Phillies season 7

Started by MURP, August 14, 2005, 12:05:43 AM

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mikey418

I'll be at the game tonight.....sitting 2 rows back from the Phils dugout ;D.
The wannabe sponsor of Stallworth and Baskett

PhillyGirl

QuoteWednesday, August 17, 2005
Phils thrust themselves into playoff chase
By Jerry Crasnick
ESPN Insider

PHILADELPHIA -- Two Phillies team buses were driving south on Interstate 5 in southern California late Thursday night when Charlie Manuel felt a gnawing sensation in the pit of his stomach. That's a common affliction among big-league managers, who are conditioned to replay decisions in their heads with full knowledge that newspaper columnists and radio talk-show callers will be second-guessing right behind them.

But this time the pangs hit closer to home.

"We're going to pull over here soon, son," Manuel told Greg Casterioto, the team's media relations representative. "I'm hungry."

When an In-N-Out Burger franchise beckoned off the Carlsbad exit with a glare more intense than the ballpark lights that Roy Hobbs obliterated in "The Natural," the gurgling in Manuel's gut was obscured by the squeal of brakes on asphalt. He handed bench coach Gary Varsho a $100 bill and a mandate.

"Get whatever you want," Manuel told Varsho and catching instructor Mick Billmeyer. "I'm buying."

Fifteen double cheeseburgers, 10 orders of fries and plenty of bonding later, the staff members on the first bus were happy and well fed. And on the player bus behind them, Ryan Madson and Ryan Howard bounded off the steps and through the front door of the establishment as if they were spring-loaded.

Properly fortified, the Phillies swept a three-game series in San Diego to finish their West Coast swing at 5-1. Momentum took a holiday with a 6-3 loss to Washington on Monday and a rainout Tuesday, but they have to wonder if things aren't breaking their way.

First a fast-food oasis appears in the California blackness, and now a wild-card berth awaits. The question is, are the Phillies hungry enough to take it?

The Phillies will have to mount their charge without Jim Thome, who is done for the year with an elbow injury. Now it remains to be seen who will step forward to lead the way. Bobby Abreu has only three homers in 109 at-bats since winning the All-Star Game Home Run Derby in Detroit, but Pat Burrell already has 12 RBI in 45 at-bats in August. And Howard, who seemed so tense during a big-league cameo in May, has finally been able to exhale knowing the first-base job is his for at least another two months.

Howard has five singles and no extra-base hits in 38 major-league at-bats against lefties, which means he'll most likely be taking a seat against Dontrelle Willis and Andy Pettitte in games during September. But he's showing the Phillies that those 110 minor-league homers were for real. Manuel keeps dropping Willie Stargell references and comparing Howard with David Ortiz, who also had a knack for hitting the ball the opposite way before developing serious pull power in his late 20s.

Howard hit two big late homers and went 9-for-23 on the trip to Los Angeles and San Diego. Before the series opener with Washington on Monday, Howard relived his big week in California with a pack of reporters at Citizens Bank Park.

"What did you do today?" utility man Tomas Perez asked on the way to his locker.

"I don't know," Howard said. "I guess I hit a home run already."

The Phillies have made themselves a factor by beating up on the always accommodating NL West, posting a 19-6 record against the division this season. They'll conclude the Western portion of their schedule next week with a trip to San Francisco and Arizona.

The bad news is, there's some formidable pitching in their short-term future. Over an 18-day stretch in mid-September, the Phils will face nothing but Atlanta, Houston and Florida. That's an awful lot of Roger Clemens, John Smoltz, A.J. Burnett, et al on the horizon.

Not that Manuel, with his fun-is-good mantra, will show many outward signs of stress. Predictably, Manuel has been an easy target for ridicule in Philly, with his "Charlie from Mayberry" demeanor and occasional head-scratching dugout strategy. It's hard not to chuckle when he makes a reference to Ugueth "Oo-bina" or "Don-telle" Willis.

But ol' Charlie sure is sharp when it comes to human relations. He's coaxed a productive season (.307 with a .365 OBP) out of 38-year-old Kenny Lofton and managed to make things work when Placido Polanco was complaining incessantly about a lack of playing time in April and May. General manager Ed Wade spun Polanco to the Tigers for Urbina in June, and Chase Utley has blossomed as the Phillies' regular second baseman and No. 3 hitter.

When rookie starter Robinson Tejeda was miffed after being pulled in the sixth inning of an 8-5 win in Colorado on July 28, Manuel refused to let the problem fester. He spent the better part of an hour sharing a postgame meal with Tejeda, explaining his decision and emphasizing the value of team goals over individual performances.

On July 1, Vicente Padilla was 3-8 with a 6.96 ERA and hanging by a thread. He has a 1.94 ERA in seven starts since, and Manuel says he stuck with Padilla because he had a "vision" the guy would turn it around.

"He's not a front-runner, and that's important," Phillies closer Billy Wagner said of Manuel. "If you're having a good season, he's not patting you on the back and being around you all the time. He spends more time with the guys who are struggling, pumping them up and making them positive, and that's huge. It's a negative society around here, and you need guys who can motivate you and give you that positive influence. Charlie does that."

By "negative society," Wagner makes it clear that he's referring to sports fans in the 215 area code.

"Everybody here expects us to fall," Wagner said. "Everybody is looking for us to fall apart. You lose a game and it's over."

