BY SCOTT LAUBERNEW YORK -- Good morning from new Yankee Stadium. A few notes to pass along before we head into the Phillies' clubhouse to see what's what:
1. Charlie Manuel believes Brad Lidge is healthy. Why? Well, Lidge's velocity has been normal (mid-90s), and Manuel said yesterday that his follow-through is good. But today is Game 42, which means we're more than a quarter of the way through the season, and Lidge's ERA is 9.16 ERA. He's only 8-for-11 in save chances, and after allowing only 17 runs (15 earned) and two home runs all of last season, he already has given up 19 runs and six homers this year. Obviously, nobody expected Lidge to be perfect again. But nobody expected him to struggle like this either. The Phillies aren't about to do anything rash, like replace Lidge with Ryan Madson, but they have to be concerned about him, too.
2. With CC Sabathia starting for the Yankees, Chase Utley is getting a day off. Personally, I would've used today to give Ryan Howard a break. He's 0-for-9 in the series, hitless in his last 10 at-bats overall, and struggles big-time against lefties. But Manuel has opted to rest Utley instead. That's why he's the manager and I'm not, I suppose.
3. One day after hitting his first career homer, John Mayberry Jr. is back in the lineup, batting sixth. I'd like to see Mayberry stick around for a while. He's still raw, still a project, but after watching him hit well during the first half of spring training, I thought he'd be able to help the Phillies, even as a right-handed pinch-hitter. And, at age 25, the time for him to be in the big leagues is now.
4. Within our Sunday MLB notes, we take a closer look at new Yankee Stadium, which is beautiful, but totally unnecessary.
Hoping to write more about Lidge later today, so please check back for that. And, of course, enjoy your Sunday.
No comments:
Post a Comment