Philadelphia Phillies
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Blind Faith?June 25th, 2008
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I promised myself. Even in the face of everything I know about Phillies’ baseball, I promised myself. Upon starting this column, I promised myself. Even against my own intuition, I promised myself that this would be the one year I would believe, without reservations or criticism, in my beleaguered ball club. Don’t let me fool you though. It’s the same promise I and millions of Philadelphians make every year. Even now, as I watch Pedro Feliz feebly ground out to short to end the game- I want to believe, but this team sure finds ways to make it tough.
The last two weeks have been, in a word, brutal. With tonight’s 5-2 loss in Oakland, the Phillies have now lost six straight games. They’ve lost four straight series’. Since sweeping the Braves in Atlanta two weeks ago, the Phillies have won only two of their last 13 games. Despite their abysmal performance, they’ve managed to hold onto first-place in the NL East. However, their recent slide has allowed the Marlins to climb back within one game and opened windows of opportunity for both the Mets and Braves to rejoin the race. Read more
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Birthrights and Bullpens: A look at the Phillies’ PitchingJune 22nd, 2008
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Philadelphians are bred with certain inalienable rights. You can think of them as parting gifts for hosting that whole Constitutional Convention thing. We can despise tourists or any visitor for that matter, we reserve the right to know that the best cheese steak spots are never what you see featured in any Food Network, Travel Channel, sports broadcast, or other terribly cliché media story, we can add mystery syllables to words that don’t need them or pronounce vowels in their opposite form without skipping a beat, and perhaps most importantly, we reserve the eternal right to know exactly what the Phillies need to do, when, how, and why.
Since I am a native Philadelphia, it would be remiss of me if I ignored my birthrights and the lineage of all those fans that have come before me. We share a communal heartbreak, a brotherhood of failure that is concentrated in a century-old dilemma that this franchise has yet to solve. The Phils need arms, good arms, and while pitching is a commodity for any team, the Phillies could be poised to make a serious run with a couple adjustments and acquisitions.
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How Sweep It Is!June 9th, 2008
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Turner Field has proven to be inhospitable ground in 2008. It seems no one told the Phillies. Prior to this weekend’s series, Atlanta had posted a dominating 25-8 record on their home turf. What began as a showdown between two contenders in the NL East on Friday night, ended Sunday afternoon in the sweltering Atlanta heat leaving little doubt as to who was the true heavyweight in the division. The Phillies three-game sweep of the Braves sent notice that the Phillies have arrived.
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Aces LowMay 30th, 2008
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As we leave the unofficial beginning of summer in our temporal rearview mirror and welcome the onset of June, it’s time to rethink what may be a slow start is really the beginnings of an off year. While this phenomenon affects every Major League roster, the Phillies preeminent offender is a keystone in a tenuous starting rotation. Brett Myers’ struggles on the mound this year have raised serious alarms in the one area the Phillies can hardly weather imbalance.
Back in March as the Phillies headed north to begin their 2008 season, Brett Myers was named their ace, their anchor in a rotation that contained at least three serious question marks. While some might argue that Cole Hamels is the obvious ace of the staff –and rightfully so- Myers was awarded the Opening Day start because he has been the best Phillies pitcher since 2003, handled a Smotlzian conversion into the team’s closer last year, and has always demonstrated a tenacity on the mound that few hurlers possess. 2008 has produced a different Brett Myers. Read more
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Square Pegs in Round HolesMay 22nd, 2008
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Over 400 years ago, William Shakespeare warned his audience in As You Like It of the excesses of “too much of a good thing.” Amazingly, nearly half a millennium later and a continent away, the same holds true in professional baseball. While GMs, managers, and players almost always try and spin excess as a “good problem,” conventional wisdom would hold that a solid, stated, and reliable starting lineup is a key ingredient in stimulating the intangible chemistry possessed by every championship team. Currently, the Phillies are plagued with four outfielders and too many cooks can ruin the broth.
Pat Burrell, Shane Victorian, Geoff Jenkins, and Jayson Werth all bring different skill sets, attitudes, and liabilities to the team. But who deserves to play everyday? Who would make the best role player? Who is willing to accept a lesser role for the greater good of the team? By mid-May, these answers sometimes become obvious, but in 2008, their performances have made these issues all the more confusing.
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Happy May Day!May 2nd, 2008
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Happy May Day! In all honesty, I have no idea what May Day is really about. It has something to do with a pole, maybe? Regardless, I am celebrating all the same. You see, there’s something happening in Philadelphia today that baseball fans haven’t seen in quite some time. The Philies –wait for it- have actually managed to finish an April with a wining record. In the immortal words of Dizzy Dean, “Who’d have thunk it?”
You might ask why I’m excited over a team posting a 16-13 record in one month of a marathon season. I’ll give you that, on paper, 16-13 is not the most impressive baseball a team can play. However, in light of seasons past and a plethora of injuries, question marks, and slow starts, the Phillies have accomplished something here, if only psychologically, that could reverberate through the entire season.
As it stands of this writing, the Phillies are a half-game ahead of the second place Florida Marlins. Considering the Marlins are in fact the Marlins and will certainly fall off the pace at some point, lets celebrate the Philies sole possession of first-place in the NL East. They are a full game up on the Mets and three ahead of Atlanta. While both teams still pose serious threats, a lead is a lead is a lead. Perhaps most impressive of all though, the Phillies have managed all this despite both predictive and situational odds.
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Don’t Tread On Me!April 25th, 2008
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There are certain sworn enemies, rivalries born of bloodlust, that must persist in order for our fragile planet to continue spinning on its axis: cats and dogs, the Hatfields and the McCoys, Domingo Montoya and the six-fingered man, Willie Nelson and sobriety. Anyone in Philadelphia knows the contentious relationship between Phillies’ fans and management should surely be added to the list.
In what will surely feed the flames of this ever-persistent battle of wills is the troubling report published on “Off The Record”, a sports-oriented blog, yesterday that Jimmy Rollins’ sprained ankle is really a broken bone.
Let’s dismiss the debacle that landed Jimmy Rollins on the disabled list after missing essentially 10 games prior to his 15-day shelving. True baseball is still managed by an innate feeling and I’m sure there was much debate and hope spread among J-Roll, the coaches, trainers, and management as to when the MVP shortstop would be ready. Still, what’s done is done and Eric Bruntlett is a two-week pill that we all must swallow.
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Another One Bites The DustApril 20th, 2008
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It’s a sight Phillies’ fans have come to all but expect: a player steps into the box in a critical situation, hacks at the first few offerings, finds himself behind in the count, and finally walks away empty-handed, the proud owner of a strikeout. If this lineup has a weakness, it’s its propensity, almost affection, for the whiff; last night’s 4-2 loss to the Mets was no exception.
It’s the bottom of the eight and the Phillies trail by 3 runs. After Carlos Ruiz’s single scores Pat Burrell, the Phillies have the bases loaded with only one out– a prime opportunity to at least tie the game heading into the ninth, but these are the Phillies we’re talking about. Geoff Jenkins swings for the fences on two consecutive fastballs but misses both. Two down. Jayson Werth, after battling Aaron Heilman and fouling off a number of pitches finally offers at a tailing fastball that is just out of reach. Inning over, three men left on base including the tying and go-ahead runs.
It may sound cliché but simply putting the ball in play is vital for this team. We could discuss working counts, but it’s baby steps with this organization. The beauty of baseball is the infinite number of things that can happen by forcing the defense to make a play on the ball. Instead, the Phillies too often do that work for them by practicing that long walk from the dugout to home plate and then back again.
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Phantastic PhinishApril 16th, 2008
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Welcome to Philadelphia, Geoff Jenkins. The veteran right fielder who doubles as Brett Favre’s doppelganger earned his pinstripes as a Phillie last night, blowing through third base coach Steve Smith’s stop sign as he rounded third base and headed toward home plate. As Pedro Feliz’s double rattled around the left-field corner, Jenkins made up his mind.
“I felt like I could score,” said Jenkins on his mad dash from first. “The crowd was going berserk and once I got home, it was a tremendous feeling when you’re safe.” Jenkins’ run capped a four-run ninth and earned the Phillies a gutsy victory from what seemed like the sure jaws of defeat.
Smart play? Probably not. Jenkins will never be confused with Jimmy Rollins. Good play? Absolutely. There’s no guarantee that the winning run would have been scored without his tenacity. Was he safe? Ummmm, maybe. Jenkins barely beat the tag of Astros’ catcher Brad Ausmus, and by barely, I mean perhaps he didn’t at all. Still, after a foul ball was called a home run in Sunday’s loss to the Cubs, the Phillies had some karmic retribution headed their way. When all was said and done, the Phillies’ team mobbed Jenkins at home plate and the big bell in center field tolled for a Phillies win.
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Show Me Some Leather Boys…Please?April 14th, 2008
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Yesterday, a hard ground ball headed sharply toward the hole in between third and shortstop. The ball deflected off Eric Bruntlett’s backhanded stab and scooted into left field. It was a hard grounder and tough play but one that could have been made. Perhaps if Jimmy Rollins was not still nursing his sprained ankle, it would have been an out rather a single. Either way, the play plated the Cubs’ first run of the day.
Yesterday, a long foul ball hugged the right field line and headed toward the tight corner at Citizens Bank Park. The ball bounced softly off the heel of Geoff Jenkins’ glove and fell casually to the ground. No harm, no foul, right? Except for the fact that the next pitch was a two-run double that put the Phillies down by two runs.
Yesterday, the coup de grace was Carlos Zambrano’s grounder to short in the top of 10th that looked like a routine double play which would have ended the inning. The flip from Bruntlett to second basemen Chase Utley was perfect, but the throw was wide and up the line. Utley’s errant throw allowed the winning run to score and dropped the Phillies one game below five hundred on the year.
Baseball, boiled down to its core elements, is excruciatingly simple: throw ball, hit ball, catch said ball. Fail in any one area and you’re usually on the losing end of the next day’s box score. The Phillies’ defense to this point has been, in a word, dismal. Considering the defense was at least one area where no one raised any concerns, this startling lack of leather has been an auspicious way to begin the 2008 season.
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