Game chat: Ruiz's All-Star season continues tonight

The Phillies welcome back beloved catcher Carlos Ruiz, who has been out since Aug. 2 with plantar fasciitis and a small tear in his left foot, when they begin a weekend set with the Rockies. First pitch is 7:05.

Beerleaguer: What a nice surprise to get Ruiz back so soon. He no longer qualifies among the league leaders in certain categories; he's about 75 plate appearances short. But if he did, he'd rate third in batting (.335), fourth in on-base percentage (.399) and fourth in slugging (.559). In his absence, Erik Kratz has shocked everyone with a beefy .944 OPS of his own. It's unclear how Charlie Manuel will work Ruiz back into the mix. The Phillies typically carry three catchers in September and Brian Schneider is clearly the last man on the bench these days. That's because Placido Polanco was placed on the disabled list, which all but ends his tenure with the Phillies. Polanco, 36, hit .257/.302/.327 in parts of 90 games. The Phils are expected to buy out his option for $1 million when the season ends. It's a tough finish for Polanco, a 15-year veteran who became one of two players in history to win the Gold Glove at two positions. Great pro and another good Phillie.

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Comments

[bay_area_phan]

Does Mini-Mart even have a wheelhouse?

[denny b.]

Jack-

Or we might look like complete fools, with extended rosters and so few guys in uniform who can play the infield.

[denny b.]

The Big Man is going yard in this inning.

[Iceman]

NEPP- even Mini and his negative OPS could hit this jabroni tonight. Rest of the lineup flailed away. Even he accidentally runs into a pitch every once in a while.

BAP- I'm not so sure Orr is a defensive downgrade from Mini. Or Howard from Pig. Though I'll grant you it's close. It's no wonder the defense has been below-average this year.

[bay_area_phan]

Both Orr and Mini-Mart make a ton of errors at 3rd but Mini-Mart has a decent arm & makes a few more good plays. Howard is much better than Wigginton in a normal year but, with his foot problems, he simply can't get down and scoop errant throws right now. I'd give Wigginton a slight edge because he's more mobile.

[Iceman]

Jack- want to make a gentleman's wager on that 86-loss number?

[GBrettFan]

Does anyone have a good feeling about the outcome of this game?

[Jack]

Iceman: No, not at all. I was just throwing out numbers to make a point. The idea that a 28th man who can play utility infield worse than Mini-Mart is at all relevant right now is sort of ridiculous.

[Iceman]

Though I don't think they'll lose 86 games, I've seen this script before and have it memorized. This is the part where Papelbon gives up the lead almost instantaneously and I relinquish possession of the remote.

[cut_fastball]

Hard to believe, Harry...

[Buster]

Man, howard has lost an incredible amount of bat speed. 91mph right down the middle and just can't catch up.

[Iceman]

Jack- yeah, I agree with that. Not sure what denny is fussing about.

Giambi is singlehandedly going to do this, whether it be a walk, HR, or driving up his pitch count.

And it's a walk.

[Iceman]

Why would you run on Kratz? Jesus.

[GBrettFan]

Thank you, Kratz!

[curt]

Sure hope Ruiz can play some 3B.

[bay_area_phan]

Kratz bails out Papelbon.

[Brian Schneider]

I am so fvcked.

[NEPP]

Little known fact, Benjamin Molina used to vacation in Telford, PA where he had an affair with Eric Kratz mom...thus the amazing arm.

[NEPP]

Running against Kratz: 28 attempts, 14 Caught Stealing.

[bay_area_phan]

I need to eat dinner so I hope the Phillies put this stupid game away this inning.

[Kutztown Fan]

I think I could've read War and Peace during Giambi's at-bat. Flashbacks of 10 hour Bosox/Yanks games. Sheesh.

[NEPP]

MUST...BUNT...RUNNER...OVER

[wes covington's ghost]

There's another 1 in 152 million happening...a Rollins walk in the bottom of the 9th..

[lolwut]

will harris is having trouble locating his four-seam fastball, missing the strike zone with his last three.

don't know what i would do without scout enabled.

[bay_area_phan]

There's no one I'd rather have batting here than . . . Nate Schierholtz.

[NEPP]

that was helpful.

[NEPP]

Just like they drew it up.

[Mick O]

Schier brilliance!

[Iceman]

Giving away an out with your best hitter. Unreal.

Luckily it worked out with BAP's boy Scheirholtz!

[NEPP]

That's Schierholtztastic!

[GBrettFan]

Great job securing the W, BAP!

All right! We won!

I'm still imprinted with the feeling of doom from all the first-half losses in late and/or extra innings. I felt a loss was nearly inevitable.

[bay_area_phan]

That wild pitch was the ball game. Otherwise, that's a DP ball.

[Mick O]

Wow Rollins loafed it home there.

[Sophist]

Just keep winning

[Nate]

Life's neat let's eat.

[Mini Mart]

2 for 2! Suck it, bitches!!!

[CousinIT]

Phils win!... I kinda missed it a little - kept watching the animated blonde in the white top behind HP on the 3rd base side.

Why wasn't Kratz up sooner?

[GBrettFan]

Holy crap. I just saw this:

A's trainer Nick Paparesta: pitcher Brandon McCarthy still in 'life-threatening' situation.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BBA_ATHLETICS_MCCARTHY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-09-07-22-03-36

[CousinIT]

Hope he recovers ok. The only MLB player I know of that died after getting hit with a ball was Ray Chapman 92 years ago.

[Iceman]

Success in game one of this 10 game stretch. A game they probably should have lost. These are the type they have to pull out every time til the end if they want to have a shot.

Tomorrow should be a telegraphed W with Hamels against a lineup he dominated earlier in the year (at Coors no less) and the Rockies throwing a mediocre RHP (lefties hitting .342 and OPSing .951 against him) meaning Cholly won't really be able to mess up the lineup even if he tried.

Unashamed to have the Cards' gamecast up tonight. They may only have a slim chance, but it's a chance, dammit, and I'm going to live it up at least through these next ten games.

[GBrettFan]

I remember about 5 years ago the Cardinals' Juan Encarnacion was struck in the eye by a foul ball while on-deck. He lost vision and it ended his career.

Scary stuff.

Here's the wikipedia entry about that injury, FYI:

Eye Injury
On August 31, Encarnación was struck in the face by a foul ball hit by teammate Aaron Miles while he was on the on-deck circle. Encarnación suffered multiple fractures to his left eye socket and an injury to his left eye and missed the remainder of the 2007 season.[7]
The injury was regarded by the Cardinals' head team physician, Dr. George Paletta, to be the worst injury he'd ever seen to the face on a baseball player. Paletta said the eye socket was essentially crushed on impact, comparing the injured area to the disintegration of an egg shell or ice cream cone, and that the optic nerve had sustained severe trauma. Paletta also said the eyeball had not been ruptured.[8]

[NEPP]

Matt Keough is another guy that nearly died from such an injury...albeit not when he was still a player.

[gobaystars!]

Big inning for Jimmy and the small ballers. Well done. Young James is still, 10 plus years on, finding ways to win ballgames. I can't wait to bring my future child or girlfriend to Jimmy Rollins day at CBP and explain to them what he meant to this franchise and city.

[davthom73]

NEPP --- "Running against Kratz: 28 attempts, 14 Caught Stealing."

Yep -- and those stats don't account for at least two drops of Kratz throws to second by JR -- and the complete failure of Hamels to even look at a baserunner on first base who stole second completely on Hamels the last time Hamels pitched.

As good as Chooch is -- Kratz is better at throwing out baserunners.

[Bubba]

gobaystars-
Did you see young James run to 1st after his walk, ala Pete Rose?
Is he the new Charlie Hustle or what?

[davthom73]

J. Weitzel -- you seem to have had sonme attention lapses late this season. The latest example is your statement in the thread header above when yoiu state, "The Phillies typically carry three catchers in September and Brian Schneider is clearly the last man on the bench these days." Brian Schneider was p;laced on the 15-day DL on August 24th, the same day that the Phillies recalled catcher Steven Lerud, who has caught two close, low-scoring wins. With Ruiz's activation today -- the three active roster catchers for the Phillies afre Ruiz, Erik Kratz and Steve Lerud. I do not expect Schneider back before the end of the year.

[davthom73]

And I certainly don't want Schneider back -- ever. The guy stole money for most of the last two seasons -- during which he commanded a generous salary for a backup catcher.

[Iceman]

davthom- seems like a pretty obvious question, and I'm not sure I've seen you explain it. So I'll ask.

Why are you so friggin' obsessed with backup and A-ball catchers?

