Record since All-Star Break: 1-6
Overall Record: 48-46 (3rd in division, 7 behind Atlanta)
This week can safely be considered a disaster. The Phils went into the All-Star break with some good momentum thanks to a 4-game sweep of Cincinnati. It seemed like they were in a good position to put the struggles of the first half behind them and come out ready to make a run at the Braves over the next couple of months. Well, not so much. The offensive struggles, which were evident even in that sweep of the Reds, are ongoing, and this week they added some starting pitching problems to go along with it. They lost 3 of 4 in Wrigley Field, and have dropped the first 3 of their 4-game set in St. Louis. Even their one win was basically handed to them because Carlos Marmol couldn’t throw strikes.
There’s been a flurry of roster moves, so let’s recap those. Chad Durbin returned from the DL on Thursday; Nelson Figueroa was waived again to open a spot and he didn’t clear this time, as the Astros claimed him. Placido Polanco was a welcome sight on Saturday, especially when he knocked in the game-winning run in the 9th inning. Juan Castro was released outright to make room. Following a lousy start on Monday, Kyle Kendrick was optioned to AAA, with Andrew Carpenter taking his roster spot briefly, but he’s now been replaced by Vance Worley, whoever that is. Finally, our inevitable weekly injury came on Tuesday, when Jamie Moyer left his start after one inning, with an elbow injury. He’s headed to the DL, and the word is that he could possibly be done for the season.
Trade Rumors
That Moyer injury is a nice segue to the trade rumor section. Ruben Amaro made some unusal statements prior to Tuesday’s game, basically insinuating that a trade for a starting pitcher was imminent. After Moyer was injured, it’s hard to believe that the Phils won’t make a deal for a starter before the deadline, but the quality of that starter is really unknown.
The strong rumor that has been swirling the last couple of days has the Phillies obtaining Roy Oswalt in exchange for J.A. Happ and prospects. In a Cliff Lee-esque (but much more understandable) move, the Phils would then send Jayson Werth to Tampa Bay (most likely for young ML talent or close to ML-ready prospects), and put Domonic Brown in right field. It seems that the deal was just about done, but Oswalt has a no-trade clause and has demanded that the Phillies commit to picking up his $16 million option for 2012 before he accepts the trade, which the Phils are unwilling to do, at least for now. As much as I’d hate to see Werth go, I think I’d welcome this trade. If we’re not re-signing Werth after the season anyway, then maybe it’s best to get some young, cheap talent for him, bring Oswalt on board for this year and going forward, and get Dom Brown some experience. We’d still have a good chance to win this year, and would be in a great position heading into next season. Dan Haren and Ben Sheets remain options if the Oswalt deal falls through.
On to this week’s grades:
Position Players: It must be after the All-Star break, because Ryan Howard is crushing long balls at a high rate. The guy’s like clockwork. Of course, it didn’t do them much good this week, but if it wasn’t for Howard, the team would have really struggled to get runs on the board. Howard hit 5 homers on the week, along with 2 doubles, with a .370 BA and 10 RBI. But the Hit of the Week has to go to Polanco, who came up with a two-out RBI single to tie the game at 1 in the 9th inning on Saturday, which led to three more runs in the inning and the team’s lone win of the week. Placido was solid overall in his first week back.
The main culprit of the week was J-Roll, who bounced back and forth between 1st and 3rd in the order, and went 2-24 before being dropped to 6th on Wednesday night. Also, Carlos Ruiz and Wilson Valdez were basically automatic outs at the bottom of the order. Cody Ransom may start pushing Valdez for time at second base, especially after he made a fantastic play in the field Wednesday to start a double play. It also appears that Charlie is starting to institute a straight platoon with Ibanez and Francisco in left field, as Francisco started all three games against left-handers this week.
With the offense still trying to get going, the last thing they needed was a 3 game stretch against Chris Carpenter, Jaime Garcia, and Adam Wainwright, but that’s what they’re dealing with right now, with Wainwright taking the hill in the series finale on Thursday.
Grade: D+
Starting Pitchers: On the positive side, Joe Blanton had two solid outings, allowing 3 earned runs in 7 innings in each
, but he came away with just a loss and a no-decision for his efforts. Also, Cole Hamels continued his remergence, holding the Cubs to one run in 7 innings and making that 9th inning comeback possible. Other than that, it wasn’t pretty. Halladay had a rough game, Moyer got lit up on Thursday, and Kendrick was beat up so bad that his next start will be for the Iron Pigs. It will be interesting to see who the starting pitchers are on Saturday and Sunday. Right now, it’s basically anyone’s guess.
Grade: C-
Bullpen: Oh, the bullpen. Let’s start with the positive: Brad Lidge saved Saturday’s win in his only appearance of the week. The rest was pretty ugly. Jose Contreras continued to regress, getting pounded for 5 runs in 2/3 inning on Thursday. Ryan Madson took the loss on Friday, serving up a solo shot to Aramis Ramirez in the 8th inning of a tie game. J.C. Romero and David Herndon were ineffective on Sunday, putting a somewhat close game well out of reach. And Danys Baez was touched for 3 runs on Tuesday. Charlie must be struggling to figure out the roles in his pen, other than Lidge as his closer. He’s started to use Durbin in more key spots, but I imagine Madson will still be viewed as the main set-up man, unless he stumbles further. On Wednesday night, Charlie let Blanton hit in the 7th inning with the bases loaded and two outs, in a 1-1 game. You could argue that he did that because the Cards had a lefty on the mound and the only right-handed bat on the bench was Valdez, but it certainly doesn’t suggest much confidence in the pen, and can you blame him?
Grade: D
Up Next: The road trip comes to a merciful close against the Cards on Thursday afternoon. Then the Phils come home to face Colorado and Arizona. The trade rumors will be the main talk of the week, until something goes down. There’s still over a week until the deadline, so it could be a drawn out process, but Amaro certainly sounds like he wants to make a move ASAP.
Hey Doogan, would you say that Oswalt is the best option? Would you prefer him (considering all factors–price, age, etc.) to Haren/Millwood/Carmona/Sheets? I think I know your answer to Brett Myers, so I won’t ask.
I’d say that Haren is the best option, especially if we can get him for a package the same or similar to the one it would take to get Oswalt. But I’m not sure if the D-Backs would make the deal unless Brown is involved, and I don’t want to give him up. Millwood and Sheets aren’t having great years, but I wouldn’t mind seeing Sheets come in. And I like Carmona, but you have to be concerned about the fact that he was pretty bad the last two years. If Oswalt and Haren can’t be had for a decent package of prospects (and happ), then I’d take Sheets or Carmona for a lesser package.