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Thursday, April 5, 2012

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Yahoo! Contributor Network - Yahoo! Sports
Apr 5th 2012, 22:44

By Sean O'Brien, Yahoo! Contributor Network

The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 1-0 during during their opening day game.

Ruiz helped the Phillies to win in old school fashion on opening day.
Wikimedia Commons

A nicely pitched game by Roy Halladay, some timely hitting by Carlos Ruiz, good outfield defense by John Mayberry, Jr. and the use of one bullpen arm all combined to help this new Phillies team win in old school fashion.

Real, or imagined?

People find patterns within statistics. Some are genuine trends, while others are purely imagined.

Many fans previously recognized that Philadelphia has ridden a descending playoff line since 2008, when they defeated the Tampa Bay Rays to win the World Series. In 2009, they lost the World Series to the New York Yankees. In 2010, they lost the National League Championship Series to the San Francisco Giants. In 2011, they lost the National League Division Series to the St. Louis Cardinals.

There are those who would see the Phillies next step as either losing the 2012 Wild Card round, or not qualifying for the playoffs at all this season. But, when taking a second look at recent playoff history, we find that the Phillies lost the 2007 National League Division Series to the Colorado Rockies.

Based upon the emotional logic of opening day, fans could then assume that the next piece of the Phillies playoff pattern would be to win the 2012 World Series?

The doctor

If Roy Halladay can pitch another five years, like he has for the past ten, he will be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Today's eight-inning gem was pure 'Doc' on the mound. He allowed a few meaningless hits and shut down the Pirates hitters, who are still a long way from those great 1970s 'We Are Family' days, to secure his first win of the season.

The best pitcher in baseball is now 41-16 during his two years, plus one game, in red pinstripes.

Chooch detractors are silenced once more

And now, just like 'Doc', we look in at Halladay's battery mate.

Carlos 'Chooch' Ruiz is one of the best defensive catchers in the game. He has also been one of the Phillies better clutch hitters during many of their playoff series over the past five seasons.

Some, who claim to be hardcore fans, have irrationally refused to acknowledge that this solid player has made progress on the offensive side of his game. No, he's not Johnny Bench. But, that false comparison isn't proper.

The 33-year-old veteran no longer appears to be the .219 hitter, with the .620 OPS (on base plus slugging percentage) mark, that he was during the 2008 season. He also may have peaked offensively in 2010, when he hit .302 and had a .847 OPS.

While Ruiz obviously won't get three hits and drive in the winning run every day, he may be able to split the difference between the previously stated seasonal numbers. That type of offensive effort this season would basically equal his career averages and help to partially fill the Phillies offensive gaps while Ryan Howard and Chase Utley are out of the lineup.

Pap one, two, three

The names Brad Lidge and Ryan Madson now represent a fondly remembered set of yesterdays.

Today, the newest Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon faced three batters in the ninth inning. He got three quick outs and earned his first save of the season, which was also the two hundred and twentieth of his career.

If this sharp right-handed stopper can remain healthy and pitch consistently, his career save total could approach 260 by season's end.

Sean O'Brien's professional writing career began in 1990, when he first began working in the Philadelphia Phillies farm system. He was a freelance sports writer for five years and is currently a Featured Contributor for Yahoo! Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @SeanyOB and read his daily Sports Blog: Insight.

More from this author and the Yahoo Contributor Network:

Five traits of hardcore Phillies fans

The number of games that Utley has left in his Philadelphia Phillies body

Pay Philadelphia Phillies' Hamels more than $1 million per win

When baseball cards were king

Five Philadelphia Phillies points for the 2012 season

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