It’s time for another installment of “Inside the Numbers”. We are looking at the stats from the Phillies series against the Florida Marlins, as well as the season stats. I think we are getting close to the point where we can use these stats to determine what areas the Phillies may need to address going forward, in order to make a run at a repeat World Series Championship. But, for now, let’s look at another snapshot, this one coming from the first series sweep for the Phillies. It was a much needed sweep against a team that started off on fire, was leading the division, and is now in a tailspin.
Phillies @ Marlins- Phils sweep the 3 game series
TEAM BATTING
29 for 112, 26 Runs scored
.259 BA, .380 OBP, .420 SLG
RISP
11 for 34, 21 RBI
.324 BA
STARTING PITCHING
1-0
19 IP, 20 H, 8 ER, 8 BB, 16 K, 3.79 ERA, 1.47 WHIP
BULLPEN
2-0
1 Save
9 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 5 BB, 13 K, 1.00ERA, 1.11 WHIP
VERSUS RHP
23 for 88
.261 BA
VERSUS LHP
6 for 24
.250 BA
BENCH
1 for 8
.125 BA, 4 RBI, 2 Runs
2009 Season (not including last night’s game vs. Washington)
TEAM BATTING
98 Runs, 5.76 per game
.262 BA, .342 OBP, .446 SLG
RISP
.265 BA, .388 OBP, .437 SLG
77 RBI
STARTING PITCHING
4-6
6.48 ERA, .322 BAA, 1.65 WHIP
BULLPEN
5-2
4 for 6 Save Opp., 67%
4.42 ERA, .217 BAA, 1.27 WHIP
VERSUS RHP
.262 BA, .337 OBP, .462 SLG
VERSUS LHP
.264 BA, .365 OBP, .377 SLG
BENCH
.222 BA, .310 OBP, .528 SLG
11 RBI, 8 Runs
There were some nice developments in the Marlins series. The starters went at least 6 innings in all three games, and overall pitched pretty well. Anything would be better than they have been in the first few weeks of the season. This is something that the starting staff is going to need to do. So far, the Phillies have the worst numbers from their starters in the league. The bullpen’s numbers don’t look great either, but that is skewed by a few bad outings. My personal opinion is that the bullpen is fine, especially when Romero returns. But, if the starters can’t eat up any innings, I don’t care how good the bullpen is, because they will wear down in August and September. Another good sign is the Phils propensity to get big hits with runners in scoring position. The interesting thing is, they will fail in a number of occasions, but when they get their hits it always produces runs. The Phillies are able to drive in a ton of runs in those situations. We will continue to monitor the starters, because at this point that seems to be the key. But, with as bad as the starting staff has been, to have a winning record right now says a lot about this team. They look like they have shaken off their early season hangover, so now the 2009 season is officially on!
Love this series, Anthony. I heard this on the broadcast last night, but had to check for myself…one very meaningful stat this year is team errors. The Phillies have only committed 3 all season (I think 2 may have been in one game). Just an FYI.
Yeah Nick. The defense is very solid. It is an underrated part of baseball really. But look at the defense as a whole. Ibanez is solid but unspectacular in left, Victorino is a very good CF, Werth is very good in right with a great arm, Feliz is an above average 3B, Rollins is a gold glover, Utley has become a good 2B, the early returns on Howard’’s defensive work have been great, and Ruiz/Coste are solid catchers. That’’s a pretty good defense. I wouldn”t be shocked to see them at the top of the defensive statistics at the end of the year.