Chase Utley Returns, Philadelphia Phillies Roll San Francisco Giants

August 18, 2010 by  
Filed under Fan News

Chase Utley returned to the lineup Tuesday night, but that’s about all there is to report on that front. An 0-for-5 performance from Utley means he’s probably fighting some discomfort and loss of strength in that thumb, but he played the field well and should quickly improve at the plate.

The game itself, however, was much more intriguing—if you’re a Phillies fan.

It was a game of two teams heading in two opposite directions as the Giants’ slide continues and the Phillies’ patented August playoff push continued to chug along.

Besides allowing two home runs—one to former Phillie Pat Burrell and the Giants’ newest acquisition, Jose Guillen—Roy Oswalt swept through the San Francisco lineup with relative ease and continued to make Ruben Amaro, Jr. look like a genius.

Jimmy Rollins showed up with a two-run single in the fifth inning, and Shane Victorino, just off the DL as well, hit a two-run double in the sixth inning to put the Phils up for good.

A five-run eighth inning sealed the deal and the Phils sent the Giants back to their hotel down one game in the series.

Overall, that’s not too terribly exciting, but the win could have had playoff implications as the Phillies are now the top dogs in the NL Wild Card race.

Despite the fact that the Phillies are acting like it doesn’t matter and are still aiming to win the division, holding onto the final playoff spot will be very important moving forward.

I understand the importance of winning the division. There’s a certain momentum a team gets as the division champs, and the Phillies have used that the past two seasons to make it to the World Series.

However, it’s just about getting in. Regardless of the seeding or whether or not they win the NL East, the main focus has to be just getting an invite to play in October.

The playoffs are a new season and every division leader in the NL is hoping the Atlanta Braves are able to keep winning and that either the Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Cardinals, or anyone else is able to take the final spot and keep the Phils at home.

With a revitalized rotation and a lineup that’s finally playing close to their potential, the Phillies are the last team anyone in the NL wants to see.

But with Utley back, and Ryan Howard expected to return at some point this week, it’s going to be very hard to keep this team from heading back to the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season.

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Phillies vs. Giants Recap

August 17, 2010 by  
Filed under Fan News

Scoring five runs in the eighth inning Tuesday night, the Philadelphia Phillies won the first of a three-game series against the San Francisco Giants.

The rally in the eighth inning was started by Shane Victorino with a single. He then would steal second base one pitch before Mike Sweeney drew a walk.

Raul Ibanez then singled to right field before Carlos Ruiz smacked a double down the left-field line to plate Victorino and Sweeney.

Ross Gload, making his first appearance since injuring his groin, then grounded out on the first pitch by new Giants pitcher Ramon Ramirez.

Jimmy Rollins then singled to score Ibanez.

Then a balk was issued to Ramirez scoring Ruiz and advancing Rollins to second base.

San Francisco Giants Manager Bruce Bochy was promptly ejected for arguing the call.

Utley reaches first base on a throwing error by Giants second baseman Mike Fontenot and advanced to second base on the play as Rollins easily scored.

The Phillies would not score again in the inning but did manage to bat around.

Roy Oswalt pitched seven innings for his second win as a Philadelphia Phillie.

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NL Playoff Chase: Phillies Can’t Afford To Be Satisfied With Wild Card

August 17, 2010 by  
Filed under Fan News

For the Philadelphia Phillies, the last few days have brought with them a measure of reassurance.

It was only a month ago that this season’s overwhelming National League favorites were watching their season circle the drain. Losses in six of their first seven games after the All-Star Break had increased the deficit in the NL East standings to a disheartening seven games behind the steady Atlanta Braves.

Perhaps the reality of being irrelevant in the playoff chase woke up the slumping Phils, who have gone 18-5 since July 22 and now trail the Braves by just 2.5 games.

Another source of encouragement, as the Phillies prepare to welcome back Chase Utley and Ryan Howard this week, is the fact that they now find themselves atop the NL Wild Card standings with only 45 games remaining.

While there may be a sense of relief surrounding the past month’s developments, the key to the Phillies success in the 2010 postseason will be their refusal to find satisfaction in their wild card position.

In fact, they must go two steps further.

First, the Phillies must reel in the Braves. Next, they must overcome the current four game lead of the San Diego Padres for the best record in the National League. The first accomplishment would land the Phillies their fourth straight NL East title. The second outcome would secure the most valuable commodity in the National League this season: home field advantage throughout the NL playoffs.

