Mike Adams is Showing the Philadelphia Phillies What They Paid For

Mike Adams is showing exactly what the Philadelphia Phillies had in mind when the signed him over the off season. In his five spring outings Adams has pitched five innings and hasn’t allowed a run, and only two hits. It appears that the off season surgery the fire baller had to reverse his thoracic outlet syndrome that hampered him last season was successful, and he’s ready for a bounce back 2013.

Mike Adams is very important to the success of the 2013, because of how awful the Phillies fared in the eighth inning in 2012. The bullpen was among the worst in the league. They allowed 24 8^th inning home runs (worst in the league) and had a 4.89 8^th inning ERA (second worst in the majors, only the lowly Houston Astros were worse). The most important bullpen statistic though, is that the Phillies lost 12 games when they entered the 8^th inning with a lead.

The Philadelphia Phillies finished seven games behind the St. Louis Cardinals in the wildcard despite an injury-plagued start to the season and an ineffective bullpen. The infusion of Mike Adams and his career 2.28 ERA would have directly translated to a few more victories last season, in Adams’ worst year as a pro. When he’s healthy he is a total game changer. The Phillies bats often times looked inept. This year with the vital cogs healthy (Chase Utley, Ryan Howard), Mike Adams’ history of 8^th inning dominance should make the Phillies more viable in the tough NL East.