• March 28, 2024

It’s Time To Remove Kyle Kendrick From The Rotation

On Wednesday night Kyle Kendrick turned in a rough start, lasting just 3.1 innings and allowing six runs (all earned) on seven hits. After being removed from the game in the fourth inning, the right-hander was showered with boos from the crowd, and the pitcher wasn’t pleased with the treatment he received from the fans.

“I guess that’s how it is with me,” Kendrick said. “It’s, ‘What have you done for me lately?’ You always want to pitch well. Yeah, it was a bad outing. I have to move forward.”

It’s been a rough year for this team, and frustrations are certainly high for all involved from the players to the fans, but the last thing a player should ever do is throw venom back the fans. Kendrick should know better than that by now after more than five years in Philadelphia.

You can’t let what the fans do or say get to you and impact your performance. Its a poor attitude like that which prevents Kendrick from being anything more than what he is in this league; a decent spot-starter. If he’s worried about what the fans will say about his performances, he can’t pitch with complete confidence, and will be more prone to make mistakes.

Baseball is a much more mental game than any other sport. Unlike other sports, in baseball you have some time to think about your next move; the game doesn’t run at the speed of some other sports. When a player has a distraction in his head, it’s much more likely to impact a player in baseball than in any other sport.

With the Phillies all but out of the playoff picture, its time for Charlie Manuel to get a look at some of the younger players in the team’s system to get an idea of what he has to work with in 2013. Kendrick has struggled heavily as a starter this year (2-8 record, 5.01 ERA in 15 starts), but has been steady coming out of the bullpen (2-1 record, 3.95 ERA).

Manuel should remove Kendrick from the rotation, keep him in the bullpen, and call up a young prospect, such as Tyler Cloyd, to take his place as the fifth starter.

Cloyd has had a fantastic season in the minor leagues, with an 11-1 record and 2.12 ERA. Many fans have hoped that the Phillies would give the young pitcher a look this season, but they’ve been reluctant to do so. The Phils don’t trust Cloyd because he doesn’t throw hard, the right-hander rarely surpasses 90 mph. He’s successful because of his control, but the team doesn’t think his minor league success will translate into the major leagues.

While I agree with the team’s assessment of Cloyd’s big-league potential, I do believe they should call the kid up and give him a shot. He’s had such a great year in the minors, I think he’s earned a handful of big-league starts. Why not give him a chance at this point? The Phillies know what Kyle Kendrick is at this point, and with the team out of the playoff picture there’s no reason to keep him in the rotation.

Maybe Cloyd falls on his face in the majors, and maybe he succeeds. The Phillies won’t find out by keeping him in the minor leagues, and they certainly don’t have anything to lose by giving him (and others) a try.

Denny Basens

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jakedog
jakedog
August 9, 2012 10:32 am

Cloyd throws mid 80s, maybe slow enough to mess with big league hitters’ timing, and enough of Kendrick, how a guy like him can make millions playing baseball is beyond me, he is plain average on any level and that is kind about it, that loss typifies the phillies season, win here, win another series, nope, climb back to tie game, nope, bull pen gives it all back, something needs to be done about this club moving forward

atra1781
August 9, 2012 10:57 am

Tank the season and restock the draft picks.

Trade Lee and get rid of Amaro and bring in someone with experience.

DixieFan
DixieFan
August 9, 2012 6:23 pm
Reply to  atra1781

That’s the old fight!

DCar
DCar
August 9, 2012 11:40 am

For the life of me, why is Kendrick still in the rotation? There is ZERO reason why, Cloyd isn’t up here yet! There have been plenty of junk ballers, who have been successful in this league. Greg Maddux, Jamie Moyer(both started as power pitchers), Tom Glavine, Kenny Rogers, Paul Byrd, Derek Lowe, Kyle Lohse, & Livan Hernandez, to name a few, of the top of my head. Cloyd throws an 87-91MPH Sinking FB, slider & Change up. He pitches & thrives with pitch location. For Christs sake, he’s like 13-1! WTF, who cares how hard he throws! There is NO reason why he isn’t up here yet. Kendrick needs to be our long man, where he is solid. WE HAVE ZERO TO LOSE! Another goof, on that never ending list of Amaro’s goofs!

DCar
DCar
August 9, 2012 11:42 am

BTW, as soon as Fat Joe was shipped out, Cloyd should have been here.

paulman
paulman
August 9, 2012 11:52 am

Does anyone even think the Phils can Win 80 Games this Season..
What’s their Record versus NL East Opponents, it’s brutal and they need to concentrate on how they will be Teams in their own Division for the Nats,Braves,Mets are all much younger and with an overall more Talented Roster/Fram System than the Phils have and this is how it’s going to be for the next few years.. Phils 5 Year Window is closed, time to rebuild ..

Butch007
Butch007
August 9, 2012 11:20 pm

They should get Cloyd in the game simply because with the record the Phillies have this year and their lack of money the place won’t be the free agent/trade magnet it has been. It’s NOT time to REBUILD 98% of the league would kill to be able to start with the roster the Phils have right now going into an off-season. I’m glad Amaro and company agree. The Phillies should consider re-signing Victorino in the off-season and play him in LF. Given regular playing time Brown and Mayberry will be great. With Galvis being on the juice who knows what he’ll be when he gets back. Need a starting 3B or a starting 2B..Franden might be good enough if they can get a good 2B to platoon Utley with.

DCar
DCar
August 10, 2012 1:21 am

Butch, you have a better chance to play LF, than Victorino coming back. Melky Cabrera & Angel Pagan will be here next year. Bank on it. I also have a feeling, that the Lee to Rangers trade will be rehashed in the off-season. If we can get 3B Olt, CF Leonys Martin &/or P Martin Perez, it has to be done! We can always add a Haren, Shields, or Nolasco, to be a number 3, at a much cheaper price-tag.

gmcliff
gmcliff
August 10, 2012 8:47 pm

Ha, NEWSFLASH……………Its been way past time to remove Kendrick from the team period!!!

haveacigar
haveacigar
August 11, 2012 10:21 am

News flash to those who two weeks ago said Halladay is done …last two starts 15 innings one earned run! Oh and chase seems to have that short quick swing again with power… Hmmm interesting . They WILL contend next year!
Kendrick will go to the pen where he was most effective

109876ers
109876ers
August 11, 2012 10:41 am

lol @ havatool

you really are dense arent you? you get all worked up over 15 innigns, and ignore the big picture. look at the whole body of work, the fraud will only go six innings and give up four runs in next start, mark my words.

even kyle kendrick throws a good game once and a while, and why dont smart people get worked up over that? because they know better.

so just shut up. youd look a lot smarter

109876ers
109876ers
August 11, 2012 10:43 am

want proof? you’re the only tool getting himself all wet over two good games

haveacigar
haveacigar
August 11, 2012 12:40 pm

Nobody is getting worked up dick. I said he’s had rio good games and it looks like he is on his way back. It’s that simple. And if you compare utleys swing to what he was doing last year it looks like his foundation is more solid. You and your a.hole negative butt buddies can predict doom and gloom and then jump on the wagon when they win…

109876ers
109876ers
August 11, 2012 1:25 pm

lol @ haveafit

it sounds like you’re pretty worked up to me! at the first sign of something you can point to and claim that you were right and others were wrong, you jump on it and start yelling as loud as you can about it.

just relax pal. 🙂

your ace and secondbaseman are shot, and you dont want to accept that, so you try to point to a couple of games as evidence that things will get better. wake up. everyone else (except you, apparently) know better

haveacigar
haveacigar
August 11, 2012 1:56 pm

I guess only time will tell. If utley hits 280 with 23 home runs you will say ‘see I told you he was shot because he put up better numbers a year ago’. Mr. Negative.

jakedog
jakedog
August 11, 2012 4:12 pm

Did somebody just type that Halladay is a fraud? Lieberthal said Philly fans are the most passionate but left out the fact that some are also the most stupid, holy hell, how dumb can you be

paulman
paulman
August 11, 2012 4:23 pm

2nd Highest Payroll in MLB (behind the Yankees) and the Phils are almost 20 Games out of the 1st place to the Washington Nationals.. that’s right, the same Washington Nationals that I predicted would win the NL East back in Feb/March..and before many of you delusional fans begin to cry about it, the Nats have had more injuries than the Phils and have been without Top Closer Storen, LF Morse, RF Werth and Starting C Ramos most of the Season and also have had CF BErnardino and SS I Desmond, SP Wang and Bench Player Mark DeRosa all sidelined for a good amount of time and here they are,just humming along 25 games above .500.. It’s about Talent,Attitude,energy and Managing and the Nats have the Phils beat in every category as I stated back inthe Off-Season.. No one believed me then, but probably by now, the Nats are proven the nay-sayers that they are a pretty talented,deep and well-managed Team who is going to be the dominant Team in the NL East for the next 4-5 Year Window.. Phils Window is cemented shut like a block glass you see at the subway startions. Time to rebuild for th PHils, plain and simple..

DCar
DCar
August 11, 2012 5:32 pm

Come on, even I wouldn’t say Halladay is a fraud. It’s apparent, that he is masking an injury, or maybe could be in decline. He ain’t no fraud. Before this year, he was a top 3 pitcher, for 5-7 years. I DGAF, how good Utley is looking, his knees are shot & they need to have a good replacement, & better backup plan next year. He CAN’T be counted on, EVER again. His BS, lies & stubbornness, has contributed highly, to this teams disastrous starts, to the last 2 seasons. HAC, I commend your optimism, but it is irrational, delusional & borderline insane. How do you expect them to be anywhere close to a contender, next year? We need an entire BP, a 3B, an entire starting OF, possibly 2-3 starters, depending on the health of both Halladay & Worley, & if Lee is traded. Possibly a 2B & also the bench. We are old, in major decline. The free agent market sucks & the top guys are old & will be grossly overpaid. We have ZERO MLB ready position prospects & all of our holes & needs cannot be filled in 1 year. 2013 might be another loss, but 2014 IMO, will be more optimistic. Our good, top arms should be ready. Joseph, Ruf & Ashe should be ready for the MLB. TOO MANY holes, issues, ifs, ands, or buts to fill, in one offseason. I hate to be straight with you, my man, but that’s reality!

haveacigar
haveacigar
August 11, 2012 9:30 pm

Hey I know there are holes … I get it it! But I do hope/think utley can be a very good player again… I think Howard is good, I know you don’t but we can disagree. The bullpen is a major concern but it always is for every team every year. It seems relievers tend to be good then suck as a general rule.. I’m sure it’s because off pitching several days a week.
They Ned a cheap young player or two to play well… Mayberry ugh, brown, Stutes etc…

haveacigar
haveacigar
August 11, 2012 9:38 pm

Halladay the fraud… That could be the funniest, stupidest thing ever on this ridiculous site.

DCar
DCar
August 12, 2012 7:27 pm

Never said Howard wasn’t good. Just that he is old, in rapid decline, coming off a major injury, & for what he has left, his contract is an albatross. He will not be anything like he was. I’ll be happy, if he can give us 30 HR- 100 RBI’s again. Don’t know about that, ever again. Let’s hope he comes back in shape & healthy next year, because he is untradeable.