Phils Rubber Match With Mets at Noon

The first two games of this important series with New York have been quite exciting. Credit must be given to the boys for making a huge comeback on Tuesday night but not much positive came out of last night's loss. Brett Myers looked extremely shaky early and settled in a bit but didn't really do anything to build Phillies fans' or Charlie's confidence in him.

The fate of the world the series now lies with Jamie Moyer. You know baseball is a goofy game when it's July and you have more faith in the old savvy vet than the should-be-ace Brett Myers. Oliver Perez is throwing for the Mets.

Take a long lunch and hit up your local watering hole for an extended lunch or at least fire up that Slingbox. Let's go Phils.

Update: Jimmy Rollins is not in the line up.

Comments

[theKrisheim]

rollins is a late scratch

[TheCoz]

Let's make the fans at Shea shed a few more tears. Go Phils! (stuck at work)

[johndewar]

Anyone know why?

[kasari]

what's wrong with JRoll?

[Pete D]

Hopefully that is a healthy scratch. Need him heating up, not sitting down.

Would really be nice to get a dub today, Jamie will surely do his part, but will the bats do theirs?

[jim]

Wheels needs to stop sucking Reyes' dick. Jesus.

[Zack]

man...Wheeler has a love affair with Jose Reyes

[Bryan]

ugh, who plays at noon!?! also stuck at work

[Bryan]

ugh, who plays at noon?!? also stuck at work.

[MikeY]

I have the MLB.com gamecast thing up while at work today...will monitor closely as this is a huge game for the Fightins.

Also, Phuck Jose Reyes.

[Liam]

Myers said that if he can locate his fastball he will be fine his next start. I think he has to realize that his fastball blows, he either can't throw it fast enough or can't locate. I hate that he won't admit he is messing up and never seems to take responsibilty for his shit. Is there anyone that isn't fed up with him by now?

[Pete D]

Chase, please get it together. Thanks.

[MikeY]

WTF is up with Chase Utley?

He's 0-10 this series and only has 4 HRs and 16 RBIs while dropping his average 35 points and striking out 27 times since June 3rd.

Is he trying to hard?...Can we still call this a slump?...its been a month and a half.

[Liam]

This ump has a real tight strike zone according to gamecast that last ball to evans should've been strike 3. At least from what I've seen its going both ways, but thats not much consolation if it ends up resulting in a run

[theKrisheim]

it would be crazy if they're moving rollins

talk about a shake up

[MS]

moving rollins? you think that is why he is sitting?

[Jason]

This is just embarassing. Nine strikeouts so far against some scrub Mets pitcher.

[Kevin McGuire]

If the Phils are going to get to Glavine, er Maddux, er Nolan Ryan, er, Sandy Koufax, er Oliver Perez, the sixth inning is going to have to be it! This is nuts how good the Phills make this guy look! I'm feeling at least one run here.

[johndewar]

"it would be crazy if they're moving rollins"

Did you hear this somewhere or are you speculating?

And yes, it would be crazy.

[Kevin McGuire]

Whoah, just as I hit the Post button on my last comment, Bruntlett smacks a leadoff double!

[theKrisheim]

totally guessing

[LOOG]

God Howard blows against LHP's. It's sickening.

[john]

did bruntlett have any chance of tagging on burrell's fly to left. only have on gametracker?

[johndewar]

got it.

BTW: Totally inexecusable not getting Bruntlett in from 3rd there.

[LOOG]

It would have been tight. The throw actually went bad. He would have scored.

[Pete D]

Nauseating.
6-6 with an ERA over 4. Yet against the Phillies this year, through 6 today, Oliver Perez has pitched 24 scoreless innings. With 25K's, 10 today.

[Kevin McGuire]

Nah, that fly ball was too shallow for even Jose Reyes.

[Kevin McGuire]

Totally sickening Perez is. He's throwing wide because he knows you will swing!!!

[Kevin McGuire]

I'll try again...

If the Phils are going to get to Glavine, er Maddux, er Nolan Ryan, er, Sandy Koufax, er Oliver Perez, the seventh inning is going to have to be it! This is nuts how good the Phills make this guy look! I'm feeling at least one run here.

[Kevin McGuire]

WOOHOO!

[johndewar]

Big knock from Werth.

[kevin]

FUCK YEAH!! JAYSON

[Nick B.]

utley will come around, he's too good to suck like this for the rest of the year.

p.s. Anyone want to hook a poor college kid stuck in class with a slingbox feed? nboccella AT gmail DOT com

[steven]

I'm afraid our bullpen might be coming back down to earth. mother fucker.

[TheCoz]

@Nick B.

Stuck at work is far worse than stuck in class. Enjoy college while it lasts.

[WHEW]

FUCK YEAH CARLOS!

[johndewar]

One inning of this series aside, there is something seriously wrong with this team, offensively.

[john]

you sit pine the whole game jimmy, and you swing at the first damn pitch. what is it with the whole damn team swinging at everything and anything. way to kill the momentum you guys had going after tuesday night. at least now the braves are coming to town

[Jason]

This is just pathetic. Yet to win a series against the Mets, a game behind them now, the entire lineup looks lost, the bullpen is looking like last season.

[DCGreg]

Utley/Howard: 0-7, 7 k's. Glad to see that situational hitting speech has sunk in, Charlie.

[Pete D]

Waste of a 1 run effort by Moyer and two doubles by Bruntlett. Unbelievable. The mets suck, and we sucked worse.

[mike]

Good job charlie, way to take your starter out after only giving up 2 hits and then have it fall apart. another great offensive performance also.

[Zack]

ugh...i don't even know if I want to go to the game tomorrow that I have tickets for

[Scott B]

bats have been cold for too long. where are the 16 and 20 runs that we knew?

[DLo34]

The Phillies are wasting the best pitching they have had in years. I am sick about hearing about "oh let's not mortgage the future" to acquire another hitting for this lineup. Well, if you want to finish 2nd this season and MAYBE have a good catcher two years from now, you are the one who is crazy.

[Kulp]

DLo, if the guys who are already playing here don't start hitting better, adding Matt Holliday isn't going to do a damn thing.

[patty]

to mike-

you have to pinch hit in that situation, no way moyer bats in the 7th down by a run. Probably should pinch hit dobbs with bases loaded...but manuel isnt the reason we're out of first.

no hit no win

[Zack]

when Bruntlett by far looks like the best hitter in the lineup...you have a problem

[mike]

to patty-

The way the phillies are "hitting", does it really matter if moyer hits?

[DLo34]

@ Kulp

Waiting around for 2 months now for them to get out of this "slump" has not worked either. Adding a guy who is hitting .347 with 17 HRs, 60 RBI, and a .429 OBP in the middle of the lineup will effect the way pitchers approach Howard, Utley, and Burrell.

1. Holliday brings a Left, Right, Left, Right possibility, HUGE in late innings.

2. Holliday puts a guy who actually hits for average .347 in the middle of a lineup where Utley has the best Average at .287.

3. Holliday batting 4 or 5 will force pitchers to give Utley or Howard more fastballs and pitches closer to the plate to avoid the risk of putting them on base.

4. Holliday has only struck out 60 times this year. This is less than Chase Utley and less than half of Howard's 138. Holliday would help Utley more than anyone else in this lineup. Pitchers do not go at Utley anymore because they have the strikeout king sitting there in right behind him. Put Holliday at the 4 and IMMEDIATELY, Utley will get better pitches to hit.

5. Statistically, the obvious is that if the trade were to happen Victorino (.278, 7, 31) are turned into (.343, 17, 60).

6. Also keep in mind Holliday is putting up those numbers with Brad Hawpe (.271 16, 48) behind him. Not exactly Howard or Burrell.

7. Holliday has some speed, 13 SB's.

8. Holliday's OBP is .429! Burrell's is the team best at .406. The second closest is Utley at .370 and Werth at .355.

The point is, the addition of Holliday would make everyone else in this lineup that much better.