Grade: <\/em>A<\/strong><\/p>\n First Base:\u00a0 <\/strong>It’s been a fairly standard first quarter for Ryan Howard.\u00a0 He hasn’t really got the power stroke going yet, but he usually doesn’t until the second half of the season anyway.\u00a0 His walks are down quite a bit, but that probably has a lot to do with Jayson Werth raking from the 5-hole.\u00a0 His strike-outs are also down, which is a good sign, but could be a bit of a fluke.\u00a0 Hopefully not though, because when the big man puts the ball in play, he hits it hard and it’s tough to catch, and that’s why he’s hitting .310, a number he hasn’t approached over a full season since his MVP season in 2006.<\/p>\n Grade: <\/em>B+<\/strong><\/p>\n Grade: <\/em>A<\/strong><\/p>\n Shortstop:\u00a0 <\/strong>It’s been a really tough first quarter at the shortstop position, and there was more bad news last night, as Jimmy Rollins re-aggravated the calf muscle that forced him to miss\u00a030 games\u00a0already.\u00a0 He’s day-to-day and possibly headed back to the DL.\u00a0 Unlike last season’s first\u00a0half,\u00a0Jimmy’s been highly effective when he’s played, but he’s only managed 50 AB’s to this point, and it’s looking like he may not be totally healthy for the rest of the season.\u00a0 Juan Castro\u00a0has handled most of the SS duties, and though his numbers aren’t good, he’s had a\u00a0bunch of clutch hits and played solidly\u00a0in the field.\u00a0 Wilson Valdez has also seen a fair amount of time\u00a0here, and he performed similarly to Castro.<\/p>\n Grade<\/em>: B-<\/strong><\/p>\n Third Base<\/strong>:\u00a0 Placido Polanco’s return to\u00a0Philadelphia has definitely been a success to this point.\u00a0 Like Ryan Howard, Polanco’s season has definitely been affected by the man hitting behind\u00a0him, in this case\u00a0Utley.\u00a0 Polanco averaged 8 home runs a season over the last five\u00a0years.\u00a0 This year, thanks to\u00a0Citizens Bank Park and more strikes thrown his way, he’s on pace for 20, which would be a career high.\u00a0\u00a0Polanco has never been a player that took a lot of walks, but he’s taking even less with Utley behind him.\u00a0 But with\u00a0a .302 average and .450 SLG, nobody is complaining.\u00a0 He’s also made the\u00a0transition back to third smoothly, and has filled in at second base a few games.<\/p>\n Grade<\/em>: B+<\/strong><\/p>\n Left Field<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0Raul Ibanez is the one\u00a0hitter on the\u00a0team that’s been a disappointment so far, though after his bad second-half last season and his terrible spring training, it’s not like\u00a0it’s been a total shock.\u00a0 His .246 average would easily be\u00a0his lowest since becoming a full-time player in 2001, and he’s on pace for just 12 homers, which would also be a career low.\u00a0\u00a0On the positive side, he’s been taking a lot of walks and has\u00a0had a\u00a0few key hits over\u00a0the last month.<\/p>\n Grade<\/em>: D+<\/strong><\/p>\n Center\u00a0Field<\/strong>:\u00a0 It’s been an unusual season at the plate for Shane\u00a0Victorino, and possibly that’s because he came into the year expecting to be the 7-hitter, but has spent most of his time as the lead-off man.\u00a0 The numbers he’s posted, for whatever reason, look much better for a 7-hitter than a lead-off hitter.\u00a0 His average (.264)\u00a0and OBP (.317) are well below the numbers he’s posted over the last few seasons, but his power numbers are up.\u00a0 He’s on pace for 32 homers and over 120 RBI, and\u00a0already more than halfway to\u00a0his career highs in those categories of 14 and 62, respectively.\u00a0 I think we’ll see Shane’s average come up and power come down, but is it possible that the Flyin’ Hawaiian could be a 30\/30 guy?<\/p>\n Grade: <\/em>B+<\/strong><\/p>\n Right Field:\u00a0 <\/strong>We’ve gone through all these hitters that have had great first quarters, and now we get to the best of the Grade: <\/em>A<\/strong><\/p>\n Bench:\u00a0 <\/strong>As noted above, Castro and Valdez were serviceable fill-ins at shortstop, but other than that, the Phils have gotten very little production from their bench.\u00a0 The three main bats, Greg Dobbs, Ben Francisco, and Ross Gload, are a combined 17\/86 on the season, a .198 average, with 2 home runs.\u00a0 The new backup catcher, Brian Schneider, has also been ineffective in limited playing time, with just 3 singles in 18 at-bats.\u00a0 The bench gets credit for added defensive flexibility with Castro and Gload replacing Bruntlett and Stairs.<\/p>\n Grade: <\/em>D+<\/strong><\/p>\n Starting Pitching:\u00a0 <\/strong>The rotation has been set-back due to injuries to Joe Blanton and J.A. Happ, but they’ve still acquitted themselves pretty well.\u00a0 Roy Halladay has been as advertised, and then some.\u00a0 He has 4 complete games in 9 starts, and a 1.64 ERA.\u00a0 After a mediocre April, Cole Hamels looked really good in May, and he could be on his way to a really strong season.\u00a0 Jamie Moyer has been steady, and turned in the start of the season so far (besting anything Halladay has done) with a two-hit shutout a few weeks ago.<\/p>\n Kyle Kendrick has been up-and-down, and will most likely be out of the rotation when Happ returns, but he’s had some really strong outings and still has the potential to have a solid career in the big leagues, whether it’s in Philly or elsewhere.\u00a0 Blanton has been decent since coming off the DL, and Happ was solid in\u00a0just two starts before his injury.<\/p>\n Grade<\/em>: B<\/strong><\/p>\n Bullpen<\/strong>:\u00a0\u00a0The pen\u00a0was the biggest question mark coming into the season, and though it\u00a0certainly\u00a0still holds that title, the group has definitely held their own.\u00a0\u00a0With Brad Lidge limited to just three innings thanks to two DL stints so far, and Ryan Madson out for an extended period\u00a0of time thanks to a broken toe, other guys have had to step up.\u00a0 The main one\u00a0to do that has been Jose Contreras, who’s\u00a00.63 ERA has been a life-saver.\u00a0 Chad Durbin has\u00a0been the other key contributor, with a 2.79\u00a0ERA\u00a0in a bullpen-leading 19.1 innings.\u00a0 The lefties,\u00a0J.C. Romero and Antonio Bastardo,\u00a0have been fine in\u00a0limited work, and Danys Baez and David Herndon have had their struggles, though both have also\u00a0shown\u00a0flashes of ability.<\/p>\n Grade<\/em>: B-<\/strong><\/p>\n Overall<\/strong>:\u00a0 They’re on pace for 100 wins and they have the biggest division lead in baseball, so there’s no denying that it’s been a very successful first quarter of the season.\u00a0 Especially when you take into account\u00a0all of the injuries they’ve had to deal with, the .630 winning percentage is that much more impressive.\u00a0 Right now, they have a Cy Young candidate and two MVP candidates.\u00a0 They need to\u00a0get more luck with their health, because the lack of production from the bench means they can’t really count on those guys for long stretches.\u00a0 They also need to keep finding a way to hold things together in the bullpen, and\u00a0be prepared to add a piece there later in the season, if needed.<\/p>\n Grade<\/em>: A-\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" After last night’s win over the Red Sox in the first interleague game of the season, the Phils own the best record in the NL (26-15) as the season’s first quarter comes to a close.\u00a0 The grades below are based … Continue reading ![\"utley\"](\"http:\/\/umpbump.com\/press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/chase-utley.jpg\")
Second Base:\u00a0 <\/strong>Unlike Howard, Chase Utley is becoming known for his hot starts.\u00a0 His numers right now (.308 BA\/.432 OBP\/.587 SLG) make him an early entrant in the MVP race.\u00a0 With 10 homers, he has a decent shot of topping his career high of 33.\u00a0 Of course, he also continues to set the tone for the team with his intense focus and all-out effort on every play, every game.<\/p>\n![\"werth\"](\"http:\/\/renomahe.files.wordpress.com\/2010\/02\/werth-beard.jpg\")
bunch, Jayson Werth.\u00a0 When is this guy gonna stop getting better?\u00a0 He went from a nice platoon guy in ’07, to a solid everyday player in ’08, to an All-Star in ’09, and if he keeps going like he has so far this season, he could be an MVP in 2010.\u00a0 He’s hitting .329 with a ridiculous .658 SLG.\u00a0 He sits at or near the league lead in a slew of categories, including his 21 doubles, which is five more than any other NL player.\u00a0 He’s well-known for punishing left-handed pitching, but he’s hit ALL 9 of his homers so far this season off righties, including one off John Lackey on Friday night that was hit about as hard as you’ll ever see a ball hit.\u00a0 A dominant start to the season from Mr. Werth.<\/p>\n