Philadelphia Phillies

Washington Nationals (34-35) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (34-37) Ross Detwiler (2-4, 3.02) vs. Cliff Lee (8-2, 2.55)TIME: 7:05, Citizens Bank ParkTV: CSNWEATHER: 70, rainMEDIA: Facebook or TwitterAfter a walkoff win by Domonic Brown yesterday, more good news. Carlos Ruiz is back. But more bad news, too. The rain is staying, the game is delayed to start, and the showers will likely last all evening. They should play ball tonight.Some things: Cliff Lee hasn’t allowed more than three earned runs in a game since May 1. The Nationals are 27th in MLB in runs scored. Good math Read more Carlos Ruiz news

If the Phillies are truly trying to resolve the puzzle of their ability to contend - and aren't merely trying to convince themselves, their fans, or any potential trade partners of that - then the big piece of the equation is as obvious as always.

Washington Nationals (34-35) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (34-37) Ross Detwiler (2-4, 3.02) vs. Cliff Lee (8-2, 2.55) TIME: 7:05, Citizens Bank Park TV: CSN WEATHER: 70, rain MEDIA: Facebook or Twitter After a walkoff win by Domonic Brown yesterday, more good news. Carlos Ruiz is back. But more bad news, too. The rain is staying, the game is delayed to start, and the showers will likely last all evening. They should play ball tonight. Some things: Cliff Lee hasn’t allowed more than three earned runs in a game since May 1. The Nationals are 27th in MLB in runs scored. Good math. Ben Revere is batting .324 since may 1, third among all centerfielders behind only Mike Trout and Andrew McCutchen. Nice. Lineup: Revere CF, Young 3B, Rollins SS, Howard 1B, Brown LF, D. Young RF, Frandsen 2B, Ruiz C, Lee P Gameday Beer: Loser Pale Ale Funny name, and maybe not apropo after last nights victory. However, this beer is quite tasty. I had a bottle over the weekend, and while it’s not my favorite, it’s definitely one I’ll try again. Loser is made by Elysian. Says one beer advocate commenter: Overall: In basketball players who don’t really fit into any one position but can do a few different things well enough are known as “tweeners” and this is a tweener beer. The Andre Iguadola of beers perhaps? Nice.  -PG GO PHILLIES!

The Nationals broadcasters last night suggested a player or two in the Washington dugout might have been involved in the Phanatic’s four-wheeler stalling before the game. Jayson Werth swears it wasn’t him. QUESTION: The Nationals broadcasters were talking like you might have been involved in some sabotage? WERTH: It was already done by the time I got over there. I tried to help him out a little bit. I’m not very mechanical. QUESTION: So you’re not one of those guys fixing his cars in the winter? WERTH: What’s that called when you hijack a car? QUESTION: Hotwire it? WERTH: I don’t know how to hotwire anything. No, I didn’t have anything to do with it unfortunately. It would have been funny if I did. (laughs) I watched the video and he’s sitting there talking to me, “I can’t get the thing to start.” It was funny. I saw it. It was hilarious. The whole thing was funny.

Carlos Ruiz is back and Cliff Lee is on the mound for the Phillies Tuesday night against the Nationals. Lee (8-2, 2.55) hasn't lost since May 1, and is 6-0 with a 1.93 ERA over his last eight starts. Lee has the highest WAR of any pitcher in June and has mastered the controllable aspects of the game. Since May 1, his K/9 is 8.2, his BB/9 is 1.5 and he's allowed just two homers in 60 2/3 innings. His...

Matt Harvey (arguably the one thing about the Mets that doesn’t suck a butt) had a no-hitter going. Then this happened. Don’t ever change, LOLMETS. GIF from Guyism

As of 3:15pm, the rain clouds are looking ominous in the Philadelphia area, and may drop enough rain in the next few hours to force a postponement of Game 2 of the Phillies / Nats series. The Phils pulled out a lucky win last night, a rare blown save and win by Jonathan Papelbon, but more importantly a step closer to the Washington Nationals in the standings. The Phillies, as bad as they have been playing lately, may not be all that bad if they can turn things around and start stringing together wins. The Phils are now just 1 GB from the Nationals in the standings, and the two teams play each other many more times this year. What's so interesting about this Phillies team is that they just won't stop, despite all of the obstacles that appear to at times leave them unable to get a hit against mediocre pitchers. Add that to the games that the Phillies offense have stranded their starting pitchers on the mound without being able to score, and if the Phillies do make it to the playoffs this year, it may rival the 1993 team in all of the weird things that have been going in this season. Game 2 is on tap tonight, it's Cliff Lee (8-2) on the mound for the Phils tonight, weather permitting.

