Sunday chat: Phillies seek sweep in Sunday scorcher

Roy Halladay (4-4, 3.58 ERA) tries to silence skeptics as the Phillies take aim at a four-game road sweep of the World Series champion Cardinals. First pitch is 2:15 p.m. ET. Temperatures are expected near 99 degrees. Rollins SS, Pierre LF, Pence RF, Ruiz C, Vic CF, Luna 1B, Galvis 2B, Fontenot 3B. Rollins, Pence and Fontenot have hit over .300 lifetime against Adam Wainwright. ... A couple of good nuggets from the press notes: The Phillies lead baseball with a .9865 fielding percentage. Over the last eight games, the bullpen has a 1.61 ERA. Offensively, they have 81 extra-base hits in May, compared to 47 in all of April. [Jump to the newest comments]

Comments

[Scott]

Doc generally looks like he's laboring in games with normal temperatures. I expect that will be magnified today. If Worley were healthy and pitching, I suspect he would actually melt on a day like this.

[bay_area_phan]

I'll miss most or all of this one, which is just as well, since it feels like a loss.

[Raul's grandpah]

This is great pop-up weather. Rollins should clear 20 feet past 2nd base.

[SLO Phan]

Doc's kryptonite is heat. Agree with bap: feels like a loss.

[NEPP]

Based on all the worry about Doc, I fully expect a 2 hit shutout by our Ace.

Of course, that wont help us today as KK just pitched last night and Doc is going instead.

[lorecore]

iceman: why shouldn't rollins be getting bashed? I'm one of his biggest fans, but that doesn't mean i'm going to accept his atrocious play this season.

Its a hard concept for you to believe apparently, but you're allowed to criticize a player who has played like crap for two months because he's playing like crap for two months.

[Fatalotti]

Its a hard concept for you to believe apparently, but you're allowed to criticize a player who has played like crap for two months because he's playing like crap for two months.

Posted by: lorecore | Sunday, May 27, 2012 at 01:01 PM

One of the most insightful things ever posted on this site.

[lorecore]

Ruiz has been plunked an mlb high 7 times so far this year, which is more or as many times as 3 entire teams.

[Iceman]

lorecore: yeah you're right. The Rollins bashing on BL only started two months ago.

[lorecore]

Yes, jroll has had many detractors on and off beerleaguer for a lot of his career. The majority that I've seen on this site recently has been usually directed at his current performance.

When i see people criticize him for things i don't agree with, I am one of the first guys to defend him - and you should to if thats how you feel - but don't think anyone can be mocking posters who state how badly he's hurt this team's offense so far...and more importantly, how badly this continued play may handcuff the Phillies franchise going forward.

I think he'll come out of it, but I'm getting pretty scared.

[EastFallowfield]

Maybe indeed Rollins popups go a little farther today and Holliday can't jump over the fence to catch them.

[GTown_Dave]

Someone will have to provide ongoing status updates RE: Halladay's nearness to stroking out. I'll be limited to listening to the game on radio, as I'm at a picnic. This potato salad feels like a loss.

[lorecore]

Basically, if Rollins continues to be outperformed by Galvis, then his re-signing could be a catastrophe.

Big IF since Rollins is playing so poorly right now while Galvis is being helped by a pretty strong ISO(.150) that is hard to believe to be maintained based on his MiLB career, but the situation has been going on for long enough to start creeping into people's minds.

[Fatalotti]

Some anonymous blogger on the internet doesn't like a multimillion dollar athlete and it makes me SO ANGRY!!!

[Meyer]

Wainy set him up for that popper.

[Jimmy I wish it was 07 again]

Typical result for me. PoP up poppa

['s eat]

rollins does not disappoint...

he poppped up again..

[Mick O]

Roy Halladay's current mood:

[Rich D]

Doc's laboring. He's not getting the calls.

[MG]

Like the lineup except Pierre in LF instead of Mayberry. Oh well. In all seriousness, they need to keep a close eye on Halladay for heat exhaustion. No need for machismo crap on a 95+ degree afternoon.

[Mick O]

We need a long man. Get KK warmed up.

[Meyer]

Halladay (that's Holliday with Mike Shannon on KMOX), looks steamed.

[GTown_Dave]

Halladay is having a sh*t year.

[Rich D]

This is going to be a loooonnnngggg afternoon.
I had a feeling this was going to happen.

[lets eat]

Halliday is pitching like Joe Blanton

whose is going to argue that halliday is NOT the same halliday of yr's past

[3r0ck]

Doc whining about pitches, pitching sloppy, getting behind batters - when do we learn what's really wrong with Halladay?

[Steve Jeltz]

Kendrick wouldn't have given up that slam.

[Where oh where has thou doc goeth]

Who kidnapped doc made a clone and we have him. Doc has pitched like $hit. No sugar coating it for sure.

[aksmith]

This version of Halladay may never win another game. If he's really healthy, then he's done.

He's got no fastball. It's not fast. It doesn't move. And it's continually up in the zone. He has a great curve, except for the ones he hangs, which is about one in four. And his cutter cuts, but it often cuts into the middle of the plate.

