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Posts Tagged ‘Philadelphia Phillies’

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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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Catching Up with Pete Rose

In Philadelphia Phillies on June 15, 2012 at 9:42 pm

While on our 30th anniversary vacation trip to Las Vegas my wife and I were site seeing through one of the many casinos. As we walked through the mammoth and beautiful Caesars Palace, and its many stores, we saw a store named “Antiquities”. “Antiquities” is a store full of memorabilia of all types. Below the entrance was a large white sign with red lettering that simply said “PETE ROSE HERE”. We decided to walk in and sure enough, about 20 feet inside the store there was the incomparable, how is this possible, 71-year old, Peter Edward Rose. Pete was set up at a table to sign autographs for any takers. If you were interested you were directed to the back of the store where you could purchase Phillies and Reds jerseys, bats, balls, pictures, cards and framing. They also ship anywhere and will provide certificates of authenticity for the items. Each comes at a price. Each purchase also provided you the opportunity to sit with Pete and have your picture taken and talk with him. The workers take your camera and shoot pictures the entire time he’s signing your items so you get about a dozen pictures. The business is a well oiled machine.

 My wife decided that I needed to have the Phillies jersey, which also came with the signed bat, as a Father’s Day present. SHE’S A GREAT WIFE!!! Of course I decided I wanted the Phillies jersey instead of the Reds jersey that had many statistics embroidered in it. I asked if I needed to tell him what to sign and I was told “Pete knows how to hit and Pete knows how to sign”. When they hand you your jersey and bat they are in wrappers that Pete opens for you at the table. The purpose is to keep the item from being damaged in any way. (They’ve pretty much thought of everything). As I walked up the table and sat down the first thing Pete said was, “how are you doing? It’s a great day.” He asked if I wanted the bat personalized to anyone, which I said “no.” He then signed his name, added Hit King and 4256 on the bat. While he was signing we started talking Phillies baseball. Pete is still a huge baseball fan and a huge Phillies fan. We talked about the present state of affairs with the Phils. Like most of the rest of us, he feels the same way we do, Pete stated “until (Jimmy) Rollins and (Shane) Victorino stop thinking they’re power hitters and start hitting for average, and getting on base, the team will struggle.” I think we’ve heard that before!! He also stated, “they should’ve never paid (Ryan) Howard the money they paid him. He struggles in the playoffs because he sees good pitching every game, in the meantime, he’ll hit 40 fastballs out of the park in the regular season.” Spoken like a true Phillies fan. It was very clear that Pete has been paying a lot of attention. All the while, Pete was signing my Limited Edition Phillies jersey. He signed his name with 1980 World Series Champs, “Charlie Hustle” and 4256 on one side and Hit #3631, NL Record, 8/10/81 on the other side. By the way, this is the only place that Pete will sign “Charlie Hustle”. Don’t expect it at a memorabilia show. We bantered back and forth about Pete’s upcoming trip to sign autographs in Philadelphia this weekend, but first there was a trip to Cincinnati to watch the Reds against the Indians, then off to Philly and back to Vegas on Saturday evening. Pete is a busy man trying to stay involved in the game he loves while making money doing it. When everything was signed and the conversation ended Pete puts out his hand and offers a good handshake for the camera.

 

With all of the signing complete you proceed to the final step of the journey. You go back to the desk where you placed your order and turn over any item that you want shipped. I kept the jersey with me and shipped the bat. They added a signed baseball card as part of the deal. The bat arrived at the house before I did in perfect condition.

 

As I left I said to Pete, “I’ll see you Saturday in Philly” and he said, “Great, I’ll be looking for you.”

 

I have to say, even at my age, I was pretty excited to have had the opportunity to sit with the All Time Hit King in a one-on-one situation, even if it was for only 10 minutes and it came at a small price. After all, this was the guy that took the 1980 Phillies over the top. The Phillies would’ve never won that World Series if it wasn’t for Pete Rose.

 It has been a long time since I looked at the amazing numbers Pete put up as a player during his career. Here is a quick summary:

 6 World Series, 3 wins

 4256 hits, 1st All Time. To put this is some perspective Derek Jeter, the most recent 3000 hit man, is still over 1000 hits behind Pete.

 3562 career games played, 1st All Time. 254 ahead of Carl Yastremski.

 14,052 career at-bats, 1st All Time. 1,689 ahead of Hank Aaron.

 15,890 career plate appearances, 1st All Time. 1,898 ahead of Yastremski.

 3,215 singles, 1st All Time. There are 15 members of the 3000 hit club that have less total hits than Pete has singles.

