The pitchers better be carrying the starting 8′s bags.

The Phillies pitching staff has the worst early season metrics in the National League.

39 Homeruns in 18 games. More than 2 per game on average.
Thru Sunday’s 13-2 win, a National League worst 5.68 ERA.
A gruesome staff ERA+ of 79 and 1.50 WHIP.
10.1 hits per 9 innings.

Should I continue? If you’re looking for a silver lining in the pitching staff, the Phils have the best SO/BB ratio in the National League (2.39). Although that is going up after giving 10 free passes in tonight’s 13-11 win over the Nats (thank you, Raul).

For the Phils to be 10-8 at this point is a testament to a relatively light April schedule as well as timely, torrid hitting by several of the Phillies position players.

Raul Ibanez’s exploits have been well-documented, but let’s give him his props anyway. After tonight’s game winning grand slam, Raul has 6 HR and 16 RBIs to go along with his .342 batting average. Most notably, though, is how quickly Raul’s inspired play has endeared himself to a Phillies fanbase that was reluctant to let Pat Burrell go.

Shane Victorino rocketed a grand slam over the right field wall in Florida on Friday night. Chase Utley has 17 RBI through 18 games and, heck, even Jimmy Rolllins got into the act, going 3 for 5 in tonight’s come from behind thriller. Ryan Howard is one of 5 regulars batting over .290, and his power is coming on now.

The Phillies offensive prowess cannot …

The Phils went 5-2 since last Sunday, including the walk off win vs. the Padres thanks to Raul Ibanez’s 9th inning homer. The Phils were 5.5 games back after last Sundays game as the Marlins stayed hot.

Now, the Phillies sit 1.5 games back after 2 come-from-behind victories against the Marlins and today’s 13-2 shellacking in their first series against their division rivals.

The big story this week, at least as far as I am concerned, was Cole Hamels’ candor regarding his slow start, and how the World Series a E! Television played a part in it.

A couple of thoughts on this:

1. You have to love how honest Hamels is, and how willing he is to take the blame. He is mature beyond his years, and every successful team needs a player like Hamels. Cole’s honesty makes it very easy to take him at his word when he tells us that his elbow is fine and that he is not experiencing pain.
2.This is the reality of winning a World Series, folks. No Phillies fan would trade the World Series for a strong 2009 start from Cole. The ends justified the means by a long shot. Unfortunately, in 2009, the expectations for championship winners is not what it was in 1980. There were far less tv shows to appear on, far less magazine covers to pose for, and far less personal appearances to help offset the early years of meager Major League wages. It isn’t even worth looking at the …

The Phils won tonight, 7-3, over the fast starting, but suddenly slumping Florida Marlins.

For the third game in a row, the Phils bats did not show up until the game was nearly over. On the previous 2 games against the Milwaukee Brewers, the offense showed up to late to steal a win. Tonight, however, the Phils erupted for 7 runs in the 9th inning off of Marlins’ closer Matt Lidstrom, with a Shane Victorino grand slam providing the crushing blow.

In the first 8 innings, the Phils collected 3 hits. In the 9th, they had 5.

In the last 3 games, the Phils have 0 runs in innings 1-7.

This is no way to defend a world championship, but I’ll take tonight’s win regardless.

Clay Condrey leads the team with 3 wins, which speaks volumes about the starting pitching’s woes in April.

If the Phillies are working their kinks out here in here amidst the drama of early season pre-game celebrations and Harry Kalas’ death, the rest of the National League East is doing everything they can to help make sure that the Fightins are still in the mix by the time they get 2009 figured out. The Marlins may hold a 3.5 game lead over the Phils, but a 3 game sweep at the hands of the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates has the Fish coming back down to earth a bit.

The Mets are a mess 4 out of 5 days per week, with Johan Santana providing the only relief from poor starting pitching …

Beginning tomorrow, the Phillies will, for the first time all season, be ceremony free.

The trip to Colorado was probably uneventful, but other than that weekend series, this team has been on an emotional roller coaster for 2 weeks.

It started with all of the requisite World Series celebrations, concluding with the ring ceremony on April 8th. Then the Phils went to Colorado, took 2 of 3, and headed to Washington with a little head of steam.

Then, on Monday, tragedy. Harry was gone in a flash. For the last week, everyone has grieved over the loss of one of the Phillies most cherished family members ever.

It’s been hard to focus on baseball this week. Well, 2009 baseball anyway. I’ve been stuck on thoughts of seasons past and Phillies moments that were punctuated by Harry Kalas’ signature calls. It still feels too soon to react to a big Phillies moment with unabashed joy. It will come. But for me, I’m not there yet.

If you have been paying attention in the past week to Phillies baseball, you’ve seen the pitching staff continue to struggle to miss bats. Phillie pitchers have given up a league worst number of home runs (23 through Friday night’s 8-7 loss to the Pads). The offense is showing life, but we’re still waiting for Jimmy Rollins to realize that the 2009 season has, in fact, begun. Rollins is batting .125 with 0 SBs through the season’s first 9 games and a lovely -20 OPS+.

Cole Hamels’ start …

The Phillies have released details of their plans to honor Harry Kalas over this coming weekend:

The club will pay tribute to Kalas, who died Monday afternoon in Washington, D.C., before its 7:05 p.m. ET game Friday against the San Diego Padres at Citizens Bank Park. Fans are urged to arrive at the ballpark early that night. Details on Friday’s events will be announced later.

