Game chat: Phils at Coors hoping to wipe slate clean

When we last left our heroes, they were 37-50, 14 games out of first and losers of 10 of their last 11. With eyes on a revival, the Phillies kick off the second half in Colorado beginning at 8:40. In injury news, reliever Raul Valdes was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a right hip strain, retroactive to July 9. Joe Savery takes his place. For those keeping score, the Phils have used 20 different position players and 19 pitchers so far this season. Interesting stat from CSNPhilly.com - the Phillies have lost all 17 games Joe Savery has pitched. ... Lineups are posted: The Phillies load up with Rollins SS, Victorino CF, Utley 2B, Howard 1B, Ruiz C, Pence RF, Polanco 3B, Mayberry LF behind Cliff Lee, who seeks his second win of the season. [Jump to the newest comments]

Comments

[Willard Preacher]

Yeah, but only 10 back in the Second Wild Card, so there's that!

[derekcarstairs]

Since Utley's return from the DL, he has played in 10 of the Phils' 11 games, but has started in only eight games. At this pace, by season's end, Utley will have missed 100 starts.

This is an intolerable situation. During the upcoming off-season, the team should either persuade Utley to retire or buy out his contract and move on.

Because Utley was the Phils' best position player for several years and plays a key position, satisfactory resolution of the Utley situation will be difficult.

Those who advocate busting up the rotation to solve the team's offensive problems, which began with Utley's disappearance as an offensive force, need to think a little harder.

[bay_area_phan]

You know how, a few weeks after a break-up, you still kind of remember that the person was crazy, but the details start to grow vague and you allow yourself to begin thinking about reconciling? Well, that's kind of where I am after 4 days away from the Phillies. I remember that the 2012 Phillies drove me batsh*t crazy, but I've already started forgetting all the details. Let's see how long it takes them to refresh my memory now that I've decided to re-commit to the relationship.

[Hope SE]

Anyone else having trouble with Gameday audio feed?

[GTown_Dave]

I could not have scripted a more appropriate beginning to the second half of the season.

[bay_area_phan]

Am I the only one for whom the game is showing up on Gameday but not on MLB.tv?

[Cyclic]

Second verse, same as the first!

[GTown_Dave]

Wow. That entire half-inning went exactly as expected.

b_a_p: No idea RE: MLB.tv, but Gameday isn't working for me.

[mikethemacguy]

Rockies video feed works but nothing from the hometown side yet...

[Hope SE]

Gameday audio down here; sounds like video is out also, per BAP

[gjs]

@Hope SE: No audio on any Phillies/Rockies channel.

[bay_area_phan]

It's all working now. MLB.tv, that is. Not the Phillies.

[bullit]

cliff and chooch do the terrorist fist bump following that inning. take no prisoners in this second half, boys.

[can_of_corn]

bap - great metaphor. I'm re-committed and just waiting to be disillusioned again. Sometimes sooner hurts less than later. Onward Phils!

[Bedrosian's Beard]

From the last thread: Isn't that Sickles report just an update from his previous report-just stating where/how those guys are doing.

[GTown_Dave]

Wahhhhhh! I'm a leadoff hitter!

(Pop Out)

Wahhhhhh! I don't wanna bat 7th!

(Weak Ground Out)

My knees feel great!

(Weak Ground Out)

Rehab? Eff that, bro.

(Strikes Out Swinging)

[GBrettFan]

It's all working now. MLB.tv, that is. Not the Phillies.

Posted by: bay_area_phan

Now, now, BAP. If you're going to have a negative attitude about it, the relationship is surely doomed to failure in short order.

[bay_area_phan]

"Now, now, BAP. If you're going to have a negative attitude about it, the relationship is surely doomed to failure in short order."

After 1.5 innings, I'm just about ready to break it off again.

[GBrettFan]

GTown - While I don't share your opinion about Rollins and Victorino as expressed in your little scenario above, it made me laugh, in that ironic way one laughs when one knows the ABs presented are only too likely.

