GaryMrMets
03-29-2004, 05:45 PM
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/sports/8301947.htm
Posted on Mon, Mar. 29, 2004
Getting their lineup in order
With Thome and Bell back, Phils get healthy
By MARCUS HAYES
hayesm@phillynews.com
CLEARWATER, Fla. - "Finally."
Marlon Byrd's sighed pregame exhalation reflected the general state of intrigue that surrounds the Phillies' lineup.
Finally, Jim Thome and David Bell, the free-agent upgrades of 2003, played a 2004 spring training game together. Thome had been kept out of the field since March 4 with a fractured right middle finger while Bell had just returned to the field Wednesday from shoulder tendinitis.
Finally, it seems to have been determined that Placido Polanco will return to the No. 2 slot he handled so well last season; that the experiment that placed former leadoff hitter Jimmy Rollins behind Byrd has, at least, been postponed.
Finally, Thome at No. 3 and Bobby Abreu at No. 5, a switch from 2003, can be tested, if only for a week of games as manager Larry Bowa frets about inconsistent run production - the main culprit in his three previous seasons while the pitching was occasionally brilliant and the defense was usually top-notch.
Bowa's feeling of foreboding probably turned a few more hairs gray the past few days. You can't blame him.
"I know it's spring training but we're last in runs scored [at 106]. That's not a good number," Bowa said. "I know some guys are very bored here, ready to get out of here, but you've got to start thinking about that a little bit. 'How are we going to beat the other team?' "
How about the way the Phillies handled the Blue Jays yesterday, 5-2? Randy Wolf, the No. 2 starter, went six strong innings (two runs, both earned, off seven hits with four strikeouts and no walks), was followed by role-playing Roberto Hernandez, Tim Worrell and three-strikeout closer Billy Wagner.
Simple formula, no?
"It was good to get our lineup on the field," Thome said.
After a 47-homer, 131-RBI season, Thome's absence had a pronounced effect on the Phillies' run-scoring this spring, Bowa admitted: "It would be like the Giants without Bonds, Atlanta without the Joneses, the Mets without Piazza."
Barry Bonds, Andruw and Chipper Jones and Mike Piazza all had at least 25 at-bats against major league competition before yesterday's action. Thome had five, Bell, 11. And so, Bowa's pessimism for the offense, finally intact as the last week of exhibitions began, was reinforced: "We know these guys are going to be behind."
He was not alone in his worries.
Abreu is anxious about the offense and eager to see what it can do this week.
"It is important. Everybody knows the spot they're going to hit in. Who's in front of them. Who's behind. Now, it's the team going up there," Abreu said before yesterday's game. "We get to see the chemistry. How we're going to handle it."
With Thome in the mix yesterday, things went better - eventually. They hardly handled Blue Jays starter Ted Lilly. In just his second appearance of the spring due to a wrist injury, Lilly gave up two singles in 3 1/3 innings, including the one that got the Phillies started.
Thome singled off Lilly, who immediately was replaced by Josh Towers, a 27-year-old who bounced between Triple A and the majors last season. The Phils promptly ripped Towers. Pat Burrell doubled, Mike Lieberthal homered, Rollins singled, and the Phillies had three runs for the first time in four games. Lieberthal's RBI double that scored Abreu in the sixth and top backup Shawn Wooten's RBI single that scored Byrd in the seventh provided more evidence that, when the lineup is intact, things might be different.
"That's what I'm talking about," Abreu said. "Not because we won; because we did what we were supposed to do."
It's always easier to do that with Thome around. He was under strict orders to avoid throwing yesterday, since he has only thrown twice since breaking the finger and wore a hindering splint in the field. He's concerned that his arm won't be in game shape. Bowa even said he might replace him for defensive purposes late in early April games.
He won't, of course, if Thome is due up.
A day after going 1-for-2 with two walks, including a double off Curt Schilling as the designated hitter, Thome yesterday went 1-for-3 with the single, a sharp groundout and a strikeout before leaving after the fifth inning.
Thome will be in the lineup tonight against Detroit, but Burrell and Lieberthal will get the night off and Bell will play with the minor leaguers today.
Thome will get maybe three or four more plate appearances before playing in a minor league game tomorrow to get about a half-dozen at-bats when the rest of the club goes to Sarasota.
The lineup reconvenes en masse Wednesday and Thursday. When the club works out Friday in Philadelphia to prepare for its weekend exhibitions against the Indians, Thome will stay here and play in a minor league game (along with Wolf) before joining the team for Citizens Bank Park's dress rehearsals Saturday and Sunday.
Then, come Monday in Pittsburgh, Bowa can start to worry for real.
Not everyone shared Bowa's concern about the offense being inconsistent again. Burrell's solid spring following a putrid .209 average in 2003 as well as Bell's apparent return to health make several players confident that the best of this offense has not been seen.
"I think our offense is as good as our defense," said Polanco, veteran of fine offensive clubs in St. Louis.
Rollins, who considers the second season with this lineup to be as potent as the dominant offense that fueled Atlanta to the National League East title last year, isn't concerned, either:
"When it's time to go, we know what this team can do."
