Game chat: Phillies open important series in Atlanta

The Atlanta Braves made a splash at the trade deadline hoping to capture the soft NL East. Instead, they’ve slipped from the playoff picture and have fallen to just a game above .500.

Preview: Starting pitching has been the Braves’ well-known crutch. After Tim Hudson and John Smoltz, they’re diluted. The Phillies face Hudson on Wednesday, and aside from that, the Phils will have some open opportunities to cash in. Today’s starter Lance Cormier is 1-4 with a 7.59 ERA in seven games this season. The Phillies have seen him before and know what to expect. Familiarity may be why hitters have finally caught up to Jamie Moyer. However, the veteran left-hander has pitched Atlanta tough this season, going 2-0 with a 3.38 ERA in two starts against them this season.

The Braves have dropped nine of their last 12 including a three-game sweep at the hands of the Mets, who lead the Bravos by 7 1/2 games and the Phillies by 4 games in the NL East.

Roster move: Left-hander Fabio Castro has been added to the roster as the September call-ups keep trickling in one at a time.

Comments

[Billy Mac]

Lineups

Phils
1. J Rollins, SS
2. C Utley, 2B
3. P Burrell, LF
4. R Howard, 1B
5. A Rowand, CF
6. J Werth, RF
7. C Ruiz, C
8. A Nunez, 3B
9. J Moyer, P

Braves
1. Y Escobar, SS
2. M Diaz, LF
3. C Jones, 3B
4. M Teixeira, 1B
5. J Francoeur, RF
6. A Jones, CF
7. B McCann, C
8. K Johnson, 2B
9. L Cormier, P

[diggitydave]

fabio castro. woohoo

[Ben Keeler]

Huge game today, obviously. As long as Eaton isnt pitching, I think we have a good chance. Moyer seems to know when he is really needed to step up, like he did against the Mets. As someone mentioned in an earlier post, with Hudson going Wed. these first two are critical.

I think Pedro is going to get rocked today in Cincy.

[denny b.]

Yippee!!! Fabio Castro is back to throw 2 balls for every strike!! What a tremendous addition. Can Brian Sanchez or Anderson Garcia be next???

Hey, Pat. How about Chris Key? How about JA Happ? How about Julio Mateo? How about making a trade before the deadline, besides a AA pitcher that you obviously had no thought about using this year? What a joke. The Phils are wasting this offense because their front office can't do their jobs. Poor.

I think this team would love to have Rick Ankiel or Mark Wohlers in their bullpen. The wilder the better.

And, someone, why is Jose Mesa still on this team? Is it his 6.00 ERA? Or are they trying to get his feet wet (at 70 years old) in the majors? And, Adam Eaton? Is the goal to get his ERA above 7.00 this year? That would have to be some kind of record for a major league starting pitcher (with that number of starts). I think with a few more starts, he could get there.

[Mike H.]

If we hand these clowns two quick losses in a row, they are done for the season. No wild card, nothing. They are out. That's how huge it is.

Today's press notes compared J-Roll's season to Dykstra's 1993 season, which I always put as the gold standard for leadoff hitters. Jimmy is projected to top the Dude in most major offensive categories.

[diggitydave]

bad news, men:
steve phillips' bold prediction for the rest of the MLB season - the Philadelphia Phillies will win the Wild Card.
with that genius on our side, it's only a matter of time before we're out of contention...

[BENTZ]

Re - Steve Phillips - I actually don't mind Phillips overall on ESPN, but he is very biased against the Mets when it comes to the NL East. He seems bitter still about getting fired there. So I kind of take what he says about the division with a grain of salt.

[Mike H.]

Charlie did not make excuses on the radio show. He did not blame the umpire yesterday for the ninth inning. He only wanted Davis to pitch to two pitchers, then was going to bring Romero in. When they hit the two jacks, they left him in to close out the inning.

[clout]

Mike H: Did Cholly say why he brought in davis, who'd pitched the day before, when he had several other rested pitchers?

No Dobbs today despite a weak RHP. I guess that makes it official: Werth is the everyday RF.

