Red Medicine: Phillies 5, Nationals 4
by dajafi on May 30, 2011 4:47 PM EDT
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PrintFor a minute there in the bottom of the seventh inning, Roy Halladay looked positively human. On a blistering hot day when he'd already given up three solo home runs, Halladay was approaching the 100 pitch mark and trying to protect a one-run lead for the second time on the day after the Phillies had plated two in the top of the inning. But Nationals leadoff hitter Alex Cora flared a double down the right-field line, and Ian Desmond dropped a perfect bunt toward third base that went for a base hit, putting runners at the corners with no outs and the top of the order due.
But this is Doc; it's not even a slight surprise that he escaped with no damage allowed. He got ahead of Rick Ankiel, then induced a grounder back to the mound that he threw home, where Carlos Ruiz caught Cora in no-man's land for a fielder's choice and a huge first out. Next up was Danny Espinosa, who had one of Washington's three solo homers; Halladay got him on a flyout to left field. The Nats' last hope was Jayson Werth, who had one of those at-bats Phillies fans remember fondly--taking close pitches, fouling off two strike offerings--before ending it the way we remember less warmly, with a swinging strikeout. Halladay's afternoon was complete after 111 pitches, seven innings, ten hits allowed including those three solo shots, and five strikeouts. As is often the case, he was as or more impressive when his Eater-of-Worlds stuff wasn't at hand and he had to work out of trouble.
Meanwhile, the Phillies hitters gradually shook off the stultifying spell of Washington starter Livan Hernandez, reaching the, um, deliberate veteran with three runs in the fourth to turn a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 lead. Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez got the Phillies even with back to back solo home runs, the team's first consecutive bombs of the 2011 season. Carlos Ruiz followed with a double and scored on Domonic Brown's single; after John Mayberry singled for the Phils' fifth straight hit, Halladay moved the runners to second and third with two outs, but Jimmy Rollins' deep fly to right died in Werth's glove on the warning track.
Washington tied the game in the fifth on Espinosa's homer and went ahead an inning later when Laynce Nix took Halladay out of the yard. But the Phillies scored the decisive runs in the seventh, when Placido Polanco singled with one out to chase Hernandez. Reliever Sean Burnett got ahead of Chase Utley 0-2, but couldn't finish him as Utley outlasted the lefty for a walk. Howard followed with his second big hit off a southpaw in three games, singling in Polanco to tie the game and send Utley to third; he scored on a deep sac fly by Ibanez.
Antonio Bastardo and Jose Contreras combined to hold Washington off in the 8th, working around Contreras' plunking of Michael Morse, who had hit the first home run off Halladay. Ryan Madson finished things off with an overpowering ninth, striking out two including Ankiel to finish the game as the Phils improved to a major league-best 34-20 on the season.
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Listening on the radio to the 7th inning was fantastic. It’s nice to generate two runs off of a guy designed specifically to stop that part of the order.
"My grandmom's favorite grandson, ask my grandmom" --Rone
by layout ultimate on May 30, 2011 5:01 PM EDT reply actions
So is Worley being sent down because of the offday on Thursday?
by philsandthrills on May 30, 2011 5:12 PM EDT reply actions
Apparently, the team sent him down in order to let him get into his routine as a starter. I guess it makes sense to have him keep pitching in LHV on Thursday.
by philsandthrills on May 30, 2011 5:22 PM EDT up reply actions
so they’re giong to skip his spot in the rotation and have Halladay pitch on friday?
