Game chat: Cholly goes for win by keeping J-Roll in

Bench Jimmy Rollins for Michael Martinez? Um, no.

With the Phillies clinging to faint playoff hopes, Phillies skipper Charlie Manuel keeps his shortstop on the field, despite the annual "lack of hustle" dust-up, when the Phillies open a four-game set in Milwaukee. First pitch is 8:10. Cliff Lee has the honors. Readers recall that it was a four-game sweep of the Brewers in September of 2008 that sparked their stretch-run charge. They're hoping for the same type of lift here, only this time, it's likely a last-ditch effort.

So why wouldn't you start Rollins?

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Comments

[Lance Phillips]

Uh...HELLO....HELLO....IS THERE ANYBODY IN HERE? HELLLLLOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

[Cyclic]

Neat little nugget from here.

http://philliesnation.com/archives/2012/08/darin-ruf-will-complete-2012-in-reading/

"Ruf has recently seen time in left field."

Hmmmm

Posted by: Cyclic | Thursday, August 16, 2012 at 07:33 PM

[Cyclic]

I would love a 4 game sweep here.

[norbertods]

JRoll will lead off with a shot, then do the tataaki "you have no marbles" thing down the 1B line.

[Mick O]

"I was just upset before I even got up there," Rollins said. "I was already out of it. Mentally just upset."

Why?

"It's nothing to be talked about," he said. "It's not an excuse."

Hmm, maybe Jimmy's trying to give up chewing tobacco??

[Hugh Mulcahy]

'Phillies clinging to faint playoff hopes' = key word is Phillies/ not Phillies fans, I hope.

Deplorable season.

[3r0ck]

If we could just get into the playoffs I think we have a pretty good shot.

[Stocky Vance]

Re: Ruf - is Loopy or Jordan indicating Ruf finishes out the season at AA Reading
w-o a call up to Phila? If so, is that the method the Phillies properly rewarding a player who exceeds their goals? Am I missing something here?

[Stocky Vance]

corrected

Re: Ruf - is Loopy or Jordan indicating Ruf finishes out the season at AA Reading
w-o a call up to Phila? If so, is that the method the Phillies USE TO properly reward a player who exceeds their goals? Am I missing something here?

[docjoe]

Jimmy hasn't hit the ball on the ground in so long he forgot to run. Should be dangled out there on waivers and traded. The giants need another bat with melkman suspended. He can become a bad influence on a Dom Brown who has that lazy gene

[ChollyM]

123456

[Stocky Vance]

BTW COLVIN is getting roughed up pretty good by Trenton

[MG]

'clinging to faint playoff hopes' with the same odds as the:

Indians
Twins
Marlins
Brewers
Padres

[MG]

Axford and KRod have been so bad this year that supposedly Jim Henderson? (Who?) is the Brewers' closer now.

[Conway Twitty]

Tonite's line-up:
The guy with the worst OBP is leading off.
The guy with the worst BA is batting cleanup.
The guy with the highest OPS by far is batting 8th.

[denny b.]

Unless we are playing 262 games this year, our "playoff hopes" ended about 6 weeks ago.

Just hoping to get back to .500 at this point. Really the only team goal to realistically accomplish at this point.

[Fatalotti]

Lee's on pace for 27 strikeouts. I think he'll do it.

[wes covington's ghost]

Fata-assuming the phillies score in 9 innings.

[Fatalotti]

He can still get 27 strikeouts, thankfully.

[Conway Twitty]

Don't think I ever saw an ump point at a batter and call him out as he lay prone on the ground.

[MG]

Lee continues to be plagued by HRs. On pace to allow 28 HRs now and that is close to a career high (30 HRs in '04 his first year a starter).

[TK]

Cliff Lee ladies and gents.

[MG]

Took the Brewers again today although this is a much better lineup.

[Fatalotti]

Until he records an out by anything other than a strikeout, I'm sticking with my 27 strikeout prediction.

[Mark Scott]

One more and Eddie Matthews will win $500 here on Home Run Derby.

