GaryMrMets
07-06-2004, 01:40 AM
http://www.southjerseynews.com/issues/july/s070404j.htm
This team really needs some help
Sunday, July 4, 2004
PHILADELPHIA
The Phillies aren't where they want to be. Manager Larry Bowa knows that, acknowledges it freely. But there's a "but," and Saturday night showed why.
"We might not be where we want to be in terms of wins and losses," Bowa said.
But . . .
"But you can not question these guys' hearts," he added. "You look at what happened (Friday) night. If you question this team's heart, you've got to be crazy. They don't sell us short, and they don't sell the people here short. They gut it out.
"You know, I have people on the street, friends of mine, come up to me and say: `Why haven't you had a meeting? You've got to have a meeting.' I haven't had a meeting all year, because I know I don't need to. These guys give me everything I could ask for. They leave it out there every night."
They did it again Saturday, in a game that - for July 3 - might qualify as kind of a big win. After a 7-6 loss in 16 innings Friday that dragged the Phillies deep into the wee hours of Saturday morning, their No. 1 starter couldn't hold a lead and put them in a hole. And still the Phillies found a way to win.
"We have a battling team -- very talented, but also very scrappy," said Billy Wagner, who picked up the save Saturday after throwing two innings Friday. "Coming back from a tough defeat last night shows you the character this team has. This is a resilient group of guys."
Asked to describe the clubhouse, Wagner grinned and said: "Tired."
Sure the Phillies were tired. They got a little more tired when Millwood put them in a 5-3 hole after five innings. But Mike Lieberthal homered in the sixth, David Bell homered in the eighth to tie it, and Tomas Perez delivered a pinch-hit single to put the Phillies ahead.
The Phillies had a lot to overcome Saturday, and surely some of it was another shaky outing from Millwood. This was a day made for the likes of Curt Schilling or Roger Clemens, the kind of pitcher who walks into the clubhouse and says, essentially, "Don't worry, boys. I'll handle this."
Millwood, as Phillies fans clearly know by now, is not that guy. This was a day to be an ace, and Millwood was not up to it. And with each day, the Phillies' character proves itself but so does the need for more pitching.
You want to know why the Phillies are so maddeningly inconsistent? This is why. It isn't the lack of clutch hitting, and it isn't the mercurial personality of the manager. It is that Millwood has a 5.07 ERA and Brett Myers has a 5.28 ERA. You keep trotting out guys with an ERA over five, and it's going to be tough to string together wins.
The Phillies' chances in the NL East are all about Millwood, a concept that has appeared in this space a dozen times. If he's the guy they saw in Atlanta and in the first two months of last year, the Phillies will cruise to the title. That guy blows the Orioles away Saturday, takes that 3-0 lead in the first inning and nails this thing down.
If Millwood is going to be the guy the Phillies have seen for the last year and change, they're in real trouble. In his last 41 starts as a Phillie, Millwood has a 4.76 ERA.
Add to that the growing uncertainty of Vicente Padilla's return. Phillies GM Ed Wade said he was certainly paying attention to Padilla's situation, and while he loathes the will-he-or-won't-he daily trade rumor update, Wade is trying to land some help.
"We're working," Wade said. "We're talking to clubs to see if there's a way to improve our team - exclusive of when Vicente is ready to come back."
Millwood and Myers are, of course, way better than this. Pitching coach Joe Kerrigan can't seem to get them straightened out (and sooner or later it's going to be fair to ask if Kerrigan's not failing them somehow), and things don't seem to be getting any better.
The Phillies are the best team in this division. The Marlins are giving up the ghost by the day, but the Phillies can't put any distance on them.If Millwood and Myers were pitching anywhere close to their capabilities, the Phillies would have this thing in hand.
But they aren't, and so the Phillies don't. It's reasonable to wonder if they're every going to. The Phillies had a 5.84 ERA in June. July is off to a shaky start. And the Phillies really need some help.
This team really needs some help
Sunday, July 4, 2004
PHILADELPHIA
The Phillies aren't where they want to be. Manager Larry Bowa knows that, acknowledges it freely. But there's a "but," and Saturday night showed why.
"We might not be where we want to be in terms of wins and losses," Bowa said.
But . . .
"But you can not question these guys' hearts," he added. "You look at what happened (Friday) night. If you question this team's heart, you've got to be crazy. They don't sell us short, and they don't sell the people here short. They gut it out.
"You know, I have people on the street, friends of mine, come up to me and say: `Why haven't you had a meeting? You've got to have a meeting.' I haven't had a meeting all year, because I know I don't need to. These guys give me everything I could ask for. They leave it out there every night."
They did it again Saturday, in a game that - for July 3 - might qualify as kind of a big win. After a 7-6 loss in 16 innings Friday that dragged the Phillies deep into the wee hours of Saturday morning, their No. 1 starter couldn't hold a lead and put them in a hole. And still the Phillies found a way to win.
"We have a battling team -- very talented, but also very scrappy," said Billy Wagner, who picked up the save Saturday after throwing two innings Friday. "Coming back from a tough defeat last night shows you the character this team has. This is a resilient group of guys."
Asked to describe the clubhouse, Wagner grinned and said: "Tired."
Sure the Phillies were tired. They got a little more tired when Millwood put them in a 5-3 hole after five innings. But Mike Lieberthal homered in the sixth, David Bell homered in the eighth to tie it, and Tomas Perez delivered a pinch-hit single to put the Phillies ahead.
The Phillies had a lot to overcome Saturday, and surely some of it was another shaky outing from Millwood. This was a day made for the likes of Curt Schilling or Roger Clemens, the kind of pitcher who walks into the clubhouse and says, essentially, "Don't worry, boys. I'll handle this."
Millwood, as Phillies fans clearly know by now, is not that guy. This was a day to be an ace, and Millwood was not up to it. And with each day, the Phillies' character proves itself but so does the need for more pitching.
You want to know why the Phillies are so maddeningly inconsistent? This is why. It isn't the lack of clutch hitting, and it isn't the mercurial personality of the manager. It is that Millwood has a 5.07 ERA and Brett Myers has a 5.28 ERA. You keep trotting out guys with an ERA over five, and it's going to be tough to string together wins.
The Phillies' chances in the NL East are all about Millwood, a concept that has appeared in this space a dozen times. If he's the guy they saw in Atlanta and in the first two months of last year, the Phillies will cruise to the title. That guy blows the Orioles away Saturday, takes that 3-0 lead in the first inning and nails this thing down.
If Millwood is going to be the guy the Phillies have seen for the last year and change, they're in real trouble. In his last 41 starts as a Phillie, Millwood has a 4.76 ERA.
Add to that the growing uncertainty of Vicente Padilla's return. Phillies GM Ed Wade said he was certainly paying attention to Padilla's situation, and while he loathes the will-he-or-won't-he daily trade rumor update, Wade is trying to land some help.
"We're working," Wade said. "We're talking to clubs to see if there's a way to improve our team - exclusive of when Vicente is ready to come back."
Millwood and Myers are, of course, way better than this. Pitching coach Joe Kerrigan can't seem to get them straightened out (and sooner or later it's going to be fair to ask if Kerrigan's not failing them somehow), and things don't seem to be getting any better.
The Phillies are the best team in this division. The Marlins are giving up the ghost by the day, but the Phillies can't put any distance on them.If Millwood and Myers were pitching anywhere close to their capabilities, the Phillies would have this thing in hand.
But they aren't, and so the Phillies don't. It's reasonable to wonder if they're every going to. The Phillies had a 5.84 ERA in June. July is off to a shaky start. And the Phillies really need some help.