As promised, here’s my overly emotional and harsh critique on the Phillies from this season.  Let me first start off with my opinion of Charlie Manuel.  I know as I type this people are building a statue of him for winning a World Series last year, for the first time in over 25 years in this city, but I have never been a big fan of his managing style.  In particular, I can’t stand how he handles his pitching staff.  Charlie is a hitting coach, so maybe I shouldn’t be so hard on him.  The only problem is, in the playoffs, as was proved the past 2 years as much as ever, good pitching beats good hitting.

Lineup:

SS – Jimmy Rollins: in a perfect world, Jimmy would hit 7th in my lineup.  He would never get anywhere near the top of the order.  While he insists he is a lead off hitter, he does not take the approach at the plate necessary to be successful in a way that most benefits the team.  The bottom line is that instead of being patient at the plate and trying to get on base any way he can, he too often tries to imitate Ryan Howard and ends up popping a ton of balls into the outfield.  By doing that he also wastes his second biggest asset to this team: his ability to steal bases.  The best thing I can say about him is that no matter what he’s doing at the plate, he’s a gold glove type of fielder and the leader of this infield.  Frustrated By Him.

CF – Shane Victorino: this man is everything Jimmy Rollins is not.  He works hard, plays hard in the field and does whatever it takes to get on base and help his team.  He uses his speed (although I would love to see him improve his stealing percentage) and even has a little bit of power that he seems to muster just enough strength to hit a few HR’s every year (which in this park is saying very little).  He’s got a great arm for a little guy and usually plays pretty smart.  Every once in a while he falls asleep on the bases but overall I think he’s the best option on this team for a lead off hitter.  He’s Hawaiin.  Like Him.

2B – Chase Utley: all this guy does is exemplify everything a baseball player should be.  The only problem is he has zero personality.  But I’ll take that any day for the production he gives you and his willingness to tough out a whole season despite injuries.  Any team would be lucky to have a player like this.  Love Him.

1B – Ryan Howard: This may surprise you but I am not Ryan Howard’s biggest fan.  It’s nice to have a guy who’s going to hit a bunch of home runs but as everyone knows, he strikes out way too much – and more importantly, against good pitching.  Well, doesn’t everyone do worse against good pitching?  Probably yes, but he is awful, because good pitchers have figured out exactly how to pitch him and he has so far been unwilling to make any adjustments (well, until it was too late in Game 5 of the WS).  His defense, while much improved from last year, is still pretty pathetic.  There is no way a guy should be able to steal second 3 times in one game after getting picked off.  That’s partly Cole Hamels’ fault, but we’ll get to him later.  Frustrated By Him.

RF – Jayson Werth: this guy drives me nuts but for a different reason.  He will strike out swinging in the most embarrassing way, then come back the next at bat and hit a ball way out of the strike zone way out of the park!  His inconsistency makes him unreliable, as he was able to hit 2 HR’s in a game they barely had a chance of winning, but couldn’t drive in a run with guys on base the next day when they needed it.  Pretty good arm, although I don’t love the slide he does to stop some balls from getting by him.  Takes too many risks, but is great on the bases (except for that brain fart at 1st last week).  He’s OK.

LF – Rauuuuuul Ibanez: Everyone will admit that we had no idea what we were getting when we replaced Pat Burrell with his at the beginning of the year.  I’m not sure he even knew how good he would be, but obviously benefited from hitting in this tiny ballpark until getting hurt.  He never fully recovered, but was definitely a fan favorite this season.  I’m certainly hoping he can stay healthy all year and if he has half of the offensive production next year, will still be a solid 6 hitter.  Like Him.

3B – Pedro Feliz: I thought he had a decent year until the playoffs this season.  Not sure if it’s his age but he really showed his lack of hitting ability when it mattered the most.  I don’t understand why Manuel didn’t show some creativity in the later games of the WS and move him behind Ruiz, who was hitting everything that came near him (for him at least).  He’s been solid in the field, but I’m not sure the tradeoff is worth it and he’s only getting older.  I’m hoping this will be the one position they look to upgrade in FA during the off season.  EH.

C – Carlos Ruiz: this guy has turned himself into one of the best catchers in the league in my opinion.  After Utley, he was my favorite player this postseason, and was actually ahead of him until the World Series.  He was the most clutch and had the most power compared to what he gives you during the season (ground outs if you’re lucky, double plays if you’re not).  He continued to earn the nickname “Senor Octubre” and should be counted on more next season if we make the playoffs again.  Like Him.

