Ironically, after a weekend in the Philadelphia-area (house-hunting), I found myself feeling a bit out of touch with the Phillies. On the one hand, as The Missus and I haphazardly navigated around the Philadelphia near-burbs in the rain, I did manage to listen to Scott Graham and Tom McCarthy adeptly field questions on from disgruntled phans on "The Big Talker" during the Saturday night rain delay [Me: "I can't believe how truly angry people are at this team! I just have to believe they are going to come around"...The Missus: "Watch the road!"]. And, as we traveled south down US 301 on Sunday, I listened to the Phils out-slug the Marlins (it's amazing how the Fish just won't go away even after you hang a five-spot on Josh Beckett in the first).
But still, I wanted to check in on the big picture. The nitty-gritty. The bottom-line. The quintessence. And where is the best place to go? Well, if you are already here, you probably already know the answer to that question: the Phlogosphere...
...First, Mark Robinson has created a new stat: PHIL. Mark defines PHIL as "a new stat that measures runners not driven in -- Players Henceforth In Limbo, or PHILs". Not only does Mr. Robinson take a look at the stat for the Phillies roster, but displays the Phils PHIL's in context of the whole league. Let's just say...there's room to improve.
...On the other hand, Wade Bloggs at Phreakin' Phils is not one for "frankenstats", as he calls them. But he does wonder if there isn't a better way to speculate about what ails the Phillies and how to improve the team:
I propose a reality-tv format for the Phillies. At the end of each month, there will be a televised recap of the month’s events, and each of the starting eight and the entire pitching staff will be assigned phone numbers for voting. The two players with the least votes will be given their outright release and shipped off to a remote island in the Pacific, where they will attempt to survive with nothing but their glove and some pine tar. Another shlum from the bench or AAA will then be given a chance on the team.
This will increase ratings, fan interest, and will give the players a reason to perform to their capability.
As we close out the month of April, I say we send Tim Worrell and David Bell packing for the Pacific. He who survives on the island the longest can come back to the team after the all-star break.
Interesting idea. I'd watch.
...But someone who wouldn't watch, or participate, is Bobby Abreu. I think that fiancée Alicia Machado has probably turned him off to reality TV. It could be worse, at least she didn't leave him the day before their wedding via a bus to New Mexico, triggering a national bridehunt.
...J-Dub encapsulates my thoughts on the Phillies perfectly with this sentence:
The challenge now, as a writer, is balancing rational thinking with
impatience and emotion. Yes, the season is early, but they've done this
to us before.
...Jeff at Phillies Foul Balls points out that moving Ryan Madson to the rotation would have some hidden benefits:
It's time for yet another article in the Philly papers about how Ryan Madson is definitely going to stay in the bullpen this year. As always the refrain is "we need him more in the bullpen." At this point I'm starting to wonder if it's really a case of "because we said so and we don't like being questioned." Lieber and Lidle are innings eaters, and Myers looks like he may be on the verge of becoming a pitcher who they can count on going deep into the game. If so, having a reliable fourth pitcher who they can count on to go long should substantially reduce the need for an extra strong bullpen arm. Right now they're bordering on not having enough innings for the relievers to need a 7 man bullpen, and an extra strong starter would definitely make a 6 man pen the best way to go.
Plus, since the nagging injuries to Jim Thome and Kenny Lofton have Charlie Manuel feeling a bit strapped for able-bodied players, the move to a six-man pen would allow for another bench player (i.e. Marlon Byrd, Ryan Howard, etc.).
...It seems as if there is a new Phlogger gracing everyone's sidebar, except for mine. I'm not sure how I've missed him, but "Midway Phanatic" seems to be off to a great start at Midway Phillies. Today, he pens a very glass-half-full (but not unrealistic) analysis of the Phillies at the "One Month Mark".
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One More Thing...
...The Brookings Institution (of CSPAN fame) contacted me and requested [in exchange for a semi-advanced copy] that I review National Pastime by Stefan Szymanski and Andrew Zimbalist. I hope to have the review completed sometime this week, so stay tuned. It looks to be an interesting topic.
