Yardbarker: Philadelphia Phillies

Mets Get Stronger by Aquiring Nady and Marte

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 19:05:36 -0500

It hasn't been reported yet who the Mets gave up in the deal, but Xavier Nady has been pulled from tonight's game in the first inning with no known injury. The early rumor is that Nady and hard throwing Damaso Marte will join New York for their stretch run. On a side note Phillies fans, this definitely one ups the deal made last week for starter Joe Blanton.

Remaining schedule less burdensome for Phillies

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 15:14:09 -0500

Tonight begins the easiest stretch for the Phils all season, with the average, nightly opponent holding a .480 winning percentage as of today's standings. If there's any call for optimism following their second series loss to a divisional foe, it's that the remaining 60 starts to lighten up for the Phillies starting tonight with a visit from the Atlanta Braves (.475). The Phils are 8-1 against them and match up nine more times. After Atlanta, the Phils travel to Washington...

Your MLB Announcing Schedule For The Weekend

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:43:37 -0500

Here it comes folks...the weekend you've dreaded all season. It's the Sox, It's the Yanks, It's Buck and McCarver and it's on FOX.....NEXT! You'll be getting a double dip of the rivalry that people love to hate this weekend, but there is some good news as well. HR is going to be in the booth for TBS! It's been awhile Harold....welcome back.

Here's the schedule....

Saturday:

Boston Red Sox at LA Angels- Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees- Joe Buck, Tim McCarver & Ken Rosenthal (Fox, 3:55pm, 85%)

MARKETS INCLUDE: Albuquerque, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Dayton, Denver, Detroit, Fort Myers, Hartford, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Louisville, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New Orleans, New York, Norfolk, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Providence, Raleigh, Richmond, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa, Tulsa, Washington, West Palm Beach

Atlanta Braves at Philadelphia Phillies- Matt Vasgersian & Mark Grace (FOX, 3:55pm, 15%)

MARKETS INCLUDE: Atlanta, Birmingham, Charlotte, Greensboro, Greenville, Jacksonville, Knoxville, Nashville, Philadelphia

Sunday:

Florida Marlins at Chicago Cubs- Chip Caray & Harold Reynolds (TBS, 1pm)

New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox- Jon Miller & Joe Morgan (ESPN, 8pm)

The Market for Sherrill Heats Up

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:06:03 -0500

The Baltimore Sun is reporting that the Cards and Brewers are in hot pursuit of George Sherrill. The Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers, Reds, Marlins and Tigers have also scouted him lately but the Orioles are said to be looking for "two,if not three" prospects in return.

Biggest Needs for NL Playoff Contenders

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:06:03 -0500

Foxsports contributor Dayn Perry took a look at the most pressing needs for playoff contenders with the deadline being a mere eight days away.
- Let's start with the Cubs who came back from the All-Star break with a 4-game lead and after a dismal, offensively ice cold week, now cling to a one game lead over the Brewers. With Carlos Marmol's ERA at 8.83 since June 1st and Kerry Wood ding battle with a blister on his pitching hand that won't seem to heal, Perry sees their greatest need as relief pitching.
-The Brewers have made signifigant improvements by acquiring CC Sabathia and Ray Durham but could use some more middle relief help.
-For the Cardinals, it is also pitching, pitching, pitching. It is pretty impressive that they've been as successful as they have so far, considering the precarious condition of their rotation and their distinction of leading the league in blown saves.
The Mets need a corner outfielder and they need him now. Perry feels they need to go after a big name like Holliday, Bay, Dunn or Giles.
-The Phillies could use more pitching help, as well. Even with the addition of Joe Blanton, they could use another starter or some lefty relief help. Expect them to make a run for Brian Fuentes or Damasco Marte.
-The Marlins catcher situation is not pretty. Their catchers are hitting a combined .226 but the odds of landing a worthwhile catcher at the deadline are not looking too good. Like everybody else on this list, they could another starting pitcher.
-The Diamondbacks need a big bat. To that end, there are the aforementioned Giles and Dunn. They also might want to consider going after Mark Teixeira.
-The Dodgers-what don't they need?? Their ace and closer are both on the DL and their 2B, 3B and CF are all under-performing. Perry suggests Brian Roberts would boost the offense and defense at second base.

Some of these teams will be able to upgrade in the next week and some won't. There just isn't enough talent available to go around.

Rollins Appears To Lack MVP Character

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:51:55 -0500

Reigning National League MVP Jimmy Rollins was benched Thursday for the second time this season by Phillies' manager Charlie Manuel. Rollins, instead of getting to Shea Stadium in Queens to finish off a three game set against the Mets with the rest of the Phillies in the team bus, opted to drive himself and arrived at the stadium after the designated 10 A.M. arrival time set by Manuel. The team bus also arrived to the stadium late, but still got there before their star shortstop. Rollins claimed that he was late because of traffic, which in all likelihood is most likely what happened. "I left ten minutes after the bus as usual but I just got stuck," Rollins said. "I can't change lights and stuff." Rollins was bench earlier this season mid-game for not running out a pop up, a move he agreed with. He does not agree with Manuel's decision to bench him this time. "We're not going to agree on this one," Rollins said. "We agreed last time but we're not going to agree on this one. He's the manager and he has to set a precedent with certain players and you're held up to higher rules. That's fine." Rollins was apparently late to a game one other time this season, but called Manuel to let him know and got off with a warning. Whether Rollins agrees with the decision or not, and whether he accepts the punishment (which he has) as a grown up or not, it does not appear to be having much of an affect on him. When Rollins was bench earlier this season for not running out the pop-up, we all hoped that it would light a fire under the struggling shortstop and motivate him to start playing harder, but all it did was make him run out pop-ups. Rollins still jogs out grounds outs and has been criticized numerous times this season for not running as hard on base hits as he should. Several times Rollins has strolled in second on a hit that, with his speed, could have easily been a triple. In a recent interview on the Comcast Sportsnet program Daily News Live, host Michael Barkan asked Phillies' second baseman Chase Utley which of his teammates is routinely late. After thinking for a few seconds Utley responded "Jimmy Rollins." According to many people who are around the club on a daily basis, Rollins usually arrives to the ball park right before he is required to. He does not appear to be a get there early, stay late kind of guy. It appears to me, and many of the Phillies' fans, that Rollins is mailing this season in. He doesn't feel the need to hustle every single play. He apparently doesn't think he needs extra time to work on his game, which has struggled this season. He still speeds around the bases, just not as fast. He still dazzles in the field, but has made a number of errors. He is the supposed leader of this team, but does not lead by example and apparently finds himself to be too good to ride with the team to the ballpark. I have been villified over the past couple days for attacking the character of Mets' star shortstop Jose Reyes for his immature and classless celebration antics. I am a firm believer in being fair and objective and I cannot question Reyes' character and then ignore the failings of my own team's star. Rollins, as the reigning MVP, has publicly taken up the mantle of the leader of this team, but has failed to act like the leader. I have no idea what Rollins is like behind closed doors, whether he is vocal amongst his teammates, encouraging them when they're struggling, yelling at them when they're slacking off. But I can't imagine it would do much good since Rollins himself appears to be aloof and slacking off. Team leaders need to lead by being vocal, but more importantly by example. I am as hard on Ryan Howard as anyone out there, but I was really impressed the other day when I saw him bust his hump down the line on a ground out that he had no chance of beating out without an errant throw on the play. Pat Burrell, who has had his fair share of struggles over his time with the Phillies, appears to be too laid back to be a vocal leader in the clubhouse, but absolutely leads by example. During his struggles from a couple years ago, Phillies fans were largely behind Pat because they saw how hard he worked at getting better. He was constantly working on his swing, seeking advice from anyone who could give it (which turns out was a big part of the problem), busting his butt every single day no matter how well he was doing. Fans love to see that a player is pissed at his manager for taking him out of the game like Burrell was after Sunday's loss to the Marlins. He was respectful and understanding of his shortcomings, but admitted that it angers him every time Manuel takes him out of the game in favor of a defensive replacement late in close games. Fans want a player with that fire, that drive, that hustle, and that desire. Jimmy Rollins is not the MVP this year. Jimmy Rollins is not the leader of this team. jimmy Rollins needs to prove me wrong.

