Game chat: No Chooch, Oswalt falls off the board

Carlos Ruiz remains out of the lineup tonight as Joe Blanton and the Phillies play the second game of their series at Citi Field. First pitch is 7:10 p.m. The Phillies go Rollins SS, Pierre LF, Pence RF, Wigginton 1B, Victorino CF, Polanco 3B, Galvis SS, Schneider C. Meanwhile, a Dallas newspaper has confirmed that former Phillie Roy Oswalt will receive a one-year deal to join the front-running Rangers. [Jump to the newest comments]

Comments

[NEPP]

Will they be rail-loading his tractor for the trip to Dallas?

Or will he just drive it there?

[Raul's grandpa]

For a guy who won't pitch until July and will probably be shot (bad back) or pondering retirement again before the Sept, Tractor Boy is getting a decent haul.

[CJ]

I noticed in the last thread those lamenting this team because without a 3rd ace, our awful offense would not overcome the terrible pitching.

We are 7th in the NL in runs/game. It's not like we're awful at the plate right now. Just sayin'.

[bullit]

that was a great interview with Hacker on DNL. he is hosting a "let's go eat" charity event that will feature ping pong. he said it is under-rated in what it does for hand/eye coordination. he thinks middle infielders are best at pp with their great hands. has jpop been neglecting his pp practice?

[awh]

"awh: The track records of the personnel involved.

Posted by: GTown_Dave | Tuesday, May 29, 2012 at 05:18 PM"

Repost:

But GTown, this is the track record of some of the personnel in May, when the Phillies had one of the best offenses in the NL:

Wiggy: .200/.310/.300

Rollins: .215/.282/.280 (mini mart territory)

Chooch won't hit .410/.478/.654 the rest of the way, but with his new stance and approach, the question is where is his regression point. The guy has been beaned, run over, and dinged up in every way imaginable and he still goes out and produces. Amazing!

Pence has been very good, .274/.371/.566, most notably in the power department, but he's K'd a fair amount and his BAbip is .259 for the month.

Vic has done slightly better that his career average: .278/.366/.454

In May, Mayberry has picked it up a little, but is nowhere close to the guy we saw in the 2nd half last season, and certainly isn't setting any records: .260/.321/.411

And Freddy has been outstanding in the clutch but still has gotten on base far too little: .268/.290/.443

And Polly's line in May: .300/.315/.400 isn't even at his career line of .300/.345/.405, so while he's done better it's not like he's been "special" in May.

Pierre is still a PopGun with no power and a bad glove, and Nix and Thome are on the DL.

The only real surprise has been Schneider in his whopping 29 PA: .321/.345/.500

IMO, so far in May the only three "standout" items in the list above have been Chooch, and Pence's and Freddy's power surges.

So GTown, while I understand your point about "track records", it's those same track records that make me think that they may be able to perform pretty close to this level going forward if the guys who have been engaging in suckitude start to hit better, and some of the guys just hit close to their career norms.

[Bert Wedemeyer]

Maybe the Rockies will release Moyer and all will be right in the world.

[Pblunts]

The optimist in me says this many injuries can make a team with overall less talent than their opponents laser focused. Let's get healthy for the stretch and unlike the last few years, get hot at the right time. I'd rather not get into what the pessimistic side of me says.

[nonamePHame]

season = over?

Or is this going to make "the ring" all that more worthwhile? Keep winning boys. Time for someone to step up.

[Bert Wedemeyer]

All I know is that when Utley is ready for some rehab games he's wearing a 1st baseman's glove. He should platoon w/ Wiggy at 1B to ease the strain on his knees. We all know that Howard's return is iffy at best.

[GTown_Dave]

awh: I hesitate because the Phillies have long seemed to be a club where several guys get hot, or nobody is hot. However, you make a fairly convincing argument, & I agree w/ most of the individual assessments. If the offense remains productive in June -- that is, displays some consistency -- I'll be pleasantly surprised.

[bay_area_phan]

This sucks. However, as I noted yesterday, the Phillies have essentially been without Halladay for the entire season. He has been replaced by a guy with an ERA below league average. We have a 4-7 record in that guy's starts. Despite this, the sky hasn't totally fallen yet & we're still hanging around in contention.

If Worley can get back quickly, and pitch normally, and we can start scoring a few runs for Lee, we can probably weather Halladay's absence for 2 months -- if, indeed, it's really only 2 months. Admittedly, that's a big IF. Given the Phillies' track record for candor, he probably won't be back until opening day 2015.

[CJ]

As one of the resident optimists... I'm not targeting a Doc return until late August. What does that tell you?

