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I’m frustrated.  Not because the Phils just blew a golden opportunity to hurt the Mets in the early part of this 18 round boxing match.  Not because I’m still convinced Jose Reyes never touched home plate.  Not even because the Phils find themselves below .500 again.  No, I’m frustrated because I feel like I keep repeating myself.

Once again it wasn’t the pitching staff that lost this game.  Actually, they were remarkable.  I’ve been no friend of Adam Eaton, but I have to hand it to him.  He’s been the second best pitcher on this team behind Cole Hamels so far this year.  Give credit where credit is due.  Eaton is stepping up big time right now.

It wasn’t even the lack of Jimmy Rollins in the lineup, although watching Eric Bruntlett at the plate is a little bit like rubbing sandpaper in your eyes.  This guy is going to hit .167 AND make errors in the field?  Yeah, the fans in Philly will give him some leeway when he comes back.

No, they lost two games to the Mets for the same reasons they lost two to the Nationals and two to the Reds.  Whether it’s defense (four errors in a game for the second time this young season on Wednesday night) or a lack of run production (0-12 with runners in scoring position Thursday, including not being able to score when they had two on and nobody out in the top of the 11th), they’re losing because their biggest weaknesses have been the things that are supposed to be their biggest strengths.

4-6 doesn’t worry me.  .243 team batting average does.  2.5 games out first doesn’t even phase me at this point.  But 13 errors in 10 games, that’s just plain startling.  Geoff Jenkins, Pedro Feliz, and Bruntlett are a combined 2 for 22 with runners in scoring position.  That’s a problem, regardless of the month on the calender.

Oh, and Ryan Howard has 14 strikeouts through 10 games.  So to everyone who said they were glad Howard won his arbitration hearing, know this: He’s on pace to break his own record for strikeouts in a season that he set way back in…oh wait, 2007.  And Howard and his agent are rumored to be asking for 7 years, 150 million?  Really?

Some people will try to convince you that pitching wins championships, and most times they’d be right.  Some people will tell you that if you score enough runs, you can win any ballgame.  History has certainly proven that school of thought true as well.  Here’s the one thing both theories have in common.  At the end of the day, in any sport, winning teams have one thing that they do better than anyone else.  Maybe it’s as simple as running the bases well, but it’s something they can hang their hat on.

This team was supposed to be an offensive machine, and they were supposed to be one of the best defensive teams in the league.  As it stands right now, 10 games in, they are one of the worst defensive teams I’ve ever seen, and once runners get on base, they couldn’t hit off a little leaguer.  It’s one thing to have a weakness exploited by an opponent.  It’s another thing entirely to let your strengths become your weaknesses.  This team needs to shape up soon, because this “We don’t play until the middle of the summer” stuff is getting really old.

The first week of baseball season always comes with a great deal of anticipation.  Of course, if you’re the Phillies, it normally ends with more questions than answers.  It seems like this team gets off to a slow start every year, and so here’s a look back at the opening week that was:

The Good

Chase Utley is playing like it’s his turn to win the MVP award.  He’s absolutely crushing the ball, and he already has a mid-season intensity about him that we can all only hope is contagious.

Jimmy Rollins has been fine at the top of the order, even though his average is lower than he’d like it to be.  Even Pat Burrell looks good, and maybe that’s a sign he is going to carry over last year’s monster second half and come through in his contract year.

So much for the 5th starter spot being a weakness.  Adam Eaton looked like he got off on the right foot the other day when he pitched 7.2 innings against the Reds.  Of course, the Phillies lost that game, so I’m not sure what that tells us.  Consider it severance pay for the fact that Eaton won 10 games last year with an ERA over 6.

The Bad

I can’t put into words how annoyed I am with Shane Victorino.  He’s an astounding 3 for 23 so far this year with 4 strikeouts.  That’s a .130 clip, and what’s worse is that I haven’t seen him put together a good at-bat yet.  While his defense has been fine in Center, he sure looks like a guy who is walking around with the knowledge that for the first time in his Major League career, he’s not battling for playing time.  He’s a little too comfortable.

The Ugly

We can go on and on about the pitching staff, but the reality is that the two best outings haven’t meant a thing to this team.  Cole Hamels throws 8 innings of 1 run ball, and Adam Eaton throws 7.2 of 3 run ball, and the Phils lose both games.  Sure, Tom Gordon had a bad opener and Brett Myers hasn’t looked like himself, but the bigger problem is that this team isn’t playing much defense at all.

When a team this solid defensively makes 4 errors in one game like they did on Thursday, it’s a sign of a lack of focus.  And after the slow starts of the last few years and the hype around this team in spring training, it makes you wonder just what this team is thinking about.  They have to know how badly these losses can hurt them down the road.  But at the same time, the focus and the intensity (Chase Utley aside) just isn’t there.  It’s strange at best and worrisome at least, and either way it’s a sign that things need to turn around quickly.

The Mets and Braves haven’t gotten off to fast starts either, and so this first week has a chance to mean nothing.  But the time to turn it around isn’t May 1st, it’s right now.  Of course, they’ll get their chance.  They’ll help the Mets open the last season at Shea Stadium coming up this Tuesday.  Let’s hope they have their focus in time for that.