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Philly Pressbox Trivia – PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

In Philadelphia Phillies, Trivia on May 17, 2013 at 5:49 am

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This Phillie only played for the team for 3 seasons, during those 3 seasons he accumulated 608 hits while leading the NL in At-Bats all 3 seasons. Can you name him??

 

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

In Philadelphia Phillies on April 26, 2013 at 9:15 am

Erik Kratz

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.

On the plus side for the series:
• The Phils banged out 40 hits in the 4 game series.
• Discounting the 3rd inning by Lee the Phils got 4 solid starts.
• The bullpen allowed 1 earned run in 8 innings. Unfortunately the 1 run was also a game loser.
• Jimmy Rollins was moved back to leadoff spot and responded with a 6-18 series raising his average to .257.
• Freddy Galvis started the first 3 games of the series in LF but could only manage a 2-13 series.
• Utley went 5-15 in the series raising his average to .294.
• Ryan Howard sat out 2 games but went 4-7 raising his average to .277.
• Michael Young continues to get on base. He went 4-14 with a hit in each game. Young is hitting .333.
• Ben Revere was moved down in the lineup and responded with a 4-13 series.
• The Phils only struck 27 times in 4 games. This is improvement!

More to work on:
• Phils pitching gave up 5 home runs while the Phils only hit 1.
• The Phils aren’t scoring runs early in games. They only got 1 win from a starter, Halladay. The starters are pitching pretty well but the games are being left to the bullpen.
• The Phils were 12-37 with runners in scoring position.

Next Up:
The Pittsburgh Pirates are up next at Citizens Bank Park for a 4 game series. Jonathon Petibone will make his big league debut in Game 1. The excitement will be building for the 22 year old. Hamels, Halladay and Lee will follow. The Phils need to win 3 out of 4 from the Pirates

Looking forward:
Update: we predicted a 2-2 split against the Cardinals and that’s what we got. Here’s how we stand for the season; we predicted 2 out of 3 from the Royals, instead losing 2 out of 3. We picked the Phils to win 2 of 3 from the Mets and they did. We picked 2 out of 3 against the Marlins and they did that. We picked 1-2 against the Reds and they went 0-3. The Phils are now 8-11 going in to the 4 game series against the Pirates.
We had predicted the Phils would be 10-9 so far so 8-11 isn’t looking very good. We added they would be 16-11 or 15-12 at the end of the month, obviously with 11 losses already there’s no room for more losses.

The Fightin’s play a total of 27 games in the month of April. This includes 3 at home against the Mets, 3 in Florida, 3 in Cincinnati, 4 back home against the Cardinals, 4 more at home against the Pirates, 3 at New York and the first game of a series against the Indians in Cleveland on the last day of the month. Here’s what we see from the Philly Pressbox, 16-11 or 15-12 at the end of the month. How did we get there? 1-2 Braves, 2-1 Royals, 2-1 Mets, 2-1 Marlins, 1-2 Reds, 2-2 Cardinals, 3-1 Pirates, 2-1 Mets, 1-0 Indians. Losing an extra game to the Cardinals or Pirates wouldn’t be unreasonable. Either way 15 or 16 win

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

In Philadelphia Phillies on April 25, 2013 at 9:38 am

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:

  • The Phils managed just 13 hits in the 3 game series.
  • No Phillie had more than 1 hit in any of the games.
  • Ben Revere was 0-12 in the leadoff spot. He’s now hitting .194.
  • Jimmy Rollins was 1-11. He’s hitting .232.
  • Ryan Howard was 1-11. He’s hitting .241
  • The catchers position was 0-9.
  • Jonathan Papelbon did not get on the field in the series.
  • The Phils scored just 4 runs in the series coming off the Marlins series where they scored just 6 runs. That’s 10 runs in 6 games.
  • The Phils struck out 24 more times in the 3 games series.

The bright spots of the Reds series:

  • Lee and Kendrick both had excellent starts. They allowing just 2 runs between them which should’ve gotten 2 wins.
  • Michael Young had a hit in each game, going 3-10. His team leading average is now .346.
  • Chase Utley was 2-6 in the series. Utley was rested in Game 2, being used as a pinch hitter, and replaced in the Game 3 blowout by Kevin Frandsen.
  • Freddy Galvis hit his first home run of the season.
  • Aumont has 1-2 record but his ERA is 0.00. Both of the runs he’s allowed have led to losses and both have been unearned.
  • Antonio Bastardo has pitched in 6 games, allowing 1 hit and 0 runs, ERA 0.00.

Next Up:

The St. Louis Cardinals back at Citizens Bank Park. The Phils are lined up to throw Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Kyle Kendrick. If the bats can come alive this could be an interesting series. If not, the Phils will fall deeper in to the hole.

