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15 notes after losing 15-9

Written by Mike Mariano | 11 August 2010

1. First response isn't "what happened", it's "how did the Braves do?"  It's easy to say just worry about yourself, but in the stretch run every game counts for you and your rivals.  With a Braves win, the team is 2.5 games back in the division, also 1 game back in the wild card race.  This is striking distance, anything can happen at this distance even if it's like this with only a few games to play in September.

2. Kyle Kendrick is a frustrating pitcher.  Not because he's bad, because we all know that, but he lures me in with a few good outings and then BAM! shit outing.  3.1 innings, 8 hits, 6 runs (5 earned), 1 strike out.

3. Vicente Padilla getting a win against the Phillies always pisses me off.  I was so happy to see the big Venezuelan go, but for him to be a better pitcher now at 32 than he was for the Phillies at 27 is just nonsense.

4. Andre Ethier had four hits, scored four runs and reached base six times.  I've always liked that guy.

5. It's not often that you score 9 runs on 14 hits and lose big.  If I was especially determined today I'd do some research on that for you, but I'll settle for assuming it doesn't happen all to often.

6. 12 pitchers threw today and all but three of them allowed earned runs.  Octavio Dotel (.1 innings), Contreras (1), and Durbin (.2) all accomplished this amazing feat.  The bullpens combined for 10.2 innings, 18 hits, 14 runs.  Abominable.

7. The top four hitters in the Dodgers batting order -- Scott Podsednik, Ryan Theriot, Ethier and James Loney -- had 11 hits and scored 11 runs.  That might actually be the recipe for pitching failure.

8. Maybe it's the position?  Ross Gload jacked two two-run-HRs in the game and is doing a fantastic Ryan Howard impression these past few games he's been out.  Gload hasn't been a huge spark this year off the bench, so this stint as a starter is a great time for him to get his mojo going as a big bat down the stretch.

9. It sucks that Domonic Brown's first career home run came in a downer.  It would have been nice for it be at a time we could celebrate it, but it's sweet nonetheless.  Let's call it the first of many. Hopefully... DoBro is the future around here.

10. If I just posted Charlie's quote about the game I could've saved us all a long of time in this recap: "We got so far behind it was hard to catch up," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "Our guys swung the bats well, but we couldn't stop them."

11-12. Werth and Ibanez continue to play well reaching base a combined 5 times, but unless they hit a combined 5 home runs, I'm not sure they could've saved the Phillies today.  Ibanez's hit streak continues to 17 games.

13. Gibbons returned to the major leagues on Aug. 8. His homer off David Herndonwas his first since July 17, 2007, while with the Baltimore Orioles.  Grrrreat.

14. Every Phillie had a hit but Chuuch Ruiz.

15. Every Dodger had a hit except Jamey Carroll who went 0-5.  Tough day when the team finds 18 hits and you can't get even one.

Francoeur a nominee for Worst Everyday Player in Baseball & a look at the Mets payroll

Written by Mike Mariano | 09 August 2010

If only you could vote for this because I would be there all day clicking away.  Joe Posnanski recently wrote an article breaking down the "Worst Everyday Player in Baseball" and of course there had to be a Met or two on there right?  Low and behold it was Jeff Francoeur.  He didn't win, but it is truly an honor to be nominated:

Jeff Francoeur is simply not a good enough hitter to play every day in the big leagues. Nobody is happy about this. Francoeur is by all accounts a terrific guy, he plays hard, he cares a lot, he has some defensive value. But, no matter how hard he tries, he cannot make the adjustments. His .295 on-base percentage this year is not good enough to be an every-day outfielder. Everybody who knows Frankie loves the guy, which is why he leads all of baseball in “Adjustment Could Pay Off This Time” stories. But after a rookie rush that landed him on the cover of Sports Illustrated, he has now had more than 4,000 plate appearances with a .307 on-base base percentage.
Good for him.  Good for the organization.
Also today, Adam Rubin details the Mets payroll for next season and comes across this gem:
The 2011 commitments: 

Santana $22.5 million 
Carlos Beltran $18.5 million 
Jason Bay $16 million 
David Wright $14 million 
Oliver Perez $12 million 
Francisco Rodriguez $11.5 million 
Reyes $11 million 
Luis Castillo $6 million 
Ryota Igarashi $1.75 million 
16 players at major league minimum: $6.4 million 

Total: $119.65 million
That's for 9 real players and 16 schmucks!  Omar Minaya continues to impress.  It would be one thing if this group was contending, but nearly double-digit games out, this is an issue.  If you can't tell I'm on cloud nine after a good weekend taking 2 of 3 from the Mets.  Per the usual, things are going up in Philadelphia and sinking down in Flushing.  Life is good.

