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Pitching Preview: Champs vs. Phillies Game 2 focuses on the game two match-up, in this 2009 World Series revival between the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Yankees .

Game 2:

The Yankees’ AJ Burnett will face the Phillies’ Kyle Kendrick on Wednesday night in the Bronx. Both pitchers are coming off horrible starts, so it’s safe to say both want to turn it around for this game.

Kyle Kendrick had a 2.79 ERA over his last six starts, until he bombed against the Marlins in his last start on June 8. Kendrick got moved in the roaster so Halladay could pitch against Sabathia on Tuesday, so Kendrick threw out of the bullpen for two innings on June 11th to keep his arm warm.

This youngster is a Yankees virgin, which is to his advantage, as the Yankees do not fair well against first-time pitching opponents. He has to figure out to rattle guys the Yankees from the start and keep them on their toes.

Kendrick’s main job is to locate his fastball well, because it lacks speed. Kendrick’s doom against the Yankee bats is if he becomes predictable. He has a solid sinker, a good change-up and a newly added cutter (thanks to Halladay).

His career ERA against lefties is 7.02, so he has to be careful with switch hitters like hotter-than-hell Posada and Swisher. Kendrick has to keep his confidence in a very intimidating place, against a line-up that could be it’s own all-star roaster.

AJ Burnett, another pitcher whose cutter comes via Roy Halladay . Even Halladay admits that Burnett’s cutter is the best in the game, but only if he can maintain control.

This is the same old song for Burnett. It’s that one inning (usually the 3rd  or  4th) where the mound turns to complete chaos, as Burnett can throw hard and he tends to hit batters.This season he leads the majors with eight batters hit.

Burnett has struck out 60 batters in just 84 innings, which is insane. He has walked 29 batters, which is a big improvement compared to this time in his last two season. Burnett has to locate and control himself better, or Chase Utley and Ryan Howard will demolish him. It is in AJ’s hands, as he will control the game more so than any other pitcher.

Winner/Loser:

Burnett will win, as it’s time for AJ to have a kick-ass night, and pitching against the Phillies is just what the doctor ordered.

Kendrick will fair all right, but Posada will go yard once again. Yankees win 4-1.

I decided to make this a three post series, so up next is Pitching Preview: Champs vs. Phillies Game 3. It is a battle of the ageless veterans, Jamie Moyer vs. Andy Pettitte . Who knew Pettitte was so young?

Related articles by Zemanta

• Pitching Preview: Champs vs. Phillies (ladylovespinstripes.com)
• Yankees to Face Halladay (bats.blogs.nytimes.com)
• What Can The Yankees Expect From AJ Burnett Every Five Days? (bleacherreport.com)
• The Two Sides of A.J. Burnett (bleacherreport.com)

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There are times when a Major League Baseball team can’t seem to catch a break, and the reasons are not so obvious.  Good news, Philadelphia Phillies fans: this is not one of those situations.

In losing Wednesday night to the New York Mets, the Phillies struggled with the same two problems that have killed them during the current eight game streak in which they are 2-6 against four inferior baseball teams.

Those two problems?  Simple: the pitchers aren’t pitching and the hitters aren’t hitting.

During the last eight games, the Phillies have scored 15 runs, but ten of those runs came in back-to-back games against the Cubs and Red Sox.  In the other six games, the Phillies have scored three runs once and one run twice while being shut out three times.

Meanwhile, Phillies pitchers can’t exactly blame the lack of support for these losses—in the last four games Phillies pitchers have allowed eight runs twice and five runs twice.

Let’s talk a little recent Phillies’ history:

– The last time the Phillies were shut out three times inside of a week’s time was September 15 through September 19, 1992, when they were shutout by the Expos, Cubs, and Pirates three times in five games.  That Phillies team finished 70-92, which was good for last place in the NL East.

– The last time the Phillies were shut out three times in four games was in June of 1990, when the Mets and the Pirates pulled off the feat.  That Phillies team finished 77-85, which was good for fourth place.

Now, to be fair, it hasn’t been an ordinary stretch of games for the Phillies.  Indeed, the Phillies have faced some wacky pitchers during the last week. 

The first loss of this stretch came against lefty-finesse guy Zach Duke, who is usually totally on or totally off.  The third loss of this stretch came against Daisuke Matsuzaka, who has about six different pitches that he likes to throw and came four outs from a no-hitter.

Then, the Phillies lost consecutive games to knuckleball pitchers Tim Wakefield and R.A. Dickey who, oh by the way, are buddies and exchange advance information about teams they’ve each faced.

It is bad enough that the Phillies became the first team to face back-to-back knuckleballers since the 1985 Detroit Tigers; evidently the Phillies were facing a guy on Tuesday who got a scouting report from the guy who had just faced them on Sunday, who had been in the park the previous night when his teammate almost pitched a no-hitter against them.

Finally, on Wednesday night the Phillies were shutout by a combination of Hisanori Takahashi and three relievers.  Takahashi, of course, just joined the Mets this season from Japan, so the Phillies haven’t had lots of opportunity to scout him.  He is also a left-hander, which makes him lethal against the Phils, and he has four pitches including a screwball.

In short, for the Phillies’ hitters, it has been a frustrating stretch featuring either left-handed pitchers or unorthodox pitchers with screwy stuff.  It has just been a bad stretch.

