Game 72: Rest for Shane Victorino
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Game 72: Rest for Shane Victorino
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
For only the second time in 2012, Shane Victorino does not appear in Charlie Manuel's lineup.
It's not that Victorino has been especially bad of late; he's hit .257 with a .696 OPS in June. But those numbers mirror a season that has been a veritable slog for the free-agent-to-be. If the season ended today, Victorino would post career lows in rate stats like batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
Victorino was among league leaders last season when 10.2 percent of his hits went for extra bases. That rate has dropped to 7.4 percent in 2012, which would be his lowest since 2006.
Before the season started, Victorino boasted he'd lead the league in triples as part of a national ad campaign for Major League Baseball. Through 71 games, he doesn't even lead the Phillies. Juan Pierre has three and Victorino has two.
The lineup against James Shields:
1. Jimmy Rollins 6
2. Juan Pierre 7
3. Hunter Pence 9
4. Carlos Ruiz 2
5. Ty Wigginton 3
6. Placido Polanco 5
7. John Mayberry Jr. 8
8. Michael Martinez 4
9. Cliff Lee 1
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Comments (51)
Time to trade Victorino for a decent middle reliever and a bag of chips.— Philliesguy- He's out because he's getting moved.
Stay tuned.— 24sDad - Dad. Did you hear something or is it just a hunch ?
— zubzub - Sit Pence! he's absolutely worthless in RISP. You might as well pinch hit Lee/Hamels for Pence late in the game.— palmyra21
Victorino is as dumb as dirt.— HappyBob- This lineup wouldn't throw fear into a good Legion baseball team. How can such a mish-mash of bench players and under achievers ever expect to mount a sustained rally or hope to beat a quality pitcher like Shields? I will make a prediction for the first inning tonight: Rollins pops up, Pierre gronds out to second and Pence strikes out. End of inning...— Russ
- what else do the have?its all they have.injuries have taken its toll on the phillies.....you say the line up.what do suggest?they have no one . — ackid38
- Lee will win tonight..........bet on it!!! Even though this lineup looks horrible, some magic will happen tonight.....watch and see!— huntnmike3666
- It's too bad the Phillies can't bench Victorino, Rollins, Polanco and Pence and call up Matthew Martinez, Mark Martinez, Mitchell Martinez and Magglio Martinez.— dasher
- I don't know about worthless. He knocked a guy in to tie the game Wednesday night, so he's had success once or twice.— Jeffy3
- if they arent careful, they could get swept this weekend. shields/price matchup with lee/hamels, and then saturday is up for grabs. phils fortunate longoria is still out.
man, that lineup is bad. cliff lee should bat sixth.— jim715 - forget the howard/utley updates, im dying for just laynce freaking nix at this point-— jim715
- Jim715, this is a horrible lineup, thats why i said they win tonight because everyone expects them to lose and i still have little hope, just a little!!!!— huntnmike3666
- just hysterical that Michael Martinez gets written into the lineup every single night, as though all the guys who alternated at 2B before he returned from the DL were just holding his job for him.
This guy shouldn't have even been brought back for this campaign, after hitting .196 last year and with the understanding that the genius GM didn't want to lose him as a Rule 5 player. But brought back he was, and then Wilson Valdez was sent to Cincy, and had Martinez not been hurt in the spring, Galvis never would have played a game for the big club this year.
He's one of Amaro's Rule 5 sweethearts (along with the wonderful David Herndon) and if there is one thing you need to know about Amaro, it is that he will NEVER admit a mistake.
To those who will now challenge me as to what I would do different, try this...play and bat Fontenot at 2B, or, play Polly at 2B (his natural position) and give Luna a start at 3B. All of these guys are hitting a hundred or more points higher than the Rule 5 sweetheart, Martinez.
