Philadelphia Phillies

Cody Asche has been turning it up a little bit at the plate. He’s got 9H, 6 of them for extra bases, in his last 7 games. The middle of the CLR lineup racked up some hits in 11 innings last night. Not so for the middle of the LKW lineup, and they had 12 innings to try, though Art Charles hit his 6th HR of the year. Yoel Mecias struck out 7 in 5IP in that one. And a good line from Kyle Simon on last night’s supspended Reading game. Tried to get the tweet to embed, but I don’t think it worked. Click through if you like. https://twitter.com/TreeSimon/status/337703247630450689 Here’s the affiliate Scoreboard from MiLB. http://www.milb.com/scoreboard/index.jsp?sid=milb&org=143&ymd=20130523

With the new 15-per-team leagues, scheduling us a whole different world. Phillies have played the Marlins 10 times but this weekend will be the first they’ve seen the Nationals. Washington is 13th in runs scored (159) but sixth in team ERA (3.53). The Phillies are one rung ahead of the Nationals in the runs department (167). In the ERA world, they are 12th (4.14). Since Nationals Park opened in 2008, the Phillies are 26-19. Friday night’s game will also be on the MLB Network. Saturday’s game is a 7:15 p.m. prime-time FOX telecast. Minor League Report Players of the week………..                 Pitcher – RHP, Justin Friend, Lehigh Valley… 3 appearances in relief… 0-0, 0.00 ERA (4.2 IP), H, 2 BB, 8 SO… Friend began 2013 with LHV before being assigned to Reading (AA) on 5/2. Since being transferred back to LHV on 5/9 Friend has appeared in 4 G, 3 H, 3 BB, 9 SO and has an active 6.1 inning scoreless streak, his longest of the season… A non-roster invitee to spring training this season, the 26-year-old Friend was selected by the Phillies in the Rule 5 draft, December 9, 2010 from the Oakland Athletics… Friend was originally drafted by the A’s in the 13th round of the 2007 draft.                 Player – 3B, Maikel Franco, Clearwater… Batted .321 (9-28) in 7 G, 2 R, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 2B, 3B, 2 HR… Highlighted by a 2-for-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI performance on 5/16 vs Brevard County, Franco continues to swing the bat well for CLR hitting safely in five-straight games and eight of his last nine… Franco is tied with teammate Cameron Perkins for both the Florida State League and organizational lead in doubles… With 32 doubles in 132 games with Lakewood (A) last season, Franco now has 48 two-baggers over his last 173 minor league games… Since making his professional debut with the GCL Phillies in 2010, Franco has 78 career doubles in only 295 minor league games… The 20-year-old Franco was signed by Koby Perez as an amateur free agent, January 13, 2010. **Lehigh Valley defeated Norfolk, 4-2, behind 4th straight win for RH Ethan Martin (5-2), 2 R, 4 H, 2 BB, 4 SO, 6 IP. 3B Cody Asche, 5th HR. SV: Jacob Diekman (5). **Reading and Altoona played a 2-2 game that was called after 7 innings by rain. It will be completed on June 4. **Clearwater lost a heartbreaker, 9-8, in 11 innings at Port Charlotte. The Threshers scored 2 in the 11th only to see PC score three on four singles, a sacrifice and a steal off Colton Murray. RF Kelly Dugan, 4-6, 2 doubles, 2 RBI. 3B Maikel Franco, 2-6, 9th HR, 2 RBI (35). LF Cameron Perkins, 3-6, 3 RBI; hitting .355. **Lakewood lost, 3-2, in 12 innings a West Virginia, getting only 4 hits. One was a 2-run homer by 1B Art Charles in the 4th inning. Starter Yoel Mecias, 1 R, 7 H, 1 BB, 7 SO, 5 IP. This Date May 24, 1935–Phillies lose first night game in major league baseball history, 2-1, at Cincinnati’s Crosley Field. Game takes 1 hour, 35 minutes. Attendance for the historic game, 20,422. May 24, 1999–For the first time in team history, the Phillies have the same-name battery, RHP Joel Bennett and C Gary Bennett. Phillies win, 5-4, over Montreal. May 25, 2011–Longest game in Citizens Bank Park history, Phillies edge Cincinnati, 5-4, in 19 innings. Reds use seven pitchers, Phillies nine. INF Wilson Valez pitches the 19th inning and gets the win. May 26, 1990–Mike Schmidt’s #20 is retired in pre-game ceremonies as Phillies lose, 12-3, to Atlanta before 56,789. May 26, 2008–Phillies set a Citizens Bank Park record for runs in a game, blasting Colorado, 20-5. 2B Chase Utley drives in six runs.

