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.

Weekly Wrap

Well, its that time again. 1B Ryan Howard continues to struggle in all aspects of the game and his "cold" streak is rapidly becoming a first-half slump for the 2008 season. Luckily both LF Pat Burrell and 2B Chase Utley have picked up the pace and are 1-2 in the League in RBIs so far. Both have had PS3-type weeks that have carried an otherwise underperforming offense to a 12-11 record. The Phillies went 4-3 on the week, losing a 3 game series to the Mets 1-2, sweeping the Rockies in 2, and spliting a 2 game series with the Brewers.

Injury Update: CF Shane Victorino started a rehab assignment in Clearwater on Monday and is eligible to come off the DL on 28 April which is an off day for the Phillies. He will be available to play on the 29th if everything goes well. SS Jimmy Rollins took batting practice at Clearwater and is eligible to come off the DL on 5 May although I wouldn't hold my breath on that. SP Kris Benson continued to throw on the side and had another Bullpen session but there is still no word on when he will start a game in the minors as he continues to come back from shoulder surgery.

Weekly Awards

Player of the Week - 2B Chase Utley: It was a tough decision but Chase basically went nuts this past week with an outrageous line of: .536 AVG/.581 OBP/ 1.831 OPS, 6 HRs, 10 RBI, 8 R in 7 games. LF Pat Burrell also had a very good week but not anywhere close to Utley's.

Pitcher of the Week - CP Brad Lidge: Brad had an excellent week making 5 appearances pitching 5 innings with no earned runs allowed while picking up 3 saves in 3 opportunities. Lidge has anchored the backend of the bullpen so far this year and so far the Bourn-Lidge trade has really paid off.

Goat of the Week - 1B Ryan Howard: Yes, we all know that Howard gets off to slow starts but this is ridiculous. His line: 3 for 28, .107 Avg/.138 OBP, 13 Ks, 1 BB and no extra base hits. Keep it up Ryan, you're definitely worth $10 million per. Interesting fact: No position player on the Phillies has a lower AVG than Ryan Howard so far...only pitchers.

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.

Benson Suffers Setback

Benson suffered an undisclosed injury today during a throwing session at Spring Training. The Phillies have not commented on the injury so far, but Benson is quoted as saying that it may be "bicep tendinitis". What this means for the Phillies is that there is no way he will be ready for the start of the season now.

Benson Suffers Setback

Bicep Tendinitis

The only thing they can really do is rest his arm if it is tendinitis and this will delay any strengthening exercises he can do for at least a week or two assuming non-surgerical treatment is effective. However, this is one of those injures that often will not go away, especially considering he just had major shoulder surgery last year. Minimum recovery time before the average person can resume activity following this type of injury is 2-3 weeks.

Colon or Benson?

Pat Gillick and the Fightin' Phils had a choice this winter of several scrap heap veteran pitchers of which to sign for the 5th Starter slot. Many names were brought up in the course of the offseason to include Randy Wolf, Matt Clement, Jeff Weaver, Bartolo Colon, Kris Benson, and even the late great Sydney Ponson. Both Wolf and Clement made statements that they were not interested one bit in playing in the little league park known as The Bank in South Philly. Weaver was never really on the Phillies radar due to dismal performances over the past couple of years and Ponson turned out to be an unfounded rumor. However, both Colon and Benson were mentioned several times as top candidates to have bounceback seasons in 2008. Both were coming off major shoulder surgery (traditionally the deathknell of a starting pitchers' career) and both hadn't really pitched well since 2005. Most importantly, both were only looking for 1 year deals at the veteran minimum. However, whereas Colon was a Cy Young winner in 05, Benson has never been more than a 3rd or 4th starter. So logically the Phillies and Pat Gillick focused more and more on Kris Benson. They attended three separate tryouts to guage his progress in recovering from surgery and apparently were impressed each time. Finally, last month, they signed him to a minor-league deal with incentives for making the 25 man roster.

So far this spring, neither has pitched all that much. Benson has been limited strictly to minor-league action as he continues to build arm strength. He has looked solid so far, throwing his fastball, cutter, and curve. His fastball has been clocked regularly at 86 MPH and he has hit 88 at times during his handful of starts. According to team doctors, he is right on schedule with his recovery and will be ready to start in the Majors by early May. All in all, good news for the Phillies and I was very happy with his signing until last night.

Last night, Bartolo Colon made his first spring start for the defending World Series Champion Boston Red Sox. He pitched 2 innings, threw 26 pitches and looked outstanding. He changed speeds, threw all his pitches and hit 94 MPH consistently with his 4-seam FB. He was able to locate his pitches and he retired the final 6 batters on 10 pitches. Basically he looked to be in mid-season form. Now, Colon may never again be the 100 MPH Cy Young winner he was in 2005 but if he stays healthy he could easily win 15 games this year for the Red Sox. Benson will likely be the 5th starter for the Phillies from May onward and could possibly move up in the rotation if Kendrick implodes, Hamels gets injured, Moyer remembers he is 45 etc etc.

If both stay healthy, it is almost a guarantee that Colon will have the better year. He has always had the better stuff by far of the two and he is on a better team in the AL. He won't have to worry about hitting or being pulled for a PH in the 5th or 6th inning of a tie game like a NL pitcher would.

Ultimately, the Phillies refusal to spend money (even the bare minimum) and their refusal to take smart risks will hamstring their chances of repeating as NL East champs in 08. The smart play would have been to try and sign both and bank on one their 5 projected starters getting injured. It happens every year so why should 2008 be any different? Once again the Phillies will win around 85 wins and be competitive and we will all cheer them on as they fall just short of true greatness. Its only March, but its gonna be a long year in South Philly.