Dream Hurlers: MLB’s Greatest 1-2-3 Right-Handed Pitching Combination

Last weekend, my friends and I were engaged in a friendly—but fierce—debate over a few cold ones.

The debate centered around the following question: Who is the most electrifying right-handed pitcher in the big leagues? 

For minutes, healthy conflict swirled about the backyard.

On and on we went, breaking down pitchers by electrimetrics (blends excitement a hurler brings with pitching statistics).

Eventually we narrowed the legend pool from 13 active hurlers to just three. Yet for the life of us, we could not agree on who was more electric: Detroit Tigers workhorse Justin Verlander; Philadelphia Phillies ace Roy Halladay; or Washington Nationals phenom Stephen Strasburg. 

So like all thorough, objective baseball pundits, we broke things down en route to coming to our final analysis.

 Justin Verlander

How fun is this guy to watch? It is like seeing a robot at work.

When not amped up to fire a bunker buster through concrete, Verlander’s fastball is devastation in its purest form. As is his curveball, which makes hitters roll their eyes in disbelief, as if some magician just brilliantly duped them with the old hidden ball trick.  

Step right up! Take your shot at Verlander—the freak of nature with a rubber arm!

Now you see it, now you don’t hitters dig in for more pain. They gear up to guess on either Verlander’s fastball or curveball, only to see a changeup—same arm motion as Verlander’s fastball.

Long night indeed for many teams trying to fight off this gunslinger; a durable hurler who has recorded 46 games in a row whereby he has pitched six innings or more.

The scary thing about Verlander (besides the fact he is just 29 years old), is that he has learned how to pinpoint locate his pitches. Rarely do you see Verlander lose control of the strike zone. Even creepier, Verlander’s pitch velocity increases as his pitch count rises.

It is the strangest thing—almost non-human.

Case in point: Verlander’s final pitch (pitch 130) in the bottom of the ninth inning versus the Kansas City Royals the other night—100 mph.

As legendary Detroit Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell used to say, all the hitter could do was “[stand] there like a house by the side of the road and [watch] it go by.”

 

Roy Halladay

 

Need a 6’6″, 230-pound bird of prey to deliver consistent victory?

Looking for a mild-mannered hurler who can take the baseball every day with potential to fire a no hitter or perfect game every time his cleats crunch the dirty hill?

Want a man with a hard-two seam sinking fastball that makes hitters clamor for justice after routinely grounding out once again?

Well, look no further than Roy Halladay, the grand epitome of consistency, accuracy and durability.

With one excellent season, Doc will begin his stroll down the hallway toward 300 wins and a first ballot hall of fame selection.

Currently, this 14 year veteran has 191 wins. With nine more, Halladay will have to average just 16 wins during the next six seasons to earn 300.

Halladay would be the 34th hurler in baseball history to achieve such a great feat. My guess is he will not only get 300 wins, but he will land in Nolan Ryan-territory at around 320-325 wins.

If I had to choose between Verlander and Halladay for pitching rights to Game 7 of the World Series, I would clone a hybrid and then just sit back in the dugout and enjoy the show.

 

 

Stephen Strasburg

Who can forget Strasburg’s meteoric rise to his major league debut versus the Pittsburgh Pirates in June 2010?

Before a buzzing crowd, Strasburg dazzled, striking out 14 Bucs in seven innings of victorious work. The crowd erupted with joy with each Strasburg strikeout. And collectors of Strasburg’s rookie cards and memorabilia could not stop drooling.

Plagued by injury, which required Tommy John surgery and a year or rehab, Strasburg has returned to electrifying the masses with his hissing fastball.

Still 23 years old, this Roy Halladay size hurler is 2-0 with a 1.08 ERA. He has struck out 25 hitters in 25 innings of work. Strasburg’s WHIP is impressive—0.97.

More importantly, Strasburg is pitching for a team that is showing signs of being a real contender in the National League East.   

Even more motivation for Strasburg, who is poised to one day take the torch from the likes of Halladay and Verlander.

So in the end, which of these three hurlers did we select as the best?

Well, we could not for the life of us come to an agreement.

But that is the beauty of sports. It is filled with debates between friends over cold ones.

This is but one great part of what life is all about.

 

For more awesome baseball fun, please log onto http://www.basebook.socialgo.com

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Philadelphia Phillies: Can They Survive Without Ryan Howard in the Lineup?

The Philadelphia Phillies were forced to start four different players at first base in their first four games to start the season in the absence of Ryan Howard, as he recovers from an Achilles injury. 

Those four players—Ty Wigginton, John Mayberry, Jr., Laynce Nix and Jim Thome—have combined to bat .191 so far this season.

That’s a far cry from the .283 batting average posted by Howard through the first 16 games of last season.

The Phillies have been forced to start the season without their starters on the right side of the infield, as Chase Utley joins Howard on the disabled list.  These absences have played a hand in the Phils ranking 15th in the National League in runs and near the bottom of the league in home run total.

So far this season, Phillies’ first basemen have hit eight RBI while striking out 17 times.  Through 16 games last season, Howard had driven in 15 runs.

For a team that ranks 15th in the National League in RBI, Howard’s return could bring with it the run production that the Phils have been searching for early on in the season.

However, with Howard waiting to be cleared to increase his workouts, and after having not played a game in spring training, the first baseman’s return date may still be up in the air.

Howard’s absence also forces the team to take Hunter Pence out of the five-hole in the lineup and move him to the clean-up spot.  Currently, Phillies’ five-hole hitters have hit just two extra-base hits this season, the lowest total in the National League.

Pence’s move to the clean-up spot has resulted in a .258 batting average to go with seven RBI and four extra-base hits.

The Phils finished last season with 54 home runs and 212 RBI combined from the fourth and fifth spots in their lineup.

The Phillies as a team, however, have collected 129 hits so far this season, tied for sixth-best in the National League.  They also are averaging 77.1 at-bats per home run, the second-worst average in the National League and an area where Howard’s presence could have it effect felt following his return.

But until then, how can the Phillies get by without Howard in their lineup?  And how can the team recover if his absence continues to stretch further into the season?

The Phillies as a team have had 151 at-bats in which they were ahead in the count, as opposed to a major league-leading 219 at-bats in which they were behind.  They are also batting .219 with runners in scoring position.

While Howard was able to bat .298 and hit 78 RBI with runners in scoring position last season, this season’s clean-up hitter has managed a .235 batting average and five RBI with runners in scoring position. 

As Pence continues to fill in for Howard at the clean-up spot, and as the Phils continue to struggle to score runs, his performance with runners in scoring position may become even more crucial.

Another player whose performances in Howard’s absence could be crucial is Mayberry, who is batting .175 with two RBI so far this season.  Stronger performances from Mayberry could allow the Phils to start him at first and play Juan Pierre, who is batting .326 to start the season, in left field more frequently.

Placido Polanco’s presence at the top of the Phil’s lineup could provide Pence with more opportunities to drive in runs.  However, Polanco’s .192 batting average and .222 OBP have led to limited opportunities early on in the season.  If his offense comes around, the team may not only have more opportunities for driving in runs, but could also improve on their collective .283 OBP.

These factors could not only improve the team’s offense now, but also position the lineup to receive a significant boost when Howard returns.  Once Utley returns as well, these improved performances could provide the Phils with the offensive production from the first half of their lineup that they have been searching for early on this season.

The Phillies’ recent play has demonstrated that Howard’s contributions, as well as his presence in the lineup, play huge roles in the success of the offense.

However, until he returns, the Phils may have to do their best to get by while leaning on the current lineup to adjust quickly to new roles.

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Philadelphia Phillies: What Jose Contreras’ Return Means to the Phillies Bullpen

Major League Baseball has a cliche as old as the game itself—it’s a marathon, not a sprint. 

In other words, outcomes of single games are less important than the adjustments made to account for those outcomes. And it doesn’t matter who’s ahead at Mile 4, it’s about being in front at Mile 26.

Eight months after elbow surgery, the return of El Titan de Bronze (as Jose Contreras was once nicknamed by Fidel Castro) to the Phillies bullpen could mean a lot when it comes to where this team wants to be at Mile 26 and beyond. 

In the short term, Contreras’ presence in the bullpen gives the Phils a proven arm to work the seventh inning, with Chad Qualls occupying the eighth inning slot and Jonathan Papelbon closing games out. 

This aspect will be especially important with Cliff Lee hitting the disabled list with an oblique strain, as his replacement in the rotation, Kyle Kendrick, obviously doesn’t have the same kind of ability when it comes to working late into games (Kendrick has thrown one complete game in 98 career starts, Lee finished six just last season).

Contreras has shown signs of wearing down, between the recent injuries, poor play in his rehab assignment (four earned runs in 4.1 innings), and his advanced age (officially he is 40, but he might really be closer to 50). Still, though, he has a history of getting major-league hitters out, and that’s a skill that can’t be overlooked.

Another benefit from his return is the lightened workload to Antonio Bastardo, who hasn’t looked sharp, particularly with his control and against right-handed batters. Contreras’ infusion into the bullpen allows Bastardo to go back to his former role, as a lefty specialist, as he works his way back into 2011 form.

If Contreras can remain healthy and productive, the biggest coup will be for the starting pitchers, though. 

With a solid bullpen arm that can be counted on to get the game to the setup man, there will be far less pressure on the starters to throw seven innings every start, and thus, to keep their pitch counts low throughout the game.

Roy Halladay is 35 years old, and has thrown more than 2,500 innings in his career. Eventually, if he is a human, he will start to break down. So tempering his workload has to be a priority for Charlie Manuel this summer. 

Vance Worley hasn’t thrown more than 182 innings in a season in his career, including both minor- and major-league ball. No one knows what to expect of him after a full season as a big-league starter and 220 innings. 

If these guys were to fade at all in September, any hope the Phillies had to capture a sixth consecutive NL East crown likely would fade with them. The difference between them making it to the finish line and falling short might lie with the confidence their manager has in turning the game over to the ‘pen.

If the ageless Cuban can return to his 2010 form, that confidence will grow immensely, and the chance of a return to the postseason will follow.

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Philadelphia Phillies’ Outfielder Hunter Pence Dealing with Shoulder Injury

Anyone feeling a little squeamish about the current state of the Philadelphia Phillies‘ offense may not want to read any further, because another one of the team’s best offensive players is dealing with a nagging injury. 

Hunter Pence is out of the Phillies’ lineup for the first time this season with a sore left shoulder. It was originally believed that Pence, who has played in all 15 of the Phillies’ regular season games this year, was simply getting a day off, but that is not the case.

According to numerous reports, Pence suffered the injury making a diving attempt at a ball during a game against the San Diego Padres, with the outfielder refuting a report by his manager, Charlie Manuel, that he had suffered the injury as early as last week when the Phillies were in San Francisco.

Pence told several reporters, including Ryan Lawrence of the Delaware Daily Times, that he is still unaware of the extent of the injury as he has yet to meet with team doctors, though according to Lawrence, he sounded as though he was optimistic that it was not a major injury.

“I felt it after it happened, but I had adrenaline going,” said Pence. “I want to do more, but they don’t want me to. Hopefully it’s not a big deal, but we have to get it checked out first.”

Pence’s sore left shoulder comes just days after the Phillies placed left-handed starter Cliff Lee on the disabled list with a sore oblique, not because it was a serious injury, but because the Phillies were taking the cautious route, but Pence hopes to avoid joining him on the disabled list.

Though he was mired in an 0-for-15 slump heading into Monday’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Pence remains one of the club’s biggest offensive threats with Ryan Howard and Chase Utley on the disabled list.

In Pence’s absence, John Mayberry Jr., who is hitting just .175 / .175 / .200 on the season, will get the start in right field.

For news, rumors, analysis and game recaps during spring training, check out Greg’s blog: The Phillies Phactor!

Follow @Greg_Pinto

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25 Early-Season Philadelphia Phillies Stats That Tell the Story

If the Philadelphia Phillies have been anything this year, they’ve been predictable.

With Ryan Howard and Chase Utley on the shelf while Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee lead the pitching staff, you expect them to play in a lot of close ballgames and hear the old baseball axiom, “Pitching wins ball games,” at least a million times.

The Phillies have certainly done that. The pitching staff has put things on cruise control while the offense never left spring training. They’ve been hovering around that .500 mark in the standings for that reason.

They have the pitching to keep them close and there is no doubt about that. The real problem is that their offensive firepower is the equivalent of a toddler blowing out the candles on his birthday cake.

There are diehard fans out there willing to keep telling themselves that this club is going to turn a corner. That may be true, but it sure doesn’t look like it’s going to be a big corner. So when pictures and blind statements won’t do the job, we’ll hand the ball off to one of my favorite aspects of the game: statistics.

In this slideshow, I’ll show you why—through numbers—the Phillies have struggled early in the season.

 

*All statistics used in this slideshow were accrued prior to the Phillies game against the San Diego Padres on Sunday, April 22nd. Any adjustments that need to be made will be done accordingly.

For news, rumors, analysis and game recaps during spring training, check out Greg’s blog: The Phillies Phactor!

Follow @Greg_Pinto

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Cliff Lee Placed on 15-Day DL by Philadelphia Phillies with Oblique Strain

Maybe allowing Cliff Lee to go 10 shutout on innings wasn’t such a good idea after all.

