Charlie Manuel Makes a Critical Mistake in Loss to St. Louis Cardinals

In the top of the seventh inning of the Phillies’ 5-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals Wednesday night, the Phillies had runners on first and second with two outs and Carlos Ruiz at the plate.

Recognizing this, the Cardinals elected to have pitcher Jaime Garcia work around Ruiz, walk the bases loaded, and go after pitcher Joe Blanton hitting in the ninth hole.

Keep in mind that at this point the score was only 1-1.

Ruiz walked after five pitches, and, to the dismay of every Phillies fan watching, Blanton came up to the plate to work against the left-handed Garcia. Needless to say, Blanton struck out, the Phils left three guys on base, and eventually went on to lose the game after Blanton fell apart in the seventh and eighth innings.

So why didn’t Charlie Manuel pinch hit for Blanton in that spot?

The offense has been lethargic, to put it nicely, and even a single would have gotten them at least two runs and a two-run lead heading into the bottom of the seventh inning.

One reason is the lack of options on the bench. With Ben Francisco playing left field for Raul Ibanez, the only righty available was Wilson Valdez. Valdez hasn’t exactly been great this year, but he’s certainly been hitting better than Blanton and quite obviously gives them a better chance at scoring some runs.

Another reason is the limited amount of time a new pitcher would have had to get warmed up, considering there were already two outs in the inning.

But, again, that’s Manuel’s fault. He should have realized what the Cardinals were doing while Ruiz was at the plate and got someone up in the bullpen. And if Valdez is able to come through, that gives the guy in the bullpen plenty of time to be loosened up.

Even if the guy Manuel called upon wasn’t loose, he still probably couldn’t have done any worse than Blanton did after that, as Blanton gave up three more runs and turned the ball over with a 4-1 deficit in the eighth inning.

To me, it looked like Manuel has fallen into the same slump as his team and is making conservative decisions in an effort to avoid a loss, rather than being aggressive and going for the win.

Anyone watching Blanton this year knows he’s worthless after six innings, so it was the perfect time to put him on the bench, give him an “atta-boy” for six solid innings, and hand the ball off to, ideally, Ryan Madson.

So now that Manuel has joined in on the bonehead mistakes, the Phils have essentially assured their fans one miserable October.

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MLB: Roy Oswalt, Dan Haren, or Bust for the Phils?

All the clamor as of late has been for the Phillies to go out and add another starting pitcher, possibly even one with “ace” qualities. While I’m not exactly a proponent of the move, it looks like that’s inevitably what’s going to happen.

But, as Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com reported recently, the Phillies aren’t looking for just any starting pitcher and will only trade for a top-flight starter. In fact, again, according to Salisbury, the Phils won’t be trading for any pitcher not named Roy Oswalt or Dan Haren.

“Baseball officials with knowledge of the Phillies’ thinking say that if the Phils can’t land a top pitcher, such as Oswalt or Haren,” Salisbury writes, “they may not add a pitcher at all.”

It’s a bit surprising initially to think that Ruben Amaro Jr. would simply give up looking for a pitcher just because he can’t land the exact guy he wants, but it makes sense.

Amaro knows as well as anyone that he can’t press and make a trade just for the sake of making a move. If he’s going to ship players out, he has to make sure he’s getting the same value in return, or else he’s going to hurt the team for a few years.

He does, however, seem to be losing options.

According to reports, Oswalt is likely going to refuse to waive his no-trade clause unless the team trading for him agrees to pick up his $16 million option for 2010.

But, with a huge deal just getting done with Ryan Howard and a couple other guys having to be paid before then, the Phils might see that as a bit pricey for a guy who would be their third starter.

As I’ve said before, I would think the wiser option would be to simply ride out the season with J.A Happ and Kyle Kendrick as your final two starters, then perhaps look to see who is available either via free agency or trade next season.

Happ was very good last year, and Kendrick really hasn’t been that bad. His most recent outing against the Cardinals was certainly one to forget, but overall he’s been an average pitcher on a very average team.

Amaro says he already knows what he’s going to do, so it’s really just a matter of waiting and seeing for Phillies fans. Even though the trade deadline isn’t until the 31st, the Phils have an opening for a starter this Sunday, so whatever move they’re going to make will likely be made before then.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Jamie Moyer Is Out, Vance Worley Is In

Jamie Moyer, who had to leave Tuesday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals in the first inning after injuring his elbow, is headed to the disabled list. And, by the sounds of it, he’ll be there for quite some time.