Let him go and resign Hamels. Halladay looks cooked. And if he's pitching hurt, then he needs to stop doing it and get better.

[Bert Wedemeyer]

Halladay will be put on the 15 day DL after the game. Book it. (just sayin')

[UBIK]

It really seemed like Doc got a little unfocused there when he didn't get the calls he wanted on Freese. those pitches to Molina both caught a lot of the plate.

[lets go eat]

is it me or:

this yrs halliday is pitching like last yr's KK

this yr's KK is pitching like last year's halliday

[Rich D]

I remember the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend last year. Worley got lit up by the Mets at Citi Field. He gave up 4 in the first and 4 in the second. Phillies got clobbered and Worley was sent down to Lehigh Valley after the game.

[Lance Phillips]

It's time for someone in the Phillies Mgm't.team to have a no holds barred sit down with Doc.

[Rebecca Sue]

Runner at 3rd with less than 2 outs - guaranteed not to score.

Halladay having a very Moyeresque day - Moyer tagged for 7 runs in 5 innings today.

[GTown_Dave]

End of May & everything is going just as expected, w/ Halladay & Blanton battling for the title of Worst Pitcher in the Phillies' Rotation.

Wait, what?

[Rebecca Sue]

Ruiz was safe by a mile.

[3r0ck]

Sloppy running there. Ugh

[Ron Jones]

Uhm, anybody else notice Ruiz was safe?

[Mike G]

Just a horrible call by the homeplate umpire.

[can_of_corn]

Could never, ever imagine the day when I would wish for Kyle Kendrick instead of Roy Halladay on the mound. (Ditto the day when I would wish for Freddy Galvis instead of Jimmy Rollins, but that is another story...)

I also suspect there may be something happening with Doc that may not even relate to baseball. I doubt he would have left for that one day home trip unless there was something substantive to handle. Just not his style.

[Lance Phillips]

Wheels marvelling at the fact that Furcal would throw to the plate.I don't know.... Maybe he saw that he could throw Ruiz out by 6 feet?

[I Opener]

Isn't this the 6th or 7th straight Doc start that the Phils have lost?

[aksmith]

That inning was a good demonstration of why the Phillies continue to tread water at best.

Chooch hits a double. Vic then watches two pitches nowhere near the strike zone. So, of course he's going to swing at the next pitch. Why make the Freaking pitcher work? Why make him throw more pitches on a hot day?

No reason, I guess. Pop out to right. Then Chooch waits to long to run on Luna's grounder and the ball beats him by so much, the ump doesn't even notice he's safe. So, a promising inning right down the crapper because the Phillies don't want to take a walk or work the pitcher. They are too impatient to take more pitches. It's like little league out there.

[RS Wathen]

Lance: check the replay, the ump blew the call - Ruiz was safe and it wasn't close.

[Meyer]

Ruiz was technically safe. A TS.

[Steve]

Do you think Halladay's constant whining and staredowns about the strike zone are causing umpires to not give him pitches?

[GTown_Dave]

Sounds silly, but it's times such as this I really miss Harry. If he expressed concern, I'd be concerned. If not, I probably wouldn't be, even now. As it stands I don't know what to think.

[UBIK]

I don't mind that call on Ruiz, to be honest. Yeah, he might have been safe, but the throw beat him by a lot, and Molina could have more aggressively blocked the plate. It seems to me like making that call in a 4-0 game is a tacit way of discouraging more home plate collisions.

[Scotch Man]

What's the big deal folks? Adam Eaton always pitches like this? Wait, what?

[curt]

If someone told you in March that the Memorial Day lineup would include Pierre, Luna, Galvis and Fontenot, you'd expect to be in last place. It always comes down to the talent on the field.

[3r0ck]

Halladay out of the game

[Meyer]

Doc out of the game. Wow. He's hurt.

[Rich D]

Not a good sign. I feel a stint on the DL coming up.

[Meyer]

Given the 8 minute delay in the postage, I'll predict Rollins his a double in the gap.

[GTown_Dave]

Halladay's done? Now I REALLY don't know what to think. Gotta believe it's either personal or physical, & promises to be a continuing issue rather than a passing nuisance. Quite frankly, I almost hope for his family's sake that it's the latter.

[The hook]

Just when yOu thought the four game sweep looked good. They pull ya back in

[EastFallowfield]

Maybe Halladay's got flu-like symptoms.

[Scotch Man]

Well this ought to heat up the Oswalt market a bit.

[Will I Am]

UBIK: yeah, it's okay for the ump to blow a call, yeah, who cares ,let's not complain about missed calls at first too. Popups are automatic outs, so let's not make the fielders catch them - just go ahead and call them out since they SHOULD catch it. Idiot.

[EastFallowfield]

Can't sweep the good teams.

[UBIK]

Ah, yes, the old "have a pinch hitter bunt a runner over to second fronts pitchers spot in the 3rd inning" tactic. Brilliant.

[GTown_Dave]

EF: Or the bad ones.

[Ron Jones]

"Pierre with the hit to right to drive in Fontenot"

Geez, that announcing makes me cringe with those names.

[Whoever]

I would have pinch hit with Lee.

