Results tagged ‘ Charlie Manuel ’
Double Fish Fry in Phillies – Marlins Doubleheader
After Hurricane Irene wiped out the last two games scheduled between the Phillies and Marlins in late August, both were rescheduled as a day/night doubleheader on Thursday, which otherwise would have been the final off-day of the regular season for the Phillies. Fittingly, it was windy and rainy throughout the day, but baseball finally prevailed over weather.
Day Game
The Phillies came away with a 3-1 win in the first game of Thursday’s doubleheader. Kyle Kendrick started the game, but was only allowed to go five innings since he had not pitched in a while. The precautionary move was understandable, but Kendrick pitched very well so it was a shame to see him pulled early.
Kendrick allowed only two hits, one of which was a home run. He also struck out six batters and did not issue any walks. Kendrick’s early departure opened the door to the Phillies bullpen.
First up was Michael Stutes who pitched two scoreless innings, although he did have several base runners. Stutes was not terribly sharp, but he got the job done. Actually, no one looked great coming out of the pen in this one including Antonio Bastardo, Brad Lidge and Ryan Madson. But although the innings pitched were a little sloppy, they did not allow any runs.
Bastardo, however, is becoming a serious concern. The once unhittable 8th/9th inning lefty has looked very human in this past month. So noticeable are his struggles that manager Charlie Manuel did not hesitate to pull him after Bastardo allowed a double and a walk. If Bastardo cannot get it together soon, using the bullpen in the postseason is going to be a real adventure.
As for the offense in this game, there was not much of it. Placido Polanco and Raul Ibanez each had 2 hits and 1 RBI. Ibanez hit his 30th double of the season which means he has now had at least 30 doubles each year for 10 straight seasons.
But the rest of the offense basically took the day off. There were hits scattered here and there, but all those runners were stranded on base. They even loaded the bases in the 8th with 1 out and failed to score. Ryan Howard’s slump continued as well; he is 0 for his last 16 at-bats.
Defensively, Pete Orr had quite a game at second base. He made multiple diving grabs and ice-cream coned a short fly ball after jumping about four feet off the ground to get to it. He probably saved the Phillies a lot of trouble.
So despite the lack of fire power and slightly sloppy pen performance, the Phillies recorded the win.
Night Game
The offensive struggles from the first game of the doubleheader carried right on over to the second game. The Marlins started Alex Sanabia, a young pitcher who spent the whole year in the minors. So things looked good on the surface for the Phillies.
But the winds grew stronger as the sun went down. Fly balls that were hit hard wound up cycloning backwards away from the outfield wall, putting fly balls in play that may have been doubles or homers in calmer conditions.
Chase Utley made his first start since getting hit in the head with a pitch last week. He had a pinch-hit single in the day game, and barely scratched out a hit in the night game against the Marlins bullpen. The only two players who seemed to have Sanabia figured out were John Mayberry Jr. and Ross Gload, who both had multi-hit games.
The Phillies had not scored yet when Mayberry finally cut through the strong winds with a line-drive solo homer in the 6th. That would end up being a very important run for the Phillies.
With Cliff Lee pitching, the Phillies had a good chance that the one run would hold up. Lee kept the Fish at bay, despite allowing a bunch of base runners. He was amazing, as usual, and even had one of the few Phillies hits in the game.
But just when it looked like this game was in the books, Lee got to two outs in the 9th and, for the second time this year, gave up the tying run. The solo homer took all the air out of the balloon as the crowd sighed in disbelief at the 1-1 tie.
After the game, Lee said, “I can’t think of a worse scenario.” He hit the nail on the head. But lucky for Lee, Ryan Howard emerged from his slump and hit the baseball on the head. After Michael Martinez walked in the 10th, Howard doubled to score him for the walk-off, extra-innings win.
Whew!
FYI – Michael Schwimer had pitched the top of the 10th and this turned out to be his first major league win.
Division Magic # – 2 games
Home Field Advantage Magic # - 3 games
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Photos by Jenn Zambri Photography
*Read more about the Phillies at my other home page, Phightin’ Phils Phorum in the MTR Media network*
Phillies Lose After Playing Under Protest
Well, there went five hours of my life I wish to forget. The Phillies said goodbye to SunLife Stadium in Miami today with a gut-wrenching 14-inning 5-4 loss to the Marlins, played under protest from the Phillies. It was another wasted Roy Halladay start.
