Game chat: Phillies turn to Moyer in second game

Comments

[curt]

Slugfest!

[joe l]

*sigh*

[timr]

Off to a great start there Moyer. Good thing the bullpen is rested.

[CJ]

And... here we go again.

[EastFallowfield]

Almost everyone in the Jays lineup is hitting .300 or .400 vs Moyer. Only Barajas at .200 and Lind (no ABs vs Moyer) are potential weak spots.

[timr]

I'm seriously so tired of watching this guy pitch.

[Mac Tonight]

I think it will take Moyer literally falling asleep on the mound before reality sets in that the man just might have run out of borrowed time.

[Matt]

Ugh. If only Jaime could pitch to the Nationals every 5th day.

[Knight]

We need to get the fans to rush the field so the Phillies have to forfeit the game if it continues like this. The pen can't keep pitching this many innings with how beat up it is right now.

[GBrettfan]

Well, this is starting well! Ugh.

[EastFallowfield]

What a perfect place for Rolen to play...players manager, polite Canadian media waiting for hockey to start again, 24th in attendance.

[CJ]

I'm with timr. I HATE watching games pitched by Jamie Moyer. Smart teams CRUSH this guy. He just doesn't have the stuff anymore.

Who's the long man tonight? Chan Ho Park up yet?

[Phillies' Red]

For those watching, is Moyer getting squeezed as much as MLB's gameday makes it look? Aside from that last strike, of course.

[Matt]

Probably Kendrick, CJ.

[GBrettfan]

He may yet right the ship. Moyer can be counted on for 3ERs and up to 6IP on a normal day.

[clout]

EFF: Sounds like Baseball Heaven.

[Iace]

Moyer will now pitch 5 scoreless innings, because that's what he always does.

[GBrettfan]

I think our catchers are slipping in throws to 2nd. How many have they nearly or actually thrown away of late?...And there's the 3rd ER. So maybe he'll be stellar the rest of the way? One can always hope.

[CJ]

Phillies' Red: Moyer is not getting squeezed.

[Mac Tonight]

I admire Jamie Moyer. He's been one of my favorite pitchers for quite a while now. That being said, I wouldn't have been disappointed if the circumstances of he and Myers were reversed.

[Iceman]

First inning runs on BL can only mean one thing: either ripping the team and fatalistic dialogue, or in this case deciding a 250-win pitcher's career is over. I can't imagine what it'd be like if the team hadn't just won a world series and held a 3-game lead in the division, ten games above .500.

[Mac Tonight]

Iceman: correction - a 46 year old 250 win pitcher's career is over. Seems all of baseball is ready to write off a younger 300 game winner and former Cy Young winner that had recently been released from Atlanta, no?

[clout]

WoW! If ever there was a pitcher to start Dobbs and Bako against, it's this guy. Richmond's splits:

vs. RH: .432 OPS
vs. LH: .976 OPS

That's bigger than Kendrick's. Amazing. Charlie, of course, doesn't pay attention to this stuff, which is why he's got 3 righties in the lineup.

[Iceman]

Mac- sorry, thanks for the correction. Since he's 46, it's totally appropriate to declare his career over.

[Mac Tonight]

Iceman: Uh...yeah. Really, it is completely appropriate.

Pardon me, I've forgotten my BL etiquette. It is wrong to believe that time might have finally caught up with the old guy. It is FAR more realistic and appropriate to believe that he can go on pitching well into his late 70s at a major league level. Nevermind those poor stretches as long as he can get a quality start vs the worst team in baseball once every two months.

[clout]

Moyer's 1st inning in a nutshell:
13 strikes/11 balls.

For a finesse pitcher, that is death.

[Iceman]

Mac- your arguments are so illogical that they aren't even worth addressing.

[Brian G]

clout: Pretty incredible stats on Richmond. And actually, last year (albeit in an even smaller sample size) those splits were even worse.

[Hugh Mulcahy]

Well, that's going to get the torches and pitchforks out . ..

[Mac Tonight]

Perhaps we can hire a rain dance troupe for each of Moyer's outings. As long as we're going to pretend that he's immune to the effects of aging, we might as well go full tilt ridiculous.

[Matt]

That's it. Sorry Iceman, Jaime's done. Last year, Barajas was launching home runs off Adam Eaton. This year, it's Jaime Moyer. That's as good a sign as any that your kaput.

[J. Weitzel]

Throw strikes, pops.

[Meyer]

If Moyer gets squeezed and Ibanez gets expanded that will expunge this gamer duo.

[doubleh]

I sure wish Barajas hadn't forgotten how to play baseball that year he was in Philly.

[Knight]

Oh well, off to do something else tonight. Hopefully Charlie just chucks Taschner out there and makes him finish the game come hell or high water.

[Hugh Mulcahy]

I'm in for the rain dance tonight. Maybe even a tornado warning dance, just to make sure it's cancelled.

[Iceman]

Matt, I'm going to trust that was sarcasm.

[timr]

Will Moyer last three innings? Can Bruntlett pitch in a blowout loss? How many Beerleaguers will tell me that its irrational to think the oldest pitcher in the game may be washed up?

Stay tuned!

[Mac Tonight]

Iceman: Yeah. Pesky things like age and the declining physical capabilities that go along with it are completely illogical. How silly of me.

That trouble with throwing strikes and astronomical ERA are nothing more than illogical figments of my imagination. He is, in fact, a 23 year old ace. My apologies.

[GBrettfan]

I keep hearing that AL batters are more patient. I don't get it. Why does the existence of a DH inherently make you more patient at the plate, foul off more pitches, make the pitcher throw strikes? Seems like that's a good approach regardless of your league.

[doubleh]

Why, oh why, are the Phillies so bad at home?

It makes absolutely no sense.

[J. Weitzel]

You live with hits. Even in a good year, Moyer gives up a ton of them. But he can't fall behind, like he did with Rod.

[GBrettfan]

Our offense better get started, they could need to put up a lot of runs tonight!

[doubleh]

I'm with the majority. Watching Jamie Moyer pitch is like watching a Red Sox/Yankees game...it's excruciating. Every pitch takes 10 minutes and lately, even those don't go for strikes. If he can't locate, he's no good to us. End of story.

It would be fine if he were our 5th starter, but he's not.

[Sully]

Did Wheels really just say that Mike Schmidt won 20 gold gloves?

[bananagrabbers]

4 K's already. Really poor ABs so far. They're approaching the plate like they didn't prepare for this guy at all.

[Iceman]

How quickly "the majority" forgets three straight QS, two against the Mets and the Dodgers.

[kuvasz]

Boooooooooo!

Get Moyers the hell out of there. If this is what the Phillies send to the mound every fifth turn they ought to wheel out an Iron Mike for another "Jamie Moyers Invitational Batting Practice."

[EastFallowfield]

Apparently, RH's can hit this guy for singles at least. Can't imaging 2009 Dobbs or Career Bako doing much better than Feliz or Coste.

[Mac Tonight]

doubleh correction: It would be fine if he were the Mets 5th starter, but he's not.

Meanwhile, it seems that Richmond cannot record an out that isn't a strikeout.

Guess that 20 gold gloves comment was...uh...well, it's T-Mac and Wheeler. What more can we expect?

[Matt]

Wow.

[Hugh Mulcahy]

A 1-5-3 DP on the sacrifice. Moyer can't even f&%king bunt tonight.

[Josh]

Moyer is such a trainwreck right now.

[timr]

Another benefit of having a 46 year old pitcher: bunting into a double play at first and third!

[G-Town Dave]

Sully: Go easy on Wheels. After all, he was only off by 10 ...

L.A. says the Phils are 1-18 when scoring 3 runs or less ... OUCH. :-(

[J. Weitzel]

Your team is stinking up the city, Philadelphia. Where are the boos at?

[doubleh]

Schmidt's legend just grows with time. He's doubled his GG's since he retired.

Mac Tonight: If he were the Mets 5th starter, he would 1-hit us every time we faced him. You know it and I know it.

I like Moyer and I want him to do better, but he's difficult to watch. Not in a "I'm scared he's going to give up 7 runs" kind of way, but in a "it takes 20 minutes a half inning" kind of way.

[KidCarnivore]

Whitey would've loved that.

[GBrettfan]

Jamie didn't help himself there...I'm still waiting for them to turn things around.

[Sully]

I would have been fine if he missed the exact number. But at a minumum, shouldn't he know that in order to win 20 gold gloves, he would have needed to have played 20 years?

[Mac Tonight]

Iceman: Hey, Park had a pretty damn impressive start against the Mets. Eaton had a decent outing too. Let's demote Happ and Bastardo and stick them at the back end of the rotation. After all, if we're going to focus on tiny samples of success and ignore the ineffectiveness that they normally display, it makes perfect sense.

Hey, didn't Cholly play a few years in Japan? Surely he's young enough to be our right handed bat off of the bench.

[Mac Tonight]

doubleh: I like Moyer too, and I am definitely rooting for him to improve. Along those same lines, I'm hoping that the Powerball ticket in my car will buy me season tickets for the next 50 years.

[Iceman]

Mac, you're bringing up stale arguments that those who agree with you have tried and failed to make logical. Again, I'll gladly argue with anyone on this site, as long as their points aren't A) Recycled or B) Completely and totally illogical.

