Phillies hope to get back on track against Marlins

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09/08/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies have been playing uninspired baseball since a big sweep of the Mets last week. The club will try to reverse that trend this afternoon in the middle portion of its three-game set with the Florida Marlins at Citizens Bank Park.

Since taking all four games of a home series against the Mets from August 27-30, the Phillies have lost five of seven, with three of those defeats coming at the hands of the Marlins.

Philadelphia has now fallen six games back of the National League East-leading Mets and still trail the Padres by three games in the wild card race.

The Marlins took two of three from Philadelphia at home in the Phillies' first series after sweeping the Mets, and then handed the club a 6-3 setback on Friday.

Miguel Olivo went 2-for-3 with a solo homer, two runs batted in and two runs scored in the victory, while Cody Ross had a pair of hits and an RBI. Byung- Hyun Kim (9-6) pitched six innings of seven-hit, three-run ball for the Marlins, who snapped a three-game losing streak.

J.D. Durbin (6-5) got the loss after giving up five runs, two earned, on five hits with four walks and three strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings. Pat Burrell hit a three-run home run for the Phillies, who committed a pair of errors in the game.

To make matters worse of the Phils, Aaron Rowand left the game in the fifth inning with a left hip strain.

Despite the club's desperate need for wins, John Ennis will make just his second career start for the Phillies today and his first in over five years. The right-hander made his major league debut as a member of the Atlanta Braves in 2002 and faced, interestingly enough, the Phillies. He got a no-decision that day, lasting four innings while giving up five hits and two runs with three walks.

Ennis made his Phillies debut on August 26, earning a save after pitching the final three innings of the club's 14-2 win over the Padres. He allowed one run and four hits on the day.

The 27-year-old, who has never faced Florida, pitched in 37 games with Triple- A Ottawa this year, including seven starts, and went 4-4 with a 3.38 earned run average.

Saturday's original starter, Adam Eaton, had his outing pushed back to Tuesday, paving the way for Ennis to make the start.

Rick VandenHurk will toe the rubber for the Marlins trying to recover from a poor outing on Monday. Against the Nationals, VandenHurk was tagged for six runs and eight hits over 5 1/3 innings of work. The loss dropped the right- hander to 4-5 on the season with a 6.84 ERA.

VandenHurk made his first career start versus the Phillies on August 7 and took the loss after allowing six runs in just 2 1/3 frames of work.

Florida is 9-7 against the Phillies this season, with a 3-4 record at Citizens Bank Park.

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After all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer.

Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise.

Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games.

So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver.

In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team.

For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC.

The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’.

The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback.

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