Phun Phor All

I'm thinking of a Major Leaguer. He's 6'6", 300 lbs., wears size 20 shoes, and he's from the Galapagos Islands. He has a green complection, with a cylindrical beak and blue eyebrows. Give up? He now resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and goes by the name of the "Philly Phanatic".

When you hear "Major League Mascot" you don't think of Mr. Met or Billy the Marlin, the first mascot that comes to mind is the Philly Phanatic. ESPN commentator Chris Berman has been quoted to say "The Phanatic is, and always has been, wholesome fun for fans of all ages. His success, like baseball itself, has withstood the test of time!"

Before we get into the great debate about whether or not the Philly Phanatic is good for baseball or not we must dig into his history. He debuted into the Major Leagues way back in 1978 at The Vet. He had big shoes to fill, having to replace former Phillies mascot Philadelphia Phil and Philadelphia Phillis. The Philly Phanatic was named after the "fanatical" fans that came to The Vet to cheer on their team in the 1977 NLCS. The Phanatic was created because Phillies team VP Bill Giles wanted more families to come out to the ballpark and he thought that by creating a more family-friendly mascot, his wish would become a reality. Giles has gone on record saying that creating the Philly Phanatic was the worst decision of his life because of cost inefficiency, for the costume and the copyright ownership the Phillies found their team down $5,200 which Giles admits was a terrible waste of money.

Since his debut, the Philly Phanatic has remained in the Phillies organization and continues marking his stamp in the mascot world. Since his debut he has become the first mascot to ride on an ATV, and had various media appearances such as "The Simpsons", "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia", and the film "Rocky Balboa".

Is the Philly Phanatic good for baseball? Of course. The Phanatic is not only good for bringing fun to Citizen Bank Ballpark, but he is also the 10th man on the Phillies team. He is known for heckling the opposing team and distracting them by dancing in front of their dugout, distracting them from the game. Everything about the Phanatic is good for baseball and his legend will live on for years to come.

Notable Philly Phanatic Accomplisments

-Inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame (MHOF) in 2005.

-Voted by Sports Illustrated as the best mascot in the MLB.

- Helped the Phillies win the World Championship in 2008.

Eye on the Ball

Colorado Rockies (Ubaldo Jimenez 12-1, 1.16 ERA) v. Minnesota Twins (Fransisco Liriano 6-3, 2.90 ERA)

As bloggers, we try to not always pick our Eye on the Ball entries solely on the pitching matchups but this one was impossible to ignore. According to ESPN's MLB Cy Young Predictor, Ubaldo sits atop the NL as the most likely to receive the award if it was given out tonight (Adam Wainwright coming in a not-so-close second) and the Frisco Kid is listed as 9th in the AL behind the likes of David Price, Phil Hughes and Andy Pettitte.

These two 26-year-old Dominicans will bring energy and most likely a sellout crowd to Target Field for the afternoon game. In order for the Rockies to win, Ubaldo is going to need to go out and pitch every way as similar as he has throughout the season. His last start was in the rain-soaked, cold, windy game against Toronto earned him yet another victory but anyone could tell that his delivery was off. He oftentimes struggled with his control and gave up 5 walks in 6.0 innings pitched. However, even with his 3 earned runs, he still helped the fading Colorado team pick up another 'w' and keep division leading Dodgers on the horizon.

Liriano is coming off of a terrific outing when he fanned 11 batters against Tim Hudson and the Braves. Liriano started the season in terrific fashion when he allowed 3 earned runs in 29 innings pitched (all 3 earned runs came in his season debut in a 6 inning performance against the White Sox). He then had a terrible month of May when he watched his ERA quickly climb from 1.50 to 3.29 in a matter of 6 starts. However, he looks to be back on track in June posting two solid outings against the Braves and A's (combined 15 IP, 2 ERs, 2 BBs, 21 Ks).

So, we have two aces squaring off. But what about the bats? The Twinkies have already won the series by taking the first 2 games but with the Detroit Tigers lurking not far behind, they need to take advantage of this opportunity and perhaps the series' first lefty will be the broom. However, these teams are so offensively similar that there doesn't seem to be an advantage. The Rockies have fared excellent against both left and right handed starters and while the Twins tend to hit better against lefties, that hasn't seemed to effect them in the least during the first two games of the series.

