Lannan making strong spring impression
John Lannan already had a spot in the Phillies' rotation when he arrived for the start of spring training. All he's done in his five Grapefruit League appearances is prove that he deserved it.
Lannan making strong spring impression
Bob Brookover, Inquirer Baseball Columnist
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- John Lannan already had a spot in the Phillies' rotation when he arrived for the start of spring training.
All he's done in his five Grapefruit League appearances is prove that he deserved it.
The veteran lefty who was discarded by the Washington Nationals after spending most of last season in the minor leagues lowered his spring-training ERA to 3.21 Friday by throwing five scoreless innings against the Tampa Bay Rays at Charlotte Sports Park.
"John Lannan was real good today," manager Charlie Manuel said. "In the last two years, he has really been improving with his command. He can put the ball on both sides of the plate. He can do a lot more with it now than he used to."
Lannan, a seventh-year veteran the Phillies signed as a free agent, allowed just two hits, walked one batter and struck out four. He was most happy with the way he threw his changeup after the first inning.
"I'd like to work on getting it softer and right now it's in a good place," Lannan said. "I wasn't getting the differential I wanted to keep them off balance. I throw 88 and the changeup was 85 or 86. The differential needs to be bigger and that's what I was working on today and I was happy with it."
Lannan, 28, went 42-52 with a 4.01 ERA in his six seasons with the Nationals, but spent most of last year at triple-A Syracuse because he did not fit into Washington's plans. He has openly admitted it bothered him.
"I've always had a chip on my shoulder, but to be told you're not good enough, it's kind of hard to take," Lannan said. "It just made me make a little harder. Yeah, it definitely changed me. Becoming a free agent, I came to a place that I thought I'd have a shot and they've shown they're going to give me that shot."
So far, he's taking advantage of it, but not taking it for granted.
"I've said before, the spring is not over yet," he said. "A lot of things can happen. (Nationals manager) Davey (Johnson) came out last year and said I was his guy and I obviously wasn't. So until I'm pitching on whatever day, I'll talk about it then."
Extra bases. The Phillies only had four hits in their 2-1, 10-inning loss to the Rays and three of them did not leave the infield. Kevin Frandsen and Ben Revere reached on bunt singles and Dom Brown legged out an infield single. Carlos Ruiz accounted for the Phillies' only run with an RBI single in the second inning off Rays lefty Matt Moore.
Looking like just another terrible signing by RAJ: a lefty starting pitcher, just entering his prime, with a chip on his shoulder and a reasonable contract. What was RAJ thinking?— The Pack Leader- Finally some sanity ... thanks Pack— nc_bg
- yeah, Revere and Young and adams were lousy moves too. And holding onto D Brown instead of Michael Taylor real dumb too. Ripping off Dodgers for Martin, Gnts for Joseph real dumb moves too. Valdez into Horst WTF, Valdez can pitchThat Stanford GM is sooo dumb...— WFChamps
- And yet Seabiscuit still lives.— oakmontleo
- And don't forget the stellar MLB careers so far for those guys that the know-it-all geniuses said to never get rid of....Drabek, Singleton, Taylor, Marson, etc. RAJ is such a moron!!!!!— FishtownFitz
- Wow, I am amazed at the lack of the usual gibberish that shows up on a philly.com baseball post. Nice job, fellas!— Paul SoTX
- I agree with Warbiscuit. Pence as a 4 hitter...nah. Pence as a 5 hitter...why not? His defense is probably beter than Delmon Young. His offense is probably on par....I think if Delmon Young is hot, he's a smarter baseball player than Pence. But thep roblem is...why give up so much for someone then trade them away in a panic for peanuts? Cosart looked very good against us. Singleton is also praised. As is that center fielder we gave up.— AHash
- I have posted all spring that Lannan will be the Phils biggest surprise this year. I am predicting 14 wins for him.— watsonmr
- As a #5 he seems to be ok. We don't expect heroic things from that role--just creditable performances.
Later in '13 one or more of pitcher prospects will be introduced to MLB. More certainly, Lannan would likely be replaced in '14.
He may be a "steal" for a #5.— artfulme - Finally some sane comments. What a refreshing change of pace. And, as for the Pence comments, I guess they could have paid him $14M or $15M and not signed a good reliever, or a 3B, or taken a chance (for good or bad) on Ruf and Brown. Oh, and they traded him for peanuts? It's possible they wound up with their next ML catcher. Damn that RAJ. Can't he do anything right?— inky93
It's been always said that lefties take a little longer to mature and so it appears to be here, too, with Lannan. I like the chip on the shoulder comment, too. Funny how there has been less concern with John Lannnan this spring as it is with Roy Halladay. Who woulda thunk it. Good comments by the posters, too.- Comments, and none from schmuckbiscuit - feels like a breezy spring day.— COskier
- Yeah ... Nice job, fellas ... no seabiscuit ... Lannan is great ... Where's wahhhhbiscuit ... Tommy Joseph is awesome ... LOL ... You guys are pathetic.— Copper34
- This is the scene in the movie where the unwanted patron walks into the bar, the jukebox comes to a halting screech, everyone turns their head toward the door while letting out a collective sigh, and the good times end on the spot. — The Pack Leader
