Swept by the Houston Phillies Astros.
Braves swept by the Rockies.
3 games back in the division and a half game back in the Wild Card.
Are you a glass half empty or half full kind of person?
On the one hand we are lucky as hell the Braves had a bad series and fortunate we aren’t 6 games back right now going into a tough series against the 76 win Padres to finish out August.
On the terrible hand (the hand I tend to favor as a pessimist) we had a opening to gain ground in the division, distance ourselves in the Wild Card and build some momentum going into the Padres series and into September – and we blew it.
With the Braves going 5-5 in their last 10 games we actually lost ground. And the way we are losing is beyond unbearable.
Anemic hitting, especially with runners on base and lackadaisical play when we are lucky enough to even get on base.
The pitching line-up we face in the next three isn’t exactly the best group to start finding your mojo either.
Let’s hope the Phils finally start rising to the challenge and show us the team we know is capable of terrorizing late season runs.
Probables
Friday (10:05): Oswalt vs. RHP Mat Latos (13-5, 2.33 ERA)
Saturday (4:10): Blanton vs. RHP John Garland 13-8, 3.25 ERA)
Sunday (4:05): Hamels vs. LHP Clayton Richard (12-5, 3.55 ERA)
3 Questions for the Series
- Will Utley and Howard find their strokes (8-34 and 3-24 respectively at the plate)?
- Will we continue to get better than quality starts from our pitchers or will that wheel fall off too?
- Will the fast approaching smell of September baseball ignite the fire and passion in this team?
Phillies placed Danys Baez on DL with back spasms. Recalled LHP Antonio Bastardo.
Zoelecki around 1:35 eastern
Do you think Jim Riggleman is secretly feeling some relief that he can’t be blamed for Strasburg’s arm trouble (a la Kerry Wood)?
I hope Bastardo does better this time around.
That’s a shame about Strasburg. Hopefully he can bounce back after surgery.
Don’t know if this will be a factor tonight, but Latos works on 2 extra days rest. Young pitcher who they are being careful with late in the season type deal. Extra rest could help, or could take him out of his rhythm.
White Sox appear to have won claim on Manny, picking just ahead of Texas. Lowest seed (worse record is all that matters.
On Strasburg, no need, or ability to express anythinguniquely sympathetic. But realistically, this greatly reduces the chances of 1 less formidable intra-division competitor next year which selfishly is a plus. Most thought they were a year away anyway, but that was at least somewhat debatable until today.
Here’s some degree of expert opinion for you. Stark chat today, he was asked about the Braves. His collection of opinions he bases this reply on are from scouts, seemingly, the inner core of baseball expertise….
Q…Do the Braves have enough firepower in their lineup to win in October? I think the bullpen might have been overworked!
Jayson Stark
(1:48 PM)
I’ve been getting vibes from scouts that their every-day players and relievers are definitely wearing down. So that’s something to watch these next few weeks. Do they have enough firepower? I don’t think they do. But that isn’t how they win anyway. They win because they outpitch almost every team they match up against. I’m not taking that Colorado series as a barometer, but if their bullpen continues to show signs of overwork, that would be a major issue for this team.
Very nice work by Eduardo Perez of Baseball Tonight staff on a view of the Phils. Played the game, and comes from winning stock (Tony’s kid), so the inclination is to listen.
While injuries have plagued them, it’s their lack of focus that remains the biggest hurdle as the Phillies try to get back into the postseason and a third consecutive World Series.
This series against the Astros was a perfect example of Philadelphia’s inability to seize the moment. The Atlanta Braves went out and got swept by the Colorado Rockies, and that included Wednesday’s meltdown when Atlanta blew a nine-run lead. Instead of moving closer to the Braves, manager Charlie Manuel and his Phillies missed an opportunity and remain three back in the NL East.
This is a disturbing trend for Philadelphia fans — the Phillies are just 21-19 against clubs that are 10 games or more below .500. Simply put, they take those matchups for granted. They assume they’re going to blow teams away and get players some extra at-bats in the process. Well, Houston, thank you for your wakeup call.
When you think of a winning team, you think of a team that knows how to do all the little things well, and the Phillies just aren’t one of these teams right now. With their big guns back in the lineup — Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard have come back from the DL — no one doubts that potential to dominate. But the Phillies aren’t focusing at the plate or on the bases. When the game isn’t going your way offensively, you have to focus even more on something like baserunning. It’s OK to be aggressive running the bases, but getting thrown out because of mental errors is unacceptable — and that’s been happening lately. These guys are getting picked off because they’re napping; they are way too comfortable out there.
It’s not about shaking up the lineup at this point. It’s about shaking themselves up. Ultimately, that needs to start with the two guys at the top of the order, Rollins and Utley. Rollins missed 54 games this season with a calf injury, but now is the time for him to play like the MVP he was in 2007. If he leads off and sets the right tone, and Utley can find his groove, the hits will start coming in bunches. After all, a couple of guys named Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez are hitting behind them and dying to drive in runs.
If the Phillies insist on playing to the level of their competition, then they should be just fine this weekend, since they play a first-place team in the San Diego Padres. But if they want to prove they have what it takes to be that team everyone was talking about at the beginning of the season, they can’t afford to lose to teams they’re just flat-out better than.
**************************************************************************
Some reaction to Eduardo’s piece.
When a guy who played the game speaks like that, it’s pretty alarming. Not that it’s the first time this core of players has shown that tendency (not all), but it’s still alarming.
On the one hand, these are not excuses, they are facts…2 highly debatable umpiring calls greatly effected the outcomes of 2 of the Houston games, the 2 baserunnig errors, were over the top lacks of concentration, and you would think are easily enough remedied, although Werth has done that stuff a few times.
