Game 12: Home, sweep home vs. Marlins

After getting swept by the red-hot Brewers (who have now won eight straight) in their home-opneing series, the Phillies have a chance to sweep the Marlins on Sunday.

Kyle Kendrick (0-1, 3.75), who served up two homers to Ryan Braun last Tuesday, will face a lineup he's much more comfortable with in the Marlins -- Kendrick is 8-0 with a 1.69 ERA in the past three years against Miami.

Chase Utley will look to keep his hot bat going. The second baseman owns a 14-game hitting streak dating back to last season, and he leads the league in OBP (.537), slugging (.778) and OPS (1.314) this season.

Plus, he's batting .522 with four doubles, two homers, eight RBIs and three walks in his last six games.

Jimmy Rollins is also hitting .417 over that same span with three extra-base hits and five RBIs.

Henderson Alvarez (0-2, 4.15) will take the ball for the Fish, who have lost six straight.

Comments

[Phillibuster]

BAP: Actually, there's a bit of a cheat for jumping to the newest comments.

In the address bar of your browser, the comment page is listed right between "PAGE" and "#comments" of the URL.

Just remember that page 1 is 1-99, 2 is 100-199, etc., and so long as you know the total number of comments (visible from the main page) you can quickly jump to the newest by clicking "next" at the bottom of the page once, then typing in the correct number (in this case, 8).

I actually like that method more, because the "jump to newest" link always opened it in a new tab for me, and that made things just that little bit more cluttered.

[Lake Fred]

Steve sums it up pretty well.

[Phillibuster]

... It would figure that my comment would end up being #800, and thus being bumped to page 9, making the post above technically incorrect (though the methodology is still sound).

[awh]

"their posts do not show up in chronological order, which makes it almost impossible to follow the discussion"

Not really bap, but then you lawyers are always looking for something that's easy - just like paydays.

:)

[NEPP]

You could just type "99" in there and always get the latest page...or any number above the highest number of pages. It automatically defaults to the last page when you do that.

Problem: This trick does not work on iPads...

[johnnysanz3]

If you want to just get to last page you can type in any number above that page number. You don't even have to calculate it in your head, just type in '99' or any number really above what the actual page number is. The server takes care of it for you.

[Phillibuster]

But that only works if we don't get to page 100 guys!

Do we have a new goal? Comments on this one will lock in 4 days...

[nokwurst]

Buster: that's the same cheat method I recently discovered as well. Still mildly annoying, but better than hitting Next 7 or 8 times.

Also, I don't begrudge JW a bit, he made a perfectly sound decision to sell to comcast for a job there.
I do, however, revile comcast for their abuse of the site.

[Phillibuster]

NEPP: The always-over doesn't, but calculating it out and choosing the right number should (essentially, divide number of comments by 100, add 1, and always round down).

[Phillibuster]

Ehh. You could say it's neglect, I guess, but considering the setup on CSNPhilly, you might be able to make a compelling case for it being benign neglect when compared to the alternative.

We could have 8+ threads a day, with Facebook/Yahoo/Google+/Twitter logins mandatory, and a flood of the "Phans but not Fans" type of poster.

Compared to that, I'm totally fine with even 1 thread a week, so long as they never let it lock.

[bay_area_phan]

"JW did a terrible thing and I will never forgive him."

Yeah, how dare jw devote 6 or 7 years of his life to writing a pro bono sports blog for a bunch of people whom he has never met, only to turn around and put his family and career above the petty diversions of those people he has never met. It's totally despicable. His priorities are completely misplaced.

[bay_area_phan]

Ah, that's good to know. A long time ago, someone actually posted a link to a "Jump to Newest Comment" feature, which you could bookmark & use whenever you were on BL. But the bookmark hasn't worked for about a year. It never occurred to me to just amend the page number on the link.

[NEPP]

***

NEPP: The always-over doesn't, but calculating it out and choosing the right number should (essentially, divide number of comments by 100, add 1, and always round down).
***

Dude, I was a history major for a reason...

[NEPP]

Yeah, how dare jw devote 6 or 7 years of his life to writing a pro bono sports blog for a bunch of people whom he has never met, only to turn around and put his family and career above the petty diversions of those people he has never met. It's totally despicable. His priorities are completely misplaced.
*****************

Exactly.

[bullit]

i have to agree with bap and buster. i much prefer the minimalism of this layout. and the linear conversation.

[fumphis]

Actually, I've seen and been part of a couple successful transplants of a blog community. It's not about nostalgia, it's about cultivating a group of posters who put together an amusing and insightful discussion. Honestly I think BL still has that as it stands. But I'd be all in favor of jumping off onto a new Typepad site, and I think it'd have a good shot at success.

[bullit]

setting up a new site, say "son of bearleaguer,"
would not be cost free. right?

