It’s time for Jimmy Rollins to show some pride.
We’re now halfway through May, and he’s still hitting a paltry .200. He continues to roll over ball after ball, essentially playing pepper with the second baseman. Never can I remember a time in which he gave away so many at-bats by swinging at bad pitches and flat out missing the good ones.
Perhaps winning the World Series sapped him of the edge, fire, mojo, or whatever you want to call it that led to Rollins making bold predictions the previous two seasons—something he failed to do this past spring.
Let’s face it, the pulse of this team is, and always will be, Rollins.
As he goes, the Phillies go. The win-loss record is staggering in the games Rollins scores a run compared to those he doesn’t. Compound Rollins’ struggles with Victorino’s inconsistency and are you really surprised that the Phillies offense has vanished over the past week and a half?
Always steady in the field, despite how he’s hitting, Rollins carried his struggles into the field today, flat out booting a ball while trying to backhand it, leading directly to an unearned run.
A lot of people are going to point to the starting pitchers as the reason for the Phillies recent struggles, but the truth is that in three of the six previous losses, Phillies starters pitched at least six innings and giving up one earned run or less.
Joe Blanton, despite giving up six runs on Saturday, pitched eight serviceable innings—the deepest any starter has gone so far this season. So in four of the six losses, the Phillies starters have done their job, with the Jamie Moyer being the exception.
Yes, the bullpen has struggled as well, but once J.C. Romero returns the first week of June, every one will then fall into their customary roles, and hopefully lead to some much needed consistency from the relief corps.
Which takes us back to the offense. Yes, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Jayson Werth virtually disappeared this past home stand, but it all starts from the top.
Only when Rollins decides to show some pride and play the way he is capable of will this team have a chance to string a few series wins together and, hopefully, separate from the pack heading into the All-Star break. But until then, they have to somehow keep their heads above water and hope neither the Mets, Marlins, nor Braves get their respective acts together.
The Phillies are very fortunate to be 16-16 and just 1.5 games out of first place pending the results of the Mets-Giants game tonight. It’s time for Rollins to step up and help lead this team to some much needed W’s in what, up to this point, has been a division of mediocrity.
[firedforwinning.com]
If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.
This could be a short post.
I haven’t even seen the game yet (yeah, that mommy thing), and I’m wondering if I should. My dad already foiled the ending with a late night Facebook post with the result. Is it illegal to un-friend your dad?
So I’m warming up to it—a lot like Phillies pitching this year. I haven’t powered up the TV and the pitching staff hasn’t turned on the power.
My husband is so discontented with Jamie, before the game he said, “The Dodgers are gonna hit the snot out of Moyer.”
“Why, honey,” I said, “that’s awful negative.”
He continued, “Remember the playoffs last year?”
Remember the Alamo?
And he says women have selective recall. I hate it when he’s right.
So, judging from the stats, it looks like a number of things are certain: Jimmy’s liking the five spot, although he says he’s a leadoff man; Raul’s silently chipping away at leading team stats, although he says he’s just here to help the ball club; Shane’s still a hottie, even though his bat is cold.
Jamie has a bad three-game streak going although no one seems to know how to make it better, and now JA Happ-y will be seen smiling on the mound in the Saturday double header.
Things get more interesting all the time.
Maybe Jamie’s just screwed up over the anticipation of getting his 250th win—kind of like the pre-prom jitters. Maybe what he needs is a new hairdo, a manicure, a pretty dress, and a shot of Schnapps.
Hey, it helped me.
See you at the ballpark.
The Phillies entered Thursday’s game against the Dodgers a full game behind the Mets in the division. Some small news bits came out on Wednesday that should be mentioned.
- J.A. Happ has been named a starting pitcher for one of the games against the Washington Nationals on Saturday. The teams are playing a doubleheader to make up for the lost April 15 game in Washington. Brett Myers will start the other, likely the first game. If Happ is needed Thursday, though, in long relief, that could change the plans
- J.C. Romero is set to start his rehab assignment on Monday to prepare for his return to the Phillies following his suspension by the league.
- Charlie Manuel, who will manage the National League in the All Star game, has named his first assistant manager for the game. Dodgers skipper Joe Torre will accompany Manuel in the dugout in St. Louis, where Torre both spent some playing time and some managing time with the Cardinals. It appears that Manuel will also invite Cardinals manager Tony La Russa to join him in his home stadium.
