Phillies win hit parade on Opening Day

Just like they drew it up: Cliff Lee got the win, Jonathan Papelbon closed out a close game with a perfect ninth and the Phillies topped the Rangers on Opening Day.

Looks like Jimmy Rollins was right after all, at least for one day.

The Phillies went into the season opener having gone three straight spring games without scoring a run, but who cares now? They racked up 17 hits and six walks in a 14-10 win over Texas — their highest run total on Opening Day since a 19-17 win on April 19, 1900.

Rollins appeared to open the game up in the second inning with a two-out grand slam to make it 6-0. It was his 200th career homer. In all of April last season, Rollins had one homer and seven RBIs.

Cliff Lee just didn't have it and got hit around all afternoon. He allowed eight runs on 11 hits and a walk and struck out just one, but considering his solid spring there should be no reason to worry. He picked up the win.

Ben Revere, Chase Utley and Cody Asche picked up three hits apiece. Marlon Byrd and Asche also hit solo homers. Ryan Howard struck out three times but also picked up two singles and drew a walk.

Jake Diekman, B.J. Rosenberg and Antonio Bastardo combined for three innings, allowing two runs, and gave way to Papelbon, who retired the Rangers in order in the ninth. Papelbon needed just 12 pitches, nine of which were strikes.

Pedro Figueroa was charged with the loss for yielding four runs in 1 2/3 innings. Tanner Scheppers struggled in his first big-league start, needing 93 pitches to get through four innings while giving up seven runs. The only Texas pitcher who didn't surrender a run was Seth Rosin, the former Phillies prospect, who tossed a scoreless ninth.

THE GOOD

1. Patience at the plate. The three walks the Phillies drew in the second inning all led to runs, thanks to J-Roll's grand slam, and the bats forced Scheppers to throw 38 pitches in the frame, which contributed to his early exit. The Phillies drew three bases on balls in one inning just six times in 2013; they drew six or more walks in a game just nine times.

2. Jake Diekman. Thanks to his buddy B.J., he was charged with two earned runs, but it doesn't take away from what Diekman did in the sixth inning. He mowed through the top of Texas' order on 11 pitches, getting both Shin-Soo Choo and Prince Fielder on strikeouts. Probably shouldn't have gone out for the seventh inning, anyway.

3. Byrd, Revere keep strokin'. Really the only two Phillies who looked good offensively all spring, Byrd (.298 in Florida) and Revere (.294) kept their hot bats going, combining for five hits and knocking in four runs. The homer was Byrd's first as a Phillie since Aug. 29, 2004 (off Pedro Liriano, then of the Brewers). All three of Revere's hits were hard-hit.

THE BAD

1. Howard on the basepaths. Has Howard ever looked worse on the bases? He hobbled around like his legs were tied together at the ankles. He had no business heading home on Carlos Ruiz's grounder with the Rangers' infield halfway in the third and was out by only about 30 feet.

2. Lee with a big lead. What is it about Cliff Lee that he can't seem to pitch with a big lead? Including today, his career ERA is 4.11 when his team gives him six or more runs of support and opponents are hitting .267 off him. When his team scores five runs or fewer, his ERA is 3.26. What gives, Cliff?

3. Miss the memo, Dom? Domonic Brown was about the only Phillie who didn't exercise patience in the batter's box. He saw a total of 14 pitches in five at-bats, which included a strikeout. He did pick up a hit and subsequently stole second and scored a run, but it would be nice to see him build on a spring in which he drew nine walks in 63 plate appearances by working the count more.

UP NEXT

A.J. Burnett makes his Phillies debut vs. lefty Martin Perez and the Rangers on Tuesday at 8:05 p.m. (TCN). Texas hitters are a combined .244 lifetime off Burnett with four homers.

Comments

[Hank]

NJ.com is reporting that Chase Utley is a gang member.

[Corn]

Helped they were facing a guy who should be tossing BP

[Steve]

Looks like the new BL staff is able to flip the switch as well

[Timr]

Ha ha Steve. And like the Phil's themselves we'll see how long they can keep it up.

[steve]

Nice one, Hank.

I think he's part of a radical animal rights gang that bombs developers and meat-packing plants.

[martin]

I must have watched a different game....I think Bastardo , not Rosenberg, Diekmann stopped the slugfest

[Cyclic]

Revere was awesome today. Was even robbed of extra bases and a hit on a great catch by Rios.

