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!

An Ending to Remember

By Chris Pollay

Yesterday, the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets played a wild game that I don’t think any fan will forget about anytime soon.

Maybe it was the result of superstition... as in the number 13. After all, it was the thirteenth game between the two ballclubs this season and this one had a little bit of everything (and everything was a little bit odd).

It was definitely emotional. Phillies’ manager Charlie Manuel got ejected in the 9th inning, so you know this one mattered. Also, Pitcher Pedro Martinez made his return visit to New York, so you know this one had drama.

The fans were not too happy to see him again, but they were far more angry at the home hurler, Oliver Perez. He gave up a pair of three-run homers to Jayson Werth and Carlos Ruiz before the top of the first inning was even over!

Not surprisingly, he left the game after pitching only 2/3rds of an inning and giving up six earned runs. I realize Perez’s ERA for the season is quite unimpressive (6.82), but his ERA for just yesterday was a staggering 81.81! Good grief.

Pedro Martinez couldn’t ask for a better scenario than a six-run lead before he even threw his first pitch. Still, he was shaky enough to keep things interesting. By the end of the third inning, he had given up four earned runs (including two home runs to Angel Pagan).

By the time he left the game after six full innings on the mound, his team comfortably lead 8 to 4... one of those runs, by the way, was provided by a bases-loaded single by Martinez in the top of the third inning.

Yet, the Mets chipped away at the lead and made it a ballgame again. Down two in the top of the ninth, they found themselves with runners on first and second (with no outs).

Thanks to errors by Ryan Howard and Eric Bruntlett, the Mets were in a perfect position for a last inning comeback. New York even had the right guy in the batter’s box to make it happen. Jeff Francouer already had a hit and an RBI on Sunday, and had batted four of eight (.500) over the previous two games in the series (including a home run on Friday night).

When Lidge delivered the last pitch, Francouer was right on top of it. The ball headed toward the gap over second base. For a split-second, everything was aligned perfectly for the Mets. However, that glimmer of hope was completely crushed when Bruntlett played the ball perfectly. He caught it and touched second base in a flash. Then, for good measure, he tagged out Daniel Murphy who had already committed to run on the pitch.

What an unbelievable ending!

The game was definitely odd, to be sure. Angel Pagan hit two home runs, one of which was inside-the-park, and that wasn't even the biggest statistical anomaly of the day.

Of course, that title goes to the last play. Bruntlett's unassisted triple play takes the cake. Even odder, it occurred not too long after he recorded an error.

I’ve seen a lot of baseball. I’ve never seen any game end on an unassisted triple play. Then again, it doesn’t happen often. After all, Bruntlett's gem was the first unassisted triple play to end a game in National League history and it was only the 15th unassisted triple play in Major League Baseball history.

Wow.

That was definitely one for the books. Read more!

Phillies vs Mets: The Rivalry Burns Strong

by Chris Pollay

In the last three seasons, the rivalry between the Phillies and Mets has percolated to an all-time high. The two teams have finished one-two in the NL East standings all three times.

In 2006, the Mets took the NL East by winning 97 games, and in 2007 and 2008, the Phillies usurped their rivals in dramatic late-season fashion, taking the division title by a total of one game (2007) and three games (2008) altogether.

Since the NL East was first created in 1969, the Phillies and Mets have only finished one-two in the division four times altogether, so it is odd that three of them have occurred in recent consecutive seasons.

The other time was in 1986 when the Mets barely edged out the Phillies by 21.5 games.

OK. So, the history of the two ballclubs has been seemingly uninspired intermittently for well over three decades. Heck, the two teams have never even competed against each other in the postseason.

Still, the rivalry has been a thing of beauty to witness lately. In fact, if you look at the head-to-head record of the teams during the past three seasons (2006 to 2008), the Mets hold the bare minimum of margins with a 28 and 27 overall record.

However, if you factor in this season’s ten games (Phils lead 6 to 4) between the two clubs, the Phillies have racked up 33 wins versus 32 losses in the last 65 games between them.

