A Sausage Fest

After a fairly boring week for Phillies baseball that saw two snow/rain postponements in Colorado, the Phillies batters have been on fire, continuing to score runs at the scorching pace at which they began the season. The Phillies have scored 19 runs in two games, and are now one behind their free swinging series opponents in total runs in the NL. Hopefully that will change today.

The sausage race, a highlight of Brewers home games

(Photo courtesy of mlb.com)

Rewinding a little bit, last Wednesday was supposed to be a double header for the Phillies and Rockies, after Tuesday's game was postponed. Wednesday's afternoon game was played as scheduled, but the heavy precipitation came back and the night game was again postponed. The afternoon was a rough one, where Roy Halladay managed to pitch into the 7th inning while getting out of jams left and right and only giving up one run up until that point. He might have pitched out of the 7th inning if not for some errors and a few bad pitches which ended up tying the game up at 3-3. J.C. Romero and Danys Baez managed to keep it tied for the next two innings, aided by an insane amount of luck (read, hard line drives hit directly at Phillies). Chad Durbin still kept it tied in the 9th, but came out again for the 10th and promptly gave up a walk off homer to catcher Miguel Olivo. This was Olivo's 5th hit of the game, so it's probably good the Phillies didn't have to face him again Wednesday night.

(Photo courtesy of Ed Andrieski/AP)

Moving on to the sausage fest at Miller Park, Jamie Moyer was back on the mound for the first time after pitching his historic two hit shutout against the Braves a week before. He had another outing with several solid innings and one bad one, where he gave up three homers, luckily all solo shots. He passed the 500 homer mark with the second of those three, making him the second pitcher ever to do so. As I've mentioned before, the other pitcher is Phillies great Robin Roberts with 505, and Moyer should pass him in the next three or four starts, so keep an eye out for that. It should be mentioned that behind Moyer and Roberts on that list is no shabby group of pitchers. Todd Zolecki pointed out that, "rounding out the top 10 are Ferguson Jenkins (483), Phil Niekro (482), Don Sutton (472), Frank Tanana (448), Warren Spahn (434), Bert Blyleven (430), Steve Carlton (414) and Randy Johnson (411)." If that's not good company for a pitcher, I'm not sure what is. Anyhow, other than those three home runs and a few runs that could have been saved had Chase Utley not committed an error in the 7th, Moyer had himself a solid outing. The offense provided more than enough support, including some fine production by the bottom of the order and homers by Utley, Ryan Howard, and Raul Ibanez. The Phillies, wearing shiny powder blue throwback unis, took this one 9-5.

Ryan Howard, homering in the first

(Photo courtesy of Morry Gash/AP)

Joe Blanton came to the mound yesterday afternoon and, except for three pitches, pretty much dominated the Brewers lineup. Unfortunately those three pitches were hit out of the park for five runs. One has to keep in mind that Blanton is still in recovery mode after his recent stint on the DL, so he should only get better as the season goes on. The offense came through again, with the bottom of the order pulling their weight and then some, which they had also done Friday night. As a good example of this, Paul Hoover, the back up back up catcher, scored three runs after scoring two the previous game. How many runs had this journeyman scored in his entire nine year career up until this point? Why, I'm glad you asked. The answer is four. That's right, he scored more runs in his first two starts this year for the Phillies than he did in his entire career up until now. In addition to that, Victorino continued his recent destruction of opposing pitchers, going three for six with a single, double, and homer and driving in four runs. He now is second only to triple crown contender Andre Ethier in RBI for the NL, and that's all out of the leadoff spot. That's a tribute both to Shane's hitting and the productivity of the bottom of the Phillies order. The Phillies won 10-6, despite a nerve wracking bottom of the 9th where Jose Contreras finally struck out Rickie Weeks and Craig Counsell to end the game and end his first career save.

(Photo courtesy of H. Rumph Jr./AP)

For now, Jose Contreras had better keep pitching the way he has so far because he is the team's closer. Brad Lidge has returned to the DL, after the Phillies announced he was only day to day following an MRI that showed no serious damage to his elbow. Unfortunately, the inflammation that has kept him from pitching for the past week does not seem to want to go away. His time on the DL has been made retroactive to May 10th, so he will be eligible to pitch again on May 25th, and will hopefully get whatever cortisone or joint lubrication injections he needs to be back before then. Lidge's few appearances offered a tantalizing glimpse at what might be if Lidge is indeed healthy again, and I still believe his arm has life left in it. For the sake of this bullpen, let's hope so. Otherwise Ruben Amaro Jr. and the rest of the Phillies' front office might be busier than they planned come this year's trade deadline.

