Phillies Post-mortem

If you're wondering how I'm feeling in the wake of the Phillies' World Series loss at the hands of the Evil Empire, to be honest the cold I'm currently battling feels worse -- and it isn't that severe a cold.

The 2009 Phillies were a team whose bullpen was beset by injuries and inconsistency; whose young pitching ace apparently spent the offseason making stupid commercials for Comcast instead of working out; whose other starting pitchers at the beginning of the season were serving up runs at a ridiculous pace; whose leadoff hitter -- the so-called catalyst -- spent three months in a hitting "slump" (a week or two is a slump; half a season is a disaster); whose pinch-hitters were feeble pretty much all year; whose high-priced new outfielder got hurt and essentially stopped producing on offense after the All-Star break.

A team with such problems has no business contending, let alone winning the NL East for the third consecutive season and appearing in the World Series in back-to-back years for the first time in franchise history, with one championship to boot. So who can feel that bad that they lost the World Series to a team that isn't capable of winning without spending hundreds of millions of dollars to buy up every possible player on the market?

So here's to the 2009 Phillies. It was quite a ride. Actually, the last three years combined have been quite a ride -- no Phillies team has ever accomplished this much over a three-year period -- and this particular one doesn't have to end just yet. With so many key players locked into contracts for at least the next year or two, if the Phils make the proper moves to shore up some weaknesses there's no reason they won't be back in the World Series again in 2010. The deal to get Cliff Lee prior to the trade deadline, without giving up their most promising minor league talent, indicates that such retooling is in capable hands. What needs to be done? Glad you asked...

The bullpen: The struggles of Brad Lidge, whether due to knee problems or not, and the multiple absences of J.C. Romero (suspension and injury) had a domino effect on the rest of the relief corps. They need Romero for the full season as the lefthanded set-up option, especially if fellow lefty Scott Eyre retires. More importantly, they need Lidge to return to something close to 2008 form -- or they need Ryan Madson to step up and become consistent enough to take Lidge's place.

The starters: Not much change here. Cliff Lee stabilized the rotation. J.A. Happ may end up as NL Rookie of the Year. Despite his 2009 problems, Cole Hamels isn't going anywhere. I think Joe Blanton is good enough for one of the remaining two spots; for a while he was the only decent starter. The Phils will have to decide on the final spot. Do they bring back Pedro Martinez for another year? See if Jamie Moyer can bounce back from his demotion and season-ending injury? Or will highly touted minor leaguer Kyle Drabek make the leap to the parent club, either at the start of the year or later on in the season?

The bench: Another year of Matt Stairs probably wouldn't hurt, as a lefthanded bat to provide the occasional home run, but if there's a better option -- someone who can also hit for average as well as having some power -- the Phils should explore it. For righthanded hitting, though, they absolutely need better options than Miguel Cairo and Eric Bruntlett. Sure, he scored the winning run in the 2008 Series and turned an unassisted triple play to end a game this year, but Bruntlett's got to go.

The lineup: The only possible change is at third base. Pedro Feliz is an excellent fielder but his hitting leaves much to be desired. The Phils have a 2010 option to keep him at $5.5 million, and it's not out of the question that they could decide against picking up that option. A better bat can be found in free agency, but it would have to be someone who has decent fielding skills as well. And he'll have to be a righthanded hitter, because there are enough (too many?) lefthanded bats already.

My League Championship Series Picks

Baseball's best-of-five Division Series -- the mini-playoffs, if you will -- are over (and rather quickly, with three sweeps and a four-gamer). Now it gets serious. The National League Championship Series starts in less than 20 hours, and the American League series gets under way a day later. I correctly predicted three of the four participants. Let's see if I can get both of these right...

AL: New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Angels -- I keep going back and forth. The Yankees have the best closer, which is important, but I think the Angels might have better pitching overall. The media will hype up the Yankees, and Alex Rodriguez in particular, but I'm still not convinced. The Minnesota Twins barely showed up for the ALDS after scratching and clawing their way into the playoffs. The Angels took care of Boston, and I think they'll take care of the other AL East team. Angels in 6.

