Promising prospects lay claim to ninth inning

Philadelphia’s closer role may be in limbo, but down on the farm, some of the season’s best performers reside in the back of the bullpen.

Right-handed closers Scott Mathieson (Lehigh Valley: 0.54 ERA, 5 SV, 18/4 K/BB, 16 2-3 IP); Justin De Fratus (Clearwater: 1.80, 7 SV, 18/5 K/BB ratio, 15 IP); and Phillies minor league pitcher of the month Joshua Zeid (0.86, 4 SV, 18/9 K/BB, 21 IP) are giving hope to the future of the final frames. Mathieson is a noted dart-thrower and known quantity among Beerleaguer, but the others probably aren’t. An 11th-round pick in 2007, De Fratus was moved to the bullpen last season and it appears that’s where he’s going to stay. A strike-thrower who keeps the ball down, his future may be more David Herndon than Ryan Madson, but that remains to be seen. Zeid, a 23-year-old Tulane University product, has made a seamless transition into a closer for low-A Lakewood. Unranked as a prospect heading into the season, the right-hander has been getting raves for his maturity and work ethic from the coaching staff.

In Reading, they’ve gone with Sergio Escalona and 6-8 right-hander Michael Schwimer in the ninth. Save situations have been so infrequent for the last-place R-Phils it's hard to make heads or tails of the situation. Schwimer, who keeps a running journal on PhuturePhillies.com, is considered one of the better relief prospects in the system; a fastball-slider guy, but not especially overpowering considering his size.

Transactions: First baseman Matt Rizzotti, 24, was promoted from Clearwater to Reading. He was hitting .352/.421/.454 with a homer. Links: Prospects from Lee deal struggling; Brown impresses, but same can’t be said for R-Phillies

Comments

[thephaithful]

to the ibanez-haters, the 2009 OF free agents:

Reggie Abercrombie
Bobby Abreu
Moises Alou
Garret Anderson
Rocco Baldelli
Willie Bloomquist
Milton Bradley
Emil Brown
Pat Burrell
Mike Cameron
Jason Christian
Brady Clark
Jose Cruz Jr.
Adam Dunn
Jim Edmonds
Juan Encarnacion
Cliff Floyd
Joey Gathright
Brian Giles
Jonny Gomes
Luis Gonzalez
Ken Griffey Jr.
Vladimir Guerrero
Eric Hinske
Norris Hopper
Raul Ibanez
Jacque Jones
Gabe Kapler
Bobby Kielty
Mark Kotsay
Rob Mackowiak
Luis Matos
Kevin Mench
Jason Michaels
Wily Mo Pena
Dustan Mohr
Craig Monroe
David Newhan
Trot Nixon
Greg Norton
Corey Patterson
Jay Payton
Timo Perez
Scott Podsednik
Manny Ramirez
Juan Rivera
Jeff Salazar
Willy Taveras
Brad Wilkerson

Abreu is probably the only one who you could argue since Dunn and Vlady can't play the field.

[loctastic]

so when do we bring Mathieson up? When Lidge goes to the DL?

[Sophist]

Ibanez has been producing of late. His line since he took a day off has been posted several times. He's had a rough past two games just in terms of hits, but a streaky guy like Raul deserves more time before being called finished.

thephaithful, I will say though that part of the objection to Raul was the dollars and years. After his first year he's well on his way to an even return on the contract, but a bunch of those guys would have been much cheaper options.

[ozark]

Marson would look good now. Oh, wait. We have Cliff Lee.

[Old Phan]

I dont think there are any Raul "haters", but I agree with Sophist. It had more to do with the contract than Raul himself.
As someone who wanted the Phils to sign PtB, my memory of it was that they didnt want to sign an older, slower player to an expensive multi-year contract. Fine, but then the PO turns around and signs an older, slower player to a multi-year contract.
I think he had a slow start and he's looking better, but we'll see.

[thephaithful]

Actually Marson is about as good as Paul Hoover right about now.

If we didnt give Ibanez that money and he doesnt sign, we would have ended up with the rest of that list i just posted in 2009 (and maybe longer), and we would have been a much worse team.

Sophist: Say if we got Ibanez for 3years @ $20M.... is that $3.5M extra per year really changing anything right now? Yeah, I wish they paid Ibanez 1¢ per year too, but thats why its free agency.

[thephaithful]

old phan: obviously ibanez is not slower than pat burrell - have you paid attention?

