Phillies Nation

Want to help a native Okie help his statesmen and women? Tyler Henson, infielder for the Reading Fightins, is looking for your support to do just that. Please check out this press release from the Reading Fightin Phils to see how you can help.

And you can contribute directly to the Red Cross’s Disaster Relief Fund by donating here.

Reading Fightin Phils infielder and Oklahoma native Tyler Henson and his wife Ashley will be hosting a fundraising drive on May 31 to raise money and goods for a pair of families in Moore, Oklahoma. Featuring donated items from Fightins players, the Hensons will be raffling off selected items at the May 31^st game in VIST Bank Plaza.

During the game, Ashley and Fightins staff will be manning a table in VIST Bank Plaza where autographed items including cleats, gloves, bats, and apparel will available. There will also be team autographed bats and balls up for auction.

“My wife came to me with the whole idea,” said Henson before Wednesday evening’s game.  “We’re going to try to raise as much money for these two families that we both know and see what we can do to give back to them whether it be gift cards, clothes, or anything that we can do to help them get back on their feet. If you ever lost anything, you know what it’s like to try to get it back. These people have lost homes, cars, and family pictures that they’ll never see again. All of that stuff is gone.”

Proceeds from the raffle will directly benefit the pair of families that the Hensons are close with. Continue reading Fightin Phils To Aid Oklahoma Tornado Relief Efforts

According to Chris Branch, Phillippe Aumont is headed to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Todd Zolecki states a corresponding roster move will be made Friday. Aumont has a 4.15 ERA and has his highest BB/9 IP of his career (6.92). No word on who will take his place but the Phillies could turn to either an infielder such as Cesar Hernandez (.320/.386/.456 heading into today for Lehigh Valley) to replace Chase Utley or a straight swap for a reliever like the suddenly hot Mike Stutes.

Philadelphia Phillies (22-24) at Miami Marlins (13-33)

Cliff Lee (4-2, 2.83 ERA) v. Kevin Slowey (1-4, 3.44 ERA)

TIME: 7:10, Marlins Park
TV: MyPHL 17
Weather: 79, chance of showers, expect the roof up
Media: Twitter and Facebook

The Fightin’ Phils enter tonight’s game with a shot to win yet another series. The Phils are 2-0-3 in their last five series and have posted a record of 10-8 in that time period. A win tonight and they will have been undefeated in their last six series with an 11-8 record. That record translates into a .579 winning percentage and over 93 wins across a whole season. Interesting.

Despite how inconsistent the play of the Phils has felt, the Phils quietly entered tonight’s just one game behind the Nationals (pending a result in their game against the Giants) and six behind the Braves, who disposed of Vance Worley earlier today. Cliff Lee takes the ball tonight, looking for his fourth quality start in a row and is opposed by the pride of Conroe, TX, righty Kevin Slowey.

Expect a big game out of Lee, who has held current Marlins to a .209/.248/.313 triple-slash line in 123 PA against. Marlin Catcher Miguel Oliva has two career homers off of Lee but is not in the line-up tonight for the Fish. Chase Utley is out again tonight while Ryan Howard will start in back-to-back games after receiving a cortisone shot in his knee.

Lineup: Rollins SS, Revere CF, M. Young 3B, Howard 1B, D. Young RF, Brown LF, Galvis 2B, Kratz C, Lee P

GAMEDAY BEER: Coors Light

The Fightins need Cliff Lee to be the Cliff Lee they know and love tonight in order to pick up a W. Like Lee, you always know what you are going to get when you have a Coors Light. Here is to Lee’s reliability and a solid start toinght against the Marlins! - IR

Jeff Schuler of the Allentown Morning Call has reported the following:

Josh Fields‘ bags were packed and he was getting hugs. Asked if he was heading south, said with smile, ‘Not the man to ask that question.”

— jeff schuler (@jschulermc) May 21, 2013

Dave Brundage on potential Fields move: “I can’t comment on that right now.’ Best guess: look for Howard to go to DL

— jeff schuler (@jschulermc) May 21, 2013

Connecting the dots, it appears that INF Josh Fields, who went 3-4 and was a HR away from the cycle tonight in a 14-5 IronPigs win, and not Darin Ruf will get the call if/when Ryan Howard heads to the DL. Fields entered today’s game with a .272/.340/.457 triple-slash and undoubtedly raised that tonight with an outstanding night.

We will have more as this develops.

Phils fans braced for the worst and came away with a pair of “phews”. Carlos Ruiz will miss just 3-4 weeks with a strained hamstring while Ryan Howard is day-to-day with a “bum knee“.

Ruiz has seen action in 16 games since returning from his 25-game suspension and has struggled, striking out an uncharacteristically high 16.1%, walking an uncharacteristically low 5.4%, and hitting just .235/.286/.275 in 56 PA. Ruiz left yesterday’s game in the second inning after hearing a pop in his leg. The injury was initially described as a hamstring strain. Catcher Humberto Quintero joined the team today in Miami, filling the roster spot vacated by Mike Adams‘ trip to the DL.

Howard, as reported this morning, has been amongst the worst first baseman in baseball in 2013, ranking 26th in fWAR among first baseman who would qualify for the batting title and 49th among the pool of every player to play first base this year. The lefty-slugger and former MVP is hitting just .245/.282/.430 with just 6 HR in 163 PA. Howard received a cortisone shot yesterday and will see how he responds to it.

