Phils pumped to face Yankees; rotation and roster notes
As promised, here are more detailed notes. Charlie Manuel is still ducking a lot of concrete questions about the roster and rotation. That’s probably because few decisions have been made, as team brass continues to meet and discuss. As you know, Cliff Lee will face the Yankees’ CC Sabathia in Game 1 on Wednesday; everything beyond that remains unclear. Pedro Martinez and Cole Hamels will likely start Games 2 and 3, with the order still unknown. Manuel did say that he would have no problem using Martinez at Yankee Stadium. The 37-year-old righthander has pitched well at Citizens Bank Park this year, going 2-0, with a 1.88 earned run average. In the regular season, he was 3-1, with a 5.66 earned run average on the road, before pitching seven scoreless innings at Dodger Stadium in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series. Pitching for the Boston Red Sox, Martinez went 0-2, with a 5.93 earned run average in his past five playoff appearances versus the Yankee. “Pedro has been in the big environment,” Manuel said. “He has pitched everywhere you can pitch. I don’t’ think anything is going to really bother him, or get him upset. We can pitch him in either ballpark, really. I don’t think it matters at all.” *** Manuel said that Brett Myers was healthy enough to pitch in the World Series. But the manager did not indicate whether Myers would be included on the roster. “He’s throwing the ball better. He’s definitely gotten better. He’s probably well to close to being healed or well.” Manuel also said that he was comfortable keeping lefthander Antonio Bastardo on the roster, but would not overexpose the rookie. “Right now, he’s on our roster,” Manuel said. “I’d use him. We’ll definitely put him in the game. It’s not like I don’t want to use him, but I don’t know how long he could stay out there, because he is a young kid, and he doesn’t have experience, and he is subject to make mistakes. His big need right now is to pitch, and get confident and get adjusted to the major leagues.” In other pen-related matters, without officially announcing it, Manuel appeared to indicate that he would continue to use lefthander J.A. Happ as a relieve during the World Series. “Being lefthanded and stuff like that, he can play up in our bullpen,” Manuel said. *** Manuel said that Raul Ibanez would likely be the designated hitter in Game 1 against CC Sabathia. “He’ll DH some against a lefthanded pitcher,” Manuel said. “Righthanders, I don’t know exactly what we’re going to do yet.” *** The Phillies sound pumped about the opponent and location for this year’s World Series. Here’s a sampling: Jayson Werth: “There is a special mystique when you walk into Yankee Stadium, new or old. It’s the cathedral of baseball, and where everybody wanted to play as a kid. It’s Yankee Stadium. As far as that goes there might be something to that and a little bit of motivation. Manuel was also looking forward to the challenge of playing against New York. “Playing the Yankees, and who their names are, and what they stand for, that’s enough to motivate you,” he said. “I know when I walk into Yankee Stadium, the new ballpark now, it’s almost like the old stadium except the locker rooms are better, bigger and everything. As far as the field goes…it’s still got that same feel to it. “It’s just got an atmosphere, an aura about it. It is baseball, and you think about all the great players and great teams that they’ve had come through there. I’m sure our players feel that same way.” Hall-of-Famer Robin Roberts, whose “Whiz Kids” team lost to the Yankees in the 1950 World Series, has been watching intently, and also views this era as remarkable.
Phils pumped to face Yankees; rotation and roster notes
Andy Martino
As promised, here are more detailed notes. Charlie Manuel is still ducking a lot of concrete questions about the roster and rotation. That’s probably because few decisions have been made, as team brass continues to meet and discuss.
As you know, Cliff Lee will face the Yankees’ CC Sabathia in Game 1 on Wednesday; everything beyond that remains unclear. Pedro Martinez and Cole Hamels will likely start Games 2 and 3, with the order still unknown.
Manuel did say that he would have no problem using Martinez at Yankee Stadium. The 37-year-old righthander has pitched well at Citizens Bank Park this year, going 2-0, with a 1.88 earned run average. In the regular season, he was 3-1, with a 5.66 earned run average on the road, before pitching seven scoreless innings at Dodger Stadium in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series.
Pitching for the Boston Red Sox, Martinez went 0-2, with a 5.93 earned run average in his past five playoff appearances versus the Yankee.
“Pedro has been in the big environment,” Manuel said. “He has pitched everywhere you can pitch. I don’t’ think anything is going to really bother him, or get him upset. We can pitch him in either ballpark, really. I don’t think it matters at all.”
***
Manuel said that Brett Myers was healthy enough to pitch in the World Series. But the manager did not indicate whether Myers would be included on the roster.
“He’s throwing the ball better. He’s definitely gotten better. He’s probably well to close to being healed or well.”
Manuel also said that he was comfortable keeping lefthander Antonio Bastardo on the roster, but would not overexpose the rookie.
“Right now, he’s on our roster,” Manuel said. “I’d use him. We’ll definitely put him in the game. It’s not like I don’t want to use him, but I don’t know how long he could stay out there, because he is a young kid, and he doesn’t have experience, and he is subject to make mistakes. His big need right now is to pitch, and get confident and get adjusted to the major leagues.”
In other pen-related matters, without officially announcing it, Manuel appeared to indicate that he would continue to use lefthander J.A. Happ as a relieve during the World Series.
“Being lefthanded and stuff like that, he can play up in our bullpen,” Manuel said.
***
Manuel said that Raul Ibanez would likely be the designated hitter in Game 1 against CC Sabathia.
“He’ll DH some against a lefthanded pitcher,” Manuel said. “Righthanders, I don’t know exactly what we’re going to do yet.”
***
The Phillies sound pumped about the opponent and location for this year’s World Series. Here’s a sampling:
Jayson Werth: “There is a special mystique when you walk into Yankee Stadium, new or old. It’s the cathedral of baseball, and where everybody wanted to play as a kid. It’s Yankee Stadium. As far as that goes there might be something to that and a little bit of motivation.
