Mets, Phillies close out series today at noon

After yesterday’s rainout, new acquisition Jeff Conine and the Phillies finish off their series with the Mets today at 12:10.

These holdovers are torture for teams on the road. The Phillies would have been off today before beginning a series with the Nationals tomorrow. Instead, they’re being held hostage in New York after yesterday’s washout.

If the Phils can persevere and take the final game this afternoon, then can wake up tomorrow morning with the possibility of a share of the Wild Card lead. The front-running Reds are at Los Angeles tonight and are clinging to a one-game lead after yesterday’s loss. Meanwhile, San Diego, a half-game up on the Phils, are at Arizona.

After a successful debut, the Phillies hand the ball to Jamie Moyer (1-0, 4.50 ERA), making his second start for the Phillies. Moyer allowed three runs in six innings of a 6-3 win over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday, becoming the oldest Phillies pitcher ever to earn a win. He faces 25-year-old right-hander John Maine (3-3, 3.58 ERA), looking to bounce back from a career-high seven earned runs in five innings against the Cardinals.

Sandoval optioned to Double-A Reading
Today’s game will also feature the Phillies debut of Jeff Conine, who was acquired along with cash Sunday from Baltimore for a player to be named. To clear room, the Phillies optioned utility infielder Danny Sandoval to Double-A Reading. The move is probably just temporary for Sandoval until the Phillies settle on the player to be named later, rumored to be either LHP Eude Brito, RHP Brian Sanches or INF Angel Chavez, all with Triple-A Scranton. Sandoval could also return when rosters expand on Friday.

Conine became the second right-handed bat acquired by the Phils after the trade deadline, joining infielder Jose Hernandez, who was added last week. Hernandez will likely take over the primary utility role vacated by Sandoval, with second baseman Joe Thurston providing a secondary support as a left-handed bat.

Beerleaguer’s reaction to Conine was lukewarm at first, but now it's clear this was a deal the Phillies had to make. Anything to help the bench, without getting crazy, is the right call at this point, as the Phils find themselves just one-game out, perhaps with a better chance at slipping in than any contender. After today, they face sub-.500 teams the rest of the way.

The post-season is there for the taking. With the addition of Conine, the bench meets the grade.

Comments

[Phils Fan In DC]

Anybody find the line up yet?

[J. Weitzel]

No Conine in starting lineup:

J. Rollins ss
S. Victorino cf
C. Utley 2b
R. Howard 1b
P. Burrell lf
D. Dellucci rf
C. Coste c
A. Nunez 3b
J. Moyer p

[Phils Fan in DC]

Thanks Jason, I was interested in seeing if Chase got bounced back to the two slot after yesterday's post, which was a great state of the team post.

I don't know if it's just me, but I got the "Got Conine" e-mail during a movie yesterday and wasn't excited for a little while... then I broke out my quasi-powder blue and red shirt this morning and felt the excitment. I think it's my buddy doing the "I'm a Philly fan. I've been burnt by transactions like these" routine that's raining on my parade.

[davthom73]

Conine arrived in the Phillies dugout minutes ago, and was just seen shaking hands with his new Phillies teammates. He will be available to play today, however.

[Drama Queen]

NEED this WIN!!!

[JZ]

Reason I love the Conine trade #453:
Phillies first: ... Burrell grounded into fielder's choice, shortstop J.Reyes to second baseman Woodward, Burrell to first, Utley out.

[ae]

riiiiight, because Conine never grounds out...

[JZ]

Conine wins. That's reason number one. Should I give the other 451 or are you content counting your own list of how many times Burrell has come up short in pressure situations this year?

[ae]

thanks to MG in the last thread, we know "Finally, Conine has been anything but clutch this season. Conine's numbers with RISP are terrible this season. He his hitting .236 with O HRs in 110 ABs. His numbers in "Close and Late" situations are even worse (hitting .192 with 0 HRs)."

something tells me Conine is no stranger to "coming up short in pressure situations this year."

but of course, he has that magical quality of knowing-how-to-win, so anything like numbers or stats or previous performance can be thrown out the window.

