On the Pharm: April 12th Edition

Triple-A Lehigh Valley:

The Iron Pigs suffered their third loss of the season because of poor outings from both Andrew Carpenter and Dave Borkowski. Both pitchers allowed 5 earned each in 7 combined innings. Lehigh went on to lose 12-5 against Scranton. Rich Thompson hit a 3-run home run for the Iron Pigs. Jason Donald went 1-5 and his April average sits at .286. John Mayberry, Jr. is having an awful start and after his 0-4 production, his average dropped to .086. Lehigh Valley will try to get their first win of the season today against Scranton-Wilkes Barre. They'll face Yankees' prospect Phillip Hughes.

Double-A Reading:

Twenty-one year old starter Vance Worley threw 5 2/3 innings allowing 5 hits and 2 earned as the Phillies won 3-2 over Harrisburg. He struck out six and walked only two. The Phillies top outfield prospect, Michael Taylor, went 2-3 with a double and RBI-single. Reading improved to 2-1 on the season. They're off today.

Single-A Advanced Clearwater:

The Threshers suffered their first loss of the season after Julian Sampson allowed 7 earned on 8 hits in only 3 1/3 innings. The Phils other top outfield prospect, Dominic Brown went 1-3 and scored twice. Clearwater still pounded out 6 runs on 11 hits, but it was not enough to overcome Dunedin and they lost 10-6. Matthew Rizzoti went 1-4 and his average "sunk" to .538. Clearwater is 2-1 and sits atop tied for the division lead. They are off today.

Single-A Lakewood:

The Blue Claws got their first win of the season after D'Arby Myers hit an RBI single in the bottom of the 11th inning to win 3-2 over Delmarva. Myers went 3-6 on the day with three singles. Lakewood pitcher Robert Roth threw 5 innings and allowed only 3 hits and 1 earned. He struck out 4, but also walked 4 batters. Lakewood closer Brian Rosenberg blew the save in the ninth, but thankfully the Blue Claws rebounded for the win. They improved to 1-2 on the year and will face off against Delmarva again.

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Game 5 of 162: The Offense is Alive?

Finally, the Phillies offense has awakened. Some people may dub them a sleeping giant because when they're about to explode, they explode in big numbers. Last night, 8 Phillies crossed the plate, including three when Ryan Howard hit a 2-out base clearing double. Jayson Werth added a 2-out RBIs of his own when he hit a two-run triple break a 3-3 tie. The Phillies knocked in 7 of their 8 runs with 2 outs. Raul Ibanez hit his 2nd home run of the year to lead the Phils in that category.

Base runners were of plenty of the Phils as they had 15 hits, but did leave 12 men on base. Pedro Feliz continued his hot start with the Phillies and went 3-5 with an RBI. The Phillies 15 hits nearly equaled the 21 they had total against the Braves.

Brett Myers allowed 4 runs on 3 home runs again, but he managed the damage to only 2 solo home runs and pitched at least 6 innings for his second straight start. He threw 7 innings on 102 pitches striking out 6. Sure, he has giving up 6 home runs this season, but he does have a nice 12/2 K/BB ratio. Once his velocity gets back up, Brett's home runs allowed should lower.

Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge threw hitless 8th and 9th innings to secure the win. Today, the Phillies will have their first opportunity a series in this young season.

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Game 4 of 162: Cole Train Derailed

Oof, that was definitely not the start this team wanted, or needed from Cole Hamels. According to Phillies beat writer Todd Zolecki, it was Cole's worst statistical start of his Phillies career.

Offensively, the Phils did not fair much better, but there were a few bright spots. Phillies star of the game was Jayson Werth who went 4-4 and scored all 3 Phillies runs, including a solo home run in the ninth. Chase Utley also went 2-3 for the Phils.

The offense continues to struggle this season. Call it what you will, but they're killing worms more than they're killing baseballs. Ryan Howard produced 7 outs in 5 at-bats. Yes, that does mean that Ryan Howard grounded into not one, not two, but three double-plays. It was a rough day all-around for the Phillies and despite a walk-happy 7th by the Braves, it has been a rough start to the season for the Phillies. The bats will come around, they always do, but let's hope it happens sooner than later.

Back to pitching, Cole Hamels main problem was the fact that he left the ball up in the zone. Hitters, especially in Coors Field are going to hit those balls very far. Yes, he only allowed one home-run, but he was yielding gappers left and right. J.A. Happ pitched well in his second-sting of long relief, but it was Chad Durbin who fell apart in the 7th. He gave up 3 earned on a walk and 2 hits.

