The Demise Of The Philadelphia Phillies

By David
Kaye

High expectations, a vow by shortstop Jimmy Rollins that his Phils were the team to beat in the NL East, but a 4-10 record to begin the season is the only thing Phlily fans have to look forward to.

At the root of their problems, is a bullpen that has struggled greatly in 2007 and continues to blow game after game. It might be the third week of the season, but manager Charlie Manuel has already gone ballistic and the probability that he will stay a Philly becomes less and less likely as the losses start to mount.

In a sign that the team is in disarray, management has moved ace pitcher Brett Myers to the bullpen and veteran Jon Lieber to the starting rotation. Despite two poor starts, Philadelphia should have stayed with Myers as a starter because he can only do so much to turn around a deplorable bullpen.

Initially, there was vast excitement around the city of brotherly love, but players have underachieved and the fans have become extremely restless. The team continues to play poor defensively and appear lackadaisical on the base pads. They do not look like the team that many analysts[including myself] expected to win the Nl East and contend for the World Series.

Still, one can not make a fair assessment of a team after fourteen games into the season. Unfortunately, the Phillies have gotten off to slow starts the past few years and were unable to rebound to make the postseason. While many journalists and sports critics around Philadelphia want to come down harshly on the Phils, we must wait to see if they can resolve their pitching woes and return to a contending team.