Phillies set sights on series sweep

Pitcher Scott Mathieson represents the final link to complete a chain outstanding starts, as the Phils look to take all four games with the Mets this afternoon at Citizens Bank Park.

Nobody could have expected that Jon Lieber, the same pitcher who surrendered thirteen hits and nine earned runs in 4 2-3 innings a little over two weeks ago, could rebound for three lights-out starts, including last night’s complete-game shutout.

Isn’t it funny how a pitcher no team wanted, so far, would have helped a contending team as much as any player moved by July 31 deadline. Lucky for the Phils, he’s helping their own playoff cause.

On the subject of "not knowing how good you have it until it’s gone," it’s such a sad indictment knowing that Chris Coste would still be floundering in Scranton Wilke-Barre had it not been for an injury to Sal Fasano. If this season accomplishes one thing, I hope the club begins to think outside the box when it comes finding ways to use talent already at their disposal. Coste hit another home run in a 3-for-3 night at the plate.

Back to Lieber, the player considered among the most disappointing this season. I never thought we'd see that kind of outing from him again. Suddenly, the pitching staff – clearly the biggest weakness all season long – is quite formidable. Now the pressure is firmly on Brett Myers to put excuses aside and break out of his late-season swoon.

Every team in Wild Card contention has a Scott Mathieson (1-3, 6.24 ERA), who will be looking to ride this moment and notch his first quality start since July 5. The Mets, however, appear to have found their answer at No. 5 in John Maine (2-3, 2.64 ERA), challenging Mathieson and the Phils for the second time this month. On Aug. 6, Maine scattered three hits over six innings.

Unfortunately, the Phils gained no ground on the Reds last night. However, the Reds are inching closer to toppling St. Louis from atop the NL Central. The Reds beat the Cards 7-2.

Victorino/Rowand debate
Shane Victorino has showcased more across-the-board talent than Aaron Rowand, and like Coste, falls into the category of players that could help the team as an everyday player as early as next season. In his brief time in Philadelphia, the Flyin' Hawaiian has showcased an arm that’s second to none, greased-lightening speed, and a certain spark that ties the lineup together to generate big rallies.

Meanwhile, Rowand is the lineup's oddest peg. He's not a power hitter, he doesn't make contact and he doesn't have great speed. He's 0-for-his-last-11 and has been a drag on the offense since June.

June: .223/.275/.330
July: .224/.327/.400
August: .215/.257/.354

In the spirit of thinking outside the box, the Phillies need to take a hard look at center field next season. Rowand is in the second season of 2-year contract he originally signed with the White Sox. Next season, Rowand can pick up a $3.25 player option, or if he does not exercise the option, the Phils may exercise a $5 million team option. At this point, it’s very difficult to justify the investment.

Comments

[Lake Fred]

Jason, I'm a little slow this morning. Can you explain the player option and team option stuff on Rowand a little more? Is the player option one that Rowand can exercise? How does that work? Is the team option one that the Phillies exercise to keep Rowand for another year at $5 million?

[voice of reason]

"Chris Coste would still be floundering in Scranton Wilke-Barre had it not been for an injury to Sal Fasano"

...and Ryan Howard is wearing a different uniform if not for Thome's injuries.

Because of the weak winter free agent market, Phils should also think "outside the box" to fill in their needs at 3rd base. No players come immediately to mind, but any thoughts on acquiring a strong-armed middle infielder who is willing and able to move to third?

[joe]

coste needs to be given an audition at 3b.

i think that coste solidifies either C or 3b, and then you go find the one that he isnt playing.

[clout]

So Jason thinks the Phils should dump Rowand. And that would leave Gillick's dazzling track record on trades exactly where, Jason?

[J. Weitzel]

It's not the best, Clout.

[Tom G]

The Rowand contract options are quite complicated, and I'm not sure I can explain it. I remember looking it up and thinking to myself, "barring a trade, he will be here in '07."

[MG]

Not crazy at the thought of Phils picking up Rowand's option for $5 million. I could live with Rowand's subpar offense if he played CF like Gary Maddox.

Instead, Rowand seems to have alot less range than advertised. There is alot of room for balls to drop in the outfield when Burrell is in left and Rowand is in center.

Also, Rowand's arm is pretty weak. There is almost no way he hits home plate with a decent throw from CF. What drives me really crazy is that Rowand tries to overcompensate at times for his weak arm and totally misses the proper cutoff man. Don't compound the problem.

