NL Worst of the Night: Kyle Kendrick’s Late-Inning Implosion Dooms Phillies

Highlighting a bad performance from the previous night in baseball might seem like a harsh way to start the morning. But look at it this way: If you had a rough night or bad day, here’s someone who may have had it worse.

May I begin by saying how excited I am about today’s “Worst of the Night” post? Because this will be the first time we’ve had a repeat winner. Or loser, as it were.

There were other candidates from Wednesday night in the National League. Matt Kemp went 0-for-5 in the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ 6-2 win over the San Francisco Giants. That dropped his batting average back below .400 after briefly getting over that mark for a couple of games.

Also, Donnie Murphy of the Miami Marlins went 0-for-6 and left five men on base in a 5-3 victory over the Houston Astros. That’s probably the last time Ozzie Guillen decides to give Omar Infante the night off. (Infante ended up with the game-winning, two-run single in the 12th inning.)

And we should have some sort of team designation for the Milwaukee Brewers, who wasted an outstanding effort from Zack Greinke. Greinke allowed just two hits over eight shutout innings, also striking out 11 Cincinnati Reds. Yet in the ninth, John Axford allowed three two-out hits, resulting in two runs and an eventual 2-1 loss.

Most nights, any of these three would be excellent candidates for NL Worst of the Night honors. (Though I’d probably lean toward giving Kemp or Murphy a pass since their teams won, to be honest.)

But Kyle Kendrick‘s late-inning meltdown in the Philadelphia Phillies‘ 10-6 loss to the New York Mets makes him our returning champion.  

Kendrick took over for Cliff Lee in the seventh, with the Phillies holding a 4-2 lead. He then lit himself on fire (figuratively speaking, of course), putting the first four batters he faced on base.

A leadoff walk to Kirk Nieuwenhuis began the steamroller. That was followed by an RBI double from Justin Turner. Ike Davis, who hasn’t hit anything lately, then hit another double. Up next, Kendrick walked the No. 8 hitter, Rob Johnson, to load the bases. 

Alertly sensing that Kendrick might be vulnerable, Mets manager Terry Collins pinch-hit Lucas Duda for Tim Byrdak. Kendrick then hit Duda with a pitch, bringing in the game-tying run. 

You can see the hit-by-pitch here.

The Mets took the lead on an RBI groundout from Andres Torres. But Kendrick briefly calmed the flames by getting Daniel Murphy to hit into an inning-ending double play. Hey, the sinker worked!

Amazingly, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel sent Kendrick out for the eighth inning. Still reeking of gasoline, he proceeded to serve up back-to-back doubles to David Wright and Scott Hairston, giving the Mets a 6-4 lead. That ended Kendrick’s night.

To sum up, Kendrick faced nine batters and got three outs. (He arguably only really got two batters out, since one hit into a double play.) He allowed five runs (Hairston later scored on a home run by the suddenly revitalized Davis), four hits, two walks and hit one batter. 

That implosion earned Kendrick NL Worst of the Night honors for the second time in two weeks. I’m sure he doesn’t want congratulations for that.

By the way, if you’re keeping count (and someone has to), Kendrick has allowed 16 runs in his last 15 innings.

During that stretch, he’s given up 27 hits, three homers and six walks. His past four appearances have tagged him with three losses and a blown save. I have no idea if we’ll be handing any Worst of the Year designations, but if so, Kendrick has to be one of the early favorites for that award.  

Again, don’t congratulate him. 

 

Follow @iancass on Twitter

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Who Will Be a More Successful Big Leaguer: Domonic Brown or Trevor May?

The Phillies have had their share of farm system success stories over the years.  Pat Burrell, Cole Hamels, Ryan Howard, Scott Rolen, Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley all rose through the minors to become successful and productive Phillies at some point. 

On the other hand, there have been some guys who just didn’t pan out, or never really got their shot with the Phils.  Gavin Floyd (with the Phillies at least), Greg Golson, Scott Mathieson, Mike Costanzo, etc. 

The verdict is still out on uber-middle-relief prospect Mike Schwimmer.  JK, he should not be anywhere near a close game, ever.

The Phillies have also had their hits and misses with announcing prospects, like Scott Franzke (not highly rated on Announcing America’s top 100 list; overachieved; the Vance Worley of announcing) and Chris Wheeler (bust, huge bust, please check the Chris Wheeler glossary, it’s hilarious).

