Jimmy Rollins Rolls Along: Gold Glove Edition

The Phillies, in their long, interminable, and mostly loss-accumulating history, have not been known as a team that touts a large number of players with career service greater than 10 years.  They have been, at times, a team of nobodies, a team of transients, a team where greatness fades, and a team where potential is not realized for many near-greats, all-stars, and all-time greats.  Here is a short list of Hall of Famers that you may or may not have known called the Phillies home for some years of their career: Jimmie Foxx, Hack Wilson, Lloyd Waner, Dave Bancroft, Roger Connor, Joe Morgan, Chief Bender, Ferguson Jenkins.....the list is longer than that.  A lot of these appearances in the (mostly) red and white occurred at the end of the player's career, with the notable exception of Jenkins, and show that when a franchise struggles, it's easy to reach for a dimming star to drive the attraction.

When one thinks of the Phillies, there are two names that immediately leap to mind and that is Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton.  Besides their exalted place in the pantheon of players, another reason is their longevity with the franchise.  Schmidt and Carlton played with the Phillies for 18 seasons and 15 seasons, respectively.

There are few other Phillies that approach that longevity. Some that I can remember....

Robin Roberts: 15 seasons
Richie Ashburn: 12 seasons
Larry Bowa: 12 seasons
Garry Maddox: 12 seasons
Del Ennis: 11 seasons
Johnny Callison: 10 seasons
Willie Jones: 13 seasons
Curt Simmons: 13 seasons
Chuck Klein: 15 seasons
Darren Daulton: 14 seasons

I'm sure there's more out there, but these are the names that come to my mind immediately.

Joining this list as a modern Phillie is Jimmy Rollins.  He just keeps rolling along as a top-tier shortstop in the league.  This was further validated by receiving his 4th Gold Glove award today. (yes, I know all the problems associated with Gold Glove voting and how it doesn't really represent the best defender in a given year, especially with the controversial snub of Mike Trout in the AL).  What it does represent is how much his play is held in high esteem by his peers and opposing coaches.

He has grown from the fresh-faced rookie with dreads who lit a fire under the 2001 Phillies to their first winning season in 8 years to the confident and sometimes brash leader of the 5 time division winning Phillies to the productive veteran in his declining years.

This is his best base rookie card. Can you believe there are only two to chase?

He has always been one of my maddeningly favorite players.  He seems to pop up in the infield more and more, he doesn't like to walk, he gets called out for jogging plays out....but he's exhilarating to watch, he can rope a liner into the alley for a triple (the first Phillie to reach 100 triples since Sherry Magee), he can pull a ball down the line for a home run, he will steal bases with flair, abandon, and intelligence (83% career success rate with over 400 career steals).

He now sits in exalted company in Phillies history: 4th in hits, 4th in triples, 3rd in runs, 2nd in doubles, 12th in RBIs, and 3rd in stolen bases.  He may not be a Hall of Famer, but he has secured his place in the annals of Phillies history.  Here's to at least two more years of burgeoning productivity and steady shortstop play.

The Last NL Game(s) of the Year: A Lament

As a baseball fan, I'm always a little down when the playoffs reach their interminable end. This means each day that there are less and less games to take in. How can I enjoy the four way split screen when there are only 1 or 2 games on.

That being said, it's both a blessing and a curse that one of the last teams standing is one of my local teams. A blessing in that the games are aired at times which I can catch them (and if I'm very, extremely lucky get tickets, but that won't happen this playoffs) and a curse in that I do not like the Giants at all and can't cheer for them. I had a soft spot in my heart for the Cardinals because I lived there during the rise of Albert Pujols.  

I can't like either team now because of the fact that they have combined to knock off the Phillies in the playoffs the last two years and gone on to win the World Series. I read somewhere that seppuku is the preferable cheering choice for the NLCS as a Phillies fan; I tend to agree.

Below are a couple scenes from an earlier time when Shane Victorino was still on the team playing in San Francisco.  I wish I were there to witness my favorite team donning red in NLCS game 6 this weekend.  One thing the Giants definitely did right was their stadium.  Besides the fact that it's freezing there all year around (always bring a winter hat and/or scarf), it has great sight lines, great food, and is intimate enough to rock during a playoff game.

