Phillies avoid arbitration, sign Cole Hamels to one year deal

The Phillies have avoided arbitration with Cole Hamels, signing him to a one year, 15 million dollar contract, according to Jon Heyman of CBS.  This is a significant raise for Hamels, who made 9.5 million last season.

The next step for the Phillies will be to wrap up Hamels long-term, something that may be tricky given all of the other big contract already on the books.  Avoiding arbitration and the headaches and hassle that go with that will help the Phils stay on good terms with Hamels but they will still have to shell out big bucks over a number of years to keep Cole in Philly.

Wilson Valdez also reached an agreement with the Phils, leaving Hunter Pence as the only arbitration-eligible Phillie.  Expect Pence to get wrapped up very soon.

Ben Francisco the unlikely hero in Game 3

To win a World Series you need to get big hits from some unlikely sources.  Ben Francisco was that unlikely source for the Phillies tonight, driving in all 3 of the Phillies runs with one swing of the bat.  Here are my thoughts on the Phils huge Game 3 win:

-Is there any more improbable of a hero than Ben Francisco?  After a pretty terrible regular season, Francisco instantly made himself a Philly legend with his 3-run homer in the 7th inning.  It was just his second hit in his postseason career and his first home run since late May but Francisco now joins the likes of Matt Stairs in the Phillies postseason pinch hit Hall of Fame.

-Although the Cardinals really made him work, Cole Hamels certainly pitched like an ace tonight.  It would have been nice if he could have gone more than 6 innings before having to turn it over to the bullpen but you can't argue with 8 strikeouts and no earned runs.

-The Phillies bullpen is still something to worry about.  When the starting pitchers are forced to throw a lot of pitches early on the bullpen is going to be a factor and Ryan Madson is the only reliever that can be counted on at the moment.  Madson can't pitch multiple innings every night, though, so someone is going to have step up sooner or later.

-Man that double play in the 8th inning was huge.  It also saved Madson from having to throw too many pitches and allowed him to stay fresh for the 9th.

-Jaime Garcia was everything we feared he would be.  The Phillies just can't hit strike-throwing, soft-tossing lefties.  The Phils failed to work deep counts on Garcia as he cruised through the first 6 innings.  We all know what happened in the 7th, of course.  Wonder if Garcia regrets walking Carlos Ruiz to get to Francisco...

-How annoying is Ryan Theriot?  He is just a mediocre journeyman middle infielder but there he is, going 4 for 5 in Game 3 and raising his batting average to .667 in the postseason.  Thank goodness he didn't get a hit in that final at bat.  I would call him the 2011 Cody Ross but Theriot has zero power and his team isn't winning.

With the two Roy's pitching the next two games and Cliff Lee possibly available out of the pen, the Phillies are exactly where they want to be.  All the pressure is on the Cardinals to beat two of the Phllies aces in a row.  Good luck with that.

Cole Hamels to the DL but will start Monday

In your daily Phillies injury news, Cole Hamels has been placed on the disabled list due to his shoulder issues. While that would normally be reason to panic, the move is retroactive to August 13th and the Phils have already announced that Hamels will start next Monday against the Reds. It sounds like this is just a precautionary move that will allow Hamels even more rest and give the Phillies a roster spot.



Pete Orr was called up to replace Hamels on the roster. With Raul Ibanez dealing with groin issues, Orr will be a useful bench piece but shouldn't get any starts.



So far, despite there being a number of injured Phillies, there is no reason to worry. None of the injuries sound serious and only Placido Polanco seems to be having lingering issues. Keep your fingers crossed but the Phillies seem to be in good health coming down the stretch.

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.

Phillies pound Braves, enter All-Star break with best record in baseball

You couldn't have scripted a better way for the Phillies to enter the All-Star break. After two nail biters against the Braves, the Phillies demolished Atlanta, winning 14-1 to maintain their 3.5 game lead in the NL East.

It was an offensive explosion for the Phils, who knocked out 20 hits against Derek Lowe and the rest of the solid Braves pitching staff. It was a complete team effort as every starter had at least one hit and one run, with most scoring twice and picking up multiple hits. Raul Ibanez had a huge game, driving in 6 runs while hitting his 12th home run of the season. Michael Martinez and John Mayberry, both filling in for injured All-Stars, also were key contributors, combining for 7 hits, 4 RBI and 3 runs scored. When Martinez and Mayberry have games like that, you know things are going well.

Cole Hamels also put together one last dominant start before the All-Star game, giving up just 3 hits while striking out 6 in 8 innings of work. He picked up his 11th win, tying Roy Halladay for most wins on the team.

The Phillies now enter the All-Star break with the best record in baseball. After crushing the second best team in the NL, they have to feel pretty good about their season so far. They've positioned themselves in such a way that all they need to worry about is getting healthy for the playoffs. With their starting pitching, they are built for another deep playoff run as long as they get even league average offense. If they hit even close to how they did today, they might not lose another game.
(Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)

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.

Phillies offense flops as Giants take 2-1 series lead

Baseball is a simple game: no matter how good your pitching is, you can't win if you don't score runs. Such was the case for the Phillies today, who got a quality start from Cole Hamels but failed to do anything with the bats in a 3-0 Game 3 loss to the Giants.

For the first time since the 1983 World Series, the Phillies were shutout in the playoffs. Matt Cain was dominant for the Giants, allowing just 2 hits and walking 3 across 7 innings of work. The Phillies had their chances, like in the 2nd and 7th innings when they had two runners on base, but they just couldn't come up with the key hit. Really, save for a Jimmy Rollins single in the 9th inning, the Phillies just didn't make good contact at all.

Hamels actually put together a decent start, giving up 3 runs in 6 innings while striking out 8 batters. He had good stuff throughout the game but he got burned by a few grounders that found holes and a bad defensive play by Chase Utley. Phillie-killer Cody Ross of course made his presence felt again, singling in the first run of the game in the 4th.

The Giants now lead the series, 2-1, but it's hardly time to panic. While we haven't seen him in a while, Joe Blanton is a competent pitcher and the Phillies should be able to get some runs off of rookie Madison Bumgarner. Should the Phillies find get a win in Game 4, I like their chances with Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Hamels taking the mound for Games 5, 6 and 7. Of course, entering the series, I would have never guessed that the Phillies would have lost Games 1 and 3 with Halladay and Hamels on the mound, but there is reason to expect them to be better the second time they face the Giants.

Sure, the Phillies are in the unfamiliar position of trailing in a series after 3 games. Sure, their offense looked terrible today. From what we have seen this team do the last few years, however, you have to keep faith that they will turn things around. Despite what you have seen the last 3 games, the Phillies are still the better team in this series. I still believe!
(Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Sweep! Hamels dominates as Phillies move on to NLCS

Another game, another dominating performance by a Phillies pitcher. Another year, another NLCS appearance for the Phillies.

Cole Hamels, doing his best Roy Halladay impersonation, dominated the Reds, going the distance in a 5-hit complete game shutout as the Phillies defeated the Reds, 2-0, and completed their first postseason sweep in team history. Hamels was brilliant all night, striking out 9 Reds on 119 pitches and walking none. It was about as smooth a performance as you can ask for as Hamels never had to work his way out of any tricky jams, although he did force the NL MVP Joey Votto to ground into a double play in the 9th inning.

As for the Phillies offense, there wasn't much to speak of. They got their first run in the first inning when Reds shortstop Orlando Cabrera made an errant throw to first base that allowed Placido Polanco to score and the second run came on a Chase Utley solo shot. The Phils did manage 8 hits on the night, though, and they also had a lot of hard hit balls that just didn't fall in, so there shouldn't be a sense of panic about the hitters.

The Phillies now move on to their third straight NLCS appearance and will face either the Giants or the Braves, with the Giants currently holding a 2-1 series lead. While neither team is particularly scary, the Giants do have a formidable pitching staff that could shut down the Phillies bats. Of course, the Phillies also have some pretty darn good pitchers themselves, with the big three aces ready to take the mound for Games 1, 2 and 3 in the NLCS. With the way they are pitching, it's hard to imagine anyone stopping the Phillies this postseason. 8 more wins to go!
(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

Hamels pitches Phillies to 4 game division lead

The second place Braves are in town. There is a bit of a chill in the air. The rally towels are out. Yep, we're getting close to another Phillies October.

