Philadelphia Phillies Story Line: October’s Deadline Fruit

Hunter Pence flipped a harmless infield single into no-man’s land for the Philadelphia Phillies to wrap up the 4-3 balloon-busting triumph. For 3 clubs with 3 acquisitions and 1 stretch run, was the fruit sour, was it too ripe or was it sweet?

Yesterday’s Penthouse Occupancy was: 8. The 2011 Phillies set the franchise record with 102 victories. Cholley Manuel logged win number 646 for an organizational high, doing it 2 seasons sooner than Little General Gene Mauch. Pence struck the triumphant note in the fourth extra frame, and he cut down a sixth-inning runner at the dish. Jimmy Rollins saved a run in the second with a defensive diving move. Chooch Ruiz gunned down Michael Bourne at third on a slightly questionable call in the third, which may have affected Bourne later.

Michael Martinez made a spectacular 10th-frame running catch in centerfield. Chase Utley tied it up with a ninth-inning sac fly off a difficult closer, and made a victory-saving play on a blown throw in the 12th. David Herndon provided the hammer with a postseason roster spot on the line. In the Outhouse, is the grind of 162, which I felt by experiencing the whole schedule, like the players. That’s a reason for missing a day here and there, like yesterday. It explains the flu-like symptoms, because it beats you up.

The Phillies finished 42 games over .500, which equaled a year of many positives. I have many summer-long highlights of puzzle pieces, especially after drubbings and defeats. I alternated the 2011 ERA For The NL East and 2011 ERA For The MLB 5 ( Philadelphia Phillies: 2011 ERA For The NL East At Game 162 And Final ) with the latest in the link. Check out The Phillies page by placing the pointer over MLB at the top, and click on the name. Thank you, to all who bookmarked my page, because feeds are erratic at times. Many visitors come from these outlets, and it is always obvious when one of those didn’t work. Tal’s Handy Stats is daily coverage.

 

 

NITECAP INSIGHT:

 

 

Trading For October:

 

Atlanta sputtered and San Francisco did not have enough weeks to recover from their August struggles. The Braves (+8.5 games) and Red Sox (+9) collapsed from their leads in the wild card races with defeats on the year’s final day. The 3 NL squads had the wings for smooth gliding into October; but the bats needed to protect the big bopper, be the thunder stick, or kick start the offense. That thinking illuminates the stats of revved engines and landing sites. The Phils went 32-13 (.711) with Hunter to polish off their playoff berth. They are 4-0 with the new lineup, which is 36-13 (.735) when you exclude the shutdown and healing period.

The Phillies went 36-21 (.632) since Pence was inserted between Ryno Howard and Raul Ibanez or John Mayberry Jr. Hunter altered the entire dynamics of a franchise with arms, gloves and some pop. The added regulars accumulated these statistics in their new cities: Pence (.324, 26 BB, 11 HR, 35 RBI, 207 AB & 54 G), Carlos Beltran (.323, 11 BB, 7 HR, 18 RBI, 167 AB & 44 G), and Bourne (.278, 15 BB, 22 SB, 7 CS, 1 HR, 18 RBI, 227 AB & 53 G). The Phillies plated 259 runs (4.5 per) on 523 hits (9.2 average) to only 181 runs relinquished (3.2). Atlanta was 26-27 (.491) on 202 runs (3.8) and 451 hits (8.5) to 219 runs against (4.1). The Giants were 24-29 (.453), scoring 182 runs (3.4) on 437 hits (8.3) to 197 runs (3.7) for the opposition.

San Francisco did not have enough production from 3 players, considering 2 of them were replacements for injured warriors. Beltran was the temp for Buster Posey, while Jeff Keppinger filled in at Freddy Sanchez’s 2B. The Braves lost 2 of their 3 best arms, which put excessive pressure on their young relief corps, offense and their ace. The red pinstripes have lost stars over a 151-79 (230) mark for a .659 percentage, which is the exception and not the rule. Now, the Rays and Cards will be celebrated as the on-a-roll teams. St. Louis was beaten 9-2 as the locals clinched the East, but they took the series 3-1 when the red spacecraft throttled down from a 98-52 (.653) zenith.

The Atlanta challenge should have answered many questions, but if it didn’t, the hometown 9 went 11-2 in their recent 4 sets against potential postseason rivals during those opportunities. The Brewers (3-1), The D-backs (2-1) and the Braves (6-0) were the legit foes, while the Cards were a long shot at that time. Atlanta had a 4.5 game advantage with 10 battles remaining. The Phillies will face the so-called hot club, but that fire isn’t what it seems, which I’ll cover in my next article before the NLDS begins. They can smell the ring, they answer the bell for a formidable adversary, which is the switch they flip: These confrontations will no longer be infrequent.

There are 69 story lines so far and most will continue throughout 2011. The Magic Is Alive is ( Philadelphia Phillies Story Line: Redemption By The Numbers ) in my previous publication. Trading For October is 1 of those 69 that can be found in my author archives ( Tal Venada ).

 

Upcoming NLDS Precap:

Home Game 1:  RHP Doc Halladay (19-6, 2.35 ERA) vs. RHP Kyle Lohse (14-8, 3.39 ERA) on Saturday at 5 PM

 

 

 

The Apocalyptic Horsemen:

 

Against Atlanta, Roy Oswalt worked 6 shutout frames with this ledger: 85 darts, 3 hits, 1 walk and 4 whiffs. Without the four difficult outings and the eighth-inning meltdown, he was 9-5 with a 2.53 ERA. He fired 113.2 total, maneuvering past 112 hits, 34 runs (32 earned) and 27 bases on balls (1 intentional) to 84 strikeouts. That is in 18 of his 23 tries for 78.3%.

The collective line for this number one’s tune-up through the rotation is: 25 complete, 16 hits, 3 all-earned runs, 5 free passes and 20 punched out. The studs were 3-0 with a 1.08 ERA, earning 7 frames in 1 of 4 preparation-only endeavors.

 

CONV = Converted Start Of 6.1 Innings Or More (IN+)

(Numbers do not include relief appearances.)

ACE	W	L	ERA	IN+	CONV	CG	SO	STOPS
Total	59	33	2.71	6.1+	83 of 118	17	7	24 of 34
Halladay	19	06	2.35	6.1+	26 of 032	08	1	10 of 12
Lee	17	08	2.40	6.1+	25 of 032	06	6	03 of 05
Oswalt	09	10	3.69	6.1+	10 of 023	00	0	04 of 09
Hamels	14	09	2.75	6.1+	23 of 031	03	0	07 of 08

 

ACE	IN	H	R	ER	BB	IBB	SO
Total	818.1	723	257	245	153	7	746
Halladay	233.2	208	065	061	034	4	222
Lee	232.2	197	066	062	042	0	238
Oswalt	139.0	153	060	057	033	1	093
Hamels	213.0	165	066	065	044	2	193