Tagged: Twins
Home, Sweet Home for the Phillies
After an abysmal road trip where the Phillies lost 7 out of 10 games, this team had to be relieved to be back in Philadelphia last night. They took an absolute beating from the Brewers, Twins and the Rockies. If you Google the meaning of “bad baseball,” this road trip should be used as an example.
But things looked a tad brighter after last night’s 5-4 walk-off win against the Nationals. John Lannan returned to the rotation after a knee injury and pitched well; Ryan Howard finally broke out of his home run drought; and Domonic Brown seems to be getting hot again. He even delivered the game-winning RBI single in the 9th.
Despite the win though, I simply cannot stop thinking about the awful road trip. In particular, I am greatly disturbed by the events that have taken place at and around third base and home plate lately. Most of these little disasters seem to revolve around veteran third-baseman Michael Young.
I hate to keep picking on Young, who seems like a very nice guy, and maybe some of this is not his fault at all. Did you notice that Young got thrown out at home plate THREE times in the last 6 games of the road trip? My question is, does he run home on his own or is Ryne Sandburg sending him? I understand being aggressive, but Young is one of the older and slower players on this team. This is not the guy you send on a close play.
I have begun leaning towards Sandburg’s lack of experience coaching third base as the issue, especially after last night. Because it appears he got Howard into a similar jam. He was sending Howard home and quickly changed his mind, signaling for Howard to stay at third. But his momentum was already heading home and Howard got tagged out at third. Sandburg is a Hall of Famer…I get that. So he should know that you cannot stop a moving train. Either make the decision quicker or take your chances that Howard will bowl over the catcher at home.
Then again, guys have been getting tossed out on the base paths all over the place all by themselves. Young also got thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double last Tuesday. He also had a bad fielding error and hit into 2 more double plays on this road trip.
None the new players Ruben Amaro Jr. brought in this year, including Michael Young, are holding up their end of the bargain. Delmon Young is hitting only .231; Mike Adams has a 4.13 ERA and cannot seem to pitch a clean inning; Ben Revere has started out super slow, although he is improving. And Revere is young so he has a lot to learn yet. Lannan has been ok, but the injury was a huge setback.
As for the returning Phillies, too many of them are hurt or under producing. I hate to be such a downer after a rare Phillies win, but this team is just so frustrating! Who are they? Are they going to get any better? Will some of these guys ever be healthy? Your guesses are all as good as mine.
Maybe another win tonight will improve my mood? Hope so!
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Photo by Jenn Zambri Photography
Phillies Sign Pitchers Lannan and Adams
I am guessing that John Lannan and Chase Utley will never be BFF’s, but Lannan signing with the Phillies may at least prompt a truce. In 2007, Lannan threw the pitch that broke Utley’s hand, essentially ending his run for the MVP award that year.
In 5 plus years in the majors with the Nationals, Lannan has hit Phillies’ batter’s 11 times; 3 of those were directed at Utley. I would venture an educated guess that these two guys do not like each other.
Regardless, Lannan is on-board for 1 year and $2.5 million to take the place of Vance Worley, who was traded to the Twins earlier this month. It sounds like a low-risk, high reward situation, as long as Lannan can stop himself from whacking his new teammates with the ball. The temptation may linger until he gets used to his new location.
As for Mike Adams, this sounded like a good signing until I heard the terms. We will get to that in a moment. Adams is a very solid relief pitcher who has a lifetime 2.28 ERA over 8 seasons. However, he is 34 years old and coming off a surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome, a condition in which a rib bone presses against a nerve, causing pain and numbness in the arm.
Does this sound like a guy you would sign to TWO years and $12 million? Not so much. And yet, that is what the Phillies are giving him. While this is not fully in the range of a Freddy Garcia-type disaster (whom the Phillies gave $10 million to in 2007 to do basically nothing), the potential is similar. If Adams does not recover from surgery or comes back as a lesser pitcher, this deal is a huge bust.
But the Phillies are once again rolling the dice and praying for the best case scenario. Let us hope they come out on the winning end this time.
By the way, if you missed my 2012 Phillies Photo Tribute slideshow, here it is again for your entertainment. Enjoy!
