Game chat: Phillies turn to Moyer to salvage win

Having dropped the first two games of their series with Florida, the Phillies hand the ball to wily veteran Jamie Moyer (6-3, 4.56) tonight at 7:10. The Marlins counter with friend to all Phils, Scott Olsen (4-2, 3.44). Moyer has mastered the young Marlins, winning all eight of his starts against him. It's been a different story for Olsen. Despite a 2-0 record, the Phillies often bring out the worst in him. He's sporting a 6.91 ERA against them and has been wild.

Comments

[fljerry]

Braves blew another game. Between the Mets and Braves - Marlins look the best. Maybe we should take them serious.

[curt]

My definition of BP issues: when you have to run a raw rookie out there in a bases loaded no out situation in the 11th (the Braves)...

And he hits the first batter he sees with his first pitch.

[CJ]

Nice start to the day... both the Braves and Mets blew 9th inning leads and lost in extra innings.

The Braves have now lost 6 straight and are 3 games under .500.

The Mets are 1-6 in their last 7 games (only win last night's extra inning win) and are also 3 games under .500.

A win tonight would keep us 6 losses ahead of the Mets and 7 ahead of the Braves.

[diggitydave]

Well luck is definitely on the Phils' side today-
Mets and Braves have already blown 9th inning leads and lost.

Also, Pujols was placed on the 15-day DL today, right before the Phils travel to St. Louis for a 3 game set this weekend..

[fletch]

"Well luck is definitely on the Phils' side today- Mets and Braves have already blown 9th inning leads and lost."

Hate to break it to you, diggitydave, but the Marlins are in the same division. It might be their lucky day.

[CJ]

Against the lefty Olson, the Phils are trotting out:

Rollins
Victorino
Utley
Howard
Burrell
Werth
Feliz
Ruiz
Moyer

[CJ]

fletch: Hate to break it to you, but regardless of tonight's outcome, both teams are lucky that the Mets and Braves both lost today. It is possible for both teams to be lucky at the same time.

[THe Dude]

get your brooms out...too bad we've completely wasted so many of Hamels great starts this year. Its unreal that if you take out Hamels two bad starts vs. Houston & Cincy - his era is under 2.31 and still his record is only 6-4. He's going to struggle to get to 15 wins this season.

Is there any site that keeps track of the teams record by starting pitcher? I'm just guessing but it seems that we have won almost all of Kendricks starts recently

[CJ]

The Phils are 9-1 in Kendrick's last 10 starts adn 10-3 overall.

It's easy to track in the Gamelog feature on b-r.com

[stevo]

I hate Olsen. Hoping Werth and Burrell foul off like 8 pitches each against him and he blows a gasket when one of them starts to trot to first on a called strike. The guy's like Milton Bradley.

[bay_area_phan]

Ruiz in the lineup. For the record, I meant all that bad stuff I said about him. Now do your stuff, Reverse Beerleaguer jinx.

[bay_area_phan]

Rain delay

[Tim in DC]

ESPN is showing the game as delayed, and MLB extra innings has nothing for me so far. Any info from the locals?

[AWH the RBP]

What ticks me off about the "Reverse BL Jinx" ("RBLJ") is that it's been disrespected the last few days by a couple of posters who declared that the Marlins were not a good team when I posted the schedule until the All Star break.

Note to those posters:

Shutup until after a series.

[Sophist]

Rain. Hmm.

I will definitely be listening to this one, foregoing the FL crew once again.

Having a lead in the race is pretty nice. It makes taking 1 game not so bad.

[Ribbies]

They announced first pitch is 7:45

[AWH the RBP]

The lineup tonight puzzles me. Ruiz caught last night, and is 0-3 with a walk against Olsen. Coste is 1-5 with a walk, his hit being a 3-R HR. It's a small sample size, I know, but still.....

[doubleh]

AWH: DNL said Coste was with his wife who just gave birth and will most likely not be back with the team until tomorrow.

