Game chat: Phillies, Braves wrap up series today

Open thread to discuss last night's Braves game, the morning headlines and today's series finale, which gets underway at 1:05 p.m. Beerleaguer will be running automated entries until Sept. 13, but will be checking comments and posting periodically while touring Japan. First up: A non-stop 14-hour flight from Newark to Tokyo.

Comments

[parker]

Tray, going back to our running discussion of the high powered offenses in the West. I think Arizona has a good lineup, certainly better than the Padres. Chiris Young (CF) is a Jimmy Rollins type leadoff hitter (Great speed, power, and will struggle with the average and a few defensive gaffs early in his career). Orlando Hudson is consistent and doesn't strike out a lot in the 2 hole (He also has speed and a gold glove at second). Nancy Drew's brother has dissapointed but he has some redeeming qualities at SS. Mark Reynolds is prodigal power bat at third (He has struggled at times and will strike out a lot, but his average is in the .270 range. Something I think we could all appreciate. Defense is average, but he is a converted 3B, so that may get better). Connor Jackson at 1B is a good hitter. While he has dissapointed in power numbers, his bat has heated up lately, and is a good platoon with the extremely powerful Tony Clark. Eric Byrnes has surprised the heck out of me and is now a legitimate All Star cantidate in the outfield (Lots of power this year, speed, and a good arm defensively). The other outfield spot has been somewhat of a revolving door for the D-Backs. Carlos Quentin was supposed to man the spot, but is out with injuries, and now they have super prospect Justin Upton at least platooning in the spot. At catcher Snyder has been a huge second half boost for them, and I think he is pretty good defensively. Add in Chad Tracy on the bench and I say that they have a pretty darn good lineup. I think the Padres would trade it straight up for what they are putting on the field everyday. With the notable exception of maybe 1B and possibly LF (And Milton T.O. Bradley is suspect at best. He is prone to extreme streaks, which I think will ultimately lead to their downfall).

[Mike H.]

I believe Hamels clarified his statements toward winning in the Inqy today.

Hamels said there's only so much he can do. "I don't want to get that label of being injury-prone, but I can live with that," he said. "I'd definitely like to be back to finish the season.

"I think we just keep bumping it back until I feel good. The goal is to get healthy before the end of the season. Whether it's three starts, two starts or one start. That all depends on our chances for the playoffs."

[Andy]

@parker
San Diego has much better offensive numbers than the Snakes. Especially illustrative is that SD's offense is better away (BA: .264, OPS: .773), while Arizona is worse (BA: .239, OPS: .686).

[Lake Fred]

On the Borowski debate on the prior thread. I could care less whether he is succeeding for the Indians or not. We didn't get him because our doctors said he wasn't healthy. I assume these are the same doctors who felt Freddy Garcia was fine and found injuries to put Barajas and Eaton on the DL.

I also don't bother with Abreu's stats either. He now plays for a team and league that I don't like.

[Tray]

The Padres have, I believe, scored more runs than the Diamondbacks. They play in a pitcher's park. On the road, Bradley and Gonzalez have 1.000 OPS's or close. Giles, low .900s. Cameron and Greene, mid .800s. The Diamondbacks have an awful offense this year? I mean, do you even look at numbers? Chris Young is a "Jimmy Rollins type leadoff hitter"? They're both black and fast and that's about where the comparison stops. Last time I checked Young's OBP was .286. And he's their leadoff hitter! Hudson and Byrnes are having nice seasons. Jackson, Drew, and the rest of their much-vaunted prospects haven't hit. Chad Tracy is hurt. Upton will be great one day, but he's not helping yet. Tony Clark is always a great guy to have on your team. But aside from him, Hudson and Byrnes, no one's really hit. So it's not "a pretty damn good lineup," it's the third worst in the NL. Think before you talk. Sorry, I'm in a bad mood.

[Crazy Jon]

Hamels = Felix Unger.
Effin hypochondriac.

[Crazy Jon]

I said it 2 months ago after they swept us, and I'll say it again.
Going 1-5 against the Diamondbacks this year is going to come back to haunt us.

[Ben Keeler]

Crazy Jon, agreed on the 1-5 vs ARZ.

Anyways, here are the lineups.
SS Rollins
2B Utley
RF Burrell
1B Howard
CF Rowand
3B Dobbs
RF Werth
C Coste
P Kendrick

LF Harris
2B Johnson
3B C JOnes
1B Texeria
C McCann
RF Francouer
CF A Jones
SS Escobar
P Hudson

[The Truth Injection]

I'd rather they just shut down Hamels for good and rolled the dice with what we have. I want the team to make the playoffs as bad as any Phillies fan, but not at the expense of Hamels health.

Sit him- give him the extra month or whatever of rest and he'll be set to go for next year and you might avoid him causing some real damage this year

[don]

I agree with the truth injection. How far do you think we could make it without Hammels in the rotation in the playoffs. I did not like our rotation with Hammels for a 5 or 7 game series. I hate to say it but we still maybe another year away. We just don't have the pitching. However, making the playoffs would be very good expierence.

[The Truth Injection]

Don- I think if we got into the first round of the playoffs either Moyer or Lohse might be able to steal you a game and Kendrick might keep you in one.

I just keep thinking this situation is really similar to Liriano in Minnesota last year and they lost him for a year becasue he tried to pitch at the end of the season

[The Truth Injection]

Not that Beerleaguer endorses this kind of thing but does anyone know a place online I can go to watch a feed of the game without having the pay the money for MLB.com. I'm not aware of anything so I was wondering if someone else is.

I realize paying would be the best option but I would just need to watch the games at work and there aren't many left that are day games

[TK]

If Hamels feels okay in his next throwing session he should start ASAP. In this league you have to roll the dice this year and try to get in the playoffs. With their lineup, the Phils can play with anyone in the NL. It would be a tragedy if they don't make the playoffs. Worse than '03 and '05

[emerson]

Mets losing 2-0 in the first.

[CJ]

That's the way to do it, ARow!

[Andy]

Good start.

[The Truth Injection]

Mets losing 3-0 now.

[Andy]

I love those 10 pitch ABs.

[parker]

Great at bat by Dobb's. Gillicks Guns need to get it done.

[joe l]

**applauds Dobbs**

[Andy]

Very nice job by Dobbs.

[joe l]

If I were Werth I'd take at least two pitches here.

[naylman]

Good AB by Dobbsy. Werth needs the same discipline up there.

[naylman]

good call joe

[Andy]

woo hoo!

[naylman]

werth!

[The Truth Injection]

A long at bat in the first inning is always nice.

I guess no one knows of any sites to watch the game?

[parker]

Gillick's Guns!

[The Truth Injection]

Jumping Hudson early- Awesome

[Andy]

Aside from the three runs, it is pleasurable to see Hudson with a pitch count of 30 after one inning.

[reading phan]

Truth, I think you can pay per game at mlb.com. I dont know of any other place you'd be able to watch it, mlb keeps a pretty tight reign on their stuff.

[joe l]

Last year you used to be able to listen to most games on one of the online radio feeds for free. I haven't checked lately, but earlier this year the MLB seemed to have clamped down on them.

[Andy]

Bet Larry thinks those first two pitches were balls.

[Josh M]

Potato salad or cole slaw?

[Josh M]

There's another triple for Jimmy! Needs three more.

[Mike Cunningham]

Jimmy Rollins for MVP

[Andy]

go j-roll

[joe l]

5-0 Cincy

[parker]

Tray, don't get me wrong, I realize that the Padres stats are better than the D-backs. I think that the D-Backs have a more dynamic offense. I think that is the reason that they have maintained their pace despite not scoring as many runs as they give up. Their ability to move baserunners, and get timely hits is big. They have offensive elements that the Padres do not have. There is no single player on the Padres that poses the offensive threat that either Young or Upton pose. Young is very streaky, and his on base percentage is bad, but my comparison was a young Jimmy Rollins, not J-Roll now. J-Roll had plenty of strikeout problems and on base percentage problems when he was younger. Upton may not be hitting now, but the infusion of successful young talent in the MLB this year suggests that a breakout is possible, and soon. I did not realize that Tracy was hurt, but he was only mentioned as a bench player anyway.

I'm just not that impressed with Giles, at least when he is not on steroids (Which he may be now, but his power was a thing of the past for two years until the last month).
• Tremmel Sledge does not impress me, and apparently not the Padres either, because they did their best to replace him, and he keeps coming back.
• Kahlil Green is a power threat and that is it. His average is horrible and has on base problems.
• Morgan Ensberg/Kevin Kouzmanoff: Ensberg is living (If you can even call it that after getting cut) on a reputation from 3 years ago. I like Kouzmanoff, but he has not produced consistently, and is definately not a major improvement over Reynolds.
• Adrian Gonzales is good, but gets on power kicks every once in a while and strikes out way too much.
• Mike Cameron is the ultimate hot and cold batter, and he has been in a meat locker for most of the year.
• Josh Bard is a joke. Same for the injured Micheal Barrett.
• Milton Bradley got hot for a week, starting with the Phillies. He wil go back to being such a great player that he gets cut by teams that need outfield help and cant afford to cut a guy of his abilities. (Plus he is a walking medical ward).
Rotation:
• Germano: figured out
• Maddux: old and tired down he stretch
• Young: Done, overdone
• Peavy: Great
• Insert name here: Um, yeah exactly

vs.
• Webb: defending Cy young winner, and red hot until last two starts.
• Doug Davis: Maybe not great, but I'd take him over anyone on Pads past Peavy
• Micah Owings: Could be very good. Streaky. Can hit (For power)
• Livan Hernandez: pitching better as of late. Experienced vet. (Can also hit)
• Insert Name here: Same problem as Padres.

