SB Nation User Blog: pacino

Time To Fire Tom McCarthy

pacino — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 00:52:02 -0000

He crossed a line last night from which there is no going back. During the second inning of the Phillies/Nationals game McCarthy manned the television broadcast, as per usual. When Elijah Dukes launched a home run into Ashburn Alley, McCarthy reacted as though it were the playoffs and and he was part of the Nationals' broadcast. His voice went up, he used his lame 'gone!' catchphrase, and essentially acted the anti-homer. Hell, he almost verbally orgasmed over Ryan Zimmerman's upper-deck shot in the fifth inning.

Alas, none of that was out of step with the rest of his calls over the early season. He's been anything but a fan, and his history as a bonafide Mets fan bares that out. Still, one could almost stand him if he didn't trample over something sacred to Phillies fans...

...Then he decided to do just that. Back to that second inning call: McCarthy, still marveling at the strength of one Elijah Dukes, muttered a line so insane it boggled the mind of many a Phillies fans. The line? Let me quote it verbatim:

"That was Mike Piazza territory!"

Mike Piazza territory (tm). Seriously. Seriously? SERIOUSLY?! To call Ashburn Alley, named after one Richie 'Whitey' Ashburn, MIKE PIAZZA TERRITORY is like a dagger straight to the heart. It's hardly worth mentioning Piazza barely played at Citizens' Bank Park, nailling just two homers as a visiting New York Met.

Oh, a Met. Mike Piazza was a Met. Tom McCarthy is a Mets fan. It goes as far as that. He could've certainly called it 'Ryan Howard territory' and I wouldn't have minded. But to go to Mike Piazza, that's a low blow. Either it's prepared material, which is simply an egregious misstep, or it was something off the top of his head, which is that much worse since the first comparison he comes up with is to a former Met icon.

It's time Phillies front office. Tom McCarthy must be delivered. His time in the sun has set, and someone with a little more fire and passion in their loins for the Phillies franchise must step forward. Scott Franzke comes to mind. Formerly thought of as mercenary filler for the radio, Franzke's become the de facto #1 announcer since the passing of the legendary Harry Kalas. His chemistry with Larry Andersen is undeniable, and his sincere joy at watching the Phillies comes through without becoming obnoxious. He's taken to this team, and many fans have taken to him. It's time to drop the de facto part of #1 announcer.

This is not an idle request. Please contact spalmer@phillies.com if you are as upset as this as I. Some may see this as an overreaction, and it may very well be one; I don't care. This was the last straw.

also posted at huge tiny mistake

Is It Time To Bench Pedro Feliz?

pacino — Thu, 01 May 2008 04:13:18 -0000

Also posted at HTM

When Pedro Feliz was signed to a 2 year, 8.5 million dollar deal in the off-season I had my reservations about the whole thing. Basically, I looked at these things called 'facts' and wondered why the Phillies should be starting a guy with a ludicrously low on-base percentage (OBP). Here were my thoughts on the signing:

So what do I think? I think he’ll be a slight upgrade over Nunez/Dobbs/Helms, but he’s no great shakes. He’s a below-average hitter, as his career 84 OPS+ shows(100 is average). He’s a terrific defensive third baseman, but does that make up for his horrible patience at the plate? Somewhat, but that’s only because of the trash that was thrown out at third base the past couple seasons. Feliz is not a big upgrade, he’s a VERY small upgrade…VERY small. It seems like a waste of money, to be honest. We could’ve spent no money and gotten production that was only a little worse. Considering I feel a large part of offense is getting on base, his horrendous .288 career OBP is worrisome. His career EQA (basically an offensive metric which attempts to put everything together independent of park and league effects) is .244. .260 is league average, FWIW. Helms’ career EQA is .263.

Well, it looks like I've been largely vindicated. Feliz is posting career lows in damn near every category except one...he actually has 7 walks. However, that may be due to a combination of his spot in the order and the hitting philosophy of the Phillies ballplayers and hitting coach rubbing off on him somewhat. Problem is, when he tries to swing that bat he just can't get it to fall to a spot without a defender there ready to scoop it up. He went 0-3 last night against the San Diego Padres to drop his average to a putrid .209, while his OBP dropped to .265 and his slugging percentage fell to .363. That adds up to a 628 OPS, which is a little handy-dandy indicator showing just how horrible he's been at the plate. To put that in perspective, Wes Helms, the man the Phillies basically told to not come back this season because of how much he struggled, amassed a 665 OPS in 2007 in 280 at bats. Their OPS+ is nearly identical, with Feliz at 67 in 2008 (with 100 being league average) and Helms at 68 in 2007.

