Fightin Phillies

2008 Phillies regular season stats review

2008-11-15T17:12:59Z

Here is my review of the stats for 2008, join me at my website, www.fightinphillies.com all through the offseason for news, and internet broadcasts about your Phillies!

Phillies 2008 Season Review

Rich Baxter - FightinPhillies.com

The Phillies capped off the 2008 season with a great World Series win, 4 games to 1 over the Tampa Rays this year. They got their by beating the Milwaukee Brewers 3-1 in the division series and then trouncing the LA Dodgers 4-1 in the NLCS. The Phillies goal this year was to improve upon their poor showing in 2007's division series when they got shut down 3-0 by the Colorado Rockies. They really did a great job in improving; you can't get much better than a World Series win!

Here is a recap of the regular season in 2008 for the Phillies. The team drew 3.4 million fans to the ballpark this year in 2008 and it was more than in 2007 when the Phils drew 3.1 million fans to a ballgame at Citizens Bank Park. It has been five seasons since the Citizens Bank Park Phillies stadium has opened and already the Phillies have had 15.1 million fans come through the turnstiles to see a baseball game.

The game of baseball is great for compiling stats, there are so many games, and so many stats to keep track of, it becomes a joy for anyone who likes to look at streaks, batting averages, and any other stat that you can think of. Here are some stats of the 2008 Phillies regular season:

1. Total team at bats: 5509 (10^th in NL)

2. Total team hits: 1407 (10^th in NL)

3. Total Runs Scored: 799 (2^nd in NL)

4. Average age for the 2008 Phillies: 30.1

5. Total Team Doubles: 291 (9^th in NL)

6. Total Team Triples: 36 (4^th in NL)

7. Total Team HR's: 214 (1^st in NL) - one more homerun this year than 2007

8. Total Team Walks: 586 (5^th in NL)

9. Team Batting Average: .255 (10^th in NL)

10. Team Slugging Pct.: .438 (2^nd in NL)

11. Team Hit by Pitch: 67 (3^rd in NL ) down from 90 in 2007 (1^st in NL)

12. Team Stolen Bases: 136 (3^rd in NL)

The Pitching team stats are very interesting, the offense carried this team most of the regular season in combination with good pitching. I wouldn't call it a 'great' year for Phillies pitching in 2008 as told by these team pitching stats for the regular season:

1. Team ERA: 3.89 (4^th in NL) in 2007 4.73 (13^th in NL)

2. Team Wins: 92 (2nd in NL)

3. Team Losses: 70 (15^th in NL)

4. Complete Games: 4 (5^th in NL)

5. Team Hits Given Up: 1444 (9^th in NL)

6. Team Runs Given Up: 680 (3^rd in NL)

7. Team Home Runs Given Up: 160 (6^th in NL) in 2007: 198 (12^th in NL)

8. Average Pitchers Age: 30.6

9. Srikeouts: 1081 (11^th in NL)

10. Saves: 47 (2^nd in NL) in 2007 42 (6^th NL)

The last stat in the team pitching I feel is the most important, an increase in saves to 47 from last year's total of 42. That's an increase of 5 games more that were successfully saved for a win for the Phillies in 2008 over last year. It was by no means a dominating year for Phillies pitchers. There was no 20 game winner. Jamie Moyer had the highest amount of wins at 16 followed by Cole Hamels at 14. Hamels and Moyer pitched in 33 games each to lead the team in that category. Moyer actually had 3 fewer losses than Hamels who had 10 losses for the Phillies in the regular season. Hamels and Moyer shadowed one another for the top pitching billing for the team. Moyer pitched about 30 less innings than Hamels and Moyer gave up 8 fewer homeruns than Hamels did with Hamels total at 28 homeruns given up. Hamels had more strikeouts at 196 to Moyer's 123. Moyer hit 11 batters and Hamels only hit one batter during the regular season. The stats for Moyer and Hamels are really close for the regular season. Moyer is 45 years old and Hamels only 24 in 2008, so Jamie really gave the Phillies all he had this year and nearly was the best Phillies pitcher for the regular season.

The next group of stats I'll talk about is the individual player's stats for the Phillies regular season in 2008 in baseball it's the numbers that make you great, here's some of them:

Batting Average: .293 Victorino - Chase Utley just missed .292

On Base Percentage: .380 -Utley

Slugging PCT: .543 -Howard

Games : 162 -Howard

At Bats: 610 -Howard

Runs: 113 -Utley

Hits: 177 -Utley

Homeruns: 48 -Howard

Double: 41 -Utley

Triples: 9 -Rollins

Singles: 115 - Victorino

Walks: 102 - Burrell

Extra Base Hits: 78 -Howard and Utley

Hit By Pitch: 27 -Utley

Sacrifice Hits: 12 -Moyer

Intentional Walks: 17 -Howard

Here are some individual Phillies regular season pitching stats leaders to ponder:

ERA: 3.09 -Hamels

Wins: 16 -Moyer

Win/Loss Pct: .696 -Moyer

Complete Games: 2 -Hamels and Myers

Shut Outs: 2 - Hamels

Saves: 41 - Lidge

Strikeouts to Walks ratio: 3.70 -Hamels

Strikeouts: 196 - Hamels

Final standings for the Phillies regular season in the NL East 2008-

92-70 .568 Home 48-33 Road - 44-37 finished 3.0 games ahead of NY Mets

So, all in all a very successful year for the team, it's the second World Championship of the franchise which started in 1883. The first coming 28 years ago in 1980, I am proud to have witnessed both of them! I am looking forward to a great 2009 season.

Richard Baxter - FightinPhillies.com

Thanks to www.baseball-reference.com for the stats I quoted in this post!

BR is one of my favorite stops on the internet to read about baseball.

After World Series Win, Phillies changes coming fast

2008-11-02T16:50:51Z

The World Series victory is just days old, but even those short precious days can't stop the winds of change that continually blow in a professional baseball team. The Phillies declined to have Tom Gordon and So Taguchi on the club next year. Don't feel too bad for Gordon, he'll be getting a $1,000,000 buyout to not play for the team! So much for a golden parachute.

The Phillies also seem to have appointed Assistant GM, Ruben Amaro, Jr., to the post of GM according to the Philadelphia Daily News, Paul Hagen. This is being reported on Philly.com as a fact. So here comes the change that is inevitable to a team. Mike Arbuckle, who has been with the team for many years and made plenty of great player acquisitions, was in a two man race for the GM job but appearently lost out to Amaro who I remember played for the Phillies but wasn't a real stand out player. His father also played and coached for the Phillies, so the 'keep it in the family' style of baseball rolls right along.

Time will tell what a Amaro GM legacy will bring to the ballclub. I can't say anything but 'Good luck, and bring us another championship!' and please a little sooner than the 28 year drought from 1980 to 2008.

The Phils will have to wield a big check book this year, they've made millions and now they will have to spend millions with Howard, Hamels, and do you give a little extra to Jimmy for good measure here too? Look for that hotdog and soda to go up again to help pay for all of this! I want to see what happens with ticket prices, now that the Phillies have the whole area under their spell. We may have to pony up with our checkbooks too!

The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY will have a nice display of the Phillies Championship 2008 season ready by November 14, 2008 and remember any of us that have a ticket to the induction day of 2008 for the Hall of Fame gets free admission to the Hall just by bringing your ticket stub! Cole Hamels Game 5 jersey will be there, and some other cool items. Read more about this here.

Join me at my Phillies Blog Website, you can listen to my podcast about the Phillies as well there

Rich Baxter - Fightin Phillies Blog

Phillies look to silence the 'Cowbells' in Game 1

2008-10-22T12:50:47Z

Down here in Tampa all the rage is about 'Cowbell Time', it's something a lot of fans bring to the games down here in Tampa Rays country. Every news story on tv mentions it, and the ringing of the cowbell is loud and under the dome stadium, it rings even louder. A lot of people don't like the constant ringing of these things, including sportscasters and visitors to the ballpark from the opposing team.

