Where Are Thou Pitching?

- Brennan Weiss

Roy Halladay has been hyped up since the Phillies acquired him from the Blue Jays on December 15, 2009, but many have seem to forgotten that he pitches only once out of a five-day cycle. Don’t get me wrong, Halladay definitely deserves to be hyped up and he has without a doubt lived up to all expectations, but with only one reliable starting pitcher in a rotation, success in the playoffs is not feasible.

Roy Halladay alone has a .82 ERA, four wins, two complete games, one shutout, and 28 strikeouts. The rest of the Phillies starting staff (which includes Cole Hamels, Kyle Kendrick, Nelson Figueroa, Jamie Moyer, and J.A. Happ) has an average combined ERA of 4.14, 54 strikeouts, zero complete games/shutouts, and 6 wins.

Do the math: Halladay has more than half of the strikeouts of five other starters combines; has an ERA of more than three runs lower than the staff average; has more than half of the wins of the rest of the staff; and he can claim the only shutout and complete games of the year.

Without Halladay, the Phillies wouldn’t even have the slightest chance of sitting in the drivers seat, but there still are some major issues, and if the Phillies can’t figure them out soon, a third World Series appearance in as many years will not happen.

After a disappointing 2009, Cole Hamels worked in the off-season to refine his third pitch, the curveball. Though he used it sparingly in spring training, as if he had already perfected it, Hamels has shown his lack of confidence in his curveball so far this year, and has gone back to himself by just relying on his changeup and mediocre fastball.

Hamels has an ERA above five, and just as everyone thought Hamels had thrown away his poor home-run reputation, he allowed four big shots against the Diamondbacks in a 7-4 loss on Friday night.

Aside from the vast amount of homers given up, Hamels’ lack of consistency and unpredictability are what haunts him the most. After three scoreless innings against the Diamondbacks last start, Hamels looked like he was at the top of his game, but in the fourth inning, he blew up.

Hamels allowed five earned runs (six total for the game) and didn’t give the Phillies a chance to win against the surprising performance by Kris Benson. If Hamels can learn to hit his spots and locate his fastball effectively, we can start to see the 2008 Hamels we all (well, at least us in Philadelphia) loved.

Yes, the Phillies starting staff aside from Halladay has not pitched to their potential, but a few unlucky injuries have also influenced their performance.

Joe Blanton, who is one of the more reliable starters coming off of a great 2009, started off on the DL before the season even started with a strained left oblique muscle. His presence is definitely hurting the Phillies, but a quick and soon return is hopeful.

On April 22, J.A. Happ was placed on the 15-day DL with a strained forearm. Happ started off the year great with a 0.00 ERA and one win in 10 and a third innings pitched. Nelson Figueroa has replaced him and produced a decent first start last night against the Diamondbacks while obtaining his first victory of the year.

As far as injuries outside of the Phillies starting staff, don’t even get me started.

Injuries can cause a team to fail, but there is no excuse for lack of performance. If Halladay can continue his dominance and the rest of the starters follow pace, the Phillies can cause some major damage in the National League, and breeze through the season into the playoffs.

* One bright spot is that J.C. Romero was activated from the DL on April 22.

- Brennan Weiss

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