[joe]

Rowand is fine, and should stay, with one caveat.

I'm concerned that he may have gotten damage to his eye from his crash. a very small "undetectable" change can screw up a professional athlete, bit time.

[That Dude]

Just based on the fact that there will be a "Flying Hawaiinn" fan club in right field is enough for me to say jettison Rowand. And this is coming fromsomeone who didnt think "The Rock Jr" was a legit ML'er in April.

[Drama Queen]

I'll give Rowand credit for being a ballsy, gritty, blue-collar type player, but he's not much else. His defense is not better than Vic's, and his offense is not better than Vic's...so why exactly would we pay him $5 mil next season to be worse than our so called "4th outfielder"? I'm hoping the Phils can trade Rowand for a prospect, bullpen help, or a 3rd baseman. Have to wait and see on this one...

[Matt]

I think it's absolutely imperative that they find a way to re-sign Dellucci. I don't think he's necessarily an everyday player, but I don't think he's just a platoon player, either. If you can't deal Burrell in the off-season, than continue using the Burrell/Dellucci/Victorino rotation the way it's been used since the Abreu deal (assuming Rowand is brought back, of course).

On a side note to the bring him back or not debate with Rowand, did anyone see Conlin's article the other day about how the Phils need a right-handed power hitter to bat 5th behind Howard? What a terrible article. I mean, I completely agree with his premise, but then he goes on to say that that hitter is neither Burrell nor Rowand and that there really isn't anyone on the free agent market to get, either. Well, thanks, Bill -- you really helped a lot there, didn't you?

[Drama Queen]

I've said this before and people shot me down, but I'd like to see an OF of Burrell/Victorino/Dellucci/Bourn...assuming the Phils can't dump Burrell. Although I believe management is sending Burrell the message if he wants to play more he'll have to accept a trade. This whole OF situation with the story lines of Rowand, Burrell, and Dellucci contracts will be interesting to see unfold this winter.

[the doctor]

Can anyone get the article from ESPN insider today titled "Padilla needs to grow up", and post it here. I'm curious to see what it says about Mr. Flotilla.

With regards to Rowand, if you can get an everyday player for him at 3B I'd do it. I know the White Sox still love him and they have a hot 3B prospect. Perhaps we'd need to sweeten the deal a bit. I wouldn't mind seeing Vic in CF next year, with Dellucci in RF. I think they can both be everyday players, and you sign another veteran to supplement the OF along with maybe Bourn. It seems like there are always guys like that around (Reggie Sanders).

[J. Weitzel]

One thing they can't do is sell themselves too short in the outfield. Once you start listing Bourn as fourth on the depth chart, the Phils would be a little thin if something happened. The way they set up the outfield prior to this season was spot-on with Dellucci and Victorino starting in supporting roles.

[the doctor]

Sometimes players just need the opportunity to play everyday though. I don't like how players are pigeonholed sometimes, and I hope they don't make that mistake with Coste for next year.

Jason, I was recommending a guy like Sanders as the 4th outfielder, with Bourn 5th. Gives us a righthanded bat and speed off the bench. Sanders could play LF and RF, Bourn probably just center, but you'd have a lot of interchangeable OF parts.

I guess we'll worry about next year after September though.

[Patrick]

Why is it that Mathieson cannot finish a count? I swear, if he could do that his ERA would be sub 3 right now.

[kells]

Here you go Doctor-Buster's comments on Padilla
Padilla needs to grow upposted: Thursday, August 17, 2006 | Feedback | Print Entry

As the Angels' Adam Kennedy charged the Rangers' Scott Feldman last night, I happened to be sitting on the Baseball Tonight set adjacent to Tino Martinez, whom I twice saw get hit under similar circumstances, by Armando Benitez.

This is what this comes down to: On Tuesday night, Vicente Padilla stunk, and rather than just take some responsibility and do his job and try to make better pitches, Padilla started firing fastballs at the hitters. Then last night, with the Angels getting blown out, they felt the need to answer back, to retaliate, and that's how Kennedy wound up going after Feldman with two outs in the ninth inning.

That's what happened with Tino. In 1995, when he was with Seattle, and in 1998, when he was with the Yankees, Benitez made bad pitches, he got hit around and so he fired fastballs at Tino. To me, there's nothing more gutless in the sport.

You're mad because you're giving up runs? Well then, make better pitches. Don't take it out on the next hitter.