The Kalas family and the Phillies will also have a memorial tribute for him at the ballpark Saturday. The opportunity to pay respects to Kalas will be given on a first-come, first-served basis to as many fans as possible from 8 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. At that time, all fans in attendance will be directed to seats for an on-field tribute that begins at 1 p.m.

The Phils will also be wearing a black circular patch with “HK” on it for 2009 that is similar to the one their wore during the 2007 season to honor the memory of John Vukovich.

***********************************

I am in favor of the idea of playing “High Hopes” after the conclusion of every Phillies win. Some have suggested that it should be done during the seventh inning stretch, but I disagree. Make a Phillies win that much more special by creating a lasting legacy to the man with a post game singing of Harry’s favorite song.

Todd Zolecki also has the story on Harry’s oldest son Todd’s return to Philadelphia today.

***********************************

It will become increasing hard to come by, but do yourself a favor …

Harry Kalas is being remembered across Philadelphia and the baseball world with tributes and moments of silence.

Somehow, none of it will be big enough to properly honor this giant of a man.

In the spring, the winter blues needed only to be treated with a half inning listening to Harry call a Phillies game. A bad Phillies game was still must-see TV if Harry was painting the picture. During the 1980′s, when my love for baseball grew as a youngster in Northeast Philly, Harry’s voice was the soundtrack for the courtship.

Harry could have allowed his stature in the game to go straight to his head. He could have been aloof, cocky, untouchable. Instead, his humble demeanor, love of the game and approachability created a bond with Phillies fans that can’t be described with words. You can only feel it.

He is an irreplaceable legend. A Philadelphia icon. A member of our extended family. And he will be sorely missed. Listening to Harry call the final out of the 2008 World Series is a memory I will never forget. It just wouldn’t have been the same without him.

There is some comfort, at least for me, that Harry was never forced from the booth as his advancing age created opportunities for missed calls and the possibility of the Phillies moving on without him. Instead, he leaves too soon.

There is plenty to check out across the web, including MLB.com’s tribute page.

Larry Shenk remembers …

Wow.

Being a fan of the Phillies will never be quite the same.

It’s comforting to know that Harry made it long enough to see the Phils win it all again and that he was able to call it live.

RIP. More later.

Maybe I was wrong about Matt Stairs. Despite the fact that he is not a suitable option for the outfield, Matt Stairs proved again today why he is a valuable member of this team with a 9th inning, 2 run homer that propelled the Phils to a second win in a row against the Rockies at Coors Field that brought them back to .500.

The emergence of the Phillies offense is a welcomed sight, but the starters have yet to join in on the success. Brett Myers was better on Saturday night than he was on opening night, but he still gave up too many long balls. Chan Ho Park did not build on his outstanding spring successes, instead struggling mightily in the first inning of yesterday’s 7-5 win.

The Phillies head to Washington to face the winless Nationals. With 6 April games against the Nats and 3 against the Padres, this is a month where the Phils would do well to stockpile some wins against inferior competition. Jamie Moyer gets his second start in 2009, and he’ll need to miss more bats in DC in order for the Phils to see the good side of .500.

****************************************

I thought I’d try a less than scientific approach to determining who the Phillies MVP should be by year’s end. Here’s how I’m going to do it:

1. After each series (1 game makeups etc. won’t count), I will choose 3 Phillies who had the most impact on helping the Phillies win games during …

Yo! Philly!

Chill out about the Phils, ok?

We are 4 games through a 162 game slog. We have 97.5% of the season left, and folks are pushing the panic button.

Yes, the starting pitching has been bad. All 4 starters who have taken the hill have been hit around pretty good, including King Cole. Yes, Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins are not hitting yet.

This is nothing new. The Phillies have been notoriously slow out of the gate. In 2007, a 3-10 start included Charlie Manuel practically kicking Howard Eskin’s ass at a news conference. I’m pretty sure the Phils won the NL East in 2007. Last year on this same day, we were 2.5 games behind the Marlins. Today, we are 3 games behind the Marlins. Last year we won the whole goddamn thing.

So, chill out, Philly. We don’t need to run out and empty the farm system for Jake Peavy. We don’t need to release Jamie Moyer because he’s 85. We don’t need to start thinking about how the Phils may engage in a firesale at the trade deadline.

Good Lord. Are we really this jumpy? Or is this just all of the bandwagon types who just realized last October that we’ve got a great baseball team here in Philly? If so, please leap from the bandwagon as soon as posible so we can get back to some intelligent discourse about 2009.

Some of the expectations for the Phillies are just over the top. 100+ regular season wins? The Marlins …

The Phillies spared nothing to make the pre-game ring ceremony an event to remember. The rings were delivered via a Citizens Bank van, flanked by motorcycle riding member of Philadelphia’s finest.

The ball girls removed and set up the rings on a table decorated with a Phillies-red tablecloth, while classical music blared from the stadium soundsystem. Fans stood with a level of reverence you would expect for the Pope. It was equal parts overdone and cool. But we don’t get these moments all that often in Philly, so it needs to be done right, and the Phillies did it right.

Stadium announcer Dan Baker announced key personnel and the Phillies roster before introducing World Series Game 5′s starting lineup in reverse order.

Pat Burrell received a thunderous ovation that only Cole Hamels and Jimmy Rollins were able to get even close to in terms of decibels.

Former Phillie Geoff Jenkins, recently released after one mostly underwhelming season, received a very nice ovation, despite being owed a hefty sum from the Phils for a 2009 season where he won’t suit up in the red pinstripes.

One the most odd moments of the ceremony was the absurb appearance of Adam Eaton. Here is the video below, courtesy of The Fightins:

Just prior to Eaton’s introduction, some of the 2008 Phillies …