Philadelphia Phillies storyline: Pulse certified

Roy Halladay finished the road trip for the Philadelphia Phillies on a high note.  Are they more than just a spoiler?  After you crunch my numbers below, are you actually ready to forget Philly baseball until February? Or is there a tinge of pennant fever? Remember, the poll for Masked September is here, if you haven’t voted yet.

 

WELCOME, NEWCOMERS:

I will publish after every battle that is not washed out.  I will have many summer-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 the 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: Greenback mountain

 

CAP-SIZE HINDSIGHT:    6-2 Triumph

TYPE	PLAYER	REASON
The Crystal Champagne Toast	Ryan Howard	Five-Star Performance
The Penthouse	Jimmy Rollins Chase Utley Ryan Howard	Led off The 1st With A HR For A 1-0 Advantage * Worked A 2-Out, 8-Pitch BB After A 1-2 Count In The 9th * Hit A Game-Winning 2-Run HR In The 9th With 2 Outs
The Whitehouse	Cole Hamels	Recorded The 200th of 202 K's In The 5th
The Outhouse	2B Ump	Missed A Very Close Play (SB) At 2nd, Which Transpired After A Pick-Off Throw To 1st In The 6th
The Animal House	Ryan Howard	* Launched A 2nd-Deck Rocket In The 9th

 

Above Asterisks ( *) = Corresponding Plays And/Or Events

 

 

 

 

NITECAP INSIGHT

 

 

 

 

A Slight Temperature:

 

Perception trumps reality on a daily basis and baseball is no exception. A newsman in Washington recently referred to the sweep of the Nationals by the Phils as galling. A sports-show host in New York this week told a caller that the Mets beating the red pinstripes didn’t count, because they’re awful. That stated, even losing clubs need to occasionally win a series for their mental health. The record determines how good or bad a team is, and until the locals are 10 games over .500, they don’t matter. The stars, the 102 victories, the 5 straight division titles and the injuries are irrelevant.

 

In the 2nd half of this campaign, no NL contender has captured every series against also-rans. In a sport where success is 70% failure and 40% luck, it is virtually impossible. And, therefore, that puts the fan in fanatic, doesn’t it? Remember, the goal from day 1 in spring training was to play .500 until Ryan Howard and Chase Utley returned. Doc was in that, as well, but we didn’t find it out until the end of May. Now, after the break with the whole squad, how have they done?

 

2nd-Half Records:

Versus:  CON (Contenders), BAL (Balance), PHL (Phillies) And 8/2 (Blanton Traded)

TEAM	W - L	CON	BAL	PHL	TEAM	W - L	CON	BAL	PHL
Reds	36-17	09-04	27-13	3-4	Cards	28-23	12-14	16-09	1-2
Nats	35-18	11-06	24-12	1-5	Dodgers	26-25	11-13	15-12	1-2
Giants	31-20	10-12	21-08	2-1	D-Backs	26-27	13-14	13-13	1-2
Braves	31-21	07-10	24-11	6-3	Pirates	24-27	08-09	16-18	-----
Phillies	29-21	19-15	10-06	-----	Mets	19-32	10-22	09-10	2-1
After 8/2	19-13	07-05	12-08	-----	Fish	19-33	10-20	09-13	1-2

 

 

That question is buried under the debris of self-inflicted disappointment. The Reds, Nats and Braves are a combined 102-56 in the 2nd half, and they are 28-10-8 for their series. Surely, the hometown 9 got crushed. In the last 3 sets with 9 battles against those organizations, Cholley’s boys went 7-2, taking all 3 matchups. How was that received? They should have swept the Braves in Atlanta, and at the Cincinnati bandbox, the Reds wouldn’t have taken that 1 contest, if the right moves were made by the manager. Naturally, this highlights the out-of-it season the Phils have had.

In the real world, 7-2 (.777) against 3 of the 4-5 playoff teams is spectacular. The red pinstripes are 9-4 against Washington and Cincinnati, who are a combined 71-35 since the 4-day vacation. New York and Miami have shriveled up under the pressure from postseason-bound franchises with something to play for, where every loss is a missed opportunity. The battles against October hopefuls are not the same after the All-Star Game, when the intensity is increased a notch. The locals are outcompeting 4 of the 8 NL organizations that opened the 2nd half in the hunt. The next step is to reach .500, while they pass the Brewers and D-backs for the 2nd wild card. No in-it club wants the Phillies this month, and, if they sneak into the mix with a 2nd wild-card tie, no contender will be overjoyed by that prospect.

 

2nd-Half Series:

Versus:  CON (Contenders), BAL (Balance), PHL (Phillies) And 8/2 (Blanton Traded)

TEAM	REC	CON	BAL	PHL	TEAM	REC	CON	BAL	PHL
Reds	10-3-3	3-1-1	7-2-2	0-1-1	Cards	8-06-1	3-4-1	5-2	0-1
Nats	10-2-3	3-0-1	7-2-2	0-2	Dodgers	7-08-1	3-3-1	4-5	0-1
Giants	10-4-2	2-3-2	8-1	1-0	D-Backs	5-06-5	2-3-3	3-3-2	0-1
Braves	08-5-2	0-3-2	8-2	2-1	Pirates	7-08-1	2-2-1	5-6	-----
Phillies	10-4-2	7-3-1	3-1-1	-----	Mets	4-11-1	1-8-1	3-3	1-0
After 8/2	08-2-2	5-1-1	1-1-1	-----	Fish	2-09-4	0-6-3	2-3-1	0-1

 

 

 

 

PRECAP PITCH

 

 

 

 

Cliff Lee:

 

He rides the up-and-down streaks, which is more a plus than a minus with the exception of the first half. That was the negative version of his 2 dominate months last year.  For his last 11 performances, his line is: 4-2, a 2.84 ERA, 79.1 frames, 79 hits, 28 runs (25 earned), 7 walks and 72 punch outs.  Against the Rox at Coors in mid-July, his mark was:  6 complete, 9 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), 1 BB and 4 K’s on 95 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

 

 

Jeff Francis:

 

He has worked 6 innings in 2 of 18 attempts with 10 clunkers.  The rotation in Colorado is limited to 75 pitches per outing.  However, he is 2-1 with a 4.69 away ERA, which is 1.96 lower than at home.  At the Bank in late June, his ledger read:  5 full, 6 hits, 1 run (earned), 0 free passes and 3 strikeouts on 76 tosses.

 

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

 

 

Starters’ photos, not described otherwise, are in the 1st inning.

 

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 or 2 categories (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

 

 

 

 

NOTE:  This poll will appear in every September article for you to check  the current results, if it is still worthwhile.

 

The Original Article:  Philadelphia Phillies storyline: Masked September

 

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