Happy 4th of July!

Short one today.  Joey Chestnut won the Hot Dog Eating Contest in a “dog-of” (sudden death match), and there were no “reversals of fortunes” that I saw.

J.A. Happ to Start Tomorrow

J.A. Happ pitching at AA Reading, 2006. Taken by the author.

Comcast SportsNet has announced that the AAA southpaw has been recalled and will be given the ball tomorrow night against the evil Mets. This will be J.A.’s (pronounced “Jay”) second start in the majors. He pitched one game last year going 4 innings, allowing 3 earned runs and struck out 5 batters before being sent back down to AAA Ottawa following the game.

Happ, a third round selection in the ‘04 draft, has slowly pitched his way up the organizational ladder, starting with then Rookie affiliate Batavia Muckdogs. Perhaps his best season came in 2005, when he pitched for both Low-A Lakewood BlueClaws and AA Reading Phillies (for only one start). He had a record of 5-4 (getting the win in Reading), a combined ERA of 2.30, combined WHIP of 1.13, 78 strikeouts (eight coming from Reading), and only 28 walks in 78.1 innings.

Happ has been a constant success for the Iron Pigs this season, where success is often hard to find. He owns a record of 5 wins and 6 losses, an ERA of 3.54, 1.27 WHIP, 104 strikeouts (one more than Mets’ starter Johan Santana, by the way), and 38 walks, all in 101.2 innings. He has easily been the ace of the staff. He is the team leader in K’s, second in wins (one behind leader Brian Mazone), sixth in ERA (well behind team leader Stephen Randolph) and WHIP (only .1 points away from Mazone), but is also tied for staff-lead in walks surrendered with Travis Blackley.

TRIVIA SECTION
This is a new thing I’ve decided to do. I’m going to ask a trivia question on every post (hopefully–you guys know how I am with fulfilling promises). The winner will be the first person the correct answer in the comment section.

How many (and name them) current Phillies played for the previous three AAA franchises (Lehigh Valley, Ottawa, and S/WB) at some point in their career (not necessarily with the Phillies)?

Brett Myers loses Pig Debut

As you may know, Phillies righthander (and former ace) Brett Myers was optioned down to AAA Lehigh Valley this week. His first AAA start since 2002 resulted in a loss to the Keystone State rivals Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees. Here’s the official news report, courtesy ironpigsbaseball.com:

Brett Myers allowed just three runs on five hits in his first start as a member of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs but the home team suffered a 5-3 setback against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees on Wednesday night. While the length of his time in the Lehigh Valley remains unclear, Myers is expected to take the mound again for Lehigh Valley on Monday, July 7 against Louisville Bats. The Phillies’ Opening Day starter took the loss but looked extremely sharp during his 5.0 inning stint against the second-place Yankees.

The right-hander only allowed two hits over the first four innings of the game. After allowing a lead off double to Yankees 1B Eric Duncan (Ed.’s note: No longer a prospect) in the 2nd, Myers struck out the next two batters he faced and got RF Greg Porter (Not a prospect, either) to ground out to strand the runner in scoring position. At one point, the former 14-game winner retired nine Yankees in a row using his breaking ball primarily as his out pitch.

Brandon Watson gave the latest addition to the IronPigs starting rotation a run in the 4th by drilling his first home run of the season against Scranton/WB starter Jeff Karstens (prospect). It was his first blast since July 23, 2007 in Norfolk while a member of the Columbus Clippers. The Lehigh Valley LF had gone 383 at-bats between homers over the last two seasons.

Myers’ lead though however, would not last more than a half inning as he allowed three runs on a trio of hits in the Yankees’ half of the 5th inning. JD Closser (NP) led off with a walk and would then reach third on a passed ball and a throwing error by Jason Jaramillo. Porter then delivered a single through the pulled in infield to tie the game at 1-1. Justin Christian (NP) then laced a double to right that put two runners in scoring position with only one out in the inning.

