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Rockies take Game 2, even series
If the Philadelphia Phillies want to repeat as World Series champions, they will have to prove their worth on the road.
Starting pitcher Cole Hamels had a rough outing, allowing four runs in five innings, and the Phillies could not battle all the way back in a 5-4 loss to the Colorado Rockies in Game 2 of the NLDS.
Yovit Torrealba provided the big blow, hitting a two-run home run in the third inning . From there, Aaron Cook corralled the Phillies hitters until the sixth when the Phillies battled back with three runs.
Trailing by one in the ninth, the Phils threatened, putting runners on first and second with two outs, but Colorado closer Huston Street got Shane Victorino to hit a soft line drive to second to end the game.
Just as concerning as the home loss was the potential loss of J.A. Happ, who entered the game in the sixth and faced only one batter. Happ was hit in the lower left leg with a line drive off the bat of Seth Smith on his fourth pitch of the game. Happ, who went 12-4 in the regular season, suffered a leg contusion, but reports are that the x-rays were negative.
With Happ unable to continue, Charlie Manuel went to Joe Blanton out of the pen for an inning-plus, putting further into question who will start Game 3 on Saturday. Blanton threw just 19 pitches, so could be able to come back on Saturday or the Phillies could go with Pedro Martinez.
Whoever gets the ball needs to come up big, because the Phillies don’t want to go down 2-1 and face an elimination game in Denver.
There is still plenty of reason to believe in the Phillies moving forward. Although Hamels struggled, the bullpen was strong, with Blanton’s one run allowed the only blemish. It is never easy this time year.
I expect the Phillies offense to come to life in Game 3 and give whoever takes the mound plenty of run support.
Post Party Blues
The past two nights the Phillies are looking like a team that gave it’s all to clinch the division and are not all that concerned about home field advantage for the championship series. With the exception of another towering homerun by Howard in the bottom of the first (his 44th) the Phillies offense was flat. Joe Blanton looked equally flat as he allowed 5 runs in 6 plus innings and never seemed to be on top of his delivery.
Charlie Manuel rested Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino took over the leadoff spot for the night and went 1 for four. Tracy got his 4th pinch hit in the 7th inning, but was stranded on base as were all the Phillies that reached base after that one blast from Howard. The real story was the bullpen auditions that occurred after Blanton handed it over and took a seat.
All the writers on this blog have commented time and time again about the dire situation looming in the Phillies bullpen that will almost certainly factor into whether this team can repeat as world champions this year. We know they can hit, and we know there are at least four quality starters, and we know they are an experienced, good fielding team.
One also can not help but notice that the relief pitchers loaded the bases two innings in a row, and gave up 2 runs on 5 hits and a walk. If not for several good fielding plays, this game would have been a rout. As it was the 7-2 final score hardly made the Phillies appear to be a 92 win team poised to go to the playoffs.
The bullpen has had a revolving door on it this year, after being one of the primary reasons for the Phillies success last year. The only reason they were able to clinch the division was due to the strength of the offense.
Tonight the Phillies utilized Eyre, Condrey, and new call up Escalona, and finally Durbin, once the game was out of reach, even for our hard hitting Phillies. None of them were particularly effective in doing their job. It is hard to say who can provide middle relief and who can close for this team at this point. I do know the combination of a slow offensive start with a weak bullpen as was evidenced the past two nights can only spell disaster for the Phillies playoff hopes.
Tomorrow I will be reviewing all the remaining ptichers statistically, how they match up against right and left handers, and give you my vote for middle reliever and closer. I must say, with the loss of Moyer and Romero in the past week, the pickings will be slim. It is almost a sure thing that Happ will have to play some sort of role in the post season, and it is possible that his move back to the bullpen, if it happens, could prove to be the action that propels him to a possible MVP with a Phillies series victory.
When was the last time a rookie won MVP ? Has it ever happened ? Wouldn’t that be the follow up to last years championship run, to do it again with the help of a young, untested rookie pitcher who steps in at the last minute to carry the closer load on his shoulders ? I have to admit, although I have been lobbying for Happ to get his chance starting in the post season, I would be equally interested in seeing him back in the bullpen, but in a closer role. He has certainly proven himself to me this year, and I believe he has earned the right to show the team if he can hold down a larger role now that the overall roster depth has so drastically changed.
