Moment of Truth

This is the week that will make or break this season for the Phillies. This is also the week that will cement Pat Gillick's legacy as General Manager of the team. The non-waiver trade deadline is fast approaching this Thursday and with it any real chance to improve the team's chances via an infusion of talent. The Phillies of 6 weeks ago appeared to be a World Series favorite and many argued that they could very well be at the level of an elite team. They had cruised into early June easily atop the NL East and they were well over .500 at the time. Since that moment, everything that could go wrong has gone wrong and the wheels have completely off. They have been in a solid tailspin since then and have watched the division rival Mets pull together as a team and overtake them in the standings. As of this moment they are 1.5 games back and despite a wild win this afternoon they present the image of a rapidly fading team with little chance of making the playoffs. All this bears the question of 'What the heck has happened?"

For starters the team has suddenly forgotten how to hit and how to hit consistently. Consistent offense has always been a problem with this Phillies team and they have always relied heavily on the long ball to produce offense. This tendency has only increased this season. Despite a recent surge in hitting and great production with RISP, 1B Ryan Howard is still only batting .235 for the season. SS Jimmy Rollins, the reigning MVP, has suddenly reverted to his 2005 self and is no longer an offensive threat yet is still batting leadoff on a nightly basis. He has some of the worst numbers among leadoff men in all of the majors and his power has all but disappeared this year. 2B Chase Utley has been slowly dropping off since his blazing hot start and the rest of the offense other than LF Pat Burrell (who is in the midst of a career year) has been missing-in-action all season. Far too many balls are popped up on the first pitch or hit into costly double-plays to kill rallies at the worst moments.

Secondly, the team appears to be adrift in the leadership department since the offseason departure of CF Aaron Rowand who decided he'd rather be paid very well to lose than have a real shot at the playoffs. Considering that the Phillies Front Office never made any real effort to bring him back, I cannot truly blame him for his decision and San Francisco is a beautiful city to live in. Still, the Phillies sorely miss both his right-handed bat and his take charge leadership style on and off the field. Supposed leader Jimmy Rollins appears to be anything but. In all actuality he shows every indication of being a clubhouse cancer with his laidback style in all aspects of the game. He is not known to show up early or stay late nor has he shown consistent hustle at times this season. He has been benched twice in the past month for violating team rules and not one position player stepped up and called him on it. In fact, the only man with any balls on the team is apparently 45 year old veteran pitcher Jamie Moyer who did actually make a public statement that for all intents and purposes slammed the reigning MVP for his behavior. Neither veteran leader Pat Burrell, nor face of the team Chase Utley, nor slugging 1B Ryan Howard said anything or made any indication that they agreed with the benching.

Pitching, pitching, pitching is the mantra of a champion ball club and the Phillies have far too little of it to really succeed. Instead of trading for a legitimate #2 starter, the Phillies vastly overpaid for the highly overrated Joe Blanton, holder of a high 4 ERA in the very pitcher friendly Oakland Coliseum. Joe Blanton, or Adam Eaton West as he should be known is not the answer and has never been the answer. Anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of how to read a home/road split should have understood that but unfortunately GM Pat Gillick must have lost his reading glasses that day and now Joe Blanton is "The Answer" for the Phillies Front Office. While other contenders were trading for Ace pitchers such as Rich Harden or CC Sabathia the Phillies get another mediocre #4 starter to add to their collection of soft throwing bottom of the rotation starters.

This upcoming week will tell us alot about this club and the 2008 season. Will the Phillies put together a winning streak and hang with the division leading Mets? Will GM Pat Gillick make another move to help the club? Will Joe Blanton pitch well in his 2 starts? Will the offense finally remember how to hit? Etc etc etc. This week will tell us if this team has any heart or if they care more about their animal charities and padding their stats for Arbitration and Free Agency as opposed to playing winning baseball.

This team could very easily finish with around 80 wins in 3rd place or they could very easily finish with 90+ wins and take the NL East. They have the talent for the later and have shown the heart for the former so far. Only time will tell.