My Fellow Phans,
I'm sure I am not the only one who would have been delighted to have Roy Oswalt on the Phillies roster for the next couple of seasons. He is quite a pitcher. I don't see how anybody wouldn't want him.
However, despite the facts that he would waive his No Trade Clause to come here; he isn't too thrilled about the possibility of pitching on the East Coast even though it would be for a team with a better postseason shot than Houston (at least for now). Oswalt stated that he was worried about pitching for a team with a large and aggressive media such a Phildelphia. To further this point, he recently stated he would rather pitch in St.Louis, which I guess has a smaller media base? Although St. Louis may be the only true baseball city in the USA.
To this whole thing I say: Grow a Pair, Mr. Oswalt. Jake Peavy was the same way when he balked at a trade to Philadelphia since the stadium was too home run friendly. Now his pitches in Chicago for the White Soxs. Ironic huh?
Anyhoo, Mr. Oswalt needs to grow up. You are an elite major league pitcher who is making well over 10 million dollars per season. You can't complain about the media. Good players will gather more attention especially if you pitch in a bigger market such as Philly or NY. I have a lot of respect for him, he seems to me to be a class act. To hear this stuff is just disappointing. I've lost a lot of respect for him recently.
I honestly don't care anymore if we get him or not. I'm just sick about him whining about the media here. If you can't take heat; get out of the oven....
Frankly, if our sad excuse for a GM didn't botch the Cliff Lee situation, we would have no need for Oswalt. But as it turned out, Amaro threw away another elite pitcher for next to nothing. Let's face it, the Phillies organization will be better off without his lack of intelligence and baseball knowledge. I mean the guy played 8 seasons, all off the bench and only amounted 16 homers and 100 rbis with a perky .235 average.
I don't see how that qualifies him as a GM, but I digress once again.
In short, Roy Oswalt needs to shut up and play. Grow a Pair buddy, you're making more than enough money to put up with any type of media that comes you're away. If he does go to the Cardinals, that could be bad news for the rest of the league.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
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Friday, July 23, 2010
Phillies Leave St. Louis on a High Note..
My Fellow Phans,
It seems like ages ago when the Phillies finally won a game. However, yesterday they actually won one on their own with a 2-0 extra inning victory. It was the first of the roadtip; and no, I will not count the Cubs win as a Phillies win since the Cubs lost that game giving it to us. So technically we had a 2-6 roadtrip. Granted it could have been better and it could have been worse so I'm not sure how to look at it.
Our offense is still struggling to do anything. It seems like the only players producing at the plate are Ryan Howard and Placido Polanco these days. Yes, I know that some players have thrown in the occasional hit, but nothing steady enough to call them solid producers.
Yesterday was no different. Thankfully for the Phillies, Cole Hamels was brilliant and kept the game scoreless as the Phillies fumbled chance after chance to plate a run. Outside of Halladay's perfect game, this may have been the best pitching performance of the season. Hamels allowed one hit and faced the minimum through his 8 shut out innings. Talk about impressive.
The Phillies found a scapegoat yesterday for their offensive woes when they fired Milt Thompson. I'm disappointed in this action. It's not Milt's fault that the Phillies hitters have decided to stop working counts and getting good pitches to hit as they did so well at the start of the season. The Phillies needed someone to blame for their struggles and sadly he was the one. Honestly, I would rather see Ruben Amaro fired, but that is a completely different post which could very well pop up in the future.
So now the Phillies head home with the Rockies waiting. We never did acquire Roy Oswalt so now two-faced Kyle Kendrick will get to face current NL CY Young Winner, Ubaldo Jimenez. The most intriguing part of that game will be getting to see Jimenez pitch for a whole game. The guy has been brilliant this year and as a baseball fan, I look forward to seeing him pitch.
As for the Oswalt note, I won't get into that now. Ruben Amaro balked at the possibility of picking up his option for 2012. Oswalt's salary is significantly higher than Cliff Lee, who I might add is pitching a level above Oswalt at this time. Crazy how you could have had a better starter for less money huh? Are any of the guys we got for Lee playing well? I heard the top player in that deal, Phillippe Aumont was recently demoted to clearwater. Great deal there Amaro. Just a small example of why he needs to go, but I digress.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
It seems like ages ago when the Phillies finally won a game. However, yesterday they actually won one on their own with a 2-0 extra inning victory. It was the first of the roadtip; and no, I will not count the Cubs win as a Phillies win since the Cubs lost that game giving it to us. So technically we had a 2-6 roadtrip. Granted it could have been better and it could have been worse so I'm not sure how to look at it.
Our offense is still struggling to do anything. It seems like the only players producing at the plate are Ryan Howard and Placido Polanco these days. Yes, I know that some players have thrown in the occasional hit, but nothing steady enough to call them solid producers.
Yesterday was no different. Thankfully for the Phillies, Cole Hamels was brilliant and kept the game scoreless as the Phillies fumbled chance after chance to plate a run. Outside of Halladay's perfect game, this may have been the best pitching performance of the season. Hamels allowed one hit and faced the minimum through his 8 shut out innings. Talk about impressive.
The Phillies found a scapegoat yesterday for their offensive woes when they fired Milt Thompson. I'm disappointed in this action. It's not Milt's fault that the Phillies hitters have decided to stop working counts and getting good pitches to hit as they did so well at the start of the season. The Phillies needed someone to blame for their struggles and sadly he was the one. Honestly, I would rather see Ruben Amaro fired, but that is a completely different post which could very well pop up in the future.
So now the Phillies head home with the Rockies waiting. We never did acquire Roy Oswalt so now two-faced Kyle Kendrick will get to face current NL CY Young Winner, Ubaldo Jimenez. The most intriguing part of that game will be getting to see Jimenez pitch for a whole game. The guy has been brilliant this year and as a baseball fan, I look forward to seeing him pitch.
As for the Oswalt note, I won't get into that now. Ruben Amaro balked at the possibility of picking up his option for 2012. Oswalt's salary is significantly higher than Cliff Lee, who I might add is pitching a level above Oswalt at this time. Crazy how you could have had a better starter for less money huh? Are any of the guys we got for Lee playing well? I heard the top player in that deal, Phillippe Aumont was recently demoted to clearwater. Great deal there Amaro. Just a small example of why he needs to go, but I digress.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Monday, July 19, 2010
A Letter to Shane Victorino
Dear Shane,
A few weeks ago, you gave us Philadelphia fans the ultimate insult when you accused all of us to be bandwagon, fair-weather fans, or as you put it "Front-runners". Now granted, there is a healthy number of fans in this city who do fall under that category, but also a very large number who do not. To prove this to you, I have a little story to tell. I hope this can provide evidence that a large number of fans in this city are not "front-runners".
This story is a tale of two teams. The first team we'll call Team A. Team A is a very qualified team with strong pitching and a decent offensive output. They have been playing better than expectations and currently sit on top of their respective division by a total of 5 games.
The second team in this tale, Team B, is a former 2 time National League Champion and is just a few years from a World Series title. However, Team B this season has been under performing tremendously and sits in 3rd place in its division behind Team A and another rival. They have been downright awful offensively and their bullpen is a disaster area.
Now common sense would tell you that Team A would be drawing in sellout crowds every night and Team B would struggle to barely fill half the stadium. However, these roles are completely reversed. Team A recently completed a home series which highlights revealed only about half the stadium was filled. Team B in on the road currently, but will return home at the end of this week to more sellouts and loud, screaming fans. Team B fans show up at every visiting venue even helping to fill the parks in the struggling teams such as Pittsburgh.
I'm sure the two teams I am talking about are pretty obvious by now. Now maybe I'm mistaken, but neither team's scenario describes the idea of fair-weather fan hood. You yourself, Mr. Victorino, accused the fans of Team B of being just that. I don't know if you're looking at the same stadiums every night that I am, but I see no signs of fair-weather fans here in Philadelphia.
You're worried to much about the fans and less about your own play. Get your head in the game, shut your mouth and produce like we all know you can.
Thanks.
Sincerely,
One of Team B's many Die-hard Fans
A few weeks ago, you gave us Philadelphia fans the ultimate insult when you accused all of us to be bandwagon, fair-weather fans, or as you put it "Front-runners". Now granted, there is a healthy number of fans in this city who do fall under that category, but also a very large number who do not. To prove this to you, I have a little story to tell. I hope this can provide evidence that a large number of fans in this city are not "front-runners".
This story is a tale of two teams. The first team we'll call Team A. Team A is a very qualified team with strong pitching and a decent offensive output. They have been playing better than expectations and currently sit on top of their respective division by a total of 5 games.
The second team in this tale, Team B, is a former 2 time National League Champion and is just a few years from a World Series title. However, Team B this season has been under performing tremendously and sits in 3rd place in its division behind Team A and another rival. They have been downright awful offensively and their bullpen is a disaster area.
Now common sense would tell you that Team A would be drawing in sellout crowds every night and Team B would struggle to barely fill half the stadium. However, these roles are completely reversed. Team A recently completed a home series which highlights revealed only about half the stadium was filled. Team B in on the road currently, but will return home at the end of this week to more sellouts and loud, screaming fans. Team B fans show up at every visiting venue even helping to fill the parks in the struggling teams such as Pittsburgh.
I'm sure the two teams I am talking about are pretty obvious by now. Now maybe I'm mistaken, but neither team's scenario describes the idea of fair-weather fan hood. You yourself, Mr. Victorino, accused the fans of Team B of being just that. I don't know if you're looking at the same stadiums every night that I am, but I see no signs of fair-weather fans here in Philadelphia.
You're worried to much about the fans and less about your own play. Get your head in the game, shut your mouth and produce like we all know you can.
Thanks.
