Box Score Recap 7-24-2012

Box Score Recap

Remember to take your Hamels talk to the general discussion.  Tempting as it may be to talk about it anywhere.  Look, I can’t even stop myself.  Cole Hamels.  Cole Hamels.  Hamels.  Cole.  Ok I’m done.  Hamels.  Sorry. 

On to the boxes!!!  And on to BJ Rosenberg and Adam Morgan and Manaure Martinez striking out everybody!!!

LV  REA  CLR  LKW  WIL  GCL GCL2 ppd  DSL  VSL

120 thoughts on “Box Score Recap 7-24-2012”

          1. Definitely looks a lot better the last three days than he had the last week or two. Two hard-hit singles to the opposite field last night. Swinging the bat with confidence again. For a while it looked like he would see a pitch, think “I should really swing at that” and watch it got by. Last two or three days seems to be back to see it and hit it. Good sign. If you can get him, Greene and Serritella going at the same time it’ll be fun to watch because Cameron Perkins is hitting around .300 in his last 10 and is getting a ton of fastballs hitting behind Quinn.

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            1. Good report. Sounds exciting. I know what you mean. Please disregard dorks below. +1 +1 +1 So weak. When doess the cuteness stop.mortimer

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          1. Yes, I must not have ever played baseball because I comprehend that 50 AB sample sizes don’t mean a damn thing…obviously you don’t know what you’re talking about.

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    1. Anyone know why he is being stretched out as a starter? Can’t argue with 9 Ks, but seems odd.

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      1. No one else possible to start for LHV, none of the Reading pitchers are ready for AAA, thus a reliever pitching as a starter. Likely will never be a back of the bullpen arm stretching him out like this likely means he’ll be a Kyle Kendrick like pitcher who can pitch multiple innings in a pinch when needed.

        Not to downplay his game last night but there isn’t anyone on Norfolk that should scare anyone pitching against them. Probably similar to the IronPigs lineup although Frandsen leads the IL in hits.

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        1. There isn’t a ton of depth there, but Avery, McLouth, Paulino, and Ford are a fair mix of former major leaguers/AAAA guys.

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      2. They have done this before. Maybe he loses command when he throws 95 as a reliever and retains it when he throws 91-92 as a starter. I don’t know if he has the secondary pitches to be any more than a 5th starter however. It does make him a little more valuable however.

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      3. Somebody reported that they want Rosenberg to work on his secondary pitches and as a reliever there aren’t many changes to throw a lot of non-fastballs.

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      1. ‘…. upgrade’….ok, another candidate for the 4th, more then likely,5th spot in the rotation I assume you mean?

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        1. He started most of his career at Louisville until he got injured. He also started with rather mixed results after returning from an injury a few years back. The concern with him starting isn’t with his secondary pitches, but with his ability to maintain velocity deep into starts.

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  3. Valle has the second lowest OPS in the Eastern League (.708) for any batter with more than 10 HR (13). Still, can’t hate on a young catcher with power.

    Starters win the box scores today, with Morgan taking MVP honors. Let’s not forget my favorite man-among-boys in the VSL, Severino Gonzalez, who continues to dominate any batters the org chooses to put in front of him.

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        1. Maybe 2 years from now, but certainly not next year. Ruben is way, way, way too risk averse to go with three unproven major league starters in an outfield, especially when he is shelling out close to $65 million a year for his pitchers. At least one, and probably two, of the starters will be established big leaguers, whether we like that or not. Personally, I just don’t see Pence going anywhere unless the Phillies were offered a king’s ransom roughly similar to what they gave up last year and I really don’t see that happening either. As for Victorino, he is as good as gone. Whether he is traded or remains will depend almost entirely on the team’s record immediately prior to the trade deadline. I predict that if the team is within 6 or 7 games of .500 (which I think will happen), they keep Victorino for a possible stretch run. If the team thinks that it is competitive for a stretch run, the only players I see that still might get traded are Pierre and Blanton (Rosenberg, Kendrick of Cloyd would replace Blanton). Polanco is injured, so he is not going anywhere.

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          1. sorry, this belongs in the general discussion category. Sometimes I just respond to something I don’t agree with before I make sure that the original comment was in the correct thread. Sorry again.

