Game chat: Phils hoping to solve dominant Dickey

National League wins (12) and ERA (2.15) leader R.A. Dickey, who hasn't allowed an earned run in six of his last seven starts, opposes Cole Hamels in the third and final game at Citi Field. Chase Utley is out of the lineup. I would have said give former Met Jason Pridie a whirl in center field, but Shane Victorino has actually had success against the knuckleballer. [Jump to the newest comments]

Comments

[Joe D]

Pierre will bunt in every at bat tonight. That's how they'll solve him.

[Cyclic]

Would really like to see a Hamels "Ace" performance tonight. Is a CGSO too much to ask? We win 1-0 on a wild pitch?

[GTown_Dave]

Being included in tonight's lineup should be construed as a punishment.

[Joe D]

@Cyclic..yeah it's too much to ask. Expect to lose on a Wigginton error in the bottom of the 9th.

[Let's go eat]

Maybe Hamels can bean RAD-- he won't deny it : )

[clout]

Best approach against a knuckler is to be extra patient. Phils hitters are like that, right?

[EastFallowfield]

Phils vs Dickey this year:

Vic 1-4
Polanco 0-3
Rollins 2-3, 2B
Pence 0-3
AAAABerry 1-3
Chooch 0-3

Thome 1-2
Galvis 2-3, HR
C. Lee 2-2

[GTown_Dave]

Honestly, if the Phils get through tonight's game w/out being no-hit, I'll consider it a success.

[Willard Preacher]

I just hope Dickey doesn't foul up the hitters for the next few weeks. I'd hate to see JRoll up there hitting infield popup after infield popup.

What's that you say? Oh....

[Cyclic]

It's funny cause it seems that if we had a starter having as great a year as Dickey, if he were playing a team like the Phillies it would "feel like a loss".

[Willard Preacher]

I guess Paps getting some work in yesterday wasn't necessarily a bad thing after all. I can't see needing him tonight.

[Joe D]

I get to go tomorrow night. So not only will this team still be unscrewing their heads from tonight but they'll get to take the field behind Kyle "I'm happy with 5 ER" Kendrick.

[Jack]

Higher total tonight: Phils runs scored, or J-Roll popups?

[Let's go eat]

Pence's controlled swings. - his patience - & timing are a perfect formula to beat Dickey..

[GTown_Dave]

Jack: Pop-ups all the way.

[Joe D]

Pence is definitely going to be working that count tonight. No reason to think he'll be jumping at every pitch. None at all.

[GTown_Dave]

Pence still leads the team in Pitches/PA. Take from that information what you will.

[Willard Preacher]

Jack, I'm not even answering that question unless I get favorable odds on "phils runs scored."

[Joe D]

Looking at Dickey's splits..nobody hits him in any count but with 2 strikes he is holding hitters to a .129/.177./.171 slash line so you better believe these guys will be hacking early and often.

[Iceman]

A gem from aksmith in the last thread:

"And if the Phillies aren't keeping JRoll in the leadoff spot because of a fragile ego, then why is Pierre, with much better leadoff type numbers, hitting second? Just wondering."

Hilarious. I'm sure it's not because Cholly is just set in his ways or anything like that. Has to be the ego.

[Jack]

"Hey guys, I was like looking at that Goggle site thing and saw this Baseball-Reference thing with like numbers and different situational things they called "splits" and you know like I saw this guy Duckey was killing hitters with 2 strikes, so like, I say we got out there and be sort of what I like to call being aggressive, you know? Now let's go get this Duck."

--Charlie's pregame speech

[Joe D]

hahahaha Jack that is terrific.

[Willard Preacher]

Jack, don't be absurd. Charlie, himself, is on record as stating that Ed Wade does all his Googling for him.

[Raul's grandpa]

I was offered tickets for tonight too then I realized it was Dickey and I had a daydreaming moment of popups and guys holding up K signs and I passed on it.
At home, I can always find an SVU episode.

[Little Bill]

Duck, I says.

[Scott]

The character assassination of Charlie Manuel started by Bill Conlin and Howard Eskin is now continued by Beerleaguer.

