Cole Hamels on the Cy Young Award Ballot?
by Bill Baer on Thursday, September 2nd, 2010Posted in MLB, Philadelphia Phillies, Sabermetrics | 5 Comments »
The National League Cy Young award is Roy Halladay's to lose, but teammate Cole Hamels could earn some third-place votes with his remarkable 2010 campaign. Halladay leads the NL with a 2.90 SIERA but Hamels isn't far behind ...
Ryan Howard’s Malaise
by Bill Baer on Tuesday, August 31st, 2010Posted in MLB, Philadelphia Phillies, Sabermetrics | 8 Comments »
Since returning from the disabled list, Ryan Howard is batting .111 with a .246 OPS. He has no extra-base hits and no multi-hit games. Even worse, Howard struck out 16 times in 36 at-bats, a rate of nearly 45 percent ...
Graph of the Intermittent Time Period
by Bill Baer on Monday, August 30th, 2010Posted in Graphs, MLB, Philadelphia Phillies, Sabermetrics | 20 Comments »
The Phillies responded to an embarrassing four-game sweep at the hands of the Houston Astros at home by flying out to San Diego and sweeping the Padres in three games. The offense didn't exactly wake up, but the starting pitching ...
Down but Certainly Not Out
by Bill Baer on Friday, August 27th, 2010Posted in MLB, Philadelphia Phillies | 17 Comments »
Losing four in a row to a Houston Astros team that, entering, was 54-69 (.439) is not an achievement that sits well in the minds of Phillies fans. Scoring a total of seven runs in the series sits even worse. The ...
Umpires Are to be Seen and Not Heard
by Bill Baer on Wednesday, August 25th, 2010Posted in MLB, Philadelphia Phillies | 57 Comments »
The old line "children are to be seen and not heard" tends to apply to umpires in Major League Baseball. If the broadcasters and fans haven't noticed them, they're probably doing a great job. We heard then first base umpire ...
Was Michael Bourn Out?
by Bill Baer on Tuesday, August 24th, 2010Posted in MLB, Philadelphia Phillies | 28 Comments »
If you missed last night's game, the Phillies lost 3-2 to the Houston Astros in large part due to a controversial call made in the top of the eighth inning. With a 2-1 lead, Ryan Madson was on the mound. ...
Astros Series Preview: Astros County
by Bill Baer on Monday, August 23rd, 2010Posted in Interviews, Philadelphia Phillies, Series Preview | 4 Comments »
Believe your eyes -- it's a series preview. We haven't had one of these since June 25 when the Blue Jays were "in town". I caught up with James from Astros County to find out what to expect out of this ...
Wilson Valdez: In play, outs
by Bill Baer on Sunday, August 22nd, 2010Posted in MLB, Philadelphia Phillies | 14 Comments »
A common sighting during games in which Wilson Valdez plays: That was Valdez's 16th ground ball double play this season in 277 at-bats, a rate of about six percent. From May 6-10, Valdez grounded into a double play in five ...
Werth Gets A Hit with 2 Out & RISP, Pigs Fly
by Bill Baer on Thursday, August 19th, 2010Posted in MLB, Philadelphia Phillies, Sabermetrics | 18 Comments »
Last night, Jayson Werth broke an 0-for-35 skid with two outs and runners in scoring position. Raul Ibanez hit an RBI triple in the bottom of the seventh inning and Werth drove him in with a double to ...
Graph of the Intermittent Time Period
by Bill Baer on Wednesday, August 18th, 2010Posted in Graphs, MLB, Philadelphia Phillies, Sabermetrics | 9 Comments »
Rumors of the offense's demise may be greatly exaggerated. Although they have been shut out on ten different occasions (four of them at the hands of New York Met pitchers), the Phillies are slowly climbing back up the offensive leaderboards. ...
