Philadelphia Phillies

The Venezuelan Summer League just kicked off and, honestly, I just don't know enough about most of the kids there to include much info here. So, unless someone goes nuts and puts up a crazy line I'll deal with that league more in monthly...
The Venezuelan Summer League just kicked off and, honestly, I just don't know enough about most of the kids there to include much info here. So, unless someone goes nuts and puts up a crazy line I'll deal with that league more in monthly recaps. The hotness: Maikel Franco - Holy cow, what a week! A somewhat pedestrian .280 BA and uncharacteristic 5 K in 28 PA is more than offset by a .357 OBP, 1 double, 2 HR, 2 BB and 1 HBP. The FSL is the most Pitcher Friendly league in the Minors, and while the Threshers play in the most Offense friendly park, it's not exactly a launching pad either (both HR were home park jacks). Franco's numbers are, honestly, everything one could hope for so far this Spring. If he stays this hot, plan on seeing him in Reading in a month. Kelly Dugan - Numbers pretty similar to Franco's this week. Dugan sported a .280/.357/.520 line with 1 double, 1 triple, 1 HR, 3 BB and the huge downside of 8 K's. Larry "Fudgie" Greene - Fudgie still has a really weird line, but at least the balls are going where the fielders aren't for a change. His line this week was .308/.438/.462 with 2 doubles, 3 BB and 3 K. Suprisingly it also included 1 SB, though speed is not a particularly big part of Greene's game. I'm about 2 weeks from doing a monthly recap, but as of now, Fudgie's line is a crazy .228/.390/.291 with a 34% K rate and 21% BB rate. He'll need to heat up his power, and cut down that K rate by, at least, 10% over the next month or so. It's also worth noting that Greene is piling up an Anthony Hewitt-esque pile of Errors, nearly equalling the total of the rest of the Lakewood OF, with less games than most of them. Cameron Perkins - I swear I am not making this up. Cameron Perkins who seems immune to taking Walks, took 5 this week. His hitting sucked, for a change, but I'm putting him in the hot list because he had only taken 5 walks all season to this point. Now, if he can just do that and maintain a .200 ISO... Roman "Candle" Quinn - I hope Wet Luzinski has Depends on for this line. The candle was on fire this week with a .346/.433/.577 with 1 double, 1 triple, 1 HR, 4 BB, 2 K, 4 SB, 1 CS (along with his standard handfull of Errors). A few more weeks of that and his numbers, cumulatively for the season, will be as good or better than Last Summer's in a similar number of games. Humberto Quintero - Conveniently he heats up right as Chooch pulls a Hammy. This past week he was .375/.400/.875 with a double, 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 K. Tommy Joseph is currently sidelined, so I gues if you're going to any Iron Pigs games, get ready for lots of Lerud. Sebastian Valle - Valle hasn't been getting a ton of playing time, but with TJ sidelined in LHV and Chooch out at the MLB level, some PT may trickle down to Valle. If it does, he does appear to be warming up considerably in May. Too few at bats to worry about his line this week, but for the month he has gotten his average up into the .280 range and has improved his walk rate significantly (though it's still awful at 5.9%, that's twice his BB rate the last 2 years). Mitch Walding - Mitch has ben mostly awful this spring. Still scouts seem to like his potential and if he strings together more weeks like the last one, maybe he becomes a somewhat hot prospect to follow. .364/.440/.500 with 3 doubles, 3 BB and 3 K. Mike Stutes - Cutesy Stutesy made 4 appearances going 4.2 innings with 4 H, 4 K, 0 BB, 1 ER. If needed in the bullpen merry go round both Stutes and Lefty killer Jake Diekman seem to have warmed up from Ice age cold starts to the year. Zach Collier - Last week I wrote about how awful Collier has been this season, well, no tthis week as he sported a .350/.435/.500 triple slash. Still 7 K in 23 PA is waaaay too high, but I really am glad to see him not scuffle this week. The Not list: Darin Ruf - Just when he was heating up, he drops a .120/.214/.160 line with 0 HR, 2 BB, 1 HBP and 11 K in 28 PA. Tyler Cloyd - Unfortunate timing whe
27 minutes ago
Rob Kaminsky is a 6'0" 190 LHP with a mid 90's Fastball, a pretty advanced, for a HS Pitcher, Changeup and a Major League ready Curve. So, if we're ticking off the Phillies draft Preferences bingo card here, put a chip on High School Pit...