 5,929 career times on base, 1st All Time, 330 ahead of Barry Bonds.

 .303 career batting average

 17 All Star games. Selected as a 2nd baseman, right fielder, left fielder, 3rd baseman and 1st baseman.

 3 Batting Championships – 1968, 1969, 1973

 10 seasons with 200 hits, tied with Ichiro Suzuki

 Rookie of the Year – 1963

 NL MVP – 1973

 World Series MVP – 1975

 2 Gold Gloves – 1969, 1970

 1 Silver Slugger Award – 1981

 Selected to Major League Baseball All Century Team

 Led the NL in Fielding Percentage as a RF once, 1970, as a LF, twice, 1972 and 1974, as a 3rd baseman, once, 1976 and as a 1st baseman, once, 1980.

 It’s a shame that Pete will never be inducted in to the Hall of Fame for his actions after his playing career, because his playing career is as good as anyone that ever put on the uniform and to this day, clearly, truly loves the game.

 It was a lot of fun catching up with Pete Rose!!

 

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Phillies Injuries – Why & What’s the Effect??

In Philadelphia Phillies on June 7, 2012 at 9:51 pm

As I watched Freddie Galvis limp down to 1st base last night running out a foul ball, try to get back in to the box, and take a feeble swing before removing himself from the game to become the 14th Phillie to go on the disable list (DL) since April 1 it made us think of why was this happening to the Phillies and was it happening to other teams? The Phillies fans and media have been discussing how the Phils have been besieged with injuries so far this season. The common theme is, when we finally get healthy we will make a run and win the division. With that in mind, the Philly Pressbox went to work doing some research on the injuries for each team in the NL East. Below are the “transactions” listed on each of the teams’ websites dating back to April 1, 2012 through today. We left transfers to the 60 day DL as an indication that the injury the player suffered was more than likely severe.

We’re just providing the numbers and information of the injury and not trying to determine if a Ryan Howard injury is more significant to his team than a Ryan Zimmerman injury or Mike Pelfry being placed on the 60 day DL versus a Roy Halladay injury.

The big question that comes to the top of the Philly Press box is this, why are the Phillies having so many injuries?  Of the 14 Phillie injuries, 8 have been pitchers. Two of them, Contrares and DeFratus, have resulted in trips to the 60 day list. In Contrares case it will likely end his career. Of the remainder of the pitchers, Halladay and Cliff Lee, like Contrares, are getting older; however, Vance Worley, Michael Stutes and David Herndon are young pitchers. So what’s the common denominator?

The 1st Place Washington Nationals have also had 14 players placed on the DL. Interestingly, of the 14 only 5 have been pitchers. They have had to place three different 3rd basemen and three different catchers on the DL. They have also lost Jayson Werth and Rick Ankiel to go along with Zimmerman since April 1st.

The New York Mets are next with 10 players going on the DL. Of their 10, five have been pitchers, included two that transferred to the 60 day list.

That brings us to the healthy teams, the Atlanta Braves and Florida Marlins. The Braves have placed four players on the DL and three of them were in early April, and included Tim Hudson who was recovering from back surgery. The only other player has been Chipper Jones, which is not unusual. Overall, the Braves have been extremely healthy. As far as the Marlins, they have added three players to the DL. One of them, Jose Ceda, is recovering from off season Tommy John surgery and was later transferred to the 60 day list. Overall, they have only put two players on the list since the season started.  

You make the conclusion of how important the injuries are with 58 games in the books. Below are the standings as of today in the NL East as well as the disabled list transactions:

1st Place – Nationals

Tied for 2nd Place – Braves and Marlins – 2 games back

4th Place – Mets – 2.5 games back

5th Place – Phillies – 6 games back.

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Phillies Injuries 04/03/12      Philadelphia Phillies placed 2B Chase Utley on the 15-Day disabled list retroactive to March 26, 2012. Deterioration of the cartilage behind his left kneecap.
Philadelphia Phillies placed RHP Justin De Fratus on the 15-Day disabled list retroactive to March 26, 2012. Right elbow sprain.
Philadelphia Phillies placed RHP Jose Contreras on the 15-Day disabled list retroactive to March 26, 2012. Recovering from September 2011 right elbow surgery.
Philadelphia Phillies placed 1B Ryan Howard on the 15-Day disabled list retroactive to March 26, 2012. Recovering from October 2011 left Achilles tendon surgery.
Philadelphia Phillies placed 2B Michael Martinez on the 15-Day disabled list retroactive to March 26, 2012. Right foot fracture.

