For most of the 2012, a weak offense has been the main reason that the Philadelphia Phillies have spent the entire season in the basement of the National League East. This week however, the bats have not been the issue. The normally woeful offense has had a good week by their standards, producing 12 runs in three games against the Mets, including six on Wednesday and four on Tuesday. Normally, when the Phillies manage to generate more than three runs they have an excellent chance to win because of their great starting rotation. However, the above-average performances from the lineup have all gone to waste, thanks to three straight miserable efforts from the Philadelphia bullpen.
Jonathan Papelbon, Chad Qualls, Jose Contreras, Kyle Kendrick, and Mike Schwimmer combined to allow a whopping 16 runs in a mere 6.1 innings of work. These hideous performances have let three very winnable games slip away from the Phillies, at a time when victories are very hard to come by for this ballclub.
The team has serious with middle relief, and Charlie Manuel doesn’t have an arm he can trust in the bullpen other than Papelbon. And unlike the offense, the bullpen doesn’t have any reinforcements waiting to come off of the disabled list that could make a difference.
Unless the team is able to acquire another arm later in the season, this is the group that Manuel will have to sink or swim with. The team’s best hope for a stable situation in the bullpen will be to have Antonio Bastardo rediscover his lost velocity that made him extremely effective a year ago, and that Qualls (who has shown he is capable of better) or Contreras (who looks as though he may be cooked) straighten themselves out.
If Manuel can’t trust his bullpen, he’s going to put more pressure on his starters (who are already asked to carry the team on their shoulders) to go deep into games. If the Phillies are fortunate enough to make the playoffs this year, their starters’ arms will all be exhausted by October.
When the Phillies won the World Series in 2008, and returned to the World Series in 2009, one the biggest keys to both teams was the amount of quality arms in the bullpen. Charlie had his closer in Brad Lidge, an elite set-up man in Ryan Madson to work the eighth inning, and a number of reliable veterans (Chad Durbin, Chan Ho Park, Scott Eyre, J.C. Romero) that he could call upon at any time to fill a variety of roles.
Those days are long gone, and unless someone from the bullpen is able to step up and assert himself, we may see too many games where Manuel allows his starters to throw more than 120 pitches.
This team has NO SHOT to win a World Series this year. They will be lucky even to make the playoffs. I’m sick & tired of hearing, Oh wait until Howard & Utley get back. Wait until Amaro makes another trade. Blah, blah, blah. They are an old, horribly constructed team, with inconsistent hitting at best & a horrendous BP. They have NO shot. Only chance now is to trade Blanton & Lee to get some legit young players that can step in now, & hope that DeFratus & Aumont get healthy & called up soon, because this BP with the exception of Papelbon is the worst I’ve seen in 10 years. Hamels has to be resigned too. BTW, If our starters don’t go 8 innings every game, we are toast & our offense no longer has the swagger, nor talent to make big comebacks. By the time that Howard & Utley get back back, we will be 10 games out at this point. They aren’t going to be able to give much of anything this year anyways. Especially Utley. IMHO, he’s baked. Howard won’t be close to 100% until next season, if then. We have no payroll flexibility neither. So WTF are we going to do? Amaro needs to be FIRED. I’m tired of him living off of the job & team that was built by Wade & Gillick. His Golden Boy GM title IS NOT warranted, nor deserved. Since he took over, we have worsened every single year, with an increasing payroll & age of the team. Don’t give me 102 wins either, when we got bounced in the first round last year. IT MEANS STUGOTS. We have no legit minor league position prospects, anywhere to be found. Just starters, who don’t fit in right now, & relief pitchers who aren’t healthy. Things ain’t looking pretty & I don’t have any confidence in them turning things around, like in years past. NOT HAPPENING!
BTW, before I’m ripped & called names. It’s my honest opinion, based on what I see, & all of the facts of what has already been done.
We all know how critical Dcar and I have been about this 2012 Phillies Team and many of the points Danny brings up in th article we have talked about since Spring Camp and even in the Off-Season..
