Phillies Nation

According to Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com, the Phillies are still at it. They’ve made a few calls to Miami in an attempt to nab Giancarlo Stanton and will continue to pursue the 23-year-old rightfielder.

Now, this should come as no surprise. Twenty-nine other teams should be doing the same thing, as he’s clearly the best young power hitter in baseball, when healthy. Ruben Amaro would be doing his “due diligence” by phoning the Marlins. However, as Salisbury maps out in his column, there are so many places this Phillies team can go between now and the trade deadline — and then the end of the season — that it maybe doesn’t put it out of the realm of possibilities. Whether they’re buying or selling, they are strongly in on Stanton.

If you’re asking flat-out, “Will the Phillies acquire Stanton,” my answer is no. They don’t have the talent to get him, as there are many other franchises with better-stocked systems that can send more to Miami. What the Phillies do have are tradeable chips in Cliff Lee, Jonathan Papelbon, and Chase Utley, plus other lesser, but intriguing names like Jimmy Rollins, Carlos Ruiz, and Roy Halladay.

If the Phillies were to decide to give up and move on from this current roster, Lee and Papelbon could fetch you a few decent prospects. Utley might do the same. Obviously, with age and salary being a major factor, the Phillies won’t get an incredible haul for any of them. Do you trade a few of those veterans, then put together a package and bet the farm on someone like Stanton?

Again, it’s somewhat of a pipe dream, but it bears watching. Amaro is in a predicament with an aging core and a farm system that is not highly thought of. Where does he go from here? And when is that time?

After a disappointing two-game series in Cleveland, the Phillies quickly put it behind them and battled past the Marlins, 7-2, on Thursday night.

KENDRICK BATTLES FOR A WIN

-After 96 pitches, 67 of them for strikes, in seven innings, Kyle Kendrick’s night was complete. He allowed seven hits and two walks, but kept the damage to a minimum by giving up just the two runs to the Marlins. Kendrick added five strikeouts.

-What Kendrick has done a solid job of all season is keeping runners on base. His strand rate coming into the game was 85 percent, 7th best in the National League. That number went up, as Kendrick left runners on base in the second, third, and fourth innings without allowing any damage on the scoreboard. In the third, he held the bases loaded, and that ability to keep teams from scoring in tight situations has catapulted him into a new stratosphere as a starting pitcher.

-Although his line was solid, Kendrick was lucky to come away with this sort of performance. What the numbers don’t really show was that Kendrick was not at his best. He left many pitches up in the zone and would have been hurt much more by a better hitting ball club. Alas, a win is a win, but Kendrick will have to do better next time.

-Great inning from Mike Adams. Hit 92 on the fastball, struck out two, threw 14 pitches, 12 strikes.

HOWARD HOT/BROWN’S BOMB

-Over his last 12 games, Ryan Howard is hitting .326 (14-for-43) with 4 doubles, 3 homers and 12 RBIs. The only problem is his lack of walks. With his eighth inning walk, Howard reached first base by way of bases on balls for the first time since April 12, a stretch of 16 games.

-Domonic Brown is also heating up a bit. Over his last eight games, Brown’s average has risen 60 points, from .206 on April 23 to .266 after Thursday’s game. Brown went yard in the second inning in an estimated time of 3.1 seconds according to Chris Wheeler, who happened to tell me that in the mens room after the inning. Too much? Brown also singled in the fourth inning and again in the eighth, a very good sign. “On pace” means little, but regardless, Brown is on pace for 22 home runs and a line of .266/.333/.426.

-Very productive fifth inning. Erik Kratz lead off with an 11-pitch walk and eventually scored on a Chase Utley sacrifice fly. It was made possible by an error on second baseman Donovan Solano off the bat of Jimmy Rollins. J-Roll then scored the fourth Phillies run on a passed ball. Great way to take advantage of a miscue and tack on some important insurance runs.

-Jimmy Rollins is struggling. He’s just 1-for-15 over the last four games. His average has dipped to .243.

-The Phillies added three insurance runs in the eighth inning. No matter the opponent, it’s been a struggle for them to add any runs late. Another positive.

The Jimmy Rollins Family Foundation will be hosting Harlem Nights at the Union Transfer in Philadelphia on Thursday, June 20, 2013, from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm.

Join us for a charming evening reminiscent of 1920s Harlem that entails live jazz music, culinary delights, delicious cocktails, cigars, and so much more. Harlem Nights will be an unforgettable evening filled with fine dining and festive entertainment to raise funds and awareness for the Jimmy Rollins Family Foundation. Plus, there will be a special performance by two celebrity dancers from ABC’s hit show, Dancing with the Stars. Exciting live and silent auction items will be available for bidding.

The event will be celebrity driven, as Jimmy Rollins of the Philadelphia Phillies will invite his friends from MLB, the NFL, NBA and NHL along with musicians, actors and television personalities to attend. These celebrities will join our guests as well as key sponsors in the VIP area that features cigars and wine tastings.

The proceeds raised will benefit the Jimmy Rollins Family Foundation, which is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that aims to support young adults living with chronic health issues, as well as to support families who are struggling financially with extracurricular activities for their children.

Individual tickets are available for $300 each here.

Sponsorships range from $25,000.00 – $5,000.00. For more information, please contact Kiley Chase at MVP Sports Group: 310-525-3755 or kileyc@mvpsportsgroup.com.

The Phillies offense had the right amount of zen against the Mets today. (PHOTO: AP)

Behind the power of 12 hits, including back-to-back home runs, and stellar pitching from the bullpen, the Phillies slugged their way to an easy 9-4 victory over the Mets today. The win was their fifth straight at Citifield, and the first of rookie Jonathan Pettibone’s career.

PASSABLE PETTIBONE

- In his second career start, the 22-year old Pettibone wasn’t flawless, but he had the luxury of pitching with a lead, and he did a great job of limiting the damage through five innings.

- He started the game by putting two men on, first hitting Mike Baxter with an inside slider, and then walking Ruben Tejada. However, a timely 6-4-3 doubleplay–he’d get two of them on the day–and a strikeout of David Wright would allow Pettibone to escape the inning without any damage.

- The Mets broke through in the second after back-to-back, two-out doubles–one a line drive that glanced off the glove of Jimmy Rollins–made it 1-0. They put the pressure on Pettibone again in the fourth, loading the bases with no outs. But, just like in the second, he limited the damage by allowing one run. He’d allow one more run in the fifth before being pulled from the game. Continue reading Phils Mash Mets In Saturday Matinee

The Big Piece can still dazzle us with his monster home runs. (PHOTO: AP)

Kyle Kendrick pitched a gem and the offense was able to put up four runs as the Phillies topped the Mets Friday night at a atmosphere-less Citi Field. Michael Young and Ryan Howard drove in all the runs for the Phillies in the sixth inning, and the game featured just three umpires after home plate umpire Brian O’Nora ran off the field in the first inning with what was later called “flu-like symptoms.” The game was delayed for a few minutes while first base ump Adrian Johnson went to get the proper gear to take O’Nora’s place. Very odd. Continue reading Kendrick Shuts Out Mets, Phils Win 4-0

In yet another lame showing, the Phillies fell to the Pirates, 6-4, dropping three of four in the series.

LEE BLOWS LEAD, BULLPEN STRUGGLES

-Even the great Cliff Lee is not immune to the virus spreading through this team. With a two run lead in the seventh, Lee gave up  back-to-back singles to center field, the first to Gaby Sanchez – who also homered to put the Pirates on the board – and then Michael McKenry, tying the game at 3-3. After seven innings and 122 pitches, Lee fanned seven, allowed 10 hits, three runs, and one walk.

-With the score tied in the eighth, Phillippe Aumont was summoned from the bullpen and did the chic thing – give up runs. Aumont allowed three runs on three hits in just 1/3 of an inning before being pulled in favor of Chad Durbin.

-Consider me someone who has been a believer in Aumont. With his power arm, he seemed destined to become a very good major league relief pitcher. Instead, he has a WHIP of 1.95 in just 6 2/3 innings this season. That won’t cut it. The Phillies need pitchers they can rely on and right now Aumont is not one.

-Nor is Durbin, who came in and allowed one inherited runner to score. He also allowed two moon-shot foul balls to Pedro Alvarez before finally retiring him on a hard hit ball to center. This bullpen is completely bi-polar. Durbin has made 7 appearances this season, and has either allowed an earned run or inherited runner(s) to score in 6.

OFFENSE SPUTTERS AGAIN

-Domonic Brown knocked in two of the three Phillies runs, the first on a bloop double to center field. Nice to see him running hard on a ball that landed in no-mans land and stretch it into a double. Brown brought home a second run on a bullet sac fly to center field. He would double for a second time in the ninth, finishing 2-for-3.

-Jimmy Rollins finished 0-for-3 and his average dropped to .258 in the process. After such a hot start, Rollins seems to be leveling off. Ryan Howard raised his average to .284, but is still putting up some nasty-looking at-bats.

-Kevin Frandsen got a start for Michael Young at third base and reached base twice in four PA’s.

-Odd moment: After Frandsen’s eighth inning double, Chase Utley bunted him to third with no outs. The Phillies best hitter should not be bunting under any circumstances, ever. Ever. Utley also committed his fifth error of the season dropped what looked like a routine line drive in the ninth. While he is hitting, his fielding is suspect, which is very un-Utley-like.

-I’m actually happy to see Charlie Manuel get ejected. After an odd play in which Erik Kratz was interfered with at home plate by Clint Barmes, Manuel came out and argued until he could argue no more. That’s as much fire as we’ve seen from this team in quite a while.

Another solid outing wasted

Roy Halladay continued to silence critics with another solid performance, as Corey predicted on this week’s PNTV.  His eight strikeouts and two walks were much closer to what we’re used to from Doc.  Although his strike ratio of 57/95 was still lower than normal, Halladay made it through 6 innings allowing just a single hit.  Unfortunately, that hit in the fourth did yield a run, as Halladay walked and hit a batter earlier in the inning as he tried to paint the inside corner on lefties.

Roy tee’d up the game for the Bastardo-Adams-Paplebon trio to close out the 3-1 lead.  Bastardo gave up a solo shot in the sixth but finished his inning without further damage.  Mike Adams subsequently allowed 2 walks, 2 singles and a run before yielding to Jeremy Horst.   Horst allowed one of his inherited runners to score – the winning run – before recording three outs.  He pitched the ninth and allowed another run, but by that point, the Phillies and the crowd were deflated.

Offensive spurts

Chase Utley and Ryan Howard each hit second-deck home runs tonight.  The bombs were spectacular, not the least of which because they were off a lefty.  But of course, no one was on base and they were just solo shots.

The Phillies supplemented their paltry 2 walks in the game with 10 hits.  Still, it wasn’t enough as they left eight runners on base.  One particularly disheartening play occurred in the fifth inning as Michael Young grounded into a 6-4-2 double play.  Jimmy Rollins was nailed at home after unwisely attempting to sneak a run across.

Game Notes

Domonic Brown made a diving catch in the fifth (is it me, or are the Phillies racking up the Web Gems this season?)…Chase Utley followed his homer with an infield bunt single in the fifth inning…Michael Young’s consecutive game hit streak ended at 14.

On this weeks edition of Phillies Nation TV, Pat and Corey dissect the latest outing from Roy Halladay and the positives they’re seeing from the veteran righty. This past weekend, Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports  mentioned the possibility of Cliff Lee being a trade candidate later in the summer. Will the rumors ramp back up again?

Ryann Williams got an upfront seat for the opening of a new animal hospital in South Jersey, made possible by Jimmy Rollins and wife, Johari. Ryann also has some great questions from the fans, presented by BQ Basement Systems.

Also, find out just how badly Carlos Beltran and Yadier Molina tear up the Phillies. It’s crazy.

All that and more, on PN TV!

Jonathan Pettibone’s major league debut was a success in the Phillies 3-2 win.

Pettibone’s Performance

-Really impressive outing for Jonathan Pettibone. After the first few batters it didn’t look like he’d make it one inning, let alone 5 1/3. The rookie struck out six, did not issue a walk, and allowed only six hits. Two of those hits were solo home runs.

-Before the game, Charlie Manuel expressed the need for Pettibone to stay in control and keep emotions in check. The cold weather couldn’t have helped, either, as the chill of the air probably made for a wonderful grip. But Pettibone made it work and the results showed.

Phils O Puts Up Enough

-In the fourth, Burnett loaded the bases with nobody out on a single by Michael Young, a walk to Domonic Brown, and a single by Ben Revere. Erik Kratz put together a tough at-bat, fouling off six pitches before striking out. Pettibone did his best in the box, but struck out. The final hope of the inning, Jimmy Rollins, got plunked on the knee on an errant 94 mph sinker. That probably felt amazing in this weather. The result was the Phillies second run. John Mayberry would strike out to end the inning. The Phillies really needed two runs there, no excuse for coming away with less against a pitcher on the ropes.

-And why did they need that run? Because Russell Martin went yard during the first at bat the following inning for the Pirates.

-Hitting with runners in scoring position happens to be a major chore for this club. The Phils were 1-for-10 before Rollins knocked in Kratz in the sixth on a single to make it 3-2 Phillies. Either way, situational hitting remains puzzling experience.

After striking for two runs in the first, the Phillies offense was unable to get to a very hittable Jake Westbrook through six innings on Sunday night.  Enter the Cardinals bullpen.  The Phils scored five runs in the seventh and eighth – three of which came off a towering three-run shot from Erik Kratz – to notch a 7-3 victory and a series split against St. Louis.  Kyle Kendrick kept his team in it with a gutsy six-inning performance against a potent Cardinals lineup.

Kyle Kendrick was solid again on Sunday for the Phillies.

OFFENSE COMES UP BIG WHEN IT COUNTS

- After grounding into a rally-killing double play in the sixth, Ben Revere redeemed himself two innings later when he stung a tie-breaking single up the middle in the eighth off Cardinals reliever Mitchell Boggs.  Kratz hit the next pitch from Boggs deep into the cold Philadelphia night to blow it open, and the Phillies concluded their nightmarish week on a high note.

- Within that eighth inning, Michael Young extended his hitting streak to 12 games in controversial fashion.  Young hit a routine ground ball that deflected off Cardinals reliever Mitchell Boggs’ glove into the infield’s no man’s land.  The hometown scorer quickly credited Young with a hit.  Young scored the game-winning run shortly thereafter on Revere’s single.

- It wasn’t all good for the Phillies on Sunday night.  Revere’s double play was one of three in big spots for the Phillies and squandered a bases loaded, one-out opportunity.  An inning later, the Phils couldn’t get Laynce Nix home from second base with no outs after he tied the game with a pinch hit double.  The Phillies left nine runners in scoring position.

PITCHERS DO THEIR JOB

-Kyle Kendrick put together his third consecutive solid start, battling through six innings despite throwing 53 pitches in the first two frames.  Kendrick gave up two runs, eight hits and a walk, striking out six Cardinals in the process.  In his last three starts, Kendrick has given up only four runs in 19 innings, lowering his 2013 ERA to 3.28. Continue reading Offense Erupts Late, Phils Earn Split With Cards