[AWH the RBP]

doubleh, thanks.

Congratulations to the Coste family!!!

I guess Werth is the emergency catcher.

[clout]

The radar indicates one line of rain behind the line that just went through, but ut should last very long.

[doubleh]

AWH: Yep, Werth is emergency catcher.

[CJ]

AWH: Interestingly, Coste has caught in Moyer's last 6 starts and 10 of 13 overall. Since June 2nd, Coste has caught on even days and Ruiz on odd days.

[Inside/Outside the Parker]

Who is the backup catcher? Maybe this is the opportunity someone needs.

[bay_area_phan]

Coste needs to get his priorities in order. This is an important game.

[AWH the RBP]

bap, LOL!

[Inside/Outside the Parker]

BTW: I am not at all impressed by the fact that Coste is only one game over .500 and that Ruiz has a much better record in games in which he catches.

That may be the single most misleading stat I have ever seen. The variables that are completely ignored by that stat are vast enough that I think an astrophysicist would shudder to attempt to figure them all out.

To name one: Runs scored (Average or specific games) (probably the most important and has nothing to do with how a catcher and pitcher perform)
--If the Phillies are averaging 6 runs in games in which Ruiz catches, of course they would win more games. That may or may not have anything to do with his performance. Based on his batting performance thus far, frequently it has little to do with his performance.

[Inside/Outside the Parker]

That is like saying that the Bulls won more games when B.J. Armstrong started than when he didn't. (Or Bill Cartwright for that matter). It completely ignores the primary reason why they won the game, Michael Jordan.

[bay_area_phan]

Parker: All true. However, if the ERA of the Phillies' pitchers is better when Ruiz starts, that MIGHT be significant. Again, there are plenty of potentially confounding factors -- with dumb luck being the main one. But it would be a more relevant stat than just looking at the Phillies' records with the 2 catchers.

[NEPhilliesPhan]

The difference in cERA could easily be the fact that Ruiz catches Hamels while Coste catches Myers...that could explain much of hte difference in record too.

[KidCarnivore]

Yaaaay! We got out of a first inning without giving up a run! Yaaaaay!

[Ribbies]

wow, we got out cantu

[timr]

Thats a really good point, NEPhillies Phan

[Inside/Outside the Parker]

I'm saying this at the risk of being the victim of the reverse jinx, but watching Moyer pitch is truly one of the more pleasurable and under-appreciated things going on in MLB right now.

[Inside/Outside the Parker]

Moyer is the McGyver of pitching. I think he could make a bomb out of a grapefruit.

[bay_area_phan]

Man . . . could their luck be any worse in these first 2 innings?

[Sophist]

The Phils have hit the ball hard right at people several times this series. Pat the Bat being the latest. In two close games, that is tough luck.

Did Cantu just make a nice defensive play?

Make Werth the latest victim.

[Brian G]

YES! Moyer got Jacobs out!

[bob]

the twins released rincon. even though he's a righty, he might have value to the phillies in the same way JC Romero worked out for us last year with a fresh start in the NL after sucking it up in the AL.

[Tray]

What are their comparative numbers on passed balls, or (this is probably a little harder to find), wild pitches thrown when they're catching? Or runs scored when they start, since that's what everyone's so worried about? I suspect that the difference Coste makes is dampened significantly by his usually batting 8th, where there are fewer runners to drive in and fewer good hitters to drive him in. And I also notice that, for whatever reason (probably just happenstance), Ruiz has been scoring at a higher rate when he does get on base than Coste has (41% to Coste's 30%), so that may help explain why we don't do worse when Ruiz plays.

[Inside/Outside the Parker]

Tray:

I would look it up, but I don't know where I could find such stats.

[Inside/Outside the Parker]

If Carlos "Teflon Don" Ruiz hits a dribbler to second, I'm going to do cartwheels down a flight of stairs.

