Some Phillies Links for You, May 11, 2010: No-No Toronto, Sore Lidge, The Chooch of May

by WholeCamels on May 11, 2010 8:16 AM EDT

DENVER - MAY 10: Carlos Ruiz #51 of the Philadelphia Phillies swings at a pitch by Manuel Corpas #60 of the Colorado Rockies for an RBI single to score Ryan Howard in the ninth inning at Coors Field on May 10, 2010 in Denver, Colorado. Howard's run gave the Phillies a 6-5 lead as the Phillies defeated the Rockies 9-5. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

The Juice: Don't pitch to Phillies' Carlos Ruiz in May, either - Big League Stew - MLB Blog - Yahoo! Sports
Carlos Ruiz is one of my favorite players for reasons that aren't entirely due to his play on the field so I'm getting a kick out of his recent hot streak.

Elbow stiffness keeps Lidge out of ninth | phillies.com: News
Well that's great news.

The Zo Zone: Could the Phillies Get 84 Home Games?
As first reported by The Fightins, the G20 summit in Toronto might require relocation of the Blue Jays three game series against the Phillies in late June. I'd have to think a neutral site would be the most fair option, even if it's not the most lucrative. Can you imagine the pissing and moaning if the Phillies win the division by, say, one game?

Contreras has been big relief for Phillies
He's been great but he's pitched five of the last seven games. Hopefully Halladay can provide a day off.

ModernTube: Keith Hernandez falls asleep during Mets game - Big League Stew - MLB Blog - Yahoo! Sports
Probably took one of his own Roofies...

Modern pitchers taken to task by legend Fergie Jenkins
Ugh, I hate when the retired players talk smack on "kids today." Robin Roberts, to his credit, never did this.

Giambi gets rare start in place of Helton | MLB.com: News
And he hit like crazy. I've always kind of liked Jason Giambi, even during the Yankee years.

BlueClaws outfield full of potential
Nice piece, but doesn't tell us much we didn't already know.

Another Hernandez gem goes to waste | Down on the Farm
Like PhillyFriar said yesterday, I could give a damn about the outcome of the game; Nick Hernandez was very sharp yet again, so I'm happy.

R-Phils defeat Drabek
Woooooooooo yaaaaay or something.

The Ace Has Arrived: Braves Bash Brewers 8-2 - Talking Chop
Young Tommy Hanson was nasty last night.

Fish Wrap - Marlins 4, Cubs 2 - FishStripes
Beating the Cubs just isn't that fun anymore.

Washington Nationals 3-2 Over New York Mets In Citi Field Thriller. - Federal Baseball
The Nationals now sit alone in second place in the NL East. Seriously.

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Comments

Why Lidge's elbow is sore

I’ll bet the spiders is tightenin up their webs too.

by Wet Luzinski on May 11, 2010 8:31 AM EDT reply actions

Naylor oozed with confidence as he showed solid command of his fastball, curve, slider and changeup.

“Ooze” is a word that just needs to be used more. Hope he’s able to get a bandage.

by Wet Luzinski on May 11, 2010 8:45 AM EDT reply actions

Has anyone heard of any recent updates on Rollins?

by Boundforbeach on May 11, 2010 9:28 AM EDT reply actions

Yep. Possible return during the upcoming homestand starting 5/17. The end is nigh.

by Wet Luzinski on May 11, 2010 11:21 AM EDT up reply actions

certainly good news

by Boundforbeach on May 11, 2010 11:39 AM EDT up reply actions

I’m now kind of rooting, in a mercurial way, for Valdez’ GIDP streak to continue.

by Wet Luzinski on May 11, 2010 11:41 AM EDT up reply actions

I’m actually hoping his total baserunners erased can be higher than his total bases. He’s close — I think he’s got 5 GIDPs to go along with 3 singles and 2 doubles.

by zfg on May 11, 2010 11:56 AM EDT up reply actions

He also has a negative WAR and a negative UZR. I guess he’s still better than fielding only 8 players though.

by taco pal on May 11, 2010 12:12 PM EDT up reply actions

Domonic Brown must have played short at some point. High school? Little league? Nah, I guess we’ll make do with Exxon for another week.

by schmenkman on May 11, 2010 12:34 PM EDT up reply actions

Brown is a lefty. Then again, when I was 9, the shortstop on my little league team was a lefty, so who knows.

by taco pal on May 11, 2010 12:39 PM EDT up reply actions

didn’t John Kruk play shortstop in a movie, was it The Fan?

by Boundforbeach on May 11, 2010 2:15 PM EDT up reply actions

Speaking of Nick Hernandez, Matt Maloney is really dominating the International League with the Reds’ AAA team this year.

by taco pal on May 11, 2010 10:22 AM EDT reply actions

Closest major league city to Toronto is Detroit (4.5 hours), and the Tigers are on the road that weekend.

There’s also a minor league ballpark in Buffalo, which is less than 2 hours away.

by taco pal on May 11, 2010 10:40 AM EDT reply actions

If the Buffalo field’s not available, there are also fields in Batavia and Rochester. The Batavia stadium’s tiny, though, so it should be a last resort. If they wanted to keep it in Canada, they might be able to restore Ottawa Field in time for the series.

Honor is no substitute for victory.

by The Dark on May 11, 2010 10:50 AM EDT up reply actions

I’d vote for Ottawa, but I don’t know how big that field was. If the Lynx had stayed a minor league affiliate, I would’ve tried to get up there for a game at some point.

An extra 3 home games in Philly really isn’t fair. If it’s what ends up happening, than so be it, but maybe it’s also possible they could re-work it so that the Jays play in Philly, Philly moves a home series against an interleage team to the AL park, and then the Jays move a series from their park to home. Net result is 81 home/away for all three teams, but the Jays would get an extra home series against an AL foe. It’s wonky and would take lots of co-ordination, but its the fairest approach IMHO.

by Bilzo on May 11, 2010 11:15 AM EDT up reply actions

Capacity at Ottawa’s only 10,332, but the Fat Cats are out of town that weekend

Honor is no substitute for victory.

by The Dark on May 11, 2010 11:31 AM EDT up reply actions

I’d have to believe that they would just move the one highest intensity security day to a day-night doubleheader, but as the thing starts on Saturday, does that mean you play two on Friday? Phils play a day game the day before in CLE.

by Wet Luzinski on May 11, 2010 11:37 AM EDT up reply actions

Either the Blue Jays get screwed or the Phils get a small advantage in home games. There’s a lot to bitch about no matter how this breaks from various teams.

Even moving the Jays to a neutral field still screws the Jays and their fan.

by Cormican on May 11, 2010 12:59 PM EDT up reply actions

Surely they could bring him along if it was moved to a neutral field.

Honor is no substitute for victory.

by The Dark on May 11, 2010 1:13 PM EDT up reply actions

It’s a shame the series wasn’t Toronto v Pirates. That would have answered the age old if a tree falls in the forest question.

by Cormican on May 11, 2010 1:35 PM EDT up reply actions

I agree. Bad decision, Bud. Again.

by taco pal on May 11, 2010 1:14 PM EDT up reply actions

Bad decision confirmed

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5180700&campaign=rss&source=MLBHeadlines

by schmenkman on May 11, 2010 2:54 PM EDT up reply actions

You forgot the fan sometimes brings a buddy who comes to the game with a Maple Leafs shirt on.

by j reed on May 11, 2010 3:08 PM EDT up reply actions

For some reason, I picture the Trailer Park Boys (all apologies to Blue Jays fans)

by Cormican on May 11, 2010 3:43 PM EDT up reply actions

It’s really a shame. They used to draw so well. And I mean, even before they won their titles. Example.

Maybe it’s because of their ballpark. But because it was the last pure cookie-cutter to go up, they’re not going to be able to replace it for a long, long time.

by taco pal on May 11, 2010 4:13 PM EDT up reply actions

Pure cookie cutter with the first retractable dome though. At the time is was an impressive piece of structural engineering.

by j reed on May 11, 2010 4:37 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, but now it’s three rivers with a roof.

by Cormican on May 11, 2010 4:46 PM EDT up reply actions

Quite interesting figures from 1988 in the example

Especially the fact that only one club failed to reach a million in attendance: the Atlanta Braves, with under 11,000 per game.

by phillyinportland on May 15, 2010 12:07 AM EDT up reply actions

capacities and distances

Buffalo 18,025 – 1 hr 55 min
Rochester 10,868 – 2 hr 56 min
Ottawa 10,332 – 5 hr 6 min
Batavia 2,600 – 2 hr 28 min

A major league game in Batavia would be impractical, but it would also be kind of awesome in a way.

by taco pal on May 11, 2010 11:29 AM EDT up reply actions

will those games also start at :07 past the hour?

by Wet Luzinski on May 11, 2010 11:40 AM EDT up reply actions

Nick Hernandez videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grOwxxLqRSU
http://www.vimeo.com/4385647

He’s Angel Hernandez’s nephew? That’s funny.

by taco pal on May 11, 2010 10:49 AM EDT reply actions

Angel Hernandez..not a good umpire.

by Bilzo on May 11, 2010 11:07 AM EDT up reply actions

So does Lidge’s elbow soreness mean that Matheison will pack his bags for Philly cause Baez can’t close a door let alone a game and let’s not forgot Contreras’ real age age coupled with the fact that he’s never played a full season as a reliever – who knows what 6 months of pitching on consecutive days two or three times a week will do to his arm. Contreras has been a 1.2 million godsend, let’s not be stupid and burn up what could be a real valuable tool down the stretch.

by j reed on May 11, 2010 1:30 PM EDT reply actions

How many times have you commented about Mathieson now? Are we in the triple digits yet?

by taco pal on May 11, 2010 2:02 PM EDT up reply actions

by j reed on May 11, 2010 2:19 PM EDT up reply actions

I get alittle cocker spaniel and pee on the rug when excited. 97 mph gets me excited.

by j reed on May 11, 2010 3:03 PM EDT up reply actions

Carlos Ruiz is one of my favorite players for reasons that aren’t entirely due to his play on the field so I’m getting a kick out of his recent hot streak.

Me also. So what are your reasons WC. Mine, without a doubt, is a catcher fetish.

by j reed on May 11, 2010 3:18 PM EDT reply actions

WC likes guys nicknamed after girlie parts.

by Cormican on May 11, 2010 3:29 PM EDT up reply actions

My nickname is “Fupa”

by phatj on May 11, 2010 4:15 PM EDT up reply actions

never heard that – i had to look that up. pretty funny

by j reed on May 11, 2010 4:39 PM EDT up reply actions

Risky looking up on a work computer, FYI.

by Cormican on May 11, 2010 4:47 PM EDT up reply actions

Not a problem. I work out of my shop at home esp. of late with field work not in such abundant supply.

by j reed on May 11, 2010 5:59 PM EDT up reply actions

After RAJ got crap from fangraphs all winter...another Nelson Muntz "ah ha'' to darlings of the off season

Eric Byrnes -Now plays in a softball league. Seriously. – check
Milton Bradley – Mentally missing in action, unfortunate but predictable – check
Fire batting coach – check
And now, the ineffective DH -

Though he may be 40 years old now, sometimes “The Kid” needs to sleep. Seattle Mariners star Ken Griffey Jr. missed a chance to enter an unspecified game last week as a pinch hitter because he was asleep in the clubhouse, according to a report from the Tacoma News Tribune.

- check

by j reed on May 11, 2010 4:02 PM EDT reply actions

Fortunately for Moyer, frequent urination causes him to suffer from insomnia, and he is therefore not falling asleep in the clubhouse. There are advantages to being really old (“Moyer old”) instead of just old (“Griffey old”).

Kids!

Remember the Phitans

by RememberthePhitans on May 11, 2010 5:00 PM EDT up reply actions