Phillies end season with a win, bring on the Rockies

Sunday October 4, 2009 • Leave a Comment 

The Phillies took the final game of the season into extra innings.  After a rather lethargic past couple games after clinching the NL East for the third straight season, it seemed the Phillies didn’t want this season to end. 

This time, the Phillies scored late, in the bottom of the eighth, to send the game into extra innings. I was planning on an article describing the various Phillie relievers and their strengths and weaknesses to determine who would be best served to close during the post season, but today’s game provided a snap shot of the bull pen in a single game as Happ left after the second inning, and just about every available Phillie pitcher appeared in subsequent innings.  8 total pitchers made an appearance in today’s game.

With the actual result of the game meaning little, now that home field advantage for the playoffs has been established, most the Phillies starters rode the bench.   Victorino, Ibanez and Feliz also had pinch hit appearances.  Werth started and was denied a chance at his 100th RBI when the Marlins intentionally walked him in the bottom of the 10th inning. 

The only thing really at stake was bettering last season’s record by a game.  The Phillies had a good chance to secure home field advantage with their series against Florida but failed to do so.  This may be for the better as they had the best record in MLB on the road this year.  Hoover had an RBI single to bring home John Mayberry in the bottom of the tenth and make it a 93 win season. 

The Phillies finished with 6 of the top fifteen players in runs scored.  with 6 players scoring 93 runs or more.  Shane Victorino finished 1st in the league in triples with 13, 8th in the league in hits and 9th in doubles; Rollins was 4th in doubles.   The Phillies finished with 4 of the top 15 players in homeruns and slugging percentage.  Ryan Howard finished as the league leader in RBI’s after sitting the final game.

 Next up, the Colorado Rockies in the first round of the NL playoffs, perhaps the best matchup for these Phillies.  My hope is the Cardinals and Dodgers wear each other down while the Phillies dispatch the Rockies with their first round home field advantage as division winner, then they can deal with playing an away series for the conference championship series.  I predict this will be against the Dodgers, I just don’t think the Cardinals are a balanced enough team to win in the post season.   First things first, we have to take care of Colorado, and figure out our issues in the bullpen.  I trust Charlie Manuel and the coaching staff to be hard at work on this as they attempt to become the first NL team to repeat as World Series Champions in nearly 40 years.



Post Party Blues

Friday October 2, 2009 • 3 Comments 

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 !



Phillies going back to the show

Thursday October 1, 2009 • 2 Comments 

The Phillies left no doubt about it tonight as they clinched their third straight division title for the second time in franchise history.

They set various benchmarks, had virtually every starter contribute to the 10-3 score, in a game featuring a rejuvenated Cy Young award winner, an early appearance by a middle reliever who pitched 3 scoreless innings and a beleaguered closer who came in and got the final out in a non save situation.  This team appears to be ready for the post season.

The Phillies played small ball, long ball, and all ball as they pounded a home run, two triples and three doubles.  They scored in 4 of their 5 final at bats to put this one away and leave no chance for a late inning collapse preventing them from winning the National Laegue eastern division.  They still have a shot at home field advantage so there is still some incentive to win their final four games.  Unlike last year, the Phillies established themselves early leading the division every day since May 30th.

Rollins and Victorino both scored their 100th run of the season, joining Howard and Utley.  This marks the first time the Phillies have had 4 100 run scorers since 1932.  Howard drove in his 138th run, to maintain a share of the league lead in that category. Victorino hit his 13th triple to lead the league in that category.   Rollins hit his 43th double good for third in the league.   Ibanez hit his 34th homerun, a personal career high for him. The Phillies become only the third club in history to have 4 players score 100 runs and 4 players hit 30 home runs in the same season.

The Phillies raised their record to 92-66 to guarantee at least an equal record to their championship season.   Manuel may rest some starters, but if the Dodgers lose another game, the Phillies can get home field advantage with best National League record.  The Phillies joined the Pirates and Braves as the only two other teams to win three NL titles in a row two times or more.  The Braves of course won 14 in a row before the Phillies rose to dominance in the NL east.  

The final week of the season will be interesting.  The three division winners are set, in the Phillies, Cardinals, and Dodgers, and the Rockies are all but a lock to be the wild card seeing as the Braves lost to Florida after the Phillies had eliminated them.  The question is who will play whom ? As it stands right now, the Rockies and Cardinals are tied with 90 wins, the Phillies have 92 and the Dodgers 93, but the Phillies have a game in hand on LA with an equal number of losses, so if they win out, they could equal or surpass the west coast club. 

