What exactly did the Phillies do to offend the Gods of Health?
Carlos Ruiz is the latest and most valuable Phillie to suffer an injury that will probably land him on the Disabled List. Worse, it might prevent Carlos from being named to his first All Star game. Frankly, with the way this season is going for the Phils, the latter would be a bigger shame than his loss for regularly scheduled games. Ruiz deserves the honor. If he's on the DL, he probably won't get it.
The only injury the Phils have collectively managed to escape thus far is the plague...unless of course one counts the inability to hit the ball consistently. Last night's loss to the Blue Jays, the second sub-500 AL team the Phutiles have faced in the last four games, was one of those desultory losses you could see coming by the third inning.
Starter Vance Worley deserved better. He pitched effectively enough. Once again, Mike Fontenot made an error that led to an unearned run. There's a reason the Giants released Fontenot earlier this season.
Normally, I don't pay a lot of attention to the Phils color commentators. Indeed, I watch many games with the sound muted. Last night, however, I listened as Chris Wheeler wondered aloud why players like Michael Martinez, aptly named Minimart, held the bat at the bottom of the handle, swung from the heels and produced long strokes guaranteed to produce undesirable results. OK, Minimart is young and presumably not overburdened, but don't his coaches and manager have anything to tell him? Couldn't Greg Gross, with Charlie Manuel's blessing, tell him to choke up or take a seat?
The Phils are the most impatient lineup I've ever seen and since many are veterans, it is inexcusable. At this point I blame management for not enforcing some discipline, but what do you expect when the head honcho is in love with the long ball?
