Lineup Mix-ups in Today's Game

My Fellow Phans,

Before I begin, I wanted to take this time to also thank all the troops that have died and are still fighting battles to keep us safe and preserve our freedom.  Thank you for everything you have done and will continue to do for the citizens of this great nation. Happy Memorial Day!

As for the Phillies:

So, here we sit just minutes until game time. The Phillies are set to battle the Atlanta Braves, but their lineup is what you would usually expect from Charlie Manuel.

Today’s Lineup:

Ross Gload, RF

Greg Dobbs, 3B

Chase Utley, 2B

Ryan Howard, 1B

Shane Victorino, CF

Raul Ibanez, RF

Carlos Ruiz, C

Wilson Valdez, SS

Joe Blanton, P

You gotta love what Charlie is trying to do here with this lineup mix-up. Anything that can be done is being done to fix this horrific slump that the Phillies are collectively stuck in. I’m not going to say much about this except that I sincerely hope this helps our boys get back on track. They need anything to provide them with a little spark right now. Let Go Phillies!

Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!!

Phillies' Slump Breakdown: It Is Pretty Bad

My Fellow Phans,

As promised, here is my breakdown of how bad this slump for the Phillies truly is. Last night and early this morning, I began working on this piece; sifting through stats of offensive numbers from the Phillies and other teams this year since stats are kind of my thing. Yes, I know I’m a nerd and have come to accept that. Anyways, what I have done is look at stats and try to put a little idea of just how bad this slump is for the Phillies. People have been telling me I am too hard on the Phillies, but hopefully this will put a little better perspective on how alarming this slump should be to us phans.

So without further adieu, I begin my breakdown:

In the last 7 days, the Phillies have:

-  Scored the least amount of any team in baseball, not a surprise there

-  Somehow have just the 3^rd worst batting average hitting slightly under the Mendoza line.

-  Are the only team to NOT hit a home run during that span. Never thought you would say that huh?

-  Have amounted the least amount of total bases and the second lowest total of hits.

- Ironically enough have a 2.88 ERA during that span, although it doesn’t seem like it when the offense has done absolutely nothing.

Taking that lack of production in the last week into better perspective:  

- Their 4 runs in their last 6 games is less runs scored then the Philadelphia Flyers scored in game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals (5)

-  During this last weekend (3 games), 27 of the 29 teams outscored the Phillies in their last 6 games.

- Of those 27 teams, 26 of them scored more or as many runs in a single game this weekend then the Phillies have done so in the last week.

- 5 of those 27 teams outscored the Phillies in each of their 3 games this weekend.

- The Phillies haven’t hit a home run in over 50 innings; 26 teams hit a home run in this weekend alone.

The Phillies have scored just 11 runs in their last 9 games:

- 22 major league teams outscored the Phillies in their last 9 games last weekend alone.

- 6 teams scored as many as or more runs then the Phillies have in a single game last weekend.

Synopsis: The Phillies are in a series slump. Although slump may be too nice of a word to use at the point; I honestly cannot say what we could do to break out of it. Regardless, we need to wake up and do it soon.

Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!!

Phillies vs. Braves Preview

My Fellow Phans,

So I am going to do this new preview just a little bit differently then I have in the past. I will give the probables, but instead of breaking down each individual dream, I will provide an overall synopsis of the games after listing the three probable starters. Let me know if you like this way better than the old way:

Phillies @ Braves Series: May 31^st – June 2^nd :

Monday: Joe Blanton (1-3 5.63) vs. Tommy Hanson (4-3 4.06)

Tuesday: Cole Hamels (5-3 3.82) vs. Tim Hudson (5-1 2.24)

Wednesday: Kyle Kendrick (3-2 5.04) vs. Derek Lowe (7-4 4.86)

Synopsis: Going into this series, it looks like it has a chance to be a very well pitched and played series. However, we said the same thing going into the last series. Even though the Phillies won the last series, they are far from breaking out of their offensive slump, although using the term “slump” may be giving this lineup too much credit at this point.

Honestly, I am worried at what these three Braves’ starters can do to us. These three usually present series problems for us when we are healthy and actually hitting the ball; I am kind of the worried about the potential feasting they may do on our struggling batting order. The Phillies’ three starters are all pitching relatively well *knocks on wood* so it should be a good pitched series. However, as I said with my last preview, there is no chance of the Phillies to win squat unless they start scoring runs.

The Braves are a hot team having won 5 games in a row and 8 of 10. This is the battle for first place as the Braves sit just .5 games behind us in the standings. If the Phillies do not want to drop out of the top spot in the division, they better do something and do it now.

So, I’m going to attempt a reverse black cat here, as people to seem to always prove me wrong; especially with my baseball predictions. I am going to say that the Phillies have no chance of winning this series with all that has been said. The Braves are hot, playing and pitching well. Meanwhile the Phillies are struggling to swing the bats and do anything at the plate. Braves’ pitching will feast on the Phillies and they will take over first place, at least for now, in the East.

I hope they prove me wrong, they have done so, so many times in the past and I really, truly hope they prove me wrong here.

Note: How bad this “slump” is the Phillies are in? Stay tuned for my next post as I break it down statistically and show just how bad this is getting for our hometown boys.

Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!!

Roy Delivers a Perfect Halladay for the Phillies

My Fellow Phans,

Firstly, I would like to offer big congratulations to our ace Roy Halladay on his perfect game Saturday night. It may have been the single, greatest pitching performance that I have had the privilege of witnessing during my entire all my years as a baseball fan.

I promised I would get back to my comments on this perfect game and here I am. It is not every day that one witnesses perfection and, when one does, it should be treasured. When asked about it, Halladay redirected the credit to his catch, Carlos Ruiz. With that thinking in mind, let’s look at and give credit to all who made this perfection possible:

Of course, Roy Halladay is the pitcher behind this mastery. His pinpoint control is the reason we are sitting here talking about a start that will probably be remembered here in Philly for a very long time.

Ruiz was the battery mate of Halladay all night and helped call the perfect game. Each pitch he called had a purpose and his game calling was right on the post every single time. Nice going Chooch.

Credit should also be given to all Phillies’ fielders, but especially infielders Wilson Valdez and Juan Castro who both made some amazing plays to back up the big man in his perfect efforts including a couple superb plays in the last two innings on some tough hit ground balls.

We cannot forget the efforts of Marlins’ centerfielder Cameron Maybin, whose error on Utley’s liner allowed Valdez to score with the only run of the ball game. If that run doesn’t score, we don’t know where the game may have gone.  Maybin may have done more to help Halladay achieve this perfection then any Phillie really did. I mean without his error, we sit at 0-0 in the 10^th inning and the perfect game is more than likely gone.

Don’t forget home plate umpire Mike Dimuro who kept a consistent strike zone throughout the entire game which helped Roy Halladay strike out 11 Marlins hitters during his perfection. All a pitcher asks for is a strike zone that is the same in the 9^th as it was in the 1^st; he kept is consistent and that always helps out a starter.

In short, it was a perfect evening. Halladay may not take the credit, but he deserves all the credit in the world for what he did. I salute you Roy Halladay on being the most humble perfect game pitcher I have ever known. It was the best game in what has been a long week for the Phillies. Here’s hoping that the Phillies have a better week.

Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!!

Rollins' Injury Is Not Cause of Slump

My Fellow Phans,

The Phillies were shut out again today by the Florida Marlins. This marks the 5^th time in 8 games that the Phillies have been shut out. The only game in the last 6 where the Phillies had scored an earned run was Friday night when they came through with a 3-2 victory. Saturday’s perfect game by Roy Halladay ended in a 1-0 Phillies victory while the only run being scored on an error by the Marlins making it over 18 innings since the Phillies have scored an earned run.

This recent slide has had nearly every Phillies fan shaking their head in confusion. How could a team with this much talent on paper in their lineup possibly go into a slump this horrible. How could every player in their lineup seem to struggle at the exact same time? If anyone can answer this, then you are a smarter man then I.

Some have suggested the loss of Jimmy Rollins in the cause for the Phillies’ struggles. Listen, I know the Phillies are missing Jimmy Rollins, but it’s not like they have not done successfully without him in the lineup in the past. Placido Polanco has also missed games this series which means the Phillies regular top two lineup hitters are missing. This could be a bump in the road to some teams, but you cannot blame all the struggles on injuries. Besides, what does Rollins missing have to do with Chase Utley’s uncharacteristic weak outs at bat to at bat recent or Jayson Werth looking completely lost at the plate striking out in bunches over this past week? Do injuries contribute to Ryan Howard or Carlos Ruiz’s recent loss of patience at the plate?

I think the answers to those questions is no. While it is hard missing the most dynamic player in your lineup, this Phillies lineup has too many stars to go into such a slump. I cannot pinpoint the exact reason for this slump, but the injury to Rollins plays only a small role in it. The Phillies have not been hitting, at all. In the rare occasion when the Phillies get a runner or two on base, they fail to score.

The problem is not so much injuries as the low confidence level. Hitters are trying to do too much at the plate and that is causing a high strikeout total and the over swinging at the plate. Everyone needs to take a step back, clear their heads and understand that there are other players in the lineup willing to pick them up on a day to day basis. Until this happens, Phillies fans could be looking at an even longer drought that is getting increasingly harder and harder to deal with as the games roll along.

  

Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!!

Breaking News: Happy Halladays! Halladay is Perfect against Marlins

My Fellow  Phans, 

Tonight we have witnessed history as Doc Halladay throws a perfect game against the Marlins. Read the story below: 

Coming into a night where runs would be hard to come by; Doc Halladay did his absolute best to make sure the Phillies came out on top. He threw 115 pitches, 72 for strikes, as e breezed through the Marlins’ lineup through all 9 innings. He struck out 11 in his efforts. Halladay’s perfect game was the second perfect game of the season as the Athletics’ Dallas Braden threw a perfect game against the Rays earlier this season.

Doc became the 20^th player in Major League history to throw an elusive perfect game.  It's the first no-hitter for Philadelphia since Kevin Millwood did it in 2003. The last perfect game by a Phillies pitcher came by Jim Bunning on June 21, 1964.

Note: I will post on this historic night later this evening/tomorrow. Look for that post! 

Burrell Back in Philly?: It Just Doesn't Make Sense

My Fellow Phans,

An issue that I have seen brought up more and more is the issue of recently cut Bat Burrell returning to his former team. As much as I love good ol’ Pat the Bat, there is simply not a place for him on the current roster. We have a solid group of players who each know and have their roles and it is not something that you want to mess with. If someone came to me right now and said that the Phillies were going to sign Burrell, I would ask them to consider the  following  before doing so.

The first would be, who is Burrell going to replace on our current roster. Our starting 8 is set when healthy so he would not fit there. Well then who on the bench would he replace?

How about Ben Francisco? Well Ben is an above average backup player who would put up better numbers if he just got more playing time. He could easily be a starter for a number of teams and the Phillies are lucky enough to have him as their 4^th outfielder.  Plus, Francisco can actually field; Burrell has been reduced to a designated hitter or a pinch hitter on a National League ballclub. Your 4^th outfielder needs to be versatile and able to fill it at a moment’s notice; Francisco can do that. Sorry to say that Burrell cannot.

I won’t even suggest him replacing Wilson Valdez or Juan Castro when Jimmy Rollins gets healthy due to the fact that they are our utility infielders and they are invaluable on a Major League Baseball team. Using the same logic, I count Brian Schneider out of this conversation because he is our backup catcher and we need to have a backup for Chooch.

So that leaves out two power lefties off the bench: Ross Gload and Greg Dobbs. Let’s start with Gload. He was simply one of the best pinch hitters in the league last year. Plus, he is arguably your best hitter on the bench. He is also your emergency 5^th outfielder and although he is not a traditional outfielder, he still moves better out there then Burrell does. So in short, Gload is too valuable to replace.

That leaves Greg Dobbs. Dobbs is the poor man’s version of Ross Gload. He is left-handed, plays both corner infield spots and the outfield as well. As his offense has struggled this season, as has Burrell’s numbers. While there is a small reason to consider replacing Dobbs with Burrell, I would take his ability to play the field, granted shaky at times, over Burrell’s inability to do much anymore.

In the end it looks like Burrell does not have a place on our bench, unless we decide to drop a reliever and carry fewer pitchers. Why on earth would that even be considered with the number of injuries to our pen already this season? Are Burrell’s numbers this year even good enough to warrant that type of thinking? I really do not think so.

Sorry to say this, but Burrell is not a fit for Philly this season. I love the man and what he helped do for this city, but we have moved on here. You will always be in our hearts Pat, but sadly not on our roster anymore.

Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!!

Japanese Starters and Knuckleballers Prove to be Phillies Achilles' Heal

My Fellow Phans,

I have read that Charlie Manuel reportedly held a brief team meeting after their latest shutout loss to their division rival New York Mets. Jayson Werth has gone and shaved off some of his beard. Anything at this point is being attempted to end the Phillies offense woes. Will it work? I guess we will see tonight. How bad is it exactly for the Phillies? Well, they have scored in 1 inning out of the last 37! I guess we should be lucky that Tim Wakefield didn’t pitch that 9^th inning on Sunday or this slump may be even worse than it is.

This recent losing streak has brought my attention to several factors. Firstly, I think the Phillies have two glaring weaknesses; Japanese pitchers and Knuckleballers. In Saturday’s one-hit loss, they lost to a pitcher from Japan. Sunday and Tuesdays losses have been at the hands of knuckleballers and the recent loss was at the hands of another Japanese Starter. Think I’m crazy? Argue that any pitcher can give us trouble the way we are swinging the bats at the moment? Well that may be true, but the Phillies have a history of struggling against Japanese born pitchers. Remember Hideo Nomo? He threw a career 3.92 ERA against the Phillies. We only hit in the 240s against him!

