Phillies Struggle and What's To Come

Recently, the reigning World Series champions the Philadelphia Phillies have certainly struggled. Pitching, hitting, fielding, and pretty much every single aspect of their game has dwindled since beginning inter league play.

To find out more about their struggles and what could happen by the trade deadline for the Phils, I called upon Phillies blogger Josh Semless.

1) Obviously the Phils have had their share of problems with their pitching. Are there any rumored moves the Phils may be making by the trade deadline?

Semless: Ruben Amaro Jr. and the Phillies' front office would love to acquire a proven starting pitcher, but that is becoming increasingly more improbable with the state of the trade market. A combination of injuries and having few teams out of contention makes this a bad time to desire a starting pitcher.

Some of the top names that have been tossed out there, like Jake Peavy and Erik Bedard, are out. Even lower tier arms that have been rumored to be available, such as Chris Young, have been struck by the injury bug.

The Phils were rumored to be close to a deal with the Rockies that included landing Jason Marquis (9-5, 4.22 ERA), but the Rockies recent surge has proved to be a deal killer. The Red Sox’s Brad Penny was involved in probably the second strongest rumor for quite some time. A combination of Dice-K’s injury, John Smoltz’s struggles in his debut, and an injury to Jason Donald make this very unlikely. Jason Donald is one of the Phillies’ higher rated prospects and is currently a shortstop for the Lehigh Valley Ironpigs (AAA). The Red Sox had coveted him after losing Jed Lowrie to an injury.

Things could certainly change as we get closer to the trade deadline, but as of now the real hope is that the Phils can fill their needs from within. We’ll see how that works out as Antonio Bastardo has struggled as of late and also left Thursday’s game with a left shoulder strain. Two names I think we might be able to hold out hope for is Seattle’s Jarrod Washburn and possibly a guy like Doug Davis of the Diamondbacks. Regardless, it won’t be an A-list starter like Charlie Manuel and the rest of Philadelphia would want.

2) Jimmy Rollins has been benched for his poor play. Just batting over .200, and six home runs. Will J- Roll be able to bounce back or will his benching negatively effect his play?

Semless: Charlie Manuel has benched Jimmy before. This has probably been the biggest and most frustrating slump of his career, but Jimmy Rollins will once again become Jimmy Rollins. He is simply too good to not get back on track. Statistically speaking, J-Roll has batted over 20 points higher for his career in the second half. September has also always been his best month by far. In order for the Phils to be successful they need Jimmy to be the table setter that he has been in the past. He knows that and he will definitely get his act together very soon. J-Roll’s struggles are a concern, but not even close to the starting pitching.

3) Is their cause for concern after the trouble the Phils have had against the American League during interleague play this season?

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