We are the Phightin' Irish
by Veni Vidi Vici on May 30, 2011 5:24 PM EDT up reply actions
I think that would actually still be Hamels day. Saturday would be Roy.
by philsandthrills on May 30, 2011 5:32 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah. Would probably be:
Tue 5/31: Lee @ Jason Marquis
Wed 6/1: Oswalt @ John Lannan
Thu 6/2: OFF
Fri 6/3: Hamels @ Jeff Karstens
Sat 6/4: Halladay @ Charlie Morton
Sun 6/5: Lee @ James McDonald
Mon 6/6: Oswalt vs. Ted Lilly
Tue 6/7: Worley vs. Jon Garland
Wed 6/8: Hamels vs. Hiroki Kuroda
Thu 6/9: Halladay vs. Cubs A
Fri 6/10: Lee vs. Cubs B
Sat 6/11: Oswalt vs. Cubs C
Sun 6/12: Worley vs. Cubs D
Mon 6/13: OFF
That works. And Lee Oswalt Hamels Halladay Lee is a good way to rack up the wins in this easy stretch.
Also, Halladay vs. Morton is amusing.
by philsandthrills on May 30, 2011 5:36 PM EDT up reply actions
Shockingly, Morton’s actually been pretty good this year. A lot better than Livan, for one. But he has that huge lefty/righty split that we should be able to exploit.
If you haven’t heard, taco, Morton’s tried to remake his mechanics to look just like Halladay.
Should be funny if that happens.
Are we going to have a LHV game thread? Not sure why CSN is airing it, but I’ll probably keep it on.
by philsandthrills on May 30, 2011 5:39 PM EDT up reply actions
keeps getting opportunities he hasn’t earned. Ricky Bo is like the Kyle Kendrick of TV analysts.
We are the Phightin' Irish
by Veni Vidi Vici on May 30, 2011 5:42 PM EDT up reply actions
What, you don’t want to hear constant griping about how Michael Schwimer isn’t performing as well as a major league veteran would?
I want to see Ryne Sandberg. I’ll probably watch just for the chance to see that.
by philsandthrills on May 30, 2011 5:45 PM EDT up reply actions
Woah. I want to see Bozied go deep a couple of times of Teheran.
Also, glad to get the chance to see Bonine’s knuckler.
As another note, CSN is airing another LHV game on Thursday.
by philsandthrills on May 30, 2011 5:50 PM EDT up reply actions
It seems like Teheran might be getting a tad lucky this year. His rate stats are good but not awesome, and he’s given up zero homers despite apparently not being a groundball pitcher. Yet his ERA is below 2.
Well, so long as the Braves don’t trade him at a higher value, I could really care less. It’ll just leave the Braves fans disappointed when he comes up and gives up runs.
by philsandthrills on May 30, 2011 6:09 PM EDT up reply actions
Oh, absolutely. I don’t know what Atlanta’s doing to find all these pitchers, but man have they done it well. Thankfully, their low budget helps neutralize the advantage of home-grown pitching discounts.
by philsandthrills on May 30, 2011 6:13 PM EDT up reply actions
If they send him down doesn’t he have to stay down for 10 days[you seem to have him pitching on day 9 by my reckoning]? I can’t find any stories to suggest Worley was sent down(he’s still on the phillies.com 25-man roster), where are people getting this from?
It was first reported by CSN, and then by all the writers.
by philsandthrills on May 30, 2011 5:53 PM EDT up reply actions
I think the fact that Ricky Bo speculated that Worley was sent down for his “disparaging comments” probably tops the list of idiotic post game comments this year. And that’s saying something.
by philsandthrills on May 30, 2011 5:59 PM EDT up reply actions
one game they could play is to DL Gload when Victorino returns which would allow them to recall Worley at the same time[send a pitcher down for Victorino’s spot/alternatively they could go a pticher light in the bullpen for a couple of days and wait to DL Gload] thereby bypassing the 10-day rule. The only problem with that is that Gload has remained a reasonably productive PH despite his injury.
And that Gload will not get better from being placed on the DL, thus making it highly likely that this move would be a tactical wrong.
Offense, offense, where are you?
"afoul"
Or does “run a fowl” make some sense to you?
lmao
The Good Phight, Big Black Kids, fun!
by FuquaManuel on May 30, 2011 10:31 PM EDT up reply actions
Is Blanton any better? Does anyone know or is this “compartmentalized knowledge”? Would he figure in on this?
This is my Cerberus .sig, while the regular one is on the DL.
