PHILLY SPORTS CORNER- PHILLIES

I was at Phillies Photo Night on Saturday Night. Here are my thoughts on both the game and the pre-game festivities.

The game was another beat-down. The Phillies were a laughing stock- and not only because of the stupid Burgundy uniforms they wore only once in the 1970s. They gave up 10 runs that lone night some 40 years ago. They gave up 15 runs last night.

Burn the damn uniforms.

The bottom line of the 15-7 loss to the Braves was..

* The Phillies have now lost two in a row at home to Atlanta ( four in a row total to the Braves). Philly drops to 7 1/2 games in NL East, but only one game behind second place Washington ( who lost again to the Dodgers).

* The Phillies have been out-scored so far in this series 24-9.

* Zach Eflin fell to 7-11 on the year and is nearing the point of needing to be pulled from the rotation or even being sent back to Lehigh Valley.Eflin showed greatness early in the season when there was talk of Eflin even being in the All-Star Game.

The question again needs to be asked- why are the young pitchers- Eflin, Pivetta, Valasquez in particular- not progress and actually declining in their progress?

* The offense continues to be inconsistent with too many strike outs.

* The Braves are simply better. They have a rich farm system and are stocked with young stars, like Acuna Jr, on the roster already.

* Aaron Nola pitches today in a must-win game. A win leaves the club 6 1/2 behind Atlanta; a loss means the team gets swept at home and drops to 8 1/2 behind Atlanta. Plus the Phils are now behind in the wild card race.

* Will this losing weekend effect the general manager and how the front office looks at the Wednesday trade deadline? Klentek now has reason not to do anything significant. He can either stay as is for the remainder of the year or make a minor move to put a band-aid on the open wounds.

It's going to take more than one player to fix these Phillies. Klenek's main mistake was not addressing the poor pitching in the off-season. It's a problem he needs to adjust after the season, not now.

Regarding Photo Night...

* Rhys Hoskins was one of the nicest players to meet. not only to take photos, but he was nice to everyone as a person,not just a ballplayer.

* Other down-to-earth, friendly players; Hector Neris, Maikel Franco, Valasquez, and Scott Kingery.

* Brad Miller was gleefully happy that I have a bamboo plant because of his.

* No-shows were: Mike Schmidt ( who is always a no-show, even though the other announcers mingled with fans), John Kruk ( who never was thrilled with Photo Night  but has been ill lately), and Jake Arrieta.

Why wouldn't Arrieta show? Maybe because he is an over-paid, washed-up bum who prefers to blames other players for his own failure?

* The one player I was most disappointed in was none other than Bryce Harper.

Harper would not mingle with fans. No autographs. No handshakes. No pictures up-close ( it was Photo Night, for Pete's sake!). He briskly walked at least 20 feet away from the rope lines. He occasionally shouted or waved to someone but generally ignored everyone.

So, why is a guy like Hoskins nice to the fans and Harper not? Could it be $330 million?

The sweet Public Relations girl who works for the Phillies, Kelly, tried to excuse Harpers' bad behavior by saying "He did a Make-A-Wish thing for me yesterday."

That's great. I saw the terrific story on the news. But what does being nice on Friday have to do with being nice to all the fans on Saturday?

The fans are the ones who pay Harpers' huge salary. We buy the tickets, the Harper jerseys and shirts and watch the games on cable.

Instead of mingling with the fans, Harper spent some of his time stealing the Phanatic's scooter and riding on the field like a nut ( as fellow prima donna Jonathan Papelbon used to do on Photo Night).

I'll continue to root for Harper the player. I may not be a fan any more of Harper the person. that's a shame, as these diva players just don't get it. they don't understand that it only takes one rude act to jade someones' feelings forever.

I'm sure Harper can be a nice guy, as he did the Make-A-Wish event come true, and he has attended ALS events. I just don't understand why guys can't be nice all the time to everyone.