Philadelphia Phillies storyline: Creaky basement stairs

Joe Blanton will stand atop the hill to help the Philadelphia Phillies leapfrog 2 clubs before the day ends. Can a 7th consecutive victory coupled with losses by Miami and New York happen tonight? Can Kentucky Joe continue his dominate campaign?

TAL'S HANDY CAPS

CAP-SIZE HINDSIGHT

Penthouse Occupancy for the 6-4 triumph: 7

The Crystal Champagne Toast is a salute to Chooch Ruiz.

Steals Bases Like A Catcher In The 1st

He drove in 2 runs and swiped 2nd during the opening frame. He went 2 for 3 with 2 steaks after 4 knocks on Thursday. He was joined on the top floor by Cole Hamels, Jonathan Papelbon, Antonio Bastardo. Freddy Galvis, Hunter Pence and Ty Wigginton.

Hamels fired 113 bullets over 7 complete, winning his 6th and punching out 9. Pence went 2 for 3 plus a free pass, and had the deciding tally with a bomb in the 5th. Bastardo faced Big Papi Ortiz in the 8th and popped him up near first. Galvis planted a big insurance homer in the leftfield flowerbeds during the 8th. Papelbon quieted his ex-teammates with a solid 9th for his 12th save.

The Leather Warehouse praised Wigginton’s toeing of the bag for the 2nd out in the 9th.

Rally Tal & Cap in the 1st: 3 walks, a bases-loaded hit and a medium sac-fly plated three. There were 2 productive outs before a theft of 2nd, and an RBI double for a 4-0 advantage.

WELCOME, NEWCOMERS:

I will publish after every battle that is not washed out. The Phillies finished last summer 42 games over .500, which equaled a year of many positives. I will have many season-long highlights of puzzle pieces, especially important after drubbings and defeats.

Check out Philadelphia Phillies storyline: The other Phillies

SPECIAL REQUEST:

If you were directed here by a feed and this review does not mention yesterday’s contest, please go to my author archives or Phillies page for my most recent coverage. (Early morning readers may arrive before the latest post.) Scroll down to Tal’s Handy Links at the bottom. Thank you.

Chooch Swats A 2-RBI Single In The 1st

NITECAP INSIGHT

The Climb Over:

The Fish and the Mets surely hear the footsteps of the red pinstripes ascending from the cellar. The door is ajar with both organizations a mere half game away from entering. The Phils have one more loss than those 2 teams, and could be just hours away from 3rd place. Then, they can set their sights on the Natitudes and there will be more favorable match-ups this time. They will line up Ross Detwiler, Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez. The locals will assign the task to Cliff Lee, Kyle Kendrick and Doc Halladay. They will substitute a 5 for a 3, while the hometown crew will have the same potency during their first meeting at the Bank.

He Used To Pitch Shutouts Across The Street

There are reasons for the 6 straight pleasant decisions. The relievers have been better of late, albeit not without a few hiccups. Chooch has been a machine in the 5 hole, and he is a strong candidate to bat 6th, when they carry a healthy offense. In Washington, he hit 5th only against the southpaw. New York is in homerun-friendly Toronto (22-18) with the 2 arms at the bottom of their rotation after Jon Niese got torched by the Jays yesterday. Miami, however, is facing the Tribe (22-17) with 2 decent starters after a 3-2 win. That said, the locals probably will be in 4th by tonight, and hopefully 3rd after the weekend.

Big Joe Works At The Bank On May 14 Against The 'Stros

PRECAP PITCH

Joe Blanton:

He is enjoying a career year and it’s due to being around the aces. He is changing speeds, which is a wrinkle for 2012. He is 4-2 with a 2.82 ERA without the relief appearance.

	STARTER	RECORD	TM	STARTER	RECORD	DAY & TIME
1	RHP Vance Worley	4-4, 2.92 ERA	@ Mets	LHP Jon Niese	6-3, 3.55 ERA	Tuesday, Night
2	LHP Cliff Lee	0-5, 4.13 ERA	@ Mets	RHP Chris Young	2-1, 3.30 ERA	Wednesday, Day
3	LHP Cole Hamels	10-4, 3.08 ERA	@ Mets	RHP R.A. Dickey	12-1, 2.15 ERA	Thursday, Night

Jon Lester Pictured On May 14 At Home Against Seattle

Jon Lester:

He is a very good–albeit not great–hurler, who doesn’t thrive in cozy Fenway Park. Is it the Green Monster or small-park dimensions? He has gone at least 7 innings in 5 of 8 tries with 1 clunker.

DELIVERY = PITCHER’S 2012	DEFINITION OF SEASON
Over The Top	Excellent
3-Quarter Sidearm	Good
Sidearm	Above Average
Short Arm	Approximately Average
Submarine	Below Average

Quality number of the pitcher: 1 – 5

Slot on his club: 1 – 5

Ranking is 1 to 5 & 15 for the less adventurous.

HURLER	Joe Blanton	Ian Kennedy
NUMBER	A Four	A Three
CLUB SLOT	Five	One
FOR 2012	Short Arm	Short Arm
'12 RANKING	4th of 5 Categories	4th of 5 Categories
LAST START	Split Finger	Sinker
LAST HIGH OR LOW	4th of 15 Categories	6th of 15 Categories

	PITCH	INN	ER - R- H		PITCH	INN	ER
1	Gyroball	9 (CG)	0 - 0 - 3	10	Screwball	6	4
2	Fastball	9 (CG)	0 - 0	11	Knuckleball	5	3
3	Cutter	9 (CG)	3	12	Forkball	0 - 4.2	Monstrosity
4	Split Finger	7	2	13	Eephus Pitch	0 - 2.2	Disaster
5	Curveball	7	3	14	*Palm Ball	Ejected
6	Sinker	6.1	3	15	*Spit Ball	**Ejected+
7	Slider	6	2		*Breaking Ball	Injured
8	Changeup	6	3		*Fosh	Rain Interrupted
9	Slurve	5	2		*Knuckle Curve	Pitch Count
	** = Suspended				* = A 2nd Pitch Also

The Core Series: Check it out.

TAL'S HANDY SERIES

Philadelphia Phillies storyline: Trade chips (Friday)

Philadelphia Phillies storyline: The other Phillies (Thursday)

Philadelphia Phillies storyline: core value (Wednesday)

Philadelphia Phillies storyline: tomorrow’s guarantee (Tuesday)

STATS APOCALYPTIC HORSEMEN COLE HAMELS
COLE'S LINE: 7 INN, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K & 99 DARTS

ACE	W - L	ERA	INN+	CONV	CG - SO	BAD	INN	ER	BB - IBB	SO
Total	34 - 23	3.48	6.1	59 of 86	2 - 2	12	582.2	225	114 -2	557
Hamels	17 - 06	3.05	6.2	21 of 31	2 - 2	03	215.1	073	050 - 2	218
Lee	06 - 09	3.16	6.1	23 of 30	0 - 0	02	211.0	074	028 - 0	207
Halladay	11 - 08	4.49	7.0	15 of 25	0 - 0	07	156.1	078	036- 0	132

MAC:

The program acronym is for Methodical Algorithmic Computerization or Mac. That is the feed system that had dogged me an entire month, but it allows me now to probe for a compatible solution. This only involves readers who were directed here from Fox Sports. The links in this section were recently passed over by a computer’s judgment. Does the national-and-all-major-sports machine understand Phillies commentary better than local fans? I discovered that the buttons and lights objected the most to the storyline when I submitted only that part. So, when the electrodes decide a Nitecap Insight isn’t to their liking, I’ll give my transferred readers a viewing opportunity the next day. I’ll keep score of acceptable to rejected submissions, because I don’t want a large readership excluded or my time wasted.

TAL'S HANDY SCOREBOARD

COMPUTER ALGORITHM VS. TAL:

TAL 6 – MAC 3

Philadelphia Phillies storyline: The other Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies storyline: tomorrow’s guarantee

Philadelphia Phillies storyline: more and less

ROUND ELEVEN:

If the algorithm okays this article for a full audience, Philadelphia Phillies storyline: In Chooch we depend is tomorrow’s review.

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Check out my previous publication (Trader Rube) and the 52 storylines–so far–for 2012 on the Phillies page or my author archives, where there is an excerpt photo.

Tal’s Handy Stats is daily coverage. I am alternating the 2012 ERA For The NL East and the 2012 ERA For The MLB 5. Thank you, to all who bookmarked the Phillies page.