Nomo is not the worst offender. Does anyone remember Tomo Ohka? You may not, but I do. He was an average pitcher from Japan (4.26 career ERA) who dominated the Phillies start in and start out. A big portion of his major league career was played with the old Expos so he had plenty of chances to face the Phillies. In his career, Ohka went just 5-3 against the Phillies, but his career ERA in that time was a pretty good 2.30. In 2002 alone, he went 4-0 against the Phillies with a sparkling 0.96 ERA. Think Japanese born players are not a trouble for us? Well think again.

As for the knuckleballers; who doesn’t have trouble with them? There is a reason that the pitch is still used – it gets hitter out. The Phillies have faced the only two knuckleballers in baseball in back to back days. Here’s to moving on to normal pitching once again since, as the Phillies have learned for sure in these past two days, the knuckleball is not your average pitch.

Tonight we face a non-Japanese pitcher who doesn’t feature a knuckleballer. Maybe if the cosmos align the right way, we will score a run or two against him; that’s all Phillies fans want right now; to see some sort of offensive life in this struggling team.

Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!!

Phillies vs. Mets: Round 2

My Fellow Phans,

So it is time. Time for round 2 of the best National League rivalry as the Phillies and Mets are set to tango at Citi Field for the next three nights. I’m sure we all remember the first round between these two teams in Philadelphia during a weekend series at the end of April. The Mets drew first blood by smacking the Phillies around in a 9-1 final on Friday night. From then on, it was all Philadelphia. Philly ace Roy Halladay threw a complete game shutout against the New Yorkers on Saturday to even  the series at a game apiece. The next night, live on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball, the Phillies got down early as Jamie Moyer struggled early, but a high powered Phillies attacked walloped Mets’ ace Johan Santana with a 9 run 4^th inning that sent the lefty to the showers early. The Phillies won the game 11-5.

So now, we come to round 2; this time it takes place at the home of the Mets, whom are gunning to knock the Phillies off of the top spot of the division. They are coming off of a series win against their fellow New Yorkers as the Phillies struggled in a series loss to the Boston Red Soxs. So here now is a preview of the upcoming Phillies vs. Mets series which looks to be another great chapter in the budding rivalry that is the Phillies and Mets.

Tuesday: Jamie Moyer (5-3 4.30) vs. R.A. Dickey (0-0 3.00): I am sure there are many fans who would agree with me when I say that I hope the Phillies learned a lot from facing Tim Wakefield last Sunday. Granted, they did absolutely nothing against him; maybe the experience will help them improve enough as they tackle their second straight knuckleballer in as many games. I do not know much about Dickey except that he is a knuckleballer and that he throws it at a higher velocity then Wakefield did on Sunday. I think its safe to assume that the Phillies will not be thumping out double digit runs on this day so Moyer pitching well is critical to this game. If Moyer struggles, the Phillies may have a tough time bailing him out like they have done on so many occasions. So, here’s hoping that the Phillies can start the series out on a good note.

Wednesday: Joe Blanton (1-2 5.06) vs. Hisanori Takashi (3-1 2.53): Blanton is coming off of a strong 7 inning outing against the Chicago Cubs. He has pitched better than his overall numbers would indicate which gives us reason to believe that he may have a solid game on Wednesday night. His opponent, Takashi, is making just his second start of this young season. His only other start was against the Yankees and he threw 6 scoreless innings which thinks it’s safe to say that he is not intimidated by tough hitting lineups.  He is a left hander; which seems to guarantee that the Phillies will struggle as the stats would indicate so far this season. Regardless, I picture this to be a low scoring game with runs hard to come by. Look for a well pitched and well played game from both clubs.

Thursday: Cole Hamels (5-2 3.92) vs. Mike Pelfrey (6-1 2.86): Pelfrey was the loser in the Halladay shutout from game 2 of these team’s last series. He struggled against the potent Phillies lineup giving up 6 runs in 4 rough innings of work. Even with his struggles, don’t expect Pelfrey to lie down quietly and get knocked around like he did in Philadelphia. That start in Philly was his lone “bad” start of the season as his ERA has been steady the entire season. Hamels has been just as good in his past couple starts this season. He has won his last 3 starts giving up no more than 3 runs in any of those outings which helps to lower his ERA under 4. This is the best pitching matchup of the series on paper and will be a fitting close to what looks to be a well played series. Let’s hope that Hamels continues his good pitching in this series.

Until we meet again, Happy readings and Go Phillies!

