Phillies Must Become Road Warriors To Win NL East in 2010

In sports, being able to take care of business at home usually separates the bad teams from the good ones. But being able to win on the road is ultimately what separates the good teams from the very best.

It’s no secret that the Phillies’ uncanny ability to consistently win away from home has helped make them of baseball’s best teams in recent years.

Winning on other teams’ home turf has been a staple for this club ever since 2004 and is also a huge reason why they’re three-time defending NL East champions.

The 2007 Phillies won their last SIX games in Shea Stadium against the Mets.

The 2008 Phillies won ALL NINE of their games in Turner Field against the so-called division rival Braves.

The 2009 Phillies averted disaster by starting the season 24-9 on the road, despite beginning the year 13-22 at home.

Yet, it’s been a much different story so far in 2010.

The Phillies are 22-28 in games played outside of Citizens Bank Park.

It gets worse.

This month, the Phillies have lost three-of-four to both the lowly Cubs and Pirates. Remember that Chicago would have swept that four-game set if catcher Geovanny Soto could have just handled that perfect one-hop throw to home plate…

Since starting the season 13-7 on the road by mid-May, the Phillies have lost 21 of their last 30 road games. The last time the Phillies have suffered through that bad of a prolonged stretch on the road was back in 2003, as that team lost 24 of its final 33 road games en route to coughing up the Wild Card on the season’s final week.

But thankfully there’s now a renewed sense of optimism here in 2010, with these Phillies embarking on their next road-stint as both the winners of eight straight and the rightful owners of Mr. Roy Oswalt.

This upcoming six-game road trip against the Nationals and Marlins is a great place for the Phillies to start improving their play away from home. Recently, the Phillies have enjoyed playing in these two cities, as the Phils have gone a combined 16-5 in Miami and Washington since the beginning of 2009.

Twenty-one of the Phillies final 28 road games this season will come against the NL East, so playing well against the division will be pivotal, as usual.

The Phillies will also catch a few lucky breaks this week, as they will not face Nationals’ ace Stephen Strasburg nor Marlins’ ace Josh Johnson. Strasburg is on the 15-day DL while Johnson is slated to pitch the day before the Phillies arrive in Miami.

But winning on the road ain’t easy.

So far this season, 21 of the 30 ML teams have winning records at home, including all four of the Phillies NL East adversaries, but only eight have winning records on the road.

Can the Phillies turn it around away from home? You bet they can. They have the talent, the tradition, and right now they surely have the confidence.

After all, this great era of Phillies baseball has been partially defined by this group’s knack for performing well in enemy territory…especially when it matters most.

The fate of the 2010 Phillies hinges on their ability to start doing it again, and this upcoming trip down the East Coast is the perfect place to start….

 

Phillies Yearly Road Record (Since 2004)

Year                Record              ML Rank

2004                44- 37              Tied 5th

2005                42- 39              Tied 6th

2006                44- 37              Tied 5th 

2007                42- 39              Tied 5th

2008                44- 37              2nd     

2009                48- 33              Tied 1st

2010                   22- 28                 17th      

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Why Cole Hamels Deserves Your Respect…And Some Luck

The text message read: “Hollywood is starting to look like Compton.”

I got that text from a high school friend late on Friday night, April 23: the night Cole “Hollywood” Hamels gave up four home runs in a seven-batter span en route to a 7-4 loss in Arizona.

Apparently Cole didn’t realize the Home Run Derby wasn’t supposed to take place in Phoenix until July 2011.

Anyway, I agreed with the text message’s sentiment, because I, like most Phillies fans, have been pretty pissed off with Cole Hamels at times in the past couple of years.

I haven’t enjoyed hearing Cole whine about pitching in day games (’09 NLDS vs. Colorado). I haven’t enjoyed watching him repeatedly give up two-out, two-strike runs to the opposition. I haven’t enjoyed seeing him pitch like Steve Carlton for five brilliant innings only to see him look like a southpawed Adam Eaton for one, usually fatal, frame.

I haven’t been a Cole Hamels apologist and don’t mean to make excuses for him here. But after doing some statistical research over the last few days, I’ve realized that Cole doesn’t deserve a lot of the flak he’s been given by fans such as myself over the past few seasons. I was wrong.

Is Hamels nothing more than the three-week wonder he was back in October 2008? His win-loss record suggests he is. Since the start of ’08, Hamels has a very pedestrian 31-28 record in 85 starts.

But actually, Cole Hamels has been a pretty unlucky pitcher over the years, and his record could be a lot better than it is had he just a little bit of luck on his side.

Now, what exactly is luck? How can it be quantified? Those questions aren’t exactly easy to answer. So, here are some statistics, and you can make of them what you want.

 

2008: More Than Just the Playoffs

Considering the pitching clinic Cole put on in the postseason, it’s easy to forget just how good he was during the regular year.

Cole had one hell of a season, and his 14-10 win-loss record didn’t tell the whole story. Hamels led the NL in WHIP (1.08) and finished second in innings pitched (227.333), sixth in strikeouts (196), tied for fifth in ERA (3.09), and tied for fourth in quality starts (23).

Meanwhile, the Phils’ prolific offense finished 2008 tied for the second-most runs scored in the national league (799) but continually failed to support its ace. In 2008, Cole Hamels pitched 10 games in which he gave up two earned runs or less and DID NOT get a win. 10!!!

So yeah, he was 14-10. But he could have easily won at least 18 games had the Phillies’ usually reliable offense not let him down.

 

2009: Betrayed by the Bullpen

Remember how the Phillies bullpen had so much trouble closing out games last year? Of course you do, and you probably don’t want to be reminded.

Anyway, Cole was killed by the bullpen more than any other Phillies pitcher. Phillies relievers blew SEVEN potential wins for him. In other words, there were seven games that Hamels left with a lead in which he did not get a win.

So sure, Cole was a disappointment in 2009, but a record of at least 13-11 instead of 10-11 would have definitely been possible had the ‘pen had done its part.

 

2010: NO Run Support…Period

Cole struggled in April, going 2-2 with a 5.28 ERA in his five starts. But since the start of May, Cole has regained his old form.

His record is just 5-5 since the start of May, but his ERA is a fantastic 2.80. Cole is walking more hitters this year than ever before, but his strikeout rate is the highest it’s been since 2007.

He’s given up more than three earned runs just once in his last 15 starts, and he’s pitched at least seven innings in eight of his nine starts. He also has a 1.72 ERA in five July starts…but just one win to show for it.

Everyone acknowledges the fact that Phillies ace Roy Halladay has totally been victimized by a lack of run support in 2010. But guess what: Halladay is actually receiving more run support per game than Hamels (4.07 to 3.64).

 

Conclusion

Mr. Hamels, I don’t have much of a law background. But if you ever need a defense attorney, then well, I just might be your guy. Check out this chart. Hopefully, it’s a point made and a case closed.

 

Average Run Support Per Game (Number of starts in parentheses)

 Cole Hamels    Jamie Moyer    Kyle Kendrick                       

2007    5.24 (28)          5.40 (33)          6.67 (20)                                 

2008    4.72 (33)          5.24 (33)          5.93 (30)         

2009    4.67 (32)          5.05 (25)          —-

2010    3.64 (20)          4.69 (19)          6.14 (19)

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Why Domonic Brown Needs to Stay in the Minors

The script is already written. Now, Phillies management needs to start following it.

Domonic Brown, the Phillies 22 year-old outfielding phenom, is the missing piece the 2010 Phillies need. They need to call him up right now.

Brown will come to the rescue, and once in the Phils’ lineup, his dynamic skillset will immediately help the Phillies win.

His mere presence and youthful flare will also inspire his veteran teammates who have all grown “complacent,” and lead them to their fourth straight NL East division title.  

If only it were all that simple.

Actually, Domonic Brown needs to stay in the minor leagues with the Triple-A affiliate Lehigh Valley IronPigs for the remainder of the 2010 season.

Look, it has nothing to do with me doubting Brown’s abilities or his potential.  And no, it has nothing to do with me believing that Raul Ibanez will somehow rediscover the Lou Gehrig stroke he displayed during the first two months of 2009.

To tell you the truth, Domonic Brown could be ready for the big show right now. He really could be.

But here’s the catch—right now is not the right time to find out if he is.

For over a month, there has been a certain segment of Phillie fans and media members who have wanted to see Domonic Brown replace the offensively stagnant veteran Ibanez as the every day leftfielder. Phils’ management wants Brown to play almost (if not) every day, so calling him up to be a bench player is out of the question.

But promoting Brown would be totally unfair to one man and one man only. No, not Raul Ibanez, but Domonic Brown himself.

If the Phillies were out of the playoff picture, then sure, bringing up Brown could be justified. Of course, that’s not the case. The Phils are treading water just well enough to make us think they still have a chance to compete.

Therefore, bringing Brown up now would put the Phillies’ top prospect in a very difficult, pressure-packed situation.