[Raul's grandpa]

It's only a shame Eskin never sent flowers to Conlin years ago.

[GTown_Dave]

Charlie assassinates his own character far more proficiently than he has ever managed a baseball game.

[Steve]

No thoughts on them rushing Howard back in to the mix? Glad to see the FO is still delusional enough to think that a gimpy Howard is going to turn this team into a WFC contender

[Willard Preacher]

Yeah, according to Murphy, he wouldn't be surprised to see Howard batting clean up tomorrow night against Hudson (a guy he's performed well against over his career).

Just curious as to whether or not tickets still remain for the Braves series this weekend?

[Chris in VT]

I seriously doubt Howard is back in the lineup this weekend.

[GTown_Dave]

Gelb: Laynce Nix is still at least a week away from beginning an official rehab assignment. He has been sidelined with a left calf strain since May 10.

"He's feeling a lot more optimistic," Amaro said. "He did have that setback but he's doing pretty good. He'll be back after the break. How far after, I'm not sure."

The season is saved!

Well, either that or Nix got injured before he had a chance to greatly disappoint us, thereby leading nearly everyone here into believing he's a far better ball player than any reasonable analysis would indicate.

You know, whichever.

[Willard Preacher]

Chris, that's kind of what I'm saying (but not directly). Just wondering what the ticket availability situation looks like for this weekend, with RAJ making his non-committal answers regarding Howard possibly playing this weekend.

I think we see him right after the ASB, though.

[Willard Preacher]

GTown, thanks for the update. For awhile there I just assumed that Nix was in protective custody, or witness protection. Seems like an awful long time to be out with a calf strain.

But, as you've mentioned previously, it looks like the Phils have the league right where they want them...

[BLreader]

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/danny-knobler/19464251/despite-what-amaro-says-phillies-telling-teams-they-could-sell-soon

[Bake McBride was Here]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this game feels like a loss.

[aksmith]

Gee, Iceman. Glad to see you respond to every single post I make. That must mean . . . actually, I have no idea what it means. I guess it must be that you have me pegged as the anti-iceman. I'll take it. So, I have wrongly guessed that Rollins' ego may be the reason Charlie bats him leadoff. You say you know for a certainty that this isn't true. It's because Charlie is stupid. I know that Charlie isn't the best strategist in baseball, but the one thing people say is that he knows his players. I think it may be that Charlie is simply stupid, but it's just as likely that he knows Jimmy's personality and knows his ego is battered by hitting anything other than leadoff, thus his lousy splits elsewhere in the lineup over his career.

Glad I could make you happy. But if you're saying that I don't know what's going on in the decision making, then I suppose you do?
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A gem from aksmith in the last thread:

"And if the Phillies aren't keeping JRoll in the leadoff spot because of a fragile ego, then why is Pierre, with much better leadoff type numbers, hitting second? Just wondering."

Hilarious. I'm sure it's not because Cholly is just set in his ways or anything like that. Has to be the ego.

Posted by: Iceman | Thursday, July 05, 2012 at 05:02 PM

[Cyclic]

Falls squarely into the category of "It feels so much like a loss that it actually feels like a win."

[The hook]

Haren to DL back issues. Add another team to Cole sweepstakes!!!

Phils have no shot in this game. No shot. Wave the white flag. Just keep them under 2 in a losing effort, Cole. Dickey will cruise.

[Raul's grandpa]

I still like the irony of Tractor Man falling apart and more pitching woes for the Rangers requiring them to trade for Cole to finally get over the hump.

[GTown_Dave]

Raul's grandpa: Agreed.

[Iceman]

Did I mention I wish that they had just shut Howard down for the year? Yeah, I still do. And now they are rushing him back.

Part of me is excited to see him back the same way I was excited to see Chase back and I will be excited to see Roy back- it just doesn't feel like the same team without them (as evidenced by their record). And I will always hold out hope that they'll make a run, because I'm a fan and that's the kind of stuff you live for.

But the rational part of me knows that even if the ship is righted, they will have to go on a historic tear to make the playoffs. In a season where absolutely nothing has gone their way, it is almost impossible to see a scenario where the division/WC leaders trip all crap the bed and this team, with this bullpen, goes on a torrid winning streak to get back in contention in just 10 weeks.