Rob Kaminsky is a 6'0" 190 LHP with a mid 90's Fastball, a pretty advanced, for a HS Pitcher, Changeup and a Major League ready Curve. So, if we're ticking off the Phillies draft Preferences bingo card here, put a chip on High School Pitcher, put a chip on Left Handed, place a chip on local product and place a chip on Athletic (he's also his team's starting Center Fielder on off days). Of course if we do that we also need to look at what they often avoid in top draft picks and that would typically be short, high effort pitchers. So before we get into what to like about Kaminsky we'll deal with the non-pitching red flag of his strong commitment to UNC for College ball. If I had to guess, being a mid first round pick as a High School Pitcher alone is likely enough to break that commitment, but it may require being on the high end of slot or even just above and therefore going bargain bin later to avoid slot penalties in 2014. If, from discussions, there is any sense that he'll require top 10 money or anything similar it may make him more difficult to draft. Kaminsky has stated himself that while he loved North Carolina, he hasn't made any decision about his future and could go pro or on to College. On the baseball side of things, there is one big issue with Kaminsky that may turn teams off. When you draft a high schooler, for example, we'll use Jesse Biddle, you project. Jesse Biddle was a big, thin kid when he was drafted and already threw in the upper 80's. However, he had a lot of filling out to do so you could project that maybe he can add a few MPH and end up throwing low to mid 90's with good sink. There is pretty much none of that with Kaminsky. He works ~89-91 with his FB and touches 93-94. That's it. It's not likely to get any faster. Because he's short it won't have that heavy downward slope that a 6'5" guy like Biddle can generate. It's entirely possible that Kaminsky is the next Adam Morgan. Is a guy who maxes out as a #2/3 Starter worth the #16 pick? Recent Mock Drafts have him going late First Round (most commonly to the Yankees, since he pitches in their shadow and would be a popular pick with fans who have quite possibly already heard of the kid in Jersey with 5 No-hitters and 18 K/9 strikeout rate) to all the way in early to mid-second round. That suggests that if the Phillies are really into the kid, they may be able to simply wait a round and still stand a chance at picking him (same may be true of Justin Williams who I profiled earlier in the series). Well, let's look at the kid and see what all of the fuss is about. First up is a video from Baseball America. I'm not an expert on pitching mechanics, but I do know that a lot of shorter pitchers appear to be giving full effort every pitch to generate velocity. If this kid throws mid-90's you wouldn't know it from this video. That's a pretty relaxed, loose looking delivery. No dreaded "inverted W", no arm breaking (when a pitcher slows his arm after release). No locking out his front knee. All of those are commonly listed as potential red flags by the various people who write about pitching mechanics. Also, it sounds like there's a pirate in the stands during the game. Next up is a video from Baseball Banter. I can see more in this video that it appears his plent foot lands slightly to the first base side, causing him to throw across his body. That is sometimes pointed to as an injury concern and can affect accuracy. Kaminsky though is widely lauded for his accuracy, ability to adjust pitch sped and work both sides of the plate. So, if this affects accuracy, Kaminsky seems to have found a way to work past it. Here's a video literally taken down the street from where I lived up until a few years ago (It's also where UNC used to play it's Home games). This one's from the USA Baseball Prospect Classic. This is game film, so you get to enjoy watching him pitch to live hitters and field his position. Video is from Diamond Scape Baseball. In this video, which
about 2 hours ago
The Phillies have rounded the first quarter pole of the 2013 season and it can be tough to get a read on exactly how to feel about this team. I’ve asked two people with two different opinions on the team to share their thoughts with us i...
