Well, after weeks of speculation, the Phillies signed LHP Steve Kline to a minor-league deal and he will report to the AAA Lehigh Valley IronPigs next week. Considering how often pitchers go down with injury and/or are ineffective, Kline could very quickly find himself on the big league roster as long as he performs in Allentown. RHP Ryan Madson has been complaining about soreness in his pitching shoulder (the same injury that forced him to miss 2 months last year) and both Tom Gordon and Clay Condrey have been somewhat ineffective so far this season. Gordon had a streak of 4 scoreless appearances going into last night where he gave up the winning run in 1 2/3 IP. Granted that run came on a horrible call by the home plate umpire but a run is a run is a run and the Phillies always need more pitching.
In other news: RHP Kris Benson continues to throw off the mound in Clearwater and looks to start in a minor-league game in hopefully two weeks if everything goes well. Considering how poorly SP Kyle Kendrick has pitched thus far in the season, Benson could quickly find himself in the starting rotation.
Huge Surprise of the Year: SP Adam Eaton has pitched in two games so far and both have been quality starts (6 IP, 3ER or less). He has posted a 3.91 ERA so far. Perhaps this will be the year that he figures it all out and somewhat earns his $8 million a year in salary. Or perhaps he will give up 10 runs in his next start...with Adam you never know.
Its About Time: SP Brett Myers was quoted as saying that he will be a "Closer for 9 innings on Saturday". Basically he means he's gonna go out there and just rear up and throw fastballs. Hopefully the Cubs don't read the Daily News and just sit fastball on him but hey if he can bring it, let him. It would be nice to see him stop throwing 90 MPH fastballs and actually get some mustard on the ball.
Weekly Awards:
Player of the Week - LF Pat Burrell: LF Pat Burrell has simply been on fire this week going 9 for 21 with 7 BB, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 4 R, and 20 Total Bases. For that math impaired that's a .438 AVG/.571OBP. Burrell has been the most consistent hitter for the Phillies so far and he looks to build on excellent second half in 2007. Over the past couple season, Pat has cut his strikeout rate and raised his OBP each year and those trends seem to be continuing as he becomes a much more patient hitter than the free-swinging days of his early career.
Pitcher of the Week - SP Cole Hamels: SP Cole Hamels went 7 strong innings on Monday afternoon picking up his first win of the season snapping a two game losing streak and salvaging a 2-2 series split with the Cincinnati Reds. He struck out 4 and gave up 1 ER getting the win. Reliever Chad Durbin was a close runner-up pitching 5 innings in 3 appearances with no runs scored. He continues to be strong out of the Pen.
Goat of the Week - 1B Ryan Howard: Despite Victorino's struggles at the top of the order, Howard has actually been worse this week going 4 for 28 (.148 AVG) with 11 K. The only bright spot is that he has hit 2 HRs with 4 RBI but otherwise Howard looks lost up at the plate.
Showing posts with label 5th Starter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 5th Starter. Show all posts
Friday, April 11, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
Adam Eaton Sucks and Other Phillies Thoughts
Adam Eaton sucks. He is perhaps the worst signing in the history of the Philadelphia Phillies organization. Sadly, barring an unforseen move by the Front Office to cut its losses with him, we have another 2 long seasons of watching him attempt to pitch to MLB hitters. Perhaps the Phillies could hold a raffle every fifth day where a lucky fan is named starting pitcher for that night's start. It couldn't possibly be any worse than trotting Eaton out there to pitch.
The biggest issue with Eaton isn't that he plays poorly, its that he's stupid. He has the ability to pitch in the Majors, he simply doesn't perform. His pitches are good enough, but his selection and poise at key moments always allows 1 run innings to turn into those game killing 5 run innings he is so famous for. Eaton can literally throw 95 pitches in a game and only miss on 5 of them but still lose by 10 runs because he truly is a moron with his pitch selection. He buckles under pressure like a belt. He is absolutely worthless and every time he starts a game this year, it will be another brick in the wall between the Phillies and a post-season berth.