The above means I was wrong in at least one respect. I stated Feliz would be an ever so slight upgrade at third base. He's actually provided no discernible upgrade in offensive production, and while his defense is better than Helms', that does little to cover up the massive problem at third.

But we have a solution! The Phillies have a potential fix for third base and it wouldn't cost them a dime. Oh, they might have a little egg on their faces, but they'll get over it. They could pull Greg Dobbs from off the bench and give him some more regular playing time.

BUT HE'S A PINCH-HITTING SPECIALIST! one might say. Perhaps, but in 35 AB thus far he's amassed a 982 OPS. Last year he had a 780 OPS in 324 AB. They started to really lean on Dobbs last season as they phased out Helms, why not again?

BUT WE PAID FELIZ ALL THIS MONEY! Teams have dead money on teams all over the league. The goal is to win, not to try to validate irresponsible free agent signings. Dobbs was a cheap get. He's shown since 2006 in Seattle that he's a major-league hitter. He's nothing special at the hot corner in regards to defense, but the man can hit fairly well. Why not go back to his bat? A near 800 OPS would do wonders for this offense. He's been getting about 2 starts a week..why not flip-flop his at bats with Feliz? No harm can come from it if Dobbs starts to struggle because Feliz is already one of the worst hitters in the league right now. Only good can come from this move.

While the Phillies are a meritocracy in other positions, such as centerfielder, they are seemingly willfully ignoring the potential to easily upgrade third base. It's time to bench Pedro Feliz.

Pat Burrell Is Man And Machine

pacino — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 02:30:03 -0000

Remember during spring training when we all debated whether Pat Burrell is actually man or if he is, in fact, machine? Well, Pat is showing that he’s the best of both as he’s started off the 2008 season with a bang. The left fielder went and jacked his 6th homer of the season in a 10-2 trouncing of the Houston Astros yesterday. After finishing the 2007 season with such a terrific 2nd half, he hasn’t slowed down AT ALL. The man looks confident up there, is laying off junk as usual, and is bashing anything hit over the plate. Just check out his rankings in the National League thus far:

AVG: 373 (6th)
OBP: 484 (3rd)
SLG: 836 (1st)
OPS: 1.296 (1st)

HR: 6 (tied for 1st)
RBI: 17 (1st)
BB: 13 (tied for 3rd)

VORP: 11.2 (4th)
EQA: .392 (1st)

Ho hum. Not too shabby folks.
Keep it up Pat. We may just be crowning our 3rd MVP in a row…ok, I might be jumping the gun just a bit. Still, what a hot start. And to the haters? Remember when some of us said Pat wasn’t so bad, and was actually pretty good? Pat sez he's better than you.

Another Adam Eaton Gem

pacino — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 01:15:29 -0000

                                 IP   H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR
  PHILADELPHIA
 A Eaton (L,0-3)                4 2-3  11   7   7   2   1   1

Seriously? This guy is the Phillies 5th starter going into the season? Again? Please. Just no. Hell, go with 4 starters...for real.

It's a great idea. We have several arms in the bullpen that can go multiple innings and we have a disgustingly wretched 5th starter in Adam Eaton. The man hurts the team and is simply one of the worst pitchers in professional baseball, as I've written about before. Sure, he *could* be considered an innings-eater. If he was eating those innings with a 4.5 ERA that would be one thing. But a 6+ ERA? He's not eating innings; he's blowing them up.

Hell, I almost forgot the money quote from our boy Eaton, said after this past game:

"I maybe stayed hard too much with cutters and fastballs," said Eaton, who concluded the spring with a 7.41 ERA, allowing 14 runs over 17 innings. "You have to give them credit. They have a good lineup and they hit some pretty good pitches today."

No comment necessary.

There's only one reason that this guy is still around. Actually, make that 16 million reasons. Yes folks, Adam Eaton is due 8 million a year for the next two years. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the misery of two more years of Adam Eaton. I don't root for players to get hurt since that would be uncouth. However, I wouldn't exactly be crying into my pillow if Eaton suddenly went down with a season-ending injury. Paying him 8 million to do nothing is a much better option than paying him 8 million to pitch 30 games a year.

Also posted at Huge Tiny Mistake

Adam Eaton Thinks Highly Of Hiimself

pacino — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 05:01:40 -0000

Also posted at Huge Tiny Mistake

"I think I've established myself as a big-leaguer," Eaton said. "I'm getting paid extremely handsomely, probably more than I'm worth. But everyone is not worth what they're getting paid. It's fun. If you don't like the competition, what are you doing here? Everyone should thrive on competition."

