BY SCOTT LAUBERWASHINGTON -- So, last week, the Phillies had a chance to take advantage of an off-day by pushing back Kyle Kendrick in the rotation and lining up Cole Hamels to face the Mets on his regular rest last Wednesday night at the Bank.
No way, said pitching coach Rich Dubee.
No thanks, said Hamels.
This week, they have the same opportunity, and Dubee, at least, is considering it. Hamels? We're not sure yet.
Spent a few minutes with Dubee after the game yesterday, and it seemed fairly clear that he wants Hamels to pitch Sunday night at Shea Stadium in the final regular-season matchup against the Mets. Hamels has faced the Mets only once this season (April 18), and with only three games left against New York (and the Phils trailing by two games in the NL East), each head-to-head matchup is precious.
"You'd like to go with your horse every five days, if possible," Dubee said. "This is regular protocol, pitching every five days. It's what starters do. But, again, we have to find out where he is physically. This is new territory for the kid."
Hamels, who always seems to appreciate an extra day of rest, didn't want to discuss any of this yesterday. He is among the NL leaders with 195-2/3 innings pitched, a career-high. And the Phillies tend to be cautious with Hamels, who has been prone to injury throughout his pro career. Dubee said tonight's start against the Nationals will go a long way toward determining if Hamels can pitch Sunday. If he doesn't have to labor tonight, there's a better chance he'll face the Mets. Either way, it sounds like the choice might be Hamels' to make.
To me, though, this is a no-brainer. There are only 24 games left in the season, not the time to be giving Hamels extra rest.
Not the time for him to ask for it, either.
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If Hamels doesn't face the Mets on Sunday, will Kyle Kendrick? Not so sure about that after his latest stinker here yesterday. Dubee said the Phillies may consider replacing him in the rotation, possibly with J.A. Happ, and had some strong words for Kendrick after the game.
"He doesn't have a good look about himself right now," Dubee said. "He doesn't look like he wants to be out there to get people out. Generally, if you get that look, bad stuff is going to happen. He's got to get more confidence again."
Kendrick, of course, got no help from his offense yesterday. The Phillies didn't have a hit until the sixth inning against nemesis Tim Redding.
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The notebook is chock full of stuff, from Pat Gillick admitting that he "screwed up" by signing Adam Eaton, to Lou Marson getting a vote of confidence (and a single-digit number). Also, Gillick said the Phillies didn't come close to making another trade before the Aug. 31 waiver deadline, but there's a "slight possibility" that they could make one in September. If they do, however, the player they acquire won't be eligible for the postseason.
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Didn't make the paper: Reading manager P.J. Forbes had some fun with Marson and Greg Golson before telling them they'd been called up by the Phillies.
"A couple days ago, our trainer, Chris Mudd, told me I was getting a day off," Golson said. "I was like, 'Why did you give me a day off?' Chris told me I had been doing extra hamstring stretches lately and wanted to give me a day off. I was like, 'You can ask me first,' and I kind of got in his face. He said, 'I'll go talk to the manager,' and a couple minutes later, he was like, 'You can still be used in a double-switch so just be ready.' After the game, they said, 'P.J. wants to see you in the office.' He's like, 'I know I gave you a day off today, but it's with good reason. You're going to the big leagues. Now, don't you owe your trainer an apology?'"
Marson said, "I got hit with a backswing a couple days earlier in Reading. Our manager, P.J. Forbes, was messing with me. He said I didn't pass the concussion test or something like that. The trainer was in the room, too, so it seemed pretty official and everything. P.J. told me I couldn't play the next day, but he's like, 'You can play Monday in the big leagues.'"
3 comments:
Prediciton - he'll take the extra day. What does he have to gain by playing? His buddy Rollins has him convinced to dog it.
I usually agree with Hamels prudence with his pitching arm (throwing more than 110 pitches, starting on short rest), but he will start four more games this season unless they keep skipping Kendrick later on, in which case he would get five. Scott, do you get the impression that he really doesn't want to?
As far as replacing Kendrick in the rotation entirely, it's definitely something to think about. Stat guys have warned for the past two years that a pitcher with that poor strikeout totals rarely succeed for extended periods of time, perhaps unless they can get groundball rates over 60% (Kendrick is at 46%. He is not the kind of pitcher that has much sustained success, especially when his success last year was based on a .873/.637 difference in OBP with bases empty/men on. Those kind of differences don't hold up. You don't go from pitching like Jose Mesa to pitching like CC Sabathia with men on. The pitchers with successful approaches with men on are guys like Glavine who has higher OBP and lower SLG with guys on base-- because it's more effective to nibble with runners on.
Happ could be a viable replacement-- he's wild but he can miss bats (struck out 151 people at AAA this year), but he also has control problems. He's probably a better option right now, though, but probably not against the Brewers who crush lefty pitching.
Eaton is obviously completely useless (despite what the guy who's using my screenname said on the previous post). I blogged on his return to uselessness even when he had a decent ERA earlier this year, though I think I even underestimated how poorly he'd pitch from there out. He's probably worth trading and eating the salary.
It's not that he's untalented, but he simply has no idea how to pitch. Since he arrived in Philly, he has shown a complete lack of ability to put hitters away. In his career before this year, he struck out 36.7% of hitters who he got two strikes on, and hitters had a .189 average against him once he got two strikes. Since he arrived in Philly, he has only struck out 28.5% of hitters who he got two strikes on, and hitters are hitting .259 against him after he gets two strikes! For reference, the NL average this year on those two categories is 37.1 K% once you have two strikes and a .188 average. Another pitching coach may have some luck turning him into something useful, but clearly Dubee can't get him to succeed.
All in all, Kendrick should probably be considered for a game in the Brewers series, but Happ should probably replace him otherwise-- and Cole has got to pitch this weekend!
wow - MattS - when did you decide to write a book? Scott, looks like MattS is after your job
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