Larry Brown Sports

Last week we told you that Roy Halladay’s velocity was down during a spring outing against the Washington Nationals. Though he had success in that start (facing only one Nats starter), his velocity was down again Tuesday and this time he struggled.

Halladay gave up seven runs, six hits, four walks, and two home runs in 2.2 innings against a Detroit Tigers lineup that did not include Prince Fielder or Miguel Cabrera. He reportedly was only throwing in the mid-80s during the appearance. The poor outing and overall struggles have caused Philadelphia Phillies manager Charlie Manuel to be concerned.

“Yeah, it concerns me,” Manuel said, per David Murphy of the Philadelphia Daily News. “But at the same time, I been in the game long enough to know that if there’s nothing wrong with him, you keep working with him. If he’s healthy and well and there’s nothing wrong with him, then he’s gotta get stretched out and everything.”

Phillies pitching coach Rich Dubee seemed to be even more concerned.

“I don’t know where he is going to get back to,” Dubee said, via Murphy. “I don’t. Who does? I don’t have a crystal ball, but I know that his work ethic is still there, his desire is still there, so I’ll take my chances.”

Dubee saying he does not know where Halladay will get back to is a response to the pitcher returning from different injuries last season (lat, shoulder, back).

Halladay has certainly given us many reasons to believe in him, but the low velocity sure is a concern. He might be stiff, sore, or holding back during spring training, but you have to wonder why he’s not closer to being in top form with the season starting in a few weeks.

H/T Hardball Talk

Two weeks after a billboard went up in Philadelphia criticizing Jimmy Rollins for not hustling, the Phillies shortstop was pulled from a game for repeating the same offense. Rollins did not run hard after popping up in the sixth inning of Thursday’s Phillies-Mets game (pictured above), so he only made it to first instead of second when the ball dropped. He later was tagged out after making a poor decision on a fielder’s choice. The lack of hustle was enough to merit a benching from manager Charlie Manuel.

“I got two rules: Be on time and hustle. And hustle’s part of it,” Manuel said after the game. “Running balls out is definitely part of it.

“It’s a reflection on myself, it’s a reflection on whoever don’t do it, and things like that. It’s a reflection on our team, it’s a reflection on the organization. My frustration grows every time I see anyone not hustle,” said Manuel.

Rollins reacted defiantly when asked after the game if he planned to talk to about being pulled.

“Hell, no,” Rollins said, per Todd Zolecki. “[Charlie Manuel] already told you what happened. There you go.”

It’s about time Manuel addressed the matter. It doesn’t matter what is going on with a player — there is no excuse for not hustling and running out balls hard. Being a former MVP shouldn’t excuse Rollins from this basic expectation.

Below is a video of Charlie Manuel talking about the benching following Philly’s 3-2 win:

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For the second day in a row at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, a squirrel got loose on the field. This time, it actually appeared to have disrupted play by scurrying in front of home plate just after Roy Oswalt had thrown a pitch. Oswalt complained to the umpire after the pitch, and seemed to suggest that either a) he was bothered by the squirrel or b) the umpire got distracted and forgot to call the pitch a strike. It wouldn’t matter because the squirrel ran into the stands and Oswalt proceeded to get Skip Schumaker to fly out.

Anyhow, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, who also went out to protest the squirrel’s presence on the field, was asked about the stray rodent after the game. He busted out with some Southern humor.

“There’s not too much I can do about a squirrel running across the field. I don’t know what I can do about that. Of course, being from the South, and being a squirrel hunter, if I had a gun I might have done something. I’m a pretty good shot,” he joked.

At least, we think he was joking. If the eating habits of Takeo Spikes are any indication, he might be serious.

The Philadelphia Phillies just lost a three-game series to the San Francisco Giants. They were beaten by Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain who held them to one run apiece. The series loss comes after the Giants knocked out the Phillies in the NLCS last year with Cain and Lincecum going 2-1 against them. Needless to say, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel fielded his share of questions from the media that wondered if Lincecum and Cain had taken proverbial ownership of them.

Manuel wasn’t willing to concede an inch.

“They’re good pitchers. You say they’re great pitchers. To me, I don’t know how great they are. I think as they move on into their careers, there’s the longevity part and things like that. I think that’s when the greatness might come by. This is a consistent game. When you say somebody is great … tonight I saw 90 fastball, 92 at the best. I saw a good changeup. I saw a breaking ball. I saw a cutter. Good pitching, but at the same time we can beat that. I’ve seen us do that.”

