How much further can they fall, you ask? How many games are left?
In a season of ugly losses it's chutzpah to point to one and say it's the one, but last night's thrashing in Queens ranks up there. Right out of the gate the Phils were down a run as Vance Worley struggled in the heat. The first batter he faced forced Worley to throw something on the order of 8-9 pitches (I lost count). Worley just couldn't figure out what to throw and Chooch seemed stumped, too, setting up inside over and over again as if to say, "OK, you're never gonna' expect us to throw inside again!!"
By evening's end Worley's ego and ERA were badly bruised, the bullpen poured on its usual quota of gasoline and the score read Mets 11, Phils 1.
Oh, well, they get to redeem themselves by playing a day game in what should be something on the order of 95 degree temperatures and high humidity.
How much further can they fall? Stay tuned.
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BTW, for all those fans who thought the Phils missed the boat when they didn't sign Roy Oswalt, read this summary of his outing last night (from ESPN):
Oswalt (2-1) was pounded for 13 hits and charged with 11 runs -- nine
earned -- in 4 2-3 innings, throwing 112 pitches in his third start
since joining the Rangers' organization in May.
Jeez, in retrospect he would have fit right in!!