Looking forward:

Update: No one expected the Phils to be swept in this series, or ever, with the starting rotation they have, but it happened. Our 1-2 prediction became 0-3. So here’s how we stand for the season; we predicted 2 out of 3 from the Royals, instead losing 2 out of 3. We picked the Phils to win 2 of 3 from the Mets and they did. We picked 2 out of 3 against the Marlins and they did that. The Phils are now 6-9 going in to another tough 4 game series against the Cardinals. We’re hoping for a split at worst.

We had predicted the Phils would be 8-7 so far so 6-9 isn’t looking very good.

The Fightin’s play a total of 27 games in the month of April. This includes 3 at home against the Mets, 3 in Florida, 3 in Cincinnati, 4 back home against the Cardinals, 4 more at home against the Pirates, 3 at New York and the first game of a series against the Indians in Cleveland on the last day of the month. Here’s what we see from the Philly Pressbox, 16-11 or 15-12 at the end of the month. How did we get there? 1-2 Braves, 2-1 Royals, 2-1 Mets, 2-1 Marlins, 1-2 Reds, 2-2 Cardinals, 3-1 Pirates, 2-1 Mets, 1-0 Indians. Losing an extra game to the Cardinals or Pirates wouldn’t be unreasonable. Either way 15 or 16 wins.

Again we would like to thank our sponsor. We ask that you click on the following link or the business card below. http://www.shop.com/bobsullivan and begin getting cash back at over 3000 stores.

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“The View from the Philly Pressbox” – Marlins Series 4 Recap

In Philadelphia Phillies on April 17, 2013 at 5:30 pm

Doc Halladay

In the forth of our season long series, “The View from the Philly Pressbox” takes a look at the Miami Marlins series. The Marlins came in to the series with a 1-8 record and clearly struggling at the plate, especially without their best player Giancarlo Stanton. The Marlins do have some decent young pitching as the Phils found out. This was an extremely important series for the Phillies in an effort to get Cole Hamels and Roy Halladay back on track against a team that’s weak at the plate.

 In the opener on Friday night the Phils sent lefty John Lannan out against Ricky Nolasko. The pitchers battle did not disappoint. Lannan allowed 3 hits and a run through 6 innings while walking 1 and striking out 2. Nolasko also went 6 innings allowing 7 hits, 1 run, 1 walk and recorded 1 strikeout. The Phils bullpen of Antonio Bastardo, Mike Adams, Phillippe Aumont and Jonathan Papelbon threw 4 shutout innings allowing just 1 hit with Aumont getting the win and Papelbon his 2nd save of the season. The Marlins bullpen matched the Phils until the 10th inning allowing 0 hits and 0 walks in the 3 innings prior to the 10th when the Phils tagged Jon Rauch for 3 hits, 2 runs and the 3-1 loss. Ben Revere, Ryan Howard and Dom Brown all had 2 hits in the game.

 Game 2 saw the Phils again struggle to score runs against Marlins pitching. This time it was Jose Fernandez turn against Hamels. Fernandez allowed just 2 hits and 2 walks with 5 k’s in his 6 innings of work lowering his ERA to 0.82. Hamels also pitched well. He allowed just 3 hits, a run, 3 walks with 5 k’s in 6 innings of work. Hamels trouble came when he allowed a triple to the #8 hitter, Adeiny Hechavarria, and followed that up by allowing a single by the pitcher Fernandez to knock in the run. The Phillies bullpen of Bastado and Adams again pitched a perfect 7th and 8th before Aumont allowed an unearned run in the bottom of the 9th on an error by Chase Utley that allowed the winning run to score.

 Game 3 of the series matched Halladay against Kevin Slowey, and again the Phils had trouble scoring runs. They did bang out 12 hits in the game but needed a pinch hit home run by Laynce Nix to pick up the 2-1 victory, the 200th of Halladays career. Halladay line for the game was 8 innings, 5 hits, 1 run, 1 earned run, 1 walk and 2 k’s with only 87 pitches. Paplbon threw a hitless 9th to pick up his 3rd save. Ryan Howard had 3 hits in the game while Revere and Freddy Galvis adding 2 each.

 The bright spots of the Marlins series:

  • Halladay, Hamels and Lannan all pitched very well. Hopefully it was solid pitching and not poor hitting.
  • The Phils bullpen of Bastardo, Adams, Aumont and Papelbon were solid allowing just 1 unearned run in the series which led to a loss.
  • Howard was 6-12 in the series raising his average up to .277.
  • Revere was 4-12 climbing up to .240.
  • Michael Young continues to carry the top average on the team going 3-10 in the series and hitting .357.
  • Nix pinch home run was a game winner.

 Areas to improve:

  • The Phils struggled to score just 6 runs in the series but only allowed 4 and won the series 2 games to 1.
  • Jimmy Rollins was 0-8 in the series and was used only as a pinch hitter on Sunday. Rollins average is down .261.
  • Chase Utley struggled in the series going just 2-14. Utley’s average has dropped to .277.
  • The Phils struck out 17 more times against Marlin pitching. This is down from the 8.8 per game they were averaging but still too many. (96 in 12 games)

Next Up:

The Cincinnati Reds in Cincinnati. The Phils will throw red hot Cliff Lee in the opener, followed by Kyle Kendrick and Lannan. The Reds are struggling, having lost 5 in a row, but will be a formidable challenge for The Fightin’s.

