Phillies dispose of Mets 2-0, complete easy sweep

Joe Blanton capped a brilliant weekend by the Phillies' pitching staff, icing the Mets through 7 1-3 innings, as the Phils' dominated their division rivals in rousing fashion, combining pitching and defense to silence the Mets.

Talk about your all-time reversals. After getting clobbered in Atlanta, the Phillies dragged themselves back home, dusted themselves off and set the pace this entire series. The Phillies, uncharacteristically, took early leads in each of these games and held, building a wall the Mets couldn't penetrate. Blanton, in command of all his pitches this afternoon, got the biggest out by getting David Wright to turn over a key double play to escape a bases-loaded jam in the sixth. Then, Chan Ho Park, who's making himself right at home in the late frames, induced a key double-play of his own.

The other top story included a great weekend from a pair of Phillies who really needed it. Jimmy Rollins, who had a great series, got the ball rolling with a lead-off home run in the first off Johan Santana, en route to a 2-for-3 afternoon. Then in the ninth, Brad Lidge recorded his second 1-2-3 save in as many tries, looking as good as ever.

Steady as she goes for All-Star Chase Utley, who belted his 18th homer of the season. Not to be outdone, Ryan Howard, who will head back home to St. Louis as an All-Star reservist, Pedro Feliz and a host of others pitched in with some mighty fine glovework, making the Mets, by comparison, look like bozos.

Comments

[vegas]

The sweet feeling. This years team plays alot like last years team. Just when you're ready to write them off they step up play to thier best level. The sky was never falling in thier minds.

[MG]

Brooms supposedly help to keep away trolls too.

[MG]

Congrats to Howard who got to the ASG because of impressive HR (6th in the NL) and RBI (3rd in the NL) numbers.

No arguments though the Pujols should start or that A. Gonzalez or Fielder haven't had better stats either than Howard this season.

[MSH]

How sweep it is!! Congrats Uts,Raul,and Ryan on the all-star team!! Now let's VOTE SHANE VICTORINO for the final spot!!!

[EastFallowfield]

Poor Mets only have the most AS players in the league.

Of course, one on the DL and one didn't get to pitch this series as they were waiting for the Mets to get a lead.

[ASod75]

Nice series by your boys. Mets are done and I wish Omar was too. The Phillies dominated in every way possible this series. The Mets didn't lead once, not a single time. Johan was decent but Fats Blanton was better. Phils played great defense, while the Mets supposed star third baseman was called off by a fan yesterday. Brutal in every sense of the word if you're a fan of the Mets, like this unfortunate soul is. A begrudging congratulations to you guys.....

[4daysrest.com]

That's good to see - a complimentary Mets fan who knows when his team was outplayed. Thank you kind sir.

This is the type of baseball that we have come to expect from our boys, so it's good to see them performing well as they head into this last little stretch before the All-Star Break. I've said this elsewhere, but if this is the Lidge and Rollins that we're going to see for the rest of the season, you have to instantly favor the Phillies to win the World Series again.

[EastFallowfield]

Wright wasn't called off by a fan, that was just the Fox crew making stuff up.

Supposedly he heard Cora tell him he had room and he misheard it.

[ASod75]

Regardless, it was embarassing. And then Santos flubbed one in the same inning. Awful defensive ballclub. And even if the Mets had all their players, they often play lackadaisical fundamental-free baseball, so I'm not sure you can even use injuries as an excuse.

[fljerry]

I see Oswalt is pitching a great game - now heres a pitcher I wouldn't mind getting

[CRD]

Santana was great today, but we got the best of him thanks to Chase and Jimmy. Great to see the pitching staff have a good weekend, even if it is against the AAAA Mets.

Interesting stat: not including today, Johan has just 15 K's in his last 30.1 innings with a 6.53 ERA and 1.62 WHIP in that span. Jonathon Broxton has a ridiculous 22 K's in his last 11.2 innings. Turns out our ace is not the only one struggling of late, but I am sure most of you knew that.

[Phlipper]

Interesting thought.

With Raul in left, do the Phils have both the best infield AND the best outfield in the league?

[EastFallowfield]

Who are the AAAA guys on the Mets exactly?

Cora was 3-10.

Evans 2-12 with 2 runs scored and an RBI.

Santos was 1-1.

Reed was 1-3.

Castillo, Wright, Sheffield, Murphy, Tatis, Church, Schneider all play regularly or fairly regularly for the Mets even when everyone is healthy...

