Road To 10,000 Losses: Ups And Downs

Road to 10,000 Losses is a countdown to the Phillies’ 10,000th loss, coming sometime later this year. With a 2-1 series victory over the Marlins, the Phillies stand at 9968 losses, only 32 away from 10,000.

Today, I’m going to recap the Phillies weekend — a series win over the Marlins — by charting the ups and downs of it.

Up: The Phillies won the series against the Marlins. They’ve won 7 of 9, improving from 4-11 to 11-13.

Down: The Phillies 7-2 stretch came against the Astros (1-0), Reds (2-0; lost first game of series), Nationals (2-1) and Marlins (2-1), not exactly the powers of the National League. The Phillies are still 0-3 against the Braves and 1-3 against the Mets.

Up: The Phillies’ two best pitchers, stats-wise, are 3-1 with a 2.65 ERA and 2-1 with a 3.24 ERA.

Down: These two men are 44-year-old Jamie Moyer and 23-year-old Cole Hamels. One needs Geritol and the other needs a date for the prom.

Up: The bullpen has solidified (for the most part) since Brett Myers was moved from the rotation and into the setup job.

Down: Brett Myers was deemed the team’s best pitcher in the off-season and is now limited to an inning or two a game, instead of a longer outing as a starter. The bullpen is still not perfect, with closer Tom Gordon blowing three saves so far.

Up: Rod Barajas, Jason Werth and Greg Dobbs all had big hits over the weekend against the Marlins.

Down: Rod Barajas, Jason Werth and Greg Dobbs are all still on the Phillies.

Up: Ryan Howard hasn’t been eaten by a bear.

Down: Ryan Howard is batting only .219 with 3 home runs. He’s struck out 27 times and made 3 errors.

Up: Ryan Howard is in a commercial with Jared from Subway.

Down: The Phillies might improve if Ryan Howard were eaten by a bear.