SB Nation - Greg Dobbs

The Wrong Focus: Why the Phillies Should Focus on Offense Off the Bench

David S. Cohen — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:40:19 -0000

Ruben Amaro Jr. is reportedly so content with the offense that Ben Francisco and Greg Dobbs can provide off the bench next year that he thinks that the Phillies should focus on defense with their other bench positions. Here's the Inquirer's introductory take on the matter:

The Phillies will emphasize defense when working to improve their bench this off-season, general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said yesterday.

While the team would love to add part-time players who can hit for batting average and power, they will "err on getting defense over offense," Amaro said.

Amaro is wrong here for two reasons that can be encapsulated with the following numbers: .630 and .447.

First, Amaro is wrong because the Phillies as a team had an awful .186/.284/.346 triple slash line and .630 OPS last year when pinch hitting. That .630 OPS was 12th in the NL. Their .186 batting average when pinch hitting was 15th in the NL. This is awful production from the bench, especially given that the bench usually comes into play in important game situations.

Second, the Phillies were 8-16 in interleague play last year (when you add in the World Series) and have a .447 overall winning record against the AL since interleague play has begun (including World Series appearances). As was quite clear in the World Series, the Phillies suffered with the DH at Yankee Stadium and Hideki Matsui being the main pinch hit threat at Citizens Bank Park. With a bench that's weak offensively, the Phillies will not eliminate their NL East disadvantage in interleague play or give themselves more options if they reach the World Series again.

Both of these reasons indicate the Amaro is foolish to emphasize defense over offense in his quest to fill out the bench this off-season.

But, there is one possible way that I could be less angry with this decision. In filling the third base spot, as PhillyFriar has noted over the past week, there are players available by free agency or trade who might be offensive assets but defensive liabilities. If Amaro were to pursue one of those players, it might be worth backing him up with a more defense-oriented infielder who can sub for the new third baseman when appropriate.

However, even this possibility would explain just one position. Even if that were to come to pass, the Phillies need more offense off the bench. Focusing on defense is wrong.

Player Origins of the 2009 Philadelphia Phillies

John Sickels — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:03:13 -0000

More photos » by Tom Mihalek - AP

Philadelphia Phillies infielder Jimmy Rollins, drafted in the second round in 1996.(AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)

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Philadelphia Phillies: Player Origins

Here are the player development origins of the 2009 National League Champion Philadelphia Phillies.

PITCHERS:

Antonio Bastardo, LHP: Signed by the Phillies as a free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2005.

Joe Blanton, RHP: Drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the first round in 2002, from the University of Kentucky. Acquired by the Phillies in a trade with Oakland in July 2008.

Chad Durbin, RHP: Drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the third round in 1996, from high school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Phillies signed him as a free agent in December 2007.

Scott Eyre, RHP: Drafted by the Texas Rangers in the ninth round in 1991, from the Junior College of Southern Idaho. The Phillies acquired him in a trade with the Cubs in August 2008.

Cole Hamels, LHP: Drafted by the Phillies in the first round in 2002, out of high school in San Diego, California.

J.A. Happ, LHP: Drafted by the Phillies in the third round in 2004, from Northwestern University.

Cliff Lee, LHP: Drafted by the Montreal Expos in the fourth round in 2000, from the University of Arkansas. Acquired in a trade with the Indians this summer.

Brad Lidge, RHP: Drafted by the Houston Astros in the first round in 1998, from the University of Notre Dame. Acquired in a trade with the Astros in November 2007.

Ryan Madson, RHP: Drafted by the Phillies in the ninth round in 1998, out of high school in Moreno Valley, California.

Pedro Martinez, RHP: Signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as a free agent from the Dominican Republic in 1988. The Phillies signed him as a free agent this year.

Chan Ho Park, RHP: Signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as a free agent from South Korea in 1994. The Phillies signed him as a free agent.

POSITION PLAYERS

Paul Bako, C: Drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the fifth round in 1993, out of the University of Southwestern Louisiana. The Phillies signed him as a free agent this year.

Eric Bruntlett, INF: Drafted by the Houston Astros in the ninth round in 2000, out of Stanford University. The Phillies got him in a trade with Houston in 2007.

Miguel Cairo, INF: Signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as a free agent out of Venezuela in 1990. Signed by the Phillies as a free agent in 2009.

Greg Dobbs, INF: Signed by the Seattle Mariners as an undrafted free agent from the University of Oklahoma in 2001. The Phillies claimed him on waivers in 2007.

Pedro Feliz, 3B: Signed by the San Francisco Giants as a free agent from the Dominican Republic in 1994. The Phillies signed him as a free agent in 2008.

Ben Francisco, OF: Drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the fifth round in 2002 from UCLA. The Phillies acquired him in a trade this summer with the Indians.

Ryan Howard, 1B: Drafted by the Phillies in the fifth round in 2001, from Southwest Missouri State University (now known as Missouri State University).

Raul Ibanez, OF: Drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 36^th round in 1992, from Miami-Dade Community College-South. The Phillies signed him as a free agent last winter.

Jimmy Rollins, SS: Drafted by the Phillies in the second round in 1996, out of high school in Alameda, California.

Carlos Ruiz, C: Signed by the Phillies as a free agent in 1998, out of Panama.

Matt Stairs, OF: Signed by the Montreal Expos as an undrafted free agent in 1989, out of high school in Canada. The Phillies acquired him in a trade with the Blue Jays in 2008.

Chase Utley, 2B: Drafted by the Phillies in the first round in 2000, out of UCLA.

Shane Victorino, OF: Drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the sixth round in 1999, out of high school in Wailuku, Hawaii.. Selected in the 2005 Rule 5 draft.

Jayson Werth, OF: Drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the first round in 1997, out of high school in Chatham, Illinois. Signed as a free agent by the Phillies in 2006.

ACQUISTIONS:

Via Trades/Waivers: Blanton, Eyre, Lee, Lidge, Bruntlett,. Dobbs, Francisco, Stairs.

Phillies Farm System Products: Bastardo, Hamels, Happ, Madson, Howard, Rollins, Ruiz, Utley.

Free Agents: Durbin, Martinez, Park, Bako, Cairo, Feliz, Ibanez, Werth.

Rule 5: Victorino.

ORIGINS

Drafted from North American high schools: Durbin (3^rd), Hamels (1^st), Madson (9^th), Rollins (2^nd), Victorino (9^th), Werth (1^st).

Drafted from junior colleges: Eyre (9^th), Ibanez (36^th)

Drafted from four-year colleges: Blanton (1^st); Happ (3^rd), Lee (4^th), Lidge (1^st), Bako (5^th), Bruntlett (9^th), Francisco (5^th), Howard (5^th), Utley (1^st)

Undrafted free agents from North America: Dobbs, Stairs

Latin Free Agents: Bastardo, Martinez, Cairo, Feliz, Ruiz

Asian Free Agents: Park

As you can see, the Phillies built their team through a variety of sources. Once the American League winner is determined, we'll analyze their roster and compare the two.

New Year, Same Game Four Result For Dodgers

Eric Stephen — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 04:15:31 -0000

More photos » by David J. Phillip - AP

Jonathan Broxton, who has come up big all season, blew this one tonight.

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It happened again. The Dodgers again held a lead over the Phillies in Game 4 of the NLCS, this time in the ninth inning, but Jonathan Broxton and the Dodgers walked off the field with a heartbreaking 5-4 loss, and a crushing 3-1 series deficit.

Broxton again faced Matt Stairs, who homered off him last season, but this time Stairs was in a four-for-50 slump. With one out, Stairs walked on four pitches. Up stepped Dodger killer Carlos Ruiz, who was hit with the first pitch, putting the winning run in scoring position. Broxton retired Greg Dobbs, bringing Jimmy Rollins to the plate with two outs and two on. Rollins lined a shot to the gap in right center, bringing home the tying and winning runs.

The Dodgers had this game. Bottom of the order facing Broxton with a lead is easy money. I really don't know what else to say. There is no game tomorrow, so we have roughly 44 hours to hear about how this series is over. From where I'm sitting, I can't say I disagree.

WP - Brad Lidge (1-0): 2 batters, 2 strikeouts

LP - Jonathan Broxton (0-1): 1 IP, 1 hit, 2 runs, 1 walk

Box Score

Friday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:40:29 -0000

More photos » by Pat Sullivan - AP

Former Brewers manager Ned Yost looks great with someone else's logo behind him.

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Some things to read while keeping your pimp hand fuzzy.

The search for a new pitching coach might be about to get much more interesting: Rick Peterson, considered by most the odds on favorite to get the job, is also interested in the vacancy in Florida. If Peterson turns out to be unavailable, the search may start from scratch.

Meanwhile, yesterday was interview day for Ned Yost in Houston. Inexplicably, Yost still doesn't seem to understand why he was let go in Milwaukee, and said this when asked about it:

"Don't lose 10 out of 13 games is the best thing I can figure," Yost told reporters in Houston, "and hope your offense stays on track so you don't struggle to score runs."

Alyson Footer also quoted him as saying the Astros are "one starter away from having a really good staff." If the Astros hire Yost, fans in Houston can look forward to a 2010 season full of "really battling" and "being one pitch away from getting out of it."

In yesterday's Mug, I noted that Mike Burns had been outrighted to AAA, but neglected to mention that he's injured: He presumably still has the labrum pathology that he was diagnosed with at the end of the season. It's a bit more challenging to demote an injured player, but TheJay has a look at the CBA's rules regarding such transactions.

I also mentioned Jon Heyman's decision to leave Prince Fielder off his MVP ballot. Thankfully, we're not the only ones upset about it: James Bailey of Hardball Cooperative has an in-depth look at Heyman's ballot, and the reasons Fielder should be on it.

Plunk Everyone has compiled a list of difficulty rankings for several stats around baseball: Follow the link to see where Jason Kendall, Ryan Braun, Dave Bush, Jeff Suppan, Prince Fielder, Braden Looper, Mike Cameron, Yovani Gallardo and Felipe Lopez rank among the best in baseball at the things they do.

If we learned one thing about Jody Gerut this season, it's this: he's miscast as a bench player. Among the 20 most frequently used pinch hitters in baseball this season, Gerut ranked 17th in OPS off the bench, ahead of only Mark Loretta, Greg Norton and Greg Dobbs. I have a feeling we'll have "Who is the real Jody Gerut?" conversations on more than one occasion this winter.

