Phillies’ slump continues,
but don’t give up hope yet

In the Batter’s Box
By Matt Godfrey

It just does not make any sense to me.
Your team is losing 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth inning. Two runners are on base and one of the league’s best hitters, albeit slumping at the moment, is due up next.
All you have to do is get on base so he can do his job. You’ve already drawn a 2-0 count.
Why, then, would you swing at a pitch so obviously out of the strike zone that you’d admit afterward you knew it wouldn’t have been called a strike?
Never mind that your team is on the verge of its first five-game losing streak in almost two years.
So Taguchi, pinch-hitting in that very situation, did swing.
He swung so hard that he hit the ball all the way past the pitcher . . . in foul territory.
Easy out.
Game over.
Five-game losing streak is upon the Phils.
The problem is that I like Taguchi in the role he has.
Last year he was the best pinch-hitter in baseball, according to his batting average. Having him on the bench with Greg Dobbs, Eric Bruntlett and either Chris Coste or Carlos Ruiz, and Jayson Werth or Geoff Jenkins, makes for a pretty potent package.
Taguchi’s experience as a pinch-hitter should have made him a smarter batter in that situation.
Even with the string of losses, things could be worse for the Phils. You knew these good times could not last all season.
And if the team isn’t hitting or playing so well, it’s better that the slump comes now, with more than half the season to play. It’s crucial now for the Phillies to take control and rebuild the lead they had in the division just a week ago.
Last year, Chase Utley was quoted as saying something to the effect of baseball being a game of failure.
"You just have to learn how to deal with it," he said.
The key is how the Phillies learn how to deal with this current situation. They can either let the lumps absorbed from the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels eat them up or they can decide they’re not going to be pushed around.
Put this current blip in perspective.
Before Tuesday night’s series opener against Oakland, the Phillies still were a game ahead of the second-place Florida Marlins in the National League East, and four games or more ahead of the New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves.
Also, the two teams that dealt the Phillies their five losses, the Red Sox and Angels, are two of the best teams in baseball.
And during that stretch, the Phillies’ flaws were obvious to anyone who paid attention. It’s not like the Phils put up their best fight but were still dominated.
First, there is Utley’s hitting woes.
Then Kyle Kendrick, who has been pretty reliable all season, lasted only three innings and gave up six runs in his start against the Red Sox. Pair that with Adam Eaton giving up six runs in five innings during his start and you are on your way to a bad trip through the pitching rotation.
Utley’s skid, meanwhile, is magnified by the rest of the offense not producing as they had.
This is not necessarily a defense of the team’s bad times. Actually, they need to correct some things, and fast.
But there’s no need to burn your Phillies gear quite yet. ••