Notes: So it was all just a slump after all …

The swagger’s back, in case you haven’t noticed.

Hey, so remember when you thought the Phillies lost their edge, and Charlie Manuel kept using the “C” word, and about a half-dozen players were declared “washed up” by Beerleaguer? Man that was a crazy time …

Notes: Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard is going to begin a rehab assignment Friday in Lakewood. Howard, out since Aug. 1 with a sprained left ankle, could play for Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Saturday if all goes well tomorrow. He's on track for a Monday return. ... Phillies director of amateur scouting Marti Wolever might be a fit for the New York Mets when Fred and Jeff Wilpon blow up the front office after the season. CSNPhilly's Kevin Czerwinski reports that sources close to Wolever said he'd listen to offers from the division rivals. ... Failed first-round pick Joe Savery could see time as a hitter the rest of this season and in the instructional leagues. The left-hander flopped at Triple-A and was bumped from the Lehigh Valley rotation earlier this year.

Comments

[Dukes]

Never thought I'd be cheering along with Rob Dibble and the Nats broadcasting team.

[Dan in Philly]

I knew I was getting some hits on my swagometer. At first I thought it was the result of Eagles' flight night. No, it was the Phillies, getting their mojo back...

[jason.tp]

Charlie throwing around the C word huh?

[bay_area_phan]

The Nats really need to hold on and win this game. I don't want the Phillies to lose any ground in the standings after they lose tonight.

[Fatalotti]

Clout, I have numerously expressed my satisfaction with the job Kyle Kendrick has done this year as a #5 starter, but that doesn't change the fact that he is a number 5 starter who is not a very good pitcher. He gets the job done more often than not, but let's have no illusions. He is, at best, a mediocre pitcher, but every team has one (some have as many as 5), so I'm not complaining about Kendrick being on this team. But, within the context of my post, I had pointed out that H2O were 1, 13, and 14, so my "gah!" was more in relation to Kendrick being all the way down at 84 in relation to our top three.

Now, I can obviously see that you like to pick needless fights with pretty much everyone on this blog, and hey, if that's what gets you up in the morning, who am I to judge? And if you want to call me out for something I say that is completely wrong, so be it, but when you claim that "there's no point talking sense to [me]" because I said "gah!"...yes, gah!, then how about you just stop reading my posts from now on. Pretty simple concept. That way you won't be forced to read the tripe that I spew so frequently, since I'm ostensibly senseless, and I don't have to waste my time being berrated by you for saying things like "gah!". A win, win situation.

Sound fair?

[Spitz]

Look out for the Cardinals - they just picked up Pete Happy.

[Spitz]

Falotti, Clout is in troll mode. Don't try to use logic and reasoning!

[Sophist]

Farnsworth stinks. Guess Venters was unavailable.

[Old Phan]

6-2 Gnats.

[R.Billingsly]

Willie Harris 2R HR.

6-2, Nats.

[The Theory]

Wait, I must have missed something. What's the "c" word Charlie has been throwing around? I only know one "c" word with any weight off-hand... and it usually gets me slapped by any available females in the vicinity when uttered.

[Matt]

6-2 Nats. Apparently today's was the smallest attendance at Turner Field this year. Chumps.

[CJ]

Phils had a 23 game stretch from mid-May to mid-June where they scored just 55 runs (and that included 10 against Florida). We averaged just 2.39 runs per game (2.05 runs in the 22 games not including the Florida game).

In the other 96 games this year, we've averaged 5.35 runs per game.

[aksmith]

I'm beginning to like that Farnsworth pickup more and more. Does he have a lefthanded twin?

[Fatalotti]

Nats just might win this one....maybe.

[Old Phan]

Is this digital age, the Atlanta TV broadcasts should superimpose an actual crowd so it appears that Braves fans actually care about their team.

[jason.tp]

Ol Willie gettin back at the Bravos, nice.

[brother]

"C" word = complacent?

[CJ]

Kyle Farnsworth... what an awesome trade by the Braves!

[R.Billingsly]

I'm with you guys -- what "C" word was Cholly using?

[The Truth Injection]

Kyle Farnsworth is proof positive that even if you throw hard it has to move some or it will get hit hard.

Thank goodness for Willie Harris.

[dlhunter]

Chimneysweep?

[awh]

"And that's a against a Giants team known for not scoring a lot of runs."

Posted by: aksmith

aksmith, you must have missed it when I posted it yesterday.

Since the addition of Pat Burrell, the Giants offense has been scoring an average of 4.49 RPG.

That's slightly ABOVE league average, and about 45 more runs per season than the 4.21 RPG they score without him in the lineup.

That's a pythagorean translation of about 4 more wins per season.

In short, with Burrell producing at his current pace, they have a slightly above league average offense.

That, along with very good pitching, and a San diego team that has a tough schedule the rest of the season, may be enough to get the Giants into the playoffs.

[Heather]

Hopefully Farnsworth's performance tells Bobby Cox that he should use Venters in every game from now on...leading to his arm falling off right before the Phil's series.

(I say that in a "meaning no harm" to anyone way.)

