Philadelphia Phillies’ Current Offense Is Being Underrated

The Philadelphia Phillies‘ offense has been dogged and maligned all season long.

With the knowledge of the injuries to Ryan Howard and Chase Utley, many questioned how this team would score enough runs to win games. The reality is that the Phillies and their offense have been just fine, all things considered.

Granted, there have been injuries to their pitchers as well, but at 27-25 after Wednesday night’s 10-6 victory over the Mets, the bullpen is what has let the Phillies down.

Prior to the series-clinching victory over New York, Philadelphia ranked ninth in pitching (ERA) and seventh in batting (runs) in the National League.

This is not what Ruben Amaro envisioned in building the 2012 Philadelphia Phillies.

Charlie Manuel is an offensive kind of guy, but even he knows the Phils‘ success is dependent on their pitching being great and their hitting being good enough.

Experts and fans alike question Philadelphia’s offense seemingly everyday, but the stats tell a completely different story.

Over the course of the first third of the season, the offense has been average. Below is a look at the offensive stats and their rank in the National League:

Runs: 211 (7th); BA: .265 (3rd); OBP: .318 (8th); SLG: .392 (9th).

Considering they’re missing their third and fourth hitters in their regular lineup, the Phillies are more than meeting expectations, they are exceeding them.

What is more telling is how the Phightins have fared at the plate in the month of May. 

Let’s give the offense the benefit of the doubt for the first month. They knew there would be adjustments, and it has taken some time for certain players to get comfortable in new roles and for Manuel to even find them a consistent spot on the team.

On this last day of the month, the Phillies are second in runs in the NL with 135, only to St. Louis. That’s an average of 4.8 runs per game. They’re third in batting average and on-base percentage: .279 and .337 respectively. They’re even sixth in slugging at .428 without their two best power hitters.

It’s safe to say that this offense has had a great month.

We know this isn’t the Phillies of the mid-2000’s. And without Howard and Utley, this is a team that plays small-ball. That means that hitting for average and getting on base are big. The stats show that they have done that fairly well.

What is even more imperative than normal in an offense like this is getting the clutch hits.

So far this season, Phillies hitters are sixth in the NL with runners in scoring position, hitting .257. Not too shabby. Even better is their average with runners on second or third and two out: .267, second only to the Mets.

So while your initial instinct will be to scrutinize every strikeout with a runner on third and less than two outs, or every fly ball out when a grounder to the right side will move a runner over, remember that you’re only focusing on it more because everyone’s telling you to. 

Let’s step back a minute and digest the numbers.

Now relax and let this team do its thing.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Is Carlos Ruiz Starting a Push Towards the Hall of Fame?

Philadelphia Phillies‘ catcher Carlos Ruiz has long been one of the most talented under-the-radar players in all of baseball. 

Often overshadowed by Yadier Molina of the St. Louis Cardinals and Brian McCann of the Atlanta Braves, Carlos Ruiz has rarely received the attention he deserves.

People around the Phillies knew that “Chooch” was special. But not until the Phillies acquired pitching talents like Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Roy Oswalt, along with Cole Hamels, did the national media begin to recognize.

Perhaps the praise these pitching greats gave Ruiz helped the media and the casual fan pay closer attention. Perhaps the biggest plug for Ruiz was when Roy Halladay threw a perfect game and publicized how important Chooch was and is to his performance.

Via Phillies.com: “I can’t say enough about the job that Ruiz did tonight, really. I felt like he was calling a great game up until the fourth or fifth, and at that point, I just felt like I’d let him take over and go with him. He did a great job. Like I said, it was kind of a no-brainer for me. I’d just go out, see the glove and hit it.”

Chooch was then on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

I’m not sure I know who is the better defensive catcher between Yadier Molina and Carlos Ruiz. But I do know that if it weren’t for Molina’s long-standing “acceptance” by the media as the best defensive catcher, before Ruiz really came into his own, this would have been much more of a debate.

I mean, I would think Ruiz is deserving of at least one gold glove at this point.

Chooch had always been known as a guy who would bring it defensively, and anything at the plate would be a bonus.

But Ruiz became one of the more clutch batters for the Phillies, especially in the playoffs. And we all know how much postseason lure can catapult a player in the eyes of fans and media. His overall numbers in the playoffs aren’t spectacular, .254 average with a .380 OBP though. But he showed what he could do in the Phillies’ run to the World Series in 2009, batting .341 with a .491 OBP.

That postseason undoubtedly invigorated his career from the plate.

