Joe the Pitcher

For anybody who has not been watching the Phillies in the playoffs this season they are unaware of how well mid-season acquisition Joe Blanton has played. The guy has done nothing but win and with last night's victory he helped the Phillies step one game closer to bringing the city of Philadelphia their first taste of champagne since 1983.

The 10-2 victory in game four by the Phillies was blown wide open late in the game when Ryan Howard capped off the night with his second home run of the evening, scoring two after Jayson Werth had hit a two run home run earlier in the eighth inning. Having no need for Brad Lidge in the rout of the Rays, J.C. Romero closed it out in relief. Winning early in the morning in game three the Phillies showed no signs of sleep deprivation and jumped out to a 2-0 lead early.

Jimmy Rollins got things off on the right foot with a lead off double in the bottom of the first and was the beneficiary of a blown call when the third base umpire missed a tag from Evan Longoria during a run down between third base and home plate. While Rollins got away with "missed tag" the Rays could have had an inning ending double play if they had used proper baseball logic. As a result the bases were loaded on the fielder's choice and Pat Burrell worked a walk off of Rays pitcher Andy Sonnanstine to force Rollins home for the 1-0 lead. The Phillies left the bases loaded but in the end it would not matter.

Leading 2-1 in the fourth inning the Phillies took a firm grip on game four when Ryan Howard blasted an opposite field home run scoring three runs with Rollins and Werth on base. The Rays responded in the top of the fifth by getting one run back on a bomb to dead center field from pinch hitter Eric Hinske but Blanton was unfazed. In the bottom of the same inning Blanton would smack his first career home run, getting the run back all by himself. If you see a replay of the Blanton home run, the first home run in a World Series by a pitcher since 1974, just watch the sheer joy on Blanton's face. It is classic. He must have known he hit it out of the park when he made contact, judging by his face.


When Blanton's night was done he had recorded six full innings of work, allowing two runs on four hits, striking out seven and walking two. Chad Durbin, Scott Eyre, Ryan Madson and Romero combined to work the final three innings without letting Tampa Bay cross the plate. Some of the "experts" told you before the World Series started that the Rays had the decisive advantage in pitching. You were told that Cole Hamels aside, the Rays have the better starting rotation. You were also told by many hat the bullpen of the Rays was better. Say what now?

While Blanton pitched a solid game it was the offense that carried the team in game four. Rollins has been on fire since returning home to Philadelphia. Going 3-5 last night it was Rollins who set the table for the offense. Howard hit two home runs for five RBI's. Only Burrell and Shane Victorino failed to get a hit. Showing patience at the plate was once again successful for the Phillies on offense. Rays pitchers only struck out the Phillies four times. Conversely the Rays struck out 12 times.

So here we are, the Phillies one game away from a championship. Game five will see baseball's best pitcher this post season when Hamels takes the mound for the Phillies in the key role. Is there anybody else Phillies fans would want to see pitching tonight? Let me answer that for you.


Not a chance.

Read more...

Phillies World Series Pitching Breakdown

Notice that the headline is not "Phillies Pitching Breaking Down".

When it comes to playoff baseball, pitching wins. If that is the case then we are in for a good World Series when the Phillies take on the Rays starting Wednesday. The Phillies will send their ace, Cole Hamels, to the mound in game one Wednesday night to counter Scott Kazmir. Let us take a look at the Phillies' starting pitching for the World Series, how they have gotten here and what we can expect to see once the umpire yells "Play ball!"

Cole Hamels
Hamels has been having a terrific year in 2008. Pitching a career high in innings pitched he also struck out 196 while only walking 53 batters. The lefty's dominance reached a new level once the post season began. Proving himself to be the ace of the staff Hamels got the Phillies' World Series run off on the right foot in game one in the NLDS against the Brewers.

Hamels pitched eight shut out and shut down innings for the Phillies, allowing only two hits, one walk and striking out nine. Handing off a 3-0 lead to Brad Lidge without breaking a sweat, Hamels would not pitch until game one of the NLCS against the Dodgers. In two appearances against Los Angeles Hamels went fourteen innings. In those fourteen innings Hamels was dominant yet again, striking out fourteen, walking five, and yielding three runs. Hamels earned two victories in the NLCS and was awarded the NLCS MVP for his efforts.

