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!
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Showing posts with label Jimmy Rollins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jimmy Rollins. Show all posts
Monday, October 26, 2009
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Don't Give Up On J-Roll
A couple of days ago, one of my buddies sent me a text message. As a Phillies fan, I tried to disregard his snotty little remark. “Jeter: 3 for 3!” the message said. He is a Yankees fan, so I have absolutely zero respect for him in that aspect. Of course Jeter had a great game, but my bud knows that I am all about Philly so the text was just unnecessary. The next time I saw him, we got into a heated debate about Derek Jeter and Jimmy Rollins. I am the type of fan who will back up my team and players until the day I die, so I defended Rollins.
I will admit that it definitely would have been difficult to find reasons to defend J-Roll if it were still the first half of the season. Anyone who followed baseball during the first half should obviously know that Jimmy was in as bad as a slump as any major leaguer can get in. Rollins, who can be known as a streaky hitter, arguably had the worst three months of his career. Many fans were concerned that Rollins simply forgot how to hit. Booing was a regular for Rollins in Citizens Bank Park and Phillies skipper Charlie Manuel would get questions about Rollins’ status during each post-game interview. It was bad, and it wasn’t going to go away until Rollins turned around. During the All-Star break, a tiny adjustment in his swing was all it took for Rollins to return back to his 2007 NL MVP season form. Rollins was hitting .297, with a .348 on-base percentage and a .540 slugging %. Up to August 31st. Not bad numbers for someone who couldn’t hit the side of a barn in the first half!
Rollins will make one cheer or even boo, but in the end, he can be as good as any other major league shortstop. His confidence and leadership on and off the field can match anyone, even future hall of famer Derek Jeter. And when J-Roll is on, he is on FIRE. Hopefully Rollins will be able to keep it up and carry the Phillies through the post-season and lead them to another championship. Until then, please just promise me one thing; don’t ever give up on J-Roll.
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I will admit that it definitely would have been difficult to find reasons to defend J-Roll if it were still the first half of the season. Anyone who followed baseball during the first half should obviously know that Jimmy was in as bad as a slump as any major leaguer can get in. Rollins, who can be known as a streaky hitter, arguably had the worst three months of his career. Many fans were concerned that Rollins simply forgot how to hit. Booing was a regular for Rollins in Citizens Bank Park and Phillies skipper Charlie Manuel would get questions about Rollins’ status during each post-game interview. It was bad, and it wasn’t going to go away until Rollins turned around. During the All-Star break, a tiny adjustment in his swing was all it took for Rollins to return back to his 2007 NL MVP season form. Rollins was hitting .297, with a .348 on-base percentage and a .540 slugging %. Up to August 31st. Not bad numbers for someone who couldn’t hit the side of a barn in the first half!
Rollins will make one cheer or even boo, but in the end, he can be as good as any other major league shortstop. His confidence and leadership on and off the field can match anyone, even future hall of famer Derek Jeter. And when J-Roll is on, he is on FIRE. Hopefully Rollins will be able to keep it up and carry the Phillies through the post-season and lead them to another championship. Until then, please just promise me one thing; don’t ever give up on J-Roll.
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Monday, August 31, 2009
One Month to Go
by Chris Pollay
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.
Monday, August 3, 2009
The Hottest July in Recent Record
By Chris Pollay
It’s a good time to be a Philadelphia Phillies fan.
After all, the defending MLB champions are currently leading the National League East comfortably with a five-game lead. True, they just dropped three of four to the San Francisco Giants, but that was the first series the team has lost since one with the Atlanta Braves that concluded on July 2nd.
The team is only going to get better after recently upgrading its roster, adding 2008 Cy Young Winner Cliff Lee, who only gave up four hits and one run in a complete game, his first outing with the Phils. Also of note, he is 4-0 in his last four starts including three complete games with an ERA of 1.32 in that time.
The future indeed looks secure, especially if the recent past is any indication. The team just finished one of its hottest months of July in recent history, carving out an impressive 20-7 (.741) record.
To put that in perspective, consider this: the last time the Phillies won 20 games in one month was back in May of 2001 when the team went 20-8 (.714).
Last month, the team strung together win streaks of four twice and ten once. They only lost back-to-back games twice during the entire month. In that time, the Phillies outscored opponents by a stunning margin of 153 to 97. Incidentally, that was the most runs scored and fewest runs allowed by the ballclub in any month this year.
In fact, the last time the Phils gave up fewer than 100 runs in an entire month (featuring at least 25 games) was June of 2003.
Philadelphia was so dominant that it outscored its opponents by 56 runs in 27 games for an average of more than two runs a game! It’s amazing what can happen when a baseball team clicks on both offense and defense at the same time.
Everybody Pitching In
As of today, the Phillies’ overall team ERA is at 4.37. However, for the month of July, the team tallied a cumulative 3.22 ERA over the course of 246 innings pitched. Only 88 of the 97 runs given up were earned.
Philadelphia pitched three shoutouts and gave up only two runs or less 14 times (and were 14-0 in those games, not too surprisingly). The best aspect about it all, however, was that it was a complete team effort.
Here are some of the starting pitching performances of the month:
Joe Blanton (3-0): 29.2 IP, 22Ks, 1.21 ERA
Cole Hamels (3-1): 37 IP, 29Ks, 4.38 ERA
J.A. Happ (2-2): 40 IP, 31Ks, 2.93 ERA
Cliff Lee (1-0 as a Philly): 9 IP, 6Ks, 1.0 ERA
Rodrigo Lopez (3-1): 27.1 IP, 17Ks, 3.62 ERA
Jamie Moyer (4-1): 30 IP, 15Ks, 3.3 ERA
The Phillies' hurlers were simply much more consistent than they have been the rest of the year, giving up only 65 walks for the month compared to striking out 190 batters. Although, the team did continue with one of its scary statistics: home runs allowed. The team gave up 27 altogether in July, or an average of one a game.
Hitting on All Cylinders
Of course, a team can give up one home run a game if it manages to outhit its opponents thoroughly.
The team smashed 35 homers in July and 247 hits altogether (91 of which were extra base hits). The team batted a cumulative .259 for the month and hit in double digits eleven different times!
Overall, 145 of the 153 runs the team scored were batted in. The team did continue to strikeout often, though, but did show reasonable patience by earning 116 walks (51 more than their opponents in that time).
Like the Phillies’ pitching last month, the team’s hitting was also a result of contributions from almost everybody. Here’s a breakdown of some of the big numbers:
Jayson Werth: 7 HR, 23 RBIs
Ryan Howard: 6 HR, 18 RBIs
Chase Utley: 6 HR, 18 RBIs
Jimmy Rollins: 4 HR, 19 RBIs
Raul Ibañez: 4 HR, 16 RBIs
Shane Victorino: 3 HR, 14 RBIs
Pedro Feliz: 1 HR, 13 RBIs
One hot month can make all the difference in a pennant race. The Phils were actually tied for first place on July 2nd, but by the end of the month they secured a comfortable six-game lead despite playing 13 straight games at the end of July.
Perhaps the brightest statistic, however, is that the team remembered how to win in its own ballpark, accruing a 14-3 home record for the month, giving them an overall record of 27-25. Their home record was an astonishing 13-22 before the start of July.
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It’s a good time to be a Philadelphia Phillies fan.
After all, the defending MLB champions are currently leading the National League East comfortably with a five-game lead. True, they just dropped three of four to the San Francisco Giants, but that was the first series the team has lost since one with the Atlanta Braves that concluded on July 2nd.
The team is only going to get better after recently upgrading its roster, adding 2008 Cy Young Winner Cliff Lee, who only gave up four hits and one run in a complete game, his first outing with the Phils. Also of note, he is 4-0 in his last four starts including three complete games with an ERA of 1.32 in that time.
The future indeed looks secure, especially if the recent past is any indication. The team just finished one of its hottest months of July in recent history, carving out an impressive 20-7 (.741) record.
To put that in perspective, consider this: the last time the Phillies won 20 games in one month was back in May of 2001 when the team went 20-8 (.714).
Last month, the team strung together win streaks of four twice and ten once. They only lost back-to-back games twice during the entire month. In that time, the Phillies outscored opponents by a stunning margin of 153 to 97. Incidentally, that was the most runs scored and fewest runs allowed by the ballclub in any month this year.
In fact, the last time the Phils gave up fewer than 100 runs in an entire month (featuring at least 25 games) was June of 2003.
Philadelphia was so dominant that it outscored its opponents by 56 runs in 27 games for an average of more than two runs a game! It’s amazing what can happen when a baseball team clicks on both offense and defense at the same time.
Everybody Pitching In
As of today, the Phillies’ overall team ERA is at 4.37. However, for the month of July, the team tallied a cumulative 3.22 ERA over the course of 246 innings pitched. Only 88 of the 97 runs given up were earned.
Philadelphia pitched three shoutouts and gave up only two runs or less 14 times (and were 14-0 in those games, not too surprisingly). The best aspect about it all, however, was that it was a complete team effort.
Here are some of the starting pitching performances of the month:
Joe Blanton (3-0): 29.2 IP, 22Ks, 1.21 ERA
Cole Hamels (3-1): 37 IP, 29Ks, 4.38 ERA
J.A. Happ (2-2): 40 IP, 31Ks, 2.93 ERA
Cliff Lee (1-0 as a Philly): 9 IP, 6Ks, 1.0 ERA
Rodrigo Lopez (3-1): 27.1 IP, 17Ks, 3.62 ERA
Jamie Moyer (4-1): 30 IP, 15Ks, 3.3 ERA
The Phillies' hurlers were simply much more consistent than they have been the rest of the year, giving up only 65 walks for the month compared to striking out 190 batters. Although, the team did continue with one of its scary statistics: home runs allowed. The team gave up 27 altogether in July, or an average of one a game.
Hitting on All Cylinders
Of course, a team can give up one home run a game if it manages to outhit its opponents thoroughly.
The team smashed 35 homers in July and 247 hits altogether (91 of which were extra base hits). The team batted a cumulative .259 for the month and hit in double digits eleven different times!
Overall, 145 of the 153 runs the team scored were batted in. The team did continue to strikeout often, though, but did show reasonable patience by earning 116 walks (51 more than their opponents in that time).
Like the Phillies’ pitching last month, the team’s hitting was also a result of contributions from almost everybody. Here’s a breakdown of some of the big numbers:
Jayson Werth: 7 HR, 23 RBIs
Ryan Howard: 6 HR, 18 RBIs
Chase Utley: 6 HR, 18 RBIs
Jimmy Rollins: 4 HR, 19 RBIs
Raul Ibañez: 4 HR, 16 RBIs
Shane Victorino: 3 HR, 14 RBIs
Pedro Feliz: 1 HR, 13 RBIs
One hot month can make all the difference in a pennant race. The Phils were actually tied for first place on July 2nd, but by the end of the month they secured a comfortable six-game lead despite playing 13 straight games at the end of July.
Perhaps the brightest statistic, however, is that the team remembered how to win in its own ballpark, accruing a 14-3 home record for the month, giving them an overall record of 27-25. Their home record was an astonishing 13-22 before the start of July.
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Monday, July 6, 2009
Read 'Em and Sweep
By Chris Pollay
At the start of the weekend, four teams found themselves bottlenecked together atop the National League East. The Philadelphia Phillies and Florida Marlins were tied for first with the New York Mets only one game back and the Atlanta Braves a mere two-and-a-half back.
When the smoke cleared at the end of Sunday afternoon, it was the Phillies who remained at the top with a one game lead over the Marlins and a four-game lead over the Braves and Mets.
Here are some of my observations following another wild showdown against the Phils and the Mets in the competitive NL East:
• The Mets held a 4-3 record against Philadelphia for the season going into the weekend (they also won four of the first five games in 2009). After Philly swiftly swept the series, however, the Liberty Bell Bombers now lead the rivalry this season by a 6-4 margin including five straight wins.
• The Phillies started the weekend leading the National League in numerous offensive categories, including: first in runs scored (394); first in home runs (107); first in slugging percentage (.444); first in OPS (.778); and first in total bases (1,173), yet they were barely treading over .500 with a 39-37 record. They can blame the inconsistency mostly on bad pitching as the ballclub was also ranked 15th in the National League in giving up earned runs, and 16th in hits and home runs allowed. In fact, the team had given up at least five runs in 14 of their last 18 games before they hosted the Mets on Friday. During the three-game series, however, Philly only gave up three runs overall to New York and emerged with a much more respectable 42-37 record.
• Philadelphia dominated a one-sided series in which they never trailed (or needed to bat in the 9th, for that matter). They outscored the Mets 13 to 3, outhit them 23 to 18 and didn't make an error. The Mets committed two. New York batted a collective .196 (18 of 92) and the Phils were .261 (23 of 88) as a team.
• The trio of starting pitchers for the Phils (Rodrigo Lopez, Jamie Moyer and Joe Blanton) boasted an ERA of 1.35 in 20 innings. Even more notable, the club's bullpen had a cumulative ERA of 0.00. Not a single run was scored by the Mets in the 8th or 9th innings.
• Philadelphia exploded out of the gate strong and scored in the first inning of EVERY game setting the tone in the series. They were clearly hungrier and more focussed.