The big controversy began when umpire Joe West decided to make up the rules as he went along. In the 6th inning, Hunter Pence hit a double that should have left the Phillies with two men on base and no outs. Instead, West decided to use instant replay on a ball that he himself ruled a double. Replay, according to the baseball rules, is only to be used on potential home runs.
West came back after 13 minutes of “reviewing” and ruled Pence out due to fan interference. While those idiot fans did attempt to interfere, the play should not have been reviewable in the first place. The other problem is that West assumed the ball would have been caught had the fans not intruded. But on the video replay, it is far from a sure thing that outfielder Bryan Petersen would have caught it. In fact, his glove was already closed by the time the ball reached him.
The Phillies then announced a formal protest of the game and manager Charlie Manuel was ejected for arguing. After the game, Manuel stated the same point, that the ball would not have been caught (per Ryan Lawrence, DelCo Times). West claims Manuel asked for a replay; Manuel sternly denies this.
So now it is a game of he said (Manuel), she said (West, running from the press afterwards ;o). If MLB determines that a rule was broken by West, the game could be restarted with the Pence double at a later date. But seriously, odds of that happening are like ZERO. MLB has refused to hold umpires accountable for anything and I do not see that changing now, sad as that may be.
The rally was killed after that call, but the Phillies did score two runs on a Ryan Howard single in the 7th to take the lead. That lead was promptly erased as rookie Michael Schwimer got tossed into the fire at the bottom of the 7th. I feel sorry for Schwimer; this was not a situation where a rookie should have been sent in to hold a slim 4-3 lead after all the drama of the previous inning. The pressure had to be immense and Schwimer wound up giving up the tying run.
What happened next is what the Phillies should really be ashamed of. They played seven straight innings of scoreless baseball, dragging the game through 14 innings. As a team, the Phillies left 11 men on base, went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position and totaled only 10 hits in 14 innings.
Worse than that, the bullpen kept them in the game and the offense did nothing to support them. The biggest victim was David Herndon, who imploded on Saturday night and handed the game to the Marlins. But tonight, he pitched almost four full innings with an amazing effort. He worked in and out of jams and kept pitching tough even as he tired. Herndon escaped bases loaded jams twice, five intentional walks and a badly fielded ball at third that would have shortened his outing.
Still, Herndon persisted and redeemed himself from Saturday’s disaster. That his offense could not score him one single run during all that was ridiculous. Chase Utley went 0-for-7; Pence ended 0-for-6, although he was robbed of a double; Shane Victorino had only one hit and a walk in six at-bats. And most of that was against the Marlins sub-par bullpen. Yuck :O(
The game ended with another bases loaded jam for Herndon who walked the winning run in just as his arm was about to fall off. And that happened after some questionable calls from the home plate ump who seemed to decided that 14 innings were enough for him.
While all that really sucked…a lot…tomorrow is a new day and the Braves are coming to town. These next three days are the time for the Phillies to drop the hammer on the NL East. So perhaps the offense tonight was saving up the hits for the Braves? Hope so….game 1 begins at 7:05pm Monday night!
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Herndon Photo by Jenn Zambri Photography, West photo by MLB.com
*Read more about the Phillies at my other home page, Phightin’ Phils Phorum in the MTR Media network*
Rain-Soaked, Dreary Loss for the Phils in Florida
Tonight in Florida, it looked like the soggy north east weather had followed the Phillies south. Downpours delayed the start of tonight’s game against the Marlins by about an hour and a half. It was the third rain delay / postponement between the Phillies and Marlins in the course of just a week.
The game began with a light, but steady rain, still pouring down. And while the rain chased away many of the few fans who were actually at the game, Cole Hamels stuck it out and pitched fairly well.
Although he had some control issues, Hamels got through seven innings allowing three runs on four hits and three walks. All three runs for the Marlins were scored on home runs.
But Hamels made up for his pitching mistakes at the plate. In the second inning, Wilson Valdez tripled to score two runs and then Hamels followed up with an RBI-single. Hamels duplicated the feat in his next at-bat in the fourth. So he ended the night with two hits and two RBI. Not too shabby for a pitcher.