Jamie Moyer‘s 250th career victory continues to elude him. Moyer lost in his second attempt for the milestone after things fell apart in the fourth inning as the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers pounded the Phillies with a 9-2 defeat.
Moyer was charged with seven runs in just 4.1 innings of work. He gave up eight hits which included three doubles and one pop fly ball home run ball, which scored three runs itself. This game was actually Moyer’s third attempt for his 250th win.
He received a no decision in his first attempt against the Mets, took the loss in his second try in New York, and was pegged with the loss last night. Is he frustrated?
“I don’t really feel frustrated,” said Moyer, who was battling a cold. “I’m not making the pitches that I’d like to be making. I think early in my career I pitched frustrated. It didn’t work. So I try to put win or lose behind me and move forward.
“Every mistake I’ve made has gotten hit hard. It’s more or less how I’m feeling. Good pitches have gotten hit, but I feel like the mistakes that I’m making I’m being punished for. I’ve got to be mistake-free.”
Phillies.com via Todd Zolecki
Things started off well for Moyer, who got through the first three innings unscathed. Perhaps the Dodgers should be given credit for making adjustments on Moyer in the fourth inning, the second time around the lineup. The fourth inning was reminiscent of Moyer’s effort in game three of the 2008 NLCS when the Dodgers were hitting the ball everywhere off of the veteran pitcher.
Whether or not Moyer snaps out of it remain to be seen. It is unlikely he will be taken out of the rotation and will be given every opportunity to play through his struggles.
Meanwhile on offense Jimmy Rollins played his second straight game in the fifth spot of the lineup. In the spot he went 1-for-4 with a solo home run, which gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead in the second inning.
While the thought process of having Rollins batting fifth was to give him more RBI opportunities, he had very little to work with in front of him. Only Jayson Werth out of the top four recorded a hit. He also walked twice, and Chase Utley once. Ryan Howard struck out twice.
Picking up the win was former Phillies pitcher Randy Wolf, who threw six innings of three hit ball. Wolf walked three but struck out eight to earn his second win of the year. He also lowered his ERA to 2.77.
The Phillies and Dodgers complete their three game set this afternoon when Cole Hamels faces Chad Billingsley. Don’t forget to join the live blog today, starting at 12:30pm. Sign up for an e-mail reminder in the box to the right on the site.
Randy Wolf pitched six strong innings against his former club, and the bats gathered 14 hits in an easy win over the Phillies, 9-2. The win gives the Dodgers a 23-12 record, once again the best in all of baseball. It also denied 46-year-old Jamie Moyer of his 250th career win. So take that, old man!
Wolf hasn’t gotten a win since Easter Sunday, but that was mostly because his team didn’t give him much support. He started last Thursday against the Nationals (you may remember that day for some guy getting suspended), and the Dodgers blew a 6-0 lead and lost, 11-9. Today, the offense would make sure no such thing like that would happen again.
The Phillies had the lead in the early going on a homer by Jimmy Rollins. At 1-0 going into the fifth, the Dodgers went crazy. Rafael Furcal busted out of a funk with a double. He scored on Orlando Hudson’s double to even it up.
Following a groundout by Andre Ethier and a walk to Russell Martin, James Loney lifted a high fly ball to right. Jayson Werth kept going back, and back, and back, until he started running another direction. But it didn’t matter as the ball finally sailed over the wall for a three-run shot.
Consecutive singles by Matt Kemp and Casey Blake followed Loney’s first homer of the season. Wolf laid down a great bunt in which he was just out at first. Give Kemp a ton of credit for what he did next, as he hustled around third and slid perfectly around Carlos Ruiz’s tag for the 5-1 lead. In all, it was five runs on five hits.
Two more runs were added in the sixth on an RBI single by Loney and a sac-fly RBI by Blake. It wasn’t exactly a prototypical sacrifice fly, as he fouled out to first. But, with Ryan Howard ranging far back and leaning into the crowd, Martin scurried his way home. Another great example of baserunning and manufacturing runs.
