I would like to offer you my most sincere apologies for not being here with you during the past couple of days. As many of you may know, it is not the easiest thing in the world updating this blog everyday, but I still love doing this nonetheless because I love baseball!
Anyway, without further adieu, I bring you the report card for the National League Champions, the Philadelphia Phillies.
Philadelphia Phillies:
Record: 93-69 (National League East Champions, and National League Champions).
Batting Leaders:
Batting Average: Shane Victorino (.292)
Home Runs: Ryan Howard (45)
RBIs: Ryan Howard (141)
On-base Percentage: Chase Utley (.397)
Pitching Leaders:
Wins: Joe Blanton, J.A. Happ and Jamie Moyer (12)
ERA: J.A. Happ (2.93). Bullpen- Scott Eyre (1.50).
Strikeouts: Cole Hamels (168)
Innings Pitched: Joe Blanton (195.1)
WHIP: Cliff Lee (1.13)
Saves: Brad Lidge (31)
Highlight of the Season: Clobbering the Dodgers at home 10-4 on October 21, to advance to their second-consecutive World Series.
Lowlight of the Season: Losing to the Yankees 7-3 on November 4, to lose the World Series.
The Lowdown:
The Phils were back at it once again in 2009, bringing their high-powered offense and solid pitching with them en route to their second-consecutive National League Pennant. Their offense seemed even stronger this year with the addition of Raul Ibanez as a free agent, replacing left fielder Pat Burrell. Then, near the trading deadline, the Phils acquired left-hander Cliff Lee from the Cleveland Indians, in exchange for prospects. Once the Phils made this trade, they were seemingly invincible to the rest of the National League, as they won their division by a comfortable margin, and took the NL Pennant with ease, dispatching the Rockies in four games and the Dodgers in five during the postseason. Their only nemesis that stood between them and their second-consecutive World Title was the New York Yankees, another offensive juggernaut that won 103 games during the regular season. However, back-to-back championships were not in the works for the Fightin' Phils, as they fell to the Yankees in six games. Let's take a look at the 2009 National League Champions, beginning with their offense.
Offense:
You won't get too much of an argument from baseball fans if you say that the Phillies have the best offense in the National League, and probably all of baseball. Their lineup one through eight has enough muscle in it to make just about any pitcher tremble in their shoes. They have a blend of speed (Victorino, Jimmy Rollins, Utley, and Jayson Werth each had over 20 steals), power (Howard, Werth, Ibanez and Utley each had over 30 homers) and contact hitting (Victorino and Utley each hit over .280) within their lineup to make things incredibly difficult for the opposition. Despite the power totals, this team can still beat you in many different ways, as evidenced in their stolen base leaders.
The most difficult question of them all could possibly be this: Just who exactly was their best (or most important) hitter in 2009? Was it Ryan Howard, who put up another MVP-caliber season by hitting .275, with 45 home runs and 141 RBIs? Could it be Chase Utley, who- as a second baseman, no less- hit .282, with 31 homers and 93 RBIs, to go along with 23 steals and a team high .397 on-base percentage? Maybe it could be Jayson Werth, who put up a relatively quiet 36 home runs and 99 RBIs, along with 20 steals himself? Or could it be Raul Ibanez, who hit 34 home runs and drove in 93? I'll let you decide for yourself.
Possibly the only downfall of their lineup this year was the lack of production from Jimmy Rollins, who hit a dismal .250, to go along with an equally horrific .296 on-base percentage. However, center fielder Shane Victorino picked up the slack for him, as he hit .292 in the lead-off spot. Rollins' lack of production this year was only a minor bump in the road for the Phils though, as they had more than enough offense to make up for it.
Overall, Philadelphia finished fourth in runs scored (820), fifth in doubles (312), tied for second in home runs (224), and finished 14th in on-base percentage (.334). The only thing that they did not do well as a whole was hit for average, as they tied for 22nd in that category (.258). They can be forgiven for that minor transgression though, seeing as they have one of the most dynamic and exciting offenses in baseball.
