Home Runs Put Title Within Reach

Chicks dig the long ball, so chicks have to dig the Phillies. Led by Ryan Howard's 48 regular season bombs, the Phillies hit a National League-leading 214 home runs. Only the Chicago White Sox (235) hit more home runs this season. Last night the Tampa Rays felt the full brunt of Howard and the Phillies power.

The Phillies blasted their way to a 10-2 victory to take a commanding 3 games to 1 lead in the World Series. Howard hit a pair of blasts, and pitcher Joe Blanton and right fielder Jayson Werth each hit one as the Phillies knocked around Rays starter Andy Sonnanstine and the Tampa bullpen.

Blanton, meanwhile was marvelous. He limited the Rays to four hits over six innings, allowing a pair of runs. But the biggest ovation he received on the night was when he hit his first major league home run, a solo shot off of Edwin Jackson in the fifth inning that extended the Phillies lead to 6-2. At his teammates insistence, Blanton took a curtain call for the raucous crowd of over 45,000.

The Phillies put the game away in the eighth when Werth followed a double by Jimmy Rollins with a 2-run shot to left-center off of Dan Wheeler. Lefty specialist Trever Miller came on, but he walked Chase Utley and then Howard unloaded his second home run, a tremendous shot to right field.

Sonnanstine was shaky from the start, walking Pat Burrell with the bases loaded to put the Phillies on the board first. The Phillies again failed to break an inning open though, as both Shane Victorino and Pedro Feliz couldn't get another run in.

Moments after Fox praised Aki Iwamura's transition from third to second base, the Japanese veteran booted Utley's grounder to start the third. Howard's single put runners on the corners with no one out, but it appeared the Phillies would fail in the clutch again when Burrell and Victorino both flied out to shallow left. Feliz came through with a big 2-out hit though, singling to left for a 2-0 lead. Carlos Ruiz also singled, but Blanton fouled out to end the threat.

The Rays got on the board in the fourth when Carl Crawford went deep for the second time in the series. But Iwamura's second error, in the bottom of the inning, set the wheels in motion for the game changing play. Utley drew a walk to put two aboard, but Sonnanstine struck out Werth for the first out. With the Rays hoping to turn an inning ending double play, Howard crushed a pitch into the left field seats for a 3-run home run and a 5-1 Phillies lead.

Eric Hinske, who replaced an injured Cliff Floyd on the roster earlier in the day, took Blanton deep in the fourth to cut the margin to 5-2. But Blanton and his teammates continued to impress the chicks and the Phillies fans with their long ball display.


News and Notes

Carlos Pena and Evan Longoria are now a combined 0-29 in the series with 15 strikeouts.

Joe Blanton became the first pitcher in 34 years, since Ken Holtzman in 1974, to hit a home run in the series. He also became the first player to hit his first major league home run in the World Series.

The Phillies were actually 4-14 (.286) with runners in scoring position last night. For the series they are 6-47.

Ryan Howard joined Len Dykstra (1993) as the only Phillies with a multi-HR game in the series.

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Trade Winds Blow into Philly and Phoenix

The Philadelphia Phillies took a major step yesterday to help their chances in the NL East by acquiring Oakland A's right-hander Joe Blanton for 3 prospects. The trade occurred a little over a week after A's GM sent ace Rich Harden to the Chicago Cubs.

The Phillies get a 27-yr old pitcher who already has as many losses this season, 12, as his career worst. But he won 30 games the prior two seasons combined and threw 230 innings last season.

In return the A's get 2nd base prospect Adrian Cardenas, outfielder Matt Spencer, and pitcher Josh Outman.

The Arizona Diamondbacks hoped to boost their offense and their bench, by bring back switch-hitting 1st baseman Tony Clark. To acquire Clark from the San Diego, the Dbacks sent minor league pitcher Evan Scribner to the Padres.

The 36-yr old former Yankee, is hitting just .239-1-11 in 70 games.

There are many blogs out there, some good, some bad, some who just make shit up. We believe that's the case of one MLB rumor blog, who shall remain nameless, who claimed that the Yankees were close to bringing in Barry Bonds. The source was supposedly a clubhouse insider. Needless to say a Yankees official said yesterday that the Yankees had no intention of bringing in Bonds.

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Hump Day Rumors - 7/16 Edition

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the Phillies are taking a serious look at A's starter Joe Blanton. The somewhat portly right-hander has scuffled this season, going 5-12, 4.96 in 20 starts, but is a quality starter.

