Philadelphia Phillies on the Cusp of Dealing Jayson Werth?

It appears that Jayson Werth’s days are numbered in Philadelphia. According to reports by Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports and others, the Phillies are discussing a deal that could see them land a top of the rotation starter. 

With the recent elbow injury to Phillies 47-year-old starter Jamie Moyer, the Phillies could be in need of a starter soon.

Jayson Stark and Buster Olney of ESPN believe that the Phillies are discussing a deal with the Tampa Bay Rays. It appears outfielder Jayson Werth and possibly pitcher J.A. Happ are at the center of these talks.

Jayson Werth appears to be one of the Phillies greatest trade assets on their current roster. Having a more cap-friendly contract and a power bat, Werth appears destined to be dealt by the July 31 trading deadline.  By moving Jayson Werth, this would open up a roster spot for top notch prospect Dominic Brown, as he tries to cement himself in pro baseball.

There are many top-line starters available such as Roy Oswalt, Dan Haren, Ben Sheets, James Shields, and many more. 

Oswalt would be a dream come true for the Phillies had he signed a more salary cap friendly contract. He seems like an unlikely target for the Phillies, but stranger things have happened. 

Shields is a decent young pitcher, but is prone to giving up the long ball—a bad habit to have if you pitch in the hitter-friendly Citizen’s Bank Ballpark. 

As for Haren, the Phillies have the assets to get him, but according to some reports, the two teams haven’t even talked.

I would stay away from Sheets if I were the Phillies. Sheets’s fastball is nothing like it used to be, it’s straighter and he’s getting hit harder as a result.

Who do you believe Werth is going to and what could be the return?

The Source: http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2010/07/phillies-discussing-major-trade.html

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MLB Trade Rumors: St. Louis Cardinals Front-Runners to land Roy Oswalt

Update: (8:50am CDT) ESPN’s Buster Olney reported this morning that talks between the Astros and Phillies had slowed way down yesterday after Oswalt required his 2012 option be picked up by any team trading for him.

However, Olney says that Oswalt would love to pitch in St. Louis and may even do so without requiring them to pick up the $16 million option.

If Oswalt won’t require St. Louis to do that, but required the Phillies to, seems the writing on the wall is he doesn’t want to play in the city of brothery love.

Update: (7/22/2010 – 7:30am CDT) According to Craig Calcaterra of NBC Sports, the St. Louis Cardinals have apparently become the front runner to land Houston Astros’ right-hander Roy Oswalt.

Cacaterra says the two sides have been talking for several days and that Oswalt is open to the idea of pitching in St. Louis. The only problem is whether the Cardinals are ok with automatically picking up his $16 million option for 2012, along with his remaining $5 million this season and $16 million next season.

Update: (1:05pm CDT) ESPN’s Jayson Stark, via Twitter, says the Astros sent former player turned scout, Doug Brocail, to Indianapolis to watch Phillies Triple-A prospect J.A. Happ on Tuesday night.

Update: (10:25am CDT) Ken Rosenthal, via Twitter, checks in and talks about the Phillies’ Triple-A closer Scott Mathieson being used for a two-inning save today instead of using him in another save opportunity on Monday night. He speculates that it could be to showcase him to the Astros.

Rosenthal says the Phillies are talking to several teams on many fronts, apparently not just about Oswalt and Werth.

Update: (6:48am CDT) Nothing new from the overnight hours. Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse says that talks are ongoing between the Astros and Phillies so at least we know the pitcher they’re working on is Roy Oswalt.

The Phillies are also in seperate talks with Tampa Bay regarding Jayson Werth.

Update: (10:47pm CDT) Jayson Stark has another potential development as J.A. Happ was pulled from his start in Triple-A tonight.

Update: (10:44pm CDT) Jayson Stark, via Twitter, says that Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro is apparenlty a little miffed that ESPN reported that the team was “close to a major deal.”

Stark says that their report said that the team was “working on” a big deal, not “close to” a big deal.

Buster Olney, also via Twitter, says the Tampa Bay Rays have gotten involved but says their involvement surrounds Phillies’ outfielder Jayson Werth.

Update: (10:25pm CDT) Matt Gelb , staff writer for the Philadelphia Enquirer , says the reporters still have not met with Phillies manager Charlie Manuel because his door has remained closed.

A deal seems to involve outfielder Jayson Werth but Gelb says that he can’t see Werth being dealt to a National League team, and is of the opinion that he’ll be dealt to an American League team.

Update: (10:15pm CDT) Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, via Twitter , chimes in and says that a deal is “not close.” He says the Phillies are talking to “many teams on many fronts” and that the Diamondbacks, A’s, and Astros are not close to a deal.