“We can beat them. I know we can.”

Sounds more like a pep talk than statement of fact, no? It really comes across as if the Giants are in the Phillies’ heads after beating them this series. The teams meet again next week for a four-game set and you know the Phillies will want to make a statement. If their bats don’t come alive, prepare to hear more chants about the Giants being poised to repeat as NL champions. Besides, we all know what Manuel thinks deep down. He just is afraid to admit it.

Grady Little has been crucified by miserable Red Sox fans for keeping Pedro Martinez in a playoff game too long. Charlie Manuel is now drawing the ire of miserable Phillies fans for pulling Pedro too early in a playoff game. Oddly enough, I’ve been on the opposite side of the 20/20 hindsighters both times. I went down with Grady using his reasoning — Pedro’s the best guy Boston had and there wasn’t another pitcher I’d rather see in there with the game on the line. Sox fans were only so bitter because blowing the lead encapsulated 85 years of losing to New York. Exactly six years later Charlie Manuel pulled Pedro from a two-hit shutout against the Dodgers and went to the bullpen. The Phils blew the 1-0 lead and now people are now criticizing Manuel the same way they did Little, but I support his decision.

Pedro hadn’t pitched since September 30th prior to Friday’s outing against the Dodgers. The Phillies should have just been thanking their lucky Liberty Bells they got such a strong start out of a guy who hadn’t pitched in a game in almost three weeks. Secondly, Pedro was coming up to bat in the 8th and there was a man on in what was only a one-run game. Don’t you want to give your team a good chance at padding the lead with a pinch hitter? Additionally, Pedro hurt himself swinging against the Braves a month ago. Do you really want to see him injure himself again? Lastly, Chase Utley makes a routine throw on a double-play ball and we’re probably not even talking about this issue (we’re probably talking about a blown save in the 9th).

At the same time that we’re crediting Pedro for a stellar start we also have to credit Nicaragua’s own Vicente Padilla for a strong start. He kept the Dodgers in the game by allowing just the one run, making the comeback easier. I back Charlie on this one and Pedro does too.

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The extra day off in the Phillies/Rockies series gave pitcher J.A. Happ an extra day to recover from being hit by a comebacker and likewise an extra day for Charlie Manuel to contemplate his starter. In the end, Manuel decided to go with Happ over Pedro Martinez because he prefers to have a lefty pitch against the Rockies lineup and because the conditions aren’t ideal in Denver. Game 3 was postponed Saturday because of ice and snow on the field, not to mention temperatures in the teens — a record low for the day. That brings up another point — why the heck is baseball being played outdoors in Denver in October? Just another reason to shorten the regular season.

Pedro Martinez seems to be cool with the decision that bumped him from what would be his first start in 10 days. He’s said he would like to get some work in before attempting to start a big game, but still, I’d rather take my chances with Pedro over Happ, not to say that Happ can’t get the job done. Manuel seems to really be set on going with a lefty considering Todd Helton, Carlos Gonzalez, and Brad Hawpe’s stats all are worse against southpaw pitchers. Even with that being the case, they still scored enough runs to beat Cole Hamels meaning just throwing a lefty out there doesn’t equate to a win. Maybe the better question than who will the Phillies start is when will they play? Outdoor baseball in cold climates in October is always a bad idea.

It’s like some sort of Twilight Zone in Philly. Philly fans have carved out a reputation as some of the least-forgiving in the country, being notoriously known for booing Santa Claus. But with the Phillies pulling in a World Series title last year, the fans have much less about which they should be bitter. Much less. And apparently that is becoming a problem for manager Charlie Manuel who’s unhappy with the team’s 9-14 home record:

“I notice sometimes if fans are near our dugout and talking to our players, they always want to talk about last year, and that’s good; I want them to keep coming to the games,” Manuel said. “But I want the fans to start telling them they want to win this year, too. Of course they love us and everything, but maybe they should get on them a little bit.”

This reminds me all too much of the Rachel Phelps line from Major League: “Maybe the problem is we’re coddling these guys too much, yeah.” It’s like Manuel’s living in some sort of alternate universe here dealing with Philly fans actually being happy. Now I’m not sure if it’s the fans who are responsible for the effect, but the Phils could just be falling victim to the trend of complacency that inflicts championship teams; it’s really hard to repeat as champions because players don’t always work as hard the following year once they’ve reached the top. You could point to the team’s excellent road record to negate that argument, which I guess would come back to Manuel’s comments. Who knows, maybe there is something to what he’s saying.

(via Sports by Brooks)