A Leaf on the Wind

(originally posted 9/10/07)
That day off on Thursday could not have come at a better time for the Phillies and this blogger. The Phillies bullpen didn't blow another win, and I didn't have to watch the Phillies bullpen blow another win. After the extreme pain and ugliness of Wednesday's come-from-way-ahead loss (an 8-2 lead blown!) to the Braves, a break was needed.

Somehow, the Phillies managed to win two of three from the Marlins this weekend, and are a mere two games out of the Wild Card lead. The Phillies sure didn't look like a Wild Card team (or an MLB team) in losing four of six to the Marlins and Braves, but they looked a lot better this past weekend. There is still hope. No pitching (except for Mr. Kendrick), but there is hope.

In the wins on Saturday and Sunday, the Phillies offense jumped out to a lead, and then kept adding to it, while the pitching tried to keep the lead. On Saturday, the Phillies scored nine runs, and Phillies pitching was UNSCORED UPON after allowing a leadoff home run. On Sunday, the Phillies scored five in the first inning and two in the second. Pat Burrell (27) and Carlos Ruiz (6) keyed the outburst with two-run homers. The Phillies took an 8-0 lead into the sixth inning, with starter Jamie Moyer allowing only two baserunners through five innings. But, in the top of the sixth, Moyer got bombed, and the Marlins closed to within 8-5. The scenario seemed all too familiar, as the Phillies had blown two five-run leads in the past week. However, this time, the bullpen kept the Marlins scoreless the rest of the way, in the 8-5 win. Antonio Alfonseca, Kane Davis, J. C. Romero, and Brett Myers (15th save) combined for 3.2 scoreless innings. This followed five scoreless bullpen innings the day before. Has the Phillies bullpen finally found their form? Probably not. But it appears that the key to their success may be keeping Jose Mesa in the bullpen, and not actually bringing him into the game. Mesa's performance in August (13.50 ERA in 10 appearances) was about as bad as Britney Spears' performance Sunday night at the VMA's. Yikes. Hopefully, we won't see either of these two "performing" again in the near future.

The Phils will try to cut into the Wild Card deficit in a four game series against the streaking Colorado Rockies. If their pitching can perform adequately, there's no reason the Phils' offense can't lead them to a series win. If not, there is always the Eagles for Philly fans. (Hmm, better make that "there is always the Flyers.")