The Philly Phyles

[General]

ESPN's Jayson Stark believes the Yankees will acquire Bobby Abreu and Cory Lidle from the Phillies for 2005 first-round pick C.J. Henry and right-hander Steven White.
The Phillies could likely get better prospects for Lidle alone, but that so clearly isn't the point. Abreu's no-trade clause may or may not be a stumbling block. The Yankees are apparently prepared to pick up his $16 million option for 2008 in order to keep him happy, though it's not guaranteed that Abreu wouldn't want more to sign off on the deal. In taking Abreu's contract, the Yankees would be employing about $100 million more in talent than any other team in baseball. If they can win under those circumstances, well, Joe Torre really must be a genius.

[General]

Brian Moehler expects to move to the Marlins' bullpen for the time being.
Anibal Sanchez will likely remain in the rotation and start Friday against the Dodgers. Manager Joe Girardi hasn't made an announcement regarding this, but it is expected to be made official on Tuesday.

[General]

Jon Lieber pitched a complete game in Saturday's loss to the Mets. He gave up four runs -- one earned -- in eight innings.
It should have an easy sixth inning for Lieber, but after retiring the first two batters, he committed a throwing error on Carlos Beltran's comebacker. A single up the middle followed, and David Wright then hit a shallow fly to left than neither Pat Burrell nor Jimmy Rollins could get to, though Burrell should have had it. It fell for an RBI single. The next batter, Endy Chavez, followed with a shot to left that a quality left fielder might have caught. It got over Burrell's head for a two-run double. That turned out to be all the Mets needed. Lieber still had a fine outing, which he needed after the disaster against the Marlins on deadline day.

[General]

Ryan Howard went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer to reach the century mark in RBI in the Phillies' 9-6 win over the Braves on Monday night.
Howards leads the National League with 39 homers and 101 RBI. The homer off Horacio Ramirez was his 10th against a left-hander. He needs nine more homers to match Mike Schmidt's Phillies record of 48 in a season.

[General]

Randy Wolf wasn't involved in the decision after allowing three runs -- two earned -- in 5 1/3 innings against the Braves on Wednesday.
Wolf didn't give up a run until the fifth, when Andruw Jones managed to take a curveball off the plate and deposit it into the left-field bleachers. Wolf was removed after giving up a couple of singles while getting one out in the sixth. Rick White allowed both baserunners to score, though it took some help from an Abraham Nunez error. Wolf is 0-0 with a 5.27 ERA in three starts since returning from Tommy John surgery.

[General]

Ryan Howard is a beast.

[General]

Aaron Rowand hit a walk-off RBI single against Reds reliever Elizardo Ramirez to give the Phillies a 6-5 win in 14 innings on Friday.
David Dellucci singled off Ramirez to start the bottom of the 14th, with Chase Utley following by drawing a walk. Ryan Howard was then intentionally walked to load the bases, allowing Rowand to single to right to win the game after an Aaron Fultz line out. The Reds still lead the wild card race at 59-57, but the Phillies are now one of four teams within two games of Cincinnati.

[General]

Brett Myers yielded five runs in 5 2/3 innings Sunday in a no-decision versus the Reds.
Myers struck out five of the seven hitters he faced in the first two innings and fanned nine overall, but Eric Milton's double keyed a two-run third inning and the Reds hit back-to-back-to-back homers to knock Myers out of the game in the sixth. Despite a 43/7 K/BB ratio in 39 2/3 innings, Myers has a 4.76 ERA in six starts since his return following the All-Star break. It's mostly because he's allowed eight homers.

[General]

Randy Wolf threw seven effective innings Tuesday to earn his first victory since June 2005.
He was making his fourth start since coming off the DL after undergoing elbow ligament replacement surgery. Wolf gave up just four hits and two runs, and even chipped in offensively with a pair of hits and two RBI. He is beginning to look like a strong bet in NL-only leagues and even a decent play in deep mixed leagues.

[General]

Shane Victorino hit a solo homer and two-run triple to help the Phillies down the Mets 11-4 Tuesday.
He also homered and doubled on Monday and looks like an excellent pickup for NL-only leagues on the chance he's still available.

[General]

Jon Lieber completely stifled the Mets Wednesday, throwing a five-hit shutout for his fifth win of the year as the Phils downed New York 3-0.
Lieber has actually been much better of late, throwing three straight solid starts, but the wins haven't been coming. Tonight he struck out four without walking anyone and allowed just one runner to reach second base. For Lieber, it was his first shutout in over five years, since 2001 when we went 20-6 for the Cubs.

[General]

Brett Myers was roughed up by the Nationals on Friday, giving six runs on nine hits in just 3 1/3 innings to take the loss in a 6-4 Phillies' defeat.
On the positive side he struck out five, but he did also walk four and give up a pair of homers. Myers had yielded 15 runs over 16 2/3 innings during his last three outings, so he's clearly not on his game right now. He's got a good chance to rebound against the weak Cubs' offense next time out, so keep him active despite the recent struggles.

[General]

Jamie Moyer threw six effective innings on Tuesday to win his Phillies' debut, 6-3 over the Cubs.
At 43, the Ancient Mariner is now the oldest Phillie to ever win a game, breaking a record set by 42-year-old Jerry Koosman in 1985. Moyer gave up six hits, three runs and a walk while striking out four in his first Wrigley Field start since he left the Cubs -- his original team -- in 1988. Moyer's win was his first in five starts since July 26 and just his second since June 24. He actually had a no-hitter going through 4 1/3 innings, and could provide the Phils a real boost down the stretch.

[General]

Jamie Moyer took a loss against the Mets after allowing seven runs -- five earned -- in six innings on Monday.
Moyer pitched well, but he was terribly unlucky. The six-run third started with a single through the infield, a sac bunt attempt on which no outs were recorded and then a bunt single from Jose Reyes. With the bases loaded and no outs, Paul Lo Duca hit what should have been a routine grounder to first, except Reyes was able to screen Ryan Howard and the ball went into right field. Carlos Beltran followed with a grounder to third that could have resulted in two outs, but Abraham Nunez chose to go only for the runner at home. Carlos Delgado delivered a two-run single off Chase Utley's glove, and David Wright hit another single that was originally ruled foul. The umpires conferred a decided the ball when off the edge of the third-base bag, scoring another run and resulting in an argument and an ejection for Charlie Manuel. The Mets' only other run came in the fourth, and a better left fielder than a sore-footed Pat Burrell might have taken care of Jose Reyes' triple.

[General]

Tom Gordon (shoulder) pitched two scoreless innings in his second rehab start for Class-A Clearwater on Saturday.
We wonder if the Phillies would have won this afternoon's game had Gordon been closing in place of Arthur Rhodes. Gordon will come off the disabled list either Sunday or Monday and should return to the closer's role immediately.