Sincerely,
One of Team B's many Die-hard Fans
Same Old Story in Wrigley: Good Starters; No Offense; Bad Bullpen
My Fellow Phans,
I was at the last game of the Reds' series and as soon as we completed the sweep: I said to my mom, who was also there, "we didn't play well at all that series and didn't deserve to win really any games." Now I did relish in the rare 4 game sweep that was accomplished by the Phillies that day and I had a positive feeling through the All-Star break. Then came the Cubs Series. I was anxious to see how we would open the first half. As it turns out, we opened the second half like most of the first half went: good starting pitching and little to no offense. Our bullpen has been systematically growing worse over the past few weeks and I don't think I have faith in anyone out there at this present time.
I would like to give a shout out to the starting rotation at this time. Anyone who pins the starting pitching for our troubles this year is drinking too much of the cool aid as they say. Our starting pitching has been phenomenal this year. Granted there are times when our starters have an occasional bad start, but nobody's perfect. How many games have the Phillies lost 1-0, 2-1,2-0 ect this year? A lot. Starting pitching is not the problem. The fact that Halladay has only 10 wins and Hamels has a losing record is preposterous. With any run support at all, both these guys would have at least 12 wins a piece and most likely more. Lay off the starting pitching for now. They are the biggest, if not only, bright spot on this team this season.
Now for the bad....
You cannot win games if you do not score any runs. I think we all agree with that. Apparently the Phillies' hitters don't think so. Outside of Ryan Howard, Placido Polanco, and the occasional hit from Carlos Ruiz and Gregg Dobbs; this offense has done diddly squat. Operation swing for the fences has not been working for Shane Victorino, Jimmy Rollins, or Wilson Valdez. Maybe try a new approach boys? You just aren't producing period.
I think the left field situation has finally turned into a platoon or at least I hope so. Let's face it, Ibanez hasn't done anything since he returned from injury last season. Ben Francisco has been playing a little more often. Lets hope they keep splitting time. Francisco actually homered tonight for those of you who turned off the game after our pen blew it.
I'm not going to discuss Werth in this post as I have another post (already posted) I dedicated solely to him.
This brings us to the bullpen. Who can we trust in there? The only one I have any amount of faith in is Chad Durbin. Our off season signings have both been serious busts and at times we cannot find someone to get through an inning, at least not without giving up 5 runs in the process. Isn't that right, Jose Contreras? Lidge is blowing games again; Madson gave up a costly homer the other day; Romero cant throw strikes and Baez is just downright awful. The bullpen was horrific this Cubs series and played a vital role in us losing it. I mean we scored 6 runs, but after the bullpen allowed 5 more to make it 11 for Cubs; 6 runs doesn't seem that impressive.
The Phillies didn't win a game this series. The Cubs won 3 and lost 1. If Marmol and Soto didn't mentally collapse on Saturday than we would have been swept by the Cubbies in a 4 games series. The same Cubbies who are currently 9 games under the 500 mark. We basically did he same thing we did in the Reds Series before the break; except this time our opposition actually score runs.
The Phillies now go to St. Louis for 4 and play the Rockies in Philadelphia for 4 more games. 8 straight games against teams who are ahead of the Phils in the Wild Card hunt. If there was ever a time to make up ground; this is it.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
I was at the last game of the Reds' series and as soon as we completed the sweep: I said to my mom, who was also there, "we didn't play well at all that series and didn't deserve to win really any games." Now I did relish in the rare 4 game sweep that was accomplished by the Phillies that day and I had a positive feeling through the All-Star break. Then came the Cubs Series. I was anxious to see how we would open the first half. As it turns out, we opened the second half like most of the first half went: good starting pitching and little to no offense. Our bullpen has been systematically growing worse over the past few weeks and I don't think I have faith in anyone out there at this present time.
I would like to give a shout out to the starting rotation at this time. Anyone who pins the starting pitching for our troubles this year is drinking too much of the cool aid as they say. Our starting pitching has been phenomenal this year. Granted there are times when our starters have an occasional bad start, but nobody's perfect. How many games have the Phillies lost 1-0, 2-1,2-0 ect this year? A lot. Starting pitching is not the problem. The fact that Halladay has only 10 wins and Hamels has a losing record is preposterous. With any run support at all, both these guys would have at least 12 wins a piece and most likely more. Lay off the starting pitching for now. They are the biggest, if not only, bright spot on this team this season.
Now for the bad....
You cannot win games if you do not score any runs. I think we all agree with that. Apparently the Phillies' hitters don't think so. Outside of Ryan Howard, Placido Polanco, and the occasional hit from Carlos Ruiz and Gregg Dobbs; this offense has done diddly squat. Operation swing for the fences has not been working for Shane Victorino, Jimmy Rollins, or Wilson Valdez. Maybe try a new approach boys? You just aren't producing period.
I think the left field situation has finally turned into a platoon or at least I hope so. Let's face it, Ibanez hasn't done anything since he returned from injury last season. Ben Francisco has been playing a little more often. Lets hope they keep splitting time. Francisco actually homered tonight for those of you who turned off the game after our pen blew it.
I'm not going to discuss Werth in this post as I have another post (already posted) I dedicated solely to him.
This brings us to the bullpen. Who can we trust in there? The only one I have any amount of faith in is Chad Durbin. Our off season signings have both been serious busts and at times we cannot find someone to get through an inning, at least not without giving up 5 runs in the process. Isn't that right, Jose Contreras? Lidge is blowing games again; Madson gave up a costly homer the other day; Romero cant throw strikes and Baez is just downright awful. The bullpen was horrific this Cubs series and played a vital role in us losing it. I mean we scored 6 runs, but after the bullpen allowed 5 more to make it 11 for Cubs; 6 runs doesn't seem that impressive.
The Phillies didn't win a game this series. The Cubs won 3 and lost 1. If Marmol and Soto didn't mentally collapse on Saturday than we would have been swept by the Cubbies in a 4 games series. The same Cubbies who are currently 9 games under the 500 mark. We basically did he same thing we did in the Reds Series before the break; except this time our opposition actually score runs.
The Phillies now go to St. Louis for 4 and play the Rockies in Philadelphia for 4 more games. 8 straight games against teams who are ahead of the Phils in the Wild Card hunt. If there was ever a time to make up ground; this is it.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Dollar Signs in His Eyes: Werth not Worth Much Right Now
My Fellow Phans,
It has been awhile since we last spoke and I apologize for that. This is the longest I've been at a computer in awhile since my laptop when temporarily out of commission. Blogger is the only regular site that I go on that I cannot really access from my IPod or Phone so I need to wait for the family computer to blog on here.
Anyways, I digress....I wanted to take the time to address a player on the Phillies who I cannot help but figure out. I'm trying to keep it calm when this topic comes up. I don't know what to say about him. The player I am speaking about is our right fielder; our old buddy Mr. Jayson Werth. He is taking strikes at an unbelievable rate and striking out both looking and swinging every other at bat it seems. He struck out 9 times this weekend in the 4 game series. Yes, that is over 2 a game. At least 5 of those strike outs were looking. he barely swung the bat all series. I can't pinpoint what's wrong.
Honestly, I question his loyalty and his interest this season. He appears to not be trying at some points and than over trying at others. We already know he has money on his mind. A big free agent contract is waiting for him and he has already admitted that he is looking forward to the off season. He said it himself "I've said it before, I've played my whole career for this season right here. I plan to see it through." I've used that quote before in a post. Unless I'm totally misreading it, it basically says he is playing his career for the money. This is something that some players may say about winning a World Championship; others want money. It seems Werth is the latter variety.
Charlie Manuel noticed it and said that its the impending off season that is causing his struggles. Charlie was asked about Werth's struggles: "In some ways, it has to. I definitely think that. I think everyone is like that. Even if a guy is quiet and controls it better than others, I know it does. I know in his mind, he thinks about that. He really got off to a tremendous start. When things start going a little bad for him, yeah, he thinks about it. But he's going to be fine, if he just goes back and plays the way that I know he can, and that he's showed me that he can."
Werth completely denied it of course. "I don't think anyone can sit there and say they know what I'm thinking," Werth said. "I'm playing hard. I'm playing to win . . . The contract is the last thing on my mind. But at the same time, I know that Charlie is in my corner, and we all have one-track minds in here. But that's not what I'm thinking."
The struggles never really ended; in fact, they have gotten worse. I mean, there's a difference between struggling and not caring and frankly I watch Werth and cannot say one way or the other.
I know for a fact that I am not the only one to question Werth these days. Its pretty clear that his head is elsewhere at this moment and what exactly can be done to put it back where it belongs? Can anything be done? For a team that picked up this often injury outfielder, gave him playing time and a World Series Ring, it is a slap in the face if he indeed has stopped caring. Thanks for the few good years. Right now, I could care less if they resign you or not.
Now of course I could be all wrong here about Werth. I hope I am. I really do, but I just cannot toss aside this possibility right now. If I am wrong, I will apologize and acknowledge I was wrong in my judgment.
The proof of my false ideas has to come on the field. There is still a lot of baseball left. The Phillies have time to right the ship and make the postseason. They just need to start sooner rather than later....
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
It has been awhile since we last spoke and I apologize for that. This is the longest I've been at a computer in awhile since my laptop when temporarily out of commission. Blogger is the only regular site that I go on that I cannot really access from my IPod or Phone so I need to wait for the family computer to blog on here.
Anyways, I digress....I wanted to take the time to address a player on the Phillies who I cannot help but figure out. I'm trying to keep it calm when this topic comes up. I don't know what to say about him. The player I am speaking about is our right fielder; our old buddy Mr. Jayson Werth. He is taking strikes at an unbelievable rate and striking out both looking and swinging every other at bat it seems. He struck out 9 times this weekend in the 4 game series. Yes, that is over 2 a game. At least 5 of those strike outs were looking. he barely swung the bat all series. I can't pinpoint what's wrong.
Honestly, I question his loyalty and his interest this season. He appears to not be trying at some points and than over trying at others. We already know he has money on his mind. A big free agent contract is waiting for him and he has already admitted that he is looking forward to the off season. He said it himself "I've said it before, I've played my whole career for this season right here. I plan to see it through." I've used that quote before in a post. Unless I'm totally misreading it, it basically says he is playing his career for the money. This is something that some players may say about winning a World Championship; others want money. It seems Werth is the latter variety.
Charlie Manuel noticed it and said that its the impending off season that is causing his struggles. Charlie was asked about Werth's struggles: "In some ways, it has to. I definitely think that. I think everyone is like that. Even if a guy is quiet and controls it better than others, I know it does. I know in his mind, he thinks about that. He really got off to a tremendous start. When things start going a little bad for him, yeah, he thinks about it. But he's going to be fine, if he just goes back and plays the way that I know he can, and that he's showed me that he can."
Werth completely denied it of course. "I don't think anyone can sit there and say they know what I'm thinking," Werth said. "I'm playing hard. I'm playing to win . . . The contract is the last thing on my mind. But at the same time, I know that Charlie is in my corner, and we all have one-track minds in here. But that's not what I'm thinking."
The struggles never really ended; in fact, they have gotten worse. I mean, there's a difference between struggling and not caring and frankly I watch Werth and cannot say one way or the other.
I know for a fact that I am not the only one to question Werth these days. Its pretty clear that his head is elsewhere at this moment and what exactly can be done to put it back where it belongs? Can anything be done? For a team that picked up this often injury outfielder, gave him playing time and a World Series Ring, it is a slap in the face if he indeed has stopped caring. Thanks for the few good years. Right now, I could care less if they resign you or not.
Now of course I could be all wrong here about Werth. I hope I am. I really do, but I just cannot toss aside this possibility right now. If I am wrong, I will apologize and acknowledge I was wrong in my judgment.
The proof of my false ideas has to come on the field. There is still a lot of baseball left. The Phillies have time to right the ship and make the postseason. They just need to start sooner rather than later....
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Grading the Phillies First Half
My Fellow Phans,
Over the past few days, I have seen a great number of posts on Facebook or other mediums discussing the Phillies first half. Well, read no more: the only post on the Phillies half you need to read is right here. Haha, I kid. In all seriousness, I think to correctly "grade" the Phillies, you need to break it down into each part of the game: Offense, Starting Pitching, Relief Pitching, The Bench.
So that is exactly what I will do here. I will break each of those sections down and grade each equally and then give an overall rating constructed from the previous four grades. So, without further adieu, here is my Phillies first half grades:
Offense: Lets face it, the offense has been sketchy for most of the year. The Phillies best hitter in the first half is currently on the disabled list and that is Placido Polanco. The next best hitter is really a toss up between Carlos Ruiz and Ryan Howard. Chase Utley has been hurt, while Jayson Werth has looked downright dreadful since his hot start, and Raul Ibanez has been a non-factor ever since he returned from surgery last year. Jimmy Rollins is taking longer than expected to get his feet back under him since returning from the DL and Shane Victorino has just been in a downward spiral for awhile now. Let's not kid ourselves here: this team has just not hit like we all know they are capable of.
Grade: C+
Starting Pitching: The starting pitching has been good for the most part. Halladay has been all that is expected and more while Moyer and Hamels have pitched better than their 2009 numbers. Throw in quality starts from Joe Blanton and Kyle Kendrick and you have a quality rotation, at least in the first half. The ERA of the starters is 3.95: more than good enough to win in this league. Sadly, the run support has not been there and their record is just a clip over .500.
Grade: A
Relief Pitching: The bullpen has been sketchy all year. Although their ERA (3.83) is better than our starting pitching. That surprised me when I read it. However, there are some pitchers who I just do not trust at this time. This includes our beloved close Brad Lidge. I don't get why he struggles so much with such good stuff. I was going to give the pen a lower rating then I did; seeing the ERA changed my mind a bit:
Grade: B-
The Bench: At the start of the season, every bench player on the Phillies we either struggling tremendously or not playing enough for any judgment about him to be accurately made. However, the bench has saved us in recent weeks filling in for our injured players. Greg Dobbs has been playing at a higher level than anyone expected upon his return from the minors. Brian Schiender, Dobbs, and Wilson Valdez have all been playing admirably while we recover from these injuries. The bench deserves more credit than people give it.
Grade: B
So now I take the grades and enter them into my trusty GPA machine. The Phillies GPA for the first half is a 3.00. That's a B right?
Phillies Overall Grade: B
Synopsis: Having a B grade is nothing to be overly excited about, as a B is around the average, we all know that this team is capable of so much more than it is giving us. It should be an interesting second half. Lets hope the Phillies can continue their streaks of strong second halves and pull this one out again.
I posted another poll on the right side about the Phillies first half. Don't forget to vote when you're done reading!
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Over the past few days, I have seen a great number of posts on Facebook or other mediums discussing the Phillies first half. Well, read no more: the only post on the Phillies half you need to read is right here. Haha, I kid. In all seriousness, I think to correctly "grade" the Phillies, you need to break it down into each part of the game: Offense, Starting Pitching, Relief Pitching, The Bench.
So that is exactly what I will do here. I will break each of those sections down and grade each equally and then give an overall rating constructed from the previous four grades. So, without further adieu, here is my Phillies first half grades:
Offense: Lets face it, the offense has been sketchy for most of the year. The Phillies best hitter in the first half is currently on the disabled list and that is Placido Polanco. The next best hitter is really a toss up between Carlos Ruiz and Ryan Howard. Chase Utley has been hurt, while Jayson Werth has looked downright dreadful since his hot start, and Raul Ibanez has been a non-factor ever since he returned from surgery last year. Jimmy Rollins is taking longer than expected to get his feet back under him since returning from the DL and Shane Victorino has just been in a downward spiral for awhile now. Let's not kid ourselves here: this team has just not hit like we all know they are capable of.
Grade: C+
Starting Pitching: The starting pitching has been good for the most part. Halladay has been all that is expected and more while Moyer and Hamels have pitched better than their 2009 numbers. Throw in quality starts from Joe Blanton and Kyle Kendrick and you have a quality rotation, at least in the first half. The ERA of the starters is 3.95: more than good enough to win in this league. Sadly, the run support has not been there and their record is just a clip over .500.
Grade: A
Relief Pitching: The bullpen has been sketchy all year. Although their ERA (3.83) is better than our starting pitching. That surprised me when I read it. However, there are some pitchers who I just do not trust at this time. This includes our beloved close Brad Lidge. I don't get why he struggles so much with such good stuff. I was going to give the pen a lower rating then I did; seeing the ERA changed my mind a bit:
Grade: B-
The Bench: At the start of the season, every bench player on the Phillies we either struggling tremendously or not playing enough for any judgment about him to be accurately made. However, the bench has saved us in recent weeks filling in for our injured players. Greg Dobbs has been playing at a higher level than anyone expected upon his return from the minors. Brian Schiender, Dobbs, and Wilson Valdez have all been playing admirably while we recover from these injuries. The bench deserves more credit than people give it.
Grade: B
So now I take the grades and enter them into my trusty GPA machine. The Phillies GPA for the first half is a 3.00. That's a B right?
Phillies Overall Grade: B
Synopsis: Having a B grade is nothing to be overly excited about, as a B is around the average, we all know that this team is capable of so much more than it is giving us. It should be an interesting second half. Lets hope the Phillies can continue their streaks of strong second halves and pull this one out again.
I posted another poll on the right side about the Phillies first half. Don't forget to vote when you're done reading!
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Saluting The "Godfather" of the Yankees, Mr. George Steinbrenner
My Fellow Phans,
Amongst all the celebration and partying, there has been some very sad news from the World of Baseball during this All-Star Break. Longtime Yankees owner George Steinbrenner passed away early Tuesday morning. He was 80 years old.
To many he was affectionately known as "The Boss", I always referred to Mr. Steinbrenner as the "Godfather of the Yankees". Now that doesn't mean that I consider him to be the giant Mob Boss, but what I mean is that the devotion he showed towards the Yankee Organization, his own family, and the fans was so strong that it reminded me of Marlon Brando's character in the classic.
Granted, I may not be the most qualified to be writing a little memorial about him, as I am not a Yankees fan. As a Phillies fan, I was not the biggest supporter of Mr. Steinbrenner, but as a baseball fan, he was the member of the Yankees that I respected the most out of all the individuals up there.
From what I know about him, I know his dedication to winning was unmatched by anyone. When he took over the Yankees in 1973, winning was his sole focus and winning was what he did. He guided the Yankees to an astonishing 7 World Series Titles. Yes, 7! That is more World Series titles than most teams have had in their histories. Failure was not an option and no manager was safe from firing if they did not live up to expectations.
Off the field, he gave a lot of money to various charities and organizations. While he loved winning, his generosity was also something he was well known for.
Love him or hate him, George Steinbrenner was a legend in the Baseball world and his life will never be forgotten. The final connection between him and The Don from the movie, they're lives were both stolen from then by their hearts which were always open to anyone who needed them.
R.I.P George Steinbrenner - You will never be forgotten.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
PS: I hope some of my Yankees fans friends read this and let me know what they think.
Amongst all the celebration and partying, there has been some very sad news from the World of Baseball during this All-Star Break. Longtime Yankees owner George Steinbrenner passed away early Tuesday morning. He was 80 years old.