Pitching Staff:

Cliff Lee: best move Amaro could’ve made at the deadline.  Shows up big in the playoffs.  Nonchalant.  Love Him.

Cole Hamels: get your head right, get back to your old self, and we’re good.  We’ll See.

JA Happ: rookie of the year kind of stuff.  Hope he continues to progress and learns more from Lee then Hamels.

Pedro Martinez: nice knowing you.  Sorry you didn’t get more run support.  Good luck if you decide to keep pitching.

Summary:

I might expand on this but I’m just too tired to finish this off.  I realize I still need to do the bullpen as well, so I might come back with a more in depth look at the whole staff when I take a better look at what they did during the year and in the postseason.  Just seems harder to judge because they aren’t regular players and the rotation changed so much from the beginning of the year.  Anyway, this has been depressing.

One thing I certainly got tired enough of during the World Series were shots of celebrities in NY.  The only place worse than New York is LA.  To combat the in-game agitations I did not watch a single second of the pregame shows.  In fact I actually missed the first pitch to Rollins in Game 2 because I wouldn’t turn the TV on until I was sure I wouldn’t be wasting any additional time watching the non-baseball parts of the coverage.

While I know I’m in the ever shrinking minority, I do not want or need any of the “fluff” that comes with professional sports coverage.  I would love to be able to go to a game and hear nothing but the crowd noise instead of random rap songs in between pitches.

So this year I had to resort to turning the volume down to 0, which had the bonus effect of also not being able to hear the commentators.  It’s become increasingly easy to bash them, which should tell Fox something about the quality they are putting out there in front of a national audience.  This year, I even heard people complaining about them who aren’t really baseball fans.  That’s when you know it’s time for a change.

Back to the title of this article.  I could talk about a lot of things but I pretty much covered everything I hate about the Yankees in the last post.  All I really wanted to add is that I do not think I would want to be a Yankees fan.  I’m not sure I would be able to root for a team who, year after year, tried to buy championships.  What enjoyment can you take in rooting for a player in the playoffs who you’ve only since pitch 20 or 30 times for your team?  I know we brought in Lee and Ibanez late in the season this year, but knowing they will part of this team for a few years makes it easy to root for them.  And when you trade for a player instead of just overpaying him to bring him to your club, there is definitely a sense of appreciation you can have for what your club was willing to risk giving up to get him.

Anyway, maybe I’m just bitter.  Maybe if I grew up in NY I would be a Yankees fan.  Maybe I would hate myself, too.  Or, maybe I would be lucky enough to move to Philadelphia and be adopted by this great city so I could root for the teams who go out and work hard to earn everything they get.

Position players:

SS – Derek Jeter – he is the poster boy for New York.  All through the World Series we had to watch that annoying commercial for razors of him diving into the stands and getting bloody, while Cole Hamels was standing on the mound when some random guy came out of the stands who thought he was a manager.  Hate him.

LF – Johnny Damon – won with the Red Sox and beat the Yankees, then became a Yankee to beat the Phillies.  Not a good  outfielder and most of his hits come off ground balls barely getting through holes or texas leaguers off the end of the bat.  Hate him.

1B – Mark Teixiera – looks solid at first (easiest position to play by far) but I think only had 3 hits in the World Series.  Pretty weak for their biggest position player signing this year.  Hate him.

3B – Alexander Rodriguez – great fielder but botched a bunch of ground balls in the World Series.  Also struck out a lot and only got one meaningful hit, yet somehow outperformed the Phillies cleanup hitter.  Also, did steroids.  Hate him.

DH – Hideki Matsui – Can’t play the field, yet still won MVP for his timely hitting against basically just one pitcher, Pedro Martinez.  If it wasn’t for that matchup you could easily argue the Phils have a much better chance at winning this series.  Can’t speak English.  Don’t like him but kind of respect him.

C – Jorge Posada – respect the glove although was not that impressed by his game management.  Complains about every single strike and strikeout called.  Show some class.  Hate him.

RF – Nick Swisher – barely deserves to even be mentioned in the same breath as any other professional athlete.  Don’t know where he came from but don’t really care enough to look up any stats to abuse him more.  He is a complete waste of matter.  Is it that obvious? Hate him enough to know who he is and not leave him off the list like some other irrelevant players who failed to show up against the Phillies.

Pitching Staff:

CC Sabathia – biggest (literally and $$$) FA signing in the off season and carried his team through much of the season.  If you told me he would only win 1 of 2 games I’d have felt good about the Phillies chances the rest of the way.  I have to respect his willingness to pitch whenever they need him and ability to do it as a workhorse, but I’d be a little worried about his ineffectiveness in the World Series for years to come.  Might like him if he played for anyone else.

