Pitching coach Rich Dubee said he had "very high" confidence that Phillies starter Roy Oswalt would make his scheduled start Thursday at San Diego. Oswalt was diagnosed with lower back strain, a condition which has previously sent him to the DL.

Not to worry Phillies fans… during his recent tour stop in Atlantic City Charlie Sheen (didn't) mention his interest in reviving the terminator and replacing Oswalt if needed.

Ho hum. Just another 5-1 start to a season, nothing to see here. After worrying about the offense all off-season, the Phillies have now scored 5+ runs in every game (of course losing the only one in which they didn't). Halladay, Lee and Oswalt have looked good. Hamels and Blanton? Eh, not so much. Overall though, this is exactly the start the team needed.

Notoriously slow starter Ryan Howard has come out of the gates hot and almost every regular is hitting over .300 so far. Is it early? Absolutely. But this team has gotten off to some very shitty starts before, so starting like this helps everyone take a deep breath and relax. Sure, the Astros and the Mess aren't expected to sniff 80 wins this year, but April is unpredictable (as you can see with the Orioles and Royals both being in first place). To win games you're supposed, especially early, is a good sign. (Just look at the Red Sox.)

So now our Phightin's head off to Atlanta to face what is likely their biggest competition in the NL (yes, I really think the Braves are the second best team in the NL). While the Braves are off to an underwhelming 3-4 start, they're still a really, really tough matchup for us. The pitching duels:

Friday: Cliff Lee (1-0) v. Tim Hudson (1-0)

Saturday: Roy Oswalt (1-0) v. Brandon Beachy (1-0)

Sunday: Cole Hamels (0-1) v. Lowe (1-1)

Like most series they'll play this year, the Phillies go into every game with the pitching advantage (regardless of Cole's first game, he's better than Lowe). I. Love. It.

Here's to 161-1.

Cliff Lee.

Roy Oswalt was phenomenal last night in the Phillies 6-1 victory in Game 2 of the NLCS. You couldn't have asked Oswalt to do more. He was dominant on the mound and even chipped in at the plate and on the base paths. Oswalt running through Sam Perlozzo’s stop sign is going to be a classic moment of the 2010 run.

Shame on any of you who freaked out after the Phillies dropped Game 1. While we may have been a little spoiled by this teams’ performance over the last few weeks, it's incredibly difficult to go 11-0 during a postseason run. Now, our Phils are heading west to San Francisco for Game 3 with momentum on their side. Relax and hang on for the ride. If you're like me, you'll still be at work and staring at your cubicle walls when the game begins. Luckily, I know of several internet feeds that may or may not be legal.

Go Phils!

After taking two of three from Mets this weekend, the Phillies welcome the familiar Los Angeles Dodgers to CBP this week. As we all know, our Phils have eliminated these same Dodgers in both of the past two postseasons to the point where one could say we kinda own them, especially in Philly. With the Phillies playing well and the Dodgers struggling recently on the road, the Phillies have a good shot of continuing their winning ways.

However, that isn't the only reason to get excited for this series. Reason #1 is simple, Vicente Padilla. You know, that ugly, overweight, asshole pitcher that throws at people just for shits and giggles and kinda looks like a Goomba?

Yep, that guy.


I know there are a few good memories of Padilla here in the Philadelphia, particularly Padilla's Flotilla. But let's be honest, we hate this dude. Rooting against him last year in Game 5 of the NLCS was awesome. The guy could not handle the fans at CBP and he was mentally done by the fifth batter. I'm hoping for much more of the same tomorrow night. Here are the matchups for the three game set:

Tuesday: Vicente Padilla (5-3, 3.09 ERA) v. Kyle Kendrick (7-4, 4.37 ERA)
Wednesday: Chad Billingsley (9-6, 3.82 ERA) v. Roy Oswalt (6-13, 3.50 ERA)
Thursday: Clayton Kershaw (10-7, 3.19 ERA) v. Joe Blanton (4-6, 5.65 ERA)

A quick look gives the pitching advantage to the Dodgers, but Kershaw (6.64 ERA) hasn't had much success against the Phillies and Billingsley has been up and down this year. Throw in Padilla and the Phillies, while facing pitchers with great stuff, should still be able to score some runs this series. Let's just hope the pitching holds up.

Speaking of pitching, Roy #2 will make his home debut this week. Oswalt has struggled some in his first two starts as a Phillie, but you have to think he needs at least a little time to adjust to a new situation. The guy had spent his whole career in Houston after all and was extremely happy and comfortable there. Once he settles in, I expect him to pitch very well the rest of the season. He's not a true ace anymore, but he's a friggin' great #2 pitching as our #3. I'm willing to bet he throws a good game on Wednesday (not that I'm a betting man). Let's say 7 IP, 1 ER, 8 K's. Sounds good to me.

All told, the Phils are in a pretty good position to keep rolling against the fading Dodgers. Now we just need the damn Braves to lose. Bastards.

Go Phils.

