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Stats Show Phils’ Offense A Bunch Of Hacks

Through 19 games, the Phillies have scored 85 runs. 44 of those runs (or 51.7 percent) came from home runs.
Of the 30 home runs hit by the Phillies, 18 have been solo shots; moreover, just two (Dobbs’ blast Friday and Utley’s yesterday) were three-run homers, and they’ve yet to knock a grand slam.
With the bases loaded, the Phillies are hitting a paltry .130 (25 chances). With men on second and third, they’re hitting .091 (18 chances). And with men on first and second, they’re hitting .250 (55 chances).

If you want to find the biggest hole in the team’s play, look no further than these numbers. They’re swinging for the fences far too much â€” probably trying to take advantage of the homer-happy parks they’ve seen so far (Citizens, Great American in Cincinnati). Of course, the personnel doesn’t call for a lot of clutch line drive hitting (Geoff Jenkins, Pedro Feliz, Ryan Howard).

I can live with a bunch of home runs, but many of them are without substance. It’s especially troubling to see the team’s problems with multiple runners on base. Where a single or sac fly could do wonders is usually cancelled by a home run swing.

Associated Press photo

Tim Malcolm

Tim first found the Phillies as a little infant at Veteran’s Stadium, cheering on a Juan Samuel game-winning home run in his very first game. With the pinstripes in his blood, he witnessed Terry Mulholland’s 1990 no-hitter, “Steve Carlton Night” at the Vet, game three of the 1993 World Series, countless games during the charmed 2008 championship season and various road excursions. Since November 2007 Tim’s been writing about them daily at Phillies Nation, becoming one of the world’s most popular Phillies scribes. You can catch him on Twitter and Facebook, as well. When he’s not talking about the Phils he’s relaxing with a St. Bernardus ABT 12 or one of his many favored brews.