If I were Cholly I would fine Nunez $500 every time he swung the bat and didn't get a hit. I think he'd have a fair shot at helping the team more by never swinging the bat. There'd be no DPs and he'd walk more often than he now gets hits.

[KevinLin]

Welp, I will be once again be able to watch some phillies games as I am at school in Macon, GA so they better make these games count.

Ugh, I can't believe the Braves rolled over for the mets like that, now they are probably going to play really hard against us. Blah...Phillies need this series bad.

[jr]

Does anyone have Mateo's stats. Not that it makes any difference.

[diggitydave]

wow, one batter and the braves announcers on TBS are ALREADY taking shots at phillies fans...

[KevinLin]

Ugh, yeah...I don't like it.

[CJ]

Man... the worst hit ball of the inning for the Phils is a hit... the other two make three outs.

[KevinLin]

Wow, Moyer has pitched well against the NL East after the All-star break...I did not realize that.

[diggitydave]

braves announcers just said .272 BA for howard is high for him.
guess they didn't see him hit .313 last year. and i guess they overlooked the fact that in 4 years .272 is in fact the lowest average for his career. i hate these guys

[CJ]

Pedro gives up a hit to the first batter...

of course, it was a jam-job roller down the third base line that got stuck in the grass.

[CJ]

Second hitter smokes a ball over Alou's head for a double. No outs for the Reds, 2nd and 3rd.

[CJ]

1-0 Reds on sac fly.

[CJ]

2-0 Reds on a base hit... for those who care.

[diggitydave]

ya pedro is getting smoked. and lo duca still throws like a little girl...

[RSB]

The Braves announcers also pitted the idea of MVP between Fielder and Howard. It's just lazy. The power stats make everyone drool, and nothing else matters. At least the Florida announcers, obnoxious tough they always are, acknowledged Rollins' legitimate candidacy throughout the series. These guys don't even seem to know who the Braves are playing today.

[JKanef]

chip carey is a joker

[sdphillies]

yeah, these guys are pretty dumb. they just accused utley of playing dirty with the "atomic kneedrop" and advised escobar to slide spikes first next time.

I guess I wouldn't have much to talk about if my team was that bad.

[CJ]

Yeah, and they whined about Utley "tagging his nose." Well... don't dive head first then, you jackass.

[CJ]

That's the way, Pat.

[parker]

Uts and Burrell!

[RSB]

Nice run. A little surprised they sent Utley, but it obviously was the right call.

[Tray]

David Wright, 2-run home run. Mets on top 3-2.

[parker]

I don't know what the heck Howard is swinging at right now.

[parker]

That call looked bad, along with the call on Ruiz' bunt.

[JKanef]

chip carey is making my hangover worse. AHH, he is insufferable.

[RSB]

Am I the only one who doesn't want to see Howard coming to the plate with a man on 3rd and less than 2 outs? I'm especially glad they sent Utley now. He's got 111 RBI, but he seems more likely than not to get himself out in that situation.

[parker]

That call looked bad, along with the call on Ruiz' bunt.

[CJ]

Lead off walks really, really hurt.

[RSB]

I have a sickly feeling about this game. Moyer isn't getting any close calls, and the Braves are overdue to explode.

[sdphillies]

You mean, like Andruw hitting a 3 run homer?

[CJ]

Glad we got our defensive third baseman in the game...

[parker]

Like the Andruw Jones swinging bunt.

[J. Weitzel]

Nunez should be able to make a play on that. Come on.

[parker]

Nunez may have been able to field it better, but I don't think he can throw him out there with a perfect throw.

[CJ]

what a terrible relay throw from Chase

[CJ]

parker: Andrew Jones doesn't run like he used to. Nunez has to at least field that ball.

[parker]

Moyer is just sad sometimes.

[KevinLin]

Ugh, this inning should be over. That wasn't a walk that was a strike out to start the inning.

[CJ]

This is the kind of defense that absolutely kills Moyer.

Nunez botches roller.
Utley botches relay throw.
Rowand botches throw home.

Terrible.