AJ Burnett – Apparently he signed here once he knew he would be the #2 behind CC.  Gotta love a guy who doesn’t want the ball in big situations, like I don’t know a clinching game 5 of the World Series. Hate him.

Andy Pettitte  – the other “Mr. Yankee” who has won more post season games then anyone in history.  Gotta give him respect for that, but he really didn’t pitch too well in the series.  Yankees fans will agree he didn’t have very good command or his best stuff.  Good enough to win, as they say…I guess. Hate him.

Manager:

Joe Girardi – I don’t really believe the manager has that much influence on the outcome of the game.  Especially in this series, both managers are very hands-off and let their players play.  Also, he pretty much has a gift waiting for him in the bullpen that makes every game a 7 inning game for him if they can get the lead by then.  Not really getting a feeling as a manager but since he played on the team – Hate him.

Last and yes obviously least, Yankees fans:

Fans in NY – New Yorkers like to act tough and smart and classy, but I have to agree with Jimmy Rollins that they didn’t really show up for Game 1 or 2 and the people who were there sat on their hands, then left early.  I know there wasn’t much to get excited about in Game 1 (thanks, Cliff) but still, show some emotion.  I guess they expected to win and didn’t really get that into it until they had a chance to win it in their shiny new stadium.

All other fans – I’m not sure why right now, but I do have some friends who are Yankees fans.  They are actually decent, respectable human beings.  But from what I read/see/hear, most Yankees fans are not really baseball fans, they just hop on and pretend to care when the Yankees are winning.  I can’t really blame the Yankees or their real fans for this, and I know every city has people like this, but it makes them no less annoying.

Summary: Don’t absolutely hate Matsui and Sabathia.  The rest of the team is pretty much useless to NY except for Jeter, who I hate because he IS a Yankee, but at least he’s homegrown so it’s not technically his fault.  Makes you wonder how this team even got to the World Series.  It’s amazing how the bright lights make certain individuals disappear into thin air.  On that note, I will be going over the Phillies lineup tomorrow.  Should be fun…

The Phillies season is almost over. When it is, we’ll look back and remember all the ups and downs from Opening Day, right down to the closing moments of the World Series. Last year’s season was magical. This one has been special, but the end has not yet been written.

You see, in Philadelphia, we don’t give up. As depressed as I have been today about losing the last 3 games, I have been mostly thinking about how possible it is for this team to get to a game 7, where anything can happen. And as nice as it would be to have tied the series up last night, I can’t say I’m that surprised they are in this position. It’s not an uncommon, nor uncomfortable one for the Phillies either. While they have yet to play in an elimination game this postseason, they have proven to be a resilient team this season.

Give the Yankees credit for being clutch, but they have not been dominant against the Phillies. After winning 6-1 and taking down CC Sabathia, the Phillies have been in every game this series until the end. Unfortunately, we have not been able to get guys on base as every home run by the Phillies this series has been a solo home run. It’s become clear that to beat the Yankees, they’re going to need runners on base and get them home. I’m not quite sure that Lee will be able to frustrate that Yankee lineup as much this time around.

As always, let’s win it for Harry!

So, I know there are 82 games in a season and all, and I really didn’t expect the Sixers to beat the Magic, but did they even show up?  They basically got blown out.  I hope they figure out a way to work Brand into the game, and someone learns how to play defense, but I didn’t see much I was impressed with in the opener.

Hmm, maybe that’s because I didn’t watch it.  Sorry guys, you’ll have to wait until the Phillies are done to get any real attention from this city.  Hopefully by then, you won’t still suck.  Thanks.

In other news, anyone excited about the Eagles/Giants Sunday?  Didn’t think so.  We are so overtaken by Philly Phever that hardly anyone is noticing the 3 other teams in this city who are also playing games this time of year.  But that’s OK, for now.  If only the Phillies could play all year long…

After 2 games, the Phillies certainly sit in a comfortable position, having taken 1 game and home field advantage from the Yankees.  But, are you satisfied with the split?  I am not, nor should the Phillies be either.

I know it’s such a cliche to talk about bad umpiring, especially after a loss, but hear me out.  It’s becoming a problem because it’s affecting the outcomes of very important games, and hurting both sides.  There have been bad calls and missed plays throughout the season, but they are incredibly magnified here in the playoffs, especially with awareness at an all time high thanks to slow motion instant replay on TV.

