Phillies Nation

61 Responses to “Opinion: It’s Time For Happ To Enter Rotation”

1. Woodman Says:
   May 8th, 2009 at 10:46 am

   Amen….. get Happ in there NOW!

2. bob Says:
   May 8th, 2009 at 10:47 am

   I agree 100% that Happ should be in the rotation, I think last night’s performance created a shorter leash for Park, Blanton and maybe Myers. I think Moyer deserves a few more starts to work the kinks out.

   I believe the Phillies really do not want to rush Happ into the rotation, especially with 5/6 of the season to go. They don’t want to hurt his development or kill his confidence (i.e. Kyle Kendrick).

   I trust that the Phillies brass know what they are doing. It is such a blessing to be having this discussion though. We finally have OPTIONS. We aren’t stuck with the mess we have. The future is very bright!

3. Ben Says:
   May 8th, 2009 at 10:54 am

   the question is who do you drop?

   i think moyer and myers are safe just because they have shown bright spots and solid outings (save a few terrible ones).

   park i would have said for sure, but he was next to perfect the other night. and then blanton is hit or miss.

   i 100% agree he should be in there, but who do you drop?

4. Don M Says:
   May 8th, 2009 at 10:55 am

   I love how all of a sudden, everyone thinks the only way Moyer wins games (249 of them so far in his career).. is from “gift calls” by the umpire..

   Does anyone have the know-how, and/or the ability to get a video clip of his walk to Sheffield in the 1st inning? ….
   he walked him.. 2 of the pitches were 100% strikes.. and another gets called a stike 99% of the time… Not just for Moyer.. for EVERY pitcher..

   If you hit corners, at the knees.. that is a strike, and should be called as such.

   enough about that though.. the pitching needs to get better.. who do you remove from the rotation? Can we leave Park in there because he’s had one solid outing ?

5. Frank Says:
   May 8th, 2009 at 11:00 am

   I don’t think you need to worry about Happ being worked into the rotation- with four problematic rotation spots, a glaring opportunity is going to present itself quite shortly if Happ continues to pitch well. Surplus starting pitching NEVER lasts. It always works itself out.

6. Ben from NJ Says:
   May 8th, 2009 at 11:03 am

   I don’t care what happens, the starting pitching is absolutely awful. Why are they giving up so many home runs? It doesn’t matter where they pitch because most of the home runs would be out in pretty much any ballpark.

   The Phillies are winning despite their awful starting pitching and sooner or later the hitting will go south for a while(just the ebbs and flows of baseball) and then what happens? It’s just disgusting to watch the starters go out and give up 4 to 5 runs a night. And thats usually one of the better nights. Just pathetic.

7. bob Says:
   May 8th, 2009 at 11:04 am

   Here’s an outside the box solution for now, how about a 6 man rotation for the next run through the staff? It gives the other 5 an extra day of preparation/rest and we get Happ the start the he truly deserves. After you evaluate who goes to the pen in long relief.

8. Mark B Says:
   May 8th, 2009 at 11:06 am

   Does “close to the mid-90s” mean a fastball in the 93/94 range? If so, that, along with good breaking stuff, and good control, assuming he has those capabilities, should enable him to be a very effective starter.

   He’s 26, right? His time is now.

9. Geoff Says:
   May 8th, 2009 at 11:11 am

   Yeah its Happs time to get a chance. Myers hasnt bottomed out so they wont pull him. Park and Blanton just came off good outings so they wont be pulled…everyones looking at Moyer here I think.

   Id like to see the old guy get win 250 at least before he retires…

10. Geoff Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 11:15 am

    I think after Hamels goes today. the next guy that screws up will get pulled at least so Happ can at the very elast get a spot start. Thats bare minimum…the guy has been lights out and he deserves a chance.

11. Griffin Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 11:16 am

    The solution is simple: once Park gets blown up by his former team on Tuesday, demote him and put Happ in the rotation.

    The question is will Carrasco be ready to contribute to the rotation in the 2nd half of the season?