Well, one thing is for sure, no matter if we play the Rockies or the Dodgers, we are going to be in for one wild ride. I am just glad that for a change, we can actually sit here in October and talk about this and that, instead of the usual “what if”, or “if onlys” that I am used to from most of my late season Phillies watching days ! Let us give credit to this team, for all they have been through, they are one of only four teams in the National League still standing, and who knows how far they can go ? That is why we play all these games ! I will be rooting from the front row, every chance I get !
J.C. Romero to miss postseason
If there was any question of whether or not J.A. Happ would pitch out of the bullpen in the postseason, today’s news should erase it.
Phillies manager Charlie Manuel announced that left-hander J.C. Romero has not recovered from his strained forearm injury and will need another month until he is fit to pitch.
That means the Phillies will enter the postseason without one of its biggest bullpen pieces last year, and most consistent left-hander.
Romero was huge in the 2008 postseason, including winning two games in the World Series.
With Romero no longer an option, the Phillies will likely turn to Happ and Scott Eyre to get out left-handed hitters in the late innings. It also means an already shaky bullpen is in that much more disarray.
The other option the Phillies have is to use September call up Sergio Escalona, but that seems unlikely as Escalona has just 11 appearances under his belt.
Romero returned to the Philies last week, but after an outing on Monday he reported soreness in the same forearm. This certainly was not Romero’s year. He started the season having to sit out the team’s first 50 games due to a suspension. A little more than a month after his return the forearm injury surfaced.
The Phillies have done a nice job surviving Romero’s absence, but it will only get harder from here.
Hopefully Happ an Eyre will be up to the task.
Much needed win + Braves loss = magic #1
The Phillies closed out a game at Citizens Bank Park for a much needed 7-4 win over the Astros on a night when the Braves finally faltered in their headlong rush toward postseason. Braves fans saw a glimmer of hope for the first time in 5 years as the perennial NL East champions made a valiant attempt but simply had too much ground to make up and too little time.
It is all but done now. The Phillies have 5 games to play with a 5 game lead. Happ continued to lay claim to a spot in the postseason rotation with 5+ strong innings . He allowed three earned runs and ran his record to 12-4, the best rookie record for a Phillie in 50 years. Moyer and Madsen came in with a one two punch from the bullpen, and in a rare effort from the relief staff did not allow a single run !
Jayson Werth hit another home run and Feliz nailed a grand slam in the 4th inning to provide the firepower, Rollins and Howard also contributed with key hits. Rollins is near the league lead in doubles and Howard is among the leaders in RBI and homeruns. The Phillies still may become the first team to finish with 6 players scoring 100 runs, with 5 players already over 95 runs scored.
This team remains even and capable as they approach the post season, but they have made it look a lot harder then it needed to be considering the firepower and starting pitching present on this team. It only makes the relief pitching all the more glaring as an area that needs improvement. It should be perfectly clear what will consume most of the upper brasses time and energy during the off season. Many of the key players here are locked into contracts for the next several years and I believe the Phillies are one good closer, or the reemergence of the old Brad Lidge, from running the table for the next two or three years. I also believe, without addressing this need, this will be a heartbreaker of a team for some time to come.
Here is hoping there is a saviour hidden among the stable of pitchers who will step up in the eleventh hour and save 5 or 6 key games down the stretch when the Phitens need it the most !
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?
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.
Phillies have options with playoff pitching rotation
Joe Blanton again made a case to be in the Phillies’ rotation, pitching six scoreless innings in the Phillies 6-1 win over the Nationals.
Of course that comes after Pedro strengthened his case and Cliff Lee assured his. Then there is J.A. Happ who has made a season-long case to pitch come time for the postseason.
Never before has a Phillies team had such a great problem.
At this point there are only two things assured: First, Cole Hamels will be in or near the front of that rotation. Second, Lee will be right there with him.
