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Thursday: Have the Phillies reversed their fortunes?

The Phils are 5-1 since the Mets meltdown. Have they turned it around, or have they capitalized on favorable match-ups in games they were supposed to win anyway?

Beerleaguer: Or does it really matter? It's such an unusual season that Thursday's match-up, Roy Halladay against Chris Volstad, pitting perhaps the best and worst pitchers in the National League, reads as a loss because the Phils can't buy a win for their aces. So why not throw away the press notes, ignore where the Phillies sit in the standings on May 17 and watch Doc do his thing. Common sense says he'll eventually get his wins.

The Phils' win streak - which reached four after Wednesday's 9-2 victory - also coincides with Charlie Manuel's talk. One of the takeaways from a players' perspective might have been to take nothing for granted. The Phils are not the same team that made miracles happen night after night after night. Nevertheless, they're good enough, based on their starting pitching alone, to approach each individual game with confidence. 

And we've seen better approaches, too. Freddy Galvis raised his season slash line to .235/.273/.374 Wednesday. The Phillies will gladly take that considering he's in the lineup for his glove. If he can raise his on-base percentage to something closer to .300, consistently, than he's in this league to stay. Carlos Ruiz raised his hand and volunteered to pick of the slack. He hit his seventh homer Wednesday, which passes his 2011 total. Pitching-wise, Kyle Kendrick makes the best of being on the rotation/bullpen yo-yo and delivered six innings of three-hit ball. Hector Luna and Mike Fontenot, new additions with small sample sizes, should at least stand for a bench that, on the whole, has improved.

Game chat: Phillies hoping to solve Matt Garza

The Phillies hit Matt Garza when it mattered most - in Game 3 of the 2008 World Series. But in regular-season play, the Phils have had no answers for the talented right-hander.

Garza (2-1, 2.56 this season) owns a 2-1 record with a 0.96 ERA in four career regular-season starts against the Phillies. Just to point out a few names, Jimmy Rollins (2-for-14), Placido Polanco (2-for-14) and Shane Victorino (1-for-11) have struggled against him in the past.

The Phillies, winners of three straight games for the first time this season, will turn to Kyle Kendrick (0-3, 7.32) in place of the injured Vance Worley. Kendrick faced Garza back on April 29, when the Cubs notched a 5-1 win in South Philly. That was part of a four-game series in which each team won twice.

Minor-league trade: The Phillies swapped minor-league outfielders with the Rays on Wednesday. Coming to the organization is Kyle Hudson, who saw minimal action in 14 games with the Orioles last season. This year, Hudson, 25, was hitting .291 with a .378 OBP for Tampa's Triple-A affiliate. According to the latest Baseball America Prospect Handbook, the left-handed hitting Hudson is "a premium athlete" with "blazing speed," though he is "still refining his baseball skills, in particular his swing and his instincts on the basepaths and in the outfield." To get Hudson, the Phillies traded away Rich Thompson, 33, who was hitting .307 with a .390 OBP at Lehigh Valley. He has already been called up to the Rays.

Add him to the list: Worley is Phils' ninth DL casualty

Another Phillie hit the disabled list today, as the club placed Vance Worley on the 15-day.

CSNPhilly.com's Jim Salisbury reported Worley's elbow soreness yesterday, and the team sent out the following release this morning:

Right-hander Vance Worley has been placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to May 12, with right elbow inflammation, Senior Vice President and General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. announced today.  To fill his spot on the 25-man roster, left-hander Joe Savery has been recalled from triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Additionally, right-hander Kyle Kendrick will start for the Phillies tonight against the Chicago Cubs at 8:05 p.m. ET.

Kendrick has surrendered 16 earned runs on 31 hits in 19 2-3 innings of work this season. Here's to a speedy recovery for the Vanimal.

Diekman reflects on win in Major League debut

Pence taketh away, then giveth, in walk-off win

A sampling of reader reactions to Hunter Pence and Chad Qualls costing Cliff Lee his first win, then Pence rewarding Jake Diekman, who struck out three of the four batters he faced, with a win in his first Major League appearance:

"Fine. Still does not make up for screwing Lee out of his W."

"Cliff whispers WTF under his breath."

"Clearly, Brad Mills angered the Baseball Gods using Myers there."

"Baseball is a funny game."

Game chat: Lee, Phils try to complete short sweep

Cliff Lee goes in search of his first win of the season against Jordan Lyles and the Houston Astros. First pitch is slated for 1:05 p.m., with much of the Northeast socked in by rain. The Phillies go Rollins, Pierre, Victorino, Pence, Polanco, Mayberry, Galvis, Schneider. [Jump to the newest comments]

Polanco homers for hit 2,000 in feel-good win

A couple of good guys had good nights, including Freddy Galvis, Carlos Ruiz, Joe Blanton and Placido Polanco, who finally squared his 2,000th career hit by drilling his first home run of the season, in the Phillies' 5-1 win over the Astros Monday night.

Beerleaguer: Polanco's improvement is one of the main reason the offense has stabilized lately. John Mayberry Jr., who was likewise nonexistent in April, is also starting to hit. The bottom of the lineup, Ruiz, Polanco, Mayberry and Freddy Galvis, collected eight hits tonight, including three hits and a pair of RBIs from Galvis. It took a little while for the Phils to solve Lucas Harrell's hard sinker, but they waited him out and he eventually fell apart. Meanwhile, Joe Blanton continued his run of strong outings. He pitched into the eighth and allowed just one run, overmatching the Astros' horrid lineup. Blanton is 3-0 with a 2.10 ERA in his last four turns.

The Braves lost and the Nationals won, but as Chris Wheeler said during the broadcast, the Phils can only worry about themselves right now and hope to put together a win streak. Tuesday's Game 2 is a great opportunity to extend it to three.

Game chat: Phillies start short set with visiting Astros

Preview: The Phillies have treated the Astros like their own personal farm system the last two seasons, but today, only a half game separates them in the standings. The two sides begin a two-game series Monday at Citizens Bank Park. First pitch is 7:05. The Phillies go Rollins SS, Pierre LF, Victorino CF, Pence RF, Ruiz C, Polanco 3B, Mayberry 1B, Galvis 2B, Blanton P. Placido Polanco, who is having a good month, needs a hit to reach 2,000 in his career. Juan Pierre is hitting .364 with runners in scoring position and is a .444/.500/.481 hitter since May 3. Joe Blanton has terrific career numbers at home, and against the National League Central, so if the Phils can play between the raindrops, the odds are on their side to emerge with a 'W'.

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Mike Costanzo: A major league ballplayer, at last

In case you missed it over the weekend, Mike Costanzo is officially a Major League Baseball player.

Costanzo, one of three players shipped to the Astros in the November 2007 trade for Brad Lidge, made his ML debut on Sunday. He came on as a pinch-hitter for the Reds and lifted a sacrifice fly in his first career at-bat.

Not only was Costanzo originally chosen by the Phils in the second round of the '05 draft, but he's also a local kid from Springfield, Pa.

After getting traded to Houston and then to Baltimore, the Orioles asked Costanzo to switch to pitching in April 2010. Costanzo refused and was promptly released. He spent two weeks playing independent ball in Camden before signing with the Reds in May 2010. Over the past three seasons, Costanzo has alternated between Double-A and Triple-A. The 28-year-old was hitting .291 with three homers and 11 RBIs for Triple-A Louisville at the time of his recall. 

With Scott Rolen hurt again - this time with shoulder pain - Costanzo could conceivably get some playing time at third base for Cincinnati. At the very least, he'll give the Reds a lefty bat off the bench.

And if you like this kind of feel-good story, here are some of Costanzo's quotes from Sunday:

"A lot of emotions are running around in my head. It's been quite a journey for me. I'm ecstatic about being here. ....... I love baseball. Definitely being 28 and in Triple-A the last five years, going to indy ball and doing all of that stuff, it makes you wonder sometimes. Never did I want to stop playing. ......... A lot of guys never get the chance. For me to get it, it's been unbelievable. The best feeling was when I called my parents. It was awesome."

Monday: Braves quietly rising to head of NL class

The Braves completed a three-game sweep of the Central-leading Cardinals Sunday to put a stamp on a 7-2 road trip. They lead the Nationals by a half game in the division and are six games up on the Phils.

Beerleaguer: The Phillies' inability to string together winning streaks is starting to show up in the standings as the Phils, who are 4-6 over their last 10, won their series with the Padres Sunday, but lost ground in the division race. All four of the Phils' division rivals are playing winning baseball, including the Marlins, who had a monster road trip then came back to Florida and took two-of-three from the Mets. The Braves' lineup is a win better than their 21-14 Pythagorean. Their lineup is simply airtight 1-through-8, paced by a terrific season so far by Michael Bourn (.399 OBP). Other factors: The best 1-2 late-inning bullpen punch in Johnny Venters and Craig Kimbrell. They're 14-8 on the road. They also have a much better bench than the Phils, with guys like Eric Hinske and Matt Diaz contributing big hits.

Cardinals release Romero: J.C. Romero, who allowed 14 hits and nine earned runs in eight innings with the Cardinals, was given his pink slip Monday. Ironically, the Phils are keeping their eyes peeled for a player like the Romero from five years ago, when he was signed by the Phils mid-season after he was released by the Red Sox. Unfortunately, the 35-year-old lefty is a shell of his former self, although it wouldn't shock me if the Phils offered a minor league deal.

Sunday chat: Phillies go hunting for meaningful hits

Cole Hamels (4-1, 2.45) and the Phillies engage in the third and final game with the San Diego Padres Sunday at 1:35 p.m.

Beerleaguer: The Phils are trying to forget a dismal night by Hunter Pence and the Phillies' offense, which went 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position and stranded 12 runners total. Pence, whose head was flying off the ball all night, stranded five himself and was roundly booed when he popped out on a first-pitch breaking ball with the bases loaded and down one run in the seventh. Pence has managed just two hits in his last 23 plate appearances as his "likable new guy free pass" appears to have expired with fans. The Phils are 15-19, last in the National League East, largely due to bad at bats.

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Saturday chat: Fontenot arrives; Ruiz' All-Star push

The Phillies' roster Mardi Gras continued with the addition of Louisianan infielder Mike Fontenot, who was promoted to the club following the Phillies' 7-3 win over the Padres. (US Presswire Photo)

Following Charlie Manuel's Wednesday pep talk, the Phils responded with one of their crispest efforts of the season: a workman-like outing from Vance Worley, three innings of shutout relief from Antonio Bastardo and Chad Qualls, John Mayberry's first home run of the season and three RBIs, doubling up his season total, and a 3-for-3 night by white-hot Carlos Ruiz, who launched his sixth bomb to match his season total from a year ago. The diminutive catcher dwarfs his Major League peers. Among qualified catchers, his .987 OPS is best in baseball. It's almost a full .100 points higher than blue-chipper Matt Wieters of Baltimore (.890), and he's leaving perennial All-Star Yadier Molina (.866) in the dust, along with Buster Posey (.817). He's sixth in the National League in hitting (.340). Ruiz has never appeared in the mid-summer classic.

Meanwhile, the Phils added their fourth new face in less than 24 hours, calling up veteran infielder Mike Fontenot while sending slugging catcher Erik Kratz back to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Fontenot, 31, has a good chance to work his way into Manuel's starting lineup. He's a career .263/.332/.402 hitter in six seasons. A lefty batter, he was hitting .319 (15 for 47) in 14 games with Lehigh Valley. Most of his action has been at second base, but he's a reliable option for short and third.

... that's no small point since Jimmy Rollins' .229/.277/.267 has become a tired act.

Game chat: Volquez and Halladay tonight at 7:05. Enjoy the weather everyone.

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Game chat: New-look Phils ready to rock the Bank

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Beer nuts: May is Ryan Madson Appreciation Month

If April was a time to reflect on what Ryan Howard means to the offense, then May has been a way to commemorate what Ryan Madson achieved for nine seasons with the Phillies.

These are career splits, calculated over nine seasons by our good Philly-based friends at Baseball-Reference.com: A 3.05 ERA in relief including 486 strikeouts in 539 innings. A .666 OPS against in situations classified as "high leverage," which can be explained here. A 3.26 ERA on one-day rest, a 3.12 on two, 2.76 on three and 1.08 ERA on four. A .634 opponent OPS in the 8th inning. A .617 OPS in extra innings. A 2.36 ERA against the Marlins, 3.36 against the Braves and 2.87 against the Mets. A durable 66 appearances a season during the Phillies' five-year division pennant run and a 2.89 ERA and 8.6 S0/9 over that span. A career-best 2.37 ERA and 32 saves in 2011. Tell me that wouldn't look good in the Phillies' bullpen right now ...

Nix to the DL: The moves reported by Michael Schwimer on Twitter - promotions for Jake Diekman, Hector Luna and Raul Valdes - were made official. Here are the corresponding moves: Laynce Nix has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a calf strain. Brian Sanches has been outrighted to Triple-A. That's according to multiple sources on twitter. Unsure why Sanches wouldn't need to clear waivers.

Report: Hamels, Victorino drawing interest from Jays

According to Major League sources for FoxSports scribe Ken Rosenthal, the Toronto Blue Jays have already engaged in a dialogue with the Phillies about pending free agents Cole Hamels and Shane Victorino. The Blue Jays, who are 18-14, are widely considered the team that stands to benefit most from the expanded playoff structure. Meanwhile, Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. told CSNPhilly.com insider Jim Salisbury Thursday that the 14-18 Phils could become sellers if they continue at the same rate. It was reported this winter that the Phils are believed to have interest in reacquiring catcher Travis d'Arnaud who was bundled to the Jays as part of the Roy Halladay deal.

