We at The Good Phight usually love numbers. But, with the Phillies this spring, the numbers aren't good. Here's the scoop:
1: Starting pitchers not over 40, injured, or with a concerning history of injuries.
2: Ryan Howard home runs this spring. Compare that with the 11 he hit last year on his way to 58 in the regular season.
4: Greg Dobbs home runs this spring. That sounds good for a guy competing for a spot, but it's likely to mean this guy with a career .291 OBP and .351 SLG gets a lot of playing time in April.
5.68: Lowest ERA of a reliever acquired by Pat Gillick (Jim Ed Warden). His other additions to the bullpen have been putrid: Antonio Alfonseca (6.14), Matt Smith (9.00), and Fabio Castro (9.24).
6.06: Lowest ERA of a starter acquired by Gillick this off-season. At least Adam Eaton's 6.06 ERA is better than Freddy Garcia's 11.42.
10: Phillies wins this spring. The win total is tied with the Mets for worst in the NL. Spring records mean nothing, we all know that. But it puts more pressure on the team to turn on a dime once the season starts.
31: Percentage of steal attempts Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino have been thrown out. Davey Lopes doesn't appear to be having much effect at this point.
61: Plate appearances for Wes Helms and Abraham Nunez. The fact that they've gotten the same number may indicate the Phils intend to do the same in the regular season. Helms is obviously not Mike Schmidt or Scott Rolen, but compared to Abraham Nunez, he might as well be. Any indication Nunez might get considerable playing time at third during the regular season is very troubling.
about 85: Miles per hour for the fastest of Freddy Garcia's fastballs this spring. Did we get damaged goods? Who knows? The Phils sure don't since they didn't do a physical when they traded for him nor did they do an MRI this past week when he walked off the mound in the first inning. Modern medicine? Why bother?!
177: Aaron Rowand's batting average. Combined with a .246 OBP and .306 SLG, he's not doing Gillick any favors in using him as trade bait to improve the bullpen.
282: The career OBP of the man who is likely to be the Phils' opening day starting catcher, Rod Barajas.
294: Ryan Howard's spring OBP, a far cry from the .425 he posted last regular season.
(By the end of the week, I'll post the converse: Oh Those Exciting Numbers!)