Phillies - Braves Series Preview

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 12:47:40 -0500

After two lousy series against the Florida Marlins and the New York Mets, both division rivals competing with the Phillies for first place in the National League East, the Phils hope to turn things around against the Atlanta Braves in a weekend series starting Friday. The current NL East standings have the Mets in first place, with the Phillies one game behind them in second. The Marlins are one game back of the Phils, with the Braves 6.5 games out and the Washington Nationals completely out of the mix at 17 games back. Despite a month and a half of really lousy baseball, the Phillies find themselves still in the thick of things and in a great position to take the division. One team they have not struggled against this season is Atlanta, sweeping them in each of the last two series, both at Turner Field. The Phillies look to turn their recent fortunes around and keep their hot streak against the Braves going this Friday as Kyle Kendrick(8-4, 4.87) takes the mound against Jair Jurrjens (9-5, 3.22). Jurrjens is coming off a tough outing against the lowly Nationals on Sunday in which he gave up five earned runs in 6 1/3 innings. Despite a impressive record of 9-5, Jurrjens has lost two of his last three starts, including an outing against the Phils on July 3. Unfortunately for the Phillies, Kendrick is coming off an even worse outing against the Marlins on Saturday. The sophomore right hander gave up seven earned runs in 4 /13 innings, including three home runs. Nevertheless, the Phillies tend to win with Kendrick on the mound, going 14-6 in his 20 outings this season, the best record on the staff. Kendrick has also had success against the Braves, as he is 3-0 all time with a 4.13 ERA. Saturday's matchup is a battle of the lefties, as Phillies' ace Cole Hamels (9-6, 3.11) faces off against Jo-Jo Reyes (3-9, 4.95). Reyes is 0-5 with an 7.65 ERA in his last five starts and has given up nine runs against the Phillies in two starts this season. Hamels, on the other hand, is coming off yet another gem that was wasted by the floundering Phillies' offense. Despite going eight innings and giving up only two runs on Sunday against the Marlins, the Phils were unable to pull out a win, scoring a meager two runs themselves. Hamels continues to prove why he is the unquestioned ace of this staff. Newly acquired Joe Blanton (5-12, 5.08) makes his second start for the Phillies on Sunday against Jorge Campillo (5-4, 2.83). Campillo has been a pleasant surprise for the Braves this season, and has arguably been their best pitcher. Despite his success so far this season, Campillo is 0-1 with a 5.27 ERA in four games against the Phillies this season, including two starts. Blanton got a no decision in his debut with the Phillies and while most people have complained that his first outing was a bust, Blanton really didn't pitch all that poorly. He certainly didn't pitch great, surrendering five runs in six innings, but he gave up a few untimely walks and left two breaking balls up that resulted in home runs, and that was the ballgame. Blanton will look to rebound and capitalize on the positives from his debut Sunday. This is a huge series for the Phillies, although not quite as big as the two they just went through. Lucky for the Phils, the Mets face the St. Louis Cardinals this weekend, and the Marlins square off with the National League leading Chicago Cubs, so the chances are that both teams will lose at least one game. If the Phillies can take the series and win at least two of three against the Braves, they will still be in a good position coming into their day off on Monday, perhaps even back in first place. It's a cheap way to make it back on top, but at this point, I think we can all agree we'll take what we can get.

MLB: Jimmy Rollins Attacked By Squeegee Guy?

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:50:17 -0500

I haven't heard much from my favorite Philly Phanatic, Duff. Maybe Duff, with his faulty GPS system, was chauffeuring Jimmy Rollins to Shea yesterday? If you haven't heard, Jimmy Rollins was benched for yesterday's rubber game versus the Mets, because he arrived an hour before the first pitch. Phillies manager Charlie Manuel decided Rollins could best enjoy the day watching the air traffic pattern over Shea. How can Rollins allow this to happen? Is this Jimmy being Manny saying he can't control the lights? I've been ripping on Jose Reyes for his immature approach to the game, but how can Rollins fail to get out of bed on time? Did Rollins get seduced by the late night lights of Manhattan?