Utley refused to use his back from injury as an excuse, and did hit the ball hard twice yesterday, and Howard saying he’s not comfortable in the box makes sense since he lost 3 weeks. And you have to wonder if it’s just the players not focussing. I don’t know what Charlie was thinking when he had Madson pitch to Carlos Lee Monday night. That might have been the right decsion resulting in flat out being beat, but I’d feel better knowing the logic. I’ll take Howard and Utley playing their way back into a timing zone 9 days a week over the alternatives. I have no idea about Polanco’s elbow, but if it requires surgery off season, it stands to reason that it’s bothering him, and more likely to get worse. But the guy’s a trooper, and if it was all that bad, he wouln’t be active, so you have to assume he’s just struggling, which he’s totally entitled to. I just don’t see him as the complacent type. I wonder about Charlie playing JRoll in the day game, 16 innings Tuesday, full game Wednesday, day game Thursday. Was that a focussed decsion that was thought through, or a complacent driven habit of filling out the lineup card?
The bottom line is this isn’t exactly light switch resolved, but it doesn’t seem like we’re that far away. As many times as Lidge pissed us off the last year and a half, maybe it’s coincidence, but either his head, or his arm finally got the message that we’d had enough after that Saturday night Washington nonsense. His great results started the next day. Jimmy was quoted in the Delco Times this morning with words to the effect of, “If you’re asking me when we need to start winning, the answer is immediately.”
Maybe the team gets the message as succinctly and as punctually as Lidge did that Saturday night. I sure hope so.
35 games left. 3 games back, 1/2 out of WC. Can’t afford 11 for 58 timing practice by Utley & Howard no’ mo’. If they find it soon, fine; otherwise, play eager bench guys to get ”stars” attention. 4-6 since Utley’s returned, 1-5 since Howard’s returned.
Aug 1 to Aug 15, with likes of Gload, Ransom and Valdez
contributing, 10 wins & only 3 losses.
Performers should take the field, not past performers or celebrities. It’s time for Manuel to shift into ’80 Dallas Green gear – drop the chumminess, drop all chumps from the line-up card, whomever they may be; personify business, personify a winning approach to each game, emphasize expectations and attention to detail.
It’s getting late early.
Charlie’s goin with pretty much the usual
Rollins SS,
Polanco 3B,
Utley 2B,
Howard 1B,
Werth RF,
Ibanez LF,
Victorino CF,
Ruiz C,
Oswalt P.
It’s time for Manuel to shift into ‘80 Dallas Green gear – drop the chumminess, drop all chumps from the line-up card, whomever they may be; personify business, personify a winning approach to each game, emphasize expectations and attention to detail.>>
Speaking of the legendary Dallas Green, I would kinda sorta like to see Vance Worley, who I assume gets called up on 9/1 maybe get a start sometime around next weekend. I think we play Florida then, or right around then. Replace Kendrick. Add a shot of Marty Bystrom/Bob Walk youthful enthusiasm in there.
On Dallas himself, I don’t think Charlie needs to resort to the tactics or strategies of anyone else. I love Dallas, but that was a different collection of personalities, another time, etc. Most importantly, you need to remember that Charlie’s terms have worked for 3 consecutive Eastern Division crowns, and beyond.
Personally, I think we can leave it up to Charlie to get these guys back on track. And even if he doesn’t, and never wins another division title here, he’s already done one helluva lot better than a lot of managers throughout baseball.
I don’t think it’s a public front by Dallas, I think he really has a lot of confidence in Charlie since that first season.
ON THIS DATE Aug 28 in 1980, the loaded-with-talent Phils were floundering in 3rd place, 66-58, 2 1/2 out. Went 25-13 rest of way with Green calling out the too cozy “stars” (Schmidt, Luzinski, Bowa, Maddox, etc.), playing kids … Moreland, Smith, Bystrom, Noles, Walk, Saucier, etc., as he pleased. Whipped ‘em like a determined jockey to 91-71 finish, made them East Division Champs, 1 game ahead of Expos.
Present Phils need similar finish, and a similar psychological jolting. The 140 million dollar squad is floating on laurels and creature comforts, sniffin’ themselves. I’m not at all sayin’ Charlie needs to imitate Dallas, as personalities differ. But he does need to cut out the patient, good ol’ Grandpa act, cut the yucks, drastically reduce his charges crappy play of late, and lead ‘em with a strong sense of purpose, not just a strong sense of hope they return to their old selves.
Ken Bland, you might be satisfied with Charlie’s ’08 performance. I’m interested in his ’10 performance. Especially here down the stretch.
I like your Worley idea.
I don’t see any Lonnie Smiths or Keith Morelands on this team. Lonnie was further along than DB at this point, and older. If I thought DB was ready to contribute effectively in various fundamental phases, I’d be receptive to ungluing Vic or Werth’s places in the lineup at this point. He gets a spot start and does well, I might be receptive to riding the hit hand. We don’t have much quality at backup infielder.
To be sure, I’m giving Howard and Utley an impossible to determine length of time to start smacking. I do kinda like Gload, but there is no replacement for Utley.
call that an unsuccessful at bat, swinging at 2 balls.
don’t even ask about the Howard at bat. Pathetic.
That’s one way to beat them, squelch that running game.
Nice first inning for Lincecum. Walks 2, and Adam LaRoche goes deep. 3-0 Zona
Let’s see if Plac can have a better at bat this time and at least set Utley up to have a big at bat.
Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge
A little pressure off now, maybe Ryan can relax.
So that’s a 2 out, none on rally. Good focus that inning. That’s what we’re looking for.
Aroldis Chapman just days away from being called up — and tonight he was clocked at 105 mph while striking out 3 in 9th in Class AAA. >>
Is that possible? Sounds like a false radar reading.
Werth is swinging well tonight, that robbery, and a 2 strike out to right the first time.
Well, if you can’t hit, you make contributions in other ways. Real nice 3-6-3 by RyHo. Zoelecki updated RyHo’s stats since his return. Who the hell needs an update. Guy is struggling and the street vendors in Kyoto, Japan know about it. Everybody do. So what? It ain’t lasting forever.
finally Howard got it right after his 354th try.
Second 2 out rally?
Wish i had more confidence we were gonna win this game. Just have to keep plugging away. Couldn’t even get excited about the Braves losing.
wow insane ball to strike ratio!