[MadMax33]

An interestion nugget on De Fratus is the rate at which he gives up home runs. The guy has given up, in his career, 5 HRs in over 250 innings pitched. While it means very little in terms of projection to more cometitive leagues, it is somewhat interesting...

[Old Phan]

phaithful, calm down, I'm not ragging on Ibanez, just explaining why there were some objections to the signing. I'm all for him doing well.

[Sophist]

thephaithful - I had something in mind like Willingham's 1/$3M deal that offseason. Obviously I'm making tons of assumptions here, and maybe Willingham isn't the kind of guy a pennant winning team signs, but that's a lot of extra dough.

In any case, this is all premature. Ibanez carried this team for half of last season. If he continues to hit as he has been this past month, he's well worth the deal the Phils signed him to. He's a streaky player. I wouldn't bet against him.

[The Original Chuck P]

I'm reaching out to all passionate Phillies fans... let us come together to call for action. Sam Perlozzo is not equipped to handle the duties as third base coach. Everyone makes mistakes and some mistakes you can live with... Perlozzo has made one bad decision after another and I'm convinced that this team deserves better.

The OCP
Chairman of the Fire Perlozzo Today Campaign

[Old Phan]

Besides, saying you're faster than PtB is like saying you're slimmer than a Sumo wrestler.

[the_berger]

re-post...can someone explain to me how stealing signs in the middle of a game is helpful? I'm simply considering the logistics of a coach with binoculars picking up that four wiggling fingers means a slider from deep center, relaying the message to the dugout, someone in the dugout running his hand across his belt and tugging his ear to relay the message to a base coach who then does the same to the batter...all in the time between the sign and the pitch...if it works this way, this is art. I'm guessing it doesn't work that way. Is it only effective with a man on base, given he'd already know the signs and could relay from there? I'd have to assume that the art of stealing signs is well advanced at the pro level, but I would also think sign deception was also just as prevalent. What am I missing? I feel like this is no big deal, teams actually change their signs when men are on base for this exact purpose which implies it is expected. Am I wrong? What am I missing?

[Noise Nation Fan Group]

Mathieson is now 2-0 with his 2 innings scoreless stint last night in Charlotte. If the radar gun at Coca Cola Park can be trusted he consistantly is at 96-97mph and hit 99 once that I noticed.

[Sophist]

the_berger - Unless some elaborate scheme to relay to the dugout is in place, if you're actually trying to see signs with binocs like this I'm guessing your doing it for future use. If they have some idea of sign sequence, it makes it easier when Vic is on 2d. I wouldn't put it past any team to have some elaborate way of relaying messages in immediately though. Teams have done it before.

They do change up signs, but some information is better than none. Just a guess.

[phlipper]

Many, if not most of the objections to the Ibanez signing were with the trade-off of Burrell for Ibanez. Many of those criticizing the Ibanez signing were saying that the Phillies should have re-signed Burrell instead, because they projected better numbers from Burrell, because they said the Phillies would miss Burrell's right-handed power bat, and because they saw a significant disadvantage to Ibanez because of age.

Anyone who was against signing Ibanez and against re-signing Burrell could argue that one of those other free-agents would have been a better choice, although given that Ibanez largely kept the team from falling out of contention at the beginning of last year I'd say it would be a dubious argument.

Anyone who said that the Phillies would have gotten more out of re-signing Burrell was just wrong - and that would include most of those who criticized the Ibanez signing at Beerleaguer.

[Sophist]

flipper - I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that the people who criticized the Ibanez signing have a habit of criticizing most things, including Burrell. I'll leave it to you and the other BL historians to find the answer. I actually don't really care what the answer is.

[Old Phan]

phlipper, you're not exactly Pat's biggest fan, either. Like many are saying about the Lee trade, let it go.

[Sophist]

flipper - Although I think you're right about the RHB thing. I do recall people worrying about Raul's performance against lefties.

[phlipper]

I'm no BL historian, Sophist, but I do remember being attacked by a few posters who whined about how the Phillies would miss Burrell's RH power bat and about how trading off Burrell for Ibanez was a mistake because Burrell was younger.

So you were wrong in your characterization of at least a chunk of those who criticized the Ibanez signing. And if you don't care about the answer, then why did you post on the topic offering an incorrect assumption?

[NEPP]

We're in first place with a 20-13 record...they must be doing something right.

[phlipper]

Fair enough, Old Phan. It's just that as much as people jump on Ibanez and declare his career over, I think it's important to look at the signing in context.

Actually, thephaitful's post does exactly that.

[clout]

flipper has a bad memory: Many of the objections to signing Ibanez were because he was another LH batter and we thought the team needed a righty.

Also, flipper suggesting that JW is criticizing Ibanez because he harbors some love for Burrell is simply projection on the part of flipper.

You may recall that flipper in June 2007 said Burrell couldn't possibly reach his career norms since he'd gotten off to such a slow start. flipper's bitterness against Burrell for proving him wrong has been raging ever since.

[phlipper]

"You may recall that flipper in June 2007 said Burrell couldn't possibly reach his career norms since he'd gotten off to such a slow start."

Classic clout (inaccurate) revisionism.

Say, clout, could you remind us how much, in baseball savvy opinion, you said the Phillies should pay to re-sign Burrell? I keep asking you that question, but for some odd reason you seem to be avoiding giving an answer.

[Sophist]

flipper - Unlike many around here, I don't care for the game of gotcha. Burrell has completely fallen off a cliff against LHP.

career: .266/.400/.506
09: .279/.406/.545
10: 202/.336/.252

The Phils know more about Burrell and his health than any of us. Have to credit them for that. I'm not sure, however, how they would know Ibanez would continue his turnaround against LHP. This is just another place where knowledge of a player may just win out. It would have been hard to guess from a distance that he'd be this bad.

I don't think the calls for Burrell would have been as loud had the Phils signed a RHB like Ibanez (even with the contract).

[Sophist]

The other part of the LHB/RHB debate is the emergence of Werth. Werth has hit .281/.381/.536 since the Ibanez signing (43 HR, 22 SB) and hit .302/.436/.644 against LHP last year.

Werth hits in Burrell's old spot (the RHB spot behind Howard), not Ibanez.

This changes the Ibanez debate in a bunch of ways and was something that couldn't necessarily have been foreseen when Raul signed.

[Sophist]

It looks like the Jenkins/Werth platoon ended August 7, 2008. Werth finished 2008 hitting .286/.384/.530 (198 PA).

[GBrettfan]

Werth hitting in Burrell's old spot is new this year, if my memory is not faulty. I believe that last year, Charlie had the three lefties in a row - Chase, Ryan, Raul - before Werth came to bat.

[Bubba]

This Date In Phillies History
1954--Robin Roberts gave up a lead-off homer to Cincinnati's Bobby Adams at Connie Mack Stadium and then retired the next 27 batters.

[Sophist]

Werth had almost twice as many PA and twice as many games played from the 5th spot than the 6th spot in 2009. It went back and forth.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/PHI/2009-batting-orders.shtml

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/split.cgi?n1=werthja01&year=2009&t=b#lineu

[bay_area_phan]

It's worth remembering that, when the Rays signed Burrell to a 2-year, $16M contract, the conventional wisdom around all of baseball (not just among Beerleaguer's Pat Burrell fans) was that they got a great bargain. And when the Phillies signed Ibanez to a 3-year, $30M contract, the conventional wisdom around all of baseball (not just among Beerleaguer's Pat Burrell fans) was that they were crazy to give a 3-year deal to a 36-year old player.

I hope conventional wisdom proves as wrong about the Ibanez contract as it was about the Burrell contract. But the jury is still out.

[thephaithful]

Sophist: josh willingham was not a free agent in 2009. He was acquired via trade. Should the Phils have traded for Willingham and re-signed him for 2010? You coudl make that arguement, but thats definitely some hindsight.

[GBrettfan]

Really, Sophist? Well, then, my memory IS faulty. Thanks for the info.

[thephaithful]

my main point for bringing up all of this is that many ppl, including the blog author, are pencilling in Ibanez as a mistake - whether it be his slow start, contract size, age, etc...

If it is such a mistake, then I would love to hear the correct move that should have been made in the 2009 offseason. And if you're answer is they should have paid ibanez less/shorter..then you're ignoring the risk of not getting ibanez at all.

[Sophist]

Phaithful - true, but he was available. Marlins were dumping arb eligible players. This was widely known. I'm not trying to start an argument about that particar player anyway.

[Sophist]

I don't disagree with your general point. Just with the idea that they had to sign a $10M player. The Raul deal has worked for the phils.

[johnnysanz3]

So when will Howard get an XBH again? (May 2nd was his last)

[SteveW]

So what's the delay on bringing up Scott Mathieson? They obviously need backend relief. Let's see what he can do. He's not a kid anymore, time to put up or shut up.