It wasn’t that long ago boys and girls that our swashbuckling GM, Rubes Jr., traded an ace away for a few middling prospects. Well, just when I think he couldn’t possibly be any dumber, he goes and does something like this…AND TOTALLY REDEEMS HIMSELF!!!

We all beat up GM’s from time to time whether it’s for signing players to bad contracts, trading away prospects we love for crappy rental players or for not making trades we really think they should make. If a move doesn’t pay off, we chastise them for it. If it does work, well, we focus on the players who made it happen. For the most part, it’s a rather thank-less job. But, I really have to hand it to Ruben here, he pulled off quite the coup in the Oswalt deal. It’s enough of a coup actually, that I almost, but not quite, will consider forgiving him for the Cliff Lee Fiasco of 2010.

But, alas, this isn't about Cliff Lee (actually everything is always about Cliff Lee, but I digress). It's about a pitcher named Roy and a dream. A dream to win another World Series and fleece Ed Wade in the process. Did the Phillies realize this dream today? Let's find out.


Here’s the official breakdown:

Phillies Get:

RHP Roy Oswalt

$11,000,000

Ed Wade’s Manhood

Astros Get:

LHP JA Happ

OF Anthony Gose (who was immediately sent to the Blue Jays for 1B Brett Wallace, who was dealt from Oakland to Toronto for ex-Phillies prospect Michael Taylor)

SS Jonathan Villar

If that seems almost too good to be true, it’s because it pretty much is. Considering the Phillies obtained a top 30 pitcher (which is what Oswalt still is) without giving up ANY top prospects (Gose is the closest at #6 per Baseball America) is unbelievable. It’s become apparent that the cost for a good starter (as proven last week as well in the Dan Haren trade) isn’t as high as fans thought. When only a few teams in baseball can afford to take on salary (like the Phillies somehow can) it really limits the number of options team looking to trade have. This, thankfully, dramatically lowered the cost for Oswalt. For most of the morning I heard a lot of names thrown around, but in the end all the top guys like Singleton, Colvin and Cosart remain. That’s good news as the Phillies get better in 2010 and 2011, while still keeping all their high ceiling talent they’ll need to be good in 2012 and beyond. No matter how you slice it, a rotation of Halladay, Hamels, Lee…er…Oswalt looks pretty formidable for the next year +2 months.

So what can we expect from Oswalt? Well, I’d say a 7-4 record with a 3.39 ERA and 74 K’s in 79 IP. The playoffs? Probably a 4-0 record with a 1.56 ERA. Wait, what? Oh, I hadn’t noticed. Those are the exact stats that Cliff Lee put up last year? Interesting. Purely a coincidence, I promise. Ok, I lied, I did that on purpose…but really I expect good things from Roy #2. He’s pitched in big games (he was the 2005 NLCS MVP) and sports a lifetime ERA of 3.24. His K/9 rate is the highest it’s been since his rookie season and he wants to win. Sounds like a guy I want on my side for the stretch run.

To be honest though, I can’t give all the credit to Amaro. Really, he had a lot of help from Ed Wade (unless you believe the report that Astros owner Drayton McLane handled the negotiations directly with David Montgomery, which would be like having two Walrus’s try to decide how much plutonium to put in a bomb, while also fixing our national deficit and figuring out an exit strategy for the Middle East). Trading with Ed Wade is like having your friend buy you a hooker, it’s free and easy sex so you have do it, but it always leaves you feeling dirty and like you ripped him off. So while I can’t blame Amaro for taking advantage of a (PC LANGUAGE ALERT) mentally handicapped person, I still can’t give him full credit. It might not be as easy as taking candy from a baby, but it’s definitely as easy as catching a blowie from a fat chick.

Anyway, this trade puts the Phillies a whole lot closer to a third straight trip to the World Series. Is it a guarantee? Definitely not, but I really like our chances now. The only mini-negative is that we gave up a high-ceiling infielder, something we don’t have much of in our system, and a controllable #5 starter for the next four seasons. But, we won’t miss Gose since we have similar players all over our system in Tyson Gillies, Jiwan James and a host of other ‘toolsy’ outfielders. So as long as Mr. Happ doesn’t develop into Cliff Lee, we’re good. And that has about as much of a chance of happening as me banging a stripper in Vegas during my bachelor party. Which means it would never happen. Cause I don't do that kind of stuff. It's gross. Totally gross.

Go Phils. Let's do it again.

It's being reported everywhere that Oswalt is a waived no-trade clause away from being a Phillie. It's certain that JA Happ will be sent to Houston to die a death brought on by lack of run support. Nobody knows anything about how the money will work in the deal, or what prospects are involved.

In case you're wondering, (to our knowledge) Roy Oswalt isn't really a cross-dresser. That pic is from his rookie year in what I'm guessing was some type of hazing. So there's really no update there, just a picture that wasn't Oswalt in mid-throwing motion.

TheWizWit will give you a full analysis later if this thing actually happens. Remember when Cliff Lee was a Yankee a couple weeks ago? Yeah, anything can fall through.


[pic via Alyson's Footnotes - MLB Blog Network: Houston Astros]