Game chat: Phillies shuffle the deck for Doc tonight

Chase Utley and Raul Ibanez sit, and why the hell not? The Phillies, a scorching 12-3 in May, send Roy Halladay (6-1, 1.59) to the hill against Zach Duke (2-4, 5.56) as they look to continue their torrid pace.

Preview: Charlie Manuel goes with a different look again tonight, with Jimmy Rollins batting third again, Ben Francisco, who has just two at bats this entire month and hasn't started since April 26, playing left field and batting sixth and Juan Castro, making his first start since May 5, batting eighth and making his Phillies debut at second base. Carlos Ruiz is back behind the plate and hits seventh. First pitch is set for 7:05, weather permitting. [Jump to the newest comments]

Comments

[J.R. King]

With conditions ripe for injury and everyone in Philly watching the Flyers, I'd put Dobbs and Gload in place of Polanco and Howard. Then again, I think a lineup filled with bench players is actually pretty interesting.

[Spitz]

For those in the area, does it look like they will get this game in? A rain delay during a Halladay start would be disappointing.

[Deutsche Phan]

Very random question. I sort of lost track of Jason Knapp after the Lee deal last year, but now see that he has not posted any 2010 stats on BR. I know he had some health issues upon his departure. Can anyone offer any insight? Did he get surgery at some point?

[Deutsche Phan]

Oops - A little digging sort of answered my own question:

http://www.indiansprospectinsider.com/2010/03/indians-top-50-6-jason-knapp.html

[J. Weitzel]

I think they'll get it in. It's just sloppy mist at this point. "Sloppy mist" would be a good name for a jheri curl product. As featured by ex Phillies infielders.

[J. Weitzel]

Jason Donald era begins for Tribe with a 2-for-3, BB debut against the Rays today.

[MasterlockJr.]

Steve Jeltz maybe? Juan Samuel?

[Voice of Reason]

Did Manny Trillo use jheri curl? Or Ivan DeJesus?

Question for the group: if there's a chance of rain -- and thus a possibly frustrating evening in which there's a chance a fine four-inning effort could be wiped out by weather, leaving your best pitcher to essentially miss a turn in the rotation and yet exert an unnecessary effort -- do you instead insert Nelson Figgy here and save Doc for better weather?

[clout]

VOR: No.

[GTown_Dave]

Pedro Martinez is a former Phillie, & he once sported a magnificent jheri curl. Speaking of Pedro, Roy (unfortunately) appears to be the rain-dogged starter for the Phils this season. I'm all for the Phils pushing Halladay back, but that's mainly because I'll be going to the game tomorrow. Don't see that happening, though.

[donc]

I don't think it's a bad idea, but I don't think they'll do it.

[CJ]

VOR: Phils probably have a pretty good idea of whether they'll get this game in. Either way, I don't think they'd consider starting a reliever on the off chance the game is delayed.

[holy mackerel]

FYI- Phillippe Aumont is starting tonight for Reading ( 1-3 , 6+ ERA) V. Harrisburg Senators.

[roto]

From the article Deutsche Phan posted, "When the Indians acquired him [Knapp] they were not allowed to perform an MRI per MLB rules. When completing a trade, all a team can do is request all of the medical information the former club has on file, everything from doctor notes, x-rays, or previous MRIs that were done prior to the trade and then take all that information and have their doctors look over the information. In addition to the information given to them by the other club, a team can give the player a thorough physical evaluation. After the physical and review of medical records, the doctors will either clear or not clear the player and based on that finding it is up to the front office to make a decision."

I didn't realize this. I surprised I never read anything about this during the Freddy Garcia trade disaster.

[Conshy Matt]

(from the Fanatic 97.5) I heard that Milt Thompson said that the Phils are currently negotiating w/ Werth and that he would be surprised if a deal wasn't in place by the All Star break. Anyone else hear anything about this? Should I have posted BREAKING NEWS at the top of this post?

[jr]

Aumont (1-3, 6.61) to be exact. Bump for pigs (4-1), 2.51) Too bad their ages aren't reversed.

[holy mackerel]

Conshy

Re: werth $$

appreciate the info- but

until it's signed and sealed... it's just a rumor

rumors aren't worth the virtual paper they're blogged on

- but -i hope milt is right,

thx for the 'news'

[holy mackerel]

why is rube afraid to use bump?

[CJ]

JW: "Jason Donald era begins for Tribe with a 2-for-3, BB debut against the Rays today."

The Donald era is just beginning, but I bet Tribe fans hope the Marson era ends soon. So far this year, Lou has posted an OPS+ of 57 with 4 doubles, 0 HR and 1 RBI. 61.1% of his batted balls have been ground balls so far this year. Cleveland is already talking about their next catcher of the future.

[goody]

Moving Doc back a day would mean he would miss the Sox on Sunday.

[clout]

holy: My guess is that it could be his career ERA+ of 88 or his career K/BB of 1.23 or his career WHIP of 1.53.

[Spitz]

Holy: you mean the poor man's Kyle Kendrick?

