I was planning to do a recap of every game but I realized that you
can basically get a recap on any major baseball website and I was just
burdening myself with unnecessary writing. I’ll just stick to the
analysis that I don’t see being done.
That said, posts may be cranked out at a slower rate for the time
being because I finally upgraded from Microsoft Office 2000 to 2007 and
now I can use Pitch F/X data in Excel. So, I’ll be trying to learn how
to correctly use and analyze that, and I’ll try to implement it into my
analysis when possible.
To anyone who does have expertise with Pitch F/X, I will be needing
any pointers I can get, so please drop some hints for me if you can (my
contact information is listed at the bottom of this page). I’m really interested in learning how to create graphs like the ones Mike Fast has in this article about Johnny Cueto’s first start. I’ve also read his tutorial on building a database
for Pitch F/X data, and while my mind went numb almost immediately, it
does sound like a cool idea, but I know very little about Perl and
MySQL, so that’s another call to any experts out there willing to lend
a few pointers.
But enough about me and my shortcomings (that’s your cue to offer a hug).
Kyle Lohse
Remember how I was whining about the Phillies preventing themselves from signing Kyle Lohse? Yeah, well, this happened:
April 1 vs. Colorado Rockies: 5 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 3 BB, 3 K
April 6 vs. Washington Nationals: 7 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 1 BB, 2 K
Total: 12 IP, 0 R, 7 H, 4 BB (0.917 WHIP), 5 K
Yeah… and the St. Louis Cardinals signed him for one year at $4.25
million. Granted, he did face a Rockies lineup that has been struggling
all season and a Nationals offense that isn’t expected to be much
better than last year’s MLB-worst, but he’s pitched 12 innings without
surrendering a single run. That’s impressive.
I will give credit where credit is due, however, and that’s to Adam
Eaton. On April 5 in Cincinnati, Eaton held a decent Reds offense to
three runs in 7 and two-thirds innings. He had nearly a 2-to-1
strikes-to-balls ratio, but he still managed to walk four. It’s an
encouraging start from a pitcher almost everyone, myself included, gave
up on a long time ago. If the Phillies can just get league-average
production from Eaton, it’s a huge burden lifted off of the bullpen.
Pat Burrell
If the Phillies’ front office is thinking about letting Burrell walk
when the season is over, they’re crazy. He’s started the season hitting
3 HR and driving in 9 runs in the first seven games, posting an OPS of
1.476.
On Monday night’s Baseball Tonight, Karl Ravech said,
half-seriously, that people should be thinking about Burrell
potentially completing the Philadelphia-themed MVP trifecta, since most
people are predicting that if anyone is going to win it as a Phillie
this year, it will be Chase Utley.
Since the Baseball Writers Association of America doesn’t really
know how to factor in a player’s true defensive contributions, it is
actually a realistic thought to imagine Burrell being named the
National League MVP. Burrell is not at all fleet of foot, and as a
result, his defense is burdensome. If the BBWAA knew of any of the
metrics that display this fact in all its glory, there’s not a chance
in hell that Burrell wins the award outside of a 60 HR, 150 RBI season.
It will be a shame if Burrell is forced to sign elsewhere after the
season because he has indicated that he relishes playing in
Philadelphia, so he’d probably be willing to take a hometown discount.
If the Phillies do decide to lock him up for a few more years, they
know what they’ll be getting, as Burrell is as consistent as they come.
From 2005 to ‘07, his slugging percentage ranged from .502 to .504 and
his OBP ranged from .388 to .400; home runs from 29 to 32; doubles from
24 to 27, and all of this consistency comes while losing at-bats in ‘06
and ‘07 from Charlie Manuel taking him out after the sixth or seventh
inning in a lot of games.
For me, though, the most satisfying statistic of his from 2007 is his 114 walks in just 598 plate appearances.
Jayson Werth vs. Geoff Jenkins
So far, Charlie Manuel has used the right field platoon as intended:
Werth against left-handed starters, Jenkins against right-handers.
