Posts tagged ‘geoff jenkins’

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.