The Phillies have rounded the first quarter pole of the 2013 season and it can be tough to get a read on exactly how to feel about this team. I’ve asked two people with two different opinions on the team to share their thoughts with us in the hopes that we can find some common ground. Providing the fan perspective is Ryan Petzar. Ryan, 27, lives in South Philly. He considers himself a diehard Phillies fan and brags about how, in 2011, he attended 35 games in one season despite not having season tickets. His favorite current Phillie is Roy Halladay and his favorite former Phillie is John Kruk. Providing our counterpoint is Ryan Petzar. Formerly of ESPN Radio and Philly.com, Ryan is an emerging voice in the Philadelphia sports media. Ryan’s work has been featured in print with the Philadelphia Daily News and the York Daily Record, as well as online at CSN Philly, Yahoo! Sports, and Deadspin. Ryan would not give his age for this story. Now that we know our contributors, let’s get to the questions. RP: In general, what’s your opinion of the season so far? RP: I guess I’m disappointed but it could certainly be worse. As of now, they’re only a couple of games below .500. None of the core players have really been lighting it up, but there haven’t been many outright disappointments yet. RP: It’s a disaster. Even at three games below .500, they’re a total disappointment. There were a lot of factors conspiring against them at the beginning of the season (Chooch’s suspension, a murky outfield situation, etc.) but they’ve had a pretty soft schedule so far and should have been able to tread water. This team is an embarrassment. RP: Okay, so you two are pretty far apart. Let’s try to find some common ground. What are your thoughts on the pitching staff’s early season performance? RP: Ugh. Pitching. It sucks that all of a sudden you can’t be confident in the starting pitchers anymore. The team used to have four aces. Now we only have two. If that. RP: Kyle Kendrick has been a pleasant surprise so far. In nine starts, he’s allowed only 19 earned runs and has an ERA of 2.82 in 60.2 innings. He’s pitched only 3 innings less than Cliff Lee and has an almost identical stat line. In fact, Kendrick is the only Phillies pitcher to have pitched a complete game shutout so far. If Kendrick wasn’t performing at the level he is now, the team would be in far worse shape. RP: Sure, but now Roy Halladay is hurt. He’s going to be out until August at the earliest and who knows what he’ll be like when he’s back. And John Lannan, who I still kind of hate, is hurt too. They have all these young guys from the minors pitching now instead of our aces. It’s terrible to watch. RP: Those young guys are the aces of tomorrow though. It’s cool to get to see them pitching now, doubly so when they’re doing well! Jonathan Pettibone has made six starts, fifth most on the team, and he has an ERA of 3.00. That’s definitely good. No two ways about it. RP: You’re wrong. He’s got a 3 ERA but he’s allowing nine hits per nine innings and he’s not striking guys out like he could be. It’s just a matter of time until those baserunners start scoring that that ERA balloons. RP: Okay, but that’s conjecture. You’re talking about something that might happen and that’s not the point of thi— RP: [Nervous laugh] Calm down, guys. It’s just a friendly discussion. Let’s change the subject. We’ve talked about pitching, what about the offense? RP: What is there to say about it? It’s putrid! RP: Don’t exaggerate, man. It’s not ‘putrid’. It’s not even bad, per se. Michael Young is hitting the ball really well, same with Rollins whose power numbers are higher. Dom Brown leads the team with nine homers! It’s good to see him finally starting to produce regularly. RP: Sure, but at this point last season the team was doing so much better offensively. Through 45 games (41 starts), Carlos Ruiz was hitting .357. This year, Chooch and Kratz combined are only hitting .222 through the first 45. Kratz has
about 3 hours ago
The Phillies have played more than a quarter of the 2013 season and won one game of the ten started by Cole Hamels. They’re 11-4 when Kendrick or Pettibone start and 8-18 when they start Hamels, Halladay or Lee. Last night, Hamel...
