Sergio Escalona News

The Phillies are focused on improving their pitching staff, but do not expect to make any major moves before leaving the winter meetings tomorrow.

The two goals appear contradictory: The Phillies want to improve their pitching staff and avoid increasing payroll.

There's no crying in baseball. Unless, of course, you may have pitched your last game in the major leagues on a night your team saw its dreams of a World Series championship ended.

Their roles are nonexistent; their seats, however, are priceless. Andy Tracy, Paul Hoover, Kyle Kendrick, callups from the minor leagues in September, are basically along for the ride as the Phillies have made their run through the playoffs and into the World Series.

Wanted to run some bullet points down before the start of a potential NLDS-clinching Game 4: 1) Scott Eyre ran under the supervision of head athletic trainer Scott Sheridan and looked to the untrained eye as if he were doing much better than last night, when he sprained his ankle in the seventh inning and limped off the field.

When Scott Eyre collapsed on the field while fielding a bunt on Sunday night, manager Charlie Manuel feared that the important lefthanded reliever was seriously hurt.

J.C. Romero reacts after striking out Rocco Baldelli to cap the Phillies' 10-2 win over the Rays in Game 4 of the World Series.

The Phillies released their playoff roster Tuesday and one World Series hero was left out of the NLDS.

FOR MUCH OF the season, Miguel Cairo was the forgotten man. A strong spring training earned him a spot on the Opening Day roster, but a 2-for-17 performance in his first 15 games, along with the need for a roster spot, convinced the Phillies to outright him to Triple A Lehigh Valley in mid-May. But since he was recalled in late August, the veteran ...

The game was meaningless for the Phillies in regards to the postseason. But their 7-6 win Sunday in 10 innings was meaningful for players like utility infielder Miguel Cairo and reliever Sergio Escalona, who are trying to make the postseason roster, and for reliever Brett Myers, who's trying to prove that he's healthy after missing nearly three ...

J.C. Romero said he probably threw his last pitch for the Phillies this season.

By Wednesday's Game 1 of the National League division series, manager Charlie Manuel and pitching coach Rich Dubee will have finished patching together the Phillies' beleaguered bullpen for the postseason roster.

Not much good news came out of the Phillies' game against the Astros on Thursday.

A trio of factors must converge in October for a team to win the World Series: talent, luck, and health.

The news just isn't getting any better for the already thin Phillies bullpen. Myers hasn't taken the mound in more than a week and this weekend General Manager Ruben Amaro admitted that Myers was feeling soreness in the back of his throwing shoulder, reported Zolecki .

J.C. Romero is not in the clear just yet, but he sounds optimistic about his bullpen session on Saturday at Turner Field.

At the end, Reading Phillies manager Steve Roadcap was no doubt worn down from the 142-game regular season schedule; the grueling, pressure-packed stretch drive; and ultimately the disappointing three-game Eastern League playoff sweep at the hands of the Akron Aeros.

Pedro Martinez threw 130 pitches Sunday night. Yes, 130 pitches. Yes, that Pedro Martinez.

It was a virtuoso performance, the likes of which the Mets never received for their four-year, $53 million investment.

Charlie Manuel has repeated the phrase many times this season, at least once after each of Brad Lidge's 10 blown saves: "Lidge is my closer." But the Phillies' manager made clear yesterday afternoon that, while he was not ready to declare Lidge officially demoted from the role, his view of the bullpen had shifted.