Slumping Hard

The Wildcard standings and run production of teams are changing as drastically as the weather. Just one week ago, the Philadelphia area was baking in 90-plus degree heat and the Phillies were 8-6 in the month of August, winning their last three series against such division foes as the Marlins, Braves, and Nationals. They had outscored their August opponents 71 to 56 in 14 games, and Chase Utley was pacing back and forth through the dugout with a bat in his hands, still forbidden from swinging it.

Now, just one week later, Phillies fans are wearing jackets and coats to night games. The team has dropped their last two series, losing two of three on the road in Pittsburgh and two of three at home to the Dodgers, both of whom have been slacking offensively all season. They’ve been outscored 51 to 31 in their past six games. Chase Utley was given clearance to swing a bat after fracturing the fourth metacarpal bone in his right hand off a nasty pitch from Nationals starter John Lannan. Cole Hamels hit the disabled list with a left elbow strain. Shane Victorino was activated from the disabled list. One goes down, one comes up.

These past three games have been the Phillies best shot to gain ground in the Wildcard. With the Wildcard-leading Padres playing the NL East-leading Mets, these past three games were a win-win situation for the Phillies. If the Phillies win and the Padres lose, we gain a game in the Wildcard standings. If the Phillies win and the Mets lose, we gain a game in the division. If the Phillies lose, we’ll either stay even in the Wildcard standings or even in the division. But of course, pitching showed its inconsistency and the Phillies dropped two of three at home, mainly thanks to the bullpen handing the lead right back to the Dodgers. In Los Angeles last month, the bullpen pitched a total of 8.1 innings throughout three games and gave up just 2 runs, allowing the bullpen to sport a very respectable 2.22ERA with their collective efforts from six different pitchers. The revolving door of bullpen pitchers stayed open for this most recent series, and 7 pitchers combined to throw 9.1 innings of relief while giving up 14 runs, showing off a disgusting 13.85ERA.

The Phillies lost their three-game set in LA last month but still outslugged the Dodgers 22 hits to 18 in that series. The Phillies were outscored 24-10 this time. So what went wrong?

It’s clear that the bullpen blew this one wide open, but where was the offense?

Since Chase Utley landed on the DL almost a month ago, Ryan Howard has seemingly felt some added pressure. Maybe that explains why he’s missing every ball thrown to him. In this series with the Dodgers, Howard went just 2-10 with one walk. On a good note, he only struck out twice. He’s already walked back to the dugout with his bat in hand 151 times this season, and he’s on pace to break Adam Dunn’s record of 195 strikeouts in a single season. If Howard can learn to be much more disciplined at the plate and lay off those breaking balls, he could turn back into the offensive threat he was in 2006. Personally, I’d like to see Howard hit for average and try to punch the ball in the outfield gaps for long singles and doubles. His power is nice, but it’ll come more naturally if he regains some confidence by just making solid contact and getting on base. He’s putting far too much pressure on himself and it’s wearing him down. Right now, the cleanup spot is almost an automatic out for opposing pitchers.

Pat Burrell, Aaron Rowand, Tadahito Iguchi, Greg Dobbs, Wes Helms, Ryan Howard, and Abraham Nunez are all in terrible offensive slumps, going 43 for their last 207 as a whole (.208 BA). The National League’s most potent offense hasn’t been able to get their gears in motion the past few series, and it’s beginning to take its toll. We can only hope that getting Utley back on Monday (barring any setbacks) and the Mets coming to town will ignite the spark back into this team. There may be only 36 regular-season games left until October. A lot can happen over the next six weeks.