Asher Puts Suspension Behind Him Against Nationals

GAME RECAP: Phillies Nab Nationals 4-1

Right-hander Alec Asher, making his first start of the season for the Phillies, proved to be too much for the Nationals as Philadelphia won the series opener, 4-1, at Nationals Park on Thursday night in Asher's first big league win. Washington's magic number remains at 15 to win the National League East. The second-place Mets had the day off on Thursday. The Phillies also snapped a nine-game losing streak against the Nationals. Asher's counterpart, A.J. Cole, pitched five innings and allowed four runs on five hits. All four runs were scored in the third inning, on homers by Peter Bourjos and Ryan Howard. "Cole wasn't bad at all," Nationals manager Dusty Baker said. "It was the three-run homer [from Howard] that did him and us in. Cole was pretty good, actually. The one homer [by Bourjos] hit the foul pole. The other one scraped the wall." Said Cole: "Howard hit a good pitch. At the same time, if I'm going to throw that changeup, I [should] throw it in the ground." Asher, who pitched six shutout innings, retired six of the first seven hitters he faced. The only time the Nationals had runners in scoring position against the right-hander was in the third inning. Washington had runners on first and second with two outs, but Daniel Murphy flied out to left field to end the threat. "He showed makeup," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said about Asher. "Last year he looked like he was a little nervous most of the time and got rocked around. It was good to see him confident." Washington would finally put a run on a board in the eighth inning off reliever Hector Neris. With the bases loaded, Murphy hit a sacrifice fly to left fielder Aaron Altherr, scoring Stephen Drew.

PHILS PHACTS: 

• Asher returned from an 80-game suspension earlier this week after testing positive for oral turinabol, dazzling in his season debut. He allowed just two hits and one walk in six scoreless innings. Asher is the first of three pitchers the Phillies acquired in July 2015 in the Cole Hamels trade who will face the Nationals this weekend. Jake Thompson starts Friday night and Jerad Eickhoff starts Saturday night. "I just said that I was going to go out there and have fun," Asher said. "I felt like I wasn't myself at the end of last year and let the moment get to me. I was going to go back to being me. It definitely worked and I'm looking to build on it."
• Howard's three-run home run to center field handed the Phillies a 4-0 lead. It was the 378th homer of Howard's career, which ties him with Matt Williams for 72nd place on the all-time home run list. Next up are Hall of Famers Tony Perez and Orlando Cepeda, who each hit 379 homers. "Howie came up with that big three-run home run," Mackanin said. "That's [about] all we had offensively, but it was obviously enough."
• "Someone asked me last year, a legitimate question after he was getting rocked around so much, 'Do you think it was a good idea to call him up?' And I said, 'Yes it is, because when he goes back down, he's going to understand what he's up against and let's see what kind of makeup he's got, if he's going to fight and battle back.' And sure enough, he went out there tonight and looked very confident. He felt like he was in control. He got away with a few line drives here and there, but nevertheless he threw strikes and only gave up two hits. I'm really proud of him for that." -- Mackanin, on Asher.

NEXT GAME:

Thompson hopes to keep the good times rolling on Friday at 7:05 p.m. ET at Nationals Park. He went 1-3 with a 9.78 ERA in his first four starts, unable to pitch past the fifth inning in any of those starts. But Thompson is 0-2 with a 1.93 ERA in his last two starts, pitching seven innings in both.

PHILS PHACTS:

