Phillies Nation

Washington Nationals (34-36) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (35-37)

Gio Gonzalez (3-3, 3.40) vs. Kyle Kendrick (6-4, 3.76)

TIME: 7:05, Citizens Bank Park
TV: CSN
WEATHER: 72, clear
MEDIA: Facebook or Twitter

Chase Utley is playing at Reading tonight. More good news, the Phillies can sweep the Nats with a win tonight.

It’s up to Kyle Kendrick to bounce back from a terrible start in Colorado over the weekend. We’ll see if he’s trending down or if it was the Rocky Mountain air.

With one mroe RBI, Michael Young will hit 1,000 for his career – a nice milestone. If/when he gets there, he’ll be the 242nd player in MLB history.

Lineup: Revere CF, Young 3B, Rollins SS, Howard 1B, Brown LF, D. Young RF, Frandsen 2B, Ruiz C, Kendrick P

Gameday Beer: Elysian The Wise ESB

Last night we went with Loser from Elysian, which has a bit of a bittery taste for a pale ale. Tonight’s brew is an extra-special bitter. The Wise ESB Pours reddish-copper with a thin, creamy beige head. Subtle smells of caramel, honey, citrus and grassy floral hops entice while the taste delivers a pleasantly bold hop flavor against a very strong malt backbone. Well-balanced and delicious. Grill some chicken and pop some brussel sprouts in the pan, and enjoy tonight’s game. -PG

GO PHILLIES!

(AP)

The Phillies have announced that Chase Utley will begin a rehab assignment in Reading tonight. Utley has been out since May 20 with an oblique/rib cage injury.

Before going to the DL, Utley hit .272/.339/.475 with 7 homers and 25 RBI. With Ben Revere and Michael Young hitting their stride, the addition of Utley – which could be as early as this weekend – should strengthen the top of the order, adding to it another on-base guy.

It’s my own speculation he’ll be back this weekend, but you’d think with the way Carlos Ruiz was handled – playing in just two rehab games – the same will likely hold true with Utley. The Phillies finish up with the Nationals tonight and will look to sweep, but they also get the Mets this weekend, which is a winnable series.

Washington Nationals (34-35) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (34-37)

Ross Detwiler (2-4, 3.02) vs. Cliff Lee (8-2, 2.55)

TIME: 7:05, Citizens Bank Park
TV: CSN
WEATHER: 70, rain
MEDIA: Facebook or Twitter

After a walkoff win by Domonic Brown yesterday, more good news. Carlos Ruiz is back. But more bad news, too. The rain is staying, the game is delayed to start, and the showers will likely last all evening. They should play ball tonight.

Some things: Cliff Lee hasn’t allowed more than three earned runs in a game since May 1. The Nationals are 27th in MLB in runs scored. Good math.

Ben Revere is batting .324 since may 1, third among all centerfielders behind only Mike Trout and Andrew McCutchen. Nice.

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

Gameday Beer: Loser Pale Ale

Funny name, and maybe not apropo after last nights victory. However, this beer is quite tasty. I had a bottle over the weekend, and while it’s not my favorite, it’s definitely one I’ll try again. Loser is made by Elysian. Says one beer advocate commenter: Overall: In basketball players who don’t really fit into any one position but can do a few different things well enough are known as “tweeners” and this is a tweener beer. The Andre Iguadola of beers perhaps? Nice.  -PG

GO PHILLIES!

Carlos Ruiz has been activated from the disabled list, sending Steven Lerud back to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. We haven’t seen much of Chooch this season, due to the 25-game suspension to begin the year.

In 16 games this season, Ruiz is hitting .235 with no home runs, just two RBI, and an OPS of .560. However, with Erik Kratz still weeks away from a return, he’s a better option than Humberto Quintero behind the plate. Let’s hope Chooch can find that stroke right out of the gate.

Ruben Amaro mentioned that Chase Utley could soon be heading out on a rehab assignment. But the way Chooch quickly returned, the same could hold true for Utley. Look for him to play one or two rehab games tops before rejoining the Phillies.

AP Photo.

Prior to Monday’s Phillies/Nationals tilt at Citizens Bank Park, GM Ruben Amaro Jr. spent nearly 20 minutes discussing various topics including the health of Chase Utley and Carlos Ruiz, the return of John Lannan, and the comments made by Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels over the past week or so. It felt as though no stone had been unturned.

