Phils June 2008 By The Numbers

If you looking for good or cheery news about the Phillies, I'm not sure this is going to be the article you're looking for. It's going to be very tough to find the silver linings in the numbers for a team that has struggled as badly as the Phillies have struggled in the month of June.

The crux of the matter is that the Phillies are built around their offense. As their offense goes, so goes this ball club. They have serviceable starting pitching; it's not great, but it's good enough when they are hitting. The month of June saw many of the Phillies, including everyone's favorite second baseman, run into significant slumps that cost the team opportunities and wins in the month of June, as, amazingly, they are still in first place by a 0.5 game as play begins today in the month of July.

So, without further adieu, onto the numbers for June.....

12

The number of wins for the month of June 2008. Since the series in the beginning of the month against Atlanta, where they swept the Braves in Atlanta, the Phillies have dropped six straight series. While it's true, some of the series were against division leaders such as Boston and Anaheim, dropping series against AL teams like Texas and Oakland should not happen if the Phils were on top of their game.

I've heard and read a good number of items where it was mentioned that there is relief that the Phillies are getting out of the interleague portion of their schedule and I suppose when you're playing as poorly as the Phillies are right now, you'll struggle to grasp any straws that you can. But the fact of the matter is, if they don't right the ship now, it doesn't matter what team they are facing. Furthermore, weren't the AL teams they were facing up against the same lack of familiarity that the Phils themselves failed to adjust to? If the Phils are struggling offensively because of lack of familiarity with the American League, explain to me how the American League has been just teeing off on the NL pitchers at such a prodigious rate? Are the AL advanced scouts that much better? Is it truly that the AL is a better league?

112

The number of runs scored by the Phils in June 2008. That figure puts them at 20th in the majors in runs scored for the month of June. In and of itself, that is bottom half of the league for the month and not good news for a team that is so reliant on their offense.

Take away the June 13th game, when they tacked up 20 runs on the St. Louis Cardinals, the Phils would have scored only 92 runs for the month.....a figure that would have put them ahead of only 3 other teams in the majors. One of those teams, fortunately, is in their division (the Washington Nationals).

.232

The batting average for the Phillies, as a team, for the month of June, better than only two teams in MLB (Cincinnati and Arizona). I usually take an individual and highlight how much that person stood out, good or bad with their numbers. In the case of the Phillies this past month, they've been bad as a team.

Oh, there have definitely been some prime offenders. Geoff Jenkins hit .143 for the month as a semi-regular. You would have thought he would have been a good choice to help the Phils when they went on the road in the AL parks to DH. Not so.

Carlos Ruiz hit a paltry .178. Ruiz should lose some starts to Coste for this reason alone, but how much pressure can you put on a 30 something Chris Coste?

The worst offender, by far, was Jimmy Rollins. The Phils' leadoff man, the MVP of the NL, hit a paltry .217 in the month of June. That wouldn't have been so bad if he was getting on base alot, but is OBP was under .300 for the month. This team seems only as good as it's offensive stars. None of them performed up to standards in the month of June and ironically, they were led into mediocrity by their leadoff man.

3

The number of wins in the month of June acheived by both Cole Hamels and Kyle Kendrick.

Other then the one bad start Kendrick had against the Red Sox, Kendrick pitched well enough to keep the Phillies in just about every game he's pitched in. Lost in the 20 runs the Phils posted on St. Louis in the June 13th games is that he gave up only 1 earned run in 7 innings. Additionally, Kendrick shut out the Oakland A's, providing a tourniquette to the wounded Phils on their West Coast trip.

Cole Hamels has not had an outing where he's gone less than 7 innings in about a month. What Hamels has missed out on is either run support (losing to the Angels 3 - 2) or bullpen help (Tom Gordon implosion vs. Florida on June 11th).

Unfortunately, for the Phils, 3 is also the number of losses that Brett Myers was saddled with in the month of June. Myers' time in the rotation is probably limited and he might even welcome being skipped after the 2 inning effort he handed in against Texas. The Phils lost every game he started in June (5) and Myers' ERA for the month was an almost satanic 6.67.

0.87

Chad Durbin's ERA for the month of June in 9 appearances. Durbin is a prime candidate to take Brett Myers' spot in the rotation as he does have starting experience. Moving Durbin, however, might upset the delicate balance of a bullpen that has been an absolute rock of gibralter for this club all year.

1

The number of hits Chase Utley got in 20 AB vs. Boston and Anaheim at home. Also of note: Utley is hitting only .250 this season to date with runners in scoring position. This is a full 54 points lower than he hit all of last year in the same situation.

As fast as Chase Utley had gotten out of the gate this year, he has slowed up just as abruptly. Is this something systemic that Utley has to work out or is this a function of Jimmy Rollins being unable to get on base on a consistent basis?

Summary

What a brutal month of baseball this team flopped out there in the month of June. Some of it can be written off to not knowing the AL pitchers they were facing, but some of it is that this team is just not hitting right now. As they open up their schedule in the month of July with divisional opponents Atlanta and New York, the Phillies must decide what type of ballclub they are going to be going down the stretch. They can look at the positive in that they are still in first place despite playing their worst baseball of the year, but this team cannot just snap it's collective fingers and turn the clutch hitting back on.

Furthermore, now is the time to extricate Brett Myers from the rotation. He should be skipped at least one start. The guy to bring up? JA Happ is currently 5 - 6 for a terrible Lehigh Valley ball club, but he's got a 3.54 ERA and leads the IL in strikeouts with 104. He's a relatively young guy of 25 years old. Now is the time to see if this guy has anything. If he helps, it puts the Phils in a better negotiating position when it comes time to deal for another starter around the time of the trade deadline (for the inevitable Adam Eaton meltdown). If he doesn't help, at least you've tried to make it work from within the organization and then perhaps you check to see if Kris Benson is ready for a start or two.

Regardless, this team cannot go into this stretch of games with the status quo intact.

Phillies May 2008 By The Numbers

Now that Memorial Day has past and Summer is in full swing, we've officially entered the heart of the baseball season. Hell, you've probably already had your first night downashore where you got a little overserved by now.

As for the home team, as May gave way to June, they were challenging for (and eventually got to) first place in NL East. In years past, this news would have been a much bigger deal. Now, it's sort of expected, with the offensive talent the Phils have on the roster. It is that offensive talent that carried the day in the month of May, as the Phils slugged their way through their schedule, dropping only two series during the month (@SF and Toronto at home).

Onto the numbers.....

17

The number of wins for the month of May. This is two games better than last May, and as the calender month was winding down, the Phils entered a 3 game set against the Marlins, with first place on the line.

The biggest culprit? Starting pitching sunk the Phillies on several occasions (5/8 vs. Ariz, 5/10 vs. SF, and 5/14 vs. Atl). There is not one guy in the rotation that can look themselves in the mirror and say they pitched their best in May. There are a couple of guys that should feel worse than others. We'll get to them momentarily.

175

The number of runs scored by the Phils in the month of May, which led all of Major League Baseball. The Phils scored runs in bunches during May; especially towards the end of the month. The Phils scored double-digit runs 6 times during the month, including hanging a 20 spot on the Rockies and 15 runs on the Astros.

As you would expect when your team puts up 175 runs in a month, the Phils also slugged to the tune of .468. That was good enough to tie them for first in MLB with the Texas Rangers. As you'd further expect, the Phils hit 42 homers for the month. That was good for 2nd in MLB behind the Florida Marlins.

.322

The May 2008 batting average of embattled outfielder Shane Victorino.

It had appeared that, earlier in the month, Shane Victorino had all but lost the starting CF position to Jayson Werth. Werth punctuated the gains he had made during the beginning part of this season, by going off for 3 homers against Toronto on May 16th. Everyone, including Charlie Manual, seemed to be questioning Victorino's ability to be an everyday player.

Apparently, Manual's machinations got Victorino's attention. By the time Werth was put on the DL on May 24th, Victorino was well on his way to rescusitating his season. Victorino's batting average had risen from .235 on May 1st to a season high of .293 in the month ending loss to the Marlins on the 31st of May. He also continued to make things happen with his legs, stealing 11 bases on the month.

Amazingly, with all of the offense the Phillies produced during May, it was Victorino who had the best batting average amongst the Phillies regulars for the month of May.

18

The combined number of home runs hit by Chase Utley and Ryan Howard in the month of May. Ryan Howard, the subject of much conjecture earlier in the month because of the brutal slump he has endured so far this year, has definitely found his power stroke. He hit 10 homers in the month of May, tying him for 3rd for the month in all of MLB. Howard's 30 RBI was tied for first in the month of May in all of MLB. Though his average has not shot up like you would like to see (still only around .210), he is still knocking in runs.

The same could be said of 2B Chase Utley. While Utley saw his overall batting average dip in the month of May, his power stroke is intact. Utley slammed 8 homers on the month and ended the month of May riding a 6 game hitting streak (.360, 5 HR, 16 RBI). There is nothing more that needs to be said of Utley, of whom, I have run out of superlatives.

2

The number of wins logged by Phillies' starters Adam Eaton and Brett Myers. When you combine their ERAs for the month, the combined figure approaches 11. You don't need a degree in fake baseball math to know that you can't go far with two starters performing this poorly.

Other than the early season slump of Ryan Howard, the issue of what to do with these two guys is the most vexing. Eaton, were he not so well paid, would either have been cut or in the bullpen by now. He is in the rotation strictly because the Phillies do not believe they have a better or more cost effective option at this time. Unfortunately, help from Kris Benson does not appear to be forthcoming as he has had another setback in his attempted comeback. Either Eaton needs to figure things out or the Phillies need another Kyle Kendrick to come out of nowhere in the minors and save the day.

Brett Myers, on the other hand, is a good pitcher who can still get better. Since May 14th, when he went only a 4 1/3 innings in a 4 - 2 loss to Atlanta, Myers has gone further and further into games. On May 30th, he went 8 innings, in giving up 3 runs to Florida in a 12 - 3 win. Maybe that is the game we look back on later in the year, and say that was the game Myers turned his season around on.

12.11

The ERA of Cole Hamels in the two starts following the two starts in which he gave up zero runs. He gave up 6 ER vs. Houston on 5/25 and 7 ER against the Fish on 5/31. I don't think this is the start of anything sinister, but I think it warrants mentioning that sometimes we treat young Hamels like he is already Steve Carlton, when in fact, Hamels still goes through occasional growing pains as he grows into his role as an ace.

Summary:

It was great to see the Phillies remain somewhat consistent with respect to their win total relative to what they did in April, but they cannot withstand going through another month like May, with such anemic starting pitching. You cannot rely on Jamie Moyer winning 4 games per month like he did in May. Both Hamels and Myers need to take the bull by the horns and act like the leaders of the pitching staff both player purport themselves to be. It would behoove GM Pat Gillick to begin formulating a plan B with respect to Adam Eaton. Is Kris Benson the answer? Or is it someone in the minors like Carlos Carrasco (4 -4, 3.46 ERA in AA Reading) ready to make the jump to the Big Leagues?

Kendrick, Phils Beat Rockies

The Phils continued their offensive prowess yesterday, beating the Rockies by score of 7 - 4 in a rain soaked game at Citizen's Bank ballpark. Kyle Kendrick gave up only 2 ER in 7 1/3 innings of work for his 4th win on the season before giving way to an incredibly shaky Tom Gordon with 1 out in the 8th.

The Phils came out of the gate as on fire as they've been in the past two games, posting all 7 of their runs in the first 2 innings of the game. MVP Jimmy Rollins led the way with 2 hits, scoring 2 runs and stole his 8th base on the season. Greg Dobbs, playing left field for an injured Pat Burrell, had 2 hits and knocked in 2 runs.

The series with the Rockies concludes tonite with winless Adam Eaton taking on Ryan Reynolds at 7:05pm (CSN-TV).

Did you notice?

- Bad call in the first inning, calling Ryan Howard out at the plate in the 1st inning. Unfortunately, when the throw beats a player, the umpire will just call the running out solely on instinct. Another example of why baseball needs instant replay on any play where the score of the game could be affect and NOT just boundary plays. The game of baseball does not have a clock; why not take the opportunity to at least ensure the integrity of plays that could potentially result in runs on the board?

- Speaking of Ryan Howard, apparently no one ever told him that it's impolite to point.

- Great throw by TJ Bohn, getting Seth Smith out at the plate in the 8th.

- From CBS Sportline.....apparently, the Phillies almost traded the entire fanbase. Oh, I get it! It's because we're tough fans! Wow, what a hoot. Never heard that one before. Jackass.

- Another decent start by Kris Benson in an extended spring training game. One step closer to ridding ourselves of Adam Eaton and having camera shots of Anna Benson at Citizen's Bank park.