Yeah I totally see why they would want to skip the #5 starter. With the Pirates coming into town and all.
We are the Phightin' Irish
by Veni Vidi Vici on May 30, 2011 5:36 PM EDT up reply actions
I suspect that it has more to do with wanting Worley to rebuild his confidence coming off his bad start than it does with the upcoming opponents.
I was actually being sarcastic.
We are the Phightin' Irish
by Veni Vidi Vici on May 30, 2011 5:39 PM EDT up reply actions
speaking of that bullpen
do you poop on parties professionally, or do you just do it as a hobby?
by CoburnsCuddleBuddy on May 30, 2011 5:14 PM EDT reply actions
Nice recap
Always nice to read the ones after wins. Just realized today’s game makes the one-third mark for the season. Two pitchers with 7 wins so far. Offensive stats are going to be way down compared to the last few years, but if you’re on pace to win 102 games you can’t complain too much.
by phillyinportland on May 30, 2011 5:14 PM EDT reply actions
This is what makes Doc such a great pitcher: that he finds a way to focus and escape jams even without his best stuff. Halcyon days, my friends.
What kind of plane is it? Oh, it's a big pretty white plane with red stripes, curtains in the windows and wheels and it looks like a big ol' Tylenol.
He also thinks the Phils could get David Wright. I’d like the name of Ricky’s pharmacologist.
What kind of plane is it? Oh, it's a big pretty white plane with red stripes, curtains in the windows and wheels and it looks like a big ol' Tylenol.
I’m guessing you can find him on a corner in south st.
We are the Phightin' Irish
by Veni Vidi Vici on May 30, 2011 5:29 PM EDT up reply actions
Dr. Jack Kevorkian
Ricky Bo is actually a reanimated corpse
According to Charlie, Utley being removed in the 9th today had nothing to do with an injury, in case anyone was worried.
The Good Phight, Big Black Kids, fun!
That’s actually… encouraging. I don’t completely understand the logic, but the fact that he’s rest him at all is great.
by philsandthrills on May 30, 2011 5:34 PM EDT up reply actions
In fairness, that ground ball back to the mound was great luck. If Halladay caught it cleanly, maybe Cora gets back to 3rd and we end up with 1 out, runners on 2nd and 3rd (instead of 1st and 2nd). If it bounced further away from Halladay and we got bases loaded nobody out, then we would have been f’d.
Nats
Are 4-13 since taking 2 from Atlanta and two from Florida earlier this month. They have lost 10 of those games by 1 run. That’s pretty astounding. Apparently a lot of basic mistakes on the bases, etc…
that simple base running error (you NEVER go on contact from 3B with 1 out. You wait to see where the ball is hit). Sums that statistic up. Alex Cora stands still it’s a different ballgame.
There were no outs and a runner on first when Cora went on contact
If Cora stands still and Halladay fields the ball cleanly, it’s a 1-6-3 DP and everyone is wondering why he didn’t score. Running there makes the pitcher make an instant choice between going home for one out but leaving two on, or conceding the run and getting two outs.
The only thing that was slightly discouraging to me was the fact that Bastardo was utilized as a LOOGY. He’s far more than that.
by philsandthrills on May 30, 2011 5:38 PM EDT reply actions
I think it’s just a waste of a good pitcher though. In a close game like that, it’s a bit silly to waste an arm.
by philsandthrills on May 30, 2011 5:42 PM EDT up reply actions
Maybe another way to look at it
Is that he can multitask? also reading comments etc, it’s pretty clear ha Charlie and dubee have little faith in Romero right now. No way he was getting involved in a 1 run game.
padres 3, braves 2 (10)
Ha, just when we were talking about how well George Sherrill had been pitching this year.
I saw that and smiled. He did strike out two batters, but gave up a homer regardless.
by philsandthrills on May 30, 2011 5:43 PM EDT up reply actions
talk radio follies, holiday weekend edition
1. I heard Hugh Douglas say that in a perfect world (i.e. ignoring contract considerations), he’d rather have Jose Reyes as the Phillies’ starting 2B than Chase Utley. I know Reyes is younger and all, but come on, Hugh.