Further proof that it'd be really, really difficult to get fair value back in a deal involving Ryan Braun: Rowland's Office has a hypothetical deal sending Braun to the Braves for Jair Jurrjens, one of the game's top young pitchers. Even if you assume their expected values were exactly the same, Jurrjens has a few days over 2 years of service time, meaning he's under team control for four more seasons (through 2013), and will be arbitration eligible after next season. Braun, meanwhile, is under contract and cost controlled for two extra seasons (through 2015), and his salary never exceeds $12 million.

(I use Cot's Contracts all the time for info like that, and frequently forget to cite them. If you need contract info, Cot's is the place for it.)

In the AFL and on the farm:

Project Prospect's Friday topic of conversation is Lorenzo Cain, who's off to a pretty good start in the AFL and is expected to play roughly 4 times a week in an effort to bounce back from a rough 2009 season. They've also got a nice primer on what to expect from the AFL and they're looking for a scouting report on the speed of Taylor Green.
Wisconsin Sports Tap has a look at the season that was for the Huntsville Stars. It's kinda bleak down there, but Jonathan Lucroy is a nice bright spot.
Actually, statistics would suggest it was pretty bleak all over the Brewer minor leagues this season. Baseball America has the final batting leaderboards for 2009, and the only Brewer appearances are among the leaders in stolen bases (Eric Farris had 70) and strikeouts (Brock Kjeldgaard, Joe Koshansky and Brendan Katin all made the list).
As noted in BA's Minor League Transactions, the Brewers released 12 minor leaguers yesterday (FanShot). The most notable name on the list was 2004 third round pick Josh Wahpehpah.
Alcides Escobar, Mat Gamel and Angel Salome all made Baseball America's list of the top 20 prospects in the Pacific Coast League. Tom Haudricourt had mentioned this previously, but that link will take you to the team's press release.
John Sickels of Minor League Ball has a look back at his top 50 pitching prospects entering 2009, including a pre-suspension Jeremy Jeffress.

The Hendies tournament continues over at Brew City Sports: Follow the link to cast your vote in the Excrement Eight.

If you like your roundups of Brewer news, but wish there was less reading involved and maybe a bit more rambling, then you may be the perfect candidate to try out View From Bernie's Chalet's new video blog.

Or, if you like Brewer related fan fiction, you may want to try out Witrado's Quest and Doug Melvin's Hunt for October.

I'm sure this is exactly what Major League Baseball had in mind for the postseason: After a long delay between rounds, baseball is back and the main topics of conversation are weather and divorce. Jon Heyman thinks the Yankees and Angels will get the game in tonight, but could have a hard time tomorrow. Diamond Leung has the scoop on each side's attorney in the McCourt fiasco.

It could be worse, though: Fans in Texas aren't getting playoff baseball, and they're also not getting their playoff ticket money back until sometime in November. (h/t 6-4-2) The money is reportedly "tied up with MLB," and may already have been used to pay off some of the cash the Rangers reportedly had to borrow to make payroll this season.

If you ever doubted the usefulness of Twitter, doubt no longer: In amidst conversation about last night's NLCS opener, Jason of IIATMS presented me with a Nickname of the Year contender: Ronnie "Staypuft" Belliard.

On this day in 1982, the Brewers scored six runs in the seventh inning en route to a 7-5 victory over the Cardinals, evening the World Series at two games apiece.

Happy birthday today to Freddy Parejo, who spent the 2009 season patrolling the outfields in Huntsville and Nashville and turns 25 today. Birthday wishes also go out to Brian Harper, who spent the 1994 season as a Brewer and turns 50.

That's all I have for you today, unless you wanted to read about the rebound of Krispy Kreme or the rising price of chicken wings. I found both of those links via C. Trent Rosecrans.

Drink up.

NLDS Preview: Offense and Defense

Poseidon's Fist — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 21:00:29 -0000

More photos » by Tom Mihalek - AP

Throw a two-strike pitch out of the zone to Howard, and you'll probably get a strikeout.

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Welcome to Part 2 of 3 of the NLDS Preview, where I'll scout the Phillies in painstaking detail. RockiesMagicNumber will finish up the preview tonight or tomorrow morning with details on the pitching in the series.

The Bats: A

So you learned this morning that Citizens Bank Park, while a hitters park, is not nearly as big of an advantage as you might think. That in part is why I won't discredit the Phillies awesome offensive production, giving them their bats the lone A in the National League. Here are their rankings:

	Stat	NL Rank
Avg	.258	9th
Runs	820	1st
HR	224	1st
OBP	.334	8th
SLG	.447	1st
wOBA	.340	1st
OPS+	102	1st

Philadelphia's offensive numbers perfectly reflect their CBP's park factors. They are a home-run hitting team shy on singles. So either the park factor is right, the Phillies have fielded a team tailored to their park or a combination of the two. Either way, this is the best offense in the National League.

Let's look at Charlie Manuel's lineup, which is about as stable as you will find, as six players have played at least 155 games:

Player	Avg	HR	RBI	OBP	SLG	wOBA	OPS+
Jimmy Rollins - SS	.250	21	77	.296	.423	.316	85
Shane Victorino - CF	.292	10	62	.358	.445	.354	109
Chase Utley - 2B	.282	31	93	.397	.508	.402	135
Ryan Howard - 1B	.279	45	141	.360	.571	.393	139
Raul Ibanez - LF	.272	34	93	.347	.552	.379	130
Jayson Werth - RF	.268	36	99	.373	.506	.382	127
Pedro Feliz - 3B	.266	12	82	.308	.386	.302	80
Carlos Ruiz - C	.255	9	43	.355	.425	.337	103

A glance at the first five, and it's easy to understand why it would be such a big boost for Franklin Morales to get his head on straight.

Bench:*
IF: RH Eric Bruntlett (.171, 0, 7), RH Miguel Cairo (.267, 1, 2), LH Greg Dobbs (.247, 5, 20)
OF: RH Ben Francisco (.257, 15, 46), LH Matt Stairs (.194, 5, 17)
C: LH Paul Bako (.224, 3, 9)
*At the time of writing, playoff rosters had not yet been announced, so the bench composition is an educated guess.

The Gloves: A-

This Beyond the Boxscore article points to the Phillies as being the clearcut best NL playoff team defensively. Indeed, they rank 5th in MLB and 2nd in the NL in UZR/150, yet they have made 76 errors, second least in MLB.

Take the jump to a detailed look at Philadelphia's lineup.

LINEUP

1. Jimmy Rollins

#11 / Short Stop / Philadelphia Phillies

Height: 5-8

Weight: 175

Bats: B

Throws: R

Born: Nov 27, 1978

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Jimmy Rollins	155	672	100	168	43	5	21	77	44	70	31	8	.250	.296	.423

Comment: Rollins followed his disappointing 2008 campaign with three straight sub-.700 OPS months in 2009. The low point was a .167/.206/.292 June. However, he turned it around in a big way in July, throwing a more familiar .313/.385/.539 July. Since that month, he has maintained a better level of play than the first half, but he has sloped off as the second half has worn on.

Strengths: In spite of his terrible average, J-Roll is still a legitimate power threat, is very difficult to strike out and is just two shy of the MLB lead in stolen bases among shortstops. He seems to have lost a little bit of range defensively, but he did make a career-low six errors at shortstop, and he is coming off of two straight gold gloves.

Weaknesses: Rollins is ill-suited for the leadoff role with that OBP below .300. Not surprisingly, he doesn't walk much. He hit just .230 as a RHB.

2. Shane Victorino

#8 / Center Field / Philadelphia Phillies

Height: 5-9

Weight: 180

Bats: B

Throws: R

Born: Nov 30, 1980

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Shane Victorino	156	620	102	181	39	13	10	62	60	71	25	8	.292	.358	.445

Comment: In some regards, Victorino had his best season of his career this year. He didn't deserve the All-Star selection he received, though he did himself well by having his best month in July. He faded down the stretch though, posting just a .650 OPS in Sept/Oct.

Strengths: According to Fangraphs, he has done more damage hitting fastballs than any NL OF sans Justin Upton. He doesn't steal a lot of bases, though he will be a threat to do so. Fangraphs doesn't like his defense, but he earned a Gold Glove last season, and this year's Fangraphs values are incongruent with recent years. He's a good fielder.

Weaknesses: He tends to struggle against finesse pitchers like Aaron Cook and can have issues hitting the change-up. Victorino is better from the left-side of the plate.

3. Chase Utley

#26 / Second Base / Philadelphia Phillies

Height: 6-1

Weight: 200

Bats: L

Throws: R

Born: Dec 17, 1978

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Chase Utley	156	571	112	161	28	4	31	93	88	110	23	0	.282	.397	.508

Comment: Utley is no contest the best hitting second baseman in the game today, as he should collect his fourth consecutive Silver Slugger this year. He can thank Albert Pujols for robbing him of MVP Awards

Strengths: On top of all his ridiculous offensive numbers, he leads all NL 2B in fielding value. He has never had difficulty turning on fastballs, and he has shown the best plate discipline of his career, walking more and laying off pitches outside of the zone more. He actually performs slightly better against left-handed pitchers too. Note: this would be a good place to bring in your better RH reliever over playing the platoon splits.

Weaknesses: Is he tired? His.193/.290/.325 line since September 1 is truly pitcher-like. For some reason, he seems to have difficulty hitting in a count with three balls.

4. Ryan Howard

#6 / First Base / Philadelphia Phillies

Height: 6-4

Weight: 260

Bats: L

Throws: L

Born: Nov 19, 1979

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Ryan Howard	160	616	105	172	37	4	45	141	75	186	8	1	.279	.360	.571

Comment: Ryan Howard is a scary man to see digging into the batter's box. He had a solid second half and finished the regular season strong, posting a .303 average even since September 1.

Strengths: The imposing run producer finished the year 3rd in MLB in HR, 1st in RBI and 5th in slugging percentage. He is just an elite slugger who can change a whole game and series by seeing one bad pitch. Despite his giant frame, he has managed to be a decent defensive first baseman.

Weaknesses: As we all know, Howard is prone to the strikeout. He has cut his K-rate to a career low, but it's still over 30%. Howard has struck out in half his PA's that have reached two strikes, in part due to the fact that he is the worst hitter in the league at making contact on pitches out of the zone. He also exhibits a nasty platoon split, hitting just .207/.298/.365 against LHP.

5. Raul Ibanez

#29 / Left Field / Philadelphia Phillies

Height: 6-2

Weight: 225

Bats: L

Throws: R

Born: Jun 02, 1972

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Raul Ibanez	134	500	93	136	32	3	34	93	56	119	4	0	.272	.347	.552

Comment: Ibanez made me look like a genius in May when he helped put my fantasy team at the forefront of my division. He had a stellar All-Star first half, when he hit .309/.367/.649. However, he came down to earth in a big way in the second half, hitting a paltry .232/.326/.448.

Strengths: The veteran actually hits left-handers better than right-handers, so ignore the platoon splits here too. He has positive values against every pitch he's seen, so there's not one pitch that can get him out. Even with his second half struggles, he's sixth among NL outfielders in runs created.

Weaknesses: Maybe it's the short porch, but the former Mariner has graded out well defensively from UZR after years of being one of the worst defensive outfielders in the game. He'll go fishing on about a quarter of the pitches outside the zone, only making contact with half of them, which might explain his suddenly high K rate.

6. Jayson Werth

#28 / Right Field / Philadelphia Phillies

Height: 6-5

Weight: 225

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: May 20, 1979

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Jayson Werth	159	571	98	153	26	1	36	99	91	156	20	3	.268	.373	.506

Comment: It's hard to believe Ned Coletti DFA'd this All-Star just three years ago. It may seem like he has come out of nowhere, but really, the increase in production has only come with more at-bats. His rate stats have been in this vicinity for years.

Strengths: His power has been very consistent, knocking seven dingers in each of the last four months, six in the one prior. He trails only Adam Dunn and Ryan Braun in wRAA among NL outfielders, and while his season has been uninspiring on the defensive side statistically, he is regarded as a very solid defensive outfielder. He even has 20 stolen bases.

Weaknesses: He has a decent walk rate, but a 27.2% K rate is still a little too high. Werth struggles most against RHP and power pitchers, so Ubaldo will hold the edge over him in Game 1. He leans pretty heavily to being a pull hitter - only four home runs have gone opposite field and he's hitting just .257 when going the other way.

7. Pedro Feliz

#7 / Third Base / Philadelphia Phillies

Height: 6-1

Weight: 210

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Apr 27, 1975

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Pedro Feliz	158	580	62	154	30	2	12	82	35	68	0	1	.266	.308	.386

Comment: Feliz is one of those hitters Rockies fans think is a lot better than he is - like Fred Lewis - due to head-to-head matchups. Among all MLB third basemen, only Emilio Bonifacio had a worse wOBA. He may see purple pinstripes and go all Hulk on us, but he's not a real threat.

Strengths: The Phillies 3B doesn't strike out much. His UZR has gone down quite a bit since joining Philly, but he's still a solid defensive third baseman. 12 HR and 82 RBI is very strong for a 7-hole hitter.

Weaknesses: Feliz struggles with anything offspeed, though it's not as if he has really punished fastballs either. Only 11 NL hitters swing at more pitches out of the zone (Barmes is one of them), one of the reasons he is one of the worst NL hitters at drawing walks. He has limped to the finish, hitting in the .225 range over the last two months.

8. Carlos Ruiz

#51 / Catcher / Philadelphia Phillies

Height: 5-10

Weight: 200

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Jan 22, 1979

	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG
2009 - Carlos Ruiz	107	322	32	82	26	1	9	43	47	39	3	2	.255	.355	.425

Comment: Ruiz has improved dramatically with the bat from last year, moving from liabilty to unquestionable asset at the bottom of the lineup.

Strengths: Only one NL catcher strikes out less and only one walks more than Ruiz, who grades out as an above average MLB hitter regardless of defensive position despite a .266 BABIP. His 27% caught stealing percentage is solid, and he has committed just 3 errors, the least of any MLB catcher with 800+ innings logged. He has a decent amount of thump as well - his SLG% is just 15 points behind that of Clint Barmes.

Weaknesses: He struggles mostly against groundball pitchers, which bodes well for the Rockies, the best groundball staff in the business. Most of his offensive success comes at CBP - his road splits are .203/.296/.314

Monday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:31:45 -0000

More photos » by Pablo Martinez Monsivais - AP

Manny Parra delivers a meatball to the Nationals Sunday.

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Some things to read while streamlining tech support.

There was a brief period of time this weekend where it looked like I'd be writing about a three game winning streak this morning and wondering if the Brewers could get back to .500 later today. Then, Bad Manny showed up and ruined all of that. 63% of the voters in the poll at that link think Parra will never be a productive major league pitcher. I went the other way, because Parra is still pretty young and could put it together, but it seems clear he's unlikely to develop consistency anytime soon.

The Brewers still have a pretty good chance to earn a series victory in Washington, as Yovani Gallardo takes the mound today. He needs 29 more strikeouts this season to become just the fourth Brewer ever to reach 200. He also needs two more wins to become just the third Brewer since the 2000 season to win 13 games.

If you missed it yesterday, and the site stats would suggest you did, TheJay and I both had notes on Prince Fielder: I took a look at the historical significance of Fielder's walks and TheJay speculated on Fielder's potential performance in the Midwest League. Of course after we spent half the day talking about him he went 0-for-4, just the second time in his last 14 games where he's failed to earn his way on base.

The Brewers open a three game series with the Reds tomorrow, and both teams will enter play with their rotation in a state of upheaval. For the Brewers, Jeff Suppan and Dave Bush will start on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively, making their returns from the DL. The Reds, meanwhile, have yet to name a starter for Wednesday, but it won't be Aaron Harang, who underwent an emergency appendectomy over the weekend and could miss the rest of the season. Kip Wells is the likely candidate to replace him.

A quick side note: Is there such a thing as a non-emergency appendectomy? Why would a surgeon remove your appendix if it wasn't an urgent situation?

