Hanley Ramirez feasts on Phillies pitching and gets another chance to munch next weekend!

Welcome to the All Star edition of Leading Off. In truth, I this is the worst week of the season as far as I’m concerned. I’ve never been much of an All Star game fan, and we now have a four-day drought of baseball. The All Star game doesn’t really count as a game. The statistics don’t count for anything except as part of All Star game lore. The game itself is a perennial disappointment for one reason or another, and the Home Run Derby is probably the worst excuse to sell TV ads that has ever been conceived.

For the next four days I’ll be going through baseball withdrawal. I will repeatedly log in to my fantasy teams to obsess over the lineup, toy with the idea of some outrageous pick ups off the waiver wire, and hyper analyze the standings to figure out how I am going to dominate my opponents. If it gets really bad, you know, if I start getting the shakes and break out in cold sweats or something like that – I may have to resort to poring over splits statistics to find some deeply hidden second half hero that I can swing a trade for. Or, even better, I might just throw out a whole bunch of crazy trade offers to the other players in my fantasy leagues. This will serve two purposes; if they’re outrageous enough, I might just spur some terrifically angry emails from irate fantasy managers, giving me something to do. Or, it might just get a dialogue going towards a real trade. Either way, it gives me something to do while the airwaves are devoid of baseball.

What do you do to pass the time when baseball goes on hiatus at the All Star break? How do you get over baseball withdrawal? Post your answer to these questions on a page in our baseball forums. I’ll be sure to read what you have to say, and perhaps even make a snarky comment or two if it’s really good, (or bad!).

Of course, the good news is that baseball will be back. There are a handful of games scheduled for Thursday (which makes the drought only three days actually – Yea!!), making for a few four game series. Then everything returns to normal again Friday, with all of the teams back in action. The next few weeks are critical for some teams, especially those that need to decide whether they are “buyers” or “sellers” at the upcoming trade deadline. There may still be any number of big trades taking place in the weeks ahead, although we may have already seen the biggest of the deals with C.C. Sabathia and Rich Harden changing addresses.

The Giants, Rockies, Braves, Padres, and Rangers are all less than 10 games out of first place, but are not considered in the hunt for a playoff berth. However, all have the potential to go off on a run, putting them back in contention. All of them will need to decide whether to trade away some of their heavier contracts. The Padres, Rockies, and Braves are almost certain to be “sellers” in the trade market based on their record, even if they do rattle off a winning streak early in the second half. The Tigers, Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, Marlins, Phillies, Rays, Cardinals, and Dodgers are all confirmed “buyers” in the market. But several of these teams need to get off to a solid start in the second half to stay in the hunt. They are the subjects of this week’s Series of the Week.

Series of the Week – Philadelphia Phillies vs. Florida Marlins – Fri., Sat., Sun.

The Phillies have been the best team in the National League East over the first half, but they haven’t exactly run away with the division. With one game to play before the break, the Phillies have a slim, half game lead over the Marlins and Mets, both surging and looking to unseat the Phils. This three game series could see the Phillies slide out of first base, or the Marlins slide back a few steps. Or, the Mets could sneak past both of them during their four game series against the Reds, which starts on Thursday.

Head to head, the Phillies and Marlins have played six games, with each team taking three. The pitchers scheduled for this series are; for the opener, Cole Hamels takes the mound against Scott Olsen, followed by Kyle Kendrick vs. Josh Johnson on Saturday, then for Sunday’s finale we’ll see Jamie Moyer up against Ricky Nolasco. Of the Phillies pitchers, Moyer has enjoyed the best success against the Marlins this season. Against them he has a record of 2-0 with an ERA of 3.00. Meanwhile, Cole Hamels was not effective in his two starts against Florida this season and Kendrick has not faced the Fish in 2008.

The Marlins pitchers on this series have all done well against the Phillies this season. Scott Olsen was effective against the Phillies, despite taking the loss in his start against them earlier this season. Ricky Nolasco was flat out dominating in winning both of his previous starts against the Phillies. He posted a 1.42 ERA over 12+ innings of work, giving up just two earned runs and getting the win in both games. Josh Johnson has not faced Philadelphia this season.

The hitters to watch in this series on the Marlins side of the diamond are Jorge Cantu, Hanley Ramirez, and Mike Jacobs. Cantu has feasted on Phillie pitching to the tune of a .375 batting average, with four home runs and seven RBI. Hanley Ramirez has batted .364 with a homer and five runs scored. Jacobs has actually batted just .188 against the Phillies this season, with just three hits. However, all three of his hits were home runs that knocked in a total of six runs for the Marlins, so Jacobs has made his presence known.

Phillies hitters to watch in the series are Chase Utley and Pat Burrell. Utley has been a thorn in the Marlins side this season with a .304 batting average, three home runs, and six RBI against them. Pat Burrell has batted .350 with an OBP of .458, making him another hitter that’s been difficult for the Marlins to contain. The rest of the team has actually had a tough time against Marlin pitching. Shane Victorino (.185 BA), Jimmy Rollins (.208), and Ryan Howard (.100) have all had it tough against the Marlins, which explains how the Marlins have managed to split the series with Philadelphia. If the Phillies can string together some clutch hitting, they should dominate and walk away with the series. However, don’t count the Marlins out. They’ve hung in there all season, and could end up as a contender for at least a Wild Card berth in the playoff.

Two Start Pitchers

Given the shortened week of games, there are no two-start pitchers this week. Be sure to check out this week’s edition of Extra Innings for advice on which pitchers to start or sit during next weekend’s games.

By the Numbers

The Tigers, Orioles, Mets, Reds, Padres, Cardinals, Rockies, and Pirates are playing four (4) games this week. The rest of the teams will play three (3) games during All Star week.

Park Factors

Hitter’s Parks

The Pirates and Rockies play four games in Coors Light Park.

The Mets and Reds play four games at the Great American Ballpark.

The Royals and White Sox are at Cellular Field for three games.

The Dodgers and D-backs are at Chase Field.

Pitcher’s Parks

The Padres and Cardinals play four at Busch Stadium.

The Brewers and Giants are at Pac Bell for three games.

The Indians and Mariners are at Safeco this week.

The Red Sox and Angels are at Angel Stadium for three games.

Need for Speed

Have your speedsters from the following teams active next weekend.
Tigers, Cardinals, Rockies, Pirates, Royals, Twins, and Rays