Anyway, all this is to say, running a gimpy Howard out there for an 80 game Hail Mary seems like a huge risk with not much chance of reward. This FO sure likes to take a lot of chances with players in which they've invested tens of millions of dollars.

[gobaystars!]

thank god Rollins' hot streak is over. now everyone can get back to making pop-up jokes, assassinating his character and psychoanalyzing him.

[Scott]

Via Matt Gelb:

Amaro on definition of "selling": "We plan on being contenders in ’13, ’14, ’15 and ’16. So we’re not blowing this team up. That’s not going to happen, regardless of what happens over the next couple of weeks. We plan on being contenders for the next several years, even if we don’t get to the finish line this year. We’d still view ourselves as contenders. It’s more about retooling than it is redoing. We’ve got a lot of players who are pretty damn good. I expect them to be playing next year for us."

[gobaystars!]

well said, ruben. I know most posters can't handle the idea but not all teams need to slash payroll when they don't contend and most prospects traded in these deadline deals are garbage that the selling GMs sell to the fanbase.

[GTown_Dave]

"We’ve got a lot of players who are pretty damn good. I expect them to be playing next year for us."

Unfortunately r00b is referring to Pierre, & Wigginton, & Schneider, & Kendrick, & Polanco, & Herndon, & Stutes, & Martinez ...

[Jr.]

How many in a lot?

[Mick O]

Ah yes. It's that time again. Another chance to join with posters who insult us to watch a team of players we either hate, run by a manager we can't stand, put together by a GM we consider an idiot, broadcast by voices we loathe. And, if they happen to actually win, we'll be pissed off because they risked injury and delayed further doom.

Play ball!

[Cyclic]

~~
-Dom Brown could be headed to Florida on a rehab assignment on Friday. He hasn’t played since June 14 due to a sprained knee.
~~

Great news.

Wait a minute. I'm being told it's not 2010.

[Chris in VT]

The team can definitely contend in 2013, even with the loss of Hamels. A healthy lineup and starting rotation combined with BP changes and a couple offseason additions and this is probably a 90 win team in 2013.

It all depends on those things, though.

[awh]

Cliff Lee's first monkey-off-his-back victory yesterday will prove to be the watershed, yea, the catharsis, that the 2012 Phillies need. With the sore subject of a winless Lee hanging over a downtrodden Phillies psyche, it was impossible for this team to play to it's potential.

[GTown_Dave]

Mick O: Ha! I'll be listening to the Phillies' radio broadcast, & I enjoy Franzke & L.A.

So yeah. Take that!

[The Chapman Bros]

We can get three Chevys for Cole.

[bay_area_phan]

Like Pavlov's dogs, I already feel nauseated by tonight's game & it hasn't even started yet.

[Scott]

Wonder if Chooch will get any games off before the break. He won't have too much downtime with the All-Star festivities, so hopefully they can get Kratz in for at least one game.

[GTown_Dave]

Gotta love the radio broadcast intro:

"Phillies baseball happens on sports radio 94 WIP!"

I find it appropriate that Phillies baseball isn't "played", it "happens". Just like sh*t.

[gobaystars!]

the sh8t some people worry about.

[NEPP]

Epic thread early on...very impressive angst.

[NEPP]

Damnit Jimmy...take one for the team

[The Truth Injection]

Hey Hunter Pence did something stupid in his first at bat. Might as well get it out of the way early.

[NEPP]

Dickey has zero control in the early going...makes total sense to swing at the first pitch like that for Pence.

[NEPP]

WOOHOO....SWEEP THE LEG!

[NEPP]

Victorino should never bat LH again.

[gobaystars!]

OK. Alright.

Shane doing something not stupid!

[GTown_Dave]

A hit AND a run? I'm satisfied. Good game, fellas.

[bay_area_phan]

A hit from the right side against a RHP. How could that be?

[gobaystars!]

D.A. D8ckface isn't looking too sharp.