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            1. Blanton’s track record in the second half during his career has been pretty strong, I doubt they trade him if they are not in sell mode and giving up on this season. Kyle Kendrick has pitched really well out of the bullpen thus far albeit a small sample size, but they really need him to help solidify the pen at this point, and if they had enough confidence in Cloyd to replace Blanton, he would have been up on the roster a while ago while Doc was on the DL. As for Rosenberg, I think the Phils see him as an option for a 4th / 5th starter in the future, but he is not stretched out enough at this point to take over a rotation spot on a team trying to contend.

              I’d just really like to see Brown added to this lineup sooner rather than later, likely in LF. If they don’t trade Pence now, he will still have good trade value in the offseason if they want to move him, not as much, but more than a mid-season rental because I believe if a team acquires him this off season and then loses him as a FA after next year, they are entitled to draft pick compensation.

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  5. Maybe the heat but system looks to be in hitting slump. Only one player over .300 on each minor league team. System needs infusion of some talent. I like the pitching but hitting has definitely slipped.

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    1. I’m sorry, but how is the relative absence of .300 hitters on the minor league teams a reflection of the lack of minor league talent? Oh, you’re suggesting that BA for minor league players is a good metric for evaluating talent? Oh. I see. Interesting, albeit incredibly flawed perspective.

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  6. Wow, a brutal night for the offenses, hardly any extra base hits in these games. Glad Morgan and Rosenberg gave us something to smile about.

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    1. Thanks for the link — that article really provided excellent insight into Biddle’s pitches.

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    2. That was an amazing article. I wonder if at any point way down the road he may follow the Cliff Lee path where the slider gets tightened up even more and is classified more as a cutter. But Biddle seems to have a really good understanding of pitching for some one of his age and experience.

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      1. I think the cutter and slider are two entirely different pitches that are held differently and break differently. A slider for a lefty breaks left to right or straight down. A cutter for a lefty breaks almost right to left. Isn’t that right?

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        1. Cutter always has glove side run (same as a slider, sliders traditionally break downward a little bit more), each pitcher throws it differently. Some throw a tight, faster slider gripped pitch. Others it is a derivation off of their fastball which is thrown slower with a slightly different grip. You are likely confusing the break with that of a 2-seam fastball which has arm side run (most lefties straight fastball has arm side run as well).

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      2. A long while ago they used to call what is now the slider a drop curve, which, thrown rapidy, would break like a curve away from the batter with an abrupt downward motion. The pitch that broke the other way was called a screw ball, thrown with a reverse turn of the hand. I can’t remember if Russ Meyer, the old Cub-Philly-Dodger, threw a screwball or if he was called a screwball because of his antics, or both.

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      1. That’s the wrong Lee. The Spaceman won’t be teaching that to anyone. It was the weirdest pitch to see on TV. From behind homeplate or the centerfield camera, it used to leave the screen and come down as it crossed homeplate.

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    4. jmb, thank you so much for sharing this article, great find. I posted last week about a discussion I had with a scout about some Clearwater guys, including Biddle. The one comment the scout made that I heard but didn’t think too much about was that Biddle just really has it together for a kid his age. Reading this article puts some meat behind that comment the scout made in my opinion. I don’t suspect alot of A ball pitchers have the kind of insight he does and demonstrated in this argument.

      The second thing I thought of is that as he uses that slider more and more to improve it, his results could regress. If we see less than stellar results in the future, it could be a result of him trying to improve this pitch. This is another example of how hard it is to gauge a pitching prospect on boxscores alone.

      The third thing I thought about was something written in Mitch Rupert’s great interview with Joe Jordan. His discussion about pushing players to a higher level so as they have to make adjustments, they become more open to suggestions for improvement. It’s great to see Biddle having success, yet being open to adding a pitch. Think it’s another good sign about his makeup.

      Finally, I know it is crazy for any of us to proclaim a pitcher in A ball to be a sure thing for big league success, but barring injury, I really feel confident about Biddle’s potential to be a successful major league starter, most likely as a top half of the rotation type guy. He has a long way to go and is years away, but his stuff is good, his makeup seems strong, and he seems to really have a strong sense of trying to constantly get better and expect more of himself. These are all great traits, especially in a 20 year old.

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    5. Great article. I wonder how good he is at maintaining the arm speed on his changeup. That’s a heck of a difference in velocity between his change and fastball.