12. Tim Malcolm Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 11:17 am

    It’s not that Moyer relies on “gift calls.” It’s that the umpire that night determines his early success. If an ump has a small strike zone, he’ll have trouble throwing strikes, which makes him have to throw more stuff in the zone. Guys time it quicker and rip his slow stuff.

13. Don M Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 11:19 am

    is Anyone able to get video of Moyer’s 1st inning yesterday?

14. Rich Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 11:20 am

    You can’t allow this rotation to go another month with no one under 5.00. It’s going to kill the bullpen. Cole gets a chance to right himself, but otherwise, just get Happ in there, and hell, Kendrick has a 2.60 or so ERA in AAA, so don’t let anyone get real comfortable if they don’t start giving us 6 innings, 3 runs or less.

15. bob Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 11:20 am

    I agree that someone is getting dropped here soon, but that someone will NOT be Jamie Moyer.

    My money is on Park unless he is close to lights out for a while.

16. Dave H Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 11:21 am

    the Phils have 19 games in 20 days starting tonight. Why not work a 6 man rotation? All the guys would get 3 starts and Hamels would get four. The best 5 at the end of that stretch get the job in the rotation. If the Phils are worried about bullpen help in the stretch get rid of Cairo and bring someone up.

17. Don M Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 11:24 am

    you have a LHP pitching to a lineup STACKED with RH bats last night.. and he’s not getting the calls.. even on pitches that are actually strikes.. if ANY part of the baseball crosses the plate, it is a strike..

    Last night it seemed like if the ENTIRE baseball wasn’t over the plate, it wasn’t going to happen.. so you have an 80mph fastball that all of a sudden needs to be belt-high in the middle of the plate to be a “strike” .. of course they are going to get hammered..

    And the calls weren’t the same as Pelfrey is a RHP, and the angle is completely different for the umpire.. I umpire baseball.. and the “imaginary” strike zone can never be a definite thing.. it changes hitter to hitter, it should be called the same for both pitchers however..

    Moyer needed to be more effective last night.. but not “getting the calls” on pitches that are USUALLY called Strikes, that’s a bad situation for ANY pitcher to be in, especially one that throws to spots, not for speed.

18. TBT Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 11:27 am

    I’d keep everyone in place through the next week but have Happ start one of the games next Saturday against the Nats (day/night DH) and see how everything looks after that before making any move.

19. Louis Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 11:34 am

    I agree that Happ has been pitching great out of the pen, but has anyone considered that part of the reason is because there’s no real pressure on him when he comes into these games? Last night the phils were down 7-1 when Happ came in. If Happ gives up a run the phils still need a sizeable comeback to win the game. I want to see Happ start too, I’m just wondering if he will have more problems mentally once the pressure IS on him to be the starter, not mop up after the starter blew the game.

20. Brett Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 11:41 am

    Happ deserves the spot. That’s all there is to it.

21. OZ Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 11:53 am

    Hamels pitches, then Happ, no more waitnig to see who goes belly-up next. worry about who to drop after the next f-up.

22. Kevin Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 12:03 pm

    I think the timing isn’t right thoug to place Happ in the lineup. Park just had a phenomenal outing so you can’t take him out. Blanton had a good game as well. Myers and Moyer seem safe from being dropped for the time being, unless we learn that there is an injury issue with either of them. And Hamels is Hamels.

    Am I frustrated with the starting pitching? Yes. The fact is the team is still in first place and I have faith that they can fix some of their problems. Am I the only one who is questioning what pithcing coach Rich Dubee’s role in this starting pitching mess is?

23. Don M Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 12:06 pm

    If you would have told me that Blanton and Park would combine for 12 Innings Pitched, 5 Hits, 1 Earned Run, 4 Walks, 8 Strikeouts going against the Cardinals and Mets

    …..
    And that Myers and Moyer would combine for 7.2 Innings Pitched, 16 Hits, 12 Earned Runs, 2 Walks, 5 Strikeouts, 5 Home Runs against the Cardinals and Mets..

