My son and I sat so far toward the left-field foul pole that there was no left aisle where we sat -- my seat was up against a fence. The seats were good, though, and gave us a good view of Jamie Moyer's 600th Major League start, the defensively overrated David Wright's misplay of a foul pop-pu and Omir Santos's botching of a routine foul pop-up. You can't give a Major League team five outs in an inning, let alone the Phillies, and not pay for it.
A friend who's a Mets' fan texted, offering how pathetic the Mets' are. Look, the Mets are faltering, but they're missing Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado, J.J. Putz and John Maine (I'd throw in Oliver Perez, but many Mets' fans want to throw him out). Anyway, the Mets are formidable competitors, and they will go on a streak at some point in the second half.
The Phillies are hurting, too. Raul Ibanez's groin pull has taken longer to heal than expected, Clay Condrey and Scott Eyre are on the DL and Brett Myers, who came on strong at the end of lasst season, probably won't return this season. Cole Hamels may be suffering from the "gap" syndrome -- a young pitcher typically doesn't fare well in a season following a season where he pitched many more innings than he did the year before. Buck Showalter highlighted this at the beginning of the season, and he may be onto something.
Still, the Phillies have the best record in baseball over the past 5 years in September and October, so look for them to stay in the hunt, make a key move, and battled hard through the end of the season.
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