Philadelphia Phillies: Examining the Seven Key Championship Advantages

Part 1 of 7

With the Philadelphia Phillies standing on the precipice of a fourth consecutive postseason berth, the focus of the team and fan base is two-fold. 

First, take care of business and nail down a fourth straight NL East crown. 

Second, take a look towards the end of year championship tourney to see how the Phillies stack up and are positioned for success. 

Should they do the expected and wind the magic number to zero, the Phillies appear better positioned for postseason success than anytime in their 127-year history. 

This assessment traces to seven key advantages that at this point appear to make them the favorites to be the last team standing— each of which will be detailed leading into the playoffs.  

 

Advantage 1: “The Big Three” Starting Pitchers

The most obvious and likely largest advantage is the Phillies top three starting pitchers. “The Big Three” or “H2O” as they have been billed present a formidable challenge for any opponent. 

Last year, with Hamels seemingly suffering from a season-long championship hangover, a mid-season trade brought a new ace in the form of Cliff Lee. The former Cy Young winner quickly won the hearts and minds of fans and teammates alike with a spectacular three month stint.  

Lee demonstrated pitching mastery as well as role model leadership qualities. Tremendous intensity, laser-like focus, and a fearless demeanor accompanied him to the mound every time he appeared on the lineup card. 

Fast forward to 2010. A much debated tandem of trades sent Lee to Seattle while netting a new ace in Roy Halladay in the offseason. 

Then, somewhat surprisingly, GM Ruben Amaro swung a huge deal prior to the mid-year trade deadline that brought Houston Astros stopper Roy Oswalt to Philadelphia. Despite a misleading 6-12 record at the time, scouts still believed the newest Roy still possessed dominating stuff. 

Meanwhile, after a slow start that resembled 2009, Hamels found his fastball, command, and Mojo. He also added a cutter to his repertoire that started to pay dividends. 

Not surprisingly, the heat of the pennant chase motivated Oswalt to offer up his best work of the season. His pre-trade losing record now stands at 13-13 after going 7-1 with a 1.76 ERA in a Phillies uniform. 

From day one, Halladay has pitched as advertised, racking up a 20-10 record with a 2.53 ERA. For good measure, Halladay threw in Major League Baseball’s 20th perfect game. 

Perhaps even more importantly, he has exhibited the same leadership qualities embodied by Lee that has a way of motivating an entire staff. 

And, clearly, each of “The Big Three” invokes a subtle challenge to one another through their own work.  

The five and seven-game formats of the postseason allow teams to go with a four or even three-man rotation. Obviously, this only serves to enhance the advantage of possessing three top tier starters. 

Another benefit is that as good as each pitcher is individually, they are arguably better together.  Rather than bearing the weight of “ace” status, the pressure is disbursed amongst the trio. 

In the postseason, that could bring a psychological lift to both pitcher and teammates by eliminating the  “must win” pressure.  The three should be “locked, loaded, and relaxed” knowing another ace is waiting in the wings. 

This season’s National League contenders will surely bring some good pitching, whether it’s the San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, or Colorado Rockies. Matt Latos, Jon Garland, Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Barry Zito, Tim Hudson, Tommy Hanson, Derek Lowe, Johnny Cueto, Bronson Arroyo, and Ubaldo Jiminez— all can be good to great. 

That being said, no trio tops that of the 2010 Phillies. Exactly what Ruben Amaro had in mind.    

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World Series Odds: Scouting the Teams In the National League

Major League Baseball’s regular season is about to end, and the postseason is about to begin. BetPhoenix has the latest odds for the MLB playoffs, and the odds of each team to win the World Series. Once the playoffs begin, any team can make a run for the World Championship.

Here is a look at the teams in the National League, and their chances to win a World Series.

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Philadelphia Phillies: 10 Reasons Roy Halladay Dominates In His First Postseason

Roy Halladay has been an ace for the Phillies this year.  He is 20-10 with a 2.53 ERA.  But with a division title just beyond the Phillies’ grasp, there are a lot of questions about how Halladay will perform in his first postseason.

Although he pitched very well for both the Phillies and the Blue Jays, the postseason is new to him.  There is a lot of debate about whether his playoff performance will be as good as his pitching in the regular season.  I am going to talk about why Halladay will dominate in what could be the biggest opportunity of his career.

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Phillies 11-Game Win Streak Broken: Gee, Duda Beat Them?

Well, Gee, nothing really lasts forever, does it?

The Phillies, playing before their 122^nd straight sellout crowd at Citizens Bank Park, saw their 11-game winning streak come to an end, losing 5-2 to the New York Mets. The Mets were led by rookie pitcher Dillon Gee and rookie leftfielder Lucas Duda.  Who?

Gee, you never heard of Dillon?  The rookie pitcher was making only the fourth start of his career, and the Phillies jumped on him immediately.  With two outs in the bottom of the first, Chase Utley singled to left center, which was followed by a home run blast from Ryan Howard, his 31^st of the season to put the Philies up, 2-0.

After Howard’s shot, the game settled into an unexpected pitcher’s duel, as Phils starter Kyle Kendrick (now 10-10) cruised through the first six innings. Kendrick, looking very sharp, yielded only three singles, while striking out four (with no walks) through the first two-thirds of the game. 

Meanwhile, the Phils could not do anything else against Gee (now 2-1) and some of the electricity seemed to have left Citizens Bank for the first time in many home games.

Entering the top of the seventh with that 2-0 lead, the good fortune that has aided and abetted their 11-game win streak vanished into the warm September night air.  After a Beltran single, David Wright topped a ball to the third base side of the mound that Kendrick pounced on and threw a strike to the second base bag.  Shortstop Wilson Valdez flashed like an NFL cornerback in front of Utley, who was expecting the throw.  They only got the force out on the play.

With a man on first and one out, Ike Davis singled just out of Utley’s reach to bring Angel Pagan to the plate.  Pagan hit a bouncer that Ryan Howard booted to load the bases.  Another Mets no-name named Josh Thole singled in a run to cut the lead to 2-1, and Kendrick hit the showers in favor of Chad Durbin.

The Durbinator came into the one-out bases-loaded jam, and may have breathed a sigh of relief to see someone named Lucas Duda—who came in hitting .170, but with six of his nine career hits going for extra bases.  Advantage Duda, who ripped a Durbin meatball into left center, knocking in three runs. 

The lumbering Duda was replaced by a pinch-runner, but probably would have scored himself on a double by Jose Reyes.  Just like that it was 5-2, Mets.

On many other nights during the Phillies’ ridiculous hot streak, a three-run deficit with three innings and nine tough outs left would be almost easy to overcome.  This was not one of those nights, as no breaks came their way.

In the bottom of the seventh, pinch-hitter Domonic Brown—seeing his first action since Sept. 8—followed a two-out double by Wilson Valdez with a shot down the right field line.  On another night, the ball would have left the yard, pulled the Phils to within one-run, and getting the place jumping again.  On this night, the ball hooked foul, and Gee struck him out on the next pitch.

In the bottom of the eighth, Utley hit one up the middle that bounced off reliever Pedro Feliciano. On this night, it ricocheted right to Wright (Mets third baseman David Wright) who completed the rare 1-5-3 ground out.

The Mets went deeper into their bullpen in the bottom of the ninth, and after a leadoff walk to Howard, the Phils never threatened again.  As soon as you could say Hisanori Takahashi, the game and the amazing September winning streak was over.

Well, nothing lasts forever, and, Gee, sometimes you even get beaten by some anonymous Duda named Lucas.

 

Gold Notes

• The Phils magic number to win the NL East remained at two as the Atlanta Braves shut-out the Washington Nationals, 5-0. 
• The Colorado Rockies led by their amazing duo of Car-Go (Carlos Gonzalez) and Tulo (Troy Tulowitski) rallied to beat the Giants, 10-9, in 10 innings.  Coupled with the San Diego Padres win over the Reds, the Giants now trail the Padres by a half-game with the Rockies hanging in, but still four games back.
• The Phillies play their last regular season home game tomorrow with a Sunday matinee finale versus the Mets.  On paper, it should be a “Misch-match” with the scorching Cole Hamels (12-10, 2.93) facing Pat Misch (0-4, 4.44, with a career record of 3-15, 4.74).  If the Phils win and the Braves lose, the Fightins can clinch the division at home again.
• Many dudes—thousands and thousands—have played in the major leagues, but Lucas is the first “Duda” to have done so, according to www.baseball-reference.com.  You don’t get this information just anywhere, folks.
• And speaking of names, Dillon Gee was the first Gee to play in the bigs since a 6’9” left-handed pitcher named John Alexander “Whiz” Gee last toed the rubber in 1946 for the New York Giants.  Gee, Whiz, I swear I did not make that one up.  Feel free to check!

 

 

 

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Ryan Madson Leads Strong Phillies Bullpen To Playoffs

For Phillies‘ fans, it’s that time of year again. A fourth straight division title is all but clinched following 11 straight wins. Giving the Phillies the momentum of a team that is the odds-on favorite to make its third consecutive appearance in the World Series.

It’s been a season of highs and lows for Charlie Manuel’s bunch. For a great majority of the season, it seemed the Phillies couldn’t buy a run. Every offensive player but Jayson Werth spent time on the DL. And the Braves seemed to be in good position to capture the NL East.

Highlights of the year include the acquisition of the two most talented pitchers ever named Roy, another great September comeback, and a bullpen that rivals that of any in the National League.

The outstanding H2O combination of Halladay, Hamels, and Oswalt has combined to be one of the best 1-2-3 pitching staffs in the history of major-league baseball.

Hamels is a proven veteran who put the Phillies on his back in winning both the ’08 NLCS and World Series MVP awards. Oswalt has an unblemished 4-0 record in seven career postseason starts.

And Halladay? Well, the man has never had the privilege of pitching in October baseball but there’s no denying he’s a gamer. He wants to go all nine innings every time he sets foot onto the mound. It speaks volumes about Halladay that fully one-third of his career shutouts were pitched in the pivotal month of September. His lifetime ERA in the month (2.53) is nearly a full run lower than his ERA in other months (3.49).

 

Lights Out Lidge may never recapture the magic of a miraculous 2008 season in which he converted all 41 save opportunities. Plus seven more in the postseason. Lidge has quietly regained his abilities to be a quality closer for a team destined to make a deep playoff push.

Perhaps the most underrated contributor of a championship-caliber baseball team has been The Bridge to Lidge, Ryan Madson. A true setup man in the days when most great relievers are converted to closers. Madson isn’t flashy but he has consistently turned himself into one of the game’s best relief pitchers.

With a 2.24 ERA for the season, Madson has put together a fourth consecutive quality season pitching primarily in the seventh or eighth inning. His 10.9 strikeouts per nine innings is a career best. As is his 5.08 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Madson struggled to find his form in the beginning of the season and missed two months to an injury. Since July 22, Madson has pitched 36 innings, posting an 0.75 ERA during that span. He hasn’t given up a home run and opponents are slugging just an anemic .190 against him. He’s held the opposition scoreless in 17 consecutive appearances and 31 of his last 32. What more could a team want from a setup man?

 

It seemed hopeless for Madson several years ago when a failed stint as a starter left him with an ERA in the mid-5.00s. He’s improved his velocity, topping out in the upper 90s with his fastball while perfecting an unhittable changeup.

Middle relief in baseball is like kicking in football. You never know what you’re going to get. When you have a great setup man, he’s normally converted to closer, a la Francisco Rodriguez or Mariano Rivera. A setup man that stays in the role is rare and valuable to a baseball team. There aren’t too many guys who put together as many good seasons as Madson has done for the ’07-’10 Phillies.

With the postseason looming close by, pitching will likely make or break the Phillies’ season. And with the way the pitchers have done this year, expect make more than break.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

Joe Blanton and the Philadelphia Phillies Are Kings of the Hill

After Minnesota‘s blundering 10-1 loss to the Tigers and the New York Yankees’ 10-8  loss to the Boston Red Sox, the Philadelphia Phillies sit alone with the MLB‘s  best record.

With a 93-61 record, they are a half-game above the Minnesota Twins and a full game ahead of the Yankees.

Thanks to a 11-game win streak, the Phillies‘ magic number is now down to two with the Atlanta Braves losing to the Nationals, 8-3.

The Phillies are now an amazing 19-3 in September, as scorching as today’s Philadelphia sun. Shane Victorino started off today with a leadoff home run and a second-inning RBI, to give Philadelphia to a 2-0 lead.

From there, the Phillies never looked back, led by Joe Blanton‘s seven innings of two-run ball.

The Mets tied the game up in the top of the fourth inning, but the Phils responded in the bottom of the inning, which has become common for the surging NL champs.

From there, the Phillies pitching didn’t allow any more scoring. The streaking Ryan Madsen and Brad Lidge wrapped the game up in the eighth and ninth inning.

The Phillies look poised to roll into October with unwavering skill and grace

According to Phillies Nation.com, the Phillies’ most wins in a month is 22 in September 1916. The year after a year which eerily resembles 2010. In 1977, the last year the Phillies ended with the best record in the NL, they went 22-7.

This year, they hold the best September record at 19-3 with eight games to play, and have a great chance to break that record if they just split their final eight games.

The 2010 Phillies are putting their bid in as the best version of the team to step foot in America’s birthplace.

They currently have two more games against the Mets this weekend and three games next week against the Nats before finishing with three against the Braves.

For more writing from Vincent Heck visit: www.vincentheckwriting.com

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MLB October Showdown: A Postseason Preview

With just over a week left in the MLB season, I figured it’d be good to look at the possibilities for this postseason’s match-ups.

While certain teams have much work to do in regards of locking their position in the postseason, I thought it would be fun to look into the playoffs as they sit today.

If the postseason started right this instant, the match-ups would look like this:

American League Division Series

Texas Rangers at New York Yankees

Tampa Bay Rays at Minnesota Twins

 

National League Division Series

Cincinnati Reds at Philadelphia Phillies

Atlanta Braves at San Francisco Giants

 

The way I calculated these results, were not based on merely opinion, I shuffled season statistics into the following categories.

First I’d look at the series match-up on the season. The latest games being the more influential than the early season games.

I considered the home field advantage records vs. away records.

Next, I considered the teams September record, since it represents how hot they are now, going into the playoffs.

This could indicate a readiness to perform in crunch time.

Also, I consider previous experience, a very overlooked possession. Experience alone sometimes can win a team the ball game.

Lastly, I’ve used some common sense also. Gotta factor that in, because it’s not always what the numbers say. There aren’t necessarily numbers for heart.

With that being said, lets get into the match-ups.

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Philadelphia Phillies’ New Dilemma: Do They Ease Off the Accelerator or Gun It?

At the risk of being the master of the obvious, the Philadelphia Phillies are red hot right now. 

They’ve won 17 of 20 games in September, and boast a current 10 game winning streak.  The next hottest team in the NL—now that the Colorado Rockies have re-entered Planet Earth—is the Chicago Cubs, who are a tepid 7-3.

So, what does this all mean?  Their brilliant play the last, especially, 58 games (43-15 since July 20) has put them in great shape down the stretch.  Which begs the question: Now that they only have to win four out of nine games (and perhaps, not even that many to clinch home field advantage throughout the postseason) do they keep “gunning it” or think about resting some of their stalwarts?

With their sweep of the Atlanta Braves, the Phils (92-61) are not only six games ahead of the Braves, but they are also six games ahead of all of the other contenders for possible  home field advantage in the NL—the Giants, Reds and Padres (as well as the Braves) each have 67 losses.

Even in the unlikely event that one of these teams wins out, the Phillies—with just four more wins—clinch the best record in the National League. With the way they are playing, one would think that they will do this within their next two series—three at home versus the Mets starting tonight, followed by three at Washington.  That huge series in Atlanta to end the regular season would project to only be huge for the Braves’ wild card hopes.

So, now what? In a season that has seen most of their regulars spend time on the Disabled List, assuming that they clinch home field advantage with 3-5 games left to play, what do they do?

Option A:  Why change a winning formula just before heading into the playoffs?  Indeed, if the Phils win 8 out of 9, they can win 100 games this year.  But that’s kind of a “nice-to-have” milestone, and not a necessity.  The main reason to keep their feet on the gas is to avoid any letdowns or bad habits going into the postseason.  Remember that the NLCS is only a best of 5, before the best of 7 format comes into play.

With the H2O of Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt  almost unhittable these days, and our heart of the order (Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth) looking like themselves again, the Phils are very tough to beat  and it’s been a thing of beauty to regard.  It’s especially beautiful to watch the Fightins when they aren’t committing the kind of base running and field gaffes that sometimes plagued their 2010 campaign.

This school of thought would say that you keep this lineup burning on all cylinders, and don’t worry about playing the Dobbs, Franciscos, Mayberrys and Browns.  Don’t mess with success!

Option B:  Skipper Charlie Manuel—assuming the Phils fulfill their magic number of four with a handful of games left on the schedule—should look to rest certain players.  Even more so in a season that has seen all those players wind up on the DL.  

