Results tagged “billywagner”

 

Any good hero is defined by his/her villain. Spider-Man and the Green Goblin. Batman and the Joker. John Locke and people who tell him what he can’t do. Mary-Kate Olsen and a grilled cheese sandwich. Pacman Jones and NOT making it rain.

The Phillies have signed Yankees set-up man Tom Gordon to a 3-year contract worth $18 million. The move will become official if/when Gordon passes a physical, reportedly scheduled for Saturday.

John Street is talking down men from ledges. Al Gore is visiting the city and people aren't making a billion Al Gore/Internet jokes. There were no posts on the Sixers/Knicks preseason tilt. It's been a bizarre week for Philadelphia and the blogosphere. And yet, we're still doing our weekly round-up. Comforting? No. Worth a few lines for a rushed intro? Definitely.

Jimmy Rollins extended his league-leading hit streak last night against the Atlanta Braves, but that was about the only thing that went right for the Phillies. The Fightin's lost 4 - 1 against the Braves last night in Atlanta, leaving them two games behind the Houston Astros, who beat up on the Pittsburgh Pirates. Both teams have 11 games left this season. The Marlins, sitting in third place in the Wild Card race, lost to the New York Mets in 12 innings and now find themselves three games back of the Astros.

Chris and Phil return this week in the wake of a terrible sweep at the hands of the Wild Card leading Houston Astros. Today, Mustazza and Sandick tackle Billy Wagner's recent troubles, what the Phils' bullpen should look like next season, and how the Phillies have to play over these last 22 games in order to win the Wild Card.

Phils fans were happy - jubilant, even - for just a little while last night. It started with a two-run Bobby Abreu homer that tied the game at 5. The ball was smashed to center field and many fans probably imagined that the clutch eighth inning homer was drilled right down the through of Howard Eskin. The throat of Howard Eskin being A.J. Finch's catching mitt, obviously.

If we were old school, we'd believe in baseball gods and Skip Bayless. If were nu skool, we'd believe in Stephen A. Smith and Moneyball. But we sit comfortably in between, so we believe in heartbreaking baseball and anyone but Charlie Manuel.

Leading off the All-Star game after nearly an hour of introductions and pre-game commercials, Bobby Abreu slapped a Mark Buehrle pitch into left field. Abreu’s line drive single was a dynamic way to start the All-Star Game, which too often feels like an advertisement rather than a baseball game. But the three Phillies selected to the team all treated it as an important game, going a combined 2-3 at the plate and drawing one walk. Billy Wagner was not used as each manager held back some pitchers in reserve just in case the game ran into extra innings. Jimmy Rollins picked up an infield single and turned a double play once he entered. And Tony LaRussa came close to using Wagner and Jason Isringhausen, the 2 closers not used, when the NL mounted a comeback, scoring 5 runs over the last 3 innings. The Phillies and their fans should be proud of the Phillies representation and performance at the game: Abreu showed great versatility not only by getting a hit to the opposite field, but by hitting in the lead-off spot, a position known for hitters able to make sacrifices in order to get on base. All of this coming only one night after he smacked 41 home runs in the Home Run Derby.

We're not the type to say we told you so... We told you so. While so many were looking through their rose-colored glasses last month as the Phillies completed a 12-1 home stand, we knew that this was only a setup. Now, as the Fightin’s are hovering around .500 going into the All-Star Game Tuesday night, we must once again say, we told you so. We weren’t always this cynical. It was only last year that we scraped together some money and purchased our first ever season ticket plan. For it seemed that, finally, the stars were aligned. With a beautiful new ballpark, a flame-throwing closer in Billy Wagner, a real live giant-of-a-man in Jim Thome and a young nucleus, a division title seemed likely. At the very least, it looked like the team would be competitive until the final weeks of the season. But as the loses mounted, so did our frustration. The manager became a scapegoat. And the organization just spouted out the same lines over and over again. “Blah blah blah playing up to potential. Blah blah blah competitive team on the field.” And as the trading deadline passed without any major moves, we made a move of our own. We would do what seemed almost treasonous weeks earlier: root against our home-team. We came to realize that it is only through losing and the embarrassment of the organization that any good can come about. The one final piece in our plan would be to stop attending games. Sure, we already purchased those tickets, but the Phillies weren’t going to get any more of our money. No concessions. No parking. No plush Phanatic dolls. We were going to hit the Phillies where it hurt: in their pocketbooks. This season has been no different. We have not watched a game on TV; have not attended a game in person. If anything, we have focused on telling others not to get their hopes up. You will only get your heart broken yet again. As we continue to root against our once beloved Phillies, we tell ourselves, “It’s for the greater good.” And so we have the Phillies of 2005. 73 games left until the end of another dreadful season, where we will hear the inevitable excuses. We’ll watch as another scapegoat is brought out to slaughter, and nothing fundamentally will change. The team will underachieve, they will spend money unwisely, and they will acquire players either past their prime or not worth their pay. Unless there is a drastic change at the upper levels of the organization, .500 ball and mediocrity will be the norm. And we will year after year be able to say, “We told you so.”

WIP is reporting that Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins and Phillies closer Billy Wagner will join the National League's 2005 All-Star Team. The two are expected to join as replacements for Los Angeles Dodgers SS Cesar Izturis and New York Mets P Pedro Martinez. Rollins, who was recently inked to a contract extension by the Phils, is actually having a subpar year, especially compared to his career-year last season. His fielding is still strong, but he has struggled to get on-base as the Phillies' leadoff hitter. Rollins, however, finished second in the players and coaches voting. Typically, the runner-up replaces an injured All-Star. Wagner placed fourth in the MLB's "Final Ballot," where fans get to vote one of five players onto the team as its final, 32nd player. Brett Myers, a Phillies starter, was also on the ballot. He finished in last place. With 3 representatives (RF Bobby Abreu was voted as a starting outfielder by the fans), the struggling Phils probably won't see any more All-Star additions. There may be further changes and additions to the team, but it's unlikely that the team will be tapped for any more players. If, by chance, that does happen, likely additions are Myers and OF Pat Burrell.

In an interview with Jim Salisbury of The Philadelphia Inquirer, closing pitcher Billy Wagner laid into his team and said that as constituted, the Phils have no shot of making the playoffs. "We ain't got a chance to get there right now," Wagner said. Kenny Lofton and other unnamed players called a team meeting the following day. It seems some Phils believe they do know how to win, and thus they took issue with what Wagner said. Wagner didn't back down from his comments, but Manuel believes that the meeting was good for the team. It gave them a chance to air their grievances. "I don't know what exactly what was said," Manuel reported. "But I'm sure the guys that spoke up said what they think. Knowing them, they definitely didn't pull any punches." No, Charlie, they did not. In fact, the punching continued deep into the July 4th weekend. Centerfielder Jason Michaels allegedly punched a Philadelphia police officer, wrestled him to the ground, and ripped his shirt early on Sunday morning. Officers were in Old City clearing people out. Michaels didn't comply and allegedly assaulted the officer. Michaels was released on his own recognizance at noon on Sunday. He was in uniform for the Phils during their 4 - 3 loss to the Braves on Sunday evening. Before the game, Michaels didn't speak much on the matter. "I really would love to talk to you guys about this," Michaels said. "But I've been advised by my attorney not to say anything." Michaels is due at court on Thursday. For his sake, we hope he and the Phils learn to win by then. Photo credit: AP/Philadelphia Police

Un-freaking-believable. That’s all that can be said about tonight’s heartbreaking loss to the Atlanta Braves. Never before were the Phillies’ relief pitching needs as apparent as they were tonight. Robinson Tejeda had another sterling start, as he led the Phils through 6 shutout innings with only two hits surrendered. This kid is on fire. He hasn’t allowed a run in three of his five starts. No one expected Tejeda to come up this big when he filled the void left by the injured Randy Wolf. It really looked like the Phils were going to take this one. It actually took more effort to lose this game than it would have to win it. The loss can be chalked up to horrific relief pitching. The blame can be divided amongst Rheal Cormier, Ryan Madson, Ugueth Urbina, and Billy Wagner. All of them contributed to the Braves coming back from a 3-0 deficit in the final innings to win 4-3. The Phils’ runs were scored by a 3-run homer from young prospect Ryan Howard. Howard will continue to play for the Phils while Jim Thome is on the DL. So what do the Phils do now? Do thet need to make some trades by the deadline and pick up better starting and relief pitching? Do we really want Ed Wade to pull the trigger on such a decision? Who would the Phils trade – Howard, Wagner, Burrell, Utley? These are all questions that will need to be answered in the near future. Here’s what I think they should do: in true Philadelphia tradition, the Phils need to trade some of their most valuable prospects for a washed-up player who used to be good. The Phils need to offer this player a big-money deal for a long time-period. Also, whoever the Phils trade should promptly become a spectacular player – ala Scott Rolen. Might I suggest Ryan Howard for Mike Piazza at 10 million a year for 7 years?

Today, all of us suffering from the heartbreak of watching the Phillies come off of a 12-1 homestand in early June only to plummet to last place in the NL East were dealt a very small dose of relief as Brett Myers and the Phils shut down the Altanta Braves to escape last place. Could this be the beginning of the next great Philadelphia winning streak? Probably not. The Phils really needed a win today and Brett Myers came up big for our struggling home team. Myers pitched a stellar game, where he gave up no runs and only one hit going into the ninth inning. It looked like he would pitch a complete one-hitter. Unfortunately for Myers, he struggled in the ninth, giving up 3 runs. Fortunately for the Phils, Billy Wagner was able to close the game. Myers was even able to contribute to the scoring with an RBI single in the fourth. Other Phillies’ runs came from a 3-run homer by David Bell, a solo homerun from Pat Burrell, and an RBI single by Jason Micheals. Atlanta Manager Bobby Cox said of Myers, "That's one of the best jobs against us all year. He was absolutely dynamite." Dynamite, indeed, Bobby. May you receive many more poundings like this one from Brett Myers. The only way the Phillies could avoid being demolished this season would be to have more pitching performances like Myers’ today. Maybe seeing today’s performance in contrast to yesterday’s shelling of Vicente Padilla will inspire the Phillies to make some big moves for starting pitchers before the trade deadline. Even with this pitching clinic that Myers put on today, this writer refuses to get his hopes up. Too many times have the Phils looked like they were going to pull themselves together only to fall short. We'll see what happens tomorrow as Robinson Tejada takes on the Braves' Jorge Sosa at 8:05pm.