Why the Phillies won’t get the wildcard
Man, I’ve been pessimistic about Philly Sports lately.
But hey, I’m just trying to keep it real like Howard Eskin (that’s a joke for those of you who don’t know).
The Phillies have a lot going against them down the stretch. First of all, their bullpen is in shambles. The last few weeks have been exciting for precisely two reasons: 1) The Big H (positive) and 2) The closers (negative).
We should all rejoice about The Big H and his accomplishments. He’s been nothing but a joy to watch. My father and brother got to go to his three homer performance and will never forget that game. But you know what, that game shouldn’t have been close.
Which brings me to the closers. When the starting pitcher doesn’t make it through the 8th, the Phillies seem to be losing games. And the starting pitchers aren’t always going to make it through the 8th, especially down the stretch, especially against Florida.
I can’t help but think that the Phillies will continue the triend of losing an inordinate number of games that they should have won.
So relief pitching is the biggest issue right now. But as we all know, the Phils are playing the hottest team in baseball straight through the end of the season. The combination of these two factors give me plenty of reasons to think that they’ll fall just short … again.
Of course they could surprise us. Rollins, Utley and Burrell could all join Howard and become hot down the stretch. But how likely is that? My bets right now are that despite the Ryan Howard show the Phillies just won’t make the post-season.
About this Post
Posted on September 7, 2006 by Micah | Filed Under Philadelphia, Phillies
|
Print This Article | Leave a Comment