Advancing Runners

Here's an interesting idea.  If a runner is on second with nobody out and a switch-hitter is batting against a lefty, why not bat from the left side?  It is obviously easier to pull a ball to second base as a lefty than it is to hit it the opposite way as a righty, so if your goal is to advance the runner it would be easier to do so as a lefty.

A player who is willing to give himself up like that is the ultimate sign of a team player if you ask me.

Phils/Braves game unbelivable for so many reasons

It wasn't the type of game you want to relive, but last night's Phillies/Braves 11 inning debacle was a memorable one.  Here are some of the remarkable stats from the game for the Phillies:

HITTING

13 runs scored was 16% of their previous run total.

13 runs is 5 more than the Phillies have scored in any other game this season.

The Phillies increased their runs per game from 3.33 to 3.72 and improved to ninth in the league in runs scored.

Ruiz knocked in more runs in one game (7) than the season totals of all but 4 of his teammates.

Ruiz now has 17 RBIs and leads the team in that category by 3.

PITCHING

15 runs allowed is 6 more than the Phils have allowed in any other game. 

15 runs allowed is 16% of their previous run total.

Halladay has given up 2 more runs than anyone else on the Phillies pitching staff.

The Phillies increased their ERA nearly half a run per game from 2.94 to 3.42 and dropped to sixth in the league in ERA.

Quotable quotes for Cole Hamels

In what seems to be a recurring theme, Cole Hamels was overlooked last night.  But I was able to find a few good quotes regarding Cole.

Hamels fell behind a lot of hitters and threw a crapload of pitches in his six innings last night.  Originally I thought he just had bad stuff, but it sounds like the Braves deserve a little credit:

"The plan I had going into the game, and the way I thought their approach would be, definitely wasn't," he said. "It was the complete opposite."

And here's a quote from Matt Diaz of the Braves:

"I never tip my hat to many pitchers, but Cole Hamels is one I will constantly tip my hat to," he said. "He bared right down after the McCann homer. He's fun to play against because it's always going to be a battle, but it's frustrating as heck because he wins a lot of those battles."

You would not have heard that quote three years ago.  Cole needed to learn how to control himself and he did just that.  Mental strength is what separates good from great and Hamels has moved from the former to the latter.

Charlie is in panic mode

The Phillies are 1-3 offense looks terrible right now and the end of the world appears near.  But the Phils have only played 2% of the games this season and still have 158 to go.  It's not panic time and the players understand.

But I don't get that impression from Charlie Manuel.  Some of his quotes sound like a manager who is already in panic mode.  Here's a few of them:

"We don't hit the ball hard enough to score runs."

"I don't want our guys to think we can't score."

"When I look at it, I still come up with the same names."
"I don't care what we've got. Give them to me, and we'll work with them."

Durbin steals spot from former Phils minor leaguer

Here’s an interesting story involving two former Phils: according to hardballtalk.com, long-time Phillies minor leaguer Yohan Flande finally had his chance to pitch in the big leagues.  That is until another former Phil, Chad Durbin showed up. 

As of yesterday, Flande made the final cut as the Braves the 25^th man on the roster.  However, when he Nationals released Durbin, the Braves picked him up and it was back to the minors for Flande. 

Funny how things work out sometimes…

Matt Cain deal means big money for Hamels

Matt Cain just signed a five-year, $112.5 million deal yesterday.  As a good comparable for Hamels, Cain's deal will be the absolute minimum Hamels will possibly get.

$112.5 million works out to 22.5 million per season.  Cain apparently was desperate to get a deal done before the season started, meaning Hamels has more leverage and will probably get WAY more than that if he tests free agency.

Cain's career ERA (3.35) is a smidgen lower than Hamels (3.39), but Cain's career record is 69-73, while Hamels' is 74-54.  Hamels is clearly the better pitcher and much better than his 3.39 career ERA now that he added a cutter.  Hamels is also coming off his best season, going 14-9 with a 2.79 ERA.

Cain's deal is not good news for the Phillies, because they are now probably looking at an offer of six years for at least $22.5 million per year and as high as $25 million per year.  Yikes.

Scott Boras did no favors for Ryan Madson

Don't make a deal with the Devil. Ryan Madson discovered that the hard way when he chose Scott Boras as his agent.

Madson was oh so close to signing his first "big" contract with the Phillies, but ended up settling on a 1-year deal. With this injury, he probably won't get a multi-year contract next year, either. Things most certainly did not work out for Mr. Madson.

But...

Madson is not a helpless victim. He knew exactly what he was getting into when he hired Scott Boras as his agent. Scott Boras is who you choose when your only goal is to sign for the biggest money possible, and Boras is willing to take big risks to get there. Sometimes it works like a charm. J.D. Drew sat out a season before signing a big contract. Matt Holliday signed a $120 million contract. Madson was hoping for the same outcome.

But sometime is backfires. It’s hard to tell what exactly happened during Madson’s negotiations with the Phillies, but I would imagine the Phillies were spooked by Boras. Maybe Boras verbally agreed to a contract and the Phillies didn’t trust him. Maybe Ruben Amaro just watched the scene in Moneyball where “Scott” screws over Billy Beane, who also thought he had agreed on a deal (Brad Pitt gives a great quote, too).

Boras has the reputation of playing a great game of chicken and waiting as long as it takes to get the deal he wants. The Phillies didn’t have the luxury to wait. They couldn’t afford to let Madson walk while someone grabbed Papelbon, so they made their move before it was too late.

Regardless of how it went down, Madson is left with no long-term contract, an injury, and a major surgery forthcoming. I feel bad for him personally, but it was his choice that put him in this position.

All I can say is I sure am glad we have Papelbon...

Was Juan Pierre the right move?

The Phillies announced on Thursday that they added Juan Pierre to the roster and I'm not sure Pierre was a better choice than Scott Podsednick.  It makes sense in the regard that they needed to add Pierre to the roster by today or release him, while the Phillies have the option to send Podsednick down to the minors.  Pierre is also a veteran with speed, who can handle the bat well and is also a great bunter.  Simply put, he's a guy who want to have on your team.

However, at this point of his career, I don't think he is the better player.  Podsednick's average is higher over the last couple years and he hits for more power than Pierre.  More than anything, if Podsednick is healthy I think he gives you the better chance to win.  They are both similar in age (Pierre is actually a year younger) and offer similar qualities, so it's more or less a coin flip, but I would have sided with Pierre.

Not that I'm upset, because I think Pierre can have a really positive impact on this team, more in the clubhouse than anything.  The Phillies will struggle at times to score runs, and Pierre is the kind of guy who can show the team how to manufacture runs and make things happen.  That might be worth the 800 grand right there.

What exactly is Chase Utley's Chondromalacia?

What the heck is Chondromalacia?

Even after Chase Utley's press conference yesterday, just about all we know is that Utley claims he has Chondromalacia.  I am no doctor, but I did some snooping online and here is what I found.

Utley suffers from a knee condition called Chondromalacia patellae (or patella, not sure which), also called Patellofemoral Syndrome.  Chondromalacia is due to an irritation of the undersurface of the kneecap. The undersurface of the kneecap, or patella, is covered with a layer of smooth cartilage, which should glide effortlessly across the knee during bending of the joint. In Utley’s case, the kneecap tends to rub against one side of the knee joint, and the cartilage surface becomes irritated.  Chondromalacia patella is one of the most common causes of knee pain, especially in women.

As we’ve seen with Utley, there are a ton of treatment options including physical therapy and surgery.  Allowing the inflammation of chondromalacia to settle is the first step of treatment before gradually returning to physical activities.  It seems clear that was how the Phillies and Chase handled it from the beginning, but after that, there doesn’t seem to be a definitive answer on how to approach it.  Maybe over the next few weeks/ months, we can figure it out for ourselves.

How does Theriot or Fontenot sound?

Here is the best news I've heard all week.  According to Jayson Stark, the Giants are looking to get rid of either Ryan Theriot or Mike Fontenot.

Either one would be a welcome relief and a good fit on the Phillies as a utility infielder.  Both are seasoned veterans with decent track records.  Both are primarily second baseman who can also play shortstop.  Music to my ears!  That would be a strong answer to the problem the Phillies face because it gives a solid replacement for Utley and allows the Phillies to move Galvis to shortstop.

Here are the numbers on each of them:

Ryan Theriot is set to make $1.25 million and is a career .282/.344/.353 hitter.

Mike Fontenot is set to make $1.05 million and is a career .263/.304/.377, but hit just .227 last season.

There is one small caveat that might stop the Phils from trying to grab them right away.  As David Murphy from philly.com pointed out, if the Phillies want to acquire them now, they would need to pay their full salary and would also need to trade in order to take them.  But if the Giants release either player, the Phillies would avoid a trade and might get them cheaper.

Great news!

Top 25 Phillies Prospects

Here's a link to a philly.com article chronicling the Phillies 25 Prospects.  According to Bob Brookover, five of  Baseball America's top 100 prospects came from drafts conducted by Marti Wolever of the Phillies. Only the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees, and Texas Rangers have produced more.

Of course, through some of the recent trades, the Phillies currently have only 1 of those 5 players and Baseball America ranks the Phillies 27th of 30 teams.

What Should We Expect From Freddy Galvis?

With Chase Utley out for the near future, Freddy Galvis will most likely be the Phillies starting second baseman.  Here's a link with what to expect from Galvis from Seedlings to Stars.

Phillies Day of Reckoning

Today is a day of reckoning for Phillies fans.  Today is the day we realize we might have seen the end of this current Phillies Dynasty.  The 2012 Phillies are an old, injured team, and it sure seems like their best days are in the rear view mirror.  Two of the biggest pieces of this magical run may not be on the field for quite some time.

Now there’s the realization that Chase Utley’s career might be essentially over.  It’s not supposed to be that way.  33-year-old players should be in the prime of their career, not the tail end.  Chase Utley is supposed to go to the Hall of Fame as one of the best second baseman ever.  In reality, we can just hope to salvage some worth out of the $15 million per year due to Utley.

The 5 time division champs have been a special group, but most of those players from are gone now.  The players that remain are shells of their former selves, at least physically.  We are reaching the end of the tunnel with only a dim light at the end.

But all is not as bleak as it seems.  The Phillies still are the best team in baseball according to Vegas.    Pitching and defense win championships, and the Phillies have both.  We still have Halladay, Lee, and Hamels.  Those three give any team the chance to win.  Hey, the Giants' pitching led them to a World Series despite their offense ranking dead last in the league.

The Phillies very well could win the World Series at least a couple more times, but now they will have to fight for it.  Since 2008, the Phillies have been by far the best team in the National League and it just a question of what they would do when they made the playoffs.  Now they must earn it.

We’re under a dark cloud at the moment.  Now we find out what is behind that cloud.

Phillies statement regarding Chase Utley

Not good.  Ruben Amaro told us what everyone knew already: everything is not alright with Chase Utley.  Here is the statement issued by the Phillies regarding Chase Utley:

"Chase's rehab process has come to a bit of a plateau.  He has made some strides but not enough to take the field.  He is headed out of town for a few days to be evaluated by a specialist that has helped athletes overcome his issue.  We anticipate that this trip will allow him to build on what he has already done with Scott Sheridan in order to get over the hump.  He wants more than anything to be on the field with his teammates and we believe that this is a step in that direction."

Ruben Amaro Jr.
Senior Vice President & General Manager

Analyzing Vance Worley

Will Vance Worley avoid the "sophomore jinx" in 2012?  Worley pitched four perfect innings against Pittsburgh yesterday - not a bad way to answer the question, Vance.  But this is still just Spring Training, so here are a few things to pay attention to with Worley:

1. Are hitters swinging and missing? 
Worley went an entire game last season without a single swing-and-a-miss.  Pitching to contact is not a terrible thing because it keeps your pitch count down, but too much contact is awfully dangerous.  Yesterday, Worley watched a lot of whiffs.  As he put it, "Of course, I'd rather pitch to contact because it helps you get deeper into games, but if they're going to swing at them and miss, I'll take them."

2. How many called third strikes?
Worley had huge success last season with a cut fastball that tailed back over the plate to left-handed hitters.  But that won't last forever.  Players watch tape and will not get fooled on that pitch much longer.  If and when that percentage drops is when we will see what Worley can really offer.

3. Is he throwing the fabled "split-finger changeup" that Dubee taught him?  If Worley wants positive answers to questions 1 and 2, he needs to develop a pitch with some bite on it.  Worley demonstrated good command and great poise, but he didn't have a devastating pitch to put a hitter away. 

Think of Worley as a better version of Kyle Kendrick.  When players figured Kendrick out, he started to really get hit around, at which point the Phillies basically told him to find a new pitch or go away.  When Kendrick finally mastered that new pitch (cutter) he became valuable enough for two years and around 3 million bucks. 

Worley is probably on a similar path.  If he stays exactly the same, he may be pitching for Lehigh Valley in a couple of months.  But if he can find the nasty pitch he needs, he could do special things this season.

4. Does his attitude change?  Worley is different, and I like it.  Worley said yesterday regarding his first outing, "I know you're not supposed to sit and think about stuff that happened, but I did and I wasn't happy about it for four days."  Yep, still the same.  Comments like those tell me he is the same quirky guy we saw last year. 

That is your homework for Spring Training.  With nothing else that interesting going on with the Phillies, your only assignment is to keep your eyes on Worley.

Enough Utley Conspiracy Theories

Quit it with all the Chase Utley conspiracy theories. 

Just because Utley is going to miss half of Spring Training does not mean there is this huge cover up.  It is certainly possible, because Ruben Amaro would lie to his grandmother if she asked him about the health of one of his players.  But calm the heck down already!

What has changed since last October that has everyone in a frenzy?  I'll tell you what.  Nothing.

There have been no indications from watching Utley to suggest he's any worse than before.  It is a little weird that without any hesitation, Charlie Manuel said Utley wouldn't play spring ball for at least ten days.  It's not often that superstars with no official injury sit out Grapefruit League games, but would you handle it any differently?

Utley has a chronic knee condition which doesn't exactly get better by playing baseball games.  The Phillies are already missing Ryan Howard.  They can't afford to lose Utley, too.  Before you go all JFK on me, can you give one good reason why the Phillies should play Utley?  To sell tickets in Clearwater?  To sell more Utley jerseys?  To give him more practice?

Forget about what the Phillies say, just use your own eyes and logic.  Utley has the same patellar tendinitis and chondromalacia that we knew about already.  Especially for a hard-nosed player like Utley, the best medicine is rest, and that is exactly what the Phillies are giving him.

How did the new guys do?

One of the best parts of Spring Training is that we get a look at some of the future Phils.  Here's how the major league hopefuls did in the Phillies first game on Saturday.

Freddy Galvis 0-for-3, 0 RBI
Scott Podsednick 1-for-2 0 RBI, BB, R
Tyson Gillies 2-for-3 1 RBI
Cesar Hernandez 0-for-2 0 RBI
Hector Luna 1-for-1 0 RBI, BB
Domonic Brown 0-for-2 0 RBI
Juan Pierre 1-for-1 0 RBI, R
Sebastian Valle 0-for-1 0 RBI, BB

While we're at it, here's how ALL the pitchers did:

Cole Hamels 2 IP, 1 ER
Dave Bush 2 IP, 1ER
Jonathan Papelbon 1 IP, 0 ER
Dontrelle Willis 1 IP, 1 ER
Chad Qualls 1 IP, 3 ER
Raul Valdez 1 IP, 0 ER
Mike Stutes 1 IP, 2 ER

Implications of new playoff format on Phillies

Major League Baseball officially announced the addition of one Wild Card team in each league.  At first glance, the baseball traditionalist in me hated the idea of adding yet another team to line the pockets of the owners and render division titles virtually useless.

But, believe it or not, an extra Wild Card team actually gives more meaning to winning your division.  Under the new format, the two Wild Cards must face off in a one game playoff where they need to use their best available arms. 

Now the Wild Card team can't save their best pitcher for game 1 of the NLDS.  That's a huge advantage to the Phillies if they win the NL East again because it may eliminate the Wild Card's staff ace and nearly guarantees the Phils see their fourth or fifth starter.

However...

MLB also announced that due to scheduling conflicts, for the 2012 season only the top seed with play the first two games of the NLDS on the road and the last three at home.  Huh?  Doesn't that penalize the top seed?  That means that if this was in place last season, the Phillies would have won 102 regular season games only to play in St. Louis for the first two games.

It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but if the Phillies can split the first two games they are in a great position.  Just win the first two and it's not a problem.  Still, why not let the top seed choose and end the controversy all together?

Listen to Charlie

After a quickie meeting with Jimmy Rollins, here is what Charlie Manuel said about Rollins: "Jimmy can get in the count 2-1, 3-1 quite a bit. Then he'll chase a ball up out of the strike zone and hit a fly ball to center field. I talked to him about that - being a little more selective and getting a better ball to hit. Learn and practice that way."

Can you imagine if Jimmy actually followed Charlie's advice? Rollins is the face of the Phillies, played an enormous part in bring the city a championship, and is the best defensive shortstop in Phillies history.

But the guy drives me nuts at the plate.

Rollins still has a nice compact swing and enough speed to be an impact hitter if that's what he chooses. If he ever decided to get over his Napoleon complex and become a professional hitter, he could have a monster season.

But don't hold your breath....

Six Reasons why Joe Blanton will get traded

If I had to place a bet right now, my money is going on Joe Blanton pitching for someone not named the Phillies this season. There is plenty of evidence that suggests the Phillies want to trade Blanton.

1. The Phillies payroll is at the breaking point and Joe Blanton is due $8.5 million this season. Is anyone willing to take on all of that salary? Not a chance in hell. But Blanton might be worth two or three million to some team.


2. A two-year, $7.5 million contract for Kyle Kendrick. Ruben Amaro calls it "cost certainty." I call it your number five starter.


3. According to philly.com, the Phillies attempted a trade for AJ Burnett.


4. Ruben Amaro's comments leave some room for the possibility of Blanton going bye bye: "Right now, I think we're pretty comfortable with our rotation," Amaro said. "I like the way we set up. Vance had a very good year last year. Joe Blanton, if he's healthy, is going to be a good pitcher for us. That is still an 'if' because of the year he had."


5. Charlie Manuel: We have six starters. He's definitely one of those guys." One of those guys? Not exactly a ringing endorsement.


6. Rich Dubee: When asked if Kendrick could start 25 or 30 games he said "Very much so. I think there probably would be a lot of teams comfortable with Kyle Kendrick as a starter."

Joe Blanton will be gone after this season, so if they trade him now they can save a little cash which they can always use later on fifth starter if need-be. And Kyle Kendrick is perfectly capable of taking Blanton's starts.

Of course there isn't much behind Kendrick, and you never can have too much pitching....