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It's still early in the season, right?   With another opponent on the horizon, the Phillies will attempt to show that they aren't as bad as their 5-9 record would indicate.  Based on winning percentage, there's only one team (Pittsburgh) in the National League that has a worse record than the Phils. The Mets (9-11) come to town and will open a three-game series beginning on Friday at Citizens Bank Park.  Friday, 7:05pm.  Jacob deGrom (2-0, 2.45 ERA) vs. Spencer Howard (0-1, 7.71 ERA).  In 15 career starts against the Phillies the right-handed deGrom has a 7-1 record with a 2.23 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP.  In seven starts at CBP deGrom has a 3-0 record with two complete games.  Bryce Harper is 10-for-34 (.294 average) with two home runs in his career when facing deGrom.  The righty Howard, the Phillies' top ranked prospect headed into each of the past two seasons, made his big league debut last weekend, giving up four earned runs in 4 2/3 innin...

For the second straight year, Williamsport, PA, home of the Little League World Series and the Phillies Class A short-season affiliate, will host a big league contest know as the MLB Little League Classic. On Sunday night at 7 PM, the Phillies are slated to host the Mets at historic BB&T Ballpark at historic Bowman Field. Prior to the prime time contest, which will be broadcast nationally on ESPN, the big league players will also attend the Little League World Series games earlier in the day, where they'll have the opportunity to interact with players and fans alike. The Little League World Series is an international tournament for children aged 10 to 12, held each year in Williamsport.   Professional baseball dates back to 1926 at the Bowman Field venue, while the Crosscutters have been affiliated with the Phils since 2007. This weekend I heard from the director of media relations for Little League International, Kevin Fountain, who offered the following nuggets of...

Ryan Howard, image- Jay Floyd In a series that will wrap up the fifth straight season in which the Phillies (70-89) have failed to reach the postseason, the host club will likely see a division rival clinch a playoff berth on their home turf. The Phils will host the Mets (85-74), who hold a magic number of two to lock down a National League Wild Card spot, for a three-game set beginning Friday night. With the Mets in the driver's seat to be able to punch their own ticket toward the postseason, the Phils will counter with something remarkable of their own, when they honor former NL Most Valuable Player and three-time All-Star Ryan Howard with a pre-game presentation on Sunday. The 36-year-old is playing his last days in a Phillies uniform as the team reportedly plans a buy out of their option on the veteran for next season. The lefty slugger has been in the Phils' organization since the team made him their 5th round draft choice back in 2001. The Mets have been vic...

The Mets (28-41) visit Citizens Bank Park this weekend to begin a three-game series with the division rival Phillies (35-38). In the series opener, New York righty Jeremy Hefner , who allowed seven earned runs without recording an out in a start against the Phils last September 20th, will take the mound for the visitors, while lefty Cole Hamels , who is tied for the big league lead in losses with 10, will try to get on the winning track. Read ahead for full details on the pitching match ups and other key stats for this series.  Friday, 7:05 PM.  Jeremy Hefner (1-6, 3.96 ERA) vs. Cole Hamels (2-10, 4.40 ERA).   In four career games against the Phils, Hefner is 1-2 with a 15.68 ERA and a .448 batting average against.  Hefner has a 1-3 record along with a 5.14 ERA in seven road games this season.  Ryan Howard is 3-for-3 in his career against Hefner. In 22 career games against the Mets, Hamels has a 6-10 record with a 4.20 ERA.  One of Hamels' w...

It's Memorial Day, so here's an abbreviated edition of the typical PhoulBallz series preview, focused on the pitching match ups for the upcoming three-game set between the Phillies and the Metropolitans. Monday 1:10 PM.  Cole Hamels (7-1, 2.17 ERA) vs. Jonathan Niese (3-2, 4.29 ERA).  In his last 8 starts, Hamels is 7-0 with a 1.89 ERA.  Hamels has a 4-10 record with a 4.33 ERA in 18 career starts against the Mets.  In 7 career starts at Citi Field, Hamels is 1-4 with a 4.43 ERA.  Niese is 1-0 with a 3.79 ERA and a .186 batting average against.  In 10 career starts against the Phillies, Niese is 4-4 with a 3.58 ERA. Placido Polanco is 11-for-26 (.423 avg) with 5 doubles in his career against Niese. Tuesday, 7:10 PM.  Joe Blanton (4-4, 4.55 ERA) vs. Jeremy Hefner (0-2, 6.17 ERA). In 10 career starts against the Mets, Blanton has a 3-1 record with a 3.71 ERA.  Blanton has allowed 13 earned runs in 8 2/3 innings (13.49 ERA) in his l...

