29-year old lefty starting pitcher Cole Hamels and 35-year old righty starting pitcher Roy Halladay are both getting pounded so far this year.  Hamels has pitched in 2 games (both starts) for the Phillies so far this year and he is 0-2 with a 10.97 ERA and a 1.97 WHIP.  He has given up 16 hits (4 homers), walked 5 batters and he has whiffed 7 batters in his first 10 2/3 innings and that’s pretty stinky.  It looks like a mechanical problem for Hamels, but the Phillies need to be very concerned with Halladay as his velocity is way down.  He has pitched in 2 games (both starts) so far this year for the Phillies and he is 0-2 with a 14.73 ERA and a 2.56 WHIP.  He has given up 12 hits (3 homers), walked 6 batters and he has whiffed 12 in his first 7 1/3 innings of 2013.  If the Phillies have any hopes of making a playoff run in 2013, they need to get Hamels and Halladay back on the right path soon.

35-year old righty starting pitcher Roy Halladay has had a rough time since coming off the D.L. He has started 2 games for the Phillies and he is 0-0 with a 6.55 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. Halladay has now pitched in 13 games (all starts) so far this year and he is 4-5 with a 4.32 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. The Phillies aren’t too worried about him yet, but he hasn’t really pitched consistently well this season since April. Could father time and the heavy workloads of the past be catching up to Halladay? Only time will tell.

The Phillies have outrighted 33-year old righty reliever Brian Sanches to AAA. Sanches pitched in 3 games (0 starts) for the Phillies so far this year and he was 0-1 with a 11.25 ERA and a 2.75 WHIP. Sanches gave up 9 hits (2 homers) in only 4 innings for the Phillies this year, as opposing batters have been running up to the plate against him. Sanches has now pitched in 192 games (2 starts) in his first seven years in the majors and he is 13-7 with a 3.71 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. Sanches could get another chance with the Phillies at some point in 2012.

25-year old rookie righty reliever Mike Stutes is having a rough time so far in August for the Phillies. He has pitched in 9 games (0 starts) in August for the Phillies and he is 0-0 with a 5.56 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. Overall this season though, Stutes is looking pretty solid. Stutes has pitched in 46 games (0 starts) for the Phillies so far this year and he is 5-1 with a 3.67 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. He has only given up 37 hits while whiffing 46 batters in his first 49 innings in the majors which is pretty impressive. The Phillies hope he gets back into gear and finishes his rookie season strongly.

32-year old righty reliever Danys Baez has been pretty stinky for the Phillies so far this year. He has pitched in 42 games (0 starts) and he is 2-3 with a 5.54 ERA and a 1.74 WHIP. Baez has given up 47 hits (5 homers) and he has walked 21 batters in only 39 innings this year for the Phillies. The Phillies have been using Baez in low pressure situations and he is still stinking it up.

29-year old righty starting pitcher Joe Blanton got off to a late start this season after a D.L. stint. But he has been awful since getting healthy. He has started 7 games for the Phillies this year and he is 1-4 with a 6.07 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. Blanton has given up 51 hits already this season in 43 innings and 9 of them have left the yard. The Phillies don’t have many other options so they hope that Blanton turns things around soon.

Last season Brad Lidge had a season for the ages as he pitched in 72 games for the Phillies in which he was 2-0 with 41 saves, a 1.95 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. Lidge did not blow any saves last season as he was a big key to them winning the World Series. But, this season has been a disaster for the closer. Lidge has pitched in 62 games for the Phillies this year and he is 0-7 with 31 saves, a 7.24 ERA and a 1.81 WHIP. Lidge has already blown 10 saves this season and that’s flat out unacceptable. He has been all over the place this season allowing 66 hits (11 homers) and he has walked 33 batters despite only pitching 54 2/3 innings. He has whiffed 58 batters this season so he still has good stuff it just appears as if he has forgotten how to pitch. Ryan Madson has been sharp in the 8th inning for the Phillies this season and he could close if the team wants to go that route. Madson has pitched in 75 games this season for the Phillies and he is 5-5 with 8 saves, a 3.25 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. He has 72 strikeouts in 72 innings this season showing he indeed has the stuff needed to close games. Brett Myers has also been a closer in the past. But, he is just coming of a injury so the trust factor is probably not there yet. Since his return from the D.L., Myers has pitched in 5 games (0 starts) and he is 0-0 with a 5.79 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. If I were the manager I would go with Madson as the closer as Lidge just can’t be trusted.

The Phillies have left starting pitcher Adam Eaton off the playoff roster in the first round and I can’t blame them for it.  Eaton started 30 games this season for the Phillies and he was 10-10 with a 6.29 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP.  He worked 161.2 innings this season and he has allowed 192 hits, 30 homers, walked 71 batters and whiffed 97.  Don’t look for Eaton to pitch again for the Phillies this season unless one of there four starting pitchers gets injured.

It’s amazing that Adam Eaton has a 8-5 record considering how poorly he has pitched this season.  Eaton has a 5.69 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP which proves how lucky he is that he plays for a team that can hit the ball the way the Phillies can.  Eaton has allowed 17 homers and he has walked 48 batters in 104.1 innings this season and he will need to improve on those numbers if he has any hope of finishing this season with a winning record.

Antonio Alfonseca has pitched poorly so far this season for the Phillies.  In 20 games this season, Alfonseca is 2-1 with a 5.03 ERA and a 1.73 WHIP.  In 19.2 innings, he has allowed 25 hits, walked 9 batters and whiffed 8.  The Phillies need Alfonseca to pitch better because their bullpen is pretty weak right now due to injuries.