However, Werth only has five at-bats in the Phillies’ first seven
games. Granted, the Phillies have only faced one left-handed starter,
and that was on Opening Day (Matt Chico of the Nationals), but you
can’t just hold Werth for the lefty starter — you have to start him
against a right-hander every now and then as well.
Geoff Jenkins is 33 years old and doesn’t appear to be getting any
better, unsurprisingly. He’s been above-average over his career (115
OPS+) but in ‘06 and ‘07, he was just league average (101 OPS+ in both
seasons). Definitely use Jenkins against right-handers only, but let
him sit out one every now and then in favor of Werth.
In 19 at-bats, Feliz has put up an uninspiring 22 OPS+ for the
Phillies. That is not a misprint; that is a real, live, correctly
calculated 22 OPS+. He has four hits — all of them singles — and one
walk. There’s just nothing to say here. I know it’s early in the
season, small sample sizes and all that good stuff, but… a 22 OPS+?
Come on.
What we didn’t see coming is that he’d be a bottom-feeder defensively. Baseball’s best-fielding third baseman has sunk to the 12th out of 16
qualified NL third-sackers in Revised Zone Rating. It won’t stay that
way forever, and I fully expect Feliz to climb his way back up, but it
just illustrates how little value Feliz has to the Phillies right now.
He’s worse than a black hole.
Myers suspects he may have tipping his pitches, a problem he licked early in his career — which doesn’t mean it can’t re-occur.
[…]
“There were a few pitches that I had to question whether I was
tipping or not,” said Myers, who added that he didn’t notice anything
after looking at the game video. “They had good approaches. I’m not
saying I was [tipping pitches]. I’m just saying they had good
approaches.”
From the dugout, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel saw a pitcher
whose fastball velocity appeared lower than normal. Myers normally
throws in the 92-95 mph range. On Sunday, he reached 92 once, and
mostly stayed in the 88-91-mph range.
Myers is way too important to the Phillies to have any extended
stretch of bad pitching. Let’s hope he figures it out when he starts
against the Chicago Cubs on Friday.
Three-Game Set at Shea
The Phillies begin a three-game series in Queens bright and early: a 1:10 EST start. Here are the pitching match-ups:
Tues. 4/8, 1:10 PM EST: Jamie Moyer vs. Oliver Perez
Wed. 4/9, 7:10 PM EST: Kyle Kendrick vs. Mike Pelfrey
Thurs. 4/10, 7:10 PM EST: Adam Eaton vs. John Maine
The first thing you should notice about the match-ups is that the Phillies get to miss Johan Santana, as expected.
Second, Adam Eaton starts a game at Shea Stadium, and that has boded well for him. His starts at Shea last season:
April 11: 7 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 5 K
June 6: 6 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 4 K
September 16: 4.2 IP, 5 R (4 ER), 7 H, 2 BB, 1 K
That last start aside, he was great in Queens last season. Over his
career, Eaton has a 2.81 ERA in the Mets’ home ballpark and just over a
1.0 WHIP in 32 innings.
If there’s one thing bloggers and the traditional media can agree on, it’s that Brett Myers is a terrible human being. He hit his wife in the face
during an argument going back to their hotel in Boston when the
Phillies were in town for an interleague series in 2006 against the Red
Sox. Near the end of August last season, he verbally lashed out at a reporter when he made a snide comment about Myers’ performance against the San Diego Padres.
There is no question he needs to learn to better control his anger,
or at least contain it so that he is not taking it out on other people.
This country is usually a forgiving bunch, but sports fans are
staunchly unforgiving. And before I begin my defense of Myers, I would
like to definitively state that I am not supporting anything he did to
his wife or to that reporter; I am simply stating that I am forgiving
him (but the leash is tight).
If any of these intangibles baseball purists talk about exist in a
meaningful fashion that affects the outcomes of games, then Myers is
definitely the kind of guy you want in the clubhouse, even if you’re a
reporter. He’s always almost always open to an interview, he cracks
funny jokes, and he’s sel####eprecating. Take this, from an article
written by Ryan Lawrence of the Delaware County Daily Times:
Brett Myers pitched seven strong innings Sunday in a 6-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds.
If he had his way, he may have gone nine.
“I’m mad as hell,” Myers said, wearing a sporty pair of
sunglasses while sitting by his locker inside the clubhouse. “That
shows no confidence in me. Really.”
Myers, as per usual, was joking. Less than a half hour earlier,
however, the Phillies Opening Day starter was in serious, ace-like
pitching mode.
[…]
Afterward, he cracked wise about his own spring training
approach — “If I think too much, dude, I’d be a mess” — and scoffed at
the notion that the team’s offense has been ineffective and that the
team’s approach, in his manager’s words, may be complacent.
If they both had equal production, would you rather have someone
like Myers — outspoken, witty, and loyal — or an introvert who
regurgitates the same tired lines interview after interview, provides
nothing good or bad in the clubhouse, and has no visible care in the
team’s success or failure? And don’t forget the prank Myers pulled on Kyle Kendrick.
The fact is that, even if this stuff doesn’t have a meaningful
effect at the Major League Level, this stuff does matter to fans, and
it makes for a more enjoyable game. Like him or not, Myers embodies
everything you want in a teammate. He was more than willing to convert
from starter to late-innings reliever when everyone else in the bullpen
was injured or ineffective. Now, he’s more than willing to convert back
to a starter, even though he has publicly stated how much he enjoys
being a reliever.
This is all without mentioning that he’s a pretty good pitcher
regardless of when he comes into the game: in 2005, he pitched 215 and
one-third innings with 208 strikeouts, a 1.2 WHIP and a 118 ERA+; in
‘06, he pitched 198 innings with 189 strikeouts, a 1.3 WHIP and a 120
ERA+. As a reliever in ‘07, he threw 53 and one-third innings, struck
out 64, had a WHIP of 1.18, and put up a 2.87 ERA.
Myers and manager Charlie Manuel recently disagreed on the team’s
spring training performance. Manuel thinks the team is overconfident
and isn’t taking spring training ineffectiveness seriously; Myers thinks the team just needs to start the regular season and they’ll start playing well.
As for the offense, Myers said, “These guys are
switch guys, man. The big show starts happening and these guys come to
play. They’re getting at-bats right now and they’re working on things.
It’s something where they try working on stuff, and once they get into
the season, it comes natural — muscle memory, I guess.”
Regardless of whether Myers is right or wrong (I think he is wrong,
for the record), it is nice to know that Myers will always back up his
teammates publicly. Loyalty.
Myers, like everyone else, is human, and he’s made mistakes. He has
the unfortunate circumstance of being a public figure who makes
mistakes, so he has to not only relive those moments more often than
anyone should have to, he has to wear the Scarlet Letter he’s been
given by fans who only know him from the two publicized incidents.
The judge noted the couple has been in marriage
counseling since shortly after the fight. Kim Myers said the counseling
has helped the couple, who have two children, and she denied other
physical abuse.
“He’s a loving father, he’s a loving husband. This is not something that happens on a daily basis,” she said. “Or ever.”
If pulls any of these stunts again, fine, kick him to the curb where
fans dispose of hated athletes. But until then, forgive Myers, enjoy
his hilarious antics on and off the field, and enjoy the 2008 baseball
season.
Recently, I responded to some feisty comments
from Robert Quinlan Costas. The fun hasn’t ended, folks! I urge my
seven loyal readers (Hi, grandma!) to check out John Brattain’s takes
on those comments:
Per the Philadelphia Daily News,
Brett Myers thinks that the team’s dismal spring training performances
are meaningless. Manager Charlie Manuel disagrees. Spring training
numbers don’t correlate with regular season numbers… yada, yada, yada…
this is one rare point in which I believe the numbers aren’t necessary
here.
Of course Brett Myers thinks spring training games are meaningless:
he has nothing to fight for in the spring. Maybe that’s why he’s been
performing so well, too. However, the pitchers who are really stinking
it up — Adam Eaton, Travis Blackley, J.D. Durbin, Kyle Kendrick — have
little job security to fall back on. To them, spring training games
should be just as meaningful as regular season games because they may
not even see Major League regular season games, especially at the rate
they’re going.
If Eaton and The Gang can’t put it together with a metaphorical gun
to the heads of their Major League jobs, why am I to believe that
they’ll somehow “flip a switch” once March 31 rolls around?
Kyle Lohse
Lohse, client of super-agent Scott Boras, rolled the dice this
off-season searching for a deal in the ballpark of what Carlos Silva
got: 4 years, $48 million. No one bit, but the Phillies did offer him a
3-year, $21 million contract, which was declined. Lohse went jobless
all off-season, and it was eerie, since league-average pitchers like
him are usually snapped up quickly and suited in cash. The Cardinals
gave him a one-year deal worth $4.25 million.
As recently as two weeks ago, Phillies assistant GM Mike Arbuckle
(who, along with Ruben Amaro Jr., is a top candidate to take over for
Pat Gillick when he departs after this season) said in regards to
Lohse, “I know we’re not interested” even when Lohse said he’d take a one-year deal worth between $4 and $10 million. Why no interest?
The only plausible reasoning I can think of is Scott Boras. He and
the Phillies have a bitter past (think J.D. Drew on draft day), and the
two sides may have just been unwilling to negotiate with each other. If
this explanation is actually true, then this is a colossal failure to
do right by the people who keep the team in business. The front office
owes it to the fans and to the players to put together the best team
they can to attempt to win a World Series. Lohse, a league-average
pitcher who would slot in at #5 in the Phillies rotation, gives the
team a noticeably better chance at accomplishing that goal. Teams kill
for a league-average pitcher at the back of the rotation, and Lohse was
asking for well below market value!
Instead, the Phillies will allow the wound that is the back of the
starting rotation to have the bacteria that are Eaton, Blackley, and
Durbin fester. Kris Benson won’t be ready to attempt to help the
Phillies until May at the earliest.
There is just no logical explanation I can think of as to why the
Phillies had no interest in Lohse. There has to be something about him
that not even the media knows about. Or maybe the Phillies’ front
office is just incompetent.
Brackets
Just so everyone can see just what an #### I am, I have taken
screenshots of my bracket on ESPN (I have no idea if I can just send
you a link to it; if so, I couldn’t find it). Remember to check back
when the tournament is all done and tell me what an #### I am. Or you
can do it now, too.
After the Phillies’ workout on Saturday, Ruben
Amaro Jr. summoned Kendrick into manager Charlie Manuel’s office at
Bright House Networks Field. With a straight face, the assistant
general manager told his gullible pitcher that he’d been dealt to the
Yomiuri Giants of the Japanese Central League for a player named
“Kobayashi Iwamura.”
Presented with a letter printed on Phillies stationery with
official-sounding language, Kendrick was convinced of the “deal,” and
given an itinerary of things he must do so the swap could be completed,
supplied by traveling secretary Frank Coppenbarger.
Manuel assisted with the rouse by offering advice, since he made
a career in the Far East. Kendrick’s agent, Joe Urbon, who also
represents Japanese import Hiroki Kuroda, gets credit by confirming the
deal when he received the stunned phone call from his client.
The media (who were clued in) played a part as well, asking
Kendrick questions about being traded halfway around the world. The
shell-shocked 23-year-old stammered through most of his answers, not
knowing what to say.”
“Do they have good food in Japan?” Kendrick asked reporters, as
the first words out of his mouth. “I don’t know what to think right
now. I guess it’s going to be a whole new chapter, huh?”
Eventually, as a crowd gathered to watch the proceedings, the joke’s originator, Brett Myers, chimed in, “You’ve been punk’d.”
Breathing a huge sigh of relief, Kendrick said, “I’ve never been
so happy. Seriously. Wow. I was not going on that flight in the
morning.”
After about a one-week hiatus following a move to a new apartment, I
am back in front of my computer monitor, much to the dismay of the rest
of the Internets (to those of you sending me mail bombs, please note
the change in address).
The Phillies have been the noisiest team thus far in the offseason,
unless you count all of the meaningless banter in the media about Alex
Rodriguez, the New York Yankees, and everyone else in between. If
you’re a Phillies fan, you have to be happy with the way Gillick has
attacked the pressing needs facing the 2008 team.
Despite the in-season rumors of the Phillies attempting to acquire
Brad Lidge in a trade with the Houston Astros, it was still surprising
to read about the move in the newspaper (yes, I was reduced to that
archaic form of media sans Internet, sans cable, sans telephone).
The Phillies sent outfielder Michael Bourn, reliever Geoff Geary,
and Minor League third baseman Mike Costanzo to the ’stros for Lidge
and utility infielder Eric Bruntlett.
It’s a good trade for both sides, even though Lidge, a free agent
after the ‘08 season, may only be a one-year rental for the Phillies,
who are, in reality, poised for an “‘08 or bust” campaign.
Let’s first parse through who the Phillies gave up.
Geoff Geary
Geary is an enigma if there ever was one. He’s been an above-average
reliever for each of the past three seasons, with last year’s 105 ERA+
being a severe drop-off from his 158 ERA+ in ‘06. He gives up a fair
share of base runners (1.399 career WHIP) and his career BABIP is .311,
which is only slightly higher than the league average, showing that his
propensity for allowing base runners isn’t fluky. In addition, his K/9
of 5.82 shows that he doesn’t have particularly overpowering stuff and
he’ll only get more and more hittable as hitters become more familiar
with him and as his stuff wanes.
Geary’s departure doesn’t increase the importance of anyone in
particular in the Phillies bullpen, just anyone who would potentially
be used in middle-relief (for instance, Ryan Madson).
Michael Bourn
Bourn has always been a prized prospect of the Phillies, but it was
only because the Phillies’ farm system is so barren. Bourn has the
ceiling similar to that of Juan Pierre or Wily Taveras — a singles
hitter that can steal some bases and put his above-average speed to use
in the outfield.
While with the Phillies for the entire season in the
pinch-runner/defensive replacement role, Bourn did show that he is
capable of handling an everyday workload if needed. He got on base at
about the league-average (Bourn’s .348 to the league’s .349) and was
18-for-19 in the stolen base department.
Fortunately for the Phillies, they already have a guy akin to Bourn,
only with a much stronger arm and a bit more power, in Shane Victorino.
Bourn’s loss makes the back-ups in the outfield — Jayson Werth and Greg Dobbs — a bit more valuable.
Last season in AA Reading, Costanzo made huge bounds from the
previous season, in which he put up an OBP of .364 and a SLG of .411,
to put up an OBP of .368 and a SLG of .490. He hit 27 HR and drove in
86 runs to go along with that.
While his offense looks appealing, his defense does not. He
committed 25 errors in ‘06 and 34 last season in only 133 and 135
games, respectively. That is an aggregate average of about one error every 4.5 games.
In 2008, the Phillies will use a platoon of Wes Helms, Greg Dobbs,
and Eric Bruntlett at third base, so Costanzo’s move doesn’t increase
anyone’s immediate value, though the Phillies will have to find a
reliable third baseman after the season.
Now let’s take a look at who the Phillies acquired.
Brad Lidge
Phillies fans pessimistic about the trade will cite Lidge’s ‘06
effort as an indication that he isn’t everything he’s cracked up to be,
but if his ‘07 season means anything, then it was just an aberration.
His K/9 rate has always hovered above 10 (with a career average of
12.6) and he keeps runners off the bases (1.197 career WHIP).
The interesting part about the Lidge acquisition, though, isn’t
Lidge himself — it’s how the move will affect Brett Myers, who is now a
part of the Phillies’ starting rotation, just shortly removed from a
season in which he was the Phillies’ lights-out second-half closer
(2.87 ERA and 21 saves in 53.1 IP). Myers made it clear throughout the
season that he liked being a part of the bullpen as someone the team
could count on game after game, instead of just once every five days.
If Myers doesn’t perform well back in the rotation, proponents of the
team chemistry concept will point to Lidge as a reason.
Should Myers be amicable and return to his above-average ways as a starter, this move has gold stars written all over it.
Eric Bruntlett
To Phillies fans, he’s “that other guy” acquired along with Lidge.
Yeah, he’s essentially listless offensively (career .323 OBP and .364
SLG) but he has above-average speed (20-for-26 in stolen bases in his
career) as well as above-average defense (.847 RZR in 348 defensive
innings last season as a shortstop, which would rank slightly behind
fifth place if he had enough innings to qualify).
Expect Bruntlett to be used in as a pinch-runner or as a
spot-starter at third base in the odd event that Greg Dobbs starts in
the outfield and Wes Helms is sitting on the bench.
In the immediate future, the Phillies are clear winners, but don’t
be fooled: Geary and Bourn can be cogs in a now youthful Astros roster,
with Craig Biggio retired. The Astros could use an outfield of Carlos
Lee (31) in left, Bourn (25) in center, and Hunter Pence (24) in right.
Shortly after the Lidge deal, the Phillies re-signed left-handed reliever J.C. Romero to a three-year, $12 million deal.
J.C. Romero
Plucked off the waiver wire by Gillick in June from the world
champion Boston Red Sox, Romero quickly become one of only three
reliable arms in the bullpen, along with Myers and Tom Gordon, both of
whom were injured during the season.
Romero walked his share of hitters (25 in 36.1 IP), but otherwise
kept hitters at bay (1.101 WHIP). He averaged just a shade under a 1/1
K/IP ratio, but the most important aspect — his left-handedness aside —
is his ability to throw the ground ball, an absolute must in a
hitter-friendly stadium such as Citizens Bank Park. In ‘07, 60% of his
outs were of the ground ball variety, only slightly above his 54.3%
career average.
With those deals fleshed out, let’s look at what the Phillies’ 25-man roster should look like, as it stands, come Opening Day.
C - Carlos Ruiz
1B - Ryan Howard
2B - Chase Utley
3B - Wes Helms
SS - Jimmy Rollins
LF - Pat Burrell
CF - ? / Shane Victorino
RF - Jayson Werth
C - Chris Coste
IF - Eric Bruntlett
IF/OF - Greg Dobbs
OF - Chris Roberson
OF - T.J. Bohn
That ? in center field could be Aaron Rowand, it could be another
outfielder acquired via free agency or trade, or it could be Victorino,
simply taking Rowand’s place.
The Phillies’ outfield reserves currently include Chris Roberson and
T.J. Bohn, both of whom are rather unappetizing, so here’s hoping they
sign someone like Geoff Jenkins to a one-year deal and use him in a
platoon with Jayson Werth in right field (Jenkins, .883 career OPS vs.
RHP; Werth .864 career OPS vs. LHP).
The last two spots are tentative. I don’t know this for a fact, but
I imagine the Phillies are very open to using blase Adam Eaton in a
long-relief role. The Phillies are also hoping to allow Kendrick to
develop a bit more in the Minor Leagues, perhaps to develop a put-away
pitch that he lacked in his impressive rookie season in ‘07.
Rumors have the Phillies most interested in Randy Wolf and Bartolo
Colon, but both would be risky propositions given their injury
histories. Further down the list are Livan Hernandez and Kyle Lohse.
Hernandez is a fly ball-prone pitcher, and Lohse’s agent is Scott
Boras, whom the Phillies absolutely detest (see: Drew, J.D.).
Carlos Silva, with his ground ball tendencies (47.5% in ‘07; 48.7%
career), should actually be the #1 target for the Phillies in terms of
cost/effectiveness.
RP -
RP -
RP -
RP - J.C. Romero
RP - Ryan Madson
SU - Tom Gordon
CP - Brad Lidge
The three open relief pitching slots could go to just about anyone
who shows up in Spring Training. “Anyone” could include Fabio Castro,
Clay Condrey, Julio Mateo, Scott Mathieson, Francisco Rosario, and Mike
Zagurski.
One of Castro and Zagurski will make it by the sheer fact of their
left-handedness, giving the Phillies increased flexibility with two
lefties in the ‘pen.
Mathieson is coming off of “Tommy John” surgery, and Mateo still has
some personal problems that prevented him from joining the team last
season when he was picked up from Seattle for a handshake.
Logically, that leaves Condrey and Rosario to the last two spots,
assuming the Phillies are done acquiring relief pitchers. In all
likelihood, they are not done shopping, so they could still target
someone like David Riske or LaTroy Hawkins to set up for Lidge, and
moving injury-prone Tom Gordon to a role in which he is not expected to
pitch 70 games throughout the season.
As for the other fun-packed part of the off-season: awards…
How did Jimmy Rollins get the Gold Glove at shortstop over Troy
Tulowitski? If there’s one thing both baseball statistical
traditionalists and Sabermetricians can agree on, it’s that Tulowitzki
was the better defensive shortstop. Rollins is a hell of a defender,
but even as a Phillies fan, even I cannot give him the nod on this one.
Good to see that Aaron Rowand got a Gold Glove, but again, I take
exception with it this year. He was sixth among qualified NL
center-fielders in RZR (.861) and second in OOZ (69). His 69 OOZ aren’t
too much more than the three behind him (5th-place has 63), so if you
look at the five ahead of him in RZR…
A. Jones: .921 RZR, 80 OOZ
Beltran: .915, 64 OOZ
Pierre: .902, 63 OOZ
Cameron: .894, 53 OOZ
C. Young: .875, 66 OOZ
…you can find three slightly more deserving candidates. I’m not
saying it’s a travesty that Rowand won, but if we’re being specific, he
was just a shade under the cut.
Charlie Manuel, who placed second in Manager of the Year voting,
should have won over Bob Melvin. His Diamondbacks were fluky,
out-performing their Pythagorean W-L by an historically large 11 games.
My reasoning for Manuel was laid out here:
Like Torre, Charlie Manuel has had a ton of injuries, a bad pitching staff, and media scrutiny to deal with all season long.
In this article,
I listed the 15 Phillies to be put on the disabled list at the time.
Since then, Cole Hamels missed time with a strained left elbow, and
Antonio Alfonseca was described by Manuel as “out of gas.”
Manuel has had to make do with a horrible bullpen that GM Pat
Gillick failed to improve during the off-season. In fact, the bullpen
was so lousy that Manuel moved then-starter Brett Myers to the set-up
role for Tom Gordon (Myers became the closer when Gordon was injured).
Myers’ statistics as a closer: 45.2 IP, 1.226 WHIP, 2.96 ERA, 56 K, 16 BB, 17 saves in 20 opportunities.
In addition, despite the injuries to 2005 Rookie of the Year and
2006 NL MVP Ryan Howard, 2007 MVP candidate Chase Utley, speedster
Shane Victorino, and a horrid first-half for Pat Burrell, the Phillies
have, by far, the National League’s best offense.
First in runs, triples, walks, hit batsmen, on-base percentage, and
slugging percentage. Second in at-bats, hits, doubles, home runs, and
stolen bases.
When the Phillies lost to the Mets on April 17, Charlie Manuel blew up at “journalist” Howard Eskin during the post-game press conference,
the team dropped to a 3-9 record, quickly 5.5 games behind the Mets for
fourth place in the NL East. Now, the Phillies are 12-games above .500
— an 18-game swing — and are battling for playoff berths in either the
NL East or in the Wild Card, as they are 2.5 GB the Mets and Padres,
respectively.
Tulowitzki should have won NL Rookie of the Year over Braun, and
while there weren’t any mind-blowing AL candidates for the award, I
still think Jeremy Guthrie should have taken it over Dustin Pedroia.
Good to see the voters got something right through in awarding the AL Cy Young to C.C. Sabathia.
We’re still waiting on the NL Cy Young award (Jake Peavy, obviously) and both MVP awards. John Brattain makes an interesting case for Jimmy Rollins as the NL recipient.
I don’t agree, but as a Phillies fan, I won’t complain if Rollins wins
it. If he does, it will be the first time a team has had two different
players win back-to-back MVP awards since Jeff Kent and Barry Bonds in
2000 and ‘01.
Visit my new website -- Crashburn Alley!>
Crashburn Alley is a fusion of the phrase "crash and burn" with Ashburn Alley, which is beyond the center field fence at Citizens Bank Park. You can read more about Crashburn Alley here.>
I'm a diehard Phillies fan who is still reeling from the 1993 World Series and Joe Carter's three-run homerun in Game 6.