Razing Arizona

The title says it all in terms of what us fans might want to do to Chase Field right now. The same Chase Field where the Diamondbacks destroyed the Phillies and Cole Hamels in the first game of this series with home runs. The same Chase Field where the home plate umpire consistently failed to call strikes and this led directly to the go ahead and insurance run scored today in the 8th inning by the Diamondbacks. The same Chase Field located in the state of Arizona, which sees fit to openly discriminate against its residents. Yes folks, besides the Suns and the Coyotes (I'm pretty indifferent in the NBA and in the West in the NHL), there's a a lot to be upset with in Arizona right now.

Ex-Alaska Governor Sarah Palin with current Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, discussing how fun it is to sign discriminatory bills into law.

(Photo courtesy of Paul Connors/AP)

Friday night's game looked great for three innings, and it included a bizarre four base error on the Diamondbacks on Chris Young, who dropped a fly ball hit by Jayson Werth in the 4th inning and didn't realize the Werth had in fact not been called out as he rounded the bases. That came after a triple by Shane Victorino following a single by Cole Hamels, so the Phillies entered the bottom of the 4th up 2-0. That was when Cole Hamels' night unraveled and he gave up five runs on three homers to Mark Reynolds, Andy LaRoche and Chris Snyder, followed by another home run to Kelly Johnson in the 5th. Hamels still struck out seven batters in six innings. He has the stuff this year, he just gets hammered on his bad pitches, though there have not been as many bad pitches as we saw last year. This goes to show how much of a role luck plays in baseball sometimes. The Phillies would score two more runs, and Kelly Johnson hit another homer off the recently returned J.C. Romero. The Diamondbacks took game one 7-4.

(Photo courtesy of the AP)

Yesterday, Nelson Figueroa made his first and likely only start for the Phillies in 2010, filling in for the DL'd J.A. Happ. Figgy did exactly what a spot starter needs to do in such a situation: last enough innings and give up few enough runs that the offense and bullpen can take care of the rest. Figueroa gave up two runs, both on a homer by Kelly Johnson, an pitched five innings. Chad Durbin, Jose Contreras, and Ryan Madson combined to keep the Dbacks scoreless for the rest of the game. The Phillies offense didn't come through often, but three solo homers, two by Werth and one by Ibanez (his first of the season), was all the Phillies needed to win this one, 3-2. Incidentally, Werth also broke a nearly week-long home run drought for the Phillies when he homered in the 2nd. Good to see the long ball again.

(Photo courtesy of Paul Connors/AP)

That brings us to today's game, with resigned and appointed governors in attendance. The Phillies lineup was modified to include as many left-handed batters as possible against a lefty-free Diamondbacks pitching roster. This unusual lineup came through immediately, when Ross Gload had a leadoff single followed by a Greg Dobbs homer. Kyle Kendrick struggled early but got out of jams and settled in for the 3rd and 4th innings. Then he led off the 5th by giving up a single to the pitcher, former Phillie Rodrigo Lopez. Then a Kelly Johnson two run shot began the unraveling, leading to a five run 5th inning for the Diamondbacks. The Phillies responded with offense of their own in the 6th and took a 6-5 lead. Then Danys Baez pitched a shaky but scoreless 6th, and a shakier 7th where he gave up the tying run before being taken out for Antonio Bastardo, who got out of the inning. Then David Herndon came in for the 8th for the Phillies, and here the home plate umpire's inconsistent strike zone really hurt the Phillies. Hits that Herndon gave up to Mark Reynolds and Chris Young came after pitches that should have been, without argument, called strike threes. Those called balls came back to haunt the Phillies in the form of the go ahead and insurance runs for the Diamondbacks, who went on to win 8-6.

 Danys Baez, wondering why he's giving up hits throwing the same fastball over and over again.

