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.

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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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Washington’s Natitude No Match for Cole Hamels’ “Attytude”

This weekend Gnats fans reclaimed their nest.

That’s their story, and they’re sticking to it. Team management hung banners, fans carried signs, it all looked impressive on ESPN. 

So too did the thousands of Phillies fans that managed to sneak in, despite the ban imposed to prevent their entry.

But why quibble? 

Gnats fans are giddy. They took back their park.

From who? Phillies fans are pretty content with their own. They travel south to follow their team and to occupy otherwise vacant seats.

Gnats fans can have their park. It will be interesting to see if they keep it. 

The Phillies don’t return to Washington until the end of July. Wonder what Gnats fans will be doing between now and then? 

For Phillies fans, more unsettling than a made for television Occupy the Park movement is what occurred on the field. 

The Phillies dropped two of three. They managed to score only four runs in the twenty innings they played over the course of Friday night and Saturday afternoon.

Forget small ball. This was dull ball. And it was hardly new. The Phillies have looked flat for weeks.

There are reasons for this; Roy Halladay has been human. Injured reserve is at capacity. The regulars are pressing.

Manager Charlie Manuel shook up the lineup, again, on Friday. Seeking to shake things up further, Manuel then got himself tossed by arguing over a Bryce Harper check swing in the first inning.

No matter. Phillies right fielder Hunter Pence told phillies.com on Saturday that it felt like the Gnats, not the Phillies, “have a chip on their shoulder.”

Enter Colbert Michael Hamels. The Phillies left-hander took the ball on Sunday night. Seven pitches in, Hamels nailed Gnats phenom, Bryce Harper, in the small of his back.

That’s the kind of "attytude" that marketing campaigns just can’t manufacture. It is the kind that comes from the heart. Just ask somebody at the corner of 9th and Catherine. Trust me, you'll understand.

In the short run, the drilling cost Hamels. To his credit, Harper shook it off, made it to third and then timed a Hamels pickoff move perfectly to steal home.

It was the only run Hamels surrendered all night. The Phillies went on to score nine, resulting in a 9-3 Phillies victory that prevented a sweep.

Coincidence? It was if you believe Hamels. After the game, he admitted to hitting Harper intentionally. He said it had nothing to do with recapturing his own team’s swagger. 

It was done simply out of respect for the old school way of welcoming the young Gnats star into the big leagues.

Maybe that’s true. 

What is certain is that Hamels’ admission has earned him a five game suspension.

What is also certain is that talk goes only so far. 

Colbert Michael Hamels walks the walk of a fierce competitor, and of a champion. 

That is more contagious than even the slickest of marketing campaigns.   

But that will be apparent during the “Take Back Our Ballpark, Again” campaign that likely will kick off in late July.   

But don't take my word for it.  Talk is cheap. 

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Joe Blanton: Philadelphia Phillies SP Has Been Lights Out at Citizens Bank Park

The New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies will continue a three-game National League East series on Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park, with the first pitch scheduled for 7:05 ET.

Las Vegas oddsmakers have established the Phillies as minus-165 home favorites, while the total is holding steady at its opening number of 8.5.

Phillies starting pitcher Joe Blanton (3-3, 2.83 ERA) is coming off his best effort of the 2012 campaign, picking up a 4-0 shutout victory over the Atlanta Braves on the road. He scattered three hits and struck out six, while not issuing a single walk.

The right-hander enters with a perfect 2-0 record and 1.88 ERA in two home outings, as opposing hitters are batting .204 against him.

In nine career starts versus the Mets, Blanton has compiled a 3-1 record and 3.50 ERA, but was knocked around a bit in two no-decision efforts a year ago, allowing seven runs and 11 hits over 6.1 innings. New York first baseman Ike Davis has five hits in 11 at-bats (.455) against him.

Mets starting pitcher Miguel Batista (0-1, 6.92 ERA) is scheduled to make his second start of the year (11th appearance), as he was saddled with a 6-1 home loss to the San Francisco Giants on April 23 in his previous spot start.

In 26 career games (eight starts) versus the Phillies, the right-hander has put together an even 3-3 record and 4.42 ERA, but hasn't earned a decision in six career games at Citizens Bank Park (3.46 ERA).

The Mets are 0-4 in their last four road games against the Phillies when Blanton's on the mound, while the "over" is 16-4-2 in the last 22 meetings overall in this series.

Weather forecasts suggest isolated thunderstorms and game-time temperatures in the low 70s in the Philadelphia area, with 10-15 mph winds out of the south (out to left).

 

Follow on Twitter: @JeffGrantSports

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Philadelphia Phillies: Cole Hamels’ Next Contract Will Have Plenty of 0’s

Cole Hamels is one of the top five pitchers in the National League, and he is one of the top four left-handed starters in the game today (with Clayton Kershaw, Cliff Lee and CC Sabathia). 

With a World Series MVP award and an expiring contract, Hamels is doing everything right to make his next paycheck as big as it can be.

When the San Diego native becomes a free agent this offseason, teams will line up to bid for his services.  He will be smart to test the waters, as the Dodgers, Cubs and others will have the resources and aggressiveness to drive up his price.

And other teams will be able to drive the price far beyond what he would get if he had extended with Philadelphia,  especially if that extension had come during Spring Training when negotiations seemed to have the most momentum.

Every time Hamels has toed the rubber this season, he has shown why he will likely be made the highest paid lefty in baseball history.  A pitcher who finished fifth in Cy Young voting last season, he looks much improved, and the numbers back it up.

He is 4-1 with a career best 2.45 ERA.  He leads the National League with 44 strikeouts, and he has walked just six batters in 40.1 innings.  His 7.33 SO/BB ratio is, also, the best in baseball, and his strikeout percentage (27.7 percent) and walk percentage (3.8 percent) are both career bests.

For a guy with an already accomplished career, posting career numbers is a big deal.

Sunday night, on national television, Hamels befuddled the division leading Washington Nationals, surrendering one run on five hits and striking out eight in eight innings.  

But you had to look at the "HBP" part of the box score to see where Hamels made the biggest statement—a statement, I think, answered as many questions as his dominant performance.

Nationals' GM Mike Rizzo can say whatever he wants.  So, too, can Curt Schilling, and Stephen A. Smith and whoever else wants to pick on Hamels for drilling Bryce Harper. 

Hamels—not only throwing at the phenom, but doing it as brashly and matter-of-factly as he did—was a welcome sight to fans sick of hearing about the Nationals and their young star.

It goes even beyond that, though, for people who have been around this team and paid close attention to them since Hamels joined the big club. 

He has earned labels of aloof and nonchalant in this city, for his relaxed attitude on the mound, his off-field demeanor and some of the questionable things which he has said in the past.

Following Game 3 of the 2009 World Series, Hamels had one of those questionable slips of the tongue.

"I can't wait for [the season] to end," he said after he was pounded by the New York Yankees.

Things like that can really irritate fans.  What's more, it can give a guy a label that might not be fair, as it's based on a quote uttered out of frustration. 

Channeling your inner Bob Gibson is a good way to convince the baseball world that you are committed to both competing and winning.  For someone like Hamels—who, at times, looks to just be going through the motions—making a statement of a competitor means a lot to the perception about him.

To me, throwing at the former top overall pick and claiming it the way he did just screams, "I don't care who you think you are, but this is my division.  And when you're in the box against me, you're in my world, kid." 

That kind of action is important in making a name for yourself as a force on the mound—someone to be feared.  It's something Hamels has never had.

Do you think Theo Epstein and Brain Cashman would get in a bidding war over a guy with questions about his competitiveness?  Or would the Dodgers and Red Sox shell out big bucks for a man who doesn't always stand his ground?

Hamels has done a lot this year to maximize his value as a pitcher.  But what he did Sunday maximized his value as a baseball player. 

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Hamels Suspension Sheds Light on How MLB Handles Punishment of Starting Pitchers

Suspensions for starting pitchers in Major League Baseball are parallel to kids these days being grounded from going outside. There simply is no point in wasting the time because it only makes a mockery of the powers that be, be it MLB commissioner Bud Selig or the parents of today’s youth.

The E-Trade baby is the perfect example, being relegated to his crib while stashing a laptop or smart phone under his blanket.

If kids can’t go outside, they will play video games. If kids can’t play video games, they will surf the net on every tech gadget available—there is always a way around the penalty.

Punishment in American homes serves less purpose than it did even 10 years ago. And that also rings true across the professional sports landscape.

Today, MLB suspended Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Cole Hamels for intentionally beaning baseball wunderkind Bryce Harper in the first inning of last night’s 9-3 win against the Washington Nationals. Unless appealed, Hamels is scheduled to begin the suspension Monday night. But why would he do such a silly thing like that?

Suspending a starting pitcher five games means absolutely zilch.

In most cases, said pitcher would be pushed back a day and still not be forced to miss his scheduled start—the extra day of rest may even be beneficial in some cases. However, in the circumstance of Hamels, it means far less than that. 

With a scheduled off-day on Thursday for the Phillies, their staff would have been pushed back a day anyway, thus negating any effect the suspension would have had on Hamels. Assuming Hamels doesn’t appeal, he will simply go on about his business as if nothing ever occurred—although who can forget Harper’s payback by stealing home plate?

MLB needs to alter the way they handle doling out punishment to starting pitchers, and the solution is rather simple.

Instead of assigning a generic number of games to suspensions of starting pitchers, why not force them to miss starts by making teams actually skip their turn in the rotation? This expunges the loophole that allows starting pitchers and teams to virtually laugh in the face of the transgression.

Despite what side of the fence you are on in regard to Hamels’ throwback welcoming party to Harper, five-game suspensions for guys that are inherently scheduled to show up to work every five days holds less effect than a slap on the wrist.

Contact Jeremy at jeremy@popflyboys.com, on Twitter @KCPopFlyBoy and at popflyboys.com.

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