What Went Wrong
Now that the Phillies have landed at PHL and were greeted by their adoring fans, we can begin the six-month long process of figuring out what went wrong this post-season and how to fix it. We all watched the games and recall what a painful sight it was to see the club at a loss in the batters box and shaky everywhere else. Not even Charlie Manuel’s grab bag of lineup configurations could get things going. Yet to really gain perspective, below you will find a hearty list of lowlights of the Phillies first-round playoff experience.
Game 1 – Philadelphia
- Jimmy Rollins 0-3, 2 LOB
- Shane Victorino 0-4, 3 LOB
- Chase Utley 0-4, 4 Ks
- Ryan Howard 0-4, 3 Ks
- Cole Hamels allows 3 runs in the second inning
Game 2 – Philadelphia
- Rowand, 0-4, 2 Ks, 2 LOB
- Ryan Howard, 2-4, HR, 2 Ks, 3 LOB, picked off
- Kyle Kendrick 3.2 IP, 5 ER
- Kyle Lohse 1.1 IP, grand slam allowed
- Jose Mes 0.1 IP, 3 ER
Game 3 – Denver
- Jimmy Rollins 0-3, 2Ks
- Chase Utley 0-2
- Pat Burrell 0-4, 3 Ks, 3 LOB, 1 bad route in leftfield
- Ryan Howard 0-4, 2 Ks, 2 LOB
- Aaron Rowand 0-4, 2 Ks, 2 LOB
- J.C. Romero 0.1 IP, 1 ER
As you can see, Rollins, Utley and Howard went a combined 7-for-34 (.206) with 15 strikeouts in the series. Chase Utley was 0-7 against lefty pitching and all told the Phillies recorded 26 total strikeouts. A series that was billed to be a slugfest only featured the Phillies as another notch on the Rockies improbable run. But just as the Mets failed down the stretch, so did the Phillies in the playoffs. There will be plenty of time in the off-season for the leaders of this team to reflect and eventually discuss their poor showing. Really though, all that matters is what they do next year because expectations are running high, especially if Charlie Manuel is back. Listen to me discuss that and other points of note for the 2007 off season on the end of season wrap up with Mike on WNJC 1360
.