Thankfully We Won't Play the Astros in the Playoffs

by David S. Cohen on Oct 2, 2009 12:18 PM EDT Comment 16 comments

There's no doubt the Phillies are thrilled to see the Astros leave Philadelphia. Even though the team clinched against the Astros (well, really, the clinching happened just before the game ended thanks to bad base-running by Matt Diaz, but let's pretend it happened when Brad Lidge got Lance Berkman to ground out to first), the Phillies just suck against the Astros.

This year, the Phillies are 2-6 in their 8 games against the Astros. And this isn't unusual at all. Going back to 2004, the Phillies are 13-26 against Houston, good for a .333 winning percentage. Compare that to the team's record since 2004 against all other teams: 519-411, or a .558 winning percentage.

If we take an even longer-term view, the situation is almost as bad. Since the Phillies plucked victory from the claws of defeat in the wonderful 1980 NLCS against the Astros, the Phillies are 122-155 against them, or a .440 winning percentage. Against all other teams since those playoffs, the Phillies are 2151-2144, or a .501 winning percentage.

The Astros have been a decent team over these stretches, but they haven't been world-beaters. Since 2004, when they've been .667 against the Phillies, the Astros have a .506 record against all other teams. Since the 1980 playoffs, the Astros have been .560 against the Phillies but only .515 against all other teams.

Is it that the Phillies stay in a crappy hotel when they visit Houston? Do they not like the Astros' uniforms, home or away? Whatever it is, I'm just happy the Phillies aren't playing the Astros in the playoffs. The Cardinals, Rockies, or Dodgers will do just fine.

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Playoff roster, no?

(11+14) Lee, Hamels, Blanton, Martinez—-Happ, Durbin, Eyre, Madson, Lidge, Park (if healthy), & Walker. Condrey & Kendrick should be left off.
8 starters wirh bench of: Bako, Francisco, Stairs, Bruntlett, Dobbs, and probably Cairo. What say you??

mark ferraro

by ginzo on Oct 2, 2009 12:28 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I think Park is in pretty bad shape, haven’t heard much which might be bad. Kendrick or Condrey?

by Sept.28.Oct.27.Dec.28.2008 on Oct 2, 2009 12:32 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I think Park is still injured

It was reported he “felt something” in his rehab pitching, and flew to Phila to see the doctors.

Is Eyre healthy?

by JWoody on Oct 2, 2009 12:41 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Arrrrrrrgh

No matter who it is, this bullpen makes me nervous going into the playoffs. The legs we’re standing on in later innings seem to wobble more and more, and in the post season, when my heart is constantly on the verge of a total rupture, they do NOT do wonders for me.

http://thatballsouttahere.com
Stop yelling at me so that I can yell at you!

by JKlugh on Oct 2, 2009 12:58 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I’m glad my post generated so much relevant discussion.

by David S. Cohen on Oct 2, 2009 1:47 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

ha!

http://www.thegoodphight.com

by WholeCamels on Oct 2, 2009 2:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Why?

Can anyone explain why the Astros have such a high winning percentage against the Phillies despite the quality of their starting rotation and players in that timeframe?

Are they just a dream team of Phillies killers? It makes no sense to me. They came into CBP having just lost 8 of their last 11 games and then proceeded to kick our collective asses. Do they just have complete confidence when they play us? Some deal with the devil?

Like winning a series at PNC (which the Phils finally did in 2008), this is something that continually eludes the Phils. I’d like to see this rectified next year.

by doubleh on Oct 2, 2009 2:04 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

the mathematical logic eludes me at the end of the day, but

doesn’t it somehow stand to reason that every team in baseball plays another team like that performs well above average against it?

by Wet Luzinski on Oct 2, 2009 6:10 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It really makes no sense. I did like it last year when we saw them earlier in the season—these September series against Houston are just brutal.

The Rockies yesterday earned the rare accomplishment of making the playoffs in a season when they’d been 12 games under .500. I think the previous team to have done so was the 2005 Astros, who still haunt my baseball nightmares.

by dajafi on Oct 2, 2009 3:03 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I’m just glad the Phillies only play the Astros 6-8 times a season, rather than the 18-19 times they played the Marlins back when the Fish were killing us in 2003-5.

http://www.thegoodphight.com

by WholeCamels on Oct 2, 2009 5:49 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

a teamful of Conines
makes the pennant race go down
in the most god-awful way

by Wet Luzinski on Oct 2, 2009 6:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

At least during the ’80s, if it was the uniforms that bothered the Phils of that era, can you really blame them?

by taco pal on Oct 2, 2009 7:21 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

call me a nut, and it’s certainly not fashionable to say so, but I likes those Astros unis, probably because they were vaguely reminiscent of Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings.

by Wet Luzinski on Oct 2, 2009 10:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks

I had forgotten what those uniforms looked like. My question is, besides the Astros uniforms shown above what other team uniforms have been really off the wall? I’m thinking the Oakland A’s had some unusual green and gold and white combos in the early 1970’s that were eye-popping. But I can’t think of any others that really looked unusual. Any others come to mind?

by phillyinportland on Oct 3, 2009 6:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

All-yellow Pirates unis were pretty eye-popping. Along similar lines, the Orioles played in all-orange unis sometimes, and then there were the abominable Phillies all-maroon unis.

The 80’s White Sox unis with the weirdly “modern” font.

The Padres have had a few memorable uniforms; early 70’s in mustard and brown and the camo ones they wear sometimes now leap to mind.

by phatj on Oct 3, 2009 9:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Padres

That’s right. I forgot about how strange looking those camouflage uniforms are. And those Pirates uniforms, from the late ‘70s I think, were another different design. All-yellow on Dave Parker? Didn’t they have one that was sort of black-and-gold that they wore with an old-style hat that was reminiscent of a 19th-century style? Can’t say I recall seeing the Orioles all-orange, but I have seen pictures of the White Sox’ changing styles, and now that you mention it the Phillies maroon colors from the 1980 championship era was certainly not the reason anyone would root for them. Getting back to the traditional red pinstripes was a welcome move.

by phillyinportland on Oct 3, 2009 11:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs