General Discussion

Weekly Discussion

Here’s the place for all non-prospect related chit chat. I’ll suggest a topic: Carlos Ruiz is hitting kinda ok this year. Discuss.

54 thoughts on “General Discussion”

  1. Please let me repost this. When Ruiz came off the DL he had corrected his swing. How he hit
    what he did before made me believe there was more to come. He hasn’t disappointed. But they need reliable back up NOW.
    XXXX says:
    July 11, 2010 at 11:02 AM

    you just aren’t that bright if you think that Ruiz is a .300 hitter. You set unrealistic expectations then get upset when they aren’t met.

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    1. I wouldn’t say Chooch is Joe Mauer or anything, but for the past two full seasons plus this year, he’s hitting just over .300. That’s a sample size of more than 900 ABs.

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      1. I know it was Spring Training, but keep in mind this Spring he also hit like .450 or something insane over maybe 40+ at bats. He has been hot since the day he landed in Clearwater. He just has such a great, smart approach and takes his talent to its max while so many of his teammates do the opposite because of their approaches.

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    2. Ruiz is an amazing story for sure, over the last three years he’s probably been the phillies most consistent player. The a verge isn’t nearly as suprising to me as the power. I was expecting more power going into last year for him, but then when he disappointed I figured the ISO the year before was an anomaly. Guess not. GO RUIZ (the only truely great offensive performance this year by any Phillie, majors or minors and it comes from our catcher!)

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    3. Carlos Ruiz since 2010: .301/.388/.438. Higher OPS than any Phillie except Hunter Pence and Ryan Howard. (And Jayson Werth). Highest On Base Percentage and Batting Average of any Phillie in that span. On a team struggling offensively like the Phillies, Ruiz should hit 2nd or 3rd and set the table.

      *FWIW, Ruiz’s OBP is helped by getting intentionally walked often as the #8 hitter. Remove the IBB plate appearances and his OBP is still an excellent .373.

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      1. Alan, I’ve thought the same thing about him hitting second or third, but at the same time he seems like the only guy on the Phils roster right now that can hit with men on base and not get overly aggressive and get himself out. He seems to take the same balanced approach when there are guys on that he takes when he’s up with nobody on and two out in a low pressure situation. Because of this, he just seems like a really solid guy to be hitting 4th or 5th now, and maybe 5th or 6th if and when our dynamic duo returns.

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    4. Nowheels, keep in mind there are many statisical commenters on this site that believe 100% in past data fully dictates future performance. It is not possible for guys to change arm slots and become completely different pitchers, or guys to change batting stances and make drastic improvements, or for guys to hit a certain age and mature physically and suddenly have a more dynamic bat. Also, intangibles do not count and are not real.

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  2. Since the box score post isn’t up yet I’ll post here. Nice to see Gillies with his 4th straight multi-hit game after his brief break. I’d really like to see him find his way up to Phily at some point so that they can access whether or not we have a CF option before locking up Vic.

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  3. Great night/day for Iron Pigs alums yesterday. Kratz and Pods both went yard while Thompson scored an 11th inning walk-off run from first on a B.J. Upton double. Kudos to them all.

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    1. Wow that’s more offense in one game then the Phillies team typically generates. (half kidding)

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      1. Well actually, Kratz hit his homer on Tuesday. I just hope somebody in the FO is paying attention. IMO Charlie makes weird decisions when it comes to catchers.

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    2. I noticed this too. I’m especially happy for Rich Thompson considering how many AAA games he logged for us.

      Also kudos to old friend Quintin Berry who in is first MLB game hit leadoff and got a hit.

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  4. It’s all about his approach. I think maybe hitting in the 8 hole for so long (and not seeing pitches because the pitcher was on deck) maybe conditioned him to be more patient, not swing at garbage and look for something to drive. Guys like Pence and Victorino are just up there guessing. Most of the time Chooch swings at pitches that he can handle. He doesn’t get fooled a lot.

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  5. Speaking of Pence, who knew he was a righthanded version of Howard without the power? Amazing how someone looks so good from afar. Does he have to chase at the same pitches night after night? To date, he hasn’t shown that he is worth a big contract. And when is Mayberry going to swing at the 1st pitch FB right down the middle of the plate? It would be one thing if he was patient with the rest of the AB but he usually swings at the 2nd pitch for strike 2 and then its been popup, strikeout, or a weak grounder. Throw in Victorino’s usual frustating offense and our preseason starting OF has been pretty pathetic offensively.

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    1. It is frustrating when you such gifted athletes as Vic, JRoll and Hunter have such average to poor plate discipline at times. Once in awhile they will surprise you though. Yet, I guess the frustration mounts, when they are aware of it but fail to adjust as much as one would like.

