Dom_brown10

I would describe my checking in with the Phillies as “periodic,” and doing this for a living, I probably check in more than most. Sort of like a bad handjob, we’re all just closing our eyes and waiting for this thing to end before we’re left irreversibly scarred.

Anyway, if you checked in with the Phillies this weekend, then you likely learned that Dom Brown and Phillies pitcher David Buchanan for some reason had the gonadotropins to complain about their playing time. First, Brown and his .226 average, both ostensibly Major League things, blamed misjudging a line drive and an ensuing throwing error on Saturday night on a lack of playing time:

“It definitely wasn’t a ball that I think I could have got to. But I should have charged it better than that,” Brown said. “I knew it was a wet ground, I didn’t know if the ball was going to shoot right or left there, so I was just trying to keep it in front. He took the extra base on me, I short-hopped Cody Asche and they ended up scoring a run, so it was a big play, for sure.

“Usually if a play like that happens, I’m going to, you know, be taken out, but that’s a part of the game.”

“I mean, I’m not out there every day, so it’s kind of tough coming off the bench,” Brown said. “I’m doing the best I can out there. I’m trying to catch every ball, and if I can’t catch it, it’s gonna fall. But I’m definitely going out there and playing as hard as possible.

“Ryno’s doing the best job that he can with the outfielders that we have, just getting us all playing time right now.”

Next up: Phillies pitcher David Buchanan, who was pulled after five innings having thrown 90 pitches and given up eight hits and two walks:

“That caught me off guard, honestly,” Buchanan said. “I didn’t expect that. I wasn’t too happy about it. But I can’t control that. I just do what I’m told. And I go for as long as I can. Unfortunately, that was only five innings tonight.”

Look, I’m not a big fan of the way Ryne Sandberg has managed personalities this year, but Brown stinks, and Phillies pitcher David Buchanan is a mediocre rookie with a WHIP problem who, I think, still needs Phillies pitcher in front of his name. Stop whining, the both of you!

On Sunday, Sandberg, poor Sandberg (who may be a great manager or a terrible one) met with both players and was terse with the media in describing it:

“That’s been addressed,” was all Sandberg would say of the meeting.

The manager also spoke with Brown, who insinuated that his recent decline in playing time contributed to his inability to make a catch in left field Saturday night. That play was followed by Brown’s making a throwing error that led to a run.

“I had a conversation with him on that,” Sandberg said of Brown’s comments. “It was more frustration than anything.”

To which Brown responded:

“I have no beef with Ryno; everything is good,” Brown said after Sunday’s game. “We talked. He just wanted to make sure we’re on the same page and we are. Everything is good. Ryno’s doing a great job.”

Brown did indicate that he’s frustrated.

“I just want to play,” he said. “That’s it. Ryno knows that. It’s tough on him. Grady has been swinging the bat well and Ruf has to play as well. It’s tough for him right now.

“I want to play. I want to be out there. I don’t want days off. I’m not used to that.”

The 2014 Phillies: this city’s over-the-jeans job.