phrustrated philly phan

The Phillies offense was nonexistent again tonight except for Ryan Howard and Chase Utley. Howard hit his 33rd home run of the season to deep right-center field. Chase Utley went 1 for 2 to extend his hitting streak to 28 games. He also was hit by a pitch and drew a walk. The Phils only other hit was a groundball off the top of Marlins' pitcher, Ricky Nolasco's glove that Abraham Nunez beat out. Brett Myers was again the story for the Phightin' as he asserted how he has become the ace of the staff and the true #1 pitcher this team has searched for. David Delluci got the start in leftfield and leadoff, with Jimmy Rollins getting the day off, and hit a couple ball hard but could not find any holes in the defense. The bullpen is clearly worn out from being overworked early in the season when the starting pitchers could not make it past the 5th inning. Yet, Charlie Manuel refuses to use Fabio Castro. It has been almost three weeks since his last appearance. The Phils are clearly not going anywhere this year so it would be wise to get Castro some innings so he can get accustomed to big league hitters and be a consistent contributor next year. Another game, another predictable outcome as Myers pitches brillantly but the offense goes into hybernation.

As a side note, I was down in Philly today and took a tour of Citizens Bank Ballpark. When our tour was down on the field, Joe Girardi came out the the visiting clubhouse and took pictures with anyone in our group that wanted. I will try to get my picture with him up in the near future.

Tip of the Cap- Brett Myers for having his third consecutive brillant outing since coming back from personal leave. He has given up a total of 6 earned runs and 14 hits in 23 innings.

Wag of the Finger- The Phillies offense for squandering another chance for victory behind Brett Myers. Myers should have double digit wins but instead is stuck at 6. Bobby Abreu continues to struggle mightily at the plate

Tomorrow's Game- Cole Hamels takes his 5.98 era up against Dontrelle Willis whose record is currently under .500. Cole Hamels has shown flashes of brillance but has also struggled. Hopefully he puts it all together tomorrow so the Phils can steal one from the D-train and the Marlins