The Male Bag! Back by popular demand!
This edition of the Male Bag will actually be done in two parts. Part 1 will be today, Part 2 tomorrow, and then a Cardinals preview on Tuesday. Why split it up into 2 parts? Because I counted over 20 different questions and comments that I can include in this edition of the Male Bag, and I figured everyone would be happier if I split that over 2 days. Thank you to everyone who continues with all of the questions and comments seemingly every day. I love starting up conversations about the Phils, and I love ignoring your questions and just telling you to read the Male Bag as well. Most of my questions and comments are actually coming in via text nowadays, but don't be shy using email either. Remember, my email address is cskoehler5@gmail.com. If you don't have my phone number and would prefer to text rather than email, my number is 215 206 6431.
Part 1 has a special feel to it. You may remember Volume II having a distinctly anti-Ibanez aura, and this one will be similar. It will be completely focused on the Phillies broadcast team! I know that sounds awful, and it mostly is. Hopefully you will enjoy as much as I have some of the questions and comments that have come in over the past month or so. Also, this Male Bag will include a special announcement at the end for all of my loyal readers! So the sooner I start with the actual questions, the sooner you can find out the news:
How much do you hate [Christopher] Wheeler?
This is an appropriate start to this Male Bag. It seems that most people have noticed how much I hate the broadcast team, and none of you have been very shy in expressing to me your hatred as well. I can't really tell how much I hate Christopher Wheeler. Enough to not ever call him "Wheels" or even "Chris" because I feel he does not deserve a nickname? Absolutely. Enough to only listen to the Phils on the radio because he annoys me so much? Absolutely not. Well, at least not yet. What is interesting about this is that I actually think baseball is so much better on the radio than on TV, and our radio guys are infinitely better than the TV guys, but I just can't get away from actually seeing the play. I have yet to figure out why this is, and I may end up making a complete switch at some point this summer if I continue to be this frustrated. At the same time, though, I feel watching games brings me closer to my readers because we can all complain together. And the complaints that come in about Christopher Wheeler and the others are actually fun when I can share them with someone else. Listening to the Phillies TV broadcast team is sort of like drinking alcohol. When you do it alone, it's downright depressing. When you share the experience with someone else, it's hilarious.
What the hell are they talking about?
Another great question. Because no one really ever knows. I found a website that helps to highlight how annoying they are, but be warned. As I just stated in the last response, this is frustrating to experience alone but provides plenty of laughs when shared with a friend. It is entitled [Thomas] McCarthy Sucks. The address is even [thomasmccarthy]sucks.blogspot.com. Why didn't I think of this? Anyway, it often points us to times when Thomas is talking about anything but the Phillies. Something that I should add to the Phillies drinking game is to drink anytime Thomas talks about whatever is on camera, baseball-related or not. The reason I won't is because you would be hammered in an inning and a third. You'll often find him randomly saying things like, "And boy [Christopher Wheeler] wouldn't we all enjoy an ice cream cone on a day like today just like that little girl? Looks like she's got chocolate there. And speaking of chocolate, Sarge will be joining us next inning where I will awkwardly ask him any number of questions from my list of 75 I have every game about his playing career. And speaking of ice cream, I'm sure Shane Victorino doesn't need any to cool off his hot bat as of late. And speaking of hot, the red-hot Oakland Athletics will be coming into town next weekend for a 3-game series. And speaking of town, have you gotten a chance to see all of the sites of downtown Philadelphia recently? And speaking of downtown, that ball is GONE!"
So what the hell are they talking about? We're never really sure. It's just mostly whatever is on the television screen and/or Thomas McCarthy's mind. And it's anything but the game until something exciting happens. What a travesty.
I need to set a timer to see how long they actually talk about the stupid shizzle they talk about
What a depressing adventure that would be. I agree, and I will probably do it one game. But how often do they talk about something completely unrelated to the game? And I don't mean interesting things. I mean things like a girl catching a foul ball over the railing. Yes, great catch. Sure, show a replay. OK, maybe show another. Then let's move on. But please. Do NOT talk about it again the NEXT NIGHT. That's ridiculous. And that's what we do.
Oh wow, a guy selling beer in the stands using a backpack. How crazy is this? Do they still carry those buckets up and down the aisles? Yes, Thomas and Christopher. That's why we can see another beer guy carrying a bucket up and down the same aisle. Yet they decide to talk about this enough that a camera man actually has to go back to that shot multiple times to see what this beer man will do next. My guess is sell a beer. A job that you're both much more suited for, Thomas and Christopher.
Morgan Freeman interacting with [Thomas McCarthy]? Strange
As if McCarthy doesn't get off-topic enough on his own, every once in a while the Phillies decide to bring in a special guest to the booth to help him talk about anything but events transpiring in a baseball game. Morgan Freeman was forced to suffer through this earlier in the year. Can you imagine? Such a talented actor, someone who is so successful and respected in his particular field, having to answer questions from someone with as much talent as he has hair on his head. And poor Billie Jean King. A tennis legend having to interact with someone who can only hope to some day have talent the size of his own man boobs. What did these guests do to deserve such treatment? At least they are usually in there with Sarge, though, rather than Christopher Wheeler, a person with about as much personality as lunch meat with a face.
If [Christopher Wheeler] says "What a goofy game" one more time I'll lose it
When I made the Phillies drinking game, I really should have made it just for the broadcast team and things they do on a game-by-game basis. If there is a balk, a ground-rule double, or 2 errors in a game, it has suddenly been dubbed "goofy" by Christopher Wheeler. Just like scoring more than one run in an inning is putting up a "crooked number." Are you truly referring to the shape of the number, and 1 just happens to be the only "straight" one? If that's the case, it's not clever. You're just annoying. If it's not the case, you're just annoying. A pitcher who fields a ground ball, bunts the ball fair, or just swings a bat is automatically "athletic" or a "really good athlete." I've already said how annoying his talk is of park sizes, and the tendency of a ball to "fly out of this place." And there are countless things that McCarthy says or does all the time. Like getting excited about what the other team is doing. Stupid segues are my most recent favorite. If I had a dollar for every time Thomas McCarthy said "speaking of," I would be able to quit my job and focus all my energies on this blog. And I'd write about every single game. Because I'd be able to afford Phillies season tickets. With my seats being in the dugout.
That trivia thing is awful...Stump Christopher Wheeler
This may be the thing that frustrates me the most game in and game out. I absolutely love trivia. I mentioned a few posts that I go to Trivia Night every week at the Perk. I am a teacher, so I generally love learning as well. Interesting facts are my jam. I used to salivate at the mere mention of Dodge Stump the Fans. Years ago, I honestly would make sure I had a game on by the third inning and watched through the 7th just for this question and answer. That seems stupid and horrible to me now, but that is how much I honestly loved it. Now, I dread the beginning of the third and seventh inning. And when I say "beginning," I mean the entire top half. Because it's all they talk about. And I don't know how Thomas and Christopher sleep at night knowing that that segment of their program is actually referring to the fans. In no way do they want the fans to enjoy Dodge Stump the Fans. Is it some sick game between the two of them? Like they know they are torturing us, yet they can manage to keep a straight face the whole time and do it every single day? I would give them credit if that were the case because I would eventually crack and just admit to everyone that we were being that annoying on purpose. Here is an example of most annoying things about these two (or at least Thomas) all rolled into one Dodge Stump the Fans segment.
The question: The Red Sox traded Hanley Ramirez and Anibal Sanchez with 2 other players to Florida for Guillermo Mota and what 2 other players?
Immediately, I can identify Mike Lowell as one of the two. Before I have a chance to really think about the second, this exchange occurs:
TM: Just so you know they weren't in that crowd shot right there, [Christopher Wheeler].
CW: No
TM: Although one of them could've been
CW: What?
TM: That's all I'm gonna say
Die, Thomas McCarthy. First of all, stop directing the question at Christopher. Secondly, shut up about every single crowd shot they show throughout a game. Thirdly, you ruined my train of thought. Now I am so focused trying to figure out your cryptic comment on the fact that someone could be in the stands that I don't know how to figure out the second person (who was so easy...Josh Beckett). If I go to see a movie, I don't want to know that there's a twist at the end. Once I know that, I can only think about what the twist is going to be. I can't actually watch the movie and take it all in. This is what you've done to me, Thomas. And it's what you do to me almost daily. Stop giving your stupid hints and then being a jackass who says "That's all I'm gonna say." You're the biggest of all majokes. Well, except maybe Christopher Wheeler.
I'd rather stick my hand in a piston and feel the repeated breaking of my fingers than listen to them
I agree with this statement. As I do way too many things, I would describe listening to those two as "worse than a hanging."
I would rather have my neck not break in a hanging so I could gasp for every last breath.
Pretty graphic there, Jeremiah. But, yeah, they are really bad. These awful punishments you've so eloquently described are nothing compared to the torture they put us through. We are going to have so much fun watching and listening to them together this summer. Wait, what?
**Warning: This is the big announcement part. Prepare yourself
Can I go to Virginia with you?
This question may come as a surprise to a decent amount of you out there. For some, this makes the news all too real. You read that correctly though, I am going to Virginia. And I am not just going there for vacation this summer. Instead, I am moving to the great state of Virginia. Although teaching and coaching at Pennridge has long been my dream job, I've since woken up from that dream and realized that a reality is much better down in Virginia, seeing what else the world has to offer one Cameron Koehler. I had a great year here, but I need to branch out and shake things up a little bit. The branching and shaking will be occurring in Midlothian, Virginia with a job at James River High School. And I know what you are all thinking now. And someone has already asked.
How will you be watching the Phillies when in Virginia?
No worries, folks. I can watch the Phils with just as much consistency as I do right now. I am going to be moving in with Brianna and Jeremiah, taking on the roll of Jesse Katsopolis in the Full House that is their life come October 16 with the arrival of a baby girl. Always thinking, I bought MLB.TV for Jeremiah for his birthday back in April, and I will begin reaping all of the benefits come mid-July when I move down there. The blog will continue, I promise. The blog will continue. The blog will continue. (If I keep saying it, it has to be true).
But how is any of this news related to the hatred of the Phillies broadcast team?
Glad you asked, No One. The answer is simple. Jeremiah and I make a perfect Phillies broadcast team. I know things about the Phillies, and he has a hilarious and interesting way to get excited about things. This includes our beloved Phillies, and the world can someday look forward to my play-by-play and Jeremiah's color commentary full of made up words and often borderline offensive comments. What we may even look into doing is some type of podcast where we call a game every so often. There's no way that would ever work, but it sure sounds cool to talk about doing it, right?
That's it for Part 1 of the Male Bag: Volume III. Come back tomorrow for Part 2
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Friday, June 17, 2011
Mariners Preview
15 minutes. Ready... go!
Ok so I was going to do a Male Bag today, but I just didn't get the time with it being the last day of school and all types of celebrations and such going on. That doesn't mean Male Bag Volume III is not coming soon. Expect it on Sunday.
As for the preview of the Mariners series, I am going to keep it very brief. Partially because the Mariners are mostly worthless, partially because we are probably going to lose to them, and mostly because I just don't have the time to go very in depth. We'll see what I can get in before game time, though.
Game 1: Roy Oswalt (4-4, 3.14 ERA) vs. Michael Pineda (6-4, 2.72 ERA)
This game feels like it could go one of two ways to me with nothing in between. Either Pineda and the Mariners throw a shutout against us, or we get him out of the game in about 3 innings by scoring 8 runs off of him. I want to hope for the latter, but I feel like the former is much more likely. Pineda has been very very good this year, and we've never seen him. He has been worse recently though, going 0-2 with a 3.72 ERA in his last 3 starts. As for the Phils, does anyone realize that Oswalt has the worst ERA of our 4 starters this season? It's 3.14. That's the worst of those 4. Can we please take a second to recall how good our rotation is?
Prediction: Mariners 4 Phillies 0
Keep an eye out for: Ben Francisco sucking even worse as a DH (if possible). And why is Ibanez not our DH? If we need him in the lineup so bad, can we at least keep him off the field defensively?
Game 2: Vance Worley (2-1, 3.75 ERA) vs. Felix Hernandez (7-5, 3.30 ERA)
This seems like a sure loss to me. The thing we have going for us is the fact that Worley is new to the Mariners, and they generally don't score many runs anyway. I sort of feel like these first two games could end up being very similar in that there will be a general lack of offense from both teams (but especially the Phils. Kill me). The silver lining here: Worley is starting because Romero got designated for assignment. What does that mean? Who cares! All I know is it means he's not on our team right now. Ruben Amaro, Jr. called this "not an easy decision for us." Getting rid of Romero wasn't an easy decision? Please, please, PLEASE tell me what you consider an easy decision Rube. He's the biggest majoke of a pitcher in baseball. Get him out of here.
Prediction: Mariners 2 Phillies 0
Keep an eye out for: even less hits in this game than the first one from the Phils
Game 3: Cole Hamels (9-2, 2.49 ERA) vs. Jason Vargas (4-4, 4.13 ERA)
I wish I had time to convince you that Cole is the best pitcher in the NL right now, but I am down to 2 minutes and 28 seconds to finish this preview in under my goal. Bottom line: He's nasty. And Jason Vargas kinda sucks. Trust me, he's on my fantasy team. He really sucks.
Prediction: Phillies 8 Mariners 1
Keep an eye out for: double digit strikeouts from Hamels and the Phils offense taking all of their anger out from the past 2 days on Vargas
14:01. Well done, Cam. Well done.
Ok so I was going to do a Male Bag today, but I just didn't get the time with it being the last day of school and all types of celebrations and such going on. That doesn't mean Male Bag Volume III is not coming soon. Expect it on Sunday.
As for the preview of the Mariners series, I am going to keep it very brief. Partially because the Mariners are mostly worthless, partially because we are probably going to lose to them, and mostly because I just don't have the time to go very in depth. We'll see what I can get in before game time, though.
Game 1: Roy Oswalt (4-4, 3.14 ERA) vs. Michael Pineda (6-4, 2.72 ERA)
This game feels like it could go one of two ways to me with nothing in between. Either Pineda and the Mariners throw a shutout against us, or we get him out of the game in about 3 innings by scoring 8 runs off of him. I want to hope for the latter, but I feel like the former is much more likely. Pineda has been very very good this year, and we've never seen him. He has been worse recently though, going 0-2 with a 3.72 ERA in his last 3 starts. As for the Phils, does anyone realize that Oswalt has the worst ERA of our 4 starters this season? It's 3.14. That's the worst of those 4. Can we please take a second to recall how good our rotation is?
Prediction: Mariners 4 Phillies 0
Keep an eye out for: Ben Francisco sucking even worse as a DH (if possible). And why is Ibanez not our DH? If we need him in the lineup so bad, can we at least keep him off the field defensively?
Game 2: Vance Worley (2-1, 3.75 ERA) vs. Felix Hernandez (7-5, 3.30 ERA)
This seems like a sure loss to me. The thing we have going for us is the fact that Worley is new to the Mariners, and they generally don't score many runs anyway. I sort of feel like these first two games could end up being very similar in that there will be a general lack of offense from both teams (but especially the Phils. Kill me). The silver lining here: Worley is starting because Romero got designated for assignment. What does that mean? Who cares! All I know is it means he's not on our team right now. Ruben Amaro, Jr. called this "not an easy decision for us." Getting rid of Romero wasn't an easy decision? Please, please, PLEASE tell me what you consider an easy decision Rube. He's the biggest majoke of a pitcher in baseball. Get him out of here.
Prediction: Mariners 2 Phillies 0
Keep an eye out for: even less hits in this game than the first one from the Phils
Game 3: Cole Hamels (9-2, 2.49 ERA) vs. Jason Vargas (4-4, 4.13 ERA)
I wish I had time to convince you that Cole is the best pitcher in the NL right now, but I am down to 2 minutes and 28 seconds to finish this preview in under my goal. Bottom line: He's nasty. And Jason Vargas kinda sucks. Trust me, he's on my fantasy team. He really sucks.
Prediction: Phillies 8 Mariners 1
Keep an eye out for: double digit strikeouts from Hamels and the Phils offense taking all of their anger out from the past 2 days on Vargas
14:01. Well done, Cam. Well done.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Marlins Preview
We have a unique series coming up with the Marlins over the next 3 days. Not only will we be playing 4 games in 3 days, but 3 of those games will occur over the course of about 27 hours. It sounds crazy, and that's mostly because it is.
So what could this possibly mean for the series? Starters, starters, and more starters. If the pressure is on anyone in this series, it will be the starting pitchers. Conserving bullpens will be key between now and this time on Thursday in order for one team to come out on top. Who does all of this favor? Us!
Not only do we have a rotation full of guys who can go the distance if we need them to, but we come in at quite an advantage in terms of bullpen use recently. The Marlins' starter lasted only 3 innings in yesterday's 12-9 loss to the Diamondbags. Combine that with a 5-1 loss on Sunday, and they come into this series having used 7 different relievers to pitch 10 innings over the past 2 days. With the Phils coming off of an off-day, this puts us in a much better position.
In the 5 games we have played thus far with the Marlins, our starters have averaged just over 6 innings per outing. Their starters have averaged just under 6 innings per outing. Not a big difference when you look at it as a generalization like that; therefore, rather than hit you with some big long intro to this preview, let's get right into the specifics.
Game 1: Chris Volstad (2-6, 5.51 ERA) vs. Cole Hamels (8-2, 2.58 ERA)
There are way too many things I can say about Chris Volstad and who has had success against him over the years. Rather than break down individual players, here are our current roster's stats against him:
57 for 156 (.365 AVG), 7 2B, 12 HR, 26 RBI, 17 BB, 16 K, 1.107 OPS
I know I just said it, but let me please remind you that those are our team stats against him. That's everyone combined. That tells me that the Marlins should not be able to keep him in the game for very long. And that comes against Cole Hamels, one of the hottest pitchers in baseball (4-0, 1.70 ERA in his last 5 starts). Along with that, Hamels has been able to pitch 8 innings in each of his past 2 starts. I don't see this one working out too well for the Marlins.
Prediction: Phillies 10 Marlins 2
Keep an eye out for: Howard homering off of Volstad. The longer they keep him in, the more home runs. He is a .478 hitter against Volstad in his career with 6 homers in 23 at bats.
Game 2: TBA (0-0, -.-- ERA) vs. Kyle Kendrick (3-4, 3.47 ERA)
The good news: Kendrick has a 0.00 ERA in one game against the Marlins this season. The whatever news: That was a 1-inning relief appearance.
As I've said before, we can figure out what Kendrick will do after the first inning of any game he pitches. If he gets through it without giving up a run, we can get 6 or 7 out of him with 2 runs or less. If he gives up a run, he'll be out by the 5th having given up 6 runs or so. With the Marlins not announcing a starter, I am worried about what may be looming for the Phils. I am sure they will call up their Asian phenom Sum Yung Gai*, and he will shut us down because of our lack of experience against him. Kendrick is getting put in a tough spot here, and I almost feel like it is going to be a loss for him no matter what he does.
Prediction: Marlins 6 Phillies 0
Keep an eye out for: the Phils failing to get a hit until the 5th inning after doing so well the night before
*Sum Yung Gai is not a real person. Reread the name. We just aren't that great against young pitchers we don't have a lot of experience against, and this is what I assume they will throw at us. Pun intended.
Game 3: Anibal Sanchez (6-1, 3.06 ERA) vs. Roy Halladay (9-3, 2.39 ERA)
I doubt there are many pitchers in the league that the Marlins would rather NOT see. That more than likely applies to every team, but the Marlins should be especially depressed about a matchup with Roy Halladay. Since joining the Phils, Roy's numbers in 6 starts against the Marlins are as follows:
46 IP, 34 H, 8 ER, 4 BB, 50 K
The silver lining for Florida? We have a bad habit of not giving him much run support against them, giving him just a 4-2 record in those games despite his 1.57 ERA. Unfortunately for them, we have a few guys with some great career numbers against Sanchez. Polanco is a .538 hitter with 2 home runs in just 13 at bats, Rollins is hitting .333 against him, Utley .440, and Howard .318. Good numbers against Marlins pitching is generally no accident because we see them so often.
Prediction: Phillies 7 Marlins 0
Keep an eye out for: Halladay's 5th complete game but first shutout of the season
Game 4: Javier Vazquez (3-6, 7.09 ERA) vs. Cliff Lee (6-5, 3.41 ERA)
Lee was pretty mediocre in his only start agaisnt the Marlins this season, pitching 6 and giving up 3 runs while striking out just 4. I expect much more out of him this time, especially if there is any type of pressure on him to pitch deep into the game due to a lack of bullpen availability. Cliff always seems to rise to the big moments. Javier Vazquez is probably dreading this start, seeing as his ERA is 7.09 this season and it is even worse just against the Phillies (7.71). And those appearances were without Utley in the lineup. At this point in the series, things could get ugly if we see as much bullpen from the Marlins as I anticipate. But I don't want to get too greedy, so I'll keep my prediction modest.
Prediction: Phillies 5 Marlins 2
Keep an eye out for: more Howard home runs. He could feasibly hit 4-5 homers in this series. Combined against these 3 starters, Howard is a .391 hitter with 11 homers, 15 RBI, a .506 on-base percentage, and a .984 slugging percentage. For a point of reference: .400 is a great on-base percentage, and the current runaway leader in slugging percentage in the MLB is at .701.
So what could this possibly mean for the series? Starters, starters, and more starters. If the pressure is on anyone in this series, it will be the starting pitchers. Conserving bullpens will be key between now and this time on Thursday in order for one team to come out on top. Who does all of this favor? Us!
Not only do we have a rotation full of guys who can go the distance if we need them to, but we come in at quite an advantage in terms of bullpen use recently. The Marlins' starter lasted only 3 innings in yesterday's 12-9 loss to the Diamondbags. Combine that with a 5-1 loss on Sunday, and they come into this series having used 7 different relievers to pitch 10 innings over the past 2 days. With the Phils coming off of an off-day, this puts us in a much better position.
In the 5 games we have played thus far with the Marlins, our starters have averaged just over 6 innings per outing. Their starters have averaged just under 6 innings per outing. Not a big difference when you look at it as a generalization like that; therefore, rather than hit you with some big long intro to this preview, let's get right into the specifics.
Game 1: Chris Volstad (2-6, 5.51 ERA) vs. Cole Hamels (8-2, 2.58 ERA)
There are way too many things I can say about Chris Volstad and who has had success against him over the years. Rather than break down individual players, here are our current roster's stats against him:
57 for 156 (.365 AVG), 7 2B, 12 HR, 26 RBI, 17 BB, 16 K, 1.107 OPS
I know I just said it, but let me please remind you that those are our team stats against him. That's everyone combined. That tells me that the Marlins should not be able to keep him in the game for very long. And that comes against Cole Hamels, one of the hottest pitchers in baseball (4-0, 1.70 ERA in his last 5 starts). Along with that, Hamels has been able to pitch 8 innings in each of his past 2 starts. I don't see this one working out too well for the Marlins.
Prediction: Phillies 10 Marlins 2
Keep an eye out for: Howard homering off of Volstad. The longer they keep him in, the more home runs. He is a .478 hitter against Volstad in his career with 6 homers in 23 at bats.
Game 2: TBA (0-0, -.-- ERA) vs. Kyle Kendrick (3-4, 3.47 ERA)
The good news: Kendrick has a 0.00 ERA in one game against the Marlins this season. The whatever news: That was a 1-inning relief appearance.
As I've said before, we can figure out what Kendrick will do after the first inning of any game he pitches. If he gets through it without giving up a run, we can get 6 or 7 out of him with 2 runs or less. If he gives up a run, he'll be out by the 5th having given up 6 runs or so. With the Marlins not announcing a starter, I am worried about what may be looming for the Phils. I am sure they will call up their Asian phenom Sum Yung Gai*, and he will shut us down because of our lack of experience against him. Kendrick is getting put in a tough spot here, and I almost feel like it is going to be a loss for him no matter what he does.
Prediction: Marlins 6 Phillies 0
Keep an eye out for: the Phils failing to get a hit until the 5th inning after doing so well the night before
*Sum Yung Gai is not a real person. Reread the name. We just aren't that great against young pitchers we don't have a lot of experience against, and this is what I assume they will throw at us. Pun intended.
Game 3: Anibal Sanchez (6-1, 3.06 ERA) vs. Roy Halladay (9-3, 2.39 ERA)
I doubt there are many pitchers in the league that the Marlins would rather NOT see. That more than likely applies to every team, but the Marlins should be especially depressed about a matchup with Roy Halladay. Since joining the Phils, Roy's numbers in 6 starts against the Marlins are as follows:
46 IP, 34 H, 8 ER, 4 BB, 50 K
The silver lining for Florida? We have a bad habit of not giving him much run support against them, giving him just a 4-2 record in those games despite his 1.57 ERA. Unfortunately for them, we have a few guys with some great career numbers against Sanchez. Polanco is a .538 hitter with 2 home runs in just 13 at bats, Rollins is hitting .333 against him, Utley .440, and Howard .318. Good numbers against Marlins pitching is generally no accident because we see them so often.
Prediction: Phillies 7 Marlins 0
Keep an eye out for: Halladay's 5th complete game but first shutout of the season
Game 4: Javier Vazquez (3-6, 7.09 ERA) vs. Cliff Lee (6-5, 3.41 ERA)
Lee was pretty mediocre in his only start agaisnt the Marlins this season, pitching 6 and giving up 3 runs while striking out just 4. I expect much more out of him this time, especially if there is any type of pressure on him to pitch deep into the game due to a lack of bullpen availability. Cliff always seems to rise to the big moments. Javier Vazquez is probably dreading this start, seeing as his ERA is 7.09 this season and it is even worse just against the Phillies (7.71). And those appearances were without Utley in the lineup. At this point in the series, things could get ugly if we see as much bullpen from the Marlins as I anticipate. But I don't want to get too greedy, so I'll keep my prediction modest.