It simply doesn’t get any closer than that. Or does it? If you look at the two team’s 46 head-to-head games throughout 2007, 2008 and so far in 2009, the run total for both teams against each other is as follows: Phillies, 206 runs; Mets, 207 runs. Wow.

With a four-game series coming up between the Phils and Mets in New York, it seems like the stakes might be awfully low this time around. After all, the Phils lead the Mets by 14.5 games and there are two teams sandwiched right in the middle of them in the standings (the Marlins and Braves).

But don’t think for a minute that the Mets don’t want these games badly. This time the Phils will be playing for October and the Mets will be playing for pride.

Long before 2006 and the neck-and-neck division lead battles, the teams still managed to battle hard with tons of memorable games. In fact, since the 2000 season (including thus far in 2009) here is a breakdown of the team’s head-to-head rivalry: the Phils have won 88 games; the Mets have won 84. Only four games separate them in an entire decade!

To illustrate further, let’s break down the total runs scored in those games. The Phils have put 812 on the board while the Mets have put up 804. Eight measly runs separate them in 170 games!

As a way of comparison, let’s look at how the MLB’s “best rivalry” -- the Yankees and Red Sox -- have fared against each other in that same time frame (since 2000, which includes two postseason series against each other).

The Yankees have also outscored Boston by a mere eight runs in all of that time, but the win-loss record is a bit more lopsided. The Bronx Bombers have won 99 to the Red Sox’s 89 victories, a difference of ten games.

I realize nobody will forget the classic back-to-back seven game ALCS series between those two clubs in 2003 and 2004, but the numbers this decade actually suggest that the Phillies and Mets have been a little closer overall in their recent rivalry.

Hopefully, they will translate into another memorable series over the next four days.

Read more!

The Phillies Need More Closure... And Soon

By Chris Pollay

When you compare the 2009 Phillies with their 2008 Championship counterparts, it becomes apparent that last year’s team had one crucial advantage, a saving grace, if you will: closer Brad Lidge.

At times, he hoisted the entire team on his shoulders in 2008 and carried them to the finish line. This year, however, he is not the same player. He is the team’s biggest question mark as the Phils gear up to try to make a third consecutive postseason appearance.

Philly fans will never forget the immaculate numbers from last year: 41 saves in 41 opportunties in the regular season and seven saves in seven opportunities in the playoffs. Pure perfection.

His ERA for the regular season was a phenomenal 1.95 in 72 games and a merciless .96 in seven appearances during the postseason. He was virtually unhittable for the entire season and the Phillies never conceded a ninth inning lead all season long!

Think about that for a moment. Nothing gives a team more confidence than sending in a perfect closer to maintain a ninth-inning lead. That kind of confidence leads to championships.

This year, however, the closer has proved to be unstable, at best.

Lidge has struggled mightily and injuries have gotten the better of him for much of the year. With about six weeks left in the season, the right-hander has only saved 23 games in 31 opportunities (during 49 games). He also holds an 0 and 5 record, which contrasts sharply with last year’s 2 and 0 effort.

The closer you look at the Phil’s closer, the more distraught you will become by the numbers, especially if you compare them to the stats in 2008. He has already given up 35 earned runs so far this year, which is more than twice his total allowed of all of last season (he only gave up 15 earned runs in the regular season and one earned run in the postseason).

In 2008, throughout the course of pitching 69.1 regular season innings, Lidge only gave up 50 hits and two home runs. After pitching 43.2 innings this season, he has already been lit up for 52 hits and ten homers.

Clearly, the persistent pain in Lidge’s right knee has affected him more than he has let on. His numbers have spiked all season long which means his mechanics are simply not working properly and his confidence isn’t the same.

Perhaps what is most troubling (besides his 7.21 ERA) is that he has only given up three earned runs or less for an entire month once this season (June). In fact, he has already given up five in August and we’re only at the mid-point.

