My Fellow Phans,
Some of you have probably been asking yourself about which Phillies deserve to be All-Stars. Well you're questions are answered! I have put together my current All-Star Rosters complete with my own starters and a representative from every team. So, as promised, here they are. The National will be posted first and a little bit later, I will post the American League Rosters.
* Note: When making these rosters, i ignored any injuries. If a guy is hurt; it doesn't mean he shouldn't be there*
National League Roster:
Starting Lineup:
C. Miguel Olivo; Colorado Rockies (.301 11 HR 38 RBI)
1B: Albert Pujols; St. Louis Cardinals (.312 18 HR 57 RBI)
2B: Martin Prado; Atlanta Braves (.334 7 HR 33 RBI)
3B: David Wright; New York Mets (.310 14 HR 61 RBI)
SS: Hanley Ramirez; Florida Marlins (.293 12 HR 50 RBI)
OF: Andre Eithier; Los Angeles Dodgers (.313 12 HR 47 RBI)
OF: Ryan Braun; Milwaukee Brewers (.299 11 HR 49 RBI)
OF: Corey Hart; Milwaukee Brewers (.278 18 HR 60 RBI)
DH: Joey Votto; Cincinnati Reds; (.313 17 HR 54 RBI)
SP: Ubaldo Jimenez; Colorado Rockies (14-1 1.83 ERA)
Notes: Olivo is the best amongst a weak catching core in the NL this season. Pujols and Wright are no brainers with the seasons they are having so far this season. Nobody can call me Phillies bias as I did not name Utley my starting 2b. Prado is having a magnificent year and he deserves to start there. Hanley Ramirez is again the best of a weak SS group in the NL. Nobody was hotter then Eithier before his injury and he has continued that right back up. The pair of Brewers outfielders are both having great seasons and the Brewers have emerged as a offensive force in the National League. Votto was my choice for DH as he is arguably the National League MVP at the current moment. If the Reds win the Central, then Votto should be seriously considered. Jimenez has been unhittable this season and he has earned this start.
Pitching Staff
SP: Yovani Gallardo; Milwaukee Brewers (8-3 2.56 ERA)
SP: Roy Halladay; Philadelphia Phillies (9-6 2.92 ERA)
SP: Josh Johnson: Florida Marlins (8-3 1.83 ERA)
SP: Matt Latos; San Diego Padres (8-4 2.85 ERA)
SP: Tim Lincecum; San Fransisco Giants (8-3 3.13 ERA)
SP: Roy Oswalt; Houston Astros (5-10 3.55 ERA)
SP: Carlos Silva; Chicago Cubs (8-2 3.01 ERA)
SP: Stephen Strasburg; Washington Nationals (2-2 2.27 ERA)
SP: Adam Wainwright; St. Louis Cardinals (11-5 2.34 ERA)
RP: Heath Bell; San Diego Padres (0-3 21 Saves 1.93 ERA)
RP: Brian Wilson; San Fransisco Giants (2-0 21 Saves 2.25 ERA)
Notes: There may be some more deserving pitchers on the outside, but the One Representative per team rule adds a few here and there. It is a strong rotation. Yes, Strasburg is an All-Star in my eyes. He is the lone Nationals Rep on this team so he deserves to go. If this game means home field advantage in the World Series; I want Stephen Strasburg pitching for our guys. I didn't get to bring many relievers as there were so many quality starters, I kind of ran out of room. You need a couple relievers on an All-Star team so I included two here.
Bench:
1B: Adrian Gonzalez; San Diego Padres (.302 16 HR 51 RBI)
1B: Ryan Howard; Philadelphia Phillies (.295 15 HR 55 RBI)
2B: Kelly Johnson; Arizona Diamondbacks (.261 13 HR 35 RBI)
2B: Chase Utley; Philadelphia Phillies (.277 11 HR 37 RBI)
3B: Scott Rolen; Cincinnati Reds (.301 17 HR 53 RBI)
SS: Juan Uribe; San Francisco Giants (.270 12 HR 45 RBI)
C: Brian McCann; Atlanta Braves (.260 9 HR 32 RBI)
OF: Carlos Gonzalez; Colorado Rockies (.302 12 HR 46 RBI)
OF: Garret Jones; Pittsburgh Pirates (.284 10 HR 46)
OF: Jayson Werth; Philadelphia Phillies (.292 13 HR 47 RBI)
Notes: The only questionable pick I see here is Jones and Johnson. They are both the lone reps from their respective teams so they need to be there. No those numbers for Juan Uribe are no typo. He is on-pace for over 100 RBIs. I don't get it either, but that gets him a spot on this team. Besides the Two "J"s I mentioned, I don't see any serious debates.
Teams with multiple reps:
Phillies - 4
Brewers, Giants, Padres, Rockies - 3
Braves, Cardinals, Marlins, Reds - 2
32nd Man Vote:
3B. Chris McGehee; Milwaukee Brewers (.271 12 HR 50 RBI)
OF: Johnny Gomes; Cincinnati Reds (.278 9 HR 51 RBI)
SP: Chris Carpenter; St. Louis Cardinals (9-1 2.70 ERA)
SP: Tim Hudson; Atlanta Braves (8-3 2.37 ERA)
SP: Jamie Moyer; Philadelphia Phillies (9-6 4.30 ERA)
Note: My vote goes to Moyer!
Look for my AL Rosters later today/this week.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
We have moved!!! Check out the new and improved State of the Phillies on its new page: https://mlblogsshieldsyman07.wordpress.com/
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
A Baseball Fan's Bucket List
My Fellow Phans,
So I was sitting around listening to John Mayer the other day and his song "Say" played. Now not only being one of my favorite songs of his; it is also a song from the movie The Bucket List. It made my ponder. Do I have a bucket list? I came to the conclusion that I couldn't make a normal bucket list without the typical cliche-filled responses that most people would put down.
When it comes to baseball, it is a completely different story. I have a small list of games, events, ballparks, teams, players ect. that I would like to see or witness. So, I included that here. Some of the things have already been accomplished and they have been "crossed" off. I divided the list up into a few categories so it will be easier to understand. Some of the things may also be impossible to happen now for one reason or another, but still they sit on my Baseball Bucket List. So here it is. Let me know what you think:
Shieldsy's Baseball Bucket List:
A. Ballparks I would like to / wished I could visit*:
1. Camden Yards @ Baltimore
2. Fenway Park @ Boston
3. Old Yankee Stadium @ Ny
4. New Yankee Stadium @ Ny
5. Wrigley Field @ Chicago
6. Turner Field @ Atlanta
7. Busch Stadium @ St. Louis
8. Any Stadium with a retractable roof (Yes, I'm a nerd I know lol)
9. Dodger Stadium @ LA
10. A T & T Park @ SF
11. Coors Field @ Colorado
12. Target Field @ Minnesota
13. A Ballpark with a river view in the background (Cincinnati, Pittsburgh ect.)
*Note: I would love to visit all Major League Ballparks someday. These are just ones higher up on my list*
B. Other Places I would like to visit:
1. The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown (Road trip anyone?)
2. Omaha, Nebraska - site of the College World Series
3. Williamsport, PA - site of the Little League World Series
C. Events I would like to witness and or make happen:
1. Phillies World Series Game
2. Phillies World Series Championship Parade
3. The College World Series
4. The Little League World Series
5. Trip to the DC Area to see The Orioles and Nationals both play at home on back-to-back days.
6. See a Phillies game in every Major League Ballpark. (So far I have NY, Boston, Washington, Baltimore...)
If I think of more I will update on here, but this is it for now. Lemme know what you think.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
So I was sitting around listening to John Mayer the other day and his song "Say" played. Now not only being one of my favorite songs of his; it is also a song from the movie The Bucket List. It made my ponder. Do I have a bucket list? I came to the conclusion that I couldn't make a normal bucket list without the typical cliche-filled responses that most people would put down.
When it comes to baseball, it is a completely different story. I have a small list of games, events, ballparks, teams, players ect. that I would like to see or witness. So, I included that here. Some of the things have already been accomplished and they have been "crossed" off. I divided the list up into a few categories so it will be easier to understand. Some of the things may also be impossible to happen now for one reason or another, but still they sit on my Baseball Bucket List. So here it is. Let me know what you think:
Shieldsy's Baseball Bucket List:
A. Ballparks I would like to / wished I could visit*:
1. Camden Yards @ Baltimore
3. Old Yankee Stadium @ Ny
5. Wrigley Field @ Chicago
6. Turner Field @ Atlanta
7. Busch Stadium @ St. Louis
8. Any Stadium with a retractable roof (Yes, I'm a nerd I know lol)
9. Dodger Stadium @ LA
10. A T & T Park @ SF
11. Coors Field @ Colorado
12. Target Field @ Minnesota
13. A Ballpark with a river view in the background (Cincinnati, Pittsburgh ect.)
*Note: I would love to visit all Major League Ballparks someday. These are just ones higher up on my list*
B. Other Places I would like to visit:
1. The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown (Road trip anyone?)
2. Omaha, Nebraska - site of the College World Series
3. Williamsport, PA - site of the Little League World Series
C. Events I would like to witness and or make happen:
3. The College World Series
4. The Little League World Series
5. Trip to the DC Area to see The Orioles and Nationals both play at home on back-to-back days.
6. See a Phillies game in every Major League Ballpark. (So far I have NY, Boston, Washington, Baltimore...)
If I think of more I will update on here, but this is it for now. Lemme know what you think.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
The State of Chase Utley
MY Fellow Phans,
I'm sure most of you have heard by now that Phillies' superstar second baseman Chase Utley left with a hand injury in yesterday's game against the Reds. He did come back out onto the field, but was lifted for a pinch hitter in the 9th inning. Let's hope this is just precautionary.
Tests are scheduled today for the All-Star second baseman. I will update you once I hear anything.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
I'm sure most of you have heard by now that Phillies' superstar second baseman Chase Utley left with a hand injury in yesterday's game against the Reds. He did come back out onto the field, but was lifted for a pinch hitter in the 9th inning. Let's hope this is just precautionary.
Tests are scheduled today for the All-Star second baseman. I will update you once I hear anything.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Phillies' Struggles Begin and End with..... Tim Wakefield?
My Fellow Phans,
On Sunday May 23rd, Tim Wakefield's knuckleball dazzled the Phillies as he threw 8 shutout innings in an 8-3 loss to the Red Soxs. In the next three weeks, the Phillies proceeded to go 5-12 with their struggles trademarked by a serious lack of offensive output. During this time they were shutout 5 times scoring just 40 runs in those 17 games.
On Sunday June 13th, the Phillies had their 2nd shot at the knuckleballing Wakefield, this time at Fenway Park in Boston. However, this would not be a repeat performance for the aging righthander. This time Wakefield went 7.1 innings, but gave up 4 earned runs in the process. The Phillies won the game 5-3 beating the knuckleballer three weeks after he had made them look horrendous. Was this beating of Tim Wakefield a turning point for the Phillies? Did they need to get this "monkey" off their backs before they could break through offensively? I don't know.
What I do know is that in the Phillies' 12 games since then, the Phillies have gone 8-4. In those 12 games they have scored 78 runs; nearly double their output in their previous 18 games. Jimmy Rollins has returned and looked just as strong at the plate as he did before he was injured and the team seems to be rolling, at least for now...
Let me say this, I was never "worried" about this team. I was frustrated with them during their recent slide which I guess is a byproduct of their recent successes. I was and always will be critical of this team. I am a fan of the game of baseball and I will always analyze it to the best of my abilities. This sometimes includes the harsh critique that I voiced numerous times during that cold streak. To say I was worried would be false. My words may have painted that false impression, but I was more frustrated than worried. There is a difference between being worried about a team and being critical of that same team.
I will say this. If the Phillies are playing well, and that is a big "if" noting that the Phillies are very much prone to inconsistency, but if they are playing well; those teams ahead of us in the division need to watch their backs. If the Boys are Back for good in Philly, it could be bad news for the rest of the National League.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
On Sunday May 23rd, Tim Wakefield's knuckleball dazzled the Phillies as he threw 8 shutout innings in an 8-3 loss to the Red Soxs. In the next three weeks, the Phillies proceeded to go 5-12 with their struggles trademarked by a serious lack of offensive output. During this time they were shutout 5 times scoring just 40 runs in those 17 games.
On Sunday June 13th, the Phillies had their 2nd shot at the knuckleballing Wakefield, this time at Fenway Park in Boston. However, this would not be a repeat performance for the aging righthander. This time Wakefield went 7.1 innings, but gave up 4 earned runs in the process. The Phillies won the game 5-3 beating the knuckleballer three weeks after he had made them look horrendous. Was this beating of Tim Wakefield a turning point for the Phillies? Did they need to get this "monkey" off their backs before they could break through offensively? I don't know.
What I do know is that in the Phillies' 12 games since then, the Phillies have gone 8-4. In those 12 games they have scored 78 runs; nearly double their output in their previous 18 games. Jimmy Rollins has returned and looked just as strong at the plate as he did before he was injured and the team seems to be rolling, at least for now...
Let me say this, I was never "worried" about this team. I was frustrated with them during their recent slide which I guess is a byproduct of their recent successes. I was and always will be critical of this team. I am a fan of the game of baseball and I will always analyze it to the best of my abilities. This sometimes includes the harsh critique that I voiced numerous times during that cold streak. To say I was worried would be false. My words may have painted that false impression, but I was more frustrated than worried. There is a difference between being worried about a team and being critical of that same team.
I will say this. If the Phillies are playing well, and that is a big "if" noting that the Phillies are very much prone to inconsistency, but if they are playing well; those teams ahead of us in the division need to watch their backs. If the Boys are Back for good in Philly, it could be bad news for the rest of the National League.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Seeing Red: Phillies / Reds Preview
My Fellow Phans,
I will not bother you with intricate details of each pitcher this week in my preview. I will just post the starters and provide a brief commentary on what I see in these next three games for the Phillies in Cincy.
Pitching Matchups:
Monday: Kyle Kendrick (4-2) vs. Johnny Cueto (7-2)
Tuesday: Joe Blanton (3-5) vs. Mike Leake (5-1)
Wednesday: Roy Halladay (9-6) vs. Aaron Harang (6-7)
Synopsis: Although this is a winnable series for the Phillies, it is going to be a very tough one indeed. The first two games they will be met by good young pitchers who are thriving at the right time to keep the Reds afloat in the National League Central. Harang, who will pitch the 3rd game is always tough on the Phillies so this will not be easy.
The Reds boast one of the best 1-2 offensive punches with possible (and my current) NL MVP, Joey Votto and a guy Phillies fans aren't too fond of, Scott Rolen. Both are playing well and both are All-Stars. Along with young Brandon Phillips, the Reds are flying high and battling for the NL Central lead with the Cardinals. Don't forget about outfielder Johnny Gomes, who is having an exceptionally yet unknown strong season for the Reds.
The Phillies have been playing well. Lets hope they can keep it up on the road.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
I will not bother you with intricate details of each pitcher this week in my preview. I will just post the starters and provide a brief commentary on what I see in these next three games for the Phillies in Cincy.
Pitching Matchups:
Monday: Kyle Kendrick (4-2) vs. Johnny Cueto (7-2)
Tuesday: Joe Blanton (3-5) vs. Mike Leake (5-1)
Wednesday: Roy Halladay (9-6) vs. Aaron Harang (6-7)
Synopsis: Although this is a winnable series for the Phillies, it is going to be a very tough one indeed. The first two games they will be met by good young pitchers who are thriving at the right time to keep the Reds afloat in the National League Central. Harang, who will pitch the 3rd game is always tough on the Phillies so this will not be easy.
The Reds boast one of the best 1-2 offensive punches with possible (and my current) NL MVP, Joey Votto and a guy Phillies fans aren't too fond of, Scott Rolen. Both are playing well and both are All-Stars. Along with young Brandon Phillips, the Reds are flying high and battling for the NL Central lead with the Cardinals. Don't forget about outfielder Johnny Gomes, who is having an exceptionally yet unknown strong season for the Reds.
The Phillies have been playing well. Lets hope they can keep it up on the road.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
I'm Back!
My Fellow Phans,
I wanted to apologize for last week. I promised a lot and didn't deliver. I have been super busy at home so far and that has kept my attention away from the blogging world.
I am just writing to let you know that I will get back to blogging on a regular basis about the Phillies and or baseball this week. Team Week has been pushed back until a later date, but that will come soon enough.
Thanks for you're patience and I will blog a little later today. I will have a Phillies recap of last week and possibly a preview of the upcoming series against the Reds. So keep you eyes peeled and your minds open for when that arrives.
I also will post my first draft of my projected All-Star rosters this week so stay tuned for that. I'm curious to hear what you think.
So, Until we meet again Phillies Fans (which I hope is later today); Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
I wanted to apologize for last week. I promised a lot and didn't deliver. I have been super busy at home so far and that has kept my attention away from the blogging world.
I am just writing to let you know that I will get back to blogging on a regular basis about the Phillies and or baseball this week. Team Week has been pushed back until a later date, but that will come soon enough.
Thanks for you're patience and I will blog a little later today. I will have a Phillies recap of last week and possibly a preview of the upcoming series against the Reds. So keep you eyes peeled and your minds open for when that arrives.
I also will post my first draft of my projected All-Star rosters this week so stay tuned for that. I'm curious to hear what you think.
So, Until we meet again Phillies Fans (which I hope is later today); Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Welcome Back J-Roll!
My Fellow Phans,
What an exciting past couple of nights it has been for the Phillies. On Tuesday night, Old Man Moyer did it again. He shut down the Indians for 8 innings and just gave up just 1 run during those innings. Moyer was impressive no doubt. His performance Monday night upped his "awesome game" total to 5 this season including 2 in a row against American League Opponents.
Last night was a big more offensive. Kyle Kendrick against the Indians; well in actuality, he had trouble dealing with Shin Shoo Choo. Props to Choo. He isa solid player and easily the best player the Indians have at the current time excluding the injured Grady Sizemore. He gave up 5 runs in his performance in just 5 innings. Props to the Phillies offense as well for overcoming an early deficit. Jason Werth and Brian Schiender homered in the Phillies victory. Raul Ibanez chipped in with a 2-run double.
The biggest hit of the evening came with the Phillies trailing by a run in the 9th inning; a man on and Jimmy Rollins at the plate. Rollins deposited a Kerry Wood offering into the right field seats for the Phillies 2nd walk off victory of the season. It was a nice welcoming back from the Phillies shortstop.
I know I haven't been posting recently and once I get a lil more free time, I will post more. I promise you that. I will get back to posting some "teams". I have just been really busy around the house and such. Thanks for your patience!
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
What an exciting past couple of nights it has been for the Phillies. On Tuesday night, Old Man Moyer did it again. He shut down the Indians for 8 innings and just gave up just 1 run during those innings. Moyer was impressive no doubt. His performance Monday night upped his "awesome game" total to 5 this season including 2 in a row against American League Opponents.
Last night was a big more offensive. Kyle Kendrick against the Indians; well in actuality, he had trouble dealing with Shin Shoo Choo. Props to Choo. He isa solid player and easily the best player the Indians have at the current time excluding the injured Grady Sizemore. He gave up 5 runs in his performance in just 5 innings. Props to the Phillies offense as well for overcoming an early deficit. Jason Werth and Brian Schiender homered in the Phillies victory. Raul Ibanez chipped in with a 2-run double.
The biggest hit of the evening came with the Phillies trailing by a run in the 9th inning; a man on and Jimmy Rollins at the plate. Rollins deposited a Kerry Wood offering into the right field seats for the Phillies 2nd walk off victory of the season. It was a nice welcoming back from the Phillies shortstop.
I know I haven't been posting recently and once I get a lil more free time, I will post more. I promise you that. I will get back to posting some "teams". I have just been really busy around the house and such. Thanks for your patience!
