Bruntlett Leads Players Dropped

The Eric Bruntlett era is over. The Phillies parted ways with their utility man after his two-year stay. Hated by many, I loved his passion and his role as a good team mate and classy guy. We will never forget his unassisted triple play or him sliding home on Carlos Ruiz's game-winning infield single in game 3 of the 2008 World Series. We will also never forget his .217 with a .297 on base percentage in 238 plate appearances in 2008, then hit .171 with a .238 on base percentage in 118 plate appearances this past year.

Also being dropped were relievers Todd Walker and John Ennis, catcher Paul Hoover, and infielder Andy Tracy.

So with the departure of Bruntlett, that leaves a huge whole in the utility role the Phillies hope to fill. In a perfect world, the Phillies sign either Placido Polanco, Adrian Beltre, or Chone Figgins to start at third and are able to get Mark DeRosa to fill the utility role.

And in other news: Pedro Martinez wants to pitch the whole 2010 season. I don't know if the Phillies have interest in him being the #5 starter but I wouldn't mind it. It isn't know whether or not he can go a whole season and be effective and if they can sign him for cheap then I say go for him. He'd be better than Chan Ho Park and Jamie Moyer as starters (I still want Park back in the pen),

Sorry For Lack of Posts

I've been busy the past week and I still am with school work. I will continue the Player Report Card series shortly. I also added a new writer, Dan MacNeal of Liberty Bell Sports. We wrote together on the first blog of Justin Evans (now writer of Red Pinstripes Are Cooler). We will recap the Top 10 (maybe 15) moments of the 2009 season and do a few other specialty posts.

Please keep tuning in. There is a lot going on in the off season of the Phillies whether it's watching your favorite sports teams (hopefully the Eagles, Flyers, Sixers, Penn State, Temple, Villanova, or any other Philly/PA sports team) or following the Phillies news.

Happ 2nd In ROY Voting

JA Happ did not win the National League Rookie of the Year award but finished 2nd in voting. Winning the NL honors was Chris Coghlan of the Florida Marlins. Coghlan won 105-94 in votes over Happ. Braves pitcher Tommy Hanson had 37 points and Pirates outfield Andrew McCutchen had 25.

Here is the comparison of the two via Todd Zolecki's article:

Coghlan led all NL rookies in average (.321), runs (84), hits (162), doubles (31), total bases (232), multi-hit games (51) and on-base percentage (.390). Coghlan also posted back-to-back 47-hit months -- becoming the first NL player with 94 hits in a two-month span since 1978 -- and finished sixth in the NL in batting average. Happ was 12-4 with a 2.93 ERA and topped NL rookie pitchers in innings (166), strikeouts (119), complete games (three) and shutouts (two). He had the most wins for any Phillies rookie since Tom Underwood had 14 in 1975. Happ's ERA ranks 11th in franchise history among rookies, and was the lowest since Ben Tincup had a 2.61 ERA in 1914.

Utley Wins Silver Slugger

Chase Utley was chosen today for the Silver Slugger for best hitting 2B in the National League. This is his fourth straight award. Mike Schmidt holds the Phillis record with six straight. Utley this year batted .295 with 31 homers, 112 runs, and 93 RBI's. He led all two-baggers in runs and was tied with Dan Uggla of the Florida Marlins in dingers.

Here are the NL winners:

C. Brian McCann - Atlanta
1B. Albert Pujols - St. Louis
2B. Chase Utley - Philadelphia
3B. Ryan Zimmerman - Washington
SS. Hanley Ramirez - Florida
OF. Ryan Braun - Milwaukee
OF. Matt Kemp - Los Angeles
OF. Andre Ethier - Los Angeles

PRC: Sergio Escalona

Player: Sergio Escalona
Number: 53
Position: RP
Bats/Throws: L/L

Consistency: Escalona only saw action in 14 games. He was mainly used as a fill-in when players like Scott Eyre and Brad Lidge went down with injuries. He also replaced Kyle Kendrick when he proved to be useless in the beginning of the season. In his short stints up, he was hit or miss. He would either pitch shutout ball or give up 2-3 runs an outing.

He did not make the post season roster but was a part of the late-season 40-man roster and got work.

