2 Balls No Strikes

2 Balls No Strikes – A Hitter’s Count

Editor’s Note – this article is being written during game 5 of the ALCS but is assuming that the Yankees will win the pennant.

If an average Philadelphia baseball fan took a quick glance at the pitching stats of Cole Hamels in this year’s NLCS he or she would be hard pressed to believe that the Philadelphia Phillies dominated the Los Angeles Dodgers for the second year in a row. He or she would find it hard to believe that they only lost one game and took the pennant in 5 games for the second year in a row. Hamels started two games for the fightins in the series, game one and the clinching game five. His stats were less than pedestrian: 9 2/3 innings pitched, 7 earned runs allowed, and a whopping 5 home runs allowed, which translates to 6.52 ERA.

That same average fan probably knows that Hamels was untouchable in the Phils magical run to their first World Series title in 28 years during last year’s playoffs. Conventional wisdom would lead this fan to think that the Phils struggled and found it difficult to compete with the Dodgers (since their starter laid an egg in two of the five games), the best team in the NL during the regular season. The fan would think that if the Dodgers roughed up Hamels that the Phils would lose the games he started because the Dodgers boasted the NL’s lowest ERA (3.41) and lowest batting average against (.233) during the regular season. But the postseason is not the regular season, and the Phillies were not intimidated in the least. In fact, Philadelphia won both games Hamels started in the series despite his troubles.

These Philadelphia Phillies have continuously thrown conventional wisdom out the window (ask Dodger’s closer Jonathan Broxton). Sure Hamels gave up a first inning home run to Andre Eithier that put the Phils in an early hole in game five. (On a 1-2 count no less. Hamels, as well as other Phillies’ pitchers, too often make mistakes over the center of the plate when they are up in the count.) Nevertheless, in the bottom half of the inning the slug fest that can be described as the Phillies offense continued. Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino failed to reach base, but Chase Utley and Ryan Howard drew back to back walks and Dodgers starter Vicente Padilla seemed a bit rattled as he ran a 3-0 count to Jayson Werth. Padilla fought back and worked the count full, but that is when Werth took over and launched a fly ball deep to right field several rows into the stands. 3-1 Phillies.

Despite Hamels struggles, he failed to complete the fifth inning; the Phils never looked back in game five. They hit three more home runs, one from Pedro Feliz, one from Shane Victorino, and another from Werth for good measure. Playoff baseball is supposed to be won by dominant pitching but the Phils have their own special brand of dominant batting that has allowed them to advance to the World Series for the second year in a row.

244.

224.

The first number is the amount of home runs the Yankees hit during the regular season. Tops in the majors. The second number is the amount of home runs the Phillies hit. Tops in the National League and tied for second in the majors with the Texas Rangers. There is no doubt that starting pitching and bullpen pitching will have a profound affect on the World Series this year, but this most likely will not be a Series where the losing team fails to score more than one run in five of the seven games like the 1968 World Series between St. Louis and Detroit. Sure CC Sabbathia and Cliff Lee have shut down stuff, but lineups like the ones the Phillies and the Yankees are not easily shut down. The Yankees have seven starters who hit 20 or more home runs. The Phillies have four straight batters in their lineup who had more than 30 home runs. Both of these are firsts for these clubs. Any time that teams like the Phillies and Yankees (who have been around for over 100 years) do something for the first time, you know it is special.

Experts and baseball pundits always insist that pitching wins championships, but maybe this year home runs will be the deciding factor.

Good luck to the pitchers in this year’s World Series they’re gonna need it.

YouTube Clip of the Week - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuLb0Tnr3Ls