A factoid from Buster Olney’s column this morning:
That kind of stat, at least this time of year, is potentially misleading, inasmuch as with relatively few games having been played, one of the major reasons those teams have losing records is because they played, in this case, the Phillies, whose victories over them helped make them losing teams.
But it is the case that the schedule is simply brutal for Philly right now. This bad stretch has come against Atlanta, Florida (who they actually beat two of three) and St. Louis, each of whom has taken a turn as “the hottest team in the NL” at some point in the past couple of weeks. They’re coming home today to face a Rockies team that seems to be rebounding from an early-May swoon. And then they host the Reds and the Rangers.
So I guess what I’m saying is that while the current stretch is depressing the heck out of Phillies fans, the combination of the schedule, the injuries and the offensive swoon could very well mean that this is a low point, not some indicator of a new reality.
Pretty soon the Mets and Pirates will be on the schedule. Pretty soon Chase Utley will be back. Pretty soon Domonic Brown -- who went 1 for 2 with a couple of RBI last night -- will be in the outfield every day. Like every other otherwise strong team that hits the doldrums, it’s just a matter of holding out until the wind picks up again.