The next few days will certainly be interesting as the managers work on post season matchups and lineups. 

The Phillies honored Harry Kalas, who broadcast for the team for over 40 years in the midst of their title celebration.   

Now it is time to see if we can add to the three straight division crowns, and add the NL championship and MLB championship to the trophy case.  The Phillies are no longer the league laughingstock  as perennial losers.  Those of us who have been fans for decades with the 1980 whiz kids as the only bragging point can now point to the current team and say with pride, ”These are OUR champion Phillies !”

 

National League East Winners 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1983, 1993, 2007, 2008, 2009

National League Champions  1915, 1950, 1980, 1983, 1993, 2008.

World Series Champions  1980, 2008, ??



If Lidge is “the guy” who was that masked man ?

Tuesday September 8, 2009 • Leave a Comment 

The Phillies came out of their slump tonight in typical Phillies fashion.  There was a moment when it seemed every batter that stepped up to the plate hit the ball out of the park.  5 solo home runs provided just enough support to Pedro for the Cy Young winner to get his fourth win this year as a Phillie.  This team needed a wakeup call.  The series in Houston was brutal, and no offense to Washingtonians, but the Phillies really did not need to lose to the MLB worst Washington Nationals.

Several writers have commented this year that the Phitens rely too much on the long ball, citing their issues hitting with men in scoring position and calling out their pitching for not being able to close or save games.  A lot has been made of the Angels with their bevy of .300 hitters.  The truth is, there are few teams in the history of the league that have been this effective a run producing machine.

I admit, there are many more dingers than drives down the middle of the ballpark, but you know what ?  Fans love the home run, so why not give them what they want ?  And it seems to be winning games the majority of this season.  Seriously though, the Phillies need to settle down and enjoy tonight’s efforts but get ready for the final push to close out the season.  They still have a good shot at getting to the World Series, but in order to win it all for the second year in a row, they need more consistency.  They need to realize every team that meets them during the post season is going to be gunning to beat the world champions,.

The other teams and managers will know the Phillies weaknesses, and I can see a scenario where teams will issue numerous intentional walks, just to get to a situation where the Phillies need the clutch two-out single or sac fly to drive in the important run.  You can’t hit a home run if the opposing manager is smart enough to not pitch to you.  That won’t bode well for their success if this team is not ready to perform under less than optimal circumstances, and beating up on the NL basement dwelling Nationals may make them feel better, but it doesn’t make them any more qualified to win the Series.

Tonight both Utley and Ibanez hit their 30th of the year, and Werth hit his 32nd.  Now there are 4 Phillies with 30+ homers and 80+ RBI’s, putting them in the top 15 players in the league.  6 Phillies rank in the top 20 with 75 or more runs scored, when you add in Rollins and Victorino .  That means over 25% of the power and production in a 16 team league is coming from this club.  So they might not hit for average, and they may not drive in base runners, but they hit and score and outperform the rest of the National League according to these numbers.  No other team has more than 3 players ranked in the top 20 in any category, let alone all three.

So here is hoping, the Phillies continue their long ball hitting ways, the pitching stays just healthy enough and the crafty manager works the talent he has to his best advantage.  The Phillies have only had one losing streak of more than 4 games this year, another important factor when you consider the 5 or 7 game series that make up the post season.  They rebound from most losses well, and just got over a brutal road trip that may have helped them as far as the law of averages goes.  They still possess the best road record in baseball and are on track to have the best overall record in the National League, so it is hard to be over critical of them at this point.  The only true question mark remaining is Lidge, who Manuel asserts is still his “go to guy” and this is key, because any hopeful champion needs a closer they can depend on.  If Lidge is put in to close the bottom of the ninth and gives up 2 or 3 runs, the offense doesn’t get the chance to come back out and smash home runs to salvage the game.  Lidge will need to be at his best for the next month if we are going to repeat as World Series champions in 2009.  Tonight he failed to earn his three outs again, fortunately Madsen came in and picked up the save.  Makes you wonder what Manuel meant when he said earlier that Lidge was still the guy, hard to be “the guy” if you cant get the job done



Phillies Beat Braves Take Two Of Three

Sunday August 30, 2009 • Leave a Comment 

Last night we found out that Cliff Lee wasn’t really Superman after all as the Braves showed up with some Kryptonite, smashing three homers off the new found Phillies ace.  Lee gave up more runs in the fifth inning than he had allowed in all five of his starts since joining the Phillies.  It was the first time in two years that he had allowed two homers in an inning and three homers in a game as the Braves battered the Phillies on their way to a 9-1 victory.

