Keep the personal attacks, derogatory language and childish antics to a minimum*
Last night’s games
Lakewood loses 9-2
Clearwater wins 2-1.
Reading loses 11-9.
Singleton takes an 0/4, Hewitt goes 3/4. Mass hysteria ensues.
* NONE AT ALL. Please don’t make me play comments police. Just stop. There’s no need to discuss it, or anything else. Just don’t engage in it.
Phuture Phillies 
is this the first time singleton failed to reach base in a game
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The Singleton bandwagon has hit a pot hole. I’m off. Thought he could be something, but after last nights performance I highly doubt it.
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I am really wondering how good the RIZ can be. He hasn’t slowed up much at AA. If he is still hitting at the end of the month he should go to Lehigh.
For those of you in the know: Has Aumont gone back to his old style? That was some turnaround.
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Homeruns from Brown are now no longer worthy of mention
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Singleton did reach base, he hit into force and got an RBI.
Williamsport roster up as of yesterday. Don’t see no article on it. Looks like Dugan, Hudson, D. Santana, and Eldemire to fill the OF/DH roles, with Alvarez and Dabbs as reserves. Altherr to GCL to start. IF I see as Cusick 1B (with Dugan working in here as well) Cesar Hernandez 2B, Edgar Duran at SS, Matthew McConnell as MI reserve, Carlos Alonzo at 3B (team site also mentions Jake Smith here as well, though not on roster yet.) Surprise as Catchers are Jim Klocke, Jeff Lanning and David Doss. I figure the Starters as: Julio Rodriguez, Juan Sosa, Kevin Angelle, Perci Garner, and Mario Hollands. Julian Sampson and others also on roster.
Lakewood- Hewitt did his 3 for 4 as a DH batting 9th, while Brian Gump started in LF. Hewitt now at .240 and looks to be pulling ahead of Buschini in Batting Average, so Buschini should be the guy to start hitting again. Barnes back at 2B from off of DL.
Reading- Overbeck playing at 3B, while Bozied went to 1st, but it was a DH game , so Rizzotti was DH. Who will play 1B in non -DH games. Gillies DNP, so hopefully they are just working him in slowly.
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I am glad to see Phillippe have a good outing. Hopefully, he can get himself straightened out and focus on the many small things he needs to master in order to become effective over the long haul. He’s got a lot of talent and is a big, gangly guy just trying to figure it all out. Sometimes it takes a long time for players like that to take off or even show consistent velocity. But, personally, I like this guy. I like how he handles himself. I like his intelligence. I like his competitiveness and, from what I’ve seen on tape from the WBC, I like his raw stuff.
One other point, thanks PP for asking people to behave. Please everyone, let’s not make this personal – if you disagree, say so, but using demaning and derogatory language, regardless of how vehemently you disagree with somebody, just hurts the overall tone and free exchange on this site. There’s no place for cyberbullying here.
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It was really encouraging to see Philippe Aumont have a good outing in relief–3 innings, 1 hit, 2 walks. As to Williamsport, I have tickets to see them against the Lake Monsters (National’s affiliate) of Vermont on 7/5. Go Crosscutters!
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**** As to Williamsport, I have tickets to see them against the Lake Monsters (National’s affiliate) of Vermont on 7/5. Go Crosscutters!
****
I’ll be there too (and on the other 2 games)…on the 3rd base side, front row. Should be a pretty good team to watch with all the prospects they crammed on there.
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So, is Aumont a reliever for good now or do we think this is temporary?
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Since Aumont went around 3 innings, which is alot for a reliever, I would say they are transitioning him back to starting.
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I agree with marfis and I think I remember that when Aumont was moved down they said he is still being looked at as a starter. Perhaps they did not want to disrupt the current rotation at Clearwater?
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They said they would be using Aumont in long relief to get him innings. He needs to pitch but the thought is to hold him to three innings and to see how he does. Yesterday he was good, let’s see if he can do it again. As for Hewitt, he is absolutely playing better and continues to hit over .300 in June. There’s no way to know if he’s figuring things out because he’s still striking out alot but he does ht the ball hard when he hits it. We just need to give him time and not write him off yet. I’m worried that DeFratus might be going through a dead arm stage. For a guy that was so good, he’s sprung a bit of a leak. Only 5 innings for Sanchez? I’m hoping that they just wanted to get Aumont 3 innings and that Sanchez is fine. He still looks like a major league arm to me although probably in relief.
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This was in the Baseball America daily prospect report today:
“PHI AA Brown, Domonic RF 5 1 1 1 .310 HR (12); Minors best remaining prospect?”
Someone was saying we hear so little about Brown with Singleton and others emerging, but he is doing well and being noticed.
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The bad outing by Schwimmer should ensure that he’ll stay in AA for a few more months.
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Agree with all the patience comments. These guys are talented and need the time to figure it out. When you look at the majors, you see everything from fast-trackers to guys who took 6-7 years to adapt. Very complex processes.
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il b goin 2 the crosscutters game 2maro
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**Agree with all the patience comments. **
Amen. all of those comments yesterday worrying about where Singleton is ranked are just silly. who cares. all that matters is that he is able to keep producing as he moves up. chase utley was never a top 10 BA prospect and he might go down as one of the top 10 second baseman of all time. earlier in the year, people were “starting to get concerned about brody”. now he is a top of the rotation mlb starter.
while it is ok to dream and be a silly fan, let’s keep things in perspective a bit.
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You’re all a bunch of idiots!!!
Just thought I’d liven up the discussion a bit 🙂
For the most part, the Phillies system as a whole (except for the W/L’s at AAA/AA) has been having a very good year. They really haven’t had any prospects, Aumont’s struggles aside, who have really regressed while there are a few players like Colvin and Singleton who have made significant jumps and even a few guys like Hewitt and James who are showing some signs of life.
Biggest hope moving forward is that Collier and Gillies can get back healthy and put up solid 2nd halfs.
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Go Blueclaws! The Claws are on a tear and have a good chance to win the SALLY 1st half crown.
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Does anyone know what Luke Wertz’s velo is? In general does anyone have any insight on what kind of a pitcher he is? Soft tosser, secondary stuff, movement etc.
Luke Wertz (Lakewood) – Unless you’re a die-hard fan, you might not have heard about Luke Wertz or at least not know just how good he has been at Lakewood this season. Wertz was a 13th round pick of the Phillies in 2007 and missed the entire 2008 season after undergoing right shoulder surgery. Since then, Wertz has shown no ill effects from the injury and pitched primarily at Williamsport last season before pitching 2 2/3 innings for Lakewood during their playoff run toward the South Atlantic League title last season. The Phillies started the 24 year-old back at Lakewood to start 2010 and he has been almost unhittable, allowing just one earned run all season and he has currently gone 17 2/3 innings without allowing an earned run. If Wertz isn’t going to be moved up a level, then the other option would be to let him start closing some games for Lakewood, although
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It has been a good year. The only disappointments have been Aumont and Santana and both of those are qualified – I am loathe to describe a 17 year-old playing above his head as a disappointment and, with Aumont, I think there’s plenty of time for him to turn this around – like years, not months. Gillies has been a little bit of a downer, but his performance is just as easily explained away by injury and bad timing.
Otherwise, some great hitting and the best group of relief and starting pitching prospects (real prospects, possible top-of-the-rotation guys) I can ever recall. And, since we appear to be headed back into a pitching-dominating era, the timing is good.
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I thought i read something or heard it on a BlueClaws broadcast that Wertz can get it up to 95. If that’s the case, I care a bit less that he is 24, especially if he can reach Reading performing well by next year sometime.
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Agree, Catch. Aumont is our only real disappointment in performance. Others are either within range of decent performance or can be explained by injuries. Nice surprises or solid upticks in performance or consistency (Rizzotti, Overbeck, Wertz, James recently, De Fratus, a few others) have outweighed the disappointments.
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Forgot SINGLETON in that list of upticks. Duh.
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Can’t believe I’m saying this, but if Domonic Brown becomes a consensus top 3 prospect, trading him is no longer the unthinkable proposition it once was. Whenever a player’s, especially a prospect’s, reputation begins to exceed his ability, its something to consider. If a trading partner thinks they’re getting another Jason Heyward, then they might give up more than Brown is worth.
Don’t get me wrong- I’m not advocating moving him for Oswalt, Lee, or anything like that. The big league team isn’t playing well enough to deserve a championship-minded boost down the stretch. My point is solely based on the Baseball America quote posted above. If Brown becomes regarded as arguably the #1 overall prospect, his trade value could begin to exceed his actual value. Anytime that happens, its wise to entertain offers.
Just a few examples- after a very impressive showing in the 2008 playoffs, other clubs saw Ryan Madson as a potentially dominant closer or front of the rotation starting pitcher. Madson’s jump in velocity suprised Phillies fans more than anyone and led to his a lucrative extension. Remember during those contract talks, when Boras compared Madson to Mariano Rivera? One of the most ridiculous comparisons of all time, rivaling Bastardo-Santana. Come to think of it, there’s another good example. If we seized the opportunity to move Bastardo or Madson back when other teams overestimated their potential, the return could’ve been huge. For a few months, those two were among our most tradeable assets, but right now, we’d be lucky to get 1/4 what we could then. In the earliest stages of last year’s trade talks, some national media outlets suggested that any package for an ace pitcher would center around Madson. Imagine if we gave up Madson and Bastardo instead of Drabek and D’Arnaud. Early last year, those two values were probably pretty similar; the first might’ve even been worth more. Likewise, it was wise to trade Michael Taylor and Jason Donald while their values were so high, because they’d be nowhere close to that now.
I like Domonic Brown; I just don’t think he’s a future superstar like Heyward. If another team thinks so, then exploiting that value disparity might not be a bad move. However, unfortunately, the teams that misjudge potential often lack the type of players you’d want in return.
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You can’t move that good a prospect. Especially with the Phillies needing to shave pennies starting in 2012, you need all the controllable low salaried excellence you can get. Brown will be a starting corner outfielder for the big club by 2012. Book it.
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Baxter, I know what you’re saying and it isn’t totally crazy if they got great value in return, but I think Brown has too much value to the Phillies moving forward to trade him. He’s young, good and CHEAP right now. He’s precisely what this aging, and well paid roster needs. Young and hungry talent.
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As long as they don’t wait around until Brown is 26 to call him up, I want him to stay in our system. But I really don’t think he’ll need a whole extra year in the minors NEXT season just because there’s too many vets with big contracts on the team.
It was so exciting to watch Utley and Howard come up, it seems like they got old pretty fast. It’s incredible that Stanton and Heyward are starting in the majors at 20 years old, but they showed that they had little left to prove in the minors. I think Dom Brown is approaching that zone where he doesn’t need to be coddled much longer. I’m not saying call him up now, but he won’t be getting any younger if he starts in the minors next year going on 24.
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Remember, it takes 2 to tango. Just as another club may overrate one of our prospects in a trade, we may overrate what we get in return. In fact, over the years that has been the more usual scenario. Personally, I would be happy if the Phillies never make another trade.
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Theres no point in dealing Brown. We obviously can get any pitcher we want for him. However theres no way we could pay them. If we could Cliff Lee would of never been dealt. Theres potentially 2 holes in the outfield in 2011. I could see the Phillies dealing Mayberry and Gose for a 3rd starter. Someone like Ted Lilly.
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Wouldn’t Cosart fall into the uptick category as well?
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Mathieson just got called up, good luck to him.
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Mathieson was called up and Bastardo went on the DL with ulnar neuritis. I don’t know whether that type of injury is normally resolved through rest/rehab or surgery.
