Kaat, Costas talk Phillies struggles
Tomorrow night's game featuring Joe Blanton and Mark Buehrle will be broadcast nationally by MLB Network, with Bob Costas and long-time major league pitcher Jim Kaat calling the game.
Kaat, Costas talk Phillies struggles
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
Tomorrow night's game featuring Joe Blanton and Mark Buehrle will be broadcast nationally by MLB Network, with Bob Costas and long-time major league pitcher Jim Kaat calling the game.
Yesterday, Kaat and Costas offered their observations on the Phillies struggles in a four-game stretch that has seen them score just eight runs to open up the season.
Kaat was teammates with Charlie Manuel on the Twins from 1969 through 1972 and the two men remain friends. Kaat also pitched for the Phillies from 1976-79, going 27-30 with a 4.23 ERA, 3.2 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 in 87 starts and 15 relief appearances.
Here are the Phillies-related excerpts from the conference call with reporters:
Kaat on how worried the Phillies should be about their offense: “I don’t know about worried, but knowing Charlie Manuel, and Bob has sat in with me on a number of conferences, and Charlie will make no secret about the fact that he’s a hitter. He wants a team that can provide some offense, so this is very frustrating for him right now not having [Ryan] Howard and [Chase] Utley, and [Jim] Thome with a bad back and getting off to a slow start. I read his comments everyday in the Philadelphia paper and he’s going to try to conjure up some kind of a lineup or figure out a way. He doesn’t have to pay much attention to his pitching. Rich Dubee will handle that and they’ve got solid pitching anyway. Right now, it’s a frustrating time for Charlie, not because they lost three of their first four, but all of a sudden, because he’s looking at a lineup where he’s saying, ‘Man, we don’t have anybody that can hit that three-run homer. We don’t have any extra base-hit power.’ He’s going to try to figure out where he can get that from or put a lineup together that might. Or he’s going to have to change his philosophy, which is going to be very difficult for Charlie to do, and turn into Gene Mauch and start bunting, hit-and-run and steal. That’s not his style, but maybe that’s the way they’ll have to play this year.”
Costas on the decline in production by the Phillies’ offense: “I’m just looking at my notes for Thursday’s game and … in 2009 when they went back to the World Series, the Phillies scored 820 runs. The next year they scored 772, and last year they scored 713. So, that’s more than 100 fewer in the space of two years, and they had Ryan Howard for the full season and Utley for part of the season a year ago. Now they begin this season without either one of them and question marks as to when they’d be back, and already looking at a 100-run falloff in a space of two years, so that’s what Manuel’s worried about.”
Costas on Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard: “Also, and this is no knock on anybody, Jimmy Rollins is still a very good player, but Jimmy Rollins is not the MVP player from 2007. The production is not at a peak as it once was. Basically, those were the three guys, apart from pitching, who were the heart of the team. Did they have other good players? Of course they did, but Rollins, Utley and Howard, in some order, were the heart of the team. One of them is now in a little bit of a decline. Again, he is still a very good player, Jimmy Rollins, but in a little bit of a decline, and Utley and Howard are out. That’s the heart of the team.”
Kaat on the Phillies’ lineup without Howard and Utley: “Another point, just speaking from a pitcher’s standpoint, is now when I get that lineup card that the manager hands me and I look at it and say, ‘This is who I’m pitching against.’ Even though you respect every hitter that steps in a box in a big league game [and] has a bat in his hands is dangerous, all of a sudden [in] your mind, you’re much more aggressive in your approach to say, ‘Wow, I don’t have this three [or] four guy that I’m going to waste about 15 or 20 pitches on.’ I think that’s going to have a good effect on the opposing starting pitchers to challenge the Phillie hitters. It’s going to, in this day of counting pitches and innings limitations. All of a sudden, you can get through that lineup in fewer pitches than you ever did before. And as a result, if you’re a pretty good pitcher, you’re going to take your team deeper into the game. Even though Howard, when he comes back, may not be the real Ryan Howard, he’ll be a threat and he’ll intimidate some pitchers where he can affect the guy that hits before him and after him. Until they get back, Charlie’s going to figure out a way to put some kind of a lineup together that can pose a threat to the opposing starting pitcher.”
Costas on who can help the Phillies fill the void in their lineup: “Now in fairness, they have added Hunter Pence, in the middle of last season, so there’s a very important bat that they didn’t have before. They have to have their fingers crossed that John Mayberry, who’s going to get time in the outfield and some opportunity at first base with Howard out, that he can blossom the way they hoped that he would. If he has a big year and if Pence has a big year for a full season with Philadelphia, that makes up some of the difference. Not all of it, but some of it.”
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We go through a version of this crisis just about every year. Fans should be placed in some sort of medically induced coma until the first ten games are over. The Phillies are still the best team in their division. The fact that the other teams are now all competitive only makes things more interesting. One other thing. Preventing runs is just as important as producing them.— JayW- It doesn't matter how good their pitching is. If they can't consistently put up at least 3-4 runs or more most games, they will not be able to win enough games to be playing in October.— Bobby G
- Bobby G right on
— mbutley - Right on, JayW— JCKPSU01
- No news here,,,,,a space filler for sure.— NewMick314
- There are a bunch of veterans, most somewhat long in the tooth, who are free agents available for the price of a contract. Guys like Johnny Damon, Aaron Miles, Pudge Rodriguez, Magglio Ordonez, Derek Lee, Casey Blake. It's not as if the Phils don't have some options if, down the road, the offense doesn't improve. With the exception of Miles, most of these others seem kind of picked over from the bin that has already brought us Pierre, Nix and Wigginton.— Claudio Vernight
- Thome has a bad back?— RickSchuBlues
- NewMick is right nothing new just a space filler.— Phillip Phan
- at least a dozen players on the roster are either completely useless or not ready for majors (Nix, Wigginton, Thome, Pierre, Herndon, Qualls, Stutes, Polanco, Schneider, Galvis, Blanton, Kendrick) ..take away top 3 starters and this is worst roster in major leagues— warbiscuit
- so how does a g.m. turn a defending championship team into such a pathetic one, all while having the highest budget in the league and winning nothing but 3 divison titles with all the major league and minor league talent he was given? well, for starters, here are some of the many awful moves of commission and omission by Ruben, all before this yr: 1. signing Ibanez (3 yrs, $36 mil wasted), 2. re-signing Moyer 2 yrs, 3. re-signing Bruntlett, 4. trading valuable catcher for Jack Tashner, 5.doing nothing to improve Phls bullpen in 2009 thus relying on a closer with an era over 7.0, 6. relying on an aged Pedro to be no. 2 starter in 2009 post-season, costing Phils World Series, 7. trading away Cliff Lee for peanuts, 8. trading away 3 top prospects for Halladay including future superstar D'arnaud when could have kept Lee for same price, 9. signing Blanton to inexplicable $24 mil extension, 10. signing Polanco (3 yrs, $18 mil wasted --no offense at 3rd base for 3 yrs), 11. signing Baez (2 yrs), 12. acquiring Herndon and then keeping him on roster for all of 2010 so as not to "lose" the most useless piece of sh%$ since Eaton, 13. signing Schneider, 14. failure to offer contract to Myers and/or add a starter after losing Lee for peanuts thus requiring loss of 3 prospects to acquire Oswalt who provided only a half-season of half-decent pitching, 15. signing Gload and other worthless bench garbage, 16. givign Howard a $125 million extension almost 2 years before his current contract was due to expire--the single worst overpriced extension in baseball history, 17. doing nothing to improve worst bench in baseball in 2010, 18. doing nothing to assist fading offense in 2010, thus costing Phils chances in 2010 post-season, 19. doing nothing to replace Werth after 2010 thus having to trade 3 future stars in July to acquire an outfielder, 20. going into 2011 post-season with still suspect offense and bench, costing Phils chance in 2011, etc ... to be continued...— warbiscuit
- more awful moves of commission and omission by Ruben 2012 season: 1. doing nothing to replace Howard's lost production at 1b, 2. doing nothing to replace Utley's lost production at 2b, 3. doing nothing to replace Polanco's non-existent offense at 3b, 4. re-signing good field no hit shortstop at absurd price that could have acquired legitimate hitter for non-existent offense, 5. signing closer for absurd ridiculous price that could have acquired legitimate offense, 6. doing nothing to add a lefty reliever other than sign a consistently awful Willis, 7. doing nothing to help bullpen other than awful Qualls, 8. signing Willis, 9. signing Thome 10. signing Nix, 11. acquiring Wigginton, 12. signing Pierre, 13. keeping Pierre on roster, 14. re-signing Schneider, 15. keeping Herndon on roster, 16. trading away Valdez, 17. doing nothing to help offense, bench or bullpen other than aforementioned awful moves thus having the distinction of having the highest budget in the league to pay one of the most pathetic rosters in baseball and with no talent left in minors— warbiscuit
- Tell it for real Warbiscut. Does this mean you and Amaro won't exchange Christmas cards this
year ?
Actually you made very good points. Signing Rollins wasn't an easy decision. Amaro didn't have much choice. The cupboard was bare !— phineas 
Comment removed.- @warbiscuit, don't forget not signing Davey Lopes for a few more measly dollars.— dasher
- I cannot believe, with all his knowledge, insights, and sheer baseball intellect - that warbiscuit is not a big league GM! This guy has it all figured out.— dwp66
- One of the things that has hurt is the failure of Domonic Brown. By now, the organization thought Brown would be a regular outfielder contkributing the home run power that is so badly needed by this team.— tcardella
- The season is still to young to panic. If this time next month, the same questions are being asked, then panic.
Look at the Yanks and Bosox. As hated as they are, does anyone believe that they are going to finish at the bottom of the AL East?— jthordsen - Warbiscuit makes some good points, but not all GM's decisions turn out great either. The theme I keep seeing with Warbiscuit's novel is Amaro talks about getting younger and then signs, Pierre, Thome, Qualls, Nix, Wiggington, Willis, etc., etc., etc.— jakenepa
- Kaat has the most salient point here, that Manuel is uncomfortable when he can't rely on the HR, that "small ball" or managing with a different attitude is way out of his comfort zone. It's hard enough for veteran hitters to change their attitude at the plate (the off-season mantra), but when a manager and coaching staff are leery about it, you get confusion and lack of confidence at the plate from your hitters. Throw in the front office sense of denial about Howard and Utley, and this "offense" isn't a shocker at all.— ijj
- The reality is - $$$ didn't buy 2008 and trying to recreate 2008 is futile. All we really need is the willingness to spend enough to make us good enough to get to the post season - and that we have. After that it is all about who is hot - which was us in 2008, Giants in 10 Cards in 11. Bottom line - relax and enjoy our 90some wins this season and who knows we might be the team that gets hot in the playoffs with heros you can't even imagne right now.— majpooper
