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Tuesday, July 22, 2008
It's Not Do or Die, But ...
Struggling offense vs. Johan Santana. That's not a great combination, but stranger things have happened.

It's only Juy 22, so there is time.

We know how quickly things can change in just a matter of weeks. The Mets held a comfortable seven-game lead over the Phillies with just 17 games to play last season, but choked away the National League East in an epic collapse. But the Mets have turned the tables on the Phillies this year. The Phillies had a 7 1/2 game lead over the Mets on June 13, but enter tonight's three-game series against the Mets at Shea Stadium in a first-place tie.

The Phillies were 41-28 (.594) on June 13 for the fourth-best record in baseball. The Mets were 32-34 (.485). But the Mets are 21-12 (.636) since for the third-best record in baseball, while the Phillies are 12-18 (.400) for the sixth-worst record in the Natonal League.

The Phillies helped the Mets get hot by losing three-straight games to them earlier this month in Philly.

Now would be a good time for the Phillies to get their act together.

"I'm excited,'' Joe Blanton said. "Maybe there will be a few butterflies, but once you get settled in, it's about competing."

"I can't think of a better team for me to come back against," Brett Myers said. I don't like them. We're not supposed to like them. Nothing against the guys on the team - they're our rivals. We like beating them; they like beating us.''

Lately, the Phillies haven't beaten much of anybody. They'd like that to change this week at Shea.

*

Billy Wagner's shoulder is bothering him. His availability this week remains uncertain.

*

Here are the pitching match ups at Shea:

Tonight at 7:10
RHP Joe Blanton (5-12, 4.96 ERA) vs. LHP Johan Santana (8-7, 3.10).

Tomorrow at 7:10 p.m.
RHP Brett Myers (3-9, 5.84) vs. RHP John Maine (8-7, 4.22)

Thursday at 12:10 p.m.
LHP Jamie Moyer (9-6, 3.90) vs. LHP Oliver Perez (6-6, 4.36).

