Rich Hofmann of the Daily News is no Jay Mariotti or Skip Bayless, he seems to offer his opinion only after some rumination and investigation has taken place. Maybe it's the chic glasses, but I can't help but think that his brain gets a head start over his mouth, unlike a lot of people with an audience.
Given Hofmann's modus operandi, you have to put a good deal of weight behind his column on how Citizens Bank Park and its playability is beginning to have a large effect on the Phillies' pitching. Don't misunderstand, he's not claiming that the Phils have multiple Cy Young-worthy pitchers in-waiting but we just don't know it because The Bank is a launching pad. What he is saying is that it is going to be difficult to build a competent pitching staff here because of the park.
I won't disagree, but there is another side to the story: It would help if the Phillies acquired the right types of pitchers, which is basically anything other than the type they have now.
As an example, look at the 2007 version of the Colorado Rockies. They have a team ERA+ of 98 (after accounting for league averages and park effects -- which include humidors by the way -- an ERA+ over 100 is above average), 4.70 overall, while playing half of their games in Coors Field. Coors Field has a park factor of 107, which means it favors offense over pitching/defense by 7% (100 is neutral).
On the other hand, the Phillies have an ERA+ of 88 (5.03 overall) and The Bank's park factor is 103. So, the question becomes, what are the Rockies doing that the Phillies aren't? Of the balls in play that Rockies pitchers allow, 45% are ground balls, while on the other hand, the Phillies allow a ground ball rate of 42%.
If you are still reading, then you are probably wondering why Cole Hamels can have success at The Bank despite giving up so many fly balls. The reason is his exceptional strikeout rate. Hamels gives up a ton of home runs, but since there is rarely anyone on base, the homers inflict minimal damage.
Let me ask you this: when was the last time a ground ball went for a home run? Right, now take a look at the fly ball rates of the Phillies starting pitchers. Nearly all allow less than 40% of balls in play to be grounders.
As a matter of fact, Kyle Kendrick, the pitcher in the rotation with the lowest ERA (as of this writing, he is 0.01 lower than Cole Hamels), has the highest ground ball rate of any Phillies starting pitcher. Coincidence? I think not.You can only add players to your roster that are available at the time you are looking. But after watching the wind patterns push fly ball after fly ball for three and a half years now, wouldn't it make sense to start tailoring the team to the park?
