Revealing piece on Phils’ ownership

Richard Rys of Philly magazine wrote a massive, and terrific, piece on the Phillies ownership.  Five silent partners, who meet 4 times a year to discuss the state of the team.  A team where friendship is valued more than performance and where caution always is weighed above risk.

It seems we get these ownership exposés about once a year.  But this is the best piece I’ve ever read about the lackluster owners we know nothing about.  I keep waiting for that deadline deal that will put us over the top.  Alas, I should resign myself to that never happening.

SELL. SELL. SELL.

-Greg Berlin

Phils win 20-2, because of Kyle Kendrick

20-2. Yea yea, the Phillies scored 20 runs for the second time this season, the first time they’ve done that since 1900. But the bigger story is Kyle Kendrick. Everyone knows the Phillies are going to score runs – they’re 1 run behind the Cubs for the season (Cubs have 374 in 68 games, Phillies 373 in 69 games). They’re going to overtake Chicago in that category, it’s only a matter of time.

So get over the back to back to back homers from Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Pat Burrell. Get over the 9 run 4th inning and Ryan Howard‘s second homer. The real story of this game is Kyle Kendrick, who went 7 innings and allowed only 1 earned run, a Skip Schumaker homer.

The game marked Kendrick’s one year anniversary with the Phils since being called up from AA Reading on June 12 of last year. In that span Kendrick has gone 16-6 over 34 games. By winning pct, he has been great at .727. By ERA, not spectacular at 4.13. Nor by WHIP, a so-so 1.35. Nonetheless, Kendrick eats innings and has the best run support in the league since coming up a year ago. Kendrick averages almost 6 innings per start and the team averages a whopping 8.14 runs per 9 innings when he’s on the mound. Wow?

Kendrick is no Cole Hamels (who, by the way, has weak run support at 5.25 per 9 innings). But Hamels is is an ace. Kendrick is a back of the rotation starter, with a knack for for being in the right place at the right time. He struggled early this season, but the Phillies are 10-1 in his last 11 starts, and 11-3 in all of his starts this season.

For some, unexplained reason, the Phillies produce for the 23 year old. Perhaps the reason is that Kendrick isn’t Cole Hamels. And, maybe that explains Hamels’ poor run support too – because he is who he is.

Kyle Kendrick, a role player, does exactly what is asked of him. This Phillies offense will carry just about anyone who gives them a chance to win (except Cole Hamels), and that’s exactly what Kyle Kendrick does. The best part of it all? Kendrick is still young, a year younger than Hamels (24).

Last season Kyle Kendrick helped lead the Phillies to the playoffs, doing exactly what was asked of him. 14 starts into this season, Kendrick is doing exactly the same thing.

-Greg Berlin

Grandpa goes phishing

Jamie Moyer 9-0 against he the Marlins.

I don’t how to describe him anymore – old, wise, crafty. All cliches. Let’s just say: 8 innings, 2 hits, 3 strikeouts, 1 walk. And a no-hitter into the 6th. Moyer has 237 career wins. I don’t think he’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but I bet he makes it in eventually. He’s a great guy, and I think he deserves it. Never underestimate a player’s personality and how that affects voters.

The Phils offense just wasn’t getting the breaks against he Marlins. 22 men left on base last night! 12 on Wednesday and 14 on Tuesday. Considering the explosion they had the week before, I’ll let it slide. But I hate streaky teams. Consistency is key to success. Explosive or anemic won’t take you very far.

Scott Olsen pitched great for the Marlins. But his best play of the night was probably breaking up Moyer’s no-no with a liner off of Chase Utley‘s glove.

Brad Lidge pitched a much more Lidge-like save, only letting one man on base. Make that 18/18. What’s that Billy?

-Greg Berlin

Braves going down like…Braves

Not only the the Braves lose tonight 10-5 to the Cubs, but Tom Glavine is going back to the DL:

CHICAGO — Tom Glavine made his first career visit to the disabled list earlier this season. The Braves’ veteran southpaw is headed back to the DL with an injured left elbow.

Glavine was removed after three ineffective innings against the Cubs on Tuesday night. The Braves later announced that he has a strained left elbow.

During Tuesday’s start, Glavine allowed four earned runs and six hits. The 42-year-old hurler needed 30 pitches to escape a two-run second inning and another 25 pitches to end a two-run third inning.

This was Glavine’s first appearance at Wrigley Field mound since using it to gain his 300th career victory on Aug. 5 of last year.

