June 2008
Poor performance by Kendrick leads to the Phillies losing to the BoSox, 7-4.
Kyle Kendrick’s poor performance against the World Champions Red Sox leads to an early exit and to a lost as the Phillies are unable to effectively rally as they lose the final game of their three games series to the Red Sox, 7-4. The Red Sox would break it open early as their first four men would get on base and score against Kendrick to give them a 4-0 lead. After Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia would both get on base via singles, J.D. Drew would knock them both in as he hits a three-run home run off of Kendrick, for his thirteenth home run of the year. Mike Lowell would quickly follow with a solo shot of his own, his eleventh home run of the season. The Phillies would get a run back in their half of the first as Ryan Howard would beat the shift against him to hit a RBI single, scoring Shane Victorino, who has earlier walked. The BoSox would put the game away for keeps in the third inning as Bill Moss hit a two-run single, scoring Drew, who has earlier doubled, and Lowell, who has reached base after being hit by the pitch, to make it 6-1 BoSox. The Red Sox would then score their last run of the game in the fourth, as, with Clay Condrey pitching in relief of Kendrick, Drew would hit a RBI single, knocking in Pedroia, who has earlier doubled to give Boston a 7-1 lead. With the bullpen shuting down the World Champs for the rest of the game, the Phillies tried to chip away at Boston’s lead. They would make a 7-2 game in the fifth, when Jayson Werth hit into a force play, scoring Greg Dobbs. The Phils would then cut the lead down to 7-4 in the seventh, when, with no one out and two men on, pinch hitter Pedro Feliz would hit a two-run single, scoring previous pinch hitter Eric Bruntlett, who has earlier singled, and Carlos Ruiz, who has earlier walked, and who would both move up a base on reliever Craig Hanson’s wild pitch. But that would be it for the Phillies as their rally would then get snuffed out by reliever Manny Delcarmen, who would get six of the seven men that he would face, before the BoSox would send in Jonathan Papelbon who would record his twenty-first save with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.
Kyle Kendrick would take the lost as he was unable to get his changeup down, as he would go only three innings while being rocked for six earned runs on six hard hits. He is now 6-3 with a 5.06 ERA. Clay Condrey would pitch two innings of relief, giving up one earned run on four hits. Chad Durbin would pitch an inning, giving up no runs on two hits. Rudy Seanez would also go an inning, giving up no runs on no hits. J.C. Romero would pitch a scoreless inning, giving up a hit. Brad Lidge would pitch the ninth, giving up no runs on no hits. Justin Masterson would get the win, as he pitches five innings, giving up two earned runs on four hits. His record is now 4-1 with a 3.00 ERA. Javier Lopez would pitch a scorless inning, giving up no hits. Craig Hensen would pitch to four batters, giving up two earned runs on two hits. Manny Delcarmen would pitch two innings, giving up no runs on no hits. Jonathan Papelbon would pitch a scoreless, hitless ninth as he records his twenty-first save of the year.
The Phillies have now lost their third straight series, as they were both outscored and outpitched by the World Champion Red Sox. Although it would appear that the two teams are almost evenly matched, if any of the Phillies’ starters were to lose control of their pitches, like Kyle Kendrick did this afternoon, the BoSox will be waiting to pounce on it, while the Phillies’ batters appear to be easily shut down by the Boston starters, especially if they do not act very patiently at the plate. The later is going to have to be corrected, hopefully by the All-Star break, else they are going to be in for a long, hot summer of fighting for first place with the Marlins.
With the lost, the Phillies (42-32) who will have the day off tomorrow, will now wait for the results of the games involving the rest of the division. They now have a two and a half games lead over the Marlins, as they prepare to once again play the Mariners in Seattle. They lead both the Braves and the Mets by six games, as they wait to face the Rangers and the Angels respectively. The Phillies will be hoping that all three of their main opponents will lose their games on the road, so that they will hold on to their present leads in the standings.
The Phillies are shut out by Lester, tying the series between the Phils and the BoSox.
