Crossing Broad

Chase Utley Could Be Out A While

Jayson Stark was on 97.5 The Fanatic today, and he says Chase Utley could be out a month and a half with this injury.

He called it a "devastation" to the Phillies.  He's right.  Utley still hasn't clicked on all cylinders this year, and missing that much time would only set him back further.  The possible silver lining is that Utley is a thin guy who wears down over the season, if he can stay strong this might leave him more well rested for October.  If there is an October...

Utley was seen in Havertown today at the Philadelphia Hand Center.  He was likely visiting Phillies team hand doctor, Randall Culp.  Culp has worked on me twice and is very pro-surgery.

Listen to the whole interview here at 97.5 The Fanatic. 

Phillies Sent a Scout to See Lee

According to Ken Rosenthal, the Phillies were among four teams who sent a scout to New York to watch Cliff Lee pitch his third consecutive complete game.

So, let me guess this straight, we're still interested in Clifton (great!), but why send the scout?  Maybe if the Phillies didn't trade him in the first place, they wouldn't have to send someone up to New York to tell them "yeah, he's still good."

It doesn't appear like the Phillies are major contenders for Lee (the Mets and the Twins are), but we wouldn't be discussing this if the Phils didn't trade him for minor leaguers in the off-season.

Still mind boggling.

Michael Leighton Signs 2-Year Deal

Multiple sources are reporting Michael Leighton has signed a 2-year deal with the Flyers for $3.1 million.

He mad $600k last year with the Flyers.

Now, if someone would just tell him to hug the post on wide angle shots... 

The Flyers are still interested in securing a "number one", perhaps Marty Turco or Evgeni Nabokov

Post Game Wrap: Reds Rally in Matinee to defeat Halladay/Phils

Christian Rivera is a freelance writer and graphic designer for myphl17.  Follow him on twitter @rivaldesign

The Phillies got off to a good start on Wednesday afternoon against the Reds at Great American Ball Park when another Phillies backup player, Dane Sardinha, hit a 3-run homer in the 4th inning. 

Roy Halladay pitched 5 shutout innings until Joey Votto hit a solo-homer, his 18th of the year, in the bottom of the 6th inning to put the Reds on the board.  Another run was scored by the Reds in the 7th to make it 3-2.  Charlie kept Roy in the game for the 8th inning and Jay Bruce hit a first pitch cutter out of the park, a 2-run homer that gave the Reds the lead in the bottom of the 8th.

Phillies fans had their rally caps ready for the top of the 9th, but it wasn't enough as the Phillies fell 4-3 in Ohio.

Jon Bon Jovi and Tiger Woods Are in Newtown Square

Oh shit.

Hide the women.  Jon Bon Jovi just landed in a private plane outside of SAP's headquarters in Newtown Square.  He is speaking at tonight's opening ceremony for the AT&T Classic being held at Aronimink.

This means that JBJ and Tiger Woods are both in Delaware County as we speak.  Hide all the former strippers and 50 something cougars.

More importantly, where the fuck is there an airport in Newtown Square?

Ross Gload Busts Kendrick's Stones

Check out this Tweet from ESPN The Magazine Writer, Jorge Arangure (sounds like he'd make a good middle reliever): Twitter @jorgearangure

Gload to Kendrick while watching Cliff Lee [third straight complete game] on tv:"Kyle you'd waive no trade to go to Seattle right?we'll give 3/4 share...maybe more."

He was joking of course... Kyle Kendrick doesn't have a no-trade clause.

Even Cliff Lee Can't Do it on His Own

Christian Rivera is a freelance writer and graphic designer for myphl17.  Follow him on twitter @rivaldesign

As the Phillies having Roy Halladay proves, having a stud pitcher doesn't instantly mean wins.  Halladay in 8-6 so far this year when many fans feel he should be 11-3.  The Phillies' infamous May slump kept his victory total lower than expected, but that's something that can happen to any team in Major League Baseball -- namely, the Mets. 

Cliff Lee suffered from some losses after the All-Star break last year while with the Phillies, which means he isn't invincible.  He's absolutely a solid pitcher and will bolster the Mets rotation, but we can't assume that the Mets are going to run away with the NL east solely based on his acquisition.  If the Mets acquire Lee, we'll only face him potentially a few times for the rest of this year.  He only pitches 1 out of every 5 days and a team can't win the division or the World Series on his shoulders alone.  It will help the Mets to be more of a contender, but there are no guarantees in baseball.