[awh]

Theory, do you mean the "See You Next Tuesday" word?

[Lake Fred]

The C-word has to be "choke".

[Old Phan]

I give the Braves even more credit for being so good at home considering the place is empty.

[dlhunter]

Pretty sure I see some vagrants in the outfield stands at Turner.

[Spitz]

AWH - Giants got to STL after this game and then host CIN. They may be too far back by the end of next week for them to have any hope. Its too early to start thinking about must win games, but this is close to one for the Giants.

[Dan in Philly]

"The C Word" is just the closest anyone could get since Charlie went into deep southern speak. The phonetic spelling was "Chhullktypeticck" Experts have been unable to decode the actual intended word, but it probably was his mistakingly thinking he was in a waffle house and his order was for a scattered, smothered, chuncked, and smashed.

[R.Billingsly]

2 down.

[Andy]

Caltrops, methinks. To ward off the cataphracts and cuirassiers.

[Dan in Philly]

The Braves, according to FanGraphs, now have a 0.1% chance of winning this game. They have the Nats right where they want them...

[Old Phan]

dl, they stumbled into there by accident. Needed a place to defecate and wanted to go somewhere no one would see them, so they went to Turner Field.

Willie Harris wants to single-handedly beat the Bravos.

[Sophist]

Braves score 2 runs and lose.

[Matt]

2 games back. Let's make it 1.5!

[R.Billingsly]

Braves lose.

2.0 out of first.

[seattlephan]

now that there are 2 outs in the 9th, even I dont think the Nats can now blow this one. I hope for Cole's sake (and sanity) that we at least score 1 run for him. If anything he's due to have 10-run clobberings behind him from here on out

[The Theory]

Do you think that JW just threw the "c" word thing out there just to throw us into a linguistic fury about what word it could actually be?

Well played, Mr. Weitzel. Well played indeed!

[dlhunter]

Why do the Braves have to lose on a day when Cole's starting? Now we're gonna get no-hit.

[jason.tp]

ooo yea, complacent. probably the least coolest of the C words.

[Lake Fred]

gNats beat Braves.....good!

[Old Phan]

Good win for the Gnats, and now we don't have to scoreboard watch tonight.

[awh]

Guess what?

A Bravos loss is good for the Phillies, but last I checked the Phils need a win tonight to actually get closer in the standings.

[Dan in Philly]

awh, you're a real wet blanket, aren't you? :)

[baxter]

Farnsworth's reputation is well-deserved, but we could've used him too. Not many valuable relievers could clear waivers.

I'm not in favor of signing Hawpe(who MLBTR connects us to)especially since we're unlikely to offer him arbitration...those comp picks are the most attractive thing about him.

[Andy]

Wait. Two games back? No. It cannot be less than 2.5. Several posters have clearly demonstrate that there's no way the Phils can get any closer than this to that totally awesome Braves team. Someone must be mistaken, because the Braves have to have at least a 2.5 game lead. Always. They're that much better. Clearly.

[awh]

Dan, and a PROUD wet blanket at that. :)

[EastFallowfield]

Yeah, let's not have a second or two of positive thoughts about the Braves losing a game.

[CJ]

Alright Nats!!!

[Andy]

Collards?

[Fatalotti]

The "C" word is obviously "closer", since Cholly's been throwing that one around for 2 years now, and I'm not sure he quite understands what it means. "He's my closer". "He's the closer." "Brad Lidge will be my closer." Somebody get this guy a dictionary.

[Andy]

Cappucino?

[Heather]

Andy, see there's a perverse logic to thinking that.

If the Phillies fall short of overtaking the Braves, it's what they expected anyway so they're not disappointed.

If the Phillies overtake the Braves, they're overjoyed.

That's what I'm thinking the reasoning is.

[awh]

EF, I posted it earlier in the thread:

Phils probably need to win 25 - 26 of their remaining 43 games to make the playoffs.

I don't particualrly care which games the win.

[CJ]

awh: Actually, the Braves losing is a good thing regardless of tonight's outcome. With 6 games left against the Braves, we, frankly, need only keep pace for a legit shot at the division. A loss by the Braves means a loss tonight wouldn't be as devastating.

That said, we sure could use a sweep tonight!

[MG]

Farnsworth reminds me relievers like Baez and Hawkins. Guys who have decent-enough stuff but have some well-deserved reputations of buckling when the spotlight is on.

Always wondered justified this reputation was though for a reliever. Yeah I know you can use things like wPA or their stats in high leverage vs. low leverage situations but I wonder how much that actually corresponds to a rep that a reliever gets like Farnsworth.

[Andy]

He's the closer because he closes, which is what a closer does when he's closing what needs to be closed. 'Cause when something needs closing, you need the closer to be the one closing it, since he's the closer. And that's what he is. The closer.

[toddzilla]

cholesterol- Charlie being the weight loss spokesman that he is wanted everyone to be careful of bad cholesterol.

[clout]

Fatalotti: I was simply supporting awh's response to your original post. He pretty much said it all regarding the deficiencies of your post and I was simply piling on.

No need to be so sensitive.

