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Phillies lean on Floyd to avoid series sweep

The Pirates can turn a seven-game losing streak into a three-game winning streak this afternoon if they get past Gavin Floyd, who enters the game with a 8.50 ERA.

Floyd is coming off a game in which he gave up seven runs in 3 1-3 innings to Colorado. After the game, readers wondered how long Floyd would stay in the starting rotation if he continued to struggle.

He will face another beleaguered starter in Oliver Perez, the third starter the Phillies have faced with an ERA over 7.00. That has meant nothing, however, as the Phillies have scored only one earned run off a Pirates starter this series.

Power outage
The Phillies offense is in the midst of a home run drought from their primary power threats. Chase Utley has not homered since April 14 at Colorado. Pat Burrell last hit one April 18, Bobby Abreu last homered on April 19 and Ryan Howard has been held homerless since April 23. In addition, Mike Lieberthal has not homered this season and Jimmy Rollins only has one.

Other notes
----- After yesterday’s 0-fer, Rollins’ OPS sank to .666, lowest among the regulars. David Bell is next with a .697.

---- Sal Fasano will likely start this afternoon. He is the team’s best bench hitter (.231 BA).

----- The Phils are still tied for second in the division with Atlanta (9-14), The Braves have lost five-straight games.

Hopeless Phillies fall 3-2 to Pirates

The Phillies watched another great opportunity crumble into dust, losing to the Pirates 3-2 tonight.

Every story from yesterday's 3-1 loss used the word "lowly" to describe the Pirates. After tonight, there's no reason the same word can't be used for the 9-14 Phillies.

The Phils had a chance to tie or go ahead in the ninth, but with one out and the bases loaded, pinch-hitter Alex Gonzalez tried to be a hero and hit into a game-ending double play. This came after two separate relief pitchers walked the bases loaded. The pitch to Gonzalez was not a strike and he was ahead 3-1 in the count.

Pat Maholm, who entered the game with a 7.40 ERA, dazzled the Phillies for seven innings, giving up just one run. For the second night, Aaron Rowand offered the only hope with a homer in the eighth. Pat Burrell had an RBI single in the fourth.

Both Gonzalez and Abraham Nunez had banner moments off the bench. With one out and a runner on first in the seventh, Charlie Manuel pulled Cory Lidle after 77 effective pitches. Nunez bounced into an inning-ending double play.

Beerleaguer take
The Phillies need a hero of their own to make sure the kinds of things that happened tonight never happen again.

The problem: The man in position to do it is unable, and probably unqualified. There wasn’t a single part of Charlie Manuel tonight that wasn't preposterous. From the randomness of the lineup, to his on-the-fly decisions, to his posture hanging on the dugout rail. It was bothersome how casual he appeared to be, watching the season slide further down the toilet.

As for this offense, this isn't a funk. This is a pattern, one that repeats itself every season and has nothing to do with talent. A win tomorrow would tie their futile record of 10-14 from last year.

The Phillies are hoping the pattern follows last year's model and they play themselves back into contention. There's one small problem with that thinking. This team isn't as good as the 2005 version, particularly in bullpen. In addition, everyone's fear has come true. The Mets are for real, and everyone knows the Wild Card threats are in the central.

If that's the case, the Phillies have just played themselves out of contention, and it isn't even May.

Tomorrow, do yourself a favor. Skip the game, enjoy the weather and make sure the last day of April ends on a winning note.

Offense goes lame in lowly loss to Bucs

Ian Snell, who entered the game with a 7.71 ERA, didn’t allow an earned run in seven innings, leading the Pirates over the Phillies 3-1 at PNC Park.

The 6-18 Pirates had lost seven straight before catching a break in facing a scuffling Phillies offense. Snell had no trouble tonight, striking out seven in what must have been the second-best start of his career (last season, he outlasted Roger Clemens in a game that kept the Phils' playoff hopes alive).

Brett Myers allowed three earned runs with eight strikeouts in seven innings, continuing a positive trend of longer outings by the veteran starters.

However, the offense continued their sorry trend of wasting chances and going through long droughts without scoring runs. Aaron Rowand can hold his head highest for having the best game, going 2-3 with a walk and stolen base. Their only run came on a Mike Lieberthal groundout. You can fill in the rest.

Phillies notes: Maddening homestand ends

The old definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. It applies to the Phillies, their fans and just about everything we’ve seen so far this season.

---- The Phillies faced Aaron Cook two weeks ago and had the same impatient approach. Yesterday, they scratched out two runs and managed just one hit over the final five innings. After the game, Charlie Manuel had this to say: "We got real aggressive. We got impatient and we started chasing bad balls."

Wasn’t there a meeting?

---- Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Daily News said Jon Lieber did a "workman’s" job yesterday. I thought that was a good word for it, and agree he did a nice job.

---- Dozens of offseason articles focused on Jimmy Rollins, his hitting streak and his new approach, with the idea that 2006 would be the year he would become an elite offensive performer. After yesterday, he has a .309 OBP, which is lower than what it was last year when most people were calling for his ouster from the leadoff spot.

---- Sal Fasano is believed to have a winning influence on the pitching staff. In games started and finished by Fasano, the Phillies have one win.

---- With the loss last night, the Phillies cannot finish April with a winning record, which had been the preseason goal.

---- At the moment, Rangers fans are laughing at Pat Gillick for solving their pitching problem. Seriously. Check out the Rangers' chat rooms. Vicente Padilla is 2-1 with a 3.64 ERA with his new team.

---- I suspect the Phillies are not going to wait long on Cole Hamels. I also suspect they’re going to make more roster moves over the next few weeks, which could include the addition of catcher Carlos Ruiz and more pitching help. Anyone think Fasano will have trouble clearing waivers? No? Didn't think so.

---- One important idea worth remembering is Gillick has yet to put his stamp on this club. Why would anyone believe for a second that Gillick will be patient with Gavin Floyd, a pitcher covered in red flags that he did not draft?

Rheal Cormier raising his stock

The two-fold benefit of Rheal Cormier’s solid start is he’s getting the job done in middle relief, and also making himself more attractive in a potential trade.

Under GM Pat Gillick, this will be the year the Phillies trade veteran relief pitching instead of acquire it.

Cormier is an outstanding candidate to be sent packing to a desperate contender in return for young talent. The 38-year-old left-hander is off to a good start, having not allowed a run in his first seven appearances. He becomes a free agent after this season.

The Phillies traded Placido Polanco to the Tigers for Ugueth Urbina last June to give some indication when teams begin trolling for spare arms. By that time, Gillick will know whether the season is a lost cause. Even if they’re in it, they could still cobble together middle relief to take Cormier’s spot, which has not been in pressure situations. Eude Brito and Matt White are left-handed possibilities from Triple-A Scranton.

This spring, it was reported the Phillies were shopping Cormier, who had a 5.89 ERA last season.

Mid-season deals for relief pitching are behind some of the most lopsided trades in history, including the Jeff Bagwell for Larry Andersen deal.

Clean slate, but Lieber must pull his weight

Readers have pointed fingers at everyone from Sal Fasano to Gavin Floyd during the Phillies poor start. Very few have been pointed at today’s starting pitcher.

The Phillies have given Jon Lieber all the support he could ask for, a personal catcher, a three-year contract and the honor of starting opening day for two straight seasons. In return, they’ve asked very little in return. All they've asked is that he keep his weight in check.

Coming into today, Lieber drags an 0-4 record, 7.99 ERA and the slight hint of a spare tire into Citizen’s Bank Park. The team, and ticket office, has not recovered from his opening-day TKO.

Lieber, quite frankly, has been a disappointment, and now you begin to wonder if age has crept in. He's on the wrong side of 35 and has injury history. Whether it’s age or something else, he hasn’t been the consistent, stingy pitcher experts thought he would be for the Phils. Close, but not quite.

Hopefully, his slow start gets washed away this afternoon, and I'm optimistic it will. His ERA-FIP differential is an absurd -4.87, indicating he's been the victim of some poor luck and poor fielding. His big problem, however, is he does poorly trying to hold men in scoring position.

The team desperately needs to milk seven innings from Lieber before they head off on their 5-game road trip.

He’ll face Aaron Cook (1-2, 3.57 ERA), who flat dominated the Phils on April 11, only to be one-upped by Brett Myers in a 1-0 shutout. Cook is a groundball pitcher who baited Phils hitters into impatient at bats last time out.

Hamels spectacular in Triple-A debut
In progress: 7 IP, 14 K, 3 H, 0 BB, 0 ER.

Second place

With months and months of baseball left to play, the Phillies pulled ahead of the struggling Braves and into second place in the NL East. They remain 4.5 in back of the front-running Mets.

NL East	W	L	Pct	GB	Home	Road	East	Cent	West	Streak	L10
NY Mets	14	7	.667	--	7-4	7-3	8-3	2-1	4-3	Won 2	5-5
Philadelphia	9	11	.450	4.5	5-9	4-2	4-4	0-3	5-4	Won 1	5-5
Atlanta	9	12	.429	5.0	3-3	6-9	4-4	0-3	5-5	Lost 3	4-6
Washington	7	14	.333	7.0	1-7	6-7	6-8	1-6	0-0	Lost 4	5-5
Florida	6	13	.316	7.0	2-4	4-9	2-5	3-6	1-2	Won 1	3-7

Madson remains unimpressive in starting role

Though he earned the win, Ryan Madson is still trying to prove himself worthy of the starting rotation.

Nothing has come easy for Phillies starting pitching.

