Philly Sports Blogs Ads
Philly Sports Blogs is part of the YBN Sports Blog Network
Lets Go Flyers Lets Go!
Philadelphia Flyers Eastern Conference Champions
Phillies Tickets
Joe Blanton will start Game 4
Joe Blanton will get another chance to crack a home run in the World Series.
More importantly, he will get a chance to pitch the Phillies past the Yankees in Game 4, on Sunday. Manager Charlie Manuel announced today that Blanton will get the call, instead of using Cliff Lee on three days’ rest. Lee will pitch Game 5.
Manuel said that he did not think Lee would be ready on three days’ rest and that he did not want to push him. He also said that he will use J.A. Happ exclusively out of the bullpen the rest of the way.
Blanton started Game 4 against the Rays last year, combining a strong pitching performance with a clutch home run in what became a 10-2 Phillies win. It gave the Phillies a 3-1 series lead. Fans can only hope for some déjà vu.
Cole Hamels will start game 3 on Saturday and will be opposed by veteran Andy Pettitte.
So what do you think: Is Charlie making the right move by going with a rested Joe Blanton over Lee on short rest?
Pedro Martinez and Yankees renew rivalry
When the Phillies signed pitcher Pedro Martinez late in the regular season it was with hopes hat he could provide them with a little bit more than Jamie Moyer was giving them.
Now, they are asking for more; A lot more.
Pedro will take the mound tonight at Yankees Stadium with the task of giving the Phillies a commanding 2-0 lead in the World Series.
Pedro’s best game against the Yankees came in September of 1999 when he pitched a complete-game one-hitter in a 3-1 Red Sox win. He struck out 17.
The Phillies can’t ask for that tonight can they?
Well, probably not, but given Pedro’s flair for the dramatic the Phillies can expect a solid performance that will keep them in the game.
The atmosphere will no doubt be intense tonight at Yankees Stadium. Last night you could hear a pin drop, but that was only because Cliff Lee was that good. Even if Pedro is on his game, the fans will be on him, surely bringing back the “Who’s your Daddy” chants.
The best thing for Martinez was what Lee gave him by pitching a gem last night – a sense of freeness on the mound. By winning Game 1, the Phillies shifted all of the pressure on the Yankees. Lose Game 2 ad the Yankees are finished.
That is the pressure quality, but erratic, Yankees starter A.J. Burnett faces. It is only Game 2 and it is already a must-win for the Bronx Bombers. This is Burnett’s first start in a World Series game and he has an entire team and city on his back.
Burnett against the Phillies: Between his time in Florida and interleague matchups while with Toronto Burnett has faced the Phillies quite a few times and the Phillies hitters have gotten the better of him. Burnett is 5-8 lifetime with a 4.85 ERA in 16 starts. One of those starts came on May 22, when he was shelled for five runs in six innings in a Phillies win.
Pedro vs. A-Rod: In 55 at-bats against Pedro A-Rod has just one home run. He also has 19 strikeouts.
Game time: 8:07, FOX
Pedro Martinez to get ball in Game 2
If someone had told you at the All-Star break that the Phillies would be in the World Series with Cliff Lee and Pedro Martinez pitching games one and two, what would your reaction have been?
Likely a little confused.
However the Phillies two big late-season pickups will be doing exactly that as Charlie Manuel announced that Pedro will get the ball in Game 2 on Thursday.
“To have 60,000 people looking at one guy to deliver that ball and all of them chanting ‘Pay-dro! Pay-dro!’ is a great honor,” Martinez recently said in an interview with The Associated Press. “To pitch at Yankee Stadium on one of the greatest stages to play on, it’s an unbelievable feeling.”
It is a feeling he knows well.
The Yankees have had some success in the past against Pedro. Frustrated at one point in his Boston career, Pedro called the Yankees “his daddy” in an infamous postgame interview.
That is hardly the case though. Martinez went 8-4 with a 2.95 ERA against the Yankees in the old stadium. The bad news is that Pedro has never one a playoff game in New York, going 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA.
We also know that this is not the same Pedro that pitched for the Red Sox five years ago. Then again, this is the same Pedro that pitched seven brilliant shutout innings against the Dodgers in Game 2, only to see the bullpen cough up a victory.
Most importantly we know that Pedro will not be intimidated — by anyone. That means those 60,000 fans can shout as loud as they want and taunt him merciless and it won’t bother him. Martinez is a true competitor. He lives for game’s like he will get Thursday.
If you need any more insurance that Pedro is the right guy to march into Yankee Stadium and deliver a victory just look back to this quote he issued in 2001 after beating the Yankees in a regular season game.
“I don’t believe in rivalries. I don’t believe in curses. Wake up the damn Bambino, maybe I’ll drill him in the (behind).”
Oh yes, Pedro will be ready.
Phillies pound Dodgers to take 2-1 series lead
Now that was an absolute-LEE beautiful beating!
