Phillies Preview: September 30, 2009

Philadelphia Phillies 10, Houston Astros 3

W - Kendrick (3-1), L - Moehler (8-12), Phillies Clinch NL East

Pedro Martinez was not sharp tonight but he battled his way through the early part of the game and kept the Phillies close. Slowly but surely, the Phillies offense broke through against Brian Moehler and the Astros. After falling behind early, by a score of 3-1, the Phillies continued to just score and put up nine unanswered runs. They pieced together the bullpen to record their 92nd win of the season, by a final of 10-3. With the win, the Philadelphia Phillies clinched the 2009 NL East title.

The Phillies were hoping for more from Pedro tonight. But to his credit, he got through four innings and limited the damage, despite not having very good stuff at all. He was lifted early for a pinch hitter and did not qualify for the win. On the night, he allowed three earned runs on six hits and a walk, but it could have been much worse. Kyle Kendrick came in for three scoreless innings of great relief, and picked up his third win of the season. In a classy move, Charlie Manuel brought in Brad Lidge to record the final out of the game.

For the Astros, it was the same old story for Brian Moehler as he started to fall apart in the middle innings. The Phillies began to hit the ball very hard for extra base hits and scored four times in a big fourth inning that put them ahead for good. Moehler allowed seven earned runs on six hits over 4.1 innings pitched. The Astros bullpen allowed the rest, as seven different Phillies had RBIs and they did not rely on the long ball too heavily. Raul Ibanez did hit his career high 34th homer of the year.

So the Philadelphia Phillies will retain their title as the National League East Champions for the third straight season. It was a great win for the Phillies, who would have clinched anyway because the Braves have lost. However, it now gives the Phillies four extra days to rest, work their rotation into place, and aim for the best record in the National League. The Cardinals had already lost, giving the Phillies a two game lead ahead of the Central champs. And the Dodgers entered play later, with just a one game lead over the Phillies. The Phillies are headed to the playoffs again!

Phillies Preview: September 7, 2009

Philadelphia Phillies (77-57) at Houston Astros (66-70)
2:05pm - Minute Maid Park, Houston, TX

J.A. Happ, LHP (10-4, 2.77) v. Brian Moehler, RHP (8-10, 5.11)

The series will wrap up with an afternoon game featuring Jay Happ and Brian Moehler. After getting off to a great start this season, Happ has run into trouble in his last two starts, where he has picked up two tough losses. He will be opposed by Brian Moehler, who has been an inning-eater this season with a relatively high ERA. The Phillies will look to salvage the series in the finale, behind Happ.

With the strong start behind him, Happ is starting to get a track record around the league. He has reached the pivitol point in his development where he needs to adjust to what hitters are doing against him. He will have a chance for a fresh start against a team that features no career plate appearances against him. In order for Happ to be effective, especially against the righties of Houston, he needs to command his fastball and elevate it purposefully.

Brian Moehler, the journeyman right hander, will oppose the Phillies. Moehler is a typical inning-eating soft tosser that gets by with craftiness rather than power. Despite his high ERA this season, Moehler is capable of being highly effective. The Phillies have hit him pretty hard in his career, though, and will look for more of the same on Monday. In 153 plate appearances, current Phillies are batting .317 with seven homers.

After a terrible start to their road trip, the Phillies are looking for Happ to be their stopper once again. Meanwhile, Charlie Manuel will look for offensive answers, as their high-powered hitting has been uncharacteristically average lately. The Phils have 28 games left this season, and they need to turn it around now, to close out the season strong.

Phillies Preview: August 8, 2009

Florida Marlins (56-53) at Philadelphia Phillies (61-46)
7:05pm - Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, PA

Sean West, LHP (3-4, 4.91) v. Cole Hamels, LHP (7-6, 4.68)

The Phillies will try to get Cole Hamels back on track as they face off with rookie lefty Sean West. After dropping the opener of the three game series, the Phillies are now 1-3 at home against the Fish. Meanwhile, Florida looks to cut into the Phillies' lead in the East, which is now down to six games. The matchup of southpaws will come in front of another sold-out crowd in Philadelphia.

Hamels looked little like his usual self in his last start against the Giants, in which he gave up six runs in five innings. Cole beat the Marlins several weeks ago but lifetime is only 2-4 against them with a 3.95 ERA. However, current Marlins are hitting only .236 against Hamels in 169 career plate appearances. As always at home, it will be crucial for Hamels to keep the ball down and in the yard.

West, the Marlins' lefty, will take the mound coming off a rough stretch of his initial campaign. In 10 starts this season, he is 3-4 with a 4.91 ERA. That notwithstanding, the Phillies are not familiar with West at all. No one on the roster has a single plate appearance against the left-hander and it will be interesting to see how Charlie Manuel constructs his lineup tonight. This season, left-handed hitters are actually out-performing righties, with a .317 average compared to .235 respectively.

With the rival Marlins in town and having dropped the first game of the series, this is a critical game for the Phillies. Their co-ace on the mound against a rookie, so there should be no excuses for the team not to win. I expect to see patience out of the Phillies lineup to get Hamels an early lead that he can pitch with throughout the evening.

The Silent Leader of the Phillies

On team layered with superstars and veterans, there is only one leader of the Phillies. He is not manager Charlie Manuel and he is not the oldest player in the game, Jamie Moyer. Jimmy Rollins might be the sparkplug and the most outspoken member of the team, but he is not the leader either. The silent leader of the Philadelphia Phillies, the defending World Champion Philadelphia Phillies, can only be Chase Utley.

Chase Utley, the sweet-swinging lefty from UCLA, comes to the ballpark everyday and works as hard as any player in the game today. He studies film tirelessly and he perfects his short, sweet stroke. Even more, he focuses on improving his defense, which is perhaps the weakest part of his five-tool abilities. A heady veteran like Utley knows that every aspect of the game is equally important. But of course he has been playing like a veteran since the day he entered the league. After all, when's the last time you didn't see Utley sprint to first base on a ground-out? The star second baseman goes on about his business, with his silent leadership by example:

2005: 147 G, 39 2B, 28 HR, 105 RBI, .291 BA, .376 OBP, .540 SLG

2006: 160 G, 40 2B, 32 HR, 102 RBI, .309 BA, .379 OBP, .527 SLG

2007: 132 G, 48 2B, 22 HR, 103 RBI, .332 BA, .410 OBP, .566 SLG

2008: 159 G, 41 2B, 33 HR, 104 RBI, .292 BA, .380 OBP, .535 SLG

2009: 101 G, 20 2B, 23 HR, 70 RBI, .299 BA, .420 OBP, .546 SLG

Utley's leadership was never demonstrated more than when he underwent hip surgery over the offseason before the 2009 season. Experts predicted that Utley might be out until May or June or July. And even then, they claimed that Utley might not be the same this season. You might have thought, before the season started, that on August 3rd, the big news in Philadelphia would be the return of Chase. But 100-plus games into the season, Utley's injury seems like a distant memory as he compiles another ho-hum All-Star season. And he has played in all but two games this season. It was later revealed that Utley completed most of the second-half of 2008, barely able to walk with his hip injury.

But there is more to Philadelphia's silent leader than his work ethic. Since 2007, Utley has been hit by pitches 67 times. In the 2007 campaign, a pitch that struck him in the hand cost him nearly 30 games of the season, and possibly an MVP Award too. Yet, Utley remained in the game and tried to play through the pain. And in those 67 plate appearances that Utley sacrificed his body and his stats for the good of the team, he had all of zero mound-charges and zero ejections. He has been fined exactly zero times for yelling at the umpire or opposing pitcher. Like a true leader, Utley put his team before his ego.

Perhaps this silent leader is not what you want for your team, whichever team that may be. True, there might (and I emphasize might) be better players in baseball today. But it is hard to measure the intangibles of this guy. Just as recently as June 30th, with his team down 7-1, Utley faced off with Jonathan Sanchez of the Giants. The first pitch sailed up and in at Utley's head, to which he responded with a menacing stare back at the mound. The wise Utley purposefully stepped out on Sanchez later in the at-bat, shortly before homering. And though the Phillies would lose the game, Utley set the demeanor for the team: never back down.

If you have the privilege of watching Chase Utley everyday, you get to appreciate some of the finer points that make him the silent leader of the Phillies. After great performances, Utley is often honored with post-game interviews. Utley is humble, never spending much time to talk about himself, and he gives credit to the Phillies' opponents. But when asked about his teammates, Chase can go on and on about how great Cole Hamels pitches or how far Ryan Howard hits his homeruns. He exudes the qualities of a superhero, literally building up the people around him to realize greatness. And there, in the background of a championship-caliber baseball team, is its silent leader, Chase Utley.

Phillies Breakdown: Catchers

If there is one glaring flaw in the Phillies lineup, it is certainly the catcher position. The backstops, led by Carlos Ruiz, have struggled mightily at the plate. Now, with Chris Coste and Lou Marson gone, the Phillies rely (all too much) on veteran Paul Bako as their backup. Through 102 games this season, Phillies catchers have the following stats:

2009: 397 PA, 7 HR, 32 RBI, .226 BA, .322 OBP, .362 SLG

Carlos Ruiz has proven to be a solid defensive catcher. While his offensive struggles can be more frustrating than listening to Tim McCarver mispronounce his name, Ruiz has contributed with great glove-work. He calls a great game and has a strong arm, which he has used to throw out 16/50 base stealers this season (32%). Ruiz has allowed only one passed ball and committed just three errors all season for a .994 fielding percentage. On a team with more than enough offense, Ruiz's emphasis is on defense and as such, he should be starting almost all of the Phillies' games.

Paul Bako on the other hand is an aging, mediocre catcher. While he hits lefty and has played adequate defense, there is something unnerving about him when he starts. Bako is sufficient for the occassional spot-start but should an injury befall Ruiz, I worry that the catcher's spot will be a black hole on an otherwise highly competitive team. Phillies Nation made this case about a week ago, when it suggested that Marson should replace the light-hitting Bako on the major league roster.

Here is a comparison of the Phillies' two catchers to this point in the season:

Ruiz: 65 G, 239 PA, 5 HR, 23 RBI, .223 BA, .325 OBP, .369 SLG
Bako: 18 G, 52 PA, 0 HR, 4 RBI, .167 BA, .231 OBP, .208 SLG

It's hard to imagine that a team on pace to score over 800 runs this season can have such little production from one of its starting positions. However, even based on these weak numbers, it is clear that Ruiz is a better offensive option than Bako. The only distinct advantage for Bako is his lefty bat. But I ask, does which side of the plate you are striking out from really matter?

So as the season comes to a close, Phillies fans should expect, or at least hope, to see much more of Chooch in the lineup. Charlie Manuel is walking a fine line between too much rest for Ruiz and too much playing time for Bako. As Phillies' beat writer Todd Zolecki points out, "the Phillies like Paul Bako as Carlos Ruiz's backup, although Bako has been playing more lately." But with 60 games left in the season, I would hope to see Ruiz start as many as 48 of those games, to help secure a third straight division crown. The Phillies are simply a better team with him in the lineup.