Philliedelphia

It's Early - The Phillies Have Plenty Of Time To Turn It Around

People are so negative about the Phillies these days but there's one thing that everyone needs to remember: It's still early.   The Phillies could probably go to the World Series again if things all pan out.  Being all negative and saying the team isn't good enough is no help at all.  Here are my top 7 reasons why the Phillies are going to be okay and that everyone needs to be patient.

7. Delmon Young and Michael Young
These guys are professional hitters.  They have a long history of success.  Delmon Young was the MVP of the ALCS last year.  That means that he has the ability to come up really big.   He already has three home runs in just a little while so expect many more big hits.  Maybe he can even be the MVP of the ALCS again.

Michael Young has been the Phillies best hitter all season.  While other guys are popping out or flying out, Michael Young keeps hitting singles.   That means people are going to be on base to be driven in by the Phillies power hitters.

6. Jonathan Pettibone and Tyler Cloyd
These top Phillies pitching prospects are doing a great job so far and there is no reason to think they won't stop.  ESPN projects that Jonathan Pettibone is going to go 10-0.  That means he will never lose this season. ESPN also projects Tyler Cloyd to go undefeated too. If these young players never lose again, the team has a chance to win the National League East and maybe even the World Series.  This will make up for the bad play by Cole Hamels.

5. Injured Players
The Phillies right now do not have Carlos Ruiz or Chase Utley on the roster and Ryan Howard has a busted knee.   The good thing about that is that if the team can be two games under .500 with those guys all injured, just imagine about how great they can be when they came back.  When they all get healed, imagine the offense that Howard and Utley and Ruiz all can put together.  We saw them do it in 2005, 2006, and 2007 to record levels and there is no reason to think that they can't do it again.

4. Chad Durbin
The Phillies have an answer to their bullpen troubles: Chad Durbin.  Ruben Amaro Jr. said that the Durbin is a slow starter.  Well guess what? The start is over.  Just in the last week alone Durbin won a game.  Durbin's veteran contributions will help stabilize the Phillies bullpen that has suffered because of Mike Adams and Felipe Aumont.

3. Not hittin season yet
Charlie Manuel always talks about how when the weather gets warm, the Phillies really start to hit.  Well guess what?  It's not warm yet.  In fact it was like 50 degrees this last weekend.  When the Phillies were in hot Miami the other day they scored seven runs.  If they can get seven runs in hot Miami, when the temperatures improve in Philadelphia they'll start scoring seven runs a game too.

2. Prospects in the Minors
The Phillies still have some great prospects at AAA they can call up to help the team.  The team has Darin Ruf, who hit a lot of home runs last year stashed at AAA.  The news is good because they don't even need him right now since the team is doing great.  Just imagine adding one guy who is great to who the team already has.

1. Versatility of Michael Martinez
The Phillies were really lucky that no one claimed Michael Martinez on waivers last year when they released him from the roster.  Now, the Phillies have a guy who can play many positions.  He can play left field, center field, right field, shortstop, second base, third base, and he could probably play first base or pitch if they wanted him to.  Already Martinez helped win a game by running for Delmon Young.  Not many teams have a secret weapon like Martinez that they can turn to in times of need.  

With the team the Phillies have and all the bonsuses, it's easy to say that it's not too late for the Phillies to come back.

Delmon Young Signing Is a Brilliant Move For the Phillies and GM Ruben Amaro Jr.

Courtesy riceweevil.com

Ruben Amaro has done it once again.  In a market where Josh Hamilton gets $125 million and Cody Ross gets $24 million, he had to be patient and wait for the big catch.  Finally on January 22 the Phillies landed their righthanded power bat.  Well-done, Ruben.

The hole created by Hunter Pence had yet to be filled by the Phillies.  If you look at Young's 2012 numbers compared to 2012 Pence, Young is the superior hitter.   Hunter Pence hit .253 and Young hit .267.  That is a .014 increase over Pence.  And we know that Pence is a valuable hitter because Jonathan Singleton, Jared Cosart and Domingo Santana got traded for him.  This is like getting a better Pence for less prospects, or even no prospects.  Further consider that Young's defense is an improvement, this is a great deal.

In the Phillies lineup, Young will be the perfect protection for Ryan Howard.  The Detroit Tigers won the American League last year when Young hit after Prince Fielder, so this is definitely a ticket to the postseason.  Ryan Howard should see many better pitches to hit when the pitcher knows that Young is behind him and ready to cause trouble with the bat.

This move is similar to the ones that Amaro made in the past.  Shane Victorino and Jayson Werth were great additions to the Phillies who hardly cost anything.  What they gave the team was a lot for the money.  For only $750,000, Young will have incentive to prove his talent can be brought onto the field too. 

The best thing about this deal is that Philadelphia is the home of second chances.  We all got to see Mike Vick rise to greatness again once he got another chance.  Even though Young assaulted a guy and made anti-Jewish remarks and threw a bat at an umpire, the City of Brotherly Love is the best place for forgiveness.  Like Vick, Young can rise to the top once again knowing that the City is willing to forgive him.

Delmon Young is a winner and he will do wonders for the Phillies lineup.  Right handed power bats are hard to find and Ruben Amaro pulled it off.  The just could be the missing piece that causes a parade down Broad Street.

You can follow Jorge Suarez on Twitter at @hiphop_JORGE

No Phillies Awards "Finalists"; This "Finalist" Business is a Bunch of Crap Anyway

BS ALERT!  Clayton Kershaw has as much a chance as I do of winning the Cy Young

Baseball is at it insulting our intelligence as human beings all over again!  As recent reports have stated, the Phillies have no "finalists" for the major awards about to be given out.  That means the Phillies fans already know that they will not have a Cy Young, Manager of the Year, or MVP award in Philadelphia.   But this whole "finalist" thing is a total crock of spit that just insults our intelligence.

Here are the "finalists" paraded out by MLB.com: 

AL Rookie of the Year
Final candidates: Yoenis Cespedes, Yu Darvish, Mike Trout

NL Rookie of the Year
Final candidates: Todd Frazier, Bryce Harper, Wade Miley

AL Manager of the Year
Final candidates: Bob Melvin, Buck Showalter, Robin Ventura

NL Manager of the Year
Final candidates: Dusty Baker, Bruce Bochy, Davey Johnson

AL Cy Young Award
Final candidates: David Price, Justin Verlander, Jered Weaver

NL Cy Young Award
Final candidates: R.A. Dickey, Gio Gonzalez, Clayton Kershaw

AL Most Valuable Player
Final candidates: Adrian Beltre, Miguel Cabrera, Robinson Cano, Josh Hamilton, Mike Trout

NL Most Valuable Player
Final candidates: Ryan Braun, Chase Headley, Andrew McCutchen, Yadier Molina, Buster Posey

This is an insult to our intelligence for a few reasons.

First, so all this is really telling us is that one of the players they mentioned will win the award.   Well guess what - I could have told you that there are five really good players that did really well this year.  What did you tell us that we don't know?  Any idiot can name the top five players in the league and be sorta right, but only one or two really matter.

Second, there are people on these lists that have no chance whatsoever.   R.A. Dickey and Gio Gonzalez each won 20 games and had really low ERAs.   Kershaw won 14 games.   Yeah yeah yeah - they love to tell us that wins don't matter, but this is America and people vote that way.   The gap between the Dickey and Gonzalez and Kershaw are just too large for him to be part of the discussion.   But what do we get out of it?  The L.A. Times gets to publish a story that hardly says anything.   Kershaw was never part of this discussion until inserted as a "finalist".

Third, there are no "finalists".  It's just one stupid vote.  Technically everyone in a finalist, because the writers pick from everybody.   This isn't a situation where they vote, get the top three, and then vote again from the finalists.  All they do is vote once, period.   The votes are long cast.   Nothing will change between announcing the finalists and somebody actually winning something.

This is a poor attempt to keep baseball in the news and people like me interested.  Instead it just makes me annoyed that they're shoving this down my throat.

Desperate Atlanta Braves Pass Out Coupons for Tickets Like They Are Fabric Softener

IT'S SUNDAY!  TIME FOR THE SUNDAY NEWSPAPER!

COMICS!

COUPONS!

Umm... BRAVES TICKETS!

Yes, the Atlanta Braves have gotten desperate.  Unable to get people from Atlanta and surrounding areas to come to Braves games, they resorted to what any desperate merchandiser does who can't get people to buy their product over something else... COUPONS!

So Chipper Jones, Tim Hudson, Martin Prado, Jason Heyward, and Freddy Freeman don't interest people enough to have them watch them at full price.  But cut one of these out, and maybe you can take a date:

PS - Tour Turner field for cheap, too.

People diss the Phillies over there being no sellout streak, but I'll bet my El Camino that the Phillies are drawing more than the stupid Braves!

Thanks to Anderson Melvin for passing this on (and embarrassing Braves fans).  I say follow him because he's a cool guy... for a Braves fan.

Jorge Suarez is a contributer to Philliedelphia.  If you're desperate for someone spewing nonsense who will follow you back, follow him at @hiphop_JORGE on Twitter.

ERMAGHERD! JIMMY ROLLINS NO RUN SO HARD!

ERMAGHERD!  JIMMY ROLLINS DIDN'T RUN SO FAST

He fessed up today:

“I was just upset before I even got up there. I was already out of it. Mentally just upset.”

This reminds me one time of back when I had a job.  I showed up at Caldor and my cat died.  So I walk in and my shirt was untucked and my manager Jimmy Nixon came to me and say, "Yo Jorge, what are you doing? Your shirt is untucked!"

It was the 1750th day that I worked at the Caldor in my retail career.

I was like, "Damn my cat died and I'm all sad and stuff".

Then Jimmy is like, "but your shirt was untucked like six other times since you worked here.  I'M GONNA HARP ON YOU ALL FRIGGIN DAY LONG BECAUSE OF THIS ONE TIME."

Did I screw up?  Yeah I screwed up, but I had a bad day.

Then Jimmy said, "Just kidding - I forgive you.  You've been a good guy all this time.  You are one of the best Caldor employees I ever had".

And he let it go, because PEOPLE MESS UP.  At least he said he's sorry.

So give the guy a break.   People make a mistake now and then and if you have a job so long you might do it more than once.  My Caldor boss taught me a great lesson.  (Then we all got laid off when it closed).

 

Roy Oswalt, His 6.14 ERA, $4 Million Salary Refuses to Pitch Out of Rangers Bullpen

Former Phillie and current Rangers pitcher Roy Oswalt got off to a really lousy start for the Rangers this year.  REALLY lousy.    He got six starts and had a 6.49 ERA.  Thanks to the big bats on the Rangers, he actually got three wins.  Clearly he had no business being in the starting rotation, so the Rangers sent Oswalt to the bullpen when they traded for Ryan Dempster.

Oswalt's last lousy start came on July 30th when he gave up eight runs in 5  2/3 innings.  Since then, he pitched two innings on August 2nd.

Today, August 5, Oswalt pitched two more.  Then  apparently Oswalt decided to take himself out of the game. Evan Grant, the Rangers beat writer wrote a piece where Rangers manager Ron Washington got to talk about it:

 “He said he had enough. To get anymore, you have to ask him.”

Oswalt's agent has gotten involved:

The Rangers, through conversations with Oswalt and his agent, Bob Garber, are aware of the pitcher’s unhappiness with the role.

“Roy prefers to start,” general manager Jon Daniels said. “We had a call to make and we did what we thought was best for the club. As we all know things can change. Right now we’re happy with the way things are set up but we understand his point of view.”

Rangers fans are NOT happy.  Look at all these tweets from ticked off Rangers fans:

That barely scratches the surface.  Do a quick search for "Oswalt" and you'll see lots of nasty things people are saying (plus some Patton Oswalt stuff, whoever that is).

Remember when we were upset when Oswalt took less money to sign with the Rangers?  Luuuuuucky Phils.