[Gsl]

holy: Or that there is no need for him right now.

[Conshy Matt]

since it was 'requested':

Kyle Kendrick

4.03 k/9
3.02 bb/9

his FIP is 5.31, but his xFIP is only 4.77. so he's got that going for him...

[GTown_Dave]

goody: It's Interleague Play, & Hamels & Kendrick are the other scheduled pitchers. Things aren't looking that fabulous for the Fightins from the get-go.

[goody]

GTown: That's precisely why we need him Sunday.

[CRD]

mlbtv acting up for anyone?

[Spitz]

Sunday should be Doc vs. Josh Beckett. That would be fun.

[GTown_Dave]

goody: I will go out on a limb here & predict that if the Phillies do win a game in the Boston series, it won't be the one Halladay starts. Just a hunch.

Anyone else having problems getting MLB Gameday? It hasn't worked for me for the the past 2 nights. Any recommendations for game tracking alternatives?

[MG]

Phils are -340 tonight. That is about as big as a favorite as you will see them all year.

If you think Duke somehow mystifies the Phils tonight in the 'sloppy mist', pays pretty nice at +265.

[Spitz]

When did Ryan Church go to the Pirates?

[muchacho peligro]

I always love wheels' amateur wind report

[Scott]

Yeah, Wheels used to roll with Jim O'Brien until they had a nasty falling out with each other...

[GTown_Dave]

I see Fredi González says Hanley won't play until he apologizes to his teammates. Interesting standoff. What a mess for Florida.

[Lincoln Hawkes]

Anyone else hear Wheels clearing his throat and mumbling as the AtBat free game of the day TV feed came back from commercial?

[doubleh]

Scott: Is that a joke? Jim O'Brien fell to his death when his parachute wouldn't open.

[Spitz]

Maybe Marlins management should appologize to Hanley for not being committed to putting a winning team on the field...

[Scott]

doubleh: Wasn't meant to make light of O'Brien's passing, just riffing on his falling out with another infamous and beloved figure from these parts.

[muchacho peligro]

wow...a jim o'brien joke...

the younger set are googling as we speak...

[MG]

Jim O'Brien . . . that is a name I haven't heard in a while

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lp5pbcKc7A

[GTown_Dave]

Remember Budd Dwyer jokes? Some of those were absolutely brutal. I had a snow day from school & happened to catch that one live. I wonder if "tape delay" was invented immediately after ...

[Brian G]

Hope all the "why does Francisco play more?" people are happy...

[Lincoln Hawkes]

Way to back up the play Castro.

[GTown_Dave]

Another Blown Save for Trevor Hoffman today. He's blown 5 in 10 opportunities so far this year. Ouch.

[MG]

Duke has looked pretty damn sharp early. Hopefully the Phils can get some better hacks the 2nd time through the lineup.

[CJ]

Let me get this straight... the only lefty in the lineup for the Phils tonight got the only hit first time through?

[MG]

Both teams seem to be kind of lethargic here in the early going. Yeah Halladay & Duke are throwing strikes but not a lot of good swings from either team so far.

[philwynk]

Phils are making Zack Duke look like... Roy Halladay.

[Spitz]

If Cholly sends out Castro and BenFran for too many of Halladay's starts, Doc is going to have a tough time winning the Cy Young.

[bay_area_phan]

The Phillies should have saved Halladay for a day when the other 24 players (and the manager) weren't planning to mail the game in.

[EastFallowfield]

Wonder if we'll get another hit tonight.

[GTown_Dave]

I think I recently read somewhere that Halladay has had suffered more Errors in his starts than any pitcher in baseball. That's pathetic.

[Spitz]

EFF: Wonder if we will cleanly field another ball.

[MG]

They aren't paying you to hit Castro . . .

[bay_area_phan]

Utley must be pretty damn sick to miss 2 games in a row. And he'll probably be sicker still after he gets done watching tonight's performance.

[Spitz]

BAP, when does this start feeling like a loss?

[MG]

Duke has to get that bunt down there. Pirates can't exactly piss away chances like that inning if they expect to win tonight.

[bay_area_phan]

Spitz: 3 innings ago.

[EastFallowfield]

Wonder if we'll get a run tonight.

[GTown_Dave]

philliesnation (15 May): "Six errors have been committed behind Roy Halladay, tops in the Majors. Only three pitchers even have 5, all of which have ERAs of 4.50+"

Now 8 Errors, which means a full 33% of the total number of Phillies Errors thus far have occurred w/ Halladay on the mound. Unacceptable.

[curt]

Ben Fran The Man.

[philwynk]

Will somebody explain the thinking behind putting a hot hitter like Carlos Ruiz in the middle between a Fransisco and a Castro? Shouldn't Chooch be batting 6th in this lineup?

[Spitz]

No more Ben Francisco please.

[MG]

Rusty. No other word to describe Francisco at the plate tonight. No timing even on fastballs.

[NEPP]

I'll take anything but a DP here.

[philwynk]

Hmmm... sounds like the Phils relax a little when Halladay is on the mound, and lose some of their concentration. Not good.

[NEPP]

Francisco looks like a guy that's been riding the pine all season...odd.

[NEPP]

When did we rehire Steve Smith?

[CJ]

Bah... I know why Sam did it, with the pitcher coming up... but I still think it was the wrong decision. Wasn't really close. Sam's made a bunch of those wrong calls this year so far.

[MG]

I know the pitching is coming up but that was a terrible decision by Perlozzo to send Werth. That was a hard hit ball right to McCuthchen, he has a pretty good arm, and Werth hesitated.

When did we bring back Steve Smith as the 3rd base coach?

[NEPP]

I'd rather see the pitcher up with the bases loaded, 1 out than see 2nd/3rd with 2 outs. Roy could simply strike out and we'd still have a decent scoring chance.

[Spitz]

No problem sending him with 2 outs and the pitcher coming up

[CJ]

My goodness... now I remember why I hate reading Game Chats.

What a bunch of whiny b!tches.

Yeah, I typed that. And you know it's true.

[GTown_Dave]

That's why the Phils needed Castro back: for his bat.

[The Truth Injection]

Tough there but it was the right call by Sam. Werth could've slid too and made the play closer.

[philwynk]

Was that another coaching error by Perlozzo?

[MG]

NEPP - I knew someone would bring up Steve Smith.

Francisco hasn't started since April 26th and has 3 ABs the past 3 weeks. That's ridiculous especially with a 38-year old guy in LF who hasn't gotten out to a hot start & is hitting under .200 against LHP this season so far.

[NEPP]

At least Jimmy was smart enough to not force the throw...veteran move there.

[MG]

TTI - No way. Werth was out by a mile even though McCutchchen didn't even rifle that throw in either.

[Dubs]

Terrible call by Perlozzo. If it was going to be close, that's one thing, or if there were two outs, but in that situation it was (not even hindsight) the wrong call.

[NEPP]

Damn...great throw by Werth though.

[Lincoln Hawkes]

Chooch needs to hold on to that.

[bay_area_phan]

Lincoln: Evidently the official scorer agrees with you.

Not a pretty game.

[The Truth Injection]

MG: it was not the outcome you wanted but it was not the wrong call. Werth is a fast guy and you have to challenge the outfielder with the pitcher coming up.

Werth needs to slide too. He had every intention of scoring standing and never thought about sliding. You could tell from his reaction he thought he would easily score. In fact, that is the one minor gripe I have about Werth- he comes into home plate standing up a lot.

[EastFallowfield]

Man, imagine the effeminate nicknames we'd be throwing out if Hamels was the one who immediately allowed a run right after the Phils tied it up.

[MG]

Hell of a bunt. Love the bunt single and used to enjoy seeing Brett Butler use it as a real weapon especially on grass fields where the 3B was playing too deep or against a lousy fielding pitcher.

[NEPP]

Nurse Halladay gives up the run right after we tie it...damn.

Better?

[MG]

TTI - Werth clearly held up to see if it would drop & McCutchen had to go all of 4 steps to get that ball. It wasn't a good play to send Werth on.

[MG]

Dukes is starting to miss his fastball location a bit this inning. Leaving it up too. Time to put 2-3 runs
on him this inning here.

[Marlowe]

This game was hexed with the mentions of Bud Dwyer and Jim O'Brien. That's just hats-on-beds bad hex in Philly.

I still think we win.

[GTown_Dave]

EF: Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm would have piddled her knickers after the first 2 errors, rendering the Phils 1 lousy run not nearly enough to tie the game.

[MG]

What a sloppy game.

[MG]

Howard is actually laying off the offspeed stuff away tonight from a lefty . . . good to see.

[The Truth Injection]

MG: You're wrong. You're ignoring the pitcher aspect. If any other spot in the order is behind the current hitter than it is the absolute wrong call to send Werth. With the pitcher coming up you take your chances.

Also, you're ignoring that Werth makes the play closer by sliding. Doumit was slow coming back to block the plate and then kicked his leg in front when he saw Werth wasn't sliding.

If Perlozzo doesn't send Werth and then Halladay bounces into a double play people would be on here bitching that he didn't take the chance with Werth.

A bad decision is not determined by the outcome.

[bay_area_phan]

You could almost make a case for intentionally walking Werth here to get to Francisco.

[The Truth Injection]

These are the kind of games that happen when in the middle of May you get a cold, damp night for baseball.

[NEPP]

Howard batting .313 now on the year. His power is off a bit but he's been making great contact the first 2 months.

[MG]

TTI - Yes you normally send Werth but Perlozzo clearly saw him hold up & that the ball was hit right to McCutchen. It was a big call by Perlozzo.

Even if Werth's slides, he is out. Ball was in Doumit's glove and Werth was at least 10 ft from home yet. Only way he might have been safe is if Doumit had dropped the ball when he swept the tag if Werth slid.

[Spitz]

If they walk Werth, its time to PH Raul.

[The Truth Injection]

BAP: A pretty convincing one at that. Seems like they are pitching away from him in the at bat as well.