PlexNex

Phillies after a month and a half

I haven't posted in a while, I hope no one missed me too much.  The Phillies season has been underway for a month and a half now.  There's already been upsides and downsides.  If you haven't been paying attention:

Atlanta is in first place, Mets in second at a half a game behind Atlanta, and the Phils in third at 6 games behind.  I've been to two games so far, exactly a month apart from each other, April 14th and yesterday, May 14th.  They won both!  And they were both exciting games.  Of course, my luck would have me missing the most exciting parts of both games.  I was way too drunk (Yuengling Lager AND Stella Artois, if you must know) and too far up in the nosebleeds to really catch the first game.  Yesterday we left at the bottom of the 7th and missed the 6 run flurry in the bottom of the 8th.  The first one, against the Astros, was a struggle which we happened to come out on top 8-5, and yesterday's was an epic comeback.  We left, frankly, because the Brewers bullpen was looking un-get-to-able :P  We got to them.

Some players notes:  Jimmy Rollins is having an exciting season.  .280 with 5 triples and 9 homers.  Shane Victorino has established himself as a MAJOR threat in right field.  6 assists so far.  But the effect it has on every team we face is invaluable.  They might have a guy on second, hit it to right field, and he'll be held at third.  Obviously, get out of the inning on the next batter and it might have saved us a run.  If they make the mistake of sending him, Shane's thrown out someone heading for home TWICE.  Utley is having a great quiet season.  He had some big hits over the past month.  Ryan Howard hit a pinch hit grand slam, but he's been really bad!  Of course, he's on the disabled list now.  Burrell sucked on the recent 10 game road trip.  Rowand is batting .350+ and has been making his way up the lineup, sometimes making an appearance in the #1 slot.  Our third base situation is troublesome.  I don't like Helms.  He doesn't play like we Philadelphians expect our players to play.  Dobbs has been getting better.  Nunez is a great third baseman, and he's been hitting the ball a lot better.  He's my first choice, and luckily, the Phillies have seen this same thing because Nunez has been starting recently.  Next up:  Pitching.

Cole Hamels, 15 strikeouts a few games ago, blah blah blah.  I'm not too upset with the pitching lately.  They moved Bret Myers into the bullpen, and as fate would have it, the closer, Tom "Flash" Gordon, was injured.  Bret took the spot at closer, and he's lights out.  .060 ERA over his 15 innings as a closer.  One run.  5 saves.  I feel so much better with him there.  It really is like a load off of my mind.  You get to the eighth inning and there is no anxiety.  Unless you're down 4 runs like yesterday.  To the best team in the NL.

Phillies 2007 Preview

The Phillies will win the NL East crown this season. That's right, Mets fans, I said it. Here's how.

Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins are the middle of the infield. Last season they both hit 25+ homeruns, which is rare for a SS / 2B pair. They've both had 35+ game hitting streaks in the past season (Rollins' ended at the beginning of last season). Rollins is the best shortstop in baseball, and Utley just signed for $85 million. Think he's about to disappoint anyone?

Shane Victorino is the quiet workhorse that everyone loves.  He can go from 0-60 in 3.8 seconds and has a cannon for an arm. Runners rounding first think twice if they hit it towards Shane. While batting, he overwhelmingly drops in Texas Leaguers and makes it to 2nd before the ball hits the ground ;-)  Look for bunt singles early in the count.

Pitching will be strong this year. Cole Hamels and Brett Myers lead the pack in this bullpen. They both have great control most of the time, and both have a wicked arsenal of pitches. No lefty stands a chance against Hamels if he gets ahead. His deadly breaking ball freezes the best, and he routinely racks up double digit strikeouts.  Myers is a great pitcher, and when he's on, forget about it. The Phils have six legitimate starters, and a decent bullpen.

Howard and Burrell. We are all aware of what Howard can do. Besides being named NL MVP last year, much to Pujols' dismay, he lead the league in homers and RBIs, all the while batting .313!  Plus he plays first base, and his 6'4" frame can stretch for the most askew throws. However, pitchers just figure to put Howard on intentionally (even as the first batter in an inning!!), and strike out Burrell.  Well, have we got some news for them. Burrell has spent much of the off-season practicing!  I always said that he never got enough practice, because he dodges out of the way of balls thrown right down the middle. A frustrating sight. If only he'd seen more STRIKES in batting practice!  Anyway, I am confident that he will be a worthy hitter behind Howard, making pitchers at least pay the price for walking him, and at most, forcing them to pitch to Howard.

Aside from these notables, we have Chris Coste, a 33 year old rookie catcher who batted .376 last year backing up Mike Lieberthal. And Aaron Rowand, the clutch pickup from 2005's Chicago White Sox World Series team, who will risk injury to catch any ball. Ask Chase Utley about it, he'll confirm.  Greg Hobbs and Wes Helms look to be worthwhile additions. It's a shame they both play third base.  It's the only open position in Philadelphia. 

If we had this team from the beginning of last year, we would have been in the hunt. When we traded Abreu, Bell, Thome, Lidle (Rest in Peace), we were simply rebuilding. One trade we could have done without was Placido Polanco, but we had to get Utley playing full time. Any Philadelphian would tell you, move Polanco to third, get rid of Bell, put Chase in at 2nd. If only we were GMs...

The Phillies haven't been to the playoffs since 1993 when they went to the World Series and lost to the Blue Jays. I was only beginning 9th grade then, but a successful (in Philly, making it to the big dance is success ;-) ) baseball season can live with you for a long time. I still think back fondly on that time and remember most of it. But those memories are fading, and it's time for new ones.