Interleague Play: All About the Money

My Fellow Phans,

I’m sure you have heard all the arguments for and against the whole Interleague Play thing. Outside of possible intriguing matchups, there is nothing good about the American League and National League playing each other. The schedule is unbalanced enough against a team’s own league without adding extra games against random teams in the process. If you want to have interleague; then have everybody play everyone. Get rid of the 18 games against teams in your own division and let everyone play everyone equally. This current system has to change; it is highly unfair and unbalanced. I would love to speak to the schedule makers and find out exactly how they choose a team’s opponents. Do they choose them and, if not, then who does? How about this for unbalanced: The Twins (AL) play the NL Brewers (NL) a total of 6 times this season. However, the Twins only play the Red Soxs (AL) only 5 times all season. How does that make sense?

Below I discuss two teams and how interleague play could affect them positively or negatively. My goal is to get you to see that Interleague Play is a sham and does nothing but create unbalance and unfairness during the regular baseball season.

Exhibit A: You don’t have to look any further to prove my point then right at my hometown Phillies. During this “interleague play”, Philadelphia plays Boston a total of 6 games, the Yankees at Yankee Stadium and the Twins. They have a 9 game stretch of playing these three top-tier American League teams (both the Red Soxs and Yankees on the road) in succession during June. I think anyone who knows baseball would agree that it is a tough stretch of games. They then face the Indians and Blue Jays which makes the Indians the only AL team they play with a record under .500. What is the current obsession to have the Phillies and Red Soxs play a home and home every season? Why not take a break some years and let them face a team such as the Kansas City Royals or Baltimore Orioles? 12 of the 18 Interleague games the Phillies play are against American League teams who made the postseason last year.  As for the other four teams in the NL East, The Braves, Mets, Marlins, and Nationals: they play a combined 12 games against AL playoff teams. Doesn’t seem fair does it? Ever wonder why the Phillies struggle so much in interleague play – could it have anything to do with the tough schedule they seem to play year in and year out?

Even Phillies manager Charlie Manuel recognizes this:  “"I think now it's (interleague play) been around for quite a while and I think when I look at the schedule, I think sometimes the schedule can be more difficult for different teams," Manuel said. "That's not only us, it's every team in baseball. If we're playing the contenders in the American League more than any other National League team does and they beat us, yeah, I have a problem with that," Manuel said. "I look at it like here we are playing these teams... and I bet the Atlanta Braves, the Florida Marlins and New York Mets, every team in baseball would feel the same way."

Exhibit B: Now let’s take a look at teams that the Phillies, if they win the East, would be competing with for home field advantage in the National League; The St. Louis Cardinals. Around the same time, the Cardinals are playing interleague games as well; except they face the Seattle Mariners, Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays, and the Kansas City Royals. Unlike the Phillies, the Cardinals play only one team during this stretch with a record of .500. Is this fair? I know the Phillies are the defending National League champs, but how would one consider this fair? Another thing I noticed is that the Cardinals play 3 less interleague games then the Phillies. Explain to me how this is fair. Everyone knows the American League is better quality then the National League, and teams that get to play more NL opponents would clearly have an easier schedule. What if both teams were battling for a Wild Card spot; the team with the easier games would have a better chance of making the post season.

Some of you may say I am just ranting on here, but why would you lay such a claim? As a fan of the game, all I ask for is for the game to be fair. Despite my requests, it will most likely never be so. So let’s face it. The main reason interleague play occurs is money. The battle between leagues of different leagues is known to boost attendance around baseball making it very beneficial to the economical side of baseball. Regardless of the advantages or disadvantages that is recreates; the money if the number one priority. It is true that game of baseball has become a business recently and this just proves it even more. 
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!!

Interleague Play Begins....

My Fellow Phillies Phans,

I must say it was nice to see the offense score more than just one run yesterday. Even better, was the fact that we actually won yesterday! Hopefully this is the start of some type of momentum as this upcoming weekend poses a challenge for the Phillies as interleague play starts. The first AL opponent; The Boston Red Soxs. The Soxs come in for a three game series this weekend. This will be a test of the Phillies’ merit for sure. They have a history of struggling in Interleague play going 10-23 over the last couple seasons. Thankfully, we will not face Red Soxs ace left-hander Jon Lester who pitched last night. However, it is still going to be a very good series played between two good teams. The pitching matchups are as follows:

Friday: Cole Hamels (4-2 4.29) vs. John Lackey (4-2 4.86): On paper, this appears to be a stellar matchup. For this season; neither pitcher has performed as well as expected even though both have winning records. Lackey has struggled as of late giving up 11 runs in his last two starts while Hamels has won his last two decisions. Don’t expect that to keep Lackey from pitching well tonight. This should be a well pitched game and the winner will be the pitcher who can keep the ball in the ballpark more and we all know how much trouble a certain Phillies lefty can have with that issue. Look for a good opener as a gateway to a well played series.

