Bloody Sunday: Phillies blow 4 run lead in Game 2

That was a rough day to be a Philly sports fan.  After jumping out to a 4 run lead, the Phillies couldn't put the Cardinals away and lost 5-4.  The Cardinals bullpen deserves a ton of credit for completely shutting the Phillies down for the final 6 innings.  Here are my thoughts on Game 2:

-The Phillies offense looked locked in right off the bat, working the count and getting solid hits off of Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter.  Carpenter was fortunate to get out of the first without allowing too much damage when he got Polanco to ground into a double play.  Think the Cards will ever use him on short rest again?

-After the second inning, the Phillies offense went into a coma and never woke up.  Tony La Russa trotted out pitcher after pitcher and the Phillies couldn't muster any kind of offense.  Only Jimmy Rollins managed a hit and he was promptly picked off trying to steal second.

-The Phillies looked especially clueless against Jason Motte.  I hope they don't need a key run against him in an elimination situation.

-That wasn't quite the Cliff Lee we've all come to expect.  Though he gave up a few hits early, he looked good through the first three innings.  The Cardinals starting tagging him after that, though, picking up a string of cheap hits to get themselves back into the game.  He wasn't helped by the wildly inconsistent strike zone but Lee is going to have to pitch better than that next time around.

-The Phillies bullpen was tremendous, allowing just one hit in three innings.  That was one big positive to come out of the game.

-Ryan Howard continued his great postseason with 2 big RBI's in the first inning.  He is putting that nightmare of a 2010 postseason behind him though it would have been nice if he came through in the 8th inning.

-That Jon Jay hit on Carlos Ruiz at the plate was the biggest hit of the day in Philadelphia.  Yeah, I'm looking at you, Eagles.

The Phillies still have another ace to turn to so there is no reason to panic.  What a horrible Sunday to be a Philly fan, though.

Roy Halladay will start for NL in All-Star Game

Even though basically everyone in baseball has made the All-Star team at this point, at least the best pitcher in baseball will be starting: Roy Halladay has been named the starting pitcher for the National League. Expect him to pitch an inning or two before exiting the game.

Halladay could end up being the only Phillie to play in the game. Placido Polanco and Shane Victorino are injured and won't play and Cole Hamels has already been replaced after pitching yesterday. There is a chance that Cliff Lee will pitch in the game but he did just pitch Saturday and would likely prefer to rest.

Even though this game "counts", it's nice to know I can turn it off after the second inning and likely not miss any of the Phillies in action.

Four Phillies named to 2011 All-Star Game, Victorino needs our help

The best team in baseball is sending four players to Arizona for the All-Star Game: Placido Polanco, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels. Polanco was voted in as a starter while Halladay, Lee and Hamels were no-brainer additions to the NL pitching staff.

Polanco was the only Phillies hitter named outright to the team, and probably justifiably so. With Chase Utley missing a large chunk of the season and Ryan Howard not having a great year by his standards, it's hard to make a strong case for any Phillies hitter. Shane Victorino has a shot at making the All-Star team but, just like in 2009, he is a part of the Final Vote, so he will need our help! Click here to vote and get Victorino to the All-Star game.

As for other Phillies pitchers that could have made the team, Ryan Madson certainly has a case to be there, though his recent injury could have kept him out. Antonio Bastardo has had a great season but probably doesn't have the name recognition to earn an All-Star nod.

Click here to see the full rosters for both leagues.

Cliff Lee strikes out 16, still takes loss for Phillies

Reason #540 why wins and losses mean very little for pitchers: Cliff Lee struck out 16 batters yet still took the loss in a 5-0 Braves victory over the Phillies. Yeah, that seems fair.

While Lee had a rough start to his outing, giving up 3 runs in the 3rd inning, he was nothing but dominant after that, striking out 11 batters in innings 4 through 7. In other words, of the 12 outs Lee needed to get in those 4 innings, he got strike outs for 11 of them. Lee's 16 strikeouts were not only the highest in the majors this season but they were also one short of the Phillies team record of 17, which is held by Art Mahaffey.

Lee was dominant but Derek Lowe was better for the Braves, no-hitting the Phillies for 6 innings before allowing a pair of hits that chased him out of the game. The Phillies offense then had their chance to make a comeback but failed, striking out three straight times with two runners in scoring position in the 7th.

This just in: Cliff Lee is good. The Phillies starting pitchers have so far held up their end of the bargain, giving the team quality innings and special outings on a regular basis. The fact that Lee has a record of 2-3 is much more indicative of an inconsistent Phillies offense than anything he is doing. I have a feeling the "great pitching but inconsistent hitting" theme could be an ongoing narrative to the Phillies season.
(AP PHOTO)

Cliff Lee wins in his return to the Phillies

Cliff Lee didn't disappoint in his much-anticipated re-debut with the Phillies, leading the team to a 8-4 win over the Astros. While Lee wasn't perfect, he was dominant, striking out 11 Astros while allowing 4 hits and 3 runs in 7 innings of work. Seeing Lee doing work in a Phillies uniform again was everything we expected it would be as he threw strikes and confused hitters all game long.

