One Down...Three To Go

SP Cole Hamels dominated on the national stage and he is now finally being talked about as an Ace Starter by the national media. This attention and respect is long overdue for Hamels. Hamels is the best left-handed pitcher to wear a Phillies uniform since Carlton and easily the best Phillies pitcher since Schilling. He's eccentric, moody, arrogant and picky. He's also a dominant player not even in his prime yet. At 24 he's still getting better each year. This season he was already a Top 5 pitcher in the National League. If he stays healthy, always a concern with Cole, then he will be a Cy Young contender every season for years to come. So far he's 4-0 with a sizzling 1.55 ERA in the Postseason joining the ranks of other elite players who raise their game to a different level in October. Cole won us Game 1 and there are 3 more to go for the first Championship in 28 years. Game 2 is tonight at 8:35 PM.

Weekly Awards

This week its short and sweet:

Player of the Week - 2B Chase Utley: After suffering through a brutal slump for most of June, Chase Utley righted himself this week with a 10 for 27 (.370) performance. He led the team with 6 runs scored and 20 total bases and played the role of table setter for Pat Burrell and Ryan Howard who both had solid weeks as well. Utley's line: .370 avg, 4 2B, 2 HR, 6 R, 4 RBI, 1 SB, .414 OBP, 1.155 OPS.

Pitcher of the Week - SP Cole Hamels: Cole has simply been a workhorse this season and this past week was no exception. Hamels went 2-0 on the week winning both his starts while posting a 2.87 ERA. Simply put, he dominated for the week and fully demonstrated why he is the Ace of the Phillies staff. His line: 15.2 IP, 2.87 ERA, 11 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 15 K, 0.96 WHIP.

Goat of the Week - SP Brett Myers: Brett had such a good week that he is now an IronPig. After another of his pathetic little league esque performances, Brett (and the Phillies fateful) was put out of his misery with a well deserved demotion to the minors to "work on his mechanics". In his one start Brett lasted all of 2 innings allowing 5 H, 5 ER, 1 HR while walking 4 and recording 2 K. That was good for a 22.50 ERA on the week. Good luck in Allentown and good riddance.

Weekly Awards

After a one week hiatus (hey if Chase Utley can take a week off so can I), its time for the Weekly Awards again. It's been a rough week as the Phillies have managed to lose 3 straight series against good competition and the offense has played a disappearing act at times while also putting up 20 runs on other days. SP Brett Myers continues to confound even the most optimistic of his supporters with his pathetic performance so far this year. He was publicly blasted in the Philadelphia Inquirer today by columnist Jim Salisbury. Salisbury is merely echoing the thoughts that several other Phillies fans (including this blogger) have been expressing for weeks now as Brett continues to struggle.

Benson Update: SP Kris Benson was knocked out early in his latest rehab start in Clearwater and he looks to be a very long way from the Majors right now. Benson lasted just 2 innings, allowing 5 ERs on 3 hits (all HRs). He did manage to strike 3 batters as the sole silver lining for the outing.

Injury Update: OF Greg Golson was placed on the 15 day DL with a sore wrist earlier in the week. Golson had been slumping for 10 games prior to the DL trip in which he hit well below the Mendoza Line posting a .132 avg with just 5 hits in 38 ABs. Hopefully the slump was injury related and not a sign of him reverting to his previous seasons' form.

And now time for the Weekly Awards:

Player of the Week - 1B Ryan Howard: Howard has redefined the phrase "feast or famine" with last week's performance. He led the team in almost every offensive category posting a very impressive line of: 10 of 26 (.385), 7 R, 1 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 25 TB, 14 RBI, .448 OBP, .962 SLG, 1.410 OPS. However he did strike out 11 times in 6 games including a grisly 4 K performance Wednesday against the Red Sox. He is still on pace to shatter his own single season SO record with 223 projected Ks this year.

Pitcher of the Week - SP Cole Hamels: Hamels made pitching look easy with his dominating performance against the defending World Series champion Boston Red Sox. He pitched 7 strong inning allowing just 2 runs both on solo HRs and struck out 5 in his only appearance. He proved that the Phillies can hang with the best team in baseball as long as they have their Ace on the mound. His record improved to 7-4 with the victory.

