Phillies sweep Dbacks at home for 69th win

Season ticket holders are getting their postseason packages mailed to them this week. No better a time than this week really, as the Phillies have earned another sweep. The Diamondbacks are the owners of this sweep, and even though the team is made up of a lot of players that may not be household names, they are still a team that the Phillies have to go out there on the field and beat to gain their way into the playoffs and staying on top of the NL East.


The Phillies got win # 69 tonight, and how sweet it is, with the 53rd sellout at home this year, which is a new record. In fact, every game that the Philles sellout towards the end of this season will set the new record for sellouts in a season. Figure the math, there are 81 home games, the Phillies could end up selling out 70 games or so this year. After tonight’s sweep of the Dbacks, the Philles only have 20 remaining home games in the regular season left to play.


It was hot and humid out there at the stadium tonight, there were constant panning of the crowd on tv showing them trying to fan themselves trying to get some air moving. Phillies radio announcer, Larry Anderson, said “I am sticking to myself, it’s so sticky out here”. This heavy air bode well for Phillies bats, as they unleashed their offensive juggernaut after only scoring one run with leaving the bases loaded at one point during the game. The hit parade started with who else but one of the hottest players in the past two weeks, Jason Werth, who hit a two run homer in the 5th inning. Ryan Howard has been heating up as well, he hit a homer which is his 32nd homer on the season with two men on base in the 6th inning.


The 12-3 win tonight brought the Phillies the home sweep, and now they head out onto the road to New York with 4 games against the Mets. This upcoming series with the Mets may have been a decisive series had the Mets been threatening for a playoff spot, but it looks as if the Mets may miss the postseason again. The Phillies still need to keep their focus on winning ballgames though, even in the next series that will be in Pittsburgh.


One thing the series with Arizona has done is limit the need for Brad Lidge to come out and save a game. The Phillies haven’t needed to much from Lidge for the past few games and that’s good, as he has been going through a really tough time for a closer. Lidge’s troubles have been pushed aside by Charlie Manuel but we all know it’s much deeper than that. Lidge has had troubles all year long, and he should be evaluated more objectively on the basis of his performance so far rather than just staying with him for any other reason.


Let’s see how the team does now that they will be on the road. It’s Cole Hamels turn again in the rotation, let’s hope the Phils still have that offense to give Hamels a much needed cushion for his next outing.

Phils and Lidge hold on for 4th win in a row

This was a tough game. Both starters did their best to keep their team into tonight's game with the Phillies and the Braves. In the end, it was what has been carrying the Phillies, the home run. The Phils didn't do much tonight when on the base pads, but Chase Utley and Ryan Howard went yard and earned the Phillies a much needed win to keep the Braves safely behind them for now.

Brad Lidge added a scare again, in the bottom of the 9th inning. He gave up a sharp hit single to center and later walked one batter. Lidge pitched to his last batter of the game and got him to fly out in very deep left field to end the game. Lidge looked tired to me out on the mound. Maybe it was the lights, but he looked as though he had bags under his eyes. This could have easily ended in very bad fashion for Lidge if he doesn't get that last out. He did though and this one is in the record books as a win.


This makes 4 in a row for the Phils as they next play on Fox Saturday baseball at 4pm.

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Chase practices unfair credit practices, beware!

Posted by: pgmgr // Jun 27, 2009 // viewed 419 times // shared 1 time
Overland Park, Kansas // embed media

I wanted to make you aware of some unethical practices that Chase Credit Card Services has just started. I have searched and found blogs with thousands of customers that have been affected by their tactics.



Last week I received a notice that my credit card minimum payment was being increased from 2% of the outstanding balance to 5% of the outstanding balance. I like thousands of other American received offers from Chase to consolidate our debt, and lock in at a fixed low interest rate. Chase knows they can't go back and arbitrarily increase the rate, so instead they are increasing the minimum payment amounts to an unreasonable level so people will be forced to refinance through them or some other bank that will give them the same 2% payment, but with a higher interest rate. This is a simple bait and switch tactic that is highly unethical.



Attached is 1 page of a 140 page blog on consumeraffairs.com regarding this exact issue. PLEASE HELP PUBLICIZE AND MAKE PEOPLE AWARE OF WHAT CHASE IS TRYING TO DO!