    I would have told you that you were the craziest person of all time.

    The Good:
    Blanton (6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 Ks)
    Park (6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 Ks)

    The Bad & The Ugly:
    Myers (5.1 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 2 Ks, 2 HR)
    Moyer (2.1 IP, 7 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 3 HR)

24. mikemike Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 12:13 pm

    I still believe he was not getting the calls, because of the last game the mets, bitch about balls off the plate, and we’ ll know mlb wants the New York market in the series, its more revenue for them. Tampa and phillies can’t draw like say mets and boston or even a tampa bay because of the eight million people who live there.

25. Geoff Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 12:16 pm

    If you really think about it. Its totally insane that JA Happ isnt already in teh rotation. This guy is tearing it up!

26. William Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 12:16 pm

    I have said this since the beginning… whether its for Park or Moyer…Happ should have started in the rotation.

27. Manny Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 12:18 pm

    Moyer’s outing yesterday was horrible. Couldn’t get the outs! Happ needs to start games asap… We could give him a spot start early next week (Mon or Tues) since there’ll be a double-header on Saturday…

28. Manny Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 12:20 pm

    Tim, I think you should change the title of this post from “Opinion” to “Fact”

29. William Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 12:39 pm

    My only comment on the umpires strike zone issue is this…yes you have to worry about umpires strike zones and adjust. Thats a given with any pitcher….if you get a wide zone its better for the pitcher..BUT we need pitchers that can adjust and have the STUFF to adjust to a tight strike zone. You can’t expect every umpire to give a Greg Maddux zone…

    Time and Time again we see it with Moyer and sometimes with Park…your not getting the close calls they dont’ have the stuff to bring it in a bit.

    Happ did just fine with the same strike zone as Moyer…

30. Bob Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 12:43 pm

    I totally forgot about the Day/Night DH with the Nats. I would think that Happ would definitely be in line to start one of those games next Saturday.

31. Bruce Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 12:51 pm

    Don hit it right on the nail in regards to Moyer not “getting the calls on pitches that are USUALLY called strikes.” Sure, every umpire will have their version of a strike zone but to make blatantly bad judgment on calls that are so obvious for all to see does have a hugh effect on a pitcher that lives or die on the corners of the plate (Glavine, Maddux, etc). Moyer also had command issues that compound his problems last night. It’s not the first time and it won’t be the last time in his long and productive career. The crafty veteran knows his mistakes and as he done so many, many times he readily adjust and bounce back with another quality start.

    When I read an earlier blog by Tim and his criticism on Moyer and followed that with heaping praise for Happ, I knew what was coming in his next blog. Allow me to repeat a comment I made in another thread…

    “With nearly five months of basball to be played (136 games left), Charlie Manual with Rich Dubee are not going to make rash decisions regarding the rotation. I’m sure they will give every opportunity to their troubled starters in making the necessary adjustments. Their patience were rewarded with Park by his outstanding effort against the Mets. Blanton had a quality start his last time out. Myers is a veteran whose experience suggests that he can find a necessary solution for himself. Needless to say, the crafty Moyer has bounced back a zillion times in his long and productive career.”

    I also mentioned that the most important key for any success with the rotation is for Hamels to be fully healthy and regain his form and rhythm. With Hamels back in rotation it would stabilize it and give a hugh lift to rest of the starters.

    Finally, Happ is doing just fine as long relief and gaining confidence and experience. He may one day be needed in the rotation (due to injury or ineffectiveness of a starter) but for now he is needed in the bullpen.

32. Don M Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 1:01 pm

    Happ throws 93mph and was getting calls up in the zone called for strikes.. which is nice..

    I agree that Happ should be in the rotation.. he has been sucessful in every role he’s had in the Major League’s (spot starter, to bullpen last year.. to long reliever this year) .. he deserves his shot..

    The problem is, Park was the odd man out.. did he really save his job with ONE solid performance vs. the Mets..

    and if ONE solid performance counts that much.. why does Moyer’s great game against the Marlins get thrown out?