That’s gotta stab the hearts of Braves fans. Smoltz last week, Glavine this week. Everyone knew Atlanta would be hit or miss this season. The roster has a lot of risk built into it. Unfortunately, it may not pay off for Cox and crew.

Phillies comeback and win again…err, not this time [BEAST-OFF]

I was dotting my I’s when Jimmy Rollins flied out on the first pitch to left and I was crossing my T’s when Shane Victorino grounded sharply to first for the final out. What looked like yet another comeback win was not to be. Marlins win this one 5-4 to open a three game set against the Phils.

Let’s start with the obvious. Brett Myers reverted to fecal matter tonight. After a series of somewhat respectable starts and then finally a great one last week, Myers let up 5 earned runs in only 5.1 innings pitched. 7 hits, 4 walks, 3 strike outs and 3 home runs.

I was beginning to think he was making progress but who knows? One thing is for sure, this team needs STARTING PITCHING. (ATTN: Pat Gillick and Ruben Amaro Jr., See: reality, attached). Okay, okay, let’s just blame the heat and move on…

Braves Beast (and least) of the Week

(Injured) Beast: Chipper Jones.  Chipper hit .478….yes…… .478 this week.  It’s almost mid-June and he’s hitting .420.  He had 6 RBIs but couldn’t stop the Braves from losing 3 in a row to the Phils.  Jones sat the last two games with a right quad strain.

Runners-Up: Mark Teixeira, John Anderson

Least: Kelly Johnson.  Well, Friday’s game was enough of a reason.  He dropped the game winning out in the 9th against the Phillies, leading to an eventual sweep.

Runners-Down: Jeff Francoeur, Brian McCann

-Greg Berlin

Phillies Beast (and least) of the Week

Beast: Chase Utley. He continues to be the Phillies’ MVP, and possibly the MVP of the National League. He hit .375 with 2 homers and a 1.292 OPS for the week. Oh, and he had 19 total bases.

Runners-up: The Phillies roster.

Least: Jimmy Rollins. This is a bullshit least, but someone has to get it. I’m giving it to Jimmy because he didn’t run out a fly ball and got benched. He also only hit .185 on the week.

Runners-down: None!

-Greg Berlin

ESPN power rankings

Completely worthless to interpret anything from.  But the Phils are #2, behind the Cubs.  The Marlins are 7, the Braves 10, the Mets18 and the Nats 26.

-Greg Berlin

Phils go phishing at cbp

The Phillies want first place.  They’re going to have to get it tonight against the Marlins.  Jamie Moyer tries to win the fifth straight for the Phils and continue his strong 45 year old season.  Mark Hendrickson tries to take his surprising season one more game against a blazing Phillies lineup.

It’s the bottom of the lineup truly carrying the Phils though.  Pedro Feliz, Geoff Jenkins, and even Carlos Ruiz (and of course Chris Coste) are contributing.  Time to take it into June.

-Greg Berlin

Speaking of Utley…

From the 700 level:

Everyone Loves Chase Utley

And for a good reason.

Utley leads all NL players with 537,788 votes, and it isn’t even close. Utley is more than 100,000 votes ahead of the next most popular player, Astros first baseman Lance Berkman (329,723). But Utley is the only Phillies player leading at his position, which tells me that he’s getting votes from all NL precincts, not just Philadelphia.

>>Early All Star Returns [Scott Lauber]

3 in a row?

-Greg Berlin

Chase Utley leads the league in home runs

17, as of five minutes ago. Chut is a BEAST.

Oh, and Geoff Jenkins just hit one, too. 6-1 Phils.

UPDATE: Just looked and Utley’s tied for first with Lance Berkmann at 46 RBIs. Damn!

-Greg Berlin

Rypod

I’m not sure if this fits into a category, but Deadspin has a must-read about Ryan Howard from the perspective of an unsuspecting rookie journalist.

-Greg Berlin

Kris Benson to start for Clearwater Sunday

From David Murphy:

…[Ruben] Amaro said [Kris] Benson‘s velocity was between 86 and 90 miles an hour, which is better than it has been. Previously, he’d been topping out at 88 miles an hour.

“It was encouraging for him and it was encouraging for us,” Amaro said.

After a couple of set-backs that appeared to put him severely behind the curve in his quest to make it back to the big leagues, it sounds like Kris Benson is progressing steadily again. The Phillies just sent word to reporters that the veteran right-hander will likely make his first minor league start on Sunday for Class A Clearwater. I didn’t talk to assistant general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. directly, but it sounds like this is a very, very encouraging step. Benson threw 75 pitches today in an extended spring training game, allowing 1 run on 3 hits and striking out 4 while walking 1.

