The Philadelphia Phillies signed a big money closer. Now, they must focus on one area of their team if they hope to put themselves into position to become World Series’ contenders again.

The team must improve its offense if there is any hope of adjusting their fall outcome in 2012.

J-Roll

Here’s a plain and simple answer to their shortstop issue.

It is completely okay if Jimmy Rollins(notes) returns next season. But, he needs to bat no higher than sixth in the order if he does.

J-Roll’s glove work at shortstop is historically significant. He currently ranks third on baseball’s all-time fielding percentage leader board for all players who have ever played 500 or more games.

As a result, his superb defense saves runs. There is no getting around a big point that also leads into an offensive discussion.

Rollins is still effective, even though he no longer produces near the levels that he did during his 2007 National League Most Valuable Player season.

This team needs someone who has a much higher OPS at the top of their lineup.

It would also be good if that person isn’t Shane Victorino(notes), as his OPS isn’t that much higher than Rollins.

It would be helpful if the Phillies could acquire a replacement player to fill the leadoff role.

If Rollins isn’t re-signed, then his spot is one of a few that could be targeted for that transition.

Left field

Raul Ibanez(notes) was a good guy and a decent player. But, something different will be needed from his lineup slot next season.

As Domonic Brown(notes) is far from a certainty, he can’t be counted on. Plus, he has played right field and will also apparently need to make a change to the other side of the outfield before big league duty becomes an option.

While John Mayberry(notes) has shown excellent promise, fans should not assume that he can simply become the everyday starter. A platoon role would seem reasonable and possibly, as time moves forward, he will assume a starting slot.

A contact hitter, who plays small ball, would fit nicely into this left field position with Mayberry.

Polly and Chase

When Ryan Howard(notes) returns, the team will be counting on four of it’s eight regulars to repeat last season’s performances.

In addition to Howard, Shane Victorino, Hunter Pence(notes) and Carlos Ruiz(notes) performed as was expected in 2011.

As for Chase Utley(notes) and Placido Polanco(notes), both men need to produce far more than they did last season. Without that happening, it would seem hard to imagine how the team can improve that much offensively.

If Rollins leaves, the Phillies will add a new shortstop and a new left fielder to the mix.

That combination of new players and old veterans will simply have to do more.

Pitching and defense don’t win in the playoffs. Clutch hitting is also needed, as the Phillies learned when they faced the St. Louis Cardinals and the San Francisco Giants during the past two seasons.

After earning a Communications degree from Penn State in 1990, Sean started his career in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons front office. At that time they were the Philadelphia Phillies Triple-A farm team. Read his Sports Blog: Insight and follow him on Twitter @ SeanyOB

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Lefthander Cole Hamels, who will start Game 3 for the
Philadelphia Phillies in today’s National League division series
against the Cardinals, had an easy answer Monday as to why he
thought the Cardinals have the best offense in the league this
season.

“I think they have a great hitting coach,” Hamels said. “Ever
since they’ve got Big Mac (Mark McGwire) over there, their lineup
has (been) outstanding. Especially with not having (Matt) Holliday
in their lineup as much as he normally is and the struggles of what
Albert (Pujols) had in the beginning of the season, they’ve
definitely come full circle.

“They know how to manufacture hit after hit after hit and I
think that’s how they really get you going. They don’t just survive
off the long ball, even though they’re capable of doing that. They
definitely know how to play small ball.”

The last time Hamels (14-9, 2.79 ERA) faced the Cardinals, on
Sept. 18, he gave up home runs to Pujols and Allen Craig in a 5-0
loss in Philadelphia. Hamels, in fact, allowed nine homers in six
September games, covering 38 innings.

“September is pretty frustrating,” Hamels said, “just for the
fact that every run I did give up was because of a home run. And
the mistakes I made … they weren’t just getting doubles or
singles, they were hitting them out.

“I know a couple of the homers I gave up to some big-name guys
(Pujols was three for 20 against Hamels before that game), they
happened to just finally get me and I think that happens in
baseball. There were a few, though, (where) I did make some really
bad decisions.”

Hamels was the most valuable player in both the National League
championship series and the World Series in 2008 when the Phillies
won the championship. He is 4-1 in postseason games on the road,
including a shutout over Cincinnati to wrap up the Phillies’
division series win last year.

“When you have the fans not really on your side,” Hamels said,
“you kind of want to bear down a little bit more and kind of be
able to take a game from them.”

 

LINEUP MATTERS

Although left fielder Raul Ibanez has driven in four runs in the
first two games of the series, Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said
he probably would use righthanded-hitting John Mayberry Jr. in left
field tonight against Cardinals lefthander Jaime Garcia. Mayberry
was a .306 hitter against lefthanded pitching in the regular
season, while the lefthanded-hitting Ibanez hit only .211 against
southpaws.

Garcia has held the Phillies to one run in 15 innings this
season. Said Manuel, “He has good command and he uses all his
pitches and he keeps his cool against us. He’s really kept his
composure.”