Jamie Moyer was only able to go five innings as he threw a lot of pitches tonight, 106 in fact, as the Phillies fall to the Red Sox, 3-0. The Red Sox would score the first runs of the game when Moyer threw a two-run home run to Coco Crisp, his sixth home run of the season, scoring Jason Varitek, who has earlier walked, to make it 2-0 BoSox. In the sixth, the Red Sox would increase their lead as Ryan Madson, who was pitching in relief of Moyer, would give up a RBI double to Julio Lugo, scoring Crisp, who has earlier singled, giving the Red Sox a 3-0 lead. That would be how the game would end, as Jon Lester, Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon would combine to seven hit the Phils, with Papelbon pitching a 1-2-3 ninth to record his twentieth save of the year.
Jamie Moyer would take the lost as he struggles to pitch five innings, giving up only two runs on four hits, and walking five, one of whom would later score. His record is now 7-4 with a 4.09 ERA. Ryan Madson would pitch an inning, giving up an earned run on two hits. Rudy Seanez would go an inning, giving up no runs on no hits, while Clay Condrey would also pitch an inning, giving up no runs on one hit. Jon Lester would get the win, going seven shut out innings as he six hit the Phillies. Hideki Okajima would pitch an inning in relief, giving up no runs on one hit. Jonathan Papelbon would pitch a 1-2-3 ninth, as he records his twentieth save of the year.
The Phillies (42-31) will conclude their three games series with the World Champion Red Sox (45-29, 1st American League East) tomorrow afternoon at Citizens Bank Park for a Business Person’s Special. The game will start at 1:05 pm Eastern. The Phillies’ starter will be Kyle Kendrick (6-2, 3.43), who is coming off a victory against the Cardinals on June 13, where he would pitch seven innings, giving up two runs, only one of which was earned, on eight hits, in the Phillies’ 20-2 rout. He will be trying to improve his record while trying to help the Phillies win their first series since their sweep of the Braves. The Red Sox will counter with rookie Justin Masterson (3-1, 2.90), who is coming off his first major league lost as he was defeated by the Reds on June 13, where he would go six and two-thirds inning, giving up three earned runs on four hits, in the BoSox’s 3-1 lost. He will be trying to avoid getting his second major league lost while trying to see if he can keep the Phillies’ batters off-balanced.
The Phillies are presently leading the Marlins by two and a half games, although they are presently losing their game with the Mariners. The presently third place Mets are now trailing the Phils by six games, although they are presently trailing the Angels. The Braves, thanks to their lost to the Rangers, are still six and half games behind and in fourth place, The Phillies are presently hoping that the Marlins and the Mets will both lose their games so that the standings will remain the same before they get ready for tomorrow afternoon’s game.
60 years ago tomorrow, Phillies’ Hall of Famer Robin Roberts pitched his first game as a Phil.
Roberts went to Spring Training in 1948 and roomed with another rookie, Richie Ashburn. They would become two of the greatest players in Phillies history. Each has had his uniform number retired and each is a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
As a 21-year-old, Roberts began the 1948 season with the Wilmington Blue Rocks, then a Phillies farm team in the Class B Inter-State League. He posted a 9-1 record with a 2.06 ERA, completing 10 of 11 starts. In 96 innings, he struck out 121. A sign that he was something special came on June 5 when he tied the league record with 18 strikeouts in a 4-1 win over Trenton.
After dominating that league, Roberts was called up by the Phillies. Upon learning that he was headed for the big leagues, his Wilmington teammates gave him a going-away present, a pen and pencil set.
Less than 24 hours after being promoted, he was on the mound in the Major Leagues. Allowing single runs in the third and seventh innings, Roberts and the Phillies fell to the second-place Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-0, on June 18, before 13,501 fans at Shibe Park. His line: 8 innings, 5 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts.
“I felt a bit nervous pitching to Stan Rojek in the first inning,” said Roberts in an Associated Press story. “I guess any fellow would feel that way pitching to his first hitter in the big leagues. But once I walked him and struck out Frank Gustine [second hitter], I felt natural the rest of the way.
“As long as I can keep my fast ball alive and fool ‘em with a curve once in a while, I’ll try to give ‘em a battle all the way.”
Five days later, Roberts recorded the first of his 234 Phillies wins, 3-2, over the Cincinnati Reds at Shibe Park. It was the first of 272 complete games, a Phillies record that may never be broken.
Later this season, Robbie will be honored during the pre-game festivities as part of Toyota Alumni Night on Saturday, Aug. 9 at Citizens Bank Park. All fans will receive a commemorative print of Roberts, courtesy of Toyota.
