Philadelphia Phillies storyline: Reassembling the red pinstripes

Roy Halladay will lead the redesigned Philadelphia Phillies into 2013. Can they return to the prominence we have been spoiled by?

TAL’S HANDY CAPS

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Check out: Philadelphia Phillies storyline: Jettison mode

CAP-SIZE HINDSIGHT: 3-0 Triumph

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 trade of Joe Blanton, and I decided to publish an updated version.

Dom Brown Singles In A 8th-Inning Insurance Run

NITECAP INSIGHT

The Intersection Of Yesterday And Tomorrow:

The speedster in center, the right fielder and a hurler are on the west coast, but they didn’t want to be dealt. The reason was the money for 2013 and next season’s competitive-balance threshold. Shane Victorino was at $7.33M AAV (Average Annual Value), Joe Blanton was allotted $8M AAV, and Hunter Pence earned $10.4M with a projection to $14M in ‘13. The dollar combination for 22 players is: The core four ($75M), 2 aces plus a closer ($56.5M), 4 fielding positions other than 3B ($7M), 2 starters ($4.25M), 5 bench roles ($11.25M), 4 young relievers and 1 bullpen buyout ($2.5M). That total is $156.5M from a ceiling of $178M AAV with 3 open spots.

Erik Kratz Arrives Home After His 3rd-Inning HR

After allowing $5M for the July 31 deadline and $3M in achieved incentives, Rube Amaro would have $13.5M to spend. He would have 3 vacancies to fill, which is third base and 2 backend arms for the relief corps. Re-signing Cole Hamels was a must-do, but a struggling Vic and an undisciplined Hunter were departing necessities. Kentucky Joe was a straight $3M salary dump for the profit margin. Plus, Nate Schierholtz’s 8th-inning play on Wednesday night was probably not caught by Pence. That said, the club is not better without them, but a swapped Hamels would have been worse.

Schierholtz displays a hunger to be in the lineup on a daily basis, and Dom Brown has improved all phases of his game with a glove or a bat. They are likely to occupy 2 of the outfield jobs, while Juan Pierre and John Mayberry Jr. are also in the mix. In order to address the ‘pen and third base, there will be a number of contracts at or near the MLB minimum. In 2014, the Luxury Tax will increase $11M to $189M. This is why the Yankees and Sox have been quiet, while recent buyers will soon reach this boundary also. In other words, it is the look of parity.

J-Roll Beats The Runner With His Snap Tag In The 8th

Schierholtz wants to be in the order frequently, is solid defensively with strong throwing ability, and he has power. Brown has mostly shortened his swing, is comfortable at the plate, and he has vastly improved his fielding skills. Michael Martinez is here only for his leather, which includes centerfield without Vic. There may even be a place for Magic Juan on next year’s squad, and Laynce Nix is inked through ‘13. Don’t expect anything other than Schierholtz, Brown, Mayberry, Pierre and Nix sharing the outfield.

There are 6 balls-in-the-air requirements: 3 outfielders, a third baseman and 2 set-up men. Brown has already been tabbed as the leftfielder for beyond September, but he can handle all 3 positions. Pierre has speed, averages .300, is adequate in left; and with a $200K raise, he would account for $1M on a one-tour basis. Schierholtz and Mayberry could secure 1 or 2 spots with respectable numbers. Or with Dom and Juan in 2 slots, the other 2 could be the 8-hole glove-type player for a 4-man rotation. If this warning-track patrol can be fairly productive, the GM will have more maneuverability for the 3 bigger issues.

The 6 bullpen seats other than Jonathan Papelbon’s would be split 3 ways: Antonio Bastardo (7th), Josh Lindblom (7th), 2 youngsters from among 9 candidates, and 2 veterans for the 8th. The hot corner will have to be a dangerous right-handed stick, who is 32 or younger, and not error-prone. Rube has $13.5M for the third sacker and 2 endgame pieces, which is enough to accomplish his retooling.

	STARTERS	RELIEVERS	REGULARS	OTHER POS.	BENCH
1	Doc Halladay	Jonathan Papelbon	C Chooch Ruiz	OF Nate Schierholtz	Ty Wigginton
2	Cole Hamels	Antonio Bastardo	1B Ryan Howard	OF Dom Brown	Laynce Nix
3	Cliff Lee	Josh Lindblom	2B Chase Utley	OF Juan Pierre	John Mayberry Jr.
4	Vance Worley	2 Young Arms	SS Jimmy Rollins	Third Base FA	Michael Martinez
5	Kyle Kendrick	2 Veteran FA's			Backup Catcher

The General Dials-Up A 4-Seam Fastball During 7 Scoreless Innings On July 31 In Washington

PRECAP PITCH

Cliff Lee:

Since he overcame his mental boulder, he is 2-1 with a 2.75 July ERA in his last 5 performances. He is back to being the 2010 Christmas present that he was as a free agent.

	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

Trevor Cahill Loads Up On July 30 In Los Angeles

Trevor Cahill:

He is 5-4 with a 2.79 away ERA, which is 2.08 lower than in his hitter-friendly home park. Against the locals at Chase Field in late April, his ledger read: 5.1 frames, 6 hits, 4 all-earned runs, 2 walks and 3 strikeouts on 88 misfired bullets. Overall, he has worked 6.2 innings plus in 8 of 21 chances with 6 clunkers, including 4 at Chase–another was during a visit to Colorado.

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.

*** = Approximately equal to after plus-and-minus computation

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

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 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

STATS APOCALYPTIC HORSEMEN DOC HALLADAY
DOC'S LINE: 5 INN, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 7 K & 90 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

12TH RIDE OF THE HORSEMEN:


ACE	W - L	ERA	INN+	CONV	CG	SO	BAD	INN	H	R	ER	BB	IBB	SO
Total	2 - 0	2.84	6.1+	2 of 3	0	0	1	19.0	14	6	6	4	0	20
Halladay	1 - 0	7.20	6.1+	0 of 1	0	0	1	05.0	06	4	4	3	0	07
Lee	0 - 0	1.29	7.0+	1 of 1	0	0	0	07.0	03	1	1	0	0	05
Hamels	1 - 0	1.29	7.0+	1 of 1	0	0	0	07.0	05	1	1	1	0	08

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