As the benches cleared in both instances when Tino got hit -- during play, while the players were still grabbing and pushing -- some of Benitez's Orioles teammates were apologizing to their opponents for the actions of the pitcher. And I suspect that this took place last night, in some form or fashion. The Rangers are a good team that plays hard, and they probably were almost as angry at Padilla as the Angels were. (And remember, the White Sox have had their issues with Padilla, too.)

As Evan Grant writes in his story, the scores might not be totally settled -- it looked as though Juan Rivera was gesturing at the Rangers' dugout and motioning toward the distance: Hey, we'll take care of this outside (or maybe he meant in Anaheim). We'll see.

What were you thinking, Vicente Padilla, writes Tim Cowlishaw. Padilla got an earful from his manager before the game. The Angels held a team meeting afterward and talked about what happened. Joe Saunders is wearied.

[That Dude]

Mathieson is not a ML SP. I know part of this is experience, but he looks like he has more closer type stuff.

[voice of reason]

Pitchers like Padilla & Benitez are just one more reason to eliminate the DH.

[That Dude]

Get Mathieson outta there.

[joe]

Ugh... Mathieson is not showing that he deserves to be a major league SP.

[Mike H.]

If these games weren't meaningful, I'd say keep Mathieson. It's a very good tutorial. But... he can't go on like this. His next start is scheduled for Tuesday at Wrigley. I would bring up Brito for a spot start. Cubs are fastball hitters and they will roast Scott alive. Which is too bad.

[Lake Fred]

I hope this guy, Maine, is not the real deal. His sub-three ERA means we've already given the Mutts too many runs.

Maybe, J-Roll the power hitter can get us back into the run column.

[Will]

agreed, they need to get him into the pen. I genuinely believe he could have a lot of success there.

My guess on Rowand's option is that if he want's to play that season here, he can choose to for $3.5mill. Or he can decide not to and either have to play here for $5 million or be let go. If I were Rowand I'd take the $3.5 million garunteed and hope I put up better numbers next year. He's not going to get quality payroll with these numbers.

[joe]

Brito? Ugh, no, i've seen enough of him.

Madson, or 4 man rotation...

[Will]

we've tried Brito and Floyd, I say Mazone.

[Dan]

Howard.

[MG]

I guess you bring up Mazone and give him a spot start. Madson was a diaster as a starter and don't want to see Floyd thrown back into a pressure cooker. As for Brito, he might be one of the long-relief guys out of the pen next year. He doesn't have stuff or durability to make it through a lineup 2 or 3 times.

[clout]

Queen: If the Phillies use an OF next season of Burrell/Victorino/Dellucci/Bourn it will be the worst offensive OF in the major leagues.

[Lake Fred]

Deep Six goes Yard with "the Man" on base!

[That Dude]

DO NOT FooK WITH THE REAPER!!! DING DONG

[clout]

Queen: If the Phillies use an OF next season of Burrell/Victorino/Dellucci/Bourn it will be the worst offensive OF in the NL.

[clout]

Queen: If the Phillies use an OF next season of Burrell/Victorino/Dellucci/Bourn it will be the worst offensive OF in AAA.

[Lake Fred]

Time to get the hook Cholly.

[Mike H.]

Bad management of the game. A couple of points against Charlie here. Fultz for two innings to turn Beltran around and so on would have been the right call. Damn.

[Will]

we get it clout.

[joe]

Get Mathieson OUT OF THERE, CHOLLY!!!

[Matt]

Clout, calm down there, bud. Easy on the mouse button, okay? You only need to hit it once.

[That Dude]

Prove that Clout. Your telling me it wouldn't be better than the Nats (no more alfonso) or the Pirates? or the Padres? Thats just off the top of my head.

[clout]

Dude: Yes, yes and yes.
MG: I'd like to see Germano get a shot.
Matt: Read more carefully. The posts are each slightly different.

[joe]

weird beard...

[Matt]

Apologies, clout. I was clouted -- if I may -- by your negativity.

[Chris]

Another horrible start by Mathieson ... Madosn to the rotation? Germano to the rotation? Maloney? Mazone? Happ? Who? Who? Who?

[Mike H.]

My mistake - I want a lefty to spot start against the Cubbies (who are hitting .238 as a team against LHP.) I change my pick to Mazone.