• Philly had accrued a distressful 13-22 home record before the series started. Now, it’s still less-than-stellar at 16-22, but the home sweep is definitely a promising sign.
• Jimmy Rollins proved once again to be a pesky thorn in the Mets' collective back sides. After struggling all season long, his bat seems to be heating up at just the right time. This weekend, he connected on five of eleven (.455) from the leadoff spot with three walks and a home run. He also scored twice and tallied five RBIs. By all accounts, he was the MVP of the weekend series.
• Chase Utley and Shane Victorino also came up clutch for the Phils. Utley batted .333 (3 for 9) with one homer, three RBIs and two runs. The Flying Hawaiian was hotter than Spam Musubi batting .429 (6 for 14) and scoring three runs with one RBI. The top of Philadelphia's lineup was absolutely devastating in the series.
• The Phillies showed much more patience in the batter's box, which is a large reason why they swept. They did strike out 15 times, but they also drew 14 walks. Meanwhile, the Mets only walked six times and whiffed 20 times.
For now, it appears the Phils are stabilizing and the Mets continue to be embroiled in turmoil (not to mention injuries). It will be interesting to see where the two teams sit in the standings when they play their next series in late August. The Mets will host four straight games.
The two teams face off against each other eight more times in the regular season.
Read more!
At the start of the weekend, four teams found themselves bottlenecked together atop the National League East. The Philadelphia Phillies and Florida Marlins were tied for first with the New York Mets only one game back and the Atlanta Braves a mere two-and-a-half back.
When the smoke cleared at the end of Sunday afternoon, it was the Phillies who remained at the top with a one game lead over the Marlins and a four-game lead over the Braves and Mets.
Here are some of my observations following another wild showdown against the Phils and the Mets in the competitive NL East:
• The Mets held a 4-3 record against Philadelphia for the season going into the weekend (they also won four of the first five games in 2009). After Philly swiftly swept the series, however, the Liberty Bell Bombers now lead the rivalry this season by a 6-4 margin including five straight wins.
• The Phillies started the weekend leading the National League in numerous offensive categories, including: first in runs scored (394); first in home runs (107); first in slugging percentage (.444); first in OPS (.778); and first in total bases (1,173), yet they were barely treading over .500 with a 39-37 record. They can blame the inconsistency mostly on bad pitching as the ballclub was also ranked 15th in the National League in giving up earned runs, and 16th in hits and home runs allowed. In fact, the team had given up at least five runs in 14 of their last 18 games before they hosted the Mets on Friday. During the three-game series, however, Philly only gave up three runs overall to New York and emerged with a much more respectable 42-37 record.
• Philadelphia dominated a one-sided series in which they never trailed (or needed to bat in the 9th, for that matter). They outscored the Mets 13 to 3, outhit them 23 to 18 and didn't make an error. The Mets committed two. New York batted a collective .196 (18 of 92) and the Phils were .261 (23 of 88) as a team.
• The trio of starting pitchers for the Phils (Rodrigo Lopez, Jamie Moyer and Joe Blanton) boasted an ERA of 1.35 in 20 innings. Even more notable, the club's bullpen had a cumulative ERA of 0.00. Not a single run was scored by the Mets in the 8th or 9th innings.
• Philadelphia exploded out of the gate strong and scored in the first inning of EVERY game setting the tone in the series. They were clearly hungrier and more focussed.
• Philly had accrued a distressful 13-22 home record before the series started. Now, it’s still less-than-stellar at 16-22, but the home sweep is definitely a promising sign.
• Jimmy Rollins proved once again to be a pesky thorn in the Mets' collective back sides. After struggling all season long, his bat seems to be heating up at just the right time. This weekend, he connected on five of eleven (.455) from the leadoff spot with three walks and a home run. He also scored twice and tallied five RBIs. By all accounts, he was the MVP of the weekend series.
• Chase Utley and Shane Victorino also came up clutch for the Phils. Utley batted .333 (3 for 9) with one homer, three RBIs and two runs. The Flying Hawaiian was hotter than Spam Musubi batting .429 (6 for 14) and scoring three runs with one RBI. The top of Philadelphia's lineup was absolutely devastating in the series.
• The Phillies showed much more patience in the batter's box, which is a large reason why they swept. They did strike out 15 times, but they also drew 14 walks. Meanwhile, the Mets only walked six times and whiffed 20 times.
For now, it appears the Phils are stabilizing and the Mets continue to be embroiled in turmoil (not to mention injuries). It will be interesting to see where the two teams sit in the standings when they play their next series in late August. The Mets will host four straight games.
The two teams face off against each other eight more times in the regular season.
Read more!
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Big win a sign of things to come for Phils?
The Philadelphia Phillies won a game, and it came in front of their home crowd at Citizens Bank Park. Typically this is not headlining news, but the way things have been going for the Phils, it’s certainly worth noting.
The Phillies went 3-6 on their latest road trip and ended the swing by being swept in a three-game series at the hands of the Atlanta Braves. In that series, they lost the lead late in game one, got blown out in game two with ace Cole Hamels on the mound, and game three witnessed Ryan Madson self-destructing again.
There aren’t too many “must-win” games in the month of July, but Friday night’s contest against division rival New York Mets certainly was a “must-win.” The Phillies staggered into last night’s game with a 39-37 record and were in a tie for first place with the Florida Marlins. The third place injury-plagued Mets limped into last night’s game with a 39-39 record. If there was any time for the Phillies to take advantage of another team’s misfortunes, it was in last night’s game.
And that is what they did. The Phillies won the game 7-2 behind newest starting rotation fill-in Rodrigo Lopez, who went 6.1 innings and only gave up two earned runs. The offense also came to life and scored seven runs due in part to Jimmy Rollins going 2-for-5 with two RBI’s and Jayson Werth’s 16th home run of the season.
The Phillies hope to continue their winning ways today behind Jamie Moyer in game two of this three-game series versus the Mets, who are sending out Fernando Nieve. If the Phils can piece together a few victories against a team that is more decimated with key injuries than they are, maybe this can be what catapults them back to looking like a defending world champion.
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The Phillies went 3-6 on their latest road trip and ended the swing by being swept in a three-game series at the hands of the Atlanta Braves. In that series, they lost the lead late in game one, got blown out in game two with ace Cole Hamels on the mound, and game three witnessed Ryan Madson self-destructing again.
There aren’t too many “must-win” games in the month of July, but Friday night’s contest against division rival New York Mets certainly was a “must-win.” The Phillies staggered into last night’s game with a 39-37 record and were in a tie for first place with the Florida Marlins. The third place injury-plagued Mets limped into last night’s game with a 39-39 record. If there was any time for the Phillies to take advantage of another team’s misfortunes, it was in last night’s game.
And that is what they did. The Phillies won the game 7-2 behind newest starting rotation fill-in Rodrigo Lopez, who went 6.1 innings and only gave up two earned runs. The offense also came to life and scored seven runs due in part to Jimmy Rollins going 2-for-5 with two RBI’s and Jayson Werth’s 16th home run of the season.
The Phillies hope to continue their winning ways today behind Jamie Moyer in game two of this three-game series versus the Mets, who are sending out Fernando Nieve. If the Phils can piece together a few victories against a team that is more decimated with key injuries than they are, maybe this can be what catapults them back to looking like a defending world champion.
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Saturday, June 27, 2009
Slumping Rollins Benched for Three Games
Finally, after weeks of terrible performance, Phillies skipper Charlie Manuel has benched shortstop Jimmy Rollins. Rollins, the so-called catalyst for the Phillies offense, sat out Thursday and Friday nights’ games in hopes to correct his ailments at the plate. The result for the Phillies: a 10-4 loss against the Tampa Bay Rays and 5-0 loss at the hands of the Blue Jays. J-Roll also sat out Saturday afternoon’s 10-0 blowout win over Jays as well.
Rollins, who set the NL on fire in his 2007 MVP season, is batting a frigid 0.211 and has an on base percentage only slightly warmer at 0.254. You don’t need to be a baseball statistician to know those are inexcusable numbers for a person batting first for a defending world champion, or for that matter, any lineup. This kind of output wouldn’t even fly in Washington, where the Nationals are an embarrassing 16 games out of first place and it isn’t even July.
Throughout the 2009 campaign, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel has said that he is sticking by his player. Manuel has, however, dropped Jimmy to sixth in the batting order on several occasions already this season to take some of the pressure off of him. This experiment has worked, but just when everyone seems to think the struggling shortstop is okay and is put back in the top spot, another slump happens. When Jimmy returns from his benching, which is supposed to be in Sunday’s final game against the Blue Jays, maybe it is time for the Phillies manager to move Rollins towards the bottom of the lineup for more than just a couple of games.