[bathtubhippo]

man i want to know what happened to that outfield assist magic from earlier in the season. it's long long gone these few games.

ps: if nunez can't make that play, he doesn't belong in the majors given his well known no-hit abilities. not that he belongs anyway...

[KevinLin]

To be fair to Moyer the defense hasn't been there and it seems like Moyer and Cormier have completely different strike zones.

[parker]

Moyer is at the point that he needs at least 6 runs to get a win. Definately if he doesn't get called. Great call by Manual there.

[diggitydave]

nice call by uncle cholly!

[College Phan]

Nice job on that squeeze. One of the few times I will compliment Cholly.

[RSB]

I think Jimy Williams just made a positive difference for the first time this season, on that snuffed-out squeeze play.

[parker]

I still saw something different on that Nunez play. He was playing deep on Jones, it was hit about as hard as Rowand's swinging bunt against the Mets. Even a slow runner has a good chance of beating that out. I don't buy that Jones doesn't run well anymore. Has anyone seen him play center field lately. Shoulder problems, maybe. Leg problems, not so much. Nunez cannot throw him out there even if it was fielded cleanly. The reason Jones doesn't beat a lot of those out is that he runs half ass most of the time on hits like that. If he was running, there was no chance.

[parker]

RSB, would it really hurt so much to give Cholly his due for once?

[CJ]

parker: You're assuming Nunez couldn't have thrown him out.. still doesn't answer why he couldn't field it cleanly if the only reason he's in there is for his defense.

[parker]

CJ: Because fielding that cleanly is mute. Couldn't have thrown him out, and the attempt was likely to be an error. THe throw had more possibility of bad than good. If he sails it, a run scores.

[parker]

moot, oops

[CJ]

parker: You say, "If he was running, there was no chance."

Well... using the word "if" certainly suggests he could have thrown him out.

And it still doesn't explain why our third baseman who's only in the game for his defensive ability, couldn't cleanly pick up a softly hit ball.

There was a chance to get him... even you say so. I'm not sure why there's even a discussion on this. There's no excuse for Nunez to mishandle that if he's only in there for his defense.

[KevinLin]

Ugh, screw this I am going to go do some work.

[Tray]

So he misplayed the ball because he knew he couldn't throw him out? Is that what you're saying?

[parker]

CJ, I agree about it being largely irrelevant. My point is simply that Eric Chavez doesn't make that play, playing that deep. And Jones was actually running for once.

[bob_talk]

Nunez is a very good third baseman. Nobody that ever played the game will make that play every time. Move on.

[The Truth Injection]

Jason- Do you think Manuel's outburst about relief pitching yesterday is the final straw or was it inevitable he was getting fired at the end of the season anyway?

[parker]

And for the record, I think Dobbs should be at third today. Nunez is worthless, but not because he could not make that play.

[sdphillies]

...and now we go to Mark for an update

* 7 seconds of silence *

Thanks Mark!

Gotta love TBS

[CJ]

Let me be clear...

I don't care if he could have actually gotten Jones at first or not.

The point is that the guy's ONLY redeeming quality is supposed to be his defense and when he gets to play the damn well better be able to field a slow roller cleanly or he should sit the bench indefinitely.

Why is there even a discussion on this?

[CJ]

Werth seems to track the ball real well when it's hit hard... even if he scares the hell out of me with his zig-zag route to the ball.

[Tray]

Let's let Rowand go at the end of the offseason, spend the money on relief, play Victorino at center, and keep Werth in right. He can play.

[RSB]

Parker: I've given Manuel more 'due' than most people on this site. Williams coached under Cox for years. I have to think that play was to his credit more than anyone's.

[College Phan]

Awesome catch Jayson Werth!

[bob_talk]

Why is there even a discussion on this?

Because tools like you persist.

[J. Weitzel]

Injection: Your guess is as good as mine whether he's back next season.

Cormier is pitching a great game, but I have to believe the Phils are due here.

[parker]

I'm afraid Nunez is about to show just why he is worthless very soon. The strange thing about Nunez is that his swing looks every bit as good as Louis Castillo's but he hits about 80 points lower. That is more a rip on Castillo than a compliment of Nunez.