[Alby]

Is Mazone on the 40-man roster? If not, the odds are agaist seeing him. And it's not a weird beard, it's a Biker Beard. Fear the Beard.

[Alby]

Is Mazone on the 40-man roster? If not, the odds are agaist seeing him. And it's not a weird beard, it's a Biker Beard. Fear the Beard.

[Alby]

Is Mazone on the 40-man roster? If not, the odds are agaist seeing him. And it's not a weird beard, it's a Biker Beard. Fear the Beard.

[Olah]

I think I saw Castro warming up!!!

[joe]

Nunez still hitting like he knows how to handle a bat...

this game aint over yet, folks...

[Will]

good point alby.

[BloodStripes]

Nunez is hot right now

[BloodStripes]

Another shutout inning from Fabio. He's good.

[JZ]

P. Burrell LF 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 .256

So thrilled he wants to stay.

[RickSchuBlues]

Finally starting to hear some catcalls for Burrell after the latest called third. About time, Philly.

[Matt]

About time, RSB? Have you been to a game recently? Try sitting out in left field when Burrell's playing. You'd think he was the antichrist or something. They're brutal on him out there.

[Mike H.]

Not all of us live in the Delaware Valley, Matt. Just a little "blowout game frustration"...

[joe]

yeh, burrell's the whipping boy now that abreu and bell are gone :-)

and yes, he deserves it.

i wonder if he would stop the extra curricular activities, if he would find his form again. i hear its pretty bad, doc gooden-style.

[Matt]

Mike, I couldn't agree more that Burrell's stealing money. But my question is this -- is it his fault? If your boss came to you and asked if you wanted $10 million a year to do what you do right now, would you take it?

While in hindsight it's easy to say that the deal Wade signed him to is awful, almost everyone at the time the deal was done said it was fantastic. I honestly don't recall a single dissenting voice when the contract was announced.

[martin]

concerning Mazone..for what it is worth..phiilies.com list 37 guys on the 40 man roster including Angel Chavez and Josh Kroeger..so if Mazone is worth a look, I guess they could purchase his contract from SWB.

[BushLig]

What are Burrell's extra-ciricular activities? Does "Doc Gooden-style" suggest really hard drugs or something?

[SamDracula]

I just can't believe that someone cannot fix Burrell. His swing is the worst I've seen from a Major Leaguer. His head is so far off the ball when he swings, a 10 year old could tell you that. Manuel, Gross, someone for God's sake has got to do something. Are you telling me that he cannot correct this? Watch almost every other hitter in baseball and their eyes and head are right on the ball as it hits the bat. Burrell's head is in freakin left field.

[JKFriz]

This may explain a bit - not particularly safe for work, but hilarious.

http://willdo.philadelphiaweekly.com/archives/2006/08/sounds_like_som.html

[joe]

Burrell's too hungover from whatever he did the night before to look straight.

[Jon]

It's time to replace Mathieson. Call me crazy, but I am leaning towards giving Gavin Floyd another shot. He definitely is a better option than Brito. I don't know much about Mazzone, but he sounds like a soft tosser who needs to hit his spots to be successful (like Brito). Floyd still has the most experience and has had some success up here. We need to find out if he can get the job done up here. Has anyone seen Floyd or Mazzone pitch in the minors this year? I am curious for any reports on these two.

[JKFriz]

Mathieson should be done for now. 8 starts, failed to get into the 5th in 5 of them. That's just wretched, and the "kids stay" rule should get waived if we're expected to get excited about this wild-card run. Mazone, Germano, Madson, whoever. Surely somebody can suck less.

[Drama Queen]

Clout- I forgot you can predit the future in regards to baseball. I don't understand your premises for stating that Burrell/Victorino/Dellucci/Bourn would be the worst in MLB. I'm not saying it would be stellar, but I think it could definitely produce. But hey, I know nothing...you're a genius! But seriously Clout, do you have to attack everything that doesn't agree with what you think 100%?

[joe]

i think that mathieson to the bullpen, sanches down and... Madson is prbly the best choice here, and yes, he's been jekyll and hyde as a starter.

gavin floyd is an interesting option... but i think that the organization has had enough of his head problems. i wouldnt be terribly upset if they gave him another chance, but i wouldnt count on it.

Or, we could go to a 4 man rotation... which would leave our arms dead for a playoff run, but....

[Lake Fred]

Maybe we can work a waiver deal for a starter. We can trade them our Star slugger outfielder Burrell for a journeyman no. 5 starter.