Just three days after his incredible performance against the Giants (which the Phillies still lost), Lee has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left oblique muscle.

Lee will be eligible to return on May 4, and general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. is hopeful that he will only miss his two scheduled starts.

For now, Kyle Kendrick will take Lee’s spot in the rotation. In no way, though, will he be able to replace the consistency that Lee brings to the table.

The Phillies recalled left-handed reliever Joe Savery from Triple-A to take Lee’s spot on the roster. He will join the team on Sunday in San Diego.

Lee became the first pitcher since 2007 to go 10 innings in a start. Aaron Harang tossed 10 innings on July 23 of that year while with the Reds. Roy Halladay also did it earlier that season in April.

Ironically, Lee actually injured himself on a pitch in the 10th.

“He actually did it on a pitch in the 10th when he felt something and it grabbed him on his left side,” Amaro said. “He was sore the next day. It has improved each day, but we’re being very cautious with this. There’s no reason for him to completely blow it out. It’s an injury that if he really pulls it, we could lose him for a long time. We’ll be cautious with him, shut him down, and get him right. Hopefully he only misses a couple of starts.”

Lee actually has a history of groin and abdominal strains, but they appear to be unrelated to this current injury.

All signs point to him being back and ready to go on May 4, but we’ll have to wait and see just to be sure.

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Philadelphia Phillies: 2012 Struggles at the Plate Are Nothing New

There’s no doubt about it.  The 2012 Philadelphia Phillies are off to a dreadful start at the plate.  If it wasn’t for a terrific pitching staff, there would be no way this team is at .500 after 14 games.  What’s more of a surprise is how fans seem “up in arms” about their sticks as if they haven’t seen anything like this before.  That’s far from the truth.

Through 14 games this season, the Phillies have scored 41 runs for an average of 2.92 runs per game.  Their team batting average is .247 and they have only hit seven home runs.  Even more brutal, they are 0-5 when they give up more than two runs in a game.  They are leaving little margin for error out of the starting rotation.  They probably have the mindset of “If I give up a three-run home run at any point, we will lose.”

This is not a new thing for this franchise, however, as collective slumps and lack of hitting started back in the 2009 season and has had stretches of ineptitude ever since then.  Check this out:

 

Recent 14-Game Stretches

2009: Games 122-135, scored 37 runs (2.6 per game) for a 6-8 record.

2010: Games 39-52, scored 25 runs (1.8 per game) for a 4-10 record. Six home runs in those games.

2010: Games 115-128, scored 44 runs (3.1 per game) for a 7-7 record. Six home runs in those games.

2010: Postseason vs. Cincinnati and San Francisco, scored 33 runs for 3.7 a game and a 5-4 record.

2011: Games 9-22, scored 39 runs (2.8 per game) for a 9-5 record. Nine home runs in those games.

2011: Games 31-44, scored 35 runs (2.5 per game) for a 6-8 record. Eight home runs in those games.

2011: Games 144-157, scored 33 runs (2.4 per game) for a 4-10 record. Seven home runs in those games.

2011: Postseason vs. St Louis, scored just 10 runs in the last four games (2.5 per game).

 

So while this lack of offensive prowess has been frustrating for the Phillies and their fans to open the 2012 season it is also nothing new.  The Phils won 97 games in 2010 and went through a stretch that saw them go to New York to take on the Mets and they didn’t score a single run the entire series.  That was with Ryan Howard and Chase Utley in the lineup. For disclosure purposes, Jimmy Rollins was missing for that series.

Just last season, early in the season, the Phils’ bats looked a lot like this.  Here is the breakdown of games nine through 22:

Game nine: Win vs. Atlanta, 3-0

Game 10: L at Washington, 4-7

Game 11: W at Washington, 3-2

Game 12: W at Washington, 4-0

Game 13: L vs. Florida, 3-4

Game 14: W vs. Florida, 3-2

Game 15: L vs. Milwaukee, 3-6

Game 16: L vs. Milwaukee, 0-9

Game 17: W vs. Milwaukee, 4-3

Game 18: W at San Diego, 3-0

Game 19: W at San Diego, 2-0

Game 20: W at San Diego, 4-2

Game 21: W at San Diego, 3-1

Game 22: L at Arizona, 0-4

An entire 14-game stretch where the Phillies never scored more than four runs in a game and they still went 9-5.  Mercy!  Now that was without Utley in the lineup and prior to trading for Hunter Pence.  The moral of all of this is to relax. 