[zudok]

I really miss Abreu on plays like that.

[CJ]

I'm not opposed to an outfield of:

Burrell/Vic/Bourn-Werth platoon... if we're able to spend that extra money on some real pitching help or a significant upgrade at third.

[J. Weitzel]

Oops. Didn't see bottom of order due up. Nevermind.

[CJ]

bob_talk: And your intelligent interjections certainly help the debate! Thanks for joining us.

[lekh tiztayen]

is there a scenario where Eaton doesn't return next year? I can't see it. Perhaps a winter of hearing about Eaton rededicating himself this offseason followed by a season with a 6.50+ era

[CJ]

No! Don't try to stay in the game!!!

[parker]

Great, Nunez is toughing it out. Great???

[JMARR]

The Braves fans are applauding b/c they know Nunez has no chance of getting a hit.

[bob_talk]

np j.

[The Truth Injection]

Jason- I was just curious because to my knowledge this was the first time that Manuel overtly said we don't have enough to work with. He was basically pointing a finger (rightly so) at Gillick and I just can't see Pat standing for it and bringing him back.

Shame that didn't knock out NUnez

[RSB]

Tray: you want to see Werth as an everyday right fielder? He's having a hot stretch now, but I don't think he's this good. As a platoon-mate with Bourn, however, that might be such a bad idea, if it comes to that.

[CJ]

"Very, very rough at bat for Nunez," the Braves announder says.

Is there any other kind?

[sdphillie]

CJ - I'd love to see that platoon as well, but there is no pitching available, and even if there was, we wouldn't get it. Our office does a horrible job evaluating pitching.

[RSB]

...might *not* be such a bad idea, I mean.

[lekh tiztayen]

is it safe to refer to the marlins series and likely this braves series as the Washington series of last year, that killed our season

[Chstk of Sffrng]

So GameDay suggests that all three called strikes on Nunez were outside the strike zone. True?

For once, if that's the case, you can't blame No Hit -- he was doing what he's supposed to do, not swing like a maniac.

[CJ]

Moyer with a more productive at bat than Nunez... raise your hand if you're shocked.

[JMARR]

We need to jump on this guy right here.

[RSB]

lekh, not so fast - they haven't played Washington in September yet.

[CJ]

Chstk of Sffrng:

The last pitch to Nunez was a strike. It was a breaking ball that fooled him.

[sdphillie]

Moyer just ran halfway to first with his bat... what would have happened if it stayed fair?

What would have happened should he somehow beat it out, still holding his bat?

[Chstk of Sffrng]

Thanks, CJ, the GameDay chart made it look like it was a foot outside.

[parker]

Lekh, not unless you can predict the future. If you can, I need to contact you about some football games next week.

[CJ]

sdphillie: It was foul the moment it hit Moyer's foot. It couldn't go fair.

[denny b.]

"I'm not opposed to an outfield of:

Burrell/Vic/Bourn-Werth platoon... if we're able to spend that extra money on some real pitching help or a significant upgrade at third"

I think you try and trade Burrell in the offseason, when the getting is good. Ain't no way he keeps hitting like he has the past couple of months for a full season. Dump that contract and get what you get for him. If he can finish out the season strong, you might be able to actually get some people interested in him in the off season.

Why would you platoon Bourn and Victorino? BOTH need to play everyday. And, Werth is a 4th outfielder, having a good run right now. Lets not get too excited about him. Plus, its not like he is some 23 year old kid either.

Chuck Meriweather's strike zone is about the size of a thimble, so its a miracle that Moyer has only given up 3 runs. The guy is a terrible umpire for Moyer to get. He has had about 5 or 6 pitches that should have been strikes, that he didn't get the call on.

And, why is Nunez in there again? He should be a defensive replacement ONLY. This is an offensive team and putting No-hit in there just guarantees 2 spots in the order with no production, before you even start the game.

[CJ]

We really need Pat the Bat here.

[RSB]

Andruw Jones sure plays a lot deeper than he used to.