They ARE who we thought they were!

View from the Left Coast by a Lefty: They ARE who we thought they were!

Make no mistake, after spring training I was optimistic. During April and May I was optimistic. But after being swept at home in a 4 game series for the first time since 1964, it is what it is. The "so-called" experts were right. We are the worst team in baseball save the Braves. It pains me to say it but the facts are the facts. Rupp at .264 is the second best hitter on the team? WTF happened to Odubey? Welcome to the majors Tommy Joseph, now you have even more empathy for Ryan Howard. Maikel Franco you looked great handing out bobbleheads on Saturday maybe you should concentrate on that for a major? Goeddel shows promise but has faded and Bourjos is flaming out with his 3rd team. Is there anyone left to give a shot unless we bring up the kids? Any more scrap heap pickups left after Paredes?

Welcome to the life of a Phillies fan since 1958. Before this season I expected no more than what we've seen in total. The good start has blossomed into what was expected by most. For years I have been saying give me 2 weeks with Ryan Howard and I'll resurrect him into a solid player. Now I'm saying they need to hire me full time for this whole roster. Yep, the team who has only managed 13 runs in the first inning in 71 games, and given up almost 60 homers vs their 27 at home so far needs life support. Individually they stack up with a lot of teams but collectively they suck azz.

I could go through the entire roster one by one and list their faults, but why can't anyone in the organization see what I see? Odubey on his front foot and totally losing the strike zone, Franco trying to hit 5 run homers on every swing, Galvis guessing wrong on 90% of the pitches he sees( 6 for his last 70), Hernandez's fielding mental lapses affecting his at bats... I could go on and on for several pages. But since I am nobody but a legend in his own mind who cares? Even Andres Blanco has caught the bug, they guy who I thought was the most mentally and physically ready player on the team, has succumbed to the plague.

I had planned on a full section of bashing Howard here, but things changed. He has done nothing wrong other than not hit. He has not complained and has handled everything with class. I am now of the opinion they should play him more. He is in my mind a top 10 all time Phillie and should be treated as such. Let him bat against RHP, if he ends up at .080 so be it. Can't hurt any more than anyone else. We are at the bottom of the barrel and the only way out is to play out of it. Yeah right LOL.

Even after everything above I still fire up my streambox to watch as many games as I can, because they are my team. As long as I have a hole in my azz they will be. After looking over a couple of FB Phillies pages I'm actually tired of seeing "you gotta believe" and yeah they'll win the next one. Those people need a dose of reality. Actually maybe they need to understand baseball better is all, and Phillies' history in particular. I truly wish I had more and better things to write about, which is why my pieces have become few and farther between. I long for the days of Wriz Wed, DB29 Tue, DGirl Mon, Hoodwink'd, Kornhole, etc etc. Maybe by 2018 if I'm still kicking I'll be able to buy a new Phillies jersey to wear the day after it gets washed like the old days.

I purposely held off on writing about the 3-5 Phillies who might be good trade pieces at the deadline. Maybe next time... might be fun. Thankfully Klentak will not budge on giving up the farm, something that was needed years ago. He and McPhail have a plan. I just hope it comes to fruition before my time is up. Truth.

                                                Bill S aka/netfather