Phillies Week In Review: Next Stop Rock Bottom
Cringe worthy doesn’t begin to describe the Phillies recent tailspin. After suffering through an 8-game losing streak (and counting) the team should start selling those memory erasing wands from Men In Black to fans. No one expected the Phils to sweep the Cardinals or the Tigers on the road, but maybe two out of three…at least one win!
During a rough week there are usually a couple bad breaks, a hanging breaking ball, or a key strikeout to point to where things went wrong.
Not this week.
Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Everything and anything went wrong for the Phillies. Without Domonic Brown (concussion), Cliff Lee (stiff neck) the team looked lifeless. As difficult as it was to watch for the fans, Jonathan Papelbon had an equally hard time watching from the bullpen. His latest tirade to the media called for Ruben to blow up the roster and start fresh. Ideally, he’d like to be part of that shakeup, but don’t expect anyone to trade for a mouthy overpaid closer with five blown saves.
The loan piece of positive news to come from the Phillies camp was the reported signing of Cuban phenom Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez. Nothing is official yet, but if scouting reports are true he could be a young Jose Contreras (not the one in a Phillies uniform).
With one game left before the deadline it finally appears that the Phillies are in seller mode. Then again, you can’t count on anything with RAJ at the helm.
(Worst) Game of the Week:
Phillies 0 – Tigers 10 7/27/13
With no games worth mentioning it seems appropriate to highlight the worst of the worst. Saturday night’s loss had to be the most demoralizing. Cliff Lee couldn’t go for the Phils after sleeping funny in St. Louis, so Charlie was forced to start Raul Valdes.
That alone should be enough to describe the Phillies fate that night.
Valdes gave up nine runs before being yanked in the fourth inning. To make matters worse Max Scherzer made the Phils hitters look silly. He got his major league leading 15th win, and the Phils put forth their worst effort all year. Talking out the tough times is important, and even cathartic, but now let’s never mention this game ever again.
(Worst) Player of the Week:
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Delmon Young
Valdes was an option, but he was put into an impossible situation, and only contributed to one loss. The real goat of the week was Delmon Young.
Young began the week booting the ball around the outfield in St. Louis, making Bobby Abreu look like a gazelle in the outfield. Of course he wasn’t brought here for his fielding, but Young’s bat wasn’t any better. He finished the week 2-18 before being benched on Sunday. We all expected poor fielding from the former first overall pick, but with no power to speak of it begs the question “WHAT IS HE STILL DOING HERE!”
Week Ahead:
The Phils come home to face the Giants and Braves, but all eyes are on Wednesday’s trade deadline. It’s anyone’s guess how big the fire sale will be, but don’t expect anything big. The return of Dom Brown to the lineup should at least make the Phils competitive again. If they bring their sloppy play to Citizens Bank Park, the fans will let them know what they really think of this team. My colleagues and I could be writing about a vastly different team this time next week. Stay Tuned.