Asher Returns – Does Alec Asher have more of this in him? It is just one start, but his season debut Thursday in a 4-1 victory over the Nationals at Nationals Park had to intrigue a few people in the Phillies' organization. Asher allowed just two hits and one walk in six scoreless innings, throwing a mere 75 pitches (55 strikes). It snapped the Phillies' nine-game losing streak against the Nationals. Asher's teammates commemorated his first big league win by taking him into the Phillies' shower fully clothed and dumping beer on him. "I just said that I was going to go out there and have fun," Asher said. "I felt like I wasn't myself at the end of last year and let the moment get to me. I was going to go back to being me. It definitely worked, and I'm looking to build on it." Asher went 0-6 with a 9.31 ERA in seven starts late last season with the Phillies, who acquired him in July 2015 in the Cole Hamels trade with the Rangers. Asher knew he would not last long with performances like that, so he worked on a two-seam fastball in the offseason. It helped. He went 1-2 with a 3.20 ERA in four starts this season with Double-A Reading before being promoted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, for which he went 3-0 with a 1.53 ERA in four starts. Everything looked great until Major League Baseball suspended Asher 80 games for testing positive for dehydrochlormethyltestosterone (DHCMT), which is an anabolic steroid designed by East Germany in the 1960s. The steroid is better known as oral turinabol. Former teammate and Rule 5 Draft pick Daniel Stumpf also tested positive for DHCMT this year. Both have maintained their innocence, saying they have absolutely no idea how the easily detectable steroid entered their systems. "We're all in the same boat," Asher said about himself and four other players that tested positive this year for DHCMT. "We're all looking for a resolution on what had happened. But that's all I got for you." Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said he isn't interested in Asher's explanation about his PED suspension. "I don't even want to talk to him about it," Mackanin said. "As far as I'm concerned, it's water under the bridge and let's just put it behind us." Asher figures to make four more starts before the end of the season. If he pitches well, he could put himself in good position to make the 2017 rotation out of Spring Training. But there should be plenty of competition. If everybody is healthy -- that is always a big "if" -- the group of starters in camp should include Aaron Nola, Jerad Eickhoff, Vince Velasquez, Zach Eflin, Jake Thompson, Adam Morgan, Asher and probably a veteran starter or two. "If he pitches like he did tonight, he's definitely in the conversation," Mackanin said. "It was noticeable to me, just his demeanor on the mound. It looked like he was confident from the start. He threw strikes. He wasn't pitching away from contact. That's huge. For him to go through what he's gone through and develop a new pitch over the winter and to come out against a real good hitting team, a first-place team, speaks volumes."

Nagging Injuries – Phillies third baseman Maikel Franco is day to day with a sore right thumb. Franco could be back in the starting lineup as early as Friday against the Nationals at Nationals Park, although he could pinch-hit in Thursday's series opener. Franco took ground balls, and he planned to hit in the batting cage Thursday. Franco jammed the thumb Sunday against the Braves in Philadelphia, but he played Monday and Tuesday in Miami. He went 0-for-8 in those games to drop his batting average to .246 and his OPS to .721.

Today In Phils History – George Davis of the Braves no hit the Phillies in the second game of a double header on this day in 1914. Jimmie Foxx hit the final of his 534 career homeruns in 1945. The Phillies struck out 26 times in a double header against the Mets in 1970 with Nolan Ryan adding 13 to his career tally in game 1. In the 2^nd game of that double header, Greg ‘The Bull” Luzinski made his MLB debut as a pinch hitter and unceremoniously struck out (he was the Phillies 1^st player born in the 1950’s. 2003 saw the Phillies hammer the Braves 18-5 with both Tomas Perez and Jason Michaels each hitting the 1^st grand slam of their career. The following season Jimmy Rollins hit a leadoff inside the park homerun which was his 4^th homerun to begin a game that season tying the franchise record. In that same game, Jason Michaels bobbled a ball so badly that he forced the ball over the fence for a homerun which was soon forgotten with 5 homeruns and a Phillies win. Other debuts on this day include Jeff Stone (1983) and Nick Punto (2001). Finally, happy birthday to Hugh Mulcahy (1913), Ron Stone (1942), and Todd Zeile (1965).   

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are currently 63-77 this season putting them on pace to beat most preseason predictions. All time, the Phillies are 54-42-1 on this day. I expect the Phillies to finish in the bottom half of the division but not last in the NL East by finishing the season with a 77-85 record.