— advantasux - Why is Michael Martinez in the major leagues? Once he gets released (fingers crossed when Utley gets back( bet the house that no one picks him up.— march951
- Well at least we won't see any throws made like a girl from center field, stupid base running blunders, or pop-ups with men on base tonight. As Chris "Wheels" Wheeler say "Oh, boy".— Wilhelm Von Humboldt
- Mini-Mart is in there for his defense. Pence is hitting .117 in RISP situations since 5/11. He might as well just not swing and either walk, get hit by a pitch or K (as he usually does anyway).— palmyra21
- Good! Bench him and keep him healthy and trade soft arse so he can go play Hawaii Five O somewhere else. That's baseball Vic! Ha.
- Get rid of pence, victorino, polanco {if anyone would have him} trade hamels and bring up the tripple A roster...They can't be any worse@!!— ahalp
- OMG...Lee has a chance to have zero wins heading into the last weekend of June.....hard to believe, Harry.
Vic needs a rest? From what? All the overexertion and extra effort he's giving during the games?
I feel the weight of that national ad campaign is wearing on him....he looks like a fool now.
Maybe Amaro is working the phones on a deal and can't take the risk that Vic would get hurt tonight and botch any potential deal? Let's hope.— Mark1npt - It's amazing how this FO falls in loves with total stiffs. Martinez should only be in the game late as a defensive substitution, if at all. If Herndon wasn't having TJ surgery, he'd probably still be here, too.
Looks like another L/ND for Cliff.— Only in Philly... - matt joyce on the dl now, along with longoria, so at least they have that going for them.
i cant stand michael martinez either, but are you longing for more of Mike Fontenot and Pete Orr? who do you want to see there? that's why they are rushing back chase now.— jim715 - Dump 1-pitch Pence. He may hit a homer once every couple weeks but there's usually no one on base. Have runners in scoring position and he hacks like a golfer at balls in the dirt and like he's swatting flies at balls over his head. He is inconsistent in the field and more so at the plate. I thought he was way over-rated when they signed him but wanted to give him a chance to prove me wrong. Unfortunately, he did not. Charlie ought to swap him with the ball girl -- she can't be any worse!— Al n SD
- It just came to me -- put Papelbon in right field. He can't be any worse than Pence and the Phillies actually get something for the ungodly salary they're paying him to watch lots and lots of baseball games. — Al n SD
- just checking, are their any members of the 2008 world championship team that posters here dont hate? are their players currently playing professional baseball that you like? just curious.— jim715
- Maybe Charlie's I-Phone gave him the line-up for tonight! I must agree, I don't see why MM is in the line-up when better average hittters sit the bench.— andivalspoppop
- Victorino & Pence have to go!!They both lack consistency, and neither of them have any baseball IQ!!!— flyers11
- At least we get to watch a real manager tonight— 26Fan
- Wow. Bunch o haters posting this much before the game ? What gives ? LOL.
Go Phils !
— zubzub - have always liked shane, but in it or out, need to trade at least him and blanton at deadline for reliever or prospect and to fee up some cash. bring bron up if healthy and see what you have— eisenser
- Any starting lineup with Michael Martinez in it is the lineup of a last place team.— SteveS11
- Why is not Fontento and his +.300 batting average in the line up? MiMart has a few dingers, but that Mendoza line is tough to cross with his ability.— drhoffman
- I hate shoddy defense and Fontenot is bad out there. Soon Chase will be back and everyone can harp on him instead.:— pattymac3
- But never a rest for Jimmy Poppins...— MrLincoln
- Why are the Phillies the only major league team without a hitting coach? I know G. Gross has that title and collects a check for it, but from what I've seen (last year as well), Ruben can save the team some money and just replace Gross with a cardboard cut-out (and have the same outcome). //— Al n SD
- And anyone not feeling the absence of Davey Lopes this season isn't paying that close attention.— Al n SD
- I was never a fan of Martinez, M. before watching Fontenot , Orr play second. If you cannot field up the middle you are unwatchable.— johnny eagle
- I'll only take a bag of chips if they are doritos - cool ranch or spicy will do— Justicek
- Like Palmyra well said, Martinez is in the lineup because of his defense. Who do you want Fontenot and his .912 FP (3 errors against 2 DP, and he was spared of another error), Peter Orr? The Phillies can't afford to have another butcher on the field. If you are worried about your 8 hole hitter, you absolutely have your priorities messed up. This team is mediocre not because Michael Martinez and his $475 mil salary. There are a lot of bigger problems and is start a the top.— EL Zorro
- Manuel doesn't want any blowups between Lee and Victorino especially given the fragile psyche of the team.— AvoidSundanceVacations
- Re: Lopes. I hated to see him go. I think he added some intangibles to the team that cannot be put into statistics.
