Philadelphia Phillies

It seemed like only a matter of time before this happened. Reliever Mike Adamswas placed on the disabled list with a right mid-back strain today. The move is retroactive to May 11. To take his place on the Phillies' 25-man roster, catcher Humberto Quintero was called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. That move tells me that Carlos Ruiz will either be out for at least a few days because of his strained right hamstring or may even go on the disabled list. Ruiz left after the second inning of Sunday's game when he hurt it on his way to third base. Another roster move will have to be made to accommodate Tyler Cloyd, who has been pegged to start Tuesday's game in Miami. Although Cloyd has not be activated yet, he was in Philadelphia on Sunday and flew with the team that night to Florida. That's when Ruiz might be sent to the DL. Adams is eligible to come off the DL on Sunday. We also are still waiting for official word about Ruiz's MRI and Ryan Howard's (left knee) MRI. Both had MRIs this morning. To fill Quintero's spot with the IronPigs, the club promoted catcher Justin Dalles from Class-A Lakewood.

Remember that time this season when everything was going right for the Phillies? It was, like, 24 hours ago.  For about 20 minutes.  It was starting with Erik Kratz’s home run and after all the post game shows ended following Freddy Galvis’ home run.  Let’s take a trip back to that magical time in our lives. May 19, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies catcher Erik Kratz (31) celebrates his home run in the ninth inning against the Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman (54) at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies defeated the Reds, 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports May 19, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman (54) reacts after giving up home run to Philadelphia Phillies catcher Erik Kratz (31) (not [pictured) in the ninth inning at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies defeated the Reds, 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports May 19, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia second baseman Freddy Galvis (13) celebrates his walk off home run \with Philadelphia Phillies third base coach Ryne Sandberg (23) in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies defeated the Reds, 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports May 19, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies catcher Erik Kratz (31) and second baseman Freddy Galvis (13) celebrate their back-to-back home runs in the ninth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies defeated the Reds, 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports May 19, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia second baseman Freddy Galvis (13) celebrates his walk off home run with his teammates in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies defeated the Reds, 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports Good times. Chooch will be out 3-4 weeks with a grade two hamstring strain. The club has already put Humberto Quintero in a Phillies uniform and made the corresponding farm system shifts (Congratulations Justin Dalles for leaping from Lakewood to Lehigh, at least for a few weeks!) Ryan Howard has been labeled “day-to-day.”  A doctor injected some cortisone into him.  We’re not entirely sure which “days” they’re talking about but Howard will be available for those, I guess.

Phils fans braced for the worst and came away with a pair of “phews”. Carlos Ruiz will miss just 3-4 weeks with a strained hamstring while Ryan Howard is day-to-day with a “bum knee“. Ruiz has seen action in 16 games since returning from his 25-game suspension and has struggled, striking out an uncharacteristically high 16.1%, walking an uncharacteristically low 5.4%, and hitting just .235/.286/.275 in 56 PA. Ruiz left yesterday’s game in the second inning after hearing a pop in his leg. The injury was initially described as a hamstring strain. Catcher Humberto Quintero joined the team today in Miami, filling the roster spot vacated by Mike Adams‘ trip to the DL. Howard, as reported this morning, has been amongst the worst first baseman in baseball in 2013, ranking 26th in fWAR among first baseman who would qualify for the batting title and 49th among the pool of every player to play first base this year. The lefty-slugger and former MVP is hitting just .245/.282/.430 with just 6 HR in 163 PA. Howard received a cortisone shot yesterday and will see how he responds to it. Analysis: Will it be a blessing in disguise to having Howard out? I’m not sure I would go that far but I will say this: it is difficult to be a less-statistically relevant first baseman than Howard has been this year. Any combination of Michael Young and Darin Ruf will provide an upgrade in production over what this Ryan Howard has provided. What I won’t do is write Ryan Howard off yet – yes, he has been a declining player who has not executed the proper adjustments to remain an elite player since 2009 but it is entirely plausible that this most recent dip in production has come due to injury.

