red Sox vs. Los Angeles Angels

A healthy Manny is a clutch Manny. Thanks to a 3 run walk off home run Manny Ramirez propelled the Red Sox to a 2 game lead in the 5 game series. After a rocky start from Daisuke Matsuzaka, the Red Sox bullpen came in and shut the door going 4 1/3 scoreless innings. Angels pitchers gave up 9 walks including 5 by Cy Young hopeful Kelvim Escobar. Manny Ramirez has 21 post season homers, one shy of Bernie Williams for most all-time.

Red Sox lead 2-0


New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Indians

The Yankees held a 1-0 lead heading into the 8th inning, then it got all buggy. A swarm of bugs began attacking Yankees reliever Joba Chamberlain in the 8th inning and while he didn't want to blame the bugs, they certainly contributed to his 2 wild pitches in the inning. One of those wild pitches led to a Indians run by Grady Sizemore. Indians fans were treated to a win in wild fashion when in the 11th inning Travis Hafner singled in the winning run. The Indians Fausto Carmona pitched 9 solid innings in his post season start. Yankees stadium will be host to the next two games, assuming they last another game.

Indians lead 2-0

MLB Playoffs, Phillies Lose Opener

Boston Red Sox vs. Los Angeles Angels

Josh Beckett, the 2003 World Series MVP, pitched his 2nd consecutive post season shutout to help the Red Sox take a 1-0 lead on the Angels. David Ortiz added a home run and considering that the Sox are 7-2 in post season games when he homers, the Boston faithful are hoping to see more of them.

After surrendering a lead off single Beckett began his domination of Angels hitters by sitting down 19 in a row. Only one other pitcher besides Beckett has thrown a shutout in the first game of the post season for the Red Sox. The other? Babe Ruth.

Boston leads 1-0

Philadelphia Phillies vs. Colorado Rockies

17 game winner Jeff Francis pitched four hit ball on his way to his first post season win and Matt Holliday homered in the top of the 8th to provide a 2 run cushion. Prior to yesterday's game Francis had a paltry 15.12 ERA when pitching against the Phillies.

On the season Chase Utley was batting .332 but looked confused at the plate yesterday, striking out four times. Aaron Rowand and Pat Burrell provided all of the Phillies offense when they went back to back in the 5th inning.

Colorado leads 1-0

Arizona Diamonbacks vs. Chicago Cubs

Brandon Webb pitched a gem going seven strong innings while striking out nine. The Cubs Carlos Zambrano also pitched well but only made it through 6 innings and gave up a solo shot to Stephen Drew.

In addition to Drew homering, the young Mark Reynolds homered to give the Babybacks a 1 run lead. Conor Jackson provided a cushion with a sac fly to make the score 3-1.

Arizona leads 1-0

Phillies Win! Phillies Win!

In what can be considered one of the greatest choke jobs of all time in baseball, the New York Mets, who were up by 7 games on September 12th, have been eliminated from playoff contention. Since that time, the Phillies have gone on to win 13 of 17 and now are going to the playoffs for this first time since 1993 when they reached the World Series.

Jimmy Rollins predicted at the beginning of the year that the Phillies were the team to beat in the NL East. Not only has Rollins backed that bold prediction up, he joined an elite club when he hit an RBI triple in sixth inning as only the fourth player to hit at least 20 doubles, 20 triples, 20 home runs, and 20 stolen bases. Towards the end of the game fans were heard chanting, "MVP, MVP, MVP!". And rightfully so.

The last time a team blew a seven game lead in the month of September was pre-WW2. The Pittsburgh Pirates achieved that feat in 1938. The Phillies before today were the greatest choke artists of all time when they blew a 6.5 game lead with 12 games left in the 1964. Now I wouldn't say that the Mets choke job was larger, but it certainly will help Phillies fans forget about that part of our history.

For once, Philadelphia fans will be cheering "Phillies! Phillies!" instead of chanting "E-A-G-L-E-S". A welcome change of pace if you ask me!

Believe

The Philadelphia Phillies have always had to deal with coming up short, never being able to win the big one, and just looking uninterested in winning. That has changed this year however with what is the funnest team to watch since Lenny Dykstra and the 1993 Phils.