Skipper Charlie Manuel compared the injury to J.A. Happ’s—an injury that sidelined Happ since April 16th and only has him scheduled to return to the rotation on Saturday. Given Moyer’s age, it likely means we’ve seen the last of him for the 2010 season.

To take his place (and the place of the short-lived Andrew Carpenter experiment), the Phillies have called up Vance Worley from Double-A Reading, skipping Lehigh Valley to come to Philly. Worley will take a long relief role in the bullpen after going 9-4 with a 3.20 ERA in 19 starts for Reading.

Worley was the team’s third-round pick in the First-Year Player Draft back in 2008.

If Manuel is right and Moyer is going to miss at least a couple months because of this injury, it makes it that much more likely the Phils will soon be swinging a trade for a starting pitcher rather than pulling guys up from Triple-A to round out the rotation.

However, if trade talks fall through, it’s possible Worley could be given a chance to start in Moyer’s place this upcoming Sunday.

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MLB Trade Rumors: Astros’ Roy Oswalt Must Stop Demands; Go to Phillies

Roy Oswalt is one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball. Even at the age of 32, he’s still got the talent to pitch at All-Star caliber.

However, his brains are a whole other story.

Jayson Stark of ESPN reported today that the Astros’ ace would okay a deal to any team that acquires him with only one condition. Sadly, the condition is nuttier than pecan pie.

He wants the team to guarantee his $16 million option.

In 2012.

This kind of demand seems so ridiculous, it’s as if Oswalt is extremely reluctant to leave town. He’s said multiple times how loyal he is to the city of Houston, and by making the prerequisite so high, he’s making it very hard for himself to leave.

And that’s his mistake. He needs to make like a newborn and head out.

Staying in Houston is a death sentence for Oswalt’s career. Yes, the Astros have had some good seasons in the past, but since the team’s World Series run in 2005, Houston hasn’t returned to the playoffs, and attendance has dropped each season.

Should we cast Oswalt for the Green Mile remake?

Not so fast. Oswalt’s clearly the diamond in Houston’s rough. While Oswalt is well below his career averages for ERA and WHIP this season, his record is a subpar 6-11, and that’s due to his teammates.

The Astros’ roster isn’t the worst in the majors, but some of the people surrounding Oswalt are more qualified to work at Denny’s than play baseball.

That’s why his demand makes as much sense as underwater arson. There won’t be much winning in Houston during the rest of Oswalt’s career, so why make it nearly impossible to go to a winner?

Even Einstein’s stumped.

If he waives this demand, everyone comes out as a winner. The Philadelphia Phillies are the front-runner to acquire Oswalt’s services, and he fits in that city better than the cheesesteak.

At this point in his career, Oswalt must be craving a return to glory and a chance to hoist the Commissioner’s Trophy. Why not join a team in a tight division race who has represented the National League in the World Series the past two years?

The only better way to guarantee winning is if he takes his talents to South Beach.

Psyche.

Both teams should be egging the pitching ace to give up his standards. The Astros are in a clear rebuilding process and can use solid prospects to build up their core. Oswalt is the kind of player that commands a couple of top-tier minor leaguers.

And no one has more young talent than the Phillies. Not even the Chinese gymnastics team.

On the other side, the Phils are struggling. Roy Halladay has been great, but not as dominant as Cliff Lee was. All their injuries have limited their offense, and the pitchers toward the end of their rotation are as trustworthy as Benedict Arnold.

Add another Roy, and that’s a chimera no one wants to face. In a seven-game series, seeing Halladay and Oswalt possibly five times is scarier than any Saw film. 

Yes, there are reasons why Oswalt would put this huge price tag on himself. He clearly won’t get $16 million in 2012 as a 34-year-old free agent, and if he’s being sent to a contender, it’s another year that he gets a chance to get the bling.

Those reasons, however, make even less sense.

First, if he can keep up near his career stats through the end of next year, he’s bound to get close to that value. For a nine-year veteran, does eight million dollars really matter if he’s holding more trophies than Cooperstown?

Second, what if he gets dealt to some chump squad? I’m sure he will regret being stuck until 2012 if he gets shipped to a team with a history of winning similar to the Cubs.

Obviously, the Phillies or another team could bend, and Oswalt could get what he wants: a trade and the guaranteed money.  That seems extremely unlikely, so why should Oswalt wait for Godot?

Just waive the clause. Hire some Astros fans to come into the office and do the Waive.

He can be loyal like Lassie in a different city. It’s a win-win-win for all sides involved, and if his only consequence is that he will lose the love of Houston, I’m sure a player with his skills can find some loving somewhere else.

Hell, he could switch to football, and his cannon arm would still be valuable.

Or he can stay in Houston, and get used to his ragtag bunch of teammates. He won’t see the playoffs until he’s on his couch watching FOX at 40 years old.

But hey, at least he’s not ditching town like LeBron. Pleasing everyone else should matter before pleasing himself, right?

Right?

 

Check out more from Ross at LAsportsexaminer.com and follow him on Twitter at Rossel64.

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MLB Trade Rumors: 10 Trades the Philadelphia Phillies Should Consider

The Major League Baseball trade deadline is just 10 days away and teams are under the gun to make that big move that will help their pennant pursuits. The National League team perhaps in most need of a deal is the defending National League champion Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies pulled off a massive deal in the offseason to acquire Roy Halladay, but the work is not done. The Phillies are in need of a starting pitcher, but what other trades should the Phillies consider that will help them close the gap in the National League?

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MLB Trade Rumors: What a Phillies-Astros-Rays Trade Would Accomplish

The latest reports have the Philadelphia Phillies emerging as the leading candidate for Houston Astros longtime ace Roy Oswalt.

With some describing the talks as not just as kicking the tires, but “hot and heavy”, Philadelphia may be on the verge of adding their second trading deadline All-Star pitcher.

To make that trade possible, it appears the Phillies will either make a three-way deal, or a separate deal trading outfielder Jayson Werth to the Tampa Bay Rays.

Here’s a quick rundown of how these respective trades would help each team.

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Wake Me Up When September Ends: Phillies Seven Games Back in NL East

On Saturday, September 12, 2007, the Philadelphia Phillies lost 12-0 to the Colorado Rockies at Citizens Bank Park to fall seven games behind the New York Mets in the NL East with 17 games to play.

From that point forward, the Phillies won 13 of their final 17 games, including a three-game sweep of the Mets in New York, and won the NL East by one game as the Mets suffered a historic collapse.

The Phillies may have lost to the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday to fall to 1-5 since the All-Star break, but let’s not lose perspective here.  Every team is going to win 54 games, every team is going to lose 54 games—it’s how you play the other 54 that separates the good teams from the bad.

With Jamie Moyer facing Chris Carpenter in St. Louis last night, the Phillies were not destined to win.  And, news flash—with Joe Blanton facing off against Jaime Garcia, they probably won’t win tonight, either.  Things won’t get any easier for the Phils, with Moyer almost certainly headed for the disabled list and Kyle Kendrick having been demoted to Triple-A.

But while it feels like the Phils are losing the winners right now, there’s still a lot of season to be played.  There’s still time for slumping hitters to improve, there’s time to make moves to improve the pitching, and there’s still time to get our injured superstar second baseman back.

It is tempting to say the season is over because the Phils are seven games back on July 21, but frankly, I don’t want to hear about it until September 13.

Asher B. Chancey lives in Philadelphia and is a co-founder of BaseballEvolution.com.

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J.A. Happ Will Likely Get Kyle Kendrick’s Saturday Start

With Kyle Kendrick being sent down to the minors recently, there’s an open spot this Saturday for a starting pitcher, so the Phillies need to figure out their plan of attack quickly.

In Kendrick’s stead, they brought up Andrew Carpenter, but General Manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. made it very clear that they see Carpenter as a bullpen pitcher. Ruben did say Carpenter could have an outside chance to start Saturday, but that really just means he’s there last resort.

Then, in typical Amaro fashion, he hinted that there could be something bigger in the works rather than just picking a name out of a hat to start Saturday.

“Happ is a possibility (to start Saturday),” Amaro said, per CSNPhilly.com. “We would consider him, and we have other balls in the air.”

“Other balls in the air,” of course, means Amaro is currently in talks for a pitcher. Who that pitcher is or what the Phillies would have to give up for him is obviously not known at this point, but I don’t think it’s likely Amaro brings in a high-priced starter, despite his view of the team as “buyers” at the deadline.

“I view us as buyers and I view us as a team that’s still going to be a contending team, but it depends on the guys in the clubhouse,” Amaro said. “It’s up to them to make it happen—as they have in the past.

“If we continue to play the way we are playing I don’t know if there’s a trade we can make to make us a playoff contender. We have to play better baseball or we’re not going to get anywhere. It’s really up to the guys swinging the bats and catching the baseballs and making the pitches. I can get Cy Young and Mariano Rivera and it wouldn’t matter. The team has to play better.”

Wow, way to say what we’re all thinking, Ruben.

That mini-rant, as well as the fact that Happ was recently yanked after only three innings of his most recent Triple-A start, all points to Happ taking the mound on Saturday and likely staying in that spot through the season, at least.

And in some good news for Phillies fans (if there is much to be found these days), Happ looked great in his last outing (3IP, 0ER/R, 3H, 3SO, 0BB) , so it’s likely he’s finally healthy and ready to show some of the stuff he had last season that had him as a runner-up for Rookie of the Year

It is likely that Amaro moves Kendrick and perhaps another guy for some more bullpen help, or perhaps a low-end starter, but even that doesn’t seem likely anymore with the way the Phillies have been playing.

Like Amaro said, there’s no reason to make moves to improve this team in the short-term when they’re not willing to improve with what they already have.

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Philadelphia Phillies Should Trade Jayson Werth for Prospects

As much as it hurts to say, it’s looking like the Phillies‘ season is going to be a wash. They keep falling further and further behind the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets in the NL East race, and are just as far behind for a Wild Card spot.

In fact, short of charging back and winning the division, there’s likely no chance the Phils will be able to make it back to the postseason, much less to a third straight World Series.

So it’s time now to start looking toward 2011 and beyond. And the best way to do that is to move Jayson Werth, who is the Phillies’ best piece to play with right now. In doing so, they can restock the farm system that Ruben Amaro, Jr. has left relatively bare from trades for Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay.

Within the next few years, the Phillies are going to need help in left field, right field (which obviously becomes more of a priority by trading Werth), third base, catcher, and pitching—not only in the bullpen, but starters as well.

Raul Ibanez only has one more season left on his deal, and Placido Polanco and Carlos Ruiz aren’t getting any younger. The bullpen has been a mess for years, and the three, four, and five starters are always question marks.

Joe Blanton is inconsistent (to say the least), Jamie Moyer is just a guy at this point, and the fifth spot is always up in the air. Kyle Kendrick’s recent demotion most likely means the Phillies have given up on him as a starter, and J.A. Happ might have blown his chance to become a full-time starter by getting injured early in the season.

Happ has the tools to be a guy the Phils can count on, but they’re going to need to see a lot more out of him before they can be comfortable penciling him in as a starter year in and year out.

Right now, trading for a top-of-the-line starter is not necessary, nor is it wise. Roy Oswalt and Dan Haren are two names being kicked around, but both guys are very pricey and would likely be the only thing the Phils can get if they trade Werth.

It would be great having another starter, but at this point, I would rather have three or four very good prospects, as opposed to one very good pitcher. Blanton, Moyer, and Happ can carry the load for another season or two. Hopefully, one of the guys they pick up in a Werth trade can develop into an Oswalt/Haren type of player.

The best thing about all of this is that the Phillies could probably trade Werth, call up Dominic Brown, have him platoon with Ben Francisco for a while, and still be good enough to make a late push and win the division—that is, if everyone can figure out what’s causing their funks.

But, with or without Werth, it seems as though that would take a miracle.

So instead of treading water for the rest of the season with a guy like Werth in right field, simply collecting a check until he can jump ship in free agency, why not move him while they can and get some quality guys for the future?

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MLB Trade Rumors: Who’ll Be in a Philadelphia Phillies Uniform Next?

With news from multiple media sources that the Phillies are discussing a “major” deal, the question becomes: Who will be stepping onto the mound for the Phillies this next week? And perhaps more importantly, what Phillies will be donning some other teams duds?

It seems almost assured that Jayson Werth, the lone right handed power bat in the Phillies lineup, will be heading out of town. Contract talks have apparently not gone well and the Phillies are concerned that they will not be able to sign him to a long-term deal.

So, if Werth is traded, is he traded in a separate (gulp—deja vu from the Lee deal) trade or is he part of a trade to acquire a starting pitcher. Let’s look at some of the potential targets for the Phillies and vote on the likelihood of them joining the team.

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