On Carrasco, the DH, Rollins, Happ, Park and more
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On Carrasco, the DH, Rollins, Happ, Park and more
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
Lots to get to today:
1) Paul Hagen checked in on Carlos Carrasco when he was up in Lehigh Valley on Monday. Carrasco is 0-5 with a 6.31 ERA, although those numbers are skewed by two horrendous starts. From people I've talked to, the ability to rebound from rough patches is one area of his development that is still a major work in progress. Keep in mind that is not unusual for a kid that is 22 years old. But that is one of the reasons why he is not a viable option right now for a major-league call-up. Starters need to have a special kind of memory -- "short" probably isn't the right word, but "selective" probably is. It's one of the reasons Jamie Moyer was so good last year: he wouldn't let a negative situation snow ball.
2) One of the interesting situations to watch over the next few days is how the Phillies manage their roster in anticipation of this weekend's series against the Yankees. Currently, they are carrying 13 pitchers. While it may not be an ideal situation, they were using their fifth bench guy, Miguel Cairo, sparingly as it was. So you really haven't noticed his absence yet. There is a school of thought that in an American League series with the designated hitter, you need extra arms more than extra bats. But the Phillies are scheduled to face two lefthanders, C.C. Sabathia and Andy Pettitte, which right now would put Eric Bruntlett in line for a couple of starts. They could DH Chase Utley and give Bruntlett the start at second, or DH Bruntlett. DH'ing Chris Coste is not a likely option, because you don't want to burn your back-up catcher. But another option is calling up somebody from Triple-A in order to serve as a right-handed DH. John Mayberry, who is hitting .278 with eight home runs, could be an option. Interestingly enough, though, all eight of Mayberry's home runs have come against right-handed pitchers this season (he has 29 at bats against lefties). I don't have a good feeling on how realistic such a move would be. But Manuel did say that calling up a minor leaguer was a possibility.
3) The back story on Paul Bako: the Phillies have been interested in signing him for awhile, thanks to his prowess behind the plate. Bako was Greg Maddux's personal catcher for a time, which speaks volumes about the respect he has as a backstop. The 36-year-old veteran is heading to extended spring training to knock off the rust from six weeks out of action (he was released by the Cubs at the end of spring training). From what I understand, he'll likely head to Double-A Reading so he won't cut into Lou Marson's playing time at Triple A. The Phillies felt like they needed some defensive depth at catcher in case something happens to either Carlos Ruiz or Chris Coste. Ruiz has already spent a stint on the disabled list with a strained oblique this season. Fun fact: Bako's given name is Gabor.
4) Anybody else notice Clay Condrey coming into a one-run game in the seventh inning last night? He's pitched extremely well dating back to spring training. One of the unsung heroes of the Phillies 21-16 start thus far.
5) I focusedmy game story on Jimmy Rollins, because I really think he was the key to the victory last night. In the fifth inning, he fell behind 0-2 with runners on first and third and one out. A strike out or a pop up or a weak ground out there prevents a run from coming home and quite possibly kills a rally. But Rollins looks like Rollins again. He laid off a high ball, then took one outside, then took another one up before hitting a ball to the gap and stretching a single into a double. If Rollins plays the way he has the last eight games -- he has hit safely in each one -- you could really see this Phillies team take off.
6) I thought Chan Ho Park handled himself very well yesterday in a tough situation. Reporters talked to him less than a half hour after he found out he lost his job to J.A. Happ. Everybody knows how bad Park wanted to be a starter, and he was visibly disappointed. So it is important to keep that in mind while reading his quotes. It is also important to keep in mind that he does not have an expansive English vocabulary, so while it might read like he was complaining in some instances, I didn't get that sense. He was very honest: he's disappointed, but he says that he will do his best to help the bullpen.
7) Speaking of handling oneself, J.A. Happ was a pro as well. He told reporters he didn't want to discuss the change at length "out of respect for my teammates." Regardless of what you think about his stuff, Happ has a great make-up. You saw it when he came on Friday night and pitched the 11th and 12th innings to pick up the win against the Nationals. I'm very interested to watch him pitch against the Yankees Saturday.
8) They put chili on spaghetti in Cincinnati. What's up with that?
Comment removed.
Coste's career stats against left-handed pitching: .313 AVG .505 SLG .863 OPS 8 HR 37 RBI He's mashed left-handed pitching. Why not use him as the DH and bring up Marson as the backup catcher?— costeguard- David-Skyline Chili Five Way is great on macaroni— Dr. Michael
- Costeguard - Judging by your handle, it would seem to me that you are a bit biased. That said, what you say makes some sense. It would be a good way to see if they can't get Coste going at the plate. Get him 10-12 ABs over the weekend and see if he gets into a groove.
