Phan Phrustration

As a die hard Phillies fan, I am just get more and more frustrated as the games go on. Each passing day something seems to get better, but yet something seems to start to tick . . . tick . . . and you hope there is no BOOM!

Early in the season, Chase Utley (.342 AVG, 7 HR, 20 RBI) and Raul Ibanez (.359 AVG, 7 HR, 17 RBI) took the bull by the horns as Ryan Howard has his usual power struggle early in the season. Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino would set the table and this lead to a 20-16 record in early May and, ironically enough, trailed the Mets by 2.0 games. At this point, the starting pitching had yet to find it postseason form of 2008.

Then, by mid May, they lose someone from their starting rotation, Brett Myers, who lead the team with a 5-3 record and seemed to be the most consistent by that point. But as they say, one door closes and another opens. Chan Ho Park was struggling, their starting rotation was down a pitcher, and JA Happ was knocking on the door. He finally gotten a chance to show what most thought . . . he was a bud ready to blossom in the big leagues. Currently, he is 4th in the league in ERA (2.77) and second on the team in wins (10).

And now as the bullpen starts to fall apart, and the offensive struggles have continued, the re-emergence of Raul Ibanez has helped pick things back up. Like last year (with the exception of the bullpen) hopefully every start can realign and be prepared for the Fall Classic.

The driving everyone crazy is a natural state of mind in Philly. Isn't that why their mascot is a Phanatic?