Results tagged ‘ Ryan Madson ’
The Market Is Open
This isn’t big news, but 148 players became free agents this morning. Free agents are eligible to sign with any team beginning at 12:01 a.m. Thursday.
The Phillies have seven free agents:
- Ross Gload
- Raul Ibanez
- Brad Lidge
- Ryan Madson
- Roy Oswalt
- Jimmy Rollins
- Brian Schneider
Lee, Madson Make SI Cover
It’s a regional cover in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia.
Let’s Get Going
The second half of the 2011 season starts tonight with Vance Worley.
It continues this weekend with Cole Hamels and Kyle Kendrick.
It will be interesting to ask Charlie Manuel or Rich Dubee this afternoon if Cliff Lee would have pitched Sunday against the Mets had he not pitched Tuesday in the All-Star Game. I say that because before the break Dubee announced Worley would pitch Friday and Hamels would pitch Saturday. He left Sunday’s starter TBA, indicating they wanted to see what happened at the All-Star Game.
But Lee pitched and so now Roy Halladay (Monday) and Lee (Tuesday) are pitching next week against the Cubs. I know fans wanted to see Halladay or Lee face the Mets, but I don’t have a problem with this. Dubee wants to squeeze an extra day or inning of rest wherever and whenever possible for Halladay, Lee and Hamels. They’ve pitched a lot of innings. In a perfect world the offense continues to hit so Halladay, Lee and Hamels aren’t pitching in 2-1, 3-2, 1-0 games every time out. If the offense can give them some 6-1, 5-1, 7-2 leads, you would think Manuel and Dubee would pull Halladay, Lee and Hamels in the eighth instead of the ninth, or the seventh instead of the eighth. Those innings and days can add up and keep them fresher come October.
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The Phillies took optional BP yesterday at Citizens Bank Park. Chase Utley, Raul Ibanez, Domonic Brown, John
Mayberry Jr., Ross Gload, Brian Schneider, Michael Martinez and Lee participated. Yes, Lee showed up to take optional BP.
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Will be interesting to see how Placido Polanco‘s back is feeling. He has not played since July 4.
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Will be interesting to see how Ryan Madson is doing. He made a rehab appearance for Class A Clearwater on Wednesday. He struck out one and hit a batter in one inning. Dubee, who lives in nearby Sarasota, watched him pitch.
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It’s Photo Day
And Ryan Madson wants to make sure he’s easily identifiable.
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Who Are the Phillies All-Stars?
Major League Baseball announces its All-Star teams tomorrow.
Who ya got?
Locks:
- Roy Halladay. He is 11-3 with a 2.44 ERA. He leads the league in complete games, innings and strikeouts. He’s the ace on a staff of aces. The only question is whether Halladay will be the National League’s starting pitcher or not?
- Placido Polanco. Polanco is hitting .280 with four homers and 39 RBIs, but had a commanding lead last week in the fan voting. He will be the starting third baseman.
Good shots
- Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee. It will be interesting to see if both make the team. I only say that because I can’t remember the last time a team had three pitchers from the same rotation make the All-Star team, but then again I haven’t extensively researched the topic. Players made their votes last weekend before Lee threw his third consecutive shutout. I think before that third shutout not a lot of players knew how well Lee was pitching in June. But entering today Halladay, Hamels and Lee ranked in the top seven in the league in ERA. They’re all worthy.
In the hunt
- Shane Victorino. Victorino started the day ninth in the league in slugging percentage. Ninth. Not among outfielders. Among everybody. He was sixth among outfielders in OPS.
- Ryan Howard. He is among the league leaders in home runs and RBIs, but faces stiff competition with Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder and Joey Votto and Todd Helton. He might be the odd man out.
- Ryan Madson. I thought he had a great shot to make the team before he got injured. But he hasn’t pitched since June 18, which hurt his chances.
- Antonio Bastardo. He’s worthy, but starters and closers generally make the team. But the NL certainly could use a guy like Bastardo. His 0.90 ERA is the best among NL relievers.
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Injury Updates from Toronto
Greetings from Toronto.
A few injury updates for everybody:
- Cole Hamels (bruised right hand) played catch this morning at Rogers Centre. He said he felt much better. “I’m good,” he said, flexing and moving his right hand to show the improvement. Hamels said he plans to throw a bullpen session tomorrow and make his scheduled start Tuesday in Florida. He said he normally would have thrown a bullpen session today, but the Phillies pushed it back to give the hand a chance to heal.
- Ryan Madson (bruised right hand) played catch this morning. Rich Dubee said it went well. But because Madson has not pitched since June 18 there is a good chance he will need to make a rehab assignment before he is activated. So he won’t be activated Monday, when he is first eligible.
- Roy Oswalt (lower back inflammation) received a second opinion on his back Friday in Dallas. The Phillies said spine surgeon Andrew Dossett concurred with the Phillies’ diagnosis: Oswalt has mild bulging discs in his back. Phillies assistant general manager Scott Proefrock said Oswalt will continue his prescribed treatment, which involves injections. “He should be able to begin tossing shortly there after,” Proefrock said. Ruben Amaro Jr. said last week he thinks there’s a chance Oswalt pitches before the end of the month.
- Brad Lidge (strained right rotator cuff) threw a bullpen session yesterday in Reading. He could begin a rehab assignment early next week.
- Joe Blanton (right elbow inflammation) is playing catch today, but has not thrown off a mound.
- Jose Contreras (strained right forearm) is “progressing.”
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Madson to DL, Carpenter Called Up
The Phillies are onto their fourth closer in 2011.
They opened Spring Training with Brad Lidge in that role, but he got hurt. They moved onto Jose Contreras and Ryan Madson during the season. Madson has had an outstanding year, but the Phillies placed him on the 15-day disabled list today because of a bruised right hand. The Phillies called up right-hander Andrew Carpenter to take his place in the bullpen, although Antonio Bastardo is a candidate to close.
Madson injured his hand May 20 when a ball struck him during a game with the Texas Rangers. He continued to pitch, but complained of pain on occasion. He received a cortisone injection Friday.
Madson, 30, is 3-1 with a 2.03 ERA in 31 games this season. He has converted 15 of 16 save opportunities and has struck out 34 batters over 31 innings. Carpenter, 26, is 5-0 with a 1.58 ERA in 24 games for Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He has not allowed a run over his last eight appearances (13 1/3 innings).
Four Phillies All-Stars?
We got the latest National League All-Star voting update yesterday, and it looks like Placido Polanco is on his way to being the starting third baseman.
He’ll probably be the only Phillies everyday player to get an All-Star nod. Ryan Howard is third among NL first basemen in home runs (13) and second in RBIs (53), but ranks 10th in batting (.247), ninth in on-base percentage (.336), sixth in slugging (.474) and seventh in OPS (.809). Albert Pujols leads the vote among first basemen. Assuming he wins the vote, there is no way Prince Fielder does not make the team. Joey Votto and Todd Helton also are having outstanding seasons.
But I think the Phillies can take four players to the All-Star Game in Phoenix with Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and Ryan Madson joining Polanco. Halladay leads the league in wins (9), innings (105 1/3) and complete games (4). He is second in ERA (2.39) and strikeouts (106). Hamels is tied for second in wins (8). He is fourth in ERA (2.48), fifth in strikeouts (91) and tied for eighth in innings (90 2/3). Madson has a 2.17 ERA, which is 21st in the league. He is tied for 10th in saves (15). He has the league’s fourth-best save percentage (93.8). There are other closers that have pitched well, but Madson is getting plenty of attention closing for the team with the best record in baseball. That will count as the roster is filled out.
Did I miss anybody? Is four too many?
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Despite Crazy Plays, A Familiar Theme in Loss
It’s not every day you see sideways rain at Citizens Bank Park.
The rain turned out to be one of the least interesting things that happened in last night’s 4-3 loss to the Cubs in 11 innings.
Ryan Madson blew his first save in 15 opportunities. Instant replay overturned one of Madson’s home runs, which kept the game tied. (If you’re a fan sitting in the front row don’t you have to say to yourself, “OK, I’m in the front row. If there’s a ball coming my way I should probably back out of the way because I don’t want to become Philly’s version of Steve Bartman?”) David Herndon hit with the bases loaded and two outs in the 10th. (He struck out.) Carlos Ruiz had a rare passed ball to allow the winning run to move to second base in the 11th. Herndon fired a ball into center field on a pickoff attempt, but Tyler Colvin did not advance to third on the play. Placido Polanco had a rare throwing error to allow the winning run to score with two outs.
All sorts of nutiness, but once again the offense came up short. The Phillies did not score after Jimmy Rollins hit a three-run homer in the second inning. They were hitless from the fifth through ninth innings.
Madson blew the save and Herndon took the loss, but the offense continued its struggles.
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Madson Making His Case to Close
We’ve talked plenty lately about the shortcomings of the Phillies offense, so let’s take a look this morning at Ryan Madson‘s performance in the bullpen.
He’s 2-0 with a 0.53 ERA and seven saves in seven opportunities. He has allowed 10 hits, one run, seven walks (three intentional walks) and has struck out 22 in 17 innings. Opponents have hit .167 against him.
He’s done the job.
So what happens if Jose Contreras comes back next week?
So what happens if Brad Lidge comes back next month?
Contreras went 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and five saves in five opportunities before he went on the DL. He allowed four hits, four walks and struck out nine in eight innings. Lidge hasn’t pitched since last season, but went 0-0 with a 0.73 ERA and 17 saves in 18 opportunities from Aug. 1 through the end of the regular season.
The Phillies would be incredibly fortunate to have Lidge, Madson and Contreras healthy and pitching effectively at the same time. But even if the planets align perfectly I think it’d be hard to move Madson from the ninth inning. Contreras did a fine job early, but Madson has been overpowering. And it will have been roughly eight months since Lidge last threw a pitch in a big-league game, if he returns next month. I’m not sure the Phillies want to just drop him back into the ninth inning.
“It will be a tough decision, but I think it’ll work itself out,” Charlie Manuel said. “I think when [Madson is] pitching like that, he kind of makes it tough right now to move him. What would be the point?”
Exactly.
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Todd Zolecki
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