Regular Season Stats: 1-0, 13.2 IP, 12 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 0 HR, 5 BB, 10 K, 4.61 ERA, 1.29 WHIP

Post Season Stats: none

Health: Rather than being on the DL, he replaced those who were bit by the injury bug. No injuries.

Intangibles: He was solid as a replacement for the Phillies. He’s young (only 25) and got plenty of valuable experience in relief. Though he will likely never start in a Phillies uniform, he may see some more brief action during the season as a reliever. He will be sitting behind Antonio Bastardo on the list of lefty relievers.

Overall Grade: C. He was okay. He didn’t pitch a lot and didn’t show anything worth getting excited about. He filled in on numerous occasions and did his job.

Rollins, Victorino Win Gold Glove

Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino were awarded the Gold Glove award today. Chase Utley was screwed out of his Gold Glove, losing to Orlando Hudson of the Dodgers, who play significantly less games than Utley. The award was Rollins' third and Victorino's second. Rollins was the first short stop in the NL to win three consecutive Gold Gloves since Rey Ordonez and Victorino is first Phillies outfielder since Gary Maddox to win consecutive awards.

Here are the winners in the National League:

P) Adam Wainwright - St. Louis, 1st
C) Yadier Molina - St. Louis, 2nd
1B) Adrian Gonzalez - San Dego, 2nd
2B) Orlando Hudson - Los Angeles, 4th
3B) Ryan Zimmerman - Washington, 1st
SS) Jimmy Rollins - Philadelphia, 3rd
OF) Shane Victorino - Philadelphia, 2nd
OF) Michael Bourn - Houston, 1st
OF) Matt Kemp - Los Angeles, 1st

Discuss it here.

Off Season Schedule For Phillies

Nov. 10-11: GM Meetings
Nov. 20: First day free agents may sign with any club
Nov. 20: Deadline for clubs to set 40-man rosters
Dec. 1: Deadline for clubs to offer arbitration in order to receive compensation
Dec. 7: Deadline for free agents to accept arbitration
Dec. 7-10: Winter Meetings
Dec. 12: Deadline for clubs to tender contracts
Jan. 5-15: Arbitration filing
Jan. 19: Exchange of salary arbitration figures
Feb. 1-21 Arbitration hearings

PRC: Chad Durbin

Player: Chad Durbin
Number: 37
Position: RP
Bats/Throws: R/R

Consistency: Durbin has not been that good all year. He started out rocky, settled down a bit in June and then saw his ERA sky-rocket until he pitched an effective September that was beneficial for the Phillies in closing out the season. His 59 appearances were the third highest on the team behind Ryan Madson and Brad Lidge and was second in innings pitched among pitchers that didn’t record a start behind Madson.

He was excellent in the NLDS and NLCS, throwing four perfect innings in five appearances but then fell apart in the World Series, namely game 6 when he allowed three runs in the 5th inning, putting the game out of reach.

Regular Season Stats: 2-2, 69.2 IP, 56 H, 38 R, 34 ER, 8 HR, 47 BB, 62 K, 4.39 ERA, 1.49 WHIP

Post Season Stats: 2-0, 7 G, 5.1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 6.75 ERA, 0.98 WHIP

Health: He was on the DL in late July with a sore back. The 15-day stint helped his back out. He was called upon a lot prior to the injury and never saw the DL again after returning.

Intangibles: He was solid for the Phillies. Though he started out rough, he settled down and managed to be okay. He is up for arbitration and it will interesting to see if the Phillies hold onto him. He has stuff similar to Clay Condrey’s, but uses the slider rather than a sinker. He’s also streaky. He will either pitch hot or not be able to get anyone out. He was also the first Phillie on Twitter, like that really matters.

Overall Grade: C. He was below-average for the Phillies. The poor inning in the World Series definitely hurt his grade along with his overall performance this season. If he would have focused more on pitching than tweeting, maybe his grade could have been higher.

Off Season News 11/10/09

According to Todd Zolecki via Twitter:

Pedro Feliz, Chan Ho Park, Matt Stairs and Paul Bako officially filed for free agency today.

