What happened?
The offense came up short as Cole Hamels lost the opener to the New York Mets to move to 69-50 on the season.
Who did what?
Cole Hamels (L, 7-8) gave up four runs on 10 hits in five innings. He struck out six.
Chase Utley went 2 for 4 with a run.
Ryan Howard went 2 for 5 with an RBI.
Pedro Feliz went 1 for 2 with an RBI.
Mike Pelfrey (W, 9-8) gave up two runs on six hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out six.
Jeff Francoeur went 3 for 4 with a homer (11) and an RBI.
Fernando Tatis went 1 for 3 with a triple (4) and two runs.
Omir Santos went 1 for 2 with a run and an RBI.
Francisco Rodriguez (S, 27) struck out two for a scoreless ninth to earn the save.
What does this mean?
I was at a loss for words when trying to come up with tonight’s recap. I could go on and on about the lack of clutch hitting, or how Ben Francisco and Jimmy Rollins couldn’t hit a friggin’ line drive, or how they should have just clobbered Mike Pelfrey.
But ultimately, I decided that none of that was important. If history has told us anything, it’s that the Phillies are going to struggle from time to time when they’re at the plate. All teams do, it’s not limited to the Delaware Valley. So really, we need not concern ourselves with the two-run outburst in Flushing.
The problem tonight, and for most of the season, has been Cole Hamels. At times in 2009, he has looked as good as he did in 2008. But more often than not, he’s looked like a pitcher who has the tools, but no blueprint. Tonight was one of those nights.
Although he had his strikeout pitch working, he couldn’t seem to put away hitters early in the game. The biggest example of this was when he hit Mike Pelfrey on an 0-2 pitch in the second inning. Had he not done that, the inning could have been over and he tosses about 14 less pitches than he needs to. That’s what he was so good at in 2008: putting hitters away. This season, he just can’t seem to do that on a consistent basis. Although he settled down for the last two innings, it was too little too late.
As of right now, Cole is the fourth best pitcher in the rotation, not counting Pedro Martinez or Jamie Moyer. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, because a mediocre Cole Hamels is better than most team’s number four pitcher. Of course, as far as October is concerned, the difference between a very good Phillies team and a very great Phillies team could ride on the left shoulder of number 35.
What’s next for our heroes?
In game two, Jay Happ (9-2, 2.66) takes on Tim Redding (1-4, 6.53).
44 Responses to “August 20 Game Recap: Mets 4, Phillies 2”
Leave a Reply
- Cliff Remember Me Lee on July 30 Game Recap: Nationals 8, Phillies 1
- Cliff Remember Me Lee on July 30 Game Recap: Nationals 8, Phillies 1
- Greenman! on July 30 Game Recap: Nationals 8, Phillies 1
- Jon on July 30 Game Recap: Nationals 8, Phillies 1
- Bozo on July 30 Game Recap: Nationals 8, Phillies 1
Phila-Centric
- 700 Level
- Balls, Sticks & Stuff
- Beerleaguer
- Big Five Post
- Chicks Dig The Longball
- Crane Kick Chronicles
- Crashburn Alley
- Finger Food
- Fire Eric Bruntlett
- Four Days Rest
- High Cheese
- High Hopes
- House That Glanville Built
- I want to go to the zoo with Roy Halladay
- In Ruben We Trust
- Long Drive
- Macho Row
- Maule of America
- Okayplayer
- On The DL
- On The Edge
- Phightin’ Phils Phorum
- Philadelphia Will Do
- Philebrity
- Philled In
- Philliesflow
- Philly Gameday
- Philly Gossip
- Philly Skyline
- Phils-ville
- Phinally Philly
- Phoul Ballz
- Swing and a Long Drive
- The Good Phight
- The Insider
- The Shibe Times
- The Zo Zone
- We're the Team to Beat
- Whiz Witout
- Who Does He Play For?
- WSBGM’s
General
how many fuckin times are we gonna load the bases and/or put people in scoring position and NOT FUCKIN SCORE THEM
this game made me sick, and cole hamels is really suckin cock, did u notice that on our five man rotation we get 4 wins in a row until cole starts, then we lose
“Cole Hamels is better than most team’s number four pitcher” lost me at that part, hamels suck a million fucking dicks per second.
