Game chat: Happ recalled; Feliz placed on 15-day DL

As expected, the Phillies recalled left-hander J.A. Happ from Lehigh Valley, but the team also made an unexpected move, placing third baseman Pedro Feliz on the 15-day disabled list and recalling corner infielder Mike Cervenak, according to the Morning Call.

Transaction summary: Happ went 7-6 with a 3.30 ERA in 20 games for the IronPigs and made two starts for the Phils earlier this month. Cervenak, a minor league journeyman who can play first and third sparingly, was up with the club before the All-Star break and only got one at bat. With Lehigh Valley, the 31-year-old was hitting .320/.343/.443 with seven home runs. Feliz did not appear during the Phillies’ homestand, at which time the club revealed that he had been playing through a strained back for weeks. He was hitless in his last four games. Greg Dobbs and Eric Bruntlett figure to platoon at the position while Feliz recovers, with Cervenak becoming an emergency reserve. As for Happ, the club intends to add him to the bullpen in a long relief role.

Game summary: The Phillies resume play tonight when Brett Myers (3-9, 5.82) faces Collin Balester (1-2, 5.75) for the first of three from our Nation’s Capitol. Myers makes his second start since being recalled from the minors July 21. Balester will be facing the Phillies for the first time; the Phils have not faced the Nats since May 21. Washington comes into the series owners of the worst record in baseball (38-67, .362)

Comments

[TK]

I'll be there, and expect it to be at least 50% Phils fans. The Nats should've stayed in Montreal.

[Bedrosian's Beard]

I'll be there tomorrow night.

[Dave X]

From Keith Goldstein via Phuture Phillies on Freddie Galvis :

"Freddy Galvis, an 18-year-old Venezuelan shortstop, is batting just .225/.289/.257, but one scout who recent saw him couldn’t help but be impressed. “Defensively, he’s what I call an extreme defender—he’s just a magician out there,” said the scout. “Every day you see him, he’ll make at least one play that a lot of big-league shortstops wouldn’t have a chance at. And he’s not just flash, all the routine plays are made as well.” As for his non-existent offense, the scout did see enough room for improvement to tag him as an everyday player. “Look, he’s definitely a bottom of the lineup guy, but he slaps the ball around and keeps his hands inside well. I think that small-ball situational hitting will be there for him in the end, as there are some offensive instincts there.”

[TK]

I'll be there tomorrow night as well. Get to see Moyer and CY REDDING live!!

[Jack]

Talking about Galvis, obviously the kid can't hit right now, but everything I've read says he's an incredible defensive SS. In a recent BP article, a scout was quoted as saying: "Every day you see him, he'll make at least one play that a lot of big-league shortstops wouldn't have a chance at". He's only 18 and in A ball, so if he can get his offense to an even barely respectable level, he can have a major league career. I hope he does just so I can see what all the hype is about defensively.

[GM-Carson]

Phils need a series win, or better yet a sweep, and Washington sucks, so that shouldn't be out of the question.

[Frankie Four Fingers]

I wish we had Mike Costanzo back. I'd call him up right about now. Does Ed Wade have him? Trade Eaton for Coastano and have Wade eat Eaton's salary.

[AWH]

"Just realized Nationals have worst record in MLB. Anything less than a sweep here would be disappointing..."

Shutup Joe. No offense intended, but have you never heard of the BeerLeaguer Reverse Jinx?

The Nats are gnats, indeed, when it come to the Phillies, buzzing around and getting in their eyes. They always play them tough.

This series scares me precisely because the Nats have been so bad. They also have lost 7 in a row.

Probability says they're due for a win or two, and if the Phils go down to DC, take the Nats lightly, they could easily crap the bed as they have in the past while playing the Nats.

To refresh your memory, in 2006 they lost 2 out of three to the Nats the last week of the season.

In 2005, the year they lost the WC by one game, they lost 2 out of 3 to open the season, and lost 2 of 3 to start September.

They wound up sweeping the Nats to end the season, but by then it was too late.

In case you're wondering, the fightin' Phils are a whopping 3-3 against the lowly Nats this year.

And lastly, as JW points out, they're facing a pitcher tonight they've never seen before. We all know how that usually turns out for them.

Beware, this series has 'trap' written all over it.

[doubleh]

Constanzo is with the Orioles now (part of the Tejada trade). The O's are trying to convert him into a catcher or Bruntlett type.

[AWH]

Carson, you should know better too.

[CJ]

How many games has Jason Donald played at third in his minor league career? That's right, it's zero.

