4 Obstacles the Philadelphia Phillies May Face in the 2011 Postseason
The Philadelphia Phillies are the National League favorites. Similarly, everyone expects them to cruise through the rest of the regular season and into the postseason. The question is, how will they do in the playoffs?
Philadelphia has won the division since 2007. They’ve got experience. Can they go as far as they did in 2008?
Here are four problems or obstacles the Phils may face in the 2011 postseason.
Joe Blanton, Roy Oswalt Injuries May Have Been Good for Philadelphia Phillies
When both Roy Oswalt and Joe Blanton got injured, the Philadelphia Phillies starting rotation took a huge blow.
Actually, their injuries may have helped the two young pitchers—Kyle Kendrick and Vance Worley—not to mention the team in itself.
Where would the two young pitchers be without Oswalt and Blanton getting injured? After the starters went on the DL, Worley and Kendrick stepped up and were awesome.
Worley’s 2.33 ERA is stunning for a rookie—better than Halladay, Hamels, and Lee. Kendrick’s 3.60 ERA isn’t super, but it is a great improvement over the past few years.
I know that, without the injuries, Worley and Kendrick would have still pitched in the minors or the bullpen. But there are two reasons why pitching in Philadelphia’s starting rotation was better.
First of all, it gives them much-needed experience. Vance Worley is lucky to have his first big-league season in a rotation with three other aces to back him up. Kyle Kendrick has developed a lot for the same reasons.
This takes a lot of pressure off the two. They don’t feel as stressed and can pitch at their best.
It’s especially important for a rookie like Worley.
Secondly, Worley may not have been as good if he had pitched in the minors. He may not have stood out as much if not for the spot in the rotation.
Even though there wasn’t much pressure, the loss of two pitchers puts a lot on the rookie. He has outperformed both Oswalt and Blanton. The MLB has put a lot more on him than the minors would have, and thus has caused him to pitch better.
In Triple-A, he had a total ERA of 3.00. That’s nothing compared to his 2.33 2011 ERA in the majors.
One more thing that is sort of obvious: Vance Worley and Kyle Kendrick both have better ERAs than Oswalt’s 3.79 and Blanton’s 5.50.
Without Worley and Kendrick, where would the team be now?
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Philadelphia Phillies Offense, Defense Unstoppable with Howard, Kendrick, Worley
What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? No clue. The whole thing explodes?
What is known, however, is the quickly-rising skill of both the Phillies offense and defense.
The Phillies offense? I would call it pretty close to unstoppable.
Philadelphia’s starting rotation? Pretty close to immovable. Here’s why:
Ryan Howard’s .252 batting average on the season is a bit of a disappointment. His 23 HR and 83 RBI brings Howard a little back to his old self.
In yesterday’s game he was 2-for-4 with two home runs. Does this show Howard is heating up?
No. But it gives us reason to hope for the future.
Jimmy Rollins has been heating up, and Shane Victorino is hitting above .300. Chase Utley is quickly improving, and Hunter Pence is hitting .306.
If Howard can get hitting again, Rollins, Victorino, Utley, Howard, and Pence will become an unstoppable force at the top of the lineup.
With Raul Ibanez and Carlos Ruiz’s clutch hitting backing up the bottom of the lineup, this is one offense any team would want in the postseason.
Kyle Kendrick and Vance Worley
After Kendrick’s 2010 4.73 ERA, similar was expected for 2011. Instead, Kendrick has posted a 3.19 ERA. His 2.33 post All-Star ERA shows how much he has improved through the season.
Last night he pitched eight innings and gave up no runs. Four hits were all the Rockies could muster.
Vance Worley’s rookie season is one that most pitchers only dream of. With a 2.33 ERA and a 7-1 record, Worley’s first season gives us high expectations for the others.
Does Kendrick show as much potential as Worley? Not necessarily. Kendrick’s inconsistency has always been a problem.
One day he’ll pitch a gem, the next a blowout. Same kind of potential, just in different ways.
Even though Kendrick is showing improvement, if Oswalt comes back, Worley will still almost definitely get the fifth spot over Kyle Kendrick. Halladay, Lee, Oswalt, Hamels, Worley looks amazing on paper. Five aces.
The Phillies starting pitchers have compiled a stunning 2.99 ERA on the year.
Kyle will probably have to go to the bullpen for the time being, but I think we can expect a lot out of his career as a Philly.
I still don’t know what happens with the meeting of an unstoppable force and an immovable object, but I think it is safe to say the Phillies have near to that on both offense and defense.
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MLB Trade Rumors: 5 Pros and 5 Problems of Phillies Trading for Carlos Beltran
The Philadelphia Phillies are considering possible trades before the deadline at the end of July. According to Sports Illustrated, the Phillies are at the top of the list of teams desiring a trade for Carlos Beltran.
Is this newest development in the Phillies’ trade status a good one?
I think it could be. It depends how the game plays out, really. Here I’ll tell you five reasons it would be good to have Beltran on the club and five problems with trading for him.
Philadelphia Phillies’ 10 Key Players This Season
The Philadelphia Phillies have had a great season so far. They have three aces, a strong bullpen and a good, but sometimes inconsistent, offense.
Like most teams, there are a few players that are really helping the team stay on top of the National League.
Domonic Brown and John Mayberry have been recently holding up the Phillies. Some others have done the same, and yet others have been holding up the team since the start of the year.
Here I’ll list the top 10 players that have been key in the Philadelphia Phillies success this season.
Philadelphia Phillies vs. Boston Red Sox: 5 Reasons Why Phillies Win the Debate
The Philadelphia Phillies and the Boston Red Sox are the favorites in each league. The Red Sox are a very offensive-based team—the Phillies, however, are held up mostly by their pitching.