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      1. You would think that Vic would be playing for that juicy contract. Based on his performance to date, he should be had for a much lower price tag.

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        1. If he continues on his current pace (which is unlikely) he’ll have 21 HRs and 46 SBs. I’m sure that’s worth something on the open market.

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          1. If the Phils do not hang around in the race, Shane will certainly be traded. At some point, we need to call up Domonic Brown and give him the job in LF on an everday basis and its sink or swim time. I have a feeling he will take that opportunity and vote of confidence, and run with it and never look back.

            Freddy Galvis just keeps impressing more and more, to the point that he has to be an everyday player on this team next season. I’m sure hoping we get a big bat to play 3B and we have Rollins at SS, so it looks to me more and more like Freddy’s immediate future is at 2B and it seems to make sense to try Utley next year in LF to lessen the wear and tear on his knees from the lateral movement at 2B.

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    2. “Speaking of Pence, who knew he was a righthanded version of Howard without the power?”

      Howard’s slg in 2010: .488
      Pence’s slg in 2010: .488

      Pence is on pace to hit 36 homeruns. He’s 20th in the NL in slg and 25th in OPS. I’m not sure if you expected him to be a better player than that but I sure didn’t.

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      1. Whoops. That should be Pence’s slg in 2011. Not 2010. It was actually higher last season.

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      3. Just wanted to clarify. I meant like Howard in how “easy” it seems to pitch to him for a big league pitcher. He seems to swing at high FB, down and out sliders/cutters, and any changeups that are near the plate. He doesn’t have a two strike swing, even when just making good contact may drive in a run from 3rd. I was hoping for more doubles/hard hit singles, especially with men on base. He never seem to project Howard like power but something like 25 – 30 HR with a better average and hits than Howard from the right side. I guess I was expecting a right handed Utley (before the injuries). Tough out, grind it out AB, with some pop. And I think he is weaker in defense than either Howard or Utley. He may project to 36 HR, but not many seem to come with men on base (unlike Howard) and he is striking out too often in key situations to appreciate his better performances. At least for me.

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  6. Love me some Carlos and its reminder of why we are here. When you look at his minor league career which spanned 2000-2006. He was a consistent performer until his age 25 season when his OPS jumped up to .822 at Reading. If we were all here then we probably would have been really excited with that kind of year.

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    1. Never seen a topic with complete agreement, especially when it is positive response. Don’t know if this site was started by then or not. If so, the consensus would likely have been: 25 – still at AA, may get to AAA at 26, then if in the extreme longshot he might get to MLB, will be 27 or 28 years old. Not a prospect. Will only breifly appear in MLB , only if Front Office plays favorites to justify their investment.

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      1. That’s an interesting thought Marfis, although negative as always. Most of the folks who make those sort of comments on this site are smart enough to know that catchers, for whatever reason, tend to develop later and would possibly give credit to Ruiz at the time for just that reason. At least, I know those were my thoughts at the time. It’s the same reason that I am not concerned about Valle’s struggles in Reading to this point. He’s probably 2-3 years away even though he is already in AA.

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        1. Valle needs to hand out with Chooch for a year. That would be an extremely valuable education.

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          2. That’s the nice part about catchers, Valle’s indoctrination to the big leagues someday will likely be as Chooch’s backup, playing about 25% of the time. Most catching prospects don’t come up and immediately become the everday catcher like players at most other positions. Working with Chooch for an entire year like that will help him tremendously.

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            1. Yes…would think that will be the plan. But Valle’s MLB ETA is probably NET 2014, so one hiccup may occur. Chooch’s contract is team option 2013 and thats coming up and I am sure he would prefer a multi-year deal along the lines of 3 plus an option (4) years. So Valle could sit doing part-time work for awhile.

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      2. When Ruiz began his season at Reading, he seemed to be a complete non-prospect. There was the age thing and also the fact that he had been the light-hitting backup catcher in his previous minor league stops. It was clear from his first appearance at Reading that he was very good defensively. He hit enough to win the starting catching job part way through the season and has been hitting ever since. He certainly had become a prospect at the end of that Reading season.

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  7. Time to take a good hard look at Victorino and Pence. Do you give either of them long extensions for good to large $$? Obviously Pence would command more than Vic. Would the Phils be better off looking for other free agent alternatives or going with a younger player and spending at another valuable position? For example, do you pay Hamels and let Victorino and Pence walk? Maybe even pull a Cliff Lee-esque trade of Pence shortly after attaining his services?

