Saturday, March 22, 2008

Mar. 22 -- CASEY AT THE BAT NO LONGER

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Good morning, all. Hope you're enjoying your Saturday.

Casey Smith has had better days. Upon arriving at the ballpark this morning, he was told he had been reassigned to minor-league camp. Sooner or later, that was going to happen. He plays second base, and the Phillies are pretty well-set at that position. Smith batted .333 (8-for-24) with two home runs and six RBIs this spring, but he could've batted 1.000 and he wasn't going to beat out Chase Utley. Smith turned 29 this week, so he's past the point of being a prospect. He'll head to Class AAA Lehigh Valley, where, if he plays well, he'll put himself in position for a call-up if the Phillies ever are in need of a utility man (he plays every infield position).

For now, Smith walked around the clubhouse, shaking hands with his teammates, many of whom said they hope to see him again soon. Jamie Moyer extended a hand and said, "Work hard." Good advice for any minor leaguer.

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More on Adam Eaton's latest encouraging performance.

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Asked assistant GMs Ruben Amaro Jr. and Mike Arbuckle yesterday if the Phillies have any interest in right-hander John Patterson, who was released Thursday by the Nats. The answer: Probably not.

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The Tigers are here today, and they've brought all of their regulars, except shortstop Edgar Renteria and DH Gary Sheffield. Their rather formidable lineup against former Tigers pitcher Chad Durbin: CF Curtis Granderson, 2B Placido Polanco, 1B Carlos Guillen, RF Magglio Ordonez, 3B Miguel Cabrera, LF Jacque Jones, C Ivan Rodriguez, SS Brandon Inge, LHP Kenny Rogers.

The Phillies counter with a pretty good lineup of their own: SS Jimmy Rollins, CF Shane Victorino, 2B Chase Utley, 1B Ryan Howard, LF Pat Burrell, 3B Pedro Feliz, RF Geoff Jenkins, C Chris Coste, RHP Chad Durbin.

Light rain falling here. Tarp on the field. While we wait to see if this game gets played, I'll ask you this: Which lineup would you rather have, Detroit's or the Phillies'?.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hmm, a tough one, Scott. In a perfect world, I'd redo that horrendous Polanco/Urbina trade and play Placido at third.