Phillies Keys to Offseason Success

As the 2009 national league champions Philadelphia Phillies turn the page to 2010, many questions remain up in the air. Though the Phillies made it back to the World Series in ’09, (the first time a national league team has accomplished that since the ’95-’96 Atlanta Braves) it all went to waste losing to the New York Yankees in six games. As Ruben Amaro Jr. enters his sophomore year as the Phillies general manager, he has many questions to answer and options to explore. The pressure is on, and Philadelphia is once again hungry for another championship.

Brad Lidge had the perfect season in 2008, going 41 for 41 in save opportunities during the regular season. Unfortunately, 2009 was a completely different story. Brad Lidge had 11 blown saves, as well as a 0-8 record with an ERA above 7. Going into the ’09 postseason, Lidge seemed almost back to his form when he began the playoffs 3 for 3 in save opportunities, but a crucial lost to the Yankees in game three of the world series proved that Lidge wasn’t himself. Going into the offseason, fans are worried what Lidge we will see in 2010. Also, how will the Phillies coaching staff deal with him if he doesn’t start off on the right foot? The option of acquiring a new closer is out of the question since there are multiple pitchers already on the team roster who are eligible to close, but it may take a while before the role is set in stone. Aside from the closing role, the Phillies also look forward to strengthening their bullpen. If lefty reliever Scott Eyre decides to retire (which he said is a possibility before the start of 2009 season), then a bullpen specialist will be needed. Reliever Chan Ho Park is also a free agent.

Pedro Feliz may not be the most clutch performer on the Phillies, (.254 career batting average) but he is one of the best defensive third basemen in the game. Feliz’s contract with the Phillies expired after the end of the 2009 season, so he his eligible for free agency. The Phillies will try to upgrade their bat at third base, even if they have to sacrifice defensively. Some of the 2010 free agent third basemen that the Phillies may be interested in include Mark DeRosa, who attended the University of Pennsylvania, Chone Figgins, the long-time LA Angels third baseman, and Joe Crede, who previously played for the White Sox. DeRosa is the likely fit for Philadelphia, but many fans are intrigued by the speed and consistency of Figgins, who was a productive bat for the Angels in the leadoff spot hitting .298 in 2009.

It seems as though going into every offseason, the Phillies have no idea how their starting pitching rotation is going to shape up, but somehow, they manage to figure it out during the regular season. Probables for the Phillies starting staff include Cole Hamels, Cliff new (the Phils new ace), and Joe Blanton. Other options include J.A. Happ, who had a superb rookie season, three-time Cy Young award winner Pedro Martinez, or any of the dozens of free-agent pitchers. The Phillies might want to look into acquiring another ace-type pitcher since that’s what the Yankees did last offseason, and coincidentally, they won the World Series. Some free agent options include Angels’ ace John Lackey, Jarrod Washburn, Ben Sheets, and Erik Bedard. If the Phillies decided to resign Martinez, which most likely will happen for a one-year deal, the Phillies would only have one spot left. They could either pick up a free agent, or place Happ in the rotation, rather than the bullpen.

No matter what the Phillies decide, they are going to have to make some tough decisions. If the Phillies want to make it back to the World Series for the third straight year, they are going to have to plan some holiday shopping and explore what’s out there on the market. Hopefully it will be an eventful winter season, but it’s going to take some hard work and time, so it definitely will not be easy.
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Hopefully, A World Series for the Ages...

By Chris Pollay

The Philadelphia Phillies may be the defending world champions, but they still feel like the underdog to me. Let's face it, the New York Yankees are the most impressive franchise in all of sports. They are the measuring stick that all other dynasties and champions compare themselves against, and they are the perfect opponent for a team that wants to cement its place in history as one of the all-time greats.