[MG]

Revere catch was nice to see. His real value isn't going to be hitting ~.300 and stealing bases. It will be playing solid defense in CF for the first time since Vic was in his prime here.

[Cyclic]

Any guesses as to what Chris Wheeler would have thought of that game?

A certain word comes to mind...

[rellis]

I bow down to Cliff Lee. He is the only person who can pitch like crap, get a win and get a pass. He is truly golden.

[BobbyD]

Goofy! He also would have had a fit about Cliff Lee's lack of shutdown inning.

[Pythagoras]

The Phillies will go 106-56 this year.

[Matt]

Jimmy only hit a grand slam so he didn't have to hustle to first.

[Hank]

Abreu's a Met. ha ha ha

[Dickie Thong]

Abreu + Phil's bullpen = lots of walks

[limoguy]

Would they have won that game with Cholly as manager? Taking a walk and working the count was almost a sacrilege.

[PLM]

Well i didnt watch the game but i did predict in the previous thread that Revere would have a nice catch. According to MG my prediction came to life. Heres what may happen next. Big may. Phils go on some type of mini winning streak say 6-3 and some start to feel all tastycake warm inside and change their thought patterns to maybe this can be a 90 win team.

[PLM]

*Tastykake-D'oh

[Conway Twitty]

A Game Thread-then 460 posts-then a well-written recap. All is well at Beerleaguer. At least for today.

[Jackamac]

Another alarming thing is Howard's 3 strikeouts.

[LorecorE]

DOM singles, steals a bag, and scores on an infield single. fck you wiznewski.

[Phillibuster]

Howard's Ks weren't really that concerning. One of them was 2 called strikes that were unhittably outside the zone to start the AB followed by a weak swing at another pitch to the same spot from a nasty lefty, and another was a 6-pitch K that ended with a 95MPH-heater he couldn't quite nail.

Also, if he posts an OBP over .350, he can K all he likes. Although it'd be nice if he got some non-single hits.

[Bubba]

14 runs, separate BL pre & post game threads, an Opening Day W.

Keep that switched flipped on.

[PLM]

Saw Sandberg commenting on Jimmy. So Sandberg wants Jimmy to basically morph into Revere as far as hitting goes. This will be interest to watch. Basically trying to unprogram what Jimmy (and Cholly philosophy)for so many years. It almost seems like they had some deal. Get #200 and switch over to a slap hitter.

[Scry Scribbims]

The Phillies are in first place!
April Fool's!

[Dragon]

Now watch the offense score zero runs in the next two games. The potential is there.

[Dragon]

"The Phillies, who scored their most runs in an opener since beating the Boston Beaneaters 19-17 in 1900." - News Item

Now that's what I call a real gas!

[PLM]

"Now watch the offense score zero runs in the next two games. The potential is there."

Even when the offense was clicking not sure if it was imagined or not i always remember 10 runs scored one game and the next they get shut out.

[Willard Preacher]

Another horrible header and horrible comments abound

[Willard Preacher]

sdgf

[Yawn...]

sigh...

[Yawn...]

sigh again.

[Pblunts]

The Rangers are banged up and the Cubs are the Cubs. Anything less than a 4-2 trip would be disappointing. I'd be pumped at a 5-1 trip.

[Yawn...]

6-0 or bust

[bay_area_phan]

Thanks Yawn for closing those tags

[Nonamephame (Founder of the Cody Asche fan club, no scout-lovers allowed)]

Can someone explain to me how Dom Brown is under "the bad". Hater-ade. What does a guy have to do these days? Taking pitches is good, unless you are getting meatballs. I'd rather Dom be swinging at grooved fastballs. He didn't connect, but so what? He still had PRODUCTION (haha, TM).

[Jackamac]

Cause the thread writers here are as dumb as the posters

[Steve]

Someone has a very sad, unfulfilling life

[Steve]

Yeah you are right I do.

[HTML Guru]

...testing

[Steve]

Keep trying

[HTML Guru]

...take 2

[can_of_corn]

king of bop is back

[The King of Bop]

I'm the King of Bop
There is none higher
Sucker BL posters
Call me sire
To burn this forum
Use HTML fire
I won't posting
Til the new writers retire.

[Phillibuster]

I think 4-2 would be great, but I don't feel like it's necessarily required. Taking 2 of 3 from the Rangers is a distinct possibility, but that'd be a bonus when viewed from before yesterday's game.

Going 3-3 would obviously not be ideal, but I think it's a heck of a lot better than a lot of people figured the season to open.

[Phillibuster]

That was a bold prediction I made right there.

[Phillibuster]

Perhaps too bold.

[Phillibuster]

But one can dream.

[HTML Guru]

It was more strong than bold.

[Phillibuster]

I must have been thick.

[aksmith]

Some days I think the owner of another baseball blog is trying to actively destroy this site. Then other days, I think exactly the same thing.

[Phillibuster]

The TGP conspiracy?

[aksmith]

Then I buy my grandkid a generic red hat and play with myself

[HTML Guru]

I wouldn't be surprised if it was that douche bag AEC.

[Chris in VT]

Why does Howard look like he's moved farther away from the plate than ever before? Considering how much he struggle with low and away pitches, it seems like an odd strategy...

[bay_area_phan]

Imagine a scenario where an imposter manages to gain access into Comcast's real website, pretends to be a Comcast employee who is offering online technical support to customers, and is calling all of those customers names and telling them to go f*ck themselves. I have a sneaking suspicion that Comcast would: (a) lock said imposter out of the website within hours; and (b) pursue any legal actions which could be pursued against said imposter.

Basically, Comcast bought out Beerleaguer because Jason came with it. Beerleaguer, itself, is nothing more than a nuisance to the company. It's too bad, because TGP, with its impossible-to-follow thread format and humorless web-masters, is a woefully inadequate substitute.

Real BAP

[aksmith]

"Woefully inadequate" describes the entire posting career of BAP

[bay_area_phan]

I would just like to remind everyone that roughly a week ago I said I was done here and anyone posting under the bay_area_phan handle from that point forward was a fraud.

Remember yesterday I posted as well to remind you.

I then posted again this morning.

So 11:51 am me is a complete fake.

I will be back in another day or so to remind you that it isn't me.

[GBrettfan]

I've been very good about ignoring all the annoyances here, but I'm getting frustrated, too. I've really enjoyed reading and posting here over the years and hate to lose this forum for posting during games, in particular.

[bittel]

I guess it's like owning an abandoned house where a few somewhat-intelligent junkies still come for a fix, and someone decides it would be fun to defecate on the front lawn each day.

Apt?

[Phillibuster]

Bittel: I agree, an apartment sounds like it would be better.

[Phillibuster]

Although to be fair, I don't think any poster here is passing themselves off as employees of the blog. Or at least, not convincingly.

[one low-life trolling impostor has ruined Beerleaguer and comcast morons can't figure out how to stop it]

11:51 is the real bap IMO

[fumphis]

BL doesn't have to be dead unless the community abandons it. There have been trolls and HTML glitches here since time immemorial. We had a really healthy game thread yesterday and there's no reason that can't continue. Wisniewski obviously reads these threads and cares enough to occasionally post.

I also think the mods' hands are tied more than we think with respect to "banning" posters--it seems to be a wide open comments system. Let's just ignore the trolls and keep this really solid community intact against the odds. The spoofers can be combated with TypePad logins.

Mike, it would help if you threw up an open thread each day even with no content.

[one low-life trolling impostor has ruined Beerleaguer and comcast morons can't figure out how to stop it]

It wouldn't be hard to make a troll-free carbon copy of this site. I'd be interested to know if posters are willing to migrate.

[one low-life trolling impostor has ruined Beerleaguer and comcast morons can't figure out how to stop it]

fumphis, there is a simple way to deter the trolls. Admins see the email address of the posters. They know when a post is by the real poster or the impostor. Simply delete the impostor comments and the troll will disappear quickly. The same goes for all other types of trolling that are ruining this blog. It can be stopped, but it requires an admin that actually cares about this site.

[one low-life trolling impostor has ruined Beerleaguer and comcast morons can't figure out how to stop it]

Just call me Columbo

[Kashmir]

A fast, easy way to rid the site of trolls is for Komcast to block their IP addresses. If they post from another computer than block that one too. Blocking IP addresses is something any systems engineer can do in less than 5 minutes. It's apparent Komcast just doesn't care as this can be quickly and easily handled.

[one low-life trolling impostor has ruined Beerleaguer and comcast morons can't figure out how to stop it]

For example, delete post @ 12:27 and the sad pathetic troll would give up.

[one low-life trolling impostor has ruined Beerleaguer and comcast morons can't figure out how to stop it]

No I wouldn't

[aksmith]

BAP - that obviously wasn't me.

I would be interested in a carbon copy site of BL without actual moderation of troll posts. And probably everyone else would be too. I'll even volunteer to take a few shifts patrolling the trolls.

