Skip to main content

A Brand New WEAK

It's bad enough that Team USA lost in the semi-finals of the WBC, but it's also Monday. Jimmy Rollins had four hits and got on base all five times at the plate in the semi-final match up with Japan on Sunday, but that wasn't enough to help the team advance as Roy Oswalt surrendered 6 runs in 3 2/3 innings, and the Americans could not catch up...losing 9-4. The rest of Team USA, not nicknamed J-Roll, went 5-for-32 (.156 avg.), in the loss.


And if the USA loss and the arrival of Monday don't have you feeling badly enough, former #1 Phillies draft pick Gavin Floyd has signed a 4-year, $15.5 million contract with the White Sox. The deal includes a 5th year team option worth $9.5 million. A change of scenery has surely proved positive for young Floyd. It's just a shame that Gavin couldn't achieve greater things in Philadelphia. We may never be sure why Gavin never developed well as a Phillie, and only time will tell if he can steadily be the 17-win/Sub-4 ERA pitcher that he was last season...but I must say that I can't help but feel a tad bitter when a guy stinks it up in red pin stripes, then moves on to become successful in another city.


Craving more weak news? The news of the day in baseball is Curt Schilling's retirement. Schill announced his retirement today, on his own blog. Sure, Curt hasn't been a Phillie in years, and yes, he moved on and helped Terry Francona win a World Series elsewhere. But Schilling has always been a Philadelphia guy to me, and I will not hesitate to admit that when Schilling wasn't facing our Phillies, I'd always root for him. Good luck, Schill and congratulations on a great career.

****

More of the Mondays...Lou Marson and Brad Harman were optioned to the minors today. Kyle Kendrick lost his battle for the 5th starter role. He was also demoted to the minors.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Lidge Shaky, T-Mac Honored in Trenton

TRENTON, NJ- Brad Lidge made his second rehab appearance for the Double A Reading Phillies on Thursday night and it didn't go as well as the veteran reliever or the team had hoped. Lidge struggled with his command and turned in a rather poor outing for the club that entered the night in a playoff race, 1 game behind division rival Trenton for the Wild Card spot in the Eastern Division. On the disabled list since spring training with a strained right rotator cuff, Lidge experienced an elbow strain when he was working back from that issue in late May. In his outing against the Yankees affiliate in Trenton, Lidge displayed difficulty with his control as he threw three wild pitches, hit two batters, walked another and gave up a single, all while letting up two earned runs on 28 pitches in 2/3 of an inning. After the disappointing performance, Lidge was composed and focused on some positive aspects, having reached 89 and 90 MPH on scouts' radar guns, according to some reports. ...

Jason Knapp Q&A

PhoulBallz .com was fortunate enough to meet with Phillies prospect Jason Knapp just one day after he caught the attention of the baseball world with his 7 shut out innings, 14 strike out performance against the Indians' Lake County team. - I asked Jason, the Lakewood BlueClaw , for some thoughts about his big game... I had pretty good command of three pitches (fastball, curve, change up). I was on the same page with my catcher, D'Arnaud , and I ended up, ya know, I felt pretty good. - In a great performance like that, how much credit goes to Travis D'Arnaud , the catcher? More than you might expect, definitely. I didn't shake him off once. He told me what to throw and I do what I'm told. And if it works out, a lot of the credit goes to the catcher. - Does the lack of run support (Lakewood has scored 3 total runs in his 3 starts), in your few starts, increase your stress level, or enhance your focus? No, I just try to go out and do my job every outing. Ya know, we...

Eric B Needs to be Cut (and My Name is Rakim)

While the Phillies are on a hot streak this month, one player on the team is not. Eric Bruntlett is 1-for-12 in July. Since the start of May, Bruntlett's apex in batting average has been .167 on June 14th. Bruntlett's ineptitude can be tolerated no longer. Get rid of this guy NOW! Eric B. is the 2009 Endy Chavez. Remember Endy...the guy who in 2005 managed just 2 hits in his final 42 games played as a Phillie? That is about the sort of output the Phillies are getting from Bruntlett, and it's time to fix this void. Julio Lugo was designated for assignment last week by the Red Sox and is expected to become a free agent. The Metropolitans are rumored to be interested. Why wouldn't the Phillies be interested in a guy who could surely outhit Bruntlett? Lugo was hitting .284 through 37 games played this season with Boston. Suspended Lehigh Valley IronPig Pablo Ozuna is eligible to return next Wednesday. Ozuna is batting .294 through 51 games at triple A. Miguel Cairo is also...