Comments on: Commentary: All The Cracks Are There To See

By: Trent Holvick

Trent Holvick — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 18:13:21 +0000

Listen everyone…..u cant get worked up about how the fightin phills are playin right now… every season for the last 4 seasons the Phillies always hit a rough patch around interleague play. It is definitley painstaking to watch but we need to keep our heads up and keep supporting the FIGHTINS…..Once this interleague bullshit is over we’ll be fine..

By: j reed

j reed — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 07:20:22 +0000

i think the inconsistencies of the offense is one of the downsides of Charlie’s policy of players policing themselves….however tonight after the game, Charlie acknowledged this and suggested he’s close to intervening if this slide continues. I guess with this player oriented approach and a WS title, enforcing plate discipline might be difficult for Milt Thompson, but when you see a line-up that boasts 2 mvp batters, a second baseman that you could mistaken for a first baseman by his power numbers, 2 switch hitters, Ibanez, 5 basestealers with pop and that bats half its games in HR friendly park look like minor leaguers unable to hit a steady diet of curveballs, something has to be done. And it seems like one or two guys will take alot of pitches only to be followed up by someone who goes down on 3 junk pitches….In short, no team game plan at the plate….Did we not take anything away from watching the Red Sox bat?

By: Don M

Don M — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 21:05:09 +0000

for what its worth.. Rollins saw a ton of pitches yesterday

By: Phillie South

Phillie South — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 20:56:04 +0000

Tim has described what is happening all through baseball. The lack of fundamentals is appalling. I can’t tell you how tired I am of seeing .250 hitters who think they can “rake” swinging at first pitches. Walks don’t get you on Sportscenter. Which gets me to a real pet peeve.

What do hitting coaches do? With all the at bad at bats you see what are they telling these guys? And how are they held accountable for knuckleheads who couldn’t work a pitcher or a count if their careers depended on it.

By: Don M

Don M — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 20:44:22 +0000

I should have said,

Who gets in fights at Weekday Games at the New Stadium when its against a non-rival team..

Turns out it two girls fighting.. and that turned into something more..

TRASH fans.. I guess the Wings Lacrosse season is over.. and these people can’t hold themselves until Eagles training camp opens..

By: cas

cas — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 19:59:19 +0000

To Don M:
“Who gets into fights at baseball games?” How long have you been going to Phillies’ games? Don’t you remember the 700 level at the Vet?

By: Don M

Don M — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 18:09:23 +0000

they said last week that Condrey is injured (back?) .. but he’s trying to battle to help the team.. Condrey is last year’s Durbin at this point..

Romero needs to throw some F-ing STRIKES.. that would help more than anything else right now!

By: JeffR

JeffR — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:56:43 +0000

I’m not a big Coste fan, but you can’t blame him for the Barajas HR. He was practically standing up asking for it high and inside. Madson threw it over the plate and not high enough, but Madson is the least of our worries. Park should have been left in the game , not taken out just because a lefty was coming up. That’s what he’s for-multiple innings. That created JC being in too early and then Condrey for too long. Well, 2 batters is too long as far as I’m concerned for Condrey. He’s got nothing.

By: Morris Buttermaker

Morris Buttermaker — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:34:30 +0000

Great column. Agree with every point. I am sick of watching it to. It is like watching the same movie over and over and hoping for a different ending.

And our pitching staff does need help. We currently have a 1 who has been pitching like a 2 recently. 2 number 3′s, and 2 number 5′s. That is not going to cut it. Hamels is the only pitcher who I really expect to pitch 5 innings. I am not surprised if one of the other 4 does not complete 5 innings.

By: Don M

Don M — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:27:16 +0000

Don’t our games against the Cardinals, Dodgers, Yankees, RedSox, etc.. count the same as the games against the Nationals, etc..

I still can’t believe Dobbs’ “Foul Ball or HR” against the RedSox didn’t get reviewed.. but showed we can hang with them..

A couple blown saves by Lidge was the difference between splits or sweeps against Dodgers and Yankees..

By: Chuck

Chuck — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:09:23 +0000

Doesn’t make sense to strictly platoon Mayberry with Werth. they’re both RH bats that hit for about the same power and avg (or at least it appears that’s going to be the case). What needs to happen is Mayberry being a 4th outfileder that gets 1, maybe 2 starts a week, giving any other three regular outfielders a rest….and Werth can play all 3 OF positions… so Charlie has the flexibility there.

By: Despite Mets Struggles, Some Phils Fans Still in Fear | Mike Silva's New York Baseball Digest

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:01:18 +0000

[...] Phils Fans Still in Fear By Mike Silva ~ June 19th, 2009. Filed under: Mike Silva. I came across this commentary from Phils Nation (good find by the guys at Amazin Avenue). You could replace the team and players names and you [...]

By: Evan

Evan — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:59:50 +0000

The Phils probably have the second best record in the NL because their schedule was front-loaded with plenty of games against the Nats. They aren’t bad but considering how bad the pitching has been and how some members of the offense are good/bad from day to day, the record seems too good to be true.

