Mayfair – La Salle Explorers managed by hockeyfan9090
Fishtown – Pacifico Beer #1 managed by SABBATH
Manayunk – dock ellis’ trip managed by LloydC
Kensington – Victory!no managed by daww10
Center City – HowardsPower6 managed by AveryC
Roxborough – Big League ChewGrape managed by maichrow23
Chalfont – Pat the Glove managed by Manny
Fairmount – Game5WasSweet managed by surly24
Port Richmond – Belfast Bullies managed by belfastpa76
Grays Ferry – Phanatic’s Phloozies managed by Christopher Z
Brewerytown – Clemente……#21 managed by lopez198336
Bustleton – Two Burrels One Cup managed by setabkcir87
Olney – PhilsWFC09 managed by Phil P
Germantown – The Lee Elias managed by Chris
Nicetown – Utley’s Puppy Mill managed by onetransmission

All these masterminds will receive free t-shirts! If you’re one of them, you will soon receive an email with instructions for claiming your prize.

To get a head start on the 2010 season, sign up now using the form below and you will receive an email during Spring Training with details on your team.

cforms contact form by delicious:days

Mayfair - Pat the Bat
Fishtown - Pacifico Beer #1
Manayunk - dock ellis’ trip
Kensington - Victory!no
Center City – HowardsPower6
Roxborough - Big League ChewGrape
Chalfont - Pat the Glove
Fairmount - Game5WasSweet
Port Richmond – Belfast Bullies
Grays Ferry – Phanatic’s Phloozies
Brewerytown - Clemente……#21
Bustleton - Two Burrels One Cup
Olney - PhilsWFC09
Germantown - The Lee Elias
Nicetown - Utley’s Puppy Mill

Pat the Bat and Pat the Glove both representing the resurgent former Phil…classic. The Phillies Nation teams are not faring as well, with an average of penultimate place across the divisions. Hopefully there’s still plenty of time to turn the season around.

Here are the divisions (the links only work if you have been invited to that division):

Olney, Germantown, Nicetown, Port Richmond, Grays Ferry, Brewerytown, Bustleton, Center City, Roxborough, Chalfont, Fairmount, Mayfair, Fishtown, Manayunk, Kensington

cforms contact form by delicious:days

Fantasy League

Congrats to the first-half winners of their respective fantasy baseball divisions.

• Delaware – Shannon Newell
• Schuylkill- Justin Evans
• Poquessing – Craig Horleman
• Rittenhouse – Todd Hamm
• Brandywine – J.K.
• Overbrook – Carl Dietz
• Pennypack – C. Groody and Jeff Maichrowycz

MLB08 Giveaway

More congrats, this time to Lindsey McClennen of Philly and Scot Sedley of Norwalk, CT winners of a copy of MLB08 the Show for PlayStation3. We have one more game to give away so if you haven’t signed up yet, you can do it here.

Bus Trip to DC

Thanks to everyone who has reserved their spot on the Labor Day Bus Trip to DC to see the Phils take on the Nationals in their new park. The party is just six weeks away, so if you want to go, reserve your place now.

Boo? F*ck You Shirts

For all those that have ordered a “Boo? F*ck You” shirt, they should be arriving soon. I can’t wait for mine. But if anyone is planning to attend any of the Phillies-Mets games next week in Shea, please buy one now to ensure you get it on time. If you’re really going, email us, and we’ll send you one for free! Let’s use these shirts the way they were intended – to stick it to Mets fans!

Go Phils!

If you have not yet accepted your invitation, please do so today. Last week you should have received an email from “espnfantasy” with a link to sign up. If you registered on Phillies Nation, but have yet to receive that email, please contact us .

Sign Up Now

• Schuylkill – Shadyside Swingers, Julie Michael
• Delaware – Mark the Shark, Mark McClure
• Poquessing – Chevy Chase Hill Raiders, Hank Park
• Cobbs Creek – Kruk and Nails, Parker Dixon
• Pennypack – Let’s Play Two, Larry Beckler
• Wissahickon – Flatutory Apes, Rocco Qatar

The Chevy Chases Hill Raiders lead the entire league with a score of 108, though the Flatutory Apes are not far behind at 107.5.  Remember the overall winner will take home a Phillies grab bag of merchandise.  So stop neglecting your team like I do and get those injured players out of the starting lineup.

Speaking of injuries, the second half of the season has got to be more favorable to the Phils when it comes to the disabled list.  Jon Lieber, Matt Smith and Freddy Garcia are already done for the season; but Brett Myers and Tom Gordon should be back by the end of the month.  Although Jayson Werth is the only current casualty of the lineup, there’s always a chance Ryan Howard would have to return to the DL – same with Rowand and Burrell.  Baseball executives sometimes like to say that having a player return from the DL is as good as a trade in the second half of the season.  But with Myers and Gordon slated for the bullpen, the Phillies will still need to make a move for a starter.

Most everyone agrees that if the Phillies do not get off to a hot start (or at least not a cold start), there will be a slim chance of making the playoffs.  This is precisely why it troubles me that the team is doing so poorly in Florida.  If my memory serves me correct, the Phillies have had only one Spring Training above .500 since in 1993.  But although there is no direct correlation between a successful Spring and playing in October, there is no denying the fact that this does not bode well for the start of the season. 

In particular, the lackluster performance of a few key players this March might be a cause of concern.  Here are the team’s stats prior to Sunday’s 10-2 victory over the Twins; one in which Chase Utley hit 2 home runs in a Cole Hamels win. 

The first three batters in the lineup have put up some impressive numbers thus far, and last week’s scouting session confirms this.  Rollins, Utley and Victorino have been making good contact, moving each other around the bases, and scoring runs.  The concern lies in the next three batters, Howard, Burrell and Rowand.  Ryan Howard began Spring Training hot but has since fizzled out (e.g. his recent 0 for 17 slump) while piling up the Ks.  Last week, after another 0 for 4 game with two strikeouts, Howard stayed late for some extra BP.  Everyone seems to think his numbers will drop this year, let’s just hope Spring is not an indication of how far.  As for Burrell and Rowand, well, they are Burrell and Rowand.  So far this March they share 24 strikeouts in 100 combined at bats.  Should we be worried?

Phillies Nation Fantasy League Update:  Thanks to everyone who has signed up so far, there are over 70 participants in 6 leagues.  If you have received an invite but have not yet signed up – you must do it today or your spot will be lost.  There about a dozen people still waiting for invites and rather than open another league, we’d prefer to make sure the current ones get filled.  If you’re one of the people waiting, don’t worry, you’ll get your invite tomorrow.  Links to all the leagues can be found on our Fantasy Baseball page.  Finally, don’t forget this Thursday, March 29th is draft day, check your league to find out your exact time.

In yesterday’s game, Jamie Moyer pitched five scoreless innings but was let down by the bullpen, namely Fabio Castro who gave up 4 runs in the seventh in a 5-3 loss to Detroit.  The Phils offense was powered by a Chase Utley home run and a show of speed from the top of the lineup.  With two outs in the fourth, Jimmy Rollins made it to first, stole second, and was subsequently driven in on a Shane Victorino single.  On the radio, Sarge mentioned that, "Two-out runs are what separate men from boys."  Still, it was the Phillies’ second loss of the Spring to the Tigers and they now stand at 5-7 in the Grapefruit League.

On Saturday, the Phillies medium-term catching prospect, Jason Jaramillo, hit a 3-run home run to propel the club to a 6-4 victory over Tampa Bay in a split-squad game.  Elsewhere that day, the rest of the team dropped a 3-2 decision to the Astros in 10 innings.  Houston (7-4) travels to Clearwater today to take on the Phils.

Regarding the fantasy leagues, everyone who signed before 9 am on Sunday should have received an email invite.  If you haven’t but think you should, please email us.  The rest of the invites will go out within the next couple of days.  We have also added two new leagues.  In addition to the Schuylkill and Delaware divisions, we now have Poquessing and Cobbs Creek.  If you still would like to request an invite, submit your email in the box below or to the left.

Finally, a friendly reminder that Phillies Nation will be broadcasting live from Clearwater starting on Wednesday.  We’ll bring you first hand accounts of the rotation controversy, prospects for improving the bullpen, and up-and-coming Phillies, including an answer to the question, who is Greg Dobbs?  But even before that, another big Phillies Nation announcement comes tomorrow, so make sure you stop by again.