Kuzul

The Philadelphia Phillies are a great team with very little flaws.

After losing to the San Francisco Giants in the 2010 NLCS, Phillies fans were devastated on what happened.

They sat in the stands, at their homes, or at the local bar in shock and could not believe the defeat they faced.

Well, now we are entering the 2011 MLB season and we as Phillies fans must put the past behind us. We must try and make ourselves a better team for the near future.

As I said earlier, the Phillies have very little flaws. On paper, our only weakness is the bullpen.

Lucky for us, the 2011 free agent list is infested with relievers.

The majority of our entire pitching staff are right handers, so I think we should focus on hauling in lefties to make our staff more dynamic.

Ruben Amaro Jr. has proved he can be successful in the business of baseball and I have faith in him again.

Without a due, I give you 10 free agent relievers that the Phillies and Ruben Amaro Jr. will try to grab off of the free agent wire.

Begin Slideshow

Remember Forrest Gump?  If he wasn’t fictional, he would have a blast watching the Phillies. We are, “like a box of chocolates—you never know what you’re gonna get.” And that is the way it goes for Phillies fans.

Last night, Stay Puff Marshmallow Man, Blanton, delivered in innings two through five.  As expected he did not perform in the first or the sixth (Uncle Charlie, why did you not pull him after the fifth?) He allowed four runs on eight hits and four walk.

That was my clue to exit the room to save the game. I often write about my nerves and superstition. If I walk away—we pull it out. Even my husband, a PhD in Statistics, and totally rational, cannot explain how I do this—but it works.  I do, however, keep an ear on the game.

We were down nine to two in the eighth.  We were actually luck because after Blanton loaded the bases, Durbin got us out of the sixth. Unfortunately his seventh was not a picnic. 

We found our bats somewhere in the eighth.  Finding our bats when we have good pitching and getting the pitching to work when we have our bats seems to be a problem.  Fortunately something clicked it the Phillies’ collective brains and the Dodgers imploded at the same time.  I began to hear the cheering coming from the TV. 

What happened next is the Phillies hit their way to a 10-9 win thanks to a walk off double by Carlos Ruiz! I guess you could say I got the save, “LOL!”

This three game series was indeed a box of chocolates.  We saw the home debut of Roy Oswalt and  the first home run of Domonic Brown’s promising career.  Kyle Kendrick managed to pitch only three-and-a-third innings and proved to be a split personality pitcher.  Game one was a home run derby that we lost and game two was a shut out.  Game three was like a Hail Mary. 

We took two of three games but need to do better (waiting the return of Victorino, Howard and Utley) to win the division or the wild card.  The series with the Giants will be interesting (I miss Bobble-head Bonds and the screaming insults).  As one of my customers said yesterday, “It’s a great time to be a Phillies fan!”

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Chad Durbin left the Phillies’ 7-6 victory over the Cleveland Indians in the ninth inning due to an apparent hamstring injury.

It didn’t look too terribly serious, but Charlie Manuel killed any optimism immediately after the game.

“He blew out a hammy,” Manuel told the media after Jimmy Rollins’ walk-off home run. “I would say it’s pretty serious. He definitely popped it.”

Great. Another pitcher down for an extended period of time, leaving it to guys who will either be incredibly overworked or leaving them with no choice other than to call someone up or look to a rather shallow free agent pool.

But then the optimism came back as Durbin seemed to shoot down Manuel’s bleak diagnosis.

“It’s a little better than what Charlie said,” Durbin said. “That scared me. He was just in the dramatic mood because of the home run.”

Durbin said he’s expecting a stint on the DL but that it’s only a Grade 1 sprain and should only take between 10 to 14 days to heal. It could, however, take up to three weeks.

So while it’s not nearly as bad as Manuel made it sound, it’s still not good news.

The bullpen has been an Achilles’ heel of this team as of late, and it can’t afford to get any thinner. Ryan Madson and Antonio Bastardo are already on the DL, Brad Lidge still might be working through some things, and the other guys in the ‘pen aren’t going to be able to handle a huge workload.

Durbin landing on the DL does open up a spot, however, and it could mean the return of Scott Mathieson to the active roster. Whether or not he gets used outside of a pinch situation has yet to be seen, but it’s possible he’s the guy they turn to for depth.

Greg Dobbs Accepts Assignment to Triple-A Lehigh Valley

In some semi-good news, Greg Dobbs has decided he’s going to stay in the Phillies’ system and head down to Triple-A rather than becoming a free agent after passing through waivers.

With some consistent at-bats and some time in the field, Dobbs might be able to find his stride once again and find his way back on the active roster before the season is over.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Sunday was just weird and frankly after not watching  much but listening to the Flyers game (my ESP telling me we would lose, drat) following a day outside with Darren Daulton with kids learning the art of batting , as well as customers all starry eyed because they met him and talked some sports (including Flyers), I was beat. This blog is now 18 hours late!

Darren “Dutch” Daulton  –  what a mensch (look it up if you have no idea what it means).  He worked with all the children and they loved it.  There were three kids who were particularly talented and he was wonderful with them. It was his patience with the others who love the sport but need work that was amazing.

Parents were catchers and fielders, enjoying the experience with their kids.  Balls were broken in half and quarters, landing in trees and bushes. Talk about passion for the sport! Jeff (our cancer survivor) pitched for an hour with the biggest grin on his face.  Dutch signed one of the balls he used with a special inscription and told him he had a good arm.  He also told him he could give the “Old Man” a run for his money if he were 10 years younger. Sure he could!

Yesterday was about passion for all sports. All the Phillies and Flyers were discussed.  We Philadelphians are all about our teams and favorite players!

Parents, kids and fans crowded around Dutch, applauding him as he entered the café.  He in turn treated each of them with gratitude and humility, a rare quality today. I cannot say enough good things about the day and about Darren Daulton.  Go to Facebook JJ Elephant Fan Page to see all the photos.

The visit to JJ Elephant made every one of us fans of Daulton and the game.  Wouldn’t it be grand if instead of sitting at a bar with kids for hours or waiting in line at the mall  for an athlete to sign something in 3 seconds, kids had a chance to play a sport and learn from an athlete? 

I am hoping more athletes follow Dutch and come to meet and greet customers, work with kids and have a real (non alcoholic) lunch sitting and chatting with people.

Now the switch.  At 2 pm I quickly took off my Phillies’ jersey and switched to my Flyers Giroux tee shit and Stanley Cup playoff hat. 

I predicted the Flyers in 7 but was told it must be six.  I had that “eeky” feeling so I  worked on editing Dutch photos rather than watch the blowout.  I did actually break down and watch moments here and there. Since I was exhausted and knew the outcome, why expend the energy cheering for the(measly) four goals? I clapped though. 

The Chicago Machine fought dirty – we needed the Flyers to be the Broad Street Bullies of old.  I am still puzzled as to why they pulled the goalie so early. Isn’t that damn Amstel Light song they do after each goal annoying?  I will never pick up that beer again as long as I live.

The refs missed some penalties on Chicago and there was the home ice advantage.  Flyers played a much cleaner series thus far and overcame more odds to get to the Cup finals.  The buzz is that they will win at home and still win in Chicago.

Niemi was truly amazing so despite my bias, kudos to him.  Leighton was pulled but it seemed there was little defense helping the goalies during the game.

Flyers are a team that seems destined to win, but who knows?  I will wear my orange and black and pray to the hockey god (s) for the win on Wednesday at home.  They cannot lose the most important game of the series!  Guess that means no TV for me (my gift to the Flyers).

Now to stop the Chicago Machine…

Shoot——————————–>Score   Go Flyers!

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com