2012 Philadelphia Phillies season

The Philadelphia Phillies 2012 season is the 130th season in the history of the franchise. The Phillies will attempt to defend their 5th-straight NL East title. For the second straight year, the Phillies, at 4-1 odds,^[1] are the favorite to win the World Series.

Offseason

The offseason for the Phillies began on October 7, following their devastating loss in the NLDS to the St. Louis Cardinals. On November 5, the Phillies signed long-time veteran slugger Jim Thome to a 1-year deal, worth $1.25 million.^[2] Addiditionally, after numerous rumors, on November 14 the Phillies signed RHP Jonathan Papelbon to a 4-year deal, worth $50 million.^[3] The Phillies also added pitcher Dontrelle Willis from the Cincinnati Reds, on a 1-year deal, worth 1 million dollars, but released him toward the end of spring training.^[4] Laynce Nix was signed as a free agent and Ty Wigginton was acquired through a trade with the Colorado Rockies to shore up the bench. Several other veteran players including Dave Bush, Joel Pineiro, Scott Elarton, Lou Montanez, and Scott Podsednik were signed to minor league deals with invitations to spring training.

Regular Season

April

Opening Day

The Phillies opened the season in Pittsburgh in a 3 game series with the Pirates. Opening Day went as the Phillies drew it up, Halladay threw 8 scoreless innings, and offseason acquisition Jonathan Papelbon retired all 3 batters he faced for a 1-0 Phillies victory. Opening Day Lineup:

The Phillies would end up losing the series to Pittsburgh. The Phillies home opener was a disaster, losing to the newly-revived Miami Marlins, 2-6.^[5] Halladay would end the three game skid, with another solid performace on the mound, as the Phillies won 7-1.^[6] The Phillies would end up winning the series the next day, with a 3-1 victory. The Phillies would then go on to trade two wins and losses for the next 8 games. In mid-April, the Phillies began thier first major road trip of the season. They began the trip by taking 1 of 3 from the Giants. It was in the second game of the series, when Cliff Lee threw 10 scoreless innings, and ultimatley not only did the Phillies lose the game in 11 innings, but Cliff Lee was placed on the 15-day DL with a left external oblique strain.^[7] After splitting a 4 game series with San Diego, the Phillies finally won a series against the Diamondbacks, taking 2 of 3. The Phillies finally returned home for a four game series with the Cubs, where they would split the series. Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels each finished April with 3 wins, and Papelbon was a perfect 8 for 8 on save opportunities.^[8] The Phillies finished April with a record of 11-12, their first losing-record month since going 11-15 in June of 2009.^[9] However, the Phillies have experienced struggle in April before, most notably in 2008, when they would eventually win the World Series, and in 2010, when they would eventually win the National League pennant.

May

Phillies playing against the Red Sox on May 18

The Phillies began May by taking two of three from the division-leading Braves. The only loss came in an 11-inning game, won by a walk off home run by Chipper Jones.

"Take Back the Park"

The Phillies next series against the Washington Nationals began in the offseason. Andrew Feffer, the the Nationals chief operating officer, launched a campaign in the offseason for the first home series against the Phillies to "Take Back the Park." In prior years, Nationals Park has been taken over by Phillies fans who could not get tickets for a home game, and the crowd was at times made up of over 80% Phillies fans.^[10] The park was publicly referred to by Phillies fans as "Citizens Bank Park South." To avoid this, Feffer allowed only those with Maryland, Virginia, or D.C. addressed credit cards to purchase tickets. Once the series came near, the Nationals released an official "Fans Guide to Natitude Weekend," which explained fans how to approach the series, and gave them guidelines on how to cheer for their home team. Once the series came, it was the Nationals who were in 1st place in the division, and the Phillies who were at the bottom. The first game of the series went into extra innings, with the Nationals taking game 1, 4-3. Charlie Manuel was ejected in the game in the 1st inning, it was his first ejection of the season.^[11] The Nationals also took game two of the series by a score of 7-1. However, the Phillies took the third game by a convincing 9-3 victory. In the game, former Phillie Jayson Werth broke his wrist, and while leaving the field, was heckled by a couple of Phillies fans. Following the game in an email to the Washington Post, Werth wrote "I am motivated to get back quickly and see to it personally those people never walk down Broad Street in celebration again."^[12] Despite an attempt to be shut out, many Phillies fans still made the trip to Washington, many of them sporting their "Occupy Nationals Park" t-shirts.^[13]

Following the series in Washington, the Phillies returned home for a three game set with the Mets. During that stretch, the Phillies had a difficult time advancing runners that were in scoring position, and as a result, they were swept. It must have been a wake-up call because the Phillies would go on to take 2 of 3 from the Padres, and sweep both the Houston Astros and the Chicago Cubs. The final victory against the Cubs put the Phillies over the .500 mark for the first time since Opening Day. The Phillies would then open inter league play against the Boston Red Sox, and would win the first game 6-4. They would then lose the next two games, and open up another three game set against the Nationals. The outcome of was the same as earlier in Washington, the Phillies would drop the first two games of the series, and then behind Cole Hamels, the Phillies would win the third game to end their losing skid at 4. The Phillies began to pick it up at the end of May; taking 3 of 4 from the St. Louis Cardinals. However, in the 4th game of the series, after giving up a 1st inning grand slam to Yadier Molina, Roy Halladay left the game after 2 innings due to soreness in his shoulder. It would turn out that Halladay would need surgery on his shoulder, and he would miss 6-8 weeks. However, after seeing a second doctor, it was concluded that Halladay may not need surgery, and needed to simply rest for a minimum of three weeks.^[14] The Phillies finished May by taking 2 of 3 from the Mets, behind solid pitching performances from Hamels and Cliff Lee. Hamels finished May leading the Majors with 8 wins, and Jonathan Papelbon continued his dominance as a closer, finishing 2nd in the Majors with 14 saves. The Phillies finished May with a 27-25 record, just 3 games out of the 1st place Nationals in the NL East.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

• Source: MLB Standings Grid

Game Log

Roster

External links

• 2012 Philadelphia Phillies season at Baseball Reference
• Philadelphia Phillies' official website