Quick Stains: May 24th

That was a wacky game last night. Dobbs' misplay, Barajas missing the tag, Myers' shoulder...certainly one of the stranger ninth innings I've seen. The good news? Clay Condrey shutting down the ninth and clinching the win for us in the tenth. The bad news? We may be relying on Clay a whole lot more now with Myers sidelined for what is hopefully only a couple days. It didn't seem like a game we'd win with the disastrous ninth, but I think everyone involved will take the "W."

The Phils are at .500 again, a familiar position for them these days. A series win in Florida will give them their first winning percentage all season. It's important to take a win here. We face Atlanta on Friday with Howard's hopeful return, and that could be a rough series, as series against Atlanta usually are. The Marlins, meanwhile, will face the Mets.

Given our long climb to .500, I've begun to track the two teams ahead of us (namely, the Braves and Mets) a lot more closely. The Phillies are 6.5 games back on the Mets, certainly a significant amount, but there's a lot of time to catch up, as we're only reaching the end of May. Before facing the Mets again, the Phils will have to make their way through the Braves, Diamondbacks, and Giants, all respectable ballclubs. Fortunately, we will face the two NL West teams at home, and then never see them again. The four game set against the Giants will be important, and if we can do the same thing we did to the surging Brewers (take three of four), we could be in good shape when it's time to head up to Shea stadium.

The Mets, too, will face the Dbacks and Giants at home at the same time (in reverse order). After that, things get rough for the Mets, with away games against the Tigers, Dodgers, and Yankees (technically an away game), and then facing the Twins and A's at home. Things won't
be any easier for the Phils with the exception of three games against the Royals, as after that's the White Sox, Tigers, and Indians, all powerful ballclubs.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. The important thing tonight is getting a winning record. Lieber takes the mound for the Phillies. You can read up on ole Lieb here. He'll be oppose by Marlins ace Dontrelle Willis, someone we have yet to beat this year. As always, go Phils.