Roy Halladay meets Mayor Nutter & Jim Bunning, Phils lose to Astros

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Random notes from the Phils’ 5-1 loss to the Astros:

Mayor Nutter was loudly booed during the pregame ceremony honoring Roy Halladay’s perfect game. Among the comments: “Take Ackerman with you!” (We can assume he meant this Ackerman as opposed to this one). “Jerkoff!” “At least he’s better’n Street…” Probably thanks to the Oswalt trade, or the fact the opposing Astros pitcher wasn’t Cliff Lee, Ruben Amaro actually wasn’t booed (though someone on my row told a friend, “He’s an asshole too”). Unfortunately, nor was Senator Bunning.

The Astros scored five runs off Phillies pitching despite a lineup featuring four starters other than pitcher Wandy Rodriguez with OBPs under .300 (Anderson Hernandez, Carlos Lee, Angel Sanchez, and Jason Castro), who then went 8 for 17 with three doubles and a homer off the rogues’ gallery of Kendrick, Romero, Contreras, and Herndon. Rodriguez himself had an RBI single off the wall in right.

Kendrick may be slightly better than replacement level, but would Drew Carpenter, Vance Worley, or even Brandon Duckworth be any worse as a fifth starter? Or, as a preferable option the Phils would never take, would a rotation of Halladay/Hamels/Oswalt/Blanton even need a fifth starter?

Ryan Howard is even more of a concern. He was the object of sarcastic applause when he grounded out to second in the 9th (“Ay, he made contact!”) after two strikeouts– he now has 10 K’s in his past three games, including an 0-for-7, 5 K night in the Phils’ memorable 4-2 16-inning loss on Tuesday— and seems to be foreshadowing an ugly end to an unwarranted bad contract extension.

Tonight the Phils face Mat Latos on the road, pitching for a Padres team 26 games above .500. Nonetheless, the Phils can’t be counted out for the wild card if not the division, still trailing the Braves by only 3 games with 35 left to play. But the 2006 Ryan Howard and the 2007 Kyle Kendrick (who was luckier more than he was that much better than the 2010 Kyle Kendrick) would help.

Also worth noting: it wasn’t as obscurely pornographic as CUM HUSKS, but someone behind home plate brought a sign that read YEAH MARY USED HER LITTER BOX. For whatever reason, I only seemed to notice it when Victorino and Werth were batting…?