[Kool Earl]

I'm so dunk im rddy to pass out. Nice swerp of tghe Mutts. Allk Mutts fans cam get on there hind legs and beg. Or tyck yor tales down and moset baxk to log islmd

[BARRY SNYDER]

Yeah with the Mets big bats out of their line-up. They did do so well... I like when the Phanatic poored popcorn on Matthews and later on McCarthy. Much later the Phanatic shot silly string on Wheels!!!

[CRD]

EastFallowfield: you named them. Cora, Evans, Santos, Reed. They are not the guys the New York Mets and their 2nd in the majors payroll want to have to send to the field everyday.

[CRD]

And the AAAA comment is somewhat of an exaggeration. That stated, their current line up sucks a lot.

[EastFallowfield]

CRD: Right, those guys I gave stats for did OK. It was all the regular Mets who did little or nothing the whole series.

Last I checked, for example, David Wright was a perennial All Star. Those injuries made him go 0 for the series?

Not our fault they thought Murphy was the next Don Mattingly. Or that Castillo was worth a 4 year contract. Church and Schneider joined those 3 in the opening day lineup.

[MG]

Is it me or has there been a noticeable failoff on Vic's defense this season?

[G-Town Dave]

EF: I'm glad you pointed that out. Almost everybody in the sports media can't stop talking about how the mets have been hurt by playing "so many guys who aren't ready for the Majors", but it seemed to me like the only guys producing anything for NY in this series were said replacements. And today, for example, the guys GIDP in key situations were Wright & Tatis, not Cora or Evans. That's not to say the Mets haven't been hurt by their personnel losses, as they most certainly have. I simply believe the degree to which they've been hurt by them is vastly overrated. NY could play markedly better baseball than they have been playing of late, they just aren't.

[G-Town Dave]

Manny Update!!!

ManRam DNP play today so he can "rest his legs" ... which is completely understandable, as playing 6 full innings in each of 2 consecutive games after having 50 days off was sure to be physically taxing.

:-S

It's almost shame ESPN or Fox weren't covering today's Dodgers/Padres game nationally, as it would have been hilarious to hear the Manny apologists defend this latest pussy move by MLB's current most embarrassing excuse for a "professional".

[CRD]

EF: Agreed on the Murphy comment. My Met fan friends would not shut up about him at times.

Wright certainly has his problems, but give him some credit. He is just about the only good position player that has stayed healthy for them and know he has Ryan Church and Tatis hitting behind him.

[MG]

Why on 610 on guys calling about wanting to release Coste? People really want to see Bako start 20-25 games the rest of the way and hit about .200? Bako is done being able to contribute at the MLB level and still don't understand why he is on this roster.

I did think it was funny though when they asked Bako before the game today about Ruiz's offensive slump. Said that starting catcher's who concentrate so much on defense get tired come July and that is why they slump?

Didn't Ruiz miss a good chunk of time earlier this season, slumped this badly the previous 2 seasons, or not been hitting now for the past 5 weeks?

Reality is that Ruiz definitely has some value to this team but that he is just below average offensively at catcher and go through an extended period every year where he is useless offensively.

[G-Town Dave]

MG: So it would seem.

S. Victorino (CF)

2008 6.5 UZR 7.8 UZR/150 +14 Plus/Minus

2009 -7.8 UZR -14 UZR/150 -15 Plus/Minus

[bay_area_phan]

Well, saying that Tatis, Church, Murphy & Sheff play regularly is not entirely accurate. They do play fairly regularly, but in a platoon. Without their centerfielder & first baseman, the Mets have been forced to play all these guys in situations where they would rather not play them.

There's no doubt that the Mets' injuries have severely weakened the team. Still, I could easily list at least 4 or 5 compelling reasons why the Mets are not worthy of our sympathy. But there's really only one reason that stands out above all the others, and that's simply that they're the Mets.

[mikes77phillies]

"Why on 610 on guys calling about wanting to release Coste?"

Because he has no role on the team. He is no better than Ruiz or Bako offensively THIS year.

[justphantastic]

bay_area_phan - " But there's really only one reason that stands out above all the others, and that's simply that they're the Mets."

That reason alone works for me.

see ya

[clout]

Flipper: Raul is renowned for his defensive prowess. He was Gold Glove in the AL several years running.

LOL

[MG]

Dave - UZR has its flaws like the rest. It just doesn't seems that Vic is covering stuff in the gaps quite as well as he did last year even though he is playing a little deeper in CF this year.

