It's been said ad nauseum, here and elsewhere. The Phils cannot hit and it's turning out good pitching is not enough. Indeed, Cole Hamels pitched to no decision Friday night and Roy Halladay lost Sunday, his second straight loss.
Originally, we hoped the Phils would win these 3-2 games, but when the opposition throws a Tim Hudson at you, there's just as good a chance you will end up on the short end.
Is help on the way? It could start by giving a starting job to John Mayberry until he proves he cannot handle it. Ben Francisco has already proven he isn't an every-day player. Raul Ibanez isn't one any longer either, but Charlie seems determined to hang in there with the over-the-hill veteran. I see no reason to rejoice he has raised his average all the way to .230!!
Jimmy had an awful series in Atlanta going 2 - 14 and reverting to his old swinging ways. Even Placido Polanco is leveling off, but, then, he started near .400.
There will be a lot of pressure to bring up Domonic Brown and throw him to the lions. Not only has he shown in the past he may not be ready to face big league pitching on an everyday basis, he hasn't even shown he can remain healthy enough to play on an everyday basis. Moreover, he is still a work in progress in the field.
Chooch is struggling mightily. Ryan Howard is driving in runs but seeing very few pitches to hit given those who surround him. Second base is a revolving door of has beens and never weres. Shane Victorino is nursing a sore hamstring.
As for pitching, Bob Ford said it well in this AM's Inquirer: the relief corps is holding up well but there are a lot of rookies being counted on heavily there and we all know how up-and-down that sort of dependency can be.
Yikes!
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