Slop Ball

Phillies lose 7-6 to Cards in mistake-filled game



Well looks like the Phillies aren't so hot. Sure, they had a few games and that 20 run aberration Friday night, but they've been sloppy since going to Florida. Their record speaks for itself; they are 2-4 in their past 6 games and they were abominable in their past 2 games against the Cards.

This is an absolutely inexcusable game to lose. If the Phillies are trying to reign supreme in the NL they can ill afford to play like they did today.

For one Brett Myers has just about run out of chances. It's at the point now where they have to get another starter in here and either A.) trade him or B.) move him to the set-up role.

Two-they cannot make ill-advised mistakes like they did today. The one critical mistake came when Eric Bruntlett was sent home on a play in the ninth inning. He made a terrible decision to try and run over the catcher and should have at least slid into home. When you look at countless replays of this play (because Yadier Molina was hurt) Bruntlett could have attempted to slide. Also, the play that will receive most criticism ocurred in the 10th when Tom Gordon botched a thrown ball to first base resulting in the a run scored and that was the end of the ballgame.

Even though the Phillies put up 6 runs today their offense didn't get the job done. Whenever your offense leaves 27 runners on base that is never a good thing. It's been a chronic problem for this offense over the years. Geoff Jenkins was the main culprit leaving a whopping 6 runners on base.

And, not to rip on Chase Utley, but for all of the MVP talk about him can you honestly say when he last had a clutch hit with runners on base? Once again today with bases loaded he failed to deliver.

This series was a series of missed opportunities and absolutely frustrating to watch. Between yesterday's 2-run stinker and today's disaster it leaves you wondering what the Phillies need to do to be a real player in the NL race-not just the wild card race.

They are without a doubt a good team, but there are some flaws. You're kidding yourself if you don't think they have their share of them because the series against Florida and St. Louis have exposed them.