Record since Third Quarter Report Card: 4-5
Overall Record: 74-58 (3 behind Braves, 1.5 ahead of Giants for Wild Card)
Tuesday night’s win over the Dodgers closed out the month of August, with the Phils still hanging 3 games behind Atlanta. Conventional wisdom says that it takes a week to gain a game in a pennant race, so with about 4 weeks to go, the Phils still have a very legitimate shot at the division, but their margin for error is slim. Obviously, the six games they have left head-to-head with the Braves will be huge.
It was a strange 9-game stretch, in some ways. The Phils were swept by the 4th place Astros at home, then swept the Padres, who had the best record in the NL, in San Diego. Plus, what would you have said in April if I had told you that the Astros would sweep 4 games in Philly, and Roy Oswalt’s only appearance of the series would come as a left-fielder for the Phillies? On the other hand, there were some very familiar sights, namely fantastic starting pitching and an inexplicably inept offense.
On to the grades:
Chase hasn't been himself.
Position Players: What is wrong with this offense?? That’s the question Phillie fans have been muttering (or shouting) to themselves for much of 2010. In the 8 games prior to Tuesday night’s 8-run outburst, the Phils averaged just over 2 runs a game. A team built around its high-powered offense has had several long slumps this season. So, what’s gone wrong?
The Phils, and their fans, were hopeful that Utley and Howard would come back from their injuries and propel the team past the Braves. You can argue that they may have both come back too early from their injuries, but that’s over and done with now. Utley and Howard combined to hit .149 (10-67) over these 9 games, with three of those hits and the only homer (Howard) coming on Tuesday. What we’re seeing here is that injuries can have a more lasting impact than just the time players spend on the DL. You could argue that Jimmy Rollins’s season (.190 this week) has also been derailed by his early-season injuries. Baseball is a game of timing and routine, and a lot of Phils’ have had those things thrown out of whack by injuries.
Besides the above three, Polanco (.189) and Victorino (.176) were also below the Mendoza Line for the week. In fact, the highest batting average for a Phillie regular in these 9 games was Werth at .242 (and two homers). Two of the biggest hits came from the bench, with Mike Sweeney’s 2-run homer on Sunday providing nice insurance in a 3-0 win, and Brian Schneider’s 3-run blast on Tuesday putting the Phils ahead after surrendering a first-inning run. I’m wondering if Ruiz is completely healthy because Schneider has started 3 of the last 6 games, including against a good left-hander (Wandy Rodriguez) on Thursday. And speaking of not completely healthy, Howard looks like he’s having trouble with his lateral mobility at 1st, as two balls went past him to his right on Monday that he normally would have at least knocked down.
Grade: F
Starting Pitchers: Over the past few years (or maybe my whole life?), if the Phils had a stretch like this offensively, they would’ve been lucky to win 1 out of 9. Thanks to the starters, though, they went 4-5. Here is an incredible stat: in 61 innings pitched by the starters, they had FOUR walks. It’s pretty great to watch pitchers that just refuse to beat themselves and pound the strike zone like these guys have been.
The Start of the Week goes to Mr. Hard-luck Hamels, who went 8 shutout innings in his hometown on Sunday, and actually got some run support for his 1st win since the All-Star Break. Cole gave up 2 runs in 7 innings for a no-decision in that wild 16-inning game last Tuesday. Probably the best development of the week was the continued excellence of Joe Blanton. He allowed 1 run in each of his starts, throwing 13 innings combined. Blanton had a 2.82 ERA in the month of August. Roy Oswalt also turned in an excellent start, allowing 1 run in 8 innings to beat the Padres on Friday.
Roy Halladay had a sub-par week, but certainly wasn’t bad at all. He gave up 3 runs in 7 innings in each of his starts, and was saddled with a loss each time. Kyle Kendrick was mediocre, giving up 8 runs in 11 innings in his two starts.
Grade: A-
Bullpen: Despite a couple hiccups, it has to be considered a successful overall week for the pen. The lowlight, of course, was Brad Lidge balking in the tying run to blow a save on Friday. He was good in his other three appearances, including a 1-2-3 save the day after that balk disaster. This is the Lidge we have to live with. It could be worse.
Ryan Madson saw his lengthy scoreless streak ended last Monday, but if it wasn’t for a terrible call when Michael Bourn clearly ran out of the base path but was called safe, he very well may have not given up anything. Madson took the loss with 2 runs allowed in that game, but he was flawless in his four other appearances.
Although David Herndon took the loss in that 16-inning game, it was a strong showing by the pen. They had combined for 8 shutout innings before Herndon was touched for 2 runs in his third inning of work. Jose Contreras and Chad Durbin continued their solid seasons, combining for 9 scoreless innings on the week. Antonio Bastardo was re-called (with Danys Baez put on the DL) to add another lefty, but he hasn’t been used yet.
Grade: B+
Up Next: The calendar flipping to September means the rosters expand. It sounds like the Phils will wait until they get back home on Friday to add some players. Greg Dobbs and another catcher (Hoover or Sardinha) will probably be the first players added. Others, including some bullpen depth, will be added as the coming weeks progress. The Phils have the rubber match in LA today, one game in Colorado tomorrow, then come home for a 3-game set with Milwaukee. After that, it’s all NL East until the end of the season.
