Weary West Coast Watching

Man, these games out west are killing me. I'm an old man. I need my rest. And last night, it all finally caught up to me. After watching every inning of all three games against the Diamondbacks, I simply couldn't 'make it last night, which was probably for the better. Once the bottom of the fourth inning rolled around, I was out cold.



Now, the Phillies did lose their second straight game last night, and for the second straight night, they couldn't get runners home in situations where you simply have to get runners home. Take, for instance, the third inning, when Jimmy Rollins led off with a double and stole third, placing him on third with no one out only to see Chase Utley strike out, Jayson Werth pop out and Ryan Howard end the inning without plating Rollins by grounding out. It was reminiscent of Wednesday night's 7th inning, where the Phils had runners on second and third with no one out after Ryan Howard led off with single and Raul Ibanez followed with a double. Then they failed to bring them home.

Normally, that would be cause for a rant or two, but honestly, it's just a little hard to jump off the cliff (no pun intended) at the moment or fly off the handle. After all, the Phils have been white hot, they just got the reigning AL Cy Young award winner who will make his Phillies debut tonight, and it was the first time they've lost two games in a row since the first two days of the month. Right now, it's a good time to be a Phillies fan.



While I'm weary from these road games against the NL West, you can bet your ass I'm going to watch every damn pitch tonight. It's all set up pretty perfectly for Cliff Lee to ease into his role with his new team. The Phils are on the road, so there isn't nearly as much pressure to perform from the fans. He's playing in a pitcher's ballpark against a lineup that, even with the additions of Ryan Garko and Freddy Sanchez, doesn't strike a lot of fear. And the Phils will undoubtedly have a boost from seeing Lee on the mound in their colors for the first time.

Frankly, I'm excited. And if Lee pitches well, and gets down a sacrifice bunt, you know it'll be a great weekend.

As you all know, the addition of Lee has been wildly praised. And our boy Antone says this deal makes the Phillies the favorites in the National League, with an insightful breakdown of the Dodgers and Phillies, along with the Cubs and Cardinals.

Show us what you got, Cliff.