Beerleaguer: Think about this: Trading Hamels for young players might be the best way to keep him in the long run.

The Phils could work out a side deal with the prized left-hander. "Listen, Cole, we're going to move you to a contender so we can replenish. Enjoy the postseason. Enjoy Toronto. And we'll hammer out a deal in November." It's a great year to be a seller, too, especially when you have Hamels and Victorino this close to free agency. Lots of prospect-rich, hungry teams like Toronto are just dying to slip into the postseason; they now have a real shot because of the expanded structure.

Schwimer tweet suggests the cavalry is coming

Michael Schwimer's recent demotion hasn't deadened his zest for reporting breaking news. According to his Twitter, relievers Jake Diekman, Raul Valdes and utility infielder Hector Luna are coming to Philadelphia.

Beerleaguer: If true, that's an unprecedented one-shot overhaul. Joe Savery was demoted last night, so a reliever was coming up regardless, likely Diekman, who has been outstanding for the last calendar year. Valdes could replace Brian Sanches, or Jose Contreras could land back on the disabled list. Or Chad Qualls, who's reportedly nursing some type of hidden injury. Luna could also be coming up because of an injury to Laynce Nix, or even Ty Wigginton or Carlos Ruiz. Erik Kratz is already on the roster as a third catcher. We'll see what happens ...

season = over ?

When was the last time the Phillies made you feel hopeless?

The losses are mounting. So are the injuries. Lance Nix, Ty Wigginton, Carlos Ruiz and Chad Qualls are the latest, according to this report. The starting pitching has been undermined by every other aspect of the team. Case in point: the Phillies are 0-8 in the last eight starts by Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee. During the last four years, the Phillies enjoyed relative stability in their bullpen. Leads were converted to wins. Today, they have the worst bullpen in the bigs, on top of a bottom-third lineup, compounded by a defense lacking in playmakers.

Game chat: Mets-Phils series finale; Sink or Schwim?

Sink.

Transaction: To make room for tonight's starter, Cliff Lee, the Phillies optioned Michael Schwimer down to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The 26-year-old right-hander appeared in five games and posted an 8.53, including a pair of salt-on-the-wound runs in Tuesday's brutal loss to the Mets, who've taken four out of five games from the Phillies this season. Schwimer, whose confidence appeared broken Tuesday night, allowed runs in four of his five appearances, which is right in line with the rest of the bullpen these days. As the pregame notes tell us, after posting a 2.01 ERA (10 ER, 31.1 IP) and a .233 (27-for-116) opponents average over its first 14 appearances of the season, the Phillies' bullpen has a 6.97 ERA (32 ER, 41.1 IP) over its last 15 games. They're last in bullpen ERA with a 4.95, which is almost .30 worse than the second worst team, Toronto. They may seem to be stretched thin because of the extra-inning games, injury and so forth, but they've tallied just 70 1-3 innings, which is the second lowest in baseball.

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Another predictable late-inning fail by fading Phillies

The Phillies squandered a three-run lead in the seventh inning because of ineffective relief and egregious mistakes in a 7-4 loss to the Mets. The 14-17 Phils have lost four of their last five games.

Beerleaguer: Everyone watching knew that if Joe Blanton didn't close out the seventh, all the inherited runners were going to score, and that's precisely what happened. The Phils can't trust anyone to string together outs in the middle innings right now: not Chad Qualls; not Antonio Bastardo. Who can you trust? Toss in Pete Orr and the rundown quagmire and a comfortable lead turned into another swift beating at the hands of a marginal opponent.

Afterward, Charlie Manuel said they're playing "tight." That might be true, but everyone knows that's not the real problem. The roster is rife with inefficiencies and players like Orr who don't belong in the Majors. That's the problem. The Phils have also received a decent study on Michael Schwimer these last few weeks. "Not fit for the Show" should be the report. The Phils will make a roster move to accomodate Cliff Lee's return. There are plenty of candidates. But again ... What are the alternatives?

The Phils can usually count on better defense. Otherwise, Tuesday's loss followed the 2012 blueprint.

Game chat: Batista, Blanton set in second game

Notes: Major League Baseball has slapped Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo with an undisclosed fine for his comments about Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels, CSNPhilly.com reports. ... Game-time temps are expected near 50 with a 50 percent chance of rain, according to NBC10.
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