Game chat: Phillies try to keep pace with Mets

A loss would sink the Phillies to three games back of the Mets, who defeated the Brewers today 9-2 to complete a three-game sweep. Joe Blanton and Odalis Perez take the mound tonight in Washington.

Lineups are posted: The Phillies will be trying to win without Shane Victorino, who is out of the starting lineup. Check the discussion thread for details. Eric Bruntlett gets the start in right field. Jayson Werth replaces Victorino in center field and will bat third for the second-straight night. Chris Coste will be behind the plate for Blanton, who’s going for his first win since Aug. 2. The Phils cannot afford to look ahead to the next series and need to take care of business against a weaker opponent. A loss tonight would put the Phils in a tight spot with a three-game set at Shea this weekend.

Hamels to start Sunday: As it should be, Cole Hamels will take Kyle Kendrick's scheduled turn Sunday against the Mets. It will be the first time Hamels has faced the Mets since April 18.

Comments

[Ryan]

Why start Bruntlett when you have Stairs?

[Marc H]

The Mets are doing things that Division winning teams do---jumping out to leads, throwing runners out on the bases. Their bullpen has also gotten a lift from Stokes and Duaner Sanchez seems to have turned things around.

I just hope we can hand within a game or two of them and maybe they will tail off. Right now, it doensn't seem like they have lost a game in a month

[diggitydave]

Don't look now, but if hypothetically we keep pace with the Mets tonight, we'd be only 3.5 back of Milwaukee in the Wild Card race.
I don't want to get ahead of myself, but the Brewers have a 4 game set with San Diego now (in which they face Jake Peavy and Chris Young), then they have a 3-game series with Cincinnati (in which they will face Volquez and potentially Cueto), and then the Brew crew come to Citizens Bank Park for a 4 game series with the Phils (in which C.C. is not scheduled to throw).

These match-ups, coupled with the relative inexperience of the players on the Brewers roster and the fact that they have a well-documented history of late-season collapses in recent years, makes me think that the Mets may not actually be our most "catchable" targets at this point..

[Ryan]

or even give Golson a start against the Gnats, Bruntlett should not be starting in the outfield!!

[Ryan]

And yes I think the Brewers could choke away their lead, they absoulutly sucked against the Mets. They left on ton of men on base against Perez and the Mets bullpen

[Ryan Anthony]

lol my bad Odalis is a lefty, I should look before I speak

[CJ]

Ryan: Exactly... it's because Perez is a lefty... however, that doesn't explain why Golson might not have gotten a shot here.

[Ryan]

CJ:I agree at least see if Golson brings something to the table

[CJ]

D-Backs just came back from a run down in the 9th as Dunn hit a walk-off double. Cards lose.

[CJ]

Ryan: Of course, I'm not surprised. Manuel has always been very reluctant to turn to young players unless forced to.

[The Theory]

Manuel likes what he knows. And he knows what he will get from Bruntlett in this situation. He won't light the place up, but he has gotten some big hits for us this year. How many big hits has Golson gotten for us this year? Exactly.

Not saying I agree with Manuel... I'd be of mind that neither player will get a hit, so put the best defensive guy in. Which is probably Golson.

[THe DUde]

Weitzel - thanks for your email. I guess freedom of speech is not allowed on your site and I am banned because i'm too negative. Take it for what its worth, but I'm as much a die hard fan as anyone on your site.

[METS_OWN_PHILS]

3 hit shutout coming tonight from Odalis Perez.

[philb]

Bruntlett? WTF? What is wrong with this retarded coaching staff? Why the hell did they bring up the minor league players? Anyone is better than Bruntlett. I swear they're trying to lose on purpose.Let me guess...Feliz(6th), Ruiz(7th), Bruntlett(8th)and then Blanton (9th). Interchange any of the 6-8 spots - it doesn't matter. It's a black hole...

Christ...

[Sophist]

Bruntlett does have a .359 OBP against LHP. Also, Coste is starting tonight.

[philb]

Sorry - Coste is projected (ESPN). Not Ruiz. Still looks like a crappy way to try to win.