The job of a leadoff man is to set the table for the rest of the lineup. Above all, batting first means that a hitter needs to get on base by any means necessary. Batting in the one-hole also requires patience and discipline. It entails taking a few pitches at the start of a game to let your teammates see just what the opposing pitcher has to offer. It also requires the hitter to make good contact, hit line drives, and, in the words of fictional manager Lou Brown to Willie Mays Hayes, “keep the ball on the ground.”
With that in mind, J-Roll is the antithesis of how a real leadoff hitter should perform. Ever since he first suited up in red pinstripes, Rollins has always had a poor approach to batting first in this lineup. Jimmy typically swings at the first pitch, which shows zero sign of patience or discipline. Consequently, he doesn’t walk much. His 16 walks are a disgrace for a leadoff hitter and are five walks fewer than the eighth hitter, catcher Carlos Ruiz. To compare Jimmy’s walks with his counterpart in this weekend’s series, Blue Jays shortstop Marco Scutaro, is not even fair. Scutaro has 49 walks and has an on base percentage of 0.393. Lastly, Jimmy is not making good contact either. His strikeouts double his walks, and his pop-ups are enough to make you want to choke him through the television or at least tell him to give you 20 push-ups.
Being a leadoff hitter also requires the player to steal bases. While this was one of the strong points for Rollins in the past, even that stat has fallen off this year. He only has 10 stolen bases out of 15 attempts. If you aren’t getting on base, then you can’t steal them.
Even with the struggling Rollins, the slumping Phillies, who are 2-8 in their last 10 games, are somehow miraculously still in first place. Granted their hold on the division and rival Mets is only by a half a game going into Saturday, they are still in the leaders’ circle. The Phillies, if they wish to repeat last year’s glory, are certainly going to need more production out of Rollins for the rest of the season, whether it is batting leadoff, in the sixth-hole, or maybe even lower.
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Rollins, who set the NL on fire in his 2007 MVP season, is batting a frigid 0.211 and has an on base percentage only slightly warmer at 0.254. You don’t need to be a baseball statistician to know those are inexcusable numbers for a person batting first for a defending world champion, or for that matter, any lineup. This kind of output wouldn’t even fly in Washington, where the Nationals are an embarrassing 16 games out of first place and it isn’t even July.
Throughout the 2009 campaign, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel has said that he is sticking by his player. Manuel has, however, dropped Jimmy to sixth in the batting order on several occasions already this season to take some of the pressure off of him. This experiment has worked, but just when everyone seems to think the struggling shortstop is okay and is put back in the top spot, another slump happens. When Jimmy returns from his benching, which is supposed to be in Sunday’s final game against the Blue Jays, maybe it is time for the Phillies manager to move Rollins towards the bottom of the lineup for more than just a couple of games.
The job of a leadoff man is to set the table for the rest of the lineup. Above all, batting first means that a hitter needs to get on base by any means necessary. Batting in the one-hole also requires patience and discipline. It entails taking a few pitches at the start of a game to let your teammates see just what the opposing pitcher has to offer. It also requires the hitter to make good contact, hit line drives, and, in the words of fictional manager Lou Brown to Willie Mays Hayes, “keep the ball on the ground.”
With that in mind, J-Roll is the antithesis of how a real leadoff hitter should perform. Ever since he first suited up in red pinstripes, Rollins has always had a poor approach to batting first in this lineup. Jimmy typically swings at the first pitch, which shows zero sign of patience or discipline. Consequently, he doesn’t walk much. His 16 walks are a disgrace for a leadoff hitter and are five walks fewer than the eighth hitter, catcher Carlos Ruiz. To compare Jimmy’s walks with his counterpart in this weekend’s series, Blue Jays shortstop Marco Scutaro, is not even fair. Scutaro has 49 walks and has an on base percentage of 0.393. Lastly, Jimmy is not making good contact either. His strikeouts double his walks, and his pop-ups are enough to make you want to choke him through the television or at least tell him to give you 20 push-ups.
Being a leadoff hitter also requires the player to steal bases. While this was one of the strong points for Rollins in the past, even that stat has fallen off this year. He only has 10 stolen bases out of 15 attempts. If you aren’t getting on base, then you can’t steal them.
Even with the struggling Rollins, the slumping Phillies, who are 2-8 in their last 10 games, are somehow miraculously still in first place. Granted their hold on the division and rival Mets is only by a half a game going into Saturday, they are still in the leaders’ circle. The Phillies, if they wish to repeat last year’s glory, are certainly going to need more production out of Rollins for the rest of the season, whether it is batting leadoff, in the sixth-hole, or maybe even lower.
Read more!
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