Game chat: 33 games in 31 days begins tonight

The Phillies' compressed end-of-season schedule kicks off tonight in Cincinnati, where Cole Hamels (13-7, 2.62) takes the mound for the first time in 2 1/2 weeks.

Hamels is 7-0 with a 1.43 ERA in eight career starts against the Reds in the regular season. An earlier post noted his success against them in last year's NLDS. In case you're wondering, reigning NL MVP Joey Votto is 2-for-12 lifetime against Hamels. However, he won't be getting any sympathy cards from Brandon Phillips, who is 3-for-25 with seven K's against the Phils lefty. The Phillies, who haven't played since Friday and haven't won since last Tuesday, will look to avoid a third straight loss. They have enjoyed success in the past against Homer Bailey (7-5, 4.44), including a 10-4 loss on May 26 in which they chased the Reds' right-hander after only four innings. Raul Ibanez hit a three-run homer against him in that contest.

Lineup: Victorino CF, Polanco 3B, Utley 2B, Howard 1B, Pence RF, Mayberry LF, Ruiz C, Valdez SS, Hamels P.

Comments

[SLO Phan]

Cole's had a lot of rest. Let's hope he's not rusty.

[Willard Preacher]

Going to be interesting to see how Cholly strikes the delicate balance between resting regulars (using call ups) and keeping guys from getting rusty. 33 games in 31 days, without a real pennant race, is going to show just what kind of a manager Cholly is. Here's hoping he's up to the task. I sure don't envy him.

[Fatalotti]

I think it's pretty damn awesome that the Phillies are allowing Jamie Moyer, a free agent, to use their facilities in Clearwater to rehab and try to get back into the game.

Classy move for a very deserving player.

[GTown_Dave]

So much for resting any regulars --

Matt Gelb (via Tiwtter): "Amaro says no call-ups Thursday. No immediate need."

[GTown_Dave]

They have enjoyed success in the past against Homer Bailey (7-5, 4.44), including a 10-4 loss on May 26 in which they chased the Reds' right-hander after only four innings.

10-4 win. Losses aren't generally a sign of success.

[Timr]

Amaro's quote is puzzling, given this ridiculous schedule.

Anyway, here's to hoping these days off haven't gotten Mayberry off track. I've really enjoyed his incredible run of slugging!

[They Call Me King Of The Bop]

hib to the jib

[conshy matt]

hib to the jib, indeed. well stated King.

[bay_area_phan]

A couple weeks ago, I Googled the phrase "hib to the jib" to see where it came from. All of my hits were to King of the Bop's posts on Beerleaguer.

[st]

So much for resting any regulars --

Matt Gelb (via Tiwtter): "Amaro says no call-ups Thursday. No immediate need."

Posted by: GTown_Dave | Monday, August 29, 2011 at 06:24 PM

uh, read the quote. no call-ups thursday. why would we need anyone thursday. you don't rest guys now anyway. no one is tired right now. there will be callups at some point

[Fatalotti]

BAP, when I googled it, my first BL hit was from conshy matt saying it in reply to King of the Bop.

It was strange.

[conshy matt]

BAP - yeah, i tried that too. i also googled "hib" and "jib" separately, with no better results. oddly enough, i kinda sounds like a thing. a retarded thing, but a thing nonetheless.

[Scott]

I really wish JW would put some kind of filter in place that would automatically change that dumbass post into something completely different.

[Willard Preacher]

Glad I'm not the only one totally in the dark on the meaning of "hib to the jib." (outside of the daily King of the Bop post)

[Willard Preacher]

Scott, maybe someone can create a Firefox macro to autochange "hib to the jib" to "Kendrick can't possibly success at the big league level with that K/9."

[Fatalotti]

Via the urban dictionary:

hib to the jib=

Promiscuous, diseased woman to the act of manuvering a bicycle, skateboard, snowboard or skis in tricky manner on top of and around a structure such as a stump, rocks, stairs, railigs, rooftops, etc.

