Buzz On Broad

Chase Utley: What Would the 2012 Phillies Record Be?

Bill James, who is considered the father of modern baseball statistics and coined the term “sabermetrics” once said, “Do we need to have 280 brands of breakfast cereal? No, probably not. But we have them for a reason - because some people like them. It's the same with baseball statistics.” I have recently taken a keen interest in Bill James and the art of statistical reporting in baseball. There are literally hundreds of baseball statistics you have never heard about. From, WPA/LI, RE24 and waaWL% to the classics like Avg, OBP, and OPS, there is a stat for everyone.

Chooch Delivers, Cliff Remains Winless

Final: Phillies 10, Mets 6.

WP: Antonio Bastardo (2-1, 1.84)

LP: Jon Rauch (3-4, 4.09)

Cliff Lee went six innings tonight on 99 total pitches, 62 of them being strikes.  He allowed seven hits, two walks and three earned runs to the opposing New York Mets.  He got the no-decision tonight, making him winless through the first two months of the season.

Carlos Ruiz tied the game with two outs in the top of the seventh inning with a two-run pinch-hit home run to left field.  A Shane Victorino sac-fly in the 8th brought home the winning run.  The offense sparked afterwards, as they brought home six runs in the top of the ninth inning.

Jeff Carter Gets Leveled, Flyers Fans Everywhere Crack A Smile

Thanks to SB Nation for this gem. There are so many awesome things about this. Maybe this series will be interesting after all.

Will Cliff Lee Get His First Win Tonight? Chooch Update

Here is tonight's starting lineup for the Philadelphia Phillies:

1. Jimmy Rollins-  SS
2. Juan Pierre-  LF
3. Hunter Pence-  RF
4. Ty Wigginton-  1B
5. Shane Victorino-  CF
6. Placido Polanco-  3B
7. Mike Fontenot-  2B
8. Brian Schneider-  C
9. Cliff Lee-  P

Cliff Lee will look to get his first win of the season tonight in the series finale versus the New York Mets.  Lee has the team's second lowest ERA with 2.82. Game is set to start at 7:10pm on PHL17.

*Carlos Ruiz could return for Friday night's game at Citizens Bank Park against the Miami Marlins, per Ryan Lawrence (@ryanlawrence21).

 

Do You Like Fantasy Baseball? Do You Like $150 In Prizes? Do You Like Free? If So, Read This

One Day FREE Fantasy Contest - $150 in cash prizes 

For the best readers out there on the world-wide-web, the staff here at Buzz On Broad along with DraftStreet.com are giving you a chance to win some cash playing a new type of fantasy baseball. The best part? It costs you nothing to enter and it's great opportunity to win some money.

If you haven't heard yet, there’s a new way to play fantasy baseball that turns the season long grind into quick one night leagues.  And the best part is that you can win cash every single day.  You draft a team for one night and get paid out as soon as the games end that night. DraftStreet.com is at the forefront of this new trend in the fantasy world and is giving us a great promotion: a FREE one-day fantasy league with $150 in prizes exclusively for Buzz On Broad fans.

This free contest will be salary-cap style drafting where everyone tries to assemble the best team out of the available players. You will have a $100,000 budget to build a team of 14 players consisting of the following: Catcher, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, 3 OF, 2 Utility, 2 SP, 1 RP, and 1 P. Each MLB player has been assigned a price based on their expected fantasy performance.

 You can adjust your roster up until the contest starts on Friday June 1st at 7:05 ET at which time your rosters will lock and the Live Scoreboard will be available. 

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Hefner, Mets Defeat Phils, 6-3.

Final: Phillies 3, Mets 6.

WP: Jeremy Hefner (1-2, 5.60)

LP: Joe Blanton (4-5, 5.05)

SV: Frank Francisco (14)

Joe Blanton went five-plus innings, allowed six earned runs over nine hits and two walks.  He gave up two home runs, making that eight total in his last three starts.

Jeremy Hefner of the Mets picked up his first major-league win, as the Phillies offense was limited to eight hits on the night.

Cliff Lee will take the mound in the series finale Wednesday evening.

Tonight's Lineup vs Mets

Here is the Phillies lineup for tonight's game vs the Mets:

Jimmy Rollins
Juan Pierre
Hunter Pence
Ty Wigginton
Shane Victorino
Placido Polanco
Freddy Galvis
Brian Schneider
Joe Blanton

Halladay Placed on DL, Out For 6-8 Weeks

Roy Halladay has been placed on the 15 day DL retroactive to Monday. He is out with a right shoulder strain and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks. Erik Kratz has been brought up from AAA Lehigh Valley in the meantime.

#VoteForG

Today EA Sports announced the finalists for the cover vote of NHL 13.  As we all know, the Flyers had Claude Giroux and Scott Hartnell as their two representatives.  Hartnell gave it a good run, but was ultimately eliminated by Evgeni Malkin.  Malkin then went on to face Claude Giroux, and just like in the postseason, the Flyers moved on.  

The stage is now set, hockey fans around the world can vote for Pekka Rinne or Claude Giroux for the cover of NHL13.  You can vote here.  For all of the things Giroux did for the Flyers this year, we owe it to him to vote.  Tell your friends and family to vote, and put it all over social media. #voteforG

Memorial Day Recap, Halladay Update

On Memorial Day, the Philadelphia Phillies defeated the New York Mets, 8-4.  With the help of Cole Hamels and Ty Wigginton, the Phillies took game one of a three game set.  In case you missed Monday's game, here is what happened while you were having a family barbque:

• Cole Hamels- Hamels went 8 innings, allowing 7 hits for 4 runs.  Cole also added 6 strikeouts and has now improved his record to 8-1.  Cole is the first 8 game winner in the MLB.
• Ty Wigginton- Ty had an incredible 6 rbi's on Monday.  Wigg hits a two run double in the third inning, a rbi single in the 7th, and a HUGE three run home run in the top of the 9th to give the Phillies an 8-4 lead.
• John Mayberry hit a two run home run in the 6th inning, and went 2 for 5 on the day.  

Charlie Manuel seemed to show confidence in his club, especially after Monday's game:

"It might get hard, but we're definitely not going to fold the tent. We're not going to back off. When you miss somebody like Halladay, your team really misses them. But there's nothing you can do about it until you get them healthy and they come back. So what are you going to do? You've got to play and keep playing. If you play the game right and you want it bad enough, good things can happen to you."

**The Phillies have announced that Roy Halladay will have his sore right shoulder examined on Tuesday.