Game chat: Dire straits behind the plate for Phillies

The Phillies welcome another new face as they get set for their series with Washington.

The Phils have once again lost Brian Schneider to the disabled list, and with Carlos Ruiz lost to injury, and Sebastian Valle just getting his feet wet at Triple-A, out of necessity more than anything, the Phils have purchased the contract of one Double-A catcher Steven Larud, 27, who was a non-roster invitee with the Phils this spring. Larud, a career minor leaguer who was a third round pick of the Pirates in 2003, has appeared in just 35 games with Reading this season, hitting .235/.350/.304 in 120 plate appearances (lot of walks, pretty decent on base, whatever, this guy's not going to play). Recall the Phillies, volunterily, depleted their "ready" catching depth right before the trade deadline when they gave Tuffy Gosewisch to the Blue Jays for nothing. Gosewisch, an organizational good soldier, was a spring training staple and good handler. And recall that the Phillies signed veteran Jake Fox out of the independent leagues after Chooch wen to the disabled list, but appearantly, he wasn't an option here.

Needless to say, the catching situation is grim indeed. Good thing there's nothing riding on these last 37 games. Enter the Washington Nationals, owner of a 19.5-game edge over Larud and the Phillies.

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Comments

[GTown_Dave]

Kratz!

[bay_area_phan]

Yeah, whatever the adjective I used to describe Utley's defense earlier, it is absolutely accurate.

Kratz!

[Fatalotti]

If I'm a Nats fan right now, I'm cursing Espinosa out right now. Just a dumb decision.

[NEPP]

Why run there? You're not even the tying run.

I get trying to avoid the DP but its still stupid.

[lolwut]

kratz is a beast.

[Sil Campusano]

Regarding the LA/Bos trade: I know LA has the cash, but man, that's a lot of salary to pick up!

Also, Kratzy!

[NEPP]

Kratz has a CS% of 50% now. 10 SB, 10 CS on the year against him.

Hint: That's good.

[EastFallowfield]

Our stadium supporting our 3rd place also rans in the dog days sounds much louder than just about any game at Nats park (except when the Phils are winning there).

[lolwut]

curly p bit*hes!

[NEPP]

Solid game.

[EastFallowfield]

Charlie LaManuel is a genius!

[CousinIT]

If it hasn't been mentioned, Dom Brown reaches his monthly quota with 13 LOB in the last two games. Andy Reid says you gotta do a better job at that, son.

[joe l]

With enough big names and dough moving about in the LAA/BOS deal, can't sneak Mini Mart in a suitcase over to one of those teams? They'd never notice, right?

[p2p]

Did the Dodgers become a better baseball team? We aren't concerned about that. We only care about salaries here. That is how World Series champions are determined, right?

[Dickie Thong]

Don't all the Dodgers players in the trade have to clear waivers as well? (if they haven't already)

[NEPP]

They're all prospects so that's not an issue, Dickie.

PTBNL, not on the 40 man, etc.

[Conway Twitty]

At least we don't have to outbid LA in the OF sweepstakes this winter.

[Sil Campusano]

LOLMets lose again, this time to Houston. Nothing new under the sun, etc.

[Iceman]

Cholly managed the way he had to to win tonight's game because the bullpen is that God awful.

But no, let's not add anyone in the off-season. A couple of lottery tickets like Dontrelle should do the trick.

[Iceman]

I'm glad DH Phils laid out the reasons why the LA-BOS blockbuster made sense.

People on BL are so obsessed with salaries, it's kind of mind-boggling. If LA is willing to pay anything, they just improved their team massively in the immediate. A-Gon alone makes it worth it, but there is a strong argument that the other two guys (Beckett and Crawford) could really benefit from a change of scenery. Crawford especially.

They are going all-in, and if I were a Dodgers fan, I'd be ecstatic. Boston, on the other hand, needed to do this to start from scratch.

[gobaystars!]

I need to start staying home so I can participate in game threads.
Kyle Kendrick may not have earned an ovation tonight but he has pitched well and has been a good soldier since day one for the Phillies. Good for him. Enjoy it, young man.
The healthy Phillies are showing that they can hang with the best of the NL. That's a good thing. They could get back into things in short order. More likely they'll put some doubt into the Nats.
Good games by Howard, Rollins and KK. Nobody loves them but they don't care.

[Bubba]

My strong dislike for Papelbon turns into mild dislike after this sort of outing.
Very strong assist from Kratz.

[gobaystars!]

Wait if the Red Sox just acquired payroll Payroll Flexibility, who's going to hit 5th and lead the Phillies' starting rotation next year? I had Payroll Flexibility penciled in as out team MVP.

[gobaystars!]

Hear me out, I think I've figured out BL obsession with salaries and the long-term and why many BL posters value stability in the future over winning it all now.
A good portion of BL is older. I mean 45 and over. They are really concerned with a comfortable retirement. They should be. This concern has spread into how they look at the Phillies.

[gobaystars!]

I just read up on this trade and Ivan De Jesus is involved!! Do do it, Boston!! He's lying about his age!! Trust us!! We remember!!

[denny b.]

"Cholly managed the way he had to to win tonight's game because the bullpen is that God awful."

Actually it hasn't been "god awful" in the last few months.

Its actually been pretty good lately.

He managed the way he does, because I guess he's bored and wants to look like he knows what he's doing.

[denny b.]

"If LA is willing to pay anything, they just improved their team massively in the immediate."

How so? Gonzalez, I'll give you. But Beckett is very average (his reputation far exceeds his actual performance) and Crawford is hurt and out of action until 2013.

And they just got stuck with 250 million dollars worth of guaranteed contracts for years to come. Even Rube thinks that is absurd.

The rest of baseball is laughing at the Dodgers tonight. They just got hood-winked.

[Mini Mart]

"With enough big names and dough moving about in the LAA/BOS deal, can't sneak Mini Mart in a suitcase over to one of those teams? They'd never notice, right?"

WTF! They told me traveling inside the steamer trunk was for, like, security or something!

[ChollyM]

"He managed the way he does, because I guess he's bored and wants to look like he knows what he's doing."

Whatcha talking about, son? I do what the voices in my head tell me!

[Chuck LaManuel]

One day the gut, the next day the voices.

[Albert Ross]

Hey, Jack.

I'm the Phillies 2nd best hitter "right now." Credit where credit's due, right? Only J-Roll and I hit .500 tonight, and while I had one RBI he had two.

And Dom? He's actually the Phillies' worst hitter "right now." Nobody else on the team went 0-4 tonight.

Can you spare any of the manlove that you've got for Dom to give me some manlove?

[Bubba]

gobaystars!

I am well into your age demographic, but I don't see age as the determining factor in the salary stability/ long term vs. short term BL fascination.
By adding salary, and particularly long term salary commitments, into the discussion you are taking comparison of players into another level of complexity beyond just performance statistical analysis.
This enters more subjectivity back into the debate, thus more room to disagree and argue endlessly.
Thus BeerLeaguer's more fun to follow.
Trolls notwithstanding.

[denny b.]

OK, I'll retract my earlier statement and say the bullpen hasn't been pretty good in the last 6 weeks, but it hasn't been nearly as awful as Iceman would like you to believe either.

Its probably been about league average. The issue, as its been all year, is the 8th inning. I think the Phils have the other innings pretty well taken care of.

If your starters are above average (which the Phils are; although they have fallen off where they have been in recent years) and your closer is above average (clearly Papelbon is still a top shelf closer) all you truly need is a league-average pen.

The real issue is the 8th inning (as Franzke and LA have been talking a lot about lately). Have to find that guy for 2013. Mixing-and-matching isn't going to help you find that guy. When you have that guy, you don't have to resort to that crap. You don't care about "matchups" and making sure the ultra-dangerous Roger Bernadina faces a lefty. You don't have to run yourself out of relievers in a tight game, where you are screwed if you go into any sort of extra innings.

