Comments on: Role Players Lead Way In Refreshing Win

By: philsphan

philsphan — Tue, 06 May 2008 20:10:17 +0000

The 11 runs without hitting a homerun is really important for this team.

By: Brian

Brian — Tue, 06 May 2008 18:06:13 +0000

Contenders: Mets, D-backs, Dodgers, and Cubs are the teams I’d put up there with the Phils.

By: Don M

Don M — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:31:38 +0000

That was in response to: *** “If weâ€™re a good team we win 3 of 4, including a win vs. Brandon Webb.” ***

My point is that if we are playing this well right now, without Rollins, pretty much without Howard… imagine how good we might play when those two come around! Up until last night, people were talking about the Diamondbacks being this great team… and if we split this series, that is a good thing..if we win 3 out there, thats awesome… if we win 4… people would have to consider the Phillies a very, very strong team in the NL.

What is with everyone reading too deeply into comments on here.. the season is a marathon, not a sprint… we all know that. But its nice to know where you stand in that marathon, so you dont NEED to be the best team in baseball after the All-Star break… previous comments i’ve left on here were along the lines of, “the past few years, Phillies have taken until late May, early June to get to .500 …..even with Rollins and Howard missing…we’re still playing great baseball right now”

The whole point of these discussion boards is to get some discussion.. I was trying to find out who everyone thinks are legit contenders in the NL… if the Diamondbacks are a team that everyone thinks will be around come September (and I think we all agree they will be) if we take 2 of 4 in their park, that is a good thing… if we take 3 of 4… etc…

By: Geoff

Geoff — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:23:35 +0000

I think they need to replace condrey with a good consistent arm. that would really bolster their bullpen. they might have to go out and get one if their callups cant do it. Fabio Castro is left-handed so he should get the first trial when they call him up. You really need another lockdown guy though. and this rotion is definitely smoke and mirrors. patient hitters mash jamie moyer. i always knock jamie moyer because his success is totally dependant on the way the umpire calls the strike zone. when they make him throw the ball over the plate to get strikes he doesnt have the juice to get it past somebody. when he gets squeezed hes out of the game by the 4th inning. you cant rely on that everytime he comes up in the rotation. thats my point. theyre banking on someone whos really shaky and whos getting it done with smoke and mirrors. right now eaton is pitchin well and kendrick is on or off depending on which start it is (and will be until he gets an out pitch), myers can implode at any time or he can dominate. i dont see enough stability. its a very long season. there plenty of time for people to get better (kendrick, myers), plenty of time for people to get out of slumps (howard, feliz, jenkins). but theres also plenty of time for people to get injured and i need someone hanging around there in addition to benson who can be a astarter in major league baseball before i begin to feel secure about this. it just all feels very tenuous right now with this rotation. i need another arm or two in there thats better than what they have. give me a good lefty in the bullpen and another starter. send madson down to AAA and tell him not to come back until he learns a new pitch and send condrey down.

By: Brian

Brian — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:59:36 +0000

The only thing that concerns me is Flash. Madson is a guy I still believe in, but I think of him as always been a work-in-progress. With the bats, it might not matter.

By: Bruce

Bruce — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:50:24 +0000

Don M~
I was amused by your comment (“…Theyâ€™re a good team (Phillies) if they win 2â€¦a very good team if they win 3â€¦ and probably the NL favorite if they win all 4…”) regarding the series in Arizona. It’s the first week of May and you’re using the Phillies success (or lack of success ) vs Arizona as a barometer to evaluate the team’s worth? Come on! I think we can get a better idea of how good this team may be when Rollins is back and healthy; when Howard starts producing; if Lidge, Gordon & bullpen continues their success; the stability and consistency of the starting rotation remains effective. These are important factors yet to be determined until at least the All-Star break.

By: Brian

Brian — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:50:11 +0000

Speaking of the Giants, are we going to see some paybacks for the unnecessary hit on Ruiz and beaned Utley? I sure hope so.

By: Tim Malcolm

Tim Malcolm — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:31:18 +0000

It’s nice having Moyer, especially against some of the younger teams in the NL (Arizona, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Florida, etc.) Watch him pitch well Saturday against the Giants.

By: Bruce

Bruce — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:20:21 +0000

Lewisauce~
I agree with you 100% on your opinion regarding Jamie Moyer. The ageless wonder again shows that one don’t need to throw 95 mph fastballs to have success in the majors. After all, he’s been doing it for 20+ years. Moyer is one of the most knowledgeable pitchers who use guile and deception as an art to his craft. he used this “art” to great advantage against a young and overly aggressive Arizona line-up of hitters looking for fastballs to hit. It was most entertaining to see the maestro in complete command last night. To the young detractors here, behold and appreciate what the “art” of pitching is all about the next time Moyer is on the mound. :-)

By: Brian

Brian — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:19:57 +0000

Nobody has success against Webb, he’s the best pitcher in the NL. I think we’ll see Pat & Chase do okay, but it’s never easy against him. The beauty of it is, the Phils will run the counts high and if they can tap into the bullpen, it won’t matter.

By: erik

erik — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:17:00 +0000

I know there have been ups and downs so far this season, but I see a very promising future for this club this year. By my math there are six full months of regular season baseball(apr,may,jun,jul,aug,sep). I believe the old addage goes it takes 90 wins to make the playoffs. 90 divided by 6 equals 15. So we need to have 15 wins at the end of april(already accomplished) 30 by the end of May so forth and so on. At 19 by the 6th of May everything is looking good. With a few hot streaks, Jimmy’s prediction seems very attainable. I think the Phillies are on the right pace and setting themselves up nicely right now.

Go Phils

By: Brian

Brian — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:15:09 +0000

Finally got to see the team in person, and it’s a damn exciting lineup! We’ve got the depth and character to make a legitimate run this year. Is there a better lineup in the NL? The D-Backs are solid but don’t have a closer.

By: Tim Malcolm

Tim Malcolm — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:02:39 +0000

Maybe it’s me, but don’t the Phillies have great success against Webb?

Edit: They didn’t face Webb last year, but career, Webb has just a 3.99 ERA against us, one of his worst splits.

By: Don M

Don M — Tue, 06 May 2008 15:44:09 +0000

They’re a good team if they win 2…a very good team if they win 3… and probably the NL favorite if they win all 4 (based on the fact we beat the Cubs already, and I dont know how the Cards keep winning).

Webb is the best sinker-ball pitcher in the league, maybe in all of baseball, giving him the nod of Chien-Ming Wang. Micah Owing is pretty good, but the Phillies can probably get to him.. the lefty matchup with Randy Johnson should be interesting. They should probably sit Howard, cause he’ll have no chance. Let Coste play first and hack away at the big unit’s fastballs.

By: Brooks

Brooks — Tue, 06 May 2008 15:34:31 +0000

the negativity kills me.
You are right on Lewis; the reason Moyer has been around so long is that he can still get it going like he did last night. How much more can we expect? It’s all part of the ride.
Bruntlett, Victorino, Ruiz, Feliz, Jenkins – all had multiple hit games last night. Victorino has 4 hits in his last 2 games, everyone but Howard is getting some wood. Friends, this team has not hit it’s stride yet.
Jimmy coming back, Ryan tuning in – this team make Jrolls prediction more attainable.
Pitching, please keep it up!!!

By: Mike T.

Mike T. — Tue, 06 May 2008 15:32:13 +0000

I was born a year before Myers entered the league – but I’m not a detractor by any means.

By: Lewisauce

Lewisauce — Tue, 06 May 2008 15:23:00 +0000

Forgot about Condrey. Yeah, he’s toast, at least for the foreseeable future. Won’t hurt to try one of the young guys out — certainly by Memorial day, and possibly at the end of this road trip.

By: Lewisauce

Lewisauce — Tue, 06 May 2008 15:18:38 +0000

Webb, schmebb. I don’t care if we beat Brandon Webb on Thursday or not (though if Myers is the “good Myers” again, it will be a pitching battle royale, and I love those). I would like to win the series. I don’t care if we beat their three weaker pitchers and then get silenced by Webb. I would simply like to take three of four here any way we can.

And I still don’t understand why people are surprised when Jamie Moyer pitches well. He’s not a stud, but he knows what he’s doing. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have been around for 20+ years (which I’d venture to guess is longer than many of his detractors have been alive).

And I agree with Gavin. I get the feeling Matheison’s career is over, and I can’t help feeling bad for the guy.

By: Mike T.

Mike T. — Tue, 06 May 2008 14:57:00 +0000

I’ll say it was a good win – mostly for the fact that it gave our pen a rest. As Geoff said, I won’t be fully impressed unless we touch Webb on Thursday.

If we’re a good team we win 3 of 4, including a win vs. Brandon Webb.

By: Geoff

Geoff — Tue, 06 May 2008 14:34:48 +0000

The phillies havent faced brandon webb and micah owings yet. owings can be gotten to, who knows with randy johnson. but i will only be impressed if they get to brandon webb. thats elite pitching. if they knock him around then theyve got something. they had a nice win, but they beat around the two guys competing with other for the 5th starter spot in the dbacks rotation. I still dont know how jamie moyer got through 7 innings, that lineup ought to be ashamed of themselves. the cubs knocked him out in like 3 innings. it is really amusing though, albeit painful, to watch these young hitters swing at the junky greased-up wd-40 balls that moyer throws. i mean, last night they were just taking wreckless hacks at some of these dirtballs he was throwing. moyer reminds me of the harris character in major league that has all sorts of grease and oil under his uniform to grease up his pitches.