As for the Phillies getting their hands on Lee?

Game Day Preview: Phillies (41-34) at Reds (43-35)

Kevin McAlpin covers the Phillies for 97.5 The Fanatic.  Follow him on Twitter (@KevinMcAlpin)
 
On a day where the Phillies lost half their infield to the DL, the reserves stepped-up and earned a much-needed extra innings win.  Both Brian Schneider and Wilson Valdez hit three-run home runs, and the Phillies ended up pulling out a 9-6 win in 10 innings.  It was a roller coaster win as Brad Lidge blew his second save of the season but got the win as the Phillies jumped all over Arthur Rhodes in the 10th. 

Roy Halladay (9-6, 2.29) gets the nod this afternoon in the series finale.  Friday, Doc tossed seven shutout innings against his former squad and snapped a three-game losing streak.  For Halladay, the emotional effects of facing former teammates were eased as the game was played in Philadelphia.  "It's sometimes tough facing guys you know" said Halladay.  "Being here kind of seems like a regular game for me this year."  Another factor that made Halladay's night easier was the fact that the Phillies offense finally gave him some run support.  Aaron Harang (6-7, 5.07) will toe the rubber for the Reds and has had similar run support issues.  Last Friday, Harang went seven innings giving up just three runs en route to the win.  In his two previous starts, the Reds offense was held scoreless and Harang was saddled with two straight losses.

With last night's win, the Phillies improved to 13-12 in June.  It might not sound all that glamorous, but a year ago, the Phils were 4 games under .500 (11-15).  The 2010 Phillies have already proven to be a resilient bunch, playing the majority of their season without Jimmy Rollins.  They'll have to hold down the fort once again and carry on without two major pieces of both their offense AND defense. 

Vick's Story Conflicts with Video

Michael Vick has just stepped in some serious dog shit, and, well, that's ironic.

According to the Daily Press, a restaurant spokesperson said Vick was seen on surveillance video leaving the party at 2:07 AM, headed in the direction of where his former co-defendant Quanis Phillips was shot at... wait for it... 2:10 AM.

Randall Cunningham's Son Dies

Horrible news.

Randall Cunningham's son died in a hot tub last night at his Las Vegas home.  A woman at Cunningham's house found him floating in the water.  She got him out and attempted CPR, but was unable to revive him.

Cunningham was on his way home from San Diego at the time.

More on NBCPhiladelphia.com. 

Post Game Wrap: Lidge Drops the ball, team lifts it up.

Christian Rivera is a freelance writer and graphic designer for myphl17.  Follow him on twitter @rivaldesign

Having a few of your hottest players on the DL creates a little pressure for the rest of the team.  Luckily, in last night's 9-6 win over the Reds, they thrived on that pressure. 

With Placido Polanco and Chase Utley out of the lineup due to injuries, someone needed to really step it up and it was the bottom of the lineup that took the reigns.  Wilson Valdez and Brian Schneider each hit 3-run shots in Tuesday's win at Great American Ball Park, effectively calming worried fans with a swing of the bat. 

But we all know very well that it's never that easy.

Mets Real Hot on Lee

As if the news of Utley and Polanco going on the DL wasn't enough, here's another tidbit to ruin your day.

Mets' Blog and the Seattle Times are saying that a deal between the Mets and Mariners for Cliff Lee is looking more and more likely.  The Mets believe they can win this thing (the whole thing) and they want CP Lee now.

And there's growing pressure on him to make that deal. The Philadelphia Phillies are not the offensive juggernaut they were expected to be and a Lee acquisition could give the Mets just enough to hold them off and win the NL East. And possibly advance to a World Series.

That's good news for Mariners fans and also the reason why I think this trade gets done sooner rather than later, either with the Mets or Minnesota Twins. Yes, the Cards offering up the 19th overall pick in last year's draft, pitcher Shelby Miller, is intriguing if true. But he's still a few years away and, if anything, the M's could be better off leveraging those rumors in order to squeeze a better package out of other suitors.

The Mets are like the "last year us", laughing at the team behind them and wanting to bring in Cliff Lee to lead them to the World Series.

This is bad, real bad, Michael Jackson and now I'm mad, real mad, Joe Jackson.