Fish Gut Phils With Easy 3-0 Win

Yet again the Phillies lost with Cole Hamels on the hill. Yet again they lost to the Marlins. And yet again it was a pathetic effort.

The Phils were shut out, 3-0. They manufactured just four hits off Marlins pitching, with Cole Hamels getting the first, a single in the fifth inning. Seriously, it’s pathetic. (Don’t let me get to Ryan Howard’s horrible defense.)

Hamels pitched pretty well, though he gave up a couple doubles that bit him. He went 6.1 innings, allowing two earned runs on seven hits and a walk, striking out seven. This time Hamels wasn’t a problem.

The Phils made Chris Volstad look like Cy Young. Yes, I know Volstad isn’t a bad pitcher, but how many middling right-handed pitchers have looked like Cy Young this year against this team? At least a dozen. Flat out, there’s a real problem with this offense. They can’t string together basic hits. They can’t play small ball. They swing at laughable pitches and let crushable pitches get through. And what’s worse — they don’t seem to care.

The main culprits are as follows:

• Jimmy Rollins for not being half of the player he was last year. Forget his .266 average; he’s not patient, he’s not showing effort, he’s not feared whatsoever.
• Chase Utley and Pat Burrell for not picking up this team when they need it. The two have failed to string together any consistent success since April.
• Geoff Jenkins for being Geoff Jenkins. Was this pickup a joke? We knew he wasn’t a big hitter anymore, but a .242 average with limited power and one swing does not get it done in the six-hole.
• Charlie Manuel for continuously putting the Jenkins-Bruntlett-Ruiz troika out there. They can’t hit. They just can’t. They’re usually three sure outs. I can do one, but not all three. It’s August 8 — start the guys who get the job done.

A game like this spurs rants like these. It’s frustrating to be a Phillies fan this season. This team seems heartless, absent. They seem to have the talent to be six, eight, 10 games up on everyone in this knickknack, pattywhack division, but they pull together too many of these 0-fer efforts. It’s a sorry state that no regular hitter is hitting over .300. A team like this doesn’t win world championships. A team like this may get to the playoffs, but they’re fooling nobody. Nobody at all.

Associated Press photo