Philadelphia Phillies

That's right, the subject is Cole Hamels, not Roy Halladay, although Doc is not irrelevant to it by any means. Once Doc hangs up his stethoscope and enters the Hall of Fame as a Phillie, the Commissioner who introduces him should remember to credit him for the teammates who benefited by his example. Kyle Kendrick, as pretty nearly everyone seems aware, is one of these. Another, in at least one regard, is probably Cole Hamels. When Doc arrived in Philly during the 2009-10 off-season, Hamels was coming off a difficult season and was ripe for, if not reinvention, then at least an enlarging of his capacity as a pitcher. As he has since acknowledged, he first took serious note of the cut fastball, or cutter, during Cliff Lee's first brief stay with Phillies in 2009. We all remember how that stay worked out, but the example of Lee's success with the pitch stuck. And then Halladay arrived. Doc had been in the process of partially reinventing himself as a pitcher for a number of years at that point by giving the cut fastball an ever larger place in his pitching repertoire (2004-2.5%; 2005-7.5%; 2006-19.3%; 2007-25.2%; 2008-33.2%; 2009-41.5%), as the two-seam sinking fastball receded as his primary pitch. It's unclear who actually taught Hamels the cutter -- Steve Carlton, Cliff Lee, and former closer John Wetteland have all been credited with providing input -- but it's not a stretch to say that Halladay's arrival catalyzed Hamels' decision to adopt it. The cutter is essentially a four-seam fastball gripped off-center, with pressure applied to the spin-side finger. Although some pitchers throw a somewhat slower version with the addition of some wrist pronation, the true cutter is several MPH off fastball speed with a fastball release. The spin produced is meant to result in a late break that is less than that of a slider with more lateral and less dipping movement. This open-source graphic of a Roy Halladay cutter (opens in a new window) illustrates the eccentric release and resulting spin very nicely. Mariano Rivera, from whom Halladay has been said to have learned his version, will ride the cutter into the Hall of Fame and is often credited with making the pitch fashionable. But in recent years a number of nay-sayers have complained about pitchers' "falling in love" with the pitch, neglecting their fastball, and in fact losing speed on their fastball as a result. There is no doubt that the measure of a cutter, as with any other pitch, is in the ability to control it and to use it appropriately. Kyle Kendrick had a significant lack of success in using the cutter as a replacement for an equally unsuccessful slider to remedy his inability to get left-hand batters out. There's nothing magical about the pitch for pitchers who throw it too predictably or simply don't throw it well enough. 2009 was not quite the disaster for Hamels that it was popularly portrayed as being. A slow start, a sore elbow early in the season, an ugly looking 4.32 season ERA, and a less-than-stellar World Series made it easy for critics to label the season a failure. Hamels himself played into the narrative by admitting that making the rubber chicken circuit after his and the team's magnificent 2008 World Series performance cut into his off-season conditioning. His much misunderstood comment about wishing he could wipe the season out before he had even finished it put an exclamation point on "failure." In fact, Hamels' FIP, xFIP, and SIERA, as Schmenkman recently pointed out, were all pretty much in line with 2008 numbers, and a career-high BABIP of .317 points to a certain amount of bad luck. Still, the 2010 season was ripe for change. Hamels has admitted that up to that point he was pretty much a two-pitch pitcher. In 2009, he had used his curveball a career low 10.5% of the time (10.1% by Pitch f/x). Never more than a mediocre pitch for him, the curve graded out at -1.5 by Fangraphs line

May 19, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia second baseman Freddy Galvis (13) celebrates his walk off home run with his teammates in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies defeated the Reds, 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports Baseball is the only one of the four major sports that is played without a clock. And on Sunday, the Phils benefitted from that glorious stroke of fortune. Somehow, someway, an alternate universe presented itself at Citizens Bank Park in which the Phillies entered the bottom of the ninth down 2-1 with Reds’ fireballing closer Aroldis Chapman set to face Delmon Young, Erik Kratz and Freddy Galvis. The following then proceeded to happen: Delmon Young walked on four pitches Cliff Lee pinch-run for Young, and was promptly picked off first. Erik Kratz then hit a full-count fastball over the left field wall for a game-tying homer. Freddy Galvis hit a game-winning fastball over the left field wall for a walk-off win. You want to know how weird this was? According to Elias and @bschifty – First time ever Phillies win on back-to-back HR’s in bot 9th since MLB began keeping records in 1930. — Pat Gallen (@PatGallen_975) May 19, 2013 And it’s not like Utley and Howard went back-to-back. It was Kratz and Galvis. KRATZ AND GALVIS. Kratz and Galvis hit back-to-back home runs off a closer who throws in excess of 100 mph and with breaking pitches that twist hitters completely into the ground. Chapman came into the game with a 2.41 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings. He had given up exactly one home run so far this year, and seven in 153 2/3 innings for his career. So, what the hell happened? “I thought we hit the ball hard all day. It just got caught and everything,” Manuel said. “We stayed with them and something good happened for us at the end. That’s the way you have to do it if you’re not scoring a lot of runs.” The ninth inning heroics were set up by another nice performance from Jonathan Pettibone, who went seven innings and gave up just two earned runs, lowering his ERA to 3.00. Justin De Fratus and Antonio Bastardo miraculously kept the game close with scoreless innings (that may have been more unlikely than the back-to-back homers in the ninth) in the eighth and ninth, and Chase Utley’s RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning drew the Phils to within one. That’s when the king of the turkey bacon and the suddenly power-hitting defensive whiz did their thing against one of the most dominant closers in the game. Thank goodness there is no clock.

Your browser does not support iframes. The great news is that the Phillies came back in dramatic style on Sunday to beat the Reds and take the 3 game series with them behind back-to-back home runs. It's always better when you win, and the Phillies celebrated like there was no tomorrow at home plate with the victory. Now Carlos Ruiz, who injured himself running the bases during the game, and Ryan Howard, who says his knee is 'sore' will undergo an MRI on Monday to see what is going on. This all happens as Roy Halladay is sidelined for many weeks until late in the season at the earliest. The Phils have been on their .500 trek for a long time, even going 5-5 in their last 10 but they can't seem to string a long winning streak together to turn the corner of the mediocrity. The Phillies go out on the road for 8 games that culminate on Memorial Day in Boston and then they play Boston on Tuesday the 28th before returning home and facing the same Boston Red Sox at home in Philadelphia for two games on Wednesday and Thursday night, the 30th of May. The Phils haven't slipped out of this race yet in the middle of May as they are 4.5 games out of first, but the future looks extremely cloudy for the next month or so with the possible injuries to Ruiz and Howard possibly being out for a few games. For now though, it's on to Miami for the Phils for a three game series that starts on Monday night with Cole Hamels will seek win number 2 of the season for the Phils. His season hasn't been the one he has probably imagined, but he can start turning that around with a couple of wins.

At first, it looked like maybe it was just a charley horse. Carlos Ruiz didn’t get that lucky. The Phillies catcher limped as he headed to third base in the second inning on Freddy Galvis’ single. A trainer and manager Charlie Manuel came out to check on Ruiz, who stayed in the game. In between innings, though, Ruiz was replaced by backup catcher Erik Kratz. A little while later, the Phillies announced Ruiz has a strained right hamstring. Ruiz hasn’t really warmed up this season since being activated from the restricted list. In 15 games, he’s hitting .240 with two doubles and just two RBIs. Last year, he was the Phillies best hitter and appeared in his first All-Star Game. Ruiz was on the DL each of the last four seasons (2009-2012), but never for a hamstring strain (right oblique strain, concussion, lower back inflammation, plantar fasciitis in left foot). Expect the Phillies to make a roster move at the end of the game. They’ll likely call up Humberto Quintero fromTriple-A Lehigh Valley. He was with the Phillies for their first 25 games. If the Phillies find themselves in need of another catcher for today's game, the team's emergency catcher is Kevin Frandsen, who is not in the starting lineup today.

Sunday's game ended on a high note for the Phillies. The news that followed about players' health didn't. Ryan Howard did not play because of a sore left knee. He is having an MRI on Monday. "Yesterday is when it kicked in more than normal," he said. "It's been acting up since spring training. But I’ve been able to tough my way through it." Charlie Manuel said Howard was available to pinch hit today, but added that he was trying to stay away from him. And his availability tomorrow is in question. "I'm kind of leary [about starting him tomorrow]," Manuel said. Carlos Ruiz, who left after the second inning with a right hamstring strain, is staying in Philadelphia to have an MRI on Monday morning. He said he is flying to Miami on Tuesday. In case the team decides to put Ruiz on the D.L. right away, they are sending Lehigh Valley catcher Humberto Quintero to Miami to be with the team tomorrow. "It was a bad feeling because it surprised me when that happened," said Ruiz, who said he felt something pop as he headed from second to third in the second inning. "And it happened like that (he snaps his fingers). "It was the last thing that I expected to happen because I was feeling great." Mike Adams, who last pitched on May 10, still could land on the disabled list, but the Phillies aren't sure one way or another. He played catch Sunday for the first time in a week. "Everything felt good," he said of his mild, mid-back strain. "The shoulder felt like s**t. But the back felt great. I feel really good. We'll see how it goes. That's all I can tell you.”

Michael Young has played even better than expected as the Phillies’ full-time third baseman. Today he’ll get a new challenge. With Ryan Howard out of the lineup, Young is starting at first base, a position he hasn’t played since he started a regular-season game there for the Rangers on Sept. 28, 2012. Young didn’t get any action at first base during spring training, nor has he played there at all when the team takes infield before batting practice. “I put [my first baseman's glove] on my hand and bang my fist in it, but that’s pretty much the most action it’s seen,” he said. Young, who has played 77 games at first base in his career and owns a .993 fielding percentage there, found out this morning he’d shift across the diamond just before the lineup was posted. “He doesn’t need to give me a head’s up,” Young said. “He ran it by me and I had no problem with it. I love to play. I feel like I’m prepared. I’m ready. If anything, I look forward to it. I look forward to new challenges.”The Phillies face Homer Bailey today. Last time they faced him (April 16), Bailey threw eight-shutout innings. He allowed only two hits, struck out 10 and didn’t walk anyone. Today’s starting lineup is an interesting one. Here it is: --SS Rollins, CF Revere, 1B M. Young, 2B Utley, LF Brown, RF Nix, C Ruiz, 3B Galvis, P Pettibone. As you can see Delmon Youngis not in the starting lineup. He’s 2-for-15 (.133) in his last four games. Even though the Phillies are facing a righty, Howard is not in the lineup. In his last seven games, he’s hitting .149 (7-for-47) with 20 strikeouts, three walks, two extra base hits and only four RBIs.

Phillies outfielder Domonic Brown is plenty familiar with the Florida store that sold this weekend's huge Powerball-winning ticket.

Freddy Galvis and Erik Kratz nailed back-to-back home runs off the fire-throwing Aroldis Chapman to boost the Phillies from a 2-1 deficit in the ninth inning, to a miraculous 3-2 win over the Reds. Yes, you just read that sentence correctly. The scuffling Phillies offense from Saturday carried into Sunday, but after breaking a 16-inning scoreless streak with a run in the eighth, Kratz and Galvis' heroics gave the Phillies (21-23) an improbable win and impressive series victory against the...

This isn't entirely a bad thing, but I'm starting to despair of figuring out this Phillies team. They've been shut out six times in 44 games, and have allowed double digit runs six times while yet to score 10 or more in a game themselves. They're letting inherited runners score at a near-record pace, are 1-8 in games started by their $144 million ace pitcher, and have just two regulars with an on-base percentage over .320. Their pythagorean record going into today--what they "should be" based on how many runs they've scored and allowed--was 17-26. They've also seen former rotation afterthought Kyle Kendrick blossom into something like an ace, have gotten an almost Marty Bystrom-esque first month from rookie pitcher Jonathan Pettibone, and have won six times in their last at-bat. None were more exciting or unexpected than Sunday's 3-2 win over the Reds, giving the Phils the series victory and a 7-5 record in their last 12 games against the Giants, Diamondbacks, Indians and Reds, all first- or second-place teams. Pettibone didn't figure into the decision, but he kept it close Sunday while the bats were waking up. The 22 year old went a career-high seven innings, allowing two runs on seven hits and three walks. The first run was a long solo homer in the second to registered Phillie-killer Jay Bruce, who's got 12 in 155 career at-bats against the Phils; the second came in the sixth after a Domonic Brown throwing error put Joey Votto on second base, and Todd Frazier doubled him in with two outs. With Reds starter Homer Bailey holding the Phillies off the board for seven innings, that figured to be more than enough. This wasn't exactly yesterday's display of offensive futility against Bronson Arroyo; the Phils had a number of hard-hit outs, and put men in scoring position in four of the first six innings. But Bailey got outs when he needed to, running his personal scoreless streak against the Phils to 14 innings. The break came when Dusty Baker put in old friend Jonathan Broxton for the eighth inning. With two outs, Ben Revere just beat out an infield hit, then stole second. Broxton walked Michael Young, then gave way to Sean Marshall, who surrendered a single to Chase Utley for the Phillies' first run since the eighth inning Friday night. But Brown flied out on the first pitch he saw, leaving the score 2-1 heading into the ninth. It was quickly clear that Reds closer Aroldis Chapman didn't have his absolute best stuff. He walked pinch-hitter Delmon Young on four pitches, which is damn difficult to do. Wanting to save back John Mayberry, Jr., Charlie Manuel pinch-ran pitcher Cliff Lee--who promptly got picked off, prompting some of us to turn Twitter temporarily blue. But Erik Kratz, in the game after Carlos Ruiz tweaked his hamstring running the bases in the second, promptly tied things up with a solo home run to left... and three pitches later, Freddy Galvis won it with a solo shot that just stayed fair down the left field line. Fangraph of Rapture: via www.fangraphs.com

The Phillies took an otherwise boring game and brought some excitement to those who remained in Citizens Bank Park on this dreary Sunday. With the team trailing 2-1, just having snapped their 16-inning scoreless streak, the Phils were staring down the barrel of Aroldis Chapman. Undeterred, Erik Kratz tied the game with a homer and Freddy Galvis won it with a line-drive shot that just cleared the left field wall. The Ninth Inning Delmon Young led off the ninth and promptly drew a four pitch walk from the flame-throwing Chapman. As we all know, D. Young is not the fleetest-of-foot; but still the choice to pinch-run with Cliff Lee is always a questionable one. Lee got caught in a rundown after Chapman attempted a pick-off. It was a poor baserunning move and Cliff knew it. He was visibly frustrated in the dugout as Erik Kratz stepped to the plate. After Chapman threw a few of his signature high-90s fastballs, Kratz zeroed in on one and delivered it to the left field seats. The crowd celebrated, but Lee’s pickoff was still fresh in their minds. Lee’s reaction said it all after the Kratz homer – he knew that would have been the win. Nonetheless, the game was tied and Freddy Galvis was up. He had started the game at third base, with Michael Young at first, so that Ryan Howard could have the day off (more on him later). Galvis took a 99 mph fastball for a ball and fouled off the next pitch. The third pitch, a slower 95-mph fastball, landed just over the left field wall inside the foul pole for Galvis’ first career walk off homer. For the 15,000-or-so fans remaining in the stadium, it was well worth the patience required to watch an anemic offense play on a misty Sunday afternoon. The low scoring and high drama made it feel almost like a soccer game. Pitching Jonathan Pettibone had another solid outing, going seven innings with just one earned run coming off a Joey Votto blast to centerfield. The Phillies are 5-1 when he starts. Justin De Fratus and Antonio Bastardo each allowed a hit in relief, but kept the Reds from scoring any more runs. Bastardo got the win and becomes the only Phils reliever with multiple wins on the season. Injuries There’s some bad news on the injury front. As mentioned, Ryan Howard had the day off due to soreness in his left knee. After the game, it was announced that he will undergo a precautionary MRI on Monday. He mentioned that his knee has “been acting up”, and some speculate he may be overcompensating for his previously injured Achilles. If Howard does see time on the DL, it may indirectly give Galvis an opportunity for more playing time. Carlos Ruiz left the game after the second inning today. He tweaked his right hamstring while running first-to-third on Freddy Galvis’ first hit of the afternoon. Chooch said he felt something “pop” and, like Howard, will have an MRI on Monday. Game Notes The Phillies are off to Miami for a 3-game series before heading to DC then Boston…Ben Revere is now batting .406 in the month of May…Tyler Cloyd was recalled to pitch Tuesday…This was the first time ever the Phillies won a game on back-to-back HR’s in bottom of the ninth inning.