Morning Roundup: “I sucked” - Adam Eaton

Be Easy, laughing at something

photo via Gunnin for that #1 spot

Three lines on their world:

1. It looks like the CC (now that he’s on Milwaukee it isn’t ‘C.C.’ anymore) Sabathia move is going to jumpstart trade season.
2. Brett Farve wants the spotlight so the spotlight he shall have.
3. And while Summer league famously means nothing (I’ll be the first to repeat an anecdote you’re going to hear a hundred times this off-season: Greg Ostertag gave Tim Duncan work in TD’s first summer league), as a rule it is better to play better than worse. Mike Beasley played so well that he’s started singing at the foul line.  I don’t think we have ever seen a basketball player quite like this guy before.

Three lines on ours:

1. After a wild night, the Mets are back in the NL East race.
2. The Sixers are positioning themselves for Elton Brand
3. And without real cap room to play with, the Flyers decided to spend money where they can, locking up their GM for the next three seasons.

Phillies, Birds, Sixers, Flyers and more from the charity stripe after the jump

PHILLIES

The Mets are not a good team.  They start a lineup riddled with guys Philly fans remember not-too-kindly, their manager routinely makes in-game decisions that look absurd when they happen and then worse when they play out, and Jose Reyes, arguably their best player, has shown up his teammates and his ball club on multiple occasions. They also just beat the Phillies for the third straight night.

After losing a heart breaker two nights the ago the Phillies got blown out, hung a guy with a 55 mph curve ball out to dry, then somehow came back to make it a game against the Mets.  If a loss against the Mets can be considered ‘good’, this was probably it.  Still, a loss is a loss is a loss is a loss and the Phillies have lost three in a row, all to the hated Mets.  Once again, Florida is within a game and a half and New York is only one behind that, flaws and all. 

It was great to see the Good Guys fight all the way back, but the team has some serious work to do if it wants the division.  It’s going to be a long summer for the fans of all of these flawed NL East teams.

The goat of this one was easy: The Mets beat Adam Eaton for the first time in his career and did so in embarrassing fashion.  The righthander allowed eight runs (six earned) on ten hits in less than three innings, jumping his ERA from 4.79 to 5.20 in the process.

Tonight Cole Hamels (9-5, 3.22) and the Phillies try to get back on track against Joel Pineiro (2-4, 4.52) and the Cardinals. Pineiro is looking for his first victory in over two months - he’s been mired in a string of no decisions - and Hamels is looking to avenge his all-star snub.  After last night I’m not going to predict anything for a while, so just look for me down at the Bank.

Other Notes …

• After just one inning R.J. Swindle had established his permanent role in the bigs: lefty specialist.  Swindle sat down every lefthanded batter he faced but allowed all five righties he saw to reach base.  He settled down in his second and third innings, but still; his role seems set
• There was an old gag from one of the Major League movies (I hope I’m not quoting Major League 3: back to the minors but I’m really afraid I am) where they can’t tell how fast a guy is throwing because their radar gun is borrowed from state troopers and it doesn’t pick up anything under 55.  Well, Swindle’s curveball didn’t register on the TV radar gun last night, which is the first time I’ve ever seen that happen.
• The first batter that R.J. faced was David Wright, who promptly took him yard.
• The Mets are over .500 (45-44) for the first time since June 5^th.
• The Phils’ power three: Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Pat Burrell all hit home runs.  They were their 25th, 24th, and 22nd, respectively.  That is good for 1st, 2nd, and 4th in the league
• Ryan’s was the most controversial.  It bounced off the arms of a fan.  The umpires first ruled it a ground-rule double before reversing course and calling it gone.
• Mets manager Jerry Manuel was ejected for arguing the modified call
• Billy Wagner, who was tagged again for two runs in the 9th, took a parting shot at the Bank: “The season is like playing in Citizens Bank Park. No lead is safe.”
• With an RBI single in the second Pedro Martinez improved to 4-16 for his career with the bases loaded.
• David Wright had his 13th career four-plus RBI game, which tied for most by a Mets 3B with Robin Ventura, who despite a nice career will always be most famous for this and this
• Jimmy Rollins stole his 36th consecutive base in the fifth.  He did so without a throw.  He’s 22-for-22 this season.
• Endy Chavez, Damion Easley and Fernando Tatis had three hits each for the Mets
• Geoff Jenkins had a pinch-hit two-run homer in the eighth.  It broke an 0-11 stretch.
• Down on the farm Brett Myers made his second start for Triple-A Lehigh Valley, giving up seven hits and three runs — two earned — in 7 1/3 innings. He struck out six and walked two.

Now, who said what …

John Smallwood says the Phillies need to sell the farm to get a top arm, then says they don’t have enough to get it done. SKIP

Kate Fagan reports back from Lehigh Valley and says that Myers is getting some of his swagger back. READ

Todd Zolecki writes that the Phillies just didn’t have the assets to make a play for Sabathia. READ

Uh-oh.  Among his notes David Murphy reports that J.C. Romero is battling a nagging groin injury, J.A. Happ will get his second start tomorrow, and more. READ

Zolecki’s notes look at Utley in the derby, Burrell and the all-star game and more. SKIP

Paul Hagen writes that the Phillies kinda look like the Mets. READ

David Murphy reports on Utley’s home run derby preparation. SKIP

*if you only read one I don’t know how I missed this yesterday, but Peter Mucha has a rundown of some of the great rain delays in Phillies history.  Love pieces like that. READ

The Phillies signed Joe Blackburn, a former Penn State catcher. READ

EAGLES

Les Bowen casually mentions a Mini-me sex tape and then tears into Javon Kearse for being a jerk. SKIP

Catching up with former FB/social studies teacher Stanley Pritchett. READ

SIXERS

The Sixer story of the day must have broken late because the dailies didn’t pick up on it, but Marc Stein at ESPN is reporting that the Sixers are about to move Rodney Carney and Calvin Booth to Minny (or Memphis) in an attempt to clear enough cap room to make a big play for Elton Brand.  Wow. READ

Matt Gelb says that tonight, once the salary cap is released, the Sixers will have a better idea of what moves they can make. SKIP

FLYERS

Sam Cardichi reports that the Flyers have re-signed GM Paul Holmgren through 2012. READ

The Flyers also inked RW Arron Asham.  The brawler is happy to be a Flyer and thinks that he will fit right in. READ

R.J. Umberger signed the contract the Flyers couldn’t afford to give him. SKIP

TODAY and MORE

Rich Hofmann offers up a quiz that tests how cynical a fan you are.  It didn’t really seem like a joke, which is odd for this type of thing.  I got a 33, which makes me neutrally cynical. I kinda think that everyone is going to be get a score around there too (expect for my father, who has never seen a local athlete/organization that he doesn’t love.  He’ll get a negative six or something.) Anyway, read it, score it, and let me know if I’m crazy.   

And remember to vote Pat Burrell into the AS game.  Every day you vote for him he promises to hit another home run. 

And as always, feel free to email me with any questions, suggestions, comments or complaints.  

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 at 9:20 am and is filed under Morning Rounds. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.