Darin Ruf had himself a day in his first spring training start. He walked to load the bases in his first plate appearance, homered off Esmil Rogers in the third inning, and narrowly missed another homer on the first pitch of his third PA. The Phillies lost, 7-5, to the Blue Jays in Dunedin.
It looked like Ruf had at least extra bases in the fifth, but his booming fly ball was caught by CF Kenny Wilson, the Blue Jays' fastest and best defensive outfield prospect.
Ruf, of course, is battling for a spot on the Phillies' 25-man roster. His apparent top competition, John Mayberry Jr., went 2-for-4 with a homer off the scoreboard in left-center and a steal. Mayberry had a poor read in right field in the fifth inning on a flyball that hung between 2B and RF.
Some other observations:
- Maikel Franco went 0-for-3 with a walk, and had an error at first base. He had a pitch to hit in his third at-bat, but popped up a middle-in fastball gently to shallow center.
- Cliff Lee was sharp in his start, striking out 3 over two innings around a pair of doubles by Moises Sierra and Jose Bautista (who's looking healthy).
- Rough afternoons for Jake Diekman and Ethan Martin. Diekman allowed two runs on four hits in his inning, and Martin went walk-single-double-double before being pulled without recording an out. Martin left with shoulder discomfort.
- Bobby Abreu being Bobby Abreu in his first two games back: 0-for-3, three walks. He walked twice Thursday and had another three-ball count.
- Wow, Dustin McGowan's still going for Toronto. Former third overall pick missed three of the last five years and most of the two others. Came back as a reliever late last year and struck out a batter per inning in 25 appearances. Good for him ... he's had at least 3 shoulder surgeries and a knee surgery. Toronto's been ravaged by injuries to its pitching staff for close to a decade.
- Phillies back at it tomorrow in a split-squad game against the Tigers in Clearwater. On TV at 1:05 p.m. on The Comcast Network.
At this stage of his career Abreu is probably a .250 hitter with a .350 OB and modest power. That would make him the best LH PH the Phillies have had in years.
Posted by: clout | Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 04:08 PM
No mention of Martin's shoulder pain/possible injury?
If he's hurt I think that might change his outlook...
Posted by: Cyclic | Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 04:16 PM
Good job with the observations. Comcast should post a " Spring Training Game - Fan Viewership Discretion Advised" before the telecast.
Posted by: Meyer | Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 04:16 PM
Good thing this isn't the Venezuela Winter League where the games actually mean something.
Posted by: Dickie Thong | Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 04:26 PM
3 walks in two games. I'll be shocked if RAJ doesn't cut Abreu tonight! We can't tolerate that kind of lack of production.
Posted by: Willard Preacher | Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 04:34 PM
Did Galvis have a few miscues today too at SS?
Have to think Cedeno will work his way in the picture as the backup utility infielder. He played again today at 2B after coming in for JRoll yesterday at SS.
If I am correct, C. Hernandez didn't appear in either game so far.
Posted by: MG | Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 04:37 PM
Franco has 2 errors in as many days at 3B too.
Posted by: MG | Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 04:38 PM
MG: Franco was at 1B today, no? Asche was the 3B.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 04:45 PM
Philibuster - Yes. My bad. Still his 2nd error.
Posted by: MG | Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 04:48 PM
Diekman's results today don't mean anything. Martin being removed from the game due to left shoulder soreness and velocity that was way below 90 MPH is a huge red flag.
Posted by: MG | Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 04:49 PM
At game today. Franco played 1st. Asche 2 bad throws at 3rd, looked bad at the plate. Franco at 1st just to get AB's. Martin only got to 85 on gun. This might be another season ending injury for a Phils pitcher. Galvis only ok at short bobbled a sure DP grounder while diekman on mound. Galvis doesn't always look solid on routine plays. Diekman gave up runs after Galvis bobbled DP ball.Hollands good against minor leaguers. Rosenberg good also.
Final observation. Revere looks terrible going back on balls.
Posted by: Docjoe | Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 04:52 PM
Thanks Doc. Did The Babe point to his name on the scoreboard before his big swing? The replay doesn't show it.
Posted by: Meyer | Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 04:56 PM
Galvis has never looked particularly awesome on the left side of the field, to me. Especially on routine plays. He can make some spectacular grabs, but that's only going to play well 5% of the time.
I think it was a surprisingly good fit when he filled in at 2nd, and that might be his ideal defensive position... However, his bat doesn't play well at short, much less 2B.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 05:10 PM
Good to see Kratz again. Whether he was a fit for the Phils, I'm glad he is, according to today's commentary, the top candidate to be R.A. Dickey's personal catcher.
Posted by: can_of_corn | Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 05:34 PM
Philli: 100% correct. Galvis could field better than Nellie Fox and Bill Mazeroski combined and his bat still wouldn't play at 2B. If he's going to play every day it has to be at SS.