And someone on this list is suggesting he should be on the roster to play in place of Feliz?

Really?

[mvptommyd]

Ok, so if Myers getting shelled tonight, whats the next step?

[joe l]

I assume another Joe made a comment in the previous thread about the Nats?

[CJ]

mvp: That's likely a big reason why Happ is back up. He's a backup plan.

[AWH the RBP]

"Ok, so if Myers getting shelled tonight, whats the next step?"

J.A. Happ!

[bay_area_phan]

Galvis is in the mold of Omar Vizquel and Ozzie Smith. Both those guys were terrible offenseive players early in their career, but eventually turned themselves into respectable hitters who could hit .275, draw lots of walks, and play fantastic defense. Not saying that Galvis is going to turn into the same type of player, but that's his upside. He's only 19 and he already seems to have good plate management. He still isn't a good hitter, but has improved considerably from last year. He's got a chance to be a pretty decent hitter some day. At worst, he's a future utility player.

[mvptommyd]

CJ & AWH: Ok, i was thinking the same thing but then what do we do with our left handed bullpen situation because then obviously you bring Myers to the bullpen in place of Happ goign to the rotation then who to replace Seanez???

[AWH the RBP]

Yep, another joe, but my response would have been the same to anyone.

For some reason this team gives the Phils fits, and it's extremely difficult to sweep a series against any team.

[bay_area_phan]

AWH: And you forgot to mention that we face Philly killer Tim Redding tomorrow.

If Myers' implodes tonight, he's out of chances. I was one of his few defenders after the last outing. Sure, he was terrible, but he was terrible in a different way than before. At least he wasn't yielding a ton of hits or homeruns. Nonetheless, a terrible outing is a terrible outing, even if the modus operandi was different than usual. Another similar outing, or a 3-inning, 5-run special, and Myers has to go back to the bullpen. Not that I have any confidence he'll be any better out of the bullpen.

I'll be optimistic for a change and predict a respectable outing tonight -- say 6 innings, 2 runs allowed. The Nationals are terrible, after all.

[Jack]

bap: He's only 18, doesn't turn 19 until Novemeber. Be interesting to see if they start him at High A next year, or keep him at Lakewood. If they move him to Clearwater, he'll be playing at a high level for his age, meaning if he can even tread water there offensively, he'll be on a good track.

[Jack]

The Nationals are easily the worst offensive team in the league. If Myers can't have a quality start against them, he's done.

[Joe]

i guess i have to apologize for expecting my team to do well against the worst team in the majors? F*ck the jinx. how bout that?

let's sweep this $hitty a$$ squad.

[doubleh]

If Myers gets pounded tonight, he has to be done. The Nats are not a great offensive club and they are slumping on top of it.

The Nats will play us hard as usual, though. I just want to win the series and hope that we can finally beat Cy Redding tomorrow.

[denny b.]

If Myers can't get this lame Nationals lineup out tonight, this has to be it for him.

The Nats have scored about 9 runs in the past 5 games. They are pathetic.

Myers replacement is not on the active roster. He better give them 6 good innings tonight, or its over for him.

[CJ]

mvp: This team has had the best bullpen in baseball all year long with just one lefty in the bullpen. I think they'll be fine.

[denny b.]

Above, that should have said Myers replacement is NOW on the active roster.

[mike cunningham]

@Jeltz -- the post wasn't directed at you, I saw your post after mine. Pure coincidence.
Re: oldest traditions:
I mean the Olympics in general as one of the world's oldest traditions. Ask any athlete who gets to play for his country about the experience and rarely do they discuss the actual sport they play. Snark if you like.

The point is, Donald will experience things in Beijing few major leaguers will ever get. And while the end all be all is the Majors. A 2 week cup of coffee sitting behind Bruntlett and Dobbs would be less valuable than getting the full Olympic experience.

If anyone was at First Energy stadium saturday night and saw the ceremony after the game sending Donald and Lou Marson off, they know what that means and what it means to these players.

[Bedrosian's Beard]

Olympics have become a corporate joke, the amatuers of years gone past have been replaced by high priced players and others on...PEDS- far cry from what it used to be. It's gotta be an honor to be chosen. However, if I was in team mgmt, I'd want my players here.

[Inside/Outside the Parker]

Eaton's replacement is on the roster, not Myers. If Myers stinks it up, there is still a major hole in the rotation. Are they going to a 4 man rotation if Myers stinks? I don't think so.