[Matt]

Channelling Ed Wade there, Lake Fred?

[clout]

Queen: I'm afraid I agree with Jason on this. Dellucci is a fine platoon guy and Victorino a nice 4th or 5th OFer but you don't want to go into the season with Burrell/Victorino/Dellucci/Bourn as your top 4. Someone mentioned the Nats, Padres & Pirates. Please look at the cumulative stats on the guys playing OF for those teams.

[clout]

Matt: No, he's channeling Pat Gillick.

[JKFriz]

Perhaps Burrell would more readily agree to a trade if the Phillies organization offered to pick up the option on his 2007 bar tab.

I don't think Burrell/Victorino/Dellucci would be THAT bad, but I also think Rowand is having a down year. I think he's capable of better offensive work than his 2006 numbers suggest.

[BloodStripes]

Give Madson another few starts. Why not move him again. He's been back and forth all year. Starter, pen, starter, pen. Anyone ought to be better right now.

PS. Franklin up for Cincy. Bottom of the 9th. Gave up a single. Walked pooholes. Rolens singles. Birds win! Thanks Ryan. You owed us one. Love your work.

[voice of reason]

That "so-so" 3rd baseman for the Cards homers in the 7th to tie the game and finishes it with a walk-off base hit!

[BloodStripes]

Learnt everything he knows in Philly!

Great move by Pat Gillick to help kill the reds chances this year by dealing them Franklin. The mans a genius.

[Lake Fred]

One time I went to a boxing tournament and watched the little guys box. They throw punches like crazy in every round. The heavyweights lumber around and throw one punch, then lumber around for ten seconds before the next punch. The big guys get tired, but the little guys, because they're not carrying much weight, can go on and on.

Maybe, we can throw our little relief pitcher into the no. 5 starter role. I can see the headlines now "Castro Defeats New York!"

[Drama Queen]

Clout- I agree my proposed OF is not ideal, but I feel it wouldn't be as bad as you suggest, but whatever, you feel your way, I feel mine, we'll leave it at that.

I really wish Manuel would give Castro some "meaningful" innings to pitch in to see how he does.

Burrell tipped a stripper with his swing in a drunken stupor instead of a dollar bill...silly Pat! Gotta get that swing back from the stripper!

[Lake Fred]

"Channeling Ed Wade? channeling Pat Gillick?"

I don't even have a TV on! How am I supposed to know what channel I'm on. I might be channeling Dallas Green!

[joe]

yeh, this was the downside to getting rid of the ice-cream eater... we dont have a reliable 5th starter.

its gotta be madson. has to has to has to. we cant risk another rookie experiment.

[MG]

People ripping on Burrell but Mathieson was the reason why the Phils' lost today. Still, the Phils' took 3 out of 4. I would have been shocked if the Mets just rolled over today. Good clubs just don't do that.

Mathieson should go back down to T-AAA. No sense for Mathieson's development to be really shaken by taking alot of heat for not pitching well in a possible playoff hunt. It is the Phils' management fault that they don't have any other viable options at the 5th starter since they traded Lidle for nothing.

As for other option, I guess it has to be Mazone. Kind like when you are really hungry and only have "Split Pea" soup in the cupboard. Hope the Phils' luck out and get a decent start out or two out of him.

[Mike]

Burrell can be fixed. He had a fine year last year and I think he's a little banged up this year with the foot problem. I expect Rowand to have a better year next year, too. The wall-crash may have affected him more than we think (like someone suggested above), and it's his first NL season - people always make a big deal out of the slide following a league change. That said, holding on to Delucci seems like it should be a priority after the season's over. Coste should be the everyday catcher next year. Offer Lieby a significant paycut to stick around as the back up, maybe catch for Wolf (who they should also resign).

[Alby]

I'm with Joe. I'd rather have Mathieson in the 'pen than Sanches at this point. His stuff is impressive, and when he gets in trouble he throws even harder. LA hit the nail on the head on the radio today: His slider and change-up are essentially the same pitch, making him a two-pitch pitcher, and therefore better suited for the 'pen. Once through the lineup is enuf, though. He's gotten a lot more major leaguers out than Sanches has, so why not keep him around for the stretch run?

Martin: Thanks for looking that up (I didn't know where to); I don't see any harm at all in adding Mazzone for a tryout. If he doesn't work out, PG can always dump him before the Rule 5 draft to open up another spot.

