Phillies' situational woes are historic
It hardly served as the defining image of another defeat Sunday - Ty Wigginton's botched attempt at fielding a grounder in the 10th inning did that - but Shane Victorino's swing in the first inning was so emblematic of a numbing season that continues to spiral into hopelessness.
Phillies' situational woes are historic
Matt Gelb
It hardly served as the defining image of another defeat Sunday — Ty Wigginton's botched attempt at fielding a grounder in the 10th inning did that — but Shane Victorino's swing in the first inning was so emblematic of a numbing season that continues to spiral into hopelessness.
These Phillies are historically bad at situational hitting.
When Victorino swung at the second pitch from Jason Hammel and popped it into foul territory behind third base, he failed to score a runner from third base with less than two outs. It was the only such chance of the day.
The Phillies are dead last in baseball with a 38 percent success rate when batting with runners on third and less than two outs. They have batted 117 times with that situation and only 45 have yielded a run in some way, whether it be via a hit, groundout or sacrifice fly.
That is the worst rate for any team since at least 1948.
Baseball Reference keeps play-by-play data from 1948 on and few teams have even come close to the Phillies' futility. Only the 1965 Mets had a rate below 40 percent; they scored 39 percent from third with less than two outs. That team finished 50-112 and only 47 games back.
What does this mean? Of course, the sample size is small. The Phillies have played 62 games. Ultimately, their success rate in those situations should normalize and at least approach the league average. Such a miserable rate through 62 games could implicate bad luck as a factor.
But there is no disputing the Phillies have mostly been terrible in these situations. Think about how many times a runner has stood on third and when all it takes is a medium-sized fly ball or groundout to score him, a Phillies hitter pops out or whiffs.
Here is how each individual player has performed in those situations:
| Advances | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| <2,3B | Scr | % â–¾ | ||
| Freddy Galvis# | 4 | 3 | 75% | |
| Pete Orr* | 3 | 2 | 67% | |
| Carlos Ruiz | 12 | 8 | 67% | |
| Shane Victorino# | 15 | 8 | 53% | |
| Hector Luna | 2 | 1 | 50% | |
| Juan Pierre* | 8 | 3 | 38% | |
| Ty Wigginton | 13 | 5 | 38% | |
| Hunter Pence | 20 | 7 | 35% | |
| Jimmy Rollins# | 9 | 3 | 33% | |
| Brian Schneider* | 3 | 1 | 33% | |
| Placido Polanco | 4 | 1 | 25% | |
| Jim Thome* | 4 | 1 | 25% | |
| John Mayberry | 12 | 2 | 17% | |
| Joe Blanton | 2 | 0 | 0% | |
| Mike Fontenot* | 1 | 0 | 0% | |
| Roy Halladay | 1 | 0 | 0% | |
| Cole Hamels* | 1 | 0 | 0% | |
| Laynce Nix* | 3 | 0 | 0% | |
| Team Total | 117 | 45 | 38% | |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Consider this: If the Phillies had simply equaled the major-league average (51 percent) in those situations, it would have resulted in 15 additional runs scored over the season's first 62 games. The Phillies have already underperformed their pythagorean record — with 261 runs scored and 262 allowed, they should theoretically be 31-31 instead of 29-33. Another 15 runs over 62 games would predict a .526 winning percentage using pythagorean record, which would represent a three-game swing from the current 29-33.
But that only exists in some fantasy world. Reality says the Phillies are worse than any team in the last 64 years in key situations and it has cost them.
Have a question? Send it to Matt Gelb's Mailbag.
More coverage
Poll: Whose help could the punchless Phillies use most?
Buy Phillies tickets Comments (105)
.....fire Greg Gross?— beefbre- This is the same reason that they canned Milt Thompson, too. — makrom
Comment removed.- First, these players aren't very good. Second, these not very good players aren't very smart either. The team's manager needs to do the thinking for them to tell them when they should be bunting, stealing, etc but that's not really his strong suit either. It's much easier when they're just hitting home runs. Better hope Utley and Howard come back soon and hit a lot of home runs.— hunglikeaton
- Time to reboot and look ahead. Next year we won't have: Victorino, Polanco, Pierre, Wigginton, Thome, (probably) Utley, Schneider, Luna, Fontenot and Mikey Mart. Also, Blanton and (perhaps?) Hamels. This time will be, and should be, very different and Amaro will have considerable salary space to work with, if he can clear Utley somehow. We'll see how good he is.— eman
- Utley seems nearly impossible to move to me. Maybe if he comes back and has a second half that comes close to his 2009 numbers. Or if he shows some sort of power resurgence that would make him look good as a DH. Third base (Polanco leaving) is a given. If they could somehow replace two of those infield positions instead of one, that would be a very good move in the right direction. I also would not rule out Pence being traded. It seems possible to have an entirely different outfield next year. — s
- But you don't understand! The front office is so inept, they brought Ed Wade back! So until we get rid of the people who are clueless enough to hire the clueless people running the show, we will get the same ineptitude! Seriously...RAJ, Uncle Chollie, The 3 stooges in the broadcast booth, Juan Samuel at 3rd. Gregg Gross....the list is ENDLESS!!!
