Comments

[Phillies Red]

Salisbury suggested H2O, which is pretty good, too, I'd say. Jason, with your CSN connections, you think Salisbury could give us weekly hose reports?

Sorry for the twitter humor.

[Spitz]

Nice graphic JW!

Let's go Oswalt. Also, let's go Johnny Cueto!

[denny b.]

Yanks about to get Lance Berkman from Trader Ed.

[Andy]

I don't think we're in Kansas any more...

[Spitz]

We've got the baseball Big Three:

Halladay = LeBron. Great player, top 5 in the league, never won a championship

Hamels = DWade. MVP of a championship team at a much younger age than anyone expected. Hasn't played up to expectations since.

Oswalt = Bosh. Not in the same class as the other two, but needed to win a title.

[aksmith]

I'm going to suggest a different nickname for Roy Oswalt. Seeing as he was stolen from Ed Wade and the Astros, shouldn't we call him. Rob Roy?

[aksmith]

I would also accept Robbed Roy.

[aksmith]

Or Highway Robber-Roy

[Andy]

Spitz. Oswalt "isn't the in same league" with Hamels? Really?

Maybe in the future. But take a look at what each has actually accomplished so far. Not sure it's justice to compare Halladay to LeBron, either.

Of course, I'm not a fan of the NBA, so what do I know?

[Andy]

I still like Vice Roy. Like Roy and Vice Roy. Hamels will have to settle for being Not Roy.

[J. Weitzel]

Ha! I didn't see that, but H2O makes more sense. So I'll steal it. CSN property after all.

[Andy]

Or maybe Roy, Vice Roy, and Boy Toy.

[Sophist]

Murphy on DNL, asked if Mathieson is on the Phils radar: probably too reliant on his fastball, breaking stuff not where the Phils want it ...
you never know."

[aksmith]

Too bad Blanton isn't number 3.

Roy, Rob Roy, Slob Roy

[Andy]

Roy, Vice Roy, Boy Toy and Big Boy.

[Spitz]

Andy, I agree - it was a bit of a stretch on my part. Just trying to make the Big Three analogy fit.

[aksmith]

There's always this:

Not Cliff 1
Not Cliff 2
Not Cliff 3

[Marlowe]

Andy, that's hysterical.

How does Kendrick fit in? Roy, Vice Roy, Boy Toy, Big Boy and Hoi Polloi?

[Spitz]

A haiku for you Andy:

Roy, Vice Roy, Boy Toy
Unfortunatley, then its
Big Boy, Pray for Rain

[BobbyD]

Blanton and Kendrick are fine as 4-5. 7 years ago they'd be 1-2 on the Phils.

[J.R. King]

In 2007, Kyle Kendrick pitched game 2 of the National League Division Series.

[phlipper]

All Phillies pitchers will heretofore be known as "But we coulda had Cliff Lee."

[Sophist]

MLB.TV reporter says that game is a near sell-out tonight; sold out tomorrow night. That place is going to be packed with phans.

[bay_area_phan]

As hot as the Phillies have been at home, they've lost 11 of their last 15 on the road. They need to put that trend to rest, and quickly.

[Sophist]

Rollins-Polanco-Raul-Howard-Werth-Brown-Dobbs-Ruiz-Oswalt

[PHinBK]

Tom Verducci put the Phillies in the same class as the Yankees and Red Sox. Roy Oswalt is the number 3. Nobody pinch me incase i'm dreaming.

[Sophist]

well, they're batting .253/.323/.391 away from CBP for whatever reason. Pitchers have a 4.57 combined ERA.

[Fatalotti]

So Buster Olney doesn't think the Phillies are the favorites in the East. He's entitled to his opinion, but riddle me this? What has THIS Braves team accomplished? Other than Chipper and Cox, this Braves team is filled to the brim with players who haven't ever accomplished anything big in their careers. Even for someone like Hinske, who's been on the last 3 WS teams, he's not been integral to those teams making it where they did. On the other hand, this Phillies team is overflowing with players that have either won it all (and gotten back a second time) or have been, at the very least integral to a team's deep playoff run. One notable exception is Roy Halladay, but he's Roy f#@king Halladay! and the best pitcher in the division. Moreover, we have a history of being a team that plays its best in August/September when the division is still undecided. Look, I know that they are still 2.5 back and are still injury bitten, but please national media, give me a break. The Phillies should be favorites until proven otherwise, especially now that they have Oswalt and have called up Brown and are expecting 5 time All Star Chase Utley back within 3 weeks.

Also, to add on, let's look at the mindset of the teams we're considering. The Phillies went out for the third time in the last year and got (arguably) the BEST player on the market and now have a phenomenal rotation. The Braves went out and got .300 OBP Alex Gonzalez. What must the Phillies do before they get the respect that so many other teams receive? Sorry for the rant...

[Sophist]

Who cares what Buster Olney thinks?

[Fatalotti]

Because I have to listen to this clown on Sportscenter every day...haha

[Sophist]

Biggest contributors to that road ERA are Moyer and Blanton (5.96 in 54.1 IP and 6.62 in 50.1 IP).

[TRY]

My postseason deli order:

A Cole sandwich. On Roy. For here. To drink...hmmm, do you guys serve champagne?

[Marlowe]

PHinBK, I enjoyed reading that Verducci article (link below) -- he's actually respectful toward the fan base. It's funny, I actually like the Yankees (Sox, not so much) and like the idea of our management emulating some facets of how they run their business.

As an aside, regarding the Yankees -- I like how we stack up against them, or anyone else for that matter. I don't want to sound hyperbolic, but in my opinion we now have the best lineup in Phillies history. I really can't think of one that's better.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/tom_verducci/07/29/oswalt.trade/index.html

[Dave X]

H20 was suggested in the beerleaguer roy oswalt trade thread

beat salisbury to it

[Spitz]

Sophist, I bet its just Nationals faithful buying up tickets to celebrate their last days watching Adam Dunn.

[Andy]

TRY - just Dom.

[marlimegs]

Fatalloti .. stop watching ESPN for your baseball fix. MLB Network is a million times better. If you don't have it, get it. It's well worth it!

[CJ]

Jayson Stark with some numbers on Roy Oswalt (answering the claims that he's somehow a lesser pitcher right now):

[Oswalt] ranks among the league leaders in quality starts (15 -- as many as Ubaldo Jimenez), WHIP (1.11 -- better than Chris Carpenter), opponent OPS (.652 -- better than Tim Lincecum) and strikeout/walk ratio (3.53 -- better than all but a half-dozen pitchers in the league). So that kind of gets your attention.

He's allowing a lower opponent batting average (.229), on-base percentage (.280) and OPS (.652) than he has in any season in his fabulous career. His strikeout ratio (8.4 per 9 IP) is his best since his rookie year.

And his swing-and-miss percentage (20.7 percent) is almost identical to that of Halladay (20.8), Carpenter (20.6) and Jimenez (21.0), according to our friends at FanGraphs.

So if this is how this man pitches when he's not into it, imagine what the Phillies might get if this trade gets his adrenaline pumping again.

[CJ]

H2O may be healthier... but Dom is good for the heart.

[NEPP]

I love this team. Go Phillies!

[Sophist]

Verducci on MLB Network says Phils think Utley may be back as early as mid-August.

[Fatalotti]

@ marlimegs: I don't have the funds to pick up any other networks, and besides which, I watch sportscenter to get my sports fix, not just baseball. But I agree, MLB Network, from what I've seen, is better.

[Andy]

Marlowe: 1894
C Jack Clements* .351 .459 .497 .956
1B Jack Boyle .298 .360 .406 .765
2B Bill Hallman .312 .363 .383 .746
SS Joe Sullivan .353 .408 .465 .872
3B Lave Cross .387 .424 .528 .951
OF Sam Thompson* .415 .465 .696 1.161
OF Ed Delahanty 404 .475 .584 1.059
OF Billy Hamilton* .403 .521 .523 1.044
Bench
OF Tuck Turner .418 .458 .539 .997
C Mike Grady .363 .427 .516 .942

Only Boyle and Hallman had OPS+ under 110.

[philwynk]

I know I'm late to this party, but Jamie Moyer with his astounding work ethic probably contributed more to the Phillies pitching staff than we'll ever know for certain. Count me as a consistent fan, and if he's never seen in a Phillies uniform again, he'll be sorely missed.

JA Happ may wind up spending a lot of his time on the Disabled List. If he doesn't, I think we'll have plenty of opportunity to regret losing him, including losing a few games to him along the way. Count me a consistent fan of his, as well.

[Andy]

For a pitching staff, I'd take 1915. Pete Alexander, Erskine Mayer, Al Demaree, Eppa Rixey and George Chalmers, with George McQuillen as the rookie and Baumgartner, Oeschger and Tincup in relief. The staff WHIP was 1.094 and the staff ERA+ was 127.

[Andy]

Sorry. I just always am amazed when people use superlatives to rate a current team. Baseball has a long history; and lots of good folks (and bad folks) have played.

No one was worse than Adam Eaton, of course.

[Sophist]

Andy - Check this out on dead-ball era ERA:

http://the0common0man.blogspot.com/2010/07/random-thursday-1910-boston-red-sox-and.html

[awh]

I just woke up from a nap and turned on the Phillies Pre-Game Live.

I am either in an alternate universe or I am hallucinating.

I thought I just saw Roy Oswalt in a Phillies' uniform.

[Hope SE]

I suggest a poll thread for RO's nickname. My vote: Vice Roy

[awh]

Also, one Happ:

Despite all the sabre stuff that says he'll regress, you have to admit this:

When he took the mound for the Phillies last season you expected them to win the game. Admit it - you did.

What else is there to say?

[Andy]

Sophist - What kind of gloves were they using in 1915? And how well groomed was the field? There are too many variables.

Relative to the rest of the league, using the same materials in the same places, the 1915 Phils posted a 127 ERA+. I bet there are other teams which have, in history, approached/suprassed that. I don't know if any Phils' teams have. I'll have to look at those late '70s teams, though.

[Marlowe]

Andy, that's excellent, thanks for posting. I'll amend -- best team in my lifetime (1895-present).

[Sophist]

Andy, definitely too many variables, which may be why picking some other better staff based on ERA or ERA+ is as "silly" as picking the current one.

1915 staff: 463 R, 332 ER (72%)
1945 staff: 864 R, 697 ER (81%)
1999 staff: 846 R, 787 ER (93%)

But really I just wanted to share that with you cos I just read it today.

[Andy]

It is a good article, Sophist. Thanks.

[Andy]

I hate when Jimmy gets gone on the first few pitches in his first AB. Bad form for a lead-off hitter.

[NEPP]

I think Raul got younger or something.

[Dan L]

4 pitches....2 outs...Craig Stammen.

Come on guys, don't ruin Oswalt's debut with a Tim Redding-turns-into-Bob Gibson-type games.

[Andy]

If that hadn't fallen in, Stammen woulda been outta the first in 7 pitches. Dumb.

[Andy]

Ten pitch inning. Can they just take a coupla pitches the first time around? Please. He has pedestrian stuff. Make him throw strikes with it and THEN bash him.

[Willard Preacher]

Well, I hope that's no indication of how the Oswalt era can be expected to proceed.

[Dave Cash on Delivery]

season = over

[Old Phan]

"Who cares what Buster Olney thinks?"

This says it all.

[steve]

bad trade, lol.

[bay_area_phan]

That wasn't quite the start that Halladay & Cliff Lee had for us.

[dlhunter]

Bad Roy!

[Andy]

b-a-p's gonna love this game.

[tg082]

Nyjer, please.

[tg082]

Oswalt sucks!

[Fatalotti]

So Roy Oswalt gives up a leadoff triple, a 1st inning run, and he gets Ruiz dinged up...

Get rid of him!!

[dlhunter]

tg082, you jive ass...

[steve]

look at all those empty seats lol. Oswalt SUCKS

[Willard Preacher]

Oswalt should feel right at home pitching in a 1/2 empty stadium. What's going on here?

[Phineas T. Bluster]

Good seats still available at Gnats' Park I see.

[Sophist]

Two first pitch FB hits.

Simmer down.

[NEPP]

Come on Roy, get out of this.

[awh]

McCarthy is a moron.

"Polanco is looking really comfortable a 2B"?

Gee, Tom, he only has 2 GG at the position.

[Willard Preacher]

steve, please stop using "lol" or else you potentially subject yourself to the patented Beerleaguer neck-punch.

[denny b.]

Great, CB Bucknor Stinks will be behind the plate on Sunday.

Hope LA is ready to go.

[Fatalotti]

BAP: Actually, Halladay gave up a doulbe and a run in his first inning as a Phillie. He then went on to pitch 6 scoreless after that.

[Sophist]

Didn't Doc allow one run in the first inning of his first start as a Phil? Even against the Nationals. Weird.

[Willard Preacher]

Got a fever and the only remedy is....

Dom Brown.

[Bridoc10]

Nerves for Mr. Oswalt, eh?

He'll settle down.

[steve]

Preacher this is for you LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL Whatcha gonna do abt it, punk

[awh]

Looks like JW has to "mvptommy" someone else.

[Old Phan]

Pitchers do give up runs on occasion, as hard as that is to believe.

[Andy]

If Howard gets on first, he HAS to steal second and do an incredible take-out slide (full speed, sharpened spikes up) at Bucknor.

Out. Of. Commission.

[bay_area_phan]

Fatalotti: Ah, I stand corrected then. For some reason I remembered differently.

[Phineas T. Bluster]

okay, at least we get a home run here.

[Andy]

Stammen's gonna throw an 80 pitch CG game.

[awh]

Please, please, guys...don't make this another 'swing-at-the-first-pitch-and-let-the-pitcher-off-the-hook' game.

Please....

[Phineas T. Bluster]

i'm sorry, i meant a backwards K.

[Heather]

The top of our lineup besides Ibanez has looked awful.

Please don't slump again.

[NEPP]

Painted the black there.

[NEPP]

Way to make him work Greg.

[Andy]

Pitches seen:
Rollins+Polanco+Werth=Brown

[Willard Preacher]

Someone forget to tell the Phils that LAST night was the "throw away game?"

[Heather]

2 straight innings in a row look terrible. Are they all waiting for someone else to hit or what?

[steve]

this is not encouraging. I thought the bats were patient all week, what is going on now?

[Andy]

Seventeen pitches in two innings.

They suck.

I hope Greg Gross has a little old lady standing by to b***h slap the entire starting line-up.

[Willard Preacher]

Not too worried - I'm just guessing that undefeated hitting instructor Greg Gross is just stuck in traffic.