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Team Week Day 2: All Bust Team
My Fellow Phans,
I apologize for day 2 of Team Week coming so late, but yesterday proved to be very busy for me indeed. So today, I will post Days 2 & 3 of Team Week today for you adoring fans.
Day 2 of Team Week is the All Fantasy / Real Life 2010 Bust Team. This would mean players who were supposed to have good seasons, but have so far this year been busts or duds. You have to be pretty bad to make this team.
Without further adieu, here is the All Fantasy / Real Life 2010 Bust Team:
C: Bengie Molina; Giants (2010: .255 AVG 3 HR 17 RBI - 2009: .265 AVG 20 HR 80 RBI)- Molina has played so poorly recently that he is sitting with diminished playing and is actually in danger of losing starting job.
1B: Lance Berkman; Astros (2010: .237 AVG 6 HR 29 RBI - 2009: .274 AVG 25 HR 80 RBI)- While Berkman was injured at the start of the season; his return from the DL has been anything but pleasant for Astros fans. He has struggled tremendously and his trade value is dropping rapidly.
2B: Jose Lopez; Mariners (2010: .239 AVG 4 HR 27 RBI - 2009: .272 AVG 25 HR 96 RBI)- Lopez was a player that I have high hopes coming into this season. However, he has been a gigantic bust for the Mariners. I picked the Mariners as a surprise to win the west and it is the poor hitting from guys like Lopez who have made them one of the worst teams in the league.
3B: Aramis Ramirez; Cubs (2010: .168 AVG 5 HR 22 RBI - 2009: .317 AVG 15 HR 65 RBI) - Ramirez's stats in 2009 are not that impressive, but granted they are through only 81 games or half a season. Double those stats and it is very impressive numbers. This season, Ramirez has been hampered by injuries but when he has played there has been no sign of life in his bat. He is one of the top third basemen in the game, but for some reason he hasn't been this year.
SS: Jason Bartlett; Rays (2010: .226 AVG 1 HR 24 RBI - 2009: .320 AVG 14 HR 66 RBI): Bartlett was one of the stars who helped lead the Rays to the World Series in 2008 and it followed up with an even more impressive 2009. However, his bat has seemed to disappear in 2010. He is by far the biggest bust amongst any shortstop this season.
Of: Raul Ibanez; Phillies (2010: .244 AVG 5 HR 30 RBI - 2009: .272 AVG 34 HR 93 RBI): Raul was one of the breakout stars last season in his first season with Philadelphia. He was even elected to start in the All Star game. However an injury suffered mid last season derailed his career year. This year his struggles have continued to the dismay of Phillies fans.
Of: Curtis Granderson: Yankees (2010: .234 AVG 6 HR 20 RBI - 2009: .249 AVG 30 HR 71 RBI): Granderson was never a player to put up a high average, but with his move to new Yankee Stadium and the short porch in right field; one expected him to put up bigger numbers offensively than he has this year. I'm sure he will put up more numbers for now, but for right now, he is on our bust list until he picks it up.
Of: Nate McClouth; Braves (2010: .176 AVG 1 HR 14 RBI - 2009: .257 AVG 20 HR 70 RBI): McClouth career has taken a serious downturn since he was traded to the Braves. However this season is the epitomy of the downfall of the once highly touted Nate McClouth. McClouth may be the biggest bust out of all the players on this team.
DH: Adam Lind; Blue Jays (.213 AVG 8 HR 32 RBI - 2009: .305 AVG 35 HR 114 RBI): Lind has a breakout season last year. This season, he is well off of the pace he put up in 2009. We didn't expect him to put up similar numbers, but we didn't expect him to be this far off the pace.
LH SP: Wandy Rodriguez; Astros (2010: 3-10 6.09 ERA - 2009: 14-12 3.02 ERA): Rodriguez had a breakout last year and was the apparently heir to the ace spot in the Astros rotation. However, this season has been an implosion for him. I have been waiting for him to improve this season, but yet he hasn't shown many signs.
RH SP: Dan Haren; Diamondbacks (2010: 7-5 4.71 ERA - 2009: 14-10 3.14 ERA): Haren is one of the elite pitchers in the game; at least until this season. For some reason it has been a struggle for Haren. He has not put up horrific numbers, but for what he is usually putting up, these are bust like numbers..
RP:Trevor Hoffman; Brewers (2009: 3-2 1.83 ERA 37 Saves - 2010: 2-4 9.00 ERA 5 Saves 5 Blown Saves): Hoffman came into this season following an amazing season for the Brewers.This year, his age may have shown a little bit as he has struggled big time with as many blown saves as saves which caused him to lose his closer's job. He is slowly being eased back into the closer's closer, but it could be awhile before they trust him with a late lead again..
Stay tuned for Team Week Day 3 to be posted later.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
I apologize for day 2 of Team Week coming so late, but yesterday proved to be very busy for me indeed. So today, I will post Days 2 & 3 of Team Week today for you adoring fans.
Day 2 of Team Week is the All Fantasy / Real Life 2010 Bust Team. This would mean players who were supposed to have good seasons, but have so far this year been busts or duds. You have to be pretty bad to make this team.
Without further adieu, here is the All Fantasy / Real Life 2010 Bust Team:
C: Bengie Molina; Giants (2010: .255 AVG 3 HR 17 RBI - 2009: .265 AVG 20 HR 80 RBI)- Molina has played so poorly recently that he is sitting with diminished playing and is actually in danger of losing starting job.
1B: Lance Berkman; Astros (2010: .237 AVG 6 HR 29 RBI - 2009: .274 AVG 25 HR 80 RBI)- While Berkman was injured at the start of the season; his return from the DL has been anything but pleasant for Astros fans. He has struggled tremendously and his trade value is dropping rapidly.
2B: Jose Lopez; Mariners (2010: .239 AVG 4 HR 27 RBI - 2009: .272 AVG 25 HR 96 RBI)- Lopez was a player that I have high hopes coming into this season. However, he has been a gigantic bust for the Mariners. I picked the Mariners as a surprise to win the west and it is the poor hitting from guys like Lopez who have made them one of the worst teams in the league.
3B: Aramis Ramirez; Cubs (2010: .168 AVG 5 HR 22 RBI - 2009: .317 AVG 15 HR 65 RBI) - Ramirez's stats in 2009 are not that impressive, but granted they are through only 81 games or half a season. Double those stats and it is very impressive numbers. This season, Ramirez has been hampered by injuries but when he has played there has been no sign of life in his bat. He is one of the top third basemen in the game, but for some reason he hasn't been this year.
SS: Jason Bartlett; Rays (2010: .226 AVG 1 HR 24 RBI - 2009: .320 AVG 14 HR 66 RBI): Bartlett was one of the stars who helped lead the Rays to the World Series in 2008 and it followed up with an even more impressive 2009. However, his bat has seemed to disappear in 2010. He is by far the biggest bust amongst any shortstop this season.
Of: Raul Ibanez; Phillies (2010: .244 AVG 5 HR 30 RBI - 2009: .272 AVG 34 HR 93 RBI): Raul was one of the breakout stars last season in his first season with Philadelphia. He was even elected to start in the All Star game. However an injury suffered mid last season derailed his career year. This year his struggles have continued to the dismay of Phillies fans.
Of: Curtis Granderson: Yankees (2010: .234 AVG 6 HR 20 RBI - 2009: .249 AVG 30 HR 71 RBI): Granderson was never a player to put up a high average, but with his move to new Yankee Stadium and the short porch in right field; one expected him to put up bigger numbers offensively than he has this year. I'm sure he will put up more numbers for now, but for right now, he is on our bust list until he picks it up.
Of: Nate McClouth; Braves (2010: .176 AVG 1 HR 14 RBI - 2009: .257 AVG 20 HR 70 RBI): McClouth career has taken a serious downturn since he was traded to the Braves. However this season is the epitomy of the downfall of the once highly touted Nate McClouth. McClouth may be the biggest bust out of all the players on this team.
DH: Adam Lind; Blue Jays (.213 AVG 8 HR 32 RBI - 2009: .305 AVG 35 HR 114 RBI): Lind has a breakout season last year. This season, he is well off of the pace he put up in 2009. We didn't expect him to put up similar numbers, but we didn't expect him to be this far off the pace.
LH SP: Wandy Rodriguez; Astros (2010: 3-10 6.09 ERA - 2009: 14-12 3.02 ERA): Rodriguez had a breakout last year and was the apparently heir to the ace spot in the Astros rotation. However, this season has been an implosion for him. I have been waiting for him to improve this season, but yet he hasn't shown many signs.
RH SP: Dan Haren; Diamondbacks (2010: 7-5 4.71 ERA - 2009: 14-10 3.14 ERA): Haren is one of the elite pitchers in the game; at least until this season. For some reason it has been a struggle for Haren. He has not put up horrific numbers, but for what he is usually putting up, these are bust like numbers..
RP:Trevor Hoffman; Brewers (2009: 3-2 1.83 ERA 37 Saves - 2010: 2-4 9.00 ERA 5 Saves 5 Blown Saves): Hoffman came into this season following an amazing season for the Brewers.This year, his age may have shown a little bit as he has struggled big time with as many blown saves as saves which caused him to lose his closer's job. He is slowly being eased back into the closer's closer, but it could be awhile before they trust him with a late lead again..
Stay tuned for Team Week Day 3 to be posted later.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Monday, June 21, 2010
College World Series Update
My Fellow Phans,
One of the lesser known College championships, but what may be my favorite of the bunch is occuring right now. That is of course, the College World Series. 8 Teams battling for one championship in a double elimination tournament. As a fan of the game of baseball, I figured I would take a post or two during this week to update you on what is occuring in historic Omaha, Nebraska.
The 8 teams who qualified for the CWS are:
1. Florida
2. South Carolina
3. Florida State
4. TCU
5. UCLA
6. Arizona State
7. Clemson
8. Oklahoma
The teams are branched into 2 groups, based on the original round of 64 rankings, playing a round robin elimination tourney until a winner comes from each group.
Group 1: TCU, Florida, FSU, UCLA
Group 2: South Carolina, Arizona State, Clemson, Oklahoma
Group 1 began play on Saturday:
Game 1: TCU - 8 / FSU - 1
Game 2: UCLA - 11 / Florida - 3
This pit UCLA vs TCU in the winners bracket of the group and Florida and FSU facing elimination.
Group 2 began play on Sunday:
Game 3: Oklahoma - 4 / South Carolina - 3
Game 4: Clemson - 6 / Arizona State - 3
This meant top overall seed ASU has to face off against South Carolina in the losers' bracket with Oklahoma and Clemson playing in the winners bracket.
The second set of games started today:
Game 5: FSU - 8 / Florida - 5
Game 6:TCU / UCLA - 9:00pm tonight
This meant Florida was eliminated by FSU and FSU awaits the loser of TCU / UCLA in the next game of the pool.
Group 2's next round occurs tomorrow:
Game 7: Arizona State / South Carolina: 4:30 pm tomorrow - loser goes home
Game 8: Clemson / Oklahoma: 8:00pm - loser plays Game 7 winner in next round.
For a complete bracket go here: http://www.ncaa.com/brackets/2010/ncaa_bracket_DI_baseball.html
I will update more tomorrow or Wednesday. Stay tuned for details.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
One of the lesser known College championships, but what may be my favorite of the bunch is occuring right now. That is of course, the College World Series. 8 Teams battling for one championship in a double elimination tournament. As a fan of the game of baseball, I figured I would take a post or two during this week to update you on what is occuring in historic Omaha, Nebraska.
The 8 teams who qualified for the CWS are:
1. Florida
2. South Carolina
3. Florida State
4. TCU
5. UCLA
6. Arizona State
7. Clemson
8. Oklahoma
The teams are branched into 2 groups, based on the original round of 64 rankings, playing a round robin elimination tourney until a winner comes from each group.
Group 1: TCU, Florida, FSU, UCLA
Group 2: South Carolina, Arizona State, Clemson, Oklahoma
Group 1 began play on Saturday:
Game 1: TCU - 8 / FSU - 1
Game 2: UCLA - 11 / Florida - 3
This pit UCLA vs TCU in the winners bracket of the group and Florida and FSU facing elimination.
Group 2 began play on Sunday:
Game 3: Oklahoma - 4 / South Carolina - 3
Game 4: Clemson - 6 / Arizona State - 3
This meant top overall seed ASU has to face off against South Carolina in the losers' bracket with Oklahoma and Clemson playing in the winners bracket.
The second set of games started today:
Game 5: FSU - 8 / Florida - 5
Game 6:TCU / UCLA - 9:00pm tonight
This meant Florida was eliminated by FSU and FSU awaits the loser of TCU / UCLA in the next game of the pool.
Group 2's next round occurs tomorrow:
Game 7: Arizona State / South Carolina: 4:30 pm tomorrow - loser goes home
Game 8: Clemson / Oklahoma: 8:00pm - loser plays Game 7 winner in next round.
For a complete bracket go here: http://www.ncaa.com/brackets/2010/ncaa_bracket_DI_baseball.html
I will update more tomorrow or Wednesday. Stay tuned for details.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Did Bullpen Show its True Colors on Saturday?
My Fellow Phans,
I promised myself that I would not comment about the Phillies game Saturday until the end of this Twins series. However, I am watching Behind the Pinstripes and they keep mentioning it and it is getting annoying. So I am going to throw my 2 cents in. Granted, it may be more than just 2 cents by the time I am finished ranting. I'll apologize ahead of time for that now before I get too far into my post here:
Yesterday's disgusting bullpen collapse, although disgusting is giving it too much credit, brought about two points. First of all, our bullpen is not as good as it has been pitching. Lidge looks shaky in his past few performances and Baez is just ridiculously bad. He needs to go. I was under the false impression when we signed him that he was actually a good pitcher. Sadly, I was way way wrong. Dump Baez and find someone who can actually get outs; that should be a slight improvement in the pen. They are not going to keep up this solid pace and we better get used to it.
The second thing it pointed out was a troubling sign of what could happen in the future. During our "offensive drought", our pitching was spectacular. Now we are hitting again and our pitching seems to be collapsing. Did I not call this? Scoring 10 runs doesn't help when your shitty pitching gives up 13. Our bullpen alone gave up 9 runs in 3 innings. JUST 3 INNINGS!
Yesterday should not have occured. It was disgraceful. Not only did we lose; our pen looked pathetic on National TV and gave my good ol' buddy Eric Karros plenty of reasons to cheer for his Twins. Everytime the Phillies did anything positive; he praised them and then praised the Twins even more for making an average play. I mean Com'on. The problem with Mr. Karros, besides the fact that he is a total D-Bag, is that his ego is so big that its pathetic. Just because he played the game doesn't make him an expert. In fact, he knows very little. I know more than he does. Anyone that knows me can attest to that.
Disgraceful may not be the right word to use here. Mayber horrendous? Pathetic? inexcusable? Maybe we can hire some people from BP to plug the leak in our bullpen. I don't know who has more holes right now; the oil people or our pen.
I would like to commend the offense for showing up. We are starting to look like we can actually hit the ball (knock on wood) and now our bullpen is failing. Oh great. Let's hope this is not a sign of things to come.
It was nice to see Jim Thome again. I even noticed after he hit his pinch hit homer that some of the Phillies fans actually applauded Thome on his hit. I think that is class. How come we don't hear about that in the papers? Sure, if we booed Thome or someone threw something at him, it would be all over the news. We can't get a break here, can we?
Anyways, I am sitting here hoping to not see the bullpen today. However a Victorino bobble just lead to a run. Wow Phillies, just wow. Can we get our heads in the game?
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
I promised myself that I would not comment about the Phillies game Saturday until the end of this Twins series. However, I am watching Behind the Pinstripes and they keep mentioning it and it is getting annoying. So I am going to throw my 2 cents in. Granted, it may be more than just 2 cents by the time I am finished ranting. I'll apologize ahead of time for that now before I get too far into my post here:
Yesterday's disgusting bullpen collapse, although disgusting is giving it too much credit, brought about two points. First of all, our bullpen is not as good as it has been pitching. Lidge looks shaky in his past few performances and Baez is just ridiculously bad. He needs to go. I was under the false impression when we signed him that he was actually a good pitcher. Sadly, I was way way wrong. Dump Baez and find someone who can actually get outs; that should be a slight improvement in the pen. They are not going to keep up this solid pace and we better get used to it.
The second thing it pointed out was a troubling sign of what could happen in the future. During our "offensive drought", our pitching was spectacular. Now we are hitting again and our pitching seems to be collapsing. Did I not call this? Scoring 10 runs doesn't help when your shitty pitching gives up 13. Our bullpen alone gave up 9 runs in 3 innings. JUST 3 INNINGS!
Yesterday should not have occured. It was disgraceful. Not only did we lose; our pen looked pathetic on National TV and gave my good ol' buddy Eric Karros plenty of reasons to cheer for his Twins. Everytime the Phillies did anything positive; he praised them and then praised the Twins even more for making an average play. I mean Com'on. The problem with Mr. Karros, besides the fact that he is a total D-Bag, is that his ego is so big that its pathetic. Just because he played the game doesn't make him an expert. In fact, he knows very little. I know more than he does. Anyone that knows me can attest to that.
Disgraceful may not be the right word to use here. Mayber horrendous? Pathetic? inexcusable? Maybe we can hire some people from BP to plug the leak in our bullpen. I don't know who has more holes right now; the oil people or our pen.
I would like to commend the offense for showing up. We are starting to look like we can actually hit the ball (knock on wood) and now our bullpen is failing. Oh great. Let's hope this is not a sign of things to come.
It was nice to see Jim Thome again. I even noticed after he hit his pinch hit homer that some of the Phillies fans actually applauded Thome on his hit. I think that is class. How come we don't hear about that in the papers? Sure, if we booed Thome or someone threw something at him, it would be all over the news. We can't get a break here, can we?
Anyways, I am sitting here hoping to not see the bullpen today. However a Victorino bobble just lead to a run. Wow Phillies, just wow. Can we get our heads in the game?
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
"Team Week" Begins; Former Phils vs. Current Phils
My Fellow Phans,
This will, along with all my other blog posts, I am adding a slightly different kind of post. Each day this week, I will post an "All _____ team". These can range from teams directly related to the Phillies, like today's team to just something concerning baseball in general. Why am I doing this you ask. Honestly, it is just for fun and to take a different look at this great sport of baseball. Hope you enjoy this different outlook. Feel free to comment on anything I post as I would love input on my ideas.
For my first post of "Team Week", I will do a post that you all should take an interest in. This is The "All Former-Phillies" Team. These are players who have played for the Phillies at one time or another and are now on different teams. I tried to keep it to current players whom you may or may not remember. I will post a second poll and see what team you think would win if the current Phillies matched up against their former teammates. I will comment on my selections at the end. So Enjoy The All Former-Phillies Team!
All Former-Phillies Team:
Lineup:
C: Rod Barajas - Mets (.253 AVG 11 HR 30 RBI)
1B: Jim Thome - Twins (.250 AVG 6 HR 19 RBI)
2B: Nick Punto - Twins (.255 AVG 1 HR 18 RBI)
3B: Scott Rolen - Reds (.296 AVG 14 HR 45 RBI)
SS: Pedro Feliz - Astros (.220 AVG 2 HR 22 RBI)
LF: Marlon Byrd - Cubs (.320 AVG 9 HR 34 RBI)
CF: Michael Bourn - Astros (.253 AVG 0 HR 11 RBI)
RF: Bobby Abreu - Angels (.272 AVG 7 HR 34 RBI)
Batting Order: Bourn, Abreu, Rolen, Byrd, Thome, Feliz, Barajas, Punto
Synopsis: Before you say anything yes, I know some players are out of their normal position. Thome hasn't played first in a few years, but he is still a first baseman by trade and will fill in there. Feliz was a former shortstop for the Giants so I think it would be fine for him to make his way back there; at least for our team here. I didn't put anybody at a position they haven't played signifigant time at in the past so that was my thinking there.
