Can They Hang On?

In March the Phillies starting rotation was generally viewed to be one of the strongest in the division if not the league. By late June three fifths of that rotation was out of commission, two of them likely lost for the year and the third, moved to the bullpen to shore up that tattered unit, currently on the Disabled List. The remaining bullpen hasn't fared much better with the closer disabled most of the season and his replacement, the aforementioned former starter, also on the shelf.

Meanwhile, their MVP first baseman has struggled most of the year and is only recently showing signs of coming out of his funk while their left-fielder, once the hope of the organization but long-since a major disappointment, has lost his starting job altogether. Still, with slightly more than a week to go to the mid-point of the season, the Phils are in second place trailing the Mets by three games. After a three game set against the Reds that begins this evening, the Phils will host the Mets for a weekend series and have a chance to move up. How have they done it?

Parity? Not in the conventional sense because in truth the Mets have the best starting nine in the division. But if we understand the term to mean the leveling that results when every team has suffered a rash of injuries and pitching problems the answer is a resounding yes.

Can the Phillies hang on? It seems highly unlikely, especially if their rivals get healthy and/or pick up some pitching. As the season wears on the absence of starters and the unreliability of a patch-work bullpen will take their toll no matter how many runs the Phillies score. The Phillies have already started calling up minor leaguers before their time in large part because they simply need bodies to take a turn in the rotation given the number of forced absences. The projected starter for one of Friday's two games, J.D. Durbin, will be appearing with his fourth team this season alone!

Meanwhile, the offense really isn't that explosive. Apart from Chase Utley and Aaron Rowand, no one has hit consistently all season. Jimmy has gone through a number of rough patches generally brought on by being moved down in the order. If he stays at the top, where he belong, he will hit. Third base remains the Black Hole as commenter extraordinaire George S. labeled the position when David Bell [under]manned the post. Shane Victorino has been performed well as a starter though he will never take up the power slack normally associated with corner outfield positions and left field has become a position-by-committee with Burrell's demise though Michael Bourn may soon become the starter. The catching position continues to rotate between the competent Carlos Ruiz, who deserves to be the starter, and the veteran Rod Barajas, who deserves not to be.

There's plenty of baseball left as the pundits and player like to say, but the Phillies' pitching well looks pretty dry just when the weather gets hot.