Phillies’ Troubles Continue, Fans Make It Worse
Hey gang. It’s been a long while since I’ve wrote. What can I say? Unfortunately, for this time of year, sports are in a lull and the Phillies aren’t necessarily wowing me.
I attended one of the losses to the Dodgers last week that resulted in us being historically swept, and historically bad. Yuck. Even after seeing 3 games in person this year, I have yet to actually sit through and entire game this season. It’s just pretty hard to watch. There have been instances for an entire game where there is just nothing to cheer for.
During that Dodgers game, a few things stood out to me :
1) Charlie has rearranged this lineup a bazillion times already. It’s understandable with the lack of talent he’s working with, but my man Carlos Ruiz was batting the cleanup spot. I don’t view that as a mistake or a sign that Ruiz has improved dramatically this year in his offense, I view it as a statement about our team in general. That’s not his job. He’s batting well and our offense has deteriorated, so he’s fit into that slot now, but that’s not his job. There is supposed to be someone on the team who bats better than him in that spot and there isn’t. Ty Wigginton is supposed to be that guy but he’s garbage. Hunter Pence is really supposed to be that guy, but he’s a terrible cleanup man. He hacks at everything. The exact opposite of a clean up hitter. It’s just a shame that Ruiz was put in that spot because really no other guy is worth a damn right now.
2) Speaking of Hunter Pence, I think I’m about ready to start booing him. Sure, he leads the team in RBI’s right now with a dismal 38, but he also leads the team in grounding into double plays. Most of his ‘dropped balls’ or balls that get passed him aren’t ruled as errors, but it’s like he’s retarded out there. As an outfielder, you should never have a ball get past you when it is in front of you, and that is Hunter Pence’s specialty. I kind of hate to say it but I miss Jayson Werth. I’ll take that knee-buckle swing so long as it comes with a diving catch every once in a while and TRADITIONAL fielding.
3) How come nobody questions Ruben Amaro’s managing skills…. like…. ever? For as much as I heard people bitching about Ryan Howard’s deal (which they are stupid for), why don’t they get mad at the guy who gave the money, not the guy who receives it? Howard had 40 more RBI’s than any Phillie last season, yet people still cursed his existence. Fast forward to one year later and that void really starts to stand out doesn’t it? Can anyone honestly say that our team has improved since 2008?
4) Which brings me to my final point: Fans are stupid. I’ve just come to realize while attending sports games in Philadelphia that fans are absolutely stupid. Not all of us, but most. A prime example occurred at the Dodger game from last week. Actually, 2 examples, which occurred within 2 minutes of each other.
Bobby Abreu was called in to pinch-hit for the Dodgers around the 8th inning (we were up 1-0 at that point, Cliff Lee was in place to get his first win), and the fans booed him!! They booed Bobby Abreu!! What on Earth are people thinking?? He never said anything bad about Philadelphia, and he was traded, it wasn’t like he asked to leave. People get traded all the time. Am I supposed to boo J.A. Happ when the Astros come to town? Abreu was the Phillies’ Player of the Year 3 times, an All-Star, put up stellar numbers in his career here, and people booed him. What a joke.
It was only fitting that Abreu crushed a 2-run double off of Lee in that at-bat. The double he hit went all the way to the warning track and was about 2 feet short of being a home run. Juan Pierre happened to be fielding in left that night and he made a valiant effort to bring it in but ended up running into the wall. Juan Pierre is quick as all hell, too, so if he couldn’t come up with it, no one really could. The guy next to me, however, at the top of his lungs shouts, “Nice going Pierre! What a horrible error!!” He went on for about 5 minutes. Last time I checked, friend, that’s not an error. Any time a ball is behind an outfielder, 2 feet shy of the fence, it’s not an error. To call it an error is absurd and stupid. Keep in mind that there was only 1 out at the time, so even if he did catch it, the guy on 3rd was tagging and scoring no matter what. Do you know what an error is my friend?
It’s hard to try and summarize the positives of this season because they are truly few and far between. I guess it’s about time I start learning all of the Union players…..
1 Comment
Phils had a horrible off-season. Wiggington, Nix? Ruben deserves a lot of the blame. The old Phillies could play defense, but now they make a ton of errors, which is what is costing them these close games. I think they still have a shot, but it is pretty ugly right now. That is sad about Abreu (but that is what happens when primarily Eagles fans jump on the Phillies bandwagon).