A CITIZEN'S BLOG

As I have the bar exam in a few days I won’t be posting much until July 29. 
 
Well, the Phils win over the Fish, coupled with the Pirates win over the Braves (thank-you, Pittsburgh) puts the Phils back in first place with a 50-44 record.  Last year the Phils were 53-41 at Game 94 and were four games ahead of the Marlins, safely in second place. 
 
I was deeply impressed by Millwood’s performance on the mound last night: maybe his second-half will be better than his first.  At a minimum, it was nice to see the Phils win a tight one at home against the Fish. 
 
Here are the Phils stats:
 
Starting Lineup: GPA / RC27
Thome: .349 / 9.37
Abreu: .339 / 10.00
Burrell: .283 / 6.16
Bell: .283 / 5.98
Lieberthal: .253 / 4.50
Rollins: .241 / 4.68
Polanco: .232 / 3.74
 
The Platoon:
Ledee: .304 / 6.97
Michaels: .264 / 5.36
Glanville: .179 / 1.96
 
Bench / Scranton:
Byrd: .210 / 2.84
Utley: .249 / 4.70
Pratt: .214 / 2.67
Perez: .256 / 5.09
 
Starting Lineup: ISO
Thome: .369
Abreu: .264
Burrell: .190
Bell: .189
Lieberthal: .181
Rollins: .105
Polanco: .095
 
The Platoon:
Ledee: .229
Michaels: .096
Glanville: .040
 
Bench / Scranton:
Byrd: .079
Utley: .216
Pratt: .039
Perez: .216 
   
I’ve noticed a disturbing drop-off in the Phils offense of late:
 
GPA / ISO
July 2: .269 / .183
July 16: .266 / .176
July 21: .264 / .172
 
I think the Phils are fundamentally strong, but they’ve been slipping of late: they’ve fallen to fourth in ISO.  One interesting stat: the Phils are second behind the Giants in the NL in walks per plate appearance:
 
1. San Francisco: .111
2. Philadelphia: .107
3. Cincinnati: .099
4. Colorado: .091
5. Houston: .091
 
I noticed that MLB gave the 2006 All-Star game to Pittsburgh.  I’m definitely getting tickets.  If any one wants to make the trip on the turnpike we could have an informal Phils blogger convention. 
 
I had better run.  I hope everyone is doing good.  I’m not looking forward to the next few days, but after that: freedom!