GAME RECAP: Phillies Bludgeon Braves 9-2
Chase Utley and the
Phillies powered their way to a 9-2 victory over the Braves on Wednesday
afternoon at Bright House Field. Utley hit a three-run home run in the first
inning and a solo home run in the third inning, while Freddy Galvis and Rene Garcia hit back-to-back home
runs in the fourth inning against Braves right-hander Julio Teheran. Utley has four home runs in five plate
appearances, dating to a pair of home runs he hit in three plate appearances
Sunday against the Tigers.
OTHER NOTES FROM GAME TIME:
- Phillies
left-hander Cole Hamels made
his final Grapefruit League start before pitching Monday on Opening Day
against the Red Sox. He allowed six hits, two runs (one earned) and one walk
with three strikeouts in six innings. He finished with a 4.15 ERA this
spring.
- Utley looks ready: Utley
missed the first 10 Grapefruit League games because of a sprained right
ankle, but he is finishing the spring strong. He has hit four home runs in
his last two games.
- The Phillies
outrighted both right-handers Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez and Phillippe Aumont
from the 40-man roster Wednesday to give them 37 players on the 40-man.
The Phillies had no risk of losing Gonzalez.
He is owed $8 million over the next two seasons and has not performed as
expected. Aumont
has struggled during his time with the Phillies, but some in the
organization still think he can live up to his potential.
- Amaro said
left-hander Mario Hollands,
who has a torn common flexor tendon in his left elbow, remains likely to
have season-ending surgery. Hollands recently received a second opinion
from Dr. James Andrews. "We haven't made any final decisions on
that," Amaro said. Hollands, Domonic Brown
(left Achilles tendinitis), Cliff Lee (torn left common flexor tendon), Jonathan Pettibone
(right shoulder) and Chad Billingsley
(right elbow) will open the season on the disabled list.
NEXT GAME:
Right-hander Jerome Williams makes
the Phillies' final Grapefruit League start Thursday afternoon against the Rays
at Bright House Field. Williams is 0-3 with a 6.60 ERA in five appearances this
spring. He will open the season as the team's No. 3 or No. 4 starter.
PHILS PHACTS:
Hamels Ready For Opening Day – Cole Hamels completed his final tuneup Wednesday for
his Opening Day start against the Red Sox. He allowed six hits, two runs (one
earned) and one walk with three strikeouts in six innings in the Phils' 9-2
victory over the Braves at Bright House Field.
It was his final Grapefruit League start before he pitches Opening Day at
Citizens Bank Park. "It takes six starts [in Spring Training] to really
feel comfortable and confident," Hamels said afterward. "When it
comes to the start of the season, you just want to have that positive feeling
and positive feedback from the spring that you're healthy and everything is
working. Right now, I definitely feel a lot more sharp than two weeks
ago." Hamels, who could be traded this season as the Phillies build for
the future, struggled at the beginning of spring as he worked on establishing
his fastball command, among other things. But in his last two starts, he
allowed eight hits, one earned run and four walks with seven strikeouts in 11
innings. "Health-wise, I feel really strong this year," Hamels said.
What Is The Chase Utley Plan? – Every
spring for the past few years, Charlie Manuel and Ryne Sandberg established The
Chase Utley Plan. The former and current Phillies
managers promised they would reduce the second baseman's playing time to keep
him strong late into the season. But once the season started, the temptation to
play their best hitter became too strong. They wanted to win. Utley wanted to
play. The Chase Utley Plan vanished by May. "A lot of that is my doing
because I want to be out there," Utley said after Wednesday's 9-2
victory over the Braves. Utley, 36, hit home
runs in his first two plate appearances Wednesday. He hit two home runs in
three plate appearances Sunday. He did not play Monday or Tuesday. It is
coincidence he hit four homers in five plate appearances over four days with
two days off in the middle, but it showed something: when Utley is fresh, he
can still hit with the best of them. He hit .293 with 24 doubles, three
triples, eight home runs, 46 RBIs and a .794 OPS before the All-Star break last
season. He slumped to .235 with a .674 OPS after the break. In his career,
Utley's OPS is 74 points lower after the All-Star break. "Having some days
off here and there can be beneficial," Utley said. "It's obviously
easier said than done." "Maybe there is something about giving him
rest," Sandberg said. Asked if he could avoid the annual temptation to
play Utley every day, Sandberg said with a laugh: "Probably not. You know,
I don't think April is that big of an issue with him with cooler temperatures.
