"We'll be fine. We're defending champs, and we're not defending champs for no reason.
At the end of the day, I'm walking out of this place,
and we're still in first place. That's how you've got to look at it."
-Shane Victorino
-Shane Victorino
BY SCOTT LAUBER
What you witnessed earlier today was the Phillies' season-high sixth straight loss, 2-1 to the Orioles, and the capper of a 1-8 homestand that was their worst since a 1-9 stretch from Aug. 9-19, 2004. In the three games against bottom-feeding Baltimore, the Phils batted .184 (18-for-98) and scored eight runs. Overall on the homestand, they batted .248 (80-for-323), posted a 5.96 team ERA and were outscored, 57-38.
So, are you worried?
Shane Victorino isn't.
Standing in front of his locker in a nearly empty clubhouse 90 minutes after today's game, Victorino sounded a confident tone that the Phillies will, sooner than later, break free from this funk. Like Greg Dobbs and Cole Hamels before him, he said he takes solace in still being in first place in the NL East (thanks, Mets!) and believes the Phillies will be able to handle their first significant adversity of the season.
"Times like this, we went through it last year," Victorino said. "The year before, we went through stuff like this. Right now, of course, we're the defending champs, so everyone's going to say, 'What's going on? What's happening here?' But you know what, at the end of the day, where are we? We're about to get [Brad] Lidge back. We're about to get our guys back. We already got J.C. [Romero] back. That's how you've got to look at it. Yeah, we're frustrated. I am. I'm mad every night that we lose. The last few nights, it hasn't been physical mistakes. It's been mental mistakes. That's when you kick yourself in the ass. Everybody needs a mental check. We'll be fine. We're defending champs. We're not defending champs for no reason. At the end of the day, I'm walking out of this place, and we're in first place."
So, that's the glass-is-half-full viewpoint, and clearly, there's merit to what the Flyin' Hawaiian said. If all goes well Tuesday night in his outing for Class A Clearwater, Lidge could return by Wednesday, meaning Ryan Madson goes back to pitching the eighth inning, Romero to the seventh, and so on. There's a chance Scott Eyre could be back by the end of the upcoming road trip, bringing even more stability to the bullpen. Ryan Howard won't be sick forever, and the Phils are optimistic Raul Ibanez's groin strain will be healed by early July.
But there's still reason for concern, especially when you break down the Phillies' 36-31 record like this:
--26-29 against teams other than the woeful Nationals, and they don't play Washington again until September.
--1-22 when they score three runs or less (bonus points for anyone who can pinpoint the one win), which indicates the offense and pitching have rarely been in sync.
--and, of course, 13-22 at the Bank, the third-worst home record in the NL behind only Arizona (14-23) and aforementioned Washington (12-23).
Everyone knows the Phillies need to bolster their starting rotation (more on that tomorrow). But, after the past nine games, what's your level of confidence that they'll be able to win the NL East and return to the World Series with the rest of the team constituted as it is right now?
What you witnessed earlier today was the Phillies' season-high sixth straight loss, 2-1 to the Orioles, and the capper of a 1-8 homestand that was their worst since a 1-9 stretch from Aug. 9-19, 2004. In the three games against bottom-feeding Baltimore, the Phils batted .184 (18-for-98) and scored eight runs. Overall on the homestand, they batted .248 (80-for-323), posted a 5.96 team ERA and were outscored, 57-38.
So, are you worried?
Shane Victorino isn't.
Standing in front of his locker in a nearly empty clubhouse 90 minutes after today's game, Victorino sounded a confident tone that the Phillies will, sooner than later, break free from this funk. Like Greg Dobbs and Cole Hamels before him, he said he takes solace in still being in first place in the NL East (thanks, Mets!) and believes the Phillies will be able to handle their first significant adversity of the season.
"Times like this, we went through it last year," Victorino said. "The year before, we went through stuff like this. Right now, of course, we're the defending champs, so everyone's going to say, 'What's going on? What's happening here?' But you know what, at the end of the day, where are we? We're about to get [Brad] Lidge back. We're about to get our guys back. We already got J.C. [Romero] back. That's how you've got to look at it. Yeah, we're frustrated. I am. I'm mad every night that we lose. The last few nights, it hasn't been physical mistakes. It's been mental mistakes. That's when you kick yourself in the ass. Everybody needs a mental check. We'll be fine. We're defending champs. We're not defending champs for no reason. At the end of the day, I'm walking out of this place, and we're in first place."
So, that's the glass-is-half-full viewpoint, and clearly, there's merit to what the Flyin' Hawaiian said. If all goes well Tuesday night in his outing for Class A Clearwater, Lidge could return by Wednesday, meaning Ryan Madson goes back to pitching the eighth inning, Romero to the seventh, and so on. There's a chance Scott Eyre could be back by the end of the upcoming road trip, bringing even more stability to the bullpen. Ryan Howard won't be sick forever, and the Phils are optimistic Raul Ibanez's groin strain will be healed by early July.
But there's still reason for concern, especially when you break down the Phillies' 36-31 record like this:
--26-29 against teams other than the woeful Nationals, and they don't play Washington again until September.
--1-22 when they score three runs or less (bonus points for anyone who can pinpoint the one win), which indicates the offense and pitching have rarely been in sync.
--and, of course, 13-22 at the Bank, the third-worst home record in the NL behind only Arizona (14-23) and aforementioned Washington (12-23).
Everyone knows the Phillies need to bolster their starting rotation (more on that tomorrow). But, after the past nine games, what's your level of confidence that they'll be able to win the NL East and return to the World Series with the rest of the team constituted as it is right now?
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