Phillies May Have To Bring Back “Duck And Cover” Drills

GAME RECAP: Pirates Pillage Phillies 7-4

With two hit batsmen, three walks and five stolen bases allowed in three-plus innings, it's safe to say Pirates rookie Tyler Glasnow struggled in his home debut. The Bucs' offense compensated, erupting for a five-run fifth inning and holding on to beat the Phillies, 7-4, on Saturday. Down, 3-2, in the fifth inning, a single by Jordy Mercer and back-to-back Aaron Nola walks to pinch-hitter Matt Joyce and John Jaso loaded the bases. Gregory Polanco delivered a go-ahead two-run single, David Freese followed with a two-run single of his own, and a sacrifice fly by catcher Francisco Cervelli made it 7-3. "We saw really good at-bats, guys working to get on base," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said of the fifth inning. "Just good quality at-bats." The Pirates improved to 7-1 against the Phillies at PNC Park since 2014. Glasnow was pulled in the fourth inning due to what the Pirates called right shoulder discomfort, but the bullpen limited the Phillies to two runs in the final six innings. Pittsburgh placed the rookie on the 15-day disabled list on Sunday. Nola surrendered six earned runs on six hits in four-plus innings before being pulled in favor of the recently recalled Severino Gonzalez. Nola has only pitched six innings deep into a game once in his last seven starts. "He didn't have command of his pitches," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "He threw too many balls, he got behind. He's usually a strike one guy to get ahead of hitters. Started off pretty good, but just lost his command."

PHILS PHACTS: 

• In the third inning, Glasnow hit catcher Cameron Rupp in the head with a 91-mph fastball, and Rupp immediately crumpled to the ground as his helmet fell off. Rupp was able to walk off the field and was replaced by Carlos Ruiz. Rupp showed no ill effects or damage from the hit that grazed his cheek, according to Mackanin, though he will be re-evaluated Sunday. Glasnow later hit Nola in the left hand with a fastball and was pulled soon after in the fourth. Nola said his knuckles had taken most of the hit, but there was no damage done. 
• Through Glasnow's three-plus innings, Herrera, Cesar Hernandez and Freddy Galvis combined to steal five bases. Mackanin attributed it to the 6-foot-8 Glasnow being slow to the plate, and Glasnow admitted after the game it's something he needs to work on.
• "I thought we were going to get to him. He was effectively wild, I think is what it was. And we just couldn't hit the pitches we were supposed to hit. We were ahead in counts and just couldn't capitalize." -- Mackanin, on Glasnow and the Phillies stranding 14 men on base.
• In the second inning, Galvis appeared to ground out to Jaso, who picked up the ball that rolled by Glasnow before tossing it to the pitcher at first. The call was overturned after a review, as replay showed Glasnow's foot never touched the bag. Galvis reached on a missed catch error by Glasnow, assist to Jaso.
• The Pirates challenged an out call against Cervelli at first base in the eighth inning. The call on the field was overturned, as Cervelli had made it to first before Blanco's throw reached first baseman Tommy Joseph.
• In the ninth, the Phillies challenged whether a ball Hernandez hit down the left-field line was fair or foul, but the foul ball call stood after review.

NEXT GAME:

Right-hander Vince Velasquez (8-2, 3.15 ERA) will start for the Phillies as they try to clinch their series with the Pirates on Sunday at 1:35 p.m. ET.

PHILS PHACTS:

A Warning Would Have Been Nice! – Phillies catcher Cameron Rupp left in the third inning of Saturday's7-4 loss to the Pirates after being hit in the head by a pitch, but manager Pete Mackanin said it appears Rupp hasn't sustained any significant injury. Pirates rookie Tyler Glasnow hit Rupp with a 91-mph fastball toward the back of his batting helmet. Rupp's helmet came off as he crumpled to the ground, but he was able to walk off the field. "We anticipate him to be fine," Mackanin said. "It deflected off the flap and hit his cheek, and I just took him out. He should be fine, but he's going to be checked out tomorrow." Pinch-runner Carlos Ruiz replaced Rupp and remained in the game at catcher. Glasnow later hit pitcher Aaron Nola in the left hand with a fastball in the fourth inning and was pulled soon after. Nola said after the game that the blow was to his knuckles, but his hand is fine and uninjured. Mackanin wasn't pleased with the lack of command from Glasnow when pitching inside. "This team has a tendency to pitch inside, it's part of their program," Mackanin said. "And I don't have an issue with that. If they want to pitch inside, we can pitch inside, too. However, today, I have an issue with if you're going to pitch inside and you're going to hit a guy in the head, you shouldn't be here."