But regarding stolen bases : Phils are stealing more bases this year at a higher success rate than last year. And the Dodgers are stealing less at a lower rate.
For what it's worth.— zubzub - As Johnny Carson often said "I did not know that." Thanks for info. — Al n SD
- Zub, Lopes was credited for helping Kemp rescue his career. Also, Kemp has been hurt for a while now, so that's why the Dodgers SB numbers are down this year. Plus, the Phillies added Pierre while substracting Ibañez.— EL Zorro
- Let's see, a hitting coach would cure the ills. Trade a better than average center fielder for a relief pitcher. Fire the manager. Replace your regular third baseman with a lower talented substitute. Give a position to a second baseman that handles a baseball as if it's a live grenade. By golly , just making one move according to some people's thinking , would insure the pennant. I never dreamed there were so many wonderful solutions floating around.
First, what would a hitting coach do with retreaded bench players? They evidently didn't listen to previous ones.
Second, how would the team be improved if you traded the only center fielder on the team for a relief pitcher ? Who they have that can play a better center field ? Please don't say Mayberry.
Third, fire the manager ? Yep ! It's all his fault..get real !
Fourth, replace a gold glove third baseman , with a much less talented replacement....Whaaaat ?
Fifth, put a man on second who has blown games with his bad fielding ? That's a jewel.
And most of you say Charlie is a bad manager. Please don't register to vote.....Uh, I guess it's too late for that.
Last, If you haven't learned from the past, you're doomed to make the same mistakes again.
I realize there are a lot of school kids weighing in .
I can tell by all the new names being shown— phineas - martinez is a lite hitter(every now and then will get a big hit) is in the line-up for defense fontenot is horrible at 2nd or 3rd wigginton horrible at 3rd, luna appears to be no better than avg at 1st martinez will play until utley returns then he can back up SS 2nd and 3rd also martinez can play the outfield.— only 9
- The Phillies dont have a hitting coach because they cant steal the pitching signs anymore, so whats the use. Wonder if thats why they are slowly falling off the map. Anyway, Cliff will get the win tonight with the score 6-3, pence will homer as well as mayberry.— huntnmike3666
- Pat Gillick kept Charlie Manuel because he 'hadn't lost the clubhouse'. He was rewarded with a World Championship. Charlie coverted grizzled baseball skeptics like Dallas Green and Bill 'Fingers' Conlin, so he has my respect as well. However, it does appear that he has 'lost the clubhouse' at this point. Its time to thank Charlie for his aschievements, and move Charlie upstairs. Ryne Sandberg is the best 'prospect' we have in Allentown. Let's give him a shot.— tomficara
- Phineas, i have to agree with you 100%, i dont really want to, but what your saying is the truth. And for the record, how can u call others school kids with a name like Phineas, just saying! Oh, say hi to Ferb for me!— huntnmike3666
- Finally a move of managerial courage- hey Manuel, believe it or not, you're the boss!!— Northcountry
- Rollins is the guy to dump....right now. He's showing some return to form but his attitude and inability to lead is something that would be worth dumping. It won't be long until he's back into his sulking funk. Dump him now while his value is high— Joe Nickels
- Time to bench Manuel. Release him, fire him, just get rid of him!— rico777
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About this blog
The Phillies Zone is the place for up-to-the-minute Phillies coverage from the Inquirer.
Matt Gelb
Inquirer Staff Writer
Bob Brookover
Inquirer Baseball Columnist
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