NL: Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Philadelphia Phillies -- Here we go again. For the second year in a row the Dodgers swept the highly-touted NL Central champs, while the Phillies took out the Wild Card team in four games. Some circumstances are different. For one, the Dodgers have home-field advantage. Needless to say, it probably comes down to the Phillies' bullpen. Does Brad Lidge's two saves in those two terrific wins in Denver mean he's back? No one can say that and really, truly believe it. With Pedro Martinez starting Game 2, J.A. Happ is back in the bullpen and Chan Ho Park is on the NLCS roster (replacing Brett Myers, who isn't happy about it). I'm going to stick with what I said about the last round: I'm giving the defending champs the benefit of the doubt. Phillies in 7.

Phillies may be in trouble

The NL Division Series got off to a spectacular start for the Phillies, with a 5-1 complete game win by Cliff Lee on Wednesday. However, the Colorado Rockies bounced back Thursday, taking a 4-0 lead against Cole Hamels and hanging on for a 5-4 win.

The series shifts to Denver for Games 3 and 4 -- Saturday at 9:37 pm ET and Sunday at 10:07 pm ET. These starting times are ridiculous, especially considering the weather forecast Saturday calls for temperatures around 30 degrees with possible snow showers or freezing drizzle. The blame goes to MLB and to TBS (whose performance in televising the playoff games has been pathetic, by the way).

This weather may be a factor for the Phillies, but a bigger question is who will start those games. Hamels was lifted for a pinch-hitter after 5 innings Thursday. The Phils then used both Joe Blanton and J.A. Happ in relief. Blanton only threw 19 pitches and Happ threw 4, with the fourth being lined off his left leg. He has a contusion and x-rays are negative. He says he can pitch Saturday but the Phils are planning to go with either Blanton or Pedro Martinez (as I write this, the decision hasn't been announced). Martinez has struggled in the first inning of most of his starts. With it being so cold in Denver, it'll be that much harder to warm up.

Happ is lefthanded and the Rockies have more trouble with lefties, so if he's healthy enough and doesn't start Saturday he'd better be pitching Sunday. It could be that he'll be kept in the bullpen, but if he enters a game early because the Phils have fallen behind (the way Blanton did today), the Phils are in trouble.

Strange Days Part 1: Phils

The two Philly teams in action over the weekend had an unusual few days, so this is a two-part tale. We start with the Phillies, who had four games against the New York Mets, a team expected to contend with the Phils but instead find themselves trying to play the spoiler.

Friday's game found Mets' starter Nelson Figueroa giving up 9 hits and 5 walks in 5 1/3 innings, but only allowing 2 runs. The Phils wasted multiple opportunities, going 4-for-19 with runners in scoring position, and managed only a 4-1 lead going into the 9th. Phils' closer-for-the-moment Ryan Madson gave up a couple of hits, but the only run he gave up came on a double play, and the Phils held on for the 4-2 win.

On Saturday the first five Mets' at-bats against Jamie Moyer, starting again in place of J.A. Happ, went like this: double, single, 2-RBI single (David Wright), 2-run homer, single. Moyer settled down, lasting through the 7th and allowing just a 7th-inning run. The Phils' offense came to life, building up a 9-5 lead through 7. Brett Myers came on in the 8th, got an out, gave up a hit and then served up a 2-run homer (Wright again). The Mets got another run off Myers and Chan Ho Park to make it 9-8. Madson came on in the 9th, got two outs, gave up a hit, and got bashed for a 2-run homer (Wright yet again). The Mets went on to finish off the 10-9 win.

Sunday there was a day-night doubleheader. In the first game the Phils got an unexpected bonus: 7 1/3 fine innings from Kyle Kendrick, and took a 5-2 lead into the 9th. Deposed closer Brad Lidge was called upon, and gave up 3 hits and 2 runs, but managed to save the game.

In the nightcap, Charlie Manuel decided to let Pedro Martinez go as long as possible. Pedro ended up throwing an astonishing 130 pitches, the most he's thrown in a game since 2001, but gave the Phils 8 scoreless innings. He had 119 pitches in his last start. The two-game workload is somewhat insane considering his age, his inactivity for much of the year and his injury issues in recent years. Madson, trying again, got the save as the Phils made a first-inning run hold up. Depsite it all, the Phils took three out of four from the Mets.

With Florida losing two over the weekend to Washington and losing tonight at St. Louis, the Phillies' lead stands at 7 games with 20 games left, starting tomorrow against Washington. This is close to the Mets' 7-game-lead-with-17-left standing in 2007 prior to their epic collapse. The Phils of 2007, however, were playing much better than the Marlins of 2009, so a similar flop by the 2009 Phils remains very unlikely.

