Putting 0 for 34 in context
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Putting 0 for 34 in context
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
Phillies left fielder Raul Ibanez is now hitless in his last 34 at-bats. (Matt York/AP Photo)
Sunday night ended early for Raul Ibanez, who has now gone 14 days and 34 at-bats without a hit. He was double-switched out of the game in the ninth inning after at-bat No. 34 yielded a weak grounder to second with the bases loaded and two outs in a tie game.
Ibanez is down to .154 for the season and it is beginning to get ugly. Consider this: Ibanez's hitless streak is the sixth-longest for a non-pitcher in modern Phillies history, according to Baseball Reference. Granted, lots of game-by-game and play-by-play data from pre-World War years is unavailable, but this is what we have:
1. Danny Murtaugh -- 36 AB (1942-43)
2. Len Matuszek -- 36 AB (1982-83)
3. Desi Relaford -- 36 AB (1998)
4. Denny Doyle -- 35 AB (1970-71)
5. Joe Morgan -- 35 AB (1983)
The all-time record in all of baseball? That would be 46 at-bats by Brooklyn's Bill Bergen in 1909.
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Comments (50)
Comment removed.
Nieves had 35 hitless AB spanning 5 years? Unbelievable.
— EL Zorro- As the list shows, hitless streaks are something the Phillies have historically done well.— dasher
- Nothing more than a prolonged slump. Ibanez is a consummate professional and a first-clas guy. Charlie will give him every opportunity to make the neccessary adjustments and I'm betting on Rauuuul regaining his stroke. Go Phils!— Marcus Hooke
- I like Raul and it's hard to see him struggle but this is more than a slump. I think he's hit only 3 balls hard in his last 34 AB's. Last night in the 7th with 2 runners on, Young struggling to throw strikes and with a 2-0 count, Raul couldn't hit a fastball that he was sitting on. Cholly needs to give him a week off - first to see what Mayberry can do and second, to give Raul one last shot at finding his swing. — jimyd0315
- um, I believe 0-34 is more than enough opportunity to break out of his slump; time down with the 'Pigs should be the next step...— M60tanker
- Continue the platoon with Mayberry.— Joe at the shore
- ibanez looks weak. that's what happens when you get too old to play the game. retire him.— tockeyhockey
- BEGINNING to get ugly!! Matt, do you have a pulse?— Ron Datesman
- @Marcus - nobody will disagree with you that Raul is a first-class guy. That being said, his swing looks awful, and he is missing very hitable pitches that he can't seem to get around on or he has to start his swing so early that he is committing to bad pitches. Meanwhile, Mayberry is hitting well and needs some more ABs.— dankil13
- Well, the shift to Mayberry is already happening, just without fanfare... I know it's unusual, but AAA will soon have to be a consideration for Ibanez. Keep giving him spot starts against some right-handers, for a little while. But as the Phillies start to finally play some quality opponents in May, they'll no longer be able to afford his anemic presence in the lineup. Since pinch-hitting is highly unlikely to help Ibanez out of his slump, you give the man every chance possible by sending him to the IronPigs.— PhilaLogic
- Raul needs to shorten his swing and try just hitting singles to get his confidence back.— rperri
- Hate to see Raul in this slump. He is a great guy. He will get the funk out of him soon I hope. Hate to see him out of the line up.
Come on Rauuullll— cdm48 - With his playing time, he can't be sent to the minors unless he agrees to go. A trade isn't likely to happen with his contract. So he sticks around and it's a question of how Charlie tries to use him and get him out of this slump. Going to the DL might be the best thing. It would take the pressure off everyone and give him time to work on his swing in rehab and minor league play. Brown needs to get more starts for now but Ibanez still has to start some games. He's been very streaky before so the optimist in me says he'll come out of it. But he's looking pretty lost at the plate. I feel bad for the guy. He had that great year when he came from Seattle and he's a good guy. Every time he comes up I'm hoping he gets that hit.— s
- dude needs a smaller, lighter bat..— AlonzoMoselyFBI
- I respectfully request that the Sports Writer's guild file an appeal to the Commissioner's Office to modify the term 'Mendoza Line' to read 'Ibanez Line.'— Sam Crow
- I think the point here is that this is more then a slump . Since the secondhalf of 2009 ,Ibanez has not been the same kind of hitter he has been throughout his career.Its been evident to me and i suspect others that Raul has seen his better days and is not an everyday player anymore and maybe worse.
