PHILLIES PHODDER

The second half of the Phillies' season began as the first half ended- with another embarrassing loss.

The Phillies got their first four hitters on base last night in Milwaukee but only ended up scoring two runs. They left the 1st inning feeling they shouldv'e got more, especially playing against a powerful Brewers club that is in first place of NL Central.

Starting pitcher Nick Pivetta struck-out the first four Brewers he faced, then proceeded to allow the next eight Milwaukee batters to reach base in the 2nd inning, including a grand slam to Ryan Braun.

All in all, Pivetta yielded 8 runs in the 2nd inning, and 9 runs total. Once again, the Phils find another way to lose.

The team is now 30 games under .500, still on a pace to lose at least 108 games.  The road doesn't get any easier as the Phillies finish the weekend series with Milwaukee, travel to Miami for 3, then head home for the Brewers again and baseball's best team, the Houston Astros.

On the horizon are two more West Coast trips left, including a meeting with Mike Trout and a trek to San Diego and San Francisco. They are bad teams as well, but the Phillies pretty much suck on the road.

It's a shame that the last 16 out of 189 games in September are home games but won't mean a damn thing. The Dodgers come in for a 4-game set in late September, as LA by then will be gearing up for the playoffs.

The Cubs also come into Citizens Bank Park in late August. Pete Rose is inducted in the Phillies Wall of Fame on August 12.  Those are highlights, but will fans go for the rest of the summer?

You can't give Hawaiian shirts away every night. Can't give bobble heads out every night either.

I've said it before but the organization should give the fans free parking for the rest of the year, a thank you gesture for the fans enduring this brutal summer.

Fans need a reason to attend a Philies game now. Too many other things to do over the summer. In September the kids will be back ni school. The eagles will start and the Sixers will be on the horizon. Will anyone care about the Phillies?



It's been along time since a meaningful baseball wa splayed in Philadelphia in September 9 or in October, for that matter). Other than watching the prospects play, what reason is there to go to the park or even turn on the Phillies on TV?

*. There's a rumor still around about the Phils trying to trade for Miami star outfielder Giancarlo Stanton. Should the organization trade for him?

I say no. He's still only 27. Stanton is entering the prime years of his career. Philly needs a superstar player to be the face of the franchise for the next 10 years. They also need raw power to take advantage of bandbox Citizens Bank Park.

The problem is, Stanton's contract runs for another 10 years and it's a no-trade contract. Say Stanton has  five more quality, prime years. After age 32 he would still have another five years left on his contract. Plus, Stanton is injury-prone.

OK, Stanton has tremendous power. He's got a rocket arm in right field. He can run and makes a difference up and dpwn the line-up.

But no way should the Phillies invest $300 million for Stanton. They could get at least 4 good players for that money. Just because the organization has tons of cash doesn't mean they should blow their money foolishly. There's a big difference between having tons of money to spend and spending it wisely ( i.e.: Clay Bucholtz and Michael Saunders).

* GM Matt Klentak has 16 days to make some changes in the club before the trade deadline expires. I don't think guys like Rupp, Herrera or Franco will pack their bags until the off-season, but other players such as Hellickson, Neshek, Kendrick, Nava and Joseph should be shown the door soon.

I get it that there won't be much in return. The Phillies are selling low and really don't have much quality to peddle. But the object is to clear space on the roster for the kids, and to plan for next year and beyond.

Hoskins, Couzens, and Alfaro should be up soon. Scott Kingery will see Phily next spring. Help is a few years away yet in kids like Sixto Sanchez. Hope is all the Phillies have now.

Poor scouting and bad player development are the real reasons why the Phillies find themselves in the terrible position they are in. Someday the sun will shine again soon. It may take yet another change of personnel, both on the field and off, to get there but it will happen

 Sports goes in cycles. Philadelphia baseball is on life-support right now, with a historically-bad team, dwindling attendance and TV ratings that are down. But it will take even more time for life to come back to Citizens Bank Park.