The blasphemous idea of keeping Ryan Madson in the bullpen doesn’t seem quite so profane after another brief outing last night. Beerleaguer has always maintained Madson has a pitch selection hitters will figure out quickly. Sub-par fastball and plus change both come over the top. The curve, still a project pitch, must be easier to spot because of his delivery. Toss in suspect command, and it's just not enough.

There were other factors last night. Madson and Mike Lieberthal weren’t on the same page, and because of that, the game slowed down. During the telecast, the broadcast crew said Lieberthal is not used to asking for the curveball quite as much in Madson’s new starting role. It also appeared that Madson was bothered when calls weren’t going his way.

In five innings, Madson gave up 10 hits, 4 runs and a walk to lower his ERA to 8.05. As a result, Madson and Gavin Floyd, the two experiments in the starting rotation, have given the Phillies similar results, but in slightly different ways. With Floyd, he cannot find command of his fastball and does not trust his curve. With Madson, hitters appear to be figuring out his pitches. Both do not seem to have enough pitches in their repertoire to go deep into games, and they have not been able to pitch out of trouble.

Comments in the previous thread wondered if it was time to consider moving Ryan Franklin into the starting rotation. One response said that would be "a recipe for disaster."

Though Floyd and Madson are still baking in the oven, we’ve tasted some bitter dough.

Madson, Jennings match up tonight at CBP

Ironically, three outs is all you could ask from Ryan Madson the last two seasons.

Madson (1-1 8.36 ERA) waited nearly two years to bury the ghost of his first career start in 2004, in which he went 2-3 innings against the White Sox, allowed six runs before leaving with the bases loaded.

On Thursday, he recorded just three outs in a miserable 10-4 loss to Washington, tagged with nine runs and seven hits. After the game, Madson said the game spiraled out of control quickly and he could not recover, indicating a pitcher still making a mental transition back into a starting role.

The Phillies must win the next two games to ensure a winning homestand. They’ll try to do it against right-hander Jason Jennings (1-0, 5.40 ERA), continuing the trend of faceless starting pitching the Phils have seen during this homestand.

What can be worse than ‘faceless' pitching? Oh, right. Phillies pitching.

Mission: Near failure

A loss tonight would mean the Phillies cannot finish April with a winning record.

A strong April was the arbitrary goal for the team that came within one game of forcing sudden death with the Houston Astros last season. They went 10-14 last April, and it was repeated all spring as a month they needed to attack, especially since most of their games were at home against weaker teams.

Instead, they seized March.

I doubt Bobby Cox has ever used goals like "hot April" as a motivator, probably because he understands artificial stimuli doesn't work.

Abysmal pitching is of course the main issue behind their 8-11 start, bad enough to make the no-name pitchers they’ve faced irrelevant. The Phils have lost games at home against, among others, Tony Armas Jr., Billy Traber, Scott Olsen and last night, Miguel Ascencio (reliever Ramon Ramirez actually earned the win).

They are 4-and-9 at home. Three of their starters, Jon Lieber, Gavin Floyd and Ryan Madson, have ERAs over 7.99.

Before the season, most fans believed starting pitching was nothing worse than average. They also believed team defense was a strength. That, too, has failed them. Offensively, they are believed to be a team that will score lots of runs, but have scored the third-fewest in the National League. How and when they score is another issue.

Everything is cockeyed. The manager maintains the Phillies are a better team than this. With five more games in April, I’ll set my own arbitrary deadline. Five more games to turn it around before I start asking "if" instead of "when."

Pitch, don’t think

The results haven’t been spectacular, but the only way to find out whether Gavin Floyd can cut it is to keep him pitching.

A balanced team knows how to win and grow at the same time, and Gavin Floyd's spot on the roster is the only spot where the Phillies are rolling the dice to find out what a young player is made of. Unfortunately, they're neither winning, nor seeing much growth from their troubled prospect.

Fragile Floyd punches in for the fourth time this season. He’s 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA and it wouldn’t hurt if he could generate something positive tonight. As L.A. would say, he needs to clear his head and let talent take over. Let everyone else do the thinking. (And what we're thinking is this is an important start in the young career of Gavin Floyd).

He’ll face former Phillies prospect Miguel Asencio (0-0, 0.00 ERA), a player I’ll bet the Beerleaguer senior correspondent doesn’t remember. He pitched in Clearwater in 2001. Anything lower than Double-A ball is largely beyond our realm.

Winnable game. Good game for Floyd to toughen up and become the same pitcher who bulled his way into the starting rotation.

Phillies prevail behind revamped lineup, Lidle

Cory Lidle comes within a strikeout of tying his career high, and Charlie Manuel’s new lineup kept the offense moving, as the Phillies held on to beat the Rockies 6-5.

Last night’s lineup card is one I endorse, with the only change being the platoon of David Bell and Abraham Nunez at seven. Bell has been given enough time to prove he isn’t full-time toast. He’s batting .218 after last night’s 0-fer. Call it a hunch, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the platoon starts tonight, since the manager seems in the mood to shake it up.

Otherwise, the reshuffled deck paid off immediately, with Chase Utley contributing three big hits and aggressive base-running. Utley is in the slot I always assumed he would fill some day. It’s not an ideal spot to collect RBIs, but he’s in better shape to make big plays on the bases. The Phils need to manufacture more runs this way, which they haven't done this season. Batting ahead of Abreu's walks and base knocks, he’ll spend significant time in scoring position.

Batting second, his hitting should flourish as well. By the end of his career, expect Utley to be remembered for good hitting and hard-nosed play first, power second.

Following his two home runs the night before, Ryan Howard also moved up to fifth with Aaron Rowand protecting him in the six-hole. This is the spot I like for Howard, not fourth.

Meanwhile, Cory Lidle has become quite the strikeout artist. Adding 10 to his season total of 27, he’s now seventh in the National League, ahead of pitchers like Brad Penny, Roy Oswalt and Andy Pettitte.

New mugshots!
Yahoo!, my go-to source for stats and headshots, finally updated their mugshot archive this morning, including the sun-burned Utley featured above.

Phils open four-game frame with Rox

Cory Lidle punches the clock for the fourth time this season as the Phillies (7-10) get set to open a long series with Colorado (10-8).

Lidle (1-2, 5.00 ERA), has been fairly true to form in 2006, allowing lots of hits and surrendering either 3-or-4 runs a game. He’s gone an inning deeper in consecutive starts, and will probably lead the team in strikeouts after tonight (currently second with 17). He’s actually walked only one batter this season. In other words, he’s been steady. When Lidle is on the mound, you can spot the opposition 3-or-4 runs and watch something else until the seventh inning, or wash dishes, which is what I often do.

Josh Fogg (2-0, 3.57 ERA) isn’t must-see TV either, but is off to a nice start since coming over from Pittsburgh.

The big story, pitching-wise, has been an overachieving Rockies bullpen, which leads baseball in winning percentage (.833). Jose Mesa has been tough on his old team, going 2-0 with 3 saves and a 0.84 ERA in 10 games. He pitched two shutout innings against them in their series at Coors Field.

The Rockies will be without Todd Helton, who was just released from the hospital today after suffering severe stomach problems. Third baseman Garrett Atkins has also missed the last two games with flu-like symptoms and will likely return to the lineup tonight.

A couple cold Phillies will try to warm up this series, including Chase Utley, Pat Burrell and Jimmy Rollins, who started to get back on track yesterday with a hit, a walk and two stolen bases.

Hamels reportedly promoted to Triple-A Scranton

According to a report in the Wilmington News-Journal, the Phillies have called up Cole Hamels and Chris Booker to Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre.

The Phillies are making good on their promise to move Hamels through the system quickly, essentially leapfrogging the Double-A level, where he made just three starts last year before injury shorted his season. The 22-year-old left-hander has made only 28 starts in his five-year pro career because of various ailments, including back and elbow problems.

Rated the No. 1 Phillies prospect by Baseball America, Hamels was 1-1 with a 1.77 ERA and 29 strikeouts in 20.1 innings over four starts for Clearwater. When healthy, his career has been lights out.

Booker, a Rule 5 pick on a rehab assignment, must be added to the 25-man roster or be offered back to Washington by May 11.

Phillies top Marlins with style and structure

Ryan Howard's circus act home runs, including a tape-measure shot to dead center, led the Phillies over the Marlins 4-2. The victory also represented the team’s first start-to-finish home win, giving fans their first taste of nine controlled innings.

Sad as it sounds, yesterday's 4-2 win over the sub $15 million Marlins was the most complete home win of the season. The other two wins were walk-off nail biters.

Even with the ejections to Chase Utley and Charlie Manuel, this was the first time a game went according to plan, home or away. It included a nice, lengthy start from Brett Myers (6 IP, 2 ER, 3.04 ERA), and a significant look how the Phillies intend to use their bullpen. Ryan Franklin will work the seventh, Arthur Rhodes the eighth and Tom Gordon will close the door.

Manuel’s strict bullpen roles are often criticized for being too inflexible, but I’ve always believed relievers perform better when they know how they’re going to be used. Players have said the same.

Franklin, Rhodes and Gordon will become this year’s troika, occupied by Ryan Madson, Ugueth Urbina and Billy Wagner last season. When the calendar flipped to September, many experts thought the Phillies had the inside track to October because the back end of their bullpen was so strong.

Reserving these pitchers for situations like yesterday should have a positive impact on the rest of the bullpen, as Aaron Fultz, Geoff Geary, Rheal Cormier and Julio Santana will also settle into their roles. Fultz and Geary often worked in tandem last season and came away with career years.

Bullpen inconsistency, like the win/loss column, is another destructive side effect of weak starting pitching. This was a good first step in the right direction.

Bench
Yesterday was also a return to the time-honored tradition of playing the bench during a Sunday day game, and as it often happens, they won the game. Abraham Nunez and David Dellucci got the start at third and left field respectively, with Nunez sliding to second after Chase Utley was tossed.

For the season, the bench is a combined 13-for-83 (.156), including 22 strikeouts. Dellucci has been the biggest disappointment, going 0-3 with a strikeout yesterday to go 2-for-18 on the season.

So far, Dellucci has contributed next to nothing statistically, save for two very important additions: the ability for Manuel to rest Pat Burrell and Bobby Abreu, and great insurance in case one of them goes down.

At the end of spring training, the Phillies realized they were an outfielder short, and a left-handed bat short. Chris Roberson was the only candidate, but he wasn’t ready. Dellucci’s slow start shouldn’t come as a shock, considering he was ripped from a starting role from Texas just two days before the season.

Meanwhile, Nunez reminds me a little of Placido Polanco in that he likes to put the ball in play. Polly is more successful at it, but Nunez is a player of that same mold. In the few opportunities I’ve seen him, he looks to be a competent fielder.

Give it some time. Like bullpen, the bench will settle in.

Red Barons reserve ready at a moment’s notice

Scranton Times-Tribune beat writer Chad Jennings has the early returns on some players making headlines in Triple-A.

Carlos Ruiz, C (.407 BA, 5 HR, 1.209 OPS): A possible big league job for Ruiz is easy to spot. I absolutely think he could play on a semi-regular basis for the Phillies, and if put in that position, he could win a starting job.

The guy can flat out hit. He can also run a little bit and can throw. I've also never heard a pitcher complain about his ability to call a game. On Friday night, Ruiz was the guy behind the plate when closer Yoel Hernandez got out of a next to impossible two-on, no-out situation in the ninth with the Red Barons ahead by just a run.

Not only do I think Ruiz can play in the big leagues, I will be shocked if he doesn't at least get up there in September. The big thing with him, as always, is staying healthy.

If the concern is strictly about a back-up catcher, don't forget that Chris Coste is an awfully good catcher and could be the guy the Phillies pick to sit on the big league bench while Ruiz continues to play every day in Scranton.

Bobby Scales, INF (.435 BA, 3 HR, 1.283 OPS): As for Scales, he's flat out smoking the ball and is a nice player. He can play second, third and the outfield corners and right now he's locked in at the plate.

I suppose he could be a utility candidate for the Phillies, but Danny Sandoval and Joe Thurston also fit that bill and each have big league time, which Scales doesn't have. That's not to say Scales can't play in the big leagues; from what I've seen he could be a solid big league reserve, I'm just saying that the Red Barons have several of those utility type players. Even guys like Coste and Shawn Garrett play multiple positions and have a history of hitting for average with occasional power.

I doubt any of the Red Barons becomes a regular in Philadelphia's lineup this year, but I think there are several guys like Scales who would be successful role players if called upon.

Yoel Hernandez, RP (9 IP, 1.00 ERA, 6 SV): Then there's Hernandez, who has been flat out terrific as the Red Barons’ closer. I mentioned the two-on, no-out situation from Friday and it's a perfect example. Ahead by one, the lead-off batter reached on an error then the next guy doubled to put runners on second and third with no outs. I was sure Hernandez had a blown save, but he struck out Danny Garcia (who has big league time with the Mets) and Mitch Jones (who is a great hitter and should have made the Yankees bench) before getting a ground out to end it.

If the Phillies need bullpen help -- and I think they eventually will -- Hernandez is certainly worth a look.

Other candidates: Relief pitcher Brian Sanches has been solid, and so has Clay Condrey, who has been very, very good since switching out of the rotation. Keep an eye on each of those guys.

Beyond Ruiz, Scales and Hernandez, I've got to give at least honorable mention credit to pitcher Matt White and outfielder Chris Roberson.

White is left-handed, he's been the team's best starter and he started a game for the Nationals last year. Don't forget about him on the possible bus to Philadelphia.

As for Roberson, he's starting to come around after a fairly slow start. He made a tremendous running catch in center field the other day and has really shown good things on the bases. I don't know that he'll go up anytime soon, and I think he's still a few notches below Shane Victorino, but there's a reason he stayed in big league camp until the very end.

Chad Jennings covers the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Red Barons for the Scranton Times-Tribune. He welcomes e-mail at cjennings@timesshamrock.com.

Marlins 4, Phillies 3

The Marlins' cast of rookies is too much for alleged No. 1 starter Jon Lieber, as the Fish strong arm the fading Phillies 4-3 to open the series.

Freshman lefty Scott Olsen held Phillies hitters in check through 6 2-3 innings, giving up eight hits and one earned run.

Jon Lieber (0-4, 7.99 ERA) made quick work of the Fish through four innings, but served up line drive after line drive in the fifth and sixth. So far, Lieber’s season is what one would expect from a No. 5 starter battling for a job with the Kansas City Royals.

The heart of the Phillies lineup, Bobby Abreu, Pat Burrell and Chase Utley, combined to go 1-for-11. The team stranded seven runners and left three runners in scoring position with two outs.

Sal Fasano added credence to the fact that defense has been just as culpable for the slow start. Fasano tried to throw out Miguel Cabrera’s stolen base attempt at second, but forgot to look Dan Uggla down at third, allowing him to score on the play.

Beerleaguer take
I’m at the end of my rope with anything having to do with Jon Lieber. If I’m the manager, Lieber is back pitching to Lieby next start, and Fasano, the position player least deserving of a major league job, will catch Floyd and make a spot start here and there. Fasano is too much of a defensive liability to risk pulling one of the better hitters this season out of the lineup when Lieber is on the mound. The other reason is this: "Too damn bad, Jon Lieber. You're not good enough to have a personal catcher."

Offensive offense
The Phillies are hitting .181/.281/.318 with runners in scoring position.

Allow me to repeat that, since this is a redundant theme.

The Phillies are hitting .181/.281/.381 with runners in scoring position.

The main offenders have been Pat Burrell, who is just 2-for-20 with runners in scoring position (.100/.208/.150), David Bell, who is 1-for-9, and Ryan Howard, just 1-for-7.

Defense shares blame for horrendous start

There has been plenty of blame thrown around for the Phillies slow start, but the area underachieving most may be the one getting the least attention.

Following Ryan Madson’s abysmal inning yesterday, the argument would seem secure that team pitching has been the team’s weakest area.

However, looking deeper into the numbers, the situation isn’t quite as dismal as most would believe. The Phillies single biggest issue has been the vast number of hits allowed. If you subscribe to the theory that a good part of hitting comes by the hand of luck and defense, there is no reason to expect the trend to continue.

Here is a chart of the IP/Hits/HR/Walks/SOs of the Phillies, compared to the three best ERA teams in baseball .The only significant difference is in hits.

Team	IP	Hits	BB	K	HR	ERA
Phillies	134	174	50	91	18	5.78
Mets	136	113	47	118	16	3.24
Cubs	123.2	95	60	94	21	3.71
Cardinals	133	127	44	87	18	3.86

The Hardball Times formula stat known as Fielding Independent Pitching, or FIP, measures things for which a pitcher is specifically responsible. FIP helps us understand how well a pitcher pitched, regardless of how well his fielders fielded.

According to the latest data, Phillies pitching is posting a 4.77 FIP, which is below the league average of 4.83. In other words, team pitching has done a fair job.

That means defense has done this team a disservice. Defense Efficiency Ratio, or DER, measures the percent of times a batted ball is turned into an out by the teams’ fielders, not including home runs.

After yesterday, the Phillies are tied with the Reds for dead last in this category, making only 62 percent of plays on balls hit into play. To compare, the best team in baseball, the Mets, lead the National league in DER, making 72 percent of their plays.

Bottom line: Want to pin the blame on one area? Why not blame defense.

Thanks to reader Jeremy for contributing to this report.

Phils hope to avoid trouble against anonymous lefty

Ryan Madson has the ball tonight when the Phillies face left-hander Billy Traber, making his first major-league start since 2003.

Tonight’s game is a great opportunity to dust off a sub and give him some work. Perhaps Abraham Nunez can spot Chase Utley at second, or maybe Shane Victorino can give Bobby Abreu the day off. Utley and Abreu have played every game.

For the Nationals (5-10), Billy Traber becomes only the second left-handed starter the Phillies have faced this season. Traber last pitched with the Cleveland Indians and went 6-9 with a 5.24 ERA in 33 games, including 18 starts. A former first-round pick of the Mets, the 27-year-old has missed the last 2 ½ years recovering from Tommy John surgery. He was called up to replace Ryan Drese in the rotation after Drese went on the DL.

He’ll face Ryan Madson (1-0, 2.77 ERA), probably the most consistent starter for the Phillies so far, but like the rest, has given up a ton of hits. As a team, the Phils have allowed 160 hits, second most in baseball.

Inside and outside the headlines

The close look at last night's 7-6 win reveals an ensemble cast that shared a starring role.

Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Daily News said Chase Utley was the understated key in drawing walks and keeping the lineup moving. Phil Gianficaro, here at the Reading Eagle, praised Ryan Howard, calling his 10th-inning hit the exclamation point on their 7-6 comeback win, following his 2-run shot to get them on the board. I thought Bobby Abreu played a substantial role, with a clutch, 2-run homer in the eighth and 10th-inning walk off Mike Stanton. Until Abreu’s homer, Livan Hernandez stifled the Phillies lineup with his bedazzling low 80s fastball and changeup. No disrespect to the job Howard and Utley did, but Abreu’s blast finally broke Livan’s back.