[davthom73]

Not A-ball catchers -- but I do enjoy following the success stories of overlooked 30ish guys in AAA, who have never been given a legitimate chance -- like Erik Kratz -- until this year -- and like Chris Coste beginning on May 21, 2006. And I like complete darkhorse Cinderella stories like Steven Lerud -- who was plucked from being the backup catcher for the AA Reading Phillies the AA has given the Phillies two good starts behind the plate and two hits in 8 at bats. Watching Lerud's mother (who had travelled from her home in Reno, Nevada, at Lerud's first major league was priceless. SAnd like 31-year=old lefthand batting catcher John Suomi -- who hit cleanup for the Iron Pigs for most of the current season until he tailed off with about 10 percent of the season remaining.

[out of my league]

@GBrettFan,

I sit almost directly behind home plate and a few rows back/off the field, and was at the game on Wednesday - when McCarthy was struck by Aybar's line drive - and it was THE scariest thing I have ever witnessed at a baseball game. The ball cracked off Aybar's bat and just a split second later it made a similar but sickening crack off the side of Brandon's head. For a second I thought the blow had killed him. Seriously, it was that bad.

There are a lot of heavy hearts among A's fans tonight...

[Iceman]

Dodgers and Cards both down 2 runs in the 8th.

[bay_area_phan]

Save for Atlanta, the other WC teams are all cooperating by playing pretty poorly of late. Still, there are only 24 games left. We'd have to win like 20 to even have a shot. It is remarkably unlikely.

[Conway Twitty]

Stupid question: Why put Polly on the DL in Sept.? He's not taking a roster spot from anyone.

[bay_area_phan]

7 out with 24 to play, and 5 teams to leap-frog -- including 3 whom we currently trail by at least 5.5 games. If we end up missing by 2 or 3 games, I'm not gonna fault RAJ for selling because, when you're 9 or 10 games out of the WC at the end of July, the probability against coming back is so remote that it would be foolish to trade prospects for rental players. On the other hand, I think you will definitely be able to fault him for dithering during May and June, as it became obvious that our bullpen was a disaster, that our Ryan Howard alternatives weren't working out at all, and that counting on Polanco was just utter and complete fantasy. If something had been done to address even a single one of these areas, then maybe things would have turned out differently. But the time to do it was in June. By July, it was already too late.

[bay_area_phan]

I WILL say that, as improbable as a comeback might be, even the remote possibility that it could happen is reason enough for Mini-Mart to never make another start.

[lorecore]

davthom: "Yep -- and those stats don't account for at least two drops of Kratz throws to second by JR -- and the complete failure of Hamels to even look at a baserunner on first base who stole second completely on Hamels the last time Hamels pitched."

Its comments like this that make your catcher obsession so weird. Do you honestly think that Kratz has been subject to such injustices while every other catcher never gets a base stolen off a pitcher?

[GBrettFan]

Out of my league - Thanks for the account. I can imagine it was frightening. I wish McCarthy a full recovery.

Conway - Polly wasn't just put on the DL, he was sent home and his locker name plate removed. A rather unceremonious ending to the tenure of a fine player who twice played for the Phillies.

BAP - I do think the BP should have been addressed in June - But just to muse on it... At that time, our SP was consistently failing us, and perhaps RAJ felt that addressing the BP (or 1st or 3rd, as you mention) wouldn't be enough, esp. without good SP? And while our BP has improved, it's mostly made up of guys who've been in our system all year. (Also trying to remember: What was the status of Contreras, Stutes, Herndon in June?)

I am hoping that the chance to try out so many of our BP arms will pay dividends next year.

I totally agree that finishing strong is frustrating for the might-have-beens. As well as offering some hope for next year.

[Bob]

Dont look now....its our magic number 7 and every result went our way last night.

Loving the resolve in this group. They surely aren't good enough for a run but they keep coming. For all the problems this team has, they have played a winning baseball for a while now.

Hopefully that late inning rally will carry over big in the early innings tonight.

[Bob]

And my thoughts out to McCarthy as well...

[can_of_corn]

Finally! A local reporter writes about the lunacy of starting Mini-Mart (and even calls him MM in the article.) Dennis Deitch of the Daily Times of Delaware County, you must be a BL regular.

Be sure to read both pages and behold this last paragraph:

“…Manuel loves Freddy Galvis, who will get starts throughout the infield and hit better than Mike Martinez, which is to say he will hit better than a sea bass with a bat glued to its head…”

http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2012/09/06/sports/doc50497ad108587187528169.txt

[clout]

davthom73: And what about Tuffy Gooswurst's mother, huh, davthom? What about her?

[Chuck A.]

