Manuel misses his team's power
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Manuel misses his team's power
Bob Brookover, Inquirer Baseball Columnist
If Charlie Manuel had his way, he'd have the 1927 New York Yankees lineup and the 1990 Cincinnati Reds bullpen to go along with his 2011 starting rotation.
That's why the manager is able to list the Phillies' power numbers as a concern even though his team took a major-league best .296 batting average into Monday night's game against the Milwaukee Brewers.
"Is it a concern of mine? Yeah," Manuel said. "The year we won the World Series ... Burrell hit fifth and Jayson Werth hit sixth. And (Geoff) Jenkins hit sixth when he played (until) Werth beat him out. We had (Chase) Utley, Burrell and Jayson Werth as high on-base percentage guys, but not only that, they were also sluggers and run producers. We don't have that right now. We had some of it last year, but right now we don't have that kind of offense."
Manuel knew coming into the season that he was going to be without Werth and Utley, two guys capable of hitting 30 home runs, and he's not sure there is anybody on his current roster who can fill that role.
"First of all, your left and right fielder are supposed to hit 25 home runs and knock in close to a hundred runs," Manuel said. "When you break down the game and a team that is a prototype team and a championship team -- I know people are going to say you got the starting pitching -- but usually when you're talking about a World Series team you're talking about a top-notch team."
The manager rambled a little bit from there, but his point was that his World Series championship team and some other championship teams (see 2009 Yankees) have been built for power. The Reds fit that description a lot better than the Phillies.
"Right now, we don't have that kind of offense," Manuel said. "We could have that, but it's going to take some work and we have to improve on some areas and we need some players who have to live up to their career averarges and their career performances."
The Phillies went into Monday's game ranked 11th in home runs with 11 and 12th in extra-base hits with 38. If that makes Manuel uncomfortable, it's understandable.
In his first season as the team's manager in 2005, the Phillies finished seventh in the National League in extra-base hits and eighth in home runs. In the four seasons after that, the Phillies finished third or higher in both extra-base hits and home runs.
A year ago, the team slipped to fifth in extra-base hits and home runs.
Left fielder Raul Ibanez and right fielder Ben Francisco are two players that need to pick up the power slack in the absence of Werth and Utley. Ibanez hit 34 home runs and 32 doubles in his first season with the team in 2009, but that total slipped to 16 a year ago. He has hit 20 or more home runs in six of the last nine years and 30 or more doubles in each of the last nine seasons. He had just two doubles and a home run through the first 14 games.
Francisco has twice hit 15 home runs in his career and has two home runs and two doubles through 14 games this season. After a white-hot start, he was hitting .174 (4-for-23) in his last seven games.
In theory, the power production will improve when Utley returns from his knee injury and possibly when Dom Brown returns from the disabled list. Manuel's theory on prospects, however, is that they have to prove themselves before you can count on them.
"You can project anything you want to, but it's what the guy ends up doing," Manuel said. "I hear guys talking about prospects, but there are more prospects that fail than make it."
As much as Manuel worries, he understands how fortunate he is to have four aces at a time when the Phillies' offensive arsenal is a lot less imposing than it used to be.
"I think our pitching is definitely going to keep us in a position where we have a chance to win at the end," Manuel said. "But I think on offense we have to improve. The bottom line is we have to see where we can get those home runs from. Ryan Howard will definitely hit some. From there ..."
The manager is not sure where the power is going to come from or if it's going to come at all.
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Charlie -- Have you been reading too many of the comments here at Philly.com?... you're sounding as dim as some of your fans!. Going into today you're 10 and 4, only one team in the bigs w/ a better record -- whazzda problem? Werth gone; Francisco doing a good job. Lidge out; Contreras and Madsen doing fine. Utley out, Valdez doing a great job! Team BA?... way better than we'd have expected. Just keep your fingers crossed for good health, Chas (this time last yr Jimmy and Happ went down).- "Werth and Utley capable of hitting 30 homers" Question: How many times did Werth or Utley hit 30 homers in their careers? I bet I'll have a few fingers to spare when I'm done counting.— MVKrum
- Uncle Cholly continues to have this bent for the power game. get over it and manage.— scootch
- I'm sure Charlie is perfectly happy with his team right now but I bet some reporter baited him with a "Are you happy with your team's significant drop-off in power?" question and what do you expect him to say? The lack of power is disconcerting because this team isn't going to be hitting 0.296 a month from now. I'm not worried about them in general this season and still expect them to win the NL east but there's no question that their style of play has changed drastically since the world series win.— dmeloche1
Comment removed.- Charlie deserves some of the blame. He never gives guys like Mayberry a chance to play. He lets Ibanez play everyday (even against lefties). It's looking like Raul is about cooked and is no longer an everyday player. Rollins needs to be moved down in the order as well. Stop your whining and do something about it, Charlie.— phink
- Rolling is the worst #3 hitter in organized baseball.
— Joe Lis lives - I guess they just proved that tonight. Disgusting loss...— M60tanker
- Time to shake up the lineup. The offense is stale. Less Victorino, less Rollins, less Ibanez, less Francisco. Let's see what Martinez and Orr can do with some playing time. Make Rollins and Victorino a little uncomfortable and make them earn their playing time. Ibanez should be rested at least 2-3 games per week (and should have been starting last year). More chances for Gload, who is a professional hitter, unlike Francisco with his long looping swing. Can't be worse than what we've been seeing for the last 9 days.— psuflyers
- Charlie is right on. This offense is garbage.— n62
- Old men on the downside of their careers. Ruben is going to have to make some moves to help this offense. The players we need are not on this team right now— klew
- The Francisco project needs a break. Sit him down for a week and give Mayberry and Gload some regular at bats. When Howard went down last year, Gload stepped in and did a nice job for a month. Move Rollins down in the order. Vicotrino is not a leadoff hitter, but I don't see another option. If I had to make a lineup right now, it would be:
Victorino
Gload
Polanco
Howard
Ibanez (Mayberry vs. a lefty)
Rollins
Ruiz
Valdez
— NJguy - I agree with klew, they need to make a move to get more offense. Francisco is not the answer. Hopefully Utley and an added hitter will do the trick. No need to panic. But they do need more pop.— bossrjc
- all good comments but don't hold your breath, guys. Once you become a regular on this team, you need to do something awfully terrible for a very long time to ever lose that standing in Charlie's eyes. He has ZERO capacity for change. He prides himself on his loyalty to his guys. Somehow, in the wake of Werth leaving and Brown going down, even Francisco has earned that status now. during spring training, we were all debating and wondering whom would play RF. That fast, the decision was made - Ben Francisco - and now it is set in stone.
Same with the fraud J-Roll hitting 3rd. There is nothing this guy can do to lose his place now. One RBI in 70 AB's and 15 games...simply impossible! This guy should be hitting 8th. But nothing changes.
Same with Raul...going nowhere, will play against lefties and righties. Mayberry and Gload are bench players to Charlie, and that's that.
Same with Kendrick and Baez and Herndon and Romero...thee was nothign Stutes, Mathieson and Worley could have done in the spring to win any of those jobs. Charlie's mind was made up before it ever started because nothing makes Charlie happier than when his regular guys say how much they appreciate his loyalty and how much like to play for him..
Charlie is capable of nothing else. Thank God they have the starting staff they do; that is all that will keep them in contention this summer.— advantasux - Cap'n pop-up should hit 8th, not 3rd.— drunk13
