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.

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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.

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Tags: Kendrick cut, Kyle =]]Kendrick stinks, kyle kendrick, Vance Worley