The Phillies were seven games behind the Mets after getting killed at home by the Colorado Rockies 12-0 on Sept. 12. The Phils had not been in first place until yesterday when they tied the New York Mets for first. Philadelphia has won 12 of 15 while the Mets, after losing tonight to the Marlins 7-4, have lost 11 of 15.

The Phillies defeated the Washington Nationals 6-0 tonight thanks a brilliant effort by now 15 game winner, Cole Hamels. Ryan Howard homered for his 45th of the season while Chase Utley had 2 hits and an RBI.

It's time to believe in Philadelphia. We may be challenging for our first NL Pennant in 14 years.

EAST	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	ROAD	RS	RA	STRK	L10
Philadelphia	88	72	.550	-	46-33	42-39	884	816	Won 3	7-3
NY Mets	87	73	.544	1	40-39	47-34	790	742	Lost 5	4-6

Philles Tied For First Place With Mets

The Philadelphia Phillies are done chasing. The Phillies are tied with the New York Mets for first place in the NL East. The Mets had a 7 game lead with 17 to play at one point and since have lost 10 of 14.

Ryan Howard hit his 44th homer while Pat Burrell connected for his 30th in support of another solid pitching effort from Kyle Kendrick. The Phillies handed John Smoltz his eighth lost of the season and hung on for a 6-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves.

The collapsing Mets lost 3-0 to the St. Louis Cardinals to drop into a tie with Philadelphia (87-72) for first place. Both teams have three home games left. The Phillies play the Washington Nationals, who just recently swept the Mets, for their final three games. The Phillies lead the series against the Nationals 10-5. The Mets host Florida and also lead their series with the Marlins 10-5.

I haven't been this excited for the Phillies since 1993 when they went to the World Series. Could this be the season in which we forget about the Eagles and focus on the Phillies in the playoffs? It would be a nice change of pace.

EAST	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	ROAD	RS	RA	STRK	L10
Philadelphia	87	72	.547	-	45-33	42-39	878	816	Won 2	7-3
NY Mets	87	72	.547	-	40-38	47-34	786	735	Lost 4	4-6

Mets Lose And Phillies Win, Move Within 1.5 Games

Thanks to a Jayson Werth pinch-hit 3 run home run and an RBI double by Jimmy Rollins the Phillies came back from 4 runs down to beat the Washington Nationals 7-6. Shane Victorino, the "Flying Hawaiian", played for the first time since September 10th and went 1-4.

Kyle Lohse lasted only two innings for the Phillies but the bullpen, yes, I said the bullpen, pitched 7 scoreless innings. Brett Myers picked up his 18th save of the season while JC Romero picked up his first win of the season.

The much scrutinized Adam Eaton is scheduled to start tomorrow for the Phillies against Nationals pitcher Shawn Hill. Assuming the Mets lose again tomorrow to the Marlins, the Phillies could climb within .5 games of leading the NL East.

The Mets blew two three-run leads, stranded eight runners and wasted an opportunity to keep the Phillies at bay. The Mets have lost 3 of their last 4 against the Marlins and are only 3-7 in their last 10 games.

EAST	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	ROAD	RS	RA	STRK	L10
NY Mets	84	68	.553	-	40-34	44-34	744	686	Lost 1	3-7
Philadelphia	83	70	.542	1.5	43-32	40-38	848	791	Won 1	7-3

Phillies Win As Mets Drop 5th In A Row

The Philadelphia Phillies 14th inning win over the St. Louis Cardinals and another New York Mets loss to the Washington Nationals allowed the Phils to gain another game in the battle for the NL East. The Phillies are now only 1.5 games back after being as much as 6 games back on September 10th.

The Phillies won a 14 inning marathon in which Cole Hamels made his first start since coming off the DL. Hamels threw 54 pitches over the course of 3 innings. He gave up 3 runs on 5 hits while striking out 2 and walking 1. Hamels next scheduled start will be September 23rd against the Washington Nationals.

Jayson Werth has been a surprise catalyst for the Phillies sudden resurgence. In August Werth had a ridiculous .414 batting average to go along with 3 home runs and 19 RBI's. In last night's game Werth had two triples and 3 RBI's, including 2 on a triple that sealed the win. During this current month of September, Werth is batting .302 with a team leading 15 RBI's.

The Phillies have a chance tonight to complete the sweep of the slumping Cardinals and with the cooperation of the Mets, could possibly be only a half game back.

