Ryan Howard is still the star of the Phillies day in and day out. The Fightins slugger came off the bench to give the Phillies a 2-1, ten-inning win in the second game of Thursday’s doubleheader. Combined with the Phillies win earlier in the day, the team’s magic number to pop the champagne bottles for a fifth straight year is down to two.

A win over the Cardinals combined with a Braves loss Friday could make it a business casual party night. There will be no wild celebration as this team is far from its goal.

Cliff Lee continued his nonchalant ways Thursday, uttering the word "wow" after giving up a game-tying homer with two outs in the ninth.

Without Howard, the Phillies wouldn’t be in a good mood right now, thanks to that stiff Cliff Lee. The guy tossed 8.2 shutout innings, striking out 12 in the process. He then gave up a two-out, game-tying home run. Instead of getting the win and notching his seventh shutout of the season — the most by a Phillie since Lefty in 1972 — Lee gets a ND. Cy Young candidates finish out games.

Oh, and all lee can utter after giving up the homer? “Wow.”

Great reaction.

Seriously, Lee was masterful yet again and has kept himself entrenched in the Cy Young race with Roy Halladay. If Howard can use the pinch-hit, game winner to get on a roll, October will be nice yet again.

“I ain’t an athlete, lady.” — John Kruk

The Phillies added one of the most colorful characters in team history into the Wall of Fame at Citizens Bank Park last night. John Kruk joined names such as Robin Roberts, Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton and others.

John Kruk joined the Phillies Wall of Fame on Friday night.

The ceremony and the fact that Kruk just gets Philly fans is well documented on the Internet and in the papers this morning. There’s no need to join the Department of Redundancy Department that comprises 53.5 percent of blogs with yet another recap or opinion piece.

Kruk’s induction, and Daulton’s last year, do evoke memories of the scrappy, hairy, macho 1993 squad that — for fans in their 30s — represented the one shining moment in a childhood of piss poor Phillies performances. We grew up on a franchise that steamrolled to 10,000 losses.

Yes, there was the team that included eight players and a manager currently part of the Wall of Fame. Of course, that is the 1980 Phillies, the first World Series Champion in franchise history. But, as much as I want to vividly recall that parade, I just can’t. I was four. Sure, I remember Schmidt, Lefty, Pete Rose and others as their careers winded down through the mid 1980s. But, as far as seeing a title team take the field at the Vet, I just don’t recall it that well.

What I do know is this current Phillies squad is the best era of Philadelphia baseball I will likely see in my lifetime. One WFC parade, Two World Series appearances, four straight division titles and all-stars at every position. It just doesn’t get better than this as we approach a fifth division title and another Red October.

How many current Phillies will join the team's Wall of Fame in the future?

Ten to fifteen years from now, the Phillies that placate every baseball fan’s needs these days will be standing where Kruk did on Friday. The question becomes who will make it, and could this era eclipse the 1980s era in terms of the number of people to make it. Remember, eight players (Schmidt, Steve Carlton, Bob Boone, Larry Bowa, Greg Luzinski, Gary Maddux, John Vukovich, Tug McGraw) and a manager (Dallas Green). That is a tall order.

Let’s get to it.

No Brainers:

• Jimmy Rollins – No guy had more to do with developing this squad’s championship swagger than JRoll. His 2007 MVP season will always be special. His ability to deliver in the clutch and on the big stage can not be overstated. Does he swing at too many first pitches for some? I guess. Still, you can’t argue with what he has meant to this team an locker room. And if you do, remember the guy is closing in on 2,000 career hits — all as a Phillie.
• Chase Utley — If Rollins was the vocal leader, Utley has been the guy who played every game like it was his last and led by example. Nobody hustles harder than the perennial all-star who has amassed nearly 200 homers and 700 RBI, with a career .292 average. If that’s not enough, his “WFC” statement alone gets him in.
• Ryan Howard – The Big Piece is the second best first baseman in franchise history, trailing just Pete Rose. The 2006 MVP and multi-year all-star will bash his 300th homer next year and likely ends his career somewhere between 400 and 500.
• Cole Hamels — Sure, he’s still young, but the kid has accomplished a lot in the early stages. Two all-star nods, an NLCS and World Series MVP and the look of a true ace. He already has 72 wins and, at 27, is just entering his prime. Should he stay in Philly, 200 wins in red pinstripes is almost a given. He is our Greg Maddux.
• Charlie Manuel – He’s already done more than Dallas Green. He’s in.
• Pat Gillick — Three seasons as a GM yielded two division titles and a parade. He transformed the front office philosophy into an aggressive one. How does he not make it?

