Updates, Updates, and more Updates!

 

My Fellow Phans,

It has been AGES since we last spoke. For this, I deeply apologize. I have been swamped with the end of the year schoolwork and all the graduation fun that goes along with it.

With all that’s been going on, I haven’t had ample amount of time to sit back and compose my thoughts and just write a blog post here or there. However, as my semester is reaching its final days, I should, hopefully, find more chances to post on here.

I promise not to throw all this information at you that you probably have already known so I will just leave you with a brief update of the Phillies’ current position.

Currently, the Phillies sit at 16-8 in first place in the National League East leading the 2nd place Marlins by just .5 games.

However, not all the news is good  for the Phightins. They recently lost Roy Oswalt, who left to check on his family down south after all the horrific storms that hit down there. They recently just lost a 2nd starter when they placed Joe Blanton on the 15 Day-DL. Vance Worley is scheduled to take his start in the rotation this weekend. There is no word on who will start in Oswalt’s place.

There is also grumblings of Carlos Ruiz being injured and the Phillies may bring up another catcher as insurance for the Phillies’ star.

The Phillies are set to open a 3 game series with the Mets on Friday with Worley facing off against Mets’ right Mike Pelfrey.

On a side note, I know I have results and rosters to update and should get those up sometime this weekend. Thank you all for your patience.

Until we meet again Phillies fans; Happy Readings and go Phillies!

Phillies (7-2) @ Nationals (4-5): Series Preview

 

My Fellow Phans,

So the Phillies bounced back strongly against Atlanta after Cliff Lee’s tough outing. Strong starts by Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels propelled the Phillies to a series victory down at Turner Field.

So, now we turn our attention a bit further north in the Nation’s capital. The Phillies will finally face their former superstar outfielder and the Nationals prized new acquisition, Jayson Werth.

Pitching Matchups:

Tuesday: Joe Blanton (0-0 14.54) vs. Livan Hernandez (4.76)

Wednesday: Roy Halladay (1-0 0.69) vs.John Lannon (1-0 3.60)

Thursday: Cliff Lee (1-1 7.84) vs. Jordan Zimmerman (1-1 3.18)

Phillies Notes

Ranks: As a team, the Phillies rank 6th in the NL in ERA (3.49) and strikeouts (76), tied for third in quality starts (6). They have issued the least walks in the entire MLB …Their 59 runs scored are 2nd in the NL and they lead the majors with a .334 batting average

Offensive Leaders: AVG: Victorino – .417 / HR: Howard – 2 / RBI: Howard – 11 / Runs: Ibanez – 9 / Hits: Victorino – 15

Pitching Leaders: Wins: Oswalt – 2 / ERA: Halladay – 0.69 / Ks: Lee – 14 / WHIP: Halladay – 0.92 / Saves: Contreras – 2

Nationals Notes

NL Ranks : The Nationals sit last in the NL in team batting (.217) while they sit in 12th in runs scored with 32… Their team ERA (4.09) is 11th best amongst the 16 teams. They are 8th in strikeouts and tied for 12th in quality starts (4).

Offensive Leaders: AVG: Ryan Zimmerman – .357 / HR: 7 players – 1 / RBI: Danny Espinosa – 5 / Runs: Espinosa – 6 / Hits: Zimmerman – 10

Pitching Leaders: Wins: 4 players – 1 / ERA: Jordan Zimmerman – 3.18 / Ks: Jason Marquis – 11 / WHIP: Zimmerman – 1.15 / Saves: Sean Burnett - 2

Series Outlook:

I cannot look at these pitching matchups and diagnosis this as a series where they will be limited scoring. Although, all 3 of these starters are beatable, the Nationals always seem to play the Phillies tough. Washington is going to be without star third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, whom is injured. I think that means we may see Werth in the 3-hole for these games.

Blanton had a few brilliant innings against the Mets before he suddenly fell apart with no apparent reason. I am curious to see how he does against the steady Hernandez, a guy who always seems to pitch tough against the Phillies.

Game 2 is actually a pitching rematch of opening day 2010 when the Phillies blasted the Nationals and Halladay won his first game in a Phillies uniform.

The Nationals are definitely better than last season offensively and thus far, their pitching has held up as well. I’m hoping / expecting Cliff Lee will have a bounce back game after that horrid start against the Braves.

Prediction:

Even though the Nationals always seem to play us tough, I see no reason why we cannot take this series. My official Prediction: Phillies take 2 of 3.

Until we meet again Phillies fans; Happy Readings and go Phillies!

Phillies (5-1) @ Braves (3-4) : Series Preview

My Fellow Phans,

Our beloved Phillies hit the road for the first time tonight when they help open up Turner Field down in Atlanta.

Here at the pitching matchups for the series:

Tonight (7:35) - Cliff Lee (1-0 3.86 ERA)  vs. Tim Hudson (1-0 1.29 ERA)
Saturday (1:10) - Roy Oswalt (1-0 3.00 ERA)  vs. Brandon Beachy (0-0 1.50 ERA)
Sunday (1:35) -Cole Hamels (0-1 20.25 ERA) vs. Derek Lowe (1-1 0.77 ERA)

Braves Outlook:

So far this season, it has been the Braves’ pitching that has been the standout part of the team. They have  the 4th best ERA in the Major Leagues thus far this season at 2.75. The three starters that they are going to throw at the Phillies this weekend are no flukes. Hudson and Lowe are established starters and Beachy is a stud prospect finding much success in the big leagues. Their bullpen appears to be just as strong as their rotation.

Offensively, they rank in the mid 20s in terms of batting average, on-base percentage, as well as slugging percentage. This is not to say that they don’t have plenty of capable hitters in that order. Heyward, McCann, Jones and Uggla are all above average hitters offensively and could provide some problems for the Phillies pitching.

Who’s Hot: Catcher Brian McCann has started this season out on an impressive .423 clip while veteran third baseman Chipper Jones is hitting .320. Young superstar Jason Heyward leads the team in homers with tied; tied with Dan Uggla for that honor…Derek Lowe has been all but unhittable this season allowing just a single earned run in 11.2 innings.

Who’s Not:  Tommy Hanson has had a pair of ugly starts so far this season pitching to a 6.00… Offensively, the only Brave hitters with an average above .250 are McCann and Jones.

Phillies Outlook:

Although, the Phillies’ rotation is getting all the headlines, the Phillies’ offense is what has been the real story of this team thus far. The Phillies league the majors in batting average, are tied for 2nd in runs score and are second in hits overall. This series is going to be an interesting one since it was providing one of the hottest starting staffs against one of the hottest hitting lineups right now.

The Phillies’ pitching hasn’t been unhittable this year, but it has been good enough for the Club to win 5 of 6 games. I think the question mark of this series will be what happens with Cole Hamels. After, one of his worst starts of his career, it will be curious to see how he can bounce back. I think he’ll be fine and we should see three solid pitching performances from both teams this series.

Who’s Hot: Ryan Howard has led the way for the Phillies hitting .480 with a pair of home runs and 8 RBIs this season. Placido Polanco and Wilson Valdez are hitting over .400 on the season. Jimmy Rollins (.375), Ben Francisco (.320) and Raul Ibanez (.304) round out the group of 6 Phillie starters hitting over .300 so far this season…Danys Baez has seemed to taken a 180 degree turn from last year as he has thrown 4 scoreless innings so far this season. 

Who’s Not:  Carlos Ruiz has struggled at the plate thus far this season with a .176 clip… After a  rough opening start by each, Hamels and Joe Blanton (14.54) both have double digit ERAs.

Prediction:

I think the Phillies take 2 of 3 from Atlanta in this series. All 3 games will be close and low scoring, but the Phillies current offensive hot streak should help them eek out a couple late victories and earn the series win. This is a huge series for both teams, both of whom people are predicting to make a run at the National League East title this season.