Chris Basak (NP) would then drop a softly hit ball into shallow left that gave Scranton/WB their first lead of the game and the visitors still had a speedy runner in Christian standing at third. The centerfielder’s quickness came into play when Myers’ uncorked a wild pitch that got away from Jaramillo and allowed Christian to come home and make it a 3-1 Yankees advantage. The former Phillies closer would retire the next two batters on fly balls and would not come out for the 6th after a 100-pitch outing.

Mike Cervenak helped Lehigh Valley pull to within one in the 6th on single to left to score Rich Thompson who had a ground rule double to center and a stolen base in the frame. Cervenak also stole his 5th base of the season in the inning but was stranded in scoring position after Karstens struck out Andy Tracy and Jon Knott to keep it a 3-2 game.

Then poor defense pushed Lehigh Valley even farther behind as Christian stole a pair of bases in the 7th and then scored on Jaramillo’s second throwing error of the ballgame. A similar play happened in the 8th with Jason Lane (NP) who walked and then took second on a base on balls issued to Duncan. On ball four to Duncan, reliever Stephen Randolph threw a wild pitch and the veteran Lane took off and headed to third base. Jaramillo then over threw Cervenak at the hot corner and Lane trotted home to make it a 5-2 Scranton lead.

The Lehigh Valley catcher tried to atone for his mistakes in the field by pounding an RBI double in the 9th that scored Knott from first base. But Yanks’ lefty Billy Traber retired Oscar Robles and Mike Rouse to end the game and hand the IronPigs their fifth straight loss against their in-state rivals.

Two Words

Gavin Floyd.

Inaugural Phillies.tk Podcast Released

It’s around Seven minutes long. Topics covered include the transactions for the week (JRoll and Snelling to the DL, and the replacements), and what the Phils can do to replace the MVP and Victorino.

Update: Stupid WordPress won’t let me post it here. You’re going to have to go to philliestk.podbean.com to see/hear it (not too difficult), or search for it in the iTunes library. I submitted it today, so it should be available for download in a few days.

Ryan Howard Traded

As reported by Phillies.com:

Former MVP Ryan Howard has been traded today by the club to the  Texas Rangers for RHPs Brennan Garr (expected to start for AA Reading), Thomas Diamond (also expected to start for AA Reading), and Omar Poveda (expected to start for High A Clearwater), LHP Zach Phillips (expected to start at Low A Lakewood), and SS Joaquin Arias (expected to take Howard’s place on the major league roster).  Reportedly, the club has considered Howard to be “overpaid for his value to [the team],” and wants his “cancerous” attitude out of the clubhouse.  When asked who would start at first base in his place, Manager Charlie Manuel replied “Most likely Helms, Feliz, or maybe even Burrell.  The season is still early, and we will get that settled when the time is right.” Later asked what he thought of the trade, Manuel said “I believe Gillick knows what he is doing, and this club is headed in the right direction with this move.”  Also traded today was starting pitcher Adam Eaton, who was sent to the San Francisco Giants for a player to be named later, or cash.”

BA’s Major League Preview Issue Out

The issue has the Phillies ranked second in the division behind the NY Mets, and losing in the first round of the playoffs to the Chicago Cubs as the Wild Card. A few things it has under the team’s listing is Quick Take (which is an overview of the club in the upcoming year), a person in the spotlight, the team’s best player 25 years old and under, top “not quite prospect (” [A] player [who] exceeds his rookie eligibility, but [not yet] a dependable major leaguer.”), top rookie, and the team’s best prospect.

Straight out of the magazine, copied word for word:

Quick Take: The Phillies will score enough runs, and if they can prevent enough, they should win the wild card.

In The Spotlight: RHP Brett Myers. After winning in double digits for four straight year[s], he became a closer last year. Now he’s the No. 2 starter again. (Ed.’s
note: This issue went into print before Manuel named Myers the club’s Opening Day starter, and
thus, #1 pitcher).

Top 25-And-Under Player: LHP Cole Hamels (ranked No. 14 overall).

