Game chat: Phillies resume season tonight in Miami

Comments

[Bonehead]

VERY glad to be back playing baseball. I even missed Sarge.

[Willie]

Speaking of Sarge, is it just me, or do you get the impression that he can't stand Jenkins?

[Bonehead]

Sarge can't stand bad at-bats; whether its Vic, Feliz, Howard.... Almost all of Jenkins' are bad.

[Brian G]

JW: Nice artwork. Love Moyer's face in the picture. It looks like he's trying to make the hitters think even he's confused over what he is going to throw.

[Mr. Mack]

Adam Eaton going to the bullpen is like going to McDonald's and ordering a 2 Big Mac's, a super size fries and a large Diet Coke. Why bother? He can't get out of the first inning without giving up any runs. Isn't the idea of the bullpen to hold the other team scoreless? This move is another flat out lame attempt from the FO to not have to add another salary, no matter how small. That and he might get major league time. It is another example in a long line of poor moves that we have to suffer with watching. This ownership can never admit to f*ing up things, but instead of trying to win and cut their losses, they will shove this kind of crap down our throats until we vomit.

JA Happ deserves a shot in the rotation, which he's earned based on his past few performances, but he won't get one because they don't want to win, they would rather save money. They just want the turnstiles to turn past 3 million so they can go in the back room, shake each other's hands on a great marketing year and throw back their Manhattan's.

[Bonehead]

So in a couple of days when Blanton is added to the roster, I assume Cervenak is sent down.
Who is the odd man out when Myers is added next week? Seanez? Eaton (oh please, please)?

[enrico]

Did you try to find the worst photo of Moyer you could? Man, that's rough.

[Bonehead]

Mack: You are so right!!
Many examples can be cited to support your venting.

[CJ]

Mr. Mack: Sorry, but I think Myers gets that shot at that rotation shot first. Happ's career with the Phils isn't over... bet let's not got overly excited about a couple of good starts. In two starts last year, J.D. Durbin did this:
15 innings, 0.60 ERA

I'm certainly not dooming Happ to a Durbin-like career, but I'd much rather give Myers his chance first. He's proven it over a longer period in the past. If Myers bombs, then I'll wholeheartedly endorse bringing up Happ.

[Bonehead]

I think Mack's point is that Happ deserves a roster spot over Eaton

[Billy Mac]

Bisenius and Cervenak will be sent down to make room for Myers and Blanton.

[Billy Mac]

Lineups

Phils
1. J Rollins, SS
2. S Victorino, CF
3. C Utley, 2B
4. R Howard, 1B
5. P Burrell, LF
6. G Jenkins, RF
7. P Feliz, 3B
8. C Ruiz, C
9. J Moyer, P

Fish
1. H Ramirez, SS
2. J Hermida, RF
3. J Cantu, 3B
4. M Jacobs, 1B
5. D Uggla, 2B
6. J Willingham, LF
7. C Ross, CF
8. J Baker, C
9. R Nolasco, P

[Mr. Mack]

The obvious move after Myers falters when he gets back up to Philly is to also put him in the bullpen, to replace the struggling Gordon. That way Happ can get a chance to confound all of the NL hitters that have yet to see him as KK did last year. Drop Eaton from the roster and finally admit that the signing was a disaster, rather than waste a roster spot with him. If this doesn't happen it will prove to all of us that this FO is not committed to winning anything, as if we didn't know that already.

[CJ]

Stanard lineup vs. a righty tonight:

Rollins (SH)
Victorino (SH)
Utley (L)
Howard (L)
Burrell (R)
Jenkins (L)
Feliz (R)
Ruiz (R)
Moyer (L)

[clout]

The Phillies will keep trying Eaton in various roles until they are completely convinced that he's washed up. They will not throw away $11M still owed. If he'd agree to pitch in the minors like Myers, that would help. But he'll almost certainly be with the organization for the rest of the season and probably next year as well

[THe DUde]

Will Moyer continue his dominance of Florida tonight?

[CJ]

Bisenius is up? I had no idea.

[Billy Mac]

And Nolasco has dominated the Phils. Which probably means it will be the opposite -- a high scoring affair.

[Billy Mac]

They called up Bisenius when then sent down Swindle. He hasn't pitched yet.

[Inside/Outside the Parker]

Is that Overbeck kid from Ole Miss?

[Inside/Outside the Parker]

For all of this Mets talk, everyone forgets that "all" of their problems from last season were on full display last night. Their best pitcher showed up small against a team that can't hit LH pitching (absent Brandon Phillips), and their bullpen was horrible.

Pardon me if I'm not impressed with the Mets putting up a bunch of runs against the Reds bullpen. Give the Nationals a run against the Mets recent opponents, and everyone will be hailing them as an "up and coming team, maybe potential Wild Card Contender." What a joke.

If there is one thing that the Mets could take as a positive from last night, it's that Billy Wagner didn't blow a save. We'll see how long that lasts.