Led by the pitching of Cliff Lee and the hitting of – well – everyone, the Philadelphia Phillies put an old fashioned beat-down on the Los Angeles Dodgers Sunday night to take a 2-1 lead in the NLCS.
Lee was again amazing, allowing just three hits, while walking none in eight profound innings.
The Dodger hitters looked clueless at the plat all night.
Meanwhile the Phillies offense went to work early and often, scoring four runs in the first inning on a two run double by Ryan Howard and a two-run bomb to dead center by Jayson Werth.
At that point it was already over.
Citizen’s Bank Park was rocking from the very first pitch as “Beat L.A.” and “You took steroids” chants rang down on Manny Ramirez and the Dodgers.
Joe Torre looked helpless in the dugout, surely wishing he was back with the Yankees, a team that actually has a chance of getting to the World Series.
While it may be too early to say this series is over, it is not too soon to say emphatically that the Dodgers are in big trouble. They aren’t pitching, aren’t hitting and would be down 3-0 if Pedro got to finish his gem on Friday.
Tonight the Phillies see an old friend in Randy Wolf. I don’t know if we will see the return of “The Wolf Pack” but I do know Randy will see plenty of hungry wolves in the form of Phillies hitters.
Philadelphia cut Los Angeles deep last night and can smell the blood. These Dodgers want no part of the cold weather. They looked miserable and they played miserable.
In the past the Phillies have struggled in games after they score a lot of runs. It has been a running joke after the Phillies blow an opponent out to say “We’ll I guess we’re getting shutout tomorrow.”
But not this team, not now.
The Phillies learned all about closing last year and today they will take the next step towards advancing to their second-straight World Series.
And by the looks of last night’s game, there is little the Dodgers can do about it.
Phillies and Dodgers set for NLCS showdown
Tonight begins the next step in the Philadelphia Phillies quest to repeat as World Series champions. The Phils take on the Los Angeles Dodgers tonight at 8:07 p.m. in the first game of a best-of-seven NLCS series. Last year the Phillies beat the Dodgers in five games in the NLCS, but how will they fair this year?
He is a breakdown of how the match up:
Phillies Pitching:
Game 1: Cole Hamels: The lefty has had his ups and downs this season and was less than stellar in his outing against the Rockies. Against the Dodgers, however, he has been dominant. In his two starts against them this season, Hamels posted a 1-0 mark with a 0.56 ERA. He also struck out 14 while walking just one. And who can forget last year’s NLCS where Hamels went 2-0, including winning the series clincher in Game 5 and being honored as the series MVP.
Game 2: While it has yet to be confirmed by Charlie Manuel, Phillies.com is reporting that veteran Pedro Martinez will get the nod. It is hard to predict hat Pedro will do in his first playoff outing since he was in a Red Sox uniform.
Game 3: Cliff Lee will return to the mound on his regular day of rest and look to continue what has been a marvelous postseason. Lee has allowed just two earned runs in 16-plus innings of work this postseason and is making it clear that he is indeed an ace.
Game 4: The Phillies will trot either J.A. Happ or Joe Blanton out to the mound. Manuel’s decision may come down to which of the two he needs to use out of the bullpen in the first three games of the series. Blanton has the experience of pitching against the Dodgers in last year’s NLCS, but my guess is that Happ will get the nod here.
Dodgers pitching:
Game 1: Clayton Kershaw: One of the top young pitchers in the game, Kershaw has the kind of stuff that can cause nightmares for hitters. Against the Phillies, that has yet to be seen though. He has a 5.23 ERA in two starts against the Phils this year.
Game 2: Vicente Padilla: The first of the two former Phillies pitchers to take the mound in the series, Padilla has done surprisingly well with the West Coast squad. Acquired in a midseason trade with Texas, Padilla has pitched eight games for L.A., going 4-0 with a 3.20 ERA.
Game 3: Hirokia Kuroda: Kuroda was the only Dodgers pitcher to record a win against the Phillies in last year’s NLCS. He was mediocre this season going just 8-7.
Game 4: Randy Wolf: It is hard to believe that Wolf has been one of the most consistent pitchers for the Dodgers, going 12-7 with a 3.23 ERA. A left-hander, Wolf could be a dangerous pitcher in this series.
Phillies lineup:
There are no surprises when Charlie Manuel brings out the lineup card during the postseason. Just as was the case in four NLDS games, the Phillies will go with Jimmie Rollins, Shane Victorino, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, Raul Ibanez, Pedro Feliz and Carlos Ruiz. It is a lineup that as worked for the Phils for the majority of the year.
While Rollins has had a down year by his standards, the career years from Ibanez ad Werth have easily offset that. Werth has joined Utley and Howard to become one of the most feared middle-of-the-order trios in all of baseball.
Philadelphia’s lineup showed in Game 4 against the Rockies, that trailing in the ninth inning on the road is not anything its lineup can not overcome. Despite the team’s strikeout tendencies, one would be hard-pressed to find a better lineup in the National League.
