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Lidge Takes Loss In Shammy All-Star Game
Posted by Tim Malcolm, Wed, July 16, 2008 09:09 AM
Not that I wanted to rail on the All-Star Game’s outcome, but here’s the problem: The Phillies may very well be victim of this game’s whole shammy production.
Last night there were a bunch of problems in the American League’s 15-inning win. It showed, to me, why this game shouldn’t be worth anything.
Sure, you can’t predict a 15-inning game, but there’s a reason the game never had this tie problem before the 1990s — managers actually played their starters all the way through. And pitchers went more than one inning. If Bud Selig and Major League Baseball want this game to be worth something as important as World Series homefield advantage, then the game shouldn’t be coming down to Nate McLouth or whatever.
There were a lot of stupid issues that led to this game just being a complete disaster. Among:
- Billy Wagner. I told you all he’d blow it. And he did. Of course.
- Pitching Brandon Webb for one inning. I know he threw over 100 pitches Sunday, I saw the game. But he had a quick inning in the 14th. Why take him out and leave yourself with one man?
- On that note, misusing Brad Lidge. He’s your closer; you wait all game long to put him in with a lead, then you put him in in a tie game. I’ll blame Lidge a tad for losing it, but he was in the wrong spot.
- Dan Uggla playing as long as he did. He’s horrible defensively. We know that. But when you spend all your reserves in the sixth-through-ninth innings, you’re left with Uggla’s blunders late in the game.
- Terry Francona having to use Scott Kazmir. Pitch a guy more than one inning. Tim McCarver kept saying they had Kazmir on a pitch count, so once he reached it, he’s gone. What the hell does the AL do then? Bring in Rollie Fingers? Why didn’t anyone question this?
There were more problems in this game. But imagine if this thing went on to the 20th inning. Could they play? Sure, like I said, you can’t predict a long game like that, but if this game is going to matter, it should be played like it matters. The players did everything they could to win the game; the managers should’ve too.
July 16th, 2008 at 9:42 am
T-Mac, I couldn’t agree with you more! The AS game is a sham and it is a crock that its outcome leads to home-field advantage for the WS.
Let the starters pitch their normal 6+ innings. Let the best position players (ie - chase utley) play the majority of the game and not bring in the second best player (ie - dan uggla) in the 5th inning or whatever it was.
MLB need to either a) allow the manager to use the real all-stars to play the entire game and PLAY TO WIN or b) don’t play the AS game at all.
The fan vote is a crock IMO too! The two players with the best stats at their respective positions should be the all-stars. It should be ENTIRELY statistically based so there is no second guessing.
No manager choices, no sportswriter choices, and no fan choices should be considered. Use 10 major scoring categories for pitchers and position players. The top 2 players at each position and 10 pitchers to have the overall highest average ranking in those 10 major stat categories combined gets the nod.
Baseball is a game of statistics and the AS game should be too!
July 16th, 2008 at 10:02 am
[…] the MLB All-Star Game winding up I decided to write about the annual midsummer classic and other All-Star games from other sports organizations. All-Star […]
July 16th, 2008 at 10:10 am
That is the way, having a philly closer blowing home field advantage for the Mets this year. Go figure.
July 16th, 2008 at 10:13 am
Wagner did a nice job though… dick
July 16th, 2008 at 10:15 am
mets08champs…and Wagner didn’t? Go fuck yourself douche bag. Lidge was warming up for 3 hours. He was tired. Even the ESPN announcers felt bad for him.
July 16th, 2008 at 10:15 am
They either need to make it a normal game, or make exceptions like each starter can re-enter the game.. Hurdle would have been an ass if he didn’t play Uggla… but when you put in over Utley, it hurts the team…. Guzman playing 3rd…
The problems start because the fans pick the freakin team… FUKUDOME a starter… thats a joke.. either make it just for kicks, or make it so that you can field an acutal team of all-stars…not just popular players that the fans pick
July 16th, 2008 at 10:17 am
The Mets do have a slight chance of being the best team this year though!!!
….the best team in New York, I mean.. but the Yankees will probably finish with a better record then the Muts
July 16th, 2008 at 10:18 am
mets08champs? Fuck you.
July 16th, 2008 at 10:20 am
Yeah, I forgot Lidge was warming up off and on for three hours. That could potentially kill his arm.
July 16th, 2008 at 10:22 am
Mets fans who like posting on a Phillies blog: please step outside the box and re-evaluate your life. Seriously, take a step back - look at yourself. Aside from the fat, greasy body of yours, what do you see?
July 16th, 2008 at 10:23 am
mike T: i see a bunch of jealous phillie fans who are about to be looking up in the standings at the real first place team in the NL East. get used to the punishment.
July 16th, 2008 at 10:26 am
Phillies nation regulars: I suggest ignoring anything you read from a Mets fan on here. Do not lower yourself. They are far less attractive looking, and not nearly as smart as us. I was told if you converse too long with a Mets fan, you can actually smell their pungent body stench through your computer speakers. So, as I said, it would be best to just ignore them.
July 16th, 2008 at 10:45 am
interesting tidbit (as posted on MLBTraderumors.com)
Phillies Looking At Joe Blanton
Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes today that the Phillies are taking a look at Oakland righty Joe Blanton. Additionally, the Phils will bring Brett Myers back to the Majors on July 23rd.
Blanton, 27, had a rough first half - he has a 4.96 ERA in 127 innings. All his numbers are worse compared to ‘07 - strikeouts, walks, home runs. A move to the NL would help, even if he has to leave the friendly Oakland Coliseum for Citizens Bank Park.
Blanton is under team control through 2010, though he will not necessarily be cheap since he will have to go through the arbitration process twice more. We’ve heard that the Phillies don’t want to discuss prospects Carlos Carrasco, Lou Marson, or Greg Golson so we’ll have to see if Pat Gillick and Billy Beane can find a match. Despite their long tenures I cannot find an example of a previous trade between these two GMs.
July 16th, 2008 at 10:49 am
Apparently, Francona was going to let Kazmir pitch one more inning and then have J.D. Drew pitch.
Why didn’t Marmol pitch another inning?
I was kind of hoping a home run derby would take place instead of abusing all these pitchers in the end.
Billy Wags is a legend. The Muts fans can’t stand him and have no one to blame for home field advantage except their unreliable closer. In the pantheon of Muts closers, he may be more hated than Mel Rojas but not as hated as Benitez.
July 16th, 2008 at 11:03 am
Wagner is not great in important games I will give you that. But as far as for lidge, there has never been a bigger waste of a 6′5″ frame that can throw hard then lidge.
July 16th, 2008 at 11:06 am
I can’t wait for them to bring myer’s back so I can enjoy watching him. I just loved the last joke he pulled on that rookie Kendrick. They need him to come back and continue to do those pranks. Atleast he is good for something.
July 16th, 2008 at 11:18 am
i gotta say that after the 8th inning or so, it felt like I was no longer watching an allstar game because everyone left in the game (with the exception of the pitchers) seemed second teir to me.
I think the outcome with Lidge was predictable because he kept getting up to warm up. I think he was worn before he actually got to throw.
Anyone else notice that the guy who got voted in over Pat the bat, was completely useless in the game?
July 16th, 2008 at 11:20 am
two highlights for me this AS break:
First, Chase Utley’s Boo F*ck You
Second, the commentators saying, why isn’t Ryan Howard in the derby?
July 16th, 2008 at 11:51 am
So Burnett is their Plan A right now, and when that fails Blanton is the backup. Looks like theyll get Blanton and bring up myers. I ghuess thats ok. Happ should stay though beacuse Myers hsould have been retrained to be setup while in th eminors. major mistake.
July 16th, 2008 at 11:59 am
Buster Olney’s now saying the Phils have pretty much stopped pursuing Burnett, doesn’t suprise when the Jays want a top package for a guy who can get lit up if he’s not dominating. Hard to see a deal happening with Oakland for Blanton with the available prospects in our system, hink Beane will stay pat on Blanton untill his values back up to near where it was in the spring.
Suprised the FO’s not willing to part with Golson, like the kids upside but his bat being ready for the bigs is nowhere near a surething right now and we do have a little depth in the outfield prospects if we wanted to make a deal that badly.
July 16th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
They need to stop using a bad publicity stunt from the debacle of 2002 and give home field advantage to the team with the best record or go back to the every other year model.
A homerun derby after the ninth inning to determine the winner would be a much better solution and more fun for the fans. It makes so much sense Bud Selig will never get it!
http://myteamrivals.typepad.com/phightin_phils_phorum
July 16th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
I hope that Lidge doesn’t lose it over his All Star loss, considering that he lost it a few years back after Pujols’ homer in the playoffs. Closers gotta know that stuff happens on occasion. Look no further than All Star goat Trevor Hoffman who also gave up consecutive homers and Padres game with the Dodgers with the playoffs on the line. He came right back and has remained effective.
July 16th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
sTEVE pHILLIPES SAID THAT lIDGE THREW AROUND 100 PITCHES WARMING UP. The all star game is a scrimmage. If someone out there really cares if it ends in a tie they need to get a life.