I stated the key for the first half of this Season for the Phils to remain close and competitice (knowing that Howard and Utley were most likely going to be out) was the play of 4 Players who all played very well last year and in particular 3 PItchers in Worley,Stutes & Bastardo and 1B/LF Mayberry Jr..
I was not sold on counting on these 4 years players for I feel they were more
1-Year WOnders than legitimate MLB Players… but I thought if 2 of these 4 could perfrom well, they would have a chance and that if all 4 of them performed well, that the Phils would be in great shape.. but I also stated this if 3 or 4 them struggled (which they have been) then the Phils would be in trouble sinec they had little depth behind these players… Worley has pitched well for the most part as a 4th/5th Starter, but we are now seeing the results of the PHils overworking both Stutes & Bastardo last Season where they were great up until SPetember and since then have been bad and have lost velocity on their Pitches.. Now with no consistent and reliable middle/set-up relief, Papelbon becomes a moot point and a wasted resource since they have not had many leads in which to use him meaning he gets stale, over-anxious on the the few chances he does get to Dave a game or Manuel brings in him just to get him some work in a non-save situation which is never a good situation for Closers…
I predicted about 85 wins and 3rd Place in the NL East against the more talented,focused and better managed teams if the NAtionals/Braves and I stand by it …Now I am questioning whether the Phils can even win 85 games with this lousy start.. They have played 10 Series so far… 2 Wins, 2 Splits and 7 lost Series in 6 weeks.. They are 5-10 versus NL East Opponents who they have owned a few years… Turn the page fellas, this 2012 Is over and the scary part is that the Phils haven’t even played the Top Teams yet like the Cardinals,DOdgers,Reds,Brewers… The Window has closed and it was a great 5-6 years run with 1 Championship to show for it (which is disappointing) but it could be worse and the Phils are probably heding for a 4-5 Year funk of medicority..
Paul, & you can thank Amaro for that. He’s the one that did a piss poor job, of putting together this slop.
DCar, I agree with your assessment. Don’t be ashamed to be honest, the truth hurts sometimes. Amaro Jr had a terrible off-season, he did not address what needed to be addressed: The Bullpen. Now its biting his arse hard. The Phillies can no longer be afraid to give some of the youngsters a shot in the bigs. Why did Joe Savory get sent back down to AAA ? Heck, his 4.50 era isn’t that bad when put up against Shcwimmers 8.53, Kendricks 9.53, Contreras 8.59 and Brian Sanches 11.25. Its time to give Diekman a chance, the Phillies really liked this guy in spring training, so bring him up. I’m guessing there will be a trade or two brewing over the next month or two. Big trades, names like Cliff Lee, Joe Blanton, Chase Utley (does anyone even want him ?) or dare we even say Roy Halladay ?? These are decisions that RAJ will have to make, but one thing is for sure, this team is NOT ready for post season play as they are built right now.
First, even if it is a bad year, and the season has to out before any sane person can judge the results, as dcar notes, they won 102 games last last year but the net result was failure, but that does not mean it will be a 4- 5 year funk as that idiot paulman “predicts”, notice how paulman comes on here puffing his concave man boob chest every time the phils lose, with more gloom and doom predictions, but when they pull it out there is never a mention by him of his earlier stupidity, just chill out, contreras has a good fastball, his location was off, the nationals are playing their best, the phillies their worst and they are still in striking distance, go phils
It seems like I have to come on here almost every day to stick my chest out since the Phils lose almost every game Jake…The Braves have been impressive too even with a couple of their Starters being injured (Hudson,& Jurggens) and the NAtionals have been without 3B Zimmerman and 1B/LF M Morse and Closer D Storen and just lost Werth for the next 3-4 Months .. I don’t see anyone making excuses for these Teams… Face it Jake, the Phils are not a very good Team period, They are what I said they would be..
CONCAVE MAN BOOB!!! That’s the funniest $#!T I’ve ever heard. BWAHAHAHA!!! In all seriousness, Jake it hurts me to say all of that, because you know how much I love the Phils, but Paul might be right about 4-5 funk. This team is ancient & was built to win now, & they are severely flawed, with no viable replacements in sight. All of our good, high level prospects are pitchers. Brown sucks, Galvis is offensively over-matched, but a great defensively. We have no replacements for Ruiz, Polanco, Utley, Howard, or Victorino. So unless, the wanna-be Golden boy can get a Kings ransom for Blanton, Brown, & Lee, or find another Ed Wade double agent, it’s gonna be a long time, to be a WS contender again. We better hope our last 4 drafts, get good quick. It might be a tad bit easier for us to make a quicker turnover, with FA & the way we print $$$ down there. Let’s hope.
Look at the Rosters of their competitoes in the NL East
The Nationals,Braves and even theMarlins & Mets are filled mostly players in
their mid 20’s who haven’t reached their Primes yet..4-5 Years may a little overly optimistic.. I want the Phils and all my hometown teams to compete for Championships every seasons, but since I follow Football and Baseball pretty closely, I have to use realistic judgements and expectations based on what other teams are doing and not follow the hometown media and sheepful fans who drink the Philly Koolaid every night.. 4-5 Teams in the NL all imprved last Off-season and the Phils have taken 2-3 steps back the last 2 off-season, hence they are no longer the class of the NL (the Cardinals are) and look how the lose the best Player in baseball in Albert Pujold, lose top PItcher C Carpenter and don’t miss a beat for they have develop quality position players in the minor league system.. who has the Phillies developed as a position player in the last 5 years that is MLB Caliber..
It’s still May and you clowns are talking trash like the season is over. We’re five games back with 130 to go. CALM THE F DOWN. Jesus f’n Christ. Sometimes I feel like I come on here just to argue with a bunch of retards.
Even without Utley and Howard, the Phillies are hitting the ball nicely and putting runs on the board. Our achillees heel right now is the bullpen. We’re dead last in runs given up, losses by bullpen, and opposing batters avg I believe.
I don’t know how to correct it, but maybe one way will be to get rid of Charlie. He’s too comfortable and he’s making more bonehead mistakes in this first 30 games of the season then I have seen him make all of last year. It’s almost like he’s sabotaging the season.
Regardless, I’m a Phillies fan and will continue to cheer them on regardless. However, I WILL NOT dare “call myself” a “Phillies fan” and degrade them in May.
That’s not being a fan, that’s being a wannabe sports journalist who hopes for the demise of their so called favorite baseball team so they can come on here and ACT like they know what they’re talking about.
You know what else is funny? The last three world series champions ALL had the BEAT the Phillies to BECOME or get the chance to become world series champions
Birdo – great stuff. Buster Olney (or was it Tim Kurchin?) was on Mike and Mike this morning and he was asked about the chances of Philly and Boston rebounding to make a playoff run. He was very skeptical about Boston, but he was very confident that the Phillies could make a playoff run because they can get healthy, and there are not many great teams in the NL who will be making strong wild-card pushes.
The baseball season is so long and it is so early.
Fact is, teams CAN suck this much this early in the season and still make the playoffs.
BoB, the season ain’t over, but it’s getting close, if they don’t stop playing like it is. Blaming Charlie is foolish & is making him a scape goat. He can only play with the slop he has. It’s the players & the stooge who put them on the field. Do you honestly think I want to be right. I love them & I worked for them from 1987- 2003 & still have many friends & acquaintances down there, so when they won in 2008, I was happier than a kid in a candy store. All I do is speak the truth & what I see. That doesn’t mean I’m rooting for them to fail. That’s the last thing I want. Why do you think it angers me so much? It’s great that you are able to cheer regardless, but if there isn’t anything to cheer about, that’s makes you a cheerleader. I choose to be open minded, & vent on them when it is due & warranted. BTW, the wanna-be, golden boy, Amaro needs to be fired, not Charlie. He put together this slop filled AARP team & didn’t prepare for the future, or infuse any young talent. That’s all facts, from a Philly fan, who loves his team & demands greatness, not the rantings of a wanna-be fan, or wanna-be sports journalist. I hope I’m proven wrong, because that means we win. But, I highly doubt it.
Woopty do, you only have 4 Playoff Teams from each League even make the Playoffs so there is a pretty good chance that the Teams will play one another before getting to the Championship Series..
Another thing that bothers me is that the Phils 2008 Championship was over a 1st time Team in Tampa Bay who were making their 1st Playoff Series appearance as a Franchise. My ranking of the 2008 WS Victory is dampened since they beat a Team who was just happy to be there.. Phils needed and had great opportunities to beat some legitimate Championship Caliber Teams and Franchises like the Yankess/Red Sox/Cardinals/Giants the last few seasons and have failed to do so when I look back at this 2007-2011 Stretch of some great Baseball played by the Phils, it’s really bitter-sweet and more of a story of lots of missed opportunities to me rather than winning the 2008 WS … but of course, that’s just me …
Dcar “BoB, the season ain’t over, but it’s getting close” – nope. It’s less than 1/5 over. The Phillies could go another 32 games at this pace, and still recover to win the division. That’s a FACT
Again, your negativity defies FACTS
Oh, and Paul, you’re a dick for questioning the 08 series win. The Phillies had 0 ability to pick their opponent, and it’s no lesser of a championship. You’re a tool.
It’s over Dcar..
With this Hitting line-up and Bullpen, the likiehood they are going to go on a tear of winning 12 of 15 games is very unlikley..They will continue to tread water and play about .500 Ball at best.. They haven’t even faced the Top Team yet and teams like the Nats/Braves are loaded with hungry players who are out to make names for themselves and have much better Managers and Bullpens to win the close games late..I stated that this weak line-up and issue with scoring runs allows the lessor talented Teams to hang around and still games at the end and that’s exactly whats happening with many of their losses versus teams like the Pirates,Mets,Cubs etc,etc.. Now when they face the Top Teams like the Cardinals,Dodgers,Reds,Brewers, not only will they continue to struggle to score runs, they will have a hard time stopping those teams potent offense.. The Phils are basically a middle of the road Team in the NL from an overall Talent stand point.. Nats,Braves,Marlins,Reds,Cardinals,Brewers,Dodgers are all more Talented than the Phils and most of the these Teams have better Bullpens and better Game Managers.. It is what it is and about what I thought it would be..
Now Pman wants to piss all over the 2008 championship. Pathetic. Guess they should return the pennant because the Yankees lost in the ALCS that year….you really have issues Paul. I guess Michael Phelps isn’t really a very good swimmer, he is just swimming at a time in history that has produced poor competition….you beat the opponent that you face. You know, come to think of it Paul, your right…George Washington really wasn’t a very good General, he had home field advantage and the British were really having an “off” century and the Red Coats were just happy to be here, enjoying the scenery. Pathetic Paul, really.
Yes, getting swept by the Met’s sucks….I am sure that we will soon hear from EagleSuck gloating all over the place…and we deserve it, but the fact is it is still early May. There is still time for this team to turn things around.
The team set a franchise record of 102 wins last year. They have the strongest starting pitching in the league, but to listen to the “rays of sunshine” on here, we are in competition with the Cubs for years of futility and never winning a championship.
Everybody loves a Winner… 2008 is ancient history to me,
Remember the NL East was one of the weakest Divisions in Baseball over the last 5 Seasons, but now it’s become one of the Strongest with 3 other quailty teams who are not imtimidated by the Phils. It will be very difficult to o leap-frron all 4 Teams to get to 1st place in their Division…Their best chance is get on a roll maybe when and if Howard & Utley returns in the 2nd Half of the Season and compete for one of the Wildcard Spots..but they are going to have to win 85-90 Games to achieve this and I don’t see it happening..
