Archive for the 'Phillies commentary' Category

Good for the Washington Nationals.

I hope they take back their park. I hope they draw more than 22,000 of their own fans. I hope, in fact, they shut up the growing amount of obnxious Phillies fans who plan to invade and take over “Citizens Bank South” this weekend. When a Phillies player does something good this week, I want to hear an overwhelmingly amount of boos over a spattering of cheers.

CrossingBroad.com’s Kyle Scott does some mildly amusing stuff. It’s mostly sophomoric, offensive, sexist uber-homer material targeted at the blind loyalist/close-minded/poorly-educated/drunk-all-day-drunk-all-night/foul-mouthed Philadelphia sports fan. And that’s fine, for what it is. Hell, he’s more successful a blogger than I will ever be, so I give him kudos for that.

He organized a bus trip to Nats Park in response to the Nationals’ campaign to stop Phillies fans from overrunning the place. Hey, I hated seeing Mets fans flood CBP from 2004-07 with that stupid “Let’s Go Mets!” chant, so, I can really appreciate why the Nats brass decided to do this and started promoting this particular series months and months in advance.

Scott berates the Nationals fans, over and over, by making fun of their low attendance figures and whatnot (Good points. Even with Harper and Strasburg, Nats fans still aren’t showing up to the park).

But Scott apparently has never seen an empty Vet Stadium or a half-full CBP. It’s as if years and years and years and years of futility never existed here.

Someday soon, the Nationals are going to take over the NL East. Someday soon, their fans — hundreds and hundreds of them — will invade Citizens Bank Park. And fans like Scott should realize this: The Nats ARE GOING TO BE VERY, VERY GOOD. It’s happening right now.

Scott tried saving face in a post earlier today, basically telling people to keep everything in perspective and don’t be assholes. Everything he had done up to that point, he says, has been in “good fun.” This, coincidentally, came after Crashburn Alley sent a call to Phillies fans telling them to knock off the bullshit. CrashburnAlley lambasted Scott, and deservedly so.  If you haven’t read the CA piece, it’s a must-read.

I pissed my pants reading this little gem from Scott’s post:

“Philly fans get a bad rap, undeservingly so.”

What Scott doesn’t see is, it’s people like him who are responsible for that bad rap. He just adds more fuel to the fire, time and time again.

Roy Halladay had his worst start as a Phillie Wednesday night, allowing eight runs (all earned) in 5 1.2 un-Doc-like innings.

Fans were quick to conclude that there is something physically wrong with the two-time Cy Young winner.

In fact, whenever Halladay allows two runs and can’t make it past the seven innings, the “What’s with Doc?” questions seem to arise.

Let’s not blow one terrible outing out of proportion.

We’ve grown accostomed to seeing hitters swing early in counts and get on base, only for Doc to wriggle out of jam after jam.  Halladay couldn’t skin the cat this time, however.

Is it concerning that arguably the best pitcher in baseball blew a 6-0 lead? Sure. In fact, Halladay was (and still is) undefeated when his team gives him a lead of four or more runs. The Phillies’ offense let him off the hook, but by all means, no one feels better that he is 107-0 with a lead of four or more runs.

Halladay left a few fastballs up, but his biggest mistake was the cutter that didn’t cut to Brian McCann, who promptly killed the offering over the left-field fence for a grand slam.

Other than that one huge mistake, he looked fine, stuff-wise. He tapped out at 93 mph and was dominant through the first four innings.

It did appear, however, that Halladay was winded in the sixth inning. It was a sticky, muggy night in Atlanta, so heat exhaustion could have been a factor. Remember the last time Halladay’s face was that red? He didn’t make it out of the fifth inning in Chicago last year. So, yeah, you can’t rule out that Halladay was, perhaps, out of energy.

But that’s just another excuse. Halladay wasn’t good, plain and simple.

It was announced today that Halladay had to leave the team to take care of a family matter. He gave the Phillies a heads up on Tuesday that he would be leaving, according to reports. Obviously, we hope everything is OK at home, and Halladay can rejoin the Phils soon.

Sometimes even the best pitchers go through struggles (See: Josh Johnson, Tim Lincecum). It happens. It’s baseball. It’s not the end of the world.

Don’t sweat Halladay’s poor performance Wednesday. He’ll bounce back.