[RodeoJones]

Why do they even have Romero up if he isn't feeling sharp? Isnt' that what rehab is for?

(on the context of a quote on philly.com)

[Bob]

Too soon to declare Raul done/cooked. I share the fear that both he and Lidge may be headed toward Jenkinsville at this point, but it's too soon to tell. To me they are both in the category of "plan for the worst, hope for the best".

I cannot imagine that the powers that be have not had some "What if our most pessimistic scenarios for these two guys come to pass?" discussions, and that they have not started to formulate some type of Plan B.

[Lake Fred]

These off days are horrible. We have a lot of newer BLers that weren't here for the epic Abreu trade second guessers ad nauseum; so, now we're debating Burrell vs. Ibanez. I mean...really???!!

[Cipper]

I am all about bringing up Mathieson and throwing him to the wolves immediately, at the first save opportunity for the team.

[Spitz]

Are folks really complaining that we dont have Lou Marson? He of the 497 OPS this year?

[Sophist]

De Fratus has put up some impressive numbers in Clearwater. He keeps the ball in the park and, so far, has done a nice job in A+ of keeping the ball on the ground. He's pretty much demolished righties this year. Will be interested to see how it translates to Reading.

I'm guessing that Mathieson won't be the guy getting the call. It will be Bastardo. Probably for the best. He seems to be a better option than Romero as a LOOGY right now, and Manuel wouldn't use Mathieson.

[NEPP]

I still think that Ibanez ends up with around .260/20/80 at the end of it...and around a .340 OBP.

[Bubba]

Hope Chooch is able to play or at least be available as a back-up over the weekend.

When BL ran the post on Bako the other day I thought JW was really stretching , but it looks like 20-20 foresight now.

[clout]

Given what Ibanez hit last year vs. LH, which was my #1 concern about his signing, it's hard to argue that Amaro made a mistake.

There was never any debate about whether he'd hit that I can recall, although flipper is fantasizing about it, just as he's fantasizing about his position in June 2007 on whether Burrell could recover to career norms. Ibanez's offense was a given. To the extent there were complaints by posters here, it was about his lefthnadedness or his age or the length and cost of his contract.

Ibanez was one of the first FAs signed and as events unfolded it soon became obvious that Amaro had overpaid. But he had no way of knowing that FA prices would collapse.

As for whether we would've lost him had we not overpaid, that's rank speculation. I've never seen a shred of factual evidence one way or the other.

[Alex]

Greg Golson getting the start in RF this afternoon for the Yanks.

[CJ]

Well, if I can reinvigorate Rauuuul's career like I have Jamie Moyer's, then I would like to declare Raul Ibanez officially Washed Up (tm).

[Hugh Mulcahy]

clout - don't forget that there were murmurs that he was worse than Burrell in the field. There was even a blooper reel. The truth is he's no Roberto Clemente (what left fielder is) but, he has held his own. Hell, Manuel leaves him in for 9 innings! The biggest difference between he and Burrell in the field is aggressiveness. He goes for the ball and makes plays where Burrell played to avoid the extra base hit. Fortunately, he doesn't gamble and lose nearly enough to make that a liability.

[NEP]

To Alex: Yeah, I'm watching it on MLBNetwork right now...never thought I'd see Golson in an MLB uniform again.

[Dan in philly]

Innings pitched by our bullpen:
Durbin 16
Baez 15
Figueroa 15
Contreras 12
Herndon 11
Romero 3
Lidge 3

A little early to judge the bullpen, I think. Maybe Durbin can close, I don't see why not. Or maybe Contreras. Bring up a minor leaguer as a mid relief guy, we have some good ones right now if they are used right.

[NEPP]

Contreras can close for now. Durbin is solid as a middle reliever.

[clout]

Hugh: Good point. I'd forgotten about the defense thing.

[clout]

Speaking of defense, is it just me or has Jayson Werth looked a little rough around the edges in RF over the past week?

[MG]

Burrell has essentially lost his full-time gig as the DH in TB. He has been that bad. Hard to become unpopular & get booed often in TB but Burrell has managed to do that.

I can only imagine how bad Burrell would get booed with a line of .213/.304/.350 right now in Philly with every home AB. All of the '08 goodwill would have been used up in the 2nd half of the season.

As for Ibanez, you have to see until around the end of June. If he hasn't gone on a notable hot streak by then, is still struggling with fastballs, and continues to not swing as much, you are going to have a pretty big red flag.

Phils got alot of value last year out of Ibanez because he was only making $8.5M. His contract though is really backloaded and he is making $12.2M this year & next year.

A sub .800 OPS guy in LF who is below average defensively & pretty slow isn't a good use of $12.2M this year or next year.

People have really focused on Ibanez's offense but his defense in the early going isn't nearly as good from last April/May either. If something is hit towards the line or in the gap, it is dropping every time.

[Hugh Mulcahy]

Werth has had some shaky plays over hte last several games. It's disconcerting because, while errors are unavoidable, you don't expect a fielding 'slump' - a fielder should be relatively constant. I've been wondering if he should switch to a less potent herb or, maybe he should wait until after the game to indulge.

[MG]

clout - No he hasn't and this team defensively this season seems like they have been very inconsistent & just adequate. Yeah they really miss JRoll but a couple of guys have struggled defensively including Howard, Werth, Vic, Ibanez, and Francisco.

Really the only two guys that have played well defensively so far are Chooch and Utley.

[donc]

Speaking of farm hands, what is the deal with Michael Taylor? Anybody know if he's been hurt? It doesn't look as if he's gotten a whiff of the show and his AAA numbers are brutal.

[Sophist]

What qualifies as a hot streak? Ibanez has a slow start and his OPS is about .850 since the middle of last month. He's 4th on the team in OPS over the last month. I wouldn't say that's a hot streak, but what if he just keeps at that rate? An .800-.870 Ibanez for the duration of the contract is more than equal value.

He also appears to have a BABIP issue early in the year.

LD,GB,FB-BABIP

08: 19, 41, 40 - .321
09: 15, 43, 42 - .290
10: 20, 43, 37 - .261

HR/FB problems aside, he's hitting more LD and getting fewer base hits.

[bay_area_phan]

MG: You left out Polanco, who has been terrific on defense (in my opinion, he's actually better than Feliz, who had no range at all & whose consistency really started to decline last year).

Also, I'm not sure why people are saying that Vic has struggled defensively. He has taken some bad routes at times, which resulted in a catch being made to look more difficult than it really was. But he doesn't have any errors & I can't even recall any misplays that resulted in hits. I do recall a few highlight-reel catches though.

[MG]

I know that a starting pitching has much more value at the MLB-level and this team has a nearly complete lack of any viable starting prospects at AA/AAA right now but wouldn't this team have been possibly better served in the short-term if Aumont had been kept as a reliever?

This team is clearly going to need relief help this year. Given the large amount of money they have already committed, they will next year to especially to round out the pen. I wonder if Aumont wouldn't have possibly helped out the MLB as a reliever instead of a starter at some point this year or next.

[MG]

Sophist - I would have go back and look but I remember some posts that pointed out streaks where Ibanez had impressive power numbers and posted an OPS of say at least .950 or greater over a few weeks.

[MG]

Weitzel pointed it out but there is a good reason the RPhils are in last place. They stink. Not getting much production out of the minor league journeyman so far & with the exception of Brown none of the 'prospects' are hitting a lick. Besides Brown, there won't be another positional player who ever sees a MLB field.

Starting pitching has also been pretty mediocre too with the exception of Flande. It seems to be the same general story with the RPhils the last few years. They get touted as having a ton of talent on paper before the season begins that largely doesn't pan out to having a very successful team on the field.

Yeah more of the pitching staff is 'homegrown' but that doesn't necessarily mean it is much better. Have to hope that Aumont develops into some kind of MLB-caliber pitch and that they can find a serviceable MLB reliever out of the Schwimer/Cisco/Stutes/Worley/Flande mix in the next year or so.

[PS]

So when accused of cheating (which now being the 5th time recently they've been accused), did Charlie Manuel actually accuse the Mets of cheating because they play well at home?

[Sophist]

More stuff on Ibanez

Line Drive numbers

08: .794/.786/1.108 (102 AB)
09: .771/.761/1.214 (70 AB)
10: .632/.600/.947 (20 AB)

FB numbers

06: .237/.229/.753 (194 AB)
07: .207/.199/.655 (174 AB)
08: .221/.216/.627 (204 AB)
09: .308/.300/1.041 (146 AB)
10: .259/.226/.630 (27 AB)

HR/BB/SO rates

08: 10/9/17
09: 21/10/24
10: 6/15/20

in-zone:
swing% contact%
08: 68 / 87
09: 63 / 82
10: 58 / 87

not-zone:
swing% contact%
08: 26 / 72
09: 25 / 58
10: 21 / 78

hits to infield%

08: 35%
09: 32%
10: 37%

[keith]

@LakeFred These off days are horrible. We have a lot of newer BLers that weren't here for the epic Abreu trade second guessers ad nauseum; so, now we're debating Burrell vs. Ibanez. I mean...really???!!

Honestly, when I first started coming here, I think the best topic has been the height of the third baseman. That one NEVER gets old to me.

[Phils Suck]

“Somebody maybe ought to check the Mets if they did that. Their [bleeping] home record is out of this world and they’re losing on the road. Sometimes that’s a good indicator of getting signs and [crap]. I see somebody setting there at 17-2 at home and 4-12 on the road, I’d get concerned about that. That kind of crosses my mind… I’m not accusing them, but you look at that and – damn. We’re about the same home and road. I’m just saying their record is much better at home and they hit better… (The Rockies complained) Because we beat them… Keep crying. I’m sure if they can steal signs, they’ll steal them. And believe we will, too, if we can get them. Yeah, we will. Legally. If you’re dumb enough to let us get them, then that’s your fault. That’s been in the game for a long time.”

Three-straight division titles and Charlie still has the Mets on the mind. Some things will never change. Obvious cheating going down. Hopefully karma catches up to the Phils the way it did the Patriots.

[Phils Suck]

*The 2007-2010 Philadelphia Phillies

[Sophist]

I'm actually less worried about Ibanez after looking over those numbers. The most obvious difference is his HR/FB, but even that difference isn't so large if you just see 2009 as a huge outlier. The difference between 6% and 10-13% (career norms) is 2 HR this early in the year.

The BB are largely coming from a better eye and more contact. His contact (in terms of OF vs IF hits) isn't much different and he's had some bad luck on LD.

[Hugh Mulcahy]

"So when accused of cheating (which now being the 5th time recently they've been accused), did Charlie Manuel actually accuse the Mets of cheating because they play well at home?"

Posted by: PS

Yes, he did, so long as you ignore the part where he said 'I'm not accusing the Mets of cheating.' Fairly read I think he said, shut the fvck up until you have some proof that we cheated against you other than the fact that we're kicking your asses.

[Bedrosian's Beard]

I don't think the Phils Suck, and wasn't it the Mets (after the Rox said something) who accused the Phillies of cheating? How does Manuel responding to that qualify as "having the Mets on his mind"? It would seem that it's the Mets who were whining.

[Phils Suck]

Wow, Hugh. I thought Phillies fans weren't that bright, until you proved me wrong.

Using the "v" instead of the "u" so you can still be profane to people on a civilized blog? Genius! You guys man!

You guys! If your not getting tasered or projectile vomiting on pre-teen girls, you're re-inventing the wheel!

And usually when someone says "I'm not accusing them of cheating, BUT.." that means you just accused some one of cheating. Thanks.

[Phils Suck]

Bedro: Since 2007, the Mets, Dodgers, Yankees, Rockies and Red Sox have all spoken up over fishy things the Phillies were doing regarding sign-stealing.

I'm sure it's nothing though....

[Sophist]

Other teams are complaining about the Phils and other teams' fans are trolling Phillies blogs. But it's those other teams that are in the Phils' heads. Right ...

[keith]

Oh man, off day and a troll. This day just gives and gives...

[Kutztown Fan]

Phils Suck - if you don't like the way people post on here, you are free to stay away. After all, the only time you come here is to whine about how everything is unfair to the Mets. I'm beginning to wonder if you're really Jeff Francoeur.

[Hugh Mulcahy]

PS - I'm just paraphrasing the profane Charlie Manuel. How does him 'accusing' the Mets of cheating deserve less respect than the Mets accusing the Phillies of cheating? Talk is cheap.

[Bedrosian's Beard]

I would say they are gunning for the Champs, no?

Can't beat em' smear 'em?

[Phils Suck]

The 2007-2010 Philadelphia Phillies*

Mark McGwire's 70 HRs*

Barry Bonds, Home Run King*

Mitch Williams*

Shane Victorino's 7 HRs*

Jimmy Rollins being a 10-HR/year guy, then exploding in 2007 (while living in Oakland, home of BALCO)*

Chase Utley crowding the plate then having the nerve to get angry when he gets hit*

Raul Ibanez's 2009*

J.C. Romero really hasn't been the same since being suspended for steroids, hmm*

[Phils Suck]

Kutztown has exposed my identity so I must leave now, but I'll leave you with this:

"If on-base percentage is so important, why don't they put it on the scoreboard?" - Me, last year

[RodeoJones]

MG - If Juan Castro can garner a two year deal at his age Freddy Galvis will see a major league field.

[keith]

Mets of the 1980's*(cocaine)

Darryl Strawberry*

Doc Gooden*

My favorite one though...Chase Utley crowding the plate then having the nerve to get angry when he gets hit*

Mets are a second place team. Getting angry about it wont change that fact.

[loctastic]

so does anybody have a reason that Mathieson should *not* be brought up? a middle relief role w/ a chance for promotion, should he prove himself worthy, seems like a decent idea.

[Hugh Mulcahy]

keith - those unfounded slurs don't deserve a response. But, I would check your sports page. Mets are not a second place team. The Washington Nationals are. Just because PS makes things up, doesn't mean I can excuse your inaccuracy.

[bay_area_phan]

Hugh/Keith: To engage a troll is to give him exactly what he wants. If you ignore the troll, he leaves.

[Sophist]

loctastic - I read that Amaro thinks Mathieson needs some refining.

"He has to refine some of his stuff," Amaro said in Florida when Mathieson was sent to the minor league camp. "I think he's got over the hump physically; I just think he has to get to the point where he has to get reps and pitching time. He's a guy we didn't feel was going to be ready to go in April [for us] and be refined enough in his secondary stuff to be able to compete for a job at the big-league level."

Mathieson could be blowing away minor leaguers with a plus FB. That may not cut it at the next level.

[donc]

Two Questions.
#1. If the Phils suck what in god's name do the Muts do?

#2. Where the hell is HH? She usually beats trolls with a tire iron.

[keith]

Hugh, I meant overall from 2007-2010 Mets combined record would place them in 2nd place. I should have made that clear. Clearly, the Mets are a third place team this year.

Sorry for the confusion.

[keith]

Never gets old...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJA6JZ_TKaw

[vegas]

keith-never does.

[Dan in Philly]

I repeat: There is no reason to bring up Math unless Lidge goes on the DL. No one in the pen has pitched even 18 innings yet. There is no reason to think that anyone will be horrible, it's too early to judge the relief corps.

[out of my league]

Speaking of farm hands, what is the deal with Michael Taylor? Anybody know if he's been hurt? It doesn't look as if he's gotten a whiff of the show and his AAA numbers are brutal.

Posted by: donc | Thursday, May 13, 2010 at 02:26 PM

~~~~~

@donc -

Michael Taylor just went out with a calf injury, which is reported to have happened on Tuesday.

As far as when the A's plan to bring him up, even prior to his anemic batting performance in AAA, the A's have said the earliest they would consider bringing him up would be in June (arbitration clock) but with the A's having a stocked OF and him not tearing it up in AAA, it would not be surprising if they wait until September to bring him up, if at all.

[Bay Slugga]

Where is the news on Lidge's elbow?

[The Truth Injection]

BAP: I've never understood either why Vic gets such a lashing for being bad defensively. He's awkward for sure, but is perfectly fine out there. I think sometimes, as with many issues, it's just people griping for the sake of griping.

[clout]

An MRI Thursday on Brad Lidge's sore right elbow revealed only inflammation and no structural damage.

[The Truth Injection]

clout: That's good news. Good that it didn't show any structural damage. Give him some anti-inflammatory drugs and have him rest for a few days.

[st]

scar tissue most likely

[MG]

RodeoJones - Even Ozzie Smith couldn't have stayed in the majors if he hit .150. It is still really early but Galvis early numbers haven't been inspiring. Little contact and when he does it is alot of weak grounders.

Phils Suck - You actually bring up a good point that several teams have accused the Phils' of stealing signs. Frankly, it is pretty hard to ignore. Personally, I don't think it has a big outcome either way on the outcome of the game but the latest incident with the bullpen coach using binoculars was pretty bush league.

I have been kind of surprised that the general reaction on here is "who cares/stop whining" though. People on here would be carping if the situations were reverse or if someone on the Rockies had beaned Werth, Howard, or Utley to send a message yesterday or on Wed. night.

[Bay Slugga]

Good news on Lidge.