The Greatest Philadelphia Phillies Hitting Pitchers of All Time

This year the Phillies can attribute a lot of their success to the seemingly never-ending array of aces that they trot out to the mound. Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Roy Oswalt and even Vance Worley have pitched this team to the top of not only their division but the entire major leagues.

While the rotation’s success on the mound was nearly a given, I’ve been pleasantly surprised on a number of occasions when the pitchers have helped themselves at the plate. It might not be much but any contributions a pitcher can make at the plate to help himself are huge. Which got me to thinking about Phillies pitchers both past and present that carried a big stick and actually knew how to use it. So I bring to you this list of the 10 greatest Phillies hitting pitchers of all time.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Does Domonic Brown Deserve a September Call-Up?

The Philadelphia Phillies once considered Domonic Brown to be untouchable, but now he may be unwanted. Brown’s struggles on the field have put him in a position where he might not even have a spot on the Phillies’ expanded roster.

If you’re unfamiliar with the expanded roster rules, then here’s a quick rundown for you: Teams are comprised of a 40-man roster and for the majority of the season—from April to August. Teams can only use 25 of those players to put together their lineup. But when September rolls around, teams are free to use their full 40-man roster during games.

This is when you typically see teams reward some of their top prospects with Major League playing time. So, when Domonic Brown was sent down to triple-A Lehigh Valley after the Hunter Pence trade, most people assumed that when September rolled around Brown would be called back up almost immediately.

Well, in honor of college football starting this week, let me hit you with a little Lee Corso and say, “Not so fast my friend!”

The first thing holding back any September call-ups is the fact that the Lehigh Valley IronPigs have a week left in their season and are right in the middle of a playoff race. This might seem stupid in the sense that minor-league teams are there to facilitate the needs of major league teams, but in this case I get it.

The Phillies have a comfortable lead in the NL East, and this being the IronPigs’ fourth year of existence, it is the first time they’ve even had a winning season. Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer recently interviewed Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr, and when asked about any minor league call-ups that the team might make, Amaro replied, “We’ll let them play out the season there and see how it goes—unless we have any urgent needs, which right now I don’t think we do.”

If you were wondering about the specifics of the situation, the IronPigs have four games left in their season and are two games back in their division, while also being tied with the Braves‘ triple-A squad in the wild-card race.

But even when that situation plays itself out, the question will still remain: has Brown’s play on the field earned him a spot on the roster? There is no question that Brown, who was Baseball America’s No. 1 prospect in 2010, has all the physical tools to be able to contribute something to this team. The problem is that, ever since being sent down to Lehigh Valley, Brown has struggled mightily, hitting only .217 in August.

Things really took a turn for the worse on Monday when the IronPigs were playing a doubleheader at home. Brown didn’t have a single hit in six at-bats and struck out four times. As if that wasn’t bad enough, he also made several mistakes in the field, misjudging several fly balls and flat out dropping a routine pop up.

It’s one thing to see a player struggle with a position change, even one as seemingly simple as switching from right field to left field. But Brown’s struggles have been compounded with what appears to be a lack of hustle and competitiveness, which actually resulted in him being booed in recent games.

The one saving grace for Dom Brown is the fact that he’s got the skipper on his side. As reported by Matt Gelb, earlier this week when asked about Brown, Charlie Manuel said, “I would definitely recommend him coming back. To us, he’s still a big prospect. We look at him as a guy who has a chance to play for us. There’s no sense in why we shouldn’t bring him back.”

Though, later that same day, Amaro said, “I think he kind of needs to get away,” insinuating that it might be best to send Brown home once the triple-A season ends so he can clear his mind.

While Amaro might be higher up on the chain of command, I think he’ll likely trust Manuel to decide who he wants on his bench. Even with his struggles in the field and at the plate, Brown would be one of the fastest guys on the bench and could help in pinch-running situations. Plus, with the whole 33 games in 31 days schedule, I’m sure Manuel can get Brown a few at-bats to try to break out of his slump and regain a little of his confidence.

In the end, I think bringing back Domonic Brown is absolutely the right move. The risk is minimal and the reward could be substantial. Besides, if he’s not inspired to play better and give his maximum effort while being surrounded by this group of Phillies, then maybe he’s doomed to be one of those athletically gifted players who just can’t put it together on the field.

As a Phillies fan, I’m hoping that the kid figures it out, because he’s got the kind of skills that could really come in handy in a pinch—hit that is.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Ryan Howard Gets Hot Thanks to Hunter Pence’s Protection

The talk was endless. The question was pondered ad nauseam. Who could possibly fill the void behind Ryan Howard and give him the necessary protection to put up the impressive numbers that we’ve seen in previous years.

Ben Francisco? Nope.

Raul Ibanez? Not now, not ever.

Shane Victorino? He was good but his skills are better suited elsewhere in the lineup.

Enter Hunter Pence, the two time all-star right fielder with a career average around .290 to go along with three straight seasons of 25 home runs.

Since Hunter “The Protector” Pence arrived in Philadelphia on July 30, he’s batted .327 with three home runs and 11 RBI. Those excellent stats, combined with his solid defense and infectious hustle, have made him a perfect fit for this team and this city.

But his greatest contribution to the Phightins just might be his affect on Ryan Howard.

While Pence’s stats since his arrival have been great, Howard’s have been even better. In the 14 games since Hunters debut, Howard is batting .333 with six home runs and 17 RBI. In only half a month’s time he has hit as many home runs as he did in any other month this year.

I wondered if this was due to pitchers actually pitching Howard differently because of his new-found protector, or if just the knowledge of having a proven hitter behind him let Howard relax and swing the bat better.

The truth is it’s a tough question to answer, and in all likelihood it’s some combination of the two. Nevertheless, I strapped on my diving gear and plunged into the deep unknown abyss that is plate discipline statistics.

We’ll start with Zone Percentage, which is the overall percentage of pitches a batter sees inside the strike zone. In July it was 35.1 percent, not surprisingly the lowest on the team. Since Pence joined the Phils that number has jumped up to 42.9 percent, meaning Howard is definitely getting more pitches to hit.

To go along with that, let’s take a look at Z-Swing Percentage, which is the percentage of pitches a batter swings at inside the strike zone. In July it was 68.5 percent; so far in August it’s 75.3 percent, so Howard has seemingly relaxed at the plate and is now swinging more when he sees good pitches.

I realize it’s still somewhat of a small sample size at this point and Ryan Howard has shown a tendency to come on strong towards the end of a season, but I love the way that he and Hunter Pence have meshed in this lineup.

So, will the dynamic duo continue to dominate dumbfounded pitchers? Is this lineup poised to be one of the best in the majors? Does anyone have a chance against this team? To find out, tune in next time to The Big Piece and The Protector.

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Phillies Winning Ways Put Them in Great Position…Or Does It?

It turns out that Cliff Lee wasn’t content with just throwing eight innings of shutout baseball while only giving up four hits and striking out 10 batters. In proverbial icing on top of the cake fashion, Lee also blasted a seventh inning home-run off of Ted Lilly that would end up being the game winning run.

The result was the Phillies‘ 11th win in 12 games and leaves the Phils with a season record that now stands at 76-40, the best record in the Major Leagues. It also puts them eight and a half games ahead of the Braves and everyone else in the National League.

At first glance, this would seem to make the Phillies the favorites to make the World Series and win it, but as I’ll show you a little later in this article, the most dominant regular season team has struggled quite a bit to cap off those seasons with World Series victories.

With 46 games remaining in the 2011 season, the Fightin’s have an excellent chance at winning 100 games for the first time since 1977. Winning a Benjamin’s worth of games has only been done twice in the entire history of the Philadelphia franchise, which goes all the way back to 1883 and those world-beaters known as the Philadelphia Quakers, though to be fair, even a perfect season wouldn’t have accomplished that because they only played 99 games back then.

The franchise record for wins in a season is 101 games, which the Phillies managed to do in both 1976 and 77, though sadly, neither of those seasons ended with a World Series victory. So for the 2011 squad to break the franchise record for wins in a season, they would only need to go 26-20 over these last two months, and considering that of the remaining 46 games, half of those are against teams with losing records, I’d say their probably going to break that record.

Taking a look at some of the more recent teams from the National League who had dominating regular seasons, the 2004 Cardinals rolled along to 105 wins, only to lose in the World Series, and the 98 Braves managed 106 wins but also failed to bring home a ring.

There are, however, some older examples of dominant regular season N.L. teams who won the World Series, including the 86 Mets and the 75 Reds, who are the only two N.L. teams in the last century to win 108 games, a number the Phils have a chance at reaching.

As far as the all-time record for wins in a season, it’s actually a tie between the 1906 Cubs and the 2001 Mariners, who both won 116 games, although the Cubs win the tiebreaker because they managed to accomplish this feat in 10 less games.

