Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
The Phils lost again yesterday by one run, 3-2 to the D-Backs on a Tony Clark—yes, he's still playing—pinch-hit home run. It was the second straight one-run loss for the team and their record in one-run games is 1-6 for the year, just ahead of the Cubs' major-league worst 1-7.
They not only wasted their monthly decent Adam Eaton start, the Phils again allowed the winning run late in the game after tying the game. On the bright side, at least it wasn't the bullpen's fault this time. The Phils do seem to be catching teams late just to give up the go-ahead/winning run the next half inning. I hate to quote Joe Morgan, but it seems like they are playing by his proverbial "Playing good enough to lose" paradigm.
The Phils are now on a pace to win just 69 against 93 losses and 5-29 in one-run games. It's still early and this is a team that perennially starts slowly, but their usual surge to resuscitate their fortunes has come and gone—a five-game win streak April 20-25 to get them within two games of .500 (9-11). Since then they have alternated a win with a loss or two. A malaise has again settled on the team aided by the injury/ineffectiveness of Ryan Howard and the execrable and now injured bullpen.
For a team that started the season with such high expectations, they seem certain to be the worst Phillie club since the Terry Francona days. A loss today would close out a 3-7 road trip.
Fortunately, perhaps, for the Phils, they will face a flagging Randy Johnson (0-2, 6.50 ERA). With 44-year-old Jamie Moyer facing Johnson (43), the game will feature the two oldest left-handed starters in (recorded) major-league history, barely topping the much ballyhooed Johnson-David Wells (43) pairing earlier this season. It will feature the oldest pairing of any pitchers since Charlie Hough (39) faced Phil Niekro (48) on July 25, 1987.
Here are the oldest pairings of all-time.
| Date | Visiting team | VT SP | Age | VT runs | Home team | HT SP | Age | HT runs | Tot Age |
| 19870608 | CLE | Phil Niekro | 48 | 2 | CAL | Don Sutton | 42 | 0 | 90 |
| 19860628 | CLE | Phil Niekro | 47 | 3 | CAL | Don Sutton | 41 | 9 | 88 |
| 20070509 | PHI | Jamie Moyer | 44 | ARI | Randy Johnson | 43 | 87 | ||
| 19870725 | TEX | Charlie Hough | 39 | 7 | CLE | Phil Niekro | 48 | 3 | 87 |
| 19870506 | CLE | Phil Niekro | 48 | 2 | TEX | Charlie Hough | 39 | 7 | 87 |
| 20070424 | SDN | David Wells | 43 | 10 | ARI | Randy Johnson | 43 | 5 | 86 |
| 19870824 | NYA | Tommy John | 44 | 3 | CAL | Don Sutton | 42 | 2 | 86 |
| 19870821 | TOR | Phil Niekro | 48 | 1 | CAL | Jerry Reuss | 38 | 3 | 86 |
| 19870707 | MIN | Joe Niekro | 42 | 7 | NYA | Tommy John | 44 | 12 | 86 |
| 19650925 | BOS | Bill Monbouquette | 28 | 5 | KC1 | Satchel Paige | 58 | 2 | 86 |
| 19290709 | PHA | Jack Quinn | 45 | 4 | CHA | Red Faber | 40 | 6 | 85 |
| 19290617 | CHA | Red Faber | 40 | 6 | PHA | Jack Quinn | 45 | 4 | 85 |
| 19290508 | PHA | Jack Quinn | 45 | 5 | CHA | Red Faber | 40 | 4 | 85 |
And as for lefties starters:
| Date | Visiting team | VT SP | Age | VT runs | Home team | HT SP | Age | HT runs | Tot Age |
| 20070509 | PHI | Jamie Moyer | 44 | ARI | Randy Johnson | 43 | 87 | ||
| 20070424 | SDN | David Wells | 43 | 10 | ARI | Randy Johnson | 43 | 5 | 86 |
| 19880502 | NYA | Tommy John | 45 | 6 | CHA | Jerry Reuss | 39 | 4 | 84 |
| 20050403 | BOS | David Wells | 42 | 2 | NYA | Randy Johnson | 41 | 9 | 83 |
| 20050703 | TEX | Kenny Rogers | 40 | 1 | SEA | Jamie Moyer | 42 | 2 | 82 |
| 20040623 | ARI | Randy Johnson | 40 | 3 | SDN | David Wells | 41 | 4 | 81 |
| 20041002 | TEX | Kenny Rogers | 39 | 10 | SEA | Jamie Moyer | 41 | 4 | 80 |
| 19870701 | CAL | Jerry Reuss | 38 | 10 | CLE | Steve Carlton | 42 | 5 | 80 |
| 19650808 | SFN | Warren Spahn | 44 | 6 | SLN | Curt Simmons | 36 | 4 | 80 |
| 20050611 | TEX | Kenny Rogers | 40 | 5 | FLO | Al Leiter | 39 | 6 | 79 |
| 20040819 | NYN | Al Leiter | 38 | 4 | COL | Jeff Fassero | 41 | 2 | 79 |
| 19870911 | NYA | Tommy John | 44 | 5 | TOR | Mike Flanagan | 35 | 6 | 79 |
You can chalk the Phils' poor one-run record to small sample size, but if they do keep up their current pace, their 5-29 (.143) record would be the worst since the 1800s:
| Yr | Tm | 1-R W | 1-R L | 1-R PCT | W | L | PCT |
| 1871 | Rockford Forest Citys | 0 | 5 | .000 | 4 | 21 | .160 |
| 1872 | Cleveland Forest Citys | 0 | 2 | .000 | 6 | 16 | .273 |
| 1872 | Troy Haymakers | 0 | 1 | .000 | 15 | 10 | .600 |
| 1875 | Keokuk Westerns | 0 | 3 | .000 | 1 | 12 | .077 |
| 1875 | Philadelphia Centennials | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2 | 12 | .143 |
| 1875 | St. Louis Red Stockings | 0 | 2 | .000 | 4 | 15 | .211 |
| 1884 | Milwaukee Brewers | 0 | 1 | .000 | 8 | 4 | .667 |
| 1875 | New Haven Elm Citys | 1 | 8 | .111 | 7 | 40 | .149 |
| 1874 | Hartford Dark Blues | 1 | 7 | .125 | 16 | 37 | .302 |
| 1878 | Milwaukee Grays | 3 | 15 | .167 | 15 | 45 | .250 |
| 1886 | Washington Nationals | 5 | 25 | .167 | 28 | 92 | .233 |
| 1935 | Boston Braves | 7 | 31 | .184 | 38 | 115 | .248 |
Here are the worst since 1900. The Phils and Cubs blow them away:
| Yr | Tm | 1-R W | 1-R L | 1-R PCT | W | L | PCT |
| 1935 | Boston Braves | 7 | 31 | .184 | 38 | 115 | .248 |
| 1937 | St. Louis Browns | 10 | 31 | .244 | 46 | 108 | .299 |
| 1999 | Kansas City Royals | 11 | 32 | .256 | 64 | 97 | .398 |
| 1916 | Philadelphia Athletics | 11 | 32 | .256 | 36 | 117 | .235 |
| 1936 | Philadelphia Phillies | 12 | 34 | .261 | 54 | 100 | .351 |
| 1952 | Pittsburgh Pirates | 13 | 35 | .271 | 42 | 112 | .273 |
| 1953 | New York Giants | 9 | 24 | .273 | 70 | 84 | .455 |
| 1937 | Cincinnati Reds | 14 | 36 | .280 | 56 | 98 | .364 |
| 1919 | Washington Senators | 14 | 36 | .280 | 56 | 84 | .400 |
| 1913 | Brooklyn Superbas | 14 | 36 | .280 | 65 | 84 | .436 |
| 1975 | Houston Astros | 16 | 41 | .281 | 64 | 97 | .398 |
| 1966 | New York Yankees | 15 | 38 | .283 | 70 | 89 | .440 |
At the other end of the spectrum, the Tigers (9-5 in 1-run games, projected 47-26), Arizona (10-6, 46-28), and Cleveland (8-3, 43-16) are all on a pace to break the all-time one-run win record:
| Yr | Tm | 1-R W | 1-R L | 1-R PCT | W | L | PCT |
| 1978 | San Francisco Giants | 42 | 26 | .618 | 89 | 73 | .549 |
| 1969 | New York Mets | 41 | 23 | .641 | 100 | 62 | .617 |
| 1940 | Cincinnati Reds | 41 | 17 | .707 | 100 | 53 | .654 |
| 1974 | Baltimore Orioles | 40 | 21 | .656 | 91 | 71 | .562 |
| 1970 | Baltimore Orioles | 40 | 15 | .727 | 108 | 54 | .667 |
| 1979 | Houston Astros | 39 | 27 | .591 | 89 | 73 | .549 |
| 1985 | Cincinnati Reds | 39 | 18 | .684 | 89 | 72 | .553 |
| 1993 | Kansas City Royals | 38 | 32 | .543 | 84 | 78 | .519 |
| 1982 | San Francisco Giants | 38 | 28 | .576 | 87 | 75 | .537 |
| 1967 | Chicago White Sox | 38 | 26 | .594 | 89 | 73 | .549 |
| 1943 | New York Yankees | 38 | 23 | .623 | 98 | 56 | .636 |
| 1972 | Chicago White Sox | 38 | 20 | .655 | 87 | 67 | .565 |
By the way, the Phils and D-Backs are neck and neck in the all-time one-run standings. Here are the up-to-date records for all active franchises. Another one-run loss and the D-Backs pass them. I'm sure that is their incentive going into tonight's game:
| Franchise | 1-R W | 1-R L | 1-R PCT | W | L | PCT |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 841 | 927 | .476 | 2,859 | 3,197 | .472 |
| Texas Rangers | 1046 | 1150 | .476 | 3,429 | 3,908 | .467 |
| New York Mets | 1123 | 1225 | .478 | 3,428 | 3,754 | .477 |
| Seattle Mariners | 641 | 691 | .481 | 2,241 | 2,522 | .471 |
| Tampa Bay Devil Rays | 194 | 209 | .481 | 593 | 894 | .399 |
| Kansas City Royals | 855 | 909 | .485 | 2,944 | 3,106 | .487 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 213 | 225 | .486 | 747 | 746 | .500 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 2724 | 2872 | .487 | 8,778 | 9,974 | .468 |
| Minnesota Twins | 2440 | 2532 | .491 | 7,901 | 8,529 | .481 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 2404 | 2484 | .492 | 7,827 | 8,597 | .477 |
| San Diego Padres | 955 | 985 | .492 | 2,799 | 3,263 | .462 |
| Houston Astros | 1133 | 1162 | .494 | 3,594 | 3,600 | .500 |
| Colorado Rockies | 293 | 300 | .494 | 1,039 | 1,199 | .464 |
| Atlanta Braves | 2851 | 2897 | .496 | 9,632 | 9,651 | .500 |
| Oakland Athletics | 2395 | 2412 | .498 | 7,979 | 8,427 | .486 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 676 | 676 | .500 | 2,358 | 2,409 | .495 |
| Washington Nationals | 968 | 966 | .501 | 2,916 | 3,139 | .482 |
| Chicago White Sox | 2583 | 2559 | .502 | 8,314 | 8,107 | .506 |
| Cleveland Indians | 2452 | 2426 | .503 | 8,400 | 8,040 | .511 |
| Chicago Cubs | 2886 | 2850 | .503 | 9,915 | 9,397 | .513 |
| Detroit Tigers | 2446 | 2402 | .505 | 8,336 | 8,128 | .506 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 2890 | 2828 | .505 | 9,570 | 9,308 | .507 |
| Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim | 1150 | 1123 | .506 | 3,613 | 3,742 | .491 |
| Florida Marlins | 343 | 330 | .510 | 1,056 | 1,177 | .473 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 2904 | 2793 | .510 | 9,813 | 8,906 | .524 |
| Boston Red Sox | 2488 | 2384 | .511 | 8,465 | 7,970 | .515 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 2947 | 2815 | .511 | 9,614 | 9,305 | .508 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 2907 | 2775 | .512 | 9,778 | 9,129 | .517 |
| San Francisco Giants | 2912 | 2705 | .518 | 10,130 | 8,648 | .539 |
| New York Yankees | 2494 | 2256 | .525 | 9,304 | 7,110 | .567 |
Or El Duque. ;-)
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