Thanks to an unlikely sweep of the Marlins at the hands of the Nationals, the Phillies now stand 7 games up in the NL East, the largest margin in baseball. It seemed like this weekend series with the Marlins would be a big one and Florida had a chance to make up ground quickly. Now? Even a Marlins sweep keeps them 4 games out.
2009: 61-45
2008: 57-49
2007: 56-50
Player of the Series: J.A. Happ (9 IP, 4 H, o ER, 10 K, W)
Goat of the Series: Jamie Moyer (5 IP, 6 ER, L)
Going to keep this next part brief, since there isn’t anything huge since the last update…
The Good News:
- On July 2nd, something clicked with Jimmy Rollins in a big way. Since then (31 games), J-Roll has hit .336 with 27 runs, 13 2B, 7 HR, 24 RBI, 12 SB and a .995 OPS. Coincidently, we are 22-9 in those games. Rollins has improved his average by 40 points, and his OPS by 135 points in that span.
- J.A. Happ’s NL ranks: ERA (6th), Quality Start % (10th), WHIP (7th), Win % (2nd), Opponents OPS (7th) – he might be the frontrunner right now for NL Rookie of the Year.
- Cliff Lee in 2 starts since trade deadline: 2-0, 1.13 ERA. Roy Halladay in 2 starts since trade deadline: 0-2, 3.94 ERA.
The Bad News:
- Moyer has given up 4 earned runs or more in 12 of his 21 starts. He has pitched into the 7th only 4 times. As much as I like him, he needs to go.
- Side note on Moyer – in looking up his stats, I was kind of shocked to see that he has started 95 games for us, and won 45 games. I guess those add up pretty quick when you don’t ever get hurt. Only Myers, Wolf, Padilla and Hamels have won more games and pitched more innings for the Phillies since 2000.
- Think the 1st pitch in important in Ryan Howard’s ABs? After an 0-1 count this year, he has a .663 OPS, after a 1-0 count, he has a 1.078 OPS.
Series Preview: Phillies vs. Florida Marlins
The Marlins come to town reeling after an embarrassing sweep by the Nats. The Marlins seems to do this every year. They have a scrappy group of young guys who play hard and stay in the race for awhile, then, they hit a wall and end up 8-9 games out at the end of the year. It would be nice to push them down a little more.
Pitching Match-Ups
Friday: Blanton vs. RHP Ricky Nolasco (7-7, 5.00 ERA)
Saturday: Hamels vs. LHP Sean West (3-4, 4.91 ERA)
Sunday: Moyer vs. RHP Josh Johnson (10-2, 2.98 ERA)
Prediction
Given how these teams just ended their respective series, there is no way I can’t pick the Phillies to take at least 2 of 3. I won’t predict a sweep though, as the Sunday game will be tough with their stud, Josh Johnson, on the hill. Johnson’s name doesn’t come up when people talk about the young pitchers like Lincecum and Haren, but it probably should. Nolasco is better than those numbers would indicate, as he is 5-2 with a 2.58 ERA in his last 10 starts since coming back up from the minors. Whoever wins the first game will probably end up with the series (daring prediction, huh?).
Great to hear that the Nats swept the Marlins. The Marlins were winning 6-0 and the last I heard they were still leading 8-7 (in the 7th inning I believe). Stu, you got your wish!
Taking 2 out of 3 from the Marlins, and opening up an 8 game lead, would be really sweet.
After the last two starts we got, I can’t help thinking about how dangerous we’d be if Hamels can get himself together. I mean, Lee, Blanton, and Happ are rolling.
Then if our relievers ges healthy and our bullpen gets back to full strength we’re looking strong for the playoffs.
One thing at a time though.
Interesting stat about Howard and that 1st AB. I am predicting 2 out of 3, but I’d be more interested to see Martinez vs. Johnson on 4 days rest.
Jef…..Pedro pitched on Wednesday, so he’d be going on 3 days rest. No way that happens. Plus, Moyer owns the Marlins, so if there is one team in the entire league you can be sure he’ll get a start against, it’s them.
In addition to the surplus of starting pitching, Eddie Micheals is reporting that Romero and Durbin will go for Clearwater tonight. Also, Myers threw a sim-game threw 21 pitches in a sim game yesterday, and will do the same on Sunday.
Think of a bullpen with Myers, Romero, Madson and LIdge. Personally, I’m starting to feel optimistic about this pitching situation.
http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/sports/20090807_Phillies__Myers_says_he_feels_fine_after_simulated_game.html
Moyer vs. Fish – beware, the law of averages may prove fatal this weekend; young heads eventually learn. The Old Man And The (Finally) See.
As for the Phillies team, they should take the next two World Series - at least. They’re that good. And Pedro & Brett Myers haven’t yet loomed on enemy psyches. The line-up - 1 through 8 - is incredible and they have 6 starting pitchers; overall, an embarrassment of riches. And Mgr. Manuel is a an old-school mastermind.
With Bruntlett struggling some at the plate, it’s been learned that Chris Wheeler is hitting off the tee between innings, looking to become MLB’s first broadcaster/player. Is having trouble with the middle-out setting, refuses to take it the other way even a l’il bit, try as Sarge might to help him. Hey, sometimes a guy develops some bad habits and he finds himself in a rut, but, hey, that’s baseball. You’re always gonna see somethin’ different each night ya come to the park. It’s a crazy game, boy.
My bad…3 days rest is definitely not going to cut it for Martinez. I hope that Jamie still owns the Marlins after Sunday.
Yeah they should let Moyer pitch Sunday because he owns the Marlins but if he dominates them it would be hard to justify replacing him with Pedro after a good start even though that is probably what needs to happen.
I don’t understand why Happ isn’t getting more ROY buzz. It seems like Randy Wells of the Cubs is getting more attention from the national media and their stats are very comparable:
Happ: 8-2, 2.74 ERA, 115 IP, 2 shutouts, 86 SO, 1.122 WHIP, 6.7 k/9
Wells: 8-4, 2.73 ERA, 102.1 IP, 0 complete games, 65 SO, 1.143 WHIP 5.5 k/9
I think the Phils take 2 of 3 from the Marlins. Win the first two but lose on Sunday. I think Moyer will pitch well enough to get the win but Johnson pitches better. It seems like every time we go against him he shuts us down.
Also, I didn’t get to watch the game yesterday but I saw Lidge pitched a scoreless 9th. How did his stuff look. Was he lucky to get out of the inning or was it a well pitched save, and does it look like he has possibly turned a corner?
Jurnee: Lidge looked good. Gave up the one hit, but looked solid on both his strikeouts.
To me it seems like Cody Ross hits a home run in every game we play against the Marlins
Over on another thread I saw some people here suggesting a two-week break for Cole while Pedro works into the rotation. I was initially very opposed to that but I’m starting to come around. The weirdest thing about Hamel’s struggles is that most of the time he isn’t terrible. He’s just mediocre, and hitters are taking advantage of almost every mistake. His line yesterday:
5.1 IP, 5H, 4 ER, 4/4 BB/SO.
That’s not an exceptionally bad start. Five hits through 5.1 is pretty damn good. Its just the walks that killed him. The Fish didn’t let up when they got baserunners.
I’ve wanted to comment all day about getting swept, but I am so disgusted by the disgustingly disgusting display from yesterday, especially since I was in attendance with my family, that I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I’d just end up ranting.
I am commenting now because Todd Zolecki has news (5:22PM) on Pedro (and a couple other Phils):
The Phillies announced Pedro Martinez will make his Phillies debut Wednesday against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
They moved Jamie Moyer to the bullpen to make room for Martinez in the rotation.
The Phillies rotation looks like this for the immediate future:
- Tuesday vs. Cubs: LHP J.A. Happ
- Wednesday vs. Cubs: RHP Pedro Martinez
- Thursday vs. Cubs: LHP Cliff Lee
- Friday vs. Braves: RHP Joe Blanton
- Saturday vs. Braves: LHP Cole Hamels
“Based on our reports on how Pedro has pitched in his rehab starts, we felt it was time to move him into our rotation,” Charlie Manuel said in a statement. “Jamie was a total professional and team player when we let him know of the decision to move him to the bullpen. He has been and will continue to be a very important part of this team.”
Also, from a Q & A with Amaro:
Q: Why did the team decide to move Moyer to the bullpen to give Martinez a shot?
A: We just felt that Pedro is pitching well enough that he deserves a chance to pitch in the rotation, and we hope it’s an upgrade.
Q: How tough of a decision was this considering how much Moyer has meant to the organization? It’s different moving a guy like Moyer to the bullpen than somebody like Eude Brito or Amaury Telemaco.
A: Clearly, he’s got a lot more of a track record and he’s done a lot more for us than your average pitcher. Jamie has dedicated himself to his starts and to his performance and he will continue to do that, but we are trying to do what we can to win baseball games and win this division. And these are baseball decisions that are made collectively, and we feel it’s for the betterment of our club.
Q: Can Jamie be effective in the bullpen? He’s 46 and hasn’t done that in years.
A: We’ll see. He’s done it before. He hasn’t done it in a long time, but we’ll see how it goes. You’ll have to talk to Dubee and Charlie about what his role is, but we’ll see how effective he can be.
Q: How did Jamie take the news?
A: Extremely professionally. You’ll have to talk to Jamie about it, but I’m sure he wasn’t real happy about it. But at the same time he understands that we’re doing what we possibly can to have success. We just felt it was the right thing to do and he understands it.
Q: What are the realistic expecations for Pedro?
A: We’re going to watch him pitch and hopefully he’s an effective starter for us. I don’t have expectations one way or another, other than we hope he is successful and he helps us win games.
Lastly:
Left-hander J.C. Romero had a MRI today. Amaro said Romero has mid-grade tendinitis that is healing. He will not throw for another week or so, when he will return to Clearwater to begin his rehab.
The Phillies activated right-hander Chad Durbin from the DL. He went on the DL on July 23 with a right latissimus dorsi strain (that’s fancy talk for strained back muscle). The Phillies optioned right-hander Rodrigo Lopez to triple-A Lehigh Valley to make room for Durbin. Lopez had a clause in his contract that stated he must consent to an assignment in the Minor Leagues. He had an option remaining, which is why they were able to option him.
bski, thanks for the update. I’ve been crazy busy at work for what seems like an eternity now (but I’m grateful). How do you think Moyer should be used out of the bullpen? Some of my thoughts:
1. What comes to mind is for playing matchup games. Lefties don’t hit him as well as righties do, but that’s not really saying much – his quick splits from espn: (righties/lefties) BA .252/.316, OPS .730/.886.
2. I remember the Phillies announcers always talking about Jamie mentoring the younger pitchers – maybe he can do the same for the bullpen guys? It would be great to see him have an effect on the two (more relevant) young guys in the bullpen – Kendrick and Madson. But it’s hard to talk the talk when you can’t walk the walk anymore.
3. Long relief – but just looking at his stats, I don’t think I want him going through a lineup more than once.
But here’s to Mr. Moyer – thanks for bringing stability to a young staff for a season and a half; it was an intangible that we definitely needed to win the World Series. I will be eternally grateful, though the pound of flesh that you and your agent have taken for this season and next kind of hurts like hell. Still, I hope the Phils let you start one last time, preferably with a comfortable lead in the NL East, and against the Nationals, and NEXT season. Here’s to a pretty good career, and of course – more children!