Roberts file:
36 Robin Evan Roberts RHP
B-T: S-R… HT: 6-0; WT: 190… BORN: Sept. 30, 1926, Springfield, IL… RESIDES: Temple Terrace, FL.
CAREER: Pitched 14 years with the Phillies, 1948-61… Also pitched for the Baltimore Orioles (1962-65), Houston Astros (1965-66) and Chicago Cubs (1966) before retiring in 1966.
HOW OBTAINED: Signed to a $25,000 bonus by the Phillies following graduation from Michigan State University in 1947.
WINS: 20-game winner six straight years (1950-55)… Led NL in wins, four straight seasons, starting in 1952… Making third start in five days, he won his 20th game as the Phillies clinched the pennant at Brooklyn, Oct. 1, 1950…Won a career-high 28 games in 1952 and set a club record with an .800 winning percentage; won 21 of his last 23 decisions that year.
MISC: Never pitched under 304 innings from 1950-55…Led the Phillies in innings pitched from 1950 through 1960…Put together a streak of 28 straight complete games in 1952-53…Led the NL in complete games and innings pitched, five times; wins, four times; shutouts and strikeouts, twice…Phillies career leader in games pitched, complete games and innings pitched, and was the leader in wins and strikeouts until Steve Carlton came along.
HONORS: Selected to seven consecutive All-Star Games… Shares All-Star Game record for most starts, five, with Lefty Grove and Don Drysdale…Named Player of the Year by The Sporting News in 1952 and was chosen as the Pitcher of the Year three times by the same publication (before Cy Young Award was established)…Number retired in 1962…Elected to National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1976.
W-L: 286-245
ERA: 3.41
G: 676
GS: 609
CG: 305
SHO: 45
IP: 4688.2
H: 4582
BB: 902
SO: 2357
Hopefully the Phillies will help celebrate the anniversary with a victory over the BoSox tomorrow afternoon. Still playing the best: Phillies-Red Sox, Game 2.
The Phillies (42-30) continue their three games series with the World Champion Red Sox (44-29, 1st American League East) with another night game at Citizens Bank Park. Tonight’s game will start at 7:05 pm Eastern. The Phillies will send to the mound Jamie Moyer (7-3, 4.12), who is coming off a win against the Marlins on June 12, where he pitched eight strong shut out innings, giving up only two hits, in the Phils’ 3-0 win. Moyer has won five of his last six starts, with the Phils winning his other start. In those six starts he would go a combined forty innings, giving up only fourteen earned runs on thirty-four hits, including four quality starts. Lifetime against the Red Sox he is 6-11 in 20 starts, while Manny Ramirez has been a major thorn in his side, as ‘Big Papi’ has hit ten career home runs off of him. Jamie will be trying to improve his record, while trying to keep Manny and the rest of the BoSox offense from taking him downtown. He will be opposed by Jon Lester (5-3, 3.43), who is coming off of a victory over the Baltimore Orioles on June 12, when he pitched seven innings, giving up only two earned runs on seven hits, in the Red Sox’s 9-2 win. Lester has won his last two starts, where he would give up only three earned on fifteen hits as he pitched a total of thirteen and a third innings. He will be looking to improve his record, while trying to quiet down the Phillies’ bats.
The Phillies will be trying to continue showing that they can stand up with the best that the American League have to offe. The offense will be trying to continue the outburst which they’d shown to a national audience last night, while hoping that Jamie will have better luck pitching against a team that seems to have his number before giving it over to the National League’s best bullpen.
The Phillies are presently leading the second place Marlins by three games, while leading both the Braves and the Mets, who have earlier today fired Willie Randolph, by six and a half game. The Phillies will be looking to once again increase their lead against their divisional rivals.
Mets’ Manager gets pink slip in hotel room in Anaheim over night.
