Myers, Utley, Michael Taylor and more
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Myers, Utley, Michael Taylor and more
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
A beautiful day here in Pittsburgh. Cloudless sky, low humidity, low 80's. Several Phillies fans on my flight this morning to Pittsburgh, which could be why a fellow beat writer was unable to find a direct flight. The only thing more depressing than going to Pittsburgh is having to connect through another city while doing so. Actually, I kid -- this is an underrated town, or, as one member of the Phils put it this afternoon, a "sleeper" city. The ballpark is beautiful, located right along the river (I'm too lazy to look up which one of the three), and in the midst of some restaurants and bars. The hotel is within walking distance. The weather is nice. All that is missing is the people. But hey, you don't have to wait long at the concession stands.
Lots to get to today:
1) Hot outfield prospect Michael Taylor might have seen his season come to a premature end when he was placed on the disabled list yesterday. Taylor's injury is a strained oblique, which is a pretty finnicky ailment, so it is unclear if he will return this year. Lehigh Valley finishes its season on Sept. 7. The Phillies are hopeful that he'll be back in time to squeeze in some more at-bats, but right now there is no reliable prognosis on his recovery. The injury comes at a bad time -- Taylor was really heating up after getting off to a slow start at Triple-A. He was hitting .350 with two home runs and eight RBI in his last 10 games and is hitting .282 with five home runs and 19 RBI in 30 games since his promotion.
2) I'm told Brett Myers is scheduled to pitch for Double-A Reading tomorrow, but the Phillies have not yet said anything official about the appearance.
3) Top outfield prospect Domonic Brown will participate in the Arizona Fall League. Taylor is not on an AFL roster, but he is expected to play somewhere, perhaps in Mexico. Other Phillies in the AFL: LHP Mike Zagurski, RHP Scott Mathieson, RHP Mike Cisco, INF Troy Hanzawa, OF Steve Susdorf, C Tuffy Gosewisch and RHP Michael Schwimer. All will play for the Scottsdale Scorpions. Play begins Oct. 13
4) Matt Stairs gets the start tonight in right field, while Jayson Werth gets the day off.
5) It seems like it is Chase Utley's turn to get hot. The second baseman is hitting .429 with two home runs in his last six games, and just missed crushing a couple of balls yesterday against the Mets. I wouldn't be surprised to see him be the one who catches fire for the last month-and-a-half, a la Ryan Howard a year ago.
That isn't true...and besides that, his performance wouldn't be affected so quickly. If you have eyeballs you can see it's his swing that's off. He swings widly and gets behind quick, but he's been turning that around. Do you have no brain?— MFPhils- Lidge has to go...I give up on him now.— MFPhils
- Lidge has to go...I give up on him now.— MFPhils
- Dubee Lidge blows another save tonight. Enough is enough Cholly.— Dr. Michael
- Lidge blows another....that's enough Cholly's he's cooked!— Mark1npt
- when will they remove brad lidge from the closers role?— gulls3012
- Who do you go to at this point?— terb
- Lidge, how does he go from 41-41 last year to 9 blown saves this year? He is going to kill us come October, bring back Myers— crboyle1
- kruk just said...Myers will close some games in September— gulls3012
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- What is the record for most blown saves in a season by one closer? Something has to be done. This cannot go on.— RICH W ALLEN
- Saw the game in person... tough one to swallow. What hotel is the team staying at Murph?— ParadeDownBroadSt
- Where do some people come up with these stupid comments: "September is usually the month that Utley flames out. Quiet as it's kept. You could look it up!" I guess YOU didn't look it up. Last September, Utley only hit 2 HRs but hit .284 and had a higher batting average than he did in May, June or July. In 2007, he hit .301 in September. In 2006, he hit .306 in September. Where do people come up with this nonsense that gets posted and do they actually believe it? I really hope Utley "flames out" and ONLY hits .300 in September.— JimG
