Week Six Wrap-up: Phillies swat the Nats, can’t cash in weekend series at the Bank

While it is true that very little can be ascertained from spring baseball, the first week of May baseball may have provided a glimpse into how this season will play out. The Phils went 4-2 for the week, playing solid baseball, but dropped 2 of the 3 to Atlanta at the Bank this past weekend.

The rub on the Braves in recent years has been offense.  This year's group look has a different look, however, with all 8 starting position players being "bona-fide", as Charlie might say, Big Leaguers.  Martin Prado is a sparkplug, a poor man's Shane Victorino.  Jason Heyward broke into the league last season and garnered ROY consideration.  Freddie Freeman, a big left-handed first baseman looks to be a legitimate HR threat to go alongside stud Brian McCann and you have to look at these guys as if  they could put together a good series (as long as Chipper Jones stays healthy) deep into September.   


They still have that great Atlanta rotation and with a healthy Derek Lowe and Tim Hudson, matchup well against the Phillies more decorated group.



The bullpen looks daunting with all those powerball pitchers.  Venters and Kimbrel looked dominant.  Whole bunch of swings and misses.



Even with a healthy Chase Utley, the offense is going to struggle. Jason Werth is noticeably absent.  Hell, Pat Burell is noticeably absent.  In 33 games the Phillies have hit 27 Homeruns, 21^st out of 30 teams. Yikes.



While Ibanez did bust out of his slump this week, he is obviously no longer the player he was in '09 when he mashed 34 homeruns.



Ben Francisco seems to being doing his best to get back to the bench, going 0 fer 15 and laying down a bunt in the six inning of the final game in the Atlanta Series. For a team known for the longball, and whom some experts claim still has the talent to clear the fences 180 -190 times this season, Franciso's play, despite his slump, is startling. It's a desperation play.  It's a guy in over his head play.  A "please don't hit it to me".  While the call may have come from the manager, it didn't look like it. One of ESPN's cameras happened to pan to the dugout and caught Charlie jawing at a long faced Franciso. Charlie didn't look happy. You have to think Charlie wants his 5-Hole hitter swinging the bat in the six inning down three runs. Nobody out.

Another thing that has become apparent. Francisco does not run well.



Charlie tinkered with  the lineup moving Rollins an Victorino to the the top of the order.  It worked well.  Rollins and Victorino scored five runs and drove in five for the week


Finally, Roy Oswalt's comments upon returning to the team after dealing with a scary family situation in his hometown of Wier, Mississippi (something to the effect that baseball is not the top priority in Oswalt's life) did not play well with either Manager Charlie Manuel or GM Reuben Amaro.  Neither came out and said anything directly, but both men hedged when asked about Oswalt's return to the rotation.  Manuel went as far as to say he could understand the absence "to a degree".

 
Stats of the Week:

The Phillies 23 errorless games and their fielding percentage of .990 rank tops in all of baseball.


 
Highlights:

Cole Hamels complete game against the Nats:
In a night with multiple storylines, Hamels was dominant, spotting his fastball and throwing his refined curveball to great effect. His line for the game: 9IP 5H 1ER 1BB 6SO. He also hit a triple and scored the go-ahead run.


Ibanez broke his 0 fer 35. He looked visibly relieved.

It was nice to see Ibanez have a break-out series even if it was against a b-leaugue team like the Nationals. Ibanez went 8-12 with 2HR, 5 RBI and 4 runs scored.

Jason Werth's first game at the bank in a Nationals uniform.

The phorum enjoyed seeing the knuckleheads drowned out the bank. Werth's career postseason slashline. .268/.379/.609. Werth hit 13 homeruns in 44 post-season games.


The Bullpen Game:

Kyle Kendrick & the rest of the 7^th inning guys were surprising effective against the Braves hot bats. Kendrick in particular, who went 5 innings on 65 pitches, kept the Braves off balance by getting his change over for strikes on the corners and keeping his sinker low or just off the plate. 


Ryan Howard's moonshot in the 4^th pushed his career total to 260. Howard passed Del Ennis and is now second behind Mike Smidth (548) on the all-time franchise HR list.