- guard: good idea. Marson could do both hitting and catching too . I like your ideas.— KGKoons
- Why not show teh American League how baseball should be played and let the pitcher hit as normal. Why change our game to suit them? Being realistic, however, why not bring up Ouizo (is that how it's spelled?) the guy's hitting close to .300, has speed and is the perfect 5th guy on the bench for this team. He can spell anyone except for Coste and the pitcher— jeff gross
- oops,. that should have read catcher and pitcher— jeff gross
- they aren't going to burn an option on a guy like Marson just to be able to have him available as a back-up for a couple of games while Coste DHs against lefties...that makes no sense.— JimG
- Everyone is overlooking the obvious. Start Bretty Myers as the DH - at least against Sabathia. Haha. Has to be enough to at least make CC think a little.— unclecharlie
- He has plenty of options left. he's only been called up once (Sept call ups dont' count) His big problem, it seems is calling games, getting him up and catching in teh Pen or talking to the pitchers is only for his benifit long term— jeff gross
- JimG - They don't need to burn an option. He's already been called up this year. Once you option a guy, he can move back and forth from minors to the majors throughout that season.
- Unclecharlie, I like it. Even if he gets out, CC will throw at least ten pitches to him.— SmokeyBear
- alright, Jim, then call up Hoover to be the backup catcher. My point is to free up Coste to DH against the lefties, doesn't matter who serves as the insurance to Ruiz, as long as he can catch. And Murph, while my handle may suggest I'm biased, the numbers don't lie. I've always thought "Coste Guard" was one of the more clever fan groups at Citizen's Bank Park- I'm not Chris' uncle or anything.— costeguard
- murph, can you forward costeguard's idea directly to Charlie? It's friggin brilliant.— vetlincbank
- Who is Ouizo??— Potus415
- Call up Hoover and sweep the Yanks— mick314
Murphy, what do you mean Paul Bako's given name is Gabor? If Bako is his family name, normally Paul would be his given name. Do you mean Gabor is his middle name, or his nickname? This is a serious question...- Sorry I totally butchered this guy's name. I meant, of course, Pablo Ozuna. This just proves again that I can't spell to save my life— jeff gross
- who is this new clay condrey? this can't be the same guy that used to make me shudder when he came into a game the phils lead by 7 runs in the 6th inning.— Ryan
- Potus: I think the author of the post meant Pablo Ozuna.— LoydinIL
- LoydinIL: thanks for understanding my gibbersih— jeff gross
- Fun fact: Bako's given name is Gabor— smfree31
- Hoover sucks.— smfree31
- It's called Cincinnati Chili Murph. Order it 5 way, it's awesome. Also the next time you get to DC take a trip over the 14th street bridge to King St in Alexandria and hit Hard Times Chili. Outstanding Cincinnati Chili. They even have packages you can take home and make yourself.— rjernee
- Pablo Ozuna stinks. He is slow. I cant believe his average is hovering around .200. I have Iron Pigs season tickets and that guy doesnt impress me at all. There is a reason he is a 34 year old career minor leaguer. I would just use Cairo over him... actually, i would even use Cole over him...— dweb
- i think chili on spaghetti might be a southern custom. the mother of an old friend of mine, who (the mom) was from kentucky, served her chili on spaghetti. it was really yummy.— josefbreuer
- While I haven't seen Ozuna play for teh Pigs, his ave is .298 and he has 5 steals so far. he's not a career minor leaguer but has big league time in the past for a couple of teams. It seems to be logical to bring him up since we didn't sent Cairo down to sit on the bench in AAA— jeff gross
- I'm up for DH'ing a pitcher if for no other reason than to insult the opposing team's pitcher. And if the media questioned me why I DH'd a pitcher, I'd openly state as much.— rwright611
- Please stop saying we should DH a pitcher. More chili talk please. What qualifications does one need to be a beat writer?— smfree31
- smfree31: one of the first requiremnts is a sense of humor which you obviously dont have. Chill dude, we're kidding. We aren't going to DH a pitcher, though deep in our hearts we'd like to. We're going to DH Howard and let Coste play 1B. Dave: Can you switch the DH to a position in teh game and replace him with a new DH if you want? ie: move Howard from DH to 1B, Coste from 1B to C and put in a DH if, God forbid, something happens to Ruiz?— jeff gross
- Jeff - Yes you can move the DH to another position. On Bako: His actual first name is Gabor. I don't know anything more than that, other than that he goes by Paul. But his real name is Gabor Paul Bako III
- If they do in fact plan on using Coste as the DH against Left-handed pitching, it would make sense to bring up Bako. While Marson wouldn't cost an option, he would not get AB's with the big club, so bring up Bako who will serve as the emergency catcher and will allow us to use Coste as a RH option. Coste is a better hitter than Ozuna, and any of the other guys people are throwing out.— robm0202
- With a name like Gabor can you blame him? If we can move the DH to the field if need be, I'd serriously think of playing coste at 1B to get him some time in the field and rest Howard a bit while keeping his bat in the lineup— jeff gross