Mcall.com Michael Martinez has been recalled from Lehigh Valley to take the roster spot of Chase Utley, who hits the DL with an oblique strain. Yes, that Michael Martinez. No, we still will not see Darin Ruf, or even the young second baseman Cesar Hernandez, take the place of Utley. I thought we had seen the last of Martinez last season, but apparently not. As Corey Seidman so eloquently puts it: Michael Martinez, NL ranks since 2011, min. 350 PA: .188 BA (last).241 OBP (last).272 SLG (2nd to last) — Corey Seidman (@CoreySeidman) May 24, 2013 That’s really all you need to know. It’s a head scratching move, to say the least.

When I got home on Wednesday night, there was a notice taped to the door of my apartment building announcing that the pool would open next week. I’ve lived here for five months and I had no idea we had a pool. I’m going to have to start working out. I wonder if we have a gym too. Your questions, starting topically. @dj_mosfett: “How long will Chase Utley *actually* be on the DL?” Seems like the requisite 15 days is a decent estimate, maybe a little longer. But you know these oblique injuries–they can go sideways really quickly. @DangerGuerrero: “do u think dom brown would have a higher ops if he were a giant dragon?” No, I do not. Dragons have relatively short arms and large heads, so Dragom Brown would not be able to cover the plate effectively. Furthermore, if he’s got eyes on either side of his head like a dinosaur (I’m thinking scary dragons and not that big flying cat from How to Train Your Dragon), he’d lack the depth perception required to hit. That said, the power of flight would probably make him a superb defensive outfielder, so it might be worth it anyway. @stevoc31: “why does Delmon Young exist?” So Wally Joyner can take him to the Island of Dr. Moreau and turn him into a dragon for experimental purposes. This should happen at once. @dj_mosfett: “In light of Delmon Young‘s recent batting success, what is the appropriate way to celebrate success for a player you loathe?” I have two coping mechanisms: Acknowledge it but insist that it won’t persist for long. This is what I would have done if Wilson Valdez had ever hit over .250 for any stretch of time long enough to notice. That way, you come of as a superior sumbitch while refusing to recognize that someone you don’t like is doing something that benefits your team. Pretend it isn’t happening. Is Delmon Young hitting well? I really haven’t noticed. @FelskeFiles: “Is there any player from another team the Phillies could reasonably acquire that would substantially help them? Ethier?” I was always a big Andre Ethier believer. First of all, he’s just a tremendously handsome man. Look at him. The deep, dark eyes, the flawless olive skin, the rakish stubble, the thick, curly hair–it’s like he stepped off the cover of a romance novel, into the batter’s box and, one hopes, into my bedroom. But if I just went off my own memory, I’d have rated Ethier as one of the 10 greatest hitters of all time, just because he seemed to kill the Phillies. I have no idea what his career numbers against the Phillies are, but he had, like, six big hits against them from 2008-10 or so, and even if he’d struck out literally every other time he’d faced Phillies pitching, I’d have still remembered him as a Phillie-killer. So can he help the Phillies? Probably, but only because Delmon Young, Laynce Nix and John Mayberry are so awful. Ethier is a player whose value is bound up entirely in his bat and exaggerated by traditional statistics, who is signed to a contract that would never have been team-friendly if it ran over any term of his career, and which is hilariously rich now considering that he’s declining pretty quickly. In short, that makes him precisely the kind of player the Phillies would acquire. @shame_c: “Estimated date of RAJ’s termination?” When was Judgment Day in the movie…August 29, 1997. Guys, we’re just going to have to accept that Ruben Amaro‘s not going anywhere for several years. Like I’ve said, he thinks (or at least he says he thinks) that this team can still win a  title as currently constituted, and he can’t start the rebuild to which he is, by the unwritten rules of hiring and firing baseball ops execs, entitled. Not until this team has been so thoroughly scuttled that no amount of wish fulfillment or brazen mendacity can hide the fact that this te

The Phils take on Bryce Harper and the Washington Nationals this weekend The Phillies haven't been the only team bitten by extremely low run support this season. The Nats just returned to Washington from a 4-6 West Coast road trip to play the Phillies this weekend. We've all known about the Phillies inability to score well with Cole Hamels on the mound this season, the Phils have a Runs Scored average of 2.80 when Cole is on the mound, which is tied for 9th on the MLB. The Washington Nationals have been scoring worse for Stephen Strasburg, they've only been able to support Strasburg with 2.60 run support on average per start, which is tied for 5th worst in the majors. Both Cole Hamels and Stephen Strasburg will face each other as they are starting Sunday's game in DC. The Nats have been floating back to earth kind of quickly lately, they are only 1 game above .500 as we start this weekend series, and the Phillies can suddenly help themselves really nicely should they do really well in this series. The Washington Nationals are only 1 game above the Phillies, and the Atlanta Braves still have a nice 4 1/2 game lead on the Nationals. So it will be good to do well in this series, the Phillies could find themselves in 2nd place after the weekend. The Nationals have a terrible team batting average, they are 29th out of 30 teams in the majors, the Phillies though are above them with the 16th spot in the majors in relationship to team BA. Kyle Kendrick and Jordan Zimmermann face off in this first game of the Phillies / Nationals series down in Washington D.C. Home Run Hitters The league leader in home runs is now Chris Davis with the Baltimore Orioles with 15, Miguel Cabrera and Justin Upton both have 14 in second place. Ryan Howard has not found his swing yet this year, he is stalled at 6 HR, even 40 year old Raul Ibanez has more home runs for Seattle with 8 so far this year The DL is filling up with Phillies The DL is home to three good players on the team now: Roy Halladay is out until late summer at the earliest. Carlos Ruiz is out for a few more weeks. Chase Utley just went on the DL, he could be out two weeks.

May 17, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee (33) celebrates with manager Charlie Manuel (41) after defeating the Cincinnati Reds at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies defeated the Reds 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports The Phillies are giving me bipolar disorder. One day I think they’ve got a shot at competing in the National League East, given how they’re still just 5 1/2 games behind Atlanta and only one game behind Washington, are 14-10 in their last 24 games, and one game under .500, at 23-24. They’re still in the conversation in the NL East. The next day I think they have no chance, as evidenced by the parade of former All-Stars either already on the disabled list – Roy Halladay, John Lannan, Carlos Ruiz, Mike Adams, and Chase Utley – or guys who are currently hurt, namely Ryan Howard, with a run differential that indicates their record should be much worse than it is (-31, 4th worst in the NL), and an offense that clearly has had its problems. If you look at it analytically, the Phils are still in the hunt. But if you use your eyes, this team does not have a prayer at winning the World Series this year. I’m a confused and scared mess right now, guys. And I’m not alone. The baseball community is a bit mixed up as to what the Phillies should do in the next couple months. Some, like ESPN’s Dave Schoenfield, think the Phils will be buyers. Others, like CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman, Sports Illustrated’s Jay Jaffe and Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, think the Phillies will be sellers. “My guess is this is not a contender,” Rosenthal said in his online video blog. “And if the Phillies are not a contender, then they have to do for the second straight season something  that they don’t really want to do, and that’s deconstruct. Cliff Lee, Michael Young, you can go right down the line, Jonathan Papelbon. I can name virtually any Phillie and at least the Phillies could entertain the idea of maybe getting rid of some of these guys. “Now, you’re not going to get a ton of talent for Cliff Lee when he has so much money left on his contract, but you could pick up a number of those dollars and perhaps make it work that way. Clearing the money alone would be useful to the Phillies for the future, getting young talent would be even better.” There’s no doubt the Phils are going to be the most interesting team to watch as the trade deadline approaches. And if you listen to Ruben Amaro, it sounds like a decision on whether to double down on 2013 or punt for the future, could be coming sooner rather than later. “We still have good players,” Amaro told MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki. “We just haven’t put it all together yet for whatever reason. They haven’t gotten going offensively in particular. We still think that they can, but they haven’t. The real question is: How long can you wait? Right now, we’re willing to wait, because no one is crazy and running away with it. We’re willing to wait, and how long we’ll wait is a decision I’ll have to make. Right now, I view us as buyers.” Within that statement is the key question. How long can you wait? When it comes to their most tradeable stars, the Phillies are going to have to wait. Utley and Ruiz are both on the DL, so no one is going to touch either of those guys with a 10-foot pole until they come back and prove they’re healthy and productive. Roy Halladay would have been a commodity for some, but his broken shoulder rendered that moot. And while Michael Young and Delmon Young are both free agents after the year and would likely be on the block should the Phils sell, neither player costs very much and would bring back much in terms of talent, so there is no urgency to trade either of them in the next week or two. Of course, there is the walking trade rumor Cliff Lee, who

There were five games yesterday and five topics today. That is known as symmetry. On today’s agenda: 1. Chase Utley to the 15-day disabled list 2. An update on Mark Teixeira 3. Jered Weaver may return next week 4. Quick take on Kevin Gausman 5. Zack Wheeler: Three weeks away? Chase Utley to the 15-day disabled list While Chase Utley is certainly no stranger to the DL, he was reintroduced to it again yesterday with an oblique strain. The move is being made retroactive to May 21 and the Philadelphia Phillies are calling it a “very mild” Grade 1 strain, Utley may return as soon as June 5. With seven home runs and five steals, Utley was enjoying another productive season, at least while he was healthy enough to play. If one is looking to buy low, then now is the chance. There is good potential that an Utley owner, already harboring doubts regarding Utley’s health in the preseason, has now become fed up. Test the trade waters, as when he is healthy, Utley is almost a top five fantasy second baseman. An update on Mark Teixeira After hitting in simulated games as well as spending time in extended spring training, it appears as though Mark Teixeira may be starting his rehab assignment at Double-A as soon as Tuesday. Just last week Teixeira mentioned that he felt good enough to return to the majors by June 1, however he may miss that optimistic date by a few days. He isn’t the Tex of years past, however he is still a solid hitter in a very good home park. Don’t sleep on him, as he could still provide solid counting numbers for the rest of the season. Jered Weaver may return next week Weekly leaguers take note that Jered Weaver could return in the middle of of next week. Whether or note Weaver returns earlier or later in the week depends on how his bullpen session goes this weekend. Though a certain author has noted doubt regarding Weaver’s fantasy value going forward, Weaver has not pitched his way out off of fantasy radars just yet. A gambling man (or gal) may roll the dice and make a move for Weaver, however the prudent thing would be to take a wait-and-see approach. Whether or not to start him twice this week depends on how the reports sound from his upcoming bullpen session. Quick take on Kevin Gausman This won’t read as a real scouting report, but wow, this kid has a cannon. Despite some surname pronunciation difficulties, watch Gausman strikeout Edwin Encarnacion on a 97 mph fastball for Gausman’s first major league strikeout. Grabbing Gausman now wouldn’t be too soon. As Cistulli cataloged in yesterday’s Daily Notes, Gausman certainly has strong fantasy appeal. One can find Gausman available in over 70% of both Yahoo! and ESPN leagues and 40% of CBS formats. Zack Wheeler: Three weeks away? Certain reports are placing Zack Wheeler a mere three weeks away with June 12 as his potential major league debut. After receiving a cortisone injection last week for mild inflammation in his right (throwing) AC joint, Wheeler has already made one start. He lasted five innings and only struck out two for the day, but for the season he has a 2.45 strikeout to walk ratio. Wheeler has struggled with the long ball, however given the context that most of the PCL — and especially Reno, his home park — is a launching pad, it is hard to read too much into his elevated home run tally. Wheeler should be free to own in over half of CBS leagues, 80% of Yahoo! leagues, and over 95% of ESPN formats. If one happens to be deciding between Gasuman and Wheeler, lean Gasuman for now, as at least he will give you numbers for now.

As always, basics first. Clarkin is a 6' 2" 190 lb Left Handed Pitcher from San Diego, CA. He is a commit to University of San Diego (that had a crazy good recruiting class that will likely lose many to the First Round). For his repetoire, Clarkin currently has a potentially plus Fastball, a potentially average to plus Changeup, and a flat out filthy Curve that has plus-plus potential. Scouting reports are somewhat mixed as some think he's maxed out physically for his frame and others think he can add 15-20 pounds and gain 2 or 3 MPH on his fastball. That's a huge difference. A guy with his fastball in the upper 80's/low 90's probably maxes out as a #2 Starter. A Lefty with a Fastball typically working at 95 and maxing out at 97-98 mph is almost certainly an Ace and one of the best starters in baseball (assuming improvement in his other 2 pitches and development of a show me pitch). So what does this kid look like? Let's go to the video. Lots of effort in the video below from Perfect Game. The high leg kick looks familiar and the high hand placement scouts like as it improves his deception. He throws from what looks to be a 3/4 arm slot and his mechanics look a little inconsistent, which has also been noted by scouts. It's not anything scouts seem to see as a red flag, more just minor tweaks to iron out those differences. Otherwise, this is a bad angle video and you can't see any pitch movement, so on to the next video. This is another Bullpen Banter video. We can see better here that, much like Rob Kaminsky, Clarkin comes down with his foot to the first base side of the mound and throws across his body a bit. Sometimes his foot points toward the first base line and he sometimes hops at the end of his delivery. Those foot turns should be a minor fix, though he'll likely keep throwing across his body some. Here's an older Bullpen Banter video of him from the Perfect Game All America game last summer. This is largely more ofthe same as above, but it can be fun to watch what these kids do, in the event you draft one of them. So what does this all come down to? Well scouting reports uniformly praise his Curve, note he may have an above average Fastball and his changeup is pretty advanced for a High Schooler. His control is inconsistent (mostly due to equally inconsistent mechanics). Anytime there's a question about mechanics and control problems, well some of those guys never figure it out, even for minor fixes. His ceiling is somewhere between Cole Hamels and Jon Niese (quite the range). He's either maxed out physically, or he'll grow 15-20 lbs. If his ceiling really is Hamels, I'd take him mid-teens, sure. If he's Niese? Meh, I'd rather go for a high risk guy and hope for the best. Perfect Game Profile Big League Futures Scouting Report

The real question concerning the Phillies is no longer what will happen to them this season. That much is pretty clear. They needed a lot to go right in order to contend again, and a whole lot more has gone wrong. They needed to catch lightning in a bottle one more time, and instead the season has turned into a Molotov cocktail that will explode in their hands sooner than later.

Shane Victorino is looking forward to making his Citizens Bank Park return Wednesday with the Red Sox.