[CJ]

Scott Miller reports Phils were one of three teams who made a better offer to Oswalt than the Rangers did.

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/scott-miller/19194990/rangers-get-rotation-help-with-feliz-out-oswalt-deal-done

[clout]

I guess the Phillies are just more careful. Beckett has a Grade 1 lat strain and misses two starts. Halladay has the same injury and the Phils shut him down for 3 weeks and then put him on a strength and conditioning regimen and then have him pitch rehab and then, 8 weeks after the injury, have him return.

It still sounds odd to me.

[awh]

"We are 7th in the NL in runs/game. It's not like we're awful at the plate right now. Just sayin'.

Posted by: CJ | Tuesday, May 29, 2012 at 05:51 PM"

CJ, here are the May RPG rankings.

In the NL, RPG have gone from 4.003 in April to 4.258 in May. The Phillies scored 3.304 RPG in April.

STL 5.407
LAD 4.960
PHI 4.889
COL 4.846
MIA 4.556
NYM 4.500
ATL 4.444
WAS 4.385
MIL 4.280
SFG 4.074
CIN 4.038
ARI 3.808
HOU 3.769
CHI 3.600
PIT 3.308
SDP 3.192

In May, the Phillies have had the 3rd best offense in the NL.

They just beat the top scoring team 3 out of 4, missing the 4-game sweep perhaps because of Doc's injury.

[DH Phils]

This sucks. However, as I noted yesterday, the Phillies have essentially been without Halladay for the entire season. He has been replaced by a guy with an ERA below league average. We have a 4-7 record in that guy's starts. Despite this, the sky hasn't totally fallen yet & we're still hanging around in contention.

If Worley can get back quickly, and pitch normally, and we can start scoring a few runs for Lee, we can probably weather Halladay's absence for 2 months -- if, indeed, it's really only 2 months. Admittedly, that's a big IF. Given the Phillies' track record for candor, he probably won't be back until opening day 2015.

Posted by: bay_area_phan | Tuesday, May 29, 2012 at 06:15 PM

I agree with this entirely.

[NEPP]

***Given the Phillies' track record for candor, he probably won't be back until opening day 2015.***

Joke's on you, if that's the case, we'll never see him in a Phillies uniform again

[Luis]

I wonder if this is the truth or more PR stunts with macaroni and cheese on the side. Either way this is a blow. KK will need to replace Doc, someone will have to be called up to be the long man. Good luck to us..

[DH Phils]

***Given the Phillies' track record for candor, he probably won't be back until opening day 2015.***

Joke's on you, if that's the case, we'll never see him in a Phillies uniform again

Posted by: NEPP | Tuesday, May 29, 2012 at 06:28 PM

NEPP: Surely, he'll be extended through 2020 before he ever gets to that point.

[Whoa Is Me]

Has there been any announcement on Worley? I"m assuming Bush takes Halladay's next start? It'd be nice to see Lee step up and have one of those months he had last year (good ones).

While I think the team has overchieved with the line up it is playing, there have been too many major injuries to overcome. No postseason this year, I bet we don't see Halladay until next year as well. I wonder how Lee will feel when the Rangers cruise to a WS crown (dobut Oswalt will be on WS roster).

[bay_area_phan]

DH Phils stole my punch line.

[Mike Hunt]

How is KK taking doc's place when he is already filling in for Worley?

[GTown_Dave]

Mike: The haters have been underestimating Kendrick for years. He's actually capable of filling in for an entire 5-man rotation, & serving as both clubhouse attendant & emergency bullpen catcher besides.

[bullit]

and he speaks French.

[MG]

Just a question of whether they can stay at .500 now. Dave Bush stinks. If they can even .500 in his starts, I will be stunned. RoLo he won't be.

Been kind of depressing though to find out with Halladay as more details leak out that the Phils are fibbing since this spring about his health. I would stunned if the Phils are being 100% honest even today. Shutting him down for a minimum of at least 3 weeks seems worse than just a lat strain. Have to wonder if the extremely heavy workload the last 2 years hasn't really caught up with him.

Just hang our hat that the Phil's aren't too far out and their is a 2nd WC.

[lorecore]

Phils love some adversity, heres the latest. Look for the Phils to turn it on while Doc is out.

[Raul's grandpa]

The Rangers will only cruise with Lil FEMA if the WS is decided by a tractor pull.

[gobaystars!]

There's a good chance Worley is back before Bush is needed.

Team management isn't keeping things from you, they are keeping it from the Braves, Nats, Cardinals, etc. Don't take it personally.

[bay_area_phan]

Why on earth is Pierre bunting?