Thankfully, the Phillies didn’t bring him up weeks ago.

Domonic Brown shouldn’t be asked to work through his growing pains at a time when the Phillies are fighting for their playoff lives.

There’s a reason why, usually, it takes even the most highest-rated prospects months, if not years, to figure out hitting at the major-league level. For every rookie call up who immediately sets the batter’s box ablaze, there are 10 rookies who initially struggle to find their groove. And that’s completely understandable for a young hitter.

For every rookie like Brennan Boesch, there are 10 like Mike Stanton.

Just look at Jason Heyward, the 20-year-old kid in Atlanta who this past spring was getting compared to some of the greatest hitters of all time even before he recorded a single major-league at-bat.

The “Jay-Hey Kid” was all but awarded the NL Rookie of the Year on Opening Day after his first major-league swing produced a screaming laser beam home run that’s still in orbit somewhere almost four months later.

Of course, Heyward’s going to be a star, but he’s also human, especially in his rookie season. Jason’s still having a good rookie campaign, but he’s also experienced some of the typical rookie growing pains that most young hitters struggle through.

Heyward saw his batting average fall from .298 in the end of May to .251 in the end of June. His run production hit a standstill while his strikeout totals exploded before he landed on the 15-day DL at the end of June.

Naturally, the Braves have reported that Heyward’s struggles were attributed to a sore thumb that had bothered him for a month before he went on the DL.

Just perfect, Atlanta. Guess that’s because Hank Aaron and Willie Mays never, ever hit slumps, especially at age 20.       

The bottom line is that it was too much to just assume Heyward would tear up the league from day one, and the same is true in Brown’s case, even after already playing almost a full season of minor-leaque ball in 2010.

This Phillies roster is filled with men who are battle-tested and fully expected to make the difference down the stretch. Domonic Brown is not one of them.

Of course, Brown should get his chance to play at Citizens Bank Park and get some major-league at-bats once Lehigh Valley’s 2010 season ends on Monday, September 6.

He should be one of a few minor-league call-ups. He’ll probably start some games, but he should not be forced into a position where he plays every day in the majors all while potentially in the heat of a pennant race.   

Domonic Brown should not and will not be the Phillies savior this season, but he could be in 2011 and beyond. The Phillies currently have an aging core of terrific but declining players and a farm system that right now doesn’t seem to be loaded with super-star prospects.

Domonic Brown could be the new face of this franchise in three years. He could be its savior.

But the thing is, he doesn’t need that kind responsibility just yet, and much more importantly, he doesn’t deserve the kind of pressure that comes with it.

For more on Domonic Brown, please click here.

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The Phillies Five Best Wins, Five Worst Losses in the First Half of 2010

The All-Star Break is a great time to reflect on your favorite team’s first half of the season: remembering the good times and the bad of the last three months.

So here they are (in my opinion): the five best wins and five worst losses for the Phillies during their first half of 2010.

Let’s start with the five worst losses and finish with the wins, and therefore, a high note. Enjoy!

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2010 MLB All-Star Game: Looking Back at the AL’s 13-Year Unbeaten Streak

The last time the National League beat the American League in an All-Star game was on July 9, 1996: back when Independence Day was the summer movie blockbuster and six months before a young gunslinger named Brett Favre won the Super Bowl with Green Bay.

The game was played at the Philadelphia Phillies’ Veterans Stadium, a ballpark that was leveled by dynamite six-and-a-half years ago. That night, the Philadelphia-suburb native Mike Piazza hit a home run and was the game’s MVP as the NL rolled to a 6-0 victory.

Tuesday in Anaheim, the NL will try again for it’s first victory over the AL since that time…it’s been a while. The AL has dominated since. Let’s take a look…

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Scott Rolen vs. Chase Utley: Comparing Philadelphia’s Villain and Hero

When a 22-year-old third baseman named Scott Rolen burst onto the scene in 1997 by winning the NL Rookie of the Year award, he won over the fans who followed the Phillies during some of the franchise’s darkest days.

For the next four years, the youngster with such potential was compared to one man and one man only: Michael Jack Schmidt, the best third baseman in baseball history and the greatest player ever to wear a Phillies uniform.

Flash forward to 2010: Rolen returned to town this weekend as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, and Phillie fans welcomed him back home in the exact same way they have since 2002.

Scott Rolen was one of the finest players in Phillies history. Too bad he’ll never be remembered like that.

For Rolen, where did it all go so wrong?

