Worth noting: Polanco's power, Halladay's velo, Papelbon's workload
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Worth noting: Polanco's power, Halladay's velo, Papelbon's workload
David Murphy
Full disclosure: I'm not traveling with the team on this 10-game road trip. Feels a little weird. It's the first West Coast trip I've missed since I started covering the Phillies in 2008. But the times, they are a-changin', and given the new cooperative here at 400 N. Broad, Matt Gelb is flying solo for the next 10 days. But we'll still be blogging away, starting with last night's 5-2 victory over Tim Lincecum and the Giants.
With that said, here are four things worth noting from last night's win. . .
1) While the loss of Chase Utley and Ryan Howard is the number one contributor to the Phillies' drop in power, they have also seen a decline in extra base production from several of their healthy regulars. In fact, Placido Polanco's first-inning double was his first extra base hit since Sept. 25, 2011 at Citi Field. Including the 2011 postseason, Polanco had gone 66 plate appearances without and extra base hit. During that stretch, he went 11-for-64 with two walks.
From June 28 of last season until the start of last night's game, Polanco had three doubles and one home run in 246 plate appearances. Last April alone he had seven doubles and two home runs in 114 plate appearances.
Since 2007, Polanco's slugging percentage has dropped from .458 to .417 to .396 to .386 in his first season with the Phillies to .339 in 2011.
The Phillies certainly expect to see more power out of Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino, who entered last night having combined for two extra base hits in 78 plate appearances.
Freddy Galvis' double last night gave him the team lead with four extra base hits. Carlos Ruiz and Hunter Pence are tied at second with three apiece.
2) There was some talk on Twitter last night about Roy Halladay's velocity, which according to MLB.com's pitchFx and the stadium gun was sitting 87-88 MPH on his cutter and 89-90 on his sinker. By comparison, Halladay's cutter was clocking 90-91 MPH in his first start last year, and his sinker was 91-92. So I guess it is worth noting. But I wouldn't panic. For whatever reason, velocity readings seem to be down across the league. C.C. Sabathia, Justin Verlander, Cole Hamels -- all are down according to pitchFx data. The movement and location on Halladay's pitches seem to be there. And, of course, the results are there. Long story short, it really is nothing more than a mild curiosity at this point.
3) Probably worth keeping your eye on Polanco. The veteran third baseman appeared to be in considerable pain after he was hit on the left elbow with a pitch in the seventh inning. Head athletic trainer Scott Sheridan checked him out and Polanco remained in the game, but it is worth circling the date on your calendar in case the elbow turns out to be a problem later on. That's how the 2010 season played out. Polanco was hit on the elbow with a Tim Hudson pitch in late-April, and the elbow ended up becoming a problem.
4) With Madison Bumgarner and Matt Cain on deck, this clearly has a chance to be a low-scoring series. Which is why it is worth noting that Jonathan Papelbon recorded the save last night one day after throwing 26 pitches in the ninth inning of an 8-2 win over the Mets. The Phillies used Papelbon because the game was tight until the bottom of the eighth, when they scored five runs. Papelbon was already up and warm, so the Phillies used him. He ended up allowing two hits and a walk in his longest outing of the season. Papelbon has made back-to-back-to-back appearances three times since the start of the 2009 season. Two of them came last year.
Papelbon threw 14 pitches last night while recording his third save of the season.
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Maybe they can score Headley while they are out west? He's a good all around player a few years from free agency who seems to be good and improving at the plate. They have an extra starter and outfielder (at least) that might work for SD.— jtj06
More importantly than any comment of the action on the baseball field is the 'the new cooperative at 400 N. Broad Street' has only one sportswriter covering the baseball team? What is this? Penny-wise and pound-foolish tea partying owners? Buy the paper for $50M, at 10% of the selling price a decade ago, and then start holding back on the only section anyone reads anymore?
They win a Pulitzer, the first in years, congratulations, but not on the watch of the new owners while the new owners gut the staff, gut the content, and turn this into the local version of USA Today/Philadelphia?
