Five Things the Philadelphia Phillies Must Do To Make the MLB Playoffs
Quick, name me one other team in the majors right now who has sustained more injuries than the Phillies and ACTUALLY continued to play extremely well; all things considered.
I’ll give ya a minute.
Yeah, I couldn’t think of any either, and that’s because there really isn’t any. Sure, there are a couple of teams who have dealt with a season long injury list (Boston anyone) but nobody has duplicated what the Phightin' Phils have in the 2010 season.
This is a team that has lost Placido Polanco (twice), J-Roll (twice), Chase Utley who recently returned, Shane Victorino, Carlos Ruiz and newest member of the DL Ryan Howard.
But in their place have come players who, for the most part, have filled in more than admirably when they were needed most.
Players such as Wilson Valdez, Ross Gload, Brian Schneider, Domonic Brown, and Ben Francisco have all filled in when asked and have done so with effective results on defense and on offense.
But time really does heal all wounds, and everyone except Howard has found their way back onto the playing field at just the right time.
Albeit, they are still chasing Bobby Cox and those pesky Braves! Don’t you just hate going away parties?
If the Phillies are going back to the postseason they are going to do it either by winning the division, or via the Wild Card, but there are a few things that they must do in order to keep the torrent pace that lifted them from 7 games out of first to nearly 2 games out of first.
Let’s take a look.
5. Will Someone Please Swing The Bat When Hamels Pitches?
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Unless there is a little prankster running around the streets of Brotherly Love, replacing the wooden bats the Phils use with wiffle ball bats, there is little excuse for the lack of run support when Hamels is on the mound.
The guy is 1-2 with a 1.81 ERA in his last SEVEN starts. That simply won’t do.
The Phillies are already dealing with two gaping holes in their lineup with Blanton and Kendrick, so getting Hamels the W is of the utmost importance.
A pitcher can nothing more than pitch well, and if his offense is struggling, then it doesn’t matter what the guy on the mound does.
No other pitcher in Philly has experienced this as much as Hamels has.
They are chasing the Braves, with the Giants breathing down their neck; two situations that could easily be defused with run support for Hamels, so please, get the poor kid some runs already!
4. Keep Rollins Rollin
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One of schizophrenic-ish reasons for me deciding to write this piece was the sudden spark out of Jimmy Rollins.
Now I am not immediately jumping on a hot train, but if Rollins can stay hot before September, the Phillies will have a real good thing going here, and both the Braves and Giants will have plenty to worry about.
J-Roll is known as Mr. September, and plays better in that month historically than any other month in the baseball season; hitting about 20 points higher in average. But it usually doesn’t start until AFTER September begins.
This little flair up he has going is a nice thing to see considering September is just around the corner, and if he can stay hot, the Phils will have a chance for the division.
3. Send Blanton To The Repair Shop Or Send HIm Down To Triple-A
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There are a lot of Phillies fans I talk to who seem to be comfortable with Joe Blanton’s exceptional penchant for self destruction in the first inning, justifying it by saying things like: “Ah, it’s Blanton, whattya gonna do, he usually settles in around the fourth.”
Yeah, that’s all fine and good in the regular season—when the postseason isn’t right around the corner—but that kinda flighty pitching won’t cut it when October comes traipsing along.
The Cardinals, Reds, Giants, Braves, and Padres are all very good hitting teams, and a guy who has an ERA of 8.00+ in the first inning should not be pitching against teams of this caliber in the postseason unless he cleans things up.
So get Joey B some towels, and a V-8, and get him on the winning track or let someone else have a crack at it.
2. Werth Every Penny?
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Stop all the speculation surrounding Jayson Werth about him getting traded. The last thing anyone needs is to hear are rumors like that when their team is so close to returning to the postseason.
Werth struggled at times this year grant it, and there were talks about him possibly getting traded if the Phillies were completely out of it, but the guy is worth every damn penny he gets paid, and needs to be allowed to show it.
As of late, Werth has been swinging well, fielding well, cracking doubles, stealing bases, and in the final eight weeks of the season it is these types of attributes that will once again be the driving force behind one last regular season push by the Phillies.
1. Real Simple: Get Howard Back!
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Ryan Howard is an absolute must for this team, and I don’t need to tell any Philly fan that. But his minor set back from his ankle injury was enough to cause a lifted eyebrow as to the extent of his injury.
Howard appears to be fine—just so you all know—and he is slated to begin a rehab assignment on Friday of this week, with a possible return on Monday.
Howard is hitting .292/.356/.528 with 23 HR and 81 RBI and is arguably swinging the bat better than he ever has before; he’s even on pace to have the lowest SO count of his career as a full season starter.
Add all of this up and what do ya have?
A hot J-Roll in the final month plus a solidified pitching staff that is supported by scores, a dash of healthy starters, and competent bench players, alongside a power hitting Ryan Howard that is actually hitting better than ever when healthy. is what I’d like to call a recipe for success.
A very similar recipe was used when the Phils last won the World Series ya know! Think about that for a second.
These five things are crucial to the Phillies getting to the postseason, among many other examples, but that's where you—the Philadelphia faithful come in, right?
OK Philly fans, I know you guys are out there so let's hear from ya. These are just my five, what about you guys, what do you think the Phillies have to do in order to return to the postseason, I wanna hear from yas.
If you all liked this piece, here is another short humor piece I did, you may enjoy, so check it out :)
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