Phillies Win Michael Young’s Farewell Game (We Hope); Beat Giants 7-3

Was last night Michael Young’s last as a Phillie? Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Michael Young put on quite a show in his farewell game as a Philadelphia Phillie on Tuesday night.

If only wishing could make it happen.

Young, seen until Tuesday afternoon as the Phillie most likely to be traded, clubbed his eighth home run of the season last night, went 2 for 4 with 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored, pacing the Phils’ offense to a 7-3 win over the hapless San Francisco Giants at Citizens Bank Park.

And it’s a good thing Young got this game in last night. Because with Cody Asche getting called up, it may have been his last start for a while.

Young has generated interest from a number of teams, including the Rangers, Yankees, Red Sox, Orioles and Reds, over the last couple weeks, and last night’s effort sure won’t do anything to deter efforts by those clubs to trade for him.

The problem is that Michael Young, the consummate ‘team-first” guy, is trying to submarine those efforts with his apparent refusal to accept a trade to any team other than the Texas Rangers.

If you didn’t like Young before, you probably don’t like him now.

Of course, he could certainly change his mind if he knows he’s going to be nothing more than a bench player for the rest of the 2013 season, which is absolutely how it should be. The Phillies did not call Asche up to have him sit around and watch.

But as it stands now, Young is making it very hard for Ruben Amaro to trade him to a contender, and is certainly hurting whatever negotiating position Amaro had to begin with.

As for his performance last night, though, it’s clear Young does have something to offer a contending team. All things being equal, he should be able to bring back a bit more than the Phillies had to give up to acquire him in the off-season. Thankfully, all this trade-talk mumbo-jumbo isn’t affecting how Michael Young approaches his job on the field.

"“I’ve been doing this since I was four,” Young said after the game. “Don’t get me wrong, I’ll be glad when it’s over. But I get peace of mind when I’m playing. I wouldn’t call the trade deadline a distraction. The bad part is we lost games to put us in this position. I’ve been on both sides of it. It’s nicer when you’re going to add.”“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said. “But I do know if something happens the Phillies will give me a call.” – quote per CSN Philly’s Jim Salisbury"

Yes, it’s OK to despise him right now.

Another potential Phillie on the trade block is Carlos Ruiz, who has suffered through a brutal 2013 season. Last night, however, Chooch came up with his first home run of the season, a two-run shot in the fourth inning off Giants starter Barry Zito that gave the Phillies a 4-2 lead in the 4th inning. Perhaps the injury to St. Louis’ Yadier Molina might make the Cardinals interested in acquiring the services of Ruiz.

Chase Utley, who appears close to signing a contract extension in the next few days, went 2 for 4, and John Mayberry chipped in with two hits as well to pace the Phillies attack.

On the mound, John Lannan continued his trend of pitching either really well or really poorly. Last night, it was the former, with the left-hander lasting seven innings and giving up three runs on seven hits to a Giants lineup that has fallen far from where they were last October when they won their second World Series in three years.

Zito, meanwhile, gave up four runs in just 3 1/3 innings, raising his ERA to 5.09.

Frankly, this series is a match-up of two formerly great teams going nowhere in 2013.

What is far more interesting is what the Phillies will do, or won’t do, by today’s 4pm trade deadline.

Get your popcorn ready.