One has to wonder if Utley and Howard—who are looking better these days, but may not be 100% healthy—can benefit from being spelled for a game or two.  Another reason to take this approach is to keep the bench sharp.  Players like Ross Gload, Brian Schneider, Ben Francisco and Domonic Brown may not start in the playoffs (well, they won’t unless there’s an injury or two), but they may be called upon as a pinch hitter or defensive replacement.

Another guy to keep an eye on is the ace, the seemingly indefatigable Roy Halladay. Doc has pitched 241.2 innings this year, a big workload that has him leading the NL, and tied for first (with the Mariners’ Felix Hernandez) in the majors.  Superb as he is, he has looked just a little tired of late, and not quite up to his considerable standards his last several starts  Halladay has yielded either three or four earned runs in each of his last six starts, and has only exceeded seven innings in one of his last seven. 

Conclusion:  Over the last few years, Manuel has always seemed to push the right buttons for his team; he simply has a great handle on his players.  I would look for guys like Utley and Howard to get a day off or two, and while Doc may take the ball as expected two more times, Manuel won’t be afraid to use his bullpen a little sooner in his starts. Gload, Schneider, Francisco and Brown should all get some at-bats down the stretch.

Sometimes personal milestones and possible awards play a factor in this, and while I don’t think that this is a priority for Manuel, he is somewhat of a player’s manager.  More on this below.

Gold Notes:  Halladay (20-10, 2.53) appears to be in a three-man race for the NL Cy Young Award, along with the Cards’ Adam Wainwright (19-7, 2.45) and Ubaldo Jimenez of the Rockies (19-7, 3.00).  If I had a ballot, they would be my top three—in that order.  More analysis of the race for various awards will follow the regular season.

Halladay, Oswalt (2.80) and Hamels (2.93) are three of only 12 NL starters with ERAs under 3.00.  For most of the season, the Cardinals (with Wainwright, Jaime Garcia (2.70) and Chris Carpenter (now at 3.20) had this distinction.

With 11 more strikeouts in his next two starts, Oswalt will join Halladay and Hamels as members of the 200 “K” club.  The longtime Astros ace has done so twice before, the last time in 2004.

That RBI machine named Ryan Howard does not seem to have a reasonable shot at claiming another RBI crown.  At 104 ribbies, he trails Carlos Gonzalez (113), Albert Pujols (112) and Joey Votto (106). Going into 2010, “The Big Piece” had led the league in this department the last two years, and three times in his four full seasons.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

2010 MLB: The Boston Red Sox and 10 Non-Playoff Teams to Watch for in 2011

The playoff picture in the American League is all but set, with the New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers simply dotting the eyes and crossing the tees on their way to October. 

There is a little drama left in the National League, as the Colorado Rockies, San Francisco Giants, and San Diego Padres battle it out with the Atlanta Braves for the NL wild card and the NL West division title.

For the most part, we know who is going to be in the playoffs this season. But what about next season? Which teams that are on the outside looking in this year will be in good shape to make a move into October next season?

Let’s have a look.

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2010 MLB Playoffs: Six Phillies Who Will Determine World Series

With the Atlanta Braves coming into Philadelphia this week for a three-game series, the Phillies couldn’t have it set up any better.

On Monday evening the Phillies had a three-game lead over the Braves in the National League East and still had three games at Atlanta remaining on the schedule.

If Philadelphia wanted to lock up the N.L. East crown, this series would go a long way towards popping the champagne.

And that’s precisely why manager Charlie Manuel had his best three guys ready to take the mound.

Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, and Roy Oswalt were all scheduled to face the Braves.

One quick sweep later and the Phillies can breathe easy with a six-game lead. Meanwhile, the Braves cling to a half-game lead over the San Francisco Giants in the Wild Card race.

A month ago Atlanta looked like they were in control of the division. A Hollywood ending was unfolding: a division title and playoff run in Bobby Cox’s final season as the manager of the Braves.

Except too many people discounted the ability and experience of the Phillies, if that’s even possible to do with a team that has represented the N.L. in the last two World Series, winning one of them.

Fast-forward and the Phillies have run off 10 straight wins and sit days away from clinching a playoff berth.

With Halladay, Hamels, and Oswalt all doing their part to anchor a rotation that has quickly become the best in baseball, the Phillies have become favorite picks to reach the World Series again this fall and perhaps win their second title in three years.

As a preview to October and a hat tip to those predicting the Phillies will win it all, we look at six of the most important Phillies who will determine whether or not the city is crowned champions in 2010.

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