Hamels features one of the best changeups in the game. What makes it so dangerous to opposing batters is his arm speed. When Hamels is throwing the ball towards home plate a batter can not tell the difference in arm speed between his fastball and his changeup. The ability to hide his pitch will pay dividends against a young team like Tampa if they fail to show patience. Even if they do show patience Hamels can be difficult to combat because his location is excellent. If the umpires are calling the corners with a healthy strike zone then Hamels will feast on the swing happy Rays.

Hamels will face Kazmir in game one Wednesday night.

Brett Myers
I like to refer to the right handed Myers as the "wild card" of the starting rotation. Phillies fans know of the struggles of Myers and his wild ride in 2008, but for the benefit of everybody let us review it.

Myers ended the 2007 seaosn as the Phillies' closer but the addition of Lidge meant a move of Myers back to the starting rotation. Adament about coming in from the bullpen still, maybe as if he was going to win the closing role from Lidge, the Phillies named him the opening day starter, a move controversial at the time because we all knew Hamels was the true ace of the team. It was a move to silence Myers' desires to come in from the bullpen and at first it did not seem to work. Myers struggled early, starting out 3-9. He was sent to triple A ball in Lehigh to get himself straightened out. Was it mental? Was there something wrong physically? Who knows. He had no fastball, throwing at a velocity even Jamie Moyer might challenge at times, and Myers was throwing balls right down the middle. Meatball after meatball.

Since coming back from triple A Myers has been good more often than not. In fact he may have been the best pitcher the Phillies had coming down the stretch. When he didn't end the season well, getting shelled by Atlanta and Florida in his last two starts, the questions about Myers grew entering the NLDS. Myers has had a memorable post season so far, but the stats don't show it. While Myers has been doing more damage as a batter (4-for-5, three runs scored, three RBI, and one walk), Myers is 2-0 as a pitcher. In twelve innings pitched Myers has allowed seven runs, wlaked seven, struck out ten and allowed eight hits. The ERA stands at 5.25.

Personally I feel it would be a mistake to start Myers in game two on the road. Myers is the type of pitcher that feeds off of the home crowd in Citizens Bank Park. He plays to the crowd and lives off of the fans. It seems that Moyer would be the better fit for game two (more on him in a moment) and Myers for game three, but then again why should Phillies manager Charlie Manuel switch things up now? His team is 7-2 in the playoffs with this pitching rotation. He has gotten out of some key jams in the playoffs so far and will have to remain cool when Tampa puts the pressure on. How he reacts will be something to watch.

Myers will oppose James Shields in game two.


Jamie Moyer
The crafty lefty is sure to break out of his slump sooner or later, right? Moyer may have been the most reliable pitcher for the Phillies in the regular season, winning sixteen games and striking out 123 while walking only 62, but he is sure having a postseason to forget so far. The only games that the Phillies have lost have come when Moyer got the start.

It is tough to hand all of the blame to Moyer though as he has been in the toughest situations for the Phillies so far this post season. With his team up 2-0 in the NLDS and NLCS Moyer was given the responsibility of taking the mound for the first road games in each series. He struggled early against the Brewers who were amped to play their first home playoff game since 1982. Showing uncharacteristic patience at the plate the Brewers took advantage of Moyer's style. Moyer will start games by working the corners, testing the umpire's judgment of the strike zone as well as the batter's ambitions at the plate. The Brewers took pitches that they normally would not and Moyer struggled to ever find the strike zone. While Moyer was able to keep the Phillies close the offense failed to bail him out of the game, handing him a tough loss.

Game three of the NLCS was much of the same. While Moyer was making better pitches it was the Dodgers who possessed the unbelievable bats and found a way to hit everything, scoring five runs in the first inning. It was once again a bad situation for Moyer, who once again took the mound for the first road game against a potent offense looking to make a statement in the their first home game.

Ugly numbers alert! Moyer has pitched 5.1 innings, allowing ten hits, eight runs, one home run, and three walks. Moyer does have five strike outs but his 2008 post season ERA stands at 13.50.

What makes Moyer a good pitcher is his baseball IQ. HE won't throw above 85mph and he has no problem stalling the game to throw to first or second to keep runners close. His stance is unique in that he doesn't have to decide whether to throw a pitch or try to keep the runner close (or if lucky pick a runner off stealing) until very late in his windup. The Rays are a run happy team and have yet to be caught stealing in he playoffs. If they get on base prepare yourself for a long, drawn out inning. If you have watched a game between the Phillies and Mets or Marlins this year you know what to expect from Moyer. Just ask José Reyes.

As mentioned though Moyer is about location. If Moyer struggles early but hangs in there he will make the necessary adjustments when it comes to plate approach. Perhaps getting a home start will be good for Moyer as well.

Moyer will oppose ALCS MVP Matt Garza in game three.

Joe Blanton
Blanton, a mid season acquisition, is scheduled to start game four for the Phillies, but if things look desperate it would be interesting to see if Hamels gets his second start a little early. I wouldn't count on it though knowing Manuel's managerial style. Blanton has turned out to be a very good pick up by general manager Pat Gillick. Since coming to Philadelphia Blanton has not recorded a loss. While some of his games have not gone smoothly the offense seemed to bail him out.

Blanton is 2-0 in the playoffs, pitching eleven innings. In his post season work this year Blanton has allowed four runs, struck out eleven, and walked four. Following up Moyer's game three losses Blanton has helped the Phillies respond with two game four victories, the first an NLDS clincher in Milwaukee.

There is nothing too special about Blanton. Throwing with a fastball in the low 90's, a slider and changeup, his best pitch is his changeup. It is similar to the changeup of Barry Zito, which makes sense because they used to be teammates. Blanton's success comes form his ability to not get rattled. He he lets base runners on he is not likely to worry too much, although he will hurry things up a bit with his approach.

Blanton is slated to face Andy Sonnanstine in game four in Philadelphia.

---------
So there you have it. The Phillies appear to have some strong pitching if they each pitch to their best abilities and could do well in the World Series. Questions remain to be answered though. Here are my one sentence thoughts on each pitcher, to sum up the above..

Cole Hamels: He's an ace.
Brett Myers: He's a nutcase.
Jamie Moyer: If anybody can put two bad starts behind him, it is this guy
Joe Blanton: If he gets the Phillies to the sixth they're fine, and even better if he gets to the seventh.

Read more...

Stairs Way to Heaven

NOTE: I swear I wrote this before checking my Google Reader and finding that Todd Zolecki used the same headline.

Matt Stairs has just penned his name into the lore of Phillies baseball and the hearts of their fans forever. He made his own path to Philadelphia heaven in the city of angels.

One win away from the World Series is where the Phillies now find themselves after last night's game four of the National League Championship Series. If you went to bed early frustrated with the Phillies I don't blame you necessarily, although you should know that a Phillies game is never over until the final out is recorded. The Phillies turned an abysmal loss in which Ryan Howard handed the Dodgers a 5-3 lead into one for the ages with a dramatic come from behind victory. Philadelphia won 7-5.

Talk about a back and forth game. This was it. The Phillies jumped on Derek Lowe and his short rest early, scoring two runs in the first inning. Chase Utley, who has been playing very well in this series, hit a double down the right field line to score Jimmy Rollins and advance Jayson Werth to third. Ryan Howard grounded out but drove home Werth and moved Utley to third. Things were looking good. Giving Joe Blanton a two run lead to start the game would be huge.

Blanton allowed a run in the first inning, cued by a slug bunt hit by Rafael Furcal over the head of Greg Dobbs. But Blanton only allowed the lone run in the first inning and pitched effectively through five innings. Los Angeles was able to score three times off of Blanton who was showing signs of fatigue in the fifth inning. Leaving the game down 3-2 may have been demoralizing for Blanton but the Phillies scored a run in the top of the sixth inning to tie the game when Ryan Howard scored on a wild pitch. When the Dodgers came up in the sixth inning is when the insanity started.