In the 2010 regular season, Carlos Ruiz had a career year. He hit .302, got on base at a .400 clip and he added 53 RBIs from the bottom of the order.

If you thought that was the best he had in him, think again.

It may be early, but a third of the way through the 2012 season and Ruiz has an average of .366 and OBP of .419, and he already has 7 homers and 29 RBIs.

It’s safe to say he will play in this year’s All-Star Game.

As of now, Ruiz’s career average is .272, and that is certainly on the rise.

Of the 14 catchers in the Hall of Fame, Ruiz’s average is already above four of them. Let’s guess that he finishes his career hitting .282. He would have a better average than half of them.

Obviously this is not the only criteria, but it’s good for reference in terms of where he stands in a position that is given a pass on hitting because of the rigors of being behind the plate.

The man may be 33 years-old, but it seems like he’s got plenty left and his offense sure isn’t on the decline.

Thanks to Molina, he may not have the hardware and he may not have the accumulation of All-Star appearances. But if Molina is a Hall of Famer, and I think he is, we’ve got to give Ruiz a look too.

It’s a long shot, but he’s got a chance.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Roy Halladay’s Injury and 5 Reasons the Phils Will Manage

Philadelphia Phillies ace Roy Halladay thought there was no reason to worry. Everything that was happening was precautionary. Phillies fans were still holding their breath, but let a little bit of air out to hear that everyone in and around the team thought everything would be OK.

Turns out they aren’t, according to FOXSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal.

“#Phillies: Halladay will be shut down for 3 weeks with strained lat (shoulder). Out 6 to 8 weeks,” he wrote on Twitter.

After Philadelphia was led to believe that things would OK, this news comes as a shock.

The knee-jerk reaction is to panic, but I’m going to give you five reasons why the Phillies will survive this injury.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Chase Utley Should Be Traded

Philadelphia Phillies fans love Chase Utley. He is the exact type of player that Philadelphia sports fans want to represent their teams. Utley is obviously very talented, always gives it his all and he’s a flat-out winner.

Unfortunately, it is in the best interest of the Phillies organization to move their Hall of Fame bound second baseman. 

Before I hear “Rabble! Rabble! Rabble!” Hear me out.

Believe me, Utley is and has always been one of my favorite players. Beyond the reasons mentioned above, Philadelphians, myself included, love No. 26 because he’s old school, tough as nails and loves getting dirty.

But despite all of the bad problems Philadelphia has been dealing with recently, there seems to be at least one good problem that the Phillies have: Freddy Galvis is playing exceptional baseball.

As I mentioned in my previous Phillies article, the team will have some big decisions to make when Utley is healthy and ready to play on a regular basis.

I have received a number of comments on that article with some ideas on how to keep Freddy Galvis with the Phillies, as opposed to sending him to play in the minors.

The general consensus seems to be that Phillies fans don’t want to see Galvis get demoted. My poll results confirm this as well. As of this morning, the poll indicated that 89.5 percent of voters don’t think the rookie should be sent to Triple-A upon Utley’s return.

A lot could be inferred from this data. What is undeniable in looking at the results is that Freddy Galvis is a very popular man in Philadelphia.

But so too is Chase Utley. You know the rugged workhorse is going to receive a loud and heartfelt ovation when he digs into the box for the first time at Citizens Bank Park this season.

But the question is, what lineup should the Phillies trot out every game to be the best team? We have to look at both the present (this season) and the future.

The future is clearly Freddy Galvis, whether that is at shortstop or second base. He’s already shown he can be an amazing fielder at both middle infield positions. Philadelphia has the flexibility to play him regularly at either. If Utley, Jimmy Rollins and Placido Polanco are all healthy, Galvis will likely head to Lehigh Valley.

To address the above question, I believe that the Phillies are best suited in both the short and long term to find a way to play the Venezuelan every day.

Unfortunately, that means that one of the three veterans would have to be moved.

Let me break down each of them and their situations. 

Jimmy Rollins is the face of the franchise. Oft compared to Derek Jeter and his situation in New York, J-Roll is a Phillie through and through. My colleague, Ben Larivee, argues that they are not the same in this article, but the fact of the matter is that the odds that the Phillies trade Rollins are next to nothing. 

Rollins is owed $11 million per year (a popular number for Jimmy) through the 2015 season, when he will be 36 years-old. Even if the Phillies did want to move him, I’m not sure any team would be willing to take on that contract for a guy of his age.