Charlie Manuel’s team can be a maddening bunch and when they struggle at the plate it can take some time to bust out.  Their hitters have shown a history of success and they will get hot.  Hopefully Utley and Howard can return with some sort of resemblance of their old selves and the Phillies heat up in September just in time for a playoff run. 

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What Baseball Teaches: Pat “The Bat” Burrell Comes Home to Stay

Pat Burrell will officially retire as a Philadelphia Phillie. The Phillies made it official last week and I am ambivalent about it, just as I was to Pat the Bat during his long tenure with the team.

He was here during the best of our times. Some may say he brought the championship to us with his hit in the second half of the ultimate game. He was here doing our lowest times, even chasing the rats at the old Vet stadium, 28 games behind first place.

No player has seen more venom, and some adulation, than Burrell, and no player withstood the psychotic nature of Philadelphia’s passionate fans with as much stoicism.

In this collection of poems in What Baseball Teaches: A Poetic Odyssey into the 2008 Season of the World Champions Philadelphia Phillies, Pat Burrell is celebrated and maligned, but always treated with the respect earned by a player who has become an adopted son of the city.

What baseball teaches is that if you stay long enough and swing hard enough, regardless of the failures, we will be family. It does not hurt that he was at his best against the Mets. Welcome back, Pat, but only for one day.

This poem is for you.

 

Game 153

Phillies at Atlanta

 

He has been here.

Been booed.

Been cheered.

Been booed some more.

 

He swings

in giant sweeps—

A magician with wand and hat.

All or nothing relationship

with the ball.

 

Few could hit a homer

with such grace

and certainty—

As if he, long ago,

fell for the music

of the collision

between ball and bat.

 

His air was detachment—

as if he knew it was a game

and liked playing

even when he struggled.

 

Games upon games

he swings

in great sweeps and stayed.

 

He is the player I know the best,

killer against the Mets,

and connected tonight for the win.

 

You can follow James Dugan on Facebook and on Twitter @jamesduganlb. Purchase his new book through Amazon What Baseball Teaches: A Poetic Odyssey into 2008 Season of the World Champions Philadelphia Phillies

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Philadelphia Phillies: Vance Worley Tosses a Gem and Records a Career-High

The Philadelphia Phillies blanked the San Diego Padres Thursday night by a score of 2-0.

On the bump for the Phillies was Vance Worley, and he pitched arguably the best game of his young career against the light-hitting Padres.

Worley tossed seven shutout innings in San Diego, allowing just four hits and three walks while striking out a career-high 11 batters.

His great outing translated to his first win of the 2012 season (1-1), but the fact that he pitched so well is surprising considering the fact that Carlos Ruiz was his catcher, rather than his personal catcher, Brian Schneider.

Another interesting thing to note is the fact that Worley was having problems seeing the signs from Ruiz because his signature goggles kept fogging up as the game progressed.

It got to the point where he even had to call to the dugout for a towel to wipe off the condensation.

No big deal, though—he struck out Mark Kotsay looking following the short timeout.

The Padres threatened a few times in the contest. Worley displayed good, clutch pitching by stranding runners at third in the second, sixth and seventh innings.

With the win at Petco Park, the Phillies have now won 12 straight at the ballpark, the longest active streak for any visiting team. They’re also 23-4 at the stadium all-time.

Chad Qualls and Jonathan Papelbon relieved Worley in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, holding down the lead and finishing off a great performance by the Phillies’ young right-hander.

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25 Biggest ‘Underdogs’ in Philadelphia Phillies History

Being a professional athlete isn’t easy.

Even those that fans and pundits tend to dub the “worst” of them are playing a professional sport, baseball in this case, for a reason. You have to have a natural talent, an incredible work ethic, and all of the right “tools,” and it often seems as though the greatest of them have the perfect balance of all of those things.

But not all professional athletes make it look easy. There is a certain group of players that tend to lean a little closer to the “incredible work ethic” category and borrow from new one—”luck.” The odds are stacked against them and when they make it to the show, it is the type of guy that forced you to think, “Man, you can’t help but feel happy for him.”

We call those guys the “underdogs.”

They don’t always put up the most eye-popping numbers, and they certainly aren’t the flashiest. These are the types of players that usually get the somewhat off-putting terms—”gritty” and “grinder,” for example.

But what would the sport be without them? The fans love to get behind an underdog and they make a great story. Here are some of the most recognizable “underdogs” in Philadelphia Phillies‘ history.

*Note: All statistics are numbers acquired during the player’s tenure with the Phillies, unless otherwise stated.

For news, rumors, analysis and game recaps during spring training, check out Greg’s blog: The Phillies Phactor!

Follow @Greg_Pinto

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