[CJ]

philb:

It's Feliz, Coste, Bruntlett then Blanton. Far be it from me to defend Feliz, but he has an .852 OPS vs. lefties and Coste has been hot recently. It's not the worst bottom of the lineup this team has put out. I'm not a Bruntlett fan, but if you're going to rest Victorino someone has to go out there. I probably would have given Golson a shot at it.

[kells]

My favorite T-MAC report of the year-No audio. I usually just mute the TV-Thanks Comcast. Great production as usual.
PS:Please resume mute production from the
4th-6th inning. Call it the T-Mac/Wheels special.

[CJ]

Besides, if Bruntlett is the reason this team loses against the lowly Nats, then we aren't a playoff contender anyway.

[redbeard]

that was great, tmacs whole report from the stands was without sound, thank you comcast!

[Ryan]

mop: Im fine with mets fans coming on for a legite discussion, but all you do is come on here on treat people like crap. What Im saying is if your going to post can you add something to the discussion instead of being an ass?

[Ryan]

kells:4-5 is T-Mac /Sarge
6th is Tmac/Wheels special

[CJ]

Surprise, surprise... Utley hit.

[CJ]

At least it was a professional plunk from Odalis Perez. It wasn't real hard and it hit his hip. You don't over throw it and you don't go for the head or hands.

[clout]

diggity: I will point your Brewers prediction out to you again in about 3 weeks.

[MG]

Given how pathetic the overall callups have been and the woeful performance Allentown, Reading, I don't want to hear crap this offseason from Arbuckle about "how strong the farm system."

[J. Weitzel]

Interesting, since my tracking shows you post under multiple handles, including as a Mets fan. Here's a tip if you want to stay: Post under one handle and don't act like a creep.

[bsg]

don't know why harry and wheels have a problem saying utley being hit was a pay-back pitch for flores, just state the obvious

[MG]

The first postseason move I hope the Phils make is fire T-Mac. If he is the successor to Kalas, the Phils better keep searching.

[redbeard]

perez looked upset, maybe cause he meant to hit him in the ribs or somewhere it hurts instead of the hip where utley could take a gunshot and still play nine.

[just a fan of baseball]

hey phils fans, i come on your board to read and to gain a better perspective. I've never posted on here before, but i feel compelled to do this.

Hey mets_own_phils, get a freakin life and stop acting like a 9 year old. I'm a die hard mets fan, and your stupid comments have me actually agreeing with phillies fans...something which i thought would never happen.

sorry to interrupt...have fun with the game

[clout]

CJ: Start Golson against a lefty? I'd LOVE to hear your rationale for that!

[CJ]

redbeard: I imagine Perez just "looked" upset... but wasn't really. The act is part of a professional plunking.

[bsg]

Ryno!!!!!!!!!!Outta here!!!!

[CJ]

Howard homers vs. a lefty. That's what I like to see!

[MG]

Nice to see the Phils get on the board early today.

[CJ]

clout: Isn't Golson a righty? Is baseball cube wrong?

[Sophist]

Wait, THe DUde has multiple monikers and posts as a Mets fan? Funny.

[bsg]

Blanton getting a big k-zone so far.........

[Brian G]

clout: I wonder if he'll be as wrong as you were about the Phillies chances of getting in through the wild card last year. (and yes, realize they won the division, but if the Mets hadn't collapsed they still would've tied with the West teams).

[MG]

I never understood why people come to a blog and pretend to see for/against the poster or topic of the blog.

[Brian G]

And yes, despite Clout's incredulity, Golson is a righty. And we could've left Werth in right and put Golson in center if he started, helping out our defense. Bruntlett makes no sense.

[Sophist]

Brian - I wouldn't say he makes "no" sense. As I said, he has a .359 OBP against LHP this year. That's nice to have in the 8-spot.

MG - People do strange things. The internet only brings some of those out.

[CJ]

Jeez-us Blanton... thanks for blowing a 2 run lead so quickly.

[Brian G]

JW: Right on. Well handled. Annoying a-hole is one thing, but dishonest creep is another.

[redbeard]

for petes sake, blanton. stop it!

[donnie&walter]

soooo, the Dude doesn't abide??

[strange]

It's almost like Blanton is trying to test our offense. Right back to square one. Maybe Ryno and Utley can collaborate on another 2 run shot in a couple innings?

[Sophist]

This aggression will not stand, man.

[Brian G]

Sophist: yeaahhh, i guess. But when it's close to equal I'd prefer to see the new guy who has power and speed get a shot.

[curt]

The game plan must be: test Guzman.

[MG]

Looks like "crappy Blanton" tonight. Phils needs him to give them 6 though.

[diggitydave]

Clout-
I didn't try to make any predictions about the Brewers. The fact remains that besides the 4 they play against the Phils, their remaining games are against doormats San Diego, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh, as well as Chicago (who may have the division wrapped up relatively soon). Just based on their schedule alone, one would think they should win the Wild Card by default.

But think back to them blowing the NL Central division lead with a terrible August and September, the dysfunction that permeated their clubhouse last year (Estrada fighting with Yost, etc.) as well as this year (Parra fighting with Fielder), and the fact that they have only a handful of players with playoff experience on their roster.
Regardless of their remaining schedule, their pathetic showing against the Mets these past few days could (NOT necessarily will) be a harbinger of things to come..

[MG]

If Sheets misses some starts, maybe the Phils have a shot but pretty hard to believe the Brewers will falter down the stretch unless the Phils either sweep them/take 3 out 4 against them.

[redbeard]

thanks for sucking millidge

[strange]

With at-bats like Utley's, Perez is on his way to a high pitch count in a hurry.

[TK]

Wow, great defense Milledge. How good does that trade look for the Mets now? Jim Bowden lives down the street from me. He better start looking elsewhere. No way he deserves to be back as GM for that team.

[Brian G]

It doesn't really matter what the Phillies best chance of reaching the playoffs is(and it's obviously the Mets). It won't change the Phillies actions, which is to go out and try to win every game. As a fan, I am happy that I can also root for a Brewers collapse as a way of us reaching the playoffs. It's certainly not out of the realm of possibility. The Mets collapsed against just as crappy teams last year.

[Brian G]

Bad time for Werth to K.

[diggitydave]

So many swings and misses!

[philsphan]

Weren't the Phillies interested in Odalis Perez in the off-season? I seem to remember reading something about that here.

[redbeard]

2 strikeouts with a man on 3rd is not getting it done.

[bob]

Pardon if I just missed this during the scan of this thread, but why is victorino out of the lineup tonight?

[strange]

Bob: to get the advantage of Bruntlett's bat in right field.

[bob]

that's what i thought. didn't want to assume that my dreams and exhortations would finally come true...

[MG]

Also have to throw out the Ned Yost factor. He is one of the worst managers in NL and you to have to wonder if things start to get a bit tighter how he will react.

[strange]

Bob: consider it your lucky night. Dreams do come true.

[bob]

Nats' announcer: 600 people actual attendance at Braves-Marlins game this afternoon in Miami...amazing.

[MG]

What MLB should have done a couple of years ago was fold up the Marlins and Expos. Would have made for a better product on the field. As usual though, greed trumped all.

[bay_area_phan]

So much for Pedro Feliz out-performing expectations. His OPS stood at .713 coming into this game. That .07 points below his career OPS.

[MG]

Miami is just a bad sports town. Unless a team is winning, the fans just don't come out. Even the Dolphins have a heard time getting fans to the stadium the past few years when they have been pretty downtrodden.

[bay_area_phan]

Also, remember all those pre-season predictions that Feliz was going to explode for 30 homeruns and 100 RBIs now that he's playing in the supposed homerun paradise of CB Park? Feliz has all of 13 homeruns and 51 RBIs. Over a 557-AB season (which is what he had last year), that projects out to 19 homeruns and 75 RBIs. Last year, he had 20 homeruns and 72 RBIs. So much for those predictions.

His glove is everything it was advertised to be, though. I'll give him that much.

[joe l]

I know $$ is the reason, but I'd love to see the Marlins move south to say the Dominican Republic. At least there would be butts in the seats.

