The yo-yo that is Reading’s season, now has them at 65-63, in 5th place in the Southern division, 9 games out of first. In the pitching categories, Chris Key is 6th in the league with 17 saves. Phils hitters continue among league leaders as Mike Costanzo ranks 3rd in runs (83), 2nd in homers (23), 5th in RBI’s (74) and 2nd in strikeouts(143). Greg Jacobs in 6th in hits (129), 3rd in doubles (34), 7th in homers (19), 4th in RBI’s (75), and 8th in batting average(.309). Jason Hill is 4th in doubles (33) and 4th in batting average (.311). Mike Spidale is now 6th in league in triples (6).
The Phils completed their series against Thursday night with Gary Knotts turning in the Phils best pitching performance of the year, a one hit shutout in a 7-0 Phils win. Knotts, who has been extrememly impressive since his acquisition from the Independant League Newark Bears walked 2 and struck out 8. Greg Golson had a 3 run homer(2) and Greg Jacobs was 2-4 with a run, 2 doubles, and an RBI to lead Reading.
Strong pitching continued to help the Phils as Zach Segovia(4-2) pitched 6 innings and gave up only a run on 5 hits in a 2-1 win over Akron on Firday. The bullpen came in to pitch 3 shutout innings, including Julio Mateo’s 2nd save to nail down the win. Mike Spidale led the offense going 3-5 with a double and a run scored and both Jason Hill and Joey Hammond added 2 hits for the Phils. On Saturday, the Phils won their third straight behind 4 hits by Juan Tejada including his 7th homer on their way to a 7-2 victory. Greg Jacobs and Michael Garciaparra each added 2 hits including Jacobs 19th homer. Pat Overholt(5-7) pitched 6 strong innings giving up 5 hits and a run, while Chris Key came in to pitch the final 2 innings to notch his 17th save. Sunday’s game against Akron was rained out and will be made up later this week, in Reading as part of a doubleheader.
Reading opened a series against Altoona at home Monday in very impressive fashion with Josh Outman , the Phils sixth ranked prospect, throwing a shutout and collecting three hits in a 10-0 victory. Outman (1-2) pitched a complete game shutout and gave up only 4 hits. Almost everyone contributed offensively, however, leading the way were Mike Costanzo who was 3-4 with a run scored, Jason Hill who was 2-5 with 2 runs and an RBI, and Greg Jacobs who was 2-3 with 2 runs scored. The powerful pitching exhbited by Reading continued Tuesday, with Carlos Carrasco(5-3) turning things around throwing an abbreviated no hitter, going 6 shutout, no hit innings in a 1-0 victory over ALtoona. The lone Phils run was produced on a single by Jason Hill, who then reached third on a double by Greg Jacobs and scored on a Joey Hammond ground out. Greg Jacobs was 2-2 for Reading. The Phils lost a heartbreaker Wednesday evening 5-2 in 10 innings. Chris Rojas started and pitched well, giving up 2 runs on 6 hits over 6 innings, however Chris Key(5-2), took the loss, giving up 3 runs in the 10th. The lone Phillies runs came in the fourt on a 2 run single by Peeter Ramos.
Philers: Greg Jacobs and Jason Hill became the 11th and 12th players in Reading history to notch 30 doubles in a year.
Although almost a cinch to set the Reading record for strikeouts in a year, Mike Costanzo has dropped his strikeout rate from 37% in April to 19% thus far in August, which shows great improvement.
Gary Knotts was named Eastren League pitcher of the week last week following his one hit shutout.
Both Shane Victorino and Rod Barajas were in the Reading lineup on Tuesday on rehab assignments. Barajas continued his rehab assignment Wednesday, while Victorino returned to the big Phils lineup.
Transactions: Gary Knotts and Ryan Cameron were promoted to (AAA) Ottawa. Taking their place on the roster from the disabled list are Charles Weatherby and Heath Totten.
Phuture Phillies 
Costanzo looks like he might be catching up to the league. Good news. His power is awesome, so if his average kreeps up to .280 by the end of the year and is K rate drops, i would say he could be viewed as a legit prospect. Happy to see Outman and Carrasco catch up to the league as well. One game does not make a trend, but it is a start. We need trade-able prospects if we are going to do something in the off-season to improve the pitching in Philly.
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Great post PP Fan, you beat me to it! However, just take a look at Costanzo’s numbers and you’ll be a believer:
.313 AVG, 6 HRs, 1 3B, 6 2B, 26 runs, 26 RBI, 26 BB, 32 Ks, .434 OBP, .516 SLG
‘Nuff said.
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Costanzo’s power numbers look better and better, but his strikeout totals are horrendous. Sure, he’s a prospect, but I don’t want to see him pull on Phillies pinstripes until he’s had a full season in AAA without the abysmal strikeout rate. To my mind, Costanzo’s ETA is 2009 at the very earliest. The Phillies need guys who can get on base and move the lineup for Utley and Howard, they don’t need a 25 HR guy who strikes out 175 times. If Costanzo can reach 58 HR like Ryan Howard than he’s welcome to whiff 200 times in the Show, but that’s not gonna happen, so he’d better figure out a better approach if he wants to help the Phillies. He knows it, too, and the improvement he’s had in August is welcome news, but one month isn’t exactly a whole season.
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It hasn’t just been “improvement(s) he’s had in August”, he’s been absolutely unstoppable the entire second half. His K rate and K/BB have done a complete 180, and he’s shown some serious improvement in plate discipline. If he finishes out the season with numbers like this, then it’ll be tough not to see him competing for a roster spot come spring training. I wonder if maybe we’ll see how he can do in LF? He has an above average arm, and usually it’s the easiest transition. Burrell will be gone once his contract is up (if not before then), so maybe we should explore the option of Costanzo there (they’re very similar players, but Costanzo will come at a far cheaper price and will give us flexibility).
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Good points, Patrick, but seeing that the Phillies will want Costanzo to help them in 2009, I almost wonder if the best course of action is to let him spend most (if not all) of 2008 in AAA. The improvement we’ve seen from him in the second half is the result of the number of at bats he’s had and hence the adjustments he’s made to thrive in AA. To ask him to double jump to the big club and make an impact in limited at bats may not only turn out to backfire, but it could also stunt the progression we’re seeing from him as a hitter.
And as you said, PP Fan, good to see Carrasco and Outman show signs of swimming (as opposed to sinking) in Reading. The system problem of having few prospects at the top levels of the organization is being solved as we speak with the success of these three.
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