Saturday: Kyle Kendrick (2-1 5.24) vs. Daisuke Matsuzaka (2-1 7.89): This game once again pits two pitchers who were expected to pitch much better than they have been. Kendrick is a rotation fill-in until J.A. Happ comes back from injury and Daisuke was expected to be a whole lot better than he has shown this season. He went 18-3 in ’08 with a 2.90 ERA and has come nowhere close to those numbers since. In his last start, he was shellacked by the Yankees giving up 7 runs in less than 5 innings. Again, I have a feeling that this will be a tough test for the Phillies as he has the stuff to be a quality ace in this league. This game may be the highest scoring of the 3 runs this weekend, but don’t expect loads of runs from either side. Let’s hope that Kendrick has put his struggles behind him in this start versus this American League powerhouse.

Sunday: Roy Halladay (6-2 1.64) vs. Tim Wakefield (0-2 5.31): On paper this appears to be a clear advantage for the Phillies. But lets not forget Wakefield’s career numbers (3-1 3.12 with 2 CGs and 1 Shutout) against the Phils. This will not be an easy task for Phillies hitters on this Sunday night. Wakefield is making just his 6^th start of the year, but he is not to be taken lightly. This game just follows the trend of this whole series; Tough pitching and timely offense will be the key to victory and the team that does that more will come out on top at the end of these three games.

Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!!

Where is Francisco?

My Fellow Phillies Phans,

I know it’s been awhile since we last spoke. A lot has changed since my last post here. The Phillies very impressively, yet expectedly, finished off a sweep of the Brewers at Miller Park last weekend. They returned to Philly and gave a 12-2 beat down of the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates. However our last two games have gave me a slight cause for concern. After scoring 12 runs on Monday, we have managed a meager 2 runs in these past two games; both while facing average left-handed pitchers. Neither Zack Duke nor Tom Gorzelanny are what we would call “elite” pitchers, but somehow we struggled tremendously against both pitchers these past two nights.

I’m sure you all remember the smacking we gave Johan a couple of weeks back on Sunday night. If we can knock around one of the best left handed pitchers in the game today, why cannot we score multiple runs off of lesser caliber pitching? This is what frightens me about this team; its struggles against left-handed pitching. We need to shape it up.

This leads me into my next issue; Ben Francisco. I am sure not the only one that is a fan of what this young man did last season after coming over with Cliff Lee. However, I am disappointed with the lack of playing time. One wonders how much it would hurt to give him some at bats against some of these left handed pitchers. He is a right-handed hitter after all and should have a better chance against these lefties. Francisco has had only 24 at bats this year! Only 24 and you wonder why his average is a meager .167. He has had less at-bat than Roy Halladay has! Yes, I know Halladay has thrown a lot of innings, but he plays every 5 days and Francisco could play daily! The longer he sits on the bench, the rustier he will get and it will take him even longer to start hitting normally again. Last season, he played in 37 games for the Phillies and amounted 97 at bats. This year, we sit roughly ¼ of the way through the year and he is on pace for 96 at bats this entire season. 96! That is less than he had with us last year for just half a season.

I’m just curious as to what it would hurt to give Ben some starts against left-handed pitching. Ibanez is only hitting .200 against lefties this year so maybe it would be helpful to dispel him in the lineup sometimes when a tough lefty comes calling. What would be the harm? Is there any? He is a talented player and needs his at-bats like everyone else to stay sharp during the season.

I just hope the Phillies shape up before this weekend with the Red Soxs coming to town.

Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!!

Bring on the Brew Crew!

My Fellow Phillies Phans,

Am I the only one getting sick of this crappy Colorado weather? I mean, it is supposed to be summer for crying out loud and they are getting snow and games are being delayed. Let’s hope the weather in Milwaukee is a bit better then what we saw during this week.  

Speaking of the Brewers’ series, here is what it looks like pitching matchup wise:

Friday: Jamie Moyer (4-2 4.38 ERA) vs. Randy Wolf (3-2 3.95) – Former Phillie Wolf is the first of a series of lefties that the Brewers are throwing at the Phillies this weekend. This weekend is going to be a big test of this team’s merit as we have struggled against lefties this season.  Wolf is 1-1 with a slightly above average ERA of 4.42 against the Phillies over the past few seasons. Moyer is coming off of that brilliant start against the Braves. As I highly doubt that he will repeat this feat; there is no reason to believe he cannot pitch well enough in this start to get the Phillies a series opener win.  As I said before, the fact of Wolf being a left handed pitcher may make you worry, but this should be a good game tonight. One interesting note about tonight’s game: Phillies right handed hitting Jayson Werth and first baseman Ryan Howard are both only hitting .111 against Wolf in his career while Utley is struggling at .125. It may be the surrounding cast members that are vital in tonight’s game as Carlos Ruiz, Shane Victorino, and Placido Polanco are all hitting well above .300 in their careers versus Randy Wolf.