Roguejim has a look at the latest Elias rankings, with the Brewers still projected to have one Type A free agent and four Type B's. Felipe Lopez's recent play, though, has pushed him up to the edge of Type A status.

In the minors:

The Timber Rattlers drew 5459 fans to yesterday's game and set a new franchise record for single season attendance. With Brett Lawrie bobblehead day still remaining on their schedule, the Rattlers could surpass 250,000 fans this season.
The Rattlers also have (or, in the case of Brett Lawrie, had) two of the 50 youngest players in Low A ball, according to Project Prospect. Efrain Nieves is the other one.
What the Timber Rattlers don't have, though, is one of the Best Team Names in the Minors, at least according to Wezen-ball. The Brevard County Manatees do, though.

With back to back wins on Friday and Saturday, CoolStandings had upgraded the Brewer playoff chances to 1.8%, but they fell back to .7% with the loss yesterday. If that stat wasn't enough for you, Tyler Maas has ~~ten~~ nine signs your team is falling out of playoff contention.

Around baseball:

Astros: Signed Armando Benitez to a minor league deal.
Cardinals: Placed Kyle Lohse on the DL with a strained groin.
Mariners: Released reliever Luis Pena.
Marlins: Placed Brendan Donnelly on the DL with a calf strain.
Mets: Designated infielder Andy Green for assignment.
Phillies: Placed third baseman Greg Dobbs on the DL with a strained calf.
Red Sox: Designated reliever Fernando Cabrera for assignment.
Rockies: Placed Aaron Cook on the DL with shoulder soreness and signed Russ Ortiz and Jason Giambi.

Albert Pujols is batting just .279 since the All Star Game, and (gasp!) his OPS over that time is under 1.000. Clearly, without question, we should abolish the Home Run Derby.

If you're looking to read some in-depth analysis to get your brain working on Monday morning, then reading the Mug was clearly the wrong decision. Instead, you should check out Baseball Analysts' look at batters' decisions to swing at 3-2 pitches, and the possibility they're doing it too often.

On this day in 1993, Kevin Reimer went 6-for-6 as the Brewers beat the A's 7-6 in 13 innings. Reimer also drew an intentional walk to reach base a seventh time.

Happy birthday today to Everett Stull, who appeared in 22 games as a Brewer in 2000 and 2002 and turns 38 today. Happy belated birthdays to Mark DiFelice (33) and Zach Braddock (22), who celebrated their birthdays yesterday.

Oh, and long before he threw the banana, Orlando Hernandez had everyone doing The El Duque.

Drink up.

Lump of Cole: Mets 4, Phillies 2

dajafi — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 03:44:29 -0000

More photos » by Paul J. Bereswill - AP

Oh, how you do go on, Jeff Francoeur! (AP Photo/Paul J. Bereswill)

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From the first Mets batter of the game, you had the feeling this would be yet another one of those nights for Cole Hamels. The struggling lefty faced Angel Pagan in the bottom of the first inning, got ahead 1-2, saw Pagan foul off four straight pitches and then lace one just out of the reach of third baseman Greg Dobbs.

Hamels wasn't scored on in the first, but allowed two runs in the second and third innings each, lowlighted by hitting opposite number Mike Pelfrey on an 0-2 count in the second and a leadoff Jeff Francoeur homer an inning later, to put the Phils behind 4-1. He left after five innings and 92 pitches, allowing ten hits including the one home run, hitting two batters, and striking out six. The loss dropped Hamels to 7-8 on the year and 1-4 lifetime against the team he dismissed as "chokers" last winter. Hamels last won on July 28, against the Diamondbacks; since then, he's gone 5.0, 5.1, 6.0, and 5.0 innings, and the team has lost all four games.

The Phillies had chances against Mike Pelfrey and three relievers, but couldn't get the big hit when needed; they left 11 men on base, including the bases loaded against Pelfrey in the sixth and first and third against Francisco Rodriguez in the ninth. But the Mets closer struck out Chase Utley and Ryan Howard to end the game... and then celebrated like he'd done something remotely approaching what Hamels did last October.

The series continues Saturday night with J.A. Happ against New York's Tim Redding.

Lou Piniella, This One's On You: Bullpen Mismanagement Sends Cubs To 4-3 Loss

Al — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:30:08 -0000

More photos » by Paul Beaty - AP

Eating your glove won't help, Kevin.

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Was Lou sleeping in the dugout during the eighth inning? Or for that matter, for the entire game?

Let's reconstruct Carlos Marmol's disastrous eighth inning, in which he wound up walking in a run which gave the Phillies a 3-2 lead. He walked the leadoff hitter, Carlos Ruiz, then got Greg Dobbs and Jimmy Rollins on fairly deep fly balls. By that time he had thrown 13 pitches, only seven of them strikes.

Why wasn't John Grabow warming up right then, considering that after Shane Victorino, THREE tough lefthanded hitters were to follow? Lou has yanked pitchers in the past, well before they needed to be in some cases, for the platoon advantage. Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez are three of the best LH hitters in the National League. But no one got up in the left-field bullpen.

Thus when Marmol hit Victorino (on a 1-2 pitch), no lefthander was ready to go.

Then when Marmol walked Utley, still no lefthander was ready to go.

So while Marmol was walking Howard to force in the tying run, only then did Grabow hurriedly get up and get ready. Too late, unfortunately; Grabow did come in after throwing only a handful of warmup pitches and struck out Ibanez, but the Phillies had the lead.

What if Grabow comes in to face Utley? Maybe he gets him and the game stays tied, and then Milton Bradley's clutch 9th-inning single wins it. It's possible, of course, that Brad Lidge isn't pitching in the 9th in a tie game, but maybe the Cubs win some other way. And incidentally, next time you complain about Kevin Gregg blowing saves, Lidge has seven of them this year, leading the major leagues and sports a ridiculous 7.36 ERA.

And at this point, Carlos Marmol can't be trusted in the eighth inning any more; he's got to be used only in low-leverage situations in blowouts. Give the eighth-inning job to Angel Guzman (who threw two solid innings last night).

I've got more, but there's too much to squeeze in here above the fold.

The Cubs lost to the Phillies in 12 innings 4-3, after Kevin Gregg gave up his MLB-leading (among relievers) 11th homer of the season. There's more Lou blame to lay: why was Aaron Miles in the game pinch-hitting for Guzman in the 10th inning? Miles came into the game 2-for-14 as a pinch-hitter. I'd have rather seen Koyie Hill up there. Or Aramis Ramirez -- seriously, if Ramirez isn't OK to pinch-hit in that situation, which called for him even though his shoulder is barking at him, he needs to go on the DL. It was laughable that Charlie Manuel felt he had to pull the right-handed Tyler Walker for Scott Eyre right there, because Manuel must have known Lou wouldn't call on Ramirez. Miles cooperated by swinging at Eyre's first pitch and grounding into a force play.

Can we take up a collection? I'd guess that by the end of this homestand, five more games, between the (approximately) 200,000 people who will come into Wrigley Field by Sunday, and everyone here at BCB, we could collect enough money to pay off the second year of Miles' contract, give the money to the Cubs, and then they could just release him. I'm not going to get into the "worst free-agent signing" debate about Miles, because clearly, the 25th man on the roster isn't going to make a difference in many games.

But he did last night, and the Cubs have to have five or six people in the minor league system who could play better just by accident. Andres Blanco is eligible to come off the disabled list next Wednesday (the 19th), and maybe then Jim Hendry can cut the cord on Miles.

All of this ruined an outstanding outing by Rich Harden, who retired the first sixteen batters he faced before walking Ruiz in the sixth, and then, one out later, giving up a no-doubt-about-it homer to Rollins that cut through the teeth of a pretty good wind blowing in. Here's another one on Lou: why wasn't Harden at least allowed to start the eighth inning? He did allow two more baserunners in the seventh, but had thrown only 87 pitches, and the bottom of the Phillies order was due up. Why not give Harden at least a chance to go eight?

It also spoiled another fine day from Milton Bradley, who had two hits, drove in the tying run in the ninth and gave the Cubs a shot at winning the game by stealing only his second base of the season when Derrek Lee struck out in that inning. If Jake Fox could have driven the ball just a bit farther past Victorino that inning, we'd be talking about a dramatic Cubs victory. Bradley also made three fine catches in right field, as Jack Brickhouse might have described them: "plucking the balls off the tops of tall blades of grass out there!" Bradley seems energized since moving to the #2 spot in the lineup -- keep up the good work, Milton.

The night also featured, for the second day in a row, an umpire-reviewed replay of an apparent home run, by Carlos Ruiz in the top of the ninth. Third base umpire Dale Scott signaled home run on a ball that was at least ten feet on the foul side of the left-field foul pole -- the fan who caught it was in section 101, clearly on the foul side of the line. The umpires, reviewing a HR call for the first time in Wrigley Field history, went through the Cubs dugout to watch replay, came back and correctly ruled it foul. Ruiz then grounded out.

Non-baseball incident of interest: about an hour before game time, a couple of men were arrested for allegedly selling counterfeit tickets outside the bleachers near the corner of Waveland and Kenmore. This arrest took no fewer than nine police cars and a police scooter, and a third man was talking to the police -- apparently, one of the men arrested had the third man's cellphone. This got the third man carted away, also.

Fortunately for the Cubs, all of the teams they are chasing in the division and wild-card races -- the Cardinals, Giants and Rockies -- also lost games at home last night (can someone explain to me how the Pirates can beat the Rockies in Denver, but the Cubs can't?). Thus, the Cubs lost no ground to any of them, and still trail by only three games in both races. There's still plenty of time to catch up.

But they had better start now, and the manager had better get his head on straight again.

Cubs End Phillies' 10-Game Winning Streak With 13-Hit Attack, Win 10-5

Al — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 12:22:28 -0000

More photos » by H. Rumph Jr - AP

Ryan Theriot had three SB yesterday; after a bad year running the bases in 2008, he's 13-for-18 in 2009.

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PHILADELPHIA -- I think yesterday's game was a prime example of what Jim Hendry envisioned when he put together the 2009 roster.

Never mind that two of the starting players yesterday (Jeff Baker and Koyie Hill) were either not on the team or were backups when the season began; the Cubs had 13 hits and drew nine walks off six Philadelphia pitchers and cruised to a 10-5 win over the Phillies, ending Philly's 10-game winning streak and finishing off a 5-2 road trip, the best trip of the season to date.

Baker had a two-run double in the four-run fourth inning and on the play, the ball got away from Phillies 2B Chase Utley, allowing Alfonso Soriano to score. All of this happened right after BCB reader Connecticut Cubs Fan came by to say hi -- risking his life to get past the ushers at Citizens Bank Park, who won't let you go and visit friends in another section. By Wednesday they had gotten used to me being in section 141 so several BCB readers (sdurst, wrigley12 among others, and sorry if I left you out!) were able to stop by and say hi.

I'm being too hard on the CBP employees -- in general, they were friendly and efficient, and even when chasing people away from the fence two rows in front of me they were nice about it. Remember that in general, Philadelphia hasn't been a place used to everyday sellouts; this is the sixth year of the Phillies' new ballpark and yesterday was their 40th sellout of the season (in 48 home dates). Despite that, there were quite a few empty seats and it emptied out even faster when the Cubs raced out to 4-0, 5-1 and 8-3 leads, even though there were tons of neon-T-shirted kids groups there. Those kids were lined up completely around the park when the game was over for the "Kids Run The Bases" promotion -- they were probably doing that for at least an hour after the game ended.

Despite the 8-3 lead in the seventh inning, the Cubs just had to make the small contingent of Cubs fans nervous. By that time Phillies manager Charlie Manuel had been ejected after Paul Bako was called out on what plate umpire Dan Iassogna said was a foul tip caught by Koyie Hill. In the bottom of the seventh Carlos Zambrano, who had sailed along with little trouble, loaded the bases and had to be yanked as he reached 115 pitches. Sean Marshall, who has been outstanding all year at stranding inherited runners, allowed a two-run single to Greg Dobbs, one of the few times he's failed since being moved to the bullpen.

The Phillies threatened again in the eighth when Aramis Ramirez -- who probably should have gotten the day off, a hot, humid day after he played all 13 innings the night before -- committed an error on a ground ball that he usually handles routinely. Two outs and a walk later, Lou had to summon Kevin Gregg for a more-than-one-inning save for the second time on the trip. With two runners on, he walked Utley before getting Ryan Howard on a weak grounder, and then finished off the Phillies easily in the ninth inning after the Cubs added two insurance runs in the top of the frame. I'm not sure who took over for Charlie Manuel after he was tossed, but whoever it was apparently wanted to make the most of his temporary managerial status. Granted that Brad Lidge was getting hit pretty hard, but why on Earth would you bother changing pitchers with two out in the ninth inning of a game on a sticky, humid day, after playing 13 innings the night before? (Maybe Lou gave them the idea.)

With the Astros' 4-3 win over the Cardinals last night (only the second blown save for Ryan Franklin), the Cubs move to within one game of first place, tied with Houston. I'm a little concerned about the Astros, though I wonder how they've gotten this far with that pitching staff. Houston also has a negative run differential -- and you know teams that have winning records with that kind of differential generally can't keep that up for an entire season. Let's hope they cool off before Monday, when they'll begin a four-game series at Wrigley Field.

The 2009 Cubs are a flawed team and, as we know, have played well in only fits and starts this season. Nevertheless, the current run -- seven wins in the last 11 games -- is a nice base to build on. There are moves likely to be made in the next few days; there's no way this team can continue with Koyie Hill as, essentially, their only catcher (since Geovany Soto's injury, Hill, starting every day, is hitting .119, 5-for-42). Either Geo has to recover quickly or the Cubs have to make a deal for another catcher. We'll also soon find out whether the B.J. Ryan experiment is going to work (if so, that will really help the bullpen, either giving a second lefty, or allowing Sean Marshall to start again), and it appears that Ryan Dempster may be able to start as soon as Sunday, as long as an X-ray taken today comes out well.

Flawed? Yes. In contention? Definitely. Hang in there and enjoy the off-day.

Amazing Stories: Phillies 8, Pirates 7

dajafi — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 04:40:54 -0000

More photos » by Tom Mihalek - AP

5 months ago: Philadelphia Phillies' Raul Ibanez is greeted at home plate by Jimmy Rollins, center, and Matt Stairs, right, after scoring the game-winning run on a single by Paul Bako in the ninth inning of a baseball game with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Saturday, July 11, 2009, in Philadelphia. The Phillies won 8-7. (AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)

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Entering the bottom of the ninth Saturday night, the Phillies trailed 7-3 in a game that for eight innings had sent the message, "this isn't your night, gentlemen." Cole Hamels was blitzed for five runs, including three homers, in the first two innings. After the Phillies finally mounted some offense against Pittsburgh starter Ross Ohlendorf to draw within 5-3 after six, Chad Durbin's wildness and two misplays by third baseman Greg Dobbs immediately gave the Pirates two runs back. With Jimmy Rollins on first in the bottom of the seventh, Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson made a highlight-reel catch with his back to the infield, spun, fired, and caught Rollins off base for a double play.

And then a final frame that was the Phillies lineup at its sublime best. Matt Stairs pinch-homer; Jimmy Rollins walk and steal around a Shane Victorino flyout; Chase Utley single, Jimmy to third; Ryan Howard with a missile shot out to center that ties it. A ground-rule double for Raul Ibanez, an intentional walk to Jayson Werth; Pedro Feliz loads them with an infield single. And Bako--Paul Bako, about whom I've spent a good chunk of the last seventy-two hours or so actually annoyed that he wears the uniform of my favorite team--wins the sucker with his second RBI hit of the night.

Eight wins, one loss on the homestand with one to go. Good times.