Overall, I would rate this lineup below average. After Thome it is pretty weak although Barajas could hit the occassional home run every now and then. Look for Barajas to possibly be on another team later in the week as well. As much as I hate to say it, Rolen is this team's best hitter. He is having an amazing year for the Reds and could very well be an All-Star. Byrd is also doing well for the Cubs. I do like the speed at the top of the order as long as Bourn gets on base, he is pesky. Abreu was for us and still is an ideal # 2 hitter. However, as I said before, this is a below average to average lineup at best.
Starting Rotation:
1. Cliff Lee - Mariners (5-3 2.55)
2. Carlos Silva - Cubs (8-2 3.01)
3. Brett Myers - Astros (4-5 3.34)
4. Kevin Millwood - Orioles (1-8 5.12)
5. Freddy Garcia - White Soxs (7-3 4.94)
Overall Totals: 25-21; 3.90 ERA / Phillies Rotation: 28-23 4.05 ERA
Synopsis: Again, any average rotation. Their collective numbers overall eerily similar to the Phillies starters this season. Looking at their rotation: They have 1 ace in Lee, and 2 slightly above average starters in Silva and Myers. Millwood has pitched better than his numbers indicate, but he is still not as good as he once was. Garcia rounds out the rotation in the 5th spot.
Bench and Bullpen:
C: Ronny Paulino - Marlins (.314 AVG 3 HR 27 RBI)
UT: Miguel Cairo - Reds (.263 AVG 2 HR 9 RBI)
1B/3B: Wes Helms - Marlins (.268 AVG 2 HR 9 RBI)
OF: Pat Burrell - Giants (.248 AVG 4 HR 18 RBI overall; .351 AVG 2 HR 5 RBI w/SF)
OF: Aaron Rowand - Giants (.220 AVG 6 HR 23 RBI)
Synopsis: This is a solid bench. It contains a couple of fan favorites in the outfield. Burrell has seemed to rejuvenate his career with the Giants so far. However this list also contains a pair of players that Phillies fans love to hate in Paulino and Helms. Cairo was really an inigma here and didn't do much so there is really no opinion about him from most fans...
CP: Billy Wagner - Braves (5-0 1.27 ERA 13 Saves)
SU: Ryan Franklin - Cardinals (3-0 2.40 ERA 13 Saves)
RP: Brian Sanchez - Marlins (2.84 ERA 5 Holds)
RP: Robinson Tejada - Royals (4.18 ERA 4 Holds)
RP: Bruce Chen - Royals (3-1 4.15 ERA 1 Save)
RP: Chan Ho Park - Yankees (1-1 6.16 ERA)
RP: Clay Condrey - Twins (6-2 3.00 ERA 7 Holds in 2009)
Their Pen Totals: 20-7 3.34 ERA 28 Saves 16 Holds
Phils Pen Totals: 7-8 4.13 ERA 14 Saves 21 Holds
Synopsis: When i calculated the Former Phils team totals here, I included Condrey's 2009 season incase you were wondering. Their numbers are way better than the Phillies bullpen. I spoke to a friend of mine last week and he claims never remembering Bruce Chen on the Phillies. Well, Mr.Chen was not on the Phillies once, but twice in two different stints. Another old face is Robinson Tejada. Anyone remember him? He, like Chen, is pitching well in the Royals' bullpen. Nice to see him get a chance somewhere. I'm sure some of you didn't know Brian Sanchez was on the Phillies, well he was and struggled for us. He has seemed to find his nitch with the Marlins.Outside of Condrey, who has missed all of this season via injury this year, I am not a fan of the other pitchers on this list. Park left Philly to join the Evil Empire and Franklin sucked here in Philly but now is an elite closer, go figure. Wagner is just a tool, yet he is having an amazing year for the Braves. Oh and before you badmouth him, just remember they are ahead of us in the standings. If and when we catch them, then badmouth him all you want; I know I am waiting for that chance.
Formers vs. Currents: The Former Phillies definitely have the edge in the pitching department. The Currents have a serious edge in the offensive department. The question is which team would win if both teams played a 9 game season using full rotations and lineups. I give the edge to the currents, but what do you think?
VOTE IN THE POLL! The Poll will be on the right here. Vote for which team you think would win, The Former Phils or The Current Squad!
So Day 1 of Team Week has officially ended. Lemme know what you think and if you have any ideas for teams for me to post during the week. Happy Trails!
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
This will, along with all my other blog posts, I am adding a slightly different kind of post. Each day this week, I will post an "All _____ team". These can range from teams directly related to the Phillies, like today's team to just something concerning baseball in general. Why am I doing this you ask. Honestly, it is just for fun and to take a different look at this great sport of baseball. Hope you enjoy this different outlook. Feel free to comment on anything I post as I would love input on my ideas.
For my first post of "Team Week", I will do a post that you all should take an interest in. This is The "All Former-Phillies" Team. These are players who have played for the Phillies at one time or another and are now on different teams. I tried to keep it to current players whom you may or may not remember. I will post a second poll and see what team you think would win if the current Phillies matched up against their former teammates. I will comment on my selections at the end. So Enjoy The All Former-Phillies Team!
All Former-Phillies Team:
Lineup:
C: Rod Barajas - Mets (.253 AVG 11 HR 30 RBI)
1B: Jim Thome - Twins (.250 AVG 6 HR 19 RBI)
2B: Nick Punto - Twins (.255 AVG 1 HR 18 RBI)
3B: Scott Rolen - Reds (.296 AVG 14 HR 45 RBI)
SS: Pedro Feliz - Astros (.220 AVG 2 HR 22 RBI)
LF: Marlon Byrd - Cubs (.320 AVG 9 HR 34 RBI)
CF: Michael Bourn - Astros (.253 AVG 0 HR 11 RBI)
RF: Bobby Abreu - Angels (.272 AVG 7 HR 34 RBI)
Batting Order: Bourn, Abreu, Rolen, Byrd, Thome, Feliz, Barajas, Punto
Synopsis: Before you say anything yes, I know some players are out of their normal position. Thome hasn't played first in a few years, but he is still a first baseman by trade and will fill in there. Feliz was a former shortstop for the Giants so I think it would be fine for him to make his way back there; at least for our team here. I didn't put anybody at a position they haven't played signifigant time at in the past so that was my thinking there.
Overall, I would rate this lineup below average. After Thome it is pretty weak although Barajas could hit the occassional home run every now and then. Look for Barajas to possibly be on another team later in the week as well. As much as I hate to say it, Rolen is this team's best hitter. He is having an amazing year for the Reds and could very well be an All-Star. Byrd is also doing well for the Cubs. I do like the speed at the top of the order as long as Bourn gets on base, he is pesky. Abreu was for us and still is an ideal # 2 hitter. However, as I said before, this is a below average to average lineup at best.
Starting Rotation:
1. Cliff Lee - Mariners (5-3 2.55)
2. Carlos Silva - Cubs (8-2 3.01)
3. Brett Myers - Astros (4-5 3.34)
4. Kevin Millwood - Orioles (1-8 5.12)
5. Freddy Garcia - White Soxs (7-3 4.94)
Overall Totals: 25-21; 3.90 ERA / Phillies Rotation: 28-23 4.05 ERA
Synopsis: Again, any average rotation. Their collective numbers overall eerily similar to the Phillies starters this season. Looking at their rotation: They have 1 ace in Lee, and 2 slightly above average starters in Silva and Myers. Millwood has pitched better than his numbers indicate, but he is still not as good as he once was. Garcia rounds out the rotation in the 5th spot.
Bench and Bullpen:
C: Ronny Paulino - Marlins (.314 AVG 3 HR 27 RBI)
UT: Miguel Cairo - Reds (.263 AVG 2 HR 9 RBI)
1B/3B: Wes Helms - Marlins (.268 AVG 2 HR 9 RBI)
OF: Pat Burrell - Giants (.248 AVG 4 HR 18 RBI overall; .351 AVG 2 HR 5 RBI w/SF)
OF: Aaron Rowand - Giants (.220 AVG 6 HR 23 RBI)
Synopsis: This is a solid bench. It contains a couple of fan favorites in the outfield. Burrell has seemed to rejuvenate his career with the Giants so far. However this list also contains a pair of players that Phillies fans love to hate in Paulino and Helms. Cairo was really an inigma here and didn't do much so there is really no opinion about him from most fans...
CP: Billy Wagner - Braves (5-0 1.27 ERA 13 Saves)
SU: Ryan Franklin - Cardinals (3-0 2.40 ERA 13 Saves)
RP: Brian Sanchez - Marlins (2.84 ERA 5 Holds)
RP: Robinson Tejada - Royals (4.18 ERA 4 Holds)
RP: Bruce Chen - Royals (3-1 4.15 ERA 1 Save)
RP: Chan Ho Park - Yankees (1-1 6.16 ERA)
RP: Clay Condrey - Twins (6-2 3.00 ERA 7 Holds in 2009)
Their Pen Totals: 20-7 3.34 ERA 28 Saves 16 Holds
Phils Pen Totals: 7-8 4.13 ERA 14 Saves 21 Holds
Synopsis: When i calculated the Former Phils team totals here, I included Condrey's 2009 season incase you were wondering. Their numbers are way better than the Phillies bullpen. I spoke to a friend of mine last week and he claims never remembering Bruce Chen on the Phillies. Well, Mr.Chen was not on the Phillies once, but twice in two different stints. Another old face is Robinson Tejada. Anyone remember him? He, like Chen, is pitching well in the Royals' bullpen. Nice to see him get a chance somewhere. I'm sure some of you didn't know Brian Sanchez was on the Phillies, well he was and struggled for us. He has seemed to find his nitch with the Marlins.Outside of Condrey, who has missed all of this season via injury this year, I am not a fan of the other pitchers on this list. Park left Philly to join the Evil Empire and Franklin sucked here in Philly but now is an elite closer, go figure. Wagner is just a tool, yet he is having an amazing year for the Braves. Oh and before you badmouth him, just remember they are ahead of us in the standings. If and when we catch them, then badmouth him all you want; I know I am waiting for that chance.
Formers vs. Currents: The Former Phillies definitely have the edge in the pitching department. The Currents have a serious edge in the offensive department. The question is which team would win if both teams played a 9 game season using full rotations and lineups. I give the edge to the currents, but what do you think?
VOTE IN THE POLL! The Poll will be on the right here. Vote for which team you think would win, The Former Phils or The Current Squad!
So Day 1 of Team Week has officially ended. Lemme know what you think and if you have any ideas for teams for me to post during the week. Happy Trails!
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Friday, June 18, 2010
The Curious Tale of Chase Utley
My Fellow Phans,
There is breaking developments in the Chase Utley injury discussions and as much as I hate to say it, I saw this news coming.
First base coach Davey Lopes recently admitted that Chase Utley has been playing through an injury recently. Lopes said in an interview that "Chase has been hampered by a little bit of a knee injury."
End of story right? It was clearly evident that Utley had to be struggling with some sort of injury. Everyone in this city knows how good Utley is and we have seen him in slumps before, but not a single one even close to being as bad as the one he is in now. Having said that, this slump will be uncommon for Utley when he is healthy and playing well. Could another problem be causing this slump? As I and a few before me have said, the answer seems to be an astounding yes. So the story ends here right? Utley is revealed to be hurt and we rest him and or DL him so he can get back to being the offensive force that we all know he can and should be.
Enter Ruben Amaro. "Davey Lopes is not a doctor. He’s not our spokesman. He has given out wrong information,” Amaro said, according to the article on CSNPhilly.com. “Chase is not injured. There is no injury. I will dispute what Davey says. That is false and incorrect information.” Amaro acknolwedged that Utley has some soreness but denied the team has done an MRI on Utley's knee.
Harsh words for Mr. Lopes who seemed to be just admitting something that apparently Ruben did not want known. In short, Utley has a sore knee? It is clearly bothering him enough to effect his play and maybe an MRI should be done. I would rather see Chase Utley DLed for a couple weeks than have him continue at his downward pace. He hasn't hit a home run in God knows long and his average is slowly lowering and closing in around .250. Either way, I think its agreed that Utley should have some time off.
Utley's struggles have gotten so bad that the Yankees intentionally walked Shane Victorino yesterday to face Utley. That kind of thing would have been unheard of in the past, but not its happening. Maybe it would not be that bad of an idea to put Utley on the DL to allow him time to heal. He is the key to the offense and we will not be the same without him fully healthy and playing well.
I was just made aware of this quote from Chase concerning his injury: “I actually feel pretty good, I think there’s a little confusion and maybe a little bit of differnce of opinion in what Davey said. In my opinion, an injury is something that keeps you off the field. When you play 162 games plus over the course of the year your going to have aches and pains.. It’...s something you have to deal with. In my opinion, there’s no injury whatsoever.”
Of course Utley will not blame his struggles on his knee. His is a gamer and players like him will NEVER do that sort of thing. He would also never admit that he may need a day off or two. As much as I love Utley and his playing style, sometimes his attitude can hurt him. I think he needs an MRI to make sure he is healthy and, regardless of the outcome, some time off either on the DL or on the bench for a few games. There is not way that he will be willing to accept this treatment, but for his own good and the Phillies' offense well-being he needs to get back to his good old self.
We need you healthy Chase, even more then you may know.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
There is breaking developments in the Chase Utley injury discussions and as much as I hate to say it, I saw this news coming.
First base coach Davey Lopes recently admitted that Chase Utley has been playing through an injury recently. Lopes said in an interview that "Chase has been hampered by a little bit of a knee injury."
End of story right? It was clearly evident that Utley had to be struggling with some sort of injury. Everyone in this city knows how good Utley is and we have seen him in slumps before, but not a single one even close to being as bad as the one he is in now. Having said that, this slump will be uncommon for Utley when he is healthy and playing well. Could another problem be causing this slump? As I and a few before me have said, the answer seems to be an astounding yes. So the story ends here right? Utley is revealed to be hurt and we rest him and or DL him so he can get back to being the offensive force that we all know he can and should be.
Enter Ruben Amaro. "Davey Lopes is not a doctor. He’s not our spokesman. He has given out wrong information,” Amaro said, according to the article on CSNPhilly.com. “Chase is not injured. There is no injury. I will dispute what Davey says. That is false and incorrect information.” Amaro acknolwedged that Utley has some soreness but denied the team has done an MRI on Utley's knee.
Harsh words for Mr. Lopes who seemed to be just admitting something that apparently Ruben did not want known. In short, Utley has a sore knee? It is clearly bothering him enough to effect his play and maybe an MRI should be done. I would rather see Chase Utley DLed for a couple weeks than have him continue at his downward pace. He hasn't hit a home run in God knows long and his average is slowly lowering and closing in around .250. Either way, I think its agreed that Utley should have some time off.
Utley's struggles have gotten so bad that the Yankees intentionally walked Shane Victorino yesterday to face Utley. That kind of thing would have been unheard of in the past, but not its happening. Maybe it would not be that bad of an idea to put Utley on the DL to allow him time to heal. He is the key to the offense and we will not be the same without him fully healthy and playing well.
I was just made aware of this quote from Chase concerning his injury: “I actually feel pretty good, I think there’s a little confusion and maybe a little bit of differnce of opinion in what Davey said. In my opinion, an injury is something that keeps you off the field. When you play 162 games plus over the course of the year your going to have aches and pains.. It’...s something you have to deal with. In my opinion, there’s no injury whatsoever.”
Of course Utley will not blame his struggles on his knee. His is a gamer and players like him will NEVER do that sort of thing. He would also never admit that he may need a day off or two. As much as I love Utley and his playing style, sometimes his attitude can hurt him. I think he needs an MRI to make sure he is healthy and, regardless of the outcome, some time off either on the DL or on the bench for a few games. There is not way that he will be willing to accept this treatment, but for his own good and the Phillies' offense well-being he needs to get back to his good old self.
We need you healthy Chase, even more then you may know.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Phillies Seeing Double This Weekend as Twins Visit Philly
My Fellow Phans,
I would like to apologize for the bad title. It sounded better in my head before I put it down on paper. Anyways, the Phillies will be entertaining the American League Central leading Minnesota Twins this weekend at Citizens Bank Park. The pitching matchups are as follows:
Today 6/18: Twins (Blackburn, 6-3) @ Phillies (Blanton, 1-5), 7:05 pm
Saturday 6/19: Twins (Slowey, 7-4) @ Phillies (Hamels, 6-5), 4:10 pm
Sunday 6/20: Twins (Pavano, 7-6) @ Phillies (Halladay, 8-5), 1:35 pm
On paper, the Twins appear to be throwing three quality starters out against us this weekend. There is no reason why the Phillies cannot win this series. Hamels and Halladay are both pitching this weekend and both have been pitching relatively well recently (knock on wood). The offense showed some sign of life back in New York so lets hope they can continue to take steps forward in the hitting department. I will not make any predictions about this series except to say that the Phillies will need to be on their game to compete with the Twins, who are a very good team.
Let's hope they can keep up their winning ways.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
I would like to apologize for the bad title. It sounded better in my head before I put it down on paper. Anyways, the Phillies will be entertaining the American League Central leading Minnesota Twins this weekend at Citizens Bank Park. The pitching matchups are as follows:
Today 6/18: Twins (Blackburn, 6-3) @ Phillies (Blanton, 1-5), 7:05 pm
Saturday 6/19: Twins (Slowey, 7-4) @ Phillies (Hamels, 6-5), 4:10 pm
Sunday 6/20: Twins (Pavano, 7-6) @ Phillies (Halladay, 8-5), 1:35 pm
On paper, the Twins appear to be throwing three quality starters out against us this weekend. There is no reason why the Phillies cannot win this series. Hamels and Halladay are both pitching this weekend and both have been pitching relatively well recently (knock on wood). The offense showed some sign of life back in New York so lets hope they can continue to take steps forward in the hitting department. I will not make any predictions about this series except to say that the Phillies will need to be on their game to compete with the Twins, who are a very good team.
Let's hope they can keep up their winning ways.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Moyer and Kendrick Teach Valuable Lesson
My Fellow Phans.
There is so much that can be talked about concerning the last few days and this recent series in New York. If you haven't already heard, the Phillies beat the Yankees 2 out of 3 in their latest series. It is the first series win for the Phillies since sweeping the Brewers on the road in Mid May! Mid May! That's a good 3 weeks ago. Could they be turning this around? I sincerely hope so. They have won 3 of their last 4 games.
After Halladay lost the opening game of the series to the Yanks, in fact he was rocked by the Bronx Bombers. After that loss, I became skeptical of this series. As a Phillies fan, I have seen Moyer absolutely pulverized by Boston in his last start and I was wondering what would become of him in his 2nd start against a good hitting American League opponent. As a Phillies fan, I had seen Kendrick have a rough start against the Florida Marlins, a team with nowhere near the offense capabilities as the Yankees so I was a bit worried about how they would perform.
As a baseball analyst and unbias fan of the game of baseball, I predicted another rough series for the Phillies. People tell me I am no optimistic enough or positive enough sometimes when it comes to the Phillies. In my defense, when I watch a game I am watching indeed as a diehard Phillies fan that you all that I am, but I am also watching as a fan of the game of baseball itself; a "student of the game" if you will, and this causes me to analyze the game from an outside perspective. There is a major difference between being a fan of a team and a fan of the game itself. Usually most of my negative commentary comes from my baseball fan side noting things that could improve overall about the Phillies game. I can be just as critical of other teams if you ask my opinion about them. Don't get me wrong, the Phillies are the greatest team known to man and I will live, breath and die with them, but baseball is also the greatest sport known to man and I am a fan and analyst of that game as well.
