Manuel Retained, But Coaching Changes Still In Store For The Phillies

It has been a few weeks since the Philadelphia Phillies began to collect their bearings and belongings, putting an encouraging season behind them and turning an optimistic eye on the off season. The question that has been asked continually is what should be done to get this team the handful of games needed to jettison the young tough team into the playoffs?

“Clean” Howard Making Bid for Home Run Record; MVP

The Most Valuable Player award in baseball is nine times out of ten awarded to a player whose team is headed to the playoffs. The one exception was in 2003 when Alex Rodriguez won the MVP on a Texas Rangers team that went 71-91 and landed fourth in the AL West Division. The realm of thought is that if a player cannot lift his team into being a contender for the World Series, then they can’t be as valuable to a their team as a player with possible lesser statistics who is helping their team reach the championship. The 2005 rookie of the year Ryan Howard has been backbone of the Phillies this season, hitting dramatic second-level homeruns at a record pace and keeping his band of scrappy young ball players in wild playoff contention.

Howard has been consistent all year even when the team was thought to be packing it in: parting with players like Bobby Abreu, Corey Lidle and third baseman David bell. Yet the talk of the MVP race has been only starting to murmur around Howard ever since the Phillies began making a legitimate run for the wild card lead. Howard is hitting over .300% average and leads the league with 53 homeruns and 134 runs batted in — which is the most by a Phillie since 1932. Howard recently passed Hall-of-Famer Ralph Kiner’s 51 homerun sophomore season in 1947 with his 52nd homerun blast; to be only the second player (along with Kiner) in the history of baseball to hit 49 plus homeruns in his second season.

At first glance; skeptics may point to the Phillies’ “hitter friendly” ball park for Howard’s ultra production. Yet away from home, Ryan is just as destructive a force; hitting for a steady .308% average with 25 homeruns and 64 RBI’s away from Citizens Bank Park.

All of these broken records and more come with 24 remaining games in the season, thus placing Howard’s torrid pace currently in the lead to win the MVP race, and to stir up a national debate of broken trust between the fans and steroid use and if Howard is the first unquestionably “clean” player to catch Roger Maris’ homerun record of 61 in a single season.

Other players who are in contention for the NL MVP are the New York Mets’ outfielder Carlos Beltran and St. Louis Cardinals’ first basemen Albert Pujols. Pujols who is considered to be the all around best player in the National League, if not the entire Major Leagues was the favorite to win the MVP from the beginning of the season and he no doubt deserves a serious look. Pujols is the reigning MVP of the national league and has been the glue that has held an injury-cursed Cardinals team together through their up and down struggles this season. Albert is batting an incredible .321 average with 43 homeruns and 115 RBI’s, which are remarkable numbers considering he has played 17 games less than Ryan Howard, mostly due to his own injury bug.

Carlos Beltran has similar numbers to Pujols but may be less of a contender for the MVP due to the fact that the Mets have been too successful; having the NL East all but wrapped up by the all-star break. Met’s third basemen David Wright and shortstop Jose Reyes also can be considered to be the Met’s most valuable players for the 2006 season, and because there can be a stiff argument on who deserves the team’s MVP, it would be difficult for any of them to be the outright winner of the National League’s most valued personal honor.

MVP honors can be a fickle and sensitive thing, and with as many games as there are left in the 2006 regular season, anything is possible. Currently Ryan Howard is at the top of a talented heap but he is one slump away from being replaced. If a National League team puts together a hot streak — and makes a run to win the wild card, new names could be at the top of the list. But MVP or not, congratulations to a deserving Howard for his jaw-dropping homeruns in September and the possibility of a legendary story.

UPDATE* 

Ryan Howard, coming off a minor slump hit his 58th home run Friday, Sep. 22nd, against the Florida Marlins in Philadelphia.   His RBI total is now 143 while batting .313.

Edited by L. Olivia Piotti

Photo by AP Photo/Rusty Kennedy

Phils’ New Attitude Translates Into Wins

Rarely does one see a player like Pat Burrell outstretch–putting his body on the line to make a game saving catch, or charge an opposing catcher to break up a play at the plate. On Monday, Phillies fans got to see that and more from Burrell against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. To many Phillies fans, Burrell is known for his listless play on the field and at the plate and has the most unmemorable 23 home runs and 73 RBI’s on the team.

Burrell never stood far from criticism. The University of Miami star represented the lackluster, paycheck-collecting attitude that fans in Philadelphia came to resent of the Phillies. After Bobby Abreu and David Bell were sent out of town prior to the trade deadline, a different Phillies team emerged behind players such as Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Aaron Rowand.

The new style Phillies have been producing an colossal amount of offense going 14-7 in August, outscoring opponents 143 to 97. On this gritty hot streak, Dave Dellucci and Shane Victorino have played the majority of the games in the outfield, leaving Pat Burrell the odd man out. Pat said that he was not happy with his time on the bench, but in mid-August got a chance at daily play again because of Dave Dellucci’s minor muscle injury. The Philadelphia fans relentlessly and noticeably booed every strike-out or bad swing Burrell made, for he represents the erroneous, easy going, losing Phillies of the past few years that didn’t get traded by the deadline.

After the weekend series with the Washington Nationals, the Phillies flew into Chicago to play the hapless Cubs. Pat Burrell came into the series like a man on fire, making two uncharacteristically gritty plays and having one of his best games in recent history. Not doing especially well statistically (going one for three with a walk), in the top of the fourth inning Pat barreled home on an Abe Nunez hit, forearming the Cubs catcher Henry Blanco out of the way causing the ball to hit the backstop, allowing Aaron Rowand to score easily. Burrell also made a full extension diving-grab in the seventh inning which turned out to be the first crucial out in a big comeback inning from the Cubs who cut the Phillies lead to two, making it 5 to 3.

The way Pat Burrell played on Monday carried over into the second game against the Cubs. Pat had a mediocre night at the plate going one for four with two RBI’s, but was noticeably hustling to first base after contact with much resemblance to the jolting Phils’ Chase Utley never allows himself to be an easy out.

If Pat Burrell continues his hard play and hustle on this road trip, the relentless booing should stop, and fans should applaud and respect his effort when he returns to Philly regardless of how they feel about his past. If Pat and the Phillies continue playing this “Chase Utley” style of baseball for the rest of the season, and the Phillies win the wild card, the Phillies organization could easily wash the loser mystique, along with ill effort from their reputation, showing the fans a new team attitude and a good product to sell.

Philly fans not only respect hard play and hustle from their teams, but fall in love with players who may not have all the talent or skill but consider winning a priority over everything—including health.

Just ask Aaron Rowand what’s important.

Photo by Jeff Roberson / AP

A Winning Culture Could Plant The Seed Of Change for the Phillies

Another August for Philadelphia sports, and for the Phillies the routine is much the same. It seems as if this time every year the Phils are making an interesting run at a playoff spot. Since the Phillies never distance themselves too far from a .500 average record and the National League is mediocre at best, they are always in the race for the wildcard, but what puts them in contention for the final playoff spot is the same reason they haven’t made the playoffs in 13 years.

A reoccurring theme in the final two months of baseball in Philadelphia seems to be a crucial series against a wildcard rival. The Phillies manage to pull within an arms’ reach of actually being an above average team but when the wins are most important, players don’t seem to show up to the ballpark. Whether it’s the Florida Marlins, Atlanta Braves, or Houston Astros, the Phils just can’t seem play well against successful teams when it counts. The difference between a winning and losing team is determined by who can win important games, and who can win in close games. In the past few seasons, the Phillies have not been able to add either of those key ingredients to win, but this year may be different from the previous.

The wildcard-leading Cincinnati Reds came to Citizens Bank Park this weekend only 3 games ahead of the Phillies for the final playoff spot. This was the most important series for the Phils playoff hopes since the All-Star break against someone other than the New York Mets. Much like other seasons’ big games, the Phils’ pitching was less than superb and leads by the home team were not preserved. But what makes this series different from the others is that the Phillies just kept coming back. After Tom Gordon, the Phillies’ closer, blew the lead or tie in two straight games, the Phils didn’t quit like they did in years passed when Billy Wagner did the same against the Houston Astros. They came back at the bottom of the inning and made things interesting by making clutch offensive plays.

Regardless of the losses in the Reds series and the clear problems they continue to have with pitching and leaving men on base, the Phillies players kept up a winning persona and that may be the most important ingredient that has lacked in the Phillies organization.

On the field problems are relatively easy to fix. For example, the bullpen gave up runs too easily after the Phillies managed to scrap together a lead, and too many costly strikeouts in key situations left men on base that would have put away a team like the Reds. A General Manager can always improve the teams statistics by transactions: picking up bullpen help or replacing high strike out players, but a winning attitude and hard playing need to be created by the entire team.

All is not lost for this season. The rest of the schedule is highly in favor of the Phils who play the majority of their games away, but against inferior sub .500 teams. Besides the 11 games against the surging Mets, the Phils play seven against the hapless Chicago Cubs and nine against the young Florida Marlins, but for anyone still with hope in the Phillies making it to the playoffs, they play an important six games in September against the Houston Astros who have been quietly creeping up into the wildcard race.

Should the Astros hit a hot streak, they could easily be atop the wildcard standings when its time to face the Phillies. The Phils might not have enough to win a playoff spot, but if they achieve a consistent winning attitude, the decisive games down the stretch will be fun to watch and next season will be optimistic.

Edited by L. Olivia Piotti

One Phillies’ Chase May Be More Unique Than You Think

A consecutive hitting streak in baseball captures the fans’ imagination and ultimate respect. A record that is deemed to be the most difficult record to break in all of sports, DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak, has been an elusive statistic. In 65 years after the record was set,
a player hasn’t come closer than 22 games from tying it. With the influx of steroids
making a mockery of the one-time elite homerun record, the consecutive
hitting streak becomes even more remarkable. A hitting streak of this
caliber takes pure ability, talent, and wit. Artificial strength
will not achieve the scrappy hits needed to keep this record going.

Chase Utley’s accomplishment of batting safely in 35 straight games is not in the ballpark of DiMaggio’s 56, but is still nothing short of extraordinary. Only 15 players in the history of baseball have had an equal or longer batting streak. One of which was Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins at the end of the 2005 season into the beginning of 2006.

The break between seasons took much of the luster away from Rollins who made it to a staggering 38 straight games, putting him as the eighth longest consecutive batting streak behind Joltin’ Joe.

What makes Rollins and Utley’s streaks even more improbable and enticing is that the rarity of players who collect 31 or more consecutive hits are followed by a similar streak the following season. Only three times after the turn of the century it has happened in back-to-back years. In 1922 and 1987, George Sisler, Rogers Hornsby, Benito Santiago and Paul Molitor incredibly achieved the amazing record in the same year.

Yet never in the history of Major League Baseball, have two players on the same team
hit in 30 or more games in consecutive years.

Along with Utley and Rollins, the Phillies Bobby Abreu and Ryan
Howard showed similar Herculean effort to win the Homerun Derby in
back-to-back years for the same team, should open eyes in the Phillies
organization and the talk should be about if the Phillies batting coach,
Milt Thomson should be awarded a lifetime extension.

Photo By George Widman / AP

The Fightin’ Phils’ Future Depends Solely On Their Spending

Another Phillies season is almost complete and fans take up hope that the Phillies front office does something to keep their team from serving as the National League’s bathmat for the 14th year straight. But before planning a vacation around a Phillies-less playoff time in 2007, our savior, General Manager Pat Gillick holds the oft-misplaced Phillies’ key to change and success.
A report out of MSNBC News Services stated that the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros were vying for the right to outfielder Ichiro Suzuki. The trades revolve around Bobby Abreu, now with the New York Yankees, and 20-game-winning right-handed Roy Oswalt, who wasn’t traded and currently whines about feeling betrayed by the Astros for being trade bait. This is an interesting move, not just because Ichiro is one of the best hitters in the league, but that Pat Gillick is actually trying to be the architect of a winning team like he once was with Toronto. If this is the case, and Gillick and the ownership is ready to spend money to make a winner and not just sit on Abreu’s bag of cash, then there are some moves he should look to make and should be a major buyer in the off-season.
The first move should be to bring in a possible number-one pitcher. Barry Zito is available but he comes at a hefty price and is infamous for disappearing during the first half of the season. The plus side is that he is left-handed and almost never gets hurt. There are other aces that the Phils could attempt at, such as an aging Jason Schmidt, who had a disappointing ’05 season but seems to have regained the magic that he lost. Also there is the veteran Mike Mussina, who isn’t getting any younger and likely to get picked back up by the Yankees. Mark Mulder is another ace free agent, he is coming off major rotator cuff surgery and may be too much of a question mark to throw large amounts of money at until he’s proven he can pitch at his former elite level.

A younger, better value, with prospect potential may just lie over the pacific. The Phillies do not have a reputation for being in the overseas talent market, but this would be a good player to start with. Along with Zito and Schmidt, the most sought after free agent pitcher in the off season is going to be 26-year-old right-handed, Daisuke Matsuzaka, from the Seibu Lions in Japan. He is known for his high pitch counts, especially famous around Japan for his legendary feat of throwing 250 pitches in a high school extra inning game against a hometown rival. The World Baseball Classic brought his arm to America where not only did he lead the Japanese to the championship but he won MVP of the WBC with an ERA of 1.13. The Yankees have shown obvious interest in the overseas pitcher as well as the Anaheim Angels (Daisuke won one game in Angel Stadium during the WBC). For the Phillies to become a player in the big name overseas market they would have to show a very generous posting fee for the rights to negotiate with the unproven big league prospect, and paying big Yankee style money is something the Phillies do not have a healthy habit of doing with the exception of Jim Thome. Daisuke would be not only an upgrade over any pitcher the Phillies have had in years but a legitimate star and seat filler. The money all together to get Daisuke might still be less then they would have to pay for Barry Zito, but much more then the questionable Jason Schmidt.

If the Phils show interest in getting Zito, Daisuke, or any other high flying ace, don’t expect them to get much more in the off season in free agency because clutch starting pitchers are rare and overly expensive. The Phillies most likely won’t be blowing up the bank to replace Abreu and Bell. And if Gillick doesn’t decide to keep Pat Burrell or Dave Delucchi in the outfield, there is a relatively cheap but productive option in outfielder Frank Catalanotto of the Toronto Blue Jays. Catalanotto is one of the most underappreciated players in the league. This year he is batting .314 and has an OBP and SLG percentage well over .400. More importantly Catalanotta rarely strikes out. His walks-to-strike-out ratio is close to double the walks and should help fill in the Phils lineup which is plagued with untimely whiffs.
With rumors of Johnny Estrada wanting back in Philadelphia, and a suitable player guarding third base, the Phillies could have a new look squad next year and if all goes well, Pat Gillick and the Phillies will have a busy off season making the Eagles not the only thing to talk about in town when it snows.