Update: (10:03pm CDT) According to ESPN’s Buster Olney , the Phillies have not discussed Dan Haren or any pitchers from the Rays. I misread that tweet from Olney, though it’s contrary to Jayson Stark’s article that says they have discussed Haren. That being known, it seems more and more likely that it’s Roy Oswalt about to be headed east.

Starks’ article also talks about the Phillies being more aggressive about moving outfielder Jayson Werth to free up a roster spot for top prospect Domonic Brown.

Update: (9:57pm CDT) Jayson Stark has an article up and says the Phillies have also discussed Baltimore‘s Jeremy Guthrie and Oakland‘s Ben Sheets. Though a “major trade” to me says “major pitcher.” Hence either Oswalt or Haren have to be the guy they’re after.

9:54pm CDT With the Major League Baseball trade deadline just a week and a half away, it seems that the wheels are in motion for this month’s second big trade.

This time, according to Jayson Stark and Buster Olney of ESPN, it’s the Philadelphia Phillies that are the center of the all the talks. It’s not known who exactly the Phillies are about to land, but rumors are that they’ve discussed Houston’s Roy Oswalt, Arizona’s Dan Haren, and pitchers with the Tampa Bay Rays.

We’ll get updates up on this story as it develops as well as the players that might be involved, so keep checking back with us.

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Cliff Lee: Wasted by The Philadelphia Phillies

It could have happened. The dream pitching staff could have come true. There was nothing in the way. Besides one simple, but huge, mistake.

Philadelphia Phillies General Manager Rueben Amaro Jr. did not stop to think as long as he should have when he dealt Cliff Lee to the Mariners last December. His idea made sense, but he had better options on the table.

Trade away an ace who would be harder to re-sign and get one that would be easier to re-sign. Replenish the farm system, which after quite a few deals in years past had left the Phillies’ minor league system depleted of talent. Amaro’s reasoning was understandable, and there was logic behind the trade.

But even with that, it was not a quality trade. Recently, Amaro has stated that pitching is their top priority to get at the trading deadline. This wouldn’t have been a problem if not for the trade.

The Phillies could have had in their rotation both Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay, who was traded from the Blue Jays, because they were involved in completely different deals. The Mariners and the Blue Jays did not exchange players. And the Phillies could have done all of this without having to kill the farm system.

Cliff Lee had one year left on his contract worth about $9 million. Few people thought that the Phillies could re-sign him after the season, after already having a record high payroll of $140+ million.

That made no difference, though. Pitcher Joe Blanton was set to be in salary arbitration and make anywhere from $7.5 to $10.25 million, which was pretty similar to how much Lee would get paid. The Phillies knew that they would not be able to afford both of them. Although in past years Blanton has been a very strong, consistent pitcher (he hasn’t ever had an ERA below five and has pitched at least 194.1 innings every year since he was a rookie in 2005) who many teams could have had a use for, but he is no ace like Cliff Lee. For the Mariners this year, Lee has gone 8-3 with a 2.34 ERA only walking six batters in 103.2 innings!

The prospects that the Phillies would have received had they traded Joe Blanton would not nearly of been as good as the ones for Cliff Lee, but would not been a bad consolation prize. And even if the Phillies could not resign Lee in the off-season, Lee would most likely be a Type A free agent, meaning that the Phillies would receive the first round pick of the team that signed him.

Even before the 2010 season started, a first round pick combined with prospects from a Blanton deal seemed pretty comparable to the three minor leaguers the Phillies received for Lee: Phillippe Aumont, Tyson Gillies, and J.C. Ramirez. Even though at the time it seemed like the Phillies might be getting the short end of the deal for Lee by not getting as much as they should have, the prospects the Phillies received looked like they had potential.

Now that Cliff Lee has been traded again for the third time in a year from the Mariners to the Rangers, the Phillies now know that they were ripped off in the off season deal. Cliff Lee has only a few months to pitch for the Rangers as opposed to the full season he was supposed to pitch for the Mariners. And yet the Mariners received better prospects.

Not only have the Phillies prospects been struggling (top prospect Aumont was sent down from Double-A Reading because of a 7.43 ERA in 49.2 innings, Gillies is hitting .238 with two homers in Double-A, and Ramirez still has several years before making an impact on the big league club), but the Rangers’ recent deal included their top prospect before the season and now rookie first baseman Justin Smoak, who has a world of potential and will be hitting in the meat of the order for the Mariners. The three other prospects that the Mariners received were good ones too, including 21 year old right-hander Blake Beavan, who has gone 10-5 with a 2.78 ERA in Double-A this year. Not only does Amaro need a pitcher at the deadline, but his newly constructed farm system also needs some work.

The Phillies eventually gave Blanton a three year extension, making their rotation more complete for the next few years. Blanton is struggling this season giving up three+ runs in all 13 starts. The Phillies need him to bounce back to avoid a downfall and a completely failed trade of Cliff Lee.

But if they had traded Blanton before the 2010 season, what would their 2011 starting rotation have looked like? The Phillies would have three definite pitchers, with Halladay, Hamels, and Happ under contract.

The next two spots could be filled in easily. One of them could go to Kyle Kendrick, who helped the Phillies make the playoffs in 2007, but is still struggling for consistency. The other could go to 47 year old Jamie Moyer, who would need to sign a new contract to join the Phillies in 2011. The veteran is putting together a solid 2010 season and is pitching as if he were 20 years younger.

Even if one of those two did not work out, the Phillies have many possible candidates in the minors including righty Drew Carpenter or they could go out and sign a number five pitcher, maybe Pedro Martinez?

While the prospects that the Phillies received for Lee can always recover, the latest Cliff Lee trade has made Amaro realize how wrong his trade was.

With right fielder Jayson Werth also set out to test the free agent market after the 2010 season, that is three first round picks that would be meant for the Phillies assuming they do not re-sign Werth.

Is that enough to help the Phillies farm recover? Only if Amaro had stopped to think before he traded Cliff Lee. The Phillies have had trouble this year and it is about time that Reuben Amaro sucks up his pride and admits that some of the problems have been his fault.

 

 

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Jayson Werth Knows He’s on His Way Out of Philadelphia

Call it J-Werth’s Senior-itis

The second semester of my senior year of high school I eschewed four years of perfect attendance, relegated studying to only that of the opposite sex, and made it a point to live it up at any and every moment because I knew, “Hell, I’m not going to be here in five months.”

I concerned myself little with what colleges might think as I a) had gotten into school and b) knew future colleges and employers would excuse a few months of truancy for the 17 years of hard work I’d put in.

Jayson Werth is in his Senior Semester with the Phillies and his performance and actions seem to suggest he’s got the senior-itis.

Let’s get the objective stuff out of the way. He’s batting average has dropped 103 points, his OPS 306 and his slugging percentage 371. Even that seems to belie Werth’s epic struggle.

In the month of July (54 at-bats) he has three RBI. The only number Werth has been able to keep steady are his strikeouts. He’s leading the team, averaging 23 per month and is well on his way to more than 30 swing-and-misses this month.

And those are only the cut-and-dried blunders that seem to be barreling down on the “Werewolf.”  (By The Way; shouldn’t that be spelled “where”wolf or “ware”wolf?)

A month ago Jayson was easily the most popular Phillies player, especially among women.

With seats just rows away from the right-field where Werth plays, I’ve been privy to the seemingly endless number of signs and admirers.

“Fear the Beard”

“Take Off Your Shirt / I’m Werth It”

“Sign the Man”

 “I’m Having Your baby”

If there were a rock star on this team, he stood 6’5″ with a beard that might have made Jim Morrison ‘69 jealous.

So what happened? It began innocuously, seemingly silent, odorless and invisible. Now the boos and catcalls have started to become audible and it is clear to everyone that the “Werewolf” is no longer under a full moon.

He’s cursed out fans, been the target of post-game lectures from Charlie Manuel, has been short and irate with reporters, was the victim of a now de-bunked rumor involving him and Mrs. Utley; and today came under scrutiny again as it became public knowledge that he was out until 3 a.m. (earliest reports) gambling in St. Louis with the injured second baseman.

You may say, it’s the result of living under a spotlight, right? Not for Werth, who has seemed to embrace his hard partying, rock star image without become front page news for the rumor mills.  Well, let’s add two headlines to that rumor mill right now.

“Jayson Werth Has Mentally Checked Out on This Team.”

“Werth Will Not Wear A Phillies Uniform in 2011”

Give him credit for dragging around Sisyphus’ boulder of burden (remember the Stonecutter episode of Simpsons?). His contract had to weigh on him this year.

But as he started out hot (hitting .325 in April) the weight of pending free agency probably felt like nothing more than a pebble.

However, the average dropped as did the power numbers, rumors started, and worst he’s seemed to develop a paralyzing fear of swinging the bat in two-strike counts.  

So now it’s a “F— It” situation. He’s put in three years and three months of solid MLB experience. Made an All-Star team and started on two World Series teams.

If the Phillies were going to re-sign him, they wouldn’t be shopping him loud and clear. Furthermore the Phillies’ organization knows if they don’t sign him, they have to trade him, as Ruben Amaro knows he’s in a position not to show minus points in any transaction.

Thus, Werth’s early-season pebble has grown into a boulder.  We don’t have to admit it, but Werth, the Phillies, and deep down, we the fans know that they we’re watching the sun rise on the Werewolf.  

 

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Philadelphia Phillies 2010: There’s Nothing Wrong With Losing

All across Philadelphia this morning, Philadelphia Phillies fans are waking up to the reality that the hometown team has now dropped four out of five to begin the second half of the season, and the Atlanta Braves are beginning to slip from view in the NL East.  The odds of making it three trips in a row to the World Series are seeming slimmer and slimmer.

But you know what, Phillies fans?  Maybe that’s okay.

Look at all that the Philadelphia Phillies have accomplished in the last four years.  Three trips to the playoffs, two trips to the World Series, and a World Series championship in 2008.  The manager of the World Series manages the All-Star Game the following season, and we’ve now seen Charlie Manuel manage two of them.

During the last four years, Philadelphia Phillies players have gone from relative anonymity to the spotlight.  Chase Utley is now considered the best second baseman in the game, even if he technically isn’t, and he has been to each of the last five All-Star games.

Jimmy Rollins made a big splash in 2007 when he said that the Phillies—and not the heavily favored New York Mets—were the team to beat that season.  When he backed it up, and helped lead the Phils to one of the greatest comebacks in baseball history in September of that year, he was rewarded with the NL MVP.

And Ryan Howard may be the biggest star of them all.  The National League’s Rookie of the Year in 2005, Howard led the NL in home runs, RBI, and total bases in his first full season and won the NL MVP in 2006.  Howard has since led the NL in RBI two more times and is looking to become only the seventh player since 1901 to lead his league in RBI three seasons in a row.

Earlier this season, the Phillies rewarded Howard by making him one of the highest paid players in baseball history.

For Shane Victorino and Jayson Werth, the last four years have been career making.

Victorino was going no where fast when the Phillies made him a Rule 5 draft-pick in 2004, and he has slowly but surely made himself into an All-Star and a back-to-back Gold Glove recipient.  He is leading the NL in triples for the second year in a row, and last season he actually received some votes for NL MVP.

Werth, meanwhile, was watching his career circle the drain before he joined the Phillies in 2007.  Since then, he has gone from a platoon outfielder, to a starter, to an All-Star, and after this season Werth looks to cash in with a top-flight free-agent contract.

While the Phillies’ hitters have experienced personal success, the pitching staff has not been without its heroes.  

Brad Lidge’s 2008 performance will live in baseball history, as he went a perfect 41-for-41 in regular season save opportunities and 7-for-7 in the postseason.

Cole Hamels, another hero of the 2008 World Series run, has emerged as one of the bright young pitchers in the NL East.

This season he has a deceptive 7-7 record to go with a 3.63 ERA and 113 strikeouts in 119 innings.

Perhaps the most remarkable story in terms of pitching for the Phils has been Roy Halladay.  For the first time in, perhaps, a generation, a top flight elite pitcher decided he wanted to be a Philadelphia Philly.  Not since Steve Carlton have the Phillies had arguably the best pitcher in baseball on their team.

But you know what?  Sometimes things just don’t go the way you plan them to.

Sometimes your elite hitters, after all of the awards, accolades, and big-money payouts, just go through a little slump.

Once your big-time defenders become big-time stars, sometimes their glove seems a little tighter, their throws a little less crisp.

And sometimes your starting pitchers just can’t get the job done every fifth day, and your bullpen can’t be trusted day in and day out.

But that’s okay.  No one said we have to win every year.

Do you think the Chicago Cubs fans would argue with two trips to the World Series in back-to-back years?  They’d take another 100 years of losing for even one World Series victory.

Do you think the Kansas City Royals would argue with being four games over .500 and getting to watch some of the elite players in all of baseball toil for a summer, even though it might not mean a playoff appearance?  Royals fans would sign over their homes just to have a guy hit 40 home runs for them.

At the end of the day, this has been a very good baseball team, and it has accomplished a lot of things.  If a trip to the World Series, or even the playoffs, isn’t in the cards for the Phillies in 2010, who cares?  No team, even the Yankees, wins every year .

The Philadelphia Phillies finally have a good team playing in a great ballpark, and the Phils’ players are All-Stars, Gold Glovers, and MVPs.  We should enjoy that, celebrate that, and not worry ourselves over whether we can win the NL East, the National League pennant, or the World Series.

Let’s just enjoy the run, shall we?

________________________________________________________________________

There will be those, of course, who criticize me for saying winning isn’t important, we should celebrate the individual achievements of our players even if they don’t lead to victories, and we should be happy with what the Phillies have given us up until now, and not worry about what’s to come in the future.

To those people, I would say: Don’t blame me.

I’m not the one playing mediocre baseball without any perceptible sense of urgency.  I’m not the one failing to string together consistent effort, or struggling to make sure I play each game better than the last.  I’m not the one worrying about my next contract rather than my performance on the field.

In short, I’m not the one who doesn’t seem to care whether or not I win now, instead appearing to be content to live off the glory of my previous plunders.

The Philadelphia Phillies are the ones who are playing like there’s nothing to play for; all I’m doing is following their lead.  

If they don’t care, why should I?

Asher B. Chancey lives in Philadelphia and is a co-founder of BaseballEvolution.com .

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Why Domonic Brown Needs to Stay in the Minors

The script is already written. Now, Phillies management needs to start following it.

Domonic Brown, the Phillies 22 year-old outfielding phenom, is the missing piece the 2010 Phillies need. They need to call him up right now.

Brown will come to the rescue, and once in the Phils’ lineup, his dynamic skillset will immediately help the Phillies win.

His mere presence and youthful flare will also inspire his veteran teammates who have all grown “complacent,” and lead them to their fourth straight NL East division title.  

If only it were all that simple.

Actually, Domonic Brown needs to stay in the minor leagues with the Triple-A affiliate Lehigh Valley IronPigs for the remainder of the 2010 season.

Look, it has nothing to do with me doubting Brown’s abilities or his potential.  And no, it has nothing to do with me believing that Raul Ibanez will somehow rediscover the Lou Gehrig stroke he displayed during the first two months of 2009.

To tell you the truth, Domonic Brown could be ready for the big show right now. He really could be.

But here’s the catch—right now is not the right time to find out if he is.

For over a month, there has been a certain segment of Phillie fans and media members who have wanted to see Domonic Brown replace the offensively stagnant veteran Ibanez as the every day leftfielder. Phils’ management wants Brown to play almost (if not) every day, so calling him up to be a bench player is out of the question.

But promoting Brown would be totally unfair to one man and one man only. No, not Raul Ibanez, but Domonic Brown himself.

If the Phillies were out of the playoff picture, then sure, bringing up Brown could be justified. Of course, that’s not the case. The Phils are treading water just well enough to make us think they still have a chance to compete.

Therefore, bringing Brown up now would put the Phillies’ top prospect in a very difficult, pressure-packed situation.

Thankfully, the Phillies didn’t bring him up weeks ago.

Domonic Brown shouldn’t be asked to work through his growing pains at a time when the Phillies are fighting for their playoff lives.

There’s a reason why, usually, it takes even the most highest-rated prospects months, if not years, to figure out hitting at the major-league level. For every rookie call up who immediately sets the batter’s box ablaze, there are 10 rookies who initially struggle to find their groove. And that’s completely understandable for a young hitter.

For every rookie like Brennan Boesch, there are 10 like Mike Stanton.

Just look at Jason Heyward, the 20-year-old kid in Atlanta who this past spring was getting compared to some of the greatest hitters of all time even before he recorded a single major-league at-bat.

The “Jay-Hey Kid” was all but awarded the NL Rookie of the Year on Opening Day after his first major-league swing produced a screaming laser beam home run that’s still in orbit somewhere almost four months later.

Of course, Heyward’s going to be a star, but he’s also human, especially in his rookie season. Jason’s still having a good rookie campaign, but he’s also experienced some of the typical rookie growing pains that most young hitters struggle through.

Heyward saw his batting average fall from .298 in the end of May to .251 in the end of June. His run production hit a standstill while his strikeout totals exploded before he landed on the 15-day DL at the end of June.

Naturally, the Braves have reported that Heyward’s struggles were attributed to a sore thumb that had bothered him for a month before he went on the DL.

Just perfect, Atlanta. Guess that’s because Hank Aaron and Willie Mays never, ever hit slumps, especially at age 20.       

The bottom line is that it was too much to just assume Heyward would tear up the league from day one, and the same is true in Brown’s case, even after already playing almost a full season of minor-leaque ball in 2010.

This Phillies roster is filled with men who are battle-tested and fully expected to make the difference down the stretch. Domonic Brown is not one of them.

Of course, Brown should get his chance to play at Citizens Bank Park and get some major-league at-bats once Lehigh Valley’s 2010 season ends on Monday, September 6.