Guys who should make it with a few more seasons in Philly:

• Doc Halladay — One Cy Young Award and another possible this season is not a bad way to start a Phillies career. If he pitches this way the next two seasons for which he is under contract, the future MLB Hall of Famer is on the Wall at CBP. The man already has 36 wins in 57 starts. He just needs to do it here more.
• Cliff Lee – The man who spurned a pile of cash that stretched from the rats of the subway up to the Empire State Building to play in front of the Philly fans has already done enough to join The Wall. Numbers-wise, he just needs to pitch like the ace he is for the next three years to ensure his induction. he has 23 wins in 41 career Phillie starts (playoffs included). Again, length of service keeps him from being a “No Brainer.”
• Shane Victorino — The resident hothead has turned in two all-star years, can hit .300 a season and adds a spark to the team. Closing in on 1,000 hits and 600 runs scored in just five years as a full-time starter, Victorino will be WOF material should he continue this pace for another 2-3 years. Another WFC parade wouldn’t hurt, too.
• Ruben Amaro – The man has simply gotten the job done in the GM chair and built Pat Gillick’s squad into a true superpower. A few more successful seasons, including retooling the squad as it ages, and Amaro is in.

Bubble Guys:

• Brad Lidge — One year does not make a WOF inductee. The 2008 season was magical, but injuries have derailed Lidge’s Philly career. Still, with 112 saves in red pinstripes, I’ll contend that if Mitch Williams (106 saves) makes it, so should Lidge.
• Jayson Werth – For Werth, we say the bubble will burst. A fan favorite who “got it?” Sure. But, a guy who did it long enough? Unlikely. Three seasons as a full timer just isn’t enough.
• Carlos Ruiz — Another Mr. October-type postseason run could get Chooch in. That and another Cy Young or two from the rotation would help. He is a solid catcher. His regular season numbers are far from prolific, but the intangibles and length of service put him in the mix.
• Pat Burrell — 251 career Phillies home runs and a solid, if underrated, Phils career should get him in.

In the end, we see nine players (Rollins, Utley, Howard, Hamels, Halladay, Lee, Victorino, Lidge and Burrell) as well as Charlie Manuel, Ruben Amaro and Pat Gillick making it. The total number of 12 tops the 1980 Phillies.

What do you think? leave us thoughts in the comments section and we’ll respond.

Offensively, you can make the argument that not having him behind Howard hurt the top of the Phillies lineup. Howard hit 20 bombs in his first 390 at bats (1:19.5) this season without a legit hitter behind him and in the top of the order. Sure, Victorino was used in the five hole, but he and the Phillies are better served with him in the two slot.

Hunter Pence has as many long balls and more RBI than Jayson Werth this year. Both played on horrible teams, making their numbers comparable.

Since the Phillies acquired one Hunter Pence, Howard has launched five beyond the fences in in 46 at bats (1:9.2). Clearly, having a legit .300 hittter in the five slot has made Howard a bit better.

Even if you want to argue that Howard always heats up in August and this recent surge is a coincidence, you can’t look past comparing Pence to Wrth. See, the Phillies let Werth ink a $126 million deal with the nationals last winter. They then took the money and stunned the baseball world by signing Cliff Lee.

The fact of the matter is that the Nationals overpaid for Werth. Would you have liked him back here? Would he have done better in this lineup than by being The Man in DC? Hell, yes.

Jayson Werth has literally played like a headless horseman this year.

But, you knew a bat could be had at the trading deadline. You just never know about pitching. The Phils were lucky to get Lee and Roy Oswalt the last two years. Who knew if another arm would be available and obtainable.

Clearly, Ruben Amaro did the right thing and gambled on acquiring a bat. Pence was The Man on a bad Houston team. Yet, he still hit .300. In fact, look at the numbers and tell me who you’d rather have.

Werth: .227, 14 HRs, 44 RBI, .331 OBP.
Pence: .314, 14 HRs, 71 RBI, .360 OBP.

Take into account that Pence is four years younger and under control for two more years, and the Phillies clearly made the right move. And, look at the big time pitchers who got moved at the deadline this year. Yeah, you can’t find any.

Finally, look at the standings. A 76-win team on August 12 is good enough to know that the Phillies did more than just tread water without a legit bat in RF.