To put that in perspective, Lidge only allowed more than three earned runs in an entire month once all of last season (July).

The crucial weekend series against the division rival Atlanta Braves proved to be a microcosm for Lidge’s up and down 2009 season. He pitched in all three games, recording a save on Friday in nail-biting fashion, then blowing a save on Saturday before pitching the final out and earning a save again yesterday.

In all he pitched only 1 2/3 innings, yet, he gave up three hits, three walks and two runs. He also committed two errors on Saturday in a game he certainly does not want to remember.

But, here’s the reason why Philly fans should not panic: Somehow, the team has a better record now (66-49) than they had at this same point last season (62-53)... and they’re doing it without a dominant closer.

Of course, I realize a blown save in the postseason can change the momentum of an entire playoff series. Despite the shaky stats, Phils’ manager Charlie Manager is resolute in keeping Lidge in the closer role. He insists the team is completely confident with him on the mound late in the game (even if fans are not).

Since Ol’ Cholly has brought the City of Brotherly Love its first championship in 25 years, I have to give him the benefit of the doubt. He believes in players, not numbers, and his team has already proved that it knows what it takes to be champions.

Even though they have had more than their share of problems this year, the Phillies keep finding ways to win. They are ahead of last season’s pace and still look poised to make a potentially deep October run. As a fan, I have to believe Lidge will step up again and be a positive difference maker when it matters most for the team.

Guess we'll find out soon enough. This should be another interesting September. Read more!

Rough Road Ahead

By Chris Pollay

Last Friday, the Philadelphia Phillies (61-48) stood poised atop the National League East with a comfortable seven-game lead ahead of Florida as the Marlins headed to the City of Brotherly Love for an important three-game series.

By the time the Marlins left, however, the huge lead shrunk down to only four games and the Phils are suddenly looking quite vulnerable.

It’s not so much that the Marlins outscored the Phillies 21 to 9 and outhit them by a stunning margin of 39 to 21 -- although that certainly helps -- but it’s the road that lies directly ahead. It's not going to be an easy one.

This week the Phillies travel on the road and face two tough ballclubs: the Chicago Cubs (58-51) and the Atlanta Braves (58-54), teams that have beat the Phillies eight of twelve times this season thus far.

And, right now, the Phils look like they would struggle to beat anybody.

After a blistering hot July, they are once again all-too-fallible, losing eight of their last eleven games, including a humiliating 12 to 3 loss to Florida on Sunday where the Phillies were so frustrated that Shane Victorino got ejected while flapping his arms in centerfield (apparently showing his displeasure for the home plate umpire's calls).

I can't blame him, really. It was a lousy day for the home team. Incidentally, 12 runs is the most the Phillies have given up to any ballclub in all of the 2009 season and the Marlins' 19 hits in the game was a season high.

Hmmm. Maybe Victorino was trying to simply fly the Hell out of there.

Still, the home losses to the Marlins are hardly an unusual occurrence this year. It is interesting to note that the Phils and Marlins seems to prefer each other’s ballparks. At Citizens Bank Park, the Marlins are 5-1 in 2009; however, when the two teams meet in Land Shark Stadium, the Phils have won all six games.

Unfortunately, this weekend was played in Philly. Thus, the Marlins exploded offensively right when they need it most. The team batted 39 for 116 (.336) compared to a struggling Phillies club that only hit 21 of 99 (.212).

Helping the Marlins bat like a team of Triple Crown Winners was the Phils’ sputtering starting pitching staff, which didn’t pitch well (4.76 ERA) or deep. They only lasted 17 innings in the series, taxing the bullpen to come in for ten innings in three days. The late inning relievers were simply awful, giving up eleven earned runs and an ERA of 9.9.

Hopefully, the team will enjoy the day off and rest up a bit as clearly fatigue is catching up with them.

The Phillies need to step up this month as they face National League East opponents ten times in the month's remaining 19 games. The club is 25-18 against its own division this season, but if you take out the games against the basement-dwelling Nationals, they are only 15-16.