Here are a few offensive statistics that demonstrate how close these teams are:

• Minnesota ranks 12th in runs scored, the Rockies sit in 16th but only a mere 11 total runs behind
• Rockies are 10 HRs ahead of the Twins, however, that's at Coors Field in Denver
  
• Colorado and Minnesota share the same SLG% at .414

Prediction: Minnesota Twins (4-3)

While I would not put any money or even a small favor as a wager for this game, we believe that Colorado's performance last night will most likely carry over this afternoon. The Rockies could not handle Scott Baker, who 2-hit them just last night in a 2-1 victory, and the road only gets more difficult when Liriano takes the mound.

Of course I am not forgetting the spotless diamond known as Ubaldo Jiminez but maybe, just maybe, he is slowly approaching planet earth. He has earned 5 runs in his last 13 innings pitched, something that has not happened this season. I am not suggesting that he is going to turn into any regular Joe because his stuff remains filthy. But perhaps there is more separation between him and Tim Keefe than some of us have thought.

If the rain holds off, we should be in store for a terrific 9 innings of baseball. Both of these pitchers are a joy to watch and both offenses have the ability to score runs. But we don't expect too many runs to be scored tonight.

Eye on the Ball

Los Angeles Dodgers (Clayton Kershaw 6-3, 3.13) @ Cincinnati Reds (Mike Leake 5-0, 2.68)

If I were to tell you a year ago that the game of the day would be a game between the Dodgers and the Reds, when on the same day the Yankees were facing the Phillies and the Angels were facing the Brewers, you would call me crazy. At this point last season the Reds were 32-31, finding themselves in third place, 2.5 games back of the National League Central. They were coming off of a three game sweep by the Kansas City Royals and starting to slowly accept the fact that it's going to be another playoff-less season. Sure enough, the Reds ended up 78-84, 14 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals.


This season has been completely different for the Reds. Cincinnati has posted a 36-29 record, thanks in large part to their offense, 4th in the majors in HRs, 3rd in the majors in average. The Dodgers have also been having another great year. They are 37-27, only a half of a game out of first place in the NL West. A great pitching matchup of two young, future all stars makes this game even more intriguing. Will Mike Leake's undefeted season continue? Will Clayton Kershaw turn in a gem and move LA into first place in the west? Games like these are why I love baseball.

The Biggest Losers

Do you remember Honus Wagner? A member of the inaugural Hall of Fame class in 1936 who had over 3,400 hits and nearly 1,800 RBI in his 20-season career. What about Fred Clarke? Pie Traynor? Paul Waner? The Pittsburgh Pirates actually have actually sent 12 players to Cooperstown, the most recent being Bill Mazeroski who was elected in 2001 for his ability to play infield.

So what the hell has happened? The franchise that has played in 7 championships and won 5 of them have not seen a playoff game since 1992 and are the only major league baseball team to lose 17 consecutive seasons and look to be well on their way to an 18th (23-41 record in 2010). It doesn't matter what side of the ball you are on, the Pirates make your stomach churn. They currently rank dead last in team average, hits, runs scored and second to last in ERA and WHIP.

One problem is that they continue to trade their talent and receive little in return. Over the past few seasons, the Bucs have traded/released:

• (2009) Freddy Sanchez traded to San Francisco Giants - 2006 NL Batting Champion, [.400 OBP in 95 at-bats in 2010]
• (2008) Jason Bay traded to Boston Red Sox - Rookie of the Year, 2x All Star [36 HR and 119 RBI in 2009 with the Sox]
• (2008) Xavier Nady traded to New York Yankees - Posted a .383 OBP in the 89 games he was a Pirate in 2008

When a team is in turmoil, it is important to trade for young talent but the Pirates need to expedite the results. While they have seen glimpses of hope from Garrett Jones, he is already approaching 30-years-old as a result of a long stint in the minor leagues. More than anything, the Pirates need to bring in an entirely new staff. Fans were optimistic when John Russell took the reigns in 2008 but that has since faded and all signs point to his departure by the end of the season. Don Long, the team's batting coach, has seen little production out of his players since his arrival in 2007. The pitching coach, Joe Kerrigan has also had the same fate in the short time he has been with the club since 2008. I am fearful that the problem goes much deeper than that and it's also the coaching staff in the Pirates' farm leagues that have been corrupting their young "talent".

