Phillies Nation

The Phillies lost a pitchers’ duel on Monday in a very entertaining game that saw Cliff Lee and Bronson Arroyo throw very well and Ben Revere make one of the best catches in team history. Things fell off the rails for the Phillies in the eighth inning, however, when small ball and a defensive miscue broke the 2-2 tie and put the Reds ahead.

The Reds’ two runs in the eighth were credited to Jeremy Horst, who loaded the bases before exiting with one out. His performance drew the ire of many Phillies fans, as this isn’t the first time Horst has been plagued by poor results in a crucial moment this season. However, most of what happened was out of Horst’s control that inning and he shouldn’t even have been pitching in the first place.

In the eighth inning of an important game, with a fully rested bullpen and the starting pitcher removed, Mike Adams should be on the mound. In fact, one could argue that Adams should have been on the mound even if the Reds had a bunch of lefties due up. Adams has faced exactly 745 righties and lefties in his career and has no platoon split whatsoever. His career wOBA allowed to lefties is .260 and it’s .254 against righties. Both are exceptional numbers and, for reference, Antonio Bastardo‘s wOBA allowed to lefties was .254 in 2011-12.

Charlie Manuel said after the game that Horst was the only pitcher warming up because the Phillies trailed 2-0 heading into the eighth. That’s perfectly justifiable, but after Domonic Brown singled and the decision was made to pinch-hit with Chase Utley, Adams or Bastardo should have started warming up as at least a precautionary measure in case the Phillies tied the game or took the lead. Worst case scenario is they sit back down.

Manuel also mentioned that he was hesitant to use Adams because he had thrown in four of the last five games. Another valid point, however, it wasn’t as if Adams really overexerted himself. He threw three pitches to finish off Cliff Lee’s outing against the Mets on April 9. He threw 19 pitches on April 10 against the Mets. He threw 16 pitches against the Marlins on April 12, and another 11 pitches against the Marlins on April 13. Yes, technically, that’s four outings in five days, but we’re talking about an average of 12 pitches per game spread out over that span. These weren’t all consecutive games, and it’s highly unlikely that his arm needed more than a day to recover after throwing 11 easy pitches against Miami.

Mike Adams was signed for that type of situation, just like Jonathan Papelbon was signed for crucial late-inning situations, regardless of any other ancillary factors. The Phillies have not handled Papelbon optimally since acquiring him, and if Monday night’s game against the Reds was any indication, the team might not handle its setup man correctly either.

Horst may have given up the runs and taken the loss on Monday but he wasn’t to blame. To blame was the decision to bring him in over Adams regardless of the results. Even if Horst had thrown a 1-2-3 inning with three strikeouts on nine pitches, the right call in that situation is to use a rested and healthy Adams, as he presented the Phils with the best opportunity to keep the game tied.

Continue reading It Should Have Been Adams

Ben Revere looked like a man on a mission last night. With a pair of highlight reel catches, Revere pulled out all the stops behind Cliff Lee. Before the game, he dedicated his play to the victims of the Boston tragedy, including a taping a simple message on his glove: Pray for Boston.

For the benefit of those who missed it, here is video of Revere’s catch from last night, courtesy of MLB.com. Two of my favorite things in the video: how stunned the doubled-up Jay Bruce is and how stunned the fans in Cincinnati were! The Reds ended up getting the last laugh, winning 4-2 late, but Revere’s catch will show up on highlight reels for quite a while.

On a day filled with sadness for so many, baseball played on. On Jackie Robinson Day, and only a few hours after the horrifying explosions in Boston, the Phillies and Reds’ starters went toe-to-toe in a terrific pitcher’s duel. Unfortunately, the Phillies came up on the losing end of a 4-2 outing to the Reds.

THE CATCH

Above is one of the greatest catches I have ever seen. It might be one of the greatest any of us have ever seen. Keep your eyes on it. It’s just as incredible the 100th time you watch it as it is the first.

It’s Ben Revere laying out completely to rob Todd Frazier of an RBI and extra bases, turning a sure double into a double play.

It’s up there with the likes of Griffey, Mays, Edmonds, and some of the greatest plays ever made in center field.

As for the game itself….

Continue reading Phils Drop Pitchers’ Duel Late to Reds 4-2

New York Mets (5-3) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (3-5)

Jeremy Hefner (RHP) vs. Kyle Kendrick (RHP)

Time: 7:05 PM, Citizens Bank Park
TV: TCN, Home of Phillies Nation TV
Weather: Chance of Storms, 72
Media: Twitter and Facebook

Can they put together two in a row? Will they get the game in?! These are the questions facing the Kyle Kendrick-led Phillies tonight as they do battle with Jeremy Hefner and the Mets in what might be a thunder-storm filled night. Current Phillies have a combined 14 PA against Hefner but they are hitting .462/.500/.538 in the small sample.

LINEUP: Revere, Rollins, Utley, Howard, Young, Brown (LF), Mayberry (RF), Kratz, Kendrick.

Gameday Beer: Rolling Rock Light.
If you thought Rolling Rock goes down smooth, try a Rolling Rock Light. Grab a few cold ones, your transistor radio (or smartphone) and go sit outside to enjoy the game on this warm weekday night.

GO PHILLIES!

On paper, games are not played. On the field is where battles between pitcher and hitter are won and lost, and right now, the Phillies bullpen is doing a lot of losing.

On paper, the Phillies would seemingly have a strong bullpen, possibly one of the best in baseball. They’ve got it all; power, finesse, a nice balance of left and right. Mike Adams and Jonathan Papelbon are two solid anchors. Phillippe Aumont, Antonio Bastardo, and Jeremy Horst represent the future. Chad Durbin was acquired to provide a veteran presence.

Right now, they are lacking results.

On Friday night against the Royals, Jeremy Horst immediately had the game blown open right in his face, allowing all three inherited runners score. Those runners were provided by Kyle Kendrick, but allowed to touch home from the arm of Horst; and all with two outs. Chad Durbin’s second run with the Phillies began with an infinity ERA, but joking aside, has been a nightmare. Raul Valdes was serving batting practice to the Royals.

Through the first four games, Phillies relievers have allowed 14 runs (not including the three runs from Horst that were charged to Kendrick) in 12 innings. After a disastrous first half of 2012, especially during the eighth inning, the Phils can ill afford a repeat performance.

Many, including myself, believed that with the acquisition of Adams, a fortification of late-inning situations had been achieved. They could rely on their starters to give them six innings on a nightly basis and have to really only worry about the seventh before handing it off. During the first handful of games, that has not been the case.

Perhaps once the starting rotation finds a semblance of rhythm, the relievers will not be far behind. In any case, there is nothing bullish about the Phillies pen.

The Phillies were hoping for a better debut from Roy Halladay. (AP)

On a rain-soaked night, the Phillies lost an ugly one to the Braves, 9-2, in a game that left them with more questions than answers about the once vaunted Roy Halladay.

WHAT’S UP, DOC?

-The wet conditions tonight didn’t make for an ideal stage to evaluate Halladay (remember the wet mound from a couple weeks ago?), but evaluate we must. So what are the returns after his first start of 2013? Not great. Somebody file a missing persons report, because the Roy Halladay of lore is still nowhere to be found.

-Halladay’s first inning got off to a great start. He recorded a strikeout using a nasty splitter on an 0-2 count. But it went all downhill from there. Jason Heyward reached on a broken bat single to right and Justin Upton followed with a two-run dinger. The control issues Halladay exhibited during the Spring resurfaced, as he followed up Upton’s home run by issuing a walk to Freddie Freeman. It’d be the first of two walks in the inning. Halladay would allow another run before finally retiring the side. The 40-pitch inning certainly didn’t do anything to help quell the uneasiness Phillies fans are feeling about the righthander. However, Halladay would improve from there. Slightly.

-He got through the second using 16 pitches and cruised through the third. Remarkably, his first eight outs were recorded by strikeout. He ran into some more trouble in the fourth, allowing another home run and a single before getting pulled with one out. His final line: 3.1 IP, 6 H, x ER, 3 BB, 9 K. The strikeouts were encouraging. The three walks and four runs were not. His velocity on his fastball was between 88-92 MPH.

