Behold the Amazing MLB Rookie Class of 2010

Back in 2001, the first “article” I ever wrote about baseball was an amateurish ditty comparing the 2001 rookie class to a great rookie class of a generation ago, the 1986 rookie class.

I am reminded of that article in 2010 as an endless stream of amazingly talented can’t-miss prospects spills into Major League Baseball.

It is starting to look like both the 1986 rookie class and the 2001 rookie class are going to pale in comparison to the amazing class we’re starting to put together here in 2010.

Sadly, for the first time (and unlike in 1986 or 2001) I am now significantly older than these guys, so much so as to justify referring to them as “youngsters,” and to say things like, “We didn’t have kids this talented in my day.”

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Report: Philadelphia Phillies’ Slugger Ryan Howard Sprains Right Ankle

Things just couldn’t get worse for the Philadelphia Phillies.

First, after landing the best player on the trade deadline market in Roy Oswalt, he struggled in his debut against a terrible team in the Washington Nationals. It was not a good sight to see, as Washington marched to an 8-1 victory.

Then, entering a game against the Nats again, it seemed that Philly would win and shake off that loss they suffered from.

They didn’t. The Nationals won again.

And now, the team’s best player and slugger in Ryan Howard left today’s game with a sprained right ankle. Oh Lord, please help our beloved Phillies!

Howard was injured after a throw by Washington’s right fielder Michael Morse. Howard tried immediately to scramble back to second base, sprained his ankle, and had to be helped off the field by manager Charlie Manuel and a team trainer.

Things couldn’t get worse for Howard.

He is currently on a slump as he has been oh-for-14. That is not a good sign.

Along with that, he just had his X-Rays and they did not turn out that good. He had X-Rays on his ankle, and it turned out negative.

He also had to have X-Rays on his elbow, too, after getting hit by a pitch from John Lannan. The results on his elbow were negative as well.

Howard has been hitting .292 with 23 home runs. He also has 81 RBI. Hopefully he can recover soon so he can start slugging away again.

Right now, the Phils are a pretty banged up squad.

Second baseman Chase Utley has a sprained right thumb and center fielder Shane Victorino has a abdominal strain. Both are on the disabled list. Along with that, Raul Ibanez has a sore left wrist after trying to dive for the ball in last night’s game against Washington.

Hopefully everything will get recovered soon.

 

Josh Dhani is a Philadelphia Phillies beat writer. You can see more of his work regarding the MLB at clementeatthebat.com

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Philadelphia’s Ryan Howard Injured in First Inning of Nationals Game

After being hit by a pitch, Ryan Howard made his way to second base after a single into right field by Ben Francisco. Howard thought, if just for a second, that he might be able to make it to third, and began rounding second.

He realized his mistake in time as the ball was just about to reach second base, and made an attempt to jump back to second with his left leg extended.

His efforts worked as he reached second base safely, but his ankle gave out and twisted underneath him. Howard immediately fell to his knees and even the people of Washington in Nationals Park were silent as trainers and Charlie Manuel came out to attend to the injured first baseman.

Howard was looked at by Manuel and the Phillies’ trainer for a little while before tossing an arm over each of them and limping off the field. Cody Ransom came in as a pinch-runner and Howard’s replacement at first base, and the Nationals fans gave Howard a classy round of applause.

But right now, everyone in Philadelphia is thinking the same thing: here we go again.

Through all the injuries, whether they are to stars like Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and Shane Victorino, or other guys like Placido Polanco, Ryan Madson, J.C. Romero, or Chad Durbin, Howard has been the one constant in the lineup.

However, if the injury is as bad as it looked, that could change.

I’ve personally suffered the same type of injury, or at least suffered an injury in the same circumstance heading back to second base. When he plants that ankle and locks it, he still has the rest of his body weight coming and it all forces itself right onto his ankle.

When it happened to me, I sprained my ankle and had a partially torn tendon. Hopefully Howard avoided such an injury and only rolled it, but it certainly looked a lot more serious than that.

If Howard is out for any extended amount of time or if he has to hit the DL, it’s going to really set this team back and leave them without a true clean-up hitter. Ross Gload would likely take over at first and Jayson Werth would probably assume the fourth spot in the lineup.

Hopefully it doesn’t come to that, but that’s what I would expect to see for at least the next couple of games.

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The Phillies and Brad Lidge: It’s Time We Start Seeing Other Closers

Breaking up is always hard to do, even when it’s for the best.

You start reminiscing about all the good times you’ve had, the places you’ve traveled together.

It’s even harder when you live together.  All their stuff is in your place, and everywhere you look are reminders of the good thing you had.

But sometimes it has to be done, even if you don’t have another special someone waiting in the wings.

You don’t stay with someone just because you’ve always been with them, hoping that things will get better.

Sometimes, it’s just no longer working and you need to start seeing other people.

For the Phillies and Brad Lidge, that sometime should be now.

There’s a give and take in every relationship.  Last night, the Phillies took the lead in the top of the ninth against the Nationals.

And Brad Lidge gave it away.

It was clear from the start the inning would end badly.  Lidge had no semblance of the strike zone last night.

Even the untrained eye could see he was struggling just to put the ball over.

A typical Lidge outing these days is enough to make your heart race–although not in a good way, like in the old days.

The year was 2008, and Brad Lidge was perfect. Not one blown save.

Not in the regular season.

Not in the postseason.

Lidge came out of that bullpen, and you knew it was game over–for the good guys.

Not any more.

Sure there are sparks of what made you fall in love with the guy in the first place.

The fall-off-the-table slider.

The sizzling fastball.

But when one of the traits starts to fade and you look a little deeper, you realize that there’s not much else there.

Lidge is a two-pitch pony. When one isn’t working, he has to lean on the other to get by.

Even this casual baseball writer can see it.

So what do you think happened when a professional hitter named Ryan Zimmerman stood in against Lidge in the bottom of the ninth with two on, trailing by one?

Lidge got smacked around.

Hard.

He sent that ball deep (and I mean deep ) to straightaway center field.

You square away on a ball like that, you knew what was coming.

Really, we all should have seen what was coming.

Perhaps someone (say, Charlie Manuel) should have seen how wild Lidge was and prevented the abuse that was to follow.

If a starting pitcher was that wild, he would have signaled for the bullpen.

But in baseball these days, it’s the closer’s job to get it done.  And in general, managers stick with those closers until the game is either won or lost.

Even if it’s obvious that a guy just doesn’t have good stuff on a night, he’s left out there to do his job.

The problem that Manuel is facing is that he really doesn’t have anyone else in the ‘pen who has shown he can do the job.

And unfortunately, the clock just struck midnight, ending the annual ball that is the trading deadline, with nary a maiden with closer stuff going home with our handsome prince.

So the Phillies leave the party with the same date they brought. Never showing any signs of checking out the other options there.

While it does speak to their loyalty, it doesn’t do much for the long term happiness of the team…and its fans.

Maybe things will get better. 

Maybe Lidge will find that spark that made him the best closer in baseball two years ago.

Maybe.

But most broken marriages don’t get better without counseling.

Perhaps Lidge can learn a new pitch, like Cole Hamels did in the offseason, so he isn’t walking so narrow a tightrope should he not have his best stuff on a given night.

Maybe they just need a “cooling off period,” so Lidge can focus on him, because we all know we can’t contribute to a relationship unless we’re comfortable in our own skin.

All I know is that this marriage between Lidge and the Phillies appears to be broken, and their friends are worried about it.

We Phillies fans know you have been through a lot together, and we hate to choose sides.

But like in most splits, you end up sticking with the friend you’ve known longer.

Sorry, Brad.

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