Philadelphia Phillies Story Line: Cholley’s Newfangled Lineup

Jimmy Rollins wasn’t enough for the Philadelphia Phillies in the 5-4 final. What numbers have the regulars put up with the new batting order?

Yesterday’s Penthouse Occupancy was: 5. The Crystal Champagne Toast goes to J-Roll, who is a man possessed at the plate. He crushed 2 doubles that came within a few feet of lost. Brad Lidge traded 6 sliders for 3 outs to halt the uprising in the seventh, saving Cliff Lee’s burrito: first and third with none retired. Lee wiggled out of a first-inning leadoff triple, like a Houdini. Raul Ibanez gunned down a runner at home in the fourth, and Chooch Ruiz held on after the collision for the out.

In the Outhouse for a return sitting, home-plate umpire Jerry Meals had 2 strike zones. He was the famous blue who blew the extra-frame call at the dish, handing the Braves a critical win over the Bucs.

The Phillies finished 42 games over .500, which equaled a season 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 ( Philadelphia Phillies: 2011 ERA For The NL East At Game 162 And Final ) and 2011 ERA For The MLB 5 ( Philadelphia Phillies: Final 2011 ERA For The MLB 5 At Game 162 ) with the last 2 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.

 

 

NLDS NITECAP INSIGHT:

 

 

The Gold In The Bold:

 

Cholley Manuel employs heavy thinking with his offensive possibilities. He moved Chase Utley into the 2 hole to coax a different approach and more fastballs. Hunter Pence slid in between Utley and Ryan Howard, creating match-up problems for the opposition. Fans were probably discouraged by only 4 runs and 6 knocks, but some cooling off was very probable. However, even with yesterday’s output, I must warn you that the stats jump off the page. Here they are and here is your reason to be extremely optimistic.

REG.	AVG.	HR	RBI	AB	R	H	SB	CS	BB	IBB
J-Roll	.464	2	03	28	10	13	3	1	2	—
Chase	.348	1	03	23	06	08	0	0	5	—
Hunter	.417	2	10	24	08	10	—	—	5	1
Ryno	.381	1	08	21	02	08	—	—	1	0
Vic	.318	0	02	22	04	07	0	0	1	—
Raul	.320	1	07	25	03	08	—	—	0	—
Big John	.375	0	00	08	01	03	0	0	3	—
Polly	.167	0	03	24	00	04	—	—	0	—
Chooch	.200	0	03	25	02	05	—	—	1	1

These statistics reveal a machine-like quality and a minefield for the other dugout. When you have aces with the best MLB defense, these sticks will only increase your odds for success. Plus, there were encouraging signs from the ’pen with Lidge, Antonio Bastardo and Vance Worley. The national color men looked at the yearly batting averages, but failed to discover the current status. The 2 former hurlers came up short in this aspect, but Cal Ripken Jr. did not. He tried to point out the potency, but noticed they were on the other side of the ball. He saw the talent and realized there are no easy outs: 1 through 8.

The red pinstripes are 5-1 with this meat grinder. They have scored 39 runs (6.5 average) on 69 hits (11.5 per). They have permitted 21 runs (3.5) on 52 knocks (8.7). They went 4-1 against the Braves and Cards, where they encountered massive resistance from teams with survival on the line. That said, this star-studded, ring-starved Goliath will exploit any advantage to eliminate their rival.

Do you think the lumber will slump? Did you notice the respect of Tony La Russa with his bullpen management? He emptied his entire relief corps for a 1-run win. Yes, it worked once, but can they do it 3 times? A short series appears like a viable plan for St. Louis to advance, but they would need 2 more victories. They could only afford 1 loss to Cole Hamels, Roy Oswalt or Doc Halladay by out pitching The Phils.

Wednesday’s article will be: Philly Has 5 Aces, Not 4. There are 71 story lines so far and most will continue throughout 2011. Flush With Aces is ( Philadelphia Phillies Story Line: The Red Temperature Of Month 10 ) in my previous publication. The Gold In The Bold is 1 of those 71 that can be found in my author archives ( Tal Venada ).

 

                                                                    Cole Hamels vs. Jaime Garcia

 

 

NLDS PRECAP:

 

 

 

Hamels has struggled with the long ball recently, while Garcia was slotted third due to confidence issues. Cole went 7 full in an after-clinching outing, allowing 7 hits, 4 all-earned runs and 0 walks to 9 punched out on 91 darts. Garcia has 1 showing in each park with this mark: 0-0, 0.60 ERA, 15 complete, 10 hits, 2 runs (1 earned), 3 free passes and 9 whiffs. That said, this is a playoff situation, which favors Hamels. Plus, Howard will want to excel in front of family during October, which is a 2-battle occasion.

 

The Phillies:

The southpaw was 14-9 with a 2.79 ERA, realizing at least 6.1 innings in 23 of 31 appearances. He has reached 216 total, navigating past 169 hits, 68 runs (67 earned) and 45 BB (2 intentional) to 194 K’ed. Against the Mets, Hamels had this log: 93 bullets, 7 full, 4 hits, 1 run (earned), 3 walked and 7 fanned. Without his 4 debacles, he was 14-5 with a 2.07 ERA, achieving 6.1 frames plus in 22 of 27 master works. King Cole tallied 196 complete, negotiating around 131 hits, 45 all-earned runs and 34 bases on balls (2 intentional) to 176 punch outs. That was in 27 of his 31 chances for 87.1%.

 

Away Game 3:  LHP Cole Hamels (14-9, 2.75 ERA) vs. LHP Jaime Garcia (13-7, 3.56 ERA) on Tuesday at 5 PM

 

 

The Cards:

Garcia was 13-7 with 3.56 ERA, lasting 6.1 innings or more in 11 of 32 attempts. He had 8 disasters and 2 poor results. He threw 194.2 frames, managing 207 hits, 100 runs (77 earned) and 52 passed (2 intentional) to 156 whiffed. In his most recent effort, he labored for 4 full, surrendering 4 hits, 4 all-earned runs and 1 BB to 5 strikeouts on 64 Frisbees.

 

 

Upcoming NLDS Precaps:

Away Game 4:  RHP Roy Oswalt (9-10, 3.69 ERA) vs. RHP Edwin Jackson (12-9, 3.79 ERA) on Wednesday at 6 PM

Home Game 5:  RHP Doc Halladay (1-0, 3.38 ERA) vs. RHP Kyle Lohse (0-1, 8.44 ERA) on Friday at 8:30 PM

 

 

 

The Apocalyptic Horsemen:

 

The General lacked command and a veteran team in a corner didn’t miss the opportunity. His ledger was: 110 misfired shells, 6 innings, 12 hits, 5 all-earned runs, 2 walks and 9 K’s.

CONV = Converted Start Of At Least 6.1 Innings (IN+)

(Numbers do not include relief appearances.) 

 

 

ACE	W	L	ERA	IN+	CONV	CG	SO	STOPS
Total	1	1	5.14	8.0+	1 of 2	0	0	0 of 0
Halladay	1	0	3.38	8.0+	1 of 1	0	0	0 of 0
Lee	0	1	7.50	6.1+	0 of 1	0	0	0 of 0

 

ACE	IN	H	R	ER	BB	IBB	SO
Total	14.0	15	8	8	3	0	17
Halladay	08.0	03	3	3	1	0	08
Lee	06.0	12	5	5	2	0	09

 

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