Angels 7, Phils 1

Didn't see it. Incredibly glad I didn't.

The Phils' weaknesses have been exposed over the past two weeks: starting pitching and offensive depth. The first is a problem because they have three, I repeat, THREE starters that I simply don't trust right now, Myers, Eaton, and Kendrick. The second might not be a problem forever but it's a serious problem right now. This team is basically built around the idea that four guys (Rollins, Utley, Howard, and Burrell) hit a lot and score lots of runs. Unfortunately, all four of them are simultaneously in slumps, and the team is screwed. Three months into the season it's become obvious that Jenkins, Feliz, and Ruiz simply aren't good enough to pick up the slack when the Big Four aren't hitting. (And see the previous post for further thoughts on Ruiz.)

I realize that the Phils have run into some great pitching lately, I mean I know Ervin Santana and Jon Lester are great, but come on, two hits last night? On a warm night in a hitter's park? Something's wrong, and they need to do something about it before everything starts to slip away.

Tonight is an absolutely crucial game. Obviously, the season isn't over if they lose it, and no matter what happens they'll still be in first place tomorrow morning. But it would be their fourth loss in a row and their fourth series loss in a row. If Myers has another bad game and/or the lineup continues to suck they need to do something about it. Find a new starter on the waiver wire. Call up a starter from the minors. Bench the Big Four. Start Werth and Dobbs. Make Coste the #1 catcher. Bring back Chris Snelling (that kid had some pop, and we didn't see nearly enough of him). Come up with some crazy new batting order. Something! Shake things up, Charlie, because whatever you're doing right now is getting stale.

The really sad thing is that even throughout this protracted slump where the team's been terrible, the bullpen has remained pretty good. You know, the bullpen, the very thing that was this team's biggest problem last year. Why can't we have one full season where everything works???

Oh yeah, and the Mets are starting to pick it up. If you, reading this right now, are the person in charge of making such things happen, then I want you to know that I hate you.

See? Everything's going to be fine.

Cole shut down the braves on Thursday night; Jayson thrashed the Blue Jays to within an inch of their lives last night. Things are good at the Bank.

Meanwhile, the Flyers are doing that thing that teams do when they're down 3-0 and then they win a game: they make their fans start thinking things like "Well, if we steal Game 5, then come home for Game 6... we can do this!" I must admit to being one of those fans that thinks those kinds of crazy things. But Sunday's game should be fun. Unless we've only succeeding in angering the Pens and making them remember they're actually much better. Nah, it'll be all right.

LET'S GO FLYERS!!!

I made it to YouTube!

I can be seen in this video.

5/6: Diamondbacks 6, Phils 4

I want to believe in Adam Eaton. I really do. I'm rooting for him. I want to believe that 2007 was just extra horrible, that he's, while not an ace or an all-star, a perfectly serviceable fifth or even fourth starter who can help this team. And so far this season he was unspectacular, but not terrible either. He was keeping us in games. But after last night, I don't know what to think. I just don't know if I can take a pitcher seriously if he walks Randy Johnson - Randy Johnson! - on four pitches - four! - with the bases loaded - bases loaded! - and a one run lead. Randy Johnson! He's a pitcher! And not a very good hitting pitcher either! Plus, Randy Johnson is 6'10". He's like the tallest player in the history of baseball. He therefore probably has the largest strike zone in history. Adam, seriously, it's a gargantuan strike zone! It's this enormous rectangle! Just throw strikes through it! What, Randy Johnson's going to hit one of them? So what? You've got good fielders behind you. Maybe it'll even be a double play. But don't, for the love of god, just walk him one four pitches. Randy Johnson! Bases loaded! Pitches! Bases! Randy! Adam Eaton! That was only Johnson's 15th walk in his 21 year career. I'm flabbergasted, is what I am.

Jayson Werth's missed catch a few batters before that didn't help, either. But you just literally can't do what Eaton did there. It was the absolute last thing we needed. No good. I'm just, yeah, I don't like it. I need to think about something else for a while.

Sort of a Flyers preview (actually, just something I feel like mentioning)

My Bar Mitzvah theme was "penguins". That's it. I'm not sure why. Penguins were my favorite animal growing up, but I can't recall why I thought they would make a good Bar Mitzvah theme. Was I so bereft of a personality that I just picked my favorite animal as a theme? That's kind of stupid, now that I think about it. I mean, couldn't I have used something I was actually really into? Like Star Wars? Baseball cards? Books? Lego? Lego, that would have been really cool. Anything but penguins. What a weird kid I must have been.

Anyway, I bring this up because I have a history of liking penguins but I do not like, especially this week of all week, the Pittsburgh Penguins. I don't have a healthy hatred of them like I do for the Rangers and Devils, but I'm a fast learner.

So this week, we hate penguins, the little flightless bastards. I certainly don't advocate cruelty to animals (except for the fact that I eat meat, because it's friggin' delicious), but, well, I'm just saying, the Philadelphia Zoo has plenty of penguins. If they were missing one - one measly little penguin - because a hockey team had kidnapped it and kept it imprisoned in a cage in their arena during a playoff game, who would notice?

Yes, now I am officially babbling, so I'll cut it short. Just remember to boo this guy!

Birthday post!

I took a walk in the sunshine today at lunch, and headed over to aka where I found the first two Mary Timony albums, which I'd been looking for, just sitting there in the used section, right in front. I always find it weird when I find a CD I'm looking for just sitting there in plain sight; I feel like it was too easy and I didn't earn it.

But enough of my ranting, let's get to the sports!

4/23: Pistons [some score], 76ers [some considerably lower score]

Yeah. Look, you know and I know that the Pistons are the better team. I'm not stupid. Neither are Mo Cheeks or the Andres or anybody else. But, I prefer to just chalk this one up to "Well, the Sixers caught the Pistons off guard in Game 1, so they won, and then the Sixers maybe got the slightest bit cocky and forgot that the Pistons are much better, so they didn't play their best game and lost, and in Game 3 and beyond everything will even out". Also, I hope to never write anything so clumsy and artless ever again.

4/23: Brewers 5, Phillies 4

I love Cole, I really do, but he's gotta know that he can't just stay in every game for 9 innings and 130 pitches every time. Charlie, we have a good bullpen this year! Like, literally: they're actually really good! Use them! Hey, speaking of good bullpens:

4/24: Phillies 3, Brewers 1

It's always fun when you completely forget they're playing a day game, and then a coworker wanders by your office and says "Hey, the Phils won!" Judging from the box score, this was a solid pitching effort all around. I repeat: we have a good bullpen. Start scoring some runs consistently and nobody can stop us.

I have a stat counter now, so I'll know exactly when you people are here and where you're at. As of this writing, there have been two visitors since last night, both of whom looked at the blog for a total of 0 seconds. Yeah! Thanks for stopping by.

I know what else I want for my birthday, and it starts in 40 minutes.

GO FLYERS!!!

4/9: Mets 8, Phils 2

Well, we knew they'd lose one to NY eventually. I'm less concerned about the loss than I am about two things: ONE, Kendrick looked awful. I mean, really awful. The kind of awful that Gavin Floyd was pretty consistently and made us give up on him. I'm not ready to give up on Kyle, but... for cryin' loud, that was ugly. But not quite as ugly as TWO, all the errors! We actually lead the league in errors! Knock it off with the errors!

So, I have to admit I pulled an Irv when the Mets went up 5-1. I was really more watching the Sixers, and, well, you know how it is. It's April, they'll be fine.

Next: Rubber game, baby!