GaryMrMets
06-28-2004, 03:14 PM
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/sports/9027939.htm
Posted on Mon, Jun. 28, 2004
Phillies Notes | Lieberthal sits again - and wonders why
By Todd Zolecki
Inquirer Staff Writer
BOSTON - Mike Lieberthal took a look at the Phillies' lineup yesterday and found that he would be on the bench - for the second consecutive day.
"Have I been slumping the past couple of weeks?" he said.
Manager Larry Bowa said he had started Todd Pratt behind the plate on back-to-back days because Lieberthal was struggling on offense. Lieberthal said he can't remember the last time he didn't play on back-to-back days for a reason other than a rainout or an injury.
Bowa said he hoped that consecutive days off might clear Lieberthal's mind.
"Hopefully, he'll get untracked," Bowa said. "We need his bat. He was our most consistent hitter last year, without a doubt."
Both Lieberthal and leftfielder Pat Burrell, who has been slumping, are big parts of the Phillies' offense, Bowa said, adding: "If they don't get it done, we're in trouble. That's all I'm going to say. They're the guys we're going to go to war with. They've got to get it done."
Lieberthal went 3 for 13 (.231) with one home run and one RBI on the Phillies' 2-4 swing through Montreal and Boston. But he is hitting .305 with three homers and eight RBIs in June after a .174 April and a .264 May. For the season, he is batting .247 with eight homers and 26 RBIs. He hit .313 with 13 homers and 81 RBIs last season.
"The only message it sends to me is just kind of the [lack of] confidence he has in me," Lieberthal said. "I honestly believe, if I was really slumping and you're thinking about me facing Curt [Schilling, yesterday's Red Sox starter], then, yeah. But I'm not slumping.
"It's definitely disheartening. I even told [Bowa] last night that I feel good. I feel healthy. My knees aren't bothering me. I wanted to play. He said, 'Well, I'll think about it.'
"So I came in today and I didn't know. But I had a feeling. He told Todd yesterday that he was playing."
As far as his swing is concerned, Lieberthal said: "Lately, I've felt better. I'm still not where I want to be, but I feel better. I don't think I've been that bad. I hope this doesn't happen again unless I'm hurt."
Burrell's struggles. Burrell crushed Schilling's first pitch of the second inning over Fenway Park's Green Monster in left for a homer. He had hit just .174 with two home runs and seven RBIs this month before that.
"I don't think he's anywhere near the problems he had last year," Bowa said. "At times, he is. Other times, it's like he's guessing on pitches. I hope it's just a little lull here. I think he's just pressing a little bit."
Extra bases. In his first five games with triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, centerfielder Marlon Byrd went 5 for 23 (.217) with two doubles, three RBIs, and five strikeouts... . Jim Thome hit his two-run homer Saturday with a broken bat. Not a bat that he broke when he hit the ball, but a bat that already was broken. "I can't believe I went up there with that bat," he told Bowa... . Bowa doesn't expect righthander Amaury Telemaco to be back until late July or early August, much like righthander Vicente Padilla. Both have tendinitis, Telemaco in his right rotator cuff, Padilla in his right elbow.
Posted on Mon, Jun. 28, 2004
Phillies Notes | Lieberthal sits again - and wonders why
By Todd Zolecki
Inquirer Staff Writer
BOSTON - Mike Lieberthal took a look at the Phillies' lineup yesterday and found that he would be on the bench - for the second consecutive day.
"Have I been slumping the past couple of weeks?" he said.
Manager Larry Bowa said he had started Todd Pratt behind the plate on back-to-back days because Lieberthal was struggling on offense. Lieberthal said he can't remember the last time he didn't play on back-to-back days for a reason other than a rainout or an injury.
Bowa said he hoped that consecutive days off might clear Lieberthal's mind.
"Hopefully, he'll get untracked," Bowa said. "We need his bat. He was our most consistent hitter last year, without a doubt."
Both Lieberthal and leftfielder Pat Burrell, who has been slumping, are big parts of the Phillies' offense, Bowa said, adding: "If they don't get it done, we're in trouble. That's all I'm going to say. They're the guys we're going to go to war with. They've got to get it done."
Lieberthal went 3 for 13 (.231) with one home run and one RBI on the Phillies' 2-4 swing through Montreal and Boston. But he is hitting .305 with three homers and eight RBIs in June after a .174 April and a .264 May. For the season, he is batting .247 with eight homers and 26 RBIs. He hit .313 with 13 homers and 81 RBIs last season.
"The only message it sends to me is just kind of the [lack of] confidence he has in me," Lieberthal said. "I honestly believe, if I was really slumping and you're thinking about me facing Curt [Schilling, yesterday's Red Sox starter], then, yeah. But I'm not slumping.
"It's definitely disheartening. I even told [Bowa] last night that I feel good. I feel healthy. My knees aren't bothering me. I wanted to play. He said, 'Well, I'll think about it.'
"So I came in today and I didn't know. But I had a feeling. He told Todd yesterday that he was playing."
As far as his swing is concerned, Lieberthal said: "Lately, I've felt better. I'm still not where I want to be, but I feel better. I don't think I've been that bad. I hope this doesn't happen again unless I'm hurt."
Burrell's struggles. Burrell crushed Schilling's first pitch of the second inning over Fenway Park's Green Monster in left for a homer. He had hit just .174 with two home runs and seven RBIs this month before that.
"I don't think he's anywhere near the problems he had last year," Bowa said. "At times, he is. Other times, it's like he's guessing on pitches. I hope it's just a little lull here. I think he's just pressing a little bit."
Extra bases. In his first five games with triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, centerfielder Marlon Byrd went 5 for 23 (.217) with two doubles, three RBIs, and five strikeouts... . Jim Thome hit his two-run homer Saturday with a broken bat. Not a bat that he broke when he hit the ball, but a bat that already was broken. "I can't believe I went up there with that bat," he told Bowa... . Bowa doesn't expect righthander Amaury Telemaco to be back until late July or early August, much like righthander Vicente Padilla. Both have tendinitis, Telemaco in his right rotator cuff, Padilla in his right elbow.