Philadelphia Phillies

So it turns out that Natinals pitching coach Steve McNatty was in Playgirl in the 1980s. Huh. Of course, the players are having some fun at his expense. Here’s noted PED user and all-around bad guy Gio Gonzalez wearing a custom shirt celebrating the fact: BRB, Googling “Rich Dubee Porn” and erasing all memories of Freddy Garcia.

So here is the deal: The Washington Nationals are incredibly easy to dislike. Bryce Harper: The Face Hole of the Washington Nationals (Credit: GQ Magazine) They sucked themselves into two can’t miss prospects in Steven Strasburg and Bryce Harper, who happens to be total douche in his own right.  Their front office is now praised as geniuses because their consistent awfulness forced them to draft in the top 10 for decades.  Their stadium is a concrete monstrosity. They have no actual fans. No one is a Nationals fan. My friend lives in D.C. and that is what he tells me. I am just going to take his word for it.  You should too. Also, they once produced this cringe worthy video of a guy who looks like Super Mario touting Wil Nieves.  As you watch, remember that Wil Nieves has SEVEN career home runs and is generally awful. Then there was that time they wouldn’t let people who lived near Philadelphia to buy tickets to their games.  That was a real thing at one point in their illustrious history. The Nationals were picked by, what felt like, every expert to win the NL East.  Bunch of those rum heads also picked them to win the World Series. Headed into this weekend the media darlings are 24-23 and have scored EIGHT less runs than the Phillies. Have you watched the Phillies offense this year? It has been painful.  The Nationals have been worse than that. Sweep these assholes.

INT: Amaro's office. Ruben twirls a pencil in his finger, while leaning back in his chair. he's on the phone. Rube: Ned, you do what you gotta do, I'll do what I gotta do but I can't make that move with Utley out right now. .... But don't do anything with Ethier without calling me, got it? Charlie, Dubee, Proefrock and Sandberg enter. Rube: I gotta go. let's talk next week.... Ruben hangs up. looks at the guys... Rube: So Stutesy is up, we gotta talk about Chase. Charlie: Like, I don't know Rube, like, he's gonna take a lil bit with this one, those obleats like, dang man, they linger. Rube: You gonna play Freddy? Charlie: Yeah, he's squarin up good, got a groove goin, little bastard can field like something, ain't seein how no one else makes no sense everyday. Rube: I agree. so the question is who takes Utleys spot on the bench? Proefrock: Well, off the 40 it's Hernandez, Ruf, Collier or Gillies. Charlie: Whats Hernandez do? Proefrock: Purely a second baseman Charlie: Nope. that don't make no sense. Not if Freddy gonna play second. Rube: You want a bat more than a glove? Charlie: I want someone who's gonna hit the damn ball and catch the damn ball, and not get out, and like, make something happen some. Rube: So what about Ruf? He can DH against Boston? Charlie: Then I gotta play Delmon in RF in Boston. He's my damn DH. I'm not sitting Piece. He's close man, and Delmons gonna get it going more he's got that swing in tune, like, good. I play Ruf, he gotta go to Left, Brownie in right, that just messes the mojo too much. Sides, hes a Righty. Rube: Good points. Mayberry in the OF, Delmon at DH then? Charlie: Yup. and we need a lefty bat if Galvis is in there every day anyway. Ruben: I'm working on that. but short term then? Dubee: Who bats LH down there Professor? Scott: On the 40 man? Collier and Gillies but they're both at Reading and neither is hitting above .250. Charlie: then why the hell they on the 40 man? Ruben: Has to do with service time. Charlie: So, cause they sucked longer than most kids they get to be on the roster? Ruben: Basically, yes. Charlie: Either of em play infield? Rube: No. I don't understand. Why do you need an infielder? You've got Young, and Frandsen, and Galvis and Jimmy... they all play everywhere except Jimmy... Charlie: And they all gonna be playing sept fer one! What happens like, when, I pinch hit Frandsey, and like, Jimmy tweaks his calf in the 11th inning? I shift Freddy to SS, but who plays second then? Dubee: I know! YOUNG! Charlie: Then who's on third? Dubee: What? Charlie: Young shifts to second, who plays third? Dubee: Mayberry in a pinch? Charlie: If Frandsen pinch hit, I either gotta save Mayberry, or I already hit him, or he's in RF in Boston, and Delmon at DH... I got NO BACKUP!! Dubee: Good point. Sandberg: Uh, Charlie what are the chances of that happening? Charlie stops. he turns to Ryne. If looks could Kill, Ryne Sandberg would would be oozing blood from his eyes. Charlie speaks.. slowly at first, then with authority. Charlie: What are the chances? Like, prolly a lot higher than the chances Imma RETIRE AFTER THIS YEAR!. That's fer damn sure! How many big league games you manage, Ryne? Huh? How you know how much like somethin gonna happen? Like I'm some mind-gician? I'll tell you what I do know. I know you gotta be prepared for everything, and if we ain't got a back up we ain't prepared! Sandberg, back in the corner, stares at his clipboard, looks at his watch,and rolls his eyes. Ruben: Ryne, what are your thoughts here? Sandberg: I defer to Charlie here. he's the boss, and I just hope to learn from him. Ruben: You think we need an infielder? Sandberg: I think we need a lot of things. Charlie: whats that like, mean? Sandberg: Nothing Charlie. Nothing at all. Yes. An infielder would be splended. But so would, I don't know.. an Outfielder, or maybe a 1b, or maybe someone who can hit a left handed pitcher, or anyone who's help in some

