What’s Wrong With Our Bullpen

May 13th, 2013 by AmyMac | No Comments | Filed in Baseball, General, Phillies
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¿Por qué sigues aquí, Durbin?

¿Por qué sigues aquí, Durbin?

By Amy McGinnis

No, I didn’t forget a question mark in the title.  I’m not asking what’s wrong with our bullpen; I’m going to tell you.

This past October, bullpen coach Mick Billmeyer was moved to the position of “Catching Coach,” which is, I’m pretty sure, the most ridiculous job within the Phillies organization.  Rod Nichols, a minor league coach, was promoted to bullpen coach in Philadelphia.  It’s been seven months, and I’d say there’s an outstanding chance that Jonathan Papelbon is going to start demanding a 58% raise every 58 days if he continues to be the only reliever showing up.   If we can’t get rid of Charlie (despite my wishes on pennies in every fountain in the tri-state area), maybe we could at least replace Nichols.

Let’s take a look at our underwhelming bullpen, and I’d like to note that these guys currently look better on paper than they do in actual performance:

Righties.  Mike Adams, our 8th inning guy, announced that he’s having back spasms.  This season, he’s had fifteen strikeouts in nineteen innings pitched, and he has a 3.00 ERA.  Let’s just hope that it’s not the chronic Roy Oswalt  ”it hurts when I’m sitting, standing, walking, pitching, or sleeping” brand of back pain.  Phillippe Aumont, with a 1-3 record thus far in 2013, has pitched 11.0 innings and he currently has a 2.45 ERA.  Justin De Fratus, who was just called back up to the bigs, has a win under his belt and a 0.00 ERA … after having pitched .1 inning.  The ERA looks great, but it’s after having faced just one batter (whom he struck out).   Chad Durbin, whose DFA last season led to a party at my house, has pitched 11.2 innings in 2013.  His ERA is 6.17, and I’m thinking that he probably justifies that to his friends and family by reminding them that it’s better than Roy Halladay’s.  With Aumont and De Fratus for long relief, Adams for the 8th inning, and Papelbon to close, I’d say that Chad Durbin is unnecessary.  I’d be glad to send him a one-way bus ticket.  Jonathan Papelbon, with seven saves in as many opportunities, has pitched 15.2 innings and has an ERA of 1.15.  I hope that we see this version of Paps all season, and that his evil twin stays in hiding.

Lefties.  Raul Valdes, after having pitched eighteen innings this season, has a 7.00 ERA.  Jeremy Horst has pitched 15.1 innings, and his ERA isn’t much better (it’s 5.51 for those of you keeping track).  Antonio Bastardo, despite his performance in Saturday’s game, has been pulling his weight, as he’s pretty accustomed to being the only competent LHP in the bullpen.  In 12.1 innings pitched, he has struck out eleven; his ERA is currently 2.19.

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The NL East Poll

May 7th, 2013 by Leo | No Comments | Filed in Baseball, Phillies, Polls
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NLeast

Who will win?

Well, as a new baseball season is underway TalkSportsPhilly asks the fans who will win the NL East in 2013?

Who will win the NL East in 2013?
Washington Nationals
Atlanta Braves
Philadelphia Phillies
New York Mets
Miami Marlins
View Result

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Halladay Hiding Injury?

May 1st, 2013 by Mike H. | No Comments | Filed in Baseball, General, Phillies
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After yet another batting practice session, Roy Halladay is looking less and less like “Doc” and more like a patient. Halladay’s ERA is dangerously close to 7.00, and it’s becoming clear to me what the problem is. Halladay is injured. In fact, it’s my belief that Halladay has a shoulder injury. In my experience watching baseball, pitchers show obvious signs as to how they are feeling. A pitcher whose average velocity is significantly lower than normal is usually hampered by an elbow injury. A pitcher who is having control issues is generally suffering from a shoulder problem. Some skeptics will say that Halladay is striking out six per start and nearly a K/9 of 9, but let’s dig deeper for a second. As recent as 2011, Halladay averaged between 70-80% of his pitches to be strikes in the zone or balls swung at out of the zone. This year that number has dropped significantly as his strike rate is closer to 50-60%.

Hopefully, Halladay can beat this issue and spend as little time on the disabled list as possible. If not, no words will be truer than those of Aaron Eckhart in “The Dark Knight”:

“You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”

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The Curse of the Phillies BIG Contracts and Renewals

April 28th, 2013 by Emily Phung | No Comments | Filed in Baseball, General, Phillies
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by Emily Phung

I have always been an avid Philadelphia sports fan, but my frustration began in 2000 when I could not understand why the Philly teams were not winning any games especially the Phillies. That’s when I learned about the curse of Billy Penn. The gist of the story is that when Liberty Place was built in ’87, no Philly sports team won a championship from that point forward. The theory was that the losses were associated with the William Penn statue (which is affixed on top of City Hall). The statue was no longer the tallest object in the Philly skyline. In spring 2007, I decided to take matters into my own hands (what true sports fan wouldn’t?) and try to reverse the curse by setting up an incense-filled shrine filled with all my Philly sports bobbleheads, figurines, jerseys, and autographed pictures to rid of the bad demons that this curse held. That year, the Phils won the NL East after a 14 year draught! I was over joyous so I continued burning incense and building a Philly themed sports shrine the next few years. Coincidentally, for the following 4 years, the Phils continued to clinch the NL East division with one World Series win. I honestly think that the William Penn statue atop the Comcast Center did not reverse the curse, but I did (so I may be a bit biased). 2012 was a busy year personally so I never had the opportunity to hold this annual ritual. To my dismay, the Phils did not continue their winning streak. However, one thing is certain since 2012; the Phillies players have been struggling individually after renewal or extension of a bigger contract. Is the Curse of Billy Penn back?

I honestly think it is back and behind that curse is Rubén Amaro, the general manager responsible for those Phillies contracts. Bold statement you say, well let’s break down the circumstantial evidence in regards to the curse of the Big Phillies contract (aka version of the Curse of Billy Penn). First up is Ryan Howard, the Phillies home run king. 2004 he entered into the Philadelphia scene as a young promising player. He certainly was one of the best rookies that came into the Philly scene. After ’04, Howard began to be on ‘fire’. He was Rookie of the Year in ’05. Then MVP in ’06, contributing to the Phillies World Series in ’08, but after ’10 it seems like downhill. Ironically, 2010 was the year that Howard signed his extension. A whopping $125 million contract was rewarded to Howard, which many claim is too much for a continuously injured-hampered athlete (Achilles heel to groin injuries). Howard is not as an effective power hitter as before and that may be due to his recovery from prior injuries. Amaro threw down a big contract down to keep him, and now he’s stuck with Howard for a while. Is Amaro a bit upset? One might think so since Howard hasn’t had a long of game time and that means Amaro is not getting his money’s worth. It’s unfortunate, but that is the truth at the end of the day. Howard is a great player all around, but that big payday may be haunting Amaro.

The most recent of all contracts is this past summer’s resigning of World Series MVP, Cole Hamels. He has a 6 year contract with an average of $24 million dollars. That is the second highest in baseball after Yankees’ Sabitha. Amaro definitely found a rewarding way to thank Hamels for posting up some great pitching stats during the World Series playoff games. After Hamels signed on for a few more seasons, terrible pitching started to hinder him resulting in many surrendered runs and major game losses. Can Hamels dig himself out of this pitching deficit? I believe so, because it is still early in the season. Hamels is young and still has time to rebound back to his recognizable pitching self.

Cliff Lee was the hottest pitcher at the end of baseball season 2010. The Rangers and Yankees made lucrative contract offers to tempt Cliff to join on board. However, Cliff was ‘PHaith’ful to the Phillies nation, and came back to in December ’12 with a $120 million contract thanks to Amaro. After signing his contract, Lee began swallowing his pride a little bit since he was not posting up the results as prior years. Eventually, Lee got back to his momentum, but one must wonder was he cursed just a bit by signing Amaro’s big contract.

After his contract extension in ’10, it has been somewhat a quick decline for Roy Halladay. Halladay, known as the overachieving double Cy Young winner and pitcher of the perfect game in ‘10, is not pitching like he used due to a shoulder ridden pain that occurred last year. He used to throw ‘fastballs’ and now can barely pitch faster than 90 mph. Roy even claims to be tired and worn out and admits that his strength is not where it used to be. Thankfully, other teammates such as Ruiz has been helping Halladay make some great defensive plays off the pitching mound. Halladay’s age may be showing, and Amaro has to make a decision if to keep Halladay after this season or it’s time to let him go.

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“The View from the Philly Pressbox” – Cardinals Series 6 Recap

April 26th, 2013 by Philly Pressbox | No Comments | Filed in General, Phillies
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Erik Kratz

Cardinals Phils Series

 

In the sixth of our season long series, “The View from the Philly Pressbox” takes a look at the first 4 game series of the season against the St Louis Cardinals. The Phils were lined up with Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Kyle Kendrick to face Adam Wainwright, Jaime Garcia, Lance Lynn and Jake Westbrook. Overall these are good matchups with what should’ve been a slight advantage to the Phillies. The Phils did hit the ball in the series but were still only able to manage a 2-2 split.

Hamels and Wainwright squared off in the opener and didn’t disappoint. Both aces pitched 7 innings allowing 3 runs each. Hamels allowed 5 hits, 2 walks with 8 k’s while Wainwright allowed 9 hits, 0 walks and 4k’s. The Phillies added 4 more hits off Cardinal relievers, for a total of 13 hits in the game but Mike Adams failed to hold the Cards in the 8th and picked up the lose, 4-3. For the Phils Ryan Howard had 3 hits while Chase Utley, Freddie Galvis and Eric Kratz added 2 each. Galvis started the game in left field and played pretty well. Yadier Molina had 3 hits and 2 RBI’s while Carlos Beltran added 2 hits including a home run to lead the Cards.

The Phils bounced back in Game 2 by scoring 5 runs in the 1st inning, 1 in the 2nd and 2 more in the 3rd to allow Halladay a nice cushion to cruise. Doc went 7 innings before the game was called due to rain. He allowed jus 2 hits, both solo homers to Beltran again and Matt Holliday. He walked 2 and struck out 6. It was not Docs most efficient outing throwing 59 strikes and 50 balls but either way he only gave up 2 hits and 2 runs. At the plate the 10 hit attack was led by catcher Humberto Quintero with 2 hits and 2 RBI’s, Jimmy Rollins, John Mayberry and Ben Revere all had 2 hits as well. Ryan Howard was given the night off and replaced at 1st base by Kevin Frandsen. This was a good bounce back win with Lee coming up in Game 3.

Game 3 looked like a game from last week. The Phils only managed 3 hits, 3 walks and struck out 10 more times off of Cardinal pitching while being shut out 5-0. Lee gave up a 4 spot in the 3rd and that’s all it took. Beltran homered for the 3rd straight game. No bats in this one!!

In Game 4 of the series the Phils got another nice outing from Kendrick. It’s safe to say he’s been the most consistent pitcher on the staff to date. When Kendrick left the game after 6 innings of 8 hit, 2 run baseball the score was 2-2. The Phils quickly fell behind in the top of the 7th when an Utley error led to the Cards lead off of Antonio Bastardo and Chad Durbin. The Phils bounced right back to tie it in the bottom of the 7th then added 4 more in the bottom of the 8th. The big blow came off the bat of Kratz, who blasted a 3 run homer off of reliever Mitchell Boggs giving the Phils a well deserved 7-3 victory. Kratz homer also allowed Mike Adams to pick up the win. Jonathan Papelbon pitched the 9th but was not credited with a save due to the 4 run lead. Kratz led the offense with 2 hits and 3 RBI’s, Rollins added 3 hits and Utley added 2. For the first time in the series Carlos Beltran did not hit a home run.

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“The View from the Philly Pressbox” – Reds Series 5 Recap

April 25th, 2013 by Philly Pressbox | No Comments | Filed in General, Phillies
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Kyle Kenrick

In the fifth of our season long series, “The View from the Philly Pressbox” takes a look at the Cincinnati Reds series. The Reds came in to the series on a 5 game losing streak while the Phillies came out of the Marlins series with cold bats. The cold bats continued and the Phils were swept in Cincinnati, 4-2, 1-0 and 11-2.

In the opener, Cliff Lee threw well for 7 innings, allowing 5 hits, 2 runs, walked 1 and struck out 4. Lee allowed the 2 runs in the bottom of the 7th of a scoreless game and was pitch hit for in the top of the 8th by Chase Utley who responded with a game tying home run. Charlie Manuel went with Jeremy Horst in the 8th and that backfired as Horst allowed 3 hits, 2 runs and a walk while only retiring 1 batter. By the time Michael Adams finished up the Phils were behind 4-2 and the game was over. On the offensive side the Phils had no answers for Branson Arroyo and Aroldis Chapman who combined to allow just 5 hits to the Phils.

In Game 2 of the series Kyle Kendrick threw a gem for 7 innings, allowing 2 hits, 0 runs, 2 walks and 4 k’s and again the Phils couldn’t score any runs or get any hits. Homer Bailey matched Kendrick allowing just 2 hits through 8 innings of work. This time it was Phillippe Aumont that faltered in the bottom of the 9th, allowing 2 hits, a walk, an error by Ben Revere, and the Phils lost 1-0 in the suspended game that was finished quickly on Wednesday prior to the regularly scheduled game.

Game 3 started out bad for John Lannan and ended up worse. Lannan, who has pitched well, was rocked for 8 hits and 6 runs in just 1.2 innings of work. Following the game he was placed on the disabled list. Raul Valdez came on as the long reliever and things just got worse. The Phils were down 11-0 after 5 innings and went on to lose 11-2.

Again, we go back to the drawing board:

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No Prescription Required

April 24th, 2013 by Mike H. | No Comments | Filed in Baseball, General, Phillies
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What Phillies team with show up?

by Michael Haftman

Through Tuesday night, the Phillies offense has been bipolar. On any given night, the Phillies lineup can make the opposing pitcher look like Nolan Ryan or Chad Durbin. The Phillies have especially putrid at the catcher position, ranking 13th out of 15 in batting average in the NL and dead last in on base percentage. Hopefully, that will all change come Sunday. Barring any delayed games, Carlos Ruiz will make his season debut after serving his 25-game suspension for his non-prescription use of adderol. Will Ruiz’ production be remotely close to 2012? Only time will tell, but for the love of God, someone at least Chooch a prescription for it if he needs it.

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