No Offense, No Problem?

For the second game in a row to start off a young season, the Phillies came up with only one run. This time, it was in 11 innings instead of only 9, and it left a lot of questions out there on the table.

"So... you're telling me its NOT GOOD to hit the ball right to the SS with a guy on first?"

This game, like the season opener in Pittsburgh on Thursday, showed how dominant and talented these Phillies’ pitchers truly are. The other side of the coin is that, it also showed how inept our offense could truly be.  Despite being able to put up 7 hits, they were mostly scattered and gave the pitching staff little to no room for error. Even Kendrick pitched effectively enough out of the bullpen to hold the game close for the Fightins, but no cavalry was coming in to save this team in Pittsburgh. Even though 7 is not an low number of hits and 8 was not a bad number on Thursday, can anyone tell us how many extra base hits have come from that 15?

Answer: 1 double by John Mayberry.

That is roughly 6.7% of our hits for you math enthusiasts out there.

If that isn’t scary enough, the clutch hitting also is proving to be a bit of a problem in the early going. There was a failure to drive in runs on Thursday (See Galvis double play above), and even tonight some opportunities were squandered.  Just look at the first inning in which we had two guys on, one out, and only managed to come away with one run. When you have Clifton on the mound, and a chance to crush the throat of the opponent early, you have to take the opportunity. Also, in the ninth inning when our leadoff runner, Hunter Pence, reached base, we were unable to use our “newly acquired” sense of small ball to get the runner into scoring position. Nix may not be the best bunter in the league, but MLB players have to be able to bunt when called upon. If Nix is that awful at bunting, Charlie should have brought in Cole “The Lumber” Hamels to get the sac bunt down and give us a chance to win in the 9^th.

A couple final statistical tidbits to throw out there at you:

Phillies are currently 2-15 with RISP so far this season (.133)

Freddy Galvis is 0-8 in the first two games of the season.

Galvis grounded into 2 double plays in his first two career plate appearances. He is the first player to do that since 1990, and the only Phillies player ever.

Pence is 1-8 to start off the season (.125)

What does all this mean?

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

The first two games are meaningless in the grand scheme of things to come. The Phillies are starting out slow like many perennial major league teams seem to do (See: Yankees and Red Sox). The pitching looks spectacular as we all thought it would, and the offense is looking a little rusty like we all assumed that it may. Lets not turn the slow start into an Armageddon however. Pence started 2-8 in his first two games last year and we all remember how he finished last year (.317 22 HRs). Also, Galvis is just a kid who has to learn how to hit in the majors, and that isn't just going to happen overnight. It is going to take time for him to round into a solid MLB hitter. 

All those who may be panicking, relax, take a step back, and realize it is the second game of a long MLB season. 

When all else fails, remember: It could be worse, we could be obnoxious fans from DC or New York. 

Have a good night, sleep well, see you back out on the diamond tomorrow. Go Phils.

OMG!!! JAYSON WERTH IS NOW AFRICAN AMERICAN!!!

And now that we have your attention… here is what that ridiculous title means…

"If that ball drops in for a single I am going to be quite infuriated. I won't settle for anything less than a double."

As the title tells us in a very non-politically correct way, we may have found the second coming of Jayson Werth in our little Stanford Cardinal (Except hes in no way little and he better not leave us for a lot of money/losses). Yes, that’s right, the incredibly intelligent Ivy League man is showing in a big way that he can perform on a daily basis in the outfield.  Since Opening Day, in which he hit a walk off single versus the Houston Astros, John Mayberry Jr. has been finding a way to get the big hit and make a big impact for this talented World Series ready club. He also has the ability to become a super utility man when needed as seen when he filled in for Ryan Howard at 1^st, Raul Ibanez in LF, Ben Francisco in RF (Before we acquired the right hand hitting God), and extremely valuable time filling in for Shane Victorino in CF. Mayberry (Power) was acquired in a trade with the Texas Rangers swapping “speed for power” as Big Rube called it, when we sent Greg Golson (Speed) to the Rangers (Once again proving he is the best GM in the bizzzz). Since then, I would say that the deal has worked out better for the Phillies than the Rangers, since Golson is no longer there and not on a Major League roster. But let’s take a look at some of the numbers since we recalled Johnny May from the minors.

A long long time ago, roughly two months ago to be precise, in a ballpark near you, there was a mythical creature who was promoted from being an Iron Pig to being a Phillie, and that is where the story begins. Okay, that was gay, we’re sorry, but since July 5^th when Mayberry was recalled and Vanimal was sent down, John Mayberry has turned the corner at the plate. When he was designated, he was struggling a bit to find his offensive groove, but since then, he has done it all.  He tweaked his stance which went from tall and slow to more compact and less slow, and that has translated well for Johnny May. Big John has been 26 for 82 (.317 BA) with 8 doubles, 1 triple, 8 HRs and 27 RBIs since the “great knee bend incident”. Oh yeah, lets add in there 4 BBs and a SB just for good measure too. Not to mention, he also plays solid defensively whether it is tracking down the ball in the outfield or digging a throw out of the dirt, he does it all.

The only question that John Mayberry Jr has left for the Phillies to contemplate is, should he replace Raul right away or just platoon him in there for Rightie/Leftie, Leftie/Rightie matchups? The one answer that is for certain is the John Mayberry has hit his way into Charlie Manuel’s lineup and isn’t going to stop anytime soon.