Tuesday, May 11th

Phillies vs. Rockies

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: First doubleheader of the season. (I hate when Phils games are rained out on my off nights from work. Thankfully, I was still able to watch some good baseball. Mets-Nats game was a blast, as was the A’s-Rangers… OK, sorry for the tangent).

Game 1 is scheduled for 3:10 p.m. with Roy Halladay (6-1, 1.45) toeing the slab against Aaron Cook (1-3, 6.03). This is a homecoming for Doc. He grew up in Colorado, but has never pitched in Coors.

Game 2 will feature Jamie Moyer (4-2, 4.38) coming off his best start in years, a two-hit shutout of the Braves.  The Rockies counter with Jason Hammel (0-2, 9.16), who, if I can remember correctly, pitched pretty darn well his last time out against the Phils. It will be the struggling Hammel’s first start since April 26.

NL East Update

The Phillies (20-12) are 2.5 games in front of the second-place Mets (18-15) and Nationals (18-15). The Mets rallied from a 6-1 deficit to beat the Nats last night, 8-6.

Fun Phact: On this date in 1947, a crowd of 41,660 — the largest in baseball history at the time — came out to Shibe Park to watch the Phillies sweep a doubleheader against Brooklyn.

Congrats to Jamie Moyer for kicking ass Friday night and making history in the process.

In case you missed it, the 47-year-old lefty shut out the anemic Braves on two hits. The Phils rolled, 7-0.

Moyer put his name in the MLB record book.

• First pitcher to throw a complete game shutout in four DIFFERENT decades.
• Oldest pitcher to throw a shutout (47 years, 170 days). Phil Niekro was 46 years, 188 days old when he did it as a member of the Yankees in 1985.

I was a 1-year-old the last time Moyer blanked a team on just two hits (April 1986). This was his 32 complete game and 10th career shutout, the last coming in June 2006 just prior to getting traded to Philly from Seattle.

Other highlights from Moyer’s awesome night:

• He threw a grand total of three pitches in the second inning (single, 6-3 double play, ground out).
• His wife, Karen, and five of their eight children were at the ballpark. Moyer gave the game ball to one of his youngsters.
• Moyer worked a nine-pitch at-bat in the eighth innning, fouling off multiple pitches. He eventually made an out, but the Phillie faithful gave him a standing ovation, anyway.

The injury bug  could take another bite out of the Phillies rotation.

According to CSNPhilly.com, J.A. Happ could miss his next scheduled start Wednesday against Atlanta.

Happ is dealing with forearm stiffness.

If Happ doesn’t pitch, it’s likely the Phils will go with Nelson Figueroa, who has been a pleasant surprise since being acquired on waivers at the end of spring training.

Joe Blanton (strained oblique) is slated to return in about two weeks. If Happ misses significant time, the starting rotation would include Kyle Kendrick, Jamie Moyer and Figueroa as the Nos. 3, 4 and 5.

Phillies 9, Astros 6

Saturday, April 10th

The Phils are smokin’ right now.

Even Jamie Moyer blowing a 4-0 lead couldn’t hold back the offense, which for the fifth time in as many games this season, churned out 10-plus hits. The last time the Phillies did that to start a season was 1926.

Ryan Howard’s mammoth two-run bomb to left field put the Phils, 6-5, a few innings after the Astros scored five runs with two outs off Jamie Moyer in the bottom of the fourth.

Shane Victorino’s hit a two-run homer for insurance in the ninth.

Look at what this lineup’s first five batters are doing (yes, I know it’s early). It’s off the charts: Jimmy Rollins (.386), Placido Polanco (.542), Chase Utley (.368), Ryan Howard (.417) and Jayson Werth (.400) .

Howard has three homers and 10 RBIs in five games. Polanco isn’t the vacuum bag at third base like Pedro Feliz was, but he’s be a godsend with the bat.

Today, Roy Halladay takes the hill as the Phillies try to sweep Houston before their home opener Monday versus the Nationals.

Kyle Kendrick must be spending too much time around his newfound mentor, Roy Halladay.

That’s a good thing, by the way …

Kendrick pitched another two shutout innings in a 7-5 loss to the Yankees Monday.

In two appearances this spring, both against the Yanks, Kendrick has tossed five scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out two while walking zero.

“He’s definitely getting better,” manager Charlie Manuel told the Delaware County Times. “… (H)e’s also really learning what kind of a pitcher he has to be to survive at the major league level.”

If Jamie Moyer isn’t deemed fully healthy by the time camp breaks, Kendrick is the odds-on favorite to win the No. 5 spot in the rotation.

“You have to show everyone what you’re working on and how to develop your secondary pitches,” Kendrick said. “But more than anything, I’m happy I’m showing myself I can throw them in any count and believe in them.”

• The Phillies hitters faced live pitching for the spring time this spring. Who they were facing, you ask? Oh, only Roy Halladay.

Halladay, according to some reports Thursday, was overpowering.

• Jamie Moyer, rehabbing from a pair of surgeries, looked like his old self (pun intended) Wednesday in practice. He’s progressed well and is competing for the fifth starter’s spot.
• Brad Lidge has been limited in practice. He was scheduled to throw a side session Thursday.
• Top prospect Domonic Brown recently had the flu, but returned to camp Wednesday. Brown is expected to start the season with Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Ryan Lawrence, my collegue at the Delaware County Daily Times, posted about the fifth starter situation on his blog today.

Jamie Moyer is not the clear-cut favorite.

Charlie Manuel told Lawrence that “anyone could get beaten out.”

It appears the fifth starter spot is a two-horse race between the 47-year-old Moyer and Kyle Kendrick, who has impressed pitching coach Rich Dubee early in camp. Kendrick has spent the last year or so working on a third and fourth pitch.

Also, Brad Lidge, who is recovering from a pair of offseason surgeries, is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Monday. There’s no timetable for Lidge’s Grapefruit League debut.

Pedro Martinez remains interested in a return to the Phillies.

The three-time Cy Young award winner told the Associated Press Saturday, “(The Phillies) treated me very well and they were very professional. They will always have the door open.”

While the Phillies will passively attempt to upgrade their starting rotation, the focus during the offseason is the bullpen. As it stands now, the Phillies’ rotation consists of Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, J.A. Happ and Joe Blanton next year. It’s very possible that Jamie Moyer returns, if deemed healthy, or top pitching prospect Kyle Drabek wins a job out of spring training.

Chances Pedro is a Phillie next year are slim and none.

Also, I absolutely do not expect them to empty the farm system for Roy Halladay or sign second-tier starting pitchers, such as Jason Marquis or Randy Wolf …

Jamie Moyer was hospitalized with a blood infection this week, days after undergoing surgery to repair torn muscles in his groin and lower abdomen.

Phillies GM Ruben  Amaro Jr. told ESPN.com that Moyer is “doing fine” and has been in Thomas Jefferson University hospital in Philadelphia since Wednesday.

Amaro added that Moyer “some type of blood infection and will likely stay one more night, getting the fever down and taking antibiotics.”

Moyer will not return this season.

The Phillies lost to the Marlins, 4-3, Saturday afternoon. They cannot clinch home field advantage throughout the National League playoffs.

Good news, though, is that the Cardinals lost to the Brewers. Thus, the Phils have home field advantage in the first round ONLY.

Todd Zolecki of Phillies.com blogged Saturday that Charlie Manuel is leaning toward carrying 13 pitchers and 10 position player on the first-round playoff roster. Here’s the breakdown as far as position players are concerned:

C: Carlos Ruiz and Paul Bako

INF: Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Pedro Feliz, Jimmy Rollins, Greg Dobbs and Eric Bruntlett.

OF: Raul Ibanez, Shane Victorino, Jayson Werth, Matt Stairs and Ben Francisco.

The pitching is a whole lot blurrier. With season-ending injuries to J.C. Romero, Jamie Moyer and possibly Chan Ho Park… there are questions here. Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels will start Games 1 and 2 of the NLDS, respectively. Joe Blanton should pitch the third game. The No. 4 spot has not yet been determined.

J.A Happ and Pedro Martinez are the candidates. Happ could be moved to the bullpen because of the team’s shortage of left-handed relievers. As of now, Scott Eyre

Don't lie to us, Charlie. If Brad Lidge has another 1-2-3 outing in a meaningless game Sunday (like he did Saturday), you're gonna put him in a save situation the first chance you get, right?

is probably the Phillies’ only lefty specialist.

However, if Sergio Escalona and Antonio Bastardo pitch well over the weekend, either one could be included on the postseason roster. At this point, you’d have to think that both are long shots…

Brad Lidge, Ryan Madson, Tyler Walker, Brett Myers and Eyre are “locks”. I’m pretty sure Kyle Kendrick has earned the role of long reliever.

Either Happ or Martinez is guaranteed a spot in the pen. Clay Condrey is iffy because he hasn’t pitched a whole lot this season because of injuries…

The pitching roles are pretty much undefined at this point. With one day left to go in the regular season, Manuel has some crucial decisions to make.