Phillies Complete Successful Homestand with Win over Mets

My Fellow Phans,

So far, so good for the Phillies. They had one small hiccup in the road with that Tuesday abomination, but otherwise, they’ve been great.

Worried about the Phillies offensive? I recall that I implored you not to worry about our hitters in a post way back before the season started.

So, after 6 games, the Phillies are hitting a robust .353, which is tops in the Majors. They have scored 43 runs, just 2 behind  the Reds and White Soxs. Now don’t forget that these two teams have powerhouse lineups and are expected to score a lot of runs this season. They have scored more runs then the Rangers, Yankees, and Red Soxs. They are also second in the majors in hits, just 1 behind the White Soxs.

Now, they didn’t do this against bad pitching either. They faceda pair of starters on Houston, Brett Myers and Wandy Rodriguez, who posted very good ERAs last year: 3.14 and 3.60 respectively. Throw into that equation, that Rodriguez was a left hander and this opening home stand seems all that more impressive.

Then came the Mets. Now, I am going to leave Thursday out of this discussion. I truly have no idea what happened to the offense that night. I’m not going to make excuses, but it was surprising. All we did was knock him around for 6 runs in 4 innings.

The Phillies then proceeded to shlack Mike Pelfrey, a man with a 3.91 ERA against us last year and then following that, they beat Jon Niese. His stats against us last year were nothing special, just 1-1 with a 2.14 ERA plus 20 strikeouts in 21 innings. Those 6 runs were more than the total he gave up last year against us (5).

Still Worried? I think the Phillies have shown they are capable of scoring runs and hitting. Now, I know we all can agree that they will not keep up this hitting, but we can rest assured that the Phillies lineup is not going to be as bad this year as people make it out to be.

On the other side of the ball, the pitching has been good. Our first 3 starters have pitched up to par, although Hamels and Blanton both had mini speed bumps this past weekend. It’s too early to start to worry about either guy, but I am curious to see how they throw during their next outing.

So, now we go on the road as we open up Turner Field and face the Atlanta Braves. That series preview is still to come. Stay tuned!

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

New Changes to State of the Phillies!

My Fellow Phans,

I’m sure any of you reading may have noticed the drastic reduction of information on the right hand side of this page. The clutter has been reduced, recycled, and reorganized.

I have added “pages” to State of the Phillies! The new feature can be found directly above the posts. I took the “About Me” section and made it the first page. Here is where the same information is placed, I just gave it its own section. I also added the list of my writings to the page.

The next two pages are about our Phillies. The first is the roster of the team which I will update as often as changes to it occur. Next to that is the Phillies’ Schedule and results. On that page, you’ll find a posted schedule, an update on the Phillies standing within the division as well as game-by-game results of the team.

The final page is “Electronic Me”. This is basically just all my contact information and any other electronic ways to get in touch with me (social networks ect..)

I hope you like the changes and I welcome any feedback about the new look.

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

Doc & Lee Shine in Debuts: Oswalt Goes Today

My Fellow Phans,

I know its still early, but so far-so good for the Phillies starters. Courtesy of two strong starting performances by returning ace Roy Halladay and returning favorite Cliff Lee, the Phillies sit at 2-0 and first place in the National League East.

Phillies: 5 – Astros: 4

On a chilly Friday afternoon that even saw the threat of snow, Halladay took to the mound in the 2011 season opener.

I’m sure nobody will argue with the fact that he did not have his greatest stuff, but as good pitchers always do, Doc found a way to keep his team in the game. Halladay threw 6 innings allowing just an earned run while scattering 5 hits. He struck out 6 and walked 0 in his effort.

Astros’ starter, former Phillie Brett Myers was equally as impressive allowing just a single earned run in 7 innings of work. He allowed just 3 hits and didn’t give up any runs until the 7th inning.