Now, I’m just mentioning this as an interesting fact because the Phils would have to go 41-5 to break this record, and that’s about as likely as Ryan Howard laying off a 3-2 curveball in the dirt (Sorry Ryan, I respect your game, but it was a good simile). Again it’s interesting to note that neither one of these teams won the World Series.

So as great as it is that the Phillies continue to win and pull away from the rest of their competition, there is some evidence to support that this might not be as great as it sounds. Teams with massive leads can sometimes become complacent in the last few weeks of the regular season, and then when it comes time to ramp up their level of play in the postseason, they struggle to regain their form.

Just looking at Philadelphia’s recent run of successful seasons, they won the division by six games each of the last two years but ultimately fell short in the postseason. However, in 2008, when they won the World Series, they spent the first half of September chasing the division lead, and it wasn’t until they ripped of 10 victories in 11 games that they managed to grab hold of the NL East. That sense of having to battle each and every game carried right over into the playoffs and helped the Phils become champions.

Every team is different, and with guys like Roy Halladay, Chase Utley and others who never seem to let up regardless of the situation, maybe having the luxury of a big division lead where they can set up their rotation and give some guys a rest will work out great.

Whatever the case may be, I just hope the end result is the sequel that I’ve been waiting three years to see. World F’in Champions Part II.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Charlie Manuel’s Lineup Shuffle May Have Found a Winner

The Phillies batting lineup has seemingly been in a constant state of fluctuation so far this season.

Of the 64 games that the Phils have played so far this year, they have had 42 different batting orders, and that’s not including the pitcher’s spot.

Injuries have been one of the biggest reasons for all the change, but it goes deeper than that.

In the first 27 games of the year, Shane Victorino led off all but one of those games, while Jimmy Rollins was batting third.

The next 30 games would see Rollins leading off all but two of those games with Victorino batting second for the first 10 of those games before going on the DL. 

Placido Polanco started out the season in the two spot then switched over too the three hole until Chase Utley came back.

While all those changes were taking place, the first 40 games of the season also saw Raul Ibanez and Ben Francisco rotating out of the fifth spot behind Ryan Howard. 

Friday night’s game, No. 64 on the year, saw the debut of a lineup that the Phils have yet to use this year, but it resulted in seven runs, which they’ve only done twice in their last 30 games.

The lineup consisted of Rollins leading off followed by Victorino, Utley, Howard, Polanco, Ibanez, Dominic Brown, Carlos Ruiz and the pitcher.

It was only the 11th time in Polanco’s entire career that he has batted fifth.

The overwhelming consensus has been that the Phils need a right-handed power bat to protect Howard, and although Polanco would hit a Grand Slam in Friday’s game, he’s not considered to be much of a power threat. 

However, I think the team is at its best when it utilizes Rollins and Victorino’s speed at the top of the lineup and Utley and Howard at the three and four spot might as well be etched in stone.

So giving Polanco, the guy with the best batting average on the team, a chance to drive in more runs seems like a good idea.

The only change I’d make would be having Brown bat sixth, Ruiz seventh and Ibanez eighth. I’ve been very impressed with Dominic Brown’s ability to overcome all that spring training tinkering with his swing and his subsequent injury.

The way Charlie Manuel usually operates, it’s likely that he’ll trot this same lineup out for the next game, given its initial success.

I’m hopeful that this batting order might have some staying power, but then again, if it doesn’t, there are always 40,319 other combinations that might work better. Then again, math was never my strong suit, so you might want to check that number.

All in all, I’m fairly confident that the Phillies will find their groove with one of these lineups. Remember, as poorly as the offense has performed for the majority of the season, they still have the best record in all of baseball.

So sit back and enjoy the ride, Phils fans, because the bats will come alive, and when they do, the rest of the league is in big trouble.

Credit to baseballreference.com for these lineup numbers.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Chase Utley Shows Up While Phillies Offense Wakes Up

Chase Utley finished off what would normally be considered a bad night for anyone, let alone a player of Utley’s caliber, by grounding out in the bottom of the eighth to complete an 0-for-5 performance at the plate.

Oddly enough, the fans responded with a round of applause, then headed for the exits.

For at least one day, the Phillies offense had awoken from its recent slumber to the tune of 14 hits and 10 runs. While the outcome of the game was still an inning away from being solidified, a lot of the fans headed home early, satisfied with seeing Chase in action for the first time this year, in the type of complete team performance has fans dreaming of another parade down Broad Street.