The most poignant remarks came when discussing the possibility of trades and if the Phillies could to the model the Boston Red Sox. If you remember last season, the Sox were able to unload three high-priced veterans to the Los Angeles Dodgers; Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, and Josh Beckett.

When asked if they could follow that path, Amaro said this:

“It’s a little different in their case. They had players at the major league level with large contracts that people still wanted. That may not be the case for us.”

With so much talk of Cliff Lee and Jonathan Papelbon being two likely candidates to move at or near the trade deadline, this quotation stands out.

Continue reading Did Amaro Take Shot at Howard?

Washington Nationals (34-34) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (33-37)

Dan Haren (4-8, 5.70) vs. John Lannan (0-1, 6.14)

TIME: 7:05
TV: CSN
WEATHER: 78, partly cloudy, chance of rain
MEDIA: Facebook or Twitter

After a brutal road trip, the Phillies return to the bank and will face the Washington Nationals for the first time this season. They trail the Nationals by 2 games in the NL East and the Braves by 8.5 games. So, here is an opportunity for the Phillies to leapfrog back into second place. First place is clearly a different story…

Ruben Amaro spoke to media and voiced his frustrations with the team, but also placed blame on himself. However, he gave the old cliche that they aren’t giving up and they aren’t blowing it up.

The good news for the Phillies is that the Nationals have scored 237 runs, tied for the second fewest in baseball. The bad news is that the Phillies can’t really score enough to get past most teams, so it may not even matter.

Lineup: Revere CF, Young 3B, Rollins SS, Howard 1B, Brown LF, D. Young RF, Frandsen 2B, Quintero C, Hamels P

Gameday Beer: Leinenkugel Summer Shandy

You will undoubtedly be refreshed by this summer beer from Leinenkugel. Don’t let the haze of the pour keep you away, it’s got fruity notes that will tickle the taste buds. Yeah, I went there. I wouldn’t suggest drinking a whole six pack by yourself, but one or two of these will do the trick as an aside from your normal beer routine. -PG

GO PHILLIES!

PHOTO: AP

Which Phillie(s) should make the National League All-Star team?  How would you feel about Domonic Brown potentially participating in the 2013 Home Run Derby?  And lastly, do you have any problem with the Phillies organization asking fans to vote for ALL of the team’s position players, or with fans that vote only for Phillies players?

Eric Seidman: Cliff Lee and Domonic Brown should make the All-Star team from the Phillies, with Jonathan Papelbon being a potential selection as well, as the game means something and there are few closers better. A pitching staff with Chapman, Kimbrel and Pap at the back end would be awfully intimidating. I would have no issue with Brown participating in the home run derby, as my own studies have shown that there is no such thing as ‘the home run derby effect’. Though many Phillies fans will swear that the HRD messed up Bobby Abreu‘s swing, there is no conclusive evidence to suggest that the derby really impacts player performance moving forward. My personal take on voting is to vote for whoever you want, with the current understanding that if the Phillies somehow made it to the World Series, the All Star Team would be better suited to provide home field advantage if other team’s players were on it.

Ian Riccaboni: There are three no-brainers and one fringe candidate right now, which is kind of strange for a team under .500 but speaks to how top-heavy the talent is. Cliff Lee is a true Cy Young candidate and should absolutely be in the All-Star game, as should closer Jonathan Papelbon. Dom Brown, the NL leader in HR, should be in the game as well. Finally, Kyle Kendrick is on the periphery but likely doesn’t get in. He’s 19th in ERA and 29th in FIP in the NL so he should be in the mix but ultimately shouldn’t get in.
Continue reading Writers Roundtable: How Many All Stars?

(AP Photo)

Domonic Brown is not taking walks. Nobody seems to mind. Brown’s power has been off the charts, obviously, as he leads the National League in home runs. How is he doing it? A few ways.

According to Fangraphs, Brown is getting balls inside the zone at a rate two percent less than the average major leaguer. However, the percentage of pitches inside the strike zone that he’s swinging at is more than 11 percent better than average. What’s that say? Well, that Brown’s got a solid eye and is whaling on his pitches.