Dodgers lineup: Joe Tore likes to play with the lineup from time to time, but for Game 1 the Phillies will see Rafael Furcal, Orlando Hudson, Manny Ramirez, Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, James Loney, Casey Blake and Russell Martin.
Like Werth, Ethier had a breakout season, posting 31 homers and 106 RBIs. He has been the type of hitter that when paired with Ramirez can bring flashbacks to the Many-Big Pappy years. You don’t want to face that part of the order with the game on the line. Kemp has also been solid, providing great defense in centerfield, while hitting .297 with 26 home runs.
The big letdown for the Dodgers has been the downfall of Martin, who even until last year was one of the top hitting catchers in baseball. This season, Martin’s power disappeared and he hit just seven home runs and limped to a .250 average.
The rest of the Dodgers lineup is solid, although the Phillies should certainly be happy not have to see Jeff Kent anymore.
The Bullpen:
The Phillies: This has been a sore spot for most of the season and has been predicted to be the reason the Phillies don’t repeat as World Champions. The good news is that closer Brad Lidge showed signs of finding his old form, picking up two saves in the NLDS (even if one of them was of the one-out variety). Also promising is that left-hander Scott Eyre appears to be fie after his stumble in Game 4. The bullpen still leaves much to be desired, though, as Ran Madson continues to be hit and miss and it is still impossible to know what can be expected of Brett Myers.
The Dodgers: A team strength all season, the Dodgers’ bullpen really became solidified when the team acquired left-hander George Sherrill from the Orioles at the trade deadline. Sherrill has been remarkable since the trade, posting a 0.65 ERA in 20 appearances. He has also yet to allow a home run to a left-handed batter. Expect to see him in each game this season. The Dodgers have several other quality arms to go to in late innings as they look to get the ball to hard-throwing Jonathan Broxton. The Los Angeles closer had 114 strikeouts in 72 innings, but the Phillies have had success of him in the past, including last postseason.
The Bench:
The Phillies: While there has been little to celebrate about the Phils bench this year, it is impossible not to think of Matt Stairs’ eighth inning, two-out, two-run home run that beat the Dodgers in Game 4 of the 2008 postseason. The Phillies know what they get when they send Stairs up to the plate and they will deal with his well-below par .194 average. The rest of the bench doesn’t offer much as Greg Dobbs, Miguel Cairo and Paul Bako leave a lot to be desired. Ben Francisco is a wildcard, as he has pop in his bat and his late-inning defense is valuable, as evidenced by his diving catch late in Game 4 of the NLDS.
The Dodgers: Like the Phillies with Stairs, the Dodgers have a long ball threat in Jim Thome. Though he is not the player he once was, the Thome can still hit the ball out of the park. Orlando Hudson may also come off the bench from in a couple games as Torre has been giving more starting time to Ronnie Belliard at second than expected. The Dodges also have veterans Juan Pierre Mark Loretta and Brad Ausmus.
Prediction: While the Dodgers have the better bullpen and better depth, the Phillies have a better rotation and a more dangerous lineup. A lot of people see this series going all seven games. The two big factors for the Phillies in this series will be the performances of Hamels and Pedro. Can Cole continue his dominance over the Dodgers and can Pedro muster up one more gem? If they can this series could be short. My guess is that one of them slips up but the Phillies have more-than enough to close out the Dodgers in six games.
Phillies beat Rockies, advance to NLCS
It was everything that October baseball is supposed to be.
The Philadelphia Phillies showed once again why they are “Must See TV” pulling out a dramatic victory that sent them back to the NLCS and put them one step closer to repeating as World Champions.
After giving up three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning and facing the prospect of coming home for a Game 5, the Phillies staged one of the greatest ninth innings in team history, coming back to defeat the Colorado Rockies, 5-4 at a chilly Coors Field. With two outs and two on Ryan Howard sent a Houston Street offering to the right field wall, scoring Shane Victorino and Chase Utley with the tying runs. Jayson Werth followed with a bloop single to right center, which plated Howard and gave the Phillies a lead that seemed so improbable just minutes earlier.
All that was left was the save, and as is always the case, it wasn’t easy. Scott Eyre record two outs, but allowed two base runners, prompting Charlie Manuel to go to Brad Lidge for the 27th out.
Lidge got the dangerous Troy Tulowitzki swinging and yet another celebration was on.
Monday’s contest was a game that showed everything that is great about baseball and great about the Phillies. Even after Ryan Madson wasted a great performance by starter Cliff Lee by allowing three runs to score in the eighth, the Phils refused to go down.
Ryan Howard told his teammates to get him a chance to hit in the ninth because he would deliver. Then he came out and did it.