I predicted a Myers renaissance before his last start. After watching him pitch, I lost the will to care about the guy anymore. I'm predicting that he stinks to high heaven tonight, and that there is massive panic in the streets. If Myers refuses to throw his fastball over the plate against the Nats, then he is done. Actually, the Mets lineup is only slightly more frightening than the Nats so, I'm not sure that Myers is going to have extreme confidence going against these guys. I'm guessing that most of the starters for the Nationals have stats after this series that indicates they are having a "turnaround." Unfortunately for them, they will quickly learn that facing the back end of the Phillies rotation (everyone past Hamels) doesn't count as a "turnaround." At least Happ is new.

[CJ]

Parker: If Myers stinks it up, they won't be going 4-man. They'll be going:
Hamels
Moyer
Kendrick
Blanton
Happ

His replacement is on the roster.

[wally]

The Mets have scored the 6th most runs in the game, hitting in a pitcher's park.

[Steve Jeltz]

wally: there are a lot of bad offenses in the NL. In fact, there's a whole division of them out west.

[doubleh]

Yeah, I don't understand the Mets to Nats offensive comparison. The Mets don't have the greatest lineup, but they have many more fearsome hitters than the Nats. On top of it, the Mets have been hot lately.

[philsphan]

I agree with CJ. Happ is the replacement for Myers, as he was earlier this season. Blanton is the replacement for Eaton. Lets just hope he pitches better than Eaton...

[wally]

Steve, no doubt. Matt Holliday is maybe the only dangerous player in the entire NL West. But suggesting that the Mets are comparable to the Nats is ridiculous.

[Steve Jeltz]

wally: agreed.

[MG]

My bet is Myers looks tolerable tonight (say 6 innings with 3-4 runs) and everyone will talk about how maybe Myers turned a corner.

[Sophist]

Teixeira to the Angels. Won't have to see him 6 more times.

[Mike]

Donald for Mahay is a stupid trade. You don't trade prospects for a 40 year old bullpen guy. This better not happen. You can use Donald to get a lot more than Mahay. Trade him to Pittsburgh with some other guys and get Bay. Pittsburgh likes to give their players away.

[MG]

Wow. An organization that is never know for making a big move (Angels) at the deadline does. At least the Phils acquired "Big-Splash" Blanton.

[bay_area_phan]

Teixeira to the Angels for Kotchman and Steven Marek. Terrible, terrible trade for Atlanta. Marek's minor league numbers are nothing special and Kotchman is a huge step down from Teixeira. Hard to believe they couldn't do better.

[MG]

Scouting report on Balester from a chat with my friend (Nats' season ticket holder) today on IM:

Me: What about the upcoming series and this Balester kid?
Him: He sucks. One of those guys that a team with 90-100 losses seem to give at least 4-5 starts along the way with pretty poor results.

Always hard to sweep a team in baseball especially on the road. If the Phils don't win 2 of 3 though against this sorry bunch, it will be pretty sad.

[Sophist]

BAP - Seems better than 2 draft picks though, right? Kotchman's only 25, a great defender with a high hitting ceiling. His top 3 comparables through age 25 are Ortiz, Nick Johnson, and Conor Jackson. He's also making beans in baseball money. Seems Teixeira for Kotchman isn't so bad.

[mike cunningham]

glad to see tex gone. since the braves have packed it in. Is this the end for Bobby Cox?

[CJ]

So the Braves traded Jarrod Saltalamacchia,shortstop Elvis Andrus, right-hander Neftali Feliz, left-hander Matt Harrison and left-hander Beau Jones for Casey Kotchman and Steven Marek as well as a few months of Ron Mahay and about a year of Mark Teixeira.

[PhillR]

Kotchman for Tex seems like a pretty reasonable return right now, but if Salty turns out to be good then this could look pretty silly.

I am glad to see Happ is back up. I am cautiously optimistic on him.

[clout]

First, I want to announce that I'll be cutting back on my posts due to Jason's initiation of a PED testing policy. I realize my posts were way up last year from my career average and obviously that's the only possible explanation.

On Donald: Lotta love for him here. I too love his bat. But I also realize he's old for AA, his glove is a problem and his market value is pretty high right now. The window is closing folks. Mahay is a solid veteran LOOGY who would allow Romero to be used less often, which will improve his effectiveness.

The Feliz injury is good news for the Phillies offense because Manuel will be forced to start Dobbs vs. RHP. To Jack, Brian G, Tray and others who think dozens of balls get hit to thirdbase every game, I say, Watch and learn.