After all, Rolen was a fan favorite during most of his time here, the late 1990’s. You know, back in the days of Nintendo 64, back when middle-school dance functions first played Britney Spears and ‘N Sync, and back when Monica Lewinski’s mug appeared on the cover of every magazine in America.

Back then, Rolen was the Phillies’ Chase Utley.

In Philadelphia today, it’s probably baseball blasphemy to mention Scott Rolen and Chase Utley in the same sentence. But, the two players actually have, and had, a lot in common.

For years, Utley has been the best all-around player on a Phillies team loaded with talent. Similarly, Rolen was the best all-around player on his Phillies teams that simply weren’t very good.

Remember what it was like to have Desi Relaford instead of Jimmy Rollins? Matt Beech instead of Cole Hamels? Mickey Morandini instead of Chase Utley?

Utley was, and still is, the absolute right guy at the absolute right time. Scott Rolen, on the other hand, was the absolute right guy at the absolute wrong time. Still, the similarities between the two run deeper than that.

 

1. Five-Tool Ability

They could both hit for average, hit for power, run, field, and throw. When Utley’s at his best, there’s nothing on the field he can’t do. The same could be said of Rolen during his tenure in Philly.

 

2. Gamers

Everyone knows Utley has tremendous on-field tenacity and intelligence. But anyone who watched the Phillies during the lean years knows that Rolen’s style was very similar. Both men played the game as hard as anyone. Scott was a smart base runner who went from first-to-third on a single whenever possible and broke up double plays with hard slides. His hot-corner defense was pretty good too….

 

3. Never A Quote Machine

Scott wasn’t a talker. Intel about his non-baseball activities was always confidential. Scott never seemed like a vocal clubhouse leader. Then again, neither has Chase Utley. Chase lets his play on the field do the talking. Rolen did the same. Has Utley ever given a real passionate quote over the years? Well, there was one….’08 World Series parade?

 

4. Chick Magnet

Yep. They flocked for the Scott Rolen jersey long before Pat Burrell, Jayson Werth, or Cole Hamels appeared on the radar. The babes who at one point held up “Scotty’s a Hottie” signs at the Vet eventually converted to “Burrell’s Girls” a few years later.

Of course, Chase is pretty popular with the women, too. But Rolen’s female fanbase was even more impressive since a Phillies game during the late ‘90s wasn’t exactly considered the unparalleled social hotspot that it is today for people 15 to 25.

 

What’s Done Is Done. But It’s Still Sad

Of course, the Phillies did their best to re-sign Rolen in March 2002, but Scott had feuded with management in the past year and was desperate to leave his losing team in favor of a serious contender.

Phillie fans didn’t like that.

Rolen turned down the Phils long-term contract offer. Through the entire first half of the 2002 season, the Philadelphia fanbase booed him before every at-bat and after every out he made.

The man who had been the Phillies most beloved player for six seasons was suddenly their most hated.

Think the fans were hard on Donovan McNabb? He had it easy by comparison.

When Rolen was traded to the Cardinals at the ’02 deadline, he spoke of St. Louis as “Baseball Heaven” and criticized the Philly fanbase. Considering the way he was treated over his final four months in town, could you really fault Rolen for saying what he said?

In Philadelphia today, Rolen is known as a malcontented mercenary who hated everything about the fans and the city.

Will Philadelphia ever welcome back Scott Rolen? Ever? Probably not.

Just don’t forget that during Bill Clinton’s second term in office there were pretty much only two reasons to watch a Phillies game. 1) To hear the great Harry Kalas. 2) To watch Philadelphia’s young third baseman do his thing….

A lot has changed in Philadelphia over the years, but one thing hasn’t. To this day, Scott Rolen is still compared to one man and one man only. But it isn’t Chase Utley, and it sure as hell ain’t Michael Jack Schmidt anymore:

It’s J.D. Drew.

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2010 NL All-Star Roster: Were the Right Philadelphia Phillies Chosen?

In answer to the headline question: yes.

Three Phillies are going to the mid-summer classic in Anaheim. But are the right three guys going? Should there even be three Phillies going in the first place?

Those are appropriate questions, but as it turned out, manager Charlie Manuel and company made all the right calls when selecting the deserving Phillies. Here’s why…

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That’s My Roy: Halladay’s Most Impressive 2010 Stats

Even though his win-loss record through 17 starts in 2010 is just 9-7, Roy Halladay is having one hell of a season. Hopefully that will be a little more clear after looking through this slide.