Yeah, got it.

[derekcarstairs]

"King of the Bop" and "hib to the jib".

Two gems. I like both. They have a nice ring to them.

Now, King, do you have anything else to say?

[conshy matt]

"A jib is a triangular staysail set ahead of the foremast of a sailing vessel. Its tack is fixed to the bowsprit, to the bow, or to the deck between the bowsprit and the foremost mast."

KIng of Bop, a sailor?

[SLO Phan]

I always thought it was a shortened version of hibidy jibidy.

[Bigot-to]

After skimming the last couple of threads I'm gald I was working and missed them.

[Bigot-to]

WGAS what httj means?

[Fatalotti]

Inquiring minds...

[Paul Owens]

"I always told Sarge, don't hib to the jib those cheap prostitutes. You get what you pay for."
Paul Owens 1983

[Timr]

For the record, I think he actually means "hib to the dib," as a variation of "hibbity dibbity," which is pretty well known slang for having sex. As in "she gave me a little bit of the old hibbity dibbity."

[Fatalotti]

There's baseball on the television!!

[GTown_Dave]

st: Waiting until there's a "need" misses the whole point of Sept. call-ups. I guess the Phillies are content w/ having to use Cliff Lee as a Pinch Runner.

[SLO Phan]

Homer made the top of the lineup look like a bunch of homers.

[Fatalotti]

I always thought the Cincinnati Reds were a No Homers club.

[psd]

Not a fan of the "live K zone" on ESPN. Why does everyone feel the need to put crap all over the screen?

[Fatalotti]

Nice first inning for Utley...err...I mean Hamels.

[The Truth Injection]

Bigot-ot: Well the rest of the positions are coming so be prepared. Also, make sure to e-mail conshy matt so he can tell you what your opinion should be.

[Mike G]

Dave, I think the reason they won't call anybody up on Thursday is because both the Iron Pigs and the Reading Phils have a shot at making the playoffs in their respective leagues. I think they would like to wait till their seasons are over before thay call anybody up.

[AFish]

The team just sees no reason to fly people to Cincinnati for one game. I'd bet there will be call ups when they return to Philadelphia, at the latest.

[The Truth Injection]

Mike G and AFish hit on it.

The minor league teams could be in the playoffs and thus they won't just strip everyone from there. And many teams would do the same thing. Also, they will wait til they get home before they fly guys all over the place.

[whitey]

Utley = White Men Can't Jump

[GTown_Dave]

Nice grab by Howard.

[bay_area_phan]

Pretty good start for Cole, but should we be concerned that his velocity is WAY off his norms?

[Willard Preacher]

BAP, I was thinking the same thing, but didn't want to be the wet blanket.

On a related note, thanks for being a wet blanket.

[Fatalotti]

Damn, Bailey is cruising.

Hopefull the second time through the order will bring the bats to life.

[SLO Phan]

Homer mowed the Phils down. 30 pitches.

[conshy matt]

TRI - really? U suggest that Votto ~ Howard and can't believe that someone would jump all over that. It's your opinion, to b sure, but its a pretty ridiculous one.

[bay_area_phan]

WP: I have no problem being the resident wet blanket.

Should we be concerned that the Phillies' offense looks comatose?

[Cackalacky Mike]

I'm hoping the loss in velocity is just a result of rust or the break in routine that came with the weather. I'm afraid it's more shoulder problems. That being said, outside of the high heat to Votto (which looked like it came in lower than Chooch wanted it), his location has been all right.

In general, though, I feel like this is the kind of thing that will be hard to evaluate until he gets a few more starts under his belt. If he's still only hitting 90 mph in 2 weeks, then we'll know that it's not just rust and that it's time to be concerned about his health.

[conshy matt]

TTI that is.

[The Truth Injection]

conshy: Yep because it's impossible for someone to have a different opinion from you. You must be a joy to be around in life.

BAP: My guess is that it is probably a little rust and trying harder to get a feel for the pitches rather than throwing hard. It will come.

