8/29/09-After a rainout Friday night in Syracuse, Lehigh Valley played two on Saturday with Gustavo Chacin getting the start in Game One. Neither team could muster any offense until Chacin allowed a grand slam to Ian Desmond, giving the Chiefs a 4-0 lead in the 4th inning. That hit was all Syracuse needed as the ‘Pigs managed just three hits, getting shutout for the tenth time this season. Chacin threw a complete game (although the game was shortened due to minor league doubleheader rules) going 6 innings and giving up 4 runs on 3 hits. He walked 4 and struck out 1. The only notable offensively for Lehigh Valley was John Mayberry was was 2-3 with a double.
Game Two wasn’t much better then Game One, as Syracuse completed their sweep of the ‘Pigs 6-3. Lehigh Valley jumped on Syracuse in the first inning on a Mike Cervenak RBI single and a Sac Fly by Andy Tracy, but were matched by Syracuse in the bottom half of the inning. Syracuse and Lehigh Valley exchanged runs again in the 3rd (Cervenak, RBI double), before SYracuse went up for good with a two run fourth. Joe Savery (3-2) started for Lehigh Valley and lasted just 3.2 innings, giving up 5 runs (4 earned) on 6 hits. He walked 4 and struck out 2. Both Rich Thompson and Mike Cervenak had two hits apiece for the ‘Pigs.
8/30/09– A totally lost weekend for Lehigh Valley as they lost 3-1 to Syracuse Sunday evening. The ‘Pigs scored first and it was their only run on a Mike Cervenak RBI double in the third inning. The score remained 1-0, until a three run sixth off of ‘Pigs starter Rodrigo Lopez gace the Chiefs a lead they held onto. Lopez went 5.2 innings, giving up 3 runs on 6 hits. He didnt walk a batter and struck out 4. Cervenak was the only offensive notable for Lehigh Valley with two hits.
Notes: David Newhan returned to the lineup Saturday after missing a week injured.
Look for Brett Myers to make two rehab appearances for the ‘Pigs during the seasons last week at Coca Cola Park in Allentown.
Lehigh Valley will lose both 3B Terry Tiffee and LHP Cedric Bowers to Team USA on September 1. Both will be greatly missed on a team already depleted with injury/call ups.
Andy Tracy is currently in an 1-30 slump. This follows a streak in which he went 15-28 (.536) with 6 HR and 17 RBI over a 9 game span.
Phuture Phillies 
Hmm . . . I saw Tracy as a callup as insurance against Dobbs struggling when he gets back. They will need an effective second LH pinch hitter. Wonder if that still happens. I know Phils like this guy as an org man and maybe future coach. Reward callup for Tracy?
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I could see Tracy coming up….the other left handed options in AAA are really limited (Thompson, Newhan). Tracy although incredibly streaky does give you a good at bat. He is among the league leaders in walks. Tracy is not on the 40 man roster, so a corresponding roster move would be needed, which may tilt the decision in another direction.
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Tracy brings alot of the Matt Stairs home run or bust mentality to the table. I would think it would be a smarter move to bring up Rich Thompson , so they could have another CF capable OF reserve on the roster, and another LH bat besides. I also will modify my September call-ups view , to predict they also call up J.J. Furmaniak(with Carlos Leon the secondary choice at that spot), and Tuffy Gosewisch, these will free up chances to use other players on the MLB bench more. These guys will likely play little. There is also talk of a Nomar Garciaparra trade, which I think will happen, then the injured players returning will complete the September cast. With the return of the injured pitcher, no minor league pitchers are likely to be recalled. Who is on the 40 man roster means little, as there is plenty of excess personnel to be jettisonned (as I have said before) and at the end of the season the veteran call ups can be either out righted to the minors or released , and they will become minor league free agents which most if not all would have been anyways.
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couldnt disagree more Marfis. Respectfully, of course.
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Here’s a side note Somebody might want to make an article on : Next season minors leaguers will all be required to wear the new Rawlings S100 helmet (ESPN)
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Not seeing Thompson as a guy who will strike fear into a RH pitcher in 6th or 7th inning as a pinch hitter in a pitching change. And that is what they need. Mayberry will be the reserve OF. Along with Francisco, that’s all they need. He is already on the 40-man. There is some dead wood on the 40-man, so I think they can get something valuable out of Tracy.
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Well Tracy was around last season and did not blaze a trail through MLB. He might have been around the year before as well, I don’t remember anything he did if he was. He was (the last time I looked) around a .240 hitter at AAA. I think it would be better to have someone with a slightly better chance of plinking in a single now and then. And also CF capable, which Mayberry would not be, because there may arise a need in September to put in a reserve CF late in the game , during the month of September. So my guess is Thompson there, that is what I would do. The same applies for another capable defensive sub at SS to free up Bruntlett for more pinch hitting and filling in duties. Cairo, who remains, does not have the range there at this point. Furmaniak, who rates surprisingly high in the Range Factor Ground stats, would be my guess there. And they always will call up a 3rd catcher, So they can free up Bako and/or Ruiz for more pinch-hitting and/or rest. So my guess there is the more defensively adept James Gosewisch.
So these are my guesses; Thompson, Furmaniak, and Gosewisch, it will soon be known, right or wrong.
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I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Tracy were not called up. I just do not think there would be a scenario where JJ Furmaniak or Carlos Leon gets called up. I agree on Gosewisch.
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The Phillies have 3 CF available on their current roster. They don’t need a back up back up sub for CF right now.
Papers suggest Mayberry, and with Cairo already there, and Dobbs potential return in a week or so… There is scant room or reason to move people on or off of the 40 man roster.
I guess my prediction is, if you haven’t seen the show this year, you are not going to get a call up.
But I’ve been wrong before.
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The proposed call-ups are a joke. Nobody is ready to help this team in a meaningful way. They need to bite the bullett TODAY (I mean that literally, today is the trade deadline) and use some talent on the farm to acquire a real right-handed pinch hitter. The lack of a real hitter off the bench could just kill them in the postseason. Trade Vance Worley or Kyle Kendrick for Mike Sweeney or Gabe Kapler or somebody like that. It would be well worth the cost.
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i think that mayberry is a worthwhile rh,ed bat. aside from him not much to call up. a deal that should have been considered , while everyone was talking about halliday, was toronto,s ss. i know he,s their everday but on the phils he would be perfect. goosewich, furmanek, tracy are ridiculous.
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Isn’ t a pinch hitter supposed to be a hitter?
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Here’s a potential call-up nobody seems to have expected. Todd Zolecki seems to imply in his latest tweet: Phillies have selected the contract of RHP John Ennis. Brad Harman has been designated for assignment to make room on 40 man roster.
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Carlos Carrasco making his MLB debut for the Tribe tomorrow night…
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Upon further review I see Ennis had Tommy John surgery in April (Murphy) and was immediately placed on 15 day DL. So the call-up must be some kind of roster flim=flammery. Harman still just as gone, however.
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The trade deadline has passed, I read, as of 1:30 pm today, and I don’t see any Phillie trades yet, so I am not expecting any. Alot of these proposals on here were ill conceived and ill thought out regardless. The addition of a vaunted RH Hitting Pinch Hitter on the team as it is currently constituted would have necessitated the removal of a pitcher from the playoff roster. The bench would require a good defensive standby at SS, so the newcomer would not have replaced Bruntlett. Even if he did , being the sole standby Middle Infielder woud necessitate him being relegated to stand by duty in the event of the need of a late inning defensive replacement in the Middle Infield. Bench also requires a back-up Catcher, the 2 Left Hand HItting pinch hitters in Dobbs and Stairs, and they are not moving Francisco, so that’s5 guys , and the new guy would make 6 so one pitcher would go. But like I started off with, it is probalbly too late anyway.
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was their thought of moving francisco? couldnt be that would be insane. he should be playing more. except for taylor and drabek the higher teams seem to be pretty empty. oh yeah cant forget brown and mathieson.
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John, don’t forget about the development of Tim Kennelly on the higher teams especially as a catcher. He even caught 5 strike outs in two innings for Brett Myers the other night. Just tonight for Reading he had three hits, a stolen base and a “strike um out, throw em out out” double play. He now has thrown out the last three base steal attempts against him. But Tim is headed to Europe to play for the Aussies in the World Baseball Cup. Should be at AAA or higher sometime next year.
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I doubt we see any callups beyond those already on the 40 man. The only reason to bring up a player is to rest a starter.
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rickey b. i did forget about kennelly which i should never do since its my neighbors name. but i really dont see alot at lhv. or reading. it appears the lower levels are where our strengh lies. just my opinion but i dont think many guys besides the big 4 at lnv. and reading are going to make it. although i hope they do. big trade for thome, i wish we had gotten scutero.
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Kennelly – Though he has started to hit some at AA , It is not proven he has mastered that level, So my Guess is that he returns to AA next season . I project him into the RF position with Derrick Mitchell being moved to CF and Susdorf in LF. Mitchell might be able to handle that because he started out as a SS. They might keep Quiroz or Milner as back-up OFwith the other released along with the other Clearwater OF’s. If you follow Kennelly’s playing time in the minors, you might get the idea that the organization favors other Catchers over Kennelly as a receiver. Naughton and Gosewisch both played over Kennelly when they were on the same team, So, I say, Gosewisch would play over Kennelly at AAA, and Naughton would start over Kennelly at AA. So, next season, I see Kennelly at AA in RF, and occasoionally spelling Naughton at C. And a lesser defensive player at C is not good. That was illustrated in yesterday’s Pirates Double Header, as the former Philly prospect Jaramillo left a low pitch by him for the actual loss of the game (imagine that here) and the starter Doumit whiffed on a high fastball resulting in the umpire being hit in the head and getting woozy. But both of ’em might hit better than the current Phillies catchers.
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Scutaro- Toronto’s starting SS. You think they’ll just give him away? I suspect he might be a type A free agent, so they will look for the equivalent of a 1st round choice and a Supplemental Round Choice. And when the season ends he walks because Rollins and Utley are still here. Nobody is so deluded as to think he would be kept and Rollins traded.
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No call-ups I have seen as yet. So, I laid down what they should do, Not for what the players called up can do, but to free up players on the bench (who will still be there for the playoffs) to do more. So back-ups at CF, SS, and C. And where do people get that there are already 4 CF’s so they don’t need more? Victorino can play CF, but the issue was back-ups and Victorino can’t back up himself. That makes 3. Werth can play CF, but he starts in RF, so moving him to CF weakens 2 positions defensively. That makes 2. Bruntlett can play CF, but needs to be in reserve as Middle Infield and Emergency Catcher, so that makes 1. Francisco can play CF, but he can be used relatively early in the game as a pinch hitter. That leaves nobody. CF reserve needed- I say Thompson. Only one SS capable Middle Infield back-up available – I say add Furmaniak. Need a 3rd catcher- I say Gosewisch. So, seeing that the call-ups have not been announced yet, (and they may not all be announced till the end of Lehigh Valley’s season), my prediction stands.
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marfis…they are simply not going to cut three guys off of the 40-man roster so that they can bring up a 5th string CF and 4th string SS. It just won’t happen. They will likely bring up a third catcher, who will probably never play, but the idea of adding Thompson and Furmaniak to the 40-man so that they will never play either just doesn’t seem likely. Yes, there may be some “extra” players on the 40-man right now, but that doesn’t mean the Phillies want to lose them for nothing.
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they should shut savery down for the year – for confidence reasons, not health reasons. i didn’t understand why they moved him up and i don’t understand why they keep sending him out there to get pounded. they could have left him in AA and he could have built some confidence going into the off season.
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Most of the excess players on the 40 man roster they will lose for nothing at the end of the season anyway. And the players called up can be outrighted or released in the offseason. What are they going to get from Steve Regester. Joseph Bisenius, and there is no room for more pitchers so Rodrigo Lopez becomes free agent before he pitches here again, and they could move John Ennis to the 60 day DL, with no penalty. That’s 4 right there. So the no room on the roster crowd simply don’t know what they are talking about. AS far as excess CF’s Victorino and Werth are regular players , Francisco will be used at pinch hitter, and Bruntlett is the only middle infield reserve capable of good defense at SS. The players I advocate recalling will free up bench players (who will be there for the playoffs) to play more in the field without hurting single game chances.
The full call ups have not all been announced yet, if they do the right thing, this is correct.
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Mayberry and Lopez will be called up by the end of the week. Educated guess.
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