Outside of the strike zone, Brown is swinging at more pitches than the mean. The average MLB’er hacks at 29.9 percent of pitches outside the strike zone, while Dom swings at 33.6 However, with the keen eye he has shown this year, he actually has connected on 70.2 percent of those balls, whereas the rest of the league makes contact at 66.3 percent.

So, not only is Domonic Brown burying mistakes left out over the plate, but he’s using his confidence and plate coverage ability to destroy pitches out of the zone too. He’s seeing less than usual inside the zone, but is making just about everyone pay when it the baseball is in that area.

This is the evolution of Domonic Brown. He’s always had solid plate discipline, which previously meant a good amount of walks and solid OBP without tearing the cover off the ball. Now, the difference is his plate discipline is still present, despite the lower walk rate and OBP. Dom’s discipline has morphed into solid plate coverage, and he’s benefiting greatly from it.

On a beautiful Wednesday afternoon, the Phillies beat the Marlins, 6-1, finally getting back to the .500 mark with a sweep. They’re back level ground for the first time since they were 6-6. It’s also the first time the Phils have won four straight games.

As my colleague Corey Seidman pointed out via twitter, the Phillies have scored at least six runs in four consecutive games for the first time since late September 2010.

Lucky #7

-In the seventh inning, the Phillies broke it open. They scored five in the frame, busting through with a Jimmy Rollins RBI single to start. Ryan Howard brought home two runs with his first triple since April 22, 2011. The Big Piece needed a big hit, and he got one.

-Not to be outdone was Man of the Year, Domonic Brown. He launched a two-run Dom Bomb into the seats in right for his 18th home run of the season. Brown was in a quick 0-for-8 “slump” just before he exploded for another homer. Wow, what more can you say.

-John Mayberry Jr. got the first hit of the day off of Jacob Turner in the second inning, a smoked single to left field. Erik Kratz continued his hot streak, getting the Phillies on the board one batter later.  With his second inning RBI-double, Kratz now has hits in 9 of the last 10 games.

Hamels Back in Top Form

-Hamels line: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 11 K, 1 HR, 1 HBP. His ball-to-strike ratio was impressive, throwing 81 of his 108 pitches for strikes. The issue had been, of course, run support. In his first three starts against the Marlins, the Phillies offense provided him with one, zero, and one run. It was slightly better today as the Phillies gave him six just before he left the game.

-It was the 23rd time in his career Hamels struck out 10 or more batters in a game, and the third time this season.

-Hamels allowed a fourth inning home run to Derek Deitrich, which tied the game at 1-1. It was a cutter, a pitch that Hamels has grappled with this season. Going into the game, Hamels had thrown 223 cutters, four of them leaving the yard (make that five with this one).

-Home plate umpire John Hirschbeck left the game in the seventh inning after taking a pitch off his right hand. It was a scary scene as he went down in a heap; Jim Reynolds replaced him.

Speaking for the first time since shoulder surgery, Roy Halladay reiterated his desire to play again this year. And by his account, the rehab process is going well enough that he should be able to achieve that.

It’s still a long process and there could be bumps in the road. Halladay stated the surgery was what they thought it would be, no more, and that he’s currently doing leg exercises and arm strengthening six days a week. However, there is no timetable for a return as they take it “week by week.”

What’s intriguing is that he says his shoulder’s range of motion is as good as it was several years ago. In fact, just five days after surgery, it had improved to previous levels.

“In talking to [team physician Dr. Michael] Ciccotti, my range of motion is better than it has been in two or three years since they first saw me here,” he said. “I don’t think they have the measurements from Toronto. But since I’ve been here, the range of motion is better than it has been at any point since I been here.”

Halladay also stated that had it been the end of his illustrious career, he was at peace with whatever came his way. “Whether it was the end of my career or it turned my career around I was OK with it. I felt like I’ve done all I could do to that point, so it was out of my hands.”

Ever the competitor, Hallday’s sights are still set on one thing – a title. “The desire for me is to compete and win a world series, that will never change.” Even at perhaps one of the lowest points in his career, Halladay’s passion and enthusiasm for the game has not wavered. He still wants a title and he won’t stop until he at least tries once again to grab it.