Cooler temperatures go a long way with him. I think heat, on the other side of
the coin, really takes a toll on him. That's just something him and I will stay
in communication with. But I intend to give him more days off that last
year." Asked about infielder
Cesar Hernandez possibly playing second base when
Utley is on the bench, Sandberg quickly referred to other bench candidates like
Andres Blanco and Cord Phelps, who have both outplayed Hernandez this spring. Hernandez
is out of options, so he would have to be placed on waivers if he does not make
the Opening Day roster.
When Will He Come Back? – Phillies
reliever Ken Giles said
Wednesday morning that a doctor examined his back and told him the tightness he
experienced there Tuesday is not serious. But Giles could not say if he will be
pitching again anytime soon. Giles left Tuesday's Grapefruit League game
against the Blue Jays in Dunedin after he felt a muscle grab him. Giles said he
had been feeling some tightness there for a few days. He said Tuesday he
expects to be ready to pitch Monday, if needed, when the Phillies open the 2015
season against the Red Sox at Citizens Bank Park. But the Phillies could elect
to be more cautious with their hard-throwing setup man. They want Giles for the
long haul, so they could put him on the disabled list to start the season. If
that happens, he could be activated as early as April 16, which means he would
miss just nine games.
Replacing
Brown / Werth – The Phillies have been trying for years to replace Jayson Werth in right field. They have started Hunter Pence, Marlon Byrd, John Mayberry Jr., Domonic Brown, Delmon Young, Ben Francisco and 11 others in right field since
Werth signed a seven-year, $126 million contract with the Nationals in Dec.
2010. But with the Phillies announcing Tuesday that Brown will open the 2015
season on the 15-day disabled list with left Achilles inflammation -- his DL
stint can be backdated to March 27, which means he could be activated as early
as April 11 -- that list could grow to 18 by Opening Day. The candidates to
replace Brown include Jordan Danks, Jeff
Francoeur, Brian Bogusevic and Russ Canzler. Grady Sizemore, who started 11 games in right field
last season, also remains a possibility. "We're very open-minded,"
Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said Tuesday morning at Bright House
Field. "We don't have a set right fielder right now." Here is a
closer look at the candidates to replace Brown: Danks: He might be the
favorite. First, he already is on the 40-man roster and has options remaining,
which comes into play. Second, he might play the best defense. Danks has hit
.227 with eight home runs and 26 RBIs in 344 at-bats in his career with the
White Sox. He is hitting .250 (9-for-36) with one home run, five RBIs and .746
OPS this spring. If Danks is the Opening Day right fielder, it would give the
Phillies six left-handed hitters in the lineup, leaving Carlos Ruiz as the only
right-handed bat and switch-hitter Freddy Galvis. Sizemore: He has a guaranteed
one-year, $2 million contract. Amaro said Monday that "for me,"
Sizemore is on the team. Sizemore posted a .580 OPS from Aug. 6 through the end
of the 2014 season, and has hit .214 (9-for-42) with three RBIs and a .527 OPS
this spring. He went 3-for-4 Tuesday. Bogusevic: He is hitting .306
(11-for-36) with three home runs, eight RBIs and a .944 OPS this spring. He
clearly has performed better than the other right field candidates, but he is a
non-roster invitee so they could start him in Triple-A and bring him up if
needed. Francoeur: Amaro probably telegraphed the front office's
thinking Monday when he said: "If Francoeur doesn't make the club, he
doesn't have any outs in his contract right now, so if somebody falters at the
Major League level and he's not on the club, then he'll have an opportunity to
come up." Francoeur is hitting .189 (7-for-37) with two RBIs and a .432
OPS this spring. Canzler: He is hitting .286 (12-for-42) with one homer,
four RBIs and a .707 OPS this spring. It is hard to imagine the Phillies going
with Canzler over the others. Regardless of who starts Opening Day, Brown is
expected to return to the post. He has been sidelined since March 19 because of
tendinitis in his left Achilles. "It's the right thing to do," Amaro
said. "We just want to make sure he's playing well. It's more of a matter
of making sure this is not a lingering issue for him." "They don't
want to rush anything and I really don't, either," said Brown, who went
0-for-4 as a designated hitter Tuesday in a Minor League game. "It's tough
for being down here and missing Opening Day. But it's better to miss a week or
so than to miss a month or two. [I'll] make sure I get all the inflammation out
of there and be 100 percent when I come back up to Philly. So that's the big
goal."