04/21/12      Philadelphia Phillies placed LHP Cliff Lee on the 15-Day disabled list retroactive to April 19, 2012. Left oblique strain.

04/24/12

 Philadelphia Phillies placed RHP Michael Stutes on the 15-Day disabled list retroactive to April 22, 2012. Right shoulder inflammation.

05/01/12

 Philadelphia Phillies placed RHP David Herndon on the 15-Day disabled list retroactive to April 30, 2012. Right elbow inflammation.

05/02/12

 Philadelphia Phillies placed 1B Jim Thome on the 15-Day disabled list retroactive to April 29, 2012. Strained lower back.

05/11/12

 Philadelphia Phillies placed LF Laynce Nix on the 15-Day disabled list retroactive to May 10, 2012. Strained left calf.
  Philadelphia Phillies transferred RHP Justin De Fratus from the 15-Day disabled list to the 60-Day disabled list.

05/12/12

 Philadelphia Phillies transferred 2B Michael Martinez from the 15-Day disabled list to the 60-Day disabled list.

05/16/12

 Philadelphia Phillies placed RHP Vance Worley on the 15-Day disabled list retroactive to May 12, 2012. Right elbow inflammation.

05/29/12

 Philadelphia Phillies placed RHP Roy Halladay on the 15-Day disabled list retroactive to May 28, 2012. Right back strain.

06/02/12

 Philadelphia Phillies placed RHP Jose Contreras on the 15-Day disabled list. right elbow strain
   

06/04/12

 Philadelphia Phillies transferred RHP Jose Contreras from the 15-Day disabled list to the 60-Day disabled list.

06/07/12

 Philadelphia Phillies placed 2B Freddy Galvis on the 15-Day disabled list. Lower back strain.

 

Marlins injuries

04/04/12

 Miami Marlins placed RHP Jose Ceda on the 15-Day disabled list retroactive to March 26, 2012. Recovering from April 2012 Tommy John surgery.

05/20/12

 Miami Marlins placed CF Emilio Bonifacio on the 15-Day disabled list retroactive to May 19, 2012. Sprained left thumb.

05/24/12

 Miami Marlins placed LF Austin Kearns on the 15-Day disabled list retroactive to May 23, 2012. Right hamstring strain.

05/27/12

 Miami Marlins transferred RHP Jose Ceda from the 15-Day disabled list to the 60-Day disabled list.

 

Braves injuries

04/02/12

 Atlanta Braves placed RHP Anthony Varvaro on the 15-Day disabled list retroactive to March 26, 2012. Right pectoral strain.
  Atlanta Braves placed LHP Robert Fish on the 15-Day disabled list retroactive to March 26, 2012. Left elbow tendinitis.

04/04/12

 Atlanta Braves placed RHP Tim Hudson on the 15-Day disabled list retroactive to April 3, 2012. recovery from back surgery

05/26/12

 Atlanta Braves placed 3B Chipper Jones on the 15-Day disabled list retroactive to May 24, 2012. Bruised left calf

 

Mets injuries

04/04/12

 New York Mets placed RHP D.J. Carrasco on the 15-Day disabled list retroactive to March 26, 2012. right ankle sprain
  New York Mets placed RHP Pedro Beato on the 15-Day disabled list retroactive to March 26, 2012. right shoulder stiffness

04/23/12

 New York Mets placed SS Ronny Cedeno on the 15-Day disabled list retroactive to April 21, 2012. Left intercostal strain.

04/24/12

 New York Mets placed RHP Mike Pelfrey on the 15-Day disabled list retroactive to April 22, 2012. Swelling in his right elbow

05/04/12

 New York Mets transferred RHP Mike Pelfrey from the 15-Day disabled list to the 60-Day disabled list

05/07/12

 New York Mets placed SS Ruben Tejada on the 15-Day disabled list. Strained right quadriceps.

05/08/12

 New York Mets transferred RHP Pedro Beato from the 15-Day disabled list to the 60-Day disabled list.

05/20/12

 New York Mets placed RHP Miguel Batista on the 15-Day disabled list. Lower Back Strain

05/29/12

 New York Mets placed 2B Justin Turner on the 15-Day disabled list. Sprained right ankle

05/30/12

 New York Mets placed SS Ronny Cedeno on the 15-Day disabled list retroactive to May 27, 2012. Strained left calf.

06/03/12

 New York Mets placed LF Mike Baxter on the 15-Day disabled list retroactive to June 2, 2012. Displaced right collarbone.
   

