Big day for injury news
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Big day for injury news
Andy Martino
Some fairly meaningful rehab news just came in regarding three pitchers who have progressed far more slowly than originally anticipated. Clay Condrey (oblique), who the Phils were afraid at one point could be lost for the season, will throw a bullpen session tomorrow, as will J.C. Romero (left forearm strain). Antonio Bastardo (left shoulder strain) will finally appear in a rehab game tomorrow, pitching for the GCL Phillies. All of these guys have experienced unexpected setbacks, so the Phils have to be relieved to get them on a mound again.
Also, the Phillies earlier today placed Greg Dobbs (right calf strain) on the 15-day DL, an recalled INF Miguel Cairo to replace him. Cairo has been the subject of many reader email this season, as in WHY DON'T THEY CALL UP CAIRO TO REPLACE BRUNTLETT!!!!???!!, but the organization always preferred Bruntlett's ability to fill in at shortstop. Now Cairo will get another shot to impress and perhaps hang around for September.
The Dobbs injury is one of those little things that's actually kind of a pain for the Phils. Just when their bench finally looked impressive, with Dobbs and Matt Stairs from the left side and Ben Francisco from the right, the Phillies lose Dobbs. With Stairs slumping a bit, it is a bad time for the team to lose depth on the bench. Not a crisis, but not a good thing, either.
Kind of a sloppy game and other than two swings of the bat, the offense was not very impressive. However, they managed to get the win despite the average overall play. It's nice that Bruntlett got a few hits and that he was lucky enough to be in the right spot at the right time, but I'm still not sure why he is considered such an unbelievable guy to have on the bench. While he hasn't played nearly as much as last year, his defense is not impressive and his offense is quite offensive. Before his lucky triple play, he had two errors (even though one was scored a hit, it was still a play virtually all professional players make) and I seem to recall other errors or bad plays in his limited time in the field. As for Cairo, it is about time they give him a shot. He has been the starting shortstop for the AAA team but Charlie feels he cannot play shortstop in a pinch? Am I missing something here? I understand the importance of having a guy who is able to play multiple positions, I'm just not convinced Bruntlett is that guy.— MrPhillie- Nice to see that Cairo's back, he's be hitting around 300 for the Pigs so, maybe it's been better having him play everyday in AAA than sitting on the bench in Philly. Perhaps after today Bruntlett showed us that he's just not a pinch hitter and that maybe if he had more PT (in Lehigh not Philly) he'd actually be a reliable bat to "put the ball in play" when small ball is needed.— phasor
- Stairs not slumping. He walks all the time, look at his OBP.— Downie27
- Stairs not slumping. He walks all the time, look at his OBP.— Downie27
- Bruntlett has been awful this year. The unassisted triple play was awesome and saved the game, but he has just been terrible. Bring up a minor leaguer and give him a shot; he can't do any worse. Bruntlett was hitting .128 going into today. Cut him loose and give some deserving guy a shot.— phillyinsd
- Raul, lately has reminded me of Pat the Bat. Maybe, it is left field?— travellin
- A reply to Richie Allen. What we are witnessing is a guy who was playing hurt and having a tough time getting his timing back. We have not needed him yet but we will and I bet you he will be back and be an important piece of this puzzle. Some wanted to get rid of Jimmy. Some people should let the season play out because for Raul this season is far from over. Do you really think he is going to drop 70 points in his era because he is 37???????— pattymac3
- Raul has always been a streak hitter. Be happy he's slumping now and can bounce back to get red hot in Sept/Oct again. Better this way then he slumping in teh playoffs— fan_in_jerusalem
- Raul is in an long over due slump. He is trying to do too much at the plate and just needs to go back to the basics. Luckly Werth is coming back from a slump and should make up the difference. Raul's a smart player who works very hard to maintain he will be out of this funk for sept. Just remember he is not a life time .300 hitter. I agree with the idea of bringing up Michael Taylor before Sept 1st. Lets see what the youngster can do. If nothing else he will end up on the 40 man Oct 4th. The experience will give him a taste of what he is working for in the minors.— Wally 24
- KGKoons, if you need to win a game, would you give the ball to Moyer, Flande, Kendrick or Lopez over Pedro? Think about that for a moment. Pedro not only knows how to pitch better than the aforementioned, he also has one or two strikeout pitches. He struggled earlier with his command, but his last three innings were pretty good.— EL Zorro
- Last year Stairs had played in the AL where he was getting 4 ABs a game as the DH. This year he sits on the bench and does nothing. Charlie has tried to get him into games but our outfield has been healthy with the exception of Rauls mishap. Rotting on the bench has affected Stairs timing big time and unless he gets more playing time things won't change all that much. Cairo coming to the bench after being active most of the season in the minors should give us some more depth from a small ball perspective but once again, the signs come from the bench.— Wally 24
- Raul worries me. All of a sudden he looks old. Some players age in a hurry and their skills deteriorate. Remember Dale Murphy, Carlos Baerga and Robbie Alomar?— EL Zorro
- Zorro -- So far I see nothing to write home about in the Martinez experiment. I also think it is way to early to make decisions on who is the best bet for starting. His next start is against the Braves and that should tell us more about where he ends up.— Wally 24
- Wally agree that is early, but I liked the way he pitched the last 3 innings yesterday and the last two innings in his previous game before the rain. He could be very valuable down the stretch or coming out of the pen in the playoffs.— EL Zorro
- There is no way I would discard Pedro. How he serves the Phils we will just have to see but you can't put a value on experience whether it's from Moyer, Martinez, Ibanez, or Stairs. Many of those who post on these boards should try to take that into consideration before trashing older players. The Media in patricular. Most of the time what they have lost in speed and strength they make up for in smarts.— Wally 24
