Throughout the early part of the season, I wasn't that concerned by the Phillies' injuries and subpar hitting. I maintained that as long as Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and Cole Hamels stayed healthy, this team would win a lot of games.
Unfortunately, one of those three is no longer healthy.
Featured Phillie of the Week: Cliff Lee
Cliff Lee's start against the San Francisco Giants was perhaps the best pitching performance by a non-winning starter in the team's history.
He threw ten shutout innings, only to have the Phillies lose the game in the eleventh inning. The team lost mostly because the opposing starter - Matt Cain - was just as good, shutting out the Phillies for nine innings.
Lee was the first Phillies starter to pitch ten innings in a game since Terry Mulholland in 1993. As it turns out, there are risks in a pitcher throwing ten innings in a game. At some point during the tenth inning, Lee suffered an abdominal injury which will send him to the disabled list.
The Phillies claim that the injury is minor and they don't forsee him missing a lot of time, but I am skeptical. I've seen "minor" injuries to pitchers keep them out much longer than expected.
Even if Lee does come back as soon as the Phillies expect, there's always the dangerous possibility that his mechanics might be altered, which could result in diminished performance or further injury.
Maybe this will indeed just be a minor inconvenience, and Lee will be back as soon as he is eligible. But it is possible that this turns into a season-long issue for him.
This year's Phillies team is clearly built around the excellence of the starters. If Lee is not going to be a dominant pitcher for most of the season, the team might be in some trouble.
Ghost of Phillies Past: Tommy Greene
Tommy Greene was a very effective pitcher for the Phillies - when healthy.
Greene was essentially an unknown when he entered the Phillies rotation in 1991. He had come over from the Atlanta Braves in a trade in 1990, but was far from overwhelming for either team that year.
But once he was given a regular spot in the Phillies rotation in 1991, Greene looked like a rising star. His 13-8 record and 3.38 ERA helped the Phillies earn a surprising 3rd place finish.
There were high hopes for both Greene and the Phillies in 1992. Unfortunately, both suffered disappointing seasons. Greene missed most of the season due to shoulder tendinitis. His absence was a large reason why the Phillies finished in last place.
In 1993, Greene was healthy and once again looked like an emerging star. He won 16 games and was part of a strong starting rotation that helped the Phillies win the National League pennant.
Heading into 1994, there was hope that Greene would be a top starter for years to come. But he suffered another shoulder injury that placed him on the DL for most of the year. And once again, his absence caused a once-promising Phillies season to end in a disappointing fashion.
Side note: To be honest, if there was a good year for the team to fall out of contention, 1994 was probably it.
Greene never fully recovered from his injury issues. He made brief comebacks in 1995 and 1997, but failed to recapture the success he had when healthy.
Awesomely Obscure Song of the Week
This week's awesome song that has escaped the notice of most people's attention is Friends and Family by Trik Turner.
Released in 2002, the song got some minor play on MTV, but the band's subsequent break up kept them from following up on it.
Final Analysis
Tommy Greene was a good pitcher, but his inability to stay healthy killed a couple of once-promising Phillies seasons.
If Cliff Lee's injury turns out to be more major than expected, then the 2012 Phillies might suffer a similar fate.
No comments:
Post a Comment