In recent years, the Phillies have acquired elite talent, adding Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt in separate blockbuster trades. The packages of players sent away to make those deals all included highly ranked prospects. Fans and experts alike presume the Phillies have depleted their system of prospects with the amount top minor league players traded in those deals. That's far from true, as many individuals currently in Philadelphia's developmental system have proven worthy of high recognition. If the Phillies are going to put together similar groups of players to add a key contributor at the big league level again this season, they'll surely need to send away more ascending young talent. In order to understand what type of package the Phillies would be required to deal, it's important to look at what they gave up in those previous trades. Cleveland/Lee trade...July, 2009- RHP Jason Knapp, IF Jason Donald, C Lou Marson, RHP Carlos Carrasco. Knapp was the young...

Plagued by a wave of injuries, the Phillies return home to face division rival New York in a three-game series. Starting pitcher Joe Blanton, who was originally slated to face the Mets (11-14) in the series opener, was placed on the disabled list on Thursday with a right elbow impingement. 23-year-old righty Vance Worley has been recalled to take Blanton's turn for the Phillies (16-8). The Phillies have quite a collection of players already on the disabled list, with the likes of Chase Utley, Domonic Brown, JC Romero, Brad Lidge and Jose Contreras already missing time. It remains to be seen if Carlos Ruiz will be added to that collection, as the Phils' catcher left his last game early with a back injury. For game one of the weekend series, the Mets will counter with Mike Pelfrey, who has allowed 20 earned runs in 12 innings pitched (15.00 ERA) over his last 3 starts at Citizens Bank Park. Read ahead for details on each of the pitching match ups for this series and much more i...

I guess this is news because of who said it. The statement itself is certainly not news to any of us. National League Championship Series MVP and World Series MVP Cole Hamels appeared on a New York radio show on Thursday, and when asked if the Mets are choke artists, he confirmed it. Colbert told one of the WFAN radio hosts, "That’s kind of what we believe and I think we’re going to always believe it until they prove us wrong." He went on to add, "Yeah, for the past two years they’ve been choke artists." The statement is undeniable. I am sure Mets players wouldn't object, if they were asked the same thing. But leave it to the sports media to try and bleed a story out of the Phillies/Mets rivalry. **Breaking news this morning** Raul Ibanez and the Phillies have agreed on a three year contract. This all but gives Pat Burrell a nice pat on the bottom on his way out of town. Ibanez, will get a 3 yr, $30 million contract. Ibanez's numbers are similar to, or bett...

Two days into the winter meetings in Las Vegas NV, and the Phillies' have made no additions. On day #2, the Phils retained the services of their manager, Charlie Manuel, for an extra season. Charlie's club option for 2010 will be picked up, and Manuel was extended through 2011. Manuel's 2009 salary will be $1.5 million, and just about double that by 2011. Day 1 of the winter meetings was fairly uneventful in Vegas, at least as far as the team roster and staff goes. There was some fun had here at home though. 2007 NL MVP Jimmy Rollins attended the live World Wrestling Entertainment program Monday Night Raw at the Wachovia Center, where he was seated in the front row. A WWE star nicknamed "MVP", Montel Vontavious Porter, targeted Rollins with a Philadelphia diss-filled rant that saw Porter claim he was a real MVP, unlike the fluke J-Roll. Porter also claimed to be better than Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. It was a classic heel tirade. Insult the home crowd...

The Phillies are 2008 NL East Division Champions! Maybe you've heard that already, though. Phormer Phillie Wes Helms hit a homerun on Sunday, for the Marlins, that ended the Metropolitans' season. I like it when that happens. Brett Myers promised that the Phillies will not go "3 and out" this post season. I would like it if that happened. TBS and/or MLB have switched the Phillies game 2 of the division series to a 6pm start time on Thursday. Wednesday's game one is slated for 3pm. No huge pep rally in center city for the Phillies this year. Out of respect for Philadelphia police officer, Patrick McDonald, who was killed last week while on duty, the Phillies have elected to not burden the police dept. with additional duties this week. McDonald's wake and funeral will take place Monday and Tuesday. A smaller event will take place beginning 3 hours prior to game 1, on Citizens Bank Way. Details are forthcoming.

The Phillies completed a four game SWEEP of the the Brew Crew (by pounding Milwaukee pitcher, Jeff Suppan) on Sunday, the day rally towels returned to Philadelphia. Add to that some help from divisional rivals beating the Mets down, the Phillies have taken a lead in the playoff race. First, it was a tie for the Wild card lead, and after a win to start this week's series in Atlanta, the division lead. A glance at the key competition: The Brewers are now 3-12 in September, and have fired their manager, Ned Yost. The Metropolitans have lost 4 of their past 5 games. And after starting the month on fire, the Astros have scored just 2 runs in their past 3 games, including a no-hitter thrown on Sunday, by Carlos Zambrano of the Cubs. Statement to ponder: Big time NL awards will be in the future for two Phillies this year. The league most valuable player award could reside in Philadelphia for a third straight year, as Ryan Howard makes a huge late season push for this honor. Howard, is s...