I will be the first to admit, that while I love the Phillies, I am a football guy first. But how can we ignore these Phillies right now? I know, I know, we’ve been here before. How many times do you need to see the sun come up before you just trust that tomorrow it will rise? Although with the Phillies, I probably should have used the example of the sun setting.
So while I won’t delude myself into thinking that this is a World Series team, they are playing pretty well at the moment. Oh, and the Mets aren’t. I’m writing this after the Phillies sweep Wednesday afternoon and the Mets have yet to play the Dodgers, so the home team is 2.5 games out. The annoying Braves are in the mix as well, and probably figure to be in there in the end.
What’s most surprising about this recent surge is that it’s taking place with Brett Myers and Tom Gordon on the DL. I’m not a huge Gordon fan, but I’d feel a lot better if he were healthy. The bullpen is a weakness as it is, and they can’t afford injuries. The Phils are currently relying on Antonio Alfonseca as their closer. I said ANTONIO ALFONSECA. This guy’s body is much closer to Andy Reid’s than it is to that of a professional athlete. He had an ERA of 5.63 last year in Texas. But, you know what? I don’t care. Right now, he is pitching pretty well and doing a nice job in a time of need. The bullpen is the team’s Achilles heel, but lately that hasn’t been the case.
Let’s take a look at this lineup. I know a Yankee fan up here that swears that Robinson Cano is the best second baseman in baseball. That guy probably wouldn’t live too long in a Philadelphia bar. It’s not even a debate: Chase Utley is the undisputed king at second base right now. He’s tied for the NL lead with 53 RBI’s. He’s 4th in the league in runs scored with 46. Aside from the numbers, the guy is a gamer and it makes you wonder what took so long to call him up. The national media sometimes talk about him as a “young kid.” Yeah, he’s not. He’s 28. I don’t care, they have him locked up long term and don’t know how he wouldn’t be an All Star for years to come.
Ryan Howard’s stint on the DL clearly helped him right his ship. He still K’s a bit too much, but I think that comes with most power hitters. Howard is a beast, and I don’t really have to delve too deeply into why. If you don’t know, you don’t watch baseball, or the Phillies, and you aren’t reading this.
I’d like to see Jimmy Rollins get his average up, but for the most part, he’s having a great season. The NY media will not shut up about his comments before the season about the Phillies being “the team to beat.” So what? Shut up. He said that to encourage his own team to believe that they can win. It wasn’t a slight to the NY Mets, but they sure took it that way. Here’s a side note on Met fans: They are sensitive. Very sensitive. They have this “we’re a NY baseball team not named the Yankees” complex. And they get really annoying when they are in first place.
Moving along, Aaron Rowand is certainly doing a lot more this year than introducing his face to outfield walls. He’s hitting .317 with a handful of HR’s including a big grand slam today in the sweep of the White Sox. He’s been extremely important to this ball club during their resurgence.
Getting back to my theory on the annoying Met fans, I hear this when I see Mr. Hamels (he’s earned the formality) pitch against NY: “This guy is killing us! Who is he?” I’m not going to get into his stellar numbers **cough** Nine wins, leads MLB in K’s **cough** but I’ve seen this guy make people look absolutely stupid at the plate. His changeup is simply filthy and I think that’s one of the most important pitches a major leaguer needs. As it is, hitters don’t have much time to make a decision whether or not and when they swing. He disguises his offspeed killer and throws it for strikes. That’s not much fun for batters staring at him with a two-strike count.
In case you haven’t noticed, Jon Leiber has an ERA of 3.74 (count me among those that don’t think that will last) and Adam Eaton has actually been pretty nice lately. Moyer has given the Phils some solid games, but melted down in others. The starting pitching was supposed to be a strength on this team after the addition of Freddie Garcia. But now, he’s on the DL and he flat out stunk when he was healthy. He might be done for the year, which would make him done with the Phils. My experience with having Garcia on the Phillies was not a pleasant one.
Taking a quick glance at the catcher position, I think it’s garbage. Rod Barajas is a joke and I don’t really know what he’s done to warrant so much playing time. Carlos Ruiz is the other jokester behind the plate, and the next guy he throws out stealing will be his first. Does he ever even come close? I am officially lobbying for Chris Coste. I don’t know why they refuse to give him a shot, when it’s clear that no Pudge Rodriguez’s are in front of him. He hit .328 last year in almost 200 at bats, give him a shot.
Now let’s look at the coaching of this team. Charlie Manuel is horrific. Are we done on this subject? Good.
We’ll see if the Phils can keep it up. It says here that they won’t, and that they are just too mediocre overall to really take the division and make the playoffs. I figure I’ll just enjoy it while it lasts.
