Video: Call up Domonic Brown
Video: Daily News columnist Rich Hofmann talks about the pending return of Chase Utley and Carlos Ruiz, rates the importance of the Phillies' weekend series with the Braves, and explains why Dom Brown should be patrolling the outfield for the Phils.
Video: Call up Domonic Brown
Video: Daily News columnist Rich Hofmann talks about the pending return of Chase Utley and Carlos Ruiz, rates the importance of the Phillies' weekend series with the Braves, and explains why Dom Brown should be patrolling the outfield for the Phils.
Comments (22)
Am I the only one who realizes that in baseball, EVERY GAME COUNTS? Sure, it's May 12th, but if we get swept by the Braves, not only does it have significance now but in possible tiebreaker situations down the road. Keep the petal to the metal and continue to have the best record in the National League even though half of our team is on the DL.
Also, there is the pesky Super 2 status we avoid by keeping Dom Brown down in AAA until late July. If we do, we get another year out of him instead of him going to arbitration quicker.- We can probably pencil a "L" for Saturday with Bam Bam vs Jair Jurrgens, but the other two will be very winnable.
Sadly, I think the whole "super 2" thing will keep the Phils from calling Brown up, even though RF has been a black hole most of the season, and Brown couldn't do any worse than Francisco, and may even add a spark to this anemic offense.— Only in Philly... - Agreed. You have to really like Hamels in the first game versus Beachy. Halladay/Hudson is less of a lock but you'd still have to give the edge to Halladay if you were a betting man. Chooch should be back which further makes the case for a Halladay win. — s
Comment removed.- tiocfaidh - my late July figure comes from David Murphy, who knows the Phillies inside and out. Also, I am relaxed, but I also know how big these series are. Phillies/Braves series means more (May, July, or September) then when we play the Yankees (tiebreakers). Dom Brown is out for 2-4 days with a minor injury, btw.
- Am I the only one who thinks John Mayberry should get a shot as an everyday outfielder? Maybe Raul is coming around, and maybe his years in the league earned him the starting position, but Francisco isn't lighting it up, and I think Mayberry would be at least as good if not better. Why not Mayberry?— JoeArtistWriter
- I think the Phillies should ride the hot bat (like hockey teams ride the hot goalie) in RF.
- Joe, I agree with you. I like that Mayberry has power, athleticism, speed, long arms, etc. I like him in the field and I like that, while he might be a .250 hitter given more at bats, he's a threat to hit it out every time. BennyFrank is solid, but his power depends more on perfect contact and pulling the ball. Big Berry can put it over the CF wall no problem.
But Dom looked very raw to me last summer. He needs work on his game. We're 24-12, what's the hurry. And Lee, I know each game counts equally, but to me, the games after the all star break matter more, not mathematically, but in terms of momentum and confidence of the team. If the stinkin' Giants had reversed their halves of the season, do you think they'd still have knocked us out and won the WS? Maybe, but I tend to think not. They were hot.— Eephus - Most years we play both the Braves and the Marlins about even, give or take a few. 2008 was the only recent exception I remember, where we won 14 of 18 against Atlanta. Those other years we still ended up in the playoffs. So, while it's nice to win those games the important thing is to consistently win series and to hit the end of the year making the playoffs and playing well. We're even with Atlanta now, which isn't bad for May. And Atlanta just dropped two to the Nats.
I would not be holding Brown back based on Super 2 or any other status. If he's ready, he's ready. They could use his bat in my opinion. With Brown called up and Utley and Ruiz back, the line-up should improve.