Finally, I predict we are at the start of a Phillies hot streak. There's not a lot of mystery to this team. They lose to good teams and beat bad ones.

[bay_area_phan]

sophist: Yeah, maybe you have a point. Kotchman hasn't proven himself to be anything special but, then again, he has proven himself to be a decent major leaguer. In a sense, that's better value than top prospects, since many of those top prospects don't pan out at all. I just thought they'd get more for Teixeira.

[CJ]

clout: Don't feed the myth. Mahay isn't a LOOGY. Romero SHOULD be a LOOGY but he hasn't been used like one. Mahay is equally tough on both sides of the plate.

[MG]

Clout - Agreed about the Phils chances of winning but with Myers on the mound tonight? Who knows. I wouldn't be surprised if he gives them a decent outing. Also wouldn't be surprised to see him up 5 or 6 runs either on a couple of long balls.

[Sophist]

BAP - It certainly looks not so great in light of the move for Tex last year. Something like the Bedard trade SEA made but given a full year to work.

I think the league the arm came from is hitter friendly.

[MG]

Texiera trade raises the white flag officially for the Braves and I am willing to bet on their days as being a frontline contender in the NL East too. Wouldn't surprise me to see Cox retire this offseason.

Thought it was crazy that all of the pundits was so fond of them this preseason when their two best players (Smoltz and Chipper) were huge injury concerns. Granted the Braves have had a bunch of other tough-luck injuries too but still wondered how that team was going to win more than 85 games max.

[anon]

anyone have starting lineup?

[mb]

Me: What about the upcoming series and this Balester kid?
Him: He sucks. One of those guys that a team with 90-100 losses seem to give at least 4-5 starts along the way with pretty poor results.

Posted by:MG

--> sounds pretty similar to the guy we have starting us tonight.

[mb]

J. Rollins SS
S. Victorino CF
C. Utley 2B
R. Howard 1B
P. Burrell LF
G. Jenkins RF
G. Dobbs 3B
C. Coste C
B. Myers P

[Casey]

I think it's an excellent return for the Braves. Not only is Kotchman probably more valuable than the two picks they would get without a trade, the Braves can use the $4-5 million they save on Teixeira's 2008 to pay their new first baseman for the next couple of years.

[Brian G]

I like that trade for both the Braves and Angels. Angels make their so so offense more dangerous for a playoff run, and the Braves get 3 years of an overall average 1st basemen, who is certainly good enough for a retooling as opposed to rebuilding team.

[CJ]

Casey: It's excellent if it's the best they could get. I think many thought more could be had. I would agree that it's likely better than the 2 draft picks they would have received.

However, it's fairly clear that the Teixeira trade from the beginning was a bust. They didn't make the playoffs and they got back less in prospects than they dealt away.

[Reed]

Phils please win just so you can shut up Bob "Worst Play-byPlay Guy Ever" Carpenter. If you took my blood pressure during a Bob moment, the thermometer would break.

For those watching Extra Innings, please make sure there are no sharp objects around and please don't throw anything at the TV - that can break the TV.

This kid for the gNats can dial it up to mid to high 90s. TAKE PITCHES AND MAKE HIM WORK!

[MG]

Cholly may be a knowledgable guy about hitting but man his pre-game interviews are just brutal. Doesn't help that Wheels does them either. Just so vanilla.

Compare that to the interview today with Dobbs about his approach to hitting (pinch-hitting in particular) with Sarge. Interesting and insightful.

[bay_area_phan]

The problem, from the Braves' perspective, was that there simply wasn't much of a buyer's market for first basemen. Most contending teams already have first baseman, who are either excellent players or who are drawing high salaries.

[Casey]

CJ - I wouldn't call it a bust. Teixeira performed beyond expectations in the two half-seasons with the Braves. It was a reasonable time to take a shot when they made the trade, and it didn't work out for other reasons. And maybe I overvalue Kotchman or undervalue Salty, but looking forward, I don't think they're any worse off with the former at first base.

[Reed]

Same BS story. Our former MVP and current wanna-be MVP in the driver's seat at 2-1 counts and not being patient.

[bay_area_phan]

Something tells me that if Myers is gonna be bad, we'll know it quickly

[joe]

something also tells me that JA Happ will be in if myers blows goats.

[CJ]

Casey: How can it NOT be a bust? The trade was made to make the playoffs. They dealt away 5 prospects for the guy and got two back.

I'm not saying it's a trade they regret, but it was a bust. It netted them 0 playoff games and it hurt their prospect depth. Even if you consider Salty and Kotchman equals... the other prospects are heavily weighted toward what the Rangers got.

[Reed]

Best inning he has pitched since last year.

[AWH the RBP]

9 pitch inning for Myers.

[CJ]

Certainly spotting his fastball much better tonight!

[clicheguevara]

That's it, Brett, keep the fastball coming

[bay_area_phan]

Myers was definitely the beneficiary of a generous strike zone that inning. Several of those pitches would have been called balls in his last outing.

[mb]

I wonder if having his replacement (Happ) sitting ready in the outfield will serve as a motivator for Myers.

[AWH the RBP]

Pat is showing the way....follow team, follow!

[MG]

Balester is a guy who can't locate with any kind of consistency and doesn't how to pitch yet. I know he has a decent fastball but getting mesmerized by this spotty offspeed stuff is just not tolerable tonight.

[AWH the RBP]

Say what you want about Balester, but that's a nice hook.

[fuquamanuel]

It sure is encouraging that he is doing so well with his fastball early.

[clicheguevara]

10 pitches, 10 fastballs, 3 batters, 3 outs

Who is this man on the mound?

Maybe it's just because the Nats are that terrible....

[BB]

Cy Myers :)

[redbeard]

whats up with the camera angles once the ball is hit, i feel like they are filming the game from a blimp cam.

[bob]

Myers through 2: 19 pitches, 14 strikes, 18 fastballs, 1 curveball.

[MG]

He is getting this lineup on fastballs. That shouldn't happen.

[AWH the RBP]

It just amazes me sometimes. Myers makes this guy throw 5 pitches to get him out, and then Vic goes and does him a favoe on the first pitch.

[CZ]

Chase...hip injury my ass...

[CJ]

Woo hoo... I'm declaring it.

Chase Utley has NO hip injury!

[JMARR]

Say what you will about all of the struggles, but if Chase can get hot for the next 4 weeks I think we still win this thing.

[AWH the RBP]

Never mind.

[CJ]

JMARR: That's an easy way to simplify it, but what else happened this inning... J-Roll got on base.

It's impossible to overstate how important that's been to this offense over the last year and a half.

[Steve Jeltz]

Balester is at 50 pitches already.

[JMARR]

CJ - totally understand your point, but Chase really was the straw stirring the drink. Him raking gets Vic more fastballs to hit .... Chase on Base nullifies the shift on Howard .... more guys on for Manchine .... it's just a ripple effect from there, but yes, Jimmy getting going is also a huge key - I just think his head is up his a$$ this year, and we won't see the Rollins we want to see until next spring again, if ever.

[CJ]

JMARR: Sure... I didn't mean to minimize Chase's impact... but I'd argue he also gets better pitches to hit when there are men on base in front of him.

[CJ]

So much for the perfect game, but I don't mind hitting Lo Duca.

[fuquamanuel]

It appears as if Myers' velocity has dropped about 2 mph on his fastball this inning.

[Dan]

nice to see the big boy turn a DP for once...but why did he throw back toward first base???? LoDuca was unable to go back there...

Wheels is on his a-game tonight...talkin about surfer dudes and sportscenter, errrr, sportsNite highlights

[bay_area_phan]

jmarr: About a week ago, I posted Jimmy's career month-by-month splits. By far, September has been his best month, and August has been his second-best month. On this date in 2006, Rollins splits were .264/.326/.433 -- very close to where they are right now. They ended up at .277/.334/.478. In all likelihood, he will wind up with good numbers again this year.

[AWH the RBP]

Great job by Myers not giving in to Harris.

[bensdad00]

can't imagine from the line score - what does a 1st to 2nd to short DP look like?

[JMARR]

BAP - normally I would agree with you wholeheartedly about J-Roll - and I don't want to stir Clout on the career norm argument, (which I agree with actually), but there is definitely something different about Jimmy this year - his attitude, body language etc. - and this whole thing with Charlie isn't helping things - I just don't see a tear coming on for Jimmy .... I hope I'm wrong obviously.

[EastFallowfield]

"What does a 1st to 2nd to short DP look like?"

Grounder to Howard at 1st, tags the bag, does his 'I can't throw to 2nd' fake throw towards 2nd, LoDuca heads back towards first, rundown ensues with Howard acting like he doesn't really want to be involved in this whole defense thing.

[joe l]

At least this new Myers throws strikes or pegs you one.

[bensdad00]

Brett is two for two in the Nats who deserve to be beaned catagory - now if only Lastings Millidge gets in there...