That said it won’t take much to fix what’s wrong. Starting pitching is the key, the front office should be doing everything to get a good starter to help keep the pen from being so overworked. As far as the bats go, the Phils have nights where they look asleep at the plate but every team ocassionally get beaten by a pitcher having a good day or just can’t string together enough hits to get a few runs. The Phils put up enough runs to win behind a team that is pitching decently.

As for bats, Mayberry should stay up and platoon with Werth if he shows that he can hit major league pitching while he fills in for Ibanez. Werth is a RH bat with some power but isn’t hitting well for average so far this year. Mayberry is a RH bat with some power that doesn’t seem to hit well for average. Maybe a little competition for a spot can elevate one or both of the players. It would also provide a power bat from the right side on the bench. Then again neither one is particularly capable of hitting lefties… Maybe something creative like playing Werth in CF and using Ibanez and Mayberry on days the Phils face a lefty could work, though I can’t imagine Charlie doing that.

And finally, if the Phils don’t make a move for pitching soon, Carrasco is an option for taking over Moyer or Bastardo’s spot in the rotation if either one seems unreliable. Moyer is sitting on the edge of awful while Bastardo might not be able to fool hitters with one good pitch. Carrasco can’t be worse than the current options and could be an improvement. He’s no replacement for the trade that everyone should agree needs to happen, but he might make an impact in addition to any trade that is made (boot both Moyer and Bastardo).

By: Don M

Don M — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:57:47 +0000

I don’t think Bastardo is ready.. and I actually think that Long-term.. he’s a bullpen guy for his career, not a starter .. but who knows

By: Chuck

Chuck — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:53:58 +0000

The stats don’t lie, Don M….that’s for sure.

I just don’t think I can watch anymore when he pitches. Makes me crazy.

Bastardo DOES need more time to develop and for him to be the long-term 5th starter is ridiculous.

By: Manny

Manny — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:33:01 +0000

You gotta think that Jenkins would be a better piece in our bench than Bako… despite the fact he’s a lefty and nobody has picked him up.

By: Don M

Don M — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:29:54 +0000

I don’t know about you guys, I feel more comfortable with Jamie Moyer pitching than I do about Bastardo..

Before staying in too long and giving up those extra two runs on Wednesday..

his previous 5 starts:
6 Innings, 3 ER @ Mets (No Decision, Phils won 6-3)
7 Innings, 2 ER @ Dodgers (No Decision, Phils lost 3-4)
6 Innings, 1 ER vs. Nationals (Win, Phils won 4-2)
6 Innings, 4 ER vs. Marlins (Loss, Phils lost 3-5)
6 Innings, 3 ER @ Reds (Loss, Phils lost 1-5)

in his last 10 starts last season, he was 6-0, 3.55 ERA..

He’s got it in stretches.. would be nice if he avoided the blowups though

By: Chuck

Chuck — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:15:37 +0000

Brett Myers was a HUGE reason that the Phils won last year….but he’s not the only reason and there is no guarantee that he has the same kind of postseason this year. If Myers doesn’t have that Friday NLCS game vs the Dodgers at the plate and the Dodgers win that game then the whole complexity of the series changes after that game. Whi knows how the series would have ended.

By: Ben

Ben — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:11:19 +0000

I also don’t like how everyone thinks we need to trade for an ace. We don’t. At all. If we go and get someone like Marquis and just dump Moyer, we’ll be good. The Phillies are a team predicated on offense and a shutdown bullpen. I mean Hamels will settle down, Happ is pretty good, don’t look now but Blanton is getting better, and if the league adjusts to Bastardo then just bring a new pitcher up and he’ll be good for a while while the league has to adjust to him. And it’s not a definite thing that the lague is gonna adjust to Bastardo and start hitting him. Everyone is saying that just because we saw it happen to Kendrick, but for every handful of KEndricks there is a Hamels that the league never adjusts to.
Point is, the Phillies score more runs a game than any other team in their league-5.4. When you do that you don’t need a staff of aces, you just need mediocre guys. As long as your ERA is under 5.40, and as long as the Phillies patch up their pen, theoretically its a win every time with their offense. I’m not saying I wouldn’t like to have another SP or even two more, but I just don’t think its necessary and especially not at the price of raping our budding farm system. This same heap of mediocrity that we call the starting rotation won the World Series last year, and as soon as the bats start putting up 5 a game they’ll start winning again.

By: JeffS

JeffS — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:05:27 +0000

The Phils can lost 9 of 10 for all I care. Rollins can slump. Hamels can pitch a couple mediocre games. That’s no big deal. The big deal is what would the playoffs have looked like last year without Myers. It’s not a minor hole to fill, and most of those mentioned are not really available or not really playoff caliber number 2′s. Even having that hole is not the problem. The worry is the lack of a really good way to fill it.

Other holes, such as a bench player and bullpen help may work themselves out from within the organization in the course of the season.