Written by Dave Homsher on Monday, 11 August 2008 Category:Mini Rants Hits:11402

Some quick thoughts on the Phillies and what they’ve got ahead of them the rest of the year:

1. The Phillies NEED Jimmy Rollins to start playing better.  I know he missed a month but after scoring 139 runs last year, only scoring 53 as the leadoff hitter in this lineup through mid-August is completely unacceptable.  He needs to get on base and start being a catalyst for the offense.  The guys behind him will knock him in. 

2. The starting pitching might be the best in the division.  Hamels is a beast, and even though his last few starts haven’t been Cy Young worthy, he’s one of the best pitchers in the league.  Blanton has been very good after a poor 1st start.  Myers has been superb since he returned from his stint in the minor leagues.  Moyer and Kendrick have consistently given the team a chance to win just about every start this year. 

3. It would be nice if the Phils would OCCASIONALLY hit for Hamels.  They are losing way too many 2-1 and 3-2 games when he pitches. 

4. The offense needs more consistency.  Scoring 15 runs is great, but not when you follow up by getting shut out 2 games in a row.  Sure you averaged 5 runs per game this series, but you lost it 2 games to 1.  We can’t sit around and wait for home runs.  We need to do the small things like stealing bases, bunting people over, hitting sacrifice flies, and the occasional hit and run. 

5. The bullpen has been a wonderful surprise.  It’s been one of the best in the league all year long, and we consistently win when we are ahead going into the 8th and 9th innings.  Now, we just need to get the lead more often!

6. Eric Bruntlett stinks.  Please come back soon Pedro Feliz! 

7. The Phils have scored 3 runs or less something like 45 times this year.  That is seriously terrible.  They should score 4 by accident.

8. Utley needs to start beasting people again.  After an INSANE April, he’s hit .259, .266, .278, and .212.  That is WAY TOO LOW for a player of his caliber.   

9. The Phils should be able to win the division.  The Mets bullpen is an abomination and the Marlins are still young and inexperienced.  That being said, both of those teams have owned us this year.  The Phillies need to play over .500 baseball against those teams to win the NL East.

10. I’m not sure if the Phils can beat the Cubs or the Brewers if they make the playoffs.  Both of those teams have better starting pitching than we do, and their lineups are more consistent than ours.  I’m worried that our potent offense might go cold, and we can’t beat those teams in a pitching duel. 

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