-It’s notable that Halladay struggled in the first inning, as it was notoriously problematic for him last season (He had a 6.48 ERA in the first in 2012, his highest in any inning). If you take that away, he actually looked pretty good. Problem is, you can’t take that away. There’s still a lot of uncertainty about exactly what this team will get from Doc this season. He’s struggled, but his main problem area–fastball command–is something that can seemingly be fixed. Whether he is able to do that or not remains to be seen. So far, he has not adjusted.

Continue reading Phillies Drop Forgettable Game To Braves

Before you freak out about last night, it’s just game one of 162. But now that you know the Phillies won’t be finishing 162-0, we want you to tell us how many wins you think the Phillies will achieve in 2013.

How many can get them to a Wild Card spot? What would it take to win the division?

Vote now!

Utley got off on the right foot in the Phillies loss. (AP)

A near-cycle from Chase Utley wasn’t enough to overcome a shaky start from Cole Hamels as the Braves held off the Phillies, 7-5.

UTLEY UNLOADS ON OPENING DAY

-What a day for Chase Utley. In the fourth, Tim Hudson tossed a sinker that hung up in the zone and Utley tagged it to dead center field, over 400 feet away for the first homer of the season for the Phillies.

-In the fifth, Utley slapped a single to right that scored Cole Hamels and Ben Revere, moving the Phillies to within a run at 4-3. Beyond the single, Utley came hard out of the box and advanced to second base on the throw that went to third, where Jimmy Rollins had advanced on the hit.

-In the seventh, Utley tripled on a wormburner through the right-center gap. Really, it should have been a double, but Utley ran like his ass was on fire and made it just ahead of the throw. Ryan Howard sent him home on a ground out. Utley would finish 3-for-5 with three RBI.

-The offense was able to do enough to chase Tim Hudson from the game after just 4 1/3 innings. Hudson allowed three runs, walked three, and struck out three.

-Michael Young was 0-for-2 but did walk twice. Domonic Brown went 1-for-3 with walk.

HAMELS CAN’T SETTLE

-In what was the first start of his career on Opening Day, Cole Hamels was unable to bring his spring success with him to Atlanta. Hamels lacked command early which led to a monster, two-run home run by Freddie Freeman and a solo shot by Dan Uggla in the first two frames. Justin Upton also crushed a 460-foot homer to left-center field in the fifth inning on a pitch that was right down the middle.

Continue reading Utley Stars, Hamels Stalls in Phillies Opening Day Loss

Philadelphia Phillies vs Toronto Blue Jays

TIME: 1:05, Citizens Bank Park
TV: PHL 17
Media: Twitter and Facebook

It’s the last non-meaningful game for the Phillies this year (or so we hope), as the Blue Jays and Phillies square off again at Citizens Bank Park this afternoon. Last night, we learned that Cole Hamels has a mustache. And, honestly, that was the highlight of the night. Cliff Lee pitched well, but the Phillies lost 1-0. Today, Kyle Kendrick will pitch for the Phils. The bullpen is still a little cloudy, so that will be something to watch today.

Lineup: Revere, Rollins, Utley, Howard (DH), Young, Brown, Nix, Mayberry (1B), Kratz

Go Phillies!

The Phillies lost to the Boston Red Sox in Clearwater, 7-6. After the game, they cut veteran infielder Yuniesky Betancourt, allowing him to pursue other opportunities.

Betancourt played well with the Phillies, hitting .447 over 17 games. However, with Kevin Frandsen and Freddy Galvis ahead of him, and the need for a fifth outfielder, Betancourt was expendable. On top of that, his regular season numbers haven’t been very good. Over the last 5 seasons, Betancourt ranked 316 out of 349 qualified players with a .666 OPS.

During the game, Ryan Howard and Chase Utley hit back to back home runs, their seventh and fourth of the spring, respectively. Utley finished 3-for-4 with 4 RBI. Cliff Lee wasn’t great, going 5 1/3 innings, giving up six runs and nine hits.