Well, that didn't take long.

Tyler Cloyd, who was named International League MVP Tuesday after going 12-1 for the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, will make his big-league debut tonight after Cole Hamels was scratched with what's being described as an intestinal illness.

(Someone check with John Legend and Awesome Emma to see if they have been visiting the porcelain god after the Hamels Foundation's event Monday night.)

Anyway, this is a big opportunity for Cloyd, an 18th round selection in 2008. Despite not possessing an overpowering arm, he has had a stellar minor-league career (48-22, 3.27 ERA in five seasons) that has been topped by a ridiculous 2012 performance in Double- and Triple-A (15-1, 2.26 in 167 IP).

He has been a workhorse in the minors, and if he earns more September starts after his debut tonight, Cloyd easily could log 200 innings this season and give the Phillies an idea whether they need to bring in a veteran to compete for a rotation spot next year.

First off, you might have noticed that the guy in the picture next to this blog has gone from a very thin, graying man beaten down by life, to a fat, less-graying man beaten down by life. This is because the former beaten-down man, Ryan Lawrence, has taken his talents to Miami -- actually, no, LeBron is on his own. Ryan has gone to the Philadelphia Daily News, which according to the roll of newsprint sitting on my stoop is still publishing.

As for his chunkier replacement, you might remember me -- Dennis Deitch, in case you missed the few mentions of my name on this Web page -- as "that guy who covered the Phillies from 2000-07, then got off the beat just in time for the greatest four-year run in franchise history." Or, you might remember me as the donkey in St. Madeline's first-grade production of the Christmas story. Either way -- greetings!

Let's get this blog party started.

I figured I would start a little exercise that has me roll out of bed, drag my dutiful dog Buster with me for some coffee, and give some thoughts on what went down with the Phils the night before.

Mets 9, Phillies 5

Let's just say the team was very kind to make my first game back on the beat a very fine example of what 2012 has been for the Fightins. The Phils got a 4-1 lead on a Ryan Howard grand slam in the bottom of the first, then had that lead erode as the bullpen was asked to do too much, as in "hold a lead." It totally went to pot when BJ Rosenberg was bombed in the 10th.

But the real focus of the night was the continued souring of Vance Worley's season. After giving the Phillies a tremendous lift as a rookie when he took over for an injured Joe Blanton, then following it with a terrific first half this year for an otherwise disappointing team, Worley has started hitting the second-year blues in a bad way -- 2-4, 5.33 ERA in nine starts since the All-Star break, including a whopping .340 opponents' batting average.

On the surface, this shouldn't come as a surprise. Almost every pitcher who has early success in his big-league career gets a challenge somewhere around his second or third season (feel free to check out Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels' career numbers for evidence).

What has made Worley's struggles a bit more complex are the loose bodies floating in his elbow. They required a DL stint in May, and it's human nature to wonder if this bone chips -- which will be flushed out with arthroscopic surgery after the season -- are partially to blame.

Worley, however, adamantly says they aren't, and he might well be right. But it has reached the point in this season and in his struggles for the Phillies to sit him down and say, "Look, we aren't saying this is the problem, but we have a starting pitcher (Tyler Cloyd) we need to see in order to gauge if he's big-league material. Trying to make adjustments and get through this rut while at the same time knowing you have a 'scope on the calendar isn't productive. Get the elbow cleaned, come to spring training ready and you're a part of our rotation come April."

Worley has shown the organization that he wants to pitch. He has shown that he has the capability to be a solid starter for a long time, and there's no reason to think this is anything but a typical stage a young pitcher goes through. Now it's the organization's turn to make the decision for Worley. He isn't going to raise the white flag on himself.

Let the kid clear his elbow of those loose bodies and his mind of the consequences of his struggles.

Barring a rainout, which is very unlikely since Marlins Park is equipped with a roof, Jimmy Rollins will play more games than any shortstop in Phillies history when tonight's game in Miami becomes official. This will be game No. 1,731 for Rollins at shortstop for the Phillies; he tied Larry Bowa last night.

Having been in the Phillies organization since he was drafted out of high school in 1996, Rollins was well aware of Bowa before he got to the big leagues. When he did arrive to Philadelphia after doing his time in the minor leagues, Rollins played under then-manager Larry Bowa in his first full season with the Phillies in 2001.

Rollins bursted onto the big league scene by hitting .274 with an NL-best 12 triples and 46 stolen bases. He finished third in the NL Rookie of the Year race.

As his career continued with an MVP trophy in 2007 and a World Series ring in 2008, and then when he signed a three-year contract extension this winter, Rollins said he never gave thought to the sheer number of games he had played or passing his former manager on the franchise's record book.

"Not in the games played department," Rollins said Tuesday afternoon. "Just growing up, you knew where Larry Bowa was in the organization, you knew they won a World Series. He was a big part of that, a leadoff hitter, a shortstop. You were just trying to be better than Bowa and what you heard of him. That was really my only goal from the outset; it wasn’t games played. He always talked about his 2,195 hits, so I still have work to do, he still has me there. So there are some things I have to do to get on top of him."

Rollins has 1,978 career hits. 

If the 33-year-old Rollins is able to play until age 40, he could make a run at the 3,000-hit plateau. He would need to average around 143 hits in each of the next seven seasons; he has averaged 163.4 hits in his first 12 big league seasons.

"If I play everyday and keep banging. Is it possible? Yeah," Rollins said. "It depends on how long you play. If you’re around long enough, anything’s possible."

So if passing Bowa in games isn't a motivation, is 3,000 hits one?

"2,000 is right now," Rollins said. "Let me get there first."

After a little more than a week with virtually the same starting lineup - Domonic Brown in left, John Mayberry Jr. in center, Kevin Frandsen at third, etc. - Charlie Manuel mixed it up a little bit following Thursday's off day.

When the Phils begin a three-game series against the defending World Champion St. Louis Cardinals on Friday, Manuel has slotted Brown in right, started Juan Pierre in left and has decided to check out what Nate Schierholtz could do in center field.

Center field, eh? Schierholtz has never played center field.

Not in the major leagues. Not in the minor leagues. Not in high school ball, American Legion ball or in Little League.

But just as with the decision to begin playing Brown every day over Pierre, the Phils have been operating with an eye on 2013 since the trade deadline. And Schierholtz came over from San Francisco with the reputation of being a very solid outfielder, albeit in right field.

Out of the playoff race, the Phils are taking the final two months of the season to take stock of what they do have now and what those players are capable of doing before making necessary moves this winter to improve the team.

"That's exactly what we're trying to do," Manuel said. "I want to look at everybody and evaluate them before the end of the year. We've got, 50-some games left? I think that's pretty good time to see what guys can do."

Makes a lot of sense.

But it also makes the second bit of news today somewhat interesting. Two days removed from watching Kyle Kendrick's latest less-than-stellar start against Atlanta, Manuel said the plan is to stick with the right-hander in the rotation.

"Right now I think there's probably a good chance he'll stay there for right now," Manuel said.

Although Kendrick ran off six straight starts where he allowed two runs or less earlier this season, the reality is he is 2-8 with a 5.01 ERA in 15 starts this season. He's inconsistent, and the Phils, like everyone else, should realize this by now and not really need to evaluate him as a starting pitcher.

Meanwhile, fans are filling up email inboxes and twitter feeds clamoring for Triple-A Lehigh Valley right-hander Tyler Cloyd to get an opportunity with the Phillies.

The 25-year-old Cloyd is 11-1 with a 2.12 ERA in 19 starts at Lehigh. He's struck out 84 batters in 123 innings; opponents have hit .208 against him.

As Todd Zolecki pointed out today, Cloyd isn't regarded as much of a prospect. Perhaps his potential is somewhat limited.

But if the Phils are in the evaluating-talent mode, why not see what Cloyd can do in the big leagues?

If you have nothing to lose throwing a 28-year-old in center field for the first time in his life, why not see if success on the Triple-A mound can translate at the major-league level?

Two weeks ago today, the Phillies made one of the most important decisions in franchise history.

Rather than take their chances this winter, they kept Cole Hamels off the free agent market by awarding the 28-year-old a six-year, $144 million contract extension. It is the richest contract in team history and the second highest among pitchers in the history of the sport.

In his first home start since penning his new deal, Hamels delivered his best start of the season Tuesday night against the Atlanta Braves. He fired a five-hit shutout to lead the Phils to a 3-0 win, a victory that gave beleaguered fans hope for 2013.

Afterward, Hamels was actually asked if he thought it was the best start of his career. While there certainly are no dumb questions - what if Hamels actually said yes?? - it did make me chuckle a bit, when you consider all that Hamels has achieved in seven big league seasons.

Tuesday night's performance was certainly stellar. But it was neither the best or most memorable start of his career.

Of course, "best" and "memorable" are highly subjective; some people are wowed by strikeouts, others by complete games or shutouts, others by performing at peak performance when your team needs a win the most.

With that said, here is the opinion of one man (me). It's the Top Seven Quintessential Cole Hamels Starts (in no particular order):

1. May 12, 2006 at Cincinnati: If you look at his pitching line, you probably won't be impressed. Hamels walked five of the 21 batters he faced. But in what was his major league debut, the 22-year-old Hamels didn't allow a hit until he had two outs in the fifth inning and he also struck out seven in five shutout innings. Beginning with that game, Great American Ball Park has become Hamels' home away from home: he's 4-0 with a 1.29 ERA in six career starts in Cincy.

2. Sept. 1, 2009 vs. San Francisco: The '09 season is viewed largely as a disappointing one for Hamels and his career-high ERA (4.32) and WHIP (1.286) don't do much to debunk that line of thinking. Neither did his substandard performance in the postseason. But there were at least a few gems that summer, too. Hamels was brilliant on the first day of September against the Giants, allowing two hits and a walk in a shutout win. He faced two batters over the minimum as the Phils won the first in a September that saw them take 17 of 30 games en route to their third straight NL East title.

3. April 21, 2007 at Cincinnati: Hamels doesn't have a career save among his 203 major league games, but this may have been the game that saved Charlie Manuel. Dubbed as the "team to beat" by Jimmy Rollins, the Phils began the '07 campaign at an uneasy 4-11 clip out of the gate. Manuel called a team meeting. Hamels was spectacular. Armed with a 2-0 lead before he took the mound, Hamels struck out all three batters he faced in the bottom half of the first inning en route to a career-high 15 strikeouts in a complete game win.

4. Sept. 20, 2010 vs. Atlanta: It's easy to forget a game like this, only because it doesn't stand out because of strikeouts or no-hit stuff. Instead, it may have been the biggest game in helping the Phils win their fourth straight division title. With the second-place Braves arriving in town, the Phils aligned their rotation so Hamels, Roy Oswalt and Roy Halladay would take the mound on consecutive nights. Hamels went first and held the Braves to one run in eight innings in the first win of a three-game sweep that began with the Phils up three games on the Braves and ended with them up by six in the NL East.

5. Oct. 27, 2008 vs. Tampa Bay: This game began with Citizens Bank Park primed to explode with 25 years of pent-up frustration from Philadelphia sports fans, continued with a two-day rainstorm that delayed that jubilation and eventually ended with Hamels holding two trophies and posing next to a shiny new Camaro. People that still question Hamels' toughness only have to remember the day he pitched through a monsoon to lead the Phils to arguably the biggest win in franchise history.

6. Oct. 1, 2008 vs. Milwaukee: It's difficult to pick one October 2008 start over another - the NL pennant-clincher in Los Angeles two weeks later was as impressive in its own way, in watching Hamels bear down when the Dodgers rallied - but on the first day of the month and the first game of the memorable postseason run for the Phils, Hamels set the tone. He was the embodiment of an ace. Hamels retired the first 14 batters he faced and handed a two-hit shutout to Brad Lidge in the ninth inning of an eventual 3-1 win.

7. Oct. 10, 2010 at Cincinnati: The 2010 season was filled with some of the best pitching performances in recent memory. If it wasn't for a blown call, there would have been three perfect games that summer. Roy Halladay pitched one of those perfect games and also threw the second postseason no-hitter in baseball history in 2010. But Hamels' first postseason game since a lackluster 2009 playoff performance was as impressive as either of the aforementioned Halladay starts. Hamels struck out nine en route to a five-hit shutout in the NLDS clincher, sending the Phils to their third straight National League Championship Series. The game ended with Hamels striking out former Phillie Scott Rolen on three pitches.

The Phillies are out of the pennant race, flirting with one of the worst record in the NL, they're trading off All-Stars and members of the 2008 World Series team, their catchers' legs are falling off...

OK, not quite.

But what looked like an unwatchable final two months of the season became that much more unwatchable this morning, when an MRI revealed that All-Star catcher Carlos Ruiz, one of (the only?) bright spot of the 2012 Phillies, would miss the next 4-to-6 weeks with a left foot injury.

Ruiz, who has been suffering with plantar fasciitis since mid-July, has a partial tear in his left foot and was placed on the 15-day DL. He will be re-evaluated in two weeks.

But if he's out for the longer end of that rehab (six weeks), he wouldn't return until mid-September. And by then, would it even make any sense for him to play out the final two weeks of the season? Probably not.

A few thoughts as I first digest the Chooch news:

-Ruiz, who is having the best offensive season of any major league catcher this season, will no longer qualify for the NL batting race. Major league players need 3.1 plate appearances per team game scheduled, which is roughly 500. Ruiz currently has 353 PAs. Ruiz, who is currently fourth in the NL with a .335 batting average, was a longshot anyway. Pittsburgh MVP candidate Andrew McCutchen leads all MLB players at .373. Still, it would have been fun to watch Ruiz play out what's been a career year.

-How tough is Chooch? Well, he's been playing with a tear in his left foot for three weeks (he said he first felt pain in Los Angeles after the All-Star break), and perhaps longer. Major league players play through injuries all the time, particularly catchers. But to crouch behind the plate with a tear in your left foot? Seriously. Chooch cares that much about his team.

-Who will catch the final 56 games of the season? Brian Schneider and Erik Kratz. Yes, the Phillies have two catching prospects in Sebastian Valle and recently acquired Tommy Joseph. But Valle just got promoted to Triple-A this week and Joseph is at Double-A Reading. Perhaps Valle gets a September call-up, but for August, it'll be Schneider and Kratz.

One would think a lineup that already had Shane Victorino and Hunter Pence subtracted this week would most likely feature Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins every day for the remainder of the season.


Of course, Howard and Utley both endured lengthy rehabs in the first half of the season, and were handled with care when they were activated. Howard is out of the lineup for tonight's series finale in Washington.

But it doesn't have anything to do with his left Achilles. It's more about the gray matter between his ears.


Howard, who went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts Wednesday night, said he's been given a mental day.


"Right now, it’s just, I’m in a funk," Howard said. "And there ain’t no point in trying to hide it. In a funk. Right now I’m not seeing the ball, I’m not comfortable. You know, it’s just one of those days, a mental day."


Howard is 2-for-18 (.111) with 12 strikeouts in the first five games of the current road trip. Since the day he hit his last home run, on July 23 against Milwaukee, Howard is hitting .160 with 15 strikeouts in 29 plate appearances.

"I’m not going to lie, I’m a little frustrated, a little flustered a little bit," Howard said. "So I guess it would be a good day for a day off. I’ve been just trying to find it, searching and I’ve just been off. I’ve had times where I may not have had the results I was looking for, but I felt good. Felt good in the at-bats, or felt good here or there. Right now it’s just, it’s just off. Off more than I would want it to be."

Howard said he'd likely limit his pregame activities to taking ground balls Thursday. By not taking batting practice, he could take a full day away from hitting.

Howard is hitting .206 with a .753 OPS, four home runs and nine RBIs in 19 games since being activated off the DL on July 6. He's struck out 27 times in 74 plate appearances.