*** "Finally! A local reporter writes about the lunacy of starting Mini-Mart (and even calls him MM in the article.) Dennis Deitch of the Daily Times of Delaware County, you must be a BL regular." ***

corn can - Other blogs refer to Martinez as MiniMart or MM....not just this site. I don't think BL necessarily came up with this nickname for our beloved .138-hitting position player.

Good article though. Thanks for posting!

[Bob]

Great win, and very hearening to see the Phils continue to play tough.

That said, I couldn't help but contrast the quality of Ryan Howard's two at bats with that of the at bat of Jason Giambi. Ugh. Love the big guy, but seeing how Giambi worked the count and handled his at bat was a bucket of cold water in the face after seeing Howard's two weak Ks.

[Bedrosian's Beard]

Gotta like that Ethan Martin start in Reading last night:
7.2 IP
1ER
0BB
11K

[cut_fastball]

In this season of torment -- with 24 games left -- what happens if this team somehow goes 22-2? If Doc and if KK keep up the good work, and Kratz and Mayberry continue to chip in, who knows? The team is always good for 1 hot streak. Even bad Phillies teams had hot streaks.

Would 89 wins get this team anywhere? How about the abstraction of "winning out" for 91 wins? I have no feel whatsoever for this 2nd wild card. All I know is that back in the day, more that a few 91 win teams did not get into the playoffs.

[cut_fastball]

And another thing -- as much as I really despise Manual's handling of lefty/righty matchups; the bullpen, and Michael Martinez, the Phillies continue to play hard. Amazing feat, these days.

[Bob]

@ Cut

After the Atlanta collapse, I was hoping for a 21-7 finish for 85 wins. Hoping they win on the right nights to gain ground of most in front of them, then letting the chips fall where they may.

Just think it is great to see them playing hard, as you stated.

Think we have a slight chance to make this interesting with the quality of pitching we are getting right now

[Chuck A.]

We are NOT making the playoffs.

[cut_fastball]

That's my guess. Even with 91 wins. Geesh.

[GBrettFan]

from phillies.com:

Placido Polanco has played his last game with the Phillies in 2012.

The Phillies placed him on the disabled list before Friday's series opener against the Rockies at Citizens Bank Park. He said his back has not improved, and he will not play again this season.

Polanco has a $5.5 million mutual option or a $1 million buyout on his contract for 2013, but the Phillies will not pick up their side of the option. But Polanco said he remains hopeful he can play next season, maybe even with the Phillies.

"I'm going to begin a rehab to give myself a chance to try to come back next year," he said. "If I rehab and it still hurts, I don't know. But who wouldn't love to play for the Phillies? This is one of the best organizations ever."

[clout]

I'm just glad we don't have to face the Skeeters.

[Bubba]

GBrettfan-
"Polly wasn't just put on the DL, he was sent home and his locker name plate removed. A rather unceremonious ending to the tenure of a fine player who twice played for the Phillies."

I hadn't seen that before- where fid you see that?
Thanks

[buy sell]

Polly left because he was disgusted seeing- Micro-mart playing at his former position..

[buy sell]

J.A. Happ done for season with foot injury

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/08/j-a-happ-done-for-season-with-foot-injury/

[davthom73]

Say what Clout? -- "davthom73: And what about Tuffy Gooswurst's mother, huh, davthom? What about her?"

And that means what? Are you going incomprehensible now? You were wrong about Coste. You were wrong about Kratz. And you've always been all about in-the-box MLB scouting consensus, right? The scouts and their collective group think never miss any player before they turn 30? And if a guy substantially upgrades his hitting game and his power numbers after the age of 30 -- a la Kratz -- its just because he has learned by rote and repetition to hit AAA pitching as a AAA lifer. A minor league lifer's performance being compared to that of scout-consensus early 20's "can't miss" "prospects". Lets not give any credit to a Coste, or a Kratz, or a Fransen, shall we. Those guys could never be true starter material in the bigs, right Clout?

[davthom73]

lorwcore -- "Its comments like this that make your catcher obsession so weird. Do you honestly think that Kratz has been subject to such injustices while every other catcher never gets a base stolen off a pitcher?"

Don't set up a "straw man" to flog based on something that I neither said nor meant. When someone posted numbers that showed that Kratz's "caught stealing' percentage was 50%, I merely made the observation that his performance was even better than those excellent stats show. Rollins dropped at least two recent throws made by Kratz to second base when the runner clearly would have been out. Those were specific esamples. It was a parenthetical point -- not the stupid representation that you falsely inputed to me.

[GBrettFan]

Bubba - Here you go.

