Game chat: Phils hope to salvage one in St. Louis

Cole Hamels (7-7, 3.63) goes in search of another dominant performance, while the offense hopes to provide better run support, as the Phillies try to snap a four-game slide against right-handed ace Adam Wainwright (14-5, 2.02) and the surging Cardinals. First pitch is 2:15. Charlie Manuel continues to tinker with the lineup this afternoon, going with Polanco, Victorino, Ibanez, Howard, Werth, Rollins, Schneider, Valdez. Very quietly, Rollins, a fixture atop the lineup, has seen his lead-off role diminished. Howard, who homered yesterday and leads the league with 75 RBIs, continues to be the only productive part of the lineup. Meanwhile on the trade front, talks between the Phillies and Astros regarding Roy Oswalt have reportedly cooled. ESPN reasons that Oswalt is asking his next team to guarantee his $16 million option in 2012 before he would approve a trade, which is reportedly a sticking point for the Phillies. [Jump to the newest comments]

Comments

[Deutsche Phan]

Really a textbook win today. Excellent managing duel. Solid at-bats throughout. And a no-questions-asked closing performance. I will sleep like a baby, care-free tonight!

[philwynk]

Holy moly. Now I have to go sit in a boiler shop for half an hour to bring my blood pressure down.

I'm recalling games like this with Mitch Williams on the mound, the Wild Thing. It felt like he ever pitched an inning without giving up two walks or a pair of hits to make it interesting.

[aksmith]

Well, let's all be fair. Aside from the walk, Lidge looked good there.

[GTown_Dave]

Matt Gelb (via Twitter): "I believe that is the first 11-inning one-hitter in Phillies history."

I swear, if r00b doesn't get this team some pitching help tout de suite I'm gonna start taking hostages.

[Kutztown Fan]

How come every win is excrutiating? When was the last time a game was in the bag by the 7th inning? 8th inning? Hell, even the 9th?

[bay_area_phan]

gobay: I'll assume you typed that rant early in the inning & it was just slow to post.

Seriously, who should Cholly have used there? Baez? Herndon? Other than one very bad patch, Lidge has actually pitched well this year.

[Sophist]

cjp - I'd say that's a testament to how many holes they have in the lineup right now more than anything. Bottom of the order (Schneider, Valdez/Ransom, P) was 0-6 with RISP.

[Lake Fred]

Okay, calm down. Breathe easy, they won.

Boy, the Cards must really feel pathetic today with one hit and two walks as their only baserunners.

[MG]

It was sink or swim there with Lidge. Cholly had more puzzling decisions with Schneider today but he didn't do anything odd with the pitchers.

[timr]

Its a shame Hamels didn't get the W, but thank god they won. Still, calling that a win almost feels misleading. Its more like "thank god they avoided another devastating loss."

[Mr. Mack]

Agree with gobaystars! on the loyalty thought. And I absolutley agree with bap on the empty, emotionless thrill of victory. This team has sucked the life out of me.

Of course, that coupled with Lorussa over managing the game to a snails pace didn't help either.

[GTown_Dave]

"It's more like "thank god they avoided another devastating loss.""

I think at least 5 of the Phillies past 6 or 7 Wins fall squarely in that category, as does Halladay's Perfect Game from early in the season.

[HammRadio]

who's keeping track of the undeserved wins... from the comments this another one

[bay_area_phan]

And why indeed would you let Schneider bat with the bases loaded, then bring Ruiz in for defense in the bottom of the same inning? It boggles the mind almost as much as giving Brian Schneider the green light on a 3-0 count with the bases loaded.

[HammRadio]

R/L splits?

[Mr. Mack]

A one hit No Decision. What does Cole have to do to get another win? You gotta feel for the guy.

[clout]

NEPP: Not as good as Ryan Ludwick.

[GTown_Dave]

b_a_p: It's not so much Charlie giving guys the Green Light as it is Charlie being entirely unaware that there is a such thing as a Red Light.