Saturday: Joe Blanton (0-2 4.97) vs. Chris Narveson (3-0 5.06) - I honestly cannot give you anything on Narveson except stats as he has not been around in the big leagues that long. Currently he is 3-0, but with a high ERA of 5.06. Righties are hitting a robust .344 against him while lefties have struggled hitting just .175. This may mean that the right handed bats in our lineup need to step it up again. Narveson has never faced the Phillies and only two Phillies hitters have faced him in the past; Polanco and Ben Francisco who are a combined 0-3 against him lifetime. Blanton, on the other hand, has faced the Brewers quite a number of times and has compiled a 5.30 ERA over the past few seasons. His stats may not look promising this year, but anyone who has watched him in person can honestly say that he is pitching better than his stats will indicate. This should be an interesting game as it will be shown on Fox this Saturday.

Sunday: Cole Hamels (3-2 4.35) vs. Doug Davis (1-4 7.56) – The Phillies once again wrap up the week on Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN. The matchup features a pair of lefties including the third and final lefty the Phillies will face this weekend in Doug Davis. Let’s face it, Davis’ stats would indicated that he has struggled this season and while this may be true, he is not a pitcher to be overlooked this season as the series wraps up. He has no surrendered a home run to a lefty this season and has held them to a meager .333 slugging percentage. As I said in the opener, this series could prove a lot about the Phillies so far this season either in a positive or negative light. As for Hamels, he has been quite a puzzle to figure out this season. Some starts he looks unbeatable as in the game against the Cardinals this year. Other times he looks unbeatable and then one inning changes everything, as his last start against the Braves would indicate. Other times, he is just downright bad as in his start at Arizona this year. What Cole we will get tomorrow on Sunday night is still a mystery until the game actually gets here. Until then, we can only speculate and hope that the dominating Hamels shows up for the Phillies.

I will do my best to check in with you throughout the weekend, but I cannot make any promises.

Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!!

Rained Out Game = Time to Tackle Key Phillies' Issues

My Fellow Phillies Fans,

I’m sure I am not the only one who was disappointed with the events of tonight. Mainly, the rain that caused tonight’s schedule game to be rescheduled until tomorrow. However, that leaves us time to discuss several other issues surrounding the Phillies in these trying times.

The first of which is the injury bug. We all know that Ryan Madson is out for a long time after idiotically injuring himself after a rough outing. Way to go Ryan, we are all pleased with that maneuver. Rollins is still slowly rehabbing from his opening day injury, there is no set timetable for Jimmy’s return, but we are all hoping that it happens much sooner rather than later. The biggest concern is Brad Lidge as he was unhappy with a bullpen session that he threw before the scheduled game earlier tonight. Does this crown Jose Contreras as the closer for the Phillies with Lidge and Madson both shelved? I guess it is all up to Charlie Manuel.

Another big topic is the Jason Werth contract status. Before we hear all the information about the Phillies salary and budget; let us propose the main reason that Werth must stay here: the Phillies lineup needs him. The majority of the lineup is already left handed and we can absolutely rake right handed pitching. However, our stats against lefties are nothing special. Werth provides the right handed power in our lineup and the protection for Ryan Howard. It is a necessity to sign him for the good of our lineup in years to come. He has developed into one of the best all-around players in the game today and he needs to be kept her in Philly for our lineup’s sake.

Chooch for the All-Star game? I am totally on that boat. I know there a lot of Phillies fans pulling for that single fact as well. Let me put it this way, Charlie is the coach and even though the voting is a popularity contest which pretty much means that Brian McCann of Atlanta or Russell Martin of the Dodgers will get the start, there is not a single reason that Chooch will not be selected by his manager for the backup role on the squad. He is only currently hitting .354 with an On Base Percentage of .481 which is tops in the league. If those are not deserving numbers, then I honestly do not know what is. What makes this even more impressive is that a majority of these stats is coming from him hitting in the 8^th spot in the lineup, the most undesirable spot in any NL lineup, except of course if you are on the Cardinals where the pitcher commonly hits 8^th.

As for the game on Monday, I wasn’t fully impressive with the victory, but I was impressed with Chooch’s game. I think we can give him the game ball for that game along with giving pinch hitter extraordinaire Ross Gload an honorable mention. Pinch hitting is probably the hardest job in the game of baseball and to hit a home run coming off the bench cold is quite impressive. So I salute you, Chooch and Ross Gload; thanks for keying our victory in that 9^th inning.

Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies! 

Phillies Take Down Two Division Leaders in One Week (Reposted from 5/7/2010)

My Fellow Phillies Fans, 

It is pretty obvious this last week has quite an eventful one for the Phillies. It all started last weekend when the hated mets came to Citizens Bank Park for the first time this season. While the mets took round 1 of the series, The Phitins’  came back to take the next two and win the series. The most impressive part of that series was how the Phillies smacked around the Mets top 2 starters, Santana and Pelfrey, who were both also pitching at an elite level in this early going. In Game 2, Roy Halladay shut down the New Yorkers in a complete game victory as the Phillies smacked around Mike Pelfrey. As much as, or probably more impressive, was the bashing our lineup gave Johan Santana on Sunday. The scene was set; Phillies vs. Mets on Sunday night. The world was ready to see a good game and the Phillies made Santana look like a rookie. As a fan of the game, I can safely say that Santana is one of the better starters in the league, but the Phillies have seemed comfortable hitting against him. Hopefully this trend continues throughout the season.

Then the first place Cardinals came into town. I honestly do not know what it is, maybe its sheer luck or maybe they have some sort of plan, but the Phillies handled the great Albert Pujols this season. A .340ish hitter on the season, Pujols hit just .250 in this latest series against the Phillies. That was the key to the series. Stop Pujols and you generally stop the Cardinals. Of course great pitching helps as well. Kudos to Kyle Kendrick, Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay, Brad Lidge, and even  Joe Blanton, who pitched better than the box score would indicate, on their great efforts. Once again, they dropped the opener only to take the series with 3 straight wins.

Notice, I did not even mention the whole “tazing” thing, Trust me, I will do so in my very next post. So look for that.

If you think about it, the Phillies took care of two first place teams so far this home stand, as the mets were technically in first when they got here to Philadelphia. They shut down the top players, in Santana and Pujols, of the two teams and won both series. It’s good to see this team finally start to play like we all know they are capable of doing so. It’s going to be a fun season to watch and let’s hope they can keep this level going throughout most of the season.

A Great Weekend in Baseball (Reposted from 4/30/2010)

My Fellow Phillies Fans, 

So this will be the first post in awhile that doesn't center around a particular article I have written for a website.

I guess there is not a better place to begin, than with the greatest sports team around, The Philadelphia Phillies. I know they have seemed to hit a rough patch, but let's face it, it is still early and these are the Phillies and nothing is ever easy with them. I think Wednesdays amazing comeback win over the Giants is going to provide a very positive boost to this team's confidence and momentum.

Tonight begins the best rivalry that the National League has to offer as the Phillies square off with the mets in Philadelphia. With both teams situated at the top of the division right now, this should prove to be a very intriguing and exciting series. Lets hope that the Phillies can build some momentum and kick some met ass this weekend. I surely hope so. LETS GO PHILLIES! I'm glad the rest of the league has noticed this rivalry as I do believe, we are being shown on Fox tomorrow and ESPN on Sunday. I am admittedly not a huge fan of either network when it comes to sports, but it is nice to be recognized finally.

The pitching matchups are as follows:

Friday: Kyle Kendrick vs. Jon Niese - I know Kendrick has struggled this season in all but one of his starts, and Niese has pitched well enough for the Mets thus far, but there is no reason to believe that this will be a good matchup. Why? Because it the Phillies and Mets. It is the one team that the entire Phillies roster seems to step up their game against in order to beat.

Saturday: Roy Halladay vs. Mike Pelfrey - Its a shame that the Phillies are skipping Figueroa's spot in the rotation as Sunday night will not be a battle of the aces. Although this matchup provides the two hottest pitchers on each team's staff. This is the game to watch this series, if I had to recommend. Although, it is pretty sure that I will be watching all 3 games.

Sunday: Jamie Moyer vs. Johan Santana - So the battle of lefties on ESPN on Sunday night. This should be a good one. The ageless Moyer facing off against one of the best pitchers in the game today, Santana. Another dandy of a game this weekend. Although, would you expect anything less when it comes the Phillies and the Mets?

Welcome One and All

My Fellow Phillies Fans, 

Welcome one and all to the opening of a new Phillies blog on the internet. My name is John and I will be your host on this journey. Throughout the year, I hope to post as much as possible on the Phillies' players, games, news, and anything else pertaining to the team. I am an avid fan as anyone who knows me knows and I apologize in advance as I can get quite emotional concerning the Phillies. I hope you all read and enjoy my writing and tell all your friends about this blog!

I want to begin by reposting a couple posts from my old Sports blog (http://sportsblog07.blogspot.com/) that pertain to the Phillies. So the first two posts after this will be reposts with a 3rd one coming later tonight.

Thank you all who read this blog and happy readings! Go Phillies!