Phillies Bats Rip Through Rain, Brewers Pitching
Posted by Tim Malcolm, Wed, April 22, 2009 01:06 AM | Comments: 76
2009 Recaps, Posts
Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez have been carrying the Phillies offense so far in 2009, so appropriately, the rest of the guys contributed Tuesday. The offense combined for 13 hits as the Phils routed the Brewers in a windy, rainy contest, 11-4.
Brewers starter Manny Parra had no chance early, as the Phils tagged him for five runs and seven hits in four innings. Six consecutive Phillies reached base in the first inning, resulting in a four spot that was punctuated by RBI hits from Jayson Werth, Ibanez and Pedro Feliz. The third baseman went 3-for-4 with a home run — he is quietly hitting .359 with nine RBI in 2009.
After Parra, the Phils continued their slugging. Shane Victorino entered the fray with an RBI hit, ending 2-for-4. Then the Phils benefited from ex-teammate RJ Swindle’s wild pitch (and subsequent error by Jason Kendall) with two additional runs, ending with a five spot in the fifth. A sixth-inning run via a Feliz single ended the scoring.
Jamie Moyer did enough to garner a well-deserved win. He surrendered four runs (three via Ryan Braun’s two longballs) off seven hits in six innings. Mop-up work went to Chad Durbin (0.1 inning), Clay Condrey (1.2 inning after the rain delay) and Jack Taschner (1 inning).
The Phillies are back at .500.
Posts: 0 Geoff
Carlos Silva is garbage – nobodys letting Seattle off the hook for that. Thats waht im talking about man, 4 years 44M for a guy whos career era is 4.64!!!
Oh I beleive in partying thats for sure. Why do you think I live in Manayunk? Though during the work week I only go out for happy hour once to break up the week.
Posted: 11:31 AM on April 22, 2009
Posts: 0 Griffin
If Moyer goes 6 IP, 3 or 4 ER, the Phillies should have a chance to win everytime.
Starting pitching is not the Phillies strength, but it’s not such a glaring overwhelming weakness.
On a side note, since everyone is expressing their Geoff opinions, I remember in November before Howard signed his extension, I mentioned the idea of floating Howard out there in trade talks and Geoff told me “Give it a rest dude, he’s not going anywhere.” A week later Geoff was posting how the Phillies should trade Howard.
Posted: 11:34 AM on April 22, 2009
Posts: 0 Manny
I still think that, officially, Moyer is our No.3 starter…not No.4.
(Chan Ho is in the middle right now because of the off days mess.)
That being said, we CANNOT settle for average numbers when we talk about pitching, ESPECIALLY if you wanna make it to the playoffs and win a championship (we wanna do that again, right?). I don’t have time right now to do this, but it would be good to see a smaller sample size of only teams that made it to the playoffs (NL only or all MLB)… My guess is that at least 3 of their 5 pitchers have an era below 4.50… that is, you MUST/SHOULD expect a “quality start” from your top 3 guys, perhaps from the top 4.
Translation.. we should expect very good pitching (read: quality starts EVERY time) from Hamels, Myers, and whoever is our No.3. It is what we should expect if we wanna win the division!
I’m fine with Moyer giving up 4 in 6, but I expect him to do slightly better than that. Last night’s pitching by Moyer was OK at best.
Posted: 11:38 AM on April 22, 2009
Posts: 0 Bruce
Christopher says~ “man, i hope jamie is able to find that elusive 3rd win of the season so he can reach tim’s lofty projections for 2009!”
I got a kick out of that line. Loved it! It’s laughable to see the same whiner(s) bashing Moyers without a reasonable sense of logic to their incessant criticism.
Posted: 11:40 AM on April 22, 2009
Posts: 0 NC Jason
Show me an average pitcher who is 32-20 in the past two years (and three starts) and I will show you Jamie Moyer
Posted: 11:40 AM on April 22, 2009
Posts: 0 Don M
Moyer got rocked by Ryan Braun.. one of the very best Right-Handed Power Hitters in all of Baseball… in Citizen’s Bank Park, which gives up lots of HRs as it is
His HR to Left-Field would have been out of Yellowstone though, that was a shot!
Posted: 11:46 AM on April 22, 2009
Posts: 0 Don M
The Dodgers had 5 guys (Webb, Billingsley, Kuroda, Gred Maddux, and Randy Wolf)
The Brewers had 4 guys (Sheets, Bradon Looper, Dave Bush, Manny Parra).. CC Sabathia didn’t have enough NL Innings to qualify I guess
The Cubs had 3 guys (Ryan Dempster, Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly)
The Phillies had 2 guys (Cole Hamels, and Jamie Moyer) *Myers finished with a 4.55 ERA
Posted: 11:54 AM on April 22, 2009
Posts: 0 Evan
Apparently Geoff only wants to see the young talent play. That’s his problem with the current organization. Excelling in the minors isn’t always going to translate into playing well when you make it to the show. Carassco had a poor Spring relative to his other competition for the 5th spot. He’s young and he’s not ready. I think he’ll see some time on the Phils roster this year, but I don’t think it will necessarily be in place of Moyer.