The Miami Herald reported that the Marlins inquired about their former catcher Ivan Rodriguez, but were rebuffed by the Tigers, who said Pudge II was not available.

Not rumor, but fact, criminal charges have been dropped against Rays reliever Al Reyes after his birthday outburst.

The Mets new Citi Field is likely to be the host of the 2013 All-Star game. Shea Stadium has hosted one game.

The Yankees and Mets are among of handful of teams that are keeping tabs on Freddy Garcia's progress in his rehab from Tommy John surgery.

The Twins have been talking to the Mariners about Adrian Beltre, according to the Star Tribune.

The LA Times reported that K-Rod has nixed further negotiations with the Angels and will test the free agent waters.

The Diamondbacks have talked to the Mariners about Raul Ibanez, says the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

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Giese for Now, Who for Later?

Dan Giese will step into Chien-Ming Wang's cleats (don't hurt yourself) this Saturday (we erroneously reported Sunday yesterday) against the Cincinnati Reds. But the question remains, will it be a long term solution, will the Yankees look inside the organization, or elsewhere. Let's take a look at the option.

Dan Giese: Let's start right with the guy who gets the first crack. Giese was a journeyman who had only appeared in 8 games last season with the Giants. But he blossomed as a starter (4-2, 1.98 in 13 games, 10 starts) this season at Scranton and that earned him the right to be Joba Chamberlain's back up for his first two starts. Now that Joba is ready to go out and throw 90-100 pitches, the plan would have been for Giese to be the long man out of the pen. Wang's injury changed all that.

Internal Options:

That guy incredibly bad import from Japan: We so don't want him back here we won't even mention him by name. But you know who he is and how bad he is. 'nuff said.

Ian Kennedy: Kennedy was tremendous last season, dominating at 3 levels in the minors and getting the notice of fans with an impressive September debut. But this year he has been just plain awful. He already made one very brief trip down to Scranton and then was DL'ed with a Lat injury shortly after his return. This is guy whose confidence has to be shaken right now since he has never had anything other than success prior to this season. At the moment he's a number 5 starter. With Wang out, possibly for the season, the Yankees need better than a number 5.

Dan McCutchen: McCutchen has made just 5 starts at the Triple-A level and from Brian Cashman's comments yesterday, doesn't seem like a viable solution for that precise reason. His numbers at Scranton have been decent (1-4, 3.62 21 K/4 BB) after an outstanding start at Trenton (4-3, 2.55 52 K in 53 IP).

Alan Horne: Horne missed two months of the season with a bicep injury and has thrown only 18.1 innings this season. Cashman won't throw him into the fire.

Jeff Karstens: Karstens is a decent pitcher who can't seem to stay healthy. He looked like he was going to go north with the club out of spring training and got hurt. He was nearly done with his rehab and got hurt. Now he's coming back again, but we already know what he can do and its not fantastic.

Jason Jones: This would be a very long shot. Jones has spent a year and a half at the Double-A level and is having an outstanding season (8-2, 2.30), but Cashman doesn't like to rush the Yankees prospects and is unlikely to pull up a guy who hasn't pitched at Triple-A.

Outside Solutions:

Obviously the biggest name out there is the biggest guy out there, C.C. Sabathia. The left-hander is set to become a free agent after the season and, you would have to think, the Yankees would want a window to negotiate a new contract with him before approving a deal. Indians GM Mark Shapiro is also going to want a bundle for him. Brian Cashman would look foolish if he threw a package of Phil Hughes and others together to get him after turning down a deal for Johan Santana. At worst, the Indians will get 2 draft picks as compensation if Sabathia stays the season and leaves as a free agent.

Ben Sheets: Sheets will turn just 30 this summer, but has spent significant time on the DL. He hasn't made more than 24 starts since 2004. He's missed some time this season already with triceps stiffness. Sheets is off to a great start this season (7-1, 2.42), but the Brewers are scuffling after being in contention all of last season. Sheets will also be a free agent after the season.

Randy Wolf: Another pending free agent who will be starting tonight against the Yankees when the San Diego Padres come to town. The up side is that he's left-handed, the down side is that he's not fantastic. He's got a career ERA of 4.23 (5-4, 3.83 in '08) with all 10 years of major league service in the National League. We've seen how average NL pitchers do in the AL and so it doesn't make sense to us unless you can get him cheap. He also had Tommy John Surgery and missed significant chunks of 2005 and 2006. He also suffered from shoulder soreness last season.

