Game Score is an enormously flawed stat, but looking at the Start Log data for 2012 does help demonstrate part of what was wrong for the Phillies last year.
The average Game Score for a start by a Phillies pitcher in ’12 was 54.2, which is the lowest it has been since 2009. There were only two starters for the Phils in 2012 who posted an average Game Score for the year better than the team’s average of 54.2 — Hamels averaged 59.74 in his 31 starts and Lee averaged 58.93 in his 30. Halladay, notably, joined Worley, Blanton, Kendrick, Valdes, Cloyd and Rosenberg in the group of starters under the team’s 54.2 average.
In 2011, Halladay, Hamels and Lee all averaged Game Scores above 60.
The Phils had six games in 2012 in which their starter threw to a Game Score better than 80. Here are the teams six best starts for 2012 by Game Score:
April 5, Halladay 83. Phillies beat the Pirates 1-0 on Opening Day as Halladay allows two hits and no walks over eight shutout innings.
April 18, Lee 85. By Game Score, this is the second-best start of the year for the Phillies in 2012. Lee strikes out seven in ten shutout innings. Bastardo started the bottom of the eleventh in a scoreless tie and the Giants got an unearned run on two singles and a Wigginton error.
May 3, Blanton 87. Best start of the year for the Phillies by Game Score. Blanton throws a complete-game, three hit shutout and the Phils top the Braves 4-0. He threw just 88 pitches in the game.
August 7, Hamels 83. Best start of the year for Hamels as he throws a complete game, allowing five hits and no walks while striking out six. Howard hits a two-run homer in the top of the first as the Phils score three runs on their way to a 3-0 win over Atlanta.
August 10, Halladay 82. The only pitcher to make two starts with Game Scores over 80, Halladay allowed a run on two hits and no walks while striking out eight as the Phils topped the Cardinals 3-1, breaking a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the eighth on a two-run shot by Utley.
August 19, Kendrick 82. The third Game Score of 80 plus in a 12-day period for the Phils. Kendrick makes his best start of the year, allowing three hits and a walk over eight shutout innings while striking out seven. The Phillies score five runs charged to Randy Wolf in the first three innings and roll to an 8-0 win.
For the Phillies it was their first season since 2008 in which they didn’t get a start with a Game Score better than 90.
In 2011, Lee threw a complete-game shutout of the Nats on April 14, allowing three hits and a walk while striking out 12 and posting a Game Score of 92.
Halladay threw a perfect game on May 29, 2010 with a Game Score of 98.
There were two starts with a Game Score above 90 in 2009. On August 19, Lee struck out 11, walked none and allowed two singles in a complete game against the Snakes. The Phils won 8-1 and Lee’s Game Score was 92. On September 1, Hamels allowed two hits and a walk while striking out nine in a complete game shutout as the Phils topped the Giants 1-0. 91 Game Score in that start for Hamels.
This Q&A from the Phillies web site speculates that Michael Young could play some first base against lefties this year if Howard continues to struggle against them. Mayberry and Ruf seem like good candidates as well. Mayberry seems like the one of that trio who would not be terrible defensively at the position he was playing (left field, presumably) if he was in the lineup and not at first, which presumably makes it less likely he would be there than Ruf or Young if Howard was on the bench against a lefty.
This suggests that the Phillies and Bastardo have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $1.4 million deal.
Article on 22-year-old lefty Adam Morgan here. Morgan threw to a 3.35 ERA in 158 2/3 innings over 27 appearances, 26 of which were starts, between Clearwater and Reading in 2012.
This article discusses the possibility that Michael Young will hit between Utley and Howard in 2013.
This article suggests the Phillies are seriously considering signing Delmon Young.
Update: The Phillies signed Delmon Young to a one-year, $750,000 deal. I would have guessed he would get more money than that. At least on paper, that’s a really good deal for the Phils to land the MVP of last year’s ALCS. No word yet they plan to play on paper next year, though. So brace yourself for the possibility there might be a bump or two ahead.
This says Young could earn as much as $3.5 million if all incentives are reached.
Young earned $6.75 million in 2012.
January 22nd, 2013 on 11:56 am
The only thing I know about Delmon Young is that he has a propensity for really bad headlines. What’s the skinny on this guy? Is he worth the wretched behavior?
January 22nd, 2013 on 12:14 pm
He was supposed to be great. Really great. Baseball America had him in the top three of all prospects in baseball for four straight years from 2004 to 2007. He was the first pick of the 2003 draft. His fellow first rounders that year included Nick Markakis, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Adam Jones, Rickie Weeks, Chad Billingsley, Aaron Hill and Carlos Quentin.
He has been far from great. He was good for the Twins in 2010, hitting 298/333/493. He’s been really bad offensively since, hitting 267/299/403 in ’11 and ’12 combined.
He’s right-handed and plays left field. He’s really bad defensively in left.
He’s had multiple ugly incidents with umpires and off the field.
The reason for hope would be that he’s still pretty young. He turned 27 in September.
January 22nd, 2013 on 1:59 pm
I think the other thing to remember about Young is that it may be more appropriate to call him a DH rather than an outfielder. He started 145 games in 2012 for Detroit, 116 at DH and 29 in the outfield.
Still think I’d rather have him than not, especially if it’s a cheap contract (not sure he’s coming to the Phillies, but I will be surprised if he gets a lot of money).
January 22nd, 2013 on 5:31 pm
750K is what I’m seeing.
So, this is one of Amaro’s low cost high upside guys? Which may be little more than a marketing way of saying “cheap because no one else is dumb enough to think he’s any good”.
Ok. If you’d rather have him than not, we will wait and see. This has to send Ruf to AAA.
January 22nd, 2013 on 5:32 pm
One year, I think.
January 22nd, 2013 on 7:44 pm
I’m surprised he came so cheap.
I do think he’s a high upside guy. Think it’s a good deal for the Phillies.
I do think he is a very bad defensive player. Presumably there’s a chance that could improve as well I suppose. I’d guess there’s a good chance he’s highly motivated — I think you can add him to a big group of potential starters in the whole-lot-of-something-to-prove category along with Brown and Young.
Also, there’s a possibility that on Opening Day, the positions where the Phillies are playing someone so terrible defensively you hope nobody ever hits the ball there could include first, third, left and right. That’s a lot of positions to not be able to defend at.
January 22nd, 2013 on 8:32 pm
On Daily News live today they said Young would go to right field.
January 23rd, 2013 on 7:23 am
So where does D. young hit? Five hole?
January 23rd, 2013 on 10:33 am
Not against righties (I don’t think).
Against lefties, I’d guess one of the Youngs will break up Utley and Howard. I’d guess Delmon would hit five, six or seven against a righty. So I guess it could be five, but I’d guess six or seven is more likely.