[Paul]

dont get started on Burrell.....wasnt he like 2 for 60 with RISP at one point this year? very non-clutch for quite some stretch. Seems to me its that he strikes out LOOKING more than any other player on the team, possibly the league. to me, his swing and plate acumen are similar to 2 yrs ago when he batted somewhere around .210

[joe]

whoa, charlie got ejected?

help a brutha at work... what happened?

[Matt]

2 throwing errors in one inning from Coste?!?!?! WTF???

[Frank K]

Coste's brutal decision to try to Chavez at 2nd. lead to blowup. Mets hit only 1 hard hit in teh 3rd. Howard cost phills 2 runs w/ ball through his legs

[Paul]

Touche Pat, touche.

[joe]

pat burrell; mets killer extrodinaire.

[Inky's Cousin]

Did he look like he was limping a little on that homerun trot? His foot is so bad.

[J. Weitzel]

Not to cast stones, but defense is the reason Howard sould not win the NL MVP, even though he's having a phenomenal offensive season and has improved his glove since April. Pujols, Beltran and Reyes are all having better all-around years.

[That Dude]

these singles are killing us.

[JZ]

I hereby eat my words on Burrell. Today.

[petey]

Here's the recap for those at work:

Coste tries to get Chavez at 2nd on a bunt by the pitcher. Chavez is safe.

Reyes then bunts, and is also safe at first.

After that all kinds of crazy things happened, including Reyes borderline interfering with Ryan Howard on a grounder to first.

The worst was a chopper hit by Wright down the third base line that may or may not have clipped the outer edge of the third base bag. The ump called it a foul ball. After a conference, the play was reversed and somehow each runner got to advance a single base (I've never seen a ruling like this before - from a foul ball to a single, since the ball was effectively dead the moment the ump called foul).

This got Manuel ejected, ultimately. It made no sense on TV.

To add insult to injury, the umpires continue to get close base plays wrong to the Phillies' detriment, including an obvious missed call at first base to rob Coste of an infield single last inning.

[That Dude]

Just imagine if there was a DH in the NL. We couldve kept THome, had him and RyHO split time at first and they would be hitting about 90 homers combined for us this season. WE NEED THE DAMN DH.

[That Dude]

Just imagine if there was a DH in the NL. We couldve kept THome, had him and RyHO split time at first and they would be hitting about 90 homers combined for us this season. WE NEED THE DAMN DH.

[Screw the DH]

No we don't. The DH is just another reason for the Phillies to spend money they would rather not.

[Lake Fred]

Losing 7 to 2 is giving me indigestion. (I just ate lunch.)

This guy Maine is a Phillie killer. Maybe we can trade for him when he's 40.

[J. Weitzel]

Reyes is my vote for 2006 Phillies Killer: .358/.402/.728, 7 homers. He has 15 on the year total, and already has 2 RBIs in this game.

[Will]

absolutely. Damn the Phils management for dangling Juan Pierre there for us to salivate over too. Pierre/Rollins/Utley/Howard would be a formidable lineup

[Phighting Mad]

Despite his success in years past, I would say that Burrell is a whole lot more of a "Phils-killer" than he is a Met killer. Although, I prefer to call him what he is: albatross.

[joe]

hell, i'd give the cubbies burrell, floyd and some cash for pierre at this point.

coste, nice double... kinda making up for his terrible bunt-throw decisions.

[Will]

welp, I guess the phils have to use this travesty of a game to go sweep the Nats.

[MAW]

Could/should the Phils file a grievance about the Wright foul/not foul ball? I didn't see it, but it sounds like a blown call that should warrant some league action.

[Matt]

They should be able to play the game under protest, correct? Though, I don't think it would make a difference as I don't know of any protest that's ever been upheld.

[petey]

I don't know about a grievance. I don't know what the MLB rules are for something like that. But it was just so weird.

