Started to
write this Friday, but held off because of circumstances not beneficial to the
Phillies. The later it gets this afternoon the worst I get. Thurs night was to
me a plateau to be conquered: over .500 finally and look out NL East. Nats
behind us and ATL playing like bleh, couldn't ask for much more. Then comes the
weekend...
Why is it that
since 2008 we can't beat MIL consistently? Why do players like Aoki and Lucroy
look like world killers? Why do our outfielders choke like a baby who swallowed
a penny when anybody with speed is on base against them? Ok this last sentence I
take back. Our outfield sucks, no range and no arms. I have no fix for this now
or in the minors. Do I know what it takes? Yes, get rid of Howard's salary and
I'll find us a competent outfield.
 |
| MVP Candidate |
I had high
hopes for the bats. Hitting is contagious and it started to spread until Friday.
Between bats dying and Chollie's bizarre lineups I'm losing my anticipation for
this season slowly but surely. Try as I might there are no bright spots or
silver linings day to day like existed a week ago. Kratz gets hurt, Stutes
forgets how to pitch, dead bats(save Brown, who has slowed down a tad),
Howard(who won't listen to my advice... his loss) becoming a zero threat, lack
of a leadoff hitter(thanks Chollie) which leads to Revere hitting 2nd, no wonder
I sleep like shit at night and smoke more than I used to. For a week that
started out so full of promise and blew up like a car driven by John McClane
what else could a sane person think?
It saddens me
to have to write like this, but if you think about it I'm just following
performance on the field. There's no longer much room for witty or funny
commentary, because I take my baseball seriously. I believe last week was make
or break for this season. Won 6 in a row, over .500 and ahead of the Gnats(lmao)
and in position to decide their destiny. So we go 0-3 and look like shit doing
it and lose players. Momentum gone, having fun during games gone, bullpen
rallying like a drowning life guard. The optimists will say there's a lot of
season left, but not enough to take charge and be a force. So with heavy heart
I'm going to piss off DGirl, Robin, and a few others. It's time to sell starting
with Utley, if he can come back to serviceable like the beginning of the season.
There'll be plenty of interest in him and he should bring some decent future
player(s) that will contribute. The Michael Young experiment started out great,
but now he looks like an older veteran that can help certain teams in certain
situations. Kratz and Chooch love them, but serviceable pieces to certain teams
in the right situations. Since I can't get 2 weeks with Howard to straighten him
out get whatever you can for him, even carrying half his salary this year and
next. Brown and Mayberry get stays right now. Galvis will be Valdez for the next
few years. Doesn't leave much, does it?
Of course
everything depends on if/who goes and what we get back. I'm saying get used to
the fact that the core of the last 6 seasons aren't what they used to be. I
purposely left off pitching because I think with the right replacements we won't
be that bad off. I honestly think Halladay is going to prove all naysayers wrong
and be a beast again for a couple more years. That man doesn't know how to lose,
or go down without a fight. Cliff, Cole, Kendrick, even Pettibone can be
formidable. When the Phils clean house on the coaching staff and Sandberg takes
over with a new pitching coach, who knows what may happen? Ryno in less than 2
seasons took the Iron Pigs from laughing stock to the top of the league, even
with tons of callups. There's no reason to lose it, this is called evolution.
Luckily we have the right man in place. If only Chollie will bow out
gracefully... but that's another problem for another time.
And lastly
#MG3... I had a damn good time. Kudos to Wriz and staff for the choice of
sections with covered parking and location. Plenty of beer and food if you knew
where to look. Plenty of good company. Was definitely worth the 2500 mile trip,
even though it was the secondary reason lol. ;) Was great to meet all the
Bunters, and tshirts were flying all over. Hopefully I get to do it again next
year, even though it's my family's turn to come out west. No matter what next
April or May I'll be at Chase Field in my Richie Ashburn throwback jersey
rooting for my Phils. Since coming back from Dallas I'm still undefeated in
games I attend against the Dbacks. But for anything written above management has
the last say. I only wish I could get someone's ear who mattered for 5
minutes.
Let's get
Bunted, looking forward to 2015 and the new regime.
Bill S
aka/netfather
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