2011 Philadelphia Phillies: What Can Domonic Brown Do for You?

Domonic Brown has been the Phillies’ top prospect for three seasons and could be the best player to get called up to Philadelphia since Ryan Howard in 2005.

Last season, Brown showed flashes of brilliance at time during his stint in the majors. He had nine hits, one home run and 10 RBI in his first seven starts. But the rookie struggled when major league pitchers adjusted to his long stroke and it greatly affected his performance. Dom hit .183 with two home runs and 13 RBI in only 49 at-bats over 31 games played.

After struggling in winter ball and the beginning of spring training, many fans were under the impression that Brown was all hype and not a good major league player.

Brown has struggled since his call-up to the majors last season, but he only has 62 regular-season at-bats and was not playing every game to hit out of his slump.

Domonic Brown is not the first Phillie to struggle early in his major league career, and will not be the last. Here are a few Phillies who had slow starts to begin their big league career:

1. Ryan Howard (May 2005): 6-for-28 (.214), 1 HR, 1 RBI. Career (7 seasons): .277, 262 HR, 783 RBI, 2005 NL ROY, 2006 NL MVP.

2. Chase Utley (2003): 32-for 134 (.239), 2 HR, 21 RBI. Career (8 seasons): .293, 177 HR, 650 RBI, 2006-2009 Silver Slugger, five time all-star.

3. Jimmy Rollins (April 2001): 23-for 92 (250), 0 HR, 5 RBI. Career (11 seasons): .272, 156 HR, 674 RBI, 2007 NL MVP, 2007-2009 gold glove winner.

Bottom line: players need time to adjust to the top level of professional baseball in the world.

Once Domonic Brown settles in, he could be on pace to equal or surpass the careers of these current Phillies stars.

To read more of Jeff Kerr’s work, click http://phillymorningafter.wordpress.com/ or follow him on Twitter at  http://twitter.com/#!/jeff_kerr

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Philadelphia Phillies: Roy Halladay Avoids Stretch of Infamy

Before Roy Halladay’s first pitch of the game against Texas on Friday, Phillies broadcaster Chris Wheeler summed it up perfectly:   “He’s pitched two straight complete-game losses; that’s gotta stop.”

The last pitcher to have three straight complete games without a win was Steve Carlton in 1973

The lineup has been in a slump, but the starting pitching has done its job.  The Phillies entered interleague play with a 26-17 record; they’ve lost five of six.

They still have the best record in the National League.

Texas can really score.  They’re aggressive at the plate and on the basepaths.  It’s going to be an interesting three-game set and a potential World Series matchup.

One important question surrounding the Phillies: with Shane Victorino on the disabled list, who’ll step it up in the outfield?

With the call-up of Dominic Brown, it’s a tryout for the starting right field job.

The Phillies need someone to pick up the slack in the two, five and six holes in the batting lineup.

John Mayberry has produced, while Ben Francisco has slumped.  Brown will get an opportunity to play some right field.  With Mayberry’s ability to play center, he’ll be given playing time. Philadelphia 76ers youngster Jrue Holliday broke out this year in the NBA and Mayberry looks like him—maybe that’s an omen.

The opposing pitchers are approaching Ryan Howard cautiously, and he’s been cold lately.  He’s in a 0-for-23 slide.  Pitchers will continue to pitch him cautiously if no one steps up behind him.

It’s not a coincidence that the Phillies have lost five of six during Howard’s slump.  He’ll get out of it.

The call-up of Brown may have fueled Francisco’s fire as he launched a two-run home run in the left field seats in the bottom of the second to make the score 2-1 in favor of the Phillies.

Raul Ibanez is an interesting hitter.  He’s known to get cold in long stretches, but hot in long stretches as well.  At 39, many have given up on him.  In 2010 he got off to a slow start, but picked it up in the second half.  A year prior in 2009, he had an MVP-like stretch in the first half of the season. 

Charlie Manuel sticks with his players, so I expect Raul Ibanez to continue playing left.

He hit a solo shot to deep center to make it 3-1 in the bottom of the fourth.

As for the two-hole that Victorino’s occupied for most of the season, Michael Martinez and Wilson Valdez have shared the spot in his absence.  Pete Orr has gotten some starts at second base as well.

Chase Utley continues to progress in Clearwater. 

As the Phillies search for production after Howard, Placido Polanco looks like he’ll remain third in the order. 

With the dominant starting pitching, if the offense can muster three runs, they’ll have a great chance at winning.

Steve Carlton can pop a champagne bottle; his three consecutive no-decision complete games record remains intact.  Roy Halladay went just eight innings tonight, but the Phillies won 3-2 with Halladay getting the win.

Cliff Lee starts the second game of the series; that should be fun.