[RickSchuBlues]

Madson ranks at the top of a list of weak options for the no. 5 starter. He might not have been very good as a starter, but he was at least better than Mathieson. And I still don't like him coming out of the 'pen, he's far too unpredictable to be used in close games.

[Drama Queen]

I'm willing to bet Mathieson does not get the next start come his "time" around. I'm hoping it's Germano or Mazone...but we'll see.

[voice of reason]

Among the interesting Randy Miller comments on today's Jody Mac show:
(1) Mathiesson will remain in the rotation. CM and staff like his stuff and are confident he can turn it around. Some of the players think Scott is on the verge of Cole Hamels turnaround.
(2) Brian Mazzone is not, never was, and never will be a major league prospect; he has no chance of taking a spot in the rotation.
(3) The chance of Dellucci resigning with the Phils are slim and none. According to Miller he dislikes the home town boobirds and prefers a team with "more loyal fans"

[Bob D]

About the OF:
Delluca maynot be here next year, Burrel may be traded if a match found. So Rowand will very likely be around next year. He was not the same after his injury and would likely have a rebound year. Victorino looks like he could handle playing regularly. With Rowand/Burrel/Victorino/Delucca they can rotate these guys and each get 4-5 starts a week. Rowand is probably the most valuable OF Gillick could trade during the offseason (alot of teams needs a CF). Victorino looks more like a leadoff hitter than Rollins. They do need a powerful righthanded hitter for the lineup. Right now Burrel is that guy an upgrade there would be great.

[Adam]

It sounds like they're sticking with Mathieson. Charlie said after the game something about sticking with what we've got. Of course, he ain't the one in charge, but I don't think he'd go out and say that just to have Gillick pull the rug from under his feet. I can't imagine why they're keeping him here, though; it's not as if we're in full-fledged rebuilding mode starting tons of rookies across the board, and Mathieson is just 22 and hasn't seen the light of AAA yet. No one else we tried has been STRONG exactly, but Madson occasionally gave us the chance to win and even threw a few gems, and there are other pitchers that at least know how to pitch even if they don't have the stuff Mathieson has. On TV they were ripping Mathieson as politely as possible, at times completely puzzled by his pitch selection/placement.

[joe]

Maybe they should try catching Coste for Mathieson. Cole and Lieber are believers.

[BloodStripes]

With numbers like these in triple A this year. I think Mazone is worthy of some attention and a bit of a look at in the bigs.

11-2, 2.05 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 6.16 K/9.

He at least should be rewarded with a spot on the expanded roster in september.

[RickSchuBlues]

Forgive my ignorance, but who is Randy Miller?

And what evidence is there that Mathieson is going to "turn it around"? He's clearly overmatched, and the staff has to see it as plain as day. They waited long enough on Floyd, true, but I think more is at stake now. I can't imagine they'll stay with him.

[BloodStripes]

Yeah, who is Randy Miller? Is he for real about Mazone. I posted his numbers up because they cant be ignored. Maybe a pitcher can fluke a win now and then with healthy run support but to back his 11 wins his ERA is excellent. I'm to far away to see this guy pitch but he must have something. Have any beerleaguers out there seen his stuff? Is he worthy of at least a september call up?

[Davthom73]

Is it possible . . . just possible . . that the Phillies gave up on Adam Bernero too quickly after that one terrible two-inning outing in Toronto more than a month ago?

Bernero's stats with KC so far: 2 games (both starts), 11.2 innings pitched, 0.77 ERA, *11 strikeouts*, etc.

All this after Bernero was trashcanned by Gillick after pitching only two (2) admittedly very bad innings for the Phillies in that one game in Toronto.

Bernero had decent stats during his stint with AAA Scranton Wilkes-Barre, before he was acquired by Kansas City, nad pitched in the big leagues avery year since 2000, had 17 starts for Detroit in 2003, and pitched in 36 games for the Braves last year.

Last time I checked, the Phillies were just a little bit short of quality starting pitching. ie., What are Mathieson's stats over his past two starts?

Obviously, it is at least possible . . possible . . .that the Phillies gave up on Bernero too quickly, after only one bad game, and only two bad innings. NOw, Bernero will certainly be given a chance by the Kansas City royals to show that Pat Gillick has made yet another bad personnel move.

[Davthom73]

Is it possible . . . just possible . . that the Phillies gave up on Adam Bernero too quickly after that one terrible two-inning outing in Toronto more than a month ago?