Does anyone have a guess how hard it is to make a $180 million dollar last place team with HISTORIC inefficiency numbers?? ONLY THE PHILLIES BABY!!!!— Mortimer G Fingenfinderstein III - I look at the big picture and feel that these hitting woes and slumps started in 2009, specifically in the World Series where our boys could have gone on to be back to back Champions. Instead, Ryan sets the all time strike out mark in a series. That year began the No Run Support For Hamels Campaign that has been a hallmark up until this year.
With the homer friendly confines of CBP, players like Rollins and Victorino traded batting average/singles/doubles for the glamour of the long ball. Works ok here by the Delaware, but not so much in other cities. How many years have we heard Larry Bowa moan and groan about Rollins penchant for swinging for the long ball? The answer is not to fire Greg Gross when these 2 players don't even listen to the Manager! The real answer lies in demotion in the batting order, a bench sitting or 2 or outright trade. I will be curious to see how it plays out for Victorino. I think his shelf life is expiring, despite competent play in center. My prototypical lead off man would be a player like Dykstra, who worked every at bat, every time. Players like Rollins and Victorino have made it too easy with their 1 pitch pop ups or bouncers to third. One day when this run is long over we may learn how frustrating it must have been to have managed talented players like these 2, gold plated batting talent with cubic zirconium airheads!
These 2 players in particular, in my humble opinion, are shining examples of why this team is where it is offensively.— DelawareRiverRat - You wish Victorino would be playing better just so we could get some good pieces in a trade before he leaves to free agency. Of course, then everyone would be screaming "Why did we let him go?!" But really, his career has been one of underachieving just enough to tantalize us. I see no way he's back next year but stranger things have happened with this club. I like Shane -- nothing personal. But there's going to be nothing bad in changing out CF next year.
If only RAJ had hindsight I can't imagine he'd have signed Rollins. But, like I said, stranger things ...
I can't see any way of moving Rollins at this point.— s - Wrong, RAJ didn't need good hind sight to know he should not resign Rollins. He just needed to pay attention to the obvious which the poster above pointed out to you. He's a lifetime failure as a lead off hitter and will not change his approach. He's been in decline for 4 years now.
- What I meant is I doubt even RAJ would sign Rollins if he knew then what he knows now.
Personally, I was on the fence. Not knowing if Galvis was ready and not going into the season giving up on post-season hopes, I can partly see why they signed Rollins. If they weren't going take a shot at Reyes (which also seemed obvious), it was either Rollins or take a 1-2 year shot with someone else. I know a lot of people don't like Reyes but if you're truly going to change approach, what better way than to sign a guy like him to lead off? Reyes would have been my first choice.
To me, the bad part was the bigger picture: Once they signed Rollins and we knew Polanco was coming back, the youth movement should have been on the bench.— s - As much as folks like to rag on Greg Gross and Charlie Manuel, the last time I checked, neither had a bat in their hand in the batters box with runners on third with less than two outs. You can lead a horse to water, but to get the horse to float on its back in the water....thats a trick. The "paid" players need to start putting mirrors in their lockers and start looking directly at the problems. I won't rag on the coaches, just like I won't give them too much credit for the past 5 years success run. In the end, its the guys cashing those 8/7 figure pay checks who have to perform on the field.— drhoffman
- It is Ryne Sandberg time— 26Fan
- It is now easier to pursue other interests than subject myself to the torture of watching these games. Apparently I learned situational hitting better in HS than these professionals have over longer careers. What a JOKE! And when you listen to management, they readily accept that "they are what they are" so they can't learn anyhting new. Really? Try telling that to your boss and see how well it goes over. What is this, the only profession where you are not expected to try and improve yourself?— philharmonic55
- This incredible stat pokes holes into the arguments about injuries that apologists like zubzub try to make all the time. My guess is that there have been other teams which suffered lots of injuries since 1948. Even an expansion team like the 60's Mets did better than the Phillies with RISP this year. There are deeper problems on this team than injuries. Let's start with the idea of having a "hands-off" coach leading a team which needs to be managed tighter...— hairball
- Can Charlie possibly have a job next year without some sort of miraculous (i.e., impossible) turnaround? If nothing else RAJ will need someone to blame. And let's face it: Charlie was never a good game-time manager. This year that's painfully obvious. Thank him for what he did in 2008 and offer him a front office job. Go young with new players and an new coach (Sandberg). It will at least put some new life into the club. The hard part is how to deal with the infield. Polanco is the only sure player to be replaced. As noted in my other comment I think replacing two infielders goes a long way if it can somehow be done.— s
- isnt Cholly suppose to be a Hitting Guru? LOL...— wxdavid
- YEAH! He was such a good hitter - he played in Japan. His Major League BA is .200. GURU!!!!!!! — Mortimer G Fingenfinderstein III
- 0 for 24 ...phillies losing in then 7th inning and coming back to win in the 8th and/ or 9th inning ... dead last in all of MLB— wxdavid
- a lot Phillies fans believe for the last couple of seasons that they ha've always been a really good hitting team and that it's only recently they have had problems scoring runners in clutch situations. My view is totally different. Since 2010 during the regular season and in the postseason verse of the Giants this is been a much worse hitting team -- it has a great deal of trouble hiding in the clutch
As a result during the regular season the Phillies end up getting 99 or 105 wins but when they run into another good team in the postseason that is able to manufacture runs-- PLAY SMALL BALL -- and the Phillies are simply not able to compete/ win those types of games.
As long as the pitching was superb ... the winning of games 1-0 or 2-1 ...well everyone one thought everything was fine. Now that the SP has gone waaaaay down and the BP sucks... the RISP is a BIG deal— wxdavid - wow, apparently galvis is clutch in advancing runners.
on the other hand, jimmy pop up rollins should have never been re-signed.
now that he has his guaranteed money and since cholly lets him do whatever, it's obvious he's just going through the motions. he isn't hungry to compete or get better anymore.— schmidty123 
The title is too broad -- this entire article is about only one type of situation (man on 3rd and less than two outs), and as it correctly details the Phillies have been horrible in those situations and they absolutely should do better.
But it's only 117 of the 2,385 at bats they've had this year, and only 117 of the 636 ABs with runners in in scoring position.
The Phillies have been about average with runners in scoring position overall:
- 5th in average
- 8th in slugging
- 8th in runs scored per 27 outs
— schmenkman- Mayberry deserves to be released!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!— shawnmac
- We know. We watch them every day.— topwonk
- There's no doubt the team would be better with a few player improvements--a hitter to partly make up for the loss of power at first, second, and left and a speedster to come off the bench and steal a bag in the late innings (here Amaro certainly can be blamed)--but the manager sets the tone and the team lacks discipline, always has. I would suggest a manager like Bob Brenly or someone of similar experience and temperament (NOT Larry Bowa).— JayW
- "wow, apparently galvis is clutch in advancing runners.
on the other hand, jimmy pop up rollins should have never been re-signed.
now that he has his guaranteed money and since cholly lets him do whatever, it's obvious he's just going through the motions. he isn't hungry to compete or get better anymore. — schmidty123"
---
LOL, you've decided Galvis is clutch based on only 4 at bats?
The rest of the comment is just as funny.— schmenkman - really the solution is obvious; they just having stop having men reach third base.
seriously, I think CBP has screwed up their swings and patience. They don't work a pitcher, they don't the other way, they take a lot of home run swings.— retzlaff - Seriously?
Did the bridge being there make the suicide jumper jump? Secret: If the bridge didn't exist, he would have drowned.— Mortimer G Fingenfinderstein III - galvis is 4th best on the team with RISP (min 50 appearances) which is better than jimmy pop up and considered "clutch" as far as the phillies are concerned so far this year.— schmidty123
- retzlaff, they've been one of the most patient teams in the league for years. Now suddenly it messed up their swings.
By the way, CBP is not a great hitters park:
http://www.thegoodphight.com/2011/11/21/2485197/phillies-citizens-bank-park-not-a-hitters-haven— schmenkman - Comment removed.
- bad luck? really??? it's not bad luck when you chase a pitch out-of-the-zone, it's not bad luck when you constantly get yourself into pitcher's counts. you MAKE your own luck by doing things the right way...this team wouldn't know a quality at-bat if it bit them in the *— nyphilliephan
- OK Schmidty, well first there are only 6 with 50+ plate appearances, so Galvis is 4th out of 6. He' also 6th out of 9 with 30+.
And a .236 average and .627 OPS might not be what most people think of when they hear "clutch".— schmenkman - and so when you build a team of poor hitters who can't hit and always stike out, pop out or ground into double plays, it's surprising that they do so? almost as surprising as putting your bullpen hopes in the hands of Dontrelle Willis, Qualls, and a bunch of mediocre minor leaguers and then -- shockingly --find that they're all as bad as their stats said they would be....what a shock for cluelesss Rube that his team of useless garbage is playing like useless garbage— warbiscuit
- Cliff Lee must have mixed emotions. He's getting $24 million a year but sees Hamels leaving this sinking ship at the end of the year, joining a great team with the same money.— farley
- I now check the score on mlb.com before I'll even turn on a Phillies game and if they're behind, I won't even bother. They have absolutely zero comeback ability this year, whereas in the past, even if they were 3 runs behind, I would say "we've got 'em right where we want 'em", because at that time the Phillies could come back from that deficit easily, sometimes with one big swing. Now, even a 3 or 4 run lead in the 7th inning isn't safe with the Phillies bullpen. Chances are the lead will be blown before they can get to Papelbon in the 9th. Even when the Phillies manage to win a game now, its not fun to watch. Typically, they'll score early and then shut it down offensively, barely hanging on for the win. They rarely add on to a lead. I'm ready to write this season off as a lost one and just hope that they make the moves necessary to fix things over the winter.— SteveS11
- This is the team Amaro built. Someone please hold someone accountable for the results so hopefully we can start getting better and perhaps take advantage of our deep starting pitching.— lazyboy
- warbiscuit, you must follow the team closely. How can it be then that you don't know they have the fewest strikeouts in the league? That's like being a Celtics fan and looking forward to their game against OkC tomorrow.— schmenkman
- You're being selective. @warbiscuit specifically said "stike out, pop out or ground into double plays." The Phils may gave the fewest SO's in the NL but they lead in both ground outs and fly outs. An out is an out. The most important stat is this: They lead the league in SUCK. They play some of the worst baseball I've seen and I watched a lot of bad Phillies teams.
— s - it's all relative. it's phillies 2012 clutch, and better than pop up rollins.— schmidty123
- Wigginton is the 2nd coming of Dr. Strangeglove.— brio
- Schmenkman, every blog I go to your on sprouting that stats B.S. and defending Jimmie popup. We're doomed for at least the next 4 or 5 years as did you notice the P's draft again this year hitters in the early rounds mostly highschoolers.— chucke9
- chucke9, luckily for you, you seem to have been unaffected by all the exposure to "that stats B.S."— schmenkman
- Trade RAJ, the idiot that thought waiting for Chase and Howard to come back from potentially career ending injuries was a good strategy in the off season. The idiot that built a team that can't hit around pitching in a hitters ball park. The idiot that has a smug look on his face as he makes excuse after excuse for making poor decisions such as extending Rollins contract and replacing the 2008 World Series team with pretenders to the point that were no longer contenders.
- There is no reason not to move onward/forward for 2013. Get Hamels signed AFTER the July CBA deadline, so his bonus/salary won't affect the 2012 Cap. Look for Youkalis/Quinten for a trade with the intention of a 2-3 year deal in place. Let some of the "young bucks" come up and get some AB's against MLB pitching. Cody Overbrook can't get better in the minors any longer. Darin Ruf is tearing the cover off the ball at AA. Dom Brown should continue his advancement in AAA, knowing by September, when the life rafts have left the NL pool, he will get a good look for 2013. See if any teams in the race have a need for Juan Pierre/Victorino. Gotta move some of the pieces that won't be back in 2013. If/When Utley/Howard return, put out a decent, regular line up that can be counted on for 2013, knowing Chase needs to head off to Germany for treatment like ARod/Kobe. Get some of the younger bullpen guys some MLB experience so next season, there won't be a need for a "Dany's Baez"/"Chad Qualls" type in the pen. Most teams have a blip in the radar during the good times...this is our blip...as long as there is a plan for 2013.— drhoffman
- For months the chorus has been, "Wait until Howard and Utley come back." But IF they do come back and have anything to contribute...a huge IF...what makes anyone think other key players won't continue to break down with injuries?
Here's a fun exercise for a hot June afternoon: Name five current Phillies who will strongly contribute to the 2014 Phillies.— dasher - Good teams find ways to win games. Bad teams find ways to lose games. The Phils are a bad team that has gone downhill the last 3 years from an offensive standpoint. Even with their all star lineup, they failed to score a run in the most important game of last year. Time to put a manager who can think outside the box and be a hands on manager. Use your closer when you have a day off following a game. Put a take sign on a batter when the pitcher is facing a bases loaded situation and the count is 1-0. Change the leadoff batter when he goes 1 for 15. It will be a miracle if Hamels stays in Philly. This team will finish last so you might want to bring up some minor league players and see if there is any potential players. Brown is hot, bring him up. Nothing to lose at this point. Phils might be 15 games out by the All Star Break.— Pap
- Wasn't that the reason that Milt Thopmson got the boot, too?