— s - Dom should be given a chance to prove himself in the bigs. Alternate Raul and Benny in left. Show Dom the greenbacks and you see a hitter capable of 25 to 3o homers with 80 to 100 rbi's a year. When Chase comes back at number 3 in the lineup Dom would be a natural number 5 hitter. Phils are still loaded with talent as long as that talent stays healthy. We have the best pitching staff in all of baseball and yes that include Kendrick, Blanton and Worley along with the four aces. I can see a line up of Jimmy,Placido,Chase,Ryan,Dom,Shane,Raul,Chooch. Power top to bottom with a little bit of speed properly placed. With the Phils pitching and that line-up healthy there is no way Marlins or Braves could catch them. GO PHIGTING!!!!!!! From a former player.— f3408cooky
- Am I the only one who thinks Domonic Brown stinks? Cause he does.— good talk russ
- The Phillies offense will be solve by everyone's favortie GM....Ed Wade. Hunter Pence for Vance Worley. Pence would put up numbers better than Werth did hitting behind Howard and Utley. And at the end of they year when Lidge, Rollins, and Ibanez come off the books they should be able to do a long term deal.— realzeel
- leegarson, Yes! This is the first time I've ever heard anyone in baseball say losses in April and May mean just as much as in September. I'm 50 and have been watching the Phillies and closely following the Majors I was 6. I've never, ever heard that before. You are brilliant.— eman
- I agree with prior posters...don't bring Brown up too soon. He was hot and cold last year, and the pressure of a reputation to uphold had to affect his performance. I also like Mayberry. He has all the tools to be a great player, both offensively and in the field.— dogman5
- This is a no-brainer! Of course wins and losses in the Spring count just as much as in September! I have never understood people who say that you can cruise through the Spring with no worries, as long as you play well in September!!— Pete H
- hey rich, did u see ur boy dom last year?
he was a BUST!! ok?!
shouldve dumped this guy and kept k drabek.
— depressed - No need to bring him out now as long as we keep winning. Mayberry should start playing rf a few days a week and Gload at least one day a week. Raul is fine for now until he starts slumping. He has more hits in May then anyone on the team and was 2nd in the league going into last night. Play the hot hand and right now it is not Ben— pattymac3
- Rich with all due respect, you are an idiot. Stop panicking! If Brown is as good as you think he is then they should definitely keep him down until July because of the Super 2 deal. Chooch will be back tomorrow and Utley next week and they can hold down the fort until after the All Star break. But really the best reason for keeping him down is because he's not ready. The kid has played less than 1/2 season at AAA and you want to throw him to the wolves?? Sitting on the bench, playing part time is not what he needs. He needs ABs everyday and unless the Phillies are going to play him everyday, which they are not ready to do, then it makes no sense to call him up now.— F. Harry Stowe
- I'm rethinking things and maybe Brown should stay put in AAA for a while. Now that he hurt his thumb that will add time anyway.
As for him stinking, I'd say we really don't know yet. We have to see more of him at the big league level at some point.
All this panic over games in May when they're still in first place ... really the most important thing is to finish strong and to make the playoffs. They've only lost one series against an NL East team so far (that last Braves series). Also, in 12 series, they've swept 3, one of those being a 4 game series, and they haven't been swept in any. These are all positives. So I'd say relax and enjoy the summer.— s - Relax. Brown will get his shot. If Ibanez and or Francisco are still struggling come the allstar break, he will get his chance. I just think Manuel is doing the frugal thing here. They are still winning, so give the veterans a chance to hit their way out of it and let Brown stay in the minors to fine tune his game some more. They are also going to get another bat before the trade deadline and, yes, Houston sounds about right for that. Ed wade always seems ready to deal with the Phils. And to all those who keep saying Rollins will come off the books this year, who I ask, then, will play shortstop for this team? They don't have anyone in the minors who can take over and Rollins will probably be the best free agent shortstop on the market. Therefore, the notion that the Phillies will let him walk if he has a good year is really kind of daft. Many out there don't like Rollins (don't get it, but fine.) But at least have a viable alternative before you send him packing.— Hemingway
- Absolutely correct about Rollins. Galvis is not ready. The only 2012 free agent who may be better is Jose Reyes. Reyes is younger and probably gives you slightly better offensive numbers but Rollins is better defensively in my opinion (not by a huge margin though). Reyes will almost surely cost more than re-signing Rollins though. — s
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