Reason to be Concerned?
The Phillies came up small against the Boston Red Sox this week. They haven't been playing well for more than a week, either. Reason to be concerned?
Reason to be Concerned?
Todd Zolecki
The Phillies entered a killer stretch in their schedule June 6, when they began a 24-game run in which they played 18 games on the road. That stretch included games against first-place teams like the Red Sox and Angels, and second-place teams like the Marlins and Cardinals.
It is a good test for a team with World Series aspirations.
But they’re at the halfway point of that stretch and they’re 6-6. They’re 3-0 against the Braves, 1-2 against the Marlins 1-2 against the Cardinals and 1-2 against the Red Sox, which included yesterday’s 7-4 loss at Citizens Bank Park. They've lost three-straight series for the first time since last August.
They certainly lost some games they should have won, but so far they certainly haven’t thrived like fans had hoped.
Jim Salisbury takes a look at some of the flaws that have prevented the Phillies from extending their lead in the NL East.
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Chase Utley is hitless in his last 20 at-bats, the longest hitless streak of his career. But if there’s any hitter on the Phillies that doesn’t concern me when he’s in a slump, it’s Utley. He’ll be fine. His swing is just too good to stay in a funk like this too long. But it might not be a coincidence that the Phillies are 1-4 during his hitless streak.
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Fans still are angry with J.D. Drew, who killed the Phillies yesterday.
Maybe it’s time to move on.
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In the Phillies Notebook, Kyle Kendrick’s struggles and more.
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I might be out of commission for the next few days. If I can post, I will. Otherwise ... talk amongst yourselves.
Comments (89)
mick314.....My arm's not what it used to be. Rotator cuff injury. LOL! I'd be more than happy to do the "Mom" thing to whip the guys in shape. Maybe play bad cop to Charlie's good cop.— Norma- Bski...not that I really wanted to answer my own question but.....more pitching, then more pitching. I would sacrifice offense and trade some of Werth, Jenkins, Golson , Ruiz..oh wait I said offense, didn't I?..... heck I'd trade Howard if it brought me a true "Ace" for the rotation long term, and I don't consider Bedard for 3 years that ace....we can put Chase on 1st and get Cardenas up to play 2nd.....if Myers stays he should be in the pen, but I wouldn't upset the status of Durbin, Romero, Lidge. Let him pitch middle relief. If not, pawn him off on the White Sox and call it even for the Garcia trade....maybe they'll give us Thome back, we're still paying him anyway aren't we?.....Jim could take Howard's place at 1st....I'd take Maddux for one reason only and that is because he's won...divisions, world series, gold gloves, cy youngs, etc. He may teach the rest of our pitching staff stuff about winning that Dubee never could.....Sabathia? How do we afford to sign him? How many do we give up to get him, knowing that he's only 1 more cheeseburger away from a coronary?......time to pull some triggers and get it done, no waiting til the trade deadline. This team is still coasting, expecting to win, they appear lackadaisical most games....that doesn't cut it most nights, not against good teams, only lousy ones.....every player fearing for his job and the possibility of NOT playing for the Phils in the post season should be good motivation.— Mark1npt
- NORMA, JIMMYMACK, MARK:— bski
- NORMA, JIMMYMACK, MARK: Thanks for the responses. I see that adding a top of the line pitcher is the preference, which isn't surprising. I have a few more questions.****NORMA: Management may know that we need another very good starter, but I'm more concerned if Ownership will allow Gillick to go get one. Did you happen to read the article about "The Teflonics" in Philadelphia Magazine a couple weeks ago? If not, I can give you the link. It's worth the time. The usual course for them is to wait until the end of the season, see how much money they made, and then determine what the payroll will be for the next year. My hope is that they will loosen the purse strings now. Attendance is up and will stay there as long as we're playing well. It would be nice to see them spend some of next year's money this year.*****JIMMYMACK: You specifically mention holding on to Carrassco. Is he the only young arm you would like to see us keep, or have you contracted a bad case of GavinFloyditis which prevents you from parting with any pitching prospects? (BTW, Thanks for the support)*******MARK: Sorry for compelling an answer from you, but since you did....Trading offense for pitching is your preference. Does that mean offense exclusively? Would you be ok parting with some pitching and, if so, whom? Who would be your untouchables on offense beyond the obvious guys like Utley and Rollins?(I would trade Howard as well) Who would be your untouchable pitchers, other than Hamels and Lidge. Or do you have no untouchables when it comes to getting a #1 starter?— bski
- HEY EVERYBODY: Jayson Stark just wrote an article in his Rumblings and Grumblings that deals with exactly what we are talking about. Here it is: Phretting in Philly: With the help of a number of clubs that have spoken with the Phillies, we’ve assembled this shopping list of starting pitchers it appears they’ve at least kicked tires on: Sabathia, A.J. Burnett, Bronson Arroyo and (surprisingly) Jarrod Washburn. Bedard just hit the market, so you can add his name any minute now. But those same clubs say the Phillies might have the hardest decisions to make of just about any team with win-the-World Series upside. If they go for it now — and decimate their still-thin system to deal for a big-name rent-a-pitcher like Sabathia or Burnett — this might be the only year they’d be capable of contending.— bski
- The second part of the article didn't post....here it is: To make a trade like that, they’d probably have to give up both of their two most advanced starting-pitching prospects, Carlos Carrasco and Antonio Bastardo. So if they lose Brad Lidge and their rent-a-starter to free agency, and Jamie Moyer retires, Brett Myers doesn’t rebound and Adam Eaton’s first half turns out to be a mirage, the Phillies’ pitching staff next year would essentially consist of Cole Hamels, Kyle Kendrick, J.C. Romero, Ryan Madson, an uncertain Myers and seven question marks. “So that’s a tough call,” said one NL executive. “Do you say, ‘Go for it, and the hell with next year’? Or do you think big picture, but maybe not have enough [pitching] to win this year? It’s a scary choice to have to make.” See, I told you. It's just what we are debating here. What would you do?— bski
- I think it's silly to move a star everyday player for a starting pitcher. The Phillies would be foolish to move Ryan Howard for a guy who MIGHT help you win once every 5th day. There is a fallacy in baseball (and in general, in all major sports) that you win with pitching/defense. While that may be true for a single season like the Ravens in 2001, long term success involves outscoring your opponents, whether we are talking the Yankees, Reds, the Edmomton Oilers, San Francisco 49ers or the Chicago Bulls. Considering the ballpark the Phillies play 82 games in, offense is even more important.— ErikT
- Zo, you should know better. Philles fans will never move on from J.D. Drew. Nor should they.— slabold
- bski, good reporting, and good blogging. That article hit the nail on the head. I think trading Myers is our best option, and even though his numbers stink, they should shop him as a closer if possible. I am against trading away prospects, and I think PG is too. Myers is a better closer than he is a starter, in my opinion. He did a good job closing last year, considering the short amount of time he had to prepare for it. I also think thats why he got hurt, he went from starting the previous 4-6 years, at least, to pitching almost every day. So I'd say, if possible, to trade Myers for a good starting pitcher. Will it happen...doubtful! And once again they are doing nothing on offense, its becoming to frequent!— Clinton, NJ
- Im surprised Charlie boy left Eaton into bat in the bottom of the 5th. It seems Eaton never pitches well after 100 or so pitches, Charlie should have know better, but I guess he was seeing what Eaton was made of. Eaton pitched ok up until the 6th,he just threw too many pitches. The sad thing is the Mets just took 2 of 3 from this team. Well its a good thing we have our #1 going tomorrow...HAHAHAHAHAHAHA— Clinton, NJ
- CLINTON NJ: Thanks— bski
- ERIK T: No way. It is beyond dispute that pitching and defense wins championships. The Celtics just won the NBA title. They were the #1 defensive team in the league. They didn't outscore the Lakers, they shut them down. Jordan(who was first team all defense for like every year of his career) and his Bulls teams certainly won their titles with defense. The Giants just won the super bowl with defense by limiting the high powered Patriots to 14 points. The 2006 Cardinals held the high powered Tigers to 11 runs in 5 games while winning the world series 4 games to 1. The 2001 Diamondbacks certainly beat the potent Yankees with pitching(Schilling and Johnson). There are many, many examples of defense and pitching winning championships. I'm sure if you checked you would find that each year the champion in each league is at least in the top half defensively/pitching-wise. Any team having two pitchers like Schilling and Johnson, who will start at least four games of the seven in the series between them, is almost a lock to win it all. No question.— bski
- ErikT.....you make a lot of sense....call PG right away would you?— Mark1npt
- ErikT.....you make a lot of sense....call PG right away would you?— Mark1npt
- bski, sent you a response earlier but somehow it didn't show up here, guess they didn't like my answers?— Mark1npt
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The Phillies Zone is the place for up-to-the-minute Phillies coverage from the Inquirer.
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