Placido Polanco is the latest Phillie to be sidelined. Polanco hyperextended his left elbow during yesterday’s game and is uncertain when he will return to spring action.
The Phils won the game, beating the Blue Jays 13-7.
Blanton got the start for the Phils and went four innings, allowing two runs on seven hits. He didn’t walk anyone and has now thrown to a 3.45 ERA with a 1.28 ratio in four starts.
Baez followed Blanton and allowed a run on a single and two walks to raise his spring ERA to 1.23. Madson allowed two runs in the sixth on two doubles and a pair of walks. He’s now allowed two runs in six innings while striking out 11. Romero allowed two runs on two hits and a walk in the seventh — those are also the first runs he has allowed this spring as well as the first walk. Contreras and Juan Perez each threw scoreless innings. Juan Perez now has a 1.69 ERA and 1.13 ratio in his 5 1/3 innings. He’s allowed just two hits but walked four.
Ibanez and Francisco both homered for the Phils. It was the second for Ibanez and third for Francisco. Francisco’s line is at 368/429/737 through 38 at-bats. He leads all Phillies with at least 10 plate appearances with an OPS of 1.165.
Michael Martinez was 2-for-2 with a double and three RBI. He still hasn’t drawn a walk yet, but he’s at 306/306/444 in 36 at-bats. Valdez drove in three runs as well, going 1-for-4 with a double. 455/514/636.
Barfield 0-for-3 to drop him to 417/429/583 in 24 at-bats. Mayberry played first and went 0-for-2. Young 0-for-2 and at 318/362/432 with a team-high 44 at-bats. Ruiz is hitting .143 after going 1-for-3 with a single.
No game today. Cliff Lee starts against the Blue Jays on Thursday.
This article from the Phillies web site suggests we bet on Utley to start the year on the DL. I think it would be tough to find someone who will take the other side of that bet. It also suggests that Pete Orr, Delwyn Young, Josh Barfield and Michael Martinez are competing for two bench slots. Still hoping for Young and Barfield, but Young and Martinez looks like the better guess at this point. Orr seems like a long shot compared to the rest of the group, although he has hit 296/296/593 in 27 at-bats. He can also play third, which might be attractive to the Phils if Polanco is going to miss significant time.
Martinez seems to have a huge advantage in that competition after being taken by the Phils in the Rule V draft.
March 16th, 2011 on 11:03 am
Well, if the bullpen is going to blow up, they may as well all blow up on the same day, right? Right???
March 16th, 2011 on 11:37 am
Right. I guess. The things that now worry me about the team include everything except starting pitching. I guess the defense could be okay. They aren’t going to score a whole lot of runs and their bullpen isn’t very good. They need to get some help in one of those areas soon, hopefully a hitter.
March 16th, 2011 on 12:22 pm
Tell you the truth, the thing about the Phillies that bothers me most is the Braves.
March 16th, 2011 on 3:30 pm
I don’t feel like I have time to worry about the Braves. I don’t have much confidence in anyone in the bullpen besides Madson. I understand those guys aren’t going to throw a lot of innings, but it’s not like they aren’t going to pitch at all either. The Phils are going to need to win a whole lot of 3-2 games and 2-1 games if they don’t improve their offense. Seems like that would be easier to do with some guys pitching well late in games.
March 16th, 2011 on 11:02 pm
Yup. No arguement. The bullpen is scary. Top to bottom. And to tell the truth, I have not been sold on the ace-ness of the fourth ace. It is not that Hamels does not have the tools; anyone who doubts his tools is a fool. But he goes out to lunch, suddenly, and without warning, and without excuse. And this year more than any others, he needs to stay in the game. The home runs simply HAVE to stop. At least he does not have to worry about having a poorer won/lost record than Moyer this year.
March 17th, 2011 on 2:11 pm
I am sitting here listening to Cliff Lee getting his head handed to him. 5 runs so far in the 4th. How fun.
March 17th, 2011 on 4:18 pm
Not the best day for the Phils. Or Lee. At least Michael Martinez homered. Sigh. I kinda think he’s on the team now, so I guess that means it’s time to start rooting for him.
March 17th, 2011 on 4:21 pm
Remember that in spring training, guys that are already on the team will often throw pitches in a bad count for them, just to work on a pitch. Like 3-0 curveballs. I put 0 stock in Spring ERA/WHIP/etc. from established players.
March 17th, 2011 on 4:30 pm
Heard Schneider left the team for personal reasons.
article didnt have much info:
http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/sports/index.ssf/2011/03/brian_schneider_leaves_philade.html
March 17th, 2011 on 8:11 pm
Martinez on the team? Yeah, I guess so, because it very well may come to pass that #26 is gone for the year given the reports today. So we better root for him. And he really needs to deserve it. Playing without Utley for a year scares me more than any single thing that could happen because I do think he IS the heart of this team.
Well, look at it this way; the Phillies appear to have this generation’s MM boy. How is that for putting on a happy face?
March 17th, 2011 on 8:12 pm
Yikes about Schneider.