 

POLANCO STRUGGLING

Phils third baseman Placido Polanco, laboring with a sports
hernia condition that will require surgery after the season, is
nothing for eight with three strikeouts and is four for his last 32
counting the end of the regular season. Polanco, who hit .398 in
April before he suffered what was presumed to be merely a back
ailment that was later diagnosed as a sports hernia, hardly ever
strikes out, fanning only 44 times in 469 regular-season
at-bats.

“I think (the hernia) bothers him some,” Manuel said. “He gets
real tight and sore and I think it definitely bothers him.”

 

HAWAIIAN CONNECTION

Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino, a Hawaii native, said
he called infielder Kolten Wong, the Cardinals’ first-round pick
from the University of Hawaii, before the June draft.

“I know his dad a little bit,” Victorino said. “I never got to
see Kolten play but I heard a lot of good things about him. I was
definitely excited to hear another Hawaiian kid got that
opportunity.

“Leading up to the draft, I just told him, ‘If you get the
opportunity, make the most of it.’ Getting picked as high as he
did, I felt good for him.”

Wong, who batted .335, led his Quad Cities team to the Midwest
League championship.

On the night he was drafted, Wong had said he emulated Phillies
shortstop Jimmy Rollins. “That’s good to know,” Victorino said.
“Maybe I’ll have to connect the two of them at some point.”

From the cover of Sports Illustrated’s Baseball Preview issue to dominating the National League’s staff at the all-star game, the Philadelphia Phillies pitching rotation has been the baseball story of 2011.

The starting staff, led by Roy Halladay, has a combined 2.99 earned-run average, the best in the major leagues.

But the Phillies’ collection of all-star bats has been nosing in for its share of the headlines during August, a promising trend for the Phillies.

After all, inconsistent offence is what doomed the team’s World Series hopes in 2010.

This year, before the all-star break in July, the Phillies were averaging 4.2 runs a game and were shut out five times. Since the break, the Phillies have been scoring an average of 5.1 runs a game. They haven’t been shut out in nearly two months, since June 19.

The improvement in offence gained some momentum when general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. traded some of the Phillies’ top minor-league prospects to Houston for all-star outfielder Hunter Pence on July 29. With Pence, the Phillies are scoring 5.3 runs a game.

“We know it’s no easy task to face this lineup because there are so many hitters you have to bear down on,” Pence said. “Normally there are two (solid hitters) in most lineups. We go (Jimmy) Rollins, (Shane) Victorino, (Chase) Utley, (Ryan) Howard, myself, (Raul) Ibanez … there’s no break.

“And don’t forget about Chooch (Carlos Ruiz). If you sleep on him, you get hurt, too.”

Pence has hit safely in 12 of his 14 games with the Phillies and is batting .327 during that stretch. But the guys in front of him also have contributed.

Howard, a career .293 hitter after the all-star break, is batting .333 with seven home runs and 17 RBI in the 14 games since Pence has arrived. The two hitters in front of Howard carried the team’s offence for an even longer stretch.

Victorino and Utley are batting a combined .321 with 49 extra-base hits during the team’s past 52 games.

The Phillies, who are first in the NL East with a 78-41 record, open a three-game series at home Tuesday night to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Halladay will go for his 16th win of the season, which would be tops in the NL.

Third baseman Placido Polanco could be back in the lineup after missing six games because of a sports hernia injury. 

The big-name acquisitions recently made by the Philadelphia Phillies and San
Francisco Giants were intended to improve both clubs’ chances in the race for
the NL pennant.

However, only one of these teams has looked like a playoff contender of
late.

After snapping a five-game skid, the Giants try to prevent Cliff Lee(notes) and the
Phillies from matching a season high with their seventh consecutive victory
Thursday night at AT&T Park.

With the majors’ best record and an eight-game lead in the East,
Philadelphia (71-39) could be headed to a fifth consecutive division title. The
Phillies have averaged 6.7 runs during a six-game winning streak, five with
All-Star Hunter Pence(notes) in the lineup.

“We’ve collectively been putting pressure on the other team, getting guys on
base and driving guys in when we need to,” outfielder Raul Ibanez(notes) told the
Phillies’ official website.

Pence, 1 for 4 for with an RBI in Wednesday’s 8-6 win at Colorado, has hit
.286 (6 for 21) with three RBIs since being acquired from Houston on Friday.

“I’ve been pretty fortunate to jump on the team with the best record in
baseball,” Pence said.

There’s little doubt that the right-handed hitting Pence is providing ample
protection in the lineup for slugger Ryan Howard(notes), who is 9 for 22 (.409) with
four homers and nine RBIs the last five games. Howard hit his 24th home run and
had four RBIs on Wednesday.