Attached below is 1 page of a 140 page blog that has been documented in the last week. I like the other thousands of customers whose minimum payments have more than doubled, can not afford a payment that size. If Chase does not do something different, most of us will be forced into bankruptcy, and Chase will lose out on repayments altogether. Increasing minimum payments by this amount is unethical, and unless Chase does something about this pretty quickly, they will lose hundreds of thousands of customers for life. I would never go back to
Chase for anything ever again!



See 1 page of the referenced blog on consumer affairs below...



Dennis of Santa Maria, CA June 25, 2009


Chase representative refused to let me talk to a
supervisor and stated they could legally raise the 2.00 percent minimum balance payment to 5.00 percent or as high as they wanted. The fact that my minimum payment would rise from 388 per month to 970 was not a consideration by Chase, other than their willingness to force me and thousands of other consumers to default on what was currently being paid in full credit card accounts that per our own budgets and prior terms would be paid off in less
than 5 years.



The government required that credit card companies start to increase minimum payments to cover the monthly interest charges, fees and at least 1.00 percent of the New balance every month. This was already being accomplished with my agreed to 3.99.00 percent check advance offer that Chase
made. This is bait and switch pure and simple and does not follow the governments guidelines, nor does it promote a positive change for consumers that consolidated debts or opted for Chase s low interest rate no maximum time frame for repayment offer. If, as the representative stated, that this increase is legal, what is to keep any credit card company from changing the terms of a pre agreed contract to increase the monthly minimum to 50.00 percent
or even demand a new minimum payment be paid in full at 100.00percent or risk triggering their fine print default interest rate and excessive fees?



Doug of Shelbyville, KY June 25, 2009


With cause, Chase has changed my monthly payment from 2percent 210.00 to 5percent 520 ...in contacting them they said that I get to keep my low monthly rate of 6.91 APR but they are increasing my payment...I do not understand this...I thought Pres. Obama was suppose to help us...I have not been late and always pay my minimum or more...They have not been cooperative...I understand possibly changing my payment to 3percent but 5percent is unheard of...My payment has now gone up by 300 per month...Are these companies not regulated at all? I
believe they want me to default so they can change my rate...people like me don t give them enough profit.



C. of Westwego, LA June 25, 2009


I m one of the people with excellent credit who accepted a fixed interest rate for the life of the loan promotion from Chase. I accepted promotional rates of 2.99percent and 5.99percent. I made every payment on time, have reduced my balances by more than 3,000 since January 1, 2009. Chase just notified me that my monthly payment will go from 2percent of the balance to 5percent of the balance in August 2009, which means a jump, in dollar terms, from
700/month to 1750/month. I m not sure I can squeeze out the 1750/month.



Chase is kind enough to let me refinance into a
different deal with a much higher interest rate. This
means I would be paying huge interest payments and it will take an extra five years or more to pay off the balance. Im near retirement that option isn t practical either. I had accepted the original offer because it gave me a chance to clean up all credit card and other debt quickly at a low interest rate so I could retire debt free . I cant switch to another credit card company because nobody is lending these days, except at high rates. I think what I'll do is try to manage the new 5percent payment and take bankruptcy if I can t do it. Ruin my credit rating but oh,
the joy of stiffing Chase.



I really don t understand why they are doing this. Why
would they deliberately lure customers with low interest rates and then force us into bankruptcy when all they have to do is sit back and let us repay them on schedule?



Dan of Brick, NJ June 25, 2009


My situation is identical to Cedar Rapids Sam. I maintain 3 cards with Chase that have absorbed the bulk of my credit card balances over the years at very low fixed rates. I too am not proud of the level of debt but the origination of a good portion of this was beyond my control. With the economy the way it is, my household was just barely cash flow positive on a month to month basis and I have been focusing all my efforts on maintaining a strict budget that allows me to periodically pay extra towards my highest rate card in an attempt to see light at the end of the credit tunnel. Our household income is significant by most standards but still are finding it hard to make ends meet. It goes without saying that we have not charged anything in quite some time and don t plan on ever charging anything again. I have carried credit my entire life and now it has pushed me to the financial brink. I look forward to the day when I have no credit card balances whatsoever .. if they day ever comes!


