GaryMrMets
06-28-2004, 03:09 PM
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/sports/9027928.htm
Posted on Mon, Jun. 28, 2004
On Baseball | Is this team a contender or simply a pretender?
By Jim Salisbury
Inquirer Columnist
BOSTON - For the Phillies, the high point of this road trip came yesterday at precisely 5:02 p.m.
When it ended.
With another dispiriting loss.
The Phils' little journey to Montreal and Boston produced four losses in six games.
They got just nine hits in two losses to the Expos, who happen to be the worst team in baseball.
Their one victory in Boston was almost a gift, as the Red Sox made four errors, leading to the Phillies' scoring five unearned runs. In their two losses in Boston, Phillies pitching gave up 24 runs.
Hardly sounds like a team capable of winning the National League East.
"This trip didn't turn out like we wanted, but we are the team to beat in the division," Todd Pratt said confidently.
When will the Phillies start playing like the team to beat?
They are 11-13 this month and just three games over .500 for the season.
Yet, in the does-anybody-want-it NL East, they are just a game out of first place.
Yesterday, the Phils had Curt Schilling in trouble early - what a lift it would have been to have beaten him - but they blew a 3-0 lead when Brett Myers was mugged for four runs in the third inning.
With the lead, Schilling smelled blood, or at least his 10th win. He got it on a day when he didn't have Grade A location on his fastball, at least not early in the game. Schilling did have plenty of velocity, firing a fastball by Jim Thome with a runner on base to end the top of the fifth.
Up by three runs but in trouble in the sixth, Schilling struck out Jason Michaels (with 97 m.p.h. heat) and Todd Pratt (97 m.p.h. heat followed by a wicked splitter) with runners at the corners to end a Phillies threat.
Ball game.
Well, maybe not.
Pat Burrell, who had homered in his first bat, came up with runners on the corners and two outs in the seventh. Facing Mike Timlin, Burrell took a big swing and struck out.
Ball game.
At least it was after the Phils left four more men on base the next two innings.
So the trip to purgatory - with a quick stop at Customs - is over.
The good news is the Phils are on their way home for a 14-game homestand leading into the all-star break.
But is that really good news?
The Phils haven't exactly been a juggernaut there - not that they've been one anywhere.
They are just two games over .500 at home. Even with 40,000 coming out for each game, the Phils haven't enjoyed much of a home-field advantage.
In a way, you have to wonder if Citizens Bank Park is working against the Phillies, you have to wonder if it is fueling some of the offensive inconsistency that is driving Larry Bowa batty.
Bowa wonders whether his hitters look at those short fences in left and right field and change their swings in an effort to hit home runs.
"It's very intriguing to drop your back shoulder and try to lift the ball," he said. "That's not good in our park because you don't need to give the ball an extra boost. Just bump it and it will go."
The Phils are hitting .271 on the road and just .243 at home.
"That's not good," Bowa said. "No way there should be almost a 30-point difference."
Maybe it's the park. Sure, it gives up homers, but the outfield is less spacious than Veterans Stadium's outfield was. There seems to be less room for singles and doubles to land, and so far, the statistics support that.
In their first 34 home games last year, the Phils hit .253 with 34 homers, 176 singles, 64 doubles and six triples.
In their first 34 home games this year, the Phils had 54 homers, 167 singles, 53 doubles and four triples.
So, early indications are, it's a little tougher to get base hits at the Bank than it was at the Vet.
In their 14 games before the all-star break, the Phillies play Montreal four times, Baltimore three times, the Mets four times, and Atlanta three times.
Montreal, Baltimore and Atlanta all have losing records, and the Mets would have needed to beat the Yankees last night to get to .500.
"We're playing teams we should beat," Pratt said.
We'll see. The Expos just beat the Phils two out of three and the Mets already have taken four of five from the Phils.
We've been waiting for three months for this team to put it together. It's not do-or-die, not at this time of the year, and certainly not in this up-for-grabs division. But the schedule makers have smiled on the Phillies. They have a chance to put their stamp on this division the next two weeks.
They'll get to sleep in their own beds and eat Mama's cooking. They'll have the home crowd on their side.
But will they pitch consistently? Will they hit consistently? Or will they continue to make you want to pull your hair out?
Posted on Mon, Jun. 28, 2004
On Baseball | Is this team a contender or simply a pretender?
By Jim Salisbury
Inquirer Columnist
BOSTON - For the Phillies, the high point of this road trip came yesterday at precisely 5:02 p.m.
When it ended.
With another dispiriting loss.
The Phils' little journey to Montreal and Boston produced four losses in six games.
They got just nine hits in two losses to the Expos, who happen to be the worst team in baseball.
Their one victory in Boston was almost a gift, as the Red Sox made four errors, leading to the Phillies' scoring five unearned runs. In their two losses in Boston, Phillies pitching gave up 24 runs.
Hardly sounds like a team capable of winning the National League East.
"This trip didn't turn out like we wanted, but we are the team to beat in the division," Todd Pratt said confidently.
When will the Phillies start playing like the team to beat?
They are 11-13 this month and just three games over .500 for the season.
Yet, in the does-anybody-want-it NL East, they are just a game out of first place.
Yesterday, the Phils had Curt Schilling in trouble early - what a lift it would have been to have beaten him - but they blew a 3-0 lead when Brett Myers was mugged for four runs in the third inning.
With the lead, Schilling smelled blood, or at least his 10th win. He got it on a day when he didn't have Grade A location on his fastball, at least not early in the game. Schilling did have plenty of velocity, firing a fastball by Jim Thome with a runner on base to end the top of the fifth.
Up by three runs but in trouble in the sixth, Schilling struck out Jason Michaels (with 97 m.p.h. heat) and Todd Pratt (97 m.p.h. heat followed by a wicked splitter) with runners at the corners to end a Phillies threat.
Ball game.
Well, maybe not.
Pat Burrell, who had homered in his first bat, came up with runners on the corners and two outs in the seventh. Facing Mike Timlin, Burrell took a big swing and struck out.
Ball game.
At least it was after the Phils left four more men on base the next two innings.
So the trip to purgatory - with a quick stop at Customs - is over.
The good news is the Phils are on their way home for a 14-game homestand leading into the all-star break.
But is that really good news?
The Phils haven't exactly been a juggernaut there - not that they've been one anywhere.
They are just two games over .500 at home. Even with 40,000 coming out for each game, the Phils haven't enjoyed much of a home-field advantage.
In a way, you have to wonder if Citizens Bank Park is working against the Phillies, you have to wonder if it is fueling some of the offensive inconsistency that is driving Larry Bowa batty.
Bowa wonders whether his hitters look at those short fences in left and right field and change their swings in an effort to hit home runs.
"It's very intriguing to drop your back shoulder and try to lift the ball," he said. "That's not good in our park because you don't need to give the ball an extra boost. Just bump it and it will go."
The Phils are hitting .271 on the road and just .243 at home.
"That's not good," Bowa said. "No way there should be almost a 30-point difference."
Maybe it's the park. Sure, it gives up homers, but the outfield is less spacious than Veterans Stadium's outfield was. There seems to be less room for singles and doubles to land, and so far, the statistics support that.
In their first 34 home games last year, the Phils hit .253 with 34 homers, 176 singles, 64 doubles and six triples.
In their first 34 home games this year, the Phils had 54 homers, 167 singles, 53 doubles and four triples.
So, early indications are, it's a little tougher to get base hits at the Bank than it was at the Vet.
In their 14 games before the all-star break, the Phillies play Montreal four times, Baltimore three times, the Mets four times, and Atlanta three times.
Montreal, Baltimore and Atlanta all have losing records, and the Mets would have needed to beat the Yankees last night to get to .500.
"We're playing teams we should beat," Pratt said.
We'll see. The Expos just beat the Phils two out of three and the Mets already have taken four of five from the Phils.
We've been waiting for three months for this team to put it together. It's not do-or-die, not at this time of the year, and certainly not in this up-for-grabs division. But the schedule makers have smiled on the Phillies. They have a chance to put their stamp on this division the next two weeks.
They'll get to sleep in their own beds and eat Mama's cooking. They'll have the home crowd on their side.
But will they pitch consistently? Will they hit consistently? Or will they continue to make you want to pull your hair out?