That's simply not good enough if you want to win the division crown.

Read more!

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.

Read more!

The Old Man on the Mound

By Chris Pollay

Living in Phoenix now, I rarely get an opportunity to watch the Phillies at the ballpark. However, last night I was treated to a fantastic performance, especially since I had never seen Jamie Moyer pitch live and in-person before. The Southpaw may be turning 47 later this year, but last night he pitched with the heart and determination of a man in his prime.

It didn't start that way, though. Early on, he was battered and bruised by Arizona and the home crowd enjoyed some good natured kidding about the veteran's vintage age. Some of my favorite lines included: "Hey Jamie, you don't need to pitch. Just collect your social security."

Or, "Moyer, why am I yelling at you? There's no way you can hear me at your age."



In the first three innings, Moyer indeed looked rattled by the Diamondback hitters. His control was shaky as he gave up walks and base hits like candy at Halloween.

In fact, the D-Backs had two baserunners on in the first, three in the second and two in the third.

But the old man was stubborn and crafty. At one point, I was convinced he was on the ropes. He faced the worst situation a pitcher can face: bases loaded with no outs. Yet, he got out of it without giving up a single run. Strikeout. Double play. Wow.

At that point, the home crowd turned its attention to complaining about the D-Backs players for not stepping up and the insults about retirement and walking canes slowly faded away. Moyer regained control and ended up pitching quite a gem: no runs in 6 2/3 innings. He left the game with a 6 to 0 lead well on his way to his tenth victory of the season.

The tone of the crowd had changed a lot by then. One Phillies fans turned to his neighbors in Diamondback red and said, "Can you believe he came into the game tonight with a 9-7 record and he's 46? Isn't that amazing?"

Of course, the home fans had to agree. The old man is pitching in his 23rd season in the major leagues. He's a journeyman who has played for seven different teams. He has pitched in a whopping 657 games! He has notched 256 wins and over 2,300 strikeouts.

And, he has accomplished all of that by pitching a fastball that clocks in around 80 mph. How? Simple. He is a finesse pitcher and he never stops working hard and studying the game.

I'll be the first to admit I haven't been crazy about the fact that Moyer's ERA has been north of 5.0 this year, but I will always acknowledge that the man is one Hell of a workhorse.

I saw that firsthand last night. He firmly stood his ground when his control failed him and he trudged his way through the hard innings pretty much on willpower alone. On a night when he could have easily given in and sat early (thus, taxing the bullpen), he opted to face his struggles head on, eat up some innings, and come away with a gutty performance that I won't forget anytime soon.

Well done, old man. Well done, indeed.



In the bottom of the 7th inning last night, the Phillies met
on the mound to discuss Moyer's upcoming 47th birthday
in November (if my lip-reading is accurate). I believe Charlie
Manuel said: "We are considering throwing you a surprise
party, but nobody wants to give you a heart attack, Jamie."

Read more!

The Grandest Play in Baseball

By Chris Pollay

As much as I'd like to see Halladay wear a Phillies' uniform, I have to say I'm getting a bit tired of all the trade rumors swirling around. Offers have been made, rejected, countered and retooled. The only thing missing is any actual headway. Still, we will know more by the trade deadline on Friday so I'm done with speculating.

Instead, I'd like to change the pace in today's blog and discuss the most exciting play in baseball: the Grand Slam. In fact, it was that awesome play that turned the tide in the Phillies series with the Cardinals over the weekend.After St. Louis pounded the Phillies in the first game of the series, it looked like Philadelphia could lose its first series since the start of the month when the Atlanta Braves culminated a three-game sweep of the ballclub.

St. Louis won the first game and was well on their way to winning the second after the Phillies dropped a 3 to 0 early lead and found themselves down 4 to 3 heading into the bottom of the sixth.

At that time, I vividly recall my stomach churning as the momentum had completely turned back in favor of the Cards. Before the series began, the Phils had won 14 of 16 as the hottest team in the league, but I was certain that they were going to lose the series and their July hot streak was about to end.

But then it happened!

Jimmy Rollins made the most of a bases loaded opportunity. In seconds, the team changed its fortunes completely, from down a run to up three. One swing of the bat was all it took.

Short of a perfect game or a walk-off home run, Grand Slams are the most exciting play in baseball. They are also relatively rare. Let's look at 2009's numbers for a minute. The 30 MLB teams have had 3,124 Grand Slam Opportunities (a.k.a. batting opportunities with the bases loaded). Batters have only come through with a Grand Slam only 2.75% of that time.

There have been 86 Grand Slams this season. Considering how many games and at-bats there are during a season, Grand Slams just don't happen very often... unless you're a Philly. The team leads the league with the most Grand Slams (8) and they've hit them with only 121 opportunities, or 6.6% of the time, which is much higher than the league average.

Jason Werth, Shane Victorino, Jimmy Rollins, Raul Ibañez and Pedro Feliz all have hit one Grand Salami this season. Ryan Howard has hit three. In fact, he and teammate Ibañez each hit one in the same game back on April 27, making them one of only four Philadelphia duos to accomplish such a feat in the team's 126-year (plus) history. Wow.

Incidentally, the record for the most Grand Slams hit by all teams in the MLB throughout the course of one season is 176. That occurred in 2000. This year, the league is a bit shy of that pace, but the Phillies are certainly doing more than their part.

Other teams with five or more Grand Slams this year include: Chicago White Sox (6); Cleveland Indians (5); Detroit Tigers (6); Florida Marlins (6); Minnesota Twins (5); and the St. Louis Cardinals (5).

However, three teams haven't hit a single one: the Atlanta Braves, the Los Angeles Angels and the San Diego Padres.

Read more!

Lucky 13 for the Phillies

By Chris Pollay

The Philadelphia Phillies headed into the All-Star break riding a nice hot streak. Then, they swiftly picked up the trail right where they left off (once the American League proceeded with its annual beatdown of the National League anyway).

The Phils (51-38) are officially the hottest team in baseball having won eight straight and 12 of their last 13 games, including three-game sweeps of the New York Mets, the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Florida Marlins.

It’s not difficult to see why the team has been so effective lately: they have boasted a 2.40 ERA during the last 13 games (120 innings altogether) with three shutouts. They also have outhit opponents with a margin of 129 to 89 in that time.

The Phils have won a few squeakers, to be sure, but most games in July (when the Phils are 12-3 right now) have been blowouts. In fact, during the last 13 games, the Phillies have outscored the opposition 81 to 32.

The pitching has stepped up big time and rookie J.A. Happ, now 7-0, has helped lead the charge. Jamie Moyer seems to be finding his rhythm as he has gone 3-0 for July beating the Mets, Reds and Marlins. Joe Blanton has also heated up in July, winning his last two games in which he only gave up one earned run in over 14 innings. He beat two quality starters in the Mets’ Johan Santana and the Pirates’ Zach Duke.

The only loss in the past 13 games was attributed to Brad Lidge when the Reds got the best of him. Lights Out Lidge has been more like “Leave the LIghts On” Lidge lately as he has an earned run in three of his last four outings. Still, despite his occasional flare for the dramatic, he has recorded five saves in July and his last Blown Save occurred back on June 6.

In addition to the improved pitching, the Phils have lit up opposing pitchers like Roman candles all throughout the month. Perhaps the Most Improved Player of the month should go to leadoff man Jimmy Rollins who has batted .388 (21 for 54) in the last 13 games. He only has one homer since July 3rd, but he has filled up all the other offensive stats impressively: 13 runs, eight RBIs, ten walks, and five stolen bases. As Jimmy goes, so do the Phils.

Of course, it hasn’t hurt that second baseman Chase Utley has knocked in four home runs and 13 RBIs, scoring 11 runs during the 12-1 blitz. He is batting .372 (19 of 51) in that time. In the same frame, Shane Victorino has batted .370 (20 of 54) and contributing heavily with 11 runs, nine walks and six RBIs.

Jason Werth has continued to step up. In his last 13 games, he has batted only .250 (11 for 44), but he had made the most of his hits with five homers and 14 RBIs. He’s also scored seven runs and showed more patience, earning eleven walks. Slugger Ryan Howard has also showed more control of late, having earned 13 walks in the last 13 games. Of course, he’s also inflicted some damage with three home runs, nine runs, and eight RBIs by batting .307 (12 of 39).

Perhaps the best sign of things to come is the return of Raul Ibañez, who has helped carry the team recently. He’s only played in five games since returning from the DL, but he has hit a scorching .368 (7 for 19) with two home runs, six RBIs and five runs.


Read more!

Baseball By the Numbers

By Chris Pollay

I love baseball for many reasons, but what truly fascinates me about the game is the numbers. You can break down all of the statistics for any given team and see patterns and rhythms emerge. Over the course of a long season, those numbers even out and reveal a great many things about a team's strengths and weaknesses. In fact, the game seems downright predictable when you dissect it down to its core numbers.

However, then you go and watch it live and the numbers inevitably fly right out the window. The southpaw .211 8th-spot hitter with no home runs for the year shockingly pounds a grand slam against the lefty pitching ace with an ERA of 2.11

That is baseball in a nutshell: You always know exactly what to expect but never know what is actually going to happen.

Those jaw-dropping moments happen every day if you follow the sport, and it always hits you like a jolt of electricity whenever it does. After all, you have seen the numbers and are aware EXACTLY how odd it is when the players defy them so cavalierly.

That's why yesterday's Philadelphia Phillies' game was quite exciting to me even though it was a 22-1 blowout over the Reds. Why? Because 20 runs or more is a statistical anomaly.

As the runs piled up, my mind was full of questions. Have the Phillies always fared this well against the Reds this season? In fact, they have beat them three out of four games by a cumulative score of 39-14. Yikes.

When's the last time the Phils scored 20 or more runs? That would be June 13, 2008 when they hammered the St. Louis Cardinals 20-2. About three weeks before that, the Phils also pounded the Colorado Rockies 20-5.

My next thought was: Hmmm. I wonder how the Phils do AFTER they score 20 runs in a game.

After they stomped all over St. Louis, it took them another five games to score another 20 runs and they ended up losing 11 of their next 14. Great.

However, they followed the Colorado creaming by winning ten of their next 12. They even scored 25 more runs in their next three games combined. That's promising.

Of course, all the conjecture over 20-run games had me thinking about the raw awesomeness of the Phils' offense. So, naturally, I wondered how many times this season they had scored over 10 runs.

This year, they have done it 13 times so far (already!) and won every game (to nobody's surprise). Just for fun, I calculated the collective score of those 13 games. The Phils outscored their opponents by a 154 to 65 margin! Good grief.

Incidentally, I also researched that the Phils scored ten or more runs ten times in 2008, 17 times in 2007 and 18 times in 2006.

OK. Sure, the Phils blow out teams on a regular basis, but what about the opposite? How many times have the Phils' inconsistent pitching staff given up ten runs this year? It turns out that they have done it six times and are 2-4 in those games. I was actually surprised to see they had won two games when they gave up that many runs.

Still, I think a better measure of a team is how they perform in close contests. So, I looked that up, too. The team is 6-5 in games that have gone extra innings. They are 8-10 in one-run games. That distressed me a bit. Those numbers are a direct reflection of how the bullpen has struggled this season.

In games decided by two runs, however, they are 10-5, which is considerably better. They can win the close ones IF they have just enough of a cushion, apparently.

At that point, I finally became exhausted and decided I had had enough numbers for the day.

Although, I did manage to think about one more (which is perhaps the most important): the Phils have won four straight and are on a roll!

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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.

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