Posts Tagged ‘Red Sox’

Battered by Boston

April 7th, 2015 by AmyMac | Comments Off on Battered by Boston | Filed in Baseball, General, Phillies, TalkSportsPhilly
Cole Hamels lasted 5 innings in today's opener.

Cole Hamels lasted 5 innings in today’s opener.

 Philadelphia Sports

In Shane Victorino’s first visit in a Red Sox uniform, seats at Citizens Bank Park were packed. Today’s beautiful weather was arguably the best in recent Opening Day history, but sadly, it was more of the same from starter Cole Hamels. Today marked his fifth consecutive season debut loss. Hamels lasted just 5.0 innings; despite his six strikeouts, though, Hamels allowed four homeruns on five hits and three walks.  For those of you who need a little math help, that translates to a 7.20 ERA. He was just no match for Boston’s Dustin Pedroia and Mookie Betts. Cole’s 100 pitches (64 were strikes) came with a called balk; of course, neither Hamels nor Sandberg  appeared to be happy. To be fair, though, it was Jake Diekman who allowed Hanley Ramirez’s grand slam in his third of the ninth inning. That’s right, folks: Diekman has begun 2015 with a 108.00 ERA.

To rub salt in the wound, Philadelphia’s offense was a no-show.  With just three hits (thank you, Howard, Ruiz, and Sizemore) the Phils’ lineup managed to strand six runners.  Boston’s starting pitcher Clay Buchholz fanned nine over 7.0 innings thanks in large part to the movement in his changeup and his 92-93 mph heater. Admittedly, Philadelphia lacks power in its lineup; however, there was no compensation for that today. The Phils simply must improve their situatiinal hitting and move baserunners. Period.

No one is happier than I am that the season is underway – unless you count Rockies’ new ace Kyle Kendrick, who bagged a win today. I’m expecting a tough season for Philadelphia, and I’m ready to move past Cole’s slow start, but I’m going to need to see some offense. On a side note, there were three highlights to today’s game: 1) Ben Davis sounded right at home in the booth with Matt Stairs and Tom McCarthy, 2) “God Bless America” singer, the lovely and talented Lori McCarty, gave me goosebumps, and 3) Cole’s beard stubble gets an A+ from me (raise your hand if that surprises you at all).

(more…)

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Phillies sign Marlon Byrd to a two-year, reported $16M deal

November 13th, 2013 by Kyle Lutz | 1 Comment | Filed in Baseball, General, Phillies

It looks like the Fightin Phils have brought back our ole friend Marlon Byrd, who played originally with the team, primarily as a center fielder, from 2002-2005. According to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, the deal is indeed for $16 million.

Byrd is a 36-year old outfielder from Florida. In a way, he’s a remarkable, low draft pick story, considering the fact that he’s had a decent career thus far. He was originally drafted by the Phils in the 10th round of the 1999 MLB amateur draft. The Phillies called him up three years later, as a September call-up, and he made his Major League debut at age 25 on September 8th, 2002.

Although he only played in 10 games that season, the following two years he played a combined 241 games with Philadelphia. In that span, he finished in the top 5 in NL Rookie of the Year Award voting (he placed 4th in 2003), and averaged a batting average of .272. He had a respectable, solid rookie year, in which he hit .303 with 150 hits, 28 doubles, 7 home runs and 45 RBIs in 135 games.  Immediately after that, his play would decline a bit statistically, up until he regained his form in 2007 with Texas. For those next four seasons (2007-2010), Byrd would hit .283 or better every season. He’s a career .280 hitter, with an average of 14 home runs, 69 RBIs, 158 hits and 33 doubles- per a 162-game season.

This past year, in which he split time with the Mets and Pittsburgh, he had a very solid season, despite his age. Overall, he hit .291, with a career-high 24 home runs, and 88 RBIs. He’s played on four different teams within the past two years (Chicago, Boston, New York and Pittsburgh), so, for Byrd, I’m sure this is a relief in being able to finally settle in one place for a little bit of time. Out of his 12 total MLB seasons so far, he’s played in Philadelphia the most amount of years among his other teams (4).

(USATSI)

(more…)

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Who’s At Fault Here?

August 19th, 2013 by AmyMac | Comments Off on Who’s At Fault Here? | Filed in Baseball, General, Sports
Alex Rodriguez wax drilled in the left arm with a 92 mph fastball last night.

Alex Rodriguez wax drilled in the left arm with a 92 mph fastball last night.

By Amy McGinnis

At Fenway Park last night, the Red Sox hosted the Yankees, and things got interesting in the 2nd inning.

Of all the people wondering why Alex Rodriguez is playing despite his 211-game suspension, the Red Sox top the list. Last week, John Lackey was asked if he has a problem with Rodriguez continuing to play.”You bet I do. How is he still playing? He obviously did something and he’s playing. I’m not sure that’s right … It’s pretty evident he’s been doing stuff for a lot of years I’ve been facing him.” Last night, in the second inning, starting pitcher Ryan Dempster took action.  His first pitch, at 89 mph, flew behind Rodriguez, nearly hitting him in the left leg.  By the fourth pitch, with a 3-0 count, Dempster made contact with Rodriguez – he drilled him in the left arm with a 92 mph fastball. Yankees manager Joe Girardi said, “You’d have to be really unaware or not paying attention to not know he threw at him on purpose.”  There’s really no question that it was intentional, even though Dempster later stated, “I was just trying to pitch inside.” (If you plunk someone intentionally, at least own it.)  Boston fans cheered while home plate umpire Brian O’Nora ran to toward the mound and issued warnings (with finger pointing, for effect) to Dempster and to both benches.

Joe Girardi flew from the dugout, screaming at Dempster and O’Nora … the red-faced, hat off, vein-popping type of screaming.  O’Nora had warned the benches, but he hadn’t wagged his finger at the bullpens, so they promptly emptied.  When all was said and done, no punches were thrown, A-Rod took first base, Girardi was ejected, relief pitchers jogged back to the bullpens, and Dempster prepared for the next batter.  That’s not a typo, folks – Dempster stayed in the game.  Nearly four hours later, once the game had ended, Joe Girardi was still furious.  He made it very clear to the media that drilling a player isn’t acceptable, regardless of any scandal.  “Whether I agree with everything that’s going on, you do not throw at people and you don’t take the law into your own hands. You don’t do that. We’re going to skip the judicial system? It’s ‘My Cousin Vinny.'” On ESPN, Curt Schilling stated what everyone was already thinking … “It was as intentional as it gets.”

(more…)

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Phillies Vs Red Sox Preview

June 28th, 2011 by Mike H. | Comments Off on Phillies Vs Red Sox Preview | Filed in Baseball, Phillies

This should be a good test on how the Phillies (49-30, 1st Place NL East) actually are. The Red Sox (45-32, 2nd Place AL East) are coming into Philly after losing two straight series to the Padres and Pirates. The Phillies have struggled during interleague in the past, but are a respectable 5-4 in 2011. The Red Sox have one of the league’s premiere lineups after adding Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez in the offseason. The Phillies offense has struggled for most of the season, but the pitching staff has been able to bail them out for the most part. They say good pitching beats good hitting and vice versa, so let’s try and see who will have the upper hand for the next three days. (more…)

Tags: , ,

My First Crazy Trade Idea Of The Season

June 3rd, 2011 by Mike H. | Comments Off on My First Crazy Trade Idea Of The Season | Filed in Baseball, Phillies

Trade Deadline 2011

Always looking to improve our beloved Phillies, from time to time between now and the end of July, I’ll be posting random trade ideas that I think potentially could work for both teams, but most likely be done. So here is my first trade idea of the 2011 season.

The Philadelphia Phillies send SS Jimmy Rollins, RHSP Vance Worley, and 1B/DH Matt Rizzotti to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for SS Jed Lowrie, AAA OF Che-Hsuan Lin, and, if necessary a PTBNL (Player to be named later). (more…)

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Manny’s Legacy vs. Hall Of Fame; It Ain’t Rosey!

April 12th, 2011 by DJChris | Comments Off on Manny’s Legacy vs. Hall Of Fame; It Ain’t Rosey! | Filed in General

Who Cares?

So Manuel “Manny” Aristides Ramírez Onelcida has retired from Major League Baseball. He went out without celebration, without a goodbye, without a parade, and most importantly, without a fan base (Tampa Bay cannot be considered a fan base by any stretch of the imagination). That is sad. In Manny’s illustrious career, he has accumulated 555 HRs, 2574 Hits, 1831 RBI, and maintained a 312 BA. Simply. This guy was good.

As I watched this Shakespearean tragedy play out last week, I heard rhetoric and hyperbole from many of the baseball puritans, sportswriters, anal-lyst, and talking heads who have banished Manny from the Hall of Fame. How his legacy is ruined. How it’s one of the worst endings of a baseball career in history. And more. Even worst was the writers who stated that they would never vote Manny Ramirez into the Hall of Fame.