5 best Phillies pitches; Oswalt’s fastball has to be up there with Halladay’s fastball and cutter, Hamels’ and Madson’s chamge-ups and Lidge’s slider.
what about Roy O’s curve?
>>what about Roy O’s curve?
hmm that guy just does’nt play fair.
well, you listed 5 excellent pitches, something good has to get left out even if you make room for it. Roy has definitely pitched well for us.
man, I abhor popups.
barring a speed bump, Oz-o-mobile cruising towards 8IP or CG maybe?
I wonder if we might see a circumstance develop where Charlie pinch hits for RyHo later in the game. He’s having a bad night in a bad week. That’d be one tough call to make. Have to win the game for sure.
I really have no feel for if he might get a CG. But I wish he’d done that the other night. Duh.
goes against Chuck’s philosophy.
why do you think Greg Dobbs is still on the roster?
why do you think Werth has started the most games, in spite of being….Werth?
why do you think Greg Dobbs is still on the roster?>>
maybe you mean why he lasted so long. Dobbs is at LV, and as of a few days ago was hitting .093. He was dfa’d about 2 weeks ago.
thank the stars above for Petco park
fly balls; an endangered species in the vast preserves of Petco Park.
sure looked low to me
this guy Adams keeps the ball down nicely, at least tonight.
helluva job n camerawirk on JRoll during that at bat
here we go, hitters count
re: Dobbs – thanks for correction, forgot about Utley’s return.
well, big pitch
excellent
So I’m guesing Raul bats against the lefty. Good situational opportunity, and nice to have Chooch behind him.
now I do think Madson gets the 8th. It’s been a reasonably long inning, and I think Charlie will make the change. I don’t think Madson is warming up for his health.
This is the kind of game we need, and it’s about time.
yeah, I forgot about Vic being next. I always do that. Surprised they didn’t leave the lefty in to face him.
boy, tough call
gotta win games somehow.
one run lead should be enough.
mantra: get it done, somehow.
what a job by Roy O.
Hmmmm, Stairs against Lidge in the 9th. Stay tuned
after sitting so long, he’s still sharp. very surprising.
mantra: get it done, somehow.>>
that’s all that matters. We’ve played a terrific game tonight. I don’t know if it’s focus, or what, but it’s worked to this point. Faced some good pitching, too.
You had to pinch hit for Roy there. Charlie definitely did the right thing.
Alright, Brad.
Stairs really concerns me here. He’ll know exactly what’s coming. But how many good swingshe has left in his bat, I don’t know.
stay with the slider
that was a fastball
He did fumble the ball, but that was a nice recovery
not thrilled with this Tehada matchup.
that definitely could have been a strike.
if he beats us now, I’ll die. Brad has this guy so set up.
To tell you the truth, all things considered, I’d consdder that inning a success.
I mean that’s a helluva compromise on values, but that’s life in the Lidge lane.
I now have no choice but to get really drunk tonight…thanks Brad….
KB: agree. some zip in the fastball, clearly doesnt like lefties though. still needs control. if i didnt watch and saw only box score i would probably think another typical Lidge inning.
another extra inning win pls.
I just cannot believe that last inning.
I dunno. I really think Charlie did the right thing trying to get an extra run abd pulling Oswalt. I have a feeling a lot of people will disagree. 30-40 years ago, like 8 times out of 10, the pitcher would have batted and started the 9th.
But with closers now, it just doesn’t work that way. Just a ridiculous twist of fate.
Not sure why they had Eckstein bunt. Runners pretty much steal at will against Lidge. Could have just stolen second base and saved an out. >>
Good call by Zoelecki. That was really stupid of the Pads.
hitter’s swings against Madson as opposed to Lidge.
difference is like night and day.
so now another decision coming up. pinch hit for Madson? Not if the first 2 don’t get on.
no, no, 1000 times no. he should have had Madson hit. Get another inning out of him, and don’t burn the depth.
gee, that was a prouctive pinch hitting appearance. Thanks Ben.
And I’d have still let Madson pitch, even if he homered.
umpire clearly does not want to go home to his wife tonight.
perhaps it will be Hamels in RF after Werth breaks his arm over-swinging against the super Pads pen arms.
Charlie succeeded in burning Fransisco and Madson who I’d have much rather had face Gonzalez. How many inning can we get out of Durbin?
I mean, maybe they have numbers to the contrary in the dugout, but I would guess Fransisco against Heath Bel is about as good as me against Doc Halladay.
I guess this guy’s good. he’s a Padres reliever, and they don’t have any bad ones.
The good news tonightis if we go 19, we don’t have to use Kendrick. He “pitched” yesterday. It would be Cole.
Jimmy. Let’s do it.
I’d have to think seriously about sacrificing here.
Good time for Chase to pop one here.
Torreaba whiffed badly
The importance of a good leadoff hitter cannot be underestimated.
cmon Big Man
oh wow.
that was soo close!
could have been low
I’m pretty good with Durbin getting this inning.
Pretty important that Lidge escape tonight with no confidence deraiment. His body language looked pretty good throughout. When he struggles, it’s so obvious that he has no confidence.
Glad he’s staying with Durbin.
1 out from 2 back.
Blanton tomorrow. Gotta get it. have a good night jkay. I’m out.
1 gem from starting righty.
1 blown save by mercurial closer.
12 innings, 2 GB of division lead.
15 jkay comments.
2am bedtime.
I’d prefer future Phils games to be less exciting please.
GREAT WIN!! GREAT STARTING PITCHING (streak going on)!! KEEP IT UP PHILS!! Goodnignt and good morning everyone!!
Need a cup of Joe– the drink and the pitcher!!
Ken Bland 08.28.10 at 1:11 am
Not sure why they had Eckstein bunt. Runners pretty much steal at will against Lidge. Could have just stolen second base and saved an out. >>
Good call by Zoelecki. That was really stupid of the Pads.
>> Perhaps Chooch throwing out 2 runners earlier in the game provided enough deterrence.
