All Pitch No Hit

It's official....for now: the Phillies can pitch but they cannot hit.

For the third time this season the Phils wasted a fine effort by a starting pitcher when they lost to the Astros last night, 2-1. Kyle Kendricks, about whom everyone (yours very truly included) was worried, provided a genuine quality start last night, going seven innings while allowing two earned runs on four hits, but his mates continued their flailing ways at the plate, including five strikeouts in their last six at-bats.

The winning margin came on a pretty good inside pitch to light-hitting ex-Phillie Michael Bourn, who plunked it down the right field line off the good side (if you call Texas home) of the foul pole. Everyone had to be heartened by Kendricks' outing.

No one, on the other hand, can be happy watching the Phils make successive Houston hurlers look like Cy Young. Last night they faced Roy Oswalt, an outstanding pitcher who nonetheless entered the game with an 0-3 record and an ERA of 9.00. Nothing quite remedies an ailing hurler's stats better than an appearance against these 2008 Phillies. There were several hard hit outs early, but in the end the Phillies could manage only six hits against Oswalt and two relievers as they fell below .500 again.

* * * * * * * *

The Phillies alleged brain trust including the medical staff are a bunch of idiots in their handling of Jimmy Rollins. Unable to move laterally in the field without pain according to no more reliable a source than J-Roll himself, the ailing shortstop also acknowledged he feels some pain in his injured ankle when he swings in the batter box. Nevertheless, Charlie Manuel used him as a pinch hitter for the third consecutive game. Rollins delivered a crisp single and as he rounded the bag at first clearly favored his ailing ankle, limping back to the bag. The Phillies seem determined to prolong his injury as long as possible. Stupid! There is no other word to describe their approach.