Phillies comeback and win again…err, not this time [BEAST-OFF]

I was dotting my I’s when Jimmy Rollins flied out on the first pitch to left and I was crossing my T’s when Shane Victorino grounded sharply to first for the final out. What looked like yet another comeback win was not to be. Marlins win this one 5-4 to open a three game set against the Phils.

Let’s start with the obvious. Brett Myers reverted to fecal matter tonight. After a series of somewhat respectable starts and then finally a great one last week, Myers let up 5 earned runs in only 5.1 innings pitched. 7 hits, 4 walks, 3 strike outs and 3 home runs.

I was beginning to think he was making progress but who knows? One thing is for sure, this team needs STARTING PITCHING. (ATTN: Pat Gillick and Ruben Amaro Jr., See: reality, attached). Okay, okay, let’s just blame the heat and move on…

Beast (and least) of the East

Congrats to Chipper Jones, who becomes the second-ever two-time Beast of the East.

And shame on you Brett Myers, you’re the least of the week.

Phillies Beast (and least) of the Week

Beast: Pedro Feliz, 3B. Feliz was outstanding this week. He hit .379, going 11 for 29, with two doubles, a home run. Yes, he only had 4 RBIs, but he gets the Beast for having an outstanding May in general. For the month he is hitting .310 with 12 RBIs, a vast improvement over April’s .218. Geoff Jenkins and Shane Victorino also deserve props for excellent weeks. Jenkins hit .381 and Victorino .394, but Feliz plays every day and has had such a stellar May that he deserves the Beast this week.

Oh, did I mention Ryan Howard with 4 HRs and an average of .276 for the week?

Runners Up: Geoff Jenkins, Ryan Howard, Shane Victorino

Least: Brett Myers, RHP. I didn’t want to give it to Brett again, but no one else has really had the stand out crappiness that he manages to pull off start after start. I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to witness the last two outings, and while they’re not horrendous, they’re nothing close to good either. Brett needs to get away from the team for a couple week. Phantom DL or AAA or personal time – I don’t care. The Phils have lost the last 6 Myers outings and he has a 6.67 ERA in May. Something needs to Happen soon.

Runners Down: Charlie Manuel. I can’t stand these pinch runners every game. So yes, managers are up for beast and least, too.

(Feliz pic from Darrins on Flickr; Myers pic from inherbarefeet on flickr)

Major “doo-dooing” in Houston

Brett Myers lived up to his words tonight. He threw “doo-doo” like usual. 6 innings, 4 ER, 8 hits, 4 BB, 2 SO. Something needs to happen. I don’t care if it’s a trip to the phantom DL or a stint in the minors or a trade. This can’t continue. The Phillies are not going to compete for the division with Jamie Moyer as our second best pitcher. Myers is losing trade value daily. He’s still most attractive as a closer, and many teams could use him.

Ryan Howard is a Beast. He moon shot to right-center propelled the Phils to a 3-2 lead in the 3rd. But Myers couldn’t hold back the ‘stros. Carlos Lee‘s second RBI hit of the night (3 total) tied the game in the bottom of the 5th and Mark Loretta‘s single in the bottom of the 6th gave the Astros the lead. That would be all for the night for both teams.

In the 9th, the Phillies squandered a great opportunity to tie the game – for the second night in a row. Tonight, with the bases loaded and one out, Shane Victorino hit a shallow fly ball to left. Pedro Feliz was sent after the catch. A perfect throw by Darren Erstad completed the double play and ended the game (upon which point I promptly stormed out of the stadium.)

Houston telegram

The Beast lives, in Houston.

An interesting place down here – perhaps more interesting if the Phils were able to pull off the win last night. Luckily, the Beast was not in attendance just yet. That’s for tonight and tomorrow, my second consecutive Brett Myers and Cole Hamels starts. Perhaps this time it will be 2 for 2. Taking 3/4 from the Astros would make for a rather successful trip to the Lone Star state.

Off to the pool.

Chase Utley is already at the park.

-Greg Berlin

Beast goes to Houston

I’ll be in Houston this weekend watching the Phils take on the Astros.  I get to see Brett Myers take on Brian Moehler Saturday night and Cole Hamels take on Chris Sampson on Sunday afternoon.  I’ll be updating throughout the weekend and I’ll be sure to post pics of the Phils in Texas.

As for tonight:  Kyle Kendrick takes on Roy Oswalt in the first of a four game set.  Kendrick is coming off a virtual non-start in the rain-delayed game against the Blue Jays on Sunday.  Kendrick ended up only pitching 1 inning because of the break in action.  In his start before, however, he went 6 innings, allowing only 3 run.  The Phillies have won six of nine starts with Kendrick on the mound.

Who knows what we’ll see from the Phillies bats this weekend.  All I know is that Lance Berkman scares th *&^% out of me.

-Greg Berlin

Phillies Beast (and least) of the Week

Beast: I was torn, but decided to go with Jayson Werth over Ryan Howard. A three homer game can’t be looked over. Not too mention a total of 12 RBIs on the week. Not too shabby.

Runners Up: Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels, Chris Coste

Least: We’ll count last night, just because. It’s Brett Myers. A 8 run, 6 earned outing followed by last night’s lackluster 3 ER performance. This is a really a Least award building over the season. We get it Brett, you don’t want to be a starter. But for now, you have to find a way to contribute to this team every fifth day.

Runners Down: So Taguchi, Ryan Madson

-Greg Berlin

Postgame: Nats 4 – Phillies 0 [BEAST-OFF]

The Nats, led by right-hander Tim Redding, shutout the Phillies 4-0 last night. Redding pitched 6 and a third innings, he allowed 7 hits, gave up 2 walks, and struck out 2. The Phillies certainly had their chances throughout, with men seemingly every inning. The Phillies left 9 men on base throughout the game, many times coming in the middle of the order or with only 1 out. But they couldn’t find their way around Redding.

Brett Myers did not have the same luck. While he was not lit up as he has been in some earlier starts, he only lasted 6 innings, allowing 3 earned runs, giving up 8 hits, striking out 2, and walking 3. One of those walks was a four pitch at bat to Redding.

Myers got off to a poor start in the first when Dmitri Young hit a sac-fly to Shane Victorino, scoring Cristian Guzman. I was at the game and it did not look like Victorino played the ball correctly. He ran in on the ball immediately, preventing him from using his momentum to make a great throw to the cutoff. Still, his throw was okay. It was Jimmy Rollins‘ throw that really was the problem. It was off enough that it made the play close. Guzman was safe despite Carlos Ruiz‘s best effort.

The Nats tacked on three more runs in the game with a two RBI Lastings Milledge double in the 3rd, and a Dimitri Young double play in the 7th. Weird, yea, but Guzman scored despite getting the two outs.

The Phillies have now lost 7 of 11, and 3 in a row, a season-high losing streak. The Nats won their second in a row.

Around the Beast

Here are last night’s wrap-ups from the Phillies, Braves, and Marlins.

Braves 8-Phillies 6

Tom Glavine picked up his first Braves victory since 2002 as the Braves rolled over Brett Myers. The opening-day starter drops to 2-5 after surrendering home runs to Chipper Jones and Yunel Escobar in the first, just a couple of the 6 earned runs he would give up on the night (4.1 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 6 SO, 3 HR, 75 P). For the Braves, Kelly Johnson added a home run, Gregor Blanco drove in two runs, and Brian McCann added another.

The Braves bullpen could barely contain the Philadelphia offense, allowing two earned runs in the last two innings, including a 2-out Ryan Howard home run in the 8th. Chase Utley also homered for the Phillies (2 runs in the 6th off of Glavine), Jimmy Rollins drove in two runs on the night and Shane Victorino drove in one. The bright spot for the Phillies was their bullpen, with Ryan Madson, Clay Condrey and Rudy Seanez combining for 4.2 scoreless innings in relief of Myers.

Reds 7-Marlins 6 (F/10)

Rookie shortstop Paul Janish hit a walk-off single in his Major League debut as the Reds defeated the Marlins in the 10th inning. That came after Cody Ross tied the game on a three-run longball off of Reds closer Francisco Cordero in the ninth. Cordero’s first blown save of the year was an ugly one–the Marlins scored all six of their runs in the top of the ninth. Reds pitcher Mike Lincoln was charged with four runs, Cordero with two. This after Bronson Arroyo shut the Marlins down, going 7 full innings allowing no runs on 5 hits, striking out 5 and walking 3 on 111 pitches.

The Marlins were plagued by ineffective pitching all night, first from starter Ricky Nolasco (4.2 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO, 97 P), then from relievers Logan Kensing, Justin Miller, and Renyel Pinto. NL Beast has said it over and over again, the Marlins are only as good as their pitching.

Ross, Luis Gonzalez and Matt Treanor drove in runs for the Marlins. Adam Dunn homered and Jerry Hairston Jr., Ken Griffey Jr., Brandon Phillips, Edwin Encarnacion and Janish plated runs for the Reds.

Burrell and Lidge contract talks on the way?

Pat Gillick doesn’t prefer talking to players about contract extensions in-season. But saying this is his last year, he is willing to consider organization wishes before his own. Todd Zolecki elaborates:

So, will Gillick remain steadfast in his preference not to talk in-season, even though he won’t be back next year? It is believed the Phillies will remain inside the organization and replace Gillick with one of their assistant general managers, Ruben Amaro Jr. or Mike Arbuckle. What if everyone else thinks they should move forward and lock up Lidge or Burrell before they hit the open market?

“If I’m not going to be back and the organization thinks that they would like to move ahead, then it would be something that we would have to consider,” Gillick said before yesterday’s 4-3 loss to the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park.

Lidge and Burrell could fit that description.

“I’d say at this point they’re both having above-average seasons,” Gillick said. “They probably would be somebody we would have to consider retaining.”

The Phillies have not had talks with them yet, but Burrell already has said he would like to return. Lidge so far is happy in Philadelphia.

The resigning of Lidge and Burrell poses many questions to the organization. Firstly, is Brad Lidge having a legitimate season? How do we know he’s not just performing well in a contract year? Lidge has been masterful so far, but his past says this won’t last forever.

It also plays into the Brett Myers situation. Myers gave the Phils a solid closer last season, capable of going multiple innings and throwing with high velocity. This year, Myers is struggling immensely from the mound as a starter. Every sign points to Myers moving back to the closer role eventually, either for the Phillies or another team. He says he likes it, he did well there last season, and he’s not performing well as a starter. Obviously, the Phils aren’t going to keep Lidge and Myers in the pen together. If the Phillies sign Lidge, it means that they are sticking with Myers as a starter. That may not be the best move.

As for Burrell, the questions really start to mount. Burrell is 31, he had a career second-half last year and had a career April this year. So far in May he has struggled. Regardless, say he keeps up solid numbers throughout the season, are the Phillies really going to sign a 31 year-old historically under-performing left fielder? The same questions about performance in a contract year comes up with Burrell. I tend to believe that Burrell has legitimately figured things out. Even so, are you going to keep his average glove in left?

Postgame: Diamondbacks 8 – Phillies 3

Nobody expected to do much against Brandon Webb, who picked up his 8th win in 8 tries tonight. But the bigger story of the night has to be Brett Myers. Coming off a 7 inning, 10 strikeout performance, it would’ve been nice to string two strong starts together. Myers lasted only 5 innings. He let up 9 hits and 7 runs, 6 earned, all in only 5 innings.

If the Phillies want to compete for the division, they’re going to have to get better stuff out of their “ace”.

-Greg Berlin

Phillies Pregame – 3:40 PM EDT

The Game: Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Philadelphia Phillies

The Matchup: Brandon Webb (7-0, 2.49, 37/16 K/BB, 1.06 WHIP) vs. Brett Myers (2-2, 4.70, 37/12 K/BB, 1.36 WHIP)

The Story: Cy Young hopeful Brandon Webb goes for his 8th win in 8 starts. ‘Nuff said about him.

Brett Myers goes for his 3rd win, after posting a no decision in a strong 7 inning, 10 strikeout outing last week against the Giants. Myers seemed to find his strength again last week after shying away from his fastball in earlier starts this season. We’ll see if the long toss continues to pay off this afternoon.

Last night’s 5-4 win displayed nothing but grit from the Phils, but with Ryan Howard slumping, Pat Burrell cooling off, and Chase Utley coming back down to the stratosphere, the rest of the team has to continue to pick up the slack. Take Eric Bruntlett: He’s probably due only a couple more starts until Jimmy Rollins takes back his leadoff spot, but Bruntlett has filled in great, both in the field and at the plate.

With any luck, the Phillies make this one competitive. If they are able to pull off a win – taking 3 out of 4 from the Dbacks – it would be a very big statement to the rest of the league.

Stat of the Day: Ryan Howard is on pace for 231 strikeouts. His 199 strikeouts last year was a Major League record.

Saturday Division Roundup

Diamondbacks 10-Mets 4

Mike Pelfrey did not pitch well for the Mets, throwing more than 100 pitches in 5 innings, allowing 5 earned runs, walking 4 and striking out 1. He was charged with the loss, and is 2-2 on the year Diamondbacks ace Brandon Webb pitched well enough, but was not dominant, giving up 5 runs, 4 earned, on 7 full innings of work with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts. Augie Ojeda, replacing the injured Orlando Hudson,  terrorized the Mets, driving in 6 runs. For the Mets, Carlos Delgado hit a 3-run shot, but was one of the only Mets whose bat showed up. Combined, Jose Reyes and David Wright were 0-7 with a walk on the day. Duaner Sanchez‘s line on the day: (0.1 innings, 4 H, 5 ER) Ouch.

Nationals 9-Pirates 8

The Nats barely squeaked one out against the Bucs, as mediocre pitching gave way to clutch offense from the Nats. Cristian Guzman was a triple away from hitting for the cycle, and totaled 6 RBIs on the day. Guzman and Felipe Lopez jumpstarted the Nats offense, combining to go 6-9 on the day in the 1 and 2 spots. Matt Chico might have bought himself some more time to try and fix his pitching woes, but was not all that good, going 4.1 and letting up 5 runs, 4 earned, with 3 walks and 4 strikeouts. Jesus Colome picked up the win and Jon Rauch notched his 7th save of the year.

Giants 3-Phillies 2

The Phillies lost a heartbreaker as Bengie Molina hit a go-ahead RBI double off of Rudy Seanez in the 10th. Brett Myers pitched very well, going 7 innings, allowing 6 hits, 2 earned runs, walking 3 and striking out 10. But he received almost no run support other than home runs by Chase Utley (again) and Geoff Jenkins and an RBI from Pat Burrell. Giants starter Matt Cain was very effective, shutting the Phils down on 7 innings of 3-hit ball, striking out 8 and walking 1.

Braves 9-Reds 1

Yunel Escobar led the Braves to a hit parade Saturday as he went 3-4 with 2 runs and an RBI. The Braves had 15 hits on the day compared to 4 for the Reds. Jo-Jo Reyes pitched well for Atlanta, allowing just 1 earned run on 5.1 innings, striking out 5 and walking 3. Brian McCann had 2 RBIs for the Braves, who now sit just a game below .500.

Padres 7-Marlins 2

Young Ricky Nolasco continues to struggle for the Marlins, giving up 10 hits over 4.2 innings of work yesterday as Padres ace Jake Peavy cruised. Peavy went 5.2 and struck out 8, allowing just 2 earned runs. Mike Jacobs‘ 2 run blast in the bottom of the first was all the offense the Marlins could muster. After a hot start, the Marlins are just 4-6 in their last 10.

Troubling words from Brett Myers

I alluded to Myers’ troubles earlier. Read for yourself:

Poof.

The fastball that made Brett Myers a first-round draft pick in 1999 is nowhere to be found. The pitch that hit 95 m.p.h. suddenly cannot break 88 m.p.h. That is a concern for Myers and the Phillies, who finished 5-2 on their seven-game road trip after Myers lasted just five innings in a 5-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates yesterday at PNC Park.

“He’s supposed to be one of our aces,” manager Charlie Manuel said.

“I’m lost,” Myers said. “I’m lost throwing 88 m.p.h. I’m thinking I’m still a fastball pitcher because I usually am. I usually establish my fastball early in the game. I’ve always been that guy. I’ve always done that. But right now I’m going to other crap earlier than I want to.

“Usually if I’m behind in the count 2-1 or 3-1, I’m never pitching backward. Right now I’m pitching backward.”

This is what it means to pitch that way: Myers fell behind 2-1 in the count to Pirates centerfielder Nate McLouth in the fifth inning.

He threw him a cutter. Last year, he would have thrown him a fastball. McLouth hit the cutter for a two-run home run to right field, his second homer yesterday against Myers, who leads the majors with 10 homers allowed.

“Usually I go right after guys,” said Myers, who is 2-2 with a 5.11 ERA after six starts. “Usually I’m throwing heaters, and I don’t really care if a guy hits it out of the park because I feel like if I have enough on it, he’s going to miss-hit it or something.”

Myers said he is healthy. He said his arm feels fine. So what is the problem?

The righthander, who met with Manuel in the manager’s office for about 10 minutes after the game, is baffled at the loss of velocity since last season. Pitching coach Rich Dubee suggested two possible solutions.

“I think it’s as simple as him throwing more fastballs and him getting out there and playing some more long toss,” Dubee said. “He’s not a real big believer in long toss, and I am. I think that’s one way you develop arm strength. It gives you some elasticity in your arm, and I think it’s something he has to buy into a little more. He doesn’t do much at all. Game day, he throws five balls at a long distance and that’s it.”

Dubee would like to see Myers long toss a couple of times a week.

“I did that last year as a reliever,” said Myers, who added he is open to more long tossing. “I never did when I was a starter because I felt like my [bullpen sessions] were giving me enough arm strength.”

Myers said he abandoned the fastball yesterday because the separation in speeds between his fastball (86 m.p.h.) and his cutter (83 m.p.h.) was not enough.

“He wasn’t going to throw the cutter today,” Dubee said. “See how long that lasted? We were going to throw more curveballs. He threw them to the first couple hitters, and then he put it in his back pocket for whatever reason. We talked about getting away from the cutter and throwing more fastballs and throwing more curveballs because of the separation between the speeds. But he got away from that game plan for whatever reason.”

Said Myers: “It’s not like I’m hurting. It’s not like it’s aching. It’s not like I can’t throw or anything like that. I’ve had times where it is barking and still go out there and throw 92, 93 [m.p.h.]. But right now it just isn’t coming out. It’s like doo-doo going up there.”

This is troubling, to say the least.

Phillies Weekly Bea(s)t

– Off day for the Phils. Let’s take a look at how they did on their road trip.

Monday, April 21- Phillies 9, Rockies 5
Kyle Kendrick gets the nod against Mark Redman. Kendrick pitches 5 innings, letting up 5 ER, 8 hits and 2 HR. Chase Utley homered in in his 5th straight game, tying a team record. Utley was on the back end of the all too unconventional back-to-back homers. Before Utley’s dinger, Jason Werth hit an inside-the-parker. The play at the plate wasn’t even close.

TIMEOUT: FLYERS SCOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRE!!!!!!!!!!

Now where were we….

Tuesday, April 22 – Phillies 8, Rockies 6
Brett Myers gets his first start of the week. Myers pitches 7 innings, but lets in 6 ER and 2 HRs. Ryan Madson picks up the win after Pat Burrell breaks open the game with a bases clearing double, 3 RBI double. As with the whole season, Myers continued to shy away from his fastball, formerly his bread and butter pitch. More on that later.

Wednesday, April 23 – Phillies 4, Brewers 5
This has to be the most frustrating game of the week. Cole Hamels have a rough first inning, letting up 3 ER, including a 2 run shot to Prince Fielder. But Hamels quickly settles down and goes the next 6 innings innings looking like the star that he, notching 10 Ks and allowing only 4 hits from the 2nd inning through the 7th. 110 pitches into the game, with the best bullpen in the NL, Charlie Manuel decides to put him back out there. It wasn’t the gameplan, and a two-run shot to Prince Fielder, his second of the game, would spell the end for Cole. It wasn’t as if the Phillies didn’t have a chance to win the game. Chase Utley, Greg Dobbs, and Pat Burrell all homered. In the 9th inning So Taguchi walked, and then stole 2nd and 3rd. Jason Werth and Pedro Feliz (big shocker) couldn’t convert, and the Phillies lose 5-4.

Thursday, April 24 – Phillies 3, Brewers 1
The Pat Burrell show continues. Deadlocked at 1-1 in the 8th, BAT comes up

FLYERS SCOOOOOOOOOREEEEEE!!!! (shorthanded too!)

Anyways, Pat Burrell comes up 1-1 in the 8th and – as if anyone didn’t see it coming – he hits a two run double to put the Phils up 3-1. Lidge would come in to seal it for his 5th save of the year. However, the most impressive player of the game was Jamie Moyer. The 45 year old Philly native hurled 6+ innings of 8 hit, 1 run ball. That’s as good as you can hope for from the old man.

Friday, April 25 – Phillies 6, Pirates 5
(3-0! Flyers just won’t let up!)
The Phillies jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead by the 4th inning. Adam Eaton was pitching strong to start, but ended up letting in 3 ER in only 3.2 IP. JC Romero comes in and pitches himself into a nasty jam, but he gets out of it to keep his 0.00 ERA perfect on the season. Brad Lidge gets save number 6.

Saturday, April 26 – Phillies 8, Pirates 4
Quick start again for the Phightins, 5-0 in the first inning. It all began with Ryan Howard‘s 2-run jack in his first at bat after two days coming off the bench. Kyle Kendrick let up 4 ER and 8 hits, but pitched strong into the 8th inning before being pulled. He’s putting together a string of (somewhat) solid starts. Good to see after his poor start to the season.

Sunday, April 27 – Phillies 5, Pirates 1
A loss would be a loss if Brett Myers wasn’t on the mound. For the second time in a week Myers shies way from his fastball. He’d talk about it in the postame, and I’ll talk about it in my next post. It’s troubling at best. As for the rest of the game, Nate McClouth hit a lead of home run and another in the 5th off of Myers. The Phillies bats were largely silent for this one. Can’t win ’em all.

Beastily facts to take away from the week:

• Pat Burrell and Chase Utley continue to tear things up. ‘Nuff said.
• Jason Werth quietly hits 4 HRs. He’s seeing some real playing time because of the injury to Victorino. It’ll be interesting to see what Manuel does with Werth. Geoff Jenkins is having a hard time living up to just (poor) hype thus far. Werth and Jenkins both hit roughly .260 against righties. But against lefties Werth is hitting .333, while Jenkins is hitting only .100! That’s the only stat I need. I’d have Werth out there every game. Use Jenkins off the bench. Good luck seeing that happen anytime soon…
• Jamie Moyer continues to fit his role. Now, his role is more like a 5th starter than a 3rd, but he’s doing his part just fine.
• The bullpen continue to dominate.
• The Phils go 5-2 despite a couple of frustrating losses. Still, can’t complain. Good trip.

-Greg Berlin

P.S. GO FLYERS!!