Game chat: Philies play the first of 1,116 more with 6

I was counting on a quiet day, but instead, the Phillies pulled the trigger on the richest deal in franchise history, extending Ryan Howard with a new deal that runs from 2012 to 2016 with a club option for 2017, a total that could reach $138 million. One can only hope that Ruben Amaro times his next blockbuster to coincide with naptime as I had absolutely no time to sit and dissect it. On the other hand, what's the rush? We have the next six years to discuss it. And I think that last sentence gets to the heart of why I'm leery of it. In the meantime, the Phillies have a game to play. Roy Halladay and Jonathan Sanchez open it up in San Francisco tonight starting at 10:10. Tomorrow, we'll talk 6.

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Comments

[Meyer]

This will hurt tomorrow. Score early and often.

[NEPP]

Over/under on the number of posts for this game thread: 100...probably 75 would be a better bet with a 10:15 start.

No way I'll make it further than the 4th/5th.

[Bay Slugga]

Ryan Howard is going to hit for the cycle tonight- you heard it here first.

[NEPP]

Never happen...he'll hit for the HR cycle though: solo shot, 2 run HR, 3 run HR, grandslam...in that order.

[Gsl]

Nepp, could thy be called the supernatural natural cycle?

[bay_area_phan]

Actually, he'll probably suffer a career-ending injury tonight.

[Sophist]

One of the nice things about living in the central time zone. 6 PM home starts, 9:15 PM starts in SF.

[bay_area_phan]

That will have to suffice for my negative commentary for this evening. I don't have the luxury of sitting in front of my computer tonight, since the game is on local tv.

It looks like the rain is likely to hold off until late tonight. Tomorrow it's supposed to pour, though.

[AL]

Love the 10:00 starts as a college student. Gives me something to do instead of work.

[NEPP]

****Actually, he'll probably suffer a career-ending injury tonight.****

He'll collide full speed with Doc and Chase on a popup...ending 3 HoF careers in one quick flash.

Followed by an upspike in in the Philadelphia suicide rate for 2010.

[NEPP]

I never thought I'd look forward to having Jimmy back in the leadoff role but Vic has made me long for those days.

[Sophist]

CSN just showed Utley's AB against Sanchez from last year (where Sanchez threw it at Utley's head, Utley stepped out last minute, and then cranked a HR). One of the most bad-ass things you'll see.

[Scott]

I'm disappointed. I thought bap would hold out for a lightning strike...

[mike cunningham]

damn.... that ball was crushed...

[Scott]

Not exactly a "Say Hey" moment, but damnit, he made the catch.

[NEPP]

Thought that was gone for about half a sec.

[Sophist]

Wind or crazy spin? Seems like Howard puts some english on a lot of his strikes.

[NEPP]

Somewhat surprised that Francisco is getting the start but considering the size of this OF, its the right move.

[NEPP]

Hell of an effort by Chase on that...

[Brian G]

Six more seasons of warning track power to look forward to..

But seriously, whoever made the point about Utley/Howard being "appointment at bats" is right. There's pretty much no way the Phillies didn't overpay on this Howard contract, but as a fan, if my team is gonna overpay I want it to be on someone whose every at bat is an event.

[NEPP]

I have to agree. I like it when they give it to a guy that will end up with a bronze statue out in front of CBP by the time I'm taking my kids there to see games.

[Old Phan]

Brian G, agreed.

[NEPP]

Brutal...cut him!

Francisco shows off why he is a tweener...his arm is mediocre at best.

[GTown_Dave]

I believe I can state without fear of exaggeration that C.B. Bucknor is the worst umpire, at least in terms of Balls & Strikes, in all of MLB.

[bay_area_phan]

Well, that was a revolting start if ever there was one.

[Sophist]

Well, Halladay's early numbers with RISP probably weren't all that sustainable.

[NEPP]

I guess this is one of those 5 where Roy is off his game a bit.

I hope he settles in and can give us 6-7 here as the BP is already weak enough as it is. 7 and 2/3 ER would be huge tonight at this point.

[Malcolm]

Why is a part of me worried that the offense doesn't have enough to overcome this two-run deficit?

[GTown_Dave]

I feel ya, Malcolm. I feel ya.

[NEPP]

This guy has no control...take some damn pitches and knock him out by the 5th.

[Sophist]

NEPP - He didn't look off his game there really. DeRosa had a heck of an AB. The second GB was close to a DP ball. Sandoval is a pure hitter. Was Renteria's a GB hit? I don't recall.

[NEPP]

Sophist, Halladay off his game is still one of the best pitchers in the Majors. I wasn't bashing him but rather referencing his own comments about having 5 off games a year.

[NEPP]

Sanchez has a career BB/9 ratio of 4.62. He usually has no idea where the ball is going despite some very good pure stuff. We should eat him alive if our lineup plays our game and doesnt get swing crazy with the 2 run deficit.

[Sophist]

If Vic continues to struggle and Torres continues to make improbable catches, Sanchez may survive. That said, Vic caught an elevated pitch and just got a bit under it.

[R.Billingsly]

Halladay is a joke. Should have kept Cliff Lee.

[NEPP]

So yeah...he was due.

[NEPP]

Sucks that Brooksbaseball.net is dead/hacked for the past 3-4 days. I mist being able to check the pitchfx numbers.

[J]

oh, it is going to be one of those night.....

[Old Phan]

This was bound to happen, but it would have been nice if it happened in a place that the Phils could hit.

[clout]

I'll save my thoughts on the Howard deal for tomorrow, but this is about the dope who tried to merge the BB-Ref comparisons (which are strictly statistical) into a comparison of "body types."

Howard isn't remotely like Fielder or Mo Vaughn. He is much leaner and taller. No one who's seen all 3 play could possibly say they all have the same bodies or "body types." Unless Howard shrinks 4 inches and eats 6 meals a day at McDonalds there is zero chance of him looking like those guys.

To conclude that he'll have a short career because of his "body type" and because Mo Vaughn did, is utter rubbish.

[NEPP]

Cliff Lee at least gave us 5 great starts in a row to start off...we have to sit through 4 or possibly 5 more years of this bum Halladay?

Game over man...GAME OVER!

[bay_area_phan]

Halladay has turned into Kyle Kendrick. And what's said is that, even if he doesn't allow another run, this lead is already insurmountable.

[NEPP]

If Keith Law is wrong...I just don't know what to believe anymore. I sometimes wonder if KLaw even watches the games or does he simply follow Gameday and look at stats on Fangraphs.

[TNA]

This game isn't over (obviously), but the Phillies' chances of winning will increase exponentially if BAP would leave the ballpark. NOW.

[Sophist]

NEPP - go to MLB gameday. hint: the RBI that inning was off a poorly located pitch.

[NEPP]

BAP will be at tomorrow's game, not tonights. I dont know why I remember that.

[NEPP]

Damn...why did that have to hang up there.

[NEPP]

Is it just me or is the strikezone expanding for Sanchez suddenly?

[GTown_Dave]

NEPP: With Bucknor behind the plate, the term "Strike Zone" ceases to have any meaning.

[Dukes]

nepp - i have to agree with you. the strikezone definitely expanded since the first inning.

[NEPP]

Time for Werth to earn an extension.

[Dukes]

this is the time when it's got to get done...

[NEPP]

Damnit Werth.

[Dukes]

the catcher "deadens his body" - nice, wheels.

[AL]

Maybe if Werth woulda hit a granny there he would have gotten his extension tonight.

[Sophist]

Good PA from Howard anyway.

[Old Phan]

61 pitches already for Sanchez.

[Jack]

NEPP: Sanchez is better than you're giving him credit for. He might walk guys, but he has excellent stuff and gets enough strikeouts to get himself out of jams. Exhibit A would be Innings 1 and 3 tonight. He's a nice young pitcher for then, and it's not really surprising he's doing a good job on the Phillies tonight.

[NEPP]

5 stranded through 3. Fvcking pathetic offensive display so far by our lineup.

[Dukes]

Anyone else have trouble getting the Post A Comment box to appear? I swear I would have been the first to post the Howard news today but the damn box wouldn't show up for me to post.

[Old Phan]

Nice catch.

[NEPP]

Jack, I said he has great pure stuff but poor control. That's exactly what he brings every night and exactly what he's shown so far tonight.

[GBrettfan]

I know we've all said it before, but it really feels frustrating to strand runners on third with fewer than 2 outs! Bases loaded, 1 out - no runs to show for it? Grr! ESPECIALLY when it seems like runs might be at a premium for us tonight and our ace is having an off-night.

[GTown_Dave]

Dukes: I've had the same problem a couple of times. Seemed to be an issue w/ getting the Reading Eagle Headline Feed to appear, which apparently needed to happen before the Comment box appeared.

[Sophist]

NEPP - Can't be too pathetic if all those guys are on base. Took two nice catches to get him out of it anyway.

Just waiting for the next chance in the 5th.

[Old Phan]

Dukes, same problem here for the last few days.

[Dukes]

this game sucks so far

[Oliver]

ok, maybe runs will be at a premium, but 80 pitches into the 4th is not a sustainable amount for Sanchez. We'll see the bullpen soon, and pounce.

[GTown_Dave]

I'm almost resigned to this one. Three reasons: The offense scored a bunch of runs yesterday in a losing effort, mediocre pitchers like Sanchez seem to own this lineup & (perhaps most importantly) the Phillies have historically been flat-out LOUSY at this ballpark (13-22, .371).

[Old Phan]

G-town, thanks for answering the question I was just going to ask. It always seemed like the Phils were bad at this park, and I was curious what the record was.

[Sophist]

The game of baseball.

Which pitcher has the least runs allowed through 4?

batters faced: 16: GB - 8 FB - 2 BB - 0 K - 2
batters faced: 18: GB - 2 FB - 4 BB - 3 K - 5

[Dukes]

Oliver...be careful what you ask for, the giants bullpen is pretty good.

[Old Phan]

Another 1-2-3 for Doc.

[GTown_Dave]

Old Phan: That's the Phillies' worst winning percentage at any park in the NL. Pittsburgh is a close second (11-17, .393).

[Jack]

The Phillies don't do any worse than other teams in bringing guys in who are on base. It's just that they have more guys on base, so in a sport in which .260 is normal, it seems like they fail a lot.

Once again, the Phillies will lead or come close to leading the league in runs scored this year. Once again, fans will complain that the offense is too "all or nothing" or too dependent on the home run, or that they don't "manufacture runs" well enough. And once again, these fans will be wrong (or, if you prefer, simply mistaken in what actually matters).

[NEPP]

Terrible strike call there...way inside.

[joe l]

If they score no runs in this inning I'm off to bed.

[cjp]

Okay, seriously guys, some frickin' runs here would be appreciated.

[NEPP]

2nd and 3rd, no outs...we better score here.

[Dukes]

that double steal also fooled the ump...that was a strike

[Old Phan]

I'll take it.

[Sophist]

Should come as a surprise to no one really that the Phils were first in the NL last year in OPS w RISP.

[Old Phan]

Lets tie it here, Ryno.

[Jack]

Once again, this is why having strikeout stuff matters. A guy like Kendrick would be run out of the game if he'd let this many baserunners on. Sanchez, though, is in line for the win.

You can complain all you want about it, but a guy who can get strikeouts will always have a spot on a team over a guy who can't.

[J]

ryan needs to start producing. hasn't hit a HR in forever.

[Dukes]

glad he'll be with us for a long time but kind of at bat is why he isn't worth pujols money

[Gsl]

Everyone strikes out with runners on third and less than two outs! WooHoo!

[NEPP]

That was the unintentional intentional walk to Werth knowing the rest of our lineup sucks.

[NEPP]

Francisco really needs to stop popping up with every damn AB. Its like he's trying to see how high he can hit the ball or something. Level swing, Ben...LEVEL SWING.

[Dukes]

if werth and howard both get their runners in from third with less than two outs we're tied.

[GTown_Dave]

Francicso Fail.

[Gsl]

Tie game if Werth and Howard put the ball in play instead of striking out. How much do we add to either of their contracts to hit a dinky ground ball?

[bay_area_phan]

I absolutely DESPISE Ben Francisco. He is the last player in the major leagues I want up in a clutch situation. Has he ever had a big hit in his Phillies career?

[Sophist]

That was not a good pitch to Francisco there on the pop-up. Elevated and in the plate.

7 GB and 3 SO and somehow they have 3 runs.

[GTown_Dave]

I think that was a bad call, but oh well. Good hustle from the Big Man.

[Old Phan]

Close play at 1st.

[Iceman]

How would it be a tie game if Howard and Werth drove in the SAME runner from third base? Howard hits a sac fly and no one is on for Werth. Come on.

[Sophist]

BAP - Two late ones. 12th inning HR last August. 9th inning 2B to knock in Ruiz and tie the game last August.

[phlipper]

Gotta agree with BAP there. I have absolutely no confidence in Francisco when he bats in key situations.

[Dukes]

@ Iceman - We're talking about earlier in the game when Werth was up with the bases loaded and 1 out and didn't get the run in.