The Phillies have played more than a quarter of the 2013 season and won one game of the ten started by Cole Hamels. They’re 11-4 when Kendrick or Pettibone start and 8-18 when they start Hamels, Halladay or Lee. Last night, Hamels pitched well again, but the offense provided a single run and the Phils fell 5-1 to the Marlins. The Phillies have scored one run or less in four of the last six games that Hamels has started. Last night they faced Alex Sanabia, who came into the game having thrown to a 5.00 ERA in his eight starts this year while opposing batters posted a 316/400/531 line against him. The Phillie bullpen continues to be miserable, allowing three runs over two innings last night. They have a 5.26 ERA and a 1.65 ratio over the last 18 games with 59 hits allowed in 49 2/3 innings. The Phillies are 21-24 on the season after losing 5-1 to the Miami Marlins last night. Hamels got the start for the Phillies and went six innings, allowing two runs on seven hits. Two of the hits went for extra-bases, a double and a triple. He struck out ten and didn’t walk a batter. Hamels struggled in each of his first two starts this season, but has thrown to a 3.12 ERA in his eight outings since. His walk rate is still up — over his last eight starts he’s walked about 3.3 per nine inning. Coming into 2013 he had walked about 2.2 per nine for his career. He has made seven quality starts in his last eight appearances. Adeiny Hechavarria singled to right to start the bottom of the first. He stole second with one out and went to third on an infield single by Derek Dietrich. It brought Marcell Ozuna to the plate with one out and runners on the corners. Ozuna singled into center, scoring Hechavarria (1-0) and moving Dietrich up to second. Justin Ruggiano grounded into a double-play to end the inning. Hamels allows three singles and a stolen base in the inning, but holds the Fish to a single run with the help of the double-play. It was 1-1 when Chris Coghlan tripled over the head of Revere in center to start the bottom of the second. Hamels kept him from scoring, though, getting Nick Green to foul out to third, Jeff Mathis to pop to short and pitcher Alex Sanabia swinging for the third out. No run for Miami after the leadoff triple. Hamels threw a 1-2-3 third. He struck out the first two men in the fourth before Coghlan singled to left. Coghlan took second on an errant pickoff throw by Hamels before Green struck out swinging to leave Coghlan at second. Young should have handled the throw from Hamels, which was wide of the base, but catchable. Hamels struck out Mathis and Sanabia in a 1-2-3 fifth. Placido Polanco singled to center to start the sixth. Hamels struck Dietrich and Ozuna out before Ruggiano doubled off of the wall in right, scoring Polanco to make it 2-1. Coghlan went down swinging to leave Ruggiano at second. Justin De Fratus pitched the seventh. Mathis reached on a throwing error by Galvis with one out, but De Fratus got the next two to leave Mathis stranded. Polanco singled to left off of De Fratus to start the eighth. Horst came in to pitch to the lefty Dietrich and got him on a fly ball to center for the first out. Aumont took over to face the righty Ozuna and Ozuna singled to left, moving Polanco up to third. It brought Ruggiano to the plate and he singled into center, scoring Polanco (3-1) and moving Ozuna up to second. Aumont struck Coghlan out swinging for the second out, putting men on first and second for Green. Green blooped a ball into shallow center field, just in front of a diving Revere. The ball was in the air a long time and with two outs, both runners were running and both scored. 5-1. Aumont struck Mathis out to leave Green stranded. Green’s ball was in the air a long, long time. Not sure why Revere was playing him so deep, but I was surprised the ball wasn’t caught. De Fratus faced five men in the game. He got three outs, one reached on an error and the
about 4 hours ago
Jamie Moyer was asked to give a commencement speech at Immaculata this weekend, which he did.  However, some earlier speech notes indicate he was going to take the bull by the horns and beat the haters to the clichés he’s mostly known fo...
