The Phillies Are In High Spirits, But How Do We Fix The Offensive Troubles?
I’ve noted on previous blogs that these Philadelphia Phillies are a spirited bunch, with a solid young core and veteran leadership. Andres Blanco has been the driving force of a team built mainly around young, Latino players. At just 32, Blanco’s energy and enthusiasm has coursed through this entire clubhouse and has had a positive impact on younger players like Hector Neris and Jeanmar Gomez, Caesar Hernandez, and Odubel Herrera.
However, Odubel can’t do everything. There needs to be a change of pace with this offense. In the past two games the Phillies have had 22 hits, 20 of which have been singles. They have left a total of 26 men on base and are 0-2. We know the pitching staff have carried most of the team’s burden, but the offense continues to struggle in major facets of the game.
Extra Base Hits
93 (14th in NL)
With runners in scoring position
BA .227 (14th in NL)
OPS .622 (15th in NL)
Pinch Hitting
BA .155 (14th in NL)
OPS .477 (14th in NL)
First Base
BA .176 (15th in NL)
OPS .617 (15th in NL)
Corner Outfield
BA .194 (15th in NL)
OPS .518 (15th in NL)
The run support by this team has been atrocious and luckily it hasn’t started showing on the pitching staff just yet. Of the 103 qualified pitchers in the MLB, 4 out of our 5 starting pitchers sit towards the bottom of that category.
Sooner or later, they will feel the weight of that pressure and start approaching games with the mindset of ‘I need to throw a shutout or we are probably going to lose.’
So how do we fix it? Well the answer isn’t to call up Nick Williams, JP Crawford, Jorge Alfaro, or Dylan Cozens just yet. We all still need to understand that Matt Klentak and the rest of the organization were not expecting this quick of a turnaround. This team is meant to lose this season and the offense is reflecting that. It’s just that the pitching has really blown everyone away.
So right now, I don’t have an answer for you. I think the front office is just as confused as the fans are to be honest. What if the pitching staff keeps winning these 1 run games and the offense continues to struggle? What if the team is 10 games above .500 at the All Star Game? The lingering questions of a winning team in the midst of a rebuild…
