Thursday, September 28, 2006
Throwing it all away....
Last Night’s Recap: I ended up going to bed after watching Tom Gordon’s awful performance in the ninth inning, so I was relieved to see the Phillies pulled things out in the fourteenth and escaped with a victory. It was a good thing too, because with the Dodgers 6-4 comeback victory over the Rockies, the Phillies ought to have fallen another game behind in the wildcard race last night. That, quite frankly, should have been poison for the Phillies playoff chances. But despite trying to give the game away more times than I could count, the Phillies found a way to win. The performance by the bullpen was pitiful: Geoff Geary’s throw to first on Logan’s bunt ought to have been scored an error, but it wasn’t. Gordon’s performance was atrocious. The Phillies can’t afford to have this guy back as their closer next year.
Other problems with last night: the Phillies committed four errors (at least) and allowed the Nats to jump out to a 4-1 lead in the third inning, putting them behind the eight-ball the entire night.
This series was supposed to be an easy three game sweep on their way to the big Marlins showdown in Miami, but the Phillies have allowed the Dodgers to seize control of their own destiny. If the Phillies don’t make the playoffs these last two games are the reason why: they blew opportunities to close out victories and were forced to play catch-up.
One aside: with their loss to the Cardinals last night, the Padres saw their lead for the NL West shrink to a game. With the way that the Dodgers are streaking towards the playoffs right now, the Padres might actually be the team the Phillies have to catch after all.
Let’s hope Jon Lieber can pull out a clutch win tonight in his final (regular season) start.
Wildcard Watch! … Cincinnati falls out of post-season contention with their loss last night. With just four games left the Astros have no chance, being four games back, but are still theoretically in the hunt for the wildcard.
1. Los Angeles: 84-74
2. Philadelphia: 83-75 (1.0)
3. Houston: 80-78 (4.0)
Other problems with last night: the Phillies committed four errors (at least) and allowed the Nats to jump out to a 4-1 lead in the third inning, putting them behind the eight-ball the entire night.
This series was supposed to be an easy three game sweep on their way to the big Marlins showdown in Miami, but the Phillies have allowed the Dodgers to seize control of their own destiny. If the Phillies don’t make the playoffs these last two games are the reason why: they blew opportunities to close out victories and were forced to play catch-up.
One aside: with their loss to the Cardinals last night, the Padres saw their lead for the NL West shrink to a game. With the way that the Dodgers are streaking towards the playoffs right now, the Padres might actually be the team the Phillies have to catch after all.
Let’s hope Jon Lieber can pull out a clutch win tonight in his final (regular season) start.
Wildcard Watch! … Cincinnati falls out of post-season contention with their loss last night. With just four games left the Astros have no chance, being four games back, but are still theoretically in the hunt for the wildcard.
1. Los Angeles: 84-74
2. Philadelphia: 83-75 (1.0)
3. Houston: 80-78 (4.0)
Comments:
Is it just me, or was it just physically painful to watch Jeff Conine bat last night? Seriously, the man didn't get the ball out of the infield in seven at bats. 0-7 with 9 left on base. That's brutal. You know you're having a bad night when they intentionally walk a batter to get to you three times (and you fail to deliver each time). Yikes.
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# posted by 
: Thursday, September 28, 2006 9:44:00 AM
: Thursday, September 28, 2006 9:44:00 AM
