The Philadelphia Phillies Are In The Running For Best Record In The MLB

What more can be said? How much more clear does it have to be made?

The Philadelphia Phillies have made an authoritative, boisterous statement.

Doesn’t matter what the fans of the Philadelphia Phillies think, doesn’t matter what the Atlanta Braves fans think, the Philadelphia Phillies, are indeed, the team to beat in the NL.

If you doubted the Phillies, thank you. You may have been the one to fuel them. If you ever called into question the integrity of this team—there was no reason.

The Phillies have proved they’re the team to beat in the NL with an astonishing 18-3 September, complete with a 10 game winning streak, and a six game lead with nine games to go.

Their ‘magic number’ is down to four, and they trail the New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins for the best record in the league by a half game.

Make no mistake, the Phillies right now, are the hottest team in the league and if you have suspicions that they may finish the season with the best record in the MLB for the first time since 1977, you have every reason to.

The Phillies have three games a piece left with the ever-struggling, New York Mets, the lowly Washington Nationals, and the Atlanta Braves. It’s not crazy to think the Phillies will lose, at the most, three more games.

That would mean, they win two out of three in the series, for the rest on the season. I happen to believe they will only lose two; possibly three.

They’ll sweep either the Mets or the Nationals, and possibly lose the last two games of the season.

Meanwhile the Yankees have six out of nine games left with the Boston Red Sox.

My gut has been right all along. And it’s well documented.

When folks were worried, I had faith.

When it came to the Braves, I felt a sweep.

I mentioned a while ago that I felt they would do something they haven’t done since 1977, and that’s finish with the best record in the MLB. It’s right there for the taken.

It would be a major statement for them to do so.

With only nine games left, against two weak teams, and a team they’re clearly superior to, I can still feel it in my bones:

The Philadelphia Phillies will finish this season with the best record in the MLB.

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

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The Sports Mac: The Daily Fives For September 23rd, 2010

Top Five Stories From Yesterday

 

1. The Phillies sweep the Braves out of Philadelphia, increasing their lead in the NL East to six games and reducing their magic number to four.

2. The Padres retake the lead in the NL West after they defeat the Dodgers, and the Giants lose to the Cubs.

3. The Rays get back to within 1.5 games of the Yankees after winning the third game of their big four-game series.

4. Vincent Jackson is not traded by the San Diego Chargers, and will have to serve a six-game suspension if he decides to play in 2010.

5. The Jets’ Darrelle Revis will not play Sunday against Miami due to recurring hamstring problems.

 

Top Five Games From Yesterday

1. Phillies 1, Braves 0: Roy Oswalt and two relievers combine for a one-hit shutout, and give Philadelphia complete control of the NL East by winning their 10th in a row.

2. Cubs 2, Giants 0: Randy Wells has a great performance for Chicago as San Francisco drops out of first in the NL West.

3.  Padres 3, Dodgers 1: Miguel Tejada’s 300^th career HR is the highlight as San Diego retakes the lead in the NL West.

4. Rangers 2, Angels 1, 12 innings: Texas reduces its magic number in the AL West to four after scoring in the 12^th for the victory.

5. Diamondbacks 8, Rockies 4: Ubaldo Jimenez is staked to a four-run lead and cannot hold it as Colorado drops further back in the NL West and wildcard races.

 

Top Five Performances From Yesterday

1. Roy Oswalt, Phillies SP: Zero runs on one hit with eight K’s over seven IP in PHI’s 1-0 win over ATL.

2. Max Scherzer, Tigers SP: Zero runs on two hits with eight K’s over 7.2 IP and the victory in DET’s 4-2 win over KC.

3. Jose Lopez, Mariners 3B: 3-for-4 with three HRs and four RBI in SEA’s 6-3 win over TOR.

4. John Bowker, Pirates RF: 3-for-3 with a HR and two RBI in PIT’s 11-6 win over STL

5. Carlos Beltran, Mets CF: 3-for-5 with a HR and a RBI in NYM’s 7-5 loss to FLA

 

Five Performances That Weren’t So Good From Yesterday

1. Chad Gaudin, Yankees RP: Three runs on three hits in 1.2 IP in NYY’s 7-2 loss to TB.

2. Kyle Lohse, Cardinals SP: Six runs on seven hits in three IP in STL’s 11-6 loss to PIT.

3. Jon Niese, Mets SP: Six runs on five hits in 5.2 IP in NYM’s 7-5 loss to FLA.

4. Buster Posey, Giants C: 0-for-4 with three K’s in SF’s 2-0 loss to CHC.

5. Johnny Cueto, Reds SP: Eight runs on eight hits in 1.1 IP in CIN’s 13-1 loss to MIL.

 

Top 5 Events To Follow Today

 

1. MLB: Rays (90-61) at Yankees (92-60), 7:00 PM, MLB Network: Tampa Bay looks for the split, and to get back within a half-game of the division lead; (CAN’T MISS MATCHUP: Price (TB) vs. Sabathia (NYY))

2. MLB: Giants (85-67) at Cubs (69-82), 7:00 PM: San Francisco tries to get back into the NL West lead; (Bumgarner (SF) vs. Dempster (CHC))

3. NCAA FB: #19 Miami (Fla.) (1-1) at Pittsburgh (1-1), 7:30 PM, ESPN: An interesting matchup featuring two teams looking for a big non-conference win on their schedule.

4. MLB: Rockies (82-69) at Diamondbacks (61-91), 9:30 PM: This might be a must-win for Colorado tonight given the way the Giants and Padres are playing; (Francis (COL) vs. Kennedy (ARI))

5. MLB: Padres (85-66) at Dodgers (73-79), 10:00 PM: The NL West leaders look to hold onto their slim advantage; (Good matchup; (Latos (SD) vs. Kuroda (LAD))  

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Philadelphia Fan Base: Players Aren’t the Only Ones Who Deserve the Credit

Something that is commonly overlooked in baseball and other sports is the fans.  Yes, the players are the ones who are playing the games and winning them.  But the players aren’t the only people who influence the outcome of the team.  Fans do too.  Especially in Philadelphia.

I’m not saying that the players don’t make the team win or lose.  I’m just saying that the fans can influence the way that the players play, and that they deserve a lot more credit than they usually get.

If you looked at the standings on July 22, you would see that the Phillies were behind the Atlanta Braves by seven games.  Most teams in this position would think there was no hope of making a playoff berth.  But the Phillies didn’t give up, and look at them now.

They are in first place in the National League East by five games.  And I think that I can truthfully say that the fans played a big role in the Phillies success.

When they were down, the fans didn’t give up.  No, they just tried to come up with reasons why the Phillies would make a comeback and make the postseason.  But what some fans may not have realized was that by doing this, they were making another reason in itself.

Because what they did showed the players that the fans still had faith in the team, and that made the team have faith in themselves.

Also, as you may know, the Phillies fan base is well known for their greatness.  And I don’t think it is a coincidence that the same team has won three consecutive division titles and two consecutive National League pennants.  And where did most of the Phillies accomplishments come from?  You guessed it.  Comebacks.

The Phillies have had a lot of success in the past couple years.  And for most of their success they had to make a comeback before they were able to win anything.  I believe that the reason the Phillies have had so many comebacks is because so many of the fans never lose faith in the team.  And this really makes a big difference.

The Phillies fans are great.  They believe in the team day and night, whether they are in first place or last place or somewhere in-between.  In this way they are the key to many of the Phillies accomplishments.

So I have something to say to all you fans out there:

Thanks, guys.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Speculating the Starting Rotation Throughout the Playoffs

OK, this assumes the Phillies will go to the World Series but here goes nothing.

If the Phillies are the top seed in the NL (which they would be if the season ended today), they would get the option of playing Game 1 on Wednesday vs Game 1 on Thursday. All other games would be the same regardless.

Starting a day earlier will allow the Phillies to go to a 3 man rotation with one pitcher starting games 1 and 4 on regular rest and another starting on games 2 and 5 on regular rest. If they start Thursday, the Game 1 pitcher on Thursday would have to pitch on short rest to start Game 4 (Monday). I am assuming the Phillies will choose to start a day earlier if they have the choice.

In the NLCS and World Series, you have to go with a 4 man rotation according to the schedules (they removed non-travel days off). If you go to a 3 man rotation, one pitcher could be pitching 3 games in 9 days and your #2 and #3 pitchers will both have to go on short rest as well.

I am against a 3 run lineup. Joe Blanton has won playoff games and World Series games before (heck, he won one with his bat before – remember the 2008 Game 4 home run?). We also have Kendrick as well. Or maybe a few innings of each. I’d rather have fresh Hamels, Halladay, and Oswalt. Think about it, if we can’t win 4 out of 6 games that the Big 3 pitch, we don’t deserve to win the series. And if we expect our pitchers to pitch on short rest, pitch counts become more important and we have to take our starters out earlier and depend more on our bullpen. So to me a 4 man rotation is the way to go.

 

I may be in the minority on these next two points.

1) I want my ace on the mound if I get to a Game 7. Assuming a 4 man rotation, three pitchers pitch two games – Games 1 and 5, 2 and 6, and 3 and 7. Why is it so important to have your ace pitch Game 1? He’s only going to pitch 2 games anyway. I’d set it up for my ace to start Game 3 and 7. Don’t you want your best pitcher on the mound in the most important game of the season? As for the NLDS, if you use a 3 man in a best of 5, the pitcher pitching Game 5 would pitch Game 2.

2) Who do I consider the ace? Cole Hamels. Yeah, Roy Halladay won 20 games. The playoffs are a totally different beast. Halladay has never pitched in the postseason. Sure Cole pitched horribly in 2009 but are you going to hold that against him? What was Roy doing last October? Playing golf? And let me ask you, who’s got the ring? Or the MVP trophy (make that trophies)? CC Sabathia is a great regular season pitcher but the Phillies have had a lot of success against him in the playoffs. Cole has proven at least once he can pitch in the playoffs and World Series. Roy hasn’t.

So based on my two points, here is my projected pitching schedule assuming we make it to the World Series and every series goes the distance.

NLDS Game 1 (Wed. Oct. 6): Halladay

NLDS Game 2 (Fri. Oct. 8): Hamels

NLDS Game 3 (Sun. Oct. 10): Oswalt

NLDS Game 4 (Mon. Oct. 11): Halladay

NLDS Game 5 (Wed. Oct. 13): Hamels  

 

NLCS Game 1 (Sat. Oct. 16): Oswalt

NLCS Game 2 (Sun. Oct. 17): Halladay

NLCS Game 3 (Tue. Oct. 19): Hamels

NLCS Game 4 (Wed. Oct. 20): Blanton or Kendrick

NLCS Game 5 (Thur. Oct. 21): Oswalt

NLCS Game 6 (Sat. Oct. 23): Halladay

NLCS Game 7 (Sun. Oct. 24): Hamels  

 

World Series Game 1 (Wed. Oct. 27): Oswalt

World Series Game 2 (Thur. Oct. 28): Halladay

World Series Game 3 (Sat. Oct. 30): Hamels

 

World Series Game 4 (Sun. Oct. 31): Blanton or Kendrick

World Series Game 5 (Mon. Nov. 1): Oswalt

World Series Game 6 (Wed. Nov. 3): Halladay

World Series Game 7 (Thur. Nov. 4): Hamels

 

I would want my top two starting twice in the NLDS so Halladay and Hamels with Hamels potentially starting Game 5. Now assuming the NLDS goes 5 and we advance, Oswalt likely has to start Game 1. Same for the NLCS/World Series.

To me, Game 1 is just one of seven games. You got to win four of them. Who cares if you don’t have your best pitcher on Game 1? We won Game 1 of the World Series last year. It didn’t do us much good. Then again, there are 29 other teams in baseball. 21 of them would love to be in the playoffs and I would imagine about half of the 8 teams in the playoffs would love for Roy Oswalt to be pitching Game 1 for them.

Now should we clinch the NLDS or NLCS early, maybe I would go with Halladay for Game 1 and switch Oswalt to Game 2. But Cole Hamels to be must be the guy who takes the ball for Game 7. Then again, if Halladay looks good in the NLDS and/or NLCS, maybe I would be comfortable having him pitch Game 7 for me. And you would also consider the potential lineup (Halladay vs a lineup more dependent on right handed hitters and Cole vs a lineup more dependent on lefties).

Then again, if you’re arguing Cole Hamels or Roy Halladay for Game 7, life is good.

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Philadelphia’s Young Ace Re-emerges: In (Non-Statistical) Praise of Cole Hamels

On Monday night, Cole Hamels delivered the latest in a string of marvelous pitching performances and led the Phillies to a victory over the Atlanta Braves.  Brilliant performances by Hamels have not been rare throughout his career, and yet less than a year ago, many Phillies fans were ready to send him out of town.

A brief history lesson:

Hamels was the leader of the Phillies pitching staff in 2008 and helped carry the team to a World Series championship.  He looked like an emerging young ace, and everyone expected huge things from him in 2009.

2009 didn’t go quite as planned.  Possibly more than any other Phillie, Hamels felt the negative effects of a long postseason run.  His innings pitched had jumped considerably in 2008, and he decided that his arm needed extra time to recover.  Because of this (and perhaps partially because he was distracted by his new found celebrity) he delayed the start of his offseason training program.

Hamels felt he would be able to compensate during Spring Training, but due to some arm soreness (which may have been a result of the lack of training), he wasn’t able to fully catch up.  Needing extra time to prepare for the season, he missed the first few games.  When he finally debuted, his arm strength wasn’t nearly where it had been, as he was only throwing in the high 80s as opposed to the low-to-mid 90s that had been his career norm.