He should be one of a few minor-league call-ups. He’ll probably start some games, but he should not be forced into a position where he plays every day in the majors all while potentially in the heat of a pennant race.   

Domonic Brown should not and will not be the Phillies savior this season, but he could be in 2011 and beyond. The Phillies currently have an aging core of terrific but declining players and a farm system that right now doesn’t seem to be loaded with super-star prospects.

Domonic Brown could be the new face of this franchise in three years. He could be its savior.

But the thing is, he doesn’t need that kind responsibility just yet, and much more importantly, he doesn’t deserve the kind of pressure that comes with it.

For more on Domonic Brown, please click here.

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Phillies v.s. Cardinals: Who Is the Real ‘Poo Hole?’

In our home we have a standing joke: whenever Pujols is up to bat someone yells “Poo Holes!”

It is not because we dislike the man (we love him when he is not playing the Phillies!) I pay homage to him at JJ Elephant Sports Café with a huge photo framed and mounted in the customer restroom–over the WC.

What’s in a name? The mispronounced Pujols, local Phillies fans have no idea who the photo is because they cannot pronounce the “J” in his name, hence “Poo-Holes”. A star by any other name is still a star and that is what Pujols has proven game after game. I would love seeing Pujols in a Phillies uniform!

In last night’s game, Kyle Kendrick was the real “Poo Hole!” Too many times I have seen him pitch and blow it (almost every game I attend, he is the pitcher and loses). He seemed to get some mojo going this season, even pitching a complete game, then back to the old Kendrick.

Mind you, Blanton is up for a “Poo Hole” award as well.

The Phil’s Kendrick was a “homerun manchine last night”, to quote a friend.  The stats below say it all.  Even sadder was that we had our bats last night!  Where are they when Halladay pitches?

Regardless of the spin that Charlie puts on the Phillies season thus far, in my humble opinion, we have  inconsistent pitching and hitting.  Everyone but Utley and Happ are off the injured disabled list and we are still not finding our sweet spot.  When we have the pitching we do not have the bats and vice versa.

Winning teams must have a level of consistency. The Phillies have shown less than none.  Charlie is a players manager and very patient–that is what makes the players love him and me, no so much this year.

It is time to man up Uncle Charlie and take some of these guys behind the woodshed for a little “talking to!” We have a great deal of under performing talent this year. 

I hate to say it and I hope I am wrong, but this year the fightin’s are playing like the fallin’s I can hope, pray and root for the home team but I am not feeling the love. 

I long for the day when someone in the house yells “Poo Holes” and it is for a Phillie named Pujols.  This old lady’s dream is having Halladay and Lee pitching with Utley, Howard and Pujols batting.

Guess it is time to pray to the gods of baseball?

 

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
PHI	3	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	4	13	0
STL	1	1	0	0	5	1	0	0	–	8	8	0

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Philadelphia Phillies Lose Despite Three First-Inning Runs vs. Cardinals

It’s not getting any prettier for the Phillies after the All-Star break as now not only are the bats suffering, but the pitching is starting to slide as well.

The latter has become more evident after Roy Halladay got knocked around Sunday night and Kyle Kendrick got knocked around even worse on Monday night.

Kendrick, who only pitched five innings against the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday, gave up seven runs—four of them home runs, and five of the seven runs coming in the fifth inning. Up until that point, Kendrick had been an impressive 4-0 with a 1.67 ERA against the Cardinals.

I’m not exactly a math whiz, but something tells me that ERA will be going up a little bit.

“My command was off all night,” Kendrick said after the game. “I got behind, I left pitches up. They should be hit where they hit them.”

Kendrick, however, isn’t the only guy to blame. He did give up a 3-0 nothing lead the Phillies’ bats gave him in the first inning, but it’s also worth noting that the Phils wound up with only four runs on the board when all was said and done.

Jayson Werth, whose days as a Phillie could be numbered, continued his struggles with runners in scoring position. In the first inning, he had guys on second and third with only one out, and couldn’t even manage to hit a ground ball and get a run home.

Instead, Werth hit a weak pop-up to Albert Pujols at first base. Shane Victorino came up afterward and hit a shot back up the middle to bring both guys home, but had Werth done that and gotten on base, Victorino’s hit could have brought him home and put four runs on the board right out of the gate.

Later, Werth decided to get cute over at first base and take a monstrous lead. Yadier Molina would have none of it, stood up, and gunned Werth easily.

It doesn’t even look like he’s trying anymore.

Also figure in that Jimmy Rollins and Placido Polanco went a combined 2 for 10 and you’ve got a lot of hits coming with the bases empty and not a lot of RBI opportunities. If someone doesn’t grab Rollins by the neck and convince him to stop swinging for the fences, his average could soon fall below .200 and the Phils could soon fall below .500.