As for the pitching, while the Phillies are currently in the middle of a streak in which they have not scored a run off of a starting pitcher in 26 innings, Phillies starters have allowed 21 runs during that same period.  While we might expect to receive sub-par performances from Jamie Moyer, Joe Blanton, and Kyle Kendrick, keep in mind that Roy Halladay gave up 7 runs during that period as well.

Unfortunately, things don’t get any easier in the next few days.  The Phillies send Cole Hamels to the mound in the finale in New York against Mike Pelfrey, who is having a terrific season (6-1, 2.86 ERA). 

The Phils then go on the road to Miami, where they’ll face unfavorable pitching matchups against the Marlins in the form of Kyle Kendrick against Chris Volstad and Jamie Moyer against Anibal Sanchez.  Even Roy Halladay will be facing off against Marlins ace Josh Johnson.

Following the Marlins, the Phils are on the road again in Atlanta—who is suddenly 2.5 games behind the Phillies—before returning home for a set next weekend against the San Diego Padres, the only team in the NL that currently has a better record than the Phillies.

This is a crucial time for the Philadelphia Phillies, and they look positively lost.  While no one expects the Philadelphia to sweep a nine game road trip against three divisional opponents, I think most Phillies fans would, at the very least, hope that the team was losing competitively rather than not even really showing up.

We know what is wrong with this team.  Now, let’s get out there and try to fix it.

Asher B. Chancey lives in Philadelphia and is a co-founder of BaseballEvolution.com

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The Phils were desperate for one of two things before they left San Francisco: a win or a day off. They got both—just in time to settle down for a nine inning nap.

After last night’s 9-1 slaughter by the Mets, Charlie took the podium. Usually he recites the team stats, but last night he shifted his hat with a nervous smile and said, “Hey, does anyone have the phone number for Pedro Martinez?”

Actually he didn’t say that, but I dreamed of him mumbling it and ending with a slight stutter on P-P-P-Pedro as if he was selling a Chia Pet.

Hey that’s an idea—a Jayson Werth Chia Pet giveaway. It would grow like mad because Jayson gets his energy from his hair. If that’s really the case, I wish he would’ve shared some locks with his teammates.

What’s the problem? Last week Shane Victorino broke the air speed velocity of the English Swallow by going from first to home on a single. But last night he couldn’t beat a badly jostled ball by Rod Barajas from home to first.

Can you say, “Benchwarmer?”

Even that high-priced pony Ryan Howard is struggling—again.

My dad sent me some calculations. Now, I don’t put a lot of faith into the old man’s figures because the guy can hardly see his calculator through his scratchy lenses, but this is what he said: Howard is paid $41,000 for each at-bat. And based on the average umpire’s salary, the guy behind the plate gets only $9 to call Ryan out on strikes.

But the guy who bought the $5 beer would have called it a ball and the man eating the dollar dog said he could’ve hit that pitch.

My husband said Ryan’s contract isn’t worth the gas that passes from his ass.

But the bats weren’t the only things that smelled. Kyle Kendrick gave up four earned runs on three homers in five innings.

Here’s a hint: those numbers didn’t work for Kyle, so don’t play them in the lottery.

And no one’s said anything about seventh inning wonder, Danys Baez. After a one-two-three sixth, he took the mound in the seventh and almost pitched for the cycle.

He hit the first batter, then allowed an RBI double, a walk, a stolen base, and a two-RBI triple before Charlie Manuel threw little Davey Herndon to the lions.

Herndon couldn’t hold Angel Pagen on third to keep the earned runs for Baez to three, but he was able to minimize the damage so Brad Lidge could make his first major league appearance in 2010.

Before the game, nobody would obligate to saying if or when Lidge would return. But they didn’t have a choice when Ryan Madson broke his toe while Dancing with the Chairs after his blown save on Wednesday.

How do you explain that one? I miscued my Polka kick?

Brad was busy. He gave up a dinger on his third pitch to the anti-Phil, Rod Barajas. Then three batters, two hits, and .1 innings are all it took to give Lidge a nasty ERA.

My husband now calls him Bad Lidge. And my child summed up the game’s intensity: “Mom, our dog has fleas.” So my Yorkie got a bath while the Phils tried to recover from one.

What happened to those exciting games? The ones where Carlos Ruiz assisted the team with a strike-out/throw-out double play. Or when Shane reached over the wall and brought down a snow cone. Or when Juan Castro glove-tossed a ball from the ground to Chase Utley who bare-handed the catch and fired to first for a double play? When’s the last time we saw a double steal, a simple stolen base, or a streaker?

What happened to the team that was so exciting they inspired the old man ball-girl to field a live ball in another team’s stadium?

What’s happened to the real Philadelphia Phillies?

Help, it’s Freaky Friday! The Mets are looking like the Phillies are supposed to and the Phils are performing the way everyone said the Mets should. And for the first time since the new millennium, the Phils are behind the Nationals in the NL East.

Someone, somewhere is finding a way to pin this on the liberals.

But could it really be the Jimmy Rollins curse? When Jimmy’s hitting the Phils are winning. Well, we won’t know tonight. With ol’ Roy Halladay taking the mound, it’ll take a shutout to keep the Phils from getting the win. But stranger things have happened.

Like Jamie Moyer up against Johan Santana on Sunday. Now, if Jamie throws an 80 mph pitch, can it rightly be called a “fast” ball?

We’ll find out tomorrow.

See you at the ballpark.

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