Game chat: Phillies try to bounce back this afternoon

Jamie Moyer (1-0, 5.52 ERA) squares off with Oliver Perez (1-0, 3.37 ERA) in game two between the Phillies and Mets at Citizens Bank Park. First pitch is 3:55 ET. Notes: Jimmy Rollins remains out of the starting lineup. Chris Coste does the catching. Key for Philadelphia is to stay patient with Perez, who's been known to be very wild against the Phils.

Comments

[Sophist]

Already a defensive mistake - should be an error on Taguchi.

[J. Weitzel]

Breaking news:
John Marzano dead at 45.
Link: http://philadelphia.comcastsportsnet.com/view_content_0p.asp?ID=64881

[king myno]

Great start so far, guys.

That's horrible about Johnny Marz. I loved his analysis; he was a true Philly guy. He'll be missed.

[PhillR]

Im probably the only one who loves Pagan for his name.

Angel Pagan. Thats awesome.

[RSB]

Isn't Taguchi supposed to be a good defensive outfielder? That's like the fourth ball he's flubbed already.

[PhillyFriar]

Funny how Jason stresses patience against Ollie, and Taguchi leads off by swinging at the first pitch.

[GM-Carson]

This season's defense has been worse than anyone could have predicted. Seriously, look at all the errors we've made so far this season, and many plays have gone unscored as errors (Taguchi in the 1st inning being an example) that should have been.

Tag swings at the 1st pitch...this team is built to win (eye roll).

[mike cunningham]

Just thursday, my Dad asked me where Marzano had been. We had a long discussion about Johnny Marz and the other phillies analysts.

My Dad was a huge Marzano fan. He knew he was destined for bigger things. We both thought it was a matter of time before he got a big network job. He was that good.

Even though Marzano was never officially a "Phillie", but it felt like he was.

[Tray]

Why bat Feliz over Coste? Sometimes I wonder if Charlie would bat in-his-prime Mike Piazza 7th if he had a chance to manage him.

[GM-Carson]

Wow, Ollie rules our team with a strong pimp hand.

[GM-Carson]

Tray- trying to understand Manuel's strategy, or lack thereof, is a fruitless endeavor.

[GM-Carson]

Jamie Moyer is not looking good this season. He's always been hittable, but not it's like he's pitching batting practice (and I'm being serious, not looking for a laugh here).

[PhillR]

Ollie could very well strikeout 8 and let no one on base through 4, then 5 in a row and a couple batters. I wonder if he is drinking in the dugout.

[Tony]

why are fox announcers always slobbering all over the Mets collective poles?

[Sophist]

Well there's a solid double play. Let's see if Howard can get something going.

[Sophist]

Right

[GM-Carson]

Hey, hey, hey- it's our slumping 10 million dollar 1st baseman doing nothing but striking out at the plate yet again.

[Tony]

and theres another howard K, wow i'm really getting sick of seeing that this season

[PhillyFriar]

Serious question: is Ollie's delivery that deceptive? The guy throws only two pitches -- I know they're good pitches, but for God's sake, you should be able to figure out a fastball/slider starting pitcher pretty quickly, especially if you're a righty.

[GM-Carson]

But wait, we shouldn't be bitching about Howard because once it gets hot he'll start producing like his old self. Problem is, we NEED him now, and to be completely honest he's killing this team with k after k and his bad defense. I hope his turnaround comes sooner rather than later, because this is sickening.

[GM-Carson]

Chris Coste should be the starting catcher until he proves he shouldn't be, because Ruiz isn't doing anything worth anything and Coast-to-Coste is.

[Tony]

THAT is why coste should have started last night

and i hate these fox announcers:
"blah blah blah philly sucks, blah blah"
"blah blah blah I want to have david wrights bastard child, blah blah"

i am honestly sick of one sided NY favoritism in every sport when they play on a national broadcast

[Tray]

On the bright side, Feliz is on track to put up a career high in walks.

[GM-Carson]

Fox and ESPN announcers are NY biased, this much is obvious...but the Mets are kind of dominating the Phils so far this season.

[Schmidty]

Tony, I'm not getting that impression from FOX at all. You're just looking for things to complain about.

[PhillR]

There is just no stopping Wright. If he finds his power stroke during this hot streak he will be a terror.

[PhillR]

lol, good thing they nailed him. That would have been embarassing.

[johnnysanz3]

is david wright going to bat 1.000 for this series?

[Tony]

Schmidty:
I'm not just looking for things to complain about. for the 1st 2 innings all it was "perez is one of very few pitchers who can just throw strikes and not hit corners to do well, his stuff is that good" and things along that line, the bias has dialed down this inning talking about moyer.

[MG]

Coste shouldn't be the starting everyday but he has shown that he deserves more playing.

BTY - Why is Werth in CF and Taguchi in RF? Makes no sense yet again.

[Schmidty]

Tony, if you think McCarver has bias toward the Mets you are lost.

[Tony]

MG: have you seen taguchi's defense as of late?

[PhillyFriar]

Over/under on pitches Ryan Howard sees in this at bat: 3.5

[MG]

Tony - Yeah but Werth is miscast as a CF. Better to have suspect defense at one position instead of two.

[MG]

McCarver is a notorious NY ball washer. Listening to Yanks games is ridiculous.

[kells]

Tragic news regarding Marzano. I meet him on a few occasions & he was a great guy. I found his anaysis was sharp & loved his enthusiasm.
Perez bascically intentionally walked Utley so he can K our 10million dollar man.
Howard has no game plan when he comes to the plate.Just throw him horrendous sliders-he will swing

[PhillR]

that was pretty nasty.

[Zach Morris]

It's so easy to pitch to Howard. The guy just can't reach the outside of the plate.

[PhillyFriar]

Ahhh, so if you took the over you won. And if you took push on the over/under for strikeouts in that at bat (set at 1), then you also won.

[Tony]

Schmidty, unless you're watching a different broadcast and didn't listen to the first 2 innings then you're the one who is lost, they were talking up perez like he's the second coming of carlton and it made want to vomit. and as i said in my last post, they have been neutral since said first 2 innings mentioning such things as moyer being awesome and howard sucking it up.

[MG]

Phils just really haven't been able to string together anything really all season. Part of it is just a bit of poor luck with timely hits but there are just too many easy outs in this lineup (particularly against LHP). Taguchi, Feliz, and Bruntlett are easily handled most times up and Howard is in a pretty tough funk right now.

[johnnysanz3]

Ya i've noticed howard gets a lot of first pitch offspeed stuff htat is usually off the plate..and he usually swings.

[J. Weitzel]

Based on three weeks of play, the Phils are a step behind the Mets in every respect. The Mets rotation has been a step better, the offense has been better and the bullpen has been better. Their defense has been better. Their new acquisitions - Church, Schneider, Santana - have been better than our additions. But it's early.

[matt]

moyer's stuff is really electric today

[Tony]

MG - he maybe a little miscast but i think he is at least average at the position, has a good arm and covers some decent ground.

and did you see -
Howard made a good def play

the reason the mets are ahead of the philth in every respect is that they are a better team. philly may have a better lineup at full strength, but not by a lot. mets SP and bullpen are infinitely better.

[clout]

Tony: The called 3rd strike to Howard, a slider at the knees on the outside corner, DID look like the second coming of Carlton. But he can't throw that pitch consistently.

The bias of national broadcasters is easily explained: They all live and work in the NYC metro area or in LA. There will always be a slight NY/LA bias.

[Schmidty]

I want to see the Mets beat us with Rollins before I get nervous. They do look good though.

[Sophist]

The Mets (Wright) have also been able to capitalize everytime this series with RISP. We just saw Howard K with a man on second. Wright's been hitting doubles in the same spot today and yesterday.

[Tony]

CLout - i know why there is a bias, that doesnt mean i need to enjoy

[king myno]

MG - I agree. Like I said in the last thread, besides Rollins, Utley and (usually) Howard, it's a team of .250 hitters with moderate power. Jenkins, Feliz, Ruiz, even Victorino. It just doesn't feel as dynamic as last year.

[PhillR]

The Mets clearly have their own problems though, specifically willie randolph. In each games that I watched the Mets, willie leaves his starter in an inning too long. Be relieved that he can't learn from his own mistakes.

[Sophist]

Coste setting the table for Bruntlett

[clout]

I agree with the poster above who said Taguchi is a bad leadoff man. He doesn't strikeout much, but he doesn't walk much either. His ideal spot would be #2.

The problem is that the Philies do not employ anyone ideally suited to lead off. There is no one in the minors either. Bourn was the closest thing they had.

Rollins' skills set is poor for a leadoff guy: Lots of Ks, good power, low OB. His speed is the only positive. He's been working on dropping the Ks and raising the OB, but career-wise he ranks near the bottom of established leadoff guys in those stats.

The Phillies clearly could care less about leadoff skills and some statheads agree.

[Schmidty]

You realize that when everyone at Fox made their preseason predictions, literally no one picked the Mets to make the playoffs, right? Kind of odd if they have a bias toward them.

[clout]

Sophist: Your comparison of Howard's K and Wright's double forces me to ask this question: Had Wright gotten the pitch Howard got, a slider at the knees on the outside corner, would he have hit a double?

Conversely, had Howard gotten the slop Moyer threw up there, would he have struck out?

[MG]

"mets SP and bullpen are infinitely better." This is the kind of idiocy I expect from an anon Mets' poster. Reality is going to catch up with Figueroa sooner than later and while the Mets' rotation is better than the Phils it is not exactly like the rest of the rotation are worldbeaters besides Santana. If anything, Maine is actually a bit overrated by both here and definitely in NY.

I do like the Mets' bullpen though much better than the Phils but let's see if they hold up again.

[clout]

Schmidty: You need a name that shows your true colors. How about Mr. Met?

[timr]

God, Wright is absolutely killing the Phils this year. Buntless actually put some good wood on the ball there, and Wright snared it.

[Schmidty]

Come on, we all know the deal with Howard. He's going to strike out a ton, but he'll still hit 110+ RBIs. I'll take it

[clout]

MG: Agree with your analysis 100%, although if Oliver has finally turned the corner on his command, I'll change my mind. I'm not convinced yet.

[MG]

king myno - Its early though and JRoll and Victorino to bring something to this lineup with there speed when in there. I am still much concerned about the Phils' pitching (especially the rotation) over the long haul.

[anonymous mets poster]

no one is banking on figueroa.

do you honestly think santana, martinez, maine, and perez aren't significantly better than the philth's top 4? gimme a break.

[johnnysanz3]

Clout: Wright had a low and away breaking ball last night from hamels off the plate and he hit it off the fence in left center. Wasn't a slider though.

[Schmidty]

That's cold Clout. I hate the Mets as much as anyone, but our fanbase has a bad enough reputation for being whiners, let's not go down the NY bias route.

[clout]

Metsie: How many games will Pedro start this season?

[MG]

Utterly stupid things uttered by Mets' fans:

"When Pedro gets back . . . " - Not holding my breath there and I don't think the Mets coaching staff/management are either at this point.

"When Alou gets back . . ." - Pagan has played better than Alou possibly could and let's see Alou stay healthy.

[anonymous mets poster]

pedro starts: ill take 22

how many will your iron horse Hamels start?

[MG]

Moyer has finally settled in a bit. As long as the Phils' don't make errors/mental mistakes behind him in the field, he will be a serviceable starter this year.

are you saying pedro is not coming back from his current injury? interesting opinion.

same with alou. youll see both of them in the lineup in less than 3 weeks.

[PhillR]

MG- Im not a Mets fan at all, but I agree with that anon poster. The Met's rotation is worlds better then Phillies.

Just like only a fool would say that the Phillies offense isn't better then the Mets this year. Would Moyer even get a start on the Mets rotation? Eaton? Kendrik? Do you think the Mets would trade Pelfrey for anyone of those three?

[johnnysanz3]

22 starts for Pedro sounds kind of high.

[PhillR]

omg that Wright out.

[Tony]

thank you werth

[PhillR]

Yeah I would guess 15 starts from Pedro. Does that matter though? Their current rotations as is is the best in the NL.

[Zach Morris]

David Wright flies out!
David Wright flies out!!
David Wright flies out!!!

[anonymous mets poster]

id settle for 18-20 from pedro. it only really matters if he is around at the end of the year though.

[Sophist]

clout - I over-simplified. But it is true that at least the one double last night by Wright was off a good pitch from Hamels.

[Parker]

If Pedro Makes 22 starts that is a good thing, for the Phillies/other teams in the NL east. Pedro is done.

[MG]

anon - 22? Lucky to make 20 and that is a stretch. Considering that Minaya said he doesn't expect Pedro back until late May or early June at this point, I will take Hamels.

Honestly, this is the kind of dopey reasoning you get from a lot of Mets' fans.

[johnnysanz3]

I don't know about the best in the NL, unless you mean NL East

[Tony]

lets hoped we broke perez's hand on that one

[MG]

Plus, the Mets are for all in intent purposes a healthy team right now. Only missing Alou (and Pagan has more than capably filled in) and Pedro and I wouldn't say it was a stretch that both guys were big question marks coming into the season from a health perspective.

[clout]

Metsie: Hamels will make at least 10 more starts this season than Pedro.

[PhillR]

I meant NL east btw.

[Parker]

Oliver Perez is a ticking time bomb. He started off great last season and then was worthless when it mattered. Kind of like the Mets in general.

Parker: what evidence do you have to support your "pedro is done" assertion? his performance when he came back last year? or is he done because he has a mild hamstring strain?

MG: id settle for 20, like i said. your information is off on minaya. pedro is not a month and a half away. and i wasnt asking you to choose between hamels and pedro; obviously hamels is way better. i was just merely pointing out that your rotation isnt without it's injury concerns as well. hamels is injury prone - no debating that.

how many philly starters had a better ERA than perez last year? more wins? what about maine?

[Parker]

He is done because he doesn't have the same stuff he used to, and he is often injured. It is not a good combination. Just ask Tom Gordon who is also done.

[clout]

PhillR: Here's a rotation I'd love to see 100% healthy just to see what they could do: Josh Johnson, Anibal Sanchez, Scott Olsen, Andrew Miller and Ricky Nolasco.

[PhillR]

Parker- LOL. When he pitches he will be around Meyers level and take up the 4th spot. Foolish to discount him.

As for the Mets being healthy- You forgot that Hernandez and Burgos. I would hardly say that a team missing two of their starging pitchers, a good reliever and their starting left fielder is healthy.

but pedro has had success with his depleted stuff since returning from surgery. check the numbers, parker.

[MG]

anon pussy - Pedro is the one declaring himself ready for the end of April and not Minaya. This is the same Pedro who threw in the mid-80s in spring training camp and declared himself ready to go. I believe it when I see it.

[Parker]

Let me get this straight:

The Pirates gave up a great pitcher like Perez for chump change because they have such a great staff that Perez was expendable?? I doubt it.

[clout]

PhillR: Burgos?

[PhillR]

He is done as a #1 or #2 guy in a rotation, but I think any team in the NL would be glad to take the 10-15 starts he will make. Also his fastball was high 80s, his curve has plenty of movement and he is friggin smart. Thats a lot more then Moyer has.

pedro threw in the mid-80s for 5 starts last september to the tune of a 2.50 ERA

pedro doesnt need to throw over 87mph

[diggitydave]

I would actually argue that the braves rotation is the strongest in the NL East:
Smoltz pitching out of his mind, Glavine had a couple excellent outings before injuring himself, Hudson is an extremely dependable #2 or 3, and Jair Jurrjens has a huge ceiling. If they get anything out of this guy Bennett or Chuck James in the #5 spot, they will be a force to be reckoned with.

[Parker]

Tick, Tick, Tick.

[Sophist]

Another big spot for Howard here