Archive: August, 2008
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
Stop poking your Charlie Manuel and Rich Dubee Voo Doo dolls.
It turns out Cole Hamels told the Phillies' pitching coach after the seventh inning that he was running on empty and would have hurt the team by going out for the eighth inning. Hamels had thrown 108 pitches at that point. Though he has thrown more in eight games this season, he said the way his body felt he would have hurt the team by taking the mound in the eighth.
Instead, the Phillies bullpen allowed five runs in the eighth inning en route to a 6-4 loss.
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
Matt Stairs will fly to Philadelphia tonight and be in uniform when the Phillies face the Cubs Saturday afternoon, according to Stairs' agent.
Earlier today the Phillies agreed to a deal with the Blue Jays to acquire the veteran lefthander, who is hitting .250 with 11 home runs this season.
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
Last night was not a good night to be a Fightin' Phil. It wasn't a good night to be a writer, either. It's never fun to completely re-write your game story in the bottom of the eighth inning. But as the kids say, it is what it is.
The No. 1 question this morning, of course, is why Charlie Manuel decided to pull Cole Hamels from the ball game after the bottom of the seventh inning. Hamels had retired six of his seven previous batters and and the last time he was pulled after the seventh with a slim lead, the Dodgers took advantage of the Phillies bullpen and pulled out a 4-3 win on Aug. 12.
But. . .
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
I've received a couple emails asking why Charlie Manuel did not bring in J.C. Romero in the eighth to retire one batter and get the Phillies to the ninth. Carlos Delgado ended up tying the game with a home run off Rudy Seanez and the Mets went on to win.
It's natural in hindsight to wonder, but consider the following:
1) Romero had pitched in three straight games and in four of the last five.
Daily News staff
The Phillies departed after last night's loss to the Mets for Chicago, where the Cubs are waiting with baseball's best record at 83-50.
Chicago has won five in a row, eight of its last 10 and has an amazing 49-19 record at home. The Cubs have won nine straight series. It's the first time they have done that since 1907, when they took the first of their back-to-back titles.
Tonight, Cole Hamels (11-8, 3.20) faces the Cubs' Ryan Dempster (15-5, 2.85) in what should be a great pitching matchup. Hamels has won back-to-back starts for the first time since May 9-15. In those games, he allowed 12 hits and no walks in 15 innings and has a 1.80 earned run average. Dempster is 12-2, 2.66 in 16 home starts this season while holding opponents to a .209 batting average. In his last seven starts overall he's 5-1, 1.76. He's already matched his career high in wins (15-12 for Florida in 2001) .
Daily News staff
First baseman Andy Tracy’s stay with the Phillies was short-lived.
The Phillies designated him for assignment today and purchased the contract of pitcher Andrew Carpenter from Double A Reading.
Carpenter is being called up largely because the length of last night’s game leaves the bullpen thin. It seems unlikely that Clay Condrey would be available and the Phillies used everyone else. Tonight’s starter, Kyle Kendrick, ended up warming up in the 13th inning and threw about 40 pitches in the bullpen.
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
Newspapers are like life in that they have deadlines. They are unlike life in that if you miss that deadline hundreds of thousands of people won't be able to read about the Phillies game while staining the sports section with the milk ring on the bottom of their bowl of Apple Jacks. There is a good chance you are one of them, thanks to the fact that last night's game lasted a brisk five hours and 17 minutes. But even if you did get the story in the paper, or haven't heard of the internet - which would be fairly difficult considering the fact that you are currently on the internet reading this story - here are a number of news, notes and analyses that may or may not have gotten into the paper, but even if they did are worth expanding on.
1) Kyle Kendrick threw about 40 pitches while warming up in the bullpen last night. Charlie Manuel was all set to bring him in had Chris Coste not one the game with a walk-off base hit in the bottom of the 13th. Rudy Seanez could not pitch more than an inning, Manuel said. It did not come to that, and both Kendrick and Manuel said the young righthander should not be impacted at all when he starts tonight against Johan Santana. I'd expect the Phillies to bring up another arm anyway. Maybe. . .
2) As Kendrick was warming in the bullpen last night, I was cruising MinorLeagueBaseball.com trying to figure out who the Phillies would end up starting tonight if Kendrick got into the game. J.A. Happ started last night, Carlos Carrasco started recently, as did minor league veteran Brian Mazone. The two options I came up with? Andrew Carpenter, who pitched well in his lone spring training appearance and has seemed revitalized since returning to Double A from a brief demotion. And. . .drumroll please. . .Kris Benson, the veteran righthander who has spent most of the past couple months pitching for Triple A Lehigh Valley. Benson last pitched on Aug. 22, so he was scheduled to start tonight for the IronPigs. Would have been interesting to see what they would have done.
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
Several times a week I'm asked for my predicition on how this season will end for the Phillies. It happens on radio shows, on television, via email, and occasionally while I am waiting in line for a Hoagie. Two months ago, I would provide an answer and pretend like I knew what I was talking about. Now, however, I happily admit that I have no bleeping idea. A couple of weeks ago, I was starting to think that maybe, just maybe, the Phillies offense was what it was, and that things were not going to get better, and that even the overachieving pitching staff wouldn't be able to overcome the deficiencies the team had displayed at the plate.
I thought this after the Dodgers swept the Phillies, and Mets took a 2.5 game lead in the National League East.
But then the Padres series started, and for whatever reason I got the feeling that this team was not, in fact, finished. I remember sitting in the dugout at Petco Park for the first game against San Diego and being amazed at how loose the players and coaches seemed. They were coming off a four game sweep at the hands of the Dodgers, had fallen as far out of first place as they'd been in quite some time, yet had an air about them. I was talking to one of the Phillies PR people and I told him that I had a feeling they were about to go on a run. Seven out of the next 10, I said. Turns out it was nine of 11.
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
Pedro Feliz is the obvious choice here. He had four RBI in the final three innings, including a game-tying single in the ninth and a walk-off three-run home run in the bottom of the 11th.
He also turned a double play that probably saved the game, grabbing a hard-hit ground ball with the bases loaded and no out in the 10th, then stepping on third and throwing home.
Kudos for Charlie Manuel for having him in there (Greg Dobbs started the game at third).
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
Quick injury update from the Ol' Ballyard, where the Ghost of Phillies Offense Past has decided to drop by.
Geoff Jenkins, who left the game prior to the fourth inning, was examined by Dr. Michael Ciccotti and was diagnosed with a hip flexor or a high quad strain. He is going to have an MRI tomorrow.
We'll keep you posted.
