It is still unsure of how badly closer Brad Lidge is injured; however, today on MLB Network Radio on Satellite Charlie Manuel said, "I’m probably looking at maybe All-Star break, or… just before that".
This coming after Ruben Amaro Jr. said the injury would hold Lidge out for 3-6 weeks with a rotator cuff strain.
Ryan Howard is engaged
According to Randy Miller, Ryan Howard is now engaged to his girlfriend of three years, Eagles Cheerleader (and school teacher) Krystal Campbell.
We would like to congratulate the couple on their engagement.
It's no wonder why Howard is off to a hot start of the season, she must have said yes.
After the Phillies Spring Training loss to the Pirates, they announced the final Opening Day roster. Normally cuts would be made the day before Opening Day but the Phillies wasted no time with the announcement.
Earlier today the Phillies announced the release of 2B Luis Castillo, meaning that Wilson Valdez was going to be the Opening Day second baseman and Rule 5 Pick Mike Martinez made the team; leaving the final bench spot a competition between Pete Orr and Delwyn Young.
The Phillies announced that Pete Orr made the team with Young being sent to the minors. A reason why Orr made the team is because of his ability to play third base. Manuel is still worried about the elbow of Polanco so he wanted the depth there at third as well as second.
The Phillies also announced that David Herndon and Antonio Bastardo earned the final two bullpen spots, with Stutes being sent to Triple A.
Phillies roster now looks like this:
Pitchers:
Bullpen: Danys Baez, Antonio Bastardo, Jose Contrares, David Herndon, Kyle Kendrick, Brad Lidge (DL), Ryan Madson, J.C. Romero, and Brian Schlitter (DL)
Starters: Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton
Fielders:
Catchers: Carlos Ruiz, Brian Schnieder
Infielders: Ryan Howard, Wilson Valdez, Jimmy Rollins, Placido Polanco, Pete Orr, Michael Martinez, Brian Bocock (DL), and Chase Utley (DL)
Outfielders: Ben Francisco, Shane Victorino, Raul Ibanez, John Mayberry Jr, Ross Gload, Domonic Brown (DL).
The Phillies also announced that Utley, Lidge, Brown, Bocock & Schlitter will start the season on the DL.
Jimmy Rollins will lead off on Saturday with the lineup (NOT OFFICIAL, THIS IS MY GUESS!) looking like: Victorino CF, Polanco 3B, Rollins SS, Howard 1B, Ibanez LF, Francisco RF, Carlos Ruiz C, Wilson Valdez 2B, Roy Halladay P
Heading into this season this Phillies team was the second oldest team in Franchise history. Age leads to injury. We all knew Chase Utley has had his problems so far during Spring Training. Now add Closer Brad Lidge with his bicep issue and third baseman Placido Polanco who hyper-extended his elbow yesterday. Injury after injury have affected this team already and we haven't started the season yet ... but it's a long way to go.
These injuries right now are minor injuries that these players can come back from (Utley's injury is TBD).
No need to push the panic button just yet, but Matt Gelb of the Inquirer tends to think along the same side as me. You could pick any position in the infield and match an injury to it. Gelb points out: "First base: ankle. Second base: knee. Shortstop: calf. Third base: elbow."
Manuel has downplayed the injuries by saying, "I don't worry about that. Seriously. They're not trying to get hurt. If I'm worried about everybody getting hurt . . . I don't have time for that."
At this point we are 16 days away from Opening Day. Our offense is still a little depleted, but we still have a top rotation in baseball. Yes there will be injuries along the way, but there were injuries last season for the Phillies, who still had the best record in baseball.
He is the President of a Major League Baseball team. Not just any team but his hometown team, the Philadelphia Phillies.
David Montgomery, who grew up in Roxborough, PA just outside of Philadelphia, was born and raised in Philadelphia. He grew up watching the local professional Philadelphia teams play.
He graduated from William Penn Charter High School, went to University of Pennsylvania. He started working for the Phillies some 30 years ago.
Phillies president, David Montgomery, speaks at a press conference four years ago.
On Tuesday, January 25th, 2011 he spoke a capacity crowd at Springfield Township High School in Erdenhiem, PA. He was a featured speaker in a “Local Gems” program that the Township runs, highlighting local celebrities and famous people who have made an impact on the township and the community.
