2 startling facts

by The Navigator on Sep 3, 2009 11:41 PM EDT Comment 5 comments

A couple things I've noticed this evening that threw me for a bit of a loop:

1. The Phils, after the games of Sept. 3, are 23 games over .500. I mean, damn. Last year IIRC the Phils wound up 92-70, which was the second best record in the NL, but was still just 22 games over .500. Now we're 77-54. I'm still not sure how this happened - last year's highly productive bench, unusually good pen, and dominant closer have all been AWOL this season, and yet here we are, in September with an 8-game lead and 23 games to the good.

2. There's a guy named Hoover on the 25-man roster. He's the third catcher, apparently. I count myself as someone who pays reasonable (not ridiculous) amounts of attention to the Phils, and has a good sense of who their players are, but... Paul (I think) Hoover? Who is this person? How did he get here? Why is he on a team where Jayson Werth can fill in in the extremely unlikely occurrence that the starting and backup catchers both have to leave a game? Is there genuinely not someone out there who could hit better than Eric Bruntlett while playing a passable 3d or 2d base, or whatever? I do not understand. But I credit this Hoover fellow, if that really is his name, for his role as a Startling Phillies Fact.

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Emergency Catchers

While Werth might be able to play as catcher and prevent a forfeit….if you’ve ever seen one of these ‘emergency’ catchers play, it’s ugly. I remember Matt LeCroy giving up 8 SBs before being pulled once. If Werth could play catcher at a major league level, don’t you think he’d be penciled in there and Francisco or Mayberry would be taking his OF spot? Translation: If you could replace Chooch’s bat with a 4th OFer, wouldn’t you?

by Bilzo on Sep 4, 2009 12:31 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I think there’s a lot of space between “starter-caliber” and “every other pitch a passed ball.” I don’t think Werth is good enough to start over Chooch – and I’m very happy to able to say that, for once, I have enough faith in the organization that they’d figure it out and put Werth in the optimal position if he were that good; I wouldn’t have said that several years ago – but things I’ve read give me the sense that he’s played there before and could do it well enough to get through a game without embarrassing himself or the team. So, I guess my answer to your question is, I think Werth could play catcher at the ML level, but only at about a slightly sub-replacement level. Which is fine for emergencies.

"I am the Walrus?..... I am the Walrus." - Donny Kerabatsos

by The Navigator on Sep 4, 2009 9:38 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I hear you….I’m just saying that unless Werth actually does some periodic real time catching, he’s going to be so rusty back there so as to be a detriment to the team. The line between servicable and embarrasing is pretty thin, ESPECIALLY at catcher. Only the pitcher matters more I’d say. If you put a cardboard cut out at any other position than those two, there’s a chance you could survive. i don’t think Werth would be getting PBs like crazy, but I cringe at him throwing out runners trying to steal. You miss from the OF…they might get an extra base…it might be backed up, and it’s not going very far (and the it’s not like there’s another base past home you can award that runner…). You miss second from home bad enough and the guy is scoring.

The reason they’ve called up Hoover is because he could play catcher better than Werth could. I fully believe that.

by Bilzo on Sep 4, 2009 9:53 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

23 games over .500

Like you, I’m pleased to see the team move this far over .500. I think the overall improvement might have something to do with avoiding bad streaks. I don’t recall all the particulars this season, but I can remember only two really bad stretches: the losing 8 out of 11 right when they got Cliff Lee and the June 12-July 2 period when they went 4-14. Other than those times, I doubt there’s been any 10 games where they haven’t at least won 4. In fact, their overall record in the rest of the season is 70-36, which indicates how dominant they’ve been except for the two rough patches. Last year, in comparison, the team was little more than a .500 club until near the end of July, when they went on a five-game winning streak to reach 10 games over .500 going into August. I think this year we’ve reached the point where two losses in a row are unexpected and three or more is cause for wondering what’s going on. Last year, I think those two- and three-game losing streaks were a lot more common. But still, on Sept. 3rd last year, the Phillies were 76-64, and after 131 games they were 72-59. So, maybe the gap isn’t that huge – five more wins spread over five months is really only about one game a month better – but it sure feels good having won those extra five games.

by phillyinportland on Sep 4, 2009 2:02 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Who the 3rd catcher is in September is pretty irrelevant. Last year it was Marson. 2007 it was Pete LaForest. Hoover is not going to see a lot of time unless they’re locked into a seed early.

by yosoysean on Sep 4, 2009 4:11 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs