CHICAGO -- Even if it's only for three weeks, nobody ever said overcoming the loss of Chase Utley would be easy. In fact, one day after Utley broke his hand last week, Ryan Howard predicted life without the All-Star second baseman and NL MVP candidate would be hard. Very hard."Teams probably are not going to give me anything to hit even more now," Howard said at the time. "It's definitely going to be hard with him not being here, the way he works pitchers and has such good ABs. It's a tough blow for us."
It's been toughest on Howard.
In the six games since Utley got injured, Howard is 4-for-22 (.182) with no home runs, two RBIs and 13 strikeouts. Last night, he went 1-for-5 with four strikeouts, including two with runners in scoring position, a performance that I thought was worthy of being the focus of the game story. So, I asked Charlie Manuel if he thinks Howard is pressing, trying to do too much without Utley hitting in front of him. Manuel definitely believes that to be the case. Howard bristled at the idea when I broached it with him.
What do you think?
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If you're like me, you were wondering why Tom Gordon wasn't even warming up in the eighth inning when, with the game tied 4-4, J.C. Romero walked the bases loaded before escaping like Houdini. Turns out, Gordon was unavailable because he experienced some tightness in his shoulder. Gordon and Manuel both said it's nothing to fret about. But if Gordon isn't going to be able to pitch in certain situations down the stretch, I think it's a big issue. Don't you?
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We touched on just-acquired reliever Julio Mateo's legal trouble when the Phillies acquired him Tuesday. Mateo was arrested May 5 for allegedly beating, biting and choking his wife in a Manhattan hotel room. Given Brett Myers' arrest last season on domestic abuse charges that were later dismissed, it's obviously a sensitive issue. How do you feel about the Phillies picking up Mateo? (Tasteful and thoughtful comments only, please).
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Assistant GM Mike Arbuckle said last week that the Phillies may consider using Tadahito Iguchi at third base after Utley returns. Iguchi's 8-for-18 (.444) start through his first six games with the Phils has prompted more discussions about it. But Iguchi has almost no experience at third base, so the Phillies won't know if he can do it until they start seeing him field ground balls there.
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Last game at Wrigley today, and since it's a day game (2:20 Eastern), I'll try to provide in-game updates throughout the afternoon. So, check back here for the details of Kyle Lohse's debut.
4 comments:
Given Howard's recent struggles at the plate, I'm beginning to think that some strike-zone lessons from this year's Phillies BB King Pat Burrell could do him some good. Pitchers have realized that they can strike Howard out if they throw three breaking balls over the plate. He'll swing and miss every time. I know players do what they want to do up there, but do you think there's any problem with Milt Thompson or Charlie Manuel (the man who helped perfect Jim Thome's swing) neglecting to help fix this issue with Howard? It gets painful watching him strike out AB after AB, and it seems like it's just going to keep happening.
I feel that Gordon's shoulder troubles is definitely a cause for concern, but what are our other options? We don't really have any.
The acquisition of Julio Mateo is one that both surprised and somewhat offended me. Obviously, we dealt with a similar situation last season. Kudos to Myers for overcoming his problem and doing what was deemed necessary to get back on track, but Mateo has denied his involvement in his pending charges. He can't even legally leave the country. Is this really a player that we need in this organization? I wasn't surprised at all to hear that Mateo was in the Mariners organization, given Gillick's obsession with Seattle, but I just think this is a bad move. We don't need negative attention brought on the team.
One last thing. If they try to give Iguchi playing time at third, that will give us 4 third basemen. What's the point of that? I thought that Iguchi moved from SS to 2B because of an arm strength problem stemming from surgery a few years back anyhow. If it hurts him to throw from SS, it's pretty apparent that throwing across the diamond won't serve him well.
Let's hope Lohse keeps his trend of owning the Cubs this season and gives us nine quality innings.
I'm also disgusted by the Mateo signing. This edition of the Phillies -- Brett Myers aside -- is known for being a decent group of guys, a perception solidified by the way the team pitched in to help the grounds crew at Coors Field.
The signing of Mateo, on the other hand, signals that the Phillies -- unlike the Mariners -- have no standards. Gillick clearly just doesn't get it.
Just the Phillies luck... Lohse pulled after 1 inning with an injury.
I'm not sure yet how I feel about the Mateo trade. I think Gillick needs to quit living in the past with his old job in Seattle. Dobbs is the only Seattle acquistion who has somewhat paid off this year from the scrap pile of the Mariners.
Also, Scott, it seems like Howard is sort of standing up more at the plate. In July, when he was on fire, he seemed to be squatting more. Maybe you could point that out to Howard because he's really been struggling lately. It might help him turn things around a little bit.
Also, with Burrell's OBP being what it is over the past month and a few days, why not bat him second and give Jimmy and Ryan a chance to drive him in, or flip Rowand and Iguchi and let Pat protect Howard and Iguchi bat behind Burrell.
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