View From the 700 Level

View From the 700 Level returning?

2008-05-30T15:36:00.001-04:00

Am I making a comeback? Should I make a comeback? If I do, what should my focus be? Keep your eyes open and we'll see what appears.

2003-11-03T12:39:00.000-05:00

Phillies get Wagner

Okay, I know it's been weeks since I have posted anything at all, and I apologize for that. But for those of you still reading, here's a doozy:

ESPN.com is reporting that the Phillies have acquired closer Billy Wagner from the Astros for Brandon Duckworth and players to be named later.

The Phillies have announced a 1PM press conference to announce a major trade announcement.

If this is true, my offseason just got really good.

2003-10-10T14:49:00.000-04:00

Padilla breaks collarbone

Phillies' pitcher Vicente Padilla was injured in a one car crash in his homeland of Nicaragua. Padilla broke his collarbone and a finger on his right (pitching) hand.

The early story is that the driver of the car Padilla was in fell asleep behind the wheel. The car careened off the highway and rolled, killing the driver.

Padilla was treated for his injuries and released. No word on the seriousness of the injuries or how long he will be out, but from the sound of it, he is lucky to be alive.

I'll add more as I hear it.

2003-10-09T11:40:00.000-04:00

Cole Hamels removed from Team USA roster

I just got this bit of news from Kevin Goldstein's Baseball America Prospect Report. From the article at BA.com:

Hamels was removed for the roster due to a minor muscle injury in his back. The Phillies and Team USA decided it would take too long for Hamels to get back into condition to pitch competitively. Team USA has to settle on a 24-man roster by Oct. 24.

"He's got some muscle spasms in the right side of his back," said Phillies assistant general manager Mike Arbuckle, who oversees the farm and scouting departments for the organization. "It's really a matter of timing more than anything else. He hasn't been on a mound pitching for a few days. If the tournament were a week or 10 days later, it wouldn't have been an issue."

Arbuckle was a member of the USA Baseball steering committee, chaired by Dean Taylor and Bob Watson, that picked the players on the roster. The Phillies wanted Hamels, who threw 101 innings this season between two Class A levels, to put his above-average feel for pitching and fresh arm to use in the qualifier.

"I talked to Dean a couple of times because we wanted Cole to pitch on the team, and Cole really wanted to do it," Arbuckle said. "We wanted to play it out as long as it was feasible that he could be healthy enough. Even though it's on his non-throwing side, though, you have concerns that it could affect his delivery, and we didn't want to take that chance."

2003-10-08T16:47:00.000-04:00

What went right

Updated: Items 3 through 5 were added first thing Thursday morning.

As I look at the 2003 Phillies season, I tried to identify five things that went really right for the team this year. I am sure that my list will differ from yours, so I'd love to hear your feeback.

1) Jim Thome -- If your list does not start with Jim Thome, we have some talking to do. The slugger was the Phillies' number one target in the 2002 offseason, after a year in which he hit .304/.445/.677 with 52 home runs and 118 RBI for a declining Indians team. While most critics applauded the energy with which the Phillies pursued Thome, some questioned the length of the deal. We don't know what will happen five years from now, but most Phillies fans will gladly hand over the $85-90 million that was agreed upon for just this one year, much less six.

To say he started off with a bang is an understatement. In his first spring at-bat, he ripped a home run. In his first regular season at-bat down in Florida, he crushed a double off the wall, scoring a run. And is his home debut, with the theme from "Superman" playing as he walked to the plate, he ripped a triple off the wall. Talk about first impressions.

Thome struggled in the early part of the season, some of which can be blamed on unfamiliar NL pitching. But by the end of the year, Thome had caught on, and in a big way. He finished with averages that were lower than expected -- .266/.385/.573 -- but his power numbers were up there. He finished with 47 home runs and 131 RBI, mostly thanks to a big finish. Over the final two months of the season, Thome cranked 20 home runs and 51 RBI, with a slugging mark over .600 and an OPS over 1.000. For a stretch in September, Thome carried the offense on his back, helping to keep the Phillies in the Wild Card race until the last week in the season, and earning him Player of the Month honors.

Thome may not have carried the Phillies into the postseason this year, but he generated a level of excitement that this town hasn't seen in ten years. He brought the fans to the park, and has given them hope for the next couple of years. Six years may turn out to be too long, but for year one, Thome was worth every last cent.

2) Joe Kerrigan's work with the pitching staff -- He had a year to study the Phillies' pitching staff as a TV analyst, and he knew what he was working with coming into the year -- a young starting staff with promise, but without a leader; and a bullpen that had been ripped apart by local sports talk shows, and rightly so. All Kerrigan did was guide a staff with four 14-game winners and turn the bullpen into one of the best in the league.

The offseason acquisition of Kevin Millwood seemingly gave the Phillies the ace the staff needed. Millwood may not have pitched to the levels that Phillies' fans were hoping, but he did offer leadership that had been lacking. Serving as the ace of the staff, Millwood's presence allowed Randy Wolf and Vicente Padilla to fall comfortably in the 2 and 3 spots in the rotation. Millwood also served as a mentor for Brett Myers, a large part of the Phillies' future. With Millwood in the lead role, he, Padilla, and Myers all racked up 14 wins apiece. Wolf earned his first All-Star selection, and won a career-high 16 games. Padilla's 3.62 ERA ranked 14th in the NL, and the other three were all beneath 4.50.

But Kerrigan best work may have been in the bullpen. What was once filled with question marks turned out to be among the league's best until the last month of the season. Carlos Silva filled the long relief/mop up role well enough. He struggled at times with his stuff, and to a certain extent with maturity, but got the job done more often than not. Turk Wendell returned from a horrible 2001 and injury-lost 2002 to shock Phillies' fans: his 3.38 ERA is good by itself, but inflated by an awful August (7.11 ERA in 12.2 innings). He allowed just 54 hits in 64 innings, and just two runs in the first three months of the season.

Dan Plesac made the best of his limited opportunities in what is likely his final year: he appeared in 58 games, but threw just 33 1/3 innings. He allowed 29 hits while striking out 37. The lefty finished the year with a 1.20 WHIP and a 2.70 ERA. Before injuries derailed his season, Terry Adams was throwing up similar numbers. His 68 hits in 68 innings shows that he got into trouble, but the 1.34 WHIP and 2.65 ERA says that he got out of the jams more often than not.

But the capper to Kerrigan's success this year was Rheal Cormier...the same reliever that I said in March "may find [himself] on the outside looking in." What I didn't take into account were that Cormier's best years were with Kerrigan in Montreal and Boston. Add Philadelphia, 2003 to the list. Cormier appeared in 65 games this year, throwing 84 2/3 innings. He allowed just 54 hits, 16 runs, and had almost a 3:1 K:BB ratio. He allowed fewer than one baserunner per inning, and finished with a 1.70 ERA. That ERA looks even better if you remember that he allowed 5 of his 16 runs in his first appearance of the year -- a two-inning appearance to forget in Florida.

The common thought in the preseason was that the Phillies would be carried by their offense and hoped that the pitching was good enough to stay with them. Under Kerrigan's guidance, the pitchers led the way this year, just waiting for the offense to catch up to them.

3) Keeping Marlon Byrd in Philly -- On May 30th, Marlon Byrd was hitting a very sad .193. His OPS was at a Rey Ordonez-level of .538. Rumors were flying that the Phillies were going to send him back to AAA for some more work and/or acquire another CF. The Pirates' Kenny Lofton was at the top of the shopping list, and various reports were that he could come across the state at any time. But Ed Wade held off...and held off...and held his breath. And Marlon Byrd finally delivered.

Byrd sat out the first game of a double-header on June 1st, but went 2-for-2 in the second game. He went 2-for-3 in the next game, raising his average 34 points in two games, before an 0-3 knocked him back to .220. He then went 10-for-19 over the next six games spiking his average to .273. And he just kept going from there. He hit .364 in June, .351 in July, and .330 in September, finishing the year at .303.

It could be argued that the real spark in his season came on July 8th in Montreal. The Phillies were in the midst of a four-game losing streak, and placed Byrd in the leadoff spot to shake things up. He went 3-for-5 on the night and scored four runs; he hit leadoff for the rest of the season. In the leadoff role, he hit .319, had an OBP of .374, and scored 64 runs, helping to spark the offense for the second-half run.

Ed Wade was criticized for not tweaking the roster more around the trading deadline; in late May, he was being criticized for not doing something about Marlon Byrd. But Wade can tell all of us "I told you so!", because he was doing something: he was giving Byrd the time he needed to become the player we all expected. Over the last four months of the season, Marlon Byrd showed that he will be the Phillies' CF -- and perhaps their leadoff man -- for the next few years.

4) Kevin Millwood's no-hitter -- Coming into the Sunday afternoon game on April 27th, baseball fever had not yet overwhlemed the Philadelphia area. The offseason excitement of adding Jim Thome and Kevin Millwood was kind of wearing off; Thome was hitting .270 with only three home runs, while Millwood was a decent 3-1, but with an ERA approaching 5.00. The Phillies sat at 14-10 as the first full month was reaching an end.

But on this Sunday afternoon, there was a buzz running through the Vet, as the fans poured in. 40,000+ plus were expected on this day, and who could blame them for coming: it was the Phanatic's last birthday party at the Vet. But the furry green guy soon took a backseat.

9 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 10 K

Millwood took the mound against a hot-hitting Giants' team, a team that came into the three-game set in Philly with a 17-4 record. And Millwood just mowed them all down. After a leadoff walk to Ray Durham, Millwood set down 11 straight before Rich Aurilla drew a free pass. He got 15 more in a row before walking Durham again with two outs in the ninth. But when Marquis Grissom flew out to Ricky Ledee in center, the Vet rocked like it had not rocked in years.

For me, I will never forget two things about this game: 1) driving north on I-95, tuning in to try to catch the end of the ballgame, and hearing Scott Graham scream "Kevin Millwood has just thrown a no-hitter!"; and 2) I was supposed to be at that game! Such is life...

5) Playoff Fever in Philly -- Alright, so the Phillies finished out of the money. Despite that, you cannot deny that they brought some excitement and anticipation to the sports scene in this city for much of the summer. The Phillies held the Wild Card lead for most of the second half of the season, and had even casual fans checking the paper every morning to see if the red-pinstripers were still in front of the race. The six games with the Marlins over the last two weeks of the season were the most anticipated and hotly-contested baseball games that this town has seen in ten years.

So they fell a little short. I was disappointed, you were disappointed. But they managed to give us something that Phillies' fans have not seen very often in the last 20 years: significant games in late September. Even better than that: the realization that things should only get better. If you enjoyed 2003, then hopefully 2004 and beyond will be even better.

----

So, that's my list. Like I said, yours may differ. Let me hear what you think. In the meantime, I'll work on the five things that went wrong for the Phillies this season.

2003-10-08T15:50:00.000-04:00

A peek at my postseason predictions

Let's see here. Yanks...Red Sox...Marlins...Braves? Hello, Atlanta, are you there?

Well, three out of four ain't bad. The Cubbies win killed my NLCS pick as well, so the best I can do in the LCS round is one-for-two.

What about my "wish" picks?

Twins? No. A's? 9 straight losses when they had the chance to move on. Cubs? Got that one. Marlins. Two-for-four. That's .500. Not too bad.

Of course, the Red Sox-Marlins World Series will burn my picks yet.

2003-10-08T15:47:00.000-04:00

Where have I gone?

I know...I haven't been around much lately. Blame it on a combination of too much work, and the need to decompress and let the season soak in before I start to review it. I haven't been writing, but I have been planning out some entries, including entries on what went right, what went wrong, a position-by-position outlook, and a look at the minor league results this season. In general, posts will come less often throughout the offseason; but I'm writing now, and I suppose that we can start with an overall look at the 2003 Phillies.

While Phillies' fans may be disappointed with the way the season wrapped up, very few can argue that this season was not an improvement over last season. It started last winter when management opened up the pursestrings and brought in Jim Thome, David Bell, and Kevin Millwood. Just the impression that the team was serious and ready to make a run at things started the year off on the right foot. Also helping was the hiring of Joe Kerrigan as pitching coach. With the new pieces in place, there were improvements.

The Phillies went from 80 wins last season to 86 this year, despite the late-season tumble. The team played three games worse on the road this year (40-41 to 37-44) but improved by 8 1/2 games at home. The addition of the offense Thome brought to the table increased the team run total from 710 to 791 (imagine if Burrell had hit!), and the work Kerrigan did with the pitching staff lowered the runs allowed from 724 to 697.

Offensively, the team ranked first in the NL in walks, third in doubles, fourth in OBP, and fifth in runs scored and RBI. From the mound, Philadelphia was third in complete games and shutouts, fourth in HR allowed, and the bullpen ranked fifth in relievers' ERA. Behind the pitchers, the Phillies' defense ranked fifth in the NL fielding percentage and fewest errors.

So there were many bright spots in the 2003 season. Unfortunately, there were not enough to keep most Phillies' fans happy. Keep an eye here over the next day or so for my list of the five things that went right for the Phillies this year.

2003-09-30T09:58:00.000-04:00

My Worthless Playoff Predictions

These have no reasoning...just my gut feelings. I try not to guess how many games it will take, because I will undoubtedly be wrong. So here we go:

ALDS
Yankees over Twins
Red Sox over A's

NLDS
Braves over Cubs
Marlins over Giants (Upset Special)

ALCS
Yankees over Red Sox

NLCS
Braves over Marlins

World Series
Repeat of '96 and '99: Yankees over Braves

Side note: Braves' RF Gary Sheffield will hit .538 with 4 HR and 13 RBI in the 7-game series, winning the MVP for a losing team. George Steinbrenner will become so enthralled with the free-agent outfielder that he will offer him a 5-year deal worth $16 million a season, access to his owner's box, a new car, and half of Manhattan.

That's what I think will happen. What do I want to happen?

ALDS
Twins over Yankees
A's over Red Sox

NLDS
Cubs over Braves
Marlins over Giants (Upset Special)

ALCS
Hmmm...don't really care on this one, but we'll go with A's over Twins

NLCS
Cubs over Marlins

World Series
A's over Cubs

That said, it will probably end up being Giants over Red Sox. My predictions are known to fail...

2003-09-26T09:53:00.000-04:00

Officially done

Well, that's it. Last night's loss to the Marlins officially eliminated the Phillies from playoff contention, although I stand behind my statement that they were done following Conine's home run Tuesday night. The Astros won to stay alive, but Florida's magic number is now one, and with the Mets coming to town, they need just one win in three games to clinch the spot. It's all but theirs.

The loss puts an unofficial end to the Phillies season -- a season that was exciting, no doubt, but also a bit disappointing. Not as disappointing as a 90-loss season, but more heartbreaking. This is a team that did a lot right this year (signing Thome, sticking with Byrd in center, keeping Cormier, hiring Kerrigan), but also failed in a lot of key areas. Does the blame fall on Ed Wade? Does it fall on Larry Bowa? Does it fall on the players? You could probably answer yes to all three, but I am not ready to look back on the season and figure it all out yet.

Players say the long season, and more specifically a good pennant race, can take a lot out of them; the same can be true for the fans that follow them faithfully. A baseball season can be a grind. 162 games. Three to four hours of tension and turmoil night after night. It can wear at you...

In the coming days and weeks, I will look back on this season. I'll try to figure out what went right for the Phillies, as well as what went wrong. We'll see if they answered the questions they had back in Spring Training, and we'll figure out what questions they face for next season. I'll look into my crystal ball (okay, it's a Magic 8 ball) and figure out what moves the Phillies will make in the offseason, and maybe we'll critique the moves they didn't make this season. But we have five months to take care of all of that.

For now, we can sit back, stress-free, and watch The Final Innings play out at the Vet. The Braves come to town for three, and neither team has anything on the line. It will be a weekend to celebrate and remember the history of the Vet -- both good and bad. The final Vet Fireworks spectacular is tonight after the game. Tomorrow, the All-Vet Phillies team is announced before the game; and Sunday's post-game festivities will celebrate the best moments that the Vet has had to offer. It should be a wonderful weekend to sit back and enjoy.

As for the present...well, you know what, you are out of the race Larry Bowa. For the hell of it, I would love to see an infield tonight that consists of Chase Utley, Anderson Machado, and Travis Chapman. Put Michaels out in the outfield and let him play a full nine. Let Thome go after one or two more, and let Marlon Byrd -- who started the season with a disasterous .193 average through May -- fight it out to finish over .300.

Let the kids play and have some fun. And while we embrace the past, let's look to the future.

In the meantime, I want to hear from all of you. What went right this year? What went wrong? What was the best move the team made? What was the worst? What could they have done differently? And most importantly, do you leave the 2003 season disappointed, or excited for the future? E-mail me, and let me know what you think.

Thank you for hanging in there with me this season, and I hope you all stick around for what is sure to be an interesting offseason, and hopefully a better 2004.

2003-09-24T16:04:00.000-04:00

By the way...

This is what I said last Friday:

There is no playing around anymore. There is no opportunity to let one slip away. The Phillies need to take advantage this weekend. They need to go down to Florida with a lead in hand, not playing from behind in their place. The weekend has to be the difference. Every game, every play, every pitch counts right now.

The Phillies let the opportunity slip away, went to Florida trailing, and learned the hard way that every pitch counts...so much for the good feelings I had on Friday.

2003-09-24T13:31:00.000-04:00

More on last night...

Mike, the new father over at Mike's Baseball Rants, has a pitch-by-pitch account of the 7th inning of last night's game, complete with his notes. It's a really good recap. He finishes off with this summary:

The Phils waste a great performance by Millwood. They pull him one batter too late instead of thanking their lucky stars after Encarnacion flied out. They again go to execrable Williams, who has a 5.09 ERA with the Phils and has walked as many as he has struck out. Way to throw fuel on the fire. And then it's their typical trip down bullpen memory lane to ensure that each reliever puts his own personal touches on the debacle.

I would only argue with one point: it was a great performance by Millwood...through six. And whether or not Millwood should have been left in to pitch the seventh, or left in after Encarnacion's at-bat is -- to a certain extent -- besides the point. He is our ace, and Bowa and company put the burden on his shoulders to get through it. And once again, he could not. A great performace through six...marred by a seventh Phillies' fans will likely not forget any time soon.

2003-09-24T12:53:00.000-04:00

Stick a fork in 'em

The series in Pittsburgh a week and a half ago was bad.

The series versus Cincinnati this weekend was devastating.

But if someone asks you, years from now, what ended the Phillies' 2003 season, you can point to this swing:

And as the ball traveled off of Jeff Conine's bat, and landed just over the left field scoreboard, so ended the Phillies' playoff chances.

Yes, I know that Conine's home run only tied the score. And yes, I know that there are still five games remaining. But the Phillies now have to make up two games in those five games, and that shot completely turned the momentum 180 degrees.

The Phillies held a three-run lead in the bottom of the seventh inning. Their ace was pitching well. They had the momentum. And a victory would tie up the Wild Card race with five games to go. But then Kevin Millwood walked Derrek Lee on five pitches. And then he walked Miguel Cabrera on seven. He got Juan Encarnacion on a fly out, but the wheels were about to fall off.

A 1-0 pitch that he will have nightmares about. A 1-0 pitch that may be enough to let Phillies fans say goodbye to the one-year rental of a pitcher without so much as a second thought. A 1-0 pitch that got out of the playing field so quickly you would think it was in a hurry. In fact, it may have been in a hurry: it may have been trying to get to the playoffs.

Mike Williams replaced Millwood; Dan Plesac replaced Williams; and Carlos Silva replaced Plesac. Three pitchers, two hits, two walks, one sac fly, and two more runs scored. 5-3. Good night. Good season. But not good enough.

But the efforts of Williams, Plesac, and Silva didn't matter. All that mattered was that one pitch; the one pitch that tied the game, swung the momentum, and realistically ended the Phillies' season.

So if someone asks you what happened to the Phillies in 2003, show them this moment. They'll understand.

2003-09-19T10:02:00.000-04:00

Ready for the weekend

What a game yesterday's was. In the sometimes-working comment section, Mike Morley mentioned how it "was as exciting as a playoff game". I wasn't lucky enough to be there, but thanks to radio and MLB Gameday radio, I was able to listen to it. Unfortunately, I was listening to it while working, so sometimes my attention was torn. But here were my thoughts as I was listening...

Pregame: Tom McCarthy is interviewing 3B Travis Chapman. The two talk about Chapman's spring training experience in Detroit's camp, Alan Trammell's influence, and how Chapman felt when the Tigers told him he was going back to the Phillies. Chapman concludes the interview by saying that just to have the opportunity to sit in the major league clubhouse, put on the major leage uniform, and get an at-bat last week in Atlanta was thrilling. McCarthy mentioned that he hopes Chapman gets a few more at-bats this year and can pick up that first hit. I agree with that. From everything I have seen, Chapman is a steady bat at third; smart and consistent. And from what I heard, he's a pretty good guy, too.

Just before the game started, I was pulled away from the radio for a bit. I returned after the first inning, as each pitcher set down the opponent easily. The same happened in the second and again in the third, and then the fun started.

Top of the 4th: Is it me, or does Derrek Lee always seem to step up against the Phillies? He doubled to start off the fourth, and something just told me that it would be a long inning. Lee's double was followed by a walk to Juan Encarnacion, bringing up Jeff Conine. Conine set down the sacrifice, which Millwood fielded cleanly. He went to first, but his throw was too high. Conine was safe, and everyone moved up -- Lee scored and Encarnacion went to third. Uh oh...door opened. Miguel Cabrera then dropped a single into right, scoring Encarnacion and moving Conine to third. A sac fly by Alex Gonzalez, and just like that it was 3-0. Had Millwood's throw been on target, he probably would have only saved one run. With Conine out, it would have been runners at 2nd and 3rd with one out, and Cabrera's single would have likely scored them both. But the error occurred, and the Phils were down by three.

The Phillies couldn't counter in the bottom of the inning, and with the wind picking up and the rain rolling in, I started to wonder if the Phillies would be able to make a move before Isabel did. Millwood got the Marlins 1-2-3 in the fifth, and then the Phillies made their move.

Bottom of the 5th: Tomas Perez led off the inning. In the last few weeks, the commentators have been stressing the need to get Placido Polanco back to third for fear that Perez was wearing down with the everyday play. Yet, even with Polanco's return, Perez has been in the starting lineup at second. And in the bottom of the 5th yesterday, they were glad he was. There's nothing like a Harry Kalas "Outta Here!" call during the work day to get you going. But it was still 3-1 Florida.

Two quick outs tempered my excitement a bit. Then Polanco walked, and Abreu singled. My attention shifted to my work for a few minutes (how dare I?!?), but I was snapped back to reality but Kalas's next moment (paraphrasing, because I can't remember the exact verbiage): "Lieberthal pops it up, towards Derrek Lee. Lee goes back for it. The wind is taking it! IT'S GONNA FALL IN! BOTH RUNS WILL SCORE, AND THE GAME IS TIED AT THREE!"

Work? What work? End of five, game's official, but the score is still tied. At this point, my co-worker comes in to ask me what happens if the rain comes and they are still tied.

Co-worker: "Will they have to continue it at another time?"
Me: *nodding* "I think they actually start over at this point."
Co-worker: "Oh, that would suck."

Yes, yes it would.

Top of the 6th: Millwood looks strong and re-energized by the comeback the inning before, and strikes out Encarnacion and Conine to start the inning. He gets two strikes on Cabrera, and Larry Anderson says something along the lines of how strong and unhittable Millwood is looking. Oops. The words no sooner fly out of his mouth than the ball flies out of the stadium. 4-3 Marlins, and I am once again praying for the rain to hold off just a bit longer.

The Phillies go down in order in the bottom of the 6th, failing to get to Millwood's spot in the order, and thus a pinch-hitter. Millwood calms all fears in the top of the seventh by setting the Marlins down in order.

Bottom of the 7th: Things are starting to get iffy. Burrell hits for Millwood and pops up. Marlon Byrd grounds out, and suddenly the commentators are saying about Dontrelle Willis what they were saying about Millwood in the 6th; he's getting stronger as he goes. Thanks, guys! The jinx works on Willis as it did Millwood, and Polanco lines a shot into the left-field seats. 4-4, and the crowd (and my office) is rocking. Abreu doubles off the wall in left-center, and just like that Willis goes from dominating to done for the day. Chad Fox comes in and gets Lieberthal to foul out quickly to end the rally.

Rheal Cormier comes in in the top of the 8th and sets Florida down, keeping the momentum on Philly's side. And all we needed it for was one more batter.

Bottom of the 8th: Jim Thome leads off. He, of course, has homered in each of the first two games of the series, and I am dying for one more. Thome swings and misses at two quick strikes from Fox, and then fouls two more off. He works three straight balls out of Fox to fill the count. And then...

...my phone rings.

See, that's the bad part about the tech support aspect of my job. You never know when someone is going to call with a problem. And our front-desk receptionist chose now to call me. With one ear, I am listening to her explain the problem. With the other, I am listening to Scott Graham call the 8th pitch of the at-bat.

Thome swings and drives it. Graham calls it, his voice rising. As the ball goes over the wall, it is all I can do not to drop the phone and scream out myself. Outside, I am dealing with the tech support call. Inside, I am celebrating madly. 5-4 Phillies. Three outs to go.

The Phillies threaten to add an insurance run later in the inning, but Jason Michaels was nailed at the plate. Meanwhile, the radio guys tried to stop my heart. As Cormier's spot in the order was coming around, I heard "Look who's up in the bullpen." My heart sunk...they couldn't be bringing him in; not in a 5-4 game with playoff implications; not at home; not NOW! I was kicking my desk...

...but it was all for nothing. It wasn't Mesa in the 'pen, but Mike Williams. I know, not much better, but still...it didn't matter anyway. Cormier batted for himself, walked, and came back out for the ninth.

Top of the 9th: Pop out. *Yes.* Ground out. *Yes!* Foul out. *YES!* Game over. A little jumping up and down and I can work again.

But it was one hell of a game. Wind, no wind. Rain, no rain. Playoff implications everywhere. And it was just a knockdown type of day, and I felt like I was knocked down.

The win, once again, cut the lead to 1/2 a game. The Marlins head to Atlanta for four; the Phillies stay here to host the Louisville Reds for three. There is no playing around anymore. There is no opportunity to let one slip away. The Phillies need to take advantage this weekend. They need to go down to Florida with a lead in hand, not playing from behind in their place. The weekend has to be the difference. Every game, every play, every pitch counts right now.

But then again, when Superman is carrying you on his shoulders, things look pretty good. Call me biased (and I am), but Thome gets my MVP vote. Where would the Phillies be without him? Fourth place? Fifth? Just my thought...

2003-09-18T15:52:00.000-04:00

Blown Away

Oh, how I wish I had been there. Today's game, which I listened to on the radio, was outstanding! Millwood did just enough to keep the Phillies in it, after falling behind early. An early home run by Tomas Perez got the Phillies on the board; a later one by Placido Polanco tied it at 4 in the 7th; and a late one by none other than Jim Thome won it in the bottom of the 8th. And congratulations to Rheal Cormier, who came in and shut the door on the Marlins late in the game. 5-4, and nine innings of great baseball. I'm breathless.

Half a game, again, with the Reds coming to town tomorrow, Isabel permitting.

2003-09-17T10:51:00.000-04:00

News and Notes

Jayson Stark gives the nod to the Phillies in the Wild Card race. Why? Well, experience, for one.

Placido Polanco missed his 16th straight game last night, but is expected to be in the starting lineup at 3B tonight. The pain has gone away, and he was able to run full-speed yesterday.

David Bell continues to work out -- without pain -- and still hopes to return by the end of the season. Larry Bowa isn't as confident as his third baseman, so we will continue to play this one day-by-day.

P Terry Adams, who has been out since Thursday night, just after he returned from the DL, had an MRI yesterday on his throwing elbow. The results showed loose bodies in the elbow, and surgery was recommended. A procedure would likely end his season, but he and his agent are seeking a second opinion.

2003-09-17T09:21:00.000-04:00

Round One: Philadelphia

Statement made.

Game and a half lead? Cut to half a game. Eight-game winning streak. Gone. Marlins' magic over the Phillies? Disappeared. And all thanks to some timely hitting and a Vicente Padilla masterpiece.

The Phillies came out last night and absolutely spanked the Marlins, 14-0. The Phillies pounded out 17 hits, drew five walks, and -- here's the key -- only struck out four times. A four-run first inning got the team started, and a seven run eighth capped the night in style. The only shame is that none of that carries over to tonight's game.

Marlon Byrd led off the top of the first with a single, and he was followed by Jimmy Rollins who had a single of his own. A stolen base by Rollins and the Phillies had second and third with no one out. The crowd (and yes, there was a crowd) was waving their "rally towels" and was rocking, and you just had a feeling it would be a pretty good night. After Bobby Abreu was unable to advance the runners, Jim Thome was intentionally walked, loading the bases for Mike Lieberthal. Key at-bat: Lieberthal, a .400 career hitter off of Marlins' starter Carl Pavano, dumped a flare into center, which landed in front of Juan Pierre. Byrd scored, and Rollins -- who read the ball perfectly -- was right behind him. Just like that, it's 2-0 Phils. Had that ball hung up just a bit longer, Pierre makes the catch. Byrd may have been able to tag up and score, making it 1-0; but that's 1-0 with two outs now, and makes for a completely different inning. A Chase Utley RBI double and a Pat Burrell RBI groundout followed, and it was 4-0 after one.

The top of the second was the key inning. Staked to a four-run lead, it was in Padilla's best interests to set the Marlins down quickly and keep the Philly momentum going. A pair of two-out hits had Florida threatening, but Padilla got SS Alex Gonzalez to ground out to Rollins to end the inning; the Marlins never threatened again.

Padilla went eight strong shutout innings to pick up his 14th win of the year -- the fourth Phillie to reach that mark this year. He allowed just three more hits after that second inning, struck out six on the night, and did not walk a batter. He seemed to trust his off-speed stuff last night, more than he has all season, and used it well. He completely fooled Ivan Rodriguez in the first inning by actually throwing two -- *gasp!* -- two off-speed pitches in a row. A night like last night had to make Joe Kerrigan smile. Carlos Silva was called on in the ninth to protect a 14-run lead. Hell, even Mesa could have held that one.

Offensively, it was a team effort, but it was Mike Lieberthal's night. Lieberthal went 2-for-5 on the night with six RBI -- he had his two-run single in the first, and capped off the night with a grand slam in the eighth. Byrd and Rollins set the table all night long, as they combined to go 6-for-11 with five runs scored and two RBI. Every starter had at least one hit besides Padilla, who was robbed of a base hit in the middle innings by 3B Miguel Cabrera, who made a diving stab of a low liner. In fact, all of the starters had at least two hits, except for Padilla, Abreu, and Thome. Abreu and Thome had one apiece, and Thome's is still traveling. He launched his 41st homer in the 6th inning, upping the lead to 7-0. All of the starters scored a run except for Padilla and Utley, and all but Padilla and Byrd had an RBI. It was the kind of night where Ricky Ledee, a pinch-hitter for Padilla in the bottom of the 8th, got two at-bats despite not playing the field. It was that kind of night.

While Byrd and Rollins set the table for the Phils, Padilla did an excellent job of keeping Florida's table-setters -- Juan Pierre and Luis Castillo -- off the base paths (a combined 0-8). As those two go, so goes the Florida offense. And last night, the offense went right back to the bench. That's how the Phillies would like to see it go the next two nights, as well.

So the Phillies came out last night, crunched Florida, and made a statement. So what does that mean for tonight? Absolutely nothing.

That's the magic of baseball, folks. 14 runs last night mean nothing when the first pitch is thrown. If any team knows that, it's the Phillies. Before last night's explosion, the Phillies had scored in double-digits 15 times this year. They have only gone 8-7 in the games that follow. Tonight starts 0-0, and the Phillies have to do it all over again.

But this time, they have the momentum. This time, they have the confidence. This time, they want to do it again.

2003-09-16T10:17:00.000-04:00

Game Time

Everyone ready for some fun baseball? The Florida Marlins come to town tonight to start a three-game set; a three-game series that will go a long way to determining who will be this year's National League Wild Card winner.

The Marlins come to town leading the Phillies by a game and a half in the Wild Card Chase. The Phillies have 12 games remaining; the Marlins have 13. Six of those games will be against one another -- three here in Philly this week, three more in Florida next week. At the very least, the Philly press thinks it's an important series:

Ideal time for Phils to turn tables on Marlins -- Todd Zolecki, Philadelphia Inquirer

There's nothing fishy about high-flying Marlins -- Marcus Hayes, Philadelphia Daily News

Phillies finally get their turn to hit one out of the park -- Sam Donnellon

Phillies vs. Marlins: The reel deal -- Ed Barkowitz

The stage is set for Phils, Marlins -- Jim Salisbury, Philadelphia Inquirer

Heck, even nationwide, reporters are feeling this series:

Phillies, Marlins open key series -- Indianapolis Star, IN

Phillies in 'sudden death' vs. Marlins -- Rocky Mountain News, CO

Sudden death. I am not sure that I would go to that extreme, because even if the Phils and Fish split the six games, the Phillies have six more games to make up that 1 1/2 game deficit. Much tougher to do, yes, but not impossible.

Regardless, the Phillies do not want to count on those six "other" games. They want to take on Florida head on, they want to make a statement, and they want to win. Straight up, no questions asked. A split would not kill the Phillies, but they are looking for more than that. They want a sweep this week. They want to go from 1 1/2 down to 1 1/2 up in the standings. And if the manager is any indicator, they are not messing around:

"I don't think you're happy when you take two out of three right now," Bowa said. "I don't think you should be. You've got to try to go for perfection right now. You've got to try to sweep people. And trust me, Florida is a good team. We've got our hands full."

Hands full, huh? Is that what you call it when a team has your number? Florida leads the season series with the Phillies nine games to four. They have won eight straight in the series. The Phillies have not defeated the Fish since April 15. A lot has happened since April 15.

After the game on April 15, the Phillies were 9-5, tied for first in the NL East with the Expos, three games up on the struggling Braves, 3 1/2 ahead of the Marlins. Jimmy Rollins was hitting .297 in the leadoff role; David Bell was in the lineup at 3B; Ricky Ledee was getting significant time in CF; and Joe Roa was the starting pitcher.

Now, Rollins is buried deeper in the lineup, Bell is on the DL, Ledee can't get Marlon Byrd out of the lineup, and Roa is in San Diego. Oh, and the Braves made up that three game difference and have run away with the division -- again. More importantly, the Marlins have swung the difference around five games, and hold the current 1 1/2 game lead over the Phillies.

Yes, the Marlins have taken the last eight, but they have not run away with them:

April 16: Florida 3, Philly 1
April 17: Florida 7, Philly 3
July 4: Florida 2, Philly 1
July 5: Florida 5, Philly 4
July 6: Florida 6, Philly 3
July 25: Florida 11, Philly 5
July 26: Florida 10, Philly 5
July 27: Florida 7, Philly 6

Eight games: three one-run losses, four games scoring less than four runs. Three bullpen losses (Mesa and Williams, for the surprised). The Marlins haven't made it look pretty, but they have gotten the job done. The question is, have they gotten in the heads of the Phillies. On the season, here are some batting numbers against the Marlins:

Byrd: .263 (10-for-38), 6 runs, 1 HR, 5 RBI
Polanco: .262 (11-for-42), 5 runs, 1 HR, 5 RBI
Abreu: .295 (13-for-44), 6 runs, 2 RBI
Thome: .260 (13-for-50), 7 runs, 2 HR, 9 RBI
Lieberthal: .375 (15-for-40), 8 runs, 5 RBI
Burrell: .186 (8-for-43), 5 runs, 3 RBI
Rollins: .260 (13-for-50), 3 runs, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 3 SB

Do you see anything spectacular in there? How about the pitching numbers:

Millwood: 4 GS, 1-1, 6.75 ERA, 21 H, 15 R, 20 IP
Padilla: 3 GS, 1-2, 5.51 ERA, 15 H, 10 R, 16.1 IP
Wolf: 2 GS, 1-1, 4.09 ERA, 8 H, 5 R, 11 IP
Myers: 2 GS, 0-1, 5.06 ERA, 15 H, 6 R, 10.2 IP

Also not good. The bullpen has been slightly better:

Adams: 6 IP, 6 H, 1 R
Plesac: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R
Wendell: 7.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R
Cormier: 7.1 IP, 8 H, 5 R -- all 5 of those runs came in one outing at the beginning of the season

I'll ignore Mesa's and Williams's numbers for my sanity.

So what do all of these numbers mean? Absolutely nothing. The Phillies have to go into this series with the mentality that it's a whole new ballgame. It's time for the Thomes and Millwoods to step up and lead this team. It's time for the Lieberthals and Abreus to make a difference. It's time for the Wendells and Plesacs to show that they have been here before. It's time to make a statement, and just go out and win. And the time to do that is right now.

The Phillies haven't been to the postseason in 10 years, but they brought Thome and Millwood in for just this reason: to show Abreu and Burrell and Rollins and Byrd what September baseball is supposed to be about. The Marlins haven't been to the postseason since they won it all in '97. But all of those key players were gone in '98. Pudge Rodriguez has been to the postseason, and so has recent acquisition Jeff Conine. But Derrek Lee? Mike Lowell? Juan Pierre? They have as much postseason experience as the core of the Phillies. So who has the upper hand? The team that remains within itself and can grab that upper hand over the next three days.

Pitching matchups for the series:

Tuesday: Padilla (13-10) vs. Carl Pavano (11-11)
Wednesday: Myers (14-7) vs. Mark Redman (12-9)
Thursday: Millwood (14-11) vs. Dontrelle Willis (13-6)

Enjoy the games!

2003-09-15T11:17:00.000-04:00

Playoff Bullpens

Jayson Stark has an article up on ESPN.com, ranking the bullpens of the prospective playoff teams. He ranks the Phillies 7th out of the 8th NL teams still working their way in. The reason for such a low ranking? The man with the red and blue gloves.

What players/scouts say: "I don't know what to make of the Phillies' 'pen. You never know how they'll use it. And they don't know who the hell to give the ball to at the end." ... "They just don't have the whole package. I've never liked (Jose) Mesa as a closer. He beats himself as much as you beat him. But Cormier has been phenomenal."

Check out the entire review...

2003-09-15T11:02:00.000-04:00

Other News and Notes

Placido Polanco worked out the other day, and says his injured leg is improving. He hopes to be back in the lineup tomorrow night, giving the Phillies a much needed boost and improved defense at third.

David Bell worked out earlier this week with no pain in his back. He is set to take live BP early this week as his next test, and we'll see how he responds.

Amaury Telemaco will be skipped in his next turn in the rotation. He is scheduled to pitch on Thursday in the Florida series finale. Instead, Kevin Millwood will go that day on 4 days rest. Telemaco will instead pitch at home on Saturday, against the free-falling Reds.

2003-09-15T10:58:00.000-04:00

A lost weekend...or, Ending on a high note

The title you choose to lean towards depends on your view of this weekend's games.

The Phillies jumped on Atlanta early on Thursday night and held on for the win and the series split, to pull within 1/2 a game of the Marlins entering play on Friday. The Phillies sent Atlanta down to Miami to beat up on the Fish while they traveled to PNC Park to take on the Pirates. All in all, it seemed like the perfect time to make up some ground and reclaim the Wild Card lead. Instead it was a weekend of wasted chances.

Amaury Telemaco took the mound on Friday night, and had his problems. He lasted just 5 2/3 innings, giving up five runs (four earned) on seven hits. The bullpen wasn't much help either. Dan Plesac left the game two on and two out in the bottom of the seventh, and in game Mr. Kerosene -- I mean, Jose Mesa. Mesa gave up a home run to Reggie Sanders, turning a 3-run Pittsburgh lead into a 6-run Pirates lead. The Phillies scored two in the top of the 8th, but by then it was too little, too late.

Kevin Millwood was the starter on Saturday, and the Phillies looked to the ace to get them back in the win column. Ummm, no luck. Millwood did not have "ace" stuff again on Saturday, giving up five runs on seven hits in just five innings of work. He did not have much help behind him defensively or at the plate, but the Phillies still found themselves crawling out of a 5-0 hole. They got three back in the sixth, but it again proved to be not enough.

So while the Phillies were floundering in Pittsburgh, the Fish were frying the Braves. (Bad, I know.) A come-from-behind thriller on Friday night, and an early statement on Saturday, and the Marlins had stretched their lead to 2 1/2 games over the Phillies heading into Sunday's games.

The Phillies finally woke up on Sunday and got some help from the Braves in a comeback of their own. Trailing 4-3 entering the ninth, Bobby Cox brought Javy Lopez and Chipper Jones off the bench to spark a five-run, ninth inning rally to avoid the sweep and beat the Marlins 8-4. Meanwhile, the Phillies were led by the violently ill Randy Wolf and an offense that was firing on all cylinders.

Wolf, who suffered a case of food poisoning and spent most of Saturday night...ummm, rejecting his food...managed to go 6 1/3 innings. He wasn't sharp (five runs on eight hits), but after being staked to a 10-1 lead, he really didn't have to be. The offense dinked out 14 hits, 12 of which were singles. Everyone in the starting lineup had at least one hit, and all but Todd Pratt and Chase Utley scored at least one run. Wolf even helped his own cause (required speech when a pitcher does something with the bat) by going 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Jimmy Rollins, Bobby Abreu, Jim Thome, and Utley also had two hits apiece, and Thome drove in three.

So the Phillies managed to preserve one game in the three-game set, AND pick up a game on the Marlins. They are home today, relaxing. Yes, after 27 straight days of baseball, the Phillies get a well-deserved day off.

They finished the 27-game stretch at 13-14 -- pretty darn good for a stretch that started 1-9; not so good for a stretch that included a 9-1 stretch. Again, it all depends on your outlook on it. My outlook is that the Phillies 1) survived the thing to begin with, and 2) finished it still within sniffing distance of the playoff spot. 1 1/2 games with 12 to go may seem like a lot -- but it really isn't when six of your last 12 are against the team you trail.

The Marlins come to town for three crucial games beginning tomorrow. I will break down the series tomorrow, but it goes without saying that the Phillies need this series. The Diamondbacks, Cards, and Cubs seem to be falling backwards in the race, and I don't think the Dodgers have enough offense to make it work. So that leaves the Phillies and Florida. And the winner will be the team that comes out of these six games with the upper hand. So these three games, with the Marlins here at the Vet, are the three most important games the Phillies have played all season; maybe even since 1993. And no, I don't think I am overplaying it.

In the meantime, the Phillies rest...and get ready.

2003-09-11T16:21:00.000-04:00

9/11/01

I don't have the words to put that day, or any since, into the perspective it deserves. I am not sure anyone does, but the Philadelphia Inquirer has a pretty good article on how the events of that day brought everything into perspective, even baseball.

Let us not forget...

2003-09-11T09:55:00.000-04:00

It's a control issue

Tuesday night, the Braves pitchers had no control. 14 hits and 9 walks had Phillies' baserunners circling the bases all night. Last night, Braves's starter Horacio Ramirez, along with relievers Jared Wright and Will Cunnane, walked no one. They also allowed but six hits -- two solo homers and four hits that amounted to nothing.

Phillies pitchers, on the other hand, lacked such control. Starter Vicente Padilla, who had pretty much owned the Braves this season, didn't have it last night. He lasted six innings, giving up four runs on nine hits. More importantly, he walked five batters while striking out just one. 14 baserunners in six innings does not imply a very good night. Padilla, in fact, was in trouble all night long:

1st inning: 1 hit, 1 walk, 2 LOB
2nd inning: 1 run, 1 hit (Lopez's solo homer to tie the game at 1)
3rd inning: 1 run, 3 hits, double-play gets out of the jam
4th inning: 1 hit, 1 IBB, 1 HBP, Braves leave bases loaded
5th inning: 1 run, 2 hits, 1 IBB
6th inning: 1 run, 1 hit, 2 walks

At least one runner in each inning, and the only inning with one runner was a solo homer. You are not going to have a good night if you are always in trouble. Between all of the hits and walks, Padilla threw 111 pitches over six innings; only 60 of those went for strikes. Contrast last night's output with his April 19th start in Atlanta -- a complete game shutout, in which he threw 107 pitches, 82 for strikes. He did not allow a free pass that evening. Too bad we didn't have that last night.

To go along with the Phillies inability to get on base, the lineup was very much free swinging. A total of 11 strikeouts on the night -- 7 by Ramirez, and 2 each by the relievers -- highlighted by Jim Thome's 0-for-4, 4 strikeout night. Pat Burrell also struck out twice, as did Padilla (meaning he struck out more than the Atlanta batters did against him).

So the Phillies let another early lead disappear, and find themselves having dropped two of the first three in the series. Game four will not be any easier as they go up against Greg Maddux, who is going for win number 15. His 15th win of the year will give him 15 wins for 16 consecutive years, a feat unmatched in baseball's long history. The only other pitcher to win 15 games in 15 straight years was none other than Cy Young himself, so I don't need to tell you that this would be an accomplishment.

Going against Maddux will be Brett Myers, who has lasted no more than 6 1/3 innings in any of his last six starts. His ERA has climbed from 3.58 to 4.17 in those six starts, yet somehow he is 2-1. The team is only 3-3, which tells me that he is getting bailed out lately. Those starts:

Opponent	Result	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K
@SF	L 2-5	4.0	8	5	5	3	6
STL	W 5-4	6.1	6	4	4	5	5
@STL	W 9-4	5.2	9	4	3	3	3
@MON	L 6-9	5.0	10	5	5	3	2
BOS	L 9-13	4.0	7	5	5	7	1
NYM	W 8-6	6.0	6	3	2	4	6

Has he hit a wall? It's entirely possible. He is up to 177 innings on the year, and just may be experiencing some growing pains. Regardless, the Phillies need a little bit better effort this evening, as they have fallen a game back of the Marlins once again in the Wild Card race.

Elsewhere, the Dodgers and Cubs lost to fall to 3 and 3 1/2 games back respectively. The Cardinals rocked the Rockies to stay five back, and the Astros won to put a game between themselves and the Cubs in the Central.

Two and a half weeks left...ready to play ball?

2003-09-10T15:44:00.000-04:00

Down the stretch...

So what happens if we close the regular season on the Vet, and there are still at least two teams tied for the NL Wild Card? The Cub Reporter, Christian Ruzich, tries to explain all of the possible postseason tiebreakers over at Baseball Prospectus.

Who's ready for some extra baseball?

2003-09-10T13:29:00.000-04:00

Blogging Notes

First off, Aaron Gleeman has a new address: AaronGleeman.com. Tough one to remember, right? He did what I have been threatening to do for months -- moved away from Blogger.

Jon, over at Dodger Thoughts, had this observation on the Wild Card race:

A couple of weeks ago, the wild-card race looked like a blooper reel. Now, it's more like Web Gems.

The Dodgers have won 10 of 12. The Phillies have won 10 of 12. The Marlins have won 10 of 12.

Two weeks ago, it was "who will stumble to the finish line?". Now, it's an all-out fight.

Bryan, of Wait 'Til Next Year, takes today to rank the top 10 prospects at each position in the minor leagues. Clearwater 1B is the only Phillie to make any list. Go check it out...

2003-09-10T13:08:00.000-04:00

One of those nights

Monday night was "one of those nights" -- nothing seemed to go as the Phillies would have hoped. Last night was another "one of those nights" -- albeit to the other extreme.

18 runs. 14 hits. 9 walks. 2 grand slams.

My only thought is this: couldn't we spread this out over multiple games?!? Otherwise, damn fine job.

Mike Lieberthal hit a three-run homer in the first -- for the second straight night -- to get the game off to a good start. The Phils then blew the door off in the second, scoring seven more, including Tomas Perez's grand slam. Braves starter Shane Reynolds didn't last through the second, although I'm not sure it would have made a difference.

Every starter had at least one hit, except for Jimmy Rollins, who at least walked and scored. Even Randy Wolf drove in two runs. After two innings, it was 10-2, and the Phillies were just looking to get Wolf through five innings to get him the win. He went five and no more, giving up two runs on five hits. He also walked four, but picked up his 14th win (14-9). He wasn't sharp, and wasn't thrilled with his stuff, but on a night like last night, he didn't need much.

It was a night that the Phillies were unexpectedly able to give some guys some time off, and some youngsters got to play. Wolf went only five, allowing Brandon Duckworth to get in two innings, Josh Hancock to pitch his first inning, and Geoff Geary to throw his second. Each gave up two hits, and walked no one. Duck allowed both of his hits to score (easy when they are both homers), while Hancock allowed one. Geary got out of the ninth unscathed.

The lineup also saw wholesale changes: Ricky Ledee replaced Marlon Byrd late in the game. Nick Punto did the same for Jimmy Rollins. Jason Michaels replaced Bobby Abreu midway through the game -- early enough to let Michaels hit a 6th inning grand slam. Pratt pinch-hit for Thome in the middle innings, and Lieberthal gave way to Kelly Stinnett. Pat Burrell and Chase Utley played all nine, but Tomas Perez gave way to Travis Chapman, who was getting his first taste of the majors. He flied out to right in the 7th, but stuck around to play some defense.

All in all, it was a good night for the Phillies: an easy win, and a lot of rest for the regulars. Let's hope that this momentum carries over to tonight's game.

-----

Other Wild Card games

Florida 3, Mets 1 -- Florida hangs on to the Wild Card tie
LA 4, Arizona 1 -- 20 year old Edwin Jackson beats Randy Johnson on his birthday. Happy Birthday!
Houston 7, Milwaukee 6
Cubs 4, Montreal 3 -- Cubs keep pace with Astros in Central, knock Expos further back.
Colorado 8, St. Louis 1 -- Cards only team within five games to lose last night. Bad timing.

-----

Other Phillies News and Notes

The Phillies called up SS Anderson Machado to provide some pinch-running speed off the bench. Machado hit just .196 at Reading this year, but had a very good BB/K ratio (9:10).

Terry Adams threw the other day and felt no pain. He should come off the DL tomorrow, and be ready to go.

3B David Bell is expected to rejoin the team sometime this week and swing the bat. If he is pain-free, he will be activated. If he is not, he may shut it down for the year.

2B/3B Placido Polanco sat out his 9th (10th?) straight game last night with what is being termed as a muscle contusion in his left quad. Surgery apparently remains an option to resolve the issue; such a decision would end his year. The team still hopes that it will heal with a bit more rest.

2003-09-09T11:35:00.000-04:00

25 or 6 to 4

*whistling*

The 25 really has no place in today's post...the score from last night's game just put the song in my head, and it's been stuck there ever since. So, now I spread that joy to all of you.

What a fun weekend, huh? First of all, if you are in the Philadelphia area, you may be under the impression that there was nothing else going on in the world this weekend other than the Eagles first game at the Linc, last night against the Super Bowl Champion Bucs. News coverage has focused on nothing but this game and the opening of the stadium. If the world had ended this weekend, we wouldn't have known about it. And what for? So the Eagles could go in last night and play a stinker in front of a national audience. Lovely...

(For those of you unsure about that last paragraph, it was about football -- that game played with an oblong ball affectionately known as a "pigskin" that interrupts baseball season every year at about this time. It will continue for the next four months; I usually start paying attention when the Phillies season realistically ends -- which is also usually about this time of year.)

Anyway...back to baseball...

The Phillies, of course, started the now infamous road trip at 1-9, and then went into New York and swept the Mets. A one-game loss to the Red Sox was followed by a two-game sweep of the Expos, and a four-game whitewash of the Mets again. 1-9 quickly turned into 9-1, yet the Phillies could only stretch the Wild Card lead to a single game. And last night that one-game lead disappeared again, as the Phillies traveled to Atlanta and wasted a 4-0 first inning lead.

Jimmy Rollins walked with one out in the top of the first, swiped second, and scored on a Bobby Abreu double. Jim Thome walked, and Mike Lieberthal dropped a three-run homer into the left field seats. Just like that, it was 4-0 Phillies after one-half an inning. With "ace" Kevin Millwood on the mound, a 4-0 lead seemed fairly safe. Except for two things: 1) these were the Braves, and 2) Millwood wasn't quite "on" last night.

A single by Rafael Furcal and a two-run homer by Mark DeRosa in the bottom of the inning cut the lead in half. The lead was cut to one in the third when Gary Sheffield singled and Chipper Jones doubled him in. The Braves tied it an inning later when Furcal singled in Robert Fick, who had singled earlier in the inning. Atlanta grabbed the lead an inning later: with the bases loaded and no one out, Andruw Jones grounded into a double play -- two outs, but one run scored, and the Phillies found themselves down 5-4. Through the first five innings, Millwood had given up five runs on nine hits and three walks to his former team.

Meanwhile, the Phillies bats were on ice. After the four-run first, and a leadoff double by Chase Utley in the second, the Phillies went hitless until Marlon Byrd's two-out single in the ninth. 23 outs in between hits, folks. You are not going to win many ballgames that way, unless you grab a four-run lead before you go cold. Oh, wait...

Games like this happen. It's a long season, and every-so-often, you are going to have a night where the hitters disappear and the pitcher can't hold the lead. Last night was just a case of bad timing. The Phillies had won nine of ten and were feeling pretty good about themselves for a change. And even on a weak night, they did not give up. The tying run reached second base in the top of the ninth; unfortunately, two outs were already in the books, and Rollins could do nothing more than ground out to first to end the small threat. But the loss came at a bad time. You hand a four-run lead to your ace and lose. The Marlins win, and there is another tie for the Wild Card. 18 games left...anyone (other than Larry Bowa) sweating yet?

But last night's game brings to my mind a question that may not seem very popular: we all know that the Phillies will go all-out this offseason to resign Kevin Millwood. But if he chooses not to resign, is it that big of a loss? I cannot measure his off-the-field contributions; his work with Brett Myers this season has been outstanding. For the most part, he has said the right things, and has supposedly taken a leadership role on this pitching staff. But on the field, are we truly losing an "ace"?

Last night's loss took Millwood to 14-10 on the year. Millwood is one of 21 pitchers in the majors with 14 wins. 21 is a select group -- fewer than one per team. But only five of those pitchers have as many as 10 losses: LA's Hideo Nomo (15-11), Anaheim's Ramon Ortiz (15-11), Atlanta's Greg Maddux (14-10), Seattle's Gil Meche (14-10), and Millwood. All five are good pitchers on good teams (Anaheim is stuggling, but they are the defending champs), so what is the common link? Why are they getting the wins AND the losses? Off the top of my head, I think to look to two categories: innings pitched per start, and run support.

	RS	IP/GS	ERA
Nomo	4.27	6 2/3	2.88
Ortiz	6.31	5 2/3	4.84
Maddux	4.74	6	3.92
Meche	6.14	6	4.08
Millwood	4.60	6 1/3	3.74

The first thing I see is that the two guys with the best run support (Ortiz and Meche) are the two guys with 4.00+ ERAs. Whether that means that they get a large lead and give up some soft runs, or that they give up the runs and their offenses bail them out, I don't know. But it does tell me that there are some games where they get a lot of support and get the W, and there are some games where they get bombed and take the L.

Nomo has the best ERA of the bunch, and goes the longest per start, but he has the worst run support. (Then again, I think the entire Dodgers' staff qualifies for that honor.) If he gets even the minimal support, he's likely to give the team a win. But even a run or two with that offense behind him can mean a loss.

Maddux and Millwood have comparable numbers, and like the others in the group have had their good days and bad. The good have outnumbered the bad, but not by much. So they are winning games...but taking their lumps, too.

But their records are based on run support. Let's take a look at their support-neutral stats:

	SNW	SNL
Nomo	12.7	8.7
Ortiz	7.9	12.5
Maddux	12.6	10.3
Meche	10.4	8.5
Millwood	12.7	9.1

The only true outlier in this group is Ortiz, who ranks as the 3rd luckiest starter in the majors, and 2nd in terms of being helped by his bullpen (Brandon Duckworth is first on that list, by the way).

So this continues to tell us...well, not much, other than Millwood has been up and down this season, and his record reflects that. Aces tend to have more ups than downs, and Millwood hasn't been quite that good this year.

Another sign of an ace that can be counted on is how he picks up the team after a loss. Millwood has pitched following a Phillies loss 16 times this season; in those 16 games, the Phillies are 9-7. Millwood himself is 7-5 in those games. Better than .500, but not exactly a lights-out streak stopper. Add in the knowledge that most of those wins came before June 8th, when he was 8-3, and it looks worse than the numbers show. Since the All-Star break, Millwood is 2-3 following a Phillies loss -- the team is 2-4, at the time of the year that a team needs a stopper in its rotation. Millwood just hasn't been that guy on a consistant basis.

So I guess my question is this: does his off-the-field contributions and leadership outweigh his less-than-ace-like numbers on the field? If he leaves in the offseason, will there be a suitable replacement? Will the Phillies find an equal in the free agent market, either from the knowns or unknowns (come on, who had Esteban Loiaza at 19 wins this season??)? Will they turn around and trade for a Javier Vazquez or a Curt Schilling? Or will a Ryan Madson come up and play a roll?

I don't have those answers. Personally, I'd like to see Millwood stay. I don't think his numbers this year are the best of what he's got. I'd like to see him in Philly long-term. But I think I've reached the mindset that if he leaves, it won't be the end of the world. There will be someone out there that can give the Phillies what he has. Who that is, I don't know. But it is just another question for what is shaping up to be an interesting offseason.

2003-09-05T12:38:00.000-04:00

Mesa, Mesa, Mesa

Here are some of the headlines in the local papers this morning:

Lieberthal lifts Phils, bails out Mesa -- Todd Zolecki, Philadelphia Inquirer

After Mesa mess, Phils find a way to win -- Marcus Hayes, Philadelphia Daily News

Home is where the blown save is -- Rich Hoffman, Philadelphia Daily News

Mesa as closer is no longer the final answer -- Phil Sheridan, Philadelphia Inquirer

I think the last one is my favorite -- straight to the point, and accurate.

But, yes, this is the situation we face. The Phillies held a 5-4 lead going to the ninth, and Mesa entered the game. Sheridan described the events as follows:

Someone named Prentice Redman, a young Mets outfielder with all of seven big-league at-bats on his resume, utterly crushed a Mesa pitch in the ninth inning. Crushed it. Made a sound like a hockey slapshot and then, fittingly, splashed into the net on the left-field foul pole.

Mesa got a strikeout to follow, and then gave up a single to Timo Perez. Larry Bowa had seen enough, and went to the bullpen. Valerio de los Santos -- recently acquired from Milwaukee -- came on to finish out the inning. He got the win when the offense picked up Mesa in the bottom of the inning. Marlon Byrd led off the ninth with a walk, and two outs later, Mike Lieberthal brought him home with the winner.

Thank goodness the offense is clicking.

When Mesa returned to the closer's role a few weeks ago, Bowa said at the time that he would be on a short leash. He has shown how short by pulling Mesa as soon as he has gotten into trouble since then, and he is tightening the reins again. Bowa promised to meet with Mesa and pitching coach Joe Kerrigan to discuss whether or not Mesa will remain in the closer's role. I think that all of us know that if this team is going to make it to the playoffs, it won't be with Mesa at the end of the bullpen.

If you look at Mesa's stats...well, none of them are good. But the road splits are at least decent. The home splits are...well, awful might be too kind. Sheridan's Inquirer article touches on this, and Hofmann's Daily News piece highlights it. Earlier in the week, Bowa tried to explain Mesa's home troubles on the constant booing he faces. And I'll admit, he faces a lot of it. Hofmann describes last night's scene:

You had to be there last night, with 19,259 blood-lustful souls in the aging dump, as Mesa made his way out of the bullpen. They were booing him before he reached the infield. You had to be there as the inning began. It was 9:53 p.m. The hitter was the Mets' Prentice Redman, who stepped to the plate without a career home run or RBI in the major leagues.

The crowd booed ball one. It booed the pitch that bounced to make the count 2-1. It booed the low pitch that made it 3-1. And then the people booed again, louder this time, as Redman swung the bat and launched a shot down the leftfield line. The noise grew as the ball sailed. The crowd was in a full-throated roar even before the ball hit the foul screen for a home run.

It was 9:55 p.m. The game was tied. No one emerged from the dugout with a hook, or oxygen, or anything. Mesa continued.

And so did the booing. The fans booed through McEwing's strikeout, and they continued as Perez ripped a single off the right-field wall. They didn't stop until Mesa was long gone from the game, likely escaped from the clubhouse.

I am sure the booing affects him. But he should be used to it, or at least adjusted to it. And he cannot pin all of his problems on a few boos. Hofmann has the numbers:

Since Aug. 1, Mesa has a 3.86 ERA away from the Vet. He has not been scored upon in six straight road appearances.

In that same time span, though, Mesa has an impossible 34.76 ERA at home.

Yuck. His catcher feels that he has lost control and confidence. I don't have to tell you that neither is a good thing. He may have finally lost his grip on the closer's role. Bowa wanted to sleep on his decision before meeting with the pitcher today. If he's smart, he'll tell Mesa he's done as the closer. The problem is, who's next?

Some of you may have noticed yesterday that the Mesa Watch is operational again, albeit with a different format. Mesa needs to finish 55 games this season to have his option for next year automatically kick in. He's at 45, with 22 games left. Here's hoping he doesn't reach it.

-----

On the brighter side, the Phillies won. They got to Glavine in the middle innings, and bit the bullpen late. The Marlins won in the afternoon, keeping the two teams tied. Arizona and the Cubs won to keep pace, while the Cardinals fell another game back. The Dodgers and Expos were off, falling a half-game further behind. We're rooting for the Expos tonight, as they play the Marlins. Padilla hits the mound for the Phillies...let's hope he can throw more than a fastball.

2003-09-04T10:05:00.000-04:00

More on Bowa

Former Philly scribe Jayson Stark has his own take on the Larry Bowa situation, just in case you haven't heard enough already.

I am already growing sick of the story. My take: if they make the playoffs, he'll start 2004 in the dugout. If they don't, he won't.

2003-09-04T10:03:00.000-04:00

Ankle just fine, thank you

Jim Thome left yesterday's game after his homer in the 6th, thanks to a sore ankle. According to Thome, and an article by the Inquirer's Todd Zolecki, the ankle pain is nothing to worry about.

"Really, it'll be fine....Every now and then it gets achy. It's hard to explain."

No explanation needed if he stays in the lineup, which I expect he will. But it is something to keep an eye on as the playoff race heats up.

2003-09-04T09:47:00.000-04:00

5 of 6

Bowa's tirade...players-only meeting. Who cares what sparked this team? They are winning again, and that's all that matters.

Kevin Millwood worked his way through a shaky first inning that saw him not get some close pitches, saw him try to adjust and give up a three-run homer, and saw Larry Bowa get tossed for the sixth time this year; and ended up working eight very strong innings for his 14th win on the season.

Millwood got two quick outs in the first before some close calls started going the other way. He walked Jose Vidro on a full count, and then carefully pitched to Vladimir Guerrero, walking him on five pitches. Millwood then worked another full count -- with a very questionable ball three -- to Wil Cordero, who then launched the 6th pitch of the at-bat over the left field wall for a 3-0 Expos lead.

At this point in the game, Millwood was as frustrated as I have seen him all season. Bowa went out to talk to him and calm him down, and in the process, got himself booted. Did this wake up the team? We won't know if it was the spark, but Millwood did proceed to get out of the inning and, other than two 2nd inning hits, stayed out of trouble for the rest of the day.

While the Expos got an early start to the day, the Phillies needed a little time to get going. Through one out in the third, Montreal's T.J. Tucker had set down the Phillies with barely a whimper. Then the Tank rolled up. Todd Pratt saw a pitch he liked, his eyes got big, and his bat got through the zone -- the result was the ball ending up in the Expos bullpen. Still 3-1 Expos, but a wake-up call for the Phillies. After Millwood popped up, Marlon Byrd grounded to third. Byrd busted down the line, causing a hurried -- and errant -- throw from 3B Jamie Carroll. Byrd was safe, and the floodgates opened.

Jimmy Rollins doubled, scoring Byrd. Bobby Abreu beat out an infield single. Jim Thome singled, scoring Rollins. Pat Burrell doubled, scoring Abreu. And Chase Utley singled, bringing home two more runs. 6-3 Phillies; five runs unearned; end of the day for T.J. Tucker.

The Phillies added another run in the fourth when Byrd led off with a double and Abreu singled him home, and one more in the sixth on Thome's 39th home run of the season, a towering fly to center.

Meanwhile, Millwood was on. Hitting 94 or 95 on the radar with his fastball, he was challenging Expos hitters...and winning. He finished the day going eight innings, giving up seven hits (only three after the second inning) and the three first-inning runs. We walked two batters -- both in the first -- and struck out eight on the day. He had good stuff all day...it just took him an inning or so to get it under control. But when he did, the Expos were done.

And with the game, also done is the season series. The Phillies get the short two-game sweep, and take 11 of 19 from Montreal this season. After sweeping the Phillies in Montreal last week, and virtually tying for the Wild Card lead, the Expos have lost six straight, and now sit five games back. Just like that, the playoff race can change.

Elsewhere in the NL, Florida finally found a way to beat Pittsburgh behind a gem from Josh Beckett, and the Marlins remain tied with the Phillies for the Wild Card lead. Houston defeated LA, knocking the Dodgers to 2 1/2 back, and combined with a Cardinals loss, moved the Astros back to first in the NL Central. Slipping back to second, the Cards fall to 2 1/2 back, while the victorious Cubs stay three back. The Expos and D'Backs sit five back, barely above .500.

So what the Phillies and Marlins created in the way of an 8-team race late last week is slowly stretching out again. The Expos, embarrassed by the Marlins and Phillies this week, head home (to San Juan) to try their luck again with the Marlins. The Phillies, meanwhile, welcome the Mets to town for four games, starting with tonight's Randy Wolf - Tom Glavine matchup. The Phillies, of course, swept the Mets at Shea over the weekend, but we remember what happened last time the Mets came to the Vet...

Pitching matchups for the series:

Tonight, 7:05: Wolf (13-9) vs. Glavine (9-12)
Friday, 7:05: Padilla (12-9) vs. Seo (8-9)
Saturday, 7:05: Myers (12-7) vs. Griffiths (1-1)
Sunday, 8:05 (ESPN2): Telemaco (1-2) vs. Leiter (14-7)

2003-09-03T15:07:00.000-04:00

Phils To Implode Vet In February

From an AP report:

PHILADELPHIA -- After months of engineering studies, the Philadelphia Phillies decide that a big bang is the best way to take down Veterans Stadium early next year.

An implosion will bring down the much-reviled ballpark.

The home to the Phillies and Philadelphia Eagles for the past three decades will come down in one fell swoop in February.

The Phillies, who are responsible for demolishing the Vet, decided that a quick implosion is a better approach than demolishing the stadium over the course of several weeks with a wrecking ball.

The implosion will do less damage to nearby homes and to the Broad Street subway line, which runs near the stadium, said John Stranix, who is helping oversee the Vet demolition and construction of the Phillies' new ballpark.

"It's not the same impact and duration as using a wrecking ball," Stranix said. "It happens relatively rapidly, with very little vibration, and no impact on the surrounding facilities and communities."

Now the Phillies have to decide who will get to push the plunger.

2003-09-03T15:02:00.000-04:00

Oh yeah...

Forgot this one this morning...

P Terry Adams, on the DL with a pulled muscle, was charged this weekend in New York with "two counts of third-degree assault and single counts of second-degree harassment and endangering the welfare of a child" (ESPN.com article). The charges stem from his alleged attack on his wife in a New York hotel seven weeks ago. The child endangerment charge comes from the fact that their 4-month-old son was in the room.

I won't get into the rest of the details, and to be honest, their problems are none of my business (and I wish I had not even read it, much less written about it). I am wondering two things, however:

1) Was this incident just before Adams took that unexplained leave of absence earlier this summer?
2) When will we be able to put this off-field crap aside and talk about the on-field stuff again?

Speaking of #2...anyone noticed that while the batting average remains subpar, Pat Burrell's slugging numbers are .500 since the All-Star break, and .551 in August?

2003-09-03T12:37:00.000-04:00

Other moves

In addition to the release of Tyler Houston this weekend, the Phillies made a number of other moves:

P Mike Williams was reinstated from the bereavement list. To make room for him, Geoff Geary was optioned. With Scranton's season over, Geary was sent to Clearwater. Geary was then recalled when rosters were expanded.

With Houston gone, INF Nick Punto was recalled.

C Kelly Stinnett was acquired from the Reds for a player to be named later. I'm not sure I understand this move, to be honest. If you have a clue, fill me in. The PTBNL was named in the last 24 hours: disappointed OF Eric Valent. Cincinnati is becoming the new home for underacheiving Phillies outfielders (see Taylor, Reggie).

Yesterday, the Phillies acquired RP Valerio De Los Santos from Milwaukee for the infamous PTBNL or cash. De Los Santos has been an effective reliever for the Brewers this season, appearing in 45 games with a 4.13 ERA. His WHIP is 1.25, which would rank third in the current Phillies bullpen (Cormier, 1.00; Plesac, 1.16).

With the expanded rosters, the Phillies have called up Ps Josh Hancock and Ryan Madson, as well as 3B Travis Chapman. I wouldn't expect to see the pitchers get much action, but Chapman may get some decent time with David Bell still out, Houston gone, and Placido Polanco fighting a nagging injury.

2003-09-03T12:28:00.000-04:00

More fun and games

First off, I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend. I took an extra day yesterday to relax and do a lot of nothing; thus, no posts yesterday. But, as with every short vacation I take, I seem to have missed quite a lot.

Since Larry Bowa's outburst on Thursday afternoon, the Phillies have won four of five, including a sweep in New York and an 8th inning comeback last night. The Phillies finally got to Javier Vazquez, who came in to the game with 26 consecutive scoreless innings pitched. Chase Utley's 8th inning, bases-clearing triple -- coming on the heels of a poor throw allowing the Expos' go-ahead run to score -- gave the Phillies the late lead and eventual 5-3 win.

So, four of five. Must be due to Bowa's tirade, right? Not necessarily.

I kept an eye on the Phillies news and transactions over the weekend, and one of the many moves they made really caught my eye:

Activated pitcher Mike Williams from the bereavement list; designated infielder Tyler Houston for assignment; recalled infielder Nick Punto from Scranton of the International League (AAA); optioned pitcher Geoff Geary to Clearwater of the Florida State League (A).

The bolding is my own doing, highlighting the part that threw me. Tyler Houston -- he of the .278 average in a part-time role; he of the .448 average as a pinch-hitter, his main role on the team -- designated for assignment. My first thought was that it was a numbers thing, and he would be recalled on Monday when the rosters expanded to 40 players. Then I found out it was to give him his release.

What?!? Why?!? What did I miss?!?

Evidently, a lot.

Depending on who you believe, Houston was either a clubhouse problem child -- unhappy with his role on the team -- or the fall guy for the failing relations between Bowa and his players.

Houston also suggested that he had become a fall guy for a perceived predetermined snub of Bowa by Phillies left fielder Pat Burrell after he hit a two-run home run against the Mets. According to the Inquirer, Bowa moved to the front of the dugout to greet Burrell after the homer, only to have the player head to the middle dugout entrance and engage his teammates, bypassing Bowa altogether. (ESPN.com article linked to above.)

So let me get this straight: Bowa, unsurprisingly, is rubbing his players the wrong way. With the added stress of a playoff race and poor play, Bowa's emotions have overloaded, and the players are tired of the crap. There is some sort of issue between Bowa and Burrell, who chooses to celebrate with his teammates and not his manager, and because of that Houston was let go.

Everyone follow that? There's a quiz later.

Bowa and general manager Ed Wade explained the surprising release of Houston, one of the top pinch-hitters in the majors, by saying that Houston was unhappy with his role on the team.

Houston told the paper that the Phillies were "covering up" the real reason he was let go.

"I fully accepted my role as a pinch-hitter," he said to the Inquirer. "I was trying to be the best pinch-hitter in the league. This is the way they want to say it went down, because they can't run their own clubhouse."

So who is making this up as they go along? I don't have an inside source on the team, but I am leaning towards believing Houston on this one. Throughout everything, Pat Burrell has been one of the strongest Bowa supporters, at least in the public eye. So if this weekend's incident was in fact intentional, that says that there are serious problems between Bowa and his players. In responding to Houston's claims, Bowa sent the press to Jim Thome, expecting some support. He couldn't have liked what he got:

Thome, however, refused to endorse Bowa.

"Let's talk about the game," Thome said to the Inquirer.

When asked a second question along the same lines, Thome replied "We won the game ... We're in the wild-card race. That's what it's all about."

Trouble in paradise, indeed. So now, there are serious issues between Bowa and his players, and the team's top pinch-hitter was cut for...well, just for the hell of it, apparently.

Amazingly, this team has survived a 1-9 stretch, discord in the clubhouse, and the season-long slump from Burrell, and still enter today's games tied for the Wild Card lead. 24 games remain, including six with the Marlins; anything could happen from here on out. But win or lose, what happens to the make up of this team?

Obviously, there are problems internally. The players have issues with Bowa; Bowa has problems with some of his players. There may be issues between Bowa and Ed Wade; remember, Wade thinks he has put together a team capable of getting to the postseason. If they don't, and Mt. Bowa continues flowing lava, how much longer with this homecoming last? Or better yet, who will be shipped out of town? The manager who is so beloved in town, or the players that the organization has invested so much time and money into and built the team around?

Exactly...bye, bye Bowa.

The Inquirer's Bill Lyon expects something to happen this offseason, barring a World Series trophy. He says that while Bowa was what this team needed three seasons ago, the fit no longer works. It's time for a change, and it is always easier to change one part than 25.

So the month of September should be an interesting one, on many fronts. The Phillies are in the heat of a playoff race, and the next 24 games should be fun, albeit important and close all the way. It's a shame we don't have that one go-to pinch-hit guy on the bench...

2003-08-29T15:37:00.000-04:00

On a lighter note...

There were plenty of articles this morning about Bowa's blow-up yesterday. But Frank Fitzpatrick, from the Inquirer, had a rather humorous suggestion for fixing the Phillies: Fab Five fans, this is a must-read.

2003-08-29T09:56:00.000-04:00

Tick...tick...tick...

That's either the sound that preceded Larry Bowa's blow-up yesterday...or the sound counting the time until he gets escorted out the managerial door. You decide.

The aforementioned Bowa explosion came after yesterday's listless loss -- the first four-game sweep of the Phillies by the Expos in team history. A six-game losing streak. A 1-9 start to a pivotal road trip. I think the outburst was called for, don't you?

Actually, from the sound of it, outburst might not be a strong enough word. Todd Zolecki of the Inquirer writes that

Larry Bowa's emotions finally boiled over into a tirade behind clubhouse doors that one veteran player described as an all-timer, one of the worst explosions he has ever seen from the manager.

Amaury Telemaco asked if the reporters could hear Bowa through the closed doors. Jim Thome said that he had never seen his skipper so upset. And who can blame him? This team left home on a five-game winning streak. They went into Milwaukee and got swept. They left enough runners on in St. Louis to sell out Busch Stadium for the rest of the year. And Montreal was a trip in itself...

A 12-1 pasting.

A 14-10 loss that included blowing an eight-run lead.

A 9-6 game that the bullpen coughed up after the offense woke up and fought back for the first time in two weeks.

And then a 4-0 stinker where the Phillies appeared to be anywhere but on the field at Olympic Stadium.

Don't know about you, but this doesn't look like a playoff-worthy team to me. Yet, they still sit in a Wild Card tie. Amazing...

The Bowa blasting isn't surprising; with the skipper's temper, I was shocked it had not happened sooner. What might be more disturbing is the screaming match that followed between pitching coach Joe Kerrigan and ace-of-the-future Brett Myers. Kerrigan is rather ticked off that certain pitchers seem to be ignoring his game plans. And the pitchers seem to think that Kerrigan isn't giving them enough room at this point in the season.

Kerrigan decided this week he had seen enough from his pitchers, who he said had strayed away from his game plans. Kerrigan and Bowa met with Vicente Padilla after Tuesday's 14-10 loss because Padilla had refused to mix up his pitches. Kerrigan held a meeting of pitchers and catchers Wednesday to speak his mind, and Kerrigan will now play a greater role in what pitches are thrown in certain situations.

One veteran pitcher later said that some of them have pitched long enough that they know what to do.

So the pitchers want more freedom, and the pitching coach said he'll start calling pitches. Is it me, or do we not seem to be on the same page here?

So what happens now? Does the tirade and venting of emotions wake this team up? Do they go into Shea Stadium and sweep a Mets team that swept the Phillies at the Vet last month? Or do they go in and lay another egg?

Better yet, does it even matter anymore?

What does matter is whether or not there is a rift between the manager and his players, or even the manager and his GM. There is no denying that Larry Bowa rubs some of his players the wrong way. They do not see eye-to-eye with his emotional enthusiasm, and the fact that he wears his heart on his sleeve. After gathering the opinions of the players, GM Ed Wade asked Bowa to be a bit more positive in the clubhouse. Will yesterday's riot act burn some bridges? Does Bowa have any control in that clubhouse anymore?

Will Kerrigan regain the trust of the pitching staff that he turned around this season? Or are the players not giving the coach the respect he deserves for leading them to so many positives this season?

As for Bowa and Wade...Paul Hagen of the Daily News offers his two cents on their opposite positions:

the manager has pretty much been saying that things have to go right for the Phillies to win the wild card.

Meanwhile, Wade's bottom line has been that something would have to go wrong for the team he put together in the offseason not to.

And while there have been no outward signs of tension between the two - in fact, Wade has been staunchly supportive of the skipper - those are significantly different ways of sizing up the situation.

If the Phillies' monumental skid - which reached nine losses in 10 games yesterday afternoon at Montreal - ends up costing them their first trip to the postseason in 10 years, that basic division of opinion could come into even sharper focus.

Some will blame Bowa. It will be said that he lost the team, that he overworked the bullpen, that he didn't get the most out of the talent he was given.

Some will blame Wade. It will be said that he was too conservative, that he failed to recognize the shortcomings of the club, that he should have helped himself to any number of the players who were available in waiver deals.

All that really matters, though, is this: Will Wade blame Bowa if a team the general manager has said all along is good enough to make the playoffs, doesn't?

Questions, anyone?

Yeah, there are plenty of them floating about right now. The two at the top of my head are these:

1) How will the team react for three games in New York?
and
2) How the hell are they still in a tie for the Wild Card? Unreal...

2003-08-28T15:31:00.000-04:00

Pathetic

I am listening to the ninth inning of the Phillies game, and the following thoughts have come to my mind:

This is beyond pathetic.

What kind of hold does Vladimir Guerrero have on the Phillies?

Better yet, what kind of hold does Javier Vazquez have on the Phillies?

What has to be done to shake up this team?

And most importantly...

Is that an actual crowd I hear? In Montreal??

2003-08-28T12:00:00.000-04:00

Phillies Phuture

While I was buried under desk and computer cables, Bryan over at Wait 'Til Next Year took a look at the future of the Phillies. And let's be honest: the future looks a whole lot better than the present right now. Head on over and check out his article entitled Phor Phillie Phans. A teaser:

Ed Wade took a career gamble the last few years. He wanted Phillie Phield to open like Jacobs Field did, to a team with great potential. That will be true in 2004, whether Schilling or Millwood pitches Opening Day.

Enjoy!

2003-08-28T09:51:00.000-04:00

Unbearable

*shakes his head in disgust*

Well, one positive that I can take out of last night's game is that the offense isn't backing down. Trailing 6-1 in the seventh, the Phillies fought back for five runs -- including a Marlon Byrd grand slam -- to tie the game at 6. The unfortunate part is that there were 8 other innings to play.

The pitching staff again failed the Phillies. Brett Myers lasted only five innings last night, giving up five runs on ten hits. He walked three while striking out only two. Control has been a major issue for Myers in the last few weeks. From his start against Atlanta oin June 17th through his victory over Colorado on August 5th -- a span of 10 starts in which he went 6-0 -- Myers walked only 14 batters. In the four starts since: 14 free passes. I think we may have identified a small problem. His lack of control is leading to high pitch counts in minimal innings. In these last four starts, he has thrown 384 pitches in 21 innings -- an average of 96 innings in less than 5 1/3 innings per start. Not good numbers...

Still, the offense found a way out of the hole that Myers dug. The five-run inning featured big hits and timely hitting, something the Phillies have sorely lacked lately. After leaving 17 men on base in the first two games of the series, the Phillies left but two men on last night. In the seventh, anyone who got in, came in to score. Pat Burrell had a run-scoring double, and a baserunner later, Byrd cleared all of the bases. Yet, the Phillies still had to turn the game over to the bullpen.

Dan Plesac finally got an out this week -- two of them, in fact -- but he also allowed three baserunners. Two hits and a walk later, and the eventual winning run crossed home plate. Turk Wendell came on to relieve Plesac, but to no avail. Wendell threw just 1/3 of an inning and allowed two runs...without giving up a hit or a walk! After getting Orlando Cabrera to fly out to end the bottom of the 7th, Wendell plunked Jose Vidro and Vlad Guerrero to start the 8th. Both runners came home two outs later on a Brian Schneider ground-rule double. 9-6. Drive home safely.

On the bright side, Jose Mesa didn't pitch again.

Series finale this afternoon, 1:05. Then the team moves on to New York, and the last three games of this ugly, ugly road trip.

-----

In other news...

A few bullpen moves were made yesterday: Terry Adams was placed on the 15-day DL with what I heard described as a strained oblique muscle. Adams evidently injured himself in Tuesday night's game; Brandon Duckworth was called up to take his place on the roster. With Amaury Telemaco still scheduled to start tonight, that would leave Duckworth relegated to the bullpen unless Larry Bowa plans on going with six starters for a small stretch to give his starting arms a little extra rest.

The other bullpen move was putting Mike Williams on the bereavement list. In his short absense, the Phils called up P Geoff Geary, who threw one inning last night, giving up a run on a hit and a pair of walks.

-----

By the way, that's 35 runs allowed in three games in Canada. With the current conversion rate, those 35 runs translate into just shy of 25 US runs.

That's still pretty sad...

2003-08-27T10:52:00.000-04:00

Plummeting

Oy vey!

Okay, so where do I start? When I last wrote, the Phillies were preparing to embark on the "neverending" trip -- 13 games, 13 days. Since then...I'd say that the wheels fell off, but I am not sure that they were on to begin with.

The good news: The Phillies are still in a tie for the NL Wild Card lead.

The bad news: That's only because the Marlins have been as bad as the Phillies. And everyone else is creeping forward.

Actually, creeping isn't the right word...flat-out rushing is more like it, which is really sad since the other competitors are all playing around .500 baseball. When I left you last week, the Phillies and Marlins were in a dogfight, and everyone else was fighting to stay within a handful of games. Since then, it's become a seven-team race:

Team	Record since 8/19	Games gained in standings
Phillies	1-7	--
Marlins	1-6	0.5
D'backs	4-4	3
Cubs	4-3	3.5
Expos	4-4	3
Cards	4-3	3.5
Dodgers	3-4	2.5

No one could actually argue that Arizona, Chicago, Montreal, St. Louis, or Los Angeles are setting the world on fire. But the Phillies and Marlins are doing all they can to hand the playoff spot to someone else. Things have gotten so bad for the Phillies in the last week that last night's game could have been seen coming.

I flipped on the game last night in the bottom of the first -- the first game that I have had time to watch in the last week. The Phillies jumped to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, and slowly increased that lead to 8-0. You would think that with an 8-0 lead, Padilla on the mound, and the strong bullpen, an 8-run lead was safe. But when the Expos woke up and put a couple runs on the board, I just had this gut feeling that the bottom was going to fall out. And slowly but surely...it did. 14-10 Expos win. And the Phillies fall to 1-7 on the road trip.

It appears to be the pitching that has fallen off a cliff in the last week. In the five-game winning streak to end the homestand, the Phillies gave up 19 runs in those five games. They then gave up 21 to the Brewers -- the Brewers! -- in a three-game Milwaukee sweep. They have given up 26 to the Expos in the first two games of this four-game series. Good God...

The numbers have slowly been creeping up all month long. Kevin Millwood has actually been decent in the month of August; in his five starts this month, he has allowed 24 hits in 36 innings, has a 1.00 WHIP, and a 3.00 ERA. But he is only 2-2 in those five starts. It's the other three stooges we have to look at.

Vicente Padilla has allowed 34 hits and 11 walks in 27 2/3 innings in five August starts (1-1 record). His WHIP is 1.63 and his ERA is 5.20 -- both numbers significantly higher than his 1.28 and 3.92 marks on the season. He actually had a pretty good outing last night before being pulled (too early, maybe?) and handing things over to the bullpen.

Brett Myers is -- somehow or another -- 2-1 in his four August starts despite the following trash: 23 innings, 31 hits, 13 walks, 1.91 WHIP, 5.48 ERA. Yech. You wonder if he may be hitting a wall in his first full major league season. Myers is up to 162 innings pitched on the year, and has seen his numbers skyrocket this month. Some statistical perspective: he has allowed 19% of his hits, 21% of his runs, and 23% of his walks in just 14% of his seasons's innings this month. His ERA has gone from 3.63 to 3.89 over these four starts.

But the main culpret is the All-Star of the bunch, Randy Wolf. Wolf cruised into the All-Star game at 10-4, with a 3.31 ERA and seemed very worthy of the selection. Since then: 2-5 with a 6.60 ERA. *gulp* But it gets worse. In August, Wolfie is 1-4 in five starts with a 10.17 ERA. He has given up 30 hits, 26 earned runs, and 17 walks in just 23 innings. Are you kidding me?!? In these five starts, he has a 2.04 WHIP. Control issues, anyone?

What was the Phillies strength in the first four months of the season has become it's big-time weakness. And the bullpen hasn't helped. In the last week, the bullpen has given us this array of numbers:

Player	IP	H	R	BB	Opp. Avg.	WHIP	ERA
Williams	3 1/3	6	4	4	.400	3.00	10.80
Plesac	0	1	2	1	1.000	INF	INF
Cormier	4 1/3	5	3	3	.294	1.85	6.23
Silva	8	9	6	1	.290	1.25	4.50
Wendell	3	7	5	4	.500	3.67	15.00

Terry Adams and *gulp* Jose Mesa *gulp* were spared from this chart because they haven't been half-bad. But you might as well put kerosene on the mound instead of any of these guys lately...you'd get the same result.

Yet, through all of this, the Phillies still have their grasp on the Wild Card. But things need to turn around...a few more days like the last week, and they could find themselves looking up at half-a-dozen teams...and quickly.

More carnage...ummm, baseball?...at the Big O tonight.

2003-08-19T12:16:00.000-04:00

Thome: Player of the Week

Jim Thome was named co-NL Player of the Week yesterday, sharing the award with former Phillie Curt Schilling. On the week, Thome batted .318 (7-for22) with five homeruns and a 1.045 slugging mark. He also scored six runs on the week.

Let's hope he stays this hot.

2003-08-19T12:01:00.000-04:00

Bad Trade?

I haven't commented yet on the never-ending boos for Scott Rolen this weekend, and I am not sure that I will. I don't like it (personally, I like Rolen and my opinion is that management ran him out of town), but everyone is entitled to their own opinion. And we all know Philly fans have theirs, and they will let you know about it.

That said, Diamond Mind offered their opinion on the Rolen deal, a year later. With Polanco putting up the numbers he is, they don't think the deal turned out too bad. There is no permalink available, so head over to Diamond Mind and scroll down for the "Rolen for Polanco" article.

2003-08-19T11:54:00.000-04:00

Is this an important stretch?

First off, a note: blogging will be on the lighter side this week. My office is moving over the weekend, so I have to pack my office, deal with the computers and servers, etc., etc., etc. Basically, work is interfering with my life again.

So, while I have some time, back to the Phillies. If you have not already heard, the Phillies start a 13-game, four city road trip tonight in Milwaukee. The road trip is only the first half of a 27-game, 27-day stretch -- a stretch that includes 20 games on the road. I certainly hope that they enjoyed yesterday's day off, because the next one does not come until September 15th. At that point, we will have a much better idea how seriously we should be talking about October baseball at the Vet.

Some people say this stretch is important. How important? Well, let's see how many articles there have been on it:

Phillies.com has an article about the need to stay hot on the 13-game road trip.

The Miami Herald has an AP article on the 27-game stretch. Philly's WPVI has the same article posted on their web site, as does South Florida's Sun Sentinel.

Jacksonville's CBS 47's web site is one of many that has an article about the "make or break" road trip.

The Bridgeton (NJ) News reports that this will be the Phillies first four-city trip since 2000, and the first time they have played 13 straight road games since the year before that.

Philly Baseball News chimes in with their two cents on the road trip.

The Austin American-Statesman has a blurb about the stretch in their "What's happening in baseball?" article.

The Doylestown Intelligencer reports that the "stakes are high" as the Phillies hit the road.

The Philadelphia Inquirer calls the stretch "crucial".

The Cherry Hill (NJ) Courier Post argues that the 13-game trip will determine whether or not the Phils are "contenders".

Do we get the point yet? Yeah, the trip is important. Yes, this long stretch will go a very long way to determining whether or not the Phillies are true contenders this season. And the players know it:

"It's an important road trip. We will have a better idea of where we are." -- Mike Lieberthal

"Everyone knows what's at stake. Every road trip is important." -- Larry Bowa

"I think now there's a lot of energy. I don't think guys are worried. It's exciting that all we're thinking about is the playoffs. Usually I'm counting down the days until I can go to the golf course." -- Lieberthal

"When you have a dogfight like this you play every game as hard as you can. You (can't) take one team light." -- Bowa

"We've got a real tough road trip coming up. Hopefully we can keep this momentum. It's kind of too bad we have an off day because I think right now we're playing as good as we have all season." -- Jim Thome

"Every series is important now. It doesn't really matter where it is." -- Lieberthal

"It sounds extremely cliched, but we have to take it one game at a time. If we look at the whole thing, it becomes too much. We just have to look at it as one game against the Brewers on the road, try to win that and hope we can get some momentum." -- Randy Wolf

"I think this stretch will tell a lot about us. It's going to be fun to see where we are at the end of this trip." -- Thome

"We just need to win games." -- Bowa

"I don't have enough clothes for two weeks." -- Wolf

A 13-game road trip. 27 games in 27 days. Think they are ready? I guess we'll find out in game one tonight: Phillies at Brewers. Millwood vs. Sheets. The two pitchers matched up last Wednesday at the Vet, in the Phillies 11-4 win. Millwood gave up three runs on six hits in seven innings. Sheets, on the other hand, got bombed: 10 runs (eight earned) on 12 hits in just five innings. The Phillies are hoping for more of the same tonight, and hope to start the trip off with a win.

One game at a time...

2003-08-18T12:41:00.000-04:00

Punto sent down

I finally found the other half of the Telemaco transaction: INF Nick Punto was sent down to Scranton. The move has to be seen as a numbers issue, as Punto played well in his role as a pinch-hitter/backup infielder. With Chase Utley playing everyday, Tomas Perez and Tyler Houston move back to the bench, making Punto expendable.

I, for one, hope to see him back soon. He is energenic and scrappy...just the kind of player that Phillies fans fall in love with.

2003-08-18T09:48:00.000-04:00

Since we last spoke...

...a lot has happened for the Phillies:

They finally had enough and sent Brandon Duckworth to AAA Scranton.

They finally made the long-talked about move of calling up 2B Chase Utley, moving Placido Polanco to third.

They reclaimed the Wild Card lead.

Larry Bowa reistated Jose Mesa as the closer on Saturday, and Mesa may have removed himself again on Sunday.

Oh, and best of all...

The Phillies have won five straight.

So, where do we start? Let's start with the aftermath of last Tuesday. After Brandon Duckworth lasted fewer than five innings (again), and gave up four first inning runs in an eventual 6-3 loss, the Phillies realized they could not avert their eyes any longer. In the midst of a playoff race, they could not hand the ball every fifth day to a pitcher who could not get past the first few innings. So off to Scranton went Duckworth; up came 2B Chase Utley.

This move has been rumored for weeks, ever since 3B David Bell was removed from the lineup with back pain. At first, reports were that Bell would return within a few days, so the move was not made. Weeks later, Bell is still out, and Ed Wade finally called up Scranton's hottest hitter. Utley was called up on Thursday and made the start at second that night, with Polanco moving to third. The move seemed to bother neither player, as Utley went 3-for-4 with a RBI, and Polanco went 3-for-4 with a RBI and two runs scored. The two players accounted for six of the Phillies 12 hits as they defeated Milwaukee 4-3 and took the last two games in the three-game set.

Out went the Brewers and in came the Cardinals for a three-game series. When the week started, I felt that the Phillies needed to take five of six on the homestand. After losing the opener to Milwaukee, I never expected it to happen. But a sweep of the Cardinals got it done.

Vicente Padilla did not have the strongest outing of the season (four runs on nine hits in five innings), but he fared better than the Cardinals' Woody Williams (five runs on ten hits in five innings). The Phillies scored five in the first off of Williams, and clung to a 5-4 lead until the red-hot Jim Thome crushed a two-run homer to extend the lead to three. Four very strong innings by the bullpen -- including Dan Plesac's first save of the year -- sealed the win.

Saturday's big inning came in the sixth. Brett Myers was not sharp that night, but for the most part was getting the job done. Entering the bottom of the sixth, however, he and the Phillies were trailing 3-1. In the bottom of the inning, Marlon Byrd led off with a double. Polanco sacrificed him over (yes, a Phillie got a bunt down), and Abreu doubled him home. Thome then crushed a Dan Haren pitch over the center field wall to make it 4-3. Mike Lieberthal followed for a back-to-back set, and just like that, the Cards were on the ropes. They got one back in the seventh, but were shut down the rest of the way. Myers picked up his 12th win, and the bullpen threw 2 2/3 innings of one-hit baseball.

The Phillies got a break Sunday night in their attempt to run their winning streak to five: Albert Pujols had a fever. With Pujols out of the lineup, there was one fewer hurdle for Amaury Telemaco to deal with in his return to the majors. Called up to replace Duckworth in the rotation, Telemaco gave the Phillies all that they have been hoping for most of the year. After giving up a first-inning homerun to Orlando Palmeiro, Telemaco calmed down. He worked seven strong innings, giving up two runs on four hits. He struck out seven, and walked none, showing why the Phillies called him up instead of one of the young phenoms -- control. He retired the last 14 batters he faced, and handed a 6-2 lead over to the bullpen. Sunday's big inning was the third: Jim Thome hit a blast into the upper deck in right field -- only the 23rd ball to land there in the history of the Vet -- and Pat Burrell hit his own two-run shot a few batters later.

The bullpen gave up two runs in the ninth before nailing it down. The runs were charged to Turk Wendell, but the excitement was brought on by Jose Mesa. Mesa was returned to the closer's role Saturday night, when he walked Pujols to lead off the ninth and then set the Cards down 1-2-3. Sunday night, he came in with one out and a runner on. Edgar Renteria moved to second on a catcher's indifference call, and Miguel Cairo singled him home. Eduardo Perez struck out for out number two, and Mike Matheny worked a walk after falling behind 1-2. Bowa had said Mesa would be on a short hook, and with two on in a close game, Bowa pulled his closer. Mike Williams came on to finish the game, while Mesa retreated to the clubhouse, kicking coolers and fans (the air producing kind, not the ones who paid to watch him pitch) in the tunnel on the way back.

Mesa's troubles apparently did not end there, as it is reported that he pushed a reporter in the clubhouse following the game. From the AP report:

Minutes after the game, Mesa sat in front of his locker with one hand on his knee and the other rubbing his chin. A reporter from the Philadelphia Inquirer approached Mesa, who began cursing. A heated argument ensued before Mesa raised both arms and pushed the reporter away. Reliever Carlos Silva came in between the two men before Mesa walked into the trainer's room.

Larry Bowa has said that Bowa will remain the closer (albeit on a short leash), but it will be interesting to see how Bowa reacts after last night's outburst.

-----

So where does the 5-1 week leave the Phillies. Well, in terms of the WIld Card, right where they started. The Marlins took five of six from the Dodgers and Padres, and remain 1/2 a game behind the Phillies. The rest of the field, however, fell back slightly. Arizona went 3-3 over the last six to fall to three games back. The Cubs took three of four from Houston, and then dropped two of three to the Dodgers. The Dodgers took their two over the Cubs after dropping two of three to Florida. Both teams sit five games back. The Phillies did their part to push the Cards back, and they sit 5 1/2 back, tied with the Expos. Here are the schedules for the upcoming week:

Phillies: 3 at Mil, 3 at StL
Florida: 3 at Col, 3 at SF
Arizona: 1 at Atl, 3 vs. Cin, 3 vs. Cubs
Cubs: 3 at Hou, 3 at Ari
LA: 3 vs. Mon, 3 vs. NYM
St. Louis: 3 vs. Pit, 3 vs. Phi
Montreal: 1 vs. SF, 3 at LA, 3 at SD

So, Arizona, LA, and St. Louis are home while everyone else hits the road. The Phillies and Cards will hook up for three more, as will the D'backs and Cubs and Expos and Dodgers. Florida avoids the team-vs.-team struggle, but they have to play six games against two of the best home-teams in the league. No easy task for anyone.

The Phillies task is made that much tougher with the knowledge that the six games this week are just the first six in a 13-game, 13-day trip that also takes them to Montreal and New York. This trip will make or break this team; when they return to the Vet on September 1st, we will have a much better idea whether or not the team is set to make a September run at the postseason.

In the meantime, they relax today and spend a little more time figuring out their closer issues.

2003-08-13T10:01:00.000-04:00

Month-by-month

March/April: 16-12
May: 13-13
June: 16-9
July: 15-13

August: 4-7

Ugh...

2003-08-13T09:37:00.000-04:00

Options

I don't even want to talk about last night's game, but I will mention the opening lines from the AP article on ESPN.com:

Brandon Duckworth pitched his best during a pennant race two years ago. The way he's going now, he might not stick around for this one.

Uh huh...about says it all. If you want a recap of last night's game, check out the article.

Otherwise, I am looking at other options...

Player	Level	W	L	ERA	H/9	K/9	BB/9
Brandon Duckworth	Majors	4	7	5.04	9.75	6.43	4.39
Ryan Madson	AAA	11	7	3.91	9.02	7.61	2.36
Amaury Telemaco	AAA	10	9	3.24	7.24	6.72	1.27
Josh Hancock	AAA	8	9	4.22	8.44	6.62	2.40
Taylor Buchholz	AA	8	9	2.93	7.92	7.19	2.05
Seung Lee	AA	11	5	4.76	8.22	6.65	3.00

Brandon Duckworth had looked decent-to-good in his last three starts. But the bottom fell out again last night, and I don't think the Phillies -- in the heart of the playoff race -- can put up with it much longer. So let's take a look at the other choices.

Ryan Madson -- Madson is the closest pitching prospect to the majors, and was coveted by other teams at the trading deadline. He has pretty good basic numbers, although he gives up almost a hit an inning. In contrast to Duckworth, however, he allows two fewer walks per nine, which can make a difference (keep in mind that four of Duck's six walks scored last night).

Baseball America lists Madson as the Phillies #6 prospect coming in to the season, citing his aggressiveness and ability to pitch inside as the key to his success. He keeps the ball low, getting a lot of ground balls. They deem his changeup to be the "organization's best and a major league out pitch". His fastball only reaches the low 90s, but he keeps the ball around the plate and doesn't get himself into trouble.

Doesn't get himself into trouble...sounds like the kind of guy the Phillies could use. Keep an eye open for him...

Amaury Telemaco -- Telemaco no longer counts as a hot prospect, if he ever was one, but he is more than handling the AAA competition. He is allowing less than a baserunner per inning, and is averaging almost seven strikeouts per nine. He probably isn't a long-term solution in the major league rotation, but the Phillies just want someone who can get them through the next two months.

The one thing that Telemaco has going for him over the other options is major league experience. He made his debut with the Cubs in 1996, and pitched in the majors most recently with the Phillies back in 2001. He got most of his innings in early in the year (ironically, before Duckworth got his callup), but has faced MLB competition. I'd give you his MLB stats, but they would ruin the very nice image painted by this year's AAA stats.

Josh Hancock -- Hancock doesn't have the best numbers on the AAA staff, but he is more than holding his own. He is actually allowing fewer baserunners per nine than Madson, albeit with less fanfare. With all of the young arms in the Phillies' system, Hancock projects to be no more than a 4- or 5-guy in the rotation, probably more a long- or middle-relief guy. But he can fill that #5 spot in the rotation right now, and probably put up equivalent numbers to Duckworth.

Taylor Buchholz -- I'm stretching it a little bit, dipping into the AA rotation, but I'm looking for any outlet here. And Buchholz isn't a bad choice. Baseball America's #4 prospect on the Phillies list projects to be a front-of-the-rotation starter and has three above-average pitches. From BA:

He throws two- and four-seam fastballs, generating plus life and sitting at 88-93 mph with a high of 96. Buchholz learned a new curveball grip at low Class A Lakewood in 2001, and now his breaking ball has more velocity than Floyd’s and equal bite. His conditioning, athleticism and sound delivery have made him durable.

His one weakness coming into the season was his tendency to overthrow, leaving the ball up for hitters. He has given up nine home runs on the year in 122 2/3 innings, so he will give up a long ball every now-and-then. The key is that he doesn't allow many baserunners in general, so when he does allow a HR, it's with minimal damage.

Seung Lee -- The great "unknown" of the Phillies' prospects, Lee did not make many preseason prospect top 10 lists. But he is putting up some of the better numbers among Phillies pitchers. He does not get as many strikeouts as his counterparts, and he will give up a lot of homeruns (19 on the season), but he finds a way to get the job done. 16 decisions in 23 starts shows that he goes deep into ballgames and fights long enough to pick up a decision, one way or the other. As Duckworth's 4 2/3 innings showed yet again last night, the Phillies could use an innings eater.

-----

I am probably reaching on some of these guys, and I am probably hoping too much. But I think Duckworth has shown that he cannot seem to shake whatever it is that is bothering him, and he is not the Phillies best option down the stretch. Last night's game was a must win; instead, the Phillies have now dropped five of six, and have fallen behind the Marlins in the Wild Card race. Not exactly how you want to play in the stretch drive.

My prediction (for what it's worth): look for the Phillies to sooner or later (sooner, I hope) make a move, whether it be for Madson (higher ceiling) or Telemaco (MLB experience).

2003-08-12T10:06:00.000-04:00

An unfamiliar face

The Brewers come to town tonight. That remark in itself holds no meaning or level of excitement. What is interesting about it is that today is August 12th, and tonight's game will be the first between the two teams this season. Three games this week, and three more in Milwaukee next week. That's it. Done. See you next year. So the Phillies -- and more specifically, their fans -- do not have much of a chance to get used to the Brewers. So what can we expect from them, other than Bob Uecker in the booth?

Not a whole heck of a lot.

Milwaukee is 46-71 on the season, good for next-to-worst in the NL. Their .393 winning percentage is better than only the Padres and Tigers in the Majors...not a great calling card. However, they are a more-than-decent 25-32 on the road. Of course, on their last road trip (Colorado, New York, and Montreal), they went 3-7.

Offensively, they are are led as they have been the last few seasons: by Richie Sexson and Geoff Jenkins. Sexson is hitting .267 on the season, with 32 HR and 86 RBI. He has picked up the pace since the All-Star break, hitting .281 with seven of those homers and 16 RBI. Jenkins hits .281, and has 22 HR and 75 RBI one season removed from a horrific leg injury. But they are about it. Wes Helms is the only other Brewer with more than 50 RBI, and he is on the DL with a hamstring injury. But there are bright spots...

Rookie Scott Podsednik is hitting .297 on the season with a .365 OBP and 23 steals, but appears to have hit a wall, as he is hitting just .226 since the break. Veteran 2B Eric Young is still swiping bases as well, with 22 on the year, despite a .336 OBP. The Brewers have also gotten 14 homers and 43 RBI from part-time man John Vander Wal; a .283 average (and .437 SLG) from C Eddie Perez; and a .630 SLG average from the sometime-hittter, sometime-pitcher Brooks Kieschnick.

On the mound, they are led by Ben Sheets (10-9, scheduled to pitch Wednesday night). Sheets is the only Brewer pitcher with double-digit victories, only pitcher with more than 150 innings pitched, and one of two (Matt Kinney) with more than 100 strikeouts. He has a 3.95 ERA, and a WHIP of 1.13. Kinney and Franklin (tonight's starter) are the only other starters worth mentioning; each has seven wins, but each has an ERA over 5.00.

Relief-wise, Mike DeJean appears to have given way to Danny Kolb, who has a 2.25 ERA on the season (9.75 K/9), but an 0.82 ERA and all six of his saves since the All-Star break.

All in all, nothing to write home about.

So the Brewers, and their .273 opponents' batting average, appear to be prime subjects for a sweep and an offensive revival -- both much needed by the home team. Let's see if the Brew Crew plays along.

2003-08-12T09:24:00.000-04:00

Bench Dogs getting their due

Six strange individuals. By name: Todd Pratt, Tyler Houston, Nick Punto, Ricky Ledee, Jason Michaels, and Tomas Perez. As one: the Bench Dogs. They have been coming off the bench all season for the Phillies, and doing everything asked of them and more. And now they are being recognized, not only for their work, but also for their...how shall I say this?..."creativity".

Yesterday, MLB.com had an article on Todd Pratt (found this morning on phillies.com), focusing on his determination and excitement on the field, as well as his enthusiasm off of it. And then this morning, the Philadelphia Inquirer had an article on the entire group, highlighting not only the fun and laughs they bring into the clubhouse, but also the determination and excitement in playing the game of baseball.

Six individuals, six sick minds, one overwhelming feeling of fun in the clubhouse.

What makes these guys who they are?

Tomas Perez is the ringleader when it comes to post-game celebrations that include a shaving-cream pie in the face.

Tyler Houston shaves his bat handles.

As a group, they worked to incorporate the post-game "beat down", inflicted on the player that gets the game-winning base hit.

Houston and Pratt started the growing team trend of going blonde: in all, that group now includes Houston, Pratt, Perez, Pat Burrell, and Michaels. The MLB.com article suggests that Mike Lieberthal might be next.

But it's just not the off-the-field stuff that make these guys special. It's the clubhouse and on-the-field stuff that works for them, too. They offer a warped sense of leadership, getting the team "up" for any occasion. They serve as the team cheering squad. And they are ready to go whenever they are called upon, and in whatever role. They never stop working, and none of them are satisfied with their results: they are always looking for more. All of that works for the Phillies, when these are the results:

Houston is 10 for 20 with three double and eight RBIs as a pinch-hitter.

Ledee made the big catch and scored the only run with a home run on April 27, when Kevin Millwood threw a no-hitter at Veterans Stadium. Ledee has hit a homer every 22.3 at-bats, third-best on the team.

Michaels has hit .325 with five doubles, one home run and five RBIs in 11 starts. His three-run homer in the top of the 17th inning on June 27 gave the Phillies a 4-2 win over Baltimore.

Perez has hit .346 in his 34 starts. His single in the bottom of the 11th on July 19 drove in the winning run in a 4-3 victory over Montreal.

Pratt's pinch two-run homer in the bottom of the 13th on June 21 beat Boston, 6-5. Half of his 26 hits have been for extra bases.

Punto has hit .320 against lefthanders and his speed has made him a valuable pinch-runner. He went 3 for 3 on July 13 in New York, which included a two-out single off Armando Benitez in the top of the ninth inning to key a rally that tied the score. (Inquirer)

The best part about this group is that they are always striving for more, a better contribution to the team. The rest of the team knows that as long as these guys are backing them up, everything will work out just fine.

2003-08-11T11:07:00.000-04:00

A new blog

Bryan Smith, former keeper of the blog Bryball, has started a new blog that looks into the future. Wait 'Til Next Year kicks off with a look at the trading deadline and what it means for teams over the next couple of years. Go check it out...

2003-08-11T10:47:00.000-04:00

Another wasted opportunity

So let's see what was wasted...

The Marlins had lost earlier in the day, giving the Phillies a chance to reclaim the Wild Card lead.

Giants' starter Jason Schmidt was scratched from the start due to soreness. In his place was a rookie with 1 1/3 innings pitched in the majors.

The Phillies were riding the high of a good-size comeback the day before -- a comeback sparked by the player many consider the key to the stretch drive (and the latest Phillie to go blonde because, hey, they obviously hit better), Pat Burrell.

The Phillies had Brett Myers and his six-game win streak on the mound.

So, of course, it all blew up in their faces.

A five-run third inning led the Giants to a 5-2 victory, and a 2-1 series victory over the suddenly struggling Phillies. Myers, who had not lost since June 11, struggled with his pitches:

"I usually try to go out there with the fastball and get quick outs, but today it didn't work," Myers said. "They were all over the fastball today. I didn't get ahead of a lot of guys, and they seemed to know when the fastball was coming."

Myers's control was alright (only three walks on the day, two of those intentional passes to Barry Bonds), but he just couldn't seem to get his pitches working. Jose Cruz, Jr. led off the third with a single, and was followed by a single by J.T. Snow. Marquis Grissom doubled in Cruz, and Bonds was given a free pass. With the bases loaded, Edgardo Alfonzo singled to bring in Snow. Grissom scored on a wild pitch to Neifi Perez, who walked on five pitches, reloading the bases. Myers finally got Pedro Feliz to strike out, but Yorvit Torreabla singled home two more runs.

At that point, I had seen enough. Myers didn't have it, and unlike Saturday, the offense could not muster anything against the unknown rookie. On Saturday, the Phillies fought back from 4-0 and 5-1 deficits, but the 5-0 deficit seemed to be a little too much. The Phillies hit well off of rookie Kevin Correia, tagging him for seven hits in six innings; the problem is that they could not do anything with those hits. The Phillies left 10 men on base, including four in scoring position. They were 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position on the day.

After struggling against Correia, the Phillies could do no better against the bullpen trio of Matt Herges, Joe Nathan, and Tim Worrell. The Phillies managed four hits off the trio in three innings, but could do nothing until Tyler Houston's RBI single in the ninth. Too little, too late.

So the Phillies finish the six-game Western swing at 2-4 and limp back home. The Phillies struggle this week opened the door wide for their Wild Card competitors: the Marlins picked up two games and have pulled into a tie for the Wild Card lead, and obviously for second in the NL East. The Diamondback also picked up a couple and sit two games back. St. Louis -- who comes to Philly for three next weekend -- are three back, with the Dodgers and Cubs beating each other up so that they both line up at 3 1/2 back. Still not dead are the .500-playing Expos and Rockies, at 5 1/2 back.

The Phillies need to desperately rediscover their offense tomorrow night, when the Brewers come to town for three games. Milwaukee is 46-71, one game better than the Padres. I'd say this is an easy sweep, but you saw what happened last week with the Padres. The hard truth, however, is that the Phillies need a sweep over the Brewers to reclaim some stability in the playoff race. While the Phillies will be hosting the Brewers and Cardinals this week, the Fish will be home for LA and San Diego. My hope is that Florida and LA beat each other up a little bit. Arizona travels to Cincinnati and Atlanta, making it a tough weekend for them. The Cards get three in Pittsburgh before traveling cross-state, while the Dodgers play Florida before tangling with the Cubs again. The Phillies need to take advantage of three with the Brewers, and then make a statement against the Cards.

Need may be a strong word, but at this time of the year, the Phillies cannot keep missing these opportunities.

2003-08-08T08:42:00.000-04:00

A quick one

I wanted to get in a quick post this morning before I spend all day in meetings...

The Phillies blew it yesterday. They had a 3-1 lead in the sixth, and couldn't hold it. The result was dropping two of three to the Rockies before going to San Francisco for three this weekend, where wins will be as tough if not tougher to come by. Losing the series meant the following:

The Phillies failed to knock the Rockies -- for all intents and purposes -- out of the Wild Card race. Instead, the Rockies are hanging around and feel more confident. Look at what that did to Florida a few weeks ago.

The Phillies lost ground to the Marlins, who were busy taking two of three from St. Louis. Yesterday's loss prevented the Phillies from getting a game back as St. Louis was finally beating the Marlins.

The Phillies enter San Francisco on a down note, which is never good.

The Phillies managed to take a hot offense into Colorado, and leave colder. When does that ever happen?

Yesterday's game left lingering questions, including the possible second-guessing of Larry Bowa for not taking Kevin Millwood out after the sixth. Regardless, the Phillies have to dust themselves off and head to San Francisco, where Randy Wolf, Vicente Padilla, and Brett Myers will be taking on Jesse Foppert, Dustin Hermanson, and Jason Schmidt. The Giants hold the second-best record in the NL, a double-digit lead in the NL West, and are owners of the four-best home record in the league. They also have some guy named Bonds.

I'll be back with more later, if I ever get out of the Conference Room today.

2003-08-07T14:44:00.000-04:00

Where are my Tums?

Baseball Prospectus discusses the Phillies in today's Prospectus Triple Play:

No worries, Phillies fans: This move isn't permanent, and you can look forward to some more heart-stopping ninth innings from Mesa soon.

BP also has a note on Pat Burrell, and the Phillies' options as the playoff race heats up. Jason Michaels, anyone?

2003-08-07T13:08:00.000-04:00

New Blog

I have added a new blog to the list on the left: the Sports Blotter, talking about all things sports. Today, they are looking at the rebuilding of the Baltimore Orioles. Go check them out...

2003-08-07T10:59:00.000-04:00

It wasn't the homer that lost the game...

Bottom of the fifth inning, 1-1 game. Two on and two out for Rockies' first baseman Todd Helton. Brandon Duckworth runs a 3-1 count, throwing mainly offspeed pitches off the outer half of the plate. Larry Anderson comments that Duckworth wants to keep it outside -- even at the cost of a walk -- because moving inside could allow Helton to crush the ball. 3-1 pitch...inside part of the plate...gone. Center field bullpens, three runs, game over.

But it was not the homerun that cost Duckworth. It was his error three batters earlier that did the damage.

With Charles Johnson on first, and no one out, Rockies' pitcher Chin-Hui Tsao comes up attempting to bunt the runner over. He gets the bunt down, and Duckworth fields it. His throw is in the dirt, and Jim Thome is unable to scoop it out. Error on Duckworth, two on, no one out. He gets the next two outs, and should be out of the inning. Instead of inning over, it's two on, two out for Helton. And Duckworth makes a mistake. But without the error, the pitch never would have been a mistake.

And that has been the story for the Phillies since the All-Star break. Currently, the Phillies are fourth in the NL in fielding percentage (.986) and fourth in fewest errors (62) through 113 games. But 21 of those 62 errors have come in the 21 games since the break.

	G	E	E/G
Pre-break	92	41	0.45
Post-break	21	21	1.00

That's half an error more per game. At that rate, the Phillies should count themselves lucky to be 11-10 since the break. The question becomes, are those errors costing the Phillies? I tried to look at the 21 errors since the break, using the ESPN.com game logs:

July 17, vs. Montreal -- W Cordero flied out to right, O Cabrera scored on throwing error by right fielder B Abreu.

Sac fly, play at the plate, and the throw was bad. Cabrera may have scored on the play anyway, and most certainly would have scored on the single that followed one out later. It hurt, but probably didn't cost the run, and the Phillies won anyway.

July 18, vs. Montreal -- O Cabrera stole second, O Cabrera safe at third on throwing error by catcher M Lieberthal.

Cabrera did not end up scoring, so the error was not costly.

July 19, vs. Montreal -- B Wilkerson safe at third, R Calloway safe at second on throwing error by pitcher V Padilla.

Two on, one out. From the log, I am guessing that Padilla tried a pickoff throw that got away. Michael Barrett followed with a double, scoring both runs. Nothing else happened in the inning, so if the runners had been on first and second instead of second and third, the chance exists that only one run would have scored on the double.

July 19, vs. Montreal -- J Vidro safe at first on error by third baseman T Perez.

Same game. Vidro moved to second on a Cabrera single, and was stranded there. No damage, and the Phillies won the game.

July 23, at Chicago -- M Grudzielanek doubled to right, M Grudzielanek to third on error by right fielder B Abreu.

First of three errors in the game. Grudzielanek was left at third, so no damage done.

July 23, at Chicago -- D Miller safe at first on error by third baseman T Houston, A Gonzalez to second.

Error #2. Randy Wolf got the next two batters on a pop foul and a strike out. No damage done.

July 23, at Chicago -- M Clement safe at first on error by pitcher R Wolf.

Wolf hurts himself in the fifth, but gets out of it. A fielder's choice and a fly out end the inning and the threat. Phillies win, 3-0.

July 24, at Chicago -- K Wood sacrificed to first, D Miller to second, K Wood safe at first on error by pitcher V Padilla. D Miller to third on throwing error by first baseman J Thome.

Two errors on the same play. Great. So it's now first and third with one out. Kenny Lofton hit a sac fly to bring home Miller, and Padilla ended the inning by inducing a groundout. The run gave the Cubs a 3-1 lead, but the Phillies countered with their nine run inning in the 14-6 win.

July 25, at Florida -- L Castillo lined out to pitcher, A Gonzalez to third on throwing error by pitcher B Myers.

First of two errors in the game. With runners on first and second at the time of the lineout, I don't know who Myers was trying to double off. After a walk to load the bases, Myers got Mike Lowell to foul out to end the inning.

July 25, at Florida -- J Pierre sacrificed to pitcher, T Hollandsworth to second, J Pierre safe at first on throwing error by pitcher M Williams.

This inning was doomed from the start. Both runners ended up scoring, but Hollandsworth would have in the events that followed anyway. Pierre should have been out, but the Marlins' 8-run inning made his run inconsequential anyway.

July 26, at Florida -- D Lee singled to center, J Encarnacion to third, J Encarnacion scored on error by center fielder M Byrd.

This run scored directly because of the error. But it's tough to pin a 5-run loss on this one play.

July 26, at Florida -- L Castillo safe at first on error by center fielder M Byrd, J Pierre to third.

Another Byrd error cost the Phillies another run, as Castillo -- who would have been out -- scored on a Ivan Rodriguez double.

July 27, at Florida -- M Lowell reached on infield single to third, J Pierre to third, L Castillo to second, J Pierre scored, L Castillo to third on throwing error by third baseman N Punto.

10 errors in five days. You could argue that this run did cost the Phillies the game, as Florida went on to the eventual 7-6 win.

July 31, vs. Los Angeles -- O Perez struck out swinging, O Perez safe at first on throwing error by catcher M Lieberthal.

No damage done, as Perez was left on base as Duckworth got the next two batters to end the inning.

August 2, vs. San Diego, Game 1 -- P Nevin singled to right, G Matthews Jr scored, M Loretta to third, M Loretta scored on error by right fielder B Abreu.

L Merloni stole second, B Buchanan scored on error by shortstop J Rollins.

Two errors in the first two innings that directly led to two runs -- in an eventual 6-4 loss. The errors put the Phillies in an early hole that they could not climb out of.

August 2, vs. San Diego, Game 2 -- R Klesko safe at third on throwing error by pitcher C Silva.

A pickoff attempt that got away and scooted down the right field line. Klesko went first-to-third, but was left there when Nevin struck out.

August 5, at Colorado -- R Belliard safe at first on error by shortstop J Rollins.

Belliard was stranded at third, as the Rockies went scoreless in the inning.

August 6, at Colorado -- C Tsao sacrificed to pitcher, C Johnson to second, C Tsao safe at first on throwing error by pitcher B Duckworth.

This error did cost Duckworth, as it led to the three-run homer that provided the winning runs. Without the error, Helton would have led off the following inning, obviously with the bases empty.

August 6, at Colorado -- G Atkins reached on infield single to third, G Atkins to second on throwing error by third baseman T Houston.

Same game, but this error leads to nothing, as Atkins is stranded at second.

A recap:

21 errors, 8 of them by the pitchers. 11 of the 21 were throwing errors; two or three were an outfielder botching a catch, and the rest were bobbles with the glove.

10 of the runs allowed by the errors were runs that probably would not have been scored by the events that followed, and the errors probably directly contributed to three losses. But the Phillies are still 7-6 in the 13 games in which they have committed these errors.

Looking at those numbers, you could say that the errors are not costing the Phillies these ballgames. And for now, that's probably true. But if they don't get their act together and start playing defense like they did in the first half of the season, it will eventually catch up to them and begin to cost them more than a handful of games.

And with a one-game lead in the playoff race, the Phillies cannot afford to just throw it away...

2003-08-06T10:44:00.000-04:00

Anything but useless...

From Jayson Stark's latest Useless Info column:

It's doubtful that any team traded for a reliever at the deadline who will be as effective as Rheal Cormier has been for the Phillies. But any team could have traded a bag of sunflower seeds for Cormier last winter or this spring. Last season, Cormier had the third-worst ERA (5.25) of any left-handed reliever in the National League and allowed the second-most baserunners per nine innings (14.55). This season, thanks to a trip to the Joe Kerrigan Repair Shop, he has the lowest ERA of any left-handed reliever in the National League (1.36) and has allowed the fewest baserunners per nine innings (8.45) of any left-hander except Billy Wagner.

2003-08-06T10:24:00.000-04:00

Rocky Mountain High

Brett Myers pitched seven strong innings in Denver last night, despite not feeling real comfortable in his pregame bullpen session.

"I saw some of my stuff not breaking as sharp or moving as much and I was trying to make it too good -- knowing that in the back of my mind that this place is known for balls that fly out and not for your stuff to break as sharply," Myers said.

But when he stepped on the mound in the bottom of the first, none of that seemed to matter. Staked to an early 2-0 lead, Myers went to work. He allowed a leadoff single to Ron Belliard and a one-out walk to Todd Helton, but then got Preston Wilson to ground into a double play. He allowed a one-out hit and stranded a runner in the second, and got out of a bases loaded, one-out jam in the third. Myers consistantly got into trouble last night (his only 1-2-3 inning was the sixth), but he found a way out of it every time.

All told, he allowed two runs on eight hits in seven-plus innings, lowering his ERA to 3.58 and picking up win number 11. After giving up a pair of doubles to lead off the eighth, Myers gave way to Turk Wendell to finish the inning. Terry Adams came in and pitched a scoreless ninth.

Myers's strong pitching effort was backed up by the output of the offense. The Phillies jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first, when a single by Placido Polanco and walks to Jim Thome and Bobby Abreu loaded the bases for Mike Lieberthal. Lieberthal singled to center, bringing in two runs. They added to that lead in the second when Polanco singled home Marlon Byrd with two outs, and scored again in the third when Bobby Abreu led off the inning with a "Coors Field" homerun -- what appeared to be a simple fly ball that just kept carrying until it cleared the wall.

With the score 4-1 in the fifth, the Phillies loaded the bases again on a Thome single, an Abreu walk, and a Lieberthal hit-by-pitch. Tyler Houston followed by doing his job, bringing home a run on a fielder's choice. The Phillies scoring was capped by Ricky Ledee's pinch-hit two-run homerun in the top of the 8th. For Ledee, it was his career-high ninth homerun of the season.

So with seven runs of support, Myers picked up his 11th win. This level of support is one that Myers did not see much of early in the year, but is getting used to lately. Myers's season started with the Phillies being shutout despite Myers's gem on the mound. Two games later, the team scored but one run for him. Overall, through his first thirteen starts, the Phillies scored 51 runs -- an average of 3.92 runs per game that Myers started. Throw out an 11 run outburst on May 20th at New York, and that average dropped to 3.33 runs a game. In those first thirteen games, Myers was 5-6 with a 3.54 ERA; the team was 6-7.

Since June 17th, however, the offense has perked up with Myers on the mound. Scoring no fewer than three runs in any of the next ten Myers' starts, the Phillies have put 66 runs on the board. At 6.6 runs a game, the Phillies are 8-2 in Myers's last ten starts; Myers is 6-0. Here's a simple breakdown:

Phillies output	Team record	Myers's record
Fewer than 3 runs	0-3	0-3
3 runs	2-3	2-2
4 runs	2-1	1-1
5 runs	4-1	2-0
6 runs or more	6-1	6-0

I guess there are no surprises there. Give Myers three runs, and he'll give you a break-even chance of winning the game. More than that, and you'll likely get the W. So it's a good thing that the Phillies have chosen the second half of the season to back Myers up.

Notes

Bobby Abreu was back in the lineup last night after missing Sunday's game. Jim Thome also returned to the starting lineup.

Ledee pinch hit for Pat Burrell, who was 0-for-2 on the night with a strikeout and four left on base.

3B David Bell, on the DL with a strained lower back, took grounders before the game last night and complained of dizziness. The timetable on his return continues to change.

The Phillies are now 26-7 when they score in the first inning.

2003-08-05T12:34:00.000-04:00

While you were not watching...

Since I took down the "Offensive Slumber" watch, the Phillies offense has slowly been waking up. When we last had the "Slumber" up, the Phillies were hitting about .248 and were ranking 13th in the National League. As of this morning, the ranking has risen only to 10th, but the team average is up to .259 -- a nice 11 point jump. The spark can cleary been seen at the top of the order.

Since he took over in the leadoff spot, Marlon Byrd (who was under .200 at the end of May, remember) has been hitting .363/.415/.531/.946. In 25 games in the #1 spot, he is 41-for-113 and has scored 28 runs. He only has eight walks in that time, but while he continues to hits, the lack of walks do not have much of an effect on the on-base percentage. But Marlon is not the only one who has been heating up...

Since the start of July, 2B Placido Polanco has been hitting .400, getting on base almost 45% of the time, and slugging just over .600. He has scored 29 runs in that time and -- with Marlon getting on base in front of him -- has driven in 22 runs. A doubles machine, Polanco has hit nine of his 28 doubles since July 1, and has his overall average up to .303.

Bobby Abreu, occupying the cleanup spot more often than not in the last month and a half, has brought his average up to .294. He hit .313./.404/..510/.914 in June, and heated up just a bit more in July, when his numbers looked like this: .337/.433/.592/1.025. With Byrd, Polanco, and Thome reaching base in front of him, Abreu drove in 25 runs in July and has added four more in early August.

The lineup has seen some help from some unlikely sources as well. With David Bell out, 3B duties have been split mostly between Tyler Houston and Tomas Perez -- the latest additions to the "Blonde Bombshells" trio. Each is hitting .292, with Perez coming through with some timely hits. The "Bombshells" ringleader, Todd Pratt, has been no slouch himself, as he is hitting .291 with a decent amount of playing time in the last month.

With the offense heating up, things can only look to get better as the Phillies hit the road and head to that offensive heaven -- Coors Field.

Colorado is probably playing above expectations this season, and currently sit at 57-57, 6 1/2 games behind the Phillies in the Wild Card race. For the Rockies, Larry Walker is having a down year (.287, 10 homers, 60 RBI) and Todd Helton is having his normal Coors Field year (.351, 23 HR, 89 RBI), but the story has been Preston Wilson. The Marlins were happy to ship him out of town, and he has to be estatic about the move as well. Wilson is having a career season, hitting .305 with 28 HR and 108 RBI. He is still striking out a fair amount (103 punchouts), but even that number seems down a bit this season.

The surprise in the Rocky Mountain range this year has been the pitching. All-Star Shawn Chacon has struggled since a DL stint just before the All-Star break, but no one can complain about the Rockies' pitching at home this year:

	GS	W	L	ERA
Shawn Chacon	10	7	1	4.21
Jason Jennings	9	7	0	3.63
Darren Oliver	8	5	0	3.18
Aaron Cook	7	4	0	5.76

At Coors, an ERA below 5.00 will win you a lot of games. For the three game set starting tonight, the Phillies will only see one of these four pitchers. Shawn Chacon (11-5) goes tonight against Brett Myers (10-6), who looks to follow up a strong performance against Kevin Brown and LA on Wednesday. Tomorrow's matchup will feature Rockies' rookie Chin-hui Tsao -- who is 1-0 in his two starts -- against Brandon Duckworth (4-5), who is coming off possibly his best game of the season. Thursday afternoon's finale will feature Kevin Millwood (11-7) for the Phillies against Denny Stark (1-0), who lasted just 4 2/3 innings in his last start.

The Rockies enter this series looking to make up some ground in the Wild Card race, and erase the memories of a three-game sweep in Philadelphia back in April. Another sweep by the Phillies could knock the Rockies out of the race for good; a sweep by Colorado makes this race closer than it needs to be. The pitching will struggle in Coors, so the offense has to continue to turn it up a notch or two.

2003-08-05T10:54:00.000-04:00

Thome, Thome, Thome

.262 average. .379 on-base percentage. .534 slugging percentage. 27 homers. 83 RBI.

Those aren't bad numbers. But they may not reach the lofty expectations we had for Jim Thome this season. Why are the numbers down? Aaron Gleeman explores why in his latest post. Go check it out.

2003-08-05T10:46:00.000-04:00

Tuesday: a happy day

I take one day off of work, sick at home, and I miss the one piece of news that I have been waiting for all season. Figures, huh? I'll get to that in a second.

First, let's start with the disappointing weekend. Yes, taking only 2 of 4 from a struggling Padres club counts as disappointing. The Phillies need to take advantage of playing teams like this, not waste their chances.

The Phillies took Friday night's series opener, behind Kevin Millwood's gem. Millwood -- who threw the season's first no-hitter on April 27th -- had a perfect game going into the sixth. After a questionable ball three call -- Millwood wanted it to be strike three -- Padres C Miguel Ojeda singled to left field to ruin the perfection. Millwood erased him on a double-play grounder, and had faced the minimum through six. Millwood finished off the complete game shutout, allowing just three hits and a walk, but faced just two batters over the minimum thanks to a pair of double plays turned behind him. The offense was sparked by the top of the order, where Marlon Byrd and Placido Polanco went a combined 6-for-8 and scored four of the team's six runs on the night.

Saturday's doubleheader proved the be a mixed bag. In the opener, Randy Wolf had what he referred to as a bad night. Bad control and a pair of fielding errors behind him led to three early San Diego runs. Wolf got things under control, and set the Padres down in order in the third and fourth, but got in more trouble in the fifth, capped by Phil Nevin's three-run home run, making it 6-0 San Diego. On the night, Wolf lasted five innings, giving up six runs (four earned) on five hits and five walks. He threw 94 pitches in those five innings. Offensively, no one told the Phillies that the game started at 5, as they were being shut out on three hits entering the ninth. They woke up for four runs on four hits in the ninth, but their late rally fell short.

The offensive momentum continued into the second game. After four in the ninth in Game One, the Phillies scored in each of the first two innings in Game Two, and added four more in the fourth. Byrd and Polanco again sparked the offense, as they went 4-for-7 with five runs scored and five RBI. But this time, they had some help: Bobby Abreu (two hits, three RBI), Ricky Ledee (two hits), and Todd "Blonde Bombshell" Pratt (two hits, three runs) all played big parts in the Phillies' ten-run outburst.

Carlos Silva got his first major league start, and showed some flashes in the game, but overall was inconsistant. He went four innings, giving up three runs on five hits. He walked two and struck out five. He looked really good early, setting the Padres down 1-2-3 in the top of the first. In the second, he got two outs before he faced trouble. With one out, Gary Matthews Jr. laced a double to left, scoring a run. Silva then intentionally walked Ojeda before striking out Joe Roa to end the inning. In the third, he allowed a one-out double to Mark Loretta, who stole third and scored on a ground out to tie the game at two. In the fourth, with his pitch count rising, he allowed a pair of one-out hits, scoring a run, before getting Roa and Ramon Vazquez to end the threat. Overall, not a bad performace; there was definitely some hope for the future in Silva's arm.

Silva was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the fourth, as the Phillies scored four to claim a 6-3 lead. That lead was increased as bullpen members not named Jose Mesa pitched 4 2/3 innings of two-hit baseball. The problem was that Mesa pitched at all.

Coming into the top of the ninth, the Phillies held a 10-3 lead. Mesa strolled in from the bullpen in order to get some work in -- he had not pitched since Wednesday's game against LA. The first pitch he threw, Miguel Ojeda greeted and drove into the Padres' bullpen. 10-4. Pinch-hitter Brain Buchanan singled to center, and Vazquez followed with a ground-rule double. After Mark Kotsay popped up, Loretta walked to load the bases as a chrous of boos filled the stadium. The boos were replaced by the loudest cheer of the night as Larry Bowa came in to relieve Mesa. Dan Plesac came in and got two quick outs to end the mess.

Sunday's game was a pitcher's duel that would go extra innings. A 2-1 Phillies' lead was wasted in a rare bad outing by Rheal Cormier, who allowed a run to tie it at two in the seventh. It stayed that way until the tenth when -- once again -- Jose Mesa entered the game. Mesa started by walking Sean Burroughs and Gary Matthews, Jr. to put two on with no one out. The numbers on and out really didn't matter, as Brian Buchanan brought them all home on a homer to left field. 5-2 Padres. Game over. Yet, Bowa left Mesa in for one more batter -- another walk -- before lifting him for Turk Wendell. But the damage had been done.

Two of four from the Padres. Not good. The Phillies were helped by Houston, who took two of three from Florida, and kept a four-game lead over St. Louis in the Wild Card race. A good weekend by Montreal (they were hosting Milwaukee, so don't get too excited) brought the Expos to within 4 1/2 games, and the D'backs still sit give out. But the Phillies needed to take advantage of a weekend like this and extend the lead. Otherwise, there may not be a lead to maintain.

-----

The Phillies may have taken a good step toward maintaining that lead by removing Mesa from the closer's role. Yes, the news I have been waiting for all year finally arrived...it just arrived when I wasn't paying attention. Evidently, Larry Bowa had finally seen enough (what took so long?!?) and determined that Mesa needed some work with Joe Kerrigan. Now, the bad news is that -- for now -- this move is only temporary. Mesa will work with Kerrigan over the next few days, and will not work the ninth inning for a week or so. Unfortunately, that means that he may pitch in other innings. Ready for the ugly?

	ERA	H/9	K/9	BB/9	Opp. Avg
Season	4.28	11.23	6.90	4.34	.298
Since July 1	11.17	16.76	8.38	8.38	.383

Joe Kerrigan -- if you can turn this around, I will forever refer to you as St. Joe. Until such time as that happens, however, the Phillies will look elsewhere for closing help. Bowa has said he will work with a "bullpen by committee" approach for the next week, and that may not be a bad thing:

	ERA	H/9	K/9	BB/9	Opp. Avg
Cormier	1.36	5.58	7.39	2.87	.180
Plesac	1.54	6.56	8.87	2.31	.198
Wendell	1.99	6.55	3.97	4.17	.208
Adams	2.38	8.74	6.67	3.18	.259
Williams	5.40	9.85	5.32	5.52	.278

The question becomes, will Bowa count on the guy -- Williams -- that has the most recent closing experience, but the worst numbers? Or will he rely on the guys that have gotten the job done all season long? That is yet to be seen.

Regardless, we have to hope that either Mesa finds a way to turn it around, or -- if he does not -- Bowa sticks to his word and sticks Mesa on the bench...permanently!

2003-08-04T15:01:00.000-04:00

Mesa out as closer

Excuse the lack of updates today -- I am home sick, and haven't been up to blogging today...until now.

D-Mac, from The Iggles' Nest, just brought to my attention that this weekend's ineptitude has finally cost Jose Mesa. Phillies.com has an article saying that Mesa has been removed, at least temporarily, from the closer's role. According to the article, Mesa will not pitch in the ninth inning for at least one week, while working on his delivery with pitching coach Joe Kerrigan.

No word on who will serve as closer; a bullpen-by-committee is a possibility, although former Pirates closer Mike Williams may get the first crack.

I'll have more on this later, but for now I am just celebrating!

2003-08-01T14:26:00.000-04:00

Cole in Clearwater

Cole Hamels made his first start for Clearwater last night and got...*cough, cough*...roughed up. At least for him. In his High-A debut, Hamels went 5 2/3 innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on six hits. He walked three and struck out ten on the night. His ERA is 3.18, which is ridiculously high after the 0.84 he had at Lakewood.

2003-08-01T12:00:00.000-04:00

Updated Links

Some of these are old news, as I am behind in updating my links...

To the Baseball News section of my left column, I have added a link to the Baseball Nerds. It's a fairly new site that is going to attempt to cover everything baseball-related: majors, minors, independent leagues. If it's out there, they have an eye on it.

Three other sites have moved away from Blogger and Blog*Spot (can't blame them) to a new server and Movable Type. They are

Bronx Banter -- Alex has joined forces with Christian, The Cub Reporter, over at all-baseball.com. Same content and great interviews, different site. He and I even used the same title to recap last night's action.

Only Baseball Matters -- John's site inspired me to start the 700 Level, and his move may inspire me to do the same.

No Pepper -- Brad is like the Braves...he just keeps on moving up.

Check them all out.

2003-08-01T11:21:00.000-04:00

Notes

1B Jim Thome got last night off. He tweaked his groin on Wednesday, and was scheduled to take the day off as of yesterday's morning. The rainfall throughout the evening made that decision look like a no-brainer.

2B Placido Polanco made his return to the lineup last night, but still isn't 100%.

Rumors continued yesterday that 2B Chase Utley would be called up and Polanco moved to third, but 3B David Bell said he was feeling much better yesterday.

The Phillies stood still at the trading deadline, passing on Pirates P Jeff Suppan, who ended up in Boston. According to the Inquirer:

The Phils offered two minor-leaguers for Suppan. Sources said they did not offer any of their top minor-leaguers: Cole Hamels, Gavin Floyd, Ryan Madson or Chase Utley. Some reports suggested Madson was the key figure in the deal, but a person close to the situation said he was never discussed.

The Phillies remain convinced (and last night's start helped) that Brandon Duckworth can capably fill the fifth starter's role, and are happy with the makeup of their team.

The Inquirer also reports that Ed Wade turned down an offer to acquire 3B Robin Ventura.

2003-08-01T11:16:00.000-04:00

Swept away

That's what the Dodgers were, by both the Phillies and the rain. Check out these pitching lines:

4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
1/3 IP, 5 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

The first line is Odalis Perez's line through the first four innings . Minus a walk to Todd Pratt in the third, he was almost untouchable, and the Phillies were looking as bad as the weather.

The second line above is Perez's effort in the fifth. As dominating as he was in the first four, the wheels completely came off in the fifth. Listening to the broadcast last night, John Kruk was convinced that Perez's concentration disappeared after walking Pat Burrell on a very close call for ball four. You could tell that he wasn't happy with the call. He came back and struck out Jimmy Rollins, and then tried to bust Pratt inside. Pratt fought it off and flared it into left field for the Phillies first hit. If the walk to Burrell upset Perez, the flare flustered him.

Tomas Perez followed Pratt's dink with a dunk -- a line shot to the opposite field that cleared the wall and landed in the Phillies bullpen. Just like that, the Phillies went from being no-hit to a 3-1 lead and had the Dodgers' pitcher seemingly on the ropes. But Perez wasn't done taking the beating. Opposing pitcher Brandon Duckworth singled down the first base line, and Marlon Byrd got a single of his own. With the rain coming down hard at this point, Placido Polanco provided the thunder: he absolutely launched a pitch that landed in the club level in left-center field. 6-1 Phillies, Perez is done, and Duckworth has his first win since May.

For the first time in quite a while, I can say that Brandon Duckworth had a good outing. He allowed four hits and one run over seven innings. The one run was an Adrian Beltre long ball that was up around the eyes. Regardless of whether Duckworth was trying to climb the ladder or just badly missed his spot, I have no idea how Beltre could get so much behind a pitch so high. Still, it turned out to be the only mistake Duckworth made all night, and that is a very good thing.

The Phillies scored seven runs last night against a pitching staff that has given up that many runs only twelve times all season (two of those games came in a weekend set in Colorado, to be fair), and pulled off the three-game sweep at a time when it was badly needed. The sweep knocked the Dodgers to six back in the Wild Card race, and the win last night added a half-game to the lead over the idle Marlins.

Coming to town for a four-game set are the San Diego Padres. San Diego has been playing decent baseball as of late, and are 7-6 since the All-Star break. But they still remain 25 games below .500, and are the only team truly out of the playoff race in the NL West. The pitching matchups for the weekend start off with a pair of Kevins tonight -- Jarvis (4-2) for the Padres and Millwood for the Phils. The first game of tomorrow night's doubleheader will be Jake Peavy (8-8) against Randy Wolf (11-5). The second game's pitchers have yet to be decided. On Sunday, Oliver Perez (4-4) will face Vicente Padilla (10-8).

Carlos Silva was pencilled in to start the second game tomorrow night, but was used in the 9th inning last night. Harry Kalas and Larry Anderson wondered if last night's appearance may just serve to be the equivalent to a side session between starts, but the move was curious. Silva threw only 18 pitches, but was seemingly removed because he was ineffective. He faced three batters, and gave up hits to two of them; both of those runners scored. But the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the Phillies will still have Silva start game two tomorrow and limit him to about 55 pitches.

So then let me ask this: why throw him last night, and why limit him to only 55 pitches? Unless he was saving his good stuff last night, 55 pitches won't get him past the third or fourth inning, meaning you are asking a lot out of your bullpen -- and your long reliever is the starter! Based on these developments, I would much rather see a one-night callup for someone like Ryan Madson to make a spot start. But presumably, Ed Wade and Larry Bowa know more than I do.

I will be at the doubleheader tomorrow night, so I'll hopefully have some news on how Silva looks. I'm trying to convince my wife that this doubleheader won't be like the last one we had with San Diego...where rain delays and extra innings kept them playing until 4:30 in the morning. But the forecast of rain isn't helping my argument...

EDIT: D-Mac, from the Iggles' Nest, reminded me that former Phillie Joe Roa will likely start Game 2 for the Padres. That means in the three games I will have seen at the Vet this season (after tomorrow night) Roa will have started two of them -- Opening Day for the Phillies, and tomorrow for the Padres.

2003-07-31T15:28:00.000-04:00

Suppan in Red...

...Sox, not pinstripes. Lee Sinins is reporting that the Red Sox acquired Suppan for prospect Freddy Sanchez, likely ending the Phillies trade efforts before the end of the day.

2003-07-31T15:22:00.000-04:00

The future

David Cameron has an article on Phillies' prospect Cole Hamels over at Baseball Prospectus. The article is for premium members only, and can be found here.

2003-07-31T15:10:00.000-04:00

Rumors and news

There are reports that the Phillies are considering calling up hot-hitting 2B Chase Utley if David Bell's back injury continues to linger. The plan would be to have Utley play 2B and shift Placido Polanco over to third. Complicating this plan is the day-to-day status of Polanco, who missed his second straight game last night with a sore left quad. Utley was sent down to Scranton in early May to get some everyday play, and has had a spectacular season at AAA.

Utley is hitting .314 with 70 runs scored, 14 home runs, 68 RBI, and 10 stolen bases, and could serve as a spark for the Phillies lineup.

-----

Regarding the many trade rumors floating around the Phillies, my gut instinct (an hour before the deadline) is that they do nothing. We'll see if that's true...

2003-07-31T15:05:00.000-04:00

A quick recap

It's 20 to 3 now, and if you had wanted a full recap of last night's game, you would have found one by now. So while work has interfered with my blogging life again, I'll keep to the highlights.

What impressed me...

The Phillies offense scored two runs each off of starter Kevin Brown and reliever Paul Shuey. Why does this impress me?

Kevin Brown is one of the tougher pitchers in the NL, opposing batters hit .234 off of him, and his WHIP is 1.10. So what do the Phillies do? Smack nine hits and draw three walks in six innings. That works out to a .333 average and a 2.00 WHIP. And they took advantage of a first inning error by Brown to jump to the 2-0 lead.

After the Dodgers tied the game off of Brett Myers (who went six innings himself and allowed two runs for a no decision), the Phillies had to face the Dodgers' bullpen -- the toughest in the NL. Paul Shuey took over for Brown in the seventh, and the Phillies sent him to the showers with this line:

0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 batters faced

Shuey holds hitters to a .189 average and allows just over one baserunner an inning (1.08 WHIP). So what do the Phillies do? Marlon Byrd greets him with a single -- extending his hitting streak to 11 games -- and Ricky Ledee triples him home. Good night, Paul Shuey. 3-2 Phillies.

So the Phillies face the best pitching staff in the majors and do the following:

jump to an early lead

after giving up the lead, they immediately rough up the best bullpen in the game

Those kinds of things make for a good night.

What frustrates me...

...is that a night like last night -- where everything goes right -- can come right on the heels of a night where everything goes wrong. My frustrations lie in the lack of consistancy in this Phillies team.

They come out of the break and take three of four from Montreal.

Then they drop two to the Mets.

Then they sweep two from the Cubs at Wrigley.

Then they get swept by the Marlins.

Then they come home and take the first two from the Dodgers and their great pitching staff.

Anyone else getting sick from the roller coaster ride? All I am asking for is some consistancy, and not in the wins and losses. I want that consistancy in the effort. I want to see the same effort, the same energy, the same enthusiasm night after night, and I am not seeing that. It was there in Chicago. It has been there against the Dodgers. It wasn't there against New York or Florida. Wherever the switch is, tape it up in the "on" position for goodness sake!

-----

Enough of my ranting...

The bottom line is that the Phillies have taken the first two from LA at a wonderful time. Florida's sweep of the Diamondbacks has the fish nipping at our heels, and the Wild Card lead remains at one game. Tonight's series finale matches up Odalis Perez versus Brandon Duckworth, who is winless in ten starts. As bad as Duckworth has been, Perez has been almost as bad lately. In their last three starts, Duckworth is 0-2 with a 5.54 ERA; Perez is 1-1 with a 6.48. But in his most recent start (7/25 at Arizona), Perez gave up one run on five hits in eight innings, picking up a tough ND.

Florida has the night off, so the Phillies will enter Friday with the Wild Card in hand, but they hope to extend that lead. It depends on which team shows up: the energetic and excited one, or the one that is there just to clock in and clock out.

2003-07-31T11:54:00.000-04:00

Trade winds

For some reason, I went through all of yesterday thinking that yesterday was the trading deadline. The light did not come on in my head until late last night... *rolls his eyes*

So, since the deadline still hasn't passed, there are still rumors floating about. In today's ATM Report, Lee Sinins has the following bits of news:

6) According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the Astros have intensified
their interest in Pirates P Jeff Suppan. The paper also reports the Pirates
offered the Phillies Brian Giles, without adding Jason Kendall to the deal,
but the Phillies thought the asking price of Marlon Byrd, Brett Myers and
prospect Gavin Floyd was too high.

7) According to the Philadelphia Daily News, if the Phillies make a trade,
it will be for Suppan.

Too high indeed! Including Marlon Byrd -- while I am against it -- would at least free up an outfield position for Giles (assuming that you are not benching Burrell in the process). But including two of the top pitching prospects in the system is insane. That deal will never happen, or else Phillie fans will want Ed Wade's head.

The Phillies are evidently still in the running for Suppan, but many teams, including the Astros, are hotter on the Pirates' heels about this one.

Note: I hope to offer a full update, including a recap of last night's game, later this afternoon.

2003-07-30T14:59:00.000-04:00

More trade talk

"Rumors" from ESPN.com's Page 2 writer, Graham Hays:

The Phillies are talking to the Tigers about a deal that would send Jeremy Bonderman (4-14) and Mike Maroth (5-15) to the Braves.

The unfortunate part of this "deal" is this: pitching in front of that lineup, they could both reach .500 before the end of the season.

2003-07-30T14:51:00.000-04:00

Duracell agrees

ESPN.com's Jim Caple had ten trade "decrees" he wants put in effect before the deadline, including:

5. The Phillies trade for J.D. Drew just so we can see how Philly fans react when he homers in the bottom of the ninth to win a crucial game in September.

Ummm...no thanks.

2003-07-30T09:24:00.000-04:00

Shall we make it 5 with 10?

Vicente Padilla got his tenth win of the year last night, giving the Phillies four ten-game winners on the season. Could they have a fifth by the end of today?

As the trading deadline approaches, GM Ed Wade says he has no deals on the burner, but also will not deny that something could be done before the 4PM Eastern deadline, or during the waiver period. There are a number of reports out there this morning that have the Phillies pursuing Pirates starter Jeff Suppan. Suppan, who in the Pirates' dumping could be had for minor leaguers, is 10-7 on the season with a 3.57 ERA, and has easily been the Pirates' most consistant starter.

While not denying these rumors, Wade did say that struggling Phillie Brandon Duckworth was not part of any discussions.

"He's very much a part of our future," Bowa said.

Said Wade: "He's got a lot of ability. He pitched in a pennant race two years ago and we're prepared to hang with Brandon at this point. We saw his upside before he got hurt in Spring Training before he got hurt. He was the best pitcher we had in camp."

So expect Duckworth to stay in red pinstripes. But will he be replaced in the starting rotation by Suppan? All we can do is keep our ears open as the trades are starting to come fast and furious -- or at least as fast and furious as baseball deals come.

2003-07-30T09:19:00.000-04:00

Anything but a hit parade

Let me welcome you this morning with these sad stats:

.258 -- Philadelphia's team batting average, good for 12th in the NL

.240 -- Los Angeles's team batting average, good for 16th in the NL

.413 -- Philadelphia's team slugging average, good for 10th in the NL

.356 -- Los Angeles's team slugging average, good for 16th in the NL

497 -- Philadelphia's team runs, good for 7th in the NL

362 -- Los Angeles's team runs, good for 16th in the NL

.252 -- Philadelphia's team batting average with nobody on, good for 13th in the NL

.235 -- Los Angeles's team batting average with nobody on, good for 16th in the NL

.265 -- Philadelphia's team batting average with runners on, good for 10th in the NL

.248 -- Los Angeles's team batting average with runners on, good for 16th in the NL

.254 -- Philadelphia's team batting average with runners in scoring position, good for 10th in the NL

.250 -- Los Angeles's team batting average with runners in scoring position, good for 13th in the NL

And now these:

8 -- Philadelphia's team shutouts, good for 2nd in the NL

10 -- Los Angeles's team shutouts, good for 1st in the NL

1.272 -- Philadelphia's team WHIP, good for 2nd in the NL

1.186 -- Los Angeles's team WHIP, good for 1st in the NL

Any wonder why there were only two runs, eight hits, or 13 total baserunners last night? Maybe we should be wondering why there was so much offense.

Yes, the anemic Phillies offense welcomed the National League's worst offense to town last night. Two hours and thirty-seven minutes later (that might include batting practice, I'm not sure), the teams were done for the night. A Bobby Abreu two-run home run in the second was all the offense that was needed last night -- and it's a good thing, because that's virtually all there was.

Vicente Padilla went eight very strong innings last night, allowing just three hits and one walk; he also hit two batters. On the rare occasions when he did allow a runner to reach base, he was helped by some strong defense. Nick Punto -- starting at 2B for Placido Polanco, who was out with a sore quad -- made a pair of wonderful diving stops: one ranging to his left on a hot-shot ground ball, the other racing out to center on a looping pop fly. Phillies fans were also treated to the rare sight of Mike Lieberthal nailing a runner attempting to steal, when he caught Dave Roberts attempting to swipe second in the fifth.

Padilla's strong effort earned him his tenth win of the season, becoming the fourth Phillie to reach double-digits in wins. He also allowed the depleted bullpen -- who had been responsible for three of the four losses over the extended weekend -- a little bit of a rest. Dan Plesac and Jose Mesa combined to pitch the ninth, but threw all of ten pitches between them.

Not to be lost in the Dodgers' loss is the effort of Kaz Ishii, the hard-luck loser. Ishii went six innings, allowing just three hits and two walks -- unfortunately, one of those hits was Abreu's blast. Ishii struck out seven before turning it over to the bullpen, which threw two innings of two-hit baseball.

The win also kept the Phillies in the NL Wild Card lead. Florida defeated Arizona again last night, keeping the difference at one game. Arizona's loss pushes them to three back; the Cards won to stay 3 1/2 back. The Dodgers' loss takes them to four back, where they are suddenly tied with the "where the heck did they come from?" Rockies.

Viewers can expect more of the same tonight at the Vet, as the same two anemic offenses take the field. On the mound will be a pair of ten-game winners. Kevin Brown (10-5, 2.12) will go for the Dodgers, while Brett Myers (10-6, 3.65) takes the mound for the Phillies.

Notes

The last time the Phillies had four 10-game winners was 1993. An omen?

Polanco's injury is not considered serious, and he is day-to-day.

David Bell left his rehab assignment in Clearwater this weekend when he experienced more pain while taking BP. He returned to Philadelphia to be examined by team doctors. Bell had an MRI and a cortisone shot on Monday, but there appears to be no structural damage to his back. He is expected to be out for another week to 10 days before picking up a bat again. According to Comcast SportsNet:

Though he says Bell won't admit it, Bowa believes the third baseman has been playing his injury since April.

2003-07-29T11:05:00.000-04:00

Dodgers come to town

Jon, over at Dodger Thoughts, has a preview of the Phils-Dodgers series, from an LA point of view. He's very thankful that the Phillies had to "waste the top left-handed pitcher in the National League this season, Randy Wolf, against the Cincinnati Reds."

Check out what he has to say...

2003-07-29T11:00:00.000-04:00

From Diamond Mind

... if Atlanta and Philly were both in line with the pythagorean records, it would be a virtual dead heat for first place in the East.

2003-07-29T10:23:00.000-04:00

Turning Point

Top of the eighth, two out, no one on. Larry Bowa lets P Randy Wolf hit for himself. To this point, Wolf has thrown 95 pitches over seven innings, but has allowed just four hits since his first inning struggles. So Bowa lets him hit, instead of turning to a pinch-hitter and the overworked bullpen. Wolf flies out to center to end the top of the inning, and Sean Casey greets him in the bottom of the inning with a game-tying home run. End of the day for Wolf; in comes the bullpen.

Time to second guess? Should Bowa have pinch-hit for his pitcher with two outs? Had Wolf had enough?

"He had an easy seventh inning," Bowa said.

"The bullpen is completely exhausted. I don't second-guess it. I thought it was a no-brainer. If the bullpen isn't tired, I might take him out. But right now, our 'pen is spent."

In hindsight, I agree with the decision. Wolf, despite the four-run first, was still pitching strong. He had allowed a pair of one-out singles in the sixth, but proceeded to strike out the next two batters to get out of the inning. In the seventh, he set them down 1-2-3. With the starters' inability to go deep into games lalety, the bullpen is overworked, and over the weekend, they were inefficient.

If I am Larry Bowa, I stick with Randy Wolf until he gets into trouble.

Unfortunately, trouble came quickly. And the game was tied. Rheal Cormier came in and worked two innings of two hit ball. Terry Adams came in to start the tenth, but had nothing. He walked Aaron Boone, gave up a single to Adam Dunn, and intentioanlly walked Ruben Mateo to load the bases. With everyone in, Kelly Stinnett singled in the winning run.

Should it surprise anyone that Adams had nothing? Not really; this was his fourth straight game. Quite simply,

"He's tired," Bowa said.

That about sums it up for the entire bullpen right now.

The loss is the Phillies fourth straight, and with the Marlins win over Arizona, the Wild Card lead that was a comfortable four on Friday morning is now one. And the pitching-strong Dodgers come to town tonight. Vicente Padilla will try to stop the bleeding. An effective complete game would be nice...but am I aiming too high right now?

2003-07-28T14:05:00.000-04:00

More of the same?

After jumping to a 1-0 lead in the first, the Phillies -- as they did all weekend -- immediately gave the lead right back. Randy Wolf got hit hard in the first, and gave up four runs. But he has calmed down since then -- 2 hits since the first -- and the Phillies have scored four runs in the last two innings.

Phils 5, Reds 4 after five.

2003-07-28T13:13:00.000-04:00

Minor League News

P Cole Hamels and his 0.84 ERA have been promoted from Lakewood to high-A Clearwater. Hamels had confounded Sally League hitters to the tune of a 6-1 record, 32 H in 74 2/3 IP, 115 K, and only 25 BB. To make room for Hamels, P Keith Bucktrot was promoted from Clearwater to AA Reading. Bucktrot was 7-7 at Clearwater with a 3.33 ERA and 68 Ks in 110 2/3 innings. In his AA debut yesterday, he went seven innings, giving up one run on four hits, striking out nine, and taking the tough loss.

2B Chase Utley continues to tear up AAA pitching. His line: .318, 67 R, 119 H, 14 HR, 67 RBI, 10 SB in 96 games. I had thought that a Polanco injury might get Utley his call back to Philly, but Polanco (thankfully) is in today's starting lineup.

2003-07-28T11:31:00.000-04:00

Back to June 15th

After taking the weekend off -- and you can't prove that they did anything else after the debacle in Florida -- the Phillies head back to June 15th. The June 15th game in Cincinnati had been rained out after one inning and rescheduled for today. So the Phils will complete the Chicago-Miami-Cincinnati trip with a one-gamer this afternoon. The Phillies then get back on the plane and head home for a 7-game, 6-day homestand.

*lets them do the math*

Yes, 7 games in 6 days. "How?" you ask. A rare, scheduled doubleheader Saturday night against the San Diego Padres -- that's how. The upcoming schedule will do nothing to help the depleted bullpen, which has been overworked by the starters' inability to get past the fourth inning in four of the last seven games. The Phillies have played 11 games in 11 days since the break, and have eight more over the next seven days before finally catching a little breather. Yet, pitching coach Joe Kerrigan believes that the bullpen will be fine. The Phillies have to hope so, as despite this weekend that never happened, the bullpen is still the third best in the NL.

Randy Wolf did a good job of resting the bullpen last week, as he threw a complete game shutout against the Cubs last Wednesday night. He goes for the Phillies today in Cincy against Ryan Dempster, and the hope is that he can at least come close to duplicating the feat. Game time is 12:35.

Random Notes

2B Placido Polanco fouled a ball off of his shin in yesterday's "game" in his at-bat in the first inning. He was removed from the game after running the bases -- gingerly -- in the third. Polanco claims he is okay and plans to play today.

Despite having the 4th best OBP in the NL, and having drawn the second-most walks in the league, the Phillies rank first in runners left on base, with a whopping 800.

From Sunday's Inquirer:

The Phillies passed the 100-game mark Thursday. Last year, they were 46-54 after 100 games. This year, they were 57-43. Despite their offensive inconsistencies, the Phils had scored more runs (479 to 451) in 100 games this year. The big difference: The team ERA was down from 4.54 to 3.54.

2003-07-25T13:41:00.000-04:00

The Philly Connection

I know it's blasphemous to mention this with still two-plus months worth of baseball left. But football training camps are starting to open. Opening tomorrow is the Eagles' camp up at Lehigh, and in time for that event is the opening of a brand new Eagles' blog, the Iggles' Nest. Daniel has the site up and running, and takes a close look at some of the Eagles' offseason moves.

Head on over and check it out, because football is right around the corner...

2003-07-25T11:32:00.000-04:00

A little perspective

For much of the season, we have looked at Atlanta's large division lead and wondered what was wrong with the Phillies. The Braves current lead is 9 1/2 games; despite that, the Phillies are playing .570 baseball. That's good enough for third-best in the National League, behind just Atlanta and San Francisco, who are each playing well over .600. For some perspective on how well the Phillies are actually playing...

If the Phillies played in the NL Central...

	GB
Phillies	--
Houston	2

If the Phillies played in the NL West...

	GB
San Francisco	--
Phillies	7
Arizona	11

If the Phillies played in the AL East...

	GB
New York	--
Boston	2.5
Phillies	5

If the Phillies played in the AL Central...

	GB
Phillies	--
Kansas City	2

If the Phillies played in the AL West...

	GB
Seattle	--
Phillies	3.5
Oakland	4

Maybe we should consider Philadelphia to be Central?

2003-07-25T11:23:00.000-04:00

Knocking on Wood

One day, they do it with the pitching. The next, the offense gets turned back on. Less than 24 hours after Randy Wolf's gem, the Phillies offense pounded out 14 runs on 14 hits in a 14-6 pouncing of the Cubs.

Through five innings, the Phillies had managed just two hits off of Cubs' pitcher Kerry Wood, one of those being Todd Pratt's solo home run in the third. A Sammy Sosa two-run bomb in the first, and a Kenny Lofton sac fly in the fifth had Chicago in front 3-1. But in the 6th, the wheels fell off...

The same Wood that had been dominant in the first five innings couldn't get anyone out in the sixth: Marlon Byrd singled, and Polanco did the same. Thome walked, and Abreu followed with a grand slam. Ledee walked, Rollins singled, and Pratt singled in a run. Wood's day was done. Kyle Farnsworth came in and quickly got the first out, but the fun wasn't over. After Perez flied out to center, Padilla walked to load the bases. Byrd walked, forcing in a run. Polanco singled in two more, and Farnsworth hit the showers. Remlinger walked Thome to load the bases -- again -- for Abreu, who with history on the line (two slams in an inning) managed only a sac fly to center. Ledee flied out to end the carnage, but the damage had been done.

Totals: 9 runs, 6 hits, 0 errors, 5 walks.

Thome was officially 0-for-0 in an inning in which 14 hitters came to the plate.

All of this offense allowed Vicente Padilla to pick up his ninth win of the season despite not having his best day. Padilla allowed six runs -- five earned -- on seven hits through six innings. He walked three and struck out three, and may have lost some of what he had in the long top of the sixth. Padilla actually tried to sneak down to the bullpen to throw a little bit in the top of the sixth, only to later find out that it wasn't allowed. Oops...

So the Phils head out of the windy city with a two game sweep and with the offense running hot. The Phillies finish the season series with Chicago, having taken five of six against a playoff-hopeful team. This morning, the team wakes up in Florida ready to face a team that is just five games behind them in the Wild Card race, and embarrassed them at home two weeks ago with a three-game sweep. The Phillies are primed to return the favor.

Tonight's game has Brett Myers (10-6, 3.55, 5-0 in his last seven starts) going for the Phillies, who will get their first taste of the latest sensation, Dontrelle Willis (9-2, 2.67). Willis is coming off his worst outing in the majors, but seems to be mystifying opponents his first time through the league. Tomorrow's game sees Brandon Duckworth (3-4, 5.28) -- who may be fighting to stay in the rotation -- against Josh Beckett (4-4-, 3.41). Sunday's game has Kevin Millwood (10-7, 3.77) -- trying to bounce back from a tough start -- against Carl Pavano (7-10, 4.17), who always seems to handle the Phillies well.

2003-07-24T11:34:00.000-04:00

Random Notes

SS Jimmy Rollins was back in the starting lineup last night, after missing the last handful of games.

David Bell will begin a rehab assignment in Clearwater tonight (can I have a rehab there, too?!?). He hopes to be activated when he is eligible on Saturday.

C Todd Pratt bleached his hair. His teammates are comparing him to Billy Idol and Eminem. Must make for a pretty picture.

From the Doylestown Intelligencer:

Struggling No. 5 starter Brandon Duckworth tinkered with his mechanics during yesterday's side day. The right-hander worked on slowing down his approach to plate and on throwing with more of a downward angle, corrections he hopes improve his location.

"It was a good bullpen session for me, and I'm going to take that into the game," he said.

Duckworth's next scheduled start is Saturday at Florida.

And have you noticed...?

CF Marlon Byrd is now hitting .297 on the season? He was at .193 on May 30th, then hit .364 in June, and .350 so far in July. He is hitting .368 (21-for-57) in the leadoff spot, with a .410 OBP.

RF Bobby Abreu has his own average up to .293? He hit .313 in June, and is hitting .361 in July. Since the break, he is 14-for-26 with a homer and seven RBI.

Terry Adams has been almost lights out in the last two months? In June, he had an ERA of 1.50, had 12 strikeouts to only one walk, and opponents batted .203 off of him. July has been even better: 0.96 ERA, 10 Ks, 1 BB, and a .156 opponent average.

Jose Mesa has a WHIP under 1.00 since the break?!? *gulp*

2003-07-24T10:11:00.000-04:00

Bill Giles isn't enough?

The Philadelphia Daily News' Sam Donnellon has an article applauding Ed Wade for his recent work, most recently his acquisition of former Pirates reliever Mike WIlliams. But he is also hoping that Wade gets right back on the phone to Pittsburgh to acquire one more player: LF Brian Giles.

Donnellon sees Giles very nicely filling the hole in LF created by Pat Burrell and his lack of hitting. Donnellon argues that Giles is the perfect short-term solution, adding a potent bat to the heart of the lineup and hopefully carrying the team into October baseball. With Pittsburgh in salary dump mode, Giles can probably be had for less than he is worth, and if the purse strings of ownership are still open, he is affordable at an average of $9 million a season.

But even Donnellon admits this is a short-term solution. Come the offseason, the Phillies would have two top LF, both with contracts that average around $9 million a year, and neither a candidate to change positions. One of them would have to go, and Donnellon knows it wouldn't be Burrell. The organization has already invested too much in both his present and his future to part with him after one bad year. Giles already has multiple teams (Oakland, Seattle) after his services, and the Phillies would probably be able to deal him in the offseason.

It sounds, hypothetically, like a great idea. But practically, would it work? I am not talking baseball-wise or financially. While there have been rumors that the Phillies should send Burrell down to AAA to work out the kinks, most of those rumors are followed by whispers of "but what would it do to his confidence, his psyche, to be sent down?". The same whispers can be applied here. What happens to his mental outlook if the Phillies were to acquire a top-notch slugger to help the team, and he just so happens to play the same position as Burrell? Does he see it as a challenge? Does he perceive it as a slap in the face?

And worse, what happens if the Phillies find no takers for Giles in the offseason? What then?

Donnellon presents a great hypothetical...but that's about as far as it should go.

2003-07-24T09:45:00.000-04:00

A shot in the arm

Randy Wolf gave the Phillies exaclty what they needed last night: a victory, snapping the two-game losing streak; and a night off for the bullpen. After two straight starts by Brandon Duckworth and Kevin Millwood of less than three and four innings, respectively, Wolf went all nine last night, firing a four-hit, complete game shutout against the new-look Cubbies at Wrigley Field.

Wolf got the offensive help he needed early on. A solo home run from Ricky Ledee -- playing in LF for Pat Burrell -- in the second gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead, and a two-run bomb onto Sheffield Avenue in the third by Jim Thome made it 3-0. The long ball by Thome allowed him to reach 1,000 RBI for his career, fittingly in the park that he dreamed about playing in while growing up. The two homers would prove to be all that Wolf would need on the night. Wolf threw 131 pitches on the night (some reports have him at 135 or 136), 86 of them for strikes. He allowed just the four hits, and walked only three. He faced some trouble in the first inning, with two on and two out, but got Eric Karros to ground out to end the threat. He allowed only three more base runners to reach scoring position after the first.

Wolf held the Cubs' new acquisitions -- Kenny Lofton and Aramis Ramirez, acquired from Pittsburgh for a wind machine (Jose Hernandez) and some pocket change on Tuesday -- to a combined 0-for-8, and Sammy Sosa went 0-for-4 with two punchouts. Mark Grudzielanek had three of the Cubs' four hits on the night.

Wolf had made up his mind before the game that he was going to give the bullpen a night off, and told pitching coach Joe Kerrigan so.

"I told Joe I didn't want any relievers pitching today," Wolf said.

As the game headed to the ninth, despite a rising pitch count, Wolf had no doubt that he was going back in to finish things off. Larry Bowa had Jose Mesa warming in the bullpen just in case, but his services were not needed. Wolf got Karros, Ramirez, and Alex (Cubs' version) Gonzalez 1-2-3 in the ninth to cap the night. (Besides, when was the last time you saw Mesa throw a 1-2-3 ninth??) In the process, the members of the bullpen got some much needed rest.

An extra-innings win by Florida at Atlanta cuts the division lead to 9 1/2 games, while the Diamondbacks loss -- their fifth straight -- extends the Phillies Wild Card lead to three games. While the Phillies' offense continues to sputter along, I have become convinced that I could have the Offensive Slumber tracker in the left column for the rest of the season. Instead, I will take it down, and replace it with the Wild Card standings. Should the Phillies somehow make a run at the Braves, I'll show the NL East race instead. For now, let's focus on the route to October.

Vicente Padilla goes in this afternoon's matinee, facing Cubs' All-Star Kerry Wood. Padilla has won four of his last five decisions, and four of his last seven starts, lowering his ERA from 4.48 on June 4th to 3.71 entering tonight's game. He hopes to continue to trend, and help the Phillies to a Wrigley sweep.

2003-07-23T14:03:00.000-04:00

More accolades for the pitching staff

In the latest issue of Sports Illustrated, Albert Chen has an article on Joe Kerrigan's influence on the improvement of the pitching staff.

2003-07-23T12:14:00.000-04:00

Trades?

Rob Neyer offers his opinion on what the playoff contenders need for the stretch run:

The Phillies are in a similar situation [as the Braves], except they don't have a huge lead. Their biggest weakness has been at third base, where David Bell has been atrocious. But he's finally (and mercifully) been placed on the disabled list, and Tyler Houston is an acceptable replacement, probably as good as anybody who's available via trade. The Phillies' fifth starter, Brandon Duckworth, hasn't been good (3-4, 5.28), but he hasn't been terrible, and anyway what do you expect from a fifth starter? Like the Braves, the Phillies, who have the third-best record in the National League, should probably just stay the course.

I'll agree, with the exception of his analysis on Duckworth. I've written about that the last two days, and I think it's time to find another option. I find it interesting that Neyer does not even mention Burrell and his struggles. I doubt he thinks that a .195-hitting, power hitting LF is acceptable for a playoff team.

2003-07-23T10:34:00.000-04:00

Getaway day

Pretty much sums it all up.

A day after Brandon Duckworth could not get out of the third and put the onus on the bullpen, Kevin Millwood barely served as an improvement. Millwood gave up five runs on seven hits, threw 99 pitches, and lasted just 3 2/3 innings in an eventual 7-5 loss to the Mets. Millwood falls to 10-7 on the year, and the Phillies were swept in this brief two-game series by a team that had been swept in four by the Braves just before showing up in town.

The Phillies fell behind 6-1 before staging a comeback attempt, but it proved to be too little, too late. Trailing 7-4 entering the bottom of the ninth, Jim Thome laced a two-out RBI double to cut the lead to two. He went to third on a Bobby Abreu single. A stolen base by Abreu put the tying run in scoring position, but Pat Burrell -- who in all fairness had a two-run triple earlier in the game -- struck out to end the game and the homestand.

So for the second day in a row, the Phillies have failed to complete a comeback. More frustrating is that for the second day in a row, they have been forced to stage a big comeback. Duckworth and Millwood have combined for 6 1/3 innings over two starts, and the bullpen is being taxed. Here are the bullpen numbers over the last two days:

	IP	H	R	# Pitches
Terry Adams	2 1/3	1	0	44
Turk Wendell	2	4	3	36
Mike WIlliams	3	3	1	49
Dan Plesac	1	1	0	10
Carlos Silva	1 1/3	1	1	21
Rheal Cormier	1	0	0	13
Jose Mesa	1	1	0	25

No truth the rumor that they will be recruiting arms from the bleachers in Wrigley today, but it's pretty close. Randy Wolf will face Matt Clement tonight, and Vicente Padilla will take the mound against Kerry Wood tomorrow. Win, lose, or draw, these two have to eat up some serious innings and give the bullpen a little bit of rest. The pitch count totals aren't horrible, but another short outing by a starter, and this 'pen might implode. The bullpen has been the second-best in the NL this season, but much of that has been due to the ability to selectively use them. The starters have gone deep into games, leaving the relievers to fill their assigned roles and nothing more, and not asking them to pitch two, three, four days in a row. A stretch like this could cancel out most of the good that has come from the pitching staff this season.

Yesterday, I mentioned that it might be time to look for an alternative to Brandon Duckworth as the #5 starter. I am evidently not the only one thinking that way. There is one article in the Doylestown (PA) Intelligencer, and another in the Cherry Hill (NJ) Courier Post this morning examining the possibility of dropping Duck. The Intelligencer article points out that "[i]n Duckworth's 14 starts, the bullpen has been used a total of 68 2/3 innings - or nearly five innings each time he starts." Both articles quote Larry Bowa as saying that while a change is not imminent, it could become necessary.

"If these scenarios keep happening, he'll run out of chances at some point. Saturday, it's not going to be that he has to go five good innings or he's not going to keep pitching. We're not there yet. But he's got to step up to the plate and respond."

Among those mentioned as possible replacements are Ryan Madson and Amaury Telemaco -- both of whom I pinpointed yesterday -- from Scranton, or possibly moving Carlos Silva from the bullpen to the rotation. Silva has been a starter in the minors and Bowa sees him as a future starter in the big leagues. Bowa says that's not happening right now -- he needs Silva's arm in the bullpen -- but it remains a possibility. The recent acquisition of Mike Williams -- an extra bullpen arm -- may make that choice easier.

But for now, Duck keeps floating. The question remains...how long until he sinks the bullpen?

2003-07-22T12:08:00.000-04:00

Duck, Duck...Goose!

A walk, a single, and a home run. Four batters, three base runners, and just like that, a 3-0 deficit. Brandon Duckworth had hoped to start the second half of the season off right; he had hoped to work deep into the game, showing some stamina that was lacking in the season's first half; he had hoped to pick up his first win since May 17th.

Four batters into the game, and those hopes were as crushed as the pitch Cliff Floyd deposited in the right field seats in the top of the first.

Duckworth lasted just 2 2/3 innings last night, giving up five earned runs on six hits, including home runs to Floyd and Joe McEwing (his first of the season). After giving up the fifth run, Duckworth was yanked.

As brilliant as Duckworth seemed two years ago, he has struggled that much since. He started this season on the DL, and just hasn't put it together since returning in mid-April. His longest outing of the season is seven innings, in a loss to Seattle on June 5th. Since then, he has lasted 5 1/3, 1 (injury), 6, 3, 5 1/3, and last night's 2 2/3 IP. I realize that we are looking at him as a fifth starter, but we should still be able to expect more than that from a fifth starter.

On the season, Duckworth has made 14 starts. He has lasted an average of 4 1/3 innings per start. He has thrown an average of 82 pitches in that 4 1/3 innings. Only thanks to the bullpen is the team 6-8 in the games he has started. With the Phillies in the thick of the playoff hunt, we are quickly reaching the point where a decision needs to be made on whether or not Brandon Duckworth can be the #5 starter that is counted on in August, September, and hopefully, October.

The question becomes, if not Duckworth, then who? Is there someone the Phillies can call up, or do they have to look outside the organization?

At AAA Scranton, only a couple of names pop out as ready to come up and help out in the rotation:

Ryan Madson -- In 18 starts this season, Madson is 11-4 with a 3.25 ERA. He has 86 strikeouts and 29 walks in 110 2/3 innings, and has held opposing batters to a .251 average. Madson is part of the Phillies future rotation. Is that future now?

Amaury Telemaco -- Telemaco, who has seen time with the big league club, has made 20 starts for Scranton and has a poor 6-9 record. That record, however, is deceiving. He has a 3.34 ERA, has thrown 129 1/3 innings, striking out 94 and walking only 16. Opponents are hitting just .217 against him. Good enough for a callup?

Aaron Myette -- Acquired recently from the Indians organization, Myette has made only three appearances with the Phillies, two of them starts. He is holding opponents to a .194 average (.247 with Cleveland), but has a poor K/BB ratio (43/39).

Those are the only starters of interests at AAA. There may be a name or two at AA Reading, but skipping a level and jumping into a playoff race may not be the formula for success. But to whom do the Phillies turn if they look outside of the organization? Here are some names that have been rumored to be on the trading block:

Jeff Weaver
Sterling Hitchcock
Sidney Ponson
Jason Johnson
Kelvim Escobar
Odalis Perez
Kris Benson
Javier Vasquez

Limited choices. Vasquez probably isn't available, unless the Expos fall out of sight in the next week or so. Benson is missing his start today with an injury and has a history of arm problems. Weaver and Hitchcock just throw up red flags for me. Recent reports have Escobar staying in Toronto, and Perez is leaving LA only in the right deal. That leaves the Orioles duo.

The O's recently made a contract extension offer to Ponson, and are waiting to test his reaction before making a final decision on dealing him. Even if they choose to move him, he won't be cheap. The Phillies have some players in the farm system to deal, but are they willing to move an Utley, a Madson, etc. for a possible two-month rental? Johnson is a decent enough pitcher, but is he any better than what the Phillies currently have?

The options are few, but they may have to be examined. If Duckworth continues to struggle, and drains the bullpen in the process, an alternative has to be found. For now, the Phillies have to hope that Kevin Millwood can eat up some innings (and gain a win) in this afternoon's matinee. Unfortunately, he has fallen behind 3-0 in the third inning...let the fun continue.

2003-07-21T14:30:00.000-04:00

In for the long haul...

...or at least past this season. GM Ed Wade signed a two-year contract extension last night, taking him through the 2005 season. This signing was expected for weeks, and there was little doubt it would be completed.

2003-07-21T14:27:00.000-04:00

Looking ahead

For that time in the near future when Myers is the staff ace, here are a few guys that can back him up:

Scranton ace Ryan Madson went to 11-4 with the win yesterday. He went seven innings, gave up two runs on two hits, and struck out nine. His ERA is at 3.25 on the season.

Lakewood's Cole Hamels brought his record to 6-1 with six innings of shutout baseball. He allowed four hits and struck out seven, lowering his ERA to a ridiculous 0.92.

2003-07-21T11:02:00.000-04:00

3 out of 4, and the Phillies pick up an All-Star

How long now until we refer to Brett Myers as the Phillies' "ace"? The ace of the future threw another gem yesterday, going 8 2/3 innings, striking out ten, and carrying a shutout into the ninth before Brad Wilkerson launched a two-out, two-run home run to spoil the day. (By the way, how many ninth inning homers is Wilkerson going to hit in Philly, anyway?) Myers's victory was his 10th of the season, allowing him to join Kevin Millwood and Randy Wolf with 10 wins apiece. The threesome is tied for 4th in the NL in wins -- only Shawn Chacon (COL, 11), Russ Ortiz (ATL, 13), and Woody WIlliams (STL, 13) have more. It was also Myers's fifth straight win since he fell to 5-6 in a loss at Anaheim on June 11th. Myers spread out seven hits on the day, and did not walk a batter; he has allowed just one base-on-balls in his last five starts.

The Phillies jumped on top quickly yesterday, as Jim Thome doubled with two outs in the first inning, and Bobby Abreu scored him with a single. The one-run lead lasted until the sixth, when Placido Polanco led off with a double. Thome fouled out, failing to move the runner up, and Abreu was intentionally walked to get to Pat Burrell. Burrell, who has been the recipient of standing ovations all weekend at the Vet, has shown improved patience at the plate since the All-Star break. His stats may say that he is only 2-for-13 since the break, but they have been good at-bats. And more of a key are the four walks to three strikeouts -- he had previously had a K/BB ratio of 2 to 1.

Anyway, Burrell came to the plate with two on and one out in the sixth yesterday, and quickly fell behind 0-2. The first pitch appeared to be a fastball to the outer half of the plate that Burrell took. The second was a breaking pitch that Burrell flailed at...again. At 0-2, he fouled off a pitch before taking ball one. He fought off two more before taking a pitch just off the outside of the plate. Expos' pitcher Claudio Vargas wanted the pitch but got nothing from the home plate ump. At 2-2 and frustrated by the last call, Vargas threw the next one high and away. So Burrell has now worked a full count from 0-2, and the pitcher is a bit rattled. The ninth pitch of the at-bat is again on the outer part of the plate, but caught some of the middle. Burrell got a hold of it, and ripped it to left-center field for a double, scoring Polanco for the second run of the game. If Burrell can continue to have patience and work some more at-bats like he worked this one, improvement might not be too far off.

The Phillies added a third run in the seventh when Marlon Byrd singled with one out, Polanco followed with a single of his own, and Abreu hit a ground rule double down the left field line, scoring Byrd. It stayed that way until Wilkerson's bomb in the ninth, and Jose Mesa came in to get Edwards Guzman and close out the game.

Combine yesterday's game with the two 11th inning wins on Thursday and Saturday, and the Phillies took three of four from the Expos. Unfortunately, the Braves took all four from the Mets (including yesterday's ridiculous comeback), and stretched their lead to 9 1/2.

The Mets come off the four-game beating, and arrive in Philly today. Tonight's matchup is Brandon Duckworth (3-3) versus Aaron Heilman (0-2), while tomorrow afternoon's game has Kevin Millwood (10-6) going against Steve Trachsel (8-6), who the Phillies roughed up just before the break.

While the Phillies were finishing off the Expos, Ed Wade was working the phones and completing a deal to bring an All-Star to Philly. Wade acquired Pirates closer Mike Williams and cash for minor league pitcher Frank Brooks. Brooks had been 3-4 with nine saves and a 2.30 ERA at Reading, and had recently been bumped up to Scranton.

Williams was the Pirates All-Star representative this season, a selection that surprised even him. On the season, Williams has appeared in 40 games, throwing 37 1/3 innings, going 1-3 with 25 saves in 30 chances. Those numbers aren't bad. His ERA, however, is 6.27. And he has issued more walks (22) than strikeouts (20). Not good. This is, of course, Williams's second tour of duty with the Phillies. He started his career in Philly back in 1992. In five seasons with the Phillies, he appeared in 99 games (54 starts) and had a record of 13-25. His best season with the Phils came in 1995, when he went 3-3, mostly out of the bullpen, and had a 3.29 ERA. He was moved to the rotation the following season and struggled mightily. He finished 6-14 with an ERA over 5. The next season, Williams found himself in Kansas City.

He threw a mere 14 innings for the Royals in '97, and resurfaced with Pittsburgh in 1998. He worked in a setup role for much of the season, and finished with a 4-2, 1.94 campaign. The following year, Williams found himself in the closer role. In '99, he had 23 saves and a 5.09 ERA. In 2000, he added a 24th save, and lowered his ERA by more than a run and a half to 3.50. In 2001, he picked up 22 saves (3.67 ERA) with Pittsburgh before moving to Houston at the trading deadline to work setup for Billy Wagner. A free agent at the end of that season, Williams went back to Pittsburgh, where he put together a career year. 2002 found Williams going 2-6 with 46 saves and a 2.94 ERA with a 2:1 K:BB ratio, earning him his first All-Star selection.

Williams has struggled this season, but still manages to get the job done. That kind of description sounds a lot like someone already in red pinstripes: Jose Mesa. A quick comparison:

Player	Sv	BS	K/9	K/BB	Opp. Avg.
Williams	25	5	4.82	.91	.282
Mesa	18	3	6.59	1.88	.273

Both lines make me nauseus. The Phillies have said that Mesa will retain the closer's spot, and Williams will serve as a set up man. Williams may not seem like a great pick up, but for what he cost and the fact that he will serve as an extra arm in the 'pen (and Mesa insurance, with closing experience), it's not a bad move. No word yet on who the odd man out will be...

2003-07-18T13:26:00.000-04:00

Rollins

According to Lee Sinins, Rollins is day-to-day with a hamstring injury:

3) Phillies SS Jimmy Rollins had to leave yesterday's lineup, due to a
hamstring injury, and is day to day.

After 0 RCAA/.743 OPS and -15 RCAA/.686 OPS seasons in his first couple of
years as a starter, Rollins is off to a .386 SLG, .314 OBA, .700 OPS, -11
RCAA start in his first 91 games. Rollins is leading the league again in
most outs made and can join Frankie Crosetti (1937-39) as the only players
in baseball history to do it 3 consecutive years.

2003-07-18T12:22:00.000-04:00

Pitching change

Randy Wolf's start was moved up from tomorrow night to tonight. I guess the one inning of work on Tuesday wasn't enough to push him back another day. He will face Javier Vazquez (6-6), with Padilla (8-8) facing Livan Hernandez (9-6) tomorrow night.

2003-07-18T12:03:00.000-04:00

Walk off

Quick question: If a man named "Byrd" hits a walk off, do we consider it a fly off?

A few pitching lines for you:

A: 9 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 6 K
B: 8 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 5 K
C: 7 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 5 K
D: 6 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 5 K

So what are they? A is Kevin Millwood's complete-game shutout of Montreal last Tuesday. B is Tomo Ohka's performance in the same game. The two hooked up for quite a performance that day...and then they went out and did it again last night.

Line C is Millwood's line for last night; D is Ohka's. A few more hits allowed for each one last night, but the same level of toe-to-toe performance as nine days earlier. Only this time, neither one was around for a decision.

Millwood went seven innings last night, scattering the nine hits. He allowed more than one hit in an inning only twice, and the Expos scored in each of those. In the fourth, Millwood allowed a one-out single to Wil Cordero, who then scored on a two-out double by Ron Calloway. In the sixth, Orlando Cabrera led off the inning with a double; he then swiped third, and scored on a throwing error by Bobby Abreu. Millwood allowed a pair of singles and a walk after that, but got out of the inning with no further damage. Otherwise, Millwood allowed no more than one baserunner in any of the other five innings.

Ohka's night was almost as good. He allowed a Marlon Byrd single to lead off the first, only to erase him on a double play. He got in trouble in the second, when Jimmy Rollins singled, Pat Burrell walked, and Tyler Houston doubled to left -- all with two outs. Ohka was spared more than one run of damage when Phillies third-base coach John Vukovich sent Pat Burrell home after Brad Wilkerson bobbled the ball in left. Wilkerson recovered, and nailed Burrell easily at the plate, ending the inning. In the third, Ohka allowed a one-out single to Byrd, who again was wiped out on a double play. He allowed two hits again in the fourth, and again it cost him: a one-out double by Abreu and a two-out double by Rollins put the Phillies second run on the board. But that was all the trouble Ohka would see -- he allowed two hits in the fifth and walked Burrell in the sixth, but neither instance did any damage.

So the starters left, and the 2-2 stayed until the ninth. So with the game tied in the top of the ninth, Rheal Cormier earned a save. I didn't see it myself, so I have to use someone else's words; from the Inquirer:

With two outs and Expos catcher Michael Barrett on third - Barrett had hit a leadoff double to start the ninth - Expos centerfielder Endy Chavez threw his bat at the ball. The bat actually left his hands before it made contact.

The ball found its way into no-man's land. Chavez sprinted toward first as Barrett took off for home.

It was going to be close.

...

But Cormier's toss made its way to catcher Mike Lieberthal, who blocked the plate and tagged out Barrett to end the inning.

That's how you earn a save without getting a save.

I finally turned the game on in the bottom of the ninth. The bases were loaded, two were out, and Placido Polanco was at the plate. On a 2-2 pitch, Polanco fouled off a dribbler down the third base line. Rollins, who was on third, took off for the plate. When it was called foul, Rollins returned to third and appeared -- to my untrained eye -- to be limping. It did not matter at the time, as Polanco ground the next pitch -- fair -- to third, to end the inning.

In extras, Jose Mesa pitched a scoreless tenth, and Dan Plesac got through the eleventh. Jimmy Rollins led off the bottom of the 11th with a really good at-bat. He fouled off three pitches -- two of them down the left-field line -- before finally taking a pitch that way and keeping it fair. He busted hard down the first base line, but seemed to coast into second. WIth no one out, Larry Bowa pulled Rollins for a pinch runner. I am not sure what the extent of Jimmy's injury is, but I can assure you that I never thought I'd see him lifted for a pinch runner.

Pat Burrell lifted an 0-1 pitch to right center where it got tracked down, but it was far enough to allow Nick Punto to move to third. WIth one out, pinch hitter Jason Michaels line the first pitch in the hole on the left side -- where it was snagged by Calloway at third, who went to first for the second out, holding Punto at third. With two outs now, Tomas Perez was intentionally walked to get to Byrd.

Byrd already had three singles on the night; one more would win the game. He took the first pitch for ball one, and then swung at the second. The ball jumped off his bat and just kept traveling. It bounced off the 1983 NL Championship banner in left-center while Byrd bounced around the bases. By the time he got to home plate, the entire Phillies team was there waiting for him, waiting to smack him around a bit. They pounded him so hard, I wasn't sure if they were congratulating him, or beating him into submission.

No matter...5-2 final. Win #53. I'll take it, with or without the bruises.

2003-07-17T16:11:00.000-04:00

Who are you?

I'm struck by curiosity...who are my readers? Who are you? What kind of baseball/Phillies fan are you? Why do you keep coming back? What would you like to see here? I am just trying to get an idea of what type of person I have struck a chord with. Leave a comment (if it's working) or e-mail me and let me know about you.

Also, if there's something you want to know about me, ask away.

2003-07-17T13:35:00.000-04:00

In a shocker...

In a news item that should surprise no one, ticket prices will go up next season with the opening of the new Citizens Bank Park. Yet, they will remain reasonable, all things considered.

There will be no personal seat licenses. No variable ticket pricing by who and when. And the increases are not out of line, considering it's a new park. Quoting the article in the Inquirer:

Prices for seats in the 200 level in the infield, which list for $28 now, will increase to $35 or $40, depending on their proximity to home plate.

Tickets in the outfield, where seats will be closer to the playing surface than at the Vet, will fall from $24 to $20 in the equivalent of the 200 level, from $22 to $18 in the 300 level, and from $16 to $15 in the 600 level.

Beyond that, it's apples and oranges, although the general direction of prices is up.

The cheap seats will go up from $10 to $15, but the seats will be closer to the field. There will be no general admission seats in the new park, but up to 5,000 seats will be discounted by as much as $5 on the day of the game, making the game a fairly affordable one.

Two other notes:

Season-ticket holders no longer will receive discounts, now usually $2 per date, off the list price of their tickets. And the current 16-game plans will become 17-game plans.

No more will seats be priced entirely by vertical level. On each level, seats in more desirable locations will cost more.

I have no complaints about this, as I have always thought that seats in one level behind home plate should cost more than seats in that same level tucked behind a foul pole. So, keeping it in perspective, the pricing doesn't seem too bad. That is, of course, until you get inside and head to the concessions.

2003-07-17T13:23:00.000-04:00

Silva out

The relief pitcher had his suspension reduced from six games to five for his role in the June 13th fight against Adam Dunn in Cincinnati, and will serve it immediately. He will be eligible to pitch again on Tuesday, at home versus the Mets.

2003-07-17T13:18:00.000-04:00

Burrell's struggles

The Inquirer has another article today on Pat Burrell's struggles in this morning's paper. However, instead of just focusing on his faults and struggles this year, they offer that he is not the first Phillie to have these struggles. The obvious comparison is to Mike Schmidt and his second year in Philly. But Frank Fitzpatrick draws other comparisons, including ones to Del Ennis, Chuck Klein, and Dick Allen.

Catch the article here.