Although the Phils only won the first game of series so far, I have a hypothetical question:
Would you rather
A. Sweep the Astros in a 4 game series and then get swept by the Padres in a 3 game series
or
B. Get swept by the Astros in a 4 game series and then sweep the Padres in a 3 game series
???
That’s easy. Sweep Houston — the braves lost 4 games in a row.
It kind of amazing that we’re only 2 games back in the division while still leading the wild card by half a game, after laying a big fat egg against the stros. But that might actually speak more for the Braves, instead of the Phils – who generally struggle against the astros.
>> Perhaps Chooch throwing out 2 runners earlier in the game provided enough deterrence>>
Has to have been. Being as baserunners have such and advantage with Lidge.
But I think the Pads wasted an out and should have stole the base.
Perhaps the most amazing month in MLB history ended last night for Tim Lincecum. Dropping his season record to 11-9, the defending 2 time CY winner lost his 5th straight game, and finished the month with a 7.82 ERA.
His IP in the month ran 6,4,3,5 and 6.
On the hypothetical question, which I don’t see a clear point of asking, for one thing, you asked if you’d rather win 4 games or 3. That’s obvious from one angle. But given a choice of 3 against a team you are competing against for HFA, and to establish some degree of psychological edge over, the answer is sweep SD. There are cases to be made either way depending on what you’re attempting to achieve. I guess my final answer would be whichever is most helpful to winning the division and getting whatever HFA we can get.
Wow, the Dodgers place Ted Lilly on waivers!
https://twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal/status/22291760528
Dodgers place Ted Lilly on waivers>>
But the Dodgers have won 4 straight (at least) and it’s probably nothing more than good general managing by Ned Coletti. They’ve climbed back to within city limits of hitting the downtown spot in the wilcard race. Cards and Rox would have first shot at him based on standings and same league preference.
Manny, Kuroda and Lilly could all be moved by Tuesday’s playoff roster deadline, but they probably all stay in LA with the recent surge.
Rollins was juiced last night. His cup so runneth over that he even willed his good buddy, the Incredible Shrinking Howard, to muster a single to left (sandwiched by 4 Ks). Henry Waxman has no further questions (he found the slide to be commendable and meritorious).
The wizardry of Oswalt continued … until Manuel went against the wishes of his starting pitcher and catcher, in pursuit of more runs.
Brad (Takes A Fanbase To The) Ledge. His two season soap opera continues. Brought to you by Maalox Plus.
Nice running grab by Werth (typically self-dramatized by unnecessary leap into wall pads). Nicer jumping grab by the not-yet-venerable Venable.
Yorvit Torrealba – homered like Joe Torre, made tag like Jessica Alba(Mr. Ruiz woulda got that job done in a jiffy).
In summary: a good beginning to an important string of West Coast games.
Saturday’s game
PROBABLE PITCHERS
Phillies RHP Joe Blanton (5-6, 5.32 ERA in 21 starts)
Blanton faced the Padres on June 6 in Philadelphia and gave up five runs on 11 hits, including homers to Adrian Gonzalez and Nick Hundley, in five innings. He is 1-1 in his career against the Padres with a 6.75 ERA in three starts. He is also 1-1 at Petco Park with a 5.73 ERA in 11 innings over two starts. Blanton is coming off his best start of the season, holding Houston to one run on six hits over seven innings in Philadelphia last Monday. He struck out a season-high nine hitters without issuing a walk.
Padres RHP Jon Garland (13-8, 3.25 ERA in 26 starts)
Garland has never had much luck against the Phillies. He is 0-4 lifetime with a 7.94 ERA in five starts against the Phillies and lost at Philadelphia on June 5, giving up six runs on a season-high 10 hits in seven innings. The hits included a homer by Jayson Werth . But Garland is 7-2 at Petco Park this season with a 2.49 home ERA that ranks seventh-best in the National League. He is 5-2 with a 2.57 ERA and a .200 opponents batting average over his last eight starts.
I can’t wait to see Blanton pitch today. I think he will be that 4th starter come postseason. Kendrick’s pitching is not sexy at all– it is rough, rugged, and chunky like a Ragu sauce. If he were a cheese, he would be blue cheese–crumbling in the pressure.
Blanton has been playing better the last couple of games. I hope that trend continues.
GO PHILLIES!! GET ‘EM WHILE THE BRAVES ARE DOWN!
I wonder if Jon Garland is Wayne Garland’s son. Fits the timeline.
Wayne had a nice year pitching for Orioles in ’76 [20-7, 2.67, 14 CG, 4 SO; CY 8], the rest of his career he proved to have limitations.
The Real Rob, Like those kitchen metaphors describing Kendrick. You’re cookin’ with Crisco today! Let’s hope Blanton doesn’t throw lard on the Padres’ griddle.
Dodgers won’t get rid of anybody as long as they have a shot which they clearly do, They always fare very well against Western division teams, and SD could easily stumble. They will be waiting for the Phillies-that is a big series since they think that they can still capture the Wild Card.
Sportswriter Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune does some nice work.
Just read the article in the Inquirer about how Bruce Sutter ended up being added as a minor league pitching consultant.
This is the first I’ve ever heard of him being involved with us before——talking with Brett Myers in 2007 ( “I thought maybe he could help him with the mental aspect and warming up,” Coppenbarger said.), and back in 1997 when he taught his splitter to Ron Blazier at the request of Lee Thomas.
The Blazier project didn’t seem to go very well…
Blazier, with his new pitch refined after working with Sutter, allowed just two runs in his final 152/3 innings of the 1997 season. He also struck out 16 and allowed 12 hits in that span.
The following spring training, however, Blazier broke down and underwent elbow surgery. He never pitched in the big leagues again.
“Tito [Terry Francona] was managing then,” Sutter said. “I called him and asked what happened with Ron, and he said he just came to camp out of shape.”
Blazier did not return a phone message.
Sutter does not buy the argument that the splitter is worse than any other pitch when it comes to injury.
“Pitchers are going to break,” Sutter said. “You can limit their pitches and limit their innings and they’re still going to blow out. Pitching is hard on the arm.”
Sutter’s best point is that a healthy arm that cannot retire big-league hitters is worthless anyway.
“Some guys have had a lot of Tommy John surgeries throwing the cut fastball and slider, but if you don’t have them, you don’t make it [to the big leagues],” Sutter said. “So what do you want to do? If I didn’t have it, I wouldn’t have made it.”
Sutter may be 100% correct that the splitter does not cause more arm injuries than any other pitch. That doesn’t make me feel that much better about Mathieson (a guy who has had what, 3 arm surgeries——2 TJs + another I can’t recall at the moment) going down this road, though.
Mathieson, for his part, doesn’t have my reservations.
“I’ve been trying to throw a split for about a month now, and he’s the best at it,” Mathieson said before a recent game at Coca-Cola Park. “I’m willing to do anything that will help me get to the next level.”
Reading all of that, and following the thought process involved in all of it, got me thinking. I know I’ve talked about this before, but I almost invariably side with the players over the owners when it comes to the financial side of the game, and reading stuff like this reinforces my beliefs along those lines.
While I’m not trying to throw a pity party for MLB players, who are perceived to be vastly overpaid by many, and I realize that nobody is forcing these guys to become professional athletes, I will say again that I don’t blame them one bit for trying to get as much money as they can while they are able.
There are times when I wonder, with regard to the top tier players, how much is enough. Then I think that there are just a select few that can command those astronomical salaries, that the majority of players will never get anywhere close to that, and that the vast majority of professional ball players will never even reach the majors. Besides, how much is your body worth to you?
Suppose for a moment that you are Scott Mathieson, that you have put in years worth of work, gone through three arm surgeries and the necessary rehab, yet still remained willing to do whatever it takes to make it to the big leagues. Let’s say you then made it to the bigs and were successful enough to stick through your arbitration years, and are now eligible for your first, and quite possibly only, free agent contract. Wouldn’t you try to get the most money you possibly could while you have the opportunity? Wouldn’t you feel you deserved it for persevering and actually getting to that point? I know I would, and I’m sure many of you would too. I sure wouldn’t be worried about being perceived as an overpaid athlete.
The thing is that the owners, none of whom are in the business of losing money, would not pay any of these salaries if they could not afford to. I understand that in any business you want to pay your employees no more than you have to. Still, on a league-wide basis compared to the other major sports, baseball spends the lowest percentage of its revenues on salaries.
Their cries of poverty to the contrary, after reading all of the articles this week regarding the leaked financial documents of the Pirates and others, and especially in light of what Jeff Passan of yahoo sports revealed about the Marlins in his article yesterday, it certainly appears that, surprise, even the lowly small-market clubs are making money. With publicly-funded stadiums and everything else they have stacked in their favor, I don’t think it’s a stretch to figure that every club, and by extension every owner/ownership group is doing very well for themselves, so I don’t see why expecting them to spend the better part of the mountain of money they collect to themselves on the guys who deliver the product, and put their bodies on the line on a daily basis, on the field as out of line in any way.
Sorry for the rant. The more that this type of financial info, especially when the shenanigans of the owners is revealed along with it, becomes public knowledge, the more it ticks me off.
Leave it to Shane to have a bog game as my patience wears thin.
it is amazing how little things get overlooked. Outstanding baserunnin all around, and room to breathe.
nothing like getting some help on ball 4 up around the eyeballs. Be interesting to see what San Diego comes out with tomorrow. Basically, the attitude out there was playoff preview.
That’s really cool watching Lidge more or less totally control one of the game’s premiere hitters.
Homeoy is rockin today!
1 out from 1.5 with Ricky Nolasco against a Tim Hudson who did not pitch up to recent standards his last time out.
Just what makes that little old ant
Think he’ll move that rubber tree plant
Anyone knows an ant, can’t
Move a rubber tree plant
But he’s got high hopes, he’s got high hopes
He’s got high apple pie, in the sky hopes
Ryan Madson has struck out 47 batters in 35 2/3 innings. He has walked six. >>
Once upon a time, Madson kicked a chair, and it went wide left. Other’s reponse to that was, “The bad news is that Ryan madson is on the disabled list. The good news is that Ryan Madson is on the disabled list.”
Times have indeed changed.
Suppose for a moment that you are Scott Mathieson, that you have put in years worth of work, gone through three arm surgeries and the necessary rehab, yet still remained willing to do whatever it takes to make it to the big leagues. Let’s say you then made it to the bigs and were successful enough to stick through your arbitration years, and are now eligible for your first, and quite possibly only, free agent contract. Wouldn’t you try to get the most money you possibly could while you have the opportunity? Wouldn’t you feel you deserved it for persevering and actually getting to that point? I know I would, and I’m sure many of you would too. I sure wouldn’t be worried about being perceived as an overpaid athlete.>>
Let me put the show on a different foot. Are you aware that Strasburg will get service time for however long he’s out? That takes him toward arbitration right on schedule, and deprives the Nats of 7 million dollars in the estimate of Darren Rovell, ESPN sports business analyst. Don’t know he he got to that figure, I could see it being a lot more, but that’s not the point. Does SS show loyalty 4 (?) years from now and re-up? Or take advantage of the union bennies bestowed upon him. Every situation is different and unique to one’s own set of values.
Anybody else sick of the FOX sports announcer Eric Kerros? He has such a “west coast” bias… I understand he played for the Dodgers…but enough is enough!
True enough, Ken, only there have been, are, and will continue to be many, many more Mathiesons than there are Strasburgs in the game.
There certainly is more than one side to the issue of baseball finances. Like I said in my last paragraph, reading about how many of the owners are more concerned with gaming the revenue sharing system, a system that they put in place ostensibly to provide competitive balance, to put money in their pockets instead of using it to put a better product on the field just ticked me off is all.
That was a solid win today. We played so well I kinda forgot along the way that we only had 3 hits.
I felt odd about Lidge. He had no command of his fast ball at all but his slider was fantastic, meaning that while I’m happy on the one hand, I can’t help but be concerned that he can keep this up. How did he look last night? Same way? No command of the fast ball, or was that just today?
