Report: Phillies head south to scout Coutlangus

Jon Coutlangus missed all of 2010 recovering from arm surgery.

The Reds were the last to enjoy Coutlangus’ services back in 2007, when the 30-year-old left-hander pitched to a 4.38 ERA and 38/27 K/BB ratio in 41 innings. The Diamondbacks then received Coutlangus in a one-for-one swap with Cincinnati, but the reliever remained below the big league belt for the next two seasons, pitching in fits and starts in the Pacific Coast League. Should the Phillies receive Coutlangus, he’s likely to stay south for extended work until the Phillies are satisfied. [Rotoworld]

Comments

[loctastic]

Last line wins the internet.

[GTown_Dave]

BRILLIANT.

[Cipper]

X-Factor

[Matt]

Heavens to Betsy! You, good sir, are a cad!

[mm]

Don't mess with the cloutangus or you'll get licked:

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT-f6xWY4Y1PMuwmalJOI9TrjWq7b41xO6VTDYJ68Gn_g6OlddF

[donc]

Wouldn't you just have to change your name?

[mm]

this stuff just writes itself:

"cloutangus sure was bad today huh? He was trying to be too fancy on the outside of the zone."

"cloutangus was good today, he was hitting the sweet spots all day long".

"that cloutangus was fired up today, definitely had the juices flowing".

[Super Smart Baseball Guy Who Knows What LOOGY Means]

Phillies should sign Kenny Powers

[Jeltz for the Hall]

At least his name isn't Bob Bagina...

[Jeltz for the Hall]

Or Phil Atio.

[bay_area_phan]

"Wouldn't you just have to change your name?"

Back in the 70s, the Royals had a part-time first baseman/DH whose name was Pete LaCock, & I remember thinking the exact same thing: why wouldn't you change your name? Funny thing is, Pete LaCock's father was Peter Marshall, the long-time host of "The Hollywood Squares" game show. So at least father, unlike son, had the good sense to change his name. I can't imagine he would ever have gotten the Hollywood Squares gig if he were still named "LaCock."

[DPatrone]

BAP~ You're dating yourself. I remember both of them as well. Funny how things like that are brought up on this, the baseball blog ever. Well done!

[Scotch Man]

LOL! I had this guy on my fantasy keeper team one season and I remember cutting him at draft and mispronouncing his name to a roar of laughter.

[J. Weitzel]

Coutlangus worked and worked until the bags were juiced and the game was blown. He had overstayed his welcome, and Charlie Manuel knew his boys were licked. Manuel emerged from the dugout, grabbed the ball from Coutlangus' hand, motioned to the 'pen and gently patted Coutlangus on the head.

[Jim]

LOL!

Coutlangus would replace Darensbourg as the patron saint of Beerleaguer if he signs.

[bay_area_phan]

DPatrone: I already dated myself last night when I was reminiscing about Del Unser & Greg Gross's heroics in the 1980 NLCS.

[clout]

Re: previous thread: Yes lorecore is a longtime poster who had to change his screen name given that his previous name had exhausted its credibility and capacity for self-embarrassment.

[clout]

Also from last thread, Jack says Greg Gross didn't contribute to the 1980 championship, so I guess I just dreamed that and the recent MLB show on the 1980 NLCS was a fiction. Sorry to mislead.

[clout]

I think Charlie is going to have to be careful in how he handles Coutlangus.

Warming up is important. Then, once ready, the issue is, how long do you go?

[Will Schweitzer]

clout: I wouldn't mind cross referencing lorecore with "Super Smart Baseball Guy Who Knows What LOOGY Means" while we're at it.

[Tartan69]

Weitzel that is absolutely fantastic. A++

[sixtoe]

It sure will be good to see Coutlangus' shining face again.

[MisterZoomer]

If Coutlangus makes the team would we start calling the middle innings 'foreplay'?

[bay_area_phan]

Gross was actually a pretty good all-around player. He had no power whatsoever, but he hit for high average, drew lots of walks, played good defense, & had a terrific throwing arm. He had everything you would want in a backup except for power.

[Scotch Man]

If Coutlangus wears jersey #69, he'll be my hero!

[Jeltz For the Hall]

Clout: Not to be a Jack apologist here...but he specifically said that Gross didn't appear to do much to contribute leading up to the playoffs, not that he wasn't clutch in the playoffs themselves.

[Pete Happy]

Coutlangus is a real gladiator.

[donc]

That JW. What a cunning linguist.

[Tim from Williamsport]

beerleaguer just got very dirty

[lorecore]

ha nice summary JW - I'm sure we're all pushing for this guy to make an appearence just to see TMac and Wheeler stumble through it. Any lefty reliever that is in this organization with MLB experience is probably at like 8-1 odds to make a MLB appearence at some point this year.

[Spitz]

Good lord, we're signing Cloutanus? That takes the sheen off of the Cliff Lee signing.

[lorecore]

re: Howard/Votto arb

I guess my main quarrell was that I feel like the Reds are dodging a bullet by only paying Votto $5M and $9M for the next two years while the Phillies paid $10M and $15M for Howards same years. Yes Howard did have the advantage in counting stats, but not to the extent of those cost differences.

If you are in Votto's camp, how do you see Howard's numbers and then settle for those tpye of numbers? I think he took an overly large discount to have this next 3 seasons guaranteed compared to going year-to-year as Howard has.

[awh]

Coutlangus? I'll bet CHarlie only uses him if he exhausts every other possibility.

Still, if he pitches well, Coutlangus could give the fans a lot of pleasure.

