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Kendrick Getting Difficult To Root For

September 6th, 2010 by Johnny G | No Comments | Filed in Baseball, General, Phillies

Kendrick has given up 71 hits in his last 10 starts.

How far has Kyle Kendrick fallen? Well, lets take a look back. Going into this Spring Training, Kendrick was the hot story. The young sinkerballer was supposed to be mastering his craft while mimicking one of the best pitchers in baseball, Roy Halladay. Kendrick pitched great in the Spring, leading most Phillies fans to call for him to be awarded the final spot in the rotation (not me ). So much was being made about Kendrick’s new found work ethic and how Kyle was trying to beat Halladay to the Spring Training complex every morning by 5 AM. After this fairy tale Spring Training, Kendrick pitched effectively at times during the first several months of the regular season and at times, he was lit up like the Kyle Kendrick we all knew too well. Through the ups and downs, his numbers remained very solid for a pitcher in the 5th spot of a rotation though, which was aided by a tremendous amount of run support by the Phillies offense. Now, as the season begins to wind down, the run support has come back to earth, and the Phillies find themselves right in the middle of a pennant and Wild Card race with the Braves and Giants, Kendrick has dissapeared. In his last six starts, Kendrick has an ERA of 7.04 while allowing a mind blowing 46 hits in 30.2 innings.

All of Kendrick’s struggles came to the forefront on Sunday in what seemed like the perfect storm. Kendrick, apparently completely oblivious to any in-game baseball strategy whatsoever, claimed he was “unaware” of the plan to pitch around Prince Fielder with first base open and right-handed hitter and double play threat, Casey Mcegehee on deck. Carlos Ruiz was set up 6 inches off of the outside corner for the first pitch to Fielder, what should have been an obvious sign to Kendrick that he should not challenge Fielder in this spot. Kendrick grooved a cutter that could have easily been mistaken for a pitch in one of the annual homerun derbies. The ball from Fielder landed in the second deck of Citizens Bank Park and put the Phillies in a 3-0 hole before they could even come to bat.

After the game Kyle dug a deeper grave by saying, “It’s out of my control,” “Yeah, I’ve been pitching bad. But I pitched well earlier in the season.” When asked about his status in the rotation.

Excuse me? It’s out of your control? You pitched well earlier in the season? What?!

Correct me if I’m wrong but it appears to me Kendrick is the one who actually toes the rubber every fifth day and throws the ball to homeplate. It also appears to me that if Kendrick performed to the most basic levels of expectations for a big league pitcher, his rotation spot would not be up for grabs to anyone who has four working limbs. On top of all this, Kendrick appears to want a reprieve because he wasn’t completely awful in May and June. This is a kid who everyone dubbed as “mentally tough” for his ability to work out of jams with runners on in his first season with the club. Right now, he sounds like an absolute loser. This all comes a day before rookie Vance Worley will make his first start of the year. If he pitches well, his name will most likely be penciled into Kendrick’s spot in the rotation. After a spring training full of early wake up calls trying to beat Doc to the ballpark, maybe Kyle should have slept in.

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Phillies vs. Marlins- Series Preview

September 5th, 2010 by Johnny G | No Comments | Filed in Baseball, General, Phillies

Since coming to the Phillies, Oswalt has a 1.89 ERA

Pitching Probables:
Vance Worley (0-0 0.00 ERA) vs.Adalberto Mendez (Making Debut)
Roy Oswalt (4-1 1.89 ERA) vs. Anibal Sanchez (11-8 3.14 ERA)
Joe Blanton (6-6 5.25 ERA) vs. Chris Volstad (9-9 4.82 ERA)
Cole Hamels (9-10 3.18 ERA) vs. Andrew Miller (1-0 3.60 ERA) 

After the Phillies took two of three from the Brewers, they now welcome the  Florida Marlins into town for a four game set. In game one of the Labor Day double header, two rookies will take the hill for both squads. Worley was pulled from his start in the minor leagues after the first inning, essentially signaling that he will get the call for game one. Mendez will be making his MLB debut after putting up a record of 5-4 with a 4.18 ERA in just 9 starts. 

In game two of the doubleheader will be the best pitching match up of this series. Roy Oswalt will take on Anibal Sancez. Oswalt has been nothing short of phenomenal since being acquired from the Astros, as shown by his microscopic ERA with the Phillies. In his last start, Oswalt went 6.1 scoreless innings in a victory over the Dodgers. Sanchez, who threw a no-hitter several years ago has had a very good season thus far. Since the All-Star break, Sanchez is 4-2 with a 2.21 ERA. He features a nice Fastball, Curveball combination and when he is locating, is very tough to deal with. 

Even though two rookies are going in game one, Game three of this series could prove to be the worst pitching match up. Joe Blanton will go for the Phillies coming off an outing that saw him give up six runs on 10 hits and 2 walks. Blanton also gave up three long balls in that outing. Blanton has to keep the ball down and out of the middle of the plate to be succesful. Chris Volstad is making his first start since the bean-ball incident with Nyjer Morgan of the Washington Nationals. Volstad threw at Morgan twice in the same game in a lopsided affair. The first time was due to Morgan running over the Marlins’ catcher Brendan Hayes, dislocated his shoulder. When Morgan reached base, he stole second and third in a 10 run game. Volstad took offense and threw at Morgan in his next at bat. Morgan charged the mound and all hell broke loose. As far as pitching is concerned, Volstad has won three straight decisions and four of his last five. 

