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.
Read more!
Showing posts with label nl east. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nl east. Show all posts
Monday, August 3, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Perception as reality
Not having watched the show I can’t vouch for the validity of this, but based upon a huge number of Twitter mentions, it would appear that comedian Jimmy Fallon’s monologue Monday night included this quip: Tomorrow is the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Or as the Mets like to call it, "vacation."
By the sheer volume of redistribution of this little pearl of wisdom, one might think this was the greatest comedic utterance since Costello first asked “Who’s on first?” But in truth, the line’s about as funny as it is accurate. Of the 29 MLB teams, 13 rosters didn’t hold a single player voted as an All-Star. And, of the remaining 16, only one - the Phillies - had more players (5) invited to the season’s halftime show than the Mets (4).
I’m not about to indict the misguided Fallon for assault with a foolish tongue. The fact of the matter is, if you’re perceived as a joke, you are a joke, and so far this year the Mets might as well be wearing joker’s hats instead of baseball caps. Player lowlights don’t just end up on local news, they grace the entire world online and live there in perpetuity. Just as HD television takes note of every minor skin flaw your favorite reality star is sporting, the internet makes every major flaw of your favorite sports star a broadband reality and the potential butt of any joke, late night or otherwise.
If the Mets are going to allow themselves to be defined by their troubles - walk off errors, base running blunders, bat anemia, and an inability to portray that you actually do understand all the rules of the game (just to name a few) - then they’ve created the true playing field that the rest of the world judges them on. By not rectifying their problems on the field they’ve allowed perception to become reality. Today’s reality is that the Mets put up a comedic first half. It’s up to the players to change the perception by providing a new, improved reality, no matter who within their system might be playing at any time on any given day.
Management is another perceived joke that has seemed to be laughed at more and more since Omar Minaya’s plane touched down on the west coast and Willie was sent packing back east. However well he may believe he break danced around any criticism about how that particular situation was handled, Minaya’s personal presentation in the year since has invited the perception that he is a bit of a stammering joke. Through all the team troubles, Minaya has appeared to be incapable of displaying himself as forthright and fully educated. Through injuries he’s appeared unaware of status or expected treatment, and through player moves he’s appeared less than honest and, frankly, ignorant. Most importantly, through a period when the need for any type of field and plate relief would appear to be a no-brainer, he’s stuck his neck out just enough to bury his head in the sand while the inadequacy of the farm team he's responsible for is beginning to ring clear. While Jerry Manuel’s mantra could be categorized as “don’t give up,” perception is that, for at least this season, Minaya already has. For a team to which he’s devoted the second highest total salary in the major leagues, that might be considered the very biggest joke of all. That is except for the All-Star game itself, which is arguably in a league of its own.
For all you twitterati who might be interested, feel free to follow my ongoing musings at twitter.com/MikeVooss
Read more!
By the sheer volume of redistribution of this little pearl of wisdom, one might think this was the greatest comedic utterance since Costello first asked “Who’s on first?” But in truth, the line’s about as funny as it is accurate. Of the 29 MLB teams, 13 rosters didn’t hold a single player voted as an All-Star. And, of the remaining 16, only one - the Phillies - had more players (5) invited to the season’s halftime show than the Mets (4).
I’m not about to indict the misguided Fallon for assault with a foolish tongue. The fact of the matter is, if you’re perceived as a joke, you are a joke, and so far this year the Mets might as well be wearing joker’s hats instead of baseball caps. Player lowlights don’t just end up on local news, they grace the entire world online and live there in perpetuity. Just as HD television takes note of every minor skin flaw your favorite reality star is sporting, the internet makes every major flaw of your favorite sports star a broadband reality and the potential butt of any joke, late night or otherwise.
If the Mets are going to allow themselves to be defined by their troubles - walk off errors, base running blunders, bat anemia, and an inability to portray that you actually do understand all the rules of the game (just to name a few) - then they’ve created the true playing field that the rest of the world judges them on. By not rectifying their problems on the field they’ve allowed perception to become reality. Today’s reality is that the Mets put up a comedic first half. It’s up to the players to change the perception by providing a new, improved reality, no matter who within their system might be playing at any time on any given day.
Management is another perceived joke that has seemed to be laughed at more and more since Omar Minaya’s plane touched down on the west coast and Willie was sent packing back east. However well he may believe he break danced around any criticism about how that particular situation was handled, Minaya’s personal presentation in the year since has invited the perception that he is a bit of a stammering joke. Through all the team troubles, Minaya has appeared to be incapable of displaying himself as forthright and fully educated. Through injuries he’s appeared unaware of status or expected treatment, and through player moves he’s appeared less than honest and, frankly, ignorant. Most importantly, through a period when the need for any type of field and plate relief would appear to be a no-brainer, he’s stuck his neck out just enough to bury his head in the sand while the inadequacy of the farm team he's responsible for is beginning to ring clear. While Jerry Manuel’s mantra could be categorized as “don’t give up,” perception is that, for at least this season, Minaya already has. For a team to which he’s devoted the second highest total salary in the major leagues, that might be considered the very biggest joke of all. That is except for the All-Star game itself, which is arguably in a league of its own.
For all you twitterati who might be interested, feel free to follow my ongoing musings at twitter.com/MikeVooss
Read more!
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!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Goodbye June Swoon, Hello July Revive
By Chris Pollay
It has been a painful month for Phillies’ fans, to be sure. Calling it a June Swoon is too kind. It’s more like a Friggin’ Free Fall.
After starting the month on a 4-0 tear, Philadelphia proceeded to lose 14 of their next 19 games as opponents treated the pitching staff’s fastballs like oversized piñatas. With one more game left to play this month, Philly has posted an overall June record of 11-14. Even if they win tomorrow, they will still end up with a cumulative losing record for the entire month.
That’s no reason to sound the alarm just yet, but the Phils do need to shut off the snooze button.
Despite recent evidence to the contrary, the Phillies have been irrefutably consistent for a long time now. During 2008 and 2009, the ballclub played ten months of regular season and post-season baseball and accumulated winning records during eight of them*.
Both exceptions occurred in June. That just can’t be coincidence.
(*If you are a stickler for details, Philadelphia did technically have a losing record in another month in 2008 when they opened their season one day prior to April. Thus, they ended up 0-1 for March.)
It’s hard not to believe the team is a victim to the infamous June Swoon that so often plagues Major League Baseball franchises. However, statistical evidence of last year also suggests the Phils may have a July Revive coming up now.
The Phils have posted 15-10 records in July during the previous two baseball seasons. So, here’s hoping they can win 60% of their games this July, as well.
Take a look at the breakdown of the team’s month-by-month win-loss records for the past two seasons:
April 2009: 11-9
May 2009: 17-11
June 2009: 11-14 (With one game still to play.)
**********
March 2008: 0-1
April 2008: 15-12
May 2008: 17-12
June 2008: 12-14
July 2008: 15-10
Aug. 2008: 16-13
Sept. 2008: 17-8
Oct. 2008: 11-3 (Postseason)
What stands out to me is how similar the records are month by month. The Phils were three games over .500 in April of 2008 and two games over .500 this April.
In May, the team won the same number of games in 2008 as it did in 2009, suffering only one more loss last season.
In recent history, June has proven undeniably bad, of course, but if last July, August and September are any indication of how the team plays late in the year, Philadelphia should inevitably revert to their winning ways shortly. (They certainly seem to get hungrier in the second half of the season.)
Manager Charlie Manuel’s recent closed-door meeting on Friday may have provided the spark that will light a midsummer fire underneath the ballclub.
Interestingly enough, there is a positive by-product to all of the losing of late. The Phillies have learned that the division race is theirs to win or lose.
The last time the Phils took over first place in the NL East was on May 30th. They have remained in that spot throughout the entirety of June despite trying to sabotage that lead in every conceivable way.
Of course, a large reason for this is that the Mets have solemnly swooned their way through June as well, posting an even worse 9-16 record leading up to today. Read more!
It has been a painful month for Phillies’ fans, to be sure. Calling it a June Swoon is too kind. It’s more like a Friggin’ Free Fall.
After starting the month on a 4-0 tear, Philadelphia proceeded to lose 14 of their next 19 games as opponents treated the pitching staff’s fastballs like oversized piñatas. With one more game left to play this month, Philly has posted an overall June record of 11-14. Even if they win tomorrow, they will still end up with a cumulative losing record for the entire month.
That’s no reason to sound the alarm just yet, but the Phils do need to shut off the snooze button.
Despite recent evidence to the contrary, the Phillies have been irrefutably consistent for a long time now. During 2008 and 2009, the ballclub played ten months of regular season and post-season baseball and accumulated winning records during eight of them*.
Both exceptions occurred in June. That just can’t be coincidence.
(*If you are a stickler for details, Philadelphia did technically have a losing record in another month in 2008 when they opened their season one day prior to April. Thus, they ended up 0-1 for March.)
It’s hard not to believe the team is a victim to the infamous June Swoon that so often plagues Major League Baseball franchises. However, statistical evidence of last year also suggests the Phils may have a July Revive coming up now.
The Phils have posted 15-10 records in July during the previous two baseball seasons. So, here’s hoping they can win 60% of their games this July, as well.
Take a look at the breakdown of the team’s month-by-month win-loss records for the past two seasons:
April 2009: 11-9
May 2009: 17-11
June 2009: 11-14 (With one game still to play.)
**********
March 2008: 0-1
April 2008: 15-12
May 2008: 17-12
June 2008: 12-14
July 2008: 15-10
Aug. 2008: 16-13
Sept. 2008: 17-8
Oct. 2008: 11-3 (Postseason)
What stands out to me is how similar the records are month by month. The Phils were three games over .500 in April of 2008 and two games over .500 this April.
In May, the team won the same number of games in 2008 as it did in 2009, suffering only one more loss last season.
In recent history, June has proven undeniably bad, of course, but if last July, August and September are any indication of how the team plays late in the year, Philadelphia should inevitably revert to their winning ways shortly. (They certainly seem to get hungrier in the second half of the season.)
Manager Charlie Manuel’s recent closed-door meeting on Friday may have provided the spark that will light a midsummer fire underneath the ballclub.
Interestingly enough, there is a positive by-product to all of the losing of late. The Phillies have learned that the division race is theirs to win or lose.
The last time the Phils took over first place in the NL East was on May 30th. They have remained in that spot throughout the entirety of June despite trying to sabotage that lead in every conceivable way.
Of course, a large reason for this is that the Mets have solemnly swooned their way through June as well, posting an even worse 9-16 record leading up to today. Read more!
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