At approximately 10:16 EST on Tuesday night, Jimmy Rollins, leading off for the Phillies, swung at the very first pitch he saw from Giants starter Brett Tomko. The Phillies would go on to rough up Tomko and the Giants and win the game 10 to 2, but all too often in the past few weeks, there has been a different result...
For those of you who do not read this site through an aggregator, you may have noticed a new feature on the right-hand sidebar, "The Lineup Card". The Lineup Card will track the most critical statistics affecting the Phillies offense for the next six weeks. The first installment examines on-base-percentage and who should lead-off for the Phightins:
Jimmy Rollins - .189 OBP in Aug.
Jason Michaels - .400 OBP in Aug.
Kenny Lofton - .277 OBP in Aug.
If Aka Oni were to ask, I would set the lineup as such (regardless of the pitcher, with the exception of the 8-hole):
Jason Michaels - CF - Decent speed, great OBP.
Chase Utley - 2B - Decent OBP, makes enough contact to move leadoff hitter over.
Bobby Abreu - RF - Some would want Abreu to leadoff, however that leaves the middle of the lineup too low on power.
Pat Burrell - LF - Streaky, but still the best candidate for cleanup.
Ryan Howard - 1B - Has tough time versus lefties, but he represents a chance for a homerun every time he steps to the plate.
Jimmy Rollins - SS - As Bill Conlin said on Daily News Live as he filled out his ideal lineup card (which also had Rollins in the six-hole*), "Swing at everything you can little man."
Todd Pratt/Mike Lieberthal - C - Whatever.
David Bell - 3B - One of the reasons Bell hits into so many DP's is that he normally bats a bit higher in the lineup (6 or 7), closer to players like Abreu and Burrell, who are on base a lot.
Of course all of this is barring some type of roster move for someone who can serve as a platoon mate with Howard or Bell, and/or as a genuine pinch-hitter. The fact that Tomas Perez, Endy Chavez, Kenny Lofton, and Ramon Martinez are the Phillies primary pinch-hitters is just unacceptable, as is the number of options Charlie Manuel has in creating his lineup. None of those four is a consideration to the opposing manager whatsoever and even a lineup that is hitting on all cylinders needs bench support on a regular basis.
The Phillies have three options: make a trade, bring up a minor-leaguer, or make some type of miraculous discovery in the independent leagues.
The first would be preferable, and some are speculating as to how well 1B/3B/PH Wes Helms of the Milwaukee Brewers would look in red pinstripes. Due to the Brew Crew's preference to play Lyle Overbay and Russ Branyan at the corner infield positions, Helms is expendable and he has reportedly cleared waivers.
As a right-handed batter, Helms hangs in against right-handed pitchers with a batting average of .282 (though with very little power against RHP's -- a slugging percentage of .394). Helms has appeared as a pinch-hitter 37 times with an impressive OPS of 1.232.
While Helms is by no means the second coming of Ted Williams, he would at the very least give opposing managers a brief moment of pause.
Of course, a trade can only be made if another team is willing to trade with you. On the other hand, minor leaguers and independent leaguers are always ready to make the jump to your major league team.
At AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the Phillies have 3B/C Chris Coste waiting for a chance. Working against Coste is the fact that he is another right-handed batter, but he has a .292 batting average with a .825 OPS which has produced 18 HR's and 80 RBI in 425 at-bats. Another great candidate on the Red Barons is Shane Victorino. Victorino has numbers similar to Coste's , only with a slightly higher slugging percentage and a lot more speed (.309/.377/.531, 18 HR's, 70 RBI, 17 SB).
A left-handed pinch-hitter might be found just a short distance away in Somerset, New Jersey. Somerset is home to the Patriots of the independent Atlantic League. On the Patriots is Ryan Radmanovich, 34 years-old and a 1B/OF type. He's hitting .326 with 22 HR's and 70 RBI in 365 at-bats. He has a bit of major-league experience, which was nothing to write home about, but he is certainly the type of player that should be given a quick look by the scouts. Heck, I'll pay for the gas.
Maybe I've read too many articles recently wishing Julio Franco -- the classic needle in a haystack find -- a happy 47th (ish) birthday, but I tend to think there are players out there that can help this lineup score runs on a more consistent basis if the Phillies front office is willing to be a bit more open minded. Accuse me of being unrealistic in my recommendations of Coste, Victorino, and Radmanovich, a part of me certainly would agree, but you must certainly agree that there are needs on the roster that must be met.
Whether it means juggling the lineup or finding someone in the bush leagues that is anxious to prove his worth, the Phillies have to find a way to stop scoring one run one night and ten the next if they are to make the playoffs.
...On Monday, Jon Lieber had not one run of support to work with, and on Tuesday, Vicente Padilla had ten. How many will Corey Lidle have on Wednesday?
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* By the way, Conlin had something to the effect of Abreu leading off, then Lofton/Michaels, Utley, Burrell, Howard, Rollins, Pratt/Lieby, and Bell.
