With the win, the Phillies guarantee themselves a winning April for the first time since 2003. At 15-12, the Phil can’t finish the month worse than two games over .500. Man, just imagine if they Phils did that last year - they may just have won the divi….oh wait. ;-)
But don’t underestimate the importance of a winning April for this team. Despite a horrid month from Ryan Howard, two DL stints by Shane Victorino and Jimmy Rollins, and Brad Lidge missing the first week of the season, the Phils have put together a little hot streak to notch a winning record. Don’t underestimate the importance of this come September.
Categories: Phillies
Tagged: April, Brad Lidge, Jimmy Rollins, Phillies, Ryan Howard, Shane Victorino
Phillies win this one 7-4 after a strong start by Cole Hamels. His like : 7.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO and my favorite state of all 97 pitches, 73 FOR STRIKES. Damn.
Ryan Howard had an RBI singled in the first, continuing his somewhat strong return from the bench. He was 1 for 4 on the day. Eric Bruntlett drove in the Phils’ second run in the third inning, making it 2-0 until Scott Hairston’s solo shot in the 5th.
The score would stay that way until Jason Werth’s sac-fly drove in Carlos Ruiz in the 7th after Greg Maddux was pulled.
Hamels made his way to the 8th just as with this last start, but with a much lower pitch count. He only lasted 1/3 of an inning though, putting runners on the corners. After JC Romero walked the bases loaded, Tom Gordon got out of the inning with two ground ball outs, letting up one inconsequential run charged to Hamels.
Then came the bottom of the 8th and the skies opened up for the Phils. A leadoff double Utley, an for RBI single for Perdo Feliz, a two RBI double Carlos Ruiz, and an RBI double for Greg Dobbs gave the Phillies a 7-2 lead going into the 9th. Ryan Madson came in to finish of the game in favor of Brad Lidge, because the save situation was no more. Madson did fine until a two run shot just right of the left field foul poll. But the Phils win this one 7-4.
This was a strong game for the Phils. Hamels threw a strong game and kept his pitch count low. Utley continued his tear going 2 for 4 with his 10th double of the season. Feliz and Ruiz also went 2 for 4. Tom Gordon couldn’t hold the runner on third when he came in, but he should be commended for getting out of the inning with the lead intact.
Greg Maddux misses his 350th win for in his second straight strong start.
Tomorrow: Grandpa Moyer faces off against Chris Young.
-Greg Berlin
Categories: Phillies
Tagged: Brad Lidge, Carlos Ruiz, Chase Utley, Cole Hamels, Eric Bruntlett, Greg Dobbs, Greg Maddux, Jason Werth, JC Romero, Padres, Pedro Feliz, Phillies, Recap, Ryan Howard, Ryan Madson, Scott Hairston, Tom Gordon
Thanks to Gary Cohen of SNY for the idea.
Categories: Mets
Tagged: David Patterson, Mets, Pedro Feliciano
9:32 - Carlos Ruiz comin’ through with a 2 RBI double! And now Dobbs for another RBI double! 7-2 Phils.
9:28 - Wasn’t expecting that: Perdo Feliz knocks in Utley from second! Phillies up 4-2.
9:17 pm - Hamels is pulled after 7 and 1/3, with men on the corners. Romero comes in and walks a batter to load ‘em. He’s pulled, Gordon comes in, and lets up two ground balls to get up out of the inning. Let’s up one run, which will be charged to Hamels, but overall great performance to get out of the inning. 3-2 Phils.
And Chase Utley leads off the bottom of the 8th with a double to center.
Categories: Phillies
Tagged: Chase Utley, Cole Hamels, JC Romero, Padres, Phillies, Tom Gordon
10:44: 3 up 3 down, here comes Sosa, I’m too frustrated to keep writing about this, recap coming later.
10:31: Reyes singles, Castillo advances him to second, David flies out and Beltran grounds out, I’m so glad the heart of our lineup can win the game for us in the bottom of the 9th… 4-4 top 10.
10:20: Well, I’m speechless. Billy just blew the save, and it should have been 3 outs but Casanova allowed the runner to advance to 2nd on a passed ball. After Billy struck out the Nate McLouth, the next hitter grounded into what should have been a double play. So many missed opportunities tonight.
(more…)
Categories: Mets
Tagged: Liveblog, Mets
According to Adam Rubin of the Daily News, LF Moises Alou is negative for a fracture in his ankle and will return for this weekend’s series against Arizona.
What a turn of events this has been. First he’s coming back, then his career may be in jeopardy, now he’s back for a crucial series against the D-Backs.
And according to Marty Noble, C Brian Schneider is still hospitalized with an infection in his left thumb. He is hoping to return very soon, meaning that it should be possible to send Gustavo Molina back to AAA once Alou comes off the DL.
-Jonathan Kraft
Categories: Mets
Tagged: Brian Schneider, Mets, Moises Alou
The Game: Atlanta Braves (12-13, 4th place NL East) at Washington Nationals (9-17, 5th place NL East)
The Matchup: Tom Glavine (0-1, 2.38 ) at Tim Redding (3-2, 3.67)
The Story: The Braves return to Nationals Park for the third time this season. This is the tale of two teams that are still finding themselves this season. The Braves’ revolving door of pitchers keeps on going, with Glavine returning from the DL tonight and John Smoltz likely headed there in his place. The Braves get two of their stars back in the lineup tonight in 3B Chipper Jones and young SS Yunel Escobar.
The Nationals are coming off of an impressive weekend series win against the Chicago Cubs. Ryan Zimmerman is still not hitting, but the lineup keeps getting bailed out by impressive pitching and unlikely hitting from contributors like 2B Felipe Lopez (who is hitting .300 since reclaiming his starting spot) and C Wil Nieves, who will not start tonight. The Nationals get C Johnny Estrada back, which should boost offensive production.
Lineups:
Braves: Johnson (2B), Escobar (SS), Jones (3B), Teixiera (1B), McCann (C), Francoeur (RF), Kotsay (CF), Diaz (LF), Glavine (P)
Nationals: Lopez (2B), Guzman (SS), Zimmerman (3B), Johnson (1B), Milledge (CF), Kearns (RF), Estrada (C), Peña (LF), Redding (P)
Categories: Braves · Nationals
Tagged: Atlanta Braves, Chipper Jones, Felipe Lopez, John Smoltz, Johnny Estrada, Ryan Zimmerman, Tim Redding, Tom Glavine, Washington Nationals, Wil Nieves, Yunel Escobar
The Game: Pittsburgh Pirates (10-15, 6th place NL Central) vs. New York Mets (13-11, 2nd place NL East)
The Matchup: Johan Santana (3-2, 3.12) vs. Ian Snell (2-1, 4.45)
The Story: The Mets look to take their third in a row as their ace Johan Santana takes the mound. Santana goes for his third win in a row, and has collected a decision on each of his starts so far this year. In Pittsburgh, Santana faces a mediocre team that has gone 3-3 in its last 6 games. Notables on the Pirates include Nate McLouth, who has homered in back to back games, slugger Jason Bay, and former [and hopefully future] Met Xavier Nady, who has lit opponents up this year with 23 RBIs.
The big story for the Mets will be Carlos Delgado, who will probably be booed after “snubbing” Mets fans by not taking a curtain call Sunday after homering twice. Other than that, look for the Mets offense to return to form against a mediocre opponent.
Lineups:
Pirates: McLouth (CF), Gomez (SS), Sanchez (2B), Bay (LF), Nady (RF), LaRoche (1B), Bautista (3B), Paulino (C), Snell (P)
Mets: Reyes (SS), Castillo (2B), Wright (3B), Beltran (CF), Church (RF), Delgado (1B), Casanova (C), Chavez (LF), Santana (P)
Categories: Mets
Tagged: Carlos Delgado, Ian Snell, Jason Bay, Johan Santana, Mets, Nate McLouth, Pirates, Snub-Gate, Xavier Nady
More on what to do with OF Jayson Werth from David Murphy:
Is Jason Werth ready to be an everyday player? And, most important, with Shane Victorino coming off the disabled list and a plethora of bodies in the outfield, are the Phillies ready to make him one?
…
When he became a free agent that offseason, the Phillies were one of the few teams willing to give him a chance.
“There was a time when I didn’t even know if I was going to be able to play,” Werth said.
Now, the question is, how much will he play?
Two days ago, manager Charlie Manuel acknowledged that leaving Werth in centerfield even with Victorino healthy was a possibility.
“Werth has definitely earned his right to play,” Manuel said.
That could mean Victorino plays more in rightfield, where he established himself as one of the league’s better fielders last season. But Werth could end up back in rightfield, where he began the season sharing time with Jenkins, a free-agent acquisition.
Victorino’s arm is better suited to rightfield, but his speed is a tremendous strength in center.
“Victorino’s one of the best rightfielders that I’ve seen in quite a while,” Manuel said. “He could play in right, but I also look at him as a centerfielder. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.”
Manuel acknowledged the possibility that Werth’s productivity could suffer if he returned to a platoon role.
“I think he can cool off by sitting, yeah,” Manuel said…
I have advocated for Werth’s spot in the lineup continuously and I think it’s becoming clear at this point that he is going to be an every day player. Geoff Jenkins should be the odd man out here. Leave Werth in center, start Victorino in right, and give Jenkins the odd day in right in which Victorino or Werth would play center. The bottom line is that Jason Werth has served more valuable to this team than Jenkins and even Victorino this season. Werth has earned his spot in the lineup.
Come on Charlie, make the move…
-Greg Berlin
Categories: Phillies
Tagged: Charlie Manuel, David Murphy, Geoff Jenkins, Jason Werth, Outfield, Phillies, Shane Victorino
Today’s Palm Beach Post surprises just about everyone by reporting that the Marlins’ bullpen holds the third lowest ERA of any pen in the majors (2.81, behind Tampa and Philadelphia). The fish pen has held opponents to a .235 batting average and has led the team to a 5-2 record in one-run games.
Categories: Marlins
Tagged: Marlins
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette highlights players who the Pirates might try to unload at some point this year, including 1B/OF Xavier Nady.
I’ve talked about getting Nady back a lot, maybe too much, but he really would be such a perfect addition to the Mets this season. MLB Trade Rumors suggests a possible Nady-Aaron Heilman swap, saying that Heilman could be converted into a starter for the Pirates (they could really use one right about now).
I’d personally be surprised if Pirates GM Neal Huntington would want to try and convert Heilman to a starter, but obviously every team has a different philosophy on player development. As far as the Mets losing Heilman, I wouldn’t lose too much sleep–it’s time to move on from Aaron. I would support using Joe Smith or Duaner Sanchez to set up Billy Wagner (assuming each continues to be effective), looking for the possible promotion of Eddie Kunz later this season. As far as the extra roster spot, Matt Wise or Carlos Muniz would be more than adequate candidates.
-Jonathan Kraft
Categories: Mets
Tagged: Aaron Heilman, Billy Wagner, Carlos Muniz, Duaner Sanchez, Eddie Kunz, Joe Smith, Matt Wise, Mets, Neal Huntington, Pirates, Xavier Nady
The Washington Post’s Barry Svrluga writes today about Ryan Zimmerman’s struggles at the plate so far this year. Some interesting points from the story:
-Zim is often compared to Mets 3B David Wright, but there is no comparison–Wright’s career stats are (.310, .389, .534) compared to (.277, .337, .458 ) for the Z-Man (Wright is also 2 years older, though).
-One scout said about the Nationals and Zim, “They’re asking him to be a star right now and he’s just not ready.”
-Basic conclusion of the article: Zimmerman needs to learn plate discipline.
In any other organization, Zimmerman might still be coming up in the minors or possibly in his rookie year. Obviously the Nationals need a star for their fledgling team, and Zim’s the man. He’ll continue to develop, learn how to work the count, and should eventually become the kind of superstar that David Wright has become in New York.
One more point: Zimmerman is the key to the Nationals offense. When his bat comes around (and it will), look for the rest of the team to respond.
Categories: Nationals
Tagged: David Wright, Nationals, Ryan Zimmerman
Enough with this Delgado business. The man didn’t take a curtain call. So what? Delgado gave a valid reason; he didn’t feel that 2 home runs in one game warranted one. Whether he actually believes that or just didn’t want to show Mets fans any love after they’ve booed him for the entire season, who cares?
Brooklyn Met Fan asks the question, “Do Mets dislike their own fans?” The answer? Once again, who cares? This is New York, when a player joins the Mets or Yankees they know what they’re getting into, and the phenomenon of booing Mets players at Shea is nothing new. New York is a “what have you done for me lately” town, and it’s not going to become St. Louis overnight, so let’s stop trying to pretend that we can change how Mets fans behave at games.
-Jonathan Kraft
Categories: Mets
Tagged: Carlos Delgado, Mets
San Diego Padres (10-16) @ Philadelphia Phillies (14-12)
Cole Hamels (5 GS, 2-3, 2.75 ERA, 30 SO, 1.08 WHIP)
vs.
Greg Maddux (5 GS, 2-1, 3.66 ERA, 19 SO, 1.06 WHIP)
Old versus new tonight. At the age of 42, Greg Maddux will look for his 350th career win (after Trevor Hoffman blew it last week), while Cole Hamels, only 24 years old, looks to recover from last week’s 7+ inning outing in which he was lit up by Prince Fielder twice for two-run homers in the first and eighth innings.
Remember Phillies’ fans, Charlie Manuel opted to keep Hamels in after 110 pitches to start the 8th inning. Now, in Manuel’s defense, Hamels had 11 strikeouts in the game. But with the best bullpen in the National League, the move doesn’t hold water.