Now, due to this change and the dramatic impact it will have on our monthly budget, we will actually be
significantly cash flow negative. We had income tax refund money in a savings account that was going to fund 2 major projects. First, my job is moving in 2 years so I need to make home improvements to prepare for our home s sale. Second, my fiance and I were trying to plan a wedding for next spring. Needless to say, the wedding and the improvements are now on indefinite hold as we have shifted
to month to month survival mode! We are still discussing how we are going to handle this change. We are considering second jobs good luck with that!! and/or a debt consolidation loan. Bankruptcy would be the absolute option of last resort as we both have very strong feelings of personal pride when it comes to taking responsibility for one s situation.

It is infuriating to think about the power that these
suits have on the general public! Do you think Jamie
Dimon, Ken Lewis or Vikram Pandit has a clue as to the situation of the average working household or that they care in the least? They re still wearing Armani suits while we shop for bargains in discount stores!



Brian of Wilkes Barre, PA June 25, 2009


Chase is raising my payment to 5percent just like many others, I cant make the new payment and will be forced to default.It seems like they are getting what they want by making people pay more then they can afford. When I signed up for this card they told me my payments and now are changing this and no one can do a thing about it.



Melissa of Nutley, NJ June 25, 2009


This predatory increase in the minimum payment from 2percent to 5percent can also have serious ramifications for our slowly recovering housing market. For anyone looking for a mortgage minimum payments are one of the factors in determining one s debt to income ratio. This increase could cause tens of thousands of mortgage applications to be denied because of the increased ratio.
It might also affect those in the process of a mortgage modification although I don t know if there are different rules with those. This could single handedly undermine all of the efforts to shore up our economy and the housing market especially if this spreads to other card by making those who currently qualify for mortgages and modifications ineligible for them. Home sales will grind to a halt again and all of the resources that have been dedicated to pulling housing out of the doldrums will have been wasted.


JP MorganChase received 25 billion dollars in the bank bailout. As they sit on this money and gouge their best customers with these changes they could be dealing a huge blow to the economy just as it is finally starting to turn.



Jay of Huntsville, AL June 25, 2009


Over the past few months Chase has sent me balance transfer offers and made my minimum payment due 0. I have never missed or been late on a payment. Today I get notice that all my minimum payments have gone from 2percent to 5percent. I am furious. All my Chase balances are at low fixed rates, and it is clear that Chase s tactics are to get me to miss a payment so they can raise my rates or get
their money back. I can afford what I was paying, but I
cannot afford what they want which is clearly the case
for most people.



Jean of Baden, PA June 25, 2009


I have two Chase cards. Both of them have the low interest rate for the life of the loan. I put lots of debt on these two cards in an attempt to save money on lower interest rates but alas, I also got the letter in the mail on June 23rd. Only one of my cards interest rates went up. I feel so lucky that I actually used one of the Chase cards in the past year while traveling so I guess they figure if it s an active card they will let it be! I have contacted Fox News and CNN everyone should let them know we want media coverage on this. I know the average middle class family cannot afford to have a payment tripled. This is an outrage.

Bill of Beverly Hills, CA June 25, 2009


Folks, I hate to say it, but it s only going to get worse
until the Credit Card Bill of Rights goes into effect
under the direction of the Obama administration, but that's still a year away. As soon as Chase announces their massive profits, all the other companies will follow suit until they are federally mandated to do otherwise.

Chase got me as well by sending me those teaser rate checks For the life of the loan early last year. So like so many others I gathered up ALL my debt and wrote one of those SCAM CHECKS to myself for well over 85,000 this included paying off my mortage . Of course Chase was kind enough to raise my credit limit in order to make this transaction happen at 2.9percent fixed and a 2percent minimum payment.

They have lost my faith and trust.



Dennis of San Diego, CA June 25, 2009


Chase Card Services this week sent notices to its
customers that it is arbitrarily raising its minimum
payment on its credit cards from 2percent to 5percent. I, like so many others have honored my commitment and paid more than the minimum payment for the time I have had my card. As a customer in good standing with Chase, I expect
the company to remain faithful to the original terms that were in place at the time the contract took effect. I have owned rental property. If I were to one day notify my tenants that in a month and a half the rent will be raised 150percent, my tenants would surely refuse and possibly take me to court. In any case, under the current economic conditions, this is certainly not the proper time to be squeezing one s clients.
Tags: minimum, unethical, credit, payment, chase
In response to assignment: iReport for CNN
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