SB Nation User Blog: schrifty

Next years team?

schrifty — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:17:04 -0000

Locks for next years team and possible issues:
1b-Ryan Howard

2b-Chase Utley

SS-Jimmy Rollins

3b- Pedro Feliz Will Feliz be a fulltime player next year? Will Jason Donald move to 3rd and be brought up to the big league team? Can Donald or Feliz play left?

C- Carlos Ruiz/ Lou Marson/ Chris Coste Carlos Ruiz had a very nice postseason. He proved he can really handle a pitching staff everyday. He did not throw out baserunners well in the playoffs at all and had a miserable regular season offensively. Lou Marson will compete for the starters job and has a much better bat than Ruiz. Chris Coste will have a very tough time making this team unless it is strictly as a pinch hitter (basically the role Taguchi had this year)

OF- Burrell will be taking 4-5 years and 50-75 million from some other team (my guess is the mets) Victorino owns a guaranteed spot in this outfield. Can Jayson Werth play everyday for a full season. I believe he can. Jenkins will be our 4th outfielder this year but, who will fill the void in left? I would love to say Milton Bradley but, there is no way the Phils would take a chance on hurting the chemistry they have in this locker room with a personality like his. I would also like Adam Dunn but, it would put too many strikeouts in this lineup. He would be a slight defensive upgrade to Burrell with a slighty better power bat as well. He is also a walks machine.

Rotation:
Hamels
MYers
Blanton
Beyond these 3 there are questions. Will Moyer be re-signed (also possible mets)? Can Kendrick step back into his spot as the 4/5 man in the rotation? Will Happ or Carrasco start the season on the major league team? Can the Phils add a pitcher from free agency? MYers would look awfully good as a 3 and Blanton as a 4/5. My guess is Kendrick gets moved in the offseason for help off of the bench/bullpen if a free agent is brought in.

Bullpen:
MAdson, Lidge, and Romero are locks for the end of the bullpen. Chad Durbin pitched well above his capabilities for much of the season and reverted to the pitcher I believe him to be in mid august through the world series. I would let him to go his highest free agent bidder. Clay Condrey will be on this team next year because he has naked pictures of Charlie Manuel with HArry Kalas' wife (im assuming). Scott Eyre should remain with this team as well. I would personally like to see a young minor leaguer added to the pen (Zagurski if healthy)

Bench-
As much as I hate Eric Bruntlett, he is what most teams need. A player who can play anywhere on the field and provide an occasional big hit. I don't like him as a pinch runner (other than in the playoffs) but, he certainly has heart and guts. He will be on the team.
Greg Dobbs
I think it is a definite possiblity that Tadahito Iguchi is on this team next year. He may fill the Bruntlett role if Bruntlett is not.

No surprises here

schrifty — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 13:57:52 -0000

The Phillies announced they have declined the 2009 club options righthander Tom Gordon and outfielder So Taguchi. The Phillies had a $4.5 million option on Gordon, but took the $1 million buyout instead. The Phillies had a $1.25 million club option on Taguchi, but took the $125,000 option instead.

I hope everyone had as much fun at the parade yesterday as I did! I wound up at the linc and feel bad for anyone who tried to get tickets into the stadium and was shut out by the website. It seemed as if many people got tickets online and then just gave them away in the parking lots. Someone traded me 2 tickets for a copy of the daily news!

By the way, does anyone know someone who can make me a tshirt with utley that says WORLD PHUCKING CHAMPIONS!