[one low-life trolling impostor has ruined Beerleaguer and comcast morons can't figure out how to stop it]

Kashmir, that won't work. The troll can post for thousands of different proxies.

[one low-life trolling impostor has ruined Beerleaguer and comcast morons can't figure out how to stop it]

from*

[one low-life trolling impostor has ruined Beerleaguer and comcast morons can't figure out how to stop it]

Dude- if you are going to fake post under my name at least spell things correctly you dope.

[one low-life trolling impostor has ruined Beerleaguer and comcast morons can't figure out how to stop it]

aksmith, the problem is we can't copy the content from this site. We would need volunteers to write articles, like on TGP.

[one low-life trolling impostor has ruined Beerleaguer and comcast morons can't figure out how to stop it]

We will trial run posters with working brain cells.

You are out Jackamac and aksmith

[bay_area_phan]

aksmith: Obviously, I know it wasn't you. Just like I trust that most posters can recognize which posts aren't really me. But it's no less annoying when it happens.

Fumphis: Ignoring the trolls is easier said than done. Beerleaguer is a diversion. But it ceases to be a fun diversion if someone's pretending to be you, and others are responding to him as if it's you, & you keep having to explain that it isn't you. It also ceases to be a fun diversion when someone completely misrepresents what I say or personally attacks me without even a pretense of relating it to any baseball-related topic that was under discussion.

All that said, it's nice to be able to vent on a game thread. And I really dislike TGP.

[Phillibuster]

Also, to go back to the Abreu-to-Mets bit, I don't think that even hurts us with our relievers. Just tell them to groove everything, and at worst he'll hit something that dies fast enough for him to get to 2nd before Revere can throw it in.

[GBrettfan]

I knew yesterday was a gift by the Rangers' pitching, but I wanted to bask in the happiness of the Phillies taking advantage of it a while longer. No more. Dave Murphy bursts the illusory bubble:

1) Tanner Scheppers couldn't throw strikes, and neither could the litany of relievers that followed him. The Phillies took what the pitcher gave them. According to my caclulations based on data available at Baseball-Reference, the Phillies saw a lower percentage of strikes yesterday (60.2 percent of the 191 pitches that the Rangers threw) than they did in all but 23 games last season. In those 23 games last season, they were 15-8 while averaging six runs per game.
Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/sports/phillies/What-did-we-learn-about-the-Phillies-yesterday.html#gRZqA1XoqIJUmDRI.99

[one low-life trolling impostor has ruined Beerleaguer and comcast morons can't figure out how to stop it]

BAP is correct. It's not easy to just ignore incessant trolling.

If the admins cared at all about saving the blog, they would follow the discourse and delete troll comments immediately. This is the only way to effectively deter trolling by imposters who make a mockery of a discussion by posting hyperbole using real posters' handles.  

Example:

Commenter #1: Jimmy Rollins will have a bounce back year.

Commenter #2: No way, he's over the hill

(civilized discussion so far)

(Troll post---->) Commenter #1: Jimmy will hit 45 home runs, bat .350 and win the MVP. You're all morons for not understanding that players have down years.

Commenter #2: No, you're a moron! Commenter #1 is a FO apologist and knows nothing about baseball. What a dumbass!

Commenter #1: That last post wasn't mine

Commenter #2: No one cares, this conversation is annoying me, you must be a troll. Go away.

I've seen countless conversations devolve into mud-slinging due to this type of trolling. The admins can easily spot the troll posts by checking the email associated with the post. Of course this would require admins who actually follow their own blog.

[Cyclic]

Which game sparked the debate (was it last year or 2 years ago) with some posters (maybe just Jake?) believing that the Phillies had shown that they were finally "taking a different approach" and some posters (bap? everyone else) thought nope, it was just a crappy pitcher who couldn't throw strikes and the Phillies knew it.

Hopefully the former side is right this time. I think they were proven wrong by the latter camp last time.

[one low-life trolling impostor has ruined Beerleaguer and comcast morons can't figure out how to stop it]

All that said, it's nice to be able to vent on a game thread. And I really dislike TGP.

Someone with your cheery demeanor wouldn't like something?

The hell you say

[Phillibuster]

Ogando didn't look too bad until after he'd been roughed up a little and his curveballs started landing in the dirt. Figueroa also got some calls that had no business being strikes, so it's hard to argue they didn't see a ton of strikes.

Some of the pitchers definitely had serious issues, but every pitcher's ball/strike ratio is going to look bad if his strikes get hammered and he starts nibbling more.

[bay_area_phan]

Cyclic: Not to rehash the debate, but it was bittel & the pitcher was Jason Marquis. I come down firmly on the side of: a new manager can't teach a veteran hitter to change his ways or improve his pitch selection. What we saw yesterday was just Tanner Scheppers being terrible. But, hey, I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. The Phillies have had plenty of 1-run, 6-hit games even against terrible pitchers.

[Phillibuster]

Also, to have some fun with the SSS...

The Phillies have the most potent (statistically) offense in baseball, with over 28% more runs scored than the 2nd-place team. Cody Asche leads baseball in runs scored, JRoll is 2nd in RBI (to Mark Trumbo, who's played in 3 times as many games), Ben Revere and Domonic Brown are tied for most stolen bases, and everybody but Tony Gwynn Jr. is riding a season-long hitting streak.

[Kashmir]

Most Proxy servers are identified by good internet filters as such. I know new ones pop up every day, but internet filters add new proxy server sites to their banned list as they're identified, literally day by day. The best Proxy servers have a monthly fee you have to pay If someone wants to pay X amount a month just to remain anonymous on this site they really have issues.

[Cyclic]

"But, hey, I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. The Phillies have had plenty of 1-run, 6-hit games even against terrible pitchers."

My thoughts exactly. It's why it bugs me when after a game like that, the first thing many posters come on here and say is... "WELL THEIR PITCHER SUCKED AND COULDNT THROW STRIKES"

[Conway Twitty]

I would expect Mayberry to replace Gwynn in LF tonite with a lefty on the mound. Maybe flip Byrd & Howard. On that subject, it makes no sense to only flip them when a LH starts. It's in the late innings when the loogies come in that really matters, regardless of the handedness of the starter.

[Phillibuster]

Cyclic: Even with that, we can give the offense some credit. They were patient right from the start (yes, 9-pitch first inning, but each guy took one strike and one ball before putting it in play), which started paying off with Howard in the 2nd when they really were selective.

Not being able to find the zone hurt, but that wouldn't have been an issue if they'd gone up hacking. Though I grant you they wouldn't have been able to maintain that level of 'cool' if they went 3 innings without getting a guy on base.

[Phillibuster]

Also, thank you, Zoo With Roy.

[Conway Twitty]

buster: Revere should be leading the league in SB. They took one away from him in the 9th for defensive indifference, even thou Franzke & LA pointed out that they were holding him on.

[Phillibuster]

Conway: That's what happens when you let the other team keep score.

[Phillibuster]

Wow, speaking of the Mets... Parnell just tore his MCL. Sidelining their best reliever possibly for the year.

[Cyclic]

I choose to believe it is the start of something.

[Cyclic]

Will we see Mayberry start for Howard at 1B today?

[Phillibuster]

Cyclic: I think Howard starts the game either way. Even Sandberg said he'd get a chance to prove he could be productive against lefties, and taking him out in the 2nd game of the season wouldn't really indicate he did that.

I would think Mayberry instead of Gwynn in LH, with Brown PHing again. That way, you can shift Mayberry to first if you need to pinch-run for Howard later (presumably with Gwynn), and the PR can take over in left.

[Phillibuster]

*LF, make that.

[bay_area_phan]

Conway: "Revere should be leading the league in SB. They took one away from him in the 9th for defensive indifference, even thou Franzke & LA pointed out that they were holding him on."

Thank you for pointing that out. I was incensed about the defensive indifference call & was even driven to post about it on TGP (since I was boycotting Beerleaguer at the time). Alas, not a single poster on TGP cared. But when have you ever seen a team which is down by 5 runs be indifferent to allowing a runner to advance into scoring position? Stealing a base before the catcher even has a chance to make a throw is NOT defensive indifference.

[WSJ]

Yesterday I was in client meetings and heard a security guard say, "Rollins just hit a grand slam, they are up 6-0".

I got back to my office to check the final, only to find the game was still going on and that the score was 13-10. I saw I had about 400 posts on BL to read through and got a little giddy. Not a bad way to spend a Monday afternoon.

[bittel]

Just about to post the Jason Marquis game reference.

For the record, I still disagree with b_a_p (the real one) on the larger point. Old dogs can be taught new tricks, and I hope this team is reacting to being taught them. But it's one game.

Is the BR stat about pitches in the strike zone, or total strikes? Because Marquis that night (and for the season) had a very low strike-zone percentage coming into the game IIRC.