Jamie Moyer was asked to give a commencement speech at Immaculata this weekend, which he did.  However, some earlier speech notes indicate he was going to take the bull by the horns and beat the haters to the clichés he’s mostly known for – being old and throwing the ball very softly. Using that classic Jamie Moyer delivery, it’s safe to say he would have killed it. Greetings, Fightin’ Jesuses.  [NOTE: Find out actual nickname of school] You know, a lot of people would tell you that it’s a rough time for recent grads out there.  A lot of people would say a college degree is worth about as much as a 50 mph fastball to the face. Sure, it gets you on base. But you still have to score. And scoring is what life is all about. No, not the in highly sexual way of sex-having that “scoring” is used with you college kids.  I’m talking about reaching your full potential.  And that’s hard to do in this economy.  It’s like a 50 mph fastball out there.  [NOTE: Remember to come up with a reason how it is like that.] But I’m here to tell you there’s hope.  Because if you can throw a baseball 50 mph, you could have a job in professional baseball. You know when I was a kid, I’d wake up on the wagon train headed to Oregon, and be like “Is the Civil War over yet? I’d like to fry up some dinosaur meat for lunch.” And my parents would be like, [NOTE: Speak with English accent] “No, not yet.  Also, we all have the plague.” [NOTE: Remember to pause for laughter when necessary.] We’re joking around here, but what I’m saying is the odds were stacked against me, too. But I knew that life was about more than throwing a fastball 100 mph. You can throw it 90 mph, 80 mph, 70 mph; whatever suits you.  And you can still be a success for some reason.  I mean, look at me.  I throw the weakest fastball in history and I played a professional sport until I was 50, after repeatedly impregnating Digger Phelps’ daughter.  I’d say I’m doing pretty well. Neigh-sayers and bullies are a part of life.  Along the way, they’ll be plenty of them.  “Hey, you need a wheelchair, old man?” they’ll yell.  “I’ll bet you got a head full of dust.  Hey, how was that dinosaur meat you had to eat as a kid. And hey, I’ll bet that the miles per hour of your fastball is the same amount of years ago you were born.” And sometimes you’ll be tempted to say, “Why don’t you just leave me alone, Chipper Jones.” But some people are so classless and awful that they need your sadness to continue feasting on the negative emotions that keep them alive.  Sometimes, they’ll call your house late at night just to make jerk comments, or follow you and your family to the zoo to make comments like, “I’ll take your fastball deep just like your dad took your mom deep, 110 years ago.” And it’s terrible.  But you just have to suck it up and tell your kids that that man has deep, bad problems.  Because he does. And that’s the kind of things that await you out in the real world.  It can be scary without having the support of an institution, or a walker, because you’re old.  But that’s the way the world works: It’s a big, scary place, that requires you to grow up and throw your best fastball, even if it’s 50 mph. Or also, you could become really good at something unrelated to college, and then a college will just give you a degree because they like you.  That happens sometimes, too. But above all else, never quit.  The best way to never quit is to always show up, no matter what people say, whether it’s “You’ll never make it,” or “Oh, were you serious about coming to spring training? All right, go over there.”  Showing up is how I reached some of my most-quoted career accolades. I’ll end with a quick story. I once pitched in the World Series, and won.  It was great.  But you know what?  It wasn’t so great.  I threw a terrific game, but at what cost?  The diarrhea I was suffering at the time was so copious, I ruined two pillows. “He ruined two pillows,” my wife actually said in publi
about 4 hours ago
Let me start off by saying I was wrong about Rosin.  I thought that he was a bullpen piece all the way and so far he has gone a long way to proving other wise. How We Got Here: Rosin was a 2010 4th round pick by the San Francisco Giants ...
Let me start off by saying I was wrong about Rosin.  I thought that he was a bullpen piece all the way and so far he has gone a long way to proving other wise. How We Got Here: Rosin was a 2010 4th round pick by the San Francisco Giants out of the University of Minnesota.  In college his fastball worked 91-92 touching 94, though the summer before he touched 96 on the Cape.  His secondary offering were fringy and most scouts thought he belonged in the bullpen possibly in a high leverage role.  The Giants moved him to the bullpen part time after drafting him, but after acquiring him in the Hunter Pence trade the Phillies moved him back to the rotation. The Profile: The fastball usually sits 90-91 but he gotten stronger deeper into games sitting more around 93 in later innings (at times touching as high as 95).  The slider has progressed to at least an average pitch and the changeup might eventually reach average.  The raw stuff plays up because Rosin can consistently throw it for strikes and from his large frame he can get good plane on his pitches.  Rosin has a large frame that suggests he can be a workhorse out of the rotation and he has started to prove that not only can he keep velocity but he can add some too over a game. Rosin is not over powering but he will strikeout his share of batters.  The biggest thing is that he does not walk very many batters.  If you take away his start on May 15 when he walked 5 batters Rosin has walked 6 batters over 47.1 IP good for a 1.14 BB/9. Where does it go from here: If Rosin can just keep the velocity up and the walks down he is a back of the rotation starter.  He lacks a true overpowering pitch to make the profile better and at 24 years old most of the projection is gone.  But if Rosin can be a #4 starter that is a great return for the third man in the Hunter Pence trade.  If the changeup cannot continue to trend upwards then Rosin could end up back in the bullpen where the fastball slider combination could make him an above average reliever. Rosin will need to be protected after this year which makes him an interesting starting candidate for the big league club if Morgan, Martin, Cloyd, and Biddle continue to struggle with injuries and inconsistencies.
about 4 hours ago
We live in an age where we can find pretty much anything we want (and lots of things we don’t want) on the internet with relative ease. This was not the case when the Phillies inked 17-year-old German outfielder Julsan Kamara to a seven-...
We live in an age where we can find pretty much anything we want (and lots of things we don’t want) on the internet with relative ease. This was not the case when the Phillies inked 17-year-old German outfielder Julsan Kamara to a seven-year minor league deal on May 13th. Google results yielded very little on Kamara, let alone the sort of in-depth information I look for when I begin to build a foundation of scouting information on an unknown international player. I have since made a few calls and got in touch with Phillies Director of International Scouting, Sal Agostinelli, who was gracious enough to tell me a little bit about Kamara. “We went to (redacted foreign country) to check out (redacted international player whose name I won’t give out until he signs because it can do the Phillies no good for me to tell you who it is) and a few arms out there and I see this German kid. He’s about 6’2” or 6’3” and had impressive raw power, good bat speed, real athletic. Below average arm but, you know, really athletic and good overall skills. I decided to fly back over to Germany for a workout north of Frankfurt where I knew he’d be, we watched him some more, liked what we saw and we signed him. $40,000.” A high profile signing it is not. This isn’t Michael Ynoa or Yasiel Puig we’re talking about here. But before we just dismiss this signing as a cheap lottery ticket, you have to consider Agostinelli’s body of work. He’s signed countless prospects across three continents on the cheap and many have gone on to carve out lengthy professional careers for themselves. Agostinelli signed Cesar Hernandez and Freddy Galvis on the same day in 2006. He inked Maikel Franco, the system’s best position prospect, for just $100,000. He signed Sebatian Valle, who would have netted the Phillies a fine setup man this past offseason if not for a failed physical, for just $30,000. Carlos Carrasco was another Sal Agostinelli signing and he headlined the Cliff Lee deal.  Go look at Baseball America’s Prospect Hot Sheet from May 3rd of this year. Three of the guys on that list were Agostinelli signings. In 1998, Agostinelli ventured down to Panama and scouted a horribly unathletic second baseman who displayed remarkable arm strength. He signed that 19 year old for $8,000 and suggested he be moved behind the plate. That young man has since been immortalized in a mural on 24th & Walnut streets and as a bobblehead that sits atop my cubicle as I write this piece. Sal Agostinelli knows what the hell he’s doing. So be excited for the future because a toolsy new prospect is in the system. Be excited for the future because the Phillies have planted a flag in a growing baseball market. Be excited for the future because Sal Agostinelli hand-picked this kid. Be excited for the future because in 2013 we all desperately need something to be excited about.
about 5 hours ago
Clearly inspired by my post after his last start, where I said that he needs to throw more groundballs or strike more guys out, Seth Rosin did both last night – 8K and 9GB outs in 8 strong IP. With that in mind, here’s a shor...
Clearly inspired by my post after his last start, where I said that he needs to throw more groundballs or strike more guys out, Seth Rosin did both last night – 8K and 9GB outs in 8 strong IP. With that in mind, here’s a short list of other things our young prospects should do: Darin Ruf should run faster. Sebastian Valle should take some walks. Larry Greene should only hit homeruns from now on – no more striking out. Shane Watson should send me a couple hundred bucks out of his signing bonus. Same for Mitch Gueller. Dylan Cozens should help me out with yardwork. He seems like a big strong guy who could easily toss an old birdbath over the brushline and into the woods across the road. All of the R-Phils guys should come to my house next week when the team’s in Bowie and we’ll all hang out and maybe do a little BBQ or something, you know, real casual like. Then  we’ll all become best buddies and they can take me on the road with them and we’ll play guitar on the bus together and sing happy songs and chill by the hotel pools in the summer and it’ll be super sweet. Cameron Perkins should hit for a little more power. Here’s the affiliate Scoreboard from MiLB. http://www.milb.com/scoreboard/index.jsp?sid=milb&org=143&ymd=20130520
about 5 hours ago
Dave Cameron reported last night that Alex Sanabia was apparently caught on video dropping a big ol' loogy on the ball as he was preparing to pitch during his win over the Phillies. This was right after Domonic Brown's home run. Here's...
Dave Cameron reported last night that Alex Sanabia was apparently caught on video dropping a big ol' loogy on the ball as he was preparing to pitch during his win over the Phillies. This was right after Domonic Brown's home run. Here's the video -- note the incriminating expectoration at the 13-second mark. Cameron's article also includes a gif focusing on the couple of seconds around that time. Is it possible that he's actually spitting on his hand, and not on the ball? Possible, but far-fetched. Now certainly it was a close game for most of the night, but you would think that Sanabia would reserve this kind of risky behavior for the big hitting teams in the league, rather than the light-hitting Phils. This isn't the first time this season (or even this month) that there have been allegations regarding spitters. Former pitcher and current Blue Jays announcer Jack Morris accused the Red Sox' Taylor Buchholtz earlier this month.
about 6 hours ago
Cole hasn’t been sharp in some of his outings, but last night he was on his game, two runs, no walks and 10 strikeouts in six innings (89 pitches). The offense hasn’t been sharp when he’s pitching and last night that pattern continued ag...
Cole hasn’t been sharp in some of his outings, but last night he was on his game, two runs, no walks and 10 strikeouts in six innings (89 pitches). The offense hasn’t been sharp when he’s pitching and last night that pattern continued against a pitcher who had given up 12 runs in 15 innings this month. May had been Cole’s month, but this year he’s 0-4. He had entered 2013 with a 22-4 May record. When he’s in the game, the Phillies offense has scored just 20 runs. The eighth inning, which was a nightmare inning a year ago, reared its ugly head last night as the bullpen turned a 2-1 deficit into a 5-1 loss. In game two tonight, the Phillies face rookie Jose Fernandez. In 14 innings against him, they have three hits, including a 2-0 loss earlier this month. In Marlins Park this year, the Phillies have scored seven runs in four games, winning 3-1 and 2-1 and losing 2-1 and 5-1. Notables **ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark’s twitter last night: Cole hasn’t thrown a single pitch with his team in the lead since April 7, 52 innings ago. **Elias Sports Bureau: Cole became the second pitcher this season to lose a game while issuing no walks and striking out 10. Tommy Milone of the A’s is the other. Over the last six seasons, pitchers with at least 10 strikeouts and no walks have compiled a 114-23 record. Minor League Report **Lehigh Valley pounded Rochester, 14-5. Pete Orr, 4-4, 5 RBI. 3B Cody Asche, triple, 4 RBI, boosting his total to 28, tops on the club. WP: Justin Friend (2-1). **Reading bested Altoona, 6-3, riding home runs by 1B Jim Murphy (10), C Cameron Rupp (6) and SS Edgar Duran (2). WP: Seth Rosin (2-3), 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 8 SO, 8 IP. **Clearwater was rained out at Port Charlotte. **Lakewood won, 3-1, at Delmarva. SS Ramon Quinn, 4th HR. WP: Jonathan Musser (1-0). SV: Steve Inch (5). New Alumni Feature The Phillies have had two University of Pennsylvania products play centerfield for them. One was Doug Glanville. The other is part of a Past Profile feature on http://www.phillies.com/alumni.
about 6 hours ago