Posted by Todd Zolecki @ 8:36 AM  Permalink | 63 comments
63
Comments   
Posted 11:13 PM, 07/22/2008
Norma
Speaking of Chase......I can't believe he didn't get booed!!! Maybe the Mets fans have a new respect for him, and have adopted him as one of their own. LOL! Of course, I'm sure they were happy he went 0-fer. LOL! He DID make that GREAT diving catch to save extra bases! Could have been a whole different outcome.
Posted 11:06 PM, 07/22/2008
Billy The Kid
Anyone seen The Wizard? I think he climbed back under his rock after that mess of a 9th inning.
Posted 10:55 PM, 07/22/2008
KMG
Phillies fans of the blog-it is time for us to unite. John in LA, Norma, Karen Clinton NJ and yes, you too, Truth- tonight, we saw a season-changing win. This is the type of game that turns EVERYTHING around. Let's acknowledge that every one of us was ready to throw out some bitter, angry comments before the ninth inning. When you can win a game, on the road, Cy Young winner starting for the other team and you get key hits from Carlos Ruiz and So Taguchi in CONSECUTIVE AT BATS-this one was a gift from the baseball gods. Tomorrow we can go back to arguing over Ryan Howard's contract, the Blanton deal, Tyler Green v. Don Carman, whatever. Tonight we, as Phils fans, need to unite and celebrate.
Posted 10:46 PM, 07/22/2008
Mike H.
Nice game by Victorino, too. 2-4 with the homer, an assist throwing out Inning Ending Chavez at the plate, and great hustle on Reyes's total failure on defense.
Posted 10:42 PM, 07/22/2008
Norma
Who cares where Chase was? The rest of the offense got it done! What a great game! Well, at least the 9th inning! LOL! ALWAYS drama when we play the Mets!
Posted 10:15 PM, 07/22/2008
Truth
The only thing missing from this night was CHASE UTLEY. Zo' might you give us insight into this disappearing/shrinking act tomorrow.
Posted 10:04 PM, 07/22/2008
Mike H.
Wow, and that Hollywood Jimmy Rollins stinks, too!!! LOL. It's great to be a phan of the Fightin' Phils!!!
Posted 10:01 PM, 07/22/2008
Mike H.
Haahahahhahahahaa..... Taguchi-San! Sniff first place? The Phils might shove it up its nose!
Posted 09:48 PM, 07/22/2008
Truth
The D-Backs just aquired Jon(2 million per yr) Rauch for the 6th rated player in the D-Backs system. An older career minor leauge type with Mike Bourne skills and batting ability. P.G. may be the worst GM in Philadelphia sports history. Way to go Gillick! YET ALL OF YOU continue to defend him. cg thx for your generous words earlier.
Posted 09:29 PM, 07/22/2008
Truth
WHERE IS CHASE UTLEY?
Posted 09:23 PM, 07/22/2008
Mark1npt
Blanton results = Eaton results = same results (Phils lose) Innings eater? Not when you get down by 5-1 in the 6th.....we may never sniff 1st place again this year.......
Posted 05:28 PM, 07/22/2008
acerulli
"He probably sends out lots of annoying, useless e-mails to the Astros office staff as well." You are probably so right about that it isn't even funny. Astros fans are going nuts the Houston Chronicle's website about this move. They apparently think Ed Wade has no idea what he is doing... wonder how they could ever have gotten that impression?
Posted 05:10 PM, 07/22/2008
Norma
jeff gross.........I'm with you! Am I disappointed in how the team is playing right now. Yes. But, I'm not writing the season off yet. There's still 63 games to go!
Posted 05:00 PM, 07/22/2008
bobby
I agree, acerulli, signing Wolf is ridiculous for Houston. A classic case of Ed Wade making a move just to show he's keeping busy. He probably sends out lots of annoying, useless e-mails to the Astros office staff as well.
Posted 04:30 PM, 07/22/2008
acerulli
The Astros, who are mired in last place, 10 GB of the Wild Card, and probably behind 10 teams to get there, just traded for Randy Wolf, who has been terrible this year outside of San Diego, and is a FA at the end of the season. Can Ed Wade possibly get any dumber? Nothing about this trade makes sense.
Posted 04:29 PM, 07/22/2008
jeff gross
Truth, or should I say Lies, get a life
Posted 04:19 PM, 07/22/2008
Truth
jeff "greg" gross-who cares besides you?
Posted 04:14 PM, 07/22/2008
jeff gross
I still wonder who woudl win a serries between this team and the '80 Phils. Talk about a great team with great drive
Posted 03:40 PM, 07/22/2008
acerulli
"it is so nice to see so many optomistic Phillie fans on the site today. Anyone wanna bet they win the division by more 3+ games with Howard hitting 45 HR and Rollings hitting .300??" ... um, no on Jimmy hitting .300, yes on Howard hitting 45 HRs. I have no idea if the Phils will win the division by 3 or more games, but I still believe they are going to win it. Look at it this way, it took the Mets playing the best they can possibly play for three weeks, and the Phillies playing the worst they can possibly play for SIX weeks, just for the Mets to get even. The Phillies will start to hit again, the Mets will suffer for playing Tatis, Easley, Chavez, Evans, et. al. everyday, and the division will sort itself out. I would expect the Phillies will still win 88-90 games, the Mets no more than 85-87. The Marlins will fade also. You can outslug your own bad pitching sometimes, but you cannot overcome awful pitching AND awful defense forever.