Baseball is a long season and a lot can happen, but I follow trends on Players and Teams and right now, most of the trends as far as “Production” for most of the Phils are all trending down and have been for 2 years now and this is discounting any injuries too…Unless 2-3 Players have Career Seasons and put up monster #’s, there is little chance the Phils overcome for their lack of Talent and Production at 3B,LF,2B and their Bullpen
2008 is ancient history…come on Paul, don’t you remember that parade you had walking down Inbreed Street in Boone? Oh that was right, there aren’t amy Phillies fans in Boone…they are all Braves fans.
Making a prediction that 1 out of 30 teams will not win a championship is really noy going out onj a limb, but Stevo has you pegged. You just continue to predict doom and gloom and eventually the odds are in you favor that one of the predictions will turn out correct..and then you get the greatest joy at stating that you were the first to make that prediction…pathetic Paul, you really should see someone for this personality flaw.
Schill, conveniently, again you omitted something & twisted what I wrote. The correct, entire comment was, “BoB, the season ain’t over, but it’s getting close, if they don’t stop playing like it is. IF THEY DON’T STOP PLAYING LIKE IT IS! GET IT @$$#OLE! Write the whole thing, not partial comment, pathetically try to back your weak, clueless arguments.
Paul, we beat a good Tampa team, in 2008. Come on, don’t $#!T on the curse breaker. If we had any sort of hitting & BP, we would of beaten NYY too. WOW, THINGS HAVEN’T CHANGED SINCE!? HITTING & BP!
To Greenfam,
George Washington was tipped by Johnny Walker Black Malt maker, named Johnnie Walker..
I guess you still believe that Astronaut Neil Armstrong landed on the Moon too…
green and stevo – the fact that Paulman is taking a shot at the 08 championship is excellent proof that he does this to rile us up. Because he’s an f’d up sinister tool.
Got it Dcar – I messed up there – I assumed you weren’t actually trying to say something so stupid. That’s like a Yogi Berra quote. “If things don’t improve, they’ll continue to be bad”. If Republicans don’t change their minds, they’ll keep hating Gay people. If the US economy doesn’t rebound sharply, the stock market won’t greatly improve.
DUH
Why state stupid things?
No Paul, Gen Washington used “Enhanced Interrogation Techniques” on Mr. Walker and the current administration has decided that we should vacate our victory and return to British Rule.
Hamels blew the Yankee’s Series coughing up a nice lead after being up in Pivtoal Game 3, Howard & Utley blew the SF Giants Series with leaving guys on base all Series long and Cliff Lee blew the Cardinals Series last year after coughing up a lead at home in Game #2 which would have out the Phils in a 2-0 commanding lead versus the CArdinals, instead Lee choked and Cardinals got the mormentum and the Phils haven’t been the same since..
So here are examples of all your Poster Boys who failed in the clutch and are your team leaders while being some of the highest paid Players in MLB.
So yes, I will continue to call them as a I see them.. Overrated & Overpaid Players and Underperforming Teams is what pisses me off and yes, the Phils have become just this (along with a bumbling Manager)
Now that Ed Wade was fired by the Astros, who is GM R Amaro going to trade with..
Paulman hates the Phillies. He’s just as bad as any troll from another city who comes round here to be a dick.
Paul, hope your lunch sucks today and your power goes out (boy would that make the rest of our lives better for a bit).
Schill, look in the mirror & pathetic, stupidity will be staring right back at you. You joke.
I don’t hate the Phillies Schiller, I hate how the 2012 Roster is made up and expecially on how they are playing.. What a waste of a $170 Million Payroll for a 25 Man Roster that probably has 10 Players on it who should be in the Minor Leauge’s or Retired from Baseball.. Watch the Ownership really crack down and shed about $40-$50 Million of this Roster.. They will pay Top $$ if they win, but they sure as hell will not continue to have one of the highest payrolls in all of MLB for .500 Team.. The sad thing is that the Phils will get a free-pass from everyone this year claiming that the fall-off was due to the injuries to Howard & Utley (as if we didn’t know about these issues before the off-season even started).
