Philadelphia Phillies: Shane Victorino’s Return Will Be Greatly Appreciated

According to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, Shane Victorino is going to be activated tonight against the Cubs.

What will this mean for the Phillies?

The obvious answer is that one of the most dynamic players in the lineup will now be able to have his spot back.

In the 68 games that he played in, Victorino is batting .303 with nine triples, nine home runs and 13 stolen bases.

Even though he has played in fewer games, according to FanGraphs, Victorino is still the 11th most valuable batter in Major League Baseball in terms of Wins above Replacement.

According to that metric, Victorino is sandwiched between Adrian Gonzalez and Joey Votto. That is pretty impressive company especially considering that Wins above Replacement is a cumulative statistic that builds up as the year goes on.

Victorino has been comparable to these players while playing in fewer games

Why is Victorino so valuable?

Mainly, he plays an all around solid game with power, speed and defense.

He has hit double digits in triples and home runs the past two years and should do that again this year.

He has won a Gold Glove in each of the last three years.

The biggest implication of his return is obviously that John Mayberry Jr. will not start in center field anymore.

The other effect of this return is that Pete Orr was sent down to Lehigh Valley.

I like Mayberry a lot, but there’s no way that he would stop Victorino from taking his spot back.

With Orr going down to AAA, the Phillies have five infielders on the roster unless you count Ross Gload who has started one game at first base in which case there are six.

Although having only five seems a little bit thin, the Phillies have a very consistent lineup for the most part, so this move should not really hurt the Phillies either.

There are no negative side effects to Victorino’s return. He is a high-impact player who might be able to help the Phillies offense get a little bit hotter.

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Philadelphia Phillies: John Mayberry Jr’s Hot Streak Shows His Potential

What has gotten into John Mayberry Jr.?

Since he was called back up to the majors on July 5, he has been batting .316 with two home runs and seven RBI.

To put this in perspective, for the entire season, including this hot July, he is batting .252 with five home runs and 24 RBI.

He has played in 51 games so far this season.

To give you some averages, his batting average is obviously .252, his average number of home runs per game is approximately 0.10, and he drives in an average of 0.47 runs per game.

If these averages were representative of how he is performing right now, then in the six games that Mayberry has been back in the major leagues, his batting average during this stretch should be .252, and he should have hit 0.6 home runs and driven in 2.82 runs.

The actual statistics exceeded these averages by a large margin.

Obviously, I realize that fractional statistics like these are impossible. He would either hit zero, one, two, etc., home runs.

One possible reason that he has exceeded these averages is that he is simply hot right now. Players have hot streaks all of the time, so Mayberry may just be on a roll.

Another possible reason is that he is perhaps maturing as a hitter. Sometimes, it does take a player being sent down to Triple-A for him to really regain his swing.

I will not deny that he is hot right now. I’m not sure, however, that he can necessarily keep this up for a very long amount of time.

I do, though, think that this streak definitely shows that Mayberry has a lot of potential.

He was a first-round pick, so that never really was a surprise, but maybe it’s finally coming to light.

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Philadelphia Phillies: How Well Would Heath Bell Fit in a Crowded Bullpen?

With the recent news that José Contreras might not return at all this season, the hot stove is heating up for the Phillies bullpen.

Even though he was never really a target for the Phillies, since Francisco Rodriguez has been traded to Milwaukee, the overall league competition for the remaining relievers on the market will rise.

This price increase will also affect San Diego Padres closer Heath Bell, who has been linked to the Phillies for quite a bit of time.

Bell, 33, mentioned the Phillies as one of the potential teams that he could envision joining.

He also mentioned the Angels, Yankees, Cardinals and Rangers as other potential suitors.

Fresh off of the All-Star game last night, his price tag will definitely not be cheap.

The only thing that might lower this price tag is the fact that the Padres will most likely be selling given that they are in last place in the West and 12 games out of first.

If the Phillies are able to acquire Bell, it is difficult to determine where he would fit into their overall bullpen picture.

He is obviously a very successful closer after being named to his third consecutive All-Star game. This season, he has a 2.43 ERA with 26 saves.

He is also able to keep the ball down as he has pitched 31 innings this year without surrendering one home run. That would be incredibly helpful in Citizens Bank Park.

However, with Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge returning to the bullpen shortly, if Bell was added to that picture, there would be an awful lot of potential and talented closers.

What do all of you think? Will the Phillies even try for Bell? If so, will he close or set up?

Let me know!

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Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee: How Will Phillies Aces Perform in All Star Game?

Let me start with a shout out to Roy Halladay. There have not been very many Phillies pitchers to start the All-Star game, so he is joining some pretty good company.

I also want to congratulate them Cliff Lee on making the team as well. He has been having a great year as the Phillies’ second representative.

For varying reasons as most people know, Shane Victorino, Cole Hamels, and Placido Polanco will not be participating tonight. However, they also deserve recognition for being named.

All that being said, Halladay may have his work cut out for him tonight. It is nothing against him as a pitcher, but the American League has a very heavy left-handed trend in their lineup.

There are six left-handed batters and one switch hitter in the lineup for the American League.

He has been having a difficult time this year with left-handed hitters, who are batting .274 against him.

Halladay tends to come through when it matters for the Phillies, so it is definitely possible that he will dominate the AL, but I worry about him more than I worry about Cliff Lee versus this lineup.

Lee has been dominant against left-handers this year.

They are only batting .195 against him this year, and his ratio of strikeouts to walks against left-handed pitchers is 15.5 to 1.

He is obviously controlling the ball and is getting outs, which is the most important part.

The slight disclaimer here is that by the time Lee enters the game, probably a substantial amount of the starting lineup will be substituted out.

However, it seems like the Phillies are going to have a good showing tonight in the All-Star game.

I realize that there are several complaints about the game, but I do like it, and I like seeing the Phillies represented among the best in the league.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Inconsistency Between Sabermetric and Actual Wins?

I found a kind of funny statistic today.

The Phillies have the best record in baseball at 57-34. However, if you look at the statistics on FanGraphs, the Phillies are ranked third in overall wins above replacement when you add batting and pitching together behind the Red Sox and Yankees.

How does a team that is not the best in sabermetric terms manage to have the best record in baseball?

I know that right away this article is going to bring out all the people who say that sabermetrics are worthless and entirely inaccurate.

However, that is not what I mean to do with this.

I wanted to emphasize this point because I think that it is important to notice that the Phillies have been pitching that phenomenally to be able to perform better than teams that should be supposedly doing better.

If you go back to the sabermetrics, the Phillies are ranked first in pitching but 13th in batting.

Their team ERA is 3.02. That is remarkable, to say the least.

The five active starters, assuming that Kendrick will be No. 5 until either Oswalt or Blanton return, all have ERAs between 2.20 and 3.58 (Worley being the lowest and Kendrick being the highest)

These numbers are pretty crazy for a team that plays in a very hitter-friendly ballpark.

I know that talking about the success of the Phillies’ pitching is nothing new.

However, I definitely found it interesting that in terms of sabermetrics, the Phillies are over-performing largely because of the pitching success that they have been enjoying.

The other option is of course that the Yankees and Red Sox are not winning as much as they should and the Phillies are doing what they are supposed to.

As long as the Phillies keep winning, I don’t think that a lot of people will complain, whatever the reason.

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Philadelphia Phillies: How to Fill in for Injured Shane Victorino?

As Shane Victorino hit the DL recently, Phillies fans have been left to wonder how the team will fill that new gap in center field.

Obviously, this is a more significant question than simply who will play in the field and take up a spot in the batting order.

Victorino has been incredibly productive this season, and according to FanGraphs, he is the ninth most valuable position player in all of baseball in terms of wins above replacement.

He is hitting .303 and has been bounced around the batting order to fill different roles

He has nine home runs and 13 stolen bases, which is pretty good production. He isn’t quite on a 20-20 pace, but these numbers still indicate that he is one of the more important players in Phillies lineup.

In the field, he is the winner of three consecutive Gold Gloves and showcases his remarkable speed in that role as well.

So how will the Phillies replace him while he is injured?

It seems that the plan for right now is with John Mayberry Jr.

Actually, I’m not that upset by this replacement.

I am definitely not saying that Mayberry is as good as Victorino, but what I am saying is that he has been appearing to be a more capable replacement over these past few games.

Mayberry has been hitting the ball very hard lately, and on July 6, he sent out two home runs while driving in three runs.

Last night, he crushed the ball as well that was knocked down by the wind near the warning track.

In the field, while he may not be Victorino by any means, he has shown that he is a capable defender. Using his giant 6’6″ frame, he covers quite a bit of ground and seems to be a pretty smart player.

Again, he may not be Victorino on the basepaths, either, but he can run very well and he is definitely not a liability.

While I will be as happy as anyone to see the Phillies’ final All-Star (who won’t play in it) return to the lineup when his time on the DL is done, I think that if Mayberry is able to continue hitting the ball hard and playing solid defense, he will have done what the Phillies expected of him.

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Philadelphia Phillies: What Is the Most Important Trading Priority?

Now it is apparently being reported the Phillies might trade for infield help.

While I agree the Phillies have been rather injury-stricken in the infield, it has been reported the Phillies basically need to trade for every position.

In the past week, they have been rumored to have expressed interest in Heath Bell, a relief pitcher; Juan Rivera, one particular outfielder although they have looked at others as well previously; and now they are looking at infielders.

What are the Phillies going to do?

I think that the most pressing need is still in that gap of a right-handed hitting outfielder.

Raul Ibanez has been having a difficult year in left field (according to FanGraphs, he has the lowest Wins above Replacement of any outfielder in Major League Baseball this season), and Domonic Brown has been somewhat streaky this season.

I am not saying the Phillies should necessarily replace either of these two right now, but I do think a right-handed bat in the outfield would help relieve the problem the Phillies have against left-handed pitching.

While the Phillies are having injury problems in both the bullpen and the infield, those positions will be able to heal and be solid again.

Chase Utley is on his way to recovery, and Placido Polanco will hopefully be able to shake off his back spasms.

The missing pieces of the bullpen are due to come back soon as well, and in the meantime the bullpen has been solid, anyway.

Obviously, there is always room for improvement, but I think that the Phillies should not worry as much about the infield.

The best move the Phillies can make right now is to keep focused on improving the outfield with a right-handed bat.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Taking Another Look at the MVP of 1950, Jim Konstanty

People like to talk about six degrees of separation. People like to know how close they are to famous people, and since I am indeed a person, I can understand why.

So, imagine my surprise when I discovered because of a small-town newspaper sidebar the MVP of the “Whiz Kids,” Jim Konstanty, grew up in the same town that my mom’s side of the family is from.

This prompted me to the little bit more research into who Konstanty was.

This town—Arcade, New York—was not technically where Konstanty was born, but he that is where he played his high school baseball.

Because of his success as a two sport athlete, he continued his career at Syracuse University as both a baseball and basketball player while receiving his bachelor of science in physical education.

This is where his story gets really interesting.

He graduated college in 1939, but he spent a few years as a physical education teacher before he even got into minor league baseball in 1941. After a few more years in minor league baseball, he finally made it up to the Cincinnati Reds in 1944, but he then went to World War II the following year.

When he returned from the war, he had a few unremarkable years until 1950 rolled around. He joined what has been dubbed as the “Whiz Kids” featuring the likes of Robin Roberts, Richie Ashburn, and Del Ennis.

This amazing group would lead the Phillies to only their second World Series appearance to that point, and Konstanty was a large part of that success.

He came out of the bullpen and pitched in 74 games while pitching 152 innings. He managed to win 16 games while saving 22 (even though that wasn’t a statistic at this point in history, it can be determined by looking through the box scores) and posting an ERA of 2.66.

He made his one and only All-Star game in that season, but it was even more impressive when he was named the MVP of the National League, the Sporting News Pitcher of the Year, and the Associated Press Athlete of the Year.

Surprisingly, he also started game one of the World Series that year but was outdueled 1-0 after going eight innings and only giving up one run on four hits. He appeared in that World Series two other times out of the bullpen, but the Phillies were swept by the New York Yankees.

Although he was in Major League Baseball for six more seasons, he never regained the success that he had that one season. He retired after the 1956 season with a career record of 66-48 and a 3.46 career ERA.

Of course, who doesn’t love the story of a small town guy becoming a hero for their favorite team?

This was a miracle season for the Phillies and for their MVP who led them to play in their second World Series ever. They brought new life to Phillies nation even though it would be 30 more years until a World Series victory appeared.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Could 2011 Be Team’s Best Year Ever?

After a 14 run outpouring against the Florida Marlins last night, the 2011 Phillies have demonstrated what they are capable of this season.

I definitely realize that one performance is just that, only one performance. However, they demonstrated that they have the offensive potential we all have known they had.

While currently sitting at a record of 55-32, if these numbers are projected forward, the Phillies should win approximately 102 games, which would be the most in franchise history.

In 1977 and 1976, the Phillies won 101 games, but failed to make the World Series both years.

Given that they are on track to win the most games in franchise history, the inevitable question must be asked.

Is this the best Phillies team ever?

Well, one important detail of being the best Phillies team ever is whether or not they win the World Series. Let’s face it, the ultimate measure of baseball success is winning that trophy, so we can’t evaluate that part just yet.

However, what I will say is that I believe that this may be one of the best starting rotations that the Phillies have ever assembled.

Roy Halladay is on pace to win approximately 20 games, Cole Hamels is on pace for 19 and Cliff Lee is on pace for 17. They all have ERAs under 3.00, and they all have the potential to pitch a complete game every night.

The Phillies have never had a rotation with this much success out of the top three spots if everything goes according to the projections.

The Phillies’ offense has definitely not been as strong as other years, but they have been scoring enough to win. At the end of the day, scoring enough runs to win is enough offense for any team.

If the offense is able to start hitting like they did last night, where every starter had at least one hit, it could create a frightening combination with a pitching staff like the Phillies have.

Chase Utley will start hitting the ball harder although his average is already starting to climb somewhat to .283 currently.

Ryan Howard is on pace to hit 34 home runs, but I also think that that number will rise faster.

An important key to any resurgence of the Phillies’ offense involves Jimmy Rollins. His on-base percentage should be a little bit higher than .334 to be a highly effective leadoff man.

Another key factor that might change here is the variability of my projections.

I based these projections by multiplying the number they currently have of that statistic by 162/87. What this would do is basically give me the average number of the statistic per game times 162 games to determine a projected season total if the current performance remains constant.

The Phillies are a team that tends to heat up down the stretch. Therefore, it is possible that if the trend of a hot second half continues, many of my projections might be low.

If the Phillies finished up on the pace that they are going at and win the World Series, I think that this roster could be the best Phillies team ever.

If they do not win the World Series, it is still possible that this team will be very good and one of the best, but they will not be the best without that trophy.

What do you all think?

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Philadelphia Phillies: Why Shane Victorino Deserves to Be the Final All-Star

Shane Victorino is hoping to be heading to Arizona next week.

However, if he is going to do that, he needs fan support.

He is one of five players who are vying for the title in one final vote.

Victorino should not worry though.

When matching the other candidates up with Victorino, it seems as if he should really have the upper hand.

His performance this season has been strong, and you will see how he deserves to defeat all the other candidates for the vote.

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