Two games.
Twenty-thee runs.
Thirty-two hits.
Charlie Manuel put it best after yesterday's 10-4 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Citizens Bank Park: "There's an old saying, 'You've got to win the best way you can' If you score runs, that's how you've got to learn to win, I guess. When I was in Cleveland, we used to outhit people. There's nothing wrong with that. During the season, you can win some games that way. The postseason is where the pitching really shows up. It seems like the team with the best pitching usually comes out on top."
First thing first: the Phillies need to get there.
But to get there, they're going to need to outhit everybody.
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Lefthander Joe Savery, the team's first-round pick, has agreed to a $1.37 million contract with the Phillies. He is expected to report to single-A Williamsport later this week.
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Bill Lyon salutes Phillies fans as their team needs just one more loss for its 10,000th in franchise history.
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Keep an eye on righthander Tom Gordon, who will throw a bullpen session today at Citizens Bank Park. If everything goes well, he could be activated tomorrow for the team's seven-game road trip through Los Angeles and San Diego. The Phillies can't afford another setback with Gordon, who hasn't pitched since May 1 because of a strained right rotator cuff. They need him back, assuming he is healthy.
Frankly, I think Gordon's uncertain health status is one reason why the Phillies never had plans to return closer Brett Myers to the rotation. The last time Gordon spoke with reporters, he said he hadn't been healthy since last June or July. So I'm not sure how much the Phillies feel they can count on him to stay healthy.
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Myers, who hasn't pitched since May 23 because of a strained right shoulder, is targeting July 24 for his return.
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The Inquirer's Sunday baseball question asks 10 questions about the second half of the season. Also check out Extra Bases, Message Sent and On Deck.


Comments (2)
Always enjoy reading your article and blog, Todd.
By the way, was I the only fan really, really annoyed by Fox's cut away to all of Barry Bonds' at-bats? It's not like he was going to hit five home runs in a single at-bat! If Bonds were one dinger away from tying or breaking the record I could understand, but he's still five home runs shy of the record - who cares if he hits number 752? That cutaway cost me a good shot of J-Roll's home run . . .
Posted by Chris Duckworth | July 15, 2007 8:19 AM
Posted on July 15, 2007 08:19
As much as I believe that no Phillies loss is a good loss, I'm looking forward to getting this stupid 10,000th loss out of the way. It's a great way to fill inches upon inches of Inqy real estate, but other than that, eh.
Posted by Matt | July 15, 2007 11:43 AM
Posted on July 15, 2007 11:43