As a student of the game, there is always room for learning new things and experiencing amazing moments. These last two games caused me to do both:
As I said I had serious doubts about Kendrick and Moyer's starts in this series. I was at my sister's graduation Wednesday night, but little did I know that I was missing history on the mound. Moyer became the oldest player to EVER beat the Yankees. He pitched 8 innings and gave up just a few hits along with strikeouts. The man as old as time itself shut down the best hitting offense in the league, I never saw it coming. Moyer proved me wrong in a BIG way and I will never doubt his abilities again. That I can promise you.
Last night, I got to see Kendrick pitch his gem against the Yankees. I cannot say enough about what him or Moyer did. Kendrick only had one rough inning, which was the 6th, and it was ended by amazing play by Polanco at third reaching over the tarp to get a foul ball.
Everyone thought that was the play of game and yes it was until Jose Contreras made a behind the back stab of a ground ball hit by Curtis Granderson. That my friends was top play material and one of the best plays I've seen in baseball this season. AMAZING PLAY indeed!
These two plays just solidified the evening and made the outcome all the much more enjoyable. It was nice to see our guys play the steady defense that we all know they are capable of. As for the offense, Victorino has a couple of hits as did Carlos Ruiz. Everyone in the lineup had a least one hit outside of Chase Utley who looked baffled by Andy Pettite all night. Utley's new Pedro Cerrano like ritual didn't seem to work last night, but it is an interesting idea. Chase, we all know you're going to break out of this slump and once you do, we will be rolling once again.
So I will finish this post off by saying that I salute Jamie Moyer and Kyle Kendrick. I had serious doubts about you two pitching and you both proved me wrong with flying colors. I admit i was wrong. Yes, for once I was wrong. Make a note ladies and gents, this doesn't happen often haha. Anyways, I salute you two pitchers for pitching your gems and proving me wrong. You taught me a valuable lesson and I will never doubt again. You guys stepped up to win the biggest series of the year. I mean is there anything better than beating the Yankees?
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
There is so much that can be talked about concerning the last few days and this recent series in New York. If you haven't already heard, the Phillies beat the Yankees 2 out of 3 in their latest series. It is the first series win for the Phillies since sweeping the Brewers on the road in Mid May! Mid May! That's a good 3 weeks ago. Could they be turning this around? I sincerely hope so. They have won 3 of their last 4 games.
After Halladay lost the opening game of the series to the Yanks, in fact he was rocked by the Bronx Bombers. After that loss, I became skeptical of this series. As a Phillies fan, I have seen Moyer absolutely pulverized by Boston in his last start and I was wondering what would become of him in his 2nd start against a good hitting American League opponent. As a Phillies fan, I had seen Kendrick have a rough start against the Florida Marlins, a team with nowhere near the offense capabilities as the Yankees so I was a bit worried about how they would perform.
As a baseball analyst and unbias fan of the game of baseball, I predicted another rough series for the Phillies. People tell me I am no optimistic enough or positive enough sometimes when it comes to the Phillies. In my defense, when I watch a game I am watching indeed as a diehard Phillies fan that you all that I am, but I am also watching as a fan of the game of baseball itself; a "student of the game" if you will, and this causes me to analyze the game from an outside perspective. There is a major difference between being a fan of a team and a fan of the game itself. Usually most of my negative commentary comes from my baseball fan side noting things that could improve overall about the Phillies game. I can be just as critical of other teams if you ask my opinion about them. Don't get me wrong, the Phillies are the greatest team known to man and I will live, breath and die with them, but baseball is also the greatest sport known to man and I am a fan and analyst of that game as well.
As a student of the game, there is always room for learning new things and experiencing amazing moments. These last two games caused me to do both:
As I said I had serious doubts about Kendrick and Moyer's starts in this series. I was at my sister's graduation Wednesday night, but little did I know that I was missing history on the mound. Moyer became the oldest player to EVER beat the Yankees. He pitched 8 innings and gave up just a few hits along with strikeouts. The man as old as time itself shut down the best hitting offense in the league, I never saw it coming. Moyer proved me wrong in a BIG way and I will never doubt his abilities again. That I can promise you.
Last night, I got to see Kendrick pitch his gem against the Yankees. I cannot say enough about what him or Moyer did. Kendrick only had one rough inning, which was the 6th, and it was ended by amazing play by Polanco at third reaching over the tarp to get a foul ball.
Everyone thought that was the play of game and yes it was until Jose Contreras made a behind the back stab of a ground ball hit by Curtis Granderson. That my friends was top play material and one of the best plays I've seen in baseball this season. AMAZING PLAY indeed!
These two plays just solidified the evening and made the outcome all the much more enjoyable. It was nice to see our guys play the steady defense that we all know they are capable of. As for the offense, Victorino has a couple of hits as did Carlos Ruiz. Everyone in the lineup had a least one hit outside of Chase Utley who looked baffled by Andy Pettite all night. Utley's new Pedro Cerrano like ritual didn't seem to work last night, but it is an interesting idea. Chase, we all know you're going to break out of this slump and once you do, we will be rolling once again.
So I will finish this post off by saying that I salute Jamie Moyer and Kyle Kendrick. I had serious doubts about you two pitching and you both proved me wrong with flying colors. I admit i was wrong. Yes, for once I was wrong. Make a note ladies and gents, this doesn't happen often haha. Anyways, I salute you two pitchers for pitching your gems and proving me wrong. You taught me a valuable lesson and I will never doubt again. You guys stepped up to win the biggest series of the year. I mean is there anything better than beating the Yankees?
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Utley is Key to Phillies' Offense
My Fellow Phans,
As much as people like to say that Jimmy Rollins is the engine behind the Phillies' high-powered offense, I beg to differ. I'm not downplaying how important J-Roll really is to this Phillies squad; all I am suggesting is a player who I feel is the real key to our offensive and through whom our offense lives and dies. That player is, of course, Chase Utley.
Right now Utley is in a horrific slump; coincidentally, the Phillies are also in a horrific offensive slump. For those of you who put the blame on this for Jimmy Rollins being out, just remember that Rollins has missed most of this season and there was a time when the Phillies actually looked like they could hit with Chase Utley leading the way and playing well. Now, Rollins is still out, but unlikely last time Utley is struggling and so goes the Phillies offense to the path of struggles. I'm sure if you look up stats, this will back up my point as it is evident just by watching the team play around our superstar second baseman.
Why Chase is slumping is a whole other topic. Is he really hurt as some people have noted? I don't know nor could i venture an informed guess at this point. I sincerely hope that if Utley is hurt, he comes clean about it sooner rather than later. We all know and love Utley in this town and he may be the only athlete who is immune to the criticism of a typical Philadelphia sport fan. If you're hurt Chase, come out and let us know. You are the face of the Phillies and may just be the face of the city. Nobody is going to blame you for being hurt. In fact, we will applaud your honesty in coming out and admitting it.
I, for one, sincerely hope that Utley is not hurt even though I have a belief that he just may be. Besides the fact that we would be missing our 3-hole hitter if he was out, we have no adequate replacement. It is bad enough with Juan Castro and Wilson Valdez filling in for Jimmy Rollins. We cannot afford to miss Utley as well. Do you know how bad Valdez is? Here is a man who has walked just ONCE all season and has grounded into TEN double plays. Yes, pathetic I know. He is 4th in the league in terms of grounding into double plays in nearly half the total plate appearances as any of the guys in front of him. That is why we need Rollins back and Utley healthy. There is a reason Valdez should never be allowed to grace any team's 25 man roster for any extended period of time.
Regardless of that fact, the Phillies need to start hitting and it doesn't look like it will happen until Utley begins to turn things around. All of our top hitters have their issues at the plate: To quote an article I recently read that sums up my point perfectly:
" When Ryan Howard doesn't hit, it is because he swings at bad pitches out of the zone. When Jimmy Rollins doesn't hit, it is because he is impatient at the plate. When Jayson Werth doesn't hit, it is because he is swinging for a new contract."
To finish that statement with my own ending: "When the Phillies don't hit; it is because Utley is slumping" Lets hope he breaks out of it soon.
Posted by Shieldsy07 at 10:08 AM 0 comments
Thursday, June 10, 2010
By Taking a Major Step Back, Phillies Set Up Bumpy Road Ahead
My Fellow Phans,
I know I said earlier that I would not post again until I got back, but I need to vent after watching tonight's game.
I'm sure a lot of you saw the game as it ended just a little while ago. For those of you who are friends of me on Facebook, I'm sure you have seen enough of my status to know I am frustrated with this 2-0 loss.
Let's look at the box score and what do we see?
The Phillies managed 4 hits; just 4 damn hits. 4! That is sad, plain sad. Now I know Josh Johnson is good, but he was hittable tonight. We had guys on base. 3 of our 4 hits were doubles. So we had people in scoring position. As a team we went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position.
So who were the lucky hitters who got hits today? Hmm, it seems to be the usual suspects: Victorino, Polanco, Ibanez and Howard. Saying that Howard, Polanco and Victorino got hits are becoming a broken record these days. Nobody else is hitting. Utley and Werth couldn't hit water if they fell out of a damn boat right now.
What makes their lack of hitting even more frustrating is how and what they are doing. Werth has become a strike out machine. Put a guy or two on base and its nearly a lock that he will strike out. Put the runners on base during time when the Phillies can get back into a game (basically a threat) and a strike out is assured. In the rare case he doesn't strikeout, Werth will just hit into a double play ending the inning. He may be the most frustrating Phillie right now for me to watch. Strike outs and double plays in possible run scoring situations are the two worst things that can happen.
Speaking of double plays, Wilson Valdez isn't even in the top 140 in terms of at bats in the major leagues; but ranks 5th in grounding into double plays. Go figure that out. No wonder you are a career minor leaguer buddy. You aren't even that slow. Talk about being a Double Play Machine. Maybe we should call you Wilson "Double-Play" Valdez from now.Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?
As for Utley, I really have no explanation. Is he hurt? I cannot say either way for sure. I would love to get a definite yes or no on that fact. Think of this: On May 20th, Utley was hitting .307 and now he's hitting .266. Werth was hitting .324 and now he's hitting .278. Has Utley ever had this bad? Let me rephrase: Has a HEALTHY Chase Utley ever gone through a slump this bad? I really don't think so. That is why I am really anxious to know if our best player is healthy and playing on all cylinders.
I'm going to leave the rest of the lineup alone for now and talk about the pitching. The only good point in tonight's game: Roy Halladay. How much more can we say about this guy? I am running out of compliments to throw this guy's way. He was amazing tonight giving up just 1 run in 8 innings. Sadly he will be saddled with the loss. He is 8-4 now. 8-4??!! That is unbelievable. the man has a 1.96 ERA 1.96!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! With 3 runs of support each start, Halladay would be 10-2 instead 8-4.
I would rather lose 10-0 than 2-0. I hate wasting beautifully pitched games and the Phillies are continually doing this night after night. With just 3 runs a game during these past couple of weeks; who knows where we would be. Way up in first place that is for sure. We keep wasting these positive outings and it is going to come back to bite us in the ass in the end. This is just disgraceful.
I salute you Roy Halladay for pitching your ass off every time and getting nothing to show for it. We owe you big time buddy, and hopefully we pay up soon enough.
As for the other pitcher used, Danny Baez, I have no praise for him. He has started to give up a run every single performance. He needs to go. I think we can all agree on this fact. I don't know why Charlie keeps using him in close games. Let's face it Charlie, Baez sucks. Get him out of our bullpen. I could do better.
I'm not going to comment on how bad our bench really is this year. That can be saved for a later date. All I will say is, Dobbs hasn't had a good seasons since 2008. Maybe its time for a change?
If you think its bad now for the Phillies, the next 9 games may be the death of you. The Phillies face 3 of the 4 best American League teams for 9 straight games. We begin with 3 in Boston and then travel to Skankee Stadium, and finally meet the Twins for 3 in Philly. If you think its bad now Phillies' fans, it may just get a whole lot worse. I have a bad feeling about this next week and a half. This could get ugly.
Well now that I've vented, I can take my leave of absence from the blog writing world. Chances are I will not be able to post again until next week so let's hope the Phillies' fortunes turn around before then or I could be writing about the final downfall of the National League champs.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Posted by Shieldsy07 at 10:41 PM 0 comments
Alright, That's a Start....
My Fellow Phans.
Tuesday looked to be a step in the right direction for the Phillies. I am not ready to concede and say that this slump is officially over. I would need to see at least 2-3 more games within the next few days before I determine this slump is done with. Kudos to the offense for scoring runs though in a shitty start by Kyle Kendrick. Ibanez had 4 hits, Utley and Howard each contributed as well. My buddy Ben Francisco came through in a big way in the 8th inning with the game winning hit. He had pair of hits also.
The pitching was troubling. Kendrick was bad; Durbin gave up some runs as did Contreras. Lidge made Philly fans hold their breath as he loaded the bases before getting the final out. Overall he looked sharp especially for the first two strikeouts. Lets hope he doesn't give us any more outings like this one.
The Phillies have one more game to get the kinks out before we go on the American League's version of Murders' Row starting this weekend. What is AL Murders' Row you may ask? Well, its a span of 9 games during which the Phillies play 3 of the 4 best American League teams. Starting Friday, the Phillies play 3 in Boston, 3 at Yankee Stadium and then come home to play the Twins for 3 games. I foresee bad things in this upcoming stretch if the Phillies don't break out of this funk. Really bad things. Lets hope they are waking up because our good Phillies team can play with and beat those teams. Will they though is a whole other story...
I'm not sure how much I will be able to post in the next few days. I will be venturing down the shore with a friend of mine. If I do not get to post while I am down there, I can promise you intense posting when I return. Goodbye All!
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Posted by Shieldsy07 at 10:30 AM 0 comments
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Phillies' To-Do List
My Fellow Phans,
So, as I promised in my last post: I have come up with suggestions or ideas that the Phillies should look into doing in order to break this slump. I know some of these ideas are exaggerated and “out there” meaning they will probably never happen, but I’m just throwing them out there as ideas. I mean these struggles are pushing people past the point of desperation and anything must be tried to break these boys out of it and asap.
So here are my ideas / suggestions on things that could and or should be done to attempt to help the Phillies:
1. Make Chase Utley get a physical: Out of all the players on the Phillies, we all can pretty much agree that Utley is the last player to ever admit he is hurting or injured. His drive for the game is too strong for him to do so. I’m sure we can also agree that a fully healthy Utley is too good to go through the type of slump he is in right now. Hell, a sore or semi-unhealthy Utley is still better than most of the players in the game today.
I just want to make sure that our best player is not hiding an injury or maybe he is hurt and doesn’t really know it; it is possible. It wouldn’t hurt anybody by asking him to just get looked at to make sure he is 100%. Let’s face it, we cannot win anything this season without the old, productive Chase Utley. So if he is injured, let’s learn about it now before it sidelines him for longer than it should.
2. Shake up the lineup: Now this is where some may say these ideas will get a little unlikely. When I say shakeup, I don’t mean putting Francisco or Gload into the lineup occasionally. I am talking about serious changes and unusual changes. These could include:
- Moving Carlos Ruiz up in the lineup. Here’s a daring idea: move Chooch to third in the order and push everyone back a spot. He may not be an ideal 3-hole hitter, but he may just be the best hitter we have right now. Victorino and Polanco have been solidly getting on-base recently and the rest of the order never gets them in. Let’s give Chooch a chance to knock in some runs in that 3 spot. Crazy and never going to happen I know, but it gets you thinking, doesn’t it?
- If not Ruiz, why not move Werth up? Let’s face it; Werth cannot be trusted with men on base lately. Bat him leadoff and move Victorino down giving Shane more chances to knock in runs and maybe Werth will hit better in spots with nobody on base and he cannot possibly ground into a double play. Although, he may just find a way to do so with the bases empty; talk about an impressive feat.
And if you do any serious changes in the lineup; don’t do it for a game and scratch it. Leave it going for a few games and see how it goes. All ideas must be tried at this point.
3. Bring Up & Ship Out: This is where the roster changes seriously start: The manager is not the only player in this. The front office needs to step up as well and make some serious changes:
- Out: Baez / In: Scott Mathieson – Mathieson is pitching lights out (1.40 ERA) in the minors and he has the big league experience to replace Baez. He may struggle, but he is younger, but has potential and could be a serious player in our bullpen for years to come. If you don’t call him up then trade for a reliever; maybe a Bobby Jenks perhaps? Anyone has to be an improvement over Baez this year; he has to go.
- Out: Greg Dobbs / In: Dominic Brown – Our bench needs a change and Dobbs is the likeliest to go. We need some spark and lets face it; Dobbs hasn’t had a good season since 2008. Drop Dobbs and call up Dominic Brown. Bring Brown up and put him in left field and bench Ibanez. If Brown hits 250 with a decent amount of power, then he is an improvement. Give Raul some competition in the outfield and maybe that will light a fire under him and he will start to hit better; Brown has earned his shot to start in the Major Leagues. Give the man his shot already. You can even use Francisco against tough lefties. I wouldn’t see the harm in that.. Why not try something new and different? The Marlins called up their young stud outfielder, who will actually make his debut in Philly tonight, so we can’t we do the same thing?
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Posted by Shieldsy07 at 1:18 PM 0 comments
The "P" On Their Hats Stands for "Painful To Watch"
My Fellow Phans,
After feeling good about the Phillies winning the first two games against the Padres, their losses in their last two games killed any positive feelings that were drawn from those two first games. Let’s face it, Friday night was Halladay once again pitching his behind off and saving our miserable offense like he did during that perfect game. Lidge looked spectacular getting the save in the 9th inning. Saturday, it was all Moyer this time completing the game and saving the disappointing Phillies offense with his stellar performance. Our offense is not coming back; its not even close.
However, these last two games, our starters were not able to make up the atrocious offense that we are putting on the field these days. Blanton was not good on Sunday and really hasn’t had that many impressive performances this season. Our offense was helped by a critical error, but one wonders how many, if any, runs we would have scored if that error had no occurred. The Phillies stranded something like 15 base runners in that game. 15! 15 runners in just 10 innings; that is more than a runner per inning! I am running out of negative adjectives to describe our offense at this point. I’ve used bad, sad, pathetic, horrendous, atrocious, miserable, disgusting, terrible, disappointing, and probably more that I just forgot to list here.
Last night, Hamels started out with 6 no hit innings. As the night went along, the Phillies couldn’t even muster up a single run for the guy. Once he gave up that run in the 7th, we all knew it was over. The better the pitching performance, the worse the Phillies’ offense seems to perform. Hamels was great; we couldn’t have asked more out of him. All we needed were a simple 3 runs, I guess that is too much to ask of our hitting these days. We could have and should have swept this series. The Padres are not a good hitting team. We let them off the hook in those last two games. Oh well, such is the Phillies these days. Kudos to Jayson Werth for blowing two key opportunities in that game. He may be the worst offender of them all this time. Oh and Baez needs to go. There has to be better options in the farm system, free agent market or on the trading block that are better than him. He’s horrible.
I wanted to use a new word for this post, so I turned to my trusty thesaurus to find just the right term. Here’s one you may agree with: painful. Is this offense as painful to watch, listen, follow, and root for me as it is you guys? Every time we get a few runners on base, we strike out or hit into a double play. Don’t believe me? Check out nearly all of Jayson Werth’s at-bats. Chase Utley has done nothing recently; he, out of any Phillie, is too good for this slump business. I’ll throw this idea around again; could Chase be bothered by something that he is not telling us? A hip perhaps… Why not make his get a physical. Ryan Howard seems to get the occasional hit, but still nothing near his potential.
The only hitters getting any sort of offensive swing are Shane Victorino, Placido Polanco and Carlos Ruiz. It doesn’t matter if Victorino and Polanco are getting on base if the middle of our order is specializing in strike outs and double plays. They just sit out there on base as the big RBI guys falter behind them. It truly is painful to watch, isn’t it? Maybe Ruiz needs to hit third so he has some RBI opportunities or at least 6th, I mean Raul Ibanez hasn’t done anything all season, period.
