Phillies Breakfast Links, September 24, 2009: Domino Effect, Bye Bobby, It's Tense

by WholeCamels on Sep 24, 2009 8:17 AM EDT

Baseball Prospectus | Ahead in the Count: Slugging on Balls in Play
Our old friend Matt Swartz's latest piece for Baseball Prospectus (subscription req'd)

Lidge blows another save as Marlins beat Phillies
You've read this one before. Almost literally.

Imperfect Phillies lineup gets job done

Manuel offered an example of a .300 hitter who scores only 50 to 60 runs with only 50 to 60 RBIs. "He hasn't done anything," Manuel said. "He should have done that, even if he's hitting ninth in the lineup. I've heard people say, 'Oh, he hit .300 last year.' And then you look and you see 50 runs scored with 40 RBIs. That isn't good. "Now, if he scores 120 runs and knocked in 40 or 50? Then we're talking differently."

And here I thought Charlie Manuel understood offense.

Braves sweep Mets
Oh, and this happened, too. Thanks for nothing, New York.

Doug Drabek proud of son's perseverance
Interview with Doug Drabek, discussing Kyle Drabek, who based on that picture is one of the oldest looking young people ever.

Chuck Domino leaving Reading, Lehigh Valley teams to kick-start new EL franchise
This is a pretty big deal, Domino is practically an institution in Reading.

Myers confident he'll return to 'pen soon
Thank goodness Brett said so.

Cox to retire as skipper after '10 season
Adios, take Chipper with you.

Paul Hagen: Blanton making case as Phillies' best pitcher
I still think it's Cliff Lee, but Joe Blanton has been great since May.

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Comments

i’ve got as much love for Charlie as anyone. But the man is, was, and always will be an idiot.

by FuquaManuel on Sep 24, 2009 8:32 AM EDT reply actions

Charlie's handled some player situations very well this year...

But who are we kidding. This Lidge thing somehow has just got to STOP. It’s unfair to the team, the fans, and Lidge himself. Did you see Lidge’s comments after the game:

“I’m disappointed. They hit the ball tonight and did a good job. Hopefully tomorrow I’ll get a chance to get something started again.”

Hopefully, you won’t. There’s no “I” in team Brad.

by Boundforbeach on Sep 24, 2009 8:36 AM EDT up reply actions

What did he handle well?

Jimmy ROllins sucks as lead off hitter, let’s drop him to sixth for a game or so – hey look how well that worked – let’s put jimmy back in the lead off spot.

I’m just curios what did he handle well…

Don't frack with me or you'll get a punch in the kidneys...you've been warned

by jemagee on Sep 24, 2009 11:30 AM EDT up reply actions

Dajafi said it better than me...

Check out this post. Lidge aside, anything in here you don’t agree with?

http://www.thegoodphight.com/2009/8/17/992097/managers-decision

by Boundforbeach on Sep 24, 2009 1:08 PM EDT up reply actions

Holy crap...

You guys see this story? Tokyo TV did an expose on pawn shops. See the link. About three minutes in, who else but Lenny Dystra comes strolling on in to pawn his rings. The audio is in Japanese.

http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/nms/acconomi/post_518.html"

by Boundforbeach on Sep 24, 2009 9:11 AM EDT reply actions

Even in the late 80s, I thought that Doug has that pornstache going a little bit too long.

For Who? My teammates.

For What? To Win.

How Much? Where do I sign?

by jonk on Sep 24, 2009 9:46 AM EDT reply actions

Looking forward

To seeing JA Happ pitch tonight.

This will be the 3rd year in a row I have seen a Phillies game at Miller Park, hopefully this one turns out better than the last 2.

07: Kyle Kendrick pitches well but Phils lose
08: Hamels awful in first, recovers nicely, left in too long to give up HR to Fielder…I had left already to beat traffic, and heard the crowd going nuts in the lot, figured something went wrong.

by backtocali on Sep 24, 2009 9:59 AM EDT reply actions

Drabek still has the demeanor of a young kid though, or at least that was my impression from his visit to the broadcast booth the other day.

Michael Taylor, in contrast, looked and sounded like he’d come straight from Stanford debate team practice. But then, he actually is older.

http://mlb.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=6666509 (starts with Taylor video, then goes automatically to Drabek video)

by taco pal on Sep 24, 2009 10:37 AM EDT reply actions

Lidge

Here’s what I say: Smile! Lidge may have cost us homefield-throughout with his crappy season, but homefield isn’t terribly important in baseball. And the worse he does in these last few almost-meaningless games, the less likely it becomes that he will close when the games count in the postseason.

by taco pal on Sep 24, 2009 10:39 AM EDT reply actions

remaining opponents for the Braves:
WAS x 7, FLA x 3. Realistic Performance Estimate 7-3.
remaining opponents for the Phillies:
MIL x 3, HOU x 4, FLA x 3. Realistic Performance Estimate 4-6

I guess that means we should win, but I’m still not comfortable.

by Bilzo on Sep 24, 2009 11:07 AM EDT up reply actions

Because Manuel has shown that as a guy continues to suck he does the right thing by replacing him.

I don’t get this confidence – Lidge has sucked all year but except for a game or two he’s been the closer when not on the DL…Manuel shows loyalty – dogmatically – to the detriment of his team…I see no evidence to indicate he’s going to change this insanity any time soon.

Don't frack with me or you'll get a punch in the kidneys...you've been warned

by jemagee on Sep 24, 2009 11:31 AM EDT up reply actions

Exactly what “confidence” are you referring to? I would appreciate it if you would respond to what I actually wrote, not what you wish I’d written. What I said was:

And the worse he does in these last few almost-meaningless games, the less likely it becomes that he will close when the games count in the postseason.

You’re not going to find any guarantees in there, because there aren’t any. The point is that Charlie is more likely to make the right decision the more Lidge struggles now. It’s fair to question whether he will ultimately give enough weight to those struggles in his decision-making process, but I do not believe he is impervious to all reality, which is would be the only way to dispute my statement. The fact that he has insisted on using Lidge in a string of not-very-meaningful regular season games, while aggravating, does not prove anything to the contrary.

As for this failed attempt at sarcasm:

Because Manuel has shown that as a guy continues to suck he does the right thing by replacing him.

You seem to have an awfully short memory. One of the main reasons why Charlie’s devotion to Lidge this year has been frustrating is that it is inconsistent with what he’s done on many occasions in the past. A great many Phillies have been demoted from their positions during his tenure, including Adam Eaton (2008), Tom Gordon (2007), Geoff Jenkins (2008), Kyle Kendrick (2008), Jon Lieber (2007), Ryan Madson (2006), Jamie Moyer (2009), Brett Myers (2008), and Chan Ho Park (2009). So actually, yes, Manuel has shown that as a guy continues to suck he does the right thing by replacing him – over and over again.

by taco pal on Sep 24, 2009 12:19 PM EDT up reply actions

How do you get 4-6?

With that remaining schedule, I would realistically put the Phillies going 7-3, 6-4 at worst.

by backtocali on Sep 24, 2009 11:09 AM EDT reply actions

I think he’s saying best-case, worst-case.

Bilzo, we have four games against Milwaukee.

by taco pal on Sep 24, 2009 11:15 AM EDT up reply actions

Ah

thanks for the correction.

I know theyll be facing a slew of replacement level pitchers this weekend vs Milwaukee, so unless there is a big fall, should win 3 of 4 I’m guessing.

by backtocali on Sep 24, 2009 11:22 AM EDT up reply actions

don't forget some Brewers can actually hit too

by SmilingJPhilsPhan on Sep 24, 2009 11:48 AM EDT up reply actions

Eh

Phillies offense trumps Brewers. Plus, even with Braun/Fielder they are having problems scoring more than a couple runs a game, and thats not against good pitching.

Could very well be a launching pad against Looper, Bush and Suppan, and if Parra cant throw strikes (which he hasnt done all year long) more big offense.

by backtocali on Sep 24, 2009 12:12 PM EDT up reply actions