Final Grade: A+
Pitching:
Before the arrival of Cliff Lee on July 29, it was fairly noticeable to many following baseball that the Phillies' pitching had slipped a bit from 2008. Staff ace Cole Hamels had a sub-par year by his standards, as he finished 10-11, with a 4.32 ERA. This was down considerably from his stellar 2008 campaign, when he went 14-10, with a 3.09 ERA. Along with this, Joe Blanton and Jamie Moyer were mediocre-to-below-average in the rotation themselves, as they finished with ERAs of 4.05 and 4.94, respectively. Their decent won-loss records (Blanton 12-8, Moyer 12-10) were only salvaged by the team's explosive offense. In any event, Moyer's season was bad enough for him to get demoted to the bullpen in favor of Pedro Martinez, who they signed after the All-Star Break.
It turned out to be the right move for the Phils, as Pedro proved to be a big shot in the arm for the team down the stretch. He started nine games during the season, and he proved to be pretty sharp in that time span, finishing with a 5-1 record, to go along with a 3.63 ERA. He wasn't the only shot in the arm for the Phils though, as they also received an outstanding performance from left-handed rookie J.A. Happ. The 27-year-old Northwestern alum was pretty sharp himself during the season, finishing 12-4, with a 2.93 ERA, along with a solid WHIP of 1.23. These numbers were obviously good enough to warrant Rookie of the Year consideration, and it came as a relative surprise to many when he did not win it, considering that he played on an outstanding team in a major market.
Lefty Cliff Lee came through big for the Phils in the second half, as he was the biggest difference-maker on this staff last year by far. In 12 starts with the team, he was fantastic, going 7-4, with a 3.39 ERA, along with an impressive WHIP of 1.13. He ended up carrying the staff during the second half, as he helped give the Phils a final surge to win their third straight NL East crown.
The bullpen was mediocre at best in 2009, as Scott Eyre and Ryan Madson were arguably the two best relievers on the team. Eyre would finish with an impressive 1.50 ERA in 42 appearances this season, while Madson was the jack-of-all-trades bullpen-wise, finishing with a 3.26 ERA in 79 appearances, while recording 10 saves and 26 holds. His save total came as a result of briefly replacing Brad Lidge as the closer, since Lidge fell considerably from his 2008 success. Lidge, despite recording 31 saves, also recorded a ghastly 11 blown saves, and a bloated ERA of 7.21. It is a testament to just how strong this team is as a whole that they managed to survive Lidge's woes throughout 2009, as the inability to close out games has crushed some teams in the past.
Overall, Philly finished eighth in ERA (4.16), 24 in runs allowed (709), 28th in walks (489), and tied for 18th in on-base percentage (.265). You would think that mediocre performances from some of the most important people on the staff would drag the team's numbers down, but this is truly a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts this year.
Final Grade: B+
Wild Card: Four 30-homer-men
Ryan Howard, Jayson Werth, Raul Ibanez and Chase Utley became the first quartet of players on the same team to go deep at least 30 times each since the White Sox turned the trick in 2006, when Jermaine Dye, Jim Thome, Paul Konerko and Joe Crede pulled it off. They also were the first National League team to accomplish this since 2004, when Moises Alou, Aramis Ramirez, Sammy Sosa and Derrek Lee pulled it off for the Cubs. They are only the 12th team in MLB history to reach this milestone, as Chase Utley was the last to join the 30 homer club, drilling his 30th in D.C. on September 8. An impressive feat from an impressive team.
Final Grade: A
Overall:
Failing to win the World Series last year will only motivate this team heading into this year. With the addition of Roy Halladay, this team is locked in and ready to go, as they will attempt to become the first National League team since the 1942-1944 Cardinals to win three consecutive pennants. The bigger question heading into 2010 won't be who will make the World Series out of the NL, rather, who will be good enough to unseat Philadelphia?
Final Grade: A+
Check back soon for the report card on the Boston Red Sox!
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