Of course this whole slump dates back to the “Binocular Sign-Stealing” incident in Colorado. Scary to consider? Yes, I think so. Coincidence? I sincerely hope so. But, the long this slump goes on, the more that cloud will hang over this club. I mean it has to be pretty bad when it starts weighing on my mind, ask anyone I know about that. I know we’re not cheaters, right? Right, now I really don’t know. Well, let me rephrase that. I know we’re not. However, the longer this slump goes, the more and more people are talking about that incident and how timely all this is. The only way to prove people wrong is to hit and, right now, nobody is doing that. We couldn’t hit ourselves out of a paper bag right now, and it is painful to watch.
I recently read an article entitled “Manuel baffled by latest Phillies flop”. In it Manuel states, "I don't know what to say, really, if you want to know the truth," Manuel said. "I want to us to come out, have fun, hit balls and score runs like we know we can. It's not happening." Maybe Manuel should get a clu, make some changes in our lineup, bullpen, and or bench. We need something, anything that can help us right now.
Later in the Article: “"This team's not going to quit," leftfielder Raul Ibanez said. "There's too much talent in the room. There's a lot of season left. But obviously it doesn't take the sting out of what's going on right now.
"
Excuse me for playing Captain Obvious here Mr. Ibanez, but I watch this team and it appears to me they have quit or at least stopped trying or maybe they’re over-trying. I don’t know, in all my years of baseball, I have never seen anything like this. Even with our “bad” teams of the past who couldn’t hit water if they fell out of a boat never had slumps this past. There is too much talent for this slide to keep going on like this. Although having talent is only as good as wanting and caring enough to use it. Are they at this point? I really don’t know.
I am working on some plans that I think the Phillies should take in order to improve; look for them at a later post.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Posted by Shieldsy07 at 10:08 AM 0 comments
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Saluting the Great Ken Griffey Jr.
My Fellow Phans,
Earlier this week, baseball lost one of its active legends when Ken Griffey Jr retired from the game of baseball. I must be getting old that one of my favorite players when I was younger is retiring. Here are my thoughts and memories on perhaps the greatest left-handed hitter to even play the game of baseball.
As a baseball fan, I have already favored watching left handed hitters. Why? Well the answer is simple; there are some lefties who have a “perfect” swing; it never seemed to happen for any righties. It’s hard to describe and probably only baseball fans will get what I am talking about. The perfect swing was a swing that was fluid every time, it made an observer stand up and go, wow that guy is amazing. A perfect swing made you a good hitter simply because you clearly knew exactly what you were doing at the plate. I’m sure you know where this is going, but I’ll continue. Ask any baseball fan, and I’m sure most of them would agree; Ken Griffey Jr. had the perfect swing.
When Griffey came into the league; he immediately made a hit with the Seattle Mariners, (no pun intended). With his sweet swing and his great plate discipline, there were a great many, myself included, who thought he would break the home run record. However injuries delayed put an end to that pursuit He would end with 630 career home runs. What made Griffey so great was that his name was never connected to any steroid stories or accusations, at least none that I know of. He always remained the small-built, unassuming guy with natural power like no other player. His perfect swing and natural talent was all that needed.
Once he returned to Seattle, you just knew it was almost the end for Griffey. I cannot think of a more perfect ending then returning to where it all started for one final go around. He didn’t want a farewell tour and there will not be one as he ends his career and will just stop playing. I’m sure that teams will still celebrate this legend anyway. He was a legend, a leader and is a first ball Hall Of Famer or at least should be. If Griffey does not get in on the first ballot, I may have to boycott baseball, but I’m sure there is nothing to worry about in that regard.
I cannot believe I am quoting Milton Bradley when I actually agree with him, but he summed up the situation perfectly when he said “On a day like this, it should rain in Seattle.” It is raining Mr. Bradley, but not a dreary rain to point out a great loss, but instead it is raining praise and thanks from the Seattle faithful to the greatest Mariner to ever play the game, Mr. Ken Griffey Jr.
I salute you Ken Griffey. You were one of my favorite players growing up and I look forward to seeing your induction into Cooperstown. Baseball lost one of its legends this week, and he will never be forgotten.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Posted by Shieldsy07 at 10:07 AM 0 comments
Looking Back at Last Night's Game
My Fellow Phans,
Congrats to the Phillies on their big win yesterday. It was nice to see them back Roy Halladay, at least enough to get him a win. Contreras and Romero were a little shaky in the 8th, but the story of the game had to be Brad Lidge.
Lidge worked a perfect 9th inning last night for his 2nd save of the year striking out two hitters in the process. To say Lidge looked good last would be a HUGE understatement. His slider was breaking where and when he wanted it to, and his fastball had pinpoint control. See the at-bat versus Padres’ slugger Adrian Gonzalez for further proof. We haven’t seen Lidge pitch this well since, well since 2008. Now I’m going to leave it at that because I feel I’ve said too much to possibly jinx him already.
As for the rest of the pitching: Halladay pitched 7 strong innings and what a wizardly 7 innings those were. He ended up stranding something like 11 Padres base runners. He made the big pitch when he had to. The 8th inning was a shaky one as Jose Contreras and J.C. Romero loaded the bases before Romero got an inning ending double play which was HUGE!
As for the offense, it still was not up to par. We did score 3 runs and got the victory, I’m not going to say that wasn’t important. However, our slump is still upon us offensively. The Phillies managed just 4 hits through the first 7 innings and were greatly outhit by the Padres, but they still had the lead. The Phillies haven’t scored more than 3 runs in a game since May 21st. That is a 12 game stretch of scoring less than 4 runs.
The scoring came really on just two plays. The first two on a Shane Victorino hit a 2-run home run. What made this home run important besides giving the Phillies the lead, was that it was hit on a 2-0 pitch; a good hitters’ count. Getting good swings on a pitch in a hitters’ count is always a sign of a player going well at the plate. The other offense came on a bases loaded walk to Jayson Werth. It was a close 3-2 pitch; I’m not going to deny that at all. A hitter with a lesser eye at the plate may have chased the pitch, but Werth laid off of it and worked the critical walk that gave the Phillies the lead.
Overall, it was a good game. I mean the Phillies won and that’s all that matters, right? Maybe they can shock us all and make it two in a row tonight. They say miracles happen every day right so we shall see.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
As much as people like to say that Jimmy Rollins is the engine behind the Phillies' high-powered offense, I beg to differ. I'm not downplaying how important J-Roll really is to this Phillies squad; all I am suggesting is a player who I feel is the real key to our offensive and through whom our offense lives and dies. That player is, of course, Chase Utley.
Right now Utley is in a horrific slump; coincidentally, the Phillies are also in a horrific offensive slump. For those of you who put the blame on this for Jimmy Rollins being out, just remember that Rollins has missed most of this season and there was a time when the Phillies actually looked like they could hit with Chase Utley leading the way and playing well. Now, Rollins is still out, but unlikely last time Utley is struggling and so goes the Phillies offense to the path of struggles. I'm sure if you look up stats, this will back up my point as it is evident just by watching the team play around our superstar second baseman.
Why Chase is slumping is a whole other topic. Is he really hurt as some people have noted? I don't know nor could i venture an informed guess at this point. I sincerely hope that if Utley is hurt, he comes clean about it sooner rather than later. We all know and love Utley in this town and he may be the only athlete who is immune to the criticism of a typical Philadelphia sport fan. If you're hurt Chase, come out and let us know. You are the face of the Phillies and may just be the face of the city. Nobody is going to blame you for being hurt. In fact, we will applaud your honesty in coming out and admitting it.
I, for one, sincerely hope that Utley is not hurt even though I have a belief that he just may be. Besides the fact that we would be missing our 3-hole hitter if he was out, we have no adequate replacement. It is bad enough with Juan Castro and Wilson Valdez filling in for Jimmy Rollins. We cannot afford to miss Utley as well. Do you know how bad Valdez is? Here is a man who has walked just ONCE all season and has grounded into TEN double plays. Yes, pathetic I know. He is 4th in the league in terms of grounding into double plays in nearly half the total plate appearances as any of the guys in front of him. That is why we need Rollins back and Utley healthy. There is a reason Valdez should never be allowed to grace any team's 25 man roster for any extended period of time.
Regardless of that fact, the Phillies need to start hitting and it doesn't look like it will happen until Utley begins to turn things around. All of our top hitters have their issues at the plate: To quote an article I recently read that sums up my point perfectly:
" When Ryan Howard doesn't hit, it is because he swings at bad pitches out of the zone. When Jimmy Rollins doesn't hit, it is because he is impatient at the plate. When Jayson Werth doesn't hit, it is because he is swinging for a new contract."
To finish that statement with my own ending: "When the Phillies don't hit; it is because Utley is slumping" Lets hope he breaks out of it soon.
Posted by Shieldsy07 at 10:08 AM 0 comments
Thursday, June 10, 2010
By Taking a Major Step Back, Phillies Set Up Bumpy Road Ahead
My Fellow Phans,
I know I said earlier that I would not post again until I got back, but I need to vent after watching tonight's game.
I'm sure a lot of you saw the game as it ended just a little while ago. For those of you who are friends of me on Facebook, I'm sure you have seen enough of my status to know I am frustrated with this 2-0 loss.
Let's look at the box score and what do we see?
The Phillies managed 4 hits; just 4 damn hits. 4! That is sad, plain sad. Now I know Josh Johnson is good, but he was hittable tonight. We had guys on base. 3 of our 4 hits were doubles. So we had people in scoring position. As a team we went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position.
So who were the lucky hitters who got hits today? Hmm, it seems to be the usual suspects: Victorino, Polanco, Ibanez and Howard. Saying that Howard, Polanco and Victorino got hits are becoming a broken record these days. Nobody else is hitting. Utley and Werth couldn't hit water if they fell out of a damn boat right now.
What makes their lack of hitting even more frustrating is how and what they are doing. Werth has become a strike out machine. Put a guy or two on base and its nearly a lock that he will strike out. Put the runners on base during time when the Phillies can get back into a game (basically a threat) and a strike out is assured. In the rare case he doesn't strikeout, Werth will just hit into a double play ending the inning. He may be the most frustrating Phillie right now for me to watch. Strike outs and double plays in possible run scoring situations are the two worst things that can happen.
Speaking of double plays, Wilson Valdez isn't even in the top 140 in terms of at bats in the major leagues; but ranks 5th in grounding into double plays. Go figure that out. No wonder you are a career minor leaguer buddy. You aren't even that slow. Talk about being a Double Play Machine. Maybe we should call you Wilson "Double-Play" Valdez from now.Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?
As for Utley, I really have no explanation. Is he hurt? I cannot say either way for sure. I would love to get a definite yes or no on that fact. Think of this: On May 20th, Utley was hitting .307 and now he's hitting .266. Werth was hitting .324 and now he's hitting .278. Has Utley ever had this bad? Let me rephrase: Has a HEALTHY Chase Utley ever gone through a slump this bad? I really don't think so. That is why I am really anxious to know if our best player is healthy and playing on all cylinders.
I'm going to leave the rest of the lineup alone for now and talk about the pitching. The only good point in tonight's game: Roy Halladay. How much more can we say about this guy? I am running out of compliments to throw this guy's way. He was amazing tonight giving up just 1 run in 8 innings. Sadly he will be saddled with the loss. He is 8-4 now. 8-4??!! That is unbelievable. the man has a 1.96 ERA 1.96!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! With 3 runs of support each start, Halladay would be 10-2 instead 8-4.
I would rather lose 10-0 than 2-0. I hate wasting beautifully pitched games and the Phillies are continually doing this night after night. With just 3 runs a game during these past couple of weeks; who knows where we would be. Way up in first place that is for sure. We keep wasting these positive outings and it is going to come back to bite us in the ass in the end. This is just disgraceful.
I salute you Roy Halladay for pitching your ass off every time and getting nothing to show for it. We owe you big time buddy, and hopefully we pay up soon enough.
As for the other pitcher used, Danny Baez, I have no praise for him. He has started to give up a run every single performance. He needs to go. I think we can all agree on this fact. I don't know why Charlie keeps using him in close games. Let's face it Charlie, Baez sucks. Get him out of our bullpen. I could do better.
I'm not going to comment on how bad our bench really is this year. That can be saved for a later date. All I will say is, Dobbs hasn't had a good seasons since 2008. Maybe its time for a change?
If you think its bad now for the Phillies, the next 9 games may be the death of you. The Phillies face 3 of the 4 best American League teams for 9 straight games. We begin with 3 in Boston and then travel to Skankee Stadium, and finally meet the Twins for 3 in Philly. If you think its bad now Phillies' fans, it may just get a whole lot worse. I have a bad feeling about this next week and a half. This could get ugly.
Well now that I've vented, I can take my leave of absence from the blog writing world. Chances are I will not be able to post again until next week so let's hope the Phillies' fortunes turn around before then or I could be writing about the final downfall of the National League champs.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Posted by Shieldsy07 at 10:41 PM 0 comments
Alright, That's a Start....
My Fellow Phans.
Tuesday looked to be a step in the right direction for the Phillies. I am not ready to concede and say that this slump is officially over. I would need to see at least 2-3 more games within the next few days before I determine this slump is done with. Kudos to the offense for scoring runs though in a shitty start by Kyle Kendrick. Ibanez had 4 hits, Utley and Howard each contributed as well. My buddy Ben Francisco came through in a big way in the 8th inning with the game winning hit. He had pair of hits also.
The pitching was troubling. Kendrick was bad; Durbin gave up some runs as did Contreras. Lidge made Philly fans hold their breath as he loaded the bases before getting the final out. Overall he looked sharp especially for the first two strikeouts. Lets hope he doesn't give us any more outings like this one.
The Phillies have one more game to get the kinks out before we go on the American League's version of Murders' Row starting this weekend. What is AL Murders' Row you may ask? Well, its a span of 9 games during which the Phillies play 3 of the 4 best American League teams. Starting Friday, the Phillies play 3 in Boston, 3 at Yankee Stadium and then come home to play the Twins for 3 games. I foresee bad things in this upcoming stretch if the Phillies don't break out of this funk. Really bad things. Lets hope they are waking up because our good Phillies team can play with and beat those teams. Will they though is a whole other story...
I'm not sure how much I will be able to post in the next few days. I will be venturing down the shore with a friend of mine. If I do not get to post while I am down there, I can promise you intense posting when I return. Goodbye All!
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Posted by Shieldsy07 at 10:30 AM 0 comments
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Phillies' To-Do List
My Fellow Phans,
So, as I promised in my last post: I have come up with suggestions or ideas that the Phillies should look into doing in order to break this slump. I know some of these ideas are exaggerated and “out there” meaning they will probably never happen, but I’m just throwing them out there as ideas. I mean these struggles are pushing people past the point of desperation and anything must be tried to break these boys out of it and asap.
So here are my ideas / suggestions on things that could and or should be done to attempt to help the Phillies:
1. Make Chase Utley get a physical: Out of all the players on the Phillies, we all can pretty much agree that Utley is the last player to ever admit he is hurting or injured. His drive for the game is too strong for him to do so. I’m sure we can also agree that a fully healthy Utley is too good to go through the type of slump he is in right now. Hell, a sore or semi-unhealthy Utley is still better than most of the players in the game today.
I just want to make sure that our best player is not hiding an injury or maybe he is hurt and doesn’t really know it; it is possible. It wouldn’t hurt anybody by asking him to just get looked at to make sure he is 100%. Let’s face it, we cannot win anything this season without the old, productive Chase Utley. So if he is injured, let’s learn about it now before it sidelines him for longer than it should.
2. Shake up the lineup: Now this is where some may say these ideas will get a little unlikely. When I say shakeup, I don’t mean putting Francisco or Gload into the lineup occasionally. I am talking about serious changes and unusual changes. These could include:
- Moving Carlos Ruiz up in the lineup. Here’s a daring idea: move Chooch to third in the order and push everyone back a spot. He may not be an ideal 3-hole hitter, but he may just be the best hitter we have right now. Victorino and Polanco have been solidly getting on-base recently and the rest of the order never gets them in. Let’s give Chooch a chance to knock in some runs in that 3 spot. Crazy and never going to happen I know, but it gets you thinking, doesn’t it?
- If not Ruiz, why not move Werth up? Let’s face it; Werth cannot be trusted with men on base lately. Bat him leadoff and move Victorino down giving Shane more chances to knock in runs and maybe Werth will hit better in spots with nobody on base and he cannot possibly ground into a double play. Although, he may just find a way to do so with the bases empty; talk about an impressive feat.
And if you do any serious changes in the lineup; don’t do it for a game and scratch it. Leave it going for a few games and see how it goes. All ideas must be tried at this point.
3. Bring Up & Ship Out: This is where the roster changes seriously start: The manager is not the only player in this. The front office needs to step up as well and make some serious changes:
- Out: Baez / In: Scott Mathieson – Mathieson is pitching lights out (1.40 ERA) in the minors and he has the big league experience to replace Baez. He may struggle, but he is younger, but has potential and could be a serious player in our bullpen for years to come. If you don’t call him up then trade for a reliever; maybe a Bobby Jenks perhaps? Anyone has to be an improvement over Baez this year; he has to go.
- Out: Greg Dobbs / In: Dominic Brown – Our bench needs a change and Dobbs is the likeliest to go. We need some spark and lets face it; Dobbs hasn’t had a good season since 2008. Drop Dobbs and call up Dominic Brown. Bring Brown up and put him in left field and bench Ibanez. If Brown hits 250 with a decent amount of power, then he is an improvement. Give Raul some competition in the outfield and maybe that will light a fire under him and he will start to hit better; Brown has earned his shot to start in the Major Leagues. Give the man his shot already. You can even use Francisco against tough lefties. I wouldn’t see the harm in that.. Why not try something new and different? The Marlins called up their young stud outfielder, who will actually make his debut in Philly tonight, so we can’t we do the same thing?
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Posted by Shieldsy07 at 1:18 PM 0 comments
The "P" On Their Hats Stands for "Painful To Watch"
My Fellow Phans,
After feeling good about the Phillies winning the first two games against the Padres, their losses in their last two games killed any positive feelings that were drawn from those two first games. Let’s face it, Friday night was Halladay once again pitching his behind off and saving our miserable offense like he did during that perfect game. Lidge looked spectacular getting the save in the 9th inning. Saturday, it was all Moyer this time completing the game and saving the disappointing Phillies offense with his stellar performance. Our offense is not coming back; its not even close.
However, these last two games, our starters were not able to make up the atrocious offense that we are putting on the field these days. Blanton was not good on Sunday and really hasn’t had that many impressive performances this season. Our offense was helped by a critical error, but one wonders how many, if any, runs we would have scored if that error had no occurred. The Phillies stranded something like 15 base runners in that game. 15! 15 runners in just 10 innings; that is more than a runner per inning! I am running out of negative adjectives to describe our offense at this point. I’ve used bad, sad, pathetic, horrendous, atrocious, miserable, disgusting, terrible, disappointing, and probably more that I just forgot to list here.
Last night, Hamels started out with 6 no hit innings. As the night went along, the Phillies couldn’t even muster up a single run for the guy. Once he gave up that run in the 7th, we all knew it was over. The better the pitching performance, the worse the Phillies’ offense seems to perform. Hamels was great; we couldn’t have asked more out of him. All we needed were a simple 3 runs, I guess that is too much to ask of our hitting these days. We could have and should have swept this series. The Padres are not a good hitting team. We let them off the hook in those last two games. Oh well, such is the Phillies these days. Kudos to Jayson Werth for blowing two key opportunities in that game. He may be the worst offender of them all this time. Oh and Baez needs to go. There has to be better options in the farm system, free agent market or on the trading block that are better than him. He’s horrible.
