Ibanez on DL + Phillies Home Record = Ouch

(Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES EXAMINER HOME PAGE

It’s official: this has been the worst week to be a fan of the Philadelphia Phillies.

All week, Mother Nature soaked the area as we collectively tried to enjoy summer baseball.  Instead, it felt like mid-April, not June.  On top of that, the Phillies lost two of three to the Boston Red Sox and then were blown out of their own building in three straight by the Toronto Blue Jays.  

The biggest news of all happens to be our Most Valuable left fielder hitting the disabled list.  In a heinous reminder of how quickly things can go south, the Phils are putting on an unsightly clinic over the past few days.  

Tell me this: when was the last time a team won their division with a losing record at home?  Because, as of this moment, your defending champion Philadelphia Phillies have the second worst record at home in all of baseball. Yes, just the Washington Nationals provide a cushion from the basement.  An anomaly of this magnitude has not been witnessed since the 2001 Atlanta Braves did it over an entire year.  They are the last team to finish a season with a losing record at home, and yet, still, somehow win their division. The Phillies finished second that year.

Add it all up and the results equal what could be a very defining time for this club.  Already one step behind because of their shoddy pitching, the Phils can ill-afford to backtrack, especially knowing their rivals are waiting for the fallout.  The New York Mets sit three games behind and for all of the commotion going on in Flushing, they have that going for them.  

A trying time for the Phillies awaits, but the team can take solace in the fact that they play three against the Baltimore Orioles this weekend.  The O’s are eight under-.500 for the season, dead last in the AL East.  But as we learned with the Blue Jays, do not sleep on any American League team.  

Perhaps the most important lesson that will be learned is; are they a team?  Around this time last season, the Phillies were being questioned about their starting pitching and their struggling offense.  Eerily similar to 2008, the Phils find themselves in a position where they must push forward.  Raul Ibanez hit the DL—so John Mayberry and Jayson Werth must carry the load.  The bullpen is weary—so the starters must pitch more innings.

In what will be a telling few days ahead, just remember, they are still in first place.  

(AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?