Brown close to sealing corner outfield job
Charlie Manuel came tantalizingly close Saturday to saying Domonic Brown would man one of his corner outfield spots -- most likely left field -- in the April 1 opener against the Atlanta Braves.
Brown close to sealing corner outfield job
Bob Brookover, Inquirer Baseball Columnist
TAMPA -- The Phillies named Cole Hamels their opening-day starter earlier this week and Charlie Manuel came tantalizingly close Saturday to saying Domonic Brown would man one of his corner outfield spots -- most likely left field -- in the April 1 opener against the Atlanta Braves.
"I would say right now, he's got the lead," the manager said following the Phillies' 7-0 exhibition win over the New York Yankees at Steinbrenner Field. "Kind of like Smarty Jones or something out front. Big Brown out front."
Brown, 25, has earned that distinction by having the best spring training of his career, which continued when he slammed a three-run home run off veteran righthander Hiroki Kuroda, giving the Phillies a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning. It was the fourth home run of the spring for Brown, who is hitting .365 with eight RBIs.
Perhaps more encouraging were a couple of defensive plays -- a diving catch in the sixth and a running catch in the gap in the seventh.
"He's getting real comfortable," Manuel said. "Also, he's getting comfortable with our team. Without a doubt, I think those are two big things. He'll come into his own."
Brown said he was more happy with the home run than the defensive plays because they put the Phillies in front.
"I'm just feeling confident, going out there and playing hard," he said. "I'm making sure I'm doing the little things. I'm going out, doing my early work and working my butt off. If you do that, the game should be easy for you."
Valdes impressive
With Cole Hamels pitching against Phillies minor-leaguers in Clearwater, lefthander Raul Valdes got the start against the Yankees and continued to make his case for a place in the bullpen. Valdes, 35, threw three scoreless innings, which was the same result he had in his previous appearance against Detroit.
Manuel said Valdes is competing for a spot as the Phillies' long man and specialty lefty in the bullpen.
"He pitched pretty good last year if you stop and think about it," the manager said.
Valdes, 35, had a 2.90 ERA in 35 appearances.
Righthander Mike Adams also continued his impressive spring with a perfect fourth inning that included a strikeout of Travis Hafner. He has pitched four scoreless this spring, allowing just two hits.
Hamels on opening day and Doc
After throwing five innings against minor-leaguers at the Carpenter Complex, Hamels was asked about the first opening-day assignment of his career.
"It really is (an honor)," he said. "A lot of great pitchers have had that honor and to be one of them is something I will cherish. To be able to get your team off to the right start sets the tone for the entire season. It's something I'll be able to remember for a really long time. I'm looking forward to the season."
The Phillies' 2013 ace was also asked about Roy Halladay, who will try to rebound from his rough outing Tuesday against Detroit when he pitches Sunday against Baltimore.
"If Doc's not Doc, OK, now he just went from immortal to still sort of immortal," Hamels said. "He's one of the best pitchers in baseball and he knows how to fight to the very last breath. He's not going to give up. He still has the best pitches. He has the best sort of game knowledge. He prepares himself to win and he's going to win."
Extra bases
Chad Durbin also pitched three scoreless innings, while Michael Stutes and Jake Diekman finished the game with scoreless innings. ... Non-roster invitee Jermaine Mitchell had a double and a triple and is hitting .467 this spring. Catcher Steven Lerud contributed a two-run home run in the ninth.
Fire Charlie Manuel NOW before Ryne Sandberg is managing the Washington nationals in 2014 once Davey Johnson retires.— Flyerdom- So has the great Manuel buried Ruff? His playing time has diminished when the kid should be playing everyday. I say fire the idiot now as we'll.— Phillip Phan
- Darin Ruf has shown little ability to play in the outfield, and that is where he would have to play. Frankly, I don't foresee a firing of Charlie Manuel in the future, but I suspect the agreement is that Ryne Sandberg will be the manager in Philadelphia beginning with the last out of 2013.
BTW, PP, what does "…fire the idiot now as we'll" mean?— BEMiller - Ah Spring, where fantasy abounds! On deck . . . reality.— EagleEye61
- Cholly found a Joe Banner Bobblehead in his jock and is in denial— stoky
- Are the four of you sitting in the same room at one of your mother's houses, eating Doritos and drinking Mountain Dew while tapping away at your laptops leaving whiny comments about the Phillies...again?! — The Pack Leader
- Seriously. It wouldn't be as bad if these 'experts' ever told us what they would do differently.
"Young sucks, Howard sucks, J-Roll sucks, Brown sucks, Revere sucks" EVERY SINGLE DAY... what insight!
But NEVER any solutions like who they'd have playing 3rd, first, short, CF, or LF if these guys were traded or not signed.
It's like I'm watching the DNC all over again.— smfree31 - ruf will be sent to minors soon, must play a whole season in LF maybe he will adjust maybe not, manuel likes the new player from venezuela(I think)even though he is a lefty this dude can play outfield, throw and run, ruf as of now can't.— only 9
- What as ruf done to warrant him a spot? Philly fans are such clueless, delusion, insecure morons...and flyerdom the flyers suck big time just like you, you moron!— smiggs13
- Why the fascination with Ruf, this guy was a nobody until last year then all of a sudden he becomes Babe Ruth. My hunch is he is now off of whatever juice he was on lest he get caught and no shock - he is back to being a nobody.— davi
If the Phillies decide to keep just two lefties in the bullpen, why not at least think about Horst and Valdes, rather than Bastardo?- Interesting that, whenever any player has something of an off game, series, week, month, season all you clowns want to dump him. Frankly, I suspect no other players in baseball exhibits as much inconsistency from season to season as do bullpen pitchers. Frankly, I'd like to see Mr. Bastardo prove, this season, he either does or does not belong. What with the way things are in baseball, I frankly see no reason for not having three lefties in the pen!
Also, yes, along with davi, what is giving anyone the idea that Darin Ruf is the second coming of Babe Ruth, or, to use a right side hitter, Jimmie Foxx? GOOD GRIEF!— BEMiller - smuggy13 why are you even on here, u DBag— bag-of-donuts
- Charlie Manuel is in the early stages of dementia!— APhillyDump
- echoing @Dave Clemens: If the Phils decide to carry just two lefties in the bullpen, why does it seem impossible that those two could be Horst and Valdes? Why MUST it be Bastardo? Why is there always this sense of incumbency that surrounds this team each spring? Maybe when they were on top, you could understand it, but not now.
Same with this guy Mitchell's chances of making the team instead of Nix or Mayberry, but that seems equally impossible. It just always seems that 23 or 24 spots are locked and loaded before the spring even starts.
I'd love to see both Valdes and Horst as well as Mitchell come north.— advantasux