Mandy Housenick ‏@inthephilshouse 23 hrs ago
Worley's surgery went well. Had small loose body & spur. Polanco going home to rehab. Schneider may not return.Both unlikely to play this yr

Mandy Housenick ‏@inthephilshouse 16 hrs ago
Polly's name plate above his locker was gone. Schneider's was still there. #Phillies

[GBrettFan]

Glad to know that Brandon McCarthy is tweeting again - because it means he's feeling better.

Brandon McCarthy ‏@BMcCarthy32
"Crazy about this children's tylenol, can't believe they give it to kids."

Brandon McCarthy ‏@BMcCarthy32
The good news in all of this, is that I set up my fantasy lineups beforehand. So there shall be no excuses at this point.

[limoguy]

Oh boy, Mini Mart at third tonight.

[clout]

davthom73: I see your sense of humor is exactly where it was during Chris Coste days.

As for this, "Lets not give any credit to a Coste, or a Kratz, or a Fransen, shall we. Those guys could never be true starter material in the bigs, right Clout?" I'm a bit puzzled.

Coste was never a starting catcher in the big leagues, Frandsen hasn't been in his 6 years in MLB and Kratz is unlikely to be unless Ruiz is seriously injured. So the factual answer to your question is, "No."

But I love a a beat-the-odds success story as much as anyone and I was thrilled by Coste's success. The only point I ever tried to make is that the scouts, who do make mistakes, are more likely to be right than the saber-loving fans on a blog.

I sometimes get the sense that you believe every 30-something Triple A guy has the ability to be a big league player if only he had the chance. A lot of those guys do get the chance, in spring training and in September. And 98% of them fail.

[awh]

limoguy, thanks for the positive news.

[clout]

limoguy: Chatwood is a RHP. Orr is a LH hitter. Orr is better in every phase of the game than Mini-Mart. Can you, or anyone, please, God, explain to me why Mini-Mart would start at 3B over Orr?

[Bob]

clout, even God does not know the answer to your question.

[can_of_corn]

..and who would have thought in April that we would be begging for Pete Orr to start at 3B?

[can_of_corn]

chances for a game tonight?

[Hugh Mulcahy]

Say what you will about Polanco, his defenseat 3B was stellar. Watching the other guys play this year was brutal. In the same vein, the Pirates committed 7 (official) errors yesterday and not one of them was made by Pedro Alvarez. That's nearly impossible.

[Hugh Mulcahy]

Rainy in Philly?

Since it's September, they'll wait at least 3 hours before they call it, unless the players are disposed to play 2 tomorrow.

[limoguy]

For reasons none of us can fathom, Charlie seems to like Mini Mart and not Orr. I know that this answer is unsatisfying, but it's the only one I can think of that fits the evidence.

[The Evil Ed Wade]

Polly and 3 others enjoying lunch at PF Changs Marlton. Would have said hello but hate to bug people eating.

[davthom73]

Clout -- "I sometimes get the sense that you believe every 30-something Triple A guy has the ability to be a big league player if only he had the chance."

Certainly not. But there are guys who are 29-31 years old who have never played in a big league game, but who have significantly upgraded their hitting and power numbers in AAA -- but they never really get more than a couple of "non-roster invitee to Spring Training" courtesy at bats before they are assigned to a team's minor league camp. Most of these guys are high-round draft choices in whom the team has had little invested in bonus money and farm director rep. The difference in our views on this subject rests primarily in the number of players who are "missed" -- but I think often it is a matter of which guys up their game after age 28 or 29, and there are such players. We just differ on how many there are out there.

And on the Tuffy Gosewich thing -- I went back and re-read your post -- and I do apologize for jumping over the humorous aspect of it. Actually, I never liked Gosewich, and although JW criticized management on this Board for trading him in a minor leagiue deal earlier this season when both Ruiz and Schneider went down -- management clearly recognized that they had a better "good field no hit" catcher in Steven Lerud -- whose story I really do like, and who showed the ability to call and catch a flawless game while getting a couple of slap singles in his two starts -- both of which were wins.

[NEPP]

***Other blogs refer to Martinez as MiniMart or MM....not just this site. I don't think BL necessarily came up with this nickname for our beloved .138-hitting position player.***

Actually, pretty sure we did come up with it last spring training (2011 that is)...it then spread to other sites.

[can_of_corn]

NEPP, I believe you are right because I remember we were all shocked last year when Ricky Bo invoked the name of MiniMart on the air. At the time we were not only surprised, but convinced he must either read BL or maybe even post here.

[lorecore]

Wtf rain