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Inter-League Play: Top 10 Players Who Played for the Rangers and the Phillies

The Texas Rangers are in town to play the Philadelphia Phillies this weekend as Major League Baseball kicks off the first round of Inter-League Play.  

The matchup, of course, pairs Phillies’ pitcher Cliff Lee against his former team, the Rangers, for the first time since Lee (re-)signed with the Phillies this off-season, spurning the Rangers and the New York Yankees in the process.

Lee is not the only prominent player to ever play for these two franchises.  Here is a look at the top 10 players to play for both the Philadelphia Phillies and the Texas Rangers.

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Derek Jeter and 10 Future Hall of Famers for Whom the End Is Near

It was easy to pretend that we thought he could still field his position as long as he was hitting.  But now he is not hitting, and it is pretty hard to avoid the conclusion, top-to-bottom, that Derek Jeter‘s days are numbered.

Or, well, his days as a productive major league contributor.  Because, of this you can be sure: whether he is capable of playing or not, the Captain will be playing for at least three seasons as he plays out his contract.

But he will probably be done as a run producer well before he is done playing.

Here is a look at 10 future Hall of Famers for whom the end is within sight.

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Roy Halladay and the Lackluster Pitchers of the 21st Century

The second decade of the 21st Century has arrived, and there is something missing from baseball for the first time in a couple of generations.

For the first time since Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver and Steve Carlton were dominating baseball in the 1970s, Major League Baseball is without an established class of future Hall of Fame pitchers.

Not that long ago baseball fans were being treated to an exhibition of four of the greatest pitchers of all time in Roger Clemens, Greg Maddux, Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez.

After the Big Four, we had the likes of Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, Mike Mussina and Curt Schilling, four pitchers who were not amongst the greatest of all time but who were deserving of historical perspective and may even have a trip to Cooperstown in their futures down the line.

In 2011, Major League Baseball certainly does not feature eight starting pitchers who make legitimate Hall of Fame candidates, and frankly, there likely are not even four good names.

Let’s take a look at the best the majors can muster at this point.

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2011 Phillies: Victorino Headed to DL, Domonic Brown Makes Triumphant Return

In the 1960s, the Virginia Slims corporation famously, and some might say infamously, marketed its cigarettes to young professional women using the slogan: “You’ve come a long way, baby!” This slogan springs to mind today as the Philadelphia Phillies have announced that Shane Victorino has been placed on the disabled list, and to fill his place, none other than Domonic Brown has been called up from Triple-A Lehigh.

Phillies fans will not need a recap of the trials and travails of the Phillies’ erstwhile top prospect, but for the sake of completeness, we provide it here:

Spring Training, 2010: Brown is invited to Phillies camp, and MLB.com names him the 14th ranked prospect in baseball.

April, 2010: Brown begins season at Double-A, where he plays very well, hitting .318 with 15 home runs and 47 RBI in 65 games.

June, 2010: Brown is promoted to Triple-A and picks up where he left off; actually, he improved upon where he left off, hitting .346 with five home runs and 21 RBI in only 28 games.

July, 2010: Brown is named the top prospect in baseball by Baseball America.

July 28, 2010: Brown is called up to the Phillies, where despite initial success, he ultimately struggles. Brown finishes the season with a .210 average, a .612 OPS and 24 strikeouts in 35 games.

October, 2010: Brown bats three times in the playoffs, going 0-for-3 and not factoring into the Phillies postseason plans.

Fall, 2010: Brown hits only .069 in nine games in the Dominican Winter League and is sent home early to rest up for spring training.

Spring, 2011: Brown gets off to a miserable start in spring camp in Florida, going 0-for-15 with nine strikeouts before getting his first hit of the spring and promptly breaking a bone in his hand.

May, 2011: Brown returns from injury with a vengeance, hitting .368 with two home runs in five games at Single-A Clearwater before moving to Triple-A Lehigh and hitting .341 with a .968 OPS and 10 RBI in 11 games.

Which pretty much brings us up to date.

As we can all see, it has been a bit of a roller coaster ride for Domonic Brown. Nevertheless, here it is, Friday May 20, 2011, and Brown is right where we thought he would be six months ago: Up with the big club, ready to establish himself as the Phillies right fielder of tomorrow.

The move, of course, was somewhat unexpected, with Phillies General Manager Ruben Amaro stating, as recently as Thursday, that if Shane Victorino went to the disabled list, Domonic Brown would not be the player to replace him, saying “We don’t think he’s ready.”

Nevertheless, one day later, Victorino goes on the shelf and the Domonic Brown Era gets its reboot, after one false start and lots of bumps along the way.

Brown has, indeed, come a long way, baby. This time, let’s hope he’s here to stay.