I also don’t like when the Media & Fans continue to overhype their Teams and blindly overrate their own Players & Teams… But to each their own, I guess, someone has to tell it the way it is and it may as well be me..
Paulman- something has to give or more likely go — the current players or Charlie Manuel — his style relies heavily on homerun hitters and the roster has noone capable of hitting home runs
DCar, don’t protect Charlie. I have protected him enough over the years but I’m done with it. He continues to throw Brian Sanches out there like a moron. He let Kendrick self-implode last night.
The extra inning night against the Braves I believe it was, maybe it was the first mets game…either way….we had bases loaded and Laynce Nix on deck…..he takes Nix out and lets some 31 year old rookie bat in his place. The rookie promptly struck out of course.
Charlie is a moron. He’s sabatoging the season and I’m tired of being out-managed by other teams.
the real problem is the bullpen, how many games is kyle deer in the headlights kebdrick gonna blow until charlie no longer sends him out there, shake up the pen, try justin friatus or aumonte, something, how many leads has the bullpen blown, the hitting will get better, hasn’t been bad of late but the bullpen?
Note on Dom Brown: he has 0 HRs in 93 at bats with a .247 BA in AAA. What has happened to this kid ?
***Breaking MLB News***
MLB Comissioner has declared all future Phillie Games to end after the 6th inning, no reason was given, but MLB & Fox Sports exectutives were overheard complaining to the Commisioner that they need to have the Phillies in the Playoff Hunt to help their Ratings and Advertising Revenue ..
Birdo and Schiller- Is it possible to be a fan and criticize the team? Is it possible to have opinions that may be negative and still like a team. Not in here you can’t. It is only May, but there are a lot of startling and worrisome trends about this team. Could they get a lot better? Sure, but they could also play this poorly all year because of some distinct deficiencies. It is a huge assumption that Howard will make a big contribution to this team when it takes a lot of guys more than an entire year to recover from that type of injury. And Utley… I would love for him to come back and make a difference, but I don’t think that those knees have gotten any younger.
It is also possible that the the Nats will play better because they have a very strong staff and they have been playing without the power in their lineup (Zimmerman and Morse). It is also possible that the Braves and Marlins will play a lot better than they have. So while I appreciate your optimism, you should probably mix in a little realism.
Not that being said, I am not going to stop watching games on tv and going to games. I am not burning my jerseys or taking down my kid’s Utley poster. So am I not a fan now, because I said my peace?
@Bugsy….are you a fan of the team when you decide to go back 4 years and state that the only championship this city has won in decades was cheap? Is that a fan Bugsy?
Perhaps a little ‘reason injection’ here?
The bullpen is in trouble, for sure…Another dependable arm is neede, two actually.
Why Stukes and Bastardo have gone south is a mystery, as they have young arms and just need to throw strikes but not gopherballs.
The season is still young and I think to denegrate what the Phils have accomplished over the past few years does reflect the sickening drivel we get on ‘sports talk’, which is designed for morons, just like casino gambling.
However, both Manuel & Amaro have their work cut out for them, along with Dubee.
Biggest problem is money.
I would agree, barring a miracle, no deep playoff run in 2012.
BoB, I’m not defending Charlie, I’m just stating the truth. What other options did he have? The entire BP is horrific, & he only has certain pitchers available on a gamely bases. They don’t have the players, plain & simple. Don’t you get it? Who did you recommend he’d bring in? They all are horrible. Even Papelbon has looked mortal his last few times out there. I agree, Charlie ain’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he is a solid manager & this teams current problems lie at the feet of the players & the dunce that put them on the roster. Amaro needs to be FIRED! $170M+ payroll & the team has consistently, downward spiraled, every year since he took the GM reigns. At best, he has made mind-boggling moves. If he didn’t have the double agent working for the Astros, where would we have been the last 2 trade deadlines. The whole Lee, Halladay, prospects, debacle, was flat out idiocy. Lee should have never been traded in the first place. He was going to sign for less then, & we could have still got Halladay. With that the Oswalt wasted move wouldn’t of even have been needed. Also with all of the asinine contracts, stiffs & AARP members that he has added to this team, that incompetence alone should have gotten him fired. A GOLDEN BOY GM, HE IS NOT!!!
