Drabek throws no-no; Madson is close
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Drabek throws no-no; Madson is close
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
Following up on a few newsy notes on this Fifth of July...
Hey, Kyle Drabek threw a no-hitter. Remember him? Of course you do.
Drabek was the best prospect the Phillies gave up in the Roy Halladay trade. So far, it appears that trade has worked out pretty well for both sides.
Drabek threw 98 pitches in the no-no for double-A New Hampshire and reports had him at 95-97 m.p.h. in the ninth inning. It was his first win since May 31.
He faced 28 batters, walking two, but erased one on a double play. As John Habib wrote in The Union-Leader (N.H.), every out was on a routine play. There were no spectacular defensive plays needed.
"You keep looking at the scoreboard and keep seeing the zeros," Drabek told reporters. "I was as composed in the seventh and eighth innings as I was when I first started the game, but I got a little nervous in the ninth. The crowd was great with their support, but I was freaking out there a little bit."
The Inquirer checked in on Drabek during spring training.
MADSON GOING BACK-TO-BACK
Wanted to clarify something from today's notebook: I erroneously wrote Ryan Madson would pitch on back-to-back days for triple-A Lehigh Valley beginning Sunday. That, obviously, should have been Monday (today).
Madson will pitch Monday and Tuesday for the IronPigs. If all goes well, as the rest of his rehab has so far, then Madson could be back with the Phillies on Wednesday or Thursday.
WHAT'S UP HAPP?
Lefthander J.A. Happ allowed four runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings Sunday for triple-A Lehigh Valley in his final rehab start.
The question now is, what's next?
Happ has options left and the Phillies have publicly discussed sending Happ down for more time to sharpen his stuff. Happ's line wasn't pretty Sunday, but reports have him looking better than his last outing for the IronPigs five days ago. But he still tired as the game went on. Happ was never able to complete six innings in his six rehab starts.
Fifth starter Kyle Kendrick is fresh off a complete-game victory. Joe Blanton, as troubling as Sunday's outing was, appears to have turned a corner in the last three weeks.
So the Phillies have the current luxury of buying some time with Happ, especially with the All-Star break approaching. The guess here is Happ goes to the minors for a few more weeks.
Either way, the Phillies have to make a move Wednesday when Happ's official rehab clock expires.
Trade Happ and Kendrick and A minor League prospect for Cliff Lee and thrown in Dobbs and Castro to seal the deal!!!!!!!— bossrjc- Trade has worked out for both sides? We trade Cliff Lee AND the prospects to Toronto for Halladay and 3 bags of rocks. You call that working for both sides? Oh wait, you're one of those people that say trading Cliff Lee had nothing to do with the Halladay thing. Yeah right.— twpman1
- Great for Drabeck....I wish him the best and I wish we did not have to let him go, but he pitched a NO NO in AA, his first win since "May 31". Last time I checked, Halladay pitched a no hitter, I mean, perfect game this year. Drabek is still just a prospect.