Though the Phillies were established 18 years before the Yankees, they have won 24 fewer World Series titles. The Yankees have won 26 World Series while the Phillies have won only two, including last season's victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Philadelphia is extremely proud of all seven of its National League Pennants during its over 125-year history. Meanwhile, New York has notched 40 American League Pennants in only 108 years (and, incidentally, have reached the playoffs 14 of the last 15 years). Philadelphia is a very good team, but the Yankees are the team to beat, always. As a Philadelphia fan, this is the World Series I wanted. You want to beat the best in order to be unquestionably the best. You want to go for the guys with the biggest payroll and the most expensive ballpark.

Of course, I probably should be careful what I wish for.

When I look at the Philadelphia roster, I am impressed on every level. They have the ultimate slugger (Ryan Howard), the all-star veteran that sparks the team (Jimmy Rollins), the intimidating pitching ace (Cliff Lee), the (recently) devastating closer (Brad Lidge), and a packed roster that is truly stacked at every position. How can these guys NOT be favored?

Then, I look at the Yankees and see more of the same: Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, C.C. Sabathia, Mariano Rivera, etc. Some of these guys will go down as the best ever to play the game. How can these guys NOT be favored?

For that matter, how can either of these teams lose?

I wouldn't want to bet against the Phillies because they look like the same poised, confident team that came together at the right time and stormed through the 2008 playoffs like predestined champions. They have only lost one game in each of their past five playoff series. They simply know how to win it all and they won't be satisfied until they do so again.

Then again, the Yankees are no different. Many of these guys have already won it all, several times over, and the rest are hungry to experience a championship for themselves. I definitely wouldn't want to bet against the Damn Yankees ever.

Do we even need the so-called baseball experts to offer up predictions? What's the point? These teams could play 100 series and both teams would likely win 50.

This one will go the distance. The teams are too evenly matched for it to end any sooner than Game Seven. This should be one of the greatest Fall Classics in MLB's long history.

As a baseball fan, I can't wait.

As a Phillies' fan, I know that I will be ready to bite my nails off and cover my eyes come Wednesday night. I can honestly say, I have no clue what is going to happen. I just know it's going to be amazing and exciting. Play Ball! Read more!

The Dodger Blue Flu and the Red Hot Phillies

By Chris Pollay

It’s early Monday morning and I haven’t slept eight hours overall since Friday night. I should still be in bed, but my weak body aches too much, the room keeps spinning and my stomach feels like Ryan Howard used it for batting practice last night.

I don't know which strand of flu I am inflicted with, but I do know that no matter how lousy I feel right now I probably feel better than anyone wearing Dodger Blue.

Last night was simply awful for Los Angeles and its baseball fans. In fact, awful is too weak of a superlative. How about beaten and left for dead?

I can’t imagine any Dodger fan feels good about their teams chances against the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies at this moment.

After all, they should feel lucky to only be down two-games-to-one because they needed an error in the field from Chase Utley and an error in judgement from Manager Charlie Manuel (who took a smoking hot Pedro Martinez out after only 87 pitches) just to squeak by with a win in Game Two.

That setback has only made the Phillies more focussed in their drive to repeat. For evidence, I submit Game Three of the 2009 National League Championship Series.

First off, I am not even sure the 11 to 0 score conveys just how lopsided the game was.

It was so bad that the Phillies outscored the normally high-powered Eagles’ offense by two points!

It was so bad that every single Philly starter, including pitching ace Cliff Lee, scored at least one run. The Phillies garnered eleven hits altogether, more than half of which were of the extra base variety including long balls by Jayson Werth and Shane Victorino.

It was so bad that the same Dodgers’ pitcher (Hiroki Kurada) who secured the team's only win in the 2008 NLCS against the Phillies left the game after only recording four outs. His ERA was over 40!

Meanwhile, it was all good for the Phillies. Starter Cliff Lee went eight full innings without an earned run, striking out ten and only giving up three hits. He turned the series around faster than you can say “the best mid-season acquistion in baseball.”

So far, he has only given up two earned runs in 24.1 postseason innings, which translates to a postseason ERA of 0.74. That is not a typo. Cole Hamels was utterly fantastic last year in the playoffs, but Lee seems poised to be even more brilliant this October.

Looking ahead to this afternoon, I expect an angry and embarrassed Dodger team to give the Phillies a tough game. Regardless, I don’t see how they can actually win this series unless the Phillies completely crumble, which I just don’t see that happening, (especially since their biggest bat continues to be on a tear through the playoffs).

Last year, Ryan Howard was only 8 for 31 (.258) with five runs and three RBIs during the entire first two rounds of the playoffs (a total of nine games), yet the Phillies still managed to go 7 and 2 in those outings because they certainly don’t need to rely on one bat, even the mighty bat of Howard.

However, when he’s hot, he can carry the team for quite some time, and he’s definitely running a fever right now (along with the rest of the team).

In 2009, after only seven playoff games, he is batting 10 for 26 (.385) with six runs and 12 RBIs. That is downright lethal. He's had at least one hit in every postseason game, and at least one RBI to boot.

As long as the Big Guy continues his hot streak, the Dodgers will suffer from the terminal Blue Flu that currently plagues them. That’s OK, though. They can have all the bed rest they need after two more losses.

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Where Have You Gone Cole?

After a superb six-hit complete game performance by Phillies’ ace Cliff Lee in the opening game of the NLDS on Wednesday afternoon, Cole Hamels wasn’t at the top of his game even before he took the mound for first pitch the next day. .

The Phillies, who are hungry for some revenge against the Rockies since they swept them in the 2007 NLDS, posted five runs on the board and defeated the Rockies 5-1 in game one. Phils manager Charlie Manuel then gave Cole Hamels the nod for the start in game two.

Philly fans definitely had to be feeling good about their chances after hearing this. Though Hamels has struggled throughout the course of the 2009 regular season, he is no stranger to success in the post-season. In the Phillies 2008 championship run, Hamels went 4-0 and earned NLCS and World Series MVP honors. Without Hamels’ clutch post-season performance last year, the Phillies would not have won the title.

Before Thursday’s 2:30 afternoon start time, Cole Hamels voiced his displeasure about the game time start to the media saying, “Being the defending world champs, I think it’s kind of a little weird that we get both games at 2:30.” Unfortunately, game time was not the only thing wandering around in Hamels’ head.

After Hamels was pulled out of the game after throwing just five innings and only 83 pitches, Hamels was notified that his wife was in labor. Hamels immediately left the stadium and headed for the hospital. Asked if this affected Hamels on the mound, Manuel told the media, “I know he was concerned about his wife – and his child too. That’s an exciting time. You’d have to ask him if it affected him. I don’t know exactly what was on his mind and what he was thinking.”

Though the Phillies put up a fight, they weren’t able to pull off another victory as the Rockies finished them off, winning 5-4 and splitting the series. This momentum for the Rockies is definitely a threat to the Phillies. With the series tied 1-1 and now the Rockies with home field advantage for the next two games in Colorado, the Phillies are going to have to step it up, especially in the pitching department.

Veteran Pedro Martinez, who will start game 3, brings promise and hope to the Phillies, but who knows how 30 degree temperature and a few flurries may affect him.

I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but if the Phillies can get past the Rockies in the NLDS (which will not be a walk in the park), then that means that Cole Hamels will start game one of the NLCS against either the Dodgers or Cardinals. If the Phillies want any chance of winning back to back championships, they are going to have to find where Cole is because if he doesn’t come out of his hiding soon, it will be too late.
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One Month to Go

by Chris Pollay

After today's much-needed day off, the Philadelphia Phillies will head into September with a nice comfortable lead in the race for the National League East title.

Regardless of who wins today's matchup between the Florida Marlins and the Atlanta Braves, Philly will start the final month of the 2009 regular season with a 7 1/2 game lead with 34 games left to play.

The schedule is divided up evenly with 17 home games and 17 road games. However, it'd probably be better news if the Phils had a lot more road games left as they still boast the best road record in MLB at 41-23.

Still, anyway you slice it, the Phils are in great shape and are highly likely to make a third consecutive postseason appearance.

Of those remaining 34 games, 22 are against opponents who are currently under .500 in the win column. In fact, the Phillies have a combined 43-28 record against their remaining opponents, which include: San Francisco (3 games); Houston (8 games); Washington (6 games); New York Mets (4 games); Atlanta (3 games); Florida (6 games); and Milwaukee (4 games).

The team continues to play solidly, winning 15 games during the month of August including 14 of their last 19. The team is hot and a lot of positive signs are popping up.

Ryan Howard has been on a tear lately. Jimmy Rollins has been swinging the bat well for a long stretch. In all, four different sluggers (Howard, Utley, Werth and Ibañez) have at least 27 homers this season. That's some serious firepower.

In fact, the team still leads the National League in numerous categories: home runs, runs, total bases, SLG and OPS. The team's hitting will keep them in almost every ball game.

So, their postseason run will probably depend a lot more on pitching. The starters are an intimidating rotation. Cliff Lee finally proved he was human with his first bad start with the team. The Braves beat him up on Saturday by garnering ten hits (including three homers) and scoring six earned runs. Lee only lasted five innings.

To put that in perspective, Lee had not given up a homer in his five previous starts (all wins) and he had never lasted less than seven innings in an outing. Even more impressive, he had given up only three earned runs altogether in his five starts prior to Saturday. After the Braves lit him up, his ERA (since joining the team) jumped from .675 to 1.8, which is still quite impressive overall.

Joe Blanton, who delivered a gutsy pitching performance on Sunday to help the Phils take the series, has been consistent for a long, long time now. He hasn't given up more than three earned runs in any of his last 12 starts.

J.A. Happ has exceeded any and all expectations. The young hurler is 10 and 3 this season with a stringent 2.63 ERA. He was 3 and 1 in August and never gave up more than three runs in any of those starts.

Those three pitchers are all pitching like aces right now, which shows how deep the starting pitching is for the Phillies. After all, the MVP of the 2008 World Series is not one of their three top options at the moment. Still, don't bet against Cole Hamels if the team makes it to the postseason. He has been shaky in August, to be sure, but I believe he will lead by example in September.

Starting pitching won't be the issue for the Phillies as the season winds down. It's all about the bullpen, which, of course, has been struggling all season long. The team seems no closer to finding a secure closer, either. Brad Lidge did manage to save the game on Sunday, but his 7.03 ERA is not going to scare any teams when the Phillies hold a late lead from here on out.

Opponents will take comfort that he has blown nine saves in 36 opportunities. That's once every four chances!

Manager Charlie Manuel has one month to go to try to fix the problem, and though the Phillies should have a lot of options to consider, they are running out of time.

The team will make the playoffs. That is almost a forgone conclusion at this point. However, how far the team can go is an absolute mystery to me. Philadelphia certainly has enough potential to win a championship, but it can just as likely be beaten in the first or second round if the bullpen can't come together in time. Read more!

The rotation is just fine

There’s an old quote that says, “You can never have enough pitching.” Well, actually, you can, and that is what the Philadelphia Phillies are faced with now. They have potentially six starting pitchers and only five spots in the rotation.

The problem surfaced when the Phillies signed free agent Pedro Martinez in July as an insurance policy in case they had to trade away Rookie of the Year candidate J.A. Happ as part of a deal to land Roy Halladay. That deal never took place; Happ stayed, and the Phillies acquired Indians ace Cliff Lee instead.

When Lee joined the club last week, Rodrigo Lopez, who was filling in as the club’s fifth starter, had to move to the bullpen. Martinez, however, is still working out the bugs in the minor leagues, but when he is ready to come up and join the Phillies, many have speculated as to where he will go and what will happen to the rotation. The choice is not easy, but it might not be as complicated as some are making it out to be.

The top end of the rotation has no questions as to who will fill the spots: Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee, and Joe Blanton. The only question here is whether or not Hamels can look like the ace he was back in October when he lead the Phillies to a World Championship. Cole has struggled this year at times, and excluding his last start against the Giants where he gave up six earned runs in just five innings, he appeared to be stringing together a few good starts against Florida, San Diego, and Arizona, and he looked like the Hamels of old.

The back end of the rotation, however, is where all the controversy has been brewing for the past few weeks. Three pitchers – J.A. Happ, Jamie Moyer, Pedro Martinez – and only two spots.

Phillies General Manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. filled one of those spots on Wednesday after J.A. Happ tossed a complete game shutout over the Colorado Rockies. Happ upped his record to 8-2 on the year and dropped his ERA to 2.74. Prior to that start, he lost his previous two outings, was faced with swirling trade talk, and had to deal with rumors that he might get moved to the bullpen.

The sheer fact Happ was able to show composure amidst such chaos and toss a gem is one of the reasons he needs to pitch every fifth day. Also, it would be unwise to even consider tinkering with Happ at this point. He is a young hurler who is pitching fantastically for the Phillies right now, and moving him back to the bullpen would not only weaken the rotation, but it would also mess with his confidence. I seem to recall young pitchers named Gavin Floyd and Ryan Madson who went back and forth, and that didn’t work out so well for the Phils now did it?

Next up is the ageless Jamie Moyer. Charlie Manuel mentioned earlier in the week that he wanted Jamie to stay in the rotation, and I almost agree with Charlie to a point. Jamie does lead the team in wins, but he also bolsters a 5.55 ERA, which is worst amongst starters. The reason he has the most wins is primarily because he typically faces one of the opposing team’s worst pitchers, and the Phillies give him a ton of run support. Yes, he does string together a few good outings every so often, but there are too many times like the one on Tuesday where he gave up six earned runs in five innings and walked four batters.

With that said, I still don’t think shipping Jamie off to the bullpen is such a good idea. First of all, Moyer hasn’t pitched in relief since the mid 1990’s. Second, Jamie would be coming into situations where he would have to get out of jams, which a lot of relievers rely on their fastball to do, and let’s face it, an 86 mph fastball isn’t mowing down anyone. Third, being in the bullpen means you have to be ready to pitch almost every day, and I think at age 47, Jamie has earned his four days off in between starts.

Lastly, there is Pedro Martinez, the man for whom all this controversy is over. When Pedro joins the team, he should do so as a member of the bullpen. I honestly don’t think Pedro has what it takes to be an effective starter any more. If he did, he would have had a job for the first four months of the season. He can probably get the job done for one, two, or maybe even three innings, but once lineups begin to face him a second time around, I feel they would start to tee off on him.

Plus, I don’t think Pedro’s arm can last into the seventh inning as a starter. So if you replace Moyer with Pedro, you would be replacing a guy in the rotation who can’t pitch seven innings for a guy who can’t even pitch six innings. That doesn’t exactly help out an already overworked bullpen. As a result, Pedro could pitch either in long relief or maybe take turns making guest appearances with Brett Myers in the ninth inning if Brad Lidge begins to struggle again.
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Lee - Francisco Trade Turns Out Great

Going into the sixth inning in last night’s game between the Phillies and Giants, Philly fans knew that they had something special. Newly acquired Cliff Lee from the Cleveland Indians was pitching a no-hitter with one out in the sixth when Juan Uribe slapped a double down the right field line. Giants’ fans stood and gave a standing ovation. That is how well respected Lee is around baseball. Though the Phillies didn’t get Blue Jays’ Roy Halladay, many will say that they are pretty content with Lee. Not only was Lee the 2008 Cy Young Award winner, but his leadership and presence in the Phillies clubhouse will add an extra push through the postseason, and hopefully into the World Series. Lee ended up pitching a complete game against the Giants, giving up only one earned run on 4 hits while striking out six and walking two. Not bad for someone who has never faced a national league team with the exception of interleague play.

Not only did Lee pitch superbly, but he also helped the Phillies offensively as well going two for four with a single and his first career double. Again, not bad for someone who got probably 7-8 at-bats during an entire season. Lee was most definitely a complete package Friday night in San Francisco, something that Phillies fans hope to see more often. The Phillies were an almost definite for the playoffs before they acquired Lee, and now they might have what it takes to make it to the World Series. Now I’m not saying that it is going to be easy, but if the Phils starting staff keeps it up, and the offense keeps swingin’ the bats like they know how, a repeat in 2009 is not out of the question.

Now that the 2009 trade deadline is over and the Roy Halladay saga is officially over, Phils fan may find it easy to forget how Lee made it to the Phillies. Thanks to the Phils general manager, Ruben Amaro Jr., the Phillies were able to bring one of baseball’s premier starting pitchers to the team while avoiding giving up some of their best prospects. If Lee continues his dominant performance in the National League, and continues swinging the bat (haha), the Lee trade could go down in Phillies history as one of their best trades ever.

Another key fact that Philly fans may tend to forget as they continue to praise and watch the great Lee purely dominate on the mound, is the second part they acquired in the trade. Outfielder Ben Francisco has started in Shane Victorino’s place, who is suffering from a bruised knee, and has turned out to be a great pickup for the Phils. He fills the role of a right-handed bat the Phillies had been seeking since last offseason. Though Francisco only went one for four in last night’s game, he showed off his power and how he could contribute to the ball club. In his first at-bat, Francisco drilled a one hopper to third baseman Pablo Sandoval, who couldn’t handle the heat. In his next three at-bats he hit a double off the left field wall, and nearly two homers that would have left Citizens Bank Ballpark if the Phils were playing at home. The power and hopefully consistency is a sign for the Phillies that Francisco is someone who can be relied on to contribute a few clutch base hits as September and the playoffs creep upon them.

I know it’s only been two games since Lee and Francisco joined the Phillies, but with their performances so far, the Phillies have a lot to look forward to for the rest of the regular season, and far deep into the playoffs.
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Two Birds, One Stone and the Defending Champs...

On the heels of one of the most hyped and rumored potential trades in Philadelphia Phillies history, involving acquiring storied right handed pitcher Roy Halladay from the Toronto Blue Jays, Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. appears to have snuck in the back door and snagged a different front line starter, along with a capable right handed bat, instead of giving up top prospects Kyle Drabek and Dominic Brown, along with major league starter J.A. Happ for Halladay, to help carry his team into the postseason for a third consecutive year.

While there have already been numerous stories printed, written, spoken and blogged about the centerpiece of the deal, 2008 American League Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee, what really puts this deal over the top is that the Phils also made off with a very capable right handed bat to bring off of the bench in the name of Ben Francisco.

Francisco, twenty eight years old from Santa Ana, CA, may be just what the Phils were looking for, aside from a starting pitcher. He is a right handed hitter with pop in his bat and even has some speed to burn on the base paths. In three hundred and eight at bats this season, Francisco is only hitting .250 but has compiled ten homeruns and even stolen thirteen bases so far, numbers that the Phils will be more than happy with from a pinch hitter and utility outfielder.

What may be getting overlooked about Ben Francisco is that he not only gives Phillies manager Charlie Manuel some much needed pop off the bench from the right side, but also some speed as well. In recent years Manuel has loved the ability to put guys like Michael Bourn and Chris Roberson in to pinch run late in games to have that extra burst of speed on the bases that guys like Ryan Howard and Pedro Feliz simply don’t have. For the most part in fact, he has been without a guy like that since 2007, until now.

All in all, the acquisition of Cliff Lee is of course, the thing that puts the Phillies in prime position to at least get back to the post seeason, for a third consecutive year, but in the National League, where the benches are such a factor because of pinch hitting for pitchers, Ben Francisco makes the Phillies, arguably one of the best benches in all of baseball and may help lift them through the playoffs and back into the World Series. Kudos to Ruben Amaro Jr. and the Phillies for going out and doing what it takes to make their already impressive team better without giving away the entire future.
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