The Phillies Are Average… Let’s Just Deal With It

If you’re like me, you’re a pretty average guy.

I’m not the greatest looking guy in the world, but I’m good looking enough to convince a woman to marry me and bear my children. I’m not the most talented guy in the world, but I’m good enough to hold down a steady job and provide income for the family. I’m not the funniest guy in the world, but I’m humorous enough that people will occasionally laugh at the random pun or off-color limerick. And I’m not the best athlete in the world, but I am pretty darn good at flag football and H-O-R-S-E.

My hair cut/style leaves something to be desired, but at least I have my hair. I’m smart, but won’t be attending any Mensa meetings anytime soon.

By all accounts, I’m average. Maybe slightly above average, if I’m grading on a curve.

And, so are the 2012 Philadelphia Phillies.

However, because of the second wild card being added to the NL and AL playoff structure, many average teams are suddenly finding themselves contending for a pageant they have no right attending.

Before this year, teams like the Phillies, Brewers, Pirates and Diamondbacks, all teams at or around .500, wouldn’t even be dreaming of making the playoffs at this stage of the season.

But here they are, sniffing the postseason.

At 74-74, the Phils are .500. That is average.

And if you look at the Phillies roster, you can’t help but be confronted by the sheer average-ness of this team.

There is no left fielder or center fielder. Laynce Nix, Ty Wigginton, Juan Pierre and John Mayberry Jr. are all trying to hold down the fort now that Hunter Pence and Shane Victorino are gone. None are long-term solutions.

There is no third baseman. Kevin Frandsen has done a nice job at the plate, but provides no power and less defense. He’s Dave Hollins without the home runs and sunny personality. And Michael Martinez should not be on a Major League roster.

The right fielder is a young player who still needs a lot of polishing. Although there are signs Domonic Brown is starting to come around, that’s also a tune we’ve been singing for parts of three years now with him.

And the bullpen is stocked with talented young arms most of whom have very little Major League experience. That inexperience was evident in Houston this weekend and right now constitutes a weakness.

The best starting pitcher on the roster, Roy Halladay, hasn’t been right since spring training and spent much of the season on the DL. Since his return, his velocity is still down and his cutter and fastball lack bite and command. He is a shell of himself, and it’s reasonable to worry that, at age 35, he’ll never be the same pitcher again.

Oh, and the first baseman is still recovering from a torn Achilles tendon that has rendered him virtually useless at the plate, save for the occasional single with a runner on third. Against lefties, he’s an out machine.

What the Phillies have going for them are two starting pitchers still at the top of their games in Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels. Vance Worley, before elbow chips started affecting his pitching, was having a good season as a #4 starter. Kyle Kendrick is in the midst of a pretty good run as a starter, however, it’s fair to wonder how long that’s going to last.

And hey, Joe Blanton isn’t here anymore, so that’s a good thing.

But this is a team with problems. There are major holes that need to be filled, too many to really believe this is a legitimate playoff team.

And, in any other year, they wouldn’t be.

Ah, the magic of the second wild card and the greed of baseball.

Look, I agree that something needed to be done to penalize the winner of the wild card. There should be an incentive to win your division and I applaud Major League Baseball for trying to figure out a way to do it. I would have forced the wild card team to play all playoff games on the road as a solution to the problem.

But adding another playoff team only means a more mediocre squad makes it into the postseason. And that’s not good for anyone.

Suppose the Brewers sneak in and snag the second wild card. They then play the Braves in a one-game playoff to see who faces the best team in the NL.

The Braves are 85-64, 21 games over .500. The Brewers are 75-72, three games over .500.

Does it really seem fair that the Braves could see their entire season go up in smoke in just one game after outperforming another team so thoroughly through 162 games?

Returning to the Phillies, perhaps it would be informative to look at a few other Phils squads in recent years that also finished around .500. I can bet no one ever considered them playoff worthy.

First, the Travis Lee-led 2002 Phils that went 80-81.

While that team had some promise, anytime Brandon Duckworth is your #3 starter and Robert Person is your #4, a playoff contender you ain’t.

How about that Lance Parrish/Shane Rawley juggernaut in 1987 that went 80-82?

Don Carman, your #2. Awesome.

And of course there was the 1984 Phils team, fresh off the stink of their ’83 World Series appearance that went 81-81.

The difference between these teams and the 2012 Phils is one thing. The second wild card.

The second wild card is breeding mediocrity and the Phillies, as well as three or four other average ballclubs, are reaping the rewards.

Still, it’s important to realize what the Phils truly are.

They are average. Nothing more, nothing less.

Still, that and a miracle might be enough to get them into the playoffs. And while that’s still a possibility, the Phils must do everything they can to try and make that happen until they are officially eliminated.

However, while there is hope that in 2013 they will become an above average team once again, here in 2012, they ain’t, even if they make the playoffs.

So, embrace the mediocrity. It’ll help make these last 15 games seem a little less disappointing when the inevitable happens.

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