However, the continuing struggles of the bullpen -- much too similar to those of the Mets' pen in recent years -- do not bode well for the chances of another late October parade down Broad Street.

Philly Sports 4-team Update

A few bits of news on all four teams, if I may.

Phillies: Just finished off a series win over the San Francisco Giants with a 2-1 victory tonight. Pedro Martinez outdueled Tim Lincecum (both pitching extremely well for 7 innings) and Brad Lidge got the save. The hitters aren't doing a lot but the pitchers are. With the Giants right in the thick of the NL Wild Card chase this was a possible playoff preview, so winning two of three -- including tonight's win over the 2008 NL Cy Young Award winner -- is definitely a positive. The Phils now travel to Houston for four, followed by three in Washington (where plenty of tickets will be available).

Eagles: Michael Vick is apparently (I say "apparently" since I haven't been watching) getting a lot of playing time in the second half of tonight's exhibition finale. I read that he scored a touchdown in the first half as well, although Kevin Kolb played most of that half. Vick will be eligible to play in Week 3 of the regular season, the NFL announced today. By the way, at shops on the Boardwalk in Wildwood, NJ this week I saw t-shirts saying "Hide your beagle, Vick's an Eagle" and "Watch your hound, Vick's in town." While I am not a Vick supporter, these shirts are kind of dumb considering that pit bulls are the dog of choice for dogfighters.

Flyers: Hard to believe that their training camp starts in nine days. Last month, at a camp for Team Canada (in preparation for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics), Simon Gagne strained his right groin. It was said to be a mild strain and the team didn't expect any problems by the time their camp begins, to me this is a concern since Gagne has had injuries in this area in the past and had hip surgery in May.

76ers: Ummmmmmmmm...well, they hired Ed Pinckney as a broadcaster...I guess that counts as news...

Phils enter September with a cushion

Outside of the two-loss glitch in Pittsburgh the Phillies continue to maintain their winning ways. They're doing just enough to win, but they'll have a 7 1/2-game lead in the NL East when they begin a series with the Giants on Tuesday (the Braves and Marlins are both 8 out right now, and they play each other tomorrow). They still have issues, though.

For one, the Phils still don't really know what they have in Pedro Martinez. He's started four games. In two he got wins but looked shaky at times, in part because the offense had long innings that kept him on the bench for longer than usual. In the other two rain delays caused his removal early. They'll have to figure out whether he's going to be reliable enough to stay in the rotation or if they'd be better off with Jamie Moyer (who relieved Martinez after both rain delays and pitched very well).

Other pitching dilemmas may or may not be getting sorted out. Brad Lidge got a pair of saves this weekend against Atlanta, both with 1-2-3 ninth innings. He needs to string together a bunch of these to show he's truly ended his struggles. Cole Hamels pitched 8 scoreless innings in his last start. Again, he needs to become consistent.

Some of the htters (both in the lineup and on the bench) are also struggling. Raul Ibanez has slumped badly since returning from the disabled list just before the All-Star break. Offensively he looks more like Pat Burrell right now. Pinch-hitting has become a weakness -- Matt Stairs is now 0 for his last 27 at-bats. The Phils are at times having their usual difficulties with runners in scoring position. They need to be able to manufacture some runs now and then when the home runs aren't flying out.

There is still time for the Phils to resolve these issues, but not a whole lot. Fortunately, their lead gives them some leeway. On the other hand, they only need to look at the Mets to see what can happen to September leads.

Phils: The old man may still have something

Interesting turn of events: a severe thunderstorm caused a one-hour rain delay in tonight's Phillies-Diamondbacks game. This caused Pedro Martinez to be removed from the game, rather than come back after the delay. Martinez had only thrown 38 pitches and allowed just one run, on a solo home run leading off the game.

In to pitch came Jamie Moyer. Moyer was replaced by Martinez in the rotation and, you may recall, wasn't happy about it. He ended up pitching the final 6 innings, allowing no runs or walks and just two hits, as the Phils went on to a 5-1 win. It's the Phils' 6th win in 7 games since being swept by Florida the weekend before last. Moyer took some flak after his comments last week, but heard no boos when he entered the game, and the cheers got louder as he continued to pitch -- and hit (Moyer singled in his first two at-bats).

According to ESPN.com's Jayson Stark, the 46-year-old Moyer became the oldest non-knuckleballer to pitch in relief since someone Hod Lisenbee in 1945.

The Phils maintain their 4 1/2-game lead over Florida and extend the gap to 6 1/2 over Atlanta. They have two more home games against Arizona and then play four at BrokeBank Field against the Mets. With the Mets now 12 1/2 games back, that series has lost a little of its zest.

Phils beat Cubs, fans

Be sure to go here and read what I wrote about the beer shower inflicted on Shane Victorino by a piece-of-garbage Chicago Cubs fan. As for the game itself, Pedro Martinez went 5 innings in his first start, allowing 3 runs and 7 hits, with 1 walk and 5 strikeouts. Pretty mediocre, except it didn't much matter as the Phillies scored 8 runs in the 4th to break the game open and eventually won 12-5. The Phils now lead the NL East by 4 1/2 games over both Florida and Atlanta.

Moyer and Lidge

Jamie Moyer told reporters today that he feels "misled" after the Phillies decided to put him in the bullpen. Then he has the nerve to say, "I most certainly do not want to be a distraction." Which is exactly what he's become.

The Phillies signed Pedro Martinez to join the rotation. He would've replaced Rodrigo Lopez, but then they traded for Cliff Lee without having to give up J.A. Happ. That means someone else had to go. Based on performance, it had to be Moyer.

If he's so unhappy that he's been demoted from the rotation BASED ON PERFORMANCE then he should find a way to give back the money the Phillies are obligated to pay him for the next year and two months and leave. Otherwise he should shut the hell up.

Speaking of leaving, Brad Lidge blew yet another save tonight. With each lousy performance it seems less likely that he'll regain his 2008 form. It is beginning to look like Brett Myers will be back with the Phils in September and if so, he should be the closer, not Lidge.

Fortunately, the Phils won 4-3 in 12 on a homer by Ben Francisco. They had just 3 hits all night and still won. Their first 3 runs came on a 2-run homer (after a walk) and a bases-loaded walk (after two walks and a HBP). Highly unusual, to say the least.

Phillies vote for Pedro

Well, the Phillies have made one sensible decision: Jamie Moyer will go to the bullpen as Pedro Martinez will make his first start on Wednesday night at Wrigley Field. The question is why Pedro is going Wednesday and not Tuesday. J.A. Happ threw 127 pitches in his last start, and perhaps would benefit from an extra day's rest, but he's going on Tuesday, and Cliff Lee is being held back until Thursday, giving him 6 days off between starts. My guess is that ESPN bribed the Phils to hold Pedro until Wednesday, since they are televising the game nationally.

After being swept by Florida over the weekend the Phils' NL East lead is down to 3 1/2 games (since the Marlins won tonight). They continue to struggle at the plate, which is putting more pressure on the pitching staff. Cole Hamels still is floundering and Moyer, well, the fact that he's out of the rotation tells the story. The Phils are fortunate that Lee, Happ and Joe Blanton have pitched so well lately. The bullpen will get help as Chad Durbin is back from the disabled list, but J.C. Romero is going to rest for about a week before throwing again, so he won't be back soon.

Phillies: Save Happ's Job!

J.A. Happ may be taken out of the Phillies' starting rotation, but he made his case tonight -- as he has all season, really -- to reverse that decision, with a complete-game shutout. Happ gave up just 4 hits and walked 2, striking out 10 in the Phils' 7-0 win over Colorado.

Everyone seems to think that when Pedro Martinez is activated he'll be a starter, and no one seems to think Jamie Moyer can pitch out of the bullpen. Martinez has to prove that he can consistently go 6 or more innings without wearing down -- tonight in a rehab start in the minors he allowed 1 run through 5 innings, then gave up 3 in the 6th, though he walked none and struck out 11 -- or else he shouldn't be given a starting job. He's had a stellar career but he's not the pitcher he once was. Just because he started most of his career doesn't mean he's one of the top 5 starters now on this team.

As I said, people seem to think Moyer won't adjust well to the bullpen. He's 46 years old and did pitch in relief in the past. There's no reason he can't do it again. He can't do any worse from the bullpen than he has as a starter this year. Moyer's contract of $8 million per year for this year and next shouldn't be a factor.

Going strictly by performance, the decision is easy. Happ has outpitched Moyer this year by far. It would be a disgrace to send Happ to the bullpen.

Phillies Lee-ve Jays, Halladay behind

It's a shame, in a way, that the Phillies couldn't work out a deal to get Roy Halladay. I was going to write an awesome parody of Madonna's "Holiday" with Halladay/Phillies lyrics. Oh, well. Toronto wanted too much in their initial trade proposal and apparently weren't willing to compromise, so the Phillies essentially told the Blue Jays the same thing that Dick Cheney once told Senator Pat Leahy. They turned around and got starting pitcher Cliff Lee from Cleveland along with outfielder Ben Francisco, for 4 minor leaguers: pitchers Carlos Carrasco and Jason Knapp, catcher Lou Marson and infielder Jason Donald.

Pluses:

• none of these four were among the players the Blue Jays wanted for Halladay
• he's going to make about $6.75 million less than Halladay
• they got a right-handed bat off the bench in Francisco
• Lee is the 2008 Cy Young award winner and pitching well (though not quite as spectacular as last year), and now he'll be pitching with a team that has great offense and great defense
  

Minuses:

• Lee is lefthanded, which could leave the Phils with four lefty starters -- Lee, Cole Hamels, Jamie Moyer, J.A. Happ -- that could be a problem against teams with more big right-handed hitters (then again, if Pedro Martinez isn't sent to the bullpen once he's activated, either Moyer or Happ would be out of the rotation)
• Lee hasn't had the same kind of career-long brilliance as Halladay
• Lee is more of a fly ball pitcher; though he hasn't been giving up a lot of homers, he hasn't been pitching home games at cozy Citizens Bank Park

If we're not having a Halladay celebration, this is a fine backup plan. It keeps phenoms Kyle Drabek, Dominic Brown and Michael Taylor (not to mention Happ) here and strengthens the rotation greatly. Between this deal and their 7-game NL East lead, the only worry the Phils have right now is the bullpen, due to the various injuries and Brad Lidge's continuing ineffectiveness.

Phils done All-Star break, still on fire

The Phillies' lead in the NL East is up to 5 games now after winning their first game after the All-Star break, 4-0 at Florida. The runs all came on homers, two by Rauuuuuuuuuuuuul Ibanez and the career 200th from Ryan Howard. Howard is the fastest player (in terms of games played) in MLB history to reach the 200 mark. Jamie Moyer, the oldest man in the game (but still younger than me) gave up just one hit in 7 innings. Very satisfactory way to start the second half. I have my doubts about how much newly-signed Pedro Martinez will help when he's activated after some rehab starts, but it won't matter if Moyer can keep this up.

A couple days of Phils stuff

Interesting developments...

• Shane Victorino was the winner in the NL All-Star Final Vote. Apparently he came up with the idea for the Phillies to team up with the Detroit Tigers, whose Brandon Inge was the AL winner. The "Bran-Torino" campaign apparently worked...except since I voted hundreds of times, including non-stop in the 2 hours before voting closed, it really was me who put him over the top.
• Jayson Werth is also going to the All-Star game; he was named as a replacement for the Mets' Carlos Beltran, who is missing the game due to injury. This is surprising, because I would've expected that LA Dodger Matt Kemp, the only other outfielder on the Final Vote ballot. But clearly NL All-Star game Charlie Manuel is playing favorites and rewarding his players, between this choice and that of Ryan Howard at first base. Must be good to be the king. (With Victorino and Raul Ibanez, this is the first time since 1972 that one team has had three outfielders in an All-Star game.
  
• Ibanez has been activated from the disabled list; in a very surprising move, catcher and author Chris Coste was designated for assignment to make room for Ibanez, and Coste was claimed by Houston.
• The Phillies are interested in free-agent pitcher Pedro Martinez. He's struggled with age and injuries in recent years; this year he pitched in the World Baseball Classic and has sat waiting since then. I don't know that he'd be much of an upgrade over the starters they already have. I'd much rather they trade for Toronto's Roy Halladay now that the Blue Jays have intimated that they might try and trade him.
• Oh, and they've now won 7 of 8 on this homestand after tonight's 3-2 win over the Pirates, with me in attendance (and I'll be there tomorrow also), and now lead the NL East by 3 games.