To many he was affectionately known as "The Boss", I always referred to Mr. Steinbrenner as the "Godfather of the Yankees". Now that doesn't mean that I consider him to be the giant Mob Boss, but what I mean is that the devotion he showed towards the Yankee Organization, his own family, and the fans was so strong that it reminded me of Marlon Brando's character in the classic.
Granted, I may not be the most qualified to be writing a little memorial about him, as I am not a Yankees fan. As a Phillies fan, I was not the biggest supporter of Mr. Steinbrenner, but as a baseball fan, he was the member of the Yankees that I respected the most out of all the individuals up there.
From what I know about him, I know his dedication to winning was unmatched by anyone. When he took over the Yankees in 1973, winning was his sole focus and winning was what he did. He guided the Yankees to an astonishing 7 World Series Titles. Yes, 7! That is more World Series titles than most teams have had in their histories. Failure was not an option and no manager was safe from firing if they did not live up to expectations.
Off the field, he gave a lot of money to various charities and organizations. While he loved winning, his generosity was also something he was well known for.
Love him or hate him, George Steinbrenner was a legend in the Baseball world and his life will never be forgotten. The final connection between him and The Don from the movie, they're lives were both stolen from then by their hearts which were always open to anyone who needed them.
R.I.P George Steinbrenner - You will never be forgotten.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
PS: I hope some of my Yankees fans friends read this and let me know what they think.
All-Star Game Recap on Saddest Day of Baseball Season
My Fellow Phans,
Today is probably the saddest day of the baseball season. Today, there is absolutely no baseball activities. It is the final day of the All-Star Break. What a break it has been though. I'm sure many of you saw the historic All-Star Game last night in which the National League won its first ASG since 1996 when they played right here in Philadelphia. Keeping with that Phillies theme sort of, it was a night for former Phillies and "Phillie Killers" to shine especially in the inning when the National League pulled ahead.
The players I speak of are Phillies' former player to hate; Scott Rolen, former outfielder Marlon Byrd and certified Phillie' Killer Brian McCann. The first key play was Scott Rolen going from first to third on a single to center-field. Now, I am not a fan of Rolen's attitude sometimes, but outside of Chase Utley, there may not be a harder playing player in the game today. One thing that Rolen does well is run hard and run smartly.He showed both those skills last night. Granted, it didn't really matter as he would have scored anyway, but it was still an impressive play. Unlike some players who made boneheaded mistakes, Joe Mauer!, or just seemed to give a half assed effort. Of course, we all know about Matt Holliday's iffy defense. Just ask the Dodgers that one during the NLCS in 2008....
Marlon Byrd's walk in the inning was easily the biggest play of the game. Facing a tough Matt Thorton, Byrd battled and battled and eventually worked out a walk allowing the hero of the evening, Brian McCann, to come to the plate. McCann laced a fastball from Thorton down the line for a bases clearing double. It was the only inning that the NL scored, but it was all they needed as their strong pitching got them out of trouble.
Kudos to Matt Capps who came in to replace Roy Halladay. I'm not exactly sure why he did mid-inning, but he made a perfect pitch to David Ortiz to get the NL out of a possibly tight situation. He earned the win in the 3-1 victory. Yankees young gun Phil Hughes took the loss, but don't worry Phil, I see many an All-Star Games in your future. You'll have another shot...
This win gives the NL representative home field advantage in the World Series. Who will that be exactly? I guess we will wait and see... The second half begins tomorrow.....
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Today is probably the saddest day of the baseball season. Today, there is absolutely no baseball activities. It is the final day of the All-Star Break. What a break it has been though. I'm sure many of you saw the historic All-Star Game last night in which the National League won its first ASG since 1996 when they played right here in Philadelphia. Keeping with that Phillies theme sort of, it was a night for former Phillies and "Phillie Killers" to shine especially in the inning when the National League pulled ahead.
The players I speak of are Phillies' former player to hate; Scott Rolen, former outfielder Marlon Byrd and certified Phillie' Killer Brian McCann. The first key play was Scott Rolen going from first to third on a single to center-field. Now, I am not a fan of Rolen's attitude sometimes, but outside of Chase Utley, there may not be a harder playing player in the game today. One thing that Rolen does well is run hard and run smartly.He showed both those skills last night. Granted, it didn't really matter as he would have scored anyway, but it was still an impressive play. Unlike some players who made boneheaded mistakes, Joe Mauer!, or just seemed to give a half assed effort. Of course, we all know about Matt Holliday's iffy defense. Just ask the Dodgers that one during the NLCS in 2008....
Marlon Byrd's walk in the inning was easily the biggest play of the game. Facing a tough Matt Thorton, Byrd battled and battled and eventually worked out a walk allowing the hero of the evening, Brian McCann, to come to the plate. McCann laced a fastball from Thorton down the line for a bases clearing double. It was the only inning that the NL scored, but it was all they needed as their strong pitching got them out of trouble.
Kudos to Matt Capps who came in to replace Roy Halladay. I'm not exactly sure why he did mid-inning, but he made a perfect pitch to David Ortiz to get the NL out of a possibly tight situation. He earned the win in the 3-1 victory. Yankees young gun Phil Hughes took the loss, but don't worry Phil, I see many an All-Star Games in your future. You'll have another shot...
This win gives the NL representative home field advantage in the World Series. Who will that be exactly? I guess we will wait and see... The second half begins tomorrow.....
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Monday, July 12, 2010
Sweep-Cinnati: Phillies sweep Reds To Close Out First Half
My Fellow Phans,
I have to give the Phillies some credit. They didn't play that well this weekend. I mean our pitching continues to be solid yet our offense seems to struggle, but yet we got the timely hits this weekend as we swept the National League Central leading Reds.
I mean the series included a pair of 1-0 victories in which one of them the Phillies were perfect gamed for 8+innings. Now I give your Mr.Bell all the credit in the world for his efforts on Saturday, but he had a little help. The strike zone was gracious all night, ironically the exact opposite of the game on Sunday. Plus, the Phillies hitters did not really do much to try to help their cause in the later innings. First pitch swinging, swinging at pitches in hitters counts (2-0, 3-1 ect) that were not in the strike zone and producing pointless pop-ups. Throw that all into the mix and then you had the perfect game into the 9th before Carlos Ruiz, who actually worked the count, got a lead off double ending perfection.
The series turned out to be quite exciting. 3 Walk-offs in a row including what may be the greatest comeback that the Bank has ever seen on Friday. It was truly something fun to witness. I need to give props to the strong starting pitching in 3 of these 4 games and an extra big props to the bench players, Brian Schiender, Cody Ransom, Gregg Dobs, all of whom hit crucial home runs to provide the Phillies with wins in the first two games of this series.
If the Phillies can sweep the first place Reds with a lack luster offense and spotty defense from time to time, imagine how good we can be when we start scoring at the rate that everyone in this town knows that they can. I, for one, am looking forward to the 2nd half of this upcoming season.
I did hear rumblings about Werth being traded actually for awhile now. Granted Werth will walk at the end of the season as his contract seems to be his main priority these days, but the Phillies offense still cannot do anything against left handed starters this year. This is why we need to keep Werth for the time being. We need a righty in this lineup. If Werth leaves, who exactly takes his place? I'd rather trade Ibanez and move Dominic Brown up into the lineup, but we all know that is not going to happen anytime soon.
Oh what a season it has been so far and we are only half way through it. I will have to do a first half recap sometime before this All-Star break is over sometime so look out for that. I know I have promised some things in the past, but this is something that I promise to accomplish. Currently the Phillies sit with a 47-40 record and are 4.5 out of the East and just 1.5 out of the Wild Card Race. The race has just begun for the Phillies who look to continue their recent winning ways in the 2nd half of the season.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
I have to give the Phillies some credit. They didn't play that well this weekend. I mean our pitching continues to be solid yet our offense seems to struggle, but yet we got the timely hits this weekend as we swept the National League Central leading Reds.
I mean the series included a pair of 1-0 victories in which one of them the Phillies were perfect gamed for 8+innings. Now I give your Mr.Bell all the credit in the world for his efforts on Saturday, but he had a little help. The strike zone was gracious all night, ironically the exact opposite of the game on Sunday. Plus, the Phillies hitters did not really do much to try to help their cause in the later innings. First pitch swinging, swinging at pitches in hitters counts (2-0, 3-1 ect) that were not in the strike zone and producing pointless pop-ups. Throw that all into the mix and then you had the perfect game into the 9th before Carlos Ruiz, who actually worked the count, got a lead off double ending perfection.
The series turned out to be quite exciting. 3 Walk-offs in a row including what may be the greatest comeback that the Bank has ever seen on Friday. It was truly something fun to witness. I need to give props to the strong starting pitching in 3 of these 4 games and an extra big props to the bench players, Brian Schiender, Cody Ransom, Gregg Dobs, all of whom hit crucial home runs to provide the Phillies with wins in the first two games of this series.
If the Phillies can sweep the first place Reds with a lack luster offense and spotty defense from time to time, imagine how good we can be when we start scoring at the rate that everyone in this town knows that they can. I, for one, am looking forward to the 2nd half of this upcoming season.
I did hear rumblings about Werth being traded actually for awhile now. Granted Werth will walk at the end of the season as his contract seems to be his main priority these days, but the Phillies offense still cannot do anything against left handed starters this year. This is why we need to keep Werth for the time being. We need a righty in this lineup. If Werth leaves, who exactly takes his place? I'd rather trade Ibanez and move Dominic Brown up into the lineup, but we all know that is not going to happen anytime soon.
