Phillies Nation

-J.A Happ will be the first pitcher on the mound on in the Phillies first Spring Training game against Florida State University on Wednesday. I’m looking forward to this game for the sole fact that it is finally actual baseball action. Metrics have concluded this offseason that Happ will not be on the same level as a year ago when he was the NL Rookie of the Year runner-up.

Bill James, the projectionist monarch, says Happ will win 10 games and post an era in the mid-four’s.  I’ll give J.A. a bit more confidence than that, but even if he wins 12 games and hovers around four in the ERA column, that should be looked at as a successful season for a number-four starter. Whatever the case, I would warn not to pay too much attention to Happ’s ST performance.

-The guy I’m really looking forward to seeing is Phillippe Aumont. He will throw behind Happ during Wednesday’s game and the expectations will still be rather substantial for a guy who isn’t expected to make his mark on the majors for another year, at the earliest.  He was the centerpiece of the Cliff Lee trade, meaning many eyes will be glued to his performance.

Aumont boasts a power fastball, but needs to hone his secondary pitches before he can truly be counted on as a top-of-the-line starting pitcher.  Still, if he can figure out the curve and change up he has been working on, it’ll certainly be exciting to see his maturation.  He no doubt has big shoes to fill, but what are you expecting out of Aumont? If he’s not a #1 or #2 starter in the league, will it be failure of a trade?

-J.C. Romero finally threw earlier today for the first time since elbow surgery in October. The lefty specialist hurled 23 pain-free pitches, all fastballs, as he attempts to return to his 2008 form.  He should be ready to go by the first week of the regular season, if all goes well.  And, boy, do the Phillies need him.  They need that lefty presence badly as last year it was J.A. Happ, Antonio Bastardo and Jack Taschner out of the pen, for the most part. Bastardo is a year older and wiser, Happ is a full-time starter now, and Taschner is gone.  The onus is now on Romeo to get healthy.

Brandon Lee of Mets Paradise recently sat down with Phillies Nation’s Brian Michael for an interview about the Phillies. Before they ripped each others heads off, Brandon was able to ask Brian some question about the Phillies, what he thinks of the Mets, how he thinks the Phillies will do this year, and more:

Brandon Lee:  There’s been a lot made about the Mets/Phillies rivalry, what do you think about it? How do you see the Mets?

Brian Michael: Honestly, I loathe Mets fans (and the Mets) – probably because we are so alike in many ways. We both have that inferiority complex that we’re afraid to admit, are fans from birth, are knowledgeable about our teams, and won’t back down from a fight. The rivalry on the field almost got interesting, but then the Mets faded as the Phillies made the playoffs. Conversely, the Mets were good in previous years but the Phillies were not. When both teams are playing up to their potential, it’s one of the best rivalries in baseball.

Continue reading Brian Michael’s Interview with Metsparadise.com

Spring training games start Wednesday.  Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer released the rotation for the first week of pre-season play.  The starters will throw about 45 pitches, but it is a sign that the regular season is right around the corner.

Wednesday, March 3 vs. Florida State University:  J.A Happ, Phillipe Aumont, Drew Naylor, Yohan Flande, Joe Savery, Jesus Sanchez, and David Herdon.
Thursday, March 4 vs. New York Yankees:  Roy Halladay, Kyle Kendrick, Jose Contreras, Andrew Carpenter, and Sergio Escalona. Game will be televised (tape delay) on Comcast Sportsnet and MLB Network.
Friday, March 5 at Toronto Blue Jays:  Cole Hamels and Jamie Moyer.
Saturday, March 6 at Pittsburgh Pirates:  Joe Blanton

Happ will also pitch on Sunday, Kendrick will pitch on Monday, and Halladay will pitch on Tuesday.

Each pitcher is only going to pitch about two innings, but let the Grapefruit League begin!

CSNPhilly.com Phillies insider Jim Salisbury joined The Sports Bash with Mike Gill live from Clearwater and gave an update on the state of the team early on in Spring Training.

Among the topics are Cole Hamels working on a fourth pitch, a cut fastball, and how he looks overall. Salisbury also talks about Roy Halladay and the difference he makes, Chase Utley bulking up, and Placido Polanco at his new position.

Listen to it here:  Jim Salisbury on the Sports Bash with Mike Gill

Welcome to the Phillies Nation Podcast!

Joining us today on the PN Podcast is Mandy Housenick, the Phillies beat writer from The Morning Call of Allentown.   Mandy is back in the area after her trip to Clearwater for the opening week of Spring Training.  The topics of dicussion include Cole Hamels, Brad Lidge, the bullpen situation, and the youngsters taking part in the festivities

Mandy says Cole Hamels has a renewed sense of optimism and looks to be in the best shape of his career heading into the 2010 season, which is obviously great news.  She also says he will be working diligently on that curveball, something everyone wants to see.  As for the new man in town, Roy Halladay, he’s so big and such a rock star, that the media room runs out of food every time he speaks.  Amazing.