By the way, he’s more than twice as deserving of a spot on the NL All-Star Team than Jamie Moyer.

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The Philadelphia Feud: Jamie and Asher Debate the Phillies and More

Asher Chancey and I are both Featured Columnists covering the Philadelphia Phillies for Bleacher Report.

As we quickly learned upon meeting one another and becoming acquainted with each other’s perspectives on the Phillies and sports in general, there is very little we agree on.

From Ryan Howard to the Phillie Phanatic, to Mike Schmidt to Richie Ashburn, ask these two guys a question, and chances are we’ll disagree.

In honor of our bipolar views on the world of sports, we present the second installment of The Philadelphia Feud, a weekly feature in which we face off to debate hot topics from the Phillies, the NL East, Major League Baseball, and the world of sports.

Away we go.

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Secret Agent Utley: Is Chase Utley Playing Through an Injury…Again?

Let’s forget for a moment that Chase Utley is one of the most popular athletes on the planet.

Let’s imagine he’s a fictional character on Fox’s just-ended TV series, 24—and that he’s withholding some kind of information.

Mr. Utley being interrogated by government agent Jack Bauer?

Well, Chase would prove to be one tough nut for Jack to crack. To the public eye, Utley has always appeared the master of stoicism. No emotion. Totally even-keel all the time.

If Chase has a weakness, he never lets on. If Chase feels pain, he never admits it. If Chase has a secret, well, then good luck trying to get it out…or flush it out, choke it out, burn it out, or cut it out, Jack.

Yeah, that Chase Utley is one tough guy to read…or break.

He’s also a gamer, and never one for making excuses. But his struggles at the plate this season have led this writer to suspect that Chase could be suffering from an injury that he is choosing to bury from the press.

Seems like Utley also has a pretty high tolerance for pain.

Of course, this is all speculation. My next conversation with Chase will be my first ever. But of all the Phillies stars who have struggled in the past three weeks, Utley’s shortcomings are nearly impossible to rationalize.

Ryan Howard has always been a perennial slow-starter. Jayson Werth has certainly shown that he is not the $20 million per-year performer everyone insisted he was just five weeks ago. Raul Ibanez has hit like Raul Mondesi’s grandmother for the past calendar year now.

But Utley, the Phillies’ best all-around player and most consistent performer for the past five years, has been this impotent cluster of Phillies’ weakest link. And his struggles are by far the most concerning.

Chase hasn’t been himself for the better part of this year. As Jack Bauer likes to say, “something’s not right.”

Through June 10, 2010, Utley has a .262 AVG, 10 HR, and 26 RBI. Through June 10 last year, he was hitting .303 with 15 HR and 41 RBI. His 2010 slugging percentage (.520) and OPS (.862) are each his lowest since he became a starter back in 2005.

Utley, like most of his teammates, has been in a total freefall for the past month. After hitting .315 through May 15, Chase is hitting .171 (13-for-76) with just ONE home run and FOUR RBI.

Now, to be fair, some of Utley’s lack of production can be attributed to Placido Polanco missing nine games and Jimmy Rollins only playing in 12.

By the way, shortstop-sub Wilson Valdez has walked ONCE this season and hit into NINE double plays. But let’s not talk about Wilson.

Anyway, if Chase’s struggles were caused by a mechanical problem, it’s likely it would have been corrected by now. Everyone says Utley watches as much film and works as hard in between games as anybody.

On the other hand, if Utley is hiding an injury, it wouldn’t be the first time.

Throughout the second half of 2008, Utley continually dismissed the notion that he had a hip injury even though Phillies’ front office personnel suggested otherwise. “I feel like I do every year at this time,” told the Philadelphia Inquirer on Sept. 18, 2008. Chase wound up having hip surgery during the offseason. 

As far as we know, Utley didn’t win up playing through any injuries last season, but his teammate Brad Lidge sure did.

Lidge spent most of last June on the DL, but pitched through elbow and knee ailments throughout the rest of the season and postseason. After the World Series, Lidge finally admitted he had never been fully healthy in 2009, partially explaining his 7.21 ERA and 11 blown saves during the year.

Lidge in ‘09, just like Utley in ‘08, was a real trooper. But acknowledging his ailments at a far earlier date may have benefited both him and his team.  

There’s nothing the Phillies need more than a healthy and productive Chase Utley. Because as the listless offensive performances pile up with alarming regularity, the Philly fanbase has only been able to say one thing, the same thing agent Jack Bauer likes to say when things aren’t going too well for him:

“Damn it!”

 

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