Straight from Todd Zolecki’s Phillies.com blog this morning:

“The Phillies rank 14th in the league in on-base percentage (.280), 15th in slugging percentage (.325) and 15th in runs per game average (2.85). If those averages look horrendous, they are. No National League team has finished a season with a worse on-base percentage since the 1965 Mets (.277); a worse slugging percentage since the 1968 Dodgers (.319), 1968 Astros (.317) and 1968 Mets (.315); or a worse runs per game average than the 1942 Phillies (2.61).”

The suckitude cannot worsen, right? At some point, even an anemic rehabilitates and becomes stronger… right???

Funny how things work in baseball. Just three years ago, the Phillies were widely regarded as having the best offense in the National League, behind only the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays, maybe, in the majors.

Three years later, this is the worst lineup contructed since the Terry Francona era. Juan Pierre, John Mayberry Jr, Freddy Galvis (who will be a good player, but not this year), Placido Polanco are regulars.

Heck, does anyone in the lineup scare anyone? Or, how about this repharse: does anyone in the lineup excite or entertain anymone?

Rollins? Not anymore.
Polanco? Yeah, right…
Pierre? Don’t get me started.

Mayberry has been a disaster and looks absolutely lost at the plate. Chooch is what he is. He’s honestly the most popular Phillie right now, I’m convinced. Everybody loves the guy, but I don’t think the e-word when I think of Ruiz.

Maybe Shane Victorino, when he’s going real good. But he, like just about everyone else, has been nothing more than a singles hitter.

Honestly, the “watch” value of this club is at a low. I don’t think I’ve been this disinterested or disgusted since circa 2006, when the Abreus, Lieberthals and Liebers were clogging up roster spots.

On any given night, when I’m not working, I tend to pay more attention Nationals games or Mets games (best broadcast team in baseball), Tigers, Rays, Royals, etc. on MLB.TV than I do the Phils.

Sad.

He’s allegedly 39-years-old. Looks about 57.

Elbow injury.

Career threatening? Meh.

Deported back to Cuba, where he’ll be castrated? Quite possible.

Raul Ibanez should star in the sequel to “The 40-year-old Virgin.” Call it “The soon-to-be 40-year-old Who Can’t Hit His Weight”

Ibanez doesn’t have a hit in his last 18 at bats. Granted, he have shown he can bust out of slumps with time and contribute, but you have to wonder just how much this old dog has left in the tank.

With the offense slumbering as is, Charlie Manuel can’t afford to keep throwing Ibanez in his lineup. We’ve watched, in the last three days, Ibanez go from full Hulk Hogan N.W.O. beard to Cole Hamels’ Goatee Buddy to squeaky clean facial manscaping. It’s sad to watch, really.

Superstitions can’t save Ibanez at this point.

I’d bet that there’s a greater chance of Ibanez either platooning or flat-out DFA’d than there is his re-finding the stroke that earned him a what-the-hell-were-you-thinking-Ruben?, three-year contract in the winter of 2008.

Let’s see what we can do to polish this turd…

Start John Mayberry … for more than one game

Let Mayberry show that he can play more than once a week. He’s never going to be a stud, but he can be better than Ben Francisco, who is another post for another day. If nothing else, there’s more upside with Mayberry manning left than there is Ibanez.

Calling Dom Brown

Brown is progressing from hand surgery and the hope is that he’ll be big-league ready sometime this summer. I’m not going to suggest that we rush the guy, but this is a pressing issue. Brown should be the all-purpose outfielder, not just right fielder. So, the idea here is to bring Brown up to take Ibanez’s starting role for an extended period of time. If he struggles, he struggles. Brown’s development was stunted with him sitting on the bench for most of last year. When he’s deemed fit and ready, he must be called up and he must start with regularity, even if that means he’ll be playing all positions.

Ibanez and Francisco are no better than platoon players at this point. But the biggest concern is Ibanez, who is on his last legs. A change is necessary.

Get to the ballpark, get home in time for the local news

The Phillies have played 12 games. All have finished under two hours and 30 minutes.

Yeah, the starting pitching is good

Listen: Don’t expect complete games — like the ones the last two nights twirled by Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee — on a nightly basis. That’s pretty unrealistic. Lee and Hamels have had their clunkers. Joe Roa looks to be a better option than Joe Blanton at this point. All in all, though, we’re seeing signs of the rotation rounding into form. And that doesn’t bode well for the rest of the league.

