Kendrick Struggles, Could Be Bumped
Kyle Kendrick struggled yesterday in a loss to the Nationals, and could have his turned in the rotation skipped this weekend in New York.
Kendrick Struggles, Could Be Bumped
Todd Zolecki
Kyle Kendrick hasn't had a good look about him lately, and that could cost him a start Sunday night in New York.
He struggled mightily yesterday in a 7-4 loss to the Nationals.
Kendrick, who has a 9.14 ERA in his last five starts, is supposed to pitch Sunday night in a big game against the New York Mets at Shea Stadium, the last time the Phillies play the Mets this season. But with no game to play Thursday, the Phillies could skip Kendrick's turn in the rotation and have Cole Hamels, who has faced the Mets just once this season, pitch against Johan Santana. It sounds like the only thing that might prevent that from happening is if Hamels works hard and throws a lot of pitches tonight against the Nationals.
If he cruises, he probably will.
"(Kendrick) doesn't have a good look about himself right now," pitching coach Rich Dubee said. "He doesn't look like he wants to be out there to get people out. It's like bad stuff is going to happen, and generally if you have that bad look, bad stuff is going to happen. He's got to get a better look about himself. He's got to get more confidence."
The Phillies have 24 games to play. They need every advantage they can get.
Hamels would even the playing field Sunday.
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In the Phillies Notebook: Adam Eaton has been a bust, more roster moves for the final month of the season and maybe a trade before the end of the season.
While Kendrick has done a great job for us this year, and is going to be a member of the rotation for years to come, perhaps he needs some time off. Good chance to give happ a shot. However, under no circumstanes do I want to see Eaton on a mound in a real game. let him throw PB or to the kids in the father/son game.— jeff gross- Dubee's job is to help fix these problems, not to pontificate about them.— JayW
- Moving up the rotation makes perfect sense even if Hamels has a hard outing with the Nationals. He would still have his usual 4 day rest btwn starts. As I said in a previous post: Gotta give Pat Burrell kudos for his sense of humor and good sportmanship when he was "benched" yesterday he said "I'm still available to come in defensively late in the game."— KarenA
- thought it was kind of funny what he said, and then that he cme in a PH in 6 and stayed in came. Also, Remember, they are being careful with COle as he tends to get hurt towards this time of year— jeff gross
- 1— jeff gross
- Plus....Pat drew a walk, in his PH appearance, to force in a run. LOL! The main thing that concerns me if they DON'T move Cole up in the rotation, is that they're thinking of having Happ face Santana. An awful lot of pressure for someone who hasn't pitched in the Bigs for a while. Hopefully, our offense will step it up.— Norma
- First of all, Norma, I agree that they should pitch Cole on his normal day (IE: skip Kendrick) but even if they want to pitch Happ, if you are going to test a rookie, test him properly under preasure. This is the big leagues, either put up or shut up time...— jeff gross
- Hamels for Kendrick is a no-brainer. It's not as if you're talking about starting Hamels on short rest. Kendrick has been Eaton-like the last month. What exactly has he done to deserve a spot in the rotation for years to come?— KMG
- KMG: I don't like taking promising kids out of teh rotation unless I have to. To skip them once in a while is one thing, but we need to build his confidence back up. What he has done to earn a place in teh rotation is go 21-12 over teh past two years. The Phils are still 17-11 in his starts this year. Young arms are too valuable to dump quickly.— jeff gross
- jeff......You're right about "put up or shut up time". If they brought Happ up to truly help down the stretch, now's as good a time as any to prove his stuff. Maybe he'll get enough adrenaline going to prove he belongs. But not too much adrenaline! LOL!— Norma
- Hamels vs. Santana, in early-mid September, in prime time, between two teams in major markets, that are fighting it out for the division. Hopefully ESPN will make this happen, perhaps threatening to knee-cap Charlie and Dubee if they don't throw Hamels on Sunday night. On a side note: they (read: Wheeler) keep talking about Kendrick's need to develop a quality 3rd pitch in order to be more effective, especially against lefties. He should probably be removed from the rotation, in that case, and asked to work on that change-up all offseason and in spring training. A penant race in September is no time for a 24 yr. old kid to be "experimenting" with something new.— RollinsWasRight
- On another side note: Let's not forget that Happ has already faced off against the Mets, Santana, in fact, in his first start this year, which I would think would allow him to feel slightly less pressue than another rookie in a similar spot. No getting around the September, penant race factor, though. That is something every player needs to be able to deal with.— RollinsWasRight
- Jeff: The thing about Kendrick is that his performace of late has been really poor. It's either he has an undisclosed injury or batters are starting to figure him out. There's one other thing as well.. He could actually be a bad pitcher and the Phillies offense has masked that with great run support over the last two years. Though the last option is a bit unlikely. He does have some talent but he just seems raw even into his second year. We're headed down the stretch and you have to put the best team out there. I agree with you that the Phillies have to build his confidence but that's going to be very tough to do in the stretch run. Now is not the time to build confidence. If you don't have it now, it's not likely that you will get it when it is needed. Now is not the time to tinker with mechanics. If that is the case, then might as well stick a fork in it. I guess you put it the best way in a previous post: "...either put up or shut up."— roque32
- obviously Cole goes against teh Mutts on his normal(!!!!) day. the question is the next time Kendrick is schedualed to pitch if you skip him again in favor of Happ or not. I'm not sure if this is in our interest or not, but it is an option— jeff gross
- Lets see what Cole is made of---— Truth
