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Sunday, June.16, 2013

It took the Philles 77 years to win their first World Series in 1980, however since that time, they have been to 4 more World Series in 1983, 1993, 2008 and 2009 – while taking home the Trophy in 2008. The Phillies have finished .500+ or better for every year since 2002. However 2012 saw their streak of 5 straight NL East Division Titles come to an end. Now that they have started slow at 33 – 36 – can they come back to make the playoffs and a have a shot at a World Series in 2013?

By Chris Creighton (Phillies Correspondent via http://www.warrroomphilly.com – visit the website here)  Follow @WARROOMPHLCHRIS

Phillies 2013 Win-Loss Chart http://patrickschneider.photoshelter.com

I hate roller coasters. I really do. Can’t ride them and won’t miss them if they ever went away. Maybe it’s the lack of control or just too many movies I’ve seen where the ride goes straight through the railing when it’s supposed to turn. Either way, I’m happy to hold your purses, jackets, hats and any other items while sitting on a bench planted firmly on the ground. Go ahead and enjoy the ride while I take inventory of all the other manly things I can do in this world.

Enter the 2013 Philadelphia Phillies. Lately, I get that same, uneasy feeling watching our fightin’ Phils rise and fall as they bring us all from agony to ecstasy, mostly in streaky stretches leaving us to believe they’re anything from world-beaters to bottom-feeders. Yet, here I sit again, watching the ride go up and down day in, day out while I cling on to what the team leaves me to hold: hope.

Cole Hamels has been a tough luck loser on many occasions – kind of like Cliff Lee last year. He is now 93 – 69 for his career. If Cole Hamels can straighten out to his previous form, than the club should really take off.  The team has had to patchwork the staff with guys like Tyler Cloyd and Jonathan Pettibone.  Roy Halladay has also not been there for the majority of the year.  It is actually pretty good that the team even has a chance to stay in this thing.  They will need a monumental 2nd half like the franchise has been accustomed to seeing for the last 7 – 8 years.

Charlie Manuel courtesy of Zimbio.com

Poor Charlie Manuel. All their skipper can do is watch his team ascend to euphoric heights and then plummet frantically flat, twist and turn and maybe even go upside down. Last week, Manuel spent his time in a glass case of emotion as the team was riding the high of a five-game winning streak only to falter in the next four consecutive contests. A big chance to gain ground on the Braves was squandered in Milwaukee and Minnesota as the team book-ended victories around five losses against these two beatable teams with a combined record today of 56-74. Meanwhile, Atlanta’s West Coast swing swung and missed with their own 2-5 trip and returned home last night to get blanked 6-0 by the Giants. But beware: Hope is a dangerous thing. 

Moving forward, the team opened its mile-high series last night in Colorado by climbing from five runs down to defeat the Rockies 8-7. With two triples, Freddy Galvis triggered the Phillies come-from-behind avalanche by knocking in four runs and scoring the go-ahead run on a Jimmy Rollins pinch-hit single in the 7th inning. It was a game typical of Coors Field where drooling batsmen stood in against pitchers in riot gear with the two teams banging out 13 hits apiece. The victory turned around what could have been a tough loss after winning in the same fashion the night before in Minnesota.

Thankfully, neither of the two ball clubs in Washington and Atlanta have left the bus station without them. The fact remains that the Phillies are still a team within a solid streak of surpassing the idling Nationals and creeping up on the division leading Braves. It’s currently a matter of putting together a complete team effort on both side of the diamond. 

Mike Adams

However, the ebb and flow between the Phillies offense and the team’s defense and pitching has yet to mesh into one, cohesive unit. Clearly the bullpen is their Achilles Heel as they rank 28th out of the 30 MLB teams with a 4.40+ ERA. They currently have the second least amount of save opportunities in the National League, mostly as a result of not being able to hold a lead in relief where they rank third to last. In the most ghastly of stats, the relief corps have allowed the highest number of inherited runners to score in the National League at a clip of 40%. Players like Jeremy Horst, Justin De Fratus, Antonio Bastardo and Mike Adams must do a better job of battening down the hatches when it gets a little stormy. As was the probem in 2012, if they can just hold leads in a handful of games or more, it may mean the difference between the Phillies playing or watching October baseball.

What lies ahead for the Phillies are two more games in Colorado followed by a return to home cooking for three games each against the Nationals and Mets with an off day in between.  The Braves will host the Giants for two more games and the Mets for five (including a double-header on Tuesday) before catching a flight to Milwaukee and Kansas City for five games.

I hope the Phillies starters can give this team a chance. I hope their bullpen can hold a lead. I hope their bats can maintain some sort of consistency and patience at the plate over a significant period of time. I hope

Cliff Lee has been his usual self in 2013. He leads the NL in Games Started with 14, has a 8 – 2 Record – with a 2.55 ERA. He also sports a WHIP of just.0.973 over his 102.1 IP.  Lee should be making his 4th appearance at an All – Star Game  next month in New York (Citi Field).

*** The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com or their partners.***

A big thank – you goes out to our Philadelphia Phillies Correspondent Chris Creighton for preparing today’s featured post.  Chris is a Phillies Phan, Baseball fan & player. He thinks that there is no better place for food and is a  proponent of the city of Philadelphia. Huge U2 fan. Phillies writer at  http://www.warroomphilly.com .

Chris says:  “Follow a Web Show covering everything in the Philadelphia Sports Scene. Sit back and enjoy from the hearts of two die-hard Philly guys here !  You can follow Chris Creighton on Twitter Follow @WARROOMPHLCHRIS or the WarRoomPhilly Follow @WARROOMPHILLY

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