[Mike]

Thank God Phils baseball is back. The Reds counter Maine tonight with everybody's favorite D-List starter: Bronson Arroyo. Let's hope the break did well for the offense and Moyer continues to dominate Florida.

[Mike]

Also, that pic of Moyer makes it look like he just took a left cross from Apollo Creed. Just sayin'.

[CJ]

Parker: Yeah, all the media types are back on the Mets bandwagon... which is fine with me. We all know how they play under pressure.

[Mr. Mack]

Basing your roster on whether a guy makes x amount of dollars or not, after a multitude of failed chances is a sure way to invite failure to your ball club. As we all watch this 27'th man on a 25 man roster hang around like an albatross, winning is obviously secondary.

Here is a question that needs to be asked: Would the BoSox, Yankees, Mets, or almost any club committed to fielding a winner keep Adam Eaton, with 1.5 years left on his contract, on its roster? I think we all know the answer to that.

[Inside/Outside the Parker]

John Maine vs. Cincy: 0-2 10.00 ERA. Apparently the Reds like mediocre RH pitching.

Mr. Mack: Better question would be whether or not the Washington Nationals would keep Adam Eaton around? I would say no.

BAP: I have to disagree that Blanton will not be anything more than a minor upgrade over Eaton. As Jason Stark said, Adam Eaton has been the worst pitcher in baseball over the last two years. It is amazing to me that the Phillies continue to trot him out.

[Mr. Mack]

Silver Lining Dept:

Does it make anyone feel any better that we don't have Barry Zito on our roster? Heck, we'd be saddled for the next 5 years with that crap. Maybe 1.5 yrs. of Eaton looks like a bargain after all.

[CJ]

It's game time... and it couldn't come soon enough.

Go Phils!!

[King0fprussia]

I think another 1.5 years of Eaton would take a good 5 years off my life. Sarge and Wheels like to talk about how he "settles down" after the first inning--but that hardly matters when he's routinely letting 4 or 5 cross the plate right away.

[Lemoyne]

Ugh... Comcast's Blanton 'highlights' are striking out Feliz, Jenkins and Ruiz.. looks nasty against those, hope same against others

[CJ]

First pitch swinging... J-Roll hasn't missed a beat!

[AFish]

1 pitch, 1 out. Welcome back, JRoll.

[redbeard]

how nice of jimmy and vic to give uggla some infield practice.

[NCPhilly]

Make Nolasco work, c'mon.

[redbeard]

not for nothin, but i didnt miss hearing wheels and t-mac one bit.

too bad harry has the night off

[AFish]

Redbeard, at least you don't have to listen to the Marlins play-by-play guy. WALK ME OFF AGAIN!

[AFish]

Can't criticize Howard for swinging at the first pitch there.

[Inside/Outside the Parker]

Like clockwork. Ryno!!!

[NCPhilly]

Ryan Howard: break, what break?
Put him in the home run derby.

[Inside/Outside the Parker]

Cholly: Wake up boys.
Team (In unison): What, is it the second half already?
Cholly: Yep, get those bats out of bed.

[Inside/Outside the Parker]

Carlos Ruiz: Na, I think I'll just sleep in until next season.

[NCPhilly]

Jenkins does provide some good defense moments in right...

[Inside/Outside the Parker]

Nice play Jenkins!!! Very nice. Brett Favre coming out of retirement......hmmm? Coincidence?

[redbeard]

nice play, mr. jenkins

[AFish]

This is a great ump for Moyer.

[Inside/Outside the Parker]

"The Umpire Strikes Back": This guy has some chords.

[Inside/Outside the Parker]

cords oops.

I think he is auditioning for Umpire idol.

[Chase Utley]

You're telling me Tastykake's filling is better than my fielding skills? F--- you.

[Inside/Outside the Parker]

Does anyone remember Joe Blanton getting into a fight with Ichiro last season? If so anyone know where I could find some video of that? I was trying to find it, and post a link, but I was never able to find it.

[NCPhilly]

2-strike leadoff XBH for Rollins, please, and thank you.

[Inside/Outside the Parker]

Are we sure that Nolasco is not Spanish for Blanton? I swear, Nolasco is a tan Blanton.

And speaking of great fat guys, that makes me think of one of my favorite Chris Farley skits:

"I am El Nino! Yo soy El Nino! All other storm systems bow before me! El Nino is Spanish for.......the Nino!"

[Inside/Outside the Parker]

UTS!!

[NCPhilly]

Mmm... runs!

[NCPhilly]

I think I'd rather have the tan Blanton.

[Jack]

FLA announcers saying the rain will pass pretty quickly.

[Inside/Outside the Parker]

I'm happy to have Joe Blanton. He is perfect against the Mets in his career. Never allowed a single run (Granted only 2 starts).

When did Philly stop liking fat guys? Zaguski was an instant fan favorite last season. I really saw no reason for that other than the fact he was fat.

[NEPhilliesPhan]

Thank you Mr. Jenkins!

My pick for big 2nd half BTW.

[Inside/Outside the Parker]

Jenkins!!! HR, 2-2 in the second half.

[Inside/Outside the Parker]

What is Ruiz's average? It has to be below .200 now.

[NEPhilliesPhan]

Exactly .200 after that last AB.

[John Madden]

Brett Favre can play Football and Baseball if he wants. Ya see crushing a ball 400 feet is nothing for Favre. You see when Favre wants to do well he does well, and it's really Brett Favre's destiny to be great at everything he does.

TURDUCKEN. BOOM!

[Inside/Outside the Parker]

.200 is the Mendoza line. What is .100? Maybe Ruiz can coin a phrase:

"The Ruiz Line": .150 or below while playing regular.

Jaime Moyer looks much more adept at handling a bat than Ruiz. I'd laugh if there was anything funny about that.

[John Madden]

Here, let me circle Brett's cankles.

[BobbyD]

Nice effort by Jenkins tonight. What a difference production out of the 6 hole makes.

[Inside/Outside the Parker]

Implosion Imminent. Hide the women and children.

[redbeard]

call the damn ball.

that was terrible.

[NCPhilly]

Awful communication in the outfield.

[THe DUde]

Vic WTF is that...two bad plays in a row!

[John Madden]

Pat Burrell is slower than me. And I eat turducken every day.

[Iceman]

Bases loaded no one out...watch Pappy weasel his way out of this one.

[Inside/Outside the Parker]

Moyer better conjure up some of that Kendrick magic or it will be ugly soon. Speaking of Uggla.....

[Sophist]

GIDP!!

Take it every time.

[AFish]

Listening to these announcers make excuses for Uggla's All Star performance is very annoying.

[Inside/Outside the Parker]

Looks like some early bullpen action tonight. I'd be shocked if Moyer went 6.

[Iceman]

And he does with limited damage. Jamie Moyer, you ARE the man.

[AFish]

I think he'll go 6.

[Iceman]

AFish - what excuses are they giving?

[Sophist]

Parker - I don't like Moyer going more than 6 IP anyway.

[Inside/Outside the Parker]

Iceman: True, but he is off tonight. You can see it in his body language. He is not locating well. Hopefully he can turn it around, but he has thrown a lot of pitches.

[Iceman]

Maine just walked Jr with the bases loaded. 2-2 in the bottom of the 5th.

[Iceman]

Parker - he looked good until last inning, I thought. He looks like he might be a bit winded from the south FLA heat. I can't imagine what it's like to grip the ball down there, especially for pitchers who rely on their off-speed stuff like Moyer (who is all off-speed stuff).

[Iceman]

Chuck gets tossed! It's about damn time!

[joe l]

Fire 'em up Cholly!

[Sophist]

I thought Moyer hadn't allowed any hits and had thrown only 37 in 3 IP until that inning.

[The Theory]

why'd he get tossed?

[AFish]

FYI, Maine is melting down.

[AFish]

Iceman, the FLA play-by-play guy said, "You know, there have been Hall of Fame members who have gone 0-4 in the All Star Game." They also praised Uggla for answering reporters questions after the game. Very impressive.

[AFish]

You know Howard is back when he gets the IBB.

[NCPhilly]

The IBB is back.

[Iceman]

Oh yeah, good for Uggla, actually talking to the media. What a stand up guy.

BTW, 'borderline dominant' John Maine can't make it through the 5th against the Reds. 5-2. Second game in a row that the 'borderline dominant' rotation can't make it through 5. On a side note, based on recent starts, I might place a bet on the fact that Maine is hurt.

[EastFallowfield]

I'm thinking Charlie wanted a nice long argument to get Moyer some rest after that long inning. If so, it worked for the 5th at least.

[AFish]

The old Feliz has returned.

[AFish]

Ruiz has a chance to drop below the Mendoza line here.

[Iceman]

Could Feliz have looked any worse in these first three ABs?

Does this K mean Ruiz is below .200 now?

[AFish]

Yep. .199 average.

[bay_area_phan]

Myers pitched 6.7 innings tonight, allowed 7 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), struck out 6 and walked 1 at Single A Clearwater. Not a bad effort, but not exactly a great one either, considering he's going against Single A hitters. No doubt the decision to pitch him against overmatched Single A hitters was calculated to make him look good and not screw up the team's pre-existing plans to call him back up to the majors.

[sifl]

Wow Ruiz is bad. Eaton is supposed to be really "athletic", right? Maybe we can convert him to a catcher....

[clicheguevara]

Ugh, it seems like Myers stands a better chance of getting worse than improving on his first half.

There's that black hole we have come to know and love - two at bats without any contact at all.

[clicheguevara]

Who is ready for Adam Eaton to start the seventh?

[AFish]

If the Phillies score 15, we *might* see Eaton.