 Looking forward:

Update: We didn’t fair too well in our prediction of 2 out of 3 from the Royals, instead losing 2 out of 3. We picked the Phils to win 2 of 3 from the Mets and they did. We picked 2 out of 3 against the Marlins and they did that. A sweep would’ve been better. The Phils are 6-6 heading to Cincinnati where we think they could struggle and predicted losing 2 of 3. We hope we’re wrong! If the Phils can win 2 of 3 instead that will put them in a good position heading to St Louis with Hamels, Halladay, Lee and Kendrick lined up for the 4 game series.

 The Fightin’s play a total of 27 games in the month of April. This includes 3 at home against the Mets, 3 in Florida, 3 in Cincinnati, 4 back home against the Cardinals, 4 more at home against the Pirates, 3 at New York and the first game of a series against the Indians in Cleveland on the last day of the month. Here’s what we see from the Philly Pressbox, 16-11 or 15-12 at the end of the month. How did we get there? 1-2 Braves, 2-1 Royals, 2-1 Mets, 2-1 Marlins, 1-2 Reds, 2-2 Cardinals, 3-1 Pirates, 2-1 Mets, 1-0 Indians. Losing an extra game to the Cardinals or Pirates wouldn’t be unreasonable. Either way 15 or 16 wins.

Again we would like to thank our sponsor. We ask that you click on the following link or the business card below. http://www.shop.com/bobsullivan and begin getting cash back at over 3000 stores.

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“The View from the Philly Pressbox” – Mets Series 3 Recap

In Philadelphia Phillies on April 12, 2013 at 6:14 pm

Cliff Lee

In the third of our season long series “The View from the Philly Pressbox” takes a look at the New York Mets series. Quite frankly the Mets are awful. If it weren’t for John Buck hitting a home run in each of the three games the Mets would’ve shown nothing. If Roy Halladay would’ve been able to find the strike zone the Phils should’ve had a much needed sweep. In the end the Phils won 2 of 3 and move their record to 4-5, 4 games behind the red hot Atlanta Braves, 8-1.

 The bright spots of the Mets series:

  • You have to start with Cliff Lee. Two consecutive times Lee has had to be the stopper after miserable outings by Halladay and Cole Hamels. Each time Lee has done the job. Against the Mets he threw 8.2 innings, allowing 8 hits, 3 runs, 2 earned runs, 0 walks and 6 k’s. Lee lowered his ERA to 1.08. Lee has also not walked a batter in his 16.2 innings of work while Hamels and Halladay can’t find the strike zone. Lee also threw first pitch strikes to 27 of 34 hitters he faced.
  • The Phils again spotted Kyle Kendrick a huge lead, 4 runs in his first outing and 5 runs against the Mets. Although Kendrick struggled some he held on to get the win going 6 innings, allowing 8 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks and 6 k’s. Antonio Bastardo, Michael Adams and Jonathan Papelbon allowed 1 run in 3 innings of relief.
  • In spite of Halladays struggles in Game 1 of the series the bullpen of Chad Durbin, Jeremy Horst and Raul Valdez combined for 5 innings of shutout relief, allowing just 3 hits and 2 walks.
  • Michael Young had a 5-11 series with his first HR as a Phillie. Young raised his average to a team high .375.
  • Chase Utley continues to swing the bat well. Utley was only 2-10 in the series but did hit a HR, drove in a couple runs and stole 2 bases. He’s presently hitting .333 with a team high 9 RBI’s.
  • Jimmy Rollins had 4 more hits in the series in 12 at bats, raising his average back up to .316.
  • The Phils scored 17 runs in the 3 game series, 5.6 runs per game.

 Areas to improve:

  • As mentioned earlier, Roy Halladay struggled immensely against the weak hitting Mets. Halladay threw 99 pitches just to get through 4 innings allowing 6 hits, 7 runs, 3 walks and a home run while striking out 3. A telling statistic to Halladays troubles were first pitch strikes, he threw just 11 to the 22 batters he faced. A second telling statistic was he was only able to get 10 swinging strikes, while the Mets fouled off 21 strikes. He had trouble getting the ball by the hitters.
  • The Phils were only able to collect 4 hits off Mets pitchers Matt Harvey and Josh Edgin in the 7-2 loss on Monday.
  • The Phils have struck out 79 times in 9 games, 8.8 per game. This ranks 4th in the NL.
  • Although Hamels didn’t pitch in the Mets series it’s imperative that he and Halladay get things turned around. They will both have an opportunity to pitch this weekend against the Marlins.
  • Ryan Howard went 3-11 against the Mets but is still hitting just .200 with 12 k’s in 9 games.
  • Ben Revere is struggling hs well. Revere is hitting just .211 with an OBP of just .268 from the leadoff spot.
  • Dom Browns average has dropped all the way to .242. He seems to be losing some of that Spring Training hot that he had. Brown has to hit to stay in the lineup.

 Next Up:

The Miami Marlins in Miami. The Phils will throw John Lannan, Hamels and Halladay. The Marlins are just 1-8 on the season. This would be a good weekend for a sweep and good pitching performances from all of the starters.

 Looking forward:

Update: We didn’t fair too well in our prediction of 2 out of 3 from the Royals, instead losing 2 out of 3. We picked the Phils to win 2 of 3 from the Mets and they did. Now they need to pick up a game by sweeping the Marlins especially with the Reds and Cardinals on the schedule next week. You have to beat the teams that you should beat.

 The Fightin’s play a total of 27 games in the month of April. This includes 3 at home against the Mets, 3 in Florida, 3 in Cincinnati, 4 back home against the Cardinals, 4 more at home against the Pirates, 3 at New York and the first game of a series against the Indians in Cleveland on the last day of the month. Here’s what we see from the Philly Pressbox, 16-11 or 15-12 at the end of the month. How did we get there? 1-2 Braves, 2-1 Royals, 2-1 Mets, 2-1 Marlins, 1-2 Reds, 2-2 Cardinals, 3-1 Pirates, 2-1 Mets, 1-0 Indians. Losing an extra game to the Cardinals or Pirates wouldn’t be unreasonable. Either way 15 or 16 wins.

Again we would like to thank our sponsor. We ask that you click on the following link or the business card below. http://www.shop.com/bobsullivan and begin getting cash back at over 3000 stores.

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“The View from the Philly Pressbox” – Royals Series 2 Recap

In Philadelphia Phillies on April 8, 2013 at 9:46 am

Fransden Walkoff

In the second of our season long series “The View from the Philly Pressbox” takes a look at the Kansas City Royals series. The Phils blew 2 games that they had leads in and won the one game they trailed the entire game, finishing with 1-2 weekend.

Oh, where to start?

  • The Phils spotted Kyle Kendrick a 4 run lead in Game 1 of the series. Kendrick was cruising along with 4 shutout innings before running in to trouble in the 5th. He gave up 2 in the 5th but the Phils still held a 4-2 lead. Things fell apart in the 6th for Kendrick and Jeremy Horst. Horst couldn’t get outs in relief and before the inning was over the Phils trailed 5-4. Horst, Chad Durbin and Raul Valdes got beat up the rest of the way allowing a 4-0 Phils lead to turn in to a 13-4 Royals blowout in which they got 19 hits.
  • In spite of the 4-3 win in Game 2 of the series, the Phils managed just 3 hits.
  • The Phils spotted Cole Hamels a 4-run 1st inning lead only to watch him get bombed for 9 hits and 8 runs with 4 walks in just 5.2 innings of work. Hamels has had two miserable starts to open the season and now has an ERA of 10.97.
  • The bullpen has been awful! They have inherited 11 runners so far this season and 10 have scored.
  • 5 members of the pitching staff have ERA’s over 10, Hamels, Roy Halladay, Chad Durbin, Horst and Raul Valdes.
  • Ryan Howard continues his slow start. He was 3-12 in the series and 4-24 on the season, a .167 average.
  • Phils hitters have struck out 53 times in 6 games, an average of 8.8 strike outs per game.
  • Howard has struck out 8 times on the season, Jimmy Rollins 7 and Erik Kratz 7 after just 6 games.
  • The Phils are getting just .143 and .174 production out of the 7th and 8th spots in the lineup and one of those hits was from Kevin Frandsen as a pinch hitter. Add that to Howard at .167 in the 4th spot.

 In spite of the disappointing weekend there were a few positives.

  • John Lannan was outstanding in his first stat as a Phillie. Lannan went 7 innings allowing 5 hits, 3 runs, 0 walks and 5 K’s. Mike Adams pitched a 1 hit 8th and Antonio Bastardo a 1 walk 9th for the win. That’s the way it’s supposed to work.
  • Kevin Frandsen came up big with his pitch 3-run walk off double for the win in Game 2.
  • Chase Utley continues to swing a hot bat. Utley was 4-12 in the series. His team leading batting average is now .391.
  • Michael Young had 4 hits in the series finale, going 6-12 on the weekend raising his average to .333.
  • Rollins is off to a good start. JRoll is hitting .308 from the 2nd spot in the order.
  • Rollins and Ben Revere each stole another base in the series, giving them each 3 for the season.

 Next Up:

The New York Mets come to Citizens Bank Park. The Phils will throw Halladay, Cliff Lee and Kendrick. The key game in this series will be Game 1 with Hallady. It’s time to see what Doc can do!

 Looking forward:

Update: We didn’t fair too well in our prediction of 2 out of 3 from the Royals, instead losing 2 out of 3. The Phils will need to pick up a game against either the Mets or Marlins this week. They can not afford to fall too far behind.