Unfortunately, the scoring ended with Hamels’ 4th inning RBI. Even less fortunate than that was a bad pitching decision by manager Charlie Manuel. He sent Antonio Bastardo out to pitch the eighth after Bastardo had just pitched almost three innings in the last two games. While Bastardo has been superb, he has also been overused. And that was obvious tonight when he walked the first two batters he faced.
Manuel pulled Bastardo after the walks and put in David Herndon. And that move also proved to be costly. Herndon has been much better lately, but he is almost always better when he starts an inning as opposed to taking on inherited runners. And just like that, Herndon imploded. He gave up three home runs for a total of five in the inning, giving the Marlins a huge 8-4 lead.
The way the Phillies offense had played all night, it was clear that a four run deficit might be nearly impossible to overcome. When the only guys hitting are your pitcher and the 7 & 8-hole hitters, it is probably not going to be a great night offensively.
So although Hamels left the game with a lead, the bullpen handed the game to the Marlins. The Phillies lost 8-4. The only good news is that the Braves also lost tonight.
The Phillies still have a chance to win the series tomorrow afternoon at 1:10pm. Roy Halladay will pitch.
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*Read more about the Phillies at my other home page, Phightin’ Phils Phorum in the MTR Media network*
Cliff Lee is Effortless in Rout of Mets
After losing two of three to the Nationals and enduring three rain delays in four games, seeing the Mets come to town had to be a relief for the Phillies. And they wasted no time taking out their frustrations on this fourth place team.
Pitcher Cliff Lee continued his incredible month of August by tossing seven innings of shut-out ball. The Mets managed only three hits off the lefty and struck out seven times. Those K’s put Lee well above his career high 185 strike-outs in a season; he now has 191 with 36 games to go, which is about seven more starts.
Lee also had some fun at the plate. He singled in the second inning and hit two other balls very hard that missed going out of the park by only a few feet. Lee was having so much fun with the bat, that manager Charlie Manuel actually let him hit in the bottom of the seventh instead of a pinch hitter, knowing he was not going back out to pitch the next inning. There is something you do not see every day.
Of course, having a 10-0 lead made giving Lee another at-bat an easy decision. Because prior to the seventh inning, the Phillies offense smacked around Mets pitching like they were a minor league team.
Both John Mayberry Jr. and Hunter Pence hit two-run homers in the game. Mayberry led the team with three RBI. Carlos Ruiz and Shane Victorino had two RBI apiece as well. And in his first game back off the DL without making a single rehab start, Placido Polanco had two hits and a walk. The only starter without a hit was Chase Utley, who was taken out of the game before the seventh along with Ryan Howard to give them some extra rest.
The Phillies held onto the 10-0 lead with David Herndon pitching the final two innings. And the Mets tread wearily back to the clubhouse, knowing there were still two games to go in this series.
Injury Update
Rollins and Polanco swapped spots on the DL Monday night. Also, Mayberry played left field on Monday because Raul Ibanez had a sore groin. This prompts the question, what exactly is going on with all the groin injuries?
Rollins is out with a right groin strain. Polanco had a sports hernia, also related to the groin area. Now Ibanez has a sore groin too? And let us not forget poor Carlos Ruiz who sat out several games after getting hit with a foul ball in the groin.
This is a disturbing trend. Perhaps an investment in some iron underwear would help? Or maybe the Phillies need to call a witch doctor to exorcise the demon that has seemingly cursed the Phillies’ groins.
Ok, so it is likely just a weird coincidence and groin strains are a common sports injury. It is just odd to see them all happen in the span of only two weeks. With any luck, Rollins and Ibanez will be feeling better very soon.
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Photos by Jenn Zambri Photography
*Read more about the Phillies at my other home page, Phightin’ Phils Phorum in the MTR Media network*
Phillies Rebound Against the Nats Behind Oswalt & Mayberry
If there were any questions about Roy Oswalt not pitching after the rain delay on Friday, those questions were answered tonight. With a fresh start and no interruption in his routine, Oswalt was very sharp.
Oswalt tossed eight innings of shut-out baseball against the Nationals, allowing eight hits and a walk. He began to look tired near the end of the eighth, but manager Charlie Manuel stuck with his man after a quick conversation on the mound. Oswalt looked fantastic and best of all, the back issues do not seem to be bothering him anymore.
