PHILLIES: NLDS Schedule and Roster Set

While the Phillies do not need to send in their 25-man roster until 10 AM on Wed., after their most recent workout at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday afternoon, the details surrounding the divisional series against the Reds are now officially finalized. Here is the schedule and NLDS roster (information via “The Phillies Zone” writer Matt Gelb).

SCHEDULE (With Probable Starting Pitchers)

Game 1 (Wednesday at 5:07 PM at Citizens Bank Park): Phillies (Roy Halladay) vs. Reds (Edison Volquez)

Game 2 (Friday at 6:07 PM at Citizens Bank Park): Phillies (Roy Oswalt) vs. Reds (Bronson Arroyo)

Game 3: (Sunday at 7:07 PM or 8:07 PM at Great American Ballpark): Reds (Johnny Cueto) vs. Phillies (Cole Hamels)

Game 4: (Monday at 5:07 PM or 7:37 PM at Great American Ballpark if needed) Reds (TBD) vs. Phillies (Roy Halladay)

Game 5: (Wednesday at 6:07 PM or 8:07 PM at Citizens Bank Park if needed): Phillies (Roy Halladay) vs. Reds (TBD)

ROSTER

PITCHERS (10)

SP Roy Halladay, SP Roy Oswalt, SP Cole Hamels, SP/RHP Joe Blanton, RHP Chad Durbin, RHP Jose Contreras, LHP J.C Romero, LHP Antonio Bastardo, RHP Ryan Madson, RHP Brad Lidge

Those who were left off the roster: SP Kyle Kendrick, SP Vance Worley, RHP David Herndon, RHP Danys Baez, LHP Mike Zagurski

INFIELDERS (8)

1B Ryan Howard, 2B Chase Utley, SS Jimmy Rollins, 3B Placido Polanco, 1B Mike Sweeney, 1B/OF Ross Gload, UTIL Wilson Valdez, UTIL Greg Dobbs

Those who were left off the roster: SS Brian Bocock, 3B Cody Ransom

OUTFIELDERS (5)

LF Raul Ibanez, CF Shane Victorino, RF Jayson Werth, OF Ben Francisco, OF Domonic Brown

Those who were left off the roster: OF John Mayberry Jr.

CATCHERS (2)

C Carlos Ruiz, C Brian Schneider

Those who were left off the roster: C Paul Hoover, C Dane Sardinha

PHILLIES: Projecting The NLDS Roster

Now that the Phillies have not only clinched a playoff birth, but have also locked up yet another NL East crown and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, it’s time to erase the next week of meaningless baseball from our memory and actually focus on what’s important.

Yes folks, would be the Phillies fourth straight appearance in the postseason.

As I said in my last post, I would break down the potential playoff roster once everything was clinched. Well, I am a man of my word, and since the Phillies 2010 playoffopener will officially be played Wed, October 7th with an opponent that will TBD, it looks like it is about time to see how the current 33-man roster will dwindle down to 25 once the NLDS starts.

PITCHERS (11): In this breakdown, I have the Phillies keeping four starters and eight relievers. In reality, with the way the schedule looks as of right now (Games on Wed, Fri, Sun, Mon, Wed.), they will most likely use three starters, in which Doc should be ready to go if a fourth game is needed on 4-days rest. With that said, Joe Blanton will most likely be on the playoff roster as a possible 4th game starter, and if not, a middle-reliever if need be.  With Blanton on the roster, along with Danys Baez, who was signed to a deal in the off-season basically to give this team another veteran hard-throwing RHP for the month of October, that means both David Herndon and Kyle Kendrick will be left off, as their normal spot on the 25-man roster should be fulfilled by a second LHP as you will see below. I also project Cole Hamels to start game 2, so he will have the opportunity to pitch at Citizens Bank Park in front of a home crowd, something that worked quite well with him in the last two previous postseasons.

SP: Roy Halladay (Game 1 Starter)

SP: Cole Hamels (Game 2/3 Starter)

SP: Roy Oswalt (Game 2/3 Starter)

SP: Joe Blanton (Game 4 Starter/Middle Reliever)

RHP: Chad Durbin

RHP: Danys Baez

RHP: Jose Contreras

LHP: J.C Romero

LHP: Antonio Bastardo

Setup: Ryan Madson

Closer: Brad Lidge

CATCHERS (2)

This is pretty simple. In a 5-game series, barring injury concerns, there is no need to have three catchers on the roster. With Carlos “Chooch” Ruiz and primary backup Brian Schneider, fortunately, there aren’t any of those concerns. With that said, look for the Phillies to keep a veteran backstop, that being Paul Hoover, in the bullpen as a nice little security blanket close by if the injury bug bites in the NLDS.

