Post by John on May 8, 2006 19:45:44 GMT -4
Weekend Buzz: Manager ignites Phils into eight-game win streak
Scott Miller May 8, 2006
CBS SportsLine.com Senior Writer
The Weekend Buzz while you were sipping mint juleps and watching the Kentucky Derby (or slurping Mountain Dew and eating cheesesteaks) ...
1. Steamed, grilled or fried?: It was a little of everything when Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel uncharacteristically went ballistic in the dugout in Florida early last week, accusing his players of stealing money right there in the middle of the game.
OK, so he didn't go quite that far. But in so many words, he did. He lambasted them for laying back and not playing with intensity. Result: The moment helped catapult the Fightin' Phils to an eight-game winning streak, setting up a highly intriguing series in Philadelphia this week when the torrid New York Mets arrive.
"We needed to pick up the intensity," said second baseman Chase Utley, who is playing like an All-Star right now and whacked three home runs over the weekend against San Francisco. "It was definitely needed. I'm glad he said something. It got some guys going."
Most importantly, the Phillies are pitching. Everyone knew they were going to score a ton of runs -- how could they not, with Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Pat Burrell, Ryan Howard and Bobby Abreu lurking in the lineup -- but their rotation was suspect going into the season.
It still has much to prove, but Ryan Madson overcame early game control problems in Saturday's win, Gavin Floyd was solid on Friday and Jon Lieber got the job done to complete the sweep on Sunday. Overall, the Phillies' staff has compiled a 2.86 ERA since April 28. Entering Sunday's games, only the staffs in Cincinnati (2.42) and San Diego (2.65) had fared better in the National League since that date.
"Brett Myers is the only guy in our rotation who strikes guys out, so we've got to be consistent with our pitching and we've got to catch the ball," Manuel said.
As for that vaunted offense, the Phillies, Cleveland and the Chicago White Sox were the only teams in the majors with four players who had 20 or more RBI each through the weekend. Burrell (26), Utley (24), Abreu (23) and Howard (21) are off to terrific starts.
The Phillies are pleased with the way their bullpen sets up with setup men Arthur Rhodes and Ryan Franklin handing off to closer Tom Gordon.
Certainly, Manuel's challenge has gone over better than the one ex-Philadelphia closer Billy Wagner offered last summer when he said similar things. "I knew I was not well-liked there," Wagner told the Philadelphia Inquirer's Jim Salisbury over the weekend. "I felt like an outsider."
Wagner also said his ex-teammates were overly sensitive to media coverage and were waiting to see him fail, which might earn him a reaction this week that makes the one given to Barry Bonds by Philly fans pale in comparison.
The Mets have established themselves early as the team to beat in the NL East, though with the season-ending injury to pitcher Victor Zambrano and the current disabled-list status of starters Brian Bannister and John Maine, it isn't like the Mets will arrive in Philadelphia on cruise control.
"The NL East is going to be a battle," Rollins said. "Teams are going to jump out and then they're going to come back."
The Phillies can help themselves by pulling the Mets back beginning on Tuesday -- though to do so, they have to go through Pedro Martinez (who opposes Myers in the series opener) and Tom Glavine (who faces Cory Lidle on Wednesday).
2. Chasing the Babe: Barry Bonds belts No. 713 and then proves he has a sense of humor. Asked afterward what has changed from the time he hit No. 13 in Philadelphia as a young pup to the time when he hit No. 713, Bonds paused, thought for a sec and replied, "The 7."
3. Jose Contreras and the Amazing White Sox: So much for any World Series hangover. Chicago remains baseball's most complete team, and general manager Kenny Williams continues to prove critics wrong for having acquired Contreras two winters ago. The ancient right-hander, who next starts Wednesday against the Los Angeles Angels, is 5-0 this season and has won 13 consecutive regular-season decisions with the Sox, dating back to last Aug. 15. In his past 14 regular-season starts, Contreras is 13-0 with a 1.80 ERA.