If there was a guy in a booth looking at replays of the close plays yesterday, then Howard fails to get anyone out on the low line drive and the Yankees most likely tac on a few extra runs.  Then, in the top of the next inning, Utley is safe and the Phillies have a 1st and 3rd with 1 out and Howard at the plate.  Instead, both innings end with no runs scored for either team.  And in a close game, those calls are extremely important to get right, whatever it takes.

All I’m asking is that replay would be considered in some way starting next year.  The fundamental problem is we are asking umpires to do something that is inherently impossible; accurately determine the timing of a ball hitting a glove and a foot hitting a bag at the same time.  Well, I don’t know anyone who can look in 2 places at once, and the speed at which this game takes place makes it pretty impossible to tell the difference on a bang-bang play that goes either way.

So I’m not going to sit here and say the umpires are terrible, although their judgment at times should be questioned.  I’m asking for the fairness of the game, in order to determine for sure who the best team is at the end of the year, that we use the technology that is so readily available to make sure these close calls go the right way.  I don’t really care how it is implemented.  You could only use it in the playoffs, or only use it in late innings, or only use it when it directly affects whether or not a run would have scored (like a guy scores from 3rd on a double play with 1 out).  I liked the idea I heard on the radio a few weeks ago that you should have 2 guys in the booth (at least during the playoffs), and they both have to agree to overrule the call for it to be changed.  The amount of time it would take them to take a time out and come to a conclusion would be equal or less than how long it takes for a manager to get thrown out arguing the call.

So, can we at least agree that something needs to change?  I am a baseball purist, and hate almost all changes in the game (like interleague play), but it’s time to start getting this right when it matters most, so that one entire fan base is not left complaining (sometimes legitimately) about the umpiring from the games.

I’d love to hear your ideas/suggestions for improvements.

In my preseason prediction of how many wins each starting pitcher would have, J.A. Happ was not even on the list.  That’s because Chan Ho Park won out the 5th starter job, but gave it away once the season started.  Now, Happ is an unbelievable 6-0 for the season with a whopping ERA of 2.90 (league average is 4.31)!  Where did he come from, and more importantly, is this for real or another case of beginner’s luck (remember Kyle Kendrik)?

In 87 innings pitched, he has 61 strikeouts and only 32 walks.  But a deeper look into the stats shows that the Phillies are only 10-12 in games he has pitched this season.  For a team with so many come back wins, that doesn’t look too great.  Going a bit futher, the Phillies scored 89 runs to their opponent’s 47 when they won, but only 37 while giving up 77 in games they lost with Happ on the mound.

I don’t have the runs broken down to only the innings he was pitching in, but they have given him 52 more runs overall in games they won than when they lost.  Common sense tells us that most pitchers probably follow this trend, as it tends to be easier to pitch with a lead, and are more likely to win more often when your team scores more runs.  But, in games decided by 2 runs or less, they are 3-4 behind Happ.

Looking at just his starts this season, since May 23rd, he’s 4-0 in ten games, while the team is 5-5 overall.  Most recently, I got to see him pitch live against Pittsburgh, and while I’m not a scout, I think he had great stuff and pitched very well.  Ignoring the fact that he was pitching against the Pirates (38-50), he through 7 good innings, giving up 1 run on only 4 hits, including 4 K’s and 2 BB’s.

Overall, I’m impressed with his consistency this season so far.  He good control not only of his pitches, but also himself as he has shown his ability to stay within himself when he gets into trouble.  I think that’s a key thing to look for in such a young player when evaluating his potential for the future.  Hopefully, if he’s still with the Phillies at the end of the season, he’ll continue to have the same success he’s had so far.

First place feels pretty good right about now.  We had 5 players in the All-Star game, and our best offensive producer of the first half is back from an injury.  Our pitching is looking pretty good, and could be getting better.  Martinez is a long shot to be helpful for the rest of the season, but if they trade for Halladay, their starting 5 will be second to none on paper.

As bad as the Phillies played against the American League, they were able to run off a 9-1 record before the break to stay ahead of the pack in the East.  History tells me Florida will not be there at the end, and the Mets are just having too many problems, as well as a history of choking on their side.  That leaves the Braves as the only team who could give the Phils a run for their money to repeat as division champs.  But honestly, they don’t scare me.

Assuming the Phillies clinch the division again this year (which is always at most an assumption because of injury possibilites), who do we have to be afraid of the rest of the NL for the playoffs?  I look at LA and St. Louis as the only two teams who could give us problems in the postseason.  Anyone else is going to inexperienced or barely make it in.

There is always the possibility of some team (like Milwaukee?) getting hot like Colorado did two years ago and making a really good run in the last month of the season that continues into the playoffs.  As unpredictable as that is, I still think the Phillies have the best chance to get back to the World Series as any other team in the NL.

Is anyone paying attention to the AL at this point?  Does anyone have any predictions what teams could give New York and Boston a hard time this year?  I don’t really follow it so I’m not too sure, but I think it would be really hard to any team, no matter how well they are playing, to knock off one or both of those perennial playoff-bound teams and advance to the World Series.  Which leaves the question, can we beat New York or Boston?  I believe trading for Roy Halladay could play a big part in answering that question.  Now, we just have to wait until the end of the month and see what happens.

After a full week of watching the Phillies lose every game to AL teams, I have to admit I’m getting frustrated.  Yes, we’re still in 1st place with a slim lead over the Mets.  Yes, we sucked this badly last year against AL teams and still won the division, then the World Series.  And I know it’s still early, so why panic?

Well, some of the things I’ve been complaining about for a long time are finally starting to show their ugly side.

Case #1: Jimmy Rollins.  Just watch his swing.  If you watch where the bat goes, he ends with it over his head, causing a lot of pop up and fly ball outs.  As a leadoff hitter, your job is to get on base by whatever means necessary.  I believe Jimmy is trying to be a power hitter, which is obviously not.  His OBP is pathetic, and I believe the primary cause of the Phillies recent lack of run production.  The numbers clearly show when he gets on base and scores in a game, their record improves dramatically.

Case #2: Charlie Manuel.  Even after last year, I’m still not totally satisfied with him as our manager.  Of course, now it’s taboo to say anything bad about anyone because of what they accomplished, but I still feel like I can speak my mind.  I’ve never been a fan, and should we get back to the WS this year and face a team like the Yankees or Red Sox, I don’t believe he can outmanage the other guy to steal a win when neeeded.  But the players love him, and now even most of the fans, so…

Case #3: Ryan Howard.  He strikes out too much.  I know it’s obvious, but it’s true.  Now, with the shift he so fully expects to see, I would love to see a guy making that much money learn how to poke a ball into the opposite field and make the other team be honest.  It would greatly improve his average, as well as force pitchers to pitch to him more, which would mean he could hit even more home runs.  Everybody wins, right?

Case #4: Management.  Now that Pat is gone, we are once again putting our trust in a guy to make the right moves at the right time who has yet to prove himself.  Of course, I can’t really complain until after this year’s trade deadline comes and goes.  But, I can’t say I’m thrilled with who is going to be making those phone calls to other teams in a few months.
So, the Phillies now have to face another week of interleague play.  All we can hope is that they do better this week than the last.  Facing the AL defending champs and one of the teams who just swept us sure doesn’t instill a lot of confidence in me, though.

We desparately need Howard, Ibanez, and Lidge back in this lineup.  And sooner then later, please.

Well, it’s one and done again this year for the Sixers. This time, it was the Magic, minus Dwight Howard, who ended their season in 6 games. They showed promise at times, but not enough to win a series. To win in the playoffs, you need a a cohesive team, a well-executed game plan, and oh yeah, players who are good enough.

This team is young, and at times looked lost on the floor. I believe the only reason they stole the first game of this series was because the Magic didn’t think they were going to have to show up. They were already looking ahead to Boston. It became a dog fight after 4 games with the series tied, until the Magic woke up and started playing basketball. And what that says about this Sixers is, sadly, they are not ready to contend in the playoffs. After two years, we are expecting more.

Expecting more means that Brand will come back next season ready to plan, and able to dominate in the post against most teams. That means Andre Iguodala will spend every day this off season shooting free throws and working on his mid range jump shot. That means Ed Stafanski will figure out what to do about his point guard, whether that means resigning Miller or replacing him with Williams or a free agent.

This teams still lacks leadership and experience. Thaddeus Young has the right attitude, and should continue to develop. Speights looks like he has enough talent to contribute significant “big man” minutes off the bench for Brand and Dalembert. The rest of the bench is pretty awful, however. Just because you can hit a few 3’s late in a game, but not play ANY defense, doesn’t mean you should be playing professional basketball. I’m sorry, but it’s time to move on. We need young, athletic shooters to come in off the bench and be able to score without giving away the game while letting the starters rest. I don’t care where it comes from, just go find it.

I hope to see a productive off season. Ed has proved he is willing to make the moves and do what it takes to try to put a winner on the floor. Hopefully, his plans will work and pay off in the long run. For now, it’s a fun ride to watch these guys play together, but pretty soon we are going to start demanding some results.