This is part of the fundamentals of hitting that the Phillies have been missing for the entire time under Manuel.
Moving runners, bunting, hit & run, driving runners home from 3rd ... it's been a problem for a couple of years now.— makrom - Stevie Wonder could have seen the coming decline for this team after 2008 and 2009. Amaro did what he thought was best by bringing in veterans at the expense of the farm system. There were two reasons he did that (1) the need to win now and (2) Manuel is absolutely terrible with young guys (not that he is so great with veterans). At the end of the day this is all about a crummy manager who has been very lucky rather then good.— gates2012
- Paging Ryne Sandberg, paging Ryne Sandberg, please report to Philadelphia and assume Greg Gross' duties, to be shortly followed by Charlie Manual's— philly13
- And the Phillies are 2nd in the NL in batting average. If you're going to be selective with what stats you look at, then anyone can find good and bad stats for any team. I thought Gelb believed in all the stat geek stuff? Those guys will tell you that hitting with runners in scoring position is all luck and that there is no statistical evidence of anyone being "clutch" over the course of their career.— JimG
- If the Phillies are out of the race by the trading deadline, look for them to offer Victorino and Hamels as a package to a contending team.
A pretty attractive package.
They should be able to get a young talented player with that kind of offer. No sense in getting older talent.
We would be officially in the rebuilding mode at that point.
In the offseason we could try to unload some of the other rich contracts. No sense in keeping them either as they will be over the hill by the time we are ready to contend again.
Easy sell if we get young talent in their place.
How do we sell tickets in the meantime.
Create Phanatic 2, 3 and 4. Keep the fans distracted from what is going on in the game.— candidly - Ruben's Retreads.— wo_fat
- if you give $33 million to a .230 hitting shortstop who was good in 2007, he's still a .230 hitting shortstop in 2012— warbiscuit
- if you sign an awful fielder and hitter who has been a loser everywhere hes played and proclaim, hey look he's going to fill in for out missing starters, he;s still an awful player and loser (wigginton) who can't play sh$%— warbiscuit
- First off, trade Stroll. Trade Vic before year end. Trade Blanton. Release Qualls and Herndon. Release Schneider, Fontenot and either Thome or Wigginton. Put Pierre and Polanco on the bench. Resign Koig Cole. Call up Kratz, Hernandez, Gillies, Overbeck, Brown and Cloyd.— wo_fat
- I would also like to see them trade Rollins but.....
Who is going to take him at that cost for the next four years ?
Amaro would'nt dare trade him now and eat part of the contact while he is in the first year of his new contract. He would have to admit he made a mistake. Ain't gonna happen!
Blanton is about as marketable as a house on fire.
I definitely like the idea of bringing up the young players. I think that will have to wait until the Phillies determine there is no chance to make the playoffs.
This team got old and slow before we got a second World Championship out of them.This was the last year, with this group, to squeeze out another championship.
Looks very unlikely now.— candidly - Comment removed.
- The math doesn't look too good. They'd have to play .600 or better ball, or we'd have to see some epic collapses by teams like the Nats and Braves. If the Nats limit Stasburg's innings like they said they would going into the season, they could easily fade in August/September. Something tells me Strasburg will keep pitching as long as they're winning.
I think the good news is the Phillies have the ability to get back in it beyond this year. They have a high payroll and there's a TV deal looming. A place like Washington, where they don't have the fan base or the revenue would have a harder time sustaining year-in year-out good teams. This doesn't have to be like the teams many of us grew up with, where we ended up watching this kind of baseball for years on end with no hope in sight.
— s - Gee, s, that sounds very like some group named the Street Louis Cardinals in 2011! Stay relatively close, start getting hot in the middle of August and September, make a lucky call up or trade, and carry the whole thing into October. In fact, this sort of thing, especially now, doesn't even call for collapses. When the Giant won the pennant, the Giants won the pennant, the Giants won the pennant in 1951, it was NOT because of a collapse by the Dodgers. The Giants simply played out of their heads! If someone can get some of these batters to relax and not try to do all of it by one's self, they might be able to overcome the horrific start! Who knows? (No one knows, excepting for the Blithering Bizkit of Bellicosity, who would seem to prefer being a crab, of one or another sort, and a latter-day know-nothing-it all!) — BEMiller
- It's a much different situation already. At this time last year the Cardinals were 10 games over .500 and they really only had the Brewers close in their division. They were also leading the NL Central. That's a far cry from being at the bottom of the NL East with 4 teams above you playing well. Sure, I'd love to see it happen but .600 ball the rest of the year is probably the minimum required to get there. A team that plays .600 ball all year wins 97-98 games. I just don't see it happening with this team. They'd have to turn that .600 switch on this week. Do you really see that happening ... Halladay out for weeks, no Howard or Utley yet, Galvis likely out for a while now ... If they're within 5 games or less at the trade deadline then maybe. Any way you look at it, it's wishful thinking. The way they're playing they could just as easily be 15 out by the trade deadline. — s
- if you sign an over-40 former player with bakc issues who can no longer hit or field, guess what? it's irrelevant that he once upon a time hit 600 hrs— warbiscuit
- For what the contract is, it was a good idea at the time. You do continue to show your stupidity and malice.
As for the 40+ man, Jim Thome: It's always better to be a has been than a never was, NOR, will be as yourself!
GOOD GRIEF!— BEMiller - I agreed with warbiscuit here in the offseason. I like Jim Thome, so nothing personal but there was absolutely no reason to believe he would suddenly become a good PH. He tried with the Dodgers and stunk. As we've seen in Baltimore he's a good DH. That's good for 9 of our 162 games. For a GM to know he's going into the season with so many question marks in the infield, it was pretty irresponsible and short-sighted to sign a bat-only 41 year old who stinks as a PH. He wastes a roster spot if nothing else. There really was no logic at all to that move. It was purely a feel-good wishful thinking type move -- the type of moves overconfident GMs make. By the same token, signing the trio of Thome, Wigginton, and Nix looked very one-dimensional to me at the time. Yes, they're not identical but they all have a lot of the same weaknesses. Some balance on the bench was called for and Amaro missed the boat in my opinion. — s
- Moreover, if you keep posting the same pathetic line of whining and moaning, year after month after week after day after minute, it would seem obvious you haven't anything worth saying. — BEMiller
- Perhaps this is a sign they are trying TOO hard when there are runners on base. Getting the regular 3 & 4 hitters back might help some of them relax a bit, even if Utley and Howard are not 100%.— oltmannd
- ...and if you fail to get the runner in from 3rd with < 2 outs, does Charlie hold you accountable? (A: NO!) Soon, we will be finding out if Ryne Sandberg does.— Phront_Runner
- if you sign a former pitcher who's had an era between 5 and 10 for each of the past 5 years (willis), and say, gee whiz maybe he can pitch, you're still blowing smoke and did not help the bullpen one iota regardless of when you release him— warbiscuit
- The supposed strategy was to play .500 ball until Utley (May) and Howard (AS break) came back and then make a push.
All the stats indicate Cholly has enough to at least do that. He still has decent pitching and a good defense and the stats show he has enough offense considering BA, SP, runs scored etc to play .500 baseball. And he can’t do it. Someone mentioned in another post “the manager sets the tone” – BINGO!
— majpooper - Just a bad offensive team, any way you look at it. Jimmy and Shane have to be near the top of the league in hitting pop-ups. They just have to.— MrPhillie
- Warbiscuit I love how you just tell the GOD'S HONEST TRUTH. Shame no one else knows it's the truth.Advantasux I know you agree and listen.H— tobyjoe
- Warbiscuit I love how you just tell the GOD'S HONEST TRUTH. Shame no one else knows it's the truth.Advantasux I know you agree and listen.H— tobyjoe
- If you are old enough, do you remember that 1960 opening day team?
Catcher Jim Coker
First Base Ed Bouchee
Second Base Pancho Herrera
Shortstop Joe Koppe
Third Base Alvin Dark
Left Field Harry Anderson
Center Field Bobby Delgreco
Right Field Tony Curry
The manager on opening day was Eddie Sawyer, of Whiz Kids fame, and former college professor. Sawyer, after the opening 9 to 4 loss to Cincinnati was smart enough to see the handwriting on the wall and resigned immediately after the game saying, "I'm 49 years old and want to live to see 50". Gene Mauch took over for the remainder of that season and lasted until 1968. ALthough never known as a choirboy, Mauch raised smoking, drinking, heckling and cursing to a fine artform during his early tenure with a team that would end up 59 and 95 for the year, only to outdo itself by recording an astounding 23 consecutive losses in his second year as manager. (There was many a clubhouse that looked like it had been hit by a hurricane by game's end that year) Now, that was a team you could really shake your head over! Mauch did have some endearing qualities as a manager however, chief among them was his ability to get his team to play 'small ball', a skill the present team needs badly. By sheer personal willpower he nearly coerced the '64 team to a title before they burned out in the last week of the season. If there ever was a team that played over their heads, it was those guys. Yeah, I really would love to see what Mauch would do with this bunch. I guarantee that you would NOT be walking away from the game before the very final out.
— Ron Datesman - BeMILLER ...YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH.There is no reason tobe nasty. The man told us how it really is.Get over it.— tobyjoe
- Wow! The negadelphians are out in force, many of the same posters who have complained for years about this team and most other Philadelphia teams. Amaro and Gillick before him built this team on pitching and defense, and the three-run homer and they managed to appear in two World Series in five years, and but for a poor Cliff Lee performance in game two last season against the Cardinals would probably have gone to a third World Series, and they managed to win 199 regular season games the last two seasons, but now for the spoiled Philadelphia fans, nothing short of a world series title is allowed. For years, they complained that the Phillies were cheap, now they complain that the Phillies are overpaying, they complained about Amaro when he traded Lee and now complain that he brought him back, they complain about Manuel's every move despite having won more games than any other manager in Phillies history, they complain about whichever player has a bad game or games but are quiet when they are going good, like Juan Pierre who is not being mentioned or Papelbon who is 14/14 in saves. Right now, the Phillies have lost the best defensive second baseman in the league, the fourth starter has bone chips in his elbow, the first starter is out, the third baseman, perhaps the best fielding third baseman in the league, is out, the starting catcher looks to have a hamstring issue, and two of their beggest guns, in Utley and Howard, the former not telling the team until Spring training, are out and yet everyone assumes Amaro should create a miracle. Note that the Phillies lost two games in Baltimore because of poor defense by two subs, Wigginton and Fontenot, and a lame performance from Cliff Lee. Guess Amaro should have gone after Lincecum. What's that? Lincecum looks finished at the age of 28. Fire the GM! Manuel and Amaro should be allowed to complete this season and then let's look where the Phillies end up after 162 games, not 62 games.— chuckw
- Jimmy Rollins frustrates me with way too many bad at bat's.But the man is still an outstanding defensive player. And he is 305th on MLB's all time hit list out of many thousands of players. He would be a non-issue if team was a little more healthy.— tommazza
- The Phils should work out a deal where they trade Hamels at the deadline to fill in some gaps and then sign him back as a free agent.— Dylangordo
- The Phils should work out a deal where they trade Hamels at the deadline to fill in some gaps and then sign him back as a free agent.— Dylangordo
- Just look at the numbers before and after Gross. He and that All World Hitter from the sixties( 4 HR .198 MLB) Manuel should have been fired a long time ago.— Phillip Phan
- Tommazza is right— Phillip Phan
- Trade the entire bench for a life-sized photo of Albert Pujols!!— billtfla
- amaro has to go. he won with gillick's team, now his team is horrible.— psualum
- 5 year run, Two world series , one championship-first in 28 years, older team with many injuries now. It's hasn't been all that bad..but haters will be haters!!!— sarah89
- Tell why Charlie Manuel
places Ty Wigginton at 3rd base..He made 2 errors that I accounted for
losing the game, and several others.Charlie Manuel made several other bad calls, this is the time to know how good a manager is when the team is in bad shape.I like to see Ryne Sandberg to replace him. for he is not doing his job.— lincosta05 - @WarBiscuit - Have you ever had a positive thought in your life about anything? I know you are positive that the Phil's are garbage and I don't mean a positive thought about something in a negative way. It's bad enough that the Phils are struggling but you always have a way of making it much worse than it actually is with your negativity.— jck
- Wigginton's sporadic but usually awful offense is not sufficient to compensate for his consistenly awful defense --there's a reason why he's been a loser everywhere he's played and is considered an awful player -- if rube thinks a guy like that is supposed to step in for missing starters then rube got the last place team that he deserves..you can put a dress on a pig (and call it a major leaguer)but it's still a pig— warbiscuit
- @jck -- yes— warbiscuit
- Well for all those idiot phillies fans that love small ball and have been bashing ryan howard for his strike out and blah blah.... Phillies use to be best offense because Pat burrell , chase utley, ryan howard jason werth, they all have the ability to take pitcher yard when they make a mistake ...... even jimmy rollin had some power.... They score run like a machine... ANd Every year all these idiot fans does is complain and ask for small ball after every f673ing loss. Well now you got it.. you can't score ..... because oh yeah you can't score with 1 hit... you need 45000500 gozzilllion hits. yeah for small ball to work you need 8 guys in your lineup to hit atleast 400..... which is not possible. PLus no pitcher is afraid of a single hitters with no man on base. Why do you even be scare of small ball worse thing possible is they score 1 run on a good inning everything went right. I explain A guy like ryan howard put fear into a pitcher .... Even if his batting average in low .... he a threat , he make pitcher focus and can't relax. 1 mistake can be a run or runs. Yes now you got a bunch on single hitter....and do you know that phillies have a higher batting average but still can't score???? THis is what you wish for , now don't complain!!!!1— SIxersfan
- I'd heard Sandberg may go West for his first MLB gig.— channelclemente
- Shane Victorino is a bonehead. A physically gifted bonehead, but a bonehead nonetheless. And John Mayberry is a career minor-leaguer who somehow occasionally finds himself hitting in a big major-league situation. Too bad.— Dave Clemens
- Manuel gets more softball questions from the press then Barack Obama why doesn't anyone ask him "what do you think that you could do to get this team more wins" and then stand point because the thin skined jerk will flip out.— gates2012
- if you re-sign a backup catcher who hit .187 last year and can't throw anyone out, after he was a complete bust under his prior 2-year contract, and let him start every 4 or 5 days, then you basically have no business running a baseball team— warbiscuit
- if you give away a pitcher who carries the team down the stretch and through the 2009 World Series --- because you can't afford his then $9 million/salary -- and then commit $24 million to Joe Blanton -- and get literally useless garbage for Lee although many teams woud have given their right arm to get him -- then you have irrevokably labeled yourself a clueless imbecile regardless if you later waste $120 million to get the ptcher back --even if takes a couple of years for the rest of the fans and journalists to see what a complete cluless imbecile you've been the whole time— warbiscuit
- if you waste $24 million on a a 5th starter who can't get anyone out and then dcide to throw away another $7.8 million on a so-called spot starter who can't get anyone out, you have no business running a baseball team...— warbiscuit
- Some things are myths and some are pure BS.
Myth - Freddy Glavis is a future superstar.
BS - Rollins plays the game hard.
Myth - Victorino is the best centerfielder in baseball.
BS - Hunter Pence may be a little bit unorthodox at bat and in the field , but he gets the job done.
Myth - Mayberry may blossom into a great ballplayer.
BS - Brian Schneider is a capable backup catcher.
Myth - Juan Samuel will become a good third base coach.
BS - The phillies don't miss Davey Lopes.
Myth - Charlie Manuel knows what he is doing.
BS - Charlie Manuel knows what he is doing.— candidly - What are you getting on Galvis for? One of the few bright spots on this failure of a team. — wo_fat
Hard to believe that any Phillies team would surpass Gene Mauch's '61 squad with the MLB record 23 straight losses but give it time....there is still 3.5 months left in the season— Bummy Davis- if you give away your best prospects, and the team's last vestiges of a potential future, for Hunter Pence -- and all because in the offseason you thought Ben Francisco could take over for Werth and so you didn't bother to sign an outfielder --then you have no business running a baseball team— warbiscuit
- Please stop with the RYne Sandberg. He isn't going to get Victorino or Rollins to have an more plate discipline than CHolley could.— Jeffy3
- They have been on a rapid decline for a few years now so we shouldn't be surprised that as they get older they would even be worse. What surprises me is that the supposed hitting guru coach in Manuel has not been able to notice and improve it. Worse, as a coach he is too loyal and lives in the past with his players. Rollins has been marginal at best since his MVP year but Manuel continues to put is sub 240 BA at top of lineup. He also had Ruiz, his best hitter batting 6th the other night. Why would you have the 240BA getting the most at bats in the game and your best lower in the. Lineup.— cu2ny
- cu2ny, "marginal"? Really? Here is a list of all shortstops who have been better than Rollins since 2008:
1. H Ramirez
2. Tulowitzki
3. Reyes
4. Jeter
http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=ss&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=0&type=8&season=2012&month=0&season1=2008&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&players=0— schmenkman - They have been on a rapid decline?????? Two season ago, they won 97 games, last season they won 102 games; if that is a decline, I hate to see them improving. Frankly, I hate the five-game first playoff series after a 162-game season where the division leader gets one lousy extra home game; should be a seven game series. Thus, Lee did not get a chance to redeem himself for that lame second game.— chuckw
- wow, multiple posts about the backup catcher- hard to believe harry. pretty amazing stats. i have 3 conclusions- mayberry belongs in the minors- Pence's aggressivness used to be taken advantage of my good pitchers, but now a majority of them, and 3, they are due to do a lot better at scoring in these situations going forward. they are bad, but not THIS bad. alas, the lack of bullpen, power, solid defense, smart baserunning and a challenged in-game manager will still be too much to overcome, but at least we should see less guys stranded at third going forward.— jim715
1
Popular Posts
Classifieds:
Site Services:
Partners:
Powered By:
