Philadelphia Phillies storyline: Traded away

Darin Ruf has caught the eye of everybody who claims the Philadelphia Phillies as their team.  But that would not have been the case without the departure of 2 regulars in the outfield.

 

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: Center of attention

 

CAP-SIZE HINDSIGHT:    4-2 Outcome

TYPE	PLAYER	REASON
The Crystal Champagne Toast	Darin Ruf	Four-Star Performance
The Penthouse	B.J. Rosenberg Darin Ruf	Escaped A Bags-Full, 1-Out Jam In The 2nd Picked-Off A Runner At 1st To End The 4th * Hit A Solo HR To Take A 1-0 Lead In The 4th * Smoked An 0-2 HR, Closing The Score To 3-2 In The 8th During His 2 For 4 Night
The Fun House Of Mirrors	All	Fog Game #1 For 2012
The Outhouse	HP Ump	A SB On A Questionable Foul Tip In The 5th
The Animal House	Darin Ruf	* A 2 HR Night

 

Above Asterisk ( *) = Corresponding Play And/Or Event

 

 

 

NITECAP INSIGHT

 

 

 

Pacific Coast Time:

 

While the mood in Philly is missing the buzz of postseason action, fans can compare their 2012 to the Halos’ year. They signed Albert Pujols and cobbled together a rotation of Jered Weaver, Zack Greinke, Dan Haren, C.J. Wilson and Ervin Santana. Plus, they have Mike Trout. But they finished out of the money and behind the Rangers and A’s.

Also, Hunter Pence, Shane Victorino and Joe Blanton were still in the Fall Classic hunt after 160 games. Now, it’s only Pence.  However, those 3 familiar names were swapped after the Phils were without half of their best 6 players. Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Doc Halladay had physical issues that caused missed time and less-than-optimum results during their readjustment. Jonathan Papelbon, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels were healthy, while Chooch Ruiz was limited by his foot problem.

 

PLAYER	AVG.	HR	RBI	BB - IBB	SB - CS
Hunter Pence	.219	7	45	19 - 1	01 - 0
Shane Victorino	.245	2	15	18 - 0	15 - 2
Nate Schierholtz	.251	1	05	05 - 0	00 - 0
Dom Brown	.235	5	26	21 - 2	00 - 0

 

 

How have the former Phillies done? Kentucky Joe was on a short leash in Los Angeles, because that’s how his new manager did things. It is not strictly a reflection on him but it affected his performance. Vic recently had 3 big days to raise his average from .229, and now he is near his normal-for-2012 mark. Hunter’s tour is broken into 3 sections and this is the lowest. He was swinging for the fences without Howard and Utley before returning to his .300 hitting when they came back. Then, he was shipped to the Giants.

In my last article, I mentioned that a championship core draws stars to a franchise. But the opposite is true when the unthinkable 162 happens, like this one. There was no celebration by Pence, Victorino and Blanton when they arrived in California. Their stats suffered also. They would not have been here in 2013, because their incomes would have put the locals over the competitive-balance threshold of $178M. However, it does say something about the red pinstripes, which is an organization that gets the potential out of their personnel.

 

PITCHER	W - L	ERA	INN - H	R - ER	BB - IBB -S0
Joe Blanton	2 - 4	4.99	57.2 - 66	32 - 32	16 - 3 - 51
Josh Lindblom	1 - 3	4.63	23.1 - 19	15 - 12	17 - 2 - 27

 

 

 

 

PRECAP PITCH

 

 

 

 

Cliff Lee:

 

He is 6-3 with a 2.33 ERA since July 4.  During those 16 efforts, his line is:  115.2 total, 110 hits, 35 runs (30 earned), 9 walks and 111 punch outs.  He has faced the Nats in both venues (1 each) with this log:  2-0, a 0.64 ERA, 14 complete, 12 hits, 1 run (earned), 1 passed and 12 fanned.

 

	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

 

 

Edwin Jackson:

 

This will probably be a tune-up appearance, which mean 5 innings or less.  He is 5-6 with a 3.50 home ERA, which is 1.28 lower in Washington.  He has worked 6.1 frames plus in 14 of 30 attempts with 11 clunkers.  Against the Phils for 3 outings at both parks (2 away), his ledger reads:  0-3, a 4.34 ERA, 18.2 innings, 22 hits, 9 all-earned runs, 9 BB (1 intentional) and 18 whiffs.

 

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

 

 

Baseball-Fix Monday Schedule:

Events will dictate the number from 1 to 4 each for November and December. January to mid-February will be every other week, and it will be weekly after that until the season begins.

 

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