While he did show flashes of greatness throughout 2009, he couldn’t consistently recapture his strong 2008 form.   Even worse, he appeared to lose some of his mental edge.  In the 2008 postseason, many lauded him for being “fearless” and “unflappable” on the mound.  But in 2009, there seemed to be several occasions where bad calls or fielding errors noticeably affected him, and he appeared to lose his composure.

Tellingly, after a poor World Series start, he told reporters that he couldn’t wait for the season to be over.  While he meant that he simply wanted a fresh start after an uneven season, many fans took the quote to mean that he was giving up on 2009.

By most people’s estimation, 2009 was a disappointing season for Hamels who finished with a 10-11 record and a 4.32 ERA.  

But there was one group who countered that Hamels’ actually performed as well in 2009 as he did in 2008: the sabermetricians (or statheads as some like to call them).  They argued that the decrease in Hamels’ numbers was not due to poor performance, but rather due to bad luck and circumstances beyond his control.

Statheads discount many of baseball’s traditional statistics, most notably pitcher wins.  They claim that wins are too dependent on outside factors.  To some extent this is true, as a pitcher can receive little run support, or his bullpen could blow the lead, leaving him without a win even though he pitched well.

When judging pitcher peformance, statheads often refer to statistics that can supposedly measure how lucky a pitcher was.  Some examples are batting average on balls in play  (BABIP) or home runs per fly ball (HR/FB).  Supposedly, the pitcher has little control over these, and over time, they will typically revert to the league average.  So if a pitcher has a poor record, and either of these values deviate too much from the mean (as both did for Hamels), it just means that the pitcher was unlucky, not that he pitched poorly.

I can understand the statheads’ belief that statistics can provide a deeper understanding of the game and player value.  But what statheads don’t seem to always comprehend is that using statistics without any context to go along with them can be equally misleading.

Take a look at these two hypothetical scenarios:

Scenario 1: In the second inning of a 0-0 game, the home team’s pitcher gives up a solo home run.

Scenario 2: In the eighth inning of a 2-2 game – immediately after his team has scored two runs to tie the game in the previous half inning – the home team’s pitcher gives up a solo home run.

Statistically, both cases are the same, as only one run has been given up, and the team is facing a one run deficit.  But in reality, which case is worse?  I think most baseball fans would tell you that the second case is much worse. 

A solo homer in the second inning doesn’t seem especially harmful.  While it isn’t great to be playing from behind, the team still has eight chances to make up the run.

In the second case,  it is undoubtedly a bit deflating for the team knowing that the comeback they just staged was for naught.   Even worse, they will now only have two chances to erase the deficit.

What does this tell us?  That sometimes whether or not a pitcher wins the game can depend on factors beyond what the stat sheet indicates.

There seem to be quite a few pitchers who pitch just well enough to lose.  Their stat lines might look good, but they don’t do the things necessary to win games, or they give up runs like in the second scenario, and as a result, the team loses.

There’s something to be said for pitchers who know how to win games.  Pitchers who can do the little things like bunt runners over, field their position well, and hold base runners on give their teams a better chance to win games.  Winning pitchers also seem to be able to deliver big pitches in key situations.

For instance, why does Roy Halladay win so many games?  First, he almost always pitches deep into the game.  The longer a starter goes, the less of a chance his bullpen has to blow the game.  If a pitcher pitches a strong game, but can’t get out of the seventh inning, he has less room to complain about a blown lead.

Halladay also seems to have the ability to bear down in big spots.  I can recall multiple occassions when he was in a jam, and induced a double play to escape.  Was the double play a result of luck, or because Halladay delivered a pitch resulting in a ground ball?  I tend to lean towards the latter.

What does this have to do with Hamels?  At times in 2009, Hamels looked like a pitcher who didn’t do all the things necessary to win games. He seemed to lack mental toughness.  If a call went against him, or things started to go poorly for the team, he didn’t seem to lack the ability to bear down and set things right.

It wasn’t bad luck that caused him to fall apart in his World Series start against the Yankees.  After Alex Rodriguez gave up a cheap home run, Hamels could have recovered.  Instead, he gave up three more runs, one of which was scored via a base hit by the opposing pitcher.  Did bad luck cause him to give up the hit, or was it due to him overusing his curveball, which he considers to be his third best pitch?

That World Series outing summed up Hamels’ 2009 season.  He seemed prone to giving up home runs at important moments, and giving up hits to players who shouldn’t have been able to touch him.  Was he unlucky?  Yes, I think he was somewhat.  But was that the main difference between 2008 and 2009?  I don’t believe so.  I think it had much more to due with not being able to strike out hitters consistently, and not delivering big pitches in key situations.