Top Not-Quite Prospect: RHP Kyle Kendrick (unranked)
Top Rookie: LHP Josh Outman (unranked)

Top Prospect: RHP Carlos Carrasco (No. 54 overall).

————————————————-

Other Predictions

American League

ALDS
Red Sox (East winner) over Indians (Wild Card), and the Tigers (Central winners) over the Angels (West winners).

ALCS
Tigers over Red Sox.

MVP Voting
1- Miguel Cabrera, 3b, DET
2- ARod, 3b, NYY
3- Grady Sizemore, OF, CLE

Cy Young Voting
1- Josh Beckett, BOS
2- Justin Verlander, DET
3- Erik Bedard, SEA

ROY Voting

1- Evan Longoria, 3b, TB (Ed.’s Note: Longoria was optioned down to AAA Durham this week, though it is likely he will be back up later this year).
2- Clay Buchholz, P, BOS
3- Joba Chamberlain, P, NYY

—————————————————————–

National League

NLDS
Cubs (Central winners) over Phillies (Wild Card winners), and the Mets (East winners) over the Diamondbacks (West winners).

NLCS
Mets over Cubs.

MVP Voting
1-D avid Wright, 3b, NYM
2- Prince Fielder, 1b, MIL
3- Mark Teixeira, 1b, ATL

Cy Young Voting
1- Johan, NYM
2- Brandon Webb, ARZ
3- Jake Peavy, SD

ROY Voting
1- Kosuke Fukudome, of, CHC
2- Jay Bruce, of, CIN (Ed.’s Note: Bruce was also optioned down to AAA, but he will be back later. My guarantee).
3- Geovany Soto, c, CHC
———————————-

World Series

Tigers (AL) over Mets (NL).

Next Time:  I will put out my predictions, and compare them to BA.

It’s Fantasy Baseball Time!

Oh, yes readers, it’s the greatest time of year! Last night, I had the first of four fantasy drafts, with the other three on the way. There are 12 people in this league, and a 23-man roster, consisting of 1 catcher, first baseman, second baseman, third baseman, and shortstop, 3 outfielders, 1 utility position, 3 starting pitchers, 3 relievers, 2 regular pitchers, and 6 bench spots. I have named my team after the greatest sports website in the history of man, Phillies.tk. The draft took a little over 2 hours, and here is what my team looks like, with draft round in parentheses:

C Joe Mauer, MIN (5)

1b Paul Konerko, CWS (8 )

2b Brian Roberts, BAL (3)

3b Kevin Youkilis, BOS (13)

SS Michael Young, TX (7)

of Carl Crawford, TB (2)

of Kosuke Fukudome, CHC (11)

of Willy Taveras, COL (16)

u Jim Thome, CWS (9)

—–

sp Johan Santana, NYM (1)
sp Dan Haren, ARZ (6)

sp Fausto Carmona, CLE (10)

rp JJ Putz, SEA (4)

rp Manny Corpas, COL (12)

rp Troy Percival, TB (15)

p Matt Garza, TB (17)

p Brandon Lyon, ARZ (22)
—–

bench Stephen Drew, ARZ (SS) (19)

bench Colby Rasmus, STL (OF) (20)

bench Casey Kotchman, LAA (1b) (21)

bench Chien-Ming Wang, NYY (p) (14)

bench Andy Pettitte, NYY (p) (18 )

bench Gavin Floyd, CWS (p) (23, final).

——-

After Thoughts

I’m ashamed in myself that I drafted more Devil Rays and Mets than Phillies. I also went for pitching early, as evidenced with JJ Putz in the fourth round. Late in the draft, I was looking for several of my sleeper picks, of which I got most of. Rasmus, Lyon, and Floyd were all in my top five sleeper category, and I am excited that I got those three. Rasmus is trying to make the jump from AA to starting CF for the Cardinals, Lyon was given the nod as Dacks closer (no one else in the league seemed to notice that), and Floyd was awarded the fifth spot in the White Sox rotation just hours before my draft had started. The first objective on my list is to get a Phillie on to my team.

Curt Schilling Trade Lines

My PS2 broke (NOOO), so I decided to write. This is another idea I’ve had. I’m going to trace the franchise’s best players, and see what we ended up with. Batting leadoff, is former pitcher Curt Schilling (see his website here, also on WordPress).

Schilling was with the Phillies from 1992 through 2000. We sent him to the Arizona Diamondbacks for 1B Travis Lee, pitchers Omar Daal, Vicente Padilla, and Nelson Figueroa. Travis Lee was only with the team for three seasons, as the unpopular First Baseman left after ‘02 as a free agent to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. So, we got nothing for him. But that’s ok, he was a nobody anyway.

Daal was with the team until November of 2001, when we traded him to the LA Dodgers for minor league pitchers Eric Junge (pronounced like “Young”. It’s German, or something…) and Jesus Cordero. Cordero amounted to nothing, but Junge proved to be a useful commodity. From 2002 through 2004, he was one of the best pitchers on the S/WB Red Barons staff. In 02 and ‘03, he got tastes of the majors, but did not do as well as he did in the minor leagues. I guess you could classify him as a AAAA player. He left after 2004 to the Mets as a free agent.

Jumping back to Schilling, Padilla was the best thing we got out of this trade. He didn’t stick with the Phillies until the 2002 season, when he became the number two starter on the team behind Robert Person. He left the team after 2005, when he was sent to the Rangers for Ricardo Rodriguez, who didn’t make it out of Spring Training that year.

The last player in the deal, Nelson Figueroa, was in the minor leagues for most of 2002 (and all of his Philly stint that year), and pitched only 81 innings for the Phils the next year, before being claimed off waivers by the Milwaukee Brewers. He never factored into the team’s plans.

_____________________

Where Are They Now?

Schilling, as everyone knows, went on to win the World Series in 2001 with Arizona, and then two more with Boston in 2004 and last year (2007). Though he spent his prime here with us, he still had plenty more productive years. Currently with the Boston Red Sox.

Lee spent one year with the Rays in 2003, before leaving as a free agent to the dark side. He signed with the Yankees, but did not see much action. He then returned to the Rays in ‘05 for two years, but was long past his glory days by then. He signed with the Nationals in Spring Training of 2007, but asked to be released. Currently retired.

Daal, after his Philly tenure, was traded to the Dodgers, and then wound up pitching for the Orioles in 2003. After undergoing shoulder surgery in 2004, he called it quits. Interestingly, his current whereabouts are unknown, and is considered missing.

Junge has bounced around since he left, including the Mets, Padres, and Yankees. This offseason, he signed with the Orix Buffaloes in Japan.

After being released in 2002, Cordero never saw the light of organized ball again.

Padilla was traded after ‘06 to the Rangers, where he currently is. He quickly ascended the rotation ranks and is now the team’s ace.

Figueroa bounced around even more than Junge did. He’s been with Milwaukee, Washington, Pittsburgh, and even spent two games with the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League. Currently with the Mets.

How About a Mailbag Session?

I always wanted to do one. Email me with questions/comments about the Phillies, or perhaps even baseball in general. I’ll post them on here sometime when I get enough.

Send ‘em here.

Pat Burrell vs. Mike Schmidt

Well, it certainly has been a while since I posted, hasn’t it?  Here’s a post I’ve been meaning to do for a while, comparing the current Phillies left fielder to the team’s greatest slugger (as of now).  This post more than makes up for my month-long absence. It’s ~800 words.  Enjoy! vs.

Phillies.tk cracked Top100!

Great news, everyone! Your favorite Phillies blog site has cracked the top 100 over at Top100Baseballsites.com! The site hit number 98 at roughly 6pm EST after staying steady at number 109. This means a jump of 11 spots on the big board! this whole ordeal is provided by viewers like you. Keep it up!

