Phils Showing Some Phight

Despite all the gloomy proclamations I have made about the Phillies in previous posts, their recent sweep of the Colorado Rockies should give Phillies fans some hope. In yesterday’s game, JA Happ made his first appearance since he went on the DL early this season. Though he didn’t overpower the Rockies in this start, and struggled with his control (4 Ks/4 Walks) he looked like he could return to strong, or at least serviceable, form. This is especially relieving due to the fact that they are in need of quality pitching (in 3 losses vs St. Louis they allowed 22 runs, and in their 3 losses to Chicago before that, they allowed 20), and there were definitely red flags in his rehab assignment (ERAs in Minors: A- 6.00, AA-8.03, AAA-4.84.) Another positive that came out of the Colorado series was the livening of the bats, as they scored 25 runs in the four game series. After their lack of effect in the St. Louis series (8 runs over 4 games,) this was a welcome change for the Phillies.

With the two upcoming series being against the Diamondbacks at home and Nationals in DC, the Phillies should be able to extend this hot streak. The probable pitchers for the Diamondbacks series go as follows: Tuesday- PHI- Cole Hamels (7-7, 3.40 ERA) vs ARI- Rodrigo Lopez (5-9, 4.58 ERA), Wednesday- PHI- Roy Halladay (11-8, 2.28 ERA) vs ARI-Edwin Jackson (6-9, 5.01 ERA) Thursday- PHI- Kyle Kendrick (6-4, 4.60 ERA) vs ARI- Joe Saunders (6-10, 4.62 ERA.) Logic says that the Phillies should be able to overpower the Diamondbacks in this series, seeing as the Diamondbacks aren’t trotting any starters out that look like they should be able to slow down the Phillies’ lineup. They should be able to at least take 2 out of 3 from the Diamondbacks. The favorable matchups versus the Diamondbacks in addition to the fact that the Phillies are 4-2 against the Nationals this season, they should be able to gain some ground, or at least keep pace with the Braves over this stretch (the Braves are about to begin a road trip that brings them to DC to play the Nationals, and Cincinnati to play the Reds.)

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I believe that the Phillies should be able to gain some ground on the division-leading Braves over these next two series. This doesn’t, however, sway my belief that the Phillies should trade for a starter. The magic number is usually 3 when it comes to solid starters in the playoffs in baseball. Do the Phillies have 3 solid starters right now? No. Roy Halladay is as good an ace as a Major League Baseball team could ask for, and Cole Hamels has been solid this season, despite the fact that his record might not show that. Beyond that the rotation is still shaky, despite recent quality outings from Kyle Kendrick and Joe Blanton; these aren’t things that can necessarily be relied upon. It would be great if JA Happ could return to strong form, but again, this can’t really be counted upon, but will be welcomed if it happens. There is still a market for Jayson Werth despite his recent struggles, and the Phillies should take advantage of his tradability to help solidify the pitching staff. Obviously, if the lineup can produce while he struggles, they should be able to produce if Domonic Brown’s play is at or above the level of a struggling Jayson Werth (this doesn’t seem unreasonable to expect.) Thus, moving him in order to acquire a pitcher seems like a logical move.

Overall, I think the Phillies have shown me that this is a team that can find a way to win even with a rotation that looks shaky, but could get hot at the right time (remember, their top 3 during the 2008 World Series run was Cole Hamels, Brett Myers, and Jamie Moyer.) Thus, my belief that they won’t make the playoffs if they don’t trade for a starter, which I asserted in the previous articles, might not necessarily be true, but the odds still wouldn’t be in their favor. However, I think the Phillies have definitely shown the signs of life that the Philadelphia fans had been looking for over the two less-than-stellar series against the Cubs and Cardinals. If they can continue to produce at the level they have, the Phillies are a team that has shown they can find ways to win, and could be able to put together a strong run down the stretch.

By: Steve Sabato
MLBCenter.com Philadelphia Phillies Correspondent

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