Phillips

[cincrazy]

Not sure if this has been mentioned yet or not on here, but did anyone else see Brandon Phillips attitude last night when asked about the botched ground ball? Clayton was behind the bag and made a poor flip to Brandon, and he wasn't very pleasant after the game. I understand it's a big game and that he's upset, but there was no need to throw Clayton, a 36 year old veteran shortstop and a great team player, under the bus. To me, that was a glimpse of the immaturity that we heard about from Cleveland. Hopefully it's a one time deal, and not a sign of things to come.

[captainmorgan07]

i think it shows that the kid wants to win and how much he cares yes he threw clayton under the bus but it shows he wants to win and i'll take a guy like that for 162 any day

[Joseph]

I heard just the opposite. I heard Phillips stand up and say 'I should have caught the ball, that whole inning is my fault.' Thats close to word for word.

Not sure what you heard/read that contradicts that.

[lollipopcurve]

Phillips, as quoted in the Enquirer this AM:


"I should have caught that ball," Phillips said. "That inning was because of me."

[Rob Dicken]

I heard just the opposite. I heard Phillips stand up and say 'I should have caught the ball, that whole inning is my fault.' Thats close to word for word.

Not sure what you heard/read that contradicts that.

Heard the same thing.

I would rather have had him say the first thing mentioned, thought.

[redsmetz]

Phillips, as quoted in the Enquirer this AM:


"I should have caught that ball," Phillips said. "That inning was because of me."

Yeah, I saw that and thought what a stand-up guy. It concurs with what Marty said when they gave the E to Clayton.

[Steve4192]

Yep.

Phillips was PO'd at himself, not at Clayton.

[Blimpie]

Exactly what I was thinking. If anything, I think that Narron tried to throw Phillips under the bus with his own comments. In return, Phillips took the high road and did not say anything at all about the quality of the flip from Clayton:

Shortstop Royce Clayton's flip to Brandon Phillips for the force went behind the second baseman. Everett slid into the bag safely, and Clayton was charged with an error that loaded the bases.

Reds manager Jerry Narron felt Phillips should have come up with the play.

"I think Brandon was trying to turn two on it," Narron said. "With the fast runner, he should have just been trying to get one."

Phillips said he wasn't thinking double play, and he avoided blaming Clayton.

"No chance. I just tried to catch it and get out of the way," Phillips said. "A lot of people might say I was the reason for that big inning. I'll say what a lot of people said, it's my fault the inning happened like that."

[Jr's Boy]

Nice to see a ball player hold himself accountable.To me thats a sign of a mature teamate who wants to win and isn't afraid to except blame,rather than whine about it like so many other players.Oh and did I mention that would have been a scrappy play.

[cincrazy]

I got a completely different account from McCoy's article:

"Y'all tell me what you thought of the play," Phillips said to reporters. "I'll let y'all make the decision. I just play baseball. Y'all tell me. I just try to catch the ball. I guess I should say I should have caught the ball.

"A lot of people might say that's the reason for the big inning," he said. "Let those people go out there and try to catch that ball. The ball was hit right over second base and I had to angle to get to the bag. And, no, there was no chance to turn two. I was trying to get one."

I love Brandon Phillips, but to me, that's something that doesn't need to be said. Was it a poor flip by Clayton? Yes. But it doesn't help the clubhouse any to talk like that. When Phillips botched his double play the other night that could have been the difference in the game, I didn't hear one player make the kind of statement that Phillips made about Clayton's flip. Phillips is one hell of a player, no doubt. But the problems that he had in Cleveland were well documented, and hopefully they won't surface here.

[Wheelhouse]

I like Phillips' fire and I think he's been nothing but the model teammate since coming to the Reds. He was putting it on himself--or at least that's how I read it.

[cincrazy]

Maybe I just misunderstood the context of the article. But to me, I thought it was being insinuated that Phillips was angry at Clayton. I agree that Phillips has been a great teammate, and I don't even want to think of where this team would be without him. He singlehandedly beat Houston in the first game of this series. Well, I shouldn't say singlehandedly, Aaron Harang had a little something to do with it also I suppose.

[flyer85]

All the Reds were likely POed because that game against a bad Astros offense was one that got away.

[Falls City Beer]

All the Reds were likely POed because that game against a bad Astros offense was one that got away.

They shouldn't have been pissed, they should have been humiliated.

[Rotater Cuff]

The difference between McCoy and another beat writer illustrates why alot of information is "sanitized" coming out of the locker room. The unsanitized version gives you a small glimpse of Phillip's demons. I still love the guy. He's no Pokey Reese.