I wanted to use a new word for this post, so I turned to my trusty thesaurus to find just the right term. Here’s one you may agree with: painful. Is this offense as painful to watch, listen, follow, and root for me as it is you guys? Every time we get a few runners on base, we strike out or hit into a double play. Don’t believe me? Check out nearly all of Jayson Werth’s at-bats. Chase Utley has done nothing recently; he, out of any Phillie, is too good for this slump business. I’ll throw this idea around again; could Chase be bothered by something that he is not telling us? A hip perhaps… Why not make his get a physical. Ryan Howard seems to get the occasional hit, but still nothing near his potential.
The only hitters getting any sort of offensive swing are Shane Victorino, Placido Polanco and Carlos Ruiz. It doesn’t matter if Victorino and Polanco are getting on base if the middle of our order is specializing in strike outs and double plays. They just sit out there on base as the big RBI guys falter behind them. It truly is painful to watch, isn’t it? Maybe Ruiz needs to hit third so he has some RBI opportunities or at least 6th, I mean Raul Ibanez hasn’t done anything all season, period.
Of course this whole slump dates back to the “Binocular Sign-Stealing” incident in Colorado. Scary to consider? Yes, I think so. Coincidence? I sincerely hope so. But, the long this slump goes on, the more that cloud will hang over this club. I mean it has to be pretty bad when it starts weighing on my mind, ask anyone I know about that. I know we’re not cheaters, right? Right, now I really don’t know. Well, let me rephrase that. I know we’re not. However, the longer this slump goes, the more and more people are talking about that incident and how timely all this is. The only way to prove people wrong is to hit and, right now, nobody is doing that. We couldn’t hit ourselves out of a paper bag right now, and it is painful to watch.
I recently read an article entitled “Manuel baffled by latest Phillies flop”. In it Manuel states, "I don't know what to say, really, if you want to know the truth," Manuel said. "I want to us to come out, have fun, hit balls and score runs like we know we can. It's not happening." Maybe Manuel should get a clu, make some changes in our lineup, bullpen, and or bench. We need something, anything that can help us right now.
Later in the Article: “"This team's not going to quit," leftfielder Raul Ibanez said. "There's too much talent in the room. There's a lot of season left. But obviously it doesn't take the sting out of what's going on right now.
"
Excuse me for playing Captain Obvious here Mr. Ibanez, but I watch this team and it appears to me they have quit or at least stopped trying or maybe they’re over-trying. I don’t know, in all my years of baseball, I have never seen anything like this. Even with our “bad” teams of the past who couldn’t hit water if they fell out of a boat never had slumps this past. There is too much talent for this slide to keep going on like this. Although having talent is only as good as wanting and caring enough to use it. Are they at this point? I really don’t know.
I am working on some plans that I think the Phillies should take in order to improve; look for them at a later post.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Posted by Shieldsy07 at 10:08 AM 0 comments
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Saluting the Great Ken Griffey Jr.
My Fellow Phans,
Earlier this week, baseball lost one of its active legends when Ken Griffey Jr retired from the game of baseball. I must be getting old that one of my favorite players when I was younger is retiring. Here are my thoughts and memories on perhaps the greatest left-handed hitter to even play the game of baseball.
As a baseball fan, I have already favored watching left handed hitters. Why? Well the answer is simple; there are some lefties who have a “perfect” swing; it never seemed to happen for any righties. It’s hard to describe and probably only baseball fans will get what I am talking about. The perfect swing was a swing that was fluid every time, it made an observer stand up and go, wow that guy is amazing. A perfect swing made you a good hitter simply because you clearly knew exactly what you were doing at the plate. I’m sure you know where this is going, but I’ll continue. Ask any baseball fan, and I’m sure most of them would agree; Ken Griffey Jr. had the perfect swing.
When Griffey came into the league; he immediately made a hit with the Seattle Mariners, (no pun intended). With his sweet swing and his great plate discipline, there were a great many, myself included, who thought he would break the home run record. However injuries delayed put an end to that pursuit He would end with 630 career home runs. What made Griffey so great was that his name was never connected to any steroid stories or accusations, at least none that I know of. He always remained the small-built, unassuming guy with natural power like no other player. His perfect swing and natural talent was all that needed.
Once he returned to Seattle, you just knew it was almost the end for Griffey. I cannot think of a more perfect ending then returning to where it all started for one final go around. He didn’t want a farewell tour and there will not be one as he ends his career and will just stop playing. I’m sure that teams will still celebrate this legend anyway. He was a legend, a leader and is a first ball Hall Of Famer or at least should be. If Griffey does not get in on the first ballot, I may have to boycott baseball, but I’m sure there is nothing to worry about in that regard.
I cannot believe I am quoting Milton Bradley when I actually agree with him, but he summed up the situation perfectly when he said “On a day like this, it should rain in Seattle.” It is raining Mr. Bradley, but not a dreary rain to point out a great loss, but instead it is raining praise and thanks from the Seattle faithful to the greatest Mariner to ever play the game, Mr. Ken Griffey Jr.
I salute you Ken Griffey. You were one of my favorite players growing up and I look forward to seeing your induction into Cooperstown. Baseball lost one of its legends this week, and he will never be forgotten.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Posted by Shieldsy07 at 10:07 AM 0 comments
Looking Back at Last Night's Game
My Fellow Phans,
Congrats to the Phillies on their big win yesterday. It was nice to see them back Roy Halladay, at least enough to get him a win. Contreras and Romero were a little shaky in the 8th, but the story of the game had to be Brad Lidge.
Lidge worked a perfect 9th inning last night for his 2nd save of the year striking out two hitters in the process. To say Lidge looked good last would be a HUGE understatement. His slider was breaking where and when he wanted it to, and his fastball had pinpoint control. See the at-bat versus Padres’ slugger Adrian Gonzalez for further proof. We haven’t seen Lidge pitch this well since, well since 2008. Now I’m going to leave it at that because I feel I’ve said too much to possibly jinx him already.
As for the rest of the pitching: Halladay pitched 7 strong innings and what a wizardly 7 innings those were. He ended up stranding something like 11 Padres base runners. He made the big pitch when he had to. The 8th inning was a shaky one as Jose Contreras and J.C. Romero loaded the bases before Romero got an inning ending double play which was HUGE!
As for the offense, it still was not up to par. We did score 3 runs and got the victory, I’m not going to say that wasn’t important. However, our slump is still upon us offensively. The Phillies managed just 4 hits through the first 7 innings and were greatly outhit by the Padres, but they still had the lead. The Phillies haven’t scored more than 3 runs in a game since May 21st. That is a 12 game stretch of scoring less than 4 runs.
The scoring came really on just two plays. The first two on a Shane Victorino hit a 2-run home run. What made this home run important besides giving the Phillies the lead, was that it was hit on a 2-0 pitch; a good hitters’ count. Getting good swings on a pitch in a hitters’ count is always a sign of a player going well at the plate. The other offense came on a bases loaded walk to Jayson Werth. It was a close 3-2 pitch; I’m not going to deny that at all. A hitter with a lesser eye at the plate may have chased the pitch, but Werth laid off of it and worked the critical walk that gave the Phillies the lead.
Overall, it was a good game. I mean the Phillies won and that’s all that matters, right? Maybe they can shock us all and make it two in a row tonight. They say miracles happen every day right so we shall see.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Pitching Woes Could Doom Phils in World Series Rematch
My Fellow Phans,
Tonight begins one of the big series that I have been looking forward to ever since I saw it on the schedule and that is the Phillies' rematch with the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Now a month or so ago, I would have been ecstatic about this upcoming matchup with the Phillies actually playing well and looking like a playoff team. As much as it pains me to say this, I am worried about this upcoming series. Let me give you the pitching matchups and I will explain more;
Tuesday: Roy Halladay (8-4 1.96) vs. C.C. Sabathia (6-3 4.01)
Wednesday: Kyle Kendrick (3-2 4.80) vs. A.J. Burnett (6-4 3.86)
Thursday: Jamie Moyer (6-6 5.03) vs. Andy Pettite (8-1 2.46)
Ok, so tonight's game will be close. Hopefully we can eek out a victory for our ace who has been nothing but sensational this season. So we may win 1 game, I hope, but who knows. I like to be an optimistic Phillies fan, but I am also a fan of the game of baseball as well (and there is a big difference between the two) so I call them as I see them from an analytic standpoint.
After that I smell blood in the water and the Yankee hitters are sharks waiting to pounce. Kendrick is so bi-polar on the mound that I have no idea what we will get for him. He could throw a 3-hit shutout or he could be rocked for a bajillion runs in the first inning. We really will not know until Wednesday night. Kendrick will be the Phillies 2nd best chance to win a game this series as I have no faith in Moyer.
Moyer was bombarded by the Boston Red Soxs in his last start; go figure he gets smoked by a good offense. As much as it pains me to say this, the Yankees are an even better hitting lineup than the Red Soxs are. If the Soxs blasted Moyer so easily (9 runs in 1 inning),I am worried of what NY could do to him with the best offense in the American League. If the Phillies are going to win this series; Halladay and Kendrick will have to produce as I have very little faith in Moyer pitching this week.
Should Moyer even be pitching though? If I did my math right, we had a rainout last week against the Marlins. This pushed all the rotation back a start and made it possible for Moyer to pitch in the final game of the Marlins series and let Halladay open up the Red Soxs series. Halladay never did face the Red Soxs. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't you rather have Halladay pitch against Boston instead of Moyer? Raise your hands if you agree with me! *raises both hands*.
Even with Halladay opening the Soxs' series, he could have still went against the Yankees in the final game. Granted Moyer would have to still face the Bronx Bombers, but the Phillies would have had their ace going against the two best teams they probably will face this season. Why was no changes made? I really don't get it. There would be no harm, no foul in switching the two guys up. Instead of Halladay pitching, we had to witness Moyer get beaten down into the ground by a very good Red Soxs lineup. I would rather have seen Halladay face Boston and Moyer face the Marlins. I mean after all, Moyer actually has a successful career against the Fish.
I'm hoping the Kendrick and Moyer seriously surprise me this series and do something positive. If not, this series will not be a very positive one for the Phillies and this will sting even more than the Boston series simply based on our opponent...
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Tonight begins one of the big series that I have been looking forward to ever since I saw it on the schedule and that is the Phillies' rematch with the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Now a month or so ago, I would have been ecstatic about this upcoming matchup with the Phillies actually playing well and looking like a playoff team. As much as it pains me to say this, I am worried about this upcoming series. Let me give you the pitching matchups and I will explain more;
Tuesday: Roy Halladay (8-4 1.96) vs. C.C. Sabathia (6-3 4.01)
Wednesday: Kyle Kendrick (3-2 4.80) vs. A.J. Burnett (6-4 3.86)
Thursday: Jamie Moyer (6-6 5.03) vs. Andy Pettite (8-1 2.46)
Ok, so tonight's game will be close. Hopefully we can eek out a victory for our ace who has been nothing but sensational this season. So we may win 1 game, I hope, but who knows. I like to be an optimistic Phillies fan, but I am also a fan of the game of baseball as well (and there is a big difference between the two) so I call them as I see them from an analytic standpoint.
After that I smell blood in the water and the Yankee hitters are sharks waiting to pounce. Kendrick is so bi-polar on the mound that I have no idea what we will get for him. He could throw a 3-hit shutout or he could be rocked for a bajillion runs in the first inning. We really will not know until Wednesday night. Kendrick will be the Phillies 2nd best chance to win a game this series as I have no faith in Moyer.
Moyer was bombarded by the Boston Red Soxs in his last start; go figure he gets smoked by a good offense. As much as it pains me to say this, the Yankees are an even better hitting lineup than the Red Soxs are. If the Soxs blasted Moyer so easily (9 runs in 1 inning),I am worried of what NY could do to him with the best offense in the American League. If the Phillies are going to win this series; Halladay and Kendrick will have to produce as I have very little faith in Moyer pitching this week.
Should Moyer even be pitching though? If I did my math right, we had a rainout last week against the Marlins. This pushed all the rotation back a start and made it possible for Moyer to pitch in the final game of the Marlins series and let Halladay open up the Red Soxs series. Halladay never did face the Red Soxs. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't you rather have Halladay pitch against Boston instead of Moyer? Raise your hands if you agree with me! *raises both hands*.
Even with Halladay opening the Soxs' series, he could have still went against the Yankees in the final game. Granted Moyer would have to still face the Bronx Bombers, but the Phillies would have had their ace going against the two best teams they probably will face this season. Why was no changes made? I really don't get it. There would be no harm, no foul in switching the two guys up. Instead of Halladay pitching, we had to witness Moyer get beaten down into the ground by a very good Red Soxs lineup. I would rather have seen Halladay face Boston and Moyer face the Marlins. I mean after all, Moyer actually has a successful career against the Fish.
I'm hoping the Kendrick and Moyer seriously surprise me this series and do something positive. If not, this series will not be a very positive one for the Phillies and this will sting even more than the Boston series simply based on our opponent...
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
By Taking a Major Step Back, Phillies Set Up Bumpy Road Ahead
My Fellow Phans,
I know I said earlier that I would not post again until I got back, but I need to vent after watching tonight's game.
I'm sure a lot of you saw the game as it ended just a little while ago. For those of you who are friends of me on Facebook, I'm sure you have seen enough of my status to know I am frustrated with this 2-0 loss.
Let's look at the box score and what do we see?
The Phillies managed 4 hits; just 4 damn hits. 4! That is sad, plain sad. Now I know Josh Johnson is good, but he was hittable tonight. We had guys on base. 3 of our 4 hits were doubles. So we had people in scoring position. As a team we went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position.
So who were the lucky hitters who got hits today? Hmm, it seems to be the usual suspects: Victorino, Polanco, Ibanez and Howard. Saying that Howard, Polanco and Victorino got hits are becoming a broken record these days. Nobody else is hitting. Utley and Werth couldn't hit water if they fell out of a damn boat right now.
What makes their lack of hitting even more frustrating is how and what they are doing. Werth has become a strike out machine. Put a guy or two on base and its nearly a lock that he will strike out. Put the runners on base during time when the Phillies can get back into a game (basically a threat) and a strike out is assured. In the rare case he doesn't strikeout, Werth will just hit into a double play ending the inning. He may be the most frustrating Phillie right now for me to watch. Strike outs and double plays in possible run scoring situations are the two worst things that can happen.
Speaking of double plays, Wilson Valdez isn't even in the top 140 in terms of at bats in the major leagues; but ranks 5th in grounding into double plays. Go figure that out. No wonder you are a career minor leaguer buddy. You aren't even that slow. Talk about being a Double Play Machine. Maybe we should call you Wilson "Double-Play" Valdez from now.Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?
As for Utley, I really have no explanation. Is he hurt? I cannot say either way for sure. I would love to get a definite yes or no on that fact. Think of this: On May 20th, Utley was hitting .307 and now he's hitting .266. Werth was hitting .324 and now he's hitting .278. Has Utley ever had this bad? Let me rephrase: Has a HEALTHY Chase Utley ever gone through a slump this bad? I really don't think so. That is why I am really anxious to know if our best player is healthy and playing on all cylinders.
I'm going to leave the rest of the lineup alone for now and talk about the pitching. The only good point in tonight's game: Roy Halladay. How much more can we say about this guy? I am running out of compliments to throw this guy's way. He was amazing tonight giving up just 1 run in 8 innings. Sadly he will be saddled with the loss. He is 8-4 now. 8-4??!! That is unbelievable. the man has a 1.96 ERA 1.96!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! With 3 runs of support each start, Halladay would be 10-2 instead 8-4.
I would rather lose 10-0 than 2-0. I hate wasting beautifully pitched games and the Phillies are continually doing this night after night. With just 3 runs a game during these past couple of weeks; who knows where we would be. Way up in first place that is for sure. We keep wasting these positive outings and it is going to come back to bite us in the ass in the end. This is just disgraceful.
I salute you Roy Halladay for pitching your ass off every time and getting nothing to show for it. We owe you big time buddy, and hopefully we pay up soon enough.
As for the other pitcher used, Danny Baez, I have no praise for him. He has started to give up a run every single performance. He needs to go. I think we can all agree on this fact. I don't know why Charlie keeps using him in close games. Let's face it Charlie, Baez sucks. Get him out of our bullpen. I could do better.
I'm not going to comment on how bad our bench really is this year. That can be saved for a later date. All I will say is, Dobbs hasn't had a good seasons since 2008. Maybe its time for a change?
If you think its bad now for the Phillies, the next 9 games may be the death of you. The Phillies face 3 of the 4 best American League teams for 9 straight games. We begin with 3 in Boston and then travel to Skankee Stadium, and finally meet the Twins for 3 in Philly. If you think its bad now Phillies' fans, it may just get a whole lot worse. I have a bad feeling about this next week and a half. This could get ugly.
Well now that I've vented, I can take my leave of absence from the blog writing world. Chances are I will not be able to post again until next week so let's hope the Phillies' fortunes turn around before then or I could be writing about the final downfall of the National League champs.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
I know I said earlier that I would not post again until I got back, but I need to vent after watching tonight's game.
I'm sure a lot of you saw the game as it ended just a little while ago. For those of you who are friends of me on Facebook, I'm sure you have seen enough of my status to know I am frustrated with this 2-0 loss.
Let's look at the box score and what do we see?
The Phillies managed 4 hits; just 4 damn hits. 4! That is sad, plain sad. Now I know Josh Johnson is good, but he was hittable tonight. We had guys on base. 3 of our 4 hits were doubles. So we had people in scoring position. As a team we went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position.
So who were the lucky hitters who got hits today? Hmm, it seems to be the usual suspects: Victorino, Polanco, Ibanez and Howard. Saying that Howard, Polanco and Victorino got hits are becoming a broken record these days. Nobody else is hitting. Utley and Werth couldn't hit water if they fell out of a damn boat right now.
What makes their lack of hitting even more frustrating is how and what they are doing. Werth has become a strike out machine. Put a guy or two on base and its nearly a lock that he will strike out. Put the runners on base during time when the Phillies can get back into a game (basically a threat) and a strike out is assured. In the rare case he doesn't strikeout, Werth will just hit into a double play ending the inning. He may be the most frustrating Phillie right now for me to watch. Strike outs and double plays in possible run scoring situations are the two worst things that can happen.
Speaking of double plays, Wilson Valdez isn't even in the top 140 in terms of at bats in the major leagues; but ranks 5th in grounding into double plays. Go figure that out. No wonder you are a career minor leaguer buddy. You aren't even that slow. Talk about being a Double Play Machine. Maybe we should call you Wilson "Double-Play" Valdez from now.Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?
As for Utley, I really have no explanation. Is he hurt? I cannot say either way for sure. I would love to get a definite yes or no on that fact. Think of this: On May 20th, Utley was hitting .307 and now he's hitting .266. Werth was hitting .324 and now he's hitting .278. Has Utley ever had this bad? Let me rephrase: Has a HEALTHY Chase Utley ever gone through a slump this bad? I really don't think so. That is why I am really anxious to know if our best player is healthy and playing on all cylinders.
I'm going to leave the rest of the lineup alone for now and talk about the pitching. The only good point in tonight's game: Roy Halladay. How much more can we say about this guy? I am running out of compliments to throw this guy's way. He was amazing tonight giving up just 1 run in 8 innings. Sadly he will be saddled with the loss. He is 8-4 now. 8-4??!! That is unbelievable. the man has a 1.96 ERA 1.96!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! With 3 runs of support each start, Halladay would be 10-2 instead 8-4.
I would rather lose 10-0 than 2-0. I hate wasting beautifully pitched games and the Phillies are continually doing this night after night. With just 3 runs a game during these past couple of weeks; who knows where we would be. Way up in first place that is for sure. We keep wasting these positive outings and it is going to come back to bite us in the ass in the end. This is just disgraceful.
