2010 Look Back: Kyle Kendrick

My Fellow Phans,

Here is your final individual starter Look Back today; Kyle Kendrick.

Please note: I will have a recap of the other pitchers, Moyer and Worley ect, in a combined post later in this blog. It will be a recap of all the “Other Pitchers” that I did not cover individually. Look for a “Bench Recap” as well later on down the line.

So now that you know what to expect, here is the look back at Kyle Kendrick:

Kyle Kendrick: 2010 Stats: 11-10 4.73 ERA (Did not pitch in postseason)

Recap:

Before you go ostracizing Kendrick’s season as horrible and labeling the man as the worst pitcher we have, as I have heard people say, firstly remember how bad Danny Baez was, and make a note that Kendrick had a better ERA and WHIP then Joe Blanton did.

Kendrick was a two-faced pitcher last season. He was either really good or really bad. It was just a matter of whom you were going to get. He would pitch shutout ball one start and then give up 6-7 runs. In 14 starts, he gave up 2 earned runs or less. On the flip side, 15 of his starts resulted in 4 earned runs or more. That’s 29 of his 31 starts. There was no middle ground for Kendrick and it was that inconsistency that made his 2010 campaign so frustrating for us Phans.

Kendrick has the capabilities to be a star pitcher in this league, but he just cannot seem to successfully put it together consistently.

Look Ahead:

Ruben Amaro commented on Kendrick’s 2010 season as “a pretty good performance”. I don’t think he has a contract from the Phillies for next season, but I expect that to happen soon. I may be mistaken, so don’t quote me. I think it is safe to assume that Kendrick is the Phillies’ 5^th starter next season, barring some radical change in their offseason plans. Hopefully, he will take the positive pitcher from 2010 and spread that over an entire season. Only then will he be an elite pitcher in the Phillies’ rotation.

Grade: C

I would give Kendrick’s “good side” an A, but his “bad side” an F. I just met in the middle with the grade.

Until we meet again Phillies fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies

2010 Look Back: Joe Blanton

My Fellow Phans,

Here is the 3rd starting pitcher Look Back today: Joe Blanton. There will be one more to come, Kyle Kendrick, whose recap will come later today.  

So here is the 2010 Look Back: Joe Blanton.

Joe Blanton: 2010 Stats: 9-6 4.82 ERA (Postseason: 0-0 5.79 ERA)

Recap:

This is a good example of how a pitchers’ win-loss record shouldn’t be used to judge how successful of a season he has had. Technically, Joe Blanton has a better winning percentage than fellow starters Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt, although I don’t think anybody would disagree with the notion that Hamels and Oswalt both had tremendously better seasons than Blanton did.

Despite those rough stats, Blanton had a terrific second half of the season. His first half ERA was over 6.40; while his ERA after the break dropped to a very solid 3.48. This shows that Blanton still has it.  Overall, he has been a career second half pitcher and the trend followed in 2010. I only hope that he can keep us this good streak going in the first half of this upcoming season.

Looking Ahead:

Last offseason, the Phillies signed Blanton to a 3-year contract. There have been some rumblings that teams are asking about the trade value of Joe Blanton this offseason, but I don’t see the Phillies trading him anytime soon. Next year, I expect that same from Joe Blanton, a below average 1^st half while having an above average second half.  He will be the Phillies’ 4^th starter next season behind the trio of aces.

Grade:  C

Joe did not have the greatest of years and needed a good 2^nd half to make his numbers somewhat respectable. If I grading his halves: I’d give him a D for his first half and B for his second. Combine those and you get that C he has earned.

Until we meet again Phillies fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies

2010 Look Back: Roy Oswalt

My Fellow Phans,

Here is the second of four Look Backs today.  This time, it is looking back on a man whom joined the Phillies in the middle of last season and pitched his way into the hearts of Phillies’ fans almost instantly. That man is Roy Oswalt.

Roy Oswalt: 2010 Stats: 13-13 2.76 ERA Overall / 7-1 1.74 ERA with Phillies (Postseason: 1-1 2.75 ERA)

Recap:

Oswalt came to the Phillies in the middle of last season. He had one rocky start as a Phillie, his first start here against the Nationals, and then immediately found his niche. He never did lose at Citizens Bank Park, having his only losses come on the road in a Phillies uniform this season. In his career, Oswalt is 9-0 with an ERA of 2.10. This domination at The Bank continued this season.

Oswalt was nearly unhittable as a Phillie and provided a third ace pitcher to compliment Halladay and Hamels in the rotation. The “Big 3” as they had come to be known, stepped up and provided the Phillies with all the pitching they needed to ride to the National League East title with an offense that staggered for most of the season.

Looking Ahead:

Oswalt is under contract for at least one more season on his contract as well as an option for a 2^nd year in 2012. If the Phillies can afford this option, I see no reason why they wouldn’t want to keep Oswalt for many years to come. Chances are they won’t pick up this option though.

Just the thought of having Halladay, Hamels, and Oswalt for 2 more full seasons is extremely tempting and could keep the Phillies as contenders for even more years to come. Either way, having these three aces together for at least one more season should provide an exciting ride for Phillies fans in 2011, assuming they can score some runs to back the pitching.

Grade: A

Oswalt follows his fellow two aces, Hamels an Halladay, with another perfect score this season. The starting pitching was not the problem for the Phillies in 2010.

Until we meet again Phillies fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies.

2010 Look Back: Cole Hamels

My Fellow Phans,

I have great news. I am here, once again, with another Phillies’ 2010 Look Back. To add to this surprise, this is the first of four, yes four more Look Backs! Today is the day that I wrap up the individual starting pitcher Look Backs. So here we go!

We start our Look Backs today, with our beloved lefty, Cole Hamels, whom bounced back from a miserable 2009, to have a very promising 2010 campaign.

Cole Hamels: 2010 Stats:  12-11 3.06 ERA (Postseason: 1-1 1.80 ERA)

Recap:

Do not let the barely above .500 record fool you. Hamels was leagues better than his record would indicate. Hamels started 32 games this season and allowed 3 earned runs or less, 25 times this season.

This was the Cole Hamels that we Phillies fans have come to know and love. Watching him this year reminded me of the Cole Hamels from the 2008 World Series Championship squad. He never seemed to have a bad start, and if he did, he bounced back nicely. 

Unlike in 2009, when Cole seemed to be bothered by little uncontrollable things, such as an error or a missed strike call, and then he would collapse. This year was different; Hamels seemed to mature more and not let those small things bother him as much as they did last year.

That, my friends, is the key to successful starting pitching in the Major Leagues. That is what Hamels developed, and what made him so successful in 2010.

Looking Ahead:

Hamels look to try to keep up the momentum that he started in 2010. If you ask me, I loved what I saw from Cole last season and I think that he keeps it up in 2011. Coupling with Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt, should make Hamels that much better this upcoming season. Look for Hamels to continue his success.

Grade: A

Hamels had a good year; there wasn’t much he did wrong in 2010. He earned that A. Keep it up Cole!

Until we meet again Phillies fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies

Previewing the 2011 Phillies Schedule

My Fellow Phans, 

I know its old news, but it is never too late to take a look at upcoming schedule for the Phillies this 2011 

season.

The entire schedule can be found here: http://mlb.mlb.com/schedule/index.jsp?c_id=phi&m=4&y=2011

Here are the highlights of the Phillies’ 2011 Season:

Season & Home Opener: April 1^st vs. Astros

All Star Break: July 11^th-14^th

Final Home Game: September 22^nd vs. Nationals

Final Series: September 26^th-28^th at Atlanta

Longest Homestand:  July 22^nd- July 31^st: 4 vs. Padres / 3 vs. San Francisco Giants / 3 vs. Pirates

Longest Roadtrip: August 1^st-10^th: 3 at Colorado / 4 at San Francisco / 3 at Los Angeles Dodgers

Important Series:

First Mets Series:

Home:  April 5^th-7^th at Citizens Bank Park

Away: May 27^th-29^th at Citi Field

First Braves Series:

Home:  May 6^th-8^th at Citizens Bank Park

Away: April 8^th-10^th at Turner Field

NLCS Rematch:

July 26^th-28^th: vs. San Francisco in Philadelphia

August 4^th-7^th: at San Francisco  

Interleague Play:

May 20^th-22^nd: vs. Texas in Philadelphia

June 17^th-19^th: at Seattle

June: 24^th-26^th: vs. Oakland in Philadelphia

June: 28^th-30^th: vs. Boston in Philadelphia

July 1^st-3^rd: at Toronto

That’s it for now folks. I cannot wait for next season!

Until we meet again Phillies fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies

2010 Look Back: Roy "Doc" Halladay

My Fellow Phans, 

On this festive brink of Thanksgiving, I am bringing you a look back at a man that all of us Phillies fans are certainly thankful for, Mr. Roy Halladay. He was a man of many wondrous moments this past season, and he astonished us all start after start. Every time that we didn’t think he could impress us anymore, he did just that.

Oh and before I continue, I wanted to let all you avid readers know that I did add a countdown clock on the right that is counting down to the Phillies’ 2011 Home Opener on April 1^st vs. The Astros as Citizens Bank Park.

But back to business, here is a look back at the man who came to Philadelphia last offseason and lived up to all the hype.

Roy Halladay: 2010 Stats: 21-10 2.44 ERA (Postseason: 2-1 2.45 ERA)

Recap:

I don’t think I have to go into great detail describing the amazing season that Roy Halladay had this past year. Here is it by the numbers: Halladay finished with a league best 21 wins along with a 2.44 ERA. He led the National League with 250.2 innings pitched, and 9 complete games. He finished 2^nd in strikeouts and WHIP.  He gave up 3 earned runs or less in 27 of his 33 starts this season. Adding to this, Halladay finished with a stellar 2.21 ERA at Citizens Bank Park this year.  

It was a magical season for Roy Halladay, in his first start with the Phillies. It was a season that included a Perfect Game against the Florida Marlins, and a no-hitter in his first career playoff start against the Cincinnati Reds.

I cannot put into words how great Roy Halladay had been this season. I guess the best way to define this season is with the Unanimous CY Young award. He was truly the best pitcher in baseball this season, and that unanimous factor clearly demonstrates that. I think I speak for the entire Phillies nation when I say, Thank you Roy Halladay for everything you did this year, you are truly amazing.

Look Ahead:

Halladay stated that he wanted to be here when we traded for him last offseason and that culminated with a long-term contract. Halladay will be here pitching on Opening Day next season for the Phillies and I expect nothing less than greatness from Roy Halladay next season and I am dying to see what he does for an encore.

Grade:  A+

I don’t think I need to explain this grade, Doc was everything we possibility wanted him to be and much, much more. So he deserves the absolute best grade that anybody can earn.

Until we meet again Phillies fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies

2010 Look Back: Jayson Werth

My Fellow Phans,

I apologize for this being later than expected, but various birthday festivities kind of fell in the way yesterday of me getting time to sit down and type.

Now that it is the morning after, and I have taken my pill, I have a brief time to sit down and finish up look backs amongst the starting lineup. After this, I will cover some starting pitchers, followed by our closer. I am grouping the bench together as one post and the same with the remaining members of the bullpen for the sake of time. At my current pace, if I did everyone individually, the 2011 season would have started already before I get done these and that would destroy the purpose of looking back. So, I feel that this compromise would prevent that from happening.

Anyway, we now resume our regularly scheduled programming with our look back at Phillies’ right fielder 

Jayson Werth.

Jayson Werth: 2010 Stats .296 AVG 27 HR 85 RBI (Postseason: .200 AVG 2 HR 6 RBI)

Recap:

It’s hard to pinpoint the exact value of this last season from Werth. His numbers were good, as you can clearly see, and any outsider would assume that he had a quality season. That is not entirely false, although after seeing him play 156 games this season; we can safely say that this was not the same Jayson Werth that we had seen these past couple of seasons. He was the only Phillies regular not placed on the DL this season.

Despite his numbers, Werth did not have truly that strong of a season. He seemed to turn striking out into a way of life. Granted he struck out more times in 2009, but he had that blistering hot start to 2010 and rarely struck out. During the middle months of the season, it seemed he “K”ed every single at bat. He couldn’t do squat with runners in scoring position either. He hit .186 with runners in scoring position and just .139 with 2 outs and RISP.

I know I had at least two posts on this particular blog circulating the idea of Werth’s head and heart not truly being present this season. I still stand by this statement. I think, for a majority of this season, Werth was not 100% in the game. His money and contract were on his mind and that affected his play. We’ll get more into that in our next section.

Looking Ahead:

Werth will not be with the Phillies next season. Any delusional fan that thinks otherwise is just in denial. Why won’t Werth be returning to the Phillies next season? Well, the answer is simple, it’s all about money.  Werth has already stated this season that he has waited for this season his entire career, talking about his pending free agency. As I said there were times I questioned the location of Werth’s thoughts this season and I think this statement helps solidify that.

If that wasn’t convincing enough for you, here is piece of evidence 2: The hiring of Scott Boras. Now, I am not going to curse this man out for being a total a (insert nasty expletive here*) since I try to keep my posts generally G-rated, but we all know how Mr. Boras conducts his business. The fact that Werth fires his agent, and hires the most despised agent in all of baseball, whom is known for getting outlandish contracts for subpar players, see Jason Bay, is the second big clue. If Werth didn’t want as much money as he could get, he wouldn’t have hired Boras. But let’s face facts: he did hire Boras and money is exactly why he did it.

I have to say I am just really disappointed in Werth. Turning his back on the team that gave him his big break all because he’s a greedy little man. If it wasn’t for this organization, this wouldn’t be even possible for him, but somehow he seems to forget that. Farewell Jayson. I’ll enjoy watching you turn out to be yet another gigantic Boras bust. See Barry Zito…

Grade: B –

It wasn’t a great year for Werth nor was it a horrible one. The strike out barrage certainly didn’t help him.

Look for starting pitchers next! Starting with ace Roy Halladay.

Until we meet again Phillies fans; Happy Readings and Go Phillies