With Saturday nights debacle behind them, the Phillies sent Joe Blanton out to face the Braves and Jair Jurrjens in front of a national audience on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball broadcast.  The Braves struck first as Martin Prado took Blanton deep with one out in the first inning to give the Braves a 1-0 lead.

Jurrjens was tough as he put down the first seven Phillies in order before allowing a double to Carlos Ruiz with one out in the 3rd but Jurrjens worked out of the inning by retiring  Blanton on a groundball and Rollins on a flyball to centerfield.   The Phillies would finally get on the board in the fourth courtesy of Chase Utley’s 29th homerun which curled just inside the rightfield foul pole.  It was the first homer ever allowed by Jurrjens at Citizens Bank Park.  Only Esteban Loaiza, Chad Billingsly and Tim Redding had made at least four starts at CBP and not allowed a homer.  Chase took Jurrjens off that list and tied the score at 1-1.

The Phillies blew a big opportunity in the fifth inning as they loaded the bases with nobody out and Joe Blanton worked the count to 2-2 before hitting a liner to first baseman Adam LaRoche who easily doubled off Ruiz.  Jimmy Rollins again ended an inning, this time by grounding out to Prado as the faithful began to boo the missed opportunity.

Two innings later the Phillies were given another opportunity and this time they did not disappoint.   After Ibanez walked to lead off the seventh (his second leadoff walk of the game) Manuel had Feliz try to bunt Ibanez over to second.  Feliz laid down a great bunt which Braves third baseman Chipper Jones fielded and made a bad off balance throw that LaRoche couldn’t handle.  The error put Ibanez at third and Feliz at second for Carlos Ruiz.  Ruiz sent a flyball to deep left field that Garret Anderson got a glove on but couldn’t hold onto.  Ruiz’ second double of the game gave the Phillies a 3-1 lead.   Ruiz would be left stranded as pinch hitter Stairs struck out, Victorino lined out to right and Rollins flied out to left.  Blanton left the game allowing just 1 run on 3 hits over 7 innings while striking out 7.  Madson relieved Blanton and did not record an out and left after Matt Diaz scored on a Chipper Jones single making the score 3-2 and left Braves runners first and second with nobody out.  Scott Eyre relieved Madson and got McCann to ground into an rather unconventional second to short to third double play to erase Prado and Jones. This was another great play by Jimmy Rollins , who also  made a spectacular catch on a Diaz liner to start the game.  Rollins took Utley’s throw and alertly cut down Prado going to third.  With McCann on first, Eyre got Garret Anderson to ground out to second base.   Brad Lidge, again pitching rested, came on and worked a perfect ninth for his 27th save and second in a row since recording his 9th blown save Tuesday in Pittsburgh.

Blanton got the win to improve to 9-6 on the season while Jurrjens fell to 10-9.  This was the first time the Phillies have beaten the Braves righthander in his short career.   The Phillies will enjoy tomorrow off before hosting the Giants, who are now tied with the Colorado Rockies for the  NL Wild Card.



Are the Phillies really that far ahead of the Eagles?

Tuesday August 25, 2009 • 2 Comments 

Just four short years ago, the Eagles were considered the class of the four major sports organizations in Philadelphia. They had a way of getting rid of players at the right time and bringing in the kind of players that quickly made fans forget those who had departed.
Around the same time, the Phillies organization was driving its fans base crazy. The team always seemed to start slow and meddle slightly around .500 for much of the year. They never made the type of move that got the fans excited.
Fast forward to today and suddenly many of those same pundits who placed the Eagles so far ahead of the rest now feel that it is the Phillies organization that is miles ahead of the Eagles.
Boy how much a championship can change perceptions.
Monday night on 610 WIP, host and former Eagle Ike Reese ignited a debate about what makes the Phillies a better organization than the Eagles. There were several reasons sited by the listeners. Some said it came down the chip that seems to be on the shoulders of those in the Eagles front office, saying they come off as arrogant. Others said it was the Eagles inability to get players who perform in the clutch.