Trade Shane: Dodgers, Reds, Orioles, and Pirates Possibly Eyeing Phillies' Victorino?

Photo: Philliedelphia/Steve Trapani

Time to trade Shane.  We all know he's not coming back next year and that it's easy to replace a .250 hitter in your lineup.   Plus, the Phillies already have infield popups covered with Jimmy Rollins.

So where is he going to go?  Jim Bowden, the former GM turned radio host thinks it could be the Dodgers or the Reds.

We could get B.J. Upton?!  DO IT PHILLIES!  SEND HIM TO THE DODGERS.  I would like to see it for another reason:  Dodgers fans are not necessarily on board with acquiring their former player:

Further, the Baltimore Orioles are interested in Victorino, tweets MASN's Roch Kubatko and some see the Pittsburgh Pirates as a perfect fit for Victorino.

All I know is, six days from now we are probably Shane-free.

Phillies Look to Re-Create Former Magic With Roy Halladay, Old School Lineup Against Unknown Dodger

 

"WE LIKE ROY! WE LIKE ROY!" Download Actual audio of crowd's reaction.

 

That is what the Phillies fans are screaming tonight.  (Well, the ones that are able to stay up until 10:10 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.)   Roy Halladay makes his much-anticipated return to the Phillies rotation tonight AND Kyle Kendrick is officially a member of the bullpen and a sizeable improvement over Brian "Dirty" Sanches who was sent to AAA Lehigh Valley and outrighted off of the 40-man roster.

Halladay is facing the Dodgers'... who?  As of last night the Dodgers had no idea who would start.  Apparently it is someone named Stephen Fife.  Dodgers.com tells me that Fife was 7-5 in AAA with a 4.53 ERA in 18 starts.  He is 6'3, wears some really old school glasses, and throws righthanded.  This is Fife's major league debut.  The Dodgers acquired him from the Chicago White Sox last season.  Fife was a 2011 Eastern League all-star.

The reason for Fife's sudden promotion was a disabled list stint for righthanded pitcher Chad Billingsley.  Billingsly has right elbow inflammation.  Sounds fun.

The Phillies very-lefthanded lineup should present a good challenge.   Last night Ryan Howard hit his first home run back with the Phillies, so that should be a good sign going forward.  The big question though, is how many innings Halladay will pitch.   His rehab outing in Class A Clearwater was not a long one and he has not pitched in a while.

The lineup is the same as yesterday.  Shane Victorino has been hot the last few days, with three triples in four days.  The Phillies' top trade candidate has been having the worst season of his Phillies career.  This is a key stretch in his career as he looks to either boost his trade value or value to the Phillies.

Tonight's Lineup:

1. Rollins, SS
2. Victorino, CF
3. Utley, 2B
4. Howard, 1B
5. Ruiz, C
6. Pence, RF
7. Pierre, LF
8. Polanco, 3B
9. Halladay, P

Tonight's game is at 10:10 p.m. and is on Comcast Sportsnet, 94-WIP and 1210AM.

Watch the Phillies' Vance Worley Fall Flat on His Ass from Three Angles

I totally thought Vance was hurt.

The totally awesome Chad Moriyama makes awesome .gifs of baseball games, and I asked him if he could do us some Worley tripping.  He was all for it and hooked us up.  Check it out:

Here's another angle:

Now, I can't give you all three for free when they are on Chad's site.  So check out the third angle of Vance falling flat on his ass right here on Chad's site.

Also, make sure you follow Chad on Twitter because he's awesome.

Carlos Ruiz Uses Special Glove to Handle Dickey's Balls

Carlos Ruiz was selected to be the one to handle the catching duties for knuckleballer R.A. Dickey during the 2012 All-Star game.  But to do so, Dickey brought along his own catchers' mitt for Ruiz to catch (pitctured above).

Knuckleballs are highly unpredicable.  So much so that Tony LaRussa did not think that Buster Posey of the Giants could handle it.  But Chooch could.

Check out Jeff Sullivan's post on S.B. Nation to see a comparison of the two gloves.

Chooch went back to his normal glove once Cole Hamels entered the game: