Phillies Nation

National Exposure

Posted by Brian Michael, Thu, June 30, 2005 01:58 PM

An old Chinese proverb goes: “You cannot begin to remove the speck out of your neighbors eye when you have a log in you own.”  Being bored with the daily drama surrounding the Boss and the Yankees, the New York Times reports on how the Phillies front office bungles talent and at the same time subtley comparing Ryan Howard to Dontrelle Willis, Donovan McNabb and Tiger Woods. 

Major League Baseball has long been looking for the kind of power hitter who can take pitches and hit to the opposite field, who has been to college and been seasoned in the minor leagues, who can prove to young African-American athletes that basketball and football are not the only marquee options.

Hey Ed, just promote him again, please, if not because it makes baseball sense, then for the betterment of society in general.

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State of the Phils

Posted by Brian Michael, Mon, June 27, 2005 08:04 PM

Wow, there is so much to talk about, where to begin?  Let’s start with Uncle Charlie’s team meeting.  “Our guys have potential,” Manuel said. “If I could say one thing, I would say, ‘Be focused, stay relaxed and give yourself a chance to be as good as you think you can be.’”  Well if you talk to Ed Wade that means give yourself a chance to win the World Series, but rest of the planet knows that means give yourself a chance to finish with 86 wins.  That is the potential of this team.  Now this is not said to beat a dead and highlight Ed Wade’s disconnect, rather it is meant to show a lack of leadership within this organization. 

Leaders push people to be BETTER than they think they are, they motivate you and empower you with the resources to achieve your goals.  Based on that definition it is safe to safe this organization does not have a single shred of leadership skill outside Todd Pratt’s locker.  You can’t look to the GM as a leader like in Oakland, or to the owner like in NY or the manger like in Chicago (both the Sox and the Cubs) or Atlanta or DC.  There is no recognizable force in the clubhouse like Varitek or Dutch Dalton.  There is no one behind the wheel here.  It seems like its Office Space down there: every one is just doing enough not to get fired.  Just look at the recent article summarizing the Phils July trades since 2002.  Mediocrity at its finest.  Blockbuster trades only come when Wade’s hand is forced, and in those cases we wind up losing the star rather than acquiring one (Rolen, Schilling).  Free agent signings, like Thome, deserve no credit because money matters is the prime factor, not strategy.  This is why I liked Larry Bowa, he was man enough to stand up and say “This is not good enough!”  Granted he may not have had the answers, as he was paid to do, but he recognized the problem which is more than I can say for most.

So if this is where the organization stands today, how best to answer some of the impending personnel questions?  What to do with Padilla?  How to replace Wolf?  If/when should Ryan Howard be traded?  How can we really make this a championship caliber team?

Well, Wade took the initiative on the first one as he publicly announced Padilla is being put on a short leash.  Not groundbreaking news, but it really shouldn’t be a story.  In fact, Padilla’s troubles should not come as a surprise.  He’s a total head case who thinks self-help is the way to go.  He never listened to Joe Kerrigan and I’m sure whatever Dubee’s saying is getting lost in translation. 

As for the rest of the questions, and Padilla for that matter,  I honestly don’t know what to do.  Sure we could use left handed starter and an everyday centerfielder and a legitimate ace.  I’ll let you portend the names involved; all I want is for this looming roster move (or non-move) to be a smart business decision executed as part of larger blueprint for success, both for this year and the future.  I doubt this blueprint exists, but it if Ed Wade does have one, I would love to read it.

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Trivia 3

Posted by Brian Michael, Mon, June 27, 2005 12:13 AM

What is the Phillies average attendance for the year (through Monday)?

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Stop the Presses!

Posted by Brian Michael, Fri, June 24, 2005 09:29 PM

We have a trivia winner! Thanks to everyone for their valiant guesses, all very close, but Ivan, of the brand spakin’ new Dead Center, had the correct answer with .467 on the nose (0.46729123795 to be precise).  That amounts to 8,629 wins in 18,466 games.  So everyone should appreciate the Phils teams of the past 30 years.  On a whole, they have been a supremely above average group of guys.  But of course leave it to the News Gleaner (that’s right, I said it) to bring us back down to earth:

Not withstanding their recent home stand and some high spots in recent years, there has been no franchise in Major League Baseball with a more consistent record of failure than the Philadelphia Phillies.

That’s some crack reporting fellas.

Looking ahead to the big series against the Sox this weekend, we must remember the past few seasons have tended to hinge on these annual three games.  As I recall from our little Beantown adventure last year, the Sox offense outclassed the Phils in 2 out of the 3 games.  Hopefully the feat is not replicable as Boston makes its first visit to the unfriendly confines of CBP.  I especially would like to see some hostility towards any Sox fans that think they can take over the joint.  Show them this isn’t New York, it’s much worse.

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Let’s talk about Cole Hamels

Posted by Brian Michael, Wed, June 22, 2005 08:50 PM

Due to popular opinion, I feel like we must address this issue. For those who have not heard, Cole Hamels, the Phillies 2002 #1 pick, just pitched his first minor league game since injuring his hand in a bar fight over the off season.  His ability to pick up where he left off, pitching 5 no hit innings for Clearwater, really impressed the scouts and raised the question of when will he be brought up.  Yes, he’s only in single A but, prior to the injury he was on track to be in Scranton by year’s end at least — he still could be. That is, depending on how the Phillies move him through the system.

Recently the Phillies have botched a few callups.  I call it the Marlon Byrd trap but Gavin Floyd has also experienced it. You have someone who’s a hair away from being an every day starter in the majors and he shows some small sign of weakness he’s sent back down to AAA, usually towards the beginning of the season no less.  But what winds up happening is that his confidence is completely shot, he totally sucks in AAA; now the Phils are hesitant to call him back up. In Gavin Floyd’s case, they should just left him on the roster and had him pitch in the bullpen for a little. I mean whats the difference if Geoff Geary or Aaron Fultz is back in AAA and Floyd is in the bullpen? He should be able to handle a few innings in relief and wait for his opportunity to start.  Instead he is wallowing in Scranton.

So, I’m not saying bring Cole Hamels up this weekend to replace Randy Wolf’s left arm in the rotation.  Rather, the Phils must be more deliberate when ushering up prospects.  Wait until they are absolutely ready to call them up and once they’re there give them a sufficient opportunity win a spot.  Even Ryan Howard should be given a chance, even if he’s more valuable on another team. 

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Trivia

Posted by Brian Michael, Mon, June 20, 2005 08:40 PM

Hey, check out the new trivia section to the right. It will feature Phillies tests of knowledge with varying degrees of difficulty. First one to post the correct answer wins the respect of Phillies Nation and perhaps a prize if warranted. In this week’s installment, it’s more of a guess the jelly beans-type question. Just for fun, we’ll use Price Is Right rules, closest to the answer without going over wins.

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trivia 2

Posted by Brian Michael, Sun, June 19, 2005 10:05 PM

What is the Phillies all-time winning percentage? (to 3 decimal places)

Don’t cheat, take your best guest. The closest one by the end of the week wins.

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trivia

Posted by Brian Michael, Wed, June 15, 2005 11:25 PM

Who was the first American to be named MVP of the Japanese Baseball league?

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American WareWOLF on the West Coast

Posted by Brian Michael, Wed, June 15, 2005 11:10 PM

Well, with this little six game West Coast inter-league swing under way news has come out that it looks as if Randy Wolf is going to need Tommy John surgery (although he, like Pat Burrell last year, is seeking a second opinion).  What do all these players seeking second opinions say about the Phillies choice of doctors, or is this a normal occurance throughout major league baseball? 

I digress though.  I have two questions to pose tonight.  One what do you do now that Wolf is done for the season?  I am ok with giving Rob Tejada another start or two because of how well he did in his last start, but can you really win with him in the starting rotation?  Do you bring up Floyd (and yes I know he is getting killed in the minors right now)?  I am actually an advocate of this move.  If only because what that kid needs is a boost of confidence and theres no better confidence boost than being called up.  Or you can make a trade.  Ed Wade trading for anything besides a middle reliever whould be something new wouldn’t it?  Rumor has it that the A’s are willing to listen to offers for Barry Zito.  Although he is having an off year (4-7) record, his run support has not been what you would call stellar.  Would you do the trade if we got Zito and only had to give up Tejada?  Other names I have heard that are on the trading block are Joe Kennedy of the Rockies (and even CBP would seem like a pitchers park to him after pitching in Coors Field) and Pittsburgh’s Kip Wells.  Who do the Phillies trade, that is the question. 

My second concern is why, with Wolf’s roster spot being open, are we dealing with the likes of Thomas Perez and Ramon Martinez playing first in these AL parks while Ryan Howard is crushing the ball down in AAA to the tune of a .370 batting average? 

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A Much Deserved Day Off

Posted by Brian Michael, Sun, June 12, 2005 11:40 PM

Yo, what a home stand!  I honestly still don’t believe it.  Back on May 28 I said that playoff caliber teams take advantage of playing at home and hoped that the Phils would instill a little fear into visiting teams.  Little did I know that they would go 12-1 on the homestand…12-1!  Soak in all in people cause this is awesome.

Earlier this week I almost posted about how recently I’ve been witnessing two different brands of baseball in the NL East.  While the Nationals have 26 come-from-behind wins and are tearing it up, the Phillies are 0-21 when trailing after six innings.  I know that stat has changed slightly (with Bell’s walkoff on Friday and, as I witnessed first hand, Burrell’s three run dinger Saturday night in the seventh); but I was still genuinely concerned by the numbers.  Not because the Phils aren’t winning, they surely are, and so are the Nats - so it could just be different strokes. 

However, implicitly it seemed to explain a little lack of confidence I felt in the Fightins.  What I mean was that when they were down 2 or 3 runs in the closing innings, I knew I could turn of the TV, they just couldn’t get it going and rally.  On the other hand, I’m here in DC and showing up late to games, full well knowing that the Nats are going to score in the eighth inning to take the lead no matter the deficit. 

Finally though after these past four weeks, I think for now my fears have been assuaged.  I see their heart, their confidence that the game is not over until the final out is recorded.  This was exemplified nowhere greater than in their only loss, Monday’s 8-10 blowout turn nailbitter versus Arizona.  They never gave up in that game, and although the Phils were already hot from the roadtrip of a fortnight prior, I’ll remember that game as the one that turned the season around.  Now it’s up to the skipper to stay this course.

Update:
Phils and JRoll agree to a 5 year, $40 million extension

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