Despite having the 3rd best ERA out of our 5 starters, Kyle Kendrick was sent down to AAA today and was replaced by Drew Carpenter. First, let's deal with Kendrick. Since his 1st two outings of the year, he had compiled a very respectable 4.12 ERA in his following 18 appearances. In his 2 starts prior to his poor performance last night, he allowed only 4 runs in 15.7 IP (2.29 ERA). He hasn't been great, but he's been above-average for a 5th starter in the league. It seems as though Ruben … [Read more...]

According to Baseball Prospectus, the Phillies currently have a 16% chance of making the playoffs this year. The Phillies stand 5.5 games back of the Braves for the division and 2 back of the Rockies (though with 4 other teams in between) for the Wild Card. Since the creation of the Wild Card, the average number of wins for the Wild Card team is 91.5. To get to 92 wins, the Phillies would have to go 44-27 over the final 71 games, a streak they have shown they are capable of each of the … [Read more...]

I have gotten away from this a little bit, but will try to do better in the 2nd half of the year. Of course I have also decided to make it more complicated by adding a Cy Young watch to this post, so that we can track the Cy Young race the same way we are tracking the Greatness Watch. The results of the first go around on the Cy Young watch could surprise you... Greatness Watch Stats (Ranked by ERA) Rankings A Couple Notes 4th is probably the highest that Halladay will … [Read more...]

Here is the mid-season update of my top-20 prospects. Despite using a bunch of their prospects to acquire MLB talent in recent years, the Phillies system still has a lot of promise, though most of it a couple years away from contributing. I rank the prospects based on their ceiling, how close they are to that ceiling, and actual performance. When I can, I put comparisons for the player, but keep in mind I am in no way a scout. 1. Domonic Brown, OF Why He's Here: Unquestionably the best … [Read more...]

Well, the first half of the season is over. It didn't turn out quite how we thought, especially after that 8-2 start. The Phils have been ravaged by injuries and long slumps, but still find themselves in the thick of the playoff race, 4 1/2 games behind the Braves and 1 1/2 games behind the Rockies and Dodgers for the Wild Card. This post will grade each player on the opening day 25-man roster for how they have performed this year based on straight-up performance and pre-season … [Read more...]

I'm not recapping that series or previewing the next (except that Joey Votto is going to make Charlie look even more stupid), but I have 2 questions for discussion during this series. Jayson Werth is being tossed around in trade talks. If the Phillies have decided they are not going to re-sign him, do you think we should trade him and what would be an acceptable return for you? Shane Victorino criticizing fans for criticizing him - what is your stance? And...go... … [Read more...]