Fans should have had lowered expectations for Cole Hamels. He's still not at 100% for the season and I'd even expect his next start to be a little iffy. Let's hope he was not rushed.

Injury News: Carlos Ruiz left the game in the 7th inning because a strained right oblique. He is listed as day-to-day. Lehigh Valley catcher, Lou Marson, was scratched from his start last night and is in Denver in case Ruiz is moved to the DL.

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Game 4 of 162: Preview

Game: Philadelphia Phillies (1-2) @ Colorado Rockies (2-1)
Pitchers: Cole Hamels (0-0) vs. Jason Marquis (0-0)
Time: 4:05PM, CNP
Weather: 49F, 11 mph winds blowing out to left

Cole Hamels will make his 2009 debut and hopefully he can help the Phils move back to .500 and build their first winning streak of the season. Everyone involved with the Phillies feel that Cole Hamels' elbow is at 100%, but there should still be a cause for concern. He pitched a lot of innings last year and the effect remains to be seen.

In 2008, King Cole set career highs in starts (33), innings pitched (227 1/3), and strikeouts (196). Every year, Hamels comes in what the idea that he can win the Cy Young. He has the stuff, but let's just hope he has the stamina and fatigue to continue over the long haul.

Last year, his win total would have been higher if he had receiver more run support. Currently, the Phillies bats are not exactly alive, but they'll be looking to get them moving in hitter-friendly Coors field against hitter-friendly pitcher Jason Marquis. Many of the Phillies have good career numbers against Marquis in a limited amount of at-bats.

So far, so good? The Phillies have walked 15 times and struck out only 15 times. A 1:1 ratio is pretty damn good, especially for the Phillies. The bats will come alive, they're normally dead to start the season. I'd expect a nice explosion today!

Dear Cole, please don't allow any home runs. At least not in the first inning! Hopefully the Fightins jump out to the early lead today.

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Game 3 of 162: The Champion Comeback!

Wow, what a game! Always, always stay until the end. It was third time since July that I've seen the Phillies comeback or nearly comeback from a defecit of 7 runs or more. The Mets, the Mets, and now the Braves. What an exciting way to close out the Ring Ceremony day.

The Good News:

The Phillies were patient with their bats from the seventh inning on and they scored 8 runs in their 7th heaven on only 4 hits, but a whopping 5 walks (and the pitches were not even close.) Their offense, which had yet to awake in 2009, finally "exploded" to comeback from a 10-3 defecit and later earn a 12-11 victory. It was the first win of 2009 for the Phillies who will travel to Colorado and Cole Hamels will make his first start tomorrow.

Raul Ibanez hit is first home run of 2009 for the Phillies and the first of his career in their uniform.

The Bad News:

The starting pitching is now where the team would like it to be, whether they're defending a title or had a fifth place finish last year. Our pitching staff has yielded hit after hit and home run after home run in the first series that it makes you wonder a little bit...just a little. It is still early and even great pitcher like Carlos Zambrano and C.C. Sabathia were shelled at the beginning of last year (and this year for C.C.). Their main problem is that they've been leaving the ball up in the zone. It's not that their stuff is bad, but it's just a few adjustments that need to be made and can be made. Don't expect to Phillies to give up 3 home runs every game.

Despite the amazing comeback, the top of the lineup still needs to find their stroke. Currently, the best hitting Phils are Utley, Howard, and Ruiz.

Click after the jump to see Brad Lidge close out the Phillies first win of the season. Also, check out the Flickr group for plenty of pictures from the game.

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Heading down to the Stadium

I will post on last night's game and today's game after I return from the stadium. Hopefully, I get their first win of 2009 in person.

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Lineup Changed

Charlie Manuel has made the "suggested" move. Tonight's lineup will look as follows:

1. Rollins
2. Victorino
3. Utley
4. Howard
5. Werth
6. Ibanez
7. Feliz
8. Ruiz
9. Moyer

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Are you good with Photoshop?

Anyone out there good with Photoshop? If you haven't noticed, we need a new logo for the site. The logo should be Phillies based and include the title of the site, We Hate to Lose. The logo can be about 325W x 125-150H. If you can help, please email your work to killadelphia.pa@gmail.com. Thank you.

Thanks.