Finally.
Posted on Mon, Mar. 29, 2004
Getting their lineup in order
With Thome and Bell back, Phils get healthy
By MARCUS HAYES
hayesm@phillynews.com
CLEARWATER, Fla. - "Finally."
Marlon Byrd's sighed pregame exhalation reflected the general state of intrigue that surrounds the Phillies' lineup.
Finally, Jim Thome and David Bell, the free-agent upgrades of 2003, played a 2004 spring training game together. Thome had been kept out of the field since March 4 with a fractured right middle finger while Bell had just returned to the field Wednesday from shoulder tendinitis.
Finally, it seems to have been determined that Placido Polanco will return to the No. 2 slot he handled so well last season; that the experiment that placed former leadoff hitter Jimmy Rollins behind Byrd has, at least, been postponed.
Finally, Thome at No. 3 and Bobby Abreu at No. 5, a switch from 2003, can be tested, if only for a week of games as manager Larry Bowa frets about inconsistent run production - the main culprit in his three previous seasons while the pitching was occasionally brilliant and the defense was usually top-notch.
Bowa's feeling of foreboding probably turned a few more hairs gray the past few days. You can't blame him.
"I know it's spring training but we're last in runs scored [at 106]. That's not a good number," Bowa said. "I know some guys are very bored here, ready to get out of here, but you've got to start thinking about that a little bit. 'How are we going to beat the other team?' "
How about the way the Phillies handled the Blue Jays yesterday, 5-2? Randy Wolf, the No. 2 starter, went six strong innings (two runs, both earned, off seven hits with four strikeouts and no walks), was followed by role-playing Roberto Hernandez, Tim Worrell and three-strikeout closer Billy Wagner.
Simple formula, no?
"It was good to get our lineup on the field," Thome said.
After a 47-homer, 131-RBI season, Thome's absence had a pronounced effect on the Phillies' run-scoring this spring, Bowa admitted: "It would be like the Giants without Bonds, Atlanta without the Joneses, the Mets without Piazza."
Barry Bonds, Andruw and Chipper Jones and Mike Piazza all had at least 25 at-bats against major league competition before yesterday's action. Thome had five, Bell, 11. And so, Bowa's pessimism for the offense, finally intact as the last week of exhibitions began, was reinforced: "We know these guys are going to be behind."
He was not alone in his worries.
Abreu is anxious about the offense and eager to see what it can do this week.
"It is important. Everybody knows the spot they're going to hit in. Who's in front of them. Who's behind. Now, it's the team going up there," Abreu said before yesterday's game. "We get to see the chemistry. How we're going to handle it."
With Thome in the mix yesterday, things went better - eventually. They hardly handled Blue Jays starter Ted Lilly. In just his second appearance of the spring due to a wrist injury, Lilly gave up two singles in 3 1/3 innings, including the one that got the Phillies started.
Thome singled off Lilly, who immediately was replaced by Josh Towers, a 27-year-old who bounced between Triple A and the majors last season. The Phils promptly ripped Towers. Pat Burrell doubled, Mike Lieberthal homered, Rollins singled, and the Phillies had three runs for the first time in four games. Lieberthal's RBI double that scored Abreu in the sixth and top backup Shawn Wooten's RBI single that scored Byrd in the seventh provided more evidence that, when the lineup is intact, things might be different.
"That's what I'm talking about," Abreu said. "Not because we won; because we did what we were supposed to do."
It's always easier to do that with Thome around. He was under strict orders to avoid throwing yesterday, since he has only thrown twice since breaking the finger and wore a hindering splint in the field. He's concerned that his arm won't be in game shape. Bowa even said he might replace him for defensive purposes late in early April games.
He won't, of course, if Thome is due up.
A day after going 1-for-2 with two walks, including a double off Curt Schilling as the designated hitter, Thome yesterday went 1-for-3 with the single, a sharp groundout and a strikeout before leaving after the fifth inning.
Thome will be in the lineup tonight against Detroit, but Burrell and Lieberthal will get the night off and Bell will play with the minor leaguers today.
Thome will get maybe three or four more plate appearances before playing in a minor league game tomorrow to get about a half-dozen at-bats when the rest of the club goes to Sarasota.
The lineup reconvenes en masse Wednesday and Thursday. When the club works out Friday in Philadelphia to prepare for its weekend exhibitions against the Indians, Thome will stay here and play in a minor league game (along with Wolf) before joining the team for Citizens Bank Park's dress rehearsals Saturday and Sunday.
Then, come Monday in Pittsburgh, Bowa can start to worry for real.
Not everyone shared Bowa's concern about the offense being inconsistent again. Burrell's solid spring following a putrid .209 average in 2003 as well as Bell's apparent return to health make several players confident that the best of this offense has not been seen.
"I think our offense is as good as our defense," said Polanco, veteran of fine offensive clubs in St. Louis.
Rollins, who considers the second season with this lineup to be as potent as the dominant offense that fueled Atlanta to the National League East title last year, isn't concerned, either:
"When it's time to go, we know what this team can do."
Finally.