Which one is more important in the postseason?
Which team has more useful strengths?
Philadelphia does. I’ll give you five reasons why.
Philadelphia Phillies’ Cliff Lee Is Meeting Expectations, but Is Everyone Else?
Cliff Lee was expected to have a great year at the start of the season. The hopes were high, especially after the big free-agency dealings.
Lee started out slow, however. In April he was 2-2 with a 4.18 ERA. In May he began to progress for the better, but still was 2-3 with a 3.78 ERA. Since then, he is 4-0 with an 0.27 ERA.
Last night, Lee pitched a gem. Nine innings, no runs, six hits. Lee is obviously cruising through June. The question is, what about everyone else?
Ryan Howard. The great Philadelphia Slugger who is already signed through 2015. for $25 million per year. 16 HR, 60 RBI’s this year. Enough said.
Placido Polanco has a .292 batting average. He is doing good, but is a little less consistent than last year. In the last week he is 2-for-18, and has a .203 BA this month. Ever since that pitch that hit him in the elbow last year, he really hasn’t been himself.
Two days ago he got hit with a pitch in the pinkie. I’ve just got one thing to say, back away from the plate, man.
After being out for the first month and a half of the season, Chase Utley hasn’t really been his old self either. He is hitting .265 on the year, and has posted a .282 batting average in June. He’s doing pretty good recently, and I bet in a few weeks he’ll be back on top of the batting average list. After all, he is “The Man.”
Shane Victorino has lived up to the expectations, if not gone beyond them. This year his batting average is .296. He has a .321 batting average in June, and a .360 batting average in the last week. Keep flyin’, Mister Hawaiin.
Jimmy Rollins hasn’t really had such a good year. He is batting .261 with 7 HR and 31 runs batted in. In the last week, however, he has hit over .300, a good sign. Keep rolling, J-Roll.
Carlos Ruiz had one of his best seasons last year. He was a great clutch hitter, getting hits when the team needed him. This year, however, he hasn’t been doing as good as expected. He has a .257 BA, a .369 OBP, 2 HR, and 14 RBI. He is batting .254 for June, but is at .300 for the past week. Perhaps he’s starting to get hot.
Raul Ibanez hasn’t been doing so good this year, but no one really expected anything great from him. He is getting older and probably won’t be a Philly for much longer. This year he is batting .240 with 8 home runs and 32 RBI. In June he is batting .221.
That doesn’t look so good, but what else do you expect from someone like Raul? Maybe he’ll get hot soon. He has always been an up and down player.
Ben Francisco, another right fielder, isn’t doing much better. He has a .218 batting average with 6 homers and 26 runs batted in. He’s been doing a little better in the last week, but he still has a lot of room for improvement.
Domonic Brown: .206 BA. 4 HR. 11 RBI. Dominating Domonic. Come on, man. You can do better than that…
Last, but definitely not least, comes the great foursome. R2C2. Roy Oswalt, Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee.
As I said before, Lee is cruising this month. Roy Halladay is 9-3 with a 2.51 ERA and 119 strikeouts. Roy Oswalt is 4-5 with a 3.38 ERA, perhaps the only one of the four aces not doing as good as expected. Cole Hamels is 9-3 with a 2.51 ERA and 103 SO. The four aces are doing as good as expected, or maybe even better, besides the possibility of Oswalt.
My overall conclusion is that the Phillies’ players are mostly meeting the expectations, offensively and defensively. They’re winning games, so why is Charlie Manuel frustrated?
The lack of offense is the answer, but the Phillies aren’t losing many games because of their offense—their great pitching makes up for it. If only I had Charlie’s address…
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Phillies-Cardinals: Questioning the Whole Idea of Comebacks in Sports
Last night, the Phillies looked spectacular. Is last night a good example to go by for the rest of the series?
If so, is that a good thing or not?
The Phillies have two games left against the Cardinals. Tonight’s match up is Kyle Lohse vs. Cliff Lee. Lee is 7-5 with a 3.12 ERA and Lohse is 7-3 with a 2.88 ERA.
They are close to being evenly matched, although Lee has recently been doing great and Lohse has been slumping a little.
Last night, the Phillies were down 2-1 in the eighth, and came back to score nine runs in the top of the inning. If that is anything to go by—which it may not be—the Phillies might play like that again tonight.
But if they do, will they win again? Probably more importantly, if they play this way in the postseason, will they make it far?
It seems the obvious answer is that I’m crazy; they scored nine runs in one inning and won 10-2. Their pitching was good and their offense was, too.
But the thing that worries me, and I know this sounds strange, is their hitting.
Their hitting was obviously good in the eighth, but throughout the first seven innings they scored one run (which, in fact, was not scored until the seventh). They weren’t doing so good until then.
I don’t know about you, but their lack of offense kind of worries me.
Their offense has been inconsistent to some degree for the past while. On Sunday, for instance, they were shut out against a .500 pitcher.
Last night, they suddenly sparked up and tore through the Cardinals pitching. If they are in the same situation again, however, will they still get that spark? And if they don’t, will they lose?
There may not be too many instances in which the Phillies do score nine runs in one inning. Last night, they only had to score two to get the go-ahead, but they were lucky that their pitching had held the Cards offense.
I know that last night’s game seems reassuring because their offense scored ten runs. I think that’s great.
But what isn’t so good is that they were already in that situation. they had scored only one run until then.
On that matter, is it good when teams make a great comeback near the end of the game? Isn’t it bad that they were in that situation in the first place?
I know I’m questioning some of the founding fan principals of baseball, a comeback is great. But is it?
If this does happen to occur again, will the Phillies be able to repeat this? I know-so many questions.
Knowing the Phillies, however, there’s probably nothing to be worried about.
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