Phils could use a Plan B when it comes to Jose
February 14
2007
The Phillies can't handle
Jose Reyes. The Mets' shortstop did a ton of damage against the Phils in
2006, more than any other player. In 86 at-bats against the Phils he
homered seven times, which was tops against Phils pitchers. He hit seven
against the Phils, including three in one game, and 12 against all other
teams. Had he homered at the rate he did against the Phillies for an
entire season he would have hit 53. He posted a 1.135 OPS against the Phils and an .841 OPS for the
season overall.
The Phillies couldn't get him out in 2005, either. He posted a .940 OPS in
his 75 at-bats against the Phils compared to just a .687 OPS for the season.
Here's a look at the players who did the most damage against the Phils in
2006, using OPS as the measure (it only includes players with 50 or more
plate appearances versus the Phils, so that pretty much means just players
from the NL East).
| Player | AB | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS vs PHI | OPS for year |
| J Reyes | 86 | 360 | 402 | 733 | 1.135 | 841 |
| N Johnson | 58 | 362 | 465 | 586 | 1.051 | 948 |
| C Beltran | 77 | 299 | 368 | 662 | 1.030 | 982 |
| C Delgado | 66 | 303 | 383 | 606 | 989 | 909 |
| A LaRoche | 53 | 302 | 362 | 604 | 966 | 915 |
Three Mets, a Brave
that's been traded out of the division and Nick Johnson. Curiously absent
is perhaps the division's best non-Ryan Howard hitter, Miguel Cabrera, who
posted a .998 OPS for the season overall. In terms of OPS he was sixth on
the list, just nine points below LaRoche.
Just below Cabrera would be Ryan Zimmerman. Zimmerman led all opposing
hitters by driving in 22 runs against the Phils.
The Phils did fare better against some of the NL East's elite than other
teams did. Here's a couple of guys the Phillies mostly managed to handle:
| Player | AB | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS vs PHI | OPS for year |
| D Wright | 70 | 229 | 286 | 457 | 743 | 912 |
| A Soriano | 79 | 241 | 333 | 506 | 840 | 911 |
| A Jones | 60 | 250 | 277 | 550 | 827 | 894 |
Andruw Jones did hit five long balls, but all three of that impressive trio hit .250 or less against the Phils.
This article suggests that the rest of the NL East probably can't hang with the Mets.
I think this article makes a good point that there's a solid chance that Lieber will be better this season than he was last. Prior to 2006 Lieber had thrown to an ERA under 4.50 for nine straight seasons. If I were going to try to pick a breakout candidate on the Phillies, though, I would have gone with Helms, Werth or Eaton before Lieber.
This article says the Phillies are not interested in signing Dustin Hermanson.
Geoff Geary, the Phillies last remaining player eligible for arbitration, agreed to a one-year deal under which he will be paid $837,000. This avoids the hearing, which was set for Monday.
This article and this article both want the Phillies to keep Rowand.
An article on the Phillies web site reviews relief prospects in the organization.
Duaner Sanchez could be a key part of an excellent Mets' pen. He may be ready for opening day.
The site Bugs and Cranks covers Major League Baseball with the goal of having one writer for each of the teams. Michael Milici writes about the Phils.