This Is Our Rotation

What's happening this season is, in fact, real. Were our preseason expectations realistic? Probably not. But what is currently going on in the day-to-day life of the Philadelphia Phillies is definitely real.

We did just play more than 3 straight series' without scoring more than 3 runs in a game. We actually do place 23rd in runs scored and 18th in batting average. It is true that we only have 2 regulars hitting above .262, one of whom is on the DL right now. Yes, we really have been missing arguably our best offensive player for all 46 games thus far this season. All of that is extremely factual information.

What is not seen in those numbers, though, is the fact that we ended up winning one of those series' against a first-place AL team without scoring more than 3 runs. And we have the 2nd best record in all of baseball. And we do happen to have a player who is 4th in the NL in batting average and another who is 3rd in RBI. And that player we've been missing so much? Well, he'll be back tomorrow.

So how have we gotten to this point? How can we be this successful despite being this bad? Well...

Roy Halladay
Cliff Lee
Roy Oswalt
Cole Hamels
Joe Blanton

If you haven't taken a look at that list in awhile, please take a second to do so. Even if you have, look again. These are our real starting pitchers. Somehow, this is not made up. It's true that they've been through a lot already in this young season. Injuries, horrible outings, bad umpires, no run support, family troubles. No individual has been spared of his hard times this season. But, together, they have been unbelievable. And it hasn't even just been the starters. Our bullpen has made it happen so far as well.

Our staff ranks 2nd in the majors with a 3.03 ERA. The starters are 3rd among starters at 3.14, and the bullpen (this team's biggest weakness?) are 3rd among bullpens with a 2.76 ERA. We now have 33 quality starts this season in 46 games. That's us as a staff.

Although the starters get all the pub, we've gotten a few great (and unexpected) things out of our bullpen. Before going on the DL, Jose Contreras had yet to give up an earned run. Antonio Bastardo, the left-hander that we didn't have in our bullpen according to everyone prior to the start of the season, has a 1.17 ERA. Michael Stutes, a minor-leaguer at the beginning of April, has a 2.70 ERA. Ryan Madson, who could never cut it as a closer, has 9 saves and a 0.47 ERA. This is our bullpen.

As for the starters? Well, this is our rotation:

Roy Halladay - 6-2, 2.21 ERA, 9 quality starts in 10 total starts, 80 Ks in 77.1 innings
Halladay has done everything we could expect him to do and more. How much so? He had 2 straight complete game losses. I think we too often take the things that Halladay does for granted. The incredibility of his numbers this season are way too unnoticed. He had a game in which he threw 18 pitches before he threw a ball. This is our rotation.

Cliff Lee - 3-4, 3.38 ERA, 8 quality starts in 10 total starts, 78 Ks in 66.2 innings
Lee had higher expectations than anyone I think. He was seen as a huge hero coming back to Philadelphia for a shorter contract and less total money. We loved him in his time here, and, apparently, he loved us. And this season, unfortunately, he may be seen as the worst of the 4 aces. He has the highest ERA of the 4 and the lowest win total. But why is that? In Cliff's last 6 starts, we've scored 9 runs. And 5 of those were in one game in which he got a no-decision. He struck out 16 in 7 innings while giving up just 3 runs and got a loss. This is our rotation.

Roy Oswalt - 3-2, 2.77 ERA, 5 quality starts in 7 total starts, 27 Ks in 39 innings
Oswalt was very under-the-radar at the beginning of the season. I pointed this out in my season preview. We were definitely excited to have him, but the return of Cliff Lee, the greatness of Roy Halladay, the 4th-starter-greatness of Cole Hamels, and the let's-not-forget-Joe-Blanton attitude left Oswalt in the dust. But he started out the season as possibly our best pitcher, going 3-0 with a 1.88 ERA in his first 4 starts. Then he had back and family issues and used his own personal bulldozer to clean up Mississippi. Then he came back and gave up just 2 runs in his next 2 starts, pitching 12 innings while being limited in the number of pitches he could throw. This is our rotation.

Cole Hamels - 5-2, 2.92 ERA, 7 quality starts in 9 total starts, 64 Ks in 61.2 innings
Hamels has gone through a lot of scrutiny since he won the playoffs for us in 2008. Injuries and some attitude problems have plagued him and made people question his ability to be truly dominant. Since Halladay's arrival, though, he's kept his mouth shut and done everything in his power to match the best pitcher in baseball today. After his first start of this season, people were calling for his head. Take out that first start and Hamels is 5-1 with a 2.14 ERA. Sometimes criticized for being too much of a fly ball pitcher in a small park, he has 92 ground ball outs as opposed to his 70 fly ball outs this season. And he has a stand-up triple this season. This is our rotation.

Joe Blanton - screw it...just look at the first 4 guys. This is our rotation.

What did we expect coming in? A bit too much. What have we gotten? A bit more.