This has been true of Jroll also ,but noone wants to talk about it.
Two years ago and the first half of last year you couldnt wait for the Phils on offense.Every inning had the threat of scoring. Now it is almost painful to watch them flailing away with outside of Howard no real power threat in a park built for the long ball.The Phils will be down at least 100 hrs this year which will amount to a lot less scoring.
I hope Utley can come back and play at his former level but Ihave my doubts after last year.
the fans need amaro to get something done quickly for the fans who have supported this team so strongly.They are boring to watch and in real danger of not making the playoffs with this second rate lineup.— gardner - What about the second half of 2010? Pretty good numbers. — macrich2
- That's in insult to Mendoza! You can call .150 the Ibanez line and save .200 for Mendoza!— tbaldosa
- Agree that Raul is a class guy; however, always thought there was something strange about his half-year of real production in 2009. Others pointed out his swing starts way back and takes forever to get to the front of the plate. Worth a try using a lighter bat and shorter stroke to speed up his bat. I've seen 80 year grandmothers with more bat speed than Raul.
Though Ryan had one of his best AB's on that flair to left that drove in Mayberry. I know he's not paid to dink singles in the opposite field, but it demonstrated real situational hitting something the other lunk-heads--Jimmy and Shane---don't seem to understand. Where the hell is GG and Charlie reminding these guys the object of the game is to score runs and be smart about your AB's? As much as I like GG and thought he was a good hitter, he must not be a very good instructor to produce such an anemic offense. Afraid that Utley won't be much good if he's concerned about further damage from going side to side. Get ready for a season of 2-1, 1-0, 3-2, won't be fun to watch.— mad2002mad - Geez, Gardner. One might think that the "fans who have supported this team so strongly" might consider the starting pitching as "something" that RAJ has already done to alleviate the loss of some power in the line up. As far as "boring to watch," I think most real baseball fans are pretty happy watching guys like Halladay, Lee, Oswalt and Hamels work. I could be wrong, though. Maybe some other fans can chime in on this.
— Zee77 - Maybe not boring to watch, but half the game is painful to watch. Except for when big piece is up, there's no threat. Oh, sorry, forgot about Polly. And to some degree, Chooch. But the rest of the lineup is mediocre at best at the plate. Did anyone really think they were giong to score another run last night? Coulda played 45 innings.
Raul has to sit, his bat is slower than ever, and he has no power. Can't even get the ball to the warning track. Mayberry, get in there for Pipp.
How about platooning Mayberry and Raul for a while, but let Gload get some OF reps in right and move BenFran to left on those nights? Let some of these other guys get some reps now, cause we're gonna need them soon. Better teams coming this month!— Eephus - Come on Raul, we miss chanting RRRRRRAAAAAAUUUULLLLLLL!!!!!!!!— PhilliefaninAZ
- So how does it work if he goes 0-4 and breaks the record? Do they stop the game and give him the ball?— farley
- Can't say I disagree that Raul's bat looks too heavy...or that he's obviously lost the bat speed necessary to hit the way he's done in the past. My hope...like many before me in this post.. is he makes the necessary adjustments soon as he's too classy to deserve being booed. IMHO— dri_as_a_bone
- I know Chasrlie loves the guy, but nothing seems to be helping. The only thing we know for sure is that it is eating this guy alive. Hope like crazy that this solid, first class guy will start helping The Cause sooner rather than later. The only good thing in all of this is what our pitching is doing. ALL of them...not just The Four Aces. The last thing we want to see is the pitchers souring on their teammates. We need a few games of GOOD offense just so they feel they're not in this without help.— TBear
- This is very easy to put in context. He roided up to get a big payday and now he is nearly 39 and probably off roids. Whats so hard about that.— Justaschmuck
- 15 day DL. He has to have a sore back that will allow him to get away to CLearwater for a couple of weeks.— Clt Philly Fan
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The trouble is that the next off speed pitch Mayberry hits will be his first. There are no better options, so cholly just has to keep writing him into the lineup and hope that he will get it going. Very painful to watch. How long before the idiots that booed hamels start booing Rauuullll— blaqjaq - So you missed that Saturday nationally televised game on Fox where he deposited a 2-strike, off speed pitch into the seats to tie the game? — jtj06
- he's done.......class act....absolutely!.......
but finished......its sad— ghostmarine - One week off— shawnmac
- Hard to believe that Morgan had that streak in '83. He was so hot at the end of the year; he carried the team the last few weeks.— phillyinsd
- How old is Ibanez? Many of the Latin players have bogus birth years. He looks a lot older than 39 and the Phillies are stuck with his contract through the year.— DameB
how old was joe morgan when this happened? i liked raul, but he's clearly and unfortunately done— MPatt24- Right now, Ibanez is the good excuse to allow slumping players to use steoids— TEDcGEGI
- He came up with the bases loaded and you knew he wouldn't get a hit. Why didn't Charlie know? Can it be that there is no one, not one person, in AAA, AA or A that can hit? If so, we need to hire better scouts. It cannot be with all the Div. I baseball programs there is no one out there. CANNOT BE.— BigMike100
- Raul is not hitting and Mayberry is not a full time answer. Platoon 'em!
- I think Mike Lieberthal was a good Phillies catcher and he was a much better hitter than Brian Schneider. But Lieby doesn't play anymore. He's 39. Most guys that age are done (Carlos Delgado, Shawn Green, Cliff Floyd, Chris Singleton, Rondell White, ...)— jtj06
- To put it in perspective (NOT "context"), Raul is TOO OLD. There has never been a 38 or 39 yo everyday time OF. Never.— mrnmkr
- Next stop, Eagles.— Theo1980
- Geez, he's 39, this isn't just a hitting slump, it is what happens to power hitters when age gets them. It is often quite sudden like this -- though in Ibanez's case, we saw it last year too.
What's killing him is lack of bat speed. That's why he's not hitting long balls, it's why he can't get around on fastballs, it's why he has to commit early and strikes out a lot.
Ibanez is a once great player but he is done. He may get hot here and have a few more good weeks, but the cost of waiting for that is high and there are good players (Mayberry and Brown) who are ready for their chance.
— tomB - Connie Mack would have him bunt 2 or 3 times and then when successful, hit and run a few times;....if neither of those works to build confidence send him down to Lehigh for 100 AB to feed off some lesser pitching and gain confidence— SyddBarrett
- Succerssful 39 year olds are the exception...not the rule! Raul is cooked!— Prausch
- Not a slum. It's the new reality. Have him sell crab fries instead.— Steve Jeltz
- he needs to start his HGH again— arrowamy
- Like most guys commenting on this, I respect Raul's competency and professionalism. But at 0-34, it's time he get a rest and/or platoon with Mayberry. We really can't wait till after the All Star break for Raul to get his hitting act together. He has been, so far, the Greg Dobbs of the 2011 season.— pajamas
- People are forgetting about how lousy of an arm Ibanez has as well! When you throw a three bouncer from right behind short shop, you suck! Time to cut him loose, you won't get anything for him in a trade!— BatterUp
- Baseball is a cruel game. Slumps, like hitting streaks, are a function of A - mechanics, B - mental approach, and C - luck. A guy with Raul's track record has the best shot at rebounding from an 0-fer like this. I say rebound, b/c it will end at some point. The tough part will be not just finding his stroke but maintaining it long enough (in stretches) to reach his norm. IF he struggles to produce once the funk has ended, you can start with the 'over the hill' stuff. I still see him as a productive hitter, but it'll be interesting.— KNuff
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The Phillies Zone is the place for up-to-the-minute Phillies coverage from the Inquirer.
Matt Gelb
Inquirer Staff Writer
Bob Brookover
Inquirer Baseball Columnist
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