Am I Dreaming?

Last night I had the strangest dream.

I dreamed that the Phillies offense had 15 hits tying a season high.

I dreamed that Ryan Howard was in the line-up only two days after getting  a cortisone shot in his left knee and had 3 hits and 3 RBIs.

I dreamed that Delmon Young, who hadn’t had a home run since his first at-bat with the Phillies, hit another one and had his first multi-hit night.  He went 2-4 also adding a double and 2 RBIs.

I dreamed that Ben Revere had three hits including a double and scored two runs to continue his solid hitting since he was recently returned to the line-up.

I dreamed that pitcher Tyler Cloyd, who had a 1-4 record with a 6.57 ERA in Triple-A Lehigh Valley, won his first game and now has a 2.70 ERA in the majors.

I dreamed that every position player had at least one hit with 4 having multi-hit nights.

And then to top it all off I dreamed that Antonio Bastardo pitched a 1-2-3 eighth.

Aaaaaah. If only this could happen in…..  What?  It did?  And the Phillies beat the Marlins 7-2?

Who says dreams can’t come true?  I’m definitely going to bed early tonight!

So Much for “Mo”

Is it heart they lack?

‘Cause that game is three hours

that we can’t get back.

And That’s Why I Love Baseball

“It ain’t over till it’s over.”

Those oft-quoted words from the inimitable Yogi Berra were never more apt than they were yesterday.

No one could have seen the Phillies improbable ninth inning walk-off victory coming. Not even the staunchest fan could have seen a comeback by this near dead offense held scoreless for 16 innings before finally scratching out one run in the eighth.

But the Phillies entered the ninth still trailing 2-1 and to make matters worse after Delmon Young worked a walk to lead off the inning, Charlie Manuel opted to have Cliff Lee pinch run and he promptly got picked off of first.

Lee, who relishes any opportunity to get in a game when he’s not pitching, was devastated, thinking he had blown the game for his team.

“Unacceptable and basically brutal,” he said.

And for Lee, Eric Kratz’s home run that followed made things even worse.  Yes, the game was tied but had Lee not gotten picked off,  Kratz’s blast would have been a game winner.

“I’ve never been so disappointed when a guy hit a home run to tie the game in my life.  That was bad. I felt horrible.”

But that feeling wouldn’t last long as Freddy Galvis, not known for his power especially from the right side, drove a ball just inside the left field foul pole for a dramatic game-winning home run, the first walk-off of his baseball career at any level.

“Oh my God,” he said. “I got a big smile right there, the biggest one I had so far in my life.”

The only man with a bigger smile was  Cliff Lee.

“That was the best feeling I’ve had in a while when he hit that home run, just to redeem my mistake. “That was huge.”

Huge and improbable.

Improbable because the Phillies were facing Aroldis Chapman, one of the best closers in the game.  In fact in 158 career appearances he has NEVER given up two home runs.

Improbable because the first home run was hit by Eric Kratz who was only in this game because of a Carlos Ruiz injury

Improbable because the second was hit by back-up player Freddy Galvis who hadn’t started a game in a week.

More improbable still because after the game Charlie Manuel said that if Lee hadn’t gotten picked off he would have had John Mayberry Jr. pinch-hit for Galvis.

And all of those improbable things coming together to win a much-needed game for the Phillies?  Now that’s why I love baseball.

So will this improbable victory be  the spark that will turn this Phillies season around?

Will this sleeping offense finally wake up and go on a tear?

Should the Atlanta Braves be watching their backs?

Honestly, I just don’t know.  But I do know one thing.  I won’t be so fast next time to give up before the final out is recorded because, “One more time, Yogi:“

“It ain’t over till it’s over.”

There Are No Words

My mother always told me that if you don’t have anything nice to say, you shouldn’t say anything at all.

So I won’t.

It Was A Night…

It was a night when pitcher Cliff Lee almost hit a home run and slugger Ryan Howard legged out an infield single.

It was a night when ‘The Big Piece‘ could sport a big smile and a laugh at his own expense:

“Speed kills,” he said. “It’s like a meteor coming through.”

It was a night when Lee needed 47 pitches to get through the first two innings before settling down to complete seven strong leaving with a 3-2 lead.

But it was also a night when it only took reliever Antonio Bastardo one batter to give up the tying run.

It was a night when one of the most important at-bats was a 10-pitch walk worked by Michael Young.

It was a night when, after making headlines earlier in the week saying that he and his team had to play better before “ the guys upstairs decide to blow it up and ship us out,” Jimmy Rollins let his bat do the talking with a 2-run shot in the third to give his team a 2-0 lead.

It was a night when a close play at the plate gave the Phils an insurance run but it was also a night when closer Jonathan Papelbon didn’t need it as he pitched a scoreless ninth to remain perfect in save opportunities.

It was a night when the near sellout crowd was loud and ‘in the game’ reminiscent of many nights and many crowds during the Phillies sell-out streak.

It was a night when for a moment we all had that “we know how this one ends” feeling and it wasn’t pretty but on this night the Phillies played some small ball and got a big win.

It was a perfect night at the ballpark and it had a perfect ending:  after singing a chorus along with Harry the K we all left with “High Hopes.”

A Beautiful Night for Baseball

Yes, it looks like perfect weather for a baseball game.  What makes it even better is that tonight is my first trip to Citizens Bank Park this season!  The first game of the year is always cause for celebration for many reasons but here are my :

 Top 10 Favorite Things at the Ballpark

 10. That first look at the beautiful, oh so green, playing field.

 9.  My first bite of a plump ballpark frank with mustard, of course.

 8.  Seeing Chase Utley this season looking so much like the Chase of seasons past.

 7.  Walking around the stadium with a stop at Harry the K’s to check out the view.

 6.   Introducing the ball park to a newbie.  Attending the game with us tonight is my son’s friend who has NEVER been to a baseball game!

 5.  The first bite of my second delicious ballpark frank.  I might put a little relish on this one.

 4.  Watching Ryan Howard hit a moonshot home run, maybe two???

 3.  Watching Cliff Lee run out to the mound and back to the dugout after a 1-2-3 inning.

 2.  Did I mention having a juicy ballpark hot dog?

And the number one thing I’m looking forward to tonight at the ball park?

 1.    Getting to watch a Phillies win!!  (And joining the crowd in singing “High Hopes” along with the great Harry Kalas.)

Another Phillies Win: By the Numbers

Don’t look now but your Phillies have won 3 in a row.  So I decided that words could not do this story justice.  It is a tale that is better told:

By the Numbers

 3   John Mayberrey had 3 hits and 3 RBI’s in the game

22   The age of starting pitcher Jonathan Pettibone who now has 3 wins

2   The Phils are now only two games under .500

20   The number of runs the Indians scored against the Phillies 2 weeks ago

7   Number of home runs for Domonic Brown which ties him for the club lead with Chase Utley 

16   The Phillies have hit 16 straight solo homeruns (hr with no one on base)

3.5   Number of games out of first place which is pretty good considering the way this team has played this year.

12   Number of wins in starts by Pettibone, Kyle Kendrick and John Lannan

37   The number of starts Chase Utley, who got a day off last night, has had this season out of 39 games.

41   Number of hits for Utley so far this season.  He leads the Phils in hits, home runs (7), RBIs (24), runs (21), triples (2), and total bases (73).

.467   The batting average of Kevin Frandsen, who played for Utley last night.  Frandsen hit a home run, solo of course, in the first inning

4   The Phils will try to win four in a row today for the first time this season.

Don’t forget today’s game is at 1:05.  Let’s hope the Phils can put up some ‘numbers’ for Cole Hamels!