GaryMrMets
07-06-2004, 12:37 PM
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/sports/9087066.htm
Posted on Tue, Jul. 06, 2004
Rich Hofmann | Winning the hard way, but for how long?
By Rich Hofmann
hofmanr@phillynews.com
BEFORE THIS ridiculous journey began for the Phillies, the good people at the Mandalay Bay Race and Sports Book in Las Vegas posted over-under win totals on every major league baseball team. It is as close to an objective set of expectations as exists, mostly because millions of dollars ride on the judgments.
The Phillies' over-under was 92 wins.
Since then, the team opened a new baseball park that it promised would be "fair" and which, instead, has turned into a chili-and-tequila-shots nightmare for pitchers. The starting pitching staff, thought to be as solid a group of five as this city has seen in years, has been hit by injuries and ineffectiveness. The bats have been on fire for weeks,
even as the team struggles most night to manufacture runs. The manager has been under fire for months, even as the team sits in first place.
And, halfway through a season in which so little has been predictable, the 92-win Phils would have been expected to have won 46 games at this point. They've won 44.
So that's where we begin, with a team that has been maddening on many nights - and would have been maddening on many more, such as last night, if not for Ryan Madson - but which has a three-game lead in the
division at the halfway point of the season, and which is only two wins behind its expected pace.
"We're not underachieving," manager Larry Bowa said. "I don't think I'm ever pleased.
But when I look at what's happened...I like where we are. I'm not happy, but I like where we are."
Bowa's never pleased...
Alert the media...
There are few mirages at this point in a baseball season. You are what you are. And last night provided what might have been the perfect microcosm for this Phillies season.
Team falls behind. Starter can't go nearly deep enough into the game. Bats erase the deficit. Bullpen, arriving in waves,
shuts the door. It is the way the Phillies have gotten to 44-37 at the midpoint, as often as not.
The winning pitcher was Ryan Madson, the revelation in middle relief, the guy who was kept on the roster in a late-spring decision and who has been, as Bowa said, "lights out." He pitched two shutout innings, bailing out starter Paul Abbott. Madson now is 6-2 with a 2.15 ERA.
"I didn't know what to expect," Madson said, remembering back to the start of the season, when he was slated for a bullpen role for the first time in his career. "But I got an opportunity and I wanted to make them look good and let them know that they made the right decision in
keeping me here."
Madson had never, as he said, "been an everyday player." He had never had to recover quickly from work and pitch on consecutive days - he said, when he was a starter, he always needed his rest. Madson had never come into the game in the middle of trouble, never faced those kinds of pressure jams, never been used for one inning in one game, and three in another game, and back and forth.
But, as he said, "You just get so fired up in the bullpen. You see the other guys, how intense they are, and..."
And, lights out.
"I think tonight was the most fun I've had since the first inning I threw in Florida," Madson said. "It's always fun. Playing baseball for a living, it's awesome."
Which is simple and unspoiled, which is what Madson's story this season has been. But here's the thing: While he might continue on this season, the Phillies cannot continue to live this
pattern in the second half and
really hope to pull this thing off.
Because, yes, they have come from behind to win 27 games this season, the most in the
National League. But it is a
ridiculous way to do business.
Meaning, you can't even
pretend that the Phillies don't need another pitcher, and maybe two more pitchers - a starter and a reliever. Their team ERA in June was 5.84, the worst in the National League. For the
season, their staff ERA is 4.35.
It is important to understand just how difficult a number that is for a team with aspirations.
It is critical to understand what kind of mountain they'll be
trying to climb if they don't
add a pitcher, or if their current starters don't start giving them more quality innings.
Because, in the 35 years that they've had divisional play in the major leagues, exactly three teams have won a division in the National League with a higher ERA than the Phillies have.
And none has won a pennant.
And none has won a World
Series.
So that's where the Phillies are at the midway point - good but still lacking; halfway to where?
Posted on Tue, Jul. 06, 2004
Rich Hofmann | Winning the hard way, but for how long?
By Rich Hofmann
hofmanr@phillynews.com
BEFORE THIS ridiculous journey began for the Phillies, the good people at the Mandalay Bay Race and Sports Book in Las Vegas posted over-under win totals on every major league baseball team. It is as close to an objective set of expectations as exists, mostly because millions of dollars ride on the judgments.
The Phillies' over-under was 92 wins.
Since then, the team opened a new baseball park that it promised would be "fair" and which, instead, has turned into a chili-and-tequila-shots nightmare for pitchers. The starting pitching staff, thought to be as solid a group of five as this city has seen in years, has been hit by injuries and ineffectiveness. The bats have been on fire for weeks,
even as the team struggles most night to manufacture runs. The manager has been under fire for months, even as the team sits in first place.
And, halfway through a season in which so little has been predictable, the 92-win Phils would have been expected to have won 46 games at this point. They've won 44.
So that's where we begin, with a team that has been maddening on many nights - and would have been maddening on many more, such as last night, if not for Ryan Madson - but which has a three-game lead in the
division at the halfway point of the season, and which is only two wins behind its expected pace.
"We're not underachieving," manager Larry Bowa said. "I don't think I'm ever pleased.
But when I look at what's happened...I like where we are. I'm not happy, but I like where we are."
Bowa's never pleased...
Alert the media...
There are few mirages at this point in a baseball season. You are what you are. And last night provided what might have been the perfect microcosm for this Phillies season.
Team falls behind. Starter can't go nearly deep enough into the game. Bats erase the deficit. Bullpen, arriving in waves,
shuts the door. It is the way the Phillies have gotten to 44-37 at the midpoint, as often as not.
The winning pitcher was Ryan Madson, the revelation in middle relief, the guy who was kept on the roster in a late-spring decision and who has been, as Bowa said, "lights out." He pitched two shutout innings, bailing out starter Paul Abbott. Madson now is 6-2 with a 2.15 ERA.
"I didn't know what to expect," Madson said, remembering back to the start of the season, when he was slated for a bullpen role for the first time in his career. "But I got an opportunity and I wanted to make them look good and let them know that they made the right decision in
keeping me here."
Madson had never, as he said, "been an everyday player." He had never had to recover quickly from work and pitch on consecutive days - he said, when he was a starter, he always needed his rest. Madson had never come into the game in the middle of trouble, never faced those kinds of pressure jams, never been used for one inning in one game, and three in another game, and back and forth.
But, as he said, "You just get so fired up in the bullpen. You see the other guys, how intense they are, and..."
And, lights out.
"I think tonight was the most fun I've had since the first inning I threw in Florida," Madson said. "It's always fun. Playing baseball for a living, it's awesome."
Which is simple and unspoiled, which is what Madson's story this season has been. But here's the thing: While he might continue on this season, the Phillies cannot continue to live this
pattern in the second half and
really hope to pull this thing off.
Because, yes, they have come from behind to win 27 games this season, the most in the
National League. But it is a
ridiculous way to do business.
Meaning, you can't even
pretend that the Phillies don't need another pitcher, and maybe two more pitchers - a starter and a reliever. Their team ERA in June was 5.84, the worst in the National League. For the
season, their staff ERA is 4.35.
It is important to understand just how difficult a number that is for a team with aspirations.
It is critical to understand what kind of mountain they'll be
trying to climb if they don't
add a pitcher, or if their current starters don't start giving them more quality innings.
Because, in the 35 years that they've had divisional play in the major leagues, exactly three teams have won a division in the National League with a higher ERA than the Phillies have.
And none has won a pennant.
And none has won a World
Series.
So that's where the Phillies are at the midway point - good but still lacking; halfway to where?