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Friday, October 24, 2008
Silent Bats, Silent Clubhouse
Ryan Howard discards his bat after striking out in the seventh inning with two runners on base. The Phillies went 1 for 15 with RISP last night. They stranded 11.

Charlie Manuel thinks the Phillies are pressing at the plate.

Publicly, most players say they're not.

But Jimmy Rollins at least acknowledged he "felt a little tense" in one of his at-bats last night in a 4-2 loss to the Rays in Game 2 of the World Series. How else to explain a team that Rays manager Joe Maddon gushes about because he is so impressed with their quality at-bats? They might have quality at-bats without men in scoring position, but the Phillies are an anemic 1 for 28 with runners in scoring position in the first two games of this series. They are hitting .158 (18 for 114) with runners in scoring position in the postseason, too.

This is not just a two-game trend. This is a postseason trend, and the fear here must be that it finally catches up to them.

Phil Sheridan sees a tight team, too.

Splitting the first two games on the road might seem like a good thing, but it hasn't always worked out that way.

*

Bob Ford talks about how close Brett Myers came to redemption.

Myers didn't pitch that bad. In fact, three earned runs in seven innings is good enough to win. But the Rays made their breaks. The Rays played small ball to score two runs in the first. An umpire's wave helped lead to a run in the second. They scored on a safety squeeze in the fourth.

*

Jim Salisbury goes Inside the Game.

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Manuel thought last night might have been one of their sloppiest games of the year. He was right.

*

John Gonzalez is not having much success understanding the Phillies' offensive troubles. Gonzalez, Sheridan and Ford talk about Jamie Moyer pitching tomorrow night (maybe in the rain) in Game 3.

*

Frank Fitzpatrick offers his take on the happenings in St. Petersburg.

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Ryan Howard continues to search for the big hit. ... In the Phillies Notebook: Manuel isn't concerned about the Rays pitching around Chase Utley to face Howard. ... Some people are watching this World Series. ... MLB and the Phillies are preparing for a rainy day tomorrow.