Domonic Brown (2011) and Trevor May (2012) have been the Phillies’ top-rated prospects the past two seasons.  While predicting the success of minor league players in the major leagues is far from an exact science, I am going to predict with 100 percent guaranteed accuracy which player will have a more successful big league career. 

Yup.  Just watch me, haters.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Has Cole Hamels Put a Target on His Back?

Let me begin this article by stating I have no personal beef with Cole Hamels.

I did not particularly agree with his decision to plunk Bryce Harper. I’m not sure how hazing a 19-year-old rookie with a pitch in the back is “old school,” but at least he didn’t aim up and in. Nonetheless, it’s over and I feel indifference towards the situation.

Unfortunately for Mr. Hamels, the MLB may not agree.

We already know the commissioner’s office does not. Hamels’ role in Sunday night’s plunking fiasco—featuring his left arm and the Nationals’ prize prospect—was suspect from the start. Then, he admitted to the media that he did it on purpose.

There are two opinions on his admittance. One says that he was being a man and straight up about the situation. The other says that it was obvious he did it on purpose, but admitting it is just being a glutton for punishment.

Well, come Monday, Bud Selig wasted no time in handing Hamels a five-game suspension. Not that it matters, because those things are like slaps on the wrist these days and seem to mean nothing to players.

Unfortunately for Hamels, the MLB police their own and he may have just put a target on his back.

Cole Hamels, the 28-year-old component of the “Big Three,” is no stranger to controversy.

Things started at the beginning of his 2008 season, in which he made several statements about being underpaid. At the end of that season he made his infamous “the Mets have been choke artists” proclamation. In the 2009 World Series, Hamels told the media “I can’t wait for it to end” after his Game 3 start.

So, here we are adding one more Cole Hamels controversy to the record books. While those other incidents weren’t necessarily posh, they didn’t involve player safety. Plunking Bryce Harper however, did.

The MLB is already sounding off on the incident. Mike Rizzo, general manager of the Washington Nationals—and founder of the Bryce Harper fan club—has already made his not so PG view of the situation known. Early Tuesday, long time skipper Jim Leyland also called out Hamels.

There’s already been retaliation on the field as well. Jordan Zimmerman, who was starting for the Nationals in Sunday’s game, made sure to send a wayward pitch Hamels’ way during his first at bat.

With Hamels constantly finding himself in these situations, it may be time the rest of the league does something about it. At the least, I doubt the back and forth between the Phillies and Nationals is over.

While the Marlins are as much rivals to the Nationals as they are to the Phillies, who can forget Ozzie Guillen—the king of MLB controversy—is now in Miami. I wouldn’t be surprised if he sent an errant pitch Hamels’ way in their next series.

Whether or not things will stop here is unknown. Perhaps the rest of the league agrees with Hamels’ sentiments towards Harper. Perhaps they don’t. All I know is that things have suddenly gotten much more interesting in the NL East.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Predicting ETA of Top 25 Prospects to MLB

Even after struggling through the first month of 2012, things are going pretty well for the Philadelphia Phillies right now. After all, it wasn’t all too long ago that the Phillies were an annual last-place club, stuck in the cellar for what seemed like an eternity.

It was during that time period when prospect watching became somewhat of a hobby for diehard Phillies fans. When the product on the field at the MLB level was garbage, fans craved updates on the farm system. They wanted to know which players they could invest their hopes in for the future.

Fans yearned for the day when slick-fielding, sweet-swinging second baseman Chase Utley would play in the MLB. They wanted to see the left-handed starter with the filthy changeup—Cole Hamels—or the massive first baseman with incredible power that unseated Jim Thome—Ryan Howard.

Things are a bit different in today’s game. Scouting has become a science, and the Phillies don’t have many blue-chip prospects. However, there are certainly some reinforcements on the way for this club. Let’s take a look at some of the Phillies’ top prospects and just when they could be playing in the MLB.

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Roy Halladay Arm Issues: Is Something Wrong with the Phillies Ace?

Roy Halladay is a cyborg. That’s according to San Francisco Giants closer (and a man guilty of letting go of his 15 minutes of fame) Brian Wilson. Of anything that Wilson’s said, it’s one of his most accurate statements. Doc is like the Energizer bunny—he just keeps on going.

However, his start to the 2012 season has been a bit worrisome for some fans. During spring training, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reported that Halladay’s velocity had significantly decreased compared to prior years. Not only did Halladay hear about it, he fired back, calling it “poor reporting at the extreme end of poor reporting.” Go figure.

