Roy Halladay came to the Philadelphia Philles for 2 of the 3 prized youngsters in the vault. That was in 2010, when they were making noise in the high minors. If they were ready for the 2011 campaign, where are they?
TAL'S HANDY CAPS
CAP-SIZE HINDSIGHT
Penthouse Occupancy for the 6-4 triumph: 4
The Chrystal Champagne Toast is a salute to Jonathan Papelbon.
Cinco Ocho Reacts With Surprise To Big John's Game-Ending Catch
The bullpen had difficulty in the 8th with 2 runs on the scoreboard, 2 one-baggers and a free pass. Cinco Ocho polished off 2 with no wiggle room, as he recorded his first 5-out save.
He was joined on the top floor by John Mayberry Jr., Hector Luna and Hunter Pence. Luna singled in 2 with 2 retired, and the first-frame bases loaded on 3 funky knocks. He, also, provided insurance with an RBI double in the 7th on a 2 for 4 night, and he had 3 steaks. Kyle Kendrick escaped a runners-at-the-corners jam with no outs in the 3rd. In the 5th, Pence went yard for a tally of 2, which pushed the advantage to 3. He enjoyed a 3 for 4 evening also. Paps entered the one-out 8th with the sacks-juiced, and he stranded them after a harmless popup before a called third.
The Leather Warehouse presented the how-did-you-catch-that award to Mayberry for his victory-preserving gem on the 27th out.
The House Of Blues welcomed HP ump Kerwin Danley, who appeared fooled on a HBP to a batter before he swiped 2nd in the 4th.
The Lighthouse was on duty during a wet night, including a delay with a downpour in the 5th.
J-Roll Applies The Tag For The Game's First Out
A House Call led to Jose Contreras’ unexpected departure in the 7th after developing a sore elbow that will land him on the DL today.
WELCOME, NEWCOMERS:
I will publish after every battle that is not washed out. The Phillies finished last summer 42 games over .500, which equaled a year of many positives. I will have many season-long highlights of puzzle pieces, especially important after drubbings and defeats.
Check out Philadelphia Phillies storyline: The southpaw rattler
SPECIAL REQUEST:
If you were directed here by a feed and this review does not mention yesterday’s contest, please go to my author archives or Phillies page for my most recent coverage. (Early morning readers may arrive before the latest post.) Scroll down to Tal’s Handy Links at the bottom. Thank you.
Hector Luna Swats A 2-Run Single In The 1st
NITECAP INSIGHT
The Cannot-Miss Three:
It was 2009 and the trade talk turned to minor-league inventory. Surely, you remember the hard-to-part-with three: Kyle Drabek, Dom Brown and Michael Taylor. How could Rube Amaro give away MLB locks? Now it’s 2012, 1 is in the majors, and that was by default.
Hunter Scores The 2nd Run In The First
Drabek was ticketed for Triple-A Las Vegas even with 2 open rotation slots, and his 2011 stats were the reason. Injury and demotion left 2 spots available to 3 question marks. He went 2-0 with a 3.72 March ERA. That said, after a solid April, he is 2-3 with a 7.11 May ERA. Another trip to Triple-A appears possible.
PLAYER | YEAR & LEVEL | WINS | LOSSES | ERA | DISPOSITION |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kyle Drabek | 2012 MLB (TOR) | 04 | 05 | 4.55 | |
| 2011 AAA (TOR) | 04 | 06 | 6.06 | Demoted To AAA | |
| 2011 MLB (TOR) | 05 | 04 | 7.44 | ||
| 2010 AA (TOR) | 14 | 09 | 2.94 | Promoted To MLB | |
| 2009 AA (PHL) | 08 | 02 | 3.64 | Traded To TOR |
Hunter Goes Yard In The 5th
Taylor had the reputation of struggling at each level before he excelled. However, that is a real stretch for a parent club and Rube knew it. If the A’s cannot be patient with him, there aren’t many possibilities for him. Brown, on the other hand, might be saddled with changing from right and leftfield to center. He, also, either had a dip in confidence or the league caught up with him. These were the cash crops on the farm and you should remember their names. Why? Sooner or later the natives will gripe that Amaro mortgaged our tomorrow.
PLAYER | YEAR & LEVEL | AVG. | HR | RBI | DISPOSITION |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Taylor | 2012 AAA (OAK) | .303 | 3 | 22 | |
| 2012 MLB (OAK) | .188 | 0 | 0 | Demoted To AAA | |
| 2011 AAA (OAK) | .272 | 6 | 78 | ||
| 2011 MLB (OAK) | .200 | 0 | 0 | Demoted To AAA | |
| 2010 AAA (PHL) | .282 | 5 | 19 | Traded To TOR | |
| Dom Brown | 2012 AAA | .256 | 1 | 17 | |
| 2011 AAA | .261 | 3 | 15 | ||
| 2011 MLB | .245 | 5 | 19 | Demoted To AAA | |
| 2010 MLB | .210 | 2 | 13 | ||
| 2010 AAA | .346 | 5 | 21 | Promoted To MLB |
King Cole Fires A Cutter On May 28 In New York
PRECAP PITCH
Cole Hamels:
He had his worse showing against the Fish in the home opener, but it was only close to a debacle. Last year his 1st outings of the tour and the second half were monstrosities. He had this line against Miami: 5.1 innings, 8 hits, 4 runs (3 earned), 0 BB, 9 punch outs and 96 fired bullets.
STARTER | RECORD | TM | STARTER | RECORD | DAY & TIME |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | LHP Cliff Lee | 06-08, 3.12 ERA | @ Nats | RHP Edwin Jackson | 09-11, 4.13 ERA | Wednesday, Day |
Ricky Nolasco Pictured At Home On May 27 Against The Giants
Ricky Nolasco:
He is 3-1 with a 2.97 road ERA for exactly half his efforts. He has lasted 7 full or more in 5 of 10 appearances with 2 clunkers.
DELIVERY = PITCHER’S 2012 | DEFINITION OF SEASON |
|---|---|
| Over The Top | Excellent |
| 3-Quarter Sidearm | Good |
| Sidearm | Above Average |
| Short Arm | Approximately Average |
| Submarine | Below Average |
Quality number of the pitcher: 1 – 5
Slot on his club: 1 – 5
Ranking is 1 to 5 & 15 for the less adventurous.
HURLER | Cole Hamels | Nate Eovaldi |
|---|---|---|
| NUMBER | A One | A Five |
| CLUB SLOT | Two | Four |
| FOR 2012 | 3-Quarter Sidearm | Short Arm |
| '12 RANKING | 2nd of 5 Categories | 4th of 5 Categories |
| LAST START | Knuckleball | Slider |
| LAST HIGH OR LOW | 11th of 15 Categories | 7th of 15 Categories |
DISPLAY NOTE: Non-listed results can go up or down by
* 1 notch & ** 2 clicks (This note will only appear when it’s relevant.)
* 1 Tick DOWN
PITCH | INN | ER - R- H | PITCH | INN | ER |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gyroball | 9 (CG) | 0 - 0 - 3 | 10 | Screwball | 6 | 4 |
| 2 | Fastball | 9 (CG) | 0 - 0 | 11 | Knuckleball | 5 | 3 |
| 3 | Cutter | 9 (CG) | 3 | 12 | Forkball | 0 - 4.2 | Monstrosity |
| 4 | Split Finger | 7 | 2 | 13 | Eephus Pitch | 0 - 2.2 | Disaster |
| 5 | Curveball | 7 | 3 | 14 | *Palm Ball | Ejected | |
| 6 | Sinker | 6.1 | 3 | 15 | *Spit Ball | **Ejected+ | |
| 7 | Slider | 6 | 2 | *Breaking Ball | Injured | ||
| 8 | Changeup | 6 | 3 | *Fosh | Rain Interrupted | ||
| 9 | Slurve | 5 | 2 | *Knuckle Curve | Pitch Count | ||
| ** = Suspended | * = A 2nd Pitch Also |
TAL'S HANDY SERIES
The Core : Check it out.
Philadelphia Phillies storyline: Trade chips (Friday)
Philadelphia Phillies storyline: The other Phillies (Thursday)
Philadelphia Phillies storyline: core value (Wednesday)
Philadelphia Phillies storyline: tomorrow’s guarantee (Tuesday)
(May 14 -18)
MAC:
The program acronym is for Methodical Algorithmic Computerization or Mac. That is the feed system from Fox Sports that had dogged me for 2 months. I probed for a compatible solution, and found that I had possibilities 90% of the time. The rest is luck, which means that you know about half of my articles. In other words, if a Fox affiliate publishes, that trumps everything else. The balance is a flip of the coin. The breakdown at 20 submissions minus 2 unacceptable was 11 of 18 or 11 to 9 total. Some of those other 7 drew positive responses from other outlets.
TAL'S HANDY SCOREBOARD
COMPUTER ALGORITHM VS. TAL:
TAL 14 – MAC 7 (& 2)
Philadelphia Phillies storyline: The other Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies storyline: tomorrow’s guarantee
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Check out my previous publication (The Final Frame) and the 60 storylines–so far–for 2012 on the Phillies page or my author archives, where there is an excerpt photo.
Tal’s Handy Stats is daily coverage. I am alternating the 2012 ERA For The NL East and the 2012 ERA For The MLB 5. Thank you, to all who bookmarked the Phillies page.
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Philadelphia Phillies storyline: Beast no. 58
Philadelphia Phillies: 2012 ERA for the NL East at game 53
Philadelphia Phillies: 2012 ERA for the MLB 5 at game 52