Loving J-Roll and Myers
Phillies fans cheered Jimmy Rollins and Brett Myers in last night's 5-0 victory over the Dodgers at Citizens Bank Park.
Loving J-Roll and Myers
Todd Zolecki
Phillies fans cheered Jimmy Rollins enthusiastically last night in a 5-0 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
What a bunch of front-runners, huh?
Relax, folks. It's just a joke.
They finally had reason to cheer. Rollins, who was hitting .087 in his previous 11 games, went 3 for 3 with a double, triple, two RBIs and a run scored. He also walked and reached base in the first inning when Chad Billingsley hit him with a pitch. Five plate appearances. Five times on base. That is a recipe for success for the Phillies offense. If Rollins can bottle last night and carry it into the season's remaining 31 games they should like their chances in the National League East, where the Mets maintain their half-game lead over the Phillies.
Bob Ford takes a look at the Phillies' two-game series against the Mets, which begins tonight.
"Last year's dead and gone," Charlie Manuel said about last season's comeback against the Mets. "Today's what counts."
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Brett Myers threw seven shutout innings and has thrown a career-high 16 consecutive shutout innings. He is 4-1 with a 1.66 ERA (nine earned runs in 48 2/3 innings) since his four-start stint in the minors. Only four pitchers have had better ERAs since the all-star break: CC Sabathia (6-0, 1.41 ERA), Randy Johnson (4-2, 1.52), Brandon Webb (6-0, 1.53) and Rich Harden (4-1, 1.65 ERA).
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In the Phillies Notebook: Rollins talks about what has been ailing him at the plate and Mickey Vernon, Sherry Magee and Bucky Walters have been nominated for the Hall of Fame.
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The Phillies (72-59) are a season-high 13 games over .500 for the third time this season. ... The Phillies swept the Dodgers in a four-game series for the first time since Aug. 29 - Sept. 1, 1985 at Dodger Stadium. It's the first time the Phillies have ever swept the Dodgers in a four-game series at home. ... It was the first time the Phillies have shutout the Dodgers since May 20, 2004, when Myers threw a shutout at Citizens Bank Park. ... Jayson Werth set a career-high with 80 hits.
Phillies!— Mark1npt- AIR FORCE MIKE, PHILLY FAN IN KUWAIT, AND ANY OTHER SERVICE PERONEL OVERSEAS – There are millions of American here at home who appreciate what you are doing THANK YOU from a Viet Nam War VET. PS. Don’t believe everything you read in the press.— Wally 24
- Well done Brett. And Jimmy, and Jason and Shane and Chase. Now you guys are starting to look like the team we expected, go hammer the Mutts.— jimmymack
- jeff gross-didn't you read Conlin's areticle yesterday? Marson and Donald are not coming up b/c of service time! Wake up!— Truth
- Jeff, I don't think Marson not coming up this year has anything to do with whether or not he will be the starter next year. It has nothing to do with on the field stuff (the Phils know he can play) and EVERYTHING to do with MAJOR LEAGUE SERVICE TIME. The sooner that clock starts ticking, the sooner the player reaches arbitration and free agency, and every day in the majors counts. It's too bad because I really think that September call ups are beneficial for players you intend to make a permanent part of your roster the following year. They can get some of the initial adjustments and jitters out of the way and be more prepared for the next season. Just another way that money affects the game.— bski
- Truth, don't you read today's paper, read Zo's article (there was one other but I don't remember by whom) today and get the real truth, not your pathetic version of propoganda. They are starting Arizona at end of next month.— jeff gross
- bski: I agree that service time might affect the decision to call someone up in middle of year (like they did with a few infielders this season) but the month extra in Sept won't make any difference. If he is on the team next year from day one, he hit's arbitration at same time if he was called up now or not— jeff gross
- BTW we may have to stop ragging on Ruiz. His second half stats are reasonable. He's hitting .283 with a .377 OBP since the AS game— jeff gross
- The Phils could use some help on the bench right now. Bohn and Snelling were a help in the spring and may give us some help down the stretch. Gary Varsho if what you say is true that trade would be worth making as we don't have to give up minor league Pitching. "Rosenthal reporting that the Phillies are interested in trading for the Braves Kotsay."— Wally 24
- ML service time for potentially aribitration eligible players is determined by YEARS of service, not months. September call-ups have no impact... you need 3 YEARS of service to be arbitration eligible, or else be classified as a Super-Two, meaning you have two full seasons, and a third partial season in which you played significant time for a Major League team. One month will never qualify anyone as a Super-Two. Ryan Howard's rookie year he played in 88 games, more than half a season, and there was debate about whether or not he would receive Super-Two status. Conlin is just dead wrong. But what do you expect? He writes for the Daily News. They are all nothing but nay-sayers, antagonists, and apologists for unruly behavior.— RollinsWasRight
- Kotsay would be a serious acquistion to this bench. He is a legit major league hitter. He could spell Werth, Burrell or Victorino, provide more offense off the bench than Taguchi, Bruntlett, or (insert no-name minor-leaguer here), and provide Charlie with a second left-handed option, allowing him to utilize Dobbs even more effectively. And for the record, Charlie gets a lot of flak for his management of games, so I would like to point out that he deserves a TON of credit for this: He has consistently outmaneuvered other managers in terms of being able to utilize Dobbs (often his only lefty reserve) off the bench, and get him a favorable pitching match-up, which is a significant part of the reason Dobbs has done so well. So, perhaps Charlie isn't as dumb as so many others make him out to be... maybe some of the mistakes he makes stem more from his tendency to manage based on his "gut", or instincts. (Hopefully his instincts are as impressive as his "gut".) He figured out that whole "double switch" thing eventually, didn't he? :)— RollinsWasRight
- What I said was true: http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8491278?MSNHPHMA However, I don't know how accurate Rosenthal is.— Gary Varsho
- Given that we've determined that Collins and Truth are both idiots, and that time in service is not a factor, the question still needs asking: are tehy smart in not bringing up marson and Jason? Will they/us be better served having tehm play in Arizona or in Phila during Sept? Personally, I want Marson on my bench and catching every now and then to se if all teh hoopla 9mine included) is warranted or not— jeff gross
- Gary Varsho I checked out the article. WoW How good is that news. The fact that they are even looking for help is shocking. Lets hope Gillick can pull a rabbit out of the hat.— Wally 24
- wonders at teh point. Yes we could use a lefty off the bench, but don't we have a few of those in the minors to be called up NEXT WEEK?? Seems like a waste of 1.5 million bucks and the loss of a chance to see our kids in action. I am in favor of using minor leaguers during Sept as fill ins when needed instead of utility guys picked up for no reason— jeff gross