These were the highlights from a 7-6 dramatic comeback. But the win mostly boiled down to a total team effort late in the game to scratch out the win. Tom Goyne, who writes Phillies baseball at Balls, Sticks and Stuff, posted a graph this morning to illustrate the comeback.

Going inside the numbers, we find several unheralded players doing a lot of things right. Here's some good stuff from the 2006 season that hasn't made headlines:

-- Pat Burrell is the Phillies unsung defender. Of all the regulars besides Mike Lieberthal at catcher, Burrell ranks highest in zone rating (.897). This is pulling from a very small data set, but the naked eye backs it up. Burrell has judged everything correctly, holding more than one batter to a single, including last night when he cut down Brian Schneider’s hit heading toward the corner.

--- David Bell is having another solid campaign with the mit. Considering the number of balls put in play by the starting rotation, it’s tough to argue against his full-time status.

--- Aaron Rowand, as expected, is starting to dig his feet into Philadelphia soil. Loved the helmet slam and profanity after his strikeout. Rowand was the first player to congratulate Howard after his game-winning hit.

--- In bullpen, Tom Gordon is dealing, striking out the side last night. Opponents are batting a mere .167 against him and he has the second-best groundball ratio on the team (1.01). Most impressive: Flash has 10 strikes and no walks.

--- Flash is keeping surprising company in terms of advanced stats. Rheal Cormier isn't far behind. Comier is tied with Gordon in the prevented run category (2), a formula that measures of the number of runs a pitcher saved compared to average. He also leads the team in ratio (0.82).

--- In addition, Ryan Franklin has pitched better from the pen than many people expected. Early signs show a carbon copy of Ugueth Urbina’s contribution in 2005. Franklin leads the team in home runs per game (2.34), but for the most part, is getting the job done the way Urbina mostly did last year.

Phils seek to even series tonight against Nats

Gavin Floyd and the Phillies seek redemption when they face Livan Hernandez and the Nationals tonight at Citizen's Bank Park.

Tonight we get to see a pitcher who's coming off his best major-league start in over a year.

Gavin Floyd is easier to watch when the Phillies can do what they did last time, which was put five runs on the board in the first inning. That makes it easier to sit back, relax and enjoy the fact that the guy you're watching is a 23-year-old kid with a lot of promise.

Against Atlanta, Floyd went six innings with five hits and three earned runs to earn the win. His curveball locked knees.

In order for the same cushion, the Phillies need to do what they didn’t do yesterday, capitalize in the early frames offensively to give their starter the edge. For all that went wrong, Bill Dancy’s call in the first is what sticks in my craw. The offense, for the most part, has been streaky, scoring just four times the last two games. They're generating almost all their offense with home runs.

They’ll look to get it going against Livan Hernandez (1-2, 7.00), a pitcher that makes for great trivia. He consistently ranks near the top in innings pitched, including a major-league-high 246.1 in 2005. He has more complete games than any other pitcher over the last six years (31). He’s also a great hitting pitcher, batting .236 for his career.

Nationals 10, Phillies 3: Fix this mess

It's difficult to point fingers after loss like tonight, because the failure took on many familiar forms. But if I must isolate someone, let it be Pat Gillick. The ball is in your court. Tell us where you're going, and we will follow. Start adjusting, or start over. Just as long as there's a start. Starting right now.

Phillies welcome back pesky Nats

The hometown nine will look to improve their play at home after dropping five of their first six games at Citizen's Bank Park. Tonight they face Tony Armas Jr. and the Washington Nationals.

For the first half of 2005, the Nationals were on top of the free-for-all known as the NL East. Around the time fans started to wonder how long it could last, something happened. Carlos Baerga started showing up in the boxscores as their cleanup hitter. At that point, everyone, including the Nationals, knew they were cooked. They were.

So began their spiral into the NL East cellar. By October, they were broken, easy marks for the surging Phillies during the final series of the year.

Today, they’re back to bottom feeding in the fine tradition of their French-Canadien forefathers, off to a 4-9 start, getting most of their offense from the top: Alfonso Soriano (.294, 3 HR); Jose Vidro (.348, 3 HR) and Nick Johnson (.357, 3 HR). The bottom eight fills out poorly. They have yet another scrap-heap beauty batting cleanup in Daryle Ward. Top prospecet Ryan Zimmerman is off to a shaky start, hitting just .204.

The Phillies should take this series easily if they play to their ability and avoid falling behind late. Their strength is in bullpen, where closer Chad Cordero and workhorse Gary Majewski make a formidable pair. The Phils got a good taste of them last season and had trouble. Cordero in particular had a breakout campaign, especially in the first half when he led all relief pitchers in Win Shares and was near the top in appearances. True to form, Majewski has already appeared in 8 games.

Cory Lidle (1-1, 4.91 ERA), will make his third start. He’ face Tony Armas Jr. (0-2, 3.27 ERA), a pitcher in the mold of Vicente Padilla for an equal blend of stuff, inconsistency and nagging arm trouble.

Follow along with the Yahoo! live boxscore [here].

Myers sets the bar a little higher

No team has ever shut down Colorado at home 1-0 until yesterday, when Brett Myers and company blanked the Rockies to secure the series win. Now, it’s up to Myers to build on this game.

Give Myers a lot of credit for putting a stop to the hit parade, ace-pitcher style. After a night that saw 30 base hits, Myers was not afraid to challenge the opposition, laying down the law for 70 strikes in 114 pitches, going 7 2-3 innings before getting lifted for Arthur Rhodes.

Meanwhile, the rest of his team was of little help, playing into Aaron Cook’s hand with impatient at bats. Cook, a groundball pitcher in the mold of Derek Lowe or Brandon Webb, had the psychological edge yesterday. The Phillies were anxious to put another 10 runs on the board and were grounding into easy plays. If it wasn’t for Ryan Howard’s homer, there’s no doubt the Rockies would have stolen this one late.

I looked into Cook following the game, hoping he was a free agent after this season. Turns out he’s signed through 2007 with an option for 2008, earning $1.25 million this season. What a bargain for Colorado, a cheap groundball pitcher custom built for Coors Field. The Rockies are not considered contenders, but looked like a decent enough team this series capable of making a run in the weak NL West.

As for the Phillies, a road series is always a plus, regardless of the opponent. There’s still a little rough around the edges, but getting better, especially in regards to starting pitching. No area has been worse than their bench, which fell to 5-for-57 on the season (.087 BA).

Early outlook: Phillies need bullpen relief

The season may be two weeks old, but the Phillies appear to be an arm short at the back of the bullpen.

We're seeing exactly why the Jason Michaels for Arthur Rhodes trade was a smart decision by Pat Gillick. But it wasn't enough. The Phillies still need reinforcements, and the answers could take on unpopular forms.

Impressed with Ryan Madson the starter? Enjoy it while it lasts. If Randy Wolf comes back healthy around mid-season, Madson could become Mr. 7th inning again.

The odds are stacked against Rheal Cormier, Geoff Geary, Julio Santana and Aaron Fultz handling the job the way Madson can. The jury is still out on Ryan Franklin, still adjusting to the role, but his durability and pitch selection may be better suited for long relief.

Down in the minors, Yoel Hernandez is probably the closest to the majors and has pitched well as Scranton's closer. Chris Booker will be looked at closely during his rehab assignment. Also, the Cole Hamels situation is worth monitoring. It's not unrealistic to believe the 22-year-old left-hander will be in Phillies pinstripes before rosters expand in September.

However, what the Phillies need is a proven reliever, someone to step in seamlessly and know the position. They're leaning on 36-year-old Arthur Rhodes hard in order to bridge the gap to their 38-year-old closer, Tom Gordon. He's also the one Charlie Manuel seems to call on first when games get dicey, like it did Friday night. This was the job some believed Aaron Fultz could have filled. So far, Fultz has shown why his career has been spent pitching the sixth inning down five runs.

Teams won't trade pitching this early, so look for Gillick to pounce on the first available arm. If he plays his cards right, he could get lucky and wind up with this year's Tim Worrell, someone that falls on hard luck with his old club.

After the all-star break, Worrell posted a 2.55 ERA for the Diamondbacks in '05. With the Giants this season, the 38-year-old right-hander has a 1.42 ERA and is tied for the league lead in saves (5).

Phillies try to make it four straight tonight

Jon Lieber looks for his first win of the season when the Phillies battle the Rockies tonight at Coors field.

Thanks to everyone who participated in last night’s discussion. I caught the tail end of the game on 1210-AM while driving back from a shindig, just in time for Julio Santana’s ninth-inning debacle.

The big story of course is an offense that is now wide awake, with Chase Utley hitting four homers the last two nights, including a grand slam. Until two nights ago, he was in a 1-19 slump. Last night, he passed Pat Burrell for the team lead in OPS (1.018).

Utley isn’t the only one catching fire, as Aaron Rowand has started to pick it up, raising his OPS to .931. He's tied for second on the team in runs scored with seven.

Mike Lieberthal has quietly had a good season at the plate, including a team-leading .346 batting average. Lieby has hit safely in all but one game.

Ryan Howard may not be picking up home runs, but he's picked up base hits, many of them little infield tappers. He's hitting .343 and leads the team in OBP with .425, but is looking to ad to his home run and RBI total, which both stand at one.