Rich Harden and Joe Blanton: A pair of talented right-handers from Oakland. Harden is a free agent after the season while Blanton can't be a free agent until 2011. He is arbitration eligible. GM Billy Beane would surely command a king's ransom for either pitcher just as he has when he dealt Dan Haren, Mark Mulder, and Tim Hudson in the past. Harden, when healthy is fantastic (4-0, 2.53 67 K in 53.1 IP in '08), but that's a big if. He threw 72.2 innings combined in '06 and '07 and has spent time on the DL this year as well. Blanton has control trouble at times, but is still a very good pitcher. The biggest down side as we mentioned earlier is that Beane would want too many prospects back.

Freddy Garcia: Garcia is sitting at home right now, getting in shape for when the phone rings. He had 7 seasons of 200 or more innings and it seemed to catch up to him last year when he threw just 58 innings due to a shoulder injury. Whether he's got enough left in the tank remains to be seen.

A.J. Burnett: The much embattled, much injured right-hander has worn out his welcome in Toronto. GM J.P. Ricciardi publicly questioned his heart and guts and Burnett recently made comments that he wouldn't mind playing for the Cubs. He then threw grease on the fire by saying he didn't care what the fans reaction to his comments would be. The guy's got talent, no doubt, but his physical problems and mental toughness probably will make Cashman shy away (we already have Carl Pavano). He still has 2 years remaining on a 5-year, $55 million deal, but he can opt out of it after this season, which makes his departure from Toronto even more likely.

Gil Meche: He's in the 2nd year of a 5-year, $55 million deal with the Royals. After having an outstanding season in '07, he's been pretty mediocre this year and the Royals are floundering. His contract really isn't that bad by today's standards and the Royals need someone to put in the seats, so its not likely he would be available.

Erik Bedard: Would seem to be odd for him tobe on the market already, but the Mariners stink and there's a question of just how focused Bedard is on baseball. The Blue Jays were thought to be very interested in him, but have backed off.

There are other names (Jarrod Washburn, Livan Hernandez, Kevin Millwood, etc.) that we are sure will be bandied about, but none really intrigue us. We would give Giese the job for now, but would definitely take a look at how Garcia is progressing, and start making the rounds calling up about guys like Sabathia. With so many teams still in division and wild card hunts though, it's not likely that a major deal would get done too soon.


So what would you do? Please participate in our poll at the top of My Pinstripes.

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Matsui Birthday Slams Athletics

Hideki Matsui likes to hit grand slams in big moments. In his rookie year in 2003 he went deep with the bases loaded on opening day against the Twins and then in first game of the day-night, two fields doubleheader against the Mets. In 2004, there was a grand slam up in Fenway and another against the Mets. He hadn't it another grand slam since, that is until last night when he celebrated his 34th birthday with a grand slam home run that supplied all of the Yankees runs in their 4-1 win over the Oakland Athletics.

Andy Pettitte was pitching beautifully, but the Yankees trailed 1-0 entering the 6th inning. A's starter Joe Blanton had allowed just 3 hits through the first 5 innings and the Yankees had stranded runners in scoring position in two of them. 2nd baseman Mark Ellis made a diving stop of Derek Jeter's grounder to start the 6th, but had no play. Then Blanton hurt himself with his propensity to walk hitters. He issued back to back free passes to Bobby Abreu and Alex Rodriguez with no one out. That's when Godzilla stomped on McAfee Stadium, sending a Blanton change up well over and above the 362-ft sign in right-center field.

Then it was all up to Pettitte and the veteran came through with his best performance of the season. He retired the last 11 men he faced, coming up with 1-2-3 innings in the 6th, 7th, and 8th. The victory was the 170th of his Yankees career, tying him with Ron Guidry for 4th place on the all-time team list. And what would a milestone victory be for Pettitte without Mariano Rivera to nail it down.

Pitching for the fourth time in five days, Rivera recorded his 18th save in as many chances, and the 53rd in a game in which Pettitte was the winning pitcher. He issued a lead off walk to Eric Chavez, but retired Ellis on a fly out and struck out Emil Brown and Carlos Gonzalez to end the game.

The lone A's run came in the 2nd inning when Ellis doubled, moved to 3rd on Brown's ground out to the right side, and scored on a Gonzalez single.



News and Notes

Relief pitcher Jonathan Albaledejo is out for the year after additional tests revealed a stress fracture in his elbow. It was originally thought to be just a strain.

According to Peter Abraham, Matsui also hit grand slams on his birthday in Japan in 1996 and 1998.

Kim Jones reported on the YES pre-game that Joe Girardi told Melky Cabrera to stop sliding head first into 1st base, and characterized the play as "overhustling".

Anthony McCarron of the NY Daily News reported that Yankees 2nd round draft pick Jeremy Bleich will start Stanford's opening round game in the College World Series this Saturday against Florida State.

Bobby Abreu had his modest 7-game hitting streak snapped.

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Red Sox Take Early Opener

Baseball season hasn't officially begun in the States, but the Red Sox edged the A's 6-5 in 10 innings in the official MLB opener in Japan.

The game began at 6 a.m. EDT with Daisuke Matsuzaka facing Joe Blanton. Dice-K had a shaky start, walking 5 in his 5 innings of work. The A's reached him for 2 runs in the first, one of them courtesy of a Mark Ellis home run.

But Blanton ran into trouble in the 6th, surrendering a 2-run double to Manny Ramirez and a go-ahead RBI single to Brandon Moss.

Kyle Snyder gave the lead right back though, serving up a gopher ball to 3rd Baseman Jack Hannahan, who stroked a 2-run HR. Hannahan is playing in place of the injured Eric Chavez.

The A's bullpen fared no better though. Huston Street blew the first save opportunity the season, allowing a tying solo shot to Moss in the 9th. It was the first of Moss' career. Street then lost it in the 10th, allowing a 2-out, 2-run double to Ramirez.

The A's rallied against Jon Papelbon in the 10th, but some bad base running helped cut the rally short. Emil Brown doubled home Daric Barton, but was cut down trying to advance to 3rd on the play. The play proved costly when Bobby Crosby and Hannahan followed with singles, but Kurt Suzuki grounded out to end the ball game.

Boston
	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	LOB	Season Avg
D. Pedroia 2b	4	1	2	0	0	0	1	.500
K. Youkilis 1b	4	1	1	0	1	1	1	.250
D. Ortiz dh	4	1	0	0	1	0	5	.000
M. Ramirez lf	5	1	2	4	0	1	1	.400
C. Crisp pr-cf	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
M. Lowell 3b	4	0	1	0	1	1	1	.250
B. Moss rf	5	1	2	2	0	0	3	.400
J. Varitek c	4	0	0	0	0	3	2	.000
J. Ellsbury cf-lf	4	0	1	0	0	1	0	.250
J. Lugo ss	4	1	2	0	0	0	1	.500
A. Cora ss	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Totals	38	6	11	6	3	7	15

Batting 2B - D Pedroia (1, J Blanton); M Ramirez 2 (2, J Blanton, H Street). HR - B Moss (1, 9th inning off H Street 0 on, 1 Out). S - D Pedroia. RBI - M Ramirez 4 (4), B Moss 2 (2). 2-out RBI - B Moss, M Ramirez 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - M Ramirez 1, J Varitek 1, D Ortiz 1, B Moss 1. GIDP - J Varitek, J Lugo. Team LOB - 6.

Fielding Outfield assists - B Moss (E Brown at 3rd base).

Oakland
	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K	LOB	Season Avg
T. Buck rf	5	0	0	0	0	2	2	.000
M. Ellis 2b	4	1	1	1	1	0	1	.250
D. Barton 1b	2	2	0	0	3	1	0	.000
J. Cust dh	4	0	0	0	0	4	4	.000
E. Brown lf	4	0	1	1	1	0	0	.250
B. Crosby ss	5	1	2	1	0	0	0	.400
J. Hannahan 3b	4	1	2	2	1	1	2	.500
K. Suzuki c	5	0	1	0	0	2	3	.200
R. Sweeney cf	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	.000
M. Sweeney ph	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	.000
J. Fiorentino pr-cf	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Totals	36	5	7	5	7	10	13

Batting 2B - E Brown (1, J Papelbon). HR - M Ellis (1, 1st inning off D Matsuzaka 0 on, 1 Out), J Hannahan (1, 6th inning off K Snyder 1 on, 0 Out). RBI - M Ellis (1), B Crosby (1), J Hannahan 2 (2), E Brown (1). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out - J Cust 2, J Hannahan 2, K Suzuki 1. Team LOB - 9.

