The Phillies' worst-case first half
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The Phillies' worst-case first half
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
It seems like anything that could have gone wrong has gone wrong for the Phillies in the first half of the season. But is there any reason for Phillies fans to hold out hope for the second half of the season? The Inquirer's Matt Gelb discusses.
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Comments (42)
Who is the phillies DAVID FREESE?They don't have one.Who is the phillies CHRIS CARPENTER? They don't have one Who is the phillies R. FACUL? They don't have one.Stop with the cardinals of last season.This season the phillies don't have a MGR,G M,COACHES,OWNERS. NOBODY CARES THIS SEASON.— tobyjoe- Hey after 5 years of winning hope dies hard especially when you look at a 175 million dollar roster. The team will soon have 3 pitchers back who are all capable of dominating, but the reality is most of these guys are overpaid, past their prime, and of course there is the bullpen which has about as much chance of holding a lead as a cheese grater has of holding water. Dump as many bad contracts as we can, our GM, and start fresh in the off season picking off good free agents. We really don't have to be bad for long if ownership aren't complete itiots about this. However, come back with the same core a year older and the results won't be much different.— lazyboy
- In the first half of the season: 1. When they had starting pitching, they failed to hit or the pen gave up the lead. 2. When the starters gave up 4 or more runs, they hitters and the Pen never recovered. 3. When they need a big hit or a big pitch they failed to get it. 4. When they had everything working their defense cost them the game. I could go on and on but what is the use. To place blame is crazy as it was a team effort in losing more games then they win. The question is can they turn it around? Absolutely! Can they win their division? Their division is wide open for any team to take. The Phillies are one hit or one pitch away from winning and then the snowball effect begins. The good news is that the Phillies are not cellar-dwellers nor are they losers. Their track record does not show it and the entire NL is still looking in their rear-view mirrors waiting for the Phillies to explode and make their run. It is just a hunch but I expect them to make their big push in the second half. Only time will tell!!!!— jpelle36
- This team is a failure.
You could replace most of this team with minor leaguers and the record would be about the same.
If I was an investor, I'd wonder why I'm spending $100M too much for such a lousy team.— fmMD - The season is over.
Time to plan for the future.
The team seemed to go downhill fast,but actually its been going steadily downhill since the 08' Championship season.— Eaglejay 
Comment removed.- Quit blaming RAJ or Monty, its the 2nd biggest payroll in baseball and they've gone out and grabbed the biggest FA's available and even got Lee to come back to Philly for less money than NY or TX. Blame utley's knee's, Howards nose, polonco's back, Halladay's shoulder, Victorino's brain and Rollins....well that you can blame that on Raj b/c we all knew what we were getting for that $11mm a year, .250 avg and about 500 pop ups. Is Rollins not embarressed that Pierre is about 47 years old and has twice as many stolen bases and has played in a lot less games???— JuanSamuel4prez
- Face facts what I and others have been saying for months now....this team is OLD and got old fast. Look at the Nats age with the rotation, position players, etc. They are not going anywhere for a long time, so get used to looking up in the standings for a few years to come. It sucks, but the worm has turned and not likely to get better real soon. They will have (believe this or not) to go back to the Ed Wade philosophy of getting a strong farm system and getting lucky with a trade or two. That's the real blueprint for success if you look back at the groundwork Wade did. He hired real baseball guys with an eye for talent like Arbuckle, scouts, etc. and put the $$ behind that.— jakenepa
- I think Cholly is safe. But I also believe some kind of change is in order. Perhaps one of those trades we've been hearing about ought to happen. Now. To at the least shake up (perhaps) those that remain. I think Pap has the best observations about trades. Shame too about Vic. No matter what, he is gone. A good guy. Not sure what's up with him. Maybe some personal sh__. Who knows. But I would have to say trade he or Cole, soon, and perhaps there is a chance a miracle 2nd wildcard could happen.— Poppys
- This team is fixable for the second half and beyond. It starts with the manager realizing that if the team is not going to hit home runs in bunches, you have to set the lineup mainly according to batting average. That means basically trading off Victorino for whatever you can get with that funky swing of his and turning over center field duties to Pridie and Mayberry. Nix will take Victorino's place on the roster. You can't have two anchors like Rollins and Victorino at the top of a lineup weighing the ship down. Pierre shows you how it is done and he is a gamer, being able to hit, bunt, run and score runs. He is Amaro's best signing of the year. Polanco is a career .300 hitter. Rollins has never sniffed that. The lineup should be set up with Pierre, Polanco, Utley/Fontenot, Howard/Wigginton, Ruiz, Pence, Pridie/Mayberry, Rollins and the pitcher, where when Howard is out Wigginton and Ruiz would switch places in the batting order. Joe Blanton should be traded for prospects and Tyler Cloyd called up to take his place. Blanton and Victorino's money could then be used for signing Hamels. When Halladay comes back, Sanches should be sent down with Kendrick going to bullpen if Cloyd is pitching lights out. The order of appearance should then be Kendrick (long), Valdes, Schwimer, Bastardo, Diekman and Papalbon.— dross
- Dross...Wake up the dream is over.Wake up from the nightmare it's over for a long time.When the G M,MGR.,COACHES,ARE CHANGED THEN WE CAN HOPE FOR THE FUTURE.— tobyjoe
Any fan, saying that the season is over already, is only a fair weather/bandwagon fan. Yes things need to get turned around but a true fan believes that it CAN happen and holds out hope yet.— tune433
About this blog
The Phillies Zone is the place for up-to-the-minute Phillies coverage from the Inquirer.
Matt Gelb
Inquirer Staff Writer
Bob Brookover
Inquirer Baseball Columnist
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