Philadelphia Phillies

Geoff Jenkins was released by the Philadelphia Phillies today.

Jenkins hit a crucial double in the sixth inning of Game Five of the World Series to put the Phillies in position to take a lead, yet it wasn't enough to keep him for the 2009 season.

Jenkins was a fan-favorite and an all-around good guy, yet his lackluster .246 batting average, nine home runs, and 29 RBI in 115 games didn't impress the Phillies brass enough to keep him around.

Jenkins was due $8 million this upcoming season, and the Phillies felt his play didn't match the pay.

Let’s take a look at the NL East, where anyone, well, almost anyone can emerge as the winner. I’ll take a look at the teams in alphabetical order, saving the Nats for last, where they belong. The Marlins, Mets, Phillies, and Braves will all be contending this year, with question marks on every team. Who will emerge as the NL East champion?

Atlanta Braves

According to ESPN's Jayson Stark, Philadelphia lefty Cole Hamels is officially out of consideration for opening night versus the Atlanta Braves.

After injuring his pitching elbow a few weeks ago, Philly "phans" were sure their ace was going to be good to go on Apr. 5.

However, after allowing 10 hits against the pride of Philadelphia's farm on Mar. 30 in four innings (he also walked one and Kd five), pitching coach Rich Dubie said the Philly Phenom's control just wasn't good enough for the season's first game.

I have to say, I really do not see a lot of teams competing for the National League Championship this year.  Many of these teams look good, but I cannot see them going deep in the playoffs.

Starting with the west, you have teams with very good pitching.  The Diamondbacks have a great one-two punch with Brandon Webb and Dan Harren.  After them, it gets shaky.  A lot of these starters really don't make batters nervous.  

When the word survivor comes up, immediately you think of the television series.

By definition, survivor means to prosper spite of opposition.

It just seems fit to call Chris Coste the "Ultimate Survivor" as he once again proved all the doubters wrong - like he has in the past.

Coste's back-up job seemed to be in jeopardy when the Phillies traded for catcher Ronny Paulino this past offseason, except that experiment failed when the Phils traded Paulino to San Francisco for Jack Taschner - Paulino was then spun to Florida.

When I think of the perfect baseball player, I envision a guy who goes out there every day, plays his best, and most of all, does it just for the love of the game. Names like Willie Mays and Cal Ripken, Jr. come to mind.

These were guys who were icons for the sport during their career. They led their respective teams to World Championships, became a fixture on All-Star teams, and were among the best in the game in both their offense and defense.

Enough is enough. There have been as many Mets and Phillies articles as there are children of Brad and Angelina.

They multiply everyday (the kids and the articles).

So why don't we end this now? This rambling about who has the better bullpen, closer, infielders, fans, and clubhouse carpets has to stop.

I thought about how we could stop this finally came upon an idea sometime last week. What better way is there to end a disagreement, or clear some of the air up, than a debate?

According to CSNPhilly.com and Henry Schulman, the Philadelphia Phillies have acquired left-handed pitcher Jack Taschner from the San Francisco Giants for catcher Ronny Paulino.

The start of the new baseball season is still several weeks away, but I have to admit I am getting pumped up for my Phillies to defend their 2008 World Championship.

Philly fans love Colbert Michael Hamels. The last two seasons, he has gone 29-15 with a 3.22 ERA. Those sound like numbers of a two-time All Star. However, I'm going to show you that Hamels deserves much better than that.

In an article I wrote recently, I listed the top 30 aces in all of baseball. One user claimed I put Hamels on the list because he won the World Series MVP. As a baseball fan and a huge Hamels fan, that comment irked me. Let me provide you some proof that Hamels really is better than his 29-15 record the last two years indicate. Let's take an inside look.