Phillies Nation

Told ya.

I’m fed up with the lack of clutch hitting for several games now. This team’s K’s and horrible speed with the exception of J Roll and Victorino leaves them in a really bad spot when the long ball doesn’t come. Their LOB’s are a disgrace.

I think it is time for Victorino to go, let’s see what he can get us. I hope Gillick is at least having the conversation.

Put Myers in the pen as the long man, he can’t do much worse, He either has a serious injury or is in such a sulk for losing his closer job.

I have serious doubts about the ownership’s willingness to spend for the help that is necessary.

On another note Taguchi might be the worst bench player the Phillies have had since Rob Ducey.

dont worry mike, as soon as they win one game half the people will be defending them again. meanwhile, ill defend them when they make the right moves. each good thing taht is done will be noted and rewarded. i heard they might shop victorino for pitching. I am ALL for that. i like the speed vic has but pitching is more important. a nice starter would fit the bill here. they can figure out another way to get an outfielder in there to provide something off the bench. id approve a move for pitching involving vic, assuming its the right pitcher.

well this is what they do. most people accept the spin, for whatever it is. not saying that anyone on here does, but most people in general accept spin from the team or whatever entity gvies it out. if amaro says were not going after this guy one day and the next day says well we tried and couldnt get him and thats the spin. people actually believe that. they say well its ok they tried. not its not ok, they DIDNT try. trying would be trading shane for good starting pitching.

im not surprised though, after all, most people at the time (2003) believed saddam hussein was al qaeda and was responsible for 911.

They are the best team in NL east. If they dont win NL east thats beyond sickening. tahts the minimum i expect from this team. if they dont win the division thats embarrassing. but in the playoffs they dont have the pieces to go far. thats what were complaining about

Im concerned about winning a championship, and I dont care about the NL. i think the phillies players better be thinking that way as well. last year they acted like they won a world series when they only won the division and werent focused on the rockies and got humiliated.

Gnomicide wrote: “Myers won’t be this bad all season.”

I’m not so sure about that. It’s one thing if the guy says, “I know there’s something mechanically wrong and I’m working to fix it,” or something like that. Myers has been saying that he “feels fine” or even “great,” that he’s locating his pitches, etc. But that the other teams are “just getting a hold of a lot of pitches.”

So when the pitcher does pretty much what he intends with his pitches, and he still gets shelled, maybe he’s just not effective anymore. I hope not. I hope Myers turns it around and is a bona-fide No. 2, but we haven’t seen that this year.

As for the offense, Charlie needs to try some tweaks to see if that stirs the pot a bit. Drop Howard lower in the order already for chrissake. It should’ve happened a month ago, and maybe we wouldn’t be in this mess if it had. Speaking of Howard: yes, Tim, it is OK to harp on him again — because he’s making $10 million (after publicly claiming that he deserved double that), and is hitting well below the mendoza line.

This offense had LOB issues last year as well — especially early in the year. I expect (hope?) it will turn around as the season warms up (just like last year).

Geoff’s right: pitching improvements and personnel changes need to occur immediately. (Actually, three months ago, but that’s been discussed ad infinitum.)

this was an ugly game for sure, but let’s cool off here for a minute.

myers didn’t have his best stuff, had only one pitch he could throw for a strike, and still gutted his way to a quality start. he’s got some obvious confidence issues and is more throwing than pitching right now, but this is May and we have to wait him out because he’s the most talented option we have.

the lack of offense is disconcerting, and i’ll admit i’d like to see coste in there more often because ruiz hasn’t been giving him much (but i’m a biased coste fan)… but this is the makeup of the team. they strike out a lot… an awful lot, and when burrell, howard and utley aren’t hitting they’re going to struggle to score runs if no one else is stepping up. utley and burrell carried the team to their best April in years and now they’re cooling off, you can’t fault either of them because they’re way below .500 without them.

i don’t know who y’all think they could get for victorino that you’re so willing to trade him especially since no one gives away starting pitching anymore, but he’s better than he’s been playing and provided he gets back in manuel’s good graces (who really seems to have it in for him right now) he’s a much better option than jenkins who is quietly, thanks to howard, having a terrible start to the season.

once again, it’s may, they’re a team that in recent history plays much better baseball the deeper into summer it gets and they’ve been given a relative pass so far because the mets and braves have stumbled out of the gate to this point. let’s not go all shitty new york media and start demanding people get traded and fired here, let’s let the season unfold.