[GTown_Dave]

b_a_p: Charlie didn't see it. Too busy ranting to Gross about batters not being aggressive enough.

[Atlanta Phil]

Now all we have to do is get Rollins to bat left handed all of the time. Wonder what changed with Victorino?

[Cyclic]

Wow, the Mets really don't have many RH hitters, do they?

[bay_area_phan]

Now that we've squandered a chance to score more than 1 run, let me take a stab at how the rest of this game unfolds:

Cole is sharp for the the first 3 innings, then allows a game-tying homer to Wright, then pitches another 3 or 4 shutout innings. Cholly ends up leaving him in too long and he allows 2 more runs around the 7th or 8th. Meanwhile, the Phillies manage 1 more hit for the rest of the night and end up losing 3-1.

[Cyclic]

My guess is the Phillies chase Dickey before the 4th is over.

[bay_area_phan]

Atlanta Phil: Nothing changed. It's specific to this pitcher only. When the Phillies face Tim Hudson tomorrow, Vic will be batting left-handed.

[Cyclic]

What is this "luck"?

[gobaystars!]

We got stuff happening!
Nice work, Cole. Good hustle.

[Rauls grandpa]

This is Cole's last start against Mets until
Interleague play 2014.

[gobaystars!]

Young James!

[NEPP]

JIMMY!!!

[GTown_Dave]

This is far too good to be true.

[bay_area_phan]

So, my prediction wasn't too good. Oh well.

[NEPP]

I hate Pence so very very much.

[gobaystars!]

Pence needs to stop with this rally killing horsesh8t!

[Jr.]

Think how good Pence would be if his brain was half as big as his ability.

[bay_area_phan]

The good news: we've scored 2 runs in the first 2 innings.

The bad news: we should have scored about 5 runs in the first 2 innings.

[GTown_Dave]

The bad news: we should have scored about 5 runs in the first 2 innings.

Hamels needs a challenge. He's gotta earn that 10 year/$300 million deal everyone thinks the Phillies "need" to give him, lest the entire franchise implode.

[Cyclic]

Hate Hairston

[Jr.]

Tug Hulett Granslam!

[Steve Jeltz]

GTown - actually, Murphy reported that Manuel instructed the hitters to be patient. It's worked for those who listened. Pence, not do much, but unless Charlie glues the bat to his shoulder I'm not sure what he can do

[GTown_Dave]

Jeltz: And you expect me to believe that crap? Seriously, if you're gonna bullsh*t me at least try to make it somewhat realistic.

Murphy providing useful information? Please ...

[gobaystars!]

Jeltz, it's not worth it. GTown lives in fantasy land.

[gobaystars!]

Dick-o just doesn't have it tonight. This is a very winnable game. Go get it!

[GBrettFan]

Good job by the Phillies to draw some walks and get some hits, even if they only have 2R to show for it. That's something against Dickey with the year he's having. I'll take an off-night by him, anytime.

Of course, Hairston would HR. 5 HRs this year off the Phillies? I was glad he came up with bases empty, but should we even be pitching to him???

In a disappointing season, it's the little things. Like getting a run off Dickey in the 1st when he hadn't allowed any 1st-inning runs the entire first half of the season.

[The Truth Injection]

Phillies have 5 hits. Dickey gave up 21 the entire month of June in 6 starts. That is kind of crazy

[bay_area_phan]

The idea of sacrificing there was idiocy of the highest order.

[GTown_Dave]

Victorino, one of the more successful batters vs. Dickey the Phils have available, bunting.

Yup. Poor brilliant Charlie is simply misunderstood.

[gobaystars!]

awful showing there.

[Steve Jeltz]

GTown - so, you think Murphy is lying? Trying to make Charlie look good? I agree Murphy is generally a clown, but I don't see how you can think Murphy is incorrectly reporting a conversation with Charlie half an hour before the game

[Steve Jeltz]

gobaystars! - thanks for the heads up...I'm stubborn though

[GTown_Dave]

Jeltz: I think too much jheri curl activator scrambled your brain, son. I was joking. Urging patience was a good thing, & I'm glad Charlie did so. That bunt, on the other hand ...