A May litmus test
Up to the minute Philadelphia sports news, Phillies, 76ers, Eagles, Flyers, college sports and more from Philly.com
A May litmus test
Matt Gelb
ON A TRAIN — Ignore the hype, the concocted PR scams for attention, and the indignant fans who think they are taking it to The Man by spending money at an opponent's ballpark. Enjoy this weekend for what it is.
When was the last time the Phillies had a true in-season division rivalry? Hasn't happened in the last two seasons I've covered the team. Does it date all the way back to 2008 when the Mets collapsed for the final time? Possibly.
Sure, the Braves are always a presence. But other than a mid-September series in 2010 and the elimination final weekend in 2011, there has been little at stake. Truth is, the Phillies have barely been threatened during the past three regular seasons.
So why is this fun? Well, in Washington, you have an upstart team with younger talent and some gruff. Remind you of anything?
In reality, the Nationals are quite similar to these Phillies. They pitch the ball well. They do not hit the ball well.
Like the Phillies, their offensive anemia can be partially blamed on injuries. Michael Morse hit .303 with 31 home runs in 2011 and may not play in 2012 until mid-June at the earliest. Ryan Zimmerman, the franchise's cornerstone, is on the disabled list. Adam LaRoche has been their best hitter in 2012 only to succumb to a side muscle injury Thursday. He'll likely miss this weekend's games.
The Phillies have actually outscored Washington in 2012, 3.73 runs per game to 3.28. Both are below the league average of 4.03.
Washington's pitching? It's good, albeit in a small sample size. They lead the league with a mind-numbing 2.41 ERA. Four of their five starting pitchers have an ERA below 1.89; the lone exception is Edwin Jackson.
Stephen Strasburg, who blew out his elbow the last time he faced the Phillies, has the majors' lowest mark at 1.13. He has struck out 34 in 32 innings with only 22 hits and six walks. He starts the opener Friday.
And then there is 19-year-old wunderkind Bryce Harper. He is 6 for his first 16 with four doubles. He's already batting third in Davey Johnson's lineup. He is a player Phillies fans will love to hate for years and years to come.
Before leaving Las Vegas for spring training, Shane Victorino worked out with Harper, who also lives in the area. They trained at Bishop Gorman High School.
"He was in the outfield and he was asking questions and wanting to learn," Victorino said. "We were talking baseball. He was very humble. Whatever is portrayed... I can see where people are going to feel that way about him. Like I say the same thing too. 'Like, really? Come on, Bryce.' But at 14 years old, this guy was known as the best player in the country. And in all of his life that’s all he’s ever known. So he has to go out there with some kind of confidence."
Oh yeah, this could be fun.
Have a question? Send it to Matt Gelb's Mailbag.
Stephen Strasburg and wunderkind Bryce Harper. The league will catch up to these kids. It will take time to find out if they can climb out valleys they most certainly will travel
— Ron- Im with you Nugget on Werth. How many of these fans would have turned down the Nats offer? Jayson had a chance for this huge contract due in part to the success he had with the Phills. Werth is a lot better than the player he was in 2011 but still was overpaid.— Don w
- Nationals own the Phils. They are young and hungry with a very good manager. The Phils can't hit and their bullpen is terrible right now.The umpires helped the Nats out tonight but, the bullpen blew the lead once again. Charlie needed a rest so he got thrown out of the game in the first inning. Good move.— Pap
- Shame to loose this game. Umps missed Ruiz ground ball over 3rd which would ha ve scored a run. Victorino safe at 3rd. Some wonderfull defense by Phills. two good plays by Rollins, outstanding catch by Shane good play by Galvis on poor throw to get runner trying to steal... Wiggington helped Rodriguez by swinging at ball four, but then again it's easier getting it right sitting in front of TV. How could Nats manager not walk Ruiz in the 9th? Luckily it turned out right. Didnt understand walking Nady. Phills pitcher was having trouble throwing strikes and Qualls wound up pitching to a lefthanded hitter which is his problem. Again it turned out right.— Don w
- Amaro please unload the entire bullpen and build around Papelbon. Nobody out there in the pen is worth a 5.00 bill.— eaglesman1
- I am just wondering is Also Rand related to Ayn Rand? And Atlas Shrugged.— Smoothellc
- could someone in the organization help pack that piece of garbage Contreras's baggage and get him a ticket out of town.— eaglesman1
- could someone in the organization help pack that piece of garbage Contreras's baggage and get him a ticket out of town.— eaglesman1
- They just won April. Haven't been at 500 ever. It's too early. Their rivalry is with their fans. They can't get them to go to a game unless Strasburg is pitching or the Phillies are in town. We pack it night in and night out.
