Saturday chat: Kendrick out to prove himself today

Kyle Kendrick (9-8, 4.89) gets another crack at keeping his job this afternoon against Mike Pelfrey (13-8, 3.96) and the Mets. First pitch is 4:10 in a game airing regionally on Fox.

Phillies 8, Mets 4: Last night in a rare twist, Roy Halladay, who was still very good, was upstaged by his teammates. Right on cue, the calendar flipped to September and Ryan Howard flipped a switch. The Big Piece homered for a third-straight night and also blasted a double off the wall to dead-away center field. Carlos Ruiz reached base in all five at bats, keeping his lusty on-base percentage hovering around .400. Chooch also contributed a heady play on the bases, forcing a rundown between first and second that allowed Raul Ibanez to score with two outs. I've said it before and I'll say it again: team MVP. Jayson Werth and Shane Victorino also pitched in multi-hit games; Werth has been a thorn in the Mets' side this season, while Vic continues to look like the Phillies' best answer to their lead-off problems during this recent lineup experiment. Defensively, Wilson Valdez came to play. I thought he showed great range and a laser arm.

As for Halladay, he was reportedly miffed to be taken out of the game midway through the 8th, but at 116 pitches, enough is enough. Halladay pitched an iffy third, but battled through it and collected his 18th win, which is tied for the league lead. He keeps winning, but this has probably been his worst stretch as a Phillie, and understandably so. One can't expect a pristine performance every turn, especially with his innings near 230. He hasn't been as sharp and he's made some uncharacteristic mistakes. Frustration is starting to show. But it's understandable; it's a long season. He's probably just anxious for October.

Notes: Jimmy Rollins is likely out of the lineup again today.

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Comments

[Fatalotti]

jason.tp, I like Mike Sweeney, and I like the lighthouses.

[EastFallowfield]

If there was a just and loving god, Sweeney's ball would have been a homer.

Went to stubhub to see if lots of tickets for today were being dumped (iffy weather, NFL openers, etc) and was greeted with this up to the minute blurb...

Led by David Wright and Johan Santana, the Mets are looking solid and competitive this season..

[clout]

Andy: "How about if we stop numbering our pitchers, like it's some excuse for Kendrick that he has a different number than Hamels?"

So you think every team's 5th starter should be able to pitch like its ace?

Stick to haikus.

[Fatalotti]

Clout, I think he was talking about in terms of run support.

If Hamels had the run support that Kendrick's gotten this season, the Phils would probably have 3 to 4 more win.

At least that's what I got from his posts.

But, he does write some great haikus.

[clout]

Phillies recalled SS Brian Bocock from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

As bad as Bocock is, this is a good move. You box yourself in when you have only backup for both 2B and SS. This will allow Charlie to PH for Valdes when Rollins or Utley have to sit.

[clout]

Fatalotti: To prove that statement you'd have to go thru Kendrick's starts game by game. Run support is an average, which means if a team score 15 runs in 1 game and then 3 a game for 4 more, it looks like a pitcher was winning only because he got 5 or 6 runs per game.

In any event, that's not how I read Andy's post.

[EastFallowfield]

Yo, new thread

[clout]

Let's examine the players sent to the Indians in the Cliff Lee trade.

1. Jason Donald. Hailed as a future star by posters here because of his bat, some noted that his range at SS would prevent him from being an acceptable everyday SS. He projected better at 2B, assuming his bat was for real. Has been splitting time between the 2 positions, but the bat hasn't been anything special (.690 OPS) and he strikes out too much for a guy who doesn't hit many HRs. You may recall he dazzled evryone in Reading in 2008, but wasn't very good at LV in '09 partly due to injury. I think his bat will improve (he's 25) but don't think he'll be a .300 hitter. Decent doubles power should keep him in MLB as an everyday 2B for a bad team or solid sub for a good team.

2. Carlos Carrasco. Most posters here soured on him becaused he was hyped as a #1 SP and he was never able to carry his dazzling A ball numbers to higher levels. Started slow at LV last year, but his K/9 was solid and he showed sharp improvement after the trade at Columbus. He was always young for his levels and the struggles at AA and AAA probably should've been expected. Has looked very good in 3 starts for the Indians. Won't be an ace, but at age 23 he projects as a decent #2 or #3 starter for years to come.

3. Lou Marson. Another prospect much beloved on Beerleaguer. As one of the Phils top prospects, scouts loved his bat but had concerns about his defense after his seasons at Clearwater and Reading. Oddly, he has become just the opposite. His arm was never in question but he made a lot of throwing errors and his footwork behind the plate was considreed weak. That's all fixed now, but the bat disappeared. He hit .243 in a half season at Columbus last year, .202 in a half season there this year and .196 in 74 games for Cleveland. Marson didn't show much with the bat in his first 3 pro seasons so now we're forced to wonder if those 2 years at Clearwater and Reading were outliers. I think the bat will improve, but he's looking more like a career backup.

4. Jason Knapp. Hard thrower with big K/9 rate, some scouts thought his ceiling higher than Carrasco's. Was identified in Cleveland media as the key to the Lee trade. Last season cut short by shoulder surgery, he's made just 9 starts this season and the numbers suggest he's recovered nicely: 47 K in 28 IP. He'll play in the Arizona Instructional League and at age 19 still projects as a potential ace.

[Jordan 4]

Morality may consist solely in the courage of making a choice. (Leon Nlum, French statesman)