Oh what a season it has been so far and we are only half way through it. I will have to do a first half recap sometime before this All-Star break is over sometime so look out for that. I know I have promised some things in the past, but this is something that I promise to accomplish. Currently the Phillies sit with a 47-40 record and are 4.5 out of the East and just 1.5 out of the Wild Card Race. The race has just begun for the Phillies who look to continue their recent winning ways in the 2nd half of the season.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Swaggerless Phillies Continue to Falter
My Fellow Phans,
I don't know where to begin this post. This is going to center on the Phillies recent struggles which has seemed to go on for awhile now. I'm sure you all remember the good times when the Phillies played with the swagger of a team who was of championship caliber? It seems ages ago sometimes. Where did that swagger go? I can't answer that question. I have no explanation. I'm not if most of the players don't notice it or just don't care to try to regain it. Jamie Moyer is one player who notices what is happening: “There’s some new faces in here,” Moyer said. “As teams change, there’s responsibility among those who remain to carry on that swagger. We just haven’t found a way to get going on all cylinders.”
Yes, there are new faces, but several of the key ones still remain from seasons past; Rollins, Victorino, Howard, Ibanez, and Werth. Ironically it are these players who are part of the reason the Phillies sit where they are. There is still talent on the field, it is just not producing anything and that is the saddest part of all. Jayson Werth especially seems to like to strikeout with guys on base when all we need is a flyball to take the lead. He has been an abomination recently. Good luck getting your gigantic ass contract while playing like this.
We can't blame the fill-in players such as Wilson Valdez, Juan Castro, Greg Dobbs,and Dane Sardinha. Hell, Dobbs is hitting .350 in the last 10 games. The only regular hitting anywhere near that is Howard, who is hitting .333. The next highest? Ibanez at .261. I wouldn't say that is getting the job done by any stretch of the imagination. Until the 5 guys mentioned in the previous paragraph start producing, there will be serious struggles for the Phillies.
Oh and in an update on the great double play race: Valdez only trails Albert Pujols by 2 GIDPs. Pujols, who many consider to the be the game's best player, had played in over 30 more games, but Valdez trails him by just 2. Probably the only time Valdez will ever be compared to Pujols. Overall, Wilson ranks 4th in the NL with 13 double plays.
Pitching wise, it seems that everyone outside of Roy Halladay has struggled. Hamels and Moyer have had their Ups and Downs while the bullpen has been downright dreadful. Contreras and Baez have both been pretty horrific recently and recently for Baez actually means the entire season. If we actually get a lead to the late innings we can't hold it, but usually we cant score enough runs to have a late lead.
Here's what I saw from a baseball standpoint this Atlanta series. I saw the best team in the National League East beat a team that could be the best team if they showed any life. Sadly, we haven't shown any signs of breathing and here we sit 6 games back. It is far from the end of the world, although when you have no life, no swagger, it looks pretty sad.
I recently saw an article on a fellow Phillies blog that discussed Charlie Manuel as a problem for the Phillies. I do not blame these struggles on Manuel. Granted his All-Star selecting ablities clearly suck, and his devotion to his players, if that is what you call it, can cause serious issues like leaving pitchers in too long on nights where they may need an early rest. I think things need to be mixed up. The bottom of the order is bad and maybe mixing up a few things would help. maybe moving Victorino down in the order to help at the bottom or something like that. I don't know really; anything can help.
Tonight begins another big series with the Reds in town. Joey Votto has something to prove and I am rooting for him to have a good series. Maybe the Phillies can finally get on the right track hopefully...
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
I don't know where to begin this post. This is going to center on the Phillies recent struggles which has seemed to go on for awhile now. I'm sure you all remember the good times when the Phillies played with the swagger of a team who was of championship caliber? It seems ages ago sometimes. Where did that swagger go? I can't answer that question. I have no explanation. I'm not if most of the players don't notice it or just don't care to try to regain it. Jamie Moyer is one player who notices what is happening: “There’s some new faces in here,” Moyer said. “As teams change, there’s responsibility among those who remain to carry on that swagger. We just haven’t found a way to get going on all cylinders.”
Yes, there are new faces, but several of the key ones still remain from seasons past; Rollins, Victorino, Howard, Ibanez, and Werth. Ironically it are these players who are part of the reason the Phillies sit where they are. There is still talent on the field, it is just not producing anything and that is the saddest part of all. Jayson Werth especially seems to like to strikeout with guys on base when all we need is a flyball to take the lead. He has been an abomination recently. Good luck getting your gigantic ass contract while playing like this.
We can't blame the fill-in players such as Wilson Valdez, Juan Castro, Greg Dobbs,and Dane Sardinha. Hell, Dobbs is hitting .350 in the last 10 games. The only regular hitting anywhere near that is Howard, who is hitting .333. The next highest? Ibanez at .261. I wouldn't say that is getting the job done by any stretch of the imagination. Until the 5 guys mentioned in the previous paragraph start producing, there will be serious struggles for the Phillies.
Oh and in an update on the great double play race: Valdez only trails Albert Pujols by 2 GIDPs. Pujols, who many consider to the be the game's best player, had played in over 30 more games, but Valdez trails him by just 2. Probably the only time Valdez will ever be compared to Pujols. Overall, Wilson ranks 4th in the NL with 13 double plays.
Pitching wise, it seems that everyone outside of Roy Halladay has struggled. Hamels and Moyer have had their Ups and Downs while the bullpen has been downright dreadful. Contreras and Baez have both been pretty horrific recently and recently for Baez actually means the entire season. If we actually get a lead to the late innings we can't hold it, but usually we cant score enough runs to have a late lead.
Here's what I saw from a baseball standpoint this Atlanta series. I saw the best team in the National League East beat a team that could be the best team if they showed any life. Sadly, we haven't shown any signs of breathing and here we sit 6 games back. It is far from the end of the world, although when you have no life, no swagger, it looks pretty sad.
I recently saw an article on a fellow Phillies blog that discussed Charlie Manuel as a problem for the Phillies. I do not blame these struggles on Manuel. Granted his All-Star selecting ablities clearly suck, and his devotion to his players, if that is what you call it, can cause serious issues like leaving pitchers in too long on nights where they may need an early rest. I think things need to be mixed up. The bottom of the order is bad and maybe mixing up a few things would help. maybe moving Victorino down in the order to help at the bottom or something like that. I don't know really; anything can help.
Tonight begins another big series with the Reds in town. Joey Votto has something to prove and I am rooting for him to have a good series. Maybe the Phillies can finally get on the right track hopefully...
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Front-Runners? Shame on you Shane.....
My Fellow Phans,
I would like to apologize for not posting in awhile. I had a little boo with my laptop and are currently waiting for it to be corrected. I have also been under the weather so I have not been able to make it to a computer a lot recently.
However, I hopped onto a computer today after seeing the Phillies drop a crucial series to the Braves and to some delightful comments from our beloved center fielder. Victorino heard some negative comments during the loss last night and responded rather surprisingly. "Quick to forget what happened the last two years, you know?" he said, referring to the 2008 World Series championship and '09 National League pennant. "That's the thing that frustrates me more than anything, listening to that kind of stuff. They're quick to forget what we've done the last two years. When I hear things like that, it eats me. OK. I see. Jimmy [Rollins] used that word. I'm not going to use it, but you know what I'm talking about."
I'm honestly too tired to deal with this. Haven't we been through this with Jimmy Rollins a few years back? I am offended as I was then and so should any fan who will watch the team play on a Sunday when the eagles will be playing. That's not many with this still being a football town.
The reason this irks me because, although there are a small amount of front runners, there are many diehard fans. I've been following this team every single game via radio, TV, or computer. I can't watch every game due to my current TV restrictions, but I make sure to know what it is going on with every game. I know people who have told me they really don't care to watch the Phillies right now due to their lack of "good" play. <--- that my friend is a definition of a front-runner.
Shane's frustrated, all the Phillies are. So are the fans. Front-runners are everywhere Shane. After what you guys did the last two seasons, I would expect more to come out of the woodwork. I'm not surprised. You really shouldn't be either.
Although, I have seen a Pittsburgh stadium last weekend filled with over 95% Phillies fans cheering on their home team. Front-runners who travel? I don't think they would put out the money or resources to travel that much to cheer on a team who is struggling. The Phillies fans are some of the best traveled fans in the MLB and that is a strong quality of die-hard fans.
We have a bad reputation as Philadelphia fans. However that is just an ignorant perception of people on the outside who don't know what true fandom is. You have to be here to experience the fans and realize what we are all about. If not, its your loss. Its just a shame that players cannot realize how good of fans we really are here in Philadelphia.
I know I could have gone into a longer rant on this, but I'm tired and we've been through this before. I know I'm not a front runner. Once the Phillies start to play up until their potential, the boos will quickly fade. I can promise you that. I look forward to that time...
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
I would like to apologize for not posting in awhile. I had a little boo with my laptop and are currently waiting for it to be corrected. I have also been under the weather so I have not been able to make it to a computer a lot recently.
However, I hopped onto a computer today after seeing the Phillies drop a crucial series to the Braves and to some delightful comments from our beloved center fielder. Victorino heard some negative comments during the loss last night and responded rather surprisingly. "Quick to forget what happened the last two years, you know?" he said, referring to the 2008 World Series championship and '09 National League pennant. "That's the thing that frustrates me more than anything, listening to that kind of stuff. They're quick to forget what we've done the last two years. When I hear things like that, it eats me. OK. I see. Jimmy [Rollins] used that word. I'm not going to use it, but you know what I'm talking about."
I'm honestly too tired to deal with this. Haven't we been through this with Jimmy Rollins a few years back? I am offended as I was then and so should any fan who will watch the team play on a Sunday when the eagles will be playing. That's not many with this still being a football town.
The reason this irks me because, although there are a small amount of front runners, there are many diehard fans. I've been following this team every single game via radio, TV, or computer. I can't watch every game due to my current TV restrictions, but I make sure to know what it is going on with every game. I know people who have told me they really don't care to watch the Phillies right now due to their lack of "good" play. <--- that my friend is a definition of a front-runner.
