Game 3: KK leads manship of RHPs into rubber game

We're going to see the right-handed relievers tonight - you can bet on that - be we're not going to see Jimmy Rollins.

Rollins is not in the lineup Wednesday for the Phillies' rubber match with the Rangers in Arlington, Texas. Instead, the shortstop is headed back to Philadelphia to be with his wife as the couple is expecting its second child. Instead, Jayson Nix is making his Phillies' debut at short. Kyle Kendrick makes his season debut on the bump. Ryan Howard will DH. The John Mayberry Jr. experiment at first continues into the 2014 season, and I know you're excited about that.

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Comments

[GBrettfan]

Nice GIDP to end the inning.

[Meyer]

Kyle Kendrick - ML Pitcher.

[Dickie Thong]

Mayberry is not a CF and he sure as hell isn't a 1B.

[NEPP]

Hey now...maybe KK's issues in the 2nd half were related to the shoulder issue and concussion issue.

Just maybe.

[MG]

If the Phils are going to use Mayberry as a part-time player who plays primarily 1B/LF and starts LHP, then yeah I would rather see Ruf in that role.

Give up some defense in LF but Ruf is a better 1B and I bet would give them a bit more offense including a higher OBP

[MG]

Chooch in the 2-hole > JRoll in the 2-hole

[MG]

Or even Utley 2-hole with Chooch 3-hole

[NEPP]

Utley should always hit in the 2 hole with either Ruiz or Byrd batting 3rd.

Utley is a far better 2 hole hitter than 3 hole guy at this point in his career now that his power has declined a bit.

[Ryan Howard]

I'll hit 50 home runs & strike out 180 times. Deal with it.

[bay_area_phan]

Dom is a complete mess right now.

[Meyer]

Brown, when he hits the ball, is a groundout.

[Unikruk]

Revere makes those plays look easy!

[Iceman]

That was one hell of a catch and TMac acted like it was a lazy pop fly.

[clout]

Revere has no arm but his range was never in question.

[Jack]

Well, it's like 6 ABs Dom has had all season.

But yeah, Dom is honestly not a very good baseball player. His defense is horrible, and if you regress his power some from the surprising year he had last year, the truth is that his average and OBP are not very good.

Everyone knows I've always liked and supported Dom. I thought he got a raw deal from the organization his first couple years. But he's just not all that good, and I'm not really sure he's going to be anything more than this.

[NEPP]

Revere looks more comfortable this year in CF...good to see him settle in. I think he was pushing a bit too hard last year and it affected him negatively.

[SeanofDead]

24 innings into the season and I'm pretty happy with what I see.
No more "it is what it is" mentality. Ryno is ruffling feathers and it's working.

[bay_area_phan]

"Well, it's like 6 ABs Dom has had all season."

Well, he was a mess throughout spring training, as well. I didn't watch the games, but I think it's a pretty safe inference that a guy with a .185/.302/.259 stat line over 63 PAs was probably not having great PAs.

[Dom Brown]

Im a streaky power hitter. Deal with it.

[Meyer]

Beltre can play Schmidt style 3rd Base.

[NEPP]

Beltre wishes he was half the 3B that Schmidt was in his prime.

And Beltre is a great defensive 3B.

[GBrettfan]

Geez, Nix, KK deflected it right to you.

[Rally Red '67]

(hopefully no Beerleaguer jinx; reverse or otherwise...)

Good KK rocks the world!!

[NEPP]

Look at how versatile Mayberry is!!!

[GBrettfan]

You mean he can make errors at any position, NEPP? ;)

[NEPP]

Yes, quite versatile!!!

[Dickie Thong]

I think ROE karma is catching up with Mayberry.

[bullit]

414 comments on tgf's game thread already. and it started at 7:58.

[Phillibuster]

Geez, Howard smoked that but Prince got his glove up in time.

[Meyer]

TGF shows a DITHL-less mug shot of Kyle? I think not. Kendrick is the Intimdiator.

[GBrettfan]

KK done?

[bullit]

espn guys think kk should get more aggressive at this point in the game since he shouldn't be fearing the solo hr.

[GBrettfan]

LA thinks KK's starting to elevate pitches. Jamie thinks he's getting a little tired but if he focuses at a time can get through.

[Dickie Thong]

> 414 comments on tgf's game thread already. and it started at 7:58.
> Posted by: bullit

Your comment is off topic. Please, post your own thread if you wish to discuss other topics. :-)

[Phillibuster]

KK got screwed out of a called strike 3 earlier in the inning. But he's earned the chance to get out of this one.

[GBrettfan]

Come on, KK!

[GBrettfan]

Very happy to have Byrd in RF.

[Phillibuster]

Man our outfield D looks so much better now.

[BobbyD]

Helluva game by KK. Helluva game.

[Jake]

Delmon would've turned that into a triple.. somehow

Nice to have a real right fielder again.

[GBrettfan]

You're right, Phillibuster, KK pitched well and earned the right to get out of the inning - - at least/especially when you consider our BP.

[Dickie Thong]

Worth every penny of that $8MM/year.

[Rally Red '67]

Damn... if we get another dozen starts from his Kyle-ness - just like this one - who knows?

Who does Ryne run out there for the 8th?

[NEPP]

***Delmon would've turned that into a triple.. somehow***

I just posted almost exactly the same thing on TGP.