[NEPhilliesPhan]

It was really annoying because ESPN Gamecast had Ruiz's flyball go into the stands so I got all excited thinking it was a HR... than I realized that he simply flied out...I should have known better.

[bay_area_phan]

He hit it out of the infield. That's progress.

[Tray]

Well, surprisingly, Coste appears to give up fewer passed balls, wild pitches, and stolen bases, even when you average out for playing time. As he himself constantly says, though, he's not an everyday player.

[NEPhilliesPhan]

"Hit the ball on the ground Hayes!!!"

[Sophist]

Just, just the worst luck. Am I misguided on this one?

Rollins hit what I thought was a 2B off the bat.

[Inside/Outside the Parker]

I think at a certain point you have to give credit to the Fish for their defensive positioning. But that aside, Howard, Rollins, Werth, and Burrell have all smashed baseballs that went directly to a Marlin.

[Ribbies]

Unlucky yes, but it does seem like we're hitting the ball at least. I think they'll start in fall in next inning.

[chris m]

is it a joke that ruiz is even on the all star ballot

[Sophist]

The Phils BABIP in the last 7 days is .249. In the last 365 days it's .319.

Rollin's BABIP in the last 7 days is .111.

I feel slightly vindicated for whining.

[curt]

Gramps can't see Ruiz's fingers, and can barely see his hand signals.

Lets hope for no line drives back through the box.

[Sophist]

I mis-typed: that .249 is for the last 14 days.

[TG082]

McCarthy should watch what he says about Olsen; he doesn't want Scott to pull a Milton Bradley on him.

[Sophist]

I should stop complaining about it; it's only making things worse (Howard.)

[bay_area_phan]

These are about the luckieset 4 innings I've ever seen a pitcher have.

[PhillyFriar]

As if it wasn't already, this is quickly becoming one of those "I'll feel screwed if we don't win" kind of games. Olsen can't continue to pitch to contact and get away with it, can he? Can he?

/twitches nervously

[TG082]

How many freaking times is that going to happen to us this year? Dammit, Howard.

[Sophist]

PhillyFriar - probably not. But he could try doing something else, like missing bats.

[Sophist]

How many GB outs has Moyer made so far? 8?

[Sophist]

Wow, i guess right.

[bay_area_phan]

When even the reverse Beerleaguer jinx doesn't work on a guy, all hope is truly lost.

[IceMan]

Anybody else ready to cut the cord on Ruiz?

[redbeard]

ruiz is playing cause coste is having a baby, so in other words... the backup is in tonite.

[denny b.]

I know its probably not going to happen with a first place club, who is pitching so well at most spots, but what about Ruiz playing himself back to AAA? What is he doing to merit continued big league employment at this point?

Plus, there are other options. Jaramillo is now almost to .260 (after hitting under .200 until early May). Plus, Jaramillo has thrown out an amazing 33 out of 53, in runners trying to steal.

And, we all know what Marson has been doing all year at Reading.

BTW, here are some stats on how some of the AA and AAA boys stack up, in their respected leagues:

Mazone is 1st in the IL in IP and 3rd in wins.

Happ is 1st in the IL in K's and 4th in IP.

Marson is 1st in the Eastern League in hitting (.358 as of tonight).

Slayden is 5th in the EL in RBI's (43).

Golson is 3rd in the EL in SB's (17). Moran is 4th in the EL with 15 SB's.

Carrasco is 1st in the EL in K's.

[Ribbies]

This is getting pathetic, let's score some damn runs!

[PhillyFriar]

Marlins commentators (courtesy of my Extra Innings package): "If you put Jamie Moyer in one of those College World Series games with aluminum bats, he probably wouldn't last three innings."

I know he meant it as some kind of a compliment... but really? The man's won 236 career games. Show him a little respect.

[mike cunningham]

Of course Moyer gets a hit.

[IceMan]

Jamie going the other way!

[redbeard]

nice, moyer getting the rally started!

[Ribbies]

Yes Jamie Moyer, you DO have to do everything yourself tonight.