Shane's frustrated, all the Phillies are. So are the fans. Front-runners are everywhere Shane. After what you guys did the last two seasons, I would expect more to come out of the woodwork. I'm not surprised. You really shouldn't be either.
Although, I have seen a Pittsburgh stadium last weekend filled with over 95% Phillies fans cheering on their home team. Front-runners who travel? I don't think they would put out the money or resources to travel that much to cheer on a team who is struggling. The Phillies fans are some of the best traveled fans in the MLB and that is a strong quality of die-hard fans.
We have a bad reputation as Philadelphia fans. However that is just an ignorant perception of people on the outside who don't know what true fandom is. You have to be here to experience the fans and realize what we are all about. If not, its your loss. Its just a shame that players cannot realize how good of fans we really are here in Philadelphia.
I know I could have gone into a longer rant on this, but I'm tired and we've been through this before. I know I'm not a front runner. Once the Phillies start to play up until their potential, the boos will quickly fade. I can promise you that. I look forward to that time...
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Monday, July 5, 2010
Selig's Warped Rules Have Taken Away Fun From All-Star Game
My Fellow Phans,
It is come to my attention that after looking at the current All-Star rosters that Bud Selig has finally had his wish and warped the game from a simple exhibition to a strategic, vitally important game. The All-Star game used to be fun. It used to encompass all the characteristics that a normal exhibition game entails. Thanks to Selig's twisted view of reality this game has turned into so much more than it should be. The game should be fun; not a game where players are voted on because they have a little speed, play in half of their teams games; but play more than 1 position, or are voted in just because they are on the team of the selecting manager. The fact that Omar Infante is an All-Star and Joey Votto is not is an absolute joke.
There is so much to be said about these rosters that I am going to break them down into three parts where I will look at the starters, the pitching staffs and then the bench players. I just wanted to throw some opening comments down here.
Like how did Sabathia make the team over Jered Weaver or even his teammate Andy Petite. Where are Paul Konkero and Kevin Youkilis in the AL? Why did middle reliever Arthur Rhodes make the team with star quality pitchers Matt Latos, Heath Bell, or Mike Pelfrey are sitting home watching the game. I admit I had Tim Lincecum in my initial picks, but I realized I chose the name over the stats and I regret that now. He should not be on the team.
I'm going to leave it at that for now. I don't want to critique too much in this opening post. Look for more posts concerning this roster to come.
It is come to my attention that after looking at the current All-Star rosters that Bud Selig has finally had his wish and warped the game from a simple exhibition to a strategic, vitally important game. The All-Star game used to be fun. It used to encompass all the characteristics that a normal exhibition game entails. Thanks to Selig's twisted view of reality this game has turned into so much more than it should be. The game should be fun; not a game where players are voted on because they have a little speed, play in half of their teams games; but play more than 1 position, or are voted in just because they are on the team of the selecting manager. The fact that Omar Infante is an All-Star and Joey Votto is not is an absolute joke.
There is so much to be said about these rosters that I am going to break them down into three parts where I will look at the starters, the pitching staffs and then the bench players. I just wanted to throw some opening comments down here.
Like how did Sabathia make the team over Jered Weaver or even his teammate Andy Petite. Where are Paul Konkero and Kevin Youkilis in the AL? Why did middle reliever Arthur Rhodes make the team with star quality pitchers Matt Latos, Heath Bell, or Mike Pelfrey are sitting home watching the game. I admit I had Tim Lincecum in my initial picks, but I realized I chose the name over the stats and I regret that now. He should not be on the team.
I'm going to leave it at that for now. I don't want to critique too much in this opening post. Look for more posts concerning this roster to come.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Alright, This Is Getting Old.....
My Fellow Phans,
For the second straight time against a below average pitcher from the Pittburgh rotation, the Phillies showed no life offensively. Let's face it, we all know that they are better than this. Hell, they still have a considerable amount of talent on the field. Somehow, they are still not doing squat.
I guess it hurts when a third of your opening lineup is on the Disabled List, Another player seems to have his head in the clouds and thinking about making money instead of playing the game, Before you disagree with me about this. Remember he said himself that he has "played [his] entire career for this year," To me that sounds like a player who is looking for the big bucks. Go figure, I always thought that winning that elusive World Series Title was the reason you play your entire career. I guess I was wrong especially in today's market that seems like money is much more on the minds of players than it should be.
So to continue my list: of the starting 8 on opening day: 3 are DLed, One is thinking about greener times, another player has totally been non-existent after his hot start last year was hampered by an injury. Since then, this aging left fielder has not been the same, I think that is obvious to any Phillies fan.
So that leaves three players remaining. One is our outspoken and speedy shortstop who is still getting his feet underneath him after being tormented by injuries early in the season. We give Jimmy a break here for now; let the guy get his baseball legs back under him. I mean he missed a lot of time.
I honestly do not know what to say about Shane Victorino who has been struggling recently.
The last player is Ryan Howard. He is a player with the credentials to carry a club abd he has done so for us here and there. However, he when he is off his game and there is no support around him than the offense is in trouble. Howard is a power hitting, streak machine who cannot do it all himself. There are reasons why there are seven other guys playing with him in the lineup.
If you put all those things together, you get a struggling offensive team. Maybe a sweeping at the hands of the Pirates will kick some sense into this ballclub. We face Pat Maholm tonight; an average lefty who we cannot hit. Not a good recipe for a struggling offense. I don't know what to do to boost this time's offense, but something needs to happen.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
For the second straight time against a below average pitcher from the Pittburgh rotation, the Phillies showed no life offensively. Let's face it, we all know that they are better than this. Hell, they still have a considerable amount of talent on the field. Somehow, they are still not doing squat.
I guess it hurts when a third of your opening lineup is on the Disabled List, Another player seems to have his head in the clouds and thinking about making money instead of playing the game, Before you disagree with me about this. Remember he said himself that he has "played [his] entire career for this year," To me that sounds like a player who is looking for the big bucks. Go figure, I always thought that winning that elusive World Series Title was the reason you play your entire career. I guess I was wrong especially in today's market that seems like money is much more on the minds of players than it should be.
So to continue my list: of the starting 8 on opening day: 3 are DLed, One is thinking about greener times, another player has totally been non-existent after his hot start last year was hampered by an injury. Since then, this aging left fielder has not been the same, I think that is obvious to any Phillies fan.
So that leaves three players remaining. One is our outspoken and speedy shortstop who is still getting his feet underneath him after being tormented by injuries early in the season. We give Jimmy a break here for now; let the guy get his baseball legs back under him. I mean he missed a lot of time.
I honestly do not know what to say about Shane Victorino who has been struggling recently.
The last player is Ryan Howard. He is a player with the credentials to carry a club abd he has done so for us here and there. However, he when he is off his game and there is no support around him than the offense is in trouble. Howard is a power hitting, streak machine who cannot do it all himself. There are reasons why there are seven other guys playing with him in the lineup.
If you put all those things together, you get a struggling offensive team. Maybe a sweeping at the hands of the Pirates will kick some sense into this ballclub. We face Pat Maholm tonight; an average lefty who we cannot hit. Not a good recipe for a struggling offense. I don't know what to do to boost this time's offense, but something needs to happen.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
State of the Phillies; Now Posted on Two Sites!
My Fellow Phans,
I have some big news! I have decided to create an account on MLB.Com http://shieldsyman07.mlblogs.com/
All my postings will still be added to blogger here as well as MLB.I just thought that this would help increase viewers who like the game of baseball, but do not use blogger. Keep reading on here or switch if you wish, as long as you follow it does not matter to me.
I will still post links to the blogger on Facebook so you guys can still get to it. Read at either site; both will be the exact same thing.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
I have some big news! I have decided to create an account on MLB.Com http://shieldsyman07.mlblogs.com/
All my postings will still be added to blogger here as well as MLB.I just thought that this would help increase viewers who like the game of baseball, but do not use blogger. Keep reading on here or switch if you wish, as long as you follow it does not matter to me.
I will still post links to the blogger on Facebook so you guys can still get to it. Read at either site; both will be the exact same thing.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Friday, July 2, 2010
Pitiful Week for Phils So Far
My Fellow Phans,
I do not know what is more concerning at this time. The Phillies poor play or the injuries. Granted some of the poor play has been caused by injuries, but even with Polanco, Utley, and Chooch out there is still a considerable amount of talent on the field.
Despite this, the last week or so for the Phillies has been disgraceful. They haven't play well enough win a single game this week and have a 1-3 record to show for it.
The only victory came in extra innings after the Phillies blew a considerable lead and Brad Lidge couldn't hold it. Listen, Joey Votto is probably the National League MVP at this point, but he should have never batted in that 9th inning. I guess it doesn't help that Lidge was shaky and the worst umpire in the league was behind home plate that night. How C.B. Bucknor still has a job is beyond me. He's making a bad name for all umpires with his poor job performance. Hey, I'm not the only one who sees this either; the players do too. (http://www.espnmediazone3.com/us/2010/06/jim-joyce-named-best-umpire-cb-bucknor-worst-in-espn-the-magazine-%E2%80%9Cbaseball-confidential%E2%80%9D-players-poll/).
In his argument with Bucknor. Manuel "supposedly" bumped the home plate umpire. I saw a replay, I didn't see that much besides Bucknor doing his terrible old job and being a little wimp when being called out on it. Manuel should get the benefit of the doubt since he was dealing with the worst umpire in baseball, but i digress.
Last night, the Phillies faced a Pirates pitcher with an ERA of 11 on the season. Yes, 11.00. How did they do against a guy who on paper they should have obliterated? They managed just 1 earned run off of him in 5 innings. They scored 2, but the only earned was a Wilson Valdez home run tying the game at 1. Hamels gave up just 3 runs in 7 innings, but once again got no run support and was denied the victory as the Phillies lost 3-2.