[Willard Preacher]

"i have to agree with bap and buster. i much prefer the minimalism of this layout. and the linear conversation."

Seconded (or thirded/fourthed, however you view it).

Though it would be nice to have a fresh thread at least a couple of times a week...

I still have the document that shows who was pictured in the thread header for each Game Thread in 2012 (for purposes of validating the "Jinx of pic of opposing player" theory). JW only missed 1 or 2 game threads the entire season.

[Phanatic Phan]

If you put a page number greater than the total number of pages like "25", it just brings you to the last page of comments.

[Montgomery Out!]

I'm all for moving to an INDEPENDENT site to get away from this Comcast censorship.

#montgomeryOUT

[bay_area_phan]

Comcast censorship? If only . . .

[GBrettfan]

Yes, I wish JW nothing but the best. And I thank him for creating this blog. I still enjoy the community of it.

[Lake Fred]

I think that the NSA is monitoring our comments, but Comcast is not.

[bullit]

the last paragraph from baer's article on ken giles:

Promoting him so early could stunt his development and it would unnecessarily start his service time clock, which would make him a free agent much sooner than he otherwise would be, meaning the Phillies get less value out of his arm if they’re impatient.

that's the arguement you always get for not calling a guy up. to me, if the guy is for real, they should want to use him sooner, rather than later. and, if he throws 100 mph, how long is his arm going to last? if he's a bust he never gets to arb anyhow. saving a guy so that you can eventually underpay him longer seems unethical to me.

[LorecorE]

Starting a new typepad site wouldn't be hard at all. It would be free. Making it look half decent would be a bit harder. Protecting it from the same idiot(s) would be more difficult. Not impossible, but beyond my personal desire/capabilities.

[bullit]

the last paragraph is me, not baer. sorry i forgot the quotation marks.

[LorecorE]

bullit: agreed. Managing service time for a 23yr old reliever is ridiculous.

[bay_area_phan]

Mind you, Baer's opinion on Ken Giles, or any reliever, is informed by his bizarre belief that our current bullpen is perfectly fine, and that the last 2+ years are just a SSS fluke.

That said, Giles is another in the long line of Phillies relief prospects who throw hard and have absolutely no idea where the ball is going. He does throw even harder than guys like Diekman & Aumont, but he might be even more wild. Until we see more evidence that he has overcome that wildness, I'm inclined to agree with Baer's conclusion -- though I sure don't share his view that our bullpen is perfectly fine.

[EDGE]

"Ah, that's good to know. A long time ago, someone actually posted a link to a "Jump to Newest Comment" feature, which you could bookmark & use whenever you were on BL. But the bookmark hasn't worked for about a year."

Actually, I've been using that bookmark. You have to be in the first page of the thread.

javascript:location=location.href.replace(/%5C.html/g,'%5C/comments%5C/page%5C/99%5C/')

[HTML Guru]

Here's a simple bookmarklet for jumping to the latest comments page. Just create a bookmark and change the URL to the following:

javascript:location.href=location.href.replace(/(\.html)|(\/comments\/page\/.*)/g,'/comments/page/99/#comments');

Note: You have to be on an artcle for it to work (i.e., it won't work on the BL homepage).

[PLM]

Yo, new thread.

[Steve]

I think I speak for everyone here when I say that I sure am looking forward to sweeping the Marlins in Game 12 of the season.

[awh]

"saving a guy so that you can eventually underpay him longer seems unethical to me."

bullit, not to mention stupid if your MLB bullpen sucks.

[WSJ]

If anyone is legitimately a latex salesman, you can attend this Mets' affiliate game for free during the upcoming Seinfeld night. Jerry, hello!

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=&sa=TS&eid=10789682

[GBrettfan]

Corey Seidman ‏@CoreySeidman 8m
The overturning of that Howard error will change Bastardo's ERA from 2.45 to 4.91. And Phillies' NL-worst bullpen ERA goes from 5.53 to 5.95

* * * *

Anyone know which Howard error this was? I can't think of any that were questionable as to whether they were errors or not. Guy moves like a tree - - Maybe they're handicapping him accordingly....

[GBrettfan]

Chris Branch ‏@ChrisBranchTNJ 1m
Phillies today: Revere CF, Rollins SS, Utley 2B, Howard 1B, Byrd RF, Dom LF, Chooch C, Galvis 3B, Cliff P.

[Cyclic]

Revere Rollins Utley Howard Byrd Brown Ruiz Galvis Lee

[Jack]

Controlling service time makes (some) sense for a possible star position player.

It makes no sense whatsoever for a relief pitcher.

I worry more that Giles simply isn't ready to pitch in the major leagues. That's the real concern.

