
When Will We See THIS Again?
There will always be something to complain about. For years this team didn’t have enough pitching. The bullpen was a liability. We have/had no closer. The bench was horrific. Players wore down because they didn’t have the pieces to provide rest for the stars. The latest and greatest complaint? The offense is inconsistent, streaky, strikes out to much, and is just flat out killing us. We can’t win with this offense… or can we?
Sure some of that is valid. The offense is down this year. There are multiple reasons for the lack of offensive production. There have been a total of 3 months of lost ab’s between the 3 and 4 hole hitter. Another 2.5 months of lost at-bats between the leadoff man and 2-hole hitter. When you lose 5.5 months of production from the top 4 hitters in your lineup, there stands to be some regression in terms of total runs scored.

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Beyond that, a season long slump from centerfielder Shane Victorino, and what appears to be age related regression from Raul Ibanez have also contributed to what has been a disappointing season offensively for the Phillies. All in all, this could end up being the first year in the past 8 seasons that the Phillies fail to score 750 runs. Even if the team managed to average 5 runs per game over the last 31 contests, a feat that seems almost impossible at this moment in time, they would still only manage 752 runs for the season, which represents the lowest total since they scored 710 runs in a sub .500 season in 2002.
With the injuries and slumps accounted for, how is it that this team stands 15 games over .500? How do they hold a 1.5 game lead in the wild card race despite one of their most putrid offensive outputs in a decade? The answer is quite simple. There is more than one way to win a baseball game. This roster has evolved in an astounding fashion. In fact, the argument can very well be made (so I will make it) that the ONLY way this team could stand where it does today is because of the evolution that has taken place over the past 4 years. Here are the statistics from the areas that decide the outcomes of baseball games – runs scored, and runs allowed – from the past 4 seasons in which the Phillies have had a wealth of success.
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Tags: Brad Lidge, Chase Utley, ERA, JC Romero, OPS, Ryan Howard, ryan madson, World F'ing Champions