Archive: March, 2010
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
Ryan Howard is already getting his number retired. . .by the Lakewood BlueClaws.
The Phillies' low-Class-A affiliate will retire the No. 29 Howard wore in 2002, when he hit .280 with 19 home runs and 87 RBI in 135 games for the BlueClaws.
The ceremony is scheduled to take place on Sept. 2. The Phillies are off that day, which means Howard will be in attendance.
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
Tomorrow's game against the Blue Jays will carry with it a little more intrigue than an ordinary Grapefruit League tilt. That's because the Phillies are scheduled to face a young Toronto righthander named Kyle Drabek.
Sound familiar?
Drabek, of course, was the centerpiece of the three-prospect-package the Phillies sent to Toronto for Roy Halladay in December.
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
. . .here's a little stat for you.
Heading into Roy Halladay's start against the Braves tonight, the six starters who are likely to have a spot in the Phillies' rotation this season have combined to allow just four runs in 18.1 innings this spring. They have struck out 15, walked four, and allowed just 14 hits.
If this were the regular season, the Phillies would have one nasty rotation on their hands.
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
At the beginning of spring training, I was pretty skeptical about the prospect of Cole Hamels' incorporating a cutter into his repertoire in time for the start of the season. When Hamels first reported, pitching coach Rich Dubee and manager Charlie Manuel both expressed some doubt about whether the pitch would become a regular part of the lefty's arsenal this year. But after Hamels showed decent command of the pitch in a strong two-inning performance against the Blue Jays Friday afternoon, it might be time to take his new weapon seriously.
Before we get ahead of ourselves, though, the most important thing Hamels displayed in his outing was a strong arm. He admitted to taking a peek at the radar readings at the scoreboard at Dunedin Stadium, and if they are to believed, he was consistently throwing 89-90 miles per hour, never dipping below 88. Keep in mind that last season, Hamels was sitting 86-88 in his first start of the regular season. Although he allowed Jose Bautista to homer off him in his first at-bat, results are secondary to process at this point, and you had to be impressed with how he fared.
"It's a lot nicer knowing that I'm somewhat around what I normally throw during the season," said Hamels, who allowed two hits and struck out two while walking one in his first outing of the spring. "I think that's kind of nice to really show that my body and my arm feel up to par and I can only go up."
Paul Hagen
Lefthander Jamie Moyer, who is battling for the fifth starter job in the Phillies' rotation, saw his first action of the spring this morning in Clearwater.
Moyer pitched three scoreless innings in a B game against Toronto. He allowed three hits with three strikeouts and no walks. In all, Moyer threw 31 pitches, 23 for strikes.
"I was just excited to get on the mound and face some live hitting," Moyer said. "But it's all in the beginning stages. It just gives you a better gauge for where you are. I tried not to really read into it a whole lot. It was just to go out and kind of get a baseline for where you are."
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
Covering baseball can warp one's perspective. For instance, I'm much more interested in watching Ryan Vogelsong and Antonio Bastardo today than I was before Roy Halladay's debut yesterday. In fact, today's pitching line-up at Dunedin is an intriguing one, featuring lefthander Cole Hamels in his first start of the spring, followed by righthander J.C. Ramirez, one of the Cliff Lee kids, and Vogelsong and Bastardo.
Here at Bright House Field, a B-Game featuring Jamie Moyer is just underway. Lost in the shuffle of spring training has been the remarkable recovery made by Moyer, who pitching coach Rich Dubee says is exactly where he would be physically in any other year. This, after an offseason in which he underwent two surgeries and was hospitalized twice for complications.
If Kyle Kendrick's two scoreless innings yesterday are any indication, the competition for the fifth spot in the rotation will be a good one, although I hesitate to call it a competition, since Kendrick is also battling the fact that he has minor league options.
Daily News staff
It's the official opening of the Grapefruit League season. Phillies vs. Yankees. Roy Halladay on the mounnd for the first time in a Phillies uniform in a game situation.
Here is the Phillies lineup for the 1 p.m. start:
Rollins (SS)
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
First, we'll give you the Phillies' line-up for tonight's game, but later we'll break down some interesting comments from Charlie Manuel.
- Jimmy Rollins SS
- Placido Polanco 3B
- Chase Utley 2B
- Ryan Howard 1B
- Jayson Werth RF
- Raul Ibanez LF
- Greg Dobbs DH
- John Mayberry Jr. CF
- Carlos Ruiz C
No real surprises there. Victorino was expected to miss tonight's game, and will likely sit tomorrow as well as he tries to shake a lingering case of soreness in his throwing shoulder. The two-time gold glove center fielder has been playing catch between 90 and 120 feet, and Manuel doesn't expect him to be sidelined for more than two or three days.
"If you watch him throw out there, he's dying to get out there and throw 180 feet to 200 feet right now," Manuel said. (Head athletic trainer) Scott Sheridan's had a hard time keeping him between 90 and 120. He's going to be ready. I'd be surprised if Victorino in the next two or three days if he's not on the field training."
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
A month or two ago (it all blends together at this point), we took a look at some of the skepticism surrounding J.A. Happ's rookie season. Over the past couple of weeks, I've tried to dig a little deeper into Happ's performance last season, when he finished in the Top 10 in the National League in ERA and threw two complete games. One of the aspects of Happ's game that has always intrigued me is his delivery. While it might not look as unique as someone like Dontrelle Willis, Tim Lincecum or Hideo Nomo, Happ's delivery has some subtle characteristics that seem to keep hitters off balance. In addition to Phillies pitching coach Rich Dubee, I talked to Happ's pitching coach at Northwestern, a former major league pitcher named Tim Stoddard. I also spent some time over at PhuturePhillies.com, where Phillies minor leaguer pitcher Michael Schwimer maintains a fascinating blog that combines insights on the baseball life, as well as the craft of pitching.
Happ's "deception" -- you may also hear to referred to as his "sneaky" fastball -- seems to stem from a variety of components:
1) Length