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Lannan photo by Nick Wass (AP)
Slideshow photos by Jenn Zambri Photography
Ben Revere In; The Vanimal Out
Right-handed pitcher Vance Worley was actually standing in Citizens Bank Park when he got the news that he was being shipped to Minnesota. He was as shocked as the rest of us that his time in Philadelphia was at an end. Sadly, the Vanimal is gone. Phillies’ top pitching prospect Trevor May will join him there as well.
In return, the Phillies got a young centerfielder. Ben Revere, 24, hit .294 last year for the Twins with a .333 on-base percentage. He also had 40 stolen bases and is being touted as a young Juan Pierre with excellent range in the outfield. The downsides include his lack of power, minimal walks and below-average arm. But he is under team control and therefore, very cheap.
It seems Revere’s skill set could make him the new lead-off hitter; he has speed and gets on base. While it is very sad to say bye-bye to the Vanimal and to May, this trade may pay dividends for the Phillies if they can use the money they are saving towards a bullpen piece or another outfielder.
Revere should fit in well in Philly. In fact, his name alone is a combination of two historical figures with Philadelphia ties: Ben Franklin and Paul Revere. I suppose then, it was fate that brought him here.
Welcome, Ben!
The Phillies are not done yet as trade talks still linger. The latest rumor has Michael Young, who is actually not so young at 36 years of age, possibly coming to Philly with half of his salary paid by the Rangers. Stayed tuned…
UPDATE: Just a few quick notes on the Ben Franklin and Paul Revere comments above. It seems we have some badly educated, wanna-be historians in the Twittersphere who question my references to the historical links of these figures in Philadelphia. First, Revere was born in Boston and made several rides to visit the Continental Congress in Philly to report on the impending revolution. Then, during the war in 1775, Revere was sent to Philadelphia to study the only powder mill in the colonies so that northern colonies could learn how to produce more gun powder. So yes, Revere does have ties to Philly. Look it up.
Even more shocking was someone questioning Ben Franklin’s relation to Philadelphia. No, he was not born there, but he lived there most of his life (around 67 years), died and was buried in Philly. Oh, and he signed that little document called the United States Constitution in Philadelphia. Anyone questioning that should be ashamed.
By the way, Ben Revere retweeted the photo I posted of him as Ben Franklin and Paul Revere. So clearly, he enjoyed it :O)
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Photoshopping by Jenn Zambri Photography
Blanton’s Complete Game Gives Phillies Series Win
After allowing a minimum of 5 runs in each of his last 5 starts, no one expected a stand-out performance from Joe Blanton last night against the Twins. But the oddities this Phillies season seemingly never cease.
Going the whole 9 innings, Blanton allowed only 1 run on a solo homer, 7 hits and struck out 7. Blanton’s season has gone from great to awful and now, back to great again. Of the 3 complete games for Phillies pitchers this year, Blanton has 2 and Kyle Kendrick, who has been terrible lately, has the other. And this is on a staff of pitchers that includes Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels. Go figure.
Continuing to terrorize American League pitching, Jim Thome added 3 more RBI to his stats last night with yet another bomb. The best part was watching fans dig through the flower beds in the outfield trying to recover the home run ball. That went on for several innings until security put a stop to it for fear of someone bending over too far and falling onto the field.
The mysterious, disappearing ball was never found. I guess those plants were really hungry. Either that or the ball was hit so hard, it ricocheted off into space and is currently in orbit.
While the mystery ball remains at large, the Phillies are moving right along. In fact, they are leaving the country. It is off to Toronto for 3 games with the Blue Jays next.
Perhaps these 2 wins will be the boost they needed to get their season back on track? Let us hope so. Game time tonight is 7:07pm.
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Blanton photo by Jenn Zambri Photography
Thome’s Hot Bat Helps Phillies to a Win
The Phillies finally won a game last night, although by the skin of their teeth. The 9-8 victory over the Twins broke up a 3 game losing streak in a month where wins have been hard to come by.
The return of Jim Thome from the DL seems to have sparked an offensive explosion. After hitting at a rate of .100 before he went on the DL, Thome now has 10 hits in his last 5 games serving as the DH against the American League. Thome has also hit 2 home runs in that span, the longest of which was a whopping 466 feet last night. The slugger has officially returned!
A bunch of Phillies had big offensive days as well. Juan Pierre, Hunter Pence and Carlos Ruiz all had 3 hist. And John Mayberry Jr. racked up 4 RBI on 2 hits, including a 3-run homer in the 1st inning.
That first inning was a bit unusual though. The Twins starter, P.J. Walters wound up leaving the game with 4 runs allowed without even recording a single out. It was later reported that he was experiencing shoulder pain.
So the Phillies caught a break and racked up 6 runs in one inning, adding 3 more later. But they still showed the same problems they have been dealing with all year. For example, they Phillies loaded the bases with NO outs in the 9th and once again, failed to score. They could not even muster a sac fly. That is just not going to win them ballgames.
And what has become another disturbing trend is the starting pitching. Cole Hamels, probably the Phillies’ best pitcher not on the DL right now, has really fallen apart lately. Against the Twins, with that huge 6-run lead after the top of the 1st inning, Hamels got knocked around, allowing 7 runs over 6+ innings. Antonio Bastardo allowed one more, all of which turned a 6-run lead into only a 1-run lead.
Luckily, Jonathan Papelbon nailed down the win, having to record 4 outs in order to do so. But I am sure he was just glad to be able to pitch in a save situation, which there have been very few of lately.
Despite all the drama, there were a few great defensive moments thanks to Michael Martinez who also just came off the DL after breaking his foot in spring training. He made the last out of the game by catching a pop-up that was over his head and about to drop in the middle of nowhere. And earlier in the game, he dove to snag a ball hit hard up the middle and in the same motion, made an amazing glove toss to Jimmy Rollins at second.
The return of Martinez is a welcome site now that Freddy Galvis is on the DL with a back fracture (ouch!). Mikey-Mart is about the same offensively as Galvis and his defense, while not quite as spectacular, is still very solid. So welcome back, Mikey!
Although it may be a long shot, the Phillies ‘could’ – maybe – possibly – win this series with a victory tonight. Joe Blanton is pitching and he has given up a minimum of 5 runs in each of his last 5 games. Let us hope that trend ends tonight. Game time is 8:10pm.
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Photo by Jenn Zambri Photography
Pitching a Fit Over Phils Pitching
At the start of the season, everyone was worried about the Phillies offense being strong enough to carry a solid starting pitching staff to wins. Now that the offense is slowly piecing runs together, the entire pitching staff has fallen apart. Let us examine the grisly evidence:
Roy Halladay is on the DL. Vance Worley is pitching will bone chips in his elbow. Cliff Lee has no wins and is recently making a habit of blowing leads. Cole Hamels has been hit or miss. Kyle Kendrick and Joe Blanton keep see-sawing between okay and downright horrible.
As for the bullpen, 5 out of 7 pitchers have little big league experience. 4 of those are rookies in their first (3) year or second (1) year in the majors. Chad Qualls, a veteran, has basically been a bust. And their $50 million closer hardly ever pitches because the save situations are slim and they are afraid to use him in non-save situations.
Last night in a horrible 11-7 loss to the Twins, 3 of 4 bullpen guys who pitched combined to allow 5 runs. Kendrick started the game allowing 6 runs in only 4 innings. He was beyond awful. Meanwhile, closer Jonathan Papelbon has not thrown a single pitch since 4 days and 3 games ago.
Making matters worse, Hunter Pence has officially lost his mind in right field. He only has 3 official errors on the year, but if you add in the mental mistakes and plays that he clearly should have made despite not being an “official” error, he probably has at least 10 by now.
In fact, my favorite moment of last night’s game was a comment by announcer Tom McCarthy. After Pence failed to field a routine hopper in the 5th inning, turning a single into a triple, McCarthy said, “I think it is safe to say he needs to stop doing that.” He hit that nail on the head.
Right now, the Phillies are a very BAD team. Now 9.5 games back of the Nationals in the NL East, they do not have time to wait for Chase Utley and Ryan Howard to return. If they do not turn it around right now, this season is over.
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Photo by Jenn Zambri Photography
Division Series Schedule
As you may know already, the Phillies will be playing the Reds in the NLDS. The Phillies won 5 out of 7 games against the Reds this year in the regular season; 3 of those in July all went to extra innings and ended in spectacular walk-off fashion for the Phillies. So while the Phils have a slight edge, it is sure to be a well played series.
With the 8 playoff teams finally decided, TBS and MLB announced some of the start times for both the AL and NL Division series. Here is the schedule so far:
|
Series |
Teams |
Day/Date |
Time ET |
|
ALDS Game 1 |
Rangers @ Rays |
Wed. Oct. 6 |
1:30 p.m. |
|
NLDS Game 1 |
Reds @ Phillies |
Wed. Oct. 6 |
5 p.m. |
|
ALDS Game 1 |
Yankees @ Twins |
Wed. Oct. 6 |
8:30 p.m. |
|
ALDS Game 2 |
Rangers @ Rays |
Thurs. Oct. 7 |
2:30 p.m. |
|
ALDS Game 2 |
Yankees @ Twins |
Thurs. Oct. 7 |
6 p.m. |
|
NLDS Game 1 |
Braves @ Giants |
Thurs. Oct. 7 |
9:30 p.m. |
|
NLDS Game 2 |
Reds @ Phillies |
Fri. Oct. 8 |
6 p.m. |
|
NLDS Game 2 |
Braves @ Giants |
Fri. Oct. 8 |
9:30 p.m. |
|
ALDS Game 3 |
Rays @ Rangers |
Sat. Oct. 9 |
5 p.m. |
|
ALDS Game 3 |
Twins @ Yankees |
Sat. Oct. 9 |
8:30 p.m. |
|
NLDS Game 3 |
Phillies @ Reds |
Sun. Oct. 10 |
TBD |
|
NLDS Game 3 |
Giants @ Braves |
Sun. Oct. 10 |
TBD |
|
*ALDS Game 4 |
Rays @ Rangers |
Sun. Oct. 10 |
TBD |
|
*ALDS Game 4 |
Twins @ Yankees |
Sun. Oct. 10 |
TBD |
|
*NLDS Game 4 |
Phillies @ Reds |
Mon. Oct. 11 |
TBD |
|
*NLDS Game 4 |
Giants @ Braves |
Mon. Oct. 11 |
TBD |
|
*ALDS Game 5 |
Rangers @ Rays |
Tues. Oct. 12 |
TBD |
|
*ALDS Game 5 |
Yankees @ Twins |
Tues. Oct. 12 |
TBD |
|
*NLDS Game 5 |
Reds @ Phillies |
Wed. Oct. 13 |
TBD |
|
*NLDS Game 5 |
Braves @ Giants |
Wed. Oct. 13 |
TBD |
As I expected, the Phillies, despite have the BEST record in baseball, still got screwed out of the Prime Time slot in favor of the Yankees…again. So for the 3rd year in a row, I will have to take a day off work to go to get to the stadium in time to find parking and see the pre-game festivities.
Now I realize there are 22 other teams out there whose fans would love to have this problem so it is hard to complain. But when is a team, other than the Yankees, going to get some much deserved respect? The Phillies have certainly earned it.
To the TV people it is all about ratings, and I suppose it is their prerogative. But guess which team brings in more fans based on stadium capacity? The Phillies – 103.5%. It is over 100% due to standing room only tickets that are sold to accommodate more fans. The Phillies sold out EVERY game this season. Where do the Yankees rank? They are 7th in baseball with 88.9%. If the Phillies had a bigger stadium like the Yankees do, they would no doubt have sold all those seats as well. Just sayin’…
Not to mention that the TBS coverage of the games, in general, is horrible. The announcers have NO clue about the teams they are watching and tend to be biased towards particular teams. The coverage has been historically so bad that there is even a section on Wikipedia dedicated to how bad they suck. The TBS slogan is “very funny” but we are not laughing.
Phillies 2010 First Half Review
Here is a summary of the Phillies 2010 first half, according to Jenn:
Best Off-Season Move – Acquiring Roy Halladay
Worst Off-Season Move – Trading Cliff Lee (duh!)
Biggest Win – 7/9/10: The Phillies overcame a 7-1 deficit in the 9th inning against the Reds to win the game in the 10th; it was the second walk-off homer win in a row, giving the Phillies a huge confidence boost.
Biggest Loss – When the bullpen blew a 5 run lead; Phillies lose to the Twins by a score of 10-13 on 6/19/10
Best Series Win – The 4-game sweep of the NL Central 1st place team, the Reds, 7/8-7/11
Worst Series Loss – Losing 3 out of 4 to the worst team in the National League, the Pirates, 7/1-7/4
Biggest Surprise – Jamie Moyer: At 47-year old, the combination of Moyer’s age and 3 off-season surgeries left many doubting he could be an effective pitcher. But Moyer has performed beyond anyone’s expectations. But at the half, Moyer has 9 wins and 2 complete games, one of which was a shut-out.
Biggest Disappointment – Raul Ibanez: Batting only .243 with 7 homers at the half, Ibanez is on pace to hit only 14 homers, which would be his worst power outage since 2001. He has also only driven in 39 runs, and is therefore on pace for 78 RBI, which would be his worst since 2004. Ibanez gave his all in the first half of 2009, but since then, it has been mostly downhill and his age is starting to show. With another entire year left on his contract, this is looking like another bad move by the Phillies.
Biggest Question Mark – Brad Lidge: Sometimes Lidge looks like Mr. Perfect from 2008 and sometimes he looks like a little leaguer. The Jekyll and Hyde routine is getting old. Lidge needs to step up his game if the Phillies are to have success.
Best Moment of the First Half – Roy Halladay’s Perfect Game, 5/29/10 (again, duh!)
Worst Moment of the First Half – Chase Utley’s thumb injury. Noooooo! Not Utley!! Then there are the rest of the major injuries that have plagued this team: Placido Polanco, Jimmy Rollins, JA Happ, Ryan Madson, Chad Durbin, etc… The combined impact of these star players going down have combined for the Worst Moments of the year so far.
Jenn’s Crystal Ball
– Will Jayson Werth be with the Phillies next year? – No. Sorry, ladies. He may even be gone sooner than that…
– Will the Phillies make a trade before the deadline? – Yes.
– Which position will they upgrade? – Pitching
– Will Jenn continue to let her sanity slip slowly away as each day without Chase Utley passes? – Sadly, yes. Please come back soon, Chase!
– And finally, will the Phillies win the NL East again? – My crystal ball broke due to being overworked when I asked this question. But I will step out on a limb here and say, yes. I mean, YES! Let’s be positive people ;o)
Jamie Moyer will take the mound tonight in Chicago against the Cubs to kick off the 2rd half. Game time is 8:05pm. Go Phillies!
Photos by Jenn Zambri Photography; except Crystal Ball by http://www.dailymail.co.uk/
*Read more about the Phillies at my other home page, Phightin’ Phils Phorum in the My Team Rivals network*
Painful Loss Sends Phils Back Further In NL East
Today’s Phillies – Twins match-up was both surprising and painful:
The surprises were:
– Roy Halladay was not sharp for the second game in a row. Not horrible by any means, but he did allow 4 runs (1 was unearned) over 8 innings. But the 11 hits he gave up was most surprising.
– Another shocker, the only run of the game for the Phils came on a homer run by Wilson Valdez. That is two days in a row for Valdez, now up to his 3 career homers in 4 years.
– Shane Victorino got sloppy and threw a ball away which led to a run.
– The offense, after 4 straight games of scoring at least 6 runs, went back to sleep.
The painful parts? Everything else.
After a horrible loss last night with the bullpen blowing a 5-run lead, this loss hurt that much more. The Phillies are now 5.5 games back of 1st place in the NL East and show no signs of busting out.
Here is some photographic evidence of how bad the Phillies are going. Normally, it is very, very difficult to get a moving ball in a photo, especially when I am shooting from the stands, around bouncing heads and other obstacles. I do a pretty good job at it most of the time. But if I get a player hitting with the ball in the shot 3 times in 3 different at-bats, that usually means that player is not hitting the ball too hard. Check out Jayson Werth today in 3 separate at-bats:
This is another telling shot; either Justin Morneau is playing leap frog and trying to tag himself out, or someone made a very bad throw:
And how about one more “Oh crap!” moment:
In fact, this game was so bad, the Phillies pulled some odd entertainment out of their collective backsides just to distract the fans:
Is this Big Foot? Seriously, what the hell is this? Oh, ok….they say it is a groundhog, like in Caddyshack. See, the Phanatic is golfing…on the ball field. Ok then. Distraction noted…thanks.
