2006 Philles Season Thread

[phattymatty]

you could really hear the fans last night giving it to bonds.  almost brought a tear to my eye.  but does anyone know what this means?

[MDS]

Char?

[Rome]

Cease Having Anabolic Rages?

[SunMo]

Controlled Homo Anal Rape?

[MDS]

[PhillyPhanInDC]

[PhillyPhanInDC]

Buster Olney was having a chat over on ESPN.com, some good insight on Hamels:

Mark (Philly): Is the Phils' recent surge a mirage or a sign of things to come? Do you see Cole Hamels being added to the rotation soon?

SportsNation Buster Olney: (2:38 PM ET ) Mark: The Phillies have to be at least strongly thinking about it, with the team playing well, but in a sense, the recent win streak buys them time -- and Pat Gillick's history is to make damn sure minor league pitchers have enough time to develop in the minors. Of all that Pat knows, I think he understands pitching the best, and he'll stubbornly keep him there until he thinks he's ready. I don't know what his pitch sequences have been in Class AAA, but for Pat, that will be a key -- whether Hamels is throwing off-speed stuff for strikes in fastball counts (2-0, 3-1). I don't know if he's merely winning with his fastball, but that's always the concern about young pitchers.

[Rome]

If Hamels is winning with his fastball, that would certainly be a nice change of pace from Madsen.

[PhillyPhanInDC]

Yeah it would.

Steve Phillips is on now....

[stalker]

Here's a newsflash for ya Billy, when its 24 against 1 and you're the 1, its time to look in the mirror to see what you're doing wrong.

"After I called them out, they were waiting for me to fall flat," Wagner said. "In my mind, when I went out to the mound, they were waiting for me to go in the tank. I could be wrong, but that's the feeling I got."

[/i]

Waaaaah, what a very TO-like statement.

Yeah, no shtein Artie.

[BigEd76]

Check out Sal Fasano taking a tour of Philly with Marzano on CSN.  Sal got to meet Marzano's handicapped mom and screw up a cheesesteak order.  Nice....

[PhillyPhreak54]

can we start the argument back up:

Utley vs Abreu

Ill stick with my point--Utley is the better and leader of the team--and hell prove it more as the season goes

I'm sick of the word "leader".

Toss that in with "blue collar" too.

[PhillyPhreak54]

Check out Sal Fasano taking a tour of Philly with Marzano on CSN.  Sal got to meet Marzano's handicapped mom and screw up a cheesesteak order.  Nice....

I am also sick of the whole "let's take the new guy in the city to Pats (or Geno's) and see him eat a cheesesteak and/or do a photo op while holding a spatula".

And Johnny Marz irks me as well. He was good when he first started out on CSN, but WIP has rotted his brain.

[PhillyPhreak54]

Wagner: I was never a fan fave

By PAUL HAGEN
hagenp@phillynews.com

THE PHILLIES have won eight straight.

(Insert appropriate reaction here.)

The first-place Mets open a three-game series at Citizens Bank Park tonight.

(Insert appropriate - that is, opposite - reaction here.)

And the Mets' visit means the return of closer Billy Wagner, who spent 2 years trying to nail down wins for the Phillies before becoming a free agent last winter and signing a 4-year, $43 million deal with the division rivals from New York.

(Insert above reaction and turn it up a couple of notches.)

Wagner laughed when asked Sunday at Shea Stadium what sort of reception he expects to get from the same fans who used to come out and cheer for him to throw 100-mph fastballs.

Shoot, he said, he was booed at home even when he played for the Phillies.

"It started the very first time I was there," he said with a grin. "Stepped on the mound, hadn't thrown a pitch, hadn't given anyone any reason to not like me. Right out of the gate. 'We wish we had [Jose] Mesa.'

"I was like, 'Whew, I'm going to be a hit in this town.' "

So, no, he isn't kidding himself about what the reaction will be if and when he takes off his Mets warmup jacket and begins loosening up the next 3 nights.

"I mean, when you're a visitor, you expect that. You do," he said. "This isn't new to me. Them screaming and telling me I suck and they hope I die, this is nothing new. That stuff doesn't bother me. What bothers you is when it's your home field and they're telling you the same thing. That's the tough part.

"I know it won't be easy. But what is?"

The twist here is that while Wagner is pitching well enough (2.12 earned run average, .190 opponent's batting average, 12 hits and 19 strikeouts in 17 innings), he has blown three saves in 10 opportunities. Meanwhile, Tom Gordon - who was signed to replace Wagner - is a perfect 10-for-10. He has an 0.61 ERA, a .085 opponent's batting average and has give up only four hits in 14 2/3 innings while whiffing 23.

"I couldn't be happier for him. He's one of the most professional guys I've ever met," Wagner said. "He's fantastic. I love Flash. I'm glad he's off to a great start. And I hope he does well, because if he hadn't gotten off to a great start, it would have been a different situation for him."

He also understands that will give the people who like to stand over the bullpen and yell at opposing pitchers that much more ammunition.

"Probably because I'm not off to such a super start and unhittable, [or] striking out everybody and throwing a billion [mph] and stuff, I'll hear how's my health, 'You look like you've lost something,' typical BS," he said.

Phillies bullpen coach Ramon Henderson, who has spent as much time as anybody in the 'pen, thinks Wagner's fat contract will be a common theme of the taunts.

"Always, money is the issue. People are going to think he left because of the money, but I don't think that was the case," Henderson observed.

Laughed Wagner: "If they throw me money, I'm keeping it," he said with a laugh. "If they think I'm stupid enough for them to throw money and me not pick it up, they're crazy.

"I'm not worth 10 ½ million dollars. I never said I was. But being at the right place at the right time means a lot."

Wagner has gotten an earful from Mets fans after blowing saves at Shea Stadium, but that doesn't bother him, either.

"They've been fine. I mean, I've been booed twice and I should have... I'm realistic. I'm a fan, too. I know when you get it done. I know the difference," he said.

He also understands that the fact that, of all the teams in baseball, his choice to go to New York will add to the level of abuse.

"Definitely, [being with] the Mets make it a little bit more. You know, if I was traded to the Mets, I'd get a nice reception. But picking the Mets, it's going to be a hope-you-die [situation]. And that's fine. That's part of the game. We all go through it.

"I don't like being a villain. I'm just a stupid baseball player. I'm not a rocket scientist. I ain't curing cancer. And if that's how people choose to spend their money, coming out to boo Billy Wagner, well, thank you very much."

It's a pretty safe bet that quite a few people will choose to do just that the next 3 nights.

Oh, jeez. Jose Mesa?!?!

JOSE F'ING MESA, Billy?

Anyone who thought that or said it (and Billy is probably lying) needs to be castrated.

[PhillyPhreak54]

As Hamels dominates, Phils try to determine his future

By Todd Zolecki
Inquirer Staff Writer

The question has been: When? The answer could be: Soon, very soon.

Phillies assistant general manager Mike Arbuckle said yesterday that he would be in Philadelphia this week to talk with general manager Pat Gillick. They will try to figure out their course of action for Cole Hamels, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre lefthander who has dominated in the minor leagues this season.

"At some point before long we'll have to take a hard look at doing something," Arbuckle said of the possibility of Hamels' promotion to the Phillies. "If he keeps pitching like this, I don't think it'll be a lot longer. But we still have to sort it out."

Hamels, 22, the team's first-round draft pick in 2002, allowed one run and struck out 10 in seven innings Sunday for the triple-A Red Barons.

In three starts for Scranton, he is 2-0 with an 0.39 ERA. In 23 innings, he has allowed one run, 10 hits and one walk, and struck out 36. Opponents have hit just .128 against him.

In 1951/3 career innings in the minors, Hamels is 14-4 with a 1.43 ERA. He has allowed just two home runs in his professional career.

The Phillies seem to have two options if they call up Hamels, which seems inevitable. They can move righthander Ryan Madson into the bullpen, or send righthander Gavin Floyd to Scranton.

Madson is 3-1 but has a 6.82 ERA. In 301/3 innings, he has allowed 49 hits and 16 walks, while striking out 15. Opponents have hit .371 against him.

Madson has pitched well from the bullpen the last two seasons, which could factor into the decision.

Floyd is 3-2 with a 6.16 ERA. In 302/3 innings, he has given up 41 hits and 17 walks, and struck out 19. Opponents have hit .323 against him. He is not a candidate for the bullpen.

Hamels pitched a shutout last Tuesday in Richmond, Va., against Atlanta's triple-A affiliate.

Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox said Thursday at Citizens Bank Park that he recognized Hamels' name in the reports he read. Cox watched Hamels pitch against the Braves in spring training of 2004 and had not forgotten him.

"He's as good as it gets, everything about him - fastball, change-up, poise on the mound," Cox said. "He has ace written all over him."