Elite teams win ball games that they are supposed to win.
Elite coaches make the right moves concerning their fledgling “number one starter.”
Elite players realize what is at stake and come to play.
The Phillies as a whole did none of the above for their 15 interleague games and were treated accordingly by the American League.
After all was said and done, the Fightin’s did barely that; put up a fight. They were outclassed by the strong American League giving the Phillies a taste of what it is really like to sit upon the upper-echelon of the baseball world. After a quick three-game series against Toronto in mid-May in which the Phillies lost two of three, the real fun wouldn’t start until one month later as the bulk of the AL schedule would be introduced.
Their first test out of the interleague gate was the Boston Red Sox, whom you may know as the reigning world champions. Things started brilliantly against one of the toughest clubs in all the land as the Phillies bats stayed hot with an 8-2 win.
Ryan Howard smacked two home runs in the first game against the AL and fans in Philadelphia rejoiced; the Phils were actually going to hang with the junior circuit. Skip ahead six days and the Phillies would sport a five-game losing streak after being crushed by the Sox in the final two games of that series as well as a clean-sweep by the LA Angles of Anaheim.
In the latter three game set, the Phils hardly put up a fight as they were outscored 16-5 by a team that struggles to put up runs. A week that began so promising turned ugly in a matter of hours. The Phillies pitching staff was ill prepared for the battle against the upper class of the American League and the bats failed to show as well.
The second week of interleague play brought the Phils out west. Their first stop on the road portion of the interleague slate was Oakland. Still, the results were the same. The Phillies lost two of three to the A’s and managed a measly six runs. For a great hitting squad, the bats were cold at the worst possible time.
Oakland showed us why they are consistently near the top of the AL West. Billy Beane, the A’s General Manager, keeps finding pieces that fit the makeup of an A’s team, as well as the small payroll they are allowed to work with. The end of the battle versus the American League proved no different.
The Phils moved from Oakland to Arlington to meet up with the high-octane Texas Rangers. Finally, some runs were being scored by the futile offense; however, this came along just as the pitching staff went overboard. An 8-7 loss started the three-game series, but the Phillies salvaged the next game, an 8-6 win.
The ever-important final game of a road trip is one that can make or break you as a team. A loss keeps a sour taste in your mouth for the plane ride home. A win can make you forget about the losses that have piled on. Therefore, the Phillies went and lost. A 5-1 beat-down by the Rangers ended the torture by the AL, opening a wound that was four wins deep and 11 losses long.
Stitches would be provided, but the scar will be there throughout the season. After starting the main portion of the interleague schedule at 41-30, the Phils ended the misery on Sunday just five games over-.500 and the slimmest of leads in the National League East. The month of June could have proved many positives for the Phillies.
They could have shown the rest of the league that they are capable of hanging with the big boys; that their red-hot start was not a fluke. Normally, the Phils don’t start hitting until the end of July. However, this season had been different. Of course, that all changed when the buzz saw that is the talented American League slapped the Phillies around and made them wish they too used a DH.
Ryan Howard continues to pad his not-so-funny strikeout totals. Brett Myers, the so-called-numero uno, has stunk it up so bad he may be relegated to long-relief sometime very soon. J-Roll isn’t leading off with hits and Chase Utley is back into a funk. It’s a long season that we can be sure of.
What we can be unsure of though is how the Phillies will respond to this beat down as they head to the all-star break.
Elite teams forget about the past quickly and come to play the next day. Elite coaches prepare their ball club for the battle that lies ahead.
Elite players cover up the nasty scar left by a disastrous road-trip and focus on the next game.
So what will July bring? Only uncertainty, certainly.
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3 months ago
That field the Phils play at is RETARDED. I could piss out of that park from home.
3 months ago
Excellent comment.
3 months ago
The Phillies are going to be outdone by their own division. I just wrote an article looking at the Mets vs. Phillies, check it out.
The Mets, will come to their senses and destroy the NL East down the stretch.
Good article...feel free to leave comments on my articles. Thanks.
from 3 months ago
Obviously you're free to your opinions, but I dont see how they are going to "destroy" the NL East. The division continues to beat up on each other, so I dont think anyone is going to exactly run away with it. Florida keeps winning and the Braves are going to win some games.
Beyond that, if you look at the Phils versus the Mets, can you really say the Mets are better than the Phillies? And thats not even me being a homer. Obviously I question the Phils at every turn. Both pitching staffs are up and down, althought I would rather have Lidge than Wagner at the back end. The Mets have a makeshift offense besides Reyes, Wright and I'll give you Delgado. Church cant stay healthy, which is a shame cause hes an awesome player. They can keep putting Tatis and Anderson out there, both of whom were barely in baseball the last few seasons. Just dont see how they can destroy anyone.
I'd bet on the Marlins.
3 months ago
I'm sorry, I forgot to add Beltran in there, whom they hate on sportsradio in NY.
3 months ago
Hey, if New York really hates Carlos Beltran, send him down to Philly!!! lol
from 2 months ago
We don't hate Beltran, we hate anyone that dosen't play well, just like any fan should be. Of course there are the few exceptions. New York fans would never boo Derek Jeter, David Wright or Jorge Posada.
By the way my last comment on this article was left before the Mets began to "run away" with the division. Since then they have taken 3 of 4 from the Phillies (and they're AAA pitchers) and beaten up Tim Lincecum in game 1 of our next series. If i'm not mistaken, weren't the Phillies shut out last night?
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