I’ve heard a number of Phillies fans call for Placido Polanco to be the one who is moved. Polly is making $6.25 million this season and has a mutual option for $5.5 million for 2013. His contract is definitely favorable, and there’s no doubt that he would be a valuable piece to any club. But he turns 37 in October.

Philadelphia wouldn’t get too much in return for Polanco. Moving him would be done simply to open up a spot for Galvis. But then the question is, who plays third?

I don’t think Charlie Manuel or Philadelphia’s front office want to move Galvis to third, and they certainly wouldn’t want him to learn the position on the fly in the middle of the season. On a sidenote, I think the Phillies would be even less inclined to move him to left field, another notion I’ve heard thrown around.

I’ve also received suggestions that Utley play third or left field. However, he would be a defensive liability, especially at the hot corner. Though he’s a team player, I’m not even sure he would agree to make such a move. 

Utley has played 1,038 games at second base and a microscopic 26 at first base. We all know who is holding down the fort at first for the next century. He’s never played any other position in his nine year career.

Now to the idea of moving Mr. Utley.

Chase Utley is under contract through the 2013 season, making $15 million a year. Not on the cheap. He’s also 33 years-old. In a trade involving Utley, the Phillies would likely need to eat some of his salary. But the fact that he is secured through this season and the next improves his trade value. 

The key to his total value, though, is unquestionably his health. Utley would have to prove that he is healthy and still effective offensively. There’s no doubt that he is one of the best hitting second basemen in the game when 100 percent, but that is a big question mark.

If he comes back and puts up solid numbers to start, teams would definitely be interested if they knew Utley was available.

Given his knee issues, Utley would have the most trade value to a team in the American League, where he would prolong his career by getting time as—or becoming—a Designated Hitter.

A plethora of American League clubs could be suitors for Utley at the trade deadline.

If Philadelphia were able to get prospects, a left fielder and/or relief help in return for Utley, they would solve their cluster in the infield and keep Freddy Galvis in the majors, get younger and free up salary to potentially improve in other areas of need.

I know it’s controversial. I know it would be a huge change, but as hard as it would be to stomach, this is what this Phillies team needs.

Utley is one heck of a baseball player, and every organization would want him to sport their uniform. But he would bring back the most in return and allow that young stud with the baby face to continue to contribute and really develop.

It hurts me to say it, but the Phillies should trade Chase Utley.

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Philadelphia Phillies: How to Handle Freddy Galvis Upon Chase Utley’s Return

It’s crept into the minds of some already; it’s going to creep into the minds of more as each game goes by. When All-Star second basemen Chase Utley returns to the Philadelphia Phillies‘ lineup, what will Charlie Manuel and Ruben Amaro do with Freddy Galvis?

I think in a perfect world the Phillies would find a way to get Galvis in the big league lineup everyday. The more he plays at this level, the better.

But All-Stars with big contracts must play when they are healthy.

Everyone knows the timetable on Utley’s return is about as certain as Hunter Pence is orthodox. So for now, Galvis will continue to play everyday. But what happens when Utley is ready to make his first appearance of the season?

You probably don’t want Galvis to ride the pine; the same goes for Domonic Brown who is still in AAA. But Brown is also in the minors to continue working on things that need to be ironed out—predominately his defense—before he is really major league ready.

Galvis, on the other hand, is already one of the best infielders in the game. Try me if you disagree, but watch this kid play and you’ll immediately see why the Philadelphia organization loves him.

Galvis’ weakness has been his offense; but given his improvement at the plate lately, you can’t really even call it that. Through Thursday’s 10-9 win against the St. Louis Cardinals, Galvis is hitting .250 with 3 HR and 22 RBIs. In the month of May, his batting average is .300 and he has driven in 17.

The 22 year-old Venezuelan is also the only rookie to play in every game this season.

Given his ability to play both shortstop and second base, he could provide the role of utility man. With his prowess at fielding in general, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d be a real solid third baseman as well.

But do the Phillies give him that role?

If they decide to get him work at the hot corner, he could play fairly regularly in spelling Utley, Jimmy Rollins and Placido Polanco—three guys who need rest throughout the season. But it’s not the same as being an everyday player; and I have a feeling they won’t do that.

The most likely scenario is that they send Galvis down to AAA to continue to get consistent at-bats. But I know the Philly phaithful want to continue to chant “Freddy! Freddy!” every time he steps to the plate at Citizens Bank Park.

Unfortunately, they may have to cherish the opportunities they get now. Because once he is sent down, it may be a while before his red hats read “P” and not “LV.”  

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