Running On A Slow Delivery – The Phillies had the bases loaded in the third inning Saturday. They were stealing bases left and right off rookie pitcher Tyler Glasnow. It was a tie game. All that was left on the to-do list was to cross home plate a few times more. But a popout by Cody Asche and a groundout by Freddy Galvis would eventually come back to haunt them in a 7-4 loss to the Pirates at PNC Park, as would many other missed opportunities. Philadelphia pulled ahead by run in the top of the fifth, but couldn't muster up enough offense to overcome a five-run response by the Pirates, despite five stolen bases off Glasnow and Bucs catcher Francisco Cervelli through three-plus innings. "The guy was slow to the plate, and we took advantage of it," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "We stole five bases, still couldn't get any. The third inning haunted us." Odubel Herrera and Cesar Hernandez each stole two bases off Glasnow, with Galvis stealing one in the second inning. Though the Phillies were able to move around the bases, they also stranded 14. For a team that ranks 15th in the Majors in stolen bases with 48, five stolen bases in one game is a definite outlier. The rhythm became the silver lining of a tough loss. "It's nothing in particular, really, but we just take a look at the pitcher," Herrera said through translator Diego Ettedgui. "So it depends on the situation, depends on the pitcher. But when we see we can take advantage of it, we really try to do that."

Taking Precautions – After taking a pitch off his left wrist in Friday's 4-0 win against the Pirates, Maikel Franco was not in the Phillies' lineup on Saturday and is day to day with a sore wrist. "I guess he's got some tenderness," manager Pete Mackanin said. "It's not going to hurt him to not play for a few days." X-rays on Franco's wrist came back negative, according to Mackanin, but the tenderness is more concerning since Franco fractured it in the same place last year. However, the third baseman has been icing and wrapping the wrist, and he said it doesn't feel too severe. "Because I can hit, grab a bat, like I did yesterday. ... I hit yesterday with a bat, also," Franco said. "That's the thing I think about. It's not super serious, because I can do some stuff." Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole hit Franco with a 96-mph fastball in the first inning, and Franco continued to play until the bottom of the fourth. In his next at-bat, Franco singled on a ground ball to center field, but his wrist continued to nag him, and he was soon replaced by Andres Blanco. Blanco played third base and batted third on Saturday. He went 2-for-2 with an RBI in Friday's win. Trainers will re-evaluate the wrist Sunday morning, Franco said.

Today In Phils History – It was quite the interesting contest on this day in 1897 between Philadelphia and Cleveland as with no umpire available for the game each team provided a substitute player to officiate leading to frequent arguments with the Cleveland player behind the plate and ultimately resulting in the Phillies forfeiting the game in the bottom of the 8^th. With a 6^th inning homerun at Shea Stadium in 1965, Dick Stuart became the only active player to have hit a homerun in ever MLB park. 20 year later, Von Hayes connected off Nolan Ryan for an inside the park homerun in the 8^th inning resulting in a Phillies 3-1 win over Houston. 10 years later, the Phillies traded Dave Hollins to Boston for “Hard Hittin” Mark Whitten. In 1998, the Phillies scored 2 runs in the bottom of the 9^th in the second game of a double header at Veterans Stadium and keep pace for the next 3 innings scoring a run in each frame before finally winning the game in the 12^th with 2 more runs scored. 3 years later, despite not being known for his power, Tomas Perez hit a home run from both sides of the plate against the Expos. The following season, 2002, Brett Myers makes his MLB debut as the 1^st Phillies player born in the 1980’s winning the game over Chicago in the process. The following year, 2003, Bobby Abreu tied a franchise record by recording 5 RBI in a single inning. Finally, it was on this day 5 years ago when former Phillies GM Pat Gillick was inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame.

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are currently 45-54 this season putting them on pace to beat most preseason predictions. All time, the Phillies are 46-57-0 on this day. I expect the Phillies to finish in the bottom half of the division but not last in the NL East by finishing the season with a 77-85 record.

"O" No, Phillies Can’t Hold Lead Despite Solid Performances

EXHIBITION GAME RECAP: O’s Edge Phils 8-7

Despite a final spring gem from Aaron Nola (3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER) and homeruns by Maikel Franco (9), Ryan Howard (3), and Carlos Ruiz (5), the Phillies couldn’t pull out the victory in the final match up of the spring finishing the preseason with a 15-11-3 record. Simply put, the bullpen couldn’t hold the lead giving up 2 runs in the final frame. Highlights include the massive power surge by the aforementioned Franco and the solid hitting from three hole hitter Odubel Herrera who finished the spring with a .419 average after going 3-5 in last night’s game. Of course, as Allan Iverson put it, “we’re talkin’ about practice!” We will just have to wait and see if the solid play on display the spring translates into wins during the regular season.