Before the Phillies get to the postseason, however, there is the little matter of winning the division to take care of first. With a 3 game lead entering Monday and 6 games left to play against the Braves, it's still a bit early to be printing postseason tickets. After Cole Hamels' dominating, 8 inning, 6 strikeout, 1 earned run performance on Monday, though, the Phillies took yet another step closer.

For Hamels, it was just another solid outing, his 5th straight win and his 6th straight start of giving up 2 or fewer earned runs. On a team with three ace pitchers, Hamels has been the best down the stretch, picking up his game when it matters most, allowing only 2 runs in his last 36 and 2/3rds innings.

The win, their 8th straight, pushes the Phillies to 4 games up in the division. With Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt taking the mound the next two nights, it's hard to see the Phillies not at least holding that 4 game lead after the Braves leave town on Thursday. With 90 wins, a dominating pitching staff and a commanding lead over everyone else in the National League, everything seems pointed in the right direction for the Phillies. Can't wait for October!

Hamels cruises as Phillies pull within 1 game of first place

Much has been made of the bad luck Cole Hamels has endured this season. Despite putting up sparkling numbers for most of the year, including an ERA in the low 3's and a WHIP that is inching down towards 1, Hamels has gotten very little run support from the Phillies and thus doesn't have a winning record.

Of course, when he's nearly perfect, like he was against the Brewers on Friday night, he doesn't need much support from the bats. In a 1-0 win against Milwaukee, Hamels went 7 innings, struck out 7, walked 3 and gave up 3 hits in a dominant effort. The lone Phillies run came in the second inning when Carlos Ruiz grounded out and Shane Victorino scored from third. From there, the Phillies were shut down, not even coming close to swinging the bats like they did Thursday night in Colorado.

The win, coupled with a loss by the Braves, moves the Phillies to within one game of first place in the NL East and keeps them at least 2 games up in the Wild Card. It's amazing to think that, with all the ups and downs this team has endured all season long, they are right on the doorstep of re-claiming the top spot in the division. Perhaps even more remarkably, the Phillies are also just 1.5 games behind the Reds in the race for the best record in the National League.

There is still a lot of season to go but a few more starts like the one Cole Hamels put together tonight and the Phillies will definitely find themselves back in the postseason. Once they get there, it's going to be pretty special to watch the trio of Roy Halladay, Hamels and Roy Oswalt go to work on the rest of the league.

Who saw that coming? Phillies sweep Padres

Things looked pretty bad for the Phillies after they got swept in four games by the lowly Astros. With the offense struggling to score any runs against the mediocrity that is the Astros pitching staff, the Phillies headed to San Diego to face one of the best staffs in the league. Surely, the Phillies wouldn't be able to muster enough offense to beat the best team in the National League.

Not so fast. Behind great pitching performances by Roy Oswalt, Joe Blanton and Cole Hamels and some timely hits, the Phillies swept the best team in the NL in their own ballpark. While the hitting wasn't much better than it was against Houston, averaging 3.7 runs per game, the Phillies starting pitching rose to the occasion, allowing only 2 runs in 22 innings against a Padres team that has their own offensive problems. As for some good news when it comes to the Phillies bats, it was nice to see a little power on display on Sunday as both Mike Sweeney and Jayson Werth went yard.

With the sweep, the Phillies have pulled to just 2 games behind the Braves and remain in the lead for the Wild Card. Now headed to LA to face the Manny-less Dodgers, things are looking up once again for the Phillies as they should be able to handle a Dodgers team that is sliding right out of playoff contention. Of course, we all thought they would easily push the Astros aside and that didn't exactly work out as planned. Still, if the Phillies continue to get solid outings from the rotation, they will only need to muster up a few runs to continue their winning streak.
(Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)