Michael Schwimer was kind enough to give me a few minutes of his time prior to the Lehigh Valley game on Sunday evening, one day after he pitched 2.2 scoreless against Norfolk, extending his scoreless to streak to six outings since his promotion from AA Reading.  Here is what he had to say about a number of issues…

On his most recent outing..” I felt good…pitches were good, the fastball had good late life, the slider was biting pretty good, my change I could throw whenever I wanted to, late in counts and had a good tail.  Important for me on the change up is the location rather than the movement…I throw a four seam change so it comes out like a four seam fastball…I go for location and I go for speed differentiation.” Continue reading Michael Schwimer Interview →

It continues in Philly, with Vance Worley, 22, getting called up to the big club one day after Jamie Moyer went down with an elbow strain and Andrew Carpenter lasted one outing (3IP, 3ER) in his latest attempt with the Phils.  Carpenter was optioned back to AAA Lehigh Valley.  One other notable transaction today, from a Phillies perspective had Nelson Figueroa getting picked up on waivers by the Houston Astros.  Worley the Phils 3rd round pick in the ’08 draft has been very strong as of late going 3-0 with a 1.17 ERA in his 3 July starts for AA Reading.  On the year he is 9-4 with a 3.20 ERA.  He has thrown 112.2 IP, allowed 114 hits, walked 36 and struck out 83.  Opponents are hitting .264 on him for the year with a WHIP of 1.33.

An interesting move to say the least when the presumption was that JA Happ was pulled from yesterdays start for Lehigh Valley after 3 innings in preparation for a possible weekend start for the big club.  That could still happen, but this is interesting nonetheless.  And let the talk continue….

The Phillies optioned starter Kyle Kendrick to AAA Lehigh Valley after a very rough outing for him against the Cardinals last night that featured multiple mound visits by Rich Dubee.  Called up to fill in Kendrick’s roster spot is right hander Drew Carpenter.  It is unclear righ now if Carpenter will take Kendrick’s turn in the rotation.  Kendrick, who the 3rd best ERA in the Phils starting rotation, joins Lehigh Valley having gone 5-4 with a 4.82 ERA in 18 starts for the Phils.  Carpenter has been consistent for Lehigh Valley, going 7-6 with a 3.41 ERA in his 18 starts.  Certainly an interesting move in light of the fact that JA Happ sits in Lehigh Valley as well.  Happ has not yet put together a solid start for Lehigh Valley struggling at least mildly in each outing.