In addition, Jimmy Rollins may not have had a hit last night, but he's still hitting the ball better than ever. Burrell is tied with Utley with four home runs. Bobby Abreu is right in the middle of all of them with his typical collection of offensive stats. As good as the rest have been, I've actually been most impressed with Abreu's approach at the plate.

This is a dangerous team if starting pitching can at least stay respectable. Lieber (0-2, 8.71 ERA) was a horse his last time out, throwing seven innings of two-run ball, the longest outing by any Phillies pitcher until last night, when Ryan Madson went seven and gave up three runs.

Lieber will face Jason Jennings (1-0, 2.77 ERA). Lifetime, he has not fared well against the Phillies, going 1-2 with a 7.40 in four starts.

A win tonight would pull the Phillies back to 5-6. With Florida, Washington and these Rockies waiting back home, they could still come away with that hot April they wanted so badly.

Series wrap: Encouraging signs of life

Gavin Floyd gave up five hits over six innings, enough to secure a victory over Atlanta 7-6, and the first series win of the Phillies season.

Philadelphia Daily News writer Marcus Hayes correctly identified the big story from last night, setting aside the four homers and focusing on Gavin Floyd.

The newly aggressive Floyd didn’t crumble after a rough start and shaky command of his fastball. After a home run given up to Jeff Francoeur, he settled in and mixed up his first pitches, going back to his bread-and-butter curve for outs. Even when he’s not trying to put a lot on it, his curve is still excellent, said Larry Andersen during the broadcast.

Andersen’s take on Floyd, dating back to last season, is perhaps the best single analysis from any broadcaster, and I look forward to hearing him every time Floyd pitches. Thanks to L.A., I know pitching better.

Floyd's start is certainly encouraging for a team that will lean on him heavily. The bats of Jimmy Rollins, Bobby Abreu and Chase Utley were his best friends yesterday, giving him a comfortable 5-0 lead.

I find it interesting that the only starting pitcher yet to have what I would consider a positive outing so far is Brett Myers, considered by most the best pitcher in the rotation.

Fasano
I’ve never seen a catcher cheer for his pitcher more than Sal Fasano. His defense behind the dish is certainly unorthodox, but his coddling approach seems to be the right fit for Floyd. Frequent commentor, That Dude, nailed it on the head in the previous post, calling Fasano one-part wet nurse, one part drill sergeant.

It looks like Fasano will be working exclusively with two pitchers, Floyd and Jon Lieber, so we should probably brace for offensive production that's on par with Todd Pratt, or worse. He's an all-or-nothing hitter, but he's not there to win a batting title.

Defensively, Fasano squats as if he doesn’t know what to do with his legs and arms. He’s so large that if he falls off balance and lands on his knees, it doesn’t make much difference because the target doesn’t move. Fasano engulfs the baseball. I don't know much on his prowess at throwing out baserunners, but last season he could not hold runners.

Is it hypocritical of me to say Fasano deserves to catch as many games as necessary, even though he will probably be a worse eight-hole hitter than Mike Lieberthal? After all, I’ve been riding this next guy hard for the same reason.

Bell
Charlie Manuel appears to have no interest in platooning David Bell, who proved Manuel right and rebounded very well in this series. He raised his average to .250 against right-handed pitching, but like Fasano, his greatest contribution has been at his position.

Franklin
The Phillies went to the well once too often with Ryan Franklin, using him for the fifth time in six games. After nearly blowing the lead, and getting saddled for the loss in Monday’s game, his ERA stands at 5.14. It’s obvious he needs a break after getting taxed hard in the early-going. The best remedy is longer outings from starting pitchers.

Gordon
Pat Gillick asserted back when Tom Gordon was signed that we were getting a 100 percent healthy pitcher. Pitching as a closer for the first time since 2002, Flash has been as advertised by Gillick, throwing a high-velocity fastball and sharp curve. So far, no reason to believe he'll falter as closer for the Phillies.

Other notes
The Phillies will soon need to decide what happens with Rule 5 pick Chris Booker. Booker has been on the 15-day disabled list since March 29, and once he returns, must stay on the 25-man roster or be offered back to Washington.

Young guns armed for Phillies, Braves

Gavin Floyd looks to rebound when the Phillies go for their first series win against Kyle Davies and Atlanta. Game time is 7:35 EST.

Floyd (0-1, 10.12 ERA) was boxed around in his first start against the Dodgers and is looking to regain his excellent spring form.

He’ll face 22-year-old right-hander Kyle Davies (0-0, 5.40 ERA), a former fourth-round draft pick that asserted himself as one of the top arms in the Braves system. He pitched five innings against the Giants in his first start, but the bullpen failed to hold the lead.

The Phillies will likely be patient with Floyd should he struggle again, given the success Ryan Franklin has had in the bullpen, but no one is under the microscope more than this young man. Another setback in confidence would be devastating, not just to the starting rotation, but to his chances of ever becoming a pitcher they can count on. Some would say it’s still early in his development, but I am not one of them. He got his first taste of big-league hitters two seasons ago. There’s nothing left for him at Triple-A. The best resources he has are with him on the Phillies.

Backup plan
Perhaps I’m reading too far into it, but the fact that Pat Gillick watched Cole Hamels’ last start in Clearwater is certainly intriguing. The last report I read had him pegged as a July arrival, and I’d assume that’s if nothing went wrong in the starting rotation. Randy Wolf is also expected back around that time.

Reading between the lines, it shows me they’re extremely excited to throw this pitcher into the fray, regardless of the time he’s lost developing in the minors.

Catcher search
Caught a rumor from a Pittsburgh paper that the Phillies are trolling for a catcher, someone that could potentially replace Mike Lieberthal or bridge the gap until Jason Jaramillo is ready.

Ronny Paulino of the Pirates was the name mentioned in the article. Paulino played two games for Pirates in September after solid half-season with Indianapolis (.315, 13 home runs, 42 RBIs). Baseball America rated the Dominican-born backstop as the organization’s best defensive catcher before the 2005 and ’06 seasons. He’s blocked in Pittsburgh by Ryan Doumit and Humberto Cota, catchers they appear to value equally.

Everyone knows I’m a big Carlos Ruiz fan and liked what he has done the last two seasons in the minors, but I’m catching a vibe he’s not in the Phillies plans, even as a backup.

It’s interesting to note the Phillies have not been afraid to pull Lieberthal in the middle of games, doing it twice last week. I have to question Lieberthal’s health, and wonder if this recent search is for someone that can step in immediately should Lieby go down.

It’s not a bad idea. Sal Fasano is not a full-time catcher. For all his appeal, his value so far has been to help usher pitchers like Gavin Floyd into the big leagues.

Thome stays hot
Jim Thome belted his sixth home run and also doubled this afternoon, helping the White Sox to a 13-9 win against Detroit. There are only two players hotter or as hot as Thome, and they're both in the smoking-hot AL Central. Chris Shelton of Detroit hit his seventh home run in today's game. The other is Travis Hafner, who has six dongs for the division-leading Indians.

Hats off to Big Jim. He's a man on a mission, and is proving he has plenty of baseball left in the tank.

Phillies jump on top of Braves early

Bottom 2nd, 4-1 Phillies: About the only thing going right for Jorge Sosa and the Braves are their nifty throwback-style unis. The Phillies batted around for a four-run second inning, keyed by a two-out, two-run double by Mike Lieberthal. A fielding error by Edgar Renteria led to two more on Aaron Rowand's grounder up the middle. [box]

Phillies 7, Braves 5
Cory Lidle pitched six strong innings, giving up three runs on 10 hits with seven strikeouts to lead the Phillies to their second win of the season.

Lidle became the first Phillies starter to earn a win, and did so in prototypical Cory Lidle fashion. He'll give up hits, as he did tonight, but rarely gets burned. Seven strikeouts is impressive.

Lidle's supporting cast helped him with four in the second, recapped above. Phillies hitters stranded just five batters. Aaron Rowand hit his first homer of the season, scoring Jimmy Rollins, who went 2-for-5. J-Roll continued his hot-hitting, raising his average to .396. Pat Burrell followed Rowand's shot with a solo homer, his second of the season.

Tom Gordon earned his first save as a Phillie, sitting them down in order in the ninth.

The Braves sported vintage jerseys, and several players looked like throwbacks themselves. Adam LaRoche looked like a player from a semi-pro dairy team. If he played a character in a David Halberstam book, his teammates would call him "Frenchman." The Braves also rolled out junkball left-hander Chuck James, an Atlanta native. He'd play the naive rookie getting needled by Birdie Tebbetts. In the ninth, veteran southpaw Mike Remlinger got into the act. Remlinger might fill the token role of hard-living reliever who doesn't take guff from managers. If Ted Williams played today, he'd list Remlinger as one of the three toughest pitchers in baseball. The list would go Roger Clemens, Tom Glavine, then Remlinger.

Hamels among few early bright spots for Phils

Pitcher Cole Hamels earned the win yesterday and is one of the lone bright spots for an organization on the ropes.

Hamels, the Phillies No. 1 prospect according to Baseball America, has thrown 11 shutout innings in two starts, allowing 5 hits, 2 walks and 16 strikeouts. Word around camp this spring, and even dating back to last season, says the Phillies are anxious to move Hamels through the system quickly, and is only in Single-A Clearwater because he can get more work in a warmer climate. The 22-year-old left-hander has missed extensive time with nagging back and elbow injuries. Look for Hamels to jump up to Triple-A soon.

