MLB Rumors: Philadelphia Phillies Could Be Fated for Fire Sale at Trade Deadline

The Philadelphia Phillies are floundering at the bottom of the National League East and may find themselves among the sellers at the MLB trade deadline on July 31 if their fortunes don’t shift soon.

According to Jim Salisbury of Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. is acutely aware of the team’s struggles and will strongly consider offloading big-name players to replenish a depleted farm system should the current pattern of impotence continue:

“July is so far ahead. We just have to get on track. But if July comes and we’re playing like this, we’ll be sellers. How we play now will determine whether we’ll be buyers or sellers in July.”

At this point, the prospects for improvement aren’t exactly promising. The starting pitching is still phenomenal, as one might expect from a rotation that features Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels at the top, and the defense is still relatively strong.

But the offense has been subpar, to say the least.

The absences of swinging stars Chase Utley and Ryan Howard in the everyday lineup have considerably hurt Philadelphia’s production at the plate, to the point where they now rank as a merely middle-of-the-pack offense in the NL. Utley is due back soon but, as ESPN’s Buster Olney points out, he shouldn’t be counted on to save the day, especially at the age of 33 and given his lengthy history of injuries.

Howard, on the other hand, could prove to be a bigger help to a Phillies team that’s slugging just .370 so far, with all of 22 home runs in 32 games. Unfortunately, Howard’s timetable for a return is much more uncertain than Utley’s, given the more severe nature of the Achilles injury he suffered in the final at-bat of last year’s NLDS against the St. Louis Cardinals.

In the meantime, the Phillies should be able to skate by, so long as the likes of Hunter Pence, Carlos Ruiz, Shane Victorino and Placido Polanco can continue producing at the plate.

The bigger concern for Amaro and the Phils rests with their bullpen, which has thus far compiled a worst-in-the-majors ERA of 5.47. Jonathan Papelbon has settled into the closer’s role as expected (3.00 ERA, nine saves), but has seen the rest of the reserve arms—Jose Contreras (8.59 ERA), Kyle Kendrick (7.32 ERA), Mike Stutes (on the DL) and Chad Qualls (three blown saves in his last four outings)—crumble around him.

Bullpen arms are a dime a dozen, but with their minor league system devoid of quality prospects and a payroll pressing up against the upcoming salary tax threshold, the Phillies may not have the flexibility or the leverage to pursue many options, if any.

That’s not to say that the Phillies are necessarily doomed for a fire sale just yet. As bad as a 14-18 start and a five-game deficit in the division may seem, it’s still only May and the NL East, while seemingly replete with quality teams, lacks a single dominant force capable of running away with the crown.

Still, if the Phils don’t get their act together within the next month or two, don’t be surprised if names such as Hamels, Victorino, Pence and Joe Blanton start popping up amidst the rumor mill more frequently, with an eye toward a fresh start in the City of Brotherly Love.

 

Follow Josh Martin on Twitter.

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Philly’s Horrible Sports Week: Is It Ever Totally Sunny in Philadelphia?

As I write, it’s only Thursday morning, but what did I and numerous other Philadelphia sports fans do to deserve such a hellish week? Please don’t reply; this was designed to be a rhetorical lead. Yes, it’s not lost on me that some of you may invoke the vision of a snow-bombarded Santa Claus…from 1968.

But, I digress. Philly has had some superb players and almost superb teams over the years and once in a rainbow-colored moon, we get to attend parades (1983…2008), but the most passionate sports city in America knows quite well what it’s like to get kicked in the ribs, and lower. Still, experiencing numerous cruel kicks hardly prepared Philly Nation for Black Tuesday—a day in which our hockey team got eliminated, our basketball team couldn’t win an elimination game against a shell of an opponent and our baseball team, to be kind, channeled the worst of the ’62 Mets…without the “lovable” factor.

To fully appreciate Black Tuesday, one must recall the feeling that was in the air just 38 or so hours ago. At 7 p.m., the Phillies were hosting the Mets, who had improbably (well, not all that improbably this season) gotten two runs with two outs in the top of the sixth off ace Roy Halladay to tie the score at two, and then had someone named Jordany Valdespin (for his first career MLB hit) golf a three-run homer off new closer Jonathan Papelbon to take a 5-2 win and snap our one-game winning streak.

