Video: What went wrong for the Phils?
Philadelphia Inquirer Sports Columnist Bob Ford writes about the Eagles, the Phillies, the Sixers and the Flyers.
Video: What went wrong for the Phils?
Bob Ford, Inquirer Sports Columnist
Video: CineSport's Noah Coslov talks to the Inquirer's Bob Ford about the Phillies disappointing ending to their season.
CineSport's Noah Coslov talks to the Philadelphia Inquirer's Bob Ford about the Phillies disappointing ending to their season.
Comments (23)
Their offense was hampered by injury but had it been a seven game series the cardinals would have fallen short - they had limited pitching.— robinlupe- Should have cut the rotation. Oswalt should have been in the bullpen. 3-man rotation in a 5-game series....Halliday, Lee, Hamels and we'd be beating the Brewers asses right now!— Dogkilla
- Window is almost shut..Bring in Ryno to fix— attila
- Robinlupe, you could not be more wrong. The Phillies were lucky to get to a fifth game. How often can you count on a Ben Francisco HR to save you? They were a horrendous offensive team that showed all year that they could not hit front line pitching. The Cardinals did not have great pitchers but they clearly showed that their pitchers were good enough to shut down the weak/ badly executing Phillies offense. Think about it, the Cardinals bullpen struggled all year yet they shut the Phillies down after Game 1. Do you really think that was a coincidence? They were just facing an inferior offense.— jfdatl
- Since 2008, I've watched Howard hit towering shots but when a good control pitcher comes along, his batting stance and footwork leave him helpless.
His contract is going to cost the Phils for years to come.
Whatta pity for the starting pitchng.— Lew Klein - Great pitching during the season and no hitting. In postseason, no hitting, really pathetic stikeout performance at the plate, and Lee and Oswalt didn't perform. Howard was truly TERRIBLE.— 4thand10
- The key statistic is the batting averages of the starters. When they went to the World Series the starters batting averages were around .300. This year the starters batting averages were around .270.— BobSG
- phils window is closed. howard out much of next year - no power in lineup - no offense - no ability to plan or restructure because team is freighted with mammoth contracts. the R. Howard contract will be the death of this team's future. it's a scandal for Halladay who gave up so much to come here. As for Cliff Lee, sad for him too, but at least he tapped free agency, and his game 2 put the team in the situation, so he's part to blame— LMparent
- Bring back Milt.— dogman5
- They need to make some offseason deals happen to get some offense. They gambled way too heavily on pitching as the end all and it backfired on them. I'd even be happy maybe trading one of the pitchers for a few decent offensive guys. Howard really needs to step up next year (if he plays at all), and I'm not a big Howard basher, but I agree that his contract is going to be a noose on this team for years to come. Way too much money and time for a guy who can't hit lefties and only hits to one side of the field. Power hitters are always going to be strike out kings, but he's nowhere near a 5 yr $25m guy.— donde
- It's easy to blame Howard... but there's blame enough for everyone. All starters batted poorly (particularly 2-8) and since when does Lee blow a 4 run lead? Howard's contract is alot, but I wonder what everyone will be saying next year when his 120 RBIs need to be replaced for all or part of the year. I don't think you will realize what we've got until it's not there. As a life long (60 years) fan, this is still the best time to be a Phillies fan ever.— jbeatman
Comment removed.- What happened is that age if finally catching up to the core group...Rollins Utley Howard...all stink. Howard's rbi total is padded by his home runs...they come most of the time with the game already decided and in bunches. In the Cards series I thought he was already thinking he was playing Golf...the low balls he swings at....the Phils have pitching but no offense...and it's not going to get any better unless they start to replace the core— mbutley
- Howard's injury will be good in the long run for the Phils. Here's why: Without him in there, they will be forced to play small ball and manufacture runs. They'll learn this very important aspect of the game (finally), and then the Big Piece will slide right back into the cleanup spot, just in time to have guys hitting in front of him who will get on base so he can drive them in. Don't give up on this team yet. These guys have a lot of pride, and are world class athletes. I think they've still got some juice in the tank.— vvvmetallicavvv
- Bottom line is that our key players have to hit well when it comes to the playoffs and they are very capable despite of the aging issue. It burns me up and I agree with others that Howard has to step up to the plate and start performing in the clutch. In my opinion, Howard needs to step closer to the plate and maybe needs glasses/contacts- his pitch recognition looks awful (no pun intended)!— pejed
- Overpaid, under qualified in the clinch is what went wrong..— Ben Fan
- Friends, There is only one glaring weakness for both teams they do not want it enough. They have no Fire and leadership. Three instances for me are poignant. When that SOB launched at Jackson and nobody did or said anything. last year. When the same stiff launched at Maclin this year and nobody did a thing my gut told me this team is lost. For the Phils when i looked at Pujols face you knew he would do anything to win. In the first case several guys should have been tossed and fined for attempting to break that clowns neck. Their is no one on the Phils that says boo. They would have been better served by an old gashouse gang fight then anything else. WE ARE THE FEREAKING WIMP CREW IN BOTH TEAMS.— JIM IAQUINTO
- you have to have a team of marauders. Launch on jackson and then maclin someone better call 911 because that guy has got to go/ Anybody on the Phils that even remotely acts like PUJOLS, Howard is a gutless player. Where is the fire and the fury?— JIM IAQUINTO
- The opportunity is gone. Every position player needs to be replaced in the next three years.— 4thand10
- Keys to 2012: Will Cliff Lee be angry enough to for once reach his full potential? I maintain he has never done so. To me, he's dominant as they come, but subject to periods of overconfident semi-goodness. I'm a fan, mind you, but Halladay is always good and at-times great. He's almost never hittable over 6-7-8 full innings. And, can Chase Utley hit with power? If you look at 3-4-5, Pence basically replaces Werth and Howard is Howard, for better or for strikeout worse. But Chase is not the 2008 or 2009 Chase. If he is going to be a No. 2 slap hitter or 7 guy, then we need a 3 or 5. Simple as that.— eman
- Maybe the Cardinals were just better.— Joe Lis lives
- you're right-without a power hitter of Howard's ilk they will have to manufacture runs. teams that don't score have to do that. yeah,if they had bunted they would've won all the games. they only won 102. i guess that means they couldn't hit at all.good teams often lose in short series.this is baseball. strange things often happen. before they won 4 in a row the no team in baseball history did what the redsox did and to the Yankees no less. it's baseball morons.— benny1
- OMG! The video mentioned Greg Gross! I forgot he was a member of the team. Oh, that's right...he's the hitting coach. Teflon Greg.— PhilsPhan2541
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About this blog
Bob Ford has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 1981, and is still trying to figure it all out. A former beat writer covering the Phillies and the 76ers, Ford became a general sports columnist for the Inquirer in 2003, following in and occasionally falling in the deep footsteps of Bill Lyon, Frank Dolson and many distinguished others. He comes to the Philly.com blogosphere after award-winning success as designer/editor of the fabulous Pen & Pencil Club softball blog. Likes: Palestra, inside-the-park home runs, sunny days. Dislikes: phony people, cloudy days, rewrites.
Reach Bob at bford@phillynews.com.
Bob Ford
Inquirer Sports Columnist
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