Teammate Zach Segovia, another highly regarded prospect and mainstay on the Phillies' 40-man roster, also impressed in his first start, notching 11 strikeouts in 7 innings. Third baseman Mike Costanzo, the team's first pick in the 2005 draft, is hitting .308 with a home run. Clearwater is off to a 4-2 start.

As for the rest of the organization, Double-A Reading is off to a 1-5 start, despite a roster brimming with talent. The offense has yet to get out of the gate and has been shut out or held to one run four times. Top infield prospect Tim Moss is 0-for-18 with 13 strikeouts. Ouch.

Triple-A Scranton was shutout last night and is off to a 2-4 start. Eude Brito was rocked in his first outing, lasting just three innings and giving up four runs. Chris Coste and Chris Roberson, contenders for the final spot off the bench for the big Phillies until two weeks ago, are hitting just .222 and .200 respectively.

Hole in Howard's swing exposed in national broadcast

If opposing pitchers didn't already know how to pitch to Ryan Howard, they know now. Bobby Cox and his Braves had him guessing low-and-away all night in ESPN’s nationally televised game.

Good word for Ryan Howard these days: Scuttling. Good word for how I feel about Ryan Howard: Worried.

Howard is a .291 hitter after last night’s 2-for-4, so on the surface, there appears to be no concern. But last night’s broadcast showed how even overmatched pitchers, like those in the Braves bullpen, can work over the Phillies second-year slugger.

The low-and-away hole is the main reason Howard struggles against lefties. He doesn’t have as much time to react to the ball out of hand and sweeps quickly across the plate. Right-handers can have the same effect with a breaking pitch or sinking fastball away.

Howard’s swing isn’t especially quick, but when he connects, the bat head is travelling at such a high rate, the ball explodes off his bat.

From my vantage point, it looks like Howard should stand about six inches closer to the plate, and it might be time to move him higher in the lineup to offer more protection. Facing the smart pitching of Atlanta for two more, the rest of this series could be difficult if he's not seeing anything to hit.

Speaking of smart pitching, the Phillies could use some of that ....

Phillies need Myers to get a grip on Atlanta

Right-handers Brett Myers and John Thomson tussle in a divisional grudge match tonight at Turner Field.

Brett Myers (0-0, 5.40 ERA) pitched his best game of 2005 against Atlanta at home, an 11-strikeout masterpiece in which his curveball was electric. Lifetime at Turner Field, he’s 2-2 with a 4.76 ERA. His toughest Braves' out has been Marcus Giles, who’s a .417 hitter against him. Chipper Jones, a .276 hitter against Myers, is out of the lineup because of a sprained ankle and bruised knee he suffered in yesterday's game.

Myers is trying to bounce back from a chilly start in which he walked five batters. Afterward, he claimed to have poor grip on the ball due to the cold conditions and improperly mudded baseballs. Current weather in ATL is 69 degrees and sunny, dropping down to 43 degrees overnight. No word yet on the quality of Atlanta’s rubbing mud. Dikembe Mutombo and Patrick Ewing would know more about it than anyone.

Myers will be opposed by right-hander John Thomson (0-0, 4.91 ERA), a pitcher that has never impressed me, but has been a thorn in the Phillies' side. Thomson does not have a spot in the rotation and is replacing the injured Horacio Ramirez. He has made two relief appearances this year, and was tough at home last season, going 4-2 with a 3.45 ERA. He's 7-4 with a 2.68 ERA lifetime against the Phillies.

Phillies win tonight. Call it a gut feeling.

Reading Phillies audio primer

A belated audio guide to baseball in Baseballtown.

Gio Gonzalez: Beerleaguer and a reporter from Blue Ridge Cable get the scoop from the bubbly R-Phils left-hander (pictured). [audio]

Dan Haigwood: Beerleaguer interviews finesse left-hander Dan Haigwood. [audio]

Tom Filer: Pitching coach Tom Filer discusses his bullpen and starting staff. [audio]

Peter Bergeron: Veteran outfielder Peter Bergeron discusses spring training in Clearwater. [audio]

Roster information
Rotation: Led by lefties Gio Gonzalez (the second-ranked prospect in the Phillies system according to Baseball America) and Dan Haigwood (pictured), acquired with Aaron Rowand in the Jim Thome deal. Right-hander Scott Mathieson (BA No. 5) righty Tim McClaskey and lefty Brian Mazone round out the rotation

Bullpen: Reading native Nick Mattioni will be one of the right-handers in the Phillies bullpen. RHP Evan Fahrner was a teammate of Mattioni’s at AA Midland last year. Righties Tally Haines, Dan Geise, Steve Langone, Ben Shaffar and Luke Lockwood, the lone lefty complete the relief corps, round out the pen.

Cathcer: Jason Jarmillo (BA No. 10) skipped over Clearwater to play at Double-A. Tim Gradoville is the other catcher.

Infield: Tim Moss (BA No. 11) will play 2B. SS Angel Chavez was signed last week off waivers from the Giants. 3B Joey Hammond, 1B Bryan Hansen, SS Carlos Leon, SS Jesus Merchan, 2B/3B Marc Tugwell make up the infield.

Outfield: Michael Bourn (BA No. 4) returns to Reading to man center field. Bourn played all of last year in Reading after skipping Hi-A Clearwater. LF Peter Bergeron was a late edition to the team after Jake Blalock was traded to the Rangers. Bergeron has big league experience with the Montreal Expos. Scranton veteran Jim Rushford can both play the infield and outfield.

Links
Opening day jitters: Mike Drago [link]
Hello, My Name Is ...: Tony Zonca [link]
Standings [link]

Phillies anxious to face division champs on the road

It seems the Phillies are so on edge, and so confident in their ability to perform on the road, they are looking forward to tonight’s series in Atlanta, where they are in excellent shape to lose more games.

This business about playing tight at home has gone on for five or more years, and it’s time to assume it will only get worse. Players who freeze under home pressure should see limited action, including David Bell, who was singled out in the article I read this morning.

This isn’t cowing to fans. It’s smart baseball, something that has alluded manager Charlie Manuel thus far. Manuel continued to dig his own grave yesterday with questionable choices. For example, why was Ryan Howard sitting in game two? Did his creaky 26-year-old body need rest? To Manuel’s defense, this was the only substitution I disagreed with. There will be plenty of opportunities to sit Howard, including tomorrow, when the team is off.

If you were awake and listening at 7 a.m. this morning, Randy Miller was on 610 radio talking about yesterday's game, also in wonder as to why Howard was sitting.

One interesting tidbit from Miller said there is chatter around the team that Manuel would be better off taking advice from bench coach Gary Varsho.

Bobby's blast puts Phightin Phils in win column

Bobby Abreu delivered a two-out, walk-off home run off Tim Hamulack to give the Phillies their first win of 2006, beating the Dodgers 6-3 this afternoon.

It was a fitting end for Abreu, who had the right approach at the plate all game. Often criticized for failing to deliver the big hit, the all-star, gold-glove right-fielder gave the Phils their biggest hit of the young season. In watching Abreu's curtain call, one can't help but think that a monkey had been lifted from his back. Hopefully, certain fans will ease off, too.

His blast erased an otherwise forgettable game from the rest of his mates, including more poor defense and even more questionable decisions by Charlie Manuel, including another starting nod to David Bell against a right-handed pitcher. Bell went hitless and grounded into a rally-killing double play in the eighth inning. Bell entered the game 3-for17 lifetime against Derek Lowe and has yet to collect a hit off a righty. He's batting a lusty .071.

In addition, Manuel's decision to bunt in the ninth nearly cost them a valuable out.

Early blunders by Aaron Rowand and Jimmy Rollins spoiled a very good start by Ryan Madson, who pitched six innings and allowed only one earned run. Madson got stronger as the game went on and left in complete control. The Phils also received good innings from Arthur Rhodes, Ryan Franklin and Tom Gordon (1-1), who earned the win with a solid ninth inning.

Shane Victorino earns props for a good walk and good hustle in scoring the tying run. Abreu had two good walks before his three-run homer in the ninth. Rowand delivered the tying run with an RBI single. The Phillies entered the game last in hitting with runners in scoring position (.083).

The Phillies will look to keep the good feeling going in Game 2. Jon Lieber will take to the hill against right-hander Brad Penny.

Phillies take aim at win number 1

The Phillies send Ryan Madson and Jon Lieber to the mound in today’s double dip in hopes of collecting their first win of 2006.

The Phillies fell 5-3 in Friday’s series opener to go 0-4 on the young season. Yesterday’s game was postponed due to rain.

They hope to bounce back fresh this afternoon as Ryan Madson makes only the second start of his career. Madson is coming off an impressive spring.

He’ll face Derek Lowe (0-1, 12.60 ERA), who was among a handful of quality starters who got bombed opening week.

Another pitcher who struggled mightily last week was Jon Lieber (0-1, 21.60 ERA). Lieber takes to the hill in Game 2 against Brad Penny.

Look for Sal Fasano to catch Lieber’s game. Fasano was one of the only bright spots Friday night, launching a home run into the upper deck. Jimmy Rollins will look to extend his hitting streak to two games.

Getting relief
While starting pitching has been the big issue, middle relief has answered the call. The worst five ERAs on the team belong to four starters and closer Tom Gordon.

Ryan Franklin, Geoff Geary, Rheal Cormier and Arthur Rhodes have combined for 10 shutout innings. After getting bombed in the first game, Aaron Fultz and Julio Santana bounced back to lower their ERAs to 1.80 and 4.50 respectively.

Early struggles
David Bell started his third-straight game on Friday. He went 0-3 and is now 1-10 on the season. His backup, Abraham Nunez, hasn't been much better, just 1-8 so far. Aaron Rowan has also struggled, going 2-14 to start the season.

Totally awesome Beerleaguer search!

Beerleaguer is proud to introduce a long-overdue feature.

Located on the right sidebar, you can now search Beerleaguer and its archives, including searches for your own comments. For example, a Beerleaguer search for frequent contributor, Tom Goodman, brings up 13 pages of searches, including advice such as "Don't let Bill Conlin's dyspepsia influence you," and trade deadline predictions from 2005, such as "They aren't a playoff team. In the end, Wagner will walk away from them and they will have nothing to show for it." Nice call, Tom!

Series wrap: Phillies need a dollar dog night, stat!

The opening series of 2006 couldn’t have ended worse for the Phillies, or their optimistic fans, falling 4-2 to the Cards and watching Jimmy Rollins’ hitting streak end at 38.

Opening week featured unpopular players doing unpopular things, and unpopular decision-makers making unpopular decisions.

Starting at third base, the more things change, the more they stay the same. When GM Pat Gillick signed infielder Abraham Nunez to a two year deal, that should have ended David Bell’s days against right-handed pitching. Even Bell knows it. He was a .199 trainwreck against right-handers last season. Against Jason Marquis, yesterday’s right-handed starter, he was 0-5 lifetime. Certainly, Bell would be second, or even third on the depth charts for this game, behind Nunez and Alex Gonzalez, the second third baseman signed by Gillick. Hint, hint.

Yesterday, Bell was inserted into the lineup anyway and went 0-4, leaving five men stranded. This is nothing new. Batting seventh last season, the funeral Bell often tolled with men on and two outs. And to throw salt on the wouds, he committed two errors.

Mike Lieberthal, the other half of the now-infamous black hole, did better at the plate, going 1-3 with an RBI double in his third-consecutive start.

Lieby, the only player who is even less popular than Bell, finished a less-than-textbook series behind the plate. He couldn’t hold baserunners. He was not on the same page as his pitchers. And in Wednesday’s loss, ended the game with a bases-loaded ground out.

If that wasn’t bad enough, starting pitching, considered by some the team’s big weakness, couldn't last longer than five innings. Cory Lidle (0-1, 5.40 ERA) was the best of the bunch, but let it slip away in a four-run fifth. Until then, he was in control and had only thrown 59 pitches, primed to last at least through the seventh.

The rainclouds that seem to follow manger Charlie Manuel wherever he goes have tracked him into 2006. Indeed, his tactical strategy was the team’s black cloud last season, and he’s already made several questionable choices in the early-going, giving the start to Bell yesterday, reuniting the black hole and pairing Jon Lieber with Lieberthal on opening day.

What's next?
An opening sweep shouldn’t be taken lightly, but if there’s any lesson, it’s that momentum only goes as far as the next game. The Phillies spring training momentum dried up the moment Scott Rolen planted a grand slam deep into the seats.

Make no mistake: Clearwater is an imaginary place.

Phillies turn to Lidle to avoid series sweep

The Phillies hope to avoid an 0-3 start this afternoon at Citizen's Bank Park. Game time is 3:05 EST.

The Phillies will send Cory Lidle (13-11, 4.53 ERA in 2005) to the mound, a pitcher that hasn’t had much success man-for-man against the Cardinals lineup. Other factors could weigh in. He was a much better pitcher last year in day games (3.35 day ERA vs. 5.56 night), but his home/away splits were just as lopsided (5.79 home vs. 3.62 away). In his two outings against the Cards last season, he pitched well, going 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA.

He’ll be opposed by right-hander Jason Marquis (13-14, 4.13 ERA in 2005), who’s been tough lifetime against several Phillies, including Jimmy Rollins (3-22). Rollins will look to extend his hitting streak to 39 games, which would tie Paul Molitor’s record set in 1987.

The Phillies are one of four teams without a win in the early-going, a dreaded list that includes Pittsburgh, Kansas City and Tampa Bay.

In progress [Link]

Phillies allow nine walks in 4-3 loss to Cardinals

The Cardinals finally took advantage of their ninth free pass, scoring Scott Rolen from second on an RBI single from Yadier Molina, and beat the Phillies 4-3 Wednesday night.

The weather was crisp. Phillies pitching was not.

Brett Myers (5.40 ERA) lasted 5 innings and gave up 5 walks and 3 runs, including homers to Skip Schumaker and Albert Pujols. Nifty defense kept it close, otherwise this was an early knockout for the Cards.

Myers fell into his common trap of missing spots early, getting impatient, getting away from his best pitches and throwing stuff that didn’t make much sense. Home-plate umpire Chuck Meriwether called a tight but fair game, and it appeared that Myers took issue, as he often does. One of his walks was surrendered to pitcher Mark Mulder with two outs, after nearly walking him the previous at bat.

Combined with Jon Lieber on Monday, Phillies starting pitching has allowed 20 baserunners in 8 1-3 innings.

The Phillies debut of Tom Gordon was just as rough. Gordon was tagged for the loss, giving up two walks in the ninth, including the eventual game winner. Ryan Franklin also pitched his Phillies debut, throwing two shutout innings with two walks and a hit.

The two homers and good defense actually keyed this win more than the walks for St. Louis because the Phils were able to wriggle out of several jams, specifically with good defensive play by Chase Utley and Aaron Rowand. On the other side, everything put in play was gobbled up by Cardinals' infielders. And if you didn't hear it during Monday's broadcast, it was repeated several times tonight: "David Eckstein is just fun to watch."

David Bell’s insertion in the lineup against Mulder (7 innings, 3 earned runs, 0 walks) paid off as Bell took the big left-hander deep to left, scoring Ryan Howard to tie the game 3-3.

The other half of the black hole was less impressive. The Phillies loaded the bases in the ninth on a single by Pat Burrell and walks by Howard and Bell, but Lieberthal tapped out weakly in a bad at bat to end the ballgame.

J-Roll extends streak to 38
How's this for marginalizing history? Jimmy Rollins stretched his hitting streak to 38 games with a leadoff double in the first inning, his first of two on the day. More importantly for the Phillies, it was the catalyst for an old-school first inning, with J-Roll doubling, Aaron Rowand moving him to third on a bunt, and Bobby Abreu scoring him on a sac fly. Now that's something Paul Molitor would be proud of. J-Roll needs one more hit to tie Molitor's 39-game mark set in 1987. Molitor also ranks 12th all-time with 109 sacrifice flies.

Will Howard ride the pine against Mulder?

It's not out of the question. It's one of several decisions that will be answered tomorrow when the Phillies take on the Cardinals big left-hander.

I had April 5 circled very early as a game that would indicate Charlie Manuel’s direction this season.

If this were 2005, it would be a safe bet that Howard, a .148 hitter against southpaws, would sit against Mulder, one of the game's toughest left-handers. Opponents hit just .201 against Mulder from the left side.

Manuel was very protective of his big rookie last season and shielded him from many of these bad matchups, but no player has been hotter than Howard. Correct me if I’m wrong, but he hit more than one of his 11 spring-training homers off left-handed pitching, including the colossal shot in Sunday’s exhibition game against Boston. I watched that blast in person. It was the longest home run I’ve seen in that park.

However, that was off a bush leaguer, not Mulder. Alex Gonzalez would be a likely candidate to replace him at first, similar to how Ramon Martinez was used last season. “Muscles” Martinez performed admirably in his place, but denying the lineup of Howard’s bat was met with mild displeasure.

I’ve often credited Manuel for his handling of Howard. There’s little to argue over, really. Manuel eased a high-strikeout rookie into his first taste of big-league pitching, he never slumped and won ROTY. Currently, he’s red-hot.

Charlie knows hitters. He knows their limitations. Howard still has rough edges, but so does Mulder. His 3.64 ERA last season was saved by good defense, masking a much higher 4.28 FIP (Fielding-independent) ERA.

My senses say the Phillies are eager to uncork Howard for a full season, and he'll be in action tomorrow. Down the road, when he needs a break, they'll save it for matchups like these.

We’ll also find out tomorrow whether David Bell is fit for action. Bell was a freakishly better hitter against left-handers in '05, but has missed most of the spring with a back injury. Manuel could fill out a completely reshuffled lineup card, which could include sliding Chase Utley out of the cleanup spot.

Rollins extends streak, but Cardinals win big

Jimmy Rollins stretched his hitting streak to 37 games with a double in his final at bat, but the Cardinals put the game out of reach early, beating the Phillies 13-5 in a dismal 2006 debut.

Rollins took Adam Wainwright’s 3-0 pitch down the right-field line, giving the sellout crowd something to cheer about long after the teams emptied their bullpens. J-Roll hit the ball hard for outs in his previous two trips to the plate before roping a double past first baseman Albert Pujols.

The Cardnials put the Phillies away early, blasting Jon Lieber and Julio Santana for an eight-run fourth inning, including a grand slam by former Phillie Scott Rolen. Pujols added to the onslaught with two homers of his own. As a team, the Cards uncorked 17 hits.

Pitching
This was Lieber’s worst outing in a Phillies uniform, going 3 1-3 innings with eight earned runs and a homer. Usually, when a veteran pitcher has a poor spring training, as Lieber had, you pay no mind. Now, you start to wonder. Even though he was facing a mighty offense, he was still abysmal. Perhaps it was the rain or cold. I still can’t understand why Lieber wasn’t pitching to Sal Fasano, who will likely serve as his personal catcher the rest of the way. It’s more important to make your starting pitcher comfortable than reward Lieberthal for service. Lieby has been rewarded quite enough, if you catch my drift.