July 16th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Arguing with a Mets fan is like arguing with a fool… and you should never argue with a fool, they will lower you to their level and beat you down with experience!
July 16th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Mark,Yea thats what i’ve been saying i hope that loss don’t screw Lidge up like the 05 NLCS loss did…As for Mets fans blaming Lidge,the last i checked their closer is the reason the game even had to go to extra innings…Wagner gets the most blame.
July 16th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
as much as you guys hate wagner its just as much lidges fault as it is wagners because we all know how closers are in tied games
July 16th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Clint Hurdle misused Wagner and Lidge, Wagner is a closer give him a full inning or don’t play him at all. You don’t bring in a guy who is used to closing and has that closer mentality to face one batter in the 8th. Also Clint Hurdle shouldn’t have picked Wagner and Brian Wilson over Johan Santana and Cole Hammels in the first place. What he did with Lidge was ridiculous if you are going to have him warm up then just use him don’t keep making him get up and down over and over. I think this affected him mentally more then physically because he was still throwing gas in the high 90’s. I say Clint Hurdle and Dan Uglla really blew this game for the NL.
July 16th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Also Pat Burrel should have been picked over Ryan Ludwick and Cory Hart. Jose Reyes should have been picked over Tejada or Guzman. David Wright should have been put in to play 3rd and Pujos should have been left in the DH. The HR and RBI leader of the National league should have made the team. While Uggla deserved to be picked for the team and his shitty play was something that could not be predicted Utley should have played longer if not for the whole game. As I said before Clint Hurdle deserves the ultimate blame for that game
July 16th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
I was actually relieved when Lidge took the loss and the AL scored. What if it remainded tied?? Then Lidge comes out to pitch the next inning because they HAD NO MORE ARMS LEFT. So now he is pitching at least 2 and maybe more. It was a blessing it ended when it did.
July 16th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
Talk about excuses. Lidge was the losing pitcher. Wagner sucked too but lets not forget, Lidge was the losing pitcher…
Phillies fans are so paranoid and full of hate. Can’t you just enjoy a game?
July 16th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Its not a paranoid thing… METSfanshaveshortdicks08 or whatever his name was came on here and blamed Lidge for the Mets not getting home field advantage for the World Series..
Reports from the ballpark, on ESPN and numerous other sources say that Hurdle asked Lidge to be his 9th inning guy… and then that Lidge got up 6 seperate times to “warm up” and they estimate that he threw about 100 pitches in the bullpen..
There are LOTS of reasons why the NL didn’t win.. Volquez, Uggla, Wagner, and Lidge are all in there
July 16th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
I thought it was a great game, and the first time in a long time that I wasn’t channel-surfing during an All-Star game.
I wish they would have started that other stuff early, because even without the extra innings, that game was still on around midnight right?? I feel asleep and woke up like 5 seperate times from 11:30pm on..
July 16th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
I said I pinned some blame on Lidge, but ultimately this is Hurdle’s fault. He totally misused his pitching staff and much of his hitters, too.
July 16th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
I won’t bother with my own opinions about the All Star game at this late juncture and I would be going over the same ground covered by others here.
However, I failed to see anyone mention a most moving pregame highlight for fans who love the game and it’s glorious history. An introduction of the largest gathering of living all of famers at the “house that Ruth built”.
It was such a treat to see (on TV) such greats as Bob Feller, Juan Marichal, Bob Gibson, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Rod Carew, Lou Brock, Al Kaline, Tony Perez, Brooks Robinson, Fergie Jenkins, Billy Williams, Ralph Kiner, Yogi Berra , Whitey Ford and Phillies’ favorites..Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton and Robin Roberts. That’s just a partial list. I had hope to see Sandy Koufax, Nolan Ryan and Stan Musial but they were unable to be there.
July 16th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
Who honestly really gives a fuck? Arguing over the all-star game? Seriously? An exhibition? I can see the NL being pissed about the home field thing, but besides that, who gives a shit. Lidge has today and tomorrow to heal, he’ll be fine, quit acting like he’s a pussy, and let’s man up and fuck up the Mets, Marlins and all those other teams in the 2nd half.
July 17th, 2008 at 12:36 am
I do have an idea on what team should get home field for the fall classic,now its not rocket science or brain surgery but here goes…why not the team with the best record get home field.
July 17th, 2008 at 4:44 am
Ok, lots of blame to go around for the all-star game got it. wagner, lidge, hurdle, uggla, they all blew it. whatever its over. now lets get back to what counts. these teams duking it out for the division the rest of the way (and the mets coming out on top!)! see you guys at shea in a week. hope to see some of those lame shirts around so we can give em HELL!!! FUCK PHILLY! LETS GO METS!!!!