Not Exactly the Team to Beat Just Yet
by edwzipper on Tuesday, April 10th, 2007 at 08:00am
Just beaten. How beaten? A 1-6 start that has them even with the horrible Wasington Nationals for beaten. In a division where the Mets, Braves and Marlins have all rushed out to five win starts.
The Philadelphia Phillies, them of the “we’re the team to beat” boasts from Jimmy Rollins in spring training, have been the suck so far. By the way, Rollins’ pre-season words? Thrown back in his face with New York flair in Shea yesterday. From Bob Ford in the Philly Daily News:
“Rollins hurried, though, and the ball bounced off his glove for an error. A wild pitch and a walk later, Geary was gone, Lieber came in to compete the carnage, and the fans didn’t forget whose error had kept the inning alive.
‘Jim-my Roll-ins, Jim-my Roll-ins’
Perhaps this is just the first round of a very long title fight this season, one that the Phillies will come back and dominate before it is over. Perhaps Rollins will be proved right eventually. ‘Our record doesn’t show that, but that’s the beauty of a season,’ Rollins said. ‘There are times you are up, and times you are down. We’re not where we want to be, but we know we’re a lot better than that.’ If Rollins is right about the Phillies, now would be the time to start indicating that. The bullpen does not have the manager’s confidence, obviously, and the offense is still unreliable in crucial situations. The Phillies’ own fans are on the verge of mutiny.”
Well, they are always on the verge of mutiny. Then again, a slow start last year made Philadelphia’s late charge a day late and a dollar short, and Phils fans were hoping for a quicker pace to the start of this season. Ain’t happening.
Charlie Manuel is on a real short leash at this point.