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Philadelphia Phillies: 5 Things We Have Learned About the Phillies’ Core 4

The Phillies are currently 26-16 and still sit in first place in the NL East, despite an anemic offense. Heading into this season, the Phillies Phaithful knew that if they were to expect another parade down Broad Street, it would be led by the four aces.

Expectations have never been higher in the entire 121-year history of Philadelphia baseball. Talk radio rang out when Cliff Lee rejoined the Phillies to form: R2C2, The Phab Phour, The Phour Horsemen. Heck, even Fat Joe and the Terror Squad tee’s were selling out.

We are a quarter of the way through the season, and here are the five things we have learned about the Phillies Core Four thus far.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Struggles to Continue Despite Strong Pitching Staff?

With about one-fourth of the season over, Roy Halladay (5-3), Cliff Lee (2-4), Roy Oswalt (3-1) and Cole Hamels (4-2) have a combined record of 14-10, which is good but below preseason expectations.

It’s not that the Philadelphia Phillies quartet has pitched badly. It is just the opposite. They have pitched pretty much as expected, but the Phillies have become an offensively challenged team.

In 2011, the Phils have averaged 4.10 runs a game, which ranks ninth among the 16 National League teams.

Last season, they averaged 4.77 runs a game, and in 2009, when they won the pennant, the offense averaged 5.06 runs a game.

Most teams are struggling to score runs this season. Pitching has dominated even more than it did last season, which is a key to why the Phillies are struggling and will continue to struggle.

When Cliff Lee joined a starting rotation that included Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt, and Cole Hamels, comparisons were made with the greatest rotations of all time. The Phillies were the overwhelming pick to not only win the Eastern Division, but to win the pennant.

The problem is that the Phillies’ perceived pitching advantage has not been as great as expected. Because of a league-wide lack of offense, the Phillies’ pitching is brought back to the pack.

National League teams have averaged 4.17 runs a game in 2011, with a 3.79 ERA.

In 2010, teams averaged 4.35 runs a game with a 4.02 ERA.

In 2009, teams averaged 4.43 runs a game with a 4.19 ERA.

The number that stands out is that since 2009, the league earned run average has increased by 0.40 runs.

The last time the National League had an ERA below four was 1992.

This season, only five teams have an ERA above four.

It’s not that the Big Four are pitching poorly, but that other teams are pitching nearly as well, and the Philly offense is not good enough to establish separation.

When Jason Werth went to Washington, the Phillies had a huge hole to fill in the outfield. Dominic Brown has been hurt, and the combination of Ben Francisco and John Mayberry is not the answer.

The loss of Chase Utley has hurt more than expected because nobody has picked up the slack. 

Catcher Carlos Ruiz, who had a career year in 2010, has been hurt and is batting .208 with two home runs. Ryan Howard is batting a .252 with nine home runs, and is on his usual pace to strike out 200 times.

Thirty-nine year old Raul Ibanez has three home runs to go along with a .223 average. Ben Francisco is down to .218.

The Phillies have lost four consecutive games, but the old baseball adage that “you’re never as good as you look when you win and you’re never as bad as you look when you lose,” holds up.

Last night, Roy Oswalt pitched five solid innings. The bullpen was good, but all the Phillies could manage was one unearned run in a 3-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.

The night before, an erratic Cliff Lee allowed three runs in six and one third innings, but the bullpen shut down the Cardinals the rest of the way. Usually, that should be enough to win, but the Phillies managed to score only one run in a 3-1 loss.

A team that doesn’t score many runs puts tremendous pressure on its pitchers, who realize that one or two mistakes could cost them the game. They must bear down constantly and not allow even the so-called easier outs in the opposition’s batting order to hurt them.

The Philly Four are experienced veterans who have been through it all. Each of them should win 15 or more games. They rise to the occasion, but it is too much to ask them to rise to the occasion every start.

Almost every team in the league has one, two or three pitchers who can often stay with the Phillies Big Four. The Phillies’ problem is that most of the teams score more runs than they do.

The Phillies should win the division, but it will be a struggle to the end.

Reference:

Baseball Reference

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Philadelphia Phillies: Does Vance Worley Deserve a Full-Time Spot over Blanton?

Vance Worley, a 23-year-old up and coming prospect for Philadelphia, has done a fine job in replacement for fifth starter Joe Blanton—many fans are satisfied with him and actually prefer him over Blanton.

After suffering an elbow injury in late April, Blanton was placed on the disabled list while Worley emerged.

Worley pitched six innings in each of his two starts in substitution for Blanton, while recording a win both times. Plus, he gave up no runs in his first outing (and two hits) and just one run in his second.

Many Phillies fans, including myself, have been loving the production out of the young pitcher, as he has shown many positive signs for the future.