[doubleh]

It's like we are rooting for 2 different teams: on the road, they're incredible. At home, they play like the '62 Mets. I've never seen them give up so many walks as they have in this homestand.

[Josh]

That Alex Rios isn't much of a baserunner, is he.

[Mac Tonight]

Iceman: Yet you continue to respond. Are you trying to convince me or yourself? Care to counter my lack of logic with some actual logic, or can we keep shouting "illogical" at the tv set each time Moyer gets lit up until the score changes?

[timr]

Jimmy looking great there. They need to start chipping away at this lead now.

[Mac Tonight]

Incidentally, it's nice that our leadoff hitter can't bunt, hit or get on base at all.

Isn't it about time he gets put in the #6 hole where he'll go 3-4 for a night or two before another three weeks of being a guaranteed leadoff out?

[Iceman]

Mac- I keep responding to you in hopes that I'll be the main subject in your next term paper.

[J. Weitzel]

Agree with Wheels about execution and approach against this pitcher. By extension, they don't seem to have the same, smart approach to pitchers as they do on the road.

[bananagrabbers]

I'm at the point where I'm not even that upset about Moyer. The plate appearances last night and tonight have left a lot to be desired.

[curt]

Dang, we're not holding up our end of the slugfest. The boys are probably disappointed they didn't get Halliday.

[sneed]

Whats the deal with this home record? At this point our home/road split seems more like a legitimate trend than pure coincidence.

[Mac Tonight]

Iceman: That joke keeps getting funnier. Must have really damaged your ego that I was able to basically f with you and hijack the board on a whim without anyone getting the bright idea to ignore. :)

Still waiting for that logical argument that Moyer's age is irrelevant. Any time you're ready...

[G-Town Dave]

The true value of J-Roll lies in his unshakable consistency: he doesn't have a smart approach -- or any approach, really -- to pitchers at home *or* on the road.

[Matt]

Michael Milken? The scumbag who stole hundreds of millions of dollars on Wall Street in the 80's? Great, just who I want to listen to right now.

[Spitz]

Who is this guy, Tim Redding?

[Hugh Mulcahy]

Mac,

Charlie hit lefty.

[Noah]

What's interesting is that Mac Tonight's paper is actually just the same 4 lines copied and pasted over the course of 6 pages.

[Tray]

At this point it does seem more likely than not that Moyer will fail to have even a passable year. It's pretty late in the season to have a 6.30 ERA.

[Mac Tonight]

It was good enough to keep my 4.0 Noah, and it was amusing research to say the least. I almost pissed myself laughing at some of the responses.

Hugh: Lefty, huh. Then he'll fit right in. :)

[Noah]

It says a lot for your educational institution that you've managed to succeed with such aplomb in classes with such low-level bladder control.

Do they make extra long plastic sheets?

[Matt]

Sigh. I guess it's one of those nights.

[Spitz]

Wow, lets hope the mets lose tonight and we can erase this game from our memory bank.

[Mac Tonight]

Noah: No plastic sheets, but we're given a case of Depends after every 12 credits. Your attempt at a zinger is admirable, but don't quit your day job.

[EastFallowfield]

We're allowed to hit cheap CBP HRs too?

[Iceman]

That DP hurts.

Especially now..oof.

[Matt]

Four hard hit balls that inning. That's promising.

[Iace]

Haha the Citizens Bank is pretty ridiculous, not that I'm complaining

[timr]

Before the season's over, Moyer may even pass Bob Gibson on the all-time wins list!

[Mac Tonight]

lace: I've found that their interest rates on CDs and roth IRA are really quite competitive. They're not your ordinary bank, my friend.

[MPN]

I really wish they'd have sent the Phanatic in to have seen Mr. Lasorda. Much like Fletch, I can't stand Tommy.

[EastFallowfield]

Well, the Mets are down 3-2, game is official, and it's starting to pour in Baltimore.

[Hugh Mulcahy]

AS much as I like MOyer, Moyer and Gibson do not belong in teh same conversation. Damn is he old.

[Mac Tonight]

I think there are more Jackie Robinson tributes per season than playoff games.

[EastFallowfield]

Make it 4-2 Orioles over Mets.

[curt]

Thanks goodness Jimmy refused to accept that gift-wrapped base on balls.

[Mac Tonight]

Here we go with another lecture on how the AL is superior to the NL.

*yawn*

[Hugh Mulcahy]

That rain looks bad. Anyone know if it's expected to pass over quickly?

[G-Town Dave]

curt: Man, J-Roll ain't about no gettin' on base, he's about hitting for POWER! That's why Charlie mustn't dare move him from the leadoff spot ... MVP, bitchez!