Game chat: Surging Reds pay a visit to the Bank

Preview: Losing Joey Votto has been no big deal to the first-place Reds, who've been red hot and have managed to climb to 74-48, marking the second-best record in baseball. The Central division leaders visit Citizens Bank Park for the first of four beginning at 7:10. Roy Halladay (6-7, 3.80) tries to build on his recent stretch of quality starts. He's opposed by Mike Leake (5-7, 4.29). Cincinnati's strength stems from a well above average offense, rotation and perhaps the best bullpen in baseball. They're a very strong candidate to represent the National League in the World Series. ... Meanwhile, the Phils welcome Placido Polanco back to the club. The Phils, who are hovering 11 games off the pace in the Wild Card race, will bat Polly seventh tonight as they hope to gauge what he has left in the tank. Hector Luna was optioned to clear space.

Light posting today but back on schedule tomorrow. (I've been traveling for work since Tuesday). Didn't have a chance to discuss Kyle Kendrick, who has a knack for turning it on when he absolutely must. It must be the fifth time in his career he's fought back from the brink after it appeared he'd pitched himself out of the rotation.

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Comments

[Kendrick Appreciation Society]

Does Clemens actually have to play in the majors or just sign with a club, even a minor league deal?

Would not surprise me if it was all designed to reset his HoF clock. Might figure that by then the steroid anger would have blown over. Fat chance.

[Kendrick Appreciation Society]

Phillies slide into 3rd place in the NL East. Next up on the hit list, the Arizona Diamondbacks, 5 games ahead in the Wild Card standings.

[wes covington's ghost]

If that's the case, nice try Fat Roger!

[lolwut]

i know it was against a fifth starter who clearly struggled tonight, but it was great to see dom lace a double down the right field line. i felt like the overwhelming majority of his batted balls were to left and left center (not that there's anything wrong with that).

[Dreamer]

KAS - According to Rosenthal, Clemens has to throw a pitch to restart the clock.

[Bubba]

Caught the Mets and tied for 3rd place.

Not much to be excited about, but it beats dead last.

Or record is so much better in games that we score 10 or more runs. We should make a habit of that.

[gobaystars!]

Also of note concerning Clemens, if he were to pitch again, his next turn would come while his team is in Camden of all places. It's unlikely that he pitches more than once and very very unlikely that he travels to Camden to do it but if it somehow happened, I would go.

[Stocky VAnce]

Aumont is consistently inconsistent. If you look at his last two closes with the Pigs, Saturday, he was lites out, but Sunday, he gave up at least 4or 5 runs in the top of the 9th to changed a 1run deficit, into at least a 6-7 run deficit...
And put the gm out of reach for any comeback by the pigs in the bot 9th...

Not sure about the exact # runs he gave up last nite, but it was a s*** load

Saturday nearly perfect, But Sunday,nearly impossible to throw strikes / or get opposing outs..

Kinda. Like diekman inconsistency times 3

Hope the ML help PAmout put - should be interesting none the less

SV

[Bubba]

Pete Happy still with Camden?

[gobaystars!]

The team website says Feliz, Eduardo Perez (not sure if it's the Eduardo Perez) and Delwyn Young are on the roster.

[ChollyM]

Once Aumont is under the excellent tutelage of Doobie, he will be good to go.

[Bubba]

Those oldies but goodies...

[Len39]

When would that Clemens start in Camden be?

[Iceman]

I second everything TTI said regarding Carson, and just want to add that Gregm is also correct to a point. But the difference is, I think, that Beerleaguer IS Beerleaguer because it weeds out the stupid and has no time for trolls.

Chollym has changed his name three times now after having been harassed off the board with each name. It's because he's saying nothing but ridiculous, shallow, stupid things that the vast majority of people here cannot tolerate. Because that's not why people come to BL. We have our fun here, but it's mainly ongoing, intelligent, challenging arguments about the state of the Phillies. We don't come here to read coolhandluke/ChollyM/Rich just rip on players and add nothing you wouldn't read at Philly.com.

I say this sounding like some sort of BL elitist, but the same thing happens to me sometimes. I go over the line with an argument, like I did with Strasburg's innings limit last week, and the majority of BL pointed out the stupidity of what I was saying. I appreciate that aspect of BL, and it's made me a better and more knowledgable fan the past several seasons I've been here. The worst thing you can do here is assume you're right and refuse to be told where you're wrong.

Basically, if you can't take the heat, get the hell out of the BL kitchen, ChollyM.