Well, let’s discuss The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum for a minute. Because I’m going to guess that Manny Ramirez has never been there, even for a visit and I would place a very heavy bet on the odds of him ever attending in the future. Any takers? I’m also going to take a wild guess that only 1 out of 25 of you who read this post has ever been to the The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. So, why would Manny, Barry, Pete or whoever else has been verbally banished from this Holy Shrine really care if they’re in it or not? I live in upstate New York, about 65 miles from Cooperstown, NY. I have been to the Hall numerous times. Even ate a Hot Dog on the Holy front steps with an orange soda, as only a Philadelphian would do (It wasn’t a Frank’s, Thanks). And I will tell you; I wasn’t that damned impressed. The Hall gets about 350,000 visitors a year. A very small sample of MLB’s fan base. You would think that because of all the emphasis on who gets in and who is kept out, they could at least draw a million fans there per year. But they can’t and they won’t! You know why? Because, everybody who has meant anything to this recent era of baseball is being kept out; Starting with Pete Rose to Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmiero, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGuire, and Manny Ramirez. A-Rod might get in there, but he will be very old or dead before “they” let him in. So our children and our children’s children might travel hundreds of miles to Cooperstown to look at plaques and paraphernalia belonging to Andre Dawson and Bert Blyleven. Big whup.

Take a look at these names:
Aaron, Ashburn, Averill, Bell, Brock, Brown, Burkett, Carey, Charleston, Clarke, Clemente, Cobb, Combs, Crawford, Cuyler, Dawson, Delahanty, DiMaggio, Doby, Duffy, Flick, Goslin, Gwynn, Hafey, Hamilton, Heilmann, Henderson, Hill, Hooper, Irvin, Jackson Kaline, Keeler, Kelley, Kelly, Kiner, Klein, Mantle, Manush, Mays, McCarthy, Medwick, Musial, O’Rourke, Ott, Puckett, J. Rice, S. Rice, Robinson, Roush, Ruth, Simmons, Slaughter, Snider, Speaker, Stargell, Stearnes, Thompson,Torriente, L. Waner, P. Waner, Wheat, B. Williams, T. Williams, Wilson, Winfield, Yastrzemski, Youngs.

(more…)

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Hot Stove Breakdown Part 5

December 6th, 2010 by Johnny G | 1 Comment | Filed in General

Goodbye Jayson

  • Lance Berkman signs 1 year $8 million deal with Cardinals
  • Adrian Gonzalez traded to Red Sox for Prospects
  • Rod Barajas signs 1 year $3.25 million deal with the Dodgers
  • Jayson Werth signs 7 year $126 million deal with the Nationals
  • Mark Reynolds traded to Orioles for David Hernandez and Kam Mickolio

1. On the surface, I like what the Cardinals are trying to do here: find a legitimate power threat for a corner outfield spot on a short term deal. I just don’t know if Lance Berkman was the right choice. A couple of years ago I probably would be more convinced that Berkman could handle the defensive workload for left field but at this point, and after knee surgery last season, it makes you wonder. You have to give credit to the Cardinals here for keeping the deal at one season and thinking outside the box, though. Berkman certainly has the ability with the bat to make this deal look like a bargain and the Cardinals are probably very optimistic about his ability to bounce back after a strong showing to end his season. I don’t have a problem with this deal for the Cards and coming back to the NL will probably a nice treat for the big puma.

Advertisement

2. This trade is a perfect example of two very good General Managers and two very good front offices coming together to make a trade that improves both clubs. This is the future of baseball deals and how trades should be made. Jed Hoyer and Theo Epstein came together to make a deal that sent Adrian Gonzalez, San Diego’s most valuable asset to the Red Sox for a crop of tremendous young talent that will be of assistance to the Padres as early as 2012. Adrian is a player with such a good feel for the strike zone and such great power to all fields, I feel like the change in parks will be much more of a factor than the talent differential between the NL and AL. Petco Park is just massive and really limited Adrian’s potential on the offensive side. To put that into perspective, over the last two years on the road Adrian’s numbers look something like this: .311/.402/.610 with 48 homeruns and 90 walks. We’re approaching triple crown talk with those numbers and with the short right field and Green Monster in Fenway, I can’t even fathom what he might do with 81 games there. The Padres received a nice haul for their slugging first basemen and the main piece to this deal was right-hander Casey Kelley. After being selected in the first round of the 2008 draft and receiving top 5 bonus money for the draft class, Kelley was a two way prospect until last season. Kelley will mostly sit anywhere from 90-94 mph and has a tremendous curveball and an improving change-up with solid depth to it. If all goes well, Kelley projects as a top of the rotation workhorse for years to come. The second piece to this trade is first basemen Anthony Rizzo. Rizzo looks to be the eventual replacement for Gonzalez at 1b in San Diego and the two are actually quite similar. Rizzo, like Gonzalez, has great feel for the strike zone, is an excellent defender, with tremendous power. Between the two, Rizzo is probably a notch below Gonzalez in all categories but that still is a very valuable player to have if he can develop properly. The final piece would be Reymond Fuentes, a centerfielder with tremendous range and phenomenal speed who looks to have the capability and potential to hit for average down the road. All in all, this is a trade that any true baseball fan really enjoys hearing about. This deal improves both clubs tremendously and gives San Diego some salary relief and prospects to build for the future. Great job on both sides.

(more…)

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,