Loading ...What Roy Oswalt To The Phillies Could Mean For The Braves
Written by Thomas on July 29, 2010 – 1:24 pmPending his approval, Roy Oswalt will be making 12 plus starts for the Phillies over the course of the next two months. As Dave Cameron of Fangraphs.com points out, this trade is an admission of guilt by GM Ruben Amaro for inexplicably trading Cliff Lee last off-season. The Lee trade left the team with a top heavy rotation that was hurt even further when it lost J.A. Happ to the disabled list after only two starts.
Following the Happ injury in April, the Phillies rotation looked like this: 1) Roy Halladay 2) Cole Hamels 3-5) Kyle Kendrick, Jamie Moyer, Joe Blanton. To translate this into Braves lingo, they had a Maddux, a Glavine and then three Kenshin Kawakamis. Another comparable would be the Braves’ 2007 rotation which consisted of Hudson, Smoltz and then three or four Kenshin Kawakamis. That season there was an incredible amount of pressure on the games Huddy and Smoltz started, because losing them meant there could easily be a four or five game losing streak. Both of them stayed healthy all season and pitched very well, but the team could only win 84 games, good for third in the NL East.
The Phillies’ top two of Halladay and Hamels have been in a similar situation all year but have managed to lead the team to an impressive 55-46 record prior to the Oswalt trade. Unfortunately, adding the Astros’ ace to their staff significantly improves the Phillies’ chances at catching the Braves down the stretch. Oswalt, who will essentially be replacing the mediocre Jamie Moyer, has been very good this year, with his 8.37 K/9 ratio being the highest it has been since his rookie season.
The Phillies could potentially switch to a four man rotation at some point before the season is over. Doing so would eliminate yet another horrible starter from their rotation. This combined with the return of Utley and Victorino will make them a very dangerous team. The Braves still have a 3.5 game head start, but their chances at winning the division looked a whole lot better one week ago. At that point the lead was seven games and Oswalt was still in an Astros’ uniform. Six games remain between Atlanta and Philly including the three game set at Turner Field to end the season. As Billy Wagner predicted long ago, these three games just might determine who wins the NL East.
Tags: Philadelphia Phillies, Roy Oswalt, Trade Rumors
Posted in League Analysis, Pitching, Speculation | 4 Comments »
By philwynk on Jul 30, 2010 | Reply
You apparently have not been watching the Phillies' season very carefully. Moyer and Kendrick have been pitching in spectacular fashion, shutting down opponents for 7 and 8 innings at a stretch, with only a few exceptions. It was the collective slump of the Phillies hitters, averaging 2.24 runs/game during their 25 losses between May 22 and the All Star Break and 3.9 runs/game overall (last year's avg was 5.5 runs/game), that caused their decline in the NL East, not any deficiency in their pitching.
Oswalt's presence in the Phillies rotation makes them a much tougher team in the post-season, when they will be able to throw Hallady, Hamels, and Oswalt at opponents in a short series. Oswalt's presence will only marginally improve their chances of getting to the post-season, though; that will be determined by the team's hitting, which appears to have returned to normal after a weak road trip.
By Thomas on Jul 30, 2010 | Reply
Jamie Moyer's last three starts prior to being disabled: 14 IP 14 ER
Jamie Moyer's season:4.85 ERA, 5.01 FIP
Kyle Kendrick's season: 4.44 ERA, 5.14 FIP
I must be missing something…
By J~Money@CHITOWN4LIFE on Jul 30, 2010 | Reply
Thomas, have you seen Charlie St. Cloud yet? Zach Efron teaches his dead brother to throw a mean slider. He's like Dave Duncan and Leo Mazzone put together. He could definitely improve Kawakami's FIP.
By Thomas on Jul 30, 2010 | Reply
No but it's really funny you mentioned that, because I was just saw it on Rotten Tomatoes…25% but I hear Zach Efron is great.