While the Phils record now stands at 29-18, giving them a two game division lead and the best record in the National League, there has been a surprising amount of angst and frustration coming from the fans in recent weeks.

Mainly due to a recent nine game stretch in which the Phillies failed to score more than three runs in any single game, the ire has been focused almost entirely on the offense.

Only a few years removed from being considered one of the most potent lineups in the majors, the Phillies have lost the pop that made them so special.

That concern was voiced the minute that Jayson Werth departed for Washington and people realized this lineup was now without a right-handed power bat to protect Ryan Howard. But Ben Francisco’s April—where he was batting close to .270 with four home runs and 18 RBI—alleviated those concerns for the time being.

Well it turns out that April showers sometime bring May flounders (come on that was so bad it was funny), as Francisco is hitting .111 this month and losing playing time to John Mayberry Jr. and the returning Dominic Brown.

Ryan Howard has followed suit, batting only .178 this month including a recent 0-for-23 stretch, after having an excellent April in which he hit .290 with six home runs and 27 RBI.

On the flip side, Raul Ibanez, who started the season hitting so poorly that the Phillies announcers couldn’t tell if the fans were booing him or just giving him their customary Raaauuuuul, has hit much better with an average of .324 so far in the month of May.

Those factors, combined with Shane Victorino’s current stint on the DL, have left Charlie Manuel in an all too familiar position where he is constantly tinkering with his lineup in search of some consistency.

It’s likely that questions will continue to face this lineup for the rest of the season. Who should lead off? Who should bat behind Howard? Is there a right-handed power bat out there that the Phils can trade for?

While those are all very valid questions, for at least one day, the Philly fans should just take a cue from Bobby McFerrin’s 1988 hit song, “What’s that?”

You don’t get the reference? Well tough—you can simply look it up online.

The season is long my friends. When you’re finding things to complain about on a team this good, take a step back and consider how much worse things could be.

You could be a Mets fan.

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Philadelphia Phillies: From a World Series Favorite to a Flawed Contender

With Opening Day upon us and the Philadelphia Phillies preparing for their season opener against the Houston Astros on Friday, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at what has caused the Phillies to go from being prohibitive favorites to win the World Series to now having a lot of experts picking them to finish second behind the Atlanta Braves in the NL East.

The talk this offseason goes back to the start of free agency and the loss of Jayson Werth to the Washington Nationals. As a powerful right-handed bat behind Ryan Howard, he definitely helped balance out the lefty-heavy lineup and would be a hard piece to replace.

Then, only a week later, the Phils made the biggest splash of the offseason by signing former Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee to a pitching staff that already had Roy Halladay, arguably the best pitcher in the majors; Cole Hamels, a former World Series MVP; and Roy Oswalt, who would be the staff ace on most teams.

That signing quickly overshadowed the loss of Jayson Werth and in most people’s eyes made the Phillies the favorite to win the World Series. With a starting rotation that formidable it was hard to argue anything to the contrary.

But as spring training got underway things began to take a turn for the worse as a slew of injuries brought to the surface a number of issues the team had in other areas, mainly the everyday lineup and bullpen.

First up was the fractured hand suffered by highly touted rookie Domonic Brown. Most people considered Brown to be the likely replacement in right field for the departed Werth, and his physical gifts and minor league success had fans excited about his potential.

Following Brown’s injury came the news that the mild soreness in Chase Utley’s knee was really a combination of tendinitis and bone inflammation that was not improving with treatment and would likely cause him to start the season on the DL.

This was succeeded by third baseman Placido Polanco re-injuring his surgically repaired left elbow that bothered him for most of last season. While this injury isn’t believed to be as serious, it only added to the issues that the Phils were already facing.

The last blow was one that Phillies fans have come to expect with Brad Lidge suffering a posterior rotator cuff strain that is likely to keep him out until July. Nevertheless, it has added fuel to the fire of those who believe this team is no longer the favorite to win the World Series, let alone their own division.

Those doubters include Sports Illustrated, Fox Sports and a number of ESPN analysts, most notably Buster Olney, who are all picking the Braves to capture the NL East crown.

Truth be told, I have no problem with any of these predictions and can understand why people might be thinking that way.

But as the great Lee Corso would say, “Not so fast my friend!”

Domonic Brown’s injury gives Ben Francisco the chance to play everyday and as Bleacher Report Phillies featured columnist Ryan Wolcott points out, projecting his stats out over an entire season he would bat close to .270 with 18 home runs, 84 RBI and 24 stolen bases, which isn’t far off from Werth’s numbers.