PHILS PHACTS:

The Phillies are 15-10-3 this spring with one game left against a Major League opponent. And

NEXT GAME:

The Phillies continue their two game split series tonight at Citizens Bank Park where the minor league team will look to rebound from the drubbing they received on Thursday night. However, the question remains, with an outstanding offensive display behind them can the two teams show some promise on the mound?

PHILS PHACTS:

Longballs And Acquisitions - Four years before Pete Incaviglia was born, Wally Post shockingly defeated Hank Aaron on national TV during a 1960 broadcast of "Home Run Derby". Over 40 years later, in 2006, Ryan Howard gave us a glimpse of things to come when he hit his franchise record 11th homerun of the spring. 1996 was also a year of surprising power as Benito Santiago (and Todd Zeile) debuted behind the plate. Ten years later another player debuted for the Phillies, Aaron Rowand, who was not know for his power but for running into the outfield wall. However, what seemed inconsequential at the time but would prove to be one of the better trades in team history, the Phillies received Curt Schilling from Houston for Jason Grimsley. 

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies have an impressive record this spring… 15-11-3 (17-11-3 if you include the exhibition games against Reading and the University of Tampa). With the Phillies having finished the 2015 season with a spectacularly awful record of 63-99 it will be interesting to see what kind of team new President Andy MacPhail and GM Matt Klentak put on the field. At the same time I am definitely looking forward to the games against Boston with former GM Ruben Amaro on the field. Given the departures, lingering contracts, a history of injuries, bipolar performances, and unproven talent, it should, at the very least, be an interesting season for the Phillies. Who knows, maybe they can avoid 100 losses... hopefully by more than one game!

What Will 2016 Hold For The Phillies?

PHILS PHACTS:

Taking Steps Forward In 2016 – The Phillies will begin 2016 with a clean slate. There will be no speculation about their president, general manager or manager entering Spring Training. They have those people in place. There will be no speculation about the futures of Cole Hamels, Chase Utley and Jonathan Papelbon. They were traded last summer. Next year should have little less drama off the field, but it should be more interesting on the field as the rebuilding Phillies look for their young players and prospects to take another step forward. Here are the top five questions entering next season: 1. How can 2016 be judged as a success? That's easy. They need big leaguers like Maikel Franco, Aaron Nola, Odubel Herrera and Jerad Eickhoff to establish themselves and show everybody they should be part of the core going forward. They also need their top prospects to take another step forward. While it is unrealistic to expect J.P. Crawford, Mark Appel, Jake Thompson, Nick Williams, Jorge Alfaro and Andrew Knapp to make the Phillies out of Spring Training, it is realistic to think some of them could be in the big leagues before the end of the season. But the best thing that could happen to Philadelphia next year would be if its young talents in the Major League and Minor League levels look more and more like the real deal entering 2017. 2. Who will be the first prospect promoted? That's a tough one. Crawford is the No. 5 prospect in baseball, according to MLBPipeline. There may be a scenario in which he plays very well in Triple-A Lehigh Valley and almost forces the Phillies to promote him. But that only will happen if the organization believes he is ready to play every day. He will not join the Phillies as a part-time player. It's not a stretch to think he could be in the big leagues by the middle of the summer. What happens to Freddy Galvis at that point? If he is playing well, he could move to second base, depending on how Cesar Hernandez is playing. Or Galvis could move into a utility role. But again, all of this depends on Crawford's performance in Triple-A. 3. Who will be in the Opening Day rotation? There are so many options at this point, but we know Jeremy Hellickson and Charlie Morton are locks. The Phillies traded for them for a reason; they need some veteran stability in the rotation. Nola and Eickhoff have to be considered favorites based on their performances last season. And then one has to think one of the pitchers they acquired in the Ken Giles trade -- Vincent Velasquez or Brett Oberholtzer -- will be a favorite for a job. But the good thing about what the Phillies accomplished this offseason is almost nobody (maybe other than Hellickson, Morton and Nola) will be handed a job. If somebody really struggles this spring and somebody really pitches well, one of those favorites could be bumped out. But Hellickson, Morton, Nola, Eickhoff and Velasquez have to be considered the early frontrunners. 4. Who will be the closer? There will be a Spring Training competition, but the early favorites are David Hernandez and Ernesto Frieri. Luis Garcia could be a candidate because of his stuff, but the smart bet is on the veterans with experience. 5. Will Ryan Howard be the first baseman on Opening Day? It seems like it. Phillies general manager Matt Klentak met with Howard and Howard's agent at Citizens Bank Park before Thanksgiving. Klentak described the discussion as positive. Everybody knows the Phillies have tried hard to trade Howard, but they have found no takers. If nothing happens before Spring Training, the hope is Howard can produce against right-handed hitters and possibly improve against left-handers. If he can, he will play more often. If not, Darin Ruf should see more time against lefties.

The Case For Billy Wagner – Billy Wagner has taken a slight backseat to Trevor Hoffman in this year's Hall of Fame discussion, but given what Wagner did during his 16 years in the big leagues, there is room for debate that the spotlight throughout the voting season has been focused on the wrong guy. Maybe "wrong" is too strong a word. After all, Wagner, Hoffman and the third closer on the ballot -- Lee Smith, who's back for a 14th try -- have all done plenty to merit consideration. But when the topic of relievers comes up, Hoffman is always mentioned first, as the most likely of the three to gain entry in 2016. This really is for one main reason: saves. Hoffman has 601 of them, second most in history and 179 ahead of Wagner's 422, fifth-highest. While there never was a magic number for closers to guarantee entry to the Hall -- to date, only five closers have been elected -- it's been widely assumed in general circles that Hoffman's total in that lone category is enough to push him through. And it may be. But there is an argument to be made that Wagner might just be the best closer on the ballot. It depends on the voters' criteria, which, thanks to modern-day metrics, largely debunk the importance of the more traditional stats -- especially saves. This isn't some outside-the-box thinking. The save, while useful, is also understood to be flawed -- and not just among numbers-minded analysts. It's pretty much a universal theory. "The numbers that stand out to me are not just saves," Wagner said the day the ballot was announced. "It's the big numbers: ERA, strikeouts, batting average against. How do they show dominance? Those are dominant numbers. Saves are just tied along with it." And that's one of the main reasons why Hall of Fame voting in this particular area has become so murky. The main knock on Wagner is his innings pitched -- 903, the lowest among all elite closers in history by a significant margin. In fact, no reliever has ever been elected to the Hall with fewer than 1,000 career innings pitched. But what made Wagner so elite is what he did while pitching those 903 innings. He had more strikeouts than either of his two contemporaries. His 1,196 K's are just a tick better than Mariano Rivera's 1,173 (Rivera also pitched three more years than Wagner). Hoffman, who pitched four years longer than Wagner, had 1,133 strikeouts. Wagner's career ERA is 2.31, second-lowest to only Rivera (2.21) among pitchers with that many innings from 1920 to present. Dating back to 1900, Wagner has the highest strikeout-per-nine-innings ratio (11.92) among pitchers with at least 900 innings. Wagner's WHIP of 1.00 is tied with Eckersley for the lowest among all elite closers, including the other two on the ballot, Hoffman and Smith. Plenty of evidence exists to support the theory that Wagner was a far more dominant closer than Hoffman, but while Wagner acknowledges that saves don't tell the whole story, they're still a big part of it. And when it comes to Hoffman, Wagner has few doubts about where he fits into history. "It's hard to believe he isn't looked at as a shoo-in as a Hall of Famer, with 600 saves," Wagner said. "His numbers alone speak volumes. I think he has an 88, 89 save percentage. He had a different way of how he dominated a team." Wagner has a point. While Wagner blew hitters away with a 100-mph fastball, Hoffman earned his paychecks by confusing them with a changeup that hitters could not decipher. In addition to saves, Hoffman also has longevity as an ally, something Hall voters will have to take into account as they weigh his candidacy. He pitched 18 years and lasted until age 42. That goes a long way in Hall consideration. For Wagner, his philosophy about the importance of closers is simple: take them out of the equation and see how good your team is without them. "There's only a few people that have demonstrated that they can go out there night in and night out and handle the stress of getting the last three outs," Wagner said. "Doing it on a nightly basis and having the longevity to prove it counts for a lot."

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies finally put an end to the season finishing in last place in the NL East with a record of 63-99. Given the departures, aging stars, injuries, and bipolar performances, this has ended up being one of the worst seasons in franchise history! However, at least Ryan Madson got another ring this year.