Padres staff is not near as good as hyped, and the bullpen is a push, if not going slightly in favor of D-backs.

UTs!

[parker]

The Bat is back.

[Josh M]

Pat the Bat!

[Ribbies]

Thank you Mr. Bat.

[Andy]

I was hoping for an early exit by Hudson, today. Now, I'd sort of like it if he could stick around awhile.

[Tray]

Nevertheless, the Diamondbacks don't score runs, end of story. Maybe they can move baserunners, but they get very few baesrunners, relatively speaking.

Anyway, it's great to see the bats waking up.

[Mike Cunningham]

Credit Steve Smith for that one.

[jeremy]

That probably would have angered me a lot more if we weren't up 5-0 already.

[jeremy]

Mike,

I don't think that's Steve Smith there, I think that one is on Rowand. I don't think he looked at third.

[Ben Keeler]

Hopefully that wasnt the point where the bats decide to shut it off for the day.

[RSB]

On the Braves' telecast, they said Smith put up a "late stop sign" for Howard, so I'll put that bonehead play on him and not Rowand. With two outs, Howard probably should have kept going. They sure have come out and assaulted Hudson, though.

[CubeHostage]

jeremy: did you see the play? was smith correct to hold howard? i'm only listening on the radio, but it seems to me that if rowand is "sailing around the bases," as Franske put it, rowand thought he had a shot at third, so you'd think howard would have a chance to get home... no?

[Ben Keeler]

I am wathcing TBS. Howard probably would have been out at the plate.

[RSB]

Ben: maybe. The point though, is that Smith remained indecisive too long, and that's what caused Rowand to storm around second. And so Howard was out at the plate anyway.

[Andy]

It appears to be a pretty wide plate today.

[Tray]

The announcers think the wild card should get only one home game in the playoffs? Why?? Half the time they're better than one of the division winners.

[emerson]

Well, they didnt win their division, so they suppose that their should be some sort of arbitrary penalty imposed to make it more difficult for them to win it all. I dont necessarily disagree.

[Andy]

Kyle!

[Mike Cunningham]

isn't the penalty of winning the wild card, no homefield advantage at all through the league series, plus playing teams higher seeded???

[Mike Cunningham]

I will say that home field in the World Series should be based on regular season record (rather than alternating year to year or the winner of the all star game). I'll even accept better record in inner league play.

[BENTZ]

I disagree with penalizing the wild card team any further. We're going to have it happen again this year when not only does the wild card winner have a better record than a division winner, but 1-2, maybe even 3 non-playoff teams are better than the weakest division winner.

I may be in the minority, but the advent of the wild card should bring back the balanced schedule or at least more balanced than playing the Mets 19 times and AZ/SD 6-7 each when you're battling both for the playoffs.

[emerson]

Unless the team with the best record is in your division (a la Phils-Mets), in which case the wild card team doesnt have to play the team with the best record. I actually think there should be a little more of a 'penalty'. Also, in the World Series, home field advantage isnt based on record, but by All-Star game winner.

[BENTZ]

Mike - I think best league record in inter-league should determine home-field. Good idea.

[Tray]

Honestly I'm not sure why the NL Central winner even deserves to make the playoffs. All season long they get to play the most mediocre teams in baseball and none of them can even eke out 85 wins.

[RSB]

I could swear Joe Simpson just referred to the Phillies' third baseman today as Scott Rolen.

[Crazy Jon]

The sad thing is that 5-0 still isn't safe with this team.

[BENTZ]

Since the wild card started in 1995, I found 6 cases of teams who were bumped out of the playoffs by a team with a worse record (i.e. wild card runner-up with better record than a division winner).

1997 - Mets and Dodgers have better record than NL Central champ Houston
2000 - Indians have better record than AL East champ New York
2001 - Giants have better record than NL East champ Atlanta
2003 - Mariners have better record than AL Central champ Minnesota
2005 - Phillies have better record than NL West champ San Diego
2006 - Phillies have better record than NL Central champ St. Louis

Two other cases involved ties - the 1996 Expos had the same record as Central champ St. Louis and the 1998 Blue Jays had the same record as AL West champ Texas.

[reading phan]

Dumb question - anyone know how to sign up for the Mcdonalds homerun jackpot that they show on TV broadcasts? Cant find anything about it on the internet or in Mcdonalds' up here, can you only sign up at Mcdonalds around Philly?

[SC]

Assuming a.) we reach the playoffs and b.) Cole is back at full strength (both huge assumptions, I know), what is our playoff rotation? Clearly Cole is at the top, but do we go three man or four man, and what is the order? I imagine:

1. Cole
2. Moyer
3. Lohse
4. Kendrick

Questions are- can Moyer give us a chance against a Chris Young type pitcher? Does he belong at two? Can we trust a rookie in a playoff rotation? Ordinarily I'd say no, but this team leaves us with little choice, and KK has been, to quote my least favorite sports personality, "cool as the other side of the pillow".

[RSB]

I posited a couple weeks ago that Cole Hamels was destined to give management Schillingesque headaches before it was said and done. Looks like that prediction is well on its way to coming true.

[emerson]

Kendrick is the #2 pitcher on this staff. I think Moyer is #4 in the playoff rotation.

[RSB]

Memo to Phillies: do not allow the snoozing Braves to lull you to sleep. Please keep scoring runs. How many blown 5-0 leads does it take to learn...?

[Andy]

I'd go:
Hamels
Lohse (Moyer)
Kendrick
Moyer (Lohse)

Basically to Kendrick the first start in CBP. He's the best ground ball starting pitcher on the staff.

[Andy]

Basically to "give" Kendrick...

[loctastic]

@ Phillies Management: Send a chiropractor, masseuse, hot stone specialist, yoga instructor, and Dr. Phil along for Phillies roadtrips so everyone is getting everything they can possibly get to be healthy.

@ Cole Hamels: You're in the playoff hunt NOW, we need you NOW, quit bitching and pitch.

Thanks!

[Sophist]

RSB - the bats are still swinging. The Phils could have easily added runs in the 2nd (base-running error), the 3rd (2 on, 2 out for Rollins), and the 4th (2 on, 1 out for Rowand but a DP). The 5th was the only inning were they didn't put at least 2 runners on.

[jeremy]

For those not watching the broadcast: Wheeler and Sarge were just talking about the clip of Wheeler dancing while Sarge plays the maracas. Apparently Wheels has just learned that there are videos on the internet.

[naylman]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=dIGIPxGgXD4

Chris Wheeler "Dancing Queen"

[Chstk of Sffrng]

Everybody walks.

C'mon, Ryno.

[parker]

This just in: Kyle Kendrick is good.

[Chstk of Sffrng]

D'oh.

[ugh!]

Uh oh, here we go again. I hope this doesn't turn into the big inning to which the Phillies arr prone.

[parker]

Ok, I just pulled the jinx. Someone take it off. I will try. Kendrick sucks

[Andy]

arrarrararararararrrrrarr

[Sophist]

ah crap

[Crazy Jon]

2007 Phils = No Opponent Left Behind.

[Andy]

so...
can the bullpen hold a 3 run lead for 4 innings?
(beginning with an inherited runner on second)

[Sophist]

Good outing, nonetheless, from Kendrick.

[Andy]

Crazy Jon. Nice.

[RSB]

Kendrick was absolutely sailing, and then allowed hits to the first three batters in the sixth. Too quick a hook? I think it might have been. Odds are the 'pen isn't going to shut the Braves down two days in a row.

[Sophist]

Hopefully, Andy they won't have to hold only a 2 or 3 run lead. If the Phils can't add a few runs of their own in the 7-8-9th innings, well, I wouldn't put it all on the bullpen if the Braves managed to comeback.

[Murgatroid]

Unbelievably, this is Kendrick's shortest start. Only the fourth out of 16 under 6 innings.

[Andy]

eeeeek. it's "bad" Romero!!!

[emerson]

Kane Davis up and throwing.

[Murgatroid]

Another walk by the bullpen.

[Mike Cunningham]

the obligatory first walk by Romero

[Sophist]

crap. Need something here to help Romero.

[Sophist]

Alright! There's one. Need a DP here.

[parker]

Well, Kendrick gave up a HR to a guy that had only 1 all year and then two more solid hits. He had either lost it or was figured out.

[Murgatroid]

Double play?

[emerson]

Wow. Kane Davis is really playing a role in this bullpen. Thats just not good news.

[Sophist]

The Braves announcers didn't say, I don't think, who are they bringing in? Davis?