He said this after giving up a 3-run bomb in his first appearance of the spring.

Yes Adam, you aren't worth what you're paid. You were one of the bottom 5 starting pitchers in the league, and got this mark because the Phillies refused to sit you or send you to the bullpen. I understand a pro athlete has to think highly of themselves, but no one should be THIS delusional. A 6.29 ERA and 1.63 WHIP is really all that I need to counter any sort of argument that Eaton is a good pitcher. I don't need to delve into higher stats, I don't really need to go over scouting or counter with anecdotal evidence. Those numbers are really all you need. Apparently Eaton needs more to convince himself he sucks.

Special Guest Post By Wheels Himself!!!

pacino — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 04:44:37 -0000

Pinch-hitting from The Chris Wheeler 4 HOF Action Blog
Yes friends, our favorite announcer of all-time has decided to email us his thoughts on the recent re-acquisition by the Phillies of fellow play-by-play man Tom McCarthy. I'm just going to re-post it word for word, but with the actual blessing of said emailer, unlike some others that shall remain unnamed ( cough cough ):

Dear Chris Wheeler 4 HOF Action Blog:

Hey there guys. I was reluctant to email you about the recent news when I first read your website. Your 'blog', as the kids call it, looked great and had terrific subject matter, but I was unsure of whether the Phillies organization wanted me to let the cat out of the bag. But how important is it to connect with your fans? I'd say it's huge, like Safeco Field. Boy is that a joke! Anyway, you may have already heard that Tom McCarthy is coming back to the Phillies to help me out with the play-by-play. I've been working with Harry Kalas for years now, and while he's all class, we all know that he's been thinking about retiring because of some issues he's had of late. Let's just say he's been calling games like he's underwater! So the organization saw fit to give me something special to work with, namely the up-and-comer Tom.

Tom's a great kid. He's bubbly, goofy and just a beauty of a guy. Much like me, he respects the game's history and those who came before him and is a great baseball man. I'm going to enjoy showing him the ropes and teaching him the ins and outs of broadcasting. I hope one day he can become a lead announcer somewhere and be loved by the fanbase, sort of how I'm thought of in the city of Brotherly Love.

But Tom will be the first to tell you that he's a Mets fan though, bahaha. That's going to be interesting in those really weird games where Jose Reyass smokes a ball into the gap off a first-ball fastball set middle-in. How will Tom react? I guess we'll see how he scores it.
That's all for now guys. Wish me luck in my quest for the Hall of Fame honors in 2008. If Harry can get in, I sure as heck should too, bahahaha. Best Wishes, Wheels

Jimmy Rollins Wins The NL MVP...Did He Deserve It?

pacino — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 02:36:31 -0000

Also posted at Huge Tiny Mistake

Your Philadelphia Phillies shortstop edged Colorado Rockie 353 votes to 336 in the closest vote in 16 years:

Enough so that even though Rollins' power numbers paled to runner-up Matt Holliday's, his home runs to third-place Prince Fielder's and his star power to fourth place David Wright's, 16 of the 32 voters cast ballots with his name in first place. Because Rollins had affixed his reputation to the success of his team, and that added enough value in voters' eyes to overcome any numerical differences.
Of course, it wasn't like Rollins was some slug getting by on reputation. His 139 runs and 88 extra-base hits set records for shortstops. Everyone made such a big deal of Curtis Granderson's 20-20-20-20 - doubles, triples, home runs and stolen bases. Well, Rollins went 35-20-30-40 and set career highs in batting average at .296 and slugging percentage at .531. And he set a major league record with 716 at-bats.

Rollins, he of the pre-season proclamations, helped lead his team to the playoffs, same as Holliday. He did it with both the stick and the glove. Matt Holliday slugged his way to 2nd place with terrific overall numbers and insane numbers at home. Rollins also benefited from cozy Citizens Bank Park. Hell, 1B Prince Fielder and 3B David Wright had great years as well...do what do the numbers (beyond the Triple Crown) say?

