Skip to main content

Hot in July

By
The Philadelphia Phillies are movin' on up. Since losing the first two games of July, the Phillies are 12-1 this month and have improved to a season best 13 games over .500. The Phillies are the only team in the NL east above .500 and have a 6 1/2 game lead over the second place Braves.

Let the Rookie of the Year talk prevail this week. The Blue Jays trade talk is stale at this point. If it happens, great...but if not, "Jay" Happ has been excellent! After Sunday's win over the Marlins, Happ is now 7-0 with a 2.68 ERA and 1.15 WHIP this season. Over his last 5 starts, Happ is 2-0 with a 2.00 ERA.

By comparison, other ROY contenders likely don't match up. St. Louis's Colby Rasmus has posted a .270 batting avg. with 11 HR and 34 RBI in 85 games this season. Washington's Jordan Zimmermann and Atlanta's Kenshin Kawakami aren't close at all. However, the Braves' Tommy Hanson, who is 4-0 with a 2.85 ERA over 7 starts thus far might be Happ's best rival for the award.

The last three Phillies to be named Rookie of the year were Ryan Howard in 2005, Scott Rolen in 1997 and Dick Allen in 1964.

Now back to the "hot in July" topic...other Phillies who are wrecking it this month are-

Jimmy Rollins- 15 games, .377 avg, 1.062 OPS, 6 steals, 13 runs and 11 walks!
Shane Victorino- 15 games, .361 avg, .968 OPS, 3 steals, 12 runs, 8 walks.
Joe Blanton- 2 starts, 14 2/3 innings pitched, 0.61 ERA, 11 k's.
Chan Ho Park- 4 games, 7 1/3 innings pitched, 1.23 ERA, 2 k's.
Greg Dobbs- 10 games, .353 avg, .880 OPS, 7 RBI, 3 runs.
Chase Utley- 15 games, .345 avg, 1.003 OPS, 2 steals, 6 RBI, 12 runs.
------------

Link action for you-
MoreHardball's got some fun content talking all about the Icon, Ruben Jr. Check it out by clicking here.

PhilliesNation talks about Halladay's value and the Mets fading.

IronPigPen oinks about Lehigh Valley's player-coach David Newhan...click here.

FanNation has a featured review of the new MLB video game The Bigs 2.
Labels:

Comments

Amanda said…
Happ has been awesome. Randy Wells is a darkhorse. Not many people have heard of him and to be honest with ya, I didn't know who he was up until last week. Compared to Happ, Happ has been better this year, but he isnt too far behind (3.00 ERA, 1.15 WHIP)
July 20, 2009 at 10:28 AM
whiteout said…
Jay please check my blog out, I am a fellow Phils fan. Thanks please follow
July 20, 2009 at 12:44 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Eric B Needs to be Cut (and My Name is Rakim)

By
While the Phillies are on a hot streak this month, one player on the team is not. Eric Bruntlett is 1-for-12 in July. Since the start of May, Bruntlett's apex in batting average has been .167 on June 14th. Bruntlett's ineptitude can be tolerated no longer. Get rid of this guy NOW! Eric B. is the 2009 Endy Chavez. Remember Endy...the guy who in 2005 managed just 2 hits in his final 42 games played as a Phillie? That is about the sort of output the Phillies are getting from Bruntlett, and it's time to fix this void. Julio Lugo was designated for assignment last week by the Red Sox and is expected to become a free agent. The Metropolitans are rumored to be interested. Why wouldn't the Phillies be interested in a guy who could surely outhit Bruntlett? Lugo was hitting .284 through 37 games played this season with Boston. Suspended Lehigh Valley IronPig Pablo Ozuna is eligible to return next Wednesday. Ozuna is batting .294 through 51 games at triple A. Miguel Cairo is also...
6 comments
Read more

Yankees Fans Misled By Pepsi Promotion

By
**** Today, New York Yankees fans attended a Pepsi promotion in Times Square hoping for chances to win opening day tickets to the new stadium, but the tickets, which were difficult to track down due to poor organization on Pepsi's part, were actually for a game in June. Furthermore, the 250 pairs that were promised were actually only 100 pairs. The fans, who were made to sprint through traffic over multiple city blocks when locations for the promotion changed, quickly turned against the soda brand by pooring out their beverages and chanting anti-Pepsi phrases. Yankees fans are even threatening a boycott of Pepsi. An appearance by Yankee great Goose Gossage could not even settle the angry mob, as he had to be whisked away, as a precaution, according to the Daily News . Ooo , I'd hate to see what "the worst fans in sports" (Philadelphia fans) would have done to their free Pepsi cans and beloved reliever in that situation. Because this happened in a non-Philly city, th...
5 comments
Read more

5th spot, Wall, Old timers, Links

By
The race for the Phillies' fifth starter spot is still on. While it's not fully fair to compare Grapefruit League stats, when some of the pitchers have had "B game" and scrimmage outings mixed in, Kyle Kendrick and Carlos Carrasco look to be falling behind Chan Ho Park and "Jay" Happ. Happ added to his solid Grapefruit League stats (2.45 ERA, 1.09 WHIP in 4 games) today against the Rays. Pitching coach Rich Dubee had been displeased with Kendrick even before he surrendered 8 earned runs in 3 innings of work yesterday against the Braves. Park has been working on improving his change up, with (Coach) Jamie Moyer. Park noticed Moyer's location control on his change, so he sought out Moyer to teach him the grip and positioning of the ball. Moyer, of course, feels good about helping anyone on the Phils' staff. Park has been coached by greats like Nolan Ryan with the Rangers and Sandy Koufax with the Dodgers, so Moyer is in great company. Park is working h...
5 comments
Read more