Regardless of the cause for his 2009 downturn, as we approach the end of the 2010 season, Hamels once again is pitching like a dominant ace.  What changed?

Part of the reason for improvement is the Phillies’ additions of fellow starters Roy Oswalt and Halladay.  Both of those pitchers have pitched like aces, and that puts less pressure on Hamels.  When a team only has one ace, there is often tremendous pressure on him to win.  He knows that if he doesn’t, the team is faced with the prospect of a losing streak.

But when you have multiple aces like the Phillies do, there is less pressure on each of them.  They may also start to feed off of each other, trying to top what the others have done.  This certainly seems to be the case with the Phillies’ trio.

Even without the addition of the two Roys, I’d say that Hamels would have improved simply because his arm strength appears to be back.  His fastball is once again reaching the mid-90s, and that makes his changeup more of a weapon.  If hitters aren’t worried about catching up to a fastball, then the changeup won’t be able to fool them enough to be effective.  That might have been the difference between getting a strikeout and batters fouling off pitches as they were too often doing in 2009.

Hamels also made a point to expand his pitching repertiore.  Up until 2010, his main pitches had been the fastball and changeup.  He occassionally threw a curveball, but it was generally ineffecitve (as shown in the World Series).  His coaches advised him that he would need another pitch to keep hitters offguard.  With no significant breaking pitch to worry about, hitters – especially lefthanders – seemed more able to lock onto this pitches.

Hamels worked to improve his curveball to help neutralize lefties, and in addition he worked to develop a cut fastball to use against righties.  (Side note: I always get a kick when announcers refer to the cut fastball as a cutter.  “These hitters are no match for the cutter!”)  In theory, these pitches would make hitters far less comfortable sitting in and waiting for a fastball or changeup.

Early returns were not especially promising, as in the early months of the season, Hamels didn’t seem to have great control of his secondary pitches.  The curveball and cutter were either getting hit, or else he would mount deep pitch counts because he was wild.

To his credit, Hamels stuck with the new pitches.  He could have said, “Forget this.  I was World Series MVP with only two pitches.  The new stuff isn’t working, so I’ll just go with those two.”  But instead, he worked through the problems, and now seems to be a much more complete pitcher.  He appears to be even better than he was in 2008.

Ironically, throughout most of the season, his win-loss record didn’t necessarily reflect his improvement.  He was receiving pathetically little run support and even lost multiple games by a 1-0 score. 

Now this may seem strange, since I just warned against discounting wins due to “bad luck.”  But here’s the thing about luck for a pitcher: If he is truly pitching well, it will eventually balance out.  Lately, the Phillies have been giving Hamels adequate run support, and as a result, he has started winning games again.

So I will offer praise to Cole Hamels.  He may have had a poor (and maybe somewhat unlucky) 2009, but he worked to improve himself, and the Phillies are now reaping the rewards.

Originally posted on my blog: Stranger in a Strange Land

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Phillies Top Braves: Jayson Werth, Raul Ibanez Stake Roy Halladay To 20th Win

Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez powered a red-hot offense and Roy Halladay gutted it out for seven tough innings as the Phillies defeated the Braves 5-3 before a raucous Citizens Bank Park crowd.

 

The (what-else?) sellout crowd of rabid towel-waving rowdies saw Halladay notch his 20th victory, as the hometown Phils took a decisive five-game lead over the second-place Braves with just 10 games left to play.

 

Playing in an electric atmosphere that felt like October (playoff) baseball, the fans certainly got their money’s worth.

 

Facing young southpaw Mike Minor–who would throw a ponderous 71 pitches over just 2.1 innings–the Phillies squandered chances in the first two innings before Placido Polanco and Chase Utley led off the third with back-to-back hits.  Ryan Howard drove a sinking liner to rightfield that Braves rookie phenom Jason Heyward just pulled out of the lights at the last moment.

 

As analyst Chris Wheeler was telling Comcast viewers that Polanco should have held second base and tagged up, Jayson Werth stepped up and rendered his point moot.  Werth blasted a Minor fastball (or was it a minor fastball?) well over the 374-foot sign in left center.  Just like that, the Fightins took a 3-0 lead that they would never relinquish.

 

The Braves would get one back in the top of the 5th on an unusual play. With no outs and runners on first and second, pinch hitter Eric Hinske bounced a ball to Utley who threw to shortstop Wilson Valdez for what looked like a 4-6-3 double play.  It wasn’t to be.  Rick Ankiel came barreling into second base (or in that general vicinity) to blow up the play, forcing an errant throw from Valdez that allowed Alex Gonzalez to score. 

