is there any hope left?

4 major players are out:

chase utley
cole hamels
shane victorino
michael bourn

not sure what the status is on vic or bourn... but utley and hamels should be coming back soon. utley's been playing in the minors [though not very well]... and hamels has a return date of september 3... as he's been throwing some pitches, etc.

do they have a chance? can the phils make it to the playoffs?

let's be honest... they have one of the best line-ups in the league... but a horrific pitching staff. hamels is superb... moyer gets the job done most of the time... and the new guy, kendrick hasn't been doing too badly. but... much of their maligned rotation and bullpen have both been absolutely terrible. i think the phillies' solution to the problem has been to put guys on the dl. garcia, eaton, leiber, gordon. oh flash.

now, i'm aware that citizen's bank park is a hitters ball park... which is partly why the phillies lead the league in runs scored. but, that also means that when opposing batters come in, they also do decently well. but in my mind... the pitching staff needs to compensate for that.

the management keeps picking up these random guys who're pitching terribly elsewhere... saying that there's something about them... and that if they could just harness their weaknesses, they could turn them into strengths. HOW'S THAT WORKING FOR YOU, BILL AND PAT?!?

honestly.

i read last night that when chase gets back, they're gonna put tadguchi on the bench. i think this is a bad idea. in an ideal world... they'd be prepping him to play 3rd... so the starting line-up would look like this:

1st: howard
2nd: chase
3rd: j-roll
c: [this one's tough...] coste?
rf: vic
cf: rowand
lf: burrell [only b/c he's got a hot bat right now]... being replaced by bourn part-way through the game

don't think for a second that burrell's growing on me. i'm just logically acknowledging that he's hitting the ball pretty well these days. course... he has to... cuz if he doesn't hit home runs, he might not make it around the bases any other way. like that guy in the stands my first game of the season said, "hey pat! leave your wallet in the dugout so you can run faster!!" so good.

anyway... i think they have a chance. course... they have to get out of the 7-game hole they've just dug themselves into. and to be fair... the mets are incredible. not perfect... but they have some serious talent. but so do the phillies. i honestly think that if the pitching comes together... and the defense limits their number of errors... and the offense keeps hitting like they have been...

... the phillies have a fighting chance. or... should i be cheesy and say a "phighting" chance...