The Reading Phillies continued their good start to the ’09 season with a 4-2 week.  The tremendous  pitching from week 1 has deteriorated into mediocre pitching, but the offense stepped it up this week allowing the Phillies to escape with some close victories.  Lets take a closer look at the games.

Standings

EAS Northern Division	W	L	PCT	GB	STREAK	L10
Trenton	6	3	.667	–	W3	6-3
New Hampshire	7	4	.636	–	L1	6-4
Binghamton	5	4	.556	1.0	W1	5-4
Portland	6	5	.545	1.0	L1	6-4
Connecticut	5	6	.455	2.0	L3	4-6
New Britain	3	8	.273	4.0	W1	3-7

EAS Southern Division	W	L	PCT	GB	STREAK	L10
Akron	8	2	.800	–	W3	8-2
Reading	6	3	.667	1.5	W3	6-3
Erie	6	5	.545	2.5	L2	5-5
Bowie	5	6	.455	3.5	L3	5-5
Harrisburg	2	7	.222	5.5	L3	2-7
Altoona	2	8	.200	6.0	W2	2-8

Game Recaps

4/13/09 – Reading Phillies (4) vs. Binghamton Mets (1)

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Binghamton	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1		1	3	2
Reading	0	0	0	0	3	1	0	0	X		4	7	0

The Reading Phils started this week in the same fashion as they left the previous week, riding a dominating pitching performance to a victory.  Tonight’s lights out Reading starter was Mike Stutes.  Stutes, who was last seen dominating Williamsport and Lakewood in ’08, stiffled the Mets lineup for 5+ innings.  In the end, Stutes gave up 0 runs on 2 hits and 3 walks while also recording 5 strikeouts.  Stutes’ final line, while extrememly good, does not really do his performance justice.  Stutes had a no-hitter going through 5 innings, before starting off the sixth by allowing two singles.  All in all, it was a tremendous AA debut.  Shortslef, followed by German, came on in relief of Stutes, and combined to pitch 3 hitless innings.  The ninth inning and a 4 run lead was given to the once promising Joe Bisenius, who promptly closed a window or two but opened a door.  Bisenius allowed 1 run by scattering 1 hit, 1 walk, and 1 wild pitch in between 2 strikeouts.  Unfortunately, Escalona had to be brought in to record the final out.

The diamond in the rough, with the Reading offense providing the “rough,” turned out to be catcher Kevin Nelson.  Nelson, in his first action of the short season, hammered 3 of the Phillies 7 total hits.  Nelson also provided the only power, as his double and home run were the only extra base hits on the evening for the Phils.  Nelson’s final line read 3-3 with 2 runs, 1 double, 1 home run, and 1 RBI, all of which you can listen to him describe .  Berry and Harman both went hitless, while Taylor had a RBI single.

4/14/09 – Reading Phillies (0) vs. Binghamton Mets (0)

Postponed due to rain.

4/15/09 – Reading Phillies (2) vs. Binghamton Mets (5)

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Binghamton	0	1	1	0	0	3	0	0	0		5	10	0
Reading	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0		2	5	2

Quite simply, this was an ugly game for the Phils.  Brummett got the start coming off a great opening day performance in which he only gave up 2 earned runs in 6 innings of work.  Today, however, was a different story.  Brummett needed 83 pitches to labor through 4 innings of work.  His final line didn’t look too poor, as he gave up only 2 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks with 4 strikeouts.  But, Brummett had a hard time finding the strikezone all day long and generally struggled in his four innings.  Brummett was relieved by Shortslef, Concepcion, and Bastardo.  Shortslef pitched a scoreless inning while Concepcion got bombed for 3 earned in 2 innings of work.  The final two innings were the best two innings, at least in regard to the Reading pitching staff.  They were thrown by the recently converted relief pitcher, Antonio Bastardo.  Bastardo allowed 0 runs on only 1 hit and 0 walks.  He also struck out 3.

The offense was once again dissapointing, as the Phillies combined for only 5 hits, 4 of which were singles.  Not to be too negative, but 2 of the 4 singles were bunt singles.  On a more positive note, the one extra base hit was a home run, smacked by Milner to give the Phils both of their runs on the night.  Taylor left the game early after he collided with Berry in the 7th inning.

04/16/09 – Reading Phillies (2) at Harrisburg Senators (7)

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Reading	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0		2	12	1
Harrisburg	0	3	0	0	0	0	1	3	X		7	9	1

For the second game in the row, the Phillies got sloppy starting pitching which lead to a long, boring, frustrating loss.  Savery lasted only 4 innings, giving up 5 hits and 3 walks leading to 3 earned runs for the Senators.  Savery also allowed 1 home run while recording 3 strikeouts.  It was just a sloppy, innefecient outing for Savery.  He struggled through all four innings, even walking the bases full in the 2nd before surrendering a 2 RBI single.  I described how the previous day’s starter Brummett labored through his 4 innings of work, and that is exactly how I would describe Savery’s outing, laborous.  The relief crew of German, Overholt, Bisenius, and Sikaras were largely ineffective, allowing 4 runs in 4 combined innings of work.  The overnight sensation, Matt German (he will from this point forward be referred to as ’09 Swindle or left handed buzzsaw), allowed 1 hit in .2 innings of work before being relieved Overholt when the right hand hitting Baez strolled to the plate for the Senators.  And, yes, you can count me as one of the skeptics when it comes to German.

If you thought the pitching was frustrating, then you might not want to read about the offense.  The Phillies’ hitters finally broke out for 12 hits, 3 of which were doubles, but managed to only score 2 runs.  The Phils ended the game going 2-12 with RISP.  Gosewisch had the best game, going 2-3 with 1 double, 2 RBI, and 1 walk.  A few other batters of note would be Savery going 0-2, and Taylor coming in as a pinch-hitter and grounding into a double play.  It was just good to see Taylor in the game after his nasty collision with Berry in the previous game.

04/17/09 – Reading Phillies (6) at Harrisburg Senators (5)

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Reading	0	4	1	0	0	0	0	0	1		6	10	1
Harrisburg	1	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	1		5	6	2

Vance Worley got the start for the Phils and continued the trend of medicore, labourous pitching.  Worley did get the win, after allowing 4 runs, 1 earned, on 3 hits and 3 walks with 6 strikeouts.  Worley had good movement on the ball, as can be seen by the 6 k’s, but struggled with his command all night.  He walked home one run in the first inning, before being pulled in the sixth with the bases loaded.  Shortslef relieved Worley, and promptly allowed all 3 inherited runners to score, closing the book on Worley for 4 total runs.  Overholt eventually had to relieve Shortslef to get out of the 6th inning.  Escalona came in for a 2 inning save, a save which he nearly blew.  Escalona allowed 1 earned on 1 hit and an alarming 3 walks.  He closed out the game on a ground out with a 1 run lead.

It was a good day for the offense, as the Phils pounded out 10 hits and 6 runs.  For the first time all season the offense also displayed a little power, smashing 2 doubles, 1 triple, and 2 home runs.  2 hit days were had by Harman, Mahar, and Sellers.  Harman also hit his first home run of the season.  Another Phillie who hit his first home run of the season, his AA career, and his proffesional career was Vance Worley.  Worley smacked a 2 RBI dinger.

04/18/09 – Reading Phillies (7) at Harrisburg Senators (5)

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Reading	2	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	0		7	12	0
Harrisburg	0	0	1	1	0	1	1	0	1		5	10	1

Even though the score was close, this game had a better tempo and feel for the Phillies.  Stutes started the game and even though he allowed 3 earned runs on 7 hits in 6 innings of work, it felt like a much better performance.  Stutes did not have his best stuff, but he was aggresive and attacked the hitters.  Best of all, Stutes struck out 5 without allowing a single walk.  Unlike the previous performances by Brummett, Savery, and Worley which all had box scores that looked better than the actual performance, Stutes’ performance had to be seen to be appreciated.  Anyway, he was relieved by an ineffective Bisenius and a mostly effective Bastardo.  Bastardo picked up his first save allowing 1 earned on 2 hits in 2 innings pitched.  Most importantly for a reliever, Bastardo collected 3 k’s with 0 walks and 0 home runs allowed.

It was the second straight game in which the Phillies’ offense came through, collecting a season high 7 runs on 12 hits.  Hits were spread throughout the lineup, but the two offensive stars were Harman and Mahar.  Harman went 4-5 with 2 runs, 1 double, and 1 triple.  Mahar went 2-5 with a grand slam.

04/19/09 – Reading Phillies (6) at Harrisburg Senators (2)

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Reading	1	0	0	0	0	3	1	0	1		6	12	0
Harrisburg	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		2	6	0

The Phils ended the week with another win, taking the series from the Senators 3-1.  Today’s win came behind a strong team pitching performance.  Concepcion got his first start of the season as his first scheduled start was postponed due to rain.  Concepcion lasted 4 innings, allowing 2 earned on 4 hits with 2 strikeouts.  It was a fine first start for Concepcion, nothing special.  He ran into a bit of bad luck as 3 of the 4 hits he allowed all came in the second inning, which led to the 2 earned runs.  The bullpen came on and pitched 5 innings of scoreless relief behind another strong performance by the left handed buzzsaw.  Yes, German pitched 3 hitless innings of relief with 5 strikeouts.

It was yet another strong performance for the Phils offense, their third in a row.  Behind a balanced attack, the Phils scored 6 runs on 12 hits.  A few of the standout performers were Berry, Mahar, and Sellers, who all collected 3 hits.  Sellers is now riding a 9 game hit streak.  Taylor did not start, but came on as a defensive replacement in RF in the sixth.  Taylor went 1-1 with a RBI single and sac fly.

Prospect Watch

Brad Harman

A very up and down week for Harman.  In three games, Harman went a combined 7-15 with 3 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 1 RBI, and only 3 k’s.  In the other three games of the week, Harman went 0-11 with 6 k’s and 2 BB’s.  The season is still young, as the Phillies have only played 9 games, but Harman seems to be putting up stats that are very similar to those in his dissapointing ’08 campaign.  In 2008, he had a stat line of .209/.280/.372.  So far in ’09, his stat line reads .231/.286/.410.  I think it is about time Harman rights the ship in AA, or risk losing prospect status.

Quintin Berry

Berry has gone 5-20 with 3 R, 4 BB, 2 K, 5 SB, and 1 CS over the past week.  One the season, Berry is now batting .226/.351/.226.  And, no, that is not a mistake as his average and slugging percentage are equal through 9 games.  Every one of Berry’s 7 hits have been singles.  All in all, this seems to be the same Berry we have seen in previous seasons and the Berry that many of us expected to see in Reading.  His OBP is decent enough, but is dragged down by his insufficient batting average.  For a player with absolutely zero power, his average is just not cutting it so far.  Berry continues to rack up the steals, which seems to be his fortay.

Michael Taylor

It was a tough week for Taylor as he has been battling a leg injury (I do not know anything more specific than that) after colliding with Berry in the loss to the Mets on the 15th.  Through starting games, pinch hitting, and as a defensive replacement, Taylor accumulated 3 hits in 17 at-bats including 2 R, 4 RBI, 2 BB, and 4 K’s.  Taylor’s transition to AA ball has been neither good or bad.  He is batting a mediocre .250/.333/.286 on the season.  Lets allow Taylor to heal up and get a few more at-bats before any judgements are made.  One final note on Taylor, as of Monday morning, 04/20/09, I cannot find Taylor on the Reading roster any longer.  I checked the transaction pages and have found nothing there either, so this may just be a glitch.  Probably nothing, but I thought I should mention it.

Antonio Bastardo

Bastardo was one of the few stars on the week for the Reading Phillies.  As many of us expected, he seems to have taken his pitching to a new level when used in a relief role.  It allows Bastardo to utilize what is essentially a two pitch repertoire to the fullest in short appearances.  Bastardo has pitched 4 innings spread over two appearances and has allowed 1 run on 3 hits.  However, he has also recorded 6 k’s with 0 walks.  Really good stuff.  You have to think Bastardo may be on the fast track as a loogy, as the Phillies felt it was enough of a need position to transition him to the bullpen in the first place.

Tyson Brummett

Brummett only got the one start on the week and as I discussed in the game recaps, it was not a particularly good one.  He allowed 2 earned on 4 hits, 2 walks, and 4 k’s in 4 innings of work.  Not horrible, but nothing to get excited about either.  As I have discussed before, the ’09 season is a big one for Brummett as he must prove he can at least handle AA hitters in a somewhat effective manner.

Kyle Drabek

Oh wait, you mean, I do not get to write about him yet?  The only thing that may prevent Drabek’s promotion is a lack of an opening on the Reading squad.  If Garcia makes it back soon, that will be a starting five of Brummett, Savery, Worley, Stutes, and Garcia.  Unfortunately for Brummett, he may be the odd man out as it is much more important that Drabek (and Savery, Worley, Stutes, and Garcia) develops than it is Brummett.  But, we will cross this bridge when we get there.

Sergio Escalona

Escalona epitimizes mediocrity.  He had two appearnces on the week.  In the first appearance, Escalona came in to record a one out save.  He struck out the first and only batter he faced.  In his second appearance, Escalona again registered a save, except this time it was a 2 inning save.  He allowed 1 earned on 1 hit and an alarming 3 walks.  For the season he has given up only 2 earned runs in 5.2 innings of work.  However, he has also allowed 6 hits and 4 walks.  His peripherals indicate that his ERA should be worst, and his 5.36 FIP on the season agrees.

Edgar Garcia

Garcia is still detained in the Dominican Republic because of visa issues.

Joe Savery

Savery also recorded just one start this week, and as was stated in the game recaps, it wasn’t all that special.  He gave up 3 earned in 4 innings of work.  He now has one good performance on the year and one bad performance.  I always enjoy watching Savery pitch, as I feel he can still put it together and become a helpful major league pitcher.  I am anxiously awaiting his next start to see what he does next.

Michael Stutes

Stutes, along with Bastardo, were the standout players on the week for the Phils.  Stutes started two games on the week, and was dominant in one and very effective in the other.  All in all, he allowed 3 earned on 9 hits and 3 walks in 11 innings of work for a 2.45 ERA.  Stutes also registered 10 k’s.  He seems to have started the ’09 season where he left off in ’08.

Vance Worley

Worley had one mediocre start on the week.  He gave up 4 runs, 1 earned, on 3 hits and 3 walks in 5 innings of work.  He continued to get his strikeouts as he still registered 6 on the day.  Worley just seemed to be a little off in his control, which certainly happens from time to time.

Stat Leaders

Kevin Mahar – R – T-6th – 7

Neil Sellers – H – T-6th – 13

Michael Taylor – RBI – T-11th – 6

Brad Harman – SO – T-6th – 13

Quintin Berry – SB – 1st – 5

Kevin Mahar – OBP – 9th – .448

Kevin Mahar – SLG – 5th – .615

Kevin Mahar – AVG – 3rd – .385

Kevin Mahar – OPS – 4th – 1.064

Vance Worley – SO – T-7th – 12

Matt German – WHIP – T-7th – 0.82

Transactions

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