Lee again showed that h is capable of delivering in the postseason, throwing 7 1/3 innings, allowing three runs, though just one scored while he was on the mound. His stuff kept Rockies hitters off-balanced all game. If Lee continues to pitch this well and the Phils continue to win, Ruben Amaro Jr. may bring home an Executive of the Year award for landing Lee instead of giving up the farm for Blue Jays’ ace Roy Halladay.
Of course the job is not finished yet. As great as Monday night’s win was, its historical impact will only be great if the Phillies can get back to the World Series and compete for another ring.
That brings us to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Phillies opponent starting on Thursday. The Dodgers thought they were destined to win a title last year, but the Phillies got in the way. Now they will be looking for revenge.
They won’t have to look far, though. The Phillies are a team that will not be intimidated. They provided evidence of that last night by winning on the road when trailing in the ninth inning.
This series has all the makings of a classic and Phillysportsblogs will be here to break it down for you over the next few days.
Monday marked the second time this month the Phillies got to celebrate in grand fashion.
Let’s hope for two more.
Philllies Send Lee To Close Out Rockies
Do you think that this is what the Phillies had in mind when they pulled the trigger on the trade that brought Cliff Lee to Philadelphia? Did they have some crystal ball somewhere that told them Jamie Moyer would get hurt, that J.A Happ would be ineffective in his first post-season start and that Cole Hamels would not show the form that won him the NLCS and World Series MVP in 2008?
Nah, probably not. What they did know about the 2008 American League Cy Young Award winner was that he is a horse. A guy who takes the ball and pitches deep into games, and that is what the Phillies really need tonight when they take on 15 game winner Ubaldo Jimenez and the Colorado Rockies. They also knew that two years ago Cliff Lee, after an awful 2007 season, was relegated to cheerleader as he watched his Cleveland Indians go up 3 games to 1 on the Boston Red Sox only to eventually lose the lead and a decisive Game 7. Boston went on to win the World Series and the Indians haven’t gotten back to the post-season since.
Tonight’s game is a rematch of Game 1 when Lee dominated, shutting out the Rockies for 8.2 innings before settling for a complete game 5-1 victory. The Phillies certainly don’t need a complete game from Lee – but they do need a solid start from him because even though they are home for Game 5 tomorrow if necessary, anything can happen in a Game 5 and I’m sure the Phillies would just as soon close this one out and not have to worry about which Cole Hamels will show up tomorrow night. The Phillies already got away with one last night when they overcame a bad and short outing by J.A Happ as well as two walks in the ninth by Brad Lidge after securing a one run lead on Ryan Howard’s ninth inning sac fly. The Phillies also had to use more of their bullpen on a brutally cold night then they would’ve like to have, so a seven or eight inning outing by Lee would go a long way. There is no travel day between Games 4 and 5 thanks to Saturdays cancellation so if the Phillies lose tonight and have to use the bullpen again that would leave the Phillies in a bad spot for tomorrow night.
Let’s hope that scenario doesn’t present itself and the Phillies close this one out on the road.
Phillies starting pitcher report card 2009
The Phillies and Rockies are deadlocked at 1-1 after the first two games at Citizens Bank park, and now they are off to chilly Colorado. The talk this year has focused on the Phillies pitching. Everyone seems to agree the offense and defense are good enough to repeat as World Series champions, but the jury is still out on the pitching staff. On an off day with no game scheduled, I am taking this time to review the Phillies pitchers; today the starters get their grades for the regular season.
It was a strange year. Only four Phillies even qualified as starters. Two midseason pickups have to be factored into the mix. Two of last seasons standouts made no difference on the 2009 season. Last years heroes are potentially this years goats. So here we go.
Definition of starters. For purposes of this evaluation, we can consider 6 Phillies pitchers as starters this year. Cole Hamels and Joe Blanton were the only two that started start to finish, had 30 or more games played with 150 innings or more. Jamie Moyer started off as a starter and ended in the pen, JA Happ started in the pen and ended as a starter. Cliff Lee and Pedro Martinez arrived in midseason and started all the games they appeared in the regular season with decidedly mixed results.
Hamels was the best pitcher on the team last year finishing 14-10 with a 3.09 ERA and the much talked about WS MVP award. Jamie Moyer was a close second, actually leading the team in wins but with a slightly higher ERA and less impact in the post season, finishing 16-7 with a 3.71 ERA. Both saw their numbers drop off this year, Hamels finishing below .500 at 10-11 with a 4.32 ERA and Moyer finished in the bullpen with an overall record of 12-10 and an ERA of 4.94, but some of those statistics were accomplished as a reliever.
Happ and Blanton pitched little in the championship year, but finished tied for the team lead in wins along with Jamie Moyer this year. Happ only started 4 games late in their championship run, was officially a rookie in 2009 and starred at 12-4 with an ERA of 2.93, to lead all starters. Blanton started all year this year after being the Phillies mid season acquistion last year and starting in 13 games, this year finishing 12-10 with an ERA of 4.05. Both these pitchers showed remarkable improvement over last years statistics.
Brett Myers and Adam Eaton both factored in 2008, Myers was a non factor in 2009 and Eaton is no longer on the team. These two were effectively replaced in the line up by Martinez and Lee. Pedro is still a cypher, starting 9 games and going 5-1 with a 3.63 ERA but leaving three games very early and only pitching 44 innings for the Phillies this year. Lee was more productive, but even more confusing as he went 7-4 with a 3.39 ERA; at first unbeatable, then going to average and returning to very good to close the season. And we all saw what he did in his first postseason start pitching a 6 hit complete game for the victory but that doesnt count toward his regular season grade.
So that’s their numbers. Now, how to grade their productivity and effectiveness ? The overall staff needs to have a high B grade in my opinion to make a concerted World Series run. So how do this years Phillies starters, hopefuls, and part timers stack up?
I think we all have to agree Lee gets an A. he showed us something in his first few starts after the trade and didn’t back down when he saw his stats tail off in late August, probably the result of a tired arm.
Happ has to get an A. As a rookie, he did something no Phillie starter has done in 50 years, win 12 games; and he started in the bullpen, so he accomplished this feat in 3/4 of a season.
Blanton gets a B, finishing 4 games above .500 but with an ERA over 4. to get the A grade, I really think your ERA needs to be in the low to mid 3’s.
I give Hamels a B-, if his W/L percentage had dropped and he had maintained last years ERA I would grade him higher, but he seemed much less effective in the big games this year and he too finished with an ERA above 4.
Moyer gets a B- as well, and this grade would have been lower if he had not led the Phillies in wins (or co-led) for the second straight year, combined with his professional attitude when he was demoted to the bullpen after being plagued with a 5+ ERA most the year.
Martinez is the hardest to grade, and I would have to give him a C+, only because his grade really should be an incomplete, with 44 innings pitched and only 3 quality starts in half a season with the team.
This puts the Phillies 6 supposed starters at a cumulative grade right around a B. Maybe good enough to do it, but I would feel better if the newest Phillies were either more tested in the postseason (Lee) or more proven in their starts this year (Martinez) Without a lot to go on, it is hard to tell how they will perform when the pressure is on, but it looks like Manuel may start Pedro in game 3 tomorrow so we will get a chance to see if he shines as well as Lee surprised everyone after being awarded the Game 1 start earlier this week.
Expect a review and grades on the Phillies middle relief and closers in an article to follow in the next few days. They are an enigmatic group, even harder to evaluate, and with a lot more up and down and movement in and out of the core group than the starters, if that can be believed ! I look forward to watching the rest of the NLDS and feel confident the Phillies won’t let us down on their brief trip to Colorado. Go Phillies !
Hamels Can’t Afford Let Down Today
After Cliff Lee’s performance yesterday Cole Hamels will have a difficult act to follow but its important for the Phillies other ace pitches well today to give the Phillies a commanding 2-0 lead in the NLDS before heading to Colorado for the next two games over the weekend.
Not only does a 2-0 lead give the Phillies three chances to close out the Rockies and I can probably count on one hand the number of teams that have come back down 2-0 in a best of five to win the series but it also keeps the Phillies from losing home field advantage.
No, that wasn’t a misprint. If the Rockies win today, they go home with home field in their favor in what becomes a best of three series and suddenly Cliff Lee’s big effort is nothing but a distant memory. The Phillies know this, having dispatched the Brewers in two straight at home last year before heading to Milwaukee. The Brewers won game 3 before the Phillies closed out the series in Game 4. Its a completely different feeling going on the road up 2-0 and losing game 3 than it would be splitting the first two and then losing that first game in the opponents ballpark.
The Phillies certainly were a great team on the road this season, but all that goes right out the window during the postseason when every game counts. Its especially true in a best of five series where momentum can change on a dime. Just ask the 1982 California Angels, or the 1984 Chicago Cubs, both of whom lost three in a row to lose best of five series to the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres respectively.
Cole Hamels has a lot riding on his start today. The Phillies will either be up 2-0 heading to Colorado or the series is tied at 1-1 and not only gives the Rockies new life but actually gives them an edge. I know I’m hoping for the former and not the latter.
October 7, 1977 – Black Friday
Coinciding with today’s NLDS Phillies/Rockies opener is a memorable playoff game from the Phillies past: 1977 NLCS game 3 against the Los Angeles Dodgers which happend 32 years ago today.
Anyone my age remembers this game. The Phillies were up 5-3 in the top of the 9th looking to go ahead 2 games to 1 in the best of five series. The Phillies fans had booed Dodger starter Burt Hooten off the mound and everything looked like it was going to go the Phillies way as they got the first two outs in the 9th inning. Vic Davillo laid down a perfect bunt on an 0-2 pitch and there it began. Manny Mota followed with a drive to left field that Greg Luzinski trapped against the wall and Davillo scored when Phillies 2nd Baseman Ted Sizemore mishandled Luzinski’s throw to second, allowing Mota to go to third. All hell broke loose next when Davey Lopes hit a smash to Schmidt at third that went off his glove – Bowa picked the ball out of the air and in one motion threw a strike to Richie Hebner at firstbase. The throw appeared to get Lopes at first for the final out, but Lopes was called safe and Mota scored to tie the game. Hebner, Sizemore and Ozark all argued the play, and television replay clearly show that Lopes was out. After a wild pickoff throw put Lopes at second, Bill Russell’s single broke the tie and the Phillies backs at 6-5. The Philllies would go on to lose the next game as Tommy John and Steve Carlton dueled in the rain and Friday, October 7th, 1977 would be forever known as Black Friday. Danny Ozark was forever scrutinized for not replacing Luzinski with Jerry Martin - a move he frequently made late in games that season. A move made so frequent that the coaching staff had to summon Luzinski out of the Phillies clubhouse to take his position in left field even though Jerry Martin had been stretching expecting to go out for the 9th inning himself.
Many believe that the 1977 team was the best Phillies team of that era even though the 1980 team won the World Series. Greg Luzinski had an MVP season but lost out to Cincinnati’s George Foster and his 50 home runs. Steve Carlton won another Cy Young Award. Although the Phillies would win 90 games in 1978 and get back to the NLCS against the Dodgers, they would fall short again. The Phillies would bring on big-ticket free agent Pete Rose in 1979, but injuries to key players and pitchers saw the Phillies fall to a 84-78 finish and saw Danny Ozark out of a job by Labor Day in favor of the loud and outspoken Dallas Green who would lead this group of underachieving superstars to the promised land in 1980.
Phillies Game 1 Starter – Hamels or Lee?
We’ll know for sure this afternoon when the Phillies will announce their starter to oppose the Rockies Ubaldo Jimenez. Charlie Manuel has a 12:30pm press conference and its expected that by 1pm we’ll know who will be starting.
Most media reports have the Phillies giving the honor to Cole Hamels with Cliff Lee going game two. Hamels 2009 season certainly wasn’t vintage Cole, but the Phillies evidentally believe that the experience he gained last year when he was both the MVP of the NLCS and World Series gives him the edge on Cliff Lee who has not yet pitched in the post-season. Lee was with the Indians in 2007 when the finished just one win shy of a World Series appearance but he was not on their post-season roster.
Since regular season numbers mean nothing, its hard to argue the choice of Hamels given the fact he has pitched in the post-season the past two years while Lee, who has struggled lately, has no post-season experience. Experience is the same reason the Cardinals went out and got Smoltz, who may start Game 4 against the Dodgers ahead of Kyle Lohse. The playoffs are totally different from the regular season, and Cole Hamels proved last year he can handle that pressure. We’ve yet to see if Cliff Lee can.
If the Phillies go with Hamels as expected, it assures that the Phillies will use four starters with Lee, Blanton and either Happ or Martinez following Hamels in the rotation. Hamels, unlike Lee, has never pitched on three days rest in his career and its unlikely that the Phillies will change that now. They had the option last year against the Brewers and passed and didn’t allow him to throw against the Dodgers on three days rest, instead allowing Jamie Moyer to pitch.
The 2009 Playoff ride starts tomorrow afternoon and today we’ll know who will be taking the mound when the Phillies begin the defense of their World Championship. I can’t wait.
Handicapping The NL Playoffs
The National League playoff picture was finally cleared up on Saturday when the Dodgers shut out the Rockies 5-0 to win the NL West, therefore setting up a rematch of the 2007 NLDS between the Phillies and Rockies. The Dodgers will host the Cardinals in the other best of five series. Here is how I see each series, starting with the Phillies and Rockies.
First things first. Forget about 2007. The Phillies ran into a buzzsaw that year as the Rockies were riding high on a winning streak and a very exciting one-game playoff against the Padres. The Philllies also were just happy to be in the post season and probably were a little tired having just over taken the Mets the final weekend of that season. The Phillies have since won a World Series, and both teams have changed personnel. The Rockies offense isn’t what it was two seasons ago. Helton is always dangerous, and Hawpe and Tulowitski also can be dangerous. Garret Atkins is coming off a bad season which has seen Ian Stewart play more and more third base. Clint Barmes is no Kaz Matsui defensively although he did hit 20 homers, but he did it hitting around .250. The big mismatch here is between the rotations. Let’s face it, the Rockies rotation of Jimenez, Cook, Marquis and DeLaRosa (who might miss the series due to an injury sustained Saturday) pales in comparison to the Phillies and Lee, Hamels, Happ, Blanton and Martinez. As of right now we know that Lee and Hamels will pitch, but the Phillies haven’t decided whether or not Happ will relieve or start as the Rockies tend to struggle against left-handed starting pitching. The Phillies have the top offense in the league and nobody is hotter right now than Ryan Howard. The bullpen has had its issues, but I still like the Phillies here in four games.
