Keeping Kendrick

By Amy McGinnis

This weekend, the Phillies announced that they signed an extension with Kyle Kendrick,who had originally signed a one-year deal for $3.585 million in an effort to avoid arbitration.  The extended contract is set to pay Kendrick $7.5 million over two years, locking him up through the 2013 season.

I've heard different opinions about this move.  There are some fans who think that an emergency starter isn't worth that kind of money.  These are probably the same fans who like to criticize Kendrick and use him as a scapegoat when things aren't going well.  I've never really understood the disdain for Kyle.  He's not Roy Halladay.  He never will be.  Then again, no one ever will be.  Doc is a freak of nature.  That being said, Kendrick has served this team decently well as a starter and as a relief pitcher. 

Kendrick has a  fastball that sits around 90-93, and since he had been using it entirely too much, he has changed his repertoire somewhat over the past few years.  His changeup is average, and he knows enough to not really use his curveball.  Kyle replaced his slider with a cutter, which has been looking better and better.  Is Kendrick an ace? No.  Is he a solid #4 or #5? I think so. 

Something we need to remember is that KK is only 27 and has the potential for continued growth.  Don't look at his 8-6 record from 2011.  Look at his 3.22 ERA and 1.221 WHIP (both were his best since he has been with the Phils).  Aside from the numbers, Kendrick seems to do what is asked of him without complaining.  I'll take that attitude any day of the week.

It remains to be seen how the back end of the rotation will look once the season is underway.  One thing is for sure: I want to see Kyle give fellow RHP Vance Worley a run for his money.  Some healthy competition will only benefit the pitching staff, and Vance is entering his sophomore season with all eyes on him.  I really do like both pitchers, but I think Kendrick's experience might give him an edge.  At the end of the day, I want both of them to bring it. 

I don't mind debating the matter with other fans, but I have nothing to say to people whose only argument is "Kendrick sucks." Come up with something better than that and we'll talk.  Until then, I'm counting down til Phils-Yanks on March 3rd.

A Look at the Vanimal

By Amy McCormick

Our famous pitching rotation of 2011 was expected to bring home another World Series trophy for this city.  We all know how that worked out.  With injuries for Oswalt and Blanton, we had some holes to fill.  An obvious choice was RHP Vance Worley, who had surprised most of us in September of 2010 when he was able to hold his own on the mound. 

In 2011, Worley posted an 11-3 record with a 3.01 ERA.  More of last season's stats (skip ahead if numbers make your head hurt): 131 2/3 IP, 119 K and 46 BB.  His averaged 8.1 strikeouts, 3.1 walks and 0.7 homeruns per nine innings pitched.  That's the quantitative data, and it's pretty self-explanatory.

In a qualitative sense, Worley was great at locating his sinker and getting called strikes.  Do you remember watching hitters swing and miss?  Neither do I, because it didn't happen often.  Why was that? Well, to begin with, Worley doesn't have much of an off-speed pitch.  It also helped that many batters were facing him for the first time, not knowing exactly what to expect.

What should we expect this season?  From opponents, I think we can expect batters to look alive.  There's a lot of footage of Vance for teams to watch at this point.  If this is the case, then I think it's safe to say that what worked in 2011 will not work in 2012.  In my opinion, he'll need to keep batters guessing - get them to swing and miss pretty consistently - if he wants to continue to be successful.  Called strikes aren't going to cut it; I think we'll see batters getting aggressive.

I like Vance Worley, for a few reasons.  I think he's a talented kid who has potential to be a solid #4 or #5.  I was impressed with him when he was originally called up from Lehigh Valley because a lot of kids his age can buckle under the pressure (looking at you, Dom Brown).  In a post-game interview once, when asked what had gone wrong during the game, he stated, "I sucked." I loved it.  No excuses, no blaming anyone else.  He recognized that his performance that night was just not good enough and that he would need to do better.  It's refreshing to me when a professional athlete admits that openly.  What I want to see is a continued sense of what works and what doesn't. 

There's a lot of chatter about fans expecting Vance to unravel during his sophomore season, and while that is based on previous experiences, I don't think it's a fair expectation for Worley.  I am optimistic that he will recognize that he needs a strong off-speed pitch and that he needs to work the corners.  And who knows - maybe opponents will be too preoccupied preparing to face Roy, Cliff and Cole, and they won't do their homework on Vance.  Stranger things have happened.

I want to see big things from this kid.  I've seen enough that I recognize his talent and skill - now I need for him to prove to me that he can switch things up enough to succeed this season. 

