ATLANTA – Statistically speaking, Raul Ibanez is having the worst second half amongst all of the starters in the All-Star Game last July. Actually, it’s not even close unless one considers the Mets’ David Wright or the Rangers’ Josh Hamilton for getting injured and missing a whole bunch of games.
Nevertheless, with just three hits (one extra-base hit) and four strikeouts in the last seven days, there isn’t much Ibanez can do at this point to bolster his second-half splits. Just look at ‘em:
| Split | G | GS | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | TB | GDP | HBP | SH | SF | IBB | ROE | BAbip | tOPS+ | sOPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Half | 64 | 64 | 289 | 259 | 53 | 80 | 18 | 2 | 22 | 60 | 4 | 0 | 22 | 52 | .309 | .367 | .649 | 1.015 | 168 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 4 | .307 | 121 | 166 |
| 2nd Half | 56 | 53 | 224 | 199 | 30 | 47 | 13 | 1 | 9 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 58 | .236 | .321 | .447 | .769 | 89 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | .288 | 72 | 102 |
Remember how well Ibanez hit the ball at the beginning of the season? Remember the three homers and seven RBIs in the doubleheader in Washington? The five RBI game in San Diego? The April where he had just one multiple strikeout game?
Remember all that chatter about the newly acquired Phillie being the early-season MVP candidate? Yeah, those days seem so long ago. You remember, back before the All-Star Game and that groin injury where Ibanez hit homers and drove in runs as if he was doing something mundane like taking out the trash or emptying the dishwasher.
“Hey, there are men on base… I guess I have to knock ‘em in.”
The stats are one thing, but maybe the best measure for how good Ibanez was during the first half was the team’s record. Before the injury the Phillies were 39-27 with Ibanez. In the 21 games he was on the disabled list, the Phillies were 10-11.
Since then, the Phillies are 37-32, which lends to the idea that the foundation for the Phillies’ third straight division title was laid when Ibanez was tearing the cover off the ball and playing like an MVP candidate.
Everyone knows what’s coming next… why is Ibanez riding a 3-for-16 jag? Why did his batting average, and slugging go down each month of the season? Just look at those numbers in August where he posted .193/.276/.318 with just one homer.
How does a guy have his OPS drop by .102 during August and half of September?
Maybe he’s still hurt? Maybe they groin injury was more severe than advertised? Sure, Charlie Manuel and Ibanez say the outfielder is healthy and his name isn’t on the trainer’s reports, but c’mon… he has to be hurting a little, right?
Nope, they all say otherwise. Either way, it’s been an interesting season for Ibanez, nonetheless.