I was surprised to learn that the Mets’ have finally fired Willie Randolph, their manager, via the Phillies Nation blog. While I’ll be the first to admit that I did see this happening at some point this season, as the Mets have been playing really subpar baseball so far this year after all of the fuss made over them during the post season and spring training, and when players play very badly, the one who gets the pink slip is the manager not the players who are stinking up the joint (isn’t that right, Mr. Torre?), but never in a million years would I have expected someone to be given the pink slip in such a lousy manner. I’m not going to make a post about the Randolph firing when a blogger who is a Mets’ fan can say it so much better than I can. So, take it away Mr. Cerrone:
Opinion: I Feel Dirty
By Matthew Cerrone
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As a Mets fan, I’m embarrassed this morning, and I feel a little dirty. I understand why Willie Randolph was fired. In fact, due to the time I spend talking to people connected to the team, I am probably aware of why he was fired better than most people. The problem is that, like in so many cases during this team’s history, the story today will not be about replacing Randolph with Jerry Manuel and moving forward, it will be about the way this situation was handled – and rightfully so. On one hand, most things end badly - otherwise they wouldn’t end, especially in baseball. I have already been sent e-mail from Yankee fans mocking the Mets, which is pretty funny coming from a team that ran Joe Torre and his four rings out of town, and is notorious for the Billy Martin Merry-go-Round. Nevertheless, the Mets took so long to make this decision that it made them look foolish, classless and disorganized. For instance, I’m convinced information was intentionally leaked to the media in an effort to force Omar Minaya‘s hand, which is quite disingenuous, because I still believe Minaya would have preferred to keep Randolph – all while having to spin the media night after night. There are reporters I have talked who all feel the exact same way. What’s worse, from what I can gather, several people in the clubhouse, from players to trainers to security guards, all knew Randolph would eventually be fired on this road trip. Lastly, yesterday, a person I know, who talks with the team’s front office on a regular basis, asked me when I feel Randolph would be fired. I was under the impression that Randolph would be fired on the off day between Los Angeles and Colorado later this week – win or lose. However, the way the question was asked, I could sense it was going to occur a lot sooner than that. In other words, this was not a secret. And so, the team’s ownership should stepped up and fired Randolph last week, when it is was obvious they had already reached a decision. Instead, they dismissed their manager at midnight in a hotel room, after he had just won four of his last six games. That said, I do not feel bad for Randolph. He will live to fight another day, he’ll get another job in an industry based on a kid’s game, and he’ll earn close to $3.5 million doing so, which is a lot better than you and I will ever be treated. I know this is all part of the deal, in business, but especially in baseball. But, like I said, it just makes me feel a little dirty and a bit embarrassed knowing that so many people knew of this in advance, and that it occurred in the middle of the night, making it all stink of an extra level of smarminess. I’m not totally sure why I feel this way, but I do. I’m probably just being emotional. (H/T MetsBlog.com) I couldn’t have put it better myself, Mr. Cerrone. Okay, to me this shows me that Mets’ Managment has no class, and following the antics of our own team’s mystery owners I know lack of class when I see it. But, really this takes the cake, people. I think it would’ve been better if they had fired Willie Randolph, pitching coach Rick Peterson and first-base coach Tom Nieto on the off day between the two series of their present road trip. I mean, good god, man, when did the Mets turn into the 1970s/1980s Yankees? Willie, I sincerely wish you and your fellow pink slippers the best of luck finding new employment, I really do. Jerry Manuel, I wish you luck trying to run the zoo. Mets’ Management, I hope this comes back and bite you all in the backside. I really do you morons. Oh, MetsBlog.com has some more information on the firing, so, anyone who want to read them, I’d added a link to Mr. Cerrone’s blog. |
Update: Oh this just gets better and better. He wasn’t given a pink slip in his hotel room. He was told he was fired by email????
Shame on the Mets for their cowardly firing of coach Willie Randolph. Yes, the Mets are underachieving and yes, someone needs to be held accountable, but to fire Randolph in an email quietly at 3:00 AM? It is a cowardly move and speaks volumes about what a disorganized mess the Mets are. (H/T A Citizen’s Blog)
Oh, beautiful. This wasn’t even a face to face firing. This was via the nets. Real class guys!!!
Utley continues to be the leading vote getter in the National League, is now also the leader vote getter for both leagues.
Nothing’s changed, as another week has merely widened Utley’s already sizeable lead. The Cubs’ Mark DeRosa, a distant second behind Utley, will have to be named by NL manager Clint Hurdle to attend the Midsummer Classic.
With 1,743,548 votes, Utley is the leading vote-getter in the Major Leagues. He has more votes than the Astros’ Lance Berkman, the Yankees’ Derek Jeter or Alex Rodriguez, the Red Sox’s David Ortiz or Manny Ramirez and the Braves’ Chipper Jones.
