After completing a four game sweep of the Reds a week ago, the Phillies came back from the All-Star break with a disappointing weekend in Chicago, losing three of four games.
The Chicago series was a complete opposite of the Cincinnati series. Against the Reds, the Phillies had a lot of things go right to help them overcome their poor play to win all four games. Against the Cubs, the Phillies had a lot of things go horribly wrong to help them to three losses.
If not for a 9th inning meltdown from the Cubs, the Phillies might have lost all four games. The Cubs are just an average, middle of the pack team. For the Phillies to leave Chicago with just one victory isn’t good enough.
The good news is that the Phillies are still only 5.5 games behind the Braves, and only 2 behind in the Wild Card race. These numbers have been the about the same for several weeks now, which means that no team in front of the Phillies has been able to get a strong grip on their positions in the standings.
The bad news is that Phillies seem no closer to resolving the problems that have been plaguing the team for almost two months. The team is still waiting for key players like Shane Victorino and Jayson Werth to come out of their slumps and play at a high level. The team seems to be slowly losing their patience with Raul Ibanez, who now sits in favor of Ben Francisco against left handed pitchers.
If past history is any indication, this team is certainly capable of turning things around, but it has to happen soon. To this point, the Phillies have occasionally teased their fans with small bursts of good play, only to follow it up with more poor play while giving back any ground they make on the teams in front of them. They need to stop losing to teams that they should have success against.
Now the Phillies are staring at a difficult week with four games against the Cardinals (with Kyle Kendrick, Jamie Moyer, and Joe Blanton pitching the first three games of the series) and three games against Colorado Rockies. Those are both teams that are in contention with the Phillies for the Wild Card spot. Losing three of four against the Cubs makes these upcoming games even more difficult by leaving the Phillies with no margin for error.
The Phillies haven’t played well all year as their overall record now stands at 48-44…
Here’s their record Month by Month and Season to date
April 12-10 (they had a very weak opening schedule and whould have come a blazing)
May 16-12
June 13-13
July 7-9
They now have 67 games left of which 45 are games versus teams with winning records and playoff aspirations themselves.
20 games versus the NL West (Rockies/Dodgers,Giants,Padres)
and then 40 games versus NL East Opponents (6-Braves,12-Mets,12-Nationals,10-Marlins)
The Phillies are going to have to go on a 40-27 finish to get in the Playoffs..Is this possible,
yes, but is it likely for team who still hasn’t figured out their bullpen, who after Starters Halladay & Hamels has become becoming batting practice and home run derby for opposing hitters and whose own offensive line-up is simply not producing from Rollins,Victorino,Ibanez and Werth..
Add in a very weak bench (Francisco,Gload,Dobbs & Valdez) and they you have it, just an middle of the road,average MLB Baseball team..
The only players having good seasons are Howard,Ruiz and Pitcher Hamels…
Halladay has gotten hit hard a lot in the last 6 weeks (I think his arm is getting tired and showing signs of being overused and abused)
It’s a real shame for lots of people were talking a Dynasty with the Nucleaus the Phils had under contract and especially after signing P Halladay… but that’s why they play the games and yes, injuries are part of it which the Phils have had their fair share but the Bullpen’s been a mess all season,the Bench has been weak for the last 2 seasons and proven veterans are just not playing up to their abilities and are pressing a bit (Victorino & Werth) I think Rollins and Ibanez are on the downside of their careers and have played many seasons & lots of games and are starting to look tired and appears they have lost a half-step and some reaction time at the plate…
The Phillies really struggle with Breaking/Off-Speed Pitchers too.. Victorino,Werth,Rollins,Ibanez all struggle with Pitchers who favor the Breaking,Curve,Slider stuff as they are mostly fast-ball hitters and will see a heavy dose of it until they show they can hit the off-speed pitches. Teams around the league have adjusted to this once potent line-up of Phillie Sluggers..