The Phillies' Pitching Staff The Phillies' bullpen is the worst in the league, with the most blown saves. Brad Lidge has 13 saves, but also 13 blown saves.
Lidge has a 7.50 ERA this season and has given up nine home runs in 56 innings pitched this year. He has been very disappointing this season and seems like he is blowing his pitches all the time now. If Lidge continues to blow games, then the Phillies will need to find a new closer soon because they cannot keep him in games over the long term health-wise.
Lidge isn't the only one in trouble though. Joe Blanton is also having problems with his mechanics and has a 5.40 ERA this season. He has given up 14 homers in 51 1/3 innings pitched this year.
Joe Nathan has done an excellent job this season in saving games for the Twins. He has 12 saves so far this year and has a 1.95 ERA. Nathan has been one of the best set-up men in baseball this year.
The Philadelphia Phillies The Phillies have squandered seven saves in their previous six games, for a total of 21 saves. According to John Clark of NBC Sports Philadelphia, it is the most blown saves in 76 games in history. The previous record was 20 blown saves in 1976 by the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers.
The problem for the Phillies is they are using up their opportunities with reckless abandon. Since June 12, the Phillies have had 10 chances to save a game and have blown them all. In fact, the Phils have used up half of their annual savings ($50,000) this season already!
Blown saves are on average about $1 million per season. The Phillies could be spending that money on players or marketing or technology. No one knows because there are no discussions taking place between managers and general managers. But what we do know is that the Phillies are being extremely wasteful with these opportunities.
It's very unusual for a team to blow so many saves. Typically, they find a way to get out of jams or make pitchers look good by picking them off early before they can do any damage. But not the Phillies. They are letting everyone down with each passing day.
It's a sad state of affairs for a team that was once considered one of the best in baseball.
The Philadelphia Phillies No other MLB club has blown more than 16 saves. To name a few, the Phillies boast Bryce Harper, JT Realmuto, Zack Wheeler, and Aaron Nola. The Phils are going for their third straight season with 100 or more wins and they remain one of the best teams in baseball.
The last time this happened was 2003-06 with the Chicago Cubs. They went 105-57 during that period. The previous record was 102 by the Cubbies in 1972 and 1973. That's when we see something different happening in baseball - expansion came along and changed everything! The Cubs lost 97 games the next two seasons but still managed to make the playoffs both years.
From here on out, it's going to be hard for any single team to win 100 games because every year more teams make the playoffs which means fewer wins needed to make the cut. For example, in 2014 there were only 92 wins available in the league so it took 95 or more victories to qualify. In 2020 there will be only 91 wins available so it'll take at least 93 victories to make the postseason.
In conclusion, the Phillies have the most blown saves because they've blown the most saves over the past three seasons (16).
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