Home field advantage is undoubtedly coveted by everyone in the playoff hunt, but may mean the most to the Fightins.

How much of a boost do the Phillies get from their home field?

Well, if the goose bump moments of the 2008 and 2009 seasons have already taken a back seat to our infatuation with the here and now, then perhaps two recent thrillers against the Reds and Dodgers can remind everyone of the magic of the Phillies’ home turf.

Each of these dramatic comebacks saw the Phillies score eight runs in their final two at bats to pull off the unlikeliest of wins. The first ended on a Ryan Howard walk-off homer in the 10th, and the second with a surge that once again deflated the ego of the soon-to-be demoted Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton.

Anyone who watched or attended these games once again felt the high-voltage atmosphere present when 44,000 Phillie Phanatics bear down on a visiting team.

It seems impossible that any other National League team could enjoy the type of home-field advantage provided by the Phillies’ perpetually sold-out grounds.

Unfortunately, a closer look at the home records of the National League playoff contender’s serves as a myth-buster to the aforementioned statement. Listed below are the 2010 home and road records of each of the National League playoff contenders (expressed in games over/under .500).

Braves

26 over at home, six under on road

Cardinals

19 over at home, five under on road

Phillies  

18 over at home, three under on road

Padres   

14 over at home, nine over on road

Giants   

14 over at home, one over on road

Reds     

10 over at home, six over on road

So, while the tendency is to believe that the Phillies get the biggest boost from their paying customers, the advantages enjoyed by the other NL contenders are often just as impressive.

Just as noteworthy is the fact that, other than the Padres, the road records of every team in contention are all south of .500.

The one thing the Phillies can truly claim as an advantage is that they are the hottest home team in the league since the beginning of July, with a record of 16-4. They are once again making their opponents squeeze the bat and ball a bit tighter in close games at Citizen’s Bank Park.

However, the major difference for the Phillies between this season and the previous two is that they are not as dominant on the road. During the 2008 and 2009 regular seasons, the Phillies were second only to the Los Angeles Dodgers for the best road record in baseball, achieving a mark of 22 games over .500 during that span (compared to this season’s mark of three games under .500).

Despite their road success in those seasons, the 2008 and 2009 playoffs demonstrated that when the Phillies enter postseason play, there’s no place like home. The Phillies home playoff record during that time was 12-3, while their road record was only 8-6.

It definitely does not take an expert analyst to conclude that home field advantage is important in any sport. But the Phillies have proven over the past two seasons that when it really counts, there is no team that gains as much advantage from their home digs as they do.

In no way is any of this meant to diminish the heart shown by a team riddled with injuries that has managed to move into the wild card lead with only just over a quarter of the season remaining. Making the playoffs is the goal of just about every Major League team.

The Phillies, however, should look to win the NL East again because it would add to a string of division titles.

They should then prioritize securing home field advantage throughout the National League playoffs because that could be the edge that sends them to another World Series.

It’s time for the Phillies to do what they do best, and that is to play their toughest and soundest baseball as summer winds down.

It’s also time for Phillies fans to do what they do best as fall approaches: Provide the biggest advantage of any home crowd in baseball.

 

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Brad Lidge, Philadelphia Phillies, Stars In: The Return of the Slider

August 17, 2010 by  
Filed under Fan News

Last Thursday night, in the midst of the Philadelphia Phillies’ comeback against Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Jonathan Broxton, Dodger manager Joe Torre came to the mound to speak with his closer.

Television cameras picked up what Torre was mouthing to Broxton. Simply put, Torre asked, “Do you trust your stuff?”

Minutes later, meltdown completed and Phillies victory in the bag, Broxton sulked from the mound. The Dodgers had just lost a seven run lead with two innings to play.

Unfortunately, it’s a feeling that fans of many teams go through during a season. When the man known as the “closer” doesn’t close, it’s ugly.

It’s a feeling many Phillies fans have experienced over the past two seasons with Brad Lidge.

Often times, there have probably been people yelling at their own television sets to Lidge, screaming, along with a few obscenities mixed in, “Do you trust your stuff?”

For Lidge, 2009 was an unmitigated disaster. Mark McGwire would be proud to know we won’t be talking about the past in this article.

