Kendrick crisp, but Contreras cuffed in 7-5 loss to NY

The metamorphosis of Kyle Kendrick continued today as the right-hander made another strong bid to become the Phillies' fifth starter.

Kendrick allowed one hit and struck out one in three scoreless frames. Unfortunately, Jose Contreras followed and opened the flood gates, allowing six runs on six hits and three walks in just 1 2-3 innings. Jimmy Rollins went deep on the first pitch of the game, his second round-tripper of spring. John Mayberry also launched a deep home run. Beerleaguer's Denny B saw it like this:

- "Kendrick was sharp as a tack and kept NY's lefties off balance and used both sides of the plate. He had good velocity and had a particularly good slider, that he used to get inside on lefties (Kendrick said it was a cutter that he threw to Cano, who inside-outed it for a 2B down the LF line). Very encouraging first couple of outings in ST.

- "Contreras looked like he usually does when he struggles. Was falling behind and nibbling with hitters and got hammered when he was in hitter's counts. Still has a good fastball and good stuff though.

- "Mathieson threw mostly fastballs, mostly at 93-94 MPH. Didn't seem to have that little extra life yet. Still early in ST for hard-throwers. Had pretty good command though.

- "Mayberry hit three rockets, in his first three at bats (all against RHP). All were on hanging curveballs. His swing looks good and he is a very good defensive outfielder. Has pretty good speed, too (which he showed on the stolen base, where he got a very average jump)."

Programming note: Tune in to Angelo Cataldi and WIP's Morning Team tomorrow at 7 a.m. when I preview the Phillies' season and discuss the 2010 Maple Street Press Phillies Annual.

Comments

[Hugh Mulcahy]

It's early. Contreras can't possibly be that bad again this year [cough, cough] Only scores that matter in March are in the NCAA. St. Mary's is holding a slim lead on Gonzaga, btw.

[mvptommyd]

Hugh: Yea. Shaping up to be a great game.

As we said before ST is pretty useless.

Even I am not that excited with my guy Mayberry having a good game.

[joe l]

hat tip to denny b for the report.

[mvptommyd]

JW, you're going on WIP morning show?

Better pull an all nighter to get your Eagles info down. Because I am sure somewhere in there they are going to ask your opinion on McNabb and your thoughts on the Eagles trading Reggie Brown tonight.

[Gsl]

Stats aren't the most important thing this time of year but that doesn't mean that st is useless or that there aren't things to look for. For instance positive signs from today's game included;

-Rollins bunting for a base hit
-Howard hitting a solid line drive the other way
-mayberry putting good swings on breaking balls and hitting them hard
-Kendrick pitchng with confidence and attacking the strike zone

these are the types of things that you love to see guys working on and can get excited about seeing in st. Also I think everyone can stop prefacing every comment with st stats don't matter. I think that has been established here on bl.

[mvptommyd]

" I think that has been established here on bl"

You do realize where you are right?

This is Bler, where if everyone doesn't establish something before they post, it will be taken the wrong way by someone and turned into a 2 day debate/argument.

So yes, it does need to be said daily.

(Oh yea, but I agree with your overall points)

[Gsl]

Yeah. I feel for you in that regard Tommy. But hopefully we are getting away from picking apart the minute details of post wording now that the season is upon us.

[awh]

Let's just see who looks good this spring.

Hugh, in regard to your post on the last thread about SP and Moyer and Kendrick, I'm not sure I agree that they'll just release Moyer if they feel Kendrick will be a better #5. I know they did it with Eaton, but Moyer is no Adam Eaton. (He would never pack it in and go home during the postseason.)

SP depth is critical to a successful season. 12 different pitchers started at least one game for the Phils in 2009. 172 pitchers got at least one start in the NL in 2009 - an average of above 10 per team.

Unless Moyer chooses to be a problem it's likely that they keep him somewhere, and probably in the BP at the 'Zen.

[thephaithful]

repost:

If we end up able to keep Herndon because of injuries in the pen, and then Angels dont take him back once we drop him, where would he fit into our depth?

I am not famliiar with his level of talent at all. Would he be above Andrew Carpetner, who is probably our "next in line" starter even though he doesnt promise much.

[Erich]

I saw Polanco miss 2 plays Feliz might have made- that was my biggest worry this game.

[William Schweitzer]

Be that as it may, I look forward to Polanco getting on base in situations when Feliz might not.

[denny b.]

mvptommyd:

You are mostly correct. ST is very meaningless, if you just look at W/L records. The Phils under Manual seem to always be bad in the W/L category in ST.

But in the first week or two, I think you can start to get a feel for who has put in the work in the offseason and which young players look to be progressing.

And so far (and yes, its VERY early), Kendrick looks to be a very confident and different pitcher then what most of us remember him being. He might have thrown more changes and sliders/cutters today in 3 IP, then he averaged in his of big league starts in his career. And they were effective pitches, in good spots. Against big league lefty hitters too.

[NEPP]

****your thoughts on the Eagles trading Reggie Brown tonight****

How they got more than a bag of used footballs is impressive...kudos to their FO.

~not an Eagles fan~

Today's discussion: Moyer and KK will BOTH get at least 15 starts this year...discuss.

[NEPP]

I believe Herndon is a fastball/slider type reliever. He would be a decent Condreyesque relief option if we kept him.

[EastFallowfield]

.