Philly Phever

Well I didn't actually write it in my scathing blog post after the horrendous Abreu/Lidle trade, but I'm pretty sure I declared to anyone who was listening that I was no longer following the Phillies this season, and would be turning my attention to the Mariners and Red Sox as of August 1st.  Since then, the Mariners lost 11 straight games to their AL West foes and the Red Sox got swept in a 5-game series to their AL East foes (who I cannot bring myself to mention by name), while the Phillies have been on a bit of a tear, pulling themselves above .500 for the first time since early June and moving to a tie for 2nd in the wild card race, 2 games back of the Reds (in the loss column).  Umm... whoops.  You can pretty much call me the reverse jinx from now on.  So now that I'm declaring myself back on the Phillies bandwagon, am I guaranteeing a horrible September that will drop them right out of the race?  Or is that going to happen anyway?  It's tough to tell for sure.  Philadelphia sports fans... not exactly brimming with optimism.

Team management is still horrible.  From the owners to the GM right down to the field manager, Charlie Manuel, who has to be the one of the worst managers in the history of sports.  He seems barely awake during the game and makes few if any moves at all, usually not until they're too late.  His handling of the bullpen is laughable, and his reliance on veteran out-makers like David Bell and Mike Lieberthal is quite disturbing.  Sometimes I think he's got money on the opponent because that's the only explanation for his decision-making.  Look at Sunday for example.  The Phillies were cruising along through 4 innings with a 10-1 lead over the Nationals and pitcher Randy Wolf was looking solid in just his fifth start of the season (after shoulder surgery a year ago).  But Wolf's fifth inning was shaky at best, as he walked Felipe Lopez with the bases loaded and only got out of the inning after Ryan Zimmerman hit a sharp liner for an out and he struck out Nick Johnson on a good pitch.  He'd gotten through five though, with a 10-2 lead, and with him still building up arm strength it was time for him to leave the game (or at least be on a short leash in the 6th).  Here's what happened in the 6th inning, while Charlie Manuel watched from the dugout (assuming he was awake at the time - not a certainty).

• Kearns singles.
  • Maybe time to take him out?
• Escobar singles.
  • Ok, now it's time to take him out - the next hitter already went deep on him once.
• Harper 3-run home run.
  • Wow, that didn't work.  Ok, now the lead is only 10-5, time to go Mr. Wolf.
• Castro walked.
  • Finally, Randy Wolf is removed from what was once a blowout but is starting to become a game again, and Manuel brings in... Rick White, almost definitely the worst reliever in a bad Phillies bullpen, but he's been ok lately.
• Marlon Anderson doubles.  10-6.
  
  • Wolf's final line:  5 IP, 6 ER... went into the inning 5 IP, 2 ER
• Soriano strikes out.
• Lopez walked.
• Jackson walked on 5 pitches.
  
  • Bases loaded, tying run at the plate, White has gotten exactly 1 out in 4 batters and has walked the last two, showing little control at all.  Nick Johnson, one of the most patient hitters in baseball, comes to the plate.  And Manuel leaves White in to pitch to him!
• Johnson walks.
  • 10-7 now.  It was once 10-1 remember.  Oh, of course you remember, it was 2 fucking innings ago!!  Ryan Madson comes into the game, at least 2 hitters too late.
• Kearns grounds out.  Run scores, 10-8.
• Ward strikes out.

The Phillies eventually held on to win, 12-10, but used up their entire bullpen in the process of surviving the suddenly close game.  Chase Utley of course wasn't in the game to help them try to score more runs, because Manuel decided to take him out with the game in hand at 10-1.  Unbelievable.  Then the following night, centerfielder Aaron Rowand crashed into Utley while chasing a fly ball and is out for the season with a broken ankle.  Fortunately, Utley is ok.

So where does that leave things?  Well, the Phillies have won 4 in a row, 7 out of 10, and are 2-1/2 back of the Reds (2 in the loss column - Editors' Note: before the Reds loss on Wednesday afternoon), and a 1/2 game back of the Padres.  The Reds have also won 4 in a row, the Padres 3 in a row, so they're not really cooperating right now, but the Cubs and Nationals certainly are, throwing pretty horrendous lineups out against us (at least if we're not throwing a tiring Randy Wolf or a horrible Rick White against them).  The schedule will get tougher - it has to, and without Rowand (or Abreu), the team's outfield is quite thin, and the offense is not exactly as strong as it once was.  But it's still been working.  Somehow.

Here was the lineup from Tuesday's victory over the Cubs...

1. Shane Victorino, CF
2. Danny Sandoval, 2B
3. Jimmy Rollins, SS
4. Ryan Howard, 1B
5. Pat Burrell, LF
6. Mike Lieberthal, C
7. David Dellucci, RF
8. Abraham Nunez, 3B
9. Jamie Moyer, P

That's sad even for a NL team.  Now Utley should be back from the Rowand collision soon, which will help the lineup tremendously, and Dellucci would be higher in the order if they were facing a righthander (Lieberthal at #6 is scary), plus Chris Coste (Lieby's backup) has been on fire when playing, as have Victorino and Dellucci, so maybe they'll be ok.  But this becomes a lineup heavily dependent on Rollins, Utley, Burrell, and Howard, and 2 of those are prone to very prolonged slumps.

How about the rotation then?  Well with Jamie Moyer, who I think is an excellent pickup (and not just because he no-hit the Cubs through 4-2/3 yesterday), this suddenly becomes a strength of the team.  Moyer and Citizens' Bank Park are not exactly a good match (at all), but Moyer vs. NL lineups is a big bonus, and Moyer against hitters not used to his variations on 70 mph changeups can't hurt either.  Plus, the man he is replacing in the rotation - rookie Scott Mathieson - had a 7.78 ERA.  Finally Pat Gillick has made a defensible move this season.  Brett Myers has had a great season and is a legitimate ace of the staff.  Rookie phenom Cole Hamels has lived up to the hype in August, and Jon Lieber has been pitching lights-out lately.  With Wolf and Moyer, this is one of the better rotations in the NL.  Certainly better than the Reds at least.

The bullpen is still horrible, and without its best pitcher (Tom Gordon) for an indeterminate time.  The idea of Arthur Rhodes as closer is enough to make me want to stop rooting for them again, but like I said, somehow they're winning.  Would it be better if they had Abreu and Gordon and Cory Lidle and Rheal Cormier and David Bell to go along with the streaking youngsters like Hamels and Howard and Utley and Coste?  Of course it would.  But for whatever reason, it wasn't working with Abreu.  It never really has.  He's an incredible player and I don't blame him one bit for all the Phillies' losses over all those years.  And I still wish we had actually gotten something - anything - for him instead of making one of the worst trades in history.  But it's hard to argue that they haven't been a better team without him, or at least that their record is better.  14-7 in August.  Keep it going, Phillies.  Pleeeeeeeease.

Comments

[KKCW]

Don't think you should call the Bobby Abreu/Cory Lidle transaction a trade as we all know it was a purchase.

Knick Knack Chiliwhack!!!

[Ira]

I believe that August 1st was the day Jason Varitek went on the DL. Thanks for stepping up as the Red Sox scapegoat. We might have a race in the AL East as soon as you declare that you have turned your attention away from Boston. I'm begging you to take that declaration public. I really don't want to spend the rest of the baseball season with Jan watching the playoffs without a rooting interest.

[Bill]

Yes I am off the Red Sox bandwagon, except for having Big Papi, Youk, and Mirabelli on my BBM team. And already, my public declaration for the Phillies has resulted in Cole Hamels getting shelled today. Rather predictable really.