Oswalt in October?

By Amy McCormick

This summer has flown by; all of a sudden, our magic number is twelve and we’re speculating the Phils’ playoff rotation.  Who will join Halladay, Lee and Hamels and be our fourth ace this October?  There are definitely arguments to be made for both Oswalt and Worley.  Luckily, they’re both outstanding pitchers; either way, we’ll have a group of four fantastic starters.

I am somewhat torn, because each of these two pitchers has a lengthy “pro” list.  If it were up to me, and I had to choose tonight, I’d select Roy Oswalt. 

Sure, Vance Worley has been unstoppable this season.  He’s a young, focused winning machine.  Why would anyone ever pass on that?  Well, I don’t see it as dismissing Worley.  I’d like to see him as long relief in the postseason.

Oswalt came back from an extended absence due to back injury and has looked healthy and focused.  As much as it kills me to admit it, I’d say that this might be the last chance that Little Roy has to win a World Series.  Tonight’s game showed us that Roy continues to want to fight for it, though.  I love his intensity, tempo and grit.  Roy Oswalt is a badass.  C’mon - he wears high socks, owns his own tractor, and merely fixes his hat after taking a line drive to the jugular.  He has a southern accent, people. He's what Roosevelt was talking about when he said "Speak softly and carry a big stick." He’s my favorite good ol’ boy on the planet. I’d like to think that he calls people “son” and pulls it off.

Oswalt is 5-1 in the postseason, including two NLDS wins and three NLCS wins.  His postseason ERA is 3.39 and his WHIP is 1.357.   I’d put my money on Little Roy for the fourth spot in October’s rotation.  At this point, I feel comfortable sending him out there for every fourth start and having Worley as long relief.  Like I said, though … this is a good problem to have.  It’s like judging a beauty contest … how are you supposed to pick which set of fake boobs looks better than the pair next to it?  Either way, we should be solid.  It will be interesting to see which direction Charlie takes.  Magic number is twelve, kids …

Phils Don't Sweep, But They Take Out the Trash

By Amy McCormick

Thursday, August 4^th began a four game series against the Giants in San Francisco.  Aside from the late start times, the series promised to be a good one.  Here’s a rundown of what happened.

Thursday.  Cliff Lee was matched up with Madison “My Parents Clearly Wanted a Girl” Bumgarner.  Lee pitched well; half of his eight strikeouts belonged to Cody Ross.  “That’s probably the best game I’ve had as far as commanding the ball,” Lee said.  “I was getting ahead of the hitters and staying away from the middle of the plate.  I felt like I could throw any pitch at any time to any location.” Can you ask anything more of a pitcher?  Phils took the first game with a score of 3-0, which is Lee’s fifth shutout of the season.  Hunter Pence and John Mayberry, Jr. had back-to-back homers in the 2^nd inning.  Bumgarner stated, “That second inning cost me I guess.  The way he [Lee] was throwing, he looked like he could throw about fourteen innings out there.” After the end of the game, of course, tragedy stuck not far from AT&T Park.  Ryan White, 9, of Yardley, had attended the game to cheer on the Phillies.  A drunken jerk of a Giants fan managed to mow White down with a car, putting him in critical condition.  Luckily, the suspect was caught not much later. 

Friday.  Wonder why fans in San Francisco act like reckless criminals? Well, the top of the sixth inning in Friday’s game is an indication of what the fanbase seems to aspire to.  Vance Worley and Jonathan Sanchez were the starting pitchers, and the Phils won 9-2; not a whole lot else matters, considering all anyone has been talking about is the brawl that ensued on the field.  In the top of the sixth, Ramon Ramirez quite obviously hit Shane Victorino in the back intentionally with a pitch.  When asked if he thought Ramirez hit him deliberately, Victorino said, “Yeah, absolutely, I think he did.”  Vic started toward the mound, which caused Giants’ catcher Eli Whiteside to jump around like a lunatic.  Placido Polanco came to back up Victorino, and Whiteside tackled him.  Benches cleared; teammates and coaches from both sides poured onto the field.  The bullpens emptied.  It was one of those fights you can’t wait to see again in the highlights after the game.  Bruce Bochy remarked, “It’s baseball and things happen fast.  Tempers flare.  It’s part of the game … it’s competition.  Things aren’t going well for us.  It happens and you deal with it … I thought it was fairly clean out there.” Um, I assume he was talking about the Phillies’ involvement, because the Giants instigated the brawl from the get-go.  The Phils merely reacted.  Whiteside, Ramirez, and Victorino were ejected.  Charlie defends Victorino, because his reaction was pretty appropriate.  Ramirez wasn’t pitching well and it looked as if he just wanted to nail a batter with a pitch.  The Giants’ lowly tactics couldn’t land them a win.

Saturday. Cole Hamels started for the Phils, and the Giants sent Matt Cain to the hill.  A lot of fans expected a repeat of the previous night’s fight.  Not only did we not see such action, the game didn’t last much more than two hours.  Phils won, 2-1.  Hamels said, “I was one out away from a shutout.” It was 2-0 going into the bottom of the ninth, but Pablo “I Shouldn’t Be Playing in This Game Because I Choked Chooch Last Night” Sandoval hit a two-out homer.  Bochy, when asked about the Giants’ lethargic offense, said, “You don’t win the World Series unless you can beat good pitching.  Right now, we’re not doing that.” Yeah, no kidding.  Even your fans agree.  Aubrey Huff, a fan favorite in San Francisco, was booed when he grounded out to Ryan Howard.  Like I said, the fans in San Francisco are suitable for their classless team.

Sunday. Today’s broadcast began with Tim Lincecum on the mound, the breeze flowing through his long (and disgusting) hair.  I hate to say it, but Lincecum pitched well.  He kept the Phils’ offense at one run; the Giants ruined Philadelphia’s attempt at a sweep and won 3-1.  It was “Little” Roy Oswalt’s return to the bigs after being absent more than six weeks.  He looked healthy, and his velocity was fine.  He just seemed a little rusty.  He let up twelve hits in six innings, getting himself into jams and working his way out of them.  Oswalt scored the Phils’ only run, and said, “It’s good to be on the field.  It’s good to be well again.” Though Philly suffered the loss, it is nice to have #44 back in the rotation.  The Phillies played a great series, and I hated to see it end on a Brian Wilson note. 

Here’s what the series means to me: the Giants aren’t the contender they might think they are.  We are 74-40 (34 games above .500).  San Francisco is 63-52 (11 games above .500).  I used to view them as a tough team to beat, but they’re hanging onto the lead in the West by a thread.  (Meanwhile, the Phils are up 8 ½ games over Atlanta in the East.)   I used to see San Francisco as just a team with terrible hair (facial and otherwise) and a bunch of girls’ first names.  Now, thanks to poor behavior and poor sportsmanship, I see them for what they are: a team with trashy players and a trashy fanbase.  This I know: we will be seeing Phillies baseball well into October.  If the Giants would like to join us in the postseason, they’ll need to get their act together.

Worley Delivers, Howard and Polanco Power Offense

By Amy McCormick

Last night, my best friends and I had a girls’ night at the ballpark.  To be honest, we never expect an exciting game when the Mets are in town.  We surely had no idea what was in store for us.

Joe Blanton, now on the DL, seemed long forgotten when Vance Worley took the mound.  We saw him a few times last year; his record was 1-1 and his ERA was 1.38.  Not too shabby for a 22 year old kid brought up to the bigs for the first time.  Last night, Worley was our starting pitcher, and he proved that he has more than just potential.  I love that he’s calm and focused – something you don’t often see in someone so young.  Getting the win, Worley’s line was: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 5 K.  Needless to say, my friends and I were pleased with his performance.  Is he a better choice than Blanton for our #5 spot?  Hard to say, if you ask me, but it’s nice to know that the Phils are adept at making quality substitutions when necessary. 

Offensively speaking, Philadelphia brought their A Game last night.  And by “Philadelphia,” of course, I mean Ryan Howard and Placido Polanco.  Howard hit two homers, one of which was a grand slam; he was responsible for six of the team’s ten runs.  Polanco’s base hit in the seventh scored two runs.  Ryan Howard now has 27 RBIs in the month of April, which breaks the Phils’ record set in 2008 by Pat Burrell (he had 24).  I think that it might be time to stop blaming Howard for losing the NLCS in 2010.  The man is an RBI machine.  Polanco is no slouch, either.  He has posted nineteen RBIs thus far and is batting .390.  If Halladay, Lee, Oswalt and Hamels are the four aces, then Howard and Polanco are our offensive dynamic duo. 

Last night, aside from having to set eyes on David Herndon, we saw a formula for winning games: solid pitching and aggressive offense.  The Phils showed that even with two starting pitchers being out, the show must go on.  They had an offensive slump lasting about a dozen or so games, and it appears to be over.  I know that it’s still April, but Philadelphia is asserting itself as the team to beat.