4. Owner talk in Washington, D.C.: Major League Baseball delivered the Nationals to Ted Lerner, meaning it's now time to wax nostalgic about the days when the 29 other owners were equal partners in the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals. Ah, the conflict of interest, the absurdity, the bush-league way baseball was running things. ... Best thing about the Nats' sale: Stan Kasten, who worked with John Schuerholz to build the Atlanta Braves into a winner, will be president. What you can expect: The construction of a strong farm system, and not too many more Cristian Guzman (four years, $16 million) contracts.
5. Owner talk in Kansas City: Angry Royals owner David Glass says he's out of patience and plans to make some changes, putting Royals general manager Allard Baird squarely on the chopping block. Of course, we can always hope that Glass, the executive director of Wal-Mart, means making sure all of his employees have health benefits when he talks about changes.
6. Brad Lidge on the ledge: The beleaguered Houston closer blew his third save in 12 chances Friday night in Colorado. Considering he blew only four all of last season ... maybe the Astros can sign Roger Clemens as their closer this season.
7. May days: May and San Diego go together like tortillas and refried beans. After going 22-6 last May, a month that basically won them the NL West, the Padres smoked the Cubs on Sunday for their eighth consecutive win -- and they're 7-0 in May.
8. May day!: The Cubs, meanwhile, hurting badly without Derrek Lee and with a mostly silent Aramis Ramirez, failed to score in 28 consecutive innings until finally crossing the plate in the fourth inning of Saturday night's loss in San Diego. Greg Maddux starting Monday's series finale in San Diego is the most welcome sight since Sammy Sosa's SUV disappeared into the horizon.
9. Schill no longer shelled: And a hearty welcome back to Curt Schilling, who not only has regained his mid-90s fastball but also the strength and stamina to go with it. Schilling was sizzling again Friday night in a 6-3 win over Baltimore while running his record to 5-1. Given that he didn't win his fifth decision last summer until Aug. 19, it doesn't take the mind of Theo Epstein to see the Red Sox are in much better shape in 2006.
10. The Kentucky Derby: Shows you what I know about horse racing. People were talking about "Barbaro" in the press box Saturday and I just assumed former Detroit Tiger Barbaro Garbey was making a comeback.
Scott Miller May 8, 2006
CBS SportsLine.com Senior Writer
The Weekend Buzz while you were sipping mint juleps and watching the Kentucky Derby (or slurping Mountain Dew and eating cheesesteaks) ...
1. Steamed, grilled or fried?: It was a little of everything when Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel uncharacteristically went ballistic in the dugout in Florida early last week, accusing his players of stealing money right there in the middle of the game.
OK, so he didn't go quite that far. But in so many words, he did. He lambasted them for laying back and not playing with intensity. Result: The moment helped catapult the Fightin' Phils to an eight-game winning streak, setting up a highly intriguing series in Philadelphia this week when the torrid New York Mets arrive.
"We needed to pick up the intensity," said second baseman Chase Utley, who is playing like an All-Star right now and whacked three home runs over the weekend against San Francisco. "It was definitely needed. I'm glad he said something. It got some guys going."
Most importantly, the Phillies are pitching. Everyone knew they were going to score a ton of runs -- how could they not, with Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Pat Burrell, Ryan Howard and Bobby Abreu lurking in the lineup -- but their rotation was suspect going into the season.
It still has much to prove, but Ryan Madson overcame early game control problems in Saturday's win, Gavin Floyd was solid on Friday and Jon Lieber got the job done to complete the sweep on Sunday. Overall, the Phillies' staff has compiled a 2.86 ERA since April 28. Entering Sunday's games, only the staffs in Cincinnati (2.42) and San Diego (2.65) had fared better in the National League since that date.
"Brett Myers is the only guy in our rotation who strikes guys out, so we've got to be consistent with our pitching and we've got to catch the ball," Manuel said.
As for that vaunted offense, the Phillies, Cleveland and the Chicago White Sox were the only teams in the majors with four players who had 20 or more RBI each through the weekend. Burrell (26), Utley (24), Abreu (23) and Howard (21) are off to terrific starts.
The Phillies are pleased with the way their bullpen sets up with setup men Arthur Rhodes and Ryan Franklin handing off to closer Tom Gordon.
Certainly, Manuel's challenge has gone over better than the one ex-Philadelphia closer Billy Wagner offered last summer when he said similar things. "I knew I was not well-liked there," Wagner told the Philadelphia Inquirer's Jim Salisbury over the weekend. "I felt like an outsider."
Wagner also said his ex-teammates were overly sensitive to media coverage and were waiting to see him fail, which might earn him a reaction this week that makes the one given to Barry Bonds by Philly fans pale in comparison.
The Mets have established themselves early as the team to beat in the NL East, though with the season-ending injury to pitcher Victor Zambrano and the current disabled-list status of starters Brian Bannister and John Maine, it isn't like the Mets will arrive in Philadelphia on cruise control.
"The NL East is going to be a battle," Rollins said. "Teams are going to jump out and then they're going to come back."
The Phillies can help themselves by pulling the Mets back beginning on Tuesday -- though to do so, they have to go through Pedro Martinez (who opposes Myers in the series opener) and Tom Glavine (who faces Cory Lidle on Wednesday).
2. Chasing the Babe: Barry Bonds belts No. 713 and then proves he has a sense of humor. Asked afterward what has changed from the time he hit No. 13 in Philadelphia as a young pup to the time when he hit No. 713, Bonds paused, thought for a sec and replied, "The 7."
3. Jose Contreras and the Amazing White Sox: So much for any World Series hangover. Chicago remains baseball's most complete team, and general manager Kenny Williams continues to prove critics wrong for having acquired Contreras two winters ago. The ancient right-hander, who next starts Wednesday against the Los Angeles Angels, is 5-0 this season and has won 13 consecutive regular-season decisions with the Sox, dating back to last Aug. 15. In his past 14 regular-season starts, Contreras is 13-0 with a 1.80 ERA.
4. Owner talk in Washington, D.C.: Major League Baseball delivered the Nationals to Ted Lerner, meaning it's now time to wax nostalgic about the days when the 29 other owners were equal partners in the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals. Ah, the conflict of interest, the absurdity, the bush-league way baseball was running things. ... Best thing about the Nats' sale: Stan Kasten, who worked with John Schuerholz to build the Atlanta Braves into a winner, will be president. What you can expect: The construction of a strong farm system, and not too many more Cristian Guzman (four years, $16 million) contracts.
5. Owner talk in Kansas City: Angry Royals owner David Glass says he's out of patience and plans to make some changes, putting Royals general manager Allard Baird squarely on the chopping block. Of course, we can always hope that Glass, the executive director of Wal-Mart, means making sure all of his employees have health benefits when he talks about changes.
6. Brad Lidge on the ledge: The beleaguered Houston closer blew his third save in 12 chances Friday night in Colorado. Considering he blew only four all of last season ... maybe the Astros can sign Roger Clemens as their closer this season.
7. May days: May and San Diego go together like tortillas and refried beans. After going 22-6 last May, a month that basically won them the NL West, the Padres smoked the Cubs on Sunday for their eighth consecutive win -- and they're 7-0 in May.
8. May day!: The Cubs, meanwhile, hurting badly without Derrek Lee and with a mostly silent Aramis Ramirez, failed to score in 28 consecutive innings until finally crossing the plate in the fourth inning of Saturday night's loss in San Diego. Greg Maddux starting Monday's series finale in San Diego is the most welcome sight since Sammy Sosa's SUV disappeared into the horizon.
9. Schill no longer shelled: And a hearty welcome back to Curt Schilling, who not only has regained his mid-90s fastball but also the strength and stamina to go with it. Schilling was sizzling again Friday night in a 6-3 win over Baltimore while running his record to 5-1. Given that he didn't win his fifth decision last summer until Aug. 19, it doesn't take the mind of Theo Epstein to see the Red Sox are in much better shape in 2006.
10. The Kentucky Derby: Shows you what I know about horse racing. People were talking about "Barbaro" in the press box Saturday and I just assumed former Detroit Tiger Barbaro Garbey was making a comeback.