What would Aaron Rowand do?

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:40:15 -0500

Whoever is walking the beat in the Phillies locker room this season is more Chief Wiggum than Sgt. Rowand. So what, if anything, would Aaron Rowand do if Jimmy Rollins was pulling this B.S. on his watch?

Basebrawl: Arrests, Ejections, Fun.

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:25:57 -0500

Listen or read about a hilarious and entertaining brawl in a Minor League baseball game. [Video inc.]

Manuel Losing His Team - Phils Lose Lead.

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:00:39 -0500

In their last nineteen games the Phillies have posted a mediocre 10-9 record. After the most recent series with the New York Mets, the Phillies saw their 1st place lead slip out of their hands. What's wrong with our Phillies? First their changes aren't working. Over the past month the Phillies acquired Joe Blanton from the Oakland Athletics, demoted and then brought back up starter Brett Myers, and change up the lineup on more than one occasion to try to spark the offense. Unfortunately none of these moves have worked so far. Chase Utley has all but disappeared from the lineup with a .243 batting average and only 5 RBIs this month. It looks like the MVP three peat could be in jeopardy if he doesn't snap out of it quick. And Jimmy Rollins is slowly erasing all memories of his MVP status as he was benched for the second time this season because of his inability to take the game seriously. Manager Charlie Manuel has managed to get his team in such a funk that they seem to be disinterested in competing. At this point he appears to be over-managing the games in hopes of getting lucky. Unfortunately for the fans, Manuel isn't all that good at managing regularly, so the idea of over-managing is scary. He's appears to be so lost that after benching Rollins for the game on Thursday, he had him pinch hit against Billy Wagner, who Rollins has never connected off of. If he was planning on using Rollins at all as a pinch hitter, the appropriate time would have been in the eighth against Aaron Heilman with two men on instead of Jason Werth who struggles against right handed pitching. Manuel is floundering at this point and appears unable to motivate a team that appears to have let MVP awards and a first place lead get in their heads. The Phils need to snap out of it quick, and it's up to Charlie to make it happen. Needless to say, this weekend's series against the Atlanta Braves is key to getting the team back on track. With the Mets heading to St. Louis and Florida over the next week, the Phils should have the opportunity to take back the NL East lead, but they will have to earn it. Anyone who is banking on another Mets collapse is out to lunch and should probably come back to reality. These next two months are going to be interesting...

Beerleaguer for breakfast: Falling on deaf ears

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:50:16 -0500

Yesterday saw the second rule violation from Jimmy Rollins, just days after a fly ball, no-hustle play over the weekend, the same reason he was benched on June 6. Does it pay for Charlie Manuel to be such a stickler? If winning is the desired effect, there's some evidence to the contrary that the strong arm of the law hasn't worked for Sheriff Manuel this season. Since J-Roll's first benching, the Phillies have gone 19-22. A handful of players have...

