Phillies belong in the basement right now
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Phillies belong in the basement right now
Bob Brookover, Inquirer Baseball Columnist
Last place is the last place you want to be even in the middle of April.
But that's where the Phillies stand in the National League East, a division they have dominated for the last five seasons.
They begin a four-game series Thursday night in San Diego in last place and it is the exact place they deserve to be right now.
They have played four series and lost three of them.
They lost two out of three to the Pittsburgh Pirates, a team that is last in baseball in runs scored.
They lost two out of three at home to the New York Mets, the team that just about everybody believes will finish last in N.L. East.
They lost two out of three to the San Francisco Giants even though they had a starting pitcher provide them with 10 scoreless innings Wednesday night at AT&T Park.
Those are the kinds of efforts that anchor a team at the bottom of a division.
Everybody knew when the Phillies left spring training that they were flawed, but it's different when you actually see it.
The Pirates have the worst offense in baseball, but the Phillies without Ryan Howard and Chase Utley are only slightly better.
When manager Charlie Manuel tries to inject some offense, he does so at the risk of exposing players with defensive shortcomings.
Placido Polanco's slumping bat was left in the rack Wednesday night against the Giants, but that meant Ty Wigginton had to defend at third base while Laynce Nix played first. A normally outstanding infield defense instantly becomes mediocre at best.
Wigginton made the 11th-inning error that allowed the Giants to pull out a 1-0 victory that Matt Cain deserved every bit as much as Cliff Lee.
Charlie Manuel had a chance to be the man to make a difference, but he defied conventional wisdom by letting a left-handed hitter face a left-handed pitcher when he had the option to do otherwise.
With Carlos Ruiz at third base and one out in the top of the 11th, Manuel sent up Jim Thome to hit for Lee, who had provided the Phillies with one of the most memorable pitching performances in franchise history during a game that was played at a pace that defied television-commercial delays.
When Giants manager Bruce Bochy replaced righthander Sergio Romo with lefty Javier Lopez, Manuel had two decent options: Polanco or John Mayberry Jr.
They'd be better options, of course, if they were not both mired in early-season slumps. Manuel explained after the game that he thought Thome was his best option to drive a fly ball deep for a sacrifice fly. He recited Thome's numbers against Lopez and noted he had put the ball in play eight times in 11 at-bats.
Not this time, however. Thome struck out, Mayberry hit for Juan Pierre and grounded out softly to end the top of the 11th. Wigginton's error was followed by Melky Cabrera's game-winning hit to right field off Antonio Bastardo.
Polanco was 1-for-7 against Lopez, but had never struck out against him and is still a better option to make contact than Thome. Mayberry had never faced Lopez until the at-bat after Thome struck out and his weak grounder to shortstop would not have plated the run.
You can't win if you can't score and it does not appear as if the Phillies' struggle for runs is going to end any time in the near future.
That's the main reason they are in last place for the first time since April 20, 2007 and it has to be the main topic of discussion when general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. and his band of decision makers are behind closed doors.
Great starting pitching and the schedule are the two things the Phillies have in their favor as they attempt to escape their unfamiliar place in the standings. They play eight of their next 11 games against the Padres and Chicago Cubs, who are a combined 6-19. Three games against a good Arizona Diamondbacks club are sandwiched in between.
After a nine-game stretch against division rivals — three in Atlanta, three in Washington and three at home against the Mets — the Phillies play seven games against the Padres, Houston Astros and Cubs, who may be the three worst teams in the National League.
The latter stretch ends May 18 and if the Phillies are still in last place then, this team will have more flaws and issues than we ever could have imagined.
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Offense is pathetic.— TerryW- LOL. Everyone FREAK OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's freaking half-way through April people...calm down. We'll know significantly more about this team come the summer. We all knew they had issues, we all knew it would be a tough start to the season. Now that they're doing exactly what we all thought they would do, everyone is going to spazz out over it? BTW, this team is going to hit this way (absolutely terribly) all year. This is a pitching oriented club now, just like the Giants have been the last 4 years-ish. P.S they won a World Series doing it. Agreed, this line-up is paid just about 3 or 4 times as much as it should be given the production, but contracts are always awarded based on past production rather than future value (because who the hell really knows?). It may not be as entertaining as it's been in the past but I'm not ready to just give up on this team 4 series into the season.— fightonphilly
- I only hate when the Phils aren't playing so hot because it brings out the armchair GMs like no other. It's like a roach infestation.
Please play better soon Phils!— evolutionary - There are several types of managers, obviously, but I don't understand the love affair with Charlie. Nice guy, but his managerial skills are only suited for a team full of all-stars. He manages egos and personalities, but definitely not games. He could have made the moves to win the game last night. Polanco may not be hitting much, but in a 0-0 game late where any mistake can cost you a win, he should have been in for his glove, not to mention as a pinch-contact hitter in Thome's spot. His managing has been mind-boggling, whether it's matchups, the use of the bullpen, especially Papelbon, or tutoring the hitters, most of whom regress under "the hitting guy" (or we're just told it's hard to change them). Come on, Charlie, step up! It doesn't look like you have a clue, and guess what? You're not going to have a lineup of All-Stars every year...show us you can win with less! The Phils are wasting their best-ever pitching staff, and yeah, it is only a dozen games, but what's happening has a lot to do with how the team is trending, not just a mild "slump."— netcaster
- If Thome had hit a pop-fly last night (like he has before against the same pitcher), we wouldn't be having this conversation, you realize that, right? If sports were a sure thing, then no one would watch. When you play the odds, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, that's sports. Monday Morning Quarterback it to death all you want if it makes you feel better, but just remember that smarter minds than yours are on these problems. — evolutionary
- Everybody needs to stop thinking things will change when Utley and howard come back. They were here in the post season in 2011 that didn't end well. It has to be an entire team effort. Charlie has lost control (Halladay will fight him to stay in a ballgame) and it's time for some new blood there.— rolenfan
- — tmkatz----This isn't Greg Gross's fault. Today's players think they know it all and don't want to listen to him. Charlie should take charge and if the guys don't listen to the coaches put them on the bench and put in somebody who wants to play. Funny how the coaches get the blame for the problems with the offense but no credit when it is successful. Let's go Phillies!!! Spring training is over and these games count.— rolenfan
- As I commented yesterday, Thome is useless and four hits from the lineup in 11 innings is disgraceful. As we saw with Lidge sweating it out in August, 2009, Jed sometimes puts loyalty to his favorite players over common sense- always to the detriment of the team.— pajamas
- The window is closing..........slowly closing on the Phils. They rolled the dice with big contracts on Howard, Utley, Rollins, Lee, etc. But it's over..... At least we had 2008. See you in 2022.— bigdaddyG
- @rolenfan: Like you, I was a fan of the former Phils/now Reds 3B. Regarding your points, I completely agree with your assessment that the Phils' lineup problems started long before Utley and Howard got hurt. The problem isn't "small ball"; the real problem is the Phils neither have the coaching or personnel to make it work. I like Manuel(certainly a lot more than the current GM), but his style is home run oriented. Speaking of 3rd base, Wigginton is below average, and I remember, on the Denver Post website, Rockies fans were more than happy to just be rid of him. It's time for a upgrade; if a better 3B can't be acquired, can a new GM be acquired?— 76erfn
- They started 8-10 in 2008. The level of panic right now is ridiculous.— JCKevo
- Amen. — evolutionary
- this is all on you ruben amaro.
- The ranks of Cholly defenders are going to thin considerably this year. Going to be required to make some tough, daft decisions late in close games & this isn't his managerial strength.— PhillyGuy77
- What do they have at AAA. Just finished watching the Pigs game in Buffalo which they won 8-4 on 14 hits. First baseman Cody Oberbeck had four hits, catcher Erik Kratz had three hits including one over the center fielders head that landed in front of the 404 ft. sign. Of course Pods had two hits in three at bats. Last night lefty Diekman came in the game and got three swing and miss strikeouts in a row against right handed batters. Ruben does have options. Heck even Cody can field better at third or first than Wiggy or Nix.— Dull
