Yesterday on 97.5, some incredibly ingenious program director got Keith Law, national ESPN writer, to come on to Mike Missanelli’s radio show on the  ESPN affiliated radio station to discuss Howard’s contract extension.  This was to be a beautiful showdown between old school mentality and current objective analysis.  What we got were two smug jerks sounding like two smug jerks.  Most people will know that we here at The Good Phight fall clearly into Law’s side of analysis.  So, it would seem like I would be happy to see him go head to head with Mike, who clearly has a sloping forehead, hair in places he shouldn’t and got recently laid off from his car insurance commercials.  The end result was that I actually felt like I was on Missanelli’s side, only cause Law just really really sucked.

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Who's excited for next year?

Full year of Cliff Lee?

Hamels will return to form.

Chooch turning into a stud.

More Werth antics.

Beating the Mets!

How long til pitchers and catchers report?

Look, some person who is not smart, most people around here probably hate you.  You may have hit your wife in public, or maybe you have complained about your role 100s of times, and there might be a reason why people call you a 10 cent head.  Maybe I have always backed you, just because I thought you could pitch well or do something else worthwhile.

Since someone like you hasn't done crap for us this year, get the hell out.  That bling on your finger, if you were here last year?  That is due to Cole Hamels.  I know you can't read this you probable illiterate douche, but maybe you can have a team official or somebody else act it out for you. 

TALKING SHIT RIGHT AFTER THE PHILLIES WON A GAME TO KEEP FROM BEING ELIMINATED IS RETARDED.

What the hell could possibly go through that air-tunnel in your head where in such euphoria after a big win, the first thought that you maybe had is to deride your teammate or someone you know, regardless of the stupid things he said.  I am glad you won't be back next year or sometime in the undetermined future.

[Edit: Sotry made more ambiguous to not to refer to anyone in particular.]

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Take that Yankees...AND Adam Sandler!

 ...than good.  That is what somebody's mama always says, somewhere. 

 Burnett sure seemed like a beast last night.  Unhittable to say the least.  Sometimes perception matches up with reality; Burnett was unhittable.  The problem is that he was walkable and the Phillies got screwed there.  Burnett knew what he was getting and was Tom Glavine about it.  He knew he didn't have to throw one pitch down the middle of the plate and he didn't.  Fair or not, I'll post and you'll decide.

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http://sports.yahoo.com/video/player/feat/16182260;_ylt=AsdrvheAMZdCBGd0eibiE6oRvLYF

The Phillies have 7 of the top 10 post season homeruns in their book.  At first I thought it was just NL since it was just Phillies, Phillies, Phillies.

I have to imagine that Lidge has set the largest gap in ERA for any reliever with over like 50 innings, in the history of baseball between last year and this year.

This has been an interesting year to say the least.  One of our MVPs has gone into the toilet.  Our lights out closer's lights have been out.  We actually made a trade for a top class pitcher and we picked up possibly the best pitcher ever in his prime.  Most people would never have guessed that all of this would have occurred this year and that the Phillies would be 8 up with a handful of game to go.

How are we doing it?  Comes down to the basics.  At first glance to the untrained eye that "watches" the game, we are no good at the basics.  But we are, check it out.

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Phils can't score against starter, Phils take the lead against reliever, Phils lose the because of their closer.

Anything else happen I didn't mention?

Howard is certainly a controversial figure in the saberworld.  One one hand, he puts up great counting stats and very good rate stats.  On the other hand, his counting stats overshadow his rate stats in the minds of the general public.  We are all homers here (for the most part) so we love to see him get accolades (deserved or not).

Anyway, based on his baseball-reference stats and their Hall of Fame statistics, Howard looks like a sure lock.  Of course, he could break the system (which wouldn't surprise me, but check the numbers.

He also has a ROY, an MVP and a 2nd and 5th place finish.  He is a lock to get a top 5 this year if he continues to produce and is likely to add to his grey ink numbers.  If Fielder tails off, then he could take the lead in RBI.  Pujols leads him in HRs, but with the Cards running away with the division, there is little to no need for most teams to pitch around him (like teams in his division).

I am not saying his is going to make the HOF.  Probably not, but he sure is looking good on these HOF stats.

96 hits 22 2B 2 3B 37 HR 61 XBH 35 Singles

64% of his hits have been for extra bases.  I wonder what the highest percentage for a qualified hitter has been.

Does he have a shot (well, of course he HAS a shot)?  His chances looked dim on July 29th after an 0-3 left him at .353.  Since then he has gone 36-84, batting .480.  Yeah, after "dropping" to .353. Mauer goes on a .480 tear to get him up to .380 on the year.  I don't think he keeps it up, but wow can this dude hit.

Obviously we have to do something about him.  I still like him, but the dude is a total basketcase right now.  Afraid to throw strikes and when he does, they go over the wall.

Any chance we wanna try Chan Ho as a closer?  I am shocked myself saying this, but the closer role is overrated and Chan Ho has been pretty good in the pen...

There has been some recent talk (most on the sports radio stations) about Cole and a comment he made about the balls just happening to find their way through.  Some people speculated that this was a shot at the defense and Cole should look at himself.  I don't know Cole and how self-aware he is, but his recent comments are much more on the ball than the criticism against him.  Let's compare this year to last.

First the bad.

2008 ERA: 3.09
2009 ERA: 4.68

End of story, right?  Cole is to blame, he isn't staying focused, he sucks, he's a prima donna, yadda yadda yadda.  Or maybe we should look a little deeper.

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Edison Volquez is getting Tommy John and is Johnny Cueto next?

Cueto's ERA has been going up since the Phils destroyed him in early July.  He is just 23 years old and his pitch count looks like this:

109
88
108
98
109
98
100
112
111
104
101
111
110

After his 7th straight game of 100 or more pitches, and his ERA at 2.17, he started getting crushed.

82 pitches 5 ER
95 pitches 5 ER
108 pitched 0 ER
49 pitches 9 ER
101 pitches 4 ER
108 pitches 3 ER
105 pitches 4 ER
96 pitched 6 ER

ERA for July is 8.16 and his season ERA is now 4.06.  Baker is turning these guys into Woods and Prior.  Someone stop him before it's too late.

Phillies not big on Giants' spacious ballpark

The old "we'd beat them in our park" line.  All this does is add fodder to the good pitching beats good hitting fallacy.

For the Phillies, there will be no doggin' it

Phils play well after Aug 1st blah blah blah...Howard will tear it up in Sept blah blah blah...Cliff Lee...blah blah blah...do these guys really think there is any correlation here or is this just filler?

It's not a stretch to say Martinez is ready for Phillies start

"He felt he needed to work at it. He knows what he needs. He doesn't need a pitching coach to tell him what he needs. He's his own best pitching coach."  Here's a guy who knows his role in life.

Amaro's team performed on deadline

Amaro = J Edgar Hoover

Bollinger signs with Phillies

""It was a tough decision to choose between that and school, but it is my chance to do what I always wanted to do," Bollinger said."  I think the word "that" refers to money.

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It's a little random to bring up this guy, but I was looking through some of Schmidty's years and noticed that Mike Scott won the Cy Young (well deserved) in 1986 with this line.

18-10 2.22 ERA 0.923 WHIP 306 K 275.1 IP

Very dominating year in his year 31 season.  However, where the freak did it come from?

In 1985 he pitched 221 innings with 137Ks and in the 4 season before that (with about 150 innings each year, he never broke 100, not even close). 

Anyone know the deal with him or is it just some sort of anomoly that will never be explained.

I am leaning towards this:

Hamels
Lee
Blanton
Happ
Pedro

This is more than just about wanting Moyer out of the rotation, but this is about making smart financial moves.  Moyer has escalator clauses in his contract making big buckos starting soon.  Put him in the pen or out in the pasture and save some cash.

That's right boys and girls, it's time for another round of...Guess the Minor Leaguers!  This is where I give you a minor's career line and you have to guess who it is, no cheating!  Are you ready?  Then let's go!

#1: .314 BA .385 OBP .516 SLG .901 OPS

#2: .299 BA .387 OBP .548 SLG .935 OPS

#3: 3.54 ERA 1.234 WHIP 0.6 HR/9  3.2 BB/9  7.5 K/9

#4: 1.43 ERA 0.950 WHIP 0.1 HR/9 3.3 BB/9 12.4 K/9

#5: 4.14 ERA 1.324 WHIP 0.9 HR/9 3.6 BB/9 8.0 K/9

#6: 3.14 ERA 1.223 WHIP 0.7 HR/9 2.6 BB/9 7.5 K/9

#7: .290 BA .370 OBP .428 SLG .798 OPS

#8: .282 BA .357 OBP .465 SLG .822 OPS

#9: .285 BA .369 OBP .436 SLG .804 OPS

#10: .262 BA .329 OBP .384 SLG .713 OPS


Answers after the jump...

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And Brunt gets a chance to lower his awful numbers.  Utleys been in a little bit of a funk since Florida.

His OPS has gone from 1.004 to .964 with 4 hits in his ;ast 27 ABs since July 17th and he has made a few glaring errors in the field. 

My guess is he'll be riding the pine until the 8th depending on whether we need him to PH.

Post em if you got them, even if they seem crazy or insane!

http://twitter.com/mlbhomerun

"MLBXM & MLBNetwork are reporting Phillies are close to deal for Cy Young pitcher Roy Halladay. Announcement could come within 24 hrs #MLB"

Seriously, the dude is 5-0 and people get the chills when they talk about him, but his numbers look kinda bleh to me.

48 IP 38 H 5 HR 36 K 23 BB


Color me unimpressed.  Am I missing something here?

Moyer is done.  Will he be able to shut down stupid teams every now and then?  Sure.  But the dude is somehow 9-7 with 5.65 ERA.

Game Runs

1: 4
2: 4
3: 4
4: 1
5: 5
6: 7
7: 7
8: 3
9: 4
10: 1
11: 2
12: 3
13: 6
14: 1
15: 4
16: 1
17: 6
18: 0
19: 5

It's tough to win with that inconsistency.  If Halladay comes here, Moyer has to be banished to the pen.

Half way through his first year as GM. 

If he fails on Halladay and someone else gets him, Amaro (fair or not) will be crushed. 

If he overpays for Halladay and we win...success.

I want to see if Amaro can pull off a good trade and I don't care about the end result (in terms of evaluating the trade).

I have been thinking about this for a while and I think this is the best move to make for the Phillies.  Vic is still fairly young and inexpensive and has reached his likely peak value...ever.  All-star with an OBP above .370.  You move Werth to center and then use one of your young OF's to fill in.  I think this is what smart teams do in terms of getting the most value from their players.  I won't kill the Phils for not doing this as it is easier to put Vic out there and hope for the best.  I think what you could get for him and prospects + playing Taylor or even Mayberry is more valuable than what Victorino brings.

Thanks to Mother Nature, the Phils were able to finish off a 3 game sweep in a 4 game series which was originally 3 games.  Either way, it has put the Phils at 13 games over .500 (which is their high water mark in games over .500, but not in winning percentage).  It's a very nice record, but one which has been achieved in a fairly bipolar way.  Some weeks the Phils look like world beaters and others they look like the Mets.

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Non-Phillies idea here, but I was wondering if it would make sense to platoon pitchers.  If you had Micah Owings on your team (and maybe Dontrell Willis of old), you basically put on in left field while the other pitches and switch back and forth between left handed and right handed batters.  The platoon advantage you get might be worth the 1 less bat in your offense even if you don't have a Micah Owings.

Take that old fat man Zimmer...

Zimmer Goes Down


Here is a silly like of a recording of a video and some Yankee's fan.

Down Goes Zimmer