A few thoughts from tonight's 10-3 Phillies loss, their sixth in seven games at home:
* Is it too late to rescind Bobby Abreu's Gold Glove award from last year? I'm not saying he should've made those plays on back-to-back doubles by Ryan Zimmerman and Ryan Church. The balls were hit awfully hard, and they did get to Abreu rather fast. But Abreu admitted he could've dove for the ball Zimmerman hit, and he looked silly twisting around in pursuit of Church's. Plays like that will ensure that Abreu's first Gold Glove will also be his last.
* The Phillies should be concerned about setup man Arthur Rhodes, whose velocity has dropped in each of his last two appearances. Rhodes was barely touching 91-92 against the Nats. More often, he was around 88-89. He is 36 years old, so the drop may be natural. But I'm not sure Rhodes can be as effective without his blazing fastball.
* Don't look now, but Phillies catcher Mike Lieberthal is batting .364. Lieberthal doesn't want to get too excited about the fast start, saying he doesn't evaluate his performance until at least the 100-at-bat mark. Believed to be the weak link in the Phillies' lineup (along with 3B David Bell), Lieberthal may benefit from the added rest manager Charlie Manuel seems intent on giving him.
* Finally, I felt anything less than a 7-3 homestand against the Nationals, Marlins and Rockies would be disappointing. That means the Phils have to win seven of the next nine. The way they've played at home, it's hard to see that happening.
3 comments:
I'm guessing 5-4 at best. Like the rest of the Phil teams, they lack heart.
Abreu is a great talent but if you watch him he is very stiff, not very loose or flexible. I have never seen him able to extend and stretch to catch a ball in front of him on his stomach. He always slides to the side or feet first he cant lay out. Not a big deal but the best can give their body up. Abreu is no gold glove.
Seriously, can you buy a thesaurus?? You use the same cliched sentences every other post: "Anything less that x-x will be a disappointment", etc. This is why I dislike most bloggers out there - no professional pride, apparantly no need to TRY to come up with anything original. Bring something new to the table or go home rookie.
Post a Comment