- Do you really think Nats and Phils will fight for last place? The Phils will, but the Nats will be on top.— 2smart4philly
- phillies please please please sweep the series! i am so tired of hearing these irritating virginia nats fans brag about being on top...in what? may?— arm320
- Will the Phillies get a hit tonight? There is not an exciting batter in our lineup.— 4thand10
- The Phillies are turning into the Braves of the mid 90's. After the Braves won the WS in '95 and then lost to the Yanks in '96 they regressed each year in the playoffs. They had great starting pitching and old veteran hitters starting to lose it. That's the Phils of 2012. It'll be surprising if we even win the division. The only difference is the Phils fill the stadium and the Braves never do.— jck
- Not a rivalry yet nor will it be until games are really meaningful like Aug/Sept. I thnik the Nats have improved but gotta see that for more than just 1 month +— glove69
- antjam0507 - I thought it was a national assumption that the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry has been over played and significantly died down the past five years.?
Regardless, the only real rivalries in baseball are developed over the rich history of this sport. Cubs-Cardinals, Dodger-Giants. The only rivalries in today's game are short lived and totally depend on who his fighting for the division at the time. It takes decades of battles and superiority to gain a rivalry.
Follow at @ShortStopBall— ShortStopBall - He may be the second coming of Clint Hartung (LOOK it up youngsters)— NewMick314
- I grew up near Washington as a child and remember the Senators in three incarnations that just were just plain rotten. I incidentally got to watch the Phillies on television coming in from Lancaster and fondly fremember Richie Ashburn and announcer Byron Saam. Please, some mercy, the people down here have been praying for a winning team since the days of Walter Johnson (long before my time). We will give you some good competitive baseball as we improve. Believe me, the fans here are as pleasantly surprised as the majority of your fans are not. It will be eighteen memorable games this season.— skeebor
- I wish Brad Lidge wasn't on the DL to hear his awesome reception.
- So do the Phils have any Harpers or Stevens in the minors? No, but they do have some pitching that might have to help very very soon if the Pen implodes again as it has in the last week. Hey, ESPN actually had the Nats thinking of putting Werth on waivers . Would anyone pick him up?? LOL Werth is there to stay and getting him out will be a great amount of fun for the fans.— Koons
- Check Reading Phillies web site, just because the national media doesn't cover anything but # 1 guys doesn't mean that we don't have a few guys raising their game right now and AA is where you start to see them. Koons , do you know who made that report at ESPN about Werth or were you funnin us.
— DUDESKINS - The stupidity of fans forgetting how Werth helped us win a WS and now booing and mocking him shows no class or intelligence...OK don't root for him.....but he was one of us and when he got a lottery ticket contract he left.....Can you blame him and which one of you yahoos would not have done the same thing...— nuggett
- Jason Werth quote from his first Nats spring training:
"I hate the Phillies.They ended up paying him (Cliff Lee) a lot more than they would’ve signed him the year before," Werth said. "Then we would have had him. Chances are if they signed him before they traded him, it probably would’ve made it a little easier to sign me.”
I doubt we would have payed him what he wanted, not 126 mil. or even 100 which was 15-20 more than the last reported offer. You can't blame fans for not forgetting stuff like this either. (just one example too)— DUDESKINS - It will take some time but the Phillies are getting old and will soon be also rands. The Nats have done it the right way, loading up with great arms and baseballs next big thing, Bryce Harper, who Philadelpia will grow to hate as he dominates them for the next decade.— DCtoAC
- Quick quiz 1. DC to AC, that would be an electrical transitional thing that requires a Transformer? 2. A change of gender? 3. A fan from Washington who hates rather than has respects good opposition players. (song from Jeopardy plays in the Background)..... — DUDESKINS
- It will take some time but the Phillies are getting old and will soon be also rands. The Nats have done it the right way, loading up with great arms and baseballs next big thing, Bryce Harper, who Philadelpia will grow to hate as he dominates them for the next decade.— DCtoAC
- wash has had a very easy schedule with a ton of home games
als a lot of extra inning wins on walks, balks...
they will come back to earth by summer— WFChamps 
Yes indeed, when you finish last year after year you are rewarded with high draft picks. And they have, as they should, some exciting young players. But I think we should wait until they at least have ONE winning season before we annoint this as a rivalry.
— zubzub- Playing 18 times doesn't water down a rivalry, it enhances it. You think the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry is watered down?
- They may have Strasburg, but we have a healthy, rested Kendrick. They may have Harper, but we have Dom Brown tearing it up at LV. Checkmate! LOL— dasher
- Tore something in his calf has been out a few — DUDESKINS
- I think the Braves have been a rival the past couple of years, but it's been more of a one sided rivalry as the Phillies have owned them. Playing 18 times kind of waters down any rivalry that might be formulated.
I think the Nationals will be a rival for any team in the East the next several of year because they'll be good and everyone wants a chance to hate on/watch Bryce Harper.
Follow me @ShortStopBall— ShortStopBall - Harper is awesome. I haven't seen anyone hustle like him since Pete Rose. Hopefully seeing that lifts the Phillies' effort.— jtj10
