Mac Attack: Pre/Reviewing The Philadelphia Phillies Rotation

And I cant see the Hand no,
That pulls me to my knees,
But when I meet my shadow I see gravity,
—Embassy, Gravity

Another edition of the Mac Attack here, reviewing the Phillies starting rotation.

Gravity seems to love the Philadelphia Phillies rotation, by keeping the ball in the ballpark for the most part.

The Phillies franchise has never really been blessed with Hall of Fame-caliber pitching, outside of select few: Alexander, Carlton, Bunning and I dare say, Schilling.

The 2008 Philadelphia Phillies starting rotation had its bumps and bruises.

Forget Adam Eaton.

Kyle Kendrick shelled out of the rotation, replaced by lefty prospect, J.A. Happ.

The bright spots all so included Cole Hamels' 14 wins and postseason MVP performance, Jamie Moyer's god-like Cy Young caliber performance at 16-7, Joe Blanton's 4-0, and playoff performance and Kyle Kendrick's 11 wins.

So, reviewing the 2008 Philadelphia Phillies Starting Rotation:

Cole Hamels

Record: 14-10

2008 Postseason Record: 4-0, 1.80 E.R.A., 30 SO, 9 BB, and 35.0 IP

E.R.A. of 3.09

196 SO, 53 BB, a career high 227.1 IP

Hardware: Two MVPs (NLCS and World Series)

Brett Myers

Record: 10-13

2008 Postseason Record: 2-1, 4.74 ERA, 12 SO, 10 BB and 19.0 IP

E.R.A. of 4.55

163 SO, 65 BB, and 190.0 IP

Notable: 4-5, 3 RBI, 4 H, 1 BB in 2008 Postseason

Jamie Moyer

Record: 16-7

2008 Postseason Record: 0-2, 1 ND, 8.49 ERA, 10 SO, 4 BB in 11.2 IP

ERA of 3.71

123 SO, 63 BB and 196.1 IP

Joe Blanton

Record (overall):9-12, 4.69 ERA, 197.2 IP, 111 SO, 66 BB

Record (with Oakland):5-12, 4.96 ERA, 127 IP, 62 SO, 35 BB

Record (with Philadelphia):4-0, 4.24 ERA, 70.2 IP, 49 SO, 31 BB

2008 Postseason: 2-0, 1 ND, 3.18 ERA, 18 SO and 6 BB in 17 IP

Notable: hit first career home run in game four of the World Series

Kyle Kendrick

Record: 11-9

E.R.A. of 5.49

68 SO, 58 BB, in a career high 155.2 IP

Notable: 21-13 in two Major League seasons since being called up from AA Reading

Other Starting Pitchers Used in 2008:

Adam Eaton

2008 Record: 4-8, ERA of 5.80, 57 SO, 44 BB in 107 IP

J.A. Happ

2008 Record: 1-0, ERA of 3.69, 26 SO, 14 BB in 31.2 IP

2008 Postseason Record: One game, relief, 3.00 ERA, 4 IP, 2 SO, 2 BB

Notable: first career win against Atlanta

Team Starting Stats (win, loss, E.R.A., SO and BB total from Phillies season, not other team):

2008 Starting Pitchers record: 60-47

2008 Starters E.R.A.: 4.25

2008 Starters SO and BB Total: 671 SO, 328 BB

And we be ...
Taking care of business every day
Taking care of business every way-
Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Takin' Care of Business.

Projected 2009 Regular season numbers for the Philadelphia Phillies starting staff as well as the projected fifth starter, according to the Mac Attack staff:

Cole Hamels:

21-7, 3.01 ERA, 220 SO, 50 BB, 230 IP

Brett Myers:

17-9, 3.59 ERA, 200 SO, 70 BB, 220 IP

Jamie Moyer:

16-10, 4.00 ERA, 170 SO, 70 BB, 210 IP

Joe Blanton

10-10, 3.75 ERA, 132 SO, 60 BB, 250 IP

Projected Fifth Starter: Kyle Kendrick

16-8, 3.96 ERA, 100 SO, 40 BB, 200 IP

Other Possible Starters*:

Chan Ho Park

Projected 2009 Starting numbers for Park: 15-14, 4.50 ERA, 110 SO, 65 BB, 150 IP

J.A. Happ

Projected 2009 Starting numbers for Happ: 16-8, 3.50 ERA, 110 SO, 60 BB, 170 IP

Carlos Carrasco

Projected 2009 numbers for Carrasco: 13-4, 4.05 ERA, 120 SO, 50 BB, 120 IP.

*If Kyle Kendrick does not take the fifth starting spot