    Given J-Roll’s start, is Rube regretting not just going with Galvis, keeping Valdez and signing a better bat for 3B? Polanco could have played 2b and 3b and the 3b they signed could have played some 1b with Howard out.

    No doubt the Club is in a difficult financial spot with big decisions coming up. I hope they find a way to get Hamels signed!

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    1. What better bat was there to sign at 3B? Aramis Ramirez (currently hitting about as well as Jimmy)?

      Pence still has another year of arbitration so he’s not going anywhere.

      I think they have enough money to sign both Hamels and Victorino. One question is whether they want to sign a soon-to-be 32-year old CF who is reliant on speed. And the problem is that there’s no internal options to replace him. The best options in free agency would be Josh Hamilton (who will be way too much money and is prone to injury), Michael Bourn (30 and speed based but it’s still 2 less years of age) and BJ Upton. It doesn’t seem like Victorino would be a huge loss. There are a few options for a stopgap until (if) Gillies/James/whoever is ready.

      Hamels I’m more worried about leaving. I have no doubt that the Phillies want him back. The question is about what kind of offers he’s going to be getting elsewhere. I can’t see any team pricing the Phillies out but will they offer him something that the Phillies aren’t comfortable matching? I do not know.

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      1. Torii Hunter for 2-years/$16M. Right-handed power bat, still above average defense, $8M per year. For next year’s team, he could be a #7 hitter, assuming Chooch moves up.

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  8. When Galvis learns to take walks ,he and Chooch will be batting twins. Hey they are sorta built alike.
    Positive sure! As “Philadelphia-area-ian or E-Phillies we throughly enjoy anyone who plays up to their given abilities( and even beyond)

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  9. I don’t think Pence can improve defensively at this point. The first few times I saw him I thought of Lonnie Smith . He would make a great DH. They painted themselves into a nasty corner.

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    1. I really don’t think the Phils are in a corner yet. At the end of the year, he will put up good numbers (which is very different than playing well and playing the right way) and some teams will be interested in trading for him, which is what we should do and need to do. Signing Pence to a long term $15-20M per year deal would be purely insane. The downside to this is – when we trade him we will not get Singleton, Cosart, and the other two back. We will get much less in return.

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      1. Under the new Draft/CBA contract…highly unlikely any teamy gets multi prospects in trades involving ‘rental’ players.. The team gambles that they can re-sign him, if not, they lose a player and get no draft pick in compensation.

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  10. The player I think has overstayed his welcome at this point is Ty Wigginton. While other struggling players have a past history of production, Wigginton is a few years removed from productivity. It’s time to cut bait.

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    2. Wigginton is being forced to play essentially as an everyday player, which is something that he’s not. He’s a very good bench player and a good player 5th infielder, he shouldn’t be canned because he’s being asked to do more than he should be doing.

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  11. Charlie Manuel is a dope. Why the hell would you not take Blanton out after the homerun to Holliday, let alone pitch the 5th inning at all?

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    1. You seen the rest of his bullpen? You’d have him taken out for whom? Bullpen arm’s gotta be better than a shot Blanton, and you can’t be throwing the BP for five innings every five days. Blanton’s gotta pitch until he proves he can’t pitch anymore, or until somebody in the pen can show they can pitch multiple innings effectively. (Theoretically that guy is Kendrick, but he’s kinda occupied in the rotation at the moment . . . )

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  12. I personally think Victorino is going to age well. If you look at the numbers to age he is very similar to Johnny Damon. Around the point when he left Boston. He posted good but declining seasons in New York. Im in favor of Victorino for 3 years.

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  13. Watching Polanco now it is hard to believe he is the same guy that looked so feeble at the start. Is this another case of the player being hurt and team covering it up?

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    1. A web site suggested a trade with the ‘Stros again…obtained Carlos Lee (LF) and Brett Myers (8th inning) for John Mayberry and Phil Aumont. What say you?

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    2. Probably Polanco was not fully recovered from his off-season surgery at start of season. Northern Aprils are a bitch, especially for night games.

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  14. The last person I saw play second base with such fine detail as Galvis was Sandberg. Was he the final polish?

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    1. Maybe they can put Chase Utley in LF, Jim Salisbury says it appears that he has some issues with the knee in the infield whenever he has to field grounders. Freddy can stay at second.

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  15. 2014 Infield howard1b hernandez 2b galvis ss asche 3b ruiz c. Of i wish i could say brown lf but i think it will be a free agent or some prospect who will step up gillies cf pence rf….i went 2014 cause i really like hernandez at 2b …i guess rollins contract gets in the way of my thinking

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