Friday Recap: Phillies win it in the Eighth

Written by Mike Mariano | 08 August 2010

In the eighth inning of a 2-1 game, the Phillies finally broke through and put up six runs to take the lead and the game. Jon Niese and Joe Blanton battled like Santana and Halladay, each throwing a great seven innings.  Blanton left in line with the loss, but Chad Durbin ended up getting the win after Bobby Parnell and the Mets bullpen imploded.  Let's look at the stat lines of the eighth inning:
PitchersIP H RERBBSOHRPC-STERA
(L, 0-1; B, 2)
 0.0 4 4 4 0 0 0 19-12 4.12
P Feliciano 0.1 2 2 2 1 1 0 14-8 3.16
M Acosta 0.2 1 0 0 0 0 0 9-6 2.37
Totals1.076611042-26

and the scoring summary:

8th B Francisco singled to center, M Sweeney scored, J Werth to second. 2 2
8th C Ruiz singled to center, J Werth scored, B Francisco to second. 2 3
8th R Gload walked, B Francisco scored, C Ruiz to third, W Valdez to second. 2 4
8th J Rollins singled to left, C Ruiz scored, W Valdez to third, R Gload to second. 2 5
8th P Polanco hit sacrifice fly to center, W Valdez scored. 2 6
8th M Sweeney singled to center, R Gload scored, J Rollins to third. 2 7

And that's really all there is to know about this one.  Beating the Mets makes me happier than just about anything else in the sports world so obviously this was a great one.  Let them get anxious and excited for a win, then sweep the rug out from under them with a good old fashioned bullpen beat-down.  Good times.

Of course the Phillies bullpen nearly blew it themselves, but that's neither here nor there.  Brad Lidge came in and shut the door, who figured that he of all people would stop the bleeding?

Phillies sneak out of Florida with lucky win

Written by Mike Mariano | 06 August 2010

The Phillies did a great job of putting themselves in a position to win last night's game.  From there, the gave the game away at every chance and only the umps could give them the additional life they didn't deserve.  The ninth inning was truly a shit-show for the Phillies.  They squandered the bases loaded with 0 outs by making three consecutive outs, on the basepaths!  How the hell is that possible?

Then the Phillies self-destructed on the basepaths. Ibanez was caught off third on a grounder and tagged out, Werth was picked off second and Domonic Brown was thrown out trying to steal second.

Then in the bottom of the ninth the Marlins knocked the game-winning hit down the 3rd base line.  It was clearly fair, but the umpire blew the call and gave the Phillies that new life.  In the 10th they put together the go-ahead run they needed and got the win on a Carlos Ruiz home run.

Ibanez and Werth continued their strong play with RBI's apiece and teaming up to tie the game in the top of the 10th.

Domonic Brown drives in 3 in 7-1 win

Written by Mike Mariano | 05 August 2010

The Braves got a win yesterday, but the Phillies answered with one of their own to keep the race at 2 games.  I'm laying on a beach in NC so abbreviated game notes for you:

  • Domonic Brown had 3 RBIs, matching his current career total and added nice defensive play on a catch in the gap and a outfield assist at the plate gunning down a runner before scoring.
  • Raul Ibanez also drove in two.  His hit streak is up to twelve games.
  • Kyle Kendrick threw 6 strong and had the Phillies only extra base hit of the day -- a double.
  • The rain delay seemed to affect Marlins starter Anibal Sanchez who struggled early.

The Phillies now sit 2.5 out of the Wild Card as well.  Today is another good chance to gain ground as the Braves see Tim Lincecum who has more career wins against the Brave than any other team.

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