Ibanez will not take the field for Reading tonight

Raul Ibanez, out with a strained groin and eligible to come off the disabled list tomorrow, will err on the side of caution and sit out tonight's game in Reading. No further details were available from the R-Phils' PR staff.

Comments

[DanTheMan]

One last follow up to my post from the last thread on Taylor:

I emailed Mike Drago just to see if I was imagining things. He noticed the slow pace in the 9th just like I did, but pointed out that the ball likely hit his previously injured left knee. Not to mention the rain that had just started made running in the grass a little hazardous.

He reaffirmed that Taylor has great makeup and is not the kind of guy who would ever play half-heartedly.

Anyway... made me feel better

[NEPP]

Don't sell the farm...play for 2010.

We have a great core and we have another great core coming up in the system...don't blow it.

[EastFallowfield]

Pirates gradually coughing up their lead vs Mets, 5-4 game now....

[R.Billingsly]

5-5.

[EastFallowfield]

6-5 Mets. Beltran was right, Pirates aren't good.

[RSB]

Come to think of it, that'd make a great title for a book about the post-Carpenter Phillies' organization: "Erring on the Side of Caution".

Ibanez is technically in the minors now, so he has to play by the same rules everyone else does. If he's lucky, they'll call him back up by the time he's 40.

[Corey R]

Buccos are pathetic. How badly do we need Ibanez back?

[NEPP]

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/where-are-ryan-howards-hrs-going

Interesting article from Fangraphs on Ryno's HRs.

[DougS]

Everyone can suck one day and be great the next. Baseball consistency is the most elusive in sports.

Pirates swept the Mets not too long ago...

[bay_area_phan]

From the last thread . . .

A front-runner is not what Jimmy Rollins (or Truth Injection) think it is. A front-runner would not be on Beerleaguer ranting and raving about the Phillies' recent losing ways. A front-runner would be off tending to his garden or reading a book, and paying no attention to the Phillies whatsoever until and unless they start winning again.

Come to think of it, I don't really understand why the term "front-runner" is a perjorative term. If I had read a book last night, and ignored the Phillies completely, I undoubtedly would have had a better evening. Those front runners might well be on to something.

[MG]

Don't worry . . . the Pirates rebuilding plan is in place for 2017. Pirates may be flirting with .500 but as soon as they move LaRoche and probably at least 2 other at the trading deadline, they will be well on their way to losing 90+ games again and their 17th straight losing season.

[MG]

The Phils had their lean years from 84-00 and it had a real effect on several factors including their attendance, media visibility, visibility in the Philly sports scene, and just common interest among people in the area.

Pirates have a good shot at finishing this year and next year with losing seasons and you have to wonder it will take several straight winning seasons for them to just regain common interest from the fans in Pittsburgh. Hell, they are 15th in the NL in AVG attendance and the only reason they aren't last is because the Fish play in Dolphins' Stadium.

[EastFallowfield]

Someone other than Sheffield hit a HR for the Mets...Tatis 2 run HR, 8-5 Mets.

[Mets fan]

Pirate lineup today is absolutely dreadful, only to be outdone by Tim Redding who undoubtedly saw his last start for hopefully a long time.

No wonder the Nat's didn't re-sign this guy.

I'd imagine the Mets will be bringing up Jon Niese who is tearing it up in AAA

[hiki]

I'm a consumer, not a front-runner. I've learned through capitolism that if something sucks I don't buy it. If a director stops making good movies, a writer starts sucking, I ignore them. If the Phillies start sucking and it becomes a waste of my meager entertainment time, I ignore them. I like to enjoy my entertainment.

The front-runner discusion was started by a baseball player in an interview and I give it the same relevance I give to whatever Megan Fox says in an interview.

[The Truth Injection]

BAP: Would you prefer I call you and Carson ignorant, miserable "fans"?

Front runner can also mean a person who onyl supports a team when things are going good. That's the way J-Roll used the term and it's the way many others have used it.

I know in your mind baseball only operates in absolutes because you can't comprehend anything in between. Moyer has to be "finished" right? It just can't be a bad stretch for a guy?

Hamels has to be a baby who isn't "manning up." It can't just be a rough patch where he is not locating pitches?

Are you this negative about real life things?

[wally]

Hiki,

The obvious difference between Megan Fox and baseball is that sports give us a chance at looking at something transcendent. Megan Fox is basically a 2-D approximation of what some corporation believes Americans want to look at. Even though the Phillies are hugely corporatized, they're still athletes. Maybe the closet to making words like 'grace,' 'power,' or 'beauty' tangible is in the actions of really top caliber athletes. It's not just about 'entertainment,' and suggesting that is seriously underselling the beauty of sports.

[thephaithful]

hiki: then you suck and are not a fan.

[doubleh]

Truth: But Rollins and others use/d that term incorrectly. The correct term is "fairweather fan". Every fanbase has them.

As for those on here, I think it's just knee-jerk pessimism that's ingrained from years of misery. They don't know how to be happy.

I started out as a football fan and it's very difficult to adjust to being a baseball fan as it's a very different mentality. Even if you aren't particularly fond of football, that fan mentality is very prevalent in this and other northeastern cities.