 The Fightin’s play a total of 27 games in the month of April. This includes 3 at home against the Mets, 3 in Florida, 3 in Cincinnati, 4 back home against the Cardinals, 4 more at home against the Pirates, 3 at New York and the first game of a series against the Indians in Cleveland on the last day of the month. Here’s what we see from the Philly Pressbox, 16-11 or 15-12 at the end of the month. How did we get there? 1-2 Braves, 2-1 Royals, 2-1 Mets, 2-1 Marlins, 1-2 Reds, 2-2 Cardinals, 3-1 Pirates, 2-1 Mets, 1-0 Indians. Losing an extra game to the Cardinals or Pirates wouldn’t be unreasonable. Either way 15 or 16 wins.

Again we would like to thank our sponsor. We ask that you click on the following link or the business card below. http://www.shop.com/bobsullivan and begin getting cash back at over 3000 stores.

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“The View from the Philly Pressbox” – Braves Series 1 Recap

In Philadelphia Phillies on April 5, 2013 at 2:39 pm

Chase Utley

In the first of our season long series in review “The View from the Philly Pressbox” takes a look at the Atlanta Braves series. The Phils opened the season with a 3 game series in Atlanta, losing 2 of the 3 games. What did we learn from the chilly start to the season?

First some positives:

  • Chase Utley appears to be healthy and ready to go. Utley finished the series 5-11 with a home run and 6 rbi’s.
  • Dom Brown brought his hot Spring Training bat to the regular season. Brown was 4-11 in the 3 game series.
  • Jimmy Rollins got off to a good start by going 5-14 with 2 doubles.
  • The top of the Phils lineup appear that they plan on running the bases. Leadoff hitter Ben Revere stole 2 bases in the series as did Rollins.
  • Cliff Lee threw a solid 8 innings of 2 hit, no walk, shutout baseball in Game 3 preventing a sweep.
  • Phillies pitching struck out 34 Braves while walking 9.
  • Jonathan Papelbon was solid in Lee’s save opportunity.
  • Mike Adams, Phillippe Aumont, Antonio Bastardo and Jeremy Horst combined for 5 innings of 1 hit shutout relief.
  • The Phils committed just 1 error in the series. (Utley)
  • Roy Halladay struck out 9 batters of the 10 outs that he recorded. Although he made some mistakes with his location he’s around the plate. His location will improve.

 Now for a few negatives:

  • Cole Hamels and Halladay combined to give up 13 hits and 10 runs, including 5 home runs, in 8.1 innings, while both gave up 1st inning homers.
  • Chad Durbin was unable to record an out, allowing 2 hits, 2 runs and a walk to the 3 batters he faced.
  • Raul Valdez was shaky relieving Halladay; however the game was already out of hand.
  • Ryan Howard finished the series 1-12. Not unusual for Howard in the cold weather.
  • Michael Young made his Phillies debut going 1-9.

 Next Up:

The Kansas City Royals come to Citizens Bank Park to open the home season. The Phils will throw Kyle Kendrick, John Lannan and Cole Hamels against the improved Royals. Look for the Phils to win 2 out of 3.

 Looking forward:

The Fightin’s play a total of 27 games in the month of April. This includes 3 at home against the Mets, 3 in Florida, 3 in Cincinnati, 4 back home against the Cardinals, 4 more at home against the Pirates, 3 at New York and the first game of a series against the Indians in Cleveland on the last day of the month. Here’s what we see from the Philly Pressbox, 16-11 or 15-12 at the end of the month. How did we get there? 1-2 Braves, 2-1 Royals, 2-1 Mets, 2-1 Marlins, 1-2 Reds, 2-2 Cardinals, 3-1 Pirates, 2-1 Mets, 1-0 Indians. Losing an extra game to the Cardinals or Pirates wouldn’t be unreasonable. Either way 15 or 16 wins.

Again we would like to thank our sponsor. We ask that you click on the following link or the business card below. http://www.shop.com/bobsullivan and begin getting cash back at over 3000 stores.

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“View from the Philly Pressbox” – 2013 Phillies

In Philadelphia Phillies on April 2, 2013 at 10:26 pm

Phillies

What can we expect from the 2013 Philadelphia Phillies? Can the Phils get to the 88-92 wins it will take to make the playoffs? Here’s how we see the keys to the season from The Philly Pressbox. Lets start out by saying we think they can win 88 games, however, we don’t think they can win 96-100 that it will take to beat the Nationals. They must get off to a quick start when the schedule is in their favor.

 Here’s what has to happen:

  • ·        A combined 50 wins from Cole Hamels, Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee whether it’s 18, 16 and 16 doesn’t matter.
  • ·        A combined 22 wins from Kyle Kendrick and John Lannan. Again, whether it’s 12 and 10 or 14 and 8, they need to get to 22.