[Andy]

Wait.

Suddenly I know the "c" word.

There has only ever been one "c" word on beerleaguer - and it is he who shall remain nameless, yet always present (and arrogant, obnoxious, and misrepresentative of others' opinions).

THAT "c" word.

[brother]

Thanks to Jayson Werth, the "c" word was surely "cuckolds".

[Shane]

There is no C in Bunt.

[Fatalotti]

Andy, thank you.

[phlipper]

I'm thinking:

Cuneiform.

[curt]

"Notes: So it was all just a slump after all …"

Hmmm. Has anyone seen Billmeyer lately?

[phlipper]

Well, cuneiform, or perhaps:

chromodynamics

[Iceman]

Regarding JW's post, I'm sure glad I had many of the rational thinkers here to talk me off the ledge during the big slump. Don't know where I would've been without dennyb, BAP, etc. They were beacons of light during a dark time for the Phils.

[The Theory]

Fatalotti- your post had me cracking up at work. Well done!

[Conshy Matt]

btw, as a neutral observer, i can emphatically state that CLOUT GOT HIS @SS HANDED TO HIM by CJ on the last thread. great job pointing on the pitches thrown, etc.

[keith]

Why would the Mets blow up their front office at the end of this year? They are perfect as far as I am concerned. Dont cave to pressure Wilpons, you C words.

[CJ]

Coffee is for closers.

[Fatalotti]

Clout, awh made a great point, without doing so using ad hominem, and I promptly agreed with him about Kendrick. You, on the other hand, just simply trashed me by calling my senseless. And so be it. I'm just trying to save you headache of having to read my obviously inane and insipid comments. Save your time and tackle those on this blog who are causing a true disturbance...like...like...

Well, I can only think of clout right now, so that won't do you much good.

[Heather]

My guess is: cephalonomancy

Which is apparently "divination by boiling an ass head"

Sounds appropriate.

[EastFallowfield]

Well, the closer the Phils get to first, the easier the calculations are for the folks who post "IF the Braves go x-y, the Phils have to go (x+z)-(y-z) to catch them."

[clout]

fatalotti: Sounds like we both agree. awh made a great point. I see no problem.

[JV]

It's obviously Carbohydrates.

[clout]

Andy now pretends he hasn't spent the past 3 years trashing KK.

Dude, stick to haikus.

[Fatalotti]

Heather wins the day. Great side-splitting comment.

[Sophist]

This whole Wolever article is curious to me. What I'd like to know is the story behind the leak and the motivation.

[GBrettfan]

Wait, I had the impression Marti Wolever is really good at his job. I don't want to lose him if that's so, and I certainly don't want the Mets to acquire him! Anybody have more info on him, opinions as to his worth to the team, etc?

[rauls grandpa]

Its one of those mysterious Freemason words like the c version of "Tubalcain".

[clout]

Conshy: If that's what it takes for you to get your rocks off, I'm cool with it.

[Hugh Mulcahy]

Who'd Charlie call a see you next Tuesday?

[Bruce Ruffin]

And now, for something completely different. The Phillies need to play .744 ball here on in to get to 100 wins. May at least 5 of those wins be against the employer of Billy "Whiskers" Wagner.

Maybe the Braves are getting "complacent" (ARRRGH! The word that shall not be said!).

[Mick O]

I thought Charlie had alluded to the Shakespeare tragedy Coriolanus, obviously drawing parallels between the plebian riots and the Braves hot start. Cholly saw Utley in a Caius Marcius mold and thus was very worried when he went down.

That's not what you instantly thought?

[Sophist]

GBrett - The Phils seems to have an excellent scouting department. Wolever is the scouting director, so query what losing him without an adequate replacement would mean.

[Conshy Matt]

clout - that'll do for now, thanks.

i'm predicting a hamels CG shutout tonight. walk in the park.

[sifl]

Biggest mancrushes on Beerleaguer:

Chris Coste --> Davthom
Kyle Kendrick --> Clout
Clout --> The Truth Injection

[Lake Fred]

The Braves lost because Derek Lee was not in the game. What a trade!

[bay_area_phan]

sifl: How do you know clout is a man?

[Old Phan]

My guess is Callipygian.

Unless of course, Cholly refers to himself in the first person, then the C word would be
"Cholly"

[Spitz]

BAP - because both Kyle Kendrick and Bill Conlin are men and Clout is certainly one of the two.

[bay_area_phan]

Not true. He could very easily be Mrs. Kendrick.

[dlhunter]

Has anyone seen Davthom since Coste left town? Mighty curious is all I'm saying, mighty curious.

[quincy.mcneal]

The "C" word is "Cloutlike." It is an adjective Charlie used most often to describe the team's feeling that they were inherently superior to everyone else no matter what reality may suggest.

[clout]

Actually it's clout --> sifl

He's the only poster here whose every post is about me. Obsession at its finest.

I'm flattered.

[clout]

BAP: Excellent point.

[clout]

quincy: Bill Conlin is inherently superior to you. And that IS the reality.

[clout]

dlhunter: DaveThom was a major contributor to Astros blogs earlier this season.