tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3447388594550748755.post509387511795337509..comments2023-10-07T03:12:52.326-07:00Comments on The People's Phillies Blog: Meet Your 2009 MVPBrian Raabhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115827745713464759noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3447388594550748755.post-59116443034713826862009-02-20T05:33:00.000-08:002009-02-20T05:33:00.000-08:00I love when people spam our blog, don't you?I love when people spam our blog, don't you?Charles Bermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17117412522077471969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3447388594550748755.post-28714671875820609562009-02-17T05:27:00.000-08:002009-02-17T05:27:00.000-08:00Hottest Fans of the NL East? More Hardball wants t...Hottest Fans of the NL East?<BR/> <BR/>More Hardball wants to know who has the hottest fans in baseball. We'll be running a set of posts over the following weeks featuring images of each teams' hotties, with a voting poll to crown a champion. We've crowned champs of the AL East (BoSox), Central (ChiSox), West (Angels), and AL Wild Card (A's) already, and we're now moving on to the National League...NL East. Sticking true to Major League Baseball's roots, there will be an eight team playoff system where the winners of each division square off with the addition of a wild card team to determine who wins the pennant and represents each league in the World Series of Hotness.<BR/> <BR/>Link: http://morehardball.blogspot.com/2009/02/hottest-fans-of-nl-east.htmlGM-Carsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06805746782773160139noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3447388594550748755.post-77581773378335750822009-02-14T07:30:00.000-08:002009-02-14T07:30:00.000-08:00Statistically Howard may be a long shot for MVP in...Statistically Howard may be a long shot for MVP in 2009, but what I think was really insightful about this post was pointing out how attributing Howard's less impressive batting averages in the past couple of years to the league's pitching simply having got used to him is an oversimplification. <BR/><BR/>I'm sure there's a grain of truth there, in that the longer a man plays the more time pitchers and coaches will have to decide how to pitch him, but for an explanation that has been offered so many times as the final word on the subject it ignores far too many factors. <BR/><BR/>The reason is much more likely to be something to do with Howard and his approach, and I hope as much as anybody that this new contract takes some of the pressure off and allows him to pick up some more base hits.Charles Bermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17117412522077471969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3447388594550748755.post-9568725224257142522009-02-13T14:03:00.000-08:002009-02-13T14:03:00.000-08:00How often has anyone been MVP twice in three years...How often has anyone been MVP twice in three years? And if his numbers have trended down over his career, why should you expect a rise? Just based on the statistics of the whole thing, Howards chances don't look very good.David Raabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03489754392712536104noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3447388594550748755.post-76081118422273986372009-02-12T13:23:00.000-08:002009-02-12T13:23:00.000-08:00I disagree with your analysis. Last year, Howard ...I disagree with your analysis. <BR/><BR/>Last year, Howard looked looked totally lost at the plate for the first half of the season, and that was because teams were throwing two pitches at him: a curveball about 4 feet off the plate, followed up by an inside fastball under the elbows (with the former being thrown about 80% of the time). Howard was TRYING to hit the ball the other way - his power alley - and teams knew it. Unfortunately, Howard's swing is not the short, compact Utley-type swing. It's long and protracted, and he was guessing on that outside pitch. Once that swing started, there was no stopping it. The single most important thign that Howard developed was the discipline to not swing at that pitch. Once he stopped, teams' choices were either to walk him or pitch to him. Howard still swings and misses a TON, so a lot of teams decided to take their chances with the quick punchout - and towards the end of the season, they payed the ultimate price. <BR/><BR/>The other major factor was Jimmy ROllins. When JRoll gets on base, he's a major threat to move over to second. Add Werth/Victorino into that 2 hole, and put Utley in at 3, and Howard is coming to the plate with men in scoring position ALL THE TIME. But it all starts with Jimmy. This team wins and loses with the venerable SS. Even last year when he was out, if not for Chase and Burrella going haywire (not really at a sustainable clip), we'd have had some MAJOR offensive problems. When Jimmy came back, though - and I mean back at 100%, the team was insane.<BR/><BR/>Incidentally, if this team can stay healthy, there is almost no ceiling. We are just a solid team right nwo. The offense is very, very potent (why doesn't anyone recognize Werth as a legit RH bat?), the bullpen is very good, and the rotation is deep. I think it's legitimately possible we could win 100 games.<BR/><BR/>GO PHILLIES!!!Jepshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12747133308698296639noreply@blogger.com