Bernero's stats with KC so far: 2 games (both starts), 11.2 innings pitched, 0.77 ERA, *11 strikeouts*, etc.

All this after Bernero was trashcanned by Gillick after pitching only two (2) admittedly very bad innings for the Phillies in that one game in Toronto.

Bernero had decent stats during his stint with AAA Scranton Wilkes-Barre, before he was acquired by Kansas City, nad pitched in the big leagues avery year since 2000, had 17 starts for Detroit in 2003, and pitched in 36 games for the Braves last year.

Last time I checked, the Phillies were just a little bit short of quality starting pitching. ie., What are Mathieson's stats over his past two starts?

Obviously, it is at least possible . . possible . . .that the Phillies gave up on Bernero too quickly, after only one bad game, and only two bad innings. NOw, Bernero will certainly be given a chance by the Kansas City royals to show that Pat Gillick has made yet another bad personnel move.

[Davthom73]

Is it possible . . . just possible . . that the Phillies gave up on Adam Bernero too quickly after that one terrible two-inning outing in Toronto more than a month ago?

Bernero's stats with KC so far: 2 games (both starts), 11.2 innings pitched, 0.77 ERA, *11 strikeouts*, etc.

All this after Bernero was trashcanned by Gillick after pitching only two (2) admittedly very bad innings for the Phillies in that one game in Toronto.

Bernero had decent stats during his stint with AAA Scranton Wilkes-Barre, before he was acquired by Kansas City, nad pitched in the big leagues avery year since 2000, had 17 starts for Detroit in 2003, and pitched in 36 games for the Braves last year.

Last time I checked, the Phillies were just a little bit short of quality starting pitching. ie., What are Mathieson's stats over his past two starts?

Obviously, it is at least possible . . possible . . .that the Phillies gave up on Bernero too quickly, after only one bad game, and only two bad innings. NOw, Bernero will certainly be given a chance by the Kansas City royals to show that Pat Gillick has made yet another bad personnel move.

[Davthom73]

I apologize for the repeaded posts, but there is something wrong with the posting sequence. Each time when I clicked "post", I was prompted to type in a code, and every time I did that, I was brought back to another code. Next time that happens, I'll save my message, and click into "Main" to see if the first post registered on the board. However, there must be come kind of glitch here, and I've seen some others with multiple identical posts recently. Perhaps its something to check out.

[Lake Fred]

We never got the answer to "who is Randy Miller?"

Was he the guy who used to be on Monday Night Football? Or was he a judge on American Idol? The name sounds like aN NFL offensive lineman.

[clout]

Davthom: I'm the last person to defend Pat Gillick on his personnel moves, which have been just awful, but Bernero is not one I'd criticize him on. Bernero has had repeated chances at the MLB level and performed poorly every time. If he magically turns it around in KC, good for him, but there was nothing in his resume or his stuff to suggest it would happen.
P.S. Randy Miller is the Phillies beat writer for the Bucks County Courier-Times.

[Drama Queen]

As much as I hate to agree with Clout on this one Davthom, but he's deadon about Bernero. His chances have been plentiful in the majors, and he's faltered every time. It made sense to let him go. I strongly doubt he'll continue having success in K.C. or anywhere for that matter. But we'll see.

More about Mazone- I don't care if he was a junkball knuckleball pitcher, you can not deny numbers like that. He needs to be given a shot!

[Lake Fred]

Thanks, Clout. I agree with you on Bernero. He was a dog when He was with the Phillies. Maybe he got religion in KC. They're so bad, he might think he's back a AAA ball.

[Adam]

I'm of two minds about Mazone. First of all, just look at Chris Coste--organizational filler turned part-time catcher extraordinaire. Jason has been harping on the importance of using everyone your organization offers you for awhile now, and this is a test of whether the Phillies took the lesson to heart.

On the other hand, Coste definitely had fairly impressive career throughout his time in the independent leagues and minors, and proved his mettle in spring training. This guy is a finesse pitcher significantly older than the batters he's throwing too, which is a combination that leads to gaudy numbers that don't translate upon promotion. As of a few years ago, he was getting bombed in high A (0-7, 9.31 ERA, 97 hits and 27 walks in 59 IP at age 27).

Either way, he's not a long-term solution, and I bet Gillick will limit his own options to those who actually have a future with the Phillies major league team.