It seems like everyone hounds ESPN for having a love obsession with the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, but lately, ESPN has been in bed with a new team: the Philadelphia Phillies.
From July 23 to Aug. 24, the Phillies will appear during prime time on ESPN five times, more than any other major-league team. Of the first four Sunday-night games in August, the Phillies have played in two of them and been featured during the week twice by ESPN.
Have the Phillies all of a sudden become the majors' most marketable team, or is the schedule a case of good luck for the Phightin's?
The answer is a mix of both.
The Phillies have four of the most marketable players in baseball. Jimmy Rollins has the constantly swirling media buzz around him with his outlandish statements about winning the division and recently calling Philadelphia fans front-runners.
Then there's Ryan Howard, a big-time masher who is always prime to belt a tape-measure shot.
Chase Utley is the most recognizable second baseman in the game, and he had, arguably, the best start for a second baseman ever to begin a season.
Finally, Cole Hamels, with his pretty-boy looks and devastating change-up, makes for a great opportunity to showcase pitching.
So, with all these superstars, is it no wonder ESPN wants to cover the Phillies as much as possible?
But at the same time, the Phillies have been downright awful since reaching their high-water mark of 13 games over .500 back in June. The team doesn't score and has played relatively uninspired baseball for two months now.
Chase Utley can't hit a lick, Jimmy Rollins hasn't played nearly well enough to back up his words, Ryan Howard continues to strike out, and Cole Hamels got his first win in over a month Sunday night.
So, if the Phillies were actually winning, it would be easily understandable why ESPN would be all over every chance to air the Phillies during their prime-time broadcasts.
Philadelphia keeps appearing on "the Worldwide Leader" because of the teams they are playing.
On July 23, the Phillies played the Mets in a series that featured the top two teams from the National League East.
The Phillies' next game on ESPN came almost two weeks later on Aug. 3, against the Cardinals in St. Louis. Ryan Howard's hometown? St. Louis. Both teams fighting for a playoff spot means another great game for ESPN.
Next up came the Dodgers on Aug. 11. Manny Ramirez vs. Phillies' superstars. Again, can't get a better matchup than that. The same can be said for the Phillies' next game on ESPN. The Phils play the Dodgers again on Aug. 24, which is another chance for ESPN to put Manny Ramirez on national television.
Finally, last night, Sunday, Aug. 17, the Phillies played San Diego. Yes, the same San Diego team that's 18 games under .500. The catch-22? Cole Hamels toed the rubber for Philadelphia and Hamels' hometown? San Diego.
The Phillies have four Sunday games in September, three of which are against current contenders (the Mets, Brewers, and Florida). So, it won't be too surprising to see the Phillies on Sunday Night Baseball at least two more times between now and the end of the year.
18 comments Last one added 10 months ago — Leave a Comment
Isaac Barrow 10 months ago
I know they've been on like 12 Sunday Night Games and a few more Wednesday
Edit Comment Cancel
Brian 10 months ago
I love it! I moved last fall, and don't get to watch the Phillies anymore on CSN or WPHL. I guess I've benefited from ESPN's obsession.
Edit Comment Cancel
Daniel Smith 10 months ago
your right until the phillies start playing like they did last year down the stretch they need to back off because the mets have been the hottest team in the nl east since the all-star break
Edit Comment Cancel
David Houser 10 months ago
its not hamels fault he never wins. Look at his run support genious
Edit Comment Cancel
B D 10 months ago
Exactly. Do not blame Hamels for not winning in his last 9 starts before last night. His run support was terrible, while he put up good numbers.
Edit Comment Cancel
Jameson Fleming 10 months ago
I understand he's had awful run support, I wrote an article about three weeks ago about that. The focus of this article has nothing to do with Hamels. While he's been generally very good, there have been a few games where he clearly was the reason he had the no-decision. He should be about 15-5, not his current 10-8.
Edit Comment Cancel
Jeremy K 10 months ago
It is about time someone said that. The last time he pitched, the Phillies offense scores 2 runs? Give me a break.