In other news, JD "Real Deal" Durbin was put on waivers. Likely he will stay with the club anyway as I expect that no one in their right mind will be willing to take him off the Phillies hands. This means he will probably start the season in Allentown along with Travis Blackley (who also cleared waivers) playing for the IronPigs. This means that the Phillies could start the season with only 10 pitchers on the 25 man roster and go up to 11 when Lidge is activated from the 15-day DL after the first week of the season. It also means that the Phillies will be able to keep both Chris Snelling and Wes Helms on the 25 man roster at least in the short-term. This will be helpful in efforts to trade Helms instead of outright releasing him and being on the hook for around $3 million in future salary. However, it also means the Phillies are likely expecting to be able to pick up another pitcher off the waivers scrap heap between now and Sunday afternoon when rosters need to be set for Opening Day. This could mean that borderline players like LHP Steve Kline (who was mentioned in earlier trade rumors) may be available on waivers in the next few days, alleviating the need for the Phillies to give anything up for another arm.
Bold Prediction for the year: Pat Burrell will have a huge contract year in 2008. Pat will be looking to sign one final long term deal after this season and he will need to come up huge to make it happen. Likely, the Phillies will not be resigning him for a couple of reasons. First off, he is dreadful defensively in LF and he has never recovered from the series of ankle and foot injuries he has dealt with in the past few years. Secondly, they are leary of long-term deals for 30+ players like Burrell. Finally, it would make sense for Pat to go for a DH role on an AL club which would lengthen his career considerably with far less wear and tear on his already fragile legs. I could easily see him ending up somewhere like Toronto where Frank Thomas's contract will be up or the Yankees who have around $60 million coming off the books next year as well. Burrell has been very underrated as a Phillie and he has provided a very solid right-handed bat for them for the past 7 years. He will be missed in the middle of the lineup. Left field is a different story though. Predicted line for Pat Burrell this season:
G: 151
AB: 525
Avg: .279
OBP: .415
HR: 35
RBI: 109
BB: 110
K: 120
The biggest issue with Eaton isn't that he plays poorly, its that he's stupid. He has the ability to pitch in the Majors, he simply doesn't perform. His pitches are good enough, but his selection and poise at key moments always allows 1 run innings to turn into those game killing 5 run innings he is so famous for. Eaton can literally throw 95 pitches in a game and only miss on 5 of them but still lose by 10 runs because he truly is a moron with his pitch selection. He buckles under pressure like a belt. He is absolutely worthless and every time he starts a game this year, it will be another brick in the wall between the Phillies and a post-season berth.
In other news, JD "Real Deal" Durbin was put on waivers. Likely he will stay with the club anyway as I expect that no one in their right mind will be willing to take him off the Phillies hands. This means he will probably start the season in Allentown along with Travis Blackley (who also cleared waivers) playing for the IronPigs. This means that the Phillies could start the season with only 10 pitchers on the 25 man roster and go up to 11 when Lidge is activated from the 15-day DL after the first week of the season. It also means that the Phillies will be able to keep both Chris Snelling and Wes Helms on the 25 man roster at least in the short-term. This will be helpful in efforts to trade Helms instead of outright releasing him and being on the hook for around $3 million in future salary. However, it also means the Phillies are likely expecting to be able to pick up another pitcher off the waivers scrap heap between now and Sunday afternoon when rosters need to be set for Opening Day. This could mean that borderline players like LHP Steve Kline (who was mentioned in earlier trade rumors) may be available on waivers in the next few days, alleviating the need for the Phillies to give anything up for another arm.
