Only May and already the dreaded closed door meeting has taken place. Votes of confidence cannot be far behind.
Truth be told, there's nothing to do. The Phillies are a mess from top to bottom with few exceptions. The starting rotation remains its only reliable commodity and the closer has been largely reliable as forecast. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, else is in total disarray.
It would be hard if not unfair to single out any individual for particular vilification, but Kyle Kendrick certainly holds the lead in this dubious category. How he remains on a big league staff is testament to how thin major league pitching really is. Kendrick should be designated for assignment but the Phils would be on the hook for a lot of money ($7.5 million) and would be hard-pressed to find someone to replace him.
Imagine, a reliever who walks batters, gives up extra base hits, hits another batter and surrenders a two-run lead and the Phils would be hard-pressed to replace him!!!!
As the Phillies sink further into the basement in the NL East, their worst record at this date since they began their championship runs in 2007, it is worth noting that help is clearly not on the way. Reports today suggest Chase Utley is still nowhere near returning. He can hit but he cannot field. Maybe he should switch leagues and become a DH. Ryan Howard was never expected to return before mid-season and, frankly, that is far too optimistic an outlook. I doubt he will play much if at all this year.
The batters look almost defeated before they reach the plate, especially Shane Victorino and Jimmy Rollins. Always-frenetic Hunter Pence always looks ready and Carlos Ruiz has literally saved what little self-respect this team has up to now. Juan Pierre has performed better than expected. Placido Polanco has recovered from his early season miseries. Ty Wiggiton and Lancye Nix have performed above expectations. That's it. "Recovering from miseries" and "above expectations" yields a losing record every time.