(Photo courtesy of Paul Connors/AP)

The offense once again showed some life today, but the pitching failed. Kyle Kendrick continued to show the same issues he had in his first two starts, and like Hamels did on Friday, followed his previous gem with a weak outing. Both pitchers had their best outings of the season thus far end in Phillies losses the week before. This Phillies team is in a cold streak, even thought they're not on any sort of alarming losing streak. Still, we saw the potential for this team at the beginning of the season, and that feeling that we're watching a team running on all (or most) cylinders has been lacking in recent games. Maybe the injuries have something to do with it, and I hope that all injured Phillies rehab on schedule or sooner. That being said, there's no reason that the current healthy roster can't play better than it has lately. The offense needs to show up for the same games that the pitching does, and vice-versa. Hopefully Roy Halladay's start tomorrow night will once again render all other concerns moot.

Sweepin' Up the 'Stros

The Phillies have their first sweep of the season. And wow. Roy Halladay sure knows how to get the job done. Today marks his 150th career win, and 50th career complete game. Yes, you read that right. A full one third of his wins are complete games (Update: It's been pointed out to me that not all of his complete games were wins. Nevertheless, the numbers are still pretty unbelievable). That, my friends and fellow fans, simply does not happen anymore. But it just did, today.

(Photo courtesy of Dave Einsel / AP)

I haven't updated since the Phillies left my area on Thursday, so I'll give a brief rundown of this recent sweep and then some thoughts on what the Phillies have shown so far.

Friday night's game saw a solid start from J.A. Happ, giving up no runs in 5 innings. However, as with Cole Hamels in game 2 against the Nationals, Happ labored through those 5 innings. The bullpen, however sparkled. David Herndon continues to be one of the better Rule 5 picks around lately. His strong innings were followed by an inning each by our favorite pair of former Cuban defectors, Danys Baez and Jose Contreras, who were both unhittable. Among Baez, Contreras, Herndon, and Madson the Phillies have 4 relievers who have touched 95 and above on the radar gun, each with a solid mix of pitches to boot. This raw stuff was simply not there in the bullpen last year. Backing up this combined 4 pitcher shutout, the offense did its job and scored 8 runs on 16 hits, including 3 hits by the reawakened Raul Ibanez. I'm going to pretend that he had a stunt double standing in for him before that point and hope for the best from this point forward.

(Photo courtesy of Todd Zolecki)

Moving on to Saturday night's game, our favorite 47 year old pitcher got his first start of the season, playing on "turn back the clock night" in Houston, where the Astros wore 1965 throwback uniforms. Incidentally, as has been pointed out elsewhere, Jamie Moyer is the only active player who was alive in 1965. It's those little details like that that make his career all the more astounding. His start was not all that astounding, however, giving up 5 runs including 2 home runs in the 3rd inning, which now puts him at 493 homers given up in his career. That means he's 12 short of the all-time record set by the Phillies' own Robin Roberts. Not bad company. That start aside, a 2 run shot by Ryan Howard in the 6th inning put Moyer in line for the win and the bullpen did its job once again, limiting the Astros to one run in 3 innings of relief. Shane Victorino, the last lackluster piece of the Phillies offense, came alive with a 2 run homer in the 8th after an RBI single earlier in the game. The Phillies took it 8-5.

And then there was one. One game left to earn the first sweep of the season. One game left, if all went well, for Roy Halladay to win his 150th game. It was a pitchers' duel from the start, well at least after Roy Oswalt gave up a leadoff homer to Jimmy Rollins, J-Roll's 34th career leadoff blast. That and a sacrifice fielder's choice by Ruiz in the 2nd was all Halladay needed. He went 9 innings, struck out 8, and gave up one unearned run. That included a 6th inning where he loaded the bases with no outs, then got a sacrifice double play and a quick 3rd out when Carlos Lee popped out to shortstop. Halladay gave up 2 singles to start the 7th, then after allowing the runners to advance on a Kaz Matsui bunt, Halladay induced a grounder back to him and a strikeout. Oh, and he even had a single in the top of the 7th. He cruised through the 8th and 9th, though Carlos Lee hit a monster foul ball that was feet away from being a homer to start off the 9th that likely gave all Phillies fans watching a near heart attack. Clearly the baseball gods were smiling on Roy today. When he got Pedro Feliz (yes, that Pedro Feliz) to pop out to Utley to end the game with the Phillies winning 2-1, it became clear to all just why the Phillies went to great lengths to acquire this guy.

Needless to say, the Phillies season so far has been an exciting one. With a 5-1 record, the Phillies came into today leading the majors in most offensive categories, but they showed in today's game that they can win with more than just their frightening offense. The bullpen got its rest in today, but they've all looked sharper than us fans could have hoped for coming out of spring training. About that offense, every single regular has now contributed solidly, even a few of the pitchers, though that's really the icing on the cake. I won't make crazy statements on how many wins, runs, etc. the Phillies are on pace to get, but I will say this. Assuming that there's more to this first week's performance than completely destroying a few mediocre (or worse) teams, this is going to be a damn good year.

Game 3: You Win Some...

Well, it had to happen. We all knew Jayson Werth's bat would come alive, and what a day it was. 3 doubles in 3 at-bats, and long fly out that probably would have been a 4th double if the center fielder hadn't been Nyjer Morgan. It'll take a lot more than that to make us forget about the beard though. Just sayin', Jayson.

Oh, also the Phillies lost. 6-5. What made it worse was that we hit atrociously with runners in scoring position. Meaning we were tantalizingly close to pulling ahead and left runners on base (11 in all), inning after inning, particularly late in the game. The two particularly painful moments: Howard's baserunning blunder in the 5th (probably the fault of 3rd base coach Sam Perlozzo) and Ryan Zimmerman's double in the 7th, which was the rare "blooper" double, thanks to incredible luck of the ball landing inches fair. As for the Howard incident, Perlozzo was waving him right along right until Howard got to the base when he held up a giant "STOP" motion, so it's hard to blame Howard for running hard up until that point, that is to say doing exactly what he was supposed to be doing.

(Photo courtesy of Susan Walsh / AP Photo)

The two bigger issues to take away from this game lay with a certain pitcher and a certain hitter. The pitcher had a stellar spring training that translated into a far less than stellar outing today, with Kendrick's final line being 4 IP, 5 ER, 6 hits, including 1 HR, and 2 K. I guess for all of his working out with Roy Halladay, he still leaves sinkers up in the zone. However, it was just one starts, so I'm willing to cut him a break on that.

The above mentioned hitter had an awful spring training that, so far, has translated into the exact opposite of a torrid start. Raul Ibanez is 1 for 11 after 3 games, though he has scored 3 runs after working a few walks. Still, coupled with his .122 Grapefruit League average and his lackluster second half of the 2010 season, this is starting to be cause for concern. Of course it's early on and Raul has plenty of time to turn things around, but I think all of us would like to see that happens sooner rather than later. Let's face it, he's not a young man anymore.

(Photo courtesy of Yong Kim / Inquirer staff photographer)

The first loss of the season comes with its share of silver linings. Hitters 1 through 5 of the Phillies lineup continued to show why the rest of the league should be afraid of our offense, with each of them having a multi-hit game and going a combined 11 for 23. If they keep this up at even 75% of their current rate, and the 6-8 hitters (though Carlos Ruiz, no slouch at the plate himself in the first 2 games, had the day off today) find their stride, this team could score 1000 runs. Sure, that's wishful thinking, but crazier things have happened in this wonderful sport.

For now, it's on to Houston and time for Happ to show that last season was not all about luck for him. I appreciate the power of numbers, but I hope for the Phillies' sake that Happ proves us statheads wrong this season.

Let the Roller Coaster Ride Begin

Having been at the game once again yesterday, I can easily say that the final score of 8-4 does not do justice to the fact that the real Phillies season started yesterday. That would be the Phillies season where, even when we're ahead, the team still does its best to treat us to a nice roller coaster ride of nerves.

Let's begin with mediums, then I'll get to the highs and lows. Cole Hamels. His much ballyhooed start was certainly not his best. Then again, compared to his first start last year, this one was an absolute gem. He clearly was not hitting his spots all the time, based on the 4 walks he issued in 5 innings. He also struck out 5, so while that's not a great K/BB ratio, it's still a great K/9 IP ratio. It's also one start, but hey, the numbers have to start somewhere. Despite his struggles, he did manage to get himself the win and only gave up 2 earned runs.

