Including his teammates on the Philadelphia Phillies, everybody desires to know what’s wrong with Cliff Lee. How do we get back the ace we want?
CAP-SIZE HINDSIGHT
Penthouse Occupancy for the 3-2 setback: 2
The Chrystal Champagne Toast is a salute to Cole Hamels.
He was joined on the top floor by Chooch Ruiz.
TYPE | PLAYER | REASON |
|---|---|---|
| The Crystal Champagne Toast | Cliff Lee | Four-Star Performance |
| The Penthouse | Cliff Lee Jimmy Rollins | Worked Out Of A Runner-At-3rd One-Out Jam In The 2nd Fired 7 3-Hit Innings An RBI Single To Tie The Score At 1 In The 8th |
| The Kangaroo Courthouse | Ty Wigginton | Thrown Out Rounding 3rd To End The 2nd |
| The Whitehouse | Cliff Lee | Reached his 200th K In The 5th |
WELCOME, NEWCOMERS:
I will publish after every battle that is not washed out. I will have many season-long highlights of puzzle pieces, especially important after drubbings and defeats. 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.
NITECAP INSIGHT
The Answer:
The reason is the easy part but it’s the implementation that is difficult. However, keep in mind that professionals cannot reveal certain things.
Firstly, here are a few similar examples. Hunter Pence had the mental obstacle of being the big gun in the cleanup position, and he tried to be a slugger. That is why he struggled. He was switched to the 3 hole with Chooch behind him on May 23. Before the change he hit .265 with 10 homeruns and 28 RBI for 44 games. However, in the 36 battles since, he has averaged .310 with 6 homers (27) and 20 RBI (90), which projects to the back of his baseball card.
In 2009, Hamels had the rubber-chicken-circuit problem, like Steve Carlton did after winning 27 games. Cole only worked at a 50% clip during that short off-season, and his numbers represented half of his expectations. It was initially physical but led to the thinking aspect after a lack of success. That’s not Lee’s problem but it is mostly between his ears.
I went through something parallel recently with my writing and a computer-algorithm feed to a major outlet. I experienced a normal period with no ill effects, but no satisfaction either. By mid-May, he had a 1.95 ERA for 5 performances. During the next phase, I needed to push myself but the desired outcome wasn’t happening. Cliff started giving back the lead or something would go wrong, like a bullpen letdown. During that time he had a 4.23 ERA for 4 appearances.
Then, I started restricting my effort by a small amount, feeling that it wasn’t going to matter. This is where he is now during his last 4 showings, which has produced a 7.30 ERA. I made some adjustments, and left out something when there were no positives from the night before. Bad pitching, no spectacular fielding and little offense occurred during a lopsided loss. That one alteration put me over the top and I bounced back. The General needs his first victory and it’s that simple. It doesn’t have to be a gem. A line of 7 full and 3 earned runs with a W will repair 2012 for him.
PRECAP PITCH
Joe Blanton:
He has worked 6.2 innings plus in 9 of 15 chances with 5 monstrosities. Against the Fish at the Bank, he had a 1-1 record and a 4.15 ERA with this mark: 13 complete, 12 hits, 6 all-earned runs plus 2 walks to 9 punch outs.
STARTER | RECORD | TM | STARTER | RECORD | DAY & TIME |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RHP Vance Worley | 4-4, 2.92 ERA | @ Mets | LHP Jon Niese | 6-3, 3.55 ERA | Tuesday, Night |
| 2 | LHP Cliff Lee | 0-5, 4.13 ERA | @ Mets | RHP Chris Young | 2-1, 3.30 ERA | Wednesday, Day |
| 3 | LHP Cole Hamels | 10-4, 3.08 ERA | @ Mets | RHP R.A. Dickey | 12-1, 2.15 ERA | Thursday, Night |
Ricky Nolasco:
He has lasted 6.2 frames or more in 7 of 15 attempts with 3 clunkers. At the Bank he went 7 total with this ledger: 8 hits, 4 all-earned runs, 2 free passes and 5 strikeouts on 87 bullets.
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 | Joe Blanton | Ian Kennedy |
|---|---|---|
| NUMBER | A Four | A Three |
| CLUB SLOT | Five | One |
| FOR 2012 | Short Arm | Short Arm |
| '12 RANKING | 4th of 5 Categories | 4th of 5 Categories |
| LAST START | Split Finger | Sinker |
| LAST HIGH OR LOW | 4th of 15 Categories | 6th 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.)
* 2 Ticks UP
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 |
The Comeback: Check it out.
Philadelphia Phillies storyline: Past the first obstacle (Sunday)
Philadelphia Phillies storyline: The comeback trail (Friday)
COLE'S LINE: 7 INN, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K & 99 DARTS |
ACE | W - L | ERA | INN+ | CONV | CG - SO | BAD | INN | ER | BB - IBB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 34 - 23 | 3.48 | 6.1 | 59 of 86 | 2 - 2 | 12 | 582.2 | 225 | 114 -2 | 557 |
| Hamels | 17 - 06 | 3.05 | 6.2 | 21 of 31 | 2 - 2 | 03 | 215.1 | 073 | 050 - 2 | 218 |
| Lee | 06 - 09 | 3.16 | 6.1 | 23 of 30 | 0 - 0 | 02 | 211.0 | 074 | 028 - 0 | 207 |
| Halladay | 11 - 08 | 4.49 | 7.0 | 15 of 25 | 0 - 0 | 07 | 156.1 | 078 | 036- 0 | 132 |
LINK-UP BELOW:
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Check out my previous publications (Empty Pig ‘Pen) and the 70 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: The animal in centerfield
Tal Venada (Temporarily experiencing a glitch)
Philadelphia Phillies: 2012 ERA for the NL East at game 80
Philadelphia Phillies: 2012 ERA for the MLB 5 at game 79









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