The bottom line is that Pirates fans deserve something to smile about. The city tried to rouse excitement from the fans when they constructed PNC Park in 2001. Anyone who knows sports will tell you that a new stadium is sufficient enough to bring fans to the games...for about a season or two. At a certain point, gimmicks and beautiful architecture end and talent and wins are needed. The Pirates rank 4th from the bottom in average attendance (ahead of Toronto, Cleveland and Florida) at a mere 17,656 fans/game, less than half of the capacity of the baseball-only field.

So now that all of their problems have been brought to light, how can they be fixed? The goal of any organization should be to win games. When games are won, money is made. And since the organization has somehow not improved one bit over the last 17 seasons, they need to completely change the personell. They need to hire coaches and managers who have won in the past and have showed that they are able to turn nothing into something. They need to hit the free agent market...hard...on all sides of the ball. I would suggest:

• Carlos Pena - Made comments regarding his interest of being traded. Arguably the best first baseman available since Albert Pujols has a 0% chance of ending up in Pittsburgh
• Jose Reyes - At least his speed will not go away. While his bat means very little to a MLB club, his consistency with one attribute can do wonders for the club. Why do you think Juan Pierre has stuck around as long as he has?
• Carl Crawford - He still has a little tread left on his tires.
• Manny - Bring a few more fans to the game.
• Vlad - Why not? A big heart for baseball brings production for years and years.
• ANY AND ALL PITCHERS
  

Eye on the Ball

Philadelphia Phillies (Roy Halladay 8-4, 1.96 era) v. New York Yankees (C.C. Sabathia 6-3, 4.01 era)

Sabathia's early season struggles are nothing of a surprise. With nearly no exception, Sabathia's ERA and strikeout to walk ratio have decreased as the season progresses every year he has been a big-league pitcher. This is not uncommon, most players either get off to a great start and go cold or the other one around. The New York Yankees have been very happy with Sabathia's trends of progress and will be looking forward to him continuing to step in the right definition as the season continues.

Of Sabathia's last 3 starts, 2 of them have been against Baltimore and the other was against Cleveland. And even though he is 2-0 in those three games, Sabathia has given up a total of 10 runs in 20 innings pitched. However, he has gotten through 7 innings twice which is the staple of his career. Sabathia has saved hundreds of innings off of his bullpen pitchers which was the primary reason he was given the Cy Young Award over the impressive season performance from Josh Beckett.

What makes this matchup the most intriguing is Doc's visit to the Bronx without donning a Jays jersey. Of course, this is a rematch of last season's world series when the pinstripes won in 6 games and Halladay was forced to watch from afar as his anticipated trade did not go through until the off-season.

In the Bronx (both old and new Yankee Stadiums), Halladay has been nothing short of stellar. He has posted a record of 8-4 with a 3.18 ERA and is on record saying, "You can go in with different intensity against different teams." At that has what the former AL-East stud has done his entire career which is why is National League transitional success has not been surprising to anyone.

The Phillies have only won 1 series out of their last 9. Take a moment to allow that to soak which will most likely be the longest you have thought about the Phils in months. They are now 3.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves and continue to fall as Atlanta took 2 of 3 games in Minnesota and the Phils lost 2 of 3 games in Boston.

Prediction: Yankees (2-1)

The responsibility of a starting pitcher in major league baseball is incomparable to any other athlete in any other sport. While hockey goaltenders are important to the game, the starting pitcher of a major league club is who decides the outcome of the game 9 out of 10 times. It becomes difficult to predict the winners and losers when both teams are starting former Cy Young winners who continue to pitch efficiently.

The Phillies can feel their season rapidly slipping away as the Braves continue to succeed. However, they are a mere .500 on the road (16-16) while the Yankees proudly own a .759 winning percentage when they play in the Bronx. While Roy Halladay could potentially pitch 9 shutout innings, the Phillies must find a way to score runs which they have been entirely unable to do. They have only scored more than 3 runs in 4 out of their last 10 games and the team that was 4th in the entire league last season in runs is now sitting quietly in 20th.

