(Best E Casino) - All hot-hitting teams are subject to cool off at some time. At this point, though, the
Philadelphia Phillies have to be wondering if they will ever hit again.
The Phillies have lost seven of their last eight games -- all against American League opponents -- and are hitting just .181 (46-for-254) in that span with two homers and 15 runs scored, good for a 1.9 runs per game average. By comparison, in four games prior in which they went 2-2, the Phillies hit .314 (48-for-153) with eight homers and 36 run scored. Those number were inflated a bit, however, thanks to a 20-2 win over St. Louis on June 13.
Regardless, it seems as if every member of the Phillies offense is going through a slump at the same time. Second baseman Chase Utley, who leads the NL in total All-Star votes, endured an 0-for-24 skid before he doubled in the third inning of Sunday's loss to the Angels. He also turned in a 4-for-5 effort on Wednesday that gave hope to his slump being over, but Utley then went 0-for-4 in a shutout setback to Oakland the following day.
He hasn't gotten much help over the last eight games, as Ryan Howard (4- for-32, .125), Pat Burrell (4-for-29, .138), Jimmy Rollins (6-for-31, .194) and Geoff Jenkins (0-for-17) are all struggling.
"I'm concerned about it, but, at the same time, I know we're better than that and I know we're going to come out of it," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel told his team's official Web site after getting swept by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Sunday.
If Philadelphia wants to feed itself a nice scoop of denial, there is some at the bottom of the barrel. The Phillies have faced some tough competition over their last nine games, including three-game sets with a pair of first-place clubs in the Boston Red Sox (AL East) and Angels (NL West) in addition to three games versus the Oakland Athletics, who have the best earned run average in all of baseball at 3.38.
Manuel shook things up on Wednesday by shuffling his struggling batting order. Among the changes: leadoff hitter Rollins moving to the third spot, three-hole hitter Utley batting second and Jayson Werth taking over the top spot in the order. Also, Howard and Burrell swapped spots, with Burrell hitting cleanup and Howard behind him. Finally Shane Victorino, who usually hits second, found himself in the seventh hole.
The move worked for a game, as the Phillies halted a season-high six-game losing streak with a 4-0 win behind the arm of Kyle Kendrick and runs batted in by Burrell, Pedro Feliz and Chris Coste.
Things returned to the unfortunate norm on Thursday, though, as the Phillies were blanked 5-0. Again, the lineup was a little different, with Rollins back in the leadoff spot, followed by Utley, Burrell, Howard, Greg Dobbs, Victorino, Werth, Jenkins and Carlos Ruiz.
"Everybody gets frustrated," Victorino told the Phils' site after the loss. "We just have to keep playing. We're not going to give up. We're in one of those things right now. As bad as we're doing, we're still in first place. We'll take that."
And that is true. Despite its recent hitting woes and a horrid 3-9 interleague mark this season, Philadelphia still leads the Marlins by two games for first place in the NL East.
But if a club that remains second in the majors in homers (105) and second in the NL in runs (404) and RBI (338) despite its struggles doesn't start hitting soon, that lead won't last.
PHILS ACCUSED OF THIEVERY
Given the Phillies' struggles as of late, one might deem it is absurd to think Philadelphia might be cheating. Yet, the Boston Globe on Wednesday mentioned in an article that a major league official thought the club might have been stealing Boston's signs.
For what it is worth, the Phils won the opener of that set, 8-2, on June 16 before starting their current skid with back-to-back losses by a 10-4 margin.
The Boston Globe added that no official complaint has been filed and Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein had no comment. The article also reminds readers that the Phillies were investigated for stealing signs in the past.
That's a reference to last August, when Philadelphia was accused of such after sweeping a series with the Mets. New York did file a complaint, but baseball found no wrong doing in its investigation.
Manuel did respond to the Globe report on Thursday.
"We getting our butts kicked, and we're stealing signs?" Manuel said in an article on the club's Web site. "We didn't. Maybe they were the ones who were stealing signs."
PITCHING HELP IN THE WORKS?
While the club certainly needs to address its current hitting funk, the Phils may be setting themselves up for a pitching boost down the line. Starter Kris Benson, who hasn't pitched in the majors since 2006 due to right shoulder issues, will make a start with Triple-A Lehigh on Sunday.
Benson wasn't lights out in two Single-A outings (0-2, 8.10 ERA), but he improved in outing number two and the Phils will see how he fares at the next level.
Reports on Philadelphia's site say the right-handed Benson's velocity is up to the high 80's and low 90's.
While Benson likely won't be able to pitch in the majors for some time, if he progresses well he could be a nice ace in the hole down the stretch. The 33- year-old is 68-73 with a 4.34 ERA in 195 career starts.
However, it is not too early to speculate on who could lose a rotation spot to Benson. The most logical choice would be Adam Eaton, who despite a number of quality starts this year is just 2-6 with a 4.86 ERA.
Brett Myers could also lose his spot. The Opening Day starter is only 3-9 with a 5.51 ERA and leads the majors with 23 homers allowed. If Myers was to be pulled from the rotation, he would likely become a late set-up man seeing as he preformed very well as the Phillies' closer last year.
WHO'S HOT
Reliever Chad Durbin continues to be one of the Phils' best offseason pickups. The righty hasn't allowed an earned run over his last 13 2/3 innings, spanning 11 appearances, and has allowed runs in just five of his 30 outings this year.
WHO'S NOT
This was touched on above.
ON DECK
The Phillies make their first-ever regular-season trip to Texas to take on the Rangers. Myers battles Kason Gabbard (2-3, 4.96 ERA) in Friday's opener, followed by left-hander Cole Hamels (7-5, 3.27) versus former Phillie Vicente Padilla (10-3, 3.74) on Saturday. Sunday's finale pits lefty Jamie Moyer (7-5, 4.09) against righty Eric Hurley (0-1, 4.24).
Following an off day on Monday, the Phils head to Atlanta for three games to end a nine-game road trip.