To which Phillies fans reflexively point out that they have a right to be skeptical, with a total of one postseason appearance to cheer about since 1984. In recent years, the Phils have made a habit of teasing their fans. Just when they appear to be rolling, they go flat. And when they've convinced you it's time to bail, they win three of four. The routine sure can be exasperating to watch.

It's tempting to focus on the new, upbeat mentality that's accompanied the change in managers from Larry Bowa to Manuel, but that's a tired story. The new twist is that after a 2004 season filled with cumbersome expectations, the Phillies are flying below the radar. The new park is two years old, everyone's accustomed to that $90 million payroll, and Terrell Owens and Peter Forsberg aren't leaving a lot of room above the newspaper fold.

Two scouts told Insider that they think the Phillies have the goods to make a run at the wild card, in part because of a bullpen that's close to airtight with Wagner, Urbina and Madson. In the last 35 games, the Phils' pen is 9-2 with a 2.45 ERA. "I'm sure Charlie goes into every game just thinking, 'Let me get to the seventh with my starter,'" one scout said.

While the Phillies' offense is aided by the puny dimensions of Citizens Bank Park, the lineup possesses some attributes that "Moneyball" devotees would love. The Phillies rank third in the National League with 79 stolen bases, but they also lead the league with 451 walks and a .343 on-base percentage. And Burrell and Abreu rank fourth in RBI among NL tandems behind Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez, Miguel Cabrera and Carlos Delgado, and Albert Pujols and Jim Edmonds.

Shortstop Jimmy Rollins might be the team's only defender who qualifies as well above average, but the Phillies catch what they reach. Their 59 errors are the fewest in the majors.

Not surprisingly, it will come down to alleviating skepticism about the starting rotation. Jon Lieber, Brett Myers, Cory Lidle and Padilla don't appear to match up with the staffs in Atlanta, Florida and Houston, and there's certainly not a Pedro in the bunch. Randy Wolf is recovering from Tommy John surgery, Gavin Floyd has a 5.75 ERA for Triple-A Scranton and top prospect Cole Hamels is finished for the year with a back injury, so there aren't a lot of viable alternatives.

"They have no real No. 1 or No. 2," said a National League scout. "Most nights they're coming at you with a 3-4-5 type. But I still think they have enough to stay in the race and keep things interesting."

In Philadelphia, things are almost always interesting. This year the Phillies will just try to make sure it's for the right reasons.
"Oh, yeah. They'll still boo. They have to. They're born to boo. Just now, they'll only boo with two Os instead of like four." - Larry Andersen

PhillyPhreak54

They start off again tonight like last night....

Rollins singles
Lofton singles - Rollins to 3rd
Utley hits a sac fly to score Jimmy - Lofton to 2nd
Burrell doubles to score Lofton

Phils lead 2-0.

PhillyGirl

Quote from: PhillyPhreak54 on August 17, 2005, 07:22:23 PM
They start off again tonight like last night....

Rollins singles
Lofton singles - Rollins to 3rd
Utley hits a sac fly to score Jimmy - Lofton to 2nd
Burrell doubles to score Lofton

Phils lead 2-0.

sweet...more RBIs. He has been so solid.
"Oh, yeah. They'll still boo. They have to. They're born to boo. Just now, they'll only boo with two Os instead of like four." - Larry Andersen

Sgt PSN

Good start for them, especially since Loiza (sp?) has owned them this year. 

PhillyPhreak54

Castilla hits a HR
Guzman doubles
Loaiza bunts him to 3rd
Wilkerson lines out to 1st
Vidro singles to CF - Guzman scores

Just like that - game is tied...

Sgt PSN

:boom

Coming into the game Lieber had given up something like 4 hr in his last 6 starts.  He's the new Eric Milton. 

PhillyPhreak54

Rollins singles again
Lofton doubles - Rollins to 3rd
Utley grounds out to 3rd
Bobby Abreu!! slams a double off the top of the LCF fence (above Lukoil sign) and both runners score!!

4-2 Phils

Sgt PSN

How long until Leiber gives it back?  Next inning?  Maybe in the 5th?  :paranoid

Rome

Leiber pitched a 1-2-3 5th.

:sly

PhillyGirl

Quote from: Jerome99RIP on August 17, 2005, 08:17:31 PM
Leiber pitched a 1-2-3 5th.

:sly

He pitched a 1-2-3 in each inning except for the one they scored the 2 runs in.
"Oh, yeah. They'll still boo. They have to. They're born to boo. Just now, they'll only boo with two Os instead of like four." - Larry Andersen

Eagles_Legendz

Phillies move into a tie for the WC.    :yay

PhillyGirl

"Oh, yeah. They'll still boo. They have to. They're born to boo. Just now, they'll only boo with two Os instead of like four." - Larry Andersen

BigEd76

What?!  Oakland got swept?!  :boom

MDS

My buddy called me up in the afternoon, told me he got some free hall of fame club level seats (eh, not as good as i expected). Dont like sitting with corporate phonies, but a free game is a free game. Not too eventful of a game. I do like Manuel's call to take Lieber out of the game. Even though Michaels struck out, you gotta take the PH there. But a win is a win. Good to see Pratt play instead of the very crappy Mike Lieberthal. Tied for the WC lead.....
Zero hour, Michael. It's the end of the line. I'm the firstborn. I'm sick of playing second fiddle. I'm always third in line for everything. I'm tired of finishing fourth. Being the fifth wheel. There are six things I'm mad about, and I'm taking over.