The Tampa fans have barely been able to celebrate their ALCS victory and suddenly find themselves in Game 1 of the World Series tonight with their first ever appearance in such a game. The Rays team has got to be wanting a rest, and two days isn't long enough. The team does have youth but I don't think youth carries the day in this World Series. I don't understand why the Rays are even the favorite in the World Series in the first place other than the fact that nobody is giving the proper respect to the Phillies who are stocked with All Star caliber talent.

Tonight will tell if the Phillies did have too much rest from last week's quick win over the LA Dodgers, I am glad they did win it so fast though, we could be playing Boston just as easily in the World Series Game 1 and I am happy the team is the Rays instead. The Rays aren't superhuman, they do lose and I think they lose Game 1 tonight in front of their hometown crowd.

Beating the Tampa Rays:

In late September, the Rays lost 3 of 4 to the Detroit Tigers. Detroit was terrible all year, but they handled the Rays just fine. Of course the Rays rested a few regulars but this shows that the Rays can be hit and scored on.

The Rays also have produced average home run stats or below average for a team all year long. The Phillies have won a few postseason games just based on the home run. So look for the Phillies having the edge when they can go deep with home runs.

Game 1 starter James Shields is 1-2 in the postseason, he is young and the postseason jitters will turn into the World Series jitters as he takes the mound tonight. I think this is big for the Phillies. Your game 1 starter is 1-2 for the Rays and he is supposed to be the best on the team.

The Phillies are stocked with All Star caliber players, Rollins and Howard have yet to show that they are the players that are trully 'All Star'. Look for them to have super stats in the World Series. Rollins did have a few key hits in the Dodgers series but look for him to have more in the W.S. and maybe become "Mr. October".

Oh yes, I am so glad I am down here in Tampa, I am reading all the talk about Billy Penn's curse back in the Philly media, and I think all that is just a bunch of bull! Leave it to certain media to bring up the negatives. I don't believe in any of this, if anything the Phillies have played better than they ever have in the last month, let's celebrate that not the myths carried on by certain media outlets.

Rich Baxter - Fightin Phillies Blog

www.fightinphillies.com

The Tampa sun should bring Phillies pfun!

2008-10-21T01:07:24Z

I wore my Phillies jersey down here in Tampa today. I expected to talk baseball with people and my expectations weren't disappointed. The desk clerk was first as when we started talking baseball he told me the Rays barely attracted 20,000 people a night up to the All Star break and now everyone is a Rays fan. That is so true, both Florida teams seem to be that way. The whole season the hometown fans don't seem to support them, look at the Florida Marlins for instance, but if they make the playoffs and World Series the fans come crawling out of the wood work.

Everywhere I went down here, I encountered people who were finally happy to see a guy with a Phillies shirt on! I heard that many times during the day, and most people were very polite when they didn't think much of my Phillies shirt or choice of team. I even went down to St.Petersburg to the stadium in a vain attempt to get tickets to Game 1 at the ticket window at the stadium. I was told there will be a sale of seats, and any remaining seats would go onsale at the Rays site if there were any left. The actual sale of the tickets will be on Tuesday with the game on Wednesday. I encountered some real die hard Rays fans waiting for the players to arrive, they treated myself and my Mrs. like one of their own, they knew we had come to get a glimpse of our heros from Philadelphia, just as they were waiting for their local Tampa heros.

I also went to the Clearwater Bright House Network Phillies stadium where they have a gift shop that is open all year round, I looked at some nice branded hats with the World Series logo on them, and some nice shirts among other things. If you're coming down to the games, go there for your merchandise. It's all in a nice gift shop right at the stadium.

Let's go Phillies - World Series 2008 - this team is not an underdog, they are the favorite! How can you call the Phillies underdogs they have last year's MVP Jimmy Rollins, the Home Run King Ryan Howard, and NLCS MVP 2008 Cole Hamels as well. Did I forget Shane Victorino, Pat "The Bat" Burrell, and Brett Myers among others... come on odds makers the Phillies should be your favorite here.

Rich Baxter - Fightin Phillies blog

www.fightinphillies.com

www.phillywebcast.com

Game 2 goes to the Phillies and the Fans!

2008-10-12T17:25:45Z

The crowd at Game 2 for this NLCS game was one of the best crowds I've ever been in to watch a baseball game. The festive mood, and atmosphere around the Citizens Bank Park was electric to say the least. The fans were behind every pitch that Brett Myers threw on Friday early evening in Philadelphia. Not a moment went by practically when there wasn't action on the field. I was listening to the game on the radio as I was sitting in my seat next to my beautiful wife, and listening to the guys talk about how the Phillies have determined that they can pitch to Manny and they know how to pitch him now in certain situations. Just after they said this, Manny put one in the left field bleachers for a three run shot, I remember thinking to myself the words that I spoke in my Phillies podcast, "Don't let Manny beat you". He didn't beat us this day, but I suggest the Phillies be a little more in a hurry to walk him and pitch to someone else instead.

This game was one of the best I've ever been to, yes I know the people out there reading this and saying "Your best seat is in your living room" yes, that may be true... my father is always telling me this, but no on this occasion you would never get the goosebumps and the feeling that these fans envoked on this game. The tears for Charlie Manuel when they panned over to someone in the crowd you made a sign up "This one's for Mom" with a heart next to it! You can't get more emotion than this really. There is nothing quite like this series against the Dodgers, it almost seems like the Phillies are destined to be in the World Series in 2008! They are playing like a giant steamroller, steamrolling everything in their path, and they'll stop at nothing to win it all. The team of 2008 may have a date with destiny - as a World Champion....

Rich Baxter - Fightin Phillies blog

October baseball starts today for the Phillies

2008-10-01T12:27:03Z

The first day of the postseason is upon us and the Phillies are raring to go. A lot of talk of going deeper into the playoffs this year was the topic of several of the players after the Phils clinched the division for the second straight year.

The games begin today, and I hope the Phillies bring their "A" game to the field this afternoon at Citizens Bank Park. The pitching staff still concerns me for the playoffs. They haven't been a pitching staff that is easily compared to World Series caliber staffs by any means. Cole Hamels has been strong all year, but he hasn't exactly been Cy Young and has been prone to being close to imploding a couple times during games down the stretch. He's not Steve Carlton that is for sure, not yet anyway.

That being said, the Phillies do have what it takes to win this series, the Brewers are no team to be taken lightly though. They have a dangerous line up of players that aren't household names but they get the job done on the baseball field. The Brewers have their 'unsecret' weapon in CC Sabathia, and the Phils need to do all they can do to win both home games so they go into Milwaukee without too many worries.

The Phillies offense is more than capable to do the job, yes we've seen them even get into a fog and it seemed at times that the team couldn't hit their way out of a paper bag, but this is all behind them now, and they need to let the legend of this team shine through and take a piece of the pie in this postseason.

I'll be at the game today and I'll relay what I saw in my next post, so let's hope the Phillies end up on the winning side of today's game and hopefully the team is well on it's way to the NLCS next!

Phillies fans aren't the problem, it's the atmosphere at Citizens Bank Park!

2008-09-13T01:23:08Z

Quoted from philly.com and Todd Zolecki in bold from 9/12/08:

Charlie Manuel said he never meant the fans.

Manuel caused a stir yesterday with a comment he made after Wednesday's 7-3 loss to the Florida Marlins at Citizens Bank Park.

Asked about the team's recent struggles, the Phillies' manager said: "We won a game here against the Mets in extra innings [on Aug. 26], and it seemed like everyone in Philly got real high.

"The next night, we lost and there was a big difference. People got flat. Now, the team didn't, but the whole environment was that way. And that has an effect on the team and the players."

Many took "people got flat" as Manuel's blaming the fans, who have come in record numbers this year.

The problem is not with the fans, Charley and Phillies management. The problem with motivating the crowd is the stuff that used to happen in Veterans Stadium doesn't happen at Citizens Bank Park.

There is no organ music to get the crowd going in the 'new' ballpark, there is nothing really going on sound wise that helps fans 'get happy' and clap - like the old 'clapping hands' on the scoreboard you used to see to pump up the crowd at the ballpark at Veterans Stadium. These types of things always pumped up the crowd. I know because I was there and I remember all those little things. You had a couple bigger scoreboards keeping fans uptempo when the team needed a little extra help. It is no where to be found at Citizens Bank Park! That is the problem.

There isn't any thing going on except for the Phillie Phanatic, and he entertains some people but he can't do it all. He gets people clapping, but there's no music to go along with that... this needs to be fixed. You'll see more activity from fans if Phillies management recognizes that it is them that needs to do more to fix this.

Rich Baxter - Fightin Phillies blog

Phils and Brewers play 3 in two days now

2008-09-13T01:01:29Z

   The Phillies rainout forced another double header for the team, but it also afforded another day of rest for a starting pitching staff that has been pulling double duty lately. The Phillies are still in the hunt for the playoffs and I got my tickets for the playoffs ordered today!

   We need that offense to keep roaring for Saturday's game vs. the Brew Crew - The Phillies need to do something with the starting rotation. With the pitchers they have currently, that poses and interesting problem. You can demote Kendrick, who has flopped in the last three games terribly. Who do you bring into the rotation though? I think Adam Eaton is finished as a starting pitcher. He has had nothing but bad numbers this year and toward the end of last. He's lost his winning ways and even his stint in the minors had him serving up softballs to them that they hit out of the park reguarly.

    The answer to this problem is simple, JA Happ deserves the chance to give his best to the club for the last two weeks. He's got some good skills and may be a pitcher the Phillies rely on in the future. Time will tell what happens with the situation but that is one option that looks good at this point.

Phillies show their ugly side last night vs. Nationals

2008-09-04T10:50:25Z

The Phillies are the team with two heads. One head is a team that could win it all, everything purrs like a kitten and when this happens it is just great. Last night the Phillies turned in what looked like the other head they have, it is ugly and when it shows itself, you just want to turn away.

The Phillies had a situation where the Nationals had the bases loaded, two ground balls and nobody threw home? This is just unexplainable. These are major league players, and this shouldn't happen. Phillies announcer on the radio, Larry Anderson, was livid on the radio broadcast of the game. You can always look to him to tell the truth about something. He did tell the truth last night, he was really mad at the Phillies and said, "There's two errors you won't see in the box score." His sidekick didn't say a word, he generally doesn't berate the Phillies but this time it was true and the Fightins looked like a high school team. Ryan Howard's indecision left him to throw to second base when he clearly had a play at the plate, the guy would have been out by 15 feet.

The Phils fall 3 whole games behind the Mets, this team could be out of it by next week at this time if things don't change for them. The bullpen implodes regularly now, the offense is producing but not enough when the bullpen implodes, and sometimes the offense doesn't show up at all. They are not out of it yet, but this weekend says it all for the team. If they can't beat the Mets, they won't be going to the playoffs.

Rich Baxter - FightinPhillies.com

Cubs series will be crucial to Phillies playoff chance

2008-08-30T12:23:44Z

So far in Chicago, the Phillies have been snake bitten in Chicago. They've lost two very important games to Chicago with the bullpen appearing to have a big problem holding games all of a sudden. The offense is doing their job, and now the pitching seems to have let the Phillies down a bit, though they are not out. Yet.

The Phillies fell to 2.0 games out of first now, and with the games dwindling down to the month of September now with the remaining schedule, they have to do all they can to get back to their winning ways.

The Fightins have lost three in a row now, and this late in the season they can't afford to do that. On paper, they are almost statistically identical to the NY Mets, the Phils have just stumbled a bit lately. This type of play isn't the mark of a World Series winner, but if the Phils just make the playoffs that in itself becomes a new season and nothing previous matters.

The Mets haven't seen the last of the loss column, that is for sure. The one terrible stat the Phillies have this year is their record for day games, they are 16-22. This isn't a good sign. Somehow, they have to find out why their record during the day isn't too good. This day record the Phillies have is equal to the record of the Washington Nationals, so you can see this isn't good.

         Here's some misc. stats of the Phils so far:

           Ryan Howard... Strikeouts 2008...      175 as of 8/29
           Chase Utley...    Hit by pitch... 21   " "
           Jimmy Rollins... Triples... 9    "

Phillies need to pickup the pieces

2008-08-16T01:41:18Z

A trip out to the West Coast for the Phillies has brought nothing but quiet bats, losses, and Jimmy being Jimmy. Or was that Manny being Manny? Oh well, when your making $8 million this year and millions before, I guess you can say whatever you want to when your Jimmy Rollins. I think a lot of these ballplayers lose sight of who actually comes out to see them. It isn't millionaires for the most part, they're too busy making money to actually go out and see the team, no it's hard working people who have to put their season tickets on credit cards and pay on time just to keep their season seats. So, are you going to support that fan, Jimmy? No, I didn't think so. I've always liked Jimmy and I continue to be a fan of his but get off this subject and get out there and start getting the job done on the field!

Well, moving on, we have a swept team looking for salvation in San Diego tonight. This team needs a win, as the Mets won against Pittsburgh and look like a team turned around. The Phillies need to win every time the Mets win just to stay up with them, the minute the Phils lose when the Mets win, they start digging that winter hole that they can crawl into in October and miss the playoffs.

   What happened? J Roll seems to be off on a temper tantrum, Utley curses at the fans that boo right on national tv, the whole team isn't hitting almost like Ryan Howard's average every game and Myers looks like he's going to kill someone out there on the mound when he's pitching. This is certainly going from bad to worse, they need a bit of lightening up a bit, bring a clown into the clubhouse or something, a comedian perhaps. The team needs to take a load off their mind, and just relax and play baseball.

    I predict the Phils knock the seams off the ball tonight and win big in game one in San Diego!

   The team did lose 6 straight already this year in June, I don't think they break that streak. They need a win though and start taking every game seriously but relax and have fun.

Rollins and Utley: two views, do they say the same thing?

2008-08-16T01:17:54Z

In the games against the L.A. Dodgers, Jimmy Rollins went 3-17. He found time to talk about the fans though, somethings are better left unsaid and that subject is one of them. There is no easy explaination of why Philly fans take delight in booing a player when they aren't doing too well. The obvious thing for the fans to do in the players benefit would be to offer encouragement to a player that needs the extra support. 'Angry mob' mentality dictates that this isn't what happens though, and it is easier to boo than reason with why a player is doing badly.

Schmidt tried to tackle this subject, as did Carlton, and many other great Phillies. It's bothered all of them. Pat Burrell has maintained a silence on the subject for the most part, though I know something is simmering and one day he'll tell us all how he feels about the subject. It's just not easy to put a handle on it, I've been to many a game though in Philly and I find that the ignorant ones that boo are just trying to make some noise because they actually want attention more than the fact that they are booing a player for any given reason. The problem is there seems to be a lot of those types in a crowd at times.

When Utley said the infamous words that he uttered about fans that booed, he just said, "Boo? - F$$k You!" and no one said anything. The Utley comment flew over the radar by Philly fans and instead of J Roll trying to be philosophical about it, he should have just said the same thing and nothing would have been said. J Roll should have just said that very comment on the "Best Damn Sports Show Period" and he wouldn't be in the trouble he is in with some fans today.

Utley's comments weren't just directed at NY Fans, it pertained to every fan really. I like Utley as a player, but I didn't like what he said when he said it on national tv at the Home Run Derby in July.

Rollins is firmly entrenched into a different realm with these comments, he directed it at the wrong time, with the Phillies doing so badly in LA and now he'll hear it real loud on Tuesday night. He has moved into an area that Schmidt, Carlton, and all the Phillies greats have been exposed to. What a difference a year makes, he's MVP last year and this year the tables have turned.

Rollins speaks out about Phillies fans - is he right?

2008-08-14T11:13:14Z

Did I say something wrong about the fans?
photo: Philly.com

I don't interpret Jimmy Rollins comments about the fans as a negative. He's just calling it as he sees it. Look at Pat Burrell for instance, he's endured more booing than any home team player should have during his time here, and for what? He's the same player, this year he is doing very well, those boos have changed to cheers. I've talked at length about the damage we can do as fans by booing your own player, especially the ones that don't deserve it. They are 'your' team. It's like booing your mother when she tells you it's cold outside and to wear a jacket, she's your mother!

When a player on a team does poorly most of the time he isn't trying to do poorly, they need support not a dismissive boo in their ear. I think this is the way Rollins meant his comment to be taken. He may have went a little to far saying the fans here are front runners though. Every crowd loves a winner though, that is the nature of the beast, what do you want them to do... want to lose? Jimmy has opened a can of worms here now, he may face the boo birds at Citizens Bank Park, I don't think there will be many but when he goes 3-4 with two doubles and a homerun, they'll cheer him- if he strikes out a couple times he may get the boo call, nothing personal it's just those fans way of telling a player, "hey I spent a days wages for my tickets, how about giving that little bit extra and do something good!"

Don't boo Rollins when the Phillies come home, you'll fall right into the trap!

What has gone wrong with Cole Hamels?

2008-08-13T00:53:15Z

Cole Hamels seems to have had a lack of run support in the last couple games. This hasn't always been the reason that he hasn't done well this season though. There are a couple of stats that Hamels possesses to support this. Number one in my mind is home runs given up, he is up there at 23 going into tonight's game in LA, that is up there for Cole. Myers has given up 25 and that has been widely publicized, but Cole's number is right there as well.

Cole is also up there for hits allowed over 9 IP that number is 7.40. Cole does have 2 CG and 2 shutouts this season though. His record is a not so good, 9-8. This doesn't bode too well for Cole's demand of much more money this year the way he has pitched so far. What the Phillies decide to do after this year will be interesting. Cole can pitch, but he needs to start showing it now. He desperately needs a win tonight in tinseltown.

His career record is 33-21 so he's still in the plus there, but his last two outings have found him getting tagged with losses in each game. At this point in time he is projected to end the season at 12-11 according to ESPN.com which has the projected stats to the end of the season. He has been called 'struggling starter' in the previews of tonights game. If Hamels wins tonight, he stays above water, if he gets pounded, look for more foreboding articles to appear about Cole - so I hope he wins tonight!

Listen to the Phillies podcast on Wednesday night 8/13 at www.phillywebcast.com at 630 pm and join in on the fun!

Richard Baxter - Fightin Phillies

Phillies vs. Manny (bad act) Ramirez and the LA Dodgers

2008-08-12T01:36:18Z

The Phillies are out west in Dodgerland after a tremendous win on Sunday in a game that felt like it took forever to play with the 1:47 rain delay right from the scheduled start time of 1:35pm yesterday.

The team needed Chase Utley to snap out of his hitting funk, he sort of did with the homerun that sealed the Phillies victory but I hope that's the start of Utley getting hot again. He seemed to have a lot on his mind as he came up to bat yesterday at Citizens Bank Park.

Meanwhile, the Mets and the Marlins get a double dose of losing today and it puts a little distance between the first place Phillies if the Phillies can come up with a couple wins in LA, namely winning tonight the first game on Monday August 11.

Is the Phillies still a powerhouse playoff team, I am not that convinced that they are. They have been winning but not in a convincing fashion. They have sputtered terribly offensively lately and have sputtered a number of times this year for unknown reasons. It just seems that they are not all that happy as a team out there sometimes.

The 1993 team had fun along the way, this team seems uptight about something, there are some really long faces out there perhaps the team should start watching the Phanatic and just relax a little and have some fun.

The Dodgers are now home for a 10 game homestand with the Phils coming in for the first three of them.

Game One vs LA:

PHI: Kendrick (10-5, 4.37 ERA)
LAD: Lowe (8-10, 4.10 ERA)

Rich Baxter - Fightin Phillies