But he is beloved in this organization, because of his family name & for his butt kissing. Also Dave Montgomery is more loyal to a fault, than Ed Snyder is, so he ain’t going anywhere, unless this team totally goes in the dumper, for a longer stretch of a time. They are teetering on the edge of the toilet seat right now. Who knows, this all might be a blessing in disguise. If they are still $#!t at the deadline, they can rid themselves of some the older guys, to rebuild this team into a younger, more viable contender again. Targets could be, Blanton, Lee, Victorino, Nix, Qualls, Kendrick Brown & even Rollins (who should have never been resigned in the first place). Howard & Utley are virtually unmovable.
bugsy – you asked me a question so I’m going to answer – in a word – ABSOLUTELY. I agree with everything you posted above.
But reread your post, and then reread the posts of those who sparked the reactions from myself and Birdo (who of course I am not speaking for). Now if you’ve done that – tell – do you not notice a stark difference in the way you voiced criticism and the way the others did? I certainly do.
Yours sounded reasonable, balanced, level headed, and humble. Theirs is under the pretense that hey know the future, that there can only be extremes, that the problems 100% must be the people and not what they’re currently and recently doing.
To me that’s a HUGE difference. The Phillies are playing like shit right now. Period. That’s a fact. See, that’s critical from me. But to say that that determines what will happen in September is factually incorrect. And to say it with passionate hate (when done in numbers which is often the case here in Philly) is harmful
Do you see what I am saying? To me there’s a distinction between being critical and speaking foolishly (paul and to some extent others) and with a total lack of nuance, balance, wisdom, and respect – (all the above).
How many great Starting Pitching Perfomances is this Team going to blow this Season.. SAturday’s game will be replayed over and over this Season..The Starter gived them a solid 7 Innings and then Manuel has to use Qualls/Papelbon in the 8th/9th even when they are losing the game to keep it close.. This will eventually tire the only 2 good Bullpen Pitchers they have and will end up costing them games when they are even ahead late in the game. Lack of Scoring and no confidence in most of your Bullpen spells doom… What’s going to happen when the Phils face much better teams who have Pitching and Hitting like the Cardinals,Reds,Dodgers,Nats,Braves,Brewers…
85-90 Wins is probably a stretch at this point… I am wrong or being negative here.. The Phis would have to go 75-53 over their final 128 games to reach 90 Victories and fellas, with this Hitting and Bullpen, no way is this going to happen… now going 70-58 the remaining way gets them to 85 Wins, but 85 Wins is probably not enough to make the Post-Season even with an extra Wild-Card to play that 1-Game 1st Round Match-Up in which anything can happen
Everyone keeps saying, there’s plenty of Season left and that’s true there there is a lot of Baseball games to be played, but the Phils have had probably the easiest Opening 40 game Schedule in the NL and they have played very poorly versus some of the bottom teams in the NL, what happens when the start playing the Top Teams in the NL that have Teams with solid PItching and Hitting.. How many 3 games series have the Phils won in 2012… The Answer is 3 … The have lost 5 Series and have 2 4-Game Series versus the Cubs and Padres earlier in the season
They have to start winning series, 2 out of 3 for a few a could of weeks to get back to .500 Play or they wil find themselves 10 games back behind the Nats/Brave swho are both playing great ball even though they have had their share of injuries too… Both Nats/Braves have much more depth and more talent on their Rosters as I stated back in the Febuary, plus better Managers
Phils better start playing their A-Game or this could be a season of major disappointment leading to many changes on the Roster and with it’s Manager..