A CITIZEN'S BLOG

In a mildly stunning development the Phils have pulled a game ahead of the Fish in the standings. Which means regardless of what happens tonight between the Birds and Phils, the Phils will still be in at least a tie for first.

-Winning three out of four from the Expos was a nice start. (The Phils are 9-1 against them so far this season.) These three games against the Birds are troubling: they bring back painful reminders of June inter-league play…

-Not to nit-pick (not a lot to complain about when your team scores ten wins and wins comfortably) but why is Bowa so fixated on base-stealing?: in the fifth, with one out, Bowa sent Jason Michaels to second with Jimmy Rollins at the plate. Michaels gets thrown out and then Rollins proceeds to walk. I think Polanco made an out to end the inning. Why? If Rollins had walked the Phils would have had runners on first and second with one out. Fear of the double-play? (A legitimate fear, given the fact that Rollins is a ground ball hitter.) Now, instead of Abreu coming to the plate in the fifth with two on, Abreu starts the sixth with nobody on base. It was a wasted base-runner. (His decision to send Polanco in Sunday’s Red Sox game still baffles me.)

-A few weeks ago I commented on the differences between the Phils at home and on the road. Here are the current GPA / ISO numbers for the home and away:

GPA / ISO
Home (36 games): .269 / .207
Away (39 games): .266 / .164

Hangin’ Tough…

More later…