Lots of injury news the last week. Mike Adams just placed on the DL, Quintero up but Chooch stays on the active roster, as does Howard, after both had MRIs on Sunday. Halladay had surgery last week and could optimistically begin throwing before the end of June, (6-8 weeks was the timetable). Also my arm hurts. I blame holding an iPhone for too many hours a day, and I blame Ruben Amaro.

Philadelphia Phillies (21-23) vs. Florida Marlins (12-32) LHP Cole Hamels (1-6, 4.61 ERA) v. RHP Alex Sanabia (2-6, 5.00 ERA) TIME: 7:10, Marlins Park TV: Comcast SportsNet Weather: 78, mostly cloudy Media: Twitter and Facebook On Monday night in Miami, Cole Hamels will get his third crack at the Marlins lineup this year.  It has been a disappointing 2013 for the Phillies left-hander, and no starts epitomize his misfortune quite like the first two he’s made against the Fish.  Hamels has pitched 14 innings against Miami, giving up only one earned run, seven hits and three walks.  In those 14 innings – 13 of which came against rookie sensation Jose Fernandez – the Phillies offense was dormant, scoring zero runs for Hamels and leaving him with an 0-1 record despite a microscopic ERA. To be fair, Hamels’ ERA for the year is an unacceptable 4.61, well above his career mark of 3.39.  He needs to be better.  After getting rocked in his first two starts, Hamels put together six consecutive quality starts and looked to be back on track, despite going 1-3 over that stretch due to the aforementioned lack of run support.  But he struggled again last week against the Indians, surrendering five earned runs.  Unable to put Cleveland hitters away, Cole ran too many deep counts and the result was 106 pitches in only five innings of work.  Hopefully facing a Miami lineup that is last in baseball in runs will help him return to the form that warranted a six-year, $144 million contract extension last summer. Lucky for Hamels, the Phillies hitters won’t have to face Fernandez again until Tuesday night.  On Monday, they get Alex Sanabia who – surprise, surprise – also has had success against the Phils, with a 2.45 ERA in two career starts.  Ryan Howard and Carlos Ruiz are both out of the lineup as the team awaits the results of their MRIs.  This gives Phillies fans another look at Freddy Galvis who, after his Sunday afternoon walk-off home run, has an incredible OPS of .864 (he posted a .617 OPS in 190 at-bats last season).  With seven games against the Nationals and Red Sox looming, the Phillies need to take care of business in South Florida. Lineup: Rollins SS, Revere CF, M. Young 1B, Utley 2B, Brown LF, D. Young RF, Galvis 3B, Kratz C, Hamels P GAMEDAY BEER: Landshark Courtesy of Ryan Dinger:  Typically I like to pick a craft beer for these, but the Marlins always remind me of Margaritaville’s Landshark. Partly because of the state of Florida and its tropical climate, but mainly because Landshark Stadium was the name of their former home in their last season there. Landshark is an Island Lager without a lot of flash. It is, in essence, a much-improved version of Corona. Easy on the eyes and even easier on the pallet, Landshark is a beer ideal for a lager fan looking for a quality beer without an overly complex taste. It will compliment literally anything you want to have to eat with it. - RD

UPDATE, 4:38 PM: According to CSN’s Jim Salisbury, Mike Adams will throw Thursday and Saturday in Clearwater, hoping to be active Monday in Boston. ———- Mike Adams has officially hit the disabled list with a right back strain. The move is retroactive to May 11, the day after last time he pitched, so he’s eligible to come off the DL on Sunday. Adams, 34, hasn’t been the same Mike Adams, but he actually hasn’t been terrible. He’s 1-3 with a 3.00 ERA, but his walking batters at the highest rate of his career, 3.6-per-9. Although he is putting more men on, he’s striking out 11.4-per-9, also a career high. It remains to be seen if Adams is still dealing with the lingering effects of offseason surgery. Thoracic outlet syndrome kept Adams in pain all of last season, then forced him to have a rib removed. After Carlos Ruiz pulled up lame in yesterday’s win over the Reds, Humberto Quintero has gotten the call from Lehigh Valley. That almost assures you Chooch will see the DL, as well. We also await news on Ryan Howard from Miami.

From IronPigs Media Director Matt Provence, catcher Justin Dalles has been promoted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley from Lakewood. Dalles, 24, is a 6’2 right-handed catcher who has the distinction of being one of only a handful of players ever to be drafted four times. The final occasion Dalles was drafted was as a sixth rounder in 2009 by the Baltimore Orioles, whose farm system was led by current farm director Joe Jordan. When I spoke to Joe Jordan in January at the Reading Fightins awards banquet, I asked if the recently-signed Dalles had a chance to compete for a starting role in the organization. Jordan responded by identifying Dalles as a player to watch this year in the Phillies’ minor league ranks. Dalles has an athletic frame behind the plate and a strong throwing arm – he has thrown out 31% of the runners that have attempted to steal on him professionally. He has hit only .228/.293/.334 across his minor league career, but excels at finding gaps with doubles. Dalles is anticipated to be Steven Lerud‘s back-up while Humberto Quintero fills in for Carlos Ruiz with the Phillies and Tommy Joseph recovers from a concussion.

With two swings on Sunday, the Phillies earned a thrilling win reminiscent of the 2008-11 period and some positive momentum heading into an eight-game road trip. Aroldis Chapman was the fourth closer the Phillies have tied the game against or beaten in the ninth inning this season. It was the third time in two weeks (Sergio Romo, Heath Bell). A win brought them to within two games of .500, and they have a chance to go over .500 for the...

The Riversharks will be home for the next 8 days during the Phillies’ road trip, so if you want to see some live baseball, hit up Campbell’s Field. Like I said last week, I love that park. A bit of advice though: if you are going to catch a night game, you may want to sit along the third base line because while the right side of the park provides you with a great view of the game, Philly, and the Ben Franklin Bridge, the sun will be in your eyes for the first few innings. The 2012 Atlantic League Champion Long Island Ducks will play the first four games – Tonight through Thursday, with Tuesday being a morning game that I will likely be attending. Friday will begin a four game wraparound series against the York Revolution. Dontrelle has been pitching well for the Ducks so far this year – he got the win last night, which is great for him, but not for my camera. I love to shoot guys like Willis, players like him make it easy for me. If he’s on the field, just keep the camera on him and something worth shooting will happen. Unfortunately, his rotation spot won’t come up while the Ducks are at Campbell’s Field this time around – but that’s cool, because none other than Burt Reynolds will be there, playing every game! That’s right. Burt Reynolds, the Riversharks’ outfielder from the Dominican Republic will be playing, and likely starting every game. So buy your tickets! For every game!

Like all of us, Dom Brown is from somewhere. May 19, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies left fielder Domonic Brown (9) makes a sliding catch in the sixth inning at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies defeated the Reds, 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports Unlike your somewhere, Dom’s is home to the person who just won the Powerball. “Holy ***t!” Dom did not exclaim.  ”I honestly can’t even process this right now.  I just… wow.  To hear the name of the place you’re from on the news, in relation to a stranger who lives there winning the Powerball, is above and beyond one of my greatest accomplishments as a Major League Baseball player.” “Damn,” Dom continued without a delirious chuckle.  ”Ha ha wow.” It was the Publix super market that sold the winning $590.5 million ticket, sending Zephyrhills’ recently richest citizen into a whole new world. No word yet on whether Dom know the person or cares about the Powerball because he’s a pro ball player, but there was confirmation that he has shopped at this particular supermarket. “I feel like I won the money, in a way,” Dom continued not saying.  ”I almost feel like maybe I’m owed a little of that money.  Or like, a lot of it.  Ha ha ha.  I’m joking.  But maybe I should get some though.”