By The Prez
Posted 06/26/2009 at 05:05 PM

A few weeks ago, I mentioned in one of my articles that the law of averages would catch up to the Philadelphia Phillies. They were winning nearly 70 percent of their road games while under .500 at home.

And that law of averages has in fact caught up to the reigning world champions, but not so much concerning their home/road splits.

Entering Friday’s action, the Phillies still lead the NL East, as they have for weeks, but that cushion is down to just a half-game over the injury-riddled Mets (it was four games less than two weeks ago), one game over the surging Marlins and four games over the Braves.

That’s because the Phillies have lost 10 of 12 games and were recently swept at home by both Toronto and Baltimore (Baltimore?). The Phils haven’t won a series since taking two of three over the Mets from June 9-11. Oh, sure, Philadelphia still has an MLB-best 24-11 road record, but only the Diamondbacks and Nationals have more home losses than Philly’s 22.


The champs’ problems are three-fold:

*-The pitching is in desperate need of another starter or two. The team has been patching holes ever since Brett Myers went down with a likely season-ending injury. One of those patches was rookie Antonio Bastardo, who had been solid before leaving Thursday’s game against Tampa Bay in the fourth inning because of a sprained pitching shoulder. Bastardo had allowed six runs in the first two innings to blow a 4-0 lead.

It’s very possible the young lefty misses his next start, which causes even more problems. And it’s not like the team can count on a win when ace Cole Hamels is on the mound, as the Phils have dropped his past two starts after winning his previous five. Aces aren’t supposed to be 4-3 with a 4.24 ERA as Hamels is.

*-Jimmy Rollins has not been able to shake his season-long slump. The 2007 NL MVP is batting just .211 with a .254 on-base percentage. Rollins has been moved out of the leadoff spot twice this season and then put back there, with no results. In fact, Rollins is hitting just.125 (7-for-56) in the 13 games since manager Charlie Manuel dropped Rollins to sixth in the lineup for two games earlier in June.

Manuel benched Rollins for Thursday’s game and will for at least Friday’s game as well, to help “clear his head.” Yet the manager insists that Rollins will remain his leadoff hitter. But if Rollins doesn’t start hitting, this lineup loses a ton.

*-The injury to outfielder Raul Ibanez has been a killer. The club put him on the 15-day on June 18 with a strained left groin. At the time, Ibanez ranked third in the majors in home runs (22) and RBIs in addition to batting .312. He was easily the leading NL MVP candidate so far, and the Phillies haven’t won a single game since then.

It’s not even certain that Ibanez will be able to return when he is eligible to come off the DL on July 3 because groin injuries tend to linger.

Philadelphia really blew a chance to put the Mets away while all of New York’s stars are injured. And now frustration is mounting on the Phillies.

"It's building up," said Manuel. "One of these days, the dam bursts, and we'll get it all [out]."

FULL STORY

By The Prez
Posted 06/22/2009 at 11:17 AM

The Detroit Tigers appear to be the class of the American League Central, entering the weekend with just a two-game lead but certainly having been the most consistent of the division clubs since May.

And the fact that Detroit is in first without anything from former AL batting champ and perennial MVP candidate Magglio Ordonez is shocking. Ordonez is hitting just .273 with two homers and 22 RBI. He has only six RBI since his last game with more multiple RBI on May 15. Mags is homerless in a career-high 38 games in a row and has just 11 extra base hits.

And manager Jim Leyland has seen enough, benching his right fielder indefinitely.

“I’m going to get him away from it,” Leyland said to reporters. “He’s beating himself up. Just let him breathe a little bit and see what happens. … I don't want to say this is the last straw, but this is another idea."

That wasn’t the only news of the week, as Detroit put struggling pitcher Dontrelle Willis on the disabled list. Willis, after a decent return, had reverted back to his wildness (18 walks in past three starts) and might well be done as a big leaguer because he can’t seem to conquer that anxiety disorder. Willis says there’s nothing mentally wrong with him and that it’s mechanical.

Unfortunately, Willis was being counted on as the team’s fifth starter, especially once Jeremy Bonderman’s comeback from injury was derailed and as Nate Robertson continues to get pounded in relief.

Pitching has been the strength of the club so far, but that rotation is definitely starting to fray behind Justin Verlander. The team called up prospect Alfredo Figaro to start in Willis’ spot over the weekend, but does Detroit really expect to win with two rookies in the rotation (the other being Rick Porcello)? And don’t forget Armando Galarraga has been terrible, so all of a sudden the rotation is a big question mark.

By the way, Willis and Ordonez are both due around $20 million combined this year and nearly $30 million next year. So there will be no trade partners for either player.
So can the Tigers win the division or a pennant with a rotation in tatters and a hole at No. 5 in the lineup where Ordonez was?

I would say no. The Tigers will have to begin to limit Porcello’s innings soon so as to not run the risk of him breaking down. He has too much potential for the Tigers to risk long-term damage by overuse. Ordonez probably will get another shot in the lineup, but if Marcus Thames can semi-replicate the old Mags, that might suffice in the short run.

Still, this team probably doesn’t have the money to make any big trades. In fact, some are speculating that the Tigers benched Ordonez so he doesn’t reach plate appearance incentives that guarantee around $15 million in 2010 and 2011. Also remember that the Tigers already ate Gary Sheffield’s contract this year. And it’s not like the Detroit economy is booming, either.

Monitor this team closely over the next few weeks. Both Willis and Mags are popular players. Detroit wasn’t really counting on Willis for much, but if Ordonez is “lost,” that will hurt a team that is offensively mediocre as it is.

That hold on first place could be very tenuous, with a team like the Twins suddenly looking like a decent value bet to win the Central.

FULL STORY