Game chat: Veteran Phillies roll into season's final set

Tonight's game thread is dedicated to the veterans who've helped the Phillies finish strong, including Jonathan Papelbon, who is riding a season-best 12-game scoreless streak, Jimmy Rollins, whose eight September homers tied for third most in the National League, Carlos Ruiz, who is hitting .410 with runners in scoring position, and Chase Utley, who is hitting .347 over his last 21 games. Cheers to the veterans as we head into the final three games. [Jump to the newest comments]

Comments

[GBrettFan]

Great job by KK and the BP tonight!

Does the survival of the 8th inning on occasion mean that RAJ won't look to make BP changes?

[phanatic's brother]

I hope the Phillies organization is hurting like I am right now.

[Sil Campusano]

GTown: I was wondering about that.

Also, the most awkward division celebration I've seen.

[Scott]

Beat writers said there was even some celebrating by reporters, which is considered highly unprofessional.

[can_of_corn]

For some reason it is especially annoying to watch Jayson Werth celebrate.

[BMS]

Hurry up and put on that t-shirt DeRosa because I mean you were such a huge contributer.......

[Sophist]

I hope the Phils sweep these losers, and they don't win another game this season.

[wes covington's ghost]

Good job, boys.

[NEPP]

Reporters are NEVER supposed to show any emotion in the pressbox...highly, highly highly frowned upon.

[donc]

Prediction: Teddy wins the Presidents race tomorrow night.

[EastFallowfield]

Nats should have walked backwards onto the field for their little celebration.

[GBrettFan]

I don't begrudge the Nationals their celebration nor their division title. They earned it. Someone had to win.

Let them enjoy it now....I hope that we can claim it again next year. Or at least challenge it.

[Sil Campusano]

Worth repeating: nice job today by KK.

[NEPP]

At least we guaranteed a .500 season after a terrible 1st half.

That's a victory in itself.

[donc]

I can't stand the Gonats either, but there are enough sour grapes here to make an ocean of wine. Christ, you guys sound like Mets fans.

[mainerob]

OK, I hate to do this, but I've got to give it to Werth. He made the right move for him and he's headed to the playoffs.

There, I said it. Now, I fervently wish the worst for him. If it hadn't been for his rescue from oblivion by Gillick and the Phillies, he wouldn't have had a career, I'm convinced.

No, nada appreciation for what the Phillies did for his career. That's what I find so distasteful about him.

Take your beard and eat it, Jason.

[GTown_Dave]

Attendance tonight was 35,387.

Official "capacity" is 41,487.

Record crowd was 44,685 on 20 August '11 (mostly Phillies fans).

[SLO Phan]

Still prefer the Nats winning the division over the Mets or the Braves. Trying to figure out who is going to pitch for the Nats in the playoffs. Who's their 3rd and 4th? I can't believe Lannan would be pitching...

[Kevin]

Listen, I don't begrudge the Nationals their celebration nor their joy. They absolutely earned it, and have had a terrific season.

But: have some GD class and don't celebrate until the game in progress is over. Have some respect for the game and for your opponent.

[GBrettFan]

Yes, NEPP. It's a small victory by comparison to the Nats', but we overcame being 14 games under .500 in July and played well the 2nd half.

I expect we'll lose tomorrow, but I hope Cliff Lee gets a W to end the season and secure a better-than-.500 record.

[GTown_Dave]

All I wanted was to finish ahead of the Mets. Clinching at least a .500 record after that nightmare of a 1st half is gravy.

[joe l]

Mini Mart watch: he's hitting .168. He needs a few hits, or drop a few pounds.

[Meyer]

.500 and beating the Mets is a good finish. Nice job working the AAA bullpen arms in meaningful games. Plus Ruf.

[Sil Campusano]

Jimmy had that calf tweak; think he gets shut down?

[Meyer]

Rollins will be down. Mini will need to fatten the AB's to beat the 7 year bet.

[GTown_Dave]

Rosenberg's starting the PigPen game tomorrow.

[bullit]

re the earlier discussion. mini is the proverbial 10 lbs of shat in a 5 lb bag. wiggy's bag, however, is appropriately sized.

[GBrettFan]

Any chance we sneak in a victory tomorrow?

[Jr.]

Aumont is nasty when he throws strikes. Needs to be more consistent. Like KK,either good or bad,nothing between.
Did Raj extend Nini's cotract yet?

[Conway Twitty]

GBF: Even with the BP game tomorrow, the Nats will be hung over, some of their regulars may be rested, and the others will be going thru the motions. The Phils are still playing for a winning record.

[Meyer]

Rosey, Brummy, Lindy, Horsty, Monty and Paps for the save.

[clout]

Good test for DeFratus and Aumont tonight and both passed.

Good test for Rosenberg tomorrow night.

Kendrick finishes season 11-12, 3.90 ERA and 1.29 WHIP. Not bad for a guy who can't possibly pitch at the MLB level. He now has 54 wins at age 28.

[Conway Twitty]

I forgot the Nats are still playing for best record, so they can play the team that will most likely burn their best pitcher in the play-in game.

[GBrettFan]

Good point about hangovers, Conway. The Nats will still be playing for the best record in the NL, though. They'll have incentive to win for that reason.

[Meyer]

Impossible to imagine a guy at such a young age having 54 ML wins. Heck, he's just entering his prime years.

[GBrettFan]

Ricky Bo made the point that one evidence of KK's maturity is that Dubee doesn't make multiple visits to the mound, that KK knows what he can do and doesn't get flustered.

[derekcarstairs]

Jayson Werth's career almost ended before it began. He then came to the Phillies and was given an opportunity to show his talent. Along the way, he picked up a ring.

When Werth became a free agent, he signed an outlandish contract. The Phils would have been fools had they matched the Nats' offer. Werth would have been a fool to turn it down.

Given how his career started, I was happy for him that he was able to cash in big-time. I was convinced, however, that Werth swapped glory for geld.

Instead, he picked a winner.

Hooray for Werth!

[GBrettFan]

Todd Zolecki ‏@ToddZolecki
Charlie Manuel, on the 2-0 victory and the Nationals' celebration afterward: “That was the first time we won and got beat."

[RR]

Johnson says he will rest some regulars. They'll count on Gonzalez, who won't want to lose his edge in a giveaway game, to make it a game. ... Fans in WDC just don't get it. In a poll this morning the majority said they preferred watching a Redskins regular season game over a Nationals playoff game, if forced to choose.

[Meyer]

Give Dubee credit. Kyle matured at a steady pace. Myers playing the Japanese hot-dog eater gag to Roy signing to 4th starter maybe. He is mastering the trade.

[Meyer]

Redskins will need to suck something fierce for years for the Nats to gain fans from who knows where.

[Conway Twitty]

After wed., I'll be going back about 55 years to my old team, the Reds. Would love to see them win the WS, sneak Pete Rose onto the podium, and accept the WFC trophy from Bud Selig.

[Bubba]

Getting to .500, having the Nats back into their championship in DC rather than winning it in PHL last week, good outing by KK to end his season- all in all a good night.
Bitter-sweet though to watch the Nats take over our division champs role.
But, the Mets or Braves would have been much worse.

[GBrettFan]

Matt Gelb ‏@magelb
Charlie on Kendrick in 2013 rotation: "He's in there. Unless we get Price or someone like that." I laughed.

[Meyer]

Who's Matt Gelb?

[Conway Twitty]

Meyer: Look to your right.

[Bubba]

Whenever I go to the Phillies site and I see:
Batting Leaders(AVG)
Rollins .250
No other qualifiers

It strikes me as a very pithy summary of our 2012 Phils.

[Meyer]

I wonder if beat blog writers ever peak at this site?

[MG]

Don't begrudge the Nats at all. Just was glad the Phils beat them tonight and they didn't clinch by beating the Phils.

Really impressed that KK pitched so well later in the game after struggling a bit with his command through the first 3 IP.

Also wonder if Horst is capable of pitching nearly as well next season. His slider is quitely one of the better offspeed pitches of any Phils' reliever right. Also has added 2 MPH to his fastball which he maintained since he was called up.

Considering how terrible Valdez as played for the Reds this year (looks like a guy who won't get a guaranteed deal & is done at the MLB level), Amaro got a feather in his cap for getting a reliever who might help the MLB club over the next few years.

Actually like Horst's stuff at this point better than I do Lindblom simply because Horst has a good offspeed pitch (his slider) and Lindblom really doesn't have a good offspeed pitch.

[MG]

Conway Twitty - Rooting for the Reds in the NL in a big way. Always been partial to them especially since the '90 series when they swept the A's.

[Iceman]

The Nats celebration etiquette is predictable. That's all that needs to be said. It's the tone that's come from the top down. Unprofessional. If that reporter celebration is true, that is even worse.

Hey, they can celebrate however they want, though. They are the division champs. And I can root that they get swept by the Giants or Braves or whoever they play in the first round, or that they lose in four games, because Detweiler gets shelled.

[Iceman]

Oh, and I forgot who wrote that Amaro inherited a dynasty from Gillick, but hahahahaha. Good one. Gillick 'retired' on top because he knew that '08 team was extremely fortunate to get by on its starting pitching and could not do it two years in a row. Good for him for getting out on top, but let's do a comparison of the caliber of pitcher brought in by both:

Gillick:
3 years to Adam Eaton
Freddy Garcia for Gio Gonzalez and Gavin Floyd
Blanton (win for '08, no other year)
Moyer (win for the organization overall)

Amaro:
Cliff Lee
Roy Halladay
Roy Oswalt
Cliff Lee again
Signed Hamels to a lifetime contract

Oh, and until this year, they increased their win total every year under his watch. Other than that, great argument.

[Bubba]

Rooting for the O's in the AL and anybody but the Braves in the NL.
The combo of the tomahawk chop and the media love fest for Chipper would be more than any blood pressure Rx could correct.

[Conway Twitty]

If I was a reporter for a team that hadn't won anything in ages, I would be celebrating. Don't see anything wrong with that. And as long as the Nats kept it in the dugout, nothing wrong with that either. Did anyone expect them to sit there and give each other the Ruf treatment? Reyes would have probably run around the field and delayed the game.

[Meyer]

Just hope the Nats pitchers celebrated alone in a special Gio-Strassaphere room for futures sake.

[kuvasz]

$173,458,939 in payroll and at best an 83-79 record, and idiots are dancing in the street about a winning second half? You guys must have wives that look like Marty Feldman.

I'd load up the truck with 75% of the entire organization and drop them off naked in Kensington at midnight on a Saturday night.

[Iceman]

It looks like the number of wins they'd have had to hit will be 88 or 89, to have forced a tie with the Cards. The Houston series won't have been the difference. But it certainly didn't help. Quite a few postage stamp games in the past week that probably wouldn't have happened if they weren't so buried.

[Fifth Generation Cards Fan in Heaven]

Jeepers, we're going to be in the postseason again.

[bay_area_phan]

Cabrera with 4 more hits tonight, including his 44th homerun. Now leads in all 3 categories outright. Trout's also got 4 hits tonight, so he's .04 back in batting average, while Hamilton's 1 back in homeruns. Since Detroit clinched tonight, I have to wonder if Cabrera will sit out some or all of the last 2 games. Cabrera's at .3290 so, if he sat out the rest of the way, and Trout got 10 more ABs between now & Wednesday, he'd have to go 6 for 10 to overtake Cabrera. And Hamilton, of course, would have to hit 2 homeruns in 2 days. Neither is likely.

[Luis]

MG i bitched a little when they gave up Valdez. Horst might be a pleasant surprise and i agree with your assessment. Especially after Valdez regressed so much. There's only room for one Mini-Mart on this team. The whole Mets rivalry is a moot point. Has been for about 2 years now. If the Phils design a team to beat out the Mets instead of focusing on the Nats/Braves/Reds we in trouble.

[EastFallowfield]

The Washington Post/Thomas Boswell hagiography on the Nats today talks about their last month of games, all against contenders*, educating them on September pressure, and notes how much they've learned, noting that so far they're 7-10.

*Contenders included such powerhouses as the Phils, Brewers and Dodgers.

[Edmundo]

Kendrick finishes season 11-12, 3.90 ERA and 1.29 WHIP. Not bad for a guy who can't possibly pitch at the MLB level.

Why didn't you mention the almost 50% increase in his K rate?

[Bonehead]

Rube, sell high now on KK.

[Meyer]

Kendrick has every NL hitter set up, believing they can hit him. He could lead the league in strikeouts next year.

[RedBurb]

kuvasz - Do you read these threads at all? No one is celebrating the fact that the Phils will finish at best with 83 wins. In fact it is quite the opposite. I don't understand how you can even make a comment like that while reading BL over the past week or so.

[lorecore]

clout: "Good test for Rosenberg tomorrow night"

no its not. He could throw a perfect game or not record an out, it wouldn't change is career moving forward 1 bit.

Meyer: "Redskins will need to suck something fierce for years for the Nats to gain fans"

They do.

[Bonehead]

lorecore - Re Rosenberg: Why do you say that? If he looks good and effective tonight, that would indicate a small step of progress, would it not?
There seems to be open auditions for five-ish 2013 BP spots, and BJ is one of the candidates being scrutinized.

[Sophist]

Talk about burying yourself. Angels played May on 81-56 and won't make the playoffs. They would have been dangerous.

[R.Billingsly]

Another good game last night for Kendrick and the pitching staff. Ruf keeps hitting the ball hard (SSS, I know, I know...)

Regarding the Nats winning the division: It's nice to have baseball mean something in DC. It's also nice to have another good team/rival in the division.

I'm not a huge Rizzo fan (mainly for his comments regarding Hamels). I'm not fan of the Nats' attempt to keep Phils' fans away from the stadium (even though they were the only ones who went to games in DC when the team stunk). I like Werth, but found some of his comments regarding Philly, and his role as Philly foil, (although in jest, I'm sure) a little off-putting. Lannan's...well, Lannan. Celebrating before the game is over. Their sports writers celebrating. And the list goes on.

I'm not upset that they won the division, but I'm certainly not going to root for them in the playoffs.

[GBrettFan]

Ditto, RBill.

[GBrettFan]

I think you got the numbers off a bit, Sophist, for the Angels, but you caused me to look at them. They've won 89 games and still won't sniff the postseason. That's too bad for them. I feel the pain of having a high payroll, high expectations, starting off poorly and falling short.

[GTown_Dave]

I feel the pain of having a high payroll, high expectations, starting off poorly and falling short.

Damn. That all sounds so familiar ...

[GTown_Dave]

R.Bill: Well written, & I agree. The only part I'd quibble w/ is the notion of baseball meaning anything in DC. Attendance (read: lack thereof) indicates otherwise. Def. fun to see a competitive intradivision rivalry, though.

[R.Billingsly]

GTown: I guess what I meant to say was that there will be meaningful baseball games in DC. Not necessarily that the fans' respond (which I feel they have been recently).

[lorecore]

Bonehead: I do not think Rosenberg has a spot on this team next year.

Papelbon
Defratus
Aumont
Bastardo
Lindblom
Horst

are the top 6 in my mind. I would rank Stutes, Herndon, Cloyd(swingman), Diekman, and Valdes as all ranking above Rosenberg. I also think the team acquires a FA reliever, and probably at least 2-3 "fliers" who will be given a chance.

[Sophist]

GBrett - What numbers are wrong? They were 8-15 in April and 81-56 the rest of the way (May on). 89-71.

[EastFallowfield]

Yo, newer thread