Phillies Nation

I’ve been saying it for a while — these two guys hitting back-to-back is a bigger problem for this line-up than Rollins leading off is. They swing at everything. And, while Shane’s still hitting for average, I don’t even like to think about the number of times Rollins and Victorino have been two outs on two or three pitches this year. One of them should hit down in the line-up all of the time, without exception. Can’t blame them for last night though, they were only part of that nightmare.

Jimmy Rollins–if you are reading this—try a lighter bat–you look like a pee wee hitter with a heavy bat .You are an amazing talent,but adjustments are necessary

At what point does this become more than a slump?? We can’t blame it on interleague play anymore.

I’m giving this team the night off. Watching them is depressing right now.

Here we go, LET’S GO METS, we are going to kick the phillies rears and be Worls Champs with or without the core of our team.

I think all the Phillies problems at the top of the lineup against the Braves would be solved if they traded for Jeff Francoeur and batted him lead off.

Also, I’m beginning to think Pat Burrell may have been a much bigger influence in the clubhouse than we knew, especially when times are tough. I love Raul, not questioning his signing, but now I wish there had been a way to keep Pat, I think he was a calming factor to some of the more highly strung guys.

Really, I’m grasping at straws here to try and figure out wtf is going on, and mostly to keep myself from freaking out. Cole is a big concern now, and he was the only sure bet, I thought, out of the SP.

Cole has been aweful. We could of had Derek Lowe. These pitchers are horrible. Its amazing in the 5th inning Cole and Blanton throw 65 pitches. This team needs an overhaw next year. This year is over.

I’m not ready to pronounce that we need an overhaul, but times are bad. Consider that, as much as last year’s victory was about team chemistry and role players stepping up at the right time, there are cornerstones of the franchise that MUST perform if there is to be any hope of a repeat. Three of those cornerstones are Lidge, Hamels and Rollins (Utley and Howard are the other two).

Unless ALL THREE get back on track, I don’t see this team winning anything meaningful this year. Lidge doesn’t have to be perfect, he just has to be effective. Hamels, well, we all know he needs to be an ace. And Jimmy is the team leader and the catalyst. If any one of those key pieces tanks completely and can’t pull it together for a run to the playoffs, we’re doomed.

I’m boycotting this team all weekend.

Chuck P- The season is clearly over, the roster is full of trash, the management are failing to improve the team at a time every other GM is trading left right and centre and haven’t you seen how well the rest of the division is playing, the slumping players on the team have no upside and we better start calling up career minor leaguers and prospects because this team has no hope…

As for Derek Lowe, the Phills AND METS made their best offer and Atlanta swooped in and overpaid at the last minute to avoid their division rivals from getting him. Being bitter about Lowe is like being bitter the Phils didn’t trade for CC Sabathia last July.

Nothing to worry as long they are healthy . We are still in first place. Just both pitchers and hiters are in slump at same time. They will fire up and turn around when Mets come to town.

I realize that I sound like a homer… let me be clear, I think that our guys deserve to be booed for playing as poorly as they have been playing and they need to turn it around but we’re not out of this, by any means.

One more thing… Derek Lowe is NOT that good (and certainly not worth the contract that he got). He’s 7-6 with a 4.44 ERA in pitcher-friendly Turner Field. You have to wonder how he’ll look in three years (he signed a 4 year/$60 million contract).

You don’t sound like one Chuck P. There seems to be a core of us here that spend more time responding to pure hate and anger that we spend most of ours defending decent realistic views of the Phils.

It just gets boring listening to the constant rubbishing of so much of the team, management, ownership and ridiculous ‘fantasy’ trade scenarios that seem to make so many here so jaded thinking the Phils have some inherent right to go 160-2 with 24 all-stars leaving one guy they can rubbish endlessly for not being as good as the others.

We need Ibanez back. There’s so much less energy when he isn’t playing. They look hungover (World Series style that is). Is anyone else reminded of the Abreu-era Phillies during this current stretch?

This is a very Wadesque team right now taking the field nightly without any real purpose and anyone making visible adjustments look like prospects in A ball. This team is streaky, the hitting almost always looks undisciplined and under-prepared, the line-up and game management is rigid and inflexible showing no signs of using tactics to regiment any kind of progress through and between games, the pitching looks as if guys are going out there expecting no-decisions and losses BUT the good has unlimited upside. Those of you getting your panties in a twist need to live with the above because those faults led to a championship winning team and this team looks an almost mirror image of the won last year.

