Don't forget the error by Bruntlett in the 7th that led to a run. They want a defensive late-inning replacement in the outfield? Why use light-hitting, normally in-fielding Bruntlett? Why can't Mayberry play that role? I know they were w/o Victorino, and Bruntlett usually does OK out there, but not sure OK is good enough with the game on the line.
Meanwhile, starting to hate on Rollins. I now cheer ground balls and line outs, cuz I have become obsessed by how much he freaking pops up. With men on, or no one on. Early or late in the count, or the game. Whether he's trying to hit a dinger or just trying to put a bat on the ball. It also seems that when he hits, the batters behind him go silent. And when those bats are hitting, like they were last night, Rollins is no where to be found on the bases. It's not a good sign when your power hitters -- Utley, Howard, Ibanez -- lead the team in runs scored.
Kudos for Moyer for not only pitching a good game, but giving Bruntlett some encouragement after the misplay. But now cholly does his thing, which is to put Bruntlett right out there, starting the next game, as a sign of confidence. But why put in another righty bat and sit Rollins (which I'm also OK with), with a righty on the mound? We'll see if cholly proves me wrong.
I don't think the Orpik thing is anything. I give credit to the Canes for knocking the starch out of Orpik. I also don't think they need to mark Malkin like they do for Crosby, but certainly have many good candidates (besides Datsyuk) if they decide to -- Helm, Franzen, Staal even Samuelsson. But I think they can get away with just being physical, which more often than not makes him disappear. The Pens don't seem to protect him (or object to his being hit) like they do with Crosby.
Hope Bastardo does good tomorrow, tho Phils are getting lefty-heavy now on the mound, just as they are at the plate. Also seems like Bedard, another lefty, is the highest-profile guy they are discussing as a replacement for Myers. I don't think they'll get Peavy.
The lidge thing is worrying and seems to stem from his control. He gets an awful lot of strikes on swings on balls off the plate. He almost never gets called strikes (unless he's pitching 3-0, which I admit is often), and not many swings and misses on fastballs in the strike zone. So I think batters are just being more patient, recognizing that he can't reliably throw the junk slider over the plate, so they just look for fastballs, which even in the mid-90s, aren't good enough if they are sitting on them. Normally, his fastball seems better because the batters are so vexed by the slider. Now they are practically ignoring it. Consider that as poorly as he had done this year, he's also had some close calls and miracle escapes as well.
With Romero back, maybe they can let Madson try his hand -- not formally as the closer, but rely less on Lidge. Manuel seems intent to pretend nothing is different than last year, and hope Lidge steers himself back on course. I'm not seeing it.
I watched the end of the game today, after having crashed around 10PM last night.
ReplyDeleteFirst, Lidge really should've been out of the inning, but a missed strike, a lucky bloop single and an error all conspired against him. On top of that, he was up 1-2 on all three batters. He was making good pitches, so I really don't feel bad about Lidge in the end.
Even Rollins' final out was a decent at bat. He battled and didn't look to be swinging for the fences. They should've won and just didn't get the bounces.
Re: Penguins, I'm really surprised at the lack of any commentary on the roles of the officials in the two back to back wins by the Peng-refs. Seriously, I know people want to point out the interference etc, but Pittsburgh does it just as much and even does it in the offensive zone.
Also questioning Charlie? I don't understand what you mean. Manuel has shown nothing but good judgment since his arrival in Philadelphia.
ReplyDeleteI know -- and I back him for starting Bruntlett the next day and sitting Rollins, and sticking with Lidge (not to mention Myers previously).
ReplyDeleteI'm just saying that starting Bruntlett and sitting Rollins against a RH pitcher didn't seem the best move. Phils see plenty of lefties, obviously, and that's the time to play Bruntlett if he wants to.
And I think with Ibanez' limitations(speed) in the OF, then he needs a hawk out there as a defensive replacement (esp if Victorino is unavailable). Werth ain't it -- good arm, bad on the fly. Stairs ain't it either. So we are left with Bruntlett, who is not awful, but just OK. Which is why they have to develop Mayberry, or someone else to fill the defensive replacement role. With Mayberry, it would seem to me they also get a pinch runner that they don't seem to have right now.
That's all.
Madson now closer and doing so flawlessly.
ReplyDeleteHapp and Bastardo doing very well, and Blanton, Moyers and Hamels all seem to be coming around.
Chan Ho Park settling in as long reliever, with starter aspirations still there. Kendrick's also still in the picture.
Phils don't really have anyone of significance among their current roster that I see as trade bait. So that means any significant deal, aside from a trade of starters, will involve minor leaguers.
You could argue that Manuel is handicapping his bench with his bullpen, but there are no ez decisions there.
Phils looked like they had an abundance of RH relievers with Lidge, Madson, Condrey and Durbin. But with Lidge iffy and Madson in a new role, it's been great to have Condrey who has been very solid, as an alternative to Durbin who was very solid last year, but not so much this year.
Meanwhile, with Romero returning, you'd think they wouldn't need both Taschner and Eyre. But for as much hate as Taschner gets, he's been pretty solid, and same with Eyre. Neither is lights out, but it's a great luxury to have both while you figure out what Romero is going to look like.
At this point, I like the short bench. I think Stairs deserves more playing time vis-a-vis Werth, and could even spell Howard at first. I think he should keep Rollins down at sixth for longer. As well as Feliz is playing, I would give Dobbs a few more starts to try to get him going and keep Feliz fresh.
Having said all that, I think they need to find a roster spot for Mayberry. Not sure they can afford both Dobbs and Bruntlett, and might be better served with Mayberry.