[wes covington's ghost]

If that hadn't hit the wall, the Mars Rover would have had to retrieve it.

[TK]

it's never Cliff Lee's fault though folks. Always remember that.

[Will Schweitzer]

"Is that the method the Phillies use to properly reward a player who exceeds their goals?"

The Phillies have an interesting recent history when it comes to rewarding reclamation projects and minor leaguers who exceed expectations. I get the impression that a small handful of guys could have literally done nothing to earn a shot.

Meanwhile, there are others who are coddled despite the fact that they offer very little of value.

[MG]

On pace to allow 28 HRs after that one (21 HR allowed) but he has only made 22 GS.

Both HR-pitches were offspeed pitches that didn't break enough and caught too much of the plate.

Curious to see a run down on Lee to see if there is any reason why Lee has given up so many HRs this year including the types of pitches he has given up HRs on.

[denny b.]

Nix looked smooth going back to watch those 2 dingers sail over the wall.

So, you have that going for you.

[Stocky Vance]

Fat -- along with a HR chaser..

[denny b.]

"The Phillies have an interesting recent history when it comes to rewarding reclamation projects and minor leaguers who exceed expectations."

Yes, they end up playing a major role on a potential playoff team in Oakland.

[DH Phils]

I thought the pitch to Braun was a pretty good pitch. It was probably out of the strike zone, low.

The one to Ramirez, not so much.

[RedBurb]

Schweitzer - Other than Vogelsong, what other reclamation projects were there? I really can't remember any recently. There was possibly Podsednik, but he was out played by Pierre in ST.

I understand why people really want Ruf to get a chance, but the thing is he will. What value is there to bring him up for 2-3 weeks to LV at the end of the season? He will get his chance next year in LV if he continues his mashing ways to be brought up to Philly.

[Fatalotti]

Kind of pitch that Brown ought to crush

[RedBurb]

Yes, they end up playing a major role on a potential playoff team in Oakland.

Posted by: denny b. | Thursday, August 16, 2012 at 08:29 PM

Brandon Moss? He of 148 ABs?

[Cyclic]

How the bleep did Brown strike out after being up 3-1???

[MG]

DH Phils - Yeah Braun did a nice job of hitting that pitch out. It wasn't a terrible pitch by Lee.

[DH Phils]

I'm a big Domonic Brown guy, and I love the plate discipline, and I think his glove has looked OK, but he seems to swing late at lots of hittable fastballs in hitters' counts.

[denny b.]

Valle has had a very nice week at Lehigh.

8 for his last 19, with 2 HR's and 7 RBI's.

LV is now 1.5 games out in the wild card standings.

[Lance Phillips]

Excuse me,docjoe? Brown has the "Lazy" gene? Would that "Lazy" gene have anything to do with his race?

[RedBurb]

Good to see Valle doing well. I've always liked his potential but the fact that he can't take a walk still is concerning.

[denny b.]

Redburb-

Yes, Moss. He of the 12 HR's (which is 4th on the team) in just 150 AB's.

For a team that is in the playoff hunt.

[RedBurb]

denny - I think that is a little dubious don't you think? Judging a player's value solely on home runs is misleading.

[MG]

For what it is worth, Fan Graphs has Brown notably more fastballs this season so far and he has struggled to do much with them.

[Fatalotti]

Worst swing Lee has ever taken.

[denny b.]

Valle will probably get promoted to Philly in September, no matter what he does the rest of the year.

They always want a 3rd catcher active in September and he's the only one left on the 40 man besides Choocher.

Will probably hardly ever see the field, but he'll be this year's Paul Hoover.

[Cyclic]

Ladies and gents, your 2012 Phillies.

Loved that inning.

[MG]

The difference between the Pitch Type/Pitch f/x data on Fan Graphs is pretty amazing at times. Really makes you doubt the value of the data they have and the algorithms they use to classify pitch types.

[denny b.]

I have a hard time believing Dom will ever develop any power.

Kept hearing years ago that he would eventual "grow" into his power.

I think he can be a good ML singles hitter, with good plate discipline. Probably a ideal #2 hitter in the lineup. But I just don't see him driving the ball with much authority anytime soon.

Be nice if Dom spent some serious time in the weightroom (legally, of course) and put on some muscle. That could help him too, with his frame.

[Lance Phillips]

So ...no one else even comments on docjoes "Lazy Gene "comment? I'm callin' the dude out! What exactly is the lazy gene he shares with Jimmy Rollins?

[ChollyM]

I can't figure out why Cliff is having such homerun trouble this year

[curt]

Lance - He was just trolling for a reaction like yours. The troll population is exploding around here.

[Fatalotti]

The troll population was at its worst right after JW joined Comcast. It subsided for a while, and has since had a bit of a renaissance.

As always, best way to deal with them is to simply not respond.

[MG]

Cholly really likes Nix coming off the bench? Ugh.

Nix has very career poor numbers vs LHP pitching and has bad career splits as a PH (.185/.268/.260 with a .529 OPS and just 2 HRs in 164 PAs).

The value Nix has to a team is as a spot starter who has some power and acceptable corner OF defense.

Cholly is like a chef who is fine if you give him ingredients and a recipe with specific instructions to follow. When you just give him some ingredients with no recipe what he comes up with often underwhelming or even disgusting.

[DH Phils]

denny b.: I think he's strong enough. He supposedly crushes the ball in BP (and we've seen him crush the ball in the major leagues). He just doesn't seem to square the ball up often enough.

[Fatalotti]

Man, Jimmy would be on second right now if he hustled.

[Fatalotti]

DH, that's exactly what I'm seeing. Late on fastballs, and seems to poke stuff the other way that actually square balls up and really drive them.

He simply can't miss that 3-1 fastball that was right down the middle, asking to be crushed.

[Fatalotti]

Good chance Jimmy gets 20/20/20 (HR/SB/2B) this year. Still a great accomplishment, especially considering his age and injury history.

[DH Phils]

It's a less severe form of Mayberry syndrome. When Mayberry hits a home run it's almost always a laser. He's plenty strong enough to be a power hitter, but doesn't hit the ball well very often.

[ramsey]

Brown is still learning his new swing. Give him time.

[DH Phils]

Really, really smart play by Rollins there.

[MG]

JRoll being aggressive tonight. 2 SBs tonight is as many as he has had almost the past month.

Time for Utley to drive him in here.

[Fatalotti]

Brown is still learning his new swing. Give him time.

Posted by: ramsey | Thursday, August 16, 2012 at 08:58 PM

I'm sure by the time he's 29, he'll be ready to go!

[bullit]

jimmie showing chollie a little sumpin sumpin?

[ChollyM]

Wasn't Dom driving balls pretty well at AAA?

[Iceman]

Sorry to bring up Baer's racism post in this thread, but I just have to say that he's gone completely off the deep end.

I've had a few back-and-forth arguments with him on twitter and the guy thinks his opinions are absolutely carved in stone. Even worse, his opinions have gotten more and more extreme lately. This Rollins thing is the latest example.

Another great thing about BL- even when I disagree with JW or another writer, it's at least possible to have a discussion with that person and respecting his/her opinion while disagreeing (like his post on Rollins earlier today). Makes this site the best Phillies blog on the net. After getting picked up by ESPN, Baer has made his site almost completely unreadable.

[DH Phils]

ramsey: I do expect that to change. It seems weird to have great plate discipline but not square the ball up. It makes sense with Mayberry: his plate discipline has always been poor.

I imagine when Brown's swing grows into his excellent eye, the power will follow.

[MG]

Come' on Big Man. Take a Sac Fly here.

[MG]

Nice take out slide by Utley.

[Fatalotti]

Why Utley is my favorite player.

[ramsey]

Brown's always had plate discipline. That's the eye not the swing. That's how he made his long swing work in the minors -- he made them throw him a good pitch, then hit it a long way.