- Hear about the Mets fan that got her arm stuck in a toilet after her gold tooth fell in it. I don't know what's worse, putting your hand down a public toilet or putting the tooth back in your mouth. Hope she didn't eat any corn!— bmoney
- I love the idea of DHing Brett Myers against Sabathia; its hilarious! Seriously though, taking a look at Mayberry would be a good idea, and a nice reward for the guy. He hit really well in spring training, but he wasn't going to get the ready ABs at this level that he needs to continue his development, so I understood sending him down. Bring him up for a few games and let him hit and see what he has now against major league pitching.— JoePAVA
- The reasons I dont advocate using Mayberry as the Sh is: Not fair to give teh kid his first ML at bats against teh Yanks in their home against CC, etc. Great way to destroy his confidence. He isn't used to pinch hitting, ie sitting on bench and only hitting, too many changes at one time for young player. better to either play him in OF and DH Ibanez or Werth, or bring him up a diefferent time when he can play the OF with less presure.— jeff gross
- Ozuna?— GoPhilsGo
- Agree with Costeguard. Makes good sense.— Ballgame
- Can't Werth catch in a pinch? Why carry three catchers? bring the arms because balls are flying at the new yankers stadium.— gobirds556
- Gophils, That was my original thought as well. Someone, however raised the idea of using Coste and bringing up a catcher to serve as emergency backup. I suggested not bringing up anyone as we can move Coste to Catcher if needed and sub someone else as DH if he has to catch. I still think, however, that Ozuna should be called up as the 25th player. We really don't need 13 pitchers— jeff gross
- Hey Murph, that's called Cincinnati chili, and he first I heard of it was from an ex-classmate of mine on Facebook, whose daughter goes to college in Cleveland. It's spaghetti layered in chili, with sour cream on top--it has also been known to include chocolate as well.— eaglebobby1
- In Phila. and the rest of the civilized world we call it Disgusting— jeff gross
- That spaghetti sounds good. I never thought I'd visit Cincinnati, but now I've got a reason— andwhysee
- With the way balls fly out of that park, I want as much power in the lineup regardless of lefty/righty matchups. I say DH Stairs for the game against the hard-throwing Sabathia and sit him for Pettitte, where you can get by for a game with Bruntlett.— IML Owl
- Start Stairs against the lefties... he can't be worse than Bruntlett. Or Myers.— Philly_Geoff
- Totally agree with CosteGuard. I'm not a fan of Chris Coste - at all - but one thing he does well is hit left-handed pitching. I'd be DH-ing Coste and bringing Marson up as the backup catcher. Miguel Cairo can suck it.— 4DaysRest.com
- Just don't call up Mayberry, he's not ready for big league pitching yet. He'll just guarantee them 2 strikeouts, at least, in any game he starts.— catnameddomino
- I've been talking about the righty DH for over a month now.I knew it was going to be Pettitte and Sabathia.Anyway,I'll be on the No.4 train Saturday.— bigeastbeast
- have a gold star chili dog for me, dave. best in the world.— PosterChild
- Cincinnati style chili is awesome.— cesegal
Mayberry is the obvious choice to DH because Charlie likes power hitters. I agree with not wasting an option on Marson, that man will get more needed time this season in the majors and they can't afford to burn options. If they go the Coste DH route, any chance they call up that new guy they just signed for Reading?- Murph you are a mystery ... Interesting how you didn't mention Matt Stairs once. Simply put, given how well & hard Matt hit the ball in the old Yankee Stadium, anything he'd hit in the new one would make that "moon shot" in LA look like a chip shot to the green. But by all means, follow Charlie's lead and keep him on the bench. - Now, in response to you and some of the postings ... How much rust can Gabor Paul Bako have !?! Don't you think he's been training and maintaining all this time, especially after the rave reviews Lou Piniella gave him? I'm sure the Cubs are wishing they chose head over tails. As for the best plan for NY, get Stairsy, Dobbsy, and the rest of the bench in the game and LET THEM PLAY! After all, you can't hit if you don't get to play. As "insurance", call up Bako (just don't call him Gabor). And that's the recipe for a 'baked apple'.— get a clue
- Isn't Ouizo something you drink in Greece?— cazzoduro
- get a clue - I think Murph was specifically talking about right-handed DH, since the Phils will be facing 2 lefties up in New York. I'm sure Stairs or Dobber will get the nod at DH against the Yank's righties.— cazzoduro
- Sign Mike Schmidt for the weekend.— freyday17
- call up Mayberry. What are they waiting for with him? I know they want him to get at-bats in LV, but lets get real about it, they are not going to groom him to take over for Ibanez, Victorino, or Werth. At this point in his career, he is going to have to settle as a 4th/5th outfielder if he wants to play in the Major Leagues. Mayberry would also give them a legitimate outfielder on the bench. Dobbs and Bruntlett are infielders who can go in the outfield and Stairs should not even have been issued a glove— s1360m
- Dave, they don't put chili on spaghetti, they put spaghetti under the chili; it's a matter of emphasis. And there's cinnamon in the chili sauce -- takes some getting used to, but it's not bad. Also, what's wrong with DHing Coste? He can always strap on the gear and still be in the game if Ruiz gets dinged. That's what the DH is for.— Carmine
