Game chat: Phils, Rays continue series at the Trop

Right-handers Joe Blanton (4-3, 5.28) and Matt Garza (4-5, 3.83) are scheduled when the 2008 pennant winners play the second of three from St. Petersburg, Fla. First pitch is 7:08.

Notes: Ruben Amaro confirmed to reporters before the game that closer Brad Lidge will be activated from the disabled list tomorrow. Scott Eyre also threw off the mound for the first time and experienced no pain in his calf, according to the News-Journal's Scott Lauber. Lineups are posted with Charlie Manuel's daily affirmation to Jimmy Rollins, who leads off, followed by Victorino CF, Utley 2B, Howard DH, Werth RF, Stairs LF, Dobbs 1B, Feliz 3B, Ruiz C. Blanton is looking to rebound afer a shaky 8-7 loss to Toronto on Thursday.

Comments

[Unikruk]

Gosh that's a lot of empty seats.

[thephaithful]

get out of the god f'n damn leadoff spot

[Hope SE]

Where are the Blers? 15 mins without a game chat comment?? Say it ain't so.

[redbeard]

those cowbells are the corniest thing in baseball ever.

[Kool Earl]

Good gravy - 5 K's after 2 innings.

[MG]

When does conviction turn to stupidity? I say July 1st if your leadoff man is hitting .210 with a .250 OBP?

BTY - JRoll is leading MLB in outs and it isn't close right now.

[Unikruk]

It does feel weird to watch a game against the Rays, they feel as familiar as an NL East team after all the intensity last year.

Cowbells and annoying announcers remain.

Garza looks good so far.

[Zach Morris]

I know that this is probably well-tread territory, but what are the rules about noise-making devices at this stadium? Can people bring airhorns? Ghetto blasters? 2 turntables and a microphone?

[Hope SE]

Through 2, JRoll only batter to get wood on the ball. As Cholly said, he's getting hot . . .

[tw]

The only positive so far is that Utley's HBP broke up Garza's perfect game.

[thephaithful]

yeah cowbells are pathetic, if i was an actual baseball fan in tampa i would be so embarassed to be at those games.

[Unikruk]

No, just clap your hands.

[EastFallowfield]

We got the "I hate Rollins as leadoff hitter" post but he's the only Phil to make contact so far (with the bat and not his arm, that is).

[Unikruk]

By contact you guys means "foul out contact" right? The other hitters were getting a piece of Garza's fastball, just not a good one. Stairs might have had a homer if Jimmy weren't so contagious.

[redbeard]

pat the bat!

[tg082]

Pat!!

(oh, wait. crap)

[thephaithful]

anyone who didnt think that would happen at least once was kidding themselves

[Pops]

PTB - got all of that one.

[MG]

The other big names in baseball that are struggling - Ortiz, Guerrero, and Ordonez all have an OPS that is at least 50 points higher than JRoll and Guerrero is still finding his way back after the multitude of injuries.

Reality is that no regular starter in baseball has struggled as much as JRoll at this point and it is now 3 months into the season.

He still should start everyday because he is very sound defensively and the Phils don't have a more viable option but giving him at least 1 AB a game right now is ridiculous. Cholly needs to drop him down in the order to the No. 6 for a set period and see if he responds.

[Hope SE]

How many HRs against us this year by ex-Phils as in Barajas, Pat, and ?

[thephaithful]

Helms has one too

[MG]

PtB 2nd HR at home. He still is homerless on the road in 25 G.

[85]

That's it. Give back the ring, Pat.

[thephaithful]

and rolen.

[thephaithful]

EFF: Jimmy hit a foul ball. So did every single other player(vic?). I know its a useless/pointless argument, but dont give 'credit' to jroll because he hit a foul ball.

[MG]

Not only is this offense missing Ibanez in a big way but the bottom of the lineup has stopped hitting. Feliz is in a funk the past 2 months and Ruiz looks like he is one of his funks here he does nothing offensively (sub .200 AVG) for at least a month.

[EastFallowfield]

Sorry, phaithful. Didn't mean to make you so angry.

[denny b.]

I think Chuckles ought to make J-Roll do 10 pushups, every time he pops out, the rest of the season.

It worked for Willie Mays Hayes.

[Hope SE]

MG: Past 2 weeks, not months, for Feliz. Doesn't make it any better tonight, of course.

[MG]

Meant two week but man an opposing pitcher can just cruise right now when you have Feliz-Ruiz-pitcher-JRoll up.

[denny b.]

Michael Taylor had another hit, in his first AB tonight.

It was just a measly single though.

Can you even fathom, that J-Roll was the NL MVP just 2 years ago? And, now he is one of the worst full-time offensive players in baseball.

Baseball's a tough game.

[Spitz]

Hey, what everyone here wants: Vic leading off an inning! Hope it works...

[redbeard]

that looked like strike 3 on uts

[AL]

Maybe Utley should lead off...what a great AB that was

[thephaithful]

garza did not like that ball 4 call, he's getting rattled

[tg082]

CRAP

[tg082]

Give me a break. He walks the bases loaded, and he swings at the first pitch? Give me a freaking break.

[kart racer]

How can you not take a pitch there.. That was probably the dumbest move possible.

[redbeard]

werth is an idiot.

[NEPP]

Did Jroll put on Werth's uniform...and how the fck do you not take a pitch there?!?

[J.R. King]

On the radio, Larry Anderson is understandably mad at Jayson Werth

[NEPP]

That was a dumb baseball decision by a usually very astute player.

[thephaithful]

3 straight walks to load the bases, and we swing at the first pitch? maybe werth is dumber than vic.

[kart racer]

Day to day, I change my mind whether Werth is an everyday player or not.

[Spitz]

Ugh, that Werth AB looked awful on Gamecast. You suck Werth!

[Highland]

Send a message Chawlie: SIT Werth for that

[Joey Merlino]

Matt Stairs needs to be playing softball at 9th & Wharton.

[bullit]

what a meathead Werth is. known hothead walks the bases loaded. and....

[gm-carson]

That's horrible baseball. Bases loaded with no outs on 3 straight walks and you swing at the first pitch...bullshit! I'd send him out to RF in the bottom of the 4th then send Mayberry out to replace him right before 1st pitch just to make a spectacle out of his pathetic ass.

[Kool Earl]

Oh man, its like the Phils deserved to not even plate a run after the crime that Werth committed. Of all the awful hacks Werth has taken this year, this is the worst.

[NEPP]

So yeah, we're still being no-hit because of Werthless.

[gm-carson]

I'm not trying to be rude, but every game I sit and wonder how the hell Werth even puts up decent numbers with a swing that long and ugly. He corkscrews himself Bugs Bunny style every swing.

[Highland]

Anyone think Pat and Kentucky Joe were drinking 'buddies'?

[gm-carson]

Wait, Pat Burrell drank alcohol?

[NEPP]

Saying Pat drank is as ridiculous as accusing him of hitting every piece of ass on South Street for the 10 years he was in Philly.

[Larry Fine]

T-Mac says there's 2 schools of thought on Werth's AB. Hit that first pitch fastball. What a stooge!!!!

[gm-carson]

Pat is a saint, how dare you speak of him in such a manner?!

I'm taking a swig of beer (Troegs) every time Garza spits, and I'm nearly toasted already.

[Marc H]

I am still shaking my head after Werth's at bat. Heaven forbid that she should try to work the count and force Garza to make a mistake

[MG]

Phils broadcasting that inning:

- Right before Werth swings McCarthy pipes up with "you only need him to hit it on the ground here to score." Wrong. It is amazing the amount of subtle mistakes that McCarthy continues to make a game. There are at least 3-4 a night and some nights even more.

- Sarge says that Garza throw an 87-MPH curveball to Stairs (which would be amazing) and misidentified one other pitch.

McCarthy and Sarge are really the best this team can do for a TV broadcast?

[ozark]

GM--Correct. If Manuel had any balls he'd have benched Werthless. That kind of crap can't be tolerated and the culprit must be held accountable.

[gm-carson]

T-Mac is a tool. He enjoys the sound of his own voice, problem being, nobody else does.

[Highland]

@carson

Mayberry's swing could be longer than Werth's ... once pitchers catch on to him.

[MG]

By mistakes by McCarthy, I mean he will say the wrong count, wrong inning, etc.

Just listen to a broadcast and guaranteed he makes 3-4 of these minor gaffes. Maybe I am nitpicking but he doesn't have the cache with the viewers to make these kind of small gaffes constantly nor should any lead play-by-play man.

[gm-carson]

Mayberry has a very long swing too, but neither I or Manuel are considering him as a full-time player whereas Werth is.

[MG]

Best Werth for who? Reality is that he is getting on base at a very good clip and seeing a ton of pitches per AB.

He just is overaggressive at some really inopportune times like his AB tonight.

[gm-carson]

The most annoying thing about T-Mac in my opinion is all the "tie-ins" he creates. Example- when the camera is panning the crowd and focuses on a fan, he'll stop what ever he's saying just to tie that fan into the conversation. He's 100%, and I'd rather listen to the silent grave of Harry and Whitey than listen to his pointless banter.

[MG]

One thing I did like - Garza struggled a bit with his command that inning and challenged Stairs with fastball at 95 MPH and Stairs just swung and missed. One thing the Phils' staff is desperately missing is someone throw really as Bastardo and Hamels are really at 91-92 on their fastball.

[tg082]

The Phillies must think they're at home tonight or something.

[gm-carson]

Do J-Roll or Pete Happy ever plan on getting a hit ever again? They're both something like oh-for-their-last-hundred.

[bullit]

wouldn't ya think a good manager would have been telling at Werth as he exited the on-deck circle: :"work the count, boy. garza's getting upset."?

[NEPP]

Amazing how Dobbs suddenly starts hitting when he gets more than 1 AB a week. UC should be shot for how little he used him in April and how much he used Cairo/Bruntlett.

[Spitz]

Damn it Ruiz! I was hoping he would turn the lineup over, but now JRoll will be leading off the next inning.

[gm-carson]

When I said bench Werth, I meant only for the remainder of this game.

[tg082]

I emailed Scott Palmer a few weeks ago, pleading that he talk to someone about putting LA and Franzke on TV. He told me to give T-Mac time, and to email him at the end of the year; he said he expects my opinion to change by then. Unfortunately, I'm so fed up with McCarthy that I'd rather listen to the game on online radio and deal with the 3-second delay than listen to that clown.

[Patrick]

Gm Carson - I'm drinking troegs too.
Sunshine pils.
Delicious!
I'm hoping it's crispiness and hoppiness rubs off on the phil's bats.

[gm-carson]

hey, at least the mets are winning.

oh wait, sonofabitch!

[Marc H]

Blanton looks totally overpowering

[gm-carson]

Patrick- I just finished a Dream Weaver, 'bout to go get a Rugged Trail Nut Brown Ale.

Where you from Patrick?

[Marc H]

To the T-Mac haters:

I don't know about alll of you, but he has taught me more about Goya Beans than I ever imagined

[redbeard]

blanton lookin good, gotta take to garza here and get heavy b some runs.

[MG]

Sadly McCarthy is the heir apparent to Kalas and isn't going anywhere. He was signed to a 5-year deal in Nov. 2007 and is going to be the anchor of the Phils broadcasting crew through 2012.

Hope he actually learns to differentiate between offspeed pitches by then, stop trying to ham up his "Philly" ties so much, stop making at 3-4 minor broadcasting miscues a game, and learn how to become more even-keeled as the course of the game dictates.

[gm-carson]

Don't hate T-Mac, just wish he wasn't a Phillies broadcaster. I listen to the XM baseball morning show with Scott Graham and I'm pissed he's gone with McCarthy here instead.

[fljerry]

Atlanta, Florida and Mets winning - If Phils lose we lose to all in standings

[gm-carson]

And to think, we thought last night was the game that snapped them outta this funk.

[G-Town Dave]

"... if I thought he was hurting the team, I wouldn't have him in the leadoff spot."

- Charlie on J-Hole

Gee Charlie, what does Rollins have to do, start kneecapping his teammates in the clubhouse? Of course he's hurting the team you f*cking moron!!! :-[

[gm-carson]

I cut Charlie a lot of slack nowadays because I was overly abusive of him in his first couple seasons, but it's clear Jimmy should be batting now higher than 6th and not just for 1 or 2 games, but for a long f'n time.

[Patrick]

Gm Carson - I reside in West Chester PA.
Close to the home of Victory Brew in Downingtown and Exton Bev where I pick up other fine beers like the Troegs tonight.
Must live, work and vacation where good beer is available. It's especially important for Phillies fans.
It settles the heart rate.

[tg082]

The radio just completely missed that play!

[MG]

2 mental errors by Werth (initial reaction and the cutoff throw) and Crawford with an even bigger one.

[gm-carson]

I live in Harrisburg, home of Troegs and Appalachian Brewing Company.

Speaking of fine brews, you ever have Weyerbacher from Easton? That's some choice stuff.

[Patrick]

That was a gift of an out by Crawford.

[bay_area_phan]

Classic Cholly quote. A .211 average and .250 OBP out of the leadoff spot? Not hurting the team at all.

[MG]

Big punchout. Phils need to somehow need to keep this game at 2-0 to have a shot a late rally.

[NEPP]

The most annoying thing of it is that Jimmy has responded everytime he's been dropped in the lineup by starting to hit. Perhaps you could just put him down permanently and maybe have Utley with his ridiculous OBP lead off.

[NEPP]

Pat!!!!

[bay_area_phan]

Feliz looked liked he had enough time to have a sandwich and soda before he had to make that throw to get Burrell at first.

[gm-carson]

C'mon offense!

[Patrick]

Weyerbacher has great beer.
At the kennet square brew fest they had their decadence beer. It was so good I just stayed at that booth and kept drinking it.
I later found out it costs $60+ per case and has a 12%+ alchohol content.
No wonder I stopped there.

Scott Graham was great and it would be great to get him back. Put t-mac back in jim Jackson's job and keep Franzke and LA together.
That would be my dream team being that Harry and Richie are memories now. I can live with Wheels and Sarge on TV because while not being great, they are compared to a lot of the other slop that's out there on other teams.

[NEPP]

Amazing how jackass (the most patient hitter in baseball) can suddenly take pitches.

[Kool Earl]

Offense? I dont see any offense anywhere