Say Hello To Second Place

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:47:01 -0500

All you people out there telling me that the Phillies have one of the best offenses in the league and have no need for Matt Holliday (.343 AVG, 17 HR, 60 RBI, 60 R, 13 SB), I want you to look me in the eye (figuratively of course) and tell me you still think that. I agree with you that this is one of the best offenses in the league, on paper. A team composed of reigning MVP Jimmy Rollins (career* .277 AVG, 16HR, 62 RBI, 96 R, 35 SB), former MVP and Rookie of the Year Ryan Howard (.279 AVG, 42 HR, 97 RBI, 83 R)*, this year's MVP front runner Chase Utley (.299 AVG, 21 HR, 83 RBI, 85 R, 11 SB)*, and Pat Burrell (.260 AVG, 29 HR, 96 RBI, 75 R)* should be leading the league in offense, and somehow, this team still does. Despite having an awful almost two months of baseball, the Phillies are still second in the National League in runs scored, behind Chicago. To show you just how Jekyll and Hyde this offense has been this year, let's look at the numbers. Since June 1st, the Phillies have scored 181 runs. They have given up 182. Now let's take out the game against the St. Louis Cardinals on June 13th in which the Phillies won 20-2. With that game out, the Phillies have scored 161 runs and given up 180. That figure says a couple things. First off, they were really good in the beginning of this year. In April and May they scored 302 runs and only gave up 236. That is the run differential of a playoff team. Second, the fact that they are still the second highest run scoring team in the NL also shows just how weak the NL is this year. You can't say it's the pitching, because the Phillies have given up less runs in June and July then they did the first two months. Granted July isn't over yet, but even the Phils will be hard pressed to give up more than 50 runs in one week. This team just is not hitting. They aren't hitting with runners on base, with runners in scoring position, with no runners on. They aren't hitting. During the month of July, Utley has two home runs and five RBIs; Rollins hasn't had a home run since June 16th, and has seven RBIs this month; Geoff Jenkins has 16 hits since June 1st, with six of them coming in the first six days of that month; Jason Werth has six RBIs in July and Pedro Feliz has seven. The team's Jekyll and Hyde nature was never more evident then this past series with the Mets. The Phillies were the Kings of the Come From Behind Win last year and they showed that Never Say Die attitude on Tuesday when they scored six runs in the 9th inning to beat the Mets 8-6. After getting manhandled by Johan Santana through the first eight innings, this team showed an incredible amount of character (which they have lacked for the better part of the past two months) and grit and did not give up. Then they dropped the ball and let the momentum gained from that inning fade off and played like garbage the next two days. Despite a rocky outing by Brett Myers on Wednesday, the game was still tied at three coming into the sixth inning. The Phillies were very much in a position to win when the bullpen gave up three runs and you could just see the air go out of this team. They just laid down and conceded. Thursday the Phillies absolutely blew a beautiful gem thrown by Jamie Moyer and once again made the erratic Oliver Perez look like a Cy Young Award winner. Moyer went seven strong innings giving up only one run. J.C. Romero came into the 8th inning and gave up two runs. Romero has unequivocally been the Phillies best reliever this season aside from closer Brad Lidge. He has also pitched more innings than any other reliever and it is starting to show. Romero gave up a total of six runs in all of April, May and June. He has given up five so far in July, which is still remarkable and I am not dumping on him at all. But he needs some help; he needs another lefty in the bullpen that cane take on some of the situational responsibilities. This was the biggest series of the season and the Phillies blew it, despite having the biggest inning of the year. They had the momentum; they had first place; and I still believe they have a better team. The Phillies have just been way too inconsistent this season and the Mets have gelled together since the firing of manager Willie Randolph. This is going to be a very tough road over the remaining 60 or so games, but I still think the Phillies can pull it out. They have to start this weekend against the Atlanta Braves. * When calculating the career stats, I took out the player's first season and this season, as neither were full seasons.

MLB Status Check (7/24)

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 06:39:25 -0500

Screaming Sports' Billy Smith checks in on some of the mega-hyped offseason stars, as well as the not-so-hyped offseason stars. Who is living up to it? Who isn't? And who is coming out of left field? Billy has all of those answers for you.

What Have You Done For Me Lately Phillies?

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 06:15:29 -0500

New York Mets 1st place, Philadelphia Phillies 2nd place. Get used to that, with a note that the Phils may be displaced in 2nd by the Florida Marlins plopping them sourly in 3rd place. What have you done for me lately?: *Since June 10th, a span of 37 games, the Phils have scored 3 runs or less 16 times. That's unacceptable. Record during that time, 15-22, not what a 1st place team is made of, or a second place, or a third place, or a... For a tirade about Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Carlos Ruiz, Chris Coste, Jimmy Rollins, Pedro Feliz, Adam Eaton, Joe Blanton, Kyle Kendrick, Brett Myers, RJ Swindle, Rudy Seanez, and JC Romero click on URL. Also, I promise a tantalizing picture of Janet Jackson.