Click inside

OPS:
Rollins .875
Holliday 1.012
Fielder 1.013
Wright .963

VORP:
Rollins 66.1
Holliday 75
Fielder 69.1
Wright 81

EQA (adjusted for park and league):
Rollins .290
Holliday .318
Fielder .323
Wright .329

Runs Created:
Rollins 122
Holliday 125
Fielder 126
Wright 136

Win Shares
Rollins 28
Holliday 30
Fielder 28
Wright 34

Something surprising happened while checking these numbers out. I found myself less and less enamored with Rollins' season. Rollins' EQA also stood much lower than the rest of the pack. Sure, he had good counting stats, and his team made the playoffs, but both of those had a lot to do with his teammates. Being on the best offense in the NL certainly had a lot to do with getting to the plate so much. Rollins DID set the all-time season at bat record with 716. He also played great defense and was the 'spark plug' for said great offense.

But I'm not sure his great season at SS outshines the great season David Wright had at third base. Wright led the league in Win Shares, VORP AND Runs Created, both stats that combined a lot of factors Win Shares includes defense too. He wasn't overally flashy, but he got things done. He also played great in August and September, so you can't pin the Mets' collapse on him. There's really no reason to select anyone else if you are looking at the same numbers I am. David Wright was the NL's best player last season when you look at both the plate and the field. Rollins was great, but Wright was even better.

Also posted at Huge Tiny Mistake

Meet Your Manager of the Year: Charlie Manuel

pacino — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 23:14:42 -0000

also posted at Huge Tiny Mistake
Sez Bob Ford:

All he has done is hold together a team that should be splintered and sinking. He has helped keep the Phillies in contention despite a season-long plague of injuries and slumps. The Phils didn't panic or give up or shrug at the unfairness of it all and take the easy way out. They have played every game hard, regardless of who was in the lineup and who wasn't. That may sound like a small compliment, but in professional sports it is not.
Manuel has done all this without a shred of personal support from the team's front office. He is operating on the final year of his contract, and general manager Pat Gillick has given no indication that he is even aware of his manager's role in the team's success. Of all the oversights committed by Gillick, this is the worst.
The man should get a new contract, and he should get it today. Call a news conference and do the right thing, Pat.
It is somewhat redundant to list what the Phillies have endured this season. Every day has been a new chapter, a new exercise in what-can-happen-next. They have used 12 starting pitchers and 25 pitchers overall.
Players have checked in and out of the disabled list as if it were just another road hotel on the schedule. Yoel Hernandez went on the DL last week almost before anyone knew he was back on the roster. He replaced Mike Zagurski, who also went on the DL before having time to unpack from the minors.
Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Shane Victorino, Jon Lieber, Freddy Garcia, Tom Gordon, Brett Myers, Adam Eaton, Ryan Madson and on and on. The roster of those who haven't been on the disabled list this year is much shorter than the one of those who have. That's not a good year.

He makes a good argument. Actually, a great one. This team's had so many injuries, so many setbacks, that they are bound to lose this season. They have no business being in the playoffs, let alone being in the NL Wildcard hunt. And yet they remain 3 back in the standings, despite losing so many key cogs on both sides of the fence. No other team has lost as many pitchers, and no other team has had to dig so deep for starting pitching. Hell, the only starting pitcher that has been in the rotation all season long has been Jamie Moyer, and he officially sucks now. This job ain't easy, folks.

Charlie's had very little help from the front office, and yet barely shows signs of frustration to the public or the media. The man is a professional, no matter what many fans may believe. Yes, he had a tiff with Howard Eskin, but that's Howard Eskin. I believe that a manager gets one free blowup a season, and he used his on a worthy target.

So lay off Charlie ladies and gents. He has a very tough job, and he's doing alright at it. Managers tend to be overrated anyway in my mind, and he seems very adept at managing the locker room VERY WELL. Players like him, and it looks like they are playing for him. They just don't have the pitching.

The Top 10 In OPS Since The Break

pacino — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 16:15:21 -0000

also posted at HTM
On-base + slugging percentage is a quick and dirty way to judge a player's offensive output. It doesn't rely on teammates getting on base ahead of a player, it stresses the importance of a walk, and it's becoming more and more popular with every season that goes by. Sure, it has its problems, such as weighing OBP and SLG equally, and ignoring other aspects of offense, but it's still a reasonable way to quickly judge players.

Now, after that dry introduction, let's take a look at the top 10 in the Majors since the All-Star break (July 13th on):

Pat Burrell 1.198
Miguel Cabrera 1.189
Jorge Posada 1.188
Robinson Cano 1.73
Jermaine Dye 1.135
Ryan Howard 1.114
Hanley Ramirez 1.108
Milton Bradley 1.104
Albert Pujols 1.071
Ryan Braun 1.062

It's certainly an interesting list. Pat Burrell tops the list, besting Miguel Cabrera because of Burrell's .517 OBP. That's Bonds territory there. The Bat's resurgence in past month and a half has helped to keep the Phillies offense running smoothly, even though they lost Chase Utley to a broken hand. His hitting simply cannot be denied.

There's a second Phillie on this list, one Ryan Howard. Recently he's started to come under fire by some Phils fans for not playing up to the level of what they believe he should be reaching...well these numbers kind of throw that out of the window eh? 10 homers in June, 10 homers in July, and 4 so far in August say his power is still there. He still has a good eye at the plate (77 walks, 395 OBP), and he's still a force up there. So why are there rumblings about his hitting? Strikeouts and batting average, the last two vestiges of horrible statistical analysis. People who look at ballplayers through batting average, homers, RBIs and strikeouts see Ryan Howard as excelling in two categories and struggling in two others. They don't look at VORP, EQA, or WARP, let alone even freaking OBP or OPS. So Ryan Howard is 'striking out too much' and `not hitting enough'. Well, only in the very biased eyes of the uninformed.

The rest of the list is an interesting mix of youngsters (Robinson Cano, Ryan Braun, Hanley Ramirez) and veterans (Jorge Posada, Jermaine Dye, Milton Bradley). Cano had a horrendous start to the 2007 campaign, with a 741 OPS pre-allstar. Braun has been the best hitting rookie BY FAR, and is the far and away leader for Rookie of the Year. And Hanley Ramirez? He's the best SS in the Major Leagues this season, and it's not freaking close. But he's not as exciting as Reyes! because he plays for the Marlins.

As for the veterans, Posada's terrific year has helped to keep the Yankees afloat, and with so many hitters clicking at once in that lineup, the Yankees are winning ballgame after ballgame by bludgeoning their opponents with bats. And if Phillies fans thought that Pat Burrell had a frustrating first-half to the 2007 season, take a look at Jermaine Dye's year. He saw his OPS dip to 673 on July 6th. The man couldn't hit and wasn't being all that patient up there. It looked like his career was over. Then he just flipped a switch and started scolding the ball. His horrible BABIP (which measures that average that balls fall into play for a batter) turned around. He has as many homers (12) in 107 AB as he did all of the first half (266 AB). After a terrific 2006, and a horrible half a season, it looks like he's back in the saddle and could have gotten himself a few extra dollars next season.

Milton Bradley also appears on the list and, even though he's seen his fair share of the pine due to various nagging injuries, he's been an integral cog in that San Diego Padres offense. The Oakland As let him go for `chemistry' reasons, but he seems to be having no problem fitting in with the Padres organization. His patience at the plate and his ability to hit the ball has been unmatched by most everyone in baseball, as evidenced by his place in the top 10. It's only been 22 games with the Padres, but it's starting to look like a great fit.

Finally, I'd just like to mention that Miguel Cabrera is a sick, sick hitter. He flat out smokes the ball to all fields and hardly ever gets fooled...so what do people talk about? Him gaining some weight over the past two seasons. The weight might be a detriment on defense, but it's not affecting the MAIN reason that he's such a great ballplayer, so why make a big deal out of it? Cabrera knows he should probably lose a few lbs, and I'm sure that he'll come to spring training 2008 in good shape. Why is this worthy of a feature?

How Many Times Will Wheels Mention The Size Of Petco Park This Weekend?

pacino — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 22:24:06 -0000

Also posted at HTM

During yesterday's game against the San Diego Padres were all treated to multiple mentions of the size of Petco Park by our main man behind the mic Chris Wheeler. In the interest of fun and just a little bit of malice, I am going to run a guessing game. So fellow fans, how many times will Wheels mention the size of the ballpark? "This ballpark is huge' , `look at the size of this ballpark', `you don't hit many homers in this field', or some facsimile of this phrase. Also acceptable are patent-pending Wheels chuckles or guffaws at deep flyouts being caught on the warning track. However, if he does a guffaw then a phrase, that is still only one mention. Each mention must be on a different play or plate appearance.

The fan closest to the actual number, over or under, will win a HUGE (like Safeco) T-Shirt courtesy of yours truly (other fine Wheels T-Shirts are available at Chris Wheeler Glossary.com). Make sure to leave a real email address in the comments section of this post so I can contact you. And if this is a complete failure, well I'll just keep the freaking shirt! Or email me it at pacino@backshegoes.com

* Friday 10:05 pm
* Saturday 10:05 pm
* Sunday 4:05 pm

And don't forget to play BINGO!