That gives 72 wins from the starting rotation. Are we asking too much? It should be safe to say that Hamels will have another solid season and should win 18 games. It should also be safe to say that Halladay and Lee will improve on the 17-17 record they posted in 2012. That brings us to Kendrick. Last year Kyle posted an 11-12 record with a respectable 3.90 ERA. Can he improve upon that as the #4 starter? We’ll take the 11 wins if he can cut down on the losses. Some run support will help. The #5 starter is lefty newcomer Lannan. Last year with the Nationals he finished 4-1 with a 4.13 ERA in just 6 starts. Basically the Nats gave up on the big man after 6 seasons in the big leagues and a 42-52 record. Can Lannan win 10 games for The Fightins? We think so. He will have to!

 The down side to this thought process is, as always, injuries. Last year the Phils had some depth with Kendrick as the 6th starter but that luxury is gone with the present big league roster.

 Mark this down, the bullpen will be better! Jonathan Papelbon will be solid as the closer. The addition of Chad Durbin and Mike Adams is huge. Add Antonio Bastardo, Jeremy Horst, Phillippe Aumont and Raul Valdes. I like this bunch. They are capable of grabbing 16-18 wins and more importantly not blowing leads late in games that seemed to be the norm in 2012. It will be up to Charlie Manuel and Rich Dubee not to overwork them so they’re ready in the stretch run of late summer.

 Lets talk position players. This is where it gets dicey. I like the infield regardless of its age if they stay healthy. We know what to expect from Jimmy Rollins. We will get 25-30 HR’s and 110 RBI’s from Ryan Howard if he plays 130 games. Michael Young at 3rd base will have to play 120 games, at least, if this lineup will be successful. Young is a good player and has been for a long time but it’s a long season playing every day and not just being a DH. Young contributing in the 5 hole will be huge. Chase Utley has got to have a big year. Watching Utley in the spring was fun again as he finally looks healthy. Chase has averaged just 100 games each of the last 3 seasons contributing 38 HR’s and 154 RBI’s. A healthy Utley playing 130+ games means 25 HR’s and 90 RBI’s in 2013.

 The infield depth could be a real question mark. Kevin Frandsen did a nice job in 2012 and deserved to be on the roster. Frandsen will be solid resting Young, however his lack of pop, his career 9 HR’s changes the dynamics of the lineup if he has to play an extended period of time. Freddy Galvis rounds out the infield. We are not big on Galvis and stand behind what we said last season, “he can’t hit big league pitching” and that was before he was suspended for performance enhancing drugs.

 The outfield is full of questions marks. Ben Revere will be a solid young player that will hit for average and steal bases. Hopefully he will be the leadoff hitter. Dominic Brown had a real good spring but the jury is still out on him. He has a lot to prove at the big league level. Lance Nix is not a starting everyday outfielder. John Mayberry has never earned a full time job. Delmon Young hasn’t shown much interest in playing and starts the season on the disabled list. The last spot currently belongs to Ezequiel Carrera. Who? Overall this outfield is not very strong.

 The catching position is also in flux. Erik Kratz will be the man for the first 25 games due to the suspension of Carlos Ruiz. Kratz played in only 50 games last season, a career high, and hit .248. Kratz will hold down the fort until Ruiz returns. Chooch will need another strong season. Humberto Quintero will back up Kratz.

 The summary is, can the pitching win without a strong lineup? That’s what it will take to make the playoffs. Can the Phils stay healthy? That’s what it will take to make the playoffs. There is no depth! Can Utley and Howard return to years past? That’s what it will take to make the playoffs. Can Chooch have as good a year as he did in 2012? That’s what it will take to make the playoffs. As important as anything can Halladay and Lee return to years past? That’s what it will take to make the playoffs.

 The Philly Pressbox prediction is 88 wins, 74 loses, 3rd in the East and the #5 playoff spot. Once you get to “The Party” the pitching takes over and The Fightins could surprise people in a short series.

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“View from the Philly Pressbox” – Phillies 1st Half Grades

In Philadelphia Phillies on July 13, 2012 at 1:24 pm

With the 2nd half of the season starting tonight in Colorado, for a three game series against the Rockies, the Phillies stand 37-50, 14 games behind the 1st place Washington Nationals, with 75 games to play. Needless to say, every game, not just every series, is critical if the Phils are going to make the playoffs.  Lets assume the three division leaders, Washington, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles, hold on to win their respective divisions. That would leave a battle between Atlanta, the Mets, Cincinnati, St. Louis, San Francisco and possibly Arizona for the two Wild Card spots. These teams currently have between 39 and 43 loses. Realistically, the Phillies have to make up 10 games in the standings rather than 14. As we found out last season in baseball with the Cardinals, in football with the Giants, and in hockey with the Kings, it’s about getting to the dance and being hot at the right time.

With that said, every player, coach and the manager, are going to have to step up their game if the Phils are going to win 48 out of the last 75 games that it will likely take to make the playoffs. Hopefully 85 wins will be enough. We’re looking for a big 2nd half of the season, but must see improved play across the board.

Here is our 1st half player reports card:

“A+” – Carlos Ruiz. There’s not much more that can be said about Chooch that hasn’t been said. He’s done it all.

“A” – Jonathan Papelbon. Paps hasn’t been perfect but he’s been pretty close, 18 of 20. He’s lost out on several save opportunities due to the train wreck that is the middle relief.

“A” – Cole Hamels. Hamels has been solid all season. They need to get the contract behind him and turn him loose.  We’re still expecting a 20 win season. (10-4)

“B” – Vance Worley. Although Worley is only 4-5, he was pitching fairly well before he went on the DL and other than a couple rocky outings near the end of the half he’s been the second best starter.

“B” – Juan Pierre. Pierre was a nice Free Agent pickup. He cooled off at the end of the half but still has a .307 average and leads the team with 20 stolen bases.

“B” – Mike Fontenot. Fountenot can play any position and can be productive with the bat. He’s hitting .325 in only 83 at bats. He’s done a nice job in limited action.

 “B-” – Hunter Pence. Pence has been bad with runners in scoring position and has missed more cutoff men then anybody except Shane Victorino. However, in a lineup with no protection Pence is hitting .285 with 16 HR’s and 50 RBI’s. His game will improve in the 2nd half.

 “C+” – Placido Polanco. Polanco is what he is. He’s hitting just below his career average and plays solid defense. To expect anymore from him would be fooling yourself.

“C” – Freddy Galvis. We’re giving Galvis the benefit of the doubt on this. He was thrown in to the starting lineup when he should’ve been in AAA. He played excellent defense, but isn’t ready to hit big league pitching. His back injury and suspension put his future in jeopardy.

“C” – Ty Wigginton. Wigginton is another guy that gets the benefit of the doubt since he was thrown in to a full time starting role. He has hit 9 home runs in the 1st half of the season but has hit only .247. Moving him to 3rd base was a disaster.

“C” – Jake Diekman and Michael Schwimer. These guys have actually done decent work out of the bullpen. They are 1-0 and 0-1 with 3.57 and 3.60 ERA’s in 19 and 20 appearances respectively.

“C” – Raul Valdez. Valdez was pitching well before being sent to the minor leagues. He was given a start when he returned and it blew up his stats.

“C” – Brian Schneider. Like Polanco, Schneider is what he is.

“C” – Roy Halladay. Again, the benefit of the doubt. We’re going to assume Halladay was hurt all season and tried to pitch through it. He needs to be huge in the 2nd half if the Phils are going to make a move.

“D” – Joe Blanton. Blanton doesn’t get an “F” because he’s carried a big load for this pitching staff. He’s managed to win 7 games and has pitched over 100 innings, 2nd on the team to Hamels. It sure hasn’t been pretty.

 “D” – Jimmy Rollins. JRoll gets a “D” because he had a decent month of June and he’s still solid in the field. What appears to be his unwillingness to change his approach at the plate and continuing to hit the ball the air for easy outs is very perplexing. A .310 on-base percentage for a leadoff man is awful.

“D” – Cliff Lee. Lee pitched in to some hard luck early in the season when the Phils didn’t score any runs, but has been bad himself as well. A pitcher that is as good as Lee has to have more than 1 win at the All Star break.

“D” – Jim Thome. Thome is a class act (leadership) and gave us a handful of good inter league games but other than that he didn’t produce. It seems the Phils would’ve done a little more homework regarding his health before they brought him back.

 “D-“ Shane Victorino. Victorino looks like he’s in a world of his own. He hasn’t hit, played as well as he always has in the field, or run the bases like we’re used to. He’s constantly missing cutoff men with his throws. We’ve always been big Shane fans but he’s been a huge disappointment this season.

“D-“ – Kyle Kendrick. It’s hard to figure Kendrick out. He’s just inconsistent. 2-8 with a 4.89 ERA doesn’t cut it.

“D” – Charlie Manuel and his Staff. Our down side regarding Manuel is that the team doesn’t appear to be playing hard. His reluctance to move Rollins from the leadoff spot is frustrating, as well as the fact that they are playing poor fundamental baseball. Those are all ultimately his responsibility. On the positive side, the injuries and under talented bullpen he’s been given to work with can’t be blamed on him. As far as the staff, it’s difficult to tell who’s doing what. For half of the season they didn’t hit and the second half they didn’t pitch. How much of that responsibility goes to Greg Gross and Rich Dubee? Juan Samuel has made some horrible decisions at 3rd base along the way.   

 “F” – John Mayberry. Mayberry was handed the leftfield job and couldn’t handle it. He’s hitting .232 with 6 home runs. Maybe the expectations were too high.

“F” – Chad Qualls. Obviously that experiment didn’t work. He’s gone.

“F” – Antonio Bastardo. Bastardo has lost the strike zone. The Phils hope that he regains his form from most of last season but he’s struggling. His 5.34 ERA as a setup man won’t work. He’s a young guy that may need some time in AAA to get himself back together.

“F” – Joe Savory. We feel Savory has a chance to be a good big league reliever but he’s not ready. Like Bastardo, his 5.87 ERA in 17 appearances doesn’t cut it.

“F” – Jose Contreras. Another experiment that failed. His career is probably over after his 17 games and 5.27 ERA in 2012.

“INCOMPLETE” – Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Jason Pridie, Pete Orr, Eric Kratz, Lance Nix, Hector Luna, Michael Martinez, Michael Stutes, David Herndon, BJ Rosenberg, Brian Sanchez, Jeremy Horst

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“View from the Philly Pressbox” – Calling Out Jimmy Rollins!!

In Philadelphia Phillies on July 4, 2012 at 9:47 am

It is very rare that you will ever hear the Philly Pressbox criticize a player, but we’ve seen all that we can stand, and somebody needs to be held accountable. Who would’ve ever thought that sitting here on the morning of the 4th of July that the Phillies would be sporting a 36-46 record and be 12 games behind the Washington Nationals in the Eastern Division? As Spring Training approached we knew we would not have Ryan Howard until July, but tried to make up for that with the signings of Ty Wigginton and Jim Thome. Wigginton obviously isn’t Howard; he’s hitting .246 with 8 HR’s and 33 RBI’s. The Thome experiment “busted out” and he’s gone. We didn’t know in March that we wouldn’t have Chase Utley for the first half of the season. For some reason management didn’t know he was injured, Utley didn’t tell them, or the fans were kept in the dark, maybe all three. Without Utley and Howard out the lineup became a crap shoot with each night looking more like a science project. We did find a young 2nd baseman in Freddy Galvis who could field the position, but isn’t ready to hit big league pitching. Add his serious back injury and drug suspension and Galvis future is in question. We gave the leftfield position to John Mayberry after a decent finish to last season, only to find out that he can’t handle the job. Mayberry is currently hitting .226 with 6 HR’s and 23 RBI’s.  What about Shane Victorino? Victorino has been a solid player for the Phillies the last 7+ seasons, hitting close to .280 and bringing excitement to the ballpark every night. We’re not seeing that this season! Shane is at the top of the list in fundamental errors this season. How many times can you miss the cutoff man? Hunter Pence has also been a mystery in the outfield. Quite honestly, he’s been brutal with the glove, but made up for some of it with his arm. The injuries put Pence in the tough position of hitting clean up, with no protection in front of or behind him. Overall, Pence has put up decent numbers, .286, 16, 48, which should improve in the second half with some help in the lineup.

That brings us to Jimmy Rollins. JRoll seems to be getting a free pass and we’re not sure why. No one expected Rollins to ever match his MVP season of 2007; however, he has declined in nearly every category every year since 2007. Even at that we were willing to give him a pass based on one thing, LEADERSHIP. Jimmy was, as they say, “the straw that stirred the drink”. He brought “swagger” to the ballclub. His brash statements about the ballclub and the other teams in the division, created a cockiness that seemed to spread throughout the ballclub and the fan base. There’s nothing like calling out the Mets! Where is that Jimmy Rollins this season? Maybe JRoll thinks the Phillies aren’t that good. If you’re not bringing something different to the party then you need a leadoff hitting shortstop to produce more that a .256 batting average, 5th among the starters, and a .310 on base percentage, OBP, 7th on the team, ahead of only Mayberry and Galvis. Those are not the numbers of a leadoff hitter. Add to that the number of pop outs and fly outs and it spells trouble for the lineup.  If JRoll and the Phillies are going to be successful he has to hit the ball on the ground or hit line drives and use his legs. If he can’t, or won’t do that, he needs to go to the bottom of the lineup. With that said, the Phillies will be paying Rollins $11m a year for 2012, 2013, 2014 and an option year of 2015.

Let’s get back to Rollins “swagger”. It’s easy to have “swagger” when you’re on top, as the Phillies have been as the NL East champions the last 5 seasons. It’s much more difficult to step out on the edge when your team may not be as good as it used to be. Rollins actions on the field look like he’s representing a bad ballclub. He’s still very good defensively, however, his approach at the plate and the look on his face tells a different story. Pop out after fly out result in a non-hustling leadoff hitter that barely makes it to 1st base before the ball is caught. The electrifying, contagious smile of a guy loving what he’s doing is gone. You don’t even see the constant TV shots of Rollins endlessly talking to Charlie Manual in the dugout as he has for years.

If passing out blame for this first half of the season, there’s plenty to go around. You can blame injuries, you can blame the Chad Qualls set up man disaster, you can blame a middle bullpen full of guys that aren’t ready for the big leagues yet, or you can take responsibility and play with the hand you’re dealt. JRoll received a lot of credit, as the leader, when things went good for all of these years so he needs to be held accountable when they’re not.

The Philly Pressbox is calling out Jimmy Rollins to step up his game and be the $11m, leader, “the straw that stirs the drink” that he’s capable of being!! There’s still time but it needs to start TODAY!

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