Prediction: Phillies 5 Marlins 2
Keep an eye out for: more Howard home runs. He could feasibly hit 4-5 homers in this series. Combined against these 3 starters, Howard is a .391 hitter with 11 homers, 15 RBI, a .506 on-base percentage, and a .984 slugging percentage. For a point of reference: .400 is a great on-base percentage, and the current runaway leader in slugging percentage in the MLB is at .701.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Cubs Series Check-Point
My poor readers. Surely you were all refreshing this page constantly for the hour leading up to our first game with the Cubs on Thursday night, eager to read a preview and figure out exactly what you could expect over the course of the ensuing 4 games. Rather than feeling too bad about this, I am going to justify my actions by claiming that I had a plan for this all along and simply forgot to tell you about it. My extended Thursday afternoon nap had nothing to do with the lack of an update...
I actually do think this is a really good thing, though. With a lot of previews, I have no idea how the Phils or their opponent are going to play against each other. All I have to go off of is statistics that have been compiled over the past 5 years rather than statistics that we've gotten over the past 2 days. This may or may not mean a new trend in a preview of a 4-game series. Rather than previewing, I think a series check-point halfway through is a good idea. Where have we been, and where are we going? Hopefully, because of our successes and failures over the past 48 hours, we can figure out how to limit those to just successes over the next.
Side note before I get into the breakdown: I feel like I have a ton of stuff to write about that I simply haven't gotten a chance because I've basically been limiting myself to previews. For the most part, I plan on keeping things the way they've been this season, but I envision myself having some more time in a little over a week because of the end of school. I think I'm going to kick off my summer with the third edition of the Male Bag, so keep the questions coming! After that, hopefully we can get some more non-series related posts that are more centered on the Phillies in general this season. Previews are OK, but the other stuff is much more fun.
Game 1: Cubs 4 Phillies 3 (11 innings)
I didn't get to watch this entire game because of Trivia Night at The Perk (Interesting fact: the only food that can currently satisfy my hunger is a burger from The Perk. Frustrating? Yes, at times. But overall it's awesome after up to a week-long wait to fully enjoy life again). I did, however, watch the very end of regulation and all of extra innings. In looking back through the box score, one thing jumped out at me. What the heck are we doing with our pitchers? I realize that we had to take Kendrick out after the rain delay, but wouldn't that mean we should be a little more conservative with our bullpen? Check out the innings pitched by some of our relievers: Romero - 1/3; Stutes - 2/3; Bastardo - 2/3; Contreras - 2/3. Contreras, Bastardo, and Stutes should all be pitching 1 inning each. That makes up for one whole inning right there. Romero could barely pitch for the Clearwater Threshers right now, so I won't complain about his 1/3 of an inning. So how did this affect us? With 2 outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th, we had David Herndon trying to drive in the winning run. He's now 0 for 3 in his career with 3 strikeouts...not exactly our best option. Had we used our bullpen a little better, we would've been in a position to pinch hit.
Also, isn't it funny that we didn't pinch hit here? We're the home team, so the game would be over if we get a hit. I understand the risk of putting all of our eggs into one basket, but you have to feel kind of crappy if you're Wilson Valdez or Ross Gload. Uncle Chuck basically just turned to them and said "Blk...blp...bli, I, uhh, blp, glp... uh, don't, uhh, th-think you can, uh...glp get...get a hit." Thanks for the vote of confidence, Porky. It's not often that we'll lose a game on a Polanco error with Baseball making the last out, though. So you can't feel too bad about this.
Game 2:
Game 1 was a tough one to judge because of the rain delay, but Game 2 seemed to reveal something about the pitching staffs of these two teams right now: They are complete opposites. Through 2 games, the numbers for the starters:
Cubs - 8.2 IP, 10 H, 10 ER, 9 BB, 7 K, 3 HR, 10.38 ERA
Us - 10 IP, 8 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 11 K, 0 HR, 0.00 ERA
And the bullpens:
Cubs - 10.1 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 5 BB, 10 K, 0 HR, 0.00 ERA
Us - 10 IP, 13 H, 8 ER, 7 BB, 9 K, 1 HR, 7.20 ERA
The only other trend that I really noticed over the course of these 2 games was Starlin Castro loving to hit against us.
So, knowing all of that, I can now make 100% accurate predictions on the next 2 games. I actually heard they might cancel the games in favor of this blog post. Sorry if you had tickets.
Game 3: Matt Garza (2-5, 4.07 ERA) vs. Cliff Lee (5-5, 3.62 ERA)
The Phillies will win this game. Why, might you ask? Well, because Cliff Lee is pretty good at keeping his pitch count low, winning or losing. Because of that, we may be able to hold off for awhile on the bullpen. And the Cubs' inability to hit our starting pitchers makes me feel good about their inability to hit Cliff Lee. Although Starlin Castro is the brightest spot in the Cubs' order this series (4 for 10, 2 doubles), Lee has struck him out all 3 times he's faced him. And Starlin Castro doesn't really strike out. Carlos Pena has significant experience against Lee, including 3 homers, but overall is hitting just .207 against him (plus a whopping .067 against lefties this season) and has generally sucked against the Phils (see: 2008 World Series. Don't see: Game 1 of this series). Our bats have been hot early in these past 2 games, so I'm thinking we can get to Garza despite our lack of success against him. One thing that scares the Pittsburgh out of me: the only players with multiple lifetime hits against Garza are Gload (never plays), Francisco (can't hit), and Ibanez (ugh).
Prediction: Phils 5 Cubs 1
Keep an eye out for: Lee going 8 because he needs to
Game 4: Doug Davis (0-5, 6.38 ERA) vs. Roy Oswalt (3-4, 3.05 ERA)
Despite mediocre numbers against the Cubs in his career, Oswalt has overall good numbers against their current roster. And despite great numbers against the Phils players in his career, Davis has horrendous numbers against baseball teams this season. Davis has yet to give up less than 3 runs in a game, and he has pitched more than 5 innings just once this season. Once again, getting to him early will greatly benefit us, and hopefully we can do just that. It seems like Oswalt is still trying to hit his stride since coming back from everything he's been through this season. You kind of know that he will hit his stride eventually, so why not pick tonight against some very familiar uniforms for him?
Prediction: Phils 6 Cubs 3
Keep an eye out for: a 60% chance of thunderstorms. If this happens, you can throw my prediction out the window. Rain delays really mess stuff up. But maybe, if there is a rain delay, they will instead just go with my predicted result because of the 2 games' worth of evidence I used to make it. Yeah. Let's count on that
I actually do think this is a really good thing, though. With a lot of previews, I have no idea how the Phils or their opponent are going to play against each other. All I have to go off of is statistics that have been compiled over the past 5 years rather than statistics that we've gotten over the past 2 days. This may or may not mean a new trend in a preview of a 4-game series. Rather than previewing, I think a series check-point halfway through is a good idea. Where have we been, and where are we going? Hopefully, because of our successes and failures over the past 48 hours, we can figure out how to limit those to just successes over the next.
Side note before I get into the breakdown: I feel like I have a ton of stuff to write about that I simply haven't gotten a chance because I've basically been limiting myself to previews. For the most part, I plan on keeping things the way they've been this season, but I envision myself having some more time in a little over a week because of the end of school. I think I'm going to kick off my summer with the third edition of the Male Bag, so keep the questions coming! After that, hopefully we can get some more non-series related posts that are more centered on the Phillies in general this season. Previews are OK, but the other stuff is much more fun.
Game 1: Cubs 4 Phillies 3 (11 innings)
I didn't get to watch this entire game because of Trivia Night at The Perk (Interesting fact: the only food that can currently satisfy my hunger is a burger from The Perk. Frustrating? Yes, at times. But overall it's awesome after up to a week-long wait to fully enjoy life again). I did, however, watch the very end of regulation and all of extra innings. In looking back through the box score, one thing jumped out at me. What the heck are we doing with our pitchers? I realize that we had to take Kendrick out after the rain delay, but wouldn't that mean we should be a little more conservative with our bullpen? Check out the innings pitched by some of our relievers: Romero - 1/3; Stutes - 2/3; Bastardo - 2/3; Contreras - 2/3. Contreras, Bastardo, and Stutes should all be pitching 1 inning each. That makes up for one whole inning right there. Romero could barely pitch for the Clearwater Threshers right now, so I won't complain about his 1/3 of an inning. So how did this affect us? With 2 outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th, we had David Herndon trying to drive in the winning run. He's now 0 for 3 in his career with 3 strikeouts...not exactly our best option. Had we used our bullpen a little better, we would've been in a position to pinch hit.
