4/15/14: Two Weeks In

NL East Standings:

• Atlanta Braves (9-4)
• Wash. Nationals (8-5, 1.0 GB)
• Phila. Phillies & NY Mets (6-7, 3.0 GB)
• Miami Marlins (5-9, 4.5 GB)

Phillies Injury Updates:

• P A.J. Burnett (hernia) - will undergo off-season surgery
• OF Ben Revere (sore ribs) - available to play
• IF-OF Freddy Galvis (15-Day DL, MRSA) - activated Friday
• P Mike Adams (15-Day DL, shoulder) - activated Today
• P Cole Hamels (15-Day DL, shoulder) - set to return c. 4/22 or 4/27
• OF-1B Darin Ruf (15-Day DL, oblique) - to begin baseball activities this week
• P Jon Pettibone (shoulder trouble in S.T.) - made spot start on Saturday
• P Miguel Gonzalez (60-Day DL, shoulder) - rehabbing in minors
• P Ethan Martin (15-Day DL, shoulder) - no update

Games Recap:

Defense has been horrible this year. They are tied for last in majors in fielding pctg (.972) & errors (14), and have given up 12 unearned runs in 13 games. The team was ok in spring training, so it stands to reason that the law of averages will kick in as the season goes on and as the team gets more chances. Concern: 8/10

The offense has been tremendous in areas in which the team has done poorly in past seasons. They are putting runners on at a tremendous clip yet are struggling (a bit) to score them. Stats:

• .351 OBP (1st in NL, 2nd in MLB)
• .273 AVG (3rd in NL, 5th in MLB)
• .420 SLG (6th in NL, 9th in MLB)
• .771 OPS (4th in NL, 5th in MLB)
• 2000 pitches seen (7th-most in majors & 4th-most in NL) 
• 153.8 pitches per game (140.7 last year)
• 3.88 pitches per PA (3.79 in 2013)
• 39.7 plate appearances (PA) per game (37.1 last year)
• .279 AVG w/ RISP (.252 last year)
• 4.77 RPG (3.77 in 2013)

Utley and Ruiz are a big part of the team's offensive success and Howard's slow start is probably the biggest contribution to the team's small-yet-noticeable RISP issues, but I'm not concerned about Howard given his history of terrible Aprils, especially after hitting two HRs in the past two games. As for the team... as long as they continue to get chances by putting runners on and taking pitches, they'll score runs. Concern: 4/10

The starting pitching has been troublesome (6 Quality Starts, 4.05 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, 7.51 K/9, 3.69 BB/9), but the bullpen has been even worst (5.53 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 7.91 K/9, 4.28 BB/9, 1.85 K/BB, 3 BS). With bounce-back outings from a few of its guys, Adams activated and Hamels on the way, the Phillies look to improve in this area soon. Until then, it looks like high-scoring games resulting in more losses than wins will be the norm this season. Concern: 7/10

Schedule (April): 3 vs. Braves; West Coast Trip: 3 @ Rockies, 4 @ Dodgers, 3 @ D'Backs; Off on 28th; then, 2 vs. Mets at home.

Proposed April Record: 16-12 or better -AND/ OR- less than 3.0 games back. They split the Braves series (2-2), go 6-4 out west, and sweep the Mets.