Now that we have hit "mid-season", it is time to look at how each player has performed over the first half. I am going to use primarily OPS for the batters and ERA for the relievers. There are better metrics out there, but OPS almost gives us a perfect scale to grade on and ERA will give us a good enough view of the pitchers. I will initially grade solely based on their stats and then adjust by a + or a - based on their position and other possible intangibles.
Hitters
Catchers
Mike Lieberthal: .683 OPS (D+). It has been a down year for catchers, but Mike has been really awful. His OBP is .316, but 7 of his 19 walks have been intentional. Factor in that he makes $7 million a year, D-
Todd Pratt: .699 OPS (C-). When Todd plays, the team seems to win. Not sure if there is actually anything behind this or if the pitchers like him more, but I will adjust accordingly. C+
Infielders
Jim Thome: .712 OPS (C-). Big Jim is having the worst season of his career. He is hitting around 70 points lower than his career and his OPS is over 250 points lower than his career. I have considered the fact that he is a first baseman and we paid him big buck to hit and also that he has been hurt most of the year (or off the juice;)). D
Ryan Howard: .753 OPS (C). Ryan started off very slowly, but has made quite a splash since being recalled. Maybe it was smart to send him to the minors, maybe it was not as the team struggled on the West Coast interleague games. Either way, I will give a bit more weight to Howard's recent play. (B-)
Chase Utley: .894 OPS (B+). Utley started off in a platoon and took real advantage of playing against right handed pitchers. Lately, he has been smoking lefties (though he has cooled off against righties). As his first real season playing every day and being a second baseman, he gets a solid A.
Jimmy Rollins: .714 OPS (C-). Rollins was picked as a replacement for the All-Star game which just goes to show you how weak the SS crop really is. That is actually a plus for Rollins as his numbers don't look SO bad compared to the rest of the SSs. His OBP is anemic for a leadoff hitter, but you can't blame him for Manuel putting him there every day. Overall, he has been a C.
David Bell: .662 OPS (D). Bell is having his second terrible season in 3 years. The guy cannot hit right handed pitching, but smokes lefties. He would be perfect for a platoon with a switch hitter who can hit righties (too bad we don't have any of those). D
Tomas Perez: .615 OPS (D-). Perez has hit with all the power of a marshmallow with 5 doubles as his only extra base hits. His defense in the field has been better than expected and he is just a backup middle infielder whose coach plays him too much. D
Ramon Martinez: .481 OPS (F). 14 ABs is not enough to judge anyone on, but he just got a game winning hit, so, I'll cut him some slack. D-
Outfielders
Pat Burrell: .871 OPS (B+). Pat's numbers dipped considerably after a red hot start, but he has put up a decent half even though he has slumped recently. The swing can look awful, but it has produced so far this year. B
Jason Michaels: .810 OPS (B-). Michaels is all OBP and little punch (so to speak). His OBP equals his slugging, which is plenty acceptable when they are both over .400. He has also made some stellar plays in the field (at least they LOOKED pretty). B+
Kenny Lofton: .830 OPS (B). Lofton is the left handed version of Michaels with a higher batting average and lower walk count. He has cooled off quite a bit, but who the heck expected a .343 BA from Kenny Lofton for half a season DESPITE the injuries. A-
Bobby Abreu: .955 OPS (A). Bobby has cooled off considerably since his red hot stretch where he hit everything out of the park. His defense judgment is still below average, but that is probably due to him not having a clue. He may not hustle like Pete Rose, which is probably a good thing. And how can you NOT give the all-time leader in homeruns in the Homerun Derby anything lower than an...A
Endy Chavez: .610 OPS (D-). When the Phils need a sacrifice, Endy is their man. Not sure why he is sacking so much when they could just put him in to steal a base, but, that isn't his fault either. D-
Pitchers
Starters
Jon Lieber: 5.09 ERA (D+). Jon started off on fire, but has been a shell of that pitcher since then. 23 homeruns is unacceptable and hitters are hitting .287 against him. He has gotten hurt by the CBP with a 5.93 home ERA, but he hasn't been great on the road, 4.29 ERA. C-
Cory Lidle: 3.65 ERA (B). Who is this guy and where did he come from? Lidle has been a stud since he has joined the Phillies which is a rarity to say the least. He has gotten hit hard at home also, but has pitched very well on the road. All this at a bargain basement price. A-
Brett Myers: 3.20 ERA (B+). Brett has become the pitcher that nobody thought he had in him. He has cooled off lately, but still has been one of the best pitchers in the league, and is at the top in Ks. Home hasn't killed him, but his 2.21 road ERA has been lights out. A
Vicente Padilla: 6.27 ERA (F). Padilla started off hurt and was rushed back way too quickly. Even with a buffer of a few starts, he has still been terrible (though pitched well in his last game). I want to give him a break, but with as many walks as Ks (37/39) and 14 homeruns in 13 games, I have to give him the F (but I will make it an F+).
Robinson Tejeda: 2.93 ERA (A-). Tejeda has come out of nowhere to put together a nice string of games (despite a poor one in his last start). He is striking out a decent number of hitters, but walks WAY too many. He has benefited by only allowing 2 homeruns. B+
Randy Wolf: 4.39 ERA (C+). Wolf was rebounding from a terrible start when the injury bug ripped his arm off (practically). It is a shame as Wolf was really pitching well. I'd give him an INC, but for sake of consistency, B-
Gavin Floyd: 14.14 ERA (F). Hadn't pitched much as a starter or reliever to really determine where he should be placed or even if this is really him. An F is the obvious answer, but he is too young and didn't pitch enough, so he gets the INC that Wolf didn't get.
Relievers
Ryan Madson: 3.68 ERA (B). Madson is probably the most talented pitcher in our bullpen (unless you count throwing the ball 100 MPH talent). He will probably be a starter, but has been a horse in the pen. He has really rough games at times, but then bounces back for a streak of excellent games. A-
Aaron Fultz: 2.75 ERA (A-) Fultz has benefited from allowing other's runners to score and not seeing his own score when relieved, but still has pitched pretty well. He is striking out 3 times as many as he has walked. That is a good ratio without considering his K rate is 7.75 per 9 innings. B+
Amaury Telemaco: 4.22 ERA (C+). Amaury has gotten tossed around more than a girl with no self esteem in a fraternity house. INC.
Geoff Geary: 4.60 ERA (C). Geary has pitched much better than his numbers show and like Fultz he has a 3:1 K:BB ratio and Ks more per 9 at 8.62. He has given up 2 homeruns in 31 innings and his high ERA is the result of bad luck. B-
Rheal Cormier: 5.17 ERA (D+). Rheal was one of the best relievers in baseball 2 years ago, but is nothing like that this year. He has had some bad luck with 77 hits in 31.3 innings, so, it hasn't been all his fault. Still, C-
Ugueth Urbina: 6.75 ERA (F). Uggie has definitely gotten smacked around since he has come over. 5 homers and 10 walks in 13.3 innings doesn't help, though he has struck out 19 in that time. Odds are he will get much better, but until then D-.
Tim Worrell: 8:10 ERA (F). Worrell would definitely be in F territory, but we have to take into consideration it may have been mental and not just that he sucks. I still think he sucks, but will wait til the end of the year to grade him., INC.
Bill Wagner: 2.18 ERA (A). This shows you 10 cent heads can still play well. For a guy who puts a lot of credence in knowing how to win, he hasn't really come up very big, though has pitched pretty well overall. A-
Terry Adams: 12.83 ERA (F). Got nothing. F