Nerd Alert

Here are some random Phillies Phun Phacts Phrom the Phuture of Now:

• Jimmy Rollins' batting average has increased from .294 to .314 since April 28. In that same span of time, his OBP has increased from .368 to ........ .368. Which seems very difficult to do if not for the fact that,
• Rollins has walked once in the last 24 games. If you pro-rate that over the course of the season, you are looking at a total of 7 walks.
  
• Wes Helms continues to do his best David Bell impression. Though he is hitting a respectable .284, his OBP is now at .318 and his SLG is at .343, almost 100 points less than his career average.
  
• The Phillies lead the major leagues in OBP, yet are only 11th in baseball in runs per game. A lot of this has to due with Howard's season long slump and the power twins, Burrell and Helms, having a difficult time this year mustering up more than singles.
  
• Cole Hamels could strike out Jesus Christ with his changeup.
• Shane Victorino probably had the greatest 4 day span of any major league baseball player from Hawaii. He went 10 for 17 (.588 BA), had a SLG of .824, got his picture taken at the Golden Gate Bridge with his imaginary friends, and stole six bases. Benny Agbayani, eat your heart out.
  
• Despite popular believe to the contrary, Freddy Garcia does not have the ability to move large objects with his mind.
  
• Rod Barajas is on pace for 92 walks. Coming into this season, Barajas had a total of 85 walks for his career.
• Rod Barajas still stinks, though.

Thank You ESPN

Should I watch Jericho or the Phillies on ESPN? Great question. Fortunately, ESPN made my decision very easy by assigning Chris Berman and Steve Phillips to announce the game. I don't think it would be possible for ESPN to pair two individuals whose baseball acumen I respect less. It is like some executives from ESPN were out at the Bristol Chili's, tossing back a few Bud Lites, and someone threw out the question, "What is the worst possible pairing we could produce for a Wednesday night baseball game". After a few guys threw out some suggestions, one of the younger guys shouted out "Berman and Phillips!" and everyone else around the table just nodded in agreement. Instead of keeping the joke to themselves, they decided to share it with the rest of the country.

The game itself wasn't worth watching. Garcia wasn't very good. The lineup wasn't very good. Howard struck out three times and hit a three run home run. Burrell's slide continued. Rollins continues his impressive streak of not walking. Barajas' two game climb to the HOF was stalled by an 0-4 tonight. And Wes Helms still stinks. At least Geoff Geary pitched well.

Now they fly to San Francisco tonight to face the Giants tomorrow. Adam Eaton against Matt Cain. Mismatch would be an understatement for this pairing. Blugh.

The One That Got Away

The one player I had really hoped the Phillies would make a play for this past off-season was Japanese heartthrob/third baseman Akinori Iwamura. For whatever reason, they did not put in a bid for him to purchase his rights, which ended up going to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for $4.1 million and they signed him to a three year contract for $7.7 million. Instead, they signed Wes Helms to play third base, who was coming off a career year with the Marlins (albeit not actually playing third base), to a two year deal for $5.5 million.

To put it lightly, Wes Helms has not been very good so far. He has put up an OPS of .703 an been a butcher in the field, like most people expected him to be.

On the other hand, Iwamura has an OBP of .559 and an OPS of 1.151. Not too shabby. But hey, at least Wes Helms has round eyes.