Last season the Phillies started the season 0 and 2 against a division rival.   This season has started the same as the Fightins went down for the second time this young season against the Atlanta Braves.

Jamie Moyer started on the hill for the Phillies but was tagged for four runs in five innings as he yielded eight hits including a first inning solo home run to Kelly Johnson on the game’s first pitch and a fifth inning solo blast to Chipper Jones.  Moyer was far from sharp but you can’t win if you can’t score and the Fightin’s offense is scuffling right now.  

The Phillies left 11 runners on base and were limited to six hits, two each for Ryan Howard and Chase Utley.  Raul Ibanez had the only extra base hit for the Phillies, a double.   The only bright spots on the night for the Phillies was the work of the bullpen.  Chan Ho Park, Jack Taschner and Clay Condrey combined to pitch four scoreless innings.

Jair Jurrjens threw five and two thirds innings for Atlanta and was supported by four Brave relievers to earn the combined shutout.

Chatter

Joe Blanton will take the pill tommorrow afternoon in attempting to avoid the sweep and lead the team to the first 2009 win.  Championship rings will be distributed prior to the game, Pat Burrell will be on hand as the Rays are playing in Boston and the Phillies have paid the tab to bring him here for the ceremony and then get him back in time to Fenway to play the game there.  Classy move.

As the season opener rapidly approaches the Fightin’s have made a few shuffles in the roster to finalize the opening 25 man crew.   Outfielder Geoff Jenkins was given his unconditional release, the Phillies still owe Jenkins $8 million for the second year of his contract and will eat that amount.  Jenkins was a good team man and I am sorry to see him go but do realize that with Jayson Werth established as the everyday right fielder that Matt Stairs is better suited than Jenkins as a left handed bat off the bench.  Jenkins should catch on somewhere as I believe he still has good baseball left in him.

The team also designated John Mayberry Jr. to minor league camp as well as Carlos Carrasco. Both are young players and will most likely be future big leaguers.  Chan Ho Park was told that he has won the fifth starter’s job over J.A. Happ.  I have a good feeling that Park is going to have a decent year and am glad to see him win the starting job.  I hope that Happ can adjust to a bullpen role as I don’t think another minor league assignment is in his best interest mentally.  If the team does assign him to Triple A I think they are doing so with the intent of eventually moving him in trade. 

Robert Mosebach was reclaimed by the Angels.  He was a rule 5 draft choice of the Phillies this winter and had to remain on the big league roster or be offered back to the Angels.  Reports are that the Fightin’s are attempting to work out a trade to keep him, he has very good velocity and would be a good insurance policy at Triple A.   Recently acquired Jack Taschner will most likely make the roster but if indeed Happ does as well that will give the team 3 lefties in the pen!  Last season they went almost the entire season with only one before acquiring Scott Eyre.  It would appear that Gary Majewski might be optioned to Triple A but that hinges on the team’s opinion of Happ and whether they want to play with his psyche and send him to Lehigh.

Chatter

Gary Sheffield was released by Detroit, he officially clears waivers at 1 pm tommorrow and apparently the Phillies have interest in signing him as a right handed pinch hitter and part time outfielder.  I think Sheffield is a very good player but do have concerns on his locker room impact, this is a good crew of men that gets along well, not sure we need a Kenny Lofton like influence.  I only know what I read of Sheffield and perhaps the negative reports in this regard are inaccurate.  If the team signs him then Miguel Cairo would presumably be out of a roster spot.  It has also been rumored that the Fightin’s have interest in Andruw Jones but it seems that he will indeed make the Texas Ranger’s opening day roster.   Lastly Marcus Giles was given his outright release, it would appear that his baseball days are over at the major league level but one never knows, perhaps he catches on elsewhere.   Brett Myers will start the season opener as Cole Hamels slight elbow injury will push his first start back to later in the season against Colorado.

Can’t wait for opening day!  Thanks to the folks at Nuemann College for affording me the chance to do a book signing yesterday, did very well with sales and met alot of interesting folks!

Just a few notes as we bide the time till opening night on April 5th.  Spring Training sure seems like it is taking forever this year but today a few noteworthy roster moves took place.

Minor League Options

The Phillies sent Kyle Kendrick, Jason Donald, Lou Marson and Brad Harman to Minor League Camp today.   The significance of each is that all four are major league caliber players either presently or in the near future.  Kendrick was competing for the fifth starter’s spot and albeit his most recent outing against the Twins was decent he could not overcome earlier outings where he struggled.  Kendrick will go to Lehigh Valley and work on an offspeed pitch to compliment his sinker.  He is a capable major leaguer having already won 22 games at the top level but needs to find a secondary pitch to keep hitters off the sinker.  Donald had a great spring training but my guess is that the team wants him to play everyday at Lehigh most probably at third base to see if they have the next third sacker in tow after Pedro Feliz’s contract expires after this season.  Marson is a 22 year old catcher with a perceived bright future.  He will catch everyday at Lehigh and is potential trade material, Boston supposedly is high on him, else depending on how he hits may be in Philly later this year or in 2010.  Harman is bull strong, the organization needs to figure out whether he is a utility player or one that can be a regular, perhaps they give him a look in the outfield at Lehigh to ascertain what they have.  All four provide depth for the Fightin’s which has not always been the case in season’s past!

World Baseball Classic

It may sound like sour grapes but if the event is continually held during spring training won’t countries like Japan and Korea consistently meet in the finals ?   Teams stocked with big leaguers like the U.S.  don’t seem to be as committed to wining the tournament as our friends from the Aisa Pacific region.  The tournament is fun to watch but I think that if a fair representation of U.S. baseball is to occur then the tourney maybe belongs in November after the World Series is concluded.  That would put all countries on the same plane rather than having some in primary training mode.  That being said the battles that J.C. Romero had with teammates Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino during the U.S./Puerto Rico quarter final game were extremely energized and fun to watch.

Pitching Plans

Cole Hamels seems very unlikely to start the season as the opening day starter, elbow inflamation set him back and expectations are now that he will need at least one additional start to the twon already scheduled  before opening day occurs.  That being said the early regular season schedule is user friendly thru April 15th so the Fightin’s could in essence get away with a three man rotation till then.   The fifth starter spot seems to be between J.A. Happ and Chan Ho Park.  Park has learned a change up from teammate Jamie Moyer and has been very effective putting it in his reportoire.  Happ has been racking up K’s with his fastball in his outings, personally I think Happ starts the season in the pen as the lefty replacing J.C. Romero till he serves his 50 game suspension and Park gets the nod as the starter.  I think Mr. Park could be a very pleasant surprise as a starter this season.   

Bench Reserves

Is it me or has Ronny Paulino showed very little reason to not carry Chris Coste as the backup catcher.  Coste has established himself and I would think that Paulino would have to win the job away, I have not seen anything to indicate he has thus far.   Miguel Cairo seems like he may win the right hand bench reserve spot only because the team may want John Mayberry Jr. to start the season in Lehigh playing everyday.  Mayberry has shown he is a real prospect and his athleticism has enabled him to showcase in all three outfield spots this spring.  If the team feels that he can adjust to the reserve role of pinch hitter then he has won a  reserve job but since he is still a young player they may indeed want to get him regular at bats in Triple A.

Two weeks away till opening night so more spring games to play and iron out the roster possibilities, expect trade rumors to fly and perhaps some deals to get done before the opening day group comes north.

Kyle Kendrick had a shaky outing early in the week which opened the door for the other three competitors in the “Fifth Starter Sweepstakes” to overtake the frontrunner Kendrick.  Rich Dubee, the Phillies pitching coach had proclaimed Kendrick as the one to beat early on in spring training.  Chan Ho Park threw friday night against the Blue Jays and pitched four effective innings with four K’s allowing one run.  J.A. Happ threw saturday against the Tigers and pitched very well by tossing three shutout innings and accumulating seven strikeouts !   Happ used a good heater to mow down the Tigers.  Carlos Carrasco  goes on Sunday against the Braves in his first chance since coach Dubee announced earlier this week that the competition is now on in earnst.

The Phillies beat the Tigers 8 to 1 but lost to the Jays 4 to 3 to put the spring mark at 4 and 4.

Chatter

John Mayberry Jr. continues to impress as he belted a three run homer against the Tigers.  Mayberry is hitting close to .300 in spring games thus far and has shown good athleticism and ability to play the two corner outfield spots.  He may indeed make the squad.   Ryan Howard belted yet another homer against the Tigers, his third of the spring.  The big man is swinging the bat well thus far, hopefully it pays off in a better start to the regular season as well.

Jamie Moyer threw very well against the Tigers going four innings and tallying five k’s.   I watched some of the World Baseball Classic and saw the Netherlands team upset Team Dominican Republic.  I don’t quite understand what the qualifications are to be on the teams,  ex phil Randall Simon is on the Netherlands team and I was not aware that he was from that region ?  

Carlos Ruiz seemed to get shaken up a bit playing for Panama against Puerto Rico and left the game early, hopefully not anything of issue.

It appears the Phillies will not make any more free agent signings, they did pick up Rodrigo Lopez off waivers from the Braves but it is expected that he will be a starter in Lehigh Valley.  G.M. Ruben Amaro said the team most likely will not sign lefty Will Ohman, the way that J.A. Happ pitched against the Tigers might avail him to the second lefty in the pen spot if indeed he does not earn the fifth starter spot.

Manny finally signed a contract, woohoo!  Seriously, does anyone outside of L.A. care ?  When alot of folks in the real world are either struggling to find work, worrying about losing work or working for not enough to pay their bills do we really care about this guy “struggling” to get his $45 million over two years ?  Manny being Manny wore thin last season and even more so this offseason.

Phillies Spring week in Review

The Phillies went 3 and 1 during the last four spring games beginning 3/1 with a win over the Atlanta Braves.  They then beat WBC Team Canada and the Toronto Jays but fell to WBC Team U.S.A.   Pitching highlights of the week were the spring debuts of Brett Myers and Cole Hamels.  Kyle Kendrick, J.A. Happ, Chan Ho Park and  Carlos Carrasco all threw during the week albeit none stood out with superior outings. 

On the offensive side Marcus Giles had a couple knocks against his old team, the Braves.  Ryan Howard belted a true bomb against the Jays while Raul Ibanez smoked a couple of doubles.  John Mayberry Jr. belted a dinger against Team Canada as did non roster invitee Jeremy Slayden.  Howard added another blast against Team U.S.A as did Jason Donald.

Injury Updates

Chris Coste continued to battle hamstring woes while Jayson Werth is taking it slow with leg issues.  Brad Lidge experienced shoulder tightness and also was taking a slow approach.  Better now than when the season starts!

Chatter

Nomar Garciappara signed a contract with the Oakland A’s ending speculation that he might become a Phillie.  That would seem to leave that right handed bat spot open to the likes of Ronny Paulino, Chris Coste, John Mayberry Jr. or perhaps Jeremy Slayden ???   Ok, maybe Slayden is a stretch but he is having a good spring at the least. 

Let me tell ya the Cal Ripken Experience baseball facilities in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina are top drawer!  Spent the week there and if the weather had cooperated it would have been great.  It was in the high 30′s for most of the week so not so great baseball weather.  I would recommend the site however to any college or high school team looking for a spring site for a great baseball experience!

Fittingly the Philies open the 2009 spring training with pitchers and catchers reporting on Valentines Day!   An offseason love story, spurred by winning the 2008 World Series,  between the team and it’s fans thus comes to conclusion this day as it is time to get back to the true business of baseball….playing !

Skipper Charlie Manuel told the troops that it is time to put 2008 behind and begin the focus on the new season.  Resting on laurels will not be tolerated either by the skip, the veteran core of the team or at the very least, the fans!  I watched an interview with Jamie Moyer and he addressed that very same thing and how anxious he was to get started, so much so that he had trouble sleeping the night before camp opening!

Brett Myers arrived at camp as a much slimmer version, reportedly losing 30 pounds!  Myers vows to start 2009 in a much more positive fashion that he did 2008 and thus dedicated himself to a more vigorous off season workout regimen.   Myers is in the last year of a contract and is eligible for free agency after the season if he and the team do not agree on an extension.

J.C. Romero is in camp albeit will not go north with the big club as he must serve a 50 game suspension for the use of performance enhancing “vitamins”.  Romero tested positive for a banned MLB substance in 2008 and is forced to sit out almost a third of the 2009 season. 

Adam Eaton is also in camp but with little or no chance at making the ballclub, Eaton is due a large sum of cash for the final year of the contract he signed three years ago but has little shot at gaining a starting spot with the Fightins this spring.  Eaton has stated that he will not accept a minor league assignment therefore the Phillies will either have to release him or attempt to trade him, any team that has interest will most likely sit and watch awaiting his release rather than reqlinquish anything in trade.

There will be a battle for the fifth starter’s spot…….. Chan Ho Park, Kyle Kendrick, J.A. Happ and Carlos Carrasco will attempt to impress the skipper enough to earn the rotation spot.  Happ may have the early edge coming in but we will see.

One thing is for certain, Cole Hamels has been named as the opening day starter by the skipper already, coming off the winning of the National League LCS and World Series MVP’s it is well deserved. 

Chatter

Want a true darkhorse to make the ballclub ?  How bout that Sergio Escalona ?  The 23 year old Venezualen is a lefty and might possibly earn the fill in spot till Romero is able to return ?  One to watch perhaps!

The backup catcher spot is also up for grabs apparently, defending champ Chris Coste must defend the spot against newly acquired Ronny Paulino who comes to the team from the Pittsburgh Pirates in an offseason trade.  Both catchers still have minor league options so one most likely will be asked to go the minors as an insurance policy however I have read rumblings that if Paulino wins the job that the Phillies may entertain the Florida Marlins interest in Coste in a trade.  I hope not as Mr. Coste is one of my personal favorites on the club!