Sorry about the lack of the last two updates and the Phillie of the Week. A weekend trip to see the family in South Jersey turned into an "oh my God, why is my stomach making those noises?" trip. After 36 hours, I'm back in Central Jersey, and can hold down water. It's progress. Oh, and Ryan Howard is the Phillie of the Week again, because he's awesome.
Game Recap:
Joe Blanton actually pitched six solid innings, and despite Brad Lidge's best efforts, the Phillies held on for a 5-4 victory over Colorado that gave them a four game sweep over the Rockies.
What went right?
Placido Polanco was 2-5 with an RBI.
Raul Ibanez went 1-3 with a walk and an RBI.
Ross Gload went 1-3 with a double and a run scored.
Greg Dobbs somehow was 2-4 with two runs scored.
Brian Schneider was 1-3 with a walk, a triple, two runs scored and two RBI.
Joe Blanton picked up his first win in a month, allowing two runs on six hits in six innings. He walked three and struck out two.
What went wrong?
Ryan Howard was 0-3 with three strikeouts and a walk.
Brad Lidge picked up the save, but man, was it close. He allowed two runs on a home run by Seth Smith, gave up three hits and walked two. Somehow, he managed to get his tenth save of the season.
Game Analysis:
Sure, the Rockies have been struggling since the All Star Break, but it's always good to finish off a four game sweep, especially when one of your weakest starting pitchers is out on the mound. Today, Charlie Manuel did the right thing, and pulled Joe Blanton before he allowed the big inning. That allowed the Phillies to hold on for a 5-4 win over the Colorado Rockies and complete the four game sweep, giving them a five game winning streak.
To be fair, while he was in the game, Blanton did a decent job. Aside from the first inning, he didn't allow a run, and while he did have his share of men on base, he did a good job keeping them from crossing the plate. It was exactly what the Phillies needed to cap this series. After Kyle Kendrick managed to defeat Ubaldo Jimenez, anything seemed possible for the next two games. On Sunday, Jimmy Rollins scored the game winning run on a wild pitch that Miguel Olivo couldn't find, and then came today. With Joe Blanton on the mound, the Phillies knew that they would have to come out with a solid effort, and they did just that. Blanton got into trouble in the first inning, allowing two runs, but after that, he was solid, keeping Colorado off the board. He didn't have his best stuff today, only getting two 1-2-3 innings, but he did what he had to do. It's typical of how Joe Blanton has pitched this year, and it shows one of the biggest weaknesses that the Phillies have on their team now.
Aside from Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels, the other three starting pitchers that the Phillies have are very unproven this year. Kyle Kendrick and Joe Blanton haven't had their best stuff during the season, and J.A. Happ has made three starts and is being mentioned as trade bait for a second straight season. For today, at least, Blanton looked more like the pitcher that has done well for the Phillies over the last two seasons than the pitcher that has struggled through much of this season. Sure, he only struck out two, and spent a lot of time with runners on base, but he did his job and got out of innings without giving up runs. Not only that, but Charlie Manuel made the smart move by getting him out before he could have his usual big inning. It still wasn't as good as people want from Blanton, but all things considered, it was at least good.
The offense didn't show the same pop that they had in the first two games of this series, but they did what they had to do, and took advantage of mistakes made by the Rockies. On back to back plays in the second inning, Jason Giambi committed errors, and the Phils turned those errors into an extra run that never should have crossed the plate. They had trouble against Jason Hammel today, but they still forced him out before six innings. Raul Ibanez continued his best streak of the season by hitting safely in his sixth straight game while driving in another RBI. In the absence of Chase Utley, the other players are going to have to step up, and it's good to see Raul finally doing his part this year. His power numbers are still down, but it's like that throughout baseball for the most part. If he can keep hitting the way that he is right now, it's only going to help this team, especially when Ryan Howard has a poor game like he did today. The other players in the lineup have to step up, and that's what happened today. Ibanez had a clutch hit in the sixth inning, and Brian Schneider had a two run triple in the second that helped matters as well. It wasn't always pretty from the offense today, or yesterday, but it still worked.
Then, there's Brad Lidge. Over the last two days, Lidge has picked up back to back saves, but he sure as hell hasn't made it easy. In both games, Lidge got out of bases loaded, two out jams with the tying run on third base. Today should have at least been easier than yesterday, because the Phillies had a three run lead. Well, that wasn't good enough for Lidge, who retired two of the first three batters he faced before giving up a home run to Seth Smith, then giving up a walk, allowing a single and throwing a wild pitch that made him intentionally walk Jason Giambi. Luckily for the Phillies, he was able to get Ryan Spillborghs to ground out to end the game, but that's not the entire point here. Sure, he was able to get another save, and that looks good, but it wasn't good. When a closer has to throw 34 pitches to close out what was a three run game, that's not good enough at all. The day before, Lidge needed 30 pitches to finish a one run game that ended with the bases loaded as well. That's 64 pitches in two games. To put this in perspective, Heath Bell, who leads the league in saves with 29 and hasn't blown a save since May, needed 47 pitches to close out his last three games. That's a big difference, even if it doesn't actually look like it.
If you actually think that Brad Lidge is going to be a solid closer for the rest of the year, well then you need to start thinking again. One of the biggest reasons that the Phillies were unable to win back to back World Series titles was because they couldn't hold leads in late innings. In 2008, the Phils were unstoppable when they had a late lead. Lidge never blew a save, and things were great. Last year, Lidge blew 11 saves and had a hand in the Game 4 loss that cost the Phils a chance to take a 3-2 lead back to New York. So far this year, he's managed just ten saves, with three blown saves, plus a stint on the disabled list. Look, I love Lidge for what he did during the 2008 season, but that wasn't what Brad Lidge is. Brad Lidge is a closer that is going to get men on base and give the opposing team a chance to come back. It's what he was in Houston, and it's what he is now. For the Phillies, he's got to be better, or they have to find a better option. Considering Lidge is signed for big money through next season, it's going to be hard to find a better option, so Lidge had better shape up, and fast. I don't expect a repeat of the 2008 season, but I'd like something in between that and 2009.
Tomorrow, Cole Hamels (7-7, 3.40 ERA) looks to keep the Phils' winning streak going as he faces Arizona and former Phillie Rodrigo Lopez (5-9, 4.58 ERA).
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