Some people never make the adjustment.

[thephaithful]

i've sat here and read people discuss this front runner term so much lately.

Rollins retracted that statement the very next day and said that front runner was not the word he meant, he was trying to describe philly's obession to turn their cheers in to boos at the drop of a hat. So please stop debating the front runner term, as it was retracted within 24 hours.

A front runner(like hiki) is someone who doesnt bother to boo, he just shows up to cheer when they're good and brag to his friends how much he loves the team because he is a big fake douche, and then disappears when they lose and probably turns into another team's fan when they lose. Every city has these people and I think that Philly's fanbase has less than most.

[hiki]

There are "lifer's" and "part-timer's" is any endeavor of life.

Anyone who spends time making baseball into a game of numbers and stats is a lifer.

I spend time listening to the game on the radio, taking in an occasional game at the park and coming here to read what you lifer's think of the game.

Am I a fan? I my own way but, no, I am not a lifer.

[The Truth Injection]

FWIW: I've always used the terms "front runner" and "fairweather" interchangeably. The definitions aren't really any different from each other.

[bay_area_phan]

Truth: I was not the one who said Hamels was a baby or wasn't "manning" up. I merely vented about his having a rotten year.

And, contrary to what you think, I am well aware that good players can have a bad stretch. I would say that's precisely what's happening with Rollins. And Hamels. And Madson. And Lidge. And even guys like Ruiz and Romero and Durbin. But, when a player is 46 years old &, 3 months into the season, he still has an ERA over 6, with equally heinous peripherals, I think it's a reasonable inference that the guy simply doesn't have it anymore & isn't a strong candidate for a second half turnaround.

[KidCarnivore]

KRod just blew a save, 8-8.

[The Truth Injection]

BAP: Wasn't attributing the Hamels exact quotes to you. However, you did agree with them.

You can say you realize people have bad stretches but I don't really see that from any of your posts.

[bay_area_phan]

Truth: I think doubleh is right. If the accusation is knee-jerk fatalism, I plead guilty. But at the polar opposite of the knee-jerk fatalists are posters who are so determined to prove their rationality that they won't allow themselves to vent, no matter how much the situation may call for it. And, seriously, just as you question whether the knee-jerk pessimists are real fans, I come away wondering exactly the same thing about posters who brush off every 3-month slump, or hideous losing streak with the rejoinder, "It's a long season." It almost makes me wonder if such posters really care, or if they're just here to demonstrate how rational they can act in a largely irrational forum.

I've come to the conclusion that it's best not to post during games anymore. I'll post before them; I'll post after them. But when I'm watching a 10-1 loss unfold before my eyes, I -- like many posters -- will say things that are totally asinine. Since other posters are unable to distinguish in-game venting from serious comments, I'll just dispense with the in-game venting.

[MFiP]

Kill me now.

kthx.

[bay_area_phan]

Truth: I did not agree with them. I said he was having a miserable year. I said he could really benefit from throwing his curve ball more often, because his lack of a third pitch makes it too easy for hitters to play the guessing game. I did not, in any way, shape, or form, agree with the characterization of him as a "baby" or a "wimp."

And see my above post re in-game comments (rarely to be taken seriously) and posts made at a time of more clarity.

[The Truth Injection]

BAP: No one is saying don't post during games- that's just being a drama queen. I'm saying be a little more rational in your thinking. I've read your posts on here for a while- you're by all indications an intelligent guy. There is really no need for you to join the likes of the "season=over" crowd. You're better than that.

As for me- I've made negative posts about guys on the board numerous times, but it is always temepered to some degree by the simple relization of baseball being a marathon. The Phillies are a team (and have been for a few years now) that is akin to a runner who is good in a late push. They hang around doing things seemingly half-speed but kick in when they need to. Until I see them not doing that, I won't get overly worried.

Also, to give you some insight into my thought process.

Rollins stinks right now, but he also has a BABIP of ~.185 which is well below his and the major league average. Do I think that will continue? Absolutely not, so to me it's hard to get on him too much. Doesn't mean I don't care, beleive me I get pissed when he hits a lazy pop-up, but his numbers just don't bear out something that will continue.

[Spitz]

Let's hope for a 22 inning game in Pittsburgh that wears out the Mets pen!

[curt]

bap - vent away. If not here, where? Save the rational behavior for real life.

[MFiP]

Funny story: The Mets have ONE pitcher left in the pen. Then they go to tomorrow's starter... no idea who that is though.

Oh, and the bench is empty too.

[ToastyJoe]

Funny story: They won anyway.

[clout]

hiki is a causal fan who doesn't know much about baseball but likes to be associated with winners.

[hiki]

hiki, like mot intelligent forms of life, hates to labeled by those who don't know him.

I associate with those people I like. I do not associate myself with teams or organizations as they are part of a collective where individuality does not thrive.

I'll admit to knowing not much about baseball, and cone here to learn through the arrogance is see, because only here would knowing not much about baseball be considered an insult.

Oh, and for the record. It's the fair weather fans that are filling the seats this year that fund your dreams of player signings.

[EastFallowfield]

Yo, newer thread