Honorary Mention - Phillies Bullpen: The Phillies have had the best bullpen in baseball all season and last week was no exception to this rule. Their combined line for the week: 19 IP, 15 H, 3 ER, 0 HR, 3 BB, 23 K, 1.42 ERA, 0.95 WHIP

Goat of the Week - SP Brett Myers: This could very easily have been Chase Utley (who is in the midst of a career high 0-20 slump) but a team can win without one hitter but they cannot win when their starting pitcher doesn't give them at least a shot at a game. Brett failed to do that on Sunday and because of that he earns top billing this week as the Goat. His line was a pathetic 6 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 2 HR, 9.00 ERA.

Return to Normalcy/Weekly Awards

Well 1B Ryan Howard is back and his slump is over. That's right, its over! Ever since I posted a K-Watch on this blog, Howard (clearly an ardent reader) has turned it around and raised his average over 25 points. He had a great week and he looks like he's regained his swing which has been missing since Spring Training. I would like to take this moment to claim personal responsibility for his turn-around. Overall, this week the Phillies offense has been very productive, but their starting pitching is continuing to kill them with only SP Cole Hamels giving them anything resembling a major-league performance. Both SP Jamie Moyer and SP Brett Myers were blown out in their starts, while SP Kyle Kendrick extended his QS streak to 4 games with another 6 IPs/3 ER performance.

Back From Injury: SS Jimmy Rollins had a strong week back from his ankle injury. He went 8 for 28 (.286) with 4 extra base hits and 14 total bases on the week. He also managed to steal 2 bases so it looks like his ankle is fully healthy which is a great sign for the rest of the season.

Down For The Count: SP Scott Mathieson underwent a second Tommy John surgery on his elbow on Thursday and a 3rd surgery overall on the same elbow since 2006. It sadly looks like his Phillies career is over before it started. Good luck with your recovery Scott. (Note: Recovery rate from 2nd TJ surgery= 30%)

Missing In Action: Fastball, low-to-mid 90's velocity, 4-seamer...last seen in posession of SP Brett Myers in 2007. If you know the whereabouts of this object please contact the Philadelphia Phillies immediately at:

Citizens Bank Park
One Citizens Bank Way
Philadelphia, PA 19148
215-463-1000

Brett continues to struggle and his fastball velocity is way down for the year. He is getting hammered this season and is on pace to allow 58 HRs. His ERA is currently a team-worst 5.91.

On that note, its time for the Weekly Awards:

Player of the Week - 1B Ryan Howard: Well, I never thought I'd see the day but Ryan Howard has proved how quickly a player can go from being the goat to the hero this week. Ryan went 7 for 24 (.292) with 3 HRs/5 RBIs and also led the team in Total bases with 19 on the week. He chipped in 1 2B and 1 3B and posted a 1.112 OPS for the week. His hitting streak is at a season-best 7 games. Looks like the long slump is over. (I'm keeping the K-Watch up just to motivate you, Ryan)

Pitcher of the Week - SP Cole Hamels: Is there even a question of this? 2 Starts, 2 Wins on the week. Hamels went 2-0 on the week pitching 16 innings and striking out 13 along with a 2.25 ERA. He is the only dependable starter in the Phillies rotation right now and he has been a life-saver so far for them this year. I would like to pause at this point to thank GM Pat Gillick personally for flat out saying that the Phillies will not even consider locking up Hamels long-term at this point. I always appreciate when the Front Office goes out of its way to piss off a star player for no reason whatsoever. Way to go Pat! Hamels is on pace to pitch 250 innings this year which is a tad high, but I'm certain that that number will drop as the season goes on. So far he has been very effective at going deep into games and he was finally able to post his first CG shutout last night while throwing a somewhat questionable 120 pitches. We'll see if this much increased workload effects him in the 2nd half of the season.

Goat of the Week - SP Brett Myers: For an Opening Day starter, Brett has looked anything but dominating so far this season and this week's performance could easily be a microcosm of that. Brett was blown out by the Braves allowing 3 HRs in 4 1/3 IPs to post a 12.46 ERA on the week. His fastball is missing in action and he has had very little control on his other pitches. He has however been absolutely on fire at throwing whiny 4-year-old girl temper tantrums in the dugout when a call doesn't go his way. Grow up Brett and actually pay attention to your coaches!

The Maturation of Cole Hamels

Over the past three seasons, we have had the treat of watching a star pitcher slowly emerge in South Philly. The Phillies left-handed Ace Cole Hamels has managed to improve his numbers each season he has been in the Majors and appears to be on the verge of making a dominant run as a number one pitcher. Hamels broke into the Majors at the ripe age of 22 back in 2006 and he hasn't looked back since. He started 23 games in 2006 and posted a solid 9-8 record with a 4.08 ERA. He also struck out 145 in just 132.1 innings. He improved upon his 06 campaign last year by becoming the Phillies best pitcher with a 15-5 record, 177 Ks in 183 innings. While his K/9 rating went down, all the rest of his secondary numbers went up. He has continued this trend in his first 7 starts in 2008. While his record is a very average looking 3-3, his ERA has dropped again to 3.10.

Key Indicators to Consider when looking at Hamels stats:

Category #1: How hard is he working to get guys out?

Pitches per AB:

2006: 3.91
2007: 3.76
2008: 3.71

Trend: Improving

Pitches Per Inning:

2006: 16.5
2007: 15.2
2008: 14.9

Trend: Improving

Category #2: How are hitters performing against him?

Batting Average Against:

2006: .237
2007: .237
2008: .213

Trend: Improving

Slugging Against:

2006: .426
2007: .403
2008: .366

Trend: Improving

Category #3: How Efficient Has Hamels Been?

Pitches Per Game Started:

2006: 94.7
2007: 97.7
2008: 105.1

Trend: Improving

Innings Per Start:

2006: 5.74
2007: 6.55
2008: 7.05

Trend: Improving

Analysis: Basically, Cole has become a much more efficient pitcher from 06 to 08 and his statistics demonstrate an upward trend in several important categories. He is using less pitches to get guys out and to complete innings and because of this, he is pitching much deeper into games. He is also giving up less hits and baserunners than he did in 2006 and batters are hitting for less power. While his K/9 rate has declined from 9.86 in 06 to 7.48 this season, this is not a sign of decline, but rather a sign that he is becoming a smarter pitcher. He is no longer pitching for the strikeout but rather to get the batter out in the easiest and quickest way.

Weekly Awards/Monthly Awards

Another week down and another good week for the Fightin' Phils. The Phillies find themselves alone atop the NL East for the first time all season with a 16-13 record going into tonight's contests. Despite inconsistent starting pitching, minimal contributions from slugger 1B Ryan Howard, and injuries to the top 2 of their lineup (SS Jimmy Rollins and CF Shane Victorino), the Phillies have chugged along to their first winning April since 2003. An outstanding bullpen and MVP performances from LF Pat Burrell and 2B Chase Utley have carried them so far.

Pleasant Surprises:

1. Outstanding performances by the bullpen including the reemergence of CP Brad Lidge as an elite closer. Gordon, Durbin, Seanez, and Romero have all been lights out as well.

2. LF Pat Burrell is in a contract year and he is performing well above his career averages in all aspects of the game, offensively and defensively. Keep gunnin' for that new contract Pat!

3. A strong bench led by now part-time starter OF Jayson Werth, 3B Greg Dobbs, UT Eric Bruntlett and C Chris Coste have all chipped in to help win ballgames during the first month of the season. Both Bruntlett and Werth have found themselves in the starting lineup for extended periods of time with the injuries to Rollins and Victorino and both have done their job.

Troubling Issues:

1. 1B Ryan Howard started off the season in horrible fashion and is still batting well below the Mendoza line posting a .184 AVG after 29 games with 39 SOs in just 103 ABs.

2. SS Jimmy Rollins ankle injury appears far worse than was originally believed and he could miss even more time than previously estimated. This could very well turn into one of those nagging injuries that follows him all season. There is no timetable on his return at this point. They were hoping for him to start a rehab assignment this month, but he is still feeling pain in his ankle during fielding drills and baserunning. It could be a while.

3. Other than SP Cole Hamels, the rotation has been mediocre at best. SP Brett Myers has lost his fastball, SP Jamie Moyer and SP Adam Eaton are giving them replacement level innings and SP Kyle Kendrick has looked overmatched all season. One small glimmer of hope for Kendrick is that he is coming off 2 quality starts in his past 3 chances.

That being said its time for the Weekly and Monthly Awards...

Player of the Week - UT Eric Bruntlett: Eric actually had a very good week filling in for MVP SS Jimmy Rollins. He went 6 for 21 and is currently in the midst 9 game hitting streak while playing good defense at SS. He has made several very good plays with his glove to at least slightly ease the pain of having Rollins on the DL. His line: .286 Avg, 4 Runs, 3 RBIs and 1 SB. Basically he's finally doing what a bench player is supposed to do when a star goes down with an injury.

Pitcher of the Week - RP Tom Gordon: If you take Opening Day out of the equation then Tom Gordon has had a very good year so far. Last week was no exception. He made 3 appearances, pitching 2 2/3 innings and picked up 2 wins in the process. In those 3 appearances, he didn't not allow a hit and only walked 1 batter. He is now tied for the team lead in wins with 3.

Player of the Month - 2B Chase Utley: Utley appears to be making a strong argument for the MVP trophy this year as he is off to a monster start. He is batting .357 with 11 HRs, 23 RBI, 25 Runs, 41 hits, 10 2Bs, 1 3B, and 2 SBs. He has also posted a .748 Slugging percentage on the season. On the defensive side of things, he has posted the 5th best Range Factor and the 4th best Zone Rating in the NL along with several Web Gems in recent nights.

Pitcher of the Month - SP Cole Hamels: Cole has started 6 games, going at least 7 innings in each of his starts while compiling an ERA of 2.70. His record so far has been 3-3 but he seems to be on pace to finally have a real breakout season as a star pitcher. So far he has been a workhorse for the Phillies and his efforts have spared the bullpen from being overworked.

Weekly Wrapup

Well, after weeks of speculation, the Phillies signed LHP Steve Kline to a minor-league deal and he will report to the AAA Lehigh Valley IronPigs next week. Considering how often pitchers go down with injury and/or are ineffective, Kline could very quickly find himself on the big league roster as long as he performs in Allentown. RHP Ryan Madson has been complaining about soreness in his pitching shoulder (the same injury that forced him to miss 2 months last year) and both Tom Gordon and Clay Condrey have been somewhat ineffective so far this season. Gordon had a streak of 4 scoreless appearances going into last night where he gave up the winning run in 1 2/3 IP. Granted that run came on a horrible call by the home plate umpire but a run is a run is a run and the Phillies always need more pitching.

In other news: RHP Kris Benson continues to throw off the mound in Clearwater and looks to start in a minor-league game in hopefully two weeks if everything goes well. Considering how poorly SP Kyle Kendrick has pitched thus far in the season, Benson could quickly find himself in the starting rotation.

Huge Surprise of the Year: SP Adam Eaton has pitched in two games so far and both have been quality starts (6 IP, 3ER or less). He has posted a 3.91 ERA so far. Perhaps this will be the year that he figures it all out and somewhat earns his $8 million a year in salary. Or perhaps he will give up 10 runs in his next start...with Adam you never know.

Its About Time: SP Brett Myers was quoted as saying that he will be a "Closer for 9 innings on Saturday". Basically he means he's gonna go out there and just rear up and throw fastballs. Hopefully the Cubs don't read the Daily News and just sit fastball on him but hey if he can bring it, let him. It would be nice to see him stop throwing 90 MPH fastballs and actually get some mustard on the ball.

Weekly Awards:

Player of the Week - LF Pat Burrell: LF Pat Burrell has simply been on fire this week going 9 for 21 with 7 BB, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 4 R, and 20 Total Bases. For that math impaired that's a .438 AVG/.571OBP. Burrell has been the most consistent hitter for the Phillies so far and he looks to build on excellent second half in 2007. Over the past couple season, Pat has cut his strikeout rate and raised his OBP each year and those trends seem to be continuing as he becomes a much more patient hitter than the free-swinging days of his early career.

Pitcher of the Week - SP Cole Hamels: SP Cole Hamels went 7 strong innings on Monday afternoon picking up his first win of the season snapping a two game losing streak and salvaging a 2-2 series split with the Cincinnati Reds. He struck out 4 and gave up 1 ER getting the win. Reliever Chad Durbin was a close runner-up pitching 5 innings in 3 appearances with no runs scored. He continues to be strong out of the Pen.

Goat of the Week - 1B Ryan Howard: Despite Victorino's struggles at the top of the order, Howard has actually been worse this week going 4 for 28 (.148 AVG) with 11 K. The only bright spot is that he has hit 2 HRs with 4 RBI but otherwise Howard looks lost up at the plate.

Pat Burrell Powers Phils to Victory

Pat Burrell hit 2 HRs and drove in 3 as the Phillies defeated the Cincinnati Reds 5-3 this afternoon. SP Cole Hamels delivered his second straight impressive performance going 7 innings and allowing 2 runs (1 earned) while striking out 4. There were alot of positives for the Phillies in this game. Both Jimmy Rollins and Pat Burrell continued their strong starts and RF Geoff Jenkins hit his first HR of the season and is proving to be a fine pick-up by GM Pat Gillick. However, CF Shane Victorino continued to struggle, going 1 for 5 which raised his batting average to .143. Perhaps a move down in the batting order would benefit the Flyin' Hawaiian for a couple of games until he can get his timing down. Or perhaps not. Its still very early in the season to be concerned with this type of slump. In related news, Ryan Howard is struggling somewhat at the plate as well; He went 1-4 with 3 Ks lowering his average to .208 on the season.

Positives:

1. Burrell and JRoll have both started the season fast out of the gate.

2. SP Cole Hamels had another dominant performance.

3. Closer Brad Lidge got his first Save of the season pitching 1 inning and allowing no earned runs.

Negatives:

1. The Phillies defense continues to be atrocious committing another 2 errors today. Both errors were by newcomers with OF So Taguchi and 3B Pedro Feliz each committing one. Both players were brought on board mainly for their defensive skills so go figure.

2. Victorino is off to a horrid start.....143 average in the first 7 games of the season.

3. Howard is also struggling batting .208.

Tomorrow, the Phillies start a 3 game series in NY against the Mets and SP Jamie Moyer will take the mound against SP Oliver Perez. After that they are back in Philly for a 9 game homestand against the Cubs, Astros, and Mets.

Pedro Martinez Injured

So the Mets lost their 2nd best pitcher and the lynchpin of their rotation last night when Pedro Martinez came up clutching his thigh after a pitch. The part of me that started him in my fantasy league was sad but the Phillie Fan in me rejoiced at the injury. Major injuries to key players is honestly the only way the Phillies have a chance to beat the Mets this year. Injuries to their pitching staff in particular are huge as they really don't have that much depth. Hopefully, for the Phillies sake, Pedro is gone for at least a couple of months. He has an MRI scheduled today and hopefully we'll know more by tonight or tomorrow morning as to how severe it is. However, 36 year old fragile pitchers with extensive injury histories aren't exactly known for bouncing back quickly.

In other news, Cole Hamels will take the mound tonight against the Nats and hopefully he has a good outing because as we all know, the rest of the Phillies staff isn't exactly reliable so a 2 game losing streak could easily turn into a 5 game streak in the blink of an eye. I will boldly predict a strong outing from Hamels and a win for the Phightin' Phils tonight.

Rookie to Watch: I know this is a Phillies Blog, but I just had to mention rookie CF Carlos Gomez of the Minnesota Twins. He had a spectacular debut on Opening Day for the Twins and made the Santana trade look a little less lopsided with his 2 H, 2 SB, and a couple of spectacular defensive plays in center. If he learns how to consistently hit, he could be an All-Star for years to come.

Injury Update: Mets SP Pedro Martinez is reportedly headed to the DL and is expected to miss a minimum of one month assuming everything goes perfectly with his rehabilitation.

Strong Outing By Hamels

Cole Hamels went 6 very strong innings this afternoon, striking out 7 and walking none against the Tampa Bay Rays. The sole blemish on his performance was a 2-out HR by probable Rookie of the Year candidate Evan Longoria. The most important to me in this performance was the 7K/0 BB ratio that Hamels was able to put up. When Hamels is on, he is one of the most dominating pitchers in baseball and his changeup is almost unhittable. Between Hamels and Myers the Phillies have a very solid 1-2 punch and will be very tough to beat in a 5 game series. Unfortunately, after Hamels and Myers, its a different story. Moyer should have at least one more year of league-average pitching in him and will make a decent #3 guy. Huge question marks start with Kendrick at #4 and the Eaton/Benson/Rosario/Castro quagmire for the #5 slot.

The Phillies hitting has continued to struggle but there have been several glimmers of hope in the last couple of days. Going into today, the projected starters had put 2 very solid games in a row together. Today, the starting lineup went 4-20 through the first 6 innings. However, they were very efficient by putting up 4 runs on only 4 hits so their situational hitting was solid today.

Frankly, I'm not concerned about the hitting at all. I know that it will come together and that the Phillies lineup will be scary again this year despite the much whined about departure of Aaron Rowand. You have to wonder about a guy that would leave a playoff team to willingly sign a long-term deal with one of the worst teams in the National League. A full year of Victorino and the Jenkins/Werth platoon along with a fully healthy Ryan Howard should erase any memories of Rowand's performance.

In closing, its a very good sign to see Hamels finally face a big league lineup and dominate it for 6 innings and it should help the confidence of the rest of the rotation to have two very solid starters to anchor them this season.