Nevermind i found it http://www.zazzle.com/world_phucking_champions_utley_shirt-235501933187423047

Manny's stats against the Phillies pitchers this year

schrifty — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:31:48 -0000

Pitchers On Playoff Roster:

Cole Hamels- .250(2-8), 2 singles, 1 RBI, 1 intentional walk, 1 k

Jamie Moyer- .333(1-3), 1 single

Brett Myers- .000(0-6), 1 walk, 1k

Joe Blanton- .250(1-4), 1 HR, 2 RBI, 3k, 1 walk, 1 hit by pitch

Chad Durbin- .000(0-1), 1 intentional walk, 1 hit by pitch

Ryan Madson- .000(0-3) 2k

Clay Condrey- .500(1-2) 1 singles, 1k

Scott Eyre- 1 intentional walk

J.C. Romero- .000(0-1)

Rudy Seanez- .000(0-1)

Total- .172(5-29) 4 singles, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 8k, 5 walks(3 intentional), 2 hit by pitch, .333 OBP(12-36)

Starters- .190(4-21) 3 singles, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 5k, 3 walks(1 intentional), 1 hit by pitch, .320 OBP(8-25)

Relievers- 5(1-8) 1 single, 3 k, 2 intentional walks, 1 hit by pitch, .364 OBP(4-11)

Pitchers Not On Playoff Roster:

Kyle Kendrick- .333(1-3) 1 double, 2 RBI, 3 walks

Les Walrond- 1 intentional walk

Manny has not faired well this year against Phillies pitching. PItcher's not on our playoff roster have allowed him on base 5 out of 7 times .714 OBP. I suggest pitching right at Manny! It has worked for the Phillies this season so far.

Disgusted By Lack of National Support??

schrifty — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:27:47 -0000

As I am sure many of you do, I log on to espn.com religiously and look for an article written about the Phillies and their success this season. I do not look for stories with a twist such as Jimmy Rollins and Pat Burrell playing together for years or Mike Victorino traveling with the team. I look for articles, much like the ones written about other teams. The articles that bring attention to all of the positive aspects of the Phillies of 2008. I want to see an article written about the greatness of Ryan Howard's season not just the negativity of his strikeouts and low batting average or that Chase Utley is really the MVP of this team. I want to read an article about the downright incredible pitching that came during the Brewers series. For some reason the articles are about the Brewers lack of hitting, rather than the Phillies dominant pitching performances. I want to understand why so many writers are picking the Dodgers in 7 when the Phillies tied the season series 4-4, adjusting for the first 4 defeats and winning the last 4. Cole Hamels who will pitch 2 possibly 3 times in the series and absolutely dominated the dodgers lineup with Manny in it while the Phils will face RH low ball pitchers, whom they generally feast on! The reasons given are "Brad Lidge hasn't blown a save this year, and that is a bad thing!" How is that a bad thing?? Who is to say he will blow a save in postseason just because he has not blown one yet?? Who is to say that the games will even come down to save situations. Other arguments are "Phillies inconsistent offense" and my favorite of all "Manny Ramirez's series against the Cubs." This is a new series!! Against the Phillies this year, Manny Ramirez's stats are eye popping right?? A .212 batting average with 1 hr and 5 rbi 2 runs 1 double. He has also walked 9 times and struck out 8 in 33 at bats. His OBP is .409 and his ops is a measly .742. Do sportswriters look at stats?? Do they have a basis for any argument? Dodgers/Red Sox are a sexy pick. There is a story line behind it. But, our Phillies have a story line as well. They have building up to this moment as a perennal contender for much of this century. They deserve to be on magazine covers and to be spoken of positively on radio and in articles.

What set me off is that I found an article on msn.com. The headline reads With Cubs out, Phils now lovable losers. I tried to find something in the article that depicts the PHils as lovable. Instead, i found an article that does not mention even one Phillies player on the current team. The article focused on Philadelphia sports miscues and leads the reader to assume that this Phillies season will just be another miscue. These Phillies players and us Phillies fans deserve more.

Here is that article:

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8651562/?MSNHPHMA

Another convincing surrender by the Chicago Cubs has removed from the 2008 Major League Baseball playoffs a franchise that defines futility.

It's hard to compete with 100 years of screaming karma.

For the record, the times haven't been rosy in Los Angeles, where the Dodgers just ended a 20-year postseason drought by skunking the Cubs. But the Dodgers did achieve a World Series victory in 1988, and have treated their fans to a fine, if distant, history of Fall Classic success.

The Tampa Bay Rays have handed their gun-shy fan base a mostly miserable, 10-year existence, while followers of the Boston Red Sox evolved from historically tortured to unrepentantly smug in only four years.

(Click thru for the rest)

THE MVP "DEBATE"

schrifty — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 13:51:03 -0000

Let us delve further into the numbers of the top 2 MVP candidates, Ryan Howard and Albert Pujols. It seems that Pujols will run away with this award even though ihe does not necessarily deserve the distinctionmore than Ryan Howard. Pujols has a much higher BA, OBP, and OPS as well as far less strikeouts. Should these be the determining factors? So which numbers should count in the MVP debate? What does Pujols' extra .107 in BA and .124 of OBP get him? Should numbers be the only determining factor in an MVP race? What determines how "valuable a player is to a team?

Runs:

Pujols-99

Howard-103

Advantage- Howard +4

RBI:

Pujols-114

Howard-146

Advantage- Howard +32

HR:

Pujols-36

Howard-48

Advantage- Howard +12

Extra Base Hits:

Pujols-79

Howard-78

Advantage- Pujols +1

Ground into Double Play:

Pujols-15

Howard-11

Advantage- Howard -4

Total Bases-

Pujols-336

Howard-329

Advantage- Pujols +7 total bases

Ryan Howard obviously has many more strikeouts and more errors than Pujols but has crushed the rest of baseball in HR, and RBI. With far less times on base, Ryan Howard still has an edge in runs scored. Some say this is due to the Phils "much" more potent offense. The Phils have scored 27 more runs this year than the Cardinals, that is an average of .17 more runs per game (hardly significant.) St Louis has a team batting average of .280 while the Phils is .255!! While the Phils have lower OBP and BA, they hit for more extra base hits. I would hardly call the offense far superior in this case, just different.

The Phillies lead the division largely on the back of Ryan Howard's September, while the Cardinals are 2 games under .500 since Pujols returned from a 13 game absence on 6/26 this includes their current, completely meaningless, 4 game winning streak, during which Pujols has been padding his numbers( 8/9 4 walks 2HR 8RBI!.)

I do not want to take anything away from Pujols. He is absolutely a top 3 player in baseball today and will go down as one of thes best ever. But, he does not deserve an MVP award based on "pretty stats."

Ryan Howard is absolutely the MVP of the NL. He should not lose the award based on his strikeouts or even his fielding. He has breathed life into a team that has come back from the brink over and over again. He has saved his best production for the most important part of the season and carried everyone on his back through, Kendrick, Blanton, Myers and even Hamels rough outings this month. Without Howard's september production, the phillies would be a mere afterthought for this season's postseason.

Lastly, the writers who right about Howard's "recent" power surge moving him into an "undeserved" MVP debate have not looked at the splits. Howard has had 2 other months with similar HR and RBI numbers. After mid-May he has been extremely productive for most of the season. If Howard does not win the MVP, it will be based on strikeouts and Batting average alone. Voters who do not look deep into the numbers and just glance at the "pretty" stats do not deserve a ballot.

Howard Closing In On Strikeout Record

schrifty — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 14:35:49 -0000

Recently, Ryan Howard has cut down on his strikeouts. He is making contact with the ball and putting it in play. Still, he has 190 strikeouts this season and is on pace for 205! Looking deeper into his numbers, Ryan has played 150 games this year and has had 570 at bats. He strikes out exactly once every 3 at bats. He has also scored 93 times, hit a homerun 44 times, and knocked in a total of 133 runs. All of this has been done while only putting the ball in to the field of play 2 out of every 3 at bats. Much has been made of his record high strikeout level. We are led to believe that Howard will break the strikeout record and since baseball has been around for so many years, it may be years before this dubious record is again approached or broken. My question is, why?

