The Phillies have had more than their fair share of low moments this season, but losing three of four to the Houston Astros this weekend may be the worst of them all.
After going on a seven-game winning streak and pulling within three games of the second Wild Card, the Phils fell flat on their faces when they went to visit the worst team in baseball, claiming just one victory and letting at least two winnable games slip away.
In a way, it’s very fitting. All year the Phillies have always seemed to stumble whenever they begin to gain some real momentum. They were feeling good about themselves, and had an opportunity to pick up even more ground in the Wild Card standings with the Dodgers and Cardinals playing each other in four-game series over the weekend, and couldn’t defeat what is essentially a Triple-A ballclub.
In the first game of the series, Charlie Manuel and Phillippe Aumont were at fault. Aumont had been leaned on heavily in the eighth inning during the seven-game winning streak, and Manuel tried to lean on him one more time to protect a one-run lead. Although he recorded the first two outs, he was pitching on fumes and didn’t have enough to make it through the inning. Charlie should have known when the right time to take his young pitcher out was, and Aumont needs to understand what his limits are and tell the team when he isn’t available to pitch.
The offense let the team down in Saturday’s loss. Although Kyle Kendrick and the bullpen didn’t have a very good game, how could the bats fail to generate a single run against a team this bad? The Phillies weren’t exactly up against an ace in that game; Houston starter Dallas Keuchel was just 1-7 with a 5.35 ERA entering that game.
The bullpen suffered another implosion on Sunday with Antonio Bastardo and Aumont combining to allow four runs while recording just one out. Starer Roy Halladay also wasn’t great himself, giving up three runs over six innings, including two home runs.
It’s simply inexcusable, the Phillies needed to take at least three games from this series. These were victories that this team absolutely had to have. Now their margin for error is just about gone, and they need to play almost perfect from here on in. It would be foolish to rule them out after seeing them defy great odds just to force their way back into the picture, but after a disaster like this its hard to be optimistic about them.
It’s a shame,but the Phils really don’t deserve to make the Playoffs this Season in my opinion.. Let them eat crow for an off-season and maybe it will help them in the future.. They need to fix the Bullpen big-time or the same will happen next Season.. 80% of games are Won-Lost from the 7th Inning on and the Phils have been poor in this area all Season long…
Where’s havenoclue, with his delusional, idiotic, pom-pom waving, now?!? They are an embarrassment, with the team that they are fielding. How the F^#@, do you lose 3 of 4 to a beer league team, with your 3 aces on the mound, in a SO-CALLED playoff run?!? Howard is an albatross & a complete waste of $$$$. He no longer instills fear, in ANYONE, & he hasn’t in 2-3 years now. Just think, his contract goes to $25M, in 2013. WOO HOO! Worst contract of Amaro’s $#!TTY tenure, with Papelbon & Rollins, 2nd & 3rd respectively. They are disgusting, & embarrassing, & DO NOT deserve to make the playoffs. Plain & simple. For being called a bandwagon, front running fan, by the moronic & clueless, I managed to watch all 4 weekend games. Something that won’t happen again, this year. That’s a promise!
BTW, Halladay should be shut down, because he is no doubt pitching with fatigue, & some sort of injury. His MPH, is down, noticeably, & significantly, on all his pitches. Also, Bastardo should never see the field again. How many games alone, has he cost us? 5? 7? The BP at least cost us 15-20 games, & I’m being generously low!
Terrible weekend, they don’t deserve thel playoffs. You are totally wrong about Howard, they have/had been different with him in the lineup and he has very good RBI numbers this year. You are just a bandwagon frustrated person. You are not happy or content with your athletic failures and int shows.
As for Rollins you are a complete idiot there. 20 hr, 100 runs and about 30 steals. You continue to be a frustrated idiot .
The bullpen has imploded, if they had been average, none of this talk would be happening now
He didn’t instill fear while getting 116 RBI last year? Hmmm ask opposing managers that you idiot. 116 RBI jus last year and you say he hasn’t struck fear for 2-3 years. You are a lunatic and the stats bear me out. What a frustrated former athlete with unfulfilled dreams you are. Wow
As I’ve stated many, many times, you know nothing about me, so keep your idiotic, baseless, senseless comments to yourself. You are the only nitwit, idiotic, nimrod on here. Howard instills ZERO fear, like he used to. NOBODY, would ever throw him, ANY pitches to hit, 2-3 years ago. Ever since 2010, pitchers have NO problem challenging him any longer, especially lefties, in which he can NO LONGER HIT. You are correct about the frustration I have towards these bunch of overpaid abortions. AGAIN, I have no frustration with my life, or anything else for that matter. If you ain’t frustrated, you’re an idiot, & are just happy to be second fiddle, & just are happy to be in the hunt for a playoff spot. I’m not. If your butt buddy Amaro, had done at LEAST an serviceable job, with his off-season, this team would have been in the play-offs. Bad start, or not. The BP blows. We have a minor line-up, & Rollins stats are too little too late. AGAIN, where was he, when we desperately needed him, in the first half of the season? Don’t give me his BS stats. How many balls has he dogged? How many runners has he & Howard left on base? HOW MANY pop-ups does he have? How many opportunities has the both of them blown, to come in clutch, during moments to turn a game around? You Sir, & I use that title loosely, are the only Moronic, pom-pom waving, fool, who spews his apologist idiocy, constantly. Something you DO NOT understand, I love the Phillies, & used to love Rollins, Utley & Howard. But their time is over. They are old, broken down, way overpaid, & need to be replaced very soon, if we have ANY shot of rebuilding a Championship caliber future. But you don’t seem to care, because you are caught up in your delusional world, of thinking this bogus, fraudulent, run means any thing, & still thinks the vets we have can still bring us a Championship. You’re absolutely insane. You do not know sports! You do not know how proper business is done! And you don’t have a clue to WTF, you are spewing when it comes to me. ZERO CLUE! See the problem with you is, you think because you are a pom-pom waving, excuse making, bow at the alter of the front office boob, makes you a better fan than anyone else that has an honest, factual, critical opinion. I am no hater! I am no front runner! And most of all, I am no bandwagon jumper! I’ve been a fan of theirs since I was 5 years old, & was a game day employee of theirs, for 16 years. I would want nothing more than for us to make the playoffs, & make a legit run for another WS. I was like a kid in a candy store, when we won in 2008. But if you think, IF we DID miraculously make the playoffs, with this abortion of a line-up & BP, & had a LEGIT shot at it, you’re F^#@ING retarded! Don’t give me that on any given night BS, either. Even if we did, we would be embarrassed again. We need to be rebuilt, & Amaro & the coaching staff need to be replaced, ASAP!!!! Plain & Simple.