Philadelphia Phillies: This Season Is Getting Harder and Harder to Predict

So far this season, the Philadelphia Phillies have been good. Great, in fact. For some people, this isn’t a surprise. After all, they have some of the best starting pitchers in the league. They also have some great hitters. This was all expected. So why am I writing this article?

The Phillies were predicted to win, but the way they are winning isn’t exactly how everyone thought they would. In fact, they seem to be playing the exact opposite of what everyone expected. Let me give you some examples.

With some of the Phillies’ hitters slumping last season, and with rookie Domonic Brown and All-Star second baseman Chase Utley both injured, their hitting wasn’t expected to be as good as past years. But not so.

They have averaged 6.5 runs a game so far this year. They won one game 11-0 and another 10-2. The Phillies’ run production has still been high without Chase Utley.

The funny thing is that it isn’t as if one player is carrying the team. It seems like each game is won by a different player. The Phillies have had some key pinch hits, and the players filling in for Utley have been playing very well.

Another example is their pitching. Their starting pitching was supposed to be their main strength this year. It is still early, but some of their aces haven’t exactly been aces in their first couple games. Cliff Lee has a 7.84 ERA, Cole Hamels has a 5.59 ERA and Joe Blanton has a 14.54 ERA.

One of the Phillies’ supposed main weaknesses this year was their bullpen. The Phillies bullpen was not great last year. It was not expected to be much better this year, especially with Brad Lidge injured. So far, their bullpen has been great.

Danys Baez had a very bad season last year, but seems to have bounced back, giving up no runs over 5.0 innings. Ryan Madson and Jose Contreras have each pitched three innings without giving up a run.

So what does this show? To me, this shows that the Phillies are very unpredictable. When they are doing poorly, they can turn it around. In 2007, they came back in the last month of the season to win the NL East title. In 2010, they fought through their injuries to win the NL East title again. 

We should know by now that it is extremely hard to predict the Philadelphia Phillies. 

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Jayson Werth vs. Domonic Brown: Who’s Better for the Philadelphia Phillies?

Jayson Werth is going to be a free agent at the end of the year.  If the Phillies don’t re-sign Werth, rookie Domonic Brown will probably become their starting right fielder.

There is some debate about whether Domonic Brown will do as well as Werth did, and whether it would be a good decision to re-sign Werth.  Here, I am going to explain the reasons why each player would be good or bad for the Phillies.

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Chase Utley and Derek Jeter: Why Their Actions Should Be Prohibited

There are rules all over.  From signs, to laws, to just customs and traditions, rules are everywhere.  And rules are what I am going to talk about here.

If you look at baseball, you will see many rules.  The most important of them are the unspoken ones. I believe it’s time to add another rule to this list.

Just like players shouldn’t run across the mound, they shouldn’t act.  When I say that, I mean if a batter doesn’t get hit by a pitch, they shouldn’t don’t pretend they did.

A lot of the time batters act like they got hit by pitch when replays show they didn’t.  Umpires, however, will assume they did, and let them go to first base.

Obviously, a player should know whether they got hit by a pitch or not.  I understand when players trap the ball and act like they caught it.  Sometimes the players themselves don’t know if they made the catch.  But if you get can’t tell whether you got hit by a baseball coming at you 90 miles per hour, you seriously need to see a doctor.

Must Read: Top 10 Postseason Moments in Philadelphia Phillies History

 

Some people think that instant replay should be used in baseball because umpires make too many bad calls.  A lot of those calls are made because the players pretend that they got hit by the pitch or made the out.

If you were an umpire, it would be hard to make a close call.  There is pressure on you to make the right call, and sometimes it is hard to decide which call to make.  Having players fake things makes it even harder, because you’re not sure whether to believe them or not.

Note to Chase Utley, Derek Jeter, and others:  The game of baseball is not about acting.  If you want to make like Chuck Connors and change to a career in acting, go for it.  But please don’t do it during the baseball games.

I think that not acting should be a new unspoken rule, or maybe even an actual rule in the rulebook.  There are plenty of ways to enforce it, with one possibility being the enactment of instant replay to see if the players were faking or not.

I know that some people think acting is part of the game and all, but I disagree.  I think that if players stopped faking things like getting hit by a pitch, umpires would have an easier time making calls and the future of baseball could be changed dramatically.

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NLCS 2010: Who Do The Phillies Want To Win, Braves Or Giants?

Tonight’s game between the Braves and Giants is the fourth game of the National League Division Series.  The Giants are up two games to one, but there anything can happen.  Naturally, many baseball fans will be watching tonight’s game.

Since the Phillies finished off their sweep over Cincinnati last night, whoever wins this series will play them in the League Championship Series.  Lots of Phillies fans will probably be watching the Braves-Giants game, but they may not know which team to root for. So I’ve got some answers for those fans.  Based on statistics, I can tell you which team the Phillies will have a better chance of beating in the NLCS.

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Roy Halladay No-Hitter: Is 2010 the Year of the Pitcher… or What?

Wednesday night’s postseason no-hitter by Phillies ace Roy Halladay kind of gets us thinking that maybe people are right when they say that this is the year of the pitcher.  This stands as the sixth no-hitter of the year, including two perfect games.

There have even been more than just no-hitters and perfect games. There have been near no-hitters, one-hitters, complete game shutouts, things like that.  Here I am going to recognize some of the games in this season that have hinted that this year may truly be the “year of the pitcher”.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Do They Have What It Takes to Do It Again?

The Phillies are looking very good.  They just clinched the National League East for the fourth time in a row, and they are going to head into the postseason soon.  Earlier in the season, we probably wouldn’t have expected this, but here they are, looking great.