Jamie Moyer (9-9, 4.88 ERA) takes on Chris Carpenter (10-3, 3.16 ERA) Tuesday night in game two of the series, so it’s either going to be a 2-1 Phillies win or a 13-1 Phillies loss. There really is no in between with Moyer on the mound, is there?

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NL East Race: The Devil Wears Prado

Things have certainly not been going well. It might be the Year of the Pitcher somewhere, but not in Philadelphia.

I’m sorry. Perhaps that wasn’t supportive. Let’s petition to focus only on the positives.

I’ll start: Jimmy Rollins is the current active leader in consecutive steals, Placido Polanco is back from the DL with his team-leading batting average, and Ryan Howard leads the league in RBI.

Jayson Werth, however, has developed an unexplained aversion for touching his bat to the ball.

Someone should tell him it won’t make you blind.

Here’s another petition: stop the Tweet-volume graphs on the game recaps. There’s nothing more irrelevant to the game. It’s no secret that the volume of twits tweeting about the Phils is directly proportional to stuff happening during the game.

It’s just as circumstantial as the level of disgust rising in my house when my husband uses the john.

It’s not rocket science.

Supposedly things are so bad people are petitioning to get Pat Burrell back.

Fat chance. He feels right at home peeking over at old teammate, Aaron Rowand, in center field in San Francisco. But Pat’s move to the Bay Area has people wondering about those rumors that he got married—to a girl.

Or maybe I just made that up.

Now the Phillies have three more chances to turn it around against the newly-crowned NL Central kings fresh off their six-game winning streak.

Perhaps under the lovely shiny arch the Phils will figure out why the early season hitting explosion had an expiration date. Like a Viagra pill for batters, maybe they’ll find something that makes a big, stout piece of wood more effective.

How ‘bout putting Marisa Miller on the mound?

Or just paint her on the center field wall?

Now, you usually only have to glance at stats to tell when a team stinks, but in this case it makes no sense. The Phillies lineup leads the division in runs, home runs, RBI, total bases, slugging percentage, intentional walks, extra base hits, and fielding percentage.

They also lead in stolen base percentage because they think like I do: If you don’t steal, you won’t get caught.

And Jayson Werth leads the team with 92 strikeouts—most of which he’s earned since the All-Star break.

That might seem like a rather dubious honor but other players who’ve appeared on the annual “Special K” list are: Babe Ruth, Mickie Mantle, Reggie Jackson, Michael Schmidt, Sammy Sosa, Jim Thome, Adam Dunn, and Ryan Howard—not long before he signed a bank-breaking contract.

It’s also possible that those other guys led their league in another important hitting category that Jayson’s failed to conquer. I’d love to investigate this further but I have dishes to do, a cat box to clean, and re-runs of Hawaii Five-O on at three.

Besides we’re staying positive: The Phillies are a better second half team.

The only reason that’s a scary statement is because the current first place team, Atlanta, leads the division in only one stat: on-base percentage. They’re like the Rudolph Valentinos of the NL East. They could sweet talk a girl out of her pants with a timely hit, a little hustle, and enduring patience.

Matter of fact, for their next stadium giveaway they’re handing out EPTs.

Even without extraordinary stats, they’re contenders. And trading off the slacking Yunel Escobar for the slugging Alex Gonzalez is a sure indication that they know this. As long as Brian McCann is the McMan, Chipper Jones continues to take his retirement advice from Brett Favre, and the Mets find the formula to forgo flunking late in the season, it’s going to be a tough semester.

So while the Phillies search for the MLB equivalent of the Bunsen burner, I looked for the magic stat that could determine who the next division champ would be. As much as I tried to sway my decision to Philadelphia, the only conclusion I’ve come to is this: The devil wears Prado.

Martin Prado is on course to having a career year. He leads Atlanta in endurance and studliness, and was one of five Braves who made Charlie Manuel’s All-Star roster even though the skipper couldn’t say his name.

Hey, five team members on one All-Star roster? Doesn’t that sound like the 2009 Phillies?

I hate to say it, but if I’ve struck stat gold, Phillies fans might have to settle for good baseball, sexy facial hair, and appealing camera angles this year. Die-hards should be asking themselves if they can survive a season unadorned by pennants or trophies or even postseason TV.

Hey, if it’s any consolation, I heard Kim Kardashian has decided to just appear naked in her next season on E!. And Survivor is having a reunion—only breasts and penises are scheduled to compete.

Or maybe I just made that up.