C: Carlos Ruiz

C: Brian Schneider

INFIELDERS (7): Aside from the normal starters and Wilson Valdez, Phillies management has some tough decisions to make on this end. Do they keep an extra outfielder with speed such as Domonic Brown or John Mayberry Jr.  instead of Greg Dobbs, who would usually be a shoe-in to play in the postseason if not for his struggles this season? At this point, in a NLDS 5-game series, I think yes. Also, the mid-season addition of Mike Sweeney limits the need for Dobbs as the combination of he, Vladez, Ross Gload have proven that they are able to play the positions that Dobbs can at an even higher level.

1B: Ryan Howard

2B: Chase Utley

SS: Jimmy Rollins

3B: Placido Polanco

UTIL: Ross Gload

UTIL: Mike Sweeney

UTIL: Wilson Valdez

OUTFIELDERS (5): Another tough one here. Aside from the everyday starters and Ben Francisco, the final outfield spot comes down to three guys. Domonic Brown, John Mayberry Jr., and yet again, Greg Dobbs. As a stated before, Dobbs’s lackluster performance this year really leaves him in a difficult position to make the postseason roster in any capacity. When it comes down to Dobbs and Mayberry, the biggest thing here is need. If the Phillies take Mayberry, that leaves only one possible LH situational hitter (Gload) on the bench. While it does depend on who they play in the NLDS, I don’t see Charlie Manuel and company feeling comfortable with that regardless of the opponent. I just don’t. Along with that rationale, taking Brown along for the postseason ride would go a long way towards giving him the proper experience that would allow him to properly implant Jayson Werth in the Phillies outfield once Werth bolts for the allure of dollar signs come the offseason.

RF: Jayson Werth

CF: Shane Victorino

LF: Raul Ibanez

OF: Ben Francisco

OF: Domonic Brown

Well, that was my stab at it. The two toughest calls here are obviously the battle of the last utility spot between Brown, Mayberry, and Dobbs and the decision of who’s going to be the 11th pitcher between Baez, Kendrick, and Durbin.

While I know the anticipation is killing all of you, the good news is that you only have to wait until next Wed. to find out.

PHILLIES: Recap of September Call-Ups

Fresh off of a split with a double-header against the Florida Marlins and sitting just a half-game back of the NL East leading Atlanta Braves, the Phillies made what looks like the last of their September roster moves (besides Danys Baez coming back up when he is healthy), as it appears that John Mayberry Jr. will likely join the team on Tuesday for the final month of the regular season.

Just to recap this protocol, on September 1st, the MLB rosters are able to expand from the usual 25-man roster to a maximum 40-player roster. This allows players who are currently on the Phillies organizational 40-man roster that are minor leagues for whatever reason to be brought up to major league competition until the end of the regular season without any coinciding roster move.

Including the probable addition of Mayberry and optimism surrounding the health of Baez, that will most likely bring the total to nine, that being the number additional players who will be occupying spots in the Phillies clubhouse until October 3rd (final day of the regular season).

Here is a recap of all the moves and the impact that these players may be able to make down the stretch.

RHP Danys Baez: Baez, a reliever who was once thought of as a potential closer if the Brad Lidge situation did not pan out, has been much of a disappointment since signing a 2-year, 5.5 million dollar contract at the start of the 2010 season. Inconsistent at best and borderline unbearable at worst, there is a reason that the team is not rushing to bring him back to the fold from injury. At the most, he may take up some mop-duty roles if games are out of hand to keep the likes of Ryan Madson, Chad Durbin, J.C Romero, and Jose Contreras fresh for when it really matters.

OF John Mayberry Jr.: While it’s not official yet, it’s widely assumed that Mayberry will be with the Phillies come Tuesday. Say what you want about him (overrated, a 1st rd. bust, etc.) but he really does have value for this team. For one, he absolutely demolishes lefties (.350 this year at Triple-A Lehigh Valley), so pinch-hitting duties and an occasional starting nod to spare Raul Ibanez against those southpaws may be in the cards for Mayberry if he is promoted. Secondly, Mayberry’s 20 stolen bases this year should give him an opportunity to pinch-run late in games. Lastly, his ability to play the two corner OF positions at an above-average level will give manager Charlie Manuel the option of using him during double-switch situations late in games. All things considered, none of this is valid if he is not added to the big league roster.

An interesting subplot to the end of the season could be the usage of Vance Worley.

RHP Vance Worley: Now this is a bit interesting. Worley has made a meteoric jump on MLB prospect lists since going from Double-A Reading to his first ever big league on Monday in the span of 3 months (a time frame that also includes being involved in the Roy Oswalt trade rumors). Yesterday, Worley did nothing to stop his climb to the top of the organizational mountain, going 5 innings and giving up just 2 ER in a spot-start against the Marlins. Just to refresh your memories, the Phillies branch has never been thrilled with the idea of Kyle Kendrick as the teams fifth starter, and I’m going to go out there on a limb and say that Worley’s role on this team for every fifth game will show that. Catch my drift? Even if that is not the case, Worley’s two well above-average big league pitches (FB, Slider) will allow him to have some worth as a primary long reliever in the next few weeks.

LHP Mike Zagurski: This was to be expected. Zagurski spent a month with the Phillies earlier this season when J.C Romero was down, and has showed utter dominance at with Lehigh Valley this year (13 straight scoreless innings at one point). While his transition to the big leagues could be viewed by some as shaky, with the ability to expand the roster, having LHP representation in the bullpen besides Romero and Antonio Bastardo was a must, and Zagurski and the next player I am going to talk about were really the only suitable candidates who could fill that role for this team.

LHP Nate Robertson: The former Tigers/Marlins starting pitcher was signed almost two weeks ago by the Phillies for one specific reason. Flexibility. In the past two seasons, Robertson has pitched in 47 games. He’s started 24 of them. So basically, the guy has just as much experience starting games has he does coming in relief. That had to weigh heavily in the mind of GM Ruben Amaro Jr. when they he, along with other members of the front office, were discussing signing a LHP for the stretch run. Well, his 6.1 innings of scoreless baseball he pitched AGAINST the Phillies as a member of the Marlins on April 18th this season may have had an impact as well.

RHP Scott Mathieson: Probably the move that most fans wanted to see. In July, Phillies fans got a small taste of Mathieson’s near 100 MPH in one game of relief duty. That first big league appearance in three years (two Tommy John surgeries later) may not have gone as well as all those involved would have liked, but a player who can bring a fastball like that to the table when he steps up to the mound is bound to be an valuable asset to a team in the middle of a pennant race, regardless of how much he actually pitches.

1b/ OF Ross Gload: It’s not really fair to lump Gload into the Sepetember “call-up” category, but his presence back in the Phillies clubhouse after a month on the disabled list can is indeed  a welcoming addition to the roster. While a groin injury may have sidelined Gload for the better part of the Phillies recent surge up the standings, he should assume duties as the Phillies primary LH bat along with Domonic Brown off the bench when he is deemed healthy to do so.

INF/OF Greg Dobbs: Dobbs has been designated for assignment twice this season due to his ability to produce at the big league level, so his production and playing time may be limited. However, once upon a time, Dobbs was the league leader in pinch hits, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Charlie Manuel, being the player’s coach that he is, gives Dobbs a couple at-bats against RHP, since he still has shown the ability to hit them even during this stretch of baseball that may mark the end of his career.

C Paul Hoover: Kind of ironic that the first of these call-ups may have been the most insignificant. Hoover, as it stands right now, is buried behind Carlos Ruiz and Brian Schneider on the teams depth chart at his position. This year though, with injuries being a common theme with both of those catchers, Hoover’s worth is to the team is invaluable, whether he is in the clubhouse or being used as the bullpen catcher.  Can’t say I would be comfortable seeing him behind the dish in a meaningful game though.

Notable absences from this list include both Andy Tracy and Cody Ransom.  Before you say “Why?”, take note of a possible and probable reason.

They are not on the current 40-man roster.

So, in order for them to participate in a big league contest, the Phillies would have to take two players off the 40-man roster, enabling them to be picked up on another team via waivers. As of right now, I cannot see the Phillies doing that to anyone besides Dobbs, and he would have to REALLY struggle for them to do so. Truthfully, I don’t see Dobbs getting enough opportunities to struggle any more than he has already, so it’s kind of a mute point.

For right now that is.

PHILLIES: Concern for Ryan Howard

The injury bug has been present all-season long in the Phillies clubhouse.

Want proof?

Chase Utley, Placido Polanco, Brad Lidge, Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Raul Ibanez, Ryan Madson, Joe Blanton, Carlos Ruiz, Chad Durbin, J.C Romero, Brian Schneider, Antonio Bastardo and the recently departed J.A Happ have all already spent time on the disabled list.  That’s 14 disabled list casualties among the projected 25-man roster for this team at the beginning of the season. For some (Rollins, Victorino, Lidge), their individual stint has even turned into stint(s).

Pluralities are never good when talking about injuries.

However, with Utley and Victorino still on the DL, and Raul Ibanez dealing with a wrist injury, Philadelphia’s injury issues were put under an even greater microscope Sunday after slugger Ryan Howard sprained his ankle sliding into second base.

Ryan Howard's ankle injury is the most recent cause of concern regarding the Phillies.

For the Phillies, losing Howard for a long duration of time may affect the chemistry for this team more than any other injury this season. Bold statement aside, I am not questioning the value of Chase Utley or Jimmy Rollins to this team by ranking them under Howard in this comparison of order of importance. They are both all-star caliber players, and they obviously both have very important (and different) roles on this team. With that said, losing a guy who is involved in plating or scoring almost a quarter of the offense’s runs over the course of a season and is one of the biggest threats in baseball with what he can do with one swing of the bat would be absolutely detrimental to the Phillies playoff hopes is in 2010.

The good news?

Nothing’s broken. Howard’s MRI immediately following Sunday’s contest against the Nationals revealed no broken or fractured bones in his ankle, ruling out a possible surgical procedure that would lengthen a DL visit.

The bad news?

This injury, one that was earlier categorized as “a couple day thing” by manager Charlie Manuel on Sunday, may be more severe than we all, including the skipper, originally anticipated. After Howard left Nationals park on Sunday on crutches, it was announced late Monday night by MLB.COM’s Todd Zolecki that instead of traveling with the team to Florida for the Phillies series against the Marlins, Howard would be going to Philadelphia to meet with team doctors about the status of his ankle.

The scenario.

If the doctors conclude that he the condition of the ankle is improving, he’ll fly down to Florida himself, and rejoin the team (maybe not in a active role right away) on Wednesday. On the other side of the spectrum, if the pain and the swollen nature of the injury does not subside substantially (which it hasn’t as of late Monday night) in the next 12-24 hours, then it is very likely that Howard will end up on the 15-day DL, retroactive to Sunday, August 1st.

Sadly, my intuition tells me the ladder might for in store for the Phillies, which if you look at them right now, are a team that can ill-afford the reality of an injury like that to a player like Howard while being in the middle of a pennant race.

PHILLIES: 10 Questions at the All-Star Break

Out of all the things that are up for discussion, debate, or argument regarding the first half of the Philadelphia Phillies 2010 season, one thing is for certain.

They went into the all-star break on a high note.

Sure, they may have only scored two runs combined in their final two games, and Roy Halladay may have pitched a nine inning shutout and got a no-decision in the outing, but the end result saw four game sweep against the NL Central leading Cincinnati Reds, with Phillies and the hometown fans at Citizens Bank Park being the beneficiaries of three consecutive walkoff wins.

Do the Phillies have enough resiliency to return to glory?

Not bad for a team that has dealt with more injuries than any team in professional baseball not named the Boston Red Sox, a six-week offensive slump, and had their season literally hanging on life support last week after losing a series to the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates

On paper, the Phillies may look like they have underachieved for the first half of the season. As the NL champs and frontrunners to return to another World Series, being in third place and 4.5 games back of the Atlanta Braves in the NL East with a 47-40 record going into the break doesn’t live up to expectations. However, if you have watched this team or read The Philly Phour, you understand that their is a common silver lining when you take into account all that is happened in the first 87 games. Looking at the reasons stated previously, things could obviously be much worse. Taking into account the injuries, the slump in May/June, and the three losses to Pirates last week first hand, it’s honestly a miracle that Phillies are still in contention at this point of the season.

It’s even more of a miracle that they have done all this without trading away half their farm system in a panic move.

With the roster from the last two years still basically together and getting healthy, and coming off four straight wins against a top-tier NL team ,  it’s difficult to predict what will transpire in the next 75 games. There are still so many questions that reside with this team, and it’s future for the second half of the season.

10 Questions

1. Will the Placido Polanco and Chase Utley get back in time to help resurrect the season?

2. Can the Phillies offense start giving Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels more run support?

3. Will Ryan Howard regain his power stroke without sacrificing his near .300 batting average?

4. Will the underachievers (Shane Victorino and Raul Ibanez) start playing near the all-star level they are capable of?

5. Will the overachievers (Kyle Kendrick, Brian Schneider, Wilson Valdez, Jamie Moyer) be able to keep playing at the level we have been accustomed to seeing during the first half of 2010?

6. Speaking of Moyer, will his 47-year old arm be able to hold up down the stretch?

7. Will Ruben Amaro pull the trigger on a trade to acquire a UTIL infielder, bullpen help, or a top/middle of the rotation starter?

8. Can Brad Lidge find some form of the consistency that was present in 2008?

9. Will the Phillies organization decide to part ways with a member of the Phillies outfield trio (Jayson Werth, Shane Victorino, Raul Ibanez) to make room for phenom Domonic Brown?

10. Can the Phillies stay healthy?

If the majority of the answers, especially the last one, are YES, then I still am confident that the Phillies will come back, win the NL East for the 4th straight year, and make their third consecutive trip to the Fall Classic.

Whether that happens or not, it’s going to be a entertaining next couple months if you are a Phillies fan to say the least.

PHILLIES: Walkoff Winners

Not much time to spare here at Penn State during Arts Fest, so unfortunately, I have to make this post relatively short.

Via the walkoff longball, the Philies have won their last two games against the Cincinnati Reds in dramatic fashion to say the least.

While the end result was the same the last two nights at Citizens Bank Park, the trips to these finishes couldn’t have been more different.

On Thursday night, the dramatics clearly could have been avoided. Runs given up from Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge in the 8th and 9th inning respectively ruined another solid outing by Kyle Kendrick, and gave more proof that the Phillies needs at the trade deadline are far greater than just a utility infielder and a middle of the rotation starter. In the end of it all, both Madson and the much maligned Lidge were bailed out by an unlikely source, Brian Schneider, who with his leadership and overall solid play (not even considering the walkoff) has really has justified Ruben Amaro’s decision to sign him as the primary backup to Carlos Ruiz when many teams thought his career was over.

On Friday night though, from the standpoint of a Phillies fan, the dramatics were encouraged and needed. Down 7-1 going into the 9th inning and with the way the season has gone so far, no one in their right mind could have imagined the Phillies winning that game. No Chase Utley, no Placido Polanco, no offense for the first eight innings of the game, no chance right?

It’s probably good no one relayed that negative (and somewhat justifiable) mindset to Greg Dobbs and Cody Ransom.

The three-run homerun by the new and improved Dobbs and the game tying two-run game tying HR by the recently called up Ransom capped off a stretch of six unanswered runs for Philadelphia and tied the game up at seven apiece, making it the largest deficit the Phillies have come back this season. After another unsung hero, Nelson Figueroa, pitched a crucial two-inning stretch for his second consecutive game, the stage was set for a usual suspect to finally deliver. Ryan Howard, on a breaking-ball thrown by All-Star LHP Arthur Rhodes (not usually the best situation for Howard), showed why he will join Rhodes on that NL All-Star team. With one swing of the bat, Howard sent shockwaves through Citizens Bank Park, as his two-run blast capped off an improbable comeback gave the Phillies their second walk-off in as many days against first-place caliber team.

While it remains unclear what impact these last two games will have on the rest of the season, after seeing the jubilation on the faces of those that were once a few days ago so dejected (Shane Victorino in particular), is appears that the “swagger” that Jamie Moyer and Charlie Manuel said was missing from the team after the Phillies 2nd loss in three games to the division-leading Atlanta Braves on Wednesday might in fact be back after a season-long hiatus that has seemed like an eternity.

It’s about time.

PHILLIES: Injury Updates and more..

Besides arguably the Boston Red Sox, the Philadelphia Phillies are likely the most injury-plagued team in all of baseball. The number is up to seven on the disabled list, with one other (Brian Schnieder) missing time without being on the DL due to an injury. Instead of hearing names such as Utley, Polanco, and Ruiz in the regular lineup, the scoreboard announcers are now resigned to read names such as Dobbs, Valdez, and Sardinha on a daily basis.

Scary thought.

But when will this nightmare end?

INJURY REPORT

Chase Utley: Besides a win against the Braves on Monday night, there was other good news to come out of Citizens Bank Park. Heard from for the first time since he underwent surgery on his thumb five days ago, Utley said he hopes to be back in 6 weeks. 6 WEEKS! That’s a breath of fresh air considering doctors, baseball insiders, and even the team trainer were saying that Utley wouldn’t see the diamond until at least the beginning of September. I’m not sure if Utley is accurate, but if you average the two, meaning you get Utley back HEALTHY between the middle of August and the 1st of September, consider it a success.

Placido Polanco: Not much to report on the Polanco front. On Thursday, team trainer Scott Sheridan reported that Polanco would miss 3-4 weeks due to his inflamed elbow, and that seems to be the accurate time table. Polanco will rest for at least another couple days, and will start a rehabilitation program into the AS break. If all goes well, Polanco should be back within a couple days after the All-Star Game on July 13th.

Ryan Madson: After being sidelined the last two months for breaking a toe while kicking a chair in frustration, Ryan Madson might actually be ready to come back and contribute at the big league level. He is clearly on the last legs of his rehab, in which he is slated to throw two straight nights at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. One night of that rehab is over and done with, and even though the results weren’t great to say the least (2/3 IP, 1 ER, 2 BB), if all goes according to plan (meaning his surgically repaired toe does not fall off) Tuesday night, he should be activated to the Phillies roster by this weekend.

J.A Happ: After six rehab appearances in three minor league levels, Happ finally appears to be finally getting back to full strength. In his last rehabilitation appearance at Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Sunday, Happ’s velocity sat in the low 90′s, and his first three innings pitched were perfect. The problem is that his last two innings (4 ER), most certainly were not. With Happ, the question is not whether he is healthy again, the question is whether his stuff is good enough right now to get out big league hitters. While Happ is confident in his stuff, Charlie Manuel and the rest of the Phillies front office brass think otherwise. According to the Philadelphia Daily News, Happ was activated from the DL on Tuesday, and then optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Carlos Ruiz: Ruiz looked like he was a couple days from returning, and then it was reported that he was still feeling symptoms from the concussion he endured after getting hit in the back of the head by a bat swung by Jason Kubel of the Twins. Head injuries are tricky, especially when it involves catchers, who have call all nine innings during these dog days of summer with 10 pounds of extra equipment on. Don’t count on seeing Chooch until AT LEAST the end of the All-Star break.

Chad Durbin & Antonio Bastardo: There is a lot of the unknown surrounding these two members of the bullpen that are out of action. Durbin (hamstring) and Bastardo (left elbow) are both on the 15-day DL with injuries that will take much longer than 15 days to cure. Getting Ryan Madson back will help people forget about Durbin, but Mike Zagurski’s inconsistent performance as a member of the Phillies bullpen is making Bastardo’s presence at a situational lefty missed.

OTHER NOTES

: The question still lingers. Will the Phillies make a trade for an infielder to account for injures to Utley and Polanco? Time is winding down a little bit, but I still think they make a deal. The two most likely candidates still have to be Baltimore’s Ty Wigginton and Seattle’s Jose Lopez because of their ability to play both INF positions, but Arizona’s Kelly Johnson may be the surprise choice because Arizona has trade needs at positions that the Phillies have alot of depth in (Remember, the Diamondbacks were interested in Kyle Kendrick at one point last year).

: In the past, I know I’ve said that people should be patient with Phillies #1 overall prospect Domonic Brown. My original philosophy is becoming quite difficult. In 12 games since being called up to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, Brown is absolutely obliterating the competition. As the proud owner of a stat-line that reads “.405 BA, 4 HR, 11 RBI’s”, he is surely creating a buzz that Raul Ibanez and Jayson Werth can’t be too comfortable about.  It’s not just the stats. After watching him live the past six games and seeing his 400+ ft. bombs in person, the kid is THAT good. It should be interesting to see if the Phillies listen to offers for Jayson Werth at the deadline (Raul Ibanez won’t have much of a trade value due to his age, contractual issues, and most importantly, his recent lack of prouduction) .

Would I?

In one word, yes. As much as the Phillies and their fans love Werth, you have to at least take the time to listen to offers with Domonic Brown assauting minor league pitching  just an hour away and one level below.

PHILLIES: Rollins Activated (Again); Dobbs DFA

Well, it looks like it’s “The Return of JROLL: Part 2″ in Philadelphia on Tuesday night.

As much that has been said about the struggles of the Phillies offense, Rollins may be coming back to an offense that is beginning to heat up. They are averaging a decent 4.2 runs a game in the month of June, and have put up an average of six runs a game in their last six contest, with Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Jayson Werth all hitting over .300 in the last week.

Unfortunately, however well he plays, the return of Jimmy Rollins won’t have much of an impact on struggling bullpen and an insufficient back end of the rotation.

Not today’s issue though.

RIP Greg Dobbs as a Phillie.

Earlier in the day, the decision to activate Jimmy Rollins from the disabled list sparked a set of moves that will most likely end up with a Phillies fan favorite leaving the organization.

In order to make room for the former MVP, the Phillies decided to stand pat with both Juan Castro and Wilson Valdez on the roster, and instead designated long-time Phillies fan favorite Greg Dobbs for assignment. For Dobbs, who hit .301 and led the league in pinch hits for in 2008 for the Phillies, he will most likely never play a game for the Philadelphia organization again (unless he plans to continue his career in the minor leagues). Sadly, as much as I liked Dobbs, the move was warranted. The career utility player who has spent time at 1B, 3B, and in the outfield was just hitting a paltry .154 this season with one hit in his last 25 at-bats as a pinch hitter, and has had his playing time decrease in recent days, most likely do to lack of production. Now, he has 10 days to figure out his future plans.  Whether it’s via trade, buyout, outright release, or demotion to a Phillies minor league affiliate, fans will no longer be able to cheer Dobbs’s name at Citizens Bank Park ( unless he signs with another team and is in the visitors dugout).

That does happen by the way. If my memory serves me correctly, Jim Thome was applauded as a member of the Minnesota Twins this weekend when they played the Phillies, even after he hit a homerun in front of the home crowd. Honestly, I loved Thome as much as anyone, but that just isn’t right.

One other move to note.

Apparently, taking a bat to the back of the head is a dangerous. After bearing the brunt of a Jason Kubel swing on Friday, Carlos Ruiz was placed on the 15-day DL retroactive to June 18th. In his absence, Brian Schneider will start, and Dane Sardinha will be the primary backup. With one roster spot available, the Phillies purchased the contract of LHP Mike Zagurski from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Zagurski, who like friend and teammate Scott Mathieson will get his first call-up to the bigs since having Tommy John surgery in 2008, posted a 2.35 ERA in 30.2 innings of relief duty with the Iron Pigs.

PHILLIES: Time To Panic?

As one Philadelphia team is one step away from reaching the championship in there respective sport, the team in the City of Brotherly love who has most recently reached the top of the totum pole is beginning to struggle.

J-Roll is out of the lineup once again for at least two weeks.

Losers of four out of their last six games, and averaging an anemic two runs a game over that span, the Phillies are obviously not playing there best baseball. In past years, losing streaks have correlated with offensive futility for Philadelphia, and this stretch isn’t much different. While losing Jimmy Rollins to the disabled list for the second time this season to a calf injury may be playing a large part to this rough patch, injuries are part of baseball, and unfortunately, the games are still going to count for Philadelphia despite them losing their perennial all-star SS, again.

Is it time to panic?

When it comes to the overall struggles of the Phillies, probably not. Even without Rollins, the lineup is too good to struggle like this over a long period of time. I know losing two out of three to the Red Sox and getting shutout for 16 combined innings by Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tim Wakefield may make you think otherwise, but remember, in each of the last two seasons, the Phillies have had the same fate when playing Boston, losing two games in a three-game series.

In addition to this, the Red Sox have always matched up well with the Phillies, and have even had success against Roy Halladay when he was with Toronto (Halladay had a career 4.39 ERA against the Red Sox before this past weekend), so I’m not all that surprised or concerned with the outcome of the series or Halladay’s subpar start (5.2 IP, 7 ER) on Saturday.

Is it time to be concerned though?

It may be.

A second stint to the D.L for J-Roll for a calf injury is most worrisome. This is the same player who was plagued with injuries during the first-half of last season, tried to play through them, and ended up hitting around .200 until he was presumably taken out of the lineup by manager Charlie Manuel so he could heal. Placing Jimmy Rollins back on the disabled list was the smart move, but the fact of the matter is, this injury may be one that will linger the entire season, meaning that J-Roll would have to play the remaining three months at less than 100%. It also doesn’t help when Brad Lidge, Ryan Madson, and J.A Happ will be on the disabled list with him.

No player is ever 100% at this part of the season, but it is never a good sign when every other team in baseball knows it.

While the Phillies offense has been prone to struggle at times, the defense has been just as bad lately, which is quite out of ordinary. Yes, losing a gold-glove SS to an injury would allow that to happen, but the worst part about the Phillies recent defensive struggles is that they are coming at the most inopportune times. Case and point, in the last four starts for Phillies ace Roy Halladay, the Phillies defense has committed 10 errors, which for all you math majors is a whopping 2.5 errors a game. That may be acceptable in Little League, but not at this level of baseball, and certainly not with arguably the best team in the NL when their ace is on the mound.

In all honesty, these issues are most likely going to be temporary. They will have minimal affect when October comes around and the final standings etched in stone. But the fact of the matter is these games count towards the ultimate goal, and right now, they aren’t going well.

OTHER NOTES

: Wilson Valdez is becoming quite familiar with the Philly area. Six hours after clearing waivers and arriving back at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, Valdez was shipped down the NE Extension back to Philadelphia as he was back on the 25-man roster with Jimmy Rollins being placed on the D.L

: Brian Schneider was activated on Monday from a 15-day DL stint after having successful rehab stint at Lehigh Valley (well, it depends what you mean by successful, he was 0-for-8). To make room for the backup catcher and first baseman, Paul Hoover was designated for assignment. Hoover, who hit .278 with the Phillies in his two week stint in the bigs backing up Carlos Ruiz, will have to pass through waivers. That may not happen.

: Matt Stairs hit his first homerun of the season this past weekend with the San Diego Padres. That makes 11 teams the former Phillie has hit a HR for. I still wish I made the purchase on the “In Case of Emergency, Use the STAIRS” shirt that was worn around Citizens Bank Park for the past three seasons. Classic.

: Check out this cbssportsline.com thread today saying Washington Nationals uber-prospect Stephen Strasburg broke his arm after getting hit by a foul ball during batting practice. If that’s true, wow, that’s awful luck. If that’s not true, which it seems more and more like is the case (no legitimate report), what a sick joke. I am glad I’m not one of the ten Nationals fans in the world right now.

PHILLIES: News and Notes..

It’s been about three weeks since the Roy Halladay deal went down, and finally it seems that the seas have settled in regards to the Phillies off-season moves. 

As of the start of the new year, the Phillies lineup and pitching rotation (except the fifth and final spot) are all but solidified. While it’s pretty standard for a team to return the majority of their nucleus when they were two wins short of back-to-back World Series titles, the Phillies did that, added some depth with Brian Schneider and DeWayne Wise , and made two small upgrades (Halladay over Cliff Lee and Placido Polanco over Pedro Feliz) in terms of talent in my opinion to their player personnel. 

Can’t complain about that.

The only part of the team in a bit of a state of flux right now is the bullpen. Brad Lidge and Ryan Madson will be back, keeping the enigmatic set-up man/closer combination that produced the most blown saves (17) in the National League last year. As for the middle relievers, they may look a little different come opening day. Brett Myers was casted away by GM Ruben Amaro as he cleaned out his locker after the World Series, and it looks like Chan Ho Park will be joining him out the door as well. 

Baez is the newest addition to the current powerhouse of the National League

 

Last week, the Phillies agreed to terms with former Baltimore Orioles reliever Danys Baez on a 2-year deal, as his signing will give the Phillies a replacement for Park as a right-handed long reliever. In regards to replacing Myers, the Phillies will probably look internally within the organization, as a lot depends on what they decide to do with filling the fifth starter role. If Jamie Moyer is good to go health wise, they will probably enter Spring Trainer with him occupying that role on the depth chart, with Kyle Kendrick the candidate to take the place of Myers alongside Chad Durbin as middle inning men. 

In terms of left-handed relievers, Antonio Bastardo will be in line to take over J.C Romero’s job for the first month of the season, as Romero will still be recovering from off-season surgery. However, the real x-factor in this category is Scott Eyre.

Eyre is still unsure about deciding to return to the Phillies next season, as he’s reportedly leaning towards retirement. If Eyre stays, all is well, and the Phillies will most likely go into the regular season with two left-handed relievers on the opening day roster. If he chooses to hang up the cleats, look out for a free-agent signing or two in the future. 

Lastly, if you think the Phillies are going to try to make a move to counter the Mets signing of Jason Bay, you are mistaken. Bay is just another example of a powerful right-handed hitters that are known for existing in the NL East (David Wright, Ryan Zimmerman, Hanley Ramirez are just examples), and the Phillies, with the addition Halladay and Baez, have already the necessary moves.