Phillies Nation

Madson now the closer?

Why in the sam hell did they bring up Bako?

People are speculating trade talk but who wants Bako or Coste for that matter.

The Big Dipper

NJ, I guess I was in a state of denial in thinking Lidge’s problems on the mound had nothing to do with an earlier injury. Now, like you I’m looking at the organization and how they had handled the situation with Lidge. Questions have entered in my mind on when and what they knew about the seriousness of Lidge’s knee inhjury.

Bako? Hell, I would have preferred Hewitt haha… I guess this means Coste is our right handed PH now, with Bako serving as the backup C.

No this makes NO sense. Why have a ebnch weakened with Bako on it vs the Red Sox when we could have Mayberry on it. Is Mayberry injured? Why not bring up Cervenak? Ozuna? Cairo? I assume they will place Myers on the 60 DL to make room for Bako on the 40 Man.

I guess they assume Mayberry won’t benefit from a PH role? The timing on this interleague play is brutal, since Lidge will be eligibale to come off the DL on the 21st, and we leave for the American League parks on the 23rd, when we’ll need a DH, (Mayberry). In the meantime, I guess they want Mayberry getting regular playing time.

Thank Goodness!!!

I don’t think the move for Bako can be heavily criticised yet, there’s a reason for it and it’s not going to be permanent.

There’s a trend with Lidge, he had off-season knee surgery before starting his tenure with the Phils and starting on the DL meant his body and mind were on the same page. This year he was either hurt from the get-go or picked up a knock and was given a few measly days off before being thrown into non-save situations before this period of blown saves including being sent to the mound 4 straight days before the LA series.

This isn’t Lidge’s fault to me, the hardest job in baseball for a player is to win and hold the closers job. The role means the pitcher has to be 110% aggressive both on and off-the-field with no room for doubt. Of course Lidge was going to go out there and say he was fine, sure his knee was probably better but his body was clearly not on the same level as his mind and that’s why his pitches were left up, the bite on them was gone and we all know the results.

This is the one thing I criticise above all about the Phillies front-office and coaching is they play scared, with a reliever perfectly capable of a short stint closing in Madson the Phils were scared to send Lidge to the DL, just as they were scared to with Jimmy last year which is a pattern in personnel moves from trades to draft picks, to prospect promotions.

The Phils have to get over their fear of making moves and not expect to get burnt and have nothing to come back with.

Don- We are facing The MEts and Red Sox, but the Red Sox have an outstanding pen right now. We have a subpar bench. Cairo and Ozuna are both doing well in Leigh, why not bring them up. So is Cervenak. Why Bako? A 3rd catcher? It just doesn’t seem to help the team.

The bench will be very important when going agianst Santana and on Thursday with Moyer pitching, not to mention this weekend, it just seems a waste to use Bako up here when we could call up others who are actually capable of hitting the ball.

Coste hasn’t been good this yr. I would rather them just bring someone esle up who can also play the field. Just don’t like this move.

So, when Bako is sent down, does he through waivers? I am guessing we don’t have options on him.

I don’t understand this move.

Lidge’s DLing was retroactive to Sunday.

The 22nd folks it is retro-active to Sunday the 7th.

As much as I think we all have great opinions and comments, we are not “in-the-know” on what is going on in the minds of management guys and gals. Tim has the most inside scoop, but I think he will even tell you that he doesn’t get the move either because there has to be some other reasoning for this. It does not make sense on the surface, so let’s see how it plays out and not panic.

the reality is that the 25th man on the roster usually doesn’t ever play.. and when he does get that rare chance, you can’t expect great things.

People will find a reason to bitch no matter who that guy is..

Taguchi last year, Cairo this year.. Bako (a great defensive catcher)

and this move would allow Coste to swing the bat.. he often catches Moyer, so maybe Ruiz becomes a pinch-hit, defensive replacement late in that game…

I think people just like to complain, but nobody on here could do a better job than our Front Office does…

You’re right on the money Don M. The 25th man rarely comes into play.

so no Lidge for the Mets, Redsoxs, Blue Jays, and Orioles

should be interesting . . .

honestly…it’s about time…with the fact that he has pitched the way he has…it’s clear that it was a continued knee problem…hoepfully he will rest enough to heal, and he will get back to form a little after the all star break…and we doing well enough even with his blown saves that i think for the time being we can manage without him…madson has looked very good this year and many times i thought he should’ve stayed in the game for the 9th…

i think we can win these next set of games…

“The Bridge to Lidge” becomes “The Bridge to Madson County”….pow!

yes! http://mlb.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=3374429

“That’s gonna win it for the Phils! What a comeback! . . .”