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  8. Clearwater now has the top four pitchers in strikeouts in the Florida State League.
    Morgan leads the league with 124 k’s. Biddle is second with 104. Wright is third with 102 while Colvin is tied for fourth with 92.

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  9. Morgan was awesome last night after a shaky first inning. Had guys looking silly with his offspeed stuff. The Dunedin team that was a real powerhouse in the first half is really sputtering right now….here’s hoping Brody Colvin steps it up tonight!

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  10. Clearwater has three pitchers in the FSL top ten in ERA:
    Morgan is 5th with an ERA of 3.11
    Biddle is 7th with an ERA of 3.21
    and Wright is 10th with an ERA of 3.45

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    1. Minor setback with the knee. He is supposed to be back this week per the Philly Inquirer. The big league team really needs him. Once he gets healthy, if it’s my team, he’s playing a hell of a lot of left field for me.

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    1. Given that this is not his first year at that position, this may be the most amazing Phillies’ minor league stat of the season. ML record is 49 so perhaps he has aspirations we are not aware of……

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      1. Ha! I’m willing to guess you have to go back to a time when they barely used gloves and the fields were “mowed” by cows!! I know he played infield in high school, but NOBODY is that bad in the outfield. Half of the high school kids in the country right now could play a better outfield than Hewitt. It’s freakin’ comical.

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      2. He had something like 8 in his first month or so, so at least he’s slowed down the pace a little.

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    2. I keep checking the boxscore to see if they moved him back to 3rd. I think a lot of his Es are fielding too. I could see it if he was air mailing a few throws into the pressbox like I saw Reggie Smith do one time at Fenway. I understand that Brown might do another rehab stint in CLW and teach him some things (I’m just kidding here. Brown’s not doing a rehab stint in CLW).

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    3. Chili Davis and Vlad Guerrero each had 19 in one year. I’m pretty sure that’s how Guerrero got the nickname “Vlad the Impaler.” I could see if a lot of the errors are throwing errors that just get airmailed – sometimes that happens with guys who have strong arms. That’s an impressive number though – it’s good to season Hewitt put up some league leading numbers finally

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      1. Hewitt’s error last night was the result of him overrunning a shallow bloop single…basically he just charged full steam and ball bounced right as he was trying to pull up to keep it in front of him. But due to timing/misjudging the trajectory, the ball bounced to his left and all he could do is make a wild stab it. Unfortunatley missed missed and the ball bounded behind him about 10 feet, which allowed the runner to go to second.

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        1. Always an error, when any little bobble lets the runner advance the extra base…and if his arm accuracy/strength is suspect and they know to challenge him and force him to rush, well, he will never win anthing resembling a gold glove

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  13. The real baby aces in Clearwater!!!!!!!! Interesting situation developing with the pitching staffs for Reading and LHV. Maybe Pettibone could be bumped up to LHV, but theres not enough starts to go around for guys that should probably be in AA this year and next.
    How in the world can an Anthony Hewitt have that many errors? How? Pence is terrible in RF and he doesnt have that many errors.

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    1. I hated to respond to the Hewitt E problem in consecutive posts but I thought of something else. For most Outfielders 18 errors would be a career number.

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      1. Tony Gwynn made only 64 errors in 20 seasons in the big leagues. I think Hewitt has a fair shot of keeping his 2012 total under 64, but I wouldn’t bet alot of money on that.

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        1. Anthony Hewitt would be the first overall pick if they invented a league that had the DH and allowed hitters to use a tee.

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    2. If they wanted to move Morgan, Hollands isn’t anywhere close to a guy that would prevent a prospect from moving up.

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    1. That’s a shame that Eldermire is DL’ed – the guy might be taking the Gillies road. Hopefully Pointer does better this time around at Lakewood

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    2. Hopefully this helps clear up some positional log jams as well, I would assume that a OF from GCL would go north but I don’t know who would be ready for that jump.

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        1. Williamsport just added Kyle Hoppy, a free agent signee who was released by the Orioles earlier this season. He’s never hit higher than .216 in any of his three minor league seasons. I’d love to see Cozens too, but unless they plan to move Yan Carlos Olmo back to center where he struggled mightily at the start of the season, I don’t know if it would work.