The Phillies entered the 7th trailing 1-0 when the duo of J.C. Romero and David Herndon allowed a trio of runs as the Astros padded to their lead. The Phillies finally got onto the board against Myers in the bottom of the 7th scoring a pair of runs courtesy of a Ryan Howard sac fly and an RBI groundout by Raul Ibanez.

The score remained 4-2 until the bottom of the 9th when the Phillies went to work against Houston closer Brandon Lyon. The inning opened with a pair of singles by Jimmy Rollins and Howard. After Ibanez popped out to 2nd base, Rollins stole third. What followed was a singles barrage. Ben Francisco, Carlos Ruiz, Wilson Valdez, and pinch hitter John Mayberry Jr all singled. Valdez’s single tied the game and Mayberry’s hit proved to be the game winner.

Phillies: 9 – Astros: 4

Cliff Lee made his long awaited return to Philadelphia after the Phillies’ stubborningly traded him away after playing a pivotal role in the team’s 2009 trip to the World Series.

Lee picked up right where he left off in 2009, allowing just 3 earned runs on 4 hits in 7 strong innings of work. Lee struck out 11 and didn’t walk a soul in his outing.  He only made you mistake really, a pitch deposited into the seats by Astros’ leftfielder Carlos Lee.

The Phillies offense showed up against Wandy Rodriguez peppering the starter for 7 earned runs in his 4 innings of work.

Sunday: Astros @ Phillies – Roy Oswalt vs. Bud Norris

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Analysis: What I took from these games is that the Phillies offense is going to be just fine without Jayson Werth. What the 9th inning and the second game showed is that the Phillies’ lineup is capable of putting up big numbers in bunches.

The most promising sign of the second game was that the Phillies beat a quality left handed pitcher. Howard and Ibanez registered hits against Rodriguez, and showed glimpses that they can indeed handle left handed pitching; something that doomed the Phillies in years past.

The most promising part of this is that everyone in the offense seems to be spreading around the offense. Rollins and Howard each have a pair of hits in the opening two games and a trio of Phillies have 3 hits a piece. They haven’t hit a home run this season, but if the offense keeps up at this pace, that won’t be a serious issue.

The Phillies will get a chance to sweep the Astros as Roy Oswalt faces his former team for the first time. Let’s see if he can keep up the trend of strong pitching performances going.

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

T-Minus 1 Hour and Counting…

My Fellow Phans,

Today is a day that many people have been looking forward; counting down to since last year. It is the day when a group of 25 individuals begin a 162 game question to reach the promised land. This is the greatest time of the year; it is when strikes are actually a good thing, Grand Salamis are more than just a sandwich, and the time when the colors of red and white infiltrate the minds and visions of everyone. This is PHILLIES 2011 OPENING DAY!

In just about an hour, on channel MyPHL17, the 2010 NL East champions will take the field in front of a ruckus, with a revamped rotation and level of expectations bigger than in any previous year. The season brings with it the return of a fan favorite and the loss of another. Either way, this could be the most memorable season yet for this historic franchise.

As, I sit here blogging with you, I am counting down the minutes.  I’m sure I can speak for a majority of you when I say, that it’s about damn time! Before the game begins, I thought I would share with you some closing thoughts on this Opening Day.

I simply ask that fans calm themselves. Yes, it is a season of hype with everything that happened this offseason, but there is no reason to go too wild here. This season is no different than the 2008 campaign. There are 25 very qualified gentlemen starting another long quest to get to the promised land. Just sit back and enjoy the show. It should be a fun one to behold.

Incase you haven’t seen it: here is the Phillies 2011 Opening Day Lineup:

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

So, sit back and enjoy Opening Day everyone!

{ Off topic: I sit here listening to my personal Baseball-Sportish Playlist that I create every year with songs that just seem to fit me in this situation. See the photo below. I am welcome to suggestions of songs that can improve this playlist. }

Anyway, as a fellow phan of the Phillies, I look forward to a great season! I will continue to give you all the breakdown on the Phillies this year and I sincerely hope you continue to stick with me for your information concerning the greatest team ever created.

Happy Halladays everyone!

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