Even if the Phils do not repeat, make the post-season, win the division or wildcard they will be in the thick of it until the final days and considering the talent will likely claim one of those things. This is a team with most of its core not even at its peak, with prospects capable of making an impact at the major league level and extending a window of opportunity and others who can help this team via trades.

There’s no doubt the Phils need to be playing better, the coaching needs to be better, the preparation needs to be better (or show signs the video room is actually being used). Being dramatic or saying things like we need a sweep from whatever upcoming series or J-Roll needs to go 10-10 in his next series of ABs or Lidge needs to convert every save of be sent down to rookie ball isn’t constructive. The team needs to play better, show positives in losses and make the opposing teams work hard to beat us.

Yes the team needs to be better and we need to be better as fans too. It’s pointless the guys running Phillies Nation continuing to write articles when so many are just going to bitch and moan about the same stuff come rain or shine.

On Burrell being a clubhouse leader, LA brought that up on radio during a game last week … he said that with Burrell gone he wasn’t sure there’s anybody to get on guys when they aren’t playing well, and hold them accountable for poor play. Andersen said Burrell did that.

Well, websites like PhilliesNation, or any other team website, by their very nature, are outlets for people that bitch and moan. Thats just the way it is. But let’s try to be a little constructive with our criticism, shall we? Cole is pitching poorly and I think is becoming obvious that he needs a third pitch (that curve is NOT a third pitch). How about a little cut fastball? That would be nice. Now, there is no #2 behind him to help pick up the slack. Consquently, the bullpen becomes a burned out husk. So many things going wrong at once. The hitting has two problems: Jimmy Rollins and the teams inability or unwillingness to take pitches. Ricky Bo is right when he says that the Phils are swinging at pitcher’s pitches. I think it will all straighten out though. Its a long season.

The Dipsy

The Dipsy, Ricky Bo made another good observation that Hamels and most ofthe staff, save Blanton, aren’t throwing inside enough. there just being way too timid on the mound. Atlanta just crowded the plate as if they owned it. That has to change especially if you only have two pitches.

Dipsy the little rant was more directed at those who use every article to show their arbitrary displeasure at the team and hatred of certain players.

As I see it the Phils from coaching through to the line-up aren’t making adjustments. The line-up shows no study of the opponent to take advantage of its weaknesses and attempt nullify it strengths, the in-game tactics are predictable and to me despite leading the league in stealing percentage the running game doesn’t seem to apply particular pressure on the opposing teams hitters. The coaching doesn’t seem to show signs of applying pressure on particularly the hitters to make adjustments to their game-plan and the defense is at times starting to look sloppy. Most of all the Phils look on the back-foot in pressure situations which seems to result in the blown saves and bad defensive fundamentals as well as looking incapable of looking like the team who’s going to win when games go to extras.

I think the attitude seems to be to keep things as is and hit or pitch through the problems assuming better individual play will spark team-wide improvements. The downside seems to be seemingly horribly outmatched for a team of this team. we should expect the upside to return to the extent it has for the past half decade once we hit the business end of the year, to me it feels premature to feel too concerned about the results considering the teams history but it is horrible to watch. It’s not a good brand of baseball.

We have to hope the team can play better, not the one game explosions followed between woefully under-prepared and inept games and put together some fight and willingness to play some effective small-ball with a flexible line-up no matter the results.

I HATE TO THINK THE METS WILL WIN THE DIVISION. so now that we are done I will root for the marlins, they have no fans anyway

My point was, for as TERRIBLE and HORRIBLE as they been, the Mets and Marlins still have 3 more losses than them, and the Braves have 4.

The Phillies look at that an are still relaxed, and just think their going to get out of their funk, but if they were lookin up in the standings, their mind set would surely change.

Does anyone but me realize we were in worse shape last year and lost first place from July to September? How did THAT work out for the Mutts?

You all give up too easily. I may boycott the team and this site for the weekend. I am so sick of “The season is over”. The season is NOT over for ANY of us except the poor NATS. The season is over for the D-Backs and Padres. The season is over for the O’s and the Indians and possibly the As.

I am not saying we will win, I am saying we can do it. No Mets fan can honestly say they will win, we cannot say it either, neither can the Fish or Braves. That is my point.

I am so sick of this.

Now that by monday we will be out of the race, we will become sellers, I wonder if there is interest in werth or ibanez, or feliz, maybe someone will give us a prospect for coste or dobbs, we can get some prospect for next year.

Even if we got swepted by the Mets and lost the final game to the Braves, and the Marlins and Braves won their weekend series, we would be 1 loss behind the Mets and Marlins and tied with the Braves in terms of losses, so i guess your right mikemike we would be totally out of the race, your hilarious.