Twins Tuesday

Having lived in Minnesota for the past ten years there are a few things that I have learned that Minnesotans have in common. We play duck, duck, gray duck. We drink pop. And we are in love with the Minnesota Twins. Anytime you meet someone for the first time the topic of conversation always seems to turn into the Minnesota Twins, and we love it.

This brings me to our new segment that we will have once a week called "Twins Tuesdays" with various posts regarding the Minnesota Twins. These posts could be anything from previewing an upcoming series for the Twins, or simply just worshipping the home town hero himself, Mr. Joe Mauer.

For the inaugural Twins Tuesday post I'm going to focus on a certain Twin that I have been extremely suprised and certainly delighted with thus far this year. This player being Delmon Young. After the Twins acquired Delmon in the offseason before the 2008 season everyone, including me, was excited. We were hoping for the same guy who won the 2007 AL Rookie of the Year Award the previous year after posting a .316 average and 93 RBI. This was a great acquisition because with the addition of Delmon Young, we could move Jason Kubel to designated hitter and stick Delmon in left field, and not have to put Jeff Cirillo as a DH anymore. From the looks of this trade it was nothing but positives for the Twins. We only had to give up Jason Bartlett who had a .265 average in '07 and Matt Garza who only had a 42% winning percentage in that same year.

Delmon's first season with the Twins wasn't as good as his rookie season but it was definitely an improvement over Jeff Cirillo. He posted a .290 average with 10 homers and 69 RBI. It was a bit of a disappointing season, but with Delmon Young the general concensus was that he's still young and that he has time to improve. 2009 was the season that people thought Delmon would come out and post the season that everybody was hoping for. That just did not happen. Delmon had his worst year of his career, he had an OBP of only .308 with 12 walks in 416 plate appearances. He only had 12 home runs, 60 RBI and was third on the team with 92 strikeouts.

This brings us to 2010. Coming into this season, people didn't really have very high expectations for Delmon. People lost hope in him, in a way, after a disappointing 2008 and 2009. People were more so anticipating big years from Jason Kubel and Michael Cuddyer. However, Delmon Young is quietly having a terrific season a quarter of the way through the season. D-Young thus far is hitting .285 and has already had more base on balls than all of last season. Delmon is tied for second on the team with 8 home runs and is only 3 RBI behind Justin Morneau with 40. Delmon has arguably been the best outfielder and arguably been the best hitter this year, throwing the M&M boys aside.

No-no? Yes yes!

Chicago Cubs' Ted Lilly's recent no-no bid that ended with zero outs in the 9th was just another close call to a major league pitcher's claim of immortality. To make it even more interesting, Chicago White Sox' Gavin Floyd had his own going until Alfonso Soriano's double with 2 outs in the 7th. Does the fact that two opposing pitchers took no hitters into at the least the 7th inning show that the steroid era is over and the pitching era has begun? Let's look deeper.

So far this season, MLB fans have witnessed no hitters by Ubaldo Jimenez, Dallas Braden and Roy Halladay; of course Braden and Halladay's were perfect games. The MLB has not seen two perfect games in one season since 1880 when two pitchers you most likely have never heard of (Lee Richmond of the Worcester Ruby Legs and John Montgomery War of the Providence Grays) performed the feat. While baseball has seen three no-hitters in a season on multiple occasions (2007 being the most recent), it has never seemed that there has been this many close calls before the season was even half over. Let's not also forget:

• Toronto's Ricky Romero lost a no-hitter in the 8th inning on a hit to left by Alex Rios
• NYY's C.C. Sabathia's bid was lost with two outs in the 8th inning off Kelly Shoppach's hit to left
• Detroit's Armando Galarraga lost his perfect game with two outs in the 9th when umpire Jim Joyce blew a call on the throw to first

Could this all be considered coincidence? It's going to take until the end of the season to decide that mystery. The MLB is on pace to witness five perfect games and a total of seven no hitters this season. That would shatter records in both categories and would mean even more because of the close calls.

Thus far in 2010, the average team ERA is 4.17 which is much lower compared to 2009 and 2008 where average team ERAs were posted at 4.31 and 4.32 respectively.
This could mean that the steroid era is, in fact, over and pitchers are going to begin dominating the league again which hasn't been seen since perhaps Glavine-Maddux-Smoltz or even before.