The best argument came from a listener who pointed to the Phillies ability to get a core that is entering its prime together. Indeed, Chase Utley, Shane Victorino, Ryan Howard and Cole Hamels are all on the south side of 30 (Rollins is 31) and if the Phillies can lock them all up, the franchise seems poised to be a contender for many years to come.
That said, I just don’t buy the whole concept that the Phillies are that far ahead of Eagles when it comes to the organization as a whole. To listen to the debate last night, one would think the teams were separated by a gap the size of the New York Yankees and New York islanders.
As an organization, the Eagles have had more than their fair share of success, with the notable missing piece being a Super Bowl title.
Consider the production for both teams over the last decade.
In the last 10 years, the Phillies have to their credit, two division titles (a third on the way), one trip to the NLCS and one World Series.
Over the same time-span, the Eagles have won the NFC East five times, made five trips to the NFC title game and one trip to the Super Bowl. They lost that Super Bowl to a team (the Patriots) and a quarterback (Tom Brady) who you may have heard of before.
My point is that I hardly see these teams being so far apart when it comes to running a successful organization. If the topic had been comparing the Sixers to the Phillies, Ike Reese could have went on for hours on that gap.
My guess is that the perception of there being such a big gap between the Eagles and Phillies increased greatly when the Eagles angered their fans by letting Bryan Dawkins fly off to Denver and the Phillies front office swiped Mr. sub-one ERA Cliff Lee.
Or it could be that talk radio just needs constant debate, even if it is mostly baseless.
The truth is, each organization has put together a team that has a chance to win it all.
And as fans, that is all you can ask for.



Five Reasons Why The Phillies Won’t Repeat

Wednesday August 19, 2009 • 4 Comments 

Before anyone starts sending me e-mails telling me to get off the bandwagon or comments calling for my head let me say that I really would like nothing more than to see the Phillies cruise down the stretch into the playoffs and then roll on like they did last year.   That’s what is in my heart.  Unfortunately, I have to also look at what is realistic which is what I’m doing as I write this article.

So here are the five reasons why I don’t think the Phillies will repeat as World Champions this year, beginning with number five.

5.  Jimmy Rollins Inconsistency.

Say what you want about the big three of Utley, Howard and Ibanez – Rollins makes this team go.  The Phillies record when Rollins scores a run is darn near perfect and it was no accident that when the Phillies went on their 19-3 run it came when Rollins started hitting.  As Jimmy goes, so do the Phillies.

4. Complacency

The deck is stacked hard against any team, not just the Phillies, repeating.  Before the Yankees pulled off their threepeat from 1998-2000 the last team to repeat were the Yankees in 1977-1978.  Even the great Yankees teams of the 1990’s had a couple bumps in the road getting knocked out of the playoffs in 1997 after winning the series in 1996 and then losing the World Series to the Diamondbacks in 2001.  They could’ve won 6 in a row – but they didn’t.   Nobody repeated in the 1980’s after a stretch in the 1970’s that saw the A’s (1972-1974), Reds (1975-1976) and the Yankees (1977-1978) dominate the World Series.  The Reds were really impressive in their repeat year, sweeping out the Phillies in the NLCS and then the Yankees in the World Series.

Unfortunately this isn’t the 1970’s anymore and even though free agency came into play in 1977 teams still managed to stay together for anywhere from 5-10 years back then.  That doesn’t happen anymore so the team chemistry that is needed to win year after year is interrupted by Free Agency.

3. Phillies Rely Too Much On The Long Ball

Even with the speedy Rollins and Victorino at the top of the lineup, the Phillies slug their way onto the scoreboard.   Even Jason Werth isn’t stealing as much anymore while watching his homerun and rbi numbers climb.  The Phillies are an American League style team playing in the National League, and teams with big time power like the Phillies are prone to big time slumps.  When was the last time we saw the Phillies actually manufacture a run by stealing or even bunting?  Its all about timing, and if one of those slumps comes in October then its “See Ya Later” time for the Phillies.