More on that winning streak in just a bit. But, there was no doubt that the Phils would get revenge behind Big Joe Blanton, who was coming off the game of his life: a Greg Maddux-like, 88-pitch, three-hit shutout in Atlanta.

In truth, the Phillies game was only a nice appetizer for the Philadelphia Flyers’ 7:30 home game versus the New Jersey Devils. Was it just yesterday—or about three years ago—that the Flyers were the story of the NHL after eliminating their bitter cross-state rival Pittsburgh Penguins in six exhilarating games. These were games that featured all the hitting and scoring, and more, that one could ever hope for.

Not so incidentally, the series had earned center Claude Giroux a prominent place in the discussion of “greatest player in the world.” His first shift of Game 6, which featured an epic open-ice hit that flattened Sidney Crosby followed by a goal-scorer’s goal to stake the orange and black to a 1-0 lead (the only 1-0 lead that they didn’t relinquish in the playoffs), was the stuff of legends.

It should be mentioned that the Flyers were down three game to one against the Devils, but no worries: This was the night when the Bullies would snap out of their post-Penguins funk, start taking the body, tilt the ice and have their riddle of an enigma of a goalie stand on his head. Eh?

At 9:30, the Sixers were about to finish off the Chicago Bulls in the Windy City. To be fair, the Bulls were a depleted, dispirited unit playing without their two best players: 2011 MVP Derrick Rose and that all hyper defense and offensive rebounding machine named Joakim Noah. Still, whether by merit or luck, a franchise that had been mostly irrelevant for a decade was on the verge of winning a playoff series for the first time since 2003.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the suspensions and controversies that had engulfed these parts on Monday. Perhaps, the least of the controversies was the continued fallout over the alleged classlessness of Sixers fans who had appeared to cheer Noah’s injury (twisted left ankle) in the third quarter of last Friday’s Game 3 victory.

Were some fans cheering his injury…for about 10 seconds or so? It sounded like it, and it did not help matters that some (the same?) idiots also booed the energetic, pony-tailed forward as he picked himself off the court. There was finally a story line of sorts to this series that has been devoid of star power or shooting accuracy.

The Flyers had a bigger controversy on their hands. The aforementioned Giroux, a man who had done and said all the right things all season, had gotten penalized in Game 4 for what appeared to be a blow to the head of former Flyer Dainius Zubrus. Yes, Zubie left South Philly 13 years ago, and new NHL Enforcement Czar Brendan Shanahan decreed on Monday that Giroux would not be on the South Philly ice for Game 5. The script was set: The Flyers were going to take it up a couple notches to win a game for their best player, who in turn, would be back for Game 6 with a vengeance.

These incidents barely caused a ripple in the pond of controversy compared to the Sunday-into-Monday whirlpool generated by the Phillies’ 9-3 victory over the host Washington Nationals. Starting pitcher Cole Hamels was in top form, yielding only five hits and one run while fanning eight in his eight innings of work. But only one of Hamels’ 109 pitches was talked about afterward: the first-inning pitch that nailed 19-year-old rookie phenom Bryce Harper in the lower back.

To most observers, this was not a pitch that got away, and the most shocking aspect of it was that the ultra-candid Hamels not only admitted as much but went a step further, essentially saying that it was his “welcome to the league” offering to the mega-hyped Harper. Depending on your perspective, Hamels was either a hero for drilling the cocky kid and bragging about it (to supposedly show those Natitudinal upstarts that the Phillies are still the beasts of the NL East) or as Nats’ GM Mike Rizzo more or less put it, the lanky lefty was clueless, gutless, new school and…baseball’s version of Chris Bosh?