Stay positive.

See you at the ballpark.

 

Copyright 2010 Flattish Poe all rights reserved.

View this blog on my page at http://tinyurl.com/devilwearsprado or catch life one-liner at a time on Twitter http://twitter.com/ABabesTake

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

NL East Race: The Devil Wears Prado

Things have certainly not been going well. It might be the Year of the Pitcher somewhere, but not in Philadelphia.

I’m sorry. Perhaps that wasn’t supportive. Let’s petition to focus only the positives.

I’ll start: Jimmy Rollins is the current active leader in consecutive steals, Placido Polanco is back from the DL with his team-leading batting average, and Ryan Howard leads the league in RBI.

Jayson Werth, however, has developed an unexplained aversion for touching his bat to the ball.

Someone should tell him it won’t make you blind.

Here’s another petition: stop the Tweet-volume graphs on the game recaps. There’s nothing more irrelevant to the game. It’s no secret that the volume of twits tweeting about the Phils is directly proportional to stuff happening during the game.

It’s just as circumstantial as the level of disgust rising in my house when my husband uses the john.

It’s not rocket science.

Supposedly things are so bad people are petitioning to get Pat Burrell back.

Fat chance. He feels right at home peeking over at old teammate, Aaron Rowand, in center field in San Francisco. But Pat’s move to the Bay Area has people wondering about those rumors that he got married—to a girl.

Or maybe I just made that up.

Now the Phillies have three more chances to turn it around against the newly crowned NL Central kings fresh off their six game winning streak.

Perhaps under the lovely shiny arch the Phils will figure out why the early season hitting explosion had an expiration date. Like a Viagra pill for batters, maybe they’ll find something that makes a big, stout piece of wood more effective.

How ‘bout putting Marisa Miller on the mound?

Or just paint her on the center field wall?

Now, you usually only have to glance at stats to tell when a team stinks, but in this case it makes no sense. The Phillies’ lineup leads the division in runs, home runs, RBI, total bases, slugging percentage, intentional walks, extra base hits, and fielding percentage.

They also lead in stolen base percentage because they think like I do: If you don’t steal, you won’t get caught.

And Jayson Werth leads the team with 92 strikeouts—most of which he’s earned since the All-Star break.

That might seem like a rather dubious honor but other players who’ve appeared on the annual “Special K” list are: Babe Ruth, Mickie Mantle, Reggie Jackson, Michael Schmidt, Sammy Sosa, Jim Thome, Adam Dunn, and Ryan Howard—not long before he signed a bank breaking contract.

It’s also possible that those other guys led their league in another important hitting category that Jayson’s failed to conquer. I’d love to investigate this further but I have dishes to do, a cat box to clean, and re-runs of Hawaii Five-O on at three.

Besides we’re staying positive: The Phillies are a better second half team.

The only reason that’s a scary statement is because the current first place team, Atlanta, leads the division in only one stat: on-base percentage. They’re like the Rudolph Valentinos of the NL East. They could sweet talk a girl out of her pants with a timely hit, a little hustle, and enduring patience.

Matter of fact, for their next stadium giveaway they’re handing out EPTs.

Even without extraordinary stats, they’re contenders. And trading off the slacking Yunel Escobar for the slugging Alex Gonzalez is a sure indication that they know this. As long as Brian McCann is the McMan, Chipper Jones continues to take his retirement advice from Brett Favre, and the Mets find the formula to forego flunking late in the season, it’s going to be a tough semester.

So while the Phillies search for the MLB equivalent of the Bunsen burner, I looked for the magic stat that could determine who the next division champ would be. As much as I tried to sway my decision to Philadelphia, the only conclusion I’ve come to is this: The devil wears Prado.

Martin Prado is on course to having a career year. He leads Atlanta in endurance and studliness, and was one of five Braves who made Charlie Manuel’s All-Star roster even though the skipper couldn’t say his name.

Hey, five team members on one All-Star roster? Doesn’t that sound like the 2009 Phillies?

I hate to say it, but if I’ve struck stat gold, Phillies fans might have to settle for good baseball, sexy facial hair, and appealing camera angles this year. Diehards should be asking themselves if they can survive a season unadorned by pennants or trophies or even postseason TV.

Hey, if it’s any consolation, I heard Kim Kardashian has decided to just appear naked in her next season on E!. And Survivor is having a reunion—only breasts and penises are scheduled to compete.

Or maybe I just made that up.

Stay positive.

See you at the ballpark.

 

Copyright 2010 Flattish Poe all rights reserved.

 

Catch life one-liner at a time on Twitter http://twitter.com/ABabesTake

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

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