- Hindsight is 20/20 but some things are obvious. I think RAJ panicked in trading Lee for no real prospects. I never thought it was about payroll, my hunch is he felt if he did not trade Lee the same day the drumbeat would have been overwhelming to keep him with Halladay, so he took first trade available. But it is an oxymoron to say we traded Drabek cause we are in a "build now" mode when we trade Lee to restock farm system. Could have avoided all that by just keeping Lee and having Drabek in reserve. As for Howard, I think he is attempting to be something more than a binary hitter -either a HR or K and I will take that tradeoff.— davi
- Warbiscuit is truly a moron. You say you'd rather have Lee, Hamels, Happ, Drabek, Blanton or Moyer. Drabek is in AA; Lee would be gone after this year, and Halladay would have already signed with another team. You'd be left with Hamels, Happ, Blanton, and maybe Drabek for next season. Thank God you are not the Phillies GM. And you actually compare Lee and Halladay by looking at their stats against one start against the Reds and one a couple against the Yankees? There's a lot more to pitching than looking at one start. You act like Lee is a Hall of Famer - not even close. But Halladay will be. Get a grip on reality and stop crying over Cliff Lee.— Dumpy1133
Comment removed.- Stand firm, warbiscuit. The facts speak for themselves.— dasher
- Thanks for your perspective vafan. I've been a Phillies fan from birth. It is so easy to moan and groan when things aren't going well. It's part of the game. If you don't like what the team is going through right now get off the bus. But once you get off, don't come back. You won't be missed. Cliff Lee was traded 6 months ago. Regardless of how you feel about the trade, get over it. The struggles the team is going through now pale in comparison to any game in 1974. When a starter would begin to lose it that year, the bullpen had the immortal Mac Scarce waiting to save the day. Standard equipment for Mac was a 5 gallon gas can in one hand and a blowtorch in the other. In seconds any chance for a win was incinerated. When you live through that, you can handle any bad stretch. And if you're a true fan you stick with the team, no matter what. For those out there who want to fire Charlie and Ruben, you've made your point. Now shut up and leave the true fans alone. We still have a season and a team to follow.— phlipher
- warbiscuit are you serious. Lee has had 2 good seasons. 3 years ago he was sent to the minors because he was terrible. He also is a bit injury prone. Meanwhile Halladay was winning 17 or 18 games every year for a horrible BlueJay team.— phillies09
- We should have kept Lee and signed him long term. Pitching wins championships. You would have Halladay, Lee and Hamels. Let Werth go and no Moyer and you could afford it. Bring up Dom Brown and we win the WS. I would rather have stud pitching than stud hitting any day. We still would have had a good lineup but no the "brain trust" decided to replenish the farm system and now we are up the creek without a paddle. This season is over. Did i mention how i love to watch a 38 yr old left fielder stink it up for the past year. Bench Raul now.— Four4Four
- yo, Cuz - no point to make so you throw an insult? "Dip" and "simple minded" aren't exactly head turners but I'm sure you can make a point, if you have one, without insulting others. "With the ineptness, underachieving players/manager/owners and lack of championships that this town has, it'ts amazing people even care to comment." Wow, the true definition of negadelphia.— vafan
- Throwing a no hitter is NOT a sign of true talent. The Oakland A's pitcher that threw the perfect game this year sucked before the perfect game and still sucks now.— philliekev04
- Let's wait a few years before we start comparing prospects traded vs. prospects received...and then, at that time, we can factor in Dominic Brown (who the Phillies have not and hopefully will not trade). A, AA, AAA...it doesn't make a difference. The only thing that matters is MLB.— Phront_Runner
- It is mind boggling to see so many fans (short for fanatics) criticizing Roy Halladay ... Trust me, there is no one who was more upset than me when the Phillies traded Cliff Lee ... NO ONE ... I still fantasize what it would have been like to see the two of them at the top of the rotation ... But I can't imagine why anyone would belittle Halladay just to show their support for Lee? ... Halladay is the least of their problems.— PhightinPhil
- yo, warbiscuit - thanks for proving my point about market value in 2 years by adding Fielder and Gonzalez to the mix with Pujols. I'm pretty sure Howard's new contract doesn't kick in for a couple more years and even the $25 million per year is a couple years into that contract. Who knows what these other fine first basemen are going to get 2 years from now but $20-25 million for Howard is looking pretty good right now. Did I mention there isn't a no trade clause attached to Ryan's contract? And what's with putting words in the mouths of every single gm and reporter in the country? I respect what you have to say and you don't have to pretend to have back up. Lastly, Beltre is a great player. I stand by the Polanco signing as very good for this team. Many reasons are obvious such as 3 years vs 1 year, less money, the ability to play multiple positions, hitting for average, moving runners, well documented clubhouse presence, etc. You can't have the best player (not saying Beltre is the best) at every position even if you're the Yankees.— vafan