[GTown_Dave]

Lookin' good, Uts.

[GBrettFan]

Crap. I forgot DEN starts games at 6:30. What'd I miss? Sounds like nothing good.

Can't tune in yet - Family movie night On Demand.

[GBrettFan]

Oh. So GTown wasn't even making up those ABs.

It was funnier when I thought he was.

[GTown_Dave]

GBrettFan: Sorry. I thought you knew.

[Bake McBride was Here]

Phillies: "We ain't missed a beat after that AS-Game nonsense. We still refuse to win."

[can_of_corn]

So happy Lee has turned over a new leaf and dedicated himself to winning in the second half of the season.

[bullit]

mabes is mr. 2nd half.

[can_of_corn]

The relationship has hope after all!

[GBrettFan]

Yay, Mayberry got a hit! Yay, Jimmy doubled him home!

[Fatalotti]

Hell of a career for Jimmy. To be 2nd on the list in any positive category for this Phillies franchise is an impressive feat.

[AFish]

There is an extra innings free preview on cable, if you don't mind the Colorado broadcast.

[Iceman]

Reading these comments I thought we were down 5-0 before turning on the TV.

[GTown_Dave]

Iceman: You're welcome for the pleasant surprise.

[Jack]

Howard with two Ks in two ABs against a LHP.

Guys, he's back!

[Jack]

AFish: It's gotta be better than the Phillies' broadcast, right?

[mikethemacguy]

After Chooch's double, Rox announcer explains Phillies fans are saying "Ru" not "Boo."

[mikethemacguy]

Hey ya'll the Phils video feed is on mlb finally.

[bullit]

that banter about mount evans may have reached a new low for tmac.

[GBrettFan]

Bob Brookover ‏@brookob

When somebody doubles in front of Pence, they should immediately steal first so he doesn't have to hit with runners in scoring position.

[Fatalotti]

Iceman, when it's the game after the AS Break, and you're already all but eliminated from playoff contention, you're in a perpetual state of being down 5-0. Just the way things go.

[James]

Anyone know how I can watch this game on my computer without buying mlb.tv?

[bay_area_phan]

Ruiz raking, the defense making costly errors, Pence choking with RISP, Vic & Utley looking pitiful, Polanco getting thrown out on a slow-moving ground ball that any other player in baseball would have beaten out . . . I feel like a time machine has dropped me right back in the middle of last week.

[mikethemacguy]

James: try googling live streaming sports, click around and someone will have it. It's sometimes difficult to navigate these sites and the quality is pretty marginal...but it'll do in a pinch.

[Jack]

BAP: Polanco now has a lower OPS than Feliz had in either of his two seasons here.

I simply cannot believe there are people who want the team to pick up Polanco's option. He's basically the worst hitting 3B in the league at this point. Even Clout can't defend him anymore.

[Iceman]

Glad we will be paying Pence 15 million to keep driving in those clutch runs next year.

Also, just want to say it's good to have Jack back ripping on Howard. You can tell he's just not the same guy when he tries to rip on other players. This just comes naturally to him.

[GBrettFan]

Feliz, if I remember right, had a good BA w/RISP.

[Iceman]

Jack- who here wants Polanco's option picked up? I can't think of a single person.

I think we are all just bracing ourselves for it to happen. It's like the Schneider re-signing on a higher level. Nobody was prepared for that and it hit us hard. Just trying to stay guarded.

[Jack]

Iceman: Good to have the big guy back. You're right, it just doesn't feel right with other guys. I try my hand with Polanco, Kendrick, and others, but it just works so much better with Howard.

[GTown_Dave]

Feliz drove in the winning run in Game 5, Part 2 of the 2008 World Series. That's more than Polanco's ever done for the Phillies.

[MG]

You dumba$$ Mayberry.

[Jack]

Second-half update: This team still blows.

[GTown_Dave]

This team is as stupid & pathetic as they were in the first half.

[Jack]

I hope Amaro no longer has delusions that this team is going to go on a run and get back into this thing.

He needs to be focusing on getting the most he can out of players who won't be here next year. Simple as that.

[GBrettFan]

That looked stupid in the replay, Mayberry.

[MG]

Making stock and food for a cookout on Sunday and I can't listen to these fools (TMac/Sarge) for 3 innings.

Turn on the audio from my radio feed and mute them. Sarge is in clique overdrive tonight.

[Jack]

Polanco was a good player his first year here, an acceptable player last year, and a bad player this year.

So, on the whole, the 3-year deal turned out OK for the Phillies, but of course it would have been much better had they simply signed him to a 2-year deal from the start, as most people realized at the time.

[can_of_corn]

r00b is on the phone already. All the articles said there were 10 more days to assess the status of the team. Consider the assessment done.

[bay_area_phan]

"I hope Amaro no longer has delusions that this team is going to go on a run and get back into this thing."

The bad news is that, as of today, he probably does. The good news is that I have every confidence the Phillies will soon put those delusions to rest.

[MG]

Polanco has come up rather small in the postseason the last 2 years for the Phils.

I am looking forward to him hitting at about a .250 clip/.620 OPS this year with minimal offensive production.

[MG]

Meant the second half.

It's a shame that Lee has been sharper as the came has gone on and this was a 'No Decision' written all over it for him.

[bay_area_phan]

Considering that this is Coors Field, and that Utley gifted the Rockies' their only run, Lee is pitching really well. It's just unfortunate that we had to run up against a future Hall of Famer in Christian Friedrich.

[Iceman]

G-Town: he also hit a game-tying HR in the 2009 WS that would have made him a legend had they not blown the game.

[Fatalotti]

Polanco has been as good for the Phillies as you value his defense. He's posted an 88 OPS+ in his time here, all while playing 3B. He had a 94 in 2010, which is not atrocious, but for a 3B, it's pretty damn bad. Offensively, Polanoc has been bad his entire stint with Philadelphia, and he's simply terrible now.

But if you think his defense at 3B was truly the best in the NL the last couple years, and if you think that positive effect offset the negative impact of his bat, then you can see the signing as being a good one, on the whole.

I think the defense was that good the last couple years, but I don't think it's quite as good this year as in the past, and with is putrid bat, he's probably hurting the team more than he's helping.

Overall, I'm pretty neutral on the deal, but at the time it was made, I thought it was a fairly low-risk, moderate reward deal.

[Fatalotti]

BAP, I think Friedrich has to have at least 2 more good seasons, before we definitively claim he's a HoF'er. He's a fringe guy right now.

[Iceman]

I keep hoping one of these hokey Phillie of the week segments will simply be T-Mac saying "This week's Phillie of the week is...nobody!" But I guess Chooch does deserve it.

[Fatalotti]

I think Vic just struck out on a curveball that might have actually been a half foot above his head at its apex

[BobbyD]

There's no way Polanco is back next year. None. No worries.

[GTown_Dave]

Iceman: That he did. I always liked Pete Happy.

[Not Cliff Lee]

Good performance by CL so far. Keeping 'em crossed...

[GTown_Dave]

(And yes, I was all for the Polanco deal at the time of his signing. His defense has been great, but he's been an offensive disappointment. I would not pick up his option.)

[MG]

Some horrendous ABs by the Phils so far. That had to be at least the sixth-seventh fastball that was eye-level that the Phils swung at tonight.

[Fatalotti]

Felix had some great little moments in the playoffs w/ the Phillies. He was the first guy to touch up CC in game 2 of the NLDS, when he knocked in Werth.

He also was the guy in game 4 that broke our 1-31 w/ RISP streak that we had going, when he drove in Utley with a single to LF. After that, you'll recall we kind of exploded on the Rays pitching for 8 more runs.

[MR]

I really enjoyed those 4 days without watching this team.

[MG]

Given the Phils own him $1M to buy out his option, the horrendous FA market at 3B this year, lack of internal solutions, and the possibility they will need a cheaper option at 3B especially if they sign Hamels, there is at least at 50/50 chance he is back. Higher if they resign Hamels.

[GBrettFan]

I think we decided to repeat April - Good SP, minimal to no offense to back it up.

[MG]

Hard to tell but Vick seems like he has lost a step in CF this year. That ball in the gap is a ball in previous years that he doesn't have to dive for like that.

[Iceman]

Ruiz didn't get it done there, but is there anyone here that honestly agrees with him batting fifth?

He is batting freaking .350 in July! He has been mashing since spring training! Vic and his season from hell is hitting 3 spots ahead of him. It's so stupid it's almost funny.

[Iceman]

Sarge with a token "You don't have to give in to him" in honor of Wheeler. Take a shot everyone!

[MG]

Good throw there by Pence with proper technique might have gotten him there.

[GBrettFan]

Awesome throws, guys.

[Iceman]

This team is unwatchable.

Lee will be white-knighted as usual but every ball has been crushed this inning.

[GTown_Dave]

Same thing w/ Lee all season. Not even getting close to the corners he needs to hit, so he gets hammered when he has to come back over the plate.

[MG]

Lee loses focus and misses his location with his fastball catching too much of the plate.

Been the case most of the year. Pitched well overall but he seems to not be able to make a pitch when he has to.

[Iceman]

MG- that was a $15 million dollar throw if I've ever seen one.

[GBrettFan]

I take back what I said about it being like a repeat of April.

[MG]

Lee hasn't made a single pitch this inning when he has had to with good control. Not Full Tilt.

[Fatalotti]

Cliff can give up 15 runs this game, and it probably won't bother me all that much. He's failed pretty miserably this year at even coming close to living up to his $25 M billing, and with the season in the dumpster, it all evokes a numb feeling at this point.

[GTown_Dave]

I'm also irritated that the Phillies can't score more than 1 run at f*cking Coors Field.

[PalyChris]

Against a pitcher with an ERA of 6.

[MG]

When Lee can't hit that outside corner against RH batters with his 4-seamer and they can just focus on stuff middle-in, Lee has a tendency to get in troube.. His cutter isn't consistent or good enough to jam RH hitters.

[bullit]

it's chollies damned dented hat.

[MG]

Dave - I threw on $10 on the Rockies tonight at +160. LH pitcher they hadn't seen before who has a good slider. Also I figured it would be Utley/Howard and that it was guaranteed Howard would take an Ofer vs him.

[Iceman]

I can't wait to watch the same thing happen to Halladay next week.

At this point, you only have yourself to blame if you keep watching this stuff. Can't believe I am still doing it.

Take a look at the pitching matchup tonight- how many times did they lose a head-to-head matchup like this last year? Just didn't happen. Now it happens with regularity.

[MG]

Guy they hadn't faced and Polanco (judy hitter at this point only) was going to be in the lineup.

[MG]

Phils' hitters are pressin so badly tonight it is ridiculous. One of the worst games I have seen them all year so far swinging at stuff out of the zone, high in the zone, and well off the plate.

[bay_area_phan]

Letting Mayberry hit there was Cholly's first completely baffling move of the season's second half.

[MG]

BAP - First of many. Even Wheels seems flat tonight and realizes this team is going to lose this game when he came back in the 7th.

[GTown_Dave]

MG: This has been a great team on which to make some quick money. Perception hasn't yet caught up w/ reality.

[bullit]

i, bullit, do hereby take full personal responsibility for watching every game from now until the season mercifully ends.

[Fatalotti]

Carlos Gonzalez is a good hitter. He definitely left a lasting impression on me after he destroyed us in the 2009 NLDS.

[GTown_Dave]

I'm glad clout thinks these bullpen corpses are gonna have a spectacular '13, 'cause I sure won't be expecting it.