OT-Psillies

[sec-106]

As a lifelong resident of Negadelphia, I can really see the Psillies falling off the cliff for the rest of this season.

Anyone see a turnaround?

If so, how?

[barkley34]

I can't imagine their offense staying in this slump with all the talent they have. It is a shame they are wasting quality starts. Moyer and Kendrick were both very good the last 2 games and they just couldn't give them any run support. You have to figure at some point the bats will wake up.

[Slacktard]

The thing is I think the offense could come around and then the pitching goes really south. The teams ERA has been around 4.25 or something in this latest slump. For an offensive team like the Phillies that's actually a good number and something they can deal with. Moyer usually tails off in the second half, I'm worried about what he has left in the tank for August and September.

Myers looks fairly inept and his stay in the minors doesn't appear to have helped him. Blanton is a pretty mediocre pitcher who grabs innings (which if the team is hitting may be a chance for wins there). Kendrick even in the starts where he hasn't given up a ton of runs, he's had a lot of base runners. He just continues to squeak through so many games. It's got to catch up at some point.

[IversonsMother]

I'm at the point where i dislike the team. I have invested way too many years in watching game after game, only too see them a few players short and covering their problems up with band aid after band aid. Manuel sucks as well..... Guess I am just a typical Philadelphia fan.

[kanga]

yeah, im a little worried. We've gotta have one of the most talented teams in the league and we just can't do anything with it. We're only 5 games over .500 in one of the weaker divisions. As GM of a fantasy baseball team where we were allowed to reserve 10 players from our "Hometown" I can definitely say our batters are in a major slump over the past several weeks.

Here's a nice website to help see our ups and downs and chances of making playoffs:
http://www.sportsclubstats.com/MLB/National/East/Phillies.html

[kanga]

Gotta have phaith.

Rollins has to wake up in the second half, and Utley is due to come out of his slump. With Victorino and Howard holding their own right now, it's only a matter of time before we break away from the pack.

[sec-106]

As much heat as the 1B has taken, he still leading the ML in HR's and NL in RBI's.

The 2B, who I think is the best at his position, hasn't had a game changing hit since.................you tell me?

Not laying it totally on Utley, but where he goes, usually the team follows.

And I agree, they can't continue to waste great efforts from the the starters, considering how not great (with the exception of Hamels) the starters are.

[Phillyboy]

Baseball by nature is a game of streaks. Right now the Mutts are hot and the Fightin's are not. I'm concerned as much as anyone but our offense can be as good as it gets and there's two months left to get it done.

Long term I have concerns with Myers.

As for Utley I think a good bit of his slump is how pitchers are pitching to him. When Utley steps into the box he has a very strange routine he does every pitch (fix the hat, shrug the shoulders, couple of swings then as the pitcher gets the sign Utley brings the bat up and as the pitch is delivered the bat falls slightly to his shoulder then that sweet swing)

It's the timing of that routine that pitchers are messing with. They hold it a second longer to try to throw off his routine and it's working. He's pulling off pitches as he's never really done before in fact he's had a number of terrible at bats, way off balance and I think it's how he's being pitched. And the book on him travels from city to city.

If he makes an adjustment, (like Howard holding out his bat until the pitcher becomes set so that he's not stuck being locked in and having to wait) Chase will again hit the cover off the ball.

[psykosacul]

im only a novice baseball fan so ever since victorino came here i would turn to my friend and say... why is that guy hitting pop flys to the fence? shouldnt he be hitting a grounder and trying to get on base? victorino still swings for the fence to this day whether guys are on base or not.

i think the whole team is mimicing this tendency... they swing big and dont seem to be disciplined at the plate. its catching up to them. if i was the coaching staff my main priority would be whipping it out of them. if they hit a pop fly in a situation that calls for them to move runners or simply get on base, punish them somehow.

even if the offense does pick up because they start hitting it out of the park again,... thats not going to happen in the playoffs. you have to be able to score against good pitching every single game. that doesnt happen unless you methodically move runners and play smart baseball.

this team could use larry brown as a coach

[sixers_610]

The Brewers went out and got Sabathia, we went out and got Blanton. End of story.

[Sixerscan]

As for Utley I think a good bit of his slump is how pitchers are pitching to him. When Utley steps into the box he has a very strange routine he does every pitch (fix the hat, shrug the shoulders, couple of swings then as the pitcher gets the sign Utley brings the bat up and as the pitch is delivered the bat falls slightly to his shoulder then that sweet swing)

It's the timing of that routine that pitchers are messing with. They hold it a second longer to try to throw off his routine and it's working. He's pulling off pitches as he's never really done before in fact he's had a number of terrible at bats, way off balance and I think it's how he's being pitched. And the book on him travels from city to city.

If he makes an adjustment, (like Howard holding out his bat until the pitcher becomes set so that he's not stuck being locked in and having to wait) Chase will again hit the cover off the ball.

He's been doing that since he came up 6 years ago. You really think pitchers just figured out in June after he had 2400+ big league ABs "hey, maybe we should pause a little extra?" People have been trying to screw with his rhythm for forever.

It's a slump. He had one even worse than this in August of 06. It happens.

[Phillyboy]

As for Utley I think a good bit of his slump is how pitchers are pitching to him. When Utley steps into the box he has a very strange routine he does every pitch (fix the hat, shrug the shoulders, couple of swings then as the pitcher gets the sign Utley brings the bat up and as the pitch is delivered the bat falls slightly to his shoulder then that sweet swing)

It's the timing of that routine that pitchers are messing with. They hold it a second longer to try to throw off his routine and it's working. He's pulling off pitches as he's never really done before in fact he's had a number of terrible at bats, way off balance and I think it's how he's being pitched. And the book on him travels from city to city.

If he makes an adjustment, (like Howard holding out his bat until the pitcher becomes set so that he's not stuck being locked in and having to wait) Chase will again hit the cover off the ball.

He's been doing that since he came up 6 years ago. You really think pitchers just figured out in June after he had 2400+ big league ABs "hey, maybe we should pause a little extra?" People have been trying to screw with his rhythm for forever.

It's a slump. He had one even worse than this in August of 06. It happens.

Well I've probably seen most of thos 2400+ ABs and he has not had the type of off balance ABs he's had in his last 150 or so. Do I think pitchers just thought of it? No. But it never bothered him before like this. To me many times he looks as if he's not quite ready to swing as the pitch travels plateward. If I can see it you can bet big league pitchers do. You don't see the difference in the timing when he's hitting and when he's not?

I offered an observation. i have to say I'm surprised by how tangy your response especially given that baseball was our last argument and one of the last I could stand before I left this board.

I hope I'm simply overreacting.

[Sixerscan]

Wasn't trying to be tangy. I'm more of a Sunny-D guy anyway. Was just offering my opinion as well, sorry if it came off differently.

[Nofx8881]

The Brewers went out and got Sabathia, we went out and got Blanton. End of story.

While I don't think it was a particularly good move to get Blanton, you make it sound like the Phillies thought Blanton was better than Sabathia or Harden.

They couldn't GET those guys. That's why they didn't. The Phillies farm system is not that good and they didn't have the guys necessary. The fact that Gillick traded Cardenas for Blanton, I think, is inexcusable, but I'd rather Cardenas get traded for Blanton than for someone even worse closer to the trade deadline in some sort of desperation move.

The Phillies probably would have sent that package to Seattle for Bedard had the Mariners not put him on the DL when they did. I don't know that Bedard actually has a true injury that requires DL time, but the Phillies probably thought the better of it since they made an awful mistake with Garcia last year.

As for Harden, he's good when he's healthy but he's never healthy. He is right now, but I would bet a lot of money that he probably won't be pitching for the Cubs (or anyone) come playoff time. A guy like that is not worth what it would have required to get him.

Hopefully Blanton can be the kind of pitcher he was from 2005-2007 when he won 40 something games. The simple fact is, he's better than Eaton and probably better than Myers at this point. That's not necessarily saying a lot, but I feel a hell of a lot better with Blanton pitching every 5 days than I do with Eaton.

[Dedicated_76ers_fan]

Well, albeit it's the Braves but the Bats finally came alive. True that Hamels had a bad game, but it's the first time in a while that he has. So it's no worry for me.

Kyle is having another strong year and Moyer's been incredible. If Blanton and Myers come alive, we can have a decent 5 rotation and that's all you need(decent) with this offensive lineup.

[kanga]

Man we need more series vs Atlanta. Five homers tonight!? Victorino and Howard are on a roll and let's hope here comes Rollins.

BTW, i know i'm new to this all, but how come the Realgm baseball forums are dead? Are there any good boards for the Phillies? Is it possible to keep this one OT thread going for Phillies fans, or is that against the rules?

[Phillyboy]

I'm more of a Sunny-D guy anyway.

LOL.

[Stanford]

BTW, i know i'm new to this all, but how come the Realgm baseball forums are dead? Are there any good boards for the Phillies? Is it possible to keep this one OT thread going for Phillies fans, or is that against the rules?

That's funny, I was just wondering the same thing. I went over there to check out what you guys were thinking on the Manny stuff, and I saw an entire page of Jem posts. The guys been banned for like 6 months.

[kanga]

Is it too much to ask to keep one thread for Phillies talk? I mean the Phillies have gotta be one of the most potent lineups, interesting personalities, and standup characters in the league (save maybe Myers). I think they deserve a single thread.

[kanga]

Case in point:

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Ryan-Howard-and-Jimmy-Rollins-remix-the-7th-Inni;_ylt=Ar5y6xE.VrPBU1D3l5aHYw2FCLcF?urn=mlb,95328