Comparing the 2009 Phillies to Last Season's WFC's

(Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

Philadelphia Phillies Examiner Pat Gallen

Last season through 61 games: 35-26

This season through 61 games: 36-25

Team batting average in 2008 through 61 games: .264

Team batting average in 2009 through 61 games: .263

Team on-base percentage in 2008 through 61 games: .340

Team on-base percentage in 2009 through 61 games: .342

Those are just some of the similarities found when comparing last years WFC Phillies to this year’s WFC hopefuls.

The difference is negligible in the statistics, however, it’s completely different in how they got through 61 games in ’08.  Some of the ingredients have changed, but mostly the formula has been the same.

Raul Ibanez has been the most noticeable modification, but in terms of overall performance, his above-and-beyond hitting has not taken this team to a level separate from 2008.  Ibanez took the spot of Pat Burrell and the difference is enormous. At this point last season, Burrell was hitting a very respectable .283 and had an OPS of over 1.000 to go with 14 homers and 40 RBI’s.  

Ibanez has obliterated those numbers, going .322, 22, 59, with an OPS of 1.058.  It’s a upgrade I think few expected, though many assumed more of a consistency with Ibanez.

Perhaps the main reason the Phillies have not taken off to a different stratosphere offensively this season is Jimmy Rollins.  Young James has sunk like a rock over the first two months of the MLB season, as he now stands with an average at just .217.  It’s been a dumbfounding season for him, an MVP-caliber shortstop with so many tools struggling to this extent.  Accordingly, he does lead NL shortstops in All-Star voting.  Figure that one out.

One guy who has done his damage early on, finally, is Ryan Howard.  Notoriously a slow starter, Howard has shaken that perception, although he has been overshadowed by Raul Ibanez and his otherworldly start.  At this same point in 2008, Howard was hitting a dreadful .205, albeit with 15 home runs.  The Big Man is doing a better job of making contact presently, though he can thank Ibanez and Chase Utley for getting the pitches to hit.

Perhaps the most important players in this equation have been the men at the bottom of the order.  Pedro Feliz and Carlos Ruiz were non-existent last season offensively, but you wouldn’t know it with how this year has gone.  Feliz is absolutely tearing it up with men on base and Ruiz has become one of the most feared 8-hole hitters in the National League.  Starting with “Chooch, the backstop is getting noticed for his defense, but he’s no slouch with the stick, either.  With a .284 average and a .405 on-base percentage, Ruiz is raking deep in a stacked order.  “Pete Happy” is hitting .368 with runners in scoring position this season, one year after posting a .245 average in that area.

When looking at the pitching, the difference here is clear; last year, they were better. The Phillies team ERA in 2008 through 61 games was 3.97, a very respectable figure.  Fast-forward to now and it stands at 4.66.  So how do the Phillies have one more victory now than at this time last season?  

All signs point to the clutch hitting.  With either runners on second and third, or the bases loaded, the Phillies are hitting a robust .348.  We used to whine and complain that the Phils couldn’t get anyone in when it counted – well forget that silly notion.  Armed with some of the best clutch hitters in baseball, the Phils are getting timely hits, and scoring runs in bunches.

With that said, the pitching needs to come around, and slowly it has been progressing.  To say that this year’s team is better than last, it’s basically a wash at this point.

Still, that’s good enough to win a title.

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