A week ago, though, ESPN’s Buster Olney tweeted about Halladay’s average fastball velocity from 2009 to the present, noting how it’s declined year after year. In addition, he also mentioned Halladay’s swing-and-miss percentage, which has also rapidly gone downhill over the same span. Here’s the tweet if you’d like to see it:

 

Roy Halladay avg. fastball velocity, from 2009-12: 91.7, 92.1, 91.6, 89.9. Missed swing pct. from 2009-2012: 15.7, 10.8, 11.4, 4.8.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) May 2, 2012

 

Does this call for concern? Possibly. And that’s exactly what we’ll try to determine.

After examining all the potential factors, we’ll make a decision: is there really something wrong with Roy Halladay’s arm?

Read on.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Did Cole Hamels Just Ignite a New Rivalry with Nationals?

It was surprising to hear Cole Hamels admit to hitting the Washington Nationals‘ up-and-coming star Bryce Harper intentionally on Sunday night. 

Hamels received a five-game suspension and an undisclosed fine. The punishment really doesn’t mean much. The Phillies confirmed Hamels will only miss one start and it will be pushed back to Sunday against the Padres. 

Given the National League East standings and other past events, trouble could be on the horizon when these two teams meet again. 

For Phillies fans, the Nationals have left a bad taste in the Phillies’ mouths that had not previously been there. When the Montreal Expos moved to D.C., Phillies fans welcomed the idea. A two-hour drive down I-95 meant they could see their team play more games in person. It gave Phillies fans a great excuse to visit the nation’s capital. 

For a period of time, Nationals Park was coined Citizens Bank Park South (CBP South for short) by Phillies fans. The Nationals were not a contender, while the Phillies were in pursuit of another World Series title. Attendance still isn’t where the Nationals brass would like it to be. Once the Nationals have a little success, more people will start going to games. A large population of longtime Baltimore Orioles fans in the area have contributed to the low attendance at Nationals games as well.

The first inkling of a rivalry was when Jayson Werth signed a seven-year $126 million contract with the Nationals after the 2010 season. Werth said he believed in the Nationals future and that it had a lot to do with him signing there. That future included Stephen Strasburg and Harper. 

The new “Natitude” at Nationals Park appears to be gaining momentum following last Sunday night’s nationally televised game on ESPN.  Part of the “Natitude” campaign was to not sell tickets to Phillies fans until the day of the game if there were any tickets remaining. By the looks of things, it looked like that wasn’t a problem for Phillies fans.  

A second player on the 2008 World Series winning team has taken the train south to play for the Nationals. Brad Lidge signed a one-year deal with the Nationals in January. It seems like just a small point right now. Lidge has continued to battle injuries that have plagued him to near minimal success since the 2008 season. He had surgery Tuesday morning and is scheduled to begin throwing again in three weeks.  

Now the Hamels incident has opened the public’s eye to a rivalry that only had a seed planted but hadn’t shown any promise of becoming a bitter rivalry. 

It even got the Nationals’ GM Mike Rizzo in a little bit of trouble with his comments. Rizzo was fined an undisclosed amount for basically calling Hamels a “fake.” Maybe that will add to the tension building between the two teams.

Oddly enough, Hamels could have been a possible target for the Nationals to bolster their lineup this winter. Right now, if Rizzo had the option to sign Hamels to a long-term deal in free agency, he probably wouldn’t. Whether or not the benches clear, Hamels could still wind up in Washington. Rizzo could see this as another opportunity to stick it to the Phillies and their fans. It will all depend on how Rizzo feels months from now.

According to Philly.com, Hamels didn’t want to go any further in the saga when given a chance to do so Tuesday when he talked to the media.

“I’m just going to let it go,” he said.

The Nationals or Harper may not be willing to let it go. 

Now Jayson Werth has expressed some hatred for some of the fans who once loved him in an email to the Washington Post. What Werth just doesn’t realize is that he has kind of done the same thing as a bride leaving the groom at the altar. 

There is a chance for the benches to be clearing the next time these teams meet. The best part about that is it won’t be a long wait. The Nationals and Phillies will meet again at Citizens Bank Park in about two weeks.

The whole incident does raise an interesting question. Could it be possible that Philadelphia fans will look at Bryce Harper similarly to the way they look at Sidney Crosby?

Follow me on Twitter: @Rob_Gsinger25 

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Phillies Trade Rumors: Team Must Stick with Placido Polanco in Weak Trade Market

Placido Polanco may be struggling, but the Phillies are going to have to stick with him for a while because there aren’t any better options on the market.

According to The Boston Globe‘s Nick Cafardo, the Phillies “insist they do not have their radar out” for someone to take over for the struggling Polanco, but you never know what could be happening behind the scenes.

It’s hard to believe there’s much happening, though, with very few options on the trade market at the moment.

There is much more risk to shopping for a Polanco replacement than there is to keeping him, particularly since it’s unlikely Philadelphia will find anyone better right now, and it’s very likely this offense will regain its form once its injured stars return.

By looking for a replacement, the Phillies risk alienating their player, and if they get stuck with him for the rest of the season after that—well, that never turns out well. (See: Exhibit A, Nomar Garciaparra, Boston Red Sox.)

The last thing the Phillies need at the moment is another blunder or morale buster, given the recent fiasco stemming from Cole Hamels’ intentional plunking of Bryce Harper. It’s true that baseball is a business, but the organization can’t afford to lose the trust of a player who, for the last two years, has been a pretty productive component of their offense.

There were already rumblings back in the winter meetings in December that Polanco was on the trade block. Though the team insisted that they were “not shopping” their third baseman, there were rumors that the Phillies would be open to trading him if they couldn’t re-sign Jimmy Rollins and therefore needed to add another bat, according to ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark.

Is Polanco’s current slump related to dissatisfaction with the team? Probably not. But it has been known to happen before.

This season is shaping up to be the worst full season of Polanco’s career. He’s currently hitting .270 with zero homers, six RBI and just five extra-base hits in 100 at-bats. At 36 years old, he boasts a career-low .305 on-base percentage (not counting his rookie year, when he played in just 45 big league games).

And the Phillies look bad. They’re in dead last in the NL East, two games below .500, five back from Washington‘s lead. But do they need help, or do they just need to wait for things to regulate?

For now, the team is opting for the latter. A Phillies official told Cafardo, “We’re just trying to hold our heads above water until we get our guys back.”

It’s a given that the Phillies need a productive Polanco now, while Chase Utley and Ryan Howard are out of the lineup and recovering from injuries. But until the heavy hitters are back, there’s no way to know what the complexion of this team will look like down the long stretch of the baseball season, and in the meantime, Polanco can’t be expected to shoulder the offensive load alone. 

It’s not fair to make Polanco the scapegoat in a lineup that is missing two of its most productive members. It’s early—far too early to be panicking. Even Albert Pujols looks like a scrub right now, and no one’s doubting that he’s going to snap out of his offensive funk.

Polanco is a career .300 hitter, an All-Star and a Gold Glover who has the experience and the ability to turn things around. There’s plenty of time left. And if the Phillies start shopping and it leaks—which it always does—they’ll find themselves in a tricky situation they might not be able to salvage.

Having a struggling third baseman is much easier than having a bitter, angry one.

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Philadelphia Phillies’ Cole Hamels Plunks Bryce Harper: Old School? Stupid?

Bryce Harper arrived in the Show like none before him. and Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels decided to remind him of his surroundings by plunking him square in the back.

Hamels admitted to doing it in the name of old-school baseball and then got suspended for five games.

Harper’s response was to quietly go to first base and later in the inning steal home. Whatever Frank Robinson was doing at the time, he was doing it with a smile. Harper responding on the bases rather than charging the mound was true old-school baseball.

The best we can figure, Hamels’ message was that Harper has been a bit cocky and needed to be told that he’s a rookie and should remember his place. While Harper has had a few incidents that certainly were very typical of an 18-year-old idiot, he’s been pretty good lately, and certainly since his arrival with the Washington Nationals.

We first met Harper on the cover of Sports Illustrated when he was 16 years old. He reportedly hit a home run of 570 feet that year. He left high school after 10th grade to enroll in a junior college, allowing him to enter the major league draft a year early.

That season in junior college saw him almost triple the school’s previous home-run record of 12 by hitting 31.Yeah, good luck getting my head in the clubhouse door with that resume.

Hamels explained his plunking of Harper via The Philadelphia Inquirer:

“I was trying to hit him. I’m not going to deny it. It’s something I grew up watching. That’s what happened. I’m just trying to continue the old baseball. Some people get away from it.

“I remember when I was a rookie, the strike zone was really, really small, and you didn’t say anything. That’s the way baseball is sometimes. The league is protecting certain players. It’s that old-school, prestigious way of baseball.”

Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo responded on The Washington Post:

“I’ve never seen a more classless, chicken (bleep) act in my 30 years in baseball,” Rizzo said, according to the Post report. “with all the bounty (stuff) going on in professional football, the commissioner better act with a purpose on this thing.”

My guess is that Rizzo isn’t happy with the strength of the purpose with which MLB acted in suspending Hamels for five games. With some juggling of the rotation, Hamels won’t miss a start.

 I’ve never hit a major league hitter. Curt Schilling has. His reaction to Colin Cowherd on ESPN Radio:

“Make rookies earn the right, but I don’t know what the message was. How selfish was that of a player? Who are you to send the message?”

“I never threw at a guy for being a rookie. That’s just so stupid. It’s like throwing at a guy for hitting a home run when you threw a crappy pitch. You throw at guys for specific things.”

Let’s do this in chronological order.

Hamels decides to plunk Harper for no apparent reason, other than Harper is a rookie and Hamels wanted to remind him of that. There was no specific incident that triggered this.

If we reach, we might say that Hamels is sending a message to Harper about his previous immature acts. That’s a stretch. As Schilling said, who is Hamels to send that message?

The interesting thing about the young, brash Harper is that he went decidedly old school in his reaction to being hit. He dropped the bat and quietly went to first. He then took his opportunity to steal home. That’s a mature, old-school way to handle it. Kudos to Bryce.

It’s been 24 hours, so my guess is that this is just about over, as some other shiny story will catch our eyes and distract us from this one. That’s okay with me. I’ve had enough of this one and need new, shiny stories all the time.

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Why Phillies’ Pitcher Cole Hamels Must Not Sign with Yankees

In March, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reported that friendly New York Yankees fans wooed Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels from the stands during a spring training game.

“Yankees fans were really nice for some odd reason,” Hamels said. “I don’t know why.”

This, two months after New York Times writer Tyler Kepner targeted Hamels as a potential free-agent target for the Yankees after the 2012 season.  

Yet if one were to ask Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins, Hamels is going to be handcuffed to Citizens Bank Park.

“He’s not going anywhere,” Rollins confidently told CNSPhilly.com. “He was drafted by this organization, raised by this organization and became a superstar in this organization. If you know anything about this organization, that means he’s not going anywhere.”

Whew. That is a lot of organization.

Perhaps Rollins knows something the always-unpredictable Phillies owner Ruben Amaro Jr. does not.

To this I hope Rollins is right.

As much as I would love to see Hamels in pinstripes in 2013, there is something I crave to see more.

I would love to see Hamels remain in Philadelphia for at least the next decade.

For this my reasoning is simple.

I would love to see Hamels and Nationals phenom Bryce Harper build on the beanball-spawned rivalry Hamels admittedly sparked Sunday night.

I can just see this rivalry unfolding now.

Fire in the hole!

Here comes Harper’s Ferry.

Fire below!

Fiery quotes make baseball fans giddy.  

Charge!

Bullish battles between the Phillies and Nationals are way too hot for TV.

Ladies and gentlemen, get your popcorn ready.

It is Stephen Strasburg versus Cole Hamels, in a grudge match for the ages.

Strasburg stares down the ninth hitter Hamels in the third inning, snarling.

Umpires on watch, retaliation will nonetheless rule.

And benches on both sides of the ballpark will clear.

The boys of summer will be boys, as sparks will fly.

This newborn rivalry will drive ratings year, after year after year.

Meantime, Yankees fans will say, “sheesh, I thought our rivalry with the Red Sox was insane.”

If you like this article, you may also enjoy: Why Baseball Fans Love Rip Sewell’s Manhood-Defying Eephus Pitch.

Join us on Basebook!

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Philadelphia Phillies: 10 Phillies with Something to Prove

Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels are going to keep racking up quality starts.  Carlos Ruiz, Shane Victorino and Hunter Pence will hit the ball hard and drive in runs.  And Jonathan Papelbon will continue to shorten games when the Phillies get ahead.

Winning baseball, though, is about more than your stars showing up.

Unlike in basketball, where a dominant big man and talented two-way wing player can seemingly win titles alone, or in football, when a top-tier quarterback can will a flawed supporting cast to a deep playoff run on the strength of his arm, baseball requires players to understand and execute their roles if success is to come.

The lineup has to get on base and score runs, the fourth and fifth starters need to contribute six and seven-inning starts and the bullpen needs to be able to bridge the gap to the closer if the team is ahead, or give the offense a chance if they are down, by keeping the opponent within striking distance. 

The Phillies’ problems this season have been more about the role-players than the stars. Plenty of contributors have something to prove as the calendar moves toward the summer and we start to separate contenders from pretenders, and buyers from sellers.

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