[ChollyM]

Basically touh guy I don't answer to you.

[ChollyM]

tough

[gobaystars!]

I don't think he will be pitching in Camden but it is worth noting that he's scheduled to pitch on Sat the 25th for the Sugar Land Skeeters and 5 days later the Skeeters come into Camden for a 3 game series. It could happen. Very unlikely but possible. It's more that I don't see him taking a trip to Camden to pitch.

[ChollyM]

If you don't like me or my posts, Get a petition to have me banned idiot.

[Phlipper]

Livin' large tonight, baby!

I had to bet with a friend from NY on whether the Phils or the Mets would finish the season with the better record.

He finally agreed to take the bet once the Mets were 4.5 games up

1 month ago my friend I tried to give my friend from NY the money I had wagered.

The Phillies were 9.5 games behind, and I offered to pay off the bet so I wouldn't have to hear him chirping for the rest of the season.

He declined to take the money.

HA! HA!

Oh, this is sweet. So sweet.

[Al Batross]

Hey, has Jack been around lately?

[gobaystars!]

But even if Clemens doesn't make the trip, you could see Jeff Farnsworth, Scott Kazmir, Pedro Liriano, Tim Redding, or apparently now a pitcher Jason Lane throw for The Skeeters. That is quite a staff.

[ChollyM]

I'm sick of guys like you that act like they are better then everyone else. Ypu and your friends don't impress me in the least. All you do is quote stats to each other. Baseball is more then just stats. And this is an internet blog site, nothing that important or special. You act like it's life or death.

[ChollyM]

My posts are harmless and are not attacks on posters, unlike yours and others like you.

[ChollyM]

I will be away for a couple of days. I am heading down South for a Klan reunion. Catch up with you all later...

[ChollyM]

Idiot

[ChollyM]

Besides, this idiot has been using my name.

[UBIK]

Watching the Braves v. Nationals late innings right now. It is probably the Most Important Game in the NL East right now.
shudder.

I think Rollins is definitely still a better defensive SS than Desmond. By a lot. He makes that tag in the 9th inning 9 times out 10.

Good 'ol Jay-Son. I still maintain an irrational appreciation for his talents. Perhaps a lackadaisical man, perhaps a man who loes drink, whatever. He is a pretty good baseball player when he's healthy. *IF* Werth stays healthy that contract could almost make sense for like... 3 years. That 11th inning AB that almost walked the Nationals off was pretty impressive. 10 pitches? 11?
Good lord Bryce Harper's bat speed is... just... really, really fast. I'm not totally sure that he knows what he's swinging at yet but he looks like he could be very, very, very, etc, etc.

Dammit, almost everyone in both of these bullpens looks better than anybody in ours except for Paplebon. Ugh.

[ChollyM]

I don't suppose you guys have a problem with idiot posters posting under your names.

[UBIK]

Hey Fellas, sorry for the spelling problems in the last post. It's just that I'm a little bit in my cups, and watching what is essentially the sportsfan's equivalent of a cuckold porno film.

This is a pretty good Braves v. Nationals game, btw. It's quite dramatic, and I'd be happy to see either of these teams lose.

[bullit]

this is an interesting article. seems many players are using testosterone. and why not? men lose testosterone levels over time. to be precluded from treating this condition is ridiculous.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/20/mlb-ped-testing-drugs-victor-conte_n_1812923.html

[UBIK]

Dan Uggla:Chase Utley::General McCellan:General Grant.

In some ways. In other not so much. Dan Uggla is a sh88ty 2nd baseman, that's for da8n sure.

[UBIK]

Grant played a good 2B, but he couldn't hit Stonewall's curveball for sh8t.

[ChollyM]

Back to watching reruns of failed Mets playoff games.

[ChollyM]

Get a life moron

[UBIK]

also, ChollyM, I've been appreciating your input, after a fashion, and I do hope you have fun at your Klan Meeting. Please tell your Klan brothers that an anonymous internet poster recommended that they should abandon their racist hate, and look within themselves to find something worthwhile under their fervent and banal beliefs. Tell them that the "Iceman" poster on the "BeLeaguer Blog" was so sure that he was right (and he actually was!) that a thousand suns exploded across the barren deserts on one thousand blasted worlds that never contained a scrap of anything resembling life.
And in this barren wasteland did Ruben sign BJ Upton. And BJ Upton did play center field, and he was Basically OK, because he could hit lefties and righties.

[ChollyM]

You do realize that was someone using my name right UBIK? YOU are a poetic poster my friend.