[3r0ck]

I can't believe no one knows what Doc had to do when he skipped one game. I'm going to say he's been nursing something and that early report that he was injured during spring training was spot on.

[whats_up_Doc]

thanks john peter.. 4-1 s/ be a 4-2 game... but ok.. we'll take it.

pence on 1st pitch.. g/o to 2nd base -- excellent smithers, excellent

[Mike Williams]

Hm, so this is what last place feels like, thinking back a decade, yeah this seems familiar.

This season feels like a loss.

[3r0ck]

I would have pinch hit with Lee.
Posted by: Whoever | Sunday, May 27, 2012 at 02:56 PM

And let him swing!

[Joe Savery]

Book it, they'll lose by one run today, but that blown call by the ump doesn't matter.

[Lance Phillips]

RS Wathen....read what I wrote! It wasn't a comment on the outcome of the play.It was a comment on Wheeler making saying how important it would be for the Phillies to get a run in and 10 seconds later questioning why Furcal wouldn't just concede the run and take the out at first.

[aksmith]

I really hope Doc is injured and it's something easily fixable. Because he hasn't been right since the first day of Spring Training. The sudden drop in velocity and relative lack of command have to be a physical problem.

And as for arguing with umps having an effect? For a star pitcher, I've never seen anyone get fewer borderline pitches from the umps. Ever.

[Rich D]

Actually, this isn't as bad as those dreadful Phillies teams of 1987-2000. Those teams were usually buried by Memorial Day.

[Rich]

time to trade doc

[T Mac]

Let's calm down everyone. It's a good thing that Doc took himself out. We kept saying that if something was wrong, we didn't want him to continue pitching through it. I still have a good feeling about this game, and hope Doc gets whatever is wrong fixed with a 15 day DL stint.

[Heather]

If you've ever had heat stroke/exhaustion, you are more prone to it later. Hopefully that is all it is.

[Rich]

i bet toronto would take him back

[UBIK]

Will I Am: thanks man you too!

[Lance Phillips]

"time to trade Doc"...? Go swim in the kiddie pool. This DB is for adults.

[Rich D]

Perhaps this a precaution in order to avoid what happened to Halladay at Wrigley Field last year. However, the weather in Chicago was much worse than it is in St. Louis today.

[Rich]

trade doc sowe can sign cole

[Rich]

who would you rather have a35 year old who seems to have aged overnight or a 28 year old hitting his prime?

[whats_up_Doc]

furcal - thanks --- for catching that ball (galvis) and throwing ruiz out// its greatly appreciated /s

[docjoe]

The question is does Doc have a non baseball related illness? Went home for personal reasons, hasn't been right since day 1 in clw, can't tolerate the heat. All bad signs. I would be ok if this is a minor baseball related injury but have a bad feeling about it.

[can_of_corn]

I'm not sure when we can expect an explanation about why Roy came out of the game, but it seems a bit delayed. So many things to think about...

- If Halladay knows that the heat gets to him, certainly he would prepare adequately. I remember Vance Worley talking about how he prepares for super hot/humid days. And Roy is the master of meticulous preparation for all aspects of his game.

- If there is indeed a "mystery reason" (physical or otherwise) how will the Phillies spin the story? Likewise, will we believe what they say to us this time?

- If there is something physically wrong with Doc, he certainly had a decent second inning. The removal would make more sense after the first.

- If Doc is our for any time, who would now enter the rotation? I'm among those who think that this may be the call to Lil Roy.

[Rich]

can someone explain to me why the worst hitter on the phillies is leading off?

[Fatalotti]

Heather, if Doc is having problems w/ heat exhaustion, that's no small problem. Perhaps you forgot that the vast majority of baseball games are played in the middle of the summer in open stadiums.

[docjoe]

Phillies may need to be sellers reminiscent of trading Abreu. Do you need 3 aces? welcome back Roy Oswalt, maybe? He might be the better Roy this year

[Rich]

doc is a cool weather pitcher
but i actually think he has had an injury for some time now he is a warrior, but has been hurting the phils lately.

[Rich]

no oswalt please call up a pitcher

[joe l]

Meningitis? Scoliosis? Lupus? Is it Lupus?!

[GTown_Dave]

Seeing Molina get doubled off was a pleasure. The guy is such a friggin' toolshed. Take your ignorant neck tat & go screw, "Yadi".

[Fatalotti]

Meningitis? Scoliosis? Lupus? Is it Lupus?!

Posted by: joe l | Sunday, May 27, 2012 at 03:23 PM

Sarcoidosis.

[Meyer]

Show him "THE SWING" Joe.

[Fatalotti]

Right shoulder soreness....oh boy.

Injured shoulders can be career killers.

[Rich]

shoulder pain for doc

[Meyer]

The shoulder, 8hit.

[GTown_Dave]

Rich: Who? I'm not enamored of the Oswalt idea, either, but seriously, who?

"Right Shoulder Soreness" for Halladay. Removed for "precautionary" reasons.

[can_of_corn]

A precaution? Something doesn't make sense, especially that it took so long to get out the information.

[Fatalotti]

Beautiful swing by J-Roll.