[clout]

Jeltz: But I never said he was. My post was quite simple. I said:

1. I watched most of the games down the stretch and in the playoffs in 1980.

2. If it wasn't for Gross & Unser the Phillies wouldn't have made the World Series.

Does Jack's post disagree with that? Looks like Jack was responding to a point no one ever made, SOP for him.

[Meyer]

Maybe after Coutlangus we can enjoy a Matt Holliday jawboning for Pujols discourse.

[Jeltz for the Hall]

Clout: Fair points. I suppose the old saw about assuming falls into play here. FWIW, I happen to agree with you and I watched that show on MLB network, too. Good stuff.

[Jeltz for the Hall]

Heaven forbid Coutlangus pulls a groin...it might break the internet.

[Kutztown Fan]

I've had a miserable week. I came here to relax. What luck that it happens to be sexual innuendo day. Y'all are so clever.

I remember watching Pete LaCock play and thinking, "What an unfortunate last name." If my memory serves, he was also related to Cyd Charisse, who turned to dancing because she was too short to play 3rd base.

[Scotch Man]

Zolecki reports the Phillies signed outfielder Corey Sullivan to a minor league deal.

[Pete Happy]

This thread is getting fishier and fishier.

[donc]

I guess it's really true what my girlfriend says. All men stop maturing at 15. Thank God.

[Reverend]

Threads like this is why I read it everyday. Thanks JW.

[bay_area_phan]

Corey Sullivan is pretty hideous but, since he can play CF, he'll probably wind up on the 25-man roster at some point this year, when Vic does his annual stint on the DL.

[Shawn]

Fish Tacos for all!

[Bedrosian's Beard]

LaCock was a longtime friend of Rusty Kuntz.

[donc]

BB:I knew I was forgetting one. Nice.

[pb]

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2011/02/phillies-sign-cory-sullivan.html

[MisterZoomer]

lorecore - I'm not saying counting stats make Howard better, they just gave him a better case in arbitration.

[awh]

Waht I sould have said is "If he performs well Coutlangus could give the phans a lot of pleasure."

[awh]

Hey, does anybody have any idea whether Coutlangus was on his HS debate team?

[Jack]

Clout: Yeah, I just looked at regular season. I fully admitted that. Your post said "down the stretch" so I assumed you meant during September as well as the playoffs.

I honestly just did it because I was interested--I wasn't around to watch that team so I had no idea, and looked up the game logs. Gross didn't do anything during September or October, but he must've in the playoffs. For those of us who weren't around and didn't catch the MLB Network show, what were the big hits?

[awh]

Corey Sullivan is obviously a substitute for not being able to sign Sarge,Jr.

MiL filler.

[ClubhouseCancer]

Coutlangus will work in the front of the rotation, but should stay away from Pujols.

[bv2st]

I'm OK with this signing as long as Beavis and Butthead aren't sitting behind me at CBP.

[clout]

Jack: I said I WATCHED down the stretch and the post-season. Also, the post wasn't just about Gross. It was about Gross and Unser.

But then you already knew that.

[Jack]

Clout: Ah, I misunderstood.

Seriously, though, I'm not trying to argue with you. As someone who wasn't there, what were the big clutch moments during that playoff run?

[awh]

Jack, a couple of clutch plays were realy throws made by Manny Trillo to nail runners.

The WS was nice, but the NLCS with the Astros might have been the most exciting playoff series ever.

[awh]

Oops. Should say: "relay throws".

[clout]

awh: Jack is being an a--hole, no need to play his game. If he were truly curious, he'd do a 30-second Google search and find out more than he needs.

[lorecore]

From Jayson Stark's offsason wrap-up:

Most Unlikley Name on a Spring Trainer Roster: Matt Anderson

Most Important NL Rookie to Watch: Dom Brown(ATL's Freddie Freeman #2)

Best Free Agent Signing: Cliff Lee

Worst Free Agent Signing: Jayson Werth

Most Improved NL Team: Brewers(Phils 2nd)

Least Improved NL Team: Mets

[Spitz]

"awh: Jack is being an a--hole, no need to play his game. If he were truly curious, he'd do a 30-second Google search and find out more than he needs."

Cloutanus strikes again!

[MG]

Jayson Werth was the worst FA signing this year because the Nats paid a real premium for him and LaRoche over Dunn/Willingham while failing to substantially upgrade their rotation.

If Strasburg was healthy and they had landed Greinke, it would be a different story. They would have been a sexy darkhorse pick among some analysts & possibly made a real push at 84-85 wins.

Instead they have a bunch of middling veteran starters and no starter capable of winning the 14-15 games they need to really make a legit to push at .500 this year.

[MG]

Cory Sullivan:

- Surprised that he really hasn't played much CF at all since '06. Still has a better shot at a callup though this season though than M. Martinez when there is the inevitable 15-day DL trip for Vic.

[clout]

Spitz or Swallows?

[Swallows]

I am a longtime poster who had to change his screen name given that his previous name had exhausted its credibility and capacity for self-embarrassment.

[bay_area_phan]

1980 was more than 30 years ago, so I can't sit here & recall the specific situations in which Del Unser or Greg Gross came up with huge hits in the NLCS. But I remember there were a bunch & they all seemed to come at absolutely critical moments. I also remember that the Philadelphia Daily News (to which I kept a subscription that year) once described Del Unser as "the new Mr. October."

[Jack]

Clout: Wow. Actually I wasn't. As a younger fan I was actually going to indulge you as a respected elder and geniunely wanted to know your memories of that time.

But now I will be an a-hole. Didn't realize you were so sensitive.

[Bedrosian's Beard]

Just realizing that now Jack?

[Kirk]

Maybe next we can sign Dick Trickle to drive the bullpen car.

[phanatic's brother]

omg this is just about the best read ever