[bullit]

"BL was always pretty fluid with the world of baseball even if the Phillies weren't at the center of it." this malaprop gem by lorecore is worthy of a leo gorcey award. that is, if you really did mean "fluent."

[Cyclic]

Don't fall for PLM's post, guys.

[awh]

PLM was just engaging in wishful thinking - you know, a "hope and a prayer" type stuff.

[bullit]

sandberg can give giles the full emersion treatment he gave hollands. see if he survives. seriously though, i agree with Jack. but, he is 23.

[Cyclic]

This one, GBrett. Schafer's "double".

Crashburn link: http://crashburnalley.com/2014/04/16/mlb-overturns-ryan-howard-error-from-april-9/

[Cyclic]

Actually this gif might be better

[Phillibuster]

NEPP: I was an English and history double, but you use more complex calculations on an OPS tabulation.

[Cyclic]

Also, thanks GBrett for your help earlier regarding the Phillies rotation in LA.

I'll hopefully be seeing Cliff Lee on Monday and Hamels on Tuesday. Fingers crossed!

[Phillibuster]

Pray for norain!

[PLM]

One of the problems with our relievers is they still have the minor league mentality. That is they approaching the hitters they face like if they where in AAA. Thinking that they can challenge or get one by. You may get one by but not two, three or four as in Rosenberg cases. They are more throwers than pitchers to quote Papelbon. Only they keep throwing Subway meatball sandwiches to the hitters.

[Cyclic]

PLM, oftentimes (all the time?) they also have trouble controlling their best pitches. So in order to throw strikes, they have to throw crappy pitches that get crushed.

[clout]

Cyclic: That absolutely is an error and should've been scored such. It also is a play that would be scored a hit 80% of the time in ballparks throughout MLB, so the reversal is no shock at all.

Among today's scorekeepers, the error is an endangered species.

[donc]

The new site should be called Whineleauger.

[Cyclic]

How come we never talk about beer on Beerleaguer?

[awh™]

Cyclic, you haven't been around long, have you?

Beer has been discussed ad infinitum here in the past.

A little Lager will do, or Pilsner Urquel, or Stella, harp, Guinness....

Just no Bud or Miller products. They suck and have no taste.

[Cyclic]

Guess it's been a while.

Wait is "Lager" Yuengling? I've been away from South Jersey too long.

[GBrettfan]

Thanks, Cyclic. That's the one I was thinking of. Hard to believe that wasn't an error.

It seems that plays are only errors if the fielder gets a glove on the ball first. If so, then Howard can stand like a tree and never be charged with an error, or make a slow-motion lunge at the ball like he did in this play.

[awh™]

Cyclic, yes. "Lager" capitalized is used to refer to Yuengling.

[Cyclic]

Any word on whether Ruf has been able to resume "baseball activities" yet this week?

Tomorrow will be 4 weeks to the day since the injury. Hopefully he's still on track to return* in 2 weeks or less.

*To AAA.

[EDGE]

Mike Drago @mldrago

Ken Giles in 6 G for Reading: 7 IP, 1 H, 3 BB, 1 R, 0 ER -- and 16 strikeouts. Threw 26 pitches today, 16 strikes #phillies

[Cyclic]

I think it's mainly the WIP crowd that thinks Giles would be a good idea right now.

[bay_area_phan]

If Giles gets called up, it's about 90% probable that he'll generate a lot of oohs and ahs, but ultimately wind up being a total disaster. Still, part of me thinks we ought to take advantage of the fact that he's throwing strikes right now. That isn't likely to last long, so we might as well get some benefit out of it while it does.

[WSJ]

GBF - "It seems that plays are only errors if the fielder gets a glove on the ball first. If so, then Howard can stand like a tree and never be charged with an error, or make a slow-motion lunge at the ball like he did in this play."

Yes, exactly, and Howard will likely cut down on his errors due to his complete lack of range.

[awh™]

"It seems that plays are only errors if the fielder gets a glove on the ball first."

And they're barely calling them. I remember growing up, the rule of thumb was that "if you touch it you should catch it", and errors were pretty much scored accordingly.

Now, it a ball takes a tough hop, a lot of times it's not called.

[fumphis]

Yuengling is not a good beer. It just isn't.

[Curt]

The disappearance of errors is part of the self-esteem movement. Do you have any idea how many feelings have been hurt by charging "errors?"

[awh™]

fumphis, that's why people are different. :)

Drink all the Bud you want, my friend. Stay thirsty.

[Conway Twitty]

GBF: I've had the utmost respect for Aaron for over 50 years, but that all went out the window with the comments he made the last week. He still doesn't deserve racist comments, but he also doesn't deserve respect anymore.