Also, isn't it funny that we didn't pinch hit here? We're the home team, so the game would be over if we get a hit. I understand the risk of putting all of our eggs into one basket, but you have to feel kind of crappy if you're Wilson Valdez or Ross Gload. Uncle Chuck basically just turned to them and said "Blk...blp...bli, I, uhh, blp, glp... uh, don't, uhh, th-think you can, uh...glp get...get a hit." Thanks for the vote of confidence, Porky. It's not often that we'll lose a game on a Polanco error with Baseball making the last out, though. So you can't feel too bad about this.
Game 2:
Game 1 was a tough one to judge because of the rain delay, but Game 2 seemed to reveal something about the pitching staffs of these two teams right now: They are complete opposites. Through 2 games, the numbers for the starters:
Cubs - 8.2 IP, 10 H, 10 ER, 9 BB, 7 K, 3 HR, 10.38 ERA
Us - 10 IP, 8 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 11 K, 0 HR, 0.00 ERA
And the bullpens:
Cubs - 10.1 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 5 BB, 10 K, 0 HR, 0.00 ERA
Us - 10 IP, 13 H, 8 ER, 7 BB, 9 K, 1 HR, 7.20 ERA
The only other trend that I really noticed over the course of these 2 games was Starlin Castro loving to hit against us.
So, knowing all of that, I can now make 100% accurate predictions on the next 2 games. I actually heard they might cancel the games in favor of this blog post. Sorry if you had tickets.
Game 3: Matt Garza (2-5, 4.07 ERA) vs. Cliff Lee (5-5, 3.62 ERA)
The Phillies will win this game. Why, might you ask? Well, because Cliff Lee is pretty good at keeping his pitch count low, winning or losing. Because of that, we may be able to hold off for awhile on the bullpen. And the Cubs' inability to hit our starting pitchers makes me feel good about their inability to hit Cliff Lee. Although Starlin Castro is the brightest spot in the Cubs' order this series (4 for 10, 2 doubles), Lee has struck him out all 3 times he's faced him. And Starlin Castro doesn't really strike out. Carlos Pena has significant experience against Lee, including 3 homers, but overall is hitting just .207 against him (plus a whopping .067 against lefties this season) and has generally sucked against the Phils (see: 2008 World Series. Don't see: Game 1 of this series). Our bats have been hot early in these past 2 games, so I'm thinking we can get to Garza despite our lack of success against him. One thing that scares the Pittsburgh out of me: the only players with multiple lifetime hits against Garza are Gload (never plays), Francisco (can't hit), and Ibanez (ugh).
Prediction: Phils 5 Cubs 1
Keep an eye out for: Lee going 8 because he needs to
Game 4: Doug Davis (0-5, 6.38 ERA) vs. Roy Oswalt (3-4, 3.05 ERA)
Despite mediocre numbers against the Cubs in his career, Oswalt has overall good numbers against their current roster. And despite great numbers against the Phils players in his career, Davis has horrendous numbers against baseball teams this season. Davis has yet to give up less than 3 runs in a game, and he has pitched more than 5 innings just once this season. Once again, getting to him early will greatly benefit us, and hopefully we can do just that. It seems like Oswalt is still trying to hit his stride since coming back from everything he's been through this season. You kind of know that he will hit his stride eventually, so why not pick tonight against some very familiar uniforms for him?
Prediction: Phils 6 Cubs 3
Keep an eye out for: a 60% chance of thunderstorms. If this happens, you can throw my prediction out the window. Rain delays really mess stuff up. But maybe, if there is a rain delay, they will instead just go with my predicted result because of the 2 games' worth of evidence I used to make it. Yeah. Let's count on that
Monday, June 6, 2011
Pittsburgh Pirates: Welcome to the National League's Basement Stairs
The following post was written by one of my best friends, Benjamin Lawson Follett. Yes, despite being from Pittsburgh, I still consider him one of my best friends. I had the pleasure of attending 2 of the 3 games this past weekend at Pittsburgh's beautiful PNC Park. It was so nice for the baseball fans in Pittsburgh to get to see what winning is this weekend. And by that I do not mean them winning the series, but rather them seeing the Phillies and, thusly, our winning ways being a little too contagious for our own good Friday and Saturday night. In all seriousness, Ben knows more about baseball than I could ever hope to, and he played with Pirates second baseman Neil Walker at some point when he was younger. If that's not awesome, I don't know what is. I know you guys will have no idea how to react to someone else posting, and you will go through gross withdrawal symptoms in reading the next few paragraphs. Good news, though! I posted briefly before this with a Dodgers preview (which you probably should've looked for BEFORE the Dodgers game. It's a preview. Duh), and you can check out my reaction to this series posted on Ben's blog here. Also, let this post serve as an inspiration to anyone who may want to consider writing their own guest blog entry this season. And now I'm shutting up to let Ben say his thing...
I am a Pirate fan. Most of the people who read this great blog would consider themselves Phillies fans. I am OK with that. But before you complain about how you lost 2 of 3 from the Pirates this weekend, please remember that you're team sets the bar at World Championships and mine sets it as winning more than they lose. For those of you who don't know anything about the Pirates, (Side note: I am sure that you know about as much as most typical Pirates fans) let me give you only one piece of history. The Pirates have not had a winning season since 1992. In that year; Bill Clinton was elected president for the first time, Disney's Aladdin was the top grossing movie of the year and Barry Bonds won his 2nd National League MVP award while playing for my Pittsburgh Pirates. The world has changed a lot during that time, but one thing that has remained as constant as death and taxes is the Pirates playing losing baseball. So before you complain about your lack of run scoring (18th in the NL, while the Pirates are 23rd) or the fact that you hate watching your 5th starters throw (because I guess 4 "ace" pitchers aren't enough) you need to walk a few hundred miles in my shoes. I am a Pittsburgh Pirates fan and this is your chance to see how the other side of the state lives.
Game 1: Pirates 2 - Phillies 1
If you read my blog, you would know that I predicted Hamels to beat the Pirates. He pitched well enough to get the win going 8 innings, surrendering only 1 run on 1 hit while striking out 4. The only problem is that Jeff Karstens was able to fool the Phillies' batters for 7 innings. I wasn't able to watch the entire game but Cameron arrived at my house in enough time for us to finish watching the last inning or two and during that time I noticed a few things. First, Placido Polanco is really freakin' good. Guy just makes every play and quite frankly he makes every play look routine. Second, Chase Utley plays second base the way it is meant to be played and third if I had to choose between the Phillies line up and the Pirates line up, I am not sure I would pick the Phillies. Caution. Side Track Ahead. Now I know they are more proven top to bottom but at the end of the day, the only regulars I would want are Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins. Ryan Howard is an obvious pick with the Pirates complete lack of production out of Lyle Overbay and Jimmy Rollins doesn't do a lot for me, but frankly Ronny Cedeno does far less. I know all of you are saying what about Utley, Victorino, Polanco or Ibanez. Well...Utley is coming off the injury and until he proves that he can be healthy and out produce Walker, I'll take Walker. Andrew McCutchen > Shane Victorino, sorry guys check out the stats and the fact that McCutchen is 6 year younger. I'll take Alvarez over Polanco only because I need power and lastly every Pirates outfielder over Ibanez because Raul Ibanez sucks and Cameron hates him so therefore I hate him too. Ok, back to the recap. In extra innings both teams made huge defensive plays that saved the game. In the top of the 10th, Overbay dove to stop a ball from going down the right field line with a runner on second and 1 out allowing the Pirates to get out of the inning. In the bottom of the 10th, Polanco made a nasty charging barehanded play to get the speedy Tabata with a runner on third. However, only one teams defensive gem meant there team would get the win and Friday it was the Pirates. Tabata came to the plate with a runner on second and 2 outs and was able to get a ball past Utley to plate the winning run. Pirates win, much to my surprise. An excellent game that included good defense and great pitching, set the table for what would turn out to be a high-quality weekend series against our cross state rivals.
Game 2: Pirates 6 – Phillies 3
Roy Halladay, I mean Charlie Morton, was on the hill for the Pirates Saturday night and if you asked Cameron, he would have told you that the Phillies didn’t stand a chance. Throughout his outing, Morton was able to keep the Phillies off balance only getting into “trouble” in the first and fourth innings. All that “trouble” amounted to a line that was very Halladay-esque; 7 innings, 6 hits, 2 ER, 2 BB and 5 K’s. Now I know that Charlie Morton does not equal Roy Halladay, but with that being said, having a pitcher who is now 6-2 with a 2.52 ERA, good enough for 4th in the National League is really something to be excited about. Remember, this is the same guy that less than a year ago was 2-12 with a 7.57 ERA. Talk about a transformation and for that a special thanks goes out to Halladay because without him, we wouldn’t have this “new” Charlie Morton. As far as the offense in the game goes, most of it was provided by 3 hit days from Andrew McCutchen and Lyle Overbay. Overbay, who may finally be hitting above his weight, was a home run shy of the cycle and now his average sits at .240. It was also good to see McCutchen, clearly the team’s best hitter, have his 4th consecutive multi-hit game. His average is now up to .273 and he hit .275 in May after hitting just .219 in April. The Phillies amassed 9 hits in the game, but 3 came in the 9th inning when the team scored once off of Joel Hanrahan and as a team the Phillies were 4 for 14 with runners in scoring position. As I have made previously clear, the Phillies can pitch lights out, but their lineup as a whole does not scare me. In order for them to get to their ultimate goal, the World Series, (which I believe they will since, pitching + defense = playoff wins) they are going to need more production out of guys in the middle of their order. I am looking at you Howard, Utley, Brown and yes even you Ibanez. If they can do that, save from the 3 games they play against the Pirates in late July, they should be prime for another World Series run.
Although the Phillies lost Games 1 and 2 of the series, during at our time at the game Cameron and I realized that among the crowd there was another competition going on. No I am not talking about Steelers and Eagles chants but who's team has more "nickname" t-shirt jerseys. We both were in agreement that these jerseys are an abomination and the people who wear them on both sides should be stripped of their fandom. As of Saturday night, the Pirates were losing this game of t-shirt terribleness 5-4. However, the worst nickname jersey award goes to Raul Ibanez for his "Rauuuuuuuuuuuuuul." It takes the cake because it is unoriginal, annoying and in support of a player who stinks. So congratulations Raul Ibanez, and here's hoping that John Mayberry Jr. takes your starting position in left field.
Game 3: Phillies 7 – Pirates 3
At this point in the series, the Pirates were playing with house money. We had won the first two games and in doing so had won the series. Also, it was blatantly obvious that if there was a game the Pirates would have little to no chance of winning during the weekend, it would be Sunday afternoon’s contest against the REAL Roy Halladay. For the most part, Doc did not disappoint. He was touched in the first inning when he left a ball up to Neil Walker who promptly deposited the ball in the seats beyond the right centerfield wall. After that the Phillies offense woke up and James McDonald struggled to throw a single strike in the 4th inning. Really, I am not sure he threw more than 5 and he definetly didn't throw more than 2 in a row. The Phillies got enough runs for Doc in the 4th and 5th innings to take the lead and then added insurance in the 9th to finish the game with a 7-3 victory that was almost identical to the Pirates 6-3 victory the night before.
Overall, the series was pretty evenly played. Pitching dominated all of the games in one way or another with Karstens and Hamels dealing in Game 1, Morton shutting down the Phils in Game 2, and Halladay following suit in Game 3. From watching the games both on tv and in person there are a few observations that I have about this Phillies team:
1. The pitching is dirty and is going to keep your team in any single game throughout the year. I know the Phils don't score a lot of runs right now, but when 4 out of every 5 days you only need to score 3 runs, you are going to win most of those games. Remember winning 2 of 3 all season wins you 108 games, I think that is enough to get into the playoffs.
2. Even though the pitching is as good as it is, the Phillies were miserable with runners on base. They left a combined 32 runners on base in the 3 games. Obviously, that isn't very good. But when you have "four" aces, why worry right?
3. Lastly, every time Dominic Brown stepped to the plate, I peed my pants because I was scared he was going to hit a bomb. He nearly did when he crushed a ball foul in Sunday's game. He's 6'-5 and 205 so he has a little bit of room to add size and if he does combined with the insane amount of bat speed that he generates, he is going to be really freakin' good. Oh and did I mention he is only 23. Wow. Look out National League, Dominic Brown is here to stay. I think a Dominator jersey is already in the works.
It was a great weekend and I am glad your faithful hometown blogger got to come to my beautiful city, eat Primanti's and watch baseball. Too bad Pittsburgh had to prove once again why it continues to be the best part of our great state. 6-3 against the Phillies since the beginning of the 2010 season. Oh yeah, Let's go Bucs!
I am a Pirate fan. Most of the people who read this great blog would consider themselves Phillies fans. I am OK with that. But before you complain about how you lost 2 of 3 from the Pirates this weekend, please remember that you're team sets the bar at World Championships and mine sets it as winning more than they lose. For those of you who don't know anything about the Pirates, (Side note: I am sure that you know about as much as most typical Pirates fans) let me give you only one piece of history. The Pirates have not had a winning season since 1992. In that year; Bill Clinton was elected president for the first time, Disney's Aladdin was the top grossing movie of the year and Barry Bonds won his 2nd National League MVP award while playing for my Pittsburgh Pirates. The world has changed a lot during that time, but one thing that has remained as constant as death and taxes is the Pirates playing losing baseball. So before you complain about your lack of run scoring (18th in the NL, while the Pirates are 23rd) or the fact that you hate watching your 5th starters throw (because I guess 4 "ace" pitchers aren't enough) you need to walk a few hundred miles in my shoes. I am a Pittsburgh Pirates fan and this is your chance to see how the other side of the state lives.
Game 1: Pirates 2 - Phillies 1
If you read my blog, you would know that I predicted Hamels to beat the Pirates. He pitched well enough to get the win going 8 innings, surrendering only 1 run on 1 hit while striking out 4. The only problem is that Jeff Karstens was able to fool the Phillies' batters for 7 innings. I wasn't able to watch the entire game but Cameron arrived at my house in enough time for us to finish watching the last inning or two and during that time I noticed a few things. First, Placido Polanco is really freakin' good. Guy just makes every play and quite frankly he makes every play look routine. Second, Chase Utley plays second base the way it is meant to be played and third if I had to choose between the Phillies line up and the Pirates line up, I am not sure I would pick the Phillies. Caution. Side Track Ahead. Now I know they are more proven top to bottom but at the end of the day, the only regulars I would want are Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins. Ryan Howard is an obvious pick with the Pirates complete lack of production out of Lyle Overbay and Jimmy Rollins doesn't do a lot for me, but frankly Ronny Cedeno does far less. I know all of you are saying what about Utley, Victorino, Polanco or Ibanez. Well...Utley is coming off the injury and until he proves that he can be healthy and out produce Walker, I'll take Walker. Andrew McCutchen > Shane Victorino, sorry guys check out the stats and the fact that McCutchen is 6 year younger. I'll take Alvarez over Polanco only because I need power and lastly every Pirates outfielder over Ibanez because Raul Ibanez sucks and Cameron hates him so therefore I hate him too. Ok, back to the recap. In extra innings both teams made huge defensive plays that saved the game. In the top of the 10th, Overbay dove to stop a ball from going down the right field line with a runner on second and 1 out allowing the Pirates to get out of the inning. In the bottom of the 10th, Polanco made a nasty charging barehanded play to get the speedy Tabata with a runner on third. However, only one teams defensive gem meant there team would get the win and Friday it was the Pirates. Tabata came to the plate with a runner on second and 2 outs and was able to get a ball past Utley to plate the winning run. Pirates win, much to my surprise. An excellent game that included good defense and great pitching, set the table for what would turn out to be a high-quality weekend series against our cross state rivals.
Game 2: Pirates 6 – Phillies 3
Roy Halladay, I mean Charlie Morton, was on the hill for the Pirates Saturday night and if you asked Cameron, he would have told you that the Phillies didn’t stand a chance. Throughout his outing, Morton was able to keep the Phillies off balance only getting into “trouble” in the first and fourth innings. All that “trouble” amounted to a line that was very Halladay-esque; 7 innings, 6 hits, 2 ER, 2 BB and 5 K’s. Now I know that Charlie Morton does not equal Roy Halladay, but with that being said, having a pitcher who is now 6-2 with a 2.52 ERA, good enough for 4th in the National League is really something to be excited about. Remember, this is the same guy that less than a year ago was 2-12 with a 7.57 ERA. Talk about a transformation and for that a special thanks goes out to Halladay because without him, we wouldn’t have this “new” Charlie Morton. As far as the offense in the game goes, most of it was provided by 3 hit days from Andrew McCutchen and Lyle Overbay. Overbay, who may finally be hitting above his weight, was a home run shy of the cycle and now his average sits at .240. It was also good to see McCutchen, clearly the team’s best hitter, have his 4th consecutive multi-hit game. His average is now up to .273 and he hit .275 in May after hitting just .219 in April. The Phillies amassed 9 hits in the game, but 3 came in the 9th inning when the team scored once off of Joel Hanrahan and as a team the Phillies were 4 for 14 with runners in scoring position. As I have made previously clear, the Phillies can pitch lights out, but their lineup as a whole does not scare me. In order for them to get to their ultimate goal, the World Series, (which I believe they will since, pitching + defense = playoff wins) they are going to need more production out of guys in the middle of their order. I am looking at you Howard, Utley, Brown and yes even you Ibanez. If they can do that, save from the 3 games they play against the Pirates in late July, they should be prime for another World Series run.
Although the Phillies lost Games 1 and 2 of the series, during at our time at the game Cameron and I realized that among the crowd there was another competition going on. No I am not talking about Steelers and Eagles chants but who's team has more "nickname" t-shirt jerseys. We both were in agreement that these jerseys are an abomination and the people who wear them on both sides should be stripped of their fandom. As of Saturday night, the Pirates were losing this game of t-shirt terribleness 5-4. However, the worst nickname jersey award goes to Raul Ibanez for his "Rauuuuuuuuuuuuuul." It takes the cake because it is unoriginal, annoying and in support of a player who stinks. So congratulations Raul Ibanez, and here's hoping that John Mayberry Jr. takes your starting position in left field.
Game 3: Phillies 7 – Pirates 3
At this point in the series, the Pirates were playing with house money. We had won the first two games and in doing so had won the series. Also, it was blatantly obvious that if there was a game the Pirates would have little to no chance of winning during the weekend, it would be Sunday afternoon’s contest against the REAL Roy Halladay. For the most part, Doc did not disappoint. He was touched in the first inning when he left a ball up to Neil Walker who promptly deposited the ball in the seats beyond the right centerfield wall. After that the Phillies offense woke up and James McDonald struggled to throw a single strike in the 4th inning. Really, I am not sure he threw more than 5 and he definetly didn't throw more than 2 in a row. The Phillies got enough runs for Doc in the 4th and 5th innings to take the lead and then added insurance in the 9th to finish the game with a 7-3 victory that was almost identical to the Pirates 6-3 victory the night before.
Overall, the series was pretty evenly played. Pitching dominated all of the games in one way or another with Karstens and Hamels dealing in Game 1, Morton shutting down the Phils in Game 2, and Halladay following suit in Game 3. From watching the games both on tv and in person there are a few observations that I have about this Phillies team:
1. The pitching is dirty and is going to keep your team in any single game throughout the year. I know the Phils don't score a lot of runs right now, but when 4 out of every 5 days you only need to score 3 runs, you are going to win most of those games. Remember winning 2 of 3 all season wins you 108 games, I think that is enough to get into the playoffs.
2. Even though the pitching is as good as it is, the Phillies were miserable with runners on base. They left a combined 32 runners on base in the 3 games. Obviously, that isn't very good. But when you have "four" aces, why worry right?
3. Lastly, every time Dominic Brown stepped to the plate, I peed my pants because I was scared he was going to hit a bomb. He nearly did when he crushed a ball foul in Sunday's game. He's 6'-5 and 205 so he has a little bit of room to add size and if he does combined with the insane amount of bat speed that he generates, he is going to be really freakin' good. Oh and did I mention he is only 23. Wow. Look out National League, Dominic Brown is here to stay. I think a Dominator jersey is already in the works.
It was a great weekend and I am glad your faithful hometown blogger got to come to my beautiful city, eat Primanti's and watch baseball. Too bad Pittsburgh had to prove once again why it continues to be the best part of our great state. 6-3 against the Phillies since the beginning of the 2010 season. Oh yeah, Let's go Bucs!
Dodgers Preview
I am going to keep this preview very short. I spent the afternoon working on a reaction to the Pirates series for B Fresh's blog, and hopefully I will be getting his soon so I can post that. So forgive the lack of analysis tonight...I'm short on time.
I want to keep my response to that series pretty light because I'd rather leave it all to Ben, and if you want to read mine you can check out his blog. What I do want to say, though, is HOW AWESOME WERE MY PREDICTIONS?
I said that Friday night was essentially a toss-up, I just picked the Phillies because I picked the Phillies without a great reason.
I predicted 6-1 and McCutchen driving in 3 Saturday night. McCutchen drove in 2 of the Pirates' 6 runs and we lost.
I predicted the opposite on Sunday with Utley doing the damage, and the game was pretty much the opposite of Saturday night with Utley getting 3 hits (although driving in 0 runs)
My reasoning for opposite predictions Saturday and Sunday was the similarity of Morton and Halladay. Their lines:
Morton 7 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Halladay 7 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Gross.
As for the Dodgers...
Game 1: Ted Lilly (4-4, 4.22 ERA) vs. Cliff Lee (4-5, 3.94 ERA)
Cliff pitches much better at The Cit, but facing the lefty Lilly worries me. He has little success in his career against us, though.
Prediction: Phillies 6 Dodgers 2
Keep an eye out for: Cliff going the distance
Game 2: Rubby De La Rosa (1-0, 1.80 ERA) vs. Roy Oswalt (3-3, 2.70 ERA)
Roy Oswalt has awesome career numbers against the Dodgers and their hitters, but how do we stand a chance in this game? The guy's name is RUBBY! How sweet is that?! Rubby's gotta win this one
Prediction: Dodgers 2 Phillies 0
Keep an eye out for: Rubby throwing a game as perfect as his name. Interpret as you wish
Game 3: Hiroki Kuroda (5-6, 3.46 ERA) vs. Cole Hamels (7-2, 2.83 ERA)
This might be a better matchup than Halladay-Josh Johnson. The numbers these guys have against these teams is disgusting. In 4 starts against us, Kuroda is 2-0 and has a 0.68 ERA and has held us to a .084 batting average. He's given up 7 hits and 2 earned runs in 26.2 innings. Compared to that, Hamels sucks against the Dodgers. In 4 starts and 30 innings, he has given up 22 hits (are you kidding me, Cole?) and 5 earned runs (get a job, dude). He's 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA
Prediction: Phillies 1 Dodgers 0 in 10 innings
Keep an eye out for: both pitchers throwing no-hitters through 9 and the Phils scoring 1 run off of a Dodger reliever
I want to keep my response to that series pretty light because I'd rather leave it all to Ben, and if you want to read mine you can check out his blog. What I do want to say, though, is HOW AWESOME WERE MY PREDICTIONS?
I said that Friday night was essentially a toss-up, I just picked the Phillies because I picked the Phillies without a great reason.
I predicted 6-1 and McCutchen driving in 3 Saturday night. McCutchen drove in 2 of the Pirates' 6 runs and we lost.
I predicted the opposite on Sunday with Utley doing the damage, and the game was pretty much the opposite of Saturday night with Utley getting 3 hits (although driving in 0 runs)
My reasoning for opposite predictions Saturday and Sunday was the similarity of Morton and Halladay. Their lines:
Morton 7 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Halladay 7 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K
Gross.
As for the Dodgers...
Game 1: Ted Lilly (4-4, 4.22 ERA) vs. Cliff Lee (4-5, 3.94 ERA)
Cliff pitches much better at The Cit, but facing the lefty Lilly worries me. He has little success in his career against us, though.
Prediction: Phillies 6 Dodgers 2
Keep an eye out for: Cliff going the distance
Game 2: Rubby De La Rosa (1-0, 1.80 ERA) vs. Roy Oswalt (3-3, 2.70 ERA)
Roy Oswalt has awesome career numbers against the Dodgers and their hitters, but how do we stand a chance in this game? The guy's name is RUBBY! How sweet is that?! Rubby's gotta win this one
Prediction: Dodgers 2 Phillies 0
Keep an eye out for: Rubby throwing a game as perfect as his name. Interpret as you wish
Game 3: Hiroki Kuroda (5-6, 3.46 ERA) vs. Cole Hamels (7-2, 2.83 ERA)
This might be a better matchup than Halladay-Josh Johnson. The numbers these guys have against these teams is disgusting. In 4 starts against us, Kuroda is 2-0 and has a 0.68 ERA and has held us to a .084 batting average. He's given up 7 hits and 2 earned runs in 26.2 innings. Compared to that, Hamels sucks against the Dodgers. In 4 starts and 30 innings, he has given up 22 hits (are you kidding me, Cole?) and 5 earned runs (get a job, dude). He's 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA
Prediction: Phillies 1 Dodgers 0 in 10 innings
Keep an eye out for: both pitchers throwing no-hitters through 9 and the Phils scoring 1 run off of a Dodger reliever
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Can't Win 'Em All
That series against the Nationals totally sucked. My hero, Ricky Botallico, stated after the last game that the Phillies really should have gotten swept by the Nats. And, since everything he says is fact, I agree. What a scary thing to say/think. Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and Roy Oswalt basically just got swept by the Washington Nationals. And this is them without their best player (Ryan Zimmerman - NOT Jayson Werth). As frustrating and unbelievable as this is, it's also part of the game of baseball. You really can't beat every team every time, especially over the course of a 162-game season. The Nationals are no exception to that.