For good measure, Blake added a two-run shot in the ninth. The big night at the plate was more than enough for Wolf, who improved to 2-1 by going 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 K. With an ERA at 2.77, he’s quietly (very quietly it seems) putting together an All-Star type of season. He’s really stabilized a staff that needed someone to be relied upon for innings.
In looking at the stats, it’s easy to see why the Dodgers put up nine runs. The top of the order of Juan Pierre, Furcal, and Hudson went 6-13 with four doubles, three runs, and two stolen bases. While Pierre and Hudson continue to impress, it was really good to see Raffy bust out. At .244, he’s looking at any reason for hope, and today was it.
Both teams have had their fun in the last two games, starting with Werth’s four steals a night ago, and 14 hits from the Dodgers tonight. Tomorrow’s game will be great to watch. Chad Billingsley will take on Cole Hamels in a matchup of two of the game’s brightest young stars. It’s an afternoon start, so tape it if you can’t watch.
NOTE: This was originally posted May 7, 2009, before Moyer’s last start, but because he lost the game I thought I would re-post it as Moyer goes for the milestone win one more time tonight.
With a win tonight, Jamie Moyer will reach his 250th career win. What an accomplishment that would be for a pitcher who has stood the test of time.
What Moyer lacks in great stuff, he makes up for in smarts. It is no secret that a bean ball from Moyer will leave only the slightest of bruises the next day (if any), so he has learned the value of staying calm and has practiced being patient on the mound.
Nobody slows the game down like Moyer. He can frustrate a batter by tossing over to first 16 times in one at-bat. While the batter is growing anxious for a pitch—and thus more likely to swing—Moyer is playing the game.
He knows he is not going to strike out 15 batters in a game, but what he is most concerned with is helping his team win. All that is asked of Moyer is that he keep the Phillies in any game, and he almost always does.
Moyer currently sits in a tie for 46th place on the all-time wins list in baseball. With 249 wins, he is tied with Hall of Famer Vic Willis, who last pitched in 1910. His next win will break that tie and put him one game behind Bob Gibson.
Moyer is third in wins among active pitchers (Tom Glavine has 305, Randy Johnson has 298).
Last year, Moyer pitched in his first World Series game. Here’s hoping he can pitch in one more this October.
A little bit late on this but here are some updates from the farm system…
Michael Taylor (right) of the Reading Phillies has been named the April player of the month within the Phillies farm system- Yohan Flande (far right) of the Clearwater Threshers has been named pitcher of the month for April in the farm system
From the Phillies press release [link];
The 6-foot-6, 23-year-old Taylor led all Phillies minor leaguers with 12 runs scored and 14 RBI last month while batting .338. Among his 22 hits were four doubles, one triple and three homers. He stole five bases without being caught. His .338 average for the month ranked seventh best in the Eastern League.
Flande, 23, was 3-0 with an organization-low 0.38 ERA for four starts. In 24 innings, he allowed 15 hits and two runs (one earned) while walking nine and striking out 22. He throws a fastball (89-90), slider and change up.
Congratulations to both players and hopefully they continue to develop!
Jamie Moyer will go for career win 250 once again tonight against the Los Angeles Dodgers. In Moyer’s first attempt for the milestone he was pounded by the Mets. Tonight, he opposes a former Phillies pitcher, Randy Wolf.
Wolf is off to a good start for the Dodgers in 2009, entering tonight’s game with a 1-1 record and a 2.95 ERA. The former fan favorite has also struck out batters 36 times and walked 14. He has allowed only three stolen bases this season, and, after last night, you can expect the Dodgers to be more careful when the Phillies get on base.
In Wolf’s only appearance against the Phillies, last year with San Diego, the lefty allowed two runs over six innings and struck out nine batters but failed to receive a decision.
The Phillies go into tonight’s game one half game behind the Mets for the division lead. The Mets lost to the Braves this afternoon in twelve innings.
Phillies Record: 16-14
Dodgers Record: 22-12
NL East Standings (Team, record, games behind):
- Mets 18-14, –
- Phillies 16-14, 1.0
- Marlins 17-16, 1.5
- Braves 16-17, 2.5
- Nationals 10-21, 7.5
Pitching probables: Moyer (3-2, 7.26 ERA) vs. Wolf (1-1, 2.95 ERA)
TV: Comcast Sportsnet, ESPN
First pitch: 7:05 pm
Season Series: Phillies lead 1-0
12 LA Dodgers W 5-3 Preview/Open Thread/Recap
The game open thread will be posted at 6:30 pm. The game recap will be up tomorrow morning. Don’t forget that tomorrow we will be doing a live blog for the afternoon series finale!