To stay on this incident for another moment or so, this columnist believes all of the following:

• Pitching inside is part of the game; intentionally hitting someone who had done nothing to provoke it was stupid, reckless and arrogant
• Hamels had more than shed his soft label (kind of deserved after his 2009 World Series) prior to this over the last two-plus seasons
• I hope that the Phillies are able to lock up Hamels long term..debatable?
• This diehard Phils fans loved that the Phillies won Sunday night (which is now their only win in their last six), but also thought it was great that Harper, immediately after getting hit, went from first to third and then stole home! Without hitting a single jack in his first 10 games, he has impressed many with his seeming maturity (after a pre-MLB rep as a showboat), to say nothing of his glove, arm and baserunning.
• Candor from players is admirable. Being candid about doing something stupid does not trump stupidity.
• Speaking of which, who exactly is Mike Rizzo to go all Tony Soprano afterward?

 

The Phillies opened Tuesday evening’s action with a Hunter Pence two-run bomb in the first followed by two more in the second for a 4-0 lead. With the new, Slim Joe Blanton on the hill, this win was in the books, giving plenty of time to concentrate on the Flyers who…

…got a jolt of energy from center Zac Rinaldo who, seeing his first action of the series, plastered defenseman Anton Volchenko into the boards with a clean hit that even Shanahan (the suit) would have loved. Rinaldo, known more for his fisticuffs and dumb penalties more than anything else, had welcomed Volchenko to South Philly and before you knew it, Max Talbot put the first biscuit in the basket for the orange and black.

Given the Flyers’ predilection for come-from-ahead losses, one did not know whether to cheer or boo the 1-0 lead. As fate would have it, there was only about two minutes of ice time to ponder this dilemma, the rumination broken by a long deflection off the stick of Devils’ defenseman Bryce Salvador, who scored as many goals as I did in the regular season.

Had enigmatic Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov given up a soft goal here? If so, it was nothing compared to what occurred three minutes later: one of the softest, strangest, most puzzling and aggravating goals ever scored against the Flyers. Aptly described by Philadelphia Daily News hockey writer Frank Seravelli as a Bryzaster, I will utilize his description of this atrocity:

 

KIMMO TIMONEN twirled and dished the puck back, deeper into the Flyers’ zone to try and shake a pressuring attacker.

The puck landed on Ilya Bryzgalov’s tape and by the time he could look up, David Clarkson was bearing down hot and heavy. With panic in his eyes, Bryzgalov tried to saucer the puck out of harm’s way.

It was a Bryzaster.

Ultimately, Clarkson’s series-clinching gift – after Bryzgalov’s pass deflected off his outstretched stick and into the net – will be the forgettable, lasting image of the end of the Flyers’ spring dreams.

 

 

Yes, a full 47 minutes and 15 seconds still remained in the game, but Bryzgalov’s own goal (yes, Clarkson got credit) sapped all life from what is usually one of the loudest buildings in the NHL. The Flyers barely made an average-looking Marty Brodeur sweat the rest of the way, and the Devils went on to win 3-1, sending the Flyers to the golf courses instead of North Jersey with momentum and a revved-up Giroux for a Game 6.

But at least the Phillies had that 4-0 lead. The offense seemed to be back at Citizens Bank Park and the crowd even enjoyed a rare sighting of little-used second baseman Pete Orr driving in underachieving (in 2012) John Mayberry, Jr. The Mets got one back in the fourth, and as it turned out, the Phillies, even with the likes of Mayberry and Orr on their side, scored as much as the post-Bryzaster Flyers did the rest of the way. They were done, and left it to slimmed-down Joe, their bullpen and their defense to hold the 4-1 lead. How did that work out…

The top of the seventh inning started well enough, with Blanton retiring two of the first three hitters before spit hit the fans once again. Please just suffice it to say that the Mets scored four runs with two outs to take the lead, aided and abetted by a botched rundown play by Orr. This boneheaded act almost managed to make the Bryzgalov blunder look like a heads-up play. The Phils’ bats never recovered from the turnaround and the Mets would extend the lead to 7-4.

 

It didn’t help the mood of savvy Phillies fans to note that while the Phillies were losing and getting very little pop from left field, Raul Ibanez launched two homers for the Yankees. The Nationals were also losing in Pittsburgh because of a walk-off homer by former Phil (hardly a favorite here) Rod Barajas.

Well, two games were lost, but Philly still had the rest of a basketball game to watch, one in which the young Sixers would be able to win their first playoff series since…well…a long time ago. And who cares that we were doing it with the Bulls’ two best players out of the lineup? (Note: would you rather have Boozer or Deng than Noah? Not me.)

To cut to the chase, what do you say about a game (a 79-74 loss) in which the winning team shot .415 from the floor and made 4-of-11 from the charity stripe? They were hot compared to Philly’s 25-of-78 from the floor (an incomprehensible .321 field-goal percentage), including 2-of-11 from behind the arc. Yes, team leader and first-time All-Star Andre Iguodala showed the way by shooting 4-of-19, and 1-of-6 from from three-point land. I know he’s playing hurt, but did he also share a pre-game strategy discussion  with Ilya Bryzgalov and Pete Orr?

Black Tuesday had ended with one team eliminated, another with two more chances to throw a few in the ocean (Bulls come to Philly tonight for Game 6) and a third that still had another chance at redemption the next night against the rival Mets.

The good news in all this? Cliff Lee, the people’s choice, would be pitching for the first time since he toed the rubber in San Francisco on April 18—a gem in which he threw 10 innings of shutout ball in a game that his team would end up losing 1-0 in 13 innings.

If you don’t recall this oddity, it’s been an extreme example of this early season in a microcosm. Lee, once again, pitched well enough to win last night (two runs on five hits, while striking out six in six innings) and even drove in the first run of the ballgame, but watched in horror as the bullpen yielded eight runs in the final three innings. Lee’s record is 0-1 despite a 2.17 ERA, 0.76 WHIP and a .375 batting average.

 

Weeks like this test one’s resolve as a sports fans and even as writers. But this is Philly: We don’t always win, but we always go all in and we’ll be back imploring our teams to earn us another championship parade, even if these seem to come along with the frequency of Halley’s Comet sightings.

Yes, we’ll bounce back, even if our ex-favorite right fielder now hates our guts enough to threaten to return early from an injury to deny us a shot at another parade. Or something like that. Do I have to explain, or just wait until he steps in the box again versus Killer Cole Hamels?

As always, thank you for reading. Please check out my site, tipofthegoldberg.com and new fan page for more info.

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Philadelphia Phillies Are 0-8 in the Last 8 Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee Starts

All along, the rally cry was, “Don’t worry, as long as the Phillies have Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels at the top of the rotation, all will be OK.” Pfffffft.

That didn’t last very long, did it? 

Halladay got off to a terrific start, winning his first three starts. But since then, for the first time since he’s been in a Phillies uniform, the team has lost four straight games with Roy on the bump. 

Lee, who hasn’t pitched badly while healthy, is still seeking his first win on the season.

More concerning is that the bats really aren’t killing them like they did in the first three weeks of the season. In the first 20 games, the Phillies went 9-11 while averaging 3.2 runs per game. In the last 12 games, they have gone 5-7 while averaging 4.8 runs per game.

This is not an indictment against the performances of Halladay and Lee. 

Without a doubt, they both have pitched well enough to win ballgames during this combined eight-game skid. Lee carries a very impressive 2.17 ERA, while Doc has a 3.28 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. 

But it’s a major concern when the team’s record is 3-8 when two-thirds of its aces are taking the hill. Take away games started by Halladay/Lee, and the Phillies’ record is 11-10.

While the offense is showing signs of life, the bullpen is in absolute shambles. 

Is there really anyone closing out games that Charlie Manuel should have confidence in besides Jonathan Papelbon? 

Even Antonio Bastardo looks like a different pitcher than what he was in 2011. Manuel and pitching coach Rich Dubee aren’t putting him into similar pressure spots as they did last season.

Kyle Kendrick has been a beach ball-throwing torch. Journeyman Chad Qualls started off well but has been getting ripped the last week, and he’s probably miscast in the eighth inning, but who else do they have? 

Jose Contreras has a 8.59 ERA, and opponents are hitting .345 off of him.

So, it’s great to have Halladay/Lee at the top of the rotation, but it’s not enough. The Phillies and GM Ruben Amaro Jr. need to figure out Plan B and quickly. 

When Chase Utley and Ryan Howard return, that’s not going to turn Kendrick and Contreras and Co. into Cy Young. At this point last season, Halladay and Lee already had seven wins between them. That’s more than twice the amount of wins the Phillies have this season when those two take the hill. 

That trend needs to stop for this team to sniff .500.

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NL Worst of the Night: Kyle Kendrick’s Late-Inning Implosion Dooms Phillies

Highlighting a bad performance from the previous night in baseball might seem like a harsh way to start the morning. But look at it this way: If you had a rough night or bad day, here’s someone who may have had it worse.

May I begin by saying how excited I am about today’s “Worst of the Night” post? Because this will be the first time we’ve had a repeat winner. Or loser, as it were.

There were other candidates from Wednesday night in the National League. Matt Kemp went 0-for-5 in the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ 6-2 win over the San Francisco Giants. That dropped his batting average back below .400 after briefly getting over that mark for a couple of games.

Also, Donnie Murphy of the Miami Marlins went 0-for-6 and left five men on base in a 5-3 victory over the Houston Astros. That’s probably the last time Ozzie Guillen decides to give Omar Infante the night off. (Infante ended up with the game-winning, two-run single in the 12th inning.)

And we should have some sort of team designation for the Milwaukee Brewers, who wasted an outstanding effort from Zack Greinke. Greinke allowed just two hits over eight shutout innings, also striking out 11 Cincinnati Reds. Yet in the ninth, John Axford allowed three two-out hits, resulting in two runs and an eventual 2-1 loss.

Most nights, any of these three would be excellent candidates for NL Worst of the Night honors. (Though I’d probably lean toward giving Kemp or Murphy a pass since their teams won, to be honest.)

But Kyle Kendrick‘s late-inning meltdown in the Philadelphia Phillies‘ 10-6 loss to the New York Mets makes him our returning champion.  

Kendrick took over for Cliff Lee in the seventh, with the Phillies holding a 4-2 lead. He then lit himself on fire (figuratively speaking, of course), putting the first four batters he faced on base.

A leadoff walk to Kirk Nieuwenhuis began the steamroller. That was followed by an RBI double from Justin Turner. Ike Davis, who hasn’t hit anything lately, then hit another double. Up next, Kendrick walked the No. 8 hitter, Rob Johnson, to load the bases. 

Alertly sensing that Kendrick might be vulnerable, Mets manager Terry Collins pinch-hit Lucas Duda for Tim Byrdak. Kendrick then hit Duda with a pitch, bringing in the game-tying run. 

You can see the hit-by-pitch here.

The Mets took the lead on an RBI groundout from Andres Torres. But Kendrick briefly calmed the flames by getting Daniel Murphy to hit into an inning-ending double play. Hey, the sinker worked!

Amazingly, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel sent Kendrick out for the eighth inning. Still reeking of gasoline, he proceeded to serve up back-to-back doubles to David Wright and Scott Hairston, giving the Mets a 6-4 lead. That ended Kendrick’s night.

To sum up, Kendrick faced nine batters and got three outs. (He arguably only really got two batters out, since one hit into a double play.) He allowed five runs (Hairston later scored on a home run by the suddenly revitalized Davis), four hits, two walks and hit one batter. 

That implosion earned Kendrick NL Worst of the Night honors for the second time in two weeks. I’m sure he doesn’t want congratulations for that.

By the way, if you’re keeping count (and someone has to), Kendrick has allowed 16 runs in his last 15 innings.

During that stretch, he’s given up 27 hits, three homers and six walks. His past four appearances have tagged him with three losses and a blown save. I have no idea if we’ll be handing any Worst of the Year designations, but if so, Kendrick has to be one of the early favorites for that award.  

Again, don’t congratulate him. 

 

Follow @iancass on Twitter

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Who Will Be a More Successful Big Leaguer: Domonic Brown or Trevor May?

The Phillies have had their share of farm system success stories over the years.  Pat Burrell, Cole Hamels, Ryan Howard, Scott Rolen, Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley all rose through the minors to become successful and productive Phillies at some point. 