 

Halladay clamped down to allow the Braves no more runs until the sixth, when Derek Lee’s sacrifice fly plated Martin Prado.  Centerfielder Shane Victorino prevented what could have been a big inning by gunning Brain McCann out at third on the play.

 

The bottom of the sixth belonged to Fightins leftfielder Raul Ibanez, who smoked a 2-2 pitch down the rightfield line to drive in Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth.  Ibanez, who earlier doubled down the leftfield line, might never have had that chance if home plate umpire Jeff Kellogg had punched him out on a 1-2 offering that seemed to pass through the strike zone.  But it’s the little things that sometimes win games, and the insurance runs provided by Ibanez would stand up to be the margin of victory.

 

Halladay, looking a little tired and also getting no help from Kellogg on the corners,  yielded three hits and two walks in his seven innings. The Phils ace only struck out three, but the effort—backed by solid relief stints from Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge in the eight and ninth—was good enough to garner his 20th victory. To Halladay’s credit, he was, as always, bulldog tough and two of those three strikeouts were of the much needed inning-ending variety.

 

It should be noted that the seventh and final hit given up by the Phils ace was a lonnnnng shot to right center by Braves rookie first baseman Freddie Freeman.  It may still be going, but it was one of very few Braves highlights tonight.

Tape measure blasts notwithstanding, the Braves will leave Philly tomorrow night trailing the scorching Phils by either four or six games with nine games left to play. With Roy Oswalt—-the third member of H20—- toeing the rubber, one would be surprised if it won’t be a six-game deficit.

 

For more on the origins of H20, please see: 

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/459880-roy-squared-and-cole-and-who-takes-the-ball-pondering-the-phillies-rotation

 

GOLD NOTES:

Halladay became the Phillies first 20-game winner since Steve “Lefty” Carlton won 23 in 1982.  “Hard to believe, Harry.”

 

He’s not the Lights-out Lidge of 2008, but Brad Lidge has been pretty good this year.  While his walks are a little high (20 in 41.2 innings), he has saved 25 of his 30 opportunities with a 3.24 ERA.

 

 

Why wasn’t Rick Ankiel called out for being well out of the baseline on that takeout slide of Wilson Valdez in the fifth that resulted in the Braves first run?  He was not even close to making contact with any part of the bag.  Surprisingly, Manuel did not protest the non-call.

 

Wow, the Braves have some fine young talent.  Freedie Freeman, who just turned 21, enjoyed his first-ever MLB homer of of Halladay, and it was a monster blast.  We all know about Jason Heyward, also just 21, who can do it all.  And, would you believe that the Braves threw four pitchers tonight—all 25 or younger—who each average more than a strikeout per inning.  Unreal!

 

The Phillies are now 30 games over .500 at 91-61 and riding a nine-game winning streak. They are also a remarkable 43-15 since July 20.  And they have done much of this without star shortstop and team leader Jimmy Rollins.

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Placido Polanco Back Where He Belongs For Phillies

In the winter before the Phillies’ 2010 season, most of the talk revolved around Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay, but one of the most exciting moves made by Ruben Amaro Jr. this off season was the acquisition of Placido Polanco.

On November 8th the Phillies declined third baseman Pedro Feliz’ 5.5 million dollar option for the 2010 season, and on December third signed free agent Polanco to a three year contract with a mutual option for the fourth year. Polanco brought with him two Gold Gloves, won in 2007 and 08, and a career fielding percentage of .990%, as well as a .303 career batting average over 13 seasons in the major leagues.

This is Polanco’s second tour of duty in Philadelphia. In July 2002 the Phillies picked up Polanco from the Cardinals as part of the Scott Rolen deal, and re-signed him in 2004 before sending him to Detroit in exchange for Ramon Martinez and Ugueth Urbina. The move proved to be an absolute steal for Detroit as Martinez has been back and forth between the minors and the bigs and Urbina is currently serving 14 years in a Venezuelan prison for two counts of attempted murder after an unfortunate machete incident.

Polanco proceeded to win two Gold Gloves, a Silver Slugger award, and was MVP of the 2006 ALCS. He was also named to his first All-Star team in 2007—all in a Detroit uniform. But it was common knowledge that Polanco fell in love with the City of Brotherly Love, and was excited to return to the Phillies.

In Detroit Polanco played only one game at third base, mostly playing second in his time there, but he seems to have slipped right back into the role of an everyday third baseman, having committed only four errors this season. Superb defense is unsurprising from the veteran though—in 2007, Polanco set a major league record for second baseman, going 149 games without committing an error.

Polanco’s post season numbers are equally impressive. If the Phillies make it to the playoffs, he will bring with him a career .296 postseason batting average, which is somewhat watered down by an 0-17 slump in the 2006 World Series. He also has a .363 on base percentage in the playoffs, and will provide added experience to an already experienced infield.

All the stats, numbers and awards aside, one of the most touching things that I ever witnessed on a baseball field occurred on the night of July 9th, 2008 at Comerica Park. Placido Polanco and 99 other people received their U.S. citizenship before the game. As he stood out on the field in his uniform, the pride was evident on his face.

Philadelphia is lucky to have Placido Polanco back in the organization, and Polanco is happy to be back in Philadelphia. May it lead to many trips to the playoffs together.

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Welcome to Hollywood: Cole Hamels Finally Becoming an Ace for the Phillies

I’ve got some bad news for you, Cole Hamels.

You might be known as Hollywood to your teammates, you might be married to a Survivor star that got naked for some chocolate (not that I watched, of course), and you may have even spent the better part of 2009 posing as a Comcast spokesperson.

But to me? You’re boring.

In years past you were always good for five or six solid innings sprinkled with a ton of foul balls, some tough calls that made you angry at the umpire, followed by a few hanging change-ups that ended up becoming souvenirs.

Sure, you would win 10 to 15 games every year too, but either way it was something good.

For most of this season, however, you have developed this nasty habit of doing nothing more than taking the mound every five days with a Dirty Harry demeanor, always keeping your composure, and collecting quality outings like they were Silly Bandz.

Hamels was once again “boring” last night, throwing eight sparkling innings and giving up just one run, all the while looking every bit like the ace Phillies fans always hoped he would become. 

The “Phightins” now have a four-game lead over the Braves in the NL East, and despite being more banged up than Lindsey Lohan for most of the season, they are just one game behind the Yankees for the best record in all of baseball.

The biggest reason the Phillies are where they are? That would be Cole Hamels.

Not to diminish anything that Roy Halladay, Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, Carlos Ruiz, or any of the Phillies’ big contributors has done this season, but it’s the lift they got from Hamels that has them on pace to finish with their best record since 1993.

A few stats to consider…

During the second half, Hamels has the National League’s second lowest ERA. 

Oh, and he is third in the NL in strikeouts, eighth in innings, and ninth in WHIP for the season.

Pretty solid, right? If your ace is putting up those numbers, your team will more than likely be playing meaningful games in September. If it’s your No. 2 doing that (or maybe even No. 3 depending on how you feel about Roy Oswalt), you have a team that’s going to have Philly fans watching deep into October.

With all those numbers, Hamels has been plagued by a lack of run support, with his record hovering at a pedestrian 12-10. In some ways, that is his most impressive stat.

Cole seems to have finally grasped what it means to be a major league pitcher, putting his team on his back every fifth day, supporting everyone else the other days. Hollywood seems to have finally realized that even the star needs a supporting cast, and he has mastered both roles.

During his Cy Young-worthy performance on Monday night, one thing stuck out to me, and it wasn’t the eight innings, six strikeouts, or just the one walk.

What stood out was the way Hamels exited the game. He handed the ball to Charlie Manuel, nodded to the crowd, and stopped by home plate to have a word with home plate umpire Mark Carlson.

“Thank you” was all that Hamels said, and with a smile he walked into the dugout.

It’s certainly not the first time a pitcher has acknowledged the home plate umpire, especially after he just pitched a gem in maybe the biggest non-playoff game of his career. But there is more to it than that.

Last season Carlson was behind the plate for a late June Hamels start. After getting rocked for four runs in 4.2 innings, Hamels threw a hissy fit on his way to the dugout and was tossed from the game by Carlson.

It was impossible to miss the difference last night.

Cole Hamels, the one-time wunderkind, the 2008 World Series MVP, the 2009 World Series quitter, has grown up.

As the season winds down, expect to see plenty more of the new “boring” Cole Hamels putting up numbers similar to last night– and if you are a Phillies fan, that’s a very good thing.

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

Ed Wade, the Houston Astros, and the 2010 Philadelphia Phillies

When it comes time to renew a player’s contract, make trades, or sign free agents, major league general managers can seem incredibly cut-throat and can be perceived as demonstrating little loyalty to their players.

But when major league general managers change jobs, they are often stricken with a dose of loyalty, and will often seek to acquire many of the prospects and youngsters they developed during their time with the previous team.

It is the reason Sammy Sosa went from Texas to the White Sox to the Cubs at an early age, as Larry Himes went from being the White Sox GM to being the Cubs GM. It is the reason the Cincinnati Reds were littered with former Twins under Wayne Krivsky, and it is the reason the Washington Nationals were littered with former Reds under Jim Bowden.

