Here’s an open discussion thread so the minor league posts don’t get cluttered with Phillies’ talk and other topics.

Okay, I’m tired of tracking Jonathan Papelbon’s games finished.  It’s not funny to me any more.  I think it’s unlikely he gets traded unless a closer for a contender gets hurt.  They all seem to be functional so far.  Paps will vest, he’ll deserve it if he does.

Some other random stuff to light the fire –

• I’ve grown tired of tracking Utley’s road to the Mendoza line, the guys with fewer HRs than Billingsley, the Phillies pathetic offense, their middling pitching, and their position for next year’s draft.  Maybe later.
• How about this.  Nola’s not ready to jump to the Phillies.  He is not a 1 or even a 2 who could be an impact pitcher at the major league level.  His OFP (or FV) is a 55, that puts him in the 3/4 range.  He has thrown 10 games this year in a 5-man rotation.  You want to promote him?  Move him up to LHV where he can face better hitters before moving up to the Majors.  Remember, not all organizations stock their AAA teams with AAAA guys.  Some actually have prospects .Let him cut his teeth a little longer, bring him up in September if he earns it.

Here’s an open discussion thread so the minor league posts don’t get cluttered with Phillies’ talk and other topics.

Jonathan Papelbon made 2 appearances and finished 2 games this week, converting 2 save opportunities.  After 46 games, Papelbon has 18 appearances, 17 games finished, and 11 saves in 11 save opportunities.

Some other random stuff to light the fire –

• More Papelbon – He has as many or more saves than 14 MLB teams; including contenders such as the Chicago Cubs (11 saves/19 opportunities; Rondon 9/12), Pittsburgh Pirates (11/16; Melancon 10/11), Boston Red Sox (10/16; Uehara 10/11), and Los Angeles Dodgers (10/16; looks like closer by committee).
• Other contenders with more blown saves than Papelbon (11/11) and the Phillies (12/14) include Houston Astros (18/22; Gregerson 12/13), Washington Nationals (16/22; Storen 14/15), Atlanta Braves (15/20; Grilli 13/14), Detroit Tigers (14/18; Soria 13/14), KC Royals (14/20), Los Angeles Angels (14/21; Street 14/16), Seattle Mariners (13/18; Rodney 12/13).
• Realistically, it looks like the only teams who would see Papelbon as an upgrade are the Cubs and Dodgers.
• One last Papelbon fact – in his last 3 innings he has struck out 7 of the 9 batters he retired.
• Maikel Franco has 2 home runs and 7 RBI in his first 10 games since being called up.
• Chase Utley has improved to .173/.248/.295/.543.  He’s closing in on Rupp (.196) to shed the ignomity of being the lowest AVG among position players.
• Chad Billingsley still has more HR (1) than Blanco, Hernandez, Revere, Ruiz, Rupp, and Sizemore.
• Phillies tied for MLB low 26 HR, but are no longer the NL worst in any of the slash categories with their .241/.295/.351/.650.
• MLB worst 146 runs scored.
• Their team ERA continues to drop and has broken through the 4 RPG barrier (3.99).
• Still allowing the most free passes in the NL (151).
• Their .413 winning percentage leaves them solidly in the bottom 7 in MLB.
• Ryan Howard has come to life.  He has the second highest batting average on the team and is starting to pop up on NL leader boards for HR (8th) and RBI (20th).  His slash even looks respectable when compared among all first basemen in the majors, especially his SLG and OPS.  All he needs to do is disguise his hideous BB/K (8/43) ratio.  But there are also a lot of AL DH that he is out-performing.

Here’s an open discussion thread so the minor league posts don’t get cluttered with Phillies’ talk and other topics.

Jonathan Papelbon made 4 appearances and finished 4 games this week, converting 3 save opportunities.  After 39 games, Papelbon has made 16 appearances, 15 games finished (9 saves, 6 non-saves).

Some other random stuff to light the fire –

• Maikel Franco was called up and hit his first major league home run and triple on Sunday.
• The Phillies held off on calling Franco up to the majors until he was ready.  It’s just a coincidence that they brought him up on the exact day that guaranteed them another year of control.  But that was not a consideration.  Nudge.  Nudge.  Wink.  Wink.  Say no more.  Say no more.  Actually, that is within the rules of the CBA, so I don’t have a problem with it.  That’s just a smart baseball decision.
• Chase Utley .138/.214/.241/.455 (has shown some improvement, lowest in all 4 slash components of any Phillies position player, 3 SP have higher BA – Hamels .231/.231/.231/.462; Buchanan .167/.167/.333/.500; Billingsley .200/.200/.800/1.000
• Billingsley has more HR (1) than Blanco, Hernandez, Revere, Ruiz, Rupp, and Sizemore.
• Phillies have MLB low 22 HR, and are competing with Milwaukee for NL worst  .227/.282/.332/.614.
• NL low 120 runs scored.
• Their team ERA of 4.10 is back up to middle-of-the-pack.
• had been middle-of-the-road, but has now dropped to the bottom 4 in the NL.  They still have allowed the most walks (135).
• Their 5 game winning streak has boosted their winning percentage to .410, and has brought more teams into play for the top draft picks.  There are still 4 teams with sub .400 winning percentages.  But, there are enough teams playing poorly that continued good baseball could make the race for a protected pick more interesting than earlier anticipated.  (I’m laughing as I type that.)

Here’s an open discussion thread so the minor league posts don’t get cluttered with Phillies’ talk and other topics.

Jonathan Papelbon made 2 appearances and finished 2 games this week, converting his one save opportunity.  After 32 games, Papelbon has made 12 appearances, 11 games finished (6 saves, 5 non-saves).

Some other random stuff to light the fire –

• Chase Utley .116/.194/.221/.415 (lowest BA of any Phillies position player, 3 SP have higher BA – Hamels, Buchanan, and Billingsley)
• Hamels .273/.273/.273/.545
• Buchanan .167/.167/.333/.500
• Billingsley .333/.333/.333/1.667
• Billingsley has more HR (1) than Blanco, Hernandez, Herrera, Revere, Ruiz, Rupp, and Sizemore.
• Phillies .228/.282/.332/.614 (still the worst in NL)
• Although they have played more games than 9 NL teams. their 91 runs is the lowest in the league.  Their 241 hits is tied for lowest with the division-leading Mets.  They lead the league with 10 triples, but trail the league with 17 HRs.
• Their team ERA had been middle-of-the-road, but has now dropped to the bottom 4 in the NL.  They have allowed the most hits (295) and the most walks (122).  Opponents are hitting .272, only the Rockies’ .291 is higher.
• And, finally (it’s early but what the heck) the Phillies’.344 winning percentage is tied for the worst in baseball with the surging Milwaukee Brewers.  They are one of five teams with a winning percentage below .400.

Here’s an open discussion thread so the minor league posts don’t get cluttered with Phillies’ talk and other topics.

Jonathan Papelbon made 3 appearances and finished 3 games this week, converting his only save opportunity.  After 26 games, Papelbon has made 10 appearances, 9 games finished (5 saves, 4 non-saves).

Some other random stuff to light the fire –

• Chase Utley .108/.181/.217/.398 (lowest BA of any Phillie with a hit, 3 SP have higher BA – Hamels, Buchanan, and Harang)
• Phillies .221/.276/.324/.600 (worst in NL, still)
• The batting averages of the Phillies starting eight from Sunday’s game after completion – .239, .108, .186, .193, .191, .271, .200, .167
• Sorta makes Seve Gonzalez’ victory even more improbable.
• Hard to believe that Dom Brown couldn’t crack that line up.
• Does Utley have any options remaining?

Here’s an open discussion thread so the minor league posts don’t get cluttered with Phillies’ talk and other topics.

After 19 games, Papelbon has made 7 appearances, 6 games finished (4 saves, 2 others).  He gave up his first earned run of the season today.

Some other random stuff to light the fire –

• Chase Utley .121/.206/.224/.430 (worst among Phillies’ starters)
• Phillies .214/.272/.323/.594 (worst in NL)
• The Cardinals’ Adam Wainwright could miss the rest of the season after suffering an Achilles injury.
• The Tigers’ Joe Nathan will undergo surgery for a torn ulnar collateral ligament and a tendon in his right elbow and miss the rest of the season.
• The Red Sox starting rotation has a 5.77 ERA (Kelly 4.08, Bucchholz 4.84, Masterson 5.16, Porcello 6.48, Miley 8.62).

Here’s an open discussion thread so the minor league posts don’t get cluttered with Phillies’ talk and other topics.

Under other topics – I just listened to the ESPN color analyst (John Kruk?) blame a terrible throw by Yadier Molina on the pitcher because of his high leg kick.  Really?  Molina can’t make a bad throw without it being somebody else’s fault?

Phillies lost and are 4-9 on the season, 1-6 over the last  week, and had a 6-game losing streak.  Anybody still watching?  Still care?  I think I’ll track something I know you care about – Papelbon 3 saves in 3 save opportunities, 4 games finished.

Here’s an open discussion thread so the minor league posts don’t get cluttered with Phillies’ talk and other topics.

Let’s see.  The Phillies are 3-3 and took 2 of 3 from the Nationals.  The Braves are 5-1.  Young Cody Asche (.429) was been benched twice in 6 games in favor of 31-year old, journeyman Andres Blanco (.375).  Eight of 12 roster players are hitting between .222 and .077. Reading’s Brock Stassi has as many home runs (2) as the entire Phillies’ roster in half as many games.

Here’s an open discussion thread so the minor league posts don’t get cluttered with Phillies’ talk and other topics.

Let’s see, we have the Phillies openeing day roster, the acquisition of Dustin McGowan, and the Braves/Padres trade to talk about among any other subjects you want to bring up here.

Here’s an open discussion thread so the minor league posts don’t get cluttered with Phillies’ talk and other topics.  Continue reading Open Discussion: Week of March 30th →