Playing
For Opening Day – The Phillies cleared up their outfield situation Wednesday
morning. They announced they had reassigned Brian Bogusevic to Minor
League camp. Domonic Brown will open
the season on the 15-day disabled list with left Achilles tendinitis, which
leaves Jordan Danks
and Grady Sizemore as the
top two candidates to be the team's Opening Day right fielder. Phillies manager
Ryne Sandberg plans to start Ben Revere in left and Odubel Herrera in center. Bogusevic, who was a
non-roster invitee, hit .306 (11-for-36) with two doubles, three home runs and
eight RBIs this spring. Danks, who is on the 40-man roster, is hitting .250
(9-for-36) with two doubles, one home run and five RBIs. Sizemore, who has a
guaranteed one-year, $2.5 million contract, is hitting .214 (9-for-42) with
three RBIs.
More
Roster Adjustments – Phillippe Aumont
quietly packed up the things in his locker Wednesday morning at Bright House
Field. He could have been packing for a trip to another organization, but he
was not. Aumont entered Spring Training out of options, which meant if he did
not make the Opening Day roster, he needed to clear waivers to remain with the
Phillies. As no team claimed Aumont, the Phillies announced he had been
outrighted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Right-hander Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez also cleared waivers and has
been outrighted to Triple-A. He had been optioned to Minor League camp Sunday.
He is in the second year of a three-year, $12 million contract, but it has not panned out.
The Phillies also reassigned outfielder Brian Bogusevic to Minor League camp on Wednesday. Aumont,
26, is the only remaining piece of the Cliff Lee trade with the Mariners in December 2009.
Aumont, 26, is 1-5 with a 6.13 ERA in 45 appearances with the Phillies over the
previous three seasons. He went 1-0 with a 4.15 ERA in seven appearances this
spring. He allowed 13 hits, four earned runs, two walks and three home runs
with 10 strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings. "I thought I did all right,"
Aumont said. "Walks were down. I thought it was good enough, but some
other people thought differently. But it's OK." There are mixed feelings
about Aumont among the coaching staff and front office. Some still see
potential in the 6-foot-7 right-hander. A change of scenery might benefit
Aumont. "Obviously I think that anybody would think that," Aumont
said. "But the bottom line is I'm still here. I'm still getting an
opportunity somewhere. That's all that really matters." Aumont could have
asked to be released, but he said he did not. "What good is it going to do
to ask them to release me when they could have done it on their own?"
Aumont said. "So if they didn't do it, it's for a reason. That's the way I
see it. I've got some work to do. I'll just get it done."
Bad
Signing – The Phillies acknowledged this week the Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez
signing might
never pan out. That became more apparent
Wednesday when they announced Gonzalez, whom they optioned Sunday to Triple-A,
had been outrighted from the 40-man roster. The Phillies placed him on waivers,
knowing they risked losing him to another team. But no team claimed him because
he has not performed as expected and because he is in the second year of a
three-year, $12 million contract. No team wanted to pay the remaining $8
million on his contract. "His status does not change for us,"
Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. insisted Wednesday at Bright House
Field. He said the Phillies put Gonzalez on waivers simply because they wanted
to make room on the 40-man roster. The Phillies have 37 players on their 40-man
roster. "That doesn't mean he's not part of our plans," Amaro said. The
Phillies thought so much of Gonzalez in the summer of 2013 that they offered
him a six-year, $48 million contract. But the deal dropped to $12 million
following his physical. Gonzalez's health became an issue in Spring Training
'14 and continued early in the '14 season, when he pitched in the Phillies'
farm system. Amaro said Gonzalez's velocity is a tick lower than when they
scouted him in 2013. His breaking pitches are not as crisp. "He's just not
as sharp," he said. Gonzalez had an unbelievable opportunity to be the
team's No. 5 starter this season following
Cliff Lee's elbow injury, but he instead went 0-3
with a 7.53 ERA in five Grapefruit League appearances. He allowed 25 hits, 12
runs, five home runs and one walk with seven strikeouts in 14 1/3 innings. "When
we evaluate the player and we see how he throws, and we saw he was not
effective," Amaro said, "other teams see the same thing." Asked
if another team claiming Gonzalez would have been welcome, considering the
Phillies would have saved $8 million, Amaro said: "This is not about
money. It never has been. This whole rebuild stuff and the things that we're
going through, it's not about money. It's about making sure that we acquire and
keep the assets that are necessary for us to move the organization forward in
the future."
