Phightins

As of this second, I'd say so. If he isn't #1, he is #2.

Another series win and an 8 game lead with 14 to play. Magic number down to 6.

Really random, and I know that this probably is not the place to ask, but I have been wondering why Ilya is still in your avy/sig?

Kolb has literally been the only bright spot today. I don't think too many Eagles fans saw that coming lol.

Ugh. Time to get back to the drawing board for next week. Drew Brees is unreal.

Oh man....that would have been very nice. Oh well, it's still a ball game but we would have been in awesome shape had that been held up.

Great catch by Avant.

Don't bring that up with me. I have never done anything like that. All of my interactions with you have been you telling me to get hooked on phonics, or you just generally talking down about Philadelphia fans. So save it, please.

Finally Ellis Hobbs does something productive.

It seems like every post you make regarding a Philadelphia team consists of you talking down to "those silly Philadelphia fans" or however you put it. It is pretty old. And obviously they are beatable. They have given up 31 points today. Granted, horrible special teams, some bad penalties, and a couple brutal calls have put them into some bad situations, but this game has gotten out of hand.

Can you stop acting like the second coming of Christ and get off your high horse for just one post? Brees is simply amazing. The Eagles D is not the first he has torn apart. And how anybody can blame Kolb for this is beyond me. He has gotten no help. The D has been torn to shreds, special teams has been 110% brutal, and penalties all over the place. Kolb has only made two bad decisions that I can remember.

Not that we didn't know this was coming, but Kolb is officially starting lol.

He could not locate any of his breaking pitches tonight. Not sure if this was a result of overusing his arm last week in the 130 pitch game, who knows. He threw a couple 0-2 breaking balls that broke right over the center of the plate and they all got hit, which is what led to the runs being scored in the 2nd and 3rd. Also apparently he hurt his neck swinging the bat in the 2nd, so maybe that was contributing as well, who knows. Oh well, we still have a 7 game lead with 15 to play. Pretty good shape I'd say.

Couple bright spots to come out of this game. Clay Condrey finally got into a game, and looked pretty sharp. We need as many healthy bodies in that bullpen as possible. Also, Sergio Escalona came into a lefty-specialist situation and got Brian McCann out. If the playoffs were to start today, I'd bet that Escalona is on the roster. There is so much uncertainty about Eyre and Romero right now. Also, down 6-0 going into the ninth, they scored 4 and brought the go-ahead run to the plate against a very tough pitcher in Rafael Soriano. That is why it is so easy for me to love this team, even in defeat. They play with so much heart. Pedro Martinez left the game with a stiff neck. Did not really look serious so hopefully he is alright.

Pedro done after 3 with some sort of injury. Hooray.

I can. Pedro has been great but it still remains to be seen how his arm will hold up. He threw 130 pitches on Sunday, and 100+ the start prior. Since he got a late start he is currently in the equivalent to mid-May or so. In the next couple weeks we should find out exactly how much his arm can take with all that mileage and the recent rotator cuff surgery. If he reverts back to his 2008 form where we can only get 5 innings out of him, there is no way he can start in the postseason. But obviously if he keeps pitching like he has and can get deep into the game, he will clearly be in the postseason rotation.

Add Ryan Howard to the injury list. He was hit by a pitch and stayed in the game, but his arm apparently got very sore and stiff after the game. He will probably be fine tomorrow but it's still up in the air. Also Happ is fine, they just took him out of the game for precautionary reasons.

26 games over .500 for the first time since 1993, and an 8 game lead with 16 to play (up 9 in the loss column). The injury bug bit pretty bad tonight though. Happ appeared to have re-aggravated his oblique injury, but Kyle Kendrick saved the day and pitched four scoreless innings in relief. I have been shocked at how effective Kendrick has been, but I certainly hope Happ is alright. Also, Carlos Ruiz sprained his wrist. This is REALLY concerning, he is absolutely the unsung hero of this team and it will be difficult to survive without him.

Haha, just as I post that I hear that Bruins fans are very upset. Oh well, what do I know lol.

Bruins did pretty well there too. I know ECN will have an opinion on this and can correct me if I am wrong, but Kessel struck me as being very inconsistent despite all that talent. I'd say three high draft picks is a very solid return for him.

Matchups for Braves series: Tonight: JA Happ vs. Tim Hudson Tomorrow: Pedro Martinez vs. Javier Vazquez Sunday: Cliff Lee vs. Tommy Hanson This should be a tough series. The Phillies could deliver Atlanta the knock out blow, so you know the Braves will be fighting hard. We are facing three very tough pitchers too. It is nice to have Happ back though.

Favorite NFL Team: Philadelphia Eagles Favorite Player All-Time: Brian Dawkins Favorite Current Offensive Player: Desean Jackson Favorite Current Defensive Player: Trent Cole Favorite Moment: Super Bowl Jersey's Owned: Duce Staley, Donovan McNabb, Terrell Owens, Lito Sheppard, Shawn Andrews Number of Games Been to: Preseason game w/ Diesel, would go to more if tickets weren't so damn hard to come by. Players Met: Jon Runyan on the train last night haha. Also saw Winston Justice at a Yankees game but Diesel was the only one who actually talked to him.

Werth is a free agent next year, Ibanez in 2 years, and Victorino still in arbitration years and is under team control until after 2011 (although I expect them to lock him up long term this winter). I think Taylor will be used as trade bait since he's a bit older and is MLB ready right now, but Brown will be kept around as the heir apparent to Werth/Ibanez.

Brown is going to be amazing, but he won't get a shot for another two years unless Victorino or Werth are traded. Once Ibanez is gone, Brown is the left fielder, barring anything unexpected between now and then. Drabek clearly has top of the rotation stuff. I have heard him compared to Tom Seaver, but the issue with him will be staying healthy. Also from what I hear he is a class-A douche bag, and I know that will not fly on this team. I think they want him to start next season in AAA, and with all of the starting pitching depth at the Major League level there is no reason to rush him along. As for Taylor, he is probably MLB ready right now but clearly there is no spot for him on the big league roster. I view him as trade bait since his value is super high right now.

In this "Scoscia vs. Girardi" debate, team payroll is 100% irrelevant. The manager has no control over that. All they can do is work with the roster they are given, and in both cases, their teams are amazing on paper. If you are going to use that fact to disqualify Girardi, shouldn't the same go for Scoscia?