On this day two years ago, the Philadelphia Flyers were riding their magical postseason run to the Stanley Cup Finals, their first appearance in the final round since being swept by the Detroit Red Wings in 1997. The Flyers were hot, taking out the second seeded New Jersey Devils in round one, followed by the comeback of all comebacks against the Boston Bruins, and a quick series against the Montreal Canadiens to advance to meet the Chicago Blackhawks.

Philadelphia vs. Chicago. It was a stage set for a fantastic Stanley Cup Finals match-up, with game one scheduled for May 29 in Chicago. With Flyer mania running wild throughout the Delaware Valley, everybody was going to be tuning in for Game One with hopes of getting out to a quick start to the first Stanley Cup victory since 1975.

But, oddly enough, not even the hard core Flyers fans could help but flip the channel or glance at the score of a regular season baseball game in Miami that night. It was not just because Roy Halladay was pitching.

It was because Halladay was pitching a gem like no other.

There may be a new team competing for the services of free-agent pitcher Roy Oswalt. After his asking price may have cooled off some serious heat from the Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox, the Los Angeles Dodgers appear to be entering the mix for the veteran pitcher for the remainder of the season.

According to Ken Rosenthal's report yesterday, Oswalt's asking price is a pro-rated $7.5 million. The Dodgers have shown interest, but may also be thinking that is too much to spend for Oswalt's short-term services.

In addition to the Phillies, Red Sox and Dodgers, the Texas Rangers are also considered to be in the running. Oswalt'spreference may be the Rangers according to multiple reports, and it would make sense. Oswalt would want to be on a team that has a good shot at winning the World Series, and the Rangers are certainly that kind of team after two consecutive trips to the World Series. The Rangers are currently 31-18 and cruising in the AL West, and Oswalt is comfortable in the state of Texas after nearly his entire career with the Houston Astros.

One of the most bizarre decisions in professional sports was approved by the owners of Major League Baseball today. The lower seeded teams in the League Division Series in both leagues will get to host games one and two this October, with the higher seeded teams getting to host the final three games if needed.

As the report from ESPN.com confirms, the approved change is designed to eliminate a travel day for the wild card team that emerges from the new one-game playoff format used starting this fall.

It should also be noted that this change is only effective for this fall and does not necessarily mean this will be the new format. With the one-game wild card game being added after Major League Baseball had set up their initial postseason schedule, some powers that be felt that they needed to curtail to the possible inconvenience of having to rearrange travel dates and potential hotel dates five months in advance.

Because getting multi-million dollar organizations to move around a couple of travel days would be such an inconvenience, right?

One thing is for sure, Jonathan Papelbon is never lacking in the self-confidence department. Yes, he has the closer mentality we speak about all the time.

With the upcoming weekend series coming up bringing the Boston Red Sox to town you might expect that Papelbon will be one of the focal points in the media. That got started Monday on Boston radio station WEEI, and with a featured article on their website.

"It won't be weird. It might be a little weird for Pap, but it won't be weird for Cinco," Papelbon explained. "Cinco is like a Great White, when he smells blood he attacks."

When asked whether he was surprised that Boston did not attempt to match the contract offer from the Phillies this off-season, Papelbon played it as if it were nothing.

"No, man. I wasn't surprised," he said. "Let me tell you something: Cinco don't know how he do, he just do. Cinco knows a lot more than you think Cinco knows, at times. Put it that way."

All I know is that Cinco do saves for the Phillies. Papelbon has been a lock in the closer role, converting all ten of his save appearances in to wins for his new team. He may shrug it aside, but you know he will want the ball at some point this weekend against his old team, especially after the way last season ended.

Papelbon was on the mound for the Red Sox collapse in Baltimore on the final day of the regular season. As Papelbon blew the save and took the loss, the Tampa Bay Rays squeaked in to the playoffs as the American League Wild Card. Papelbon took the blunt of the criticism, but the whole team was a bit of a mess. Papelbon went on to not be offered a contract by Boston.

Does Papelbon feel bad about the way things ended in Boston?

"I don't feel bad. No. Cinco is gutless man. I don’t feel bad for people."

Listen to his full interview with WEEI.

HT: Sports Radio Interviews

Photo source: Getty Images

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Today is the anniversary of one of the all-time games in Phillies history, the 23-22 10-inning game in Wrigley Field. The Phillies got off to a fast start by scoring seven runs in the top of the first inning, only to give up six runs in the bottom of the inning. And we were off.

