Philadelphia Phillies Should Option Juan Castro, Keep Wilson Valdez

With Jimmy Rollins set to come off the DL and return to the lineup on Tuesday, the Phillies will face a decision on which of their backup shortstops they want to keep on the bench, and which one they want to send down to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

For me, the decision would appear to be an easy one.

Over the past few games Wilson Valdez has been clutch. Whether it’s coming up with a key hit to get a rally started—or keep a rally going—or being a wall in the infield, Valdez has shown more than enough to warrant a spot on the bench.

Valdez is only a .229 career hitter, but he’s hitting .250 this year with two homeruns, 12 RBIs, seven doubles, one triple, and two stolen bases.

His competition, Juan Castro, just doesn’t stack up.

Castro is hitting .222 with zero homeruns, 12 RBIs, five doubles, zero triples, and zero stolen bases. Castro also has three errors in 32 games, whereas Valdez doesn’t have an error to his name in five more games.

The numbers seem to speak for themselves. Valdez is outperforming Castro in every category, and also has the speed and awareness to fit that Eric Bruntlett-type utility role the Phillies seem to have been missing while guys are dropping like flies.

Not only that, but from an overall roster management standpoint, it makes a lot more sense to keep Valdez and option Castro —mainly because Valdez is out of options, and Castro isn’t.

Valdez would have to once again clear waivers, but after the way he’s played over the past week or so, there is no way he makes it through. There is at least one of the other 29 teams that could use a guy like Valdez.

Castro, however, could be sent down outright to Lehigh Valley. He could start down there, get some at-bats, and be ready if something were to happen to Rollins again.

But for now, Valdez has done more than enough to warrant a spot as the backup infielder for the remainder of the season.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

Phillies’ Offense Regresses, Drops Finale to Twins

A game like the one the Phillies played in the series finale against the Twins is exactly why we can never be too quick to proclaim a funk over.

After only one run on a measly four hits, the Phillies offense looked as bad in that game as it has over the past few weeks. Carl Pavano completely shut down the entire lineup (sans Wilson Valdez) as he went the distance to give the Twins their second win in a best-of-three series.

On the mound, Roy Halladay continues to get bitten by the long ball as he allowed two home runs in eight innings. He also allowed 11 total hits, four total runs, and struck out eight.

Right now, this season is looking exactly like 2008 as far as how the offense performs based on who is on the mound that day. Back in ’08, it seemed like anytime Cole Hamels was on the mound the offense was strapping on a blindfold on their walk to the plate.

But when it was Jamie Moyer’s turn from the hill, they came out swinging and smacking anything even close to the strike zone.

This year, we’re seeing the same thing. When Halladay is pitching, they seem to take it for granted and aren’t pressing at the plate. They’re letting good pitches go by, are always watching the first pitch, and can’t seem to get themselves into favorable counts.

When you’re down 1-2, it’s incredibly difficult to guess what a pitcher is going to throw because he can really go anywhere. Because of that, they’re left either looking at a strike as they get back-doored or reaching the buffoons and popping the ball into the shallow part of the outfield.

Everyone, except Placido Polanco, is swinging for the fences and, most of the time this year, are either missing wildly or simply flying out to the warning track as they did against the Twins in the finale.

I’m continuing to look forward to the Cleveland series as it should give their bats a chance to get going, especially with Jimmy Rollins set to return to the lineup. Carlos Ruiz should be back as well, and will give a much-needed boost offensively and defensively.

Wth those guys back, Shane Victorino can go back to the seven hole where he belongs.  Brian Schneider is then available as a pinch-hitter behind Ruiz, who seems to be getting on base every game he plays.

I don’t think many in Philly are panicking yet, but we only have so much time left of the “it’s still early” mantra. The season is going to hit the mid-way point before we know it, and then it’s going to take one hell of a performance on the back nine to get things rolling.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

Despite Loss to Twins, Philles Headed in Right Direction

The Phillies lost one of the most up-and-down games I’ve ever seen to the Minnesota Twins by a score of 13-10, but there were a lot of positives to take from the game.

For starters, the Phils scored 10 runs — something they haven’t been doing a whole lot of recently as they fight to fully escape their offensive funk. It’s still too soon to proclaim it over, but with 14 hits and a double-digit run total, they’re certainly making strides.