One thing is that it seems like teams have learned to respect Vic's arm more and don't try to challenge him as much as they did 2 years ago.

[bathtubhippo]

you'd really rather have bako than coste?? really?

[clout]

mikes77: Coste "is no better than Ruiz or Bako offensively THIS year."

2009 OPS
Coste .731
Ruiz .714
Bako .598

mikes77: Almost always wrong, but rarely in doubt.

[MG]

mike77 - You really think Bako or the Ruiz of the last 5 weeks is a better offensive option than Coste?

Since June 1st, Ruiz is hitting a .160 AVG with a .452 OPS in 24 games.

Coste isn' a great option but I would certainly rather see him PH than the useless Bruntlett or Bako. Frankly, I don't understand what Cholly sees in Bako that thinks he can hit MLB pitching anymore. Completely overmatched and the Phils already have 2 guys on the bench who struggle against MLB pitching (Mayberry and Bruntlett).

[mikes77phillies]

"Frankly, I don't understand what Cholly sees in Bako that thinks he can hit MLB pitching anymore"

I don't think Cholly believes Bako can hit either. I don't think Cholly believes offense is important at the catcher position. Since Coste is not hitting, he really is useless. Bako has been considered a good defensive backup catcher, Coste has'nt .

[G-Town Dave]

MG: I totally agree w/ you RE: UZR. The most difficult baseball skill to measure statistically is fielding, & no current system is perfect. However, I also noticed that Vic seemed less effective in CF this season &, regardless of their degree of accuracy, the usual fielding ratings seem to find some basis for supporting that thought. For what it's worth, both UZR & Plus/Minus also indicate a notable jump in Ryan Howard's fielding efficacy.

Anyway, I think you're right about the opposition respecting Vic's arm more. It doesn't seem that as many batters are trying to stretch their CF singles into doubles, etc., as in years past, & that is probably hurting Shane statistically.

[mikes77phillies]

clout said, "mikes77: Almost always wrong, but rarely in doubt."

Since the All-star selections just came out clout, i'd like to repost an exchange we had before the season.

On Pat Burrell: "when his inevitable slump hits, Ben Zobrist will get some of his ABs against RH pitchers.
Posted by: mikes77phillies | Tuesday, March 10, 2009 at 10:27 PM

mikes77: The (Rays) will replace Burrell (career OPS+ 119) with Zobrist (career OPS+ 69)?
Interesting.

Posted by: clout | Tuesday, March 10, 2009 at 10:35 PM

Ben Zobrist: All-star
Pat the Bat: ehh

[MG]

Heard tonight that was first time in 9 starts that the Phils had beaten Santana. Santana really has owned the Phils the last 1 1/2 though:

9 GS, 4-1, 2.90 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, .192 BAA

[NEPP]

2009 OPS
Coste .731
Ruiz .714
Bako .598

Jaramillo .741

Just thought I'd mention it.

[The Truth Injection]

mikes: Zobrist is playing second for the injured Iwamura, not for Burrell. But don't let that fact get in the way of your childish urge to score a "win."

Vic is not really any worse defensively this year than last. there are plenty of legitimate things wrong with this team instead of trying to manufacture them.

Also, who cares what the clowns that call into 610 WIP think. They don't deserve to be given a second thought.

[MG]

Truth - Vic is being highlighted as All-Star and his defense is being touted as a major reason why. He hasn't been a liability and that was the only reason why I brought it up.

[Phlipper]

Clout - I see your reading comprehension is even poorer than usual tonight. Who said anything about defense?

I realized that you're obsessed with trying to prove me wrong - because I've embarrassed you so many times so badly in the past - but at least when you lamely try to respond to one of my posts, try to post on a related topic. Give it a try. I'm sure you can do it.

[bay_area_phan]

In 2009, Coste is hitting .262 with a .789 OPS as a starter (whether at catcher or some other position). As a pinch hitter, he's hitting .091 with a .322 OPS. The same trend is true for his career in general.

Coste's poor June was probably a reflection of how Cholly has been using him. When Coste started in June, he did pretty well. But once Bako got here, he took over primary backup catching duties while Coste has been used mostly as a pinch hitter. Cholly has basically relegated Coste to the very situation where he is least likely to succeed.

[mikes77phillies]

TI, thanks for your input.
It would be pretty hard for Zobrist to play for Burrell, since he has no defensive position. I find it interesting that when evaluating players, career OPS is always the end to all arguments.
Zobrist's 69 automatically made him inferior to Burrell and his 119, no matter that Zobrist's OPS last year outstanding.

[Len39]

I just want to add how great it is to see J-Roll hitting like it's 2007.

[GoPhils]

Percentage of baserunners thrown out:

Ruiz 36
Jaramillo 24

Passed balls:

Ruiz 0
Jaramillo 3

Just thought I'd mention it, NEPP.

[The Truth Injection]

MG: Your sentence makes no sense. you say he hasn't been a liability yet you proclaimed him worse than last year. The worst thing you can say for Victorino is he is unorthodox when it comes to route running. He has one error this year and has 4 outfield assists. His range factor per games played, and range factor per 9 are real close to last year's numbers. He'll probably end with roughly the same amount of put outs as well. Nothing really different.

Mikes: Then your argument would be. Zobrist was discounted because of his OPS but he is having a great year. There is really no need to try and change factors of the discussion. Especially when those factors are easily proven wrong by someone who takes 5 seconds to read a box score.

[DH Phils]

I think you guys are missing mikes77's point. His argument has nothing to do with position - clout implied that Zobrist would not replace Burrell because he is a far inferior hitter, but Zobrist has been a far superior hitter this year, rendering clout's implication wrong.

Whether this is due to sample size issues or not is another argument, but it is difficult to argue that clout is wrong so far, re: who is the better hitter between Burrell and Zobrist in 2009.

[pblunts]

Jumping in on the Zobrist discussion, and I'm not taking a side here and don't really care, but one of the NY Post writers did his mid-season MVP's, LVP's, Cy Young and anti-Cy Young candidates in a column today and had Zobrist as his first half AL MVP.

I don't know that I quite buy it, but thought I'd point it out.

And FWIW, he had Lidge as the NL anti Cy Young and Rollins as the NL LVP. I hope somebody on the Phillies PR staff shows that to both of them, especially Rollins, Mr. anti-NY.

[Jack]

re: Victorino's defense, I haven't really noticed anything being inferior this year. The Range numbers are a little bit down, but let's see what they say at the end of the year. Obviously, his arm is respected and that saves a decent amount of bases, most likely.

It's interesting that when it comes to outfield defense, it often gets overlooked just how good Jayson Werth is. According to Fangraphs, in his career as an outfielder, Werth saves about 20 runs per 150 games. If those numbers are to be believed, then Werth is far more valuable defensively than Victorino, and better than guys with great defensive reps like Ichiro and Alex Rios, and about equal with Andruw Jones, widely considered one of the best defensive CFs in recent history. In fact, Werth had the highest UZR/150 of any OF in baseball last year.

Pretty impressive, and something that probably flies under the radar too much. I don't mean to say that UZR is gospel, by any means, but I certainly find it interesting.

[Jack]

Some more interesting defensive stats:

Over the last 3 years, of all OFs who have played 1000 innings in the field, Werth and Victorino rank 4 and 5 in all of baseball in UZR/150 (which is just runs saved per 150 games). Here's the top 5:

Alfredo Amezaga
Andruw Jones
Jason Tyner
Jayson Werth
Shane Victorino

Just below them are guys like Endy Chavez, Coco Crisp, Jeff Franceour, Joey Gathright, and Reed Johnson, all widely considered to be top-notch defensive OFs.

Pretty impressive, and an indication that Pat Gillick knew what he was doing in terms of constructing a championship-level defense.

[RSB]

The Phils didn't really look a whole lot better than they did on the road, offensively. The Mets just made them - and especially their pitchers - look a lot better by scoring 3 measly runs in the series (and yes, I believe that was more the Mets' ineptitude more than the starters' brilliance). The big news this weekend was that Lidge and Rollins finally stepped up. They're going to need more from a lot of other people against a tough Cincy pitching staff.

I also don't agree in the least that New York is 'done'. This is a weak-ass division and when they get some of their horses back, they'll have a shot unless the Phils can again start playing to their real talent level and open up a 3-5 game gap.

One of the most ludicrous suggestions I've ever seen in print - and something far and away more completely stupid than anything you're liable to find in one of the blogs he so despises, was Bill Conlin's bit about Rollins being in the same camp as Mackey Sasser, Joe Cowley, and Steve Blass, that he had lost his 'muscle memory'. What in the wide, wide world of sports was he talking about? It's called bat speed and mechanics, genius. Not that you'll mention a thing about it now that Rollins has shown signs of making adjustments.

[NEPP]

****Just thought I'd mention it, NEPP.****

I wasn't proposing getting rid of Ruiz...I think I'd much rather have Jaramillo than Bako on the bench though. Considering we essentially traded him for 2 months of below average production out of Jack Taschner...you have to think we lost that one.

[bay_area_phan]

Considering he was basically a .265/.270 hitter in the minors, something tells me that Jaramillo's current average is a good .20 points higher than where he will end up for the season.

[MG]

Truth - There is a big difference between being a liability in CF and being a Gold Glove caliber defender.

I just don't think that Vic has been quite as adept so far this year at tracking bars down that are hit in the gaps compared to last year. Doesn't mean that he is poor just not quite as amazing as he was last year.

Same with JRoll. JRoll still is getting to a good number of balls but it just seems that he has been able to make some plays on balls he gets to that he did last year especially up the middle to his left.

Curious to see what JRoll and Vic both finish at and if they are again perceived as Gold Glove caliber at the end of the season.

[MG]

RSB - Agreed. Just because the Phils got 3 days of solid pitching against a largely inept lineup with almost no power doesn't means this pitching staff still isn't a subpar pitching staff.

[EastFallowfield]

Mets don't hit a lot of HRs, but many players who don't hit a lot of HRs often seem to hit a few at CBP.

Mets lead the league in batting average and are second in OBP, so maybe we can give the Phils pitchers an eensy weensy bit of credit for not allowing a lot of baserunners?

BAP: Sheffield plays every day except when they think he needs to rest his old bones. Murphy was supposed to be the everyday LFer and Church the usual RFer. And Tatis starting against (our) LHs is not an unusual occurrence. Like I say, it's not our fault that the Mets decided that they like those guys.

[AFish]

Isn't it obvious that the team thinks that Coste can't catch? When Bako was signed, the beat writers all said that Coste better watch out. I'm guessing that when Ibanez comes back, Mayberry will get sent down, and Coste will be the first RH pinch hitter.

[MPN]

The bigger question, it seems to me is this: if Coste is far and away the best offensive catcher when he starts, then why isn't he starting? Answer: because of his defense. Bako has been getting starts against righty pitchers because (a) Ruiz has cooled down offensively and (b) he can call a good game behind the plate, frames pitches well, etc.

[The Truth Injection]

MG: So are you assuming on July 6th that Victorino won't win the Gold Glove?

And really what is "Gold Glove caliber" defense? I don't really think there is a set definition of criteria for how they award the thing. I would guess they look at assists, errors, and put outs, but I'm not 100% sure. If they do though then Vic's numbers are right in line with last year's.

I think you're reaching a bit with Victorino.

[Alex]

"Isn't it obvious that the team thinks Coste can't catch?"

I'm not sure that you can make a solid case for that. Coste has been on this team for four years and has hit well for the most part but other times has hit really poorly. If he was THAT bad as a catcher, he wouldn't still be on this team. He's a very replaceable player (contract wise) at a very important position. If he was doing a poor job (and especially at 36 years old) he wouldn't be on this team.

MPN:
Coste is the best catcher when he starts but for that to be the case he can't be overused. If any of the past three seasons are a trend, we can safely say that Coste performs well when he's used correctly.

That said, while I don't think by any means that Chris Coste is a poor defensive catcher, Bako is probably a little better.

When Ibanez comes back, the Philles will have to decide if they want the little extra "D" with Bako or the little extra "O" with Coste. Something tells me that decision will be partially based on how Ruiz is doing.

[Unikruk]

So, just got back. Did I pick a good weekend to take a holiday from the Phils? Did anything eventful happen?

[hiki]

here's an intersting website to refer to over the season:

What baseball teams are spending their money well, and how does it change over the course of the season?

http://benfry.com/salaryper/

[sneed]

Drabek gets his 6th start at AA tonight. Meanwhile, Yohan Flande struggled again last night with another 5 ER, 6 IP performance. This time, however, he gave up 10 hits and allowed runs in multiple innings.

[bigmyc]

I know. But the Mets are bad right now.

One series at a time, phellas.
One series, at, a, time.

Welcome back JRoll. Welcome Lidgehammer.
Cole, you are invited to the Comeback Party too....please RSVP.

[EastFallowfield]

Yo, new thread