Phillies news & links — Cameron Rupp opens his mouth about Odubel Herrera

Uggghhhhh more disappointing Phillies losing. The Phillies couldn’t figure out Charlie Morton, a pitcher who isn’t that good, and a guy they once had on their own team. But more went on in last night’s game, so read on.

Cameron Rupp has things to say about Odubel Herrera

This headline is a little disingenuous. The main thing here is that Herrera is still making some disappointing mental mistakes, like bat flipping a fly ball that was well-short of the outfield wall, or not running on a dropped strike three. (The Astros made fun of Herrera for his fly ball bat flip, and honestly, I can’t blame them because if Odubel is going to bat flip everything, including his mistakes, then he’s gotta expect teams to laugh at him for it.) Both of those things happened last night, and manager Pete Mackanin decided to pull Herrera in the sixth inning. Of course it didn’t go unnoticed by intrepid Philly.com beat writer Matt Gelb, and he got quotes from several people about Herrera and put them into this article. (All the forthcoming quotes come from there.) He talked to Charlie Morton and Derek Fisher on the Astros, and they both had positive things to say about Herrera. They know that’s how he plays the game and they don’t mind it.

And for his part, Pete Mackanin didn’t seem terribly miffed, either. Even in quotes that you read, you can tell if a guy is talking through gritted teeth. Mack doesn’t seem like he was.

“He’s a different kind of guy,” manager Pete Mackanin said. “I just have to keep him pointed in the right direction.”

And...

“Odubel does a lot for us,” Mackanin said. “He’s just a different character. We have to deal with him in a certain way. I’ll have a nice talk with him tomorrow. He’s going to be fine. He’s been doing very well for the last month or so. But he just needs a reminder.”

Those seem like the words of a manager who knows how to deal with his players. He knows that Odubel needs a reminder about what to do, so he’ll remind him and it’ll be over. Pete’s not worried. But you know who IS worried? The only Phillies player quoted in Gelb’s piece, Cameron Rupp, also known as Cameron “I’m Not Going To Be On This Team Much Longer Because Better Players Are Making Me Irrelevant” Rupp. He had some things to say about his teammate Odubel Herrera.

“Pete is the manager and what he asks us to do, we’re supposed to do,” Rupp said. “It’s a team thing and one guy can’t just not follow the rules. It’s not the first time. It has happened before and that’s something we don’t want to see. We want him in the game. He’s a good player.”

Rupp added: “It’s hard for us. He’s a grown man. He has to learn on his own. We can only say so much.”

Bye, Cameron. Just, bye. See ya.

Rupp can have an issue with how Herrera plays when he can get up to his level. So maybe don’t open your mouth about the best player on the team when you’re a few months from being shipped out of town. I have absolutely no idea if Rupp was the only Phillies player who was willing to talk to Gelb about this (and I have no idea why no other Phillies player was willing to stick up for Herrera’s style of play), but it’s telling that Gelb’s article had quotes from just one Phillies player. So enough with the public concern trolling, Cameron Rupp. It’s so, so shitty for him to talk about one of his teammates in the media like that. I’m not sure why he thinks it’s his place to comment when he’s far from innocent in the mental mistakes department, or whatever he’s upset about. So when Rupp stops sucking and passing balls for the Phillies’ young pitchers, maybe then I’ll care about what he has to say about the best player on the team and the only guy the Phillies have signed beyond this year. Until then? NOPE. BYE, FELICIA.

Matt Klentak hates Howard Eskin — he’s just like us!

This is from a few days ago, but I couldn’t resist writing it up. Since he came to Philadelphia a few years ago, GM Matt Klentak has been a bit of an enigma. A vanilla, stat-based enigma. (Kidding! But not kidding! Love you Matt!) We haven’t really gotten the chance to know him, at least not like how we got to know Ruben Amaro Jr. But earlier this week Klentak showed us that he’s just like us when he was caught on mic calling Howard Eskin (or one of the unnecessarily combative questions he asked) ridiculous. You can read the whole story on Philly.com, and it’s just so wonderful. Klentak is just like us! He thinks Howard Eskin is an idiot, too!

Larry Andersen and Jeff Bagwell are forever linked

The Hartford Courant has an article on their website about Connecticut native Jeff Bagwell and his relationship with Phillies radio broadcaster Larry Andersen, which stems from a lopsided 1990 trade. They were traded for each other, an exchange between the Red Sox and the Astros, and then Bagwell went on to become a legendary player who will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Sunday. They went out drinking recently and talked about their history. You’ve got to read the piece for a few reasons: one, it features some great quotes from Andersen and Bagwell, and two, there is a picture of mustachioed Larry Andersen that must be seen to be believed.

Tweet of the day

That’s just so sweet. We miss you, Harry.

The Astros are wrapping up their series in Philadelphia today, THANK GOD, and if you’re looking for a little more about the Kalas connection, read this article from last week about Harry’s son Todd, who is the play-by-play announcer for the Astros. It’s a great piece that tells us why Todd decided to make his mark in a different city.