And so it is that Ed Wade, the current Houston Astros GM and former Philadelphia Phillies GM, has also had his imprint on his current and former teams during the last four years. As the Phillies have become World Champions and the Astros have become Phillies-South, players developed, signed, and traded by Ed Wade have made their mark on both teams.

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The Sports Mac: The Daily Fives For September 21st, 2010

Top Five Stories From Yesterday

1. The defending champion Saints get a 37-yard game winning FG from Garrett Hartley to beat San Francisco by three as time expires, but lose star Reggie Bush to a broken leg on Monday Night Football.

2. The Yankees increase their lead over Tampa Bay in the AL East to 1.5 games on a night when New York honored its late owner George Steinbrenner.

3. Denver Broncos WR Kenny McKinley is found dead in his apartment of an apparent suicide, stunning the team which has tragically lost three players in the last four years.

4. The Phillies increase their lead in the NL East to four games after defeating Atlanta, and getting another masterful performance from Cole Hamels.

5. Jets CB Darrelle Revis may not play for one to two weeks as he still suffers from hamstring issues that caused him to leave New York’s Week 2 win over New England.

 

Top Five Games From Yesterday

 

1. Saints 25, 49ers 22: After San Francisco tied the game on a Frank Gore run with 1:19 to go, it left too much time for Drew Brees and he drove New Orleans to the SF 20 where Garrett Hartley hit the GW 37-yd FG to keep the Saints unbeaten.

2. Yankees 8, Rays 6: New York extended its lead to 1.5 games in the division, but had to hang on for the win as Tampa Bay got to within two and had the go-ahead run at the plate before the Yankees secured the win.

3. Phillies 3, Braves 1: Philadelphia got another eight strong innings from Cole Hamels, and manufactured three runs to expand their lead to four games in the NL East.

4. Twins 9, Indians 3: Minnesota broke open a close game with fours runs in the sixth inning, getting a little closer to the AL Central Title.

5. Angels 7, Rangers 4: Los Angeles got out to a 6-1 lead to best Texas, and postpone the Rangers’ march to the AL West crown.

 

Top Five Performances From Yesterday

 

1. Chris Volstad, Marlins SP: Zero runs on five hits with three K’s, and the CG shutout in FLA’s 4-0 win over STL.

2. Curtis Granderson, Yankees CF: 2-for-3 with two HRs, and five RBI in NYY’s 8-6 win over TB.

3. Drew Brees, Saints QB: 28-for-38 for 254 yards, and two TDs in New Orleans’s 25-22 Week 2 win over San Francisco.

4. Yuniesky Betancourt, Royals SS: 4-for-4 with a HR, and three RBI in KC’s 7-5 loss to DET.

5. Alex Avila, Tigers C: 3-for-4 with a HR, and three RBI in DET’s 7-5 win over KC.

 

Five Performances That Weren’t So Good From Yesterday

 

1. Jason Varitek, Red Sox C: 0-for-4 with three K’s in BOS’ 4-2 loss to BAL.

2. Danny Espinosa, Nationals SS: 0-for-5 with three K’s in WAS’ 8-6 loss to HOU.

3. Jeanmar Gomez, Indians SP: Eight runs on 10 hits in 5.2 IP in CLE’s 9-3 loss to MIN.

4. Derek Holland, Rangers SP: Four runs on six hits in 3.2 IP in TEX’s 7-4 loss to LAA.

5. Ramon Castro, White Sox C: 0-for-4 with three K’s in CHW’s 3-0 loss to OAK.

 

Top Five Events To Follow Today

 

1. MLB: Rays (89-60) at Yankees (91-59), 7:00 PM: New York tries to lengthen its lead in the AL East; (Shields (TB) vs. Hughes (NYY)).

2. MLB: Braves (86-65) at Phillies (90-61), 7:00 PM: Atlanta tries to climb back into the NL East race; (Minor (ATL) vs. Halladay (PHI)).

3. MLB: Giants (84-66) at Cubs (68-81), 8:00 PM: San Francisco looks to maintain its lead in the NL West; (Good matchup: Cain (SF) vs. Zambrano (CHC)).

4. MLB: Rockies (82-67) at Diamondbacks (59-91), 9:30 PM: Colorado tries to close the gap in the NL West and wild-card races; (De La Rosa (COL) vs. Saunders (ARI)).

5. MLB: Padres (83-66) at Dodgers (73-77), 10:00 PM: San Diego tries to get its lead in the NL West back; (Good matchup; Richard (SD) vs. Billingsley (LAD)).

Read more Philadelphia Phillies news on BleacherReport.com

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