Posted 03:35 PM, 07/22/2008
acerulli
Jeff Gross: "acerulli: Thanks for teh correction. I thought they could get bonuses for stats. I guess I'm wrong" ... No problem. I don't get this rule anyway. I suppose the thinking is to ensure players don't get too one-dimensional, trying to hit 50 home runs to reach some performance incentive, because we wouldn't want Ryan Howard to go up there trying to do nothing but hit home runs, ignoring all other aspects of the game, would we? ;)
Posted 03:33 PM, 07/22/2008
jeff gross
it is so nice to see so many optomistic Phillie fans on the site today. Anyone wanna bet they win the division by more 3+ games with Howard hitting 45 HR and Rollings hitting .300??
Posted 03:32 PM, 07/22/2008
acerulli
"I am not advocating a new contract for Rollins BTW. He signed his name to the parchment, now he has to honor it." ... I completely and utterly agree. Besides, he is not by any stretch old. He will have a free agent year in which he will be able to find a team to grossly overpay him, like some of the ridiculously overpaid stiffs on that list. I just don't want to see the Phillies make the same mistakes other teams have made by paying guys too much for too many years based on a single season's performance.
Posted 03:25 PM, 07/22/2008
dinohntr
Phillies get swept by the Mets and fall to third, never to recover again.
Posted 03:19 PM, 07/22/2008
jeff gross
acerulli: Thanks for teh correction. I thought they could get bonuses for stats. I guess I'm wrong
Posted 03:16 PM, 07/22/2008
RAS
Jimmy Rollins is in eigth place salary wise this year for shortstops: Jeter $21.6MM, Furcal $15.7, Tejada $14.8, Guillen $12, O. Cabrerea $10, Rentaria $10, Lugo 9.2, Rollins $8. Compared to the rest of these stiffs, Rollins is way underpaid. It's not waht YOU THINK they should be paid, but rather what the market dynamics will bear. I am not advocating a new contract for Rollins BTW. He signed his name to the parchment, now he has to honor it.
Posted 03:04 PM, 07/22/2008
acerulli
"Well for starters, the TITLE of reigning MVP makes him the de-facto best shortstop in the league until he is dethroned." ... That is just plain stupid. So every player who wins the MVP should immediately have his contract torn up and be paid more than the highest paid player at his position? And you can TITLE and DE-FACTO all you want...if you take off the Phillie-colored glasses, you would see that Hanley Ramirez AND Jose Reyes are superior players to Jimmy Rollins, and if either one of them played the game with any brains at all, you wouldn't even be able to debate it. I love Jimmy Rollins (usually, not at the moment, though), but I refuse to overvalue him. He is a very good player. But he is typically a second-half player, and I am not one to argue anyone deserves to be paid obscenely for only performing for half a season. He won the MVP last year basically because it was the ONLY time in his career that he played well in BOTH the first half AND second half of the season. Now he is back to taking the first three months off, apparently, like Bobby Abreu before him and Ryan Howard after him. Isn't this the exact same notion that had Phillies fans so angry with Pat Burrell for so long, that he was being paid $12M per season to only perform for half the season?
Posted 02:56 PM, 07/22/2008
RAS
Well for starters, the TITLE of reigning MVP makes him the de-facto best shortstop in the league until he is dethroned.
Posted 02:52 PM, 07/22/2008
acerulli
"Aron Rowand is making $12MM this year" ... Ok, first of all, Aaron Rowand is a terrible example, because he is overpaid, which is why he is on a horrible team. No good, sensible team would offer him $12M per year, not 5 guaranteed years. "Huh? Rollins is the reigning MVP" ... So are we caught up in titles now? Rollins had a career year last year, no doubt, and I was thrilled to see him win the MVP, but last year was far from the typical Jimmy Rollins season. In fact, if you go back through his career, his numbers right now are fairly typical of Jimmy Rollins at this point in the season. Everyone needs to stop thinking that last year is what you can expect from Jimmy Rollins every year... it is that exact kind of thinking that has overhyped Ryan Howard so much. Ryan Howard is not the player who won the '06 MVP; he is, more accurately, a slightly more productive version of Adam Dunn.
Posted 02:52 PM, 07/22/2008
Norma
Bring back Chris Snelling! He'll save the team! LOL! By the way.......Where IS Chris Snelling? I can't find him on ANY of the rosters.
Posted 02:49 PM, 07/22/2008
RAS
As the old saying goes , "Where there is despair, there is hope". Here is an historical excerpt from another website on Rollins 2006 season... Though he extended his hitting streak to 38 games in the first two games of 2006, Rollins struggled in the first half of the season (.259 AVG, .744 OPS, 9 HR, 40 K) while hitting leadoff, but went on a tear after the All-Star break (he was not invited to the All-Star Game) with a .319 AVG, .965 OPS, 18 HR, and 15 K's. He set the Phillies' franchise record for home runs in a season by a shortstop with 25, a record he would later break in 2007. Rollins and Chase Utley (who hit 32 home runs) became the first pair of middle-infielders in National League history to hit at least 25 home runs each in the same season.
Posted 02:38 PM, 07/22/2008
RAS
acerulli writes: "Jimmy Rollins is neither as young nor anywhere near as good as Hanley is." Huh? Rollins is the reigning MVP. Ramirez is in his third (second full) season with the Marlins. He didn't even make the All Star team last year. "$8M may be a little low for Jimmy, but he isn't more than a $9-$9.5M a year player " How's that? Aron Rowand is making $12MM this year. The current market can bear more than the $8MM Rollins is being paid for a typical J-Roll All-Star type season. However, the way Jimmy is playing right now, he doesn't deserve the league minimum.
Posted 02:19 PM, 07/22/2008
acerulli
"as for Cole, you have a point as pitchers get awarded bonuses for #s of wins." ... Actually, this is not accurate. Pitchers do not get awarded bonuses for number of Wins. The MLB collective bargaining agreement prohibits bonuses for statistical achievements. You can negotiate a bonus for awards (MVP) or other recognition (All Star Selection), but you cannot receive a bonus for hitting .300, or winning 20 games, or driving in 140 runs, or stealing 50 bases. ... and also, for the record, the average annual value of Hanley Ramirez's contract extension is slightly more than $11M per year, not $12, and Jimmy Rollins is neither as young nor anywhere near as good as Hanley is. $8M may be a little low for Jimmy, but he isn't more than a $9-$9.5M a year player, so it isn't like this contract is a grave injustice. The only player on the team who has a real gripe about money is Utley, who at $12M per year is the best bargain in baseball, and he seems to be the only one NOT obsessed with money or his contract!
Posted 02:08 PM, 07/22/2008
Truth
I know Rollins is hurt but even if he is not he had a career yr last yr. Cholly has stated he didn't expect it to happen again. Once again lets see how Utley performs when he gets booed out of the stadium tonight. Rollins responded last yr. Lets see what Utley does? WHERE IS CHASE UTLEY?
Posted 02:06 PM, 07/22/2008
Truth
Gary Varsho-I wasn't exactly claiming the thoughts as my own. This obvously was not Cole's decision it was the braintrust(I use that term with utmost sarcasm). Why beat up Cole b/c they didn't want him to pitch b/c he had the most innings of any other Phillie-boo/hoo braintrust. I know what happened last yr in the playoffs but why let the player dictate to you with out a fight mid-season...
Comment removed.
Posted 02:04 PM, 07/22/2008
mondonj
I never cared for Hollywood Jimmy Rollins. Everyone gave him credit in the club house last year which i think was not deserving. Sure he had a stellar year STAT wise but where the heck has he been? From his not running out a ground ball to his comments to the press. Again i am for Firing Milt Thompson to send a message, if they dont respond Cholley would be the next one to go.
Posted 01:47 PM, 07/22/2008
John in LA
Has anybody even seen Conlin and Truth in the same room? Hmmmmm....
Posted 01:37 PM, 07/22/2008
Gary Varsho
I just realized by reading Bill Conlin's article for the first time, that Truth's thought wasn't even his own - he copied it from the article. But even though it was written by a "journalist" its still wrong.
Posted 01:11 PM, 07/22/2008
John in LA
Agreed - Hamels talks waaaay too much. And are the Phillies the only team where so many of the players feel "disrespected?" Funny - in the real world (where the rest of us live) - people do silly little things like honor contracts and that. Shame athletes aren't held to the same standards.
Posted 01:05 PM, 07/22/2008
RAS
Correction, Hanley Ramirez' big money doesn't kick in til next year.
Posted 01:02 PM, 07/22/2008
RAS
joe rothwell, yes some players are entitled to bonuses for winning awards such as the MVP, CY Young, but IT IS SPELLED OUT IN THE PLAYER'S CONTRACT, and they are called incentives. No team would be so foolish as to not honor a contract incentive. Jimmy just wants a new contract as the reigning MVP. He's "only" getiing $8MM per year. By contrast Hanley Ramirez is getting over $12MM. So I guess we are getting $8MM worth of effort from Jimmy this year. Rollins could have won the mayor's election after the year he had last year. Kinda reminds me of the T.O. saga now.
Posted 12:26 PM, 07/22/2008
diehardphan
Myers gets 2 more starts to prove himself as a starter. If not, Happ gets recalled (maybe myers goes to the pen..., maybe he sits). I'd like to see Marson get his chance now. Neither Coste nor Ruiz are hitting the ball. We might as well face the truth (and I don't mean the guy). The Cubs and the Brewers are both better than we are. Assuming we make the playoffs (bad assumption as I'd just like to see us take the approach of winning tonight and then worry about tomorrow), we won't see the championship series let alone the world series.
Posted 12:25 PM, 07/22/2008
Gary Varsho
Truth - I think this is more of Hamels being too much of a pretty boy. He won't pitch on too few days in the play-offs, and 6 is too many. He sure does like to complain..
Posted 12:21 PM, 07/22/2008
bobby
joerothwell12: A bonus for winning the MVP? All-Star? Triple crown? As jeff gross points out, players who have the potential for these acheivements may have them included as incentives in their contracts, but if you think an organization is just going to pay a guy more than contracted based on his performance, you're nuts. That would be just plain stupid. Players get paid for what they'll do in the future, not what they did in the past. When a long-term contract is signed, it's a gamble for both the player and the club. But what they both get is security. Jimmy got his payday when he signed his deal. Cole Hamels simply isn't at that stage yet. Once he gets to arbitration, the money will start to roll in for him.
Posted 12:16 PM, 07/22/2008
Norma
Wags' "shoulder bothering him"???? Right! He's just afraid to face Chase & Pat! And this offense better support Blanton tonight!!!
Posted 12:15 PM, 07/22/2008
Truth
YOUR PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES BRAIN TRUST---Well, it turns out a committee that apparently included Charlie Manuel, pitching coach Rich Dubee, general manager Pat Gillick and assistant GMs Ruben Amaro and Mike Arbuckle decided that because Hamels went into the All-Star break with the most innings pitched in the National League, he needed more than his normal 4 days of rest between starts. Way too much thinking takes place with this team-- Where is Cy Young when you need him--
Posted 12:06 PM, 07/22/2008
jeff gross
Joe, you idiot, bonuses are agreed upon as part of the players' contracts. Therefore, players with a shot at MVP have a agreed upon bonus written in, Rollins got what he and the Phils agreed upon in advance he'd get if he won the MVP. as for Cole, you have a point as pitchers get awarded bonuses for #s of wins. even so, look for Cole to get his payout if not this coming year then the next one. you can't blame the Phils for not wanting to lock him up in a long term mega-deal based on his first real season as an ace.
Posted 12:05 PM, 07/22/2008
GHOSTPHAYCE
3 wins in NY would be a great way to get the Phils back on track. I think Blanton will be solid tonight, hopefully we can score a few runs for him.
Posted 11:57 AM, 07/22/2008
RG
Truth, do you know where the Red sox got most of their young talent? From the draft, mainly as compensation picks for letting Damon, Lowe, and Pedro walk AFTER their 2004 championship. That was hardly playing to win then (in fact i think they got swept in the '05 playoffs), but rather a long term decision.
Posted 11:43 AM, 07/22/2008
scotty82
Geez, what happened to education in our society? Please look up the difference between "there" and "their."
Posted 11:21 AM, 07/22/2008
wmontanez27
Phillies need one win in the series Two would be nice. Rollins and the lack of consistent offense is a much bigger problem than the starters or pen. This team was built for offense. The park is made for offense. Unfortunately, the offenses disappears as often as Burrell does in late innings.
Comment removed.
Posted 11:02 AM, 07/22/2008
Casey
Billy Wags spits the bit tonight as Phils take 2 of 3 at Shea!
Posted 10:53 AM, 07/22/2008
southpaw57
Sometimes the best deals are the ones not made. The rumored deal w/the Rockies would have been a bad deal for the Phils. They would have given up too much. Happ showed a lot of poise in his two starts, and Carrasco has top-of-the-rotation talent. Look for one or both of them to be vying for spots in next year's rotation. Also look for Marson to be in the mix next year for the starting catcher's job. The Phils should be able to win with the talent they already have. The starters are already throwing more innings than any other team in the AL, despite Eaton's and Myers' problems. The bullpen has the lowest ERA in the majors. The problem lies with the offense. Too many strikeouts...bad situational hitting...too many one- and two-pitch outs...too many weak ground outs while trying to pull outside pitches. Just watch the better teams like Red Sox and the Angels. Their hitters work the count and go with the pitch instead of trying to pull everything.
