| Not an Ideal Start |
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| Writers Article Archive | |
| Written by John Stolnis | |
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Boy, that game looked familiar, didn’t it? Yesterday’s Opening Day 5-3 loss to the Atlanta Braves in 10 innings had the look and feel of typical early-April Phillies baseball. All the ingredients were there. A sputtering offense, futile with runners in scoring position. A huge mistake pitch by starting pitcher Brett Myers that resulted in a mammoth dinger. A questionable managerial decision by Charlie Manuel. And a failure by the bullpen to hold the opposing team at bay. Yes, Monday’s heartbreaker had it all, and it felt strangely déjà vu-ish. I swear I’ve watched that same exact game last year at around this time. And the year before that. And the year before that. And before that. And before that. You get the idea. Now before the nay Sayers all start jumping up and down on my head and screaming bloody murder, I understand that Monday’s loss is only the first game of a 162-game season. I by no means am counting this extremely talented team after just one bad game, and I am not panicking or jumping off the bandwagon. This is still a very talented team that is playoff-worthy. The season is a marathon. I get it. But the Phillies cannot, they simply must not, get off to another slow start. Not if they want to keep their fans interested. Phillie fans rarely get this jazzed about their baseball team. The Phils enter the 2007 with expectations as high as they have ever been. With all the talent in that lineup, the reigning NL MVP, and one of the deepest starting rotations in the National League, the Phils are expected to contend not just for the division, but for a spot in the World Series. On paper, this is as good a team the Phils have had since the late ‘70s/early ‘80s. But another poor April will kill any excitement this city has for the Phitins’. It’s unfair, but it’s a fact. What was particularly distressing about Monday’s loss was that the same bugaboos that have been a problem for the Phils in seasons past reared their ugly heads again yesterday… Brett Myers, trying to channel Curt Schilling, overthrowing a two-strike fastball to Edgar Renteria with two outs in the 8th inning, resulting in a moon shot that nearly landed in Camden. Questionable decision-making by Charlie Manuel, bringing Myers out for the 8th inning as he was nearing 100 pitches with a fully rested bullpen at his disposal. (I actually think Manuel made the correct decision, however. Have you been watching this bullpen?) This potent Phils offense blowing numerous scoring chances, including a golden opportunity in the 7th where, with runners on 2nd and 3rd and no one out, the Phils failed to score, thanks to strikeouts by Shane Victorino and Ryan Howard, and a groundout by Chase Utley. In all, the Phils stranded 10 runners in the ballgame. And, of course, another weak performance by the bullpen, in particular, Ryan Madson. He gave up a two-run homer to that man again, Renteria, on yet another two-strike fastball up in the zone. All in all, just about every Phillie had a hand in Monday’s loss. However, the season is just one day old. One bad game does not a season make. Perhaps Jimmy Rollins said it best. "We can't have a slow April," Rollins said. "We have to have a good April. Good can be one or two games over .500 or 10 games over .500. Right now, we're one back and we have to get ready for Wednesday." A good April is vital to this team’s success. Monday was not a good start. |
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