Pedro Martinez Could Be Philadelphia Phillies’ Wild Card In Postseason Play
September 16, 2009 by scott eisenlohr
Filed under Fan News
As the Philadelphia Phillies inch closer to finishing off their third straight National League East title, playoff thoughts are not far behind.
If I am not mistaken, heading into Wednesday’s game with the Nationals, the Phillies magic number is 13 games. After the Phils finish the Nationals series, they travel to Atlanta and Florida. Talk about taking care of business.
Think about last year’s playoff rotation: Cole Hamels, Brett Myers, Joe Blanton and Jamie Moyer.
This year: Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee, Joe Blanton/J.A. Happ and Pedro Martinez.
Last year, the rotation included the soon-to-be named World Series MVP, a starter/closer/starter, a good mid-season pick up and the one of the all-time winning left-handed pitcher.
This year: A World Series MVP, reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, a possible Rookie of the Year, and a three-time Cy Young Award winner.
Pride aside, statistically, the Phillies do not match up with some of the best starting pitching teams in the National League: San Francisco, St. Louis and Atlanta.
Realistically, only the top three pitchers will matter, at least in the first round, and San Francisco has the best with three 10-win pitchers: Tim Lincecum (14-5), Matt Cain (13-5) and Barry Zito (10-12).
St. Louis’s Adam Wainwright may be the best choice for the Cy Young Award at 18-8 and with a 2.59 ERA. Joel Pineiro is 14-10 and Chris Carpenter is 16-4.
Atlanta, led by Javier Vazquez, 13-9; Jair Jurjens, 11-10; and Derek Lowe, 14-9, probably won’t make the playoffs.
Jamie Moyer is the Phillies winningest pitcher at 12-9, but might not make the postseason roster. Cole Hamels (9-9) and Cliff Lee (7-2) are the Phils top two playoff pitchers, but Pedro Martinez (5-0) may take over the third spot from Joe Blanton (9-7) or J.A. Happ (10-4).
It all depends on Martinez’s next couple starts, following his eight-inning 1-0 shutout of the New York Mets on Sunday night.
So even though the Phils don’t match up statistically, they are peaking at the right time.
Add Albert Pujois and Matt Holliday to a pitching-loaded St. Louis, and you might just see the World Series move to the Midwest.
In golf, the saying is drive for show and putt for dough.
Pitching is the putting in baseball.
St. Louis has the edge, but if Martinez can pitch like it’s 1999, the Phillies have a good shot.
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Cliff Lee Throws Complete Game Shut Out
September 16, 2009 by William Zeltman
Filed under Fan News
Cliff Lee had a rough couple of games in the last month, but he bounced back against the Nationals with a 5-0 shut-out win last night.
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Is Carlos Ruiz Tipping Brad Lidge’s Pitches?
September 15, 2009 by William Zeltman
Filed under Fan News
Could Carlos Ruiz be part of Brad Lidge’s problem in 2009? Some say yes.
After a discussion on MLB Network’s MLB Tonight, the topic again was discussed on Sirius XM Homeplate’s The Show today. Some speculate that one of Lidge’s issues in closing out games in 2009 has been catcher Ruiz tipping his pitches to the opposing team.
According to the theory, when Ruiz calls for a slider he drops his leg to prepare for a ball in the dirt. He evidently is setting up too early, giving the hitter time to realize what pitch he is going to throw.
Rumor has it that in the Mets clubhouse this was a topic of conversation after Lidge’s rocky performance on Saturday. Supposedly a batter that struck out was asked why he swung when he knew ahead of time that the pitch would be a slider in the dirt.
I reviewed tape of the game and from what I can see it does seem plausible that Ruiz is tipping pitches. While this doesn’t have anything to do with the fact that Brad has no command over his fastball, it certainly could be part of why batters are not swinging at some of the fastballs that are out of the strike zone like they did last season.
The coaching staff needs to look at tape and ensure that Ruiz is not tipping pitches. If he is, correcting it could be the first step in getting Brad Lidge back.
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As Philadelphia’s Magic Number Shrinks, Florida and Atlanta’s Hopes Disappear
September 15, 2009 by scott eisenlohr
Filed under Fan News
Monday was an off day for the Philadelphia Phillies, their last of the season.
Sunday’s exciting doubleheader sweep of New York not only mathematically eliminated the Mets, it gave the Phillies a 6 1/2 game lead over the Florida Marlins in the National League East, reducing the Phillies magic number to 14.
That is a combination of 14 wins by the Phillies or 14 losses by the Marlins, but more likely a combination of the two. It likely will not happen for about two weeks, but it could happen sooner.
While the Phillies open up a three-game set vs. Washington, Florida heads to St. Louis and the Mets play at Atlanta.
Following the home series against the Nationals, the Phillies travel to Atlanta and Florida.
Talk about taking care of business yourself.
Going into the Mets series, I said the Phillies had to win three out of four, which they did, highlighted by Pedro Martinez’s eight inning shutout of the Mets in a 1-0 win.
There is no reason the Phillies should not sweep the Nationals, but figure the Nationals win one. Ryan Madson or Brad Lidge should blow at least one lead.
The Phillies then can take care of Atlanta, but the games in Florida have traditionally been tough for the Phillies.
But let’s start with tonight: Cliff Lee (13-11) faces Garret Mock (3-7). Lee has to pitch into the seventh or eighth inning to give the bullpen a rest. Pencil in a win for the Phillies.
All season long, despite bullpen problems, closer problems, prolonged slumps and more, the Phillies have kept pace in front of the NL East. Some say they should have had a larger lead, but once again, the only team that is playing out of their mind is the Yankees.
Isn’t that the way baseball is supposed to be?
Destiny is in the Phillies’ hands. By next weekend, they could be NL East champs for the third year in a row.
There will be bumps along the way, and for whatever reason, it might not happen next weekend.
Shortly after that, though, it should happen. It would help to get Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, or Raul Ibanez to get hot again. Ibanez is the current hottest Phillies hitter.
Sweep the Nats and then two or three from the Braves and Marlins, and things will be fine.
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Pedro Martinez Rounding into Postseason Form for the Phillies
September 14, 2009 by victor filoromo
Filed under Fan News
For one night, you couldn’t help yourself.
You couldn’t help, be it whether you were at Citizens Bank Park last night or in front of the television, hearken back to about a decade ago when Pedro Martinez made things look so easy.
He may no longer be a Boston Red Sox, but he is a Philadelphia Phillie. And thus far, he has made General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr., one of the few executives with a contending team willing to take a chance on Martinez, look like a genius.
Martinez is now 5-0 with a 2.87 ERA. He has 34 strikeouts in 37.2 innings. He has allowed just 35 hits and has walked just six batters.
Let that sink in for a second.
At age 37, Martinez is doing things he did when he was 27.
It’s always fun to take a look at the past, but what Martinez is doing in the present and what he may do in the near future is the vital headline right now.
Just for the sake of the past, let’s note that Martinez went 118-36 with a 2.20 ERA with the Montreal Expos and Boston Red Sox from 1997-2003. Throw in some syringes, bulking triceps, and growing home run totals, and it’s even more impressive what he has done.
Alas, we’ll fast forward to the present. Amaro Jr. was willing to give Pedro an incentive-laden contract. It’s paid off.
Last night was simply magical. In the nightcap of a day-night doubleheader, Martinez had an opportunity to eliminate one of his former teams, the New York Mets, from playoff contention.
The result? Brilliance, and nothing short of it. Martinez went eight innings, allowed six hits, walked just two, and struck out seven.
His fastball had life, albeit not the blazing velocity that his heater carried about five or six years ago. His change-up had a diving, tumbling motion on it that had hitters flailing. His curveball dropped off the table, proving unhittable for most of the night.
With two outs in the eighth inning, manager Charlie Manuel came out of the dugout and took a slow, yet steady, walk to the mound.
He asked Martinez if he had anything left in him. There was no way Pedro was about to hand the ball away.
So, eight shutout innings and 130 pitches later, Martinez added to his legend. At this stage, that’s what he is.
What began with skepticism has turned into fanaticism.
Should the Phillies hold on to their position and make the playoffs, they’ll have to start thinking about the 25 men that will comprise their roster.
While the Phillies have been somewhat short in terms of bench production this season, they have not lacked pitchers, in quality or quantity. One could make a case that the Phillies have about 14 or 15 adequate options for only 11 or 12 pitching spots.
A couple of weeks ago, leaning toward Martinez as a bullpen piece was the likely scenario. There was a certain sect that would have not thought he would even make the playoff roster.
But, as we have seen, things have changed.
Should the Phillies make the playoffs, it’s likely things will kick off with Cole Hamels, followed by Cliff Lee. It’s possible they could be swapped.
Who will be No. 3? Shockingly, it could be Martinez. Not only could it be, it should be.
Joe Blanton has had a very good year, as has J.A. Happ. Blanton has not pitched poorly lately, save for one start. Happ has been bothered by an injury to his oblique, but has been steady as they come all year.
Now, it’s obvious what Manuel should do. Pencil in Pedro for that third starting slot in the playoffs. He is, after all, a legend.
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MLB Power Rankings 9/14/09
September 14, 2009 by WhatIfSports.com
Filed under Fan News
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WhatIfSports.com utilizes its award-winning baseball simulation engine to present the most comprehensive and unbiased ranking possible of all 30 teams in baseball. To come up with the rankings, using only their statistical performance to date this season, each team is simulated against every other team 100 times – so that all five pitchers in the current rotation start ten times at each location. Rosters, rotations and stats are up-to-date through Saturday.
(Note: This means that if a pitcher who was in the rotation was recently put on the DL, he will not be included in the simulations. This is true of position players as well, but an injury to a position player will usually have a lesser impact on the weekly results.)
Teams Ranked by Winning Percentage
(everyone plays everyone 100 times)
| Team | Change | Win Pct | RS/G | RA/G | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Los Angeles Dodgers | +1 | 62.8 | 5.2 | 3.9 |
| 2. | New York Yankees | -1 | 62.1 | 5.9 | 4.5 |
| 3. | Los Angeles Angels | – | 59.3 | 5.6 | 4.4 |
| 4. | Philadelphia Phillies | +4 | 58.4 | 5.3 | 4.5 |
| 5. | St. Louis Cardinals | -1 | 58.3 | 4.7 | 3.9 |
| 6. | Texas Rangers | +3 | 57.1 | 5.1 | 4.5 |
| 7. | Boston Red Sox | +3 | 56.7 | 5.2 | 4.6 |
| 8. | Colorado Rockies | -1 | 56.2 | 5.2 | 4.4 |
| 9. | Tampa Bay Rays | -4 | 56.2 | 5.3 | 4.6 |
| 10. | San Francisco Giants | -4 | 55.3 | 4.0 | 3.6 |
| Team | Change | Win Pct | RS/G | RA/G | |
| 11. | Minnesota Twins | – | 54.9 | 4.9 | 4.4 |
| 12. | Florida Marlins | +2 | 53.1 | 5.0 | 4.7 |
| 13. | Atlanta Braves | -1 | 53.0 | 4.7 | 4.4 |
| 14. | Chicago Cubs | +1 | 49.2 | 4.7 | 4.7 |
| 15. | Detroit Tigers | +2 | 48.5 | 4.7 | 4.9 |
| 16. | Kansas City Royals | +13 | 47.9 | 4.1 | 4.4 |
| 17. | Toronto Blue Jays | -4 | 47.8 | 4.8 | 5.0 |
| 18. | Milwaukee Brewers | – | 46.5 | 5.1 | 5.3 |
| 19. | Seattle Mariners | +1 | 45.9 | 4.2 | 4.8 |
| 20. | Cleveland Indians | +5 | 45.6 | 4.9 | 5.4 |
| Team | Change | Win Pct | RS/G | RA/G | |
| 21. | Arizona Diamondbacks | -5 | 45.3 | 4.7 | 5.1 |
| 22. | Houston Astros | -1 | 44.8 | 4.5 | 5.0 |
| 23. | New York Mets | -4 | 44.5 | 4.9 | 5.5 |
| 24. | Oakland Athletics | -1 | 44.3 | 4.4 | 4.9 |
| 25. | Chicago White Sox | -3 | 44.0 | 4.4 | 5.0 |
| 26. | Washington Nationals | – | 41.2 | 4.7 | 5.8 |
| 27. | Pittsburgh Pirates | -3 | 40.8 | 4.3 | 5.2 |
| 28. | Cincinnati Reds | -1 | 40.7 | 4.3 | 5.2 |
| 29. | San Diego Padres | -1 | 40.3 | 4.1 | 5.1 |
| 30. | Baltimore Orioles | – | 39.2 | 4.7 | 5.9 |
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MLB: Fantasy Week In Revew, Sept. 7 – 13
September 14, 2009 by Adam Bernacchio
Filed under Fan News
As hard as it may be to believe, there’s still fantasy baseball to be played. With fantasy football now in full swing, many people are forgetting that the fantasy baseball playoffs are in full swing.
Not me.
As always, here are the fantasy studs and the players who could kill your fantasy baseball hopes for the week of September 7th-13th.
Fantasy Studs
Billy Butler – .419/2/12 with one SB. It seems like Butler has been around forever, but he is only 23 years old. He could be in-line for a massive breakout season in 2010.
Russell Martin – .286/2/9/.385. It’s good to see Martin make a celebrity guest appearance in the fantasy stud column.
Juan Uribe – .409/3/7. Uribe has been red hot for the San Francisco Giants. Unfortunately, the rest of the Giants’ offense hasn’t followed suit.
Raul Ibanez – .333/4/7. Ibanez hasn’t been the same since coming back from a groin injury a couple of months ago. Hopefully for the Philadelphia Phillies Ibanez is getting hot at the right time.
Javier Vazquez – 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA and 17 K’s in 16 IP. Has anyone noticed the year Vazquez is having? If the Atlanta Braves gave him any run support, he would be right up there in the Cy Young race.
Pedro Martinez – 2-0 with a 1.84 ERA and 11 K’s in 14.2 IP. The good news—Pedro pitched eight shutout innings against the New York Mets. The bad news—it took him 130 pitches to do it.
Not sure how smart that was by Charlie Manuel leaving him in there for that long.
Jason Frasor – Four saves with a 0.00 ERA and three K’s in 3.1 IP. Frasor is making the case to be the Toronto Blue Jays closer in 2010.
Joakim Soria – Four saves with a 0.00 ERA and eight K’s in 3.2 IP. Soria has had a down year by his standards. A trip to the DL this year really hurt Soria.
Reasons for Concern
Alfonso Soriano – Soriano will miss the remainder of the season because of knee surgery. It’s been a pretty awful season for Soriano and for owners who depended on him.
I for one, have never been a fan of Soriano. Soriano will be 34 next year and I expect his production to be on a steady decline from here on out.
Brad Lidge – The Phillies officially removed Lidge from his closers duties. The plan is to have Lidge pitch in “low-stress” situations until he gets himself right.
Lidge has had six months to get himself right and if it hasn’t happened by now, I don’t think it will happen this year.
Tim Lincecum – Lincecum missed his last start because of back pain. His missed start caused a lot of fantasy owners first-round heartbreak.
The good news is that if you made it past the first round and have Lincecum on your team, he is expected to start tonight against the Colorado Rockies.
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Pedro Martinez: The Free Agent
September 14, 2009 by josh levitt
Filed under Fan News
After his mastery against the New York Mets last night, Pedro Martinez’s numbers are officially ridiculous.
In seven starts with the Philadelphia Phillies, Martinez is 5-0 with a phenomenal 2.87 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP.
Hey Pedro, this isn’t 1999!
But in all honesty, I didn’t think that he had much left in the tank. After watching him gut through the 2008 season with the Mets, where he was nothing more than a bad fifth starter, I believed that the dominant Martinez was long gone, the very good Martinez was no more, and the sometimes OK Martinez was here to stay.
But as they say, that’s why they play the games. I don’t think anyone in their wildest dreams could have imagined that Martinez was going to be this good with the Phillies. For God’s sake, he’s (in an admittedly limited sample size) striking out almost a batter an inning…34 K in 37 innings!
So what does this all mean for Pedro Martinez as we look towards 2010?
Well, I can tell you one thing, he will not have to wait until July to find work. It’s become clear that Martinez still has the ability to be an effective starting pitcher, especially in the National League.
I know it’s easy for us to get ahead of ourselves here because the sample size is so small, but his stuff looks very, very sharp right now.
At this point, would it be naive to think that Martinez could actually get more than a one-year deal on the open market? Probably. But if Pedro finishes out the season strong and has a dynamite postseason, then maybe, just maybe, the idea of giving a 38-year-old Pedro Martinez a two-year deal might not sound so stupid and crazy.
Thoughts? How much can Pedro get on the open market?
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No Treat For The Mad Dog
September 13, 2009 by Ken Marone
Filed under Fan News
Ryan Madson was thrust into the closer role this weekend after watching his fellow bullpen member Brad Lidge nearly blow his eleventh game of the season against the Washington Nationals. And while Madson got the save that night the “Mad Dog” hasn’t looked good since being officially named the unofficial closer for the Philadelphia Phillies.
After coming into the game with a one run lead on Saturday night, Madson recorded two quick ground outs. Fernando Tatis then singled which set up a two-run-homerun by David Wright. It was Madson’s sixth blown save of the season.
Think about that for a moment.
Madson has six blow saves in thirteen chances and Brad Lidge has ten blown saves in thirty-nine chances. A .744 and .538 save percentage respectively. And while Madson’s ERA is nearly whole runs better, it’s evident that neither is getting the job done in ninth.
Madson first showed he was incapable of holding the lead in the ninth during Lidge’s stint on the DL early in the season and has looked no more capable in the other chances he’s been given throughout the season.
Ten blown is bad, six isn’t much better.
It’s time for manager Charlie Manuel to give the fans what they want.
Give the fans Brett Myers.
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New York Mets Should Be a Apple Ripe For Picking By the Philadelphia Phillies
September 11, 2009 by scott eisenlohr
Filed under Fan News
While the rest of the town is obsessed with Brad Lidge-gate, the Phillies have a job at hand and it’s manager Charlie Manuel’s job to keep the troops ready for action.
The New York Mets come to town for a four-game series. What is at stake for the Phillies is getting closer to clinching the National League East pennant and keeping the Florida Marlins and Atlanta Braves at arm’s length.
For the Mets, it is a chance at redemption, if only for the weekend. The Mets, 62-78, lost three to the Marlins, who are five games behind the Phillies.
The Nationals, who lost two-of-three to the Phillies, travel to Florida to play the Marlins, while the Braves, who are eight game behind, travel to St. Louis to play the Cardinals.
Worse case scenario, the Marlins sweep the Nats and the Mets sweep the Phillies, the lead would be an uncomfortable 2 1/2 game lead for the Phillies.
It ain’t gonna happen.
The Mets got a boost Tuesday when center fielder Carlos Beltran was activated. He has not played since June 21 due to a deep bone bruise in the right knee.
The Marlins will probably take two of three and if the Phillies take three of four, the lead would go to six games.
Tonight’s matchup is key for the Phillies. Cole Hamels (8-9) vs. Nelson Figueroa (2-4). This is a key game for the Phillies to set up the weekend.
On Saturday, Mike Pelfrey (10-10) faces Jamie Moyer (12-9) and Sunday looks like John Maine (5-4) and Tim Redding (2-5) vs. Kyle Kendrick (0-1) and Pedro Martinez (4-0).
For sure, tonight’s game is the Phillies best pitching matchup.
Believe me. I have to give Charlie Manuel all the credit in the world. It took a lot of male body part duplicates to take closer Brad Lidge out of Wednesday’s game. Um, er, I mean two eyes. OK?
Think it is easy? Tell me: How the heck did Terry Francona become a genius? Phillies fans must wonder that all the time, because Francona stunk when he was here.
Baseball is a funny game. It takes a funny guy like Manuel, who despite the country bumpkin exterior, is as tough as nails.
He wants to win, but at the same time, realizes he has to keep Lidge happy, because there are two years left on the closer’s contract.
Depending on how Friday and Saturday games go, Sunday’s doubleheader could get real interesting.
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