Game chat: Phils, Rocks meet in round two tonight

Game time is 7:05 p.m. ET when the Phillies and Rockies play the second game of their four-game series. Discuss it here.

Comments

[kdon]

To stay with Eaton, it is impossible to see him pitching well tonight.

He hasn't had a quality start since early July and has a 7.20 ERA since June 17th.

Can anyone actually visualize him getting Holliday or Helton out?

[kdon]

And based on the past few season, Eaton's mean is probably about a high 5s ERA, and his peripherals are as bad as you would think looking at his ERA...so no help there.

[elliott]

we will need to win with the bats, and given the rockies' starter, we have a nice chance of doing that.

[mike nutter]

as a credit to the phillies position players (and maybe manuel), they have never blamed the pitching or even the bullpen for blowing games. a team that hits this well and pitches this badly could have easily turned on itself. guys like rollins and chase have lead by example from day one and the team has accepted their situation and done what they have to to win rather than moan about the need to score 7 plus a game. good work phillies. i think they can easily take this game. eaton will stink, but the guys know waht they have to do.

[from the district]

kdon - yes I can visualize it. But my mother did always say I have a lively and active imagination.

But if you believe in the idea that positive thoughts can create positive outcomes, maybe if all the beerleaguers were to visualize Eaton locating his pitches effectively for the next three hours, we could get a quality start out of this guy.

[Voice of Reason]

Positive thought - the fans helped to win the game last night, and it can happen again.

[Ben Keeler]

Maybe Eaton will start, give up his usual 4 runs through 2 and then a downpour will come, bringing a lenghty rain delay meaning Eaton wont be able to come back after the delay. Then the Phils can come back and win....or they could just never restart the game if we are getting killed.

[Jack]

It's sad that they've worked this hard to get back into a serious race, and then management throws Adam Eaton out there to pitch. It's just a joke.

[Sophist]

kdon - not only can I imagine it, it's happened before. Eaton faced the Rockies @ Colorado on July 8th (back when his ERA was a slim 5.69). His line: 6 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO, 2 HR on 111 pitches (78 strikes). He was the pitcher of record, although Madson pitched much better. Eaton had 5 ground ball outs and 9 fly ball outs, and he actually shut down Holliday. Holliday was 0-4 with a SO and left 3 on base. Matsui, Helton, and Hawpe had good days. I don't think Matsui will even be in the lineup tonight.

[clout]

Eaton's last 2 starts:
6 IP 5 ER
5.2 IP 2 ER

Durbin's last 2 starts:
4.1 IP 2 ER (5 R)
0 IP 7 ER

[JZ]

Lest we forget Hamels' last two starts.

0.0 IP 0 ER 0 K 0 BB
0.0 IP 0 ER 0 K 0 BB

Just saying. Please come back, King. They kind of need you to do, um, well down the stretch.

[Mike H.]

Weather.com has it clearing up in Philadelphia in the next few hours. We'll have to rely on other acts of God to get through this one. God knows we need all the help we can get.

I find it much easier to visualize the top 5 in the lineup going 12 for 17 than seeing anything positive with Adam Eaton...

[GM-Carson]

Eaton is horrible, really friggin' horrible. However, I continue to allow myself to be fooled into thinking he may pitch a decent game. I guess this is the same dim-witted notion Patty G went on when he signed him to that ugly 3-year deal...ugh!

I'm love me some Pat "The Bat" Burrell and Chase Utley lately. This offense is awesome, just wish we had some semblence of a pitching staff to go with it.

[timr]

mike nutter makes a good point--it is a testament to the character on this team that the rest of them have never said anything against the lousy bullpen. It must frustrate them watching lead after lead disappear, but they don't show it publicly.

[Jack]

I'm in New York right now and it's cloudy but it hasn't rained in a couple hours. People in Philadelphia, what are the chances of getting this game in? I have to decide whether to go to a bar after work that plays the games or go home, and I don't really wanna end up at the bar if the game is not being played. Please help with my decision folks. Thanks

[theragtopguy]

The rain is stopping and the clouds are moving out to sea. The game WILL be played.

We'll see how long Eaton lasts. I think if I was Elmer, I'd have the bullpen warming up in the 1st inning.

[denny b.]

"We'll see how long Eaton lasts. I think if I was Elmer, I'd have the bullpen warming up in the 1st inning"

Besides Myers, Romero, Condrey and Alfie (depending if he hasn't lost 6 MPH on his fastball or not that night), I wouldn't have anyone warming up in that bullpen. NO one else would pitch.

Who is he going to bring in? Castro? Rosario? Mesa again? You are better off having Eaton in there. At least he can hit. At this point, all starters have to get to the 7th inning every night, come hell or high water. Watching Kane Davis or any of the other cast-offs and retreads come into playoff-type games/situations is sickening and Gillick ought to be ashamed of himself. So, the answer is not pitching them at all. No more "Put it on a tee" Mesa. No more "2 balls for every strike" Castro. No more "Big Daddy" Kane. No more Gas Can. Use Flush with EXTREME caution (and be ready to get him out as soon as he shows he has no command again). Hope the offense gets a big lead each night and bails you out. That is really the only way left to win.

Eaton's due. He has only had 8 quality starts in 26 starts this year (and none in almost 2 months). Everybody knows September is "Adam Eaton Time". Time to pitch the Phils to the post-season!!!

[squatter]

Jack- I have lived a long and happy life. I decided a long time ago that if it came to a choice between going to a bar and doing anything else, it's best to go to the bar.

[AWH]

THE BAR, JACK, THE BAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[AWH]

Jack, BTW, even if the game is rain-delayed, as long as you're not driving home it's ok to STAY at the bar until play resumes.

Really...it's ok!

[squatter]

More bar rules for rain delays--

no shots until play resumes

you have the option to turn the sound down

no wagering during the rain delay
(except on the length of the delay)

[squatter]

RE: the weather

I'm in God's country 60 miles west of Philly. The sky is brightening and the sun is starting to come out. These same conditions will probably occur in South Philly in about an hour, so the game looks good.

[regalmeans]

Sometimes I wonder if PTB, Howard and Utley want to strangle the pitching staff when they have good nights then lose because the pitchers can't do their job.

And Jack - bar. The choice is obvious. Bar. Either you get to see a good game, or you can drink enough that you won't remember how painful it was.

[CJ]

I can't believe someone suggested having Alfonseca ready. Since Aug. 19th, he has a sparkling 18.69 ERA. That's 4.1 innings over 8 appearances in which he's allowed 9 hits and 6 walks.

Here's the log...

Came in a tie game in the 7th, left down 3 runs after an inning.
Came in down 1 in the 6th, left after a walk and 3 outs.
Came in ahead 4 in the 7th with a runner on first, walked a guy and was immediately removed.
Came in ahead 3 in the 8th with a runner on, left the game down 1 with 2 runners on without recording an out.
Came in down 3 in the 8th, left down 6 at the end of the 8th.
Came in down 3 in the 6th with 2 on and 2 out, left down 3 getting the last out.
Came in down 2 in the 6th, left down 2 in the 6th.
Came in ahead 3 in the 6th with 1 out, left ahead 3 after getting two strike outs.

He's a crapshoot at this point. He's had a few good short performances and some absolutely catastrophic performances.

[squatter]

Regalmeans: to the contrary, I believe that Rollins, Utley, Howard and maybe a few others got together and said they wouldn't say anything about the pitching. This gives the team better cohesion than the finger pointing and the blame game.

[Ben Keeler]

Hey at least Barajas isnt starting with Eaton

[kdon]

I would use ALfonseca only if men are on base, because his one asset is he can get ground balls, but neither he nor Mesa should ever start an inning.

Confidence level:

Myers (likely unavailable tonight)
Romero
Gordon
Condrey
Davis
Geary
Rosario
Alfonseca
Castro
Mesa

That's pretty sad...

[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. W Helms, 3B
8. C Ruiz, C
9. A Eaton, P

Rockies
1. C Sullivan, CF
2. T Tulowitzki, SS
3. M Holliday, LF
4. T Helton, 1B
5. G Atkins, 3B
6. B Hawpe, RF
7. Y Torrealba, C
8. J Carroll, 2B
9. F Morales, P

[SC]

kdon, you nailed the confidence levels, although I might trust davis slightly less than geary. (Out of principle, I refuse to say that I trust Geary "more" than anyone.)

[Run Up The Score]

Damn it, I said I was done with this stupid team when they blew that 8-2 lead.

As always, this was a lie.

[kdon]

When you look at the list, it really is amazing that Cholly keeps on trotting out ALfonseca and Mesa. I'm sure that if this team need a 7th inning guy tonight to hold a lead, Cholly will go to Alfonseca over Condrey, Geary, or Davis, despite the fact that he is statistically worse over the season and is pitching terribly.

Bad veterans are the most dangerous commodity in baseball.

[parker]

Well, that didn't take long.

[Run Up The Score]

Hmmm. Perhaps I should have just stayed away.

[THe Dude]

think we can score 10 tonite...its gonna take at least that with Eaton pitching and the wind blowing out!

[Jack]

As I said before, it's just really sad that Adam Eaton is on the mound. How can a team do that and legitimately say they wanna win? Not a single person in this discussion thinks we're gonna win tonight. When will they realize that they're not making the playoffs because of the starts they've wasted on Adam Eaton.

[THe Dude]

when was the last time you saw 2 starting pitchers with era's over 6.20 pitching in the same game?

[Bill]

Despite his antics, Eaton does strike out Sullivan, Holliday, and Atkins.

[Jack]

Also, thanks everyone for contributing to my bar question. I'm still at work right now, but will probably head there soon. Of course, I guess I always knew I'd end up there. My wallet hates me. And I hate Adam Eaton.

[Reed]

Phils will win and win big.

Unfortunately, that was the best Eaton has looked all year, at least in the 1st inning..

[MG]

It would is fast becoming a Phils' tradition, Eaton manages to give up a run in the 1st inning. It's a good thing that we can enjoy this fine tradition for another two years.

[THe Dude]

did wheels just say the Rockies pitcher is "a little bit of a hooker"

HUH????? LOL

[THe Dude]

I take back everything bad I ever said about Burrell if its true that he got the eye surgery and this is his true potential

[JMARR]

Not having to listen to Chris Wheeler was in my top 10 reasons to leave Philadelphia and move to Austin.

[Jack]

Yeah, the Rockies pitcher is a dirty pirate hooker

[Reed]

2nd nite in a row JRoll with a lousy at bat to lead off the game. Whereas Utley & Burrell worked the hooker.

[parker]

Dude I was at the Phils/Cards series in ST. Louis and I saw Adam Eaton and Kip Wells (but not in the same game). Thankfully enough, I think that much bad pitching would have put me over the edge. Funny, Wells actually pitched good before the rain delay, but Eaton went down hard facing Adam Wainright.

[MG]

On a night where the Phils need 6 innings from Eaton, he comes out with his typical slop and proceeds to need 22 pitches to get through the 1st inning.

My money on the most useless, overrated Philly athlete right now is on Eaton.

[parker]

Well, that was impressive.

[Jack]

Wow, that's awesome. Where are these strikeouts coming from? How long can it last?

[Mike H.]

Disaster averted. I know it's Brad Hawpe trying to take the base, but Chooch still has to make the very good throw. He did.

Let's go, bats... turn this lineup over against this nobody...

[parker]

MG, he has struck out 4 out of 6 batters. I guess that goes to his, "Having good stuff, not a good pitching mind" idea. Ruiz has to be in the top 5 defensive catchers in baseball. At least with the arm.

[Tray]

Eaton gets a lot of swinging strikes every time he pitches, they just never seem to be third strikes. Our numbskull analysts say this is because he lacks a strikeout pitch. I would say it's because he lacks location.

[MG]

Parker - Eaton has 4 Ks so far is more due to the fact that the Rockies are taking some bad hacks than Eaton has good stuff so far.

Tonight's game is really in the offense's hands though. If they don't score at least 6 or 7 runs tonight, they will lose.

[parker]

Yeah Tray, I have to agree with that. Eaton makes some hitters look ridiculous. I still remember him striking out Carlos Delgado(swinging) with a 2-seam fastball that hit Delgado in the ribs. But he seems to just let some pitches drift into the zone too much.

[parker]

MG, thank you for the double dose of pessimism.

[Jack]

How bad would it taste to have Eaton pitch a good game and us lose 2-1? Let's score some runs eh

[parker]

I think it is just a matter of time before this Rockies pitcher gets hammered here. However, they may be saying the same about Eaton. I guess it is just whoever can run faster from the chasing bear. I just hope they figure Morales out before the Rockies yank him.

[THe Dude]

funniest part about the fake Eaton DL stint was that Baseball Tonite was analyzing Eaton's arm angles from 2000 to the present. From the 25 pitch video you could clearly see his arm angle has dropped significantly over the past few years (its a small sample size i know). However this led the analyst to infer that Eaton has been pitching with a shoulder injury and he'd been trying to compensate for the pain.

[squatter]

Go Phils. Our pitcher sucks less than their pitcher.

[attytood will]

If the Rockies' pitcher tonight sucks so much, why are the Phillies not hitting this guy?

[squatter]

The Phils want to wait to see how many runs they are going to need before they start hitting.

[joe]

guh.

offense gotta get some runs.

[parker]

Well, there goes another one. Home run or strikeout. He left a curveball over the plate. That is ridiculous.

[THe Dude]

2 runs in 3 full inning so far...and he's managed to lower his era

[parker]

Maybe the Phils should invest in a humidor.

[joe]

2 runs thru 4 is decent.

his sh!t must be biting really hard tonight. 6 k's thru 4?

[parker]

If Eaton can keep the ball down he can be good. If not look out at the concession stands.

[squatter]

There goes Pat again. What's the easiest way to find out if someone's got a streak going. Is that on Baseball Reference?

[Dave X]

There's one example of where putting the bat on the ball isn't better than a K.

[kdon]

Jesus, Helms can't even get hit by a ball well!

[parker]

This is Helms deal, fstball count.

[parker]

And he misses it off the plate.

[curt]

During the All Star break, PtB:

1) Had lasik surgery
2) Began taking a really good drug
3) Was occupied by the ghost of Ted Williams
4) Was replaced by a cyborg

[parker]

curt, what would it take to get Helms to do the same thing.

[parker]

Dang, what else can happen to one of out pitchers?

[squatter]

Curt- Earlier today I searched net for Burrell + lasik and Burrell + contact lenses. No mention of lasik, but there were a couple of stories around March 07 where the Phils suggested Pat get contacts. He went to Doctor, who said his eyes needed correction. Prescribed contacts. Much crying and cursing cause he didn't like them, couldn't put them in, didn't see any better with them, etc. Stories didn't say whether he still wears them or not.

[diggitydave]

eaton's fault getting hit because he couldnt put the pitcher away in the first place!

[attytood will]

Looks like the Luck Gods are paying us back for last night.

[parker]

Alright, now have to, wait, whats that? Score runs. The only thing this team is really good at.

[kdon]

Squatter, as far as I can tell, the lasik rumor started on beerleaguer as a tongue in cheek joke a few weeks ago. You gotta love the rumor mill!

I imagine Eaton is done for a PH this inning.

[parker]

Muts down 9-0. Would be nice to gain some ground on them. Delgado still hurt, and will be out for a while, so anything is possible

[Tray]

No, nothing is possible when it comes to catching the Mets.

[parker]

Ruiz cannot be making that out, take some freaking pitches against this bum. Eaton will probably look more professional against this guy.

[parker]

The rules of Mathematics say you are wrong Tray.

[kdon]

guess not. Eaton is a good enough hitter to justify his spot.

[curt]

Your basic Ruiz AB, hacking at ball 3 on a 2-0 count.

[parker]

What the heck is going on here, they are swinging at garbage, absolute garbage.

[squatter]

Kdon- I think he ought to get lasik, if he can. Fact- he checked with a doctor, his eyes need help. Glasses aren't practical. He's too much of a baby to wear contacts. Solution- surgery. That is, if he can. I think it only works for nearsightedness, not astigmatism, and I don't know what in particular Burrell's eyesight problem is.

[curt]

Well we've managed to slice a run and a half off of this guys ERA. I hate anonymous lefties.

[diggitydave]

parker - you're right, eaton looked a thousand times better than ruiz in his AB.

this team is so goddamn infuriating...

[Mike H.]

3 bad ABs by Rollins = next to nothing offense.

[diggitydave]

you gotta try and hit that ball on the ground to get on base. if you get on, you're off to the races against torrealba, who wheels and sarge have said 100 times is struggling back there after taking a foul tip off his ribs.
j roll, uts, rowand, werth for the rest of the game have to try and get on and steal some bags to get back in this

[parker]

Well, where is Kane Davis

[kdon]

I don't see Eaton getting through the heart of the order unscathed.

Squatter, I remember the contacts story well. It's incredible that he wouldn't wear them. It was the only time when I really questioned what his priorities were.

[madubbs]

8 million dollars

[diggitydave]

wow. 5 IP and 4 ER.
great stuff

[king myno]

second night in a row that i've called a holliday homer. let's hope pat the bat still has some magic left.

[kdon]

Maybe a PH last inning would have made sense after all.

More than any other manager I know, Cholly bats pitchers and then gives them a quick hook the next inning.

Eaton needs to be removed from the rotation, and Cholly needs to learn that you can't press your luck with this guy.

[Mike H.]

Three mistakes in this park = almost all the offense you need.

[curt]

Seemed like Eaton had a real chance to shave a few points off his ERA tonight. Unbelievable that we're gonna have to watch him for 2 more years.