Hamels questionable for next start, lineups
News blogs, sports blogs, entertainment blogs, and more from Philly.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News.
Hamels questionable for next start, lineups
Andy Martino
First, a few newsy items:
Cole Hamels threw in the bullpen earlier this afternoon. According to Ruben Amaro, the team was generally encouraged, but “He felt some soreness a couple of pitches when he dragged his foot….it’s very possible that he would not make his next start.”
That would be Tuesday in St. Louis. If Hamels is skipped, the DL is a small possibility, retroactive to his next start. But Amaro did not sound overly concerned about the pitcher, saying that if Hamels needed only to throw pitches, he’d be good to go. It’s other stuff, like fielding and covering first base, that he might not be ready for.
Also, Carlos Ruiz is back, and Lou Marson departed this morning for triple-A. Had the chance to speak with Marson before he left, and will have a story about that in tomorrow’s paper.
Chase Utley is off today, leading to a weird and wacky lineup. Utley was hit in the foot by a pitch yesterday, and while Amaro said that the second baseman felt some soreness, he did not seem overly concerned.
Manuel said that Rollins is batting fifth because the manager wanted to make sure he had lefty-righty balance in the middle of the order against Oliver Perez.
Now for the lineups:
Phillies:
Victorino CF
Ibanez LF
Werth RF
Howard 1B
Rollins SS
Feliz 3B
Bruntlett 2B
Ruiz C
Moyer LHP
Mets:
Reyes SS
Reyes SS
Castillo 2b
Beltran cf
Sheffield RF
Wright 3B
Tatis 1B
Murphy LF
Castro C
Perez LHP
Comments (18)
I don't like Chase taking a day off. Hope it's not his foot. Doesn't sound promising about Cole. We need a break. A win today is key. Hope Jimmy gets it going.— spinmeister- Agree with you on all points.— gbrettfan
- Utley has to be sore, otherwise I don't see why he gets a day off. He's much too valuable.— PYW
- Don't they have an off day this coming week? Definitely his foot. This sucks. Utley has shown all the makings of an upcoming MVP season.— Frank Lloyd Wrong
- Walk's as good as a hit!— CenterCityPhan
- If the best hitter is supposed to bat third, shouldn't Raul have batted third in Chase's place?— gbrettfan
- My kingdom for a starting pitcher!!!! (...or four...)— RollinsWasRight
- oh yeah...and while I am a bt concerned about Utley's foot as well, we should consider his putrid numbers against Oliver Perez before we go into full panic mode...and the fact that Charlie has always lamented not getting Chase and Jimmy enough time off.— RollinsWasRight
- RWR,agree with you on both counts. We need some quality starts. Chase looked OK. On a positive note, great contributions from Raul and Jayson. This team can play D!— Baci
- Victorino had a great day in the lead-off spot. R-A-UUUL!! continues to be oh so much fun to watch play. I too agree RWR about our starting pitching. Its definitely a concern.— KarenA
- Looking on the bright side, you've got to be good to have a winning record with poor starting pitching. The lineup is solid and always a scoring threat. I agree with Baci that the Phils can play defense. It's often taken for granted, but it's carrying us now. Once the pitching turns around, watch out. For that to happen, some new arms may be needed to start (Happ?).— spinmeister
- Let's not forget that the team wasn't even sure if Utley would be back in the line-up before June. Considering his bad stats against Perez, makes sense to rest for a game if he woke up and his foot was sore. They can't run this guy into the ground. His foot is obviously going to be the most sore the day after getting hit and if he ended up compensating for a sore foot, maybe he aggravates his hip or something. He'll be fine...he didn't look to have any limitations when he pinch hit. The Hamels thing doesn't bother me. The team is just being overly-cautious with the guy. Even though he had a mild sprain, it's bound to be a little sore if he hasn't been doing much on it. Plus, if you come back too soon from a sprained ankle, it can end up becoming a lingering problem...just ask Rollins and Victorino. Hamels will be fine.— JimG
- Another win with smoke and mirrors. I don't know how we continue to do it, but I'm glad we are. Hopefully we will not see the usual John Maine performance against us, as I'd really like to win this series. Since we were all but handed a win today it would be nice to see us go out and beat the Mutts to take the series. Blanton has to have hit rock bottom and must be on the way up, don't you think?— bski
- Blanton is starting for my Fantasy team today. All I ask is 6 innings and no more than 3 runs. Is that too much to ask? Say it ain't so, Joe.— Baci
- Victorino's walk to win the game should be commended! How many times last year did we see players swing in that same situation and take the "K". The old saying "a walk is as good as a hit" holds, and unless he see's a pitch he knows is a double its foolish to take a hack. Last year we were begging for games like this and it seemed like every other team we faced would get those breaks but not us. Baseball is very fickle I think we should take whatever we can get. --As for Blanton who really knows at this point. I don't think Joe knows either so expect nothing and anything else will be a plus.— Wally 24
Comment removed.- Funny that no one has commented on Charlie's line up change. Lets hope Ibanez stays near the top of the order where his bat will do the most good. One thing about Charlie that is a short coming, he's very predictable. Yesterdays shake up of the line up was refreshing and he, for all intents and purposes, had 3 righties in front of Howard followed by all righties, except Moyer. Great idea and one to file in the vault.— Wally 24
- Well, if the team wants to win without smoke et al, it has to score 10 runs a game! After all, so far the starters seem to go about 5plus and give up a run an inning. 9 runs for the enemy, so we need 10. Yeah I know. Still the starters have been horrid. Charlie and Dubee must be thinking soon to gid rid of Chan, and then pray the other 4 can at least go 5-6. The relievers will have their arms drop off unless the starters pick it up. As to the hitter; Raul , Chase, Vic, the guys look good. Our catchers will hit about 200 until Sept. Rollins: the summer will see him and Ryan carry the squad.— KGKoons
1
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
Search this blog:
Classifieds:
Site Services:
Partners:
Powered By:
