Just a round-up from the last few days…
Last night…
Cliff wasn’t Cliff. It’s as easy as that.
At least not the whole night. He missed his spots a couple of times in the game last night, especially in the first inning, and that was all it was going to take for the Mets. Cliff Lee is a strikeout pitcher, and when you throw a lot of strikes, you’re gonna get hit sometimes.
The Phillies as we know are pretty darn bad when they face knuckleball pitchers. Last night was no exception.
Today…
Vance Worley gets the start today against the Mets. Vance is 3-1 (3.00) against the Mets in his career, and pitched nicely last Sunday against the Pirates at PNC Park, allowing just one run in six innings. Jon Niese is 4-3 (4.07) against the Phillies, but is a better pitcher then that. Should be a pretty good matchup. Here’s the lineup
Victorino, CF
Polanco, 3B
Rollins, SS
Pence, RF
Mayberry, LF
Wigginton, 1B
Galvis, 2B
Schneider, C
Worley, P
Other news…
As you know by now, the Phillies have signed Mike Fontenot to a minor league deal. They had looked at him a bit when he was a FA last season, but the Phillies have been a bit of a revolving door of infielders given all the injuries over the last few seasons, so that’s not much of a surprise.
I wouldn’t say that the signing of Fontenot is telling of what’s going on with Chase Utley, but it may just be that they thing they see a small upgrade over a guy like Pete Orr. In 2011 Fontenot batted .227/.304/.377 with four homers and 21 RBIs in 252 plate appearances. The Phillies will have him report to extended Spring Training in Clearwater, and from there he’s most likely headed to AAA Lehigh Valley.
Galvis will stay put.
Jose Contreras is likely to return to the Phillies some time in the next day or two. He’s pitched in two consecutive games, and last night retired the side in order, with a strikeout. Likely David Herndon, or Joe Savery will be sent down. It just depends on how many left-handers the Phillies decide to keep.
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