Fans care too much

FTN wrote:

Grotewold wrote:

Gelb wrote:Rich Dubee taking a keen interest in sidearming lefty Jake Diekman today. Deceptive delivery. Good AA numbers.

Is this Deke-man or Dyke-man

I'm good either way

dyke.

i think

Dubes says Dyke's fastball is better than Bastard's

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/phil ... raise.html

Grotewold wrote:

FTN wrote:

Grotewold wrote:

Gelb wrote:Rich Dubee taking a keen interest in sidearming lefty Jake Diekman today. Deceptive delivery. Good AA numbers.

Is this Deke-man or Dyke-man

I'm good either way

dyke.

i think

Dubes says Dyke's fastball is better than Bastard's

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/phil ... raise.html

if he pitched in reading last year, then i'm certain it's deekmin

Dake?

Daigle

i dont think i like deekman

i much prefer dykeman

Am I the only Phillies fan who thinks Thome may play more first base early on than we are expecting? I've seen multiple press reports saying he might play 1st one day a week. I don't know - I think in spring training they're going to take a long look at how much of a liability he is in the field, in the hopes of getting him in the lineup 3 days a week or more while Howard is out.

I mean some groundballs definitely will get between Utley and Thome, but otherwise I think Thome can handle first on a part-time basis, even without having played much field since 2007. We're not talking about shortstop or center field here.

The beat writers seem to think he won't be much of a factor at 1B. I see their point -- why risk him wearing down in April/May when the alternative is him getting a key at bat in many of those games and being fresh down the stretch.

We'll see, though. It's gotta be tempting to start him on the home opener

Grotewold wrote:The beat writers seem to think he won't be much of a factor at 1B. I see their point -- why risk him wearing down in April/May when the alternative is him getting a key at bat in many of those games and being fresh down the stretch.

We'll see, though. It's gotta be tempting to start him on the home opener

If they are facing a righty and he isn't hurt he'll be the 1B for their opener

Save Thome for the stretch? You agree with that? How does a pinch-hitter wear down? They need him most the first two months when Howard is out. When Howard comes back - heck, they could put Thome on the DL for a month if he really needs rest, but in the early going that's when it could be crucial to have Thome's power and OBP in the middle of the lineup.

BuddyGroom wrote:Save Thome for the stretch? You agree with that? How does a pinch-hitter wear down?

They/I may be overstating the risk, but he's old with a bad back

I don't think anyone of know anything, not even Thome, when they say he doesn't know how he'll hold up at 1st base until he plays in a ST game. As of now, its encouraging that he's in apparently the best shape he's been in from the past decade. Papelbon mentioned this when he was asked what has surprised him in the clubhouse the most.

all in

Here's a list of all MLB players not in the best shape of their lives:

1.

smitty wrote:Here's a list of all MLB players not in the best shape of their lives:

1.

Oh, smitty

smitty wrote:Here's a list of all MLB players not in the best shape of their lives:

1.

I heard josh Beckett is fat

Ace Rothstein wrote:

smitty wrote:Here's a list of all MLB players not in the best shape of their lives:

1.

I heard josh Beckett is fat

But his fat is in the best shape of its life.

Thome should not be playing 1B. For a few reasons:

a.) He hasn't played there AT ALL in years.
b.) Defense matters, even at 1B. Wigginton is no defensive wizard, but he's capable there. All of our starters have GB tendencies. Maybe Blanton and Worley less so than the big 3. But letting 2-3 more singles go through the 3-4 hole isn't ideal.
c.) We're not talking about Jim Thome in his prime. He's still a good hitter, and his .352/.470 v RHP last year was good, but because of his age, its uncertain how much of that will carry forward. His dropoff from 2010 to 2011 against RHP was massive.
d.) If he's terrible defensively, both in terms of fielding groundballs and digging out low throws, his bat probably won't offset that.
c.) If you run him out there in a sub-optimal situation and he gets hurt, then you're doubly screwed, because you lose his pinch hitting ability.

He should pinch hit every game. He should start at DH in all the interleague games in AL parks. He should not be playing 1B. He'll be a big help to the team in the late innings every day if hes healthy. He won't help us at all if he gets hurt doing something he probably shouldnt even be trying to do.

Don't see why more people aren't jumping on the Wigginton 5, Polanco 4, Utley 3 wagon.

1 wrote:Don't see why more people aren't jumping on the Wigginton 5, Polanco 4, Utley 3 wagon.

mainly because wiggington pretty much sucks

If the theory is that first would be easier on Utley, wouldn't that mean you'd be stretching Polly thin? I'm not eager to displace three different infielders

The only guy I'd put at 2nd besides Utley is Martinez. Wigginton sucks and Polanco's too brittle at this point