Benson was originally expected to contend for a spot in the Phillies rotation in may. But after a bout with biceps tendinitis and a strained groin, he seemed stuck in a perpetual “day-to-day” state. There’s no word on when he might be ready to seriously contend for a major league start. A lot will depend on Sunday, I’m sure.

*Gulp*

He can’t be worse than Eaton. Can’t hurt to see what he can do.

UPDATE: Thanks to Jeff who points out that Benson will pitch for Clearwater in Sarasota.

-Greg Berlin

Burrell out tonight

He has neck stiffness. Who knows if that’s true. The Phils have scored 20 yesterday and Pat Burrell didn’t have a hit. Perhaps Charlie Manuel is just giving him a night off after some consistent struggles this month.

I doubt it. Burrell hit 3 homers last week. No one expects his average to be high, and he still walks. Most likely he’s legitimately hurt. Greg Dobbs started in his place.

Oh, and the Phillies are up 7-1 in the top of the 6th. That’s 42 runs over the last three days…

-Greg Berlin

Braves Beast (and least) of the Week

Beast: Chipper Jones, 3B. Last week the Beast went to Brian McCann with apologies to Chipper. This week, the Beast is Chipper, with apologies to McCann. Chipper hit .474, upping his average for the year to .416. McCann hit .529, by the way. But Chipper gets it for his historic start to the season as a whole. Let’s not forget Kelly Johnson who hit .429 on the week and raised his average for the season to .297.

Runners Up: Kelly Johson, Brian McCann, Mark Teixiera

Least: Jo-Jo Reyes, LHP. Reyes is having trouble finding any sort of consistency in the bigs. 8 runs, 7 earned in only 5 innings is not going to cut it. Reyes has gotten progressively worse in virtually every start. Perhaps a little bit of scouting and film has given hitters the edge over the young lefty.

Runners Down: Tom Glavine, Mark Kotsay

Phillies Beast (and least) of the Week

Beast: Pedro Feliz, 3B. Feliz was outstanding this week. He hit .379, going 11 for 29, with two doubles, a home run. Yes, he only had 4 RBIs, but he gets the Beast for having an outstanding May in general. For the month he is hitting .310 with 12 RBIs, a vast improvement over April’s .218. Geoff Jenkins and Shane Victorino also deserve props for excellent weeks. Jenkins hit .381 and Victorino .394, but Feliz plays every day and has had such a stellar May that he deserves the Beast this week.

Oh, did I mention Ryan Howard with 4 HRs and an average of .276 for the week?

Runners Up: Geoff Jenkins, Ryan Howard, Shane Victorino

Least: Brett Myers, RHP. I didn’t want to give it to Brett again, but no one else has really had the stand out crappiness that he manages to pull off start after start. I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to witness the last two outings, and while they’re not horrendous, they’re nothing close to good either. Brett needs to get away from the team for a couple week. Phantom DL or AAA or personal time – I don’t care. The Phils have lost the last 6 Myers outings and he has a 6.67 ERA in May. Something needs to Happen soon.

Runners Down: Charlie Manuel. I can’t stand these pinch runners every game. So yes, managers are up for beast and least, too.

(Feliz pic from Darrins on Flickr; Myers pic from inherbarefeet on flickr)

A quick ballpark review

Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer gives a quick snapshot of every stadium around the league in yesterday’s paper. For the most part I think he’s right on with these reviews.

Maybe we’re getting spoiled.

During the last two decades, 18 new major-league ballparks have opened. They are all terrific places to watch a game – clean, modern and comfortable.

The downside of the stadium boom is that so many have come along that we get a little less excited each time one opens.

That was the case when the Phillies visited baseball’s newest stadium, sparkling Nationals Park, last week.

The place is beautiful. You can see the Capitol from the upper deck. It’s convenient and accessible. The concessions are superb, though not cheap. Players like it and fans should, even if that upper deck is a little far from the field.

But when held up against some of the other baseball-only parks that sprouted since 1990, and even some older ones, Nationals Park lacks something. It doesn’t have that one signature feature, like the Green Monster in Boston or the Roberto Clemente Bridge in Pittsburgh. It doesn’t make you say Wow! like Camden Yards or AT&T Park did the first time you walked in those places.

This is not a slight of Nationals Park. It’s just that the competition is tough these days.

With that, we thought it would be a good time to rate the 30 big-league parks. These are just the opinions of one scribe who has been fortunate to see them all. The criteria are wide open, from atmosphere to fan experience. Here goes:

Premium seating

Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore. The park that kicked off the retro-stadium boom in 1992 is still a standard-setter. From the smell of Boog Powell’s barbecue wafting over the right-field wall, to the iconic warehouse, to the skyline beyond the outfield wall, it is very pleasing to the senses.

PNC Park, Pittsburgh. It has all the player/fan amenities you’d want, but the surrounding ambience makes it one of the best. Beyond center field, the Clemente Bridge spans the Allegheny like a giant yellow welcome mat. At night, one of America’s most underrated cityscapes glistens in the distance. A must-see.

AT&T Park, San Francisco. Most picturesque, with the bay just beyond the right-field wall and the Bay Bridge hanging in the distance to the left. The seats are close to the field. Whether you liked Barry Bonds or not, there was no more electric setting in baseball than when he was hitting home runs there. The environment, a complete turnaround from blustery, uninviting Candlestick Park, once led a scout to say, “You used to go to the ‘Stick, nobody was there, and all you smelled was marijuana. This place is packed and all you smell are garlic fries.”

The greatest giveaway in the history of professional sports

Bobble Feet

Yes, you’re right, it’s a Larry Craig bathroom stall giveaway from the St. Paul Saints. Marketing genius if you ask me. Click the link and watch the video for a good laugh.

The Smoking Gun has more pics.  The number is the Saints ticket office.

-Greg Berlin

*Ahhhhhhhhh* – Phils take out frustration on Astros

Yes, I did think the Phillies would win today. No, I didn’t think Cole Hamels‘ start would yield a 15-6 shellacking. But, after bombs from Geoff Jenkins, Pat Burrell, and Chase Utley, that is exactly what happened. Hamels was off his game today. I’d like to blame the umps delay in the middle of Carlos Lee‘s soon to be three-run jack at bat, but that would be a little too homerish. Hamels simply didn’t pitch well. He seemed constantly behind batters, had a high pitch count early, and his ball to strike ratio was poor compared to usual (85-49 PC-ST). 6 earned runs in 4 innings. Unexpected after a scoreless streak of 19 straight innings. I’m not worried, however. These games happen to the best of them.

Not strong on the mound, Hamels was 2 for 2 at the plate with a run scored and an RBI. Go figure. Well, actually, Hamels is hitting .345 on the season (damn!). Hamels RBI hit came in the 4th, making it 5-4 Astros. Michael Bourn added one in the bottom half of the inning, and the game remained extremely frustrating through the 5th.

Come the top of the 6th, the Phils ripped off the chains of frustration that have held them back the last 2 games. 5 runs in the 6th and then 6 in the 7th. Final score, 15-6. In short, did not see that coming.

A couple points of intrigue concerning Charlie Manuel: 1) WHY OH WHY is Carlos Ruiz bunting up 4 runs? Ruiz stuck out on a foul bunt. 2) WHY OH WHY is “Slow” Taguchi pinch running for Pat Burrell? Charlie has got to stop with this. It was the 7th innning and the Phils only had a 2 run lead at that point. I don’t get it. Taguchi ended up waltzing home. Certainly Burrell could’ve done the same. Oh, Cholly.

I’m back to DC tomorrow. Phils are off to Colorado to try to finally win a game against the Rockies, six 7 months late.

By the way, I am not going to miss the Astros. They are an extremely pesky team. Also, that stupid train is only cool until it’s tooting after a Carlos Lee home run.

-Greg Berlin

Booing your own team is part of the game*

*In northeast sports towns.

Francis Clines comes out against booing your own team in Sunday’s edition of the New York Times.

His piece focuses on the Mets. But it happens in Philly, too. And I don’t have a problem with it. Booing a visiting Scott Rolen half a decade after he was traded does not yield any internal dividends. But booing a lackluster team or a snotty player or a poor coaching decision all are legitimate reasons to groan publicly.

Players serving time on the Phillies come to know that boos serve as dissatisfaction with effort more than anything. And when the results are positive, Phillies fans will cheer as loud as any in the game. In New York, I imagine the case is not much different. The Mets are not playing to their potential. If they do, they would receive equally boisterous accolades.

Should fans sit back silently, or worse, cheer a floundering ball club? Of course not. Northeast sports fans are the best in the country, because they care. Those emotions should involve cheering, and booing, too.

-Greg Berlin