PHILLIES PHODDER

The Phillies looked both physically and mentally tired after their sloppy, embarrassing loss to Miami this afternoon. They were already on their All-Star break before they headed to Florida. Granted, it was a long, 11-game, 4-city road trip ( in which they ended up going 6-5). Still, your'e playing for 1st place. You're playing the lowly Marlins.  And you lose 2 of 3 games.

- Simply put, if the Phillies are to stay in 1st place or be in wild card contention after the break, they must hit better, catch the ball and play better defense, strikeout less, and stop making stupid mental mistakes.

- Carlos Santana had another terrible game. He is hitting .209 (.132 in the last 21 games) and is killing the offense batting in the clean-up spot in the order ( why is Kapler keeping him in the 4-hole?).He made the unacceptable mental mistake of forgetting the outs on a ground ball in the fatal 5th inning, costing the team 4 big runs. The Fish ended up scoring 8 runs  in the 5th.Santana also made a throwing error later in the game. Despite his 74 walks, he is a total waste. Signing him is water over the dam, unless he is traded, however Hoskins should be playing first base..period.

- Kapler made a mistake by not taking out the obviously tired de Los Santos in the 5th inning, allowing Miami to catch-up before they completely melted-down. Bullpen bums Morgan, Ramos and Hunter only added fuel to the growing fire.

- Speaking of Kapler, he gave Santana a "pass" for forgetting the outs, calling Santana "laser-focused" all year. I don't give him a pass. It's simple, fundamental baseball not to forget the outs. You're taught that in Little League. Instead, Kapler should've immediately benched Santana, put Hoskins on first base, and sent a message.

- The club has been poor fundamentally all season. Passed balls included, as our catchers- Knapp and Alfaro- are the worst defensively in baseball. The inability to perform the basic fundamentals, bunting, moving runners on base, etc, continues to haunt the team.  The one thing former skipper Pete Mackanin did do was stress fundamentals. Kapler, with his silly focus on analytics, doesn't seem as concerned.

So, Atlanta beats Arizona today, moving back to a mere 1/2 game behind Philadelphia for the lead in NL East. The Braves have been scuffling a bit lately, losing 2 of 3 at home to the Diamondbacks this weekend, and losing thier closer, Vizciano, back to the DL. The Nats can't seem to get it together as Bryce Harper continues to struggle. If only the Phillies can play basic, fundamental ball, they will hang in there and continue to give the fans an exciting summer.