[NEPP]

****NEPP: Not as good as Ryan Ludwick.****

No question on it...we really should offer him straight up for Ludwick.

[gobaystars!]

Yeah typed mid early in the inning and couldn't post it for a few minutes. It looks silly now, but I stand by the seniment. I'm not so much second guessing that specific call but the idea of keep Lidge as the closer.

[Mr. Mack]

GTown Dave - Cholly flashes two signs from the dug out no matter the count...swing and swing harder.

[Sophist]

Rosenthal says the Yanks, Phils, Cards, and Twins are pursuing Haren. If he's available, there's probably be a bidding war for his services. I don't think the Cards have anything in their system, really.

[bay_area_phan]

Hamm: Undoubtedly that's why he did it. And it's an unconvincing reason.

It's sort of ironic that we have a manager who thinks righty/lefty matchups out-weigh all other considerations, and we have a GM who thinks they're completely irrelevant.

[GBrettfan]

I just heard that the Phillies have scored 0-1 runs more often than the Royals, more often than the Indians.

[NEPP]

We'd have to give up some real talent for Haren...I'd rather we'd passed on him.

[Mr. Mack]

Any one here that says they are confidnt when Lidge toes the rubber is a flat out liar. One can not honestly state that seeing Lidge enter a game evokes any confidence in a lock down win at any point until the final out. Then there is a massive exhale with enough wind to sail a tall ship across the Delaware.

[CJ]

Heather: Hard to argue that Teixeira is a bigger star than Howard, unless you're simply considering the pin stripes. (And I'm not looking to start a fight, but the numbers surprised even me.)

Career OPS+
Teixeira: 135
Howard: 142

2010 OPS+ (prior to today's game)
Teixeira: 127
Howard: 136

Despite playing in 317 (about 2 seasons worth) more games than Howard, Teixeira only has 16 more HR and 148 RBI. Howard has a higher career SLG (539 vs. 581) and their career OBP is nearly identical (377 to 373).

Teixeira has also only finished in the top 5 in MVP voting once (2nd last year) while Howard has done it each of his 4 full seasons, on top of a ROY award.

And in playoff appearances? Tex's OPS is .683 and Howard's is .921.

[Sophist]

NEPP - I wouldn't, but obviously there's a limit to what you want to give up.

[NEPP]

I could see the DBacks demands starting at Cosart, Colvin Singleton and going from there. They'd want A-list guys, not filler.

[CJ]

By the way, Howard is now hitting .303 despite the shift. Amazing, really, if you think about it. The shift makes it very hard for power-hitting lefties to maintain a batting average that high.

RH power hitters like Polanco don't have to worry about a shift because you can't throw someone out from short left field. Not that I'm suggesting that Polanco isn't the greatest hitter of our generation. I'm just sayin' is all.

[DH Phils]

NEPP: Per Jayson Stark's article, an executive says about Arizona shopping Haren: "their timing is not great. They're trying to sell him like he's Cliff Lee. But he's not performing like Cliff Lee."

I assume Aumont and Gillies should be enough then, right?

[CJ]

Yo, new thread.

[HammRadio]

RE: Howard,

While that contract may be "untradeable" in 2012, 13 or 14...

if the yankees wanted to move Tex and take on Howard, they would do it in a heartbeat... defense aside...

[Mr. Mack]

Didn't see if it was mentioned earlier today, but I heard Mitch Williams interviewed this morning and he was ripping Rube's moves, including of course our favorite subject here on BL, Clifford Lee.

He said he was on record at the time of the trade as not liking it, and after the Oswalt talk yesterday, he was all fired up over the sheer salary comparison. He also unloaded on the bench & BP, or lack of any, which he claimed that he also stated early in the season as concerns.

Maybe Mitch was looking for a FO job. Heck, could he do any worse?

[VAIL43]

To:The Truth Injection
Your fragmentary thought shards suggest that you are successfully masquerading as an avatar for the Phils GM. You really need to uncrate second and third brain cells.