Another guy who had an outstanding night was John Mayberry Jr. He had two hits and a walk tonight plus a huge play in the field. In the fourth inning, Ryan Zimmerman tried to go 2nd to home on a Jayson Werth single. Mayberry fielded the ball and fired. It was a perfect, one-hop throw to catcher Carlos Ruiz that nailed Zimmerman at the plate.
Mayberry’s play recently is prompting questions about whether Raul Ibanez should even be in the starting line-up. At the very least, this has already turned into a platoon with Mayberry starting against lefties. But as Mayberry continues to out-perform Ibanez, how long will Manuel keep his loyalty to Ibanez? That remains to be seen.
Several other players had multi-hit night’s as well including Ruiz and Jimmy Rollins. And once again, Wilson Valdez was right in the middle things with a huge triple that scored the Phillies first two runs in the fourth inning. And in the sixth, Hunter Pence hit his 14th of the year and fourth as a Phillie.
Michael Stutes took over for the Phillies in the ninth inning and had a nice outing. His last appearance was not great, so this had to be a relief for Stutes to get in a clean inning. The Phillies went on to win by a 5-0 score.
The finale of this 3-game series is scheduled for Sunday at 1:35pm with Roy Halladay pitching. Sadly, it appears more rain is also on the schedule. So cross your fingers & toes; with any luck, I will return from D.C. with photos.
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Photo by Jenn Zambri Photography
*Read more about the Phillies at my other home page, Phightin’ Phils Phorum in the MTR Media network*
Down Four Starters, the Phillies Rise Above Both the DBacks & the Rain
The Phillies began the game against the Diamondbacks last night without four of their starting players. After pleading his three game suspension down to two games, Shane Victorino began that suspension last night. And then Ryan Howard sat out with a sore hand and Carlos Ruiz was benched with a sore groin. And of course, Placido Polanco is on the DL.
But the lack of star power in the line-up had little effect on this Phillies team, which is strong from top to bottom. Rookie Vance Worley started the game and pitched three very solid innings before the rain began. He did not allow a run and gave up only one hit.
The offense gave Worley support early, scoring one run on a Wilson Valdez double in the 2nd. Then in the 3rd, John Mayberry Jr. came up big again with a monster 2-run homer. It was Mayberry’s 10th homer of the year, which in limited at-bats, is very impressive.
Then suddenly the skies opened up and flooded the stadium as the grounds crew rushed to cover the field. What appeared might be a short, 30 minute rain delay turned into two and a half hours.
By that time, Worley could not go back out and pitch so David Herndon took over. Herndon has been given a lot of grief from the fans this year after he got off to a rocky start. But in his last 22 games going back to May, Herndon is pitching at a 2.00 ERA. He figured out why he was having issues in April and made the adjustment.
In this game against the D-Backs, Herndon pitched three scoreless innings, allowing only one hit. In the 5th inning, he struck out the side. Herndon has really improved his game. Michael Stutes, on the other hand, is watching the scales slowly tip downward and out of his favor.
Stutes gets all the praise because he got off to a very good start, unlike Herndon. Plus it does not hurt that he is adorable, right ladies? So Stutes has gotten a pass in situations that Herndon has not.
But last night Stutes was visibly upset after allowing a home run in the 8th inning to the first batter. Charlie Manuel was seen in the dugout consoling Stutes, patting him on the back as he held his head in his hands in defeat.
Why is Stutes so upset after a solo homer? Because he too recognizes that things are beginning to go downhill for him. In his last 12 games, Stutes is pitching at an ERA of 5.17. His ERA has risen every month since ending May with a 2.38 ERA. His total ERA is now up to 3.40.
Stutes, like a lot of rookies in the same position, is starting to struggle. It could be a combination of many factors like a lack of experience, teams knowing better what to expect from him and being slightly overworked. Stutes has pitched a lot and, especially for a rookie, this can take its toll.
Hopefully for Stutes, he can make an adjustment and work his way back, like Herndon has done. But in the meantime, he may spend a lot of time being frustrated until he figures it out.
The one run Stutes allowed was the only run of the night for the D-Backs and the Phillies went on to win by a 4-1 score. The Phillies, still holding the best record in baseball, became the first team to reach 80 wins on the season.
And the reason why the Phillies continue to have success is simple. Like I mentioned earlier, they are solid in every aspect of the game. More importantly, role players like Mayberry, Valdez and Herndon, continue to come through in big situations. So even with four starters out and a rookie pitcher, they continue to win.
