Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Ebb & FLow

Scorecard:

Braves improved themselves. Mets improved themselves. Phillies did not improve themselves. Indeed, the Phillies slipped further behind by virtue of the latest injuries to befall them when both Shane Victorino and Michael Bourn went on the DL. What's next? A plague of frogs and boils? Or worse, another start from Adam Eaton?

At this point a start by Eaton invariably leads to a loss. After a miserable beginning with the Phillies, the overpriced Eaton pitched a few decent games, but he is back to his old losing ways and nothing in his last several outings suggests we will see anything other than the nearly 6 run ERA he currently sports, among the worst if not the worst among starters in the NL. Don't expect Kyle Lohse to pick up the slack; he, too, is a career middling pitcher at best.

With Ryan Madson now on the DL the Phillies pitching remains a shambles. The potent offense cannot be expected to overcome these shortcomings with several of its members on the DL and with Ryan Howard suddenly slumping again. It's amazing how quickly this team's fortunes ebb and flow.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't know if it can be said if the Mets improved themselves, at least not any more than the Phillies did with Tad Iguchi. If the Braves take off from here (and it's hard to imagine they won't), at least the consolation will be getting to watch the Metsies disintegrate. They've looked weak for two months.

Tom Goodman said...

I think the Mets improved themselves with the acquisition of Castillo relative to their own needs at that position. He brings a lot of experience, good fielding (not great at this stage of his career), and a good bat. Their entire outlook may hinge on Pedro's return, which seems anything but a certainty. Still, they have hung on despite their own fair share of injuries. Now, with Castillo, they will have three switch-hitters at the top of their order. That is another significant improvement.