TRAVEL MURPHY! NOW!— 24sDad- "Penny-wise and pound-foolish tea partying owners?"........ Not hardly my friend but rather Gov.Ed Rendell and his like minded political cronies. Neither side should control the press in a major area like Philly. Too much power on either side of the spectrum serves no one and the first victim is the search for the truth. To make an informed opinion you need to hear both sides of the argument or issue . Anything less is just the distribution of propaganda. Without a free press there is no accountability for those in power and no voice for the people.
— DUDESKINS - "Penny-wise and pound-foolish tea partying owners?"........ Not hardly my friend but rather Gov.Ed Rendell and his like minded political cronies. Neither side should control the press in a major area like Philly. Too much power on either side of the spectrum serves no one and the first victim is the search for the truth. To make an informed opinion you need to hear both sides of the argument or issue . Anything less is just the distribution of propaganda. Without a free press there is no accountability for those in power and no voice for the people. — DUDESKINS
- what, the schmucks who run things at 400 n. broad decided they don't have the bread to send you on the road? ah, dave, i fear your days as a philly sports scribe are numbered. that'll be to your advantage gelt-wise, i suppose, as everybody decent here eventually goes over to csn or espn, but it certainly will be a loss for us. life in the fast lane, fella: whattaya gonna do?— bubba church & granny hamner
Comment removed.- Watch. He crowds the plate. He dives into balls.
But more importantly, his fragility is a concern.
— 24sDad - Comment removed.
- I believe there were indications that the Phillies made some attempts to replace Polly at third in the offseason, either by trading him or giving him less playing time. I don't think anyone was lining up for a trade given his age and recent injury history. I still think 3B is a prime target for a trade deadline move this year. Polly's contract will be up and they'll surely let him walk after this year. They can start transitioning a guy in this year if the right guy is available. His power seems gone, particularly since April is usually his best month (sometimes his only good month is recent years). — s
- 24sDad got it -- Polly puts his elbow right in there. You'd think his head would get hit a lot but that's another story. — s
- How the heck can velocity be down across the league? Did someone calibrate the official radar guns incorrectly? Did those lttle gremlins who determine the liveliness of the ball each year work their magic and figure out how to slow the ball down without weighing it down? Doc is a dominant as ever. The pitch MPH numbers mean nothing.— Chrisnchris
- 2012 End of the World scenario where the first sign of the deterioration of the earth's magnetic fields and the switching of the poles is first noticed by a physicist who happened to also be a baseball fan. Noticing that velocity was down across baseball, ( AFTER ELIMINATING GLOBAL WARMING AS A BOGUS REASON AGAIN), he determined that the reason the Mayans knew the world would end in 2012 is because they played a game with a ball also. They foresaw the global cumulative effect balls have on gravitational fields. The Mayans proficiency in astronomy showed them that after the end of the 2012 Baseball season the Astros would be knocked out of alignment by dark energy into the American league. This spun the earth of it's axis and off into space. Pretty simple if you think about it. — DUDESKINS
- 2012 End of the World scenario where the first sign of the deterioration of the earth's magnetic fields and the switching of the poles is first noticed by a physicist who happened to also be a baseball fan. Noticing that velocity was down across baseball, ( AFTER ELIMINATING GLOBAL WARMING AS A BOGUS REASON AGAIN), he determined that the reason the Mayans knew the world would end in 2012 is because they played a game with a ball also. They foresaw the global cumulative effect balls have on gravitational fields. The Mayans proficiency in astronomy showed them that after the end of the 2012 Baseball season the Astros would be knocked out of alignment by dark energy into the American league. This spun the earth of it's axis and off into space. Pretty simple if you think about it. — DUDESKINS
- Comment removed.
- Very honest and very brave to point out why Murphy did not attend this road trip. As 24sDad correctly points out, the back section is the only reason why the vast majority reads this paper/site. I too fear for David's long term employment here. Like Kate Fagan before him, they were entertaining reads who really got down and dirty and reported the truth. @The one & only: Give it time my friend. Should they go the route of the New York Times online, you will be sending your quarters to 400 North Broad Street......
BTW: Polanco in the Dominican dialect means "Perpetually Injured With Lengthy Spells On The DL".— DelawareRiverRat - Fagan was a great read. Basketball is my least favorite sport to read about but I'd always read her pieces. There's some good wife material Murphy. — s
- Comment removed.
- I swear Polanco was on the juice many years ago.— Tech_Triumph
Hey Murph...I did my part. I ordered the sunday inquirer for 26 weeks at 26 bucks. Maybe that will get you as far as Chicago once in a while. After the 8 weeks are up I will re-evaluate if its worth a dollar a week. The way the last sunday paper looked I'm not too confident.
- These guys have nothing to offer if on the road anyways. Same old tired articles.— spittooncj
- Murph, thanks for going the extra mile and adding your post script to conversation here. So many mail it in today and you show how much you care and seem to like what you do. The great tragedy of the digital age is that the true journalist, the one who has a passion for his craft and his readers, is lost in the huge volume of writers necessary to feed a 24/7 beast. You rise above the lowest common denominator approach with a style that makes the reader feel like he is reading a letter from a friend. You have a rare gift that makes people want to hear what you have to say next. I know this because I am one of them. — DUDESKINS
- I really don't care how many guys travel with the team. With technology today, we get what we need from multiple sources. How many beat writers does it take to hold a digital recorder in the post-game conference anyway to hear the same old player/coach cliches. Murph can do his analytical things from home and spend more time with the kids/wife.— DennyP
- Bring back The Daily News PM and The National!!
- velocity is not down across the league. verlander threw 131 pitches last night and his very last one was 100 mph— TR
- why do we comment on the misuse of players, that is and has been charlie's approach.— avogel36
- After this reporter's breakdown/apology to the Phillies in spring training where he dedicated a column to the fact he didn't care if the Phillies told him the truth because it wasn't anybody's business, especially his own, you knew he was overwhelmed as a journalist and his days were numbered. Not getting the plum assignments to "guage the barometer of the team"? He's kidding right? It must be "too inside newspapers" to understand.— TomO
- Technology will be the end to all of us. Sad day when a market the size of Philadelphia has 1 newspaper writer covering road games.
..."Freddy Galvis' double last night gave him the team lead with four extra base hits. " Its a youngs man game. This summer saw a replay of the 2007 Phils team with youngish sprightly Utley,Rollins,Howard in their prime. Then Watched the first game this year and it was like agonizingly watching your parents age , feeling helpless.
— argonne - It was chilly here last night. Could be why Halladay's velocity was down along with the heavy Bay air. Don't read too much into it.— Sam Crow
- That you read for free!— rickm
- To be honest, if you saw Polanco's "double", you have to admit it should have been caught. He doesn't appear to have the power anymore to even put a ball in the gap. I think he should be hitting lower in the order, perhaps 7 or 8.— phillyjim7
- Murph - thanks for the info - it's always the best. Try to stay positive, my friend. One thing that does "stick" with me too: with all the times he has been hit on the elbow, why doesn't Polly wear a Barry Bonds-type shield? I mean, you keep getting hit there due to the way you bat - protect yourself, Placido!— dwp66
- Murph, would it make you feel better if I brought over a 12-pack of Anchor Steam for the game tonight? Then it would at least SEEM like you're in San Francisco.— Chris Garrity
- San Francisco continues to play dirty ball. It started with the NLCS when their pitchers went head-hunting. Polanco, again, last night hit on the Elbow, Pence whizzed by Tiny Tim. SFG Motto, "If you can't beat them, then Bean them."— LuckyNucky
- I think Bastardo can close, if needed.— Seegs
- They do have Brian Bowker Schneider available who is batting a whopping 000. Well on pace to continue his sub 200 usual performance.— kelprod2
