Thanks for the prediction MBaggese. Good luck to ya.
YJ........~sigh~.....I'm so disgusted with our lack of offense. Ruben Amaro Jr. had better do something this offseason and start to piece together an offense that can hit the **ckin ball. I'm mean really?? Really? Rollins did his job. Utley and Victorino did theirs. But others just sucked!! Pence hit .211. Polanco went 2 for 19. Ruiz hit .059. Although he did do a nice job behind the plate. I always like to have Ruiz as my catcher. Not a big hitter but he usually does just enough to get us that hit every once in awhile. Ibanez wasn't great but he did what I expected him to. And then there was Howard. After his 2-run single in the first inning of game 2 he did NOT get another hit. NOT ONE!! I don't know what his problem is. He strikes out and grounds out entirely too much. That's 2 years in a row that Howard ends our season. ~sigh~ I don't know what else to say about the offense. It's putrid. It's just so damn irritating watching it, knowing that they CAN hit.
The two balls that stand out in my mind are Ibanez's hard hit ball in the 4th inning that I originally thought was out. My heart started beating a mile a minute while that ball was in the air, listening to the crowd. Then to see it drop inside of the park directly into the fielders glove, ~sigh~ no words could describe the feeling. Then Utely's ball in the 9th to deep center I thought had a small chance but it was not to be. But if there was one thing that changed this series? One thing that stands out. To me....Game 2. We gave Cliff Lee a 4-run lead and he blew it. He keeps us that lead we win game 2 and chances are we win the series the next game. So that game 2 loss was the difference. Oh well. Just goes to show that the regular season has absolutely NO bearing on the playoffs and how a team performs.
We seriously need a change in the offense. Get rid of Polanco, Ibanez, and maybe even Ruiz. Even though I love his defense we need a hitting catcher. And Howard? You know he produces so much in the regular season and always puts up big numbers. So it's hard to get rid of him. But I want somebody that's more consistent. He strikes out and grounds out too much. And when he gets into a slump........geez.......he really sucks. It's almost like he doesn't know how to hit a baseball. He can't pick up the pitch coming in and just swings and hopes he hit's it. OK, I'm just rambling on. Changes needed in Philly. Big changes in the offense. Nuff said.