And neither are our next opponent, the Pirates. When you think of the Pirates, you probably laugh and cringe at the same time. Laugh at how hysterically/historically bad they've been for so long, but cringe at the thought of the city of Pittsburgh and all of its dirtiness, hills, and bridges. Gross. But I'm here to hit you with some shocking news.
To get it out of the way, the most shocking news of all will come first. I am going to Pittsburgh this weekend. Yes, you read that right. I, Cameron Koehler, am going to Pittsburgh, that hell hole 5+ hours across the horrendously paved roads of scenic (read: boring) Pennsylvania. A place that I completely and ruthlessly trash at every opportunity (including opportunities I invent out of nowhere) will be my weekend getaway destination. My silver lining: I have always said that there are only 3 good things about the city of Pittsburgh, and I will get to experience all of them multiple times this weekend. I am going to the Saturday night and Sunday afternoon games, and I guarantee there will be people at the games wearing either Penguins or Steelers attire (since no one actually knows the Pirates exist and they will probably just unknowingly wander into the park...it's not like anyone pays to watch them). So I will get to experience the sweetness that is Pittsburgh sports teams all being the same colors (stop wearing ugly Eagles stuff to Phillies games people!). I am also making it a priority to get to Primanti Bros. at least twice for a tasty sandwich or 6. And I get to spend the weekend at B Fresh's house, catching up on life, talking baseball, going to games, and watching Bull Durham and Little Big League. Despite the location, it should be a perfect weekend.
The problem is, I don't think I can envision this being a perfect weekend for the Phils. This is the other shocking news I have for you. Although I think we can take the series, I am having a difficult time predicting a sweep against an oddly tough Pirates team. Remember how awesome our rotation is? We have a 3.42 ERA as a starting rotation, good for 6th in the majors. The Pirates are 8th at 3.60. Seriously, they are. And their bullpen isn't all that bad, either, placing 11th out of 30 with a 3.25 ERA. Their offense has struggled this season, but they have weapons that can definitely do some real damage this weekend, including Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker. Together those two lead pretty much every significant offensive stat category for the Pirates, and they are also underratedly awesome players for me in fantasy baseball. Eat that, Jeremiah.
How, might you ask, am I showing any type of respect for the Pittsburgh Pirates? Good question. I give essentially all of the credit to one Benjamin Follett, more affectionately known to me as B Fresh. Inspired by my genius, he writes his own blog about the Pirates, one that admittedly includes much much more baseball knowledge than you would ever expect to get on this bad boy. On Sunday, he and I will be doing guest blog posts for each other as an opposing fan's reaction to the series. Adorable, I know. As adorable as this picture of us from a Phillies game a few years ago? Doubtful. But adorable no less.
And neither are our next opponent, the Pirates. When you think of the Pirates, you probably laugh and cringe at the same time. Laugh at how hysterically/historically bad they've been for so long, but cringe at the thought of the city of Pittsburgh and all of its dirtiness, hills, and bridges. Gross. But I'm here to hit you with some shocking news.
To get it out of the way, the most shocking news of all will come first. I am going to Pittsburgh this weekend. Yes, you read that right. I, Cameron Koehler, am going to Pittsburgh, that hell hole 5+ hours across the horrendously paved roads of scenic (read: boring) Pennsylvania. A place that I completely and ruthlessly trash at every opportunity (including opportunities I invent out of nowhere) will be my weekend getaway destination. My silver lining: I have always said that there are only 3 good things about the city of Pittsburgh, and I will get to experience all of them multiple times this weekend. I am going to the Saturday night and Sunday afternoon games, and I guarantee there will be people at the games wearing either Penguins or Steelers attire (since no one actually knows the Pirates exist and they will probably just unknowingly wander into the park...it's not like anyone pays to watch them). So I will get to experience the sweetness that is Pittsburgh sports teams all being the same colors (stop wearing ugly Eagles stuff to Phillies games people!). I am also making it a priority to get to Primanti Bros. at least twice for a tasty sandwich or 6. And I get to spend the weekend at B Fresh's house, catching up on life, talking baseball, going to games, and watching Bull Durham and Little Big League. Despite the location, it should be a perfect weekend.
The problem is, I don't think I can envision this being a perfect weekend for the Phils. This is the other shocking news I have for you. Although I think we can take the series, I am having a difficult time predicting a sweep against an oddly tough Pirates team. Remember how awesome our rotation is? We have a 3.42 ERA as a starting rotation, good for 6th in the majors. The Pirates are 8th at 3.60. Seriously, they are. And their bullpen isn't all that bad, either, placing 11th out of 30 with a 3.25 ERA. Their offense has struggled this season, but they have weapons that can definitely do some real damage this weekend, including Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker. Together those two lead pretty much every significant offensive stat category for the Pirates, and they are also underratedly awesome players for me in fantasy baseball. Eat that, Jeremiah.
How, might you ask, am I showing any type of respect for the Pittsburgh Pirates? Good question. I give essentially all of the credit to one Benjamin Follett, more affectionately known to me as B Fresh. Inspired by my genius, he writes his own blog about the Pirates, one that admittedly includes much much more baseball knowledge than you would ever expect to get on this bad boy. On Sunday, he and I will be doing guest blog posts for each other as an opposing fan's reaction to the series. Adorable, I know. As adorable as this picture of us from a Phillies game a few years ago? Doubtful. But adorable no less.
(He has a wife. And I'm searching for one. No worries people)
So you guys have that to look forward to. As for what to look forward to in this series...
Game 1: Cole Hamels (7-2, 3.01 ERA) vs. Jeff Karstens (3-4, 3.58 ERA)
This matchup looks lopsided at first glance, but it should be a much better game than you might initially think. Hamels has been excellent this season, and he has gotten wins as a result. Karstens has been no slouch, though. With a 3-4 record you may assume he hasn't been very good, but he has only given up more than 2 earned runs twice this season, and one of those times was only 3 earned runs. This includes 8 starts at 4 relief appearances this season. His losses, though, have come in mostly either close games or games that he has at least kept close while pitching. It can be blamed mostly on a lack of run support, something that Hamels can definitely relate to over the years. We don't have a lot of experience against him, but I think that Hamels is a winner this season and Karstens just happens to be an unfortunate loser. Winners win and losers lose. So I'll go with that.
Prediction: Phillies 3 Pirates 1
Keep an eye out for: Jimmy leading off the series with a home run. Let's gooo!!!!
Game 2: Kyle Kendrick (3-3, 3.18 ERA) vs. Charlie Morton (5-2, 2.51 ERA)
This matchup occurred last season, and in my preview of it then, I mentioned that the only thing Charlie Morton had going for him as a baseball player was his name. I did a pretty nice job of predicting that game, and you can see by clicking on that first link that we handled him pretty easily. Well, I cannot cite any statistics that we have against Morton for this game because he is a completely different pitcher. Not only does he sound like a baseball player, but he now looks like one. He spent the offseason studying our very own Roy Halladay, and he now looks exactly the same with his delivery. His stats have followed suit as well. Don't look now, but he actually has a better ERA than Doc. Say whaaattt?! Good luck Kendrick. You'll need it.
Prediction: Pirates 6 Phillies 1
Keep an eye out for: McCutchen breaking his 0 for 6 career against Kendrick by driving in half of Pittsburgh's runs
Game 3: Roy Halladay (7-3, 2.56 ERA) vs. James McDonald (3-3, 4.85 ERA)
I wish McDonald and Kendrick faced off one game and Halladay and Morton the other. We could have our best against theirs and our worst against theirs. Those would make for much more exciting games. James McDonald has been better lately with a 2.86 ERA in May, but I still don't feel very intimidated by him. Especially with Halladay out there. Since this is the opposite matchup from yesterday, we'll go with opposite results.
Prediction: Phillies 6 Pirates 1
Keep an eye out for: Me! Sitting about 20 rows behind home plate. That doesn't seem like the kind of spot in the crowd you'd see on TV, but oh well. Also, Utley doing well? I predicted that throughout the last series, and that didn't work out so well. We'll give it one more try for this game. Like McCutchen yesterday, he drives in half the runs for the winning team.
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