From there, things get cloudy. For how well he has pitched this season and the fact that he is right-handed points to the notion that Blanton will take the No. 3 or No. 4 spot, but that is not a given. The emergence of the old Pedro Martinez has given manager Charlie Manuel a new option. Pedro threw over 130 pitches on Sunday for the first time since he was a member of the Red Sox. How well he responds to it may determine his fate. If he continues to pitch the way he has (5-0 with an ERA under 4.00) Pedro will be in the postseason rotation.
That would give the Phillies two lefties, two righties and an unhappy Happ. Happ has pitched extremely well this season, to the point he may win the NL Rookie of the Year award. Happ has a 10-4 record with a team-low 2.77 ERA (Lee’s is 2.67, but that is not including his time in Cleveland). Managers like experience in the playoffs though, and Happ is likely the odd man out.
Another reason Happ may be relegated to the bullpen is the uncertainty surrounding left-handers J.C. Romero and Scott Eyre. Each has health concerns and their status for the playoffs is not certain. Jamie Moyer (who by the way has a team-high 12 wins) is not a realistic option as a left-handed specialist, so Happ may be the guy they turn to. Left-handers are hitting jus .206 against Happ making him a good choice for the spot is Eyre or Romero can’t go.
Personally, this would be my postseason rotation:
With home field advantage: Hamels, Martinez, Lee, Blanton
Without home field advantage: Hamels, Lee, Martinez, Blanton
My reasoning is simple: Pedro needs to pitch at home. He feeds off the crowd and they feed off him. Adrenalin is what fuels Pedro these days and pitching in front of a sold-out and raucous Citizens Bank Park will give him his best chance for success. Also, in case of a seven game series, Lee would be set for Game Seven. The Phillies rotation without home field advantage has the plus of having aces Hamels and Lee go back-to-back, but does not have the right-left, right-left flow that managers love to send out.
The job of figuring out the rotation over the next couple of weeks belongs to Manuel and pitching coach Rich Dubee. In the meantime, it sure is fun to guess.
How would you set up a Phillies rotation with so many options?
MVP Cole Hamels takes back seat to Cliff Lee
Phillies fans may never forget the playoff and World Series performances put together by Cole Hamels last postseason.
In five starts Hamels went 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA. The Phillies won both of Hamels starts in the Fall Classic, earning the young left-hander the World Series MVP award.
However, even with that data on his resume, there is little arguing that Hamels should not get the ball if – and when – the Phillies 2009 postseason begins.
The reason is simple: Cliff Lee.
Since arriving in Philadelphia by way of trade last month, Lee has been the definition of a staff ace. He as gone 4-0 with a minuscule 0.83 ERA, with his best performance coming Wednesday night when he hurled a complete game, two hit, seven strikeout performance.
Lee as a No. 1 also has an extra bonus – he is not afraid to pitch on three days rest. Lee has done it in the past and almost certainly would do it again if the situation called for it. Hamels has been reluctant to change his pitching schedule in the past, something that has irked Phillies fans (well at least it did before he helped the city finally see a major title).
With Lee and Hamels planted as the top two pitchers in the postseason staff and Joe Blanton (a right hander) almost certain to take the No. 3 spot, the only battle that remains is the fight for No. 4.
On paper, the front-runner is J.A. Happ, who prior to the arrival of Lee, was the Phillies top pitcher. However, as it was discussed on Daily News Live on Wednesday, managers are reluctant to start young pitchers in the postseason. The other candidates to fill the final starting job are Jamie Moyer and Pedro Martinez. The organization has already yanked Moyer from the rotation so it seems highly unlikely they would use him there in the playoffs.
The Phillies brought in Pedro with hopes of him finding his old form and becoming a bit of an “X” factor in the playoffs.
The next month will determine how much, if any, time Pedro sees in the rotation came October.
Barring Pedro finding a gear he hasn’t shown since 2005, when he won 15 games with the Mets, the edge has to go to Happ. Young or not, Happ has five wins this season and an outstanding 2.66 ERA. He has earned his shot.
Of course, in the ever-fickle game of baseball, all of this could change over the next month. Injuries and performances could change the pecking order. For now, the Phils look to have a solid postseason rotation.
It’s a good sign when the reigning World Series MVP can’t even be considered your ace.
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