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    3. Pointer hasn’t exactly been raking in Williamsport. Hopefully he holds his own the rest of the year with the Claws.

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  15. Reading Phillies Reports for 7/23 and 7/24

    7/23  7-1 Loss to Altoona Curve

    – First issue of course is Trevor May, every time I see this kid pitch I’m having flashbacks to Phillipe Aumont’s Starts in Reading. I understand coming out and wanting to establish the fastball, but in the first few innings it seemed like every pitch was a fastball. I counted at least 9 in a row at one point in the first. Altoona just tee’d off on him. Besides the 2 homers the first several outs were all very “loud”. It’s definitely a command issue, besides attitude (which I will get to later), velocity is there and if anything is up. Was hitting 90-92 consistently  on the stadium gun, adding the 3 mph that is lost on the R-Phil’s gun would mean 93-95 mph, had a max of 94 on their gun so hit 97mph a few times.  Eventually he starting mixing in a change up which sat around 85, 86 ( with the 3 factored in). by the time we got to the 4th and 5th, that power curve started showing up (which I was under the impression the Phillies did not want him throwing) it ranged from 79-83 (3 factored) and is gorgeous, he only threw it a few times though. I had mentioned “Attitude” Trevor May has been described as shy, I’m hear to tell you he is utterly miserable and probably has some issues with depression, I sit first row at first base and after warming up he looked utterly petrified, sad and miserable on the walk down the warning track. He doesn’t lose it on the mound or anything like that. He just never has “it” to begin with. Dude has serious self confidence issues and like I said I wouldn’t be surprised if there was genuine depression here. The night after his start seeing him in passing and as first base coach this down look was still there.

    – Darin Ruf in LF- doesn’t look comfortable to me, at least one base hit turned into a double because of his hesitation and awkwardness. Not that I don’t think it could eventually work, right now just saying there are issues.

    – Cody Asche – I see no promise here, I saw he had some success on the road and crawled out from under the Mendoza line with a couple dingers.  But he just looks horrid at the plate to me at home. Sub par fielding as well

    – Leandro Castro/ Caesar Hernandez both cooling off extremely fast, but excellent fielding by both

    ———————————————————————

    7/24 6-2 loss to Altoona

    – not a whole lot to note here, just some general observations

    – if Tyson Gillies turns out to be a bust due to whatever reason, I really think Jiwan James has the ability to be a lead off man for the Phillies one day. He has great speed, just needs a bit more plate discipline and just a touch more pop.

    – Tyler Kinigie gave me the best “ah” of the night, my first time really seeing him pitch, and he is a flame thrower 93-95 on the stadium gun with a max of 99 that equates to 95-98 with a one pitch max of 102.

    – Ryan Duke looks totally lost against AA hitters maybe he was moved up too fast
     
    – Valle with a dinger and a very patient 11 pitch Ab walk, I know he can be a free swinger but maybe patience is beginning

    —- will be going tonight will report on Pettibone tomorrow and any other events of significance

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    1. Thanks for the report. Diagnosing Trevor May’s depression and writing off Cody Asche’s future based on one game viewed from the comfort of a seat along the first base line … that’s impressive work.

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    2. Might be having May work on fastball location? I’m almost more encouraged to hear he’s not throwing his breaking stuff, unless it’s a sign of injury.

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    3. So Asche has “no promise” because of his “horrid” performance at the plate, but Valle works one of his 10 walks on the year and he’s suddenly showing promise as a patient hitter? I detect bias.

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      1. hehe – c’mon guys, the dude gives us a firsthand report, albeit one with some strong opinions that may be unfounded, and we’re ripping him? Yeah, it’s unfair to judge guys from one game, but I think things like a player’s body language and the way they carry themselves can be indicative of their overall skill. I know when I go to a minor league game, I try to decide if someone “looks like a ballplayer” which is probably one of those most useless ways of scouting someone there is, but I think someone’s approach to the game is important.

        I think May’s body language is important – the kid is in a tailspin and has been really struggling lately. If it’s affecting him mentally, the team needs to do something to get him out of it – bullpen, a few days off, sports psychologist, etc. Asche’s looking lost could be the same thing – he went from hitting everything in site to really scuffling. Slumps happen – he needs to make some adjustments to get out of it. And yeah, he could have just had a rough game, but if we get more reports that say the same thing, then we can make better judgements as to what caliber of prospect he is.

        – Jeff

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        1. I don’t mind some general observations, but this description rises to the level of character assassination. It was totally out of line. “Trevor may seemed really down” – would have done the trick nicely, thank you.

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          1. Yeah, true. The report was a bit hyperbolic. He could/should have let it go after a sentence or two. There have been plenty of first hand reports describing various players that have said “he looked lost out there,” but didn’t go so far as to rip the guy a new one.

            That being said, it wouldn’t surprise me if May is depressed, or at the very least, his confidence is shot. I think that all teams should have sports psychologists on staff to help players work through slumps and other issues. There is an amazing amount of pressure on these guys – maybe even moreso with the minor leaguers

            – Jeff

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            1. and yes, I realized I might sound like I’m flopping a bit – but I reread the original post after Catch’s response, and did a little re-evaluating

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            2. Do you how much a psychologist charges these days!!!!! Ruben would not stand for it….nor lay on any couch for it.

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            3. These spoiled pro athletes can afford it!!!! (Yes, I remember Schwimer’s post about how much minor leaguer’s actually make). Seriously though, the team hired a chiropractor a few years ago for Hamels, they have all sorts of orthopods, team counselors (Dickie Noles), a psychologist would be a smart move. Hell, the New York Hawks have Alex Mahone’s wife to take care of their players, and they’re a made up team on a TV show marketed towards people like my wife, so why can’t the Phillies?

              Oh yeah…. ;^)

              – Jeff

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          2. Agree that Jeremy said some things that he knows nothing about and could have done t in a more discreet way. I saw the Reading Phillies in Trenton and Asche looked really good as did Ruf. One or two games do not constitute a final analysis.

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          3. The dude might honestly be burned out and tired. Remember, these guys are still getting used to the year round baseball grind.

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    4. “Trevor May has been described as shy, I’m hear to tell you he is utterly miserable and probably has some issues with depression, I sit first row at first base and after warming up he looked utterly petrified, sad and miserable on the walk down the warning track. He doesn’t lose it on the mound or anything like that. He just never has “it” to begin with. Dude has serious self confidence issues and like I said I wouldn’t be surprised if there was genuine depression here. The night after his start seeing him in passing and as first base coach this down look was still there.”

      Give me a break. Oh, and nice to see you’ve written Cody Asche off after seeing him once or twice.

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  16. Mike Cisco?
    I am surprised the Phillies are not pushing him back to a starter. I initially thought he had a chance to be 5th starter as he was always old per level but did not have strikeout stuff.
    Could they lose him in Rule 5 draft?

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    3. He needs to work on a sinker, it would get him to the bigs maybe, this is what I saw last week from Cisco and Brummett:

      -Michael Cisco/Tyson Brummett- Very similar pitchers who have come up through the system together much like Stutes/Worley. Both may top out at the Triple-A level, don’t expect any of them to reach the majors pre-September 2013. If I was to pick one it would be Cisco, he is more versatile, has more upside, and has better stuff than Brummett.

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      1. Hit another one in the 7th off a reliever, 3-4 night with 2 dingers working. We may have found ourselves a future 3rd sacker.

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  20. Asche and Dugan having a good night, Pointer with a double and three Robbie’s in LWood but for me the big story is Pettibone. Seven innings, 3 hits, 1 run. His era is down to 3.30. At the other spectrum end is Colvin who just can’t stay consistent. Dom is playing finally, DH, but is 0-3 so far.

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    1. Always thought Pettibone would be the 1st of the (so-called) baby aces, to make triple A (and the majors as a starter ). The only one with any control.

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      1. Would make sense, but Reading does have other starting-capable guys to fill the rotation spot if they want to wait on that.

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        1. BonillaBonillaBonillaBonilla…. oh wait he’s hurt. I’m not really sure who their other starting capable guys would be. Shreve and Whatcott? I hope they just move Morgan up.

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    3. Really nice to see. Would love to see him have some success and put himself into the 6th starter role for next year.

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  23. Good to see Asche getting it together. He looked lost in Trenton. He almost got dl’d when he showed bunt way to early. Pitcher drilled him good. Nothing but air on other ab.s

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