This is about the present, and the final month and a half of the 2010 baseball season.

While the Phillies will likely get Chase Utley and Ryan Howard back in the lineup this week, and while quality starting pitching is paramount, many teams only go as far as their bullpen allows. The Phillies experienced that first hand in 2008 when Lidge delivered perfection, 48 saves in 48 opportunities including the postseason.

Since then, things for Lidge have not gone as smoothly. As recently as two weeks ago, plenty questioned Phillies manager Charlie Manuel’s decision to continue trotting Lidge out there in save situations.

On July 31, Lidge allowed a three-run walk off home run to Ryan Zimmerman as the Nationals stole a 7-5 victory from the Phillies. Suffice to say, that sinking Groundhog Day feeling was there again.

These days, with all the advancements in baseball statistics and data tracking, few things are more impressive than the PitchFX tool available on numerous websites. A few clicks here and there and you’ve got yourself a bunch of data about what a pitcher threw, where he threw it, what kind of break the pitch had, and so on.

A look at the chart from that fateful night in Washington D.C. paints a sad picture for Lidge, pitches scattered every which way around the strike zone. The end result looks like target practice if you gave someone a gun for the first time and then blindfolded them.

That night finished off an ugly July for Lidge, one in which he blew two saves, posted an ERA of 6.00, and walked ten while striking out ten. It also finished off a July in which Lidge threw 89 fastballs and 87 sliders. 

Everyone knows the slider is Lidge’s best pitch. When Lidge is on, it’s usually because his slider is on.

August has been a different story for Lidge.

Thus far, in his seven August appearances, Lidge has thrown the slider 55 times and the fastball 27 times, an astounding 67.1 percent of his deliveries resulting in his nasty breaking ball.

In his August 11 appearance against the Dodgers, which looked like Lidge’s best outing of the year, he threw eleven pitches. Nine of them were sliders. The end result was an easy-as-pie 9th inning and Lidge’s 15th save of the season. He has since added one more.

In August alone, Lidge has struck out seven and walked none, racking up six saves.

Does Lidge’s performance hinge on the success of the slider?

Last year, Lidge’s worst season of his career, he threw the fastball just over 50 percent of the time. In 2008’s perfect season, it was just 43.4 percent of the time. This year, he has thrown the fastball 41.6 percent of the time, which would be the lowest mark of his career if it holds through the end of the year. 

As Lidge gets older, he must also become wiser. He does not have the same velocity he used to have on his fastball. Indeed, the numbers show he has averaged 92.2 MPH on his fastball this season, down from an average of 95.4 MPH just three seasons ago.

Through natural wear and tear, a few nicks here and there, and age, he just can’t get the fastball to the same velocity as he used to.

However, the slider is Lidge’s great equalizer. He is still an above-average strikeout pitcher, posting an 11.2 K/9 rate this season. Control has been a problem for Lidge. Maybe it was all in the over-use of the fastball which he had trouble locating. 

Now, as the pennant race heats up, the Phillies must hope that Lidge can deliver down the stretch.

It’s not 2008.

He won’t be perfect this year.

However, a large part of the Phillies’ success in September (and hopefully October) hinges on their closer.

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10 Struggling Stars Whose Turnaround Will Decide the MLB Races

August 17, 2010 by  
Filed under Fan News

As we get ever so close to the end of the 2010 MLB season, the playoff picture has begun to slowly take form. There are six teams in the American division and six teams in the National division fighting for a postseason berth, with everybody else 8 games or more away from even flirting with a wild card.

In no specific order, the Yankees, Rays, Twins, White Sox, Rangers, and Red Sox are the big six slugging it out in the American League, while the Phillies, Braves, Cardinals, Reds, Padres, and Giants are battling it out in the National League.

One of the key factors down the stretch will be whether or not the struggling pieces to each team’s puzzle will turn it around or not.

Whether it is due to injury, a slump, or just bad mechanics, there are 10 players I feel will significantly impact their respective team, in their quest for the postseason.

So let’s take a look at who needs to turn things around, before it’s too late.

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Article Source: Bleacher Report - Philadelphia Phillies

The 2010 Former Philadelphia Phillies All-Star Team

August 17, 2010 by  
Filed under Fan News

The 2010 Philadelphia Phillies wake up Tuesday morning 2.5 games back in the NL East division and on the cusp of getting two of baseball’s best players, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, back from injuries.

The Phillies, of course, are in the middle of a mini-dynasty, having been to the World Series for two straight years, and they hope to break into full-grown dynasty mode with a trip back to the Fall Classic this year.

Once the team gets its core of Utley-Howard-Jimmy Rollins back together, plus component parts Jayson Werth, Raul Ibanez, and Shane Victorino and the deadly pitching trio of Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, and Cole Hamels, the Phillies have to be the odds on favorite to make it out of the National League.

Nevertheless, as great as the 2010 Phillies roster is, one cannot help but to look around the league and be enamored with the list of former Phillies currently starring around the league.  Would the 2010 Philadelphia Phillies be able to handle the 2010 Former Philadelphia Phillies All Stars?

Lets have a look.

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Article Source: Bleacher Report - Philadelphia Phillies

Pat Burrell and the 10 Greatest Outfielders in Phillies History

August 17, 2010 by  
Filed under Fan News

Pat Burrell’s return to Citizens Bank Park is a logical time to evaluate where “Pat the Bat” ranks among the Phillies best outfielders of all time.

The Phillies came full-circle during Burrell’s time in Philly, beginning as a last-place team during Pat’s rookie season in 2000 and ending as world champions of baseball by the time Burrell’s tenure ended after 2008.

The following rankings were based upon these three categories, listed in order of importance: Hitting, Longevity, Defense (CFs get a slight edge over LF and RFs).

Ranking/comparing players of different vintages and centuries is always tough, but I did my best. Hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane!

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Article Source: Bleacher Report - Philadelphia Phillies

Ryan Howard and Chase Utley Could Be Back with Phillies by Tuesday

August 16, 2010 by  
Filed under Fan News

It’s probably a bit of a reach, but it’s possible the Phillies are able to add Chase Utley and Ryan Howard to the lineup as early as Tuesday’s game against the San Francisco Giants.

Utley, who had thumb surgery back on July 1st, has a better shot of returning when the Phillies start their series against the Giants than Howard.

The All-Star second baseman has reported no soreness in his thumb after making rehab starts in the minors and is closing in on the estimated time of his arrival.

Howard, on the other hand, did report some soreness in his ankle after going through some workouts a couple days ago. He’s going to be evaluated by the Phillies’ team doctors Tuesday, but it’s likely they’ll decide to keep him benched for at least a few more days.

The Giants will probably get lucky and miss the return of both players. With a serious playoff push already under way, Charlie Manuel and the rest of the Phillies organization are going to want to make sure that their star players are 100 percent before throwing them back on the field.

If they rush them back, they could both wind up hitting the DL again, as was the case with Jimmy Rollins a couple months back.

Once both guys are activated, it’s going to be interesting to see what the team decides to do in order to make room for them. The bullpen is about as thin as it can get, so the two guys sent down will likely have to be from the field.

Greg Dobbs could find himself back in the minors, and it could also mean the end of Domonic Brown’s major league stint.

Brown has played well, but keeping him on the bench might not be worth it with a lefty in Ross Gload already on the bench. However, if Gload winds up on the DL, Brown could stay as the lefty off the bench and fill in for Raul Ibanez when he needs it.

Ben Francisco is playing well, so he’d likely be the guy if Manuel felt the need to give Jayson Werth the day off.

Dobbs, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to have a place. Wilson Valdez can play second or third, and the team has two other options for a left-handed bench bat. Manuel and Ruben Amaro Jr. have shown before they’re comfortable putting Dobbs through waivers, so it’s likely that’s the route they’ll go once again.

Either way, having Howard and Utley back this week is going to be a huge boost to a Phillies team already on a hot streak, and it could make them the favorites in the NL East or, at the very least, to earn a wild card spot.

 

UPDATE: Chase Utley has been activated from the 15-day DL and Greg Dobbs, as expected, has been designated for assigment. Dobbs will clearly clear waivers yet again and accept a roster spot with Triple-A Lehigh Valley with the hope of being called up once the rosters expand in two weeks.

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Robin Roberts Remarkable Summer: Houston 1965

August 16, 2010 by  
Filed under Fan News

It is, perhaps, nothing more than a footnote to a Hall of Fame pitching career, but the remarkable run of 38 year-old Robin Roberts with the Houston Astros in the late summer of 1965 is testimony to his greatness and adds to our understanding of Roberts as a masterful pitcher and fierce competitor.  His once sizzling fastball, the one that Pittsburgh slugger, Ralph Kiner, called “the best fastball I ever saw,” was long gone, the victim of too many 300 inning seasons. Roberts now got by on pin-point control, a sweeping curveball and guile.

 

Roberts began the ’65 campaign as a member of the Baltimore Orioles. After going 5-7 as a part of the starting rotation, Roberts was relegated to long-relief and spot starting. In late July, worried as he said that, “If I continued in my current role… this would be my last year in baseball “, Roberts asked for and was granted his release.

 

As a free agent, Roberts first offered his services to the team for which he had pitched for 14 seasons and for which he had earned 234 victories. The Phillies, one year removed from the famous collapse of September 1964, were still a good team trying to launch a pennant run, but general manager John Quinn said “Roberts does not fit into our plans.” It was not the first time the Phillies and others had given up on Roberts. In the winter of 1961 after a 1-10 campaign, the Phillies sold their fading ace to the New York Yankees. Roberts never threw a pitch for the Bronx Bombers in the regular season and was released in May. He then hooked on with the Orioles and showed he was far from washed up by winning 42 games for the O’s over the next three-plus seasons.

 

After being rejected by the Phillies this time, Roberts signed with the Astros, where general manager Paul Richards was famous for his pitching reclamation projects. The Astros promised to use Roberts as a starter. Manager Lum Harris, with an apparent strong sense of irony, assigned Roberts to start against his old mates, the Phillies. And thus began a new chapter for the determined right-hander. Over the next two months Roberts would start 10 games, win five, lose two, throw two shutouts and three complete games while posting an earned run average of 1.89. And these statistics, remarkable as they are, tell only part of the story.

 

On August, 9, 1965 before a crowd of 31,206 at the spanking new Astrodome, Roberts strode to the mound for his first start in the National League since the 1961 season. He was opposed by another aging veteran, Lew Burdette, closing out his fine career with the Phillies. Roberts mowed down the talented Phils squad with a complete game shutout. He allowed only 4 hits (three to Tony Gonzales), walked one and struck out six. Roberts, always a good hitter, even chipped in a double. His new teammates, including a young Joe Morgan, helped out by jumping on Burdette early and often for an 8-0 victory.

 

The newspapers had a field day with the story the next day declaring that Quinn had found out that Roberts did indeed fit into the Phillies plans – as an opposing pitcher.  Robbie, however, was just getting started. Richards instructed Harris to give Roberts a week off to recover and then run him out there again. Richards appeared to be of the opinion that Robert’s old arm needed a bit more rest than a younger pitcher’s. True or not the philosophy seemed to bear fruit when Roberts faced the Pirates on August 16, again in the ‘Dome.

 

Roberts was dominant once again allowing only four hits along with two walks and seven strikeouts. He retired the last 13 batters in order and did not allow a runner to reach third base. The Hall of Fame tandem of Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell went 0-for-7. Roberts and long-time Pirates ace, Bob Friend, managed to complete the game in one hour and fifty-eight minutes. The shutout was Roberts’ 44th.

 

Five days later, on August 21, Harris abandoned his week of rest plan for his hottest pitcher and ran Robbie out against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.  Roberts responded with his third consecutive complete game victory. His scoreless inning streak ended at 24 when he gave up 2 runs on an Ellis Burton double and a Don Landrum single, but those runs came after the Astros had built a 6-0 lead on home runs by Jimmy Wynn and Frank Thomas. Roberts final line: nine hits, three walks and three strikeouts.

 

The Astros traveled to Philadelphia and Connie Mack Stadium for a three game set from August 24-26, with Roberts scheduled to pitch the getaway game. The Astros had already won the first two games of the series, when Roberts took to the Connie Mack mound for the first time in four years. His mound opponent was the new Phillies ace, Jim Bunning. Scuffling through six innings, during which he allowed 11 hits, Roberts non-the-less held the Phils to four runs (three earned) keeping his team in the game. The ‘Stros eventually rallied for the victory aided by some shoddy Philadelphia defense. Reliever Dave Giusti got the win.

 

In New York on August 31, Roberts continued his outstanding pitching and garnered his fourth win without a loss in five starts. This time out he went 8 and 1/3 innings in a 4-3 decision. The righty allowed seven hits, while walking two and striking out three. Another former Phil, Jim Owens, got the final two outs after Roberts had given up back to back singles to the Mets’ Ron Swoboda and Joe Christopher in the ninth.

 

Roberts’ first loss in an Astros uniform came on September 5th at the hands of the first place Los Angeles Dodgers and their ace left-hander Sandy Koufax.  In this one Roberts matched the magical Koufax pitch for pitch and entered the 9th inning leading 2-1. A leadoff single by Maury Wills and a botched bunt resulted in runners on second and third after errors by Roberts and second baseman Morgan. Robbie almost wiggled out of the jam, popping up Willie Davis and Ron Fairly, but Jim Gilliam won the game for the Dodgers driving in two with a triple.

 

Roberts’ second loss came 5 days later in Los Angeles. This time Robbie drew the second half of the dynamic Dodger duo, Don Drysdale. Both Roberts and Drysdale allowed only 2 earned runs, but errors by Wynn in center and Rusty Staub in right led to three Dodger unearned runs. Adding insult to injury, Drysdale had two hits including a homerun off of Roberts. Surprisingly, this was the first home run allowed by Roberts as an Astro. The man who gave up more home runs than any other pitcher in history (until Jamie Moyer passed him recently) had given up only one home run in 57 innings. In fact, he would not give up a home run the rest of the way, ending with 1 home run allowed in 76 innings pitched. No doubt working in the pitcher friendly Astrodome had some influence on these numbers.

 

The next time out, on September 15, Robbie pitched 7 strong innings in a no decision against the Willies, Mays and McCovey, and the rest of the San Francisco Giants. Mays drove in the only earned run Roberts gave up with a fourth inning single. The Giants eventually won the game on a Willie McCovey single off Giusti in the ninth.

 

Giusti was again the loser in Roberts’ next start on September 25 against Cincinnati. Roberts pitched five shutout innings before being replaced by Giusti, who gave up one run over three innings, but the Astros lost to the Red’s Jim Maloney who twirled a shutout.

 

Robbie finished out the season by notching his fifth victory with the Astros, pitching seven strong innings against the St. Louis Cardinals.  The big hit of the game was Roberts’own two run double in the second inning that put the Astros in the lead for good. Tim McCarver’s double in the 7th plated the only two runs that Robbie allowed.

 

So there it is; a remarkable run of pitching by a remarkable pitcher in the twilight of his career. Two weeks after the season ended, Roberts had surgery to remove bone chips in his pitching elbow. There can be little doubt that he put up these remarkable numbers with a sore arm. Roberts would hang on for one more season in the bigs, before finishing his career with the Phillies minor league affiliate in Reading, PA.  At 40, perhaps still trying to recapture the magic of that late summer of 1965. After putting up good numbers in Reading, Roberts left the club in June and went home waiting for the phone to ring. It never did.

 

The Bottom Line:

 

 

Games

Games Started

Won – Loss

Percentage

ERA

SO

BB

10

10

5-2

.714

1.89

34

10

 

 

 

 

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Top 10 Most Shocking Statistics of the 2010 MLB Season (So Far)

August 16, 2010 by  
Filed under Fan News

In 2009, the Milwaukee Brewers’ second baseman Rickie Weeks missed all but 37 games of the Brew-Crew’s season.  It was the fifth straight injury-shortened season of Weeks’ career–out of five career seasons–and at the age of 26 it was beginning to look as though Weeks may never arrive.

Fast forward to 2010 and a shocking change has occurred.  Weeks has missed only one game, leads the National League in plate appearances and at-bats, and is on pace to hit 30 home runs after never having hit more than 16 in any previous season.

What’s more, through 118 games, Weeks league-leading PA’s and AB’s also represent career highs.  But it gets better: With 11 more games played and nine more runs scored, Weeks will have set career records in games, PA’s, AB’s, runs, hits, doubles, home runs, RBI, and total bases.

And oh by the way, he’s done all of this while also leading the league in being hit by a pitch.  Pretty sturdy for an ordinarily injury proned guy.

With the season Weeks is having in mind, let’s have a look at the Top 10 Most Shocking Statistics from the 2010 Season.

So far.

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Article Source: Bleacher Report - Philadelphia Phillies

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