[mike cunningham]

If you are parent in Philadelphia... you have it easy... "Be Like Chase" or if you'd like "Be Like Jamie"

[Sophist]

Moyer's wheelhouse: those slap hits to short left.

[Sophist]

2 get through in a row! love it.

[IceMan]

Heads up play by Hanley. Poor Jamie has no wheels.

[Steve Jeltz]

I think Ruiz is safe on the ML roster at least for the reason that you probably don't want to bring up a rookie catcher to handle veteran pitchers in a pennant race. That and there's no guarantee that Jamarillo can hit ML pitching.

[denny b.]

Odd stat of the night...

In the first 4 innings of their last 9 games, the Phils have scored a grand total of 6 runs. 3 of those 6 runs were scored on Sunday against Atlanta. So, in those other 8 games, the Phils have scored 3 runs total through the first 4 innings.

Good thing the starters have been pitching so well during this time period. The Phils haven't started hitting until about the 6th or 7th inning in most games recently.

This team needs one of those old 5 run 1st innings again, just to break the ice.

[Sophist]

Sounds right, SJ. I think Ruiz will turn it around.

If the Phils were a sub .500 team, it would be a perfect situation for a rookie catcher.

What's Utley swinging at?

[mike cunningham]

That's a break.

[joe l]

Karma?

[curt]

Speed kills.

[That Dude]

Nice!

[rickyj21]

I almost threw my laptop off the wall when Vic didn't sac bunt there. This season could get pricey.

[Sophist]

Hmm.

(A) Why is Jimi Williams 3B coach?

(B) CM has to have a short leash on Moyer, if this game stays close. But he has him batting for himself with the bases loaded and 1 out. We'll see how this works.

[bay_area_phan]

Moyer has pitched great but I thought that was a questionable move to let him hit. I would have said so but I was having trouble logging onto Beerleaguer.

[IceMan]

Poor AB by Jimmy. Swung at at least 3 pitches out of the strike zone.

[PhillyFriar]

Manuel's decision to let Moyer hit wasn't nearly as questionable as Gonzalez's decision to IBB Ruiz. I don't care about force outs: Olsen had been pitching well, and all he had to do was retire Ruiz and Moyer to avoid dealing with the reigning MVP. Stupid move, and the Fish were lucky Jimmy's rip didn't find the gap.

[redbeard]

charlie has to leave him in, he's pitching brilliantly. id say his leash is tying run at the plate.

[mike cunningham]

I would have pinch hit for moyer too. 2 runs don't seem like enough.

I don't have a problem with Cholly's long leash. The problem is that he rarely has someone lined up in the bullpen in case he gets in trouble.

[bay_area_phan]

Friar: I agree. I'd have pitched to Ruiz. Apparently Gonzalez hasn't been on Beerleaguer today to read all my rants about Ruiz's ineptitude.

[bay_area_phan]

Marson with another hit and another walk in 3 PAS tonight. And, in the interest of full disclosure, another error too.

[Sophist]

Moyer, wow. Excellent.

I haven't been reading much Beeleaguer today, but this series doesn't reall upset me. The Marlins have always played the Phils will, and the Phils have played well enough to win every game. They've been just as close as the games in the Braves series with the opposite outcome.

And Hamels and Moyer have pitched brilliantly. They win today and only lose a game in the standings.

[curt]

Howard is pretty much the definition of useless.

[bay_area_phan]

Next time howard has a 2-hit game, let's all agree not to write any "Maybe he's coming around" posts.

[timr]

Howard's headed back towards Mendoza country, eh.

[AFish]

Why wasn't Werth bunting there?

[Sophist]

See, I don't think Utley scores from second on that Werth 1B. Great hustle, and nice AB from Werth.

[AFish]

Now it's time for Ruiz to redeem himself.

[timr]

Can Ruizzz redeem earn his place on the Beerleaguer roster?

[IceMan]

Ruiz continues to impress.

[AFish]

Maybe not.