Phillies Breakfast Links, October 1, 2009: The Hangover, Resting, Maui Wowee

by WholeCamels on Oct 1, 2009 8:09 AM EDT

Bob Ford: Title came earlier but not easier
Remember how bad the starting pitching was in April?

It’s Always Classy in Philadelphia
Giving Brad Lidge the last out of the game was a great move by Charlie.

Phillies Clinch Division Title, but Worries Abound
And here comes the New York Times to pee in all our Cheerios.

Group feeds the hungry with leftovers from Citizens Bank Park, Lincoln Financial Field
You always wondered, and now you know.

Happ, Hanson among NL ROY candidates

I haven't decided who deserves the award on merit yet, but I'm definitely rooting for J.A. Happ to win it just 'cause.

Bill Conlin: Phillies clinch, now it's time for a laugh
what

Phillies await NL Division Series foe
I really don't care at this point. So many uncontrollable things in the postseason.

Phillies Notebook: Manuel to rest regulars as Phillies go after home-field advantage
Bruntlett to Cairo to Dobbs.

Phillies really did have division title in bag

"I can hear you," Chase Utley said to Victorino as he re-entered the room, "in the bleeping batting cage."

Victorino, Phillies claim third straight NL East title - Mauinews.com
No Questions Asked

K-Rod, Mets slammed
What a proper "end" to such a wonderful season in Flushing.

Paul Hagen: Golden era continues for Phillies fans
There are kids in fifth grade with no memory of the Phillies' last losing season.

'Billy Beane Of Office Softball' Profiled In Book 'MoneySoftball' | The Onion

"Kocher was the first to suggest that office softball teams overvalue players simply because they are big and fat, or because they played a little baseball in high school," author Michael Lewis said during a book signing Tuesday.

Tweet Comment 18 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Lidge story

“For five and a half months he stuck with Brad Lidge despite his troubles, much to the behest of the fans. It took command from GM Ruben Amaro before Manuel would officially find someone else to lock down a close game in the ninth inning.”

Editing still has its uses, I see.

Remember the Phitans

by RememberthePhitans on Oct 1, 2009 8:19 AM EDT reply actions

Moyer

His season ending injury seems to be kind of an afterthought to the philly press. With his 12 wins this year, and his many contributions last year, I would have expected a little more legs to the gone for the season story. I feel terrible for him.

by Boundforbeach on Oct 1, 2009 8:49 AM EDT reply actions

I think we/I would feel a lot worse if he hadn’t won it last year, etc. It’s a bummer but it’s not a gigantic tragedy as if this had happened in September 2008.

http://www.thegoodphight.com

by WholeCamels on Oct 1, 2009 9:00 AM EDT up reply actions

that's a good way to look at it.

Hey check this out… Rosenthal at Foxsports takes aim at our key hitters. http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story/10148608/Will-Phillies-have-anything-left-for-playoffs?

Four of those players — Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Shane Victorino and Pedro Feliz — have on-base percentages of .316 or below in September. A fifth, Jayson Werth, has tailed off slightly. And the sixth, Ryan Howard, is cheating to get to fastballs inside, one scout says.

Referring to Werth, Utley, Rollins and Howard, the scout says, “A team that can make pitches will go right through them. They’re all extremely dangerous if you get into their happy zones. But they all can be beaten in a lot of different places right now.”

Just curious, how does one cheat to get a fastball inside?

by Boundforbeach on Oct 1, 2009 9:05 AM EDT up reply actions

You start opening up a little more, as in ‘pulling off’. It puts the meat of your bat closer to the plate, but at the expense of covering the outer part of the plate as well.

Howard has always killed pitches that are waist high and middle-to outer part of the plate. He just launches them to left field. Pitches right of the heart of the plate he sends to center. He doesn’t crush many to RF, but is good at hitting hard liners there, and once in a while one goes over the wall, just because he hits the ball so hards.

His swing has historically had two holes. Low and away, and belt high in. This statement is saying he’s altering his approach/swing to eliminate that ball at his belt buckle that he frequently gets called out for watching go by him. While that may make him layoff the low and away pitch, if it also negates the high and outside pitch that he kills, it may be a bad idea.

by Bilzo on Oct 1, 2009 9:16 AM EDT up reply actions

Wow, our hitters must really suck. How did I never notice this before?

by taco pal on Oct 1, 2009 10:00 AM EDT up reply actions

are you really worried chap?

by CoburnsCuddleBuddy on Oct 1, 2009 10:08 AM EDT up reply actions

I’d like to hear what this scout has to say about the Dodgers’ offense lately. Have you seen them this week? It’s disappeared.

by doubleh on Oct 1, 2009 10:50 AM EDT up reply actions

Watch enough games and you’ll see where some hitters have problems. I’m not saying Howard is bad or sucks, just pointing out his flaws. All hitters have them. Good ones have fewer ones and make you pay when you make a mistake or miss a spot.

Rollins has trouble with high pitches. He usually either misses them for a K or if he connects, he gets an infield pop. Pitch him middle in though, and he pulls the ball for a double.

by Bilzo on Oct 1, 2009 12:05 PM EDT up reply actions

Since we haven’t really faced championship-caliber pitching staffs in September—other than arguably the Giants and Braves, against both of whom we took two out of three—it seems fair to put it on fatigue. If Manuel is prudent over the next few days and gives them the better part of a week to recharge, they should hit enough.

That said, the playoffs are usually about pitching anyway. If Lee and Hamels and Blanton are at their best, we’ll be fine; if not, or if the bullpen collapses again, it’s dubious that the bats can overcome.

by dajafi on Oct 1, 2009 10:58 AM EDT up reply actions

"A team that can make pitches will go right through them. They’re all extremely dangerous if you get into their happy zones. But they all can be beaten in a lot of different places right now."

Isn’t that true of almost every hitter in the majors? The ones who can’t be beaten generally win the MVP year after year. The rest of the mortals have to settle for being beaten every now and then…

by Steve J on Oct 1, 2009 11:38 AM EDT up reply actions

"right now"

I think those are the two key words to the quote. With some rest and some focus, the holes in those swings get smaller.

(Of course, the holes, whatever their size, are more likely to be exploited by Chris Carpenter and Randy Wolf than Wilton Lopez and Dave Bush, so it kind of evens out.)

by dajafi on Oct 1, 2009 12:13 PM EDT up reply actions

Oh…
I’m pulling for J.A. Happ for ROY. He has to pitch in that bandbox of a stadium that Philly has. Hanson gets to pitch in Atl, and the Braves didn’t hit that many homers so their stadium must be a cavern.

by Bilzo on Oct 1, 2009 9:17 AM EDT reply actions

There's a solid argument for Coghlan too

I think Happ will be better long term, but Coghlan has been just hitting like mad since July.

by Cormican on Oct 1, 2009 2:12 PM EDT up reply actions

Happ

Happ is among the league leaders in FIP – ERA (that reads FIP minus ERA). He should not win ROY.
vr, Xei

by Xeifrank on Oct 1, 2009 2:02 PM EDT reply actions

Well, that’s a pretty stupid thing to say. Why would FIP-ERA matter? I can see why FIP would matter, but FIP-ERA only measures the gap between perception and reality, not how good the reality is. The goal of this exercise is to select the best rookie, not to try and prove how much more intelligent you are compared to the unwashed masses. Second, selecting a ROY is a comparative exercise. Even if Happ’s FIP were horrible (which it isn’t), that would be irrelevant unless placed in context with the performances of his competitors for the award.

As it turns out, Happ’s FIP, while not special, is OK. The only other rookie pitcher who is a legitimate candidate for the award, Tommy Hanson, has a better FIP, but in significantly fewer innings and in a more pitcher-friendly ballpark. It’s perfectly reasonable to rank Happ on the same level as Hanson. Meanwhile, comparing Happ to any offensive rookie is unavoidably subjective, at least to an extent. But none of the rookie hitters have been so dominant as to make the choice obvious.

by taco pal on Oct 1, 2009 2:46 PM EDT up reply actions

My point was that his ERA, one of the couple of poor stats that the voters tend to look at (win/loss record is another), is very very luck based. One of the most luck based ERAs in all of baseball. Sure, he deserves consideration… but he will likely get more votes than he deserves based on the luck component of his ERA. FIP minus ERA measures this.
vr, Xei

by Xeifrank on Oct 1, 2009 7:12 PM EDT up reply actions