CHICAGO -- A few moments ago, I was walking through the winding hallway that connects the Phillies' clubhouse with the dugout at Wrigley when Jimmy Rollins stopped me."Grab a bat," he said. "We're looking for a No. 9 hitter."
He was only slightly kidding. I mean, I think he was kidding.
Earlier this afternoon, the Phillies placed Shane Victorino and Michael Bourn on the 15-day disabled list. The speedy outfielders were injured one inning apart Monday night. Victorino strained his right calf trying to beat out a double play grounder, while Bourn sprained his left ankle when he stumbled over the bullpen mound in pursuit of a foul ball. Victorino has a slight tear of a muscle in his calf, but the Phillies believe he'll be able to play in two weeks when he's eligible to come off the DL. Bourn make take a bit longer. Assistant GM Ruben Amaro Jr. described Bourn's sprain as "moderate to severe," although it's a low ankle sprain, which is better than a high ankle sprain.
Regardless, these are big blows to the Phillies' lineup, offensively and defensively. Huge, actually.
Light-hitting speedster Chris Roberson has been called up from triple-A Ottawa and is playing right field tonight. Greg Dobbs is batting leadoff (he's 0-for-1 with a walk in his career as a leadoff hitter). Jayson Werth (strained left wrist) will rejoin the team tomorrow. The full lineup: 3B Dobbs, 2B Tadahito Iguchi, SS Rollins, 1B Ryan Howard, CF Aaron Rowand, LF Pat Burrell, C Chris Coste (getting another start), RF Roberson, P Adam Eaton.
What do you think? Can the Phillies withstand this latest injury setback?
*Also, while the Braves were getting Mark Teixeira and Octavio Dotel and the Mets were getting Luis Castillo, the Phillies beat the trade deadline by acquire Julio Mateo from the Mariners for double-A infielder Jesus Merchan.
Julio, who?
Julio Mateo, a right-handed reliever who turns 30 on Thursday. Mateo is 18-12 with a 3.68 ERA over parts of six seasons with Seattle. He was 1-0 with a 3.75 ERA this season when he got suspended for 10 games without pay in May after being arrested and charged with third-degree assault for allegedly beating, biting and choking his wife in a Manhattan hotel. He posted bond and was released. His next court date in Sept. 4 in New York.
Mateo will be assigned to double-A Reading because his legal problems prohibit him from entering Canada and going to triple-A Ottawa.
*
It's one of the coolest things in sports. During the seventh-inning stretch at Wrigley, a celebrity sings "Take Me Out To The Ballgame." Tonight's featured guest, the guy who played Greg Brady from "The Brady Bunch."
Can anyone guess his name?
1 comment:
Barry Williams, I believe.
Why not bat Rowand in the leadoff spot? That's what he did as a member of the ChiSox. I really hope the Phils look to waivers for an outfielder, as neither Chris Roberson nor Jayson Werth(less) belong on a major-league roster. On phuturephillies.com, one poster said Werth has vocalized to someone in the organization about his wrist still being in quite a bit of pain.
Maybe it's time to re-visit that Abe Nunez in the outfield experiment?
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