They also did all that without Jimmy Rollins and Carlos Ruiz — both of whom are expected back in the lineup sometime in the middle of next week.

And to keep with the recent trend, the starting pitcher looked very good for the most part. Cole Hamels had a difficult start to the game, allowing three runs in the first inning, but he turned it around and allowed only one more run in the next six innings he pitched.

Overall, Hamels finished with seven innings pitched, five hits, four runs, three earned, walked two, struck out seven, allowed one homerun, and had one error.

Chase Utley was the star of the game on offense going 3-5 with three RBIs and a couple extra-base hits. Utley, like the rest of the offense, appears set to pull out his funk once and for all and make a push in the latter portion of the season.

Any negatives there were to find with this team came from the bullpen.

The Phillies were leading 9-4 heading into the ninth inning after seven very good innings from Hamels and a great eighth inning by J.C. Romero, but a combination of Jose Contreras and Brad Lidge gave the game away.

Contreras walked a man, allowed a base hit which turned into a run, and then gave up a pinch-hit homerun to Jim Thome to make the game 9-7. With no outs, he was replaced by Lidge who, after getting two outs, gave up a homerun to Joe Mauer with a man on base to tie the game at nine heading into the bottom of the ninth.

The wheels fell off from there as Chad Durbin and Danny Baez took their turns messing things and eventually losing the game, even after Ross Gload brought the Phillies back with a pinch-hit homerun in the 10th to tie the game at 10.

So, for once this season, it wasn’t the offense getting knocked around. But the play of the bullpen is more than alarming. If they don’t pick it up tomorrow, we could see a bit of a shake-up from Charlie Manuel in that ‘pen.

Losing a game they should have won is certainly going to hurt, but if they can rebound and beat the Twins in the finale to take the series, they should be able to get on a roll as they’ll have six more consecutive home games, three of which come against the cupcake Cleveland Indians.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

Philadelphia Phillies Can Gain Momentum after Besting New York Yankees

For the same reasons I’m not going to declare a four-game stretch a slump, I’m not going to declare a pretty decent stretch of the same length as enough to bust out of a slump.

There is hope, however, now that the Phillies have taken three of their last four—the finale against the Red Sox and two out of three against the Yankees—and are finally starting to show glimpses of the back-to-back NL champions that they are.

The bats look like they’re starting to get going again, guys are coming through in clutch situations, and the starting pitching even seems to be correcting itself on the fly after two superb outings in consecutive games by Jamie Moyer and Kyle Kendrick.

But now the hard part comes.

The Phils can’t just be satisfied with beating the Yankees and then fall into their old ways. They have to use this series to gain some momentum and some confidence in themselves.

The talent is clearly there. Unlike even the past two seasons, the Phillies have everything they need in place to make a serious run. All they have to do is quit getting in their own way and finally start making things happen.

Here is usually where I’d insert some semi-insightful analysis as to what they can do to keep the momentum going and break from the slump, but it’s too easy. All they’ve got to do is keep playing the way they know they can play, stop pressing, and do what they do best.

This season isn’t going to hinge upon a trade-deadline move for a pitcher or a big bat. If anything, the only moves the Phillies have to worry about making will come when they finally start moving guys off the DL and back into the lineup—or rotation in the case of J.A. Happ.

And that has been the most agonizing part of this slide: The talent is there from the very top to the very bottom. The pitching, from the ace to the fifth spot, is more than solid. The lineup, from leadoff to the eighth man, is more than capable of getting things done and scoring some runs.

Yes, even with Jimmy Rollins out for most of the season as well as the few times they’ve been without Placido Polanco and Carlos Ruiz.

The Phils can usually afford to wait until after the All-Star break to get something going, but they won’t be afforded that same opportunity this season. The NL East is far too good and if they wait until July to start getting things in place it could be too late.

Only eight games separate the team at the top (Atlanta Braves, 39-28) and the team at the bottom (Washington Nationals, 31-36). With the Nationals just barely under .500, it’s clear the baseball gods are not going to make this an easy season for anyone in the NL East.

Joe Blanton (1-5, 7.28 ERA) is set to take on Nick Blackburn (6-3, 4.96 ERA) Friday, so that could put the rally off at least one game as Blanton has been putrid all season long. After that, however, things start to look up as Cole Hamels and Roy Halladay take the mound.

I’m not saying they’re going to go undefeated the rest of the season, but the Phils are going to start a tear right now. In fact, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see them sitting atop the NL East heading into the All-Star break.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

Philadelphia Phillies Now Lacking Confidence It Takes to Win?

Suffice it to say this little slump the Phillies are in is the worst we’ve seen in a long time, and it has officially become incredibly worrisome. It’s not even so much that they’re losing games, but more how they’re losing these games.

At least in prior years when the Phils would hit their annual slump, it appeared to simply be an issue with their mechanics, or overcoming the injury bug, or just an old-fashioned slump that every baseball player inevitably goes through.

However, it never appeared to be a lack of confidence.

They stood tall at the plate or the mound, were selective in the pitches they offered at, and were usually in the game come the seventh or eighth inning.

But this time around, confidence seems to be the key issue. Or more to the point, the lack thereof.

The posture at the plate isn’t very good. And I don’t mean they’re slouched or that there’s necessarily something wrong with the mechanics of the stance, but they’re not taking over the plate the way they used to.

It used to be that anyone in this lineup could just walk up to the plate and strike fear in the opposing pitcher because of the way they just seemed to overtake the batter’s box. There was a confidence that everyone in the stadium or watching from their couches could see.

But now they seem fidgety and unsure of themselves. They’re offering at ridiculous pitches a 10-year old would laugh at.

Then, once they offer at them, they’re not keeping their head down on the ball. It’s the first thing you’re taught since T-ball, but these professionals can’t seem to swing the bat without winding up with their head in left field.

And once the deficit gets big enough, they all start hacking for home runs. They start pressing, and suddenly guys like Juan Castro, Wilson Valdez, and Carlos Ruiz are swinging like they’re Babe Ruth or Mark McGwire.

What the Phillies need now is a cupcake pitcher they can smack around a little bit. Perhaps if they can put 10-15 runs on someone, they’ll start believing in themselves again and won’t act like the only girl on the 12-year old team every time they’re at the plate.

And on top of all the woes they’re having at the plate, it looks like the starting pitchers are finally taking their turn at imploding. Even Roy Halladay was unable to avoid being victimized by the long-ball Joe Blaton style, as it appears Cole Hamels is the only guy left they can rely upon.

But if we can put the doomsday thoughts aside, it is still fairly early in the season. The Phillies usually don’t get hot until after the All-Star break anyway, so perhaps we’re all hopping onto the ledge a bit too quickly.

They’re not too far out in the NL East and, if they can get hot in the latter portion of the season the rest of the teams in the East are usually good for a late-season slide. Then once they’re in the playoffs it’s a whole new season.

Here’s to hoping, I guess.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

Upcoming Yankees Series Could Bring Hope for Phillies

While it was nice to see the Phillies leave Boston on a positive note with a 5-3 win against the Red Sox, it’s difficult not to look ahead and dread the Phils’ three-game series in New York against the red-hot Yankees.

The two teams have been on two completely different paths this season, as the Yankees have seemingly breezed their way to an impressive 40-23 record, while the Phillies are struggling for every single run—much less a win.

There is, however, some hope for the Phillies and their fans that they can pull out a couple wins during this stretch and use it as momentum to get their season rolling.

First of all, the Phillies seem to always do this. At some point between June and August, they start looking like a bunch of scrubs and drop games to teams with no business being on the same field. But they pull out of it just in time to get things rolling and suck us all back in.

But during their stretch of incompetence, it’s clear they play to the level of their competition; good or bad. So when they open up their series against the Yankees this Tuesday, it’s likely they’ll come out and look like the team everyone expected to represent the NL in the World Series, and not the team barely hanging in the middle of the pack in the NL East.

If they can get their bats moving and play well against a team like the Yankees, it could go a long way toward repairing their damaged psyche and hopefully translate into a run that can get them back on top of their game, and the NL East.

Secondly, Roy Halladay will be pitching on Tuesday. Halladay is 8-4 on the season with a 1.96 ERA and a few complete games, including MLB’s 20th perfect game all-time.

His win-loss record isn’t bad, but it’s very misleading. There’s only been one game all season long that he truly lost. The other three have been a complete lack of run support. So even though he only allows one or two runs, it’s going to be difficult to win when his offense can’t even get him that.

Halladay will duel C.C. Sabathia (6-3, 4.01 ERA), who has been a bit inconsistent this season when not playing the Baltimore Orioles. In fact, it’s been almost a month since he’s beaten a team other than the Orioles, and is a mediocre 2-3 against the other teams he’s faced.

The Phils are really going to have to get the bats going on Wednesday and Thursday to help support Kyle Kendrick and Jamie Moyer respectively, but if they can score even three or four runs on Tuesday, it should be enough to get the opening win and, hopefully, some momentum.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

Philadelphia Phillies Again Embarrassed By Red Sox in Boston

It just doesn’t seem like the Phillies are ever going to get back on track, does it?

Even earlier this season, it wasn’t a big deal if the Phillies fell behind because we all knew the bats would get going and they’d find a way to pull it out.

They used to thrive when they were down, but now it seems to do nothing but take the wind right out of their sails.

And now things have gotten so bad that even with an early two-run lead, the Phils can’t seem to get out of their own way long enough to actually make something happen or sustain a run.

The one and only bright spot of this dreadful run for the Phillies was the fact that their starting pitchers were at least keeping them in the game. Even the rightfully oft-criticized bullpen wasn’t allowing a whole lot of scoring.

But now, after two of the worst outings I’ve seen in back-to-back days by starting pitchers, there isn’t a bright spot left for the Phillies.

Jamie Moyer had his worst start in his 84-year career and was only able to last a little over one inning as he gave up nine runs on nine hits and the Phils lost 12-2 to the Red Sox on Friday.

And then, on Saturday, Joe Blanton decided to keep it up as he gave up nine runs of his own on 13 hits over four pathetic innings.

But that’s not even the most embarrassing part. The most embarrassing part is when a kid making his first major league plate appearance comes up with the bases loaded and I’m not surprised in the least when he hits a grand slam.

That’s right. For those of you who had the good fortune to miss the game, Daniel Nava, a kid who went undrafted and played in an independent league, nailed a grand slam off Blanton in his very first plate appearance.

Not only that, but he did it on the very first pitch.

That should be a surprising feat. The guys in the booth were surprised as they yammered on and on and on and on about it all game long, but I wasn’t shocked in the least.

I stood in front of my TV, said “Here comes the salami” out-loud to myself and simply shook my head and walked away as soon as he took the swing. No doubt about it, that ball was gone.

But that wasn’t the end of the woeful day as the Phils were victimized for 10 runs and 16 hits while they were held scoreless for the final seven innings and only mustered seven hits for the day and continued their horrendous interleague play.

Cole Hamels is slated to get the start on Sunday as the Phillies look to avoid being swept by the Red Sox, but that doesn’t appear likely with the knuckleballer Tim Wakefield on the mound for Boston.

The Phillies have a tough time with knuckleball pitchers and with any team playing out of the AL, so don’t expect much of anything on Sunday, either.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

DeSean Jackson’s OTA Absence Not Contract-Related?

DeSean Jackson, along with cornerback Asante Samuel, missed OTAs today, and according to sources close to the team, no one is expecting them to participate at all this week.

The news isn’t all that surprising for Samuel given the fact that he skipped an entire week of voluntary workouts last season as well. He’s cited as having “personal issues” to deal with, but who knows whether or not that’s true.

Samuel has shown that he doesn’t look at these workouts as a vital part of his offseason, so it’s likely he fed the Eagles some nonsense excuse knowing there’s not a whole lot they can do.

Jackson’s absence, on the other hand, is a bit more peculiar. He has been a gym rat for his first two seasons and hasn’t missed practices but now, in the midst of contract uncertainty, he’s missing not just a couple days, but an entire week’s worth of practices.

So, of course, the first conclusion is it’s his way of sending a message. He wants the Eagles to see that he doesn’t have a problem missing workouts if he doesn’t get the money he deserves.

Even though he’s already said he wasn’t going to cause a problem over it.

“DeSean Jackson’s absence from Eagles OTAs today is not contract related,” according to Adam Schefter. He tweets. “Not sure why he is missing, but am told it is not contract.”

Schefter catches a bit of a hard time amongst bloggers and fans alike but nine times out of ten the guy is right and his sources rarely let him down.

The word around Philly is that Jackson’s absence is related to several different miscellaneous things he has to deal with and he is choosing to skip the voluntary workouts in order to address whatever those things might be.

But even if he does have other things to deal with, the fact that he would choose right now to address them does speak to how he’s feeling at the moment.

If he wasn’t seeking a new deal, would he have skipped practice in order to deal with these things?

He does have an agent who could deal with any PR-related events.

So while there two sets of rumors floating around to explain Jackson’s absence, the most likely scenario is that it’s a combination of both.

If he’s already missing workouts because he’s unhappy about his current deal, it could mean a long offseason of headaches for the Birds.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

Charlie Manuel Must Find a Way to Correct Philadelphia Phillies

If it’s not one thing with these Phillies over the past two weeks or so, then it’s another. If the pitching is spot on, then you can be sure the offense will struggle to muster a single run.

Then once the hitting finally gets going, the pitching and defense begin to struggle, and you’re stuck with that Padres game from Sunday.

The Phillies had no business losing that game the way they did, especially since the offense lit it up in the first two innings. Granted, the Padres quickly pulled Kevin Correia, their starter, after the second inning, but there’s no reason for San Diego’s bullpen to be as shutdown as it was.

They’ve turned themselves into a pretty decent team, and the bullpen isn’t anything to scoff at, but this Phillies lineup should be able to hit any bullpen in the league—especially when they’re forced to eat up eight innings.

Then again, perhaps I’m being too optimistic by thinking the hitting is coming back. Perhaps Correia was simply that bad. Maybe if the Phillies had actually been on, they could have tagged him for 15 runs and not five.

I’m just not sure. Right about now, you’re basically reading the thoughts of a man who has absolutely no idea anymore. First I thought it was just a funk they’d get out of, then I thought it was about complacency, and now I’m telling you I have no idea—and I’m not sure anyone in the organization does either.

The players, the coaches, and the front office seem truly stumped. The only thing they can tell us is that they’re sick of talking about it, as Shane Victorino recently told the media.

Well, Vicky, I’m about as anti-Philly media as they come, but if even one of the eight of you would start connecting with the ball like we all know you can, there would be no questions about why in the world the most talented lineup in the National League is struggling.

Then as far as the pitching goes, there doesn’t seem to be much of an answer there either.

One thing I do know, however, is that when every aspect of a team is beginning to fall apart, it’s time to look at the coaches. No, I’m not going to start a “Fire Charlie Manuel” campaign, but it’s on him to get this team headed back in the right direction.

Given his track record, I believe he will, but he’s certainly taking his sweet time about it.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

Complacency Will Haunt the Philadelphia Phillies All Season Long

The only way to explain the slump of this entire team is complacency. They have become so used to winning without truly trying that it’s now catching up to them.

We see every day that not only in sports, but winning in life as well all comes down to who wants it more and not about who’s the most talented. There’s no doubt the Phillies are one of, if not the most talented teams in the league.

However, when Charlie Manuel has to turn their TV off in the clubhouse because they’re all watching Gran Torino before the game rather than getting themselves prepared, it shows a clear complacency that could haunt them for the rest of the season.

Manuel is doing everything he can. He’s switching the lineup hoping that will create a spark, but it’s not working. He’s tried simply being patient with them and letting them work it out, but it’s not working.

Now he’s showing how he plans on breaking the complacency: he’s going to get thrown out of some games and really treat them like they’re a team full of teenage misfits playing as a term of their probation.

Seeing him actually give a damn might get through to them, but it’s going to have to happen quickly as in just a little over a week they’ve lost the lead in the division to the Braves, and currently sit two and a half games back.

The season is still young, and injuries have certainly played a part, but if they can’t find a way to start caring on a day-to-day basis, they could find themselves in a lot of trouble come September.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

« Previous Page — Next Page »