Chad Durbin came in to relieve Blanton and promptly let the Dodgers retake the lead on a lead off home run by Casey Blake, who was pushed by his teammates to take a curtain call. Durbin then gave up a double to Juan Pierre and then a walk to pinch hitting Matt Kemp. With nobody out and two on Charlie Manuel called on Scott Eyre to try and wiggle his way out of Durbin's mess. But the mess was just beginning.

Rafael Furcal put down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners but was safe when Howard picked up the ball and threw wide, glancing off of Chase Utley's glove into right field. Pierre scored and Kemp and Furcal each advanced a base to put two men in scoring position with nobody out. I admit I was yelling "Ryan Howard just threw the game away! He just threw the game away!" Premature obviously. I let my emotions get the best of me. I calmed down a bit and said if the Phillies could get out of that inning without any more damage then they had plenty of time to come back. Genius, right?

Andre Ethier lined out to Howard for the first out. Manny Ramirez was intentionally walked to load the bases with one out in hopes of a double play. Ryan Madson then came in and got the much needed double play when Russell Martin lined to second base where Chase Utley made the play of the game, diving to tag second base to double off Furcal at second. That was the defensive play of the series so far.

After a solid seventh inning from both teams the fireworks were about to start in the eight inning. With the score finding the Dodgers in front with a 5-3, the Phillies were looking to get something going with what was likely to be the meat of the lineup's last try. Howard lead off the inning with a single up the middle in to center field. Shift that. Pat Burrell popped up, failing to advance Howard. Then the villain came to the plate.

Shane Victorino, full of emotions from his grandmother passing and the incident from the previous night, tied the game with a two run home run that lined just over the wall in right field and into the Phillies dugout. All of a sudden the Phillies were breathing a sigh of relief. The game was tied late and who knew what would happen next.

Pedro Feliz lined out sending Carlos Ruiz out to try and extend the inning. Ruiz did just that, sending a single in to left field and setting up Stairs for the most dramatic home run of his career. Stairs, a veteran of the game, showed great patience at the plate in drawing a 3-1 count. Stairs then let loose on the next pitch and drilled one to deep right field midway up the seats in the right field section. It was a moon shot. No question about it. This one will be remembered by Phillies fans for a long time. It was majestic.

With that the Phillies had an improbable 7-5 lead in the eight inning. From there it was all about getting the game to Brad Lidge. J.C. Romero did just that, retiring the first two batters he faced when he got Ethier to ground in to a double play. Now batting, Manny Ramirez.

Rather than have Romero go after Ramirez Charlie Manuel brought in his closer for a four out save opportunity. With a two run lead it did not matter what Ramirez did, and Lidge almost got him but Ramirez made Lidge look like nothing with a double into right center. With Russell Martin up you had to feel good that Lidge would get the third out of the eighth. He did with a strike out but the ball got away from Ruiz and Martin (and Ramirez) each advanced a base. Now all of a sudden the Dodgers had runners at the corner with two outs. But Lidge had no fear. He knows Ruiz makes the stop much more often than not. No need to sweat with a two run lead. Lidge then got James Loney to pop out to left field.

The ninth inning was just played as a formality as Lidge finished the deal with a perfect ninth inning. The Phillies had just stolen a game from the Dodgers and with it a commanding 3-1 lead in the series.

I mean it when I say that this was probably the best baseball game I have ever seen, at least the best Phillies game I have ever seen. Tuesday is a well deserved day off for both teams, but the Phillies have the advantage on Wednesday when they send Cole Hamels to the mound likely against Chad Billingsley.

One win away from the World Series

Read more...

Phillies vs. Dodgers: Game Four Open Thread

The National League East Division champion Philadelphia Phillies visit the National League West Division champion Los Angeles Dodgers in game four of the National League Championship Series. The Dodgers won the third game 7-2 and the Phillies have a 2-1 lead in the series.

Game time: 8:22 pm
Where to watch: Fox
Radio: 1210AM, 950 ESPN

NLCS: Phillies lead 2-1

Pitching Match-ups: Joe Blanton (Phillies 1-0, 1.50) - Derek Lowe (Dodgers 1-1, 3.18)

Injury Report: PHILLIES - Tom Gordon (60 day DL) DODGERS - Takashi Saito (Day to day), Scott Proctor (Day to day)

Read more...