This is minor, but i guess replacing Ruiz (batting .235) w/ Coste (batting .324) is not an option?

why would they ever do that!

Phillies need to start playing small ball – thats what got them to the playoffs last year.

Mike you are an absolute disgrace to the word fan. your comments have been pissing me off for weeks now. you are constantly negative and never show appreciation for anything. A die-hard fan stands behind his team during good times and bad. ” Yeah, the ONLY time I’ll defend the Phillies is when the front office makes the right moves” That comment for the first time in my life made me embarrased to be a Philadelphia sports fan. A TRUE FAN WILL ALWAYS DEFEND HIS TEAM. I am guessing you have never been a part of a team and really dont know all that much about sports. I say this not only due to your always ominous attitude, but also to some of your criticism on some of the play which is absolutely ubsurd.(Bashing on a slumping Howard for swinging on a first pitch fastball right down the middle of the plate) I honestly think you need to get laid or something(if you cant get it on your own, let me know, i will pay for the service for you so maybe, just maybe you can enjoy the Phillies, not just constantly bash them and not defend them.

“Baseball’s best teams lose about sixty-five times a season. It is not a game you can play with your teeth clenched.” ….George Will

One can make comparisons to last year’s early season problems the Phillies had. Phillie’s starting rotation was in shambles; Howard’s slow start; plagued with injuries (Howard and Utley); inconsistent bullpen; underachievers(remember Nunez?), etc.

This year’s team has basically the same cast of key regulars (Utley, Rollins, Howard, Burrell, Victorino, Ruiz/Coste) and pitching (Hamels, Myers, Moyer, Kendrick, Eaton, Romero, Gordon, Madson and a most important addition in “Lights Out” Lidge) and are having a better start than last year.

I rather see the season play out until at least the All Star break which would provide a better picture of where this team is going before I evaluate objectively the team true needs. Of course, like most clubs, one can never have enough pitching (see last year’s team). We can muse on the availability of other teams’ pitchers but reality dictates those same teams may have the same priority. The more practical solution is to look to the team’s farm system (J.A. Happ?). Time will tell.

Geez, it’s May and just 46 games played into season and some here paint a picture of gloom and doom. So much pessimism by so few.

Allow me to remind you that on June 1st last year, exactly one-third of the way through the whole 162, the Phillies were two games UNDER .500, the Rockies were five games UNDER .500, why even the mighty Yankees were six games UNDER .500….. and ALL wound up in the playoffs anyway.

“The season is a marathon….not a sprint”.

Bruce great post. Mike, please identify the line I crossed. I would like to get an understanding of that line so I am sure to cross it as much as possible.

Go Phils

Um you are the one that constantly whines and moans about this and that and that is what i do know about you and that is what I am singling out. I’ll make a deal with you, when someone does something good try to praise that as much as you bash someone when they do something bad and then I will not say a word. If you can be fair, so will I. Deal?

yes. the panic button is repeatedly being smashed by Phils phans everywhere, but let’s do keep our heads.

3 game losing streak? thats hardly the end of the world. 4-7 is more troubling, but still, every team is gonna have rough patches.
I’ll give that our SP situation looks bleak at the moment with Eaton and Myers vying for teams worst starter every start, but hold on.

For some reason, Redding has the Phils number. Why? i don’t know, but he consistently shuts us down everytime we face him. Last night’s problem wasn’t the runs surrendered, it was the offense. Honestly, with all the SP talk, its been our offense thats been letting us down, lately.

Last night wasn’t even the Ks, it was less than solid contact on grounders and fly outs. Howard is showing signs of finally breaking out, Vic (please don’t trade him) is starting to put the ball where they ain’t. It’s only a matter of time before Rollins and Utley start swinging the stick again.

Let’s look to Hamels to turn this ship around and take the next two before going down to Houston.

Mike T~

I’ll ignore your empty sarcasm. I think a few of us here are still waiting for your complete anaylsis of why YOU think the “Phillies are not a good team”. While I don’t necessarily agree with everything Lewisauce and Geoff posted, I do enjoyed reading their detailed accounts of their opinions and ideas on how to make the team better. Could you provide more than those daily one-liners you are posting? After all, you claimed to be a most knowledgeable baseball “fan”.