I salute you Roy Halladay for pitching your ass off every time and getting nothing to show for it. We owe you big time buddy, and hopefully we pay up soon enough.
As for the other pitcher used, Danny Baez, I have no praise for him. He has started to give up a run every single performance. He needs to go. I think we can all agree on this fact. I don't know why Charlie keeps using him in close games. Let's face it Charlie, Baez sucks. Get him out of our bullpen. I could do better.
I'm not going to comment on how bad our bench really is this year. That can be saved for a later date. All I will say is, Dobbs hasn't had a good seasons since 2008. Maybe its time for a change?
If you think its bad now for the Phillies, the next 9 games may be the death of you. The Phillies face 3 of the 4 best American League teams for 9 straight games. We begin with 3 in Boston and then travel to Skankee Stadium, and finally meet the Twins for 3 in Philly. If you think its bad now Phillies' fans, it may just get a whole lot worse. I have a bad feeling about this next week and a half. This could get ugly.
Well now that I've vented, I can take my leave of absence from the blog writing world. Chances are I will not be able to post again until next week so let's hope the Phillies' fortunes turn around before then or I could be writing about the final downfall of the National League champs.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Alright, That's a Start....
My Fellow Phans.
Tuesday looked to be a step in the right direction for the Phillies. I am not ready to concede and say that this slump is officially over. I would need to see at least 2-3 more games within the next few days before I determine this slump is done with. Kudos to the offense for scoring runs though in a shitty start by Kyle Kendrick. Ibanez had 4 hits, Utley and Howard each contributed as well. My buddy Ben Francisco came through in a big way in the 8th inning with the game winning hit. He had pair of hits also.
The pitching was troubling. Kendrick was bad; Durbin gave up some runs as did Contreras. Lidge made Philly fans hold their breath as he loaded the bases before getting the final out. Overall he looked sharp especially for the first two strikeouts. Lets hope he doesn't give us any more outings like this one.
The Phillies have one more game to get the kinks out before we go on the American League's version of Murders' Row starting this weekend. What is AL Murders' Row you may ask? Well, its a span of 9 games during which the Phillies play 3 of the 4 best American League teams. Starting Friday, the Phillies play 3 in Boston, 3 at Yankee Stadium and then come home to play the Twins for 3 games. I foresee bad things in this upcoming stretch if the Phillies don't break out of this funk. Really bad things. Lets hope they are waking up because our good Phillies team can play with and beat those teams. Will they though is a whole other story...
I'm not sure how much I will be able to post in the next few days. I will be venturing down the shore with a friend of mine. If I do not get to post while I am down there, I can promise you intense posting when I return. Goodbye All!
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Tuesday looked to be a step in the right direction for the Phillies. I am not ready to concede and say that this slump is officially over. I would need to see at least 2-3 more games within the next few days before I determine this slump is done with. Kudos to the offense for scoring runs though in a shitty start by Kyle Kendrick. Ibanez had 4 hits, Utley and Howard each contributed as well. My buddy Ben Francisco came through in a big way in the 8th inning with the game winning hit. He had pair of hits also.
The pitching was troubling. Kendrick was bad; Durbin gave up some runs as did Contreras. Lidge made Philly fans hold their breath as he loaded the bases before getting the final out. Overall he looked sharp especially for the first two strikeouts. Lets hope he doesn't give us any more outings like this one.
The Phillies have one more game to get the kinks out before we go on the American League's version of Murders' Row starting this weekend. What is AL Murders' Row you may ask? Well, its a span of 9 games during which the Phillies play 3 of the 4 best American League teams. Starting Friday, the Phillies play 3 in Boston, 3 at Yankee Stadium and then come home to play the Twins for 3 games. I foresee bad things in this upcoming stretch if the Phillies don't break out of this funk. Really bad things. Lets hope they are waking up because our good Phillies team can play with and beat those teams. Will they though is a whole other story...
I'm not sure how much I will be able to post in the next few days. I will be venturing down the shore with a friend of mine. If I do not get to post while I am down there, I can promise you intense posting when I return. Goodbye All!
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Phillies' To-Do List
My Fellow Phans,
So, as I promised in my last post: I have come up with suggestions or ideas that the Phillies should look into doing in order to break this slump. I know some of these ideas are exaggerated and “out there” meaning they will probably never happen, but I’m just throwing them out there as ideas. I mean these struggles are pushing people past the point of desperation and anything must be tried to break these boys out of it and asap.
So here are my ideas / suggestions on things that could and or should be done to attempt to help the Phillies:
1. Make Chase Utley get a physical: Out of all the players on the Phillies, we all can pretty much agree that Utley is the last player to ever admit he is hurting or injured. His drive for the game is too strong for him to do so. I’m sure we can also agree that a fully healthy Utley is too good to go through the type of slump he is in right now. Hell, a sore or semi-unhealthy Utley is still better than most of the players in the game today.
I just want to make sure that our best player is not hiding an injury or maybe he is hurt and doesn’t really know it; it is possible. It wouldn’t hurt anybody by asking him to just get looked at to make sure he is 100%. Let’s face it, we cannot win anything this season without the old, productive Chase Utley. So if he is injured, let’s learn about it now before it sidelines him for longer than it should.
2. Shake up the lineup: Now this is where some may say these ideas will get a little unlikely. When I say shakeup, I don’t mean putting Francisco or Gload into the lineup occasionally. I am talking about serious changes and unusual changes. These could include:
- Moving Carlos Ruiz up in the lineup. Here’s a daring idea: move Chooch to third in the order and push everyone back a spot. He may not be an ideal 3-hole hitter, but he may just be the best hitter we have right now. Victorino and Polanco have been solidly getting on-base recently and the rest of the order never gets them in. Let’s give Chooch a chance to knock in some runs in that 3 spot. Crazy and never going to happen I know, but it gets you thinking, doesn’t it?
- If not Ruiz, why not move Werth up? Let’s face it; Werth cannot be trusted with men on base lately. Bat him leadoff and move Victorino down giving Shane more chances to knock in runs and maybe Werth will hit better in spots with nobody on base and he cannot possibly ground into a double play. Although, he may just find a way to do so with the bases empty; talk about an impressive feat.
And if you do any serious changes in the lineup; don’t do it for a game and scratch it. Leave it going for a few games and see how it goes. All ideas must be tried at this point.
3. Bring Up & Ship Out: This is where the roster changes seriously start: The manager is not the only player in this. The front office needs to step up as well and make some serious changes:
- Out: Baez / In: Scott Mathieson – Mathieson is pitching lights out (1.40 ERA) in the minors and he has the big league experience to replace Baez. He may struggle, but he is younger, but has potential and could be a serious player in our bullpen for years to come. If you don’t call him up then trade for a reliever; maybe a Bobby Jenks perhaps? Anyone has to be an improvement over Baez this year; he has to go.
- Out: Greg Dobbs / In: Dominic Brown – Our bench needs a change and Dobbs is the likeliest to go. We need some spark and lets face it; Dobbs hasn’t had a good season since 2008. Drop Dobbs and call up Dominic Brown. Bring Brown up and put him in left field and bench Ibanez. If Brown hits 250 with a decent amount of power, then he is an improvement. Give Raul some competition in the outfield and maybe that will light a fire under him and he will start to hit better; Brown has earned his shot to start in the Major Leagues. Give the man his shot already. You can even use Francisco against tough lefties. I wouldn’t see the harm in that.. Why not try something new and different? The Marlins called up their young stud outfielder, who will actually make his debut in Philly tonight, so we can’t we do the same thing?
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
So, as I promised in my last post: I have come up with suggestions or ideas that the Phillies should look into doing in order to break this slump. I know some of these ideas are exaggerated and “out there” meaning they will probably never happen, but I’m just throwing them out there as ideas. I mean these struggles are pushing people past the point of desperation and anything must be tried to break these boys out of it and asap.
So here are my ideas / suggestions on things that could and or should be done to attempt to help the Phillies:
1. Make Chase Utley get a physical: Out of all the players on the Phillies, we all can pretty much agree that Utley is the last player to ever admit he is hurting or injured. His drive for the game is too strong for him to do so. I’m sure we can also agree that a fully healthy Utley is too good to go through the type of slump he is in right now. Hell, a sore or semi-unhealthy Utley is still better than most of the players in the game today.
I just want to make sure that our best player is not hiding an injury or maybe he is hurt and doesn’t really know it; it is possible. It wouldn’t hurt anybody by asking him to just get looked at to make sure he is 100%. Let’s face it, we cannot win anything this season without the old, productive Chase Utley. So if he is injured, let’s learn about it now before it sidelines him for longer than it should.
2. Shake up the lineup: Now this is where some may say these ideas will get a little unlikely. When I say shakeup, I don’t mean putting Francisco or Gload into the lineup occasionally. I am talking about serious changes and unusual changes. These could include:
- Moving Carlos Ruiz up in the lineup. Here’s a daring idea: move Chooch to third in the order and push everyone back a spot. He may not be an ideal 3-hole hitter, but he may just be the best hitter we have right now. Victorino and Polanco have been solidly getting on-base recently and the rest of the order never gets them in. Let’s give Chooch a chance to knock in some runs in that 3 spot. Crazy and never going to happen I know, but it gets you thinking, doesn’t it?
- If not Ruiz, why not move Werth up? Let’s face it; Werth cannot be trusted with men on base lately. Bat him leadoff and move Victorino down giving Shane more chances to knock in runs and maybe Werth will hit better in spots with nobody on base and he cannot possibly ground into a double play. Although, he may just find a way to do so with the bases empty; talk about an impressive feat.
And if you do any serious changes in the lineup; don’t do it for a game and scratch it. Leave it going for a few games and see how it goes. All ideas must be tried at this point.
3. Bring Up & Ship Out: This is where the roster changes seriously start: The manager is not the only player in this. The front office needs to step up as well and make some serious changes:
- Out: Baez / In: Scott Mathieson – Mathieson is pitching lights out (1.40 ERA) in the minors and he has the big league experience to replace Baez. He may struggle, but he is younger, but has potential and could be a serious player in our bullpen for years to come. If you don’t call him up then trade for a reliever; maybe a Bobby Jenks perhaps? Anyone has to be an improvement over Baez this year; he has to go.
- Out: Greg Dobbs / In: Dominic Brown – Our bench needs a change and Dobbs is the likeliest to go. We need some spark and lets face it; Dobbs hasn’t had a good season since 2008. Drop Dobbs and call up Dominic Brown. Bring Brown up and put him in left field and bench Ibanez. If Brown hits 250 with a decent amount of power, then he is an improvement. Give Raul some competition in the outfield and maybe that will light a fire under him and he will start to hit better; Brown has earned his shot to start in the Major Leagues. Give the man his shot already. You can even use Francisco against tough lefties. I wouldn’t see the harm in that.. Why not try something new and different? The Marlins called up their young stud outfielder, who will actually make his debut in Philly tonight, so we can’t we do the same thing?
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
The "P" On Their Hats Stands for "Painful To Watch"
My Fellow Phans,
After feeling good about the Phillies winning the first two games against the Padres, their losses in their last two games killed any positive feelings that were drawn from those two first games. Let’s face it, Friday night was Halladay once again pitching his behind off and saving our miserable offense like he did during that perfect game. Lidge looked spectacular getting the save in the 9th inning. Saturday, it was all Moyer this time completing the game and saving the disappointing Phillies offense with his stellar performance. Our offense is not coming back; its not even close.
However, these last two games, our starters were not able to make up the atrocious offense that we are putting on the field these days. Blanton was not good on Sunday and really hasn’t had that many impressive performances this season. Our offense was helped by a critical error, but one wonders how many, if any, runs we would have scored if that error had no occurred. The Phillies stranded something like 15 base runners in that game. 15! 15 runners in just 10 innings; that is more than a runner per inning! I am running out of negative adjectives to describe our offense at this point. I’ve used bad, sad, pathetic, horrendous, atrocious, miserable, disgusting, terrible, disappointing, and probably more that I just forgot to list here.
Last night, Hamels started out with 6 no hit innings. As the night went along, the Phillies couldn’t even muster up a single run for the guy. Once he gave up that run in the 7th, we all knew it was over. The better the pitching performance, the worse the Phillies’ offense seems to perform. Hamels was great; we couldn’t have asked more out of him. All we needed were a simple 3 runs, I guess that is too much to ask of our hitting these days. We could have and should have swept this series. The Padres are not a good hitting team. We let them off the hook in those last two games. Oh well, such is the Phillies these days. Kudos to Jayson Werth for blowing two key opportunities in that game. He may be the worst offender of them all this time. Oh and Baez needs to go. There has to be better options in the farm system, free agent market or on the trading block that are better than him. He’s horrible.
I wanted to use a new word for this post, so I turned to my trusty thesaurus to find just the right term. Here’s one you may agree with: painful. Is this offense as painful to watch, listen, follow, and root for me as it is you guys? Every time we get a few runners on base, we strike out or hit into a double play. Don’t believe me? Check out nearly all of Jayson Werth’s at-bats. Chase Utley has done nothing recently; he, out of any Phillie, is too good for this slump business. I’ll throw this idea around again; could Chase be bothered by something that he is not telling us? A hip perhaps… Why not make his get a physical. Ryan Howard seems to get the occasional hit, but still nothing near his potential.
The only hitters getting any sort of offensive swing are Shane Victorino, Placido Polanco and Carlos Ruiz. It doesn’t matter if Victorino and Polanco are getting on base if the middle of our order is specializing in strike outs and double plays. They just sit out there on base as the big RBI guys falter behind them. It truly is painful to watch, isn’t it? Maybe Ruiz needs to hit third so he has some RBI opportunities or at least 6th, I mean Raul Ibanez hasn’t done anything all season, period.
Of course this whole slump dates back to the “Binocular Sign-Stealing” incident in Colorado. Scary to consider? Yes, I think so. Coincidence? I sincerely hope so. But, the long this slump goes on, the more that cloud will hang over this club. I mean it has to be pretty bad when it starts weighing on my mind, ask anyone I know about that. I know we’re not cheaters, right? Right, now I really don’t know. Well, let me rephrase that. I know we’re not. However, the longer this slump goes, the more and more people are talking about that incident and how timely all this is. The only way to prove people wrong is to hit and, right now, nobody is doing that. We couldn’t hit ourselves out of a paper bag right now, and it is painful to watch.
I recently read an article entitled “Manuel baffled by latest Phillies flop”. In it Manuel states, "I don't know what to say, really, if you want to know the truth," Manuel said. "I want to us to come out, have fun, hit balls and score runs like we know we can. It's not happening." Maybe Manuel should get a clu, make some changes in our lineup, bullpen, and or bench. We need something, anything that can help us right now.
Later in the Article: “"This team's not going to quit," leftfielder Raul Ibanez said. "There's too much talent in the room. There's a lot of season left. But obviously it doesn't take the sting out of what's going on right now.
"
Excuse me for playing Captain Obvious here Mr. Ibanez, but I watch this team and it appears to me they have quit or at least stopped trying or maybe they’re over-trying. I don’t know, in all my years of baseball, I have never seen anything like this. Even with our “bad” teams of the past who couldn’t hit water if they fell out of a boat never had slumps this past. There is too much talent for this slide to keep going on like this. Although having talent is only as good as wanting and caring enough to use it. Are they at this point? I really don’t know.
I am working on some plans that I think the Phillies should take in order to improve; look for them at a later post.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
After feeling good about the Phillies winning the first two games against the Padres, their losses in their last two games killed any positive feelings that were drawn from those two first games. Let’s face it, Friday night was Halladay once again pitching his behind off and saving our miserable offense like he did during that perfect game. Lidge looked spectacular getting the save in the 9th inning. Saturday, it was all Moyer this time completing the game and saving the disappointing Phillies offense with his stellar performance. Our offense is not coming back; its not even close.
However, these last two games, our starters were not able to make up the atrocious offense that we are putting on the field these days. Blanton was not good on Sunday and really hasn’t had that many impressive performances this season. Our offense was helped by a critical error, but one wonders how many, if any, runs we would have scored if that error had no occurred. The Phillies stranded something like 15 base runners in that game. 15! 15 runners in just 10 innings; that is more than a runner per inning! I am running out of negative adjectives to describe our offense at this point. I’ve used bad, sad, pathetic, horrendous, atrocious, miserable, disgusting, terrible, disappointing, and probably more that I just forgot to list here.
Last night, Hamels started out with 6 no hit innings. As the night went along, the Phillies couldn’t even muster up a single run for the guy. Once he gave up that run in the 7th, we all knew it was over. The better the pitching performance, the worse the Phillies’ offense seems to perform. Hamels was great; we couldn’t have asked more out of him. All we needed were a simple 3 runs, I guess that is too much to ask of our hitting these days. We could have and should have swept this series. The Padres are not a good hitting team. We let them off the hook in those last two games. Oh well, such is the Phillies these days. Kudos to Jayson Werth for blowing two key opportunities in that game. He may be the worst offender of them all this time. Oh and Baez needs to go. There has to be better options in the farm system, free agent market or on the trading block that are better than him. He’s horrible.
I wanted to use a new word for this post, so I turned to my trusty thesaurus to find just the right term. Here’s one you may agree with: painful. Is this offense as painful to watch, listen, follow, and root for me as it is you guys? Every time we get a few runners on base, we strike out or hit into a double play. Don’t believe me? Check out nearly all of Jayson Werth’s at-bats. Chase Utley has done nothing recently; he, out of any Phillie, is too good for this slump business. I’ll throw this idea around again; could Chase be bothered by something that he is not telling us? A hip perhaps… Why not make his get a physical. Ryan Howard seems to get the occasional hit, but still nothing near his potential.
The only hitters getting any sort of offensive swing are Shane Victorino, Placido Polanco and Carlos Ruiz. It doesn’t matter if Victorino and Polanco are getting on base if the middle of our order is specializing in strike outs and double plays. They just sit out there on base as the big RBI guys falter behind them. It truly is painful to watch, isn’t it? Maybe Ruiz needs to hit third so he has some RBI opportunities or at least 6th, I mean Raul Ibanez hasn’t done anything all season, period.
Of course this whole slump dates back to the “Binocular Sign-Stealing” incident in Colorado. Scary to consider? Yes, I think so. Coincidence? I sincerely hope so. But, the long this slump goes on, the more that cloud will hang over this club. I mean it has to be pretty bad when it starts weighing on my mind, ask anyone I know about that. I know we’re not cheaters, right? Right, now I really don’t know. Well, let me rephrase that. I know we’re not. However, the longer this slump goes, the more and more people are talking about that incident and how timely all this is. The only way to prove people wrong is to hit and, right now, nobody is doing that. We couldn’t hit ourselves out of a paper bag right now, and it is painful to watch.
I recently read an article entitled “Manuel baffled by latest Phillies flop”. In it Manuel states, "I don't know what to say, really, if you want to know the truth," Manuel said. "I want to us to come out, have fun, hit balls and score runs like we know we can. It's not happening." Maybe Manuel should get a clu, make some changes in our lineup, bullpen, and or bench. We need something, anything that can help us right now.
Later in the Article: “"This team's not going to quit," leftfielder Raul Ibanez said. "There's too much talent in the room. There's a lot of season left. But obviously it doesn't take the sting out of what's going on right now.
"
Excuse me for playing Captain Obvious here Mr. Ibanez, but I watch this team and it appears to me they have quit or at least stopped trying or maybe they’re over-trying. I don’t know, in all my years of baseball, I have never seen anything like this. Even with our “bad” teams of the past who couldn’t hit water if they fell out of a boat never had slumps this past. There is too much talent for this slide to keep going on like this. Although having talent is only as good as wanting and caring enough to use it. Are they at this point? I really don’t know.