This is very interesting for the Phillie seeing that they have interest in Park and said they will not give up on Feliz. As for Stairs and Bako, I think Bako would be important in bringing back. The back-up catcher market is pretty thin and Bako proved to be a solid back-up for Carlos Ruiz this past season. In 44 games, Bako hit .224 (26-116) with three homers and nine RBI's.

And in other news, here is the schedule for the National League award announcements:

Gold Glove: 11/12
Silver Slugger: 11/13
NL Rookie of the Year: 11/16
NL Manager of the Year: 11/18
NL Cy Young: 11/19
NL Most Valuable Player: 11/24

PRC: Clay Condrey

Player: Clay Condrey
Number: 55
Position: RP
Bats/Throws: R/R

Consistency: Condrey was actually one of their best righties all year. He started out real well until June when he got whacked around by AL hitting. He was then hurt in July, came back, and then missed all of August but bounced back to pitch steady towards the end of the season. In his last 12 games, he pitched eight innings of work, allowing six hits and two runs, none earned.

Despite the strong finish, he was left off the playoff roster. He is up for arbitration this off season.

Regular Season Stats: 6-2, 42 IP, 37 H, 17 R, 14 ER, 1 HR, 8 BB, 16 K, 3.00 ERA, 1.07 WHIP

Post Season Stats: none

Health: He was on the DL a couple times with a strained oblique.

Intangibles: “Big Texas” is a favorite in the club house going by the mini-series “The Pen.” Along with being a positive presence as a team player, he was a positive presence in the righty-specialist role. His fast ball hit low-90’s and so did his sinker, allowing him to get hitters to ground out.

Overall Grade: B. He was statistically one of the Phillies’ best relievers. Him being left off the post season roster was a bit of a surprise. Overall he did nothing wrong but wasn’t exceptional. A “B” grade is what you get for doing your job.

Feliz's Option Not Picked Up

The Phillies declined to pick up Pedro Feliz's $5.5 million option today but said they will not rule him out for the hot corner position. Feliz is 34-years old and has shown a dramatic drop in power since coming to Philadelphia. He averaged 20 homers a year in San Francisco but only hit 26 in his two years for the Phillies.

Feliz batted .266 with 12 home runs and 82 RBIs in 158 games for the Phillies this season. With runners in scoring position, he hit a team-best .336. He tore it up in the beginning of the season but fell off drastically and hit a putrid .167 (9-54) in the playoffs this year.

If the Phillies are not going to bring Feliz back, they can look at free agents like Adrian Beltre, Chone Figgins, Mark DeRosa, and Troy Glaus. I would be all for Figgins but his asking price could be high. Beltre would also be a nice choice seeing that he will be can feast on the NL's weak pitching. Bringing back Feliz is also not a bad move.

PRC: Joe Blanton

Player: Joe Blanton
Number: 56
Position: SP
Bats/Throws: R/R

Consistency: Blanton started out the season very poorly in April, going 0-2 with an 8.41 ERA in four games. He settled down through the rest of the season, having his best month in July. He had a few bad starts thrown in there but overall was very consistent. He started in the bull pen in the playoffs, pitching in relief twice in the NLDS and starting a game in both the NLCS and World Series.

Blanton is eligible for arbitration and hopefully a deal is worked out with him. He could be the Phillies #3 starter next season.

Regular Season Stats: 12-8, 195.1 IP, 198 H, 89 R, 88 ER, 30 HR, 59 BB, 163 K, 4.05 ERA, 1.32 WHIP

Post Season Stats: 0-0, 4 G, 2 GS, 15.2 IP, 15 H, 10 R, 9 ER, 4 BB, 10 K, 5.17 ERA

Health: He was healthy all year.

Intangibles: Blanton is their best righty in the rotation. He showed a lot of versatility coming out of the pen and then starting in the playoffs. He’ll be 29 before the beginning of next season and the Phillies need to lock him up for a few years at least. He’ll never be an ace on this staff but he will be a much better option as a #3 than Brett Myers would have been and matched up against other teams’ #3’s, the Phillies can have confidence in him.

Overall Grade: B-. I based this off of his composure and consistency. Before Cliff Lee came to the Phillies, he was their best pitcher. He led the team in innings pitched, tied for team lead with 12 wins, and second in strike outs to Cole Hamels. Ever since he came here from the Oakland trade, he has been very consistent.