The rumors of the demise of the Phillies offense were clearly exaggerated as the Phils rocked Astros starter Wandy Rodriguez, jumping on him for a pair of early runs before tacking on 5 more in the middle innings. It was a team effort with the bats as every Phillies starter got a hit and either scored a run or had an RBI. While they haven't hit the ball out of the park yet, most hitters seem to be making good contact, so it's only a matter of time before they crush one.

In injury news (ugh), Shane Victorino left the game after he got tangled up Ben Francisco. Early word was that Victorino had a sore calf with no information on whether he would miss any time due to the injury.

Two games into the season, the Phillies remain perfect. Sure, they are playing a pretty bad Astros team, but they are performing exactly as we expected, getting strong performances from their starting pitching and backing that up with timely hitting. The quest for 162-0 remains alive!
(AP PHOTO)

Phillies aces on cover of Sports Illustrated

In an extremely smart decision, Sports Illustrated has decided to put the Phillies Four Aces (and Joe Blanton!) on the cover of their baseball preview issue that comes out this week. Before you get too worried about any kind of curse, remember that Roy Halladay was on the cover of their baseball preview last season and he did just fine. Try not to get drool all over the cover.

3 Phillies in the Top 10 MLB jersey sales

The Phillies are well-represented in the MLB Top 10 jersey sales list:

1. Derek Jeter
2. Joe Mauer
3. Roy Halladay
4. Chase Utley
5. Cliff Lee
6. Albert Pujols
7. Josh Hamilton
8. Dustin Pedroia
9. Alex Rodriguez
10. Tim Lincecum

The Phillies as a team finished 4th in licensed product sales in 2010. With all the Cliff Lee love going around Philly, don't be surprised to see him move up this list.

Happy HoLEEdays from All Things Philly Sports!

ATPS would like to wish you a Happy Holidays! Hopefully you got all the gifts you wanted, though I'm sure we're all satisfied with Cliff Lee!
(Cartoon via NY Post)

Best rotation ever: Phillies land Cliff Lee

The signing that was too good to be true actually happened: Cliff Lee has signed with the Phillies. Forgoing more years and more money in offers from the Yankees and Rangers, Lee has chosen to return to Philadelphia in a 5 year deal worth more than 100 million dollars. The fact that Lee took less money to play in Philly likely instantly makes him the most beloved player in the city.

With the addition of Lee, the Phillies have the best rotation in baseball and possibly the best rotation of all time. Take the perfection of Roy Halladay, the dominance of Lee, the brilliance of Cole Hamels and the toughness of Roy Oswalt and you have a rotation with four legitimate aces. As an added bonus, the rotation can even be set up to go right, left, right, left to give the opponents fits.

Now that the Phillies have used all of their money on another pitcher, it's unclear what their plans are for the rest of the offseason. Priority number one will be dealing Joe Blanton to free up salary with more possible salary dumps on the way. After that, the Phillies still will likely look for another right handed bat to add to the outfield but don't look for them to do much more than that. After all, when you have a rotation like this, you really don't need that much offense.

It's a testament to the city of Philadelphia and its fans that Cliff Lee has left money on the table to return to play for the Phillies. Lee knew that the fans here were in love with the guy the moment he put on the uniform so he jumped at the first chance to return. With a rotation of Halladay, Lee, Hamels and Oswalt, the next few seasons are going to be incredible.

Believe it: Phillies are in on Cliff Lee

The rumor that just won't die suddenly has new life again: according to multiple sources, the Phillies are one of the finalists in the pursuit of free agent Cliff Lee. While it seems incredibly unlikely and improbable that the Phillies, a team already loaded with starting pitching, would be looking to sign yet another ace pitcher to their rotation, respected sources like Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports and Jon Heyman of SI have confirmed that the Phillies, along with the Yankees and Rangers, are on the short list of teams that have a shot of landing Lee. Anyone interested in a rotation of Lee, Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt? Yes, please.

While it's hard not to get positively giddy about the possibility of Lee coming back to Philly, all indications are that the Phillies are longshots to sign him. With the Yankees and Rangers both making huge contract offers for a lot of years that the Phillies can't compete with, their best hope of signing Lee will be if he wants to take a pay cut to return to a team he is already comfortable playing with in a city that absolutely loves him. The Phillies would also probably have to move some salary to make room for Lee, with Joe Blanton and (hopefully) Raul Ibanez being the most likely candidates.

Before we get too excited about having the greatest rotation in baseball history, remember that Lee signing in Philly is a remote possibility. After all, when was the last time a professional athlete left money on the table and signed for less than his market value?