Hold the Phone! We had 3-2 loss to a guy who started games that the Pirates lost 16-5 and 20-0? We could only muster 2 runs? That is utterly ridiculous. A bad week keeps going downhill and the Phillies seem to be in another spiral.
We lost 2 out of 3 to the Reds, but could have been swept if we didn't bail a struggling Lidge out in that 2nd game. Did Manuel leave Halladay in too long in that 3rd game? I don't know and that's a debate worth having for another day. There are times I sit and wonder why Halladay is still in some games with his performance or a lead that we have, but that is another post possibly down the road. Maybe Romero would be better against Jay Bruce? That's up to speculation, but later on.
Injuries are not helping this team either. We cannot go two months with Dobbs, Castro and Valdez. We need to trade for a quality infielder and it looks more and more like we need a starter as well. Could Jayson Werth be trade bait? Now that is a post I may have to explore. Check back later on that topic.
How many more games will the Phillies win this series? We couldn't beat their worst starter. Now we face Ohlendorf (3.75 ERA vs. Phi) tonight, Maholm (2.40) on Saturday and Karstens (0.00 ERA in just 3.2 innings) on Sunday.
Maholm is another below average lefty who we cannot hit (2-0 2.40 vs Phi last 3 years). That could be a painful game to watch. The Phillies seem to have trouble with average to below average lefties To split this series would be good; to win it would be great. Lets just focus on winning one game at a time and avoiding getting embarrassed by the worst team in the National League.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
I do not know what is more concerning at this time. The Phillies poor play or the injuries. Granted some of the poor play has been caused by injuries, but even with Polanco, Utley, and Chooch out there is still a considerable amount of talent on the field.
Despite this, the last week or so for the Phillies has been disgraceful. They haven't play well enough win a single game this week and have a 1-3 record to show for it.
The only victory came in extra innings after the Phillies blew a considerable lead and Brad Lidge couldn't hold it. Listen, Joey Votto is probably the National League MVP at this point, but he should have never batted in that 9th inning. I guess it doesn't help that Lidge was shaky and the worst umpire in the league was behind home plate that night. How C.B. Bucknor still has a job is beyond me. He's making a bad name for all umpires with his poor job performance. Hey, I'm not the only one who sees this either; the players do too. (http://www.espnmediazone3.com/us/2010/06/jim-joyce-named-best-umpire-cb-bucknor-worst-in-espn-the-magazine-%E2%80%9Cbaseball-confidential%E2%80%9D-players-poll/).
In his argument with Bucknor. Manuel "supposedly" bumped the home plate umpire. I saw a replay, I didn't see that much besides Bucknor doing his terrible old job and being a little wimp when being called out on it. Manuel should get the benefit of the doubt since he was dealing with the worst umpire in baseball, but i digress.
Last night, the Phillies faced a Pirates pitcher with an ERA of 11 on the season. Yes, 11.00. How did they do against a guy who on paper they should have obliterated? They managed just 1 earned run off of him in 5 innings. They scored 2, but the only earned was a Wilson Valdez home run tying the game at 1. Hamels gave up just 3 runs in 7 innings, but once again got no run support and was denied the victory as the Phillies lost 3-2.
Hold the Phone! We had 3-2 loss to a guy who started games that the Pirates lost 16-5 and 20-0? We could only muster 2 runs? That is utterly ridiculous. A bad week keeps going downhill and the Phillies seem to be in another spiral.
We lost 2 out of 3 to the Reds, but could have been swept if we didn't bail a struggling Lidge out in that 2nd game. Did Manuel leave Halladay in too long in that 3rd game? I don't know and that's a debate worth having for another day. There are times I sit and wonder why Halladay is still in some games with his performance or a lead that we have, but that is another post possibly down the road. Maybe Romero would be better against Jay Bruce? That's up to speculation, but later on.
Injuries are not helping this team either. We cannot go two months with Dobbs, Castro and Valdez. We need to trade for a quality infielder and it looks more and more like we need a starter as well. Could Jayson Werth be trade bait? Now that is a post I may have to explore. Check back later on that topic.
How many more games will the Phillies win this series? We couldn't beat their worst starter. Now we face Ohlendorf (3.75 ERA vs. Phi) tonight, Maholm (2.40) on Saturday and Karstens (0.00 ERA in just 3.2 innings) on Sunday.
Maholm is another below average lefty who we cannot hit (2-0 2.40 vs Phi last 3 years). That could be a painful game to watch. The Phillies seem to have trouble with average to below average lefties To split this series would be good; to win it would be great. Lets just focus on winning one game at a time and avoiding getting embarrassed by the worst team in the National League.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Injury Updates.
My Fellow Phans,
The injury bug is taking its good old toll on the Phillies this season and our guys seem to be dropping like flies.
Starting with Chase Utley. Utley had surgery on his thumb the other day and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks. Yes, 6-8 weeks! This puts him back in uniform around September sometime. Can the Phillies last that long without a suitable replacement? I really do not think so. Valdez is great, but he will fade soon enough and then we will be struggling to find a second baseman who doesn't ground into bases empty double plays.
As for Polanco, NBC sports reports that "Polanco saw a doctor in New York on Thursday after being placed on the disabled list Wednesday with discomfort in his left elbow. He has already been given a few cortisone shots and will probably need offseason surgery. For now, Juan Castro and Wilson Valdez will fill the gaps in Philly."
Castro, Greg Dobbs, and Valdez are adequate replacements for temporary injuries. However these are going to last weeks. We need a steady replacement for at least one of our two injured infielders.
Another report I read says that Carlos Ruiz is still experiencing concussion symptoms and is not ready to start a rehab assignment. If that wasn't comforting enough, Phillies trainers have no timetable for backup catcher Brian Schnieder's return either. Oh goody....
As for our injured pitchers:
Righthander Ryan Madson (broken right toe) will pitch for double-A Reading in his third rehab outing Friday. Madson will throw 30 pitches to extend his arm. He could be activated before the all-star break. "If all moves right," Sheridan said, "yes, we'd like that to happen."
Lefthander J.A. Happ threw a bullpen session Thursday in Pittsburgh without pain. He will pitch for triple-A Lehigh Valley in Pawtucket on Sunday, his sixth rehab start. "He's not reporting any problems, It's a matter of him feeling comfortable on the mound with his pitch ability as opposed to other things."
Chad Durbin (strained right hamstring) is rehabbing in Florida. He will begin throwing in rehab games in the next week. Durbin could return before the all-star break, but he'll likely come back after the break, when the Phillies are in Chicago.
Lefthander Antonio Bastardo (left elbow inflammation) will throw a bullpen session Saturday in Pittsburgh. Beyond that, the Phillies have no long-term plans for Bastardo's progression.
Is it time to sit an pray for good health? I don't know bout you, but it just may be time to start..
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
The injury bug is taking its good old toll on the Phillies this season and our guys seem to be dropping like flies.
Starting with Chase Utley. Utley had surgery on his thumb the other day and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks. Yes, 6-8 weeks! This puts him back in uniform around September sometime. Can the Phillies last that long without a suitable replacement? I really do not think so. Valdez is great, but he will fade soon enough and then we will be struggling to find a second baseman who doesn't ground into bases empty double plays.
As for Polanco, NBC sports reports that "Polanco saw a doctor in New York on Thursday after being placed on the disabled list Wednesday with discomfort in his left elbow. He has already been given a few cortisone shots and will probably need offseason surgery. For now, Juan Castro and Wilson Valdez will fill the gaps in Philly."
Castro, Greg Dobbs, and Valdez are adequate replacements for temporary injuries. However these are going to last weeks. We need a steady replacement for at least one of our two injured infielders.
Another report I read says that Carlos Ruiz is still experiencing concussion symptoms and is not ready to start a rehab assignment. If that wasn't comforting enough, Phillies trainers have no timetable for backup catcher Brian Schnieder's return either. Oh goody....
As for our injured pitchers:
Righthander Ryan Madson (broken right toe) will pitch for double-A Reading in his third rehab outing Friday. Madson will throw 30 pitches to extend his arm. He could be activated before the all-star break. "If all moves right," Sheridan said, "yes, we'd like that to happen."
Lefthander J.A. Happ threw a bullpen session Thursday in Pittsburgh without pain. He will pitch for triple-A Lehigh Valley in Pawtucket on Sunday, his sixth rehab start. "He's not reporting any problems, It's a matter of him feeling comfortable on the mound with his pitch ability as opposed to other things."
Chad Durbin (strained right hamstring) is rehabbing in Florida. He will begin throwing in rehab games in the next week. Durbin could return before the all-star break, but he'll likely come back after the break, when the Phillies are in Chicago.
Lefthander Antonio Bastardo (left elbow inflammation) will throw a bullpen session Saturday in Pittsburgh. Beyond that, the Phillies have no long-term plans for Bastardo's progression.
Is it time to sit an pray for good health? I don't know bout you, but it just may be time to start..
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
My AL All-Star Rosters: List Dominated by Power Packed AL-East
MY Fellow Phans,
Before I get to Phillies postings, and there is a couple of things I want to comment on, I need to deliver on the other half of my All-Star teams. This time I will post my AL All-Star Teams. So here are my AL All-Star Roster Picks:
* Note: When making these rosters, i ignored any injuries. If a guy is hurt; it doesn't mean he shouldn't be there*
American League Roster
Staring Lineup
C: Joe Mauer; Minnesota Twins (.300 3 HR 34 RBI)
1B: Miguel Cabrera; Detroit Tigers (.337 20 HR 68 RBI)
2B: Robinson Cano; New York Yankees (.353 16 HR 54 RBI)
3B: Evan Longoria; Tampa Bay Rays (.292 12 HR 54 RBI)
SS: Derek Jeter; New York Yankees (.283 8 HR 39 RBI)
OF: Josh Hamilton; Texas Rangers (.340 18 HR 58 RBI)
OF: Vernon Wells; Toronto Blue Jays (.280 19 HR 47 RBI)
OF: Carl Crawford; Tampa Bay Rays (.317 7 HR 39 RBI)
DH: Vladimir Guerrero; Texas Rangers (.336 18 HR 68 RBI)
SP: Cliff Lee; Seattle Mariners (7-3 2.45 ERA)
Notes: Some of these picks are no-brainers such as Cabrera, Cano, Hamilton, Vlad and Lee. There isn't a catcher that stuck out to me for a starter and Mauer is having a strong season again so he got the nod. The Longoria selection was not that tough even with stiff competition. Jeter's numbers are down by Jeter Standards, but the lack of AL SS play this year makes him the easy favorite in that position. Wells is probably the second best outfielder in the AL this year. The third outfield spot was a toss up between Crawford and a handful of other outfielders, but his overall performance gave him the edge. I will promise you that a left handed pitcher will start the All-Star game; either Lee, David Price or Andy Pettite.
Pitching Staff
SP: Clay Buchholz; Boston Red Soxs (10-4 2.45 ERA)
SP: Felix Hernandez; Seattle Mariners (6-5 3.03 ERA)
SP: Jon Lester; Boston Red Soxs (9-3 2.86 ERA)
SP: Carl Pavano; Minnesota Twins (9-6 3.30 ERA)
SP: Andy Pettite; New York Yankees (9-2 2.72 ERA)
SP: David Price; Tampa Bay Rays (11-3 2.44 ERA)
SP: Jered Weaver; Los Angeles Angels (8-3 2.82 ERA)
RP: Andrew Baily; Oakland Athletics (0-2 1.69 ERA 15 Saves)
RP: Mariano Rivera; New York Yankees (2-1 0.89 ERA 18 Saves)
RP: Rafael Soriano; Tampa Bay Rays (0-2 1.57 ERA 19 Saves)
RP: Jose Valverde; Detroit Tigers (1-1 0.53 ERA 18 Saves)
Notes: I am a fan of this staff. Bailey is the lone representative, but probably would have made it anyway. The rest of the pitchers are solid and should make it difficult for the NL to score runs in this game.
Bench
C: John Buck; Toronto Blue Jays (.263 13 HR 40 RBI)
1B: Paul Konerko; Chicago White Soxs (.295 20 HR 56 RBI)
1B: Justin Morneau; Minnesota Twins (.348 16 HR 52 RBI)
2B: Dustin Pedroia; Boston Red Soxs (.292 12 HR 41 RBI)
3B: Adrian Beltre; Boston Red Soxs (.349 12 HR 53 RBI)
3B: Ty Wiggington; Baltimore Orioles (.258 14 HR 42 RBI)
SS: Alex Gonzalez; Toronto Blue Jays (.264 14 HR 40 RBI)
OF: Jose Guillen; Kansas City Royals (.281 14 HR 50 RBI)
OF: Torii Hunter; Los Angeles Angels (.288 12 HR 53 RBI)
OF: Shin-Soo Choo; Cleveland Indians (.285 13 HR 43 RBI)
Notes: I was a bit handicapped here due to the One Rep per team rule. Wiggington, Guillen and Choo all fit that bill although Choo would have probably been an All-Star regardless. I had to leave players like Michael Young from the Rangers and Kevin Youkilis from Boston on the outside looking in on this one. Not fair I know, but that is just how the game goes.
Teams with multiple reps: The American League East dominates this team with 16 of the 31 players from one of the teams.
Yankees, Red Soxs, Rays - 4
Blue Jays, Twins - 3
Angels, Mariners, Rangers, Tigers - 2
32nd Man Vote:
1B: Billy Butler; Kansas City Royals (.322 8 HR 42 RBI)
1B: Kevin Youkilis; Boston Red Soxs (.297 15 HR 50 RBI)
3B: Michael Young; Texas Rangers (.315 11 HR 51 RBI)
OF: Ichiro Suzuki; Seattle Mariners (.332 3 HR 24 RBI)
SP: Colby Lewis; Texas Rangers (7-5 3.28 ERA)
RP: Joakim Soria; Kansas City Royals (0-1 2.43 ERA 20 Saves)
Note: I had to add 6th man to this vote due to the problem i mentioned in my notes for the bench.
So that's it. Let me know what you think.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
Before I get to Phillies postings, and there is a couple of things I want to comment on, I need to deliver on the other half of my All-Star teams. This time I will post my AL All-Star Teams. So here are my AL All-Star Roster Picks:
* Note: When making these rosters, i ignored any injuries. If a guy is hurt; it doesn't mean he shouldn't be there*
American League Roster
Staring Lineup
C: Joe Mauer; Minnesota Twins (.300 3 HR 34 RBI)
1B: Miguel Cabrera; Detroit Tigers (.337 20 HR 68 RBI)
2B: Robinson Cano; New York Yankees (.353 16 HR 54 RBI)
3B: Evan Longoria; Tampa Bay Rays (.292 12 HR 54 RBI)
SS: Derek Jeter; New York Yankees (.283 8 HR 39 RBI)
OF: Josh Hamilton; Texas Rangers (.340 18 HR 58 RBI)
OF: Vernon Wells; Toronto Blue Jays (.280 19 HR 47 RBI)
OF: Carl Crawford; Tampa Bay Rays (.317 7 HR 39 RBI)
DH: Vladimir Guerrero; Texas Rangers (.336 18 HR 68 RBI)
SP: Cliff Lee; Seattle Mariners (7-3 2.45 ERA)
Notes: Some of these picks are no-brainers such as Cabrera, Cano, Hamilton, Vlad and Lee. There isn't a catcher that stuck out to me for a starter and Mauer is having a strong season again so he got the nod. The Longoria selection was not that tough even with stiff competition. Jeter's numbers are down by Jeter Standards, but the lack of AL SS play this year makes him the easy favorite in that position. Wells is probably the second best outfielder in the AL this year. The third outfield spot was a toss up between Crawford and a handful of other outfielders, but his overall performance gave him the edge. I will promise you that a left handed pitcher will start the All-Star game; either Lee, David Price or Andy Pettite.
Pitching Staff
SP: Clay Buchholz; Boston Red Soxs (10-4 2.45 ERA)
SP: Felix Hernandez; Seattle Mariners (6-5 3.03 ERA)
SP: Jon Lester; Boston Red Soxs (9-3 2.86 ERA)
SP: Carl Pavano; Minnesota Twins (9-6 3.30 ERA)
SP: Andy Pettite; New York Yankees (9-2 2.72 ERA)
SP: David Price; Tampa Bay Rays (11-3 2.44 ERA)
SP: Jered Weaver; Los Angeles Angels (8-3 2.82 ERA)
RP: Andrew Baily; Oakland Athletics (0-2 1.69 ERA 15 Saves)
RP: Mariano Rivera; New York Yankees (2-1 0.89 ERA 18 Saves)
RP: Rafael Soriano; Tampa Bay Rays (0-2 1.57 ERA 19 Saves)
RP: Jose Valverde; Detroit Tigers (1-1 0.53 ERA 18 Saves)
Notes: I am a fan of this staff. Bailey is the lone representative, but probably would have made it anyway. The rest of the pitchers are solid and should make it difficult for the NL to score runs in this game.
Bench
C: John Buck; Toronto Blue Jays (.263 13 HR 40 RBI)
1B: Paul Konerko; Chicago White Soxs (.295 20 HR 56 RBI)
1B: Justin Morneau; Minnesota Twins (.348 16 HR 52 RBI)
2B: Dustin Pedroia; Boston Red Soxs (.292 12 HR 41 RBI)
3B: Adrian Beltre; Boston Red Soxs (.349 12 HR 53 RBI)
3B: Ty Wiggington; Baltimore Orioles (.258 14 HR 42 RBI)
SS: Alex Gonzalez; Toronto Blue Jays (.264 14 HR 40 RBI)
OF: Jose Guillen; Kansas City Royals (.281 14 HR 50 RBI)
OF: Torii Hunter; Los Angeles Angels (.288 12 HR 53 RBI)
OF: Shin-Soo Choo; Cleveland Indians (.285 13 HR 43 RBI)
Notes: I was a bit handicapped here due to the One Rep per team rule. Wiggington, Guillen and Choo all fit that bill although Choo would have probably been an All-Star regardless. I had to leave players like Michael Young from the Rangers and Kevin Youkilis from Boston on the outside looking in on this one. Not fair I know, but that is just how the game goes.
Teams with multiple reps: The American League East dominates this team with 16 of the 31 players from one of the teams.
Yankees, Red Soxs, Rays - 4
Blue Jays, Twins - 3
Angels, Mariners, Rangers, Tigers - 2
32nd Man Vote:
1B: Billy Butler; Kansas City Royals (.322 8 HR 42 RBI)
1B: Kevin Youkilis; Boston Red Soxs (.297 15 HR 50 RBI)
3B: Michael Young; Texas Rangers (.315 11 HR 51 RBI)
OF: Ichiro Suzuki; Seattle Mariners (.332 3 HR 24 RBI)
SP: Colby Lewis; Texas Rangers (7-5 3.28 ERA)
RP: Joakim Soria; Kansas City Royals (0-1 2.43 ERA 20 Saves)
Note: I had to add 6th man to this vote due to the problem i mentioned in my notes for the bench.
So that's it. Let me know what you think.
Until we meet again Phillies Fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies!
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