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Last week, Utley added to his Major League-leading home run total when he pounded his 22nd of the season off Cardinals righty Todd Wellemeyer on Friday. He’s also had two stretches in which he’s homered in five straight games. Utley started the 2007 All-Star Game, going 0-for-2 at San Francisco’s AT&T Park, and he played in the 2006 contest, going 1-for-2 at Pittsburgh’s PNC Park.
The Phillies superstar is poised to make his second All-Star start. This would be Utley’s first career appearance at Yankee Stadium in the historic ballpark’s final season.
Utley’s teammate Jimmy Rollins, the reigning NL Most Valuable Player, moved up to fourth among shortstops, behind the Marlins’ Hanley Ramirez, the Cubs’ Ryan Theriot and the Astros’ Miguel Tejada.
Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard, who has struggled this season, now sits in fifth place among first baseman, trailing Berkman, the Cubs’ Derrek Lee, the Cardinals’ Albert Pujols and the Brewers’ Prince Fielder. The 79th annual Major League Baseball All-Star Game on July 15 will be televised nationally by FOX, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and Sportsnet HD and televised around the world by Major League Baseball International, with pregame ceremonies beginning at 8 p.m. ET. ESPN Radio will provide exclusive national radio coverage, while MLB.com will provide extensive online coverage. XM Radio will provide satellite radio play-by-play coverage of the XM All-Star Futures Game.
The Midsummer Classic will be the fourth held at Yankee Stadium and the eighth one in New York City. The Yankees previously hosted the All-Star Game in 1939, ’60 and ’77; the Polo Grounds held the game in ’34 and ’42; Ebbets Field was the site in ’49; and Shea Stadium hosted the ’64 tilt.
Fans can cast their votes for starters up to 25 times with the Monster 2008 All-Star Game Online Ballot at MLB.com and all 30 club sites until Wednesday, July 2 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Starting rosters will be announced during the 2008 All-Star Game Selection Show presented by Chevrolet on TBS on July 6. Baseball fans around the world will then be able to select the final player on each team via the Monster 2008 All-Star Final Vote at MLB.com.
The voting doesn’t end there. Fans will have the opportunity to participate in the official voting for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player presented by Chevrolet at the All-Star Game via the Monster 2008 All-Star Game MVP vote at MLB.com.
(H/T Phillies.com)
Utley is now the leading vote getter in the Majors for the All-Star Game? Outstanding. Go Chase. Now let’s see if we can get you some company, shall we?
Juan Samuel has been named to the Phillies’ Wall of Fame.
The Phillies announced Monday that Juan Samuel will be inducted as the team’s 30th member of the Wall of Fame. The former second baseman spent his first 6 1/2 seasons in Philadelphia, stealing 246 bases from 1983-89 and making two All-Star teams.
Signed by the Phillies on April 29, 1980, Samuel debuted on Aug. 24, 1983. Batting leadoff, he tripled in his second at-bat. The next season, he set the organization’s single-season and rookie records with 72 stolen bases on his way to 105 runs scored and 191 hits. He also set modern club records for triples (19) and at-bats (701) in a season. Both marks were broken last season by Jimmy Rollins.
He became the first player in Major League history to reach double digits in doubles, triples, home runs and stolen bases in each of his first four seasons.
Samuel, 47, is currently coaching third base in Baltimore, and will attend the pregame ceremonies for the Aug. 8 game against the Pirates. All fans receive a commemorative poster of Samuel, courtesy of Toyota.
Fellow Wall of Famers Robin Roberts (1978), Jim Bunning (1984), Steve Carlton (1989), Mike Schmidt (1990), Dick Allen (1994), Greg Luzinski (1998), Tony Taylor (2002), Bob Boone (2005) and Dallas Green (2006) are expected to be in attendance.
Wall of Fame balloting annually begins with online voting on phillies.com during Spring Training. A total of 15 Phillies Alumni are on the ballot. The top five vote-getters are then presented to a special Wall of Fame Selection Committee that chooses the inductee.
The other four finalists this year were Darren Daulton, Lenny Dykstra, John Kruk and Greg Gross.
Samuel remained a fan favorite until June 18, 1989, when the Phillies traded him to the Mets in a deal that landed Dykstra. In 16 seasons, Samuel hit .259 with 396 stolen bases and 873 runs. (H/T Phillies.com)
Nice to see Sammy get the nod this year. Can’t wait to see what his plague will look like.
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