Analysis: Will it be a blessing in disguise to having Howard out? I’m not sure I would go that far but I will say this: it is difficult to be a less-statistically relevant first baseman than Howard has been this year. Any combination of Michael Young and Darin Ruf will provide an upgrade in production over what this Ryan Howard has provided. What I won’t do is write Ryan Howard off yet – yes, he has been a declining player who has not executed the proper adjustments to remain an elite player since 2009 but it is entirely plausible that this most recent dip in production has come due to injury.

From IronPigs Media Director Matt Provence, catcher Justin Dalles has been promoted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley from Lakewood. Dalles, 24, is a 6’2 right-handed catcher who has the distinction of being one of only a handful of players ever to be drafted four times. The final occasion Dalles was drafted was as a sixth rounder in 2009 by the Baltimore Orioles, whose farm system was led by current farm director Joe Jordan.

When I spoke to Joe Jordan in January at the Reading Fightins awards banquet, I asked if the recently-signed Dalles had a chance to compete for a starting role in the organization. Jordan responded by identifying Dalles as a player to watch this year in the Phillies’ minor league ranks. Dalles has an athletic frame behind the plate and a strong throwing arm – he has thrown out 31% of the runners that have attempted to steal on him professionally. He has hit only .228/.293/.334 across his minor league career, but excels at finding gaps with doubles.

Dalles is anticipated to be Steven Lerud‘s back-up while Humberto Quintero fills in for Carlos Ruiz with the Phillies and Tommy Joseph recovers from a concussion.

Ruf could be on his way if Howard sees the DL. Photo by: Ian Riccaboni

Ryan Howard is getting a precautionary MRI on his left knee and will likely be out for Monday’s game against the Marlins. John Finger and John Gonzalez of CSNPhilly are saying Howard’s knee, according to Howard, is a day-to-day issue. Of note, however, Howard also said his knee has been bothering him since Spring Training and that it “kicked in a little bit more than normal” on Saturday.

All was going well for IronPigs’ outfielder, and part-time first baseman, Darin Ruf going into May 16. Earlier that week, he got defensive praise from the Phillies Farm Director Joe Jordan, saying “The left-field play has been very good.  It’s not a concern for me. It’s not a concern at all.” And then the bat caught fire: he was suddenly hitting .290/.367/.486 after a slow start with 12 2B and 5 HR in 138 PA heading into the morning of May 16.

It is a shame the Phillies now need a first baseman instead of an outfielder – Ruf would have fit right in. I kid.

Continue reading Time to Get Ruf?

Yesterday, the Phils walked off via back-to-back homers in the ninth inning for the first time since MLB began collecting official records in 1930. If that wasn’t unlikely enough, the Phillies who hit the two home runs were Erik Kratz and Freddy Galvis, who came into the game with 11 and five MLB homers respectively for their careers. And how about the pitcher they did it against, Aroldis Chapman? Chapman entered the game with a 2.41 ERA and 30 K in 18.2 IP and came off a 2012 where the fire-balling lefty had a 1.51 ERA with 122 Ks in 71.2 IP with a WHIP under one.

Perhaps the most remarkable feat, however, was the fact that, by winning, the Phillies had a won a series two games to one despite being outscored 8-15.

Yesterday’s game wrapped up a what can only be described as a remarkable stretch for the Phils. The Phillies have not lost a series since May 1, posting, what feels like, a pedestrian 9-7 record. Two of those losses came against the lowly Marlins, but since then, the Phillies played four teams who are a combined 27 games over .500 in what was arguably their toughest stretch of the season and posted a 7-5 mark, winning series against the Wild Card-leading Reds and the half-game-out-of-the-West Giants and split with the first place Diamondbacks and Indians.

Coming off possibly the low-point of the season, where Roy Halladay gave up nine earned runs against the lowly Fish and revealed that he was injured, the Phillies answered the bell against four teams with among the top records in baseball. Is this the stretch of the season that changes the course of the Phillies season?

Continue reading The Wild and Crazy 2013 Phillies

According to all the usual suspect beat writers and the Phillies, LHP Raul Valdes has been optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley and RHP B.J. Rosenberg has been called to take his place. Valdes was at best mediocre in 2013 and at worst completely ineffective, with a 7.65 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP, allowing 10.8 H/9 IP.

Rosenberg, 27, has been mildly effective as a starter this year for the IronPigs, going 1-3 with a 4.30 ERA in seven starts. As Matt Provence points out, Rosenberg was sharp in his most recent start, picking up the win after seven scoreless innings pitched on 5/12 against Durham.

The Phillies have agreed to terms with RHP Carlos Zambrano. The deal was first reported by Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal and is a minor league contract. Speculation heated up yesterday that Zambrano may have been signed by the Phillies because he had come to terms with the independent Long Island Ducks but had not yet been added to their roster.

Zambrano was 7-10 with a 4.49 ERA in 35 appearances (20 starts) for the Miami Marlins last season.

Analysis: Zambrano, 31, has three top-5 Cy Young award finishes but none since 2007 and has had rapidly decreasing K/9 IP rates and rapidly increasing BB/9 IP rates as detailed in our piece The Phils and Zambrano? Ugh. 

I am more than willing to admit my mistakes, and am currently willingly eating my words regarding Michael Young, however, Zambrano is not a good fit right now for the Phillies and isn’t worth a minor league flyer. No word on if he’ll be reporting to Reading or Lehigh Valley, but it is likely he will be an IronPig to start his Phillies organizational tenure.