However, I believe that promoting Worley to permanent starter status is pushing the envelope a little too much.

Granted, he has pitched well, but these were his first starts—the opposing players were just introduced to the way he pitches. I am not saying that Worley is one of these pitchers, but baseball fans have witnessed many fluke beginner starts.

Not only that, but fans seem to be brushing over the talent and experience of Blanton. He has been with Philly ever since they won the World Series, and turning him into a reliever at this point in his career is just not right.

I will be the first to admit that the overall stat sheet for Blanton is the complete opposite of attractive, with a 1-2 record and a 5.50 ERA. 

But if you take a deeper look into his games, he only had two very bad starts where he gave up five and seven runs. Other than that, he has given up no more than three runs in the rest of his four starts. 

The Phillies should just keep Worley where he is now: doing a solid job as a reliever and available as a very serviceable replacement in case of injury. He is still just 23 years old and has plenty of time to step up once older pitchers on the team eventually leave. 

Like I said, I am a big fan of Worley and I think he did a great job in substitution for Blanton. But right now, Worley is just not ready and Blanton is the better option. 

Take your pick, Phillies fans: Blanton or Worley?

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Are the Philadelphia Phillies’ Big Four Living Up to the Hype?

During this past offseason, starting pitcher Cliff Lee signed a five-year, $120 million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies. Lee immediately became the fourth top-tier starting pitcher on the Phillies roster, joining Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels.

In the history of major league baseball, there have been very few teams with three elite starting pitchers on the same roster, let alone four. And considering that Philadelphia has won four consecutive division titles, has a great defense and has several talented players on the offensive end, expectations coming into the season were incredibly high.  

One could argue that Lee’s decision to sign with Philadelphia was not much different than LeBron James’ decision to sign with the Miami Heat, not in terms of betrayal, but as far as taking the easy road. After all, both players were among the very best in their respective sports at the time of the deal and they each moved to a team that was already loaded with talent.

While LeBron, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh were all among the top four leaders in the NBA in Player Efficiency Rating during the 2009-2010 season, Lee, Halladay and Oswalt had the three best WHIP stats in all of baseball last season (Hamels was still very good at No. 23 overall). However, while James has been criticized constantly for his decision, Lee has made his way to Philly relatively unscathed.

Either way, the Phillies starting pitching rotation is being well documented and has a ton of pressure to carry the team deep into October.

So far in 2011, Philadelphia has more or less met expectations as a team. Despite a four-game losing streak, the Phillies currently have a half-game lead in the NL East over the Florida Marlins and have the best overall record in the NL at 25-16. But have the big four done their part?

Halladay, who won the NL Cy Young award last season for the Phillies, has certainly maintained his status as one of the most dominant pitchers in the game. He currently ranks among the top five in the NL in ERA, wins, innings, WHIP, and strikeouts.

Lee, on the other hand, has been far short of spectacular through the first quarter of the season. He is just 2-4 with an ERA of 3.84, currently 33rd in the NL in that category. However, Lee ranks 23rd in WHIP and has shown flashes of brilliance at times. The Phillies are hoping that Lee can get on a tear like he did in the first two rounds of the playoffs last season and during his Cy Young Award season in 2008.

Meanwhile, Roy Oswalt, who had been out since April 26th with a back injury, is now back in the rotation. He has pitched very well this season when healthy. In six starts, Oswalt is 3-1 with an ERA of 3.09 and an impressive WHIP of 1.04.

Cole Hamels, who is undoubtedly the most feared No. 4 starter we have seen in a long time, has done his part in the Phillies rotation. He is 4-2 on the year with an ERA of 3.19 and is among the top ten leaders in WHIP, which tends to be a predictor of future success.  

Overall, the big four have combined to go 14-10 this season with an ERA of 3.06 and a WHIP of 1.08. This is just slightly under the pace of the big four’s numbers from last season when they were 58-43 collectively with an ERA of 2.84 and a WHIP of 1.06. 

Through the first quarter of the season, the top starting pitching rotations in the NL have clearly been the Phillies and the Atlanta Braves. The two NL East rivals rank one and two in almost every relevant starting pitching category. 

But unlike the Braves, who have had received very good pitching from all five of their starting pitchers, the Phillies have gotten very little out of No. 5 starter Joe Blanton. Therefore, whether or not the Phillies have the best five-man starting rotation in the NL, they certainly have the best top four. 

Meanwhile, in large part due to the absence of second baseman Chase Utley, who has right knee tendinitis, Philadelphia has struggled on offense for, really, the first time since 2002. They rank just 10th in runs scored out of the 16 NL teams.

But with a great top four in their starting rotation and a great defense, the Phillies are still in a good spot right now and should be even better off when Utley returns, which is expected to happen in the next few weeks.

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