Since the Dodgers are back in town I thought it would be fun to take a look back at my coverage of the 2008 NLCS, in which the Phillies won their ticket to the World Series in five games. Yesterday I shared with you my preview of the 2008 NLCS post that was originally posted on my personal blog, before the days of Macho Row.
Today we relive the memories from Game One. Once again, the following is the post in its’ original context, with a modification to the links to keep them all straight on Macho Row.
Click here for the original post.
Welcome to the Playoff(s) Chase
You can read my headline any way you wish. Both applied last night in game one.
Biggest Philadelphia win since game one of the 2001 NBA Finals.
As amped as I was for game one of the National League Championship Series between my Phillies and the
Dodgers, I was even more psyched when the crowd shots started to be shown on TV and you could hear the “Beat LA!” chants roaring through
Citizens Bank Park with the rally towels waving. Even with
Cole Hamels letting up a run in the first inning I had a feeling that it was going to be a good night for the Phillies.
I started getting frustrated around the fifth inning but as is usually the case in baseball, patience can be a virtue. The Phillies made the wit for offense worth it with three runs in the sixth inning with a two run home run from
Chase Utley and a solo shot from
Pat Burrell and the Dodgers could not come back. Phillies take game one, 3-2.
On a night in which it seemed for a long time as though we would be calling out Hamels for not stepping up his game it was Hamels who would be praised for doing just that. Through seven innings Hamels gave up two runs and had the ability to shut down the Dodgers offense when the Phillies needed it.
Hamels gave up back to back doubles by Andre Ethier and Manny Ramirez in the first inning and escaped with only allowing one run. It could have been worse.
Ramirez hit his double to what is probably the deepest part of the stadium that won’t be a home run. Fate? Not sure.
Lucky? Oh yes.
Ramirez went 2-4 on the night but the kept at bat was in the eighth inning facing Ryan Madson in relief. Charlie Manuel made a rare trip to the mound to discuss the game plan with the pitcher’s approach to one of Manuel’s former players.
Whatever Manuel said to Madson and the rest of the infield, it must have worked. Ramirez swung at the first pitch, which was low and outside, and lined it straight to
Pedro Feliz. Key out.
After getting through the eighth inning, leaving one man on first, Madson got the game to Brad Lidge in the ninth with the lead. Lidge, showing how clutch he really is, had a 1-2-3 inning.
They say pitching wins championships in baseball, and the Phillies had the upper hand for game one. Derek Lowe was cruising for the Dodgers through five innings, although the Phillies got some pressure on him in the second inning. Lowe could not get through the sixth inning though.
Chase Utley was the story of the night. Many people had questions about Utley’s offensive performance through the NLDS and worried about his playoff reputation which was soiling early.
Utley got off on the right foot early with a single to center field in the first inning. Utley would come on in the sixth inning and deliver the big hit of the game.
With
Shane Victorino advancing to second base after Rafael Furcal threw a grounder past the first baseman. Utley uncharacteristically swung at the first pitch.
Let’s take a break real quick. I have said before that one of my pet peeves in baseball is swinging at the first pitch.
It’s just stupid. However, I do have an exception too that rule; It is ok to swing at the first pitch when you hit a multi-run home run that ties or gives your team the lead.
Utley must be familiar with my rules and exceptions. Utley hit a two run home run that switched the momentum of the game from one dug out to the other.
While Utley only tied the game with the home run, Burrell finished it off with a solo home run two batters later, giving the Phillies the lead and officially sending Lowe to the showers.
One of the keys for the Phillies and their offense coming into this series was having the middle of the lineup produce. While Ryan Howard went 0-4 on the night Utley and Burrell didn’t let that bring the team down.
Jimmy Rollins was 0-4 too, which is another concern. If the top of the order isn’t putting base runners on, the effectiveness of the middle of the line up will be at a minimum.
Luckilly for the Phillies, Victorino would have reached on Furcal’s errant throw anyway. With Utley’s home run it didn’t matter if he had reached second or been held to first on the error, but kudos to Victorino for advancing a base, putting himself in scoring position in a key inning.
Here is the lone complaint I will share with you though.
In the seventh inning with Carlos Ruiz on first base, Manuel sent in So Taguchi to pinch hit for Hamels. Taguchi then bunted in an attempt to move Ruiz to second.
On the first pitch Taguchi popped his bunt in the air and Dodgers first baseman James Loney made a diving catch. Ruiz stays at second and Rollins grounds into a questionable double play to end the inning.
Now, if Manuel’s decision was to bunt to advance the runner why would you use Taguchi? Considering the two best bunters on the team are Victorino and Hamels why couldn’t you just keep Hamels in for the bunt?
It was a situation where you are not bunting for a hit so having Hamels at first was unlikely (Hamels by the way had a hit earlier in the game as well). I understand the decision not to use
Greg Dobbs, the league’s best pinch hitter this year, and agree with that decision.
In a one run game in late innings I would conserve Dobbs until I really needed him in the ninth or extra innings if it got to that point. I blame Taguchi for not being able to get a bunt down on the ground, but I blame Manuel for using Taguchi.
Maybe Manuel was saving him for the defensive replacement for Burrell. Ok.
What about
Brett Myers?
Jamie Moyer?
Whatever. The Phillies won and Manuel made up for his gaffe by telling Madson to get Ramirez to line to Feliz. So let’s not dwell on that.
What we can be concerned about as Phillies fans is the fact that the Phillies scored all of their runs in one inning yet again. They escape with a victory in game one and that is all that matters, but I am sure I’m not alone in wanting to see the Phillies produce more often than one inning a a night.
Game two is this afternoon at 4:35pm. The American League Championship Series starts up tonight, getting the prime time slot.
This will be the only game of the NLCS that will start in the afternoon. All remaining games, no matter how long it goes, will start at 8:22pm EST. Brett Myers looks to continue his post season performance and I believe he will come out strong today.
Two weeks after Boston Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury’s straight steal of home against Andy Pettitte and the New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Jayson Werth pulled off an unbelievable delayed steal against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Seeing the exuberance in the crowd, the high-fives, the big smiles, the curtain calls, got me thinking—is the theft of home plate the most exciting play in baseball?
It’s become an incredibly rare feat in the modern game. Werth pulled off the delayed steal in the same inning in which he beat a throw to take second, and took third uncontested. Werth said he decided to take home after noticing Dodgers’ catcher Russell Martin wasn’t looking him back to third. He became the first Philly to steal home since Carlos Ruiz did it against the Reds in 2007.
Ellsbury is the first Red Sox player to steal home since Jose Offerman pulled it off in 1999, as part of a double steal, and the first Red Sox to pull off a straight steal of home since Billy Hatcher’s theft in 1994.
But is it more exciting than the euphoria of a walk-off home run? What of the always popular inside-the-park home run?
The walk-off homer and the stealing of home are similar in that there’s that brief period of suspense as the ball sails toward the fences, or the speedster breaks for home, followed by the high-fives of strangers and the spilling of $10 beer.
The inside-the-park home run is more of a drawn out excitement that builds as unexpected circumstances allow the play to take shape, be it a strange carom off the bottom of the fence or a collision in the outfield.
All are exciting, memorable plays that fans carry with them forever. Yet walk-off home runs seem to happen all the time, and most of us have been able to revel in the moment of an inside-the-park job. But most of us have probably not been in a stadium and witnessed what even the legendary Ricky Henderson did only four times in his career.
Think about that. Out of his record 1,406 stolen bases, Henderson stole home only four times, twice both in 1980 and 1982.
Its rarity is certainly a measure of risk versus reward, with the power in the lineups managers just aren’t going to risk an out when the next pitch could be a home run or double off the wall, or heck even a deep sacrifice fly.
Yes, stealing home plate is the most exciting play in baseball; it’s quick, aggressive, and unpredictable. So if you have the good fortune to see someone on your team steal home, go ahead and whoop it up, hug a stranger, cheer your brains out. You’ll probably not see one again outside of SportsCenter.
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