The other young guys with a shot to make it up, Donald and Mayberry, can’t provide the same output as Werth/Ibanez and Feliz. I’m pretty sure Geoff wanted Mayberry up instead of Ibanez before the season started too. That would’ve been a terrible idea.
That’s all I can say. Its easy to have a big mouth and tear a team down, and I’m sure it makes you feel good. It makes everyone else wanna kick you in the nuts.
Two things.
One Rollins was 1-4 when I turned off the game, with 3 groundouts. He looked awful leading off a couple times, but in the clutch spot with 2 on 2 out he got a hit that led to like 3 more runs. I think Charlie should keep him in the lineup and move him down. He’s certainly a leadoff type guy, but until he stops pressing he could hit 2nd or 5th.
Two, can Feliz possibly maintain this kind of hitting?
Posted: 12:09 PM on April 22, 2009
Posts: 0 Don M
Feliz is like a .250 hitter… has some pop, can drive in runs.. but he’ll strikeout, because he chases bad pitches
If he can hit like .275 this season, that would be HUGE from the #7 spot
If Rollins is moved down in the lineup, it would probably be to the #6 spot.. #2 is for making solid contact, and moving runners along, etc.. I don’t know if that’s what Rollins is good at. And I highly doubt Manuel drops him all the way to #6.. I think he stays at leadoff and hopefully start getting good at-bats on a regular basis
Posted: 12:14 PM on April 22, 2009
Posts: 0 Griffin
The problem with Feliz as a hitter is that he never walks and like Don M said, he chases bad pitches. When you do that, it’s hard to maintain a high Batting Average. If he hits .260 with 16 homers and plays great defense, I think we’d all take that.
Posted: 12:17 PM on April 22, 2009
Posts: 0 Chuck P
ARMCHAIR GEOFF,
GIVEN THE PROPENSITY OF THIS TEAM TO SCRAP FOR WINS… Wouldn’t you rather have a guy like Moyer that is going to give you 6 innings and 4 runs CONSISTENTLY than a guy that is going to be largely inconsistent but give you a dozen quality starts, by definition? If this team knows what they’re getting, they’re going to do what they need to do… they’ve showed us that much… say what you want, he’s consistent. His ERA, WHIP, K/9 weren’t great compared to the elites but the guy won 16 games. He’s consistent… I wouldn’t add him to my fantasy team but he’s going to win games and that’s what matters.
Please stop with the criticism of the game… the game has made a great comeback. In case you didn’t notice, the MLB Network has been a huge success and baseball ratings are higher than ever. The game has changed and baseball purists don’t like the pitch count/LOOGY mentality but it is what it is. There are six guys on every team that look like the Hulk and swing a mean bat… pitchers are investments and are coddled but if you look back, there are only a small handful of pitchers from every generation that stand out because pitching with success year in and out is (and always has been) very hard; guys like Santana and Halladay might be remembered while the others still have work to do.
Posted: 12:23 PM on April 22, 2009
Posts: 0 Geoff
I wanted Mayberry over Cairo. I was in favor of Ibanez coming here all along. If you check that youll see a record of consistency there in being pro-Raul.
My argument simply is that is teh majority of the starting pitching in the baseball is below average and cant put up enough Quality starts then what are they doing recycling guys like that year in and year out?
One possible explanation for the tolerance of this is the increased importance and use of the bullpen over the past few decades. Managers have quicker hooks (which REALLY says something there, imagine if they didnt: the average era in MLB would be like 5.45 for a starter).
Posted: 12:27 PM on April 22, 2009
Posts: 0 Geoff
Hey man, I love baseball. But only a fool would argue that the Starting Pitching today is better than it was in past Era’s…This era is still predominantly offensive and bullpen-oriented. Starting pitching still wins, because it always wins. But given the decided lack of top-end starters bullpens are more important now than they perhaps have ever been…
Posted: 12:30 PM on April 22, 2009
Posts: 0 Geoff
Also, technically, since NONE of us are playing in Major League Baseball, everyone is armchair here…
Posted: 12:39 PM on April 22, 2009
Posts: 0 Chuck P
Maybe you’re right, Geoff… maybe we are in an offensive/bullpen era but doesn’t baseball go through phases? I wouldn’t say that the pitchers are any worse than they were back then. Johan Santana is filthy… Jake Peavy is a stud… Maybe those guys don’t pitch complete games like some of the guys that are in the hall of fame but that doesn’t mean they’re not as good as them, either. That’s like arguing that hitters during the dead ball era weren’t as good as hitters during the live ball era… statistically, yes. Realistically, probably not. The parks are smaller, the strike zone is smaller, there are more guys down the lineup that have homerun hitting ability and managers are taught to play the odds (this guy is righthanded so I need to bring in a righthanded reliever… I need a run so I have to pinch hit/double switch).
Posted: 12:46 PM on April 22, 2009
Posts: 0 peasant
Rollins-
Love the guy, don’t get me wrong, but I feel the need to clarify… look at the first inning, first pitch… swinging, ground ball, one pitch out, then victorino and the rest of the gang go up there and take pitches, get 2 walks, and a couple singles, by working the counts and parra’s general wildness… and you’re telling me rollins doesn’t need to think about taking a pitch or two? face it guys, he’s the only one on this team that doesn’t seem to be taking these games seriously, and you have to wonder why he took it on himself to say what he said the other day about charlie’s comments, defensive much?
Posted: 12:58 PM on April 22, 2009
Posts: 0 peasant
just to be clear, i know rollins is more than capable of being one of the best hitters on the team, but that’s waht is so distressing about this situation, he isn’t putting 100% into the game, becuse even an “armchair” baseball player” knows, you can’t swing at the first pitch against a guy who’s known for his wildness… it’s just bad strategy and reminiscent of my little league days
Posted: 01:00 PM on April 22, 2009
Posts: 0 Griffin
While I agree that Rollins swinging at the first pitch is frustrating, I don’t necessarily see it as a sign of complacency. I also think a lot of people are just assuming that Charlie Manuel’s comments were about Rollins.
Posted: 01:07 PM on April 22, 2009
Posts: 0 Geoff
Thats why I like baseball so much. I grew up playing hockey more than any other sport, but baseball is a thinking man’s game more than any other major sport.
Its hard to explain the starter thing completely. Maybe it was juicing in the 70s but that doesnt explain the old days. maybe it was the dead ball, but that doesnt explain the insane power numbers that guys like babe ruth and the batting averages that other guys had. maybe it was that they were in better shape, maybe not. maybe they were less specialized and conditioned for special situations (i think thats a big reason). Maybe they didnt throw as hard as they do now which leads to more injuries – but some of those guys still threw hard. But the numbers that guys like Pete Alexander and Robin Roberts put up were totally insane, not to mention Steve Carlton.
I mean RJ Swindle is still a major league pitcher? his fastball is 72mph and his curveball is 52mph! that makes me want to do down to Camden and tryout for the Riversharks!
Posted: 01:14 PM on April 22, 2009
Posts: 0 Geoff
by the way, it does go to serve the point that baseball analysts talk about Manny Parra as a top prospect and some of these other guys. Meanwhile, the two times weve seen him here he has turned in two of the worst startnig performances in recent memory. Do you guys remember the one last year that got the ball rolling for the Phillies to make their surge back to the playoffs?
I was at that game – it was a Saturday and Manny Parra was starting against Hamels I think. Manny Parra lasted like 1.3 inning and gave up like 7 or 8 runs – I mean the guy couldnt hit the broadside of a barn. I think Jimmy Rollins drove a leadoff Homerun to right field right off the get go. i was also at a game last year where the highly regarded clayton kershaw lasted like 3 innings and gave up 7 runs or so.
So yeah Id be more willing to throw some pitching prospects in there due to the need to find tgood starting pitching. But you gotta make sure you know yoru own players well – because some of these guys are not as good as their farm directors think. So its a double edged sword.
Posted: 01:20 PM on April 22, 2009
Posts: 0 Don M
I wasn’t sure where else to post this. but the other day I was saying how people all were huge fans of Jason Donald, because they want to be his #1 fan from the first day he gets called up, etc..
Then on facebook. the PhilliesNation page has a link to:
“Join the Jason Donald fan club!” ….. so, yea I think people get a little carried-away.. most prospects think that Jason Donald will be a pretty good utility player.. but some Phillies fans are ready to get rid of Jimmy Rollins because Donald could take his place..
Posted: 01:30 PM on April 22, 2009
Posts: 0 Don M
Most Publications* …my bad yo’s
Posted: 01:32 PM on April 22, 2009
Posts: 1650 Tim Malcolm
Well sooner than later I’m starting the Lou Marson Fan Club, because he’ll be the greatest catcher since Johnny Bench. Probably better.
Posted: 01:48 PM on April 22, 2009
Posts: 0 Griffin
I can’t wait until Ron Jones finishes his rehab. He and Jeff Jackson are going to be cornerstones for this franchise.
Posted: 01:52 PM on April 22, 2009
Posts: 0 Don M
Probably? Better…. I thought Marson already won 20 Gold Gloves with how comfortable he looked behind the plate..
Why not start a Jimmy Rollins or Ryan Howard fan club now… they are MVPs who have actually helped us win baseball games before
Posted: 01:56 PM on April 22, 2009
Posts: 0 Kevo
Imagine Geoff at a bar arguing sports with somebody……hahahaha got a laugh outta me
Posted: 02:42 PM on April 22, 2009