Philadelphia Phillies storyline: Remedy for an ace

Trade Cliff Lee from the Philadelphia Phillies and you accomplish what? Didn’t Rube Amaro do that before?

TAL’S HANDY CAPS

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.

Check out: Philadelphia Phillies storyline: What to expect next

CAP-SIZE HINDSIGHT: 11-1 Outcome

TYPE	PLAYER	REASON
The Crystal Champagne Toast	Chase Utley	Four-Star Performance
The Penthouse	Pete Orr Chase Utley Dom Brown Chooch Ruiz	* Smoked A 2-RBI Gap Double To Close Within 1 Run In The 2nd During His 1 For 2 Game Stroked A 2-Run Single To Tie It Up At 4 In The 5th During His 2 For 4 Night With A SB, A BB & 3 RBI A 2-Out RBI Triple To Take A 5-4 Advantage In The 5th Smacked A 2-Run Double To Open A 7-4 Lead In The 7th During His 2 For 5 Evening
The Workhouse	Home SP	* A 39-Pitch 2nd Inning
The Leather Warehouse	1B Darin Ruf	Made A Spectacular Over-The-Shoulder Catch Of A Foul In The 5th
The Fun House Of Mirrors	Home RF The Defense	Takes 1st On A SO WP & 2nd After A Throw (E2) To The Bag In The 8th A SO WP With The Bags Full & A DP Tag At The Plate To End The 8th
House Call	Ryan Howard Tyler Cloyd	Season-Ending Big Toe Injury Shut Down With A Dead Arm

This is an article that got buried by the return of Chase Utley and the new home for Jim Thome. I decided to publish an updated version, because this is Lee’s final shot at a triumph before the break.

Chooch Tags The 2nd-Inning Runner After J-Roll’s Relay Throw

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 Ruiz behind him on May 23. Before the change he hit .265 with 10 homeruns and 28 RBI for 44 games. However, in the 38 battles since, he has averaged .309 with 6 homers (26) and 21 RBI (90), which projects to the back of his baseball card.

In 2009, Cole Hamels had the rubber-chicken-circuit problem, like Steve Carlton did after 27 wins. Hamels 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 Cliff’s issue but it is mostly between his ears.

Magic Juan With A Rare Pinch-Hitting AB Against A Lefty In The 8th

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. Lee 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.

Today’s ledger for Lee is an important one because his drop has been incremental. His first stage was over 5 games, which was split by 3 to 2 with a stint on the DL. The last 2 phases have been 4 contests each. Will this outing be the first of his comeback roll? Will it give him a positive vibe to take into the downtime of 4 days? 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.

Cliff Lee Dials Up A 2nd-Inning Fastball On June 29 In Miami

PRECAP PITCH

Cliff Lee:

He faced New York twice at the Bank in his 2nd and 4th appearances. His 2nd performance was his 1st after being disabled, and he was on a pitch count. He has produced this mark against them: 0-1, 4.25 ERA, 13 innings, 10 hits, 6 all-earned runs, 1 walk and 13 punch outs.

	STARTER	RECORD	TM	STARTER	RECORD	DAY & TIME
3	RHP Vance Worley	4-5, 3.46 ERA	Braves	RHP Jair Jurrjens	2-2, 5.19 ERA	Sunday, Day

Chris Young Winds Up In LA On June 28 Against The Dodgers

Chris Young:

He has returned from numerous throwing problems; he is a Lazarus. He went from 91 starts (2005-07) to 32 tries (2008-09) and 13 attempts (2010-12). That said, he always seems to be a difficult foe for the locals.

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	Cliff Lee	Edwin Jackson
NUMBER	A One	A Four
CLUB SLOT	Three	Three
FOR 2012	3-Quarter Sidearm	Short Arm
'12 RANKING	2nd of 5 Categories	4th of 5 Categories
LAST START	Cutter *	Eephus Pitch
LAST HIGH OR LOW	3rd of 15 Categories	13th of 15 Categories

	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

LINK-UP BELOW:

Tal’s Handy Caps on Facebook is for notification of posts and any holdups that may occur. It might be worth your while because there are delays of 2 hours on most feeds.

Check out my previous publications (The Raw Data) 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.