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David argued that the Phillies will win the division. Now it's my turn to give you reason whey the Phils WON'T win the NL East. This actually shouldn't be too hard considering how much the team stinks right now. I really hate to do this, because it is just not in my character to look for reasons my teams can't win. But I agreed to write this article and it’s too late to change my mind now. Please forgive me...
1. The Bench
It seemed during the offseason that the Phillies might have slightly upgraded the bench by adding Juan Castro, Ross Gload, and bringing back a healthy Greg Dobbs. I must say that Castro has come up huge for this team during Jimmy’s absence. Just imagine if we still had Eric Bruntlett for this long...BRGH. But Gload, Schneider, and Dobbs are just terrible. The numbers should make you cringe. Those three jokers combine for these numbers:
.170 (23/128) – 3HR – 12RBI’s
And here they are individually:
Dobbs –.140 (8/57) – 1HR – 5 RBI’s
Gload – .190 (8/42) – 2 HR – 7 RBI’s
Schneider – .241 (7/29) – 0 HR – 0 RBI’s
And here’s the biggest indictment of them all. When Charlie Manuel rested Jayson Werth last week, he decided to play Ben Francisco against a right hander. And why didn’t he play Dobbs or Gload? Because not only are they not hitting, but they are even worse in the field.
To make matters worse, the Phillies still have no speed. How can you have a team with no burners to use late in the game? Ruben Amaro really dropped the ball in that department. Maybe one of the reasons the Phillies are in such a slump is that they don't have anyone to turn to in order to rest the big guys.
2. Danys Baez
Baez was simply not a good signing. At first glance you would think a former closer who pitches in the upper 90's would be an easy choice. But Baez has no command of his pitches and has a really flat fastball. We saw what happened to Lidge when he had no fastball command, but he had a nasty slider. What does Baez have? If it's a close race down the stretch, Baez is the guy that will give up that "one" big hit to kill the team. Baez is frightening.
3. Raul Ibanez
Raul Ibanez is playing like an old man. I hate to say, but Ibanez is done. How Ibanez put up MVP numbers to start last season is beyond me. If you watch Ibanez closely, you will quickly realize that he can't even hit the fastball. Occasionally he gets a hold of one, but most of the time he is way late on fastballs. That tells me he is simply too old. His averaged has slowly improved, but where is the power?
It is a real shame how bad he is now, because he is a fan favorite and a guy you want to love. But it's over. You better believe there are more articles coming on this.
4. Base Stealing
One of the most baffling things with this Phillies team is how the base stealing has disappeared. The speed of this team is one of the most overlooked aspects. With as much power as they have, the Phillies lineup features Victorino, Utley, and Werth who can all steal bags. But they don't. Not at all. It is so disappointing that these guys completely ignore a significant aspect of their game. We really need Jimmy Rollins to jump start the running game.
5. Joe Blanton
Everyone says about Joe Blanton that you know what you are gonna get: 6 innings and 3 runs every game. He certainly has a track record that agrees with that thought. But what if Blanton has an off year. All of a sudden it's 5 innings and 4 runs.
Blanton never wowed me from the beginning. But he looks extremely average this year and he has been hit around quite a few times already this season. The Phils count on Blanton to be a solid middle rotation guy, but if he isn't, that means we need to count on Moyer, Happ, and maybe Kendrick. I don't like the sound of that.
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