| Bill Meltzer. 16th May, 2005 - 12:36 am
 It’s the ugly corollary to that age-old baseball axiom. Good pitching and solid defense may be the keys to winning baseball, but lack of clutch hitting and an inept bullpen will snatch defeat from the jaws of victory more times than not.
Add in a $95 million payroll, key injuries, and a new manager that was largely rejected by fans before the team even reported to spring training and you have the 2005 Philadelphia Phillies.
Mired in last place in National League East with a 17-22 record, a four-game series split with the even more woeful Cincinnati Reds has done little to quell the boo-birds.
The Philadelphia talk show airwaves, when they take a brief respite from the Terrell Owens/Eagles soap opera, are filled with angry Phillies fans clamoring for the heads of general manager Ed Wade and field manager Charlie Manuel. A recent Philadelphia Inquirer poll saw 69% of respondents call for Manuel’s firing a month into the season. That’s not surprising, given the negative reaction to Manuel’s hiring this past off-season. The papers have been filled with “unnamed sources” who say this could be the year Wade’s job is finally in jeopardy. The club denies these reports.
The sources of the team’s problems haven’t been hard to find. The Phillies rank near the bottom of the National League in hitting. Leadoff hitter Jimmy Rollins hasn’t been getting on base, and even when the Phillies do get some runners on base, they haven’t been driving them home. The team recently came off a 4-6 road trip in which it hit an anemic .163 with runners in scoring position.
Meanwhile, the bullpen has struggled mightily, apart from closer Billy Wagner. Wagner has shut the door when he’s had the chance (other than a shaky save in the get-away game with the Reds, he’s been very efficient). But the other relievers can’t get nearly enough games to Wagner.
The Phillies’ Saturday night loss to the Reds was a microcosm of the first month and a half of the season. Starting pitcher Randy Wolf left after six decent innings, holding a 4-2 lead. Rightfielder Bobby Abreu, arguably the Major Leagues’ hottest hitter this month, homered for the sixth time in seven games. But the ‘pen promptly surrendered 10 runs in two innings, while the Phillies’ offense disappeared after the fourth inning. Result: a 12-4 loss and yet another full game lost in the standings to the first-place Braves.
Were it not for the strong starting pitching the Phillies have received and the generally reliable defense they’ve played, the team would be a lot worse off than five games below .500.
Starter Brett Myers, at this point likely to be the team’s lone all-star representative, has emerged as a dominant force so far this season. Jon Lieber, with the exception of his most recent start, has been extremely reliable. After struggling early, Wolf has strung together four straight good performances. And fifth starter Cory Lidle has given the club a chance to win in the majority of his starts. Only the enigmatic Vicente Padilla, who pitched six shutout innings to win his first game of the season in the final game against the Reds – despite walking six – has routinely put the team out of games early.
On the offensive end, there haven’t been many bright spots other than Abreu and second baseman Chase Utley. After a great start to the season, leftfielder Pat Burrell has cooled off since returning from an injury. Placid Polanco, the subject of several trade rumors, has moved around the infield and even played some outfield. But he’s done more sulking than producing. And third baseman David Bell has been a dead spot in the lineup.
Meanwhile, Jim Thome is on the disabled list, suffering from a back injury. One of the game’s top sluggers, Thome only hit one home run before going on the DL. Projected centerfielder and lead off hitter, Kenny Lofton, has been on the DL with hamstring problems through much of the early season.
Starting catcher Mike Lieberthal recently joined the walking wounded with a hand injury. Lieberthal should return soon, but remains a concern. Apart from a two homer performance shortly before the injury, the former all-star hasn’t hit. He’s also had mobility problems, because he’s playing on increasingly creaky knees that were drained of fluid several times last season.
Things don’t figure to get much easier for the Phillies this week. After an off day, the National League champion Cardinals come to town, solidly entrenched in first place in National League Central and boasting the best record in the league. |
