Consistently Inconsistent

The "I probably shouldn't have swung at that" Face

What can you say about this baseball team? I haven’t posted in almost two weeks and I’ve just been searching for an angle that doesn’t make me want to shoot myself in the face.

Cliff Lee has landed on the DL with elbow issues.

Dom Brown may have had his talent removed just like Charles Barkley in Space Jam.

Cole Hamels can’t get a win when he leaves with a three run lead. And he has a 4.50 ERA.

Kyle Kendrick went 16 starts dating back to last season until he finally got a win yesterday.

Ryan Howard went 79 whopping plate appearances without a home run before he connected on Memorial Day. My god, that’s shameful.*

Josh ____ing Beckett threw a goddamn no-hitter against the Phillies on Sunday. Couldn’t have happened to a better guy – cue Rodney Dangerfield eye roll. I think it’s more impressive that the Phillies hadn’t been no-hit since 1978 when compared to Beckett actually throwing the no-hitter. No-hitters are impressive but they happen on average 3 times a year.

The Phillies followed that up with a 9-0 shellacking of the best hitting team in baseball, the Colorado Rockies. Go figure, huh?

When it comes right down to it there’s not much you can say about this team except that they are inconsistent. The starting pitching is serviceable, maybe not without Lee, but with Lee it’s above average. The bullpen is atrocious, but that’s a given.

It’s the hitting. Something’s gotta be done about the hitting. I say this exactly how Doc Brown would say it to Marty McFly, “Your parents! Something’s gotta be done about your parents!” Our summer being more enjoyable and Marty’s life depend on it.

The Phillies have just been stuck in 2^nd gear since The Big Piece tore his Achillies. I looked it up; the Phillies haven’t won more than 5 games in a row in since September 2012. They went all of 2013 without winning more than 5 games in a row. Do you know what their longest winning streak is this season? 

3. 

Three wins in a row is what this collection of ballplayers seem to be capable of and that will keep you below .500 with little doubt. You have to reel off 7 in a row once a month, or 9 out of 10. Just get hot, an extended period of good play for Chrissake! It has been elusive for this ballclub and who knows if they are even capable of it at this point?

Through 48 games the Phillies are averaging exactly 4 runs per game. The Rockies lead the NL at 5.04 per game and the Padres are woefully last at 3.17. The perplexing thing is that the Phillies are currently averaging 3.38 runs per game following a win. Their winning does not beget winning. If you’re averaging 3.38 runs per game following a win, it’s not surprising you can’t win more than 3 in a row. Makes me sick that I looked that up and my suspicions were correct.

The era of sabermetrics is fully upon us as evidenced by shifting, situational relievers, the value of on base percentage and things like BABIP and UZR, if you know those last two more power to you. These things are all well and good and can provide an advantage to ballclubs because they are more prepared and ready for all situations. But what it doesn’t account for is karma, or the intangibles that good teams have and thrive off of in order to be great.

I liken this to how the Phillies made their initial run to the playoffs in 2007.  Let’s be honest, that team had bonafide superstars in their prime mashing the ball, but they also had a makeshift-crap pitching staff.  That staff had a 4.73 ERA (The current staff has a 4.07) and featured the likes of Jamie Moyer, Adam Eaton, JD Durbin, and Jon Lieber as starters with Bret Myers, Geoff Geary, and Antonio Alfonseca getting the bulk of the work in the bullpen (Brings back memories doesn’t it?).

That team had “it” though. They were 7.5 games back with 17 to play and the sense of urgency was there. When one guy made a play, it felt like it bolstered the confidence of everyone else on the team to make the next play. When Jayson Werth stole 2^nd, stole 3^rd, and scored a huge run to beat the Mets one fall afternoon you could feel the energy radiating through the television.

This team doesn’t have that. They play like individuals collecting 6 figure checks every other Friday. It’s like they’re punching a clock. Utley plays hard and Rollins plays well, but how vocal are those guys? Do they tell Dom Brown to quit dicking around that they’re trying to win a division here? Does Chase to go Ryan, “Hey, maybe you should watch the film of the Rockies relievers with me? We’re playing them this week.” Does Sandberg get angry when they get no-hit or does he heap praise on Josh Beckett? Ummm..

This team just doesn’t feel like it has what it takes to build momentum because they’re busy stopping it dead in its tracks every time it starts. I know in my heart (not my head) that there is one way this team can build momentum. One man that they could rally around and feed off his energy and once powerful bat. That man is Ryan Howard. He hasn’t gone on an old-fashioned Ryan Howard tear in longer than any of us care to remember. But if he can start sending moon shots out of the ballpark on a more consistent basis we’re going to see more wins and more life out of this team. Here’s to hoping.

NL East standings after 8 weeks:

Atlanta Braves....................  28-22  -
Miami Marlins.....................  27-25  2 GB
Washington Nationals...........   25-26  3.5 GB
Philadelphia Phillies............   22-26  5 GB
New York Mets...................  22-28  6 GB

Werth the Watch:

Jayson Werth

Avg: 276 OB: 365 Slg: 396 HR: 5 RBI: 20 R: 29

Shane Victorino - Back on the DL

Avg: 242 OB: 276 Slg: 352 HR: 1 RBI: 10 R: 10

Hunter Pence

Avg: 289 OB: 363 Slg: 463 HR: 6 RBI: 18 R: 38

Raul Ibanez - no longer playing every day

Avg: 156 OB: 278 Slg: 279 HR: 3 RBI: 20 R: 13

* Ryan Howard is currently 1 home run and 1 RBI from being in the top 10 in the NL in both those categories.