[bay_area_phan]

I like the bunt no better, despite just what happened. You've got a .314 hitter at the plate, a fast runner on 2nd, and your crappiest pitcher on the mound. Play for the multi-run rally, not the 1 run.

[Iceman]

I hate bunting period, but with basically the only possible outcome from Pierre being either an infield hit or a dying quail to the outfield grass, I think he should bunt every time.

[GTown_Dave]

Well, that didn't take long.

[Mee Mee]

Of course Blanton hits the first batter.

It's amazing to see the Marlins on MLB - new ballpark and a really good team, but still nobody shows up for their games.

[GTown_Dave]

Hey, the circus is back!

[Ozzie Conseco]

Luckily the Phils are preparing Brown to play centerfield.

[nonamePHame]

fat joe doesn't have it tonight. might as well pack it up.

[patrick roy halladais]

Stupid citifield grounds crew. Mets always cheat.

[GBrettFan]

I've seen this game before. It doesn't go well.

[Ozzie Conseco]

Vic misplays a fly ball, Rollins can't make a great catch, now Wright facing KY Jelly Joe with 2 on -- game = over

[Scott]

The return of Crazy Legs Victorino.

[Keith Hernandez]

Ozzie: You're late, Wright already hit.

[GTown_Dave]

Blanton has been awful, even by Blanton standards. This is not going to cut it.

[NEPP]

Good to see Blanton showing up in a game right after we lost Doc for 2 months.

Oh wait, he sucks.

[Scott]

The return of KY Jelly Joe.

[Shane Victorino]

Damn banana peel.

[nonamePHame]

everytime jb and kk don't pitch well, it is just magnified 100,000 times.

[horton hears a who]

No worries, storms on the horizon, bp will show joe how it's done.

[GTown_Dave]

I worry about Freddy. Teams are gonna get a book on him pretty quick, & unless he learns to be more selective things will get downright ugly.

[GBrettFan]

Nice HR!

Did Schneider just do something to his leg on that swing? Looked to me like he had some funny leg movement. He did seem to run ok, though.

[NEPP]

I give Blanton credit for burning it down the line there.

[GTown_Dave]

Great. r00b's writing up Schneider's contract extension right now.

[patrick roy halladais]

This game will have a lengthy delay by the looks of the weather maps.

[fumphis]

There's something inexplicably dissatisfying about a Schneider home run.

[GTown_Dave]

"It took all of 3 pitches for the Mets to jump back in front in the 2nd inning." -Franzke

Another great contract. Thanks, r00b.

[nonamePHame]

it is very easy to see when blanton doesn't have it.

[GBrettFan]

So much for the promise of April, hoping that Blanton came back ready to have a great season.

[Bob]

Big Joe getting peppered.

[GBrettFan]

Good to see Blanton showing up in a game right after we lost Doc for 2 months.

Oh wait, he sucks.

Posted by: NEPP | Tuesday, May 29, 2012 at 07:29 PM

Yeah, he's not exactly stepping up to the challenge so far tonight, picking up his team, is he?

[NEPP]

***it is very easy to see when blanton doesn't have it. ***

When's he's on an MLB mound?

[wes covington's ghost]

who's the long man ?

[nonamePHame]

the eight pitch inning from the mets there. great plate discipline from the phils.

[Dickie Thong]

who's the long man ?

Savery?

[Tom McCarthy]

Lucas Doo-Dah.

[rty]

Phillies have the best Tyson prospects in baseball.

[Raul's grandpa]

This may clarify Chase's injury

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DxwmCa4cKkFg&v=xwmCa4cKkFg&gl=US

[pissy pants posse]

We HATES it when Schneider hits a home run. It makes us look stupid and we can't do our precious b!tching!!

[wes covington's ghost]

Hugh Hefner could out pitch Blanton tonight.

[Fan from Fifty]

Not worth the time, grandpa

[bay_area_phan]

Considering that Galvis is hitting .230, and might be the single most difficult hitter in baseball for an opposing pitcher to walk, our hitting guru manager might want to sit down and have a talk with him about his habit of swinging on every single 2-0 pitch he ever sees.

[wes covington's ghost]

Another 6 flags over Pence moment..

[DH Phils]

Did I miss something with Larry Andersen? I am not enjoying Sarge on the radio. Sarge and Franzke have whatever the opposite is of "rapport".

[RedBurb]

There's something inexplicably dissatisfying about a Schneider home run.

Posted by: fumphis | Tuesday, May 29, 2012 at 07:41 PM

This quote is pathetic. Yes, let's be upset when the team scores runs. Very astute.