Base Running SB - K Suzuki (1, 2nd base off D Matsuzaka/J Varitek). Fielding DP - 2 (B Crosby-M Ellis-D Barton, M Ellis-B Crosby-D Barton).

Boston
	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	Season ERA
D. Matsuzaka	5.0	2	2	2	5	6	1	3.60
K. Snyder (BS, 1)	1.1	2	2	2	0	1	1	13.50
J. Lopez	0.2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
B. Corey	1.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
H. Okajima (W, 1-0)	1.0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0.00
J. Papelbon (S, 1)	1.0	3	1	1	1	1	0	9.00
Oakland
	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR	Season ERA
J. Blanton	5.2	7	3	3	1	3	0	4.76
A. Embree	1.1	1	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
K. Foulke (H, 1)	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
H. Street (L, 0-1; BS, 1)	1.2	3	3	3	1	2	1	16.20
L. DiNardo	0.1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0.00

WP - D Matsuzaka.

IBB - D Ortiz (by H Street), M Lowell (by L DiNardo).

HBP - J Cust (by D Matsuzaka).

Pitches-strikes - D Matsuzaka 95-51; K Snyder 16-10; J Lopez 9-5; B Corey 9-6; H Okajima 19-10; J Papelbon 23-13; J Blanton 94-58; A Embree 15-10; K Foulke 17-11; H Street 32-19; L DiNardo 8-2.

Ground balls-fly balls - D Matsuzaka 5-4; K Snyder 1-2; J Lopez 0-1; B Corey 2-1; H Okajima 1-1; J Papelbon 1-0; J Blanton 8-6; A Embree 3-0; K Foulke 0-2; H Street 1-2; L DiNardo 0-1.

Batters faced - D Matsuzaka 23; K Snyder 6; J Lopez 2; B Corey 3; H Okajima 4; J Papelbon 6; J Blanton 24; A Embree 4; K Foulke 3; H Street 9; L DiNardo 2.

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Yankees Looking to Add Veteran to Rotation?

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the Yankees had a scout in attendance Sunday at the A's game to watch Joe Blanton. The A's already dealt Dan Haren this off-season and rumors have persisted that they may be willing to move Blanton as well. A's GM Bill Beane will of course be looking for the moon, but its definitely something worth exploring.

"Until any trade happens, I can't worry about it," Blanton said.

The 27-yr old is entering his 4th full season in the majors and has averaged 208 innings per season. He set personal bests last season for innings pitched (230) and ERA (4.20).

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Real Baseball

It's here this week...at last! Players begin reporting to camps this week. We'll be taking a look at each of the teams, but in a piecemeal fashion. First up, tomorrow will be the AL East rotations and then we'll go from there.

Joe Girardi is preparing for his 1st spring training as Yankees manager (and only the 2nd of his managerial career). Girardi had the unenviable task of replacing Mike Stanley when he came here as a player and now he's replacing the man who lead the Yankees to 4 World Series championships in his first 5 years as manager.

Girardi learned some valuable lessons when he replaced Stanley, and he will use it as he replaces Joe Torre.

Mike Piazza is still looking for a team as pitchers and catchers get ready to report. The former Met has looked into Japan, and may still opt for retirement.

With Johan Santana now in a Mets uniform, Willie Randolph will be under extra pressure to - at the very least - deliver a World Series appearance.

Rich Harden has been throwing and the A's pitcher is feeling good...for now. As baseball fans, we can only hope he returns to his dominant form. The same goes for Mark Prior in San Diego.

Manny Ramirez is entering what could be his final season in Boston. The Red Sox hold $20 million annual options for 2009 and 2010, but we can't imagine the Sox wanting to pay Manny 20 mill at ages 37 and 38. Manny will probably get a new restructured contract that will pay him less over a longer period of time.

Nothing is imminent, but the Cubs are still expected to deal for the Orioles' Brian Roberts.

The Denver Post reports that the Billy Beane is asking for Andre Ethier, Andy LaRoche and a prospect from the Dodgers for Joe Blanton.

The Orioles are expecting to have Adam Loewen ready for spring training. The O's are talking to free agent Steve Trachsel about a deal.

The Royals and Rangers have joined the Yankees in showing interest in Kevin Mench. Mench was a member of the Rangers from 2002-2005.

The Reds have signed Craig Wilson to a minor league deal and invited him to spring training.

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