Maybe they should hand a bat to Mr. Big Foot/Groundhog? He cannot do much worse than the Phillies and the opposition will surely be confused by the move. It’s official. I am a genius. Send in the Big Foot!
If anyone else has a better idea, I mean besides kidnapping Joe Mauer and putting him in red pinstripes, please call the Phils and let them know. Thanks.
So here is the Photo Album from today’s disastrous 1-4 loss. Think of it as another fun distraction and then go pour yourself a stiff drink. I know I will.
Photos by Jenn Zambri Photography
*Read more about the Phillies at my other home page, Phightin’ Phils Phorum in the My Team Rivals network*
Bullpen Blows Five Run Lead
The Phillies scored only 22 runs in the latter half of May, from the 18th to the 31st. But in the last 4 games, the Phillies have exploded to the tune of 31 runs. Today against the Twins, they scored 9 runs, had a 5-run lead in the 8th inning, and still lost the game.
The Phillies hit five home runs in the game. Here is a recap of the first four: The usual suspects, Ryan Howard and Werth, nailed two of those homers. Not as common was a blast from Raul Ibanez, who was on base three times. Even less common was a homer from Wilson Valdez, who had his only other big league homer in 2006. Yes, 4 years ago. If Valdez can smack a homer, then the stars must really be aligning for the Phillies, right? Maybe not…
Cole Hamels got off to a bad start in the first inning, giving up 3 runs. A passed ball by catcher Brian Schneider and a bad throw to second by Hamels added fuel to the fire. But the offense immediately picked Hamels back up by getting those 3 runs right back in the bottom of the inning. Chase Utley led the way with a 2-run triple and Jayson Werth hit a sac fly to score Utley.
Every starter in the game, including Hamels, had at least one hit today. On the mound, Hamels later allowed a solo home run to Justin Morneau and ended the day with 4 runs allowed over 7 innings. If you forget about the first inning mishap, Hamels had a great day.
But, as has been a common story line this year, the Phillies bullpen blew a FIVE run lead. In the 9th inning, former-Phil, Jim Thome hit a 2-run homer off Jose Contreras. As it was then a save situation, Brad Lidge was brought into the game. 
And Lidge proceeded to blow the save and the remaining 3-run lead. He gave up an RBI-single and a 2-run homer to Twins catcher, Joe Mauer.
With a 9-9 tied game in the bottom of the 9th, the Phils got 2 hits but still failed to score and win the game. Howard and Werth both struck out. Chad Durbin came in for the 10th inning and as soon as I saw him on the mound, I thought, “Oh crap, he is going to give up a homer to the first batter.” Why do I think this? Because he has done it many times in the exact same situation. How many times, I do not know except to say that I have nightmares about it. Sure enough, 1st batter: homer.
The inning ended with a tag out at the plate, which normally would have been very exciting. But at that point, who cares? The Phillies are losing 9-10 with the bottom of the batting order coming up. Do you think Valdez can hit his 3rd homer in 4 years to win the game? No? Neither do I…
Valdez did not get a chance. Greg Dobbs popped out, Schneider grounded out and Ross Gload pinch hit for Valdez. Now, Gload did a homer with 2 outs to tie the game again. But again, no need to get excited because Danys Baez was going to pitch the 11th inning. Baez has been awful and today did not change that. He gave up THREE runs in the 11th just to make sure the Phillies had NO chance at a win.
The Phillies went down in the 11th. It was a pathetic end to a pathetic loss. The final score was 10-13 and the Phils now have one game left against the Twins. If Roy Halladay can get back on his game after allowing 6 runs in his last outing, the Phils could maybe salvage a series win. Game time is 1:35pm and I will return with photos.
In other news, Carlos Ruiz will get a few days off after being nailed in the head with a broken bat while behind the plate yesterday. He will not need a trip to the DL, which is great news. Scott Mathieson was designated for assignment to make room for catcher Dane Sardinha who will back-up Schneider until Ruiz is healthy.
Photo by Jenn Zambri Photography
*Read more about the Phillies at my other home page, Phightin’ Phils Phorum in the My Team Rivals network*
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