[bay_area_phan]

Wow. Nice catch by Pence. I was already bracing myself for him to misplay a double into an inside-the-park homerun.

[GTown_Dave]

Pence taketh away, but Blanton giveth right back.

[Scott]

Trying to tire out Hefner. Very clever of Joe.

[Scotch Man]

This is really not our year

[GTown_Dave]

DH Phils: L.A. has the series off to attend the graduation of his son from high school.

[bay_area_phan]

If Blanton bats this inning, I plead insanity to the spree of violence that I'm about to go on.

[Scott]

I can see the headlines:

"Bay Area Attorney Found Eating Joe Blanton's Face."

[awh]

Blanton has reverted below the mean.

[fumphis]

Look, when Mayberry homers, you get to think "Sweet, maybe he's coming around." When Galvis homers, you get to think "Hey, maybe he's really going to stick here." Even when a guy like Pence homers, you think "Yup, there's one of his 25-30 HRs for the season, helping us out nicely as expected--looking forward to more of those."

When Schneider homers, it doesn't represent anything particularly exciting about the offense, since he's not an everyday player and doesn't have any undiscovered upside. And you just know that he's not the kind of player who's going to carry the team, especially not playing every day, so you can't get enthused at the prospect that he was locked in on that pitch. So it's great to have the run, but it's only a run, rather than a promising sign of things to come. Feel free to tar that as PPP whining, but whatever.

[bay_area_phan]

Of course he's batting. I forgot about the MLB rule which says that, no matter how many runs he allows, you can't take your starting pitcher out of the game before the 5th inning, unless he's injured.

[Scott]

Fixed my typo:

"Bay Area Attorney Found Eating Charlie Manuel's Face."

[tg082]

Thanks for the L.A. update, GTown. I came to this thread to see if anyone knew. As a bonus for reading, I'm now going to have to talk to my doctor about getting Prozac prescribed to me.

[NEPP]

I kinda like it when our backup catcher steps up...particularly given that the starter is banged up right now.

[fumphis]

What would be the point of taking Blanton out? Any reason to think burning through the bullpen will produce a better outcome for this game?

[GTown_Dave]

b_a_p: Charlie's nothing if not a stickler for the rules. I rue the day someone read them aloud to him.

[Let's go eat]

Good to see cheeseburger joe is helping out this new person acclimate to the Majors.

With a lineup consisting of a lot of no names (mets) vs a pitcher with no consistency

How could this guy setting the phillies down so easily and guys like Baxter, Hefner and the guy from Texas who hit .o46 last yr hit Blanton like they are the 27 Yanks..

Geez

[bay_area_phan]

fumphis: Cliff Lee pitches tomorrow and Thursday is a day off. Today is burn-the-bullpen day. And I would like to think we are capable of scoring 2 runs against a monumentally awful pitcher. But, if you purposely give up an out by letting Blanton hit, the task becomes more difficult. Not to mention that, with Blanton still in the game, this 2-run deficit will probably become a 4-run deficit.

[GTown_Dave]

fumphis: Also, having to watch Blanton makes me physically ill.

[fumphis]

BAP, when you put it that way, I agree. How badly is Blanton actually pitching, though? I'm listening to the game and there seem to have been a few bad breaks, balls off fielders' gloves, etc.

[Chicken Little]

"fumphis: Also, having to watch Blanton makes me physically ill."

Have you considered watching Dancing With the Stars instead?

[Dickie Thong]

I forgot about the MLB rule which says that, no matter how many runs he allows, you can't take your starting pitcher out of the game before the 5th inning, unless he's injured.

Actually a couple of weeks ago, Clint Hurdle took A.J. Burnett out of a game in the 3rd inning after giving up 12 ER. It's good to know some managers don't follow the book religiously.

[bay_area_phan]

fumphis: He's pitching every bit as badly as his line in the box score suggests.

[Let's go eat]

Chicken little. -- tough choice ... Right now Blanton is playing 'pitching like a dud' and he's winning...

[wes covington's ghost]

Frumphis- you've been schooled. Now go to your room.

[Raul's grandpa]

Blanton is obviously jealous of the attention all the guys on the DL get. He gave Entenmanns for nothing. What a waste.

[Dickie Thong]

To be fair to Blanton, the first two runs should be unearned.

[curt]

At least the whiners are whining about the game in progress, often with some humor. The latest BL craze - whining about whiners - is just tedious.

[Raul's grandpa]

Tmac and Wheels seemed sorta rubbed the wrong way L.A. had the manliness to father a child. Much less one who is going to play college athletics in Okla.