Posted by Todd Zolecki @ 6:31 AM  Permalink | 65 comments
65
Comments   
Posted 08:39 AM, 10/24/2008
JayW
Okay, I guess we can chalk this one up to experience, but the Phillies have to have a better approach to Shields the next time they face him. Left-handed hitters--if they-re in the lineup at all--should be trying to take Shields the other way.
Posted 08:49 AM, 10/24/2008
supportphilly
There is no excuse for striking out with less than two outs and a man on third base in 5 out of 7 chances. The players need to stop swinging for the fences in that situation. Choke up on the bat and put the ball in play. The Rays made it look easy last night with their run-scoring ground outs.
Posted 08:50 AM, 10/24/2008
Sun Ra
I expect we will see a better game at home. I think the DH has an effect which throws off the offensive rhythm of a national league team. Besides historically poor hitting by NL DHs. I would have considered having Mattt Stairs, with his AL experience, in there as DH. Despite the familiarity of TB pitching with a former AL player, perhaps. This lack of hitting is nothing new. It has been the Phillies' achilles tendon in recent years. Yeah, we get some streaks of clutch hitting, but we also have had trouble playing the 'small ball'. I am hoping we can hit a good streak starting now! C'mon Phillies!!!
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Posted 09:01 AM, 10/24/2008
KarenA
It's amazing how a loss puts alittle less spring in one's step. I know I've said this before his last start, but I truly believe Moyer will have a much better game than he's had his last two outings. NOW for the HARD part---getting those RISP across the plate. Geez, if the Phils can just get over that hump it would make for much smoother sailing. GO PHILS!!
Comment removed.
Posted 09:12 AM, 10/24/2008
phillywebcast
The Phillies did win one game down in St. Pete which is great. That is a fact no one is really talking about. Now, they have 3 games at home to right the ship a little. I'll take the first win down in Florida, we could win it all at home with a sweep of three in a row. The best is yet to come! The Phils just need to get the runs home that are sitting right before them on base. They need to execute, sacrifice fly or bunt to get them in, that is where Manuel needs to start coming up with answers.
Posted 09:20 AM, 10/24/2008
MrPhillie
I have to disagree Todd, the lack of clutch hitting as well as the inability to play "smallball" have hurt this team all season....the playoffs are simply an extension of the regular season. Also, I've heard over and over again that strikeouts at the plate are not a big deal, that too much is made of them. Again I disagree with this postseason (especially last night) as the proof. With a runner on 3rd and less than two out, what are the chances that runner scores on a strikeout? Now, what are the chances that runner scores on any kind of contact? No, the runner will not score every time, but the chances are better than even (except for the Phillies) that the runner will score if the batter makes contact. Conversely, unless there is a wild pitch, the runner has zero chance to score on a strikeout. It's not too diffcult to figure out that the Phillies strikeout FAR too often, especially in critical situations, and even when they do make contact it oftn results in weakly hit pop-ups and short fly balls. Myers did his part and pitched well last night, but his defense and offense forgot to show up. What ends up being the dfference in the game? The two runs scored by Tampa Bay on goundouts in the first. This team cannot afford to waste the many opportunities they've had through the first two games. If we think Pena, Longoria, and Crawford will be silent all series, we are fooling ourselves. I haven't lost faith is this team's ability to win the Series, I am just extremly frustrated by the lack of consistent offense.
Posted 09:29 AM, 10/24/2008
Jamerock
Everyone relax! We did what we were supposed to do, win one in Tampa. Did anyone really think we were gonna sweep? I feel good about Brett's performance, and have confidence in him for his next start. Jamie Moyer will resurrect the positivity with an outstanding performance in game 3, and Jimmy Rollins is going to be the hero of this series, GUARANTEED! We gave them that game last night. PHILS IN 5.
Posted 09:35 AM, 10/24/2008
Beef69
1 for 28 with RISP. Knowing this why not try a bunt? Something to get a run across the plate. Really think Charlie got out managed last night. But if you told me it was going to be 1-1 leaving that dump. I would have took it any day of the week.
Posted 09:37 AM, 10/24/2008
KarenA
I like and share your optimism Jamerock! The Phils have only lost 1 game in each of the postseason rounds and that has been so terrific. The frustrating part is that they're hitting, but not able to score. I hope the hometown fans give an extra boost to the team. It would be extra sweet if they could sweep/clinch it at home.
Posted 09:44 AM, 10/24/2008
Matt
Tampa is a below .500 team outside of that candyland/circus type stadium they play in. The good news is we are getting plenty of baserunners, you've got to think they are going to start to cash in. That homeplate umpire should never be allowed to call another big game in his life, absolutely horrible. But that's not the reason we lost by any means. Hope Matt Garza brings some pretty thick ear plugs, because he's never played in an atmosphere like this.
Posted 09:45 AM, 10/24/2008
Sully
A split on the road is good baseball. The Phillies now have home-field advantage in a 5-game series with the first 3 games at home. Moyer, I think, will keep the young Rays swinging at junk. He just needs a reasonable strikezone, something he didn't get from Mike Everitt in the NLCS. 3 home games = 3 wins.
Posted 10:09 AM, 10/24/2008
EL Zorro
Guys, Tampa is the team that should be pressing. We won one game in their place, which is not easy. Now they have to come here for 3 games. I think coming home will help take the pressure off some guys, especially Werth and Rollins. We have not played well and we're still in the driver's seat. Everybody relax.
Posted 10:17 AM, 10/24/2008
jimmymack
The bright side is we are getting plenty of guys on base. Unless we are falling into the shell we did against the Rockies last year, we are bound to break out of this. Would have liked to see Stairs replace Dobbs who looked lost in his AB's. Ryan looked better, so all ye of little faith, hang in there. This is going to be a long series.
About Andy Martino
Andy Martino is in his first season on the Phillies beat. A former New York City public school teacher and graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, he previously wrote for the New York Daily News, where he covered baseball and worked with the award-winning investigative sports "I-team."
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