The Phillies by the Numbers

Courtesy of The Zo Zone on Facebook, here are the Phillies by the numbers:

Hitting

• The Phillies lead the National League in scoring with 665 runs, despite playing at least two fewer games than most teams in the league. They are averaging 5.20 runs per game. No other team has averaged more than 4.99 runs per game.
• The Phillies lead the league with 185 home runs. The Rockies are second with 153.
• Despite those home runs, the Phillies rank just eighth with 925 strikeouts. That's a strikeout every 5.46 plate appearances, which ranks seventh.
• Their 1.08 groundball-to-flyball ratio is last in the league.
• Their five bunt hits are last in the league.
• They take 57.4 percent of their pitches, which is the second highest percentage in the league. They put 18.4 percent of their pitches in play, which is tied for ninth. The swing at only 20.9 percent of their first pitches, which is the lowest percentage in the league.
• They are last in singles with 684, but first in extra-base hits with 463.
• That explains why they are tied for 10th in hitting (.259) and eighth in on-base percentage (.336), but are first with a .452 slugging percentage.
• They are fifth in the league with 3.86 pitches per plate appearance.
• They are fifth with 89 stolen bases, but first with an 8.17 stolen base percentage. They have stolen third base 17 times, which is tied with the Diamondbacks for the league lead.

Pitching

• Their 4.15 ERA is sixth in the league.
• Opponents have hit .263 against them, which is eighth.
• They are sixth with 34 saves. They are tied for fifth with 18 blown saves. Their 65.4 save completion percentage is seventh.
• Their 150.7 pitches per game are fourth.
• Their 12.61 baserunners per nine innings are seventh fewest. Their 7.07 strikeouts per nine innings are ninth. Their 3.13 walks per nine innings are second fewest. Their 1.23 homers per nine innings are second worst.

Fielding

• The Phillies have 60 errors. Only the Pirates (55) have fewer.
• Their .987 fielding percentage ranks third.

All things considered, not too bad. Not too bad at all. The obvious weakness continues to be the bullpen, and, in particular, Brad Lidge. Lidge, however, looked sharp last night after an excellent performance by first Joe Blanton and then by Scott Eyre, who inherited a bad situation from normally reliable set-up man Ryan Madson.

It's No Fun When the Muts Suck as Badly as They Do This Year

In 2007, the Muts blew a 7 game lead with 17 left to play. They came into spring training last year claiming that they were the team to beat in the National League, and the Phils again surged from behind to catch them last year. Of course, the Phillies won the World Series last year. Phillies starter Cole Hamels said it all last winter when he declared, "For the past two years they've been choke artists."

This spring, after signing Francisco "K-Rod" Rodriguez as their closer, the Muts were yapping again. "Of course, we're going to try to win the division. Of course, we're going to be the front-runner. Of course, we're going to be the team to beat," he boasted. "I don't want there to be a controversy or the other ballclubs in that division to take it personally or take it in a bad way. If they ask me, 'Oh, which ballclub is going to win the National League East?' It's going to be the Mets. Easy question."

The Muts, of course, are 59-72 and 17 games behind the Phils, firmly entrenched in fifth place in the National League East Division. They can take consolation that they are better than the horrifically bad Washington Nationals, but that's about it. They have had injury after injury, and most recently, lost ace Johan Santana for the rest of the season to elbow surgery.

The Mets have sucked so badly for most of the season that you haven't heard any yapping out of them. They've been smart enough to keep their big yaps shut. The Phils have a large and comfortable lead and will have to work hard to blow it. I have to admit, though, that it's been more fun watching the Muts melt down the last two years. Too bad that they won't get a chance to do so again this year.

McNabb and Vick

Thursday night's sloppy win over the Jacksonville Jaguars featured Michael Vick's debut with the Philadelphia Eagles. Vick appeared in six plays. He completed four passes, with the longest completion being for 13 yards. His debut surely didn't live up the massive hype that led up to the kickoff.

Donovan McNabb, on the other hand, threw for 244 yards in less than three quarters of playing time, including four completions to prized rookie wide receiver Jeremy Maclin. It also does not appear that Donovan is terribly excited with the whole Michael Vick Wildcat formation thing. When asked if he thought that the Wildcat formation disrupted the rhythm of the offense and whether the offense needed to get back to basics during the first half of the game with Jacksonville: "Absolutely, Absolutely," McNabb said. "I did. In that situation, it's needed." McNabb apparently demanded that the experiment be curtailed due to the disruption to the offensive flow, and Reid went along with it. That does not bode well for a rosy relationship between the hyper-competitive Donovan McNabb and Michael Vick. Even if they keep Vick, that raises a different set of questions about whether Kevin Kolb really is the heir apparent to Donovan McNabb, or whether Vick will now be appointed the heir apparent.

Andy Reid has said that Vick will get a few snaps at quarterback in more conventional formations during this week's final pre-season game with the Jets.

The good news is that, for the first time in years, it looks like the Eagles have an abundance of offensive threats at the wide receiver position. The duo of DeSean Jackson and Maclin looks like it's going to be a very effective one that gives the Birds two legitimate deep threats, with sure-handed Kevin Curtis doing what he does so well as a possession receiver. I look forward to seeing how this trio fares when it counts. It also means that Hank Baskett and Reggie Brown are now trade bait, since they may not be needed once the regular season begins.

The down side is that while Shawn Andrews is finally ready to begin playing, the rest of the offensive line remains plagued with injuries. Fortunately, Reid has a great deal of confidence in his back-up guards, because I suspect that they're going to see a lot of playing time this year. Time will tell.

There are a lot of questions that remain unanswered:

1. How will the Eagles defense handle losing Jim Johnson?

2. How will the Eagles defense handle losing middle linebacker Stewart Bradley for the season?

3. How will the Eagles defense handle losing spiritual and emotional leader Brian Dawkins?

4. Will the offensive line gel?

5. How is Brian Westbrook's surgically repaired knee? Will he be the same offensive triple threat that he has been for his entire career?

The answers to these questions, of course, won't be known until the end of the season. We time will tell.

And Yet Another Blown Save...

Last night's blown save du jour was courtesy of Ryan Madson, who wasted a superb performance by Cole Hamels. Hamels pitched 8 strong, shutout innings with 7 strikeout and only 2 walks (one of which was intentional), and had excellent command of a fastball that consistently reached 95 mph. With the Phils ahead 1-0 (thanks to a solo homer by Chase Utley in the first inning), Charlie Manuel brought in Madson to save it for Hamels, and Madson promptly gave up a pinch hit homer to tie the game.

Fortunately, Ryan Howard hit a three-run long tater in the top of the 1oth to win the game for Madson, but it meant that Hamels ended up with a n0-decision to show for that superb performance. "The Big Piece was right on time," declared Charlie Manuel, who recently revealed that he refers to Howard as The Big Piece. "He was running from behind, but caught up at the end. The Big Piece is all right, especially when he hits three-run bombs."

It was Madsen's 5th blown save of the season. "I think Madson can close," said Manuel. "I know he can close. It's kind of Lidge. Get in a groove and get going." In the meantime, Brett Myers had a strong outing in Reading last night, striking out five in two innings. He could be a real plus for the bullpen at just the right moment.

"I'm not really trying to force it," said Hamels. "The stuff that I've had, it's gotten me to the big leagues. It's gotten me to have success. Why do I have to try to be better or expect more out of myself when I was able to get the job done pretty well with the stuff that I normally have? I have the stuff to be here. I have the stuff to succeed. I have the stuff to succeed in the postseason. Why was I getting carried with trying to be somebody else I'm not. Even with the stuff I have, it's pretty good. I don't think Mark Buehrle went out and tried to be even better when he threw a perfect game. He just threw a game and it became a perfect game." Let's hope that this revelation means that the Cole Hamels we've come to expect is back, and just in time. A postseason rotation of Cliff Lee, an effective Cole Hamels, and either Joe Blanton or J. A. Happ will be tough to beat.

Let's hope that Hamels has turned the corner.

Not Just a Blown Save, but a Blown Game

Brad Lidge did it again.

He squandered a lead by giving up first the tying run to the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates in the bottom of the 9th last night, and then gave up a walk-off, game-winning homer to Bucco centerfielder Andrew McCutchen. That's now 9 blown saves for Lidge, whose ERA was re-inflated to a gruesome 7.33, by far the worst ERA of any major league closer. In the process, he blew a remarkable comeback by the Phils, who scored two in the top of the 9th on a double by pinch hitter Ben Francisco and a Shane Victorino muffed fly ball that turned into a triple that gave the Phightins a 4-3 lead, as well as two solo homers by Jimmy Rollins (including a lead-off homer to start the game). In the process, Lidge squandered a solid start by Joe Blanton, who didn't have his good stuff but still pitched 6 solid innings.

For once, Lidge was honest last night. He spoke of being tired after pitching in four straight games, and acknowledged, too late to do any good for the team, "I didn't have anything on the ball tonight." For once, Charlie Manuel seemed to be entirely at a loss for words. Perhaps he has finally realized that Lidge is not going to turn it around this year. Perhaps he has finally realized that Lidge is not going to be the answer to the Phils' problems.

Brett Myers is nearly ready to return, and his velocity has been up around 94 mph, which makes for an overpowering fastball. Chan Ho Park has been truly outstanding since being sent to the bullpen. J.C. Romero has the stuff to be an effective closer. Perhaps the time has come to give one of these guys a chance to close, because the Phillies simply cannot afford any more blown saves by Lidge. At this point, I can't help but wonder if the Phillies shouldn't leave Lidge off the post-season roster, because I can't imagine him closing in the World Series the way he's going.

And Billy Wagner is a now a member of the Boston Red Sox. While a return to Philly by Wagner would have been less than an ideal situation--Wagner said he would not waive his no-trade clause to allow it--he certainly couldn't do any worse than Lidge, reconstructed pitching elbow and all. Wagner is no longer an option, which can only benefit the Red Sox. While I admire the job that Ruben Amaro, Jr. has done as general manager, he should have claimed Wagner off waivers and given it a shot.

SOMETHING has to change....

Vick to Play on Thursday Night

Andy Reid has stated that Michael Vick will see his first playing time as an Eagle during Thursday night's pre-season game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He said that Donovan McNabb and the rest of the starters would play the first three quarters and that Kevin Kolb would play the fourth quarter. That means that Vick will NOT line up as quarterback. Thus, it appears that the only time that we will see Vick is when Andy decides to trot out the Wildcat formation.

When Andy was asked about what he expected of Vick's performance, he said, "I can only go off what I've seen in practice and it looks like he's been moving around pretty good. Again, it pretty much has been two years, so we'll see how it works out. We'll give him a couple shots in there and see what he can do."

I remain vehemently opposed to the whole idea of Michael Vick even being a member of the Philadelphia Eagles, but nobody asked my opinion before he was signed. And so he will occupy a roster spot. If he's going to take up a roster spot, let's hope that he (a) makes some positive contributions to the team's success and (b) keeps his nose clean and doesn't do anything stupid along the way. If he does both, perhaps I might gain some respect for him.

Burying the Muts

After another absolutely stellar performance by Cliff Lee today, the Muts are now 57-68 and 16.5 games out of first place. Their lineup today featured the team's homer leader, Fernando Tatis, who has 6 homers this year. Cliff Lee raised his record with the Phils to 5-0, and dropped his National League ERA to a miniscule .68 after giving up only 2 unearned runs in 7 strong innings today. The Phils are now 72-50 and 7 games ahead of the second place Braves.

Best of all, Brad Lidge seems to have righted himself. He's now gone four straight outings without giving up an earned run, and has shaved half a run off his still-bloated ERA. If that's true, it couldn't have happened at a better time.

Ryan Howard blasted 2 homers today, including a three-run shot to the opposite field in the first inning. He now has 34 homers and 104 RBIS, and the big fella is on a real tear. He became only the second Phillies player ever to have four straight seasons of at least 30 homers and 100 RBI's; only Hall of Famer Chuck Klein had accomplished that feat before Howard topped the 100 RBI plateau today. Again, Howard's hot streak couldn't have happened at a better time.

Raul Ibanez had an RBI double today, and hopefully, that will be the beginning of the end of his protracted slump. If all goes according to script, the Phils will finish the season with four players with 30 or more homers (Howard, Ibanez, Werth, and Utley) and three with 100 or more RBI's (Howard, Uteley and Ibanez). Only a handful of teams have ever had four players with 30 or more big flies, so that would be a real plus for the Phils.

Now, it's off to Pittsburgh for a three-game set with a very bad Pirates team. The Phils can put some more distance between them and the rest of the division at the expense of the rebuilding Buccos.