PRC: Antonio Bastardo

Player: Antonio Bastardo
Number: 58
Position: RP
Bats/Throws: R/L

Consistency: Bastardo had only made six appearances all season because he got hurt in June. When healthy, he showed a lot of promise. His first start saw him going six strong innings, allowing a run on four hits versus the Padres. He followed that up with another quality start. His next three starts were not so good though. In that span, he only went 11.2 innings, allowing 15 runs (14 earned) on 15 hits and a WHIP of 1.88. His June ERA was 6.75 and he saw no more action until he made one relief stint in October where he pitched a scoreless inning versus Florida.

In the playoffs, he was put on the roster for all three series’ because JC Romero’s season was done. He pitched 1/3 inning total, allowing a hit and a strike out in 2 appearances.

Regular Season Stats: 2-3, 23.2 IP, 25 H, 18 R, 17 ER, 4 HR, 9 BB, 6.46 ERA, 1.51 WHIP

Post Season Stats: 0-0, .1 IP, 1 H, 1 K

Health: His only injury was when he strained his shoulder in June versus Tampa Bay. He didn’t return to the Phillies until late in the season.

Intangibles: Bastardo has a lot of upside. His fastball hits around 94 MPH and has a good slider and change-up. He didn’t get a lot of work this year for the Phillies but I can definitely see him getting more time next year. He’s only 23 and will learn. He also showed a lot of composure in the NLDS when he was called in to face Jason Giambi of the Rockies with the bases loaded, striking him out to end the inning.

Overall Grade: C. His three bad starts before getting hurt didn’t help him but his positive upside balanced that out. I like what this kid has and am hoping he earns a bull pen spot on next year’s roster.

PRC: Player Report Card

For the next couple of months, I will be dedicating a post to each player on the Phillies who I will grade for their performance over the course of the 2009 season. I will start with the pitchers and grade them in four different categories: Consistency, stats, health, and intangibles. Position players will be graded on: Consistency, offense/stats, health, defense, and intangibles. I will then give the player an overall grade and that's it.

List of pitchers (18):
Antonio Bastardo
Joe Blanton
Clay Condrey
Chad Durbin
Sergio Escalona
Scott Eyre
Cole Hamels
JA Happ
Kyle Kendrick
Cliff Lee
Brad Lidge
Ryan Madson
Pedro Martinez
Jamie Moyer
Brett Myers
Chan Ho Park
JC Romero
Tyler Walker

List of position players (15):
Paul Bako
Eric Bruntlett
Miguel Cairo
Greg Dobbs
Pedro Feliz
Ben Francisco
Ryan Howard
Raul Ibanez
John Mayberry Jr.
Jimmy Rollins
Carlos Ruiz
Matt Stairs
Chase Utley
Shane Victorino
Jayson Werth

More On Eligible Phillies

Our friendly Phillies writer for MLB.com, Todd Zolecki, has tweeted a few more updates on a few more players that are free agents. The Phillies have contacted Chan Ho Park's agent about being re-signed. He was one of their best relievers this year and I fully support this move.

Scott Eyre also verbally commented that he enjoyed the guys on the team so much that he is having surgery and will not retire. If his surgery goes well, he will be back in red pinstripes. And the Phillies are interested in re-signing Matt Stairs to a minor-league contract. That doesn't mean he will be in the minors, just that they aren't going to give him a lot of money to be a left-handed power bat off the bench.

Phillies Pick Up Lee's Option

Only two days into the off season and the Phillies are already looking towards the 2010 season. According to Todd Zolecki on Twitter, the Phillies picked up Cliff Lee's $9 million option for 2010. This locks him in for next year and allows them to work on a long term deal. The Phillies would be nuts to not lock him down right now.

And to make spending money a lot easier, the Phillies free up around $20 million because they don't have to pay for Jim Thome, Adam Eaton, or Geoff Jenkins anymore thanks to a friendly tweet by the 700 Level.

UPDATE: I was out so I'm just writing about this now. The Phillies will not re-sign Brett Myers according to Zolecki. He wanted the Phillies to get back with him as soon as they could so he could start marketing himself as a free agent. I wish him the best of luck and thank him for being a key part to the 2008 squad.

Off Season

Stay tuned guys for some changes, updates, additions, and some special posts for the off season. Instead of doing a season recap, I will do a player recap for those who were key contributors to the season. There will be about 35 names and the off season will give me time to cover them all easily. There will also be a run down of the top 15 moments of 2009 and possibly another special list and even some different "dream teams."

There will also be a new member joining the site hopefully. My friend Dan MacNeal from Liberty Bell Sports will help collaborate in the off season and next season. Stay tuned folks.

High Hopes

What did the Phillies really fail at? They failed to win consecutive championships for the first time in about 10 years and in the National League since the 1970's. They failed to beat the Yankees, the best team in baseball. They failed to be legendary. I say so what?

This Phillies team proved this year that last year was no fluke and that this team is in the elite. They hung with the big boys and dominated good teams. They have the core of the team in their prime and a bunch of young talent waiting in the wings. Just because they didn't do it again this year doesn't mean it's over. This team can win its 4th straight division. This team can breeze its way through the playoffs. This team can see themselves back in the World Series.

Sure there are a few problems to be addressed in the off season but we will look at that later. For now, let's soak in a successful season, recap the highs and lows, watch whatever football, hockey, or basketball team you watch, and worry about the off season when it becomes relevant.

I want to say thank you to the Phillies for giving us another helluva season. I want to thank Ruben Amaro Jr. for assembling a great team. You may have sucked as a player but you are doing a good job so far as a GM. I want to thank all the journalists I followed on Twitter and in their articles including Todd Zolecki and David Murphy. Great season to everyone and see you in 150 days. And Yankees, we'll see you June 15-17 in your house.

Yankees Win 2009 World Series

Once again, the Yankees are Pedro Martinez's daddy. The Phillies season has finally ended as the Yankees beat up the Phillies pitching, winning game 6 by a score of 7-3 and the series 4-2. Hideki Matsui went 3-4 with six RBI's, falling a triple shy of the cycle, as he single handedly killed the Phillies hopes of forcing game 7.

Martinez was awful, going just four innings and allowing four runs on three hits and two walks, striking out five. His opponenet, Andy Pettitte, went 5.2, allowing three runs on on four hits and five walks. Despite pitching like crap, Pettite earned the win. Mariano Rivera pitched the last five outs, getting Shane Victorino to ground out to Robinson Cano to seal the victory.

The offensive fire power got going early for the Yankees when Matsui hit a two-run homer in the second. The Phillies answered with a run in the bottom of the inning but were soon counter-punched when Matsui hit a two-run single to make it a 4-1 game.

The Yankees then tacked on three more off of Chad Durbin in the 5th. They got an RBI single by Mark Teixeira and a two-run double by Matsui to make it a 7-3 game. Ryan Howard then came alive, answering with a two-run homer off Pettitte to finally chase him from the game. The Phillies had a huge opportunity in the 7th with Utley at the plate and two outs with two runners on but specialist Demaso Marte came in to strike him out to end the inning.

Carlos Ruiz and Raul Ibanez were the only bright spots of the night. Chooch went 2-2 with a walk and a run scored. Ibanez had a pair of doubles. For the Yankees, Derek Jeter had three hits and two runs.

On a side note, Ryan Howard struck out for the 13th time this World Series, a new record. Matsui also tied Bobby Richardson's record of six RBI's in a single game. Richardson did the feat back in 1960 versus the Pirates.

Stars of the Game:

Game 1: Cliff Lee

Game 2: AJ Burnett

Game 3: Nick Swisher

Game 4: Johnny Damon

Game 5: Chase Utley

Game 6: Hideki Matsui

World Series MVP (official):

Hideki Matsui: 8-13 (.615), 3 runs, double, 3 HR, 8 RBI,

World Series LVP:

Ryan Howard: 4-23 (.178), 3 runs, 2 doubles, HR, 3 RBI, 13 K's (new record)

Phillies Player of the Series:

Chase Utley: 6-21 (.286), 6 runs, double, 5 HR's, 8 RBI, SB

Liberty Bell Sports

People, just a friendly reminder to come visit the sports forum I help run: Liberty Bell Sports. Click here to join the Phillies and Yankees Game 6 chat thread or click on the picture below to check out the site and join today. Go Phillies!