Bold Prediction for the year: Pat Burrell will have a huge contract year in 2008. Pat will be looking to sign one final long term deal after this season and he will need to come up huge to make it happen. Likely, the Phillies will not be resigning him for a couple of reasons. First off, he is dreadful defensively in LF and he has never recovered from the series of ankle and foot injuries he has dealt with in the past few years. Secondly, they are leary of long-term deals for 30+ players like Burrell. Finally, it would make sense for Pat to go for a DH role on an AL club which would lengthen his career considerably with far less wear and tear on his already fragile legs. I could easily see him ending up somewhere like Toronto where Frank Thomas's contract will be up or the Yankees who have around $60 million coming off the books next year as well. Burrell has been very underrated as a Phillie and he has provided a very solid right-handed bat for them for the past 7 years. He will be missed in the middle of the lineup. Left field is a different story though. Predicted line for Pat Burrell this season:
G: 151
AB: 525
Avg: .279
OBP: .415
HR: 35
RBI: 109
BB: 110
K: 120
Monday, March 17, 2008
Benson Suffers Setback
Benson suffered an undisclosed injury today during a throwing session at Spring Training. The Phillies have not commented on the injury so far, but Benson is quoted as saying that it may be "bicep tendinitis". What this means for the Phillies is that there is no way he will be ready for the start of the season now.
The only thing they can really do is rest his arm if it is tendinitis and this will delay any strengthening exercises he can do for at least a week or two assuming non-surgerical treatment is effective. However, this is one of those injures that often will not go away, especially considering he just had major shoulder surgery last year. Minimum recovery time before the average person can resume activity following this type of injury is 2-3 weeks.
Phils Look For Two In a Row
"We won a game today. We win one tomorrow that's two in a row. We win one that next day, that's what's known as a winning streak boys. It has happened before" -Manager Lou Brown, Major League 2
Its pretty sad that I'm desperately hoping for 2 wins in a row in the 3rd week of Spring Training, but I am. The Phillies really need to get moving or its gonna be a long season. Hopefully Myers' strong outing yesterday will energize the rest of the rotation and we'll actually see some respectable Major League pitching instead of the bush league crap the Phillies have been feeding us so far this spring. Chad Durbin (as if it matters which Durbin) will take the ball today and hopefully go several strong innings. Right now, Durbin is looking to be a solid lock for the 6 spot in the Bullpen behind Lidge, Gordon, Madson, Romero and Condrey. The other open spot will likely fall to LHP Travis Blackley or RHP Francisco Rosario. Blackley may have the edge as they are looking for a 2nd Lefty in the Bullpen and he is a Rule V draft pick who has to stay on the 25-man roster or be offered back to the Giants. Neither has exactly wowed the Phils staff so far this Spring.
Its pretty sad that I'm desperately hoping for 2 wins in a row in the 3rd week of Spring Training, but I am. The Phillies really need to get moving or its gonna be a long season. Hopefully Myers' strong outing yesterday will energize the rest of the rotation and we'll actually see some respectable Major League pitching instead of the bush league crap the Phillies have been feeding us so far this spring. Chad Durbin (as if it matters which Durbin) will take the ball today and hopefully go several strong innings. Right now, Durbin is looking to be a solid lock for the 6 spot in the Bullpen behind Lidge, Gordon, Madson, Romero and Condrey. The other open spot will likely fall to LHP Travis Blackley or RHP Francisco Rosario. Blackley may have the edge as they are looking for a 2nd Lefty in the Bullpen and he is a Rule V draft pick who has to stay on the 25-man roster or be offered back to the Giants. Neither has exactly wowed the Phils staff so far this Spring.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Complacency In Clearwater
At the halfway mark of Spring Training, the Phillies are at a dismal 5-11-1 so far and none of the regulars are hitting. In fact, 6 of the projected regulars are batting below .250 for the Spring. Manager Charlie Manuel says it is time for the Phillies to start taking the Spring seriously. (see link below). So far the Phillies have coasted through the entire Spring with little apparent concern for the upcoming season. The hitting has been dismal and the pitching non-existent.