Now he's waiting for a good pitch, but then not driving it.

[Jr.]

Guess the Yanks weren't going to give up Zoilo Almonte to get Wiggy.

[Lance Phillips]

Remind me,I may have missed it...has Dominic Brown done anything of consequence this year?

[NEPP]

Jimmy is a guy who needs to get his a$$ chewed out every few months.

[MG]

Lance - No but it has been only 16 G (17 tonight). If he puts up this kind of anemic production though especially the lack of power the rest of the season that has to give
Amaro some real hesitation.

A sub. 400 OPS/.120 ISO would be really poor for a corner OF who has had ~500 total career ABs.

[Fatalotti]

Yeah, they needed to stay on that chick for a little longer.

[GM-Carson]

2008's turning point was Campaign Cheer.

You're welcome.

[ChollyM]

I predicted a 3 for for for Jimmy tonite.He's on his way.

[denny b.]

NEPP-

How about once a week?

He's just saying to everyone tonight "I can do it when I feel like it". Which in some ways, proves many (including Cholly) correct.

[ChollyM]

A lot of pop ups off this pitcher.

[Fatalotti]

I wish the best for Brown, and I hope for his sake and, more importantly, the sake of the Phillies, that he develops the power and turns into a .280/.360/.490 type hitter, or something like that, but I'm sick of this "wait and see" game. He better get to it quickly, or Amaro might be looking for multiple OFs this offseason.

[ChollyM]

I'm afraid patience will run out before Dom fully develops.

[wes covington's ghost]

Denny B- Well said, sir.

[NEPP]

Lets check back in on Brown in mid-Sept...until then, just let him play.

[The Hook]

Love Braun and way he plays, but........ Add him to hate/punch face club. Cliff looking good buddy keep it up.

[MG]

Wow that was impressive.

[ChollyM]

Ryan Braun at bat. He must be so proud of himself for getting away with doping. He needs to be tested before every game.

[TK]

Never Cliff's fault

[ChollyM]

Just the way Braun's eyes bug out make him look like he's on drugs.

[wes covington's ghost]

Looks like Blanton left his meatball recipe with Cliff.

[ChollyM]

I hate Braun more then any player in MLB now.

[GM-Carson]

I want to punch people in the face that keep using the "unlucky" excuse for Lee this season. Same douches used that for Hamels in 2009. Hamels was mediocre in 2009, just as Lee has been this season.

It's not even about wins, that is highly dependent on run support. But his average against, homeruns, ERA, and WHIP just aren't good enough. He's supposed to be elite, he's far from it in 2012.

But he's just "unlucky", right? Not his fault he's getting hit around.

Bull!

[ChollyM]

read about the topical creams players use now. They leave the body in 8 hrs. Easy to avoid being caught.

[denny b.]

Braun is a asshat.

Great hitter, but acts like a primadonna.

Brady Colvin's line at Reading tonight (hide your eyes if you are squeamish):

5 2/3 IP, 9 hits, 11 runs (7 earned) 1 BB, 2 HBP, 3 HR's.

Of all the good stories of young pitchers in the Phils chain this year (Morgan, Wright, Pettibone, Simon, Diekman, Biddle, etc...) Colvin has gone the other way.

[Bedrosian's Beard]

The complaining about Brown's lack of power after each AB is worse than Brown's lack of power so far.

[Unikruk]

Respectful request to troll: please stop posting every 60-120 seconds.

[denny b.]

Lee was very good for the first 2 months of the season. Literally had NOTHING to show for a lot of strong work.

He's been pretty poor though the last 2 months. No excuses. He just hasn't pitched very well and has given up a ton of hard hit balls.

He and Halladay both have had very bad seasons, considering their talents and pedigrees. Just have to hope they aren't on the downslide of their careers and this becomes more the norm going forward.

[NEPP]

Cody Asche: 2 for 4, 1 2B, 3 RBI.

Looking solid.

[ChollyM]

Apparently the league holds Braun in high regard. Their poster boy.