Contents- Phillies Hitters vs. Projections- Phillies Team Stats vs. 2012 and vs. Nationals- NL Standings and team stats- Milestones- Michael Martinez tribute Phillies Hitters vs. Projections Phillies Team Stats vs. 2012 and vs. Nationals Hitting When table of team stats and rankings below showed the Marlins, there was a string of 15's in the rankings down the right-hand column. Well, the Nationals have the 14's. In spite of decent power (which is to say, about the same as that of the Phillies), and an average walk rate, the Nats are next to last in the NL in most key offensive categories: runs per game, OBP, OPS, wOBA, and wRC+. All of the green in the PHI vs. WSN column shows that as bad as the Phils' offense has been, it has still been better than that of the Nationals in virtually every respect. Below is each team's OPS by position: Split WSN PHI %Diff as C .696 .599 -14% as 1B .679 .737 9% as 2B .532 .775 46% as 3B .717 .779 9% as SS .758 .745 -2% as LF .793 .744 -6% as CF .617 .589 -5% as RF .638 .646 1% as P .367 .352 -4% as PH .471 .754 60% as Infield .676 .730 8% as Outfield .682 .661 -3% at Def. Pos. .650 .681 5% at Off. Pos. .708 .729 3% - At first, Adam LaRoche is hitting .219/.300/.384 (89 wRC+)- At second, Danny Espinosa: .163/.196/.291 (28 wRC+)- In center, Denard Span is hitting .266/.332/.329 (87 wRC+)- In left, Harper is hitting (overall): .288/.383/.612 (170 wRC+), but 3 others (Bernadina, Lombardozzi, and Moore) have gotten a total of 69 PAs there and have hit a combined .130/.178/.159- As the LF stats indicate, their bench has been horrible:Steve Lombardozzi: .220/.245/.286 (42 wRC+) in 96 PAs(Mary) Tyler Moore: .121/.157/.227 (-3 wRC+) in 70 PAsRoger Bernadina: .115/.194/.148 (-5 wRC+) in 67 PAs The Nats can't help but improve on these numbers going forward, unfortunately for the Phillies. Also, I'll mention one more time the addition of the success rate in productive out opportunities in the "small ball" section above. Productive outs are defined at baseball-reference.com as: 1) successful sacrifice for a pitcher with one out, 2) advancing any runner with none out, or 3) driving in a base runner with the second out of the inning. The Phils are 2nd in the NL in how often they are successful in advancing the base runner in those situations. Pitching and Defense The table below now includes four defensive metrics -- the first three from baseball-reference.com, and UZR from FanGraphs: - Defensive Efficiency: Percentage of balls in play converted into outs. This is an estimate based on team defensive and pitching stats. - Total Zone Fielding Runs Above Average: The number of runs above or below average the player/team was worth, based on the number of plays made. - Defensive Runs Saved Above Average: The number of runs above or below average the player/team worth, based on the number of plays made. Also known as the Dewan Plus/Minus system. - Ultimate Zone Rating: the number of runs above or below average the player/team is worth, by comparing them to the league average in how often they convert balls hit to their zones into outs. The number shown here is actually the more comprehensive "Fld" number in FG, which combines UZR and a catcher rating, since catchers aren't included in UZR. Good description of UZR here. NL Standings and Team Stats The NL Central at the moment has 3 teams on pace to win 100+ games, and 2 teams on pace to lose about 100 games. Milestones Milestones likely to be reached over the next week or so... Jimmy Rollins- Rollins' next walk (13th this year) will tie Ed Delahanty for 7th most in Phils' history with 643.- His next RBI (18th), will tie him with Greg Luzinski for 10th most all-time for the Phillies, at 811.- Three more RBIs (21 total) will tie Bobby Abreu for 9th most, with 814.- He also needs 4 more h

With Chase Utley going on the DL for 15 days (weeeeeeeee!!!), the Phillies needed to call up a hero. Fresh out of heroes, they called up Micahel Martinez, who was apparently still lingering around the IronPigs clubhouse. Michael “can” “play” most infield positions, as well as the outfield, so he seemed the obvious choice if you ignore numbers, stats, video replay, bad memories, recurring nightmares, and common sense. He’s just not good.  And he looks even worse when he’s brought in to replace Chase Freaking Utley.  It’s no coincidence that 2013′s first day of Michael Martinez baseball is also the same day that local papers have started begging up to give up on the Phillies to save ourselves the devastation. The Michael Martinez Effect It’s called “The Michael Martinez Effect,” complete and utter despair are just byproducts of his appearance. Look, we’re upset.  He’s probably a spectacular guy.  I remember some writer saying the worst part of Mini Mart leaving the Phillies is that they won’t get to hear him go “Big Yohn!” at John Mayberry when he does things. That’s charming. But when it comes to the playing of baseball, Martinez’s darling colloquialisms don’t carry a lot of water.  Or baseball talent. Year Age G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS 2011 28 88 234 209 25 41 5 2 3 24 3 0 18 35 .196 .258 .282 .540 2012 29 45 122 115 10 20 3 0 2 7 0 0 5 21 .174 .208 .252 .461 2 Yrs 133 356 324 35 61 8 2 5 31 3 0 23 56 .188 .241 .272 .512 162 Game Avg. 162 434 395 43 74 10 2 6 38 4 0 28 68 .188 .241 .272 .512 Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table Generated 5/24/2013. This could be a really fun/cataclysmic series with the Nationals.  Let’s hope this scrappy bunch of ne’er-do-wells can… can do something. Well, at least he’s excited. HOME… #Philliessos.me/eWubd0 — Michael Martinez (@Pelucita19) September 11, 2012

Cody Asche has been turning it up a little bit at the plate. He’s got 9H, 6 of them for extra bases, in his last 7 games. The middle of the CLR lineup racked up some hits in 11 innings last night. Not so for the middle of the LKW lineup, and they had 12 innings to try, though Art Charles hit his 6th HR of the year. Yoel Mecias struck out 7 in 5IP in that one. And a good line from Kyle Simon on last night’s supspended Reading game. Tried to get the tweet to embed, but I don’t think it worked. Click through if you like. https://twitter.com/TreeSimon/status/337703247630450689 Here’s the affiliate Scoreboard from MiLB. http://www.milb.com/scoreboard/index.jsp?sid=milb&org=143&ymd=20130523

With the new 15-per-team leagues, scheduling us a whole different world. Phillies have played the Marlins 10 times but this weekend will be the first they’ve seen the Nationals. Washington is 13th in runs scored (159) but sixth in team ERA (3.53). The Phillies are one rung ahead of the Nationals in the runs department (167). In the ERA world, they are 12th (4.14). Since Nationals Park opened in 2008, the Phillies are 26-19. Friday night’s game will also be on the MLB Network. Saturday’s game is a 7:15 p.m. prime-time FOX telecast. Minor League Report Players of the week………..                 Pitcher – RHP, Justin Friend, Lehigh Valley… 3 appearances in relief… 0-0, 0.00 ERA (4.2 IP), H, 2 BB, 8 SO… Friend began 2013 with LHV before being assigned to Reading (AA) on 5/2. Since being transferred back to LHV on 5/9 Friend has appeared in 4 G, 3 H, 3 BB, 9 SO and has an active 6.1 inning scoreless streak, his longest of the season… A non-roster invitee to spring training this season, the 26-year-old Friend was selected by the Phillies in the Rule 5 draft, December 9, 2010 from the Oakland Athletics… Friend was originally drafted by the A’s in the 13th round of the 2007 draft.                 Player – 3B, Maikel Franco, Clearwater… Batted .321 (9-28) in 7 G, 2 R, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 2B, 3B, 2 HR… Highlighted by a 2-for-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI performance on 5/16 vs Brevard County, Franco continues to swing the bat well for CLR hitting safely in five-straight games and eight of his last nine… Franco is tied with teammate Cameron Perkins for both the Florida State League and organizational lead in doubles… With 32 doubles in 132 games with Lakewood (A) last season, Franco now has 48 two-baggers over his last 173 minor league games… Since making his professional debut with the GCL Phillies in 2010, Franco has 78 career doubles in only 295 minor league games… The 20-year-old Franco was signed by Koby Perez as an amateur free agent, January 13, 2010. **Lehigh Valley defeated Norfolk, 4-2, behind 4th straight win for RH Ethan Martin (5-2), 2 R, 4 H, 2 BB, 4 SO, 6 IP. 3B Cody Asche, 5th HR. SV: Jacob Diekman (5). **Reading and Altoona played a 2-2 game that was called after 7 innings by rain. It will be completed on June 4. **Clearwater lost a heartbreaker, 9-8, in 11 innings at Port Charlotte. The Threshers scored 2 in the 11th only to see PC score three on four singles, a sacrifice and a steal off Colton Murray. RF Kelly Dugan, 4-6, 2 doubles, 2 RBI. 3B Maikel Franco, 2-6, 9th HR, 2 RBI (35). LF Cameron Perkins, 3-6, 3 RBI; hitting .355. **Lakewood lost, 3-2, in 12 innings a West Virginia, getting only 4 hits. One was a 2-run homer by 1B Art Charles in the 4th inning. Starter Yoel Mecias, 1 R, 7 H, 1 BB, 7 SO, 5 IP. This Date May 24, 1935–Phillies lose first night game in major league baseball history, 2-1, at Cincinnati’s Crosley Field. Game takes 1 hour, 35 minutes. Attendance for the historic game, 20,422. May 24, 1999–For the first time in team history, the Phillies have the same-name battery, RHP Joel Bennett and C Gary Bennett. Phillies win, 5-4, over Montreal. May 25, 2011–Longest game in Citizens Bank Park history, Phillies edge Cincinnati, 5-4, in 19 innings. Reds use seven pitchers, Phillies nine. INF Wilson Valez pitches the 19th inning and gets the win. May 26, 1990–Mike Schmidt’s #20 is retired in pre-game ceremonies as Phillies lose, 12-3, to Atlanta before 56,789. May 26, 2008–Phillies set a Citizens Bank Park record for runs in a game, blasting Colorado, 20-5. 2B Chase Utley drives in six runs.

Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports In 2013 the Phillies have suffered 2 injuries to their original 5 starting pitchers. Most recently, ace righty Roy Halladay finally succumbed to his ailing shoulder, and is currently recovering from surgery to repair his labrum, other parts of this rotator cuff, and remove bone chips. The first Phillies starter to hit the disabled list was lefty John Lannan. Ruben Amaro Jr. signed Lannan to a contract this offseason to serve as the Phillies fifth starter following a solid season from Kyle Kendrick in 2012, allowing him to “move up” in the rotation. Lannan has been out since the middle of April, and is not expected to return anytime soon. Still, from every tragedy comes a great opportunity. Said another way, it’s important to “make lemonade out of lemons.” Lannan’s injury gave the Phillies a chance to promote a pitcher from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Instead of Tyler Cloyd, who the Phillies brought up for a few starts in 2012, the team went with Jonathan Pettibone. Pettibone has never been seen as a top talent, but he has worked his way from draft to the majors in just over 4 seasons, a solid accomplishment. So far in 2013, Pettibone has filled in nicely for the ailing Lannan. In 6 starts this season, he has yet to surrender more than 3 earned runs in any game, and he has thrown at least 5 innings in each of those 6 starts. Still, looking at his value thus far, he comes out as about a replacement level pitcher. He’s posted a -0.1 fWAR, -0.1 WARP, and 0.9 rWAR. Don’t let the negative sign fool you, these aren’t bad numbers, especially for a fifth starter. When using wins above replacement, think about the title of the metric. A Negative number is by no means very good, but Pettibone’s numbers have hovered right around 0, making him about a replacement level player, and since he is currently “replacing” an injured pitcher, John has been doing his job. Pettibone’s mild success made me wonder not about his results, like his earned run average, WHIP, or strikeout percentage, but more so about the process. So, I took a look at one of his more recent starts and dissected some of the video. Mechanics and Delivery: At 6 feet 5 inches tall, Pettibone stands tall on the mound. More importantly, he doesn’t hunch or bend forward, but keeps his back straight and relaxed before beginning his motion. He begins his motion like most right-handed pitchers, moving his left foot back to begin the windup. Like some pitchers, he brings his hands over his head while turning his right foot and lifting his left leg off the ground. Once his leg reaches the apex, Pettibone is through step one. At this point, he’s at the balance point, the moment when he must completely balance on one leg and he has turned his body Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports so his shoulder and hip point towards home plate. At this point in the windup, Pettibone’s hands are still together, and at about neck level. One thing to note is that nothing in Pettibone’s windup is exaggerated, nor does he include anything out of the ordinary. His motion is simple, compact, and easy to follow. It’s vital that Pettibone keeps his arms and legs in unison during his motion. In the game I looked at, he had a tendency to leave some pitches up in the zone when his arms would fall behind his legs causing his front foot to hit the ground too early for where his arms were. This led to him having to compensate, losing velocity and command when throwing the pitch to the plate. More importantly, this lack of continuity can, if done consistently, lead to shoulder issues. Still, more often than not, Pettibone was able to keep his limbs in sync, allowing his to live down in the strike zone. Pettibone did a better than average job of keeping his front shoulder closed after separating his hands and beginning his stride towards the plate. For a tall pitcher, Pettibone does not hav

Mcall.com Michael Martinez has been recalled from Lehigh Valley to take the roster spot of Chase Utley, who hits the DL with an oblique strain. Yes, that Michael Martinez. No, we still will not see Darin Ruf, or even the young second baseman Cesar Hernandez, take the place of Utley. I thought we had seen the last of Martinez last season, but apparently not. As Corey Seidman so eloquently puts it: Michael Martinez, NL ranks since 2011, min. 350 PA: .188 BA (last).241 OBP (last).272 SLG (2nd to last) — Corey Seidman (@CoreySeidman) May 24, 2013 That’s really all you need to know. It’s a head scratching move, to say the least.