Hamels is an elite talent having a rough season and it’s shameful watching you all turn on him because he did some TV commercials. If I hear one more person call him “Hollywood” I think I’m going to punch them in the fucking face.
His BABIP and HR/FB% are well, well above his career levels and that will normalize eventually. Between that and working on his location he will be fine, and the people who think Happ or Blanton are better pitchers are going to rightfully look really fucking stupid.
Look on the bright side though, gotta love Happ vs Redding tomorrow and Pedro vs Perez is kind of a push.
I’m sorry but Hamels is the only player who has gotten a free pass all season. I’m tired of hearing about last year. Hamels may be the better pitcher, but not this season. It is a fact Blanton and Happ have been consistently good this year and I have more confidence in them than Hamels at this point. It should have been telling a few weeks ago when Hamels said he would get it together when the games matter more. Well I don’t know what world he’s living in but every game counts and we need to start burying teams. This should have been a start he thrived in against a basically triple a lineup. If the postseason started tomorrow, how could anyone justify Hamels going out 1st or 2nd?
I’m not giving him a free pass, just to be clear. It has nothing to do with last season. The point is his lack of success is due to location that has been a bit below average, and a string of luck that has been absolutely abysmal (as demonstrated chiefly by his BABIP and FB/HR%, things that are almost entirely outside of his control). It’s not like he’s suddenly less talented than he has been. These kind of seasons happen.
i.e. It’s not about giving him a free pass, it’s about not blaming him for things that aren’t his fault.
Phylan, what isn’t his fault?
Phylan is your name heidi by chance?
The fact is hitters have adjusted to Hamels and he is not making adjustments. He desprately needs to develop a third pitch. And what wasn’t his fault tonight? That the offense didn’t hit with RISP? That happens our offense is going to go through a games like this. But the fact is sometimes the pitching has to pick up for the offense and vise versa. This is a guy who has proclaimed himself a “big game” pitcher, and he has a line like tonight against a mediocre at best lineup? Moyer could have easily given us an outling like this.
His BABIP isn’t his fault, that is to say, the fact that way more balls contacted by hitters fall for hits than his career average is not his fault. His line drive % has not changed since last year, so hitters are not hitting him harder, he’s just getting fantastically unlucky with where the balls land, and that’s not his fault. Nor is the fact that more the fly balls he surrenders are turning into home runs – this is also a stat that tends to level out for pitchers over time. He’s certainly had some location problems, but you have to concede that there are things that a pitcher can’t control, and sometimes they go poorly for them.
It’s endlessly frustrating though, watching people who are too lazy to research the matter come up with ridiculous made up rationalizations for why he’s having trouble, meaningless and vague phrases like “he’s lost his composure” or “he doesn’t make adjustments!” or “he should pick up the offense!” (what the fuck does this mean Tim McCarver?) or they just call him “Hollywood” because he did a few TV commercials. Give me a fucking break, you’re emblematic of all of the worst traits of a Philadelphia sports fan.
MP, id say raul oddly gets a pass even though hes a brand new phillie. he had a great first half, but since the break i think hes been awful. i dont know the numbers but i’d say he struck out more than howard since the break. hes put together some of the worst atbats this season in the past 4 weeks. shits gettin old, raul needs to find the ball before october so we can have some confidence in the back of the lineup
Raul is frustrating, but really his level of production before the All-Star break was an awesome surprise, and although he’s certainly not as bad as he’s playing now, there was no way he could sustain that production. Especially now that he’s 37, coming off an injury, it’s kind of unfortunate that he’s under contract for 3 years, given how fast Michael Taylor is rocketing through the system. Hopefully he can recover before the playoffs but the outlook in 2010 and 2011 for him is not good.
The only thing that might “flip the switch” for Hamels is sending him to the bullpen and putting Grumpy Old Man back in the rotation. Perhaps he should also get a really big dog that he can’t carry around in a backpack.
Will, I was basically talking about pitching but I couldn’t agree more about Raul. He hasn’t looked good at the plate at all lately. That’s why I’m glad Charlie moved him down a spot I really like Werth in that 5 spot. But I think Raul will get going again – maybe not as hot as the first half but I think he’ll start to get a little more disiplined, and his defense has been consistently good all year.
Take your BABIP and stick it up your fuckin ass.
all that anger will give you hemorrhoids, joeyrz. hamels isn’t on fire like last year, but ya can’t win ‘em all, right?
but really. fuck jeff francoeur. i wanna burn his house down and murder his face.
