Ryan Howard and Cole Hammels aren’t exactly the first two names one would normally associate with losing or average performances. They’ve excelled on the biggest stage, propelling the Philadelphia Phillies to the status of a perennial force in the National League in recent years.
The boys from the city where freedom was born have won the last two league pennants, including a World Series title in 2008. Combine that record of success with the seemingly endless revenue stream provided by Citizens Bank Park and it’s easy to see that the Phillies are built for success not only in the present, but also in the future. Presently, however, two of the most popular Phillies are struggling to produce on a consistent basis.
Ryan Howard may be baseball’s latest $100 million man, but hasn’t been able find the broad side of a barn in the past week, hitting .120 in that span. The season on the whole hasn’t been terrible, but for one of the top players in the game, an on-base percentage of .336 and a pedestrian slugging percentage of .450 simply aren’t up to snuff. The most embarrassing stat is a strikeout to hit ratio that’s nearly 1 to 1 (54 whiffs to 59 hits). By comparison, reigning NL MVP Albert Pujols hits dingers more than twice as often as he leaves the plate swinging or looking.
The Phillies problems don’t end with their first baseman. Although he’s no longer the ace of the best rotation on the “senior circuit,” Cole Hammels has yet to regain his form of season’s past.
Hammels has consistently battled injuries over the last two seasons, but fans have come to expect more from the postseason stud than a 5-4 record and a 4.20 ERA. To make matters worse, Hammels has given up 11 homers in 11 starts, and has yet to record a shutout. Meanwhile, his ballyhooed counterpart, Roy Halladay, has a 7-3 record, and an ERA of 1.99 to go along with a tantalizing tandem of 5 complete games and 3 shutouts.
The baseball season is a marathon, not a sprint. Pennants aren’t won in the spring rains of April, or the burgeoning heat of an early June summer.
Pennants are won in the homestretch of August and September. Although Philadelphia has lost an alarming 8 of their last 10, including a 4 game sweep this week to Los Bravos, there isn’t a reason for Phillies fans to be legitimately worried, at least not yet.
If a similar streak reveals itself in late August or mid-September, Charlie Manuel had better get his fishing rod ready. He may have some time on his hands.
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