Mike Schmidt hit two home runs in the game and starting pitcher Randy Lerch also hit a home run, while only being able to record one out on the mound. The Phillies scored eight runs in the third inning and the Cubs scored seven in the fifth inning. The Phillies took a 22-19 lead in to the bottom of the eighth inning, but of course this was not a safe lead. The Cubs tacked three runs on the scoreboard in the inning and nobody scored in the ninth. Schmidt's two-out solo home run in the tenth inning would be the eventual game winner in a classic Wrigley Field game that Chris Wheeler will surely discuss plenty tonight.

Twelve years later to the day, at Veterans Stadium, it was quite the opposite. The Phillies and Cubs could not score a run to save their lives, going 15 scoreless innings before Dickie Thon singled in Dale Murphy for a 1-0 victory at the Vet. Each team had ten hits in the game, with Phillies pitcher Tommy Greene picking up the win in relief.

Hector Luna's grand slam in the ninth inning put the cherry on top of a fine evening for the Phillies in Chicago. Photo: Getty Images

I tweeted toward the end of the Phillies 9-2 victory in Wrigley Field last night that this was the kind of win where we would wake up the next morning and wonder aloud if the Phillies got their swagger back. For the first time all season the Phillies have won four consecutive games, thanks to a more than adequate performance by the much-maligned Kyle Kendrick on the mound, even in the face of adversity.

Sure, Kendrick allowed a two-run home run to Alfonso Soriano moments after Juan Pierre dropped a fly ball in left field, but it was a night in which Kendrick battled back.  After serving up the two-run shot to Soriano, Kendrick found his way to first base off of Matt Garza, and Pierre followed up with a double down the left field line as he attempted to do what he coudl to get the lead back. The Phillies would score one run in the failed shutdown inning from Garza, and Carlos Ruiz (who else?) smacked a solo shot of his own to left field in the eighth inning to put the Phillies back on top.

The Phillies looked to pad their lead in the ninth, and did they ever. Freddy Galvis (now hitting .235) started the inning off with a double, which seems out of place without a runner already on base. Mike Fontenot was hit by a pitch, and Jimmy Rollins went to the plate looking to bunt the runners over but accepted a four-pitch walk instead. Ty Wigginton's two-RBI single pushed the lead to three runs as Jonathan Papelbon was warming up for the bottom of the inning, but he would not be needed on this night.

Hector Luna, just added to the roster for a short period of time, stepped to the plate looking to carry over some of his late inning heroics from Clearwater. He must have been picturing the tiki bar in left field because that is where he delivered a pitch with authority, for his first career grand slam. It could not have come at a better time for the him and the Phillies, and you really could not have scripted it any better.

It was one of those wins that has all of the ingredients of a team that does not quit. The error in the outfield made up for by the player who committed it. The starting pitcher who gives up the potential back-breaking home run who leads off the next inning with a single. The late-inning home run for the team's ost deserving All-Star candidate. The late outburst of runs keyed by unsung heroes just called up from the minors.

This is the kind of game the Phillies would have lost a month ago. This is the kind of game the Phillies would win when things are going right in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.

Continue reading for some recommended links, a look at what happened in the NL East last night and the updated NL East standings...

A toast to George Brett, who celebrates his 58th birthday today. Here he is enjoying  a beverage with Mike Schmidt for a Sports Illustrated photo.

Placido Polanco's first home run of the season sure was a memorable one. Polanco's two-run homer to left center field last night in the eighth inning of a damp game against the Houston Astros pushed the Phillies lead to 5-1, taking the game out of a save situation and making victory just a little more certain for a team that has struggled to close games out. Of course, the home run was also the 2,000th hit of his career.

Here is some standard YouTube video of someone recording their television with their phone to relive the moment...

Or watch Polanco's 2,000th hit on Phillies.com.

Polanco is now the 269th player in MLB history to eclipse the 2,000 hit mark, and he should move up on the list a good amount before the end of the season. Juan Pierre is currently 243rd on the all-time list of players with 2,000 career hits with 2,053 hits. Former Phillie third baseman, ironically initially traded by the Phillies in exchange for Polanco, Scott Rolen is 254th on the all-time list with 2,021 hits.

After the game Polanco, of course, talked about hitting the 2,000 hit mark. This video, via Calkins Media (Bucks County Courier Times, The Intelligencer etc.)...

Speaking of Polanco, Terry Foster of The Detroit News says letting Polanco leave the Detroit Tigers was the worst mistake.

