Phillies Nation

Year in Review: Shane Victorino

Posted by Nick "Beerman" Staskin, Thu, November 18, 2010 10:00 AM

Below are three different stat lines:

.268/.343/.479 16 HR 84 R 63 RBI 26 SB

.259/.327/.410 18 HR 84 R 69 RBI 34 SB

.255/.329/.444 22 HR 91 R 77 RBI 29 SB

Can you guess which line was Shane Victorino’s? The middle one. The top one belongs to Andres Torres and the bottom line to Drew Stubbs. However, if you asked the majority of people who they’d want on their team, many would answer Victorino.If he wasn’t Hawaiian and in a big market would Shane Victorino be a household name among baseball fans?

In 2010, Shane was kind of a man without a home. Over the course of the season, he hit in every spot in the lineup except for cleanup and 8^th. The one spot where he seemed to put his best numbers together was in the leadoff spot while Jimmy Rollins was out or moved down.

In the leadoff spot, Victorino went .276/.345/.810 in 82 games. Perhaps, some of Victorino’s struggles can be attributed to the fact he couldn’t get comfortable in the lineup. That being said, he did set a new career-high in home runs.

My big gripe with Victorino this season was the fact claims to be a switch-hitter. However his struggles against right-handed pitchers this year were brutal.

Shane’s numbers against RH: .235/.306/.692 12 HR 47 RBI 38 BB 58K in 422 at bats

Shane’s numbers against LH:  .321/.381/.921 6 HR 22 RBI  15 BB 21K in 165 at bats.

Those differences are staggering. As good as Shane was against lefties, he was that bad against righties. Now I don’t think he should be a platoon guy, but at the same time, I wonder if Phillies coaches ever considered batting Shane exclusively from the right side just to check things out and see the results for a short period of time.

Victorino added another Gold Glove to his closest last week. As there are with many Gold Glove choices, this one came with a little scrutiny. Victorino is known around baseball for having a great glove, but once again I wonder if he wasn’t a known-name from the island of Hawaii would that be the case. Vic’s UZR/150 came in at a respectable 3.3. Not bad, but good for only 14^th among qualified NL outfielders. A quick search on the list, and you would see the aforementioned Torres was tops in the NL at a whopping 24.8

When all was said and done Victorino put together a solid year, down from his 2008 and 2009 campaign, but solid nonetheless. However, I would not be surprised if Ruben Amaro Jr. attempts to move him this offseason.

NICK’S GRADE: 6.2/10

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Year in Review: Ross Gload

Posted by Nick "Beerman" Staskin, Sat, November 06, 2010 10:00 AM

By: Jeff Nelson

Around this time last year one of Ruben Amaro Jr.’s main offseason priorities was to upgrade a bench that struggled mightily down the stretch and was later exposed in the World Series loss to the Yankees.  About a month later during the winter meetings, Amaro signed the reigning 2009 pinch-hit-leader Ross Gload to a two-year $2.6MM deal, which ironically was the exact amount of his option that the Marlins declined weeks earlier.

In 2010 Gload saw very limited playing time in the field, manning the outfield corners at times and platooning with Cody “give me back my son” Ransom at first when Ryan Howard missed time with a sprained ankle in early August.  With all the talent at Charlie’s disposal on a daily basis Gload’s value derives mainly from his bat off the bench, not his glove.  It also doesn’t take a disciple of the UZR gospel to realize the shortcomings of Gload’s defense.  Certainly he’s one of the last options if not the last option as a defensive replacement late in games.

There may have been a few people who expected Gload to be among the league leaders in pinch hits for a second consecutive season (here’s lookin’ at you, Rube), but I guarantee you nobody forecasted an increase in power for a 34-year old career backup.  Gload may have hit the same six homers as he did in 2009, but he did so in almost 100-less at bats.  I can’t put my finger on exactly why this happened, but put a gun to my head and my best guess was the move from the spacious Pro Player Stadium in South Beach to the hitter-friendly confines of Citizens Bank Park.  Look even further into the numbers and Gload hit five of his six HRs at home, while posting a robust .529 SLG% at home compared to .431 on the road.  In fact, Gload hasn’t hit for this much power since his White Sox days at U.S. Cellular Field.

Gload’s stats stem from a very small sample size, however he’s still a capable backup and a valuable hitter off the bench (if you don’t believe me, compare his numbers against righties to those of the $11.5MM starting left fielder).  He proved Rube’s hunch was right and was worth every penny and then some of last year’s $1MM salary.  The only downside last year was not being able to avoid a stint on the DL with a hamstring strain late in the season.

Even though Gload’s average was up a tick from the past two years, his BABIP was down from his career average.  Moving forward to next year those two stats probably cancel out and Gload should put up relatively similar numbers provided he can stay healthy.

JEFF’S GRADE: 7.6/10

NICK’S GRADE: 7.2/10 Gload gave Charlie Manuel a solid option off the bench at a reasonable price. With solid career numbers it is a reasonable assumption that he can put up the same kind of season next year.

KIERAN’S GRADE: 7.4/10 I liked Gload coming off the bench.  Even with the small sample size, I don’t think his numbers change given more opportunities.  He is a solid option for ole Charlie.

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2010 Year in Review: Greg Dobbs

Posted by Nick "Beerman" Staskin, Thu, November 04, 2010 10:25 AM

Normally on a team that wins 97 games, there is a solid contribution from every player on the roster.

Greg Dobbs is the exception to the rule. Once a fan favorite, the Phillies faithful turned on the left-handed “infielder” for good reason. It’s tough to call Dobbs an infielder, simply because that would mean he had to field the ball, something that didn’t really ever seem to happen.

In a season riddled by injuries for the Phillies, Dobbs managed just a .196/.251/.331 season with 39 strikeouts in 163 at bats.

Many fans rejoiced when Dobbs was sent down in late June. But like a cat, he landed on his feet as he was recalled just five days later when Chase Utley and Placido Polanco went on the disabled list.

Dobbs defense was pretty laughable though. In 36 games at third base, Dobbs managed to put together an UZR of -5.1. Among the 51 infielders with at least 200 innings at third base, Dobbs came in at 40th. To put in perspective, had Dobbs been called on to play 150 games at third, he would have been 29.5 runs worse than an average fielder.

It’s easy to point out Dobbs’s inadequacies in roles he was never supposed to fill. However, Dobbs’s biggest downfall was in his main job, as a pinch-hitter. In 2008 as a cult hero, Dobbs led the majors in pinch-hitting at .355 (22-62) with 16 RBIs. This year, Dobbs managed to hit just .122 (6-49) with only four RBIs coming off the bench.

It is tough to go off a single season, especially as a pinch-hitter simply because you are going off such small sample sizes. However, when your job as a pinch-hitter is rewarded on mostly a year–to-year basis, those sample sizes can help you earn your next big paycheck, or they can be the reason that you are given your walking papers.

In this case, that is why Greg Dobbs will not be with the 2011 Phillies.

NICK’S GRADE: 0.5/10

Tomorrow: Domonic Brown

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2010 Year in Review: Jimmy Rollins

Posted by Nick "Beerman" Staskin, Sat, October 30, 2010 10:00 AM

What could have been?

Let’s go back to April, a month that had never seen Jimmy Rollins post early-season success. After the opening road trip, J-Roll was hitting .391/.516/.739 and was raking the ball. Then the home opener came around, Rollins pulled up lame during warm ups, and the early promise that he had shown was gone.

Jimmy’s season from Hell was upon us. Rollins missed 74 games due to injuries, and not surprisingly posted career lows in nearly every offensive stat. Fans kept hoping that Rollins was going to turn his offensive slumps around, but he just never got going.

Rollins slashes of .243/.320/.374 rivaled that of his backup Wilson Valdez and even led some to foolishly wonder who would be the better option in the postseason.

One thing that didn’t leave Jimmy during his struggles was his always stellar glove. J-Roll posted a 6.9 UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating), the second highest number of his career. Despite the strained calf that lingered all season, Rollins still seemed to make almost play that came his way.

The scary thing is this, do we overvalue Jimmy Rollins because we see him on a nightly basis. The last three years have not been kind to the 2007 MVP. Since winning the award, Rollins has had an average season of .256/.322/.411. Was 2007 a fluke? Or did Jimmy Rollins just get old really quick? Keep in mind 2010 was the tenth year in a row that Rollins was the everyday shortstop.

Rollins has always been a favorite of mine that I defended to all ends, but after this year it’s hard to defend him. It’s tough to be a weapon as a switch-hitter when you hit .218/.297/.360 against righties.  J-Roll made a name in Philly by putting extra-base hits together at will, however this year he managed just 27 in 350 at bats.

2011 will be an interesting season for Rollins. It is the last year he is under contract, and at this point Ruben Amaro would be foolish to extend him without first seeing, what Jimmy has left in the tank. Can Rollins find the form that has been lacking for nearly two seasons, or will we see the end of Jimmy Rollins in red pinstripes?

NICK’S GRADE: 3.0/10

Tomorrow: Wilson Valdez

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2010 Year in Review: Placido Polanco

Posted by Nick "Beerman" Staskin, Fri, October 29, 2010 11:30 AM

Placido Polanco’s first year back in red pinstripes was definitely an interesting one.  And after taking this assignment to recap Poly’s first year back, I left myself wondering how to sum it up.

While his average didn’t drop much from the beginning of the season, Polanco lost any and all power he had before getting plunked on the elbow. Over the course of the season, Polanco missed 30 games, causing us to see a little too much of the now departed Juan Castro, and the new fan favorite Wilson Valdez.

Polanco peaked in mid August, sporting numbers like .325/.357/.430, however over the final six weeks of the season those numbers dropped to .298/.339/.386 as Polanco nabbed just nine extra-base hits after July 31st.

The one aspect of Polanco’s game that didn’t fade over the course of the season was his glove. Coming into the season, many, including myself, were very worried about the transition from second base to third base. Poly was the fourth best defensive third baseman in the NL, sporting a UZR/150 of 11.3. Not bad for a guy just turned 35 years old.

But how would you describe Polanco’s year to somebody who didn’t see him play one game. What is the first word that comes to mind? To me, I’d sum him up as: there. He was just kind of “there” this season. Unfortunately, the first comparison that comes to my mind is Raul Ibanez’s 2009 season. Polanco started off very hot before fading big time down the stretch after an injury.

Hopefully next season, Polanco can find the form he had earlier in his 2010 campaign, because if not, the Phillies will have a two full years of a slow third baseman who has absolutely zero power and struggles to draw a walk. Polanco will be the definition of a replacement player.

NICK’S GRADE: 6.2/10

PAUL’S GRADE: 7.0/10 – His defense was good, not great, and he made more outs than we’d like to see (just a .339 OBP with his .298 AVG), but I give the guy credit for playing a huge chunk of the season with an elbow rearranged by Tim Hudson. Hopefully he regains form for the last two years of his deal.

Tomorrow: Jimmy Rollins

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Questionable Decisions Have Phils Facing Elimination

Posted by Nick "Beerman" Staskin, Thu, October 21, 2010 12:33 AM

Devastating. Excruciating. Mind-blowing. Baffling.

Those are just some of the words that come to mind after the Giants put a stranglehold on the 2010 National League Championship.

With the swing of the bat, Juan Uribe’s sacrifice fly put the Phillies back against the wall, giving San Francisco a 6-5 win in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Let the second guessing of Charlie Manuel begin. Joe Blanton was pulled from Wednesday’s night game after going 4 2/3 innings, allowing three runs and throwing just 63 pitches. While Blanton didn’t have his best stuff, he did what he normally does: kept the Phillies in the game. However, Manuel’s decision to pull the rotund righty opened Pandora’s Box.

If the leash was so short on Blanton, then why not just pitch Roy Halladay on short rest? A decision that became even more perplexing when it was Roy Oswalt who came out of the bullpen to pitch the bottom of the ninth. While many will answer that it won’t affect his potential Game Six start, what would have happened if Oswalt would have gotten out of the inning? How many innings could he have gone? I guess we’ll never know.

The Halladay/Oswalt/Blanton decision wasn’t the only head-scratcher. Some had big influences on the game, others not so much…but some food for thought:

-Why was it Domonic Brown who was called on to pinch hit in the fifth inning? Brown faced one pitch and ended the inning on a soft ground ball. With a lack of speed on the bench, Brown was really put on this lineup for pinch running opportunities.  Brown faced one pitch and ended the inning on a soft ground ball. Twice now, he was used as the first bat off the bench.

-When Chad Durbin obviously didn’t have it tonight, why was he not pulled when facing Sandoval with men on 2^nd and 3^rd and no outs? Sandoval couldn’t hit lefties all season and Antonio Bastardo was warming. First base was even open…a two-RBI double later and the Phillies found themselves down 5-4.

-Why was Bastardo left in the game to face Buster Posey who killed the Phillies all game long when Ryan Madson came in one batter later? Wouldn’t you rather have one of the most dominating RH relievers in baseball face the rookie? Didn’t come back to burn you, but still makes you think.

-After Jayson Werth doubled home Ryan Howard, the Phillies once again failed to move a runner from second base with no outs. Bunting isn’t exactly my favorite move in baseball, but the way the Phillies lineup has been going it’s tough to argue with the fact that it might have given the Phils their best chance to retake the lead. Once again, probably wouldn’t have changed anything as Romo blew away Francisco and Ruiz on back-to-back at bats to end the inning.

For the past few years, fans have had a “Charlie Can Do No Wrong” mantra. The questionable decisions aren’t new, but they haven’t stuck out in the past like they are now. In a city where the fans second-guess every move the chubby red-headed coach across the street makes on Sundays, it makes you wonder just how long until the fan base really starts to question the moves of Manuel.

After all that, the Phillies now lean on their ace, Halladay to bring the series back to Philadelphia. Opposing Doc is Tim Lincecum. Nobody said this series was going to be easy, but coming back from 3-1 has been done before. Let’s hope it happens again.

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Phillies Top Fish, Move to Three Games Up

Posted by Nick "Beerman" Staskin, Wed, September 15, 2010 11:24 PM

It wasn’t pretty, but the Phillies now hold a three-game lead in the National League East with 15 games left to play.

Behind an impressive night from their lineup, the Phillies carried Roy Halladay to his 19^th win as they topped the Marlins 10-5 to sweep the series and capitalize on the Atlanta Braves loss earlier in the afternoon.

Doc didn’t have his best stuff, scattering ten hits over six innings, but he did strike out nine Florida batters without walking anybody. Charlie Manuel continued to baffle fans with his use of the bullpen as he put his two anchors, Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge into another game where there services probably shouldn’t have been used.

Madson cruised in the eighth inning, however the same cannot be said for Lidge as he walked three batters, gave up one hit and also allowed an earned run before being pulled with the bases loaded for Jose Contreras who picked up the save.

Before tonight, Lidge had been dominating, allowing just one earned run over his previous 17.1 IP. With the stretch run upon us, back to back days of rest couldn’t have hurt either Lidge or Madson, but a win is a win.

Wilson Valdez provided some strength from the eight-hole, going 3-5 with 2 RBI. Chase Utley hit his 15^th home run of the season, the only one for the Phillies on the evening. Utley, Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez all scored two runs in the effort as well.

Perhaps even more impressive was the fact that Phillies only struck out four times as a team and drew six walks, three of which by Ryan Howard.

Halladay will get an extra day’s rest on each of his next two starts, which might be what the doctor ordered. Closing in on 250 innings, it is safe to say Halladay isn’t dominating the way he was early in the season. Since his dominance of the Mets on August 20^th, Halladay has seen his ERA jump from 2.16 to 2.49 despite winning his last three starts.

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Saturday’s Bus Trip and Tailgate for Mets-Phils game

Posted by Nick "Beerman" Staskin, Tue, August 17, 2010 12:28 PM

On Saturday, Phillies Nation and a fleet of buses made the trek up the Jersey Turnpike to watch Doc operate on the New York Mets. Once again, he did not disappoint.

The weather could not have been better, as we once again helped embarrass a fellow NL East rival (after witnessing a Ryan Zimmerman walk-off on our last trip), turning a Phillies road game into a neutral playing field. That weather was perfect for a classic Phillies Nation tailgate, which much like Doc never lets you down.

The Mets don’t let you grill in their lots, but that wasn’t a problem thanks to a delivery of 200 Philly cheesesteaks from Shorty’s in Manhattan. Add in hundreds of Yuenglings, Miller Lites, and over a dozen varieties of craft beers and we were good to go. There wasn’t much missing from this glorious Saturday, except maybe a semblance of a rivalry. Brian even handed out keychains to Mets fans as a sign of goodwill…and a little pity.

In recent years, the Phillies successes coupled with the Mets failures has taken some luster off the rivalry. However, when Mets fans try to bring it, Phillies fans aren’t ones to sit on their hands and take it quietly.

During the tailgate, one Met fan was attempting to heckle a gentleman on the trip. The gentleman’s wife did not take kindly to this and you know what she did? SHE SLAPPED THE METS FAN IN THE FACE WITH A CHEESESTEAK! Stereotypical? Maybe. But think about it. A Phillies fan hit a Mets fan in the face with a cheesesteak. Classic.

Eventually we all made it into the game, and once you get passed the 652,248,117 advertisements splattered across CitiField it is actually a beautiful ballpark that more than holds its own against the newest crop of stadiums to sprout up in Major League Baseball.

On the field, Roy Halladay had his A-game going and the Mets couldn’t play defense. So after just two-and-a-half hours, we were walking out of the stadium with a 4-0 victory. Ryan Madson provided some ninth-inning drama, but just for entertainment’s sake.

Thanks to everyone who attended and for helping to make it another successful road trip for Phillies Nation. This season over 1,000 Phillies fans traveled with us on our the three trips. With two of them featuring Roy Halladay starts, you couldn’t ask for much more.

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Keep The Change: It Was The Worst of Times…

Posted by Nick "Beerman" Staskin, Wed, June 02, 2010 08:00 PM

It’s no secret that it’s much easier to write a column when things aren’t going smoothly.  That being said, this column kind of writes itself.

A few weeks back, many of us looked at this past road trip as a way to put some distance between the Phillies and the competition. Sadly, it did, just not the way we figured. The Phillies now find themselves 2.5 games behind the Braves.

Where to start?

During Jimmy Rollins first absence, the rest of the lineup was hitting and the Phillies seemingly didn’t skip a beat. The second time around has not gone nearly as smooth.  Nobody is hitting. At all. In the least.

Wilson Valdez, for some ungodly reason has been hitting in the number two hole, meanwhile the team’s on base leader, Carlos Ruiz continues to hit seventh or eighth. Go figure. While it looked awful on paper, there hadn’t been a specific moment that I could point to that could really help show the general public how terrible this idea was.

Then Wednesday afternoon happened. With Jayson Werth in the leadoff hole, Charlie Manuel  kept Valdez in the two spot. Fast forward to the eigth inning. With a man on third and first base open, Bobby Cox makes the easiest move in the history of baseball, walking Werth to get to Utley. Manuel, sticking by his oldschool ways let Valdez hit for himself, keeping Shane Victorino on the bench, and thus blowing the late inning opportunity that would be the team’s last for the game.

Manuel later decided it would be a good idea to pinch hit Shane for Raul Ibanez in the ninth. I doubt there is a Phillies Nation reader who doesn’t know of my disdain for Ibanez, but seriously? Going with Valdez over Victorino, only to go with Victorino over Ibanez an inning later made zero sense.

The Valdez move isn’t the only lineup move that has led people to question the skipper.

Monday’s one-two combination of Russ Gload and Greg Dobbs was wildly laughed at by baseball experts throughout their collective websites, twitters and such. The duo combined to go 0-5, getting on base once as Dobbs walked.

The only solace for Phillies fans is that its not just the top of the lineup that isn’t hitting. However, when a team is marred in a slump like this, the in-game managing will be brought to question along with everything else. The in- game stuff has never been Manuel’s forte, but the team hasn’t been in a rut like this in years. Manuel has never had a problem reaching the team, and I’m not calling for his head by any means.

But somebody in his inner circle, has to be able to help steer Charlie in the right direction. Hitting Valdez in the two-spot just after they had decided to send him down sends question marks to the fans.

Perhaps some home cooking is what the Phils need. The friendly confines of Citizens Bank Park welcome the Phillies for seven straight this coming week.

Maybe Ryan Howard will find his power stroke that made Ruben Amaro sign him to that massive contract extension.

Maybe Chase Utley will find what many think to be one of the sweetest swings in baseball and get a multi-hit game.

Maybe Jayson Werth will get back to hitting like the guy we all so desperately  wanted the front office to lock up for years to come.

Maybe Charlie Manuel will stick with a lineup that makes sense and not lead us to question the guy who has delivered the team back-to-back pennants.

And maybe, just maybe Jimmy Rollins will return healthy sooner than later, kick some ass in the locker room, and get back to leading the team that is in such dire need of a verbal asskicking right now.

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Phils Rediscover Long Ball, Top D-Backs 3-2

Posted by Nick "Beerman" Staskin, Sat, April 24, 2010 11:14 PM

Jayson Werth put the Phillies on his back and got a little help from Raul Ibanez along the way.

Werth hit a pair of solo home runs while Ibanez added a solo shot of his own, as the Phillies came from behind to beat the Diamondbacks, 3-2.
Werth’s big shot was the game-winner in the top of the ninth inning off of Juan Gutierrez.

It had been 46 innings since the Phillies had put a ball in the seats, exactly one week dating back to Werth’s solo shot against the Marlins last Saturday; however the three solo home runs, combined with a solid night out of the bullpen propelled the Phillies to their third win in their last four games.

Making the spot start due to the injury to J.A.Happ, Nelson Figueroa took the mound and kept the Phillies in the game through five innings. His lone mistake was a two-run homer off the bat of Kelly Johnson that put the D-Backs up 2-1. All things considered, you couldn’t have asked for much more out of Figueroa as he scattered five hits, two walks and struck out four.

After Figgy’s night was over, the trio of Chad Durbin, Jose Contreras and Ryan Madson kept Arizona off the scoreboard, and struck out eight batters over the course of the final four innings.

Werth and Ibanez combined to go 4-8 with the three home runs, picking up the slack for the top of the lineup. Shane Victorino, Placido Polanco, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard all failed to reach first base, combining to go 0-16.

One last interesting nugget from this one, the Phillies only struck out four times, but managed only six hits. Of those six hits, there were three homers and a pair of doubles. Ibanez provided the only single of the game for the Phils.

Tomorrow Kyle Kendrick will take the mound as the Phillies try to take the second series of this road trip and improve to 9-3 on the road.

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Phillies Bullpen Can’t Hold Lead for Kendrick

Posted by Nick "Beerman" Staskin, Tue, April 20, 2010 10:35 PM

Stop me if you’ve heard this one last year.

The Phillies took a 3-0 lead into the eighth inning, but a win was not in store as the bullpen wasted a great performance from the starting pitching and sent the Phillies to a heart-breaking 4-3 loss.

Kyle Kendrick pitched like somebody who had read that their job was in question. After a couple of terrible starts to start the season, Kendrick pitched 8 innings of shutout baseball that included a mere four hits and two walks to go along with a pair of strikeouts, but his night would not finish with a W.

However, Ryan Madson gave people one more thing to talk about. After recording two outs in the ninth, Madson gave up back-to-back home runs to Troy Glaus and rookie slugger, Jason Heyward that tied the game and sent it into extra innings.

With the first batter in the bottom of the 10th inning, Jose Contreras delivered a pitch on a 2-2 count that Nate McLouth dropped right into the right field seats, giving the Braves a 4-3 win, and sending the Phillies to their third straight loss.

The bullpen took the attention off of Kendrick’s great start, allowing three of the final five batters to leave the yard.

The sinker was working in Kendrick’s favor as he was able to put together 14 groundballs. None were bigger than an inning-ending double-play ball off the bat of Troy Glaus that ended the Braves lone threat in the game. With the bases loaded in the fourth, Kendrick got Glaus to send one over to Placido Polanco who quickly turned the 5-4-3 and kept the Braves off the scoreboard for the time being.

On the offensive side of the game, the Phillies bats didn’t do much, but it seemed as if they had down enough after eight innings. Chase Utley put together a 2-5 evening with a pair of RBIs and a run scored. Utley’s run came off an infield single that Ryan Howard managed to push through the infield shift as the ball went off of the glove of Troy Glaus. Polanco also managed to put together another two-hit effort as he saw his batting average rise over .400 again. The only Phillie who didn’t get a hit was Carlos Ruiz, who went 0-4.

Hopefully Roy Halladay can stop the bleeding tomorrow night as all of a sudden the Phillies have dropped three straight and four of their last five games.

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Keep The Change: Wrapping Up The Nats Series

Posted by Nick "Beerman" Staskin, Thu, April 15, 2010 10:58 PM

Well the series with the Nationals is over, and as I sit here resting up after a busy couple of days at the ballpark a few more thoughts popped into my head. Without further adieu…

•Am I the only one who is a little upset that we are only 4-2 against the Nationals this year? Granted if we win every series, it will be the most successful season in Phillies history, but against the Nationals I feel as if one of these two series should have ended in a sweep. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit concerned about the upcoming 12 games against Marlins, Braves, D-Backs and Giants. Anything less than 7-5 is a disappointment, but I think 8-4 is what the majority of the fans will be looking for. However, with the April struggles that have plagued this team over the years, a 7-2 record, no matter the opponents is nothing to scoff at.

•I know I said that I think Cole Hamels deserves some time before the boo birds swarm, however all starting pitchers not named Roy Halladay will need to improve if this team is going to keep up its current pace. Jamie Moyer is the only starter to finish the sixth inning in any game this season besides Halladay, and he wasn’t exactly stellar in his start.

JA Happ’s 8 BB in 10.1 IP have got to scare you. Last season, he was notorious for pitching out of jams, which led a lot of baseball experts to say the rookie was lucky. In two starts this season, he is still yet to give up an unearned run. I’m just not exactly sure that he can continue to pitch out of trouble unscathed. High pitch counts have limited both of his starts this year, causing Charlie Manuel to go to the pen earlier than he would like. It is no secret, the less the starters pitch, the more the bullpen will get hit. We all know the best bullpen is a well-rested bullpen, as evidenced by today’s loss. Before today, the bullpen had been excellent, so I don’t think we need to jump off a bridge after one bad performance. But some food for thought: all starters not named Roy Halladay have a combined ERA of 7.51 (inflated by Kendrick, but evened out with Happ’s 0.00) and a combined WHIP of 1.87.

•It is hard to judge the team after only nine games; however the offense is off to a start that has videogame like projections in mind, look at these full season projections:

-Placido Polanco: .475 234 R 18 HR 198 RBI 18K

-Ryan Howard: .385 126 R 54 HR 234 RBI .734 SLG

-Chase Utley .343 216 R 90 HR 198 RBI 162 BB 1.421 OPS

-Carlos Ruiz .273 137 R 183 BB .467 OPS out of the 8 hole!

-Jimmy Rollins .391 184 R 161 BB 46 SB .516 OBP this was of course before the calf injury.

Of course these are ridiculous projections, but no reason not to have a little fun. One can dream right?

•The one part of the offense that is not clicking is, in my opinion, the most overrated Phillie on the team. Raul Ibanez was free from the boos last year after living off of a scorching hot April and May. After his injury last season, Ibanez never seemed to recover. His spring was one to be forgotten, and aside from last Friday’s game against Houston, Ibanez has almost no-showed the other eight games so far. With all the runs being scored by this team, it seems hard to believe that Ibanez has only driven in runs in three games this season. Nine games is only nine games, so it’s still way too early to go off the deep end, but if you carry over June-September of last year, spring training this year, and the first week and a half of the 2010 it can definitely set off an alarm of worry.

If you exclude his game against Houston last Friday, Ibanez is 4-27 with one extra-base hit to go along with 2 RBIs. Right now, his teammates are picking up the slack by putting up absurd numbers; hopefully he takes this time to figure out what is wrong. If not, it won’t be long until the fans turn on him as quickly as they did on Pat Burrell and we hear the name Domenic Brown a lot more.

Hope everyone enjoys this year’s first weekend at The Bank, aside from a few scattered storms tomorrow night for the home debut of Roy Halladay the weather doesn’t look too bad, just a bit chilly. See you in left field.

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A Look Back at the Home Opener

Posted by Nick "Beerman" Staskin, Tue, April 13, 2010 08:12 PM

After working my ninth straight home opener, a couple things caught my eye inside Citizens Bank Park on Monday afternoon during the Phillies win over the Washington Nationals. This isn’t really a column, just some random thoughts that popped into my head over the course of the afternoon.

•When did it become cool to boo Cole Hamels?  On a team that had no pitching in 2008 he carried them to a World Series. He had a down year last year, but some of those numbers were inflated by a few awful starts. There are no making excuses for his postseason last year, but this year he has kept the team in the game both starts. Not amazing starts to say the least, but good enough to keep the Phillies in it while he works out the kinks. I really don’t want the voices of some dumb fans to get in the head of a kid with worlds of talent. Philadelphia has a knack for moving its stars, see the resumes of Scott Rolen, Curt Schilling, Allen Iverson, Charles Barkley and most recently Donovan McNabb. I’m really not prepared for the name Cole Hamels to join that list yet.

•For everybody that complains about how hard it is to get tickets to games, why don’t people use them to actually watch the game? I spoke with countless fans who couldn’t tell me anything about why Rollins was hurt, who homered for the Nats, or who came in for the out after Hamels couldn’t finish the inning. Tons of fans seemed to just chill out in Ashburn Alley or the smoking stands or even worse wait in line for Crab Fries for over an hour without even glancing onto the field for the action. Considering how tough this ticket was to get it confused me. We aren’t talking about a mid-July Wednesday afternoon game against the Reds, this was the home opener.

•After the terrible weather that normally comes with Phillies games in early April, how refreshing was Monday, as well as the rest of this week’s forecast? Perhaps Major League Baseball finally got it right, limiting home games on the East Coast.

•Was it me or was the raising of the National League Championship flag a bit uneventful? Same goes with the National League Champions ring ceremony scheduled for Thursday afternoon. Maybe 2008 spoiled me, being in the stadium as they rose the flag minutes after winning the World Series, but this kind of felt like kissing your sister. The blue flag is cool, but I think that raising a red one that reads 2010 will make everything right again.

•I don’t want the ladies to take this wrong and think that I don’t appreciate it. And I don’t want the men to think I’m trying to ruin it for the rest of them, but what is going on with the women at Citizens Bank Park? All of a sudden the stadium has the feel of a singles bar. Girls are wearing their skimpiest Chase Utley t-shirts that are cut down the cleavage to go along with the shortest of Phillies shorts that show the bottom of their butt cheeks. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I loved the scenery, but from watching these girls…and trust me, I’m watching, it sure seems like a lot of these girls are there to pick up guys rather than watch the game. What they choose to do with their ticket is on them, but seems like another case of people wasting the tickets that everyone is howling about not being able to get. I understand it only recently become cool to be a Phillies fan, and who am I to judge what these girls wear or how they act in the game, but I know I’m not the only person to notice this over the past year or so.

•As far back as I can remember, I don’t remember any player bringing this kind of excitement to Philadelphia as Roy Halladay is doing right now. I don’t even think the Eagles acquisition of Terrell Owens had the city in such joyous uproar. You couldn’t even begin to count the amount of #34 jerseys and t-shirts Monday afternoon. What is Saturday going to be like when he takes the mound for the first time at The Bank?

•Finally, after talking with numerous fans, everyone seems to have the same expectation: World Series or bust. A favorable first nine games, facing the two worst teams in the NL (depending who you ask), has definitely helped get the momentum rolling in the right direction. But where do the Phillies go without Jimmy Rollins? Upon writing of this column, the word was still “wait-and-see”, by Wednesday morning that could become a stint on the 15-day DL. Without one of the leaders on the team, it will be interesting to see how the Phillies respond as a team.

One week is in the books for the 2010 Philadelphia Phillies and I can’t remember a season starting the way this one has in a very long time.

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Just What The Doctor Ordered

Posted by Nick "Beerman" Staskin, Sun, April 11, 2010 04:51 PM

This is why they brought in Doc. On an afternoon when the bats didn’t keep the pace they had set for the first five games of the season, Roy Halladay put the Phillies on his back.

Halladay threw his first complete game with the Phils, the 50th of his career and 150th win of his career, en route to a 2-1 Phillies victory over the Houston Astros.

The game started off right for the bats, as Jimmy Rollins hit a leadoff home run, putting the Phils up 1-0 early. However other than a manufactured run that started with a Raul Ibanez double, and ended with an RBI groundout for Carlos Ruiz that was all the offense the Phillies put together against Roy Oswalt, another one of the best pitchers in the National League, as the Phils mustered only six hits on the day. Thankfully, with Doc on the mound, that was all they needed.

Halladay got himself in a little bit of trouble in the 6th inning, loading the bases with no outs. However, a double play ball and a Carlos Lee popup later, only one run came across, making the game 2-1. Back-to-back hits started the 7th inning for the Astros; however Halladay then proceeded to retire the next nine batters he faced, giving the Phillies the 2-1 win.

The line for Halladay was terrific, 9 IP 7H 1R 0ER 8K and 22 first-pitch strikes to only 33 batters for Houston. He even added his second hit of the season, to lift his batting average to .286. Through two games, Doc is 2-0 with an ERA of 0.56 and a WHIP of 0.94, throw in 17 Ks to go along with only 2BB.

After a 5-1 road trip, the Phillies head back to Citizens Bank Park for the home opener tomorrow, and the start of a six-game homestand. With the Nationals heading into town, it is safe to say anything less than 7-2 to start the season at this point would be a letdown. After the three-game set with the Nats, the Marlins come to town, for what should be the first real test of the 2010 season.

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Fantasy Baseball Update

Posted by Nick "Beerman" Staskin, Wed, March 31, 2010 10:45 AM

Between last year’s participants and this year’s new signups we have had a tremendous amount of entries into the Phillies Nation fantasy baseball leagues.

However, ESPN will not let any drafts happen until the league is full and all people who were invited have accepted. If you have not accepted your invitation by 9 p.m. tonight, we will have to delete your invite in order for the leagues to be filled. Drafts well be held throughout the day on Saturday.

Good luck this season!

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