Its one of the 3 holes that Ruben must fill for 2013. CF, 3B and the 8th inning RP.

[bay_area_phan]

"If LA is willing to pay anything, they just improved their team massively in the immediate."

Gonzalez no doubt improves them pretty dramatically because their 1st base situation was a total mess. But Crawford won't play this year so he sure doesn't improve them immediately.

Beckett? If he improves them immediately, it's not by much. He'll presumably replace Blanton, whose 5-ish ERA is still better than Beckett's. And Beckett has been particularly bad in the 2nd half. His ERA since the AS break is 7.11.

Will the Dodgers be better for the trade next year? Perhaps. But if they're going to throw that kind of money around, they could have spent it a lot better on the FA market. Maybe Beckett bounces back, but would you bet $16M in 2013 payroll ($32M in all) on it? Would you bet $20M in 2013 payroll (and $100M+ overall) on Carl Crawford's return to prior form? That's what the Dodgers just did. And, for all their spending, I seriously doubt they'll beat out the Giants this year.

[aksmith]

I think we are witnessing the Golden Age of Kendrick. It's like one of those body-change movies that used to be all the rage, and Hollywood keeps making, even though everyone hates them now. Kendrick and Cliff Lee are currently nailing each others wives, and pitching like the other one was supposed to. Then one day, they'll cross urine streams in the locker room, and the spell will be removed.

And I don't think I ever said Kendrick was worthless. I said I can't stand to watch him pitch. Although, watching the parade of relievers tonight was interesting. If KK pitches 8 innings and Paps comes in for the save, I think that's my definition of must-not-see TV. Especially now that Heavy B is gone. Although, watching the flailing Worley is getting into unwatchable territory. About time to give him surgery and a long offseason, but doesn't look like it's going to happen.

[whiterabbit]

Africa for the Africans

Asia for the Asians

White countries for everyone?

Because diversity really just means fewer White people.

Anti-racist is just a codeword for anti-White.

[Maybe they're both good]

"Kendrick and Cliff Lee are currently nailing each others wives, and pitching like the other one was supposed to."

Kendrick is pitching well which is awesome for the Phillies. But if you're implying Cliff Lee is pitching poorly, look at the stats. Except for ERA there is not that much difference in the categories that people mostly look at between Lee and Hamels. Halladay is off somewhat this year. Of course as Scott Franzke said of Lee the other night, when you only have 57 runs of support in 23 games, you probably aren't going to get a lot of wins.

[Edmundo]

Observations from the ballpark:

JLine took JPop's place last night and was instrumental in the first 3 runs. Fortunately, JLine is ever bit as good in the field.
Nice game for Howard, too. He can look bad and then look good. The Nats didn't put on a big shift.
Dom looked horrible. He had no idea what to do with Jackson's slider, which looked pretty nasty judging from the wretched swings. Kratz was flailing, too. I thought we were going to get a Kratzenjammer late but he put his shot out to CF and it died.
I told my wife in the 7th, when KK was struggling with Suzuki and approaching 110 pitches, that he should be the last batter for KK. I was not happy when Tyler Moore put one into the first row. I took a picture of the scoreboard earlier when KK's ERA dipped below 4. Because of matchups, perhaps letting KK pitch to one more batter is defensible. Once again I impress my wife with my baseball acumen. The last time it happened is when Julio Franco became a star (or starish), after I had told her to watch for him when he was in Reading.
Harper took a horrible route to Howard's double. He cut across the field and then took a 90 degree turn to get the ball off the wall. I still think it would have been a double anyway.
Oh, and nice job by KK. Lots of grounders to Utley.

[lorecore]

JLine, i like it.

[Edmundo]

Of all the paraphenalia I saw, help me figure out the worse purchase: A Galvis t-shirt or a Schneider Jersey?

[Pblunts]

So if Epstein's recent mess can get cleaned up, surely someone can clean up Amaro's, right?

[lorecore]

re: LA/BOS Trade

James Loney was one of the worst offensive 1B in baseball this season, even an underperforming Gonzalez will give them a drastic improvement. I think the only way this trade can be worthwhile for LA is if Gonzalez turns back into his usual self, which is pretty likely.

Beckett is an upgrade over Blanton...but he's in one of his classic down years, and i dont really know much he can be expected to bounce back to help this season, or 13-14. He's done it as recently as last year, so who knows.

Crawford is a non factor for this year, and represents the maximum risk you could take on as a MLB team, literally. Carl Crawford has the absolute worst trade value in the entire league, and its not even close. His inclusion alone probably tips the scales of the entire deal.

The fact that they have to give up prospects while taking on Crawford seems overkill to me.

[The Truth Injection]

There is good and bad in the LAD/Bos trade. As has been mentioned- clearly Gonzalez is a massive upgrade over Loney, even with his power numbers declining this year.

Beckett vs Blanton this year is a wash but Beckett is under control longer and will probably rebound next year.

Once he is healthy, Crawford is a nice addition and means they are planning for Victorino not being there next year. An outfield of Ethier/Crawford/Kemp will be pretty stellar for the next 5 years and with AGone and Hanley that offense will be excellent for the next few years.

The problem is- everyone on here talks about all in and this is moving all in on a season. They have completely gutted their farm system over the last month and a half. If they need any reinforcements over the next year or two they just won't be there. And it means they absolutely need to win a World Series to make this all worth it. For now though, they will fill up that stadium and the new owners will create goodwill for their team by showing their fans in the first year "We are going for it."

It's a risk absolutely, but from a business standpoint off the field it is a good one. On the field it is a little riskier.

[Not Cliff Lee]

Iceman, as a Sox fan, 1000% kudos to you. It NEVER made sense signing crawford. At the time people in the biz thought "the only two places he would never go are boston and NYC due to the pressure", so of course he came here. Seems like a really nice guy but unable to handle the lime-light. LA would probably work much better. Gonzo I'd miss, but if that is the price for getting Colonel Sanders out of town, so be it.

[clout]

TTI: Good analysis. Ethier/Kemp/Crawford will be the best defensive OF in baseball. Beckett has alternated good/bad years every season since '05 and AGon is a giant step up from Loney. If HanRam gets his head on straight, this is going to be a very good team for the foreseeable future.

That said, given how bad the Sox are, how hated Beckett has become, to be able to unload him plus $250M in salary (owed all 3 less the $12M the Sox agreed to pay) gives them great flexibility.

The prospects they got back are decent: Sands projects as a very good MLB hitter with good power, average glove. He'll be ready to start next season.

De la Rosa is a power pitcher (96 mph) with a good changeup and an evolving slider. He's just now getting over an arm injury that cost him most of this season. If he masters the slider, he'll be a mid-rotation SP, if not, he's got setup/closer potential.

Allen Webster was a Top 5 Dodgers prospect, projected mid-rotation SP, above average stuff, killer sinker that makes him perfect for Fenway. Doing well in AA, should see MLB action next season.

DJesus is a utility INF, replaces Punto. Nothing special there. Loney replaces AGon.

I'm pretty sure this means Vic won't sign with the Dodgers next season.

[NEPP]

The Dodgers are up to $194 million in payroll committments next year...and I'm sure they have other holes they need to fill.

Good bet that they have the #1 payroll in baseball even over NYY in 2013. Add in the luxury tax and they're probably looking at something around $220 million when its all said and done.

[Fatalotti]

AGon is certainly a massive upgrade for the Dodgers. But Beckett and Crawford are incredible risks, especially at the money.

Yes Beckett has alternated good years/bad years to a degree, but his 2 worst seasons have come in the last 3 seasons. And those two season have him at a 75 ERA+ (2010) and an 85 ERA+ (2012). If the Dodgers took on all that money for him over the next two years because they think that this good year/bad year anomaly guarantees that he'll be an ace next year, I fear they're going to making a lot of dumb decisions over the coming years.

Crawford is going to be in his age 31 season when re returns, coming off multiple surgeries, and he's had but one season in his career where he's been a stellar offensive player in terms of OPS+ (2010). And he's a good defender, for sure, in LF, but the same argument that plagued BOS when they picked him up still rings true. LF defense is nice to have, but it's not all that important. Your LF should provide some serious offensive ability, Will Crawford do that for them? Who knows, but I wouldn't have gambled on it, especially since he won't be able to help until next season at the earliest. And given that he's never had a good arm, and now he's had wrist and TJ surgery, he'll be relegated to nothing but LF.

I don't like the trade for the Dodgers at all, but I love it for BOS. Getting rid of AGon is going to hurt, but shedding Beckett and Crawford has to be seen as a huge win for them.

[NEPP]

If Crawford and Beckett both bounce back, its a huge coup...if not, they probably have the cash to make it a wash anyway so it doesnt matter.

I wonder if this means Boston will go after Bourn now and move Elsbury back to LF.

Huge win for Boston cleaning up those mistakes by Epstein...they basically hit the reset button.

[clout]

Fata: The Red Sox won't be contenders for the next few years, but they definitely win the "Good Budget Award" from you and other budget-obsessed posters, and we all know that's far more important.

[The Truth Injection]

I don't like the trade for the Dodgers at all, but I love it for BOS

_________________________________________

Fata: As I said, from a business standpoint this is a good trade for the Dodgers as far as filling up the stadium and sending the message to their fans that they are going to go for it.

It is a risky trade as far as on the field product because the farm system is gone and they are going to be massively paying money for the next few years.

But as you point out- this is a huge win for Boston. They get to start all over with some nice pieces in place already and have excellent payroll flexibility.

[Fatalotti]

Yeah clout, the Red Sox go two straight seasons without a playoff berth, and have gotten 2 horrible seasons from Beckett in the past 3 with Crawford being virtually non-existent.

Keeping them around would have guaranteed them a playoff berth. It's not all about the budget, it's about the fact that they unloaded a boatload of salaries for 2 players who were providing minimal value on the field. I know none of us know nothing about team budgets, but apparently Boston agreed that shedding those contracts was important.

[Fatalotti]

TTI, I don't know much about the Dodgers fan attendance/merch sales situation, but if this trade encourages more fans to come out, commit to season tickets, pick up merch, etc, then certainly that's a plus in its favor. Like BAP said, though, I think the Dodgers could have spent all this money (and it's an incredible amount of money) much more intelligently.

[Fatalotti]

And excuse me clout, that's 3 straight seasons without a playoff berth.

[The Truth Injection]

Fata: The only issue I have with that is the thinking that every single fan that walks into a ballpark studies and analyzes stats the way people do on fan blogs like this one.

The common fan doesn't. They want splashy moves. If you operate correctly- splashy moves allow you to put butts in the seats and do the "smart moves" with wiggle room from fans.

[Not Cliff Lee]

Oh forgot to mention the massive salary dump. I live here and have to constantly hear about how we cannot try to get X because of our financial commitments. Well, that excuse is gone. Clout, seriously? 2 of the 3 major players in the deal have either been non-factors (but getting big dough) or outright negatives. Nice troll though...

[The Truth Injection]

(Fair warning to Sabermetric worshippers- this post will not be liked by you)

I find it a little curious that Gonzalez's power numbers have dropped this season. The big thinking on him by many was "Get that guy out of Petco and he will start assaulting the ball even more." Largely that has not bared out in his power numbers. He went from home run totals in San Diego of 40 and 31 in his last two season down to 27 and 15 this year in Boston. His slugging was up last year but is 50+ points below where he was in San Diego and 40 points below his career average. Even his ISO has dropped from his days in San Diego.

(Again Sabermetric worshippers- tune out now if you have been reading this)

I wonder if maybe he wasn't comfortable being "the guy" in Boston. I know people dismiss the concept of being the guy looked at as the cog in a lineup but some people truly are not mentally able to handle that. In San Diego he was a big fish in a small pond. In Boston, he was in a huge pond and under constant scrutiny from fans up there. Say what you want about Ryan Howard and his faults- and even his most ardent supporters would admit he has very real faults- he has never had a problem carrying the Phillies for stretches at a time. Quite a few seasons he went on a couple week or month long tear in September that was the driving force in a playoff race. Also, he famously had the "Get me to the plate boys" in the 2009 playoffs.

I just wonder if AGone was feeling pressure of living up to a contract and reputation and ultimately he couldn't do it. A change of scenery may do him well.

[Fatalotti]

TTI, it's possible, but I would counter that he had a 153 OPS+ last year, the second highest of his career. If it's pressure that's gotten to him, did it only manifest itself this year?

[Fatalotti]

From a numbers standpoint, it appears as though AGon has seen far fewer strikes in his time in BOS than in SD. His Zone % has been on a steady downward spiral since the beginning of his career. Started at 55.7% in his first year, and dropped all the way to 43.6% in his last year in SD, and has been at 39.8% (2011) and 41.2% (2012) in his time in BOS.

The problem for AGon is that his Swing% has never really altered in his career. It was in the low 50s/high 40s in SD, and it's been in the low 50s/high 40s in BOS (49.2% in 2011, 51.9% in 2012).

If you're seeing less strikes, and yet still swinging the same, what should be expect to go up? Your willingness to swing at stuff outside the zone. And what do we see?

O-Swing%
2010: 31.8% (SD)
2011: 35.5% (BOS)
2012: 37.2% (BOS)

And this trend had already started in SD. As he's seen less strikes, his O-Swing% has gone steadily gone up.

To me, that's more informative about why he's declined a bit in terms of power numbers in the past couple years. The ISO decline actually started in Petco.

2007: .220
2008: .231
2009: .274
2010: .213 (last year in SD)
2011: .210 (first year in BOS)

This year could just be a down year for AGon, or the league has made a great adjustment to him, and he will continue to decline until he makes an equal adjustment back.

[MG]

Dodgers just went all in with 3 Jacks after a weak flop.

If I am a Red Sox fan, I am ecstatic about this deal. Dumped what arguably might be the worst contract in baseball right now (Crawford), dump a malcontent/out-of-shape/red flags everywhere starter who over $17M the next 2 years (Beckett), and only have to give up Gonzalez.

Besides Lackey, they don't have another bad contract anymore, cleaned up Epstein's gigantic mess, now don't have to make questionable moves/trades now due to payroll concerns, and can figure out what they want to do this offseason.

Like a breath of fresh air that will allow them quickly to move back into question instead of beings stuck in limbo which is what they were with there current team.

[Dennis O.]

Larud is actually Steven LERUD.
The Phillies' misforune is Lerud's Lucky Day. He will probably get into some major league games because Kratz can't catch every inning of every game and even Lerud must be dumbstruck by his good fortune. Who would have hought that this good AA level defensive catcher, but very light hitter would get to the majors in this or any other year?

[MG]

Don't think people realize how unpopular Beckett had become in Boston either. He got booed regularly this year (become brutal lately with probably the most brutal was when he was lustly booed when he came off the mound due to a back spasm about a month ago) and pretty much from reports has stopped going out around town.

Must be overjoyed at the prospect of getting out of town. Why I kind of laughed when I heard this deal was contingent upon agreeing to the deal. Sure Beckett would have approved a deal anywhere especially the Rangers when that rumor was floated at the deadline.

[george wells]

When you force upon a declining white race (whites are not having enough babies to replace themselves), massive numbers of non-whites, to share the same homeland/living space, the end result is the elimination of the declining white race. Its inevitable (what will change?)
How is this not white genocide?
“Genocide involves the attempt to achieve the disappearance of a group by whatever means. It does not have to be violent, it could be a combination of policies that would lead to a certain group dying out.” Fraser-PM Australia ‘75-83
M Fraser-PM of Australia 1975-83
Anti-racist is a codeword for anti-white