 (Photo courtesy of Yong Kim / Inquirer staff photographer)

Hamels showed flashes of 2009, which was certainly cause for a few heart palpitations. However, he never became completely unhinged by a bad inning as occurred a few times last season. The closest it came to that was after he gave up a solo homer to Ian Desmond to start the 3rd, then issued back to back walks and 2 singles. However he got out of a bases loaded jam to end that inning. That bases loaded jam was certainly one of the lows of the game, but Hamels escaped relatively unscathed. His greatest problem and cause for concern going forward, was not so much the damage caused by the Nats line-up, but the number of pitches it took Hamels to limit that damage. Giving up 2 earned runs in 5 innings is fine, but if it takes him 103 pitches to do so every time, he will not go any deeper into games. Which brings us to the Phillies bullpen last night.

On the whole, the 'pen was a high. Chad Durbin looked sharp, after a fairly lackluster 2009 season. Danys Baez struggled, but was bailed out by Antonio Bastardo doing what he's paid to do as the lefty specialist: come in for one left-handed batter, throw a pitch, get an out, and hand the ball off to the next pitcher. That next pitcher was Ryan Madson who registered the four out save and was throwing some sharp stuff. He even got an at bat with the bases loaded, and I was really hoping for a relief pitcher grand slam. I wonder how many of those there have been in baseball history.

Another high was the offense. Rollins had his second 2 BB game in a row. He only had 4 such games all season last year, so that certainly bodes well.  Polanco, Utley, Howard, and Ruiz all had multi-hit games, and Howard blasted (and I mean blasted) his 2nd homer in as many games. Hell, even Cole Hamels had an RBI single, making him the 2nd Phillies starter in 2 games to do so. I wonder how many teams have started off their seasons with back to back games with pitcher RBIs. If anyone has any insight on that, let me know.

So there you have it, game 2 of the 2010 season. The good, the bad, and the mediocre of the Phillies season so far. The offense overall looks great, though it would be nice if the bats of Ibanez and Werth started showing some life soon. The pitching was solid in the end, but not wonderful. Despite the 8-4 final score, there were several near disasters in this game against a line-up that is hardly among the most fearsome in baseball.

In the greater scheme of things, the Phillies added some pitching depth by claiming Nelson Figueroa off waivers yesterday, who is likely to go straight into the bullpen today and replace Drew Carpenter. This strikes me as a good, low-risk move at a time when the Phillies sorely need more major league-ready pitching depth. It also gives Figueroa another shot at proving his value to the Phillies as part of that ill-fated Curt Schilling trade to the Diamondbacks all those years ago.

One final note: Kyle Kendrick has his first start of 2010 today against the Nationals, and his days in the rotation may be numbered. I fully expect him not to take that time for granted and pitch his hardest to make his case for the 5th starter spot when Blanton returns from the DL. Hopefully he'll continue his spring training emulation of his man crush. All Phillies eyes (and ears in my case, since the game will be blacked out on mlb.tv) will be on that starting at 4:35 PM.

Everybody's a Winner!

Well the 5th starter battled ended as predicted, with Jamie Moyer getting the nod on Tuesday, and Kyle Kendrick going to the bullpen. Everyone said all the right things and the team looked ready to start the season with a fairly set roster. But wait! Faster than you can say pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicavolcanoconiosis, Joe Blanton decided to help out Kyle Kendrick by getting himself a mild oblique strain while throwing in the bullpen, so Kendrick gets to be in the rotation after all! Everyone wins! Except for the Phillies who just lost a reliable no. 3 starter who had never spent a day on the DL before now. It appears he'll be out for 3-6 weeks.

You may remember our friend, the oblique strain, from Clay Condrey's three month absence last year. Team doctors are assuring everyone that Blanton's injury is far milder and more localized than Condrey's, but it seems that they want to be safe by not risking an aggravation to the injury. Am I the only one who thinks "mild oblique strain" doesn't really sound all that bad? I don't doubt that it's serious and good reason to sideline Blanton, but maybe that injury needs some rebranding.

Say it ain't so, Joe

(Photo courtesy of David Swanson / Daily News Staff Photographer)

Assuming Blanton is out for a while, we can continue the battle for the 5th starter just a little longer and see what Kendrick and Moyer do in the regular season. I think they'll both make fairly strong cases out of the gate. Kendrick's move to the rotation does create a hole in a bullpen that's already cause for concern, and it will be interesting to see if Ruben picks up anyone to fill that void or promotes from within. For now, signs point to Drew Carpenter being promoted from within. BJ Rosenberg is also with the team for this weekend's exhibition game, and he's a player I think could make a big league contribution sooner than people expect.

Back to good news, the countdown is now down to less than four days until Roy Halladay pitches against the Nationals in DC, after someone fairly important throws out the first pitch. Now, I don't mind our President being a White Sox fans, but if he starts rooting for the Nats then we'll have to talk.

I just got the baseball preview issue of Sports Illustrated, and might have drooled a bit over the cover:

I learned from Tom Verducci that Roy Halladay might just be the greatest thing to hit Philadelphia since Ben Franklin. Halladay is "the Lance Armstrong of pitchers...the Peyton Manning of pitchers...the Babe Ruth of pitchers...the Cy Young of pitching..." Wow. And here I thought I was getting overexcited by this guy. I hope Tom Verducci didn't hyperventilate from excitement while writing this article. Not that I can blame him. Did you know Roy Halladay has thrown nine complete games in a season more times than all other active pitchers combined? You do now. Did you know Roy Halladay both struck out over 200 batters and had fewer walks than starts in his 2003 Cy Young season? You do now. I'll paraphrase what I've previously said: if you are a Phillies fan and not excited by this guy, you clearly have no capacity for human emotion and may be dead.

Looking ahead, the Grapefruit League is now finished, and of course there were ups and downs. I'm more happy with the ups (Polanco, the starting rotation, to name a few) than I am concerned with the downs (the bullpen, Ibanez, to name a few). Maybe that's holding a double standard on my part, but I'll wait for the regular season to confirm any conclusions I could draw from spring training. All I know is that it's going to be a fun year and I can't wait for Monday.

Spring is here!

Though pitchers and catchers officially report tomorrow to sunny Clearwater, Florida, many have been throwing the ball around since yesterday.  That's right, spring has arrived for the Phillies. Spring has certainly not arrived in Philadelphia, my former home, or in DC, my current one.  Hopefully all of this snow will  be gone by the time I go see the debut of one Harry Leroy Halladay on April 5th at Nationals Park.  That same pitcher looks quite dashing in front of his brand new Phillies locker.  Now there's a sight to warm the hearts of Phillies fans.  That should hold us over until we have pictures of him destroying the Nats in 40 short days.

(Photo courtesy of Yong Kim at the Daily News)

Speaking of Phillies pitchers, Brad Lidge made himself available to the media today.  It sounds like he decided to finally tell the truth about the extent of injuries last year.  Either that or he's making a great effort to find a scapegoat for that dismal record of his in 2009, which does not need to be repeated here.  As I've stated before, I'm optimistic about his chances for a good, if not great season in 2010, and I do believe that those injuries and Lidge's denial of those injuries last year did a lot of harm.  Let's hope we see some quick evidence of improvements, especially a good down fastball and that biting slider that made him the closer we knew and loved in 2008.

For a whole run down of the state of Brad Lidge, check out what Scott Lauber has to say over in his blog, Philled In.  In the end, I just want to see more of this in 2010 than we did last season:

(Photo courtesy of Getty Images)

The stories emerging from Clearwater are music to my ears so far.  Philippe Aumont's fastball has impressive movement on it.  Chase Utley is even faster than last year, when he was certainly no slouch at stealing bases.  J.C. Romero is doing better than expected and could be back providing some much needed left-handed relief sooner than expected.  Oh, and that Roy Halladay is just as inhuman as we all hoped he would be.

So spring has arrived and there is much to be happy about as a Phillies fan.  This is a better team than we had last year.  We shouldn't need Raul Ibanez to carry most of the offense until June this year, and Jimmy Rollins will more than likely remember how to hit before July this time around.  And we have Roy Halladay replacing half a year of Brett Myers/Antonio Bastardo/Rodrigo Lopez and a half year of Cliff Lee.  That's an upgrade we should be able to take to the bank in a few months.

Before the official start kickoff of all things Phillies for the 2010 season tomorrow, I just wanted to leave you with what was the best moment of the entire 2009 season.  While there were many contenders in my mind, this was the only one that I can look back at and distinctly remember just how ecstatic I was when it happened.  It also happened right before my birthday, so if I didn't say it enough before, I'll say it again: Thanks Jimmy.  Enjoy: