Philadelphia Phillies - Articles - Zimbio

Phils Fall; Rollins Benched Again

Thu, 25 Jul 2008 12:36:00 GMT

posted by johndewar
It was bad enough that the Phillies wasted a stellar effort from Jamie Moyer yesterday, en route to losing to the hated Mets by a score of 3 - 1 to fall out of first place in the NL East.

What exacerbated things even more was that Jimmy Rollins, the reigning NL MVP, was a late scratch in the lineup before the ball game. The reason?
He was late to the game.
This means that Rollins has now broken both of manager Charlie Manuel's rules for the team:
1.) Hustle2.) Be on time.
Remember, that incident back in June? The one where Rollins didn't run out a ball that ended up falling in for a hit and Rollins, one of the fastest players in the league, only managed to get to first because he didn't run things out? Manuel benched Rollins then in favor of Eric Bruntlett and he did it again yesterday.
And I have no problem with it.
Rollins personifies the type of season this team is having right now. Rollins is incandescent at times and invisible other times. And if we really want to start naming names, let's talk about the second baseman. Chase Utley is hitting a mere .217 since the All-Star break and frankly looks lost at the plate. He and Ryan Howard combined to go 0 for 7 with 6 strikeouts between them.
No, there is something wrong with this team. And what is scary is that it's the part of the team that is supposed to be automatic, which is, the offense. While it is a bit too early to hit the panic button, it is not too early to be very, very concerned about the direction of this team from now until the end of the year. The offense has still not come around and the best part of the team in the 1st half, the bullpen, has now surrendered two straight losses.
This team will hit; no doubt about that. But when they start, will it be enough?
As for yesterday's game, Moyer went 7 strong innings, giving up 1 run on 2 hits. The game was lost when JC Romero came in, gave up a two-out, 2-run double to Carlos Delgado in the bottom of the 8th inning. The only Phils offense was supplied by (surprise!) a solo home run (from Jayson Werth).
The Phils come home for a weekend series with the Atlanta Braves this evening. Probable pitching matchups:
Fri: Kyle Kendrick vs. Jair Jurrjens
Sat: Cole Hamels vs. Jo-Jo Reyes
Sun: Joe Blanton vs. Jason Campillo

(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

What have you done for me lately?

Wed, 24 Jul 2008 18:45:00 GMT

posted by GM-Carson
New York Mets 1st place, Philadelphia Phillies 2nd place. Get used to that, with a note that the Phils may be displaced in 2nd by the Florida Marlins plopping them sourly in 3rd place.

What have you done for me lately?:
*Since June 10th, a span of 37 games, the Phils have scored 3 runs or less 16 times. That's unacceptable. Record during that time, 15-22, not what a 1st place team is made of, or a second place, or a third place, or a...

*Chase Utley was 0-12 in the biggest series of the season to date. MVP? Not even close, enough of that foolishness already. Utley's batting average and OPS over the months: March- .667 AVG/2.167 OPS, April- .352/1.168, May- .259/.891, June- .266/.857, July- .257/.725. That's a very bad trend.

*The other big bopper in the lineup, Ryan Howard, was 2-12 in the Mets series. That's 2-24 from perennial MVP candidates Howard & Utley during an extremely pivotal series.

*Feel-good-story-boy Chris Coste is making me feel nauseous going 5-37 (.135) in July.

*The other member of the catching tandem, Carlos Ruiz, is slightly better, but still sickening at 7-36 (.194). Sad thing, Ruiz's July is actually an improvement over his June of 8-45 (.178).

*The man known around baseball as The Out Making Machine, Pedro Feliz, is 1 for his last 21.

*Team leader and reigning NL MVP, Jimmy Rollins, benched for the second time this season, this occasion because he was late to the ball park. Charlie Manuel had this to say, "Jimmy was late getting to the yard today. We talked. It's an in-house thing between him and I. That's one of our rules, hustle and be on time. That's all I have to say about it." That diva Rollins responded with, "I agreed with him last time, but we're not going to agree on this one. I understood it. He's the manager and has to set a precedent. With certain players, you're respected and held up to higher rules, and that's fine. I was just a little too late. You can't change the lights." Shut up Jimmy, just shut the f#@k up!

*Pitchers that are sucking in the hot summer sun (month of July): JC Romero- 5.40 era, Rudy Seanez- 4.77, Joe Blanton- 5.68, Eaton- 12.71, Kendrick- 5.96, Myers- 5.40, RJ Swindle- 7.71.

Cue Janet Jackson-
What have you done for me lately?
Ooh, ooh, ooh yeah.
What have you done for me lately?
Ooh, ooh, ooh yeah.

You want a preview of the next series? Here ya go- Phils suck, they'll find a way to lose, end of story.

~Carson

Phils Lose; Tied for First

Wed, 24 Jul 2008 02:20:00 GMT

posted by johndewar
The Phils fell in Flushing last night by a score of 6 - 3. The loss dropped the Phils back into a first place tie with the Mets in the NL East.

The game marked Brett Myers' first start since a June 27th loss to the Texas Rangers. Myers managed to go 5 shaky innings and was lucky to have only given up 3 runs. He started off on a bad foot, walking the first 4 guys he faced. Myers managed to settle down somewhat, but could not consistently locate his fastball.
The pivotal inning in the game, however, was the 6th inning, when the ball was handed to reliever Ryan Madson. Madson gave up two hits and, after an aborted sacrifice, coughed up a 3-run bomb to Jose Reyes. Reyes then managed to perform about a dozen celebratory handshakes and gestures enroute from home plate to the dugout. I thought Reyes was having some sort of epileptic seizure, but apparently seizures are not a symptom of assholery.

Offensively, the Phils could only manage a couple of a solo homers (Victorino and Jenkins) and an RBI double from Rollins. Can anyone remember the last hit of consequence from Chase Utley?
The series concludes tomorrow at 12:10pm, with Jamie Moyer taking the ball against the Mets' Oliver Perez.

Notes:
- I liked the move to pull Myers after 5 innings. Let him leave without the possibility of taking a loss. He wasn't great, but it could have been worse.

- Please someone tell Chase Utley the second half has begun.

- Ryan Howard was not charged for an error on that ground ball in the first inning that he should have caught to start a double play (which would have prevented a run), but he should have been.
- Ryan Madson. Not good.

- Can't believe I'm about to say this: Chris Wheeler made an excellent point to Tom McCarthy during the broadcast about Carlos Beltran. Beltran, a player who makes $18.6 million dollars a year, laid down a sacrifice bunt with nobody out during the 8th inning last night. That was, as Wheeler said, a dumb baseball play. A hitter of Beltran's calibre (and payscale) should be swinging away in that situation.

Shea Hello To My New Friend

Mon, 22 Jul 2008 12:13:00 GMT

posted by GM-Carson
The Joe Blanton Philadelphia Phillies era begins tonight against Johan Santana and the Mets. What a lucky guy to draw Darth Santana and our biggest rival at Shea Stadium for his first Phils start. We're all hoping for the best but expecting the worst...let the force be with you Young Fattione.

The series shakes down like this: Joe Blanton (5-12, 4.96 era, 1.42 whip) vs. Johan Santana (8-7, 3.10, 1.22) tonight at 7:10. Then tomorrow night on ESPN, which means a loss because it's nationally televised, Brett Myers (3-9, 5.84, 1.56), which also means a loss because he sucks, takes on John Maine (8-7, 4.22, 1.35). The third game is set for noon time Thursday with Jamie Moyer (9-6, 3.90, 1.36) facing Oliver Perez (6-6, 4.36, 1.43). Of note: the 3 Mets starters have shut down the Phils offense in previous outings this season, Ollie- ZERO era and .169 batting average against over 18.1 innings with 15 k's, Johan- 3.00 era with .179 avg. against and 16 k's in 15 ip, and Maine- 3.09 era and a .158 avg. against in 11.2 ip. The Mets and Phils are currently tied for 1st place in the NL East, and obviously that will not be the case come series end. I have a bad feeling based on the pitching match-ups, Mets renewed offense threat, and the Phils offensive woes that this might be the end of the "1st Place Philadelphia Phillies".

_____________________________________

Benson Update:
Until last night Kris Benson hadn't really done anything warranting an update, but he did go 6 inning for the Iron Pigs allowing 6 hits and 1 run while striking out 4 batters. His overall numbers still are ghastly (8.42 era), but it was an encouraging start nonetheless.

~Carson

Feels So Good! Phils Rally to Beat Mets

Tue, 23 Jul 2008 00:59:00 GMT

posted by johndewar
For 8 innings, it looked like the Phillies were going to go down meekly against the Mets and the great Johan Santana. The 9th inning almost seemed a matter of course and the Phillies would relinquish 1st place to the hated Mets. Even though the Mets were without closer Billy Wagner, the Phils showed little life all night. Frankly, I was ready to turnover to the "Office" rerun on TBS.

That is, until temporary closer Duaner Sanchez came into the game and the Phillies promptly mowed through the Mets bullpen to the tune of 6 runs in the 9th inning en route to a 8 - 5 win. The win was stunning in light of the Phillies inability to solve Santana.
That the Phils did manage to scratch out 2 runs against Johan Santana is a bit deceiving. Santana cruised for much of the game, with the top of the Phils' lineup (*cough* Rollins and Utley *cough*) not doing much of anything in going 0-for-Santana.
But in the 9th inning, the Phils finally came back to life, stroking 5 hits. The killing blows were delivered by the oft-maligned So Taguchi, who hit a 2-run double to tie the game, and Jimmy Rollins, who hit a 2-run double to give the Phillies the lead. This game and this rally could have been the shot in the arm the moribund Phils' offense has been looking for.
The game marked the debut of the Phils' new starter, Joe Blanton. Blanton, obtained in a deal with Oakland looked OK. He gave up two very damaging 2-run home runs (one to Delgado, the other to Ramon Castro) in going 6 innings, throwing 100+ pitches. All in all, Blanton looked just OK. After the Phils came back in the top of the 9th inning, Brad Lidge came on to record a nerve racking save.
The win puts the Phils alone in 1st place, a game ahead of both the Mets and the Marlins. The series continues tomorrow, with Brett Myers returning from his minor league hiatus to face John Maine.
Did You Notice?
- The Phils' defense recorded 2 big time outs at the plate; one from Werth and one from Pat Burrell (via Jimmy Rollins). Great job on both plays by Carlos Ruiz of blocking the plate. Coincidentally, both times, it was Endy Chavez they got at the plate.
- Speaking of that fucktaster Chavez, what's gotten into him since he's been with the Mets? He hit .215 with the Phils in 2005, but has managed to hit .318 with a .348 OBP against the Phils this year.
- What was Johan Santana staring at when he walked in the 6th inning? It's called "pitching inside", Johan. It's legal; you can look it up.
- I'm sorry, but Carlos Delgado was struck out in that at-bat in the 3rd inning. He did not check his swing and Charlie Manuel rightfully argued the call. Naturally, Delgado managed to hit a 2-run homer in the same at-bat.
- Speaking of arguing balls and strikes, the home plate umpiring left a lot to be desired.
- Horrible play by Reyes in the 9th inning, where he tried to start a 6 - 3 double play on a ball hit by Carlos Ruiz. As he reached for the high bounding ball with his bare hand, he got beat to the 2nd base bag by the speedy Shane Victorino. The failed play at 2nd base allowed Carlos Ruiz to reach first safely. Just a dumb play when your team is up 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th inning (he obviously should have gone to first on the play). And yes, you could say this play opened the flood gates for the Phils.
- Good game from Victorino; the aforementioned hustle play in the ninth inning and a solo homer off of Santana.