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You know, in terms of recalling top notch talent before the end of a year, I think the Phillies are as conservative as any team in baseball. Adding a young player in the middle/end of a year can really jump start a team. Remember K-Rod’s appearance for the Angels? What a boost that was! If the team thinks that Dom Brown is ready to be a contributing major league player, I am perfectly fine with them dumping Dobbs or Gload (probably Dobbs for several reasons), promoting him to the majors in early August and having him show his stuff. I think they should probably do the same thing for Scott Mathieson.
In my view, the other great stuff that is going on with some of our prospects is obscuring, to a certain degree, what we have in Dom Brown. Brown has truly electric talent and I think he is just going to get better and better. I saw him do a couple of things at the plate in a ST game that were just amazing – stuff that only great players can do. This team needs another hitter, runner and athlete. They also need a jolt. Dom Brown could provide that jolt and it would be exciting as hell for him too. I realize that those who run major league comps think he wouldn’t be that good yet. I am not sure they are right, but even if he’s just good, I think he could be very useful. It’s something I think they should strongly consider in the next couple of months.
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The Mathieson news just broke as I hit the “submit” button on the computer. Check that one off the list.
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Fantastic news for Mathieson.
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Not such great news for Bastardo who never seems to be more than a couple of months away from (or removed from) a trip to the DL.
http://www.handtoelbow.com/ulnar-nerve-compression/
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Good for Mathieson…Hopefully UC actually uses him in non-blowout situations.
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I have to say that, in terms of using his relievers (really, all of his pitchers), UC is an equal opportunity employer – if you do well, he’ll keep putting you in. It may take a while to get a chance, but he avails himself of consistent relievers. This is how Contreras went from the scrap heap to the closer’s role. It didn’t take too long either.
If Mathieson does well, Baez could find himself used in a lot of blow-outs.
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Hey NEPP – just saw above that you’ll be at Centennial field for the Lake Monsters – Crosscutters game. I’ll be just left of behind home plate in Sec. B, row 1, seats 30 & 31 (with wife). We’ll have to connect!
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If you guys want to connect wear something like an Eagles hat.
Good for Mathieson. I hope achieves his dreams or at least part of them.
The best Baez is now is a situation right hander (with money in his pocket)
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hey nowheels please: since the game’s in Vermont, a Phillies cap will stand out real nice…virtually no Phils fans here in Burlington. It’s Red Sox/Yankees territory.
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Glad to see the Phils continue to work on Matt Rizzotti’s DH skills as he drove a ball out to right center in Bowie for a Grand Slam tonight. Never know when the NL will adopt the DH rule but if they do the Phils have one groomed.
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The NL will never get the DH, bank on it.
What’s going on with Austin Hyatt? He was lights out early in the season but now he’s been very hittable.
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Overbeck with 2nd error in as many games
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Hey, how is Rizzotti at first? I don’t understand why they don’t want him to at least get the majority of reps there, unless he’s absolutely horrible.
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Everytime I see Riz playing at 1st he looks fine to me, I mean he is a bit bigger a bit slower, but I haven’t seen any issues with him, like I have with Stavisky or Bozied
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Matt Way with another good start tonight…he is now 6-4 on the year…Valle with a hr and 2rbi’s…Wertz still throwing zeroes (when does he go to Clearwater?)
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Worley also pitched well tonight..becoming Reading’s #1..I would like to see him pitch at AAA…Zags is the new closer for LHV and struck out 2 in one inning for the save
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We often go back and forth on team vs. development. But remember that putting subpar fielders on the field can have a detrimental effect on your pitching staff as well as your win/loss record. There’s little worse than a guy like Phillippe Aumont (just using an example) making a perfect pitch and giving up a hit because the team has some project at third base or something.
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Some nice pitching across the boards. Hopefully we can grow some of these arms and really have this farm pay off.
If Way keeps this up does anyone see him getting bumped up to AA this yr? I mean he’s 23 and while he tends to give up more hits with men in scoring position, I still think I like to challenge pitchers, especially 23 yr old pitchers. I think I am just more excited in him due to him being a lefty and how close I am to Lakewood.
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