Thursday: For your consideration, five Phillies failures

The Phillies’ troubles are the result of even spread of five intertwined issues. Here they are, in no particular order.

- The starting pitching got out of the blocks very slowly and never fully recovered. Better starts from Joe Blanton, Jamie Moyer and Cole Hamels haven’t been enough to pull the team from the depths of the National League in regards to ERA, and all the short starts have taken a toll on an overused bullpen. In my opinion, this is the principal issue.

-  The season-ending injury to Brett Myers leaves the team short, while mounting setbacks to Raul Ibanez, Brad Lidge, Clay Condrey and Scott Eyre are having noticeable consequences. Bank on even more nagging, unannounced ailments to the bullpen, taxed harder than most units.

- The bullpen isn’t as good as it was a year ago, starting with Lidge. He may be feeling “great,” as he told Scott Lauber in the News-Journal, but he’ll still be making adjustments. “The biggest thing for me, even more than velocity, was how I was delivering the ball and driving right toward the target,” Lidge told Lauber Sunday. "I think command will be the biggest thing that's enhanced by me being able to push off my back foot. I was able to push off, and I never thought about mechanics or what I was doing. I just did it.” The bridge to Lidge has also revealed cracks, with Chan Ho Park, for example, thrust into high-leverage spots while still adjusting to the bullpen.

- Their home record (13-22). Whatever hang-up they’re having, they need to get over it. Should Charlie Manuel shake it up at home and make adjustments to the starting lineup? Jimmy Rollins is a preposterous .192/.247/.338 hitter at Citizens Bank Park.

- J-Roll rounds out the list as the fifth and final fail. Every part of Rollins’ game is substandard from what the Phillies have come to expect.

Comments

[CY]

Save the mental error last night, I don't think JRolls defense has been substandard.

[Jack]

J-Roll's defense has not been the Gold Glove quality we've come to expect the last couple years. Combine that slight decline in defense with the huge decline in offense, and J-Roll is far from the player he was in 2008, let alone 2007.

[Hugh Mulcahy]

I only saw one Rollins at bat last night and he smoked a ball. Just hung up too long. Or, did I imagine that? His play on Burrell's grounder was lackadaisical on top of showing no real appreciation of the situation. The easy out was obvious to everyone but Jimmy. Amazingly, only mention of that play in the paper that I saw was about how Burrell 'came through with a big RBI' there. He hit a weak grounder to end the inning and Zobrist and Rollins bailed him out. Anyone notice how Mayberry couldn't get the same result on a grounder deep in hte hole at short in the 9th? That kid doesn't inspire confidence with his effort.

[RSB]

There were some balls on the last homestand that Rollins got a glove on but didn't handle. They weren't errors, but plays he normally makes. Overall, he's still very much a Gold Glover, but I'm wondering if the offensive problems aren't starting to affect his concentration in the field at times.

Manuel simply *has* to lay down the law and hit him lower in the order. Almost half the season is over. Rollins would have no right whatsoever to take umbrage.

[bay_area_phan]

Rollins' glove has certainly been above league average, but I said several weeks ago -- only to be jumped on by Andy -- that it has not been Gold Glove caliber this year. He has generally made the easy plays, but he has misplayed a lot of tougher plays which he would have made in the past 2 years.

[Jimmie J.]

Rollins should've been batting 9th during the AL home games. Period.

[tw]

I posted this last night about the defense Rollins has been putting out so far this year. UZR/150:

Career Avg - 5.2
2007 - 6.3
2008 - 15.0 (!)
2009 - 4.0

He's playing slightly worse than he usually does, but last year he was just unbelievable relative to his baseline. I agree that it looked like he was carrying his frustrations into the bottom half of the 8th, but it's not like he's hugely regressing from his carreer marks in defense.

[That Dude]

more importantly after last night Michael Taylor is now batting 340 with 13HR/50RBI/45R with a 399 OBP and a 978OPS. He better be d@mn untouchable.

[TK]

Hugh, not sure what you're watching in questioning Mayberry's effort. I don't see it at all. And I thought he was safe on that last out last night.

[TK]

Just saw on Murphy's twitter that Cole is pitching Friday to get an extra start in before the all star game. But I'm pretty sure that also means that he will not pitch in the Mets series?

[High Hopes]

I think Manuel has to drop Rollins to 6th, 7th, or 8th, and tell him that no matter how well he does there, he will not be hitting 1st again until September, if not for the rest of the year. If Donald hadn't been hurt, it would have been nice to call him up and give him a start or two a week, just to keep Rollins looking over his shoulder.

[Bubba]

If we had a better option than Bruntlett I would like to see Jimmy sit for a game or two; but realistically I'd settle for him down in the order to try to shake things up.
Maybe making him angry will get him out of his slump.

[JMARR]

Not sure if you guys noticed Charlie and Jimmy sharing a light moment after his line-out to RF. (it was on the Rays broadcast that I got down here in Austin through Extra Innings).

Doesn't look like Charlie is as fed up with Jimmy as we are in the 1 hole.

I agree he should be down at least at 6, but I don't think it's happening anytime soon which is beyond reasonable.

[mvptommyd]

From MetsBlog:

"The Phillies asked the Indians about RHP Cliff Lee, according to Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com, ‘but balked at the price.’

Meanwhile, the Phillies have also discussed acquiring M’s LHP Erik Bedard and Pirates pitchers Zach Duke and Pat Maholm, reports CBS Sports."

Go get 'em Ruuuube.

[mvptommyd]

By the way, Cliff Lee is actually a Lefty, good job Cerrone.

[mvptommyd]

Also, it is PAUL Maholm. Does this guy actually run a baseball blog????

[Bedrosian's Beard]

With Brandon Webb having surgery, that's one more name to officially cross off the list.

Despite some staff/F.O. allegedly questioning his character, I think the trail will lead back to Bedard, which i'm ok with.

[Bubba]

To make room for Lidge on the 25-man roster, left-hander Sergio Escalona was optioned to triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Groundhog day - part whatever.
What sense does having Bako on the roster make over keeping Escalona ?

[J.R. King]

Starting pitching is the big problem. Amaro needs to come up with a backup plan in case he can't pry a starter by the deadline.

It sounds like Ben Sheets is not going to be healthy. Who does that leave? Carrasco? Drabek? Not good.

[J.R. King]

Paul Bako is on the roster in case (1) Chris Coste is needed to pinch hit AND (2) whichever catcher remains in the game gets hurt.

The statistical chance of both of those things happenning is astronomically small. To use a roster spot on a 25-man professional baseball club for this completely unlikely turn of events is astonishingly stupid. Even then, Jayson Werth can catch.

[baxter]

Add the Death Valley IronPigs, where top prospects regress & diminish their trade value and mlb ready players shorten their professional careers for to penny wise/pound foolish reasons related to arbitration. See- Carlos Carrasco, Lou Marson and Jason Donald
falling from top 50 prospect status to question marks, Jason Jaramillo establishing himself as a major league catcher, Michael Bourn's .370 OBP and NL , Mayberry Jr batting 50 points higher in the show, JA Happ finally starting his MLB career three years too late, etc. No wonder they're just letting Taylor and Drabek dominate the Eastern League.

[gm-carson]

About Rollins- He's 9-22 (.409) when batting anywhere in the lineup besides leadoff this season, which is a far cry from what he's done from that spot 54-277 (.195). If it's broke, fix it!

[valo]

"Who does that leave? Carrasco? Drabek? Not good."

Chacin? Lopez? Looking for a miracle.

[vegas]

Keeping Bako only makes sense if he is part of a trade scenario. The bullpen is taxed and they carry three catchers?

[That Dude]

I hope this wasnt the asking price for Cliff Lee....

Michael Taylor is now batting 340 with 13HR/50RBI/45R with a 399 OBP and a 978OPS. He better be d@mn untouchable.

[Brian G]

Carrasco/Knapp/Marson for Lee?

[Bedrosian's Beard]

I love Taylor, but Cliff Lee is a Cy Young winner...

If it was Taylor for Marquis, that's a different story.

I'd try to get DeRosa from the Indians, as well. (would cost more than one prospect, obviously)

[J.R. King]

If they can't get a starting pitcher by the deadline, would they even entertain the notion of bringing up Drabek?

Drabek is 21. He's pitched in 39 minor league games over four years, during which he had Tommy John surgery.

When he made his major league debut, Cole Hamels was 22. He had pitched in 36 minor league games over four years, during which he broke his pitching hand in a bar fight.

Could Drabek be the next Hamels? Would he even have enough innings left in his arm by the time the playoff's start? Until this year, he had never pitched more than 54 innings in a professional season. This year he has already pitched 88.

[Tom]

5A as they say in Jersey is Tom McCarthy. He is the voice of the phils now that Harry is gone and he isnt very good.

[baxter]

Stick Drabek in the rotation and Bastardo in the bullpen. The dramatic decline in Drabek's K/BB rate in AA is somewhat of a concern, but he averages nearly 7 innings a start. He'll be fine.

[Bedrosian's Beard]

Drabek's starting tonight for Reading.

[dick allen-15]

Does Bako / Bruntlett have pictures of farm animals stashed away ??? Why would you send escalona down and keep Taschner ?? Sometimes Rube makes decisions that border on the rediculous..HOpe Lidge can return to form or we are in for a rough second half

[J. Weitzel]

Carrasco/Knapp/Marson for Lee wouldn't get it done, not even close. Not even remotely close. They want a Major League player, and I'm sure they'd want Taylor, Brown or Drabek.

[joe l]

Disagree. Wheels brings 10x more to the table than McCarthy and that's not saying much. The announcer following HK should be gone in a few years as fans will always remember the drop off in quality.

[The Truth Injection]

Not to drag the argument down against Rollins but his BABIP this year is .217 which is considerably lower than his career norm. Since 2003 his previous low was .281 in 2006 which is still 64 points higher than where he is at now.

And in a lot of games he is hitting stuff hard, but right at people. Basically he's hitting into tough luck.

It's also useful in some regards to point out how he is batting elsewhere in the order but keep in mind with guys on base and everything defensive alignments change. Just moving him into the 6 hole doesn't automatically mean everything will keep finding holes.

[baxter]

How long until we entertain the notion of trading Vic or Werth? This off-season? Next deadline? Its coming

[Brian G]

baxter: Vic is an incredibly valuable player. It'd be tough to make a trade where the dropoff we'd have in center by trading him would be made up for by the upgrade to the pitching staff.

And Werth is a free agent after next season, so he has minimal value to a semi-rebuilding team. Not to mention that Werth is very valuable himself.

[J.R. King]

On Lee:

When you hear the Phillies "balked at the price," think Drabek.

[J.R. King]

Werth is not a free agent next season. He makes $3M this year, $7M next year.

[Brian G]

JR: I know. That's why I said "after next season". Basically, my point is that he has no value to a team like the Pirates, Padres, D-backs, or Blue Jays (if they were trading Halladay).

[Matt R]

I think you have to move Werth or Victorino if you have a chance at a frontline starter. You can peice together a RF with Stairs, Dobbs, and Mayberry or Taylor, with the remaining Werth or Victorino playing center. I would much rather move Werth than Victorino, though I would assume that Vic is the player most asked for off the current roster.

[MG]

On the pitching front - Not an Amaro fan by any stretch but I don't doubt that he isn't trying with real vigor to track down another starting pitching. Still, he was on the other night before the game. Just said it was really early, wildcard races are tight in both leagues, and teams can't been giving up their season this early. Agreed with him on all points.

[EastFallowfield]

Mets take a 3-1 lead on Carpenter and STL up in Queens.

[EastFallowfield]

Yo, new thread

[goody]

I think we would all have slept better last nite(including JRoll but not Park) if Pat had just hit a grand slam in the 8th.
I was also hoping that Moyer would groove one for him when we were up by 10 instead of having him hit one when it mattered the next 2 nites.

[PS]

MVP tommy D:

Nice cheap shot at Cerrone, seeing as you cite his information about the Phils that you can't get on a Phils blog. Nicely done.

[EastFallowfield]

Cerrone does make a lot of little mistakes. Don't know if it's a cheap shot since it's living, not just a hobby.

[EastFallowfield]

It's his living...

[PS]

EFF:

So if I made a comment about you messing up your post, then that would be a cheap shot?

[4DaysRest.com]

I'd like to just add that Jayson Werth's at-bat last night with the bases loaded was the worst display of plate discipline I've seen all year long.

And that's even considering the fact that we have to watch Rollins on a daily basis.

[rossdawg]

I know this sounds crazy and new agey. Maybe they all need a shrink. One of those sports psychologists should come in and make them realize the world series is over and they need to build again. I can't think of anything else that anybody else hasn't mentioned already. Maybe just Jimmy and the starters.