[Dragon]

Where's my 12 runs? -- Cliff Lee's Id.

[Fatalotti]

Yep, Beerleaguer is officially unreadable. I'll check back in a week or two when some of these mindless posters are kicked off or become bored and head somewhere else.

[The Truth Injection]

Let me say this on Beerleaguer too. Beerleaguer is a community and much like any community when a new person enters the fold they are met with some degree of watchful eye. It isn't meant to be a practice of keeping people out but rather one of- bring something to the table.

All the regular posters on here went through the same process. In my first months here I had a nice battle with clout over the importance of the Brad Lidge trade. We got past it.

The important thing with BL is to bring something to the table. I may battle on here with guys like Fatalotti, BAP, Jack and MG- but I respect their opinions even if they don't always jive with mine. Reason being- they are capable of having intelligent debates about those points of view and it is clear they bring something to the table.

Yes the site gets couched in stats too often and hypothetical situations but overall this is a wonderful little place to come and discuss the Phillies and is a welcome respite from the Philly.com and other various Phillies based message boards.

You can say this is an unwelcoming site, but the simple fact is- you haven't brought anything to the table. Once you start doing that the mood changes. If all you can do is post vaguely racist posts and Eagles scores, and under 3 different handles- then do please leave. There are plenty of places on the Internet for you.

[NEPP]

***Does Clemens actually have to play in the majors or just sign with a club, even a minor league deal?***

Didnt see this answered (granted I skimmed). He has to play a game in the majors to reset the clock (or be added to the 25 man at least). It doesnt matter if he playes in AA or AAA or whatever. An example of this was Rickey Henderson playing all those games in independent leagues...none of it counted against his HOF clock.

As for the rest of the thread? Damn, I'm happy I did my FFB draft last night instead.

[MR]

Just curious. How does someone know if a poster is using multiple names?

Oh, and Dom looks he could be a decent leadoff hitter. And we could use one.

[cut_fastball]

La-la land observation of the day: if the Phillies play .900 baseball here on in, they get to 93 wins.

Sure hope Cliffie turns it around, and Doc regains his magic. Or, Kendrick could 'win out'.

The very fact I am posting this is pretty gruesome. What a lousy season.

[Chris in VT]

Beerleaguer has gone downhill this year. Age-related decline?

[R.Billingsly]

ChollyM types (whether or not someone else is using his name) come around every so often. Eventually, they get bored with trying to stir up trouble and stop posting.

As for the game last night, it was fun to watch for a change. But, can we expect to get shutout today?

Kendrick's nice outings recently scare me. I fear that the Phillies will see these starts and say, "Hey, there's your fifth starter in 2013," instead of keeping him in the bullpen -- a role at which he has excelled.

Finally, THIRD PLACE never felt so good. How bad is Major League Baseball when THIS team is in third place in their division?

[Iceman]

I noticed that the Nats are also taking our yearly role of spanking the Braves in August/September.

I genuinely think the Braves have a better team than the Nats, so if they manage to choke this opportunity away in August, it's a pretty telling sign that late-season baseball has gotten in Atlanta's psyche.

[jbird]

So the chances of the Phillies not having a 1st round pick again this year are what, 70%? The 30% comprised entirely of the possibility that they will fall back into the bottom 10 teams? Right now they have the 12th pick and I can easily see them moving past Seattle.

[jbird]

Kendrick is not a terrible option for the 5th starter role. He's already under contract. Rather see the team use the money elsewhere and/or make guys like Cloyd earn it before handing them the gig.

[lorecore]

DOM with 5 OF Assists already this year. His arm is ridiculously good.

[Jr.]

I put the over under on Aumont walks in his first appearance,if he gets one.

[Jr.]

That would be at 2.

[EastFallowfield]

Yo, new thread

[abercrombie france]

Pour ne pas être à l'intérieur du comprendre le plus souvent, je suis enclin à n'aimez pas les messages concernant ce sujet progressivement supplémentaires considérez que vous êtes à l'écrire à la mode outre vos moyens personnels, nous avons obtenu de dire, c'est vraiment, vraiment une belle publier de ceux à retenir.

[abercrombie france]

Pour ne pas être à l'intérieur du comprendre le plus souvent, je suis enclin à n'aimez pas les messages concernant ce sujet progressivement supplémentaires considérez que vous êtes à l'écrire à la mode outre vos moyens personnels, nous avons obtenu de dire, c'est vraiment, vraiment une belle publier de ceux à retenir.