Results tagged ‘ Ryan Madson ’
When It Rains, Cliff Lee Throws Seven Scoreless
To add insult to injury for Phillies fans, Cliff Lee threw seven scoreless innings last night in Seattle.
The Phillies have lost 8 of 12, and it has not been pretty.
Consider:
-The Phillies have hit just .214 with an anemic .595 on-base-plus-slugging percentage in the last 12 games, in which they have averaged just 3.2 runs.
- They have hit just .188 with runners in scoring position.
- They have hit just one home run with a runner on base since April 14.
- Phillies starters have just seven quality starts this season, which ranks second-to-last in baseball behind only the Pittsburgh Pirates, who have four. Roy Halladay, who pitches this afternoon against the Mets, has four of them.
- Phillies starters are 9-6 with a 4.17 ERA, but starters not named Halladay have a combined 5.19 ERA.
- Philadelphia relievers are 3-4 with a 4.70 ERA and five saves in nine opportunities.
- Just when they thought they could assemble their bullpen the way they would like with Brad Lidge rejoining the team, Ryan Madson lands on the DL after kicking a chair and breaking his right big toe Wednesday in San Francisco.
- Charlie Manuel is concerned about the lack of hustle he has seen lately. Shane Victorino didn’t run to first base after Rod Barajas dropped a third strike in the fifth inning. Manuel has two rules: Be on time and hustle. And hustle is one thing a team can control when everything else is going poorly.
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I’ll be signing copies of my book from 2 – 3 p.m. today on the Main Concourse behind Section 111 at Citizens Bank Park.
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Madson Kicks Chair, Breaks Toe
Yep, Ryan Madson kicked a metal folding chair and broke his right big toe after he blew a save in the ninth inning Wednesday in San Francisco.
The Phillies placed him on the 15-day disabled list just as they activated right-hander Brad Lidge, who had been on the DL since the started. The Phillies recalled left-hander Antonio Bastardo from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to take Madson’s place.
“I let down my teammates,” he said. “I let down the fans that want us all to be out there playing hard for them. I feel terrible about that. That’s probably the worst part. It is the worst part. I’ve done it before. Not kick stuff, but I’ve gotten upset before and never broken a bone. It’s just one of those things. I learned from it. I won’t do it again. I realize how much I’m letting my teammates down and the fans.”
Madson blew his second save in his six opportunities this season in the ninth inning against the Giants in an eventual 7-6 victory in 11 innings. Madson said he slipped as he walked down a flight of stairs leading from the dugout to the clubhouse. He recovered, but his slip added to the frustration of the blown save and he kicked a heavy metal folding chair at the bottom of the steps.
“I tried to kick it over,” he said. “I caught my toe underneath the chair instead of on top and that’s pretty much what happened. (The chair) just happened to be right there. It was bad timing.”
It is bad timing. The Phillies had hoped to finally setup their bullpen like they want with Lidge as the closer and Madson as the setup man. Now they will have to wait. The Phillies said they have no timetable for Madson’s return.
It is unknown if the breaks are similar, but former Pirates left-hander Oliver Perez broke his left big toe June, 26 2005, after kicking a metal laundry cart in the visitor’s clubhouse in St. Louis. He did not pitch again for the Pirates until Sept. 9, and span of 66 games. Cubs right-hander Ryan Dempster broke his right big toe during a celebration last July. He spent 26 days on the disabled list between starts.
Oddly, this is not Madon’s first freak injury with the Phillies. Madson sprained a ligament in his right hand in 2004 when he tried to make a leaping catch at the wall during batting practice before a game at Citizens Bank Park. Madson jammed a finger into the outfield wall. He missed more than a month of the season.
And this certainly is not the first time a player lost his cool. Former Yankees left-hander Kevin Brown broke his left hand after punching a wall in 2004. He missed most of the month of September. Former Padres shortstop Khalil Greene broken his left hand after punching a storage chest in July 2008 and missed the remainder of the season. Braves pitcher Jeff Bennett broke his right hand last season punching the clubhouse door. And Milton Bradley infamously tore his ACL while arguing with an umpire in 2007.
“I think once it heals it should be fine,” Madson said. “It’s just going to take time.”
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I’ll be signing copies of my Phillies book “The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly” from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday on the Main Concourse behind Section 111 at Citizens Bank Park.
Romero Looks Sharp
There is some concern about the Phillies’ bullpen with Brad Lidge and J.C. Romero opening the season on the disabled list. Lidge pitches in his fifth Minor League Spring Training game tomorrow, which means he might need five just more outings before he is ready to join the Phillies.
Romero pitched in his first game today at the Carpenter Complex. He looked sharp. He retired the four batters he faced, needing just 13 pitches to do it.
“Today was a big step for me,” Romero said. “I was very pleased with the outcome today. The good thing is that I was throwing a lot of strikes. My arm speed was outstanding.”
Rich Dubee said Romero’s arm speed is progressingly more quickly than Lidge’s. He said he is not concerned about Lidge.
“Two different surgeries,” Dubee explained. “Two different individuals. … Power guys, especially closers, they come a little bit slower. A lot of them come with adrenaline also. Billy Wagner was one of the best. He was one of the finest at looking absolutely awful in Spring Training. He didn’t have arm speed and he didn’t have adrenaline. Closers pitch off a lot of adrenaline.”
Romero earlier this spring said he could rejoin the team for its April 12-18 homestand against the Nationals and Marlins at Citizens Bank Park. He said he is more confident following Monday’s outing that he can be back in time for the team’s first homestand.
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Joe Blanton allowed 11 hits, 11 runs, 10 earned runs and three walks in 5 innings in a Minor League intrasquad game. He struck out two. … J.A. Happ allowed three hits, two runs and five walks and struck out four in five innings against the Braves at Bright House Field. Happ did not think he missed the strike zone by much. Dubee agreed. … Ryan Madson threw a 3-0 fastball to Eric Hinske, who hit a game-winning solo homer in the top of the ninth. Madson is 1-1 with a 6.43 ERA this spring. “He was dead today,” Dubee said. “Yeah, just a little dead. Everybody goes through stages this time in Spring Training.”
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The Zo Zone is on Facebook and Twitter. His Phillies book “The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly” is available online, and at Delaware Valley bookstores!
Baez Agrees to Two-Year Deal
Sources said today the Phillies had agreed to a two-year contract with right-hander Danys Baez, pending a physical. That physical is expected next week.
Baez, 32, went 4-6 with a 4.02 ERA in 59 appearances last season with the Baltimore Orioles. He has 114 career saves, including a career-high 41 saves for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2005. He was 0-6 with a 6.44 ERA in 53 appearances with the Orioles in 2008.
The Phillies have been looking for bullpen help since the 2009 season ended. Brad Lidge, Ryan Madson, J.C. Romero and Chad Durbin are the only locks for the 2010 bullpen, but both Lidge and Romero are recovering from elbow surgeries. Ruben Amaro Jr. said there is a chance they might not be ready to start the season.
Baez’s arrival at least gives Charlie Manuel, who had Baez in Cleveland from 2001-02, another ninth-inning option should Lidge not be ready.
Baez’s arrival also means free-agent right-hander Chan Ho Park will not be back.
Amaro, who has been unavailable for comment, said recently that once the Phillies sign a free-agent reliever they might have youngsters like Antonio Bastardo and Sergio Escalona take the remaining jobs in the bullpen. The Phillies have been interested in bringing back Scott Eyre, but a source said the Phillies have offered him only a Minor League contract and have held firm in their offer. Eyre, who was 5-1 with a 1.62 ERA in 61 appearances since he arrived in a trade with the Chicago Cubs in Aug. 2008, made $2 million last season.
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Chooooch, Rauuuul, Chan Ho and More In Game 1
Some quick hits after the Phillies’ 8-6 victory over Los Angeles in Game 1 of the NLCS:
- Since the NLCS moved to a seven-game format in 1985, the team taking a 1-0 lead has won 16 of 23 series, including 14 of the previous 16. Eight of the 10 NL teams that took a 1-0 lead on the road have reached the World Series, including the last seven.
- In the NLCS and ALCS since ’85, the Game 1 winner is 28-18.
- Carlos Ruiz hit a three-run homer in the fifth against Clayton Kershaw to make it 3-1. Ruiz, a career .246 hitter in the regular season, has hit .354 (17-for-48) with three doubles, two home runs, 10 RBIs and eight walks in his last 15 playoff games. “He likes the bright lights,” Ryan Howard said.
- Howard smacked a two-run double to right field in the fifth to give the Phillies a 5-1 lead. It was Howard’s 17th and 18th RBIs in the postseason, which set a Phillies playoff record. Howard has 18 RBIs in 22 postseason games. Mike Schmidt had 16 RBIs in 32 postseason games.
- Dodgers left-hander George Sherrill has allowed just two home runs to left-handed hitters the past two seasons: June 14, 2008, against Adam LaRoche and last night to Raul Ibanez. “I think that was a shock for everybody, especially the walks, which really hasn’t been something that he has done a lot of,” Dodgers manager Joe Torre said of Sherrill. “You know, that was a blow.”
- Cole Hamels allowed four runs in 5 1/3 innings. He got rattled in the fifth when Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley could not turn a double play. Manny Ramirez followed and hit a 2-0 changeup for a two-run home run to cut the lead to 5-4. “It’s tough because you’re battling,” Hamels said. “I got exactly what I wanted and unfortunately the results didn’t happen. It takes a lot out of you because these guys are very tough hitters, so when you do get them in a situation where you can seal the deal, it takes a lot to really get through that. I really thought we had that. It’s the process I’ve had to go through all year – learning how to deal with my emotions and learning to control them and forgetting about what just happened.”
- Hamels went 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA in five postseason starts last year. He is 1-1 with a 6.97 ERA in two starts this postseason, but sounded upbeat after the game. Everybody in the clubhouse thought Hamels had thrown much better than his line indicated, for what that’s worth.
- Chan Ho Park pitched great. He entered the game in the seventh inning with a runner on second and no outs. He got Ramirez to ground out to Pedro Feliz to keep Andre Ethier at second. He struck out Matt Kemp and got Casey Blake to ground out to Utley to end the inning. It was the pitching performance of the night. “I thought he was outstanding,” Rich Dubee said. Charlie Manuel and Dubee said they did not consider sending Park back out to start the eighth. They had Ryan Madson rested, and did not want Park going out throwing 50 pitches his first time back since Sept. 16.
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Random thought: I’m looking forward to seeing Pedro Martinez pitch today in Game 2.
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Win Today, Go to LA
A couple things about Game 3 last night;
- Chase Utley hustled and made something happen out of nothing in the ninth inning. That’s why you run hard.
- Who said the Phillies can’t play small ball? They’ve done a good job of doing the little things this series.
- Charlie Manuel isn’t messing around, bringing Joe Blanton into the game in the fourth inning and Ryan Madson into the game in the seventh inning.
- Scott Eyre has a mild sprain of his right ankle. He said he should be OK. In fact, he said there is no way he will not be able to pitch.
- If this is the shot of confidence Brad Lidge needed, it could be a boost for the bullpen.
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Baby, It's Cold Outside
If it is warmer than last night, it’s probably by only a few degress.
It’s still really, really cold outside.
Here’s a few things from before Game 3:
- Cole Hamels is working out in Philadelphia in preparation for a potential Game 5 start. “He’ll be ready to pitch,” Charlie Manuel said. “That’s no problem.”
- Manuel is keeping Jayson Werth in between Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez in the Phillies lineup. “(Franklin) Morales is a hard thrower,” Manuel said. “And when he comes in to pitch and yo’uve got three left-handed hitters standing there and he’s throwing in the upper 90s … if he’s in a groove, I like to offset those with at least one right-handed hitter, and that’s Werth.”
- Manuel said Chan Ho Park would have a good chance to pitch in the NLCS, if the Phillies get that far.
- On hearing there are heaters in the Colorado dugout, Manuel said, “Rockies got ‘em, we better have ‘em.”
- On Brad Lidge‘s role in the bullpen, Manuel said, “I don’t foresee putting Brad Lidge in early. I do foresee putting him in late. That’s one of the reason why we’ve got Blanton down there, too. We want somebody when we get to the seventh inning, we want to be able to go through the seventh, eighth, ninth innings with Blanton, (Ryan) Madson and Lidge. Might not be in that order, but you won’t see hin in the seventh.”
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Lidge Changes His Tune
Lost in the roar of the crowd Wednesday when the Phillies clinched the National League East is that Brad Lidge changed his intro music. He has dropped Drowning Pool’s Soldiers for Linkin Park’s No More Sorrow. Lidge said it is a song he has like for some time, but Jayson Werth asked him recently why no closer enters the game to it?
“You know what?” said Lidge, who threw a perfect ninth inning today in a 4-3 loss to the Marlins. “It’s probably time for a change. So I’ve got a new song and I had a good outing, so we’ll see.”
Hey, maybe it helps.
Charlie Manuel indicated before the game that he is considering Ryan Madson and Lidge as his ninth-inning guys in the postseason, but it sure sounds like he is leaning toward Lidge.
“I’ve heard people talk,” Manuel said. “I’ve heard people say instead of using Brad use somebody else. But who else out there would you want on the mound if you were going to win or lose a game? Who would you want? Take your pick. I always get back to Lidge. I’ve got Madson and Lidge in there. Madson probably would be the guy I would go to today to win the game. But there’s going to come a point where Lidge is going to have to pitch and do the job.”
Said Lidge about the bullpen: “I think we’re going to be lining up pretty good. We have a lot of options. Guys have been throwing good in a lot of different situations. Today was probably the best command I’ve had all year. Hopefully I can get out there and peak at the right time. I think we’re looking good. I think we’re going to be underrated to be honest.”
Underrated?
“We have a lot of experience,” Lidge said. “How we’ve pitched this season, we’ve blown a lot of saves collectively. I haven’t done a great job obviously. Once we get to the postseason I think we’re going to fall in line and do what we do. And when that happens I like our bullpen as much as anybody.”
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Click below to read how the postseason roster works.
Manuel Drops Hints about the Bullpen
It seems likely the Phillies take 13 position players and 12 pitchers into the postseason.
If there are just 13 position players they will be catchers Carlos Ruiz and Paul Bako; infielders Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Pedro Feliz, Jimmy Rollins, Greg Dobbs and Eric Bruntlett; and outfielders Raul Ibanez, Shane Victorino, Jayson Werth, Ben Francisco and Matt Stairs.
The pitching staff is not nearly as easy to call, but Charlie Manuel dropped a few hints today.
Expect left-handers Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee and right-hander Joe Blanton to be in the rotation. No surprise there. The fourth starter will be left-hander J.A. Happ or right-hander Pedro Martinez. Happ is 12-4 with a 2.85 ERA, while Martinez is 5-1 with a 3.63 ERA. Happ deserves to start, but the Phillies are short in the bullpen with injuries to left-handers J.C. Romero and Jamie Moyer and right-hander Chan Ho Park. Manuel said they could use Happ in the bullpen early in the NLDS, but still have him start if he only throws an inning in those first couple games.
“I’m not saying we’re going to do that, but that does enter my mind,” Manuel said.
That would leave 10 pitchers competing for seven remaining bullpen spots: Antonio Bastardo, Clay Condrey, Chad Durbin, Sergio Escalona, Scott Eyre, Kyle Kendrick, Brad Lidge, Ryan Madson, Brett Myers and Tyler Walker. Bastardo got recalled today, and he’s not here for the heck of it. He could make a good enough impression today or tomorrow to work his way onto the postseason roster, despite not pitching since June 25. (That shows just how shaky the bullpen is.)
Eyre and Myers both have battled injuries this month, but Manuel sounded like if they finish the season healthy they will be on the postseason roster.
“I think Scott Eyre definitely could pitch on lefties,” Manuel said. “I think Brett Myers has all the experience in the world. If he can go, I think he can help us in the bullpen because he’s done that.”
Is the closer Madson or Lidge?
“You’ve got Madson and you’ve got Brad,” Manuel said. “I’ve heard people talk. I’ve heard people say instead of using Brad use somebody else. But who else out there would you want on the mound if you were going to win or lose a game? Who would you want? Take your pick. I always get back to Lidge. I’ve got Madson and Lidge in there. Madson probably would be the guy I would go to today to win the game. But there’s going to come a point where Lidge is going to have to pitch and do the job.”
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The Phillies have clinched home-field advantage in the NLDS with St. Louis losing today to the Brewers.
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The Magic Number Is Three
Had the Phillies lost today in Milwaukee, they still would have had a four-game lead in the National League East with seven games to play.
But they really needed to beat the Brewers at Miller Park. Like I wrote earlier today, it would be to their benefit to get hot before the postseason.
“I would say as bad as we played, we played .500 (on the 10-game road trip) didn’t we?” Charlie Manuel said. “As bad as we played … is that accepted? It will have to be, I guess.”
The Phillies will not say the NL East is won, but they need to win just three more games to clinch. Even if they finish 2-5, the Braves would need to go 7-0 to force a one-game playoff, which would be played at Turner Field. A five-game lead with seven to play is almost insurmountable.
Consider the following in two of the greatest collapses in baseball history:
- The Phillies trailed the New York Mets by just 1 ½ games with seven games to play in 2007. They finished 4-3 and the Mets finished 2-6 as the Phillies won their first National League East championship since 1993.
- The St. Louis Cardinals trailed the Phillies by 1 ½ games with seven games to play in 1964. They finished 5-2 while the Phillies finished 2-4 as the Phillies blew a 6 ½ game lead with 12 games to play.
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Ryan Madson is 5-5 with a 3.27 ERA and nine saves in 15 opportunities. Because Brad Lidge is 0-8 with a 7.51 ERA and a Major League-leading 11 saves and because Madson looked very good today, I would expect him to continue to close.
“Lidge will get back to where he was. I’m a firm believer in that,” Manuel said. “I don’t want to shoot Lidge. I think he’ll be back to where he was at really. Seriously. But I think right now just from a mental aspect and everything – physical and mental – he needs a little break.”
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Scott Eyre just wants the opportunity to pitch.
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It was rookie hazing day Sunday. John Mayberry Jr. and Sergio Escalona wore lady pilot costumes, while J.A. Happ wore a Superwoman contume. No, I don’t have any pictures. I think they would have wrestled me to the ground and stomped on my cell phone had I taken one.
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Todd Zolecki
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