Justin

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Game 2 of 162: Preview

Game: Atlanta Braves (1-0) @ Philadelphia Phillies (0-1)
Pitchers: Jair Jurrjens (0-0) vs. Jamie Moyer (0-0)
Time: 7:05 PM, MyPhl 17
Weather: 47F, Few Showers, 19mph winds blowing to right field

The old man makes his first start of the season against one of few teams who actually hit him pretty well last season.

Jamie Moyer went 0-0 with a 6.55 ERA in two starts against the Braves in 2008 and posts a career record of 3-8 with a 5.56 ERA in 14 appearances. To silence the quick to panic crowd in Philadelphia, Moyer will have to have his best stuff to help the Phillies earn a victory.

The Phillies will be facing Atlanta pitcher, Jair Jurrjens who allowed only 2 runs in the 15 2/3 innings he pitched in Citzens' Bank Park last season. In 4 starts against the Phillies, Jurrjens was 1-2 with a 3.33 ERA. Jurrjens is another up-and-coming prospect in the Braves organization and he allowed only .53 home runs per nine innings in 2008.

The Fightins' season didn't exactly start with a celebration similar to the pre-game festivities on opening day. They'll look to even their record tonight against a team they were 14-4 against last year, but only 5-4 at home. The Phils we need to see some better at-bats throughout the line-up and it'll be interesting to see if Manuel shakes the lineup around a little, but that is unlikely. It'll take a few games before Charlie does anything drastic.

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Game 1 of 162: Just Relax

The World Championship defense has finally begun, and Brett Myers looked very similar to the Brett Myers we saw early in 2008. There were positives to take from his start that fair much better than last year.

Myers made three huge mistakes on pitches for home runs, but he did rebound after a rough first 2 innings and managed to pitch 4 scoreless inning the rest of the way. This offense should be able to score 4 runs every game (well except for when Derek Lowe and other sinkerballers pitch).

If Myers had only giving up two runs last night, the offense still did not do enough for a win. Since the Phillies lost their main right-handed power-bat, they really need to rethink their batting order. Sure, Ibanez hit lefties well last year, but over the last three seasons, Ibanez has posted .269/.324/.410/.734 against lefties. Not exactly a replacement for Pat Burrell. Overall, the Phillies will likely face more right-handed pitching throughout the year, so it will not come out to much, but I really don't want be fed more bull shit about how Ibanez can hit lefties. His OPS drops from .893 (last 3 seasons) to .734. That's a huge drop-off. It may even been considered near the standard, but they needed to add someone that could pound left-handed pitching, besides Jayson Werth.

So what do they do? Raul Ibanez is a Phillie and he's a very good hitter, but the Phillies may need to tweak their traditional batting order to help this line-up in the late innings. Sure, last night could just be an anomaly, but I think we'll see the lefty, lefty, lefty 3-4-5 hurt us more times than not when they're facing lefty closers and lefty specialists. This batting order doesn't force the opposing manager to have to juggle his bullpen as much in late innings.

I'd like to ask two questions: Is it time to move Rollins out of the lead-off spot? Can Jayson Werth be that all-important protector of Ryan Howard out of the five-hole?

It'd be interesting to see Jimmy Rollins batting somewhere different than the lead-off spot. Both Victorino and Rollins offer similar on-base percentages to that spot in the order, so you'd think they'd be interchangeable--or would they? In a very small sample size of only 132 plate-appearances, Shane Victorino did not fair that well in the lead-off spot. It could have been just been part of a slump opposite to the effect of when he bats 6th and posts an OPS+ of 157. It's early enough in the season where Charlie could tinker with the line-up. If Victorino moves to the lead-off spot, I think a line-up as follows could be expected:
Victorino/Werth/Utley/Howard/Rollins/Ibanez/Feliz/Ruiz or Victorino/Utley/Rollins/Howard/Werth/Ibanez/Feliz/Ruiz.

The more likely solution would be for Charlie just to move Victorino up to second and then hit Werth in the 5 spot in front of Ibanez. This move would also put some speed on the base paths directly in front of Ibanez, which would allow him to knock in more runs from the 6th spot. Phillies fans need to be aware that it is very unlikely that you're going to see 3 players knock in 110+ RBIs. Utley will steal some of Howard's RBI's and Howard will steal many of Werth or Ibanez's RBIs. Moving Ibanez down to 6th offers more speed and balance in the line-up.

In the end of it all though, it was 1 game. April 5th means as much as May 21 and September 10th. There are 161 more games and the offense will fair better more times than not.

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