Just call me the anti-Giants rock (unless they play the Mets or Braves or Nationals or Dodgers.....you get the idea).

Also, these could have been images of an alternate future, but it's too dark for that.  All playoff games start during the daytime here.  I'm thankful the hour doesn't fall back until November now.  This means more fun with shadows out in the ballpark.

Here is an alternate reality lineup for NLCS game 6 (if the Phillies weren't insanely mediocre this year).

SS Rollins
LF Pierre
2B Utley
1B Howard
C Ruiz
CF Mayberry
RF Brown
3B Frandsen
P Lee

I think I'm going to run a simulation against the Giants lineup just to make me feel better and then rig it until the Phillies win every time.....

Here's to playoff baseball....and the fading of yet another season.

The Phillies are Feeling Blue...

...because their playoff chances are down to 0.2 (or practically nil).  With the two losses to the Braves this weekend and the Cardinals two wins and the continued success of the Brewers, I will now resign myself to the fact that I most probably likely not going to be rooting for a Phillies postseason run for the first time since 2006.  It was quite a run, but it's still sobering as a fan and for the players involved.

Roy Halladay-feeling blue because he allowed 7 runs in 1.2 innings in his final start, pickmeup suggestion-go fishing in the Caribbean

Cliff Lee-feeling blue because of the small run support he got for most of the year.  pickmeup suggestion-become a dart throwing champion in the offseason

Ryan Howard-feeling blue because of his career low .SLG. pickmeup suggestion-go back to his hometown of St. Louis and have some Ted Drewes.

Vance Worley-feeling blue because surgery on the elbow is never good. pickmeup suggestion-invest in a fashion or costume line that will use his goggles.

Jimmy Rollins-feeling blue because his OBP has dropped to its lowest mark since 2002 and because he keeps on getting reamed once or twice a year for not running out every pop-up.  pickmeup suggestion: three words: radio show host.

So as you can see, they don't seem to be feeling too well.  Amazingly, they stayed in contention until the penultimate week of the season.  Hopefully, they can finish the season with a winning record.......

But of course, if they win all their games and the Cardinals, Dodgers, and Brewers all falter all bets are off.  Is that completely irrational?  I meant it to be.

2012 Phillies Cards (in which almost no one remains) from Cardboard Conundrum

Cardboard Conundrum held a group break a long time ago with the first products of the 2012 season.  It was a great opportunity to get a taste of the Phillies' cards offerings for the 2012 card season with Topps, Topps Heritage, and Gypsy Queen being sampled.

Unfortunately, with the Phillies having their worst season in 10 years, they became sellers at the deadline, and many of the players are no longer with the team for one reason or another.  So, essentially, these sets are a snapshot of the end of last year through Opening Day 2012.  Who made the cut for the checklists for Phillies team sets?  Here are some selections from the break....

2012 Gypsy Queen Mini Roy Oswalt:  I am on a quest for everything Phillies mini, and this card aids in that quest.  Roy Oswalt did not resign with the Phillies in the offseason, and eventually became a part-time starter on the Rangers.

2012 Topps Heritage Chrome Hunter Pence: I am also on a quest for everything Heritage Chromey with Phillies on it.  Hunter Pence and his old-school socks left for the city by the Bay, trading in the red for the black.  The reason was because of his impending arbitration payday at the conclusion of the season that may approach $15 million.  It seems like he's not liking the Bay as much as I do, only hitting 2 HR in 36 games and struggling with a .296 OBP.

2012 Topps Archives Mike Schmidt: Ok, he hasn't been on the Phillies since May 12, 1989 when he retired, and this is a nice card with the image from my youth.

2012 Topps Archives Auto Bake McBride:  This is one of the more impressive penmanship examples that I have seen displayed on a card.  The 1975 style also fits well with the decor on the card, though McBride was a Phillie from 1977-1981.

2012 Topps Heritage Jimmy Rollins: He is still a Phillie, and this is a shortprint, so that is always appreciated to receive.  Rollins joined a pantheon of all-time Phillies greats by getting his 2000th hit as a Phillie, joining Mike Schmidt, Richie Ashburn, and Ed Delahanty.

2012 Gypsy Queen Moonshots Jim Thome:  Thome hit a 466 foot home run at Target Field this year.  That is far.

2012 Topps Golden Moments Mike Schmidt:  Schmidt was the only player in the 1970s to hit 4 home runs in a single game.

2012 Topps Golden Moments Parallel Jim Thome: Thome also did not finish the season with the Phillies, being traded to the Orioles for a chance at the postseason.  It seems to have worked out, except he's been on the DL since July 28th with a herniated disc.

Vote for Chooch: A Very Deserving Phillie for the All-Star Game

Card Presented: 2006 Upper Deck Special F/X Purple /150 (note how purple this card is, it's not just the border, plus what was this set?  A weird foily imitator of Topps Chrome?)

Let me join the voice to Phungo. The Phillies, as we all know by now, have not been having a good season.  The one extremely major exception  has been the Panamanian smasher known as Carlos "Chooch" Ruiz.  He is not hitting like a catcher or even like a first baseman, he's hitting like one of the top 5 hitters in the league.  Check out this line (as of 6:43 pm PDT as I just finished watching him hit a HR in the 8th inning): .361/.427/.579.  The last catcher to hit that well was (I think) Joe Mauer in 2009.

He's taken up residence in the clean-up spot for the team and is not just keeping it warm.  Only one batter in the NL can lay claim to having a better OPS than him (Joey Votto), only 4 have a better slugging %, none have a higher batting average.  He already has a career high in HRs with 10, and is the linchpin on offense and defense for his team.

He;s been a model of consistency, never going more than 2 consecutive games without a hit throughout the entire 2012 season.  And most impressively, he has 3 stolen bases so far with his catcher's fram (5'10", 200 lbs).

For more statistical goodness, he is 10th in the league in runs created, 8th in the league in intentional walks, 3rd in the league in WAR (5th for the offensive component and 6th for the defensive component), and first in the league in hit by pitches.

So, elect a well-deserving player to this year's game.  And he's not come out of nowhere (having received MVP votes the last two years, including with a .400 OBP in 2010).  His body of work says he deserves an all-star appearance in his career, and with these top of the line stats, he's even harder to ignore than before.  There is no more players overshadowing him, since he casts such a long one himself in 2012.

I've voted 25 times for Chooch.  Have you? (fans of teams of Phillies' rivals can be exempt if claiming mental hardship)

Lost in a Quagmire: Phillies Edition, Some Possible Suggestions to Help 2012

The Phillies are mired in a swoon. Some would even call it a June swoon. Reminiscent of the approach of summer and increase in light, their record indicates they are feeling faint in the presence of opponents and need revitalization.

It hasn't helped that the majority of the team anchors are on the shelf.
-Utley and Howard have been rehabbing from the beginning. They should have been partially prepared, and they partially were since Nix has been hurt and Thome until his week was either hurt or ineffective.
-Halladay is out and the staff attitude has been deflated.
-And now on this night, the best hitter on the team to this point, Carlos Ruiz falls for an undisclosed amount of time to the most silently painful of all injuries, the oblique strain.

Others have fallen by the wayside, such as the fielding wunderkind, Freddy Galvis, the majority of the projected bullpen out of spring training (Stutes, Herndon, Contreras), and Cliff Lee and Vance Worley for a time. This is not to say that injuries are the only culprit of the poor record, but rather that a team can only do so much with 3rd stringers and general ineffectiveness. Poor fundamental playing and bullpen management (read here at this from Crashburn Alley for the best perspective on the bullpen I've read) have not helped the general cause.

There seems to be a general malaise around the team.  Worley has allowed 4 earned runs in his last 3 starts and has lost all 3.  Cliff Lee has an under 3.00 ERA for the season and has pulled an 0-fer in the W column.   The offense has not been the only problem since its numbers have improved greatly with a nearly 100 point OPS increase since the end of April.    Unfortunately, they have a .515 OPS with a runner on 3rd this year (the entire team essentially becomes Mario Mendoza)

They are 5-11 in one run games this year, probably worst in the league, due to the league worst bullpen.....ach...or ick.

Bright spots? I'm struggling besides tracking the rehab of Utley and Howard.....they've dropped 10 of 13. I hope this is the low point.

I have some possible solutions.

Take away underperforming relievers with an ornithopter mid-game and have it search for viable arms, if any more exist in the system. The vehicle can also be served as a staging area for spare balls in the dugout so they are coaxed to fly out of the park when they hit Phillies' bats.
Pro: Can generate wind to blow back possible home run balls by flapping
Con: Needs someone who can cycle a long time to run it correctly.

Andrea Roth as Harper Stanhope could appear at the whim of the Others in Citizen's Bank Park to bring up haunting memories of opponents.
Pro: Brings fear back to opponents in Philadelphia after stumbling to 12-19 record.  Uncle Cholly says they don't scare nobody.  Ghostly memories will accomplish that.
Con: May choose to haunt whoever's wronged her.  Ghosts are not that controllable.

William Sanderson as Oldham of the Dharma Initiative could introduce the island life/scientific evaluation that they need.
Pro: Decent enough at inspiration.
Con: Stuffs sugar down people's throats.

The Linen Balloon is a convenient way to give the balls a little more lift.  They can also maybe inflate Ty Wigginton's glove for a little more softness around the hands.

Pro: Easy and cheap to use.  Easy to hide helium tanks to fill pores of balls with.
Con:  Birds can knock them out of the sky with their beaks.

Terry O'Quinn as John Locke is a man of faith and trusts in his situation.  He looks for help in mystical powers and may or may not receive it, though he did regain the ability to walk.
Pro: Has a good sense of the land and would be a great advance scout..
Con: Has bad luck and is susceptible to betrayal because of trusting nature.  Lost a kidney and maybe his life that way (depending on which timestream you're talking about).  Outfielders can't learn from betrayal.

Or maybe this is just a bad season and they;re not feeling the love of 2012. ...

These other suggestions couldn't hurt though.

The Hope of Cliff Lee

Programming Note: Please join the group break.  Six guaranteed hits (+ surprises).  Five spots remain.

Cliff Lee is pitching and facing the Dodgers today in a possible season direction defining match.  At the very least, it is a statement game.  To be a viable contender, the team has to at least hold serve on a homestand with the #1 on the mound (since Halladay is hurt).  The Phillies are currently on a three game losing streak and still occupying the 5th position in the NL East standings.  There needs to be hope for improvement and it has to begin with the always gritty, go-getting visage of the Cliff Lee.

And what better image for hope than a 2011 Topps Update Hope Diamond card with tape on the toploader?  The team needs fixing and a direction, and Cliff Lee can be the captain of the new direction for the 2012 Phillies.  Almost all the other leaders from the past year's success are injured.  With the ones that remain (Lee, Hamels, Rollins, Victorino), they need to set the tone for the team in both attitude and performance.

Lee has not been the beneficiary of good luck or run support to this point of the 2012 season.  This is easily seen in his record: 0-2 in 8 starts with 3.00 ERA and 1.02 WHIP.  Wins are not exactly correlated with performance (check out Nolan Ryan's 1987 season or Randy Johnson's 2004 season for some extreme examples), but they usually do tend to follow some pattern in that a good performance is most likely rewarded.

This has not been the case thus far as Lee's run support has cratered to below 3.5 runs/game.  This is especially evident in the fact that in his 6 no-decisions he has allowed a total of 10 runs.  The 2 losses were the only 2 outings in which more than 3 runs were allowed.

He does not give in to any batter, peppering the boundaries of the strike zone with cutter after cutter.  He maintains a league best 5.40 K/BB ratio as of this writing.  This aggressiveness can be his demise as it was against the Red Sox.  However, the patient teams will take called strikes, be put behind, and eventually be put away.  The Dodgers tonight should hopefully be a good matchup for the strike zone movement artist.

The Phillies must take this game tonight and the next game tomorrow to begin the trend of reversing their home record from the current 12-16.  To be a contender, you have to hold your turf and Lee is throwing out the first pitch for that at the beginning of the 2nd third of the season.