It is a good time to be a Phillies fan.
The Nationals are up next; game time tonight is 7:05pm with Roy Oswalt pitching.
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Photo by Jenn Zambri Photography
*Read more about the Phillies at my other home page, Phightin’ Phils Phorum in the MTR Media network*
Pence Debuts & Howard Reaches Another Milestone in Win Over Pirates
The Phillies newest, shiny toy arrived at the ballpark today. Right fielder Hunter Pence pumped his fists as he entered the tunnel under the stadium, looking excited to explore his new home.
The excitement is understandable; Pence just got traded from a team with 35 wins to a team with 66 wins and the best record in baseball. The fans shared his exuberance as they cheered him during batting practice and gave Pence a standing ovation when he arrived in right field to start the game against the Pirates. Pence waived to the fans cheerfully in appreciation.
Even his first at-bat was exciting; Pence ran out what should have been an infield hit but was called out by the umpire. The replay showed he was clearly safe as fans watched manager Charlie Manuel argue with the ump in defense of his newest player.
It took Pence until the eighth inning to finally get a hit in the game. Regardless, he had to be relieved with the RBI-single he finally put in the books. Now that his first Phillies hit is on record, it should be business as usual for Pence.
As for Ryan Howard, the business was not so usual, but certainly good. Having Pence in the five-hole behind him had to be a welcome sight. Hitting without any real protection all year, Howard finally has a solid hitter to back him up. Taking full advantage, Howard went just a triple short of the cycle and had three RBI on four hits.
Most notably, Howard’s second hit of the game, an RBI-single in the fourth inning, was his 1,000th career hit. Congratulations to Ryan!
As for the pitching, Cliff Lee started the game hoping he could bounce back from an awful outing on Monday against the Padres. In that game, Lee lasted only four innings after allowing five runs.
Tonight, Lee did well through seven innings where he gave up only two runs. But Lee was left in the game too long and he ran into trouble in the eighth. The hits kept coming for the Pirates and two more runs crossed the plate, bringing the Bucos closer to a comeback with a 6-4 score.
Reliever Antonio Bastardo was brought in with two runners on base and two outs. In his usual form, Bastardo shut down the Pirates by striking out Pedro Alvarez to end the inning.
The run added by Pence in the eighth gave the Phillies a little more cushion with a 7-4 lead. That was plenty for Ryan Madson who closed out the game for another Phillies victory.
Game three with the Pirates is Sunday at 1:35pm; Vance Worley will pitch. In Worley’s last start, he pitched a complete game against the Giants. It will be interesting to see how he responds after tossing 114 pitches in that start.
Check back Sunday night for game photos…see you there!
Roster Move Update:
Domonic Brown and Andrew Carpenter were sent to Triple-A to make room for Pence and Placido Polanco, who came off the DL today. Brown will begin to work at left field, which is where the Phillies project he will be next season.
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Photo by Jenn Zambri Photography
*Read more about the Phillies at my other home page, Phightin’ Phils Phorum in the MTR Media network*
Hamels Returns to Dominance on 80′s Retro Night
After a horrible start in New York where he gave up seven runs in 4.1 inning, Cole Hamels needed a bounce-back game. And there was no better time to bounce-back than in a throw-back, 1980′s retro night game.
Wearing the maroon pinstripe uniform from 1984, Hamels found his old-self against the Padres. Through eight innings, Hamels gave up only one run on three hits while striking out 10 batters. It was 120 degrees on the field at game time, but the Padres biggest issue was the heat on Hamels’ fastball, not the heat on the field.
Some of the 1980′s player intro’s also added to game intensity:
Chase Utley was hot on the scoreboard and hot at the plate with two hits tonight. Carlos Ruiz and John Mayberry Jr. added an RBI-double each which, along with one unearned run, was plenty for Hamels to work with.
To close the game, Ryan Madson came out in the 9th for his first save attempt since returning from the DL. He sent the Padres down in order to record the 3-1 victory. It was Madson’s 16th save and Hamels’ team-leading 12th win of the year.
Earlier today, the Phillies activated pitcher Brad Lidge from the DL; he is expected to be broken in slowly in non-crucial situations until he gets settled in after missing the entire first half. A roster move had to be made and that wound up being Danys Baez. If Baez is not picked up by another team, he will likely play for Triple-A.
Many fans celebrated the move, as Baez has been inconsistent and mostly ineffective both this year and last. His 6.25 ERA over 36 innings was not helping his case.
But while this was clearly the best business decision for the team, Baez was well-liked in the clubhouse and is an all-around nice guy. He is the only player I have never seen ignore a fan or refuse an autograph. Baez had a smile and for everyone, despite what must have been a really tough year for him. In that respect, it is a bit sad.
Charlie Manuel also had a difficult time with the decision as he has know Baez for a long time. He said in an interview on SportsNite that Baez came to his office a week ago to talk about his situation and Baez all but offered himself up. He told Charlie he would understand if he needed to make a move for the betterment of the ballclub. So while his pitching was not great, I am impressed with the way he has handled himself and wish him all the best.
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Photos from Comcast SportsNet Broadcast
*Read more about the Phillies at my other home page, Phightin’ Phils Phorum in the MTR Media network*
Phillies Win Mets Series After 8th Inning Adventure
After getting spanked by the Mets on Saturday in an 11-2 loss, the Phillies needed a win today. Kyle Kendrick, sometimes a starter, sometimes a reliever, came through for the team and pitched very well.
Over seven innings, Kendrick allowed only one run on six hits and three walks. He did not strike anyone out, but got ground balls when he needed to, keeping the Phillies in line for a win.
Kendrick was also one of four Phillies who had a multi-hit game today. Kendrick’s two singles matched two hits from Brian Schneider and Raul Ibanez with Jimmy Rollins adding three hits of his own.
But the big bang came off the bat of rookie Michael Martinez who hit his first major league home run against Mets pitcher Mike Pelfry with two men on base. He added a fourth RBI later with a sac fly, so it was a big day for Martinez.
The emergence of Martinez has been great timing for the Phillies. They will need to lean on him a lot in the coming weeks as Placido Polanco is still having back issues and no one is sure when he will return. The more Martinez plays, the more he hits, which may force Charlie Manuel to keep putting him out there.
The Phillies kept adding on until they had an 8-1 lead after the top of the eighth. But in the bottom of the eighth, things got a little hairy for the Phils.
Lefty Juan Perez loaded the bases with Mets on three straight walks without recording an out. Ryan Madson was called in to clean up the mess. Madson got two outs, although two runs did score as he gave up a few hits and a walk. The Phillies wound up bringing Antonio Bastardo in to get the final out and also to pitch the ninth.
Bastardo got out of a wild eighth inning, but wound up allowing a run in the ninth. It was the first run he allowed since May 25th. And although the lead was cut down to 8-5, Bastardo finished the game, earning the save.
The Phillies will travel to Chicago next to play three games against the Cubs. The first is Monday night at 8:05pm with Roy Halladay pitching.
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Photo by Jenn Zambri Photography
*Read more about the Phillies at my other home page, Phightin’ Phils Phorum in the MTR Media network*
Philadelphia Phillies 2011 First Half Report Card
Having ended the first half of the season with a 57-34 record, the best in baseball, the Philadelphia Phillies have much to look forward to in the second half. And although many injuries and questions still loom in the background, the first half of play was very successful for this team.
What makes the first half even more remarkable is that the Phillies were able to win despite injuries and missed time from a bucket-full of All-Star caliber players including Chase Utley, Roy Oswalt, Shane Victorino and Placido Polanco.
In the bullpen, the Phillies are currently on their fourth closer of the year as the first three all went on the DL. First Brad Lidge, then Jose Contreras and finally, Ryan Madson.
The rest of the pen has been run primarily by rookies and inexperienced players over the last several month. But these players have stepped up and are keeping hope alive.
The following is a look at the Phillies 2011 First Half Report Card.
Starting Pitching: A+
The Phillies ended the first half with the best ERA in baseball at 3.02, the fewest earned runs allowed with 279 plus 11 complete games and 13 shut-outs, both of which are also the most in baseball.
Both Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels have earned 11 wins each and their ERA’s are 2.45 and 2.32, respectively. Those numbers have prompted talk of a Cy Young award for one of the two pitchers. Cliff Lee has been outstanding as well with a 2.82 ERA and nine wins.
The starters have suffered some major injuries, including Roy Oswalt and Joe Blanton, both of whom are on the DL. But the rookie Vance Worley has filled in admirably with an occasional spot start from Kyle Kendrick.
Bullpen: B+
The Phillies bullpen has had some real challenges this year, including a plethora of injuries. But thanks to some very young, very solid talent, the pen has endured.
What was thought to be a major team weakness at the start of the year has turned into a strength in many ways.
Lefty Antonio Bastardo has been outstanding and probably should have earned an All-Star nod. In 33 innings, Bastardo has allowed only three earned runs and has a microscopic ERA of 0.82. He has also gone 5-for-5 in save attempts since the Phillies sent their first three closer to the DL.
Michael Stutes and Juan Perez have also been very nice surprises. If Brad Lidge and Ryan Madson can come back healthy in the second half, the bullpen will only be that much stronger.
Offense: C-
The Phillies offense for the first half ranks 20th in all of baseball and 10th in the National League with a .250 team batting average. Statistically, this puts them below average.
But their 377 RBI moves them up the list a little, ranking 11th among all teams and 10th in on-base percentage with .323.
The first couple months were rough without Chase Utley, who is hitting .280 since his return. But other top team hitters like Shane Victorino and Placido Polanco have missed time with injuries as well, making it difficult for manager Charlie Manuel to post any sort of consistent line-up on a regular basis.
Ryan Howard is tied for the league lead in RBI with 72, which has helped carry this weakened offense. But with so many rookies in the line-up because of injuries, the other veteran players will need to step up in the second half.
Defense: A-
Statistically, the Phillies have the best defense in the National League and are around fourth best in all of baseball with 45 errors and a .987 fielding percentage. Many teams have similar numbers, but looking at the major categories, I would put them in about fourth place.
Among position players, Carlos Ruiz and Ryan Howard have the highest fielding percentages on the team with .996 and .995, respectively. Howard has improved his defense greatly over the past couple of years.
This team has a very solid defense. There were a few games this year where sloppy play brought that into question, but they are humans, not robots. Overall, it was a very good first half for the defense.
Attendance: A+
The Phillies ended the first half on Sunday with their 172nd consecutive home sellout. They are also first in total attendance for all of baseball with 2,228,630 fans so far this year, according to ESPN. The Yankees were second with 2,173,619 fans.
The Phillies keep winning, and the fans keep the party going.
1st Half MVP: Roy Halladay
Because their numbers are very similar, I was tempted to go with Cole Hamels on this one. But with six complete games and the most innings pitched in the National League, I am giving the first half MVP to Roy Halladay.
This man is a beast. In Tuesday night’s All-Star game, Brian Wilson of the Giants called Halladay a “Cyborg.” That seems fitting.
There is nothing Halladay won’t do to help his team win. With 11 wins, a 2.45 ERA and team-leading 138 strike-outs, Halladay is the MVP.
Most Memorable 1st Half Moment: Tie, Wilson Valdez & Cliff Lee
This one had to be a draw, because both players provided Phillies fans with some amazing memories this year so far.
First, watching Wilson Valdez tow the rubber in the May 25th 5-4 win in 19 innings over the Reds was simply unforgettable. The Phillies ran out of pitchers and Valdez volunteered. He pitched one perfect inning and the Phillies won the game in the bottom of the 19th as a result of his effort.
Before this win by Valdez, the last player to start a game in the field and get the win as a pitcher was Babe Ruth in 1921. But the best part was hearing Valdez joke after the game that he could have gone three or four more innings if needed.
And then this past Saturday, pitcher Cliff Lee provided another memorable moment. In the third inning, after a 10-pitch at-bat and six foul balls, Lee smashed his 1st career home run off the Braves pitcher Tommy Hanson, who watched in disbelief.
Lee spent most of his career in the American League, with few chances to hit. But Lee has remarked on many occasions that he prefers the National League because he loves to hit. And that joy was all over his face as he rounded the bases in front of thousands of screaming fans who gave him a standing ovation.
Watching a man who truly loves the game of baseball be rewarded in a way that is rarely seen was a real treat. Pitchers do not hit many home runs and it is even less common among pitchers of Lee’s caliber.
That was a moment that both Lee and all of the Philadelphia fans watching will not soon forget.
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Photos by Jenn Zambri Photography
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