Phillies Bats Breakout Vs NL Leading Padres, Marlins

It’s been quite a couple interesting weeks in Philadelphia sports news.

Being a Philadelphia sports fan has been filled with its ups and downs over the last couple weeks. The Sixers received the 2^nd overall pick in this month’s upcoming NBA draft, where they are expected to take Ohio State’s Evan Turner (although there are rumors that the pick might be traded.) The Flyers have made the Stanley Cup Finals, and in a city where hockey is enjoyed but not loved, the streets are filled with people wearing orange and black.

The sports talk of the town has not been about a possible resurrection of the city’s basketball team, or the possibility of a parade down Broad Street within the next couple of weeks. Instead, the focus has been on the Phillies, the team that over the last few years has been the most successful in this four-sport city. The Phillies have appeared in the last two World Series, and it has been mostly due to their bats. If you have watched any Phillie baseball over the last 3 weeks, you wouldn’t think so.

Since the middle of May, the entire Phillies lineup has been in a slump. All of the Phillies everyday players have seen their batting average decline since a 12-2 victory against the Pirates on May 17. The shortstop combination of Juan Castro and Wilson Valdez have produced almost nothing in place of the injured Jimmy Rollins. Castro has gone 5 for 31 since that 10 run victory, and while Valdez has seen his batting average go up, neither have homered and their combined efforts have contributed very few runs.

Some players have been hit harder by this slump than others. Placido Polanco has only seen a very minimal decrease in his batting average. Polanco, a 34 year old infielder who was signed by the Phillies this past offseason to replace Pedro Feliz, has been the only Phillie to prevent his batting average from falling below .300. Teammates Ryan Howard (.311 to currently .290), Chase Utley (.308 to .266), Jayson Werth (.336 to .278) and Carlos Ruiz (.341 to .293) have all seen significant declines in their batting averages since clobbering Charlie Morton on May 17. Raul Ibanez has hovered below .250 all season long (Everyone needs to give him a break, at least he’s consistent.)

Contact has not been the only issue. The lack of run support is partially due to the fact that the 2009 National League leaders in long balls have the same number of homers over the last 3 weeks as the Seattle Mariners, who rank 30^th in dingers this season.

Fans are searching for what could have caused such a slump. Some are already throwing in the towel on the season. I think it’s too early for that.

The season is just a little more than one third over. Over 100 games remain, and with the Phillies out of first place by 2 games, people are giving up? The Phillies were able to make up an even greater deficit to reach the 2007 playoffs after the Mets played horrifically and blew a 7 game lead with 17 games left, allowing the Phillies to take over first place in the division.

Philadelphia fans: Anything can happen. Especially with Jimmy Rollins hopefully returning soon. Like it or not, Jimmy Rollins may mean more to this team than any other player, and his absence is proving just that. The bottom line is this team is significantly better with Jimmy’s bat and defense. The Phillies will win just like they have for the last couple years if he stays healthy and the injuries he has suffered earlier this season don’t affect him in August and September. He could even be an MVP candidate if he does these things, as well as help the Phillies take over the top spot in the National League East Division right away and keep it that way for the remainder of the regular season.

The past weekend was a good one for the Phils, especially since they scored 5 or more runs twice and split a 4 game series with the NL-leading San Diego Padres. Last night, they put up 10 in a victory against the Marlins, the first time this Philadelphia team has scored double-digit runs since that game on May 17^th, when, you know, this whole nightmare began.

By the end of this summer, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to say that I have been alive to see the Flyers win a Stanley Cup. As much as I’d love to be rockin’ a new Evan Turner jersey this fall, I am not entirely positive that his home for the next few years will be the Wachovia Center. What I do know is this: The Phillies will be playing beyond the first week in October 2010.