Philadelphia Phillies Fans: Have No Fear, the Worst is Over

Well Phillies fans, the early part of the season is over.

You all know what I'm talking. Those first two months when the Phillies have already broken our spirits with dreadful starts that leave us counting down the days to training camp. Not that we don't do this, but it is a bit ridiculous to start this countdown in mid-May.

However, as much as the Phillies have tried to replicate these failures again this season, they are yet to truly have that collapse.

They have not had a catastrophic injury to their big four of Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, and Cole Hamels.

They stand above .500 for the season, and in both April and May, which has put them at 2.5 games out of the division lead.

At the end of April last season, the Phillies were 11-14 with 12 losses coming against division foes. What a great way to show that they were "the team to beat".

They followed this lackluster performance in April with a 15-13 showing in May, while dropping just three of eight games against divisional opponents, with a result of 10-10 against out-of-division opponents.

This time last year, they were 26-27 and the city was already counting down to the start of training camp.

In June, they gave us a 15-13 performance with an impressive 15-10 stretch in July.

Whether they try to or not, the Phillies always seem to test the city's patience every year until they get to June or July, when they look like those Oakland A's of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Those A's always made an impressive run in the second half to make the playoffs.

Well, I don't know about the rest of Philadelphia, but I would rather not have to worry about whether or not the Phillies will find that second half switch every season.

So far this season, I am pretty optimistic. They are three or four wins higher in the standings compared to last year, when they finished just one game above the Mets for the division title.

They have been carried by the early season hot streaks of Pat Burrell, who has fizzled out, and of Chase Utley, who continues to show that he is a legitimate threat for NL MVP.

Now, the pitching has been decent. 

Three of the starters, Brett Myers, Kyle Kendrick, and Adam Eaton, all have ERAs above 5.15. In addition, Cole Hamels has as many wins on his own as those three starters have combined, with a total of five.

Granted, the bullpen has been solid. Brad Lidge is showing the lights-out form he had before he met Albert Pujols. J.C. Romero is showing what we all saw in his stint with the Twins, and both have ERAs under 4.80.

It also helps that they are currently in a series with the Rockies, who are without Troy Tulowitzki and Matt Holliday. Especially since Holiday was on a 10-game hitting streak, and he is hitting .391 at Citizens Bank Park in his career, with six HRs and 11 RBI in six games.

It also helps that they have been playing offensively hapless teams like the Padres, Giants, and Blue Jays.

But the biggest thing that is just starting to happen for the Phils, is that Ryan Howard is starting to find his stroke again.

He started out slowly, as usual, hitting just .172 with a .279 OBP, and five HRs with 37 strikeouts at the end of April. Since then, he has raised his average to .207 with a .313 OBP, and has amassed 14 HRs and a whopping 75 strikeouts.

He is heating up, and Chase Utley is still white hot this season.

The Phillies have a good-looking product starting to show up on the field. The offense is starting to click, and would be better, I believe, if Shane Victorino hit leadoff and Rollins hit second, but I digress.

I still have concerns about the starting pitching though, and I believe it will come down to the Phillies and the Atlanta Braves for the division title in September. I've said before that I think the Braves will win the division, and as much as I hate to say it, I still think they will, but I think it will be close.

However, the Phillies will be in the playoffs after finishing two games behind the Braves due to the two late-season series against the Braves. The Phillies should get the Wild Card, assuming they don't have a second half meltdown.

No matter what, I feel that the worst is over, and that maybe, just maybe, the Phillies will start a new trend of starting well and finishing well.