EAST	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	ROAD	RS	RA	STRK	L10
NY Mets	83	67	.553	-	40-34	43-33	729	674	Lost 5	4-6
Philadelphia	82	69	.543	1.5	43-32	39-37	840	783	Won 6	8-2

Phillies Move Within 2.5 Games Of The Mets

Rookie Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Kyle Kendrick picked up his 9th win of the season as the Phillies almost blow a 11 run lead in a 13-11 win against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Aaron Rowand and Ryan Howard both hit 2 home runs, including a grand slam by Howard in the 6th inning. Rowand, who is making it more evident that the Phillies re-sign him, now has 26 home runs on the season while Howard increased his total to 40.

Once again the bullpen for the Phillies almost gave away the game but luckily the bleeding stopped after Kane Davis came in. Francisco Rosario picked up his 1st save of the season last night.

The Phillies continue their 3 game series with the Cardinals tonight. Cole Hamels, making his first appearance since coming off the disabled list, takes the mound against the Cardinals Todd Wellemeyer.

With their win the Phillies have moved within 2.5 games of the first place New York Mets who were handily beaten by cellar dweller, Washington Nationals 12-4.

East Coast Bias- September 17, 2007

JASON MISH IS BACK!!

Today's Headlines

- NFL Rundown - Week 2

- College Football Rundown

- MLB Awards Predictions

- The Weekly Phil


On tap for the September 17th podcast of East Coast Bias we start with a rundown of all the NFL games on Sunday plus the preview of the Monday Night game, Eagles vs. Redskins. We then review the week that was in College Football with a roundup of the action in the Top 25. We hand out the hardware as we predict baseball regular season awards in our third segment and end the show with the crowd-pleaser, The Weekly Phil.

Hindsight Is 20/20: MLB Free Agent Flops and Gems

The Three Biggest Free Agent Flops

• Barry Zito – San Francisco Giants

Oh how the mighty have fallen. It's hard to imagine that this kid won the Cy Young in 2002. Not since his Cy Young year has Barry Zito won more than 16 games. He has posted double digit losses now for 5 consecutive seasons and posted an ERA over 3.80 four of the last five years. Enough about his past, let's get into more of “What have you done for me lately?” Well.......not much. After signing a 7 year contract worth a ridiculous $126 million dollars, Zito has accumulated a record of 9-12 with a 4.46 ERA. I'm pretty sure San Francisco management was expecting a bit more than what Zito has been giving them. I stressed this in an article I wrote before about Zito, he isn't a #1 starter. He relished the role of pitching behind [[Tim Hudson]] and [[Mark Mulder]]. He just doesn't have enough confidence in himself or his stuff to be an effective #1 starter.

• Adam Eaton– Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies traded him away in 1999 after spending their 11th overall pick on him in 1996. The most wins he ever had in a season? 11 (twice) He has never posted an ERA lower than 4.08 and never pitched more than 200 innings. The Philadelphia Phillies, in their infinite wisdom, handed him a 3 year deal worth $24 million dollars. You know, because that makes sense. He is only making $2 million less than Barry Zito this year and has managed to be a fantastic disappointment. He is 9-9, sporting a 6.31 ERA, and has more earned runs than strikeouts. What a great investment. The last thing I read on a Phillies message board about Adam Eaton? “Can that a**hole please run into a knife?” I think that pretty much sums up whatever everyone thinks about him who's a Phillies fan.

• Jason Schmidt – Los Angeles Dodgers‎

Holy crap. The last two guys I mentioned have at least appeared in more than 6 games this season. Jason Schmidt is making $15.7 million dollars this season and has won one game...one. The Los Angeles Dodgers signed this guy in hopes that he would be their number one starter and instead has become best friends with the Dodgers trainer. Jason is 1-4 with a 6.31 ERA and has pitched a whopping 25 innings. In his six starts he got out of the 5 th inning once. This is the second time in his career that Schmidt has undergone season-ending shoulder surgery. BREAKING NEWS: [[Mike Schmidt]] is not related to Jason Schmidt and has pitched the same amount of innings Jason has since June 16th.


