Congratulations to the the 2011 edition of the Phillies who clinched their 5th in a row NL East Title Saturday when they beat the Cardinals. They were able to clinch because of their starting pitching - Roy Oswalt who looked the best he has looked in many months. A healthy productive Oswalt would be a welcome edition to the playoff rotation.
The problem of course is the continued silence of the bats. Aside from an occasional hit from the regulars the team is not hitting and this will bite them in the ass when they have to face the rotations of the other playoff teams. Since returning to the lineup, Rollins has basically done nothing, and Utley, who may still be hurt has also done nothing, Howard who it is now revealed has bursitus is sitting down for awhile. That's unfortunate since I do enjoy watching him strikeout with men on base. (Do sabermetrics people look at that?)
Victorino's batting average has fallen the way a Steve Carlton slider, and Ibanez - who delivered the three run shot on Saturday to help clinch has been very spotty at best. Polanco seems to have stopped his freefall, but we can only hope that he will be a factor.
That leaves us with two regular players who have kept their part of the bargain. I speak of course of Hunter Pence and Carlos Ruiz. Both have played well.
The problem of course is that in order for the team to go deep in the playoffs they are going to need some help from those who have been stealing their paychecks. The help can't come from the likes of Martinez, Gload, Orr, or even Mayberry. Francisco is a non-factor as is Wilson Valdez. No, the help has to come from the so called core guys, and until I see them starting to hit the ball with any authority, I'll stay away from the Kool-Aid.
My point was made very clear last night when Hamels gave up home runs to Puljos and Craig. One of our Aces goes south and the Phillies bats were silenced by Chris Carpenter - the Cardinals ace. Until the shot by Craig I was switching back and forth between the Phillies and the Eagles. After the shot - no more Phillies.
Speaking of football. Penn State barely beat a Temple team that I thought could have won the game. The Temple starters matched up well against the Nits, but a lack of depth and some mistakes did them in. The Owls should do well in their conference, while PSU will be not be a factor in the Big Ten.
And now to the Eagles and Michael Vick. Wow. This kid has oodles of talent, but he got hit more last night more than an opponent going through a rope-a-dope administered by Ali. Some of the blame has to fall on the o-line who were not very good in picking up blitzes. LT Peters played an awesome game, and Herrmans was OK, but the other guys need some more work.
A lot of the blame for the loss has to rest with Vick who threw 3 picks. You can't beat a good team like the Falcons when you turn the ball over and give them great field position. It was a team loss given that the defense allowed the Falcons to overcome a 4th quarter deficit. I didn't notice our linebackers doing anything - in fact if I were grading these guys - only Cullen, Cole & the DBS would pass. The rest of them just sucked.
With Vick on the shelf with a concussion, and whatever his name as the backup, this team will go nowhere. Vince Young is hurt and we haven,t been given a timetable for his return.
Reid is not my favorite coach - you all know that. Last night he seemed to call every gimmick play in the playbook. The basic stuff was working - the were running well - McCoy looked great. Why not keep at it until it stops working? You'll have to ask Fat Andrew who probably woke up this morning still saying "we've got to do better"
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