2. I was pretty tired when I heard this so I could have misunderstood, but I think I heard one host throw out the question “who do you want to see leave when Victorino comes back from the DL,” and I think I heard a caller say his first choice was Ibanez. The host did not agree but he took the suggestion very seriously.
Yeah. The discussion started out as how the Phillies should re-sign Jimmy. The other co-host was saying he’d rather have Jimmy than Reyes. (I agree, not because I think Jimmy is a better player, but because I think he’s more cost-effective, plus there’s some value to continuity.) Then Douglas was like, yeah but Reyes is fast, I’d still like to have him. So they were like, well if you have Jimmy at SS, where are you going to put him, 2B? Would you rather have him than Utley? And Douglas said yes.
Hugh Douglas vs. Ricky Bo, UFC style. I’d pay.
What kind of plane is it? Oh, it's a big pretty white plane with red stripes, curtains in the windows and wheels and it looks like a big ol' Tylenol.
Totally agree on Rollins. WAR/salary is going to be much better with him than Reyes. Plus I don’t think the Phils/RAJ want to put up with any perceived “headaches” these days (e.g., sign Ibanez, dump Myers). The likelihood of the Phils signing Reyes IMO is zero.
This is my Cerberus .sig, while the regular one is on the DL.
I ended up making my first and last call to 97.5 after hearing that. There was yelling that Brown should be the odd man out. Goddammit.
"I remember being three and I wanted to be a baseball player, that's all I ever really wanted to be. That and Spider Man." -Raul Ibanez
by Jose and the Contrarians on May 30, 2011 9:52 PM EDT up reply actions
Lol thats just stupid. Send Martinez down. He’s pointless right now. I dont care if he’s not on this team.
Atleast people want to be on our bandwagon
Making sure Brown gets reps and can work on his D is more important than anything at this moment.
"I remember being three and I wanted to be a baseball player, that's all I ever really wanted to be. That and Spider Man." -Raul Ibanez
by Jose and the Contrarians on May 30, 2011 10:32 PM EDT up reply actions
Maybe, but either way, he can “get reps and work on his D” as the regular RF more productively than he can in LHV.
Does he really offer that much upside over Ben Francisco at this point?
"I remember being three and I wanted to be a baseball player, that's all I ever really wanted to be. That and Spider Man." -Raul Ibanez
by Jose and the Contrarians on May 30, 2011 11:36 PM EDT up reply actions
Yes. He’s faster, has a much much better arm, and has a better average at the moment. Brown is currently on a 5 game hitting streak. I like Francisco off the bench better than I do starting. We dont have to send any of these guys down anyway right now if we dont want to. They could just swap Gload and Victorino on the DL. Brown is only gonna get better by playing in the Majors. I feel like he’s learned all he can learn from playing in the minors.
Atleast people want to be on our bandwagon
Albert Pujols is really costing himself a lot of money
He’s not even slugging .400. A whopping .394 SLG on the year.
by philsandthrills on May 30, 2011 6:02 PM EDT reply actions
Okay, so like I said, he’s not slugging over .420.
Only .411 on the year.
by philsandthrills on May 30, 2011 6:46 PM EDT up reply actions
Mike Morse has a 1.141 OPS in 54 AB’s this month.
Jose Reyes, obviously.
Mike Stanton.
Ramon Hernandez.