Honorable Mention

• J.D. Drew - .264 BA / 8 HR / 51 RBI / Salary $14.4 million

• Julio Lugo - .241 BA / 6 HR / 69 RBI / Salary $8.25 million

• Mike Mussina - 5.28 ERA / 9-10 Record / .314 BAA / Salary $11 million

The Three Biggest Free Agent Gems

• Dmitri Young – Washington Nationals

Signed a minor league contract with Nationals, is making $500,000, and sports the 6 th best batting average in the National League. A cast off from the Tigers after he assaulted his wife and went through substance abuse problems, Young has become one of the good stories in baseball. Dmitri has accumulated 38 doubles, 13 home runs, and 73 runs batted in this season. Selected to the all-star team for 2 nd time in his career, Young is batting .314 with runners in scoring position and leads his team in BA, OPS, and OBP. The Nationals have rewarded the soon to be Comeback Player of the Year with a 2 year extension worth $10 million dollars. A deserving reward for a player who was on the brink of ruining his baseball career.

• Carlos Pena- Tampa Bay Devil Rays

Pena hadn't played more than 100 games since 2004 and had only 33 at-bats last year when shared time with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. No one was really interested in Carlos when he hit the free agent market but the Tampa Bay Devil Rays gave him a shot, and boy has it paid off. Pena is currently earning $800,000 dollars and in the top 5 in the American League in HR (39), BB (86), SLG% (.613), RBI (111), and finally in OPS (1.013). Consider that [[Jason Giambi]] has been on the DL and is currently making $23 million dollars while batting .243 with 14 home runs, maybe the [[New York Yankees]] should have kept Pena around? Realistically though, no one saw this coming. Before this season Pena never had more than 116 hits in a season, an average over .253, or an on base percentage over .338. (based on seasons with >100AB) I can guarantee you though that the Devil Rays aren't complaining.

• Ted Lilly - Chicago Cubs

Unlike the last two guys I mentioned Lilly is being paid big bucks ($10 million over 4 years) but unlike the three pitchers I mentioned in my free agent flops, Lilly has been solid. He showed promise during just one season in Toronto in which he was 15-13 with a 4.31 ERA and has only gotten better with the Cubs. He is currently rocking a 15-7 record to go along with a 3.85 ERA. Lilly is on pace to set career highs in innings pitched, wins, strikeouts, and games started. Lilly is leading the Cubs in quality starts (18), WHIP (1.15), and ERA (3.85). The 31-year old has always been a solid 3 rd or 4 th starter but this year is really becoming a rock as the Cubs 2nd starter behind fire baller [[Carlos Zambrano]]. Without this guy the Chicago Cubs would certainly not be fighting for a playoff spot.


Honorable Mention

• Matt Stairs - .307 BA / 19 HR / 59 RBI / Salary $850,000

• Mark DeRosa - .288 BA / 9 HR / 69 RBI / Salary $2.75 million

• Sammy Sosa - .255 BA / 20 HR / 88 RBI / Salary $500,000

The Phillies Complete The Sweep

The Philadelphia Phillies, who at one point were 7 games back of the New York Mets in the NL East, have now closed that to 2 games. With this sweep the Phillies lead the season series 9 to 6. A combination of a healthy Chase Utley (who had the game winning hit last night) and a healthy bullpen were the catalysts. It doesn't hurt either when Pat Burrell hits 4 home runs during the series. Of course, the question on every Phillies fans mind is, "Can we keep this up?". A good question indeed.

The rest of the way the Phillies play some tough opponents. Teams the Phillies will play that are in the playoff hunt include 6 games versus the Atlanta Braves, 4 versus Colorado Rockies, 3 versus the St. Louis Cardinals, and 3 games against the Mets. It certainly will be interesting to see how the Phillies come away from that kind of schedule but after this series Philly fans are actually talking playoffs. PLAYOFFS!

East Coast Bias - August 13, 2007

Today's Headlines

- Tiger Gets Lucky 13th Major

- Yankees Playoff Chances

- Breakout Players in the NFL in 07'

The Weekly Phil

- Phillies Win Braves Series : Eagles First Preseason Game


On today's show we discuss the PGA Championship and Tiger's victory at Southern Hills. We move to the diamond to talk about the Yankees playoff hopes. Brendan and I pick some breakout players to watch for in the upcoming NFL season. And finally, we wrap the show up with The Weekly Phil.

East Coast Bias - August 3, 2007

Today's Headlines

- MLB Rundown:

Yankees, AL Central Race, Braves

- NFL Training Camp News:

Strahan, Moss, and Culpepper

The Weekly Phil

- Eagles Training Camp

- Phillies Wild Card Chances


On the podcast today, we start with news from Major League Baseball. We discuss the Yankees wild card hopes, the Indians-Tigers race, and the trade deadlines moves of the Braves. We then switch to the gridiron and get into some of the big stories from the NFL for our next topic. Strahan's possible retirement, Moss's fit with the Patriots, and Culpepper signing with the Raiders are the topics we debate. And finally, Brendan and I talk Eagles/Phillies news in a segment we like to call The Weekly Phil.

East Coast Bias - July 27, 2007

Today's Headlines

- Vick Goes to Court

- Goodell, Selig, or Stern, who would you rather be?

- MLB Trade Deadline Talk

The Weekly Phil

- Chase Utley's Injury


On today's show, we start with the ongoing Mike Vick drama and his first appearance in court. We then talk about the issues Commissioners' Goodell, Selig, and Stern are facing, and we pick which commissioner we would rather be right now. Then we discuss the upcoming MLB Trade Deadline and some possible buyers and sellers. Finally, we end with The Weekly Phil where we talk about the devastating injury to Chase Utley.

Chase Utley Suffers Broken Hand

In the Philadelphia Phillies 7-6 loss to the Washington Nationals, Chase Utley suffered a broken hand after being hit by a pitch. Utley was hit in the 5th inning by Nationals pitcher John Lannan. The iron man actually finished the game, going 2-4, but received the bad news after getting an x-ray. Chase Utley has been a rock for the Phillies this season, batting .336 with 17 homers and 82 RBIs. It is likely Utley could miss up to a month but was quoted saying, "I think it will be sooner than that." Let's hope...

East Coast Bias - July 23, 2007

Today's Headlines

- Dramatic British Open Final Round

- NBA "Referee Watergate"

Countdown to Kickoff

- NFC North Division

Weekly Phil

- Phillies Take Padres Series

- "The Executioner" Retains Light Heavyweight Title


On the podcast for July 23rd, we start with the dramatic ending to the British Open and whether Garcia lost or Harrington won the Championship. Then we talk about the scandal in the NBA with referee Tim Donaghy's alleged involvement in betting on games. We continue our Countdown to Kickoff segment with a preview of the NFC North. And finally, we end the show with The Weekly Phil, were we discuss the Phils and the Hopkins fight.

East Coast Bias - July 9, 2007

Today's Headlines

- Wimbledon Wrap Up

- Midseason MLB Awards

Countdown to Kickoff: Division by Division

- NFC East Preview

The Weekly Phil

- 10,000 Loses for the Phillies


East Coast Bias's July 9th episode begins with our wrap up of Wimbledon. We move to the diamond were we hand out our Midseason Awards for the Big Leagues. Then we debut our newest segment called Countdown to Kickoff: Division by Division. We will be previewing all of the NFL Divisions one by one, and this week we start with the NFC East. Finally, we do The Weekly Phil and discuss the eminent 10,000th loss by the Phillies.

East Coast Bias - July 2, 2007

Today's Headlines

- NBA Free Agency

- All Star Starters/All Star Snubs

- Mike Hargrove's Resignation from Mariners

- MLB Power Rankings

Weekly Segment

The Weekly Phil

- Phillies Second-Half Hopes


On today's podcast we begin with NBA free agency talk, including some of the top free agents. We then discuss the players selected to the 2007 MLB All-Star Game and players who got snubbed from the team. Mike Hargrove's stunning resignation, and our MLB Power Rankings are the next topics. And finally we end with The Weekly Phil were we talk about the Phillies second-half of the season chances.

East Coast Bias- June 18, 2007

Today's Headlines

- The U.S. Open and Cabrera's Victory

- NBA Draft Breakdown

- New York Mets Collapsing


Weekly Segment

- The Weekly Phil (Philly Sports Talk)


In today's podcast, Brendan and I discuss the U.S. Open and whether it was fair to the players. Also we breakdown the upcoming NBA Draft with talk on the best of the best, after Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. We then delve into Major League Baseball by discussing the recent Mets slide. Finally we wrap up the show with our new segment called The Weekly Phil, where we talk Phillies and Eagles news.