Don – Please stop it. Mayberry is what he is. He can play everyday but he’s not going to become a great hitter. He’s a strikeout/HR guy. You aren’t ruining him if he plays on the bench. Donald? Maybe he’s injured but playing everyday sure hasn’t helped. Marson, same thing. Why not bring up Marson at this point? Catchers don’t play all the time anyways.

Why not Ozuna? Why not Cervenak? But a catcher who can’t hit? It would be one thing if Coste was ripping the cover off the ball, but your pathetic excuses for trying to make this move seem brilliant is nuasiating.

Why not Ozuna? Why not Cervenak? But a catcher who can’t hit? It would be one thing if Coste was ripping the cover off the ball, but your pathetic excuses for trying to make this move seem brilliant is nauseating.

You are so right, with JRoll strugging, Bruntlett hitting just as bad and Dobbs struggling, a fielder would be the LAST thing we needed to use going against our rivals. My god you are sooooo right. Good thing we have 3 catchers. I mean we could just use one every 3 innings so we don’t wear them down. Now I see the point of it all.

From another post…

That’s a very logical explanation, Dipsy. It makes a lot of sense when you consider how well Ruiz has been hitting. They don’t really wanna take the bat out of his hands right now and they would certainly rather have him behind the plate but they still want to give Coste some opportunities (the guy has been clutch at times)… bring in a 3rd insurance catcher and Coste becomes your primary RH bat. Is he our best option? Maybe not… but it’s cheap and it affords us some flexibility until we decide what we want to do (if we want to do anything). If Feliz/Ruiz keep hitting, you don’t need to worry about double switches, do you?

I say this in support of Brad – I am glad he is on the DL and getting that knee right. I just hope it is nothing worse than expected. In full support as Brad – as he is my favorite Phillie – we have shown we can win while he is out, and I just hope he returns strong and with no more blown saves.

nobody said anything about this move being brilliant (I’ll only enter this paragraph once though)

Given the options.. THEY feel that Coste is a nice option as a RH-bat.. better than Cairo, Cervanek, Ozuna, ..and Mayberry.. who at 25 years old, and with only 3 games of experience in the Majors.. is still considered a prospect. Coste is much less likely to K, and still gives some pop from the Right side… and Given the options, I’d rather have him at the plate with the game on the line than any of the other guys you mentioned.

My posts defending moves that the team makes is not because they make the greatest moves ever.. its that i see the bigger picture and realize that it was what THEY felt was the best move.

Slightly less dramatic than, “No this makes NO sense.”

…
Lou Marson is still developing his game, and working on things.. which is why they got rid of Jason Jaramillo.. so that Marson could play everyday. because a guy gets better by playing baseball.. not by watching baseball. .. that’s the same reason why Mayberry is in AAA, instead of on our bench.. he can still get better, but that won’t happen if he’s just watching..

Cairo, Ozuna, Bruntlett, Coste, etc.. are as good as they’ll ever be.. they don’t need to worry about developing these guys

it blows my mind that people don’t understand the concept of prospects needing to play everyday..

It’s one thing to not know things and ask questions.. it’s another to complain about every move the Phillies make.. and then when someone tries to explain their logic.. you pretend to know what you’re talking about, and knock the people posting on here

why not call up Drabek to stand around in the bullpen?? .. you know, as long as we aren’t worried about our prospects getting regular playing time in the minors

Amaro’s statement about Lidge said that the decision was completely that of the Phillies organization, and not Lidge’s. So basically the pain hasn’t gotten any worse for him but Charlie, Ruben, and others obviously felt that the time off would help the knee and/or his confidence.

This is a great time to make the move. We have two huge series coming up that we would like to have a healthy, confident closer for AND we gave Lidge time to try to correct it and he didn’t so now make the move.

Let’s not all jump on the “Bridge to Madson County” too quick though. We hear all the time (specifically from Wheels haha) that pitching the 9th is a totally different animal and I really believe it is true. I have faith that Madson’s stuff will get him through it, however.