2. Ryan Howard’s Inability To Hit Lefties

I love the big man, and who wouldn’t given the numbers he puts up year after year? If the Phillies are going to repeat, then they need Howard to drive in runs in big situations, and you better believe that any manager out there will make sure if he gets beat by Howard it will be with a lefty on the mound.  That’s why the Dodgers went out and got George Sherrill from the Orioles.  The Rockies picked up Beimel from the Nationals.   “Ryno-Mite” is hitting .195 with a .279 on-base percentage and .314 slugging percentage against lefties this year compared to .309, .390 and .680 against righties.  He has hit just 3 homers off of left handed pitching last night and he looked over matched last night against the D-Backs Schlereth who needed just three pitches to handle the big man.

1. Brad Lidge

Isn’t it amazing what a difference a year can make? Lidge has just been awful this year.  His era is over seven and he’s blown eight saves including one last Saturday against the Braves which cost the Phillies the sweep.  Lidge simply isn’t what he was last year and doesn’t appear able to hold one run leads which you have to have in playoff series in October against the other best teams in the league.  I think Manuel is being stubborn here and really needs to examine  going to a matchup scenario for the ninth inning.   Didn’t we watch another Phillies manager named Fregosi lose a World Series because of the same kind of stubborness as he ran a tired Mitch Williams out there night after night? Even Lou Piniella, who I belive is just as old school as Manuel, saw the light with Kevin Gregg and made a switch going to Carlos Marmol.  It might not work, but don’t you at least have to give it a shot? The definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result and I think the Phillies are teetering on the edge of that with Lidge and that could very well cost them another championship.

So, there you have it.  My five reasons why the Phillies won’t repeat this year.  These aren’t the only reasons and if you have others you’d like to put out there please either comment here or e-mail me at biggreek24@comcast.net.   I’ll respond to e-mails during my next “Just A Bit Outside” podcast on Monday, August 24th.



All calls go against our boys

Monday August 10, 2009 • Leave a Comment 

Shane Victorino got ejected from center field in last night’s game by the home plate umpire for throwing up his hands at a call on a Jamie Moyer pitch after Howard got called out on low inside “strike” the inning before that looked much worse ??  How crazy is this ?  I don’t think the umpire can even see center field, he obviously can’t see the strike zone and that is inches away, as opposed to 300 feet away where Shane was in position. And then commentators take Charlie Manuel’s admission that he saw the gesture to mean that he agreed with the umpire’s call !!  It is a shame that both the player and the manager had to CYA by “agreeing” with the umpires decision when it is obvious this is just another case of dislike of the Philadelphia franchises grossly affecting the outcome of their games.

They had a veteran pitcher of 46 years of age with the game fairly well in hand and Howard at the plate with the potential to put the Phillies ahead in the late innings, and instead ended up falling apart and losing the game by 9 runs when all was said and done. You don’t think the momentum changing call had a large part to do with this ?  Have you been watching Philadelphia sports for 30 plus years as I have ?  I wish the officials in ALL leagues would finally get it through their heads that  THEY are not the people that fans tune in to see !  I would much rather watch the players compete fairly against each other with no bias or referee interference than see what the game degenerated into last night.  The last few innings were all but unwatchable, with the fans giving the impression that all Phillies fans are drunken louts with their chanting and cat calls.  I have to admit though, when the Marlins had a batter touch his shoulder while at the plate with the bases loaded and 2 outs in the following inning, it WAS hilarious when a fan behind home plate felt inclined to advise the umpire by saying “He touched his shoulder, you gotta throw him out of the game !!”  Just goes to show you, the “drunken fans” are probably more aware of the subtle nuances of the game than the officials are.

It is a sad commentary that this is the case, but WTF, the Phillies won it all last year, and now that they have acquired two Cy Young caliber pitchers to add to their staff, they are the team to beat in the National league this year as well.  The real shame is that veteran Jamie Moyer, in what may be his last season, may be bumped from the rotation if they go to five man when he has been solid as a rock with his performance in the field.  I don’t blame this loss on his efforts, and if you look at his starts this year, he could very well be 14-5 with an ERA under 4 if things had gone his way, the Phillies had given him more run support and the umpires would stop affecting the outcomes of the games he is in.

Oh well, he has a World Series ring with the Phils already and hopefully one more on the way, so I guess he will survive.  But I would rather see the old timer in there til the end of the year throwing his 80 mph slider and confusing the heck out of opposing batters like he has done throughout his career.  You have to admire a pitcher that manages 10 wins in a league when his fast ball rarely exceeds 85 mph !!  Great game, Jamie, you are STILL the man.  Go Phils !!!