The signing is official (as in he signed the paper), but the team has yet to announce it or the amount.  The source right now is a picture tweeted out by Crawford’s sister of him signing his contract.  The tweet has since been taken down because the news has yet to be announced.  Slot for the pick is $2,299,300 and Crawford is expected to be very close to it. More news to come as we get it.  Depending on the signing amount this could have large implications on who else they can sign.

Ruben Amaro was a polarizing general manager before he was even officially offered the job. The baseball world was made well aware that Pat Gillick would not be reprising his role at the helm after the 2008 season concluded – and winning a World Series probably helped with that transition out of the captain’s chair – and that the Phillies would need a new GM. It seemed then that there were only two candidates, both internal: the current assistant GM in Amaro, or the fellow AGM and scouting head in Mike Arbuckle. It’s a story you’re all familiar with by now and isn’t worth rambling on about ad nauseum. That time will probably come next month. Instead, I think this week’s post is about acceptance or, at least, assumed acceptance. GM firings and replacements are far more infrequent occurrences than with managers, so it just seems the smart play to assume Amaro gets at least another year to work through the rough water he himself is partially responsible for stirring up. And with that assumption in mind, Amaro is the most important piece involved in this transitional period for the Phils. That may scare you a little, as it does me, but it seems the apparent truth. Removing Amaro from play upon that assumption, then, today’s 10 will focus on the 10 most important “factors” (for lack of a better word) for the Phillies as they move forward through this season and beyond. 10. Freddy Galvis The kid’s got a superlative glove, ad has shown to be exceptional at second base, very good at shortstop (in less time there) and above average at third base, according to my own eye test. Defensive metrics probably haven’t stabilized enough at the latter two positions to give a solid feel one way or another, but that’s beside the point. There’s a very real chance neither Jimmy Rollins nor Chase Utley will be members of the Phillies after this season. Galvis will be The Replacement for whoever leaves first, and will eventually fill in long-term (or however long he can) at shortstop. The guy has to hit at least a little bit, or he’ll either become most useful as a bench/utility player or be a zero sum shortstop whose lack of bat cancels out his leather. A happy medium would be somewhere between those two. 9. Ryne Sandberg His impact this season will be tangibly minimal, but the Hall of Famer is the heir apparent to Charlie Manuel’s managerial seat. How will his tactics differ from Manuel’s? Will he have more of a roster to work with than Manuel has the last two years (unlikely), and will he know how to keep his players’ heads in the game and their respect on his side? Only one way to find out. 8. Antonio Bastardo Bastardo is a microcosm of a bigger issue, but he’s its most prominent figure. Left-handed relief has been spotty and inconsistent, at best, for the Phillies since Scott Eyre wrapped up his 2008 campaign. Since, LHP to log any significant relief time for the Phillies have been, by and large, control-deficient (J.C. Romero, Juan Perez, Jake Diekman) or kept around for their ability to log multiple innings (Raul Valdes, Jeremy Horst) while being marginally effective. Bastardo was supposed to overwhelm his control problems with wicked stuff, striking out enough to offset a 4.5 or so BB/9. That would have to be a big number, and it was for two seasons. Then the first half of 2013 has happened, and all of a sudden, the Phillies are without a surefire lefty reliever again. His impact may only be 50 or so innings per year, but somebody has to get the LHBs out from the left side of the mound, lest we try to watch the likes of Chad Durbin get it done again. 7. Roy Halladay Doc will not be paid $20 million in 2014, or ever again, for pitching baseballs. But his health and whatever remains of his effectiveness could be important for the Phillies in 2014 even still. If the Phillies believe they can assemble some sort of a contender for R

After just two rehab games, the Phillies have activated everyone's favorite catcher, Carlos Ruiz, from the disabled list. He'd taken up residence there since May 20 when he was sidelined by a right hamstring strain. Prior to that, he'd only played in 16 games -- he was reinstated from suspension on April 28. In those 16 games, Chooch has a .235/.286/.275 line. I'm sure he hopes to improve on that. Of course, when someone joins the team, someone must also leave it. Today we say a fond farewell (or maybe just farewell) to Steven Lerud. His five plate appearances have netted him a .000 batting average, a marked decline from his .200 average in his 10 major league plate appearances last year. I wish I could say it was just a small sample size, but his numbers from the minors would beg to differ loudly and with authority. So goodbye, Steven Lerud. Until the next time we need a warm body. And now, a mid-afternoon song. I think we all hope that Chooch stays with the Phillies just a little bit longer this time. Or a lot. How about a lot longer.