Anchoring
The Phillies Franchise Overhaul – Ken Giles embraces the fact he can throw a baseball
100 mph. He loves it. A decade has passed since former Phillies closer Billy Wagner pumped 100-mph fastballs at Citizens
Bank Park. Fans kiddingly booed Wagner whenever the scoreboard showed his
fastball hit just 99 mph, but Wagner took offense and always mentioned the boos
after he left the Phillies following the 2005 season. Giles takes no offense. Hey,
he wants to hit 100 mph, too. "My first outing, the exact same thing
happened to me," said Giles, who has #100MileGiles on his Twitter account,
@KenGiles53. "It didn't bother me. It's 99 mph. Not a lot of people can do
that, but if they want to see [100 mph] … OK, whatever, you do it. You do it
and it makes them happy. It was one of those things where I think fans wanted
to see how I reacted to it. I think I passed their test with flying colors
where I think they're like, 'OK, we can't boo him anymore. He's got a strong
mind and mentality,' kind of thing. "It's a cool thing to do. But I don't
feel any more special than anybody else out there. We're all unique in our own
ways. There are things I can't do that other people can do." Perhaps more
than any other player on the 25-man roster, Giles symbolizes the future for the
Phillies. The Phillies are rebuilding and hope they can contend again in 2017
or 2018. If that time comes, they hope Giles is closing games for them. For
now, Giles is setting up closer Jonathan Papelbon, although he could open the season
on the disabled list with a back issue. It is not
believed to be serious, but the Phillies need
to be careful with Giles. They need him for the long haul. Giles went 3-1 with
a 1.18 ERA and one save in 44 appearances following his promotion from Triple-A
Lehigh Valley in June. He allowed 25 hits, 11 walks and struck out 64 in 45 2/3
innings. Giles' 0.79 WHIP was fifth among rookie relief pitchers since 1914.
His 5.82 strikeout-to-walk ratio is sixth, and his 12.61 strikeouts-per-nine
innings average ranked 10th. But the Phillies' bullpen should set up nicely
this season. It potentially will be the team's only area of strength with
Papelbon, Giles,
Jake Diekman and
Justin De Fratus holding the first four spots with
Luis Garcia,
Andy Oliver and possibly Jeanmar Gomez holding the
final three spots. "It's nice to start from the bullpen," Giles said
about the rebuilding process. "Everybody in baseball is trying to build a
strong bullpen, but it's pretty difficult to do. It's exciting. Like [Ryan]
Howard and Chase [Utley] and all those guys back in the day. It would be nice
to see all that hard work we've put in show and pay off." It will take
time, but Giles sees a foundation there. The organization believes there are
prospects coming, too. The Phillies hope everything comes together like it came
together for Howard, Utley,
Jimmy Rollins,
Cole Hamels,
Pat Burrell,
Carlos Ruiz, Brett Myers, Ryan Madson and other
homegrown talents with a World Series championship in 2008. Former Phillies
closer
Brad Lidge fell to his
knees after he recorded the final out in that World Series. Former closer Tug
McGraw raised his arms toward the sky as he recorded the final out in the 1980
World Series. What will Giles do? The Phillies hope to find out.
THE BEGINNING
After
ending 2014 with a 73-89 record, there second consecutive losing season, the
Phillies are currently tied for first place for the 2015 season. Given the
departures, aging stars, injuries, and performance this spring, don’t expect
their competitive place in the standings to last. All time, the Phillies are
4-5-0 on this day.
