PHILLY SPORTS CORNER- PHILLIES

- Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, and the fact the Phillies played the Red Sox tough last night doesn't cut any ice. They lost and are now 2 games behind the streaking Braves. The sinking Phils need to get their act together fast before they fade away, with big games upcoming against Washington and challenges against deGrome and Synderguardon tap later this week.

- I've said this before- I hate Tommy Hunter. A free agent bust, for sure. At this point I'd rather see the dreadful Hector Neris in the game late.

I've also said that Santana is a bust. I really don't care how much he walks. his average is hovering around .215. It's time to play Justin Bour. Why get Bour if you're not going to use him?

I get it- Klentak doesn't want to admit the $20 million a year Santana was a mistake. But let's sort that all out after the season. Let's try to win games now!

- 5 reasons why Phillies fans aren't going to the games:

1. No Machado ( he would've brought excitement and wins)
2. No Hamels ( he would've brought a solid, experienced lefty to the rotation, another mentor for the young staff, and fun for the fans who remember him).
3. Guys like Tommy Hunter ( too many of them on the club).
4. Santana ( enough said)
5. Boring, analytic baseball ( too many strike-outs, too many walks, no action or contact)

- Kapler says this morning with Angelo ( great  interview, Angelo!)  that struggling Kingery is a great weapon off the bench and he would rather keep him on the big club then sending him down to LehighValley to get his swing straightened out and clear his head. Great! A $24 million dollar developing young kid sittingon the bench to pinch-run? The Phillies so-called brain-trust is screwed up.

- The key series of the year was the embarrassing weekend in San Diego. Losing 2 out of 3 to the lowly Padres  was a killer. Eflin, and Arrieta lost to rookies. Phillies have everything to play for. Padres have no pressure and stole nine bases in the series. Now the Phillies need wins but are up against better teams and better pitchers.

- Kapler said this morning that "one game" could decide the division. Does he remember Opening Day? He over-managed and screwed-up, taking Nola out with a 4-0 lead after only 6 innings-against the braves! Losing that game was a two-game swing! Could it be that the first game of the long 162 game season will come back to bite the Phillies in the ass?

- I've got tickets to the game tonight. Thank God my seats are behind the Phillies' dugout and not on the third base side. Embarrassing to see Red Sox Nation take over. But why not? 51 games over .500? Still, if they get too far out of hand, we can just remind them "41-33..Eagles win the Super Bowl." That should shut them up!