Santana, voted least important Phillie on the 25-man roster by yours truly, was just as pitiful in relief, finishing the fourth and giving up two more.

No pitcher, on either side, looked outstanding, and the Phillies mounted a steady attack the entire game. Pat Burrell and Ryan Howard went deep off starter Chris Carpenter, and the team nearly matched the opposition with 14 hits of their own. Carpenter lasted five innings and gave up four runs.

Offense
I sort of like how the Phillies didn’t wilt away and scratched out a respectable five runs. And you’ve got to love Chase Utley. Same old Chase. He busted it hard from first to home on Burrell’s seventh-inning double as if the score was tied. Utley went 3-for-5.

The game featured a couple of new faces, including Abraham Nunez and Aaron Rowand, who went 2-for-3. It's nice seeing a hitter of Rowand's caliber that deep in the lineup.

As for the revamped bench, discussed in no less than 10,000 offseason blog entries, Alex Gonzalez, Shane Victorino and David Dellucci went 0-3.

Burrell gets Phillies’ player of the game honors for starting off like he did in 2005, when he was voted player of the week twice in the first two months. He is a noticeably changed hitter from two seasons ago.

The best player on the field today was Scott Rolen, who responded to the crowd's boos pretty much how J.D. Drew, Larry "Chipper" Jones and the rest of our sworn enemies respond. He’s still the best defensive third baseman I’ve ever seen. If he stays healthy, this is a team that should win the World Series.

Hey, somebody had to win today

Congratulations to RickSchuBlues for winning the Beerleaguer essay contest, and thank you to everyone that posted predictions for the upcoming season. Rick wins a copy of "The Last Nine Innings" by Charles Euchner, on sale now at your local bookstore.

Game 1 preview

The Phillies have a tough task at hand when they face Chris Carpenter and the Cardinals this afternoon.

The reigning National League Cy Young award winner has had a nearly perfect spring, going 2-0 with a 1.01 ERA in six spring starts. The 30-year-old right-hander went 21-5 with a 2.83 ERA last season, but was roughed up hard by the Phillies. Back on April 10, he was shelled for 8 runs in 3 1-3 innings, and on May 18, gave up 3 runs in 6 innings.

Otherwise, he was outstanding. Still one of the most underrated pitchers in the game, he is the winningest pitcher of the last two seasons, going 36-10 (.783 winning percentage).

Jimmy Rollins will be looking to extend his hitting streak to 37 games. He is 4-14 (.286) lifetime against Carpenter.

Along with Carpenter, the Cardinals pitching staff had a superb spring, posting a 3.65 ERA, second among NL teams.

Former Phillie Scott Rolen is back after an injury-shortened 2005. He had a good spring, going 16-49 (.327) with no signs to indicate his shoulder still bothered him.

Today's game could also feature the Phillies debut of David Dellucci, acquired Saturday in a deal that sent Robinson Tejeda to Texas. Dellucci hit .300 this spring with five homers.

For openers, Phillies hope to set positive tone

One year ago, the first pitch from Jon Lieber hadn’t even been thrown and the Phillies were already in bad graces.

It's always a strange, surreal sensation to finally see what I've been writing about for months actually come to fruition. Today, I reluctantly hand over my baby to the less-than-tender masses.

Last season, wild dingos ate my baby. In Charlie Manuel's first decision of a long 162 game season, he chose to start Placido Polanco at second base over Chase Utley, contradicting offseason statements that Utley would begin the season as the starting second baseman.

In response, when the players were introduced, certain fans booed Polanco. For being a steady hitter, versatile fielder, excellent second baseman, and a productive man out of the No. 2 hole, they let him have it. And for deciding to start him over Utley, still inexperienced, lesser defensively than Polanco, playing on a day when dead ground-ball pitcher got the start and Kenny Lofton still wasn't 100 percent to assume the No. 2 spot in the lineup, they let Manuel have it, too.

Manuel defended the move by saying Polanco had a better track record against the Expos/Nationals. He reiterated that both players would see plenty of action, at least until the Phillies could move Polanco, whose last minute decision to except arbitration was egg on the face of GM Ed Wade.

It bothered me all season, and bothers me to this day. That’s why I’m hoping for a win this afternoon, for unpopular players like Mike Lieberthal and David Bell to have big games, and for every decision Manuel makes to be perfect, and perfect PR at the same time. I don’t want controversy. I’m already a little bothered that Lieberthal and not Sal Fasano will catch Lieber. It's already been decided that Fasano will serve as Lieber's personal catcher, so I'm bothered that our No. 1 starter will not be completely comfortable.

Small potatoes compared to last season, and few people will have issue. Despite all the poor decision making last opening day, the Phillies barely managed to play exceptional baseball, and only won 8-4. Lieber lived up to every expectation as a pitcher that didn't give hitters an inch. Though he tired early, he jammed hitter after hitter, and sure-handed shortstop Jimmy Rollins and Polanco gobbled them up one after another.

It was hard to forgive Polanco for the sweet double play he helped turn, and for going 2-5 at the plate.

He went on to have the second-highest batting average in baseball in combined seasons between the Phillies and Tigers.

As for Utley, his season wasn't too shabby, either.

Goodbye Pie Man: Phillies release Tomas Perez

After six seasons, the Phillies have released utility good guy Tomas Perez.

Having Perez, a switch-hitter that could confidently field all four infield positions, made life easier for more than one manager, and his presence in the dugout reminded teammates the game was meant to be more than just business.

Perez was a fine defender and one of the most versatile bench players the Phillies have ever had. In 206 chances last season, he converted 167 balls hit his way into outs and had no errors. No matter how poorly he hit (.233 BA, .277 SLG last season), his sure-handed defense partially made up for it.

It wasn’t enough. In the offseason, the Phillies made a push to improve their bench, signing not one, but two utility infielders, including switch-hitter Abraham Nunez and third baseman Alex Gonzalez. Sunday's trade for David Dellucci bumped Perez from the roster, forcing his outright release.

His personality will be harder to replace. Remembered for his trademark shaving cream pies, Perez enjoyed the game like I would enjoy the game if I was given a spot on the bench, where you could always spot him eating seeds, gazing at fans and cheering on teammates.

In my final trip to Citizen’s Bank Park last season, Perez got into the game at first. During the break between innings, they aired a Perez highlight reel on the big screen. It was a striking the number of times he delivered a big hit, big catch or memorable moment. From my seat behind the Phillies dugout, I watched as Perez watched his own highlights while taking grounders, a smile on his face that told me that after 10 big-league seasons, he was still humbled to be there. At 32, I hope he can catch on somewhere and bless another team with the same thing.

Phillies acquire Rangers' Dellucci for Tejeda

The Phillies finally pulled the trigger on a deal for a left-hand-hitting outfielder, acquiring oufielder David Dellucci from the Rangers for pitcher Robinson Tejeda and outfielder Jake Blalock. Texas will also pick up part of Dellucci's $950,000 salary.

Dellucci set career highs in homers (29), RBIs (65) and games played (128) last season and will serve as their primary power threat off the bench. The 32-year-old had an impressive line of .257/.369/.513, generating all but one home run off right-handers. He only saw 33 ABs against southpaws all season.

Tejeda went 4-3 with a 3.57 ERA in 26 appearances (13 starts), while Blalock hit .279 with 11 homers and 65 RBIs for Class A Clearwater.

Beerleaguer take
Say what you want about the loss of Tejeda (Blalock is no longer a premium prospect), the Phillies went from having a below-average bench to a good bench with this move for Dellucci. His production is right up there with Johnny Gomes and Jason Lane.

The Phillies probably have the best outfield in the National League with this addition of a bona fide four, with Bobby Abreu, Aaron Rowand, Pat Burrell, Dellucci and Shane Victorino manning the yard. They can afford to give the starters more rest, and wouldn't be in terrible shape if one of them went down. The days of Burrell and Abreu playing every single day are over. The Phillies will get more use out of Dellucci than you think.
This is actually a player I was hoping the Phillies would get last offseason when he was a free agent, just in case Burrell went in the tank.

Dellucci will be given a short leash among fans, because 33-year-old rookie Chris Coste has grown into a sentimental favorite, and Tejeda won affection for his moxie last season. Coste still has a shot of sticking if David Bell begins the season on the DL.

I defend this deal because they needed a left-handed bench hitter with pop, and they needed him to be an outfielder. They answered by adding an outfielder with 20-25 home run potential, and all it cost the Phillies was a marginal prospect, and a pitcher who doesn't have the proper makeup for Citizen's Bank Park. 

Expect far fewer homers from Dellucci of course, with about 225-250 ABs thrown his way, with work as their primary pinch hitter. Last season, he worked 64 games as a DH and 52 in the outfield. He held the leadoff spot for much of the season. He drew a fair share of walks (76) and has some speed. The negative is that his prodcution fell off after the break, causing a nearly .130 slide in OPS. He's also not much of a defender, and he's another high strikeout guy.

The Phillies made this deal because it's more important at this stage to have Dellucci than Tejeda, who had an impressive rookie year but never figured to have much of a future with the team.

This is not a surprising deal in the least, considering Tejeda's career-long battle with keeping the ball in the yard and allowing walks (55 in 83 2-3 innings last season), along with the emergence of Gavin Floyd, who wiped out any shot he had in the opening day rotation.

Tejeda had a nice season, but a lucky season. The Rangers will be hard-pressed to get much on this return. The Ballpark at Arlington is a true bandbox. This will turn into Tejeda's worst nightmare.