After his calling out of the clubhouse yesterday afternoon, Charlie's speech had little effect as the Phillies dropped to the Twins 11-2. The sole bright spot in the schlacking would have to be a strong performance by projected 5th Starter Adam Eaton. Eaton pitched 3 strong innings and gave up 5 hits for no runs and struck out 2. JD Durbin came in to start the 4th and promptly gave up 5 ER to start the blowout. As for the complacent hitters...5-33 (.152) as a team on the day. This lose drops them to 5-12-1 on the Spring.
The Phillies need to pick themselves up and start taking the season seriously or they will quickly start the season playing from behind as they did last year and seemingly ever year in recent memory.
Charlie Manuel Calls Out Phillies
After his calling out of the clubhouse yesterday afternoon, Charlie's speech had little effect as the Phillies dropped to the Twins 11-2. The sole bright spot in the schlacking would have to be a strong performance by projected 5th Starter Adam Eaton. Eaton pitched 3 strong innings and gave up 5 hits for no runs and struck out 2. JD Durbin came in to start the 4th and promptly gave up 5 ER to start the blowout. As for the complacent hitters...5-33 (.152) as a team on the day. This lose drops them to 5-12-1 on the Spring.
The Phillies need to pick themselves up and start taking the season seriously or they will quickly start the season playing from behind as they did last year and seemingly ever year in recent memory.
Charlie Manuel Calls Out Phillies
Friday, March 14, 2008
A Closer Look At Francisco Rosario
Up until today, Francisco Rosario had be having an excellent spring and there were rumors out of Phillies camp that he had a strong shot at the starting rotation if he could keep up his excellent play. He is known for having a mid-90s fastball, a good changeup and a nasty slider. The biggest knock against him has always been his control. He walks too many batters and he has trouble hitting his spots. When he's on, he can dominate but more often than not he simply can't locate his pitches. Also, at 27, he can no longer be considered a prospect but more of a minor league journeyman. That being said, he was given the start this afternoon against the Atlanta Braves. As with most the Phillies candidates for the 5th starter slot, Rosario was absolutely hammered by the Braves lineup. His line for the game was as follows:
Francisco Rosario
IP - 2.0
H - 3
R - 6
ER - 6
BB - 2
SO - 0
HR - 1
This outing transformed what had been an excellent early spring (1.04 ERA) to a typical Phillies 5th Starter (5.94 ERA in 10 2/3 IP)
So where do the Phillies go from here? If everything stays the same the Phillies will go into the season with a Starting Rotation of:
1. Brett Myers
2. Cole Hamels
3. Jamie Moyer
4. Kyle Kendrick
5. Adam Eaton
Both Eaton and Kendrick have been atrocious so far this spring but hopefully at least one of them can turn it around. Eaton has always had good stuff but has never been able to either stay healthy or be consistent for an entire season. Kendrick's secondary numbers do not suggest that he will put up a repeat performance of his 2007 effort (10-4, ERA under 4 in 20 starts).
It is still very early in Spring Training, and the Phillies still have 2 full weeks for a 5th starter to emerge from the pile of 6th and 7th starters they currently have in camp. At least the hitting has been decent so far this spring.
Francisco Rosario
IP - 2.0
H - 3
R - 6
ER - 6
BB - 2
SO - 0
HR - 1
This outing transformed what had been an excellent early spring (1.04 ERA) to a typical Phillies 5th Starter (5.94 ERA in 10 2/3 IP)
So where do the Phillies go from here? If everything stays the same the Phillies will go into the season with a Starting Rotation of:
1. Brett Myers
2. Cole Hamels
3. Jamie Moyer
4. Kyle Kendrick
5. Adam Eaton
Both Eaton and Kendrick have been atrocious so far this spring but hopefully at least one of them can turn it around. Eaton has always had good stuff but has never been able to either stay healthy or be consistent for an entire season. Kendrick's secondary numbers do not suggest that he will put up a repeat performance of his 2007 effort (10-4, ERA under 4 in 20 starts).
It is still very early in Spring Training, and the Phillies still have 2 full weeks for a 5th starter to emerge from the pile of 6th and 7th starters they currently have in camp. At least the hitting has been decent so far this spring.
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