The bullpen … what about it?

They’ve been flying under the radar because the starting pitching is so overwhelming. But, from what we’ve seen, everything has been OK in this area. Not sure why David Herndon is working his second year in the majors. Antonio Bastardo has been filthy. Jose Contreras has had all of two save chances and converted them both. There’s really not much to talk about here, and that’s a good thing.

Days of a homer-happy, power-driven, all-or-nothing offense are long gone

What we’re seeing is a more consistent lineup, producing night in and night out. Everyone has contributed. Chase Utley’s loss has not been felt. Jimmy Rollins is healthy again and is having his best start in years. Shane Victorino is maturing into a pretty darn good leadoff hitter. Ben Francisco is filling in admirably in right field.

The lineup has a nice balance to it. They’ve been hitting with runners in scoring position and getting clutch hits. A very scary offense in a lot of  ways Phillies fans aren’t accustomed to seeing.

The Phillies are being introduced at Citizens Bank Park as I type this.

The lineup vs. old friend and documented wife beater Brett Myers:

1. Shane Victorino, CF
2. Placido Polanco, 3B
3. Jimmy Rollins, SS
4. Ryan Howard, 1B
5. Raul Ibanez, LF
6. Ben Francisco, RF
7. Carlos Ruiz, C
8. Wilson Valdez, 2B
9. Roy Halladay, P

Pretty solid. I worry that Rollins won’t get on base enough for Howard and Ibanez will struggle hitting behind the Big Piece. We’ll have to wait and see how it works out.

Here’s what the Astros have in store for Roy Halladay:

1. Michael Bourn, CF
2. Angel Sanchez, SS
3. Hunter Pence, RF
4. Carlos Lee, LF
5. Bill Hall, 2B
6. Chris Johnson, 3B
7. Brett Wallace, 1B
8. Humberto Quintero, C
9. Brett Myers, P

National League

Even with the Big 4 in the rotation, the Phillies cannot overcome another injury-plagued season and fail to make the playoffs for the first time since 2006.  The Phillies’ narrowly missing the playoffs will give Mets fans something to look forward to. The Braves overtake the Phillies in the final week.

EAST – Braves (95 wins)

CENTRAL – Reds (87 wins)

WEST – Giants – (94 wins)

WILD CARD- Rockies (93 wins)

American League

Boston sets the single-season record for most wins. The Yankees need not a Joan Rivers type of facelift to mask their old age.  Watch out for Oakland in the West.

EAST – Red Sox (117 wins)

CENTRAL – Twins (93 wins)

WEST – A’s (90 wins)

WILD CARD – Rays (96 wins)

Playoffs

NLCS – Braves-Giants (Braves in 7)

ALCS – Red Sox-Twins (Red Sox in 4)

WORLD SERIES – Red Sox-Braves (Red Sox in 5)

National League Awards

Cy Young – Tim Lincecum

Rookie of the Year: Freddie Freeman

MVP: Troy Tulowitzki

American League Awards

Cy Young: David Price

Rookie of the Year: Chris Carter

MVP: Adrian Gonzalez

Cole Hamels labored through five innings against the Braves Sunday… another inconsistent start from the 26-year-old.

While Hamels breezed through the first three, he through a combined 64 pitches in the next two innings. In the fifth, he clearly lost his command, but managed to allow only three runs despite facing eight hitters.

It’s a disturbing trend that Hamels  is starting. He’s followed excellent starts with so-so outings in each of last four starts. It’s worrisome, but it’s a vast improvement from last year, in which he looked terrible in all but maybe five regular-season appearances.

Fans are likely pulling their hair out over Hamels’ inconsistency. However, I’d prefer to take a more positive viewpoint.

Hamels is a vastly improved pitcher in 2010. He resembles the guy who won a pair of MVPs in the postseason. The only difference in 2010 compared to 2008 is the face that he is maturing and still working on things.

Hamels still has the filthy change up, but he no longer can be a two-pitch pitcher. He’s working in a sweeping curve ball, which is below average at best, and a cutter, which I believe has looked pretty OK. He used it quite often to tail away against left-handed hitters and to jam right-handed batters against Braves.

Cole Hamels is on the right track. He might take his lumps some more this year, but he’s a guy who is still figuring out how good he can be.