06/05/12

 New York Mets placed RHP Ramon Ramirez on the 15-Day disabled list retroactive to May 31, 2012. Hamstring strain

 

Nationals injuries

04/03/12

 Washington Nationals placed 1B Chris Marrero on the 60-Day disabled list. rehab from torn left hamstring
  Washington Nationals placed LF Michael Morse on the 15-Day disabled list retroactive to March 26, 2012. strained right lat
  Washington Nationals placed RHP Chien-Ming Wang on the 15-Day disabled list retroactive to March 26, 2012. strained left hamstring
  Washington Nationals placed RHP Cole Kimball on the 60-Day disabled list. rehab from right shoulder surgery
  Washington Nationals placed RHP Drew Storen on the 15-Day disabled list retroactive to March 26, 2012. elbow injury
  Washington Nationals placed CF Rick Ankiel on the 15-Day disabled list retroactive to March 28, 2012. quad injury

04/27/12

 Washington Nationals placed RHP Brad Lidge on the 15-Day disabled list retroactive to April 22, 2012. Abdominal wall strain

04/28/12

 Washington Nationals placed 3B Ryan Zimmerman on the 15-Day disabled list retroactive to April 21, 2012. Sore right shoulder

04/29/12

 Washington Nationals placed 3B Mark DeRosa on the 15-Day disabled list retroactive to April 28, 2012. Oblique strain
   

05/08/12

 Washington Nationals placed RF Jayson Werth on the 15-Day disabled list retroactive to May 7, 2012. Broken left wrist

05/13/12

 Washington Nationals placed C Wilson Ramos on the 15-Day disabled list. Torn right knee ligament

05/15/12

 Washington Nationals placed C Sandy Leon on the 15-Day disabled list. High right ankle sprain.
  Washington Nationals transferred C Wilson Ramos from the 15-Day disabled list to the 60-Day disabled list

05/22/12

 Washington Nationals placed RHP Ryan Mattheus on the 15-Day disabled list retroactive to May 21, 2012. Plantar fascia strain in his left foot.
   

05/28/12

 Washington Nationals placed 3B Chad Tracy on the 15-Day disabled list retroactive to May 27, 2012. Right adductor strain.
  Washington Nationals transferred RF Jayson Werth from the 15-Day disabled list to the 60-Day disabled list.

06/03/12

 Washington Nationals transferred RHP Drew Storen from the 15-Day disabled list to the 60-Day disabled list

06/07/12

 Washington Nationals placed C Carlos Maldonadoon the 15-Day disabled list retroactive to May 30, 2012. Strained lower back.

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Phillies Profile – Hector Luna

In Philadelphia Phillies on June 7, 2012 at 5:12 pm

If you follow the Philly Pressbox (https://phillypressbox.wordpress.com) (@phillypressbox) you’re aware that we did a review and analysis of each Phillies player, Manager Charlie Manuel and the coaching staff leading up to Opening Day 2012.  Now that the season has reached the 50 game mark there have been four additional players that are on the roster that we will get to know. We’ve profiled Jake Diekman, Raul Valdez and Mike Fontenot, today we will get to know Hector Luna. UPDATE: As the injuries keep mounting we will continue to profile additional players. Next up will be Michael Schwimer.

Hector Luna –Luna has been bouncing around the major leagues since making his debut in 2004, at the age of 24, with the St. Louis Cardinals. Other than 2009 and 2011 he has been on a big league roster every other season. Hector originally signed with the Cleveland Indians as a free agent in 1999. He was drafted away from the Indians by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2002, then returned back to the Indians in 2003. The Cardinals drafted him out of the Indians organization in the 2003 Rule 5 draft later in 2003. In 2006 the Cardinals traded him back to the Indians. In 2007 he was waived by the Indians and signed by the Toronto Blue Jays. He lasted only one year in the Blue Jays organization before being granted free agency. He was quickly signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers organization in December of 2008. Again, Hector only made it through one season with an organization. He was realeased by the Dodgers at the end of the 2009 season and signed by the Florida Marlins.   Another year later, Luna was released by the Marlins and signed by the Boston Red Sox organization. Again, one year later, he was granted free agency before signing with the Phillies in December of 2011. To say it’s been quite a journey for Luna to end up in Philadelphia is putting it mildly. Interesting enough of the 8 organizations Luna has played for he has been in the major leagues for 5 of them, St. Louis, Cleveland, Toronto, Florida and Philadelphia.  