The joke is ultimately on Jeff Francouer because he sucks.
Also thank you for the well-constructed rebuttal JoeyRZ
Wasn’t Ryan Howard the first to call Colbert “Hollywood”? Not quite sure what worst traits that would be showing.
Lidge is an elite talent having a rough season and it’s shameful watching you all turn on him because he did some TV commercials. If I hear one more person call him “Lights out” I think I’m going to punch them in the fucking face.
His BABIP and HR/FB% are well, well above his career levels and that will normalize eventually. Between that and working on his location he will be fine, and the people who think Happ or Blanton are better pitchers are going to rightfully look really fucking stupid.
Is Hamels the next Pat Burrell? Oh wait, we haven’t given him an inflated contract yet… As the City Paper coverstory for Burrell in 2003 read-”Season From Hell”
And if we talk about Hamels needing another pitch, would it not be prudent to suggest that on his days off he could maybe try that, instead of filming commercials and posing for candy bar cartoons?
I also think it’s a little strange that fans are supposed to ignore the fact that Hamels himself said that he was unprepared for the season because of the off-field stuff. That isn’t made up, or misplaced anger, “typical Philly fans”. It’s what Hamels said. I like the guy, I look forward to him getting back on track, but to say that he’s just unlucky and the off-field stuff is irrelevant is dishonest.
Phils should have claimed Billy Wagner off of Waivers. He’s gotta be better than “lights-on Lidge.”
But too late, he was claimed by Boston.
I’m tired of hearing that Hamels will “eventually” come around. Eventually? When? It’s late August.
I’m sick of seeing major league 2 version Ricky Vaughn go out there every 5 days and getting his asshole plowed everytime. fuck backpacks. fuck little dogs, fuck little dogs in backpacks.
Take it easy, guys, Hamels is a terrific #6 pitcher.
“It’s endlessly frustrating though, watching people who are too lazy to research the matter come up with ridiculous made up rationalizations for why he’s having trouble, meaningless and vague phrases like “he’s lost his composure” or “he doesn’t make adjustments!” or “he should pick up the offense!”
I don’t roll out the stats to determine whether a pitcher is terrible, Phylan. His fastball is missing spots by a foot or more. He doesn’t let things go, always stomping around after a hit or yelling into his glove. Don’t get me wrong, Hamels can and probably will recover from this year, as he’s not the first young talent to go through it, but don’t talk down to people who watch him pitch because they don’t know this or that metric. This game isn’t that complicated.
@Tug so is Moyer.
Nice to see people with a clue posting in here – Phylan
With that said, maybe the amount of homeruns he has given up isn’t necessarily unlucky. Hitters seem to be very comfortable when facing Cole because he doesn’t throw inside. It is so much easier to hit the ball off of someone when you know they aren’t going inside enough.
Douche fucking asses bangin bitches em douchebaggies fukin gay asses. Sorry to spam your post, just had a horrible day yesterday.
Hollywood Homers
I really hate Sabermetrics, and Sabermatricians. They love to talk down to fans who don’t waste their time learning mostly irrelevent made up stats, that really aren’t much better than the base stats that the League has been using for years to evaluate a players effectiveness.
Hamels will bounce back eventually, but no one can deny the fact that he’s royally sucked ass this year.
Also, I’m surprised no one has referrenced the wonderful quote Hamels spat out earlier in the season. Something along the lines of “I’ll play better when the games mean more…” That was the moment I decided that I didn’t like Cole Hamels very much. Funny, I thought every game was important, especially given the fact that the past two years, this team has only managed to win the division by one, and two games respectively.
As for the offense, I wouldn’t really be to worried. They just got off of a series where they basically scored 30 runs. They can’t be asked to do that every series, that’s asking too much. Who knows, maybe the offense will play better when the games mean more. But, that wouldn’t be fair to Cole Hamels if they were that selfish, or lazy.
swift, nothing makes me more aggrivated than a stat like VORP when used in an argument. if i were in the majors, it would be my goal to play better than an imaginary player
Yes, please put Lee in the graphic instead of Cole. I lost faith in Cole when he said he wanted a new pitcher (Lee of Halladay) so that the pressure would be off of him. If you can’t handle the pressure, then you should be in the minors. And it obviously hasn’t helped.
@Swift: With an attitude like that, Mr. MVP might not even be around when the games really, REALLY matter. The playoff rotation could be Lee, Happ, Blanton, Pedro.
Okay, I kid. But only kinda.
JoeG not that you would bother to look it up but the things I have said about Hamels aren’t true for Lidge. Thanks for demonstrating your proficiency with find and replace though.
Also, Swift, the stats are not made up or irrelevant, and they’ve been shown over and over again to be more effective at predicting future performance than utter shit like RBI, pitcher wins, etc. They were formed specifically by analyzing what components correlate the most with offensive success, instead of reading a box score invented in the late 1800s by a cricket fan and just using those severely flawed metrics.
Also how is BABIP a sabermetric anyway? It’s just the percentage of balls contacted by hitters that fall in for hits. It’s very simple. And pitchers, it’s been shown again and again, have very little control over it.
Swift is right on….Cole will come around, but to deny that he is anything else than awful right now is just lying to yourself. He looks like a beaten man when he takes the mound. Cole used to have the Happ-like demeanor of always looking like things were good and he would figure it out. That isn’t the case now.
And for those of you trying to help Cole out with stats…where were you defending Moyer? Hamels’s ERA is almost in Moyer territory but yet people still freak out when you compare Hamels to Moyer. The point is that Hamels is a much better pitcher than Moyer, but the stats don’t lie for either of them. They have both pitched into their fair share of bad luck, but it takes more than bad luck to have an ERA around 5.
And Phylan….people called him Hollywood back when he was having success, too. His teammates gave him the nickname, not us. He is a pretty boy from Cali whether he is winning or losing.
Fuck that noise, I like eating a hot dog at a ballpark while enjoying a game. Then I like reading the box scores over coffee the next morning. Then I go to work, and enjoy not spending my time making life’s simple pleasures more complicated than they need to be because I’m not a GM or an agent and never intend to be.
And I’m pro-RBI. So what?
Do whatever you want but it’s not as if people who like more advanced statistics are hunched over in a dungeon somewhere with a slide rule. I enjoy both the elegance and the simplicity of baseball as much as anyone, I have a hot dog (and quite a few beers) at the game, and I have to say you’re missing out on a very unique and insightful way of looking at the game. To each his own of course, but in cases like Hamels it’s nice to dig a little deeper and figure out what’s going on.
Hamels and Moyer are incomparable. Moyer gets shelled because he has no velocity, poor movement, depends on a generous strike zone, and when his location is even a little off or the strike zone isn’t quite right he gets hammered. Hamels’ issues are entirely different.
BigMiles, I know that, but it’s turned into a sly cut for people who like to imply that doing a few TV commercials has wrecked Hamels’ composure or whatever.
I never said anything about dungeons or slide-rules, but when people are venting their frustration over another unsuccessful Hamels performance, they don’t need to hear the advanced statistics, because it’s not like anyone here is fooling himself (or herself) into believing that Hamels is a shitty pitcher. Bringing out those stats just comes across as dichty and defeats your argument by shutting out the readers who aren’t interested in all the statistical minutiae. I got problems of my own, I don’t need to dig deeper into anyone else’s, especially those of somebody that I have no desire to know personally. Hamels is either going to get right or he’s going to continue to let us all down. He’s a real young guy after all, it’s all wide open. I believe that he will get himself right. Judging from your analysis, you believe the same. So what’s the difference?
“I really hate Sabermetrics, and Sabermatricians. They love to talk down to fans who don’t waste their time learning mostly irrelevent made up stats, that really aren’t much better than the base stats that the League has been using for years to evaluate a players effectiveness.”
Translation – I’m an idiot.
I think the people who say he can’t handle the pressure must have been sleeping during October. He was one of the best postseason pitchers ever, but I guess that doesn’t matter, he’s having a down year so he sucks & can’t handle the pressure. Got it.
And, newsflash. Everytime you see one of his commercials, he didn’t film it again. I’m sick of people saying he should stop doing commercials, when they were filmed in the offseason, so they have nothing to do with his pitching.
29 other teams would kill to have him. Beckett went through the same season in 04 after his 03 WS performance. All the experts said this would happen this season (with his jump in innings), but no one wanted to listen in the offseason to them.