I last "updated" after Kendrick's 8 shutout innings that were blown by our bullpen. What have we learned since then?
-Roy Halladay is not human
-Our offense still does exist
-Cole Hamels is still undecided
-Jayson Werth is clutch
-Our pitching is suspect
Admittedly, some of these things were not really "learned" in the past 5 games, but they were certainly confirmed.
The Diamondbacks are a team that we need to win a series against. They are not a bad team, but they are definitely not good enough to win a series against us. We now play the Giants, a team with much better pitching than the D'Backs. If their pitching shuts down our bats, it will be very uncomfortable relying on our bullpen to get us through 3 games in San Francisco. Luckily, we probably don't have to worry about the first one since Roy Halladay is pitching that game tonight. Wednesday night's matchup should be an interesting one. Tim Lincecum is one of the best pitchers in baseball, and Cole Hamels can be if he wants to be. Hopefully he can get his act together for that game and go from there.
In other news, Ryan Howard signed a 5 year, $125 million extension today. This is a ton of money, but I think it is definitely a good thing. This locks up one of the cornerstones of our team for another 5 years on top of the contract he already had for this year and next. That will be one less thing to worry about in the future, and I think we will actually be saving money by doing this. Howard has put up big numbers consistently for us, and he will continue to ask for more and more money with those numbers. This prevents him from even being able to ask, and it also prevents us from losing him to the highest bidder. Overall, a great move by the Phillies.
Things we have learned in the last 12 hours...
ReplyDelete1.)Roy Halladay is fallible, but still not human (as shown by his post start/loss body abusing workouts)
2.) Leaving men on base will continue to plague this team as shown by last nights missed opportunities that could have bailed out Roy
"The Phillies had runners on first and second with one out in the first, but did not score. They had the bases loaded with one out in the third, but did not score. They had runners on second and third with no outs in the fifth, but scored just once. They had runners on first and second with one out and the bases loaded with two outs in the seventh, but did not score."
3. The Pirates go to DQ after every game so that they all feel like winners after losing 17-3.
Yo kevin sorry I didnt respond to the last comments section, the games were great wednesday and tuesday night. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the Phils in Atlanta and I am looking forward to the series beginning on Memorial Day through June 2
Cameron, I don't know who Philip is but the Pirates can't even go to DQ after the game, it closes at 10.
ReplyDeleteI meant wednesday and thursday night...tuesday was great through the top of the 9th, turned my 4 dollar ticket into a seat first row behind the dugout thanks to Marshall, the extremely old, but friendly, usher, "I guess they're right, old people, though slow and dangerous behind the wheel, can still serve a purpose."
ReplyDeleteI'm kinda happy Howard is locked up for a couple years - something like 3 or 4 would have been safer. I don't like that this probably means Werth is gone.
ReplyDeleteWerth is probably going no matter what. Depending upon how John Mayberry looks this season and how are pitching is looking in a few months, we may end up getting rid or Werth for some serious bullpen answers by the deadline. That seems crazy to give someone up with his kind of value, but you know we'd get a ton back for him. We'll have to see how things pan out. I kind of doubt that happens, but I wouldn't be shocked. He will be way too pricey in my opinion (whatever that means anymore in Philadelphia)
ReplyDeleteLooks like there's at least a little bit of hope with Werth. Here's a quote from the Todd Zolecki's Phillies Blog...
ReplyDelete"Ruben Amaro Jr. said Howard's record-setting payday does not prevent them from re-signing Werth, and there are indications within the organization that the Phillies believe they can sign Werth to an extension, depending on what he wants. Outfielders Matt Holliday (seven years, $120 million) and Jason Bay (four years, $66 million) signed noteworthy contracts over the winter, which Werth's agent certainly will use as a reference point."
I think the Phillies have to sign Werth because without him they have no righthanded threat in the lineup next year. I'd love to see them sign Werth and have Brown replace Ibanez in '12. Keeping Brown in the minors for an extra year won't hurt anyone. The Phillies did that back in the day when Utley was blocked by Polanco and Howard was blocked by Howard.
And by the way, I'm mixed on the Howard signing. Of course I love the idea of him being a career Phillie but he's getting paid like he's the 2nd best player in baseball and he just isn't that good.
I meant when Howard was blocked by Thome...
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