Pence was not with the Phillies when they dropped two of three at home to
the Giants (62-49) last week. Though Philadelphia has lost seven of nine regular
season games at AT&T Park and went 1-2 there in last year’s NL championship
series, San Francisco has dropped eight of 13 and avoided a season-high sixth
consecutive defeat with an 8-1 win over Arizona on Wednesday to take a one-game
lead over the Diamondbacks in the West.

“I was starting to worry,” said Giants infielder Orlando Cabrera(notes), who was
acquired from Cleveland on Saturday.

Cabrera, 3 for 15 in four games with his new team, drove in three runs and
All-Star Carlos Beltran(notes) had three hits with an RBI as the Giants matched their
run total from the previous five games. After going 1 for 14 with six strikeouts
in his first three games since coming over from the New York Mets last Thursday,
Beltran is 7 for 16 (.438) without a strikeout in his last four.

“We have good hitters in our lineup,” said Beltran, batting .205 with a
homer and five RBIs versus Philadelphia in 2011. “Sometimes we get caught up in
trying to do too much.”

Beltran is 1 for 8 against Lee (10-7, 3.14 ERA), who faces the Giants in the
regular season for the first time since his first stint with the Phillies in
2009. Lee is 3-0 with a 1.13 ERA in the regular season versus San Francisco, but
went 0-2 with a 6.94 ERA in the World Series with Texas last season.

After he allowed one run in 42 innings while going 5-0 in June, the
left-hander went 1-2 with a 4.91 ERA in five July starts. That lone victory came
after he gave up four runs and fanned 11 in 7 2-3 innings of a 7-4 win over
Pittsburgh on Saturday.

The Giants will counter with a left-hander of their own in Madison Bumgarner(notes)
(6-10, 3.80), who allowed three runs in 4 2-3 innings of the Giants’ 6-5 win in
Game 4 of the NLCS in his only previous start against the Phillies. He also
threw two scoreless innings during the pennant-clinching Game 6 victory at
Philadelphia.

Bumgarner had allowed five runs over 21 2-3 innings while going 2-0 in his
first three starts after the All-Star break before he surrendered seven -
including five in the first – in four innings of a 7-2 loss at Cincinnati on
Saturday. He has yielded 18 first-inning runs this season.

PHILADELPHIA – Hunter Pence is adding his big bat to a pennant race.

Philadelphia is counting on its latest all-star acquisition from Houston to do what Brad Lidge and Roy Oswalt did before him — help take the team with the best record in baseball deep into the post-season.

The Phillies made another deadline splash Friday night, acquiring Pence from the Astros for a package of highly rated prospects.

“He’s a guy that I think our fans will take to very well,” Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said.

The NL East-leading Phillies got the right-fielder and cash from Houston for three minor leaguers and a player to be named, shoring up their lineup as they try to make it back to the World Series for the third time in four years.

Amaro is developing a knack for pulling off big deals right before baseball’s non-waiver trade deadline. He acquired ace left-hander Cliff Lee in 2009 and right-hander Oswalt last year.

“Hopefully he comes in, fits in and helps us,” Lee said.

Oswalt helped pitch the Phillies to the NL championship series last year. Before the 2008 season, the Phillies got Lidge from the Astros and he went 48 for 48 in save opportunities and led them to a World Series championship.

The 28-year-old Pence began the day with a .309 batting average, 11 homers and 62 RBIs.

Houston nabbed two of Philadelphia’s top prospects in first baseman Jonathan Singleton and right-hander Jarred Cosart. But the Phillies managed to hold onto talented outfielder Domonic Brown.

The 19-year-old Singleton was batting .282 with nine homers and 47 RBIs for Class-A Clearwater. He was selected by the Phillies in the eighth round of the 2009 draft.

The 21-year-old Cosart was 9-8 with a 3.92 earned-run average in 20 games, 19 starts, for Clearwater.

Rebuilding Houston also got 25-year-old righty Josh Zeid, who was 2-3 with two saves and a 5.65 ERA in 21 games, 11 starts, for Double-A Reading.

Amaro said the Phillies were able to stay under the luxury tax. He also refused to say he was done dealing before Sunday’s deadline.

“Right now, I’m very comfortable with our ballclub,” he said.

Pence comes with a favourable contract situation; Philadelphia can bring him back with relative ease for each of the next two seasons. His age and contract made him more appealing to the Phillies than a slugger like Carlos Beltran, traded Thursday from the New York Mets to the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants. Beltran is a free agent at the end of this season.

“I don’t like rentals,” Amaro said. “I don’t believe in those.”

The Phillies have needed a righty batter with pop since Jayson Werth signed with the Washington Nationals over the winter. Manager Charlie Manuel said Pence would bat fifth Saturday against Pittsburgh and play right field.

He’ll provide some protection for Ryan Howard, allowing Shane Victorino to move into second in the lineup. Chase Utley and Raul Ibanez, who join Howard as the Phillies’ top home run threats, are all lefties.

The Phillies have to make a roster move Saturday and Brown could be demoted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.