    There is too much What Have You Done For Me Lately with our fans.. and that’s a problem.. Happ should be in the rotation.. but who should be the odd man out.. or do we go to 6 guys for the next few games?

33. mikemike Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 1:04 pm

    Myers is owe nothing, he is around 88 miles a hour with bad location. His best fit now is bullpen where he can get away with breaking balls and occasional fastballs and changeup for one inning. Happ must get a chance to show if he belongs. How many years in a row do you think the mets will collapse, right now they are not playing great but there closers have more saves than last year at this time. I believe as the season goes on and we see more of Rodiquez we will hit him. so will other teams.

34. Joe Durbin Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 1:17 pm

    OK I have a suggestion that could be looked at completely idiotic. I have no idea why I think this but here goes.
    With all of the somewhat injuries we seem to be having, why not throw Happ in as a 6th man in a 6-man rotation until we see who is completely screwing the pooch.
    That is it! My rediculous comment of the month.
    But Happ needs at least a shot more than long relief.
    Long relief is a tough spot, because you just might not be ready because you have not thrown in a while.

35. Joe Durbin Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 1:18 pm

    OK I have a suggestion that could be looked at as completely idiotic. I have no idea why I think this but here goes.
    With all of the somewhat injuries we seem to be having, why not throw Happ in as a 6th man in a 6-man rotation until we see who is completely screwing the pooch.
    That is it! My rediculous comment of the month.
    But Happ needs at least a shot more than long relief.
    Long relief is a tough spot, because you just might not be ready because you have not thrown in a while.

36. Joe Durbin Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 1:20 pm

    OK I have an answer to my own suggestion.
    Stop suggesting anything.

    Go Phillies!

    Hey what ever happened to the Bull Pen reality show they were filming?

    Joe

37. Phillies Phan SC Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 1:20 pm

    Here is my problem; and my ONLY problem, with putting him in the rotation. Who is n the bullpen to stop the bleeding IF the starters give up a huge lead? Perhaps Durbin, I know, but I am not against it, I just have questions…

38. Bob Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 1:20 pm

    I don’t think there is anything wrong with “what have you done for me lately?” attitude to a point. Our fans want to win another World Series and expect a champiomship caliber performance on most nights and rightfully so.

    In my opinion our 2 best starters (and this isn’t saying much) have been Myers and Moyer. I don’t think they need to be on their toes yet and Charlie isn’t known to panic. With that said, of course they need to pitch better and I am confident that they will.

    The 2 on notice are Blanton and Park and I believe it’s more Park. We will see if Blanton has turned the corner, he pitched well enough to help the Phillies get a World Series last season. We still need to see more out of Park. Unless Park is absolutely dominant for a long stretch, we will see Happ in the rotation pretty soon.

    14-12, in first place with some of the worst pitching in MLB. You have to take it for now. Give it some time, the starters will shape up and it all starts tonight with Cole Hamels.

    Remember who is waiting in the wings: Happ, Carrasco, Kendrick (maybe) and Drabek further down the line.⨪

39. Don M Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 1:28 pm

    A Championship Caliber performance on most nights..

    we were 14-10 going against one of, if not THE best pitcher in baseball in Santana.. we had our 5th starter (who most people wanted deported) give us a solid outing, and we lost 1-0..

    Last night was bad.. so we’re 14-12 with the worst ERA in Baseball..

    It’s hard to pinpoint exactly who the problem is.. I’d say its every single one of the starters.. None of them have been good this year.. but its too early to pull the plug on them because we’re still winning games somehow..

    Moyer has the longest proven track record.. so are we going to dump him over two bad starts vs the Mets?

    Park and Blanton both looked awesome in their last two starts.. against dangerous lineups. ..

    I think a 6-man rotation is the way to go.. at least to get us a good chance at an extra win when Happ goes more than to banish one of the others..

    It’s a tough call, but I have confidence Amaro, Charlie, and Dubee know what they’re doing.. lets wait and see

40. Covert OPS Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 1:40 pm

    Come on fellas it goes beyond the rotation. Anyone else wish Burrell was still here?

    We look flat as a team. The Mets rolled right over us. and now these trolls are here because of that, lol.

    We are truely in shambles. Our #1 pitcher has disappeared. Lidge is coming back to life and I hate to say it, but Rollins is clearly on the quick path to breaking down.

    Rollins cannot hit a lick anymore. No excitement when he steps in the box. We see there are no more MVPs in his future.
    I am waiting for Howard to go back agin join rollins withhitting below the mendoza line.

    Moyer has no gas in the tank left. I knew we needed to sign Lowe or trade for Santana a few years ago.

    Ibanez is a horror show out there.l

    I hopw Kile Drebek and Happ can plaint seeds in this rotation and flourish.

    Then again, I hope he is not another Gavin Floyd.

    Lets hope this losing streak ends tonight against those corny braves,. tomahawk chop-suey!

41. Bob Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 1:41 pm

    I say “most nights” because it is impossible to be at that level every night. Our starters haven’t given us many semblances of even of a good start. Just makes me more optismtic to be where we are right now.

    But I agree with everything you just said, Don

42. Bruce Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 1:45 pm

    If there are fewer starts for the 5th spot in rotation during the season (as the schedule dictates), how many actual starts you think will be available for the 6th spot? And how many teams actually have a six man rotation? It’s not practical and the inactivity may do more harm than good to a young pitcher like Happ. At least Happ will have opportunities as short and long relief in the bullpen. And with the early struggles (alot to do with Hamels’ absence) of the rotation, Happ will get plenty of those chances. As I said before, Manual along with Dubee are not going to make rash decisions so early in the season.

43. Havoc Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 1:46 pm

    It’s no longer a question of if Happ will be one of our starters this year, but when and for who…

    Hamels looked like his old self (barring injuries) in his last two starts. The rest of the rotation has been really shaky. It hurts but I think you have to say that whoever has the next bad outing between Moyer, Blanton & Park is going to find themselves replaced.

    Park & Blanton are the easiest to replace since they would both fit in well I think as long men out of the bullpen. Moyer is the problem, I think we’ve found ourselves in a similar situation to what the Mets have going on with Oliver Perez, (granted ours is a hell of a lot cheaper).

    The one thing that really worries me on this team is not that Happ will be replacing someone, it’s that Happ can’t replace 4 someones… Kendrick’s numbers have looked solid in AAA, but I don’t know whether he’s fixed the issues that cost him the job in the first place. From what I hear Carrassco’s numbers haven’t been great so far…

    We might be able to win the NL East with our bats alone… assuming we’re all fine with another dog fight right down to the last day of the season. If we want the team to perform in the playoffs though 3 out of 4 of these starters are gonna have to get it together, or we might have to consider a trade or two.

44. Covert OPS Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 1:51 pm

    Havoc,

    I strongly disagree. There is no way we can win the NL East this year with our rotation the way it is. We will get smacked up. Chan Ho pitched the game of his life. It will never happen again. Blanton is on the scrap heap, Moyer is Done and Hamels ahs been disappointing us and is clearly very hurt. I bet he doesnot make 10 starts this season.

    We need a make over .

45. Covert OPS Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 1:58 pm

    The Mets rotation has been under performing this year. Keep that in mind. Once Perez finds his way, he will be undefeatable. Maine has been rehabbing from a shoulder injury and is getting better with every start. Pelfrey is a slow starter and already he is 4-0. Then they hav either Llivan or Redding for the number 5. We all know about the best pitcher in the game.

    Then look at the Marlins. great young arms. Nolasco has been underperforming. and the rest of the rotation, Johnson, Volstad and Sanchez are proving they will be the best rotation in the league.

    Now compare them to us. A #1 in Hamel who never pitches and when he does he has been horrendous. Chan Ho PARK is garbage. Moyer’s fastball is embarasasing and my daughter can throw harder. He is a dinosaur. Blanton is the definition in medicore.

    We are not built to win anymore. I enjoyed 2008. Have you?

    We need to trade to get some decent pitching

46. Bob Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 1:59 pm

    Did we not just win a World Series less than 7 months ago? I’m not saying that will carry us through this season but COME ON! Show a little faith, we are 26 games into a 162 game season!

47. mikemike Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 1:59 pm

    Just read Baltimore is trying to unload freel. He is a hard working, get down dirty player always like him. I feel he would be a upgrade for us. look up his and brunlett stats. he is a 279 lifetime hitter, who plays all the position with a 980 fielding percentage, where brunlett is a 236 lifetime hitter, with a 964 fielding percentage. freel has a little more power steals more and is a really good outfielder and decent infield. had one bad year fielding which hurt him made 12 one year other than that is really good.Don’t know contract situation.

48. Covert OPS Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 2:04 pm

    mikemike,

    I don’t think freel will solve our problems. Can he pitch? LOL.

49. Havoc Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 2:08 pm

    Covert I think you might be giving the N.L. East too much credit. While the Marlins have a better starting rotation their offense and fielding have glaring holes, and their bullpen is very weak. The Braves rotation is alright but that isn’t enough to compensate for their all around average team. The Mets excluding Santana have the same problem we do. Except they don’t have suitable replacements for any of their starters. I think your making quite the leap of faith that first off Perez will find his way and that second he’s going to be unbeatable. The back end of their bullpen is much improved but the middle relief isn’t. Their starting rotation so far has been better than ours but I wouldn’t call it good. The only weakness the Phils have right now is starting pitching.

    The bullpen has stabalized lately and will soon be bolstered by the return of J.C.

    Defense has been solid and improved on last year as Ibanez has been better than Burrel in the field.

    There is no lineup in the NL East with the 1-7 threat that the Phillies have. If Rollings continues to improve the Phils could end up with the best offense in all of Baseball. I’m not saying that it would be east to win the NL East as we are now. Like I said it would be a down to the wire thing and since the Mets have a good lineup themselves they’d be with us the whole way. However, it’s not impossible. The real problem is I don’t JUST want to win the NL East.

50. Havoc Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 2:16 pm

    by the by Covert if your Covert Ops are coming from metsblog just to try and shake us up don’t worry. Phillies fans panic just as much as mets fans do it’s really not necessary we’ll take care of it ourselves. The bottom line though is Phils fans are going to jump ship on this team especially not in May. If you’re not trolling and just happen to have chosen that name and then come onto a phillies blog heaping praise on the mets then you can ignore this post.

51. Havoc Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 2:17 pm

    sorry meant to say aren’t going to

52. Manny Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 2:24 pm

    As much as I want Happ in the rotation NOW, I wouldn’t pull the plug on any of our starters right now… but one bad start from Chan Ho will definitely erase his 0 ER game in my mind, and he’ll be the one with the job to lose. We can’t just give up on Blanton or Myers now… that would be wayyyyy too soon. And Moyer, as much as I’ve convinced myself that he won’t finish this season in the rotation, can’t go anywhere for now because he is definitely capable of bouncing back. So, in my opinion, the best alternative for Happ is to give him a spot start sometime next week (trying to keep him on some type of alternate rotation schedule). I think that in a week or two it will be really clear who must leave this rotation. (I still think it’ll be Chan Ho).

53. ryan Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 2:24 pm

    let’s be honest, Chan Ho Hum has gotta go. He has a seven year track record of being a terrible pitcher. I don’t care how well he pitched in spring training and how good he was in his last outing, the past will predict the future with Chan Ho. He stinks, always has, and always will. JA needs to take his place. Chan Ho has some value in the Pen anyways.

54. ryan Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 2:27 pm

    another thought, with this surplus of young pitching, it seems to be sure that somebody is definitely getting traded. and that somebody is most likely Kendrick. or possibly Happ. Carrasco is untouchable unless there is a huge piece in play from the other side.

55. mikemike Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 2:28 pm

    I was just reading about our system compared to the mets and the scouts think we have a lot of good young talent. where the mets have been pushing names for years like perez maine and other in there system who haven’t shown they will be anything special.

56. ChaseUtleyMVP Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 2:47 pm

    Hey Covert OPS…
    what are you talking about?
    #1 pitching has dissapeared? Well before Cole had TWO FREAK plays knock him out…and he was tearing it up those 2 starts….

    our #1 pithcing is fine…
    its everything else after that

    and do we miss burrell? Why…he is hitting like .230 for the Rays…

    and what are you talking about that Ibanez is a horror show?

    DO YOU EVEN WATCH THE GAMES…
    he’s made plenty of great plays, plays that burrell would never had made and he is hitting over .330 and hitting the ball to all fields…

    and you say the team is flat?

    WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!

    they’ve already had 10 comeback wins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! how is a team flat that has that many come back wins

    and a handful of those are in the 7th inning or later…and some are from 5+ runs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    what are you talking about!!?!?!@##?!#?!

    so they lost 2 games to the Mets…ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh so what!

    they faced Johan…what do you want?
    and Moyer gave them no chance..

    there are 162 games in the season… they lost 2 in a row

    DID YOU FORGET THEY JUST SWEPT 2 GAMES FROM THE BEST TEAM IN THE NL SO FAR!!!!!!!!!

    wake up and actually know what you are talking about before you post.

57. Johnny Snowden Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 4:57 pm

    I dunno, at this point we’ve all gotten used to Moyer’s style at this point meaning we know he’s going to have an occasional blow out and yeah a lot of that has to do with the umpire.

    And as far as Myers goes, if you look past the long which I freely admit is one hell of a daunting statistic (giving up 10) his starts are fairly consistant, never giving up more than 4 runs and pitching no less than six innings except for his May 6th start in StL. Not ideal, but he’s keeping us in the game.

    To me, despite his six innings of one hit baseball this week, the clear move is to put Park in the pen as a long reliever taking some pressure off of Condry keeping him in that later middle relief role. That way, should anything happen health-wise, u know he could at least make a need-to start.

    Of course a lot of this discussion hinges on the fact the we haven’t really seen Cole Hamels yet. He’s be recovering, training, hurt or some combination. Once Hamel’s routine is back to “normal” I think it’s going to take a lot of pressure off the other four guys.

    But even if Charlie just skips Park’s nest start, or even Blanton OR if you know u got a HP umpire with a small strike zone, Moyer, give him an extra day off and just let Happ start. The kids earned it as far as I’m concerned.

58. Johnny Snowden Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 4:58 pm

    I mean realistically, we’ve sort of had a 4 man rotation for the last 3 weeks rainouts helping a lot with that.

59. Bruce Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 5:06 pm

    Covert OPS says.. the phillies are just not a good team right now..(chuckles)

60. mikemike Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 8:46 pm

    Is covert a baseball scout. I thought that name was used on mets nation to tell how the mets will win the division because of there better pitching, and hitting,

61. phxphilly Says:
    May 9th, 2009 at 3:11 am

    To put Happ into a 6 man rotation means you drop Cairo and add RP from AAA. Maybe that’s okay but then Cole is pinch hitting in the 10th inning. (Maybe he’s better than Cairo.)

    Anyway, as was mentioned repeatedly who do you replace?
    Hamels – No. He’s the oft-injured ace.
    Myers – No. He’s already a head case. And he’s at least pitched some innings. To put him in the pen you need to leave him there.
    Moyer – Maybe but you better IR him. I doubt he can pitch from the bullpen. He’s already ancient, he needs prep work for regular starts.
    Blanton – He’s always be a starter. He has a variety of pitches but which one will be effective in relief. How many hitters until he figures it out?
    Park – Obvious choice. He has been a reliever and was brought here as such. However, he may be ’sulking’ for a few appearances after being demoted.
    So really Park is the only choice, unless some goes IR. Moyer to IR at least saves some salary because of all his incentives.

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