[GBrettfan]

The big question now is whether Bastardo can pitch for the third day in a row. This is a perfect time for him to be our 8th inning guy.

[Dickie Thong]

Row-zeen? Is that really how it's pronounced?

[Dickie Thong]

Matt Gelb (@magelb)
Looks like Justin De Fratus will have the eighth. Choo, Andrus and Fielder.

[Rally Red '67]

Hit it kid! Your Cowboy love means nothing to us!

[Jack]

DeFratus against Choo and Fielder, two guys who destroy righties.

That should work out well for us.

[GBrettfan]

Nope, it's Holland.

[NEPP]

No way this backfires on us.

Did Brad Lincoln die or something?

[Rally Red '67]

whoo boy

[Steven A. Smith]

MARIO HOLLANDS?!!!

[bittel]

Tmac said Hollands for the 8th? Really?

[NEPP]

Holland?!? Are you fvcking kidding me???

[Pitching coach]

What's an eighth inning guy?

[Meyer]

I'm a Mario fan. I'll venture my BL reputation on this outing.

[bittel]

Maybe for the lefties.

[GBrettfan]

At least Hollands has a 2-run lead this time.

[BobbyD]

It's like Sandberg uses the exact opposite of the reliever he should be using in every situation. Don't get it.

[Jack]

I could have sworn we signed someone named Brad Lincoln this offseason.

Was I mistaken?

[Jake]

Hollands again. Perhaps Sandberg's mentality is as follows: Either a couple of these young arms step up and fill crucial roles, or this bullpen will ruin any chance of a successful season. Let's throw them right in and see what we have.

[bittel]

Good. One down.

[GBrettfan]

It makes more sense than a RHP v. the top of the order lefties.

[bullit]

Dickie: that's what tmac was calling him yesterday. the guy is from fargo, nd. he doesn't look hispanic.

[NEPP]

Hollands against a RHB....no way this is a mistake.

[Jack]

To be fair, Hollands isn't good, but the situation does call for a lefty. So it's not a completely terrible decision.

[bittel]

I'm not ready to say Hollands isn't good. He clearly has a live arm.

[BobbyD]

Yeah I was just thinking that Jack. This is more like Sandberg having nothing to work with than a bad decision.

[Jack]

I should've said "Hollands probably isn't good."

[Rally Red '67]

nice!

[GBrettfan]

Nicely done, Mario! Impressive!

[bittel]

Piece of cake. Would really help if he can reliably throw strikes with that kind of stuff.

[NEPP]

Great decision...huge move by Sandberg!!!!

[Dickie Thong]

Hollands reminds me of a left-handed Ubaldo Jimenez.

[Jake]

.

[GBrettfan]

Chris Branch ‏@ChrisBranchTNJ 50s
Mario Hollands: redeemed.

[Meyer]

Wow guys. Just a lucky guess again.

[bullit]

lincoln was last seen going to see "our american cousin."

[mm]

watching the Rangers broadcast because I was having trouble with the Phillies one earlier. broadcasters, Comment was Phillies have an eight-man bullpen but with the way they've been using them you have to wonder why. LOL

[UBIK]

For those watching on TV, how does Hollands look? It sounds like he's just pumping mid 90s FBs almost exclusively. Any movement there? LA is just talking about his "funky delivery"
Good job there.

[GBrettfan]

Weitzel seems to like it.

Beerleaguer ‏@beerleaguer 9s
Favorite move of the season so far - Mario Hollands tonight AND last night. Have to find out.

[GBrettfan]

*lincoln was last seen going to see "our american cousin."*

LOL, bittel!

[NEPP]

Pretty much flat mid-90s fastballs with an odd delivery.

Probably not something that will keep working long-term once teams get a book on him but it worked tonight.

[Dickie Thong]

I think Lincoln is busy hunting vampires tonight.

[Dickie Thong]

How come the Phillies can't find a guy like Rosin? It seems like other teams have all the luck.

[GBrettfan]

Jamie said Hollands was feeling for it last night and showing more aggression tonight. And that he can throw his fastball in to a lefty (Fielder swung mightily and got nothin') which will stand him well if he can do that repeatedly.

[bittel]

bullit gets the credit for that gem.

[NEPP]

There is zero chance that giving up Rosin for nothing was a mistake.

[GBrettfan]

Oops, you're right, bittel. Thanks.

[bullit]

these will be pap's first pitches of the season that are thrown in anger. will be interesting to see his velocity.

[Juums]

Rosin's success is paradoxical, as it's wonderful to see a a Rule 5 guy taken from our system do well, while infuriating because it decreases the odds of us getting him back.

[GBrettfan]

I wasn't paying attention before the season started. Why did the Phillies let him go? Was there a reason?

[GBrettfan]

Defensive replacement in LF - Tony Gwynn Jr.

[NEPP]

We didnt have room to protect him on the 40 man because we were too busy keeping guys like Michael Stutes (gone now), Joe Savery (gone now) and Tyson Gillies.

[Meyer]

Mario doesn't need Jamie Moyer for support. He needs Sandberg.

[Dickie Thong]

@GBrettfan: Because they had to protect Lius Garcia, I believe.

[Jack]

That's a ridiculous piece of hitting by Beltre.

[bittel]

Seems like Rios has gotten a hit every time he's been up. Not this time please.

[ColonelTom]

Strap in, folks - it's gonna be a wild ride.