Braves up 8-0 after 3 innings.
b.ski
<< How did he look last night? Same way? No command of the fast ball, or was that just today?>>
Lidge hasen’t been able to command his fast ball all year… I hated to see “chooch” call the inside fastball last night, with 2 strikes on Ludwig.
in that park, Ludwig ian’t going to take you deep on a fastball on the outside edge.
Who are Kerros and Ludwig?
Still not hitting, but there are some rays of sun peeping through the hitting fog. They have to try 2 sweep the Doyers and bury them.
Cruising around the numbers…….
One likely reason Charlie had Plac hit away last night in the 12th after Jimmy led off with a single is because Plac’s OPS with either a runner on 1st, or on 2nd completely dwarfs most other situations he has hit in, and the number of at bats with a runner on 1st (86) is much higher than most situations.
Ryan Howard’s OPS in Phillie wins is .989. In losses, it’s .683. There is a surprisingly smaller difference between his OPS against righthanders and lefties. It’s .792 against lefties. .872 against righties.
Jayson Werth’s RISP OPS is.344. However, it’s based on 109 official at bats, so it’s not like that number is not subject to change if he were to get hot.
Surprisingly, broken down in thirds, 1-3, 4-6, 7-9 (innings), Chooch’s best time frame OPS wise is the first 3 innings, with an OPS of .808, and within that framework, its the 1st inning where it’s strongest.
I wouldn’t say Lidge had no command today. I thought he toyed with Adrian Gonzalez, who tried to get 1 upsmanship on him by showing bunt before the first pitch. He did drop a low and in fastball to Ludwick that almost left the park, but a lot of guys hit loud fouls. I don’t go so far as to say he had great command, but I’ve seen far worse from him.
The only comment I’d offer on last night would be that he was not sharp, but he held steady once the trouble began, and limited the damage. All too often, he’s been so out of control. I’d say he was clearly better today.
If today is considered the end of the week, for the 5th time this week, opportunity is knocking on the door. The Fish lead the Braves 3-0, still batting, top 1. That’s with Josh Johnson headed to the mound.
And not too surprisingly, here’s our lineup today.
Rollins 6,
Victorino 8,
Polanco 5,
Utley 4,
Werth 9,
Sweeney 3,
Ibanez 7,
Ruiz 2,
Hamels 1
no need to think of the Braves- if the Phillies ever start hitting soon, things will be fine. Right now we need to hope they”go 6-1 on this trip.
Braves also got back a run
Clayton Richard comes in today as a lefthander that atypically, you don’t feel pessimism about beating. That shouldn’t be confused with being optimistic. He is 6-1 since the break (4-0 in August). But his ERA is 4.11, and he’s yielded a hit plus per inning after being just about = before the AS break. He’s not a big strikeout guy, so our hitters should make contact against him. He’s not wild, nor is he possessive of great control. He walked 5 in his last start, 2 each in the 2 before that. He definitely shows better results at home, as you’d expect in Petco. Only the fact that Latos pitched real well Friday night keeps the Phillies from facing decreasing pitching excellence through this series, beause Garland was on his A game yesterday. But in all liklihood, this is a step down from what they have seen, and probably increases the chance of lumbering up 4 runs for the first time in eons. Scoring first would be a monumental plus for Hamels. The over under on McCarthy-Wheeler-Mathews no run suppore tears for Hamels is 19.
The Braves got 1 back already in the bottom of the 1st. Still, down 3-1 is a good start.
Gotta think somebody is going to score some runs today. Clayton Richard walks a fair amount of hitters and he gives up some runs, so I hope that means it will be us doing the scoring.
Of course he is a left-hander against whom we have had limited exposure (Ibanez is 1 for 3 against him, Sweeney is 1 for 3, Polanco is 1 for 7, and Francisco is 3 for 7 with 1 walk but is not starting today), and we know what that usually means.
I see we are thinking along the same lines, Ken.
for the most part, b.ski, but not totally. I was confused as to what you meant by…
<<Francisco is 3 for 7 with 1 walk but is not starting today), and we know what that usually means.>>
good news in the Brave Marlin game. 3 innnings in, D Lowe is already over 70 pitches. So Bobby will not have a fully rested pen tomorrow when the Mets play at the Ted.
Handicapping a totally wacko team like the Phillies are now, seems futile at best, but I still enjoy reading your comments Ken
Here is what I meant:
Of course he is a left-hander against whom we have had limited exposure (Ibanez is 1 for 3 against him, Sweeney is 1 for 3, Polanco is 1 for 7, and Francisco is 3 for 7 with 1 walk but is not starting today), and we know what that usually means.
Sorry that the insertion of the info in parentheses caused confusion.
ok, yes, they can be trouble, usually are. I gotcha.
John Lannan holding the struggling Redbirds at bay. 4-0 Nats, over AW.
More opportunity to capitalize if you like wild card races.
Fish came to play today. Nice work.
“John Lannan holding the struggling Redbirds at bay. 4-0 Nats, over AW.”
That helps Doc in the CY race as well.
too many pitches, especially with that last pitch to Echstein, but at least we got out even.
freakin Braves
unreal. Brian McCann
boy, McCann’s homer was a reversed call, no less. Brutal. Oh, well.
I’m trying to figure out that trivia question. Don’t think it was Nate Colbert, but a teammate of his back in early Padres. They had 2 power hitters, Colbert and the other guy, who might well be the answer.
Gaston might have been the other guy, but I don’t know who it was.
Do we even want ti know the last time Hamels pitched with a lead? I’m surprised nobody has tweeted it. Maybe as long ago as a month?
At lest we have a run, but no walks, and what seems like 2 10 pitch innings for Richard. This cat is not a no walk pitcher.
Manny Ramirez pinch hits with 1 out bases loaded down 8-2 and argues called strike. Gets tossed and his repleacement hits into DP.
That oughta endanger some lives in the dugout. Sweeney will be psyched!
So we now have 6 hits in the last 16 innings, and it wasn’t real great before that, yet, we’re closing in on a sweep. You’d have to look in the fiction section to find Phillies pitching that has matched what this club is doing of late.
Now we’ll see how Charlie handles Cole. With a lead, and some degree of bullpen caution advised because of use, and the stretch of games we’re in. I think the count is 90 as we go B7, but I suspect Charlie goes pretty far with Cole today.
Expect the out of town economies to flourish tomorrow.
The Cole bashers will be out of town.
This Pdre club would do well to win a game pretty soon. The post game quotes won’t reflect it, but they appear pretty rattled after this weekend.
Other than Lidge’s balk Friday night, I don’t know that we’ve made many mental snafus, or misplays all weekend.
Might be wrong, but it seems that way.
Pads tense, afraid of impending sweep, errors through the game.
Phils seem to have been riding pitching to win almost all season, moreso these last 14 days. i’d never thought i’d say that.
if its Lidge, better give him another run to work with.
I don’t use Lidge a 3rd straight day playing tomorrow night. Especially now, but I wouldn’t have.
Werth’s tomahawk swinging finally paid off.
b.ski – let’s think alike again sometime ^5
Since Sweeney went as always on Lidge, he;’s been pretty bleeping good.
Great deal by RAJ.
I’d go Herndon with the 5 spot. I want to rest Madson.
>> Since Sweeney went as always on Lidge, he;’s been pretty bleeping good. Great deal by RAJ.
huh? thats wheels and mccart right? otherwise dont get it.
Madson is good choice. 3 game sweep away at hand. still important. dont want any funny innings to develop
you remember that night I about died from Sweeney on the post game saying Lidge as always closed it out when the only thing he did at that point as always was try to raise blood pressure. That’s what it was in reference to. Since then, Lidge has been pretty damn good. Credit Sweeney as a miracle worker.
Madson is good choice. 3 game sweep away at hand. still important. dont want any funny innings to develop>>
Understood, lets see how available and effective Madson is tomorrow.
KB you have incredible memory.
precisely that point.
hmm Phils might wanna keep him around for another year.
Sweeney post game interview with Sarge: the ultimate boy scout, he is.
bring on the Dodgers.
Lemee tell you something. I don’t know how much baseball ASweeney has left, but however much it is, when it’s over, you want that guy in your organization.
The dude is class, and fireupedness at it’s best. He’s Vuke with the aility to hit.
good call, jkay
Sweeney is a real positive ra ra guy. As for the Padres, everyone here on the West Coast has been waiting for their collapse. Last I looked, Giants and Doyers were also losing.
If the playoffs started off today’s standings completion, we’d play the Padres, Braves I guess have HFA over Cincy. Clearly, the Phils would be respected amongst progosticators. Cincy’s not all time great team material, but I’d think we’d benefit in terms of advancement opportunity from the draw. Matchup is critical in post season. It’s a poorly timed statement fresh off a sweep of the Padsm but clearly, a large part of beating that team is not positioning them to employ their strength, the bullpen in lead opportunities. 65-1 when leading after 8. This time, we did that. Playing good fundamental baseball was key to it. Not giving them leads is largely done by not letting Adrian hurt you. Didn’t check what he did this series, but it couldn’t have been much, and I’ll assume that with scouting reports profound enough to include breathing patterns, that should translate into the post season as well.
I know Doc’s never pitched a post season game, but anybody doubting the ability of our Top 3 coming up big in the post season is watching a different game than me. I know Cole can be subject to quality fluctuation, but that includes potential excellence, and the other 2 are gonna be large.
As for the Braves, I didn’t look at the 3 run 8th. But I know what happened in the 9th. Leo Nunez did a Brad Lidge immitation by walking the leadoff guy. That remains a bigger crime than anything in Mafia history ranging from Brinks to Gordon Gecko. Safe to say you don’t give the Braves a drop of oxygen in the last at bat or two. They are becoming a very hatable team very quickly.
David O Brien, Braves beat writer Journal-Constitution tweeted this after the game…
Lowe had trouble gripping ball, wouldn’t say if his hand was numb, or if his hand or forearm could be injured. #Braves made no announcement
no need 2 hate them…all good teams will take the mistakes of other team 2 score runs and win games. Phillies did it many ,many times. Phillies just have 2 keep winning and hope that Chase and Ryan catch fire-that’s why the organization pays them so much. 6-1 on this trip would help.
I’m good with you and me staying in sync for the rest of the year, Ken. Seems to work pretty well.
Very impressive weekend for the Phils. Bounced right back from the sweep by the Astros, held it together after Lidge’s gaffe on Friday, pitched like crazy, hit just enough, took advantage of mistakes, and pulled off a sweep of their own (and gained a game on the Braves and even more on the Giants and the Cards in the process).
Should have seen it coming, right? Just as the Astros play so well at CBP, so too the Phils at Petco where they are now 18-4 since 2004 with 4 sweeps to their credit.
No Manny in the Dodger lineup tomorrow night. Dylan Hernandez of the LA Time is leading the way on breaking the story that the Sox will acquire ManRam tomorrow ending a lengthy period of speculation. I have a feeling this is one of the seemingly rare times that a front office can stand up to a player and say no to an extension. He has to play to get a deal for next year, and if he stays with the Dodgers, he’ll be wacthing the games from Valencia, which is a very nice piece of property, but pretty far from Dodger Stadium.
I tended to buy into the Torre explanation of his not playing this weekend in Colorado because of the spaciousness of the outfield amidst speculation it meant he was gone, but it’s a dramatic way to end his Dodger career. The pitch he argued appeared to be a ball, but hey, getting tossed on the first pitch seemed the zenith of frustrtaion. Guys like Manny and Barry Bonds are probably finding out that maybe it’s not such a bad idea to be pleasant once in a while.
Anyway, no Manny.
Chase is now 9-45 since his return, like 8 k’s, and some other negative production since his return which Todd Z feels dutiful to track. I don’t care. Dude is a presence in the lineup, and he struggled toward the end of last year before jacking 5 against the Yanks. Spot him rest, but that’s it. Looks to me like his defense has been solid.
hey Pete,
Haven’t heard much at all on who’s getting called up 9/1.
Time permitting, any thoughts, let alone info, in the thread for the Dodger series would be good to get some thoughts on.
Mathieson and Worley for sure I guess. This pinch runner Rich Thompson (32 of 36) maybe. Rizzotti is DL’d (thumb), but extra help won’t hurt.
Ken, I am obviously not Pete but I’ll try to narrow down the candidates. Assuming Moyer goes to the 60 day DL, the Phillies can call up 3 players that are currently not on the 40 man roster. Mayberry, Zagurski, Worley, Mathieson, Carpenter are already on the 40 man roster. An extra catcher will definitely come up. Therefore, 2 of the following who are not currently on the 4o man roster could get called up: Greg Dobbs, Andy Tracy, Nate Robertson, Rich Thompson, and maybe even Brian Mazone.
Philly,
Thanks for the name drops. Some slim pickens in the last batch, at least among Dobbs, Nate and Mazone. I’m intruiged by having an extra baserunner in Thompson.
To b.ski – offered an opinion on Lidge on Friday night, can’t recall exactly what I said, but I know I left out one small detail. He was going to walk Adrian intentionally, and showing what lousy command he can have, and I swear this is true, his 1st pitch was almost a strike, it was so far off target. Chooch had to hustle to grab it.
Chase is now 9-45 since his return, like 8 k’s, and some other negative production since his return which Todd Z feels dutiful to track. I don’t care. Dude is a presence in the lineup, and he struggled toward the end of last year before jacking 5 against the Yanks. Spot him rest, but that’s it. Looks to me like his defense has been solid.
I care. I mean Valdez’s defense is solid too, and Utley’s offensive production is below what we were getting from Valdez.
I’ll give Chase the benefit of the doubt today and say that never having faced Richard was a factor, but you have to admit that he didn’t have a clue at the plate. He struck out on 3 pitches, all looking, in the 2nd, and did it again on 3 pitches in the 7th, this time at least swinging at the first two before being called out looking at almost the exact same pitch (a fast ball) that set him down earlier. The way he looked while walking back to the dugout both times seemed to say that he knows he’s lost at the moment.
Look, I understand we are talking about Utley here (this also applies to Howard as well). He is a franchise player and we need him in the lineup and on the field, which makes it exceedingly difficult to keep him out any longer than is absolutely necessary, but watching him struggle like this day after day, there is no way you can say he was ready to rejoin the club when he did.
I want him out there just as much as everyone else and I know that our hopes of another championship this year depend on him to a large degree, so I just keep telling myself that he has earned the right to work his way through like this at the big league level and that he is too good a player to not get it back together. I also keep hoping for a sign that he is coming around, and I expect to see it every day.
While it is frustrating to see Utely and Howard struggle, you know both of them can turn it around in 1 at bat and carry the team. That one at bat seems far off now but it’ll happen. They’re both too good not too.
but watching him struggle like this day after day, there is no way you can say he was ready to rejoin the club when he did.>>
I never said he was ready. I strongly suggested they would play him as soon as possible. Those are really 2 different subjects. I was thrilled he was back, but that takes no position on whether he should have been. If you want kudos for your concern that was first guessed before he came back, that’s cool, your read on that has been validated, but forgetting what was, and concentrating on what is, what would you do now? I stay with him, and keep batting him where he’s been (2-4). Maybe give him a spot rest, as he had last week, but that’s it. Kershaw is Wednesday afternoon, that would be a good spot, although I wish Charlie had rested JRoll against Houston last Thursday afternoon, the days are piling up on him.
I mean Valdez’s defense is solid too, and Utley’s offensive production is below what we were getting from Valdez. >>
You can’t tell me Valdez didn’t have 45 at bat stretches where he didn’t turn
in non productive periods of time. No quibble with Valdez’s defense, but assuming any offensive contribution from Valdez going forward from any point is touch and go.
Let’s see how they both do the next couple games. It can’t get a lot worse than it’s been in selected games, but I’m still not close to thinking they both shouldn’t still be playing. Sweeney for RyHo against Kershaw would be good, too, but both would be subject to weak histories against the Dodger lefty. I’m not ready to drop RyHo into a straight platoon with Sweeney.
While it is frustrating to see Utley and Howard struggle, you know both of them can turn it around in 1 at bat and carry the team. That one at bat seems far off now but it’ll happen. They’re both too good not too.>>
That’s the spirit!
I’m going for optimistic this week
Ken,
Apparently I didn’t quite get your meaning when I read your comments about Utley. Not trying to cause a dust-up or anything, but apparently you didn’t get my meaning either————like the part where I said that I understand who it is we are talking about, how much we need him, how you don’t want him to miss any more games than absolutely necessary, how he is too good a player to not get himself back on track, and how I expect to see him to come around any day.
As far as concentrating on what is and on how to handle the situation now, of course you put him in the lineup every day to give him every chance to get it together as quickly as possible. I never said that he should be sitting now, and none of what I said had anything at all to do with looking for kudos (I would hope that you know me better than that).
I was merely looking at how the decision, one that I acknowledged was completely understandable, to bring Utley back quickly has not worked out as we all had hoped it would, prompted by your comment that you don’t care that he is not hitting.
Let’s see how they both do the next couple games. It can’t get a lot worse than it’s been in selected games, but I’m still not close to thinking they both shouldn’t still be playing. Sweeney for RyHo against Kershaw would be good, too, but both would be subject to weak histories against the Dodger lefty. I’m not ready to drop RyHo into a straight platoon with Sweeney.
As long as the ankle is ok, then yeah he needs to be out there every day as well to hopefully shorten his turnaround time.
It’s too bad if Gload getting injured and Dobbs giving us nothing and being DFA’d pushed us to bring Howard back while his ankle still wasn’t right, and if that is a factor in his struggles.
I was merely looking at how the decision, one that I acknowledged was completely understandable, to bring Utley back quickly has not worked out as we all had hoped it would>>
fair enough statement. And I didn’t think you were looking for kudos.