With October coming up and a playoff berth guaranteed for the Phillies, it brings up a big question:  Will this team do as good of a job in the postseason as they have done in the last few years?

The Phillies have won three consecutive division titles and two consecutive National League titles.  They have had a very good team in the past, so I am going to talk about this team versus the teams in the past three years.

I will arrange it into three categories:  additions and losses, advantages and disadvantages, and similarities and differences.

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Philadelphia Phillies: 10 Reasons Roy Halladay Dominates In His First Postseason

Roy Halladay has been an ace for the Phillies this year.  He is 20-10 with a 2.53 ERA.  But with a division title just beyond the Phillies’ grasp, there are a lot of questions about how Halladay will perform in his first postseason.

Although he pitched very well for both the Phillies and the Blue Jays, the postseason is new to him.  There is a lot of debate about whether his playoff performance will be as good as his pitching in the regular season.  I am going to talk about why Halladay will dominate in what could be the biggest opportunity of his career.

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Philadelphia Fan Base: Players Aren’t the Only Ones Who Deserve the Credit

Something that is commonly overlooked in baseball and other sports is the fans.  Yes, the players are the ones who are playing the games and winning them.  But the players aren’t the only people who influence the outcome of the team.  Fans do too.  Especially in Philadelphia.

I’m not saying that the players don’t make the team win or lose.  I’m just saying that the fans can influence the way that the players play, and that they deserve a lot more credit than they usually get.

If you looked at the standings on July 22, you would see that the Phillies were behind the Atlanta Braves by seven games.  Most teams in this position would think there was no hope of making a playoff berth.  But the Phillies didn’t give up, and look at them now.

They are in first place in the National League East by five games.  And I think that I can truthfully say that the fans played a big role in the Phillies success.

When they were down, the fans didn’t give up.  No, they just tried to come up with reasons why the Phillies would make a comeback and make the postseason.  But what some fans may not have realized was that by doing this, they were making another reason in itself.

Because what they did showed the players that the fans still had faith in the team, and that made the team have faith in themselves.

Also, as you may know, the Phillies fan base is well known for their greatness.  And I don’t think it is a coincidence that the same team has won three consecutive division titles and two consecutive National League pennants.  And where did most of the Phillies accomplishments come from?  You guessed it.  Comebacks.

The Phillies have had a lot of success in the past couple years.  And for most of their success they had to make a comeback before they were able to win anything.  I believe that the reason the Phillies have had so many comebacks is because so many of the fans never lose faith in the team.  And this really makes a big difference.

The Phillies fans are great.  They believe in the team day and night, whether they are in first place or last place or somewhere in-between.  In this way they are the key to many of the Phillies accomplishments.

So I have something to say to all you fans out there:

Thanks, guys.

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Philadelphia Phillies Main Strengths and Weaknesses In 2010

This year has been a crazy year for the Phillies.  There have been many ups and downs, and there may be many more to come.  The team has had some injuries, they have had some slumps, they have had some winning streaks, etc.  To sum it all up, they’ve basically had everything.  And for the most part, they have still done good throughout it all.  Here are some of their main strengths and main weaknesses.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Where There’s A Will There’s A Way

Baseball is like a placebo effect.  When the fans believe in the players and think they can win, the players believe in themselves and think they can win.  And that is how they win.

And we have to face it.  Many fans have given up on the Phillies.  It’s just the truth.  But there are reasons why we shouldn’t give up on them.  And I’m going to tell you about them.

First of all, if the season ended today, the Phillies would make it to the playoffs.  No, they wouldn’t win the division, but they would still win the Wild Card, and that’s good enough for any team.  I mean, just think about it.  Teams like the Pirates would be overjoyed if they won the Wild Card.  But for some reason, some people think “not the Phillies, they’re too good for the Wild Card.” 

Well I have something to say to those people.  No, they are NOT.  To get the Wild Card would be great.

And the other argument against getting the Wild Card is that they would probably be the worst playoff team, and they wouldn’t get home field, blah blah blah.  I mean, no offense to the people who think that, but seriously. 

The Wild Card team can win a World Series.  It’s happened before. 

In 2004, when the Red Sox played in one of the most remembered World Series, when they broke the famous curse of the Bambino after years and years of defeat, did they win their division?  No.  They were the American League Wild Card team.

Second of all, these are the Phillies.  They have been down before, and they have won.  Although they don’t have to win the division, there’s a good chance they will.  On September 3, 2008, they were behind the New York Mets by three games, just how they are now behind the Braves, and they ended up winning the division and the World Series.

The year before that, they tied the record for the largest comeback in September.  And the key to all of that: the players and the fans did not give up hope. 

In 2007, when the Phillies were down by seven games with seventeen games to go, they did not give up hope.  In 2008, the Phillies did not give up hope.  Earlier in 2010, the Phillies did not give up hope.  So why should they now, when they are closer to a playoff berth than in any of those situations?

For the last reason, I am going to state a concept that I have repeated throughout this article.  The Phillies are already there.  There are so many teams that actually have to make a big comeback to make the playoffs.  The Phillies are not one of those teams.  They are better off than the Mets, than the Marlins, than the Cubs, then the Astros, than lots of other teams, even than the Giants. 

They are first in the Wild Card.  They don’t need a comeback.  All they need is to keep their lead, and they can make a fourth consecutive playoff berth. So what if they don’t win the division.  The Wild Card is enough for me.  And it would be enough for most any team.  So why should the Phillies be different?

They can do this.  They’ve done it before, and they can do it again.  Where there’s a will, there’s a way.

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