Philly Coaches Chime in on Philadelphia Phillies’ Closer Situation

While most cities would be happy about the Philadelphia Phillies’ march toward their third straight National League Eastern Division Championship, the fans of this city have one thing foremost in their mind.

Get rid of *^&*^(^%(^(*^)*&^ Brad Lidge as the closer of this Philles baseball team.

To get a pulse of the guys who are in he midst of Philly sports, past and present, this Bleacher Report writer imagined a query of the area coaches on whether they would continue to use Brad Lidge as the closer of the Phillies.

Eagles football head coach Andy Reid: “Uh, hmm, the injury report. Donovan McNabb has a fractured rib and is doubtful, Brian Westbrook continues to make progress with his ankle injury and is probable, while DeSean Jackson’s injured groin makes him questionable for Sunday’s game. Time’s yours …”

Flyers’ head coach John Stevens: “Brad Lidge may be between the pipes, we will have to see how he progresses at practice today. Brad may or may not be our goalie, um, closer, while Ryan (Madson) has been real good in practice and is ready to step in.”

The Sixers’ head coach Eddie Jordan is new in town, so a call was placed to the former Sixers’ head coach, last seen in Charlotte, NC: “Um, Allen was not in practice today, so I don’t know if he will play or not. Oh, he’s not? Stratch that. Oh, baseball? Brad Hedge is a fine young man, but I don’t know if he can play basketball …”

Former Eagles coach Dick Vermeil: “Boooo, hoo, hoo, excuse me, let me compose myself, sniff, sniff …”

Former Phillies manager Dallas Green: “That pitcher is throwing up chicken sh** and he pitching like it, too. I will address him myself. When I’m good and ready, I will let you know if he’s ever gonna pick up a baseball for this team again.”

Former Temple University basketball coach John Cheney was more direct when asked about the closer: “I’ll kill him, I wanna kill him …”

Coach Vermeil: “Oh, boo, hoo, hoo. Wait a minute … Boo, hoo …”

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel was unavailable for comments, but did offer this: “Wait a minute, I’m looking up closers in the Yellow Pages …”

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Citizens Bank Ballpark: A Vegetarian’s Paradise

Next up in our Stadium 411 series is Citizens Bank Ballpark, home of the World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies. This will be our second Citizens Bank Ballpark critique. The first one was given by Jon a couple of months ago.

This critique was given by a 32-year-old man who has more St. Louis Cardinal paraphernalia than any eight-year-old boy living in Missouri—Tom Spirakis.

It’s disturbing, I know.

 

Citizens Bank Park Critique

This past July the family and I drove down from NYC to Philadelphia to catch a game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the defending world champion Phillies. The drive wasn’t bad and roundtrip from NYC can be done in the same day.

The stadium is right off the highway and there is plenty of parking around the stadium.  All the major Philly teams are housed in the same area.

 

Pros

The stadium was real nice and reminded me of Nationals Park and Citi Field. I was pleasantly surprised that the Phillies fan did not live up to their reputation as the meanest fans in sports.

I proudly wore a Cardinals tee with not so much as a dirty look. The concession stands offered an array of choices. PETA lists Citizen Bank Ballpark as the most vegetarian-friendly stadium in the majors. I enjoyed a veggie burger and a veggie dog.

Much to my surprise, I was not annoyed by the Philly Fanatic. I actually thought he was pretty entertaining.

 

Cons

The stadium was having a Christmas in July promotion. Alright, I can handle that. What I couldn’t handle was the non-stop Christmas carols all day long.

It was relentless, sitting in the blistering sun listening to Winter Wonderland. Another thing that annoys me is throwing back a home run ball hit by a visiting player.

I think this is one of the dumbest traditions in baseball.

Up until a couple of years ago, I thought this was reserved for the Wrigley faithful, but now it seems everyone is doing it. I just missed catching a Rick Ankiel home run and it pained me to see it thrown back onto the field.

 

Overall Game Day Experience

Overall game day experience was 8 out of 10. From NYC, it’s worth a drive down to catch a game.

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Will This NL East Division Clinching Happen Already?

I am tired of putting Brad Lidge’s picture at the top of my stories, so I reached down to just beyond recent memory to give an answer (LOL) to the quagmire that the Philadelphia Phillies closer situation has become.

This Phillies pitcher, shown at right, won the Cy Young Award in 1987, when he recorded 40 saves, went 5-3 with a 2.83 ERA. This pitcher had 184 career saves.

Who is he? I know, but I wonder if anyone know who he is or what the answer is to the Phillies back end of the bullpen. And can this guy come out of retirement?

I don’t think Phillies manager Charlie Manuel knows. Listen to his comments in Thursday, Sept. 24 Philadelphia Daily News story by David Murphy:

“Him and Madson, that’s what we’ve got in the back end of the bullpen right now,” manager Charlie Manuel said. “He’s struggling. At the same time, it’s hard for us to close a game out. It’s tough. It’s kind of what we’ve got. I mean, I’ve got confidence in him. I keep running him out there. Hopefully he does the job. I pull like hell for him every time he goes out there, believe me.”

What? What the heck is Charlie talking about? Later in the story he said that the percentage of games are won when a team has a lead in the eighth and ninth inning, they should win a high percentage of games.

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

He is frustrated just like the rest of us. He witnessed the Phillies bullpen blow a 6-4 lead in the eighth inning, with Ryan Madson giving up one run and Brad Lidge blowing the save and with two outs, allow the winning run to score in the bottom of the ninth for a 7-6 loss.

The magic number sits at four for the Marlins and five for the Braves.

The Phillies play four in Milwaukee, then head home for three with the Astros and four with the Marlins at home.

They, as a team, have to put this loss behind them and finish off the Brewers.

Because right now, they went 3-3 against their closest division rivals, not a formula to close things out. They did reduce the number by one against the Braves and two against the Marlins during their past six games.

Historically, the team that wins its division early is swept out of the playoffs.

The Phillies have to get healthy, in their pitching staff especially, and get the bats going.

Last night, before the ninth inning washout, I was pleased by the offensive production from the Phillies. Ryan Howard, with his two-run home run sits at 130 RBI, one behind the Brewers’ Prince Fielder for the National League RBI lead.

My solution?

Just like Rickie Bottalico said on Phillies postgame on Comcastsportsnet: You have to make the change now and the change is Ryan Madson.

Done. Forget it. End of conversion.

Brad Lidge, with 11 blown saves this season, should not touch the ball until the Phillies clinch the NL East.

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Lidge Experiences Highs and Lows in Philly

Last year, Brad Lidge looked immortal by throwing the high heat on the hitters, and it helped him achieve perfection last year by going 48-for-48.

This year is a different story for the beleaguered Phillies closer. Lidge watched the other team celebrating victories off him when he closed games.

Lidge handed the game to the Marlins last night after he blew his 11th save, and it helped the Marlins get a walkoff victory that helped them take a series in keeping their playoff hopes alive.

There’s no question Lidge was not going to repeat the year he had last year. It’s hard to be perfect as a closer, so what the Phillies saw out of Lidge in his first season was an exception.

A closer is going to blow four or five saves a game, and include Mariano Rivera in that discussion. Still, Lidge’s performance has not been good at all, and it reached a point Phillies skipper Charlie Manuel needs to do something with the closer role.

Playoffs start in two weeks, and it’s hard to think Lidge will magically turn it around.

Once a closer struggle, it snowballs to the point he does not recover, and that’s the case with Lidge.

Manuel actually took Lidge out of the game after he struggled to close the game against the Nationals few weeks ago. Ryan Madson came out and preserved a victory for the Phillies.

Manuel’s strength as a manager is loyalty, and he’s done all he could to show his faith with Lidge. Now, it’s a lost cause.

After last night, he needs to hope Brett Myers can answer the role at closer or else the Phillies will not repeat.

This Marlins writer did not endorsed the Phillies to repeat this year as champs because of the unsettling situation at the bullpen. By moving Myers or Madson as the closer, it changes the roles of the relievers that are comfortable at their original role.

It can be hard to adapt. If Madson closes, who will be the set-up guy?

What about who will fill the role of a seventh-inning guy?

When a closer fails, it takes the life out of a team even for a great team like the Phillies.

In Philadelphia, those fans turn on players the minute things go bad even if that player helped their team win a championship.

It’s about what he has done now.

Lidge experience the joy when he did well, and now he deals with the misery.

It’s a life of a closer.

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Philadelphia Phillies Battling Injuries as Season Nears End

Injuries are taking their toll on the Philadelphia Phillies, and at the worst possible time.

After an examination on his left wrist by team doctors, Carlos Ruiz is the latest member of the team to miss time due to injury.

Ruiz joins the lengthy list of J.A. Happ, Scott Eyre, J.C. Romero, Greg Dobbs, Pedro Martinez, Chad Durbin, Chan Ho Park, and Brett Myers as Phillies who have been hit by the injury bug.

Happ, Martinez, Dobbs, and Myers appear as if they will be able to return within the next week of play. The fate of Eyre, Romero, Durbin, and Park for the rest of the season is still unknown.

Even with the barrage of injuries, the Phillies are finding a way to win. After splitting yesterday’s double-header with the Florida Marlins, they moved to 8-2 over their last ten games.

The most promising sign has come from the World Series MVP, Cole Hamels, who appears to have found his postseason touch once again. Despite a rough six-inning, four run outing against the Houston Astros on September 6th, Hamels is 3-1 with a 1.82 ERA in September.

Over his last seven starts, he has recorded 46 strikeouts and walked just 11 batters while posting a 2.22 ERA.

Only time will tell whether he will be able to continue his resurgence for the remainder of the season and deep into the postseason. But we can be sure that if the Phillies are to make a run at a second consecutive World Series title, Cole Hamels will need to be the dominant pitcher he was last October.

The other ace of the rotation, Cliff Lee, seems to have returned to being the dominating pitcher he was in his first five starts as a Phillie.

After three straight outings in which he gave up three or more runs (the only time he has done so this season), the reigning AL Cy Young pitched a complete game shutout on September 15 over the Washington Nationals.

It was his first shutout and third complete game as a Phillie. He struck out nine and allowed just six hits.

Lee’s following start was cut short by rain after four innings in Atlanta, where he allowed one run through four solid innings.

Hamels is scheduled to take the mound tonight in Florida to wrap up the Phillies’ three-game series with the Marlins before heading to Milwaukee for a four-game set.

Happ is scheduled to return to make his next start on Thursday. Lee will follow on Friday, with Joe Blanton and Martinez set to pitch Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

The Phils’ magic number for clinching their third straight NL East championship stands at five, and could be as low as three by night’s end.

All statistics as of 9/23/09.

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Not The Best But The Quirkest Number 99

Mitch Williams was probably not the best number 99, but had the most personality, and personally, is my favorite number 99.

All apologies to the most talented number 99, hockey superstar Wayne Gretzky.

Williams, a closer by trade, pitched for six major league teams, including the Cubs and Phillies. Former Cubs teammate and friend Mark Grace said that Williams pitched “like his hair was on fire.”

It didn’t hurt that he had a fast ball in the low 90s. It was not always accurate, however. Early in his career his number was 28, but he changed it to 99.

In his career, Williams saved 192 games from 1986 to 1997. His best year, by far, was the 1993 year with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Williams saved 43 games that year, with a 3-7 record and a 3.34 ERA. He caused indigestion to players and fans alike, as he sometimes walked the bases loaded then struck out the side.

The first I remembered Williams was when he was pitching with the Cubs. The Phillies loaded the bases on Opening Day in Chicago, then Williams struck out the side.

Some remember him for giving up the game-winning home run in Game Six of the 1993 World Series to the Toronto Blue Jays’ Joe Carter.

I would rather remember him jumping in the air for joy after striking out the Braves Bill Pecota to send the Phillies to their first World Series appearance in 10 years.

I would rather remember the late July morning, 4:41 a.m. to be exact, when “Mitchie Poo”, as Phillies announcer Harry Kalas called him, singled home the winning run in a rain-delayed game.

I would rather remember him almost falling off the mound on his follow through, shown above, and Phillies then-ace Curt Schilling putting a towel over his head when Williams was closing.

Baseball officials say that left-handed pitchers are odd. Williams took odd to a new level.

Williams, who had a brief stint as the manager of the Atlantic City Surf, an independent baseball minor league team. I think I even remember him starting a game on a holiday, when the Surf ran out of pitchers.

Like a lucky rabbit foot, Williams has landed on his feet.

He is a baseball analyst for Comcastsportsnet in Philadelphia and an analyst for the new MLB network channel.

He was just fun to watch. Philadelphia, by in large, and myself, almost immediately, forgave him for giving up the Carter home run.

Heck, the Angels’ Donny Moore shot himself in the head after giving up a game-winning home run.

Not Williams. Some call him a self-centered jerk.

I think he talks to fans on their level when talking baseball. No pretence of being someone special, just the facts.

He calls ’em as he see ’em.

Thanks, Mitchie Poo.

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Don’t Worry Phillies Fans, What Could Happen?

The Philadelphia Phillies have an eight-game lead in the National League East and their magic number to clinch the division is down to six with 14 games to play.

Sound familiar? It should. The Mets were something like seven games up with 17 games to go in 2007 and lost the NL East crown to the Phillies on the last day of the season.

But for fans who know their Phillies history and those who are old enough to remember it, there is a much more familiar time in Phillies’ history.

I don’t want to be a naysayer, but as an FC, I am supposed to write three Phillies stories a week and with an off day on Monday, what the heck else is there to write about?

Aha, 1964.

To sum up briefly, the Phillies had a six-and-a-half game lead with 12 games to play in the National League. There was no East, Central, or West in those days—only a pennant winner in each league and the World Series.

On Sept. 21, 1964, the Reds’ Chico Ruiz stole home in a 1-0 Reds victory. That began a 10-game losing streak for the Phillies, while the Reds went on a nine-game win streak.

The St. Louis Cardinals won the 1964 National League pennant at 93-69, while the Phillies and the Reds finished one game behind, both with a 92-70 record.

Ouch.

Now if memory serves me, the Gene Mauch—led Phillies used Jim Bunning and Chris Short almost exclusively as starters down the stretch. It proved fatal.

The Phillies are too deep in starting pitching to use Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels down the stretch on alternate days.

What is the one way the Phillies, yikes (yeah, says Richard Marsh, Mike Kent, and Lou Cappetta), can blow an eight-game lead?

Hey, everybody, let’s all say it together, Phillies and Mets fans: Brad Lidge.

Now to be fair, Ryan Madson has blown six saves in a much more limited closer role, but even Charlie Manuel has admitted, Brad Lidge is his closer.

Imagine the carnage/celebration of such a slide. I won’t go game by game, but here is my Chico Ruiz (no relation) moment:

Jayson Werth steals home against the Marlins with two outs in the top of the ninth to put the Phillies ahead, 5-4. But wait, Shane Victorino steals second on a double steal and is thrown out. He argues the call and pushes the umpire and is thrown out of the game.

Inning over, 4-4. Lidge blows the game in a non-save opportunity in the bottom of the ninth. The game ends when Jayson Werth and Ben Francisco collide on a ball hit to right center. Marlins win 5-4.

Victorino is suspended for two games and fined. Werth breaks his collarbone, while Francisco is day to day.

Seriously though, the Phillies have to get a lot more healthy as they head into the playoffs.

According to Phillies.com, the injuries to the pitching staff is as follows: left-handers Scott Eyre (loose body in his left elbow), J.C. Romero (strained left forearm) and Jack Taschner (strained back), and right-handers Brett Myers (sore right shoulder) and Chan Ho Park (strained right hamstring).

Also Pedro Martinez had a stiff neck and may not start Friday.

No wonder Charlie Manuel is taking these last two weeks day to day.

Because he knows if he looks too far ahead, things could get worse.

A lot worse.

 

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Phillies Continue to Hammer Opponents

The Phillies had a tenuous 5-3 lead heading into the ninth inning of last night’s game against the Atlanta Braves.

Brad Lidge was warming up in the bullpen.

These days, any lead less than three runs is case for concern for any Phillies fans.

Then it happened. The Phillies bats exploded to help the Phillies to a 9-4 win.

Ryan Howard, shown above, staked the Phillies to a 3-1 lead with his 39th and 40th home runs, respectively.

While Jason Werth’s two-run hit extended the Phillies to a 5-1 lead in the top of the eighth, but Brian McCann’s two-run home run cut the lead to two.

Jimmy Rollins connected for his 19th home run of the year with two on and one out in the top of the ninth. Ben Francisco followed with a solo shot to put the Phillies up 9-3.

Lidge sat down and Chad Durbin got up. Durbin let in a ninth inning run in a non-save situation and the Phillies reduced their magic number to eight games.

Whew.

With this win, what jumps out at me?

The Phillies’ awesome power. It is freakin’ amazing.

Last year, the Phillies led the league with 214 home runs.

In 146 games this year, the Phillies have hit 209 home runs. Colorado, in 148 games, is second with 174 home runs.

No one else in the National League is even close.

Last week, the Phillies became the 12th club in Major League history to have four players with 30 home runs.

A week later, Ryan Howard leads the way with 40 home runs. The incredible Jayson Werth has 34 home runs, while both Raul Ibanez and Chase Utley have 31 home runs.

Ryan Howard has 121 RBI and Jayson Werth and Chase Utley both have 90 RBI. Ibanez has 86 RBI.

Incredible numbers.

Where does it end?

The Phillies could possibly wrap up the division by next weekend, but they have a large task at hand.

That is getting Brad Lidge right.

If they can’t do that, Phillies fans have to live with Ryan Madson as the closer in the playoffs.

But let me ask you this: With a one-run lead in the ninth inning, right now, who do you want to close the game?

I thought so. Me, too.

Hopefully, there will be more homer happy games where it won’t be an issue.

What a fun season.

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Jayson Werth: Best Phillies Outfielder

Everybody loves the Flyin’ Hawaiian, and Raul Ibanez got lots of ink for his big first half, but the Sarge has quietly put up the best season of the three Phillies outfielders.

 

Here’s a quick comparison:

 

Jayson Werth:

 

• .272/.373/.526
• OPS .899
• 34 HR, 88 RBI, 90 R, 13 SB
•  2.5 UZR/150 2009
• 35.6 UZR/150 2008
• 37.7 UZR/150 2007

 

Raul Ibanez:

 

• .280/.350/.567
• OPS .918
• 31 HR, 86 RBI, 83 R, 4 SB
• 5.1 UZR/150 2009
• -10.4 UZR/150 2008
• -23.3 UZR/150 2007

 

Shane Victorino:

 

• .298/.364/.456
• OPS .820
• 10 HR, 58 RBI, 94 R, 23 SB
• -4.0 UZR/150 2009
• 7.8 UZR/150 2008
• 19.1 UZR/150 2007 (played predominantly RF)

 

The race is close, particularly between Ibanez and Werth. They are neck and neck in OPS, with Ibanez holding a slight edge. However, this is the time to point out that OPS is a flawed stat, since it weights OBP and SLG equally. In fact, OBP is worth more than twice as much as SLG, pushing Werth’s line, with it’s .373 OBP, just ahead of Ibanez in terms of rate of production.

 

Werth beats Ibanez in all counting stats, mostly because he has played more. Both players are just north of fragile, with a tendency to miss several games each year to minor injuries. A key to Werth’s success this year has been his ability to keep stepping in the batter’s box.

 

Victorino holds an edge over Werth in runs and stolen bases, but, since he is the leadoff man, that is as much a matter of role as of talent. Werth has wheels enough to steal some bases, too, while his power makes him a more complete player.

 

I included fielding stats from the past three seasons to make a point about general fielding. Usually Werth is a gold glove-caliber right fielder, while Ibanez is losing his team games with his glove work. But this season Ibanez has improved to above average, while Werth has regressed to just about average.

 

Personally, I find fielding statistics a little raw. The best way to measure a player’s innate skill with a glove is by aggregating data over several seasons. This comparison is about this year, and I don’t want to cherry-pick data, but it is worth noting that, while Ibanez is better this year, the general trend favors Werth.

 

WAR (Wins Above Replacement) is exactly the sort of omni-stat needed to settle a debate like this. WAR takes everything into consideration, and it names a single winner.

 

Here’s how they stack up in WAR:

 

Victorino: 3.3

Ibanez: 3.8

Werth: 4.1

 

If you hadn’t guessed from the rest of the article, Werth wins.

 

People know Werth is a good player, but it seems that people don’t realize just how good. As MLB.com beat writer Todd Zolecki points out, Werth is some kind of streaky, hitting “homers in bunches.”

 

Does that make it easier to overlook him? Maybe because you don’t see him tearing it up in the box scores every day, you forget how good he is? Or maybe, without that flamboyant red goatee, there’s not much to distinguish him?

 

Most likely, people don’t know him because this will be his first full season.

 

For the first time, Werth has 500 at bats this season.

 

And now that he has, the Phillies are really getting to see what they have.

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A Phillies Postseason Pitching Solution

What a difference a year makes.

 

Last season the Phillies seemed to have suspect starting pitching but were riding an excellent bullpen into the playoffs. Once they got there, the starting pitching stepped up, the “Bridge to Lidge” stayed strong, and there was a parade down Broad Street.

This year, the starters are looking formidable, but the “Bridge to Lidge” has suffered a fate similar to the Bridge on the River Kwai or one of those rickety rope bridges from an Indiana Jones movie.

Chan Ho Park’s injury is just the latest in a series of setbacks for the pitching staff, and Charlie Manuel will have to be very careful with how he handles his hurlers for the rest of the regular season so they won’t be worn out come playoff time.

Teams can, of course, make roster additions and subtractions after each round of the playoffs, but here’s how things should go for at least the division series:

Lead off with Cliff Lee, then pitch Cole Hamels in Game Two. I realize Charlie is fiercely loyal to the guys who have gotten him there before and will probably pitch Hamels first, but it should be Lee.

With the two lefties starting a series, hopefully you can put the other team in an 0-2 hole right away and then not have to worry about who would start a potential Game Five.

Pitch Pedro Martinez in the No. 3 slot. This may be his only year as a Phil, so his 36-year-old arm should be ridden for all its worth. Joe Blanton gets the No. 4 slot, where he excelled during last year’s playoffs.

J.A. Happ goes to the bullpen. Nothing personal against him, but his left arm is needed in the bullpen since J.C. Romero is not coming back and Scott Eyre has a bone chip in his elbow and is a huge question mark. This is all assuming that Happ himself is healthy.

And you should be ashamed of yourself if Jack Taschner even crossed your mind.

The other lefthanded arm in the bullpen, Jamie Moyer, can be used for marathon extra inning games or to eat innings after a bad start or rain delay.

That leaves five more bullpen slots.

Clay Condrey, just back from a two month DL stint, should be on the playoff roster if he proves fully healthy down the stretch. He will be taking the place of Chad Durbin and filling the same role that Durbin did last year.

Playing the part of Clay Condrey this year will be Tyler Walker. He has done a lot to help himself over the last month, and the Phillies are more or less forced to rely on him now that Park’s health is so iffy.

The final three pitchers are Brett Myers, Ryan Madson, and (yes, still) Brad Lidge. Who pitches the eighth? Who closes? I’m not even going to guess.

The point of the matter is, these guys came up big for the team last year and you have to have some faith in them.

Collectively, their 2009 seasons have been marred by injuries and ineffectiveness. But the Phillies only need to bang out 11 more wins in any way that they possibly can.

 

So cross your fingers, hope the staff doesn’t fall apart any more in the next two weeks, and dream a little dream of October (actually, November) glory.

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