Ruben Amaro, Jr. made another move that holds little value for the everyday lineup. It was just another swap of players on the 40-man rosters. They traded prospect Jason Jaramillo to Pittsburgh for Ronnie Paulino.
Scott Lauber reported the deal and he feels that it means that Chris Coste will be dealt in the proposed three team deal for Mark DeRosa or some other players. [Delaware Online]
If our catchers are really Carlos Ruiz and Ronnie Paulino, we might as well just bat two pitchers.
Who knows anymore? We're also out of the race for Derek Lowe. So, who will be pitching in the #4 and #5 spots of the rotation? Why does it seem like all the money we're saving is being pocketed and not being used the most important matters in extending Howard and Hamels?
Carlos Ruiz - Though Ruiz struggled at the plate, he was very good defensively and called games well. In 2008, Ruiz had a CERA of 3.83, good enough for 4th among qualifying catchers. Ruiz was so important with the addition of Brad Lidge because of his ability to block Lidge's vicious slider.
Throughout the season, his job behind the plate was overshadowed by his struggles at the plate. He will never offer much in terms of OPS, but he doesn't strike out much. He almost always makes contact and when you continously put the ball in play, luck will come into effect.
Look at what happened in the playoffs. For most of the regular season, Ruiz was hitting the ball at people, which can be seen by his BABIP. Once September came around, he started finding open spots in the field and it carried into the playoffs. His two biggest hits all season came in game 3 of the World Series. He homered and hit a dribbler that caused enough trouble to score the game-winner. In game 2, Ruiz reached base 4 times and went 2 for 2.
Ruiz didn't do much against Milwaukee and many people called for Chris Coste. Ruiz kept battling and was able to hit .313 in the NLCS and .375 in the World Series. Also, Ruiz reached base 50% of the time in the World Series. Both behind the plate and in the batters box, Ruiz was the unsung hero. Chris Coste - Coste did well to spell Ruiz behind the dish. During most of the season Coste was an upgrade offensively, but a downgrade at blocking balls. In 250 ABs starting at catcher, Coste knocked in 36 runs and scored 27. He also hit 15 doubles and 9 home runs to provide the Phillies potent offense with some extra pop. One of his biggest hits this year came on August 26th against the Mets. After the Phillies battled back to tie the Mets from down 7, Chris entered the game in the 8th and went 4-4, while knocking in the GW run in the bottom of the 13th.
It was a complete team effort this year and everyone had their helping hand. Continue coming back to the site as we will be analyzing the contributions of everyone else on the team.
Hey Pedro, I guess the Phillies are your daddy. After trailing 7-0 in the 4th, the Phillies were able to beat the Mets 8-7 in a 13 inning thriller.
After the poor start by Jamie Moyer, the Phillies started their slow climb. In the bottom of the 4th, Pedro Feliz hit a sac fly to score in Shane Victorino. They then tacked on 4 runs in the 5th with 2 run homers by Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard.
In the 8th, Carlos Ruiz scored on a J-Roll single and in the 9th, Eric Bruntlett came through with the clutch pinch hit double that drove in Jayson Werth from 1st. The bull pen did amazing all night to keep the Mets from taking the game back.
After scoreless innings through the extra frames, Shane Victorino led off the 13th with a triple. New York immediately walked both Werth and Bruntlett to get to pinch hitter Brett Myers. It was obvious the Phillies didn't want him swinging to chance hitting into a double play so he struck out looking with a full count.
With one out and the bases loaded, Chris Coste comes up after pinch hitting in the 8th to stay in. He was 3-3 at the time coming in and he made it 4-4 with the game winning base hit that sailed way over Carlos Beltran's head.
With that win, the Phillies leap frogged the Mets to take a .5 division lead. They play tonight as Kyle Kendrick and Johan Santana face eachother. I'll be at the game tonight cheering hard for the Fightins'.
Game note: Rollins continued his hot bat going 5-7 with 3 RBIs, a double and home run.
This is a picture of Ryan Howard's home run swing. I know I'm good.
The Phillies beat the Dodgers 8-1 last night. Kyle Kendrick woke up finally. Yes his pitch count was high and he only lasted 5.2 innings but he pitched well. He kept the Dodgers off the bases, and the only run he gave up was an early solo shot from Andre Ethier.
I was at the game and yes I enjoyed watching the offense heat up and manufacture runs. Also the 3 long balls were nice to see as well. The first came from Ryan Howard, a 2 run bomb in the 4th, Chris Coste capped a 4 run 6th with a 3 run show, and Chase Utley lined a shot to dead center in the 7th. Howard's homer was his 34th of the year and he now has 106 RBIs for the season. Utley is at 31 and 85.
Greg Maddux, known as a Phillie killer in the prime of his career, was looking just as that until he started getting whacked around. After 3 innings, he only threw a little over 20 pitches. He left in the 6th after Coste's shot.
The game today is at 4 EST on FOX. Pitching for the Phillies is Cole Hamels (10-8; 3.22). He is facing Clayton Kershaw (2-3; 2.39).
We Hate to Lose began in October 2007. The initial purpose of the website was to provide news updates and commentary on all four major sports teams in Philadelphia. Because of time-constraints, in April of 2009, I decided to post only on my first-love, the Philadelphia Phillies.
My name is Justin Evans and I hope you enjoy the site.
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