Pence vs. Werth. The numbers don’t lie. Amaro and the Phils came out ahead one more time. And, if you’re still in doubt, tell me when Werth won over a fan base with five simple words.

Yeah, “Good game, let’s go eat!”

“Let’s Go Eat.”

Three words and a simple sentence later, T-shirts were printed, twitter followers were gained and a southern boy was truly embraced by a city so close to a second parade in four years that it can taste it.

Hunter Pence with mouth open and ready to eat following his first Phillies homer against the Giants on Thursday.

“Let’s Go Eat.”

I’ll admit, I wanted Pence but did not want to give up Dom Brown or Vance Worley for him. I still stand by that. Pence is a nice player, but not a star. He’ll be hard pressed to be the next Jayson Werth. But, can he be a guy who helps the Phillies lineup crank it up a notch or two? The early results indicate that is the case.

In his six games in red pinstripes, Pence is hitting at a .360 clip (nine-for-25) with a homer, three doubles, five RBI and four runs scored. He has a six-game hitting streak to start his Philly career.

The guy is a career .290 hitter and to expect him to continue hitting at a batting-champ level is something nobody dreams of. However, a .300 hitter is just what the lineup needed.

The Phils have scored 33 runs with Pence — 5.5 per game. While it’s a relatively small sample size — OK, a very small sample — that does represent an increase from the 4.3 runs per game before Pence’s arrival. Combine Pence with a hot Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, plus another .300 season from Shane Victorino, and the Phils offense suddenly becomes one that can give the Phils runs.

While the Phils championship core remains in place, the fact remains that Pence is another productive piece and his bat will get the Phillies fat. Imagine the buffet line at the parade this fall.

“Let’s Go Eat.”

The Phils last week lost two of three to the Giants at home. Dom Brown was still manning right field and only Cole Hamels of the Big Four threw down against the Giants.

Cliff Lee and Hunter Pence — the new guys in the Phils-Giants battle — led the Fightins to a win on Thursday.

This weekend’s series against the defending World Champs in San Francisco is huge and this time three of the Big Four will take the hill for the guys not featuring a wacko as a closer.

Lee got things started with a seven-hit, complete game shutout — his fifth of the season. Hunter Pence and John Mayberry Jr. rocked solo bombs in the second as the Phils nabbed a 3-0 win.

Finally, the Phils may have an offense capable of the timely hits that Cody F’in Ross, Pat Burrell and the Giants racked up a year ago. Now, the Phils may be the pitching staff backed by the extra run.

Sure, it’s only one game with Pence in the lineup, but his presence has given the team a jolt that was badly needed. They are undefeated with Pence. Combine a lineup getting hits with a staff featuring three all-stars, a rookie of the year candidate in Vance Worley and a healthy and rested Roy Oswalt, and the Giants should be a bit scared come October — if they even make it.

With a couple more wins this weekend, the Phils can actually help bury the Giants behind the Diamondbacks in the NL West.

Lee and Pence. Pence and Lee. Why do I have a feeling these guys will propel themselves to the lead of the Mayoral election this fall?

Philly is the city no athlete wants a part of unless it’s all about the money.

That was the mentality for decades. No longer.

Cliff Lee, Nnamdi Asomugha and even Doc Halladay have helped change that perception. Philly, the fans want to play in front of you.

Your Daily Philadelphian recently recorded a mini-podcast-type thing as an entry into 97.5 The Fanatic’s Dream Job Contest.

Bang it here for a link and please “like” and comment on the video on the station’s site (it’s right below the video on the link).

Bottom line is athletes — studs — are turning down less money and bigger marketing opportunities to play in front of you Philadelphia. Rejoice in the change our rep is experiencing throughout the nation. You’ve earned it.

A day after Doc Halladay’s 59th career complete game, Cliff Lee decided to give the bullpen yet another night off as he tossed a beauty — a CG shutout. Uh, yeah, he actually was a bit better than Doc. Lee led the Fightins to a 4-0 win, good enough to improve them to 9-3 on the young season.

Lee’s line on Thursday? 9 IP, 3H, 12Ks and one hiccup. Oh, and he did it in just over two hours. This is much more in line with Lee than his outing against the Braves on Friday.

And, what did Lee mention immediately in his postgame interview with Sarge on Comcast? “I regret the walk.”

Dude, you just K’d 12 and tossed a CG shutout and you worry about a walk? Just another reason we love you. Let the Bromance fester a bit more.

Let’s face it, the last four starts by the Phils aces is what management — and fans — had in mind when Clifton’s wife proclaimed her love for Philly and the family chose to resign here. Oswalt, Hamels, Doc and Cliff have tossed four straight victories. Only Kentucky Joe has faltered since last Friday.

Oh, an if you care, Jayson Werth went 0-for-4 against his former good buddy.

And, now, we get to see Oswalt against the Marlins tomorrow. We’re going to say this a lot, but life is good!

The result was a 6-3 loss that dropped the Phillies to 5-2, and made Saturday’s game against the Braves extremely important. You don’t want to go into Sunday facing a possible sweep with Cole Hamels on the mound. While Hamels is almost guaranteed to bounce back from his Godawful start against the Mets, the fact is he doesn’t need that pressure right now, and especially not when he’s up against Derek Lowe.

Roy Oswalt needs to be the stopper for the Phillies when they battle the Braves on Saturday.

Roy Oswalt has to be Roy Oswalt an the Phillies hitters better be ready to hit youngster Brandon Beachy on national TV Saturday afternoon.

A loss would move the Braves to just a half-game behind the Phillies for first and nobody wants to see that this early in the year. Getting off to a fast start is important in baseball; just ask the Red Sox.

After a night in which Rollins, Howard, Ibanez and Valdez went hitless, coming out bats blazing is essential. Check swing double plays and misplayed balls in center field have to be checked at the batting cage on Saturday. Do that and Oswalt should take care of the rest.

But, don’t put up the “W” just yet. Cole Hamels still has to pitch well an the Fightins need to keep the offense going.

The New York Mets have a 2-1 record and get rewarded by facing Hamels and halladay this series. Hamels, the fourth Phillies ace, has not faired well against the Mets in his career. Can he keep up with the Lees and Oswalts?

The Mets come to South Philly 2-1 after taking the weekend series against the trendy Marlins in Miami. They have to be feeling good with a new manager and a fairly decent lineup when everyone is healthy. Maybe they even have visions of giving the Phils a run for their money this year. Heck, they missed Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt, so they should feel OK.

Then, it’s time to realize they’ll face Hamels and Halladay this week.

Hamels gets it started and gets to keep up with his co-aces who tossed 19 innings of ball and racked up 23 Ks to 1 BB. But, this is where the feel good news stops. The fact is, this won’t be a given for Hamels.

First, the man is 1-7 with a 4.33 ERA against the Mets over the last three years. Sure, he has nearly a 3.5-to-1 K to BB ratio. Still, 74 hits in 54 innings over that time period is far from solid. The fact is, the team he once called choke artists has owned him.

If you break it down even more, Hamels was 0-4 with a 3.20 ERA against the Mets. Again, his 4-to-1 K-to-BB ratio was superb. Yes, his ERA was respectable and the lack of run support hurt him. Still, 0-4 is 0-4.

Hamels and the Fightins need to send the Mets back to the cellar.

Second, Hamels had a poor spring, which isn’t unexpected as pitchers often work on new pitches and are less concerned about their numbers. Still, a 6.67 ERA is something to keep an eye on. Will Hamels start this year like last, or pick up where he left off?

The bottom line is it’s time to send the Mets back to NY with a losing record. And, that starts with Hamels on Tuesday.

It’s not the alcohol; it’s a legitimate bromance that has us whipped into a frenzy.

Yes, I read the quotes attributed to you by Ryan Lawrence of the Delco Times. You said, “These fans have a knack for getting a little louder than everyone else. I don’t know if it’s alcohol-induced or what.”

It's not the alcohol, Cliff. Why are we so loud and frenzied? Just look in the mirror for the answer.

As much as people may want to think we need a little something extra in our morning coffee, or some additional beverages at the ballpark to get us going, it’s just not true. The fact is, we love you.

Oh, and we’re just smarter than everyone else. In fact, you yourself said one reason you elected to return to Philly instead of Texas or moving to New Yawk was the fans. “They don’t need a telemprompter to know when to cheer,” you said at the time.

We’re loud because we appreciate hard work and demand it. You and the Fightins have been delivering that since 2007. After nearly two decades of ineptness by the franchise, we just have a ton of pent up energy we’re now displaying. Oh, and it feels great!!

And, as loud as you think we have been. You ain’t seen nothing yet. Win a World Series and then you can talk about us being loud. Just ask Hamels, Lidge, Howard and JRoll about that!

See you in five days, Cliff!

Love,

Phillies Nation