In the parts of the 7 seasons Luna has spent in the big leagues he has played in only 323 games. He has totalled 762 at-bats and 203 hits with a lifetime batting average of .266. He’s hit 14 home runs and has driven in 95 runs. What has kept Luna working is his versatility. He has played every position, except pitcher and catcher, at the major league level. He also acted as the DH at times in the American League. 

As a minor league player Luna has over 4000 plate appearances in parts of 11 seasons, mostly at AAA. He has a career .279 batting average. His big league numbers aren’t much different than his minor league numbers, he just hasn’t been able to stick. This is likely due to his lack of power, only 87 career home runs, and as he’s gotten older his lack of speed. Early in his career he was able to steal bases, 32 in 2002, but hasn’t had more than 7 in any of  the last 5 seasons.

Personal Analysis: The 32 year old Luna is likely a short timer with the Phillies as well. He’s done a decent job filling in at 1st base and occassionally in the outfield in the 12 games he’s played.  He’s presently hitting .300 with one home run and 9 rbi’s. The feeling here is that as people start getting healthy and coming off the disable list that the numbers will catch up to Luna and he will ultimaetely be sent back to Lehigh Valley.  

Tomorrow we will preview Michael Schwimer.

For those that haven’t followed our Phillies Profiles you can see them all in the archives file under “Phillies”.

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Phillies Profile – Mike Fontenot

In Philadelphia Phillies on June 3, 2012 at 1:59 pm

If you follow the Philly Pressbox (https://phillypressbox.wordpress.com) (@phillypressbox) you’re aware that we did a review and analysis of each Phillies player, Manager Charlie Manuel and the coaching staff leading up to Opening Day 2012.  Now that the season has reached the 50 game mark there have been four additional players that are on the roster that we will get to know. We profiled Jake Diekman Wednesday and Raul Valdez on Thursday, today we will get to know Mike Fontenot. 

Mike Fontenot –The 5’8″, 165 lb. utilityman was signed by the Phillies in the middle of Spring Training and nearly made the ballclub. The journeyman has played 2b, ss, 3b and in the outfield throughout his career. The 31-year old Fontenot is a former 1st round draft pick of the Baltimore Orioles, as the 19th pick, in the 2001 amateur draft out of LSU.

Fontenot quickly ran through the Orioles minor league system playing a full season in A ball in 2002, AA in 2003 and AAA in 2004 as the up and coming 2nd baseman in the Orioles system. He hit .325 with 12 HR’s and 66 RBI’s at AA Bowie. Before the 2005 season Fontenot was traded, along with Jerry Hairston and Dave Cruthers, to the Chicago Cubs for Sammy Sosa. Mike made his major league debut for the Cubs on April 13, 2005. He finished the season with 2 official at bats in his 7 games played. He spent most of the 2005 and 2006 and half of the 2007 seasons at AAA Iowa. He finally made it to the big leagues on a full time basis in 2007, with the Cubs. He hit .278 in 86 games in his first full time action. Mike stayed with the Cubs in 2008 and 2009, playing in 119 and 135 games. He hit .305 and .236. 2010 brought another change of scenery for Fontenot. He was traded in mid-season from the Cubs to the San Francisco Giants. His combined numbers for the year were .283 in 103 games. Again Mike seemed that he had found a home in San Francisco, however, he only played in 85 games and hit .227 in 2011. This earned him some time back at the AAA level. Mike was released by the Giants this Spring and quickly signed with the Phillies.

As we stated earlier, Fontenot was in a roster fight until the last day of Spring Training but didn’t make the team and was sent to AAA Lehigh Valley. He was hitting .308 in 58 at bats before getting the call to the Phillies. Since being called up Fontenot has played in 12 games, playing both 2nd base and 3rd base, as well as pinch hitting. He’s hitting .429 with 2 RBI’s thus far.

Personal Analysis: Fontenot brings big league experience and can play many positions. This versatility will give him a chance to stick withe the Phils. There will be big decisions to be made by the Phillies management regarding Fontenot, Pete Orr, Hector Luna, Michael Martinez and Jim Thome, when they return from the DL, and ultimately Chase Utley and Freddie Galvis. There are only so many spots and too many players. Obviously, injuries have played a big part in these players getting opportunities, however, at some point they should all be healthy, that’s where Fontenot’s experience and versatility will help him stay in the big leagues.

 

Tomorrow we will preview Hector Luna.

For those that haven’t followed our Phillies Profiles you can see them all in the archives file under “Phillies”.

Feel free to click the FOLLOW button on the bottom right of this page, input your email address and receive your Philly Pressbox posts directly in your email.

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