Phils Winning Early-- For Next Year

$21.5 million man wins 1st game at home

As if epitomizing the phrase 'Too Little, Too Late' the Phillies won 3-straight at home vs. Washington, sweeping their weekend series with the MLB-best Nationals.

The Phils have now won 7-out-of-9, 10 out-of-15 and are 24-17 in the 2nd-half.

Heck, Cliff Lee (3-7) even won his 1st home game of the season Sunday!

Hard-luck Lee has shown master control in his past 10 games with 67 strikeouts to only 6 walks (his ratio is #1 in MLB this year), while posting an ERA just above 3 since June.  Lee seeks to become the only human being in the world making $21.5 million this year simultaneously deserving of a great big pity-party.

Meanwhile, 'Doc' Halladay is 4-1 with a 2.75 ERA, 29 S.O. and 4 BB in August.

"Thank you for your strikeout contribution."

Kyle Kendrick-- of all people-- went 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA out of the bullpen in July, then 3-1 with a 3.10 ERA and consecutive shutouts (13 S.O. to 1 BB in that stretch) as a starter in August.

Kendrick is so happy with his pitches of late, that he has taken to hugging opposing batters, just for striking out against him [see photo., left].

'12 All-Star Cole Hamels is 3-1 with a 1.86 ERA in August.

In other words, if the season had started in August, the 15-10 Phils would be in 2nd place, 1 game behind the 16-9 Nationals.

Instead, the 61-67 Phillies are 10 GB of the Wild Card with 34 Games remaining.  The silver lining is that they finally appear to be laying the foundation for a successful 2013.

However, the NL is not the cakewalk it once was.  Can these aging Phillies compete against the superstar-studded L.A. "Yankees West" Dodgers for the NL title in '13?  There will also be Young Guns Washington, a Veteran St. Louis club, Dogfightin' S.F. and hard-hitting Cincinnati to contend with.

Hunter Pence is hitting .214 with 29 S.O. and 6 BB in his 1st month as a Giants player, making the Phillies look good for trading him and freeing up salary to spend in free agency on a more complete outfielder.  However, Pence still leads the '12 Phils in 5 of the 6 top offensive categories with a .271 Ave., 17 HR, 59 RBI, .336 OBP & .784 OPS, all team-leading a month after his departure.

Ryan Howard returned July 6th and is hitting .245 with 8 HR and 25 RBI.

Chase Utley came back June 27th and is hitting .249 with 8 HR and 25 RBI, nearly identical numbers to Howard's.

The big difference between them is the quality of their at-bats.  Howard has  61 S.O. and 17 BB, while Utley has 27 S.O. and 25 BB.

Hamels' son: cute, but can he play RF?

Next up for the Phils, an NL East rival visits Philly:

METS (59-69, 4th place) vs. PHILLIES (61-67, 3rd place)

Tuesday: RHP Chris Young (3-7, 4.33) vs. RHP Vance Worley (6-9, 4.06), 7:05 p.m. ET

Tale-of-the-tape: Jimmy Rollins and Ryan Howard are a combined 4-for-29 (.138) with 8 strikeouts in their careers vs. Mets pitcher Chris Young.

Wednesday: RHP Matt Harvey (2-3, 2.75) vs. LHP Cole Hamels (14-6, 2.99), 7:05 p.m. ET 

Tale-of-the-tape: Hamels (14-6, 2.99 ERA) is still motivated this year, pitching for his 1st CY Young, but faces stiff competition, including the Mets' R.A. Dickey (16-4, 2.76 ERA), Cincinnati's Johnny Cueto (16-6, 2.47 ERA) and  Washington's Stephen Strasburg (15-5, 2.85 ERA).

Kendrick has proven he can pitch in the rain, but not against the Mets.

Thursday: LHP Jon Niese (10-7, 3.51) vs. RHP Kyle Kendrick (7-9, 4.12), 1:05 p.m. ET 

Tale-of-the-tape: Niese is 2-0 with a 2.55 ERA in 4 games vs. the Phillies this year.  The Phillies are hitting just .161 against him.  Kendrick, meanwhile, is 0-1 with a 19.29 ERA vs. the Mets in 2 1/3 innings in '12 with 4 BB and 0 S.O.  The Mets are hitting .455 against him.

Bottom line: This is a battle between 2 teams that have a long, cold Fall awaiting them in a few weeks, while they assess the value of their players and their off-season needs between now and then.

Dodgers Claim Lee, Acquire Blanton

'Trading me AGAIN?!'

The Dodgers put a claim on Clifton Phifer Lee before the Phillies pulled back the offer for the left-hander.

Lee was made available prior to Tuesday's non-waiver trade deadline by the Phillies, who were looking for a big package in return.

But Philadelphia then took Lee off the market.

The Phillies can pull Lee off waivers (they would be unable to waive him again this season), they can pull him off and work out a trade with the Dodgers (this would require eating a chunk of his salary), or they can just let him go (unlikely, but cost-free).

The Phils acquired Lee at the '09 trade deadline and rode him through a sensational postseason all the way to the World Series, then traded him after the season to Seattle.  Lee went to the Rangers a few weeks before the '10 trade deadline and helped the club reach its first World Series. Then, before the '11 season, Lee turned down bigger offers to sign with the Phils as a free agent for 5 years and $120 million.  He went a phenomenal 17-8 with a 2.40 ERA for the Phils in '11.

Lee, the AL Cy Young Award winner in 2008, is 2-6 with a 3.73 ERA for the Phillies this season.

Amaro Jr. & co. must be very mad at him, because moving Lee is illogical.  First of all, they would likely eat a chunk of his massive salary.  Secondly, it is improbable they could find a better pitcher on the open market or that Lee's woes will continue.  His ERA is much better than his win record, his run support has been horrendous and he went 2-1 with a 2.75 ERA in July.

It is common for major-league clubs to put players on waivers, especially those with hefty contracts, after the trade deadline. If a player is claimed, the team can either work out a trade with that club or pull the player back, which the Phillies did with Lee.

Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. would not confirm that Lee was claimed, but told reporters that he "is not going anywhere." On the other hand, they've said that before-- then traded him and are now hearing offers.

Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti wouldn't comment when asked Friday if the team put a claim in on Lee.

The Dodgers also submitted a claim, then acquired Phillies right-hander Joe Blanton on Friday.

'If you can't beat 'em, join 'em'. The Phils knocked the Dodgers out of the playoffs in the '08 and '09 NLCS.  Now, the Dodgers have former Phils Victorino and Blanton after a busy week, and are seeking more. 

Philadelphia will get a minor league player-to-be-named later or cash for Blanton, who went 2-0 with a 3.18 ERA for the Phils in the '08 World Series.

2-0 with a 3.18 ERA in the '08 World Series

Blanton joined the Phillies in 2008 and was part of the team's World Series squad. He hopes to be the same good luck charm for L.A., where he joins teammate Shane Victorino on the Dodgers.
  

"It was a little bit of a shock, especially since the trade deadline had passed," Blanton said. "But when you're in trade rumors, you've got to be ready to do whatever. And I was happy if I stayed. At the same time, it will be a new thing, a new adventure to go. And that's always fun."
 

The 31-year-old Blanton is 8-9 with a 4.59 ERA in 20 starts and one relief appearance. He is making $8.5 million and, like Victorino, can become a free agent after the season. While the cost-cutting Phillies are preparing for 2013, the Dodgers entered Friday a half-game behind San Francisco in the NL West.

Blanton bolsters a rotation that includes reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw, who has been less than that this year: 8-6, 2.95 ERA, but could turn it on at any time.

"You play for the postseason and a chance to go to the World Series. And they're in a good position," Blanton said. "They have a very good team over there. Pitching against them, I know how good their lineup is. They're in a good position right now. So that's always exciting. They're fighting to win out there, and that's always exciting to be a part of."

To fill the roster spot, the Phillies recalled right-hander B.J. Rosenberg from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Kyle Kendrick was to start against Arizona in Blanton's place Friday night.

 

Blanton came to Philadelphia after a trade with Oakland in July 2008, and helped the Phillies win their second World Series title. He earned a victory in Game 4 against Tampa Bay and even hit a three-run HR.

 "I remember the parade, going down Broad Street and all the fans everywhere," Blanton said. "Just the thrill of being able to come to such a baseball city. The fans have been unbelievable the whole time I've been here. I've had an amazing time here."

'What are the Phillies thinking?!'

Blanton was 34-25 with a 4.47 ERA in 100 starts and five relief appearances with the Phillies. Since 2008, Blanton has the fourth-best winning record among all major-league starters after the All-Star break at 17-6.

He's 38-20 with a 3.83 ERA in 99 games (91 starts) after the break in his career. Overall, Blanton is 81-71 with a 4.25 ERA in nine seasons. He's 2-0 with a 4.02 ERA in 10 postseason games, including six starts.

The five-time defending NL East champion Phillies have been stuck in last place since June and are dumping salaries. They've trimmed enough off their payroll to avoid having to pay the luxury tax this year.

After missing out on Ryan Dempster at the deadline, the Dodgers' brass was insistent it wasn't done dealing. In fact, new controlling owner Mark Walter openly hinted at that idea.

"Do you really ever want to say we did enough?" Walter said. "That's not an attitude I really want a lot of around here. I guess if the entire All-Star team is on your team, you could feel like you had enough. But I don't want to think that way. That's now how you want to look at it.

"I think we are a very competitive team now. But you can always get better." 

The Phillies are done being competitive this season.  They now officially look to the off-season to begin heavily competing on the open market of free agency.