Phillies Report Card #2

Hopefully Jose won't be out too long

Record since last Report Card: 8-3

Overall Record:  15-6 (1st in division)

Following a sweep in San Diego over the weekend, the Phils now have the best record in baseball, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of reason for concern.  The hot-start from the offense over the first ten games has disappeared, and Jose Contreras landing on the DL leaves the bullpen very thin.

Position Players:
The Phils haven’t scored more than four runs in a game since April 9th, more than two weeks and 14 games ago.  Since our last Report Card, they’re averaging less than three runs a game.  Really, it’s pretty amazing that they’ve been able to win 8 of 11 in that stretch.  I noted in the last Report Card that 7 of the 8 starters were hitting over .300.  Now, 7 of the 8 are UNDER .300, with Ibanez at .187. 

The lone bright spot in the line-up has been the two table-setters at the top, Victorino and Polanco.  Victorino’s OBP is .352 (up 25 points from last year), he’s scored 15 runs, and hit the game-winning homer against the Brewers last Wednesday.  That game-winner was made possible by a 3-run shot from Polanco earlier in the game that tied it at 3.  That was a crucial hit, as the Phillies had been shut out the day before and were working on a lengthy scoreless streak.  Polanco is hitting .366 to easily lead the team.

All that good work at the top has largely been wasted because Rollins is just not producing anywhere close to what’s needed from the 3-hole.  He’s slugging .305 and has just two RBI in 21 games, even with plenty of runners on in front of him and Howard’s big bat waiting on-deck.  Charlie may be moving toward a platoon in left field, as John Mayberry has swung the bat well and Ibanez has been lost.

Grade:  D

Starting Pitchers:
The starters have given up two runs or less in 9 of the past 11 games, with the only poor outing coming from Halladay when he gave up 6 runs to Milwaukee.  His two other starts were masterful though, with a complete game to beat Washington and a 14 strike-out performance to beat the Padres yesterday.

Roy Oswalt had to leave his start vs. the Marlins with a back injury, but he came back six days later and gave up one hit and no runs in 6 innings to beat the Padres.  Hamels, as usual, dominated his hometown team with 8 shutout innings in San Diego.  After a rough start to his season, Blanton looked really good against a tough Brewer line-up before also beating the Padres over the weekend.

All that being said, the best start was turned in by Clifton Lee, who posted a 3-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts against the Nationals.  All in all, the starters posted a 2.25 ERA and averaged over 7 innings per start.

Grade:  A

Bullpen:
The pen and the team took a big hit when Contreras was put on the DL.  It’s a scary initial diagnosis that sounds like it could be a significant injury, but hopefully not.  Contreras has looked great in the closer role.  He’d converted all five save opportunities and hadn’t surrendered a run in 8 innings total.  It was really impressive to see the 39-year-old blow a fastball by Ryan Braun to end the game last Wednesday.  Charlie had been using him a lot, which may have contributed to the injury.

Ryan Madson will take over the closer’s role, which is always scary, but he’s already converted his first two opportunities and has given up just one run in 9 innings of work.  The even bigger problem is the options left to get outs in the 7th and 8th innings, especially with J.C. Romero also being placed on the DL last week.  The main set-up men are now Danys Baez, Kyle Kendrick, and Antonio Bastardo, all of whom have pitched well this year, but it’s hard to have too much confidence in any of them with a 1-run lead in the 8th inning.

David Herndon has struggled and can’t be counted on for big outs right now.  The two guys that have been called up to replace the injured are Mike Zagurski and Michael Stutes.  Charlie will obviously do everything he can to keep them out of key spots, but there’s no doubt that Phillie fans will have some nervous moments late in games in the coming weeks.

Grade:  B+