MVN - Most Valuable Network

Phils In First at “Halfway Point”

Despite the nine-game winning streak of the Mets and the recent strong play of the Marlins, the Phillies head into the All-Star Break as the front-runners in the National League East. They remain 1/2 game ahead of the Mets and 1 1/2 ahead of the Marlins. Let’s take a look at how some things played out during the season’s “first half,” and what the Phils will need to hold their lead going forward.

Who has been the Phils first half MVP?

Chase Utley is the obvious choice. The All-Star second baseman has struggled lately, hitting just .262/.344/.482 with 6 HR and 20 RBI since June 1. But the pace he set for himself early almost guaranteed that he would be in any N.L. MVP discussion at the break. He held the team together when Ryan Howard was at his low-point early on, and was the main reason the Phillies spent so much time in first place early on. Utley is on pace for 43 HR and 117 RBI, well above his career highs in both categories.

Who has been the Phils first half LVP?

The least valuable Phillie of the first half is Brett Myers, but it’s close so I’ll say he ties with Carlos Ruiz. Nearly 75 million inches of ink were spent prior to the season on how the Phillies got the best starter available in the offseason by turning Myers back into one. Very few people thought he would struggle at all, and nobody thought he would be in the MINOR LEAGUES at this point. From his Opening Day start until his demotion (which was mutual), Myers struggled with velocity and accuracy. His average fastball this season has been 89.8 mph, well below last season’s 92.1 mph average, and his career 91.2 mph average. He struggled to locate his fastball too, often leaving it too close to the middle of the plate. Major league hitters don’t miss upper-80’s fastballs right down the middle, which led to Myers giving up 24 home runs, which actually STILL leads the majors.

Myers went down to Double-A Reading to work on his mechanics and “get his cockiness back.” He hasn’t been spectacular in the minors, but seems to feel a lot better, and will be ready for either his first or second turn in the rotation coming out of the break. If the Phillies fail to pick up a starter (A.J. Burnett or Erik Bedard are still the two most mentioned), the team will need Myers to fulfill their expectations of being a front-end starter.

On to Carlos Ruiz. Wow, has this guy had a disappointing sophomore season. Ruiz sports a line of .202/.303/.269, with 2 HR and 20 RBI. His worst stat, however, is the 11 double plays he has grounded into in 80 less plate appearances than everyone else close to him in that category. He has seen a defensive drop off as well, as he has allowed 45 steals, third-worst in the N.L. Ruiz basically played himself out of the starting role, but with Chris Coste’s recent struggles, it has turned back into more of a platoon. Catcher is by far the weakest position in the Phillies lineup, so hopefully minor league prospect Lou Marson develops fast.

Oh, and trust me, I could have easily made a case for Adam Eaton to be the LVP, too.

Who has been the most pleasant surprise over the first half?

It is surprising to anyone who doesn’t cover the Phillies that Jayson Werth has been this good. Simply put, Werth does everything right. He has power (12 homers), he has speed and is aggressive on the basepaths (11-12 on steals), and he plays great defense in all three outfield positions. His best trait, however, is his great plate discipline. Werth sees 4.54 pitches per plate appearances, which would be tops in the majors if he qualified (which he will soon considering he’s basically a full-time player now.) Werth is on pace to set career-highs in nearly every offensive category, and is a key piece to this Phillies lineup. He should be untouchable in any trade discussion, and re-signing him this offseason should be a priority.

What do the Phillies need to improve going forward?

• The easy answer to this is: another starting pitcher. The perfect answer to this is: two more starting pitchers. I don’t know how likely either simple solution is, because there have been mixed signals with Burnett and Bedard, and the Phillies don’t seem too intent to go after anyone else. It appeared Bedard was the clear-cut favorite, as the Phillies and Mariners had scouts going to each other’s games (the M’s tried to watch Carlos Carrasco, who was scratched from the start in the game they went to) and Bedard even went on 950 AM, ESPN’s Philadelphia radio affiliate. But Bedard has since landed himself on the D.L., making him less appealing. The story with Burnett is anyone’s guess, as it has been reported several times that the Phillies are in heated talks with the Blue Jays, and in others that the talks were short and went nowhere. Either one would improve the Phillies immensely, simply by getting Adam Eaton out of the starting rotation.
• If the Phillies don’t acquire a starting pitcher, they should at least try to acquire a speedy outfielder. So Taguchi has not been the defensive replacement, pinch runner, or pinch hitter the Phillies envisioned when they signed him, and with Pat Burrell being taken out so often late in games, this is an important role. Michael Bourn filled it admirably last year, so look for the Phillies to go after someone like him. Ryan Freel was a name that came up in Phillies rumor mills earlier this season and would have been a perfect candidate with his speed and ability to play almost every position, but he too is on the D.L. If a move for a speedy guy isn’t made by the deadline, expect it to be made once rosters expand. Pat Gillick has shown in recent years that he has the ability to get deals done through the waiver wire to acquire role-playing veterans for September.
• The key ingredient to the Phillies offense is Jimmy Rollins. Yes, Utley is the team MVP and Ryan Howard is a game-changer, too, but the offense starts at the top with Jimmy. When the Phillies went through that ridiculous offensive funk, Jimmy and Shane Victorino were struggling to set the table for the middle of the lineup. Jimmy is hitting .211 when leading off an inning and .245 with the bases empty, showing that he is struggling to create for the rest of the team. He hit .317 leading off an inning last season and .286 with the bases empty, which led to much of his and the team’s success.

If Jimmy Rollins can get back on track, Utley finds middle ground between his first two months and last two, and the Phillies can get another starter (or even have Myers reach his potential), I don’t see how the Mets or Marlins could keep up with them. I still contend that the Phillies are the best team in the N.L. East because they are younger and more complete than the Mets, and simply more talented than the Marlins. The poor Braves look to be out of it because of injuries, which much frustrate the life out of Braves fans because this could have been a very good year for them.

The Phils need to find a way to start winning some series against the Mets, too. They’ve lost all three series they have played against them.

Everything went right for the Phillies during the second half of last season. This year, they don’t need as much to go right because they are in a better position. Here’s to hoping one or more of the suggestions in this wish list come true.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 14th, 2008 at 2:17 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.