While Polanco deserves props for his milestone last night, the stars of the game were really Joe Blanton and Freddy Galvis. Blanton took the game in to the eighth inning in another solid outing, allowing just one run (on a lead-off home run to pinch hitter Marwin Gonzalez in the eighth inning), and walking one while striking out seven Astros. Galvis boosted the Phillies offense with a three-hit night and two runs batted in to give the Phillies a lead. Galvis has slowly raised his batting average to .231, which of course is nothing to write home about but does show he may be making some progress. Don't look now but Galvis is now third on the team in RBI totals, with 15 (Hunter Pence and Carlos Ruiz lead the team with 23 RBI each).

Antonio Bastardo and Chad Qualls combined for an inning of relief of Blanton before handing the game over to the already-warmed up Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth inning of what became a non-save situation. Despite some disagreement over the strike zone early, Papelbon closed out the game with three strikeouts.

Cole Hamels was good yesterday. Hey, he should have been with the extra rest after being suspended last week. With yesterday's 3-2 win against the San Diego Padres, the Phillies picked up just their second home series win of the season (and first since taking two of three from Miami from April 9-12). So far the Phillies are 7-9 at Citizens Bank Park. If Charlie Manuel really did send a message with his closed-door meeting the other night, then the Phillies will take both games of a mini two-game series with the Houston Astros, starting tonight (weather pending).

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the New York Mets are likely to offer third baseman David Wright a long-term deal. Bad news for any Phillies fan who had visions of Wright manning third base after Placido Polanco's contract expires.

Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos was placed on the disabled list with a torn ACL, and he is done for the rest of the year. The Nats Blog takes a look at who will fill in behind the plate for the Nationals moving forward.

Mike Schmidt, Hall of Famer.

Yesterday in the NL East

Phillies 3, Padres 2

Marlins 8, Mets 4

Reds 9, Nationals 6

Braves 7, Cardinals 4

Updated NL East Standings

1. 22-13 Braves 
2. 21-13 Nationals (0.5 GB)
3. 19-15 Mets (2.5 GB)
4. 18-16 Marlins (3.5 GB)
5. 16-19 Phillies (6.0 GB)

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Long before he was perfecting the position of third base and smacking home runs against National League pitchers, Mike Schmidt was a college baseball player trying to win a College World Series. The former Ohio Bobcat was elected in to the Mid-American Conference Hall of Fame yesterday, with the induction ceremony scheduled for next Thursday, April 17.

"We couldn't be happier for Mike and his family," said Ohio Athletics Director Jim Schaus. "Mike truly is one of the legendary figures in the game of baseball, but also at Ohio University as he helped lead our program to the 1970 College Baseball World Series. We are so proud to have him as one of our alumni and we look forward to a special evening."

Schmidt was a four-year letterman for Ohio from 1967-71 and was named All-American in 1970 and 1971. In 1970 Schmidt helped lead Ohio to the College Baseball World Series and he earned First Team All-MAC in three seasons.

Joining Schmidt in this year's class are Ben Curtis (Kent State, men's golf), Herb Deromedi (Central Michigan, football), Wayne Embry (Miami, men's basketball), Karen Fitzpatrick (Ball State, field hockey) and Bob Nichols (Toledo, men's basketball).

"Playing with Mike Schmidt during my collegiate career was a true honor and I am thrilled that he will be recognized as one of the all-time greats in the history of the Mid-American Conference," said Ohio Baseball head coach Joe Carbone.

Schmidt, of course, was inducted in to the National Baseball Hall of fame in 1995, along with Richie Ashburn and a year after Steve Carlton.

Photo courtesy of Ohio University Athletics.

Hype this up on BallHyped.

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I know I said earlier that I was done talking about Cole Hamels and his bean ball incident against Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals, but when news breaks it changes plans quickly. Hamels has been suspended five games by Major League Baseball, and he will begin serving the penalty without contest immediately. As I said earlier today, by openly admitting to intentionally hitting Harper Sunday night Hamels automatically loses any right to appeal he would have had otherwise.

Of course, as Todd Zolecki points out, the way the schedule plays out, the suspension really means nothing other than a loss of some pay. The final game Hamels will have to serve on his suspension would be scheduled for Saturday, which should see Roy Halladay take the mound. Hamels could then pitch on Sunday, losing virtually no playing time.

In the end the suspension does little to hurt the Phillies as a team, and Hamels will be right back in action.