I would be curious to know how many people know who is second in the mlb in strikeouts. Also, how far behind Ryan Howard is he? How close is his production to that of Ryan Howard's?

The answer is Mark Reynolds of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Mark has struck out 187 times!! Only 3 less times than Ryan Howard. He has done so in 71 less at bats and in 8 less games. With 12 games remaining, why is it a given that Ryan Howard will own the strikeout record?? Reynolds is actually on pace for one more strikeout than Howard is on pace for. Ryan Howard has played in every game this season and is likely to play in each game remaining. With Arizona still in a playoff race Mark Reynolds is likely to play until the end as well. He has 27 homeruns and 92 RBI. These are very good numbers but, not quite the numbers that should negate HIS high strikeout totals from national attention.

Ryan Howard gets unfair criticism due to his high strikeout totals. Sure, he looks lost at the plate sometime. But, no one in the MLB since his arrival as a fulltime player even approaches his run production. Here is to hoping that Reynolds overtakes the lone blemish on Ryan Howard's career resume.

My Case- Mets vs. Phils part 1 of 11, First BAse

schrifty — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 21:22:49 -0000

I will break down the teams position by position. I am sure this has been done by someone else, but this is my interpretation. Feel free to include your own. I am not including teams farm systems in the equation.

First Base-Ryan Howard vs Carlos Delgado
Although Delgado used to be a perrenial MVP candidate in Toronto, he has not been that player since 2003. With the mets his batting average and obp have dropped dramatically in recent years and he had an extremely pedestrian OBP of .333 last year. MEts fans are calling for his resurrection this season, but I see nothing that should lead us to expect such a thing. If healthy he may be able to give them 30 hr and 100 rbi this year with a .260 batting average.

On the other hand, Ryan Howard produced huge numbers in what was a "down" injury season. Howard has won the Rookie of the Year, MVP, and finished 5th in the MVP voting in the last 3 years. There is no reason to expect declining numbers from last year. If anything we can assume if he stays healthy he will give the PHils even better numbers. Last year his strikeouts increased and his Batting average went down. IF he has made proper adjusments we can expect those numbers to imporve somewhat. Look for 50 hr, 140 RBI and .290 Batting average if healthy.

First Base-Advantage Phillies
Phillies Lead MEts 1-0

Howard wins Arbitration!

schrifty — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 14:15:31 -0000

http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20080221_Ryan_Howard_wins_arbitration.html

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Ryan Howard has won his salary arbitration hearing against the Phillies.
He will make $10 million this season.

The Phillies had offered $7 million.

It is a record for a player who has won a salary arbitration hearing. Alfonso Soriano earned $10 million from the Washington Nationals in 2006, but he lost his case after seeking $12 million.

Congrats Ryan Howard!! Now he can begin the season without the bitterness that he started last season with!! This is a well deserved raise for Howard. But, I think his long term deal price just went up!

We have a reliever in minors!! Why dont we use him??

schrifty — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 15:07:08 -0000

Last year I was looking at the phillies arms in the farm sytem and was utterly shocked to see that we have a guy names Chris Key who has been very good in a 8 year minor league career! In 8 yrs he has bounced around the levels and of course gillick picked him out of seattle's farm system when he became gm here. Key has a 2.55 era in 636 innings of work! That's including a bad 12 game stretch as a starter in '04. He pitches 70-90 innings a year, has a career whip of 1.21 and only walks 1.5 per 9!!! Why has no one heard this guy's name?!?!?!?! Someone please enlighten me, this is just one of the things that maddens me about the phillies. I would be shocked if he is even invited to camp!!! Why do we not want to try someone who doesnt walk people, doesnt give up the homerun, and brings it every season?! He did have one spring training in his entire career and did not fair well. Can we judge a guy on 1/3 of an inning on one bad day? I need information on this ASAP!
http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/K/Chris-Key.shtml