[EastFallowfield]

Well, we all thought CBP was a HR park, but this year it's the most neutral park in baseball. Maybe if CBP played as small as it did a couple years ago Feliz would have a few more HRs.

[baxter]

Nice to finally see some emotion out of J-Roll. I was beginning to think we needed to change the sparkplug.

[Sophist]

CBP home-team HR are on the same track as past seasons. It's the HR from away teams that's way, way down.

[tyler]

wow, im a mets fan, and i really feel that you know, the mets and dont hate each other as much as the media says, and its just a shame and pathetic, to see mets fans, not all, but some dumb people who just come here to ridicule. i mean i can settle with legit conversations. realistically speaking as a mets fan, the mets sweeping the brewers, and the phils playing the brewers, i think the phils could beat the brewers cuz they beat the cubs twice, and you could see a rematch of phils mets in the playoffs.

[baxter]

Actually that Dominican Republic idea isn't as ridiculous as it sounds...I bet a team in San Juan, Puerto Rico would do better than the Marlins. Its close, they love baseball and its practically the USA. That could be the Latin MLB team.

[MG]

The preseason predictions on Feliz hitting 30 HRs were ridiculous. He never has been a power hitter (yeah he hit 22 HRs in a season but big deal when you have 600 ABs) and his increased age/diminished power probably offsets whatever advantage he got from playing home games in CBP.

I forget who I wagered a $1 high stakes bid with before the season that Feliz wouldn't hit even 20 HRs (I had the under with 20 HR as the push).

[wally]

Bonifacio is a funny name.

[strange]

Wally is a pretty funny name too.

[MG]

Nats better develop a decent team in the next two years or they are going to be playing in front of a bunch of empty seasts.

Just a boring team that really hasn't been very competitive or had any marketable players.

One thing I do wish MLB would revisit is the bias on playing so many division rivals in a season. Much rather see some extra games against other NL teams than a million games against the Nats or Fish.

[redbeard]

blanton is crapping the bed

[diggitydave]

Jesus Blanton sucks..

[bob]

deja vu

[baxter]

I like when Charlie gets pitchers up in the 5th inning of close games, especially when the pitcher doesn't look like he has his best stuff. If he did that a little more often, we'd have at least 3-4 more wins. Our pitchers simply aren't good enough to pitch as deep as they do into games. He normally waits until 6 are on the board...Kendrick could've used this quick hook. THANK YOU CHOLLY

[Ribbies]

Guess the inning eater wasn't hungry tonight.

[J. Weitzel]

Blah, Blanton. Kind of a bust thus far. Not working out as hoped.

[Hope SE]

wtf? I thought Blanton was supposed to have good control and eat innings?

How can he tire in the 5th?

[bay_area_phan]

I find it hard to believe that the atmospheric conditions in CB Park have changed since last year. Could the decreased homers have anything to do with the fact that the Phillies have generally had better pitching this year than in past years?

[joe l]

Four strong. Thanks, big guy.

[bay_area_phan]

Madson is pretty much the last guy I want pitching in this situation. Ok, reverse karma. Do your stuff.

[WissahickonBoy22]

Umpire has a tight zone tonight.....

[Hugh Mulcahy]

That was a real quick hook.
I didn't see the first 4 innings, but 9 baserunners on 8 outs is pretty shabby.

[timr]

Uggh. I walk away from Gameday for a minute and suddenly its bases loaded, no outs.

You know, if the Phils can't win a game like this, against a crumby team, in the middle of pennant race, with the Mets already having won, and after a great performance from Hamels last night, they just don't deserve to be in the postseason.

[baxter]

Blanton needs to get into his fat buddha trance. That fake slate wall was messing up his concentration.

[diggitydave]

Hope:
He's not tired, he just looks awful (as he has in the majority of his starts with the Phils).
As soon as he walks the leadoff guy Bonifacio (who is an awful hitter), you know you're in trouble..

TMac says Blanton looks upset and less than thrilled to be pulled after 4+ innings; I say I'm upset that he absolutely sucked tonight.

[KoolEarl]

Another Howard brain fart in the field

[redbeard]

nice play howard. sigh.

[timr]

For those of us watching via Gameday, what happened w/ Howard?