To Press... Or Not To Press...
Well here we are… This time last week everyone was walking on sunshine, everyone was ordering playoff tickets, everyone was thinking of how many different ways they could use "Halladay" as "Holiday" in a sentence. Here we are this week, the Phillies have lost 4 of their last 5 games, their only win coming from past, present, and future CY Young winner, Roy Halladay. I'd like to give some reasons why fans should panic, and why they should not.
The "Pants are half on" section. The Phillies, at this point last season, were 5-6 allowing 7 runs a game, they were 5.5 games out of first place, everyone was ready to light themselves on fire, people started cutting themselves, the wheels were falling off the bandwagon, and the World Series was a fluke! Trade EVERYONE! But on May 15th they started the day 16-16 and this is where the season turned around, and by June 16th they were 36-26 and held a 3 game lead in the NL east. This team starts slow, they always start slow, the good first week was nice to watch but will not be the trend for the first month of the season.
The "Holy Hell my pants are gone" section. Kendrick, Moyer, Madson, and Baez all have an ERAs over 7, Romero cant stay healthy, neither can Brad Lidge, and that leaves Bastardo, Figueroa, Contreras, and Durbin. Saying those guys are your best bullpen options (with the exception of Durbin imo), should scare you. They need more consistent, durable, and useful bullpen help. I've defended the Cliff Lee Trade since day 1, and if they didn't trade Lee he would still be on the DL, secondly if the bullpen doesn't get any better, they will need to make a deal for some arms… without refilling the farm system, they would of had nothing to trade.
I'm leaning more towards no reason to panic. I have faith that Lidge will eventually come back healthy, if Mad-dog has to close for an extended period of time however, they are in trouble. Hamels is trying to throw 4 pitches instead of the 2.5 (change, fastball, half a curve ball) that made him a World Series MVP. Kendrick pitched well tonight, Happ has been solid, Blanton will be back soon, and Halladay is Jesus in red pin stripes. The offense is what wins them games, there are no problems there, and they will fix the bullpen. If you want something to panic about, panic about what the ticket prices will be after they get to the World Series a third straight year, or about how if the Flyers beat the Devils they will play the Caps next, or about if the Eagles can possibly ruin this draft, or if the Sixers will hire a custodian, or a former Bocce ball manager to coach them next season… There are still 149 games left.