Essentially though, the Phillies look like they never quite woke up this morning for the early start. Lethargic, lethargic, lethargic.

Also, Castro's scoreless streak is now kaput.

[Matt]

The legacy is over. Castro just gave up a sac fly to Wright, plating Beltran.

[MAW]

The only game I can think of that was affected like this with a protest was the George Brett pine tar game.

[Lake Fred]

Castro is human. I hope Mota is, too.

[Paul]

This is the last game vs. a team with a winning record, right?

[Matt]

Should I be happy or sad about another Howitzer solo homerun?

[joe]

happy. its not like he's going to run out this year... (cough *bobby*)

[Matt]

I meant about it being a solo shot.

[MAW]

Even he can't hit a 6-run HR, Matt.

[MG]

Not a great game today. Moyer looked pretty awful. Still, I am more worried about Utley. He really seems to be pressing and swinging at crappy pitches. Not like him to force stuff. If the Phils have any shot, they need Utley to return to form.

[joe]

>they need Utley to return to form.

theats true. i think that he's a little dinged from the collission last week.

utley does go through cold snaps... it would be really unfortunate to see one now.

[That Dude]

Did moyer look that bad? It seemed he gave up alot of singles and bad D, note I did not see the game and followed it on sportsline.

[Paul]

I didnt think he looked that bad, but def. not as good as his first outing. although giving up a lot of singles are probably just as bad as homers cause either of 'em arent outs....

[Lake Fred]

Paul mentioned the rest of the season against guys with losing records. The bulk of these games are against three teams that give the Phillies fits. They are Atlanta, Florida and Houston. It's no cake walk to the WC. We got to play them one at a time and win two and lose one the rest of the way.

[Billy Mac]

Agreed Lake Fred. And the last I looked the Phils didn't have a winning record either. They are 65-65. Phils are not appreciably better than the Braves, Astros, or Marlins. Other than 6 games with the Nats and 3 with the Cubs, this is who the Phils play. I am getting caught up in this wildcard fever, but this is still a .500 ball club with lots of deficiencies.

[Let's go Mets!!]

Face it Phils fans, your team just sucks. They look like circus clowns out there. Howard can keep hitting meaningless HRs all he wants. No MVP for fatty and no playoffs(again) for the rest of you losers!! Let's Go Mets!

[That Dude]

In other important Phila sport news, the Birds just got Donte Stallworth for Simineuo

[Alby]

Of course it's no cakewalk to the WC; they are, as Billy Mac points out, a .500 team. But then so are all the others. All you can ask for is exactly what we have -- a realistic shot at the postseason, and no mortgaging of the future to get it. That said, it would be a whole lot easier to catch the fever if this team didn't play such ragged baseball every time they play anything like a big game. Oh, and I disagree with the consensus above on Moyer -- I thought he pitched better this time than last. As one of the announcers said during the game, Moyer doesn't miss bats -- his success depends on his teammates making the plays behind him. They didn't do that today, but then the umpiring crew had a brutal day, too, so I deposit this one in the "wasn't meant to be" file.

[Mike H.]

Since climbing back into it, the Phils went 4-3 against the Mets. They did not look so ragged when they took 3 of 4 against them at home. Nevertheless, it's time to turn the page, get down to DC, and slap around Ramon Castro again.

[Lake Fred]

The Eagles got a good receiver in Donte Stallworth. I listened to the Saints flagship radio station WWL tonight and the sports guys said that Dante is a really good guy. He got traded because he spent the first couple of weeks in training camp on the stationary bike and the new coach didn't like it. The Saints drafted a couple of good receivers, so Dante was expendable and our linebackers are horrible, so a trade was made. I hope he does well for the Eagles.

[Lake Fred]

The Reds lost. Franklin pitched two scoreless innings for them. Let's get after those gNats tonight. Maybe the Beater can beat the gNats.

[SadSackPhilliesPhan]

waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa