–A good night for the Phillies minor league system, going 6-1, with most top prospects performing well.
–19 year old first round draft pick Anthony Hewitt signed yesterday for a reported $1.4 million signing bonus. Reports have him being moved to third base.
In the Gulf Coast League, Anthony Gose was 1-3 with a run and a stolen base, Zach Collier took a collar with an 0-4, and impressive reliever Jordan Ellis pitched another scoreless inning (7.2 IP, 1H, 0ER, 1BB, 7K on the season)in the 4-2 Phils loss. Box Score
Justin DeFratus pitched well again for Williampsort getting his second win without a loss, and David Schwimmer pitched 4 shutout innings, striking out 6 in relief in the 5-2 win. Schwimmer, although rocky in his initial outing has struck out 16 in 8 innings. Box Score
Julian Sampson (5-1) was solid yesterday giving up only a run in 6.2 innings leading Lakewood to a win in Game One of their doubleheader. Box Score In Game Two, Lakewood hit around former Phillie Zach Segovia to sweep the doubleheader. Box Score
Joe Savery pitched well and Michael Taylor knocked in 4 runs (after 39 AB’s without an RBI), to lead Clearwater to a 6-5 victory. Box Score
SS Jason Donald returned to the Reading lineup last night after missing several games with a hamstring problem. It is worth taking a look at the statistics of Jeremy Slayden who has been raking it lately, including his 11th homer of the year last night in the 7-3 Reading win over New Britain. Box Score
Other than the arrival of Brett Myers, the big news for Lehigh Valley last night was TJ Bohn meeting the Mendoza line in the 12-5 ‘Pigs victory. Box Score
Phuture Phillies 
Nice job, Gregg – you’re improving with every post!
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What do you guys know about this guy R.J. Swindle that according to Beerleaguer is replacing Myers on the 25 man roster?
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Swindle is a situational lefty, who has been outstanding for both Reading and Lehigh Valley this year. 24 years old. Drafted by Boston in the 14th round (2004). He is 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA between Reading and Lehigh Valley this year, with 6 walks and 48 strikeouts (not a typo). Deserves a chance…Seems another roster move is coming before Saturday.
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It should be noted Swindle is a junkballer of the highest order. If his deception works at the majors he’ll do well, if not it’ll be batting practice.
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like i said before, everything ive read says that swindle isnt replacing myers. He is replacing Condrey who is away from the team on paternity leave. the phillies will then have to make another move this weekend for a starter to replace myers
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It was nice to see Taylor with a couple of hits including a granny. Hopefully it’s a sign he’s ready to break out.
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Swindle could be replacing Myers if they plan on starting C. Durbin, which I think is a mistake.
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David Schwimmer?
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Ross Geller is pitching for the Phillies!!!! Can Matt LeBlanc and Matthew Perry be next?
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the BIG QUESTION no one is asking:
With Jason Donald raking and playing acceptable shortstop,
and
Jimmy Rollins not hitting or fielding exceptionally well, while making $8 million a year on a team with a limited payroll,
should we start considering a future without J-Roll?
I like J-Roll, but I think his performance is more likely to decline than that of any of our other core players. He’s older, smaller, impatient and his recent power numbers were likely an aberration. What do you think? Is Donald a legit major league shortstop? He’s hit very well on every level. Or could Cardenas even move back to SS, the position he played in high school? His arm is reportedly plus for 2nd base.
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With all due respect, wasn’t it just 6 months ago that Jimmy Rollins won the National League Most Valueable Player….cut the guy some slack!
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On to reality.
In my view, there are only two realistic possibilities for Myers’ replacement: Happ and Chad Durbin. As I previously noted, Durbin is a great reliever and a terrible starter – why deplete a strength when doing so will not shore up a weakness. If they are thinking straight, Happ is the only logical choice. If they are worried about how he’ll do, they should have Durbin ready that day to pitch 3 or 4 innings of relief, if needed. This isn’t rocket science, the right choice is fairly self-apparent.
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Yeah, sure, let’s send J-Roll to the minors too and, while we’re at it, let’s send Hamels, Utley and Howard. Watch out International League!!!
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Baxter, I think the issue with both Donald and Cardenas is their defense. A couple of posters who have seen Donald play in Reading say that he labors a bit at SS and would probably be better suited to 2B or 3B.
And as far as moving J-Roll in general… I think the Phils want to ride out a 2- or 3-year stretch with the current core and see if they can win a title. After that, I think Howard will be the first to go as they remake the roster a bit.
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Nobody is asking that question b/c it’s not going to happen.
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i like donald as a prospect, but let’s not get carried away here. the guy is barely hitting .300 in double A with no power and no speed. it is not like he is exactly killing it or stealing a lot of bases.
Jimmy is a multiple gold glove SS that is a half season away from an MVP year that put up stats only a few people have ever done before. he has power and a lot of speed on the base paths. that guy ain’t going no where.
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The truly great teams don’t go through re-building mode. Rather, they gradually replace players as it appears that their performance is eroding and they replace them mostly with minor leaguers and, occasionally, players obtained by trade or free agency. If the Phillies are thinking straight, Rollins and Utley will be here for a long time – the downward slope of their careers years are many, many years in the future. Howard is different – his peformance is unpredictable at best and he wants to be paid more than his market value. The Phillies should consider trading him or allowing him to finish his pre-free agency years here, but, in the long haul, they should be considering a replacement.
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I noticed they were running on Savery and Gosewisch last night. 6 SBs, including 1 of home, in his 6 2/3 innings. He was picking guys off base early in the year and they were running all night, last night. I was happy to see Taylor have a good night too.
Baxter, I’m not worried about J-Roll…. yet. Prior to last year, he was a lousy 1st half player and would put it all together in the 2nd half. I think a lot of people think Galvis could be his replacement. He’s 3 years away. Donald as a stop-gap in case of injury or J-Roll totally falling apart.
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Actually, I like Donald a lot as a prospect, but I don’t see SS in his future. He’ll probably be at third or in the outfield. Obviously, given his lack of significant power, he is more valuable as an infielder.
By the way, not that anyone particularly cares or notices, but I like to keep tabs on our former prospects. People should know that Mike Costanzo is now adjusting nicely to AAA (every month his OPS jumps 100 points – it’s just like last year) and I expect that in a year or two he will be playing regularly (although perhaps not starting) in the majors. Matt Maloney is also doing well and has come on of late – expect to see him called up when the rosters are expanded and, perhaps, even earlier than that.
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“Yeah, sure, let’s send J-Roll to the minors too and, while we’re at it, let’s send Hamels, Utley and Howard. Watch out International League!!!”
Great strategy!
Schedule some games in Philly and we are in. A chamionship comes to Philly–finally!
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On Slayden, I have come to the opinion that, at some point, he’s going to be a major leaguer too, even if he is a bit old for a prospect. The question with him is whether he’ll be a Jason Michaels type or if he will evolve into something like a late-blooming Jason Bay or Xavier Nady. I’ll tell you, what though, the guy can truly hit and it is encouraging that he’s been a lot better in AA than he was in high A ball.
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Catch 22 f/k/a H Man – i think that you are falling into the same trap as others when it comes to ryan howard, who is actually having a good season. not great, but good. everyone focuses on the least two important stats in the game and draws the wrong conclusion.
this game is all about run production, and on this metric, howard is extremely valuable:
– He is tied for first in the NL and second in all of baseball on RBIs
how is he doing that?
– hitting .333 with runners in scoring position
– hitting .346 with 2 outs and runners in scoring position
– hitting .357 with Man on 3rd, <2 out
why is his batting average so low? the shift that is occuring when no one is on base
– Lead Off Inning .152
– None On/Out .141
– None On, 1/2 out .173
– None On .156
he hasn’t learned to hit away from that shift yet, but he is getting better at it and when he figures it out, his numbers will go back to insane like his mvp year numbers.
remember he is only 28, and in the mean time, he is extremely productive.
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I don’t think that the Phillies will let Howard walk or trade him because he isn’t a great hitter, it’s because he thinks he is worth more than he is. If you (objectively) look at his stats next to Adam Dunn, there is little to know difference. Yet everybody would agree that Howard is the far superior hitter. Why is that? I don’t know, but I don’t want to pay $140 for 6 years aged 31-36 to find out. Let the Yankees do that. Realistically, I think they have another year and a half of Howard. They’ll probably trade him a year before he walks (or mid-season next year if the team is in the crapper). Then they need to worry about Hamels, who is already scaring me with his contract talk.
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$140 million that is. For $140, I’d sign him.
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Yes, Maloney is doing well, but they wouldn’t have won the pennant without Lohse.
Yes, Costanzo is doing well, but Lidge is an All-Star this year and this team would probably be under .500 without him.
It’s fine to follow former prospects but your phrasing sounds as if you’re questioning the wisdome of trading those players. You have to give something to get something and I feel both deals were fair, if not in favor of the Phillies.
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if you check how many run the phillies scored for LOHSE
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The Padres just signed a boatload of top Latin talent today, including Adis Portillo. It’s on their website…
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Noticed Savery’s last two outings have been quality starts giving up 3 earned runs, 2 walks, and 10 K’s over 12.2 innings. More amazing he has given up only 7 fly outs compared to 21 ground outs to go with his 10 K’s during those starts. That is a Citzen Bandbox Park pitcher type line.
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A couple of points.
First, I actually like Howard too. He’s probably going to bounce back and have some good seasons. The issue is how to maximize his value to the organization. If he would agree to something like a 6 year $100 million contract (probably the outer edge of his worth right now), I’d be fine with that. But I doubt he will. So, now, the focus should be on how to get the most value without sacrificing a championship in the process. It’s a fine line and that’s why the GMs get paid the big bucks.
Second, Howard has some interesting statistics, but it’s now at the point that Pat Burrell has been a notably better offensive player than Howard this year (just check the Win Share totals at The Hardball Times – Burrell blows Howard away). Also, we always have to remember that it’s easier to replace offense at first base than it is at any other position (at least in the NL where there’s no DH), so losing Howard is, to me, just not as devastating as losing someone like Utley or Rollins.
Third, as for our old farmhands, please re-read my post and tell me where it says that we should not have made those trades. I’m not saying that. Lidge is the reason we’re leading the division and Lohse was a godsend. I just grow fond of these guys and find it difficult to stop looking up their statistics. I’m a bit sentimental – it’s like watching your kids grow up. So, yeah, I still pull for Costanzo and guys like that and, if they trade Donald or Carrasco, I’ll probably root for them too.
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The Lidge trade was a slam dunk.
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JSlasher88 Says:
The Padres just signed a boatload of top Latin talent today, including Adis Portillo. It’s on their website…
“a boatload of top Latin talent”– think about it. . .
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Forget Portillo, did you see the A’s gave up $4 million and change for Michael Inoa? The kid’s 16 and throws in the mid-90s! Why aren’t the Phils going after guys like this?
Click on my name to be taken to the article.
PS – a boatload of top Latin talent — haha, nice choice of words!
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