Thursday, October 04, 2007
Rockies - Phillies: Game One Review
Yesterday’s 4-2 loss to the Colorado Rockies was a major blow to the phillies playoff chances, but I’d caution the fans out there from thinking that it is necessarily fatal. Remember, the Phillies were going up against the Rockies best pitcher, whose stuff was pretty darn good. The rest of the Rockies rotation isn’t as good. Don’t worry, the Phillies will get another crack at Francis in game five.
You aren’t going to win any ball games when Ryan Howard and Chase Utley go 0-for-8 with seven strikeouts. Seven strikeouts. Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino didn’t exactly set the table for them either, going 0-for-7 with a walk and two strikeouts. The Phillies 1-4 hitters were an astonishing 0-for-15 with nine strikeouts. In sixteen plate appearances, the best the four could do was a Jimmy Rollins walk.
With nobody on base, nobody could steal or try and put some pressure on Francis. He was free to blow pitches by the Phillies hitters and leave after the sixth inning with a 3-2 lead. The Rockies bullpen took care of the rest.
It’s hard not to be impressed by the job that the Rockies pitchers did in the game and have frustration with the Phillies. The best offense in the National League hit .137 against the Rockies pitchers. They will have to do better in game two.
The flip side is that the Phillies pitchers didn’t do a bad job either. The Rockies were just 6-for-32, or .188, with four walks. The Phillies pitchers struck-out twelve Rockies. Hamels was very good in his playoff debut, getting seven strikeouts in six and two-thirds of an inning. Aside from Tom Gordon allowing a home run to Matt Holliday to double the Rockies lead, the bullpen didn’t pitch badly either. The Phillies pitching was good, but the Rockies was great yesterday.
The Rockies and Phillies will both be sending rookies to the mound today. The Rockies elected to go with Franklin Morales (3-2, 3.43 ERA) instead of Redman, while the Phillies send Kyle Kendrick. Morales first major league start was August 18th. Kendrick’s was June 13th.
I like Kendrick in this match-up because he’s had a lot of success this season despite seemingly posting some pedestrian numbers. His 3.64 K/9 ratio is pretty mediocre, but he only allowed 25 walks in 121 innings pitched: 1.86 BB/9. The Phillies play pretty good defense behind Kendrick too: .719 DER. Is that because of Kendrick or despite him? I am not sure.
Confused about what I’m talking about? Here are the stats I refer to defined:
ERA – Earned Run Average: (Earned Runs * 9) / IP = ERA
DER – Defense Efficiency Ratio: (Batters Faced – (Hits + Walks + Hit By Pitch + Strikeouts)) / (Batters Faced – (Home Runs, Walks + Hit By Pitch + Strikeouts)) How often fielders convert balls put into play into outs.
HR/9 – Home Runs allowed per nine innings: (HR * 9) / IP
BB/9 – Walks per nine innings: (BB * 9) / IP
K/9 – Strikeouts per nine innings: (K * 9) / IP
Prediction for today’s game: the Phillies get unwound early and drive Morales off the mound by the fourth inning on their way to a 6-2 victory. Ryan Howard hits a home run and Jimmy Rollins get two or three hits. And the Phillies steal three bases.
I had forgotten to mention this yesterday: the Rockies caught 21% of the base-stealers who ran against them in 2007. I don’t think they’ve had to play a team with as much speed on the roster as the Phillies – J.Roll, Utley, Victorino, Chris Roberson – so base-stealing might be the Phillies hidden edge.
On to what the pundits are saying …
Josh Kalk has a break-down of Francis performance against the Phillies yesterday over at The Hardball Times. Basically, Kalk analyzed Francis pitches and determined that he mixed in more curveballs than he usually did and threw changeups on counts where he usually went with his fastball.
Bob Ford at the Inquirer has a pretty pessimistic take on yesterday’s game. The Inquirer’s Jim Salisbury says that the Rockies intentionally worked the counts against Hamels and were aided by the unusually warm October day, which wore Hamels down. Let’s hope for a cold front for game five.
You aren’t going to win any ball games when Ryan Howard and Chase Utley go 0-for-8 with seven strikeouts. Seven strikeouts. Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino didn’t exactly set the table for them either, going 0-for-7 with a walk and two strikeouts. The Phillies 1-4 hitters were an astonishing 0-for-15 with nine strikeouts. In sixteen plate appearances, the best the four could do was a Jimmy Rollins walk.
With nobody on base, nobody could steal or try and put some pressure on Francis. He was free to blow pitches by the Phillies hitters and leave after the sixth inning with a 3-2 lead. The Rockies bullpen took care of the rest.
It’s hard not to be impressed by the job that the Rockies pitchers did in the game and have frustration with the Phillies. The best offense in the National League hit .137 against the Rockies pitchers. They will have to do better in game two.
The flip side is that the Phillies pitchers didn’t do a bad job either. The Rockies were just 6-for-32, or .188, with four walks. The Phillies pitchers struck-out twelve Rockies. Hamels was very good in his playoff debut, getting seven strikeouts in six and two-thirds of an inning. Aside from Tom Gordon allowing a home run to Matt Holliday to double the Rockies lead, the bullpen didn’t pitch badly either. The Phillies pitching was good, but the Rockies was great yesterday.
The Rockies and Phillies will both be sending rookies to the mound today. The Rockies elected to go with Franklin Morales (3-2, 3.43 ERA) instead of Redman, while the Phillies send Kyle Kendrick. Morales first major league start was August 18th. Kendrick’s was June 13th.
I like Kendrick in this match-up because he’s had a lot of success this season despite seemingly posting some pedestrian numbers. His 3.64 K/9 ratio is pretty mediocre, but he only allowed 25 walks in 121 innings pitched: 1.86 BB/9. The Phillies play pretty good defense behind Kendrick too: .719 DER. Is that because of Kendrick or despite him? I am not sure.
Confused about what I’m talking about? Here are the stats I refer to defined:
ERA – Earned Run Average: (Earned Runs * 9) / IP = ERA
DER – Defense Efficiency Ratio: (Batters Faced – (Hits + Walks + Hit By Pitch + Strikeouts)) / (Batters Faced – (Home Runs, Walks + Hit By Pitch + Strikeouts)) How often fielders convert balls put into play into outs.
HR/9 – Home Runs allowed per nine innings: (HR * 9) / IP
BB/9 – Walks per nine innings: (BB * 9) / IP
K/9 – Strikeouts per nine innings: (K * 9) / IP
Prediction for today’s game: the Phillies get unwound early and drive Morales off the mound by the fourth inning on their way to a 6-2 victory. Ryan Howard hits a home run and Jimmy Rollins get two or three hits. And the Phillies steal three bases.
I had forgotten to mention this yesterday: the Rockies caught 21% of the base-stealers who ran against them in 2007. I don’t think they’ve had to play a team with as much speed on the roster as the Phillies – J.Roll, Utley, Victorino, Chris Roberson – so base-stealing might be the Phillies hidden edge.
On to what the pundits are saying …
Josh Kalk has a break-down of Francis performance against the Phillies yesterday over at The Hardball Times. Basically, Kalk analyzed Francis pitches and determined that he mixed in more curveballs than he usually did and threw changeups on counts where he usually went with his fastball.
Bob Ford at the Inquirer has a pretty pessimistic take on yesterday’s game. The Inquirer’s Jim Salisbury says that the Rockies intentionally worked the counts against Hamels and were aided by the unusually warm October day, which wore Hamels down. Let’s hope for a cold front for game five.
Labels: Hamels, Howard, Playoffs, Rollins, Utley, Victorino
Comments:
YOU'RE PHINISHED!! You were philled with so much conphidence on your big rally on Monday. Jimmy Rollins and his ghetto lingo was so inspiring. What a disgrace to prophessional athletes to get on the mike and give his ebonics speech.
It has been absolutely brilliant seeing the stunned phaces in the ballpark on you losers in Philly!! You looked stunned and appeared in a state of disbelief like the Mets fans did in Shea Stadium on Sunday. Our Phillies actually lost?? LMAO!! Did you actually think you were going to get into the next round? Give me a break!! That momentum was only going to last so long. You should consider yourselves lucky the Mets have immature players on their team that were WAY overconfident and backed themselves out of October baseball. Let ME let YOU in on a little secret - iph you don't win it all you may as well have won NOTHING. TRUE WINNERS KNOW THAT. You losers will be content simply because you won the East. No ring and you accomplished the same goal the disgraceful Mets did this season - no World Series championship. Hope you had phun up to this point because you won't be here next year. I've got a pheeling the Mets will be back with a mission of revenge. So take your Phaggy hankies and go cry away the winter with the Mets fans. Whaaa, whaaa - the Rockies swept us, WHAAA!!
It has been absolutely brilliant seeing the stunned phaces in the ballpark on you losers in Philly!! You looked stunned and appeared in a state of disbelief like the Mets fans did in Shea Stadium on Sunday. Our Phillies actually lost?? LMAO!! Did you actually think you were going to get into the next round? Give me a break!! That momentum was only going to last so long. You should consider yourselves lucky the Mets have immature players on their team that were WAY overconfident and backed themselves out of October baseball. Let ME let YOU in on a little secret - iph you don't win it all you may as well have won NOTHING. TRUE WINNERS KNOW THAT. You losers will be content simply because you won the East. No ring and you accomplished the same goal the disgraceful Mets did this season - no World Series championship. Hope you had phun up to this point because you won't be here next year. I've got a pheeling the Mets will be back with a mission of revenge. So take your Phaggy hankies and go cry away the winter with the Mets fans. Whaaa, whaaa - the Rockies swept us, WHAAA!!
# posted by 
: Friday, October 05, 2007 8:14:00 AM
: Friday, October 05, 2007 8:14:00 AM
YOU'RE PHINISHED!! You were philled with so much conphidence on your big rally on Monday. Jimmy Rollins and his ghetto lingo was so inspiring. What a disgrace to prophessional athletes to get on the mike and give his ebonics speech.
It has been absolutely brilliant seeing the stunned phaces in the ballpark on you losers in Philly!! You looked stunned and appeared in a state of disbelief like the Mets fans did in Shea Stadium on Sunday. Our Phillies actually lost?? LMAO!! Did you actually think you were going to get into the next round? Give me a break!! That momentum was only going to last so long. You should consider yourselves lucky the Mets have immature players on their team that were WAY overconfident and backed themselves out of October baseball. Let ME let YOU in on a little secret - iph you don't win it all you may as well have won NOTHING. TRUE WINNERS KNOW THAT. You losers will be content simply because you won the East. No ring and you accomplished the same goal the disgraceful Mets did this season - no World Series championship. Hope you had phun up to this point because you won't be here next year. I've got a pheeling the Mets will be back with a mission of revenge. So take your Phaggy hankies and go cry away the winter with the Mets fans. Whaaa, whaaa - the Rockies swept us, WHAAA!!
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It has been absolutely brilliant seeing the stunned phaces in the ballpark on you losers in Philly!! You looked stunned and appeared in a state of disbelief like the Mets fans did in Shea Stadium on Sunday. Our Phillies actually lost?? LMAO!! Did you actually think you were going to get into the next round? Give me a break!! That momentum was only going to last so long. You should consider yourselves lucky the Mets have immature players on their team that were WAY overconfident and backed themselves out of October baseball. Let ME let YOU in on a little secret - iph you don't win it all you may as well have won NOTHING. TRUE WINNERS KNOW THAT. You losers will be content simply because you won the East. No ring and you accomplished the same goal the disgraceful Mets did this season - no World Series championship. Hope you had phun up to this point because you won't be here next year. I've got a pheeling the Mets will be back with a mission of revenge. So take your Phaggy hankies and go cry away the winter with the Mets fans. Whaaa, whaaa - the Rockies swept us, WHAAA!!
# posted by : Friday, October 05, 2007 8:14:00 AM
: Friday, October 05, 2007 8:14:00 AM