The Chase Utley injury is without question the biggest concern and if it shelves him for the entire season than I too would have my doubts about this team’s World Series aspirations. But Wilson Valdez played admirably in his absence last year and I think he can hold down the fort for a month or two. Besides, having previously seen Utley’s toughness and ability to play through pain, I have no doubt he’ll be back before this seasons over.

As far as Brad Lidge is concerned, his abilities have been in decline for the past two years. Stuff wise, Ryan Madson’s repertoire of pitches is far nastier, he just needs to find that closer mindset that has seemed to allude him when given the chance. And if it’s Jose Contreras and not Ryan Madson, I still have as much confidence in him as I did in Lidge.

There is a saying that goes, “What doesn’t kill you will only make you stronger,” and I think that fits this team perfectly. For the most part the Phillies are comprised of players who don’t seek the spotlight and would probably prefer to be the underdog rather than the favorite.

So by all means let the skeptics continue to doubt the potency of their lineup and question their bullpen. Just remember there’s a reason they call them the Fightin Phils, because no matter what obstacles might come their way, I’d bet on them to still be fighting come October.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Injury Concerns Shine Light on Biggest Weakness

For the Philadelphia Phillies, the biggest worry coming into spring training was probably centered around which nickname was best for their amazing rotation. The Fantastic Four, Four Aces, Four Horseman, R2C2, Mound Rushmore (nice), or Phour Loco.

My personal favorite, being a rap fan, is Fat Joe and the Terror Squad. It gets bonus points for incorporating the entire rotation into the nickname, since the starters have been making it a point to always include Joe Blanton.

But the talk in recent days has turned to injuries—with the broken hand suffered by Dominic Brown and the cortisone shot to Chase Utley‘s right knee.

While the rotation gives people in Philadelphia a reason to be excited, the lineup and the recent injury issues also give them a reason to be concerned.

With that in mind, I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at the bench and some of the Phils’ backups who may see more playing time than originally expected, as well as the impact that these changes would have on the batting lineup.

We’ll start off with the outfield, which now seems locked in with Ben Francisco in right, Shane Victorino in center and Raul Ibanez in left. Dominic Brown’s fractured hand and recovery time make it likely that he’ll start off the season on the DL and possibly in Triple-A. That leaves us with a backup group consisting mainly of John Mayberry Jr. and Ross Gload, with Delwyn Young also a possibility.

Ruben Amaro Jr. has been quoted saying he won’t bring in an outside player to add depth—but, then again, he’s been known to pull off a surprise deal from time to time as well.

That being said, it will be tough to pull off this time, with all of their recent dealings having left them with little in terms of tradable assets.

Some of the names that are rumored to be available include former player Aaron Rowand and Mike Cameron, currently of the Boston Red Sox.

When it comes to the infield, the go-to bench player is Wilson Valdez. Whether it’s second base, shortstop or third base, he’s the first-choice backup. This is where the lack of depth on the team could really rear its ugly head.

I mentioned Delwyn Young as a possible outfield replacement earlier and he’s also an option at second base, where he’s started 57 games in the majors.

Either way, while the defense would remain solid, the offense may find itself in a real struggle if Utley misses serious time. Some names that would be considered if Utley is seriously injured include Kelly Johnson, Aaron Hill and Mike Aviles.

Going into the season, there were already questions about who would takeover for Jayson Werth as the fifth hitter in the lineup—if Utley is to miss significant time, it’s going to shake up the order even more. However, if his injury is not such a big deal and he can play through the pain, the lineup is likely to be Rollins, Polanco, Utley, Howard, Francisco, Ibanez, Victorino, Ruiz and the pitcher.

But if Valdez has to fill in for Utley then it’s really anyone’s guess as to what Charlie Manuel’s batting order will be. He used Ibanez in the three hole a number of times last year and has, on occasion, used Rollins in the three spot with Victorino leading off.

This team is only three years removed from giving Philadelphia a sports championship and mostly eliminating that mindset of eventual doom that Philly fans had for their sports teams. Combine that with the offseason addition of Cliff Lee and it has put the fans in the awkward position of believing that success was a certainty.

Now that the initial hoopla surrounding the starting rotation has settled and Utley’s knee problems have persisted, I think a little bit of the doom-and-gloom mindset might be creeping back into the fans’ minds.

Being a former doom-and-gloomer myself, I’m proud to say that I’m refraining from pushing the panic button—but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that my finger paused for a second when it passed over it.

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