I think it is interesting to note that this years Phillies are beginning to look like last years Mets and vice-versa.
Edit Comment Cancel
Paul Boye 10 months ago
Everything moves in cycles. I don't know why we're on so much now, but I will say that knocking against Hamels because he didn't get a win over seven starts until last night is foolish.
You can see my piece on pitching wins for my whole argument, but specifically for Hamels: the guy had an ERA of 3.60 and a K/BB ratio around 4.0 over those seven winless starts. Know what wasn't working? Run support.
Check these numbers. Run support in Hamels's last nine starts, in order: 4, 0, 6, 2, 10, 3, 0, 3, 2. Just over three runs per game per start. That doesn't take into account runs that might've been scored in support of a different pitcher, after Hamels's removal. In that 10-run support game, the Phils scored seven runs in the fifth, after Hamels had been knocked out of a bad start.
Cole Hamels is not even close to a bad pitcher or the reason for the Phils' struggles: it's a lackluster Rollins, slightly gimpy Utley, strikeout machine Howard, and black holes at C and 3B.
Edit Comment Cancel
Paul Boye 10 months ago
I also realize you weren't really knocking him, but it's still a point that gets me riled up whenever it's brought up.
Edit Comment Cancel
Jameson Fleming 10 months ago
I completely agree Hamels isn't even close to a bad pitcher, but the numbers are numbers, he hadn't won since July 3rd. There were several games in there where he didn't pitch well. He really should be about 15 -5 not 10-8 or whatever he is currently.
Edit Comment Cancel
L.J. Burgess 10 months ago
cycles...bingo.
Edit Comment Cancel
Dave Mulhern 10 months ago
people's hometowns have nothing to do with what games are on the air and what games aren't...a nice side-story? maybe, but the phils-padres game was probably chosen before the season when both teams were expected to be good and contending for playoff spots...as for the cardinals game, that one was probably an open-ended one for espn and was chosen from the schedule on that day because both teams were in contention...espn wants people to watch the games across the entire nation, so they do the best they can to schedule games showcasing good baseball teams, thus when your team is good like the phillies are now or the yanks and sox are every year, theyre going to get on tv more often
Edit Comment Cancel
Jameson Fleming 10 months ago
The phillies-padres games was picked up a week before.
I understand ESPN looks for good teams, it just seems odd they are choosing the Phillies consistently over teams like the Mets, Cubs, Brewers, Rays, Angels who all have better records.
Edit Comment Cancel
Chris Kelly 10 months ago
They don't love the Phillies as much as they love the Cubs, Sox, and Mets.
Edit Comment Cancel
insaneinthemembrane 10 months ago
ESPN is big on philly sports- they do a lot of eagles, sixers, phillies, and flyers are on OLN a lot. philly is just a big market, so anything to boost ratings a little will make espn happy.
There is no justification for showing a phillies-padres games in August- fans want to see 2 contenders, not a team with a AAA roster.
Edit Comment Cancel
Tom Dessalet 10 months ago
I'll take any Phillies coverage I can get, as long as it means a respite from them shoving the Cubs down my throat one more time. I understand they're big on breaking the jinxes and curses (I'm still scarred from all the Boston coverage a few years back) and keeping those respective fans happy, but I wouldn't actually mind watching a primetime game between some players who don't exactly bask in the spotlight daily. Seeing more Tim Lincecum, Zack Greinke, Tom Gorzelanny or even Justin Duchscherer reminds us all that they do play baseball, and they have skills, not just putting numbers on our online scoreboards.
Edit Comment Cancel
Ryan Metcalf 10 months ago
doesn't matter who they show right, even if it was my own team. The bottom line is they don't give everyone fair coverage. I know some are worthy of more coverage, but adding a line or two every once in awhile wouldn't be that hard.
Edit Comment Cancel
L.J. Burgess 10 months ago
I think that they pick up a team and run a number of games so you can catch them hot, where the team is headed, what direction it's taking. Bad timing for the Phils.
Or am I giving programmers too much credit?
Edit Comment Cancel
Leave a Comment
You must register to post a comment.