The other NLDS between the Dodgers and Cardinals is interesting and somewhat similar to the Phillies/Rockies series in that the Cardinals enjoy the same starting rotation mismatch that the Phillies have in their series. The Cardinals will throw two potential Cy Young candidates in Carpenter and Wainwright the first two games followed by either Joel Piniero or John Smoltz or both. Kyle Lohse is also a possibility if the Cards choose to put Smoltz in the bullpen. Vincente Padilla is 4-0 since coming to the Dodgers, and Randy Wolf has pitched well. The Dodgers really took a tough blow when they lost Kuroda. The other choices for the Dodgers are Garland, Billingsly and Kershaw. The Dodgers strength is the bullpen with Sherrill and Broxton handling the late innings. If somehow they keep it close they have a shot, but I believe that the Pujols/Holliday combination will drive in enough runs to put the Cardinals in the NLCS. I like the Cardinals in a clean sweep. I don’t think anyone would’ve saw the Dodgers out in the first round back in June or even July, but that’s why you play the entire season and the Dodgers simply did not finish well.
Since the Twins and Tigers won’t play until tomorrow evening to settle the AL Playoff picture we’ll have to wait until Wednesday to handicap the American League side of the playoffs.
A change at closer needs to Happ-en
When I got in my car this evening following Brad Lidge’s 11th blown save of the season I knew I would hear some pretty upset Phillies fans when I flipped on 610 WIP.
The first thing I heard surprised me. It was suggestion that J.A. Happ should be the Phillies closer going forward.
With just two weeks left in the season this move seemed ridiculous. Happ has never closed and wouldn’t have much time to settle into the role.
It just didn’t seem like a reasonable option.
Forty minutes later when I got out of my car I was convinced: Happ taking over the closers role is the right move to make.
At this point it seems all but certain that the Phillies will go with a rotation of Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee, Joe Blanton and Pedro Martinez in the playoffs. That means Happ will be in the bullpen. If he is going to be in there anyway the Phillies might as well use him where they need help the most.
Brad Lidge simply can’t close moving forward. Charlie Manuel has given him every chance to show he can turn the clock back to 2008, but it hasn’t happened. Lidge threw a few good sliders Wednesday night but when it counted the most his pitches were flat. Even after Lidge blew the save he had a chance to get his team into extra innings. With two outs Lidge had pinch hitter Brett Carroll in a 0-2 hole. He then put the ball on a tee and Carroll hit a line drive u the middle that scored the game-winning run and dropped Lidge to 0-8 this season.
We don’t know if Happ can close, but we don’t know he can’t either.
We do know that this season Lidge can’t. We also know that Ryan Madson, Scott Eyre and Can Ho Park have all blow saves when given the opportunity.
Happ has shown an ability to get left-handers (.208 against) and right-handers (.245 against him) out and has shown the ability to handle pressure (beat the Yankees in the new Yankee Stadium in his 2009 debut).
The Phillies have the luxury of having six quality starters and this is a time to make that pay off. Let Moyer slide in to Happ’s rotation spot for the final two weeks and see if Happ can handle closing. Happ will need to get used to coming out of the pen anyway if he is out in the playoff rotation, so why not give it a try?
Others have suggested the Phils give Pedro a try, but I don’t see that as a realistic option. Pedro has a history of struggling in the first inning and likely wouldn’t be able to pitch in back-to-back games with his age.
That brings us back to Happ.
At this point, why not?
209 Home Runs for 2009 and counting
The Phillies won again. Hit 4 homeruns. Ho hum. We Phanatics are getting spoiled. This is a really good team, with a lot of depth.
Example 1. Pitching : Happ left in the third with a mystery injury, probably reinjured his oblique muscle, and with all the talk about the bullpen, Kendrick comes in and pitches 4 innings of shut out 2 hit relief. The Phillies bullpen for all it’s late inning woes has been notorious this year for clutch long middle inning relief, between Happ early in the year, Madsen all year long, Moyer late in the year and Kendrick tonight, all 4 pitched 4 innings or longer in relief of starters for various reasons.
And these starters are pretty dang good ! Lee, Hamels, Blanton, Martinez, Happ. put those five on any other ball club and at least three would make the starting rotation. Two of the three could be staff aces just about anywhere in the league as well.
Example 2. Fielding : Jimmy Rollins is playing spectacular at shortstop, turning difficult plays into routine, fielding the short hop like the ball is on a string, throwing with incredible accuracy. But Rollins is a horrible offensive weapon right? 1st in at bats, 4th in stolen bases, 7th in doubles, 13th in hits, 13th in runs scored, Hmmmm, low average around .250 for Jimmy, but overall, not really too bad. He just appears to be worse than he is because the rest of the team is batting so well. His 3 run jack in the ninth inning to stretch a 2 run lead into a rout didn’t hurt his playing stock.
Example 3. Power : Ryan Howard hit his 40th home run for the 4th straight year. And he did it naturally. Another day at the ball park.
I mentioned before it is hard to pick out a Phillies as MVP because they are so well balanced and they all contribute. Much has been made of Albert Puhols numbers, Howard is 7 home runs behind him, 6 RBI’s behind him, and raised his average to a quite respectable .272 in tonights game. If he can eliminate 70 or 80 strikeouts he can potentially threaten for the elusive triple crown. He tied Chuck Klein for the second place spot for most multi homerun games as a Phillie in team history.
Example 4. Confidence : The Phillies actually have a better road record than home record, and in the last 7 years they have won 44 games on the road four times. Only a team with a lot of depth can manage to win away from home consistently. It takes a team dynamic, and a real focus to getting the little things done to overcome the inherent home field advantage that frequently.
Example 5. Scoring : The Phillies very well could have 4 30 home run 100 RBI guys on the squad by the end of the year. And 6 players scoring 100 runs. I don’t think that has ever been done. If it has, I couldn’t find an example of it.
Bottom line, on any given day, any given player might display his talents and assist the team to a victory. As they head to the playoffs to defend the championship, on a night when the starting pitcher and starting catcher both left the game early, no one on the Phillies bench looked especially worried, after all, they have depth, and plenty of backup and role players just waiting to come out and show what they can do.
By the way, Howard hit 2, Rollins hit 1, Fransisco hit 1, and the Phillies won going away again 9-4 over the “better luck next year Braves”
We Phillies fans are getting spoiled, and I for one, love it!
Hamels dominates in sure win.
After a rough couple of weeks at the end of August, where the Phillies starting pitchers were roughed up in several games, the staff has reverted back to their mid season form. They are looking like the powerful, indomitable rotation we expected to have after several key midseason trades. Cliff Lee lost back to back starts, as Pedro struggled without losing a game but the staff endured. The starters posted 28 consecutive scoreless innings before Hamels gave up a lone run on two freak bloop singles. Lee looks like last years Cy Young winner, Pedro looks like Pedro of old, throwing 130 pitches of shut out ball in his last start, and after tonights performance by Cole Hamels, JA Happ has got to be wondering if he will be Rookie of the year, and odd man out of the pitching rotation for the postseason. In the last 5 starts Phillies starters have gone 39 1/3 innings and allowed 3 runs. That is an ERA of .70 by the starters this week.
I know it was the lowly Nationals, with the worst record in MLB, but Hamels followed his fellow pitchers and their recent resurgance by flirting with a no hitter through the first 5 innings. The Phillies starters seem to be trying to ensure they won’t need to rely on the bullpen, as they are methodically pitching into the 7th and 8th inning without allowing any runs.
Hamels helped himself in a close game by driving in a run in the 6th to give himself a 3-0 lead. Hamels has 31 strike outs and 7 walks in his 4 September starts, with an average of only 12 pitches per inning. In tonights game he had 10K’s and 1 walk, only running the count to three balls twice all night. This was Hamels 12th double digit strikeout performance in his young career. These are similar numbers to the ones he posted in the postseason last year while on his MVP tear.
The Phillies had their 66th sellout of the year, and 200th in a row at Citizens Bank park as the fans have been great at showing their support for this team, even pulling out white towels with the bases loaded in the sixth inning. Overall the Phillies have been playing like a veteran team in all aspects of the game. From Chase Utleys heads-up baserunning that led to a run wthout a Phillies hit, to Jimmy Rollins heads-up fielding in the 8th when grabbing a bouncing ball as a baserunner passed in front of him and getting the sure out at 1st. We also saw fielding gems by Zimerman in his catch as he rolled over the tarp on the third base foul line and Ibanez who came in to pinch hit and made a spectacular catch in fair territory deep in left field as he jumped up against the wall in the corner.
With Park out with a bad groin, and Lidge having struggled the past few months, the starting pitchers ability to go deep in games at this stage of the game is crucial. Madsen and Myers got a little work this week, and Lidge did come in tonight to secure the save, but overall the bullpen is well rested heading into the final stretch of the regular season. The Phillies ran their record to 15-3 against the Nationals and extended their lead on the Marlins and Braves with the 4-2 victory.
At 25 games over .500, the Phillies have the best winning percentage as a team since 10/3/93, nearly 16 years.
Polls
Loading ...Philly Sports Books
Hey Philly, check out this great little Phillies book.
The Phillies Fan's Little Book of Wisdom (Little Book of Wisdom (Taylor))
Sports Columns
Grinding My Gears is all the stuff that gets under your skin. Bad calls in a game, fans storming the court after a regular win, comments by players...
By The Numbers simply put is research comparing records and statistics from today to bygone eras.Philly Sports Blogs on Social Networks
