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BY SCOTT LAUBER
A few pregame notes:
1. Kyle Kendrick's return to the majors lasted one day.
If you follow Philled In on Twitter, then you've already heard that Kendrick has been sent back to Lehigh Valley after allowing three runs in the 13th inning last night. It wasn't so much that the Phillies were upset with how Kendrick pitched, although they obviously weren't thrilled. But they were hoping Kendrick, called up Friday to replace injured reliever Scott Eyre, could give them some innings out of the bullpen one day this weekend against the Red Sox. And because his arm isn't trained to pitch in relief, his two-inning stint last night was probably going to be all for him for a few days. So, they sent Kendrick back to triple-A and recalled lefty reliever Sergio Escalona, who probably will be here at least until Eyre or Brad Lidge get back.
Rich Dubee, a vocal critic of Kendrick during spring training, gave this assessment of his progress in developing a changeup and slider/cutter to go with his signature sinker: "I've heard he made strides down there, but [last night] was tough. Different environment, different game, different situation. He hasn't been coming in to an 11th or 12th inning, tie game, nail-biter the whole way. It was a tough situation."
If he's unable to develop those secondary pitches, Dubee hinted Kendrick's future may be in the bullpen. But the Phillies haven't given up on him as a starter yet. "He's still young," Dubee said. "He hasn't had the development time. That'll be determined at a later date. There's a lot of sinker-slider guys pitching out of the bullpen. But he also has to learn to command his sinker and not throw through his sinker. You look at the radar gun last night, he was 93. Well, 93 didn't have a whole lot of action. 89 had pretty good action the first inning he pitched. That's pitching. That's understanding who you are and what you are. That's the stages of growth he's got to go through. The thing he needs right now is consistent innings."
2. For the first time since he was placed on the disabled list Tuesday, Brad Lidge long-tossed and threw off flat ground in the outfield. He said he was able to push off his right (back) knee without any pain. He'll long-toss again tomorrow, then throw off a mound in a few days. If that goes well, he said he'd go out on a minor-league rehab assignment, although dates/location of that assignment won't be determined for several days, though.3. In a previous post, we mentioned Jason Donald will have surgery Monday to repair the meniscus in his left knee. Talked to assistant GM Chuck LaMar, who said the Phillies don't believe the knee problem contributed to Donald's .230 average at Lehigh Valley. "He's still just adjusting to triple-A baseball," LaMar told Philled In by phone. "There's this feeling that all the prospects are in double-A, and while that may be true from a scouting standpoint, from a player-development standpoint, triple-A is still the highest level you can play. You're facing [pitchers], many who have already been in the majors who are one phone call away from getting another chance. They know how to get a job done. I think Jason is still going through that learning process."
4. Charlie Manuel is still hot about the umpiring crew's refusal to review Greg Dobbs' long foul ball to right field last night. According to the replay rules, a manager has the right to request a review, but the umpires don't have to grant the request.
"That's the first time I ever asked for a review of a play," Manuel said. "I thought there was a question of whether it was a home run or not. He said, 'I'm sure the ball was foul, Charlie. I got it right, and there's not going to be a review.' I saw the replay. The ball left the park fair. We could send that in [to the league], but I guarantee you they're not going to see it that way. When the ball leaves the ballpark, that's when the play should be called. He's supposed to call it right when it leaves the ballpark, when it's out of the ballpark."
More on all of this in tomorrow's News Journal.
BY SCOTT LAUBER
NEW YORK -- So, as you settle in for today's Phillies-Yankees series finale, I know what you're thinking.
What's wrong with Brad Lidge?
Here at Philled In, we're wondering the same thing, especially after yesterday's ninth-inning meltdown. After the game, Lidge mentioned a few things: a) He insisted he's healthy; b) He was more frustrated by the leadoff walk to Johnny Damon than the full-count fastball that Alex Rodriguez hit for a home run; c) To improve his command, he's considering either making a mechanical adjustment when he's in the windup or simply starting every inning out of the stretch.
Asked Rich Dubee about Lidge this morning, and here's what he said:
"It's just being committed to what he's doing. There's a doubt right now about whether to throw the fastball or the slider. He needs to be decisive. Don't say maybe. Be committed to what you're doing. Just committ to it, throw it and throw it to a certain spot. The guy was 48-for-48 last year. Why change? He expects perfection, and when you don't get it, you start questioning yourself."
So, why is Lidge questioning himself?
Well, according to Dubee, his fastball command has been spotty. So, even though he needs to throw his fastball to set up his slider, he's been trying to throw the slider more often. He threw A-Rod five straight sliders yesterday before throwing a fastball that caught too much of the plate, and A-Rod pounded it over the short right-field fence here.
"He doesn't throw the fastball for strikes, so [the hitters] sit slider," Dubee said. "And if the slider's not up, they take it."More on this tomorrow in The News Journal and on http://www.delawareonline.com/.
BY SCOTT LAUBER
CINCINNATI -- So, I was wrong. Dead wrong.
After Sunday's game in DC, I didn't detect any real difference in Charlie Manuel's words about Chan Ho Park's tenuous spot in the starting rotation than I did two weeks ago when Park was struggling. Basically, Manuel said he'd talk things over with Rich Dubee and determine if the time was right to replace him with lefty J.A. Happ. He never said Park's spot was in real jeopardy, but he didn't give him a vote of confidence either. And although Park got rocked Sunday by the Nationals, the fact that he pitched well previously in back-to-back starts against the Mets and Dodgers led me to believe he'd get at least one more start against the Yankees on Saturday in New York.
But I was wrong.
About 90 minutes ago, Manuel and Dubee met with Park and told him he was being moved to the bullpen. So, after winning the fifth-starter spot in spring training, Park held the job for exactly seven starts. He went 1-1 with a 7.08 ERA, and perhaps most damning, he allowed 61 base runners (41 hits, 17 walks, three hit by pitches) in only 34-1/3 innings.
Not good.
Happ, meanwhile, coped with the disappointment of losing the No. 5 starter job by posting a 2.49 ERA in 12 relief appearances. He didn't sulk or whine. He just got batters out, same as he did last July after being sent back to Class AAA. Happ was supposed to start the second game of Saturday night's doubleheader in DC, but he was needed in the 11th and 12th innings Friday night. He didn't have time to be disappointed about missing out on a starter. Instead, he just held the Nationals scoreless for two innings and picked up a win in relief.
"I don't want to say too much about it out of respect for my teammates and stuff," Happ said of taking Park's spot. "But I'm going to try to take advantage of it. Other than that, it's a job, and I'm going to try to do well."
Park, quite clearly, wasn't happy about the decision. He revived his career as a multi-inning reliever in the Dodgers' bullpen last season, and this year, he'll try to salvage his season in the same role with the Phillies.
"I'm disappointed I lost the job as a starter which is what I wanted," Park said. "I don't make the decisions. I lost the job, but I've got a new job. So, I have to figure out how to prepare to be good with the new job as a bullpen [pitcher]. It's not easy. That's why I don't like to be in the bullpen. But it's a situation where the team expects more from me in the bullpen. Whatever I have to do, I have to do my best. It's disappointing, but I have to figure I'm still playing with the good guys."
So, why now? Was Sunday's game, when Park allowed five runs and lasted only 1-1/3 innings in DC, the tipping point?
"We've been weighing this all along, when to do it, if we had to do, why we needed to do it, why we didn't need to do it," said Dubee, who cited Ryan Franklin and Chad Durbin as examples to Park of starters who have been more effective as relievers. "Sunday's game put it over the top that this was the time we needed to do it."***READER POLL: Did the Phillies do the right thing by taking Park out of the rotation now? Why or why not?
***
Manuel said Matt Stairs won't be the Phillies' designated hitter against left-handed pitchers, and with the Yankees scheduled to start Andy Pettitte and CC Sabathia on Saturday and Sunday, it would appear Stairs won't be in the lineup. (Stairs is 0-for-9 lifetime against Pettitte, so odds are, Manuel will stick to his word.)
It's possible, then, that the Phillies could call up a right-handed hitter to play this weekend. Otherwise, they'll have to use either Eric Bruntlett or Chris Coste as the DH, and Coste is also the backup catcher. Of course, there's plenty of time to make decisions on this. It's only Tuesday, and the Yankees series doesn't start until Friday night.***Don't underestimate the signing of catcher Paul Bako to a minor-league contract yesterday. Assistant GM Scott Proefrock just reiterated that Bako was added to provide more catching depth (he likely will report to Class AA Reading after he plays himself into shape in extended spring training). But Proefrock also pointed out that Bako once was Greg Maddux's personal catcher with the Braves in 2001 and stayed with the team despite batting only .212. "That's his forte," Proefrock said. "His offensive numbers aren't why he's stayed in the big leagues."Subtle translation: Chris Coste better hit if he wants to keep his job.
Much more on all of this in tomorrow's News Journal.
BY SCOTT LAUBER
Well, that was a crazy weekend, wasn't it?
Let's see, it all began Friday with the Phillies, losers of six of eight games and sagging back to the .500 mark, reaping the last of their World Series championship spoils by spending a few hours with President Obama. Then, in the span of about 46 hours, they played 36 innings, scored 33 runs, sat through one 90-minute rain delay, and notched their first four-game sweep on the road in 14 years. (Where were you June 19-22, 1995? I had just returned home to Jersey after my freshman year at Boston University.)
Anyway, there's nothing quite like facing the Nationals to cure all your problems. Well, most of them. After blowing a save Friday night, Brad Lidge finally pitched a scoreless inning in the doubleheader-opener Saturday, then needed only two pitches to record a game-ending double play Sunday, his fourth appearance in as many days. So, that was a positive. Same goes for the offense, which batted .327 (49-for-150) and averaged 8.25 runs per game against the Nats' woeful pitching after batting .176 (27-for-153) and averaged 2.80 runs per game in the previous five games against the Braves and Dodgers.
And then there were the back-to-back first major-league victories for Drew Carpenter and Sergio Escalona, a couple of kids who will never forget their portion of the weekend in DC. Escalona, in particular, couldn't stop smiling yesterday. Before, during and after the game, he was elated simply to be at Nationals Park and wearing a uniform. And if you couldn't see his face, surely you could hear it in his words: "Oh my God. Amazing. First game. First win. What can you say?" As I wrote in the game story in today's News Journal, Escalona still had 14 still-unheard voice mails on his cell phone about a half-hour after the game ended. He had the baseball with which he recorded the final out of the seventh, and Lidge gave him the ball from the final out. Something tells me Escalona will keep those forever.
***
About 90 minutes before yesterday's game began, I found Rich Dubee in the dugout and asked about struggling Jamie Moyer, whose next start has been pushed from Tuesday to Wednesday in Cincinnati. The decision was two-fold: a) It gives Moyer an extra day to fix his command problems; b) It lines him up to face the Marlins next week at the Bank, and we all know how much Moyer dominates the Marlins. But I asked Dubee the obvious question about a 46-year-old pitcher with a 13.86 ERA in his last three starts and an 8.15 ERA in eight starts overall, the highest ERA he has ever had this far into a season: Has age finally caught up to Moyer?
"I don't think he's doubting himself at all," Dubee said. "He's run through stretches like this. Heck, everybody wanted his head chopped off before the World Series, and he pitched a gem for us. He got through that, and he can get through this."***Rumor has it former Vice President Dick Cheney attended yesterday's game, although I didn't see him. I also didn't see a large section of fans ducking for cover.
***
Back home today, catching up on a few things before flying to Cincinnati bright and early tomorrow morning. Check back here later today for a preview of the series against the Reds, and maybe, just maybe, a surprise.
BY SCOTT LAUBER
MIAMI GARDENS -- Quick turnaround here today (12:10 p.m. start after a 10-inning game last night), so we'll keep this fairly brief, although if the Phillies have taught us anything this weekend, it's that there's no need to rush. In each of the first two games of this series, they've rallied in the ninth inning and pulled out victories over the Marlins.
Better late than never, right?
"You like to get in front and hold on to it, but we've given ourselves opportunities late in the game, and that's all we can ask for," Ryan Howard said after last night's 6-4 win. "We've always had that attitude."
By now, though, we should know the Phillies do their best work when they absolutely have to. They've made a habit of September playoff pushes and late-game rallies. The other night, Jayson Werth mentioned that they're the type of team that "hangs around" before making its move. So, really, the late-game heroics here this weekend are no surprise. In fact, they're standard protocol.
***
Charlie Manuel got ejected in the 10th inning last night, but after the game, he seemed more angry at himself than home-plate umpire Ed Montague. Evidently, Manuel was arguing a ball-strike call that, it turns out, wasn't close. He just didn't know that until he saw the replay in the clubhouse.
So, is Charlie going to apologize to Montague today?
"You guys will have to do that for me," he said.
***
Within the notebook, we asked pitching coach Rich Dubee a purely hypothetical question: If the Phillies needed a starter, would they simply move J.A. Happ into the rotation?
"Depends," Dubee said, noting that Carlos Carrasco has been pitching well at Lehigh Valley.
Hmmm.
***
Howard was impressed by Chan Ho Park's opposite-field power, but it turns out, each of Park's three career homers have gone to right field.
"Lucky," Park said with a smile. "Wind was blowing in."
***
And, finally, in our Sunday MLB notes, we look at Marlins ace-in-waiting Josh Johnson, whose proud grandfather lives in Delaware.
Enjoy your Sunday. ... Back in a bit with lineups.