Mixing Things Up A Bit

I deleted two recent posts (one about changes that I later reverted, and another two sentence one that didn’t mean anything to anyone, although Carson did leave a comment on it), and changed the sidebars, so that you can see the category hierarchies. Basically, all I did was move the advertising over to the left. I also deleted the little text widget that said ‘Search Phillies.tk’. the Myspace page is now operational. I’ll post the link when I get around to it (very busy right now), and then everyone can befriend it! Lastly, I made a banner in a couple different sizes, which can be used somewhere (I don’t know where exactly right now).  I am currently in the process of looking for a new theme where I can hopefully use a banner.

Number 57 to the Mets

F*CK. As reported by MLB.com, the Twins ace was traded to the Mutts for four prospects: Phil Humber, Carlos Gomez, Deolis Guerra, and Kevin Mulvey. Humber, a pitcher, is ranked as the number 7 prospect for the Mets, and has a chance to make the Twins rotation out of Spring Training. Gomez, the number three prospect, is expected to take over in center for the departed Torii Hunter. Guerra is a pitcher and ranked number 2, only behind Binghamton left fielder Fernando Martinez. He spent the year at high A St. Lucie, and won’t debut for a while. The last player, Kevin Mulvey, is also a pitcher, and ranked fourth. He was at AA and AAA in 2007, but he most likely won’t make the Twins until at least July.

There are only two good points to this transaction: Now the NL All-Stars stand a slight chance, and the Mets mortgaged their future for a pitcher who will garner a $billion contract for life. Let’s hope he only stays for ‘08 than bolts back to the AL!

Bilingual Phillies.tk?

Exciting news!! Over the last three days, I have received a total of seven hits in spanish. You read right–Spanish. I have decided to treat these fan(s) with a special, Spanish only news report.

En primer lugar, muchas gracias por ver este sitio en el maravilloso idioma de español. He visto que usted va a leer a través de Google. He utilizado este servicio para traducir este puesto. Para dar cabida a usted, me han puesto un enlace en la página que te envía automáticamente a esta página en español, cortesía de Google Translate. No puedo agradecerles lo suficiente para llevar a Phillies.tk nuevos horizontes! Le agradezco su apoyo. Si desea unirse al personal, deseo recibir por correo electrónico la solicitud. Tal vez podría publicar algunas cosas en español para nosotros? Eso sería realmente cool. Gracias de nuevo!

Pedro Feliz Signed

Sh*t. As announced over on Beerleaguer.com, he was signed for 2 years. I can’t find the cash amount, but I will get that to you guys (the readers) soon. WHY?!?!?!?!?!? This guy seriously sucks. Picture Abraham Nunez up at the plate. Then subtract walks. And extra base hits. and normal hits. And add way more outs. But, on the positive, he averages around 20 homers a year and has a good okay decent glove. Some folks may take the guy in because of this, but I hate it. We need someone who can get on base and be able to protect Howard in the 5th hole. Now, we have a 5th/6th hitter, who strikes out an average of 125 times a year. Now, with him, Burrell, and Howard hitting in some order of 4-5-6, we now have 389 strikeouts in the middle of the lineup. Which gives an average of a little less than 130 strikeouts in the three spots.

Now, let’s focus on his OBP. Or lack there of. The Dominican had an OBP of .290 in 2007, and a career percentage of .288. the highest he ever hit was .305, which was way back in 2004. Although not as important, his average is even worse. He is a career .252 hitter, and he hit .253 last season– on par with his career average, and has a lifetime best of .276, also in the 2004 season. As you can see, his ‘04 season was by far his best. He hit .276/.305/.485, and knocked out 22 dingers, also a career best, with 84 RBIs, all while whiffing 84 times.

There are some good points about him, though. He is incredibly versatile (he has played every position on the diamond except pitcher and second base) since his debut, and he “is the guy you want on the field with the game on the line in the 9th inning”, as quoted by Beerleaguer.com. So, he is mostly a defensive solution. This deal also makes Wes Helms more expendable. Unfortunately, he won’t be worth much to any team, so we could only get a half decent prospect, who might not even make it to the bigs.

Towards the future, in two years, Jason Donald, Brad Harman, and Adrian Cardenas will all be ready to take over. Maybe even Greg Dobbs will start by then?