Game 19: Hot hands
PHOENIX — One game remains on this season-long road trip and for all its ugliness, the Phillies can break even with a victory Wednesday. That's saying something.
Game 19: Hot hands
Matt Gelb
PHOENIX — One game remains on this season-long road trip and for all its ugliness, the Phillies can break even with a victory Wednesday. That's saying something.
To do it, Charlie Manuel will use his 15th different lineup in 19 games. He's sticking with the hot hands — Laynce Nix and Pete Orr. And why not?
Jimmy Rollins will sit on the bench for the first time in 2012. He's 3 for his last 33. Orr has one more extra-base hit (four) than Rollins (three) in 59 fewer at-bats. With the day off Thursday, Manuel can give Rollins two full days to clear his head.
Nix was 3 for 3 in Tuesday's win and hit the ball hard. His slash line of .333/.391/.619 is the best for any Phillies player with at least 20 plate appearances. Small sample size and all, Nix has been halfway decent.
1. Juan Pierre 7
2. Placido Polanco 5
3. Shane Victorino 8
4. Hunter Pence 9
5. Laynce Nix 3
6. Pete Orr 4
7. Carlos Ruiz 2
8. Freddy Galvis 6
9. Cole Hamels 1
Hamels has allowed six home runs in this ballpark in 26 2/3 innings. But he has a 3.71 ERA in four starts with 26 strikeouts against four walks.
Have a question? Send it to Matt Gelb's Mailbag.
Actually, it's not a bad defensive lineup. However,since I mocked yesterday's lineup ... and they won ... here goes again:
The chances of this lineup hitting Cahill is about the same as Warbiscuit sending Amaro a Christmas card. Throw a shutout Cole !!— zubzub- sometimes its good to be wrong!
— ESFjellin - Phils only 1 game out of the last WC spot as play starts today!!!!!!— FABER
- Wiggy should start over Polly. Polly can come in late in the game if the Phils are leading.— palmyra21
- any line-up not featuring J-Pop hitting either lead-off or 3rd is a vast improvement in my book. Stupid that Manuel does not have the stones to move him down in the order. Let him hit 6th or 8th and few of us will complain. But when he hits first or third, the line-up and the Phils' supposed new approach to offense are just a joke!
Eventually, the joke will be on Manuel if he doesn't recognize this and finally stand up to "me-first" J-Stroll.— advantasux 
I agree Jimmy should be 6th or 7th but I am not sure if it is stones but loyalty. Same with Jim Tomme. He should take one for the team and DL himself for a while and go down to AAA or Florida to get enough at bats so when inter league comes in May he has his stroke to DH or pinch hit.— DUDESKINS- thome should be traded to the AL. if n one wants him, release him — ESFjellin
- I agree Jimmy should be 6th or 7th but I am not sure if it is stones but loyalty. Same with Jim Tomme. He should take one for the team and DL himself for a while and go down to AAA or Florida to get enough at bats so when inter league comes in May he has his stroke to DH or pinch hit.— DUDESKINS
- Enough JPop, JStroll stuff. He's the best SS in Phillies history -- easily -- and he'll right his ship. Galvis is hardly an offensive upgrade. Still, Manuel was wise to use Orr's offense yesterday as a way to give Galvis a start at short and give Rollins a day off.— eman
- Jimmy will come around just like Polanco is starting to come around. They're looking more like a cohesive team at the end of the road trip than they did at the beginning. Maybe guys getting used to their roles and used to playing different positions. I was very encouraged by Polanco today. 3 hits, 2 walks. Can't do much better than that. That last double looked like classic Polanco: more power than we've seen, hitting ball away. I think this is a good sign that he was just starting slow and isn't hiding an injury. Now we've got to get Mayberry in there and going. The Cubs can help us continue to right the ship.— s
- MLB is getting like the NBA where you look great when you feast on the bad teams and get a dose of reality when you face the good teams. Feast on Arizona and next the Cubs then we'll see what happens next week on the road vs. ATL and WAS.— AvoidSundanceVacations
Seriously? Already some are saying the Nats are a test for the Phils? Last time I checked the Phils were the 5 time in a row Divisional Champs. When the loooooong season winds down, they will win it again. It's way too early to panic, or annoint the Nats anything other than a team that got off to a good start this season.- Realistically, the makeup of the team as it stands now could become the doormat of the division. They need a couple of big hitters to compliment the good pitching they have. Kendrich and Blanton excepted. The bull pen is less of a problem, however to think Utley and Howard are going to come back strong, and lead the parade down Broad Street is whistling in the graveyard.
A significant trade must be made to shore up LF, and first base.
Galvis isn't hurting the Phillies, and unless a miracle like a healthy Chase Utley occurs , Galvis could become a very valuable middle infielder replacing either Utley or J Roll permanently at some point.
I'll still stick with the team, but I must admit the new format creating another playoff scenario turns me off. Soon we'll be like tennis and hockey with seeded seasons. Thanks Bud Selig for your idiotic playoff scheme. Selig is the Abner "DoubleCROSS " to real baseball fans.— phineas - Can't seem to get into baseball so far this season, hopefully it'll come, just sayin'...— DJ
- The actual situation is somewhere between phineas and Paul So Tx. The Phils have the best PROVEN pitching. They have the most experience - especially on how to come out of a slump. Sometime the Nats will hit a slump and it'll be interesting to see how they handle it. The Phils will not become the doormat of the division, nor will they win the division. I see the Phillies getting into the postseason, but it won't be pretty. With this pitching staff + short series - it isn't a stretch at all to see them winning it all if they can get into the playoffs.— dwp66