[MG]

For a cheap domestic beer (and that is what Yuengling Lager really is), it is 'okay' but I have never been a huge fan of the Lager either. Only Yuengling product I really do like is the 'Black and Tan' especially if it is on draft.

One beer I have always been mystified by is how well Corona sells in the US. Horrendous product which actually isn't cheap yet it continues to be one of the few large national brands to continue to impress

[Bonehead]

There are few beers in the 'Under $20' category that are potable, which is a problem when on a budget. Yuengling is a pleasant exception.

[Bonehead]

Stella also belongs on the same list as Corona.

[Conway Twitty]

Curt: What about Bastardo's self-esteem, when his ERA more than doubled.

[fumphis]

AWH, Yuengling is absolutely a step up from Bud/Miller. But I would call it an objectively "low-quality" beer - just as Ke$ha sings objectively low-quality songs, which may still be enjoyable to consume. That may sound snobbier than I intend it to.

MG is right about Black and Tan.

Reminds me - last time I was in Philly I went to the Dockside Brewery on 50th and Baltimore. It was a treat.

[WSJ]

AWH - "I remember growing up, the rule of thumb was that "if you touch it you should catch it", and errors were pretty much scored accordingly."

Yes, exactly. If it hit your glove or you whiffed on catching it, then it was an error (unless you were doing some kind of crazy dive to get it). By not charging Howard with an error, they are kind of saying he had no chance to get his glove on it, which is sad because it was 3 feet to his left and not hit that hard.

[GBrettfan]

Latest on Cole Hamels:

Chris Branch ‏@ChrisBranchTNJ 1m
Cole will throw tomorrow in Clearwater. “Distinct possibility” he’s back next week, Scott Proefrock says.

[GBrettfan]

There's this news, too:

Chris Branch ‏@ChrisBranchTNJ 1m
Darin Ruf has begun baseball activities, too. Ethan Martin is throwing bullpens. Both could start rehab assignments soon.

[Bonehead]

“Distinct possibility” in Phillie-ese translates to what?

[WSJ]

I am still calling for the Beerleaguer Virtual Happy Hour thread, where we all agree to drink or otherwise impair ourselves, then post comments for an entire game (could you imagine if this happened in Monday's game?).

Worst Beer - Milwaukee's Best ICE
Best Beer - Yards Love Stout
Worst Beer Substitute - Mad Dog 20/20
Best Beer Substitute - Margheritas on the Rooftop

[Phillibuster]

Also, anybody else notice that the Mets outrighted Lannan?

[Phillibuster]

WSJ: You're not giving Pabst or Natty Ice enough credit.

[Phillibuster]

Or Keystone, for that matter.

[Cyclic]

Thanks for the updates, GBrett. I'll get the old FREE RUF sign warmed up.

Wait there is an "Over $20" category for beer???

[Conway Twitty]

Distinct possibility = 10%

He needs further tests = His arm is falling off.

Doubtful = He's on his deathbed.

[Bonehead]

Thanks, Conway.

[bullit]

this is an interesting article from 2011 called "the 8 beers americans no longer drink."

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/44460121/ns/business-us_business/t/beers-americans-no-longer-drink/

[bay_area_phan]

Keystone: "Keg beer in a can."

That was their motto when I was in college. They came out with some "specially lined can" that was supposed to make the beer taste like it was right out of a keg. What a crock of sh*t that was.

[kuvasz]

875 posts to go through to the last posts, and no new thread since Sunday, two games ago? Talk about abandonment by the owners of this site.

So, here is my correspondence to CSN about it.

To: CSN

Dear Sir/Madame:

Could you explain why the website BEERLEAGUER.COM you own has not been updated since Sunday April 13th? There have been several Phillies games played since then, yet nobody has seen fit to update your site. Since you recently purchased the site, can you tell me the logic that goes into purchasing something then let it be run into the ground by gross negligence?

If up keeping the site daily is too difficult for a multibillion dollar organization like CSN, how about giving it to someone who will consider it of some value and will update it frequently?

I’ll buy it off of you for the value you apparently place on it, $1.00.

If this is your modus operandi for operating the companies you purchase, there is no way in hell you folks should be allowed to buy Time-Warner.

[Iceman]

MG- Corona's genius is in the marketing and how the product appeals to the consumer visually. The product itself is garbage.

[Cyclic]

How many of you who've complained have actually emailed anyone about it?

beerleaguer AT gmail DOT com
cseidman AT comcastsportsnet DOT com
jhall AT comcastsportsnet DOT com
mwisniewski AT comcastsportsnet DOT com

Just curious.

[GBrettfan]

Cyclic, it never occurred to me....

New thread alert!

[kuvasz]

see, it worked!

[awh™]

"One beer I have always been mystified by is how well Corona sells in the US."

MG, agree. I don't "get" the love for corona.

I think it tastes awful.