Mandy is originally from the Wilkes-Barre area and started writing for The Times Leader in Wilkes-Barre when she was 16. She had played four sports, but was diagnosed with HCM, the same heart disease that killed college basketball star Hank Gathers, the summer going into her junior year of high school. Following that news, she started writing about sports instead of playing them. She’s a graduate of Syracuse University with a degree in Newspaper.

The Morning Call is the third full-time job she’s had. Mandy has been there for six years and is in her second year covering the Phillies. Prior to that, Many covered high school and college sports at TMC and was the backup Phillies writer. She traveled in the playoffs last season and covered every home playoff game in 2008.

Phillies Nation Podcast – Episode 25

Last week, I attended a program hosted by the Smithsonian in Washington, DC titled Baseball Umpires: A Secret Society. It was held at the National Museum of the American Indian and the crowd was comprised mostly of older white guys with a penchant for mid-century baseball. Luckily, I was sitting alongside some fellow NL East blogger friends.

The program featured former American League umpire and owner of a professional umpiring school, Jim Evans; 10-year veteran MLB umpire Ted Barrett; and New York Times columnist and author of As They See ‘Em: A Fan’s Travels in the Land of Umpires, Bruce Weber. With the help of moderator Phil Hochberg, a DC public address institution, they discussed intricacies of the strange and mysterious world of umpires. Did you know that in a given year, there are only 68 umpires in the majors, meaning less than 2,000 umpires have graced the fields of the big leagues all time?

When asked what is the hardest call to make in baseball, everyone agreed it is the steal of home.  It happened twice in the World Series and as we recall Chase Utley and Jayson Werth have done it more recently. Both Evans and Barrett said the number of things you have to watch for is unparalleled – a pitcher’s balk, catcher’s interference, batter’s interference, whether or not the pitch is a strike or ball, if there was a check swing, if it hit the batter, not to mention the fact that you are severely out of position to make the out/safe call at the plate. Evans admitted that there are undoubtedly plays where something out-of-the-ordinary happens and the out of position umpire is forced to make an educated guess on the actual outcome.

Another interesting anecdote was the one word that will warrant an automatic ejection.  It’s not the f- word, but rather “you”.  Yes, making an argument personal with the umpire (alongside a profanity-laced tirade, no doubt) will almost always get the manager sent to an early shower.

When asked about steroids in baseball, both umps said that although they did not have any direct knowledge of them being used, there were certainly players that had noticeable growth spurts that were suspicious.  This conversation led into the power of certain baseball players and Evans recalled a time when Albert Belle broke his bat on a check swing; with he and Jim Rice being the two most powerful guys they’ve experienced at the plate.

Also covered was the umpire evaluation systems which they believe has essentially has made strike zone is smaller.  Similarly, before 1975, AL umpires wore chest pads outside their uniform that made it more difficult for them to crouch behind catchers. With them standing higher, this led to an AL strike zone that sat a few inches higher than the NL.  After 1975, with the standardization of umpire uniforms, the zone regressed down to NL-standards.

Finally, when asked what’s the deal with a double plays that are turned without the SS or 2B touching second, Evans commented that they call what managers, owners and the powers-that-be want them to call. He referenced the one year, when they were instructed to call balks much more stringently. After calling 400 balks prior to the All-Star Break (the previous record was 80 in a single season), MLB reversed its policy and instructed umps call the balk less.

Being an umpire is a thankless job, but it takes a special kind of man (no women are currently in the umpiring system, but there have been a few) – one who takes pride in seeing a well-officiated game of baseball be played.  In that sense, they’re much like us fans, who just want to see an entertaining game…in which the Phillies win.  Hat tip to Kristen for the photos.

-Will J-Roll predict the future once again?  Apparently, not this year.  In Matt Gelb’s piece in the Inquirer today, Rollins shied away from his usual pre-season prognostication.  However, he did point out that he wants to steal 50 bases, score 150 runs, and hit .300.

I can see 50 steals.  With Davy Lopes at first, why the hell not.  One-hundred and fifty runs? That feat has been accomplished just 46 times in MLB history, the last coming in 2000 compliments of Jeff Bagwell. If Rollins touches home 150 times, then he certainly should be well above .300. And if that happens, look out, he could be the next MVP.  I’ll temper my expectations with Jimmy, because he was just average a year ago.  I do believe he’ll be better, but .300/150/50? Not so sure.

-Brad Lidge kicked his spring off on Monday by throwing 20 pitches off of a mound for the first time since offseason knee and elbow surgery.  Today, he watched.  As Phillies pitchers took fielding practice, Lidge peered from the sidelines as he’ll take it slow in his recovery process. The Phils closer is scheduled to pitch again tomorrow, but he said he feels completely pain free so far. Good sign.

-Jamie Moyer, too, is chomping at the bit to get healthy and to pitch again ASAP. The ageless one was able to take fielding practice with his mates today as he recovers nicely from  multiple surgeries this offseason.

It’s great to see Moyer healthy again, but lets be honest, he’s no longer someone who excites us as a part of the rotation.  He will have to work to get his spot back, as Kyle Kendrick and others want that coveted #5 spot.  But as far as his health goes, glad to see him nearing 100 percent.

-And for the news everyone wants to hear: Roy Halladay will throw tomorrow!  He’ll toss to a group of Phillies that will include Chase Utley and Raul Ibanez, although it’s rare they swing.  But come on, that just sounds cool.

-Ryan Fagan of The Sporting News broke down the Phillies for upcoming season and sees them in a rematch with the Yankees in the Fall Classic. He also sees them losing.  Hard to argue with the first part of that statement. But I’d bet there are many of you who take issue with his selection of the Yanks for back-to-back titles.

The Phillies signed Brad Wilkerson to a Minor League contract. The move was a minor addition, as the outfielder and first baseman did not receive an invite to spring training.

Wilkerson last appeared in the Major Leagues in 2008, but previously played with the Pawtucket Red Sox in 2009.  He went 1-for-9, then decided to retire.  In a Brett Favre type decision, Wilkerson changed his mind.

Wilkerson is a career .247 hitter, but was a Phillies killer throughout his eight year career, especially during his time with the Montreal Expos.  Wilkerson hit for the cycle twice in his career, including his 2005 cycle against the Phillies.

PHILLIES SIGN DANYS BAEZ TO 2 YR/$5.25 MILLION DOLLAR DEAL

The loose bolt in the 2009 Phillies arsenal was the bullpen. Call it the curse of the MLB Network, but the stars of The Pen did not live up to the standard they had set in 2008.

In this off season, Chan Ho Park made the decision to pass on the Phillies’ offer (turned out the joke was on him) and Clay Condrey was let go; so other arms had to be brought in.

RAJ looked in the direction of men who had experience closing yet refused to bid Ed Wade-like contracts. The Brandon Lyon signing is the worst contract I can remember in a long time. Fernando Rodney was not worth the money he signed for either.  After the dust settled, it was Danys Baez who was set to join the bullpen. Keep in mind, Baez hasn’t been a closer since 2005, so those thinking he can step up if Lidge falters again shouldn’t get their hopes up.

At $5.25 million over two years, the dollars aren’t overwhelming. Was it necessary to sign Baez to a two-year deal considering he missed all of 2008? Eh, maybe not. If the deal was for more money, the years would be a bigger issue; so it is still a low-risk level contract considering the dollars. However if J.C. Romero can’t return to the form that earned him his own multi-year deal, there is a lot of risk in the role that I think Baez is going to be asked to fulfill.

Last year, Baez rebounded from an abysmal 2007 season, in which he posted an 0-6 record with a 6.44 ERA and 1.57 WHIP to go along with 1:1 BB:K ratio by posting a 4-6 clip in 59 games with a 4.02 ERA and a very good 1.13 WHIP.

The strikeouts haven’t been there for Baez over the past few seasons though, and that is a factor that could lead to some problems. When your relievers are putting too many balls into play, nothing good normally comes of it.

Was last year’s 1.13 WHIP a product of good placement of his pitches or was his .232 BAbip luck? Maybe 2006’s .305 BAbip just bad luck?

Baez isn’t going to light the world on fire as he hasn’t had an ERA under 4.00 since 2005, but if he can perform like last year he could definitely fill a prominent role in the bullpen. Just a matter of which Baez did Amaro lock up for two years…

BEERMAN’S GRADE: C

The very last role up for grabs for the Phillies entering this spring is that of the fifth starting pitcher, a job whose candidates include Jamie Moyer, Kyle Kendrick and Jose Contreras, among others. With speculation abounding and personal choices varying, it seems there is no clear-cut favorite for the job as camp opens this week in Clearwater.

Just how valuable and vital is the fifth starter, though? Does the fate of the 2010 season rest solely on the decision between Moyer and Kendrick, between Contreras and Andrew Carpenter? Let’s take a look at some history, and value the contributions of the fifth starter on the decade’s last three championship teams.

Continue reading How Important is the Fifth Starter?