7/25 Padres Vs. Phillies Live Blog

It is a Monday day game and I've got nothing to do today, so enjoy this live blog! Because this is a local only telecast and I do not know who else would even be able to watch it, let alone be able to chat, I am not sending any email invitations out. If you want to chat, just hop into the comments section and I'll add you.

Philadelphia Fans Cheer A Catch That Robs Raul Ibanez Of A Home Run. Wait, What?!?!?!?

But please, GQ, keep telling us how Philadelphia Phillies fans are the worst fans in the country.

So You Are A Phillies Fan And You Don't Know Who To Root For On Sunday.....

Tomorrow is going to be an exciting day in sports. There could be some strange bedfellows, awkward celebrations, and utter heartbreak for a baseball team who could possibly lose out on the playoffs on the 163rd day, after holding a massive lead in the division 2 months ago. Before I go into about what Phillies fans should be hoping for, here is a list of the scenarios based on the results of tomorrow's games. The Phillies/Braves game starts at 1:35 whereas the Padres/Giants game does not get underway until 4:05.

1). Phillies win, Giants win: Giants win NL West, Padres travel to Atlanta to play Braves in a wildcard tie-breaker on Monday.
2). Phillies win, Padres win: Padres win NL West, Giants win wildcard, Braves are eliminated.
3). Braves win, Giants win: Giants win NL West, Braves win wildcard, Padres are eliminated.
4). Braves win, Padres win: 3-way tie. Giants and Padres will travel to San Diego for NL West tiebreaker game on Monday, the loser of the NL West tiebreaker will travel to Atlanta to play the Braves in a wildcard tiebreaker on Tuesday.

Now who the Phillies play on Wednesday and what team I will be inches away from at Citizens Bank Park on Friday is not yet determined. Using the same numbers for the scenarios, here is what each of them would result in for the Phillies in terms of their NLDS opponent.

1). Phillies opponent will be based on the tiebreaker results. If the Padres win, the Phillies will play the Padres. If the Braves win, the Phillies will play the Reds, who are starting Edinson Volquez in Game 1.
2). Phillies will play the Giants and a rested Tim Lincecum will be pitching Game 1.
3). Phillies will play the Padres..
4). Phillies opponent will be based on the tiebreaker results. If Giants win/Padres win, Phillies will play the Padres. If Giants win/Braves win, Phillies will play the Reds. If Padres win/Giants win, Phillies will play the Giants. If Padres win/Braves win, Phillies will play the Reds.

As hard as it is to believe, the worst case scenario would be the scenario where the Phillies win and the Padres win, the same result those who have enjoyed the schadenfreude have rooted for the past couple of days. As mentioned above, the Phillies would face a rested Tim Lincecum in Game 1, who would also be able to pitch in Game 4, if necessary, at AT&T Park. And while anything can happen in the playoffs and anyone can beat anyone on any day, this is as close to a disaster as you could possibly imagine for the Phillies. But the counter to that is the LDS series are mathematically speaking the most luck driven series of the playoffs because it is only best-of-5 instead of best-of-7. In other words, it can better to play the toughest opponent in the shorter series, where luck can play a bigger factor.

Perhaps the best scenario for the Phillies would be a scenario where the Braves win. Of course, its counterpart would be having the Padres win and us having a 3-way tiebreaker. And while this does involve the chance of playing the Giants, it would be without Lincecum starting Game 1. The Giants being in a tiebreaker means Tim Lincecum pitches in said tiebreaker. While that certainly gives the Giants a leg up in that game, it leaves them bare and exposed in the NLDS. But because I can't in good faith root for the Braves to beat the Phillies, I'll settle for the Phillies winning and the Giants winning, resulting in a Padres/Braves tiebreaker where the Phillies would either play the Padres or the Reds.

Any scenario where the Phillies play the Reds is fine with me, same with any scenario where the Phillies play the Padres. I am well aware that nobody is a guaranteed victory and I will not be celebrating an NLCS berth before this Wednesday, but I will certainly feel like the Phillies chances to advance will be higher by avoiding a series where Tim Lincecum pitches on Wednesday after a week of rest and in Game 4 in San Francisco on normal rest, even with the prospect of luck, because the Giants could very easily lose out and the Phillies can avoid their strongest adversary this year all together.

Jake Peavy Traded To The White Sox Again

The trade deadline has ended with a bang and, aside from the Sawx getting a local V-Mart near them, the biggest deal of the day has been saved for last. I feel like we are back in May or something as once again the San Diego Padres have dealt Jake Peavy and once again, they have dealt him to the White Sox. Only this time, it appears as if Jake Peavy will approve that trade. From Jon Heyman's Twitter feed.
Well then! Certainly an odd move to say the least, and a complete 180 on Peavy's part, but I guess that is what an injury and a sucky team can do to you. At this point, I would think that Peavy would just want to get on a playoff team and with the Padres all but out of it and the White Sox looking good right about now, I guess you can't really blame him for changing his mind.

Update: It appears that in return the Padres are getting "left-handers Aaron Poreda and Clayton Richard and right-handers Dexter Carter and Adam Russell" according to MLB.com

Was Yesterday The Best All Around Day In Philadelphia Sports History?

It certainly is an interesting question and one that while laughable at first, there is a point here. Obviously days where championships won take the cake despite what anyone else does, but was there ever a day where all 4 major Philadelphia teams contributed something exciting and worth talking about and celebrating? The Philadelphia Inquirer has yet to find such a day, although a couple commenters chimed in with some ideas for days tht topped this one. Here is a recap of everything that happened yesterday. First, the Eagles introduced Jaston Peters to the media (I can only find this article; no embedable video).

Raul Ibanez had a 2-run walkoff homerun that won the game for the Phillies in the bottom of the 9th.



The Flyers trounced the Penguins.



And to cap off the exciting afternoon, roughtly 7 hours after the press conference, there was this the end of the Sixers game. And now...Gus Johnson Sixers PbP man, Marc Zumoff.



Wait....did I just hear "Better Days" at the end of that video? Too funny. Well, what are your thoughts, do you think that yesterday was the best all-around day in Philly sports history? There really is no right or wrong answers here.

For more, please read this Inquirer article and the subsequent comments section underneath it.

The Streak Is Over

"All good things must come to an end." - Tom McCarthy

And alas, for Phillies fans, the best thing they had going for them, just came to an end. With the Phils leading 5-4 in the top of the 9th, Brad Lidge gave up a lead off double. That was followed by 2 groundouts and those groundouts subsequently advanced the runner one base per groundout and that in turn meant the end of Brad Lidge's streak of 47 straight saves. The Padres tied the game as the fans stood up and saluted the end of the streak that defined the Phillies World Series run in 2008.

That was followed up by 2 walks and a subsequent 3-run homer by Kouzmanhoff and it's 8-5 Padres in the top of the ninth with 2 out.

And even after the homerun, the crowd in Philly still salutes Lidge.