In the final game of this series, Cole Hamels will take on another young left-hander, Andrew Miller. Hamels has been absolutely phenomenal this year and it is an absolute crime that he is sitting one game below .500. Hamels has a 2.00 ERA in his eleven starts in addition to an 18 inning scoreless streak that dates back to August 24th. Andrew Miller is a talented young pitcher who has made two starts on the year. In his last outing, Miller threw 5 innings, giving up one run against the Atlanta Braves. Miller tends to struggle with his command at times but he has very good stuff. He will be a tough match-up for guys like Howard, Utley, and Ibanez. 

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Two Out Of Three Aint Bad

September 5th, 2010 by Christian | 2 Comments | Filed in Baseball, General, Phillies

The Glass Is Half Full

The Phillies dropped the final game of their three game series against Milwaukee today 6-2, after winning the first two games.

Kyle Kendrick had a poor outing, giving up five runs on seven hits through four innings.

The bullpen gave the Phillies a chance to win, however, shutting the Brewers down over the next four innings.  Herndon, Bastardo, Durbin and Mathieson each pitched a scoreless inning, before Jose Contreras gave up a run in the ninth..

The Phillies offense couldn’t capitalize though, not scoring a run after the second inning.

At this juncture of the recap, I could choose to focus on an inconsistent offense that made Randy Wolf look good.

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Get to Know Your (Probable) Monday Starter

September 4th, 2010 by OD20 | 4 Comments | Filed in General

Our Future No. 5?

At the time I am writing this article the Phillies have yet to officially name a Monday starter.  Based on minor league performance, the fact that the Phillies pulled him after just one inning in his start on Friday night, and my telepathic messages I’ve been sending the front office, it appears that Vance Worley will be starting one of the two games on Monday.

Since he could be pitching a game that directly influences both the division and wild card races in the next few days, why don’t we take a few minutes and get to know Vance Worley.

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In case you missed it, Worley was the spectacled young man who mowed the Rockies down 1-2-3 on July 24th completing a 10-2 shellacking of Ubaldo Jimenez and the Rocks.  He threw just the 9th inning that day and showed some impressive stuff.  Before we get into what pitches he features, lets take a look at how he got to his big league debut and what he has done since.

Worley was drafted twice by the Phillies.  He was drafted the first time in the 20th round as a prep pitcher from Sacramento, California in 2005, and then again in 2008 as a 3rd rounder following his junior season at Long Beach State.  Worley’s college career was largely viewed as a disappointment.   He was a highly regarded high school pitcher who slipped to the 20th round only because he was widely viewed as an impossible sign (which proved to be correct).  The Phillies saw enough development from Worley, despite mediocre numbers, to make him a 3rd rounder the second time around.

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Phillies Within 1

September 4th, 2010 by OD20 | No Comments | Filed in General

Dominant Again

The NL East race just got interesting.  The Phillies moved to within one game of the Atlanta Braves behind an offense that stumbled and a pitching staff that dominated last night.

Cole Hamels lead the Phillies to their fourth straight victory and 7th win in the last 8 games.   Hamels continued a dominant run that began back at the start of May, going 7 strong innings, allowing just three hits, and striking out 7.

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The pen picked up where Hamels left off, with Jose Contreras and Ryan Madson combining to retire all six batters they faced, with three of the six outs coming via the strike out.  For Ryan Madson, it was his first save since April.

As dominant as the pitching was, the offense was equally inept.  The Phillies managed just 4 hits six total base runners.  The lone run came in the second inning.  Brewer’s leftfielder Ryan Braun and centerfielder Lorenzo Cain failed to communicate and allowed Shane Victorino’s routine fly ball to fall between them.  Victorino’s double was followed by a ground ball from Raul Ibanez that allowed Victorino to move to third with one out.  Victorino scored on a groundball by Carlos Ruiz to provide the only offense of the night.

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Q&A With Johnny G

September 2nd, 2010 by Johnny G | 46 Comments | Filed in General

Welcome to the 4th edition of the weekly Q & A sessions here at Talksportsphilly.com. This will be the same drill as last week. You can start submitting your questions at any time and all questions will be answered from 12pm-1pm on Friday. Thanks for submitting your questions!

P.S. For any information on myself, or any of the other tremendous writers on the site, please visit the Author’s Page at the top of the page.

Here’s the link for last week’s Q&A: http://talksportsphilly.com/?p=2183

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Fewer Headlines In Store This Off Season

September 2nd, 2010 by OD20 | 5 Comments | Filed in Baseball, General, Phillies

Another Addition of This Size? Not Likely...

Buckle up folks… this is a long one.  This is my passion.  I apologize for the length

I am not looking past this stretch run, or getting ahead of myself, or ignoring all the events currently taking place (good and bad) with this current Phillies team.  I am, however, completely enamored by the postseason process, the payroll, and the future of this club.

As a fan, one of my favorite topics is the process of building for long term success.  I am not a “win it all this year at all costs” believer. I don’t think that you should rape and pillage your farm system for veteran rentals.  What the brewers did with CC Sabathia a few years back was ballsy, but ultimately reckless and maybe even stupid (in my opinion).

What I see with the Phillies is a team that can make a run in 2010, and also a team that could compete at this level for the next 2-3 years.  Could there be set backs that lessen their opportunity to win or the emergence of young players that extend the window?  Absolutely, both scenarios could happen.  The current roster is full of 30+ players, and the minor league system is full of high end pitching and a few elite position players.  Long term success requires some lucky breaks as well as good planning and execution by the front office.

With all that said, here is a look at who is coming back, who is leaving, and what decisions the front office will be faced with this offseason.

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