On the other hand, there have been some guys who just didn’t pan out, or never really got their shot with the Phils.  Gavin Floyd (with the Phillies at least), Greg Golson, Scott Mathieson, Mike Costanzo, etc. 

The verdict is still out on uber-middle-relief prospect Mike Schwimmer.  JK, he should not be anywhere near a close game, ever.

The Phillies have also had their hits and misses with announcing prospects, like Scott Franzke (not highly rated on Announcing America’s top 100 list; overachieved; the Vance Worley of announcing) and Chris Wheeler (bust, huge bust, please check the Chris Wheeler glossary, it’s hilarious).

Domonic Brown (2011) and Trevor May (2012) have been the Phillies’ top-rated prospects the past two seasons.  While predicting the success of minor league players in the major leagues is far from an exact science, I am going to predict with 100 percent guaranteed accuracy which player will have a more successful big league career. 

Yup.  Just watch me, haters.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Has Cole Hamels Put a Target on His Back?

Let me begin this article by stating I have no personal beef with Cole Hamels.

I did not particularly agree with his decision to plunk Bryce Harper. I’m not sure how hazing a 19-year-old rookie with a pitch in the back is “old school,” but at least he didn’t aim up and in. Nonetheless, it’s over and I feel indifference towards the situation.

Unfortunately for Mr. Hamels, the MLB may not agree.

We already know the commissioner’s office does not. Hamels’ role in Sunday night’s plunking fiasco—featuring his left arm and the Nationals’ prize prospect—was suspect from the start. Then, he admitted to the media that he did it on purpose.

There are two opinions on his admittance. One says that he was being a man and straight up about the situation. The other says that it was obvious he did it on purpose, but admitting it is just being a glutton for punishment.

Well, come Monday, Bud Selig wasted no time in handing Hamels a five-game suspension. Not that it matters, because those things are like slaps on the wrist these days and seem to mean nothing to players.

Unfortunately for Hamels, the MLB police their own and he may have just put a target on his back.

Cole Hamels, the 28-year-old component of the “Big Three,” is no stranger to controversy.

Things started at the beginning of his 2008 season, in which he made several statements about being underpaid. At the end of that season he made his infamous “the Mets have been choke artists” proclamation. In the 2009 World Series, Hamels told the media “I can’t wait for it to end” after his Game 3 start.

So, here we are adding one more Cole Hamels controversy to the record books. While those other incidents weren’t necessarily posh, they didn’t involve player safety. Plunking Bryce Harper however, did.

The MLB is already sounding off on the incident. Mike Rizzo, general manager of the Washington Nationals—and founder of the Bryce Harper fan club—has already made his not so PG view of the situation known. Early Tuesday, long time skipper Jim Leyland also called out Hamels.

There’s already been retaliation on the field as well. Jordan Zimmerman, who was starting for the Nationals in Sunday’s game, made sure to send a wayward pitch Hamels’ way during his first at bat.

With Hamels constantly finding himself in these situations, it may be time the rest of the league does something about it. At the least, I doubt the back and forth between the Phillies and Nationals is over.

While the Marlins are as much rivals to the Nationals as they are to the Phillies, who can forget Ozzie Guillen—the king of MLB controversy—is now in Miami. I wouldn’t be surprised if he sent an errant pitch Hamels’ way in their next series.

Whether or not things will stop here is unknown. Perhaps the rest of the league agrees with Hamels’ sentiments towards Harper. Perhaps they don’t. All I know is that things have suddenly gotten much more interesting in the NL East.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Predicting ETA of Top 25 Prospects to MLB

Even after struggling through the first month of 2012, things are going pretty well for the Philadelphia Phillies right now. After all, it wasn’t all too long ago that the Phillies were an annual last-place club, stuck in the cellar for what seemed like an eternity.

It was during that time period when prospect watching became somewhat of a hobby for diehard Phillies fans. When the product on the field at the MLB level was garbage, fans craved updates on the farm system. They wanted to know which players they could invest their hopes in for the future.

Fans yearned for the day when slick-fielding, sweet-swinging second baseman Chase Utley would play in the MLB. They wanted to see the left-handed starter with the filthy changeup—Cole Hamels—or the massive first baseman with incredible power that unseated Jim Thome—Ryan Howard.

Things are a bit different in today’s game. Scouting has become a science, and the Phillies don’t have many blue-chip prospects. However, there are certainly some reinforcements on the way for this club. Let’s take a look at some of the Phillies’ top prospects and just when they could be playing in the MLB.

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Roy Halladay Arm Issues: Is Something Wrong with the Phillies Ace?

Roy Halladay is a cyborg. That’s according to San Francisco Giants closer (and a man guilty of letting go of his 15 minutes of fame) Brian Wilson. Of anything that Wilson’s said, it’s one of his most accurate statements. Doc is like the Energizer bunny—he just keeps on going.

However, his start to the 2012 season has been a bit worrisome for some fans. During spring training, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reported that Halladay’s velocity had significantly decreased compared to prior years. Not only did Halladay hear about it, he fired back, calling it “poor reporting at the extreme end of poor reporting.” Go figure.

A week ago, though, ESPN’s Buster Olney tweeted about Halladay’s average fastball velocity from 2009 to the present, noting how it’s declined year after year. In addition, he also mentioned Halladay’s swing-and-miss percentage, which has also rapidly gone downhill over the same span. Here’s the tweet if you’d like to see it:

 

Roy Halladay avg. fastball velocity, from 2009-12: 91.7, 92.1, 91.6, 89.9. Missed swing pct. from 2009-2012: 15.7, 10.8, 11.4, 4.8.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) May 2, 2012

 

Does this call for concern? Possibly. And that’s exactly what we’ll try to determine.

After examining all the potential factors, we’ll make a decision: is there really something wrong with Roy Halladay’s arm?

Read on.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Did Cole Hamels Just Ignite a New Rivalry with Nationals?

It was surprising to hear Cole Hamels admit to hitting the Washington Nationals‘ up-and-coming star Bryce Harper intentionally on Sunday night. 

Hamels received a five-game suspension and an undisclosed fine. The punishment really doesn’t mean much. The Phillies confirmed Hamels will only miss one start and it will be pushed back to Sunday against the Padres. 

Given the National League East standings and other past events, trouble could be on the horizon when these two teams meet again. 

For Phillies fans, the Nationals have left a bad taste in the Phillies’ mouths that had not previously been there. When the Montreal Expos moved to D.C., Phillies fans welcomed the idea. A two-hour drive down I-95 meant they could see their team play more games in person. It gave Phillies fans a great excuse to visit the nation’s capital. 

For a period of time, Nationals Park was coined Citizens Bank Park South (CBP South for short) by Phillies fans. The Nationals were not a contender, while the Phillies were in pursuit of another World Series title. Attendance still isn’t where the Nationals brass would like it to be. Once the Nationals have a little success, more people will start going to games. A large population of longtime Baltimore Orioles fans in the area have contributed to the low attendance at Nationals games as well.

The first inkling of a rivalry was when Jayson Werth signed a seven-year $126 million contract with the Nationals after the 2010 season. Werth said he believed in the Nationals future and that it had a lot to do with him signing there. That future included Stephen Strasburg and Harper. 

The new “Natitude” at Nationals Park appears to be gaining momentum following last Sunday night’s nationally televised game on ESPN.  Part of the “Natitude” campaign was to not sell tickets to Phillies fans until the day of the game if there were any tickets remaining. By the looks of things, it looked like that wasn’t a problem for Phillies fans.  

A second player on the 2008 World Series winning team has taken the train south to play for the Nationals. Brad Lidge signed a one-year deal with the Nationals in January. It seems like just a small point right now. Lidge has continued to battle injuries that have plagued him to near minimal success since the 2008 season. He had surgery Tuesday morning and is scheduled to begin throwing again in three weeks.  

Now the Hamels incident has opened the public’s eye to a rivalry that only had a seed planted but hadn’t shown any promise of becoming a bitter rivalry. 

It even got the Nationals’ GM Mike Rizzo in a little bit of trouble with his comments. Rizzo was fined an undisclosed amount for basically calling Hamels a “fake.” Maybe that will add to the tension building between the two teams.

Oddly enough, Hamels could have been a possible target for the Nationals to bolster their lineup this winter. Right now, if Rizzo had the option to sign Hamels to a long-term deal in free agency, he probably wouldn’t. Whether or not the benches clear, Hamels could still wind up in Washington. Rizzo could see this as another opportunity to stick it to the Phillies and their fans. It will all depend on how Rizzo feels months from now.

According to Philly.com, Hamels didn’t want to go any further in the saga when given a chance to do so Tuesday when he talked to the media.

“I’m just going to let it go,” he said.

The Nationals or Harper may not be willing to let it go. 

Now Jayson Werth has expressed some hatred for some of the fans who once loved him in an email to the Washington Post. What Werth just doesn’t realize is that he has kind of done the same thing as a bride leaving the groom at the altar. 

There is a chance for the benches to be clearing the next time these teams meet. The best part about that is it won’t be a long wait. The Nationals and Phillies will meet again at Citizens Bank Park in about two weeks.

The whole incident does raise an interesting question. Could it be possible that Philadelphia fans will look at Bryce Harper similarly to the way they look at Sidney Crosby?

Follow me on Twitter: @Rob_Gsinger25 

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Phillies Trade Rumors: Team Must Stick with Placido Polanco in Weak Trade Market

Placido Polanco may be struggling, but the Phillies are going to have to stick with him for a while because there aren’t any better options on the market.

According to The Boston Globe‘s Nick Cafardo, the Phillies “insist they do not have their radar out” for someone to take over for the struggling Polanco, but you never know what could be happening behind the scenes.

It’s hard to believe there’s much happening, though, with very few options on the trade market at the moment.

There is much more risk to shopping for a Polanco replacement than there is to keeping him, particularly since it’s unlikely Philadelphia will find anyone better right now, and it’s very likely this offense will regain its form once its injured stars return.

By looking for a replacement, the Phillies risk alienating their player, and if they get stuck with him for the rest of the season after that—well, that never turns out well. (See: Exhibit A, Nomar Garciaparra, Boston Red Sox.)

The last thing the Phillies need at the moment is another blunder or morale buster, given the recent fiasco stemming from Cole Hamels’ intentional plunking of Bryce Harper. It’s true that baseball is a business, but the organization can’t afford to lose the trust of a player who, for the last two years, has been a pretty productive component of their offense.

There were already rumblings back in the winter meetings in December that Polanco was on the trade block. Though the team insisted that they were “not shopping” their third baseman, there were rumors that the Phillies would be open to trading him if they couldn’t re-sign Jimmy Rollins and therefore needed to add another bat, according to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark.

Is Polanco’s current slump related to dissatisfaction with the team? Probably not. But it has been known to happen before.

This season is shaping up to be the worst full season of Polanco’s career. He’s currently hitting .270 with zero homers, six RBI and just five extra-base hits in 100 at-bats. At 36 years old, he boasts a career-low .305 on-base percentage (not counting his rookie year, when he played in just 45 big league games).

And the Phillies look bad. They’re in dead last in the NL East, two games below .500, five back from Washington‘s lead. But do they need help, or do they just need to wait for things to regulate?

For now, the team is opting for the latter. A Phillies official told Cafardo, “We’re just trying to hold our heads above water until we get our guys back.”

It’s a given that the Phillies need a productive Polanco now, while Chase Utley and Ryan Howard are out of the lineup and recovering from injuries. But until the heavy hitters are back, there’s no way to know what the complexion of this team will look like down the long stretch of the baseball season, and in the meantime, Polanco can’t be expected to shoulder the offensive load alone. 

It’s not fair to make Polanco the scapegoat in a lineup that is missing two of its most productive members. It’s early—far too early to be panicking. Even Albert Pujols looks like a scrub right now, and no one’s doubting that he’s going to snap out of his offensive funk.

Polanco is a career .300 hitter, an All-Star and a Gold Glover who has the experience and the ability to turn things around. There’s plenty of time left. And if the Phillies start shopping and it leaks—which it always does—they’ll find themselves in a tricky situation they might not be able to salvage.

Having a struggling third baseman is much easier than having a bitter, angry one.

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