And lastly, Jon Jay.
by philsandthrills on May 30, 2011 6:29 PM EDT up reply actions
Anabolic steroids help you recover faster from the work-outs necessary to develop strength and speed or whatever athletic attributes. In a nutshell, you can train more than what your body can normally tolerate. This state, however, can be achieved naturally, it’s called a super compensation phase and it’s how athletes makes gains. When you train, your body will, during the recovery phase, replenish, rebuild and repair the energy stores, chemicals and tissues consumed or damaged during training. If you train hard enough to cause a large enough deficit , the body compensates by overshooting the initial levels maintained before the work-out. The excess provides the physiological means to do more work. Now, in a given training cycle, it is impossible to sustain this super compensation phase indefinitely because different body systems recover at different rates. Training at the new level during this period of varying physiological adaptation can lead to overtraining which eventually, if not stopped, promotes maladaptation (loss of skills) and/or injury. Anabolic steroids are used by athletes to overcome this by artificially accelerating the recovery process despite the regulatory and protective measures the body enacts to maintain optimal internal conditions.
So while it may not necessarily translate into better performance be it from bad luck, lack of statisical significance or improper training – new muscle must be trained for sport – that doesn’t change the fact that you have been artifically afforded the opportunity to perform better on a purely physiological level.
I obviously have no clue about Bautista, except that every person who’s done stuff like this in the last 15 years has had “help.” We even worried about Raul until we realized he is even streakier than PtB!
This is my Cerberus .sig, while the regular one is on the DL.
Tyson Gillies
Had a rehab game in XST today.
by philsandthrills on May 30, 2011 6:32 PM EDT reply actions
So what did Ricky Bo say about Worley? What did the guy supposedly say?
And if Worley has to go down to Lehigh Valley after one bad start…?? Where’s the sense in that?
from csnphilly link above
“We want him to go down and get back to where he was when he was throwing the ball real good," manager Charlie Manuel said. "We want him to get stretched out."
Worley took the news in stride. He admitted that he was not where he needed to be physically.
"I need to go down and get some more innings," he said. "I’m fine with it. I know what I need to work on and I’ll be back in a couple of starts. I need to get my pitch count up and get deeper into games. I also need to work on a secondary pitch other than a changeup.
"They told me they’d see me shortly, that I was part of this team."
After his start against the Reds (the one that the Phillies lost when Bruce doubled off Madson in the 9th), Worley was quoted as saying something like he had gotten tired in the 5th inning and that this was probably because he had been pitching in relief for a while. A few of the usual suspects tried to make a big deal about this, how he was “making excuses” or “complaining” etc. Your typical talk radio b.s. Overall, I think the reaction was actually pretty muted, but it was discussed enough to be the lazy man’s easy go-to theory if he wants to generate a controversy out of this demotion. And Bottalico is the world’s laziest man when it comes to his critical thinking capabilities.
Madson’s Pussassin meter STARTS at Anton Chigurh. Also, nice to see D-Brown’s production pick up. It’s about time people start seeing what he’s capable of.
If that’s where it starts, where does it end? Stalin?
by Phrozen on May 30, 2011 11:28 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Great to see the Phils come back yet ANOTHER time to get the W. I think the Phils will only add two or three strikes to the loss column over the next 15 games vs below .500 teams. Also it’s awesome that Brown is now hitting .310 on the season. He should be our permanent starting right feilder but not for a few more weeks. On an unrelated note I predict the Phils will have atleast two 20 game winners this season. Hamels looks like he’s on his way.
Atleast people want to be on our bandwagon
unfortunately, he’s not had a corresponding hot streak on defense…
according to Fangraphs, his defense all by itself pushes the Phillies from slightly above average as a team to well below average as a team… if that sounds like too much, looking at the details, I see they show him as having not made 12 plays in his zone that an average left-fielder would have made. That sounds about right, actually. Brutal.
I really think it does sound like too much. Ibanez isn’t a good outfielder by any means, but I find a -39 UZR/150 to be totally implausible. he’d have to be basically immobile.
by perfectdepth on May 31, 2011 9:10 AM EDT up reply actions
Great W for the phightens. Did everyone else enjoy watching Werth swing through a belt-high fastball in a huge spot as much as I did? I like Jayson and all, but his tendency to swing through that same pitch every time in huge spots was maddening when he was here. It was great seeing Doc use it to his advantage today. Very nice way to kick off the series. Can’t wait for tomorrow
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