Well, as a new baseball season is underway TalkSportsPhilly asks the fans who will win the NL East in 2013?
Tags: 2013, Baseball, Braves, marlins, Mets, Nationals, nl east, Phillies, Polls
By Amy McGinnis
While at the Phillies – Mets game this past Monday night, I turned to my friend and said, “If someone had told me two years ago that Halladay would look like this in 2013 I would have called him a liar and punched him in the face.” Phils fans everywhere are sort of scratching their heads and wondering, “What’s going on with Doc?”
Let’s look at the not-so-great (but painfully obvious) things first. Halladay’s velocity has decreased, his command looks sloppy, he’s 0-2 for the season, his 2013 ERA is 14.73 thus far, and he has let up 12 runs in just 7.1 innings pitched. This might seem par for the course with an almost-36-year-old pitcher in his 16th season in the bigs. He’s not getting any younger, after all. While this all sounds (and looks) discouraging, it doesn’t need to mean that it’s the end for Doc.
Yes, Halladay’s velocity is down. Years ago, Doc could throw upwards of 95 mph; in the past several seasons, his fastball has been in the 90-92 mph range. Speed is only one part of the equation, though. It’s easy to focus on it, because it’s quantitative and we baseball nerds love our data, but there are intangible factors that go into a pitcher’s performance. When it comes to Roy Halladay, of course, it’s his discipline. He has conditioned himself to be so focused that he will work out, run, and throw bullpen sessions in the snow if necessary. He self-regulates himself so well that in the past few seasons, it’s hard to recall many times that Charlie Manuel visited him in the mound and didn’t have Roy send him back to the dugout alone. Halladay has always trusted himself to know his own body, and that’s why I think that he will stay in Philadelphia’s rotation until he pulls himself out of it.
Tags: Amy McGinnis, Braves, Charlie Manuel, Cole Hamels, Mets, Phillies, Roy Halladay
With the Phillies having everyone scratching their heads this year, I began to wonder who would win the Division this year? Hmmm, there a several teams I could see doing it and I haven’t excluded the Phillies yet either. So I thought I would ask the Philly Sports Fan who they thought would win the NL East??
Tags: Braves, Christopher Leomporra, marlins, Mets, Nationals, nl east, Phillies, TSP
This story is about as strange as it gets. Jon Niese, starting pitcher for the New York Mets, got a nose job last October to apparently relieve some breathing issues he was having. Never mind that his nose looks like Passyunk Avenue, this is strictly for breathing purposes. Niese apparently has a deviated septum and the issues with his nose were making it difficult for him to work out.
The strange part of the story is, Carlos Beltran, former teammate of Niese, has agreed to foot the bill for the procedure. While Beltran is throwing around money for plastic surgery for others, you’d think he’d stop in and get that mammoth mole removed from the side of his face. I wouldn’t be surprised if that thing is breathing on it’s own. Picture after the jump:
Tags: Carlos Beltran, Carlos Beltran Nose Job, Johnny G, Johnny G vs Mike Missanelli, Jon Niese, leo, Mets, Philly news, Philly Sports, Philly Sports News, TalkSportsPhilly, TSP
I took each position in the division and gave each Opening Day starter a number one to five, one being the best, five being the worst. The lower the team’s overall number, the “better” the team. Keep in mind, these are my personal rankings for each position. Discussion is suggested.
These types of rankings are never reliable forms of predicting the standings at the end of the year, but they do give you an interesting look at how the roster of a team was built. Even with these rankings, I still think the Nationals will give the Phillies a good run for 3rd Place this upcoming 2012 season.
Let us know where you disagree on the rankings.
Tags: Brad Lidge, Braves, Carlos Ruiz, Charlie Manuel, Chase Utley, Dan Uggla, Freddie Freemn, Fredi Gonzalez, Jayson Werth, marlins, Mets, Nationals, NL East Rankings, Stephen Strasburg, Terry Collins
In article written by Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, he relays a trade that a scout had mentioned. Michael Young to the New York Mets for Francisco Rodriguez. The Mets could look to upgrade at second base and are very willing to deal Rodriguez. The Rangers could be intrigued with Rodriguez because it could allow them to convert their current closer, Neftali Feliz, to the rotation. If the Rangers agreed in principle to a deal like that, don’t be surprised if Mets GM Sandy Alderson pull the trigger as fast as he can. The Mets are not currently on Young’s list of teams he’d be willing to accept a trade to, but the window is closing in on Texas as Young’s 10 and 5 rights will kick in next month, meaning that Young would have to approve any trade. Just something to keep your eye on.
Tags: Mets, Michael Young, Phillies, Rangers, trade rumor