Over the past few seasons, August and September have been very successful months for the Phillies. They will need that trend to continue this year as they find themselves in the unfamiliar position of being in second place. Considering the plethora of injuries and the fact that their opening day lineup has only seen the field 7 times this year, they’re lucky to find themselves only 1.5 games back. Having won 13 of 15 and playing their next ten at home, the Phils are prime to make a move right now. The key, however, will be keeping the Braves in close enough striking distance until Howard and Utley make their return.
Uncle Charlie has done a masterful job managing these Phils the past few years, but this may very well be his best so far, as he’s been forced to mix and match with bench players that have been unexpectedly called into starting duties.

Here are the 3 biggest keys to the Phillies making a fourth straight postseason appearance……

1) The Bullpen-The pen has been by far the Phillies biggest issue of late, especially with the struggles of J.C. Romero. Romero is the Phils only left handed option right now and he’s not simply not getting it done. If Manuel continues to put him in key spots late in games, the Phils are in trouble. The return of Ryan Madson and Chad Durbin has helped, and Lidge has been pitching well of late. But I think you’d be hard pressed to find a Phillies fan that says they’re comfortable with Brad “lights on” Lidge as the anchor of this bullpen. Manuel will continue to go with matchups late in games, even if it means using multiple pitchers in the 9th.

2-Howard/Utley return from DL- Jimmy Rollins may make this team go, but the Phillies are simply not the same without the big man in the middle of the order. Luckily, Werth and Ibanez have turned it on as of late, and the Phillies have done a nice job manufacturing runs recently without the home run ball.

3-Roy, Roy and Cole- The big three at the top of the rotation need to continue to pitch like they’re capable if the Phillies want to keep this division close heading into September. Without their starting pitching this year, the Phils might be 10 games out by now. Halladay and Hamels have both pitched better than their records indicate, but they’ve given the Phils a chance to win virtually every single one of their starts this season. Kendrick had a rough April and early May, but has been their most consistent starter after Halladay and Hamels since then.

They’re certainly in a good position to make another run, but we all know the Braves won’t be easy to catch this year, as they are playing inspired baseball for their legendary skipper, Bobby Cox.

by James at the Sports Fan Blog Network

Many signs can be pointed as to why the Phillies are struggling. For the most part, their bullpen has been solid. The starting rotation has been shaky. While Roy Halladay has been great, and Cole Hamels has been decent, the rest have not been too good. But with J.A. Happ eventually coming back, and likely bringing Pedro Martinez back, the starting rotation will get better.

But three men, along with the Jimmy Rollins’s injury are responsible for the Phillies lackluster batting. Chase Utley, Shane Victorino, and Raul Ibanez are all batting over 30 points below their career batting average. This could be expected from Ibanez, as he got a severe injury last year, and is climbing up there in age. With Rollins gone, Victorino is the leadoff hitter. A .250 batting average in the leadoff spot will simply not cut it.

For someone that has a .293 career average, a .260 average for Utley is not very good. He is usually the most consistent hitter for the Phillies, and gets on base for Howard to knock him in. With these three struggling, it has taken a toll on the Philadelphia lineup. The three of them are a combined 100 points below their career batting averages. We can only hope it improves. If not, the Phillies could be watching the playoffs on TV.

by David at the Sports Fan Blog Network

Tuesday night, the Philadelphia Phillies lost for the eighth time in ten games. While the National League favorites struggles are surprising enough, the fact that it is mostly due to their offense is shocking. Over the past two years, the Phillies offense has been a juggernaut. The club led the NL in runs in 2009 and were third in that category in 2008. This year, the Phillies rank eleventh in runs scored in the National League as they have seen the Braves move ahead of them in the standings in the NL East. Over the past ten games, the Phillies have scored just 13 runs and have been shut out five times.

While I expect the Phillies offense to get on track because that lineup is just too talented, there has to be a little concern in Philadelphia. Jimmy Rollins has been unable to stay healthy this year and they have not gotten much production from his replacement Juan Castro. If the Phillies are going to make a third straight trip to the World Series this fall, they must get a healthy and productive Jimmy Rollins back into the lineup. He is the catalyst for that offense and sets the table for Ryan Howard and Chase Utley.

As a Phillies fan, there is no way I would rather have Cliff Lee than Roy Halladay right now. Both are starting off the season well, but Halladay was clearly a good acquisition. Plus, by only giving him a 3-year extension, the Phillies got themselves out of a possible mess a few years down the line. And, Lee stated in the past that he would be looking for a free agent deal similar to what C.C. Sabathia landed with the New York Yankees. Yes, it would be crazy to give that to Lee. But should the Phillies have kept Lee, and had both him and Halladay?

The answer to that question is simply, yes. Right now, except for Roy Halladay, Philadelphia has a very shaky pitching situation. Cole Hamels can go from looking like an ace to a scrub within a one-week change. Jamie Moyer looks like he will be playing forever, but not in a good way. J.A. Happ has been hurt, and Kyle Kendrick shouldn’t even be in the big leagues. If Cliff Lee was on this team, that would be a surreal 1-2 punch. Even though he would leave in the off-season, that would be an incredible World Series push. Once players such as Howard and Utley get old, this team will go through a rebuilding face. So depleting the farm system to have both Halladay and Lee on this team would have been worth it. Philadelphia has one ace, but two aces beats one.

by David at the Sports Fan Blog Network

By the ninth inning, Phillies fans were preparing for the worst.


The New York Yankees were at it again, chipping away at a dwindling lead and threatening to take away the Phils’ World Series title right there at Citizens Bank Park.

Desperate to hang on, somehow Chase Utley and the Phillies did. Derek Jeter grounded into a double play, Mark Teixeira struck out, and Philadelphia staved off the Yankees and elimination with an 8-6 win in Game 5 on Monday night.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

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The atmosphere resembled a playoff game from last season’s road to the Phillies’ first World Series title in 28 years.
With the sellout crowd of 44,828 on Sunday night at Citizens Bank Park buzzing much of the game, the Phillies held on for a thrilling 3-2 victory over the Braves to take two of three in the crucial series. Philadelphia now holds a commanding eight-game advantage over Atlanta and Florida in the National League East.

Chase Utley and Carlos Ruiz provided the offense and Joe Blanton gave the Phillies another solid start.

The Phillies played stellar defense all night and Brad Lidge secured his second straight 1-2-3 save for his 27th save in 36 opportunities. He seems to have regained much of his form when he was able to go 48-for-48 in save chances last season, including 7-for-7 in the postseason.


Click here to read the full article – By Andy Jasner of MLB.com

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Below are links to memorabilia available for Chase Utley.

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Brad Lidge couldn’t contain the excitement many of his teammates felt Wednesday.

Lee boosted a rotation that has pitched much better recently. The Phillies also got outfielder Ben Francisco, who improved a bench that needed a right-handed bat. Combine an improved rotation and bench with the best offense and one of the best defenses in the National League, and the Phillies could be considered favorites to reach the World Series once more.

Click here to read the full article – By Todd Zolecki of MLB.com

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The home runs keep on coming. So do the home wins.

Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez all hit two-run shots Sunday, and Joe Blanton extended his two months of dominance, as the Phillies beat the Cardinals, 9-2, for their fifth straight series victory at Citizens Bank Park. With a 5-2 homestand, the Phillies improved to a season-high 16 games over .500. They have won 14 of their past 16 in Philadelphia and have 138 home runs, by far the most in the National League. Colorado is second with 113 through Saturday.

Click here to read the full article – By David Gurian-Peck of MLB.com

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Cubs starter Ted Lilly almost wiggled out of a tough first-inning jam.

With men on second and third, first baseman Derrek Lee made a nice stab on Chase Utley’s hard grounder, checking the runners before stepping on the bag. Ryan Howard struck out. Raul Ibanez was down to his final strike. Then Lilly left a 2-2 fastball down the middle of the plate. Ibanez crushed it.

Click here to read the full article – By David Gurian-Peck of MLB.com

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To repeat, first-place club’s starting pitching must improve

The Phillies enter the second half of their season Thursday in Florida in first place in the National League East. In many ways, it is easy to see why. They have one of the best offenses in baseball and have played great defense. Five of their everyday players earned a spot on the National League All-Star team: Chase Utley, Raul Ibanez, Ryan Howard, Shane Victorino and Jayson Werth. It was just the fifth time in franchise history the Phillies had five players at the All-Star Game.

Click here to read the full article – By Todd Zolecki of MLB.com

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