It's hard to believe that with the way the Phillies offense is sputtering over the last two weeks that they are just out of reach of the National League lead in runs scored. The Fightins' have two players, Chase Utley (95) and Shane Victorino (91) in the top five of the NL leaders in runs. Jayson Werth (83) and Jimmy Rollins (82) give the Phillies four potential players with 100 or more runs scored. There is a possibility that they Phillies will have four players with 30 or more Home Runs (Ryan Howard (38), Jason Werth (31), Chase Utley (29), and Raul Ibanez (28). So what is the problem?
Well, it seems lately that the Phillies are counting too much on the long ball, but not playing small ball in front of it. They hit three solo home runs Sunday and lost (4-3). Howard and Ibanez hit back to back home runs today and lost (4-3). One run games are killers for the Phils. During this past series with the Astros, the Phillies have batted a mere .126 with runners in scoring position and have only knocked runners in at an 18% clip with runners on 3rd and less than two outs.
I think what is going to get the Phillies back on the winning track is to get the top of the order rolling. And nothing gets the team rolling more than J-Roll. He had a smoking hot summer, however his bat has cooled as timely as the autumn leaves seem changing color. Jimmy, Shane, and Chase need to shorten that swing and play small ball. Bloop some singles and gappers, steal some bases and bunch the hits together. Jimmy seems too anxious, Shane is swatting at the ball, and Chase is just in a funk.
For the Fightins' to be successful in the postseason this year, we need to play the small ball now so it isnt a painful fight later. Let's all cross our fingers, say our chants, and pray that Jimmy gets rollin, Shane starts flyin', and Chase gets back to being Chase.
No comments:
Post a Comment