Phils Struggle in Clutch, Lose Game 2
October 24, 2008 by Steve Quinto
Filed under Major League Baseball, Phillies
A loss like this (Rays 4, Phils 2) makes me (and other Phils fans) want to break something. I would have rather them be blown out or no hit, as you would be able to accept loss easier and just forget this game. But the Phils lack of hitting in the clutch is reaching the ridiculous mode. They lose an excellent change to put the Rays in a deep hole and they failed miserably.
The Rays are playing like a National League team, manufacturing runs. After taking advantage of a Jayson Werth error, they put runners on 2nd and 3rd with nobody out to start the game. They then got both runs with 2 ground balls. Another run was scored by a squeeze play (after the batter fouled off the previous ball attempting a squeeze).
Contrast this to the Phillies, who refuse to have Shane Victorino bunt with 1st and 2nd with nobody out, and failing to get a runner home on third with less than 2 outs countless times. The Phils continue to have unproductive at bats. Greg Dobbs, the DH, looked completely lost in his first two at bats. With runners on first and third, he struck out without even swinging at a pitch. I cannot remember Dobbs looking worse at the plate in his career as a Phil. His swings at pitches were not even close to the ball, and one almost hit him in the head as he barely moved.
Jayson Werth continues to struggle and look bad at times vs right handed pitches. Matt Stairs is only 3 for 20 vs James Shields career, but I think he should have been in the lineup (either as a RF or DH).
Carlos Ruiz had several quality at bats and worked the count. He did the things a leadoff hitter needs to be doing. Rollins is now 0-10 in the series and is trying to hit a HR with every pitch.
Brett Myers came out rusty in the first inning, but only gave up 4 runs (3 earned) in 7 innings. He pitched well enough to win. The Werth error in the first inning was huge. Some questionable calls affected the game. A walk early in the game appeared to be a stikeout, with the umpire oddly motioning to the first base umpire to see if there was a swing. And a pitch in the 9th hit Rollins in the jersey and the umpire did not pick that up. Why not use replay to see if a ball hit someone?
Hopefully Jamie Moyer pitches better in Game 3 than he has in the other Game 3’s this year. Rain might be in the forecast and it should be a lot colder than the Rays are used to. Maybe that can be an advantage. Remember years ago when the Tampa Bay Buccanners were known for a  terrible record when it was cold?
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October 24th, 2008 at 8:30 am
What I hope for is the phillies stop trying so hard to knock a runner in, go with the pitch, take what they give you, yuo dont need to always swing for the fences.
I will used the hockey analogy here “Grabbing the stick to tight”, the phillies are “Grabbing the bat to tight” in situations where they need to move a runner up a base or drive them in with just a base hit. Once they can calm down and approach it in a clear mind and remove the need to try and kill the ball every at bat then they will be fine.
October 24th, 2008 at 8:38 am
I agree there. It is little things, like Rollins getting on base and using his speed to steal. Or Howard hitting the ball the opposite way when they pitch him outside instead of trying to pull everything.
A bright spot is that they are getting people on base. Shields threw about 40 pitches after 2 innings. If they managed to get a few runs, he coud have been out even earlier last night.
Price looked good last night, but Bruntlett hitting a HR off of him shows that he isnt unhittable. I think Utley and Howard both saw him twice so maybe that will help.
I wonder if Manuel is loyal to playing Werth every day. I think putting Stairs in his spot would help, especially vs RHP.
At this point, its hard right now to imagine how Rollins was MVP last year.
October 24th, 2008 at 9:09 am
I think Werth is a overall better option they he has on the bench. Stairs doesn’t have the arm or speed to track down much anymore in the outfield, he is pretty much down to being either a DH or pinch hitter.
I do wonder with as much work as the Rays bullpen has had this entire playoffs when or can the wheels fall off and they just have a few games straight they just struggle.
Our pen has really have very little work compared to them, just something i have thought about.
October 24th, 2008 at 9:19 am
Yeah with Shields out early yesterday, I was hoping for the bullpen to collapse like it did against the Red Sox. Price has looked good in limited MLB time, but they do not have an overpowering bullpen.
The Phils havent used the bullpen much. I think thats why they pulled Moyer earlier in other playoff games. The extra days off also help.