Posted 10:39 AM, 07/22/2008
Billy The Kid
Truth, you're at it again. Ignoring the facts behind the circumstances. The Red Sox bullpen (other than Papelbon) has been horrible this year and they have a ton of young, starting pitching. That's why Masterson was converted into a reliever. The Phillies, up until last week, had Adam Eaton in their starting rotation and have had a strong bullpen, so converting any starter into a relief pitcher makes no sense right now. P.G. may be brainless, but with every post, you're proving to be the same.
Posted 10:20 AM, 07/22/2008
KarenA
Trying to keep a positive outlook on the Fightin' Phils in the hopes that the will come out of this funk and start hitting like we know they can. I wasn't sure if Rollins could keep up with his MVP year (and he also missed a month of play)but I expected a bit more hustle in his at bats. I hope Blanton's numbers against the Mets continue. Go Phils!
Posted 10:18 AM, 07/22/2008
Truth
Look at Boston they use there young guys so effieciently. I loved how they brought Masterson back a a reliever, they play to win now not next yr. P.G. and the brass are brainless!
Posted 10:15 AM, 07/22/2008
Gary Varsho
joerothwell12 - you obviously don't know how the finances of baseball work. Jimmy is in the middle of a long term contract that he signed a few years ago - so he can't feel "cheated". And for Hamels, he's being paid what a guy with his service record dictates - lets not forget about the signing bonus he recieved before he ever threw a pitch for this organization. He'll get his money. Enough of ownership being cheap - they spend money, but its not about spending money - its about spending it wisely which is the fault of the GM.
Comment removed.
Posted 09:52 AM, 07/22/2008
John in LA
Huh. So what good points did I make, then? Sorry, dude, you're maybe the only one here who doesn't think Rollins is a huge disappointment this year. Mentally as much as playing-wise. Won MVP last year? Remember? And the point - above - was that hitting is the problem - more than pitching - and this was a team that used to hit. Built to win with their bats. See Cole's starts. This team isn't making the playoffs if they don't get back to their old ways. PS: Say hi to Jimmy.
Posted 09:36 AM, 07/22/2008
yahmpy
Rollins doesn't want to be on the field? You actually made a few points until that nonsense. By the way, if the starting pitching can't make it through 7 innings, and seeing that Hamels has done that feat 18 times, compared to the other four pitchers COMBINED who have done it 20 total times, it is an accepted sign that a bullpen is being worn down. That means the starting pitching is a definite problem. To say otherwise is laughable since the Phillies openly admit having discussed Sabathia, Blanton, Burnett and Bedard. It is telling that the Phillies wanted an "innings eater", and went after a guy who has gone 7 or more innings 8 times already this year, putting him second behind Hamels on the team for guys who have gone that far in a game. So, you're right, we will indeed see.
Posted 09:25 AM, 07/22/2008
JayW
Let's hear more about Clay Harris at Reading. He started as a second baseman I think. If he keeps hittting the way he has, there may eventually be an incentive to trade Ryan Howard. Not this season of course. The Yankees are the one team that may be able to afford and need him.
Posted 09:06 AM, 07/22/2008
John in LA
Well, this should be interesting. And for everybody still lamenting on this Phils lack of starting pitching - the pitching has been fine. Probably better than fine. The hitting has been terrible, and it's going on 2 months now (since that first June weekend vs. the Braves). It's not a slump. This is a trend. Now it's a question if they'll even make the playoffs, and looking at the line-up - where are the leaders? Spare me the Rowand talk, he wasn't worth the money. But Rollins has been a huge disappointment, probably even more than Howard (at his lowest points, earlier) because of all the intangibles Rollins normally brings. And no, Truth, it's ain't the ankle. This is all betweeen the ears. In his head. He doesn't want to be on the field. So we'll see.
About Andy Martino
Andy Martino is in his first season on the Phillies beat. A former New York City public school teacher and graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, he previously wrote for the New York Daily News, where he covered baseball and worked with the award-winning investigative sports "I-team."
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