Look for CF Shane Victorino (strained right calf) to be back in the lineup tonight. He should be starting after a 15 day stint on the DL.
UPDATE: Essential reading by David Murphy over at High Cheese summing up the possible starting lineups tonight.
So what will it be?
Jayson Werth in center field and Victorino in right?
Victorino in center and Werth in right?
Victorino in center and Geoff Jenkins in right?
Or Werth in center, Jenkins in right, and Victorino on the bench?
Categories: Phillies
Tagged: Charlie Manuel, Cole Hamels, Greg Maddux, Padres, Phillies, Shane Victorino, Trevor Hoffman
According to the Daily News, Mets starter Nelson Figueroa will be skipped in the rotation this weekend, allowing Johan Santana to pitch Sunday against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
MetsBlog is not happy about the move, and says that Figueroa has been the Mets most successful pitcher this year not named Santana. How true is that? He does have the second best WHIP in the rotation (1.34) after Santana (0.92), but has also averaged the most runs allowed (4.26).
This is a no brainer–you’re playing the hottest team in the NL, who do you want on the mound, Nelson Figueroa or Johan Santana. I understand Figgie’s been a great story (and relatively effective), but I’d rather see Santana on the mound against one of Arizona’s premier starters (slated to be Dan Haren as of now). Besides, this is a good opportunity to use Figgie out of the pen this week.
Categories: Mets
Tagged: Mets, Johan Santana, Diamondbacks, Dan Haren, Nelson Figueroa
I alluded to Myers’ troubles earlier. Read for yourself:
Poof.
The fastball that made Brett Myers a first-round draft pick in 1999 is nowhere to be found. The pitch that hit 95 m.p.h. suddenly cannot break 88 m.p.h. That is a concern for Myers and the Phillies, who finished 5-2 on their seven-game road trip after Myers lasted just five innings in a 5-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates yesterday at PNC Park.
“He’s supposed to be one of our aces,” manager Charlie Manuel said.
“I’m lost,” Myers said. “I’m lost throwing 88 m.p.h. I’m thinking I’m still a fastball pitcher because I usually am. I usually establish my fastball early in the game. I’ve always been that guy. I’ve always done that. But right now I’m going to other crap earlier than I want to.
“Usually if I’m behind in the count 2-1 or 3-1, I’m never pitching backward. Right now I’m pitching backward.”
This is what it means to pitch that way: Myers fell behind 2-1 in the count to Pirates centerfielder Nate McLouth in the fifth inning.
He threw him a cutter. Last year, he would have thrown him a fastball. McLouth hit the cutter for a two-run home run to right field, his second homer yesterday against Myers, who leads the majors with 10 homers allowed.
“Usually I go right after guys,” said Myers, who is 2-2 with a 5.11 ERA after six starts. “Usually I’m throwing heaters, and I don’t really care if a guy hits it out of the park because I feel like if I have enough on it, he’s going to miss-hit it or something.”
Myers said he is healthy. He said his arm feels fine. So what is the problem?
The righthander, who met with Manuel in the manager’s office for about 10 minutes after the game, is baffled at the loss of velocity since last season. Pitching coach Rich Dubee suggested two possible solutions.
“I think it’s as simple as him throwing more fastballs and him getting out there and playing some more long toss,” Dubee said. “He’s not a real big believer in long toss, and I am. I think that’s one way you develop arm strength. It gives you some elasticity in your arm, and I think it’s something he has to buy into a little more. He doesn’t do much at all. Game day, he throws five balls at a long distance and that’s it.”
Dubee would like to see Myers long toss a couple of times a week.
“I did that last year as a reliever,” said Myers, who added he is open to more long tossing. “I never did when I was a starter because I felt like my [bullpen sessions] were giving me enough arm strength.”
Myers said he abandoned the fastball yesterday because the separation in speeds between his fastball (86 m.p.h.) and his cutter (83 m.p.h.) was not enough.
“He wasn’t going to throw the cutter today,” Dubee said. “See how long that lasted? We were going to throw more curveballs. He threw them to the first couple hitters, and then he put it in his back pocket for whatever reason. We talked about getting away from the cutter and throwing more fastballs and throwing more curveballs because of the separation between the speeds. But he got away from that game plan for whatever reason.”
Said Myers: “It’s not like I’m hurting. It’s not like it’s aching. It’s not like I can’t throw or anything like that. I’ve had times where it is barking and still go out there and throw 92, 93 [m.p.h.]. But right now it just isn’t coming out. It’s like doo-doo going up there.”
This is troubling, to say the least.
Categories: Phillies
Tagged: Brett Myers, Charlie Manuel, Phillies, Tom Glavine