Montgomery spoke about his job as President of the Phillies, and what his job entitles. As well as spoke about what makes this franchise unique. Fan support, as Montgomery stated during his discussion, has helped the franchise become successful both on and off the field.
“The players can ‘feel’ the fans,” Montgomery stated and continued, “One of the things that Cliff Lee mentioned was the fact that the fans don’t need a teleprompter to get loud.”
He said the players notice the fans, and notice that they travel well. Whether it’s as many Phillies as Nationals fans in D.C. or Phillies fans out west, everywhere they go, the team always sees Phillies fans, Montgomery stated.
“It’s that passion for sports in Philadelphia,” he said. “Whether it’s at home or on the road or even at Spring Training at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Phillies fans travel excellently.”
After Montgomery finished his talk and the Question/Answer segment, he was kind enough to sit down with me to answer some questions.
BM: “What’s the deal with [Jamie] Moyer? Do you know what his plans are?”
DM: As you know, he recently had Tommy John Surgery on his left arm. He is going to rehab as if he is going to pitch again, just not this season… in 2012. Of course he will be age 50. He would also like to expand into broadcasting if he can not pitch again as well as help the expansion of his charity, Camp Erin into 25 major league cities (cities with at least one MLB team).
BM: “Tell me about this Scoreboard upgrade”
DM: In ‘04 when Citizens Bank Park first opened it was only Standard Definition, since no one even thought about High Def. But if would of waited until ‘06, it would have been High Definition. It got to the point where the SD Scoreboard became too much to operate and service, thus the upgrade.
BM: “Your thoughts on the right field situation with Werth leaving”
DM: As you know, we made an offer to Werth. It was a three year with an option for a fourth year. He obviously left. But we feel that given the proper at bats, Ben Francisco can become a more significant hitter with more at bats. Of course, there is Dom Brown who is also going to play a big part. We also have a AAA prospect in John Mayberry as a right-handed bat, and of course we can use [Ross] Gload for Werth’s production with the bat.
BM: “Alright, how about your thoughts on Joe Blanton”
DM: Blanton is going to be the fifth starter. We are just fine with Blanton as our fifth starter or whoever else it made be: Kendrick or Worley.
More of the Q&A with Montgomery is located on the Team to Beat’s website.
Phillies Moment # 8 July 29th – Roy Oswalt acquisition
A lot of Phillies fans were not happy after Ruben Amaro admitted that the Phillies could have kept Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay this season; so an offseason move to improve the starting pitching was inevitable.
Enter Roy Oswalt. The right hander suffered very poor run support and entered with a 6-12 record, but a very good 3.42 ERA. Little did anyone in the Phillies organization that Oswalt would be even better than that – way better.
His first start was rough giving up a bunch of runs and losing to the lowly Nationals, but since then Oswalt was unbeatable. In total he went 7-1 for the Phillies with a miniscule 1.74 ERA while holding opponents to a .186 Batting average. He gave up 2 earned runs or less in 9 of his 12 starts overall for the Phillies and solidified what was already a solid rotation with Cole Hamels and Roy Halladay.
Phillies Moment # 7 July 8th- 11th – Phillies’ 3 Consecutive Walk-Offs Against Reds Highlight 4-Game Sweep
The Phillies came off of a 2-5 stretch to face the Cincinnati Reds at Citizens Bank Park. However, the Phillies weren’t about to let the first place Reds continue their cold streak.
The following night, more of the same. Although this comeback may have been just a bit more memorable. The Phillies trailed 7-1 going into the 9th inning and things look grim against the tough Reds’ bullpen.
However, as we have said all year, the Phillies refused to go away. Greg Dobbs hit a monster 3-run homer after a Ryan Howard RBIto continue the scoring to make it 7-5. After a walk to pinch hitter Ben Francisco, pinch hitter Cody Ransom hit an opposite field homer to tie the game at 7!See Highlights hereThe drama didn’t end there when Ryan Homered homered off of Arthur Rhodes for the Phillies second straight walk-off victory.
In the third game, Reds’ rookie Travis Wood had a perfect game into the 9th inning against the Phillies until Carlos Ruiz broke it up with a double. Thankfully for the Phillies, Roy Halladay pitched brilliantly and the game ended in a 0-0 tie after 9 innings.
The Phillies had chances in the 9th and 10th, but failed to scored. However, when Jimmy Rollins stepped to the plate with a pair of runners on, he delivered in the clutch with an RBI single that scored Carlos Ruiz giving the Phillies a third straight win in walk-off fashion over the Reds.
In the final game of the series and the last before the All-Star break, Cole Hamels outdueled Matt Maloney to give the Phillies a momentum boosting 4-game sweep of the Reds.
Phillies Moment # 6 Sept 2nd – Phillies Comeback in Slugfest to Beat Rockies in Make Up Game
In what was one of the most memorable comebacks this year, but not the last on this countdown, the Phillies traveled to Coors Field for a make-up game against the Colorado Rockies.
The Phillies were down 7-3 when they started a historical 9-run 7th inning which included homers by Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, andwas capped off by a grand slam from Chase Utley. The three bombers in the Phillies lineup took their hacks at a strong Rockies’ bullpen and the Phillies’ bullpen hung on to win the game 12-11.
It was a major moment in the season as the Phillies and Braves were fighting for the division; just 5 days later, the Phillies would beat the Marlins and move back into first place in the NL East for good this season.
Look for Moments #8-6 tomorrow!
Until we meet again Phillies fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
When Ruben Amaro made the move to acquire Mike Sweeney from the Mariners it showed that he was not giving up on this team. The acquisition of first baseman Mike Sweeney helps the Phillies in a replacement for Howard while on the DL and gives the Phillies a right handed bat off the bench, something they really needed.
Sweeney is expected to start at first base while Howard is on the DL, but expect him to platoon with Ross Gload (left handed bat).
With the Mariners in 2010, Sweeney was batting .263 with 6 HR, 18 RBI, and 11 Runs. Sweeney was placed on the 15 Day DL on June 26, 2010 with Back Spasms and was traded because the Mariners are top heavy at 1B/DH types.
The Phillies traded a player to be named later and/or cash considerations for Sweeney.
On Tuesday, Ryan Howard was placed on the 15 Day DL after an injury from Sunday’s game versus the Nationals. Howard lead the Phillies in Home Runs (23) and RBI (81). His batting average (.292) is the fourth best on the team (behind Polanco, Ruiz, and Werth). Howard also lead the team in games played (104) before going down with the injury.
With the loss of Ryan Howard, that leaves three (Victorino, Utley, Howard) of the Phillies starters on the DL at the same time.
The Phillies somehow continue to win after the injury bug has completely taken over this team. So far this season all but one position player (Jayson Werth) for the Phillies missed games this season because of an injury.
On Tuesday, Charlie Manuel put together his 68th different lineup this season. Compare that to the 68 lineup combinations that Manuel used in all of 2009. The injury bug has definitely affected the Phillies and their play.
John Mayberry Jr. was called up to replace Howard on the roster. Mayberry has been taking groundballs from first base in Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Utley Watch: Utley took grounders before Tuesday’s game. He even used his right hand (not a full force throw) to throw back to Perlozzi.
If you haven't heard already, Ryan Howard has signed a 5 year extension, worth $125 Million and an option for the 6th year.
I have been hearing all day from different people how Ryan Howard is now overpaid, but, in my opinion, he is not. He will be the top Home Run hitter in the history of the organization, he comes into Spring Training in better shape and less weight, and he continues to get better, in the field and at the plate. Ryan Howard is worth every penny, but it is an ultimate good bye to Jayson Werth.
Before the season began there were rumors that Ryan Howard would be traded for Albert Pujols, which made sense only because at the end of this season the money move would either be Howard or Werth. Now that the Phillies have resigned Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth may not be with the Phillies next season. He is "Werth" a lot of money, about $18 Million. The Phillies are not getting the revenue to cover another big contract like Werth's and they have the depth they need in the outfield in their minor league system and on the bench (Francisco, Mayberry, Brown).
My guess is that Werth will not be here next season, and the Phillies may actually move him at the trade deadline for some pitching help. However, the Phillies Assistant GM was on with WIP host Rob Ellis earlier tonight, and said the Phillies and Werth were in "preliminary talks" on a new contract.
Werth is a great fielder for the Phillies, and one of the most clutch players on the team.
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