Some Phillies Links for You - April 8, 2010: 2-0 is fun, Reading Phillies to roll?

by WholeCamels on Apr 8, 2010 8:11 AM EDT

WASHINGTON - APRIL 07: Ryan Howard #6 of the Philadelphia Phillies is awkwardly fist-bumped by teammate Chase Utley #26 after hitting a home run in the fifth inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on April 7, 2010 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

R-Phils have high hopes
Between Gillies, Brown, and Aumont, there's a lot of talent there.

PhillyBurbs.com: Team's value continues to climb
The Phillies franchise is worth less than the Mets and the Cubs. No wonder no one likes the National League.

Phillies' Blanton better, but Phils get Figueroa in case
Get better, Joe, and quickish.

Inside the Phillies: Kendrick has benefited from the Doc
Roy Halladay had a positive input on Kyle Kendrick... unless he stinks, in which case he didn't listen. Love this logic.

Hamels the beneficiary of Howard's tear | MLB.com: News
The catcher's body language the instant after Howard connects is priceless. Shades of Russell Martin/Matt Stairs.

The Fightins " Scott Mathieson Reportedly Amputates Catcher’s Arm
Holy eff. 103 MPH? With Mathieson, you worry about his own arm falling off eventually, though.

A Giant Misspelling ... A Jersey to Forget
h/t Talking Chop. Not as bad as "NATINALS."

Pirates scoreboard video features traditional hot dog innuendo - Big League Stew - MLB Blog - Yahoo! Sports
The Pirates have had the best scoreboard entertainment in MLB for a few years now.

FROM THE NL EAST

Chipper Chops the Cubs as the Braves Comeback to Win - Talking Chop
I can already tell that this Braves team is going to be so very annoying. With bonus Jesus Heyward .gif pr0n in the new site banner.

Marlins 7, Mets 6: Nobody Likes a Tease - Amazin' Avenue
That was incredibly crummy baseball. Not that the Phillies were 100% pretty last night or anything.

Strikeouts still an issue for New York Mets first baseman Mike Jacobs
Mike Jacobs, a Kansas City Royals castoff, is playing first base for the New York Mets. Oh, and say hi to our old friend Andy Martino.

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Comments

You have to figure Scott Mathieson will get a chance to help our raggedy ass bullpen sooner or later.

103…yeesh. Even if the gun was being generous, thats 99 or 100.

by FuquaManuel on Apr 8, 2010 9:21 AM EDT reply actions

If his arm stays healthy then that would be a good weapon to have in the pen

Scar tissue is stronger than muscle tissue. Realize the strength, move on.

by JCB79 on Apr 8, 2010 9:30 AM EDT up reply actions

You don't say?

by phatj on Apr 8, 2010 11:21 AM EDT up reply actions

Scott passed a big test last week when he threw in back-to-back games. I think the Phils will wait to see how he responds to doing that a couple of times in Triple-A before they deem him completely ready (we can’t afford a Rudy “I can’t pitch on back-to-back days” Seanez type in our bullpen this year), but once he is, he has better pure stuff than anyone not named Madson or Lidge.

by PhillyFriar on Apr 8, 2010 10:20 AM EDT up reply actions

we have one those can’t pitch on back – to -back days his name is Contreras.

by j reed on Apr 8, 2010 10:26 AM EDT up reply actions

Did you see the Figueroa signing? And the guys on the DL? Methinks the Contreras experiment might be dead before it ever began.

by Steve J on Apr 8, 2010 10:28 AM EDT up reply actions

I’m a bit surprised that everyone seems ready to show Contreras the door so quickly. I know he had a rough spring, and he’ll have some bumps transitioning to the bullpen, but he’s had success as a major league starter and his raw stuff is still pretty good. I honestly think I’m more worried about Baez in the set up role than I am Contreras in the CHP role.

by PhillyFriar on Apr 8, 2010 12:15 PM EDT up reply actions

I am pretty sure I agree w/r/t Baez but he’s going to get the benefit of EVERY stinking doubt because of his status as a Proven Closer™.

http://www.thegoodphight.com

by WholeCamels on Apr 8, 2010 12:30 PM EDT up reply actions

scoreboard items

In The Worst Team Money Could Buy (good book btw), Bob Klapisch and John Harper wrote about how good the Pirates’ video screens were at Three Rivers Stadium. I think they may have pioneered the “rally time” video montage at the MLB level, though these kind of things tend to start at the minors.

I heard Phils announcers mention that the Nats stadium doesn’t have the “tale of the tape” feature to measure Howad’s bomb last night, but then again, if I owned that team as presently configured, I might not install that until the pitching staff’s a whole lot better.

by Wet Luzinski on Apr 8, 2010 12:32 PM EDT reply actions

Howad=Howard. I’ve been talking to New Englanders lately.

by Wet Luzinski on Apr 8, 2010 12:33 PM EDT up reply actions

Ho wad?

by FuquaManuel on Apr 8, 2010 1:00 PM EDT up reply actions

Welcome to my life.

by PhillyFriar on Apr 8, 2010 1:18 PM EDT up reply actions

That is a shame, but on the other hand, I find the New York accent to be much more off-putting than the New England accent. Once in a while, the New England accent can even be endearing. For example, those guys from Car Talk on NPR.

But YMMV.

by taco pal on Apr 8, 2010 1:52 PM EDT up reply actions

I actually don’t mind it all that much. It’s strange, though — my fiancée’s parents and brother have it pretty bad, but she and her sister don’t really have it at all. That never ceases to amaze me.

by PhillyFriar on Apr 8, 2010 2:03 PM EDT up reply actions

Wicked misspelling, dude.

"When you make your final stand
I'll be right there
I'll never leave
And all I ask of you is
Believe"

by The Dark on Apr 8, 2010 1:54 PM EDT up reply actions

The cavemen really showed up in force for Part II of Bill Baer’s series on The 700 Level.

by taco pal on Apr 8, 2010 1:55 PM EDT reply actions

I’m assuming mvptommyd was banned from Beerleaguer, then?

It actually wasn’t as bad as I expected. Bill and Matt did a nice job of explaining, non-confrontationally, where they were coming from, and a number of the commenters seemed receptive. The key point is the same as it’s always been: if you don’t want to delve into the advanced stats, it’s certainly still possible to enjoy the game; just don’t knock them.

by PhillyFriar on Apr 8, 2010 2:25 PM EDT up reply actions