Manuel was also looking forward to the challenge of playing against New York. “Playing the Yankees, and who their names are, and what they stand for, that’s enough to motivate you,” he said. “I know when I walk into Yankee Stadium, the new ballpark now, it’s almost like the old stadium except the locker rooms are better, bigger and everything. As far as the field goes…it’s still got that same feel to it.
“It’s just got an atmosphere, an aura about it. It is baseball, and you think about all the great players and great teams that they’ve had come through there. I’m sure our players feel that same way.”
Hall-of-Famer Robin Roberts, whose “Whiz Kids” team lost to the Yankees in the 1950 World Series, has been watching intently, and also views this era as remarkable.
The 83-year-old Robin Roberts, whose team lost to the Yanks in 1950, is excited. “I really enjoy watching the games,” Roberts said. “It would be awful nice to see them win it again, not just because it’s the Yankees but because they are bordering on something really extraordinary.”
***
One more thing. I’m hearing a lot of confidence from Phils fans about facing CC Sabathia, because your boys beat him last year in the playoffs. Manuel provided an important reminder today that the CC of October, 2008 was not the CC of right now. The Phillies offense is good enough to beat up on just about any pitcher on the right day, but don’t think Sabathia will be a pushover.
Sabathia had pitched on short rest many times for the Brewers during the stretch run, and Manuel did not see that game as indicative that the Phils had solved the Cy Young Award-winning lefthander.
“At the end of last year, the day we beat him out here he threw a lot of change-ups,” Manuel said. “When’s really good, he pitches off his fastball. At the end of last year I thought he was a little tired.”
The Wankees biggest weakness are their outfielders--they can't throw a ball through a wet paper bag and they plod around like Fred Sanford......Joe Girardi will make a mistake that will cost them the game--write it down. Go Phightins!!!— IdahoMoose- 2 of the biggest holes i see in the Phillies is their lack of a dominant right handed pitchers and brad lidge. u can not throw lefties at any teams and expect to be successful. the beauty about baseball is change of pace in pitching and varieties. one thing i noticed about hamels this yr as to last yr is this yr, hamels throws so many fast balls when he was ahead on the counts with mostly fast balls over the plate. that and his fast balls have no movement. that being said, i still think cole still have tremendous stuff. about lidge: last yr, most of his pitches was high or low in the strike zone. this yr, he seems to serve most of his pitches in the middle of the plate. as for Happ, please get off his bandwagon....he is solid during the season, but during the play-offs, he wasnt. as for the yankees, nothing i've seen from them that impress me during the play-offs. the two teams they played against seems to make a lot of mistakes and leaving plenty of men on bases. GO PHILLIES!!— Pepe LePew
- i like to add that i think pedro and blanton pitches a lot of ground balls hit, which is good against offensive teams. i do hope that our defense plays solid in this series........p.s. i am letting my finger nails grow so i can chew the hell out of them during this series!— Pepe LePew
- my fingers will be cross, my nails will be chew, and it will be occupied from holding a beer.......hopefully, my hands are too busy from pulling the hairs out of my head!— Pepe LePew
- I wouldn't be all that pumped to face the Yankees if I wanted to repeat as World Series champions. Any team with a 201M payroll will be awfully tough to beat. Actually the Phils should give them a good series. Though the Yankees have a better infield, the Phils have a better outfield. Unfortunately for them the Phils do not have either Sabathia or Rivera and they should be the difference. The Phils do not have anyone who can answer to either pitcher. Of course no team in baseball has anyone to compare to Rivera. It looks like the Yankees in 5 or 6 games with the Phillies being beat by the better team. Too bad the DH is allowed in this series otherwise the Phillies might have a better chance. So it's #27 for the Yankees and Joe Giradi keeps his job.— Timmy15
- The Yankees have the better infield? Are you drinking the Steinbrenner kool-aid? The Phillies are better at first, second and shortstop. The only place the yankees have an edge is steroid boy.— KMG
- Phil's in Phive Nuff said!— xeaglefan
it's mainly the arrogant NY fans that act as if this series is a foregone conclusion. The players have to know it will be a tough battle. As much as you want to talk trash NY the guys from Philly are the ones wearing the rings.- To be blunt, I think Andy is at the lower end of professional competence as a sports journalist, Ivy League credentials notwithstanding. There are plenty of journalists every bit as mediocre as Andy who are Phillies fans and I am personally affronted by the distance he sees fit to display here. I hate to see our beat writers holding our team and the fans at a distance...it's inappropriate and unprofessional. He's writing like a New York beat writer would write about the Phillies.— GPG13
- Phils in seven. Sabathia won't be tired at the beginning of the series -- thanks to the Yanks wrapping it up in six -- but he'll be tired by the end of it if he is pitching his third game. This should be a great one!— iceman
- Remmber - as you watch the World Series on Fox - that John Bolaris is a big Yankees fan! He is from New York and was all rah-rah for them on the air in New York. Said "I am a born Yankees fan and it was tough being in Philadelphia and having to root for the Filthys." Go back to New York!— JAYD
- Anyone see the NY Post today (NYPOST.com)...here's the front page headline:The Frillies are coming to town! Yankee fans have a message for the Phillies and their hometown: This ain't Rocky, and the underdog won't win! " A little cocky for a team that missed the playoffs last year....I forget, who are the reigning champs??? GO PHILS!!!— hoopfan11
- Forget Bolaris. He has wives, ex wives, wifey wannabees and an assortment of slambammers in both towns. He is not taken serious by weather professionals and bombed out on NY TV. He is the Eskin of meteorology.— mick314
- Welcome to the Big Leagues, Filly fans.— The Wizard