[Willard Preacher]

"One of the things I'm concerned about is that nobody has tried to drag bunt." - Sarge

Has Sarge been attending online classes at the Heather's Importance of Small Ball Academy?

[GTown_Dave]

Well, at least the Phils won't get no-hit tonight.

[SLO Phan]

Well, at least they made Bailey throw 12 pitches in that inning.

[Fatalotti]

BAP, I don't think you need to be concerned about Hamels velocity. Hamels is aware of how he's owned the Reds over his career, so he probably figures, if he's going to dominate them tonight, why kill himself?

[Fatalotti]

Wow.

DOn't even know what to say.

[Willard Preacher]

Remember what I advocated that Pence wasn't necessarily "fundamentally unsound," but more so just "unorthodox" or "unconventional?"

I'm beginning to rethink things...

[Fatalotti]

That better not be scored a triple.

That's a friggin error if I ever saw one. That was a can of corn.

[Dickie Thong]

Dom Brown would have...done the exact same thing.

[They Call Me King Of The Bop]

THIS BLOWS!!!!

[GTown_Dave]

Hunter Pence w/ an exceptional Dom Brown impression out in RF ...

[whitey]

Nice play, Penth.

[Willard Preacher]

King of Bop, that's an especially short post for you....

[conshy matt]

Good lord, so its your opinion that Howard and Votto are abouteven as hitters, right? If 99 out of 100 people disagree, is it still an opinion, or is it just failing to see the truth? (pun intended)

[MG]

It is his first start back after with no rehab stint. If he is only hitting this on the gun next in his 3rd start back, he's hurt a lot worse than the Phils let on.

[Fatalotti]

Did he make contact on that ball in the dirt?

Why is he still at the plate?

[SLO Phan]

Well, this wouldn't be that bad if the Phils would stop making a 4.30 ERA pitcher look like Cy Young.

[Fatalotti]

Give me a break with this rust nonsense with the Phillies. They played baseball on Friday.

If they get rusty with 2 days off, I'd hate to see them in game 1 of the NLCS.

[GTown_Dave]

Charging that Run to Hamels is total crap.

[Willard Preacher]

Wow, they gave him a hit on that? That's pretty pathetic.

[Fatalotti]

Well, Pence's 0.00 ERA is long gone. That run's on him.

[HammRadio]

I'm so glad RBIs are meaningless. Otherwise I'd be more upset about that Votto got that guy home.

[GBrettfan]

I thought the comments about being rusty referred only to Hamels?

[GTown_Dave]

HammRadio: The Win goes to the team w/ the highest OBP, so technically this game is still tied. What a relief!

[Dickie Thong]

GAME = OVER with Homer Koufax pitching tonight.

[bay_area_phan]

Cole will proceed to retire the next 15 batters , only to suffer the double indignity of pitching a perfect game that doesn't even count as a no-hitter, while also being charged with the loss.

[GBrettfan]

Chance to redeem thyself, Pence...

[Willard Preacher]

Interesting timing on the Vick deal...

[Willard Preacher]

We might need JMJ to swipe 2nd, 3rd and home here.

[Fatalotti]

Some more splits in the Votto vs. Howard "debate":

2011
Votto vs. LHP: 1.054 OPS
Howard vs. LHP: .676 OPS

Votto with RISP: 1.297 OPS
Howard with RISP: .938 OPS

Votto Home/Road: .972/1.054 OPS
Howard Home/Road: .896/.741 OPS

I'm sorry, there really is no comparison. Votto wins by a landslide this year.

[HammRadio]

@willard -- actually its perfect timing. You know what your roster cost is going to be for the season. You can't have Vick play on a 1 year deal if he's your franchise guy. No Kolb here.

With the "off week" for Vick (he won't play this week). Its the exact right time. Unless you mean that its announced during a Nationally televised Phillies game. Then. Yes you are correct. Interesting timing.

[Fatalotti]

Man, if that ball would've found the gap, this game would tied.

[The Truth Injection]

That sucked that Pence slipped when he hit the track there.

conshy: You're being an intentional douchebag here so this is my last post on this so as not to further bog the topic so you can claim a win or whatever. You are operating under the impression that Howard is a 35 home run guy. That's probably faulty logic. He hit 31 last year and missed a bunch of games and then had some games trying to get back into hitting shape. Probably 30-40 games total lost all told of good production (DL time plus games to get back a swing). You think he would've hit 4 home runs over roughly 90-120 at bats? This year he is at 27 which is not gregariously off his totals of years past at this point.

Furthermore, I said that I do think Votto is a better hitter for average and a better defender. I think home runs and RBI's go to Howard, while Votto takes some other categories. I gave Votto a ton of freakin' props in both threads and still that wasn't enough because I didn't fellate all over him, and declare him a decisive winner. I even said he was a better player right now and said he would be the first guy of that middle group I would move into the Pujols/Gonzalez tier but not quite yet. Ask me in a year and my answer might be different. Howard has done what he has done over the course of 5 seasons. Votto has played 3 full seasons and one of them was out of this world while two were very good. I do think past performance has some context in this discussion, to whatever degree you feel it does. Sorry I like a first baseman on the team I root for even if I said that there are a few guys better than him. But don't worry I'll consult you from now on.

New Beerleaguer meme: Whenever you are debating something with someone make sure to preface your comment with, "If it's okay with conshy matt..."

[Fatalotti]

Double play time.

[Willard Preacher]

BAP, I suppose no need to be concerned about the offense. It's not so comatose anymore. Maybe just "slightly catatonic."

[Fatalotti]

Come on Hamels, get these runs home. You can do it.

[Dickie Thong]

OMG, can we get a separate Howard v. Votto thread for these guys?

[HammRadio]

good hitting by Chooch and Valdez. Valdez that he got in the air and not on the ground. the misplay was fortunate. Wheeler spent a good time criticizing Valdez for "swinging for the fences" and that he should just make contact. Well. Making contact turns into eleventy billion DPs a year. I think I like Valdez' new approach.

[Willard Preacher]

Hamm, Wheels is on the radio feed, I presume?

[whitey]

Don't worry. It Gets Better, conshy matt.

[HammRadio]

@willard - nah. T-bag and wheels (now sarge) are on Comcast. Not blacked out road national game.

[Mike G]

Who thought he was getting a 3-1 curve?

[Fatalotti]

This strike zone is pretty freaking terrible.

[Old Phan]

That was a strike?

[They Call Me King Of The Bop]

Goddam that was ball 4.

[Dickie Thong]

My God this Ump sucks!

[bay_area_phan]

Part of the reason both these pitchers are looking so good is that any pitch which lands within a foot of the strike zone is being called a strike.

[GTown_Dave]

One whole Run, on another non-Error Error. Impressive.

[Fatalotti]

According to pitchFX, the last pitch was a strike, but the first called strike was well inside. Either way, the strikezone was well expanded, and it's hard to expect him to cover that much area.

[bullit]

earlier wheels remarked that valdez hit some long bombs in bp and suggested that he should concentrate on putting balls in play during the gsme.

[phanatic's brother]

yeah horrible strike 3 to Vic.
the ump was dam near behind Vic calling a strike off the opposite side of the plate. Poor position. Poor call.

[Fatalotti]

So Hamels approaches the late innings without allowing a real hit, I'm going to get even more angry at that non-error call on the Pence misplay.

[psd]

yea, they're both definitely getting the corners

http://www.brooksbaseball.net/pfxVB/cache/zoneplot.php-pitchSel=all&game=gid_2011_08_29_phimlb_cinmlb_1&sp_type=1&s_type=7.gif

[Old Phan]

Cole doesn't look the least bit rusty.

[Willard Preacher]

Wow, when was the last time Polly K'd twice in 3 AB's?

[Cyclic]

Season high 8 strikeouts in the 6th????

WHO IS THIS GUY