I am working on some plans that I think the Phillies should take in order to improve; look for them at a later post.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Saluting the Great Ken Griffey Jr.
My Fellow Phans,
Earlier this week, baseball lost one of its active legends when Ken Griffey Jr retired from the game of baseball. I must be getting old that one of my favorite players when I was younger is retiring. Here are my thoughts and memories on perhaps the greatest left-handed hitter to even play the game of baseball.
As a baseball fan, I have already favored watching left handed hitters. Why? Well the answer is simple; there are some lefties who have a “perfect” swing; it never seemed to happen for any righties. It’s hard to describe and probably only baseball fans will get what I am talking about. The perfect swing was a swing that was fluid every time, it made an observer stand up and go, wow that guy is amazing. A perfect swing made you a good hitter simply because you clearly knew exactly what you were doing at the plate. I’m sure you know where this is going, but I’ll continue. Ask any baseball fan, and I’m sure most of them would agree; Ken Griffey Jr. had the perfect swing.
When Griffey came into the league; he immediately made a hit with the Seattle Mariners, (no pun intended). With his sweet swing and his great plate discipline, there were a great many, myself included, who thought he would break the home run record. However injuries delayed put an end to that pursuit He would end with 630 career home runs. What made Griffey so great was that his name was never connected to any steroid stories or accusations, at least none that I know of. He always remained the small-built, unassuming guy with natural power like no other player. His perfect swing and natural talent was all that needed.
Once he returned to Seattle, you just knew it was almost the end for Griffey. I cannot think of a more perfect ending then returning to where it all started for one final go around. He didn’t want a farewell tour and there will not be one as he ends his career and will just stop playing. I’m sure that teams will still celebrate this legend anyway. He was a legend, a leader and is a first ball Hall Of Famer or at least should be. If Griffey does not get in on the first ballot, I may have to boycott baseball, but I’m sure there is nothing to worry about in that regard.
I cannot believe I am quoting Milton Bradley when I actually agree with him, but he summed up the situation perfectly when he said “On a day like this, it should rain in Seattle.” It is raining Mr. Bradley, but not a dreary rain to point out a great loss, but instead it is raining praise and thanks from the Seattle faithful to the greatest Mariner to ever play the game, Mr. Ken Griffey Jr.
I salute you Ken Griffey. You were one of my favorite players growing up and I look forward to seeing your induction into Cooperstown. Baseball lost one of its legends this week, and he will never be forgotten.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Earlier this week, baseball lost one of its active legends when Ken Griffey Jr retired from the game of baseball. I must be getting old that one of my favorite players when I was younger is retiring. Here are my thoughts and memories on perhaps the greatest left-handed hitter to even play the game of baseball.
As a baseball fan, I have already favored watching left handed hitters. Why? Well the answer is simple; there are some lefties who have a “perfect” swing; it never seemed to happen for any righties. It’s hard to describe and probably only baseball fans will get what I am talking about. The perfect swing was a swing that was fluid every time, it made an observer stand up and go, wow that guy is amazing. A perfect swing made you a good hitter simply because you clearly knew exactly what you were doing at the plate. I’m sure you know where this is going, but I’ll continue. Ask any baseball fan, and I’m sure most of them would agree; Ken Griffey Jr. had the perfect swing.
When Griffey came into the league; he immediately made a hit with the Seattle Mariners, (no pun intended). With his sweet swing and his great plate discipline, there were a great many, myself included, who thought he would break the home run record. However injuries delayed put an end to that pursuit He would end with 630 career home runs. What made Griffey so great was that his name was never connected to any steroid stories or accusations, at least none that I know of. He always remained the small-built, unassuming guy with natural power like no other player. His perfect swing and natural talent was all that needed.
Once he returned to Seattle, you just knew it was almost the end for Griffey. I cannot think of a more perfect ending then returning to where it all started for one final go around. He didn’t want a farewell tour and there will not be one as he ends his career and will just stop playing. I’m sure that teams will still celebrate this legend anyway. He was a legend, a leader and is a first ball Hall Of Famer or at least should be. If Griffey does not get in on the first ballot, I may have to boycott baseball, but I’m sure there is nothing to worry about in that regard.
I cannot believe I am quoting Milton Bradley when I actually agree with him, but he summed up the situation perfectly when he said “On a day like this, it should rain in Seattle.” It is raining Mr. Bradley, but not a dreary rain to point out a great loss, but instead it is raining praise and thanks from the Seattle faithful to the greatest Mariner to ever play the game, Mr. Ken Griffey Jr.
I salute you Ken Griffey. You were one of my favorite players growing up and I look forward to seeing your induction into Cooperstown. Baseball lost one of its legends this week, and he will never be forgotten.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Looking Back at Last Night's Game
My Fellow Phans,
Congrats to the Phillies on their big win yesterday. It was nice to see them back Roy Halladay, at least enough to get him a win. Contreras and Romero were a little shaky in the 8th, but the story of the game had to be Brad Lidge.
Lidge worked a perfect 9th inning last night for his 2nd save of the year striking out two hitters in the process. To say Lidge looked good last would be a HUGE understatement. His slider was breaking where and when he wanted it to, and his fastball had pinpoint control. See the at-bat versus Padres’ slugger Adrian Gonzalez for further proof. We haven’t seen Lidge pitch this well since, well since 2008. Now I’m going to leave it at that because I feel I’ve said too much to possibly jinx him already.
As for the rest of the pitching: Halladay pitched 7 strong innings and what a wizardly 7 innings those were. He ended up stranding something like 11 Padres base runners. He made the big pitch when he had to. The 8th inning was a shaky one as Jose Contreras and J.C. Romero loaded the bases before Romero got an inning ending double play which was HUGE!
As for the offense, it still was not up to par. We did score 3 runs and got the victory, I’m not going to say that wasn’t important. However, our slump is still upon us offensively. The Phillies managed just 4 hits through the first 7 innings and were greatly outhit by the Padres, but they still had the lead. The Phillies haven’t scored more than 3 runs in a game since May 21st. That is a 12 game stretch of scoring less than 4 runs.
The scoring came really on just two plays. The first two on a Shane Victorino hit a 2-run home run. What made this home run important besides giving the Phillies the lead, was that it was hit on a 2-0 pitch; a good hitters’ count. Getting good swings on a pitch in a hitters’ count is always a sign of a player going well at the plate. The other offense came on a bases loaded walk to Jayson Werth. It was a close 3-2 pitch; I’m not going to deny that at all. A hitter with a lesser eye at the plate may have chased the pitch, but Werth laid off of it and worked the critical walk that gave the Phillies the lead.
Overall, it was a good game. I mean the Phillies won and that’s all that matters, right? Maybe they can shock us all and make it two in a row tonight. They say miracles happen every day right so we shall see.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Johnny S.
Congrats to the Phillies on their big win yesterday. It was nice to see them back Roy Halladay, at least enough to get him a win. Contreras and Romero were a little shaky in the 8th, but the story of the game had to be Brad Lidge.
Lidge worked a perfect 9th inning last night for his 2nd save of the year striking out two hitters in the process. To say Lidge looked good last would be a HUGE understatement. His slider was breaking where and when he wanted it to, and his fastball had pinpoint control. See the at-bat versus Padres’ slugger Adrian Gonzalez for further proof. We haven’t seen Lidge pitch this well since, well since 2008. Now I’m going to leave it at that because I feel I’ve said too much to possibly jinx him already.
As for the rest of the pitching: Halladay pitched 7 strong innings and what a wizardly 7 innings those were. He ended up stranding something like 11 Padres base runners. He made the big pitch when he had to. The 8th inning was a shaky one as Jose Contreras and J.C. Romero loaded the bases before Romero got an inning ending double play which was HUGE!
As for the offense, it still was not up to par. We did score 3 runs and got the victory, I’m not going to say that wasn’t important. However, our slump is still upon us offensively. The Phillies managed just 4 hits through the first 7 innings and were greatly outhit by the Padres, but they still had the lead. The Phillies haven’t scored more than 3 runs in a game since May 21st. That is a 12 game stretch of scoring less than 4 runs.
The scoring came really on just two plays. The first two on a Shane Victorino hit a 2-run home run. What made this home run important besides giving the Phillies the lead, was that it was hit on a 2-0 pitch; a good hitters’ count. Getting good swings on a pitch in a hitters’ count is always a sign of a player going well at the plate. The other offense came on a bases loaded walk to Jayson Werth. It was a close 3-2 pitch; I’m not going to deny that at all. A hitter with a lesser eye at the plate may have chased the pitch, but Werth laid off of it and worked the critical walk that gave the Phillies the lead.
Overall, it was a good game. I mean the Phillies won and that’s all that matters, right? Maybe they can shock us all and make it two in a row tonight. They say miracles happen every day right so we shall see.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Johnny S.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Phillies: From Champs to Chumps
My Fellow Phans,
My apologies to my avid readers who were waiting for a post on this blog actually concerning the Phillies last night; sadly I passed out last night. It was a long day of playing with siblings, straightening up around the house and running a bunch of errands here and there. The Phillies were off which guaranteed one thing; they couldn’t lose.
During this whole streak, we had pointing out numerous reasons for the Phillies’ struggles; mechanics, missing short stops, lack of a good hitting coach ect. I for one never thought about looking at the overall attitude of the team. I mean, that is what made the past two year’s teams so good; the Phillies lived, played and died as a team. There was no cockiness or arrogance, at least not enough to directly affect their play on the field. Oh, how times have changed. Just ask Charlie Manuel.
"I got upset when I came in and saw everybody looking at movies. We had a whole audience in there looking at movies and [bleep]. And I thought, 'What the hell? We should be getting ready for the damn game.' I don't like things like that," said Manuel of the clubhouse television, which earlier had been showing "Gran Torino."
The most ironic point of this whole story is that the star of Gran Torino is the 80 year old Clint Eastwood, Happy Belated Birthday to him by the way. Anyway, the star of the movie is an 80 year old man and that seems to be how the Phillies are playing these days; like 80 year old men. I’m sure Clint could grab a bat and hit a few out of the park; how about you Phillies? He’s twice your all your ages and then some, except for Moyer of course, but were not counting on Moyer to hit.
The movie example being just one piece of evidence, I think Charlie sums up the problem of the Phillies in one statement.
“I see a whole lot of cockiness and big-headedness and complacency,” Manuel said. “Just because we did something last year doesn’t mean we’re going to do it this year."
To hear such things about the team who played so hard and won the hearts of every member of this city the last two seasons is disheartening, sickening, frustrating to say the least. As I said before, this is not the same attitude that this team showed the last two seasons. I think that is obvious by the quality of play that they are putting forward. Our World Series trip would not have been possible last year if we had this attitude; hell we may not have been able to come back to beat the Rockies or Dodgers. The trademark of this team was its team play, the lack of cockiness, big-headedness, or complacency.
I think having back to back trips to the World Series would make this team realize how tough is truly is and this would help shape them as players. To hear this is sickening to me. The Phillies have a solid number of diehard fans; who sat year after year through 100 loss seasons and saw this team do the unthinkable in 2008. I used to believe that I would never see a Phillies’ World Series Title in my lifetime. Thankfully, they proved me wrong.
Now, they seem to be throwing all that away. Is everything that made the Phillies great in 08 is being tossed away due to the inflation of egos? Fans here in Philadelphia don’t ask for perfection, we just ask that you try you hardest. Last decade, the best you guys could give us was 70 or so wins and those teams still played their a**** off and did their best for the fans.
This year, You have the talent to win this division and possibly go far in the playoffs, and you refuse use it and sit around watching movies just 30 minutes before a ball game? If you’re going to roll over and play dead the rest of the year; just let us know. We can mark you down as one of the most disappointing Phillies teams in history, maybe the most disappointing ever. Bandwagon fans may not care as much, but us diehards are slowly breaking apart by this BS you are pulling here. Championships are not won with cockiness and arrogances, they are won on the field by you proving you are the best team; not just thinking you are and everything will come to you.
Charlie seems to know what’s what. Why cannot anyone else see this?
“"Success changes you. Winning changes you. People sometimes don't even know that. But you'd better stay the same if you think you're going to be as successful as you have been.” Manuel said. “Success is great, but at the same time knowing how to handle it and keeping it for a long time is even better."
I guess the question is, do the Phillies want to be remembered as a two season wonder or do they want to show that they are the class of the National League for many years to come? I guess we will wait and see. I sincerely hope it’s the latter. I vote for getting your heads of your behinds and playing some Phillies baseball because, let’s face it, when we do that nobody can beat us.
Let’s start tonight. We are back home for a few games; the ballpark is still going to be packed despite your struggles so there is no reason you cannot start a new page right here right now. We all know you can do it, so let’s put that recent road trip behind us and turn the corner. I’m sure all Phillies fans would be willing to do that. Our ace is on the mound; let’s get this thing turned around.
I am curious to see the response of the fans tonight. Go out and give it your all and there will not be a Boo Bird in sight. Go out, and play like you don’t care and the Boos will probably be heard across the area…
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!!
My apologies to my avid readers who were waiting for a post on this blog actually concerning the Phillies last night; sadly I passed out last night. It was a long day of playing with siblings, straightening up around the house and running a bunch of errands here and there. The Phillies were off which guaranteed one thing; they couldn’t lose.
During this whole streak, we had pointing out numerous reasons for the Phillies’ struggles; mechanics, missing short stops, lack of a good hitting coach ect. I for one never thought about looking at the overall attitude of the team. I mean, that is what made the past two year’s teams so good; the Phillies lived, played and died as a team. There was no cockiness or arrogance, at least not enough to directly affect their play on the field. Oh, how times have changed. Just ask Charlie Manuel.
"I got upset when I came in and saw everybody looking at movies. We had a whole audience in there looking at movies and [bleep]. And I thought, 'What the hell? We should be getting ready for the damn game.' I don't like things like that," said Manuel of the clubhouse television, which earlier had been showing "Gran Torino."
The most ironic point of this whole story is that the star of Gran Torino is the 80 year old Clint Eastwood, Happy Belated Birthday to him by the way. Anyway, the star of the movie is an 80 year old man and that seems to be how the Phillies are playing these days; like 80 year old men. I’m sure Clint could grab a bat and hit a few out of the park; how about you Phillies? He’s twice your all your ages and then some, except for Moyer of course, but were not counting on Moyer to hit.
The movie example being just one piece of evidence, I think Charlie sums up the problem of the Phillies in one statement.
“I see a whole lot of cockiness and big-headedness and complacency,” Manuel said. “Just because we did something last year doesn’t mean we’re going to do it this year."
To hear such things about the team who played so hard and won the hearts of every member of this city the last two seasons is disheartening, sickening, frustrating to say the least. As I said before, this is not the same attitude that this team showed the last two seasons. I think that is obvious by the quality of play that they are putting forward. Our World Series trip would not have been possible last year if we had this attitude; hell we may not have been able to come back to beat the Rockies or Dodgers. The trademark of this team was its team play, the lack of cockiness, big-headedness, or complacency.
I think having back to back trips to the World Series would make this team realize how tough is truly is and this would help shape them as players. To hear this is sickening to me. The Phillies have a solid number of diehard fans; who sat year after year through 100 loss seasons and saw this team do the unthinkable in 2008. I used to believe that I would never see a Phillies’ World Series Title in my lifetime. Thankfully, they proved me wrong.
Now, they seem to be throwing all that away. Is everything that made the Phillies great in 08 is being tossed away due to the inflation of egos? Fans here in Philadelphia don’t ask for perfection, we just ask that you try you hardest. Last decade, the best you guys could give us was 70 or so wins and those teams still played their a**** off and did their best for the fans.
This year, You have the talent to win this division and possibly go far in the playoffs, and you refuse use it and sit around watching movies just 30 minutes before a ball game? If you’re going to roll over and play dead the rest of the year; just let us know. We can mark you down as one of the most disappointing Phillies teams in history, maybe the most disappointing ever. Bandwagon fans may not care as much, but us diehards are slowly breaking apart by this BS you are pulling here. Championships are not won with cockiness and arrogances, they are won on the field by you proving you are the best team; not just thinking you are and everything will come to you.
Charlie seems to know what’s what. Why cannot anyone else see this?
“"Success changes you. Winning changes you. People sometimes don't even know that. But you'd better stay the same if you think you're going to be as successful as you have been.” Manuel said. “Success is great, but at the same time knowing how to handle it and keeping it for a long time is even better."
I guess the question is, do the Phillies want to be remembered as a two season wonder or do they want to show that they are the class of the National League for many years to come? I guess we will wait and see. I sincerely hope it’s the latter. I vote for getting your heads of your behinds and playing some Phillies baseball because, let’s face it, when we do that nobody can beat us.
Let’s start tonight. We are back home for a few games; the ballpark is still going to be packed despite your struggles so there is no reason you cannot start a new page right here right now. We all know you can do it, so let’s put that recent road trip behind us and turn the corner. I’m sure all Phillies fans would be willing to do that. Our ace is on the mound; let’s get this thing turned around.
I am curious to see the response of the fans tonight. Go out and give it your all and there will not be a Boo Bird in sight. Go out, and play like you don’t care and the Boos will probably be heard across the area…
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Instant Replay In Baseball: Its About Time...
My Fellow Phans,
I am delving once again into a baseball topic, but don’t worry I will return to our beloved Phillies a little later tonight. Anyways, onto another baseball topic: the use of instant replay in baseball.
Last night’s blown call by Jim Joyce ruining a perfect game for a young pitcher has once again thrown the topic of instant replay into the game of baseball. This is a very complicated issue and, having said that, I will not delve too deeply into the issue.
All I will say is this; Major League baseball needs to very slightly expand their current replay system. With our current system, umpires can review home runs based on their own judgment calls. If they deem a home run call to be questionable, are unsure if it is fair or foul or even if it is a homer than they can go into the clubhouse and review mid game to overturn or keep the call on the field.
I like the home runs idea, but the idea needs to be expanded to determine basic fair or foul calls. If a ball is hit down the line, sometimes the ump cannot possibly see where the ball is at. Its little things like that that need to be monitored. There is nothing major, just a small type of call here and there that an ump may have trouble seeing. I’m not asking to monitor balls and strikes as that is one part of the game that should always be up to human judgment. The strike-zone of a particular umpire is their signature; their trademark. You have to keep that part of the game up to human interpretation.
No matter how you shape it, mistakes like the call last night at Detroit should never happen and most definitely not in such a critical moment in a ballgame.
I’m sure we can all agree with that.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans, Happy Readings and Go Phillies!!
I am delving once again into a baseball topic, but don’t worry I will return to our beloved Phillies a little later tonight. Anyways, onto another baseball topic: the use of instant replay in baseball.
Last night’s blown call by Jim Joyce ruining a perfect game for a young pitcher has once again thrown the topic of instant replay into the game of baseball. This is a very complicated issue and, having said that, I will not delve too deeply into the issue.
All I will say is this; Major League baseball needs to very slightly expand their current replay system. With our current system, umpires can review home runs based on their own judgment calls. If they deem a home run call to be questionable, are unsure if it is fair or foul or even if it is a homer than they can go into the clubhouse and review mid game to overturn or keep the call on the field.
I like the home runs idea, but the idea needs to be expanded to determine basic fair or foul calls. If a ball is hit down the line, sometimes the ump cannot possibly see where the ball is at. Its little things like that that need to be monitored. There is nothing major, just a small type of call here and there that an ump may have trouble seeing. I’m not asking to monitor balls and strikes as that is one part of the game that should always be up to human judgment. The strike-zone of a particular umpire is their signature; their trademark. You have to keep that part of the game up to human interpretation.
No matter how you shape it, mistakes like the call last night at Detroit should never happen and most definitely not in such a critical moment in a ballgame.
I’m sure we can all agree with that.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans, Happy Readings and Go Phillies!!
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