Noah Feingold
06-10-2011, 05:04 PM
The Phillies Report
37-26
1st in NL East
2 games ahead of Atlanta
The Phillies have not started June as they have would have hoped, but maintain 1st place in the NL East. They are currently 3-5 in June. And, for the first time in a long time, they no longer have the best record in baseball. The Cardinals are half a game ahead of the Phillies with a 38-26 record. They also fell out of the top spot of ESPN’s power rankings of June 6th. They came in second behind the Yankees. In the next power rankings it is unlikely that the Yankees will hold the top spot as they were swept by Boston since then. So who will be the top team come the next power rankings. It will likely be between the Red Sox (6th in the rankings as of June 6), Cardinals(5), and the Phillies (2). The 3rd and 4th teams in the June 6th rankings were the Indians and Rangers respectively, but the Indians are 3-7 in their last 10 games, and the Rangers have lost 3 of 4.
Of course, power rankings aren’t the end all, and certainly no team boasts at the end of the season about how they were performing in early June. Still, they are a good check to see how you’re matching up throughout the season. The Phillies have matched up ahead of the pack for most of the season. This is in spite of offensive struggles for most of May and into June. However, the pack caught them, and if they do not solve their offensive woes soon, they risk falling out of the elite group of teams. On the other hand, if they begin hitting well they should be able to reassert themselves as the team to beat.
Hitting in baseball is a funny thing. It is very individual, but you need people to be successful together in order to have a good offense. The Phillies have been failing on both fronts lately. In the NL, the Phillies only have 1 player, Placido Polanco who ranks in the top 35 in batting average. Polanco is also the only Philly in the NL to rank in the top 35 in OBP where he is 27th in the league. The Phillies have been slightly most successful slugging where both Victorino and Howard rank in the top 25 for slugging percentage. Ryan Howard is the only Philly in the top 20 of NL players for HRs and RBIs. This is the bad news, and to be expected given the offensive showing that the Phillies have had recently. The good news is that a lot of their guys are playing well below their ability level and should be able to turn things around. It seems that the Phillies feel added pressure to score runs as they continue to struggle as a team to score. As soon as a couple guys start to really hit, expect the rest of the guys to follow as the pressure releases. They say hitting is contagious, so let’s hope the Phillies can catch it, and soon.
Pitching on the other hand is going very well for the Phillies. Hamels and Halladay are both tied for the NL lead in wins with 8 (and Haladay could easily have 2 more wins). Both Hamels and Halladay are also both in the top 5 for ERA in the NL, and Halladay, Hamels and Lee are all top 5 in strikeouts in the NL. That is absolute domination by the Phillies starting pitching. Also, if Oswalt had enough innings pitched, his ERA would be good for 12th in the NL. The bullpen has also been very strong.
The Phillies have a pitching rotation that may rival to the Braves rotations of Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz. The Braves were incredibly successful with those three as they made the playoffs year after year. Despite winning the NL East 11 straight years, the Braves only left with 1 World Series title. The Phillies have won the East the last four years. They made the World Series twice and have won it once. The Phillies also have their rotation set to give them about a window for the future to win more divisions and have more shots to win more World Series. However, they are also going to need to hit if they want to do this. The Braves showed that great starting pitching alone isn’t enough to win championships. The Phillies are looking at a great rotation, and while it may be to early to talk about the World Series, it isn’t too early to look at their obstacles. At this point for the Phillies, it seems their biggest obstacle won’t be any opponents, but themselves. If they can get the offense going, they are the best team in baseball, if they can’t then they are just another team in the pack.
37-26
1st in NL East
2 games ahead of Atlanta
The Phillies have not started June as they have would have hoped, but maintain 1st place in the NL East. They are currently 3-5 in June. And, for the first time in a long time, they no longer have the best record in baseball. The Cardinals are half a game ahead of the Phillies with a 38-26 record. They also fell out of the top spot of ESPN’s power rankings of June 6th. They came in second behind the Yankees. In the next power rankings it is unlikely that the Yankees will hold the top spot as they were swept by Boston since then. So who will be the top team come the next power rankings. It will likely be between the Red Sox (6th in the rankings as of June 6), Cardinals(5), and the Phillies (2). The 3rd and 4th teams in the June 6th rankings were the Indians and Rangers respectively, but the Indians are 3-7 in their last 10 games, and the Rangers have lost 3 of 4.
Of course, power rankings aren’t the end all, and certainly no team boasts at the end of the season about how they were performing in early June. Still, they are a good check to see how you’re matching up throughout the season. The Phillies have matched up ahead of the pack for most of the season. This is in spite of offensive struggles for most of May and into June. However, the pack caught them, and if they do not solve their offensive woes soon, they risk falling out of the elite group of teams. On the other hand, if they begin hitting well they should be able to reassert themselves as the team to beat.
Hitting in baseball is a funny thing. It is very individual, but you need people to be successful together in order to have a good offense. The Phillies have been failing on both fronts lately. In the NL, the Phillies only have 1 player, Placido Polanco who ranks in the top 35 in batting average. Polanco is also the only Philly in the NL to rank in the top 35 in OBP where he is 27th in the league. The Phillies have been slightly most successful slugging where both Victorino and Howard rank in the top 25 for slugging percentage. Ryan Howard is the only Philly in the top 20 of NL players for HRs and RBIs. This is the bad news, and to be expected given the offensive showing that the Phillies have had recently. The good news is that a lot of their guys are playing well below their ability level and should be able to turn things around. It seems that the Phillies feel added pressure to score runs as they continue to struggle as a team to score. As soon as a couple guys start to really hit, expect the rest of the guys to follow as the pressure releases. They say hitting is contagious, so let’s hope the Phillies can catch it, and soon.
Pitching on the other hand is going very well for the Phillies. Hamels and Halladay are both tied for the NL lead in wins with 8 (and Haladay could easily have 2 more wins). Both Hamels and Halladay are also both in the top 5 for ERA in the NL, and Halladay, Hamels and Lee are all top 5 in strikeouts in the NL. That is absolute domination by the Phillies starting pitching. Also, if Oswalt had enough innings pitched, his ERA would be good for 12th in the NL. The bullpen has also been very strong.
The Phillies have a pitching rotation that may rival to the Braves rotations of Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz. The Braves were incredibly successful with those three as they made the playoffs year after year. Despite winning the NL East 11 straight years, the Braves only left with 1 World Series title. The Phillies have won the East the last four years. They made the World Series twice and have won it once. The Phillies also have their rotation set to give them about a window for the future to win more divisions and have more shots to win more World Series. However, they are also going to need to hit if they want to do this. The Braves showed that great starting pitching alone isn’t enough to win championships. The Phillies are looking at a great rotation, and while it may be to early to talk about the World Series, it isn’t too early to look at their obstacles. At this point for the Phillies, it seems their biggest obstacle won’t be any opponents, but themselves. If they can get the offense going, they are the best team in baseball, if they can’t then they are just another team in the pack.