Posted by: clout | Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 05:38 PM
Is it just me or do the Phillies somehow hold the record for the most f*cking shoulder injuries in baseball in recent memory? Seriously I'm sick of this wtf is going on?
Posted by: Pblunts | Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 06:46 PM
Pblunts: Could be worse. We could be like the Braves and get 1-3 players with TJ surgery every year.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 07:03 PM
@Pblunts: At least his pee-hole is fine, AFAWK.
Posted by: Dickie Thong | Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 07:06 PM
At this stage of his career Abreu is probably a .250 hitter with a .350 OB and modest power. That would make him the best LH PH the Phillies have had in years.
Posted by: clout | Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 04:08 PM
Brilliant! Kind of sad, really, but it puts the bench issues this team has had in stark relief.
Posted by: cut_fastball | Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 07:41 PM
All of these pitching maladies are a conspiracy to get Fausto into the rotation. When there's only 5 starters left, they'll be forced to leave him in there. I only hope Lee isn't the next to go.
Posted by: Jackamac | Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 08:18 PM
Fausto was in regardless
Posted by: Cyclic | Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 08:28 PM
Hernandez was a lock for the rotation even before camp opened. Phils don't even have 5 healthy starters right now unless you include either Manship or O'Sullivan.
Martin and Pettibone have sore shoulders. Cut Gaudin. MAG isn't going to a starter to open the year.
Posted by: MG | Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 08:29 PM
"it's not like there doesn't appear to be sound metrics behind picking [Carmona] to be your 5th starter. Especially on a MiLB deal."
On a MiLB deal, he'd be fine. Unfortunately, we gave him a $4.5M guaranteed contract.
Posted by: bay_area_phan | Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 08:43 PM
Just one more thing - Darin Ruf must get 400 PAs this year. Just my opinion, but he's thunder. Period.
Posted by: cut_fastball | Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 09:22 PM
If I understand things right, cut, that opinion is flawed because Ruf is 27 and isn't a duly anointed prospect.
Posted by: Bonehead | Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 09:32 PM
Is it just me, or is anyone else higher on Manship than Fauxto right now? I don't know, maybe it's just spite or something because the latter was a god-awful deal by RAJ, but Manship had a nasty changeup Wednesday. I was impressed with his battle with Reyes. Not every pitcher can throw a 3-2 change and get that result. And I know it doesn't hold much value, but Moyer was high on him. I'm more inclined to trust his judgement than Amaro's anyway.
Posted by: Jackamac | Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 10:07 PM
Phils didn’t shift AT all last year (Note: Data is only available for balls in play). They did it a total of just 48 times which was 2nd last in MLB.
Rays were 2nd at 466 and Pirates were 4th at 422.
http://www.hardballtimes.com/tht-live/expanded-2013-infield-shift-data/
Doesn’t bode well for Burnett and Hernandez.
Posted by: MG | Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 10:12 PM
@27 Ruf has at least 8 more years before his Phillies Prime.
Steaks, wine and ballplayers get better with age.
Posted by: Bubba | Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 10:13 PM
It was Hernandez's first start of ST. Who cares what the results were.
If you want to be more concerned, it is whether or not the Phils will utilize the shift and appropriately when Hernandez is on the mound.
Just needs some good luck on HR/FB and for them to be mainly solo shots. Basically hoping he is a ~4.50 ERA who doesn't chew up the pen and stays healthy. Likely stays in the rotation all year by default too given the sheer lack of alternatives.
Even if his numbers are slightly worse, his still be a real improvement over Halladay/Lannan/Cloyd/Martin and the other contributions from the back end of the rotation.
Posted by: MG | Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 10:16 PM
Pitching staff candidates are dropping like flies. Pettibone and Martin are unlikely now. I'm betting against Adams. Hernandez is off to a shaky start.
Bring in Mad Dog.
Posted by: Bonehead | Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 10:31 PM
Listening to the WFAN on the drive home from Northern NJ tonight and caught the end of Chris Russo (who stuggles on his own too much).
Anyways lots of Yanks/Mets talk and a lot of Mets callers frustrated the Wilpons didn't increase the payroll this year a bit more & go out and sign a SS.
Russo says that he understands what the Wilpons are doing though and that one of his inside sources tells him the Wilpons have lost notable amounts of money on the team the past few years.
One of the callers challenges Russo and says if that is the case why did the Wilpons buy back a number of the $20M ownership blocks they initially put up for sale when the Madoff thing went down.
Russo gives the caller a hard time and rambles on about the huge drop in Mets' attendance since '08. Caller counters and says the Mets have dropped their payroll by over $50M since then or basically over 1/3. Russo then basically yammers on about attendance and hangs up on the guy.
It still boggles my mind that sports media/reporters take anything an owner says about profitability seriously especially when a MLB owner comes out/leaks that they are losing money.
Only way I would believe that is if a credible 3rd party auditor like Deloitte or PwC went in, had access to all of their books, and produced a document that the MLB owner was required to signoff on or face potential criminal charges under Sarbannes-Oxley. Then I would possibly believe that any MLB team is losing money annually.
Posted by: MG | Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 10:39 PM
A conversation like that would've way over Russo's head.
Relatedly, did you ever notice how media skills and number-crunching skills rarely overlap?
Posted by: Bonehead | Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 10:45 PM
By the way, Sarbannes-Oxley is pretty much a typical political overreaction to a few high profile cases. Simply re-focusing on the regulations already on the books would have sufficed.
Sarbannes-Oxley was not much more than a windfall for the auditing/consulting industry.
Posted by: Bonehead | Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 10:53 PM
"Is it just me, or is anyone else higher on Manship than Fauxto right now?"
It's just you. I hate Fausto, but Manship is beyond awful.
Posted by: bay_area_phan | Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 11:04 PM
The hoopla over Sarbannes-Oxley did cause a huge case of introspection and voluntary efforts by companies to CYA.
Made me wish, at times, that I was still on the consulting side and not on the corporate side.
Feels like BL of old, with side trips into the non-baseball world.
Maybe we can get this site into mid-season form yet.
Posted by: Bubba | Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 11:09 PM
Sarbannes-Oxley was a elephantine solution to squash a problem and dramatically hiked up compliance costs but at least it did some good.
As for Russo, he just has no ego to check him now and he is tough to listen to for a prolonged. Always enjoyed the old show because they talked about a wide variety of sports including a lot of non-NYC sports stuff and even non-sports topics.
Listening to a sports radio host in this day and age of immediate and accessible information gets old really fast enough they generate interesting callers and move back and forth on a wide range of topics fluidly.
Posted by: MG | Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 11:42 PM
My question would be why did Martin even go out there today to begin with?
It was obvious from pitch one, he had no velocity. Shouldn't somebody have seen that and thought something was up?
Posted by: denny b. | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 12:40 AM
Amaro would be wise to get, either by FA or trade, at least one more veteran starting-pitcher before the season kicks off. The pitching still looks thin to me, even before Martin's problems.
Posted by: Dragon | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 01:31 AM
Don't worry guise, John Mayberry Jr. has a 25-man roster spot now. Amaro has spotted the production and accepted it in praise of Pope Montgomery.
Abreu is destined to die in South America and Ruf simply can't get it done at .256/.342/.500 with 20 hrs in AAA.
Posted by: abreukindaisbetterthanrollins | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 04:33 AM
MG, Chris Russo is back on WFAN? Wasn't aware of this. Do you mean on satellite radio?
Posted by: bittel | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 05:46 AM
They trade Ruf for some 7th starter type...I can see it happening..
Posted by: PLM | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 06:29 AM
PLM: wouldn't be surprised if he's traded to the pirates. they need a 1st baseman, i hear.
if abreu has a great year as a PH, could he possibly be a candidate for the wall of fame?
his career here has been stellar so far.
Posted by: bullit | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 06:53 AM
Bullit: They could probably put his plaque about 15 feet in front of the wall of fame. I'm not sure he'd want it any closer.
Posted by: Vizzo | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 07:10 AM
LOL. good one. i have just been comparing the phillies careers of abreu and kruk at b-ref. kruk is on the wall. abreu had slightly better numbers over more years.
Posted by: bullit | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 07:14 AM
LOL @ starting pitching depth. Martin struggling to reach 85 doesn't sound good. Guess it's all aboard the Manship and the 7.00 ERA that comes with it.
Posted by: Sil | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 07:20 AM
Be a travesty bulit especially if its for some ho-hum SP. I dont know the extent of the injuries to Petti and Ethan. They already done with Morgan. So this be the perfect excuse for Rube. Not that they have to justify anything with the Phans but...
Posted by: PLM | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 07:24 AM
@MG sounds like you are in Yanks/Mets territory like me, (Monmouth County) just agonizingly close to Phillies territory but clearly in Yanks/Mets land. And I agree with Denny, Martin's velocity etc could not have been a surprise, right? Someone had to be watching his bullpens. Wtf?
Posted by: Pblunts | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 07:33 AM
geez. ethan martin could be recovering from surgery when they give away his bobblehead at LV. btw, they really captured his cabbage patchness on the doll. if you've seen the ruf garden gnome you know that if rube trades him away, rube should be made to sit on one.
Posted by: bullit | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 07:40 AM
abreu over 9-ish years .928 OBS .303 BA
kruk over 6-ish years .861 OBS .300 BA
Posted by: bullit | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 08:32 AM
Sorry I meant Francesa. Just driving home from NJ New Jersey after a day trip for work.
Posted by: MG | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 08:39 AM
Gwynn Jr starting in CF today. He and Cedeno are the most likely minor league guys at this point to grab a roster spot.
Looks like Abreu has a job to lose at this point as the LH bat off the bench.
Posted by: MG | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 08:54 AM
minor league signings.
Posted by: MG | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 08:54 AM
"Manager Ryne Sandberg said [Cesar] Hernandez will work at both third and shortship this spring to increase his versatility, the Philadelphia Daily News reports."
Saw this on my phone this morning, laughed and cried at the same time. Guess someone at the Daily News is on the RAJ payroll.
Posted by: nokwurst | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 09:33 AM
Chris Jones was released by the Orioles. Might be worth a look. They could definitely do worse.
Posted by: Will Schweitzer | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 09:39 AM
I wouldn't say no to looking over Jones, but he's been in the minors for 7 years now, so he may be out of options. His 2013 was impressive between AA and AAA, but his low K/BB (1.5) and high WHIP (1.494) make me think that last year might have been a fluke, so I'm not sure I'd want him to get a guaranteed spot on the 25-man.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 10:00 AM
Cesar, we know you didnt and dont have the arm for SS or 3B but we're going to play you there anyway so we have a good excuse to send you to Lehigh.
We cool?
Posted by: NEPP | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 10:06 AM
NEPP: I actually think they're doing it so they can leave Galvis in Lehigh.
Getting occasional games at the MLB level won't improve his bat the same way that everyday action in the minors will (assuming there's any improvement left in him), and they'd probably rather have a guy with a high BA, average OBP and low power as their primary utility infielder.
Being able to play CF passably would also allow them to dump Mayberry or Abreu and carry Ruf in the same slot.
Both of them have an option, though, so in the end it's not a big deal which, from a long-term perspective.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 10:12 AM
LV: Lehigh Valley to most, Land of Versatility to RAJ.
Posted by: nokwurst | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 10:13 AM
Oh Buster, I really hope what you say about Cesar is true. I'm not holding my breath, but I'm hoping.
Ruf batting 9th in today's lineup tells me it's basically a test of what could actually be used come reg season, w/ DH tacked on at the end.
Posted by: nokwurst | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 10:23 AM
Hernandez isn't a fight for the roster right now.
He was terrible in CF last year in limited duration (not his fault since he hadn't played there before professionally).
Can't play 3B/SS and basically is limited to 2B and maybe if pressed a corner OF spot.
Not like his offense will win him a roster spot either. Limited power and doesn't have a high enough AVG/OBP to offset it.
Posted by: MG | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 10:29 AM
Cesar was a SS in his first season in our minor league system...and he was immediately moved to 2B after that because his arm doesn't play at SS.
Posted by: NEPP | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 10:29 AM
Nokwurst: Yeah, similarly, I'm not going to do anything other than believe that it's a possibility. If I were Sandberg, I know I'd rather have a Cesar-type player on the bench than a Galvis-type.
Being in Lehigh would allow Galvis to come up in the event of a serious injury, but in the interim you get a guy who can play acceptable D at a lot of places (assuming he can do so at SS/3B, which is probably unlikely but that's why they're giving it a try), can get on-base in front of some of the bigger bats, and would allow them to carry a bat-centric bench piece (Ruf) by dropping one of the redundant OF pieces.
Probably the best situation would involve Frandsen and one of Abreu/JMJ leaving, freeing up a spot to carry Galvis and Ruf on the MLB bench... But Frandsen is a better bat than Galvis, and the odds of cutting two guaranteed contracts before the season are low. Abreu is likely more useful than Frandsen anyway, and his utility is probably about on par with JMJ (so long as we carry another guy who can play the outfield passably).
Posted by: Phillibuster | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 10:34 AM
Not saying that it's going to work out, NEPP. Just saying I'd imagine that'd be the goal of trying to play him at SS/3B.
The last time he played SS for more than 2 games was 2007. Yeah, they moved him out pretty quickly, but he was also 17 at the time. I could believe his throwing may have improved since then.
Whether it did is another story.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 10:38 AM
Interesting and unexpected fact:
Rollins had the 5th-highest FLDG% among SS in 2013.
Does that speak more to the statistic, or the player though...
Posted by: Phillibuster | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 10:42 AM
Scouting reports say Cesar can't play SS.
Track record says Cesar can't play SS.
Eyeballs say Cesar can't play SS.
Posted by: Bonehead | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 10